The rest of the day was spent in the forge. Astrid stayed to instruct the kids on their future tasks and training before joining up with me a few hours later, simply looking through the illustrations and descriptions of machines and animals the scouts had discovered outside while I made yet another ejectable knife for my gauntlet, for now I only had two different types, the normal flying blades and the two stinger blades I was able to make out of the two corruptor stingers I found in the chauldron.
"...Carnocorne, type : guard, a bipedal machine resembling a reptile. Three and a half meters in height and six in length, possesses thick horns on its skulls used when charging and produces a shockwave when hitting something. Beware of its charge, bite and tail swipe when approaching… Ouu… It looks ugly… Next, Sythychus, type : harvester…"
Astrid wasn't quiet in her lectures, I found no problem in it as I enjoyed listening to her voice as well as hearing about the new discoveries but some of the smiths here were quite grumpy while working.
"Hubby, are you finished? I want to go outside! Explore the world!"
"Hey hey, I'm supposed to be the one always eager for an adventure, what happened to the Astrid that wanted to keep me locked up in here?"
"Hm? Well I know you're getting tired of all this. And I only want the best for my hubby."
I couldn't help but let out a sigh, she's right, I'm dying of boredom in here. I think it's finally time for some real exploration beyond these mountains.
Taking a piece of thin leather I wrote a small text and handed it over to one of the smiths taking a break and told him to bring it to the council.
While he left, I took Astrid's hand along with a bag filled with our gear and stealthily sneaked out of the smithy through a secondary exit.
***
""HE WHAT!?""
Verita was the first to exclaim her thoughts out loud from reading the text handed over to her by a clerk.
"Can't you read? It says the kid left to explore the outside. Let him breathe a little."
"He's our king Oslo! He can't just leave like that!"
"Kakah! I knew he was the fearless kind, I love his spirit even more!"
"Not you too Grettel!"
Gerart, the agriculture councilor lifted his hand as he spoke in a calm voice to appease everyone. "Come on Verita, you know our king isn't stupid. He gave us a big project for us to accomplish. See this as his trust in us to keep things running smoothly without him and as a test of our capabilities."
"B-But!"
"Are you trying to shackle your king? If he tells us he wants to go outside without us then he can do so, the king's wishes are our orders after all."
"Yes… I am sorry."
"And he didn't just leave for his own reasons."
" 'I will find a way to help Valhalla's many problems out there, I will come back with the answers that we so desperately need.' Is what he wrote… We can only trust him."
"I hope he succeeds, but even if he doesn't come back or… die, it doesn't really matter, we can just rule in his stead, as a new council."
"Shush with your pessimism. We just need to hope for the best and prepare for the worst."
"Don't try and say that as if they're your words! You found that quote from one of the records! Don't try to look like a wise old man!"
"I am a wise old man!"
"Children… children… This isn't the time for this. Now that this is out of the way we need to determine who will take over his work, he's the one that made sure all of us worked smoothly together while also distributing and controlling our actions… I don't wanna do it so choose amongst yourselves."
"I don't want to do it!"
"Me neither!"
…
***
"Haaa, it's been so long since we had some fresh air." Matt exclaimed loudly as he ran out of the fortress gates.
"What do you mean? We also have fresh air inside?" asked Astrid
"Well yeah but it's not the fresh air from a mysterious world full of adventures and freedom!"
"Nh, if you say so."
"Hmm, where should we head first?"
Matt then took out one of the many map copies they had brought along and opened it, letting Astrid lean her head over his shoulder to take a look.
"What about the Tallneck? I've always wondered how such a big machine could exist."
"Sure, I want to see it too. Its parts must be really precious!"
"Hubby… Please don't try and disassemble every machine we encounter while on our honeymoon~"
"Oh I see… Honeymoon huh? Alright, I'll dedicate our time together only to us, since the repairs on the cauldron aren't finished yet there's also no need to head over there, it would just be a meaningless detour."
"Great, shall we get going, hubby?"
"Of course."
The couple didn't waste any more time as they started walking down the mountain in their thick fur boots. They had done such a trip once when they left to conquer the cauldron and yet this alpine land that was theirs still enchanted them by its beauty.
However they noticed some strange things they hadn't taken notice of earlier, the fauna and flora they had often seen and read about in the ancient records and within their isolated dome looked very similar yet different from the one that they encountered here.
The plants looked pretty much the same with maybe some changes in their height and the color of their leaves and pine needles but the most noticeable changes lay in the animals.
The boars were covered in long gray and brown fur, their tusks seemed longer, extending forward and splitting off like the antlers of a deer, some smaller and some bigger than the ones they met while hunting within Valhalla.
Most animals they met on their way had such fine but very specific changes, like a fox with wings or a horse with six legs.
But the real wonder they noticed was the incredible diversity, there used to be a thriving diversity of animals within Valhalla but most of them died after multiple catastrophes, from the records left behind, there used to be reptiles, but only some bones were found, there used to be birds, but they all died after a lack of breathable air accrued and there used to be fishes, but they all died after swimming in an increasingly acidic water.
There were many more things than mammals, a real ecosystem governed by nature… and the hundreds of mechanical animals that walked amidst this world.
Matt and Astrid didn't just walk around like a couple of lost tourists, they knew the threat of this world. The trip was made by a combination of jogging, jumping from tree to tree and sliding down some snowy slopes.
It took them only one day to reach their target, having rested through the night atop some tree branches a few hours prior.
"Look! It's incredible."
In the distance, the wide and flat head of a machine shook in the air, moving around as its tall and slim metallic neck reverberated all the vibrations it created while moving its enormous legs, shaking the ground as it walked by, unbothered by the other machines and the forest it passed through.
"It really is a Tallneck… the titan and biggest machine in the world." Matt exclaimed in wonder
"It's beautiful." Astrid said.
"Not as much as you."
"Oh come on… thank you."
"Do you want to get closer to it?"
"Of course I do."
"First one there?"
"You don't have a chance."
The two grinned at each other as they jumped off the little hill they stood one, running towards the machine whose head was overshadowing the forest through which they were running.
They quickly encountered a herd of broadheads, bull-like machines that became increasingly aggressive the closer you got to them. Normally they would have hidden in a bush or walked around them, but Matt and Astrid's competitive spirit knew no bounds. They ran straight towards the herd, on one side, Matt dodged and weaved in between the bulls sharp horns while Astrid just kicked them or jumped over them.
They continued sprinting towards their objective, although now, a herd of enraged broadheads was hot on their tail, smashing through multiple trees and bushes without a care.
Luckily after half a mile of hot pursuit, the herd gave up and returned to the route they were taking.
The two reckless Valhalans gave off a laugh as they gasped for breath.
"Ha.. ha… That was exciting, right hubby?"
Astrid smiled as she turned her head towards Matt who was standing right next to her, except he wasn't there anymore and was instead running away in the distance.
"I'LL BE FIRST!"
"Goddamnit hubby."
She smiled predatorial as she set her sights on her new prey running away from her.
"MATT!!!"
1524 words
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I want to make Matt's character a little more jovial and festive now that he's free from his cage. He'll stay smart don't worry, but more in line with a cocky Tony Stark.
This makes a great parallel from the dark and creepy story that I am writting for my other novel (by the way go check it out if you can, it's hella macabre but I make sure to be original.)
So basically I find it fun to have bipolar stories :D
Have a good day and see you soon!