Chapter 231: Guild Hold
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Chapter 231: Guild Hold
Tala, unfortunately, couldnt just go back to her sanctum and relax, despite the day with the City Lord being as trying as shed expected. The loss of the arm wasnew.
-Well, you handled it just fine.-
It recovered quickly enough, I think it helped that the arm wasnt just laying there on the ground beside me. More than anything it was just a punitive tax on my resources.
In planning out the day with Thron, Tala had elected to breach a renegade hold that evening, and she was to meet the dwarf at the entrance.
Once she was clear of the City Lords estate, she found an out of the way wall and placed Kit upon it.
She walked onto her dais and activated the reinscription magics. As she was still mostly painted, she chose to have threads of gold, interlaced with a bit of silver and copper, flow through her mouth and down her throat, as much as that was fundamentally awful.
As it finished, she let herself move once again, spitting out a bit of blood to one side.
It vanished before it hit the dais.
That done, she retracted her clothing, repainted her new arm, and used her mirrored perspective, via her bloodstars, to ensure that there were no other breaches in that defensive layer.
The echoes, even hidden by her through-spike, had faded with such a large breach in her iron paint, as provided by her bare arm.
Now, the power began building once again, quickly beginning her internal resonance.
Fully defended and inscribed once more, she exited Kit, hung the pouch from her belt, and set off towards the meeting spot.
The location was a bit out of the way in the District of Doors.
The district itself abutted the City Lords estate, but the holds nearest that private park were much sought after, and the locations changed hands so often the truly established powers didnt bother.
Thus, that part of the District of Doors was filled with those on a path upward, or those trying to head off a fall from grace.
In either case, her destination was in another part all together, with the holds well established and unlikely to have moved in the last century, and even less likely to move in the next.
When she arrived, she found herself impressed by the surroundings.
There were several lovely parks nearby, and the entrance of the hold in question was one of the more prominent ones in the area. It was beautifully appointed and decorated, lavish almost to the extreme in the owners attempt to draw attention to it. They had succeeded splendidly, the effect made more pronounced by the purple, glowing, magical field preventing anyone from accessing it.
To Talas surprise and confusion, Be-thric was awaiting her instead of Thron. He was standing only a couple dozen feet from the sealed off entrance of the shielded hold.
My Eskau! He held his arms out wide, grinning broadly as she approached.
If it had been anyone else, she would have thought he wanted a hug, but Talis memories confirmed that that was decidedly not the case.
Pillar Be-thric. Tala didnt bow, per Be-thrics request, but she also knew that Tali wouldnt like that, so to mirror what would be expected, Tala nodded in acknowledgement. To what do I owe the honor of your presence?
One moment. He waved his hand and an explosion of magical tendrils shot out of him in every direction. They wove through the air and ground around them, locking it off from any outside observer.
When Tala looked outward, everything appeared blurry as well as hazy; it was noticeably darker, and no sound entered from the outside.
There we are. You see, this has become a rather delicate matter.
Tala cocked her head to one side, listening.
This is the main hold for a specialty crafting guild, and they have apparently been very devious crafters. The hue-folk males eyes sparkled. Theyve been researching and actually building automata.
She frowned. Neither her own, nor Talis, memories providing any clue as to what was going on.
I see youre confused. Let me explain. Ever since the Black Legion, automata have been completely outlawed in all forms, great or small.
You mean, like moving statues? Talis memory was still drawing a blank.
No, no. Not like statues at all.he waved her off with a long-suffering expression"They are, effectively, artificial lifeforms with a programable consciousnesses. They can draw in magic from the environment and even advance in rank, if designed to do so.
So, people, but fabricated?
Not really. They have no soul, broken or whole, and so they have no significance, no will.
I see. She was frowning. Again, she checked with Talis memories, and she came up with nothing. What is the Black Legion? Something about the name tickled her memory, but nothing specific came to mind.
The black legion is an army of self-repairing automata built back in the War of the Broken Soul to bring back certain lost property.he waved that off as unimportant The issue with them was that they went wild. They had to be so complex that they developed complications, which manifested in a semblance of desires in conflict with their creators. All in all, it ended badly for everyone, and automata were banned.
No wonder he came here himself. This seems like something that Tali really should have heard of, and her not knowing could come across odd to others, and they might not handle it in a way that would be good for her fake memories.
Tala frowned, glanced towards the hold in question. But these crafters ignored the ban.
They did.
And their automata went rogue?
Be-thric hesitated, then shrugged. They arent sure. Mid-afternoon, yesterday, the hold ejected everyone bodily, the automata physically throwing out those who wouldnt leave by other means. Then, the barrier activated, and the guild called for help.
Thats where I come in.
Precisely. His greedy grin was back. But it gets better than an enjoyable fight.
Tala found his excitement infectious and checked for mental magics.
-None. Hes just really happy, and somethings telling us that were going to like the results as well.-
Thats weird
They would face a significant penalty if the nature of their experiments is discovered. Theyd lose their hold, their status, and likely much, much more. So, in exchange for our silence, and the utter destruction of automata within, I secured you the right to consume their hold. He said the last as if he were unveiling a birthday gift.
In truth, Tala was dumbstruck. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she was at a loss for words.
That is rusting amazing.
-Kit gets to eat a large guilds main hold?- Alat was giving off waves of excitement, too.
A hold of a prominent guild would easily allow Kit to double in internal volume, if not more. Moreover, the authorization to consume the hold meant that nothing within would have to be returned to the owners.
Be-thrics grin widened ever further. I can see you are speechless. Good!
This is ridiculous. Why? Why is he doing this for us?
-You know why. Its not for us. Its for him. Us improving is him improving. He sees us as so thoroughly in his pocket and under his thrall that our advancement is only good for him.-
I guess I guess I still had my doubts. How can he not realize were not Tali? Im sure I make dozens of little mistakes every day.
-No one observes that closely, Tala, and you returned to yourself at a time of transition, when Tali would have made large changes in how she acted, regardless.-
Tala felt a seed of joy and hope truly blossom in her chest as the realization hit home. Were going to make it, Alat. Unless something catastrophic happens, were going to get out of here once his armor is complete. Hes going to take us home himself.
Her hope hardened into expectancy as she imagined him getting the punishment he deserved at the hands of her fellow Archons.
Be-thric continued speaking, pulling her out of her vengeful fantasies. You have been an excellentEskau. You proved my faith in you a dozen times over, and I am more than happy to secure you privilege and gain as a small thank you.
Tala was still a bit speechless. There was little else that she would seek out more valuable to her at the moment. Save my freedom.
She didnt let that thought sour her expression.
He really was giving her a mountain of treasure, while supercharging her advancement.
Did that make her feel bad for what she knew would be coming for the arcane?
No. Not one bit.
Take them for all their worth.
-Then lead the lamb to slaughter.-
That was ridiculously inefficient. Shed used eight rings across those two, and she knew there would be hundreds of these things to deal with.
Who builds an army of untested creations? These people were idiots.
She used a quick restrain on the next charging figures, but the one that followed immediately behind that one grabbed it and threw the thing at her.
NO! You cannot utilize my own working against me. She broke the effect, and the thing slammed back to the ground.
The doors closed behind her on their own with a click, and a full ten enemies reached her nearly simultaneously.
Tala spun through the attackers, using the Way of Flowing Blood like never before. Her practice both alone and with Thron showing its merit.
Flow moved between its standard forms knife, sword, and glaiveso fluidly that it was hard to tell which shape it was in at any given instant, and it was always exactly the form that Tala needed it to be as she needed it.
Her bloodstars added to her weapon and martial forms. The three around her head giving her and Alat a view in every direction and allowing her to grow a helmet over her head with her elk-leathers as she fought without losing any awareness.
Tala leveraged the two bloodstars within the tungsten rod to whip the metal in tight, automaton-cracking arcs.
The sphere containing a bloodstar still acted mostly as a spoiler, keeping enemies at bay, or throwing them off by being in just the right place to delay and give Tala an extra instant to exploit for an attack or to shift out of the way.
The three defensive plates were used for just that: defense. They blocked fists, furniture legs, serving trays, and even the occasional cheese knife. Some of those were thrown, but most were wielded by inhumanly strong arms.
To add to the difficulty, any automaton that wasnt fully dispatchedby either losing its head or having its core disabledseemed to quickly repair itself, even picking up and reattaching limbs as needed.
Even so, Tala found herself grinning like a madwoman.
It had been so long since she was truly tested.
The ether hold had been a pain, but in its own way, it had been too easy.
Once she found the counter for each type of enemy, they died in droves.
There was some of that, here, but the automata were adapting, learning as they fought her.
Moreover, they seemed to be learning from the others that fought her.
Each new opponent joined the fray, seemingly already aware of the tricks shed used before, knowledgeable of how she fought.
It was terrifying in a sense.
It was invigorating.
She loved it.
They pressed her from all sides, but they couldnt touch her.
She was just better than them.
At least, she was better than the first twenty or so.
Even the next twenty werent that difficult to overcome.
Then, the forty-second somehow used the others around her to make its way through her guard and lay a hand on her shoulder.
It wasnt an attack, so it didnt hurt, and it wasnt blocked by her elk-leathers defense.
Instead, the thing jerked her backwards, throwing her off balance, and the world seemed to slow.
A frown began forming across her features in slow motion as her mind raced.
What? The rusting thing got through?
-You saw it coming.-
Yeah, but I tripped the other one in its way.
-You did that before.-
Rustthats right. They are adapting faster. I think theyre narrowing in on my fighting style.
-So? What do we do?-
We have to change the game.
Talas eyes lit with an idea. Then, they vanished, replaced with empty holes in reality, as Tala activated Flows void-knife form.
As she fell backward, she twisted and drove the blade into the automatons arm.
Magic began rushing out of the thing and into the knife.
Talas void-sight, her altered mage-sight thanks to the power of the void flowing through her, showed her the movement of the power within her enemies, and she noticed when the thing internally severed its own limb.
The arm dropped free, and the void-knife had no more power to pull as it had gobbled up all that remain in the limb in an instant.
Well, that worked pretty well.
-Ill say.-
Tall took a deep breath and spun back towards those on the other side, which had been seeking to take advantage of her temporary stumble.
With a working of will and a powerful exhale, she blasted them in dissolution magics.
Unfortunately, they didnt all simply turn to dust.
No, that would have been too easy.
Instead, their magics rose up and fought against the disintegration of the metal bodies, draining a large chunk of power from each automata her breath hit.
That works too. Her grin was back, now so wide it made her cheeks hurt.
-Lets do this.-
Less than two minutes later, a total of a hundred and twenty of the basic automata lay broken and leaking in the welcome room around her.
She was liberally splattered with the vibrant, glowing, purple liquid. Nothing about it seemed to hurt her.
With a quick bouncing hop in place, most of the stuff fell free to rain on the floor around her. She didnt aspect mirror the self-cleaning as doing so would breakfree her iron paint.
Maybe at the end of clearing out this place. Then, I can take a bath.
Tala looked at the large set of doors on the far side of the space from the entrance and the keyhole in them.
That will lead into the next section.
-There will be more than just these basic ones in there. Some preparation would be good.-
Agreed.
So, Tala sat and prepared all ten sets of tungsten spheres Be-thric had given her, having recovered the two she used at the beginning of her rampage through the welcome area.
She couldnt hold ten sets of spheres in her hands at once and didnt even want to hold one as it was awkward and threw off her grip for many of her forms.
She settled on putting them back in their pouch on her belt, set on pulling them out at need.
And she had no doubt that she would need them.
For each set, she had amplified their gravity towards one another to a degree that they would easily decommission at least the basic automata.
She wasnt sure about the more advanced models.
After all, the more advanced automata had armor.
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Chapter 231: Guild Hold
Tala, unfortunately, couldnt just go back to her sanctum and relax, despite the day with the City Lord being as trying as shed expected. The loss of the arm wasnew.
-Well, you handled it just fine.-
It recovered quickly enough, I think it helped that the arm wasnt just laying there on the ground beside me. More than anything it was just a punitive tax on my resources.
In planning out the day with Thron, Tala had elected to breach a renegade hold that evening, and she was to meet the dwarf at the entrance.
Once she was clear of the City Lords estate, she found an out of the way wall and placed Kit upon it.
She walked onto her dais and activated the reinscription magics. As she was still mostly painted, she chose to have threads of gold, interlaced with a bit of silver and copper, flow through her mouth and down her throat, as much as that was fundamentally awful.
As it finished, she let herself move once again, spitting out a bit of blood to one side.
It vanished before it hit the dais.
That done, she retracted her clothing, repainted her new arm, and used her mirrored perspective, via her bloodstars, to ensure that there were no other breaches in that defensive layer.
The echoes, even hidden by her through-spike, had faded with such a large breach in her iron paint, as provided by her bare arm.
Now, the power began building once again, quickly beginning her internal resonance.
Fully defended and inscribed once more, she exited Kit, hung the pouch from her belt, and set off towards the meeting spot.
The location was a bit out of the way in the District of Doors.
The district itself abutted the City Lords estate, but the holds nearest that private park were much sought after, and the locations changed hands so often the truly established powers didnt bother.
Thus, that part of the District of Doors was filled with those on a path upward, or those trying to head off a fall from grace.
In either case, her destination was in another part all together, with the holds well established and unlikely to have moved in the last century, and even less likely to move in the next.
When she arrived, she found herself impressed by the surroundings.
There were several lovely parks nearby, and the entrance of the hold in question was one of the more prominent ones in the area. It was beautifully appointed and decorated, lavish almost to the extreme in the owners attempt to draw attention to it. They had succeeded splendidly, the effect made more pronounced by the purple, glowing, magical field preventing anyone from accessing it.
To Talas surprise and confusion, Be-thric was awaiting her instead of Thron. He was standing only a couple dozen feet from the sealed off entrance of the shielded hold.
My Eskau! He held his arms out wide, grinning broadly as she approached.
If it had been anyone else, she would have thought he wanted a hug, but Talis memories confirmed that that was decidedly not the case.
Pillar Be-thric. Tala didnt bow, per Be-thrics request, but she also knew that Tali wouldnt like that, so to mirror what would be expected, Tala nodded in acknowledgement. To what do I owe the honor of your presence?
One moment. He waved his hand and an explosion of magical tendrils shot out of him in every direction. They wove through the air and ground around them, locking it off from any outside observer.
When Tala looked outward, everything appeared blurry as well as hazy; it was noticeably darker, and no sound entered from the outside.
There we are. You see, this has become a rather delicate matter.
Tala cocked her head to one side, listening.
This is the main hold for a specialty crafting guild, and they have apparently been very devious crafters. The hue-folk males eyes sparkled. Theyve been researching and actually building automata.
She frowned. Neither her own, nor Talis, memories providing any clue as to what was going on.
I see youre confused. Let me explain. Ever since the Black Legion, automata have been completely outlawed in all forms, great or small.
You mean, like moving statues? Talis memory was still drawing a blank.
No, no. Not like statues at all.he waved her off with a long-suffering expression"They are, effectively, artificial lifeforms with a programable consciousnesses. They can draw in magic from the environment and even advance in rank, if designed to do so.
So, people, but fabricated?
Not really. They have no soul, broken or whole, and so they have no significance, no will.
I see. She was frowning. Again, she checked with Talis memories, and she came up with nothing. What is the Black Legion? Something about the name tickled her memory, but nothing specific came to mind.
The black legion is an army of self-repairing automata built back in the War of the Broken Soul to bring back certain lost property.he waved that off as unimportant The issue with them was that they went wild. They had to be so complex that they developed complications, which manifested in a semblance of desires in conflict with their creators. All in all, it ended badly for everyone, and automata were banned.
No wonder he came here himself. This seems like something that Tali really should have heard of, and her not knowing could come across odd to others, and they might not handle it in a way that would be good for her fake memories.
Tala frowned, glanced towards the hold in question. But these crafters ignored the ban.
They did.
And their automata went rogue?
Be-thric hesitated, then shrugged. They arent sure. Mid-afternoon, yesterday, the hold ejected everyone bodily, the automata physically throwing out those who wouldnt leave by other means. Then, the barrier activated, and the guild called for help.
Thats where I come in.
Precisely. His greedy grin was back. But it gets better than an enjoyable fight.
Tala found his excitement infectious and checked for mental magics.
-None. Hes just really happy, and somethings telling us that were going to like the results as well.-
Thats weird
They would face a significant penalty if the nature of their experiments is discovered. Theyd lose their hold, their status, and likely much, much more. So, in exchange for our silence, and the utter destruction of automata within, I secured you the right to consume their hold. He said the last as if he were unveiling a birthday gift.
In truth, Tala was dumbstruck. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she was at a loss for words.
That is rusting amazing.
-Kit gets to eat a large guilds main hold?- Alat was giving off waves of excitement, too.
A hold of a prominent guild would easily allow Kit to double in internal volume, if not more. Moreover, the authorization to consume the hold meant that nothing within would have to be returned to the owners.
Be-thrics grin widened ever further. I can see you are speechless. Good!
This is ridiculous. Why? Why is he doing this for us?
-You know why. Its not for us. Its for him. Us improving is him improving. He sees us as so thoroughly in his pocket and under his thrall that our advancement is only good for him.-
I guess I guess I still had my doubts. How can he not realize were not Tali? Im sure I make dozens of little mistakes every day.
-No one observes that closely, Tala, and you returned to yourself at a time of transition, when Tali would have made large changes in how she acted, regardless.-
Tala felt a seed of joy and hope truly blossom in her chest as the realization hit home. Were going to make it, Alat. Unless something catastrophic happens, were going to get out of here once his armor is complete. Hes going to take us home himself.
Her hope hardened into expectancy as she imagined him getting the punishment he deserved at the hands of her fellow Archons.
Be-thric continued speaking, pulling her out of her vengeful fantasies. You have been an excellentEskau. You proved my faith in you a dozen times over, and I am more than happy to secure you privilege and gain as a small thank you.
Tala was still a bit speechless. There was little else that she would seek out more valuable to her at the moment. Save my freedom.
She didnt let that thought sour her expression.
He really was giving her a mountain of treasure, while supercharging her advancement.
Did that make her feel bad for what she knew would be coming for the arcane?
No. Not one bit.
Take them for all their worth.
-Then lead the lamb to slaughter.-
That was ridiculously inefficient. Shed used eight rings across those two, and she knew there would be hundreds of these things to deal with.
Who builds an army of untested creations? These people were idiots.
She used a quick restrain on the next charging figures, but the one that followed immediately behind that one grabbed it and threw the thing at her.
NO! You cannot utilize my own working against me. She broke the effect, and the thing slammed back to the ground.
The doors closed behind her on their own with a click, and a full ten enemies reached her nearly simultaneously.
Tala spun through the attackers, using the Way of Flowing Blood like never before. Her practice both alone and with Thron showing its merit.
Flow moved between its standard forms knife, sword, and glaiveso fluidly that it was hard to tell which shape it was in at any given instant, and it was always exactly the form that Tala needed it to be as she needed it.
Her bloodstars added to her weapon and martial forms. The three around her head giving her and Alat a view in every direction and allowing her to grow a helmet over her head with her elk-leathers as she fought without losing any awareness.
Tala leveraged the two bloodstars within the tungsten rod to whip the metal in tight, automaton-cracking arcs.
The sphere containing a bloodstar still acted mostly as a spoiler, keeping enemies at bay, or throwing them off by being in just the right place to delay and give Tala an extra instant to exploit for an attack or to shift out of the way.
The three defensive plates were used for just that: defense. They blocked fists, furniture legs, serving trays, and even the occasional cheese knife. Some of those were thrown, but most were wielded by inhumanly strong arms.
To add to the difficulty, any automaton that wasnt fully dispatchedby either losing its head or having its core disabledseemed to quickly repair itself, even picking up and reattaching limbs as needed.
Even so, Tala found herself grinning like a madwoman.
It had been so long since she was truly tested.
The ether hold had been a pain, but in its own way, it had been too easy.
Once she found the counter for each type of enemy, they died in droves.
There was some of that, here, but the automata were adapting, learning as they fought her.
Moreover, they seemed to be learning from the others that fought her.
Each new opponent joined the fray, seemingly already aware of the tricks shed used before, knowledgeable of how she fought.
It was terrifying in a sense.
It was invigorating.
She loved it.
They pressed her from all sides, but they couldnt touch her.
She was just better than them.
At least, she was better than the first twenty or so.
Even the next twenty werent that difficult to overcome.
Then, the forty-second somehow used the others around her to make its way through her guard and lay a hand on her shoulder.
It wasnt an attack, so it didnt hurt, and it wasnt blocked by her elk-leathers defense.
Instead, the thing jerked her backwards, throwing her off balance, and the world seemed to slow.
A frown began forming across her features in slow motion as her mind raced.
What? The rusting thing got through?
-You saw it coming.-
Yeah, but I tripped the other one in its way.
-You did that before.-
Rustthats right. They are adapting faster. I think theyre narrowing in on my fighting style.
-So? What do we do?-
We have to change the game.
Talas eyes lit with an idea. Then, they vanished, replaced with empty holes in reality, as Tala activated Flows void-knife form.
As she fell backward, she twisted and drove the blade into the automatons arm.
Magic began rushing out of the thing and into the knife.
Talas void-sight, her altered mage-sight thanks to the power of the void flowing through her, showed her the movement of the power within her enemies, and she noticed when the thing internally severed its own limb.
The arm dropped free, and the void-knife had no more power to pull as it had gobbled up all that remain in the limb in an instant.
Well, that worked pretty well.
-Ill say.-
Tall took a deep breath and spun back towards those on the other side, which had been seeking to take advantage of her temporary stumble.
With a working of will and a powerful exhale, she blasted them in dissolution magics.
Unfortunately, they didnt all simply turn to dust.
No, that would have been too easy.
Instead, their magics rose up and fought against the disintegration of the metal bodies, draining a large chunk of power from each automata her breath hit.
That works too. Her grin was back, now so wide it made her cheeks hurt.
-Lets do this.-
Less than two minutes later, a total of a hundred and twenty of the basic automata lay broken and leaking in the welcome room around her.
She was liberally splattered with the vibrant, glowing, purple liquid. Nothing about it seemed to hurt her.
With a quick bouncing hop in place, most of the stuff fell free to rain on the floor around her. She didnt aspect mirror the self-cleaning as doing so would breakfree her iron paint.
Maybe at the end of clearing out this place. Then, I can take a bath.
Tala looked at the large set of doors on the far side of the space from the entrance and the keyhole in them.
That will lead into the next section.
-There will be more than just these basic ones in there. Some preparation would be good.-
Agreed.
So, Tala sat and prepared all ten sets of tungsten spheres Be-thric had given her, having recovered the two she used at the beginning of her rampage through the welcome area.
She couldnt hold ten sets of spheres in her hands at once and didnt even want to hold one as it was awkward and threw off her grip for many of her forms.
She settled on putting them back in their pouch on her belt, set on pulling them out at need.
And she had no doubt that she would need them.
For each set, she had amplified their gravity towards one another to a degree that they would easily decommission at least the basic automata.
She wasnt sure about the more advanced models.
After all, the more advanced automata had armor.
Chapter 231: Guild HoldTala, unfortunately, couldnt just go back to her sanctum and relax, despite the day with the City Lord being as trying as shed expected. The loss of the arm wasnew.-Well, you handled it just fine.-It recovered quickly enough, I think it helped that the arm wasnt just laying there on the ground beside me. More than anything it was just a punitive tax on my resources.In planning out the day with Thron, Tala had elected to breach a renegade hold that evening, and she was to meet the dwarf at the entrance.Once she was clear of the City Lords estate, she found an out of the way wall and placed Kit upon it.She walked onto her dais and activated the reinscription magics. As she was still mostly painted, she chose to have threads of gold, interlaced with a bit of silver and copper, flow through her mouth and down her throat, as much as that was fundamentally awful.As it finished, she let herself move once again, spitting out a bit of blood to one side.It vanished before it hit the dais.That done, she retracted her clothing, repainted her new arm, and used her mirrored perspective, via her bloodstars, to ensure that there were no other breaches in that defensive layer.The echoes, even hidden by her through-spike, had faded with such a large breach in her iron paint, as provided by her bare arm.Now, the power began building once again, quickly beginning her internal resonance.Fully defended and inscribed once more, she exited Kit, hung the pouch from her belt, and set off towards the meeting spot.The location was a bit out of the way in the District of Doors.The district itself abutted the City Lords estate, but the holds nearest that private park were much sought after, and the locations changed hands so often the truly established powers didnt bother.Thus, that part of the District of Doors was filled with those on a path upward, or those trying to head off a fall from grace.In either case, her destination was in another part all together, with the holds well established and unlikely to have moved in the last century, and even less likely to move in the next.When she arrived, she found herself impressed by the surroundings.There were several lovely parks nearby, and the entrance of the hold in question was one of the more prominent ones in the area. It was beautifully appointed and decorated, lavish almost to the extreme in the owners attempt to draw attention to it. They had succeeded splendidly, the effect made more pronounced by the purple, glowing, magical field preventing anyone from accessing it.To Talas surprise and confusion, Be-thric was awaiting her instead of Thron. He was standing only a couple dozen feet from the sealed off entrance of the shielded hold.My Eskau! He held his arms out wide, grinning broadly as she approached.If it had been anyone else, she would have thought he wanted a hug, but Talis memories confirmed that that was decidedly not the case.Pillar Be-thric. Tala didnt bow, per Be-thrics request, but she also knew that Tali wouldnt like that, so to mirror what would be expected, Tala nodded in acknowledgement. To what do I owe the honor of your presence?One moment. He waved his hand and an explosion of magical tendrils shot out of him in every direction. They wove through the air and ground around them, locking it off from any outside observer.When Tala looked outward, everything appeared blurry as well as hazy; it was noticeably darker, and no sound entered from the outside.There we are. You see, this has become a rather delicate matter.Tala cocked her head to one side, listening.This is the main hold for a specialty crafting guild, and they have apparently been very devious crafters. The hue-folk males eyes sparkled. Theyve been researching and actually building automata.She frowned. Neither her own, nor Talis, memories providing any clue as to what was going on.I see youre confused. Let me explain. Ever since the Black Legion, automata have been completely outlawed in all forms, great or small.You mean, like moving statues? Talis memory was still drawing a blank.No, no. Not like statues at all.he waved her off with a long-suffering expression"They are, effectively, artificial lifeforms with a programable consciousnesses. They can draw in magic from the environment and even advance in rank, if designed to do so.So, people, but fabricated?Not really. They have no soul, broken or whole, and so they have no significance, no will.I see. She was frowning. Again, she checked with Talis memories, and she came up with nothing. What is the Black Legion? Something about the name tickled her memory, but nothing specific came to mind.The black legion is an army of self-repairing automata built back in the War of the Broken Soul to bring back certain lost property.he waved that off as unimportant The issue with them was that they went wild. They had to be so complex that they developed complications, which manifested in a semblance of desires in conflict with their creators. All in all, it ended badly for everyone, and automata were banned.No wonder he came here himself. This seems like something that Tali really should have heard of, and her not knowing could come across odd to others, and they might not handle it in a way that would be good for her fake memories.Tala frowned, glanced towards the hold in question. But these crafters ignored the ban.They did.And their automata went rogue?Be-thric hesitated, then shrugged. They arent sure. Mid-afternoon, yesterday, the hold ejected everyone bodily, the automata physically throwing out those who wouldnt leave by other means. Then, the barrier activated, and the guild called for help.Thats where I come in.Precisely. His greedy grin was back. But it gets better than an enjoyable fight.Tala found his excitement infectious and checked for mental magics.-None. Hes just really happy, and somethings telling us that were going to like the results as well.-Thats weirdThey would face a significant penalty if the nature of their experiments is discovered. Theyd lose their hold, their status, and likely much, much more. So, in exchange for our silence, and the utter destruction of automata within, I secured you the right to consume their hold. He said the last as if he were unveiling a birthday gift.In truth, Tala was dumbstruck. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she was at a loss for words.That is rusting amazing.-Kit gets to eat a large guilds main hold?- Alat was giving off waves of excitement, too.A hold of a prominent guild would easily allow Kit to double in internal volume, if not more. Moreover, the authorization to consume the hold meant that nothing within would have to be returned to the owners.Be-thrics grin widened ever further. I can see you are speechless. Good!This is ridiculous. Why? Why is he doing this for us?-You know why. Its not for us. Its for him. Us improving is him improving. He sees us as so thoroughly in his pocket and under his thrall that our advancement is only good for him.-I guess I guess I still had my doubts. How can he not realize were not Tali? Im sure I make dozens of little mistakes every day.-No one observes that closely, Tala, and you returned to yourself at a time of transition, when Tali would have made large changes in how she acted, regardless.-Tala felt a seed of joy and hope truly blossom in her chest as the realization hit home. Were going to make it, Alat. Unless something catastrophic happens, were going to get out of here once his armor is complete. Hes going to take us home himself.Her hope hardened into expectancy as she imagined him getting the punishment he deserved at the hands of her fellow Archons.Be-thric continued speaking, pulling her out of her vengeful fantasies. You have been an excellentEskau. You proved my faith in you a dozen times over, and I am more than happy to secure you privilege and gain as a small thank you.Tala was still a bit speechless. There was little else that she would seek out more valuable to her at the moment. Save my freedom.She didnt let that thought sour her expression.He really was giving her a mountain of treasure, while supercharging her advancement.Did that make her feel bad for what she knew would be coming for the arcane?No. Not one bit.Take them for all their worth.-Then lead the lamb to slaughter.-That was ridiculously inefficient. Shed used eight rings across those two, and she knew there would be hundreds of these things to deal with.Who builds an army of untested creations? These people were idiots.She used a quick restrain on the next charging figures, but the one that followed immediately behind that one grabbed it and threw the thing at her.NO! You cannot utilize my own working against me. She broke the effect, and the thing slammed back to the ground.The doors closed behind her on their own with a click, and a full ten enemies reached her nearly simultaneously.Tala spun through the attackers, using the Way of Flowing Blood like never before. Her practice both alone and with Thron showing its merit.Flow moved between its standard forms knife, sword, and glaiveso fluidly that it was hard to tell which shape it was in at any given instant, and it was always exactly the form that Tala needed it to be as she needed it.Her bloodstars added to her weapon and martial forms. The three around her head giving her and Alat a view in every direction and allowing her to grow a helmet over her head with her elk-leathers as she fought without losing any awareness.Tala leveraged the two bloodstars within the tungsten rod to whip the metal in tight, automaton-cracking arcs.The sphere containing a bloodstar still acted mostly as a spoiler, keeping enemies at bay, or throwing them off by being in just the right place to delay and give Tala an extra instant to exploit for an attack or to shift out of the way.The three defensive plates were used for just that: defense. They blocked fists, furniture legs, serving trays, and even the occasional cheese knife. Some of those were thrown, but most were wielded by inhumanly strong arms.To add to the difficulty, any automaton that wasnt fully dispatchedby either losing its head or having its core disabledseemed to quickly repair itself, even picking up and reattaching limbs as needed.Even so, Tala found herself grinning like a madwoman.It had been so long since she was truly tested.The ether hold had been a pain, but in its own way, it had been too easy.Once she found the counter for each type of enemy, they died in droves.There was some of that, here, but the automata were adapting, learning as they fought her.Moreover, they seemed to be learning from the others that fought her.Each new opponent joined the fray, seemingly already aware of the tricks shed used before, knowledgeable of how she fought.It was terrifying in a sense.It was invigorating.She loved it.They pressed her from all sides, but they couldnt touch her.She was just better than them.At least, she was better than the first twenty or so.Even the next twenty werent that difficult to overcome.Then, the forty-second somehow used the others around her to make its way through her guard and lay a hand on her shoulder.It wasnt an attack, so it didnt hurt, and it wasnt blocked by her elk-leathers defense.Instead, the thing jerked her backwards, throwing her off balance, and the world seemed to slow.A frown began forming across her features in slow motion as her mind raced.What? The rusting thing got through?-You saw it coming.-Yeah, but I tripped the other one in its way.-You did that before.-Rustthats right. They are adapting faster. I think theyre narrowing in on my fighting style.-So? What do we do?-We have to change the game.Talas eyes lit with an idea. Then, they vanished, replaced with empty holes in reality, as Tala activated Flows void-knife form.As she fell backward, she twisted and drove the blade into the automatons arm.Magic began rushing out of the thing and into the knife.Talas void-sight, her altered mage-sight thanks to the power of the void flowing through her, showed her the movement of the power within her enemies, and she noticed when the thing internally severed its own limb.The arm dropped free, and the void-knife had no more power to pull as it had gobbled up all that remain in the limb in an instant.Well, that worked pretty well.-Ill say.-Tall took a deep breath and spun back towards those on the other side, which had been seeking to take advantage of her temporary stumble.With a working of will and a powerful exhale, she blasted them in dissolution magics.Unfortunately, they didnt all simply turn to dust.No, that would have been too easy.Instead, their magics rose up and fought against the disintegration of the metal bodies, draining a large chunk of power from each automata her breath hit.That works too. Her grin was back, now so wide it made her cheeks hurt.-Lets do this.-Less than two minutes later, a total of a hundred and twenty of the basic automata lay broken and leaking in the welcome room around her.She was liberally splattered with the vibrant, glowing, purple liquid. Nothing about it seemed to hurt her.With a quick bouncing hop in place, most of the stuff fell free to rain on the floor around her. She didnt aspect mirror the self-cleaning as doing so would breakfree her iron paint.Maybe at the end of clearing out this place. Then, I can take a bath.Tala looked at the large set of doors on the far side of the space from the entrance and the keyhole in them.That will lead into the next section.-There will be more than just these basic ones in there. Some preparation would be good.-Agreed.So, Tala sat and prepared all ten sets of tungsten spheres Be-thric had given her, having recovered the two she used at the beginning of her rampage through the welcome area.She couldnt hold ten sets of spheres in her hands at once and didnt even want to hold one as it was awkward and threw off her grip for many of her forms.She settled on putting them back in their pouch on her belt, set on pulling them out at need.And she had no doubt that she would need them.For each set, she had amplified their gravity towards one another to a degree that they would easily decommission at least the basic automata.She wasnt sure about the more advanced models.After all, the more advanced automata had armor.
