Chapter 32 – Life 6 – The Dome


    When I awoke, I was surrounded by ice-covered mountains. I was a little annoyed with myself, despite it all, that I could actually recognize where we were. When I first arrived here in this frozen hell, I had thought I would just find some place to hunker down, make my Artifacts, and leave. The strange town built into the ice, known as Dome Argus, held no interest to me. That was, unfortunately, na?ve of me.


    When I had started to leave the town for the first time, I was given a ‘friendly warning’ that the Antarctic ‘day season’ was about to end. For reasons I didn’t fully understand, the day in Antarctica was 6 months long… and so was the night. When I first heard that, I didn’t believe it, but was allowed to go on without further warning. Then, after what must have been a few weeks, a long sunset occurred. I realized there may be some truth to what I was told and hurried back to the city. I managed to get back in view of their lights just as the darkness truly took hold.


    The town’s rules were a little strange, but absolute. The laws against fighting or causing other unwanted disturbances, I could understand. What surprised me was how well everyone who had been exiled here followed them to the letter. This was, for all intents and purposes, a prison colony away from civilization… I had been expecting a state of total lawlessness.


    That was, until I witnessed someone get a little too drunk on the limited supply of alcohol, and a little too violent. A town guard, dressed in an impressive Redsteel suit of armor, had given him a single warning. When he refused to listen… well, it took me a second to figure out what happened. Where there stood a man in one second, stood an ice sculpture of that same man in another. And after a few seconds where nobody moved a muscle… the frozen man shattered.


    I eventually learned that the rules were set by a man who took the name of the town as his own, Argus. The Artifact Master.


    There were rules beyond basic decency, of course. There were rules regarding trade, curfews, the rotation of who fought monsters… and, of course, the making of Artifacts.


    Everyone here knew about Artifacts and the horrifying price paid when they failed to form. Making an Artifact anywhere close to the city, even if you succeeded, was punishable by death. To escape this punishment, one had to agree to go on long journeys out into the wilderness, carefully planned out to not come close to a single soul. That was where I had been when I hunted the Vulture and was in turn hunted by the Wurm. And now, I had succeeded.


    Guard and Lancer were watching over me as I awoke, gentle giants who must have been the ones who carried me here. Surprisingly, they didn’t blindly bring me into the city, which would have itself implied a bit of pathfinding on their part. Instead, they took me to the outskirts, near enough that I could tell where I was, but far enough that I was left alone. It’s what I would have asked them to do, had I been awake to ask for it. Curious.


    I spent some time experimenting with my new powers. I could make Guard and Lancer disappear and reappear in an instant, though it was a bit draining. I could still order them around, as normal… but they seemed a touch more responsive to my mental commands, and showed a bit more… initiative, perhaps? When I asked them to practice a combat move, they would not only do it, but fluidly go through the next several moves in the set. Some moves, even I wasn’t sure I could pull off, and I wasn’t 9 feet tall.


    Speaking of their height, I soon found that, with some effort on their part, my two giant Squad members could reduce their stature back to their original human sizes. I was glad, since they would get enough attention as it was on the streets of Dome Argus.


    Satisfied with the performance of my new Artifacts, there was one important thing to do. Among the rules of Dome Argus that seemed a little specific, one of them was that anyone who successfully formed an Artifact was to report directly to Argus himself.


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    We marched towards the city. The first thing I noticed, as always, was the wind. One moment, it was as fierce as ever in the Antarctic cold, and the next, there was nothing but silence. I was certain this was the effect of some manner of Storm Artifact.


    After a while of walking in stilled air, the city was visible. It was small, compared to the reclaimed cities of the Five States, but it was *dense*. There were tall buildings in the center that were connected with walkways and platforms, and the end result was an almost dome-like shape. I had lived here, off and on, for a little over 2 years. Even made a few friends. It would never be home, though.


    A shape appeared in the distance. A cloud of dust? No… I knew what this was. My welcoming party. The Sand cloud hovered right over me and the Squad, then dropped down right in front of us. It took the shape of 6 individuals dressed in identical tan robes. I grimaced, having never enjoyed talking to these people. Or rather… this person.


    “Welcome-ome back-ack, Armorer-er…” They intoned in the same monotone voice. “You-ou have-ve returned-ned early-ly. Perhaps-s you-ou have-ve succeeded-ded in-n your-r work-k?”


    I sighed, having to put some extra mental work into understanding what was essentially 6 mouths all speaking the same words at slightly different times. “Yes, I returned early. As for whether I succeeded in making an Artifact… I don’t think the law requires me to tell *you* that, does it?”


    “Hmm-mm. An-n answer-r all-l on-n its-s own-n, we-e suppose-se. Enter-er then-en”


    The Sandstorm’s 6 bodies proceeded to all do the same ‘go on, then’ motion. They were one of the many oddities of this place, a group of people who took part in an experimental Artifact creation by… well, I didn’t know who. One of their bodies’ original inhabitants, I supposed. The strange thing was, the Artifact they created was still considered a ‘success’ in that it didn’t kill anybody… it just warped their minds beyond recognition.


    I once heard it explained that, just as sand dunes were all temporary shapes, these 6 bodies were just expressions of one mind that got all jumbled-up whenever they turned into Sand. Whatever the case, they freaked me the hell out. I hoped there was nobody looking to repeat the experiment.


    I was ushered into Dome Argus proper, and for the first time in many weeks I was able to take my helmet off. The cool air instantly chapped my lips, but considering this was once the coldest place in the world, it was surprisingly comfortable. Caused by yet another Artifact, I assumed.


    I was then unexpectedly tackle-hugged. “Sister, you’ve returned!”, said a dark-skinned girl who looked absolutely nothing like me. I chuckled as I hugged back. Neela came from a large extended family in Africa, and apparently now considered all the Metal-Users of Dome Argus as part of that.


    Another girl, tall and blonde, came up a bit more quietly. “Early, huh? Hit something you and those soldiers couldn’t fight? They all look fine… how’s Mr. Blue holding up?” Velka had been the one to supply the Bluesteel that Heavy Blue was made of, while Neela was similarly helpful with Heavy Red.


    “They’re all fine… I did hit a bit of a rough patch, though. An Evolved Wurm, with Blood Essence.”


    Neela and Velka both winced. Neela spoke up first: “That sounds *rough*! I’m glad I’m not a Caster, forced to go out there and fight those things… but, it sounds like you pulled through, yes?”


    I nodded. “It wasn’t easy, but the Essence I got out of it was… considerable, let’s say.”


    Velka’s eyes shined with anticipation. “Then does that mean… you did it?”


    I dragged the moment out a bit. “Well…… yes.”


    Neela was excited beyond belief. “Oh, oh! Incredible! Which one was it, then? The Lancer? He feels a little… different, I would say.”


    I shook my head. “Actually, it was Guard. But you’re right, Lancer was up next.”


    Velka looked concerned. “You already did two of them? I thought that took longer…”


    “I’m fine, Velka, really. You don’t have to worry about me.”


    Neela suddenly looked saddened. “Oh, but this means… you will be leaving soon, won’t you? Back to your States, to help fight?”


    I nodded solemnly. “I will be leaving soon, yes. I made some promises, and I intend to keep them.”


    Neela sighed. “Well… at least come say goodbye to some of the others, then! I’m sure they will want to see the first-ever Greensteel Artifacts…”


    I scoffed. “I told you, we aren’t calling it that! It’s bronze, not steel!”


    “But it just fits the other two so well!”


    “What do you call Quicksilver, then? ‘Graysteel’? ‘Wetsteel’?”


    “Bah, what do you know?”, said Neela between her chuckles.


    I sighed. “I won’t miss much about this place… but I will miss you two.”


    The three of us shared a hug, a real one this time.


    *Ahem* “If you girls are about done… I think it’s time I had a chat with our little Armorer…”


    I looked up to see a statue of a man dressed in what looked like a Pre-Apocalypse suit and tie… but entirely made out of blue ice.


    I frowned. “Argus, I presume?”


    The ice-man shrugged, making a faint sound of glaciers cracking. “Indeed. And, much as I hate to break up a hearty ‘goodbye’… there really are things we need to discuss...”