As Maddox headed back home, he still had about an hour or two before the sun set. Remembering what Old Miller told him though, Maddox began quickening his steps to prevent catching trouble.
Old Miller's house was on the very edge of town, In fact, most people's houses, hotels and the like are usually in the outskirts while the establishments such as the saloons, stores, etc are in the center of town.
Halfway through his journey back home, Maddox was stopped by a man wearing a leather duster coat, dark brown with brass-buckled straps across the chest and shoulders. The coat is reinforced with stitched steel plating on the upper arms and spine, offering protection without sacrificing mobility. A long split in the back allows for swift horseback riding, and the inside is lined with cog-patterned maroon fabric.
Underneath, he dons a buttoned-up vest of blackened brass mesh over a crisp, tan shirt with rolled sleeves and leather bracers . A silver sheriff's star is pinned over his heart, but it's been modified — it ticks faintly like a pocket watch, doubling as a timekeeper and communication device.
His holster belt is custom-made, fitted with both a six-shooter revolver etched with arcane symbols and a short-barreled steam-pistol that hisses when primed. A utility pouch carries vials of tonic, clockwork handcuffs, and copper keys.
His pants are coal-gray canvas, reinforced at the knees with brass rivets and stitched piping. Metal-toed boots rise mid-calf.
Topping it all is a wide-brimmed hat that he currently carried instead of worn.
"Hey son, you know where I can catch a drift of Old Miller?" said Sheriff Stockton.
"He should still be at the stables right about now, but he's probably heading back soon. Did you need me to pass on a message, Sheriff?" said Maddox.
"It's alright lad, I need to speak to him personally. If you see Old Miller, just tell him I'm looking for him" said Sheriff Stockton.
"Will do sir" smiled Maddox straightening up and saluting the officer in which Sheriff Stockton chuckled.
"Get home safe now you hear, these bandits are getting more and more bold by the day" said Sheriff Stockton in a serious tone waving good bye to the boy.
After about another 10 minutes of walking, Maddox finally returned home. First thing he did was place the ingredients he carried at the table and greeted Mrs. Miller.
"I see you got all the ingredients in the list I gave you and some more" said Mrs. Miller clearly pointing out the whole chicken he got from Mr. Cask.
"Yeah, Mr. Cask was gracious enough to give the last chicken he had in the back to me for free" smiled Maddox clearly proud of his achievement.
"I was just gonna make soup for us today but with this addition, I think a roasted chicken with some mashed potatoes on the side as well ought to give us a full blown Asheworth dinner" replied Mrs. Miller thanking Maddox and patting him on the shoulder.
"Can you do me a favor Maddox and call Old Miller and Kaiden. They're in the barn at the back working on some contraption that Kaiden came up with again. Tell them to finish up and get dressed proper as dinner we'll be ready in about an hour or two" said Mrs. Miller.
"Yes ma'am" replied Maddox heading in the back.
Heading towards the back, Maddox sees the silhouette of Kaiden testing something in the open field while Old Miller stood in the front of the barn looking over.
"Hey Maddox come quick and look at this" said Kaiden enthusiastically.
Over the month that he's been here, Maddox has gotten pretty close to Kaiden. Kaiden from Maddox's point of view is very quiet and liked working in the barn all day tinkering and creating different devices. The only time Maddox sees Kaiden enthusiastically talking nonstop is when he talks about one of his new inventions.
Usually, Kaiden only had Old Miller to talk to about his inventions but ever since Maddox came he had a new person to share his passion with.
"What did you come up with now" chuckled Maddox pointing at the weird looking device attached to Kaiden's boots.
"I call it the trailblazer. Watch this" smirked Kaiden.
Kaiden bent over in a running position and tapped the side of his boots twice with his fingers. As soon as he did, Kaiden bolted from one end of the field to the other clearly faster than any runner that Maddox has seen before.
Maddox heard a low hiss as he watched a faint pulse of steam come out of the back of Kaiden's boots.
"You see how fa….oh shii" Kaiden shouted tumbling forward.
"Ok, maybe I need to work on a few things" said Kaiden scratching the back of his head.
"Woah, how'd you do that?"said Maddox clearly impressed.
"It's cause of this thing" Kaiden towards to back of his boots.
Maddox examined the device, the Trailblazer as Kaiden called it was attached at the bottom of Kaiden's boots going all the way from the right of the heel towards the sole of the boot.
A faint sight of miniature gear cogs, pressure pistons and steam valves can be seen in the side of the contraption.
On closer inspection, the outer casing resembled a stylized spur with glowing copper veins and etched with Kaiden's signature symbol. A rattlesnake biting a gear cog.
"It's powered by Hydrex. By tapping into the side of the heel, the copper Hydrex inserted inside powers the pressure pistons inside creating forward momentum and allowing speed up to two to three times the normal velocity in short bursts of speed" explained Kaiden.
"That's amazing, a device like this would make surviving in Asheworth a lot easier " said Maddox patting Kaiden on the shoulder.
"Well…. it's not finished yet. I still need to improve a few things. Right now, a single copper Hydrex can allow you to use the device for about 15 seconds and then you have to manually insert another copper Hydrex. I'm working on being able to use higher tiered Hydrex to power the Trailblazer but right now the power output is more than what the steam valves can handle. There's also the issue of stability" said Kaiden massaging his butt from the previous fall.
Old Miller, standing in front of the barn, walked over to the two teenagers discussing and said "Well lads, I think that's enough fun for today. Better wrap this up before you feel the wraith of the beast. And trust me, you do not want to face the beast ahahaha".
The two teenagers looked at Old Miller with a nervous smile. Both of them, with a hint of pity in their eyes.
"She's behind me isn't she" Old Miller gulped.
"Hey honey, dinner's almost ready" smiled Mrs. Miller.
All three felt chills ran down their spines.
"I'm gonna go ahead and set the dinner table" said Maddox hurrying inside the house.
"Ye.. yeah, I'll help you with that" said Kaiden following suit and leaving Old Miller behind.
Before they got inside, the two turned back to Old Miller clearly pleading for help with his eyes. Both teenagers turned back around and headed straight towards the house.
'Sorry Old Miller, you dug your grave with this one' thought Maddox.