Len and Rick made their way back up to the third level of the library, the one they'd entered from. The wood creaked under their weight, the sound echoing through the empty corridors. The air grew warmer, less damp than the lower levels.

They moved methodically through the rows of shelves.

Rick was a few steps ahead, peering into a dimly lit alcove when he stopped suddenly.

"Len, check this out."

Len joined Rick at a door made of polished brass and gears. Above it, a plaque read 'Engineering'.

"Fine craftsmanship," Rick said.

He moved up to the door. Several locking bars intersected through the door, keeping it sealed.

"Think we can get it open?" Len asked, studying the complex mechanisms that adorned the door's surface.

"Should be able to," Rick said. "Let's see if it's just stuck or if there's a trick to it."

Len readied himself as Rick pushed on the door. "Yup locked."

Rick leaned in closer, examining the gears and levers. He reached out to turn one of the gears experimentally. It moved with surprising ease but didn't seem to do much else.

Len watched with interest. "Combination?"

"Maybe," Rick agreed, his fingers tracing the patterns etched into the metal. "Give me a second to figure this out."

The gears clicked and whirred softly as Rick adjusted them, trying to decipher their purpose. After a few moments of trial and error, he found a small lever hidden among the cogs.

"This might be it," he said, pulling it gently.

The door responded with a low hum, gears turning and shifting into place as if coming alive after years of dormancy. Slowly but surely, it began to open.

Rick gave a low whistle. "Impressive work."

Shelves lined the walls, filled with books and blueprints. Piles of parts lay around the room, but it was the center of the room that caught his attention.

A gargoyle, stood hunched over a workbench. Its body was a complex network of gears and pistons, moving in perfect synchronization. As the door creaked open, the creature's head swiveled towards them, glowing eyes fixed on the intruders.

Len's hand instinctively moved to his weapon, but he hesitated. The gargoyle made no aggressive moves. Instead, it tilted its head, studying them with what seemed like curiosity.

"Rick," Len whispered, not taking his eyes off the mechanical beast, "you seeing this?"

The gargoyle's attention returned to its work, metal fingers deftly manipulating tiny gears and springs on the bench. Len took a cautious step forward, fascinated by the intricate movements.

"It's... working on something," Len observed, his voice barely above a whisper.

He glanced around the room, taking in the various half-finished contraptions and tools scattered about.

Len's mind raced with possibilities. If they could understand even a fraction of the knowledge contained in this room, it could revolutionize their efforts back in Goran.

Len leapt forward with his sword in his hand, the mana blade enchantment flickering to life.

The piles of parts scattered around the room began to shift and clatter. Small clockwork gargoyles emerge from the heaps, their gears whirring to life.

The engineering gargoyle's body hummed as the gears sped up and it dodged Len's attack.

Its hands danced over the contraption it was creating, dodging Len's attacks.

He reached out to the floor, trying to trip the creature up, but it was too fast.

Len raised his shield to block a clockwork gargoyle, bashing it back.

Another clockwork creature latched onto Len's leg, its metal claws digging into his flesh. He grunted in pain, trying to shake it off while fending off two more that were lunging for his face.

"Rick!" Len called out, struggling to keep the swarm at bay. "A little help here!"

He could hear Rick battling his own group of mechanical assailants, the sound of metal striking metal echoing through the room. Len managed to pry the gargoyle off his leg and toss it across the room, but three more took its place.

The engineering gargoyle continued its work the weapon taking shape. It appeared to be some kind of intricate crossbow, with multiple barrels and a complex firing mechanism. The sight only increased his determination to reach it before it was completed.

Len created force spells, detonating them in the face of the clockwork gargoyles, spraying their parts across the room and giving him the opening to attack the engineering gargoyle once more.

It sped up again, dodging his attacks.

Rick slammed his hammer into the ground, cracks radiated through it as the gargoyles swarming him were launched backwards, many broken.

Len's heart raced as he watched the engineering gargoyle's hands blur over the contraption. Despite his best efforts to reach it, the creature's speed and the swarm of smaller gargoyles kept him at bay. He could see the weapon taking shape, becoming more defined with each passing second.

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"Rick!" Len shouted, desperation creeping into his voice. "We need to stop it before—"

His warning came too late. The engineering gargoyle lifted the completed crossbow, its multiple barrels glinting in the dim light. Time seemed to slow as the creature took aim at Rick.

The crossbow fired twice in rapid succession, the sound echoing off the library walls.

Rick raised his hammer and was thrown backwards.

Len's eyes darted to Rick, searching for signs of injury. Before he could assess the damage, the gargoyle swiveled, its glowing eyes locking onto Len. He barely had time to raise his shield before the crossbow fired again, two more bolts whistling through the air towards him.

Len braced for impact, his muscles tensing. He felt the first bolt strike his shield with tremendous force, the impact reverberating through his arm. The second bolt grazed his shoulder, tearing through fabric and flesh. Pain bloomed where it had struck, but Len pushed it aside, focusing on the immediate threat.

The engineering gargoyle was already moving again, its gears whirring as it prepared for another volley. Len gritted his teeth, knowing he had to act fast to prevent further attacks.

"Rick!" He yelled as ran forward.

A grunt came from behind him. Len slapped gargoyles from the air, not holding back his mana anymore, crushing them.

Len lunged forward, his sword aimed at the engineering gargoyle's chest. The creature's gears whirred frantically as it tried to dodge, but Len had anticipated its movement. His blade found its mark, sinking deep into the gargoyle's metallic body with a screech of metal on metal.

For a moment, Len felt triumphant. Then he saw the gargoyle's arm twitch, raising the crossbow once more.

Len interposed his shield, between himself and the weapon. The bolt struck with tremendous force, the impact reverberating through Len's entire body. He stumbled backward, his arm numb from the shock.

He forced mana into it to regain feeling.

The engineering gargoyle twitched and jerked, impaled on Len's sword but still functioning. Its gears ground against each other, producing an awful screeching noise. Len gritted his teeth, tightening his grip on the sword hilt. He could feel the creature's internal mechanisms fighting against the blade, trying to dislodge it.

Len's shoulder throbbed where the earlier bolt had grazed him, and his shield arm felt like lead. But he couldn't let up now. He pushed forward, driving the sword deeper into the gargoyle's body. Sparks flew as the blade severed vital components within the creature.

He dragged the blade through the gargoyle's body. His enchantment failing before he could drag it all the way out and free.

The gargoyle fell backwards, reaching out to piles of parts nearby and started to trying to put itself back together.

Len drew on the floor, creating a spike behind the creature's head and stomped on its face, driving the stone spike through its head and out of its forehead.

The gears slowed to a stop, then twitched as experience flowed into Len as he drew his hammer and turned to the remaining clockwork gargoyles.

He smashed them into the ground as they charged him on his path to Rick who was climbing to his feet, one arrow through his leg.

"Stay down man," Len said as he reached him.

Len knelt beside Rick, his eyes fixed on the bolt protruding from his friend's leg. Without hesitation or warning, he gripped the shaft firmly and pushed it through the other side of Rick's thigh.

"Gahh-fucking-"

Len pulled it all the way out, covering his hand in blood.

"-dammit!"

"Sorry," Len muttered, though he didn't really mean it. Sometimes it was better to get these things over with quickly. He placed his hands on either side of the wound, channeling healing mana into Rick's leg. The flesh began to knit together, closing around the hole left by the bolt.

As he worked, Len couldn't help but shake his head. "You know, you really need to stop getting hit all the time. It's becoming a habit."

Rick grimaced, both from the pain and Len's chiding. "Gargoyles got it out for me."

Len finished healing the wound.

"Fixed it up all thew way, how you feeling stamina wise?"

"Tired but good to go, some time with the bracers and I should be good."

Len stood up, offering his hand to his friend. "Come on, let's get you on your feet."

Rick grasped Len's hand, grunting as he was pulled upright. He tested his weight on the newly healed leg, wincing slightly but finding it able to support him.

"How's it feel?" Len asked, still supporting some of Rick's weight.

"Like my leg got rearranged a bit, odd, be good with some time."

Len nodded, scanning the room for any remaining threats. The engineering gargoyle lay motionless where he'd left it, its gears silent. The smaller clockwork creatures were scattered in pieces across the floor.

His eyes were drawn to the crossbow that had caused them so much trouble. He approached it and squatted down. "Let's see what we've got here," he muttered, picking up the weapon.

The crossbow was a marvel of engineering, its multiple barrels gleaming in the dim light. Len turned it over in his hands, admiring the intricate mechanisms and gears that allowed for its rapid-fire capability.

"You want it?" Rick asked. "You're the better shot."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, but gimme the shield then," Rick said.

Len handed over the shield, Rick tested it out as Len picked up a round cylindrical magazine that held bolts and put it into a leg cargo pocket. He took two others before standing.

Rick had finished checking the shield and picked up a pair of boots from within the parts.

"Reinforced, but I don't know the enchantment," Rick said, looking at the soles of the boots.

"Let's have a look," Len said.

Rick tossed him a boot.

Len knelt down, placing the boot on the floor. He pressed down on it, feeling the way it felt much larger than it was, distributing the pressure.

It took a bit of extra force than he was expecting to pull it away from the floor.

"Looks like it grips the ground better and distributes your weight."

To further test his theory, Len walked over to one of the bookshelves. He placed his foot on the vertical surface, expecting it to slide off. Instead, the boot gripped the wood as if it were level ground.

Len released it, the mana in the boot going down slowly.

"Keep it supplied with mana and you can literally walk up the wall," Len said.

"Want them?" Rick asked.

"Think they could be better for you, keep your footing if you take a big hit on your shield," Len said.

"That's a good point."

Len threw Rick the boot he was holding. Rick caught it and quickly changed his boots.

"The parts in here are to a good standard, but not going to help us right now," Len said, looking around the room. He moved to the engineering gargoyle, grabbing onto his sword's hilt.

He tugged onto it but it didn't come free, caught in the gears and working parts of the creature.

"Well looks like I won't be using that anymore." Len moved back to the entrance to the room.

"Next floor?" Rick said as he got back on his feet.

"Next floor," Len said.

"Good thing we told Lydia and her people to head over this way with their carts," Rick said.

"Will give the people in Goran a lot to work with," Len said.

"Right, they won't even need us!" Rick grinned.