[Mkguild] MK story part 5

[Christian Okane]

Here is part 5 of my Metamor Keep story. Here things get a little weird.


Chris
The Lurking Fox




   The Animalia department of the Marigund mages guild was located in the
northwest corner Guild hall compound. In most sections of the vast compound
the floors and hallways were kept scrupulously clean. The floors swept and
mopped daily. But here the floors were strewn with straw and a good sized
layer of dirt. Carlisle watched carefully where he placed his feet as the
departments' numerous animals had left countless surprises scattered all
about. He walked through an open doorway and into a garden. The grass
beneath his feet was lush and sprinkled liberally with wild flowers.

   Carlisle came upon a lion and a lioness resting together under a tall oak
tree. He was looking at a mage and pet. Which was the mage and which was the
pet he could not tell. Perhaps both were mages or maybe they were something
else? But what?

   "Have you seen my wife?" Carlisle asked the felines.

   The lioness licked the lion on the muzzle gently. "She's in the garden
Carl."

   "By the bird fountain," the lion added and nuzzled the lioness tenderly

   "Thank you!" The man said and walked on still unsure of who or what he
had talked to.

   He found Gina seated on one of the benches that surrounded a small
fountain which was alive with birds. The flock was chirping and singing as
they enjoyed the fresh water. 

   Carlisle sat down next to his wife and lay the leg on the bench between
them placing it on top of a large pile of papers. "As you know lately the
Automata dept has been working on the remains of an automaton. We've gotten
enough pieces to identify the automaton as some sort of four legged animal.
We think it was some form of predator. Can you identify the exact species
involved?"

   Gina examined the leg for a moment. "It is definitely a feline but I
don't recognize the species. How close a copy of a real limb is it?" she
asked.

   Carlisle shrugged. "I'm hoping you could answer that. It seems to be a
very close copy but some of the automicants got creative and made
modifications." There was a disapproving tone in his voice.

   "I thought all mechanical mages preferred such strange creatures," a
female voice said.

   Both people turned to the voice and found the lion and lioness padding
over to them. The lion lay down close to the bench and settled in for a nap.
The lioness sat up looking at the bench and its occupants.

   "There is a lot of what the automicants of old did that I disapprove of,"
Carlisle responded. "There is so much we can do with Automata like replace
lost limbs and organs, allow people to fly or explore underwater  or visit
places too dangerous for a living creature to go. But all they did was
create engines of war," he said is a disgusted tone. "New ways to kill
people."

   The lioness shook her head in an almost human motion. "What of this metal
fox I've heard of?"

   "Madog?" Carlisle asked. "He's made quite a reputation for himself."

   "In battle?" The lion was still flat on the ground and his eyes were
closed but his ears were turned towards the humans.

   "Both in and out of it," the man said. "In the Yule attack he saved the
lives of hundreds of people. Rumors tell that he killed a Moransai by
himself."

   "What?" The lioness asked.

   Even the lion opened his eyes and his head turned to the man.

   "In the final battle for the Keep he defeated and killed a Moransai.
Several witnesses say he literally ripped the evil mage to pieces," Carlisle
said. "In spite of being showered with some very deadly spells."

   "And you want to restore one of these things here?" Gina asked horrified.

   "Misha says Madog is the sweetest and most gentle of souls," the man
countered. "He plays with the little children all the time. But you need not
take my word on this. Misha is coming here soon enough and Madog is coming
with him. Both will be here when we reactivate the automaton."

   "Why?" the lioness asked.

   "Because Misha is the most skilled automicant and I need his skill and
experience. Also having a working automaton to examine will help us
infinitely."

   "And if your new metal beast goes berserk Madog is the only thing capable
of stopping it," the lion added calmly.

   "Of course!" Carlisle answered. "The old legends speak of automatons
slaughtering thousands and destroying whole cities. I may not like those old
stories but I do remember them."

   "Old stories," the lion said. "Are just that. Stories. But can you
actually trust them Carl?"

   "All tales have a grain of truth at their heart," Gina commented.

   "We do more in the Automata then just search through junk yards," the man
responded. "We are attempting to locate and catalogue every story and legend
involving automatons. We have stories written by very credible and
trustworthy witnesses that tell of the automatons having immense power. And
of course we now have Madog as proof."

   "So the legends of automatons larger than dragons and capable of
destroying whole cities are true?" Gina asked. "I've heard the tales of the
Dragon war but considered them exaggerated myths."

   Carlisle nodded slowly. "Oh yes. We have in our collection what we
believe was one of the main supports for a wing. It's twenty five feet long!
The automaton it was from is estimated to have had a wingspan of over three
hundred feet."

   "One thing I've never understood," Gina said slowly. "Why did they build
such huge monsters capable of so much destruction."

   "With great knowledge does not always come great wisdom," the lion said.

   The lioness sniffed at the metal limb and even turned it over with her
paw. "Why must people attempt to copy or modify the perfection of nature."

   Carlisle shrugged. "I personally prefer research that moves in its own
ways and does not copy animal forms."

   The male feline had sat upright and was also looking at the pictures and
the leg. "It has been a long time since I've seen something of this
quality."

   "It is a crude copy in many ways but it is clearly a feline limb," the
lioness pawed through the pictures and drawings carefully examining each one
in turn. "You do not have the skull?"

   The mage shook his head. "No, the pieces are scattered all over Marigund
and we have not yet located that."

   "That would have made it easier," the lioness answered. "But it is
understandable why you did not recognize it, Gina. This species has been
extinct for at least ten thousand years. It's of the family Felidae,
subfamily Machairodontinae. Smilodon Fatalis. The common name is Sabercat."

   "It's also known as the saber tooth tiger even though it's not really a
tiger," the lion said. "There are several members of the same family it
could be but the closest match is Smilodon Fatalis."

   "Carlisle," the woman said. "Didn't you spend time as a sabercat once?"

   The man smiled at the pleasant memories. "For my senior transformation
class project I spent the month as a Smilodon. You spent it as a lioness.
That was a very interesting month."

   She smiled and there was a twinkle in her eyes. "You a sabercat once,"
Gina pointed to the metal leg, "Like her?"

   "Well," he paused for a moment and stared at the metal limb. "Yes but I
didn't know about her then."

   "Where did you get the inspiration for that?"

   "Ah . . ." he started to say. There was a confused look on his face. Then
it lit up in realization. "You gave me the idea. We were in the dining hall
trying to choose what form we would do and you . . ."


*************


   At this time of the day with work to be done and classes in session the
dining hall was usually quiet. Only a handful of the staff cleaning up and
getting ready for the evening meal. It was a large wooden hall filled with
wooden tables and benches. Lining the walls were paintings, items, statues
and carvings of wood, stone and metal. It was under one of those carvings
that a small group clustered. Carlisle was there along with his wife and
most of the automata department. Above them was a long row of animal heads,
some carved from stone, some from wood and one from bronze. It was the last
one that held all attention. It was a feline head with massive scimitar
shaped teeth. It was the image of a sabercat.

   "How long has that been hanging there Edna?" Idette asked. "In plain
sight."

   Standing next to her was a short, stocky woman wearing the white smock of
a cook. She shrugged. "I've no idea. It was there when my mother was a cook
here. I remember seeing it as a small child. But it could have hung there
for a century. It was probably put up there when the hall was built back in
610," the head cook explained.

   "It could have been in the old dining hall. The one that was destroyed
during The Burning," Alton commented. "Great, great grandfather Tostig used
whatever materials that survived the fire to build this hall. Quite a few of
the beams and carvings still have burn marks on them."

   "So it could be centuries older," Idette said.

   Alton nodded. "Easily. I've never paid them much notice. The last time I
did was the Yule when someone animated all the heads and had them singing
pornographic songs."

   "Not that head," Edna said shaking her head. "All the others sang but not
that one."

   "Because the prankster's spells wouldn't work on it," Carlisle said. "It
was too well protected."

   The ladder was barely set up before Carlisle was scrambling up it. In
moments he was eye level with the feline head. Under all the  dust he saw
that the head was highly ornately decorated. This close up he saw the
extremely detailed eyelids. He opened one up and was rewarded with seeing
the fine workmanship of the eye itself. He touched the jaw and it moved
easily. "Hello kitty," he said softly.


**************


   Under a thick layer of dust the metal head was in superb shape. Ears
pivoted and moved about exactly like a real feline's would. The lips were
made of joints so small that Carlisle needed a magnifying glass to see them.
This would allow the automaton to snarl and curl its lips like its flesh and
blood counterparts. Turning the head over he examined the neck and found the
expected array of gears, levers, rods and the point where it was connected
to the spine. He also found something unexpected. Carefully glued to the
inside of the skin was a small piece of paper with writing on it. Carlisle
leaned close and examined the paper.

   "Her name is Salona," the paper simply read. "Please take good care of
her."

   "That's all?" Carlisle asked.

   "Sounds like a mother talking about her child," Idette said softly.

   Carlisle gently patted the head. "No worry about that whoever you were.
We'll take good care of her."


*****************


   Carlisle stood looking at the room in front of him. Each and every
rediscovered part had been meticulously inspected and cleaned. Then it had
been labeled and placed alongside other similar parts. Now arraigned neatly
on the tables and benches of the workshop were all the parts of the
automaton. All 75,253 of them.

   "Now comes the fun part!" Joeline said sarcastically.

   The mage shot her a cold glance.


****************


   Carlisle waited nervously in the main courtyard of the Mages hall. After
months of knowing nothing of Misha but letters and packages he was finally
going to meet the automaton mage.

   "I see them!" Idette announced and pointed upward.

   He recognized the massive creature flying high overhead. The massive
wings and unusual head was instantly recognizable as Sofia the dinosaur
messenger from Metamor. Slowly the massive flyer circled the Menomenta Gul,
getting lower and lower with each loop. Finally she landed deftly on the
stone pavement a short distance in from of the mage.

   After a moment two figures climbed down from the reptile. Even bundled up
in a heavy jacket one was obviously a red fox, there was no doubting that
with his long bushy tail. Misha took off his jacket revealing that he was
dressed in full armor. His famous axe was nowhere to be seen but it was
undoubtedly close at hand. The second was smaller, and leaner and just as
well bundled up. She took off her heavy jacket revealing a person in a blue
dress that seemed to be equal parts woman and otter. From her belt dangled a
sword in a sheath and from the saddle the otter woman pulled a long bow and
quiver full of arrows.

   The reception committee came forward as a group of servants rushed up and
helped the new arrivals and quickly started removing packages and two large
traveling trunks from the saddle.

   "Welcome to Menomenta Gul!" Carlisle said cheerfully and hugged Misha.

   "Thank you," the fox morph said. "It's good to be here." He pointed
Caroline standing next to him. "This is Caroline Hardy, my betrothed."

   Carlisle bowed deeply. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you fine lady."

   Caroline gave a deep curtsy to the Marigund mage. "Thank you for inviting
us here."

   The mage turned and pointed to Gina who. "This is Gina my wife who is
ahead of the Animalia dept and a far more powerful mage then me."

   The woman blushed. "My husband exaggerates." She looked at Caroline and
Misha. "It's a pleasure to meet you both."

  He patted Idette on the shoulder. "This is my assistant and second in
command of the Automata department Idette Wolmar."

   Misha wagged his tail. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I read your
paper on the Dragon wars. Very interesting reading." He pointed to the large
trunk that had been unloaded from Sofia. "I've brought you all a few items."

   Carlisle turned to Sofia who had shifted into her smaller and more human
like form. "It's good to see you again Sofia. You will all be our guests for
tonight."

   "Pardon me for asking," Gina said to Caroline. "You're a northern
mountain otter. Correct?"

   Caroline nodded in response. "Yes."

   Gina smiled. "My daughter Aithne loves otters."

   Misha wrapped an arm around Caroline and licked her on the muzzle. "So do
I!"

   Caroline returned the hug and nuzzled him. "Foxes are nice too." They
hugged for a moment before parting.

   "How is Salona?" Misha asked. "How far have you proceeded with the
assembly?"

   "Done!" Carlisle announced proudly.

   "You're done?" Caroline asked in an amazed tone.

   "You finished assembling it?" Misha asked, surprised.

  "Yes," Carlisle answered. "It went together remarkably fast. The parts
were numbered. That made it easier."

   Misha shook his head. "Good people made it easy."

   Carlisle smiled. "Thank you Misha. Let me show you the workshop!"


*********************


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