Metamor Keep -- Snips and Snails
By Christian O'kane

Part 4

Being the Duke had its bad points, but it also had its good points too. Like being able to keep up on what is happening. Duke Thomas walked into the apartment of his head scout after knocking and being asked in. The stallion had been here before but always on business. Not so this time. Today Thomas was here purely for relaxation, something he found all too little time for.

He moved quickly into the scout's workshop, and found a small group of people clustered around the workbench. He recognized Misha Brightleaf, Caroline Hardy, Charles Matthias, Lady Kimberly, Jon and Smithson the Keep antiquarians. The group bowed in respect, all except Misha, who nodded his head.

Misha came forward and looked at the Duke in surprise, "Lord Thomas! What a surprise to see you here. If I'd known you were coming I would have cleaned up a little, or at least put on a fresh shirt."

"Relax everybody, I'm here to see the mechanical figure you've been working on Misha," the duke said.

The fox brightened up immediately, "Certainly Thomas, I'd be glad to show you it." He pointed towards the workbench, and the group parted in front of him.

Thomas stepped up to the workbench and got a good look at Misha's workmanship.

Lying on the bench was a large metal fox, about the size of a wolf. It was a deep, rich smoky gray in color. The fox was laying down, with its eyes closed and head resting on the forelegs.

Thomas moved closer and he could see tiny gold whiskers sticking out of the muzzle, a gold nose and tiny gray claws in its paws. He noticed that the inside of the ears were lined in gold. "Misha, this is beautiful. You restored this by yourself?" He asked.

"Jon and Smithson did a lot of work on it too," Misha replied.

"You're too modest Misha. He did all the work on the insides," the stag said.

"Honey, let him see it operate," Caroline said.

Misha nodded and reached under the belly of the metal figure and the Duke heard a soft click. The scout touched the metal fox on the head. "Come on, wake up Madog. We have a distinguished guest," he said.

The metal animal opened it's eyes and looked around. The creature stared straight at the Duke who could see that it had dark blue eyes. Madog sat up on it's haunches and yawned, showing an impressive set of gold colored teeth. Then the automaton stood up on all four legs and shook itself.

"Now Madog, do you want to do a few tricks for the Duke?" Misha asked.

The metal fox nodded enthusiastically.

"Madog, sit!" the scout ordered. The mechanical animal responded by sitting on it's haunches. "That was great!" Misha said and rewarded his metal pet with a scratch between the ears. The metal fox closed it's eyes and wagged its tail in enjoyment.

"Now sit up and beg," came the order, and the automaton did so, balancing on its two hind legs. "That's great Madog," he said and the animal dropped back down onto all four legs.

"Ok, Madog, I want you to shake hands with the Duke," the scout said. Madog brought his left front leg up and extended it out.

"Go ahead Thomas, shake hands. Don't worry about breaking anything. His body is extremely strong," Misha told the Duke.

Gingerly the stallion morph extended a hand and clasped the offered paw. It felt surprisingly warm to the touch, like a real animal's, not cold as he had expected. After a moment the paw dropped to the ground and Thomas let go.

"Now, Madog what does a person do when they meet a Duke?" Misha said.

The metal creature bowed down to the Duke and Thomas nodded his head in return. "Thank you Madog," he said.

Madog yawned exposing all those gold teeth again.

"Are you tired?" Misha asked the metal fox.

The mechanical animal nodded in agreement and yawned again.

"Ok Madog you've done a great job. You deserve a little nap," Misha said and petted the creature on the head.

Madog wagged his tail enjoying the petting. Then it laid down and the metal head came to rest on the forelegs. Those blue eyes closed and the automaton was back in the position it had started from.

"Misha, that's fantastic! I've never seen anything like it!" Thomas exclaimed.

"Thank you," came the reply.

"How did you get him to respond to your commands?" the Duke asked.

"I didn't. He's following a preset routine dictated by the gearing inside. All I did was figure out the pattern and invent my lines to match his movement," Misha explained.

"It was incredible, no matter how you did it," Thomas said.

Lady Kimberly reached out and gingerly touched the metal snout. "He's very beautiful. Why do you call him Madog?" she asked.

Misha shrugged, "It's his name I think. I found it carefully engraved on the inside of his skull."

"That's an odd name I've never heard it before," Kimberly commented.

"Very old too, and rarely used," Smithson said.

"Do you know who built it originally?" Duke Thomas inquired.

"The only clue I have is a heraldic symbol that was engraved next to his name. The symbol belonged to the small, short-lived Duchy of Grammont. Grammont it seems lasted only five years and had one ruler, Vernosa I," the fox explained.

The stallion thought for a moment before answering, "Hmm, never heard of it. When did it exist?"

"345 to 350. Those names sound familiar but I can't remember where I've heard them before," Misha said.

Jon shook his head, "We can't find single reference to it anywhere."

"That was a difficult time for Metamor. Duke Philip died under mysterious circumstances, and his only son Brian was illegitimate and didn't have any clear claim to the title. He had to win it in a duel," Thomas said.

"How can a Duchy only exist for five years?" Carol asked.

"It was probably some self-styled warlord who set himself up in his own little kingdom, and couldn't hold onto it," Misha suggested.

"Most likely. I'll have a look in the old family records, and see if there's any mention of it there," the Duke said.

"I'd be grateful for anything you can tell me, Lord Thomas," the fox said.

"I must admit, I'm curious myself as to who built it," Thomas commented.

"So am I," Carol added.

Thomas stared at the automaton for a moment. "It almost looks like he's asleep."

"It does at that," Smithson said.

"I would like to see Madog perform again please, Misha," The nobleman requested.

"Certainly my lord!" Misha responded with delight. "Now Madog, it's time to wake up. We have guests," he said and reached under the metal belly.

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