Clown Wyrm - 24. Chapter 24 - To the Volcano

Mercury and Periwinkle had lugged barrels of ale into the tavern. They had made beds and cleaned dishes. They swept, mopped, polished windows, removed ashes from multiple fireplaces, dusted furniture, rolled silverware in napkins, and when the pub got busy in the evening, the clowns spent the time washing more dishes.

When Norjia and the Mechanic returned, Mercury and Periwinkle were exhausted, but they were laughing. Large bowls of stew were in front of them, and they each had goblets of wine that were almost empty.

“Norjia!” Mercury cried.

“Dizzy – Dizri – Dizzz,” Periwinkle attempted. “Mechanic!”

The wives laughed.

“Did you two have a good afternoon?” Norjia asked.

“It was busy,” Mercury replied, “but it was also fun.”

There were only two other people in the tavern, and they were at the bar together.

The Mechanic leaned close to the clowns conspiratorially. “I found the entrance into the mountain that Squirrel uses to take people on his tours to the wyrm.”

“You did?!” Mercury hissed, trying to stay quiet. “That’s awesome! We can do our reconnaissance without a guide getting in our way. How do we get there, and when should we go?”

Norjia looked over at the bar. “Let’s get rooms for the night, clean up, and rest. Squirrel takes his tours at night, so I think we should go tomorrow morning.”

“There’s this shed that hides a tunnel into the volcano,” the Mechanic added. “It’ll probably still be very dark in the caves, but Norjia made plenty of money at the smithy, so we’ll purchase some hand-lamps before we go underground.”

“We also did pretty well,” Mercury declared, jabbing her thumb in Periwinkle’s direction. “Each of us got eighty Armonian dollars, free dinner and drinks, and Moschka told us we could stay overnight for a discount.”

“Moschka’s the woman behind the bar,” Periwinkle added.

“And you two just missed Culdtrob!” Mercury cried out. “He’s the bouncer, and he’s so funny!”

The quartet booked three rooms for the night with Moschka.

Mercury was in one room.

Periwinkle was in another.

The wives shared the third.

Each of them took baths in their private privy chambers, and they slept peacefully on comfortable beds.

Mercury awoke with the sunrise. She sat up and stretched her arms overhead. “R’Kathlug,” she whispered to herself. She was very excited about the prospect of seeing the dragon up close. In her mind, Mercury could picture images of scaly, huge, reptilian monsters, like the European dragons from fantasy, and she wondered if that’s what they would encounter. She had come to expect things in this world to be very different than where she was from, so she was not sure what they were going to find.

Next door to Mercury’s room was an identical chamber, and the sun was also shining in on Periwinkle. He rolled over. He was not as enthusiastic about seeing the dragon, but he could not deny that he was very curious about it.

In the third room, Norjia and the Mechanic lay together.

“This is going to be dangerous,” Norjia said quietly.

“We’re just going in to take a look,” her wife replied.

“How do you suppose we’re going to kill it?”

The Mechanic took a breath. “I don’t know how the old gods died, but Mercury is right; they’re mortal. R’Kathlug is mortal. Maybe when we see it, how to kill it will be obvious.”

Norjia took her wife’s hand, and they interlaced their fingers together beneath the covers. “Dizriolith, are we crazy for doing this with these two jesters?”

The Mechanic chuckled. “Mercury and Periwinkle are like family now. We’ve been with them all this time.” She laughed again. “Yes, Norjia, we’re probably a little crazy for doing this.”

“What if we die? Or worse, what if only one of us dies and the other is left alone?”

The Mechanic pulled her muscular wife close to her. “I don’t want to lose you, and I don’t want you to be left alone without me.” She kissed Norjia’s powerful shoulder. “But what if slaying the dragon changes the world in ways we couldn’t imagine? And what if we die, but we take the dragon out as we go? I’m telling you, it’ll change everything, if R’Kathlug dies.”

Norjia turned and faced her wife. “I want to bring Mercury and Periwinkle to see Furthen before we go underground.”

“Your friend? Why?”

Norjia sighed. “I’ve got this sinking suspicion that whether or not you and I make it, I feel almost certain that they won’t. I want to get them some basic armor for a little extra protection.”

The Mechanic furrowed her brow. “Even though we’re only planning on checking out the situation?”

“I have an overwhelming sense of dread this morning,” Norjia replied, “Impending doom, but I don’t think my feelings have to do with you or I.”

“Did you dream something, my love?”

Norjia shook her head. “No, it wasn’t a dream. I somehow feel like I know they’re not going to make it. I want to be extra prepared.”

“Alright,” the Mechanic agreed, “we’ll take them to the forge first.”

Out in the hallway, Mercury stepped up to Periwinkle’s door and knocked on it.

He opened it and stepped out with her. “How’d you sleep, sunshine?”

“Good,” she replied. “You?”

He smiled and nodded. “Ready to see the dragon?”

Mercury laughed. “I feel like I should be afraid, but I’m just not. I can’t wait to see it! I half-expected to dream about dragons last night, but I didn’t.”

“You know,” Periwinkle replied, “I thought I’d miss sleeping near you, since we’ve been camping and spending the nights in the wild together for a long time now, but I passed out as soon as I lay down.”

Mercury laughed. “I slept like the dead!”

Periwinkle chuckled. “Do you think Norjia and the Mechanic are awake yet?”

The clowns stepped up to the door of the room the wives slept in, and Mercury whispered, “Maybe we should go downstairs and wait for them.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” Periwinkle replied.

The two clowns heard some noise behind the door, and it opened.

“Morning, you two,” the Mechanic said with a sleepy smile. “We’re awake. Want to come in?”

Mercury and Periwinkle entered and closed the door behind them.

“After we eat,” Norjia stated, “I want to bring you to get armor.”

“Armor?” Periwinkle repeated. “What for?”

Norjia was serious. “I think what we’re planning is going to be dangerous. I don’t know that plate-mail is the answer, but it’ll grant you both a little more protection.”

“Will the two of you also wear armor?” Mercury asked.

“Maybe,” Norjia replied, “but you both are so frail. Your bravery may be unmatched, but neither of you have the formidability that we’re genetically designed to have. Armor with give you an advantage.”

Periwinkle took Mercury’s hand and said, “We’re not warriors, so maybe armor is a good idea.”

“I’m not a warrior either,” the Mechanic added, but Mercury contradicted her.

“Yes, you are; you literally hunt hunters! You’re both badasses!”

The four returned to the tavern and ordered breakfast and coffees, and less than an hour after the sunrise, they were on their way to the blacksmith.

“Norjia,” Furthen called out at the sight of her approaching with the other three, “didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”

This time, Norjia had prepared a story. “Good morning, Furthen. I’d like to get our two friends here some armor and weapons. I’m going to start training them.”

“Really? How marvelous! Come on into the shop and let’s see what we can find for you.”

Neither Mercury nor Periwinkle’s bodies fit properly in any of the pieces of plate-mail they tried, but they managed to find some adjustable armor that sufficed.

“We’ll take a pair of your weighted training swords,” Norjia stated, “but I’d like to hone their blades against your grindstone wheel before we go.” She turned and eyed a special sword in its sheath that was resting on a decorative stand. “And Furthen, I noticed that yesterday. Tell me about it.”

Furthen chuckled. “That was an experiment. I call it the Planet Smasher.”

Norjia snorted a laugh. “Subtle.”

“It’s made from an alloy I created by mixing Armonian steel,” Furthen explained, “with extraterrestrial steel from the Turgandath Meteor impact crater at the base of Mount Turgandath.”

Norjia was surprised. “Is it usable? Why hasn’t someone bought it?”

“It’s not for sale. It’s sharp, and the metal was strong enough to slice through one of my test dummies without damaging the blade, which is what I expect from any of my swords, but as far as I know, no one has ever made a blade with Turgandath steel, and I don’t trust it.” Furthen picked up the sword by its scabbard, took hold of the handle, and drew it from the sheath.

The metal was rippled with a beautiful pattern that looked like tiny swirling rainbows in greyscale. The blade was straight, double-edged, and there was a wicked point at its end.

“I’ve done strength and flexibility tests on it,” Furthen continued, “but while I was forging it, the two metals did not incorporate like any alloy I’ve ever worked with before. The steel from Turgandath didn’t glow red, like Armonian steel; the Armonian glowed red, but the Turgandath glowed blue. It looked wrong, and so after I put it through my tests, I sheathed it, and it’s been there ever since.” She nodded at the empty stand and slid the blade back into its scabbard.

“How much do you want for it?” Norjia asked.

Furthen frowned. “It’s not for sale. I don’t want to take the chance that it’s somehow faulty and might fail in battle. Besides, I like it as a decoration.”

“What if it’s the greatest sword you’ve ever created,” Norjia countered with a smirk. “Let me buy it, and I’ll use it for training these two.” She indicated the clowns. “What if I don’t use it for actual combat?” Furthen looked doubtful, but Norjia added, “I don’t know; it’s just calling to me.”

Furthen shook her head, but she conceded, and she loaded the items onto her countertop as she listed them aloud. “The adjustable pieces of armor you both selected.” She nodded at the clowns. “Two brute blades for training, and the Planet Smasher.” Furthen set the sheathed swords beside the plate mail. She looked into Norjia’s eyes. “I’ll give you the Planet Smasher, since I don’t trust it, but be careful with it. Everything else comes to one-hundred and eighty-seven Armonian dollars, but Norjia, how long are you planning on staying in town?”

Norjia looked at her wife and replied, “Indefinitely.”

“Good,” Furthen replied, “take it all, and come work with me here at the forge.”

Norjia smiled. “You’re a good friend, Furthen.”

The Mechanic led Norjia and the two clowns, who were now wearing their armor, back toward the glee district. They stopped into a supply store for hand-lamps before they went to the café across from the little concrete shed.

“It’s right there,” the Mechanic said with a subtle wave of one hand as she ushered the other three toward the counter to order coffees, and with their warm beverages in hand, the quartet loitered out front. “Norjia and I managed to unlock the door,” the Mechanic added. “That building has a staircase leading underground. At the bottom is a tunnel into the volcano.”

“We didn’t follow the path all the way in,” Norjia added, “but we saw the way Squirrel takes when he does his tours. There were footprints in the dirt and marks on the walls.”

“But how do we sneak in?” Mercury asked, looking up at the sky. “It’s bright out.”

The Mechanic leaned close and said, “We just walk over and go inside.”

“How did you unlock it?” Periwinkle asked.

Norjia winked at him. “My wife is quite skilled with a lock pick.”

The Mechanic finished her drink, placed the mug into the bus bin, and she crossed the street. She brought her hands to the door’s handle, and in less than three seconds, she had it open. She stepped inside and left the door ajar.

“See you in there,” Norjia whispered, and she followed her wife over and into the tiny building.

Mercury grabbed Periwinkle’s forearm and squeezed. “You ready?” she asked in an excited voice, and she crossed the street as well.

“Here we go,” Periwinkle whispered to himself, and he also headed over and entered the little building.