Chapter 25

Three weeks had passed since the abductions.

Val had gone through "Mechanical Anatomy of the World" from front to back several times. She made notes, diagrams, and scribblings for each of the clockwork creatures in the books. Every day she practiced her skills with the limited resources of the Right Rudder Inn. She was now able to run the hand-cranked eggs beater at various speeds for however long she wished. She could now even hold a conversation without losing her concentration.

She had plateaued. She needed more.

One morning during breakfast she approached Terry.

"I need metal," she said. "A lot."

Terry had moved from the Heads and Tails Inn to The Right Rudder, taking his staff with him. This made Carl pleased as he had a block of rooms that were never empty. As a bonus, he knew that the client would always be sure to pay on time. The somewhat celebrity status of the man drew clientele as well, people always seemed to be dropping by with business proposals and such. The dining room bustled at all times of the day, people hoping to catch a glimpse or rub elbows with one of the wealthiest men around.

Terry looked up from a stack of papers he had been reading.

"I can get you some, but a lot might be a problem," he said. "I found a buyer for what I had in my carts shortly after I got in town. People still need to use the bridge your sister made as well. I can't exactly snap my fingers and make more."

"Can you buy it back?"

He shook his head, "The merchant who bought it sailed out of here weeks ago. Even if I could make them an offer, people tend to use the stuff I sell right away. I can't ask people to cut a chunk out of their ship, take the shoes off their horses, or the nails out of their houses."

"You realize that if you want us to use our powers, we're going to need metal to fight with right?"

He nodded, holding up the stack of papers in his hand. "Which I why I'm going through all my possible leads with a fine tooth comb. What we need right now is a major find. I don't only need metal for you, but for every single one of the metalmancers that we are bringing onboard."

"What about the local communities? Can they donate?"

"We've sent word around asking for whatever help that people can provide, but it's extremely limited. There are still a lot of people that need convincing that this threat even exists. Our evidence is pure speculation at this point, so it's a hard sell."

"So, what do we do in the meantime then?"

"I didn't say I couldn't get you any. I have a small stockpile that I keep on hand for home use. I'm not sure what you have planned, but hopefully it will be enough to get you started. If you can wait, it should show up very soon bundled with a very special delivery."

"Special delivery?"

"You'll see," Terry smiled.

***

The special delivery arrived two days later. Val, Terry, and Carl were seated at one of the dining tables, sipping on a post lunch coffee when one of Terry's aides approached and whispered into his ear.

Terry stood, "If you two wouldn't mind joining me outdoors, I have some people that I'd like you to meet."

"Metalmancers," Val thought. "It had to be the other metalmancers." Her heart raced a little, she was nervous to meet the others. She still worried about how the interaction would go.

The three exited the inn and stood near the front door. As a cart rounded the corner on to the street, Terry started waving.

Val looked at the cart and was a little confused. Instead of a row of imposing figures, she saw a man, a woman, and a boy perched on the front seat of the approaching vehicle. Four armed and armored individuals walked near the cart, two on the left and two on the right.

"Not the metalmancers," she thought. "Then who?"

She looked to Terry who was still waving enthusiastically. She then looked to the figures on the cart once more. It clicked.

"It's his family."

The cart pulled up and Terry went over to lift the boy off the seat. "Ronnie! Did you grow again?"

The boy laughed, "I sure did!"

"What about me?" The woman pouted in a playful manner.

"Did you grow as well?" Terry asked as helped the woman down from the cart.

"If I did it was in the wrong direction... and IF I did, I expect you to keep your mouth shut about it." She wagged a figure at him.

Val couldn't help feel a little jealous. She couldn't remember her mother, and the death of her father two years ago still hurt. Hell, her sister disappeared only weeks ago. To have a normal family, to live in a house, for things not to be tense. What was that like? Had her life ever been like that?"

She looked over at Carl. The man stood stoic. He had just lost his daughter - how was he processing all of this? She wondered if the privileged knew just how privileged they were.

The third figure stepped down from the cart by himself. Val had been wrong, it wasn't a man, but a teenager who had to be near the age or her sister. Not quite a man yet, but close. Maybe in a year or two.

"Sir," the boy gave a slight bow to Terry. "My father sends word that the household is in order."

"Ahh Keth!" Terry said walking over to the him. "Thank you for delivering my family... and yourself."

Keth reached into his shirt and pulled out a piece of paper, handing it to Terry. "My father said that you would want to see this."

Terry opened the paper. "Excellent!" He turned to Val, "This is the delivery that I've been waiting for!"