Page 55 of Tusks & Saddles
I suppose it’s early for him,Beatrix thought.He must have spent the whole night working.
“Seriously, kid,” Kay said, wiping the sleep from the corner of his eyes. “Drop that little sphere, there’s black powder in there!”
Before Kay could reach out, Beatrix had already placed a hand onto Welborn’s own. She gently pushed until the cleric lowered sphere back onto the table. Once safely left alone, Beatrix pushed Welborn a few feet away from the table.
“I am afraid this holy man does not know his way around explosives just yet,” Beatrix said
“That tracks. Most religious types are more invested in their divine magics and spells than the art of black powder.” Kay yawned.
“Speaking of which…” Beatrix started, pulling up the suitcase in her hand. She placed it on to the messy work table, mindful to not lay it close to any objects of unknown origin. “I need some quick repairs.”
“Already?”
“Yes. Unfortunately I had a bit of an overheating problem while I was on my last job.”
Kay swore, hopping up onto a work bench and seating himself on the table, “All right, give me some time with it. I’ll get y’all sorted out. In the meantime you might wanna go run your other errands. Once Bit makes me some coffee, that is.”
“Bit?” Welborn asked.
“Did someone say my name?” a stilted voice asked.
Propped in the corner and partially buried beneath a grungy cloth was the origin of the voice. A golden metal hand with exposed joints reached up and pulled the cloth away, revealing an entirely metal human sized body.
Beatrix was familiar with Bit. In fact, she was familiar with most constructs given what her father did for a living. When tinkerers started experimenting with hystreanium—a newly discovered metal—they had unknowingly given life to beings once thought to be extinct. The newly awakened constructs had started to become more common in progressive cities the last hundred years or so. In fact Beatrix‘s father have been debating on acquiring one around the time she had left home.
On the other hand, Welborn was caught completely off guard. It was most likely he had never seen a construct before. The sight of the animated body made entirely of metal plates with large, glowing green eyes wasn’t something the denizens of Ordia saw everyday.
“Yeah, I did,” Kay said with another yawn. “I could really use a coffee right about now, Bit”
“Coffee,” the construct repeated, recording the request. A moment later. “Understood. Do you require any other sustenance? Perhaps a shot of whiskey to wake up your systems.”
Bit didn’t wear clothes, but they did carry a tool belt around their waist. It was similarly fashioned to match Kay’s, and it clanked against the metal of their thigh as Bit walked toward them. Though Kay had done extensive repairs to Bit’s body, their movement was still a bit clunky.
“Whiskey for breakfast?” Kay asked.
The tinkerer eyed Bit. At nearly six feet tall, Bit was more than twice the height that Kay was.
“Whiskey was appropriate for breakfast yesterday,” Bit reasoned, lifting a finger. “And the morning before that. And the morning before—”
“Okay, okay, whiskey after coffee, please Bit. My head is killing me,” Kay grumbled in a gruff tone.
“Coffee. Very good choice, Kay.”
Bit walked to the wall opposite the front door and disappeared behind a large piece of glass. Behind the barrier was the entryway to the small galley. Kay used the glass as an alternative alarm system. His reasoning had been that shattered glass made noise while explosives left nothing behind. It was better to hear the warning shot.
Beatrix knew Welborn had taken to Bit, even without looking at the cleric. The young man clearly had a fascination with anythingshiny and new. Curiosity being Welborn’s motivation to do anything—a core trait that would likely get him killed out in the Wastelands. But for once, Beatrix didn’t discourage this particular thread.
“Can my friend here help with the coffee?” Beatrix offered. “I’m sure Welborn has a lot of questions to ask Bit.”
“Oh, that’s not necessary, Miss Eaves. I would hate to be a bother!” Welborn protested—right on cue.
“Nonsense!” Beatrix sidled up to Kay. “Bit’s still young. Sometimes they make the coffee wrong. They need all the help they can get.”
The tinkerer cast a confused look at Beatrix. A heavy eyebrow lifted in her direction. “Help—”
Beatrix nudged Kay’s leg with her hip. Unlike Gimdor, Kay was quicker on picking up subtle cues.
“—ah, yeah, sure… Knock yourself out,” Kay awkwardly said. “Just mind the glass, yeah? Stuff’s expensive.”
