The group stepped into Shandro’s Workshop, the giant anvil’s entrance feeling as if walking through a massive wall of intense heat. Leonard already figured but the lava that could be seen from the outside clearly fueled a large amount of machinery while also serving double duty as a lightsource. Thick, glass panes revealing it were the only contrasting color from what was otherwise a very dark, blackened room made out of a non-heat conducting rock. Whereas the air was hot, it was a bearable heat that served a purpose as the ground seemingly was not affected.

  The entire place was as such filled with an orange light that gave the place an intense atmosphere. The sound of metal clanking, steam hissing and small talk as well as bursts of laughter could be heard throughout the room.

  “Impressive, is it not?” Shandro said, leading the group further inside. “This place is the heart of our operation and its contents and achievements are the results of years of research, as well as trial and error.

  Leonard nodded as his eyes darted around more, taking in the sight of a dozen or so engineers, most of which either tall, scaled reptilian folk or short, twitchy rabbit-like humanoids. They hauled materials, worked on connecting cords, as well as welding metal or scribbling notes on blueprints scattered across cluttered workbenches.

  He observed two enormous cannons mounted on heavy platforms, each one connected via several tubes to a singular mana crystal in the middle that reminded him of the one that powered the Principessa. The energy within the crystal pulsed with a rhythm, as if it had a life of its own.

  “Ah, you finally arrived!” A voice rang out, high-pitched and energetic.

  A rabbit woman with white fur bounded toward them, her large ears flopping as she made her way to stop in front of Leonard. She had oil and dirt stains on her overalls, and a pair of thick goggles rested on her forehead. Her bushy tail twitched with excitement, as her long, brown hair which was formed into a ponytail flew behind her.

  “You don’t know how long we waited! It took forever to get to this day, but we finally made it, isn’t that right Shandro?”

  Leonard blinked. “Uh — Hi? I’m Leonard.”

  Shandro chuckled. “This is Latsy, one of my two chief engineers.”

  Latsy then rushed to greet everyone, stopping at grabbing Nathan’s hand, and shook it with a huge amount of force and speed, almost as if she tried to throw him around. “I’ve been looking forward to this day for so long! Wow, your hands are so cold, these are Breaker gloves right? Shandro always told us we’d be building these magitech weapons for a specific day when a group of people would arrive, take us with them and we would travel far away - That's you! Isn’t that right?! What is your group called?”

  Nathan tried to reply as Leonard was clearly overwhelmed by the hyped bundle of fur jumping around. “W-What are we called? Uhm… Uh…”

  Something about Latsy’s excitement felt a bit off. It seemed earnest in part, but a bit too overdone. Maybe I just don’t know enough people like her, maybe more Rabbit folk are like this and I’m the odd one out here, coming from a small village in the middle of nowhere, but something about her feels almost artificially energetic.

  A slow, deliberate cough caught the group’s attention. It came from a large, broad-shouldered reptilian man who had been quietly working on one of the cannons. His right wrist was surrounded by a silvery band, whereas his left one was bare. He put one of his hands in a pocket, seemingly to wipe it at least somewhat clean, then extended it to Hammond.

  “I’ve heard grand tales of the Spellbreakers by Shandro. If I am not mistaken you are Master Hammond? It is an honor to meet you, sir. I’m Moxor.”

  Hammond, didn’t take the offered handshake, instead opting to put his left hand on his heart as he bowed toward the engineer. “I appreciate the compliment, I am Hammond, yes.”

  “Right, my hand is quite dirty. My bad” Moxor added, bowing in return. “I oversee the structural integrity and energy efficiency for our research and lead the research for the cannons with Shandro.

  Shandro spoke up as well. “Latsy is focused more on the execution, making sure our calculations actually amount to anything. She’s a bit extreme, but she just truly loves her job.”

  He gestured towards the two cannons that stood in the room. “They have both been instrumental in making sure we get this newest bit of magitech up and running: The Magicannon.”

  Leonard looks over at Leyra, saying “And you thought I’d come up with uninspired names.”

  “I’ll just pretend I did not hear this. These were the results of years of work, and I’d like to offer to install them on your, what was it, Principessa? We’d then join your group and make sure to keep them up and running, too.”

  Darmas folded his arms. “And what do you charge for your services?”

  Moxor grinned. “Oh, we don’t want your money.”

  Shandro’s expression grew serious. “Kazzorak took our home. Money is barely enough to survive as is. If us few Baharonians who are willing to change anything on the larger scale were to circulate money around, that’d barely do anything. No, we would like to ask to join your group, whatever it may be called, to strike back against them. Hammond and I already talked, and he and I are of the same opinion: Kazzorak needs to go down.”

  “Each one of us lost something different. Our families, our lands, our friends, our loved ones and our traditions. That loss binds us together.” Latsy added, as Moxor nodded along with her words.

  Shandro continued. “All any of us want is our old lives back and our personal vendettas fulfilled. Some of the folk down here have just accepted that this is how life is now, but not us. We have been working on these weapons and trust me, they are on par with what Kazzorak’s military provides. They’ll see that soon enough if you let us join. So what do you say?”

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  Leonard didn’t hesitate for one second, crossed his arms and smiled: ”Well then, welcome aboard all of you! Glad to have you along.”

  Shandro smirked, then tilted his head towards Hammond. “Why does he pretend to be your leader, exactly?”

  “I don’t think we ever decided on something like having a leader, but Leonard sure likes to step up when a decision needs to be made. I don’t mind that at all.”

  “He has the heart at the right place, he’s a bit loud but he seems to have good instincts” Leyra added.

  “I’ve known him for a long time now, and Leonard can always be relied on. Please look past his loud, boisterous side and see him for the reliable person that he is!” Nathan chimed in.

  “The kid’s alright, Shandro.” Darmas said, as Sahra nodded along.

  “I would’ve expected Hammond to lead you… Well, as long as your orders aren’t as full of hot air as your attitude is, I am fine with it.” Shandro muttered, seemingly defeated.

  “I’d rather just teach the next generation and do what I can at my old age, thank you for your vote of confidence though old friend.” Hammond intervened, waving his hand dismissively.

  Leonard grinned, releasing his crossed arms to point a finger toward the sky, saying “Very well then, Latsy you asked for our name isn’t that right?

  “Yes, I wondered who you guys are and you still didn’t tell me! That was easily…A few minutes ago, basically a lifetime!”

  “Well, I have just the one. We are going to be called the Baharor Royal Guard!”

  Moxor gave a slow nod. “A name provides purpose. It fits well.”

  Darmas chuckled. “I’ll drink to that, I bet Finn will like it too.”

  Sahra smirked. “Guess this whole ordeal’s finally official now, huh? I don’t mind!”

  Hammond simply shrugged, a knowing smile overcoming his lips. “I was fine with us being the Baharor Resistance or the like, but it has a nice ring to it. Fits the name of our Princess as well.”

  Nathan and Leyra nodded as well, their approval seeming very proud and without any doubt. Shandro on the other hand sighed. “Fine. Since I am now part of a Royal Guard, I believe I should make sure that the royalty is safe. Latsy, Darmas, Sahra, can you help me disconnect the cords? You folks over there, also come and help. Moxor, you get Ant’s Pit ready.”

  “Don’t you need help dismantling the cannon itself?”

  “Not at all, you’ll see.” Moxor said, grabbing the wristband on his right hand, channeling magic into it.

  While the remaining magitechnicians removed the tubes from the magical crystal and the Magicannons, Nathan went up to the reptilian man. “What kind of Artifact is Ant’s Pit? I have never read about that one.”

  “So you’ve noticed that it is an Artifact. Well, watch and learn then.” Moxor replied, and as soon as Shandro gave him a thumbs up, he shot a turqoise ray of light towards one of the Magicannons, which fully enveloped it. At first, nothing happened for a few seconds, but suddenly it began shrinking. It shrunk smaller and smaller, until it could fit into a backpack, after which Moxor begun sweating. “One more.”

  “Oh, it shrinks things? Can it enlarge them, too?” Nathan asked.

  “Not exactly. They slowly start to turn full sized after about 30 minutes automatically, which is quite the pain if you aren’t careful.”

  “Moxor and I are the only arcanists among us, but his Artifact’s powers save us a lot of work on the daily! He’s super duper handy!” Latsy yelled, while getting very close to Nathan’s face.

  “T-That is indeed very handy! You’re r-right.”

  “Get the other one once you’re ready, Mox, then we can pack our things. Folks, it’s time to leave our beloved workshop behind, and go to the adventure of our lifetime!” Latsy yelled, bumping her fist into the air excitedly"

  “Great, once they’re installing these I believe it’s time for you two to learn about the orbs you’ve purchased. Unless Nathan would rather keep sticking around with Latsy, that is?”

  “No, no, I mean I’d like to! I mean, I want to learn, I…” Nathan stammered, seemingly giving up at the end, as he walked toward Hammond while trying to hide his bright, red face.

  “All good, we can talk later Nathan! I’ll show you my Artifact as well! Won’t take long, we work super duper fast!” Latsy said, winking toward him.

  All Nathan could muster was a very small head tilt that barely registered as a nod.

  Sahra excitedly put her hand on Leyra’s shoulder as her smile became a sparkle, while Leyra replied “No funny thoughts now, missy.” Sahra’s smile turned into a disappointed frown, as she mumbled to herself “I wanted to strategize…You’re no fun.”

  Leonard laughed, as he had a last glance at the group of Magitechnicians that’d join them. “We’ll finally have a use for those cabins, that’s good. But at this rate, we really need to cook all that food, not gonna lie.”

  “I can do that once we’re done installing the Magicannons, no problem at all!” Latsy yelled, raising her hand.

  “She’s quite the cook, especially great at the grill I gotta say.” Shandro said.

  “But isn’t that quite a lot? You will install the cannons and cook for, what, almost forty people?” Leonard asked while raising an eyebrow.

  “You’d be surprised at how much endurance Rabites have, Latsy especially. She just doesn’t run out, it’s quite miraculous!”

  “I see, that’s neat.” Leonard replied, still raising an eyebrow. “So her race is called Rabite, what about Moxor’s? Glarea’s Gallery is the first time I see non-humans, I’ve only ever heard about them.”

  “They’re called Raptorals, and are a proud but often a bit less energetic race. A lot of them are great fighters thanks to their monstrous physique, but they are just as much of a versatile race as us humans.”

  “One of them made some killer food back in the Gallery, and I believe I saw a Rabite perform music on the streets, too. Coming here was such a blast, I hope we get to explore more of Baharor.” Leonard said to Shandro, who had surprise written all across his face.

  “I did not take you as someone who’d enjoy his travels this much, I thought you only sought power through your Master. Maybe your comrades are right and there is more to you than meets the ear.”

  Leonard smiled, as he observed Moxor shrinking the second Magicannon and the other Magicannon technicians packing their things — Blueprints, metal sheets, smaller magical crystals as well as all sorts of tools were being put into all sorts of bags by the about one dozen people.

  “Done, sir.” Moxor exclaimed, clearly taxed by the shrinking of the second weapon.

  “Good, then let us move friends.” Shandro replied with finality in his voice, as he walked towards the exit. The now enlarged group all went outside, only leaving Shandro standing close to the entrance, pulling a large lever. Rocks in the ceiling began to move, and loud rumblings could be heard, as the lava stopped pouring and the moat began to drain.

  “It’s been a pleasure working with you all in phase 1. Now phase 2 beings.”

  “What is phase 2?” Leonard asked.

  “Kicking Kazzorak’s ass!” Latsy replied, cutting off Shandro who just wanted to speak.

  “—More or less what she said.”

  If you enjoy reading Spellbreakers: Path Beyond Vengeance it'd mean a lot to me if you left a comment/Review! Thanks a lot.

  Chapter 13, the unlucky number! The workshop is a cool place visually, I hope I brought to life how much I love lava-themed buildings. It's one of my favorite visual tropes!

  Hope you enjoy - Malorak

  Spellbreakers: Path Beyond Vengeance goes on hiatus! Some IRL stuff came up that I need to tend to, and I hope to get back to Spellbreakers eventually. Thank you for reading thus far, and look forward to more in the future!