Grand Saint Alloy

They spent most of the night collecting reservoirs and various weapons. The pile they were left with was almost more than their little stolen ferry could take. Much of the mercenary's armor had essence reservoirs with random effects. And by random, Tristan meant as weird as they could get. There was a chest plate that heated up like a stovetop, a pair of boots that would attract dust, and a helmet that messed with a person's voice, making them sound like a woman. It was an open-faced helm.

Hadrid had made the most random junk, still, it was built with reservoirs, and he could recycle those. Luke dusted his hands off, picked up his new pet, and hopped into the boat. Tristan was on the rows again, propelling the boat to the other side of the Lake. It was still dark, so they would most likely get back unnoticed.

Tristan stared at Luke’s new pet, “Why do you need a pet golize.”

“It's cute,” Luke said, petting its forest green scales, “And if you get an imaginary friend, I want one too.”

“He did not just compare me to a hillbilly alchemist’s experiment. Tristan kick it into the lake,” Vulcan fumed.

Fortunately, the lamp post lacked legs, otherwise the little creature would be drowning at that moment. Tristan had other thoughts, “How can you think the unholy offspring of a drake and goat is cute.”

The creature lolled its forked tongue out of its mouth and cocked its head to the side. It was a position that made most dogs look adorable, but the little abomination looked like it had swallowed a piece of Hell. Orange light glowed from its throat and flickers of flame leaked from the corners of its jaws like drool.

“It's not that bad,” Luke waved his hand to dismiss the claims, “He’s a good boy, he just has a nibbling problem.”

They had found it eating someone’s face. Tristan sighed and just kept rowing. He would not win an argument with Luke, instead he would just enjoy the show when something stupid happened. Like the golize starting a drool-powered brush fire.

Several minutes later, they returned to the dock where a panicked-looking man was standing. He started shouting as soon as he saw them but paused when Tristan picked up two silver essence reservoirs and built them a cart with three times his natural essence. It lacked suspension and the metal tires would damage any floor he pulled it over. The axles were also not greased, so no one under tier two would be able to move it.

It was not an issue, as Luke was tier five now, the cart would move with or without the wheels. The person Tristan could only assume was a ferryman could only watch them as they loaded piles of armor and weapons out of his boat.

“Am I an accomplice now?” He asked hopelessly.

“Nah, Frank, you’re rich, there is a silver lining to everything,” Luke patted the ferryman on the shoulder, “Take this, it is an artifact of immense power that, uh, it does something. Tristan, what does this do?”

Tristan looked over from where he was securing a tarp to stop things from falling out. Luke was holding up a gauntlet with a blue gem set into the back. Tristan used his metal sense to try and get a feel for what would happen if essence was run through it.

“It makes your grip tighter, is resistant to corrosion, and is also watertight,” Tristan said, slightly impressed that Hadrid had come up with an artifact that allowed him to handle hazardous materials.

He chuckled to himself when the ferryman yelled, “Powerful! You tryin' to scam me, boy! If you're going to ruin my good name, I might as well just yell to call the guards!”

Tristan pulled a metal disk that he was sure was a coaster out of the cart. The mercenary who had it was trying to use it to stop blood loss, the effect of the tool was simple and worked both on tea and blood.

“Take this one,” Tristan snatched the glove and handed the metal coaster over, “It stops liquids from spilling in or out of containers, I believe that also includes boats.”

“That's more like it,” Frank snatched the artifact that was probably worth more than the boat, and stomped off, “You still owe me my twenty silver parces.”

Tristan could only shake his head. That artifact was worth a gold talent or two. They were intending to take these to the steward's hall and break some kerns. Normally he would not be so generous, but he had already squirreled a dozen away so he was covered. Also, he assumed that the Temple would be receiving these afterward. He had no issue robbing them.

The biggest reason was that he wanted Siren to get the option. There were many reasons that the leaders of the Caldera would want to stop Siren from receiving a force. He was already difficult to handle due to his influence, giving him a force might make him impossible to stop, especially if it was one of the more esoteric dark ones like encroachment. A super durable brawler, that was invisible, and could teleport through shadows was terrifying.

Luke grabbed the handle of the cart and started pulling. A screech echoed throughout the Lake Caldera as bare axle ground against its frame. The little golize covered its head with its paws and even Vulcan sent an image of a man dragging his fingers down a dark green board mounted to a wall.

The city was packed, tents were set up in the pedestrian walkways, and houses were above capacity. It was also around two in the morning. People glared at them through tent flaps and windows.

“Luke I think we might have to just carry it,” Tristan said. He was not relishing carrying a seven hundred pound load a mile and a half to the steward's office. Still, he could lift a little less than double that and he had help.

They carried the wagon through the street with a sleeping goat lizard resting on top. Thankfully, no one stopped them. Some guards gave them odd looks, but Luke seemed to be a good deterrent. To be fair, if four hundred warriors showed up at the gate all wary of a young man who could turn people into red paste with a belt knife, Tristan would be wary as well.

They set the wagon down with a grunt. Tristan rolled his shoulders to loosen them back up, “Do you want to stay while I go get Siren, Eve, and Bruce.”

“No,” Luke said, pointing up at the door to the office. The golden armored guards were still there, as were several other uniforms. Janis stared down at them quizzically, as did Herod. At least twenty people were stationed there, just staring at them.

“They started before sunset, how can they still be having a discussion?” Tristan said in disbelief.

“We still need to get Siren right?” Luke asked.

“Yeah, and the other two, but I suspect that they are inside as well,” Tristan said. He suspected he was about to witness the spectacle he knew was approaching.

Luke picked up his pet and held it under one arm. He pointed at the door past all the guards, “I am going through those doors, you going to stop me?”

Janis frowned, then asked in more of a questioning tone, “Yes? We’re guards, that’s what we do.”

“Luke, stop,” Tristan said, placing a hand on his friend’s shoulder, “We can wait, no need to hurt some guys who are just doing their jobs,” Turning to Janis, “Tell Eve that we have some news on the state of Alchehall and the less than decisive nature of the battle.”

Several of the guards relaxed as Janis nodded, motioning for Herod to take his place at the door. He stepped inside to deliver the message.

“You unlawfully took control of our military, and you expect to just keep your position!” Elder Lake yelled at Siren, who just stared back impassively.

Eve wanted to bang her head on the table. It would at least help her stay awake. The argument had been going back and forth for well over an hour. The worst part was that Siren was not even arguing his own points, Cole was. There was a reason Cole was not an elder.

“You shut up, slimeball. You were hiding in your stone palace while my brothers and sisters bled and died. He saved my home and even if you take back your soldiers, the Stone Caldera stands with him!” Cole yelled.

At least it distracted her from her problems. It was difficult to grieve a sister who she had only just started to get to know when a bunch of peacocks were trying to argue morality into war. If war was moral, people would not get conscripted, killed, or stolen from. Yet Eve had participated in all of these things, as much as it sickened her. Tristan was right to say she needed to pull herself together, if only so those things weren’t all for nothing.

“My soldiers don’t serve the Stone Caldera, they made their oaths to me!” Elder Lake said as he turned to Commander Blacklake, “You hold most of the blame, why did you secede command to a stranger?”

Blacklake looked the most bored out of all the participants, his feet were kicked up on the table and he was whittling a block of ice with a belt knife. Eve had met him before, he was a man who valued efficiency and getting the job done. It made him cold and difficult to approach, but excellent at getting results. If Eve understood his latest task correctly, it was to push the allied Stone and Forest Caldera forces out of the plains, which he had done even with the addition of elementals halfway through.

The Commander raised an eyebrow, “I accomplished my task with a minimal loss of life, I am not so insecure that I would not offer my post to someone who can provide greater results. You, however, are free to replace me if you can find someone better.”

Eve had to cringe at that. Most people in power knew of Blacklake's skill as an assassin and interrogator. He was a risky person to make angry and let live. Fortunately for everyone, his emotional range went from disappointment in his work to contentment in the same task.

Siren raised his hand for the first time in hours. He had stopped talking when the conversation started heading in circles. Elder Lake kept ranting, but everyone else quieted down.

“Eve, please take this message out of earshot,” Siren said.

Everyone frowned in confusion for a moment, until there was a knock on the door. Looking back and forth between Siren and the door, Eve got up and answered it. Normally, she would have sent one of her two guards to answer the door, but she trusted Siren. How he knew who was coming was more than a little unsettling.

She opened the door, and stepped out, followed by her guards. Bruce and Lesley had taken the role of personal guards, as she trusted them more than most. Janis stood in the atrium, head bowed, waiting to be ushered in.

“You may stand,” Eve said, “What message do you have?”

Janis looked up in surprise, he had been expecting one of the two Golden Hearts, not Eve, “Lady Eve, Sage and another young man are standing outside, demanding an audience. They claim to have investigated the battle across the lake. I would advise against meeting them, as Sage had to stop his companion from using violence to enter.”

Eve felt a headache coming on, she muttered, “Could they not stay out of trouble for twelve hours in a row?”

“Excuse me, Lady Eve, I do not understand,” Janis said.

“You made a good choice to not antagonize them. If you are ever in a conflict with Sage’s companion prioritize retreat over neutralizing him, as I’m not sure you could even hurt him,” Eve said.