[Continued from here]
"You're
mechanical." She breathed.
"What
does that mean?" Quinton asked, intrigued by the machinery but remembering
not to touch."
"It
means... do you remember a couple of years ago, m'lord, those entertainers came
to the house, and they had a wind up model of a man that waved at you?"
"I
remember that. He was made of cogs too."
"That's
mechanical. A machine. Something built by people."
"So
you were built by people?" Quinton asked the man with no legs.
"I...
I had parents. No, wait, that's not... I might have been built. But I'm sure I
remember having parents..."
"I
think the best thing to do would be to get you back to the house. We can sort
out who you are and... what you are
when we're there, and send people out to find your legs. And I'm sure you'd be
more comfortable inside."
"I'm
pretty comfortable here, actually. It's surprising - you'd think it would be
uncomfortable without legs, but as long as you don't want to go anywhere, it's
not so bad."
"Can
he be my quest?" Quinton asked.
"I
don't think it's right to have a real person as a quest trophy, Quinton."
Beranwen chided.
"But
you said he was a machine."
"A
machine and a real person. We can
take him back to the house, then come back to finish your quest."
"But
I'm on my quest now." He complained, an edge to his voice that promised tantrums.
"You
could leave me here." The man with no legs interrupted. "Or...
actually, no, I don't like that idea. What would I do when I got hungry. Do I
get hungry? Maybe I don't. But I don't want to be alone out here anymore. Did
you say you're on a quest?"
"My
first quest." Quinton grinned, complaints forgotten.
"I
could come with you. I wouldn't be a bother. Except... no, I suppose I would be
a bit of a bother. But I could come with you, so you wouldn't have to leave
your quest, and then we could go back to the house the young lady spoke of. And
maybe we could find my legs on the way."
"Could
the legs be my quest?" Quinton asked Beranwen.
"No.
Sorry."
"Oh
well. I'm sure I'll find something else. Come on, then." He reached out
and tried to pick up the man with no legs.
"Wait
just a second. I'll fetch the horses."
It
took a while, but they were eventually able to get the man with no legs up onto
Beranwen's horse and strapped him onto the saddle using a length of rope.
Nereus had suggested the rope, and it had seems pointless for such a short
quest, but she was glad they had it now. Much more slowly now, the newly
expanded group moved on, with Beranwen walking next to her horse, keeping the
man with no legs upright in the saddle.
[Part 12]
[Part 12]
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