Chapter 145: 143 – Steel Steed

Zelsys dug deep into the recesses of her mind, hoping that some facet of her knew what it would take to create such an arcane object, and though she could not find anything concrete, she had a vague idea. 

“Why don’t I just show you?” she suggested with a grin, pulling out her Tablet, to which the shortest among them pulled them aside whilst gesturing for his compatriots to return to work, promising to handle it. Over the brief conversation, Zel learned the names of all three men - the white-haired one was Sarz, the one with an eyepatch was Gen, and the monk-noble was Damaya. Zel remembered that Amadai was really just a common nonsense-word derived from the word for a grain field in the language of the monk-nobles, yet she couldn’t even remember the original word or what the name of the language was.

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“Starmetal hrivns… Damn near a full deck of jade dragons… A couple chunks of jade… One-third liter azoth-auric amalgam paste, and enough aether crystals to invoke a minor deity… Wha- What else? Hrrmrh...” murmured the tallest smith disbelievingly as he read over a paper write-out of the materials Zel and Zef would provide before looking at Zel.

Raising an eyebrow, he admitted, “I’d be… Overjoyed to work on this. It will be overbuilt, it will be overdesigned, and it will be a worthy companion for that slavering beast you carry on your back.”

“How much?”

“Half a deck of dragons and… You said you had some dungeon-made jewelry right? Pick us out a nice one, how about that.”

And so the agreement was struck.

“How long do you think this’ll take, by the way?” Zel asked just moments before the two departed the forge, both already sweating from the heat. 

Both of them had expected an answer in the order of several weeks, only for Sarz to turn around to his compatriots, boastfully asking, “What do you say lads? We haven’t had a proper project like this in a while.”

“Not since the inner frame for that “Zero” thing,” Damaya nodded. “I’d reckon a week, maybe two, if we redline the forge reactor just below the spontaneous manifestation threshold.”

“There you have it. A week and a half.”

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Following the pair’s decision to explore the heavy goods that were being displayed in the fields after they left the G-Kaisers to their work, they spent a good two hours doing just that…

...Until something caught Zel’s eye, and she just couldn’t stop herself. It was a monstrous two-wheeled vehicle, with an engine larger than some of the tractors on display and upholstered in mottled scaly hide. There were only four on display, though the price told Zel that it wasn’t for lack of supply - but demand. Just like the size of its engine, its price approached that of a tractor - four thousand, nine hundred, and ninety-nine gelt. There were smears around the first digit suggesting that it had been a six recently, and possibly a seven even further back.

There was no salesman out in front trying to advertise the things - there was, however, an Iron Brotherhood tankman guarding them. When questioned, the tank raised one of its three-fingered hands and pointed a thumb to a nearby cargo tractor. A woman’s voice echoed from within, amplified by a speaker: “Inside.”

A secondary carriage stood behind the tractor, its hitch detached as the tractor’s rear door was open. Its interior turned out to be much like the very tractor that Zel remembered from the E.Z., only modified to be a mobile workshop of sorts. One of the beds remained, and upon it sat a crestfallen-looking Kargarian man, wearing dark-blue overalls, heavy work boots, and a greyish tank top - all visibly worn and dirty.

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He slowly looked up at Zel, who had just now peeked through the door, making no effort to conceal her curiosity.

“Welcome to Oedo’s Rides, my name’s Oedo. You want to buy a motorbike?” he asked halfheartedly, clearly expecting any answer other than the one Zel gave.

“Yes.”

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As it turned out, the engineer had attempted to secure a supply contract with the Iron Brotherhood in an attempt to kickstart his career, and after being misinformed by a competitor from Clan Inza he foolishly had several units produced far ahead of when the contract would come into play. 

“I think they’re counting on me not having enough savings left to just sit until I get the contract money - and I don’t, so here I am. Trying and failing to sell off my commercial stock to make ends meet...” the engineer trailed off once again, seemingly forgetting that Zel had made it clear she was here to buy one of his bikes. 

So, she prodded him a little: “Well, here’s your opportunity. Sell the bike to me. Why would I want one?” 

With a revitalized attitude, he got up and led them outside to one of the bikes, extolling each and every one of its numerous features. From the engine’s raw power and lack of need for external armor, to the simultaneously luxuriant and rugged upholstery made from the hide of a giant snake…

...To the modular weapon mounting points, physical storage space right behind the seat, luminescent - and numerous - dial readouts, and the alchemic-grade glass face shield. Inevitably, the matter of fueling the beast came up.

“You can run it on Ignis crystal just as any other engine, but you’ll need Fulguric cells for the Thundercharger. It comes with a fulguric accumulator and few rechargeable cells, but those won’t last forever, so do try to get new ones.”

“What if I can generate my own Fulgur? Is there an option that would allow me to supply it directly during operation?”

The engineer laughed, “We’re Kargarians, of course you can do that! It’s not optional, though - the handles and control cables are essentia-conductive to aid with responsiveness. The parts are designed for easy replacement, you’ll just need a lot of cold-iron and some basic machining tools for repairs if you ever dump enough Fulgur into the system to cause a meltdown.”

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