Round 29: Intentions

Morrill and Forty-Seven silently slipped past the sleeping Old Tom and hid behind a ruined wall.
“It wasn’t too hard to sneak in, but what do you plan to do? What’s your strategy?” Forty-Seven asked in a low voice.
“Keep thinking with your metal head about those broken parts on you. Stop talking and just follow me!” With that, Morrill ran to the back of another building.
The two hid in the darkness, carefully avoiding occasional passersby on the streets. Fortunately, few people wandered around at night in the city. They then entered a dark, narrow alley.
“Where are we going? Back to the Stone of the Future? There must be many waiting for us there.” Forty-Seven couldn’t help but ask again. “How much longer do we need to hide? Why not just charge out? I don’t believe these unskilled soldiers are stronger than those shapeless madmen in the temple.”
“We’re here!” Morrill said as she reached into the wall in front of them. The wall suddenly became shiny and soft, splitting open like a curtain. Morrill and Forty-Seven stepped through, only to find Kayro waiting on the other side.
Morrill had eaten something and looked much better. Forty-Seven stood in front of the crates, examining the various magical artifacts. He was now wearing a black robe. Kayro was skilled—she quickly cut a large piece of black cloth into a decent outfit: a sleeveless top with a hood, a coat-like skirt, and a wide belt with studs around the waist. He now looked like a tall human or humanoid, with no trace of his mechanical nature.
Morrill changed into Kayro’s purple dress, but since Kayro was much smaller than her, the top and corset fit tightly around Morrill’s body. The two pieces on her chest seemed ready to pop out, making her look more like a bartender from a tavern than a fearsome mage.
Kayro stared at Morrill’s prominent chest, mouth agape.
“What are you staring at, little girl?” Morrill blushed, aware that her appearance was far from that of a mage.
“That pendant on your chest is really beautiful. Even I’ve never seen such high-quality crystal!” Kayro said with envy.
“Oh, you mean this?” Morrill’s face turned even redder at her mistake. She took off the pendant from her neck. “If you like it, I’ll give it to you!”
As a mage, Morrill rarely used purely decorative items. She didn’t even remember having this pendant. She had simply found it around her neck when she woke up—maybe it was a enchanted necklace she had forgotten? Or an extra part from that metal monkey?… For some reason, Morrill didn’t consider other possibilities.
“That can’t be. Such beautiful crystal! Look at that dazzling reflection!” Kayro said, yet her eyes couldn’t tear away from it.
“Given all your help to me, no request would be too much!”

“No, no! Everything a mage carries is useful; I can’t take it!” Kairo continued to refuse.
“It’s just a enchanted accessory. I think I no longer need it—I’ve even forgotten how to use it. If you like it, I’ll give it to you. We’re friends, right?” Moriel took it for Kairo without asking.
“Should we use this place as a base to launch a large-scale counterattack? To be honest, our ammunition supply is severely inadequate!” Forty-Seven expressed his concerns.
“Idiot, I just want to get back what belongs to me. I left the magic book pages at the Stone of the Future. Although I set up a magical barrier, it certainly can’t stop even a moderately skilled mage. By now, those pages must have been taken by the people from Mishima.”
“Mishima? That mage in white?” Forty-Seven recalled.
“Yes. Mishima and those two others are probably still wandering in the swamps, even if they managed to escape from the temple. No one travels through the swamps faster than me, a prophet mage. The only concern is that they might use magic communication to gather more people. So we need to act quickly and retrieve those pages before they return—otherwise, there won’t be another chance! And I’m sure that fancy guy called the Count is a noble from the Agus Empire. Though I’m not sure why the Agus people are associating with Mishima, it’s clearly not in our favor. If they get out of the swamps, it won’t just be the three of them against us—the power of the Agus Empire is nothing to underestimate!”
“Agus? Is that the mage nation west of Rain City?” Kairo asked softly.
“Yes. It’s a country ruled by mages. I once traveled through Agus’s capital, Vatan City, and stayed there for a while. I know very well what those noblemen are like.”
“Actually, your proposal isn’t very meaningful,” Forty-Seven said, feeling he had to speak up. “Because I’ve basically memorized the entire magic book. If you need it, I can rewrite it for you. If it’s just for that book, there’s no need for us to storm Mishima’scompany.”
Moriel stared at Forty-Seven as if she wanted to swallow him whole.
“It’s not my fault. You never asked me, and I didn’t want to disturb you while you were absorbed in studying those pages,” Forty-Seven started making excuses.
“I still want to get those pages back. I’ve explained to you before how small misunderstandings in understanding the magic network can lead to huge differences in practical application. Even one wrong word or symbol can cost lives. Also, we need to figure out why Mishima and the Agus people are interested in us. Maybe we’ll find some answers at Mishima’scompany!”
“Whatever you want. Women’s thoughts are truly incomprehensible!” Forty-Seven sighed. He had even learned to sigh.
“But you seem different now, Mr. Forty-Seven,” Kairo suddenly said to him, looking shy.

“Don’t call me ‘sir.’ I’m a construct, the same kind of thing as thatMithril shield beside you. By the way, how much does that shield cost, Morriel? I think I need a shield!”
Morriel ignored Forty-Seven’s paranoid demands and simply watched him in silence, eventually driving Forty-Seven crazy.
“Your changes truly astonish me. What has the power of the God of Forging given you? And what exactly is that core inside your body? Why does that Agus noble insist on getting it? If there’s no reasonable explanation, I’m not shy about starting business with him again.”
“Then you’ll have to convince that blind, mute old man in red first.” The metal on Forty-Seven’s face twisted into a smile, which made Morriel’s gaze even more fierce. “Alright, alright, I’ll tell you everything.”
“To be honest—” Forty-Seven pondered for a moment. “My existence was really an accident, truly. I suppose I was originally created by the former mage of the mage tower as his new vessel, using this core—some kind of method to transfer a dying life into a special magical object to gain a new life. Oh, I think you understand this. But the problem is, that mage failed, and I was born—like consciousness suddenly arising from chaos, like a clay figure given life by a god… And this core—”
Forty-Seven touched his chest. “I don’t know what it does, but I’m sure it’s part of my body. It might have belonged to that mage before, or even to the Agus Empire at some point, but now it’s mine. The power of the God of Forging has reshaped my body, turning me from a haphazard pile of metal into a living metal being. You know, now I won’t just rip off my arm to install some swords, because I know it’s truly my arm—Similarly, I can feel the core pulsing inside me, spreading throughout my body, connected to me as closely as my heart and blood vessels—just like every other part of my body. So I will never give it to anyone, ever.”
Morriel stared at Forty-Seven, clearly using some kind of detection magic. Finally, she changed the subject. “We should prepare to go to the Three Islands Merchant Guild to get back my spellbook. Talking to you is a waste of time—Kairo, can’t you find me clothes similar to these?”