OneOhFive

Observer stretched his wings and lifted off into the sky. It was good to get out of the laboratory for once, good to feel the last rays of the setting sun on his wings, and good to exercise his natural talents as a Skydancer. His master trotted below; the Ridgeback rarely left the ground.

Suddenly Nai let out a yelp of surprise and pain. Observer banked and circled back down to where she was rubbing a talon. "What happened?"

"I stepped on something. Not sure what." The Necromancer closed her eyes and rubbed the spot. "Interesting..."

Observer pulled his goggles down over his eyes and scanned the ground around them. "What's interesting?"

"It almost feels like...I mean, it feels like I stepped on a thorn, which is one thing, but it also feels like...an infection. A Gift. There is Plague magic of the Mother here." Nai opened her eyes and lowered her head to ground level. "Now, if I were a Mirror, this would be easy." She pulled down her goggles as well.

The two of them searched for a few minutes. Observer was the one who finally found it: a sharp metallic spike protruding from the ground. It was broken off, hanging by a thread, and a thin line of virulent sludge seeped from the break. He poked it, but it didn't move.

Nai brushed him aside and stuck her digging claws in around it, carefully. She hissed as they encountered something. "This spike is attached to something. It's a lot bigger than it looks."

Observer moved in to help, but Nai thrust him out of the way again. "Just let me do it." The Ridgeback's claws shuffled mechanically, clearing the red earth of the Quarantine Zone away from...something.

Observer scratched his head. "What is it?"

Nai shrugged. "It looks like a golem. A broken one."

"Could we repair it, do you think?"

The Ridgeback grunted noncommittally. "Suit yourself. Just make sure it's off the clock."

Observer poked at the limbs. "It almost looks draconic in shape...but not like any dragon I've ever seen." Wires trailed across the surface of the metallic body, many of them broken. Scratches hashed underneath the wires; a few of them gleamed silver in the twilight, where the Ridgeback's claws had scraped the surface by accident. In one or two places virulent sludge seeped out, bearing a chilling resemblance to blood. Observer could smell the Plague magic. He stared hungrily at the mech. It was the most fascinating thing he had ever seen. "Could you possibly carry it back to my room for me?"

Nai grunted, hiding a smile. She scooped up the mech in one claw and limped her way across the red desert toward the bunker. Observer