Scrapyard Angels Act 1 Chapter 8
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Bob's workshop was a cozy little place albeit a cramped one and Bob's huge bulk of muscle and large gut made it even more so. Space was premium when one's house was barely a hole in a wall without a second floor and situated just beside a dump. There inside we'll meet Bob's daughter and apprenta.
For a half man half machine, Bob still found the love of his life and to think he'll have such a lovely daughter. She took more from her mother with her short stature which was absolutely dwarfed by her father yet she still had the same smile that Bob had.
She gave us a friendly wave as we got in. Her sunny disposition and bubbly smile was always a welcome sight "Dad! Ark! And… company"
Bob hugged his daughter and ruffled her straw blonde hair. "Cindy! My little sunflower, how's my little girl doing?"
"Dad! it's been barely a minute since you went out!" She shouted as she tried to pull away from her fathers grip. There's no escaping it Cindy, you should have already known that considering you live with him
"But for me, it was an eternity" Bob replied as he nuzzled against his daughter who huffed in irritation but returned the affection nonetheless
"Ahh yes, silly me, I forgot to introduce myself!" Bob shouted as he lifted his daughter up his shoulder "I am Bob the Inventor! Philanthropist, Polymath, and Proud Father to the smartest girl in Zaun!"
"And I'm Cindy, his Chemtech Apprenta!" Piped up Cindy as she leaned against her fathers head
"Cindy! What's with that introduction! You have to give it more personality, more bravado! Even Ark makes better introductions than you!"
"But I like it Targonian!"
"Bah! They don't speak that much because their minds cooked from all the muscle they have and from sun they worship"
Before their little conversation could devolve even further, I decided to speak up. "So Vi, Jinx it's our turn now right?"
"U-uh right!" Replied Vi as she was a bit dumbfounded by the antics of the father daughter duo. Jinx meanwhile was looking at them curiously
Clearing her throat, she started off "I'm Vi"
"And I'm Jinx!" Added Jinx before things descended into silence. Cindy looked smug at their introduction while Bob looked at me in betrayal.
I sighed as I gestured for them to go on but Vi didn't have anything to say as she looked at me before looking over at the duo.
Jinx however decided to be an angel and speak up "And together with our brother Ark, we are... the lovely Angels of the Scrapyard!". Jinx slowly shrunk back into herself as she chuckled nervously but in that moment she was radiant
Bob agreed with me as he clapped enthusiastically. "Bravo, could use some work but you've clearly been taught by your brother well"
Cindy dropped down from her perch and walked close to Jinx, circling my sister as if inspecting her
"Before we forget what we came here for…" I reminded Bob
"Ah yes the box! This shouldn't take long"
"Dad! I'm taking Jinx out to the back!" Shouted Cindy as she suddenly grabbed a confused Jinx out of the room. Jinx didn't stood a chance and despite being about the same height, Cindy had a bit more muscle on her
"I'm going to teach you how to make bombs Jinx! You and I are blowing stuff up! We're going to have so much fun"
"I'll… keep an eye on them" Vi said as she ran after the two before they could get themselves seriously hurt.
"Interesting family you have now hmm?" Asked Bobl as he inspected the Box.
"Yes, I met them by chance and now here we are. As thick as thieves and together forever" I replied as I sat down on one of the chairs in the shop. "By the way Bob, can you keep the box intact? Jinx really like that box"
Bob nodded as he began working on the box. It was a simple lock and key design with some clockwork worked in to make it a bit more complicated. It wouldn't phase Bob much on the other hand as he had all the tools of the trade to open it. A click here and some fiddling with the wires he used to unlock the mechanism there and the box clicked opened. There was a slight hiss and the cranking of a tiny gears before the top of the chest opened slightly ajar
Before I opened the box however, "So about the payment…"
"No need, consider it in the house. Besides, your sister made my daughter smile which is the most precious thing in the world for me" Bob replied as he pushed the Box towards me
I nodded before I reached for the box. Grabbing the top, I pulled it open to reveal a soft blue light from within. There nestled inside soft silk was a pair of pale blue crystal the size of golf balls. The inner fire of magic burning inside was unmistakable.
Reaching down, I picked one up between my fingers and marveled at the lustrous orb in all its glory. The soft pulse of light from the crystal felt like it was a beating heart whose power was just waiting to be tapped. There was no denying what it
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"A hextech crystal" whispered Bob as he reached down for a box down below. It was a dusty thing and barely a scratch on its metallic surface when he placed it down on the desk with a thud. Dusting it off, he opened it to reveal a set of magnifying glasses and various other tools.
"May I?" He asked. It was almost painful letting such a precious material off my hand but this was Bob. I handed him the crystal so he could take his measurement of it
"Has some heft to it and the clarity is something else. The grade of this natural crystal alone is top notch. Are you sure you didn't find this uppside?" He asked as he took note of the various properties of the crystal
"We found it among the rubbles of the chemtech factory near our home"
"Hmm, good thing that chembaron is really dead. Just heard the news earlier. He tried to sabotage his competition, rivals discovered it and the other chem barons descended upon him like a flock of vultures.
You know how they are, just a bunch of beasts hiding behind a facade of civility while looking for any chance to give their rivals hell. May the Lamb deny them a peaceful end and Wolf to take them" He replied before he placed the crystal back in the box and handed it over to me
"About the payment…" The crystals were priceless. My eyes locked on the pair of gems. Greed reared its ugly head in the back of my mind but it… didn't felt right to take advantage of Bob when he could help him as well. One gem alone could change a families fortune after all
"Finders keepers. It's your families property" he replied making me look up
"But there's a pair here-!" He raised up his hand to stop me
"Ark, this thing can literally change your life. Take it and use it. My family dont need it, no seriously, why do you think I pay your kids a fair price? You think I live here in this dingy little place? I can't call myself a philanthropist if i take one of those gems from you
Also, I don't even know how to work them! You on the other hand just might in the future" Leaning close, he tapped my forehead with his fingers
"That thing inside there can work wonders. I know you can find a way to learn how to make use of these crystals"
"Can I atleast buy a key from you?" He paused for a bit before he started laughing. I soon joined in as with the man's bellowing laugh. I couldn't help myself
Our touching moment was suddenly cut short however when the shop was rocked by an explosion. We both cursed as we felt the tell tale sound of a bomb and the happy shouts of an overly eager pyromaniac echoed from behind the shop.
"Close the box. I'll make you a key later. For now, we need to check on the girls"
"Lets"
Dropping the crystals inside the box, we hid it inside a hidden panel before we rushed out to face the anarchy that was led by Cindy
I expected to find Jinx crying but there she was shouting happily with Cindy as they stood on top of a makeshift cannon while was Vi forced to lug around the chems used to power the device
"What in Janna's divine name happened here!" Shouted Bob as he looked at the destruction they wrought upon the various trash mountains in the dump
"We made Smaug and he rules!" Shouted Jinx as he tapped the makeshift canon beneath them
"When I grow up I'll take Jinx as my apprenta!" Shouted Cindy as shegace her partner in crime a high five
I looked over at Vi. Vi merely shrugged as she replied "They knew what they were doing"
I facepalmed, rubbing my face with the palm of my hands "You said you were going to look after them!"
"Yeah and they're perfectly safe!"
There was a huge fwoom as the cannon started spitting out alchemical fire as well. The two pyromaniacs squealed happily in the background all the while Bob was trying to reason with them
"See? Perfectly safe" she replied with a cheeky grin. All I could do was groan as the fire kept spewing from the cannon
It took a while but we managed to extinguish the fires. We also dismantled Smaug which resulted in much complaining from the duo. Without the distraction and the possible dangers of their experimental cannon exploding, he was finally able to make a key for our box
Soon, it was time to go. "Take care!" Called out Bob as he watched as qe walked back home
"Ark! Jinx! Vi! Come back when you can!" Shouted Cindy as she waved at her new friends. I was glad that both my sisters and Cindy got along well
While we walked back home, Vi asked "So what's in the box? We were kinda busy destroying stuff"
"Yeah, Mr Sparkles seems like an important box" Jinx added
"Well… it's best that I show it to you away from prying eyes" Not everyone in Zaun can be just like Bob and Alice. In a place as ruthless as Zaun, I was lucky to find a group of people I could trust with all my heart