PART III - RESEARCH AND DESTRUCTION
As the little Gnome grew more panicked, there was a flash of blue mist. Jesca launched herself towards Koda, tackling him to the ground with the impact of her Dash-enhanced charge. Koda grunted, the wind partially knocked out of him, the pain of his shoulder injury not yet beginning to register.
Kathunk!
The turret shot once again, the bolt barely missing the falling Beastkins, passing only centimeters over Jesca’s back. The Turret lowered its aim to its sprawled target.
“Halt! Cease! Sit!” Callie commanded in a panic.
Just as the Turret was about to release again, it seemed to explode in a green flash. The pieces flew in all directions, fading to light as they fell, before disappearing into nothing. Pixyl had used her new Airborne Dash ability to barrel shoulder-first into the structure, smashing it apart. Thankfully, the Turret wasn’t very tough and it broke easily. Pixyl’s skill was never designed for a range of barely a meter or two, though, and she slammed into the ground hard despite also having an Ethereal Shield active. Dirt, grass and rain-soaked mud flew as the Pixie left a trench in the ground with her body, the shield fading as she rolled several times before eventually coming to a stop.
A still silence filled the air, punctuated only by the squawk of some morning bird, seeming to mock all that had just happened.
As Koda grunted in pain from Jesca’s tackle, Callie stood stunned for a moment. A hissing yelp from Pixyl pulled her out of her stupor, though, and she rushed to the downed Pixie.
“Oh no!” Callie cried. Pixyl cried out briefly as Callie grabbed her. “Please be okay!”
“Who’s hurt!” Koda groaned as he and Jesca worked to detangle from each other. He struggled to sit up, blood evident on the Bearkin’s tunic where the glowing bolt was still protruding.
“Pixyl’s hurt!” Callie cried, not intentionally answering Koda’s question, but just calling out to anyone.
“I’m fine,” Pixyl groaned as she sat up, obviously lying as she grabbed her shoulder with her good arm, wincing in pain. She gestured at Koda with her chin. “He’s the one that’s hurt.”
Hand on his side, nursing where he had been tackled by Jesca, the Bearkin looked down at his shoulder, apparently registering the injury for the first time. With a scowl, he started to reach, intent on removing the bolt, when its magic gave out, and it simply disappeared into a puff of nothing. As blood started to flow even more-freely, Koda hissed and slammed his hand against the wound. “Damn,” he snarled.
“Oh no!” Callie cried again, finally realizing Koda was seriously injured. “Do we need a potion?”
“It’s nothing,” Koda said, wincing as he waved off Callie’s concern with his free hand. “I’ll fix it.” With a moment of concentration, Koda’s Paladin healing flowed over the wound, knitting the injury closed. Shrugging his shoulder to loosen it back up, Koda walked over to Pixyl, kneeling next to her.
“I’m fine,” she said once again, although this time a little less convincing as she again screwed her face up in pain.
“You’re not. Where did you get hurt?” Koda said imploringly.
The Pixie sighed. “Banged my shoulder on the ground. I don’t think anything is broken, just bruised a bit.”
“Your wings are unhurt? You took quite a tumble.”
Pixyl shook her head. “They’re fine. I tucked them in tight and had my Armor up.”
Koda carefully held his paws, huge compared to Pixyl, over her mud-soaked shoulder, assessing the injury. He wore a serious expression, and not the happy bear grin he usually wore. He was, after all, working here.
After a moment, Pixyl relaxed, the pain obviously easing significantly.
“Nothing is broken,” Koda confirmed with a nod. “A little muscle bruising, though. I healed what I could, but it might be stiff for a couple hours. Work it a bit when you’re able. Thankfully the rains made the ground soft.”
“She’s okay?” Callie asked timidly. “You’re okay, too?”
----------------------------------------
With dim light beginning to appear on the horizon, Callie hesitantly walked towards the shooting line once again. She glanced back towards the weather shelter, seeing three faces peeking around its corner; Pixyl on the bottom, Jesca above her, and finally the grinning face of Koda at the top. Koda was giving her an excited, encouraging nod.
Everyone was now healed, although Pixyl was still covered in mud and grass stains, and Koda sported the bloody remnants of an obvious injury and mud where he landed after Jesca’s tackle. The situation now resolved, Koda was eager to see the Turret in action, but this time from a safer angle. After a few minutes rest, Callie had recovered her mana reserves enough to try a second time. Carefully, she worked the spell once more.
SUMMON TURRET
As before, the magic poured from her hand, although the casting this time was significantly easier compared to the first, as were the mana requirements. The Turret flowed into shape over several seconds, the fragile frame holding the crossbow at its top. This time, Callie sighted in on the twenty-five meter target and let loose with a simple mental command. “Shoot that!”
Kathunk!
As the Turret began its rhythmic shooting, Koda hesitantly emerged from his cover and walked forward. Somehow, his grin had grown even larger and he was fascinated by the mechanical construct. “You just have to think about what target to shoot at?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Callie confirmed. “As long as I’m not surprised, I guess. Again, sorry about that.”
“No lasting injuries,” Koda said, dismissing the concern absently, despite the hole in his blood-covered tunic.
With a moment of concentration, Callie re-oriented the Turret to continue shooting at the fifty-meter target, which it did with no change in the rhythmic sounds of the crossbow and its reloading gears.
“This is simply amazing,” the Paladin said, carefully touching the Turret’s side. It was steady on its base, but the framework was obviously fragile and would break easily with nothing more than a solid kick. “This is melded from your Tinker racial, you said?”
“Yup,” Callie said, focusing on the one-hundred meter target, the Turret changing its aim on mental command. Its aim at this new range wasn’t good, it turned out. It was able to hit the target, but far from accurately, or even consistently. “Plus my Carpentry perk and a Ranger perk.”
Koda didn’t really seem to hear Callie’s response as he looked closer at the Turret. “How do you think it would do against a moving target?”
“Probably not great,” Callie said with a shrug. “You can see it’s not very accurate, especially at longer ranges.” Several more bolts had been launched, about half managing to hit the far-off target, but in a wide, random pattern. “Maybe it will improve as I get better with the skill, though, or at higher tiers.”
Jesca and Pixyl had also emerged hesitantly from hiding, gingerly approaching. Pixyl was again hovering in the air, her wings fluttering to keep her orientation, and caught movement coming up the hill.
“Someone is coming,” the Pixie warned, not wanting a repeat of the last time someone approached.
“Shit!” Callie hissed quickly, waving dismissively at the Turret. “Go away! Shoo! Begone! Go home!” Remembering once again how it worked, she mentally directed a focused “Dismissed!” towards the Turret. The summoned construct crumbled upon itself, turning into a waterfall of light before disappearing.
Pixyl landed, and all four turned guiltily as both Master Trainer Thorn and Trainer Reynard walked stiffly towards them. They did not look very happy.
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
“What’s going on here!” Thorn demanded.
“Uh… Uh, everything’s under control. Situation normal,” Callie said, trying to look completely innocent and utterly failing. The others were trying and failing, as well.
Reynard looked at Pixyl, covered in mud, and then at Koda, who’s tunic sported a blood-covered shoulder with a hole in it and was likewise half-covered in mud. He turned his glare back to the little Gnome. “What happened?”
Callie looked at the others and rose absently up on her toes, trying to disarm the two trainers with a smile but mostly managing to babble. “We had a slight weapon malfunction… but, uh, everything’s perfectly all right now. We’re fine… We’re all fine here, now. Thank you. How are you?” She winced at that stupid question.
Reynard narrowed his Foxkin eyes, burning a hole into Callie and speaking very slowly. “What. Did. You. Do.”
Callie swallowed hard. “Can I just show you? It will be a lot easier than trying to explain.”
The Ranger trainer was about to snap at Callie again, when Thorn steadied him with a hand. “No one is hurt? We both received urgent reports from Sprites saying you were shooting arrows at people?” Thorn looked once again at Koda, and it was pretty evident, at least in part, something had happened.
“Merely an accidental scratch,” the Bearkin said confidently, the two trainers obviously not buying it for a second. “Easily healed. No lasting harm done.”
“Show us, then,” Thorn directed to Callie, his voice still sounding like a combination of curiosity, concern and quite crossed. Reynard simply glowered.
Callie’s three compatriots stepped aside to give her space. Swallowing hard, she turned back to the shooting range, taking a couple steps forward. She centered herself, nervous about trying to cast this under the scrutiny of Thorn and Reynard, but determined to do it. Hopefully without shooting either of them in the process.
SUMMON TURRET
Once again the Turret swirled into existence, this casting even easier than it had been the previous two summonings. The description had shown a three-second casting time, but that was really only applicable after some practice. All the same, it didn’t take much more than about five seconds compared to at least ten on her first casting, and the mana efficiency was much better.
Unconsciously nodding towards the twenty-five meter target, Callie once again sent the ‘shoot that’ command. Like the reliable clockwork it was, the Turret sent the magical crossbow bolt, hitting nearly dead-center on the target, just one ring high.
Reynard’s narrowed and annoyed eyes snapped open in surprise, followed a split-moment later by Thorns. Callie stepped aside, so the trainers could get a better look. Hesitantly, they approached, marveling at the mechanics as one bolt after another struck the target.
“H-H-How …” Reynard started to ask.
“Melded skill?” Thorn asked at the same time.
Callie nodded. “That’s right. My Tinker trait and Carpentry perk, plus Bowyer, too.”
“Quickly! Tell us the description.” Thorn said excitedly. Reynard, for his part, simply watched intently as the crossbow calmly cycled every three seconds.
Doing a quick query to make sure she got the details correct, Callie relayed the lengthy information about the skill to the Master Trainer, Reynard's attention finally swinging away from the Turret as she spoke. When finished, she smiled weakly under their scrutiny, a little worried that Reynard might go off on her.
“Change its target,” Reynard commanded, moving aside so Callie had a clear view. “One-hundred meters.”
“Uh, sure,” Callie replied hesitantly, before sending a new ‘shoot that’ command. Obediently, the Turret adjusted its aim, now plunking bolts into the new target, although many were missing. “I just have to tell it mentally what to do.”
“How did he get hurt?” Thorn interrupted, gesturing towards Koda.
Callie winced. “He startled me when he arrived, and the Turret took that as a threat.” Quickly she added, “But it was my first try summoning it, so we were still figuring out how it worked. But these two were great!” Quickly she gestured at Jesca and Pixyl, detailing exactly how Jesca had tackled Koda out of the way as Pixyl destroyed the thing with her aerial charge, resulting in her bruised shoulder and muddy clothing.
“That was reckless,” Reynard remarked, still examining the Turret. “You shouldn’t have been casting without me being present.”
“Hey! You said we could practice our skills if we were on the training field,” Callie replied in disbelief, putting her hands on her hips.
“But I didn’t mean this one!” Reynard growled, snapping his glare to his student.
“Well … you didn’t say that!” Callie snapped back.
Reynard was about to raise his temperature another notch, but Thorn stepped in. “She has a knack for words, Reynard; you won’t win. And on this one she is correct. You told me yourself that your students were steady enough for unsupervised practice, including her.” Turning his attention he added, “Recruit Callie, I do hope you see the need to be less … cavalier about your skills, however.”
Callie sighed. “Look, nobody feels worse than I do about Koda and Pixyl getting hurt. I learned an important lesson, and I’m going to ask you to please not lecture me on it. All that will do is make me feel even more awful and mess with my self-confidence.” This was a sly technique Callie had used since she was a teen to short-circuit lectures from angry adults when she got into trouble, and she had no qualms about using it here. Nothing in her statement had been a lie, though. She did feel bad, and did realize in retrospect she was being a little reckless with something nobody understood, but Reynard or Thorn going off on her wasn’t going to help, so best to just shut them down.
Reynard seemed to snarl for the briefest of moments. “Fine. Just be more careful in the future. Let’s see what else this can do.”
Turning back to the still-shooting turret, Reynard had her change targets several more times, immediately noting the same rapid fall-off in accuracy that Callie had seen. Anything beyond seventy-five meters or so was so bad as to be virtually ineffective, and even seventy-five was marginal. As the Foxkin directed, the time ran out and the Turret crumbled upon itself, fading away into nothing.
“Do you have enough mana for another?” Reynard asked.
“Pretty sure I have a couple in me. The first couple castings were intense, but I’m getting the hang of it now so it’s not so bad.”
“See if you can cast it on that tree branch,” Reynard said, pointing to a solid-looking limb on a tree next to the range. “The description seems to indicate it will be able to attach to something long and thin.”
“It’s too high,” Callie said. “Three meters is the range, remember.” She looked around. “Koda, let me ride on your shoulders. It’s fully healed, right?” Koda nodded his head and knelt. Callie clambered up onto his strong back and straddled his neck. “Try to hold still. I’m not sure how steady I need to be since it takes a bit to cast.”
Concentrating on the overhead branch, while Koda concentrated on not moving, she once again summoned the Turret. This time, as the legs formed, they wrapped around the limb, grabbing it tightly. Once the casting finished, the upright turret fell over, the legs still grasping, so that it was now hanging upside-down from its perch. The branch bobbed up and down from the sudden added weight and movement.
Curious, Callie ordered the Turret to start attacking the twenty-five meter target, which it did without question. With the movement of its attachment point, however, even at this short range the accuracy took a noticeable hit. Where before it would consistently hit within one or two rings of center at twenty-five meters, now the shots were spread throughout the target in an almost random pattern, a few missing entirely.
“It needs to attach to something stable to be useful, doesn’t it?” Thorn asked Reynard, seeing the problem.
Reynard nodded, “For anything beyond suppressing attacks, yes.” Reynard scratched his chin in thought, then turned to look back at the shelter. “I wonder …” he mumbled quietly.
Callie had climbed down from Koda, and was returning to the rest of the group. As a test, she reset the target for fifty-meters, and the Turret obeyed. She now knew the control range was at least greater than three meters, but she would need more testing to determine where that limit was. “What’s that you wonder?”
“Everyone stand aside,” Reynard directed. “See if you can attach it to the vertical back wall of the shelter, if you have the mana.”
Quickly everyone moved aside. Callie did a spot check of how much mana she felt she had, pretty sure she had enough for one more before she’d need to rest for a bit, or find a potion. Concentrating once again, she began to weave a new Turret into existence. As soon as she started, the one in the tree dissolved, the limb snapping upwards slightly now that there was no weight on it. Against the rear wall of the shelter, the new construct formed, its legs adhering to the wood, the final summoning parallel to the ground.
Gesturing for Reynard to stand aside, Callie sent a command ordering the Turret to shoot at twenty-five meters again. The top of the turret traversed towards the range, and once more the rhythmic sound of the magic bolts began to ring out. Now knowing that shooting straight upwards would work if the turret had been vertical, Callie quickly sent a ‘stop shooting’ command so there were no bolts flying through the area. Obediently the Turret ceased its actions, the crossbow head returning to its resting position.
“That’s it,” Callie said, slightly panting. “I’m pretty much out of mana for now. I’ll have to wait before I can summon it again.”
Reynard moved to investigate the wall-mounted Turret, actually pulling off a brittle side panel to get a look at the interior. “Recruit, with your permission, I’d like to break this to see how strong it is.”
Callie shrugged, taking a deep breath. “Go ahead, I suppose. It will dissolve soon anyway.”
Stepping to the side, the Foxkin punched the Turret. It absorbed almost none of the hit, Reynard’s smash passing through as if it was made of lightweight balsa, the support frame crumpling. Before he could strike it again, the whole thing seemed to fall apart, quickly dissolving in a shower of tiny lights.
“It’s not very strong,” Callie said with a disappointed expression and another shrug. “Maybe at higher Tiers it will be able to handle more abuse.”
“This is quite unique,” Thorn said, turning to look downrange. “It’s truly an amazing melded skill you received. Congratulations. And congratulations on reaching Bronze, as well.”
“Thanks,” Callie said with a slight blush. “Sorry for the trouble I caused, and for the Sprites waking you both up so early.”
“And that’s only one of her new melded skills!” Jesca helpfully pointed out.
Reynard slowly turned his head towards Jesca. “What did you say?”
“She got two of them. We haven’t looked at the other one yet.”