The Heart of a Machine

Alex found himself entranced by Henry's transformation. The old man he had come to know now stood before him as a figure of mystery and power. Excitement and anxiety mingled within Alex as he realized that he was about to embark on a journey that could change his life forever.

With a commanding yet gentle voice, the masked Henry spoke, "To obtain a mechoid's heart, we must venture into the heart of a Forest on a mountain named mount dominance. Deep within its ancient depths lies an abandoned mechoid sanctuary, where pieces of their civilization can still be found."

Curiosity and determination welled up inside Alex, overshadowing his fear. He knew that this task would not be easy, but the prospect of unlocking his true potential pushed him forward. "Lead the way," he said, his voice filled with newfound resolve and confidence.

The duo set off on their journey, making their way out of Dekkalo and heading west along the road in Henry's caravan. Henry, trying to make conversation, said, "This place we're going to was once a mechoid settlement, from what I could tell. When we arrive, you'll need to be incredibly careful and study every step closely. I go there every so often for research, and I'm still finding new traps."

Alex nodded and replied, "Thanks for the heads up." Alex paused, coming to the realization that he didn't understand why Henry was helping him. He asked Henry, "Why are you helping me?"

Henry, expecting a question like this, responded, "I'm not going to get the heart for you; you'll have to earn it. As for why I'm helping you this far, my goals aren't entirely noble. I'm a cog in a shadow organization that wants to control the world. We need members who are high quality and aren't bound by the system's limitations."

Alex needed a minute for that to sink in. He had never heard of something like that. After a minute of rather awkward silence, being the skeptic Alex is, his first question was, "If I'm your new recruit, what are the organization's goals, and what will you do if I don't decide to join?"

Henry chuckled a bit at that one and replied, "Our goals are to keep the world moving forward in the name of progress. We don't have the power or resources to end the system, and we would prefer the general public not to know the truth about it. We just want to guide the realm to a brighter future. With that being said, we're also not the friendliest organization out there. We will do what is necessary, even if it means getting our hands dirty."

Henry paused, then continued, answering the second question, "As for your second question, if you decide to leave after you get your mechoid heart, if you keep to yourself and mostly stay away from people, living a quiet life, either I or another member would collect the items we would have you make. But if you rebelled against that, then you would be forcing our hand. However, if you try to leave now after what I've told you, since you would only be a risk, I would kill you in a second."

Alex would be lying if he said Henry didn't scare him, but he had already made up his mind that he was not going to be powerless in this world. Alex then said, "I've already decided I'm going to become powerful no matter what, and your organization doesn't sound too terrible."

Henry looked back at Alex and said, "I knew you'd make the right choice." Their journey continued for several more hours, mostly in silence. Henry was reading while Alex was looking at the landscape.

When they finally arrived at their destination, Henry said, "We're here," and got off the wagon, tying the horse to a tree. Alex promptly walked to Henry and asked, "Where to now?"

"We need to walk through the forest just off the main road here, then climb up the mountain. There's an extremely old path I marked. It should take us there after some hiking," Henry explained.

A few hours later, they arrived at the base of the mountain. Henry snapped his fingers, and runes carved faintly into trees lit up the path they followed. Eventually, they made it to what looked like a few caves on the mountainside. Henry said to Alex, "Alright, we're here. Make yourself at home, and don't go into the center cave just yet. I'm going to go find a small animal and make some dinner. Tomorrow, you will get your heart." Henry went off to hunt, while Alex made a makeshift bed inside the rightmost cave and started a small fire using his ring and some sticks. He decided to leave the gear he was originally planning to sell in the cave and waited for Henry's return.

An hour or so later, Henry returned, holding a rabbit by its ears in his hand. He expertly dressed it and skewered parts of the rabbit on small sticks he had sharpened. Setting the rabbit hunks by the fire, Alex asked Henry, "Do you know what I should expect down there?"

Henry responded, "You'll find a lot of traps and the occasional mechanical spider or helper. The spiders are easy to deal with, and on your way out, I would like for you to bring me a few for my research. The helpers, as I like to call them, are roughly human height and are much faster and stronger than the spiders. They carry around battle axes, two-handed swords, and war hammers. I've never seen one with a shield or one-handed weapon. However, it isn't unheard of for them to use a basic form of magic. Aside from that, I'm pretty sure this particular settlement was a recycling plant where they melted down their fallen comrades to make more of themselves."

Alex nodded and said, "Alright, I'll have to be careful then." After that, they waited a little longer for their food to cook. After they ate, Alex said, "Aren't you going to make a bed or something?"

Henry responded, "No, you don't really need sleep when you're part machine. It takes some getting used to, but I only have to sleep 24 hours a month to be perfectly fine."

Alex said, "Alright, cool. I've always wanted more time during the day." And Alex went to bed.