[Mkguild] Chasing the Dawn Part 1 MK story

[christian okane]

Here is the first part the next story of the Dawn Metamor Keep story I am
doing. It picks up (literally) where Twilight Before the Dawn ends. You
really need to read that to understand this. You can read that at
http://metamorkeep.com/story/The_Twilight_Before_the_Dawn1.php.


I hope you enjoy. Comments and suggestions are welcome!

Chris
The Lurking Fox


Chasing the Dawn
by Christian O'Kane


   Caroline and Misha arrived to find at the Automata department in a state
of chaos. People were running around, shouting, giving orders or just
milling about. Others were fighting a fire that engulfed two workbenches.
Blue/green smoke slowly wafted off the flames.

   "Get that fire out before it reaches the chemical stores!" Carlisle
shouted. "And don't breath the smoke. It's probably poisonous."

   In short order things were brought under control and the chaos reduced to
mild confusion. It took longer to put out the fire and clear out the smoke.
It revealed a workshop filled with debris and damage. It also revealed
something that was NOT there.

   "The lion is gone?" Misha asked, staring at the workbench where the lion
automaton usually rested. The bench itself was empty.

   Caroline gently touched the spot on the bench where the lion had been as
if to confirm with her sense of touch what her sight had told her. "What
happened?"

   "Someone stole it!" Carlisle shouted. The man was busily putting out a
fire that was threatening to consume a small table.

   "How could they carry it off?" Idette asked as she walked up to the
workbench. "It weighs half a ton."

   Ignoring the smoke and noise Misha knelt down on the floor and examined
the marks there carefully. "No one carried off the lion. It walked away."

   "What?" Carlisle finished extinguishing the fire and stepped close to the
fox scout.

   The Long scout pointed to a line of marks faintly visible in the ash and
dirt on the floor. "These are lion tracks."

   "That's not possible," Carlisle responded slowly as he looked where the
fox was pointing. All he could see was strange marks in the dirt and ash.
They didn't look like anything in particular.

   "Whether you think it's possible or not they ARE lion prints." Misha
tapped one of the marks with his left hand.

   A small group crowded around the fox. "Could it be a real lion? Or
someone disguised as one?"

   The Long scout shook his head. "It's wrong for a natural animal. The gait
is wrong and the print itself is lacking the natural pad found on a feline's
paw," Misha tapped the center of one of the prints. "This was done by an
automaton. I recognize its similarity to Madog's and Salona's tracks."

   Caroline knelt down next to her fiancé. "So the lion just walked away on
its own? Well it is an automaton. It's supposed to move."

   "How?" Joeline asked as she crowded close. "It doesn't have a mind to
move it. The automaton needs someone controlling it."

   Idette shook her head. "It was being controlled. Someone used the control
spell to simply order the lion to walk away. Our own magic has been used
against us."

   "But how? This is the Menomenta Gul," Carlisle said "The most heavily
defended place in the Midlands. How did they get in?"

   Misha stood up. "Save that question for later. We need to get it back."

   "We'll retrieve the lion," Caroline said. "And get your answers."

   Carlisle looked again at the table and then at the door. "The thieves
have a good head start."

   Misha looked along the line of marks that lead across the floor and out
the door. "How fast can the lion move? I mean at a full run."

   "Not too fast," Carlisle answered. "No faster than a slow human. It was
not built for speed."

   "Good! Then let's get going!" Carol said and stood up.


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


   Headmaster Demarest was halfway down the hallway when his path was
blocked by an unexpected object. Father Harson, the Rebuilder bishop was
standing there like the barred gates of a besieged castle.

  "Good," the bishop said firmly and folded his arms. "I don't have to go
hunting for you."

   "Father," Demarest snarled. "I don't have the time. We've had a theft. We
will have to talk later." He took a step to the side to bypass the cleric.

   The pastor clamped a hand onto the mage's arm with a grasp like a metal
vise. "No, you will listen NOW."

   Demarest started to reply but stopped. The look on the other man's face
made him keep his silence. It had the hardened look of a soldier who had
just come from battle. It caught the mage by surprise. It was a side of the
cleric he had never seen before. "What's wrong?"

   The priest pointed to the doorway leading to Demarest's office.  "She's
waiting in there."

   Stepping into his office Demarest found five people waiting for him.
Three he did not know but all were carrying swords and had the look of
professional soldiers. The fourth he did recognize as a guild mage. The
fifth he knew already. She was a middle aged woman wearing a simple, tan
dress. Her hair was cut short and did not contain the usual ribbons that
most women in Marigund usually wore. 

   "This is Mother Cassandra, You met her during your recent visit to the
Vault," Harson explained. 
 
   Suddenly a cold shiver ran down the mage's spine. The woman seated in the
chair was a far cry from the well dressed and calm person he had met before.
She looked haggard, worn and her eyes were bloodshot and it was apparent she
had been crying. She didn't look up but instead seemed to stare at a spot in
space. When Cassandra did speak it was in a cold tone filled with pain and
anger. "I thought our escape from Sathmore four years ago was miraculous.
Everything just went so easily. I never suspected it was a trap."

   "When did they first approach you?" The bishop asked. "And ordered you to
spy for them?"

   "Last fall," she explained. "They told me . . . My sister and her
family," she sobbed. "If I didn't help them. Do as they say they, tell them
what I knew . . ." she broke down into weeping and crying and buried her
face into her hands.

  Demarest's face clouded into a scowl of anger. "I understand. Resorting to
blackmail. I thought they were better than that."

   Evidently not," The father said in cold tones. "I've heard rumors of this
happening in other parishes but I never expected it to happen here."

   "Do you know who these people are?" The mage asked.

   She shook her head slowly. "No. They never told me who they were. There
was no doubt they had my sister. They had," She hesitated and looked down at
the floor. " . . .  proof."

   The archmage nodded his head slowly. A part of him did not want to know
what that proof was and yet another part already knew.

   "I kept my silence like they ordered me to," the woman said. "But then I
saw the smoke coming from the Mage's Hall and realized they must have caused
it."

   "We do not know who attacked the Guild today," Demarest said slowly. "But
it's most assuredly the Arenul."

   "We cannot be sure of that," the priest cautioned.

   "Who else would do this?" Demarest countered. "If it is from Sathmore and
involved magic it has to be them."

   The cleric had no counter to that at first. "Still. Till we have more
information we must not act hastily."

   She grabbed the mage's arm and looked at him. Her face was tear streaked
but had a look of determination on it. "They wanted to know about the
Vault."

   Demarest stiffened and the color drained from his face. "What did you
tell them?"

   The woman shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. "Too much. Too
much."

   "Did you give them details of our trip there?" He asked trying to remain
calm..

   "S . s .  .some," she stuttered. "I . . . I'm not sure how much."

   "Probably a lot more than you realize," the mage answered and shook his
head slowly.

   "He already seemed to know it was in Tol Doron," she said.

   "That makes sense," the headmaster muttered. "They have been after it for
a long time. This is not the first attempt to rob that place."

   "They can't be allowed to get hold of Tanach Terea," she said with a
tinge of fear in her voice.

   "No one should get hold of anything in the Vault," he countered.
"Everything there is too dangerous. That's why they are in the vault."

   Harsen leaned forward. "Will they try and break into it?"

   "Of course!" Demarest answered sarcastically. "They think we have all the
great treasures stored there. We need to stop this stupidity immediately."

   The priest hugged Cassandra. "We'll free your sister and her family.
Somehow."

   "Where is her family? Those here in Marigund." The mage pointed to
Cassandra. "Are they safe?"

   Harson nodded slowly. "Oh yes. They are in a good hiding place."

   Demarest cocked his head to the side. "Are you certain?"

   Harsen stiffened as if insulted. "I spent five years in Sathmore sir,"
the priest commented calmly. "I know how to hide."

   Demarest stood there for a moment. So many things were going through his
head. He needed time to sort them all out but he didn't have time. He walked
to the window. From there he could see the entire courtyard and its
surrounding buildings. It was one reason this was the Headmasters office.
Across the courtyard the mage could see the building holding the Automatia
department. The smoke was starting to dissipate. This allowed him to see
more clearly that some people were running towards the building and others
away from it. Many more were standing at a safe distance watching. It was a
large crowd. and it seemed as if the whole guild was there.
Suddenly a realization came to him.

   The mage suddenly stiffened and cursed loudly. He turned to the group
still assembled around the distraught woman. "Get her to a safe place right
now. And take two of our battle mages. We will talk more when I get back."

   "Where are you going?" Harson asked.

   "To the Vault," Cassandra said in a soft tone answering for him. "All of
that," she said and pointed to the chaos across the courtyard. "Was just a
distraction for an attack on the Vault."

   The mage didn't answer. He was already halfway across the room and
running for the door.


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


   Racing down the hallway the group came to its first sign of the lion. A
trio of people lay sprawled on the floor. Broken weapons and splintered
shields lay scattered around them. Caroline knelt down next to the men and
examined them. Misha stood next to her on guard. In his hands was the
massive, black, double bladed battleaxe. His head was swiveling around
constantly, looking for any sign of trouble.

   "How are they?" Carlisle asked as he too looked around for any sign of
the lion. He had several spells ready.

   "Alive," Caroline answered. She pointed a gloved hand at one woman
dressed in a tunic and skirt. On her tunic was the ringed emblem of a guild
mage. "This one has a broken leg and a broken arm but that's all. The other
two are just stunned. Looks like a simple, stun spell."

   "We know where he's been," the mage said. "We need to know where he is
going."

   "That way," Misha said pointing down the corridor with his axe.

   The group took off running down the corridor swerving past mages and
staff. They came to a group of young boys and girls. All were about ten or
twelve years old and being led by an older man in his 50's.

   "Children?" Salona asked accusatorily. "What are children doing here?"

   "Students," Carlisle said and came to a halt in front of the teacher.
"The Guild runs a school of regular education."

   "For a fee?" Salona asked sarcastically.

   "Would you rather we not teach people at all?" Misha shot back. "And it
is open to all who can pay. Not just nobility."

   "Education should be free for all," the metal feline answered. "And have
an equal chance at life."

   "A noble idea" Misha responded with a nod in agreement. "But who is going
to pay for all this free education?"

   Carlisle ignored the argument and walked over to the teacher. "Philip.
Have you seen an automaton lion?"

   The man seemed a little flustered but not overly so. "Yes, we did. I
assume it's one of your experiments. At least he was polite."

   "Polite?" Caroline asked, surprised.

   "He did say pardon me before barging past," the teacher explained. He
scowled at Joeline. "A lot more polite then some guild mages."

   The girl blushed a little and gave a sheepish smile. "At least we have a
polite thief."

   A confused look crossed Carlisle's face. "Polite? A polite thief?"


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


   Finding where the lion had left the grounds wasn't hard. An eight foot
tall brick wall circled the edge of the property. It was mostly meant to
mark the boundaries then to present a real threat to an intruder. Those
defenses started inside the wall which had been stiffened and strengthened
with magic. The trail led to a place where the wall had been smashed and a
hole at least four feet across created. The bricks and bits of mortar
scattered on the outside told Misha and Caroline it had been hit from the
inside.

   Misha slowly stepped through the breech and picked his way carefully
among the shattered bricks that covered a good part of the street here. He
scanned the pavement carefully looking for the slightest sign of their
quarry.

   "Here!" Caroline shouted and pointed to the ground.

   To Carlisle all he saw was scratches and marks amidst the dirt and filth
that always was on the street. Misha rushed over and examined the spot.
"That's him. Those are his prints all right."

   Salona carefully picked her way through the debris and closely examined
the spot the fox and otter were pointing to. "Agreed. He went west. What's
that way?"

   Carlisle looked closer at the spot where the three were looking at but
still only saw scratches and marks. One scratch did seem to vaguely look
like a claw mark. He wasn't sure if it was one or just his mind trying to
make order of chaos.

   "Athington,"  Misha replied. "At least until you reach the aqueduct. Then
we enter Garren. Both are residential neighborhoods. And after Garren is the
city wall. He's headed out of the city."

   "And to a rendezvous with someone," Caroline said. "Probably a flier or a
mage with teleport."

   "We need to stop him before that!" The man snarled.

   They took off at a run following the strange marks on the pavement.


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


   The group paused in the middle of a small plaza crowded with people.
Around them everyone was stopping and staring. Seeing an anthropomorphic fox
and otter and a metal Sabercat was odd, even in Marigund.

   A man with a large pony cart was holding the pony by the halter. Both man
and equine were eyeing the new arrivals suspiciously.

   "Where did he go?" Carlisle asked.

   Caroline had her bow in hand and an arrow nocked. "How can we lose a half
ton automaton?"

   "Well he is trying to avoid us dear," Misha answered.

   "And doing a good job of it!" She muttered.

   Joeline leaned against a wall to catch her breath. "If this lion is so
slow how come we can't catch it?"

   "Magic," Idette answered. "They probably have a haste spell on it."

   Beatrice looked around. "Where is Demarest? Why isn't he helping?"

   "He's been delayed by more urgent business," Carlisle responded slowly,
trying to catch his breath.

   A look of surprise crossed the girl's face. "More urgent than this?"

   "Focus," Misha ordered. "That's his problem. The lion is ours."

   "This way!" Salona ordered. The metal feline was already moving down one
of the side streets. The rest quickly followed.

End part 1