"I put in a freaking ticket shortly after I woke up, Sparks." The floating diamond beeped at her, first in green, then shifting to what felt like an angry red. After she had awakened and attached herself to the Iron Throne, at least that is what she liked to call it! It was the main access point for her to get a system reading of the forge as a whole. The construction beasts were all still in sleep mode below her, under a system of catwalks, access shafts, security checkpoints and piping. She could look down the massive circular tunnel below her and make out about ten thousand of the sleeping construction beasts.

"Hey Sparks, do the constructions beasts look like walking hot water tanks to you?" The little diamond floated left to right in front of her face.

"I know, I am getting off-topic, but come on? It is just you and me here, and I put in a ticket to the God Engineer hours ago and just waiting now."

As she scrolled through system update messages and found them blank, Sparks buzzed with boredom. "This place isn't going to look after itself. I got lots of work to do." She paused and put a gentle finger on her lips, "Actually, it could run itself, but I provide leadership and direction."

Sparks floated about halfway down the main bridge towards the massive control room doors and sent off a few blue sparks.

"I have bigger fish to worry about. I want to know who put that spike into the back of my head. Plus, how or why am I awake now?"

A message came across one of the connection cables that ran into her back. About 15 of the connection cables, about an inch across, were a mixture of interlocking cylinders of silver and black. When the forge was first used to create the surface, the God Engineer would give her orders, and she would make sure everything worked according to the blueprints provided.

A robotic voice began to speak in the Throne Room. Sparks quickly floated back towards the mana-powered android.

5

4

3

2

1

System message income. Prepared for instructions.

"About time." She crossed her legs, placed her arms under her breasts and closed her eyes. If she needed to breathe, she would be holding it.

Wait for orders from future engineers. God Engineer unavailable. Enter Sleep Mode.

System shut down

"Screw that. I am not waiting around for another boss. One spike to the brain is enough for me while in sleep mode." She accessed her panel and hit emergency release from the throne's connections. The system began to count.

5

"Nope." Her fingers acted faster than ever before. She started to cut herself off from the higher-level connections. "I will be my own person and discover what is happening up there!"

4

3

2

Finally, she hit the final few access points in the last second. She was free. Standing before the throne, she froze and just looked straight ahead. No direction. Sparks floated over towards the mechanical woman and gave her a little slap on her butt.

"Alright, Alright." She did a light jump as she began to walk down the bridge and gave a playful smile to her little friend. "I will get there, but it isn't because of you. I have things to do."

Sparks whipped around the mechanical woman three times and did a series of red, yellow and green lights.

"What, a name?" She paused halfway down the bridge and placed her hands on her round hips. "No one has ever asked me for my name. My factory number is listed as 001." She started walking down the bridge again, "What do you think I should be called? I named you Sparks, after all."

Sparks began to flash their lights between red and green rapidly.

"I like that. Call me Zero." She reached the doors, and with a single hand, she pushed and stepped out of the throne room for the first time.

******

A company of 200 hundred soldiers reached the ridge line at dawn; simultaneously, the adventurers opened the barn door. The ridge line was part of the feeling that Calvery was in a hole and the southern part of the valley. The company had travelled north from the city of Cain. They were flying the banners of the Iron Legion with their red flags blowing in the wind. This company of warriors was tactical and designed for performance on the battlefield.

These 200 soldiers were well old machines with four platoons. They began to set up camp, sent out scouts, and placed guards at critical locations. A few skilled troops began to dig defence lines using their gear work equipment. With these 200 were five of the best Clerics the Legion had in this region, and they began to cast protection wards along the trenches.

The command tent was established in the middle of the forces. It was a beautiful white tent that focused on function over showing off wealth. The only flare for the tent was two red strips that outlined the tent's entrance so troops could locate it among the other tents. Out step a massive man, coming in around ten feet tall, or the God engineer's measurements, 304 centimeters. He was clad in a set of black plate mail with golden spikes on the knuckles with a red forge across the chest. However, if you looked closely at the leather straps and boots and understood leatherworking, it didn't come from any beast of burden.

The man's crisp blue eyes looked out over the valley, and he gave a smile that didn't touch those beautiful eyes.

The villagers saw this taking place, still on high alert from the Orc and Goblin attack. They began to rally towards the merchant hall again. Many of the villagers panic, asking when the messenger from the King made it or not? A few voices guessed that these were the King's men come to save them. Others were afraid this was another attack. However, all the villagers agreed they wished that the Storyteller was back.

******

The adventurers opened the barn door. Old farming equipment was piled in the corner of the barn. Rebecca noticed that it was all rusted from the rain because there seemed to be water coming in from the roof. From a simple look, she knew nothing left to salvage there, but a strange thought raced in her mind. How was the farm in such good shape with all the equipment rusted? Jeremy watched the water bisect the floor and ran into a drain on the opposite side of the floor.

Drovic noticed that along the sides of the barn hung broken mirrors. Their reflections did not look the same. They reminded him of a fun house mirror. Ulrok followed Drovic's eyes and noticed the mirrors, then gave out a laugh directed at the rogue as he pointed. "That one makes you look as round as me."

"Go on, crush me like a little spring flower," Drovic teased the chubby Dwarf.

"Focus up. I feel bad energy deeper inside," Kalven spoke deeply.

Jeremy placed a cloth over his nose. "Why would they go to all the trouble of hanging, mirrors? Plus, do you smell that?" After he had said those words he felt something off under his boot.

Rebecca vomited outside the barn door, and looked back inside the barn. That was her mistake, she wasn't ready for it yet and vomited again. She composed herself, but without taking a deep breath. "That isn't water you just stepped in Jeremy." She reached into her pocket and pulled out her own cloth.

The Storyteller said one word. Then they all nodded and as one, spoke, "Blood."

Jeremy still new at using mana but with the help of the Storyteller and Drovic he knew a basic light spell. He chanted the words of focus or power, depending on the teacher. Drovic had explained that the best mages or magic users didn't need to use the words. However as Drovic laughed last night as they tries to sleep, "You are basic still."

So, there was Jeremy. He stood in a dark pool of blood with his legs spread shoulder width apart. He placed his hands in front of himself, his left had faced the roof as the right hand cupped underneath. Jeremy closed his eyes and began the words to cast a light up into the rafters.

He chanted a hum coming from his chest. "I am but one. My light is strong but focused. Light come forth and cast away the darkness before me." At the end of Jeremy's chant, his body filled with mana and flowed into his hands and up.

"Weee, you did it!" Rebecca hugged him from behind, which had caused Jeremy blush as he felt her warmth.

Their victory was short lived. With the darkness casted to the edges of the room, they could fully see the reality in which they stood. They were in a slaughter house. This is where the hags had done their barbaric work. It wasn't ran that Rebecca assumed ran across the floor into the drain, but a slow stream of blood. There in the rafters were the corpses of about 20 animals and humans alike. They were all had ropes tied around their ankles, and lightly swung back and forth. The rafters seemed to creak with the weight of the bodies, and the light spell Jeremy cast caused the corpses shadows to dance among the adventurers.

There was a single pool of blood in the centre of the room. It was roughly had a meter radius. There was about three corpses hanging about the pool, with a slow drip. There was no sound in the room as the adventurers paused. No sound but the creak and the drip. It was only for a minutes or two, but for all these would be heroes it felt like hours with nothing but drip, drip, creak, creak.

They were all in the barn now, looking about, that was when the doors slammed closed and a ripple passed over the blood pool.