20 – Fire Vs Water

The growler hit the ground in pieces, and the echo of its shattered frame took a long time to die against the walls and ceiling.

“That was easy enough,” Aury said, bringing his armored foot down on a copper gear still rolling across the stone.

The machine had detonated when Simon’s sword found the fuel tank on its back, drenching the floor in petroleum. It burst into flames the moment sparks from the pikes and the rock caught the spray.

“That was terrifying,” Simon grunted. The oily black substance leaked from his blade, dripping onto the ground.

He wiped a palm across his face, smearing the soot over his cheeks and nose. He scanned the empty cavern, probably looking for something to clean it off. His eyes drifted to Paco.

To Paco’s wings, specifically.

The purple dragon stared back, scales bristling with an immediate, entirely too human suspicion.

“I think I can make you some armor from the mech loot,” Ashley said. She reached out, her hand brushing his shoulder before he could make a choice he would undoubtedly regret. “But first…”

She channeled her mana, directing the intent into her fingers. A soft, warm prickle of light radiated from her palm. Simon’s form shimmered as the oily sludge and soot vanished, evaporating into the stale air.

Ashley laughed inwardly. This [Cleansing] is becoming my favorite spell.

“Uh. Thank you. And thank you?” Simon smiled at her. Or tried to. His face was caught between relief and confusion, though the relief didn’t last.

Ashley turned back toward the darker tunnels ahead. “But first, we have to see what’s up with those gnomes.”

She pointed toward the distant tunnel. A heavy rumble of engines grinding inside the walls filled the space, vibrating through the dirt. Ten concealed doors on the right wall slid open in unison.

A small army emerged. They were black dreadnoughts, shaped like the one they had just destroyed, but much smaller and walking on articulated legs. Each was the size of a gnome, their metal hulls gleaming under the light filtering through the doors.

The armored gnomes marched out in lockstep formation, footsteps striking in perfect time to an unheard drum. They deployed quickly, taking position in two orderly files across the passage.

Then the ceiling groaned. Two circular hatches rotated open and from the darkness above, two massive, multi-barreled contraptions were lowered on thick chains, each featuring a cluster of pipes arranged in a deadly circle.

Gnomes sat in the cradles of each weapon, two per gun: one gripping the handles to aim, the other frantically working a heavy brass crank. The gears shrieked as the barrels began to spin, a high-speed blur of metal and oil.

The only gnome not wearing a helmet marched to the front of the line. Thick grey fur covered his face, matted and wild. He scratched his muzzle and turned back to check the formation of his small army.

The system interface came alive, blue windows flickering to life above the assembled ranks.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[Gnome Engineer in Power Armor] x25 — Lv. 30

Weapons: Blunderbuss, Dynamite

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[Gnome Master Engineer in Mastercraft Power Armor] x1 — Lv. 150

Weapons: Blunderbuss, Wrench of Mana Privation

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[Gnome Gatling Crew] x4 — Lv. 35

Weapons: Steam Gatling Gun (x2)

Status: [Elevated Position]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

“My name is Kikkity Kit, monster!” the Gnome Master Engineer shouted. “And you shall not pass!”

He raised a clenched fist into the air. “For the Vault!”

A chorus erupted, muffled by their helmets, as the gnomes raised their weapons in a single, crisp motion. “Uh! Uh! Uh!”

The grey-bearded leader turned to the soldier on the far right, his face a rigid line of finality. “Do it, Gomp.”

The gnome nodded and struck a flint. A tiny spark caught a braided fuse, and the cord began to hiss, trailing white smoke as the fire ate toward the mechanism.

This narrative has been purloined without the author’s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

The geometry of a last stand was unmistakable. Ashley had seen it many times in movies and sometimes here too; the markers were identical: the thick silence, the absolute stillness of those waiting to die.

“They really mean it,” she said. “I suppose it can’t be helped.”

She directed her intent to her raised finger. “[Water Bubble].” A sudden, icy chill numbed her skin as the ambient moisture rushed to her call. A sphere of water coalesced around her hand, swirling with a soft blue light.

She pointed it at the burning spark as the grey-bearded gnome remained perfectly still, rooted to the stone.

“Do we really have to do this?” As she spoke, the smile didn’t reach her eyes.

His answer came in a commanding voice.