Sky Trigger - Day 1
The Dark Fortress - Wieav
A cloud of distress and confusion clung to the team as they stood in the dark hallway, watching as the fairy’s technicolor light vanished from sight entirely. Panic rooted them to the spot, with only Sky daring to make a sound, due to his weapon’s prompting.
“Uh, seven point six-two NATO?” Sky asked, staring at his weapon in stunned disbelief.
Why the hell didn’t I think to take some test shots when we were fixing the boat? He mentally groaned. Yeah, limited ammo, no resupply, but I should have at LEAST taken three rounds to sight her in and make sure there wasn’t any stupid safety systems… I could have gotten us all killed.
“Selection confirmed! Would you like force-feedback to simulate recoil?” It continued.
“Wait, what?” Sky, Vinyl, and Chem asked in unison.
“This weapon is a Screaming Eagle Model Four-Fifty-Three Psirifle with the optional assistant upgrade. In it’s typical configuration, the weapon lacks recoil due to keneric reflectors imparting all waste energy back into the projectile to maximize muzzle velocity. Recoil of varying degrees can be simulated via a linear actuator for the sake of operator comfort and tactile feedback,” the rifle said proudly.
“Um… Can I have like, some but not too much?” Sky asked, his voice trembling slightly. “And can we NEVER do this configuration ever again?”
“Setting recoil force to four point six pounds,” the rifle replied. “I will begin maintaining this weapon for you, sir. My job means you will not be required to perform any cleaning, calibration, or lubrication for this weapon. Additional features available upon request. Configuration complete.”
Oh thank Luna! Sky sighed in relief.
A metallic ping echoed off the walls as the rifle ejected a small piece of silver from a hidden shutter near the stock.
“Factory Safety Destroyed: This weapon is now armed and ready to kick some ass. I will not speak further until spoken to,” the rifle finished, at last growing silent.
Vinyl bent down and picked up the small piece of silver the weapon had ejected and turned it over in her fingers, squinting at it curiously in the dim light. After a few moments her face twisted into a confused frown.
“What sort of company uses an old gum wrapper as a temporary safety?” Vinyl asked, looking up at Sky, her frown deepening as she noticed something more. “With… Chewed gum inside the crumpled wrapper. Ew.”
Sky reached down and took the wrapper from Vinyl, looking at it for himself before breaking out into a huge grin. “HA! Okay, I like this company,” he declared amid quiet laughter.
“What,” Lyra asked, raising an eyebrow. “Because they used a piece of garbage creatively?”
Chem turned around, at last taking his eyes off the rout the fairies had taken, and shook his head at Lyra. “No. Because you see, the rifle is all out of bubble gum. It’s a- Actually we shouldn’t be explaining old jokes. We should find a way out of here.”
Twilight’s tail twitched oddly, she took a step forward, a frown forming on her face. “No! That’s a terrible idea,” she insisted. “We should stay here. The fairies think you’re their old master, and since they didn’t hurt us, they must assume we’re working for you. You’ve been the evil overlord your whole life. You can sell the act here and we will have this entire castle to use on our mission.”
Sky raised an eyebrow suspiciously. Okay, Vinyl and Lyra calling this a castle I can understand. But there’s no way Twilight doesn't know about the military fortresses in Minos. Or, you know, the formal definition of the word castle.
Sky cleared his throat. “Twilight, are you okay?” He asked slowly.
“Other than being very stressed, yes,” the mage replied instantly, turning her head to face Sky and brushing her bangs out of her eyes. “Why do you ask?”
“Because this isn’t a castle,” Sky informed. “It’s a fortress.”
Vinyl raised an eyebrow. “Uhhh… Sky I hate to break it to you, but I grew up in a castle and-” she trailed off, pursing her lips then nodding. “It lacks any sort of personal amenities in the grounds. He’s right. It’s a fort.”
“What’s the difference?” Lyra asked skeptically. “They are both big fortified buildings. Aren’t castles forts too?
“Did anyone see anything besides this keep behind the walls?” Sky asked looking at everyone in turn.
Chem cleared his throat. “Well, now that you mention it, no,” he answered, stroking his chin. “Which is odd, assuming I built this place.”
“Well, maybe you can enlighten everyone, Sky,” Twilight said politely, through a hint of irritation flashed behind her eyes.
Yeah, she’s not coping with this well, Sky noted to himself. I’ll have to talk to her in private later. The two of us are the ones drug into this out of the blue, but she had it way worse.
“A castle is first and foremost the home of a noble that happens to have been fortified,” Sky greatly summarized. “It’s a rich person's house with defenses. It’s fancy as fuck, AND defended. This place has stone floors, no carpets, no wall decorations, no outbuildings, no garden...
“Now a fort is a military structure designed to be a military structure. We’re talking Spartan. No frills. No chills. I’m surprised you didn’t notice how this place is a dead ringer for a Minocian Bastion Fortress. It’s just one big fighting platform with an HQ in the middle. It’s not a castle.
“Don’t worry, Twi. This is a messed up situation and all of us are big bundles of nerves. I’m pretty sure there’s obvious things I’m missing.”
Twilight nodded slowly, and sighed. “Thank you, Sky. I still think we should stay here and make use of the Fortress,” she insisted.
Chem took a deep breath. “Twilight, will all due respect, I’m mortal right now. If I’m not truly their master, and they find out, they will kill me. I don’t mean to brag, but without my experience, our team will have a much harder time stopping Hatty.”
Lyra hummed thoughtfully. “They mentioned there’s a painting of their master hanging in a bedroom,” she said, looking up the corridor. “I could go find it…”
“That’s right!” Twilight agreed with an eager nod. “Don’t you want to know WHY this mistake has been made? What if your chosen form is almost identical to some ancient evil sorcerer? Wouldn’t you like to know that BEFORE we stroll into a town?”
Chem’s glowing eyes widened slightly. “You're right! But… This is a team. Their opinions matter too,” he said, sweeping a hand across the rest of the team.
Sky pursed his lips in thought. Are Lyra and Vinyl certain Chem is an Old One? He seems more like a normal guy to me. Maybe he’s just a bit nuts and thinks he is one.
“How about we debate this in one of the side rooms?” Vinyl suggested as she took a few steps over to the nearest door and turned the brass knob, opening it.
“That way we have a window to bail from if we decide to go,” Vinyl added as the ancient timber door creaked loudly.
Lyra nodded and wordlessly walked through the now open doorway. Chem and Twilight shared a look for a moment, with Twilight eventually nodding and walking in after Lyra. Leaving Sky and Vinyl alone in the hallway together for a moment.
Sky took a step towards the doorway. Vinyl grabbed his wrist gently, tugging the much taller person downwards.
“Hey!” Lyra exclaimed excitedly from inside the room. “They have typewriters!”
Typewriters? Okay, so they aren't medieval. Early industrial age, perhaps? Swince swords are more- Wait, Vinyl. Sky thought before asking. “Yes?”
“Something’s wrong with Twilight,” Vinyl whispered quietly. “You noticed it too. The way she ran ahead of us? That’s not her style. I think she might be having flashbacks to when she was banished to that extra dimensional prison you busted her out of. We should keep an eye on her. Help her through this.”
Sky nodded once. “Good point. I didn’t think about that. I just thought the reality of our situation hadn’t sunk in yet.”
Vinyl shook her head slowly. “Can’t be that. This is Twilight. Miss “Monthly Adventure: Ponyville Disasters Stopped in Twenty Two Minutes or Less.”
“Yeah,” Sky agreed after a moment’s thought. “She told me she got eaten once. Like, swallowed whole by an Allosaurus. That place respawned you over and over. Just for some fucked up torture the inmates bullshit... That would screw anyone up.
“Don’t worry. If we keep an eye on things, with a few nudges everything should be fine.”
Sky waked into the sideroom as he finished talking. Or rather, the communications room.
The room was quite large and so filled with furniture and devices that only small, person-wide corridors existed between the maze-like configuration of tables which encircled a central dais. Atop the dais was a single massive block-like set of drawers which formed a square warmap table depicting a large area. An area labeled ‘The Queendom of Wieav’.
The national map was made from a single sheet of wood, carved to form the sprawling topographical map in three dimensions. It had divided into individual hexagonal zones, each one no bigger than an two centimeters across, and each one colored in a way which showed what sorts of terrain lay within a given hex.
Lots of small tokens sat in various places on the map, with one glowing a dull red. That one sat smack dab in the middle of a large island off the southern coast, within the middle of a massive lake which had almost but not quite become a bay. A more clear ‘You are here’ sign simply couldn’t exist.
Perhaps more interesting than the room’s central feature was the equipment which sprawled across the tables surrounding it. Banks of black iron typewriters with odd silver mirrors attached to them, a few telegraph sets, three ticker tape machines, large, boxy wood-and-brass radio stations complete with handsets and protruding vacuum tubes, and even some small, spindly, oddly elegant yet elaborate devices which Sky immediately identified as-
“Are those telephones!?” Sky exclaimed, his cloaks billowing as she ran across the room to examine one of the gold-inlaid devices, lifting the handset in his hand in disbelief. “They are! This is straight up an old school crank phone! Like, one of the ‘operator, connect me to’ phones. What is with this world and their technology?”
No dial tone. No operator’s voice. It’s dead, Sky observed.
“Phone?” Vinyl asked curiously as she entered the room.
“Old human tech. The precursor to the comm units I build into my watches. This is like, the very very first ones ever made. Before they were portable!” Sky said, genuinely taken aback.
This means they know about electricity. The fort is designed to repel canons. They have blackpowder, electricity, and one nation is cranking out pulse-rifles with AIs in them. Magic will never become obsolete. It will always find something new to enhance. But tools do. Weapons especially. Why do Lyra and Vinyl have swords? Is our ‘DM’ trying to screw us?
“Forget the phone, Sky!” Lyra called eagerly. “Check out these ‘typewriters’ Just look at them for a sec, okay?”
Raising an eyebrow at the odd emphasis his friend put on the word typewriter, Sky set the phone’s receiver back onto the cradle. A few steps brought him over to the typewriter around which Chem, Twilight, and Lyra had gathered. Or rather, the device which resembled a typewriter.
The device’s silver mirror wasn’t mounted to the back of the typewriter, rather it protruded from the top in the way a sheet of paper would if loaded into a typewriter. What’s more, rather than a ribbon coated in ink with which to stamp text onto a paper, this device had a circular copper pad, with a pair of slender wires artfully running from the pad into the guts of the machine.
But most telling of all was the keyboard. Amongst the silver rimmed round keys were some very familiar sights to the Chief engineer. Control, Alt, Insert, Home, Pause|Break, Escape, Arrows for all four basic directions, and a full set of twenty four function keys. All arranged in what Sky recognised as a two handed Maltron layout, compleat with centered number pad.
Sky’s eyes widened in shock. He took a few steps back, bumping into the hardwood table behind him. “It- it’s a computer!” He practically yelped.
What. The. Actual. FUCK!?
“Not JUST a computer,” Lyra said her voice mixing awe and curiosity. “I can FEEL the magic coming off this thing. There are so many layers… It’s a magic computer.”
Vinyl turned around, bending down to examine another of the arcane computers which was next to her. “How layered? What can these do?” She wondered.
“All of the layers,” Chem said simply, giving the device he was inspecting a respectful nod.
Sky cleared his throat, doing his best to get over the growing surreality of the world around him. “I like the joke, but that’s a serious question,” he said, stepping forward to hunch over the device with Lyra, his eyes looking at the device in much more detail than he had before.
“He’s not joking,” Twilight said defensively. “Seeing Magic must be a Wizard thing here. Every possibly layer to this device is enchanted. It’s all layered atop the previous layer. Each nut is enchanted… I can’t tell you how, but they are.”
“I think it’s a strengthening charm,” Chem proposed, squinting closely at one of the typewriter’s bolts. “Yes. Yes it is! The nuts and bolts are enchanted to be stronger than the metal is on its own. Everything else is similarly enhanced. As in, every individual separate piece of this is just… Magically improved.”
“Then a top that layer of enchantments, the components made from those pieces are enchanted with something bigger, more robust, Probably improving how they work,” Twilight added. “And then the entire device itself, the collection of components, is also magical.
“This is some extremely advanced sorcery. There are hundreds, maybe even a thousand different spells in this thing. Equestria couldn’t make this. We could do the top two layers, but the spell matrices would become unstable if we overlapped this many in one device.”
“I’m pretty sure this thing would explode if we turned it on,” Lyra said in agreement as Vinyl flipped a switch on the side of her arcane computer.
“Oh... Uh…” Vinyl eeped, her eyes widening in alarm as Lyra's words hit home.
Formerly unseen crystals installed beneath the keyboard began to glow an ominous green. The silver mirror rippled, then began to shine as a series of seemingly random text scrolled across the screen left to right.
In an instant the chaotic jumble of text vanished, the screen going blank for a moment before displaying a vector image consisting of an extremely happy looking Chibi female Araka giving a thumbs up. The arcane computer emitted a series of five metallic yet musical notes.
The screen blanked again, displaying one final block of text which simply remained on the mirror, entirely static.
**** WebOS ‘59 v2.34 ****
512eb AAM SYSTEM 29,8902 SLOTS FREEQuesting for Shared Items...
ERROR! Dungeon Unavailable.Displaying Local Items...
- Battle Simulator
- Field Reports - Juria Campaign
- Field Report - Battlefield Salvage Reports: Næn, Null, & Jurin
- Hero Dossiers
- DOOM
█
Everyone started at the monitor for several long moments, each thinking their own thoughts about the world they found themselves in.
“... I REEEEEAAAAALY want to enter five and see what happens,” Lyra murmured quietly, breaking the silence.
“DON'T YOU DARE!” Sky shouted, quickly stepping between Lyra and the active computer, turning the device off with a precision lunge for it’s switch.
Okay, Sky. You can see they have computers. There’s just one thing left to check, Sky thought as he took a deep breath and turned towards Vinyl.
“Vinyl, may I please examine you sword?” Sky asked.
Vinyl nodded and drew her blade from its scabbard, presenting it hilt first to Sky. “Sure.”
Taking the sword with one hand, Sky reached beneath his cloak with the other and retrieved a small probe from his toolbelt. Taking a moment to carefully move a radio out of the way, Sky lay the sword on the table and retrieved a small display panel, linking it with the probe with a quick button press.
“Time to see what you're made of,” Sky mumbled to the blade as he hunched over his improvised workbench.
The probe’s tip glowed green as Sky swept it over the sword, focusing first on the pommel, then the hilt, and lastly the blade. With the data gathered, he turned his attention to the display, flicking through the screen’s contents with his thumb.
Hokay…. The pommel is packed full of something resembling Ayna’s Rose Quartz batteries, but at a much lower energy output. This thing is meant to run for decades or more between charges. The hilt contains electronics. Very very small ones, which are driving… Very, very, tiny things.
The blade is mostly composed of an alloy I can’t identify. But the little things don't seem to interface with- Wait this is a belt of some kind. It runs along the edge? What’s it do-
“Oh,” Sky said simply.
“Oh?” Vinyl asked tilting her head slightly.
Sky cleared his throat and put his tools back into his belt’s pouches. “Well, what we have is a world with at least two highly advanced societies. Which have drastically different senses of fashion,” he informed.
“Fashion?” Twilight asked curiously, stepping closer to look at the sword over Sky’s shoulder. “What do you mean?”
Sky gingerly picked up Vinyl’s sword by it’s guard and handed it back to her with extreme care. “Here’s your superalloy micro-serration chainsword back,” Sky said with a nervous grin. “Please be careful about swinging this near me.”
Vinyl grabbed the blade by the hilt and froze, aside from her lips, which slowly spread into a very wide grin. “Are you telling me that I have an actual chainsword?!” She asked eagerly.
“Yes. Yes I am,” Sky answered with a sage nod.
Vinyl carefully returned it to its holster, and gave the sword a little pat.
“Lucky,” Lyra mumbled, half disappointed.
Sky rolled his eyes. “Lyra, there’s no doubt your… Weapon uses the same magical tech. For whatever reason, Wieav must really love older designs. That blade’s mundane parts could NOT be created without advanced technology, but more importantly, the sword couldn’t work without some pretty serious magic improving the materials and powerting the thing.
“Seeing as how Vi’s sword is just a thing any given knight in this world is supposed to have… Yeah! Wieav just likes it’s stuff to be all old looking, or whatever.”
“I can only assume that your chainmail and shield are also made from superalloy, and the shield probably has an actual forcefield generator in it, or magical protections,” Chem noted, stroking his chin thoughtfully. “A high speed saw type edge… With how finely it cut the camouflage tarp it must be extremely high speed. And silent too.”
Sky nodded in agreement. “Absolutely. Vinyl, I’m pretty sure that sword of yours would cut through normal steel like soft wood. There’s no way your armor isn’t some sort of superalloy as well. A sword like this makes it fairly pointless.”
“We should check her armor out next,” Twilight urged. “It’s best for all of us if we know how protected we can be, as well as how tough our enemies might be.”
Odd way to phrase that, Sky noted as he turned around to face the group, a serious look on his face. “It’s safe to assume that nothing we see here is what it seems to be on the surface.”
“Agreed,” Chem said firmly, raising a hand as if he had something to say.
But the dull buzzing of the faerie swarm silenced him.
“Horseapples!” Lyra cursed. “We forgot to decide to flee or not!”
“We should stay! We’re perfectly safe,” Twilight urged, her lips pulling into a worried grimace.
Sky raised an eyebrow. “Looks like you don’t really believe that,” he said slowly.
The room suddenly glowed like a late Solar Era Disco as the swarm raced in, flying around in seemingly random paths as each individual took a seat someplace in the room. Each individual save for the bright pink one who had spoken earlier. She remained aloft, and flew over to Chem, remaining on his eye level so she could snap him a salute.
“The Fortress is clear, sir!” She proclaimed proudly. “I must apologize for the state of the Keep, my swarm is the last one remaining here and we’ve been lacking males for a couple years now… Numbers are becoming an issue.”
Don’t blow this, dude… Sky thought nervously, his eyes roving across the thousands of glowing creatures sitting eerily still all around him.
“It’s quite alright,” Chem said smoothly. “You’ve said it’s been a long time. Just how long are we talking?”
“Nearly four hundred seasons- Er, I THINK that’s two centuries on the common calendar... Don’t quote me,” the little creature said awkwardly, her dragonfly-like wings becoming visible for a moment as she she nervously slowed her flapping.
Chem nodded twice. “Yes, a long time. What happened to the others?” He asked, looking around the room slowly, pausing to dramatically sweep his hand across his field of view. “Are these all that are left of my forces?”
Sky smiled slightly, glad that his hood would hide his expression. Not bad. Atleast he can rollplay.
“Yes, sir,” the fairy sighed. “Most of the other swarms moved their hives over the years, but ten seasons ago, the Numericns began sending Commando teams to destroy the Fortress’s systems. I had another queen with me until then, but they killed her. I tried to take her drones into my hive but it didn’t work out.”
“Drones?” Twilight asked curiously.
The fairy turned, rotating in place as if she were standing atop a swivel chair to face the other woman. “Yes… You’re a mage. How do you not know about my people?” She asked, flaring brighter in shock.
“Apologies. My friends are from elsewhere,” Chem said quickly. “I’m also afraid that my method of return has left some holes in my memory-”
“That’s not surprising. I remember my great great great grandmother seeing your head explode!” the fairy exclaimed eagerly. “It was awesome!”
“Erm, awesome?” Chem asked, his glowing eyes widening as he was completely taken aback.
She nodded eagerly, looking almost like a bobblehead. “Yeah! You were all, ‘You’ll never take back your land, FOOL!’ and that inconceivably lucky Murderhobo was all, ‘If I had a dick, I’d tell you to suck it!’, and then, WOOM! She throws that spiral color ray at your face, and you backhanded it into the floor, but it was all a distraction and her Amazon friend snuck up behind you and she was all POW! Double warhammer! Right on either side of the head. Popped like a coconut full of gunpowder!”
Chem’s mask distorted as he grinned. “Okay, I’m not even mad. That is pretty awesome. I like you!” He chuckled.
“But… How do you remember that? Your grandmother telling you the story?” Lyra asked curiously.
“Nah! I never knew my mom. No Fae does. They are all mindless animals, but they keep bits of my memory alive, and when I die, one of the hatchlings will become the new queen and she’ll know everything that was especially vivid in my memory because it’s remembered by the swarm… It would be nice to have had someone to tell me stories as a little fae though! Big-people’s ways seem kinda nice.”
Chem cleared his throat. “Mmm, yes. Well! I must commend you for remaining here for so long. Do you know what these goblins were doing here?”
“Yeah, that’s a bit of an important question,” Sky said in agreement.
“Not exactly,” the fairy admitted.
“Do you have a name?” Vinyl asked, blushing lightly. “I- Sorry, Lord. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Lord? OH! She’s doing a bit. Yes! Good mare, Sky mentally exclaimed, quickly plotting his own next move.
“Now now, General,” Chem said in a comforting tone of voice, taking to his knee to look Vinyl in the eyes. “I gave you permission to speak freely at all times. Incase I wasn’t clear that privilege extends to all of you… And I suppose you too, miss… ?”
“Oh, um…” The fairy looked around the room for a few seconds, quickly spotting a sprig of holly growing into the room through the window as well as a pair of red panties which lay next to a bowl of soapy water as an improvised washrag. “Call me… Holly, um… Shorts?”
Chem gave her a blank look. “You don’t do names, do you?”
“Not, really, no,” she admitted, her wings slowing in embarrassment.
“See, I knew a Holly Short, and you’re way less aggressive than her. So you can’t have that name. She’d probably self-resurrect and punch you for falling short. Heh heh.” Chem squinted at the fairy for a moment. “Hmm, if only I had access to a color hex picker… Orchid Pink. Will that do for a name? I can’t just call you fairy all the time.”
“You could, sir. But that name will do,” Orchid replied with a short mid-air curtsy.
“Now then, Orchid,” Chem continued, turning around and crossing his arms behind his back. “I imagine I did something to pay for your ancestor’s services. If you’re hoping for back-pay I am afraid I am not in a position to give you anything at the moment. That won't be a problem, will it?”
Orchid shook her head. “Oh no, not at all! I know it takes time to build things,” she replied with a little nod. “It took my swarm so long to construct my Féin Mór that I haven't dared use it in battle. I can wait for payment, and I require no back-pay… Didn’t you wish to know about the goblins, M’lord?”
Chem nodded. “I did, but what’s a Féin Mór? That word didn’t translate for me.”
“Me either,” Twilight added, sitting down on her haunches.
“Well I said it in Squee, not Mar’rathian,” Orchid explained. “It means Large Self. It’s an artificial body a little bigger than a kobold. We stole the technology from the Ritirans, their Sorrus population makes use of larger sized versions to safely interact with the Nagi majority.
“I wanted one for myself so I could go to Wieav sometimes and steal supplies for the hive. Most people can tolerate our little bug cousins, bees, but fae? Not a chance! We’re a bit too deadly and aggressive, hehe!”
Mother of Luna… Hive based social insect-like creatures which are hyper aggressive and kill people. They are this world’s wasps! Sky realized, the sudden connection making him more than a little nervous due to being entirely surrounded by thousands of the creatures.
Untill… Wasps that build mechs to interact with normal sized people. That’s… That’s actually kinda awesome. And adorable. Awedorible. Adorisome? Hmmm… I’ll ask the Ponk later.
“Ah! Very clever,” Chem praised, turning back around to look at Orchid. “Now… About these goblins. You said they have been attacking for some time?”
“Yes, sir. Every few seasons. Sometimes twice in one season,” Orchid reported. “I made one talk to me and learned the Admirals think something in the Fortress is what would have allowed you to come back, so they were sending teams to destroy the Fort’s systems.
“O-Our defense hasn’t been entirely successful… For instance, the shields, main power, backup power, forge, and septic system are all down… But the pantry is well stocked with goblin steaks and everything is dust free! W-well, well stocked for a swarm of my size.”
Okay. They are carnivores. Lovely… Sky thought with a wince as he remembered Orchid’s prior comments. Make that predators.
Lyra winced more than Sky, even gulping nervously. “S-sooo you have no problem eating sentient beings, then?” She asked with worried eyes.
“None at all,” Orchid replied. “Why would I? If I don’t the worms will. Everything that dies gets eaten.”
“Yeah,” Vinyl agreed. “But you should still respect a person’s remains.”
Orchid shook her head slowly. “Kobolds…” She murmured clicking her tongue. “When will you learn that every species has a different idea of respect? We cook them. We don’t let their body become feed for prey creatures. We preserve our foe’s honor! I respect your ways, you respect mine.”
Twilight cleared her throat, and held up a hand. “Miss? I think what Lyra and Vinyl are worried about is that you will decide to eat them.”
Orchid laughed, dipping down in altitude slightly as she giggled. “Why would I do that? You haven’t attacked me, hurt my nest, or threatened to. Besides, you work for my Lord and there’s plenty of fruit, berries, and herbs outside. And also far easier prey like insects. Not to mention tasty tasty goblin!”
“Ah!” Chem said, leaning over with interest. “You’re omniverious? Do you require too much protein to subsist on vegetation alone? I imagine that would be more sustainable for you on this island.”
“No, we can live on anything,” Orchid said simply.
“T-then why eat meat?” Lyra asked with a confused frown.
Orchid facepalmed and groaned. “Oh, Goddesses… A vegan Kobold. How are you alive?!”
Vinyl raised an eyebrow. “It’s a valid question. Would you mind answering it for her?” She asked diplomatically.
Orchid signed and nodded once. “Fine… The ‘It’s immoral’ arguments are total skack! Listen with your nose, not your ears next time you pick a carrot. Plants scream too. They fear destruction too. You just don’t hear them because they dont’ speak with sound, and they talk REAL slow.
“Everything suffers when you kill it. There’s no ‘moral option’. So just eat what you find tasty like everything else does. That’s how nature works.”
“Oh…” Lyra said quietly, her eyes dilating as she began to think about whether or not that fact was true on her own world as well.
“Look, just be happy I’m not a Nagi, or a Sorrus who would eat you whole just for being a jerk. Or, so they say. I’ve never been away from the island. And If I get to go, I won't go south,” Orchid said shuddering violently. “Not-snakes should not eat like snakes…”
“Wut?” Chem asked, a ripple of worry passing over his face, breaking the mask he had constructed for just a single moment.
“Well, the Nagi are half snake, so that makes sense. But the little mice-folk who live with them… My grandma saw one eat an Arakan soldier whole. You know, like a snake does. Or like their bigger blood-brothers do but that makes sense cuz part snake and big-huge. I um… I hope she was high from that cloud of magic gas she’d just flown through…” Orchid explained, slightly shaken from the memory.
We’re trapped in a small room with carnivorous fairies, with another predatory species to the south which is definitely magic. Okay. Moving right along!
“Ah! Well, moving along from THAT!” Sky exclaimed, looking at the computer to his left. “If the generator is down, then this computer has its own power supply?”
“Um, we call those kythers. It’s short for something… Annakee, no! Um, Anti… Antikythera mecha- Foc it! It’s a big word. I don't get to speak much. Sorry,” Orchid sighed. “But um, yeah. Anything small gets its power from the earth and sky, just like I do.”
Lyra cleared her throat. “Um, Orchid? What’s option five on this machine do?” She asked, pointing to the computer they had switched on earlier.
“Oh, that runs a game someone snuck on there a long time ago!” Orchid replied with a grin. “I just wish my drones were better at pushing keys for me…”
Sky and Vinyl immediately snickered, having to put a hand over their mouths to avoid laughing at the image of time humanoids jumping on keys to play a video game. Lyra wasn't so lucky.
“Hehehehe! That’s just adorable!” She giggled. “Didn’t you say you have a big body? Why not use that?”
“Because I like to keep my drones in shape and pushing those keys down is good exercise,” Orchid answered before clearing her throat and trying to adopt a more formal pose. “Is there a point to these questions? Our Lord is present. We should be more professional, Miss… ?”
“That is Lady Heartstrings,” Chem introduced, starting to point ot his friends one by one. “She is fine scout and warrior… You’ve met Miss Vinyl, we also have the Wizard Twilight Sparkle, and the great Doctor Trigger. The Doctor is of the engineering kind rather than the medical persuasion.”
“Nice to meet you all!” Orchid said cheerfully.
Twilight nodded offering the fairy a smile. “It is very nice to meet you,” she said politely.
Sky nodded. “Yep. I’d shake your hand but I’m pretty certain I’d crush it,” he said apologetically.
The fairy’s tiny left eye twitched. “Oh, yeah?!” She said angrily, zipping over to Sky, hovering just in front of his face. “You think that just because you’re super big you can squish me!?”
The tiny humanoid glared into Sky’s eyes. Her bright pink aura wasn’t enough to conceal her appearance at this distance. Orchid looked like a tiny glossy jetstone black human woman, with dragonfly wings, mischievous yellow eyes, bright pink hair cut into a faux hawk, and matching bioluminescent runic tattoos covering her arms, legs, and chest.
More importantly, Sky could clearly see the straight razor blade Orchid had converted into a glave of sorts which was held to her back by unseen magic. A weapon with a blade just as tall and wide as it’s six centimeter tall wielder. A blade engraved with the name Nombringer.
Sky’s eyes widened with horror as the fae floated menacingly towards his face. Oh-shit-this-is-going-south-real-
“Cuz’ you’re totally right!” Orchid exclaimed, flipping from angry to happy in an instant.
She flew down and gently took hold of the tip of Sky’s left index finger, shaking it before returning to eye level. “Hi!”
“... Touche, fairy,” Sky said, glaring at the tiny woman.
She snickered and grinned at Sky, giving him a wink. “Don’t be so tense. If I wanted to kill you I wouldn’t be talking. I won't hurt you.”
“Good to know,” Sky replied, shaking his head slowly. “I sorta like you. You remind me of my friend Sai.”
Chem cleared his throat into his fist, calling for Orchid’s attention. The Fae turned around immediately.
“Yes, sir?” She exclaimed, snapping to attention again.
“Now that my friend’s fears are allayed, I would like to know precisely what agreement I struck with your ancestors. After all, if I am to restore this fortress to working order, I will require your services,” Chem said slowly stroking his chin in thought. “Was it food? I think I’d offer a person such as yourself food.”
“Oh no! Far more than that,” Orchid said, shaking her head back and forth before blushing with embarrassment. “Um, well… For us. It was never much of a bother for you. Because proportional sizes.
“You provided the swarms with safe nestinggrounds. Each of them had a room in the keep to make into a nest. I uh, I sort of made three into swimming pools… But yes! Safe nesting grounds, magical weapons, raw materials for construction, armor, hair dye, tattoo pens and ink, good music, and big-huge amazing piles of treasure!”
Sky bit his lip, trying not to laugh as he pictured the ‘big-huge-pile of treasure.
“So, I tossed you a few coins and a handful of tiny stones from time to time?” Chem asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah! My hive’s treasure room is so big! You could fit a goblin’s head into it,” Orchid boasted proudly, then her slender pointed ears drooped. “I know that’s nothing for someone your size, so shut up!”
“We didn't say anything!” Lyra giggled, biting her lip to keep the giggle from growing.
“Yeah, but you’re thinking it!” Orchid grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.
“It would seem like I had something of an equal pay issue,” Chem said decisively, nodding his head slowly. “I would like you to return to my service at full price. To be paid when funds are available. Just like my other friends.”
“W-what?” Orchid asked, actually dropping to the floor in shock, her body making a tiny ‘thup’ as she impacted.
“Are you alright?” Sky exclaimed, bending down to look at the tiny creature.
“Totally fine. Too small to hurt myself falling. Square-cube-law. I repeat, what?” Orchid stated in shock.
“I’ll pay you what I pay them. Because fair is fair,” Chem replied simply as he straightened his conical hat.
Should probably keep the fact that we’re not being paid to myself… Heh heh! Sky thought to himself.
“Besides, you waited around this fortress for goodness knows how long, waiting for me, when the others did not,” Chem added, kneeling down to look at the little Fae as she sat back up and returned to the air.
“W-well my great great great grandmother wasn’t just a guard. She was kinda close to you,” Orchid elaborated timidly. “I can’t remember the details but you guys were like, actual friends. I think. Soooo, I felt I should honor the heritage I remembered. I feel like this is my fortress too, M’lord. I-I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s completely understandable. At this point you've lived here longer than I have,” Chem said politely, standing back up and looking at everyone else. “Well! I believe we should decide upon our first course of action. I propose we all get used to the layout of this fortress and enjoy a meal. What are your thoughts?”
The little fae glowed warmly, presumably pleased. Not that anyone had observed her long enough to be certain of her emotions.
Twilight cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention. “May I ask a question before we do that?” She asked.
“You just did. Clearly you can,” Chem snickered.
Twilight narrowed her eyes, glaring at Chem irritably before turning her attention to Orchid. “How did you recognise him? Your ancestral memory seems to be foggy at best. Do you remember a good deal about him? I’d like to pick your brain, find out what led to his previous defeat so we can avoid that this time around.”
“Oh!” Orchid exclaimed sadly. “I-I’m afraid not. There’s a portrait of his Lordship hanging in the throne room. I can show you later! It’s rather nice. But um, sir? I have a proposal.”
Chem nodded, gesturing with one hand for her to go ahead.
“Instead of giving a tour of the fortress to everyone right away, we could solve a more immediate problem. When the backup generator was taken out last tenday the fortress began to sink. An earthquake messed with the ground below us, sir, but the Fortress was able to remain stable… Till the power ran out.
“We’ll be underwater in a month if we don’t do something, and the longer we wait, the worse the damage will be. If I could borrow the services of the Great Doctor Trigger, I am certain he could repair the main generator. He is after all a Numerican, and it’s his people’s technology. It’s not extensively damaged, but I don’t know anything about how it works… Nor did any of my ancestors, to my knowledge.”
Wait, this place is slowly sinking? Yeah that’s a priority. Luna knows how long it will take us to find Hatty… And this place did sort of gift wrap itself for us.
Sky cleared his throat. “Sir, I agree with Orchid’s idea. Besides, she implied this place has electric lighting. I would like to be able to see the fortress when being shown the fortress,” he said with a wink followed immediately by a frown.
“Though, if the generator uses magical components, and the fault is with them, I won't be able to repair it,” he added apologetically. “I can’t do magic.”
Orchid shook her head rapidly. “Oh nonononono! I wouldn’t have suggested you help fix it if it was magitech. I know that The Tainted are allergic to magic and can’t use it. It’s just technology. And not even psionically enhanced! No need to worry about the integrated poltergeist being re-dead or something.”
Sky blinked once. “The what?” He asked.
Orchid tilted her head. “But… Your gun has one…” She said slowly, entirely confused.
“Ch- Uh, Lord Z mentioned we’re not from around here. We only LOOK like species that belong on this world,” Vinyl explained calmly. “We accompanied him on his return.”
Orchid’s glow pulsed as her lips made a small o. “Ohhh, you’re aliens. Okay, now things make more sense! Um, Numerican technology sometimes is intentionally made so it’s haunted by a poltergeist. Don’t worry! They are friendly and only want to help because that person was so badly mutated in life due to magic exposure as a baby they couldn’t actually be of use to anyone. So they are super happy to be of help now, and they are bound to items to make them work on their own.
“It’s sad, but they are happy now. So I guess it’s okay? Apparently the idea came from their ancestors having stories of machines called robots which did things on their own. But they weren't able to make those machines a reality. So they had psykers find a solution.”
... I have a hunted gun. Grrreeeeat… Sky moaned inturnaly. Wait. That means it’s a people.
Sky lifted his rifle on it’s strap, taking it out from under his cloak. “Um, hello? Gun? Do you have a name?”
“Sheila,” the ghost in the gun replied.
“Are you um, you know… Cool with being a gun?” Sky asked worriedly.
“It beats being a blind pile of slime,” she answered casually. “You haven't used me for anything yet. The fairy is correct, I do want to be useful to someone. So like, can we go kill some monsters? Please? I don't have a real idea if I like being a gun specifically, I chose it mostly because they said I would be able to see through my scope.
“I like being able to see! Is binocular vision as cool as you normies claim? Could we stick a second scope on here so I can try it? Also, a grenade launcher would be nice. Explosions always felt and sounded awesome! I want to see one.”
OKAY! SO, Tainted’s lives can RRRREEEALY suck. Sky observed. “Alright, last question… Did you intentionally troll me with that fucking configuration bullshit instead of JUST FUCKING SHOOTING!?”
“No. I had to do that. Sorry. I’m bound by rules and stuff. I uh, I’m not technically supposed to be talking to you either. You didn’t say I could,” Sheila mumbled quietly.
“You can do that. Whenever you want,” Sky instructed quickly. “I’d feel bad if you didn’t. And uh, I’ll see about those mods. Putting you away now? Is that okay?”
Sheila laughed. “Honestly, you’re treating me better than my parents did. I’m a gun. Use me like any normal gun. This is what I wanted. It’s fine.”
“Are you sure?” Sky asked with a frown, glancing down at the weapon in his hand.
“Yeah! I’m fine, everything’s fine,” Sheila applied comfortingly.
“But what about-”
“It’s fine. It’s fine,” she dismissed with a giggle.
“Are you sure?” Sky asked, still quite worried. “Because this has serious ethical-”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah!” She dismissed, sounding a bit irritated at the continued questioning, but still perfectly content. “It’s fine, I’m fine. It’s fine, it’s fine, it’s fine! Go fix that genny and then let’s go shoot stuff!”
Wait… Did she just Adventure Time me? Sky realized his eyes widening in surprise. “Heh heh. Maybe it is fine.” Reference complete.
Orchid cleared her throat. The tiny sound more akin to a mouse’s squeak than a proper ‘a-hem’. Chem, Lyra, and Twilight immediately dawwwed at the noise, prompting a glare form the Fae.
“I’m a proud warrior! I am not cute!” She huffed irritably.
The hell you’re not, Sky hid his grin behind his hood. “Well, we have a job to do. Can you lead me to the generator, Orchid?”
The fae nodded, her drones immediately taking to the air in unison and swiftly flying out of the room. “Yeah, just let me put them back on their normal tasks… There! Okay, follow me!” She exclaimed starting to slowly fly out of the room.
Vinyl stood up and began to walk after her. “I’ll go too. You may need a hand, Sky. Besides. If there’s more Goblins about that they don’t know about, it would be best to work in pairs.” She said with a serious look stamped across her face.
Sky nodded. “Good idea,” he said as the two began to follow the excitable fairy through the dark stone corridors deep into the bowels of the keep.
Orchid led Sky and Vinyl along a fairly twisting path which moved ever dowards. Below the floor they had been on lay the keep’s dungeons. Rows upon rows of stone cells capped with solid metal doors sprawled for what seemed like miles. The three passed through four separate floors of cells, the dismal cellblock looking downright hellish when lit only by the bright glow of a single fairy.
Just when Sky was about to ask how much further they had to go and light one of the torches he’d taken from the slain commandos, the dark stone gave way to illuminated concrete and steel. At the bottom of the fifth staircase, the flagstone floor ended, and a smooth, but cracked with age concrete floor began. The square walls gave way to a large, rounded tunnel design with metal plated walls painted white and accented with a purple and bright green stripe at the midpoint of the wall.
Said midpoint was at least four feet above Sky’s head, making him feel quite small as the three entered the truly massive, and entirely separate feeling part of the fortress.
“What is this and why is it so massive?” Vinyl asked curiously, blinking as her eyes tried to get used to the dull red glow of the emergency lights which ran along the floor.
“His Lordship built the Dark Fortress atop an old Draconic Ranger Station. We’re entering it now. Can one of you push the button up there? It’s REALLY heavy,” Orchid admitted with embarrassment as he pointed to a large red button set into the wall next to the huge circular door which capped the hallway.
Sky nodded and reached up, pressing the button in as hard as he could. “Sooo, I guess this place is dragon sized, huh?” He asked casually. Makes sense. I’ve been in dragon homes before.
“Yep! I like it because it makes people understand how I feel in your buildings,” Orchid said as the thick steel blast door irised open with a loud creak.
“Why doesn't the keep’s lights stay on if this still has power?” Vinyl asked.
“That’s an excellent question,” Sky agreed with a short nod. “Orchid?”
“Um… I guess the emergency power thingie isn’t connected to the keep? It’s just the red lights and the doors that still work. Everything else is dead,” she explained, flying through the doorway into a large open room.
Large was something of an understatement. The room seemed to be half the size of the keep’s bottom floor. The white, purple, and green theme continued around the room, which had more doors arranged around it like the spokes of a giant wheel. The room itself was round, and empty, with only a massive logo stuck into the floor for decoration.
Sky looked down at the logo, managing to make it out after a few seconds. A dragon’s head and wing above one of this planet’s two moons… That would be a good logo for a space agency! Please be a space agency and not some lunar dragon cult thing, he silently begged.
Orchid zipped across the large room, vanishing into a corridor on their left, coming back a moment later upon realizing she’d outran her comrades. Without any real difficulty, the three made their way through the Draconic section to an old elevator shaft, and climbed down three floors. A short walk later, and the three had arrived at the generator room.
Like all rooms in this section of the fortress, it was round. Unlike the large central hub area, it was almost entirely full. Banks of computer equipment and control consoles lined every square inch of the wall, with the majority of the room filled up by a large transparent, aluminium cylinder containing a cylindrical tower of copper tubing, silver wires, ceramic tiles, and steel support structures which fed into or held aloft a large toroidal ring centered around a glowing green chunk of crystal..
Sky blinked once as he took the enormous device in, his eyes noticing the many bullet holes in two critical looking components. A large tesla-coil near the base on one side, and a big insulated coolant pump just to the coil’s left.
“Is… Is that some sort of crystallic fusion core?” He asked Orcid with a frown. Ayna and I haven't built anything like this… Though she did show me a paper on this concept a while ago. I think I remember it enough to- Mmm, no need to remember it. It’s just those two parts that need fixed. Easy peasy.
The fae shrugged. “Beats me. I just remember that the ring thing powers up the crystal which feeds energy to the Fortress,” she answered.
“Mmm,” Sky said, taking several tools out of his belt pouches as he walked towards the transparent cylinders open door. “So it would be a boring conversation, eh? Whelp, let’s fix this reactor.”
“Sounds like fun! Can I lend a hand?” An unknown woman’s voice asked from the doorway.