Chapter 1: Chapter 1 – The Relic

On a dockyard facing the water, two workers were preparing cargo to load aboard a wooden sailing ship. It had been a long day of shifting heavy loads into the hold and some of the items had been questionable and difficult to move due to the weight capability of the wooden boats in the water tied up with sailors and loaders both moving back and forth loading and unloading supplies and goods for sale.

On the stone surface of the docks in front of the ship animal skins was covering up a small pile of items. Pottery and wooden boxes filled with different items filled up the rest of the space on the main deck. Around them, people were rushing around and shouting in different languages and dialects as ships were unloaded and offloaded and weakened slaves were beaten harshly by their masters when they dropped containers onto the wet stone floor of the loading areas.

One of the workers stopped for a moment and reached out his hand to wipe the sweat from his brow before wiping his hand on his linen tunic. He was a heavyset man with large eyebrows and a stomach to match. His hair was losing its colour as he aged but traces of red dye came off onto his hand. He had a small stone axe attached to his belt with leather strips.

His eyes, slightly closed from the brightness of the sun gazed at the sheer numbers of workers taking advantage of the decent weather to make sure that the ships would be able to weigh anchor and leave the relative safety of the bay before any storm gods decided to empty their bowels and fart over the nearby oceans. These were the deep thoughts that he had when he thought about the nature of the sea.

‘I tell you; I need a drink after this. A storm will be coming soon. You mark my words boy. When the god’s fart ocean riding boats will sink. Makes me glad that I’m not a sailor.’

A young man was holding an elongated piece of metal in both arms. It had no sharp edges but was instead rounded on the ends. A modern person would have recognised it as an oar that had been partially damaged. He was barely out of his teens and his light stubble showed his relative youth. In trying to hold the oar straight outwards he narrowly missed knocking the older man in the leg.

‘OI! Watch it there boy! You almost took my leg off with that blade! I’m telling you that I need a drink and here you are attacking me.’

The young man released a deep breath and let the oar clatter to the ground, it lightly bounced off the stone before coming to a complete rest. The sound that it made was drowned out by the noises coming from the rest of the docks.

‘You always want a drink. If you went into the water, you’d make it dirtier then before. It’s not a blade, no sharp edges.’

The older slightly pudgy man frowned at the words he heard.

‘Insults, is it? Go and fetch me a cup of watered-down wine then once we finish up here.’

‘Get it yourself old man. We need to get on with our work before the boss turns up. She won’t be happy you stopped to admire the view.’

Reaching his hands down towards the oar he bent his legs and raised it over one shoulder with two hands holding on tight. He began walking towards the waiting ship as the older man stood there red coloured sweat running down his face. Once he had thrown the longish shape onto the open aired deck it was immediately picked up by a sailor who grabbed it and began to walk down wooden steps to store it away in the hold.

Walking back he too chose to put his hands on his hips and catch his breath for a moment. The harsh sun beating down on him and the sheer weight and number of artefacts had caused his muscles to tense up. He walked up to the older man clapping him on the back in greeting. The older man had dragged a large object that had several ropes attached, looking back

‘Did you just see that….thing that we’re meant to carry on board to the storage hold?’

The older man put his hands on his hips, taking a deep breath of salty sea air into his lungs. Seagulls cried out overhead and a strong smell of the sea filled his nostrils as he breathed out.

‘Yeah, it was a belonging of a higher being. You need more experience boy. Then you’ll have a better idea of the gods.’

‘If was a god’s possession, it just got broken on the way from the skies.’

Frowning at him, the older man shook his head. Beads of sweat lightly flew into the salty air.

‘You’re an idiot, why would a god let their items get broken?’

‘It got smashed on the way down. That’s why they end up damaged. Look, you can see where the wings got broken off.’

‘I wouldn’t call that thing the belonging of a god. I don’t get why it needs to have four wings. Not right it isn’t.’

‘Fine, it’s a damaged god creation then. A failed one, I think they realised that the wings were too fragile and broke off easily, so they threw it away.’

The two men stopped at stared at the strange object for a moment. It was the first time that they had seen a relic that had cost so much according to the merchant that had hired them. Both of them had been warned to load it onto the ship without many questions but their curiosity began to get the better of them as they stopped their work to keep discussing.

‘You think that the gods throw things down from heaven regular like do you?’

‘You give me a better explanation then.’

‘Course I can. A god told a blacksmith how to build it and it ended up being badly made, then it was chucked outside, and the boss picked it up cheap like. Or she found it abandoned. You know she’s a cheap one.’

The pair chuckled at the badly made attempt at a joke.

‘Aha, so you agree that a deity was involved though.’

‘Well, look at the thing. It’s like a deformed dragonfly. If one was made of metal and had broken wings. I don’t like it.’

‘Don’t matter what you like. What did the boss say to do with this one?’

‘Same as the weird-looking thing, just throw it on the ship along with all the rest of the worthless artefacts. Ours not to ask further.’

‘It was a creation of the gods regardless of who made it; I mean it was talking and all and I’ve never seen one like that before.’

‘You mean it was broken? Cheaply made more like.’

‘I swear it was talking words.’

‘Nope, you were drunk.’

‘The words it was saying are something that I’ve never heard before.’

‘Yeah, what was it talking about then?’

‘It kept repeating the same three words over and over again.’

‘Really? What were the magic words?’

‘Return to sender.’

‘….what?’

A small whirring noise was heard as engines struggled to activate. The two men, shocked jumped for a second before the older man put an arm out to calm him down. He gestured towards the odd relic nodding his head as though it had made the noise just as he had planned.

‘‘Wait, it’s just woken up again. Do you see the little flashing light? It’s going to speak again.’

‘What language is that then? Spirit talk?’

‘No, it talks normally. Same as you and me. The words don’t always make sense but you can understand it just fine. Be careful though.’

He put his arms out as though blocking any danger while the younger man brushed one arm aside and stepped towards the machine.

‘Yeah, give me a second to get a bit closer to it. I don’t get this bit though, that little mirror down here. It’s all shiny.’

‘Let me take a closer look at that.’

‘Why, it’s not like you can read those markings?’

‘I can at least tell the difference between them. It’s changing, the markings are changing.’

‘Why are they moving faster now?’

‘We should let the boss know straight away. Do you want to get him or shall I?’

+Warning. Tampering with this device has caused a severe malfunction. Drone battery damaged. Risk of fire. Risk of fire. Please leave the vicinity.+

‘Oh, it’s a talking god creation. This one called itself a device and the drone battery is damaged. I can see what the problem is now.’

‘Oh, please don’t do that.’ Sighed the younger man.

‘Do what?’

‘Don’t try to pretend that you know what a drone, device or battery means.’

‘I do know what battery means though’.

‘Yeah? Tell me then.’

You are reading story Regression Machine at novel35.com

‘It means it got battered and now it’s broken.’

‘What’s a mal-funkton?’

‘I don’t know, and I don’t care. I just want to throw this thing with the rest of the junk, get paid by the boss, and go and drink my wine jar.’

‘Oh great, you damaged it. Look there’s smoke coming out now. I told you to leave it alone.’

The young man began to back away with his arm outstretched.

‘I didn’t touch the thing! An evil spirit did it.’

‘That’s always your excuse. The statue broke in half because an evil spirit did it. My dog ran away because an evil spirit possessed him. Now, there’s fire and smoke. The boss is still going to want us to get rid of it evil spirit or not.’

‘I’m not touching that thing when it’s on fire.’

+Warranty voided. Severe malfunction damage exceeds the customer service warranty. Please return to sender.+

Grabbing the small stone axe from his belt the older man hit it against the outer metal surface of the relic. Seeing a small amount of smoke appear he raised his arm and hit it harder again several times in succession. Sparks appeared when the axe hit the metal surface and small stone chips broke off. The exertion seemed to weigh on the man and he quickly grew weary of his efforts.

*Bang*

*Bang bang*

‘Hoo…..hoo…’ Trying to get his breath back he let the now partially broken stone axe rest by his side, loosely holding onto it with one hand. The other rested on his ample belly.

‘I don’t think that hitting it with your axe is going to do much damage. I mean it’s already broken off bits of it. The gods sure make their belongings strong, at least part of them. Not the winged bits. Those are pure rubbish.’

‘It shut up, didn’t it?’

‘True. How about we throw this thing on the ship once it’s cooled down?

The younger man nodded his head repeatedly.

‘Sounds good to me. How about that jar of wine first?’

‘The boss said that she wants that ship filled up with all the junk first.’

‘Pah. You’re not fun. Life is for drinking wine and getting thirsty for more wine, work is just to buy more to drink.’

‘We still need to load up the statues and other junk.’

‘I’m telling you the weight is far too much. The ship will sink with all that.’

‘Oho, are you a sailor now or a loader?’

‘More wine for me then.’

‘Did you see that thing that the boss valued as worth something?

‘The one on fire?’

‘No, it might talk and be from the gods but if it doesn’t do anything else than talk, I call it junk.’

‘It’s like a metal box and the bits on it move. It looks like a complicated handle to me with a tiny thing on one side.’

‘I know what it does.’

‘Do you? Ooh, aren’t we smart and not a ship loader and professional junk thrower?’

‘Oi! I paid for the information you know.’

‘You paid in wine. Be honest.’

‘Alright, so what if I did. You want to know what it does or not?’

‘Tell me then. We’ve only got a bit more before the boss notices that we’re not loading the ship up. That thing is slowly losing its god fire.’

‘That shiny little box that looks like a book. It was made to tell the future. Not like this broken insect.’

‘Rubbish!’

‘Honest, I am. Someone clever made it. Got a lot of numbers and it can tell you about the moon or something.’

‘…Bet a god built it. No way a blacksmith can build something like that.’

‘The boss takes care of it though. You think she wouldn’t be guarding something useful?’

‘As long as we get paid, I’m not complaining.’

‘Oi, the boss is gonna be here soon. C’mon now, the fire on that thing is out. You grab that end with a rope, and I’ll take this side, let’s dump it on the ship.’

‘Did you load up the nettings and stone anchors?’

‘I did, heavy they were as well. I have no idea why the boss wants a bunch of different anchors when she’s only got this one ship for us to load up.’

‘Sell them. She’ll sell them to other ships.’

‘I guess so. Still doesn’t explain all the nets, that isn’t a fishing boat.’

‘She must love her seafood then.’

The two workers paused for a brief moment before deciding that as long as they were being paid to load cargo at a decent amount of money and wine then it wasn’t worth questioning an employer who had only paid for the services of the both of them for a single ship.

‘Now, get a move on and grab your end with a rope. I’m not planning on burning myself if that metal is still hot.’

‘I have a better idea. The thing is already damaged and it’s not as though the boss cares about it. Let’s throw the rope around it and drag it onto the ship together.’

A robed middle-aged woman walked up to both of them as they were standing there discussing how best to load the broken piece of machinery onto the wooden merchant ship. They had both been too engrossed in their conversation to even notice her silent footsteps as she came nearer. In her hand she held a long wooden stick adorned with leather straps at the top.

She wore a dark green coloured robe that matched her tanned skin and wore open-toed sandals that smacked the floor with each footstep. Her black hair was short and cropped.

‘Men. You talk but don’t work without being pushed. Is there a reason that my ship hasn’t finished being loaded yet?’

The two men stood there looking sheepishly at the ground. The older man shuffled his bare feet on the cool wet stone floor before glancing up at her and then lowering his head to look down again.

‘You two can talk all day when you’ve finished your job. Now get on with it or I’ll hire more dock loaders who can. You’re not being paid to question my ship or my instructions. All you need to know is that the items being put on that ship are none of your business. Are we clear?’

‘Yes m’m.’

‘Yes.’

‘Now get to it. I’ve already ordered both of you a few large jugs of wine in the nearby tavern. It’s an extra reward for your efforts.’

The robed woman then immediately turned around without giving either of the two men a single glance and walked off at a leisurely place to where a small group of men were gambling with bone dice.

The younger man had thrown his end of the rope around the strange artefact, gesturing to the older man to take a grip on his end he began pulling it in the direction of the waiting wooden cargo ship. A keen metallic screeching sound came from the machine but both men ignored it as they finished their work. Cold wine was waiting for them, as was shade from the merciless heat with a lack of ocean breeze.

You can find story with these keywords: Regression Machine, Read Regression Machine, Regression Machine novel, Regression Machine book, Regression Machine story, Regression Machine full, Regression Machine Latest Chapter