Past the outer layer of fair skin, he saw something incredible. The space inside the skull was filled with thin filaments. They were bright golden threads. The golden threads were packed tightly together in long parallel lines. They ran back and forth across the interior of the split scalp.
Lucid stared at the golden filaments in total bewilderment. He possessed domain control. He was accustomed to seeing metaphysical threads of fate when he activated his special abilities. He knew how fate essence looked when he manipulated the invisible lines of energy in his mind. But these golden threads were completely different. They were not spiritual energy. They were not invisible manifestations of fate.
These golden threads were entirely physical. They were real material strands. They reflected the pale light of the moon. They glistened softly in the dark. They had a metallic sheen, like microscopic wires drawn from pure polished gold.
'Alice,' Lucid communicated inwardly. 'Are you seeing this.'
'I am watching,' Alice replied inside his thoughts. Her voice sounded surprisingly serious. She did not use her usual teasing tone. 'Those strands are physically present. They exist in the material world. They are not constructed from fate essence.'
Lucid moved his fingers closer to the split scalp. He touched one of the golden strands with his fingernail. The strand felt firm and cold to the touch. It possessed a springy tension, like a tight wire on a tiny instrument.
Lucid leaned down further. He wanted to see what lay deeper inside the wound, past the layer of golden strands. He shifted his posture on the cold cobblestones. He supported the heavy back of the figure with his left arm. He used his right thumb to gently pull the skin further back near the left eyelid.
He looked past the point where the blue eye met the upper eyelid. He spotted tiny cracks and deep crevices set within the structure of the socket.
Inside those tiny crevices, Lucid saw an astonishing display of mechanical precision. There were no muscles, veins, or brain matter inside the head. Instead, there was a complex array of tiny machinery.
He observed tiny metal cogs interlocking with one another. The cogs were made from a dark, polished metal. Some of the cogs were no larger than a grain of sand. They were arranged in neat rows and stacked layers.
The golden threads weaved directly through the teeth of these tiny cogs. The strands wrapped around miniature spindles and small metal rods. They pulled and released in tiny, calculated movements. The entire interior of the head was built like a massive, intricate clockwork machine.
As Lucid watched, one of the small cogs gave a tiny shudder. It turned a fraction of a millimeter to the left. The motion caused three golden threads to pull tight. The mechanical action made the left blue eye twitch slightly to the side. The motion was stiff and artificial.
Lucid felt a wave of shock crash through his mind. His jaw tightened. He ground his back teeth together in frustration and confusion.
"What the hell!" Lucid yelled through his clenched teeth.
The sound of his own voice echoed off the cold stone walls of the empty courtyard. He could not comprehend what he was looking at. He had assumed this was a normal human bard or a local governor playing music on a wooden box. He had never seen a mechanical creation that looked so perfectly human on the outside.
He lowered his hand from the face. He looked down at the neck. The neck was still bent at a sharp, broken angle against the shoulder. Through the stretched skin of the neck, he could see the shapes of larger metal rods and jointed hinges beneath the surface. The internal joints had snapped or jammed, causing the head to crack sideways during the performance.
Lucid raised his head. He looked around the dark courtyard. He searched for anyone who might know what was happening.
"Anyone..." Lucid called out into the quiet square. His voice was loud, but it sounded small in the large open space.
A few townsfolk were still crouching in the shadows near the edges of the alleyways. They had not fled completely, but they stayed far away from the wooden crate.
A young man with a leather apron peeked around the corner of a wooden building. His eyes were wide with terror. He looked at Lucid holding the broken figure on the ground.
"Is he dead?" the young man called out in a trembling voice. "What happened to his neck?"
"He is not a normal man," Lucid answered plainly. He kept his tone direct. "Look at this. Come over here and help me."
The young man shook his head rapidly. He pulled his body further back into the dark alley.
"No way," the young man said quickly. "That thing is cursed. That is dark magic."
Two demi-humans stood near the entrance of a side street. The male wolf demi-human held a wooden club in his hand. His tail was stiff and motionless. He stared at Lucid and the mechanical body with deep suspicion.
"We do not want any trouble," the male demi-human shouted across the courtyard. "You should leave that body alone. The town guards will be here soon."
"He needs help," Lucid stated simply. "Or at least someone needs to explain what this machine is doing in Tyriana."
Neither of the demi-humans moved closer. The female demi-human pulled on the sleeve of her companion. She whispered something urgently into his ear. The male demi-human nodded. Both of them turned around and walked away into the darkness.
The rest of the onlookers quickly scattered as well. They did not want to be near the strange event. They feared the unnatural sight of the broken neck and the silent blue eyes. Within moments, every single person had disappeared from the courtyard.
Lucid exhaled deeply. The air came out of his mouth as a faint white mist in the cold night atmosphere. He felt entirely alone in the plaza.
He looked back down at the mechanical figure resting against his knee. The blue eyes continued to stare blankly at the sky. The split scalp remained open, exposing the golden threads and the tiny interlocking cogs.
Lucid placed his hand on the chest of the figure. He pressed his palm flat against the wool jacket. He felt for a heartbeat. There was no pulse. There was no warm rise and fall of lungs breathing air. There was only a cold, faint vibration deep inside the chest cavity. It felt like a small spring slowly unwinding inside a metal box.
'The internal power source is draining,' Alice observed in his mind. 'The device will stop functioning completely very soon.'
"Who built this thing?" Lucid asked softly. He spoke aloud to the empty courtyard. "Why would someone make a fake person and put it on a crate in the middle of town?"
'That is a very good question,' Alice replied. 'The level of skill required to craft these golden filaments and microscopic gears is extraordinary. It is not standard craftsmanship. It requires advanced knowledge of both metallurgy and precise engineering.'
Lucid thought about the towns he had visited. He thought about the long road leading to Vex. He had encountered many strange creatures and dangerous enemies during his journey, but he had never seen an artificial human walking among normal people.
He reached down and picked up the blue hat from the cobblestones. He brushed the loose dust off the brim with his hand. He looked at the hat for a moment. It was made of cheap cloth. It looked like an ordinary hat that any traveling musician might wear.
Lucid placed the blue hat back over the head of the mechanical figure. He pulled it down gently to cover the split scalp and the exposed golden threads. He did not want any passing guards to see the internal machinery just yet.
He shifted his weight and stood up from the ground. He lifted the heavy mechanical body with both of his arms. He held the figure securely against his chest. The weight pressed heavily against his muscles, but he maintained his balance easily.
He looked toward the narrow street that led back toward the main tavern. He knew he could not leave this machine lying in the middle of the public courtyard. He needed a safe place to examine the internal components more thoroughly. He needed answers before he resumed his journey toward Vex.
Lucid turned his body and began to walk away from the wooden crate. His boots made steady, rhythmic sounds against the hard cobblestones. The night remained cold and quiet around him. The water in the central fountain continued to splash into the stone basin as he disappeared into the dark shadows of Tyriana.
Lucid walked slowly down the dark street. The weight of the artificial body in his arms was constant and heavy. Every step he took required a clear effort. His boots hit the flat stones of the road with a dull thud. He held the torso tightly against his chest so the head would not flop unnaturally to the side.
He looked down at the covered face under the blue hat. The cloth of the hat stayed still. No breath came from the nose or mouth.
Lucid looked around.
There was someone, a butler.
'Gerald!'
Alice made a comment.
"Who.... now..."