-Northeast of Devotindos City, Mystical Mire region, evening, Bruno-
So we picked up a crippled evil core machine, no core thankfully. What was harder to swallow was that we picked up the lizard soldier too, guy was badly injured by his knock-off rocket pack he wore. Ocellus is claiming him to be trying to defect and was using us as an opportunity to escape.
Makes me wish for the days where I was with my unit and all we had to worry about was Yellow Dog incursions from the far north.
“What are these things called again… cupcakes?” I snorted loudly as I bit into it, sugary sweet, soft and warm. “Where did the… machine… even get the ingredients to make this most recent batch? We’re in the middle of nowhere.”
“That’s the weird thing, Dodo made these fresh and we aren’t missing any supplies… aside from medical for obvious reason.” Ocellus was a bit creepy, but at least I knew she wasn’t a machine. You could practically feel her biological nature even if she does react poorly to evil cores.
-Dodo-
Cupcake Replication Magic Installation 100% complete, new system 100% fused into MOS Harmony systems. Muffin Button Magic installation pending.
“PinkPie.exe!” PurpBook.exe wasn’t happy.
Dodo still had no idea about things, he was mostly focus on keeping his footing. The swamp was rather difficult for him to walk through and he was helping pull the wagon with a cheerful attitude, mostly because he was asked nicely to do so by Shanty.
Also the road was firmer than the mud and Dodo did not want to get stuck in all the water around here, so he was paying attention and following it towards where they were heading.
-Bruno-
The lizard had bad burns running down his back and tail due to using one of those knock-off rocket packs that Axel Gear has been trying to get working for a long time, but we had the burn medication and bandages. Unfortunately he’ll likely fully recover, guaranteed if the amphibians decide to lend medical aid.
Nothing explains how a sheep can snap an exceptionally sized panther machine in half, even if it’s back had been damaged prior to said snapping. She did that with raw physical strength and she was like an eighty pound nothing to its hundreds of pounds of metal, most of said weight probably accounting for her head and wool.
I was clearly impressed with her ability to wreck the machine at her given mass though, her bark was definitely worse than her bite… as far as I know anyway.
That both halves of the machine blew up after the core destroyed itself was telling for how dangerous the evil core machines were getting, it also seems like they were preparing for the off chance that the machines might turn wild and wander around. If we hadn’t taken out the other two early I believe those machines in particular would have been some form of deadly cooperative attack force.
While I liked mud in general, this region was swarming with bugs, it was hot out even in the evening and the swamp gas was nauseating… I didn’t actually mind ruining those supply camps behind enemy lines.
I’m quite glad we didn’t go to Sweinhart with the message, Zebulos really shouldn’t be asking for aid or lending any to that guy. The only thing I will give to Sweinhart is that the general is holding the southern territories fairly well with what he has, the guy still let Devotindos be taken and will never earn any sympathy from me.
Zebulos and Zephyrus guys might be too nice sometimes and possibly optimistically naïve, but they were good people at the very least… aside from Axel Gear who’s been a part of every devastating incident over the last five years.
There’s no doubt Axel’s involved in this trouble too, but where is he? If there was anyone that actively goes looking for a deadly fight, it would be him.
Being Couriers might be playing to our advantage in that respect, even if we’re drawing a large amount of attention by going straight through Gedol held territories for the exceedingly small chance of finding allies out here. At least we gave those Gedol grunts on their back lines a huge black eye by hitting their supply chains and demoralizing them.
I trusted our ride enough to not poison us with baked goods, that it now seems capable of pulling out of nowhere. What I don’t trust is that dog, Colleen, something wasn’t quite right about her.
She seemed familiar with the rocket pack the lizard had with him and was making me quite suspicious about what she possibly did for Yellow Dog. I’d keep quiet until she did something worth acting on. The armored panther machine also held her curious gaze for more time than I was comfortable with.
I have good reason to be paranoid when evil cores machines were on the rise and getting worse. If any one of them disguised themselves as a living being, then everyone could be badly screwed over if they manage to get into a position of power. I just had to keep my eyes open for it.
In fact… I noted that Colleen was working with that stolen shrimp claw and had modified it into a handheld weapon with an attached handle and everything. Was she a scientist, a spy or Special Forces, I only had so much information.
When something concrete comes up, I’ll let my sword do all the talking. Unlike other pigs, I wasn’t going to be the mind controlled idiot bleeding out on the ground.
-Jean-
I lashed out my tongue and tasted the fruits of these wetlands, Mystical Mire, the tastes and smells of home welcomed me. We were to delivering a message to the amphibian king and I believe we would make it without trouble at this point, we also managed to get through enemy lines and messed up their supply depots.
I believed that I would be of great help in this region to all my friends, I knew the swamp lands like the back of my webbed hands. If we didn’t meet any Gedol on the way in towards the castle, then that would be a miracle.
I wonder if my people are alright, machines like Land Striders were usually harder to field around water and mud really. We were hard for evil core machines to assault, the heavier the worst off they’d be. The mire was a natural barrier against machinery and even machine’s like Dodo would be hard pressed to launch a successful assault as the water and muck would slow them down immensely.
Turning my gaze to our newest companion, one of which might cause a bit of trouble, I would seek to help him to the best of my abilities in his righteous need to escape being under the yoke of tyranny. We amphibians tried to keep to ourselves, so in this case I was an exception and not the rule as to wanting to help.
My people were a bit… lazy, or at the very least wary of fighting outside our home field advantage. I think I did well enough by becoming a mercenary and trying to find a job, my being a part of the White Knight Couriers was a rather prestigious position for me to be in. Well I thought it was prestigious by personal opinion, I doubt I would have made a good soldier in the actual Zebulos or Zephyrus militaries.
I idly wondered what our lizard could do with the machine that Dodo deftly dealt with when we heroically charged straight through a Gedol camp for the third time this day. The front lines in Zephyrus will hopefully acknowledge that we took some of the pressure off of them.
I looked over to Pom, she was an odd one as she rested in an adorable manner. She was fluffy, friendly and didn’t look dangerous, inside the kin of lambs beat the heart of a true hero. Having fought alongside her, I got a good glimpse of what she was like. Having watched her take down the panther machine without a weapon and just her natural abilities was quite awe inspiring. That she looked like a pillow added to the image of being something quite approachable.
She was fearful, anxious and skittish, but she was truly something else to keep pushing forward regardless of the obstacles ahead and acts for the sake of others. To think she’s just considered an average guard where she is from.
Someone was definitively underselling Pom’s worth on any battlefield in my humble opinion. Her young charge Shanty was just as impressive with her magical slashing hooves, which was as magical as her ability to climb upon any surface.
Smolder was a curious one, I thought her to be doomed when she was engulfed in flames after helping me. Sure she could breathe fire, but I didn’t think she was immune to heat entirely. Despite her youth, she was really tough and knew how to wield a ribbon like a whip with expert skill.
When Ocellus told me that Smolder’s people got as big as mountains, I didn’t know if I could believe her or not, but apparently Pom lived on one of said mountains that houses the spirit of the dragon that made it.
What wondrous places these strange people come from. I looked out at the flat wetlands as we traveled along at an even pace, as slow as Dodo the friendly land strider was willing to go at least. He was right to be cautious as we passed by another land strider rusting in the mud nearby and not ten feet off to our left side.
The land strider simply looked like legs with a control platform, said legs were almost entirely in the mire and the platform was halfway sticking out of it. Looked to be one of the most basic land striders the pigs used years ago, fully manual machines with flamethrowers if I recall… didn’t help in the mire and the humidity weakened such weapons like that horribly. The pigs didn’t keep trying to press us at the time as they couldn’t move an army through the mire at any pace that would catch us by surprise.
I continued on to my observations of the comrades I had with me. I didn’t pay attention to the various other land striders resting the mire.
Bruno was aggressive and a bit mean, but he was a hero of Cladinhold’s eastern front. Now Colleen, she was probably one of the prettiest dogs that I’ve ever seen. I do not know her background, but she treats everyone coldly. Everyone except for Pom that is, she was a lot warmer when Pom was present.
I should ask.
“Ocellus, might I have a moment of you time?” I leaned forward and use the inoperative large cat machine as a table to rest my arms on.
“Sure, what is it Jean?” Ocellus was a wonderful translator and a rather odd being, she apparently can cast magic from her horn and had other abilities she hasn’t shown off… at least since the rumors of her saving a burning village by making it rain by taking on a different form.
“Why does Colleen seem to act so strangely around Pom?” Being blunt helped people understand you much more easily, but sometimes I tried to figure out how to be sensitive to another’s plight.
“Pom apparently has a thing with any species of canine. This includes foxes, wolves, dogs and anything like them… don’t know how a robotic canine would act around her, but I’m quite sure it would have some effect.” Ocellus didn’t exactly explain what that ‘thing’ was. “She’s like a magnet, something about her is alluring to such species. Anything under the idea of what a ‘canine’ specifically is will want to either be her friend or love her. This is as much a detriment as it is a good thing for Pom.”
“How would having a fast friendship with any manner of canine, beast or intelligent, be a bad thing?” This was interesting and Colleen seemed to be more focused on fiddling with her makeshift weapon than listening to us.
“What part of magnetic did you not understand? While Pom would be safe entering Yellow Dog territory, they might not be keen to let her go. Think about what would happen if decided to keep her against her will. Think about how much worse it would be if they loved her and took that too far…” Ah yes, that would actually be pretty bad now that you brought it up Ocellus. You were paling at the same thoughts I was. I was a gentle frog and I would never stoop to ever coming close to doing something so horrid as to force myself upon another as Ocellus just suggested could happen to Pom. “Something like that could actually get pretty bad… now may I ask you a question? Other than that one of course.”
“Go ahead.” I thought about how one would go about fighting the entirety of Yellow Dog while I gave Ocellus my attention and a smile.
I wonder what happened to Yellow Dog after Generalissimo Lioness’s death in the Eginasem crisis, some would even say that he died long before the crisis even began.
I am quite thankful my people are overall neutral and haven’t been dragged into things like this prior, but we were here to ask for help all the same. At least I thought that’s what the missive we were delivering to the castle would say.
“How many ways are there into the kingdom of the amphibians?” It suddenly comes to mind that Ocellus, one of my newest friends, resembles or looks to be part bug. I will resist salivating about the thought of bugs being as big as her as she is a friend and comrade. “Aside from that I think I like the atmosphere around here. The humidity is warm and it’s kind of cozy. You’re homelands seem nice, if a bit too wet. I’m come from some badlands, but my people have begun on projects things greener.”
“There is but two paths to Castle Hydrigal, we are currently on the main one and the eventual split we will pass leads to where our cousins the lizards are from. I would have suspected that Gedol forces would have blockaded our path forward, but it seems we’re in the clear if we haven’t seen any sign of them yet.” That and I was glad that Pom may continue to get her much needed rest as we continued forward, she is under a lot of stress and could use a break. “The lizards of Gedol mostly live in the darker and heavier parts of the forested swamps, whereas we live in a lake surrounded by open wetlands and mire.”
“Nice to know.” Ocellus was pleasant to talk with, but mostly because I couldn’t talk with and understand the others among her friends. Dodo was easy enough to understand in comparison, he had simple wants and needs. “So, what is Hydrigal like?”
-An hour later, Colleen-
Some testing would be needed for this thing later, I think I’ve finished fiddling with my makeshift energy weapon and it would hopefully be more efficient to use now. I eyed the knock-off rocket pack the lizard brought into our midst as I stowed my weapon.
I could recalibrate it, but I would rather talk with the lizard first before trying anything with the knock-off. It was possibly one of the closest things I’ve seen to a rocket knight’s pack, this thing has been heavily modified and I wanted to explore the brain behind this… because they were likely onto something.
Hearing a yawn, my ears perked up as I turned towards Pom. Things were so quiet in the Mystical Mire that she managed to get her nap in and I was fairly worried about her.
Pom was strong, also adorable and hard to associate with the thing that took down an evil core a few hours ago with how she slept so cutely while kicking one of her rear legs out. She sat up and stretched out, her bandages tightening on her small, yet impressive, musculature of her petite form.
Pom glanced around the wagon and looked to the unconscious lizard with a bit of worry and then just leaned back to look out of the front of the vehicle.
There were so many things wrong with my feelings around her, Ocellus even explained this effect to me and I still didn’t have the mental fortitude to ward it off.
It was rather mind boggling.
I shook my head of the thoughts running through them about how unnaturally attractive Pom was.
I hoped we reached the Castle Hydrigal soon, I did not relish the idea of being out late at night in the mire. One that was full of machine’s that were rusted, caked in mud, soggy with water and possibly a few evil cores from years past buried under all of it that could still activate and cause trouble.
Also something had me on edge, there wasn’t much noise aside from us and the heavy feet of the machine named 'Dodo' looking about warily as he continued forward. Even the machine knows that something is up with this late evening as our star sets over the horizon.
Bruno clutched his sword closer to himself and his eyes darted about while looking out the back of the wagon for something. Jean was looking out the front with his hand on his rapier, curiosity in his eyes trying to find something that just wasn’t there.
Ocellus seemed perfectly fine though. I do not understand her method of detecting them, but she would know if an evil core was around.
I know it didn’t seem like a great idea, but I decided to try and talk to Pom. Not in a local language, but in the ancient language of Yellow Dog, a language much more emotional and feral. I wasn’t good at it, but I wanted to talk to her badly enough to try and remember how to speak it.
“Caution, advisement, wariness, haste.” I barked out in several yips not knowing whether or not my words could be understood.
Pom gave me a curious glance as if she didn’t think I could speak it.
“Not living evil motion?” Pom responded back fluidly in concern that it might be an evil core. She could understand the old language and even sounded like she was impossibly fluent in it even as she barked and yipped back to me.
“No, area quiet.” I nodded to Ocellus as I barked this, she currently wasn’t suffering from head pains. “Bug detect area yes?”
“Quiet bad?” Pom queried with a few yips and some emotional distress behind them.
Smolder said something to Ocellus and she answered her while motioning between us.
“Yes, maybe trouble. Area dark bad.” I pointed out the starlight dipping beyond the horizon and she nodded to say something to her companions before turning back to me and clearing her throat.
“If I’m understanding this right, given the language you’re currently speaking, if we’re out at dark in the mire something bad might happen?” Okay, Pom just surprised me with how understandable that was with a series of barks, low howls, growls and yips she made. I nodded vigorously in response, she was quite eloquent and I appreciated the sound of her voice every time she spoke ancient Yellow Dog. “Ah, I think I got the dialect correct now. If it’s not an evil core machine that we should be worried about coming from the mire, then what could it be?”
“Yes speak, speak good. My speak ancient not good.” My use of the language was sloppy and stilted, hers was an impossibly crafted masterpiece that could express any kind of possible conveyance one would ever need. “Something dangerous dark area, large feeling.”
“You speak well enough to me. As Ocellus might have told you, I’m Pom.” That Pom can even use proper names in the language astounds me to no end. “Why haven’t you tried this sooner?”
“Not know speak, try speak sight…” I was at a loss of how to put it into words.
“So you decided to test it to see if I could understand you?” Pom yipped at me and I nodded, my words were abhorrent and hers sounded ever sweeter and clearer now than when we started. “Can you at least give an idea of the problem or is it unknown?”
“Unknown.” I echoed her last word in the way she said it.
-Pom-
“Shanty, tell Dodo to pick up the pace and get us to the castle, we’re not camping out here tonight. Not with someone injured and the possibility that something is up with the mire.” As I watched Shanty start talking to Dodo, Smolder grabbed my attention.
“So you didn’t actually need Ocellus to translate?” Smolder asked with a curious gaze.
“Colleen’s use of this particular dialect of canine is pretty off, she almost can’t speak in full sentences and I have to fill in the gaps with what I know. Ocellus would still be more accurate for a full discussion.” The wagon jerked and I flailed a bit as Dodo started moving much faster down the soggy road of the mire. “She just tried to speak to me on a whim in what little she knows to see if I could understand her, with what she calls an ancient language. As a speaker of so many dialects of canine it wasn’t that hard to ferret out a good dialect that she could understand, it’s just extremely weird that it’s the Timber Wolf dialect that she understands. By her appearance I was expecting something more along the lines of Shepherd, Retriever or Collie.”
“So Ocellus would still be a better option got it.” Thankfully Smolder understood. “At least we got another person that can translate so it’s not all on our dear sweet Ozzy.”
We heard Jean exclaim something and pointed out a rising structure in the distance with its drawbridge still down.
The Castletown and Castle Hydrigal, on our approach we noticed a few things that made us wary.
No guards on the walls, no fire lit to show activity as we cross the bridge towards the castle's town on the lake and once we reached the drawbridge.
Dodo stopped just short of it and kicked the mud off his feet to the side and then, warbling warily, walked across the drawbridge .
The town was eerily silent, Jean looked worried for his people. No smell of evening meals cooking, no sounds of animals in the late hours, nothing.
Well, we were already here, we weren’t turning around now… no matter how much I would wish to flee the area as fast as Dodo could possibly go and I’m well aware that he can break the sound barrier.
“Ocellus, tell Jean and Colleen to raise the drawbridge.” I stated slowly while looking across the empty bridge we just crossed. “I don’t... like the idea of it being down.”
Once those two did as I asked, we moved into the town proper after lighting a few torches for visibility as everything was dark.
No light in any of the windows we were passing.
“Where be everyone?” Shanty asked while shivering and eyes darting about nervously.
“That’s what we’re going to find out Shanty, we’ll stop before we reach the castle and set up camp in a defendable corner somewhere.” A shiver ran down my spine as we continued forward quietly.
Sniffing the air, I turned to curiously spot freshly cooling pies...
There were no other signs of life anywhere nearby, something disturbing was going on here.