A meteor the size of a pickup truck is rushing towards me at tremendous speed. I jump away and fiddle with my Portal Gun, it's approaching and it's going to vaporize everything in its wake!
I teleport back home just before the asteroid impacts with the mountain, I'm certain that I felt the cosmic deflagration on my back just as I stepped through the blue portal.
But I'm safe now, and I won't lie and say that I'm not curious about the consequences of the impact that I just narrowly escaped. But the effects are ultimately not my problems, and I have more urgent matters to worry about.
The spell jammer is something that comes to my mind, and while it's important the survival of my newly acquired bunch of cultists is also high on the priority list. Looking around reveals that the compound is still bustling with activity, and it's hasn't been reduced to a smoldering crater.
Terrence also didn't call me, so I can only assume that nobody attacked us while I was off planet. But I can't relax while that massive bounty on my head still exists, and a quick glance at the website shows that the amount of Credits has already increased by a couple of millions since I last checked it out.
*This is worrying, so I need to act quickly.*
I take a deep breath and sink into the ground to emerge in front of an unappealing shop that looks like a long-abandoned ruin.
The Goblin turns his head towards me when I step inside, and his business smile freezes for a second when he recognizes me.
"Boy, you're still alive! How is your search doing, did you-"
"I have what you asked for," I say before leaning against the counter. "Acquiring those materials wasn't easy…" I activate my robes for a second before continuing, "So I hope you'll honor your part of the deal."
This may seem excessive, but I need to make sure that Krognar will not try to swindle me. The survival of the Order and humanity at large is at stake.
He gulps and nods before beckoning me towards the secure backroom where he activates his security measures.
"Show me," he says while pointing towards the containers, so I drop the large cylinders on the table and open them.
"I can't believe it…" Krognar mumbles as he eyes the piles of Starmetal with child-like wonder. "And I thought I would never see this again!"
He cackles like a maniac, and I take him out of his trance with a quick burst of golden fire.
"Boy, I don't know how you did it, but if my theory is correct then today is a historic day!" he says with a big genuine smile.
The Goblin then unscrews his metallic little finger before sliding it into a secret compartment near his mechanical elbow.
A large slab of stone slides off the ground and reveals a long and dark staircase. The Goblin grabs a couple of containers and I pick up the rest before following him into the narrow staircase.
We walk in silence until we reach a large metallic blast door made with what looks like a reinforced version of Krognar's secret alloy. It's covered with a staggering amount of runes; they are so small and detailed that I wouldn't be surprised if he told me that he engraved them on a molecular level.
He presses both of his palms onto dedicated slots in the middle of the massive slab of metal, and it comes to life after a few seconds.
The door is then covered by hundreds, if not thousands of multicolored strands of light that flows into the intricate patterns covering the blast door. Various clicking noises echos into the staircase and it slowly slides open.
My jaw drops when I realize that the door is nearly ten feet thick!
But my surprise doesn't end when I see what's on the other side; it's very similar to a crude Victorian-era elevator.
"I know you were probably expecting a Gate or some sort of teleporting circle, but these aren't secure enough. Even with all the defenses around this place, someone who really wants to intercept the spell might find a way to get in. That's why I'm using this rather unconventional method of travel." he explains before stepping into the elevator.
I follow behind him, it's a bit cramped but I'll manage.
The Goblin pushes a button and the doors close behind me, "A word of warning, it's quite a bumpy ride so brace yourself!"
I realize how right he is when the elevator rumbles to life and goes… backward.
The ground opens in front of us and closes behind the small cabin as it zips around in seemingly random directions at supersonic speeds.
I'm almost thrown off my feet each time the cabin abruptly changes directions, but the ride finally comes to an end and we arrive in a room that's identical to the one where we boarded this infernal contraption.
Krognar opens the massive blast door, and it reveals a large circular room with an unusually high ceiling. However, the drab room made of some sort of concrete isn't what catches my attention. Instead, it's the large machine standing in the middle of the room.
A large pedestal made of brushed steel is surrounded by four rune-covered silver needles that are almost as long as my arm. They are all pointing towards the center of the slightly concave metal plate.
This construct is then surrounded by a massive set of spherical panels linked to gears protruding out of the walls, various pipes are leading towards a console covered in gauges and multicolored buttons. The Goblin first walk towards a set of cylindrical containers, similar to the ones I'm carrying around, linked to the piping system.
He pulls a lever and the twenty chambers open at the same time with a puff of smoke.
"These are for the Frostcrystal Roses," he explains before carefully putting a flower in each container where they hover with a slight bob. I notice that he's only touching them with his metallic arm since it's now coated in frost.
"I never had the opportunity to actually test this, so I have no clue how safe it's going to be." Krognar declares as he dumps the Starmetal onto the pedestal.
Great, that's very reassuring. I just hope his machine is secure, or we'll become a target for the entire Underworld. Not to mention how bad it will be if Enforcers learns about our little transgression.
I bury those thoughts to the back of my head and imitate him before walking towards the console where the Goblin is already fiddling with various knobs and levers.
The machine soon rumbles to life, and the containers light up while the gears start to turn, causing the panels to rotate all around the pedestal while moving around in complicated patterns.
"So what are we doing here? I think I deserve an explanation." I ask. This doesn't look like anything I ever saw before, and learning the Goblin's secret is vital if I want my Fabricators to be able to replicate this.
"To put it simply, the Starmetal has very interesting properties under very specific conditions. Think of spells as a delicate assembly of mana in certain wavelengths and certain shapes. If my theory is correct, then this design of mine should be able to generate a field of frenzied mana that would shatter any spell it would come across."
I nod despite not having a clue about what the Goblin is talking about.
"So this machine is needed to make this happen?" I ask while briefly glancing towards the mechanical monstrosity behind me.
Krognar shakes his head, "No, this is just a way to shape the Starmetal. This material has many amazing properties, but it's impossible to work within any meaningful capacity."
Images of the village chief with his crude equipment flash through my mind, but it also makes me wonder about the mysterious artifacts I stole from their vault. What could they possibly be?
"I did a lot of research, and theorized that I could shape the Starmetal, but only if I can temporarily freeze it. Of course, regular freezing wouldn't be enough, it has to be frost that goes beyond the physical level and that is capable of affecting mana directly. My years of research led me to the Frostcrystal Roses, which are rumored to be able to freeze an active volcano if you could somehow draw onto its full power. But I never heard of anyone being able to do it, and even this contraption that took years to make can barely draw a fraction of the Roses…" Krognar briefly glances towards the machine before focusing back onto the wildly jumping gauges of the console.
I hope this is a good thing, because if this thing exploded in this cramped room then we're going to have a bad time.
"Boy, this is a historical moment…" Krognar mumbles and I can barely hear him over the cacophony that the machine is now producing.
The Goblin pulls a big red lever and the machine almost jump in place when a thin stream of blue energy with hints of purple seep out of the panels moving at record speeds.
It soon forms a dome over the pedestal, and I can barely see the needles coming to life as they carve up the Starmetal at a tremendous speed.
Krognar is focused on the gauges, and move with surprising dexterity as he constantly adjusts a knob or pulls on a lever.
This looks impractical, but I think the guy with something strapped to his arm with zip ties can't really criticize anyone on their skills…
The needles continue to carve out large chunks of Starmetal and fusing them together, it's not long before the deafening process finally comes to an end. The cylinders containing the Roses open, and the now dead plants fall onto the ground.
The machine slows down to a standstill, and the remaining mysterious blue energy soon dissipates into the air, revealing a set of three quarter spheres held together by a long rod.
"I can't believe it…It worked!" Krognar jumps around and eyes the contraption that's about his size with wonder and amazement.
I'll be honest; I was expecting something smaller and flashier.
"… How does it work?" I ask the Goblin, who still needs a few seconds to calm down.
"The fact that the fabrication process worked is already amazing, but if my theory is correct then rotating this thing at tremendous speed should be enough to disturb any kind of spell for a thirty yards radius around the object. After that, the effects should gradually weaken. Of course, this is just based on theory…" The Goblin can hardly contain his excitement, and I can't blame him. If his theory is correct, then I could render the fearsome Strategic Spells of the Enforcers completely harmless.
"What are we waiting for?" I ask the Goblin, who smiles.
"I have just the thing…." He says before opening a hidden compartment in the wall, revealing a contraption covered by a dusty cloth that's about half my size. "I made this when I was young, back when I thought that I could obtain the materials," he says with a hint of bitterness before revealing the construct.
It looks like a small Greek column made with his secret alloy, the surface of the construct is flawless and polished save for an area where an absorption rune resides.
"Help me put this thing on." He says while pointing towards the Starmetal construct still on the pedestal.
I nod and grab the item; it's surprisingly heavy and makes the short walk between the machine and the pillar more grueling than it has any rights to.
Krognar screws the item onto the pillar and takes a step back to admire his handiwork. It doesn't look like much, but this unwieldy contraption could be the key to securing a future for humanity.
At least if it works.
"Ready?" the Goblin asks, and I nod. He presses the rune, and the artifact makes a faint humming sound before the Starmetal object starts to spin so fast that my eyes cannot keep up with it. "As I predicted, it doesn't affect enchanted items..." he mumbles.
Krognar takes a deep breath and raises an index, magic circles form around his wrinkled finger-
The circles shatter into nothingness in the next instant!
Silence falls, this test revealed the significance of what we accomplished today.
We made a working Spell Jammer!
My happiness is soon replaced by doubt and wariness. How will the Goblin react, and what will he do with this discovery?
*We nEeD to AcT!*
My hand slowly inches towards my Pistol; removing Krognar from the equation seems like the reasonable option. I simply can't take the risk of him selling the technology to others, and the risk of it falling into the hands of Enforcers is way too high.
It's true that I have no idea how to operate that machine of his. I could Rewind until I learned how it worked, but then I'll probably have to contend with hundreds of hidden security measures.
However, I'm sure the Fabricators can figure something out. We have access to Power Stones and the essence of frost, so I bet we'll be able to make something similar to the Goblin's cooling machine.
"So… What do we do now?" I ask after pulling out my Pistol. Krognar was a valuable source of information and equipment, but letting him live might be too much of a risk. On the other hand, letting him live might be beneficial in the future since his help could be invaluable.
"I… I don't know." the Goblin eyes me up and sighs."I do believe you didn't do this from the goodness of your heart, especially considering how much you spent on this venture."
He's not wrong, so I nod in silence. Krognar's next sentence might be what decides his fate, so I don't add anything and observe him.
"I thought this was impossible for so long and that it would remain as a theory for the remainder of my life. But you made it possible, and I'm glad that I got to witness it… But I doubt you'll let me keep it, wouldn't you?"
That much is obvious, especially when considering how taboo a Spell Jammer apparently is.
"After all, I doubt you would let me keep the Jammer. And I have no interest in fighting you since the outcome would be obvious." The Goblin continues his monologue. "From what I can assume, I'm almost certain that you're going against the Enforcers on your world, right?"
"You're right. Their tyranny has to come to an end." I don't know how the Enforcers act on other worlds, and I hope they aren't as bad as the ones on Earth.
Another thing that puzzles me is why they seem to exist in every civilized world. Is it because the translator translates the word that way, or because they are the same organization?
"I see… I was like that when I was younger. A powerful Goblin once lived on my home planet, and he happened to be drunk while meeting someone very important to me. He blasted her in his drunken stupor, and he only got a slap on the wrist because of his status… So I had to act." Krognar clenches his fists.
"The Rules of my homeworld were pretty strict: Just having rebellious thought was enough to warrant your execution, and they also killed your immediate family to make sure that no one dared to go against them. So I faked my death to protect them and went after that person. I somehow killed him but it made me a pariah and a wanted criminal, so I went into hiding since that fateful day."
Wow. In hindsight, there must've been a reason why the Goblin was living in a place like this. I guess this is where I'll end up if my rebellion fails.
That's a sobering thought.
But I have to try as hard as I can, the situation on Earth is bad and it can only get worse. So I have to succeed, no matter how many Rewinds it'll take, or how many I'll have to kill. Maybe that's why I stumbled upon the Rewinder. Maybe I was fated to save humanity.
I'm starting to sound like Terrence. The Order's blind faith might be affecting my judgment, so I have to remind myself that fate doesn't exist. Everything that happened was a string of coincidences and being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
"I know that going against the Enforcers might be seen as a foolish endeavor, but I'm not motivated by personal gain."
At least not anymore. I'll admit that the whole Scalebound thing was entirely fueled by hatred and revenge, and maybe a bit of rebellious thought. But everything changed since the battle against the demon.
I'm convinced that the greed and pettiness of the Enforcers will inevitably lead to the next mass extinction event, especially considering all the hellish relics they are hiding in their vaults.
"I'm the only real hope my species has of freeing itself, so I can't back down," I reply, causing the Goblin to sigh.
"We all have our circumstances, and I can only hope that you'll succeed. Just make sure that this technology doesn't fall into the wrong hands, okay? I'm getting old, and I don't have much time left. My secrets are going to die with me and this place will be disintegrated, so you don't have to worry about me leaking anything. I would rather die than helping oppressors."
What should I do?
Krognar's story seems believable and I don't want to shoot him now, even the voice in my head calmed down.
His story might be a lie designed to tug at my heartstrings, but my gut tells me that it was the truth.
I holster my gun and sigh, I hope that letting the old Goblin live will not bite me in the ass later.