45
“It sold yesterday for four thousand gold,” Spragg said, causing Milo’s face to drain of color and a creeping sensation crawled down his spine. “A very respectful sum, sir.”
“Four?”
“Is sir disappointed?”
“No,” Milo said.
His mind raced, though. Had he made a mistake selling the thing. At the time, he’d thought it would help alleviate his money problems.
But he felt comfortable already thanks to the cores he was partially recharging. He didn’t really need the four thousand. Though it was, he admitted, a life changing amount.
A man could live very comfortably for his whole life on that.
“I was just a bit surprised,” he said. “It won’t cause me trouble, will it?”
“There have been some inquiries as to your identity, of course,” the shopkeeper said. “But I have kept no records and have not divulged any clues as far as I am aware.”
“Thank you.”
“You are most welcome, sir. Are you looking to purchase more depleted cores for your, ah, collection?”
“Collection?” Selma looked up. She had been staring firmly at her feet not long after entering. Her cheeks were red.
“I collect cores, Selma,” he said, trying to jolt her memory. “Are you alright?”
“It’s just a bit warm in here,” she said.
“I apologize, miss,” Spragg said, his eyes drifting to her.
“Not your fault,” she mumbled, dropping her head again, refusing to look at any of the cores around her.
Suddenly, Milo understood. He groaned internally. “You can wait outside if you want.”
“I’m fine,” Selma said firmly.
She was taking her role as his bodyguard seriously. It was something Tania had insisted. That he didn’t go into the city on his own anymore.
Especially not with how Fergus was acting.
“I’ll take a look at the cores,” Milo said. Then, for Selma: “I’m afraid I can’t stay for long, so I might just take a few at random.”
“As you wish, sir,” Spragg said.
He reached under the counter and pulled out a small box. It was one he now kept there just for when Milo visited. Sliding it between them, he gently lifted the lid.
Selma’s lips tightened, and her ears grew more pink.
Looking inside the box, Milo saw a few dozen cores of different colors and sizes. Most looked undamaged.
“They look in pretty good condition,” he said.
“Thank you, sir.” Spragg showed a rare smile. “I tried to arrange a selection which might suit your collection.”
“Well, they all look pretty good.” Milo glanced at Selma and nodded. “Alright. Look, I’ll take them all today. Maybe we can take the price out of what’s owed for the fully charged core.”
“Very good, sir.” Spragg closed the box. “I will have the remainder of the amount owed to you this time next week. Unless you would prefer it to be deposited into the Republic Bank?”
“I think it’d be better to take the coin,” Milo said. “I don’t want a direct trail.”
“A wise decision, sir.” Spragg flicked his gaze to Selma and back. “Also wise to keep someone with you at all times. While my discretion is guaranteed, it would be better to assume the worst when you return.”
“I will.” Milo nodded. “Thanks again.”
“You’re welcome, sir,” Spragg said softly. He nodded to Selma. “I apologize for the warmth, sister.”
“Don’t think about it,” Selma said, fanning her face. “I’m often told I’m a bit hotblooded.”
Scooping up the box of cores, Milo tucked them under his arm and headed towards the door.
Selma scooted after him.
As they headed back to the Academy, Selma suddenly paused and looked back at the shop. She muttered softly to herself.
“Everything okay?” Milo asked.
“Yeah.” She shook her head. “That old coot is just a bit batty, I think.”
Thinking about it, he nodded in agreement.
“He’s strange,” Milo admitted. “But he’s professional. And so far, I trust him.”
“If he decides to stab you in the back, I guess I can always stab him in the face.”
“Then we should be fine,” he said drily.
Selma linked her arm through his, which was a bit difficult given their height difference. But he let her do it even if they earned a few strange looks in the street.
Given her height, she towered over everyone. And the massive sword on her back was proof she was a mage. No one else could carry weapons so openly.
Both of these factors were enough to get some attention.
But to see her strolling with her arm locked inside his was something which bordered on the absurd.
He’d never been tall. Had never had all that much of a growth spurt.
And, while his training had seen him develop a few muscles where before there had been none, he was still slightly bent over from years of hunching over clocks.
It wasn’t quite awkward for him.
But he was definitely aware of the looks they were getting.
As they turned into a quiet side street, Milo suddenly froze.
In front of him was a sight he hadn’t seen for a long time.
A giant golem plodded through the street towards him. Its battered dwarven brass shell looked a lot less shiny than the last time he’d seen it.
It was a brutal-looking thing. Almost twice Selma’s height. It had a barrel-shaped chest and heavy plated arms which ended in three-pronged blunt fingers.
The giant dome-shaped head creaked as it turned on top of the thick broad shoulders. The heavy red gem in its face flashed brightly, and a beam of red shot out to sweep across both Milo and Selma.
It paused.
Something Milo had never seen it do.
Gulping, he took a step back.
Selma lifted a hand. “Hello.”
The golem’s light blinked off. Then it rattled as its gears crunched and spun within its chest.
“I don’t think so,” she said thoughtfully, prompting another round of clattering.
“You understand it?” Milo asked.
“As much as I understand Click.” Selma shrugged. “It’s looking for something. It wants to know if I’ve seen it.”
“What’s it looking for?”
“I can’t tell you,” she said, her cheeks flushing. “I want to, but I can’t.”
“The Prime?”
She nodded.
The big golem’s head creaked again, and the red gem aimed directly at him. It clattered gently.
“No,” Selma said. “He’s my engineer.”
That made the golem stand up a little straighter. It tapped one finger to its head, and Selma looked down at Milo.
He looked back up at her. “What?”
“He wants to know if you could repair a twisted joint. His left arm is damaged.”
“I’m not sure.” Milo squinted, his heart racing at the chance to inspect the golem. To finally see its internals after all these years. While he’d worked on his other golems, the idea of actually seeing the work of a dwarf was exciting. “But I’d be happy to try!”
“Come to the Workshop when your patrol is finished,” Selma told it. “Milo will be real pinched to give it a gander.”
The golem gave a rumbling crash of gears which sounded cheerful.
Then plodded past them with a bit more of a bounce in its step.
Milo wondered how long its arm had been damaged for.
“Incredible,” he breathed.
“Is it?” Selma blinked at the big golem’s back. “It’s just a 2-C.”
“He’s been around forever,” Milo said. “Since as long as anyone can remember.”
She grinned. “His name’s Stonks.”
“Stonks?”
“Yeah, it means-” She winced, cutting off, giving him another apologetic look. “Sorry.”
“Right,” he said. Then he sighed. “Well, I’m happy just to see him. Those golems really inspired me when I was a kid.”
“I tell ya, Milo,” Selma said, snatching his arm again. “If you tell old Stonks that, he’d probably be pleased as punch. Them old 2-C models are a bit eccentric.”
“I expect every golem’s eccentric.”
“Well, the dwarves were a nutty bunch,” she admitted. “I wish I could tell you all about them. I think you’d like them a lot.”
“I wish you could, too,” he said. “I feel like I’ve got only a small glimpse of a story. That there’s this huge chunk of it that might change my life if I knew about it.”
“Maybe it’ll get a bit clearer soon.”
“I hope so.”
“Hey, Milo?”
“Yeah?”
“This is, like, one of those rare times when it’s just me and you.”
Milo glanced up at Selma. Her ears were pink again. “You’re not going to lift your skirt, are you? Please don’t do that. It’s bad enough that Tania does it all the time.”
“No!” She flushed even brighter. He thought if she got more red, she’d start to glow. “No, I ain’t a tramp.”
“She’d be happy to hear you called her that…”
“Oh, you won’t tell her, will you?” Selma looked horrified. “She’s a very sensitive gal…”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Milo,” she groaned. She squeezed his arm. “I was hoping we could, you know, maybe get some ice cream?”
“Ice cream?”
“Yeah.” She beamed at him. “There’s this place not far ahead. You’ll like it. Really you will.”
“Hmm.”
“I promise!”
Milo hadn’t had ice cream in a while. It was one of those luxuries he hadn’t been able to afford as a clocker. But with the gold he’d earned, lately, he could probably afford to eat there every day. “Sure. Why not?”
“Great!” Selma giggled. Her giggle was a lot higher in pitch than Tania’s. “I can’t believe I’m about to have my first date!”
Milo blinked. “Date?”
“What?” She blinked back at him. “What did you say?”
“Did you say this was a date?”
“Eep!” She pushed an innocent look onto her face. “Why would I say that?”
“I don’t know.”
She led him towards the ice cream parlor, humming happily.
Then, as he held the door open for her, she giggled again.
“Best date ever.” She sighed.
“What?”
“Nothing!”