Several kilometers from the tower of Lemaerk lies a small town known as Smithford. The town was built up from a roaming plain that was singed beyond repair by some gargantuan beast. The attack happened years before the town was built, and yet the charcoal gray landscape has remained unchanged, with no bit of nature peeking through the surface since.
In fact, whatever left the landscape so burned caused such an impact that the entire field radiates a field of heat up from the ground. Where the heat emissions are the most concentrated happened to be exactly where the center of town was built. This is because the town of Smithford is comprised entirely of terram residents. These rocky individuals are not only able to withstand the immense seat when entering its vicinity, but actually find comfort in it as it makes their work a lot easier. Blacksmithing and forging are the most common occupations taken up by terrams, and the environment of Smithford is perfect for them both.
The heart of the town lies at the epicenter of the heat waves that emit from the singed grounds. However, there are outposts made up of a few houses or stores that surround the heart farther out, making it easier for visitors to access the town’s commodities. Most travelers start to feel the heat as soon as they enter the area, so people hardly ever want to go to the heart of Smithford. Yet, the outposts are placed far enough away from the center that travelers can visit them for trading or buying without incident.
When Outpost 6 was met by a band of travelers, one covered head to toe in shining armor which appeared to be damaged, the outpost residents expected it would be a rather productive day.
“What can I do ya’ for?” chirped one of two terram men at the closest building to the incoming travelers.
There were about 10 buildings in the outpost, 1 of which was a large pantry, 1 of which was a dedicated shop for travelers, the rest of which were homes. Most of these homes also offered shop services as smiths, though a few did not. This setup was emulated across all of the surrounding outposts. The rock-covered man who had called out to the travelers was standing in the primary shop alongside his buddy, which sported a large sign that read “SMITH 6”.
Approaching the terram was a carriage drawn by two horses. There were three adventurers that he could see sitting in front. One was covered in shining armor as well as a tattered cloak with a drawn hood, and looked to be twitching slightly. A dark-skinned, young human, no older than 20, and an older human woman in a floral dress sat on either side of the silver figure. As the cart got closer, the terram noticed a fourth being riding with them. A quadrupedal creature covered in a plant-like texture, with a purple flower blooming at the center of its face. Whatever it was, the stony man had never seen one before.
The woman on the right was the one to call out to him. “Hello!” she responded. “Do you think you could help us out, hun’?”
The terram looked over at his buddy next to him with a dopey look on his face. His friend wore the exact same look. They were thinking the same thing. Speaking up before he could answer the woman, the terram’s buddy blurted, “I’m sure I can, ma’am!”
“Cahven!” He muttered sharply to his buddy. “I’m going to kill you, if you don’t—“
“Ah, it’s too late, brother,” his friend said with a sly smirk, before turning back to the woman. “What do you need… young lady?”
“Young— Oh goodness,” Riva realized what was happening, looking over at Leone who shot her a look back.
The two terrams, both in their early twenties, were nudging under the counter as the travelers approached. The fact that they had not had any outside company in a while was not the only reason they were so energetic. “So…,” Cahven cleared his throat, “what is it that you’re looking for?”
Riva calmly explained, “We’re looking for some assistance for our friend, here. He has some damages to his… armor, and needs it fixed. Do you think you can help with that?”
“Um… yeah, we can help with that.”
Cahven and his buddy looked over at the cloaked figure, who appeared to be a somewhat thin knight. While they could not make out his face that well, as it was shrouded by his hood, there seemed to be a faint light shining from under it. The terram who had called out to the adventurers, Bolur, asked the shining figure if they could take a look at him, to which the stranger stood up and climbed down from the carriage. He pulled his hood back, revealing his face, and the two terrams were astonished. The stranger’s face, specifically his eyes and something on his forehead, was glowing.
“Hey, man. That’s… pretty cool,” Bolur answered, vaguely pointing to the metal-covered stranger’s face. “I can do that too, actually.”
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As the terram finished speaking, he tensed his fists. The two translucent spikes on his shoulders started to glow a feint yellow, before fading once more and leaving the quartz spikes colorless once more. He groaned, admitting that he wasn’t very good at it. The armor-coated man in front of him seemed somewhat nonresponsive, which left the young terram feeling slightly awkward. From the carriage, Leone cleared his throat obviously, getting the terrams to regain focus. “Sorry, sorry,” Bolur apologized. “Welcome to Outpost 6. I’m Bolur, that’s my bro’, Cahven. We run Smith 6 as you see here, the visitor’s forge of the outpost. If you’re hungry we’ve got a pantry slash grocery over there, it’s both for us and for sale to travelers. You can also check out any of the houses here, some of the guys and gals here sell… whatever. You probably won’t want to go any farther than here, though. You can check out the other outposts, but we recommend not going into the heart of town unless you’ve got some serious fireproofing. You’re not too uncomfortable now, are you? The heat spreads as far as out here, but we obviously don’t feel it that much, how are you guys?”
Everybody around Bolur was silent for a moment. Everyone except the robot. “I understand. We are all right, though I do require some aid.”
The group was still quiet, everyone else reeling from all that Bolur had said, and how fast and nervously he had rambled off. “You’ve really got to work on that sales pitch, bro’,” chimed the other terram.
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While Azim fixed himself up with the help of Leone, the young terrams were asked to give him some privacy. They were a little confused, as the travelers had come to them for help and were now asking them to look away, but they thought little of it when they were left to talk to Riva. The two rock-covered young men flashed the ore on their bodies, trying to impress the woman, who awkwardly smiled and hoped the other two would finish up soon. At the very least, she was happy to still have Roman to keep her company.
In the back of Smith 6, Azim was surrounded by piles and piles of metal, similar to when he had worked with Reavius. Leone was trying to help but was not exactly sure what to do to contribute. “Geez, this heat is starting to get to me,” panted the young man, flapping his undershirt against his chest. “Are you not hot, buddy?”
“My body is designed to resist heat,” the robot replied blankly.
“Oh…” Leone signed. “That must be nice. You think you could handle what it’s like in the ‘heart of town’ or whatever that guy said?”
“It is likely, though I do not know the exact temperatures that this town reaches. I suppose it would not hurt to add some heat protection to my exterior and internal systems.”
“You can do that?”
“Not at the moment. There are no materials capable of building something that would provide such aid, and I do not possess any magic that would accomplish such a feat.”
“Oh… well maybe as we keep moving forward and getting stronger…”
“Yes, I believe in time I will be able to upgrade myself as needed. In the meantime, I will add it to a list of future tasks and focus on what is possible now.”
“I mean, you’re definitely off to a good start. You’ve really gotten a sense of how to fix yourself. Your twitch and stutter and stuff are all gone.”
“At this point in time, I am able to consume metal mass to repair any exterior damage done to my armor. As for my internal systems, while I do not know how, this process seems to sufficiently address any interior damages as well. Though I must admit I do not understand why, as there is significantly more inside me than just carbon steel and silver.”
Leone laughed at the robot’s confusion. “That’s just the magic, buddy,” he explained. “While I may not know exactlywhat you’re made of other than how you work, I know how magic works. It doesn’t make sense. It just happens. You’re able to use metal magic to turn magic into whatever components are supposed to belong inside you. After that, they’re just you again. Magic. Nothing more to it than that.”
Azim pondered the young man’s words for a moment, comparing magic to experiences he already had to see if there was any way for him to understand it better. The robot was stumped. “Hm…” he finally spoke. “I suppose I still have much to learn about it.”
“And you will. And Riva and I will help you.”
Interrupting their conversation, an explosion echoed from outside. The noise whispered through the smith, letting the two adventures know it had come from behind them. Quickly getting up, Leone informed the robot, “Come on, buddy, I’m glad you’re feeling better but that’s gonna have to wait. Let’s go check out what’s happening!”
Exiting the small building, the two reunited with their female companion. Riva barely acknowledged them, staring off into the distance with a scared look on her face. Bolur and Cahven were panicking as well, fidgeting as if they didn’t know whether to head toward the chaos or keep a safe distance from it. Finally, Azim turned to look where Riva was looking. He expected to see something happening far off in the distance, or maybe an incoming monster. Instead, his gaze settled on another one of the town’s outposts, pouring black smoke into the sky.
“Oh shit, oh shit!” Cahven cried. “What’s going on, what do we do?!”
“We’ll check it out,” Leone answered, visibly excited at the potential of a fight. “And if there’s someone we need to lay out, then that’s exactly what we’ll do. Right, Azim?”
The android looked at Leone and then at the rest of the group. In as stiff a stance as always, the cloaked, one-armed robot asserted, “That is right.”
“Just be careful, guys,” Bolur chimed in. “That’s Outpost 3. It’s a bit closer to the heart of town, so the heat waves are going to be a lot more intense.”
Leone looked at Azim, who stared back at him. Confidently, the young man replied, “We’ll be fine.”
Before they left, Azim grabbed a lance that was resting behind the counter of the smith. Waving it in the air for a momentand getting a feel for it, the android turned to the terrams, assuring, “I will return this.”
With those final words, the robot darted off, headed toward the smoking outpost. Leone waved a familiar goodbye to the group, casting Speed Switch, and raced off to join his metallic companion.