Author's Note

sorry it took so long, life got in the way. so without further ado

into steel

It had been a week since I had arrived here I set up a little camp in the castle, which if the stone is any indicator it’s only started falling apart 5-600 years ago, I also took inventory, and I have a lot of stuff. I have 6 books on magic, necromancy, geomancy, pyromancy, re-equip magic(from fairy tale), chaos magic(which is confusing as hell), and justice magic(which acts like ghost riders powers). I also have the doom slayers super shotgun (and it’s 8ga. skweee!), a book on mythical metallurgy, and what had to be 7 tonnes of rare and impossible metal ingots (gold, adamantium(40k), ceramite, promethium, vibranium, etc), as well as normal ores (cool thing, after I tossed the uranium away I found that it just respawns in my bag and the stuff I tossed stays there, so nigh-infinite resources!), and the reloaders kit from my house… wat!?

anyways as I'm stuck here I decided to do something constructive, so I made a forge and started work… on nothing in particular! tho I did find a use for the Timberwolves that keep showing up, they’re wood is tough stuff, so I made a few things with it, not much but I made a new hammer, just in case. and a bed.

Anyways I’m just minding my own business when all of a sudden I hear someone scream and the main door slam shut. Now, of course, I’m curious about who’s busting in my home, so I grab my hammer and light it up, yes my new hammer can light on fire with enough heat to melt steel, I then made my way through the halls to the main hall from my forge. As I went I heard voices and when I came to the door I could hear them talking, it was muffled but I could tell it was a man a woman and a young boy.

“Hurry storm, get me that board,” said the man

“Yes papa!” the boy then said back

I heard some of the TW wood being dragged along the floor, I then got up to the door and looked through a crack in said door. What I saw made me pause, an anthro stallion by the main doors bracing them with himself and some wood that I left in the main hall. He was a steel gray, with a graying coal black mane and cobalt eyes, wearing a simple pair of rust red pants and a tunic of matching color
I then saw the woman I heard earlier, and she was in bad shape. She was being tended to by a little girl I didn’t hear. The woman or mare I suppose was a sunflower yellow, with turquoise mane, and one emerald green eye the other was scratched all to hell and milky white, she was wearing a simple green dress with a white apron but that was all torn up exposing some of what lies beneath including her left breast. But I didn’t linger on that. I did linger on her wounds, and I know if not treated soon she will die
The young boy and girl were identical, steel coat, white mane with a turquoise stripe, the girl wearing a torn blue dress, and the boy wearing a set of denim jeans and he was missing his shirt

I then heard the main door crack, and when i looked I saw the stallion get hit hard by a large paw, and not one made of wood but flesh! The stallion was sent flying back as a pair of manticores came barging in, making a beeline to the woman and her children...this will not stand!
I then charged through the doors my hammer swinging and a war cry on my lips “have at thee bastards!!” I yelled as one of the manticores was thrown back, his face on fire, I then grappled the other one. My large calloused hands against his sharp claws “go get to the forge I’ll be right behind you!” I yelled at the family as I kicked the beast between the legs causing it to back off

only for his friend to try to take his place. You can guess how that turned out, with him meeting my fist to his face, I then roundhoused him into his buddy, and started running back into the hall the stallion and the mare were lagging behind, so I picked them up throwing the mare over my shoulder and the stallion under my arm.

When I got back to my forge I set the mare down on the bed and the stallion next to her, before I grabbed the kids and set them by their parents. “Cover your ears!” I yelled as the two manticores made it to the door and I pulled the super shotgun off the counter and hip-fired (KRAK-BOOOOM) the sound of the super shotgun alone caused manticore #2 to panic. Which was amplified by his buddy turning into pink mist by two 8ga. Shells. I then in a snap put two more shells in, and before Manticore #2 could think about running I pulled the trigger again (KRAK-BOOOOM) he too was no more “ha! How you like that? They do feel fear.” I said as I reload out of instinct

“now then, let's get you all patched up,” I said as I turned to the family only to see the stallion, barely conscious holding a machete and pointing it at me.

“I… won’t let… you… hurt… them.” he said shakily

I just tapped him on the head and he fell to the floor in exhaustion and pain “ I don’t intend to harm them, I intend to heal them”I said as I stepped over him and got to work (I'll skip the details but she was in bad shape) I had to amputate the mares arm to stave off an infection

“There, ”I said as I laid back on the floor my back against the wall “that should do it. Time to sleep.”

“Thank you for saving iron glory. My name is steel bolt, and this is storm steel, and steel rose. What should we call you?” the stallion now known as steel bolt said

I thought about that the fog of sleep fading for now “call me, Arthur. Arthur ironbeard.” I eventually decided

“Odd but nonetheless fitting. Thank you Arthur ironbeard, thank you so much we owe you our lives” Bolt said after a while

“You owe me nothing. Now get some rest this has been a stressful day” I said. He nodded and laid next to his wife and dozed off instantly. I followed soon after