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Chapter 68 City of Machines
The weather favored the Nightingale's voyage to the far east. They encountered the blockades into the waters of Fā Tiáo Cheng. The naval ships were pleased to let them past, as the people of Fā Tiáo Cheng were consummate merchants.
Gale clutched his bandana while he skillfully steered the ship into port. Aurelia noticed the humidity in the air almost immediately. As a human, she hated the hot and muggy feeling. As a werelion, she found comfort in the tropical climate.
The port was alive with activity. Ship captains wheeled and dealt with passengers who sought adventure abroad. Merchants poured over the goods of recent arrivals. The scene seemed normal for a harbor, except the men made of metal.
Each one differed in size and design, but they all had masses of gears and springs beneath their metallic chests and legs. A few had large knobs on the back, while others did not.
"What are they?" Aurelia asked with awe
J.HildebrandtI decided to take the far east in a different direction. There will still be ninjas and martial arts stuff, but I also wanted to give the society a little flavor with the clockwork servants. Don't worry I have a few ideas planned for the next few chapters to explore how the servants are made.
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Things in the far east are not going well for Aurelia and her mate Zinjo. Their search for the Lemurian runes took them to the city of Fā Tiáo Cheng, an advanced city with clockwork servants. Under the advisement of their ship captain, Gael, they came to the slums of Fā Tiáo Cheng to speak with Límāo Xiǎotōu. A man who deals in lost treasures and artifacts. Only to be attacked by clockwork servants themselves. Aurelia hissed at the hand-painted faces. To see machines act like men unsettled the princess. Their movements devoid of purpose and soft scrapes of metal and ticks from the gears made them more terrifying than Kongamato. "These should not be," Aurelia commented as she raised the Lion's Fang in defense. Zinjo brandished the ancestral partisan and nodded, "I agree with you, dark princess. These things are abominations meant to rust away into nothingness." Each one stood about six feet tall with springloaded limbs to add force to their blows. In their che
The Lion of Shadowfen Chapter 70 A new journey
Límāo Xiǎotōu, stroked his mustache while Aurelia and Zinjo told him of their adventures across the world. The black marketer smiled and sipped from a tiny teacup he didn't interrupt or laugh. When they finished the tale, he held out his hand, "May I see the Lion's Fang?" "I want it back," Aurelia warned him. She drew the blade and presented it horizontally across her hands. The loving hands of Zinjo touched her shoulder, "I do not think our new friend is that foolish," He eyed Límāo with suspicion. "An Al' Miraj gifted you with its horn. To take the blade in greed would anger such a creature and bring bad luck. I am envious of such a beautiful weapon. Where did you get it originally?" Límāo ran his hand against the onyx metal. Aurelia related the tale of the spider monster she fought, and Límāo shot her a look of awe and respect, "Your deeds are worthy of song. Spider demons give the greatest of warriors difficulty." Límāo motioned for more tea, and
The Lion of Shadowfen Chapter 71 Yanhuo
The wilderness of the Kun Lun Shan was comparable to the forests of Shadowfen. Aurelia noted monkeys and wolves, which made Aurelia realize just how far from she was. Zinjo remained tensed up and ready for action. His partisan remained in his grip. "How much further to Kun Lun Shan?" Aurelia asked. Unlike her male counterpart, she enjoyed the new scenery. In the distance, a plume of smoke rose above the trees. "Do you see that?" "Hmmm," Zinjo used his hand to shield his eyes from the sun, "It is hard to tell if it is from civilization or a camp. Do you wish to investigate?" "Of course, I want to investigate. I might be able to wash the dirt and grime from my body." "In this bath of yours, do you envision someone being in there with you?" the joke was a rare instance of Zinjo's playfulness. Aurelia found his jokes endearing and wished he would make them more often. "Depends on what this other person is doing," Aurelia tested the hardness of the
The Lion of Shadowfen Chapter 72 Searching for Reason
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Tension filled the air as the Yanhuo surrounded their younger counterpart. The White faces and tiny flickers of flame came out their nostrils and mouths. Zinjo transformed into the lion and took a submissive position. The Large male cautiously approached Zinjo and held position two feet away. Zinjo stood and faced the forest titan and did not move. The child crawled up on Zinjo's back, waved, and then returned to its proper mother. The Silver backed leader grunted something unintelligible, and three males joined their leader. Aurelia and Lord Nian looked at each other, "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Aurelia asked. "Wel,l I'll assume the Yanhuo are hostile toward intruders, and why shouldn't they? The Yanhuo have the power to defend their territory. I think they like Zinjo," Aurelia was not encouraged by the uncertainty in Lord Nian's tone. Zinjo and the male Yanhuo returned to Aurelia and Lord Nian, "I think the bandit tribe took the child and
The Lion of Shadowfen Chapter 75 Daisuke
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The Lion of Shadowfen Chapter 76 Jubukko
When the idea of a vampiric tree crossed Aurelia's mind, she laughed to herself. What could a tree do to a person? How did the trees become vampiric in the first place? She let the thoughts bounce around her mind.Daisuke turned to her, "I laughed the first time I heard it myself. My assumptions almost got me killed. After that, I never took any job handed to me lightly, and neither will you.""Hmmm. Like the Al' Miraj. One would think the horned rodent is harmless and cute. I know I thought so, and then it pulled a full-grown cow through steel bars with little effort," Zinjo moved closer to Aurelia while he spoke.Aurelia enjoyed his protectiveness. She did not require protection any longer, but to know he cared endeared the action to her heart. "I forgot about our first encounter with the Al' Miraj."Your tale illustrates the point well," He paused, "Can I ask you b
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