Chronicles of Metal: Chapter 16 – Looking Ahead

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After the lady of the city made her grand announcement, Aoi waited for Aeirfin to return to her. He however, couldn't seem to get a moment to himself. Once Lady Astra, the merchant, and the maid departed, people where practically tripping over themselves to get to the elf. Professing their thanks, asking how he knew, why the other guards had some such a heinous thing. She didn't know if anyone else had caught it, but here and there she'd see him shake his head, try to make a correction, even outright tell people that it wasn't true. Nobody was interested though. To them, the elf they'd scorned and dismissed for the better part of a decade was now the hero of the city.

After a while, it became obvious they wouldn't get the chance to talk. He'd glance at her occasionally, sometimes looking apologetic, sometimes looking like he needed help, but the crowd followed him wherever he went. Eventually Aoi gave a small nod when he looked at him, and decided to wait for him at the restaurant. There was a good amount of cleaning up to do, and she didn't want to leave any of it for Hazel or Aki. The two of them had been through enough, and deserved a good long rest.

Returning home was bittersweet. She asked her sister what had happened before the guards took her, and got some vague answer. But seeing it herself now was... Hard to take. A lot of their dinning tables had been knocked over, and a good number of the chairs had been broken. The kitchen was a complete mess as well, tools scattered about, a pot that had been left over the stove was scorched black, and whatever was inside was now unrecognizable. And there was a large pile of sand on the floor, concealing a deep scorch mark from when the guards had tried to burn the place down. Hearing that detail especially pissed her off, but was immediately overwritten with pride in Hazel's quick actions. She hadn't said it at the time, but that girl probably saved the three of them from being homeless tonight.

These where the thoughts that persisted in her mind as she went about her work, resetting tables, reassembling chairs. Trying to salvage what she could. Just as she was halfway done sweeping up the sand pile, she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. "Hazel?" She said, looking back to the kitchen. There was no response, but Aoi could see the shadow of something standing just out of sight. After the last twenty-four hours, she wasn't in the mood to entertain someone skulking around. Furrowing her brow, she gripped the broom like a bat and slowly begin to approach. "Listen you, if you aren't my sister or our little helper, you're in for a world of hurt."

Slowly, she crept around the dining room, trying to get a better angle. She didn't know what to be prepared for, so she was caught completely off guard when a small, white creature stepped around the corner and beckoned to her. Aoi recognized it instantly. How could she ever forget? It was the thing that saved her and Hazel at the cathedral. Vespa, it's name was. Or, her name was.

Sneaking back into the kitchen the tiny creature hopped up onto the counter and looked up at her with a smile. "Hello." She said, giving a small nod. "Are you well?"

Aoi didn't know how to respond. Part of her wanted to think what she saw at the church was some sort of fever dream. Some sort of hallucination she'd suffered for the fear of being killed by her pursuers. But here she was. Her savior, standing before her in her own home. "Y-yeah. I'm... Well." She spoke, and in that moment realized she was still brandishing the broom like a weapon. "O-oh... Sorry. I didn't know-."

"It's alright." Vespa raised her tiny hand to stop her. "You're on edge. It's perfectly understandable."

Feeling herself take a breath for the first time since she noticed she wasn't alone, Aoi felt herself deflate. All the fatigue finally caught up with her. She slumped against the wall and slid down to sit on the floor. "Are you..." She began, trying to make conversation. "Looking for something to eat?" She said with half a chuckle. "Sorry, but my Sis is the real cook. I couldn't-."

"No no, that isn't why I'm here." Vespa interrupted her again. "Master simply wanted to survey the city before going home, and I decided to check up on you."

Aoi thought back, remembering the large cloaked figure she'd met as well. "Right... The beard guy." Vespa nodded, despite Aoi's complete lack of formality. "I suppose I should thank you for rescuing my sister too."

"That was not me." Vespa spoke again, jumping up on the counter and sitting down with her legs dangling over the side. "Lady Isabella was the one who tracked down the Viscount's convoy. But I'll pass your gratitude onto her the next time I get a chance."

Now there where more people living at that cathedral. Apparently just as capable as Vespa. "Well... Thanks for saving Hazel and me. We'd probably be dead if it weren't for you." She said with a sad smile.

Vespa nodded her head, but her expression changed slightly at that last part. "I wouldn't doubt yourself so much." Aoi tilted her head slightly, not sure what that meant. "We watched you approach our home. I saw you strike back at that guard myself."

Aoi bit her lips, feeling her ears begin to burn with embracement. "Y-yeah... Pretty pathetic, right? I couldn't even stop one of them..."

Despite her words, Vespa shook her head again. "You where wounded. And that knife was far from an adequate weapon. But despite that, you recognized what you had to do to protect yourself and the little one." She stood up and held a fist over her chest. "Strength and skill aside, you have a warrior's heart, Aoi."

Something about hearing that made Aoi feel better. She didn't know why; she'd never picked up a weapon in her life, and she didn't think her little display was worthy of any praise. All the same, she found a small smile growing on her face. "If you say so."

Vespa smiled in turn, but suddenly jerked her head and took on a more serious expression. "Someone is here." She muttered, clasping a hand around the tiny spear hanging across her back.

Aoi jumped up as well, glairing through the little window looking out on the dining room. She found a familiar face looking back at her though, and she dashed out of the kitchen to see him. "Fin!" She called with breathless enthusiasm.

Based on the expression he made, Aoi could tell her entrance has been a little unusual. "H-hey, Aoi..." He said, giving a small wave. "Who're you talking to?"

Aoi felt her breath catch in her throat. How was she ever going to explain Vespa to him? Should she just introduce her like normal, and enjoy his reaction? He wasn't the type to freak out easily, but after everything that had happened, she didn't know for sure. Of course, the second she looked back into the kitchen, she found it empty. Vespa was nowhere in sight. "Just..." She muttered, at a bit of a loss. "Mumbling to myself." She knew that was a bad excuse, but was too tired to think of a better one. "How have you been?"

Fin took a step forward, scratching the back of his head. "Same as everyone else right about now, I guess." He gave a small chuckle, but it quickly died away the moment he realized neither of them where in the mood for humor. "I uh, thought I'd come by and make sure you're ok."

Almost instantly, Aoi's mouth curled into a smile. This was it; this was what today needed. Seeing Fin become coy around her made her stomach jump for some reason. "Yeah, we're fine. Hazel and my sis are upstairs resting." Gesturing to the mess around them, Aoi picked up the broom again and waived it in a mock sweeping motion. "I thought I'd be a good little helper and get the place back in shape before we open tomorrow."

"That's... Good." The elf nodded slightly, intentionally trying not to look her in the eye. "But I meant... You. How are you doing?"

Aoi's heart fluttered at those words. She wanted to tease him, make some sarcastic remark that'd get him all worked up. But that urge quickly faded away. "I'm... A little shaken up..." She admitted, lowing her head and holding her elbow with one hand. "I almost lost my sister, and Hazel. And you..." She looked up to find him surprised. "I heard what happened. The other guards tried to kill you."

A dark shadow fell over Aeirfin's eyes. "Yeah... They almost succeeded too." Slowly, he reached for his sword and drew it from the hilt. To Aoi's surprise however, the blade was mostly gone. Only a few inches of splintered metal remained, the bright blue glow had dimmed significantly. "So much for Fin and his magic sword, huh?"

That was... A hard thing to see. Aeirfin was especially proud of his family heirloom, and seeing it broken like this was just one more bad thing they're remember today for. But, at the same time, Aoi was just glad to have him back. So glad that she leaned the broom on a nearby table and stepped closer. "It's just a sword..." She muttered, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"Y-yeah..." Aeirfin mumbled, lowing his broken weapon and wrapping his free arm around her. "I'm glad you're okay too..."

She could feel Aeirfin's heart thumping in his chest. Hear his breaths get shorter as she drew closer to him. But she didn't care. Her whole world where the three people in this building, and they'd all made it through the night. She didn't think she could ask for much else. "Hey... I heard the guardhouse burned down too..." She muttered, a thought forming in her head. "You wanna... Stay here for a while?"

Aeirfin leaned away from her, giving a look of disbelief. "W-what?"

"Yeah, c'mon." Taking him by the hand, Aoi began leading him towards the back. "We have a spare room, and Aki won't mind. Stay here as long as you like." Aeirfin looked too tired to argue. After the day everyone had just had, she couldn't blame him. It was an odd, selfish request, but she didn't care. Aeirfin had cared enough to come and check up on them, and if Lady Astra's speech held true, they'd need to rely on him more and more in the coming days. But for now, having all the people she cared about under one roof made her feel like everything was going to be ok.

Returning to the guild, Beard had a thousand things on his mind. New information, new tasks, new plans to consider. Sure, he'd made out better than he could have hoped, but it'd also come at the cost of making a lot more work for them.

"Master!" Beard let out a sigh. Speaking of more work, the ever energetic Tao came running up to him as he and Isabella reappeared in the entrance hall. "So what happened?" She asked, her tail waging excitedly.

"Well... We saved the town." Beard said with a shrug. "And got ourselves a little alliance with the chick running the place to boot. Not bad for one night's work, everything considered."

"Yeah yeah, sure sure..." Tao waved him off. "But that woman and the girl... Are they ok too?"

Beard felt himself deflate. It was a little disheartening to learn Tao was largely motivated by her stomach, but someone else spoke up before he got the chance. "Yes, Tao. They are safe and sound." They both glanced to the east entrance, where Vespa arrived sitting on Solomon's shoulder. "I saw to it myself."

"Thank you, both of you. Excellent work out there." Beard nodded to the pair. Vespa bowed her head, and Solomon gave a quick nod in return. "Where's Synth? I've got a few projects for him."

"Right here, master. Apologies for my late arrival." On que, Synth ascended the steps to the entrance hall. He clutched a handful of papers in one hand, and his staff in the other. "I just finished the translations you wished for. I hope they are sufficient."

Beard took the papers, with Tao and Isabella looking over his shoulder. He honestly couldn't have asked for anything better. Words, Letters, small phrases, everything broken down meticulously and easily readable. He didn't want to say he was surprised by the level of detail the automaton had gone into, but was still shocking.

"This is awesome." Beard gasped, tucking the papers under his arm. "Great work."

"Your praise is unwarranted, master." Synth gave a deep bow, placing his free hand over the center of his chest. "I am simply fulfilling the task you set out for me."

Yeah... Talking to this guy was still difficult. "Well, I hope you don't mind a new project then." Synth raised his head, and he took that as affirmation. "The woman running the town declared her independence from the country. Apparently, this was the last straw for her or something. She want's some sort of edge if anyone decides to roll up on them with an army."

"Say the word, Master!" Vespa leapt from Solomon's shoulder, landing on one knee with her head bowed again. "I can have a platoon of the Golden Jungle's warriors stationed around the city by nightfall."

Beard tried not to laugh at her earnestness. True, it was an easy solution, and from what he'd seen, just a handful of her insect army would be enough to repel a majority of what the people of this world where capable of. At the same time though, Astra had been keen on having the citizens defend themselves. An army of bug warriors wouldn't exactly meet that requirement.

"Thanks for the offer, but I don't think that'll do it." Beard shook his head, and Vespa raised hers. "She was pretty clear on the town relying mostly on itself, so I was thinking some sort of weapon or something we could make for 'em." Vespa nodded and rose to her feet, while Beard turned to Synth once more. "What do ya think? Any ideas?"

The tall android tapped his fingers against his faceplate, letting out a low hum. "I’' sorry Master, battle tactics are not my forte... Such a weapon escapes me." Beard nodded, trying to hide his disappointment. He couldn't blame him, those where some fairly vague parameters, after all. "However... Ease of use... Means of mass-production... Compact enough to carry... Something simple but effective would be best, I believe."

"Master?" Vespa spoke up once more. "The simplest way to overcome overwhelming numbers is ranged combat. Thin out the enemy ranks before using hit and run tactics to mop up any that remain."

That too was an obvious answer, but he was hoping for something more effective than archery. He needed something with more range, better stopping power. Something that could stop a charge dead in its tracks. Something with more firepower.

That thought instantly set off a lightbulb in his head. "Tao, where's Hexis?"

"Huh?" She asked, obviously having spaced out in the last few seconds. "I dunno. On lookout, I guess."

"Go get him. Tell him you'll take over lookout for a while." Beard said excitedly. Tao gave him a confused look, but refreshingly, she rushed off for the stairs to the lookout without complaint. "Synth, how difficult would that be to produce a modified version of an item we already have?"

"Oh... That could depend on a number of its things." The android responded. "Materials, purpose, rigidity... A few trial-and-error prototypes may be needed along the way, but I believe it should only be a day or two's worth of work."

"Good, very good..." Beard hummed, failing to contain his grin. Of course, how had he not thought of this right away? It hit every requirement Astra had set out, and covered every suggestion both NCP's had just brought up. Not to mention he was ready to bet his life that nobody in this world had anything like it before.

Clacking boots drew him from his thoughts, and he looked up to see Hexis approaching from the stairs. "The dragon said you wanted to see me, boss?"

Instantly, Beard's eyes fell to the four objects hanging from his belt. Staring him right in the face, he was almost ashamed to admit he hadn't thought of it earlier. "Yes... What are you planning...?" Isabella finally spoke up for the first time since they'd returned. "Master?"

"We..." Beard said, barely able to contain his excitement. This had to be the coolest thing that'd happened since being transported here. "Are going to be making some guns."

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