“And again!” Garriz shouts out. Vortex obeys and swings Axle again at the dummies in the training range. “Good, but better. Again!” Tightening her grip on the handle, she swings once more, giving it all she’s got. “That’s it! Now do it three more times!” One, two, three. “Excellent! Take a break. I have to set up the dummies for the next exercise.”
Vortex nods, but collapses onto the grassy ground. She gulps down as much breath as she can, knowing Garriz’s idea of a “break” can be between a minute or five. “Ten minutes please,” she groans out, her breath erratic. “It’s the half moon tonight- I need more time for half of what I’ve got!”
“Not a chance, little stray,” Garriz shouts back. “It’s because it’s half out that you’ve gotta work harder. You won’t be able to pick a full moon when the next moonstone shines. It’s not up to you, so we need you to be ready for every phase!” Vortex sighs inside her helmet and resigns to her fate. He’s right- that last battle with the twin arachnids had her at the waning crescent. She resembled more of a lykoi cat than a full fledged werewolf underneath the armor. Thank goodness for the magical armor set enchanting down to her size every time. She’s not sure what she would do if she had a full moon helmet on during that crescent phase.
She spies Nebula approaching her spot. “You did really good!” the siren encourages. “‘Well’,” Vortex responds back. “In English you say someone did well, not good.”
“Can you take the fishing compliment?!” Garriz yells from his squat. Vortex groans at his child-friendly cursing attempt. His niece’s daughter is watching her training by the porch of the small house. “Fine,” the werewolf grumbles out. “Thanks. My arms are on fire.” Her muscles ache and cry out from the repetition, begging for oxygen of their own to recover. The armor weighing her body down doesn’t help in cooling her off. If only Axle could magic up a cooling vest. Alas, sentient demonic swords forged from blood and brimstone don’t exactly have air conditioning in their resume.
“Ah, sorry,” Nebula meekly responds, rubbing her arm. “I’m still trying to figure out this whole English deal.” Vortex looks at her from inside the helmet and chuckles softly to herself. “You’re alright. You talk better than most first-language speakers I know. Ninety percent of the time, people get ‘lose’ and ‘loose’ mixed up.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask you about that,” Nebula says, floating aimlessly around Vortex. “What is exactly the difference? I didn’t think an extra ‘o’ would be so… powerful?” Vortex takes a moment to process her words, then brings her gauntlet claws up for a mini-language lesson.
“‘Lose’ is when you can’t find an object because you misplaced it, don’t remember where you put it, or it’s no longer in your possession. If I didn’t know where our two moonstones were, you’d say that I lost them, which is past tense since it already happened.” Nebula listens intently, though the werewolf is somewhat certain she can feel a loading circle behind those dark purple eyes. “It can also mean that you didn’t win- be it for example a game or competition. It also has figurative connotations. If I break contact with a friend because of a disagreement or one too many arguments, you could say I lost my old friend.” She lists off further examples but stops her roll when she notices Nebula’s eyes glazing over at the information overload. “I… think you get it. With ‘loose’, it means to free up space or relax. Take the moonstone belt. If I thought it was too tight on me, I’d loosen the strap to help me feel better. I’m sure you remember Garriz making a comment before about not letting me ‘go loose’ in the barrier because of the curse before. It’s also a way to say that someone or something was set free.”
“... wow,” Nebula says, pausing in her mindless swimming. “That’s… that’s sure a lot. You’re pretty smart, Vortex!”
“Eh, it’s-” then she hears Garriz make an “AHP”, and reconsiders her words. “-great to hear that from you. I’d like to think my smarts compensate for the strength side of things. Axle’s still pretty hard to lift up. Got a long way to go before they’re light in my hands.”
“It does look pretty heavy,” the great-niece comments, startling the two of them. Nebula bounces away while Vortex jolts in her armor, rattling the titanium. The little kid’s hands try to grip the open space of the handle to lift Axle, but can barely get them a millimeter off the ground. “Serena! Get out of there!! You know you’re not supposed to be in the training area when we’re working!”
“Aw, but Granckle,” Lillianne whines. “I wanna learn how to fight too! Miss Vorx is so cool when she swings her shovel!”
“My shovel??” Vortex takes a look at Axle again. “But I’ve said it’s an axe before,” she whimpers, ears falling down and pouting at the child. “Are you sure? Axes are on the sharp sides of the handle, and yours is on the top. Granckle says so!”
“Your granckle also says that eating pickles is good for you, but I’m still strong without them,” Vortex says, lifting herself up to a sitting position to show off her biceps. In truth, there isn’t much on her right now, but the muscle does bulge very slightly. Her tail wags at the noticeable improvement. “See?” Lillianne gasps at the display, stomping around in excitement. “I wanna get stronger too!! Please oh please let me at least use one of the training sticks granckleeee,” the little minotaur girl pleads. “We’ve been over this, calf! Your mom doesn’t want you playing or training near any of the weapons when you visit. No buts!” He comes back after setting up. “Looks like I’m missing some rails and a switch for what I need. Think you can go fetch me some, wolf?” “Where would I find those?” Vortex asks, pushing herself to stand upright. “There’s some old tracks southwest of Tablet Lake. Just follow the river trail and you should run into it.” “We were just over there,” Nebula says. Vortex nods, sheathing Axle behind her back. “Let’s get moving. The sooner we can get… whatever Garriz has got planned for me ready, the sooner I can get this training session done.” With that, the two set off to tablet lake, taking a quick pit stop to the loaned cabin. Vortex needed to grab her waist satchel and canvas bags to gather the supplies. The two weave through the thick trees and shrub, following the riverbank in search for the abandoned tracks
“Up ahead!” Nebula shouts, pointing at the target in the distance. True to Garriz’s word, the tracks were old, rusty, and probably haven’t been used in decades. They break into a sprint, causing Nebula to plead with the werewolf to slow down. Curse you, height difference.Vortex kneels down to run a free hand along the railway, rubbing the aging metal in between her index and thumb. “Yeesh. That’s old. I don’t know if it’ll do for the job.” Nebula’s catching her breath, putting her hands on her hips. “Do you- hah- have to go- THAT fast?? We’re not in a rush!”
“Oh, sorry about that,” Vortex apologizes. “Kind of forget how quick I can run in this form. I am a bit of a runner when I’m in my human form. Really fun to compete with others at school.”
“You run for fun?” Nebula incredulously questions. “Oh sweet Somnia you’re a basket full of surprises. I think I need Garriz to start training me.”
“Now that you reminded me- Priestess was offering to train you in your healing and elemental power,” Vortex brings up. She unsheathes the sentient weapon, spinning them around a bit mindlessly. “She told me to pass the message along during training but I got sidetracked. Hehe. Sidetracked,” Vortex giggles at her own joke. “These rails should break fairly easily with Axle’s power. You ready, bud?”
“Ready when you are,” Axle telepathically communicates. Nebula wiggles her ears. “I really need to get used to hearing them.” Vortex adjusts herself in the neutral stance, holding Axle firmly. “One…” she starts, pushing her left leg back. “Two…” she swings the weapon up above her head.
“STOP!!” a voice shrieks out from the bushes. The werewolf was ready to swing down the sharp edge of the shovel axe to break apart the rails but freezes to a halt just in time. “Who’s there?!” Vortex barks out. “I’m armed and not afraid to start swinging!” There is a brief pause in the air as the werewolf stays on guard. Nebula is darting her eyes around to try to find the source of the voice. They hear sticks rustle before the unknown person steps forward.
“Mekra? Vortex says, taken aback. “What are you doing all the way out here?”
“Foraging,” she replies. “I was looking for willows when I overheard you and… uh… your friend, talking about chopping the rails up.” The healer rapidly shakes her head, then places her hands on her hips. “Have you lost your mind?!”
“That’s debatable,” Vortex answers, shrugging her shoulders. The human villager sighs in irritation, pinching the bridge of her nose. “First we learn that werewolves exist, and second thing we learn is that the local one is a smart asp.”
“You calling me a snake?!”
“No, I’m watching my mouth,” Mekra dryly retorts. “But what are you doing trying to chop up the tracks of The Great Achilles? Do you want your soul stolen?!”
“Our- our souls?” Nebula stammers. “What is she talking about?”
“I- I don’t know,” Vortex responds. “‘The Great Achilles’? I’ve never heard nor seen it before.”
“You don’t know the story?” Mekra questions. “It’s the name of an old train that traveled across these mountains to help families like ours in the village find work in the big cities. It was massive- it was said it could carry up to eight hundred people at its peak,” Mekra explains, crouching down to feel for the rails. “Achilles was a beast with twelve carts filled with passengers, but if you count the conductor’s caboose, it was thirteen.” Her expression darkens, stretching her lips into a thin line and readjusting her circular glasses.
“Legends say that the last transit it ever did was cut short by the Headless Horseman himself, slaying everyone on board and leaving the conductor bleeding out to death in his own cart. Some say that if you listen closely to the tracks, you can hear the howls of the lost souls.” Mekra stays silent as Vortex and Nebula let the story set in their heads. “Axle, is this true?” the werewolf asks.
“I do not recall. He was more set on causing as much misery as he could.” She grunts at their unhelpful response.
“I apologize if this seems like I’m overstepping,” Nebula interjects. “But how do you know if any of it is true?”
Mekra goes silent. Nebula starts sweating. Oh no, she said something she shouldn’t have. Was that the right question? Argh! Terranian social rules are hard! She can’t get a read on the medic’s face! Finally, she sits down beside the rails, taking a deep breath in.
“My great grandfather was on that train,” she starts. “He was trying to find work in one of the bigger cities to help my great-grandma and grandma afford their medicine. My side of the family gets sick pretty easily, so it was expensive trying to find a doctor back in the day.” Mekra takes another pause to brace herself. “He… he boarded that train. Was almost late for the departure. When my great-grandmother got the news, she was inconsolable- at least, according to my grandma. Everyone in the family almost went insane. One day he was here, and then… not.” The silence that falls between the four of them is deafening. Vortex’s heart aches, and a sniffle escapes her helmet. “I’m. I’m so sorry, Mekra,” she says, moving her hand to rest on Mekra’s shoulder. “I can’t imagine what that must have been like.”
“I never got to meet him,” Mekra clarifies. “But my grandma would tell me stories of what he meant to her mom. He was apparently a catch and a half. Sweet, goofy, great with kids, and would always try to make someone smile before parting ways. He cracked a joke before the train left about how he would be back before the train could reach the city after his oddjob.” She shakes her head side to side, letting out a small chuff. “I swear, if he is a soul on that train, his last piece of business before moving on would be to make my grandma laugh one more time.”
Another silence falls. Vortex thinks to herself, ‘is this why Garriz needed the tracks? Because they were enchanted? Or did he already know the tale and tried to get me killed?’ That second one, while sounding like a legitimate tactic, isn’t a sound argument. He has his great-niece over. Last thing he needs is for her to see him killing in broad… moonlight.
“But I digress,” Mekra says, lifting herself up from her seated position. “Don’t go hacking these away. Leave them alone for your own good. Don’t want a good dog like you going missing.” Excuse her, a dog? She is a werewolf for grand sake! Were! Wolf!
“Take care, you two,” she departs with, stepping back into the thickness of the trees. Vortex scratches her neck, trying to formulate a plan of how they’re going to break the news to Garriz. “Well, no need worrying about coming back empty-handed. If it’s cursed, it’s cursed.” She turns to Nebula only to see her eyes forming fat blobs of tears. “Are you-”
“YES!” Nebula yells. “IT’S A SAD STORY AND I’M MAD I CAN’T DO ANYTHING TO FIX IT!” Vortex awkwardly shuffles her weight between her feet. Does she need to comfort Nebula with kind words, or does she leave her alone to go through the motions? “It’s… good that we stopped the Headless Horseman when we did,” she offers. “He can’t make any more sad endings to anyone else’s stories.” That was the best she could say? Good grief, she needs to work on her consoling.
“I know…I know that.” Nebula wipes away the tears, in spite of more replacing them. “But…I feel so useless, and I don’t know how to be better.” Vortex looks away, unsure of how to approach this situation. She knows that feeling too; as if no matter what you do, it seems like you can’t help anyone. How can she reassure Nebula that her time will come when she gets better? She can’t simply say ‘it takes time’. They both know that! Why are they training to begin with? To get better! It’ll only patronize the poor siren.
“Don’t focus on only being useful,” Vortex says. “This world is still very new to you. If Mekra needs our help, she’ll tell us. You’ll have your day to shine.”
Axle abruptly rattles in Vortex’s hands, shaking viciously back and forth. She steadies the axe, feeling the motion in her teeth. “Woah woah woah there!” she shouts. ‘The rails! They are brimming with moonstone energy!’ True to their claim, the axe points downwards, facing the tracks. With a light tap to the steel beams, the whole path sets alight in a soft, yet bright blue glow. Magic courses through the tracks, lights cycling through as if it can feel the train weighing down upon it. Vortex checks her belt to verify if the moonstone in the first slot is glowing. Sure enough, the magic stone is pulsating, reacting strongly to the mixing energies.
“I don’t understand!” Vortex yells out. “Should we follow the tracks to see if it leads to a moonstone?!”
‘Maybe?’ Axle merely says.
“What do you mean ‘maybe’?!” Vortex interrogates.
‘I am not all knowing! This is just as strange for me as it is to you both. Let’s try and see what happens?’
“Alright,” Vortex confirms, putting Axle on her back. “If I’ve gotta run on the tracks, then so be it.” She adjusts her stance to all fours, ready to make a mad dash across the railway. Before she can zoom forward, Nebula jumps on her back and grabs ahold of her sideburns. “Wh-” is all she can manage out. Nebula justifies herself with, “you are not making me run Poseidon knows how far across this path in a full sprint. Your lungs are as big as my whole body!” Vortex drops her head, a cartoonish sweat drop dripping down the side of her face. “Fine. I’ll play along.” With a steady coil in, her hind legs push them off to follow the tracks. Early on, Vortex decides on popping off the tracks on account of the steel parts hurting her hands and feet like crazy. The armor did protect her from the brunt of it, yet she’d rather elongate her stamina where she can. Instead, she opts to follow beside it. She switches back to being on the railways when they find a tunnel. The moonstone belt provides a soft light to guide their way.
“This is long for it being a tunnel!” Vortex comments, her voice echoing through the atmosphere. Nebula is startled, trying to find the second voice in the area. “Who was that?!” she shouts out, further confused when she hears her own voice echoed back. “Who was what?” Vortex asks, keeping her gallop at a steady speed. “Oh! You mean the tunnel!? That’s what happens when we speak inside a space with little to no room for it to escape! It’s called ‘echo’!”
Nebula tests it out for herself, yelling out, “echoooo!” Hearing herself reverberate through the walls was a delightful discovery. She really does learn more outside of class! Soon, she starts messing around, saying silly things such as “Snapper!, “Decaclaw pickles!”, and “Noodle!”.
“Having fun back there?” Vortex jabs at Nebula, mirth in her tone. “It’s so much fun! Vortex, can you howl for me?” Howl? In the tunnels? Usually a howl like hers would cause hunters to go on patrol near her. But these tracks are abandoned… Maybe she can entertain this one. She is losing a bit of steam in her run, so she partially slows down to catch her breath. Then she lets out a big howl. The echo carries along the tunnel for a solid ten seconds. Nebula giddily squeals at the noise, flapping her rear fin. Soon, the howl’s strength begins to fade away, then… picks up?
“What a weird one, Vortex,” Nebula remarks.
“That wasn’t me,” Vortex says, puzzled at the noise. The two slow down to a stop to focus on listening. It has a strange bit of hiss to it, and whirring? The werewolf’s blood suddenly runs cold when she witnesses a faint light permeate the edges of her peripheral vision. Turning her head ever so slightly, she looks behind her to see the dim light grow exponentially brighter. The second howl was from the train itself!
“Uh oh.” Nebula whimpers.
“AaaaaAAAAAAAAAA-”
Vortex initially tries to outspeed the train. However, the metal beast hollers once more, speeding up to close the gap between the three. Her heart is pumping erratically, desperately trying to supply her blood and muscles with much needed oxygen. In her panic, she pulls a muscle on her right calf, causing her to start three-leg running with a limp. The head of the train thins the distance, bumping into the werewolf’s tail.
By pure instinct and reflex, Vortex and Axle sync up to use the moonstone for her still newfound skill she likes to call “Breakneck Bolt”. Vortex’s legs and arms are covered in a powerful electric charge, pushing her to speed for the exit of the tunnel. She finds their escape, with her cutting through the wind as if she were an organic knife. She takes a hard right to throw the three into the side of the hillocks, free of harm’s way. Vortex screeches to a stop on the grass, throwing herself onto it to protect Nebula.
‘We made it!’ Axle celebrates. Their singular magical eye rotates around to see that their flesh counterparts are not faring well. Vortex is hissing and whimpering from the sprain, trying to lift it up and ease the pain. Meanwhile, Nebula is all frizz and soot from the unexpected electric energy gathering around her.
‘Are you okay, Miss Nebby?’ Axle prods.
“... PAUUUGh-” is all she can muster out, puffing out a breath of char and smoke.
‘Perhaps it’s in our best interest to get Nebby some sort of anti-electric body armor,’ Axle suggests to Vortex. “We are not getting her a rubber suit. It’s already weird enough to feel my fur be half-rubbery,” the werewolf shoots down with. “I’ll ask Priestess if there’s any jewelry she has in her old box that repels electricity.” Nebula shakes off the dark soot from her body, recovering with incredible speed.
“Ow ow ow owwww,’ Vortex whines out. “I’ll really feel that in the morning.” She picks herself up, grunting in pain when she tries to apply weight to her injured right leg. “Where is that train?” She scans the open area, attempting to follow the tracks with her eyes to see if it’s still in sight. Her keen vision catches sight of the train, yet her mouth hangs open when she finds its location.
“This one flies too!?” That’s the second one capable of flight! She really wishes Axle could make functional wings as her body of armor, but alas, life doesn’t hand you PRE-MADE LEMONADE. Axle locks on to the train, maintaining the point on it at all times. ‘Call it a hunch, but you may need to get on the train to retrieve the next moonstone.’ The shine on her tracker belt corroborates with Axle. Its center moon-like gem shimmers almost as bright as the real thing, only fading away when Vortex turns away from the train. She grabs the second moonstone out from its slot and latches it onto Axle. The stone shines brightly as she brings Axle up to take in the moon’s beams. Her belt reveals to her the next phase of when to pass through the moon gate to activate the next one’s power.
“... half moon,” Vortex says. “But it’s the one with the left side.” She has to clarify since the current moon stage tonight is also a half moon- the difference being that the part of the moon showing was the right side. She does not want to repeat having to confront another strong boss with only days of preparation (or training) just to get it on time.
‘So the third quarter,’ Axle confirms. ‘That gives us a good amount of time. I suggest we get back home and train until then.’
“Right. Where is home, exactly?” Vortex asks. These hills are rather unfamiliar. It’s best if they don’t stick around for long. ‘I suggest retracing your steps until we find ourselves back in comfortable territory,’ Axle recommends. Vortex groans. More walking? Her leg is burning up! She tries to redirect them, but she keeps limping on her bad leg. Nebula hops off for a moment and uses her necklace along with some Chelonian casting to quickly heal Vortex’s internal wounds. She hops back on her back, resituating her hands on the werewolf’s thick sideburns.
The run back home was strenuous, and it took a lot of explaining to the blacksmith on why they took so long (“I didn’t know that story- I wouldn’t have risked losing your soul for some parts I can get at the scrapyard!”). As to why he didn’t opt for the scrapyard in the first place, Vortex will never know. For now, they turn in for the evening. The werewolf nurses her injured leg to a somewhat full recovery by night’s end thanks to her lycanthropic super regeneration. Something tells her that this next mission was going to be more scouting than planning. She can already feel the next week or so soreness weighing down her body. Why couldn’t it have been just a regular haunted train…