Hunter Or Huntress

Chapter 157: B-Team

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Saph had done as Dakota ordered and gone to check up on what was happening in the workshops down below. The rhythmic beating of Shiva’s forge rang out clear and steady as Saph threw a glance at the door leading to the smithy, wondering just how Shiva was taking all this. She didn’t even know how much the smith had been told. But knowing Shiva, she likely knew enough to know her last daughter was once again in perilous waters.

‘Best not to disturb,’ Saph thought to herself, instead trying the door to the workshop.

To her near immeasurable relief, nothing seemed to be on fire as she got there. Instead, she found Edita, Tink, and Junior glued to the laptop screen watching something. She honestly didn’t care much, her mind racing on what had just transpired in Jacky’s room. Even the investigator did not seem to know what was going on, and Saph believed her for once. Saph could be mad all she wanted at those good-for-nothing, possibly murderous, cunts with sticks so far up their asses it counted as a holdout weapon… But she and the others at the keep likely couldn’t do shit now.

It wasn’t like just trying to have Fengi fix it was smart. She was a young woman with less than a full week’s experience with her powers. Paulin was probably right. It would only make it worse. She felt damn sorry for Jacky too. At least once Tom had been out completely she had been able to cuddle up with the poor guy, sobbing despite the lack of privacy.

So it was with a feeling of helplessness that Saph walked up behind the technically inclined trio and cleared her throat to not much effect. Junior did at least acknowledge her, glancing back and giving her a quick nod before focussing back on the laptop screen. Saph just sighed. She just had to keep them out of trouble. If they could manage that by themselves, then job done she guessed.

“What are we watching?”

“They are making something called a chocolate dar… It must be a type of survival food,” Edita responded, eyes wide with awe.

“Oh yeah, those? Tom gave me one back when we first met I think. They’re pretty good.”

That certainly got their attention as they all turned around to look at her, Saph taking a quick second to ponder if speaking had been a dumb idea.

“But it’s full of sugar!” Junior let out.

“Were there any negative side effects?” Tink was quick to add. Saph just sighed a bit. She was more than certain the inventor would happily eat one regardless of the answers.

“It wasn’t that bad. Maybe a bit sweeter than the cake. Sure was a nice pick-me-up though.”

“Would you describe it as survival food?”

“I mean… sure I guess. Wasn’t gonna make me not hungry though, that’s for sure. Not much in it really aside from sweet and some grain.”

“There is no grain in this one. You must have had something different,” Junior corrected, Saph just shrugging.

“I believe it is supposed to be used as a combat stimulant,” Edita added, seeming very sure in her assumption, which was rather undermined by the announcer on the laptop describing the ‘Nars Dar’ as a ‘children's confection loved by all.’

“Sure,” Saph sighed, trying and failing to seem convincing. Edita didn’t seem to pick up on it in the slightest, instead growing a big smile on her face.

“I meant to ask ‘How is Tom doing’ by the way?” Tink interrupted, clearing his throat a little. “We were wondering if perhaps he would be able to come down… just for a bit of course. We had some ideas to discuss.”

“I promise I won’t make any threats or accusations of heresy,” Edita added as if on cue, looking like she honestly meant it.

“Thank you Edita, but… No I don’t think Tom is leaving that room for a while…”

“He got worse didn’t he?” Junior asked, clearly picking up on Saph’s less-than-happy demeanor.

“Yeah… He’s talking to people who aren’t there anymore, and I think he just puppeteered the inquisitor into reading his mind… without even touching her.”

“That sounds significant… How so?” Tink questioned, looking to Saph as Edita just stared, mouth open.

“But… but… she’s one of the best there is?” the artificer questioned in clear disbelief.

“I think she let him though… we were trying to work out a way to get him back to the real world. He can’t tell the difference anymore.”

“Oh right… obviously. Of course,” Edita stammered out before swallowing once. “That makes sense.”

“So he’s not coming, right?” Tink tried again, hope dwindling but still there.

“No, Tink. He’s not coming,” Saph replied, trying her best not to sound mean. “You get me in the meantime. Basically, everyone else is busy right now.”

“Oh… Would you help with the machine gun then? We want to take it apart,” Tink continued, clearing his throat a little and fixing his posture as Junior put the laptop on pause.

“Yes, I might have some ideas for improvements,” Edita added with cautious optimism. In fact, her tone was almost bordering on slightly ashamed, like she knew she was asking for something she shouldn’t.

“I think so,” Saph replied with a shrug, trying to stare at the artificer, before instead turning her attention to Tink. “Pretty sure you could just go do that yourselves though.”

“Well, we would have liked Tom to be here for it, to hear his thoughts,” Tink replied. “It is with our young dragon at the moment. I will fetch it. Come along, Junior.”

“It’s getting late… can’t we wait till tomorrow?” Saph replied, not needing any help to sound tired.

“Oh… right… We will just fetch it then. We can take it apart tomorrow.”

“Fine, you two go then. We can stay here I think,” Saph added as Junior went to follow his father.

Edita for her part looked to Saph with a worried expression before something seemed to dawn on her. “Do you want to keep watching?”

“No… Just wanted a quick chat,” Saph replied, trying to sound calm and nice despite her rather dour mood right now.

“I-I don’t know much about reading minds and all that. I promise,” Edita protested almost defensively.

“No no, I know,” Saph tried, raising her hands and trying to calm down the artificer. “It’s fine.”

“You aren’t lying, right?” Edita questioned, her eyes betraying that she honestly had no clue.

“No no, do not worry… Tom has proved tough in more ways than one, I am sure this will be no different. Not to mention he was somewhat crazy even before this all started,” Saph tried, still trying to seem as calm and collected as possible.

“O-okay… I just. Don’t want him to hate me like Joelina.”

“I will be honest, I don’t even think he hates her with all that she has done. He can be quite forgiving.”

“Oh…” she let out carefully before growing the slightest of smiles.

“I’m sure he would be very pleased. You are taking initiative. Just as long as it is safe… You did want to do something that would be safe, right?”

“Uhm…”

“Tink had a strawbrain idea and you helped him didn’t you?” Saph let out, trying and failing quite hard to hide her disappointment as the artificer glanced to the side, scratching behind one of her ears.

“Well… Sort of. We had an idea for cooling down the gun. Tink said it gets too hot a lot.”

“Which is?” Saph tried a glimmer of hope returning to her voice. Something to keep it cool couldn’t be that bad, surely.

“Well, frost powder can be used in many ways. The problem here will be keeping it from freezing solid. I made a drawing already. I cannot remember the last time I did that.”

“You don’t make drawings?... Tom spends sooo much time on those I thought you had to?” Saph questioned, tilting her head a bit. Thus far this didn’t sound too bad.

“We use them. We just don’t make them. It is all ancient designs… I don’t know how to make the water move though. I’ve never made a pump before. Well, not a little one.”

“Right… have you even seen the gun yet?”

“Not up close… But Tink showed me one of the drawings Tom created. It was very exciting.”

“I swear if you had just gotten here any other time than when all ‘this’,” Saph gestured at everything around her, “was going on, he would have loved you…”

“Uhm… why?”

“The dude really loves his drawings. Linkosta is the only one here who even understands them half the time.”

“I couldn’t read what any of it said.” Edita interjected looking a little slackeared. “So not much better.”

“Well, maybe we just take it apart and put it back together again while looking at said drawings. Then maybe tomorrow get Shiva, I’m sure she would want to be involved if we are talking about changing anything.”

“Tink said she was in a foul mood.”

“Yeah yeah, I know. Maybe she just needs some time to think. There is always tomorrow after all. It’s been quite the day.”

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“What the fuck is going on?” Tom whispered in as low a tone as he could manage, looking around, blinking his eyes and trying to get them to focus. He had the mother of all headaches and, considering his past experiences, that was no mean feat. He couldn’t even put together an internal monologue for the sheer skull-splitting pain of what felt more like a shattered cranium tossed in a roaring fire.

He felt some kind of movement as his body shifted. He was lying down, that much he could work out, but aside from that, he didn’t have the faintest clue.

“You’re awake? Tom, please look at me, look up,” a very loud yet somehow still tired sounding voice went as Tom flinched. He tried to cover his ears, but his arms refused to move more than a little twitching.

“Please… quiet,” he groaned, pinching his eyelids closed as about the only protest he could manage.

“Sorry,” the voice replied, still entirely too loud as he felt his sore body get pulled into a hug, a hand stroking the back of his head. He felt incredibly shit right now, and he really hoped this was not just a figment of his imagination playing tricks on him… at least it seemed to be a kind-hearted one if that was the case.

He tried to probe his burning mind for something. Anything really about where the hell he was now. He couldn’t make out if this was a memory or real in his current state that was for sure. The last thing he could remember was being forced to fight back down in the tunnels below, and he really didn’t want to dwell on that right now.

He lay there trying futilely to concentrate even just a little before he finally gave up with a strained sigh. “Joelina?... Where are we?”

“She’s not here Tom,” the voice replied as he felt his head get turned around to look up at the ceiling. The voice sounded so soft, almost divinely so. So caring and compassionate. If this really was his mind fucking with him, he certainly didn’t think this was a memory.

He once more tried to blink his eyes open, being greeted with a big white shape in front of him, almost seeming like it was glowing.

“Who are you?” he groaned in a quite pathetic-sounding voice. “Are you an angel?”

He felt the slightest little chuff reverberate through whatever it was that was holding him as he tried to make out the blurry shape in front of him. “I-it’s me. It’s Jacky… can you see me?” the voice asked, tone heavy with anticipation and hope. She sounded so kind and caring. Definitely not Joelina, but it didn’t sound like Jacky either, so calm and so quiet. At least after he told them to quiet down.

“Bit blurry,” Tom replied in a whisper, a smile slowly creeping onto his face. The hug tightened again, Tom winching and shutting his eyes once more. Real or not, even fake Jacky was a massive upgrade from fighting in the mines, and if he really was trapped inside his own head right now, then what better place to be.

“He’s awake, girls. He’s up,” the voice whispered, as Tom just tried to focus on breathing and not dying for right now at least.

‘What even happens if I die in a memory… I don’t even wanna think.’ But he failed miserably at it as the memories started coming back one by one. Everything he had just been dragged through.

He heard the rustling of someone moving around the room, it sounded like multiple people to him, and a door being opened and shut. He just lay there listening to his mind replay what had happened. Trying to piece together everything. The sheer wonder he felt, on the hunting trips, the laughing, the games they played, the festival, the time at the lake, the kids fooling around, the movie nights, Jacky... All the fighting, all the killing, the death of Anastasi, the kids from Hylsdahl, the goodbye to his mother, his old lost friends, the long days of hard work, the vaults, the inquisition, the weapons production. The good, the bad, and the ugly…

It was all just too much right now, and he didn’t want to think about any of it. He just couldn’t bear it right now as he began to sob, soon starting to cry what he could as he was held there near motionless. He was spent, he couldn’t just give up or stop, but he couldn’t carry on either. He didn’t know if anything was real, he couldn’t even answer when he last slept. Everything hurt and he could barely move. But he had to. For the sake of everything here, he had to keep going. For Jacky, for the kids, by the sounds of it for the future of a whole world. He just couldn't right now… So he cried instead.

Jacky or maybe the memory of her rocked him back and forth ever so gently. Stroking the back of his head slowly and carefully. Eventually, she even began to hum a little tune. He didn’t know it, but it was nice and soothing in a low deep tone. He wasn’t keeping track of time, he just laid there, eyes shut, crying before slowly calming back down. He had no clue how long it took. He heard the door open and shut a few times while Jacky kept on humming, switching from one tune to the next.

What could he do?... He couldn’t just stop. What had happened had happened. Good and bad. Giving up would only lead to bad things happening. He just needed a little break. If only he knew if this was all real, or if he was still inside of his own slowly melting mind and Joelina had finally given up on him.

“Where are we?” he whispered carefully, eyes still wet with tears.

“My room. Just like before,” Jacky replied, whispering, sounding a touch apologetic. She lifted him up and held his head against hers, hugging him tight once more.

“What’s happening?”

“You’re here… Don’t care about anything else. Are you still seeing things?”

“Not a thing…” Tom tried, opening his eyes and squinting into the dark room. His eyes hurt like hell, and he couldn't see shit save for a weak firelight coming from somewhere. “Think I need a minute.”

“You’ll have all year,” Jacky replied, squeezing him tighter once more. Tom did his best to not sound like a squeaky toy.

“Joelina?”

“Carried off to sleep it off… Did you break her?”

“I don’t have a clue,” Tom admitted, sighing contentedly to just believe this was all real for now. “How much trouble?”

“I don’t have a clue. I don’t care… how did you puppet her around? That was maybe the best thing I’ve seen in a week.”

“I did what?”

“Don’t worry about it. Just rest. I’m still here… I’ll always be here.”

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It had taken a while before the boys returned with the gun, Radexi having come along to oversee what they were doing. It sorta made sense Saph guessed, he was more or less responsible for the gun when it was on Jarix’s back, and he was trained to take it apart by now. At least enough to clean it, which she was told was rather important.

Saph had found an unexpected ally in the quest to keep them from doing anything more than take it apart. Edita had treated the weapon like a religious artifact, getting out an exquisite-looking white glimmering sheet to take it all apart on. In the low light, it almost sparkled like the few dimmer stars one could see in the night sky when there was little or no moon.

The sheet had covered most of the workshop floor, and even Tink had been a little timid about spilling oil on it. Edita had, however, assured them and even demonstrated how it was nearly impossible to get dirty. Apparently, it was made from silverbear wool. Saph had never actually seen one, but it sure was pretty. Saph had of course asked what it might actually cost to have clothes made from this, but to her disappointment, Edita had no idea at all. That had devolved into a brief discussion on what one could actually get for a gold piece. Saph quickly concluded she would need to make sure the poor woman wasn’t scammed when their next trader came by.

To say Edita was impressed by the weapon was an understatement. Apparently, the revelation that the humans had made such a weapon without the use of flash powder or metal working magic like Shiva’s was near impossible for her to believe. It was abundantly clear, though, that Edita knew exactly what she was doing in regards to machinery like this. Every bolt had a place, every bit laid out meticulously like a grand puzzle on either the cloth-covered floor, chairs, tables, or whatever else she could find.

“If only we had more space to work with. This is soo messy,” the artificer complained as she put down another piece in its newly designated spot. Saph had honestly no idea what she was on about; she could still walk between the parts as they sat in their little groups, but she didn’t voice her objections as the artificer seemed to just keep working regardless.

“We could take it to the halls and lay it out on a tarp there,” Tink suggested, picking up a part to inspect it, which was quickly snatched by Edita.

“No, we cannot move it now. How does this get too hot? The barrel is just plain steel, is it not? It feels like it?” the artificer replied, rubbing the barrel once she had returned the doohickey to its rightful spot. “It is very thick. This would take a lot of heat.”

“It does, but it makes more. You can feel the heat on your face when it fires. The fireball is like this big coming out the end,” Radexi added, spreading his arms out wide enough Saph did think it was at least a little bit of an exaggeration. Damn if she could not still feel the pounding it had given her when the kid had fired over her head with it though. “Problem is ours is yet to fire for long enough to overheat before it stops. Jamming as Tom calls it. It is a problem.”

“Hmmm Interesting… what about in here?” Edita questioned, lifting the barrel up to look down the bore. “Uuuh… Spirals. Is that to make it spin like a top?”

“Yup. Rifling he calls it. It was a pain in the butt to make,” Saph replied, trying to remain enthusiastic. “Tom says if it was perfect, this thing could hit something over a mile away.”

“Amazing,” Edita responded with wonder in her eyes as she rubbed the inside of the barrel with a pinky finger. “Does it not just get worn away? I have seen drawings of similar weapons, but they all used harder metals in the barrel's construction. Either entirely or as an internal lining.”

“Tom did grumble about that,” Saph echoed. “We put what hardening we could on it. Though a mithril sleeve would be most desirable according to Tom, or some other very hard metal apparently.”

“We were just planning on making a new barrel if we wear this one out. Well, Shiva would,” Tink responded, Junior nodding his agreement.

“I suggested making the bullets softer but then they won't do as well against armor,” the young inventor added with a shrug, not seeming entirely sold on why that was a bad idea. “Oh and something about the bullet holding its shaping going down the barrel, I think.”

“No, it was so the barrel isn’t filled with lead shavings. The pressure is too high for that, hence the copper,” Tink corrected in a soft, fatherly tone.

“You used lead for the bullets, right? With a copper shell?” Edita just looked at them before glancing back down at the round “Why not steel?”

“Tom said heavier is better with this. Though apparently, bullets with steel cores or tips do exist. But the soft copper is needed to not destroy the rifling. Yet it is still better than pure lead for everything else.” Junior responded seeming quite confident in his knowledge on the system.

“Tom refers to it as a jacket,” Tink added with a nod. “I personally find the system quite clever.”

“If it is Tom’s design, I am certain it is fit to the task at hand… It’s so elegant… yet simple,” Edita went, turning the bullet around in her fingers, testing its balance and checking the primer. “Beautiful.”

“If what Tom has said is accurate, they have been making these for hundreds of years with little to no change,” Saph interjected, breaking the inventor out of her admiration. “Apparently even they struggle to find improvements to it.”

“A masterpiece then. I see why he chose it to be the first of its kind to be brought into our world,” the artificer all but chirped. Saph couldn’t work out if she was sounding more excited or awe-inspired right now, both worried her just a little.

Tink let out a little chuckle, Resting on his knee as he leaned in. “They learned to fly in that time, but decided this was perfect as it is.”

“Then it is perfect,” Edita declared, placing it back down. “I shall note it down as such, in time this may become a new standard unit,” she all but giggled, looking back to the gun and picking up a piece of the bolt.

“That one not so much, sadly. It is just as old as the bullet, and just as perfect apparently. But we can’t get the damn thing to run right.”

“It is a complex marvel to be sure.”

“Do you believe you could improve upon it?” Radexi asked, crossing his arms, Saph suppressing a chuckle at the young man’s tough man stance.

“Maybe just make it work right for starters?” Saph added hopefully. “That would be a good start.”

“Any enchantment would need to draw power from somewhere. We have still not understood how our forefathers managed to convert movement to magic and other such marvels of enchantment.”

“But if the bolts movement could be assured through magics, this may solve any stoppages. How does it jam?”

“Usually it either fails to kick out the old round and it gets stuck, or it doesn’t pull back far enough to even try,” Radexi clarified, still holding his cross armed stance.

“Sounds like we need Linkosta for that one,” Saph shrugged. “Or is it just flat-out impossible to do?”

“I don’t know… What do you do to get it going again when it happens?” the artificer asked, looking to Radexi.

“Yank on the charging handle as hard as you can, hoping it budges. If it does get a new round in and try again.

“That could be done… though this spring is very stiff,” Edita commented, trying to compress the main recoil spring in her hands, which just resulted in a poorly controlled wobble before she put it back down, patting it a little.

“And what if it gets stuck completely?” Saph questioned, also throwing a glance Radexi’s way. “That has happened before?”

Radexi just nodded before looking away a little, finding something else interesting on the floor.

“It may kill the user,” Edita admitted. “If a safety is not made of some kind. That would be very complex and very expensive.”

“But… that would take a while right? Couldn’t you just cut the flow?”

“You could, but in the middle of battle, it might not be the best… Perhaps designing it to only draw on touch wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

“What about cooling then? You had an idea for that, no?” Tink tried, seeming a little disappointed at that answer.

“Yes, I want to use water and frost powder somehow,” Edita replied enthusiastically, picking up the shroud that went over the first bit of the barrel. Saph honestly didn’t quite know what it did, but it was full of holes and Shiva had been cursing a lot when she had to make it.

“Tom did mention using water to do it,” Tink added. “We were planning on doing that for the second gun destined for the guard tower.”

“Why not use it on this one?”

“Weight,” Radexi added with a shrug.

“And the fact it’s already not working that well,” Saph tried hopefully. “Why make it more complicated?”

“I can try and see if I can improve on it,” Edita went, looking back at them. “But I don’t think I know enough to make it better as is. I’m sorry.”

“Well, Tom definitely won’t mind you reading up on this stuff,” Saph countered. “I think he would be quite thrilled.”

“Yes… What about Joelina?” Edita asked, a dawning realization on her face indicating to Saph she had only just thought to ask about the woman who actually brought her here, seemingly against quite a bit of better judgment.

“I have no idea. Last I saw she was once more locked in a trance with Tom. I don’t think we will be seeing her again at least till tomorrow.”

“Wait… does that mean we have free reign?” Tink asked, looking around the room, seemingly getting just a little bit excited.

“No, because I am here. And I will be making sure you behave at least somewhat smartly,” Saph was quick to shut him down. “But yes, we will be working by ourselves I think.”

“Does this mean Linkosta might be free to help me learn to read?” Edita questioned, with what Saph presumed was her best impression of puppy eyes… It was not all that effective to be honest. She was used to Fengi’s magic variant.

“I believe so. At least once she is done with tidying up her notes on what Tom and Joelina got up to in the bedroom. She was not allowed to stay so she won’t be collecting any more.”

Junior suddenly choked on something, and Radexi seemed a touch uncomfortable all of a sudden. Tink went to quickly pat the young man on the back as Saph sighed. ‘God dammit Saph.’

“Yes, you must tell me what happened up there? I wasn’t there for it… I honestly didn’t even really notice something was going on up there.”

“That is impressive… Not that important now. I am sure the inquisitor will hand you a report… or something,” Saph replied, growing a little uncomfortable herself as Radexi bit his lip, looking unsure what to do right now.

Junior at least stopped coughing and straightened up, drawing a deep breath.

“There we go, careful when swallowing. It can go wrong for the best of us,” Tink added in his best kindhearted, fatherly tone, not picking up on a thing.

‘Fucking hell dude… and I’m shepherding you lot for god knows how long… yay.’

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