[Mkguild] MK story part 10

[Christian Okane]

Here is the next part of my story!
Chris
The Lurking Fox



   Like any large group the Marigund Mages Guild has many rooms devoted to
meetings. Small meetings, large meetings and even secret meetings all could
be accommodated. Most were for the Guilds own business but the guild did
make considerable profit from renting rooms where complete privacy was
assured.

   The room was of good size, large enough to hold all the guests but still
small enough to be easily guarded and secured against intrusion. In the
center of the room was a large table made of a black wood that had been
warded to withstand all but the most powerful spells. The entire building
could burn to the ground but this table would survive. On it had been
carefully placed Salona. The metal saber tooth cat was resting on a blue,
silk blanket. Arranged around her were forty chairs all set up in four
groups of  ten chairs each. Between each group was ten feet of open floor.

   The four groups arrived separately and were each shown to their
respective seats. Finally when the last had arrived Demarest walked up and
stood next to the table that was the centerpiece of the hall and opened his
mouth to speak.

   "No!" Misha shouted. "Madog! Don't eat that!"

   "Yummy."

   "No," Misha ordered. "What you eat I have to pay for."

   All eyes turned to the voices. Misha, Caroline and Madog were standing by
the door. The automaton fox had a large shield on the floor in front of him
and was happily taking large bites from it and eating them.

   Misha was wearing a doublet and pants both of dark green over a tan,
linen shirt. His fur had been brushed and groomed and almost gleamed. His
bushy tail had a long, gold chain wound around it in wide loops and was
slowly swishing back and forth. A scar ran along the left side of his muzzle
and up to where his left ear had once been but was now just a small stump.
His nose twitched and his sole remaining ear was in constant motion flicking
about.

   Caroline was wearing a large voluminous dress of black and gray trimmed
with gold thread that flowed all the way to the floor. Peeking out from
beneath the back of the dress was her tail which had silver and gold ribbons
in it.

   Caroline nudged her fiancé with an elbow. Misha looked up and saw all
eyes focused on them. The fox scout gave Madog a small nudge with a paw. The
metal fox looked up from his meal and slowly scanned the entire room. His
eyes saw everything and missed nothing. "Shiver me timbers!" Madog shouted.
"Batten down the hatches. There's a storm coming!"

   "Good morning," Misha said in a calm tone. "My apologies for being late.
I was delayed."

   "Silly fox got lost," Madog muttered cheerfully.

   "I did not get lost!" Misha snapped and looked down at the metal fox. "I
was just showing Caroline around the garden."

   "Silly fox walk in circles."

   "Thank you for coming Sir Brightleaf, Lady Hardy," Demarest said trying
to suppress a smile. "And thank you too Madog. If you'll please take a seat
closest to Salona. We'll begin the demonstration."

   Caroline and Misha walked down the aisle mindful of all the people
looking at them. Madog walked with the remains of the massive shield in his
mouth, like a dog with an oversized bone. He carefully placed his metal
snack on the floor next to the table and walked over to where Rabbi Arstein
was sitting.

   "Ahmunlu Ishulim iirula," Madog said to the rabbi.

   Arstein was surprised and it took a moment for him to return the
greeting. He put his left hand to his right breast and bowed his head.
"Iuriltoli."

   Madog nodded his head once then turned back to the table where he resumed
nibbling on the shield.

   "That's a southern tongue!" Lady Delminie said in a shocked tone.

   The rabbi looked shocked. "I've not heard it spoken since I was a child.
How does he know it?"

   Caroline gave Madog a pat on the head. "Madog knows many languages."

   "How many does he know?" someone asked.

   Misha shrugged. "I'm not certain but I've heard him speak fifteen. At
least that I've recognized."

   "Fifteen?" the rabbi asked, surprised.

   "He's had over a thousand years to learn," Misha commented.

   "I wonder how much of history he's witnessed over the centuries?" The
Follower priest asked calmly.

   Misha shrugged. "I've no clue but occasionally he mentions events
scattered through history. Madog claims to have met several emperors and to
have been there when the Suielman empire conquered Metamor Valley."

   "Is he telling the truth?"

   "Of course," Caroline replied. "He always tells the truth. It's just how
he tells it that confuses things."

   "Is it true he sees the future?" The rabbi asked.

   The fox shrugged again. "I'm not sure. I think he sees bits and pieces.
He has a tendency to mix past present and future all in one sentence.
Especially when he doesn't really want to be too clear."

   "What do you mean when he doesn't want to be too clear?" Priestess
Delminie asked.

   "The future is to be experienced firsthand!" Madog said slowly. "Not
described."

   "That's profound," Harson said, surprised. "We must all explore our own
future and not let a prophet decide it for us."

   "Surprised?" Misha said.

   "Yes," Harson shot back. "That's very profound for a mere fox's spirit."

   The rabbi laughed. "That's profound for anyone." He turned and looked at
Madog. "You are full of much wisdom little one."

   "Madog is not a mere anything," Misha said. "He has hidden depths to him
we'll probably never know."

   "Indeed it seems he does," priestess Delminie said. The woman was
watching the automaton intently.

   "Everyone has hidden depths," Caroline said.

   "We are ready for the demonstration," Carlisle said. "Joeline will be the
one controlling the automaton."

   "Why the young girl?" the cardinal asked. "Must someone so young do
this?"

   There was a pained expression on Carlisle's face. "The body is attuned to
the feminine gender and she was best able to control it."

   "You have women on your staff," was the sharp comment from someone.

   "We have already attempted it with nine other members of the staff,"
Carlisle said coldly. "And I was the first."

   "And I was the second," Idette said in an angry tone. "We did not use her
lightly."

   "What happened to the others?" Harson asked. "Were they hurt?"

   "No," Carlisle explained. "Of the nine staff who tried. Six were
transformed into an extinct species and the other three partly changed."

   "What did you learn from that?" Marchel asked.

   "We discovered three new species of long extinct predators," Carlisle
answered. "Including a canine and a feline and one that we cannot fully
classify yet."

   "Is it true you spent a full day as a sabertooth?" Delminie asked with an
amused look on her face.

   "Yes it is!" the man admitted. "It was an interesting experience."

   "None were seriously hurt?" Arstein asked. "That's surprising."

   "It is!" Demarest commented. "It is the only reason I allowed them to use
someone so young."

   "I volunteered," Joeline said proudly.

   "The wards on Salona are sophisticated and very powerful," Carlisle
commented. "At all times we took a slow, patient and gentle approach."

   "Had they attempted to force their way past the wards or the wrong people
tried it would have been far more deadly," Misha commented. 

   "We now understand why Joeline was able to use the body and why she can
do it safely," Carlisle explained. "We've taken measures to be sure she is
not hurt."

   "Still using one so young is troubling," the head priestess said.

   "It is common," Demarest said calmly. "For children to begin working as
young as six and seven often for hard and grueling labor. What Joeline is
doing is neither hard, grueling nor dangerous."

   The Lightbringer priestess scowled. "I am all too well aware of such
abuses and it will stop."

   "I'm not a little girl!" Joeline shouted.

   "No you're not," Caroline countered calmly. "But you're not an adult yet
either. Don't be in a rush to grow up."

   Joeline didn't answer but lay down on the floor next to the unmoving
metal feline. After several moment the young woman closed her eyes and lay
still.

   The metal sabercat sprang to life and lifted its head so suddenly that
everyone jumped back a little in surprise. Salona stood up and leapt off the
table with an ease and grace that was surprising for something that large.
She walked around the table with the slow measured suppleness that only a
cat could do properly. Each limb moving, showed muscles rippling under the
skin. For a moment Marchel forgot he was looking at a creature of metal and
thought it was just an oddly colored feline. She walked over to a stone
block about two feet wide. Almost casually the cat sank its long saber like
teeth into the block and bite off a large chuck. She stood there a moment
chewing the rock like it was a haunch of meat.

   The priestess folded her hands into her lap. "An impressive display. You
have a powerful item there. What of the soul meant to control it? Where is
the container holding it?"

   "The proper name is Culua," Misha said calmly.

   "The guild has located it in the most secure vault the guild has," the
Guild master answered. "It was unidentified until only recently."

   "Why does the Guild have such an item?" The cardinal asked in harsh
tones."The trafficking in captured souls is still punishable by burning at
the stake."

   "I know what the punishment is," Carlisle snapped. "You keep telling us.
By my count this is the third time."

   "Fourth," Madog muttered between bites.

   Marchel opened his mouth but Demarest spoke first. "The guild has been
appointed by the king as caretaker of all problems and troubles involving
magic in Marigund. That includes items of power which are deemed dangerous
or unknown. Item 337 was both until identified by Idette some days ago."

   "And we informed all the religious institutions promptly," Idette added.

   Father Marchel nodded. "That is true. But it makes me wonder what other
dangerous items are laying about unrecognized."

   Idette laughed. "The guild wonders about that too. It's why the vault was
created; to store dangerous items."

   "I believe that no deliberate deception was done by the Guild," Harson
said suddenly. "They have the unenviable task of dealing with whatever
dangerous items the king cannot deal with."

   The cardinal slowly nodded his head in agreement. "It is a difficult
task."

   "A search must be made of the Vault," the Lightbringer priestess ordered.

   "Agreed," came the rabbi's addition.

   "I have instituted a complete inventory of the vault but that will take
considerable time," Demarest intoned. "It will not be an easy task. You are
not talking of searching a closet full of forgotten clothing. The items in
the Vault are very dangerous. People died merely getting certain items into
the vault."

   "Remember what uncle Happy says kids," Madog said suddenly. "A locked
door is that way for a good reason."

   They all looked at the metal fox who was sitting in a chair near Salona.

   The cardinal scowled. "You couched him in that Misha?"

   "No," Misha answered. "Madog says whatever he wants. But it is sound
advice. The items in the vault are there for a very good reason."

   "Understood but it still must be done," Bishop Harson intoned.

   "It will be done. Carefully and slowly," Demarest replied. "And all of
you will be kept informed."

   "What of the soul in that container? What's to be done with it?" the
Rebuilder pastor asked. "Should the guild be allowed to restore it to this
metal body?"

   "No. A soul should never be separated from its original physical body,"
the cardinal intoned. "And automatons are a violation of that. It should be
allowed to go to its final judgment."

   "This soul was separated over a thousand years ago," Carlisle countered

   The cardinal shook his head. "Never the less it WAS separated. To
perpetuate a crime is to partake in it."

   "This soul has been in an automaton body far longer than it was in a
flesh and blood one," Idette commented. "It might prefer being there."

   "Is it not true that the emperor Creserius declared all Automata an
abomination and all known examples destroyed?" Marchel said.

   Idette shook her head and waved her hands. "That is not relevant. He also
declared all Aelves as such. And ten years later he declared all house cats
as abominations."

   There was a long moment of silence and all eyes turned to the woman. Even
the metal feline cocked its head to one side and looked at Idette.

   "House cats?" Carlisle asked softly.

   "He was," Marchal said and paused. "Allergic."

   "That does not matter. Automata uses souls ripped from their true bodies
and trapped in these metal abominations," the Rabbi said and pointed to the
metal sabercat. "We cannot allow the soul to be put back in that metal
body."

   "And what would you do with it?" Idette asked. "Would you just destroy
the culua?"

   "Yes," was the cleric's blunt answer. "And free the soul to go to its
final rewards."

   "Who are you to decide what to do? It's not your body or your soul, "
Joeline said, speaking through the metal felines mouth.

   The cardinal looked at the feline for a moment. "I am a man of the cloth
and devoted to God. Souls are what we care for. Flesh and blood mean
nothing. They will return to the dust they came from."

   "If all that matters is the soul," Demarest said slowly. "Then what does
it matter what the body that holds it is like?"

   "She was ripped from her natural body and forced into this metal one.
That is wrong," the cardinal said harshly.

   "We don't know that for a fact," Carlisle countered. "Salona might have
volunteered for it."

   "Salona?" Father Marchel asked.

   "It's her name," the metal feline explained.

   "Something must be done with this Culua," Demarest said slowly. "Of that
we are all in agreement."

   "But what?" Idette asked.

"Why not ask the soul itself? See what it wants to do. After all this is her
body," Joeline said, again speaking through the metal cat.

   "Bring this thing here," the cardinal ordered in crisp, clear tones as he
tapped on the table in front of him. "If we are to decide the fate of this
container and the soul inside we must see it and feel it ourselves."

   The other clerics in the room nodded in agreement. The first time all
four groups had agreed on anything in a long time.
 
   "Agreed," the Guild master answered. "I'll send a group immediately. A
heavily armed group."

   "Father Marchel will go with you," the cardinal announced.

    "The location of the vault is the Guild's greatest secret," Demarest
said. "Even full guild members are not allowed there."

   "I trust father Marchel implicitly," was the cardinals response. "But I
do understand that certain things are best kept secret. He will escort you
to and from the vault but remain outside. He will examine the item to see if
it's safe to be moved into the city. I have experienced some of the things
irresponsible mages have collected and I will not risk any innocent lives."

   Demarest bowed deeply. "So have we and it is why there is such a place as
the Vault. Carlisle will go as well since he is the most experienced in
automata we have."

   "A representative of all the faiths will go," the rabbi ordered. "One
from each group."

   "An excellent idea," the high priestess agreed.

   "Joeline will go too," Carlisle said speaking slowly. "She has had
experience controlling the body. Perhaps it will give us an edge with the
Culua."

   "Any idea what the soul in the Culua is like?" Marchel asked.

   Carlisle shrugged. "Of that we know nothing. Though we have been
endeavoring to find out more. The person who scattered her parts left no
records."

   "Where did you get all these parts from?" the Follower priest asked.

   "From all over the city," Carlisle answered. "Literally."

   "Including one of my churches," Harson added.

   "One from a Predecessor synagogue, others from a Rebuilder church, a
Follower church and a Lightbringer Temple," Idette added.

   "One from each?" The Lightbringer priestess asked. "There's a morality
lesson in that."

   "Indeed," the Rebuilder agreed.




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