How it Started (Solo)

[The Inventor]

It all started when a woman had collapsed in front of a house cleverly disguised as a tree. She had been on the run for three weeks now after she accidentally killed her brother after he raped her. The villagers didn't believe her but it was the truth. It was the dead of winter and she had no warm clothing, and worse, she felt ill. So there she was, about to die of hypothermia, and a problem with her stomach, when a door appeared in the tree in front of her, and out stepped a weird cat and bear walked out of the tree before the bear picked her up and took her inside, the sound of of the door's click as she fell asleep in the bear's arms.

[The Inventor]

Up higher in the tree, a millipede like creature was at work at a desk full of golden gears and iron plates. He had a little piece of clockwork that he had been worked on for the last week in front of him. However as he was about to pick up another gear a female voice called out to him.

"Invetisto honey! Can you come down stairs and help us with our guest? She is extremely ill!"

Invetisto looked up from his work before he sighed and jumped off the chair. I guess I should tell you more about Invetisto.

Invetisto de Masinoj looked, as I've said before, like a millipede. His back end reached two feet long and had nine hundred legs. His front that lifted up had one hundred arms, each humanoid in shape and had hands at the ends. He stood at one foot tall, his back covered in a black exoskeleton, his front all soft and white. He wore a brown apron that covered most of his front with holes for his hands all down the front.

"I'm coming mom!" Invetisto said as he went to the door. He pushed the button on the wall next to the door. As the wall started to tick the door opened, and the sound of gears echoed through the house.

[The Inventor]

As Invetisto made it to the bottom of the final step, he turned towards the living room. However once he entered, he stopped. There on a couch, with his parents bear and cat clockwork bodies over her, was a human female. Now it wasn't that he thought she was a goddess in human form. No, it was the fact that there was a human in their house. A fact that was against the law. You see, horlogolaboro's are not permitted to interact with any sentient beings besides another horlogolaboro. So the fact that his she was her meant they were breaking on of the MAJOR laws of the Horlogolaboro Society.

"Mom, dad, what is a human doing on our couch?" Invetisto asked a little nervous.

His mother turned toward him. "Oh, Invetisto, mind getting us a hot water bottle to help warm her up? She has a case of hypothermia and we need to warm her up as quick as possible."

Invetisto just nodded before he went and got heated up a hot water bottle before he wrapped it in cloth to keep it from burning her before he brought it back to his mother. "Here you go mother." Invetisto said as he looked at the human female.

His mother took the hot water bottle and put it on her chest. "Thank you son. That's all we needed for now."

Invetisto continued to look at the lady for about a minute before he asked, "What is she doing here?"

His parents looked at him and tried to decipher what he meant.

"Mom, dad, we could get in trouble if she is found here," he clarified.

His parents looked at each other then turned back to Invetisto.

"Son," his father said, "Your mother and I work in the medical field. We made a promise long ago to never turn away anyone who is in need of medical attention, not even another sentient being. I know that we could be killed for this but we must do this. When she wakes up we plan on keeping her here for about a week to monitor her. Then we can move on from there. Please son, keep this quiet and let us do what we know is right."

Invetisto nodded then headed back upstairs to continue his work on his own clockwork suit. Not like he could change his parent's minds anyway.

[The Inventor]

The next day, Invetisto built the body for his... well body. It stood at 4'5, 8 legs surrounded the body. The legs could come out anywhere from 45 to 90 degrees from the body in any direction. It bent halfway at anywhere from 0 to 135 degrees going down. The torso was shaped like a human male and was opened in the front for now. He also gave his robotic body six hands so that he could do multiple things at the same time. The hands were all detachable so he could change them out easily. The head was where he would stay. It was hollow inside so that he could curl up and stay comfortable as he controlled the machine with his mind. The head looked like a normal males head.

It had took Invetisto all night to finish with the basic exoskeleton for his body. A rumble sounded from his stomach. Invetisto looked at a grandfather clock near his bead. It read 5:30 and the sun, moon dial showed that the moon was about to go below the horizon. "I've been up all night," Invetisto said quietly as he got out of the chair he was on. He walked over to the wall and pushed the button on the wall. He cringed when the gears sounded through the house. "I really need to fix it so that the gears are quieter. He then headed out of his room and pushed another button to close it only to cringe again when the gears sounded and a bang went through the house as the door slammed shut. "I'm getting regular doors when I get my house," Invetisto said as he went down stair only to bump into the human female who had just come around the corner.

They looked at each other, he up at her while she down at him. Invetisto finally came back from the bump and glared at her. "What do you think you're doing up? You have just been treated for hypothermia and your up walking around like you own the place. back to that couch," Invetisto said, all hundred arms crossed across his chest as his voice sounded with authority and his face showed a stubbornness that few could beat.

The woman shied away from him. "I'm sorry sir, I was just looking for the kitchen since I was hungry."

Invetisto's face softened. "Okay, I understand, please return to the couch while I get you something to eat. It isn't safe for you to be wondering the house, for either of us," Invetisto said. The female nodded and went back to the couch.

Invetisto went into the kitchen then made a salad out of vegetable that he found in the cupboards. He then filled two bowls and brought them out to her. He handed her one as he sat down in a chair opposite her. She looked at the food in disgust.

Invetisto sighed then said, "Sorry if it isn't what you're use to, but we horlogolaboro are herbivores. There isn't really much else I could make you." She still glared at the food as if it was a mortal enemy but finally sighed then took a bite. She tried to hold the gag as she ate the food.

Invetisto snickered slightly. She glared at him but that just made him laugh harder.

"And what, worm, do you think is so funny?" she asked as she tried to burn him with a glare.

Invetisto stopped then glared back. "I'm more closely related to a millipede thank you very much, and for why I'm laughing, your face was just to funny not to laugh." Invetisto then stood up and started to head upstairs. "I was going to at least try to get to know you better considering that you will be here for at least a month if my parents get their way, but now I think I'll just go and continue with my clockwork body," He said before he went upstairs and the sounds of gears was heard throughout the house.

[The Inventor]

Later that day, Invetisto awoke at his desk. He had fallen asleep while he started work on the clockwork part of his clockwork body. He had gotten the arms to move and his body to twist on it's base before his exhaustion had taken over and he fell asleep.

Invetisto looked over his work so far. his eyes showed satisfaction as he stood up and headed for the door. The familiar sounds of gears echoed through the house as his door slid open. Invetisto jumped when the door slid opened and there stood a young female Horlogolaboro. It was his crush, Reĝino de Klaĉo. She was beautiful. Her hair was a golden color and it reached her mid back. The shirt she wore was sea green and it fit here perfectly.

"Hey there Invetisto. mind if we talked?" Reĝino asked in her sweet voice. If Invetisto was in the right state of mind he might of found it to sweet to be good.

"S-sure," Invetisto stuttered as she entered his room. Reĝino walked over to the suit and examined it.

"This your clockwork body? It seems to be well crafted." She crawled into the head compartment and examined it. "Then again, we shouldn't expect anything less from the top engineer in our class right." looked at Invetisto as he blushed.

"I-I'm not r-really the b-best. I-I just l-like building things, th-that's all," he stuttered out as he looked the other direction.

"Oh don't be so shy Invetisto. Everyone knows you're the best." Reĝino then exited the head and walked over to Invetisto. "Perhaps you can show me how to build one some time." She placed one of her hands on his chest.

Invetisto gulped then said, "S-sure, m-maybe s-sometime."

Reĝino smile said 'I got you right where I want you.' "Of course, that is if you can convince your parents to get rid of that human downstairs."

Invetisto smile fell and his eyes widened. "Wh-what h-human?"

Reĝino frowned. "The human that is laying on your couch downstairs. How didn't you know there was a human downstairs?"

"I've been wor-working on m-my s-suit since S-Sunday. I have only gone d-downstairs t-to eat. I h-haven't en-entered the l-living room once," he lied

"Oh," she said with a smile, "I'll make sure to not that when I report them."

Invetisto looked at Reĝino in shock. "Report them? Why?"

Reĝino smiled, "Because, we Horlogolaboro aren't supposed to interact with any other sentient beings. They are breaking the law."

Invetisto frowned. "I'm sure there has to be a reason for them to take in this human. maybe she was hurt?"

Reĝino frowned. "I never said she was female."

Invetisto started to back away from Reĝino "I-I just said she because I could say it."

Reĝino frowned more. "You knew she was here didn't you?"

Invetisto started to curl into a ball. "Y-yes, I-I'm sorry Reĝino for lying to y-you, but my p-parents refuse to leave her be, especially s-since she w-was hurt. P-please don't t-tell the authorities."

Reĝino frowned. "I'm sorry Invetisto, but they are already here. I was sent up here to see if you knew anything about it. Since you did, you're banished while your folks will be tried and killed. You will have to leave soon. The human has already left. I'm sorry." She then turned and ran out the door as two police suits entered and grabbed both me and my suit and threw me out the door.

I got into the suit and started it up. After that I watched as my parents were put into the police coach and taken away. I turned and left the sight as I followed the footprints of the woman who my parents helped.

[The Inventor]

In the months that followed, Invetisto had caught up to the woman who told him she was pregnant. He got her to a town where she settled. The town was poverty stricken. He started The Trading Company and set the main base in Transmocon, Outlands. And it all started when a woman had collapsed in front of a house cleverly disguised as a tree.

[Mordelain]

The Inventor receives 485 experience and 50 gold.