Modern Age Online

Kaleb scanned over the commission sheet again and again. They were fairly standardized with the commissioner's name and details about what they wanted. But Rhot actually had a full-on schematic of the type of weapon he wanted. It was a Brute Clan power axe. Normally utilized by Brute clan lizards that were still in the employ of the standard Basilinoid clans. The game supplied Kaleb with the culture heritage of the weapon and he found it was much a test as it was a request.

Supplying a new Elder with such a weapon would be looked upon poorly by the more stringent of the Basilinoid clans. They weren't really powerful, but the Brute Clans were supposed to be cut off from the Science's clans' aid. Kaleb gave a mental snort at the challenge and immediately started brainstorming ideas on how to improve the design. Not for Rhot, but for any else that would want the weapon. He wasn't going to look a free blueprint in the mouth. Especially one as simple as this.

However, the request came with two caveats that Kaleb found odd. The first was he had to create the weapon himself and not farm it out to his assistants. Not a horrible request, but odd because a weapon was a weapon. It meant that Rhot was testing Kaleb somehow, and it took his implanted culture memories to supply the answer. A normal lab-lizard wouldn't stoop so low as to craft such a weapon for a Brute Clan elder. Not any more, at least. This was Rhot testing Kaleb's character. Which was slightly funny. Kaleb was a player. He had Basilinoid's history in his head, but that didn't mean he had their cultural hang-ups.

Writing that little oddity off, Kaleb tapped his finger against the second request. He had to present the weapon himself. This one felt more like Rhot was trying to assert some sort of dominance over Kaleb's work. Sort of like telling the rest of the Clans that they had a Lab-lizard at their beck and call. Yeah, he wasn't going to play that one. Let the smug bastard come up and get it himself, or maybe he'd get one of the hangar lizards to deliver it for him. Put a nice bow on it and everything with a note that said he was too busy to play his games.

Kaleb was building up to a full head of steam as he held the commission and thought about the new elder's arrogance. Then the door to his workshop creaked open and a brute lizard walked in. Terrance, Marie, Roy, and Kaleb spun to look at the large lizard. Kaleb spotted another commission sheet in the brute clan lizard's hand. The big guy stared at them all before walking over to the nearest desk and setting the sheet down. Nodding a silent thanks to everyone, the lizard started backing out of the shop again.

"Hold on!" Kaleb said, thinking of something.

The brute clan lizard looked confused at being addressed. But stood a little straighter as Kaleb waved a hand down at Rhot's commission sheet.

"What can you tell me about this, Elder Rhot? What kind of lizard is he?"

The brute lizard's face went from one of confusion to understanding as he stood a little straighter. "He's a good lizard. Good leader. He brought his clan from Philadelphia a week ago. Rhot has had many fights with Gor'kinak. Very entertaining."

"Ah! So he's another member of the more militant factions of the clans."

"Oh no. Rhot is different. He accepts what we were bred to do, but wishes to move beyond such."

Kaleb rubbed his chin as his fingers played with the edge of Rhot's commission. Staring up at the taller lizard, Kaleb tried to work out what Rhot's plan was. The Brute clan lizard stared back down at him for a time until he eventually coughed awkwardly and moved to leave. Kaleb held up the hand with the sheet in it and asked frankly.

"Why do you think he asked me to deliver his commission? In your opinion."

The giant lizard stared at the sheet for a moment before nodding thoughtfully. "Probably to meet you."

"Meet me?"

"Yes! He is like you."

Kaleb blinked in confusion. "Like me?"

"Yes." The lizard nodded furiously, wiggling his fingers in the air. "A maker... uh... craft… crafter?"

Realization dawned in Kaleb's mind and he nodded along with the brute lizard. That little bit of information put a whole new spin on things. If Rhot was truly a crafter, then the Brute clan could have an alternative source of weapons. The blueprint was probably both a gift and a question of how the weapon was made. If that was the case, then he wouldn't mind taking a quick trip down to Under-Town. Maybe show the new clan how to build things. It would free up Terrance and Marie to do other things. Although they could possibly lose some credits. If the lizards had another source of weapons, they wouldn't spend their credits at Kaleb's shop.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Kaleb thanked the big lizard and let him be on his way. Still rubbing his chin with his metal hand, Kaleb tried to calm his curiosity about this new lizard. The Brutes were genetically modified to be the defenders of the Basilinoid clans. If one was trying to break free of that forced destiny, he had to be there, right? He had the time with the rest of the guild off looking for the face-stealing serial killer. A quick pop down to the seedier portion of Austin was always fun.

Moving over to his workbench, he scanned the blueprint into his system and brought up a 3d render. Exploding the render out, Kaleb began dissecting each piece. Roy and Terrance watched him with interest as Marie went right back to work.

"It's got a vibrating edge." Terrance pointed out, moving closer.

Roy nodded. "On top of being slightly energized. See that green sheen? That's probably a power cell."

"It's barely an energy weapon, really." Kaleb said as he spun the design. "The power cell gives the edge enough umph to slice through skin or armor cleanly, while the vibro-edge does the rest. It's a pretty hefty one-two punch. But the power needed makes the weapon too big for anyone but the largest aliens or humans to use."

"Of course we could probably make it more efficient, right doc?"

"We could. But for this first one. We won't. I think this request is more symbolic than anything. We'll build it to the sheet's specs. Then, if we want, we can update it from our own people. I already think we could turn this design into several more powerful weapons."

Roy nodded, and Terrance ran off to start up the forge. Kaleb put the rebuilding of his car on the back-burner as he planned out the axe in his head. It was a double-edged design with the shaft down the middle. Each blade of was huge and curved around the handle slightly, leaving space for a brute lizard to grab hold. The job was going to take a lot of metal. Thankfully, they still had a decent supply. One of the biggest parts was going to be the handle. It needed to be big enough to house the power core and fit comfortably in a Brute Lizard's hands. Rhot had even given his measurements with his request. So that part was also easy. Now it was time to work.

Scott the Salamander made their jobs infinitely easier by finding and setting the right forging temperature. The small alien creature seemed to delight in the metal-working even as it sat in the flames. Roy and Terrance helped shape and temper each edge of the axe as Kaleb worked on the handle. The three of them worker one after another pretty much confirmed to Kaleb that the shop needed another upgrade. They needed more forges and more anvils. The three of them made it work, but if they hadn't already been used to working together, things could've gone wrong.

Daivor, Master Gnome that he was, woke up just as Kaleb was finishing up the large rod that would be the handle. The gnome looked surprised to see Kaleb in the shop as he munched on his food. A quick glance at the clock told Kaleb it was almost noon. They'd been working the morning away. He signaled for Terrance and Roy to take a break as he maneuvered the large handle over to his workbench. As he did, he shot Daivor a mock glare.

"So glad you could join us, Master Gnome."

"Why aren't you working on your car?"

"Got a special order. From a Brute Clan elder."

The gnome swung himself up to Kaleb's desk and looked at the design. He snorted in derision as he looked over everything.

"Kinda primitive, isn't it?"

"The Basilinoid high council didn't think the Brutes needed anything more."

"Yeah, but we could do better."

Kaleb nodded and then explained his thought process surrounding the axe and its meaning. Daivor rubbed his beard in thought. Pulling out his pipe, the gnome tapped the commission sheet with a foot.

"You don't think he's testing you to see if you'll give him the same shit the old council did?"

Kaleb stopped for a beat as he turned that thought over. "But here's the thing, this guy is also a crafter. So maybe he just wanted a base model to… work… off…"

Kaleb's mind ground to a halt as he heard his thought process out loud. Daivor lit his pipe and grinned as the match disappeared from his fingers.

"Just realized how stupid that sounds?" Daivor giggled.

"Yeah, yeah. Shut up! Roy, Terrance! We're going all out on this one. Let's show this new elder how we do things."

Roy called over from his workstation as he took a sip of water. "Like, how all out? Are we breaking out the new battery?"

"Whoa."

"Hey now."

Both Kaleb and Daivor put their hands up at the idea.

"Let's not go too crazy. Just some general upgrades to the battleaxe. We'll make it more efficient and increase the frequency of the vibrations."

"So not all out." Terrance smirked. "More like medium out."

"Yes!" Kaleb shouted, pointing a finger in the air. "Medium out! Enough to show our brute lizard compatriots we care. Without giving away our secrets."

Roy finished his water and hopped up from his seat. "Then we should be able to overclock the power supply. Make the sucker really burn."

"We could also reshape the second edge into a hammer or something. Change up the design?" Terrance added.

Kaleb nodded as he looked down at Daivor. The gnome was halfway through, rolling his eyes. But Kaleb didn't care. He was still having fun. He was excited to meet this new elder and see what he thought of his workshop's additions to an ancient weapon. Daivor took several long puffs off his pipe before he waved it at the blueprint shown on Kaleb's screen.

"We'll also add some runes to the thing. Maybe some durability and increased sharpness?"

"Do you think rune work would be considered medium level?" Kaleb asked jokingly.

Daivor rolled his eyes as Kaleb looked around to see if anyone else had heard his joke. He caught sight of Marie over by her own workbench, shaking her head. Her arms were surrounded by rock as her pet enhanced her hammer blows. She was working on another set of armor as she grumbled loud enough for him to hear.

"You're all idiots."