Full Steam Ahead- A Steampunk Steamventure

Ch. 1- Rising Steam

Baron von Steamburg pumped the cog-chamber of his revolver and turned the corner. He flicked on his flashlight, causing a cone of luminescent steam to light up the dark corridor. "I have a bad steam-feeling about this," he steamed.

The corridor was brass, rusted, and littered with gears. The Baron gritted his teeth and kicked some cogs aside as he cautiously proceeded. The HUD on his goggles kept him informed of the crucial data he had to keep track of as the highest-ranking field agent of the Steam Tactical Espionage Agency Men- heart rate, a crude map overlay, and current steam levels. His top hat, augmented with cogs, kept his head protected and fashionable.

The Baron came upon a massive, cog-shaped chamber. The glare of the brass momentarily blinded him. A steam-filled cylinder, taller than the tallest steamscraper in Steamburg, stretched up into the sky, pulsing with energy.

“I don’t know what that is,” the Baron steamed to himself, “But I am going to destroy it.” He pulled back the hammer on his gun and approached the central platform. Before he could fire at any of the brass, beeping control panels, he heard a hiss behind him. Quantum steam condensed into a lithe, lanky man with a cog-katana slung over his back, his face hidden by a masquerade cog.

“Typical Steamburg brute. Destroying what you don’t understand,” the cog-man said. “The Baron, is it? I’ve heard a lot about you. My blade will run red with the steam of your blood.”

“What’s going on here?” the Baron demanded. Rather than wait for an answer, he fired a shot. The cog-man quickly swung his cog-katana, deflecting the bullet back into the Baron’s leg. “Steam damn it!”

“You have stumbled upon the lair of the Cogquistadors. Our mission is far beyond the scope of what you can comprehend. You’ve seen too much. And now, you will die.” The Cogquistador walked forward, dragging his blade along the floor. Sparks flew and the steam seemed to part around the cogwork man. “The final battle between steam and cog has come.”

“Damn you!” the Baron yelled. He fired another shot. The Cogquistador twitched just in time to avoid the bullet.

“Why do you resist? It is inevitable.” The Cogquistador raised his blade and tilted his head. “You are the first of many. Steamburg will burn, crushed under the weight of its own steam.”

The Baron threw his gun at the Cogquistador, and it hit the man in the face. The Cogquistador stumbled back and dropped his blade. “Damn you!”

“Never underestimate a Baron,” the Baron retorted. He cracked his knuckles. “Now how about we settle this the old-fashioned Steamburg way?”

The Cogquistador snarled. “Very well.”

“Huzzah!” the Baron announced, running forward despite the grievous wound in his leg.

The Cogquistador smirked behind his cog mask. He held out his hand and his cog-katana returned to his grip, propelling itself via a complicated system of cogs. The Cogquistador gripped it and brought it down. The Baron’s arm was cleaved straight off.

“No! Why?” the Baron cried. He held his stump, the red misty steam of his blood steaming into the steamosphere. He threw a punch with his other hand, and it met the same fate. The Baron fell to his knees. “Do your worst…”

“Don’t worry. I will.” The Cogquistador’s blade fed on the blood of the Baron von Steamburg as he dug it into the Baron’s heart. He withdrew his cog-katana and kicked the body off the catwalk. Then, he looked up at the cylinder. “It is time.”