No Strings Attached - Chapter Forty-Seven

Chapter Forty-Seven

55th Day of Spring - Year 1758 of the Golden Era

Shorefarm, Yellowfield, Draya Calyrex

Maldrak was happy to see the small ocean-side town up ahead and the Gentle Tidings floating at the docks. They were still a ways away, but already he could see sailors toiling away in the town. A pair of houses had been knocked down, and it looked like the ship’s carpenters were already at work rebuilding. 

Trees had started to be cleared out from near the town, and large logs were brought closer. Without a proper mill it would be hard to produce planks, but there had been some tools laying around the town, and they had a number of mages with them who could make short work of turning a trunk into so many planks. 

Convincing mages to do manual labour would be irksome, but he trusted those that had come with him to have the willingness to set aside their personal desire to sit back and study in favour of lending a helping spell.

“Looks like things are coming along,” Jorvin said.

“Indeed,” Maldrak replied.

“So... what’s the plan now?” the mage-knight asked. “The lord of this land in your pocket, the local mage working under you, the nearest tower at your service. You’re moving fast. I’d say you’re spending a lot of influence, but so far this has mostly cost time and some gold.”

“The goal is still the same. Reach the academy of Avaris Myrcana. Save my daughter.”

The knight hummed. “I’ve never known you as the sort to do something with so simple a goal.”

“I’ve always done things with a simple goal in mind,” Maldrak replied. “It’s merely all the steps between now and the success of that goal that become more complex.” He tapped the end of his cane against the ground. He had brought it for the magical focus in its handle and as a weapon of last resort, but now he was glad to have it as just a plain cane to keep some weight off his feet. “Shall we continue? I’m certain that things will have devolved without our attention.”

They continued, and it wasn’t long before they reached the edges of the town. His suspicion was proven correct almost immediately as he found Artificer Woodbone senior standing next to the opened side of an unfamiliar carriage, one whose interior was filled with a number of small pulleys and complex magical devices.

Maldrak felt his brows rising. They approach was noticed, and the Artificer as well as a few others--notably a few of the puppets and Magus Suffragus Nocthorn, made their way over to him.

“‘Bout time you showed up,” Woodbone said gruffly while wiping his hands clean on a piece of cloth. 

“I didn’t know I would be needed so urgently,” Maldrak replied. He turned his attention towards Noctrhorn. The young woman was, ostensibly, in charge for keeping things in order. He knew that the captain would only care for his men and the ship, and while by any measure Artificer Woodbone outranked her, he wasn’t the sort to be all that helpful unless something interested him directly.

“Sir,” she said as she met his gaze. “Things are going well. I have little to report, except for one unexpected event.”

“I presume that the carriage there has something to do with it,” he said. He desperately wanted to sit down and rest his feet. Instead, he stood tall and proud before this gaggle of subordinates and kept his focus sharp. 

Nocthorn nodded. “Yes, Magus,” she said. “One of the sailors on the lighthouse saw it, and the puppets investigated.” She half-turned, gesturing to the three. 

He eyed them as one stepped forwards and bobbed her head in a nod. Viridian, he thought. “Yes. We went to see what it was. That is Three. They are a... clown automaton from a travelling circus.”

“A clown automaton,” Maldrak repeated. “Yes, I believe I’ve heard of those.”

“You have, sir?” Nocthorn said.

“I wouldn’t have taken you as the circus type,” Jorvin said with a chuckle.

“I was more interested in the hows and whys,” Maldrak said. “Some ten years ago, certain developments beyond the shores of this continent gave artificers and mages from outside of Draya Calyrex a foot up in the automaton game. This was, in the eyes of the nobles of this continent, unforgivable. And so a large sum was poured into the development of several automatons and larger projects. The circus was one of those. I believe two troupes were created.”

The puppet tilted her head to one side. It was an interesting way to express curiosity when she didn’t have a face that could emote. “How would that work?”

“It’s not so much the circus than it is its construction,” Woodbone replied, and Maldrak let him continue. This was a matter where he was perhaps more knowledgeable. “Making one automaton is nice and easy if you know what you’re doing. Making dozens for a whole circus? That requires a big investment. The production of thousands of parts, from gears to gems to wooden parts, which in turn all require different artisans and craftspeople to be hired, and when they’re lacking, brought over from elsewhere or trained.”

“Ah,” Nocthorn said. “It was a move to pull Artificers from other continents?”

“And to build a tradition for the same in Draya Calyrex,” Maldrak said. “It was a little late, but Draya Calyrex had the gold to pour into several large projects. It meant the creation of more shops, the hiring of more people, and pushed more peasants towards a lucrative career in creating the parts an artificer might need to make an automaton.”

“Smart,” one of the puppets said.

He nodded. “It wouldn’t do anyone any good to underestimate the nobility and leaders of this country. They were ambitious and long-lived, in a space ripe with competition. They did not attain their positions by failing upwards.” He took a breath. “In any case, what’s this troup cart?”

“It’s an automaton carriage,” Woodbone said. Then he sneered. “The design is too damned similar. Someone clever stole a few ideas along the way. Bah! It’s moot now, I suppose. The thing’s halfway clever, but nothing too special. It’s very artificial, and could use some improvement, but it’s a good proof of concept design.”

“Is it functional? And how did it come here?” Maldrak asked.

“It’s functional enough,” Woodbone said. “Needs heavy maintenance, but I’ve nothing better to do, and there’s a few tricky parts in there that I wanna have a look at.”

The Viridian puppet picked up Maldrak’s other question. “It came from the east. It mentioned a place called Doomeadow. It’s troupe ran into puppets like us, but they stank, and a person on a horse with them. And they were split up. Animals attacked, I think?”

Maldrak hummed. “Doomeadow... that might well be our next destination. Though not just yet. How are you three feeling? I might have you investigate the road past Shorefarm then back. We’ll be setting up patrols later, but for now, having a lay of the land would be useful.”

“We can do that,” the puppet said. “But Thomas the smith is fixing our weapons still.”

“Then as soon as those are done, or at first light tomorrow,” Maldrak said.

The puppets nodded and he started for the village only to pause when the puppet asked him a question. “What about the carriage?”

“If it’s not a threat or a problem, it can stay. Maybe it can put on a show for the sailors and earn its keep that way. In any case, it’s not a factor in my plans.”

“Okay,” Viridian said. “So we’re going east?”

“No,” Maldrak said. “You’re going north. There’s a very small city to the north called Three Lakes. I want to secure the road from here to there. Though... I might send you east, to destroy the road connecting Shorefarm to the Dragon’s Highway.”

“Cutting us off, are you?” Woodbone asked.

“Cutting off surprises from reaching us,” Maldrak corrected. “It’s not quite the same.”

“Three Lakes, then Doomeadow,” Lazur repeated quietly. “We’ll need a map. And if we’re cutting a road, we’ll need tools. Or magic. Magic would be better.”

“You never did use that canon I gave you, did you?” Maldrak asked. “Find a place where the road is overhung by a hillside and force it to collapse.” He turned to Nocthorn. “I’ll need a full update this evening. Gather the mages, coordinate with the captain. Magus Beornhelm informed me that I may have his aid with the communications array of his tower.”

“Yes, Magus,” Nocthorn said.

“And Woodbone,” Maldrak added, already beginning to turn away, “Do me a favour and don’t rebuild the entire carriage into something monstrous unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

“I’ll make no promises,” the artificer muttered.