After getting away from mom for a moment, I managed to get in a proper farewell to my brothers. Tokols was rather nonchalant about the whole ordeal as he simply reciprocated my parting words with a crisp high-four and a declaration that he would bring back souvenirs. Humey was much more clingy than I had anticipated, as when I talked with him it was a drawn out hug accompanied by no less than thirty different things he was worried about ranging from my own safety to ensuring that Tim is fed and watered properly. Mubata sent them away with his own farewell, which to them probably sounded like a flat "Don't die", but I could read that he meant quite a bit more than that.
They left, leaving the house in the capable hands of my brother and I, our father, and uncle Yabtin. Wait a second, where was he in all of this? I asked my remaining brother if he knew his whereabouts.
"Bahruk claims that Yabtin is residing in another domicile. I did not recieve a name of this unknown person, but the phrasing suggested it was a long time friend."
That sneaky purple lizard probably used the opportunity to go hang with Rakyat instead of participating in the drama. Good, he deserves to spend some time off without getting caught up in all this mess. I probably won't have the energy to visit them after work today, but tomorrow I would go there if only to see how long it was until my typewriter was done.
With my bag and slate strapped over my shoulder and a slice of bread in hand I left the house behind my father and brother. It had been some time since we left the house together, primarily because most days I was up earlier to get more project time in. We all walked silently to the main shaft and boarded the cargo lift, though I made sure to keep a decent area of personal space from everyone else. This put me on the far side of the lift away from Bahruk, but also standing right beside Mibata who seemed to have something to say.
"Kayrux, do you remember the request I made in regards to your training?"
I made a few hand signs that I knew he remembered, so as to not have to pry my slate from the space between myself and the wall of the lift.
"Yes, why? Problem?"
"There is no problem, I just wished to refresh your memory. Today's…bout that you and mother took part in has made me realize that your magical proficiency is more delicate than I had thought."
I stuck my hands on my hips and glared at him in a non-serious manner. Just what were you trying to say buster?
"Perhaps you could also delve into your combat skills with a melee weapon. Your mental runes do not seem well suited for large spellcasting yet, and your main proficiency appears to be in handling incredibly precise measures of magical flow. Mechanical knowledge that you are uniquely privy to might allow you the ability of crafting a weapon that can use your overabundance of mana to deal physical damage. As we've seen already from Juaki, a bolt of mana rich lightning will do little against someone who excels at mana control and elemental damage mitigation."
Hold on just a minute there brother, what did you mean by that? I poked at him a couple times to get his attention while tilting my head and gesturing "what?" repeatedly. A realization dawned on him in that instant as shock etched its way into his face.
"Oh gods, did you not know of her abilities? Kayrux, I am so sorry that you had to go through her little test without context. Ugh, she must have thought you knew and was just taunting you for a response. Allow me to explain briefly: Juaki fights while relying on her dragon fire to negate certain elements and force her body to regenerate. That fire can also absorb excess mana to fuel her rage and healing, making her an excellent mage slayer and monster hunter."
For fucks sake, of course she would be confident in her odds of survival is she had an ace in the hole like that! Maybe a little forewarning could have gone a long way towards making me worry a significant degree less about her health and safety, but of course you couldn’t trust a berserker like her to think in such a way. Headache inducing levels of stress aside, I couldn’t let myself focus on this for too long with my stop coming up soon. I gave Mibata a simplified reply and confirmation.
“Yeah, I had no idea that she was a damage sponge. I’m still kinda mad at her for acting like that, but hammering some metal into machines and blasting holes in the wall for the next few hours should clear my mind. You’ve opened my eyes to the study of resistances and mana absorption too, so I’ll figure that out and see just how far it can be pushed. Just watch Mibata, I’ll have attack spells that even mom can’t handle.”
He looked conflicted behind that calm mask of his, but after a moment he seemed to understand that I wasn’t seriously going to arm myself in order to fight our mother. That would be extremely petty, and I had limits to how low I would go for something as low as revenge. No, one-upping her is being the bigger kobold here and just working through my emotions like a civilized person. Okay that’s bull, I’m gonna blow holes in the wall until I tire myself out, alright conscience? Geez, I can’t even lie to myself without feeling judgment.
Oh, here’s my floor now. I gave Mibata a quick hug before hopping off the elevator, but it was apparent that I wasn’t alone. Dad, why are you off the lift and why are you grinning like that?
“Surprise! I bartered to get my shift switched. I work in the workshop the same week as you now, isn’t that great?”
No, it isn’t! Well, kind of, it would be nice to have someone around that could understand my methodology, but how am I supposed to be moody and avoid you or mom if you’re going to be in the same room as me? I just know that if I do blast some stone into magma you’re going to snitch on me to mom. I saw how you were making goo-goo eyes at her after her little power trip, so all of that talk of trusting you is worth a little less now that I know where your priorities lie. Tuleni, I hope you have the kobold equivalent of Advil or Tylenol, because my head is killing me right now.
So it was that I made my way to the workshop after the gleefully strutting father of mine, all while dreading having to make up excuses for the sorry state of my lab. We made it inside by about a meter when the familiar laugh of the overseer Vynrashu echoed from the lift above. He barely let the lift touch the ground before striding forth to strike a pose before my father.
“Bahruk, you sly rascal you, weren’t you here last week? Hah! I’m messing with you, I know that you’re on this week now. I’ve gone ahead and sent Erchlik onto the other shift. Not gonna lie to you Bahruk, she’s livid that you changed up your schedule again. Don’t worry though, I slipped her a little bonus to take the edge off her wrath for you.”
Bahruk rolled his eyes and shook his head as a smirk pulled his cheek tight.
“Thanks chief, it’s good that you look out for us lowly machine makers, hehehe. Onto this week, I wanted to ask to see the lab of a certain inventor that stands behind me. I heard she turned you down on a top-floor area, so I wanted to see what dusty closet you stuck her in instead.”
Vynrashu looked at me, but upon seeing my intense scowl he let his mask slip for a second. I could tell at a glance that he knew I was fuming with rage at the moment, but as an outsider to our family drama he could only nod along and comply. Good idea boss, you keep your nose out of my personal business and I’ll keep you supplied with future tech.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
“Uh, okay pal! Follow me, if you please.”
He led us back to my area, but along the way I heard something I did not expect to echo and resonate from all around the workshop. That whirring engine of hole-making beauty that I had graced upon the world let loose its shrill roar from multiple places around the workshop. I followed the sound of one such screaming machine, and to my delight saw a kobold half my height wielding a drill in both hands and pinned to the plate below them by one foot like a jackhammer. The machine sent spring-like shavings of copper metal flying as the grayish metal tip ripped its way through the structure it was aimed at. My drill appeared to be a huge success, as the kobold using it hoisted the large machine over their shoulder with a look of sincere admiration of their work.
My frustration was lessened slightly by the popularity of my device, but I still had little patience for this slow pace that the boss was taking. Why was he walking so slowly? His cocky glance back at me spelled it all out for me as he himself turned to look at a different kobold using a smaller version of the drill in one hand. He was showing it off to both me and my father.
“Hey Bahruk, what do you think of the new tools your little girl made: pretty nifty things, aren’t they?”
“Amazing, useful, effective and safe is what I’d call them. Nifty doesn’t even begin to do them justice.”
“My thoughts exactly. Apparently she’s got some new ideas already being cooked up in that lab of hers. She’s really something.”
“That’s my daughter alright: always making improvements to the world around her.”
You guys suck! I’m supposed to be dealing with a heaping pile of teenage anger and angst here, not embarrassment and bashfulness! If this is your idea of diffusing my irritation, then I’ll have you know that it’s not going to work on me. I want to be mad right now, so I’ll stay mad!
Vynrashu rolled his eyes at my crossed arms and flushed face. We came upon the entrance to my lab, which was now sealed shut by two heavy metal doors bound together by a black metal box binding the two panels together at the center. From within his bag he produced a key made from the same material and stuck it in from below and gave a three point turn and pull rotation. The lock popped free once the key had been pulled out of the slot and fell into his waiting hands before being passed to me.
“Here ya go. Special lock of my own design, made specifically to not allow unlocking spells access to the insides and it only has one key. Don’t lose that key, or you’re going to have to cut your way into the lab the hard way.”
The lock was much heavier than it looked, but I still took it over to my table and set it down gently regardless of its supposed durability. There he went, being unusually nice to me again for some unknown reason. Was he trying to build my trust, and if so was that a good or bad thing? Unusual as it was, I still recognized the gesture to be another of his genuine efforts to assist me. Lucky you Vynrashu, you’ve managed to abate my ire towards you.
As soon as access to my area was granted to him, Bahruk began sticking his iguana face into every box and crate, basket and barrel, all in search of anything and everything I had available to me.
“Goodness Kayrux, you really are making your own workplace from nothing. There are no parts or panels laid out for you, and everything you have is raw and unprocessed ores and materials. Despite this you were able to make the drill using only spare parts and old tools. You are beyond impressive, my dearest daughter.”
The mention of the drill made Vynrashu snap his fingers and begin rummaging in his bag for something, which just so happened to be the drill prototype mark 1.
“This is yours, kid. My pal said that he loved your design and didn’t need to improve on any of the internals. All he really changed was the thickness of the silver for cost and the outer shell’s shape for handles. Different sized triggers and grip spaces for bigger or smaller folks. I was right in picking the team I did for making these drills, and as of now there are only two hole punchers still being used for the ultra thick plating. I know it’s sooner than I said it would be, but can I go ahead and send your saw over to my guy? He wants to spend a little longer messing with your designs for the next tool.”
I don’t know who your friend is, but the man must be a wizard of machinery. I took the drill back and nodded my confirmation to his request as I pointed to the crate holding the saw and rotary tool. Dad’s eyes were glued to the machine held in my hands, and against my better judgment I held it out for him to play with. The poor plate I had used as a test bed for the tools the week prior was still sitting out within reach, and was now being attacked by an excited kobold with a power drill. The negative emotions I had been stubbornly keeping in my system were dwindling with each passing moment of absurdity.
“Kayroo!”
And it’s gone now. I spun around out of reflex, knowing full well that she was about to tackle me. Using my tail as a brace helped me to catch her weight, but the impact still made me stumble. My bruised ribs were not happy with the repetitive hugs and squeezes they had received today, as evident by the degree of pain that radiated from my sides. As nice as this hug was, I couldn’t help but notice a gathering of people coming around the corner and into my lab.
“Sorry Kayrux, Vimna slip away faster than I see. Hello chief, and hello Bahruk, it has been long time since seen you down here.”
Dobo was here now, followed closely by his sister and the rest of the repair crew. Hold on everyone, since when was this the kobold social hour? Dad, stop drilling holes in things! Zokkos, Hitkova, if you two are going to bicker, take it out of here! What are you doing Vynrashu, this is a lab not a gym! What’s even happening any more?
…
That was an hour of my life I won’t be forgetting any time soon. Apparently Dobo and Bahruk were rivals to a certain degree, since one was the foremost thunder maker expert and the other the master of elevator repair. The rest of the repair crew had actually come by to thank me for my invention, since it was told to me that the drill made replacing riveted panels a breeze and had made the job of Stecks a hundred times easier. I still haven’t interacted with him beyond our first meeting, but his gift of crunchy beetles was more than enough for me. Everyone apparently had just been waiting for me to arrive so they could hit me with positive feedback and motivation.
Eventually work had to be returned to, so everyone went their way to the place they worked at: Dobo and his team went back to the repair area while my dad and the boss took a ride up to the middle floor. Now it was just me, Vimna, Tim, and the beetles we were sharing. I had come in to work today ready to punch a hole through the cave wall, but now I was just content to sit beside my little sister from another mother while my not-dog played at my feet with a dead bug. My head felt remarkably empty right now, and for once that was okay.
“Hey Kayroo, wanna hear something awesome?”
I raised an eyebrow at her as my lips curled into a smile. Sure thing Vimna, you can say anything you want.
“My mom is coming home soon, and so are my siblings!”
Whoah, really? I had forgotten that they were on their way back, but I suppose the moon-rise is an important ritual for a young kobold.
“When we’re all together we’re gonna go out and have a big party with my mom!”
That’s amazing to hear. I’m not a party person, but I would totally be there for you if you wanted me there.
“Then it’s the moon-rise…”
I locked eyes with Vimna, whose face was drawn out in concern that was quite unlike her usualy peppy attitude. I took her hand in my own and locked my fingers with hers. This seemed to relax her enough that she felt safe to let loose a flurry of her thoughts.
“...I’m scared of the dragon altar. Dad says that sometimes it eats people, or sometimes you don’t get a blessing and are treated like a weak person forever. Dad also said that this last time there was one family that all got sick because they were all cursed. I don’t like the dragon if it hurts people. I don’t want it to eat me or anyone else.”
Oh you sweet girl, I wish I could promise you that it would all be fine. I pulled her close and hugged her to my shoulder, and from her eyes poured a few warm tears onto my scales. The embers of my rage were still hot, and the fuel of my protective instincts towards Vimna was like gasoline. No longer was it mere spite that coursed through me, this was now righteous fury. I swear on the very moons and stars that I’m going to get stronger for my family, all of them.