[Continued from here]
“He’s
clean!” Quinton called. Beranwen turned and saw that lord Derryl had dived in
to lend a hand as well. It was quite a sight, two such high-born men with their
hands covered in mud. But Stan was chuckling, and Quinton seemed pleased that
he was happy. Beranwen helped Lucan to line the legs up with Stan’s body, and
together they knelt to figure out how to attach them properly. Stan failed to
help by spouting what seemed to Beranwen to be mechanical nonsense.
“The
main driver cog needs to sit firmly in the shaft housing.”
“And
which is the driver cog, good sir?” Lucan asked.
“The
one that looks like a driver cog. I can’t remember exactly, but it’s very
distinctive.”
“They
all look the same, Stan.” Replied Beranwen.
“And
then the pedal locomotive pin needs to connect with the lumbar restrictor.”
“What’s
a peedal locom…” Quinton tried repeating the difficult words.
“It’s
the pin to commute the pedal locomotion signals to the pedals.”
“Pedal
means ‘foot’.” Master Lucan explained to the two Mad Men watching from the
sidelines.
“Does
it?” Stan seemed amazed. “Well, you live and learn.”
“How
is it that you know the words, but do not know their meaning?” Lucan asked
Stan.
“I
don’t know. I have a shocking memory.” He grinned, and then frowned. “That
should probably upset me, shouldn’t it?”
“No
use being upset over something you can’t control.” Beranwen told him
encouragingly.
"Okay,
I think I see how this fits together." Master Lucan said suddenly. With
careful fingers, slid one end of the severed oil tube into the other. "Not
perfect, but it should hold up." He muttered. Then, with a bit of
adjustment, he moved Stan's legs closer to his body and pushed them together.
There was a satisfying click.
"Ah.
Ah?" Stan looked elated, then confused, then elated again. "I can
feel my legs! I can feel..." With very little fuss, Stan lay back and was
still. It was like watching a clock run down.
"Stan?"
Quinton looked worried.
"I
think he's run out of clockwork." Beranwen said. "Maybe powering his
legs was more than he could manage. We should find some way to wind him back up
again." She bent down next to him, not sure what she was looking for. A
key? His top half hadn't seemed to have a key, and she was certainly not
rummaging around in his bottom half looking for one.
"Can
I take him for my quest?" Derryl asked suddenly.
"Of
course you can." Master Lucan said, at the same time that Quinton replied,
"No. It's not polite." Derryl looked suddenly confused.
"Is
he your quest, lord Quinton?" Lucan asked solemnly.
"No!
He can't be, he's a person."
"But
not a real person. Go ahead, lord Derryl. There is no prior claim."
"Wait
a minute!" Beranwen interrupted, not entirely believing what she was
seeing.
"You
told me he was a real person!" Quinton objected loudly.
"He
is a real person, Quinton. Just give me a moment to sort this out."
"Lord Quinton." Lucan said.
"What?"
"A
mere slip, I'm sure, Master Beranwen. His title is lord. You should address him
thus."
"Alright."
Beranwen said, narked. "He is a real person Thus."
Quinton
chuckled, back on her side once more, and Beranwen pressed on. "He is a
real person. How can you say he's not? You've heard him talk - he's intelligent."
"Not
overly intelligent." Lucan sneered. "And," He continued before
Beranwen could interrupt, "He is clearly mechanical. Nothing that is
powered by gears is alive: therefore, neither is he. My lord Derryl has claimed
him for his quest, and there is no point arguing simply because you didn't
claim him first."
"We
said we'd take him home." Quinton spoke, sounding lost.
"That
is not a claim, as I'm sure your advisor can tell you lord Quinton. And since
he isn't complaining..." Deftly, and with a strength Beranwen hadn't
realised he possessed, Lucan bent and scooped Stan from the ground.
"Leave
him alone." She snapped. "He's unconscious - of course he's not
complaining."
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