Preparing For War
Kyle had us moved into the castle and into the more fortified upper rooms after Sam passed out in my arms. My fury was still as potent as the beggining. I was enraged to the point that it was pointless. I left Sam on her bed and rushed down to the royal smithy. The metal on the tables vibrated as I drew close only to stop still as death when I reached an empty bench. I was going to build something. Something only I could ever use. Not a gun, or staff, or bow. I wanted a weapon that suited me so perfectly that noone would have any idea how to wield it. I began sketching and refining my fury into my designs. Eventually I came to the end of the refining and the smithing began. Mithril, iron, and other ingots slid across the floor to me and floated up to the bench. I breathed flames hot enough to make them malleable and started working them with my claws like a kid with play dough. Soon the metals merged into a strange gray grey metal which I then formed into a pipe with a blocked end. I had a dwarf grab
me the highest grade monster cores he could find in the fire and wind elements. He ended up bringing me two stones the size of golf balls. One was a Molten lava color while the other was a clear stone that emitted a breeze just by being close to it. I quickly got to work. I set the fire and air cores next to each other inside the end of the rod that was blocked. Soon I began inscribing markings on the rod.
From stem to stern it was marked. I used a claw and drew a scratch on my hand to draw blood. I collected as much blood as I could in a bowl before the wound closed. I had to do it several times due to my healing abilities. I took a brush and dipped it in the blood. I brushed the engraved markings with he blood till they glowed and melted into the metal. The once grey metal now took on a red and gold hue. It began to shine and form itself the way it wanted to. My blood was a pure mix of every powerful monster I had come across. So naturally . The engravings were to imbue that into the metal. The rod emitted an aura unlike any other item in the smithy. It smoked and a screech of a monster echoed through the chamber. Soon the glowing rod settled down and what laid on the bench was a master piece like none before it.
It looked like a roaring dragons head on the open end with a tail forming a blade on the other. The pipe was no longer a pipe. But a 12 foot long glaive rifle. It had a rifle butt that could sit on the shoulder right behind the blade so the blade would curve over the shoulder and hold it in place. It was beautiful. The blade curved in an Egyptian fashion while the rest of it screamed modern art mixed with new technology. It was too large for anyone to wield. And noone else would ever know how it worked. I went down to the target range for the archers who were practicing for the battle they were told was coming.
When they saw me, a few of them backed up and made way. Especially after seeing the new weapon. I stood at a spot a long ways back from the rest and laid down. I put the butt to my shoulder after putting a cylinder of metal with a point on the end in the barrel. Essentially it was a homemade bullet. I pulled it close and aimed. My farsight saw exactly where I wanted to hit. I activated the magic stones and forced my magnetism through the rifle. The bullet began spinning at a superiorly fast speed. It actually screeched in a winding up fashion. Gradually growing louder and louder till the sound of an explosion rocked the air. I was slid backward on the ground by the force of the kick. My ears were ringing as were the dwarves around me. One was laughing his head off at another who's hair was standing up like an afro from the explosive force of the bullet leaving the gun.
I sat up and looked for the target only to find it still standing but the wall had a massive hole in it. The hole was the size of a mammoth and I was lucky it was an outer wall that was being demolished. The workers thanked me later. I ended up making a few adjustments to it over the next month. We recieved no new news but were still on high alert. I trained daily till I raised my abilities to the point I could produce sound from air, control blood through water, ice from the combination of air and water. I focused till my brain hurt and then some. I soon was fit enough I bet I could have ran over goliath like he was an ant. My preparations weren't in vain either. It wasn't long till we saw smoke in thick plumes on the horizon. I shook off any fear and anxiety and focused. I wanted to annihilate the enemy. Not one for would be left standing after I was finished. I went back to the smithy andkept working. I was setting needles a metal chestplate. The just sat in little pockets like quills in an ink pot. I worked it till I could have it sitting comfortably on my chest without any problems with my movement. I looked like I had a porcupine strapped to my chest. I even made a helmet over the past month. It was essentially a strap of metal that sat between my horns and covered the side of my head around my ears. From the helmet I had made a small curtain of chainmail going down my neck and around my shoulders. Some may understand this to be purely for defense. That's not what it was for. I wanted ammo for my abilities on me at all times. I was already a walking disaster. Now I would show them a walking Nightmare made from their deepest fears.
It was only a few days later that we saw something on the horizon. A glint of metal or something shiny. It might seem insignificant but that means a lot in this landscape. It means something covered in metal is moving about. Dwarves especially know this due to their love of metals and crystals. Shiny essentially was their forte. I drew my pipe from my back and raised it to be level with my eye. Due to dwarven custom I had to name the first weapon I ever made for myself. I had named it Dragons Cry due to the fact it bore a dragons head and the loud noise it made when I shot it. Soon I focused on the end of the barrel and found what I was looking for. A soldier dressed in brass armor with the emblem of a serpent on his chest. He had a bow on his back and a telescope for scouting.
"Looks like the king is hashing out an assault plan." I said to Hargo who could see the souldier clearly through his own means of augmented vision. "Indeed lad. But they underestimate we dwarves. We aren't foolish like elves or prideful like the dragons. But we do fight like the dragon and are as sharp as the ears of the elf." He said with a slightly proud puff of his chest. I grinned a little but due to the anger that had yet to cool I didn't laugh. My eyes were locked on the man who was was close enough to see but not close enough to hit accurately.
"We should tell your brother that we are going to be having... company." Hargo nodded his agreement and went away to the castle. I stood on the wall at the top of the city continuing my watch. Everything was starting to come together. Why the king had approached Sam in such a forceful manner. Why we were forced to run. Why he was hunting her. ( What makes Sam so important that he's willing to go to war for her?) I thought. ( What happens if I kill him before he has the chance to answer my questions? Eh..... I guess I could just bring back his soul and force out the answers I want then... Sounds good to me.) My face remained in an emotionless state the rest of the time I stood there.
When Night came a guard tapped me on the hip. I turned slightly and nodded before stepping away from the wall and started my way back to the castle. I ended up in the great hall where they hung the tapestries. each tapestry told the story of a previous kings greatest achievement. Some made golems. Others governed with great wisdom. Some turned dark on the other hand. Even Kyle's was up there. Though it was blank. It was waiting till he died before it could be worked on. I turned from the great hall and down to the kitchens. The head cook apparently knew I was coming and sent me up with a bowl of stew of some kind. I returned to my quarters and opened a book to study. One of my many activities in the castle. I had enough books in the room to make a library look under stocked. Books about architecture, smithing, engraving, spells, history. I even read ones that taught writing in different languages. Kyle offered to get a tutor for me after all this is over.
I sighed at the current book I was reading. It was written in elvish and was based on the study of creatures. Behemoths the author called them. Very rare creatures but they hold a special trait among their kind. The ability to shrink and grow at will. Sounds like a nifty ability but I already have that. The other thing was that the reason these beings were rare is because they could only survive in the dark. And they needed to feed on something intangible. Emotions and energy. But not just anything would do. They needed fear, sorrow, hate, etc. Every emotion that was based toward the negative was like a buffet for them. They ate, concentrated, then produced said emotions. Very much like an evolving amoeba changes to its environment based on it's food.
As I read I began to think about things as they were. (The Carnac family was well known for their abilities with raising familiars... But if that's what the king wanted then why didnt he just have someone be tutored under their guidance? Why go through all the trouble?) Thinking about it made my head hurt more. I put a book mark in the book and closed it for the night. After that I laid on the bed and finally managed to get some shut eye.
I heard the crow of a Rock Father as they called it. Very similar to a rooster. The only exception is the thing is 10 feet tall and weighs a good 400 to 500 pounds. So it's crow is more like a roar or a siren. I was jolted awake by the call but managed to stifle my need to draw a weapon right off the hop. I slowly moved out of bed and stood, stretched and got dressed in my armor so I could meet everyone for breakfast. It would seem like any normal meeting till another messenger showed up. This time it was a young human male bearing the emblem I saw yesterday. My eyes were glued to him like a snake to a rat. He bowed deeply and it was obvious he was nervous.
" Y-your m-majesty. I am Sir Daedric Calahan of the Weremar Royal scouting and delivery service." Kyle had put down his knife fork.
"Obviously I know what you are boy. My question is why are you here." He said as he looked at a scroll containing the morning reports without so much as glancing at the kid. "S-sir. I w-was sent to deliver a letter to you sir. He bowed even deeper as he produced a scroll from a bag at his side. Kyle looked at me and gestured. I got up and moved forward. The kid started shaking even more as I approached. "I'll be taking it on his majesties behalf." I said. The kid quickly handed me the parchment and was dismissed.
Kyle and I looked at each other as I unfurled the letter. I quickly read it and let out a heavy sigh. The king's eyebrows rose slightly knowing my sighs were never a good sign. I handed him the parchment and he read it. He started getting more and more red as he saw the words on the page. He tore the paper to pieces when he was finished in fury.
"He dares to threaten me in my own kingdom! What balls?! Hah! More balls than brains this idiot has! My dear friend... How do you feel about target practice!?" A smile came to my face that could have made a behemoth nervous.