The Iron Goose rolled lazily down a winding dirt path, its newly upgraded systems humming with magical efficiency.
Kai was behind the wheel, whistling a tuneless song.
Tessa sat shotgun, kicking her boots up on the dash (earning a scolding beep from G.A.I.L.).
Kiri sat cross-legged in the back, tinkering with a piece of salvaged tech from the fallen enemy convoy.
"So..." Kai said, glancing at her in the rearview mirror, "you're, like, a thousand years old, right?"
"Technically," Kiri replied without looking up.
"Does that mean I have to call you Grandma?" he teased.
"If you wish to be vaporized," she said flatly.
Tessa snorted. "Grandma Kiri has a nice ring to it though."
"I am rethinking my decision to save you," Kiri muttered.
Up ahead, smoke rose from a crossroads market.
A cluster of stalls and tents bustled with activity — merchants, adventurers, mercenaries — a colorful mess of swords, spells, and scams.
"Shopping trip!" Kai said brightly, veering the Goose toward the market.
"We're supposed to be hiding," Tessa reminded.
"Yeah, yeah. Stealth mode ON," he said, slapping the button.
The Goose shimmered, turning semi-transparent and blending into the background like a chameleon.
The stealth was so good that two goats tried to climb onto the invisible hood.
Kai cursed and shooed them off with a broom.
At the Market:
The trio wandered among the stalls, eyes wide.
A stand sold enchanted grappling hooks.Another peddled talking swords (most of which seemed deeply annoyed).Someone was selling "authentic Founder relics" — which looked suspiciously like scrap metal with glitter glued on.
Kai stopped dead at one booth in particular.
Behind it stood a merchant in a ridiculous purple cloak, wearing at least four monocles simultaneously.
The merchant leaned forward, voice oily smooth.
"Ah, fine travelers! Might I interest you in..." he whipped back a tarp with a flourish, "premium vehicular enhancement artifacts?"
On the table:
Turbo Rune Stones ("Guaranteed +20% speed or your eyebrows back!")Self-Repairing Muffler CharmsA Set of Portable, Self-Deploying Road Spikes ("Satisfaction Explosively Guaranteed!")
Kai's eyes sparkled.
"Take my money," he said immediately.
Tessa grabbed his wallet midair. "Wait, wait — this is obviously a scam."
The merchant gasped theatrically, clutching his chest.
"Madam, you wound me! My wares are only slightly cursed!"
"SLIGHTLY?!" Tessa and Kai shouted.
Kiri calmly pointed at a battered-looking camouflaging module tucked behind the table.
"That one is genuine," she said. "Founder make."
Kai threw money at the merchant so fast he nearly knocked over the tent.
"Pleasure doing business!" the merchant cried, disappearing into a puff of purple smoke (and possibly mild regret).
Back at the Goose:
"Installing cloaking module..." G.A.I.L. said happily as Kai and Kiri bolted the new device onto the truck's roof.
The Goose shuddered once — and then completely vanished from sight.
Even standing next to it, Kai had to tap his foot forward to find the bumper.
"We're invisible even when parked," he said, impressed. "Stealth road trip: upgraded."
"Perfect for sneaking into enemy camps," Tessa said.
"Or pranking cows," Kai added immediately.
Tessa stared at him.
"Don't."
"Already planning it."
Meanwhile, Trouble Brews:
As night fell, a nearby town — little more than a cluster of wood and stone huts — began screaming.
Bright lights flared in the distance.
The ground rumbled.
"That's not normal," Kiri said, standing on the Goose's roof.
Kai grabbed his helmet.
"I vote we poke it with a stick."
"Translation: we're going to get involved," Tessa sighed.
"Obviously."
At the Town:
They arrived to chaos.
A Fracture Spawn — a grotesque, half-flesh, half-machine beast — was rampaging through the village, tearing buildings apart like paper.
It had sprouted multiple heads, each spewing corrupted magic in random directions.
"Holy crap," Kai whispered. "It looks like a blender had a baby with a spider."
"Focus," Kiri snapped.
Tessa loosed an arrow — it pinged off the creature's metallic hide uselessly.
"New plan: we need the Goose!" Kai shouted.
He bolted back toward where they parked.
The Iron Goose Strikes:
The Goose — still cloaked — charged forward with a sudden roar.
Kai unleashed the heavy pulse cannon —
A searing beam of blue-white light sliced across the spawn's hide, sending chunks of corrupted flesh flying.
"Eat photon death, road hazard!" Kai shouted.
Tessa jumped onto the Goose's roof, sniping weak spots with pinpoint arrows.
Kiri tapped into the Core interface, sending shockwaves through the ground to destabilize the spawn's footing.
The Fracture Spawn shrieked, stumbling.
Kai smirked, slamming a glowing red button.
"Deploy the Muffler Missile!"
"The what?!" Tessa and Kiri screamed in unison.
With a thunk, the Goose fired a self-repairing muffler charm — directly into the spawn's open mouth.
The creature gagged, choked —
—then, with a final sputter of smoke, exploded into a neat pile of glittering scrap.
The town went dead silent.
Kai leaned out the window, beaming.
"You're welcome!"
An old woman threw a cabbage at him.
"GET OUT OF HERE, WITCHCRAFT BOY!"
Aftermath:
They drove out of town fast, laughing breathlessly.
"That was insane," Tessa said, grinning despite herself.
"We fought a magic blender monster with a muffler," Kai said proudly. "Tell me that's not the coolest sentence you've ever heard."
Kiri smiled faintly — the closest to a real laugh they'd ever seen from her.
"There are more Cores to find," she said. "And stronger Fracture Spawn to face."
Kai revved the engine.
"Bring it on."
The Goose roared into the starry night, headlights cutting through the darkness like a promise.