Star Rail: The Aeon Hunters

Chapter 8: "Madam Herta is kidnapped, we're here to get her back"



Lynx was silent on her way back to main city. Thoughts were swirling on her head, mainly in regards on her inability to fight. If the monster they encounter was too powerful for Stella to handle, there's not much she can even do other than pray.

"Stella," Lynx said suddenly. "How do you become so powerful?"

Stella blinked, unsure how to answer it. "Ah, mmm…" she clicked her tongue. "I don't think I'm the right person to ask," she leaned down towards Lynx. "I'm not human,"

Lynx's eyes widened when she heard that. But then she nodded understandingly. "Oh, I see, so that's why you're so powerful," it's the difference between being born as a trotter and being born as a wolf. It calms down Lynx somewhat, the difference between the two isn't really within her control.

But still, Lynx wanted to be strong.

"We're here," the Silvermane Guard announced as the Goethe Hotel finally came to view.

"Thank you," Stella said. "You guys have been a great help during the expedition," she gave them a wink. "Thank you for protecting me and my friend here the whole time,"

The two walked out of the alley and to the fountain, there they found the distressed man from earlier waiting for them.

"Heya," Stella waved her hand and the man came clamoring towards her. "Is this yours?" she handed him the document before he can say a word.

The man took one look at the document and hugged it tightly to his chest. "Oh… Thank you, thank you!" he looked back Stella. "Did you find it in my house?"

"No, I found it in an armory crate, most likely the Silvermane Guard were already going to ship them out but forgot about it," Stella chuckled a little. "In any case, made the search easier,"

The man looked between Stella and Lynx. "So you never…" he nodded. "Is there anything I can repay you?"

Stella waved her hand dismissively. "No, it's alright," she turned to Lynx. "Anyway, Lynx, where did you say you want to show me to?"

Lynx blinked and turned to the Neverwinter Workshop. "I want to introduce you to Serval. She's a mechanical genius and knows a lot about the technologies of Belobog,"

"Serval huh?"

[LINE BREAK]

The two bid the man good bye and went straight to the Neverwinter Workshop. It's a large building at the corner of the city, with a bunch of broken trinkets right in front of the entrance. Some voices can be heard from within, the sound of clockwork, steam engine, and more.

Lynx paused as if to brace herself before opening the door, revealing March and Dan Heng speaking with a beautiful blond haired girl. They noticed Lynx and Stella coming and greeted.

"Stella!" March exclaimed.

"Lynxy~ I didn't expect to see you again today,"

Both Stella and Lynx simply waved at them sheepishly.

March stepped forward and looked at Lynx. "So who's your friend Stella?" she asked with a wink.

Stella nodded. "This is Lynx, we met near the fountain. She told me she's an explorer and I kinda asked her to help me on the mission," she showed March the mission paper she gave her.

"Looks like little sis just found a new friend," Serval stepped forward and pat Lynx's head, much to the latter's embarrassment. "This here is my little sister, Lynx Landau,"

"Serval…" Lynx muttered, red faced. "I told you not to do that in public,"

"Oops, sorry!" Serval chuckled and turned to Stella. "Anyway, you must be Stella, the third member of the Trailseekers, right?" she shook Stella's hand. "My name is Serval, the local engineer and international rockstar!"

"Pleasure to meet you Serval," Stella said. "Looking forward to hearing you play,"

Serval grinned. "It'll blow your mind for sure!" she looked between Lynx and Stella. "I hope my little sister isn't too much of a bother for you,"

"Serval!"

Stella laughed. "No, no, I promise she's not," then she rubbed the back of her head, smiling sheepishly. "Honestly, I think I'm the one who gave her trouble… who's her name again? Pela? I should apologize for bothering her at work,"

"Awww, look at you being best buds already," Serval said. "In any case, Stella, thanks for taking care of my little sis, if there's anything you need fixed or made, just let me know,"

Stella walked deeper into the Neverwinter Workshop, drinking all of these steampunk inventor vibe in. From the gigantic gears that must be powering the giant clock tower, the piles of strange trinkets and gadgets at one corner of the room, and an old guitar lying on a small pedestal.

"Wait…" Stella froze. "Where's Herta?"

"Madam Herta is kidnapped," Dan Heng said. "And we're here to get her back,"

"Hey don't say it like that!" Serval exclaimed, she turned to Stella. "The doll is in the garage deeper in," she bit her lip. "And uhh… If, say, can you contact this brilliant Madam Herta and ask for her permission to…"

"I can try, but she'll probably refuse,"

"No harm in trying?"

Stella was about to take out her phone, when the door at the back of the workshop suddenly open, revealing the Herta Doll stepping out of it. However, unlike usual, the doll has a noticeably more annoyed expression on her face and her optics are focused instead of glazed.

"Should I let, a bunch of cavemen take apart my precious dolls just so they can see how utterly incomplete their understanding of reality is?" the doll spoke with both hands on her hips. "No, the answer is no, not a single one of you is permitted to try and reverse engineer any of my doll,"

Serval stepped forward. "With all due respect, Madam Herta…" she speaks slowly, trying to think up of something to say. "I am one of the finest mind in Belobog and I have many, many experience dealing with mechanical construct. Rest assured, I will not harm your doll during the process."

Herta tilted her head. "Oh really?" she folded her arms. "Here's something of… far more inferior technology than my puppet, if you can reverse engineer it, then I might consider lending you one of my puppet for research purpose."

In a flash of light, a gigantic hammer formed on Herta's hand. She handed Serval the hammer, who could barely lift it. "There, that should keep you busy," she then turned to Stella, March, and Dan Heng. "As for the rest of you, why don't you start doing some real research? Ask questions no one have the answer to, like the origin of this Eternal Freeze for example???"

The Herta Doll becomes offline once again after delivering her piece.

Stella is convinced that Herta has been listening in to their conversation from day one. The fact that she can blend in seamlessly with the fabricated story March created and even indirectly let them know what their next move should be.

"Right away, Madam Herta," Dan Heng replied, playing his lead scientist role. "In any case, it has been a pleasure to meet you Serval, Lynx," he turned around. "We shall end the day and discuss our next move in the Goethe Hotel, have a nice day,"

The four of them left the Neverwinter Workshop, leaving Serval and Lynx in their wake.

"What do you think of them?" Lynx asked.

A small smile graced Serval's face. "Me and bro can't hope to compare to them…" she turned to Lynx. "What about you Lynx? Did you have fun playing with Stella?"

Lynx sighed. "It wasn't playing, I helped Stella with her exploration, we even…" she caught herself. As much as she wants to brag about it, telling Serval that she snuck into the Backwater Pass will only bring trouble to both her and Stella. "We… I, guess… talk with Pela about history,"

"Hey that's great," Serval nudged her shoulder. "It's the little thing that counts, no?"


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