After stepping out of the workshop, I run to the Guildhall fast enough that I can feel my battery starting to drain slightly despite continually filling from my SP regen being passively converted. Though because of that I do at least make the trip quickly. Upon entering the Adventurer's Guild, I run up to the offices. I don't see Marel in his area, so I walk through to the Guildmaster's office instead.

I open the door and walk in immediately, Granzine is sitting behind his desk holding some odd little trinket in his hand. He looks up at me with a quirked eyebrow. "Ye in too much of a rush to knock?" I pause in place, then look back to the door. "Ha! Don't worry bout it. That's a formality I don't really care for anyway." He sets the item down on his desk, and waves me over. Now that I get a better look at it, it seems like some sort of puzzle. A disk a little larger than a half dollar coin, made up of several interconnected pieces.

I shake off my interest in the object, and approach his desk. "Sorry to barge in, but there's a bit of an issue. Short of it is, Flynt wanted to make his own wooden Automaton, then when I brought up putting a piece of a soul into it, volunteered a piece of his own. I accidentally grabbed a little much, fifty points instead of five, and am a bit worried about his condition. He was kind of winded and unsteady, but he is laying down on a mattress I made."

He stares for a few seconds after I say all that. "That's a lot to take in. Sounds like a simple case of spiritual fatigue though. Usually happens when an undead monster takes a bite out of somebody's soul, so I guess that lines up. Takes a while to recover properly. Maybe a week, without treatment." His left hand moves up to smooth his beard. "For someone around level twenty like him, fifty points is enough to be kinda bad? So I suppose I'll introduce you to the town's Doctor."

"Alright, I guess I should explain the situation there too." He nods, then grabs a scrap of paper and writes on it with a fancy looking fountain pen. When he sets the pen aside he stands up from his desk and leads the way out. He drops the note off on Marel's desk, and continues on out of the building.

We go on a quick walk to a small building about halfway to the center of the town. Like the rest of the buildings in this nameless town, it is made of wood. Unlike most of the others, it is painted. A shocking color of bright pink, specifically. Though the door is a soft, light blue instead. Granzine approaches the door and knocks on it fairly firmly. "Oiiii, Sergu, you awake yet?!"

After a moment, there is a slight crashing noise. Then a soft, effeminate voice boldly exclaiming, "Fuck, not again!!" There is a noise like a heavy piece of furniture being dragged across a floor, then a few seconds later the door pops open. The being that opened the door is small, maybe two thirds of my height, and very pink. Their figure is kind of feminine, with broad hips and a slim torso, rather, flat up top though. Also, she looks like a Kobold, only cute, and with dragon like horns, and wings on her back. Her eyes, wing membranes, horns, and a few small patches of scales are light blue. "Ehm, I am now!" Sapph floats in front of my face, as if stopping me from looking, and expresses irritation.

Granzine grumbles under his breath and rubs the bridge of his nose. "Serguuuu, you answered the door naked again. . ." She tilts her head, then looks down at herself. She closes the door, then there is a noise like another door within the building being slammed open. A few minutes later she comes back out wearing a loose fitting white robe with grey trim on the sleeves. It's almost like mine, just with openings in the back for her wings.

"I still don't see the big deal about clothes anyway! Not like you can see anything unless you look really close. And you'd think you dwarves would appreciate a different view now an' then!" She giggles, then dusts her hands off and finally turns from looking at Granzine to facing me. "Oh! A new person. Come on in!" It looks like her tail is wagging under her robe, then she lunges through the door to grab my right hand, and drags me into the building. 

The inside of the main room looks like a bizarre mash up of a bedroom, kitchen, reception room, and a witch doctor or shaman's workshop. Everything needed for daily life haphazardly surrounded by an excess of large chairs, one of which is conspicuously in the middle of the floor, a counter near the back, and a variety of dried herbs and mushrooms and the like hanging from the ceiling. Her wooden bed is shaped like a large framework bowl sitting on the floor in the back corner, and is filled with a lot of small cushions in a variety of colors instead of one large mattress. I get the feeling this person would love stuffed animals. If that's a thing here.

She runs around behind the counter, then turns to face me. "I don't know if my potions will be any good to a metal person, but I'm happy to help with whatever you need!" Granzine follows us in, then stops to stare at the chair in the middle of the floor. When Sergu notices his gaze she turns away and acts innocent. Though with the conversation not moving on she ends up coming back to it after just a few seconds. "I-It's not anything important! I'll clean it up later." His gaze moves over to her. ". . . Okaaaaay. It was a small vial of Balm Mead. I brought it to my nest cause it was warrrrrm!"

"What?!" Granzine lunges for the chair and shoves it back. Once the chair is out of the way the remains of a test tube, probably about ten MLs in size, become visible. As well as a pool of liquid on the wooden floor. He kneels by the pool and his eyes tear up. "What a waste!" Finally he heaves a sigh, then stands back up. After that he moves the chair back to its obvious usual spot then heads for the door. "You two work things out. I'm gonna go whine to Marel about Sergu wasting booze."

"See you later Guildmaster!" The pink lizard waves energetically. Then once Granzine closes the door behind himself she turns back to me. "Dwarves really care about that stuff for some reason. I mean, it's just fermented Balm sap with honey. Funny thing is, that vial was too concentrated for drinking anyway! I was gonna use it as a reagent for my scale oil." She holds her right hand out over her counter. "Here, have a feel!"

I look down at her hand, then tilt my head. "Sorry, but I can't. Metal, remember?" I still reach out to at least shake her hand. When I do that she tilts her head in a mirror of my gesture. "Hmm? Well. It's not that bad. If I really need to see what something feels like I can just extend the mana threads of my heart out to touch it."

"Mana threads? And those are part of your heart? That sounds fascinating!" Her expression perks up. "How about you just do that then?" Her hand grips mine tighter. "I looooveee showing off my scales!"

"Eeeh?! W-well. If you insist? It'll be a little weird though. I think. For both of us." Her unflinching gaze makes her thoughts on the matter clear. "Okay then. Just don't say I didn't warn you." Note to self, think things through before speaking to Sergu. I loosen the bonds on my arm plates allowing a gap to form around my wrists. Then I slowly extend several of my threads.

They trail across her hand and wrist, and with my focus on my mana sense through the cords, I can tell that her scales are quite smooth. Similar to a reptile that has recently shed. "Aha! That tickles!" After a moment she reaches over with her other hand and grabs a bundle of the threads. While it feels a bit like being pinched, it doesn't hurt, perhaps because she isn't gripping too hard? Though maybe my mana thread and mana perception combination can't account for pain. A moment later Sapph flies in and shoos her left hand away before hugging the bundle herself. "Ooooh, looks like somebody is jealous!" Her right hand relaxes.

"Your scales are certainly smooth. Though I don't have much of an idea how to comment beyond that." I pull my hand away and hold Sapph up in front of my face. When she notices my gaze she lets go and flies back to the top of my head. "And now she's acting aloof." I retract the threads and refasten the plates. "Well, this is Sapph, she's a Spirit. And I am Anima, an Automaton. Nice to meet you."

"And I am Sergu! . . . Wait, you already know that. I blame Granzine for the poor introduction! As for my scales, you could call them pretty, or soft, or compare them to other things. Why there's one drake in my home town who found a blue ellua flower and compared it's shape and color to one of the blue patches on my tummy. What a flirt!" She holds her hand in front of her mouth, then clears her throat. "Right, aside from all that, may I ask what you need this morning?" She places her hands on the counter and looks up at me expectantly.

"Well, you know Flynt right?" Her head tilts, then she nods. "Well, because of me he apparently has what Granzine calls spiritual fatigue. And after I told him about the situation he brought me here, so I guess you have some medicine for that?" She smiles, I think, then holds up her right hand to draw my attention. I stare a moment, then nod for her to speak.

"I don't keep spirit stabilizer on hand, but I do have a recipe, but I'm also out of the two main ingredients!" Despite that news she keeps smiling. "Sooooo, you can help me collect them! And I suppose I should check on Flynt first. If he's really bad I can give him some delcus root to knock him out and keep him from hurting himself in the meantime." She grabs a bag from under the counter, as well as small pieces of several things hanging from the ceiling, then runs back around and grabs my hand before dragging me towards the door.

Once we're outside I end up taking the lead, logically. However, she seems loath to let go of my hand. While we're walking towards the workshop, I figure I'll ask some questions. "So, are you an evolved Kobold?" I turn my head to look at her.

"Right out with that huh?" She raises both of her hands, which includes lifting my right hand, and spreads out her wings. "I've haven't even evolved once! I hatched as a Koryuu! Though my parents told me that they were originally Kobolds, before evolving a couple times, so species wise you're right. Just not individually." Koryuu? Wouldn't that be Japanese meaning little dragon? Why did it translate like that?

"Ahhuh. There's a lot I could ask about that, but I think I'll just look for a book on the subject in Marel's library later. On a more personal note, why is a Koryuu living in a dwarf town?" Her expression turns more serious and her hands drop back down. I may have asked a touchy question.

"Well, maybe I'm crushing on a dwarf guy I met? Or living here puts me closer to a useful alchemical reagent? Or how about making a profit to send back home? Perhaps some combination thereof. Or, that could all be a lie and I'm here just because I am here." She lets go of my hand and stretches her arms out overhead. "Whatever it is, there's no real need to worry about all that."

"Nmm. Sorry I brought it up." She pouts and shakes her head. Apparently I wasn't meant to apologize? "Right. In that case, can I ask how your potion making works? Or for that matter, what are the ingredients you need to make that, spirit stabilizer, was it?"

"That's a surprise! The first one we'll go to has to be seen to be believed!" She jumps excitedly. "It's crazy awesome! The source for other one is a bit mundane, but still useful. As for potion making, more typically called synthesis. It's basically a matter of applying energy to different ingredients before and sometimes after mixing them. Practically everything has specific effects when ingested, applied to the skin, or whatever else, and applying various energies to them can enhance or reduce some of the effects, or even add new ones. And you can get different effects from combinations of materials or energy applied after mixing. Course that means you need to learn at least some magic to use the different elemental mana types, I'm still missing two of the basic ones though. Oh, and applying vitality in a few ways is useful. Beyond that, there is trial and error, and keeping thorough notes!"

"I see. That sounds very, involved." Or mind-boggling. I tilt my head. Hang on a second there. Energies? "What about spiritual energy? If the other two are useful then shouldn't it also be?" 

"I don't know. I imagine it would be, but I can't use it, so I can't say for sure." She draws out a small amount of mana, seemingly holding it between her hands. "And, I think I still have a lot to discover using what I already know." She raises up one hand and lets go of the bit of mana. On a whim, I reach out to grab it. She pauses and leans back to look up at my hand. "Wait, did you just? . . ."

"Huh? Yeah. I suppose I did. Didn't really give it any thought, just tried it out." I try to add some of my own mana into the wisp in my hand. For a moment, it feels like it's working, but then my mana seems to push her's away. "I've got a fair bit to learn about as well. I'm a little surprised I could just grab mana like that." I shrug, shake the remaining mana from my hand, and start walking again, though the workshop has already come into sight.

"Yeah, I've never heard of anybody doing that before, exactly. I mean, I've heard that there are ways to affect other people's mana, just not like that. Anyway, if you figure out how you did that, lemme know. Could be fun to play with somehow." Once she lays eyes on the clearly new building she rushes forward. "Whoa, that's huge! Based on the external layout, I'm guessing it's a workshop, rather than a house."

"Guess I didn't mention that. But yes, it is a workshop. The other Automatons and myself will be using it for a variety of things, mostly making more Automatons. Though I guess other people will be allowed to use it too, smithing and probably woodwork. I suppose we'll need to look into getting more equipment to account for more people trying to work in the space." She heads for the closer entrance, the one for the house portion of the building.

She lets herself in and looks around. She seems to start towards the door leading to the other parts of the building, but then stops and turns to face the fireplace. She walks closer to it and crouches down for a better look. "Another Spirit? And, a little lizard made of fire?" Following her gaze, I can see that the Lesser Combustion Elemental is there with Igni. Perhaps Goibniu brought it in?

"Yeah. More or less. Technically Igni is a Sprite instead of a Spirit. And the lizard is an Elemental." By the looks of it, the same log I put in the fire place before creating Igni is still burning without being consumed. "Part of making Automatons requires placing pieces of souls in them. And, I've been experimenting with the soul in other ways. Hence, these three." I reach up and pat Sapph.

"And also how you caused Flynt spiritual fatigue?" She looks up at me with a stern expression. Her tail is also thumping against the floor. She doesn't seem strong, but somehow is a little intimidating just now.

I hold up my hands placatingly. "Yes, but it was his idea to use a piece of his soul to animate the wooden doll I helped him build. Granted, I think I messed something up there, since I can usually use Five points of SP to animate something, but when I grabbed at his soul it ended up taking Fifty. I don't know why."

She stands back up and waggles a clawed finger at me. "Okaaaaay! But make sure you're ready before hand in case you have more trouble like that later." She huffs slightly. "Now, show me where he's at, yeah?" I nod then lead the way into the workshop. Her jaw drops when she spots the giant body. "That's huge! Can this guy carry me around sometime?"

"Considering this is another body for me to use, I don't see why not." Her eyes seem to literally sparkle when she looks at me. "Guess I didn't mention that. Technically I am also a Machine Soul, a spiritual life form. Switching bodies is pretty easy. Though this giant one isn't very practical yet. Oh, I do have something to make it more so. I'll take care of that while you check Flynt." I point to where he is laying down. She nods and runs over.

I run back outside to collect the other batteries. I disconnect them from the SPC as I carry the lot back inside. I set the SPC and divider cord aside and pop open the chest of the Giant Body. I arrange the batteries around the heart and connect them in. Frankly I could have fit a lot more than four into it, but I wanted to leave room for other components. For that matter, I go ahead and grab a spare Voice Box to add in before closing the body up. Then I store it in my Component Warehouse, in case I have a use for it while helping Sergu collect whatever reagents she needs.

I approach the mattress Flynt is laying on and speak to Sergu. "So, do you need to use that medicine you mentioned, or will he be alright while we're gone?" She holds a finger up to her mouth, shushing me silently. Then motioning for me to follow. She also grabs the Mannequin by the right hand to lead them along.

She leads the way back into the house, then digs through her bag. "I'd say he'll be fine. But, if he wakes up and tries to do more work," She pulls out something that looks like a thin green carrot, still covered in roots. "Break one of the roots off of this and make him chew it. Watch out though, it'll put him back down fast enough that he'll fall over if you give it to him while he's standing." She hands the rooty plant to the Mannequin. "We shouldn't be gone long enough for you to need to do it twice, but if you do, make sure he has a drink of water first."

"Right, I'll take care of it." The Mannequin's voice is similar to Flynt's, though maybe a touch higher pitched. Sergu shoos them towards the door back to the workshop.

Sergu straightens out her pack, then turns to look up at me with a smile. "Now, are you ready for an adventure?"

Chaos_Sinner777

It'll probably be a few chapters, and a while in universe, but Anima has three important visitors coming up. Two of which have been pretty obviously brought up already, and a third who will be quite important either way. So.