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Chapter 26 - Involuntary Travel

The wagon rumbled softly beneath the machine as it made its way along the road. It was rather peaceful and quite soothing if nothing else.

The machine thought quietly to himself, trying to deduce exactly what was happening at the moment. He had awoken in an abysmal condition, and what little was left of his body had been confined to a tall glass case among several others.

He was held up by iron rods extending from the floor, like he was a suit of armor on display. The case had four glass walls with chamfered corners. The top and bottom of the case were made from something else, most likely metal, both lined with thick felt on the inside. Shortly after regaining consciousness, his confining case was covered in thick padding and loaded into a wagon. Even now, he could hear some rattling from the other items that had been loaded in alongside him.

Reaching out, he pressed his force against the inside of his glass case, trying to feel the space around him. It took him back, bringing him to remember when he was first reincarnated. Back then, a small group had carried him in a cart, where he first discovered this ability of his to affect his surroundings without touching them directly. It felt like telekinesis, but he wondered if it had more to do with the fact that he was a haunted machine. Maybe he was something like a poltergeist? They could move stuff around...

In any instance, the ability came in handy for detecting things he couldn't see.

He felt his way around the inside of the case, familiarizing himself with the current state of his body, the rods holding him up, and the empty space around him. Then, after focusing for a moment, he extended his force outside the case, feeling further away.

He 'bumped into' several other cases as he was blindly feeling around, but eventually he felt through the entire inside of the wagon. The whole thing felt wooden... as far as he could tell, anyway. He still wasn't very sensitive to texture, so it was hard to tell.

Over all, the wagon felt around five meters long, and perhaps two meters wide. Strangely enough, the floor felt curved, causing everything to sit close together in the center of the wagon. There was a small opening at the front, like the window in a taxi cab that separated the passenger from the driver. The ceiling had a line of ribs in it, each with a hook in the center for hanging lamps. He even found one lamp hanging near the back, but it was cold, indicating it wasn't lit. There were small latches at the corners of the wagon's walls, seemingly so the entire wall could swing down for easier loading and unloading. Maybe the back wall lowered down to serve as a ramp?

Finding himself intrigued with the design, he reached outside the wagon. This was about as far as he could go, especially since it took more mana and concentration to extend his force beyond the glass case as well as the walls of the wagon. Regardless, he managed to reach the outside. When stretched this thin, his force wasn't able to feel in great detail, so he had to take his time.

It certainly felt like the side walls could be removed. The roof... might also be removable? He refrained from exploring the front, where he figured people might be. He didn't want to risk alarming them. So instead, he reached down to inspect the wheels. He just had to be sure he was careful not to-

THUMP

The wagon jolted sharply as his force got caught in a wheel along the front left side. The sensation startled him, causing the machine to rip out a spoke as he recoiled. The cloth covering his glass case shifted suddenly as he quickly retracted his force back through the wall.

Shouting resounded from outside, along with the braying of indignant horses. Glass broke somewhere in the wagon, though his own case remained in one piece. After sliding a short distance, the entire wagon came to a rest, tilted slightly to the front left.

The horses screamed indignantly, resulting in a terrifying chorus you would never expect from such creatures... It suddenly dawned on the machine that whatever was pulling this wagon might not necessarily be horses...

The men, too, were not happy with the broken wheel. Lots of shouting provided the machine a chance to gather more linguistic references. Before long, he would have some useful words in his vocabulary. One voice, in particular, was really throwing out some words.

"Vallum! Thempin! Dein montom ber un beiss!"

He recognized that voice. It was the little, wiry, spectacled man with the poofy sleeves that stared into his container before having it covered up to be transported. The machine couldn't help but chuckle, envisioning the guy's face as he listened to his outrage.

The machine found it rather funny, up until he heard a loud snap, followed by a voice yelping in pain. The wiry man kept shouting... Was that the sound of a whip?

His mind focused, suddenly no longer in the mood for laughter.

The shouting and snapping continued for a while, until the wiry man finally got tired. Everyone around him was suddenly rather quiet, except for the whimpering man who had suffered under the whip.

This mistreatment... Did not sit well with him.

Eventually, someone opened the wagon and a team of people began to unload it. They were all quiet, trying to keep out of trouble. He hadn't recognized it before, but these people didn't seem to be willing workers...

It was risky, but he needed to confirm something.

All the smaller items were removed from the wagon, leaving only the large cases that were loaded near the front. Then, as he felt them start to move his, he reached out once more to the individual directly in front of his case.

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