Empire Builder 4: Breed, Populate, Conquer, page 24
They continued, the speed of the river taking them through the jungle faster than they could ever hope to on foot. And as they drew closer to the Jagged Tooth Mountains, Ben could spot glimpses of the tower growing larger in the trees above.
Eventually, the trees gave way to a strange landscape. It was open, the ground turning from green to a steel gray. The trees were sparse, and they had a clear view all the way to the rocky face of the mountains a mile or so ahead. The area was still and silent, in major contrast to the chattering of all the creatures in the jungle. As alive as the jungle had seemed, this place was dead in comparison.
“We call this the ‘Dead Strip’,” Rox said. “The face of the Jagged Tooth Mountains is so sheer that nothing, no wind, no fresh air, can get into this spot.”
The river terminated in a large, still lake in front of the mountains. Rox gestured for them to pull the canoes to the sides of the river and get out. Once the group had secured their supplies and Ben made sure the half-dead goblin was on his back, they hitched the canoes and began their trek.
Rox informed them that they’d be doing a little climbing to avoid what goblin mechas might be in the area. When the group reached the sheer face of the mountains, Rox produced a device that launched a rope up to the nearest ledge, about fifty feet up. Using the rope, they first hauled their supplies, then the humanoids of the group made their way up. Once that was done, Ben assumed his hawk form to fly back down and tie the rope to Nipper’s paws, then around Brock’s body. The group up top was then able to hoist them up.
The ledge was a convenient path-like shape that wound in front of the next sheer face of the mountainside. The height allowed a view of the emerald stretch of jungle to their left, birds flying here and there out of the top of the canopy. It was quite a view, but Ben knew of the war that raged underneath the canopy and what was at stake if he were to lose.
The tower was massive overhead, and Ben could see that it would be nearly impossible to reach it without some sort of passageway underneath. Now and then flying machines launched from the windows of the towers, streaming like birds off toward the war in the jungle. Explosions erupted now and then miles into the distance.
The group focused on the journey, and it wasn’t long before Ben spotted a long line of goblin mechas.
“There!” Rox said, pointing ahead at the group. “That’s the entrance.”
Zito put his hands on his hips. “How the blazes are we going to get in without them noticing?”
“They’re not going to notice anything,” Rox replied. “We’ve sent scouts to this area before, and they found out that when they’re in line like this, they’re in repair mode or something like that. You can get right in front of them, and they won’t notice that you’re there.”
Ben was ready. “Then let’s get in line and make our move.”
No one in the group disagreed. The process down the mountain face was easier than the trip up, and within a half-hour, they were on the ground. Ben and the group watched as the line of goblin mechas obediently moved forward, a metal door opening and closing to let each one in.
Ben’s stomach tensed as the group made their way to the end of the line. But just as Rox had said, the goblin mechas paid them no mind. Most were damaged, some lurching forward with broken arms and legs, some with the goblin trapped within injured and bleeding.
The line moved forward, and soon they were near the front.
“Get our little friend ready,” Rox said. “We’re going to need him.”
Ben reached to his back and pulled out the barely-alive goblin. When their turn came near, Ben held the poor creature out.
“Unit seven-five-nine-four requesting access. Inserting identification now.” It repeated the words it’d said back at the village.
At first, Ben wasn’t sure what to do next. But he quickly spotted a mechanical device built into the rock wall next to the doors. He hurried over with the goblin, positioning him so the metal device coming out of his head could be inserted into the hole in the machine.
It fit. Moments passed, and then the doors opened.
“Come on!” Rox said. “No time to waste!”
They rushed inside, stepping into a hallway of metal walls with what appeared to be electrically-powered lighting above. The doors shut behind them, another set of doors noticeable at the far end.
“We’re stuck!” Melody said.
“Don’t doomsay just yet,” Rox said. “There!”
A red light appeared over top of the other door, slowly making its way to the group. Ben wasn’t sure what it was, but he had a good idea that he didn’t want it to touch him.
“The goblin, Ben!” Rox said. “I bet it’s going to scan it!”
It seemed like as good a suggestion as any. Ben gently set the goblin down as he and the rest of the group hurried out of the way. The red light approached, moving over the goblin’s body.
A voice spoke.
“Damage to unit: Critical. Recommend immediate destruction and disposal.”
“Who’s talking?” Zito asked. “What kind of magic is this?”
Ben said nothing, knowing that the answer was undoubtedly too high-tech to explain right then and there. Instead, he held up his hand to make sure that none of the group around said a word—they didn’t.
A chime sounded, and the doors at the far end of the hallway opened. Ben picked up the goblin and together, the group made their way into the following room. But the room they stepped into was so large that Ben realized it was hardly a room and more like a factory floor.
“What… what is this place?” Melody asked.
Ben said nothing, taking in the sights before him. The space was massive, with conveyor belts that carried goblin mechas here and there, lines of hooks that transported them through the air. Loud grinding noises sounded, along with clanging and the occasional shriek of a goblin.
“This must be where they make them,” Rox said. “It’s like a factory, but it is bigger than any factory I’ve ever seen. They must compile the mechas here, send them out, and then bring them back in when they’re ready to be repaired.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Ben spotted a conveyor belt that carried the broken and ruined remains of goblin mechas, ones that seemed to be too wrecked to be repaired. The belt carried them to a large port where they were dumped off to a place he could only guess.
Rox, as if sensing what was on his mind, nodded at the port. “Go ahead—not much else we can do for the poor SOB.”
Without another word, Ben carried the remains of the goblin that he’d been toting around and dumped them onto the belt. He and the rest of the group watched as the goblin they’d used to get into the factory was carried down the belt, eventually falling into the port and vanishing. Ben wasn’t sure where they went, but the faint smell of burning flesh in the air gave him a good idea.
Ben put the matter out of his mind as quickly as possible.
“Now, we need to figure out a plan. Rox, you have any idea how to get to the tower from here?”
The goblin shook his head. “Not a clue—sorry, boss. But I’d bet you anything there’s some way to do it. All we have to do is keep a lookout.”
Ben wished there might’ve been another way to pull it off, but nothing came to mind.
“Let’s just make sure to keep a low profile. Last thing we need is for the Genius to know we’re here. Come on.”
Ben and his group began down the main hall of the factory. The clanging and banging grew louder as he and the rest of his companions made their way down. And it wasn’t much longer before Ben spotted a window that looked onto the massive factory floor.
“Oh my God,” Melody said, horror in her voice. “Look at what they’re doing!”
Ben stepped over to the window and watched. Down in the huge, open space, he observed the process of goblin mechas being made. A huge conveyor belt snaked through the big, steel room, giving Ben a good look at every step of the process. First, the hapless goblins were given the steel implant through their foreheads. The goblins struggled at first but quickly went docile. From there, Ben observed each part, from amputation to implantation.
Ben had seen his share of grisly sights since coming to this new world. But the scene before him was something else. Goblins might not have been his kin, but that didn’t matter—what the Genius was doing was barbaric.
“I can’t watch,” Melody said, turning away.
Shrike, however, kept her eyes on the sights before her. “It takes quite a depraved mind to come up with something like this.”
“Depraved but brilliant,” Zito added. “How the hell does this all even work?”
Once more, Ben was at a loss as to how to explain how a modern-ish factory might operate.
“Doesn’t matter,” Ben said. “What does, however, is stopping it before the Genius can use it to conquer the continent.”
There wasn’t a word of disagreement among the group. Ben and his companions traveled on. And as they did, Ben couldn’t shake the feeling that they were all being watched. He put that out of his mind as they made their way through the factory.
It wasn’t long before they approached a large set of double steel doors—doors that didn’t seem to want to open. Ben stepped up to them, looking the doors over for any way of getting through.
“This is going to be tricky,” Zito said. He moved to Ben’s side and knocked on the doors, a big, thick bang sounding out.
Ben didn’t have a chance to respond, the doors opening faster than he expected.
And on the other side were three goblin mechas. These mechas, however, weren’t like the broken and busted ones that Ben and his friends had seen so far. These mechas were pristine and ready to fight.
The one in the middle let his saw-blade hand roar.
Ben went for his weapon, knowing the battle was on.
Chapter 24
The three mechas lurched toward Ben and his companions, their metal feet clanging on the ground as they drew closer. Ben, without wasting a moment, took out his new weapon and slipped the blade out.
However, he didn’t get much of a chance to use it. The mecha in the center raised its saw blade and made a leap toward Ben that was of surprising speed and agility. Ben sprang to the side, using Force Wave to propel him farther along. A horrible grinding noise filled the air as the saw connected with the ground, and when Ben turned, he could see nothing but sparks.
“Spread out!” he shouted. “Don’t let them gang up on you!”
His companions did as he asked. Ben placed the end of the blade on the ground and pushed himself up, his side aching with pain as he rose.
“Ben!” Melody cried, raising her finger toward the door from which the three mechas had emerged.
Ben’s stomach tightened when he realized to what she was pointing—more mechas were coming out of the next hall, so many that he couldn’t quite count them, but there were easily over a dozen in total.
Ben knew that the fight was going to be a killer.
The mecha that had tried to kill him started its deadly mission once again. It turned to Ben, raising the saw blade and marching toward its target. The sight of the mecha in motion was somehow even more awful than seeing them destroyed. The goblin in the pilot’s seat was alive… barely. Its eyes rolled in the back of its head, the helpless creature’s head lolling back. Ben could even see a trail of drool coming from its mouth.
Before he focused on the mecha, Ben looked around at his group. The mechas had moved into the hall, hoping to use their superior numbers to overwhelm Ben and his companions. He couldn’t help but wonder if the presence of the mechas meant that the Genius knew they were there. But he knew that didn’t matter in the moment.
What did, was surviving.
The mecha stomped toward him, switching out its buzzsaw for a cannon. The arm of the mecha lurched, something firing with a thwomp . Ben didn’t need to see what it was to know he needed to get out of the way… and fast. He used Force Wave once more, pushing himself off the ground and out of the way of the projectile.
Boom! An explosion went off in the spot where the projectile landed.
Great, Ben thought, they’ve got freaking grenade launchers.
He quickly came up with a plan, called out and waved his arms, and caught the attention of the mecha. It turned toward him, raising its arm once again. Another thwomp sounded out. But this time, Ben was ready. He closed his eyes and cast Telekinesis, focusing his attention on the grenade.
It worked. A fist-sized munition hung in the air, a smile forming on Ben’s mouth. With a blast from Telekinesis, he launched the grenade back toward the mecha. It connected, and the pilot’s compartment of the machine was engulfed in a bright orange blossom of fire.
When the fire faded, all that was left of the goblin pilot were its four limbs, which still hung in the spots where they’d been installed. The mecha fell forward and collapsed in a heap.
“Go for the pilots!” Ben yelled. “That’s the weak point!”
By that stage, the scene before him was so chaotic that he had to yell at the top of his lungs just so they could hear him over the noise. Grenades went off, buzzsaws whirred, and gunfire sounded from the mechas that had switched over to that attachment. Ben could only imagine the sort of damage an army of these things might be able to pull off.
But the group got the message. He watched as Shrike, who’d switched over to her fire form, let loose at the nearest mecha with a torrent of flame. The fire cooked the pilot of the mecha she’d targeted, nothing but charred bones remaining. Like Ben’s mecha, the craft fell forward in a heap and was done.
Nipper was nearby, and Ben saw the massive cat leap forward and sink his teeth into the pilot of one of the mechas. With a quick twist, Nipper ripped the pilot out and tossed the body aside, disabling the machine.
Zito did some fancy work of his own, leaping onto the mecha nearest to him and letting loose with his blade. With a few quick, precise strikes, he sliced through the arms and legs of the pilot. The goblin fell forward, faceplanting onto the ground, the mecha crashing on top of him.
Brock did the same, raising the rocks of his body into the air and smashing them into the pilot of the nearest mecha. He pulverized the head of the goblin, which did the job of severing the connection between the goblin and the mecha. The machine stood still, the brain that had been powering it obliterated.
Rox, despite his small size, managed some serious damage. He pulled a launcher of his own out of his bag, setting up a small machine that lobbed a seemingly endless series of bombs at the mechas. They were expertly placed, each one hitting home and obliterating the pilot of the mecha targeted. Rox cackled wildly as he did his damage.
Melody deftly used her lightning wand to blast the pilots out of the mechas, cooking them one after another. One by one, the group took the mechas. But they kept coming, the machines piling up in the room, stacked on top of one another.
Another mecha approached Ben, and he decided to put his blade to use. With a flick of his wrist, he straightened all the segments, the blade stretching out to twice as long as his arm. The mecha stomped forward, firing a barrage of bullets that Ben barely managed to stop in midair with telekinesis.
He quickly put that out of his head as he pressed down on the right side of the hilt, the capacitor inside the sword building an electrical charge. Ben drove the blade into the machine, a massive blast of electricity shooting through it. Hisses and pops sounded out, and the pilot was cooked instantly.
Before too long, they stopped. The two dozen or so mechas that Ben and his group had taken out were still, none moving. Dark blood from the slain pilots pooled underneath the machines.
Ben leaned against the nearest wall, catching his breath after the fight.
“Is that it?” Melody asked, tucking her wand back into her hip. “Are there no more?”
“I seriously doubt that’s the end of it,” Ben said. “Likely just the end of it for now .”
“Right,” Rox said as he put away his grenade launcher. “There are hundreds of these things in the jungle right now. And we barely took out a couple dozen. There’s not a chance in hell we’re going to be able to fight our way through here.”
“Then let’s move,” Ben said. “Before the Genius notices what happened.”
His stomach tensed as he said the word, having the distinct feeling that the Genius already knew. But he put that thought aside, slipping his blade back into the hilt and leading his group farther down the hall.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s finish this.”
The group formed up, Ben only pausing to use Healing Touch on those who’d been injured from the battle. As Ben used the spell, however, something happened.
HEALING TOUCH HAS INCREASED TO LEVEL II—BEN HAS NOW LEARNED HEALING SWEEP
“Healing Sweep?” Ben asked. “Maybe an area of effect healing spell?”
Melody placed her fingertip on her chin, thinking the matter over.
“Well, it’s the next level of your healing spell. But I’m sure you already knew that.”
“Try sweeping your arm,” Shrike said. “Focus on holding the spell in your mind.”
Ben did as she suggested. He closed his eyes and held the spell in his thoughts. Then he activated it, sweeping his arm in a wide arc. The spell worked, healing magic falling over all the group currently within the arc of his sweep.
“There!” Melody said, her eyes lighting up. “The next level of Healing Touch is a group healing spell. That’ll be really useful when you’re in the middle of battle.”
Ben allowed himself a small smile, pleased at the power he’d just gained. But a quick check of his mana stores revealed that Healing Sweep was quite mana-intensive. He slipped a small mana crystal out of his bag and ate it as the group started off, and he made a mental note to only use Healing Sweep when the situation was desperate.
The group made their way past the heaps of ruined mechas and into a hallway beyond. Another factory floor was to the left, more goblins being gruesomely fitted into their mechas. The sight was enough to make Ben’s stomach tighten with rage.
