This summoning didn’t seem too bad, I just had to play security guard for a night. First off, I summoned my minions. After everyone was out, I buffed Grulnok and then duplicated him. For now, I ordered them to follow me as I got a feel for the layout of the store.
The front door was across the store from the main sales counter where I had been summoned to. It was a double door affair that was made from solid oak with some iron bands reinforcing it. My summoner had just locked it with a key when he had left the store, but the door was also equipped with brackets that allowed a beam to be placed across to help secure it further. On the floor near the door the sturdy beam had been placed out of the way where no customers might trip on it, yet it was close enough to where it was needed in an emergency.
Windows were placed liberally around the walls, and iron security bars had been installed on the exterior to protect the store from thieves. Peeking out the nearest windows near the front door, I heard something behind me that caused my team to turn and draw our weapons. I wasn’t sure what I was seeing at first, but it appeared to be whatever automatons that the summoner had working in the store at night.
The automaton was like a human-sized wooden puppet that slightly shuffled its feet when moving. I had heard the shuffling of the thing’s feet on the wood plank flooring, which had grabbed our attention. The automaton had a pair of leather shoes and gloves on, and a green tunic with what I assumed was the store’s symbol on it, a white horse with a young lady rider.
With arms and legs that were little more than broom handles, and small three-fingered hands, the automaton looked almost skeletal as it went about its task. This one had an armful of clothing, and I watched as it slowly began to hang the clothes on the appropriate racks. A clanging sound was heard deeper in the store, and I waved the team forward to investigate.
This place was huge, about the size of a normal grocery store. The further into the store I went, the more expensive the items appeared. It was maybe a good idea to keep the cheap stuff near the door if you were worried about theft. We soon located the source of the clanging. There was an automaton walking through the store, opening the cover on hanging lanterns, then lighting them.
The store was rather dim, but as the automaton made its way around the store lighting the lantern, things became easier to make out. Another automaton was also working at stocking the shelves, and I ordered my team to stay out of their way as they worked, I didn’t want to have my rating dinged because Rupert stumbled into an automaton and damaged it.
Near the back of the store was a stairway leading down to what I assumed was the basement. I’d scoped out the upper level, and while it had a large footprint, it wouldn’t be too hard for the team to keep tabs on everything. I left Rupert and Lillia on the main floor with instructions to detain any intruders, and only use lethal force if they had trouble subduing the target. The pair of Grulnok’s accompanied me down into the basement.
A fourth automaton was down here, lighting the lanterns on this level. The bottom floor was taken up with racks stuffed with various boxes of goods. A few crates had been opened, which was where the automatons upstairs must have gathered the items they were restocking. Along the wall near the stairs, was a row of oversized crates with numbers printed on them.
There was a total of 17 crates, and four of them were open and empty. Those must have been for the four automatons that were already working around the shop. On the side of each crate was a painted handprint. When I placed my hand over one of the crates, I got a system message.
Do you wish to activate automaton number 14? Y/N.
I mentally selected no, and the prompt went away. From my instructions, crate 14, along with 7, and 9, were the ones holding automatons that would help me if I came up against anything I couldn’t handle. The magic that animated these things, and allowed them to handle complex tasks, was interesting, and I’d have to dig into the database back at Refuge to see if anyone had received a class that did something like that.
A soft light in the back of an empty crate caught my attention. There, mounted on the roof of the empty crate, was a slightly glowing green gem. I could feel the mana coming off the gem, and if I had to guess, it was probably the means used to power the automatons. At some point they would run low on mana and need to recharge. While they did, another crate could open, and a fresh replacement would take over for the recharging unit.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
It was a slick system, and it probably cost a lot up front, but would save the shopkeeper expense in the long run due to not having to hire maintenance personnel. The sound of water gurgling in a drain caught my ear, drawing my attention away from the automaton crates. In the far corner, I could see a large iron grate on the floor. A shallow pool of water was starting to form around the grate.
I hated plumbing of any sort, and thankfully, my summoner had assigned an automaton to deal with this because I sure didn’t want to. Checking my instructions again, I located crate 17, placing my hand over it and willing it to activate. The front of the crate slowly opened and an automaton that seemed identical to the other workers emerged.
The automaton walked around the room, checking first on two other drains that were clear and not making any noise, before walking to the problem one. I watched as the automaton lifted the iron grate and thrust his arm inside for a few seconds. It stood there, motionless, almost like it was calculating the next steps it needed to take.
I had to step aside as the automaton walked back to crate 1, which it opened to reveal several sets of various tools. Grabbing an empty toolbox from the floor of the crate, the automaton began to load up whatever it thought it might need for the job at hand.
“I’ll leave you to your plumbing. Let me know if you need me,” I said to the automaton, but it didn’t react in any way, and I figured they weren’t exactly programmed to interact with the security guard.
Returning to the first floor, I walked around a bit more to get a better feel for the place. Once I had the layout of the store down, I ordered my team to begin patrolling. With four of my minions, they could keep a pretty good eye on the entire store and basement area. While the team started their patrols, I watched the automatons work.
They were slow, but diligent in their efforts. Things that had been sold during the day were replaced with fresh merchandise. Once, all four of the automatons walked down to the basement and into their crates to recharge. Four new ones emerged and took up right where the others had left off. That implied some kind of shared intelligence where they knew what had already been done, and what tasks remained.
I did spend time looking out the windows at the city around us. Much of this area was built up, which restricted my view. Despite that, I could see several other, much smaller shops nearby, each of which seemed to specialize in a particular type of item or service. It made me wonder why they didn’t copy this large, and seemingly successful shop. Offering a wide range of goods seemed to be a winning strategy for my summoner.
There were lampposts spaced at regular intervals outside, and the streets were ominously quiet. As I watched, a patrol of five city watch walked by. They were humans, all armored in chainmail and armed with spears, shields, and swords. I was no expert, but to me, they looked on edge. They weren’t a casual patrol just making sure that everything was as it should be. These guards were expecting conflict.
My thoughts over the patrol were interrupted when I felt the connection to Rupert end. He was gone, something had killed him. Instantly alert, I looked around for my other minions. The original Grulnok was over by the front door, and I got his attention and waved him over. I did the same with Lillia who was at the far end of the shop.
“Follow me, something took out Rupert,” I warned my team. Nothing appeared out of place up here, so Rupert must have been in the basement when he met his fate. The roar of an orc warrior, my duplicate Grulnok, and the clash of weapons echoing up into the shop confirmed that the problem was somewhere down in the basement.
“Let’s go,” I ordered, leading my remaining two minions to reinforce the duplicate Grulnok. Whatever was down there, we were ready.
I almost smashed into one of the automatons as I charged down the shopping aisles but was barely able to avoid hitting it. They looked frail with their broom handle-sized limbs, and I wanted to make sure I ended up with a strong rating on this one. Keeping the damage to the shop at a minimum was probably key to a high rating. The other piece of the puzzle was defending this place from whoever had broken in.
Slowing to let Lillia lead the way with her shield and spear, I charged down the basement stairs behind her, with the other Grulnok bringing up the rear. At the bottom of the stairs, in the dim light of the lanterns, I took in the sight before me.
Near the clogged drain hole, the remains of the plumber automaton were strewn about. Next to him, two dead creatures lay. I wasn’t sure if it was Rupert or the automaton that did them in, and I didn’t have time to investigate as another creature pulled itself from the sewer.
The humanoid shaped invaders were about my shoulder height and covered in patchy, dirty hair. They looked like oversized rats that walked upright, and there was already a half dozen of them in the basement, and more were following behind the one that had just pulled itself from the drain. Each wore ragged leather armor and held shortsword-sized blades, that despite looking rust covered, were jagged and sharp.
A pair of rat creatures seemed to appear from thin air as they stabbed the duplicate Grulnok in the back. My minion used his axe to cleave through an enemy in front him, but the rats behind struck a second time, their blades piercing through the armor Grulnok wore. My minion dissipated into mana vapor and the beady red eyes of the rat people all turned toward me and my remaining team. I didn’t like the look they were giving me. They looked hungry and I was the only living thing on the menu tonight.