The night held no sleep.
The roar of the bloomery furnace became a furious boil as the clay vats bubbled with the berry concentrate, releasing a sour steam that stung the nose. The rumble of Kael's rocks and the Geodudes echoed from the cliffs, dull echoes of preparation. And beneath it all, like a persistent heartbeat, the CHINK... CHINK... CHINK of Tyla and Iris, taking turns at the Wall of Memory.
Seiko didn't sleep. He was everywhere. He helped Kael place wooden levers under the largest rocks. He checked the viscosity of Tyla's liquid, testing its acidity with an iron strip (which sizzled faintly on contact). He checked the fields, ensuring the main path was perfectly clear and inviting.
Acies was by his side, a silent shadow. The Bisharp needed no orders. He had positioned himself at the highest point of the cliff, where Seiko had his command post, a natural lookout that dominated the first bend of the path.
Finally, just as the eastern sky began to turn from black to a purplish gray, Seiko gave the last order.
"Shut down the furnace."
The roar of the fire died, replaced by an almost deafening silence. The women, using thick hides, carried the heavy clay vats full of the dark, steaming liquid to the ambush points.
Kael and his five remaining warriors positioned themselves on the cliffs.
The Earth People, the miners and gatherers, were hidden in the rock crevices, armed with stones, pickaxes, and paralyzing terror.
And then, the only sound left was Iris.
'CHINK... CHINK... CHINK...'
The Wise Woman was alone at the Wall of Memory, her hand steady, carving the next line of the Celestica story. It was the only sound on the mountain.
"They are mocking us," grunted Kael from his post.
"No," said Seiko, his eyes fixed on the path below. "We are telling them we are not afraid."
Then, the sound changed.
Iris stopped.
A new rhythm joined the dawn. A rhythmic sound.
'THUMP... THUMP... THUMP'.
Marching.
"Acies," whispered Seiko. The Bisharp tensed, his blades gleaming faintly.
They appeared at the first bend, emerging from the valley mist. Soldiers. Thirty, forty, just as Rikk had said. They marched in a disciplined column, not like Kael's bandits, but like an army. Their bronze armor (armour) shone a pale, almost sickly color (colour) in the gray light.
A large man rode at the head, carrying a banner displaying the two-toned dragon. Beside him, hovering with unnatural movement and a metallic screech, were three Klinklangs.
The gear Pokémon were bigger than Seiko had imagined. They were spinning steel fortresses, their red eyes fixed forward, indifferent to the terrain.
The commander raised a hand. The column stopped.
Silence fell again. The commander tilted his head, listening.
In the silence, Iris's sound resumed.
'CHINK... CHINK... CHINK...'
"What is that noise?" shouted the commander, his voice echoing in the valley.
No one answered.
"A trap!" shouted one of his lieutenants. "It's too quiet!"
"Of course it's a trap, idiot," snapped the commander. "They are scared. They think a few rocks will stop us." He turned to his flanks. "You five, and you five. Check the slopes! Flush the rats out of their holes!"
Ten soldiers broke ranks, five on each side, and ran toward the grassy ground flanking the path.
It was then that Seiko smiled.
The first scream was high-pitched, a howl of pure pain. A soldier fell, clutching his foot. Then another. And another. The men looked down and saw the small iron stars that had pierced their soft leather boots, sinking deep into their feet.
The men screamed, trying to retreat, but every step made them land on more. The flanking formation collapsed into a chaos of wounded men.
The commander roared in fury. "Useless! Stay on the path! Klinklang, forward! Destroy any barricade you see!"
The three steel Pokémon advanced, their gears spinning with a menacing hum. They entered directly into the heart of the canyon, just below Seiko's command post.
"They are in the kill zone," murmured Kael, his hands gripping the wooden lever of his largest rock.
"Wait," ordered Seiko. "Wait..."
The Klinklangs stopped, their gears spinning faster as they scanned the cliffs.
"NOW, KAEL!" roared Seiko.
Kael shouted an order. He and his men shoved the levers under the prepared rocks. With the help of a dozen Geodudes emerging from the earth, they pushed.
It wasn't rocks. It was an avalanche.
The crash was immense. Hundreds of stones fell onto the path. The bronze soldiers had no time to react. Several were crushed instantly. The bronze column split in two, panic seizing them as they tried to escape the rocks now blocking the path ahead and behind.
The three Klinklangs, however, were steel. Most of the rocks bounced off their spinning bodies, although one was hit by a boulder that made it stagger and crash into the canyon wall.
"Destroy them!" shouted the commander.
Two of the Klinklangs began to spin at incredible speed, charging an attack.
"TYLA, NOW!" was Seiko's next shout.
From the cliff edge, Tyla and the women of the Earth People tipped the clay vats.
A torrent of dark, almost black and still steaming liquid fell onto the steel Pokémon.
There was no explosion. There was a hiss.
The TSSSSSS was the sound of concentrated tannic acid hitting hot metal. An acrid, chemical steam filled the canyon. The Klinklangs stopped dead. Their gears, usually smooth, began to screech. The viscous liquid got between their spinning teeth, and the acid began to corrode the polished metal.
'SKREEEEEEE!'
The sound they made was a screech of tortured metal. Their red eyes flickered. The acid had blinded their sensors, and the boiled tannin was acting like a corrosive glue, jamming their movements.
One tried to fire an attack, but only spat sparks and a jet of dark liquid.
"Our beasts!" shouted the commander, his arrogance broken by panic. "Sorcery! They are using sorcery!"
The remaining soldiers looked at their useless bronze armor (armour), looked at their elite Pokémon neutralized and screeching, and looked at the rocks blocking their escape. They were trapped.
And it was then that Kael and his five iron warriors attacked.
They didn't wait for orders. With their iron spears in hand, they jumped from the cliff, falling onto the rear of the trapped column.
"For Oran! For the Mountain!" roared Kael.
The first bronze soldier raised his shield. Kael's iron spear went through it like parchment, sinking deep into the man's chest.
The commander watched in horror as five warriors slaughtered his soldiers. Their bronze swords chipped or broke against the iron spearheads. Seiko's iron, hard and well-forged, didn't bend. It didn't break. It only killed.
It was a massacre. The technological superiority was absolute.
The commander, seeing his army destroyed, made a decision. He saw Seiko at the top of the cliff, the solitary figure clearly in command.
"You!" he shouted. "You did this!"
Ignoring his dying men, the commander ran toward a side goat path, climbing toward Seiko's command post, his own bronze sword raised high. "You will die for this sorcery!"
Seiko took a step back, gripping the iron spear he had made for himself. He was an engineer, not a warrior.
The commander reached the top, his face red with anger, raising his sword for the killing blow.
"Acies," said Seiko calmly.
The commander didn't even see the Bisharp move.
There was a flash of silver light. A sharp CLANG.
The commander froze. He looked at his hand. His bronze sword was no longer there. It was on the ground, 15 feet (5 meters) away.
He looked forward. The Bisharp was there, with his blade-arms crossed, dripping the acidic liquid from the vats that had splashed him. The steel Pokémon hadn't even flinched at the acid.
The commander looked at his empty hands, then at the perfect steel Pokémon blocking him, and then at the lost battle below. He dropped to his knees.
Silence fell over the canyon again, broken only by the moans of the wounded and the agonizing screech of the jammed Klinklangs.
Seiko looked at the victory. Fifteen of his eighteen people were alive, though some wounded by the rocks. Five of the forty enemy soldiers were dead, a dozen more wounded, and the rest had surrendered. It had been a total victory.
Seiko sheathed his spear.
'CHINK... CHINK... CHINK...'
[A/N: I took a few days off for some rest and vacation, so sorry for not updating. I'll be posting more chapters right now. Since I've been away for several days, I'll be uploading 11 chapters in a row this time. But on Patreon, I'll keep the usual 10 chapter advance, just like I originally planned. You're all welcome to check it out. I hope you have a wonderful day, afternoon, or night. patreon.com/Nemryz]