In Pursuit of Kronos' Scythe (Completed)

II - When Magic Meets with Metal - Part II

Piotr Mikolaj

"Go to the River Mist, and you'll find the answer there."

Hephaestus' voice still reverberated around the room after he left. A pile of haystack churned up in the air, and bright light assailed Piotr's eyes. Piotr covered his face. It was only when he had made sure that the god had left the room for good that he opened his eyes. A brown bundle lay on the floor. Another gift! Piotr dived for it. Whoa! How thoughtful of him!

Grinning, Piotr slipped his bare, blistered feet into the orange sneakers. So soft... After tying the laces, he ran around the room. The orange skin of the sneakers became two fiery lines, making his feet look like they had caught fire — the fire that would spur him forward.

Piotr felt more energized and confident. "Alright, let's do this together, Hercules!"

Fire boiled within his veins. Picking up a rope with a hook at the edge, Piotr swung it for several times, before throwing it towards the barred windows. The hook clung around the bars with a loud thunk. For a moment, he was afraid that the trolls might hear the commotion, but there was no uproar of irritated growls. Piotr exhaled in relief.

"Pull it, Hercules." Piotr slipped the other end of the rope into Hercules' opened jaw.

With a shudder, the automaton dragged the rope, his body reversing at the same time. One by one, the giant screws locking the window shot out of the frame, and the bars dropped to the floor. Piotr lunged forwards to catch it. He couldn't afford to make another mistake. Quickly, he rolled the rope and stuffed it into a rucksack, along with many other blueprints. He'd made a handle for the wooden chest given by Hephaestus too so that he could tie it to his metal belt.

"Ready for some adventure, Big Guy?" With a wide grin, Piotr hopped onto Hercules.

Hercules flapped his wings and flew towards the window, with Piotr hugging his neck. When they reached the gap, Hercules hooked his clawed front paws on the frame and lowered his body. After retracting his wings, he plunged towards the ground, like an eagle looking for a fish in a sea. Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh. Piotr enjoyed the swooshing sound as the wind sailed past his ears. The song of nature, it's amazing. It had been long since he was out to touch the world.

"Good job, Hercules. Now steady." Piotr patted the automaton's cheek. 

Fifty feet above the ground, the automaton spread his wings and soared to the sky. Afar, the sun was rising over the mountains. The sky had changed over a pink robe with orange hems. The wind brought along a whiff of pine wood, energizing him. The moon, a full round obelisk, beamed at him for the last time, before hiding behind a wall of clouds. The clouds... Piotr ran his fingers through them. They were so smooth, like the cotton sweets which he longed to eat. 

How would it taste? Hmm, must be as sweet as freedom. 

"Woohoo!" He couldn't retain his joy for being set free and squealed in delight. This was like his own Independence Day, or even, his second birthday. He felt reborn. Spreading out his arms, he exercised his fingers among the clouds. Moisture gathered around his palms, and he brought them to his face, freshening up himself. He must stay alert. He had a quest to complete.

"Fly to the River Mist, Hercules." Piotr activated the map screen on Hercules' head.

Ten stories below him, the trolls woke up from their slumber. Some were almost tripped by the barrels of beer lay strewn over the ground; some wiped the drowsiness away from their eyes. None of them noticed the gargantuan shadow in the sky.

Piotr felt relieved. When the king of Tequiza brought vials of trolls' blood to him and demanded him to create the greatest army in the Gulf, the king didn't know that the nature of the trolls wouldn't be altered, even though they had the toughest body of steel. The only thing that the trolls were smart at was pilfering alcohol from the cellar. Piotr smirked. Hercules had flown above a patch of dense woods when Piotr noticed a commotion.