House Sixsmith’s plan was simple. They wanted six gun batteries for their new flagship carrier. Each one was as large as a tank, so they hired six separate delve teams led by their own elite Gearmeisters to retrieve a single gun battery each.
All of the team members had a job to do and were given specific storage Gadgets to handle their respective parts once a gun battery was dismantled. In fact, Thode’s team was actually going to be working closely with another team, one led by the thin male Cinderran Gearmeister named Zamiras Tremaine.
This was because the gun batteries themselves were located far inside of a Gearmonger ruin about three day’s ride outside of Glokham. There were three known chambers that spawned two batteries each, which meant two teams had to link up and assault each chamber together.
However, the routes getting down to those chambers were fraught with dangers. After all, nothing came free from the Gearmongers. And any worthwhile salvage was sure to be protected behind boatloads of traps, puzzles and enemies. Just so many enemies.
There was a reason not everyone was a delver.
Fortunately, House Sixsmith vetted all the applicants for more than competent delvers.
Azuba had assigned each of them specific roles while they worked together too. Vikta — the crossbreed — would be their main melee frontliner, while the Cinderran, Barn, would be her backup and close-ranged crowd controller. Meanwhile, Thode and Azuba would stay in the back as the heavy duty ranged attackers, followed closely behind by Heimo, who was apparently their resident apothecary and chirurgeon.
It was a solid group set-up and Thode was certain the other delve teams would have a similar arrangement. House Sixsmith had clearly done something like this before. Thode was given a data drive on the ruins themselves and all of the information about its rooms that the House had knowledge of.
For each team to make it down to a specific chamber with gun batteries, they would need to enter the Gearmonger ruins through different entry points and make their way down to their designated room.
That’s how Thode found himself trundling along inside of a motorized carriage for his third day in a row.
Barred windows along the inner walls let in fresh air as he and his four other team members lounged on padded seats within. Azuba remained in the driver’s seat, staring out of the front windshield while maneuvering the carriage around rocky outcroppings, dense shrubs and boulders. Instead of tires, the mechanized transport had tank treads to give it enough traction across uneven terrain.
Unfortunately for Thode’s backside, the journey was as bumpy as a tractor ride on a road made of potholes. Suspended in his spider-like exoskeleton, Heimo was the luckiest of them all. His main water tank was sealed airtight, while the spindly legs on his mechanical frame kept his ride smooth. Though that also made him the most bored, so he’d convinced Barn to play Tumbler Tiles day in and day out.
Thode had never been good at the game, though, at its core, it was just matching sets of three tiles together, either with yours or your opponent’s. And with Heimo’s exoskeleton used as a tabletop, they never had any issues with the tiles sliding around.
That left Thode to make small talk with Vikta, however, she was even more uncomfortable than him while in the carriage, so she mostly sequestered herself off to one side and ignored the whole lot of them. Maybe he could have made conversation with Azuba, but the pink-haired woman had been shooting him a side-eye ever since they piled into the carriage. He didn’t know why, he just knew that he didn’t want to bark up that tree.
Fun fact though, he and Zeb discovered a new feature of his Beholder’s Audioscopes. Turns out, the two of them were able to send written messages to each other dictated by nothing more than their thoughts. Thode had no idea how it worked, especially with Zeb’s Fluxcoding, but lines of script floated in his vision nonetheless.
“You know, lad, Heimo’s gonna lose this next game. Barn’s been holdin’ on to the cipher and key tiles for two rounds already.” Zeb sent to Thode as he reclined in his chair with a wide-brimmed bowler hat covering his eyes in a vain attempt to pretend he was drifting in and out of sleep.
“Thanks, Zeb. Not like I was laying here trying to nap or anything…”
“Pfft, you’ve been napping for three days straight, boyo. That’s not good for a young tyke like you. Your brain needs stimulation. That’s what I’m for!”
“We’ve been playing those stupid games of yours for days now, old man. Can’t you just let me rest for a bit?”
“Oh no you don’t, lad. Tell me again, what’s your audioscopes integration level?”
Thode sighed and shifted in his seat. He was sure Azuba was probably giving him yet another sidelong look, which was another reason for the wide bowler hat on his face. He pulled up a shortened description on his visual interface and checked.
Beholder’s Audioscopes (Upgradeable Gear)
Lignite Coal: Ice (82%), Earth (86%)
Integration: 93%
“Hey, my rate isn’t that bad! I’m almost at 100% after all of House Sixsmith’s assessments and your blasted mind games.”
“But you could be at 100% if you just kept up with my mind games!”
Thode rolled his eyes and fidgeted with his hat, then typed back, “Fine, old man, fine. Fire it up.”
“That’s the spirit, lad. You can nap when you’re dead. Well…actually, I’ll let you nap when that featherheaded heiress is dead.”
At the mention of Reina, Thode clenched his jaw in irritation. “Start the simulation, Zeb.”
When the first projected object manifested in his mind’s eye, he recognized the particular game immediately. It was an obstacle course that Zeb had concocted while they’d been on the road and was meant to hone his usage of his audioscope’s Fluxpowers.
There were three different illusory projectiles. A sharp rock that needed to be blasted into frozen shards by his laser. A piece of Coal that needed to be pulled in by his attractive field. And a sharp piece of metal that needed to be rebuffed by his repulsive field.
It wasn’t long before a projected metal spike whistled towards him from his left and he triggered his repulsive field. The illusion dissipated, then was quickly replaced by a hurtling earthen spear, which he promptly shot down with an icy laser. Once again, the projection vanished into smoke only for a piece of Coal to dash across his vision. In this case, he yanked it towards him before it got out of range of his attractive field.
Then, the projections reset to begin again.
Piece of Coal, metal spike, earthen spear.
Again.
Earthen spear, metal spike, earthen spear.
Again.
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Coal, spear, Coal.
Spear, Coal, spike.
Spike, Spike, Coal
In the old man’s game, his audioscopes’s Fluxpowers didn’t have reload times that he needed to worry about. Thode’s only concern was to use the right power to deal with the corresponding illusion.
And so it went.
First, Zeb only conjured simple triplets, though the automaton swiftly moved on to series of six and nine. When Thode got past those challenges, his companion switched to combinations of illusory projectiles.
An earthen spear and a piece of Coal that needed to be shot down, while simultaneously pulled in. Or a metal spike and an earthen spear that required Thode to repulse the spike, while destroying the spear.
It wasn’t until this simulated game projected by his companion that Thode realized he could use two different Fluxpowers at the same time. The magnetic field of his left eye was distinct from the ice laser of his right and there was nothing keeping him from using both of them in tandem.
So Zeb began again with his different combinations. First, a sequence of three, then six, then nine. Faster and faster, the combinations came and Thode fell into an easy pattern of using his laser and the dual functions of his magnetic field, until handling them became like second nature.
He’d been practicing with this simulation for days now and it had taken him that long to get to this level. But now that he’d grown familiar with it, the process of utilizing two different Fluxpowers became increasingly simple.
Zeb ramped up the sequence until Thode got to the 16th one and he missed an earthen spear that ended up ‘impaling’ him, which earned him a flashing red set of letters in his inner vision that read, ‘GLITCHED’ in bold.
“Blast it all, Zeb! Run it again. I can do better than that.”
“You got it, boyo. Another round, comin’ right up.”
----------------------------------------
Thode unloaded round after round of Fluxfire from his Emberlance Revolver, which had become his new go-to since it was essentially an upgrade from his old Roaring Three-Shooter.
Emberlance Revolver (Ultra High-Grade Gadget)
Status: Operational
Charge: 92%
A dark steel revolver powered by Fire and Air Flux, it smolders with the contained energy of a forge fire. Each bullet is shot by pneumatic pressure and carries a combustible charge. They are capable of lancing through armor and incinerating enemies from the inside out. The gun's dark steel coils and conductive rods enhance its Flux potential, amplifying its deadly power. Reload time: 0.5 sec per bullet, 3 sec per round of 8 shots.
The entrance chute to the Gearmonger ruins him and his team needed to use to get in was crawling with spider- and ant-drones like a nest overflowing with mechanical insects. Now Thode could see firsthand how the area around Glokham became overrun with Gearmongers. This single ruin alone was spewing out constructs, so who knew what the other ruins in the region were like. No wonder there were so many overworld contracts at union HQ. They were just too backed up.
Beside him, Azuba lazily pelted the drones with her own ultra high-grace pistol that shot Ice and Earth Flux bullets. While the two of them cleared the mouth of the chute, Heimo patiently waited to one side. Behind the three of them, Vikta and Barn took care of the double pack of wolf-sentries patrolling the area.
When Thode’s revolver needed to do a full reload, he whipped out his Ventilator Blast Gun to clear a path.
Ventilator Blast Gun (High-Grade Gadget)
Status: Operational
Charge: 98%
This elegant pistol is made of brassteel and channels the power of Air Flux. It fires a concussive gust of wind that can knock opponents off their feet. Reload time: 1.5 sec.
He alternated between the two like clockwork as he and Azuba continued to thin the herd. After a few more minutes of steady Fluxfire, the chute’s opening was finally unobstructed for a brief moment.
“Now, Heimo!” Azuba barked.
The Gogglemoran skittered forward in his spider-like exoskeleton and positioned himself just over the opening. Then, a pair of his frame’s mechanical arms plucked one of the various liquid tanks from his back and dumped it straight into the entrance chute.
“Fire in the hole!” Heimo called, just before he dropped a small grenade into the opening as well. He quickly leapt out of the way using his metallic insect legs and in the next instant, a geyser of purple fire fountained out of the chute.
The heat and caustic smell from the flames immediately made Thode’s eyes water as he began to cough uncontrollably. He had to hastily activate his Homeostatic Goggle-Guards just to be able to breathe in the vicinity.
“What the frag was that?” he spat out in between hacking coughs.
“I’m an apothecary specialist,” Heimo replied proudly. “All of these fluid tanks are filled with different potions I brew on the fly. Makes me perfect for clearing out crowded rooms or healing teammates.”
“Save the chatter for later,” Azuba interrupted. “We’re on a timetable. Zam’s team should be entering their part of the ruins right now too and we need to maintain a parallel schedule with them. Vikta! You’re up! Thode, you’re on sentry duty.”
With an offhanded shrug, he turned around and did what he was told, passing Vikta along the way. The frosty skinned crossbreed stepped up to the flaming opening with her red-haired braids hanging down from beneath a streamlined, brassteel helmet.
Thode put away his pistols and took out his Thunderbolt Over-and-Under.
Thunderbolt Over-and-Under (Ultra High-Grade Gadget)
Status: Operational
Charge: 27%
A dark steel shotgun that fires two types of shells - one loaded with Lightning Flux and the other with Earth Flux that produces explosive metal pellets. The weapon's sleek design features a polished wooden stock and engraved dark steel barrels, with a complex trigger mechanism that allows the user to alternate between the two types of ammo. Reload time: 3 sec
He fired a scattershot into a trio of wolf-sentries, crippling the gyros in their haunches before they could pounce on Barn from the Cinderran’s flank. Then, Thode tossed an Earth Flux grenade to pincushion their metallic hides and finish them off.
A second shotgun blast took down another pair of metal wolves, which Barn quickly skewered with his mechanized hair tentacles. In the meantime, Vikta’s left brassteel arm unfolded into a round shield, while her right dark brass arm turned into a double-bladed battleaxe with lightning crackling along its edges.
By the time that Thode glanced over at the crossbreed, her pitch leather overalls and sleeveless flexweave shirt had been covered up by a solid brassteel cuirass with tassets to protect her upper legs, while leaving her prosthetic arms bare so they could move freely.
Thode had to admit, he was impressed. He’d never really seen a full-fledged frontliner before, but he could see how she would be able to wade through groups of smaller Gearmongers. Of course, she’d be crushed by a rhino- or albatross-sentry, but most folks usually tried to avoid those models at all costs.
In his moment of inattention, a mechanical wolf took advantage and pounced at him. Thode casually lifted his shotgun and blasted it in the face without looking. His audioscopes really had changed him.
Once Heimo’s purple flames died down, Vikta jumped straight down into the entrance chute. Her job was to pave the way for the rest of the team’s safe landing. “Barn! You’re next!” Azuba called out.
“Aye, aye, maum,” replied the short, willowy Cinderran as he rushed past Thode and promptly jumped headfirst into the opening. “Wahoo!” the man cried out, his voice echoing off the chute’s tunnels.
“Alright Heimo, now you. Heal them up if they need it,” Azuba ordered and the Gogglemoran skittered over to the chute, folded up its legs and slipped inside.
Then, the pink-haired woman glanced in his direction, “You’re next, Thode. Back them up and clear the first room. I’ll be along once I secure the entrance to keep anyone or anything from following after us.”
Thode tipped his wide-brimmed bowler hat at Azuba, earning him a scowl, as he walked past.
“You look like a real spouthole with that hat,” typed Zeb over Thode’s vision.
“Shut it, old man. I like it.”
“Where did you even get that thing?”
“Everyone in Glokham wears ‘em.”
“Aye, I know. And it’s vexin’. They can’t even see the sun, why are they wearin’ all these hats?”
“They’re stylish. Besides, it’s too late now, Zeb, I attached it straight into my goggle-guards.”
“By the Hanged Gods…why?”
“So I won’t lose it.”
“You’re a copperhead.”
Thode just shook his head and chuckled at the old man, before he unceremoniously hopped into the transport chute, pistols at the ready.
It was time for another Gearmonger delve.