Tales of the Herd - An Under Gods Story

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Grace floated down the side of the hostel. She put Gremmi back through the window just as her siblings had entered the room. Corpal was fidgeting with some hunk of metal, looking over it intently with that strange eyepiece of his. Grace paid him little mind as she floated into the room.

"I told you to call me," Grace said, looking at Engilmu.

Engilmu scratched the back of his neck and sighed.

"What, I don't get a 'hi'?" Nenema chuckled.

Grace hovered, darting over to Nenema, almost knocking her over with a hug. Grace squeezed tight around her sister's waist as Nenema strained, groaning in protest.

"Okay, okay. Let me breathe!"

Grace pulled away. "I'm still not happy you're here, by the way."

Nenema contorted her face into one that said, "What the hell?"

"It's not you, Nenema," Engilmu assured.

"Mom said she trusted us. How far did you have to travel to be our babysitter?" Grace pouted, her cheeks alight with a magenta glow.

"Apparently, mom didn't want me out here. But if you two need help, then I'm not going to stand aside. So I'm coming, like it or not."

Grace tilted her head back and groaned. "Fine, fine. I guess we should make a plan, right?"

"Yeah," Nenema concurred. "I have some recruits, so we should head out and get introductions underway. The more hands on deck, the better. I take it this little fella isn't on board, right?" she asked, pointing at Gremmi.

Gremmi looked at Grace with pleading eyes.

"No, you're not coming," Grace said. "I don't think things are going to be as tame as before."

"Sorry, kid. Alright, let's head out." Nenema turned, making her way out the door.

"Hey, Grace," Corpal called.

"What's up?" she replied.

"One of y'all make some use of this." The old man tossed Grace a golden cylander. "It's the least I can do, seeing as my powers are no use on the battlefield."

Grace examined the cylander. Seeing no buttons or seals, she couldn't see much use in it. "What is this even supposed to be?"

Engilmu's eyes radiated with heat and a faint cyan light. "For now, it's nothing, except for an alloy made of some very rare materials. Where'd you find this?"

"Don't worry about all of that," Corpal chortled. "I can make things manageable, and you guys can do who-knows-what-else with them. I'm sure you can figure something out."

As the trio made their way outside, Engilmu fiddled with the cylinder. It floated between his hands as he flipped it, spun it, and embued it with heat. The ingot ignited with white and cyan fire multiple times, but didn't melt or distort.

"It doesn't seem like you can work it," Grace said.

"You can work anything if you know what you're doing," Nenema interjected. "Pass it here."

Engilmu obliged.

For a brief moment, Nenema burst into a flash of white and yellow fire, vanishing from the hostel lobby. She reappeared the same as she had left, and the ingot was smoldering brightly. Swinging the metal outward, it extended. The top end had swollen while the bottom became fitted with grooves, like a handle.