Regeneration with Blood Orange and Marshmallow
Author: Jon
Rating: PG
Challenge: Blood Orange # 16 - Unmarked Grave, Marshmallow # 28 - A Compliment
Toppings: None
Extras: None
Word Count: 1587
Story: Separate Paths
Notes: Ah, it's good to start things up again. Really scratches the itch. Lethia's fate is revealed and things start getting back to normal after the drama of the last chapter. And soon...soon, there shall be more characters. More!
Emala shook her head, clearing the fog of warping from her head and looked behind. The Steam Wagon was flowing from the rift, on car at a time, the bright white flash running along the metal carriages one after the other. Unfortunately, the Steam Wagon wasn't the only thing moving through. One of the riders hadn't been put off during the chase. Emala stared at him for a moment, then at the Warpgate. She had to shut it down before any more of his allies made it through. If they got swamped here...
With a leap Emala dived towards the nearest of the standing stones that made up the Warpgate. While you had to enter the co-ordinates on all five to start the Warpgate you could it shut it down by changing only one. The connections would break if she twisted even one. Unfortunately the rider obvious knew that as well. He spurred the horse into faster, those metal shod hooves kicking up chunks of mud and grass and is galloped towards her. If he was caught beneath those hooves before she shut the Gate down...
It was a battle of determination. She was closer but the horse had come through already running. It became quickly obvious that she would be caught and crushed beneath those ironshod hooves. If she kept running -
The horse was war trained, and knew what it's rider demanded. They had done this plenty of times to plenty of people. The woman tried to run faster but the horse followed and ran her down, one hoof catching the back of her leg, then another driving into her spine and a final hoof into her head, shattering her skull.
But if she stopped, then -
The horse pulled between her and the standing stone. With a sneer the horseman reigned in between her and the stone, blocking her. After a few moments a shot rang out, the Golem blowing the rider out of the saddle, but it was too late. Jerash's forces were coming through the Warpgate in a flow. Too many to stop now. Horse bows and handgun riddle the Golem as he turned to fire, a shot finally finding a gap in his armour and dropping him to the floor. And then they turned towards her...
Emala shook her head to clear the images. They had been so...clear. Somehow she knew that was exactly what would happen. She had to take a third choice. Looking around desperately, she changed angle to head towards a different standing stone, changing the angle at which the horse would approach. Now it was heading for her side. Keeping her eye firmly on the horse and it's rider she waited...and stopped suddenly. Unable to turn the horse pounded past, the rider desperately trying to reign the animal to turn it around, but the one advantage a human had over a horse was that they could turn fast and get moving faster. Emala reached the stone, slammed her hand into groove and span it hard. With a groan the light winked out, cutting off the scene from the other side just before the first of the soldiers came through. The smell of wet grass faded.
And behind her the horseman came, determined to stop her from doing anything else. He had a short lance in his hands and Emala knew there was no way she could dodge. But she didn't need to. The Golem fired from the roof and blew the man from his saddle, a hole appearing in his breastplate the size of Emala's fist. The horse screamed at the smell of blood and the sudden loss of it's rider and reared up, stopping and dancing fearfully in a circle, looking or it's rider.
Emala jogged back towards the slowly crawling Steam Wagon. She hadn't shut it down when she leaped out the cab. As she approached she could feel the heat pouring from nearly dry boiler. With a curse she climbed aboard and shut it down. With the breaks on the machine ground to a hault quickly. Emala sighed, taking in a deep breath, petting Abomination for it's actions during the fight. Surely now Jerash would be too far behind to follow them, even if he had any idea about which Warpgate they had gone to. He certainly wouldn't be able to easily work out which direction they were going to head in now, once the Wagon had water again.
Turning, Emala looked around for the Golem. He had gone from the position he had taken on the roof, arrows in his legs or not. Moving towards his door, Emala paused. He said he would help Lethia, and obviously that was exactly what he was doing. He had also told her to leave him be as he did it, that she wouldn't like what she saw. But he had left her the choice. It occured to her that the Golem almost never gave an order, almost never told anyone what to do. He suggested. He offered a choice. He let people decide. Well, she made a choice now. She opened the door.
The Golem's cabin was the only one she hadn't been in, hadn't seen inside. It was...weapons. A hundred weapons, wired to the walls, hung from the ceiling, sitting in racks. In the gaps between those weapons were icons, scrolls, incense burners and candles. There vast iron storage chests and a bed, folded against the end wall. But in the centre, pressed against the right hand wall...was a mechanical throne. She didn't know how else to describe it. A huge chair made of machinery, and Lethia sat on it, breathing slowly. She had been stripped the waist and devices from the throne covered that hideous wound. There were others, on her arms and her neck.
Next to the chair was the Golem. The arrows that had been in his legs had been torn out and tossed aside. The gauntlet and armour on one arm, the one still flesh and blood, had been piled more neatly next to him and he had connected himself to the throne as well. Something...pulsed...from the Golem and into the chair. Each time it did the Golem...shuddered. Emala didn't know what the chair was, exactly. It was huge, so she suspected it had something to do with the Golem, maybe some kind of repair bay. It was obvious that the Golem had somehow turned the device into a machine to heal Lethia. But why exactly was the Golem hooked up as well? It was obviously not to heal himself at the same time. Why wouldn't she like what he was doing..?
Somehow, the Golem was expending himself to heal Lethia. Maybe the chair allowed Lethia to use the Golem's own healing spells, or maybe he was just acting as a power source. Either way, it would cost him. But she didn't mind that. So long as Lethia lived and the Golem was willing to pay the price...but maybe he shouldn't be. Emala reached down and, after a moment, managed to check the pulse in his arm. It was strong, it seemed. Maybe it wasn't what he was doing to himself, but what was being done to Lethia...
"So, you decided to come in." The Golem stirred slowly, rubbing his free hand across his shoulder before unplugging himself from the machine. Slowly he rose to his feet and looked at her. "What bring you to my humble abode?"
Emala nodded to Lethia. "I wanted to make sure she was OK. What's the chair? And what did you do to her?"
The Golem chuckled. "Do to her? In short, I made her a little bit better. I transferred some of my own healing ability to her. It'll weaken me for a while before it comes back up to strength again, but she'll have something akin to my ability to regenerate." He nodded to the device where Lethia sat, recuperating. "As to that thing...that's the machine they used to build Golems. I ripped it out of a base and use it for maintenance and repairs and such. And to...upgrade Lethia here."
Emala laid a hand on Lethia's forehead. ""You mean...this thing could make Lethia into a Golem?"
The Golem laughed. "No, sadly. I don't have the parts. This is a simple transfer. The spells and resources to allow her to use those spells. Several implants and the like, although those are spare parts, not from my body. My body will, eventually, re-weave them again...although I'm having some trouble with that ability, so it'll take time. But I knew you wouldn't like me using Golem technology, even for this."
Emala paused, and then shook her head. "No. I'd rather she lived even with Golem technology than die. I guess you don't know me as well as you thought."
"Or rather," The Golem replied, "I under estimated how fond you have become of dear Lethia. I am impressed though. You're adapting faster than I expected."
Emala replied with a shake of her head. "I just don't want to see her in some unmarked grave. So...what next?"
The Golem looked up for a moment. "Lethia still could do with a healer. She's not in danger any more but...well, no point taking risks. We'll find some water and get this machine moving again. Find a healer and then, I think, it'll be time to recruit some reinforcements...I'm getting fed up with Jerash and his minions out gunning me. I intend to even the odds while we look for Decado, or we'll never get there."
Rating: PG
Challenge: Blood Orange # 16 - Unmarked Grave, Marshmallow # 28 - A Compliment
Toppings: None
Extras: None
Word Count: 1587
Story: Separate Paths
Notes: Ah, it's good to start things up again. Really scratches the itch. Lethia's fate is revealed and things start getting back to normal after the drama of the last chapter. And soon...soon, there shall be more characters. More!
Emala shook her head, clearing the fog of warping from her head and looked behind. The Steam Wagon was flowing from the rift, on car at a time, the bright white flash running along the metal carriages one after the other. Unfortunately, the Steam Wagon wasn't the only thing moving through. One of the riders hadn't been put off during the chase. Emala stared at him for a moment, then at the Warpgate. She had to shut it down before any more of his allies made it through. If they got swamped here...
With a leap Emala dived towards the nearest of the standing stones that made up the Warpgate. While you had to enter the co-ordinates on all five to start the Warpgate you could it shut it down by changing only one. The connections would break if she twisted even one. Unfortunately the rider obvious knew that as well. He spurred the horse into faster, those metal shod hooves kicking up chunks of mud and grass and is galloped towards her. If he was caught beneath those hooves before she shut the Gate down...
It was a battle of determination. She was closer but the horse had come through already running. It became quickly obvious that she would be caught and crushed beneath those ironshod hooves. If she kept running -
The horse was war trained, and knew what it's rider demanded. They had done this plenty of times to plenty of people. The woman tried to run faster but the horse followed and ran her down, one hoof catching the back of her leg, then another driving into her spine and a final hoof into her head, shattering her skull.
But if she stopped, then -
The horse pulled between her and the standing stone. With a sneer the horseman reigned in between her and the stone, blocking her. After a few moments a shot rang out, the Golem blowing the rider out of the saddle, but it was too late. Jerash's forces were coming through the Warpgate in a flow. Too many to stop now. Horse bows and handgun riddle the Golem as he turned to fire, a shot finally finding a gap in his armour and dropping him to the floor. And then they turned towards her...
Emala shook her head to clear the images. They had been so...clear. Somehow she knew that was exactly what would happen. She had to take a third choice. Looking around desperately, she changed angle to head towards a different standing stone, changing the angle at which the horse would approach. Now it was heading for her side. Keeping her eye firmly on the horse and it's rider she waited...and stopped suddenly. Unable to turn the horse pounded past, the rider desperately trying to reign the animal to turn it around, but the one advantage a human had over a horse was that they could turn fast and get moving faster. Emala reached the stone, slammed her hand into groove and span it hard. With a groan the light winked out, cutting off the scene from the other side just before the first of the soldiers came through. The smell of wet grass faded.
And behind her the horseman came, determined to stop her from doing anything else. He had a short lance in his hands and Emala knew there was no way she could dodge. But she didn't need to. The Golem fired from the roof and blew the man from his saddle, a hole appearing in his breastplate the size of Emala's fist. The horse screamed at the smell of blood and the sudden loss of it's rider and reared up, stopping and dancing fearfully in a circle, looking or it's rider.
Emala jogged back towards the slowly crawling Steam Wagon. She hadn't shut it down when she leaped out the cab. As she approached she could feel the heat pouring from nearly dry boiler. With a curse she climbed aboard and shut it down. With the breaks on the machine ground to a hault quickly. Emala sighed, taking in a deep breath, petting Abomination for it's actions during the fight. Surely now Jerash would be too far behind to follow them, even if he had any idea about which Warpgate they had gone to. He certainly wouldn't be able to easily work out which direction they were going to head in now, once the Wagon had water again.
Turning, Emala looked around for the Golem. He had gone from the position he had taken on the roof, arrows in his legs or not. Moving towards his door, Emala paused. He said he would help Lethia, and obviously that was exactly what he was doing. He had also told her to leave him be as he did it, that she wouldn't like what she saw. But he had left her the choice. It occured to her that the Golem almost never gave an order, almost never told anyone what to do. He suggested. He offered a choice. He let people decide. Well, she made a choice now. She opened the door.
The Golem's cabin was the only one she hadn't been in, hadn't seen inside. It was...weapons. A hundred weapons, wired to the walls, hung from the ceiling, sitting in racks. In the gaps between those weapons were icons, scrolls, incense burners and candles. There vast iron storage chests and a bed, folded against the end wall. But in the centre, pressed against the right hand wall...was a mechanical throne. She didn't know how else to describe it. A huge chair made of machinery, and Lethia sat on it, breathing slowly. She had been stripped the waist and devices from the throne covered that hideous wound. There were others, on her arms and her neck.
Next to the chair was the Golem. The arrows that had been in his legs had been torn out and tossed aside. The gauntlet and armour on one arm, the one still flesh and blood, had been piled more neatly next to him and he had connected himself to the throne as well. Something...pulsed...from the Golem and into the chair. Each time it did the Golem...shuddered. Emala didn't know what the chair was, exactly. It was huge, so she suspected it had something to do with the Golem, maybe some kind of repair bay. It was obvious that the Golem had somehow turned the device into a machine to heal Lethia. But why exactly was the Golem hooked up as well? It was obviously not to heal himself at the same time. Why wouldn't she like what he was doing..?
Somehow, the Golem was expending himself to heal Lethia. Maybe the chair allowed Lethia to use the Golem's own healing spells, or maybe he was just acting as a power source. Either way, it would cost him. But she didn't mind that. So long as Lethia lived and the Golem was willing to pay the price...but maybe he shouldn't be. Emala reached down and, after a moment, managed to check the pulse in his arm. It was strong, it seemed. Maybe it wasn't what he was doing to himself, but what was being done to Lethia...
"So, you decided to come in." The Golem stirred slowly, rubbing his free hand across his shoulder before unplugging himself from the machine. Slowly he rose to his feet and looked at her. "What bring you to my humble abode?"
Emala nodded to Lethia. "I wanted to make sure she was OK. What's the chair? And what did you do to her?"
The Golem chuckled. "Do to her? In short, I made her a little bit better. I transferred some of my own healing ability to her. It'll weaken me for a while before it comes back up to strength again, but she'll have something akin to my ability to regenerate." He nodded to the device where Lethia sat, recuperating. "As to that thing...that's the machine they used to build Golems. I ripped it out of a base and use it for maintenance and repairs and such. And to...upgrade Lethia here."
Emala laid a hand on Lethia's forehead. ""You mean...this thing could make Lethia into a Golem?"
The Golem laughed. "No, sadly. I don't have the parts. This is a simple transfer. The spells and resources to allow her to use those spells. Several implants and the like, although those are spare parts, not from my body. My body will, eventually, re-weave them again...although I'm having some trouble with that ability, so it'll take time. But I knew you wouldn't like me using Golem technology, even for this."
Emala paused, and then shook her head. "No. I'd rather she lived even with Golem technology than die. I guess you don't know me as well as you thought."
"Or rather," The Golem replied, "I under estimated how fond you have become of dear Lethia. I am impressed though. You're adapting faster than I expected."
Emala replied with a shake of her head. "I just don't want to see her in some unmarked grave. So...what next?"
The Golem looked up for a moment. "Lethia still could do with a healer. She's not in danger any more but...well, no point taking risks. We'll find some water and get this machine moving again. Find a healer and then, I think, it'll be time to recruit some reinforcements...I'm getting fed up with Jerash and his minions out gunning me. I intend to even the odds while we look for Decado, or we'll never get there."