Hot Blooded

“Wouldn’t it also melt scissors, or rock?” John asked, but Abigail was too busy celebrating her victory to answer him. She threw her hands up in the air victoriously, a bright smile on her face.

“If I’m the leader, then she’s the wildcard,” John said, using his hat to fan himself as Abigail channeled flames through her hands and created a giant explosion in the air. The resulting vortex of flame was dome shaped, and could have easily demolished the entire saloon in front of them if not aimed straight up.

The small flame Josephine had conjured faded away as her eyes widened at the explosion before her, tripping and falling backwards. “Impressive, isn’t it?” John said, affixing his hat back on his head as they stared at the intense orange flames that slowly faded from the sky. “Say, Abigail, what did that take? An eighth of your available mana?”

“Something like that, yeah!” she called back, smiling broadly at the shellshocked pyromancer that had challenged them.

“There’s no shame in needing help,” John said, offering a hand to help her up. She knocked it away, getting to her feet and dusting herself off, blowing the dirt off her black glove. Turning away from the obnoxious pyromancer, he handed his guild card to her sister, who scanned it with her goggles before giving it back.

“I can handle myself just fine, thanks,” Josephine snapped, blowing an errant lock of blonde hair out of her eye. “Don’t think you’re hot shit just because you can do something like that. Some of the creatures in Valvia’s forests are stronger than either of us.”

“That’s why there’s five of them,” Phoebe interjected, the small mechanical dragon on her shoulder letting out a tiny roar in agreement. “The strongest species around here is the forest dwelling Hydra, but they’re herbivorous and incredibly peaceful. We’re more likely to have trouble with Pixies. They’re extremely territorial, and if anything enters their land they see it as their property, they’ll take anything not strapped down.”

“I have a Centicore! Pixies hate those!” Amy exclaimed, the horns on her necklace glowing as a large portal appeared on the ground. A large beast leapt through it, with the features of a lion but built like a horse, and bearing a reptilian tail. “Quickpaw will keep them away!”

“Amazing! A beast tamer! With an incorporeal system of portals to access her beasts! Is it inter-Kingdom as well?” Phoebe asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet before she ran toward the giant fluffy killing machine.

“Woah woah woah,” John said, Jumping between Phoebe and Quickpaw. “Amy, how well trained is… Quickpaw?”

“Oh, he loves people! And I fed him plenty this morning.” Amy opened her arms, and the giant feline took the invitation and barreled into her, knocking her to the ground and nuzzling against her.

“Come on, we have a job to do,” Amy laughed, and the centicore stood at attention immediately, waiting for her to get up. When she did, her pet brushed against her side from behind, walking in front of her and sitting down expectantly.

Phoebe and Abigail looked at the beast tamer equally expectantly, edging closer to the giant pile of fur that leaned into Amy’s hand as she scratched his ear. “Good boy! You two can pet him! He loves attention. Approach him from the front. Quickpaw, lay down.”

The centicore obeyed, lowering himself down to the ground. At the same time, the genius inventor and mighty brawler crouched down into the dirt, lavishing the proud beast with scritches and pets.

“I’m going to ready the convoy for transport,” Josephine said, expecting help from her sister. Instead, all she got was a brief nod before Phoebe resumed petting the new animal.

Thinking for a moment, she turned to John. “We’ll be ready to go in about fifteen minutes.”

“Here’s the plan. Amy’s going to ride Quickpaw out front, Grace is going to be in the middle car, and Abigail’s going to head up the back with Mandruzzo. I’ll stay in the front car with Phoebe. David, stay a mile ahead of us. Josephine you-”

“Will do whatever I want,” she interjected, staring daggers at him. Phoebe coughed and elbowed her older sister in the ribs, backing away immediately. “Fine. What?”

“Stay in the middle with Grace,” John said, checking everyone’s status via the party screen. All looked to be in good health, and Abigail’s mana had already nearly recovered. His allies quickly left the car, getting into position. David joined them, taking advantage of the open door to fly ahead. John started the party chat, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck as thoughts of annoying pixies filled his head.

Shouldn’t Phoebe and Josephine be in our party? Amy asked, looking back from atop Quickpaw and into the window of the lead car, meeting John’s gaze.

That’s on a need to know basis, and they’ll be fine without it, John replied, taking two of the tattoos his mask bestowed and holding the small sheets in his hand. The pair had taken their gloves off to clean them before the journey, and so he shook hands with one then the other, applying the identity-tattoos to their hands.

“I think your gloves are clean now,” John said, activating Charm and bouncing between their minds with Mind Reading for a few moments.

We’ll have nothing to worry about, these-

These mercenaries think they’re so great. Sure that black pyromancer is tough, but this guy’s aura is skin-tight. Is he special or just that weak?

And neither of them noticed. Great! John thought, leaning against the wall as the sisters put their gloves back on. “How long is it to the next town?”

“It should take about two hours without interruptions,” Phoebe said, glancing at a clock on the wall of the wagon. “This path fell into ruin soon after the revolution started, so it may be a bit longer.”

“How long has that been going on?” John asked, watching closely as Josephine walked out, toward the middle of the convoy and Grace.

“Depends on who you ask. We were having something of an industrial revolution, with steam power being phased out in favor of whale oil. When that proved to be unsustainable, the central powers wanted to research another solution, while many simply wished to revert back to our steam powered technology. This heightened tensions, and some battles were fought. The official declaration of war, however, resulted from the Rider-Waites and the new technologies they shared with us,” Phoebe answered, looking around the carriage they stood in. Made of wood, it had the aesthetic of a steampunk wagon with the luxuries of a magitech train car. As he glanced at the central console, he noticed that a handprint was indented on it. Phoebe walked over to it, and the entire convoy started to move. “I have no political stake in the war, but without the technology brought to us by your guild, we would have entered a great period of stagnation. They gave us the breakthrough we needed. For that I’m thankful.”

“What exactly is the war being fought over? If what one side is fighting for is less viable... shouldn’t the other side win hearts and minds?” John asked, flinching a little and moving aside as the wall behind him opened up into a window.

“I’m afraid not. The technological side of the war is emblematic. Those that fight for the resurgence of steam power also fight for the old ways. Public duels and outdated legal systems, but also creative freedom, individualism, and national pride. Those that side with the King fight for progress, and the distribution of magitech power. Some say that even though mana gives us more value, our other qualities mean less under something so important. A potential loss of identity and stricter laws, but also safety, greater opportunity, and advancement. Even as a scientist I don’t find the choice an easy one,” Phoebe concluded, staring out the window as the forest slowly passed them by.

All was peaceful for half an hour, during which Phoebe talked excitedly about her recent inventions and John did his best to pay attention. The two greatest topics of conversation were a magitech motorcycle she had made based on an imported motorcycle from Earth and a snake machination similar to the dragon on her shoulder that she had yet to finish.

“Slow down!” Amy called back, and Phoebe walked over to the center console, placing her hand on it and bringing the entire convoy to a halt.

“What’s the problem?” John called down, opening the door and hopping out. Phoebe wanted to follow behind, but after a thoughtful look from John, stayed inside.

Looking down the road he saw it immediately. They were surrounded by dense forest on either side, and the dirt path ahead was blocked by a makeshift wall of fallen trees. Abigail, I need you up here. Mandruzzo, stay at the back. Someone or something blocked this path. This definitely isn’t natural. Be on guard.

Abigail whistled as she saw the giant wall of logs before them, igniting her hands. “Should I burn it down?”

“Could you control the flames and prevent them spreading to the rest of the forest?” John asked, Cinder appearing behind him and sizing up their obstacle.

“I believe I may be of some assistance, Master,” Cinder said, floating over to the left side of the wall. “If she ignites it from the right and I from the left, I can ensure the flames burn inwards and snuff each other out.”

“Sounds good. Amy, patrol from end to end. Make sure nobody’s sneaking up on us.” John nodded to his friends before Jumping into a nearby tree. He dropped the Echo Stone onto the branch on which he stood, but aside from his allies below and insects, nothing appeared. Sighing inwardly, he faded into the shadows of the tree and activated Symphony of the Night, improving his hearing.

Everyone, try to make as little noise as possible. I’m trying to listen for something, John thought, doing his best to tune out the sounds of the forest. The droning of insects, the steady flapping of a hummingbird’s wings, and Quickpaw’s steps. He strained harder, driving these sounds from his mind. After a few moments, he heard the distant sound of hundreds of birds in flight. Deactivating the perk, he saw birds erupting from the treetops, flying away from a massive pillar of fire in the distance. Did anyone else see that?

See what? all his allies replied at once, those within sight looking to him for guidance.

“There’s trouble in the air,” John said, deactivating his perk as he jumped down to the dirt road. Something spooked a lot of birds, and there was a pillar of fire in the forest. That hydra she mentioned, I think it’s being attacked. One of them anyway. Amy, do they have any natural predators?

Based on my research on Valvia, any creatures strong enough to oppose them are not native to this area. Except for sapients, of course. This Hydra species does have fire breath, so you’re probably right. Amy dashed to the front astride Quickpaw, whose ears were cocked in the same direction the birds were coming from.

“How fast can Quickpaw run?” John asked, looking down the rows of trees on either side of them. I hope Mandruzzo is keeping a good watch. Stopping us now would create a great opportunity to come in from behind.

“Much faster than we’ve been. Are we speeding up?” Amy asked, to which John thoughtfully nodded, staring at the burning logs in front of them.

The wall finished burning down, the two flames meeting in the middle and smothering each other. When the job was done, Cinder flew over to John, retreating eagerly back into his mind. The other pyromancer is very friendly.

John watched Abigail flash him a thumbs up and a bright smile before running back to the end of the convoy and her bubble buddy. You don’t sound so enthused by that.

The world has gotten much more social in the near two-hundred years I’ve been gone, it’s strange, Cinder explained, appearing next to him in her incorporeal form on his left as David flew back to his shoulder, perching on it easily.

There’s nothing wrong with being introverted, John offered, feeding David a giblet from his inventory and sending the bird back off.

It’s going to take some getting used to. My old master was isolated very often, Cinder said, and her presence faded from his mind. Taking the hint, John walked back into the lead car.

“No bandits?” Phoebe asked, lowering a sleek blaster pistol she had aimed at the door when she saw his face.

Man, am I glad I put the mark on her, John thought, the weight of the mask against his face uncomfortable for just a moment. “No, but a Hydra is being attacked somewhere. Somewhere far. Let’s go a bit faster, hope we get out of here before we run into it.”

“Yes sir!” Phoebe said, walking over to the center console and setting the convoy back into movement. “It should take another hour or so at this rate, assuming we’re not stopped again.”