Chapter 26

Clunk sought directions to Branche before he left the village, and so he knew to turn north once he reached the broad, sun-soaked plains beyond the edge of the woods. Here, he encountered a narrow stone road, and he discovered the ground on either side was churned up as though by hundreds of boots. From the prints, several hundred people were heading to Branche in a large group, and Clunk wondered why.

After extending a high-capacity solar panel from the top of his head, he set off at a loping run. His feet thudded on the road, and his leg motors whined as he took huge, loping strides. Within seconds the scenery was blurring past, and he was moving faster than any land creature in the Old Kingdom had ever travelled. Except, of course, those unfortunate enough to be taken by a dragon. The wind tore at his cloak, pulling the hood back, and sunlight gleamed on his metal skin.

As he charged down the road, Clunk noticed the grinding in his left leg was improving. He brightened as he realised the speedy running was freeing it up, and he was still pleased at his good fortune when he spotted a dust cloud up the road.

He shortened his steps, but as he saw the big column of men and woman ahead, he decided it would be safer to run around them. So, he veered off the road, lengthened his stride once more and ran full tilt across the plain, parallel to the moving column of troops. He had business in Branche, and if these people were marching on the city there was no time to lose.

Clunk saw people stopping and pointing at him, stunned surprise on their faces as they saw the bronze human-like figure belting past. His rapid progress was raising clouds of dust, which billowed out behind him, leaving the troops coughing and spluttering.

As he neared the head of the column, Clunk spotted a pair of officers wearing vastly different uniforms. The younger man wore navy blue, with a fancy tricorne hat, while the older officer sported a bright red uniform with shiny buttons. They both looked hot and dusty, and they got a whole lot dustier after Clunk ran past.

Finally, ahead of the officers, there was an odd-looking couple. One was a tiny figure of a man dressed in forest green, with tousled hair and a jaunty, confident walk. The other was a human, at least twice the height of his companion. As Clunk ran by, he noticed the taller man's honest, open face and his shock of dark hair. Then he was past, and the funny-looking pair were swallowed up by his dust cloud.

He rejoined the paved road, but ten steps later Clunk's brain flashed a notification. Somewhere deep in his circuits a latent memory had been triggered, and he realised he knew the man he'd just seen. Instantly, he put on the brakes, leaning right back as his rubber-shod feet gripped the surface of the road. He came to a halt, legs groaning, then turned and jogged back.

He found the man and the halfling bent double, coughing in the dust cloud. "I'm sorry," said Clunk politely. "But I must ask… have we met?"

"Yeah, ten seconds ago," wheezed the man, after another coughing fit. "Right after you decided there wasn't enough dust in my diet."

"No, I meant before today." The robot put his hand out. "My name is Clunk, and I've lost my memory."

"You're not the only one," muttered the man. He finished wiping his eyes, and, blinking through the dust, he squinted at the robot. "A metal man, huh? Well, you seem polite enough." He shook Clunk's hand. "Hal Spacejock."

"Alas, the name means nothing to me."

"Me neither," said Hal. "I woke up two, three days ago not knowing who I was or where I came from."

"But that's what happened to me!" said Clunk excitedly.

There was no chance to exchange notes, because by now the rest of the army was approaching. As the officers got closer, they stared at Clunk with surprise.

"The blue one's Berry, the one in red is Borosin," said Hal. "Their countries are at war with each other, but they're both at war with the dwarves so there's a kind of truce."

"Dwarves?"

"Keep running at that speed, and you'll meet them soon enough," remarked Hal.

Berry turned and raised a hand, halting the march. Then he turned to Clunk. "What manner of creature are you?"

"I wish I knew," said the robot. "They call me the mechanical man, or the metal marvel, or… several other names, but I'm usually called Clunk."

"Your technology is impressive," said Borosin, as he circled the robot, studying every panel and joint. "Even the metal workers of Methusia would have trouble building one such as you."

"We could probably manage it in Stalya," said Berry.

Clunk stared from one to the other. "Are you telling me your nations are more advanced than the Old Kingdom?"

Berry and Borosin exchanged a glance, then burst out laughing. "The Old Kingdom is a living fairy tale," said Borosin, shaking his head. "They have no guns, no pistols—

"They can barely forge usable swords," said Berry.

"All right, all right," said Runt, looking aggrieved. "Just because we haven't invented better ways to kill each other, it doesn't mean we're completely backwards."

"Where is the nearest hospital?" Borosin asked him.

"The nearest what?"

"I rest my case." Borosin turned to Clunk. "When my fleet arrives, you shall visit Methusia in style. I, Captain Borosin of Methusia, will show you what an advanced civilisation looks like."

"His fleet might never show up," muttered Berry, "and if it does, another sea serpent will probably sink all his ships."

"Next time, we will be prepared," said Borosin haughtily.

Berry turned to Clunk. "That may be so, but in the meantime I have a ship not three hours march from here." He frowned at Hal. "It would have been a lot closer, but I was misled about the distance to the city of Branche."

"Anyone can make a mistake," said Hal, with a shrug.

"In any case," continued Berry, "if you agree to accompany us, we will march back to my ship this instant. I am Midshipman Berry, commander of the Intrepid, and by my order we set sail for Stalya before sunset."

"Hang on, hang on," said Hal. "What about saving the people of Branche?"

Clunk stared at him. "Did you say 'saving'?"

"Yeah. They're about to get besieged by angry dwarves. I thought we should give them a hand, so I talked this lot into chasing them down and stopping them."

"You mean your army is not attacking Branche?"

"My army?" Hal laughed. "What makes you think I'm one of these guys?"

Clunk turned to the officers. "Sirs, I am willing to visit both your nations, in turn, but on one condition."

"Yes?" said Borosin, expectantly.

"Name it," said Berry.

"You will march to Branche and protect her people from the dwarven army."

Borosin looked at Berry, who nodded. "It's a deal," said the Stalyan. "We must be almost there by now, in any case." So saying, he turned to the sailors and gestured. "March on!"

Everyone moved off, and Clunk fell into step beside the officers, with Hal and the halfling further ahead. He answered a barrage of questions as well as he was able, then excused himself.

"We will talk later," Berry promised him.

Clunk sped up until he was walking beside Hal and the halfling. "I cannot shake this feeling that I've seen you before," he told the human.

Hal gave him a sidelong glance. "I can't say the same."

"Don't play with the manemol flange," said Clunk suddenly. "Do not touch the controls."

"I'm sorry, what?" said Hal.

Clunk frowned. "I don't know why I said those things, Mr Spacejock. They seem to be latent memories."

"Maybe I should unscrew your head and look inside."

"And maybe I should unscrew yours," retorted Clunk.

They walked in silence for a minute.

"Did you say you woke up two or three days ago?" Hal asked him at last.

"Indeed. I came to in the sea, just off Chatter's Reach. I was dragged onto the beach by two guards called Islington and Pentonville."

"I woke up in the sea as well." Hal shook his head at the memory. "I was hauled aboard a warship, which was blown up in a battle. The explosion nearly killed me. There I was, bobbing in the ocean, and all these chunks of burning wood came splashing down."

"I had seaweed and sand mixed up inside me," said Clunk. "And… I got wet."

"You got wet?" protested Hal. "I had to cling to a barrel, and I paddled in the sea for a whole day and night…"

"My leg was making groaning sounds!"

"… through serpent infested waters. Then another ship blew up, showering me with burning timbers, and after escaping by the skin of my teeth I had to swim through rough seas for another two hours."

Clunk frowned, for he still believed he'd had the worst of it. "I had to fight the Queen's champion in a duel to the death."

"You're still alive aren't you?" Hal gestured with his less-than-impressive sword. "I had to fight two hundred dwarves with this letter opener!"

"And yet you emerged unscathed from this one-sided contest."

They both fell silent as they ran out of grievances.

"Where do you think we came from?" asked Hal suddenly. "I mean, it can't be a coincidence that we both ended up in the ocean."

"If I had the answer to that question, I would give it freely."

"Do you think there's another land out there, one more advanced than Stalya and Methusia? One where they have the skills to make robots like you? One where they raise highly intelligent beings like me?"

"It would take advanced equipment to construct more of me, but I suggest that the equipment needed to create your equal is far more common." Then something hit Clunk like a bolt of lightning, and he stared at the human. "You called me a robot!"

"I'm sorry. Is that offensive to your kind?"

"No, I mean you used the actual word 'robot'. Mr Spacejock, this is an incredible development!"

"Not really. You said something about a manemol flange earlier, and if I tried I'm sure I could spout gibberish just like it."

"That's not the point. The inhabitants of this place have no word for robot, yet you used such a word. Therefore, you are not from the Old Kingdom!"

"That's an amazing deduction."

"I know," said Clunk, looking chuffed.

"Shame I worked it out two days ago, while I was paddling that barrel past burning fragments in the serpent-infested oceans."

Clunk ignored him. "According to the locals, I landed in the sea after a fireball fell from the sky, smashed a tower and killed their High Priest. The fireball must have been a vessel of some kind, perhaps a machine which protected me from the impact." He turned to Hal. "Mr Spacejock, what if you were aboard that same vessel?"

"Are you trying to pin the High Priest's death on me? Because if you are—"

"No!" Slowly, Clunk pointed at the sky. "I keep getting flashes of memory, and in them I'm at home travelling between the stars. I'm certain we came from the heavens, and landed here by accident."

Hal grinned at Runt, making a twirling motion with his finger.

"Don't dismiss me so quickly," said Clunk. "It's the truth, I'm sure of it."

"Well, as soon as we've saved Branche you can swim out to sea, find this vessel of yours and return to the stars. And be sure to send me a message when you get there."

"That's not—"

"Hey, I've got a better idea!" said Hal. "Why don't you tame one of those giant dragons, and teach it to fly you to the stars?"

Runt snorted at the ludicrous suggestion, while Clunk wisely said nothing.

After that they lapsed into silence, and they marched on towards Branche without exchanging another word.