//------------------------------// // Lost: Preparations // Story: Dressed to Steal // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// Carmelita trained studiously with her Nekhaka, working with it until it became second nature for her to wield. The physical aspect of using the flail had come easily. The hard part had been learning to tap the magic within it, how it shaped, what it could do, and how to control it. One aspect she'd mastered quickly had been projecting a sphere of magical energy that could impact with stunning force, much like she had with her shock pistol. Getting that to go where she wanted took practice, since the angle it flew at seemed to depend on the speed the flail's lashes were spinning at, the direction of the spin, where she was holding it, and whether she released it on an over or underhand swing. While it provided a great many ways to use the magic, it was a difficult system to master. Other ways the magic could be used included, but was not limited to: a hurled lightning bolt; a blinding flash of light; an energy bola; a web-like net; and creating a miniature tornado. Carmelita had yet to figure out how to deliberately shape most of those, and had focused on just the shock blast. She hoped to have at least that mastered by the time the weapons were made, and they were ready to take on Seft. If nothing else, she'd be at a level equivalent to the weapons she was used to. Still, she thought to herself as she spun the lashes tight together with a twirl of her wrist, treating it like a ribbon in rhythmic gymnastics, I miss the shock blade Bentley added to my pistol. It's not like I can just- She flicked her wrist with the wound lashes. Energy wrapped around the lashes, binding them together as the resulting energy blade sheared through a nearby rock, causing it to slowly fall to pieces. Carmelita stared at the weapon as the lashes unraveled from each other to go limp again. "...it's thought directed, isn't it?" she asked with a groan. "But of coursssse," Wadjet told her. "It'ssss magic. Where did you expect it to get itsssss input? Buttonssss on a controller?" "So the hard part is learning what thoughts shape the weapon," Carmelita concluded as she twirled the lashes a few times. "At least I have something to go on now. I was worried I'd have to learn to speak Ancient Egyptian for voice commands." "The completed weaponssss will need that if wielded by ssssomeone other than you or Sssssly," Wadjet observed thoughtfully. "But we can think of that if you win." Carmelita sighed as she flipped the weapon up to grasp the lashes and handle at once. "I just can't believe it took me so long to realize something so simple," she grumbled irritably. "What...six hours? Eight?" "Two days," Bentley piped up from where he and Penelope were hard at work constructing a forge. "Seriously?" Carmelita gasped in shock. "But...but why aren't Sly, Murray, and Coco back?" "Egypt to Greece isn't a one-day trip off a plane in our time," Penelope pointed out dryly. "I'm sure they'll be back soon-" "We're back!" Murray declared boisterously at the head of a group of dwarf camels, loaded down with Naqahdah. Sly followed him in, a worried expression on his face that he quickly hid as he smiled at Carmelita. "We got the Nakky...the Naku...the magic glowy quartz!" "And we had a close encounter with Seft," Sly added nervously. "I don't know if he knew what we were there for...but he plans to confront us directly. One last showdown with everything we can bring to bear..." "I should have asked if Hades could lend a hand, then," Coco observed as she walked in with two large sacks, barely managing to pull them both along. "Then again, he didn't have any..." "Are you alright, Coco?" Carmelita asked worriedly, rushing to her side to check her over. "I'm fine Mom," Coco hastened to reassure her as she wound up getting checked over - and hugged - by Sly as well. "A little dehydrated at best, but otherwise just fine. Besides...I get to sit this fight out, don't I? The only ones who can hurt Seft now that he's like this is you two with these special weapons." "She issss correct," Wadjet confirmed. "I will be keeping the ressst of you cloaked within the cave when Sssseft arrives to do battle. You will be able to watch...but to participate would only put you in needlesssss danger. For now, it isss time to forge the weaponssss." She slowly slithered over to where Penelope and Bentley were working on the forge. "Issss all in readinessss?" "Yup!" Bentley confirmed, gingerly walking over to the largest part of the construction, made from a cauldron with a hole in the bottom hooked to pipes. "This is the Naqahdah refinery. Actually using that material involves reducing a lot of the ore to create a small amount of the material actually used in the weapon to have the right energy properties...so it will all have to go in here. We can't get the seams quite right, so we can expect some spillage of the concentrated material-" "On clean up!" Deik-Beck chimed in happily as he returned with the Mithril. "The Orichalcum goes in here," Penelope continued, gesturing to a large beaker hooked to a series of twirling glass tubes. "The alchemic aeration will allow it to mix properly with the other metals. The Mithril is added here." She gestured to a series of metallic IV drips hooked to the long pipe that the Naqahdah and Orichalcum would feed into. "It will slip into the holes left by the aerated Orichalcum, binding the materials together." "It will then all be pumped through the Adamantine," Bentley concluded, gesturing to the last crucible. "As an ore, Adamantine is malleable...but once it has been heated, cooled, and shaped...no power known to the Gods of this world can reshape it. That will make the resulting alloy all but unbreakable as far as Seft is concerned...unless he's got more resources we don't know about." "Then we need to be prepared to counter that if he does," Coco observed worriedly as she gave bits of Orichalcum and Adamantine ore to Deik-Beck as treats as he groomed her mane. "And that brings us to the last stage," Bentley explained as he gestured to the molds below the Adamantie vat. "Once the alloy's poured in, the two of you will each put a drop of your blood into your respective weapon. This will infuse it with your essence, binding it to you...which will also extend its protections to you. With luck, it will let you fight Seft on an equal footing for as long as your stamina and the power of the weapons last." "Then it issss time to begin..." Wadjet hissed out, watching as the ores were placed in their proper crucibles.