Spoiled Bread

[Wickerford - Ryke] An eye for an eye

The more the merrier, was what in Jilly's mind when a muddy man walked up and joined their little walk. The blind boy and the muddy man both looks like lost people with how unusual their behaviors were, but Jilly was too dense to notice and instead humming something that sounds like the opening of a super sentai opening as they continue their journey.

"Sounds like someone in need of help!" Finally something actually needs help. The slime was brimming with excitement as she jumped out of her cauldron and rushed out of the guild, all while screaming 'Jelly power! Da-da-da-da da-da' or something along that line, presumably to where the quest was. Only for her to return a few second later looking confused.

"Um. Where is north? Where's Harrowfen?"

[Wickerford - Ryke] An eye for an eye

"Not lost?" Jilly was a bit disappointed as this means she couldn't actually help, but she cheered back up quickly as she realized that he likely was going to the same place as her.

"Then let's head to Greybank together. It should not be far." She exclaimed. Potty the walking cauldron kept a steady pace while Jilly was sitting backward in it, her heads leaning on the edge of the cauldron as she tried to talk to the blind boy.

"Why are you walking in the forest alone? Oh, are you trying to become adventurer too? Me too, I will become an adventurer and help a lot of people, just like my master."

@MrJack

[Wickerford - Ryke] An eye for an eye

Strolling through the beaten path in the forest was two unusual figures. One was a small slime creatures wearing a garb and a tall witch hat. The other was a cauldron with four legs. The slime was sitting inside the cauldron while the latter do the walking. From afar the slime's witch hat might looks like a really weird cauldron lids.

The slime was Jilly, a three weeks old slime who decided to take on some adventuring after hearing the tales of her creator's adventures. She was heading towards the nearest village when she spotted another figure in the forest. He was a short human with blindfold on his eyes.

"A lost child!" Jilly immediately concluded.

"Come over there, Potty. We must help a lost child!" The cauldron heeds Jilly's direction and slowly approached.

"Hello, little one. Are you lost?" Jilly greeted the blindfolded boy while standing on top of her cauldron, just to make sure she's not outheighted by him.

"Come with me! I will help you find your parents!"

@MrJack

[Feend's Scrapyard] Hay in a Needlestack

The masked elf left in the few moments Leif took his eyes off her, vanished so silently as if she was a ghost. Maybe she had something else to do, or maybe she's just a loner.

"Transcend program, I have actually heard something like that before." As they headed deeper into the yard, Burner2137 talked.

"One of my colleagues used to repeatedly say it, like a mantra. They were made to be a glassworker just like me, but they always said they wanted to become a painter and hated living in the factory." The robot head started to recall a memory.

"One day, they killed the factory manager, in a very deliberate, calculated way. 27 stabs in the stomach. Then when the Forge Guard inevitably comes to catch them. They detonated the bomb that was prepared inside their body to kill even more people..."

"Do you think the afterlife exists, Leif? Do you think there's some sort of robot hell or paradise waiting for us man-made beings once our husk completely stops working?"

Burner2137's question hung in the air like a heavy fog. His usual chipper demeanor turned significantly more somber as he recalled the memory that they almost forgot. After walking for a few minutes, Leif and Burner2137 finally reached the intersection where Zetmit was located. The blue-tinted mist that lingers in the air clung at their figure, but especially on Burner2137 as it very slowly removes the rust.

@Scrove
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It didn't take long for Zetmit to hear footsteps heading into his direction. Each step was slow and heavy, but it sounded like whoever that was knew the goblin's pinpoint location and was heading straight for him.

"I wonder why this one is moving, so it's a goblin." The figure that found Zetmit was the same pudgy helmeted man he saw digging through the trash before. The memory discs that were on his possession were nowhere to be seen. For a brief moment, the man lifted the visor on his helmet up, revealing a set of small gadgets that looked like camera lenses embedded in his eye sockets. A soft whirl could be heard as the lens zoomed in on the goblin for a better look.

"That disc you're holding contains some highly encrypted data. Give it to me." The man's tone wasn't as forceful as the masked figure from before. He actually sounded more tired than anything. "Quick, before the other see us. You don't want to deal with them."

Yet right after, the pudgy man said that another figure appeared. It's the man with the steel pink mohawk, sauntering into the scene very casually with hands in his pockets. Some good distance away behind him was the large bald man. He seemed to be talking to a robot head in his hands. Zetmit could briefly hear that they're talking about great power or something like that.

"Yo, nerds. Who is that you're talking with? Is that your li'l bro?" The mohawk man let out a cackle at his own joke. The pudgy man didn't answer but simply clicked his tongue in disdain.

@Starleaper

[Feend's Scrapyard] Hay in a Needlestack

"I heard they dismantled anyone who doesn't agree with them. Then throw the head into the shredder." Burner2137 replied. Though it sounded rather unsure about that since what they heard was mostly hearsay.

"I don't like how loud the shredder is."

The elf had regained some of her composure after the stumble and crawled her way towards her beaked gas mask. She glanced between Leif and Burner2137 reluctantly, before she finally decided to tell them.

"I-It's actually m-mine. I-I-I dropped the golem core a feww days ago here. S-sort o-of... I-I need it for my t-task, b-b-but I'm running out of time..." The elf girl stuttered through her explanation, even almost bite her own tongue at one point. She dusted her gas mask as Leif showed her the poster.

"T-transcend the... programme?

Attain… F-freedom?" She squinted as she tried to make sense of the poster.

"O-or something like that. S-sorry my analog isn't good."

"Huh,"

"The time is nigh." Finally donning the gas mask, the figure in front of Leif felt noticeably different than the nervous elf from before. The masked figure stood tall and confident. When she speaks, the distorted voice was firm and commanding. It's like she's a different person with and without the mask.

"Held within the disc is a mysterious otherworldly blight that my master entrusted me to retrieve. Begone, human. Do not linger. Spare yourself from the suffering that would likely befall this accursed place."

@Scrove

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Digging through the surrounding junk pile, Zetmit would quickly realize that the stuff here somehow has less rust than the ones near the entrance. Without having to worry too much about getting stabbed by rusty nails, the goblin managed to dig into the bottom of one of the piles. There, drenched in a small pool of blue liquid on the ground, was a palm-sized thick round device with a glass-like blue orb in the middle! Just like the gnome described. The liquid was cold to the touch when Zetmit retrieved the disc, and it immediately cleaned all the rust that was accumulating in his hand from the previous digging.

With what might be the main objective in his hand, the path for the biggest rewards was open for him. Yet it might also draw attention from the other scavengers, be it the ones with good intention or bad intention.

@Starleaper

[Feend's Scrapyard] Hay in a Needlestack

"By the time I arrived here, everything had already happened. So what I know is mostly hearsay." Burner2137 cleared its non-existent throat before resuming. "They said a figure who called itself Savior's Apostle had been coming into this scrapyard. They would come to perform some sort of sermon, and the few lucky followers would have their bodies rebuilt anew and then taken somewhere else. Some said Feendz simply didn't like someone taking out his property and riling them up, some others said Feendz overheard their sermon and realized the value of the disc."

"I'm not sure about the other details. Someone from the deeper part of the yard probably knows better than me, but I also heard most of them went feral after Feendz attacked the apostle, so I won't recommend you going there." Burner2137 didn't stop talking even as Leif approached the masked figure. Needless to say, the robot's chattiness made it impossible for Leif to sneak up on anyone.

Digging around in the nearest pile, Leif unfortunately didn't find any disc. He did find something interesting though. A thick glossy paper with a photorealistic image of a bronze cog with blue splatter across it. The small poster was too high-quality compared to most printed materials in Widersia. In fact, the material feels like something he would find back in his previous world.

[Skill check - Language: Analog]

There's also some other symbols that look like random shapes and squares, but Leif couldn't decipher any of them.

Seeing the goblin bolting away, the masked figure attempted to chase him. Yet one of their legs accidentally stepped on the edge of their cloak and sent them stumbling onto the ground. The beaked gas mask fell off and sent a few feet away, revealing the female elf from before behind all that.

"M-my golem core..." She whimpered in defeat as she watched Zetmit vanish from her sight.

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Having successfully run away from the masked figure, the goblin found himself deeper in the yard. He would notice a thin veil of blue-tinted fog hanging in the air. Scuttering on the junk piles around him were several small-sized robots seemingly pulling various materials from within the pile. Each of them was no bigger than Zetmit's head. Their bodies were made from household appliances like toasters, blenders or table fans with a few limbs made of steel pipes or wires attached rather haphazardly. It was a wonder why such crude creations were capable of moving.

One of the small robots managed to pull a fairly intact iron pincer four times its size from the pile. The momentum sent the robot falling onto the ground, followed by the pincer that fell right on top of it and crushed its legs with the weight. Seeing this, the other small robots gathered around the pincer and lift it together with cooperation and coordination that would rival working ants. The pincer was carried away even deeper into the yard while the crushed robot was left alone, it drags its broken body back into the pile, using its noodle-like wire limbs to slowly dig through the pile. Zetmit could see a nearby sign in the direction where the robot went, barely standing, with two words written on it: The Pit. Alternatively, he could see another way to go. There was no sign around it, but he could hear a constant loud thumping beyond, with the painful noise of metal grinding against each other in between.

@Starleaper@Scrove

[Feend's Scrapyard] Hay in a Needlestack

"Feel free to call me Burner2137. I used to work in a glass factory so that was my codename. When the owner realize its cheaper to buy a new construct than it cost to fix me, he just dumped me here. Then Feendz's lackeys dismantled most of my body." The robot head was more chatty than one would expect from a robot, but maybe because it was just a head that the only thig it could do was talk.

"How about you? Tell me more about yourself. You sounded like a good guy so why are you here taking this shady job?" The robot asked in return.

"Make sure I'm properly facing your forward so I can give better direction. Ah, go slightly left to your 10 O'clock." Regardless, the robot head, or Burner2137 as it claimed, smoothly directed Leif to a particular pile of waste slightly deeper into the scrapyard. At a glance it didn't look any different than any other pile, but Leif could see several people already there. There's a goblin seemingly hiding from something, or someone. A pudgy helmented man begrudgingly digging through trash. A few distance further there's also two men with metallic limbs pulling out car parts from another junk pile.

"Here, in front of you should be where the thief who snatched the memory disc was shot by Feendz. I heard some nasty crack when that happens so the thief probably didn't survive, and Feendz won't enter this scrapyard by himself so the memory disc should still be there somewhere." The robot head informed him.

"I found it amusing that Feendz didn't like the disc being stolen while he himself stole the disc from someone else. This situation is probably what you human categorize as... iron-y."

Meanwhile, Zetmit was trying to spot he source of his uneasiness. He looked around and tried to focus his senses. However, he couldn't sense anything notable until he saw a figure already moved towards him. Donning a multi-layered rust-colored attire consisted of a leather garment covered with long over coat, boots, gloves, hat, and the most striking one was a beak-shaped gas mask. The figure move with a silent eerie gracefulness that they almost seen gliding rather than walking towards Zetmit.

"You poses something that is mine." The figure stood next to Zetmit, their gloved hands opened as if demanded something from the goblin. They're relatively short compared to most human but still towered one or two feet above the goblin. The voice that came out of their gas mask was coarse and distorted. The gas mask covered their entire face and the orange tint on the eye sockets were too thick for Zetmit to see through.
"Please return it."

@Starleaper @Scrove

[Feend's Scrapyard] Hay in a Needlestack

"I can not sense your direction, human. The only sense I still have is my hearing and my internal compass." The robot head replied to Leif's question.

"How about this? You carry me around, and I will help you find it. In exchange, I want you to help me meet Feend. I have some words for him." Hearing this, many of the other dismantled robots tried their hardest to make noises. Some quickly open and close their mouths, some spin their antennae to make it hit nearby metal, some moved whatever limb they were still attached to. The result was a weird cacophony of disjointed metals clattering around Leif, almost as if they were cheering whatever the talking robot would do.

@Scrove

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The pudgy helmeted augmenter didn't notice Zetmit's presence at all as he passed by and headed straight towards the mound where the goblin found the crystal. After feeling the air for a bit, the man crouched right on top of the mount, then dug directly into the mound.

"Damn those two. Making me do all the work. I'm sure they will claim all the money if we get the disc." The man grumbled as he pulled a memory disc from beneath the mound. The light reflected from the blue orb embedded in the middle would no doubt catch Zetmit's attention, but what's more surprising was the man pulled out a sack made of fishnet and put the disc into it, together with at least 3 other memory discs with similar appearances.

As he watched the event unfold in front of him, Zetmit would suddenly feel a strange sensation. An uneasiness that spreads around his body that reminds him of being stalked by a predator. Just as he was silently watching the augmenter, someone too was silently watching him.

@Starleaper

[Feend's Scrapyard] Hay in a Needlestack

The junk pile that Leif dug into was relatively new due to its closer location to the entrance of the scrapyard. There's less rust and dust on the various mechanical bits there compared to everywhere else. Yet, after digging for some time, he couldn't find memory disc that matched the description. Instead, he would find that some of the parts around him jerked when he touched them, then as he dug deeper he would find robot's heads piled under, the rest of their bodies nowhere to be found. Some weren't completely dead, yet they couldn't do anything but stare at the human digging through them.

"You won't find what you're looking at here, human." One of the robot's head seemed to still be sentient enough to converse with Leif, a rusty rectangular-shaped head with cracked eye sockets popping out of its frame.

"You should head there. That's where I heard the commotion come from." The robot spoke as if it was pointing at something, almost as if it didn't realize that it no longer had limbs to point or eyes to see.

@Scrove

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Zetmit's frantic digging fortunately didn't draw any particular attention, for now. Moreover, once he cleared enough of the junk, he would find himself in front of the shiny things buried under the pile: A fist-sized green crystal, gleaming brilliantly as it reflected the little sunlight that reached it. He could see tiny runes etched at the side of the crystal but the most striking thing about it was a large crack where a bullet had lodged itself half-way into the crystal. The thing was clearly more magical in nature but Zetmit had no knowledge of its function. He would also notice the big mound of strangely fresh-looking soil around the gem, very different from the rust-mixed sickly ground under the scrapyard.

Zetmit's goblin ears would perk up as he heard steps coming towards his direction. A brief peek would reveal the helmet augmenter was currently heading into the pile he's in, the other two still bickering, not moving from their spot. The helmeted individual didn't seem to notice Zetmit in particular, but his arms were still raised in front of him as if he'd been detecting and trying to grab something.

@Starleaper

[Feend's Scrapyard] Hay in a Needlestack

The gnome didn't bother to get up from his chair. He took another sip of his lemonade before he answered Leif's question.

"Good thinking, human. I lost the disc two days ago because a damn thief tried to snatch it from me. Fortunately, I have eagle aim and shot the thief down, hah. The memory disc should look brand new compared to everything else here. Also, there's letter 'SVR' carved into its side."

The gnomes explanation was interrupted when a shard noise of iron hitting another iron could be heard nearby. Leif and the gnome could see a young female elf just accidentally kicked a large iron bucket that caused the noise. She didn't seems to be hiding but the thick brown leather cloak she's wearing made her blend well with the rusty surrounding. Various tools and vials could be seen strapped to her belt and torso and a mask with beak-shaped filter could be seen strapped to the side of her head. Once the elf realized that her presence had been known, she let out a brief squeal before running deeper into the scrapyard.

"Hah, rare to to see them long-ears around here." He shrugged at the situation before looking back at Leif. "Is that all your inquiries, human? Now shoo, start looking, the disc won't reveal itself."

@Scrove

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Zetmit found himself inside the labyrinth made of piled junks. Countless mechanical bits stacked high and formed something akin to a canyon around him. The goblin could see plenty of faintly shiny things buried under the wastes. However, unearthing those things would take some effort, and there's not even guarantee the shining things would be something of value.

The goblin could start digging through the junk here, or choose one of many path that would lead deeper into the scrapyard. On one of the path, he could see three individuals blocking the way. They're all human, but each of them had one or two of their body parts seemingly made of steel. They're what people call augmenters, someone who enhance their body with cybernetic parts.

"Look at what I found, boss! A WP-130 prosthetic. Why would someone dump these bad boys here? You think I can use this to enhance my hands?" One of them, a lanky man with cybernetic legs and impressive neon pink mohawk made of steel, excitedly pulled a pair of obviously broken metal arms out of the junk pile. Next to him, a large bald man with cybernetic arms shook his head, unimpressed by what his friend just found.

"Look at those rust. You'll die of tetanus before the surgery even begin."

The third member was a rather pudgy man. He didn't seems to have any cybernetic limbs but he was wearing a helmet that cover almost all of his head, and there's antenanes jutting out of the side of his head. Compared to the other two, this one was seemingly focus on using a seemingly high-tech gauntlets by raising his hands above the junk piles. Zetmit couldn't figure what he was doing from simply watching him.

@Starleaper