Dust to Dust: Man 06

Break

Morning found the motley trio still around their claimed table, now littered with empty plates of bar snacks and a large tub of water. Well, partially full of water, since most of its current capacity was filled with a hungover ranger's head as he attempted to wake himself up. Usually he'd just sleep off his grogginess and headache, but today was a bit different. The bar was empty, the staff and patrons had long since ran away in panic.

Today, the Steamer Hog had all its exits covered by troops. A line of archers in dirty brown robes were positioned at the front and back of the pub, their bows glistening with more than dew in the morning sun. A faint amber glow radiated off the worn wood bows, and the arrowheads glowed cherry red and caused the air around them to warp due to their intense heat.

In front of the fire archers was a staggered line of shocks troops, smelter golems. Each mechanical soldier was comprised of simple cylinders attached by ball joints. The simplistic design ended up resembling a mannequin, only mannequins tended not to have a grate in their chest belching black smoke. Typical mannequins also didn't have two pronged claws on the end of each appendage.

What frightened the trio of bar-goers the most, however, was the man that stood behind them all. He emitted no heat or killing intent; instead he emitted confidence.

The confidence of a hero.

He was not someone the trio could overcome. If the sword made of light on the man's back wasn't enough of an indication, the pure white horse and gleaming bluish armor were surely clues to his strength.

“Shit.” Bemoaned the now fully awakened ranger. “That's Grance and his men. Good men, well trained. A tried and true group of men that have done this camp a world of good... SHIT!”

They're here for me. They have to be. I'm the new factor to this situation. The damn blacksmith must have caught on to my act. Or maybe the waitress saw me belch fire. Or maybe... hmph. Whatever the case, I need to figure out if these two are on my si-

“GET YOUR ASS MOVING PILE!” Travis was all business now, no longer the whiner he was mere seconds ago. “UNDER THE TABLE, NOW! UNLESS YOU WANT TO GET HIT BY A WELL AIMED FIRE ARROW, YOU BOLTBRAINED MORON!”

Boltbrained?!?! How does-

The golem must have let some of his shock show on his face, because the ranger caught it and gave an exasperated sigh. “How dumb can you be? You know my partner is a wolf. Maybe in your armor you could've tricked her, but once you took that armor off YOU STILL SMELLED LIKE METAL AND OIL! ARE YOU TRYING TO GET CAUGHT!”

Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit

“Travis, I can explain. I just wanted to trade for some-”

“Don't explain yourself to me, tin man. I really could care less. My companion is a damn wolf.”

The wolf in question shot the ranger an angry stare.

“My companion that I love and respect. There, happy? IS THIS THE TIME FOR THIS?”

The wolf snorted a laugh and curled up on the ground, showing exactly how seriously she took the situation. A few moments later soft snoring could be heard.

“That damn... anyways. I don't care, Pile. I really just don't care. What I DO care about is how long I've tried to get this camp to trust me, and you've ruined that in ONE DAY. I'm now the guy that brought a possible threat right into the heart of the camp, and all they needed was a real reason to hate me. So here's what's going to happen. We're going to leave, and you're going to give me SOMETHING to make up for what you've put me through. Deal?” The furiously trembling young man extended his hand, waiting to be acknowledged.

Something? I don't have much to give, maybe some oil? Or-

“JESUS SHAKE MY HAND ALREADY! WE HAVE TO LEAVE BEFORE THEY BREACH!”

Pile shook his hand.

As if she knew that they had reached an accord and the nonsense was over, the wolf stood to her full height, exuding a pressure on her surroundings as her fur bristled seemed to darken even farther. A low growl reverberated through the bar and out onto the street, silencing any idle chatter coming from the onlookers and troops outside.

“You're looking awfully butch today, big girl.” Travis joked while nervously testing his bowstring. I was so close. This was going to be my family. My new family. If I just kept working, they'd understand eventually. They'd accept me eventually... Quiet twangs of the bowstring permeated the stillness of the bar after the growl's complete hush.

Pile stood off to the side of the duo.

They seem used to this. But even I can sense their regret. For all her bravado, that wolf is as lonely as the young man. Lost souls, all of us. Souls. Why do I always get so intellectual when battle nears? Maybe when I heat my core up more to prepare, it quickens my mind? How much does it affect? At what temperature do I become human-like? At what exact degree do I surpass humanity? If I could-

The fire archers outside loosed their empowered arrows, and the sun danced across gleaming metal as the smelter golems started their lurching approach. Pronged feet dug into the dirt as the golems inserted their claws into their central furnaces, heating them for the combat to come. As fire spread from the arrows to catch onto the old wood of the Steamer Hog, all parties involved braced themselves for battle and bloodshed.

---------------------------------

BUM BUM BUUUUUUUUUM

But seriously, this chapter was a bit shorter. I want to the combat to be long and satisfying (insert sex joke here) and I simply didn't have time or space to fit a full chapter's worth of combat into today's release. PREPARE YOUR BODIES.

Did some minor PR on my own work, caught a mixup with Pile's armor connections. (Only counted 2 in Tin Man when there were actually three, fixed it and added an Edit note.)

It's -weird- reading your own writing half a year later. I found myself enjoying the story since I forgot writing it. If only I could hire future me to be my PR guy, heh.

EDIT: 10 small fixes.