Beginners Luck Intro: 5

Fluke watched as the Librarian went to the shore and sat down in a meditative stance, on the surface he appeared relaxed as a shaman, yet his muscles and breathing exuded the tension of a compressed spring. The sky shifted again in its colors, now only red remained, casting a brilliant crimson across the island. In any other circumstance such colors would be picturesque, but with the knowledge that every change meant death was on the horizon, the severity of this moment could be felt in Fluke's bones.

In stark contrast to the Librarian and Fluke, a loan grinning fisherman came marching up from the shore with a fish as long as the man was tall draped over his shoulder. The man chuckled and looked at Fluke, brandishing his heavy catch as he spoke.

"This one nearly escaped me! I swear this master of the sea is magical! I felt the hum of energy with every pull against my rod. But I used my fishing net and it was if all the fight went out of him!" He leaned in close, the overwhelming stench of fish exuded from this overjoyed man, washing over Fluke like a blanket of his craft and skill. Then without so much as acknowledging the sky and the obvious sour mood, he stomped up the path towards the village. Fluke made his way back to the hunters shack, which was a single room log structure with dirt floors. The hovel had no door, or glass windows. The only thing evident to help keep out the elements were simple see-through hatches for each opening in the walls made of crude rope and sticks. A small clay fire stove was part of the wall, and in front of the stove was a large flat rock that took up most of the floor of the hut. Pulling off his bag Fluke reached in and pulled out the glowing metal and two crystals.

There were no instructions, no clues on how to make it work, so for a moment Fluke was left to examine every inch of the crystals. Each were the size of a tangerine, and the faintest outline of runic symbols could be seen. Setting the crystals down, Fluke inspected the metal and found only one spot which appeared to be a slot. Following his intuition, he fed a more pointed edge of the crystal into the metal and suddenly the contraption began to come to life. The metal ceased to glow, and instead started spreading apart and separating into limbs and a head and torso. The process took but a few seconds, and when it ended there stood a two meter tall metal golem. The forearms and hands were the wide but there were no upper arms, and the lower legs and feet were widest for the legs with the femurs missing. The torso floated in the middle, now surrounded in a light blue energy, and a cylindrical head floated above the torso.

Fluke reached up and touched the chest, and words appeared in front of the golem.

'Standby Mode'

Fluke tilted his head in confusion, but pressed again in the same area. And a new word appeared.

'Follow'

Fluke stepped back and the machine followed, so Fluke then turned and left the hut hearing rhythmic foot steps behind him. Fluke walked to the coast towards the Librarian with his new companion not far behind. When they were near his mentor, Fluke stopped and pressed the torso again.

'Record' 'Stasis' and 'Training Mode' all cycled through as he looked for options. Pressing the option 'Follow' Fluke moved the golem to a new vantage point and positioned it so it could clearly observe the Librarian. Then he pushed 'Record' and the golem seemed to take a stance of stability and observation. Just then, the lights in the sky removed all traces of light red, leaving only blood red. The color drowned out the verdant forest, the blue sky, and all the beauty of nature on the island. Fluke walked to the Librarian.

"Are they all gone?" Fluke felt his throat grow dry with his question.

"...Yes." The whisper of a broken teacher came back in response.

"Fluke. No matter what happens... You must survive. You and I are the only ones that are sentient here. If we die, the next sentient to appear in the village will be lost without direction or guidance." The Librarian stood and turned towards the boy and peeled back his mask. A whisper ran through Fluke's soul, "I can't hold your hand all the time young man... have you already forgotten your goddess?"

Fluke nearly jumped from the forced epiphany. Quickly, he grabbed the Librarian's mask and pressed his right thumb onto the cheek of the mask. When he lifted his finger, a faint imprint of a four leaf clover was left behind. The Librarians faced lit up in realization, and quickly put the mask back on.

"It says that my luck has increased for the next seven hours! I have no idea what it means exactly but it can't hurt! What else can you brand?! Quickly boy!" Fluke ran back to the Golem and pressed his thumb to the torso, and the crystal, each now bearing the same mark. Fluke felt his energy suddenly fade, growing tired despite the desperate excitement that surged through him. Reaching into his bag he pulled out the coin and felt its warmth as he flipped it in the air and called, "Tails!"

A dragon fly looked up at him from his hands and he felt energy rush into his body again. He jogged to the old man and proceeded to brand his cloak and right arm. Tired but not depleted, Fluke jogged to the fisherman's boat and place one final brand on the fishing net, and began to drag the heavy snare back towards the Librarian as he felt his energy fade away. Panting with exhaustion, he suddenly felt himself being lifted up and carried to the hunters lodge. The Librarian set him down on the cold hard floor and looked him in the eye.

"Flip the coin one more time boy. Lady Luck is with us."

Fluke flipped the coin and called out "Heads!"

The rabbit stared up at both the Librarian and Fluke, and once again energy surged through his body. Fluke looked down at his left arm, which now began to go numb and prickly. A black twisting tattoo now etched itself across his skin.

"You have both lucks in you. You have been only using the good? If I had to guess that black mark is telling you how much bad luck you need to release..." The Librarian took a cautious step back, putting distance between the boy and him, like Fluke had a disease. The Librarian shook his head and cursed.

"Shit... Fluke. I would never willingly put you into danger.... But... If you're feeling lucky... I could use you in this fight."

Fluke raised his eyebrows in confusion, but then the man began to explain.