Shepherd’s End
Year 1017
Esmund pulled the stool out from beneath his workbench, placing a knee on it as he bent over the table to get a better angle of the dismembered arm. With minor apprehension, he adjusted his glasses on the edge of his nose and he began blowing through his thin brass pipe into the fire of the soldering lamp. After several moments, the small piece of copper he was blowing the fire onto was heated enough for him to solder a loose gear back into the wrist joint.
Standing up to stretch, Esmund tugs at his work clothes in a practiced manner, cursing at the constriction and realizes how ready he is to end the workday and switch into his casual outfit, which fits much more loosely on him. With that thought, he pulls the copper arm off the table and runs the standard array of tests to triple check for any other issues that he may have missed during his initial inspection. The gears all appear interconnected, the plating is still in good shape, none of the joints seem to have any other loose gears like the wrist did. In a final test, he runs his index finger and remaining middle finger along the wrist, turning it a full 360 degrees and carefully listening for anything that could sound out of place. When nothing else shakes or clangs around, Esmund breathes a sigh of satisfaction, smiling as he pulls his glasses down to his chest and appreciates his work. Another task decently performed.
“Ooookay!” Esmund exclaims as he pulls a wrench from the workbench and moves over to the automaton standing in the corner, apparently missing one of its four limbs. “Killian, you should be set now. Hopefully you don’t drop any more cargo into the water…or at least if you do it won’t be due to any faulty or loose joints.”
The automaton stands in place, as Esmund begins to reattach the newly mended arm, seemingly unaware of the young air genasi talking to it. As Esmund tightens a bolt to hold the arm in place he continues, “No, but seriously, try not to piss off the dockworkers any more or we might have another Vekhir situation yeah?”
He grunts with effort as he tightens several more bolts in place, reattaching the shoulder plate that protects the gears and wires underneath, allowing the mechanism of the arm to function. “Besides, I’ve seen how you and Eustace trade glances. The last thing you need is to embarrass yourself in front of them! Plus,” Esmund lowers his tone and leans towards the side of the automaton’s head, “Peach tells me that she’s seen Quincy around your territory, stealing glances at Eustace without your knowing…”
The gears of the machine continue to whirr quietly as it stares straight ahead. “I know!” Esmund cries, throwing his arms up. “The absolute gall of them! Look, I’m not saying that you should go looking for a fight but if that opportunity ever presented itself, just know that I’ve got your back,” he finishes with a smirk, stepping back to inspect that the alignment was correct.
“M’kay, looks pretty good. Unit K-1774N, run full spectrum automation performance please!” At that order, the automaton Killian jumps to life as it takes 4 large, clunky steps forward, stopping in place as its knees bend up and down; the torso completes a full 360 degree spin as the arms and wrists do the same before the unit comes to a complete halt once more.
“Great, looks like you’re all set Killian! We might need to start upping the timetable on when you guys come in for maintenance though,” he states with his hand on his chin. “You were in here not two weeks ago and you already required a proper gear replacement. I’ll need to talk with mom and dad to get their thoughts on it…” he begins to mumble to himself. He drifts back to his workbench and quickly jots down notes to refer to later. He turns back around to the machine and proceeds, “We’ll figure it out later though I suppose. Unit K-1774N, please resume general village duties.”
Killian rumbles back to life and begins to walk out of the shop. Esmund turns and begins the process of closing the Clockwork Heart for the evening when he does a double take that forces him to cry out, “Unit K-1774N halt! Just what in the world is that?” he mumbles as he quickly steps over to the machine that has come to a full stop.
Esmund leans down as he continues mumbling, “Just what did you get yourself into now? I must have missed this earlier since I was focused on your arm…” He grabs a lantern to better inspect the automaton’s rear end where he finds a message poorly scribbled in red paint.
DON’T FORGET TO WIPE
“Pfft, hahahaha!” Esmund erupts in sudden laughter. “Son of a - hahahaha! Dammit O!” he exclaims, as he, regretfully, pulls a rag from his work belt and begins wiping away the message off the ass of the machine.
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