IroFath Chpt 2

==Iron Father - Chapter 2 -==
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3115
The next few weeks Corden spent time among the locals. Always some kind of small mob would follow him around to much of his annoyance. He suspected that in time, as he became a normal sight amongst the populace, that they would leave him alone. One concern was how he would acquire currency and that might involve a job of some kind. Not being in the order supported by tithes, donations, HPG fees, and mercantile profits left him pretty much destitute.
One thing he did have over others were stories, strength, and his blessed abilities. The stories he could tell might be too soon to be told. He would rather keep some mysteries to himself. So he inquired with Tim the guard. Naturally they accepted him to do night watches because of his ability to see at night. It was pretty mundane to him but absolutely amazing to the others. Any criminals were confounded by his ability to pick up on them sneaking around. Corden would just report who and what he saw and the authorities took care of it.
The one shift that interested him was up on the walls. He could see a good distance out and it helped keep an eye on the night haunts. The walls had wooden scaffolding at the top and every foot or so a spear stuck out. On the end of those spears were various claws and teeth from the night haunts themselves. An improvised barbed wire. Sometimes they would approach the walls and the horses would sound off in low neighs. If they decided to test the walls, which pretty much was always, they got rock or two as an answer. Archers were also around that had arrows with teeth tipped arrows. They were only used when an alarm went out.
Tim had pointed out one particular section of the wall that had been breached a year ago, the one that cost him his wife. Extra battlements had been installed because of that one. The size of the thing was small and snuck thru. It had made short work of the bulwarks and made it into town. It had its fill and had left. They hadn't seen that one in awhile, but it had distinct marks on it to the point that an artist had drawn a few pictures of it. A reward was posted for the killing of the thing. No one was that suicidal enough to hunt such a thing. But there were also other pictures drawn up of other haunts that had killed people. Each night haunt was different from the others. Corden had an idea to go hunting for a few of the smaller ones on these lists. The teeth, claws, and spines alone would fetch a price.
Meanwhile the guild of guides had put out envoys and invitations for a decisive meeting. They needed to plan it correctly in order to not get the attention of the nobles. The plan was simple. Host a festival where Corden was taking his time at and it would give the guides and excuse to escort people there. By their estimation, 85% of the guides would be able to make it...
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Corden had set out three weeks later to try his hand at hunting night haunts. He wanted to get use to them and their behaviors. What he learned is that each one never behaved the same nor looked the same. Just that their aggression was the consistent factor.
The memetic cloak came in handy in observing the ones he could. Always from a distance. He also learned that they could control their internal temperature to the point where his true eye wouldn't pick up on them at a cursory glance. That would explain why he never saw the first one that had tried to kill Aaron.
On the fifth day of observation and hunting. Corden decided to do an actual hunt. After leaving Baltmare, Corden pushed out further from town. He hiked the distance at night and slept during the day. Three nights out he actively hunted for one. Problem was, the ones further out were bigger. Not the juvenile ones he was use to seeing. Corden wasn't sure how the Mauser 1200 would work on these, but there was only one way to find out.
Corden had taken a position on a hill over looking one of the plains. One night haunt had caught his attention. It was thankfully the only one around. The distance was 180 meters and Corden sighted between the eyes. The pulse burst would cause the beast pain and it would hopefully respond to it and cause its eyes to be stricken. Corden held his breath, released his breath, and pulled the trigger on full auto.
Laser pulse bursts lit up the night. The night haunt naturally responded to the burning pain on top of its head by shaking it. That cost it its sight. Eyes popped and boiled off and the night haunt screeched in rage. It snapped and bit in what it perceived the direction the pain had come.
Corden simply waited a time for the thing to wear itself out. It had an unnatural ability to just keep going much to his annoyance. Hours went by as the thing thrashed around snapping and biting. It eventually just collapsed out of sheer exhaustion. That is when Corden got up and slowly made his way to the blinded beast.
Corden made it about 30 meters away when it actively took in his scent. It tried to move, but simply was out of energy. Corden kept his distance and looked over the night haunt. The leathery skin had resisted his burst entirely. It was only the exposed soft parts that had not survived. It was time to put this thing out of its misery.
Corden ejected the power cell and put in a fresh one. The grenade launcher would be too much and he wanted this one intact. He dialed the power to maximum and aimed for one of the gaping eye holes. CRACK! The night haunt convulsed and seized. Corden waited and went around at a different angle, took aim, and fired again to be sure the brain had been fried. No reaction had come this time.
Approaching the beast, Corden kicked it a few times. Only when he was certain it was dead did he take out a night haunt dagger that he had acquired. With it he flensed away the spines and claws with ease. It was the mouth that he took deadly care with. A rigor mortise spasm of flesh not knowing it was dead yet could cause the body to shift. With that many dagger like teeth, Corden did NOT want to be near it if that happened. It took a few hours of care and day light was coming. He had a night haunt leather sack full of his spoils by the mid day. He even cut a few meters of leather at the thickest points and rolled them up. Then he made back to town.
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Three days later he walked in thru one of the gates, stated his business, showed the spoils, and was quickly shown to the bounty table. The sack of coins he left with would have weighed down a frail easily. But with his blessed arms and legs, he carried it as if it were a lunch sack. The bounty on the size of what he had killed was enormous. The teeth and claws alone proved how big the thing had been. So, with his wealth, Corden made out to the Keep of Faiths.
As he walked in Tim the Keeper of the Faiths was preaching. The man was on fire, he was thumping a bible at this particular instance. Corden guessed it was a baptist service and was playing the part well. Considering the man preached for every religion here that he had skills that involved oratory and acting. Corden went his way to the to the Hall of Faiths and stumbled upon Tim the guard. He was in front of the alcove that Corden had set down the Word of Blake. The man was reading it.
"Do you have any questions, Tim."
"Yes and no. This book is unusual. I have read a lot since my wife died. I have tried to find answers some where in God, Allah, hell even Budda, but I am always left empty. Wondering. Nothing here seems to hold sway over me. But this, is different. Your Blake speaks of preserving something I have no idea what that is. Technology. I have heard this word before, but never seen it."
"Yes you have, look at me. Look at my rifle. These are some examples of what Blake speaks of. Truthfully, I am a product of war, but there is more than just this. Some day I hope you will understand. But for now, I have a debt to settle with you."
Corden opened the bag and took a handful of coins and placed them in Tim's hand. Gold spilled out and hit the floor because he couldn't hold it all. The fortune he had just given this man would be able to buy a new home. A place for him to move away from his past hurts and forge a new future.
"How, how can I thank you!"
"Do not thank me. Send your thanks to Blake. If it wasn't for him, I would not be here. My blessed abilities would not be here. I would not have killed something that might kill more of us. use this to buy a new home. Move on from the past that keeps you bogged down Tim. I have heard you cry out at night in your sleep. You are a good man and should find someone else. You have sheltered me where no one might have. I thank you for this and this is my way of doing so. We can speak again, but I think you might want to contemplate some."
Corden then put more coins into a dish that was in the alcove. The tithe to Blake from the fortune he had just earned. He was a warrior but also lived a monk's existence. Money and possessions were not a thing for those who were Manei Domini, they lived past that. They lived and fought for humanity. Money was just a tool to accomplish Blake's will and so by extension, Corden blessed those that helped Blake's chosen.
He then turned and went to leave the Keep of Faiths. Corden did note that there were services to be dedicated to Blake, he would have to attend a few. He made his way thru the city. He wanted to pay Aaron the guide next, but there was absolutely no sign of him...
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Bert the noble of Baltmare threw his goblet against the wall.
"How much did we pay and whom?!"
"Umm, almost the entire treasury, sire. The ransom went to Corden... Corden of the Word of Blake? Who is this?" Said the accountant.
It was always a group of people that would kill this kind of night haunt. Per the guards the size of the creature was huge. Normally someone would ask for a favor on this type of kill, land, or even a special arrangement. But never the bounty. He was almost bankrupt and how would he pay the guards next month. No, it was time to deal with the problem.
"I know who he is. Leave me."
The accountant took his papers and left. Only then did Bert get up and lock the door. Then he went to a hidden safe and pulled out an ancient device. He hooked up a pedal system to a box and pulled out a microphone. The thing was a radio. He would be able to record a message and send it to the other nobles. Already this Corden had been stirring up trouble. Mobs followed him, his spies and contacts had been disrupted, and his damned book was fomenting the population. He would report on the treason and disruption he was causing, but dared not report his financial situation. Another noble could easily take him out or over. After he recorded the message, he hit the transmit button where other nobles would receive the message on solar powered receiver boxes. Responses came quickly and with pledges of support of action...
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Aaron slammed the gavel down on the podium. The gathering of the guides had been hasty. Most of the guides in neighboring towns had come at once with the emergency protocol. The start of the fair had been a great cover.
"I am telling you we have finally been connected to our brethren again. This Corden is odd, he espouses religion in technology, but his actions show he has no malice. He is almost like us. He guards his knowledge like we guard ours. He claims his ship is damaged, but with the preparations we have bore over the centuries, it might be possible to repair it."
Tylor the guide stood up and voiced his concerns. "The tomes speak of how we can rebuild. However the nobles will try to stop any kind of progress. They have an iron grip amongst the population. It is by sheer luck we have not been betrayed from within over the centuries. Already there are murmurs of the nobles seeking a solution to the Corden problem as they call it."
John the guide voiced out. "Have you heard or read anything from this Word of Blake book that he put in at the Keep of the Faith? It talks about Successor Lords destroying some kind of inner sphere and the lose of technology. It also talks about safe guarding technology by the hand of Comstar. What ever THAT is. The nobles will see a corollary with what they do and see him as an upstart. You know what they do to people that speak out against them. This Corden doesn't realize the fire storm he is unleashing with the nobles!"
"Then we must defend him!" Cried out a guide. 'We must warn him!" cried out another! "Bring him into the fold!"
The room exploded in argument. By the end of the night, it had been decided that Corden would be warned about the danger he would be facing. They also decided to let Corden in on what the Guild of Guides was about. A hope to return to the heavens, a hope to return to humanity, a hope to return to home! Terra.
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An assassin was already on the move. This metal man was predictable in his movements. He would spend time at a tavern talking to random people about this Blake book of his and praying at the Keep of the Faith. It mattered not to the assassin. He was being paid handsomely and could easily retire after this hit. He elected to go with a night terror tooth dagger. It would slip thru any metal known to him and it was perfect for the job at hand.
The assassin waited until night fall because people would start going home for bed. The metal man always stayed late. There were maybe ten people in the tavern when the assassin decided to move. Approaching the metal man from the side, he estimated the best angle to hit him was the back. A simple side thrust just to the left of the shoulder blade would pierce his heart. He struck with his strong arm and made true with his strike. Except something felt completely wrong when the dagger landed. It didn't go all the way in!
Corden registered some pain in what would be have been excruciating if not for his pain shunt. He whipped around and found a dumb struck man that clearly had tried to stab him. Without hesitation, Corden seized the man by the throat.
"You dare assail one of Blake's Chosen, frail!"
The assassin was choking suspended in the air. He tried to move the fingers seizing him, but they would not budge. Quickly he reached into his cloak to grab another dagger. This one was also made from a night terror, but instead of a spine. Long and thin as a stiletto, he made to aim for an eye. Instead Corden caught the hand and squeezed. Fingers pulped and separated from the assassins hand as myomer bound cybernetics crushed down. Corden released the grip of his other hand so this man could breath again. Instead of drawing breath, a scream of pain filled the tavern.
The assassin realized the jig was up. There was no going back now. He faced death if given over to the authorities. The nobles would make sure of that. Painfully sure. So with no other option left he crunched down on a glass pill he had secreted in his mouth earlier. He would die fairly quickly, without pain, in a hallucinogenic dream of what would have been his retirement.
Corden heard the crunch and already knew what was going to happen. With a humph he dropped the dying man to the ground and reached for his back. A blade was embedded into his armored torso. Pulling the blade out, he saw there was blood. Enough to draw concern. The dagger surprised him. It appeared to be a tooth of some sort. It should have never have pierced him as his armored rib cage used the equivalent of a mechs armor.
Commotion was bringing in the guard at the same time Aaron stepped into the tavern looking for Corden. He saw the writhing smiling assassin and Corden with a night haunts dagger. His hands had blood on them.
"What happened?!"
"I was stabbed in the back by this filth. I am bleeding, but I don't know how bad it is."
Aaron went to look. He pulled down Cordens hood and he was confounded with what he saw. Metal for skin that seeped blood. He couldn't do anything. He looked to the tavern owner.
"I am taking Corden of the Word to Carol the medic. He needs attention now."
Aaron rushed Corden out. Blood was coming out and staining Corden's red robe. He would bleed out if it wasn't stopped. Corden was able to follow and to help, Aaron took Corden's laser rifle up. After 15 minutes they arrived at Carol's place and banged on the door. They were rushed in once she saw who it was and what was going on. Corden disrobed without a thought at carol's command. What both of the natives saw truly shocked them once they got to see who Corden was like in the metal. Corden laid on his stomach as carol went to see what she could do. There was no blood in his lungs. From what Carol could tell from the wound, compared to the dagger, that it had not reached his heart. It probably niched a major vessel or a combination of veins.
"Do what you must Carol. I can endure pain that others would black out from."
"How... never mind. More of your metal magicianry." Carol retorted.
She dug at the wound, but there was no way to ascertain the damage due to the armored torso. Then she got an idea.
"I need to use the dagger to cut away at your metal to get inside you."
"Do it."
Carol took the night haunt dagger and then used it to flense pieces away from Corden. It was hard to do as the dagger would slip off the blood that oozed out and the metal was tough, but she was able to slowly open the hole enough to peer inside. She took thread and started to bind the few veins she saw. After awhile the bleeding stopped. She then applied honey in the wound and packed it with sterile linen.
"I am not sure how this will heal. It will likely form scar tissue."
"Thank you, Carol" Corden made to stand up and started to feel wousey. He sat down on a chair and it creaked under his weight.
Both Aaron and carol starred and took in what Corden really truly looked like below the robes. Both his arms and legs completely replaced. Even his hips, chest, shoulder, and parts of his neck were encased in metal and myomer. The true horror set in what Corden was and Aaron felt a sort of pity while carol felt disgust. What ever was left of his skin on his back and chest were hard scars from 2nd degree burns. Carol did note that Corden was still a fully functional male.
"You have to tell me more why you are as you are, Corden" Aaron said.
"I will some day. I.. just need... to..." Corden passed out and clanked onto the ground.
It took both Aaron and Carol to drag Corden to a bed and hoist him up on it. The town guard eventually arrived and took the night haunt dagger. They also instructed both of them to tell Corden that he was cleared of any wrong doing due to the testimony of multiple witnesses. Aaron would stay day and night while Corden slept and recovered. Carol would clean his robes and clean the dagger wound that Corden would eventually thank her for doing.
It was on the third day when Carol was gone that Aaron told Corden that the guild of guides wanted to meet him. He filled Corden in on what the guides were really about. The hardships that the towns endured under the nobility and the night haunts. It was here that Corden would also ask about the night haunts and their role.
The night haunts were a species that constantly changed every breeding year. No form was constant. They were omnivores that constantly evolved and mutated. The one thing that didn't change was their savagery and their ability to part metal with the talons, teeth, and spines. They were truly feared and corden felt stupid not asking about them more in depth. He had seen the large forms in the valley, from the mountain tops, and the one he had dispatched meeting Aaron. He learned that their skin was resistant to metal blades. It took the first survivors to learn that their talons and crushing rocks dealt with them effectively. The night haunts truly had fashioned humanity into what it was today on Turbline. First they had to survive in cave networks that only they could fit in and come out during the day to build walls then eventually homes. It was during this time that the nobility started to form. Only focused on survival, they ruled with an iron hand. Leaving the past relics and ruins from their ships. The guides were the technicians from that time who saw the need to keep records and thus did in secret. In time the nobility would forget about the caves over the generations and the guides used the caves for their purpose. All the first towns constructed were connected to these caves. It was the towns further out that were not in the network. That night, Aaron guided Corden to the hidden caves that ran below the towns.
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The fair was going very well to refresh the treasury. Bert the noble estimated that he might be able to make the guard payments next month. Deciding to attend and mix with the lower class would make him look good. So he took to throwing balls at cups. He was close to the grand prize when an informant came up to him and whispered in his ear then made off. Bert's blood boiled and he threw the ball and missed. He had to get back to his tower, but not hastily. There were too many eyes. He made off to some games and then out of the fair.
He would get a refund from the assassins guild for their failure. They however would not take a second contract as that would be favoritism and they preferred to have a neutral stance. In fact it would come back to him with interest. He knew who he needed to contact next, but the price. It would be heavy. It would cost him all the gold, some night haunt pieces, and bodies. Warm bodies. He shivered as he entered his tower and went to get his radio again. What he didn't know is he had damned them all.
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Corden was amazed at what he saw in the caves. Books upon books of technical manuals. All hand scribed to be saved for the ages. Some pieces of technology had also been preserved. Then he made it to the store rooms. Through the centuries, the guild of guides had collected raw materials in case of humanities return. Gold, silver, copper, aluminum, etc, etc, lined the vaults. What took away his breath was the germanium. The very blood of K-F drive JumpShip technology. The planet was a literal oasis rife with it. The guides had collected it all in their payments of doing what they did best. Travel between the towns.
He met the guides who informed him of their history. The plan to kill him and the tyranny of the nobles. For the first time in a long time, Corden's blood boiled with fanaticism and zealotry. His path was clear and he had been chosen. He quickly got up and approached the podium surprising the guides.
"There is a saying that Jerome Blake said. 'Those who fight to preserve technology and knowledge are the grandest crusaders of all.' You, the guild of guides are practically like the order that came before the Word of Blake, Comstar. They maintained the technology of man while the successor Lords of the Inner Sphere plotted against each other and dragged mankind towards ruin. Here the same thing repeats, but instead they plot with each other. They have trended for the last time and have declared war against mankind. For I am Phantom Adept Tau Corden of the Word of Blake, Manei Domini, and I will rid Turbline of the nobles and night haunts! I will return to the DropShip and what is there will bring cleansing. Aaron, you are welcome to come if you wish and a few others."
With that, Corden stepped down from the podium to speechless guides. He left the room to let them discuss what he was going to do. The conclusion was there was nothing they could do to stop him. If they did, the gate to the stars would be closed. Instead Aaron agreed to go along with four others. Some how they would try to temper Corden.
They left in the middle of the night without anyone noticing because Tim the guard let him out thru a trusted gate. It would take them three days to get to the mountains, then 1 day thru the pass, then another 2 to get the DropShip.
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