Asriel and Golemite saw the Brass Woods from a considerable distance. It sat on the horizon, a mass of gleaming metal and twisted tubing. The Skyway led right up to the edge of the hammered sheets of brass (or brass-like metal) that covered the ground of the Brass Woods. The path continued, but with materials matching that of the brass woods.
Golemite was nervous about stepping onto the metal, or more specifically, the ability of said metal sheeting to hold his considerable weight. He needn't have worried; whatever lay beneath the metal sheeting was as solid as Golemite himself. He left dents where he walked and made one hell of a racket, but had no trouble walking.
The woods themselves were one of the strangest sights Asriel had ever seen. The trees, if in fact they could be called trees, looked like someone started making a tuba or a sousaphone and went mental mid-way through. Broad trunks of silver, gold, copper, bronze, and brass were topped with slides and tubing. Oddly enough, the trees grew normal leaves, but amidst the shades of autumn, Asriel made out a large number of keys, valves, mouthpieces, and reeds. A chorus of honks, tweets, and trills emanated from the trees when the wind was blowing. It was quite pleasant when the wind was gentle; many a Deep composer spent months of their time in the woods searching for an illusive melody.
Not all the forest was wild, however; they came upon an area of cultivated trees and bushes fenced with harvested parts of the trees. They followed the fence until they reached a large home made from both conventional materials and materials harvested from the forest. The result was very steam-punk without any actual steam, though smoke was rising from the tuba-like bell on the roof.
No less than thirteen kids were lounging on the porch, some resting on benches and chairs while others were sitting on the railings, the tops of barrels, and even on the roof. Appearance wise, they seemed to represent a range between feline and bunny. The reason became clear as two adults emerged from the front door.
The first was a white-furred bunny man wearing a pair of denim coveralls and a straw hat. He seemed cheery enough on his own, but brightened at the sight of the visitors and waved them over. Beside him stood a calico cat lady in a pair of old jeans and a cropped blue blouse. She said nothing, though her eyes never left Golemite and Asriel.
"Good day, strangers!" The bunny man said, a slight drawl in his voice as he moved to greet them. "Welcome to Brassbranch Farm! I'm Lundra, and this is my lovely wife, Meiah."
Meiah gave them a slight nod, her eyes scanning over both of the newcomers.
"Howdy!" Asriel said, shaking the man's hand. "I'm Asriel, and my friend's name is Golemite."
Golemite tipped his construction hat to both of the farmers. "Mistah. Ma'am."
"Nice ta meetcha!" Lundra said. "You boys from Nowhere?"
"Yeah." Asriel said, pressing a thumb against his badge. "Skyway Repair Crew."
Lundra let out a low whistle. "Don't see many of you folk out here; road managed to stay in pretty good shape I guess. At least, I thought it did; seein' you guys here, I'm guessin' there's a problem."
"No problem." Asriel said quickly. "We're just out adventurin'. We wanna see what's beyond the Brass Woods."
Lundra seemed intrigued. "No kiddin'? Well, tell you what; we're about to have ourselves a little lunch. You boys wanna join us?"
Asriel looked to Golemite, who shrugged and nodded.
"Sounds great." Asriel said, smiling at the farmers.
"Great!" Lundra clapped his hands. "All right, kids; get inside if you wanna eat!"
Never in Asriel's life had he seen so many people disappear so quickly. In a matter of seconds, Asriel, Golemite, Lundra, and Meiah were the only ones left on the porch.
"Heh." Lundra said, tipping his straw hat. "We'd better get inside before they eat everything."
"Go ahead, dear." Meiah said, giving her husband a kiss on the cheek. "I'll show our guests inside."
Once Lundra was gone, Meiah's demeanor changed.
"The blades." She said, a definite note of authority in her voice. "I don't allow weapons in my house."
"Blades?" Asriel glanced at his sides; he'd forgotten he was even carrying the broken blades. "Ah, right. Sorry."
He pulled the blades from their makeshift sheathes and handed them to Meiah, hilt first.
She moved to take them, but stopped, her eyes going wide. "These are the blades of a veryx assassin."
Before Asriel could reply, Golemite said, "No, dey were de blades of an veryx assassin. Guy made the mistake of tryin' to take out me and Azzie back in Nowhere."
"You defeated the assassin?" Meiah said, sounding impressed. "That's no small accomplishment."
"Yeah, well ... dat's what he gets for attackin' my buddy." Golemite said, patting Asriel on the back. "You'll give 'em back when we leave, right? We don't know what we're gonna be headin' into, and I'd be a lot happier if my buddy was armed."
"Of course I'll return them." She paused as though a thought occurred to her. "In fact, you might be able to help us."
Asriel frowned, but Meiah stopped him with a gesture. "Let me talk it over with Lundra first. For now, we really should get inside."
Lundra's comments about running out of food were clearly an exaggeration; the table was loaded with food, mostly produce from the farm. While the fruits and vegetables that grew on the trees of the Brass Woods may not look particularly edible, they were in fact some of the most flavorful foods in the Deep. Asriel had a silver-leaf salad with autotomatoes, zapple slices, and plenty of geargrapes. The result was a salad that looked to have been attacked by a clock-maker, but tasted fantastic. Golemite was more of a rock kind of guy, but settled on some currantcorn-on-the-cob.
Lundra and Meiah were curious about current events in Nowhere, understandable given how far their farm was from the city. Golemite told them about some of the goings on of the city while Asriel ate and watched the other kids. The oldest was about his age; they laughed and teased each other even as they were eating, stopping only when (and while) their mother watched them with stern eyes.
After lunch, Lundra brought around a pumptin pie as big as a manhole cover. Asriel found himself thinking longingly of his mother's butterscotch-cinnamon pie as the slices were handed out. The flavor was good, though the pumptin had a slightly metallic aftertaste that was slightly offsetting.
"Well." Lundra said, sitting back in his chair. "I'm glad you could join us. Not to many people on the Skyway these days."
"Hey, we're glad you could have us." Asriel said, pushing away his empty plate. "Lunch was excellent."
"Thank you." Lundra said, smiling happily at the praise. "I try. Not everyone appreciates it. Isn't that right, Shye?"
A young cat girl who looked to be a few years older than Asriel (in appearance at least) scowled and crossed her arms.
Shaking his head, Lundra said, "So you boys are heading to the other side of the Brass Woods, eh? Good on you. Keep on the road, and you should hit Glencove village. Friendly place, not too far from the border. You should be able to resupply there."
"Honey," Meiah said, "Perhaps our guests could help us with the problem in the north fields."
Lundra seemed a little embarrassed. "Oh, come now; we couldn't impose like that. We're not even sure there is a problem."
"It's bugs." Shye said, her tone sullen.
"Bugs don't attack metal crops." Lundra said in the tone that suggested it was an old argument. "It's partly why we settled here."
"I saw them." Shye said stubbornly. "Bugs, big metal bugs, chewing at the Zapple trees."
Meiah frowned at her daughter, but Lundra just smiled and said, "It's probably just kids from Glencove out making mischief. Still, I guess since you're heading that way, could we ask you to take a look at the orchard in passing? You don't have to rush back or anything; just let us know what you find when you head back this way."
"If they head back this way." Shye said, her voice sullen.
Meiah let out a sigh of frustration, but Shye was already out of her chair and halfway out the door. Meiah started to rise from her chair, but Lundra stopped her with a gentle hand on her shoulder. Their gazes met for a moment before Meiah sighed and sat down again.
"I apologize for my daughter." Lundra said. "She's never been much for the farm life. One of these days, I fear I'll wake up and find her gone."
Asriel wasn't sure what to say to that, so he simply said, "Well, it's not a problem for us to go check out your orchard. Right, Golemite?"
"Sure ting, Azzie. And if dere is a bug problem, we can squash it."
"Well, I wouldn't want either of you to risk yourselves on our account." Lundra said, looking uncomfortable with the prospect of a fight.
"It's okay." Lundra said, giving him a reassuring smile. "We'll be careful. Besides, we owe you for lunch."
Lundra was still a bit reluctant, but eventually capitulated. He even sent them off with the leftovers from lunch, a considerable amount of food. Lundra and Meiah saw them off, Meiah actually smiling and waving along with Lundra and all the children.
"We coulda stayed a bit longer." Golemite said about an hour down the road.
Asriel looked at him, surprised. "Why?"
"Well, it's not like you've had a bunch of kids your age to play with."
Chuckling, Asriel said, "I'm older than I look."
"And yer still a bit of a kid. I ain't meanin' no offense; I'm just sayin'."
"Thanks, Golemite." Asriel said, "But I'm good. Besides, I already got a friend."
Golemite's stone cheeks glowed slighty as Asriel smiled at his big buddy. They continued walking in silence for awhile, the forest of brass on one side of the skyway and the fenced off farmlands of Lundra and Meiah's farm on the other. Shye's talk of bugs had Asriel curious about what sort of creatures lived in the Brass Woods.
He saw a few birds, their bodies made of various kinds of wood and their 'feathers' carved reeds. They roosted in the tubes and valves of the trees, the tweeting of their birdsong occasionally audible amidst the honking of the trees themselves. Their were a few squirrels as well, strangely normal looking aside from having the same color as tarnished bronze. Their little metal feet ticked against the ground and trees, making them quite easy to hear, if not to see. Aside from those, however, there didn't appear to be any other creatures ... or at least nothing willing to go that close to the skyway path. He caught occasional glimpses of something larger deeper within the woods, but whatever it was seemed to dart into hiding whenever he tried to get a better look.
Asriel was still staring into the Brass Woods when he suddenly collided into Golemite's leg.
"Ow!" Asriel stumbled back, clutching his head. "Hey! What gives?"
"Lundra said somethin' was scratchin' at the trees, yeah?"
"Yeah." Asriel said, walking around his friend.
Golemite pointed. Asriel followed his friend's pillar-like arm to see what he could only describe as a pile of complete scrap. There were a few other piles there as well, each looking like the remains of one of Alphys's inventions after blowing up. Recognizing the remains of a zapple among the twisted and torn metal sheets, Asriel realized the piles were the remains of trees. Well over a dozen had been destroyed, torn to shreds.
"Whoa!" Asriel said, already half-way over the fence. Golemite caught him and pulled him back.
"Careful." Golemite said. "Whatevah tore apart a metal tree wouldn't have any trouble with your squishy flesh."
Golemite put a massive hand on the fence and tore it open as easily as Asriel might tear a sheet of paper. Stepping through the opening, he slowly approached the nearest pile of scrap, Asriel following behind him.
"Huh." Golemite rumbled, kneeling down beside the pile and sifting through it. "Hey, Azzie; look at this."
Golemite held up a piece of metal so Asriel could get a better look. "See it?"
"It's a piece of metal." Asriel said, squinting at it. "It looks ... metally."
Golemite let out a sigh. "Look at the edges; no melting, only bending. See the bolt holes? The tree wasn't torn apart; it was dismantled."
Asriel carefully lifted part of a zapple from the pile. "Well, whatever did it wasn't hungry; look at all the fruit they left behind."
"They jus' wanted da screws." Golemite sifted through the pile a little more. "No bolts, no screws; nuthin' holding it together. But why? Dere's gotta be easier ways to get screws and bolts, and if you really were dat desperate, why leave the metal? You could melt it down and make more. Heck, I bet the metal itself is worth more."
"So not fruit thieves and not scavengers looking for scrap." Asriel glanced around. "And there are still hundreds of cultivated trees here, so it's doubtful this is some kind of attempt to disrupt Lundra and Meiah's farm. So what caused this?"
There was no apparent answer. They examined the nearest whole trees, and while a few were missing bolts and screws here and there, only a few were taken from each, as though whatever force was behind it was harvesting them carefully, so as to avoid specifically the kind of damage they later caused on the destroyed trees.
"Maybe they only took what they needed." Asriel said, scratching his ear.
Golemite shrugged. "Then why not just take a few from a bunch of the trees and not destroy any? I dunno, Azzie; this looks like someone was bein' careful, but suddenly got in a hurry."
They searched the nearby area for whatever had caused the damage, but ultimately came up empty. Whatever it was apparently hadn't stuck around. About the only sign of the mysterious assailants were scratch-marks on both the metal sheets of the scrap piles and the trees with screws and bolts missing. Unfortunately, both of them were at a loss as to what could've left such a mark. The squirrels and birds only seemed to go after the trees that produced nuts, and even then they left the screws and bolts alone.
Ultimately, there was little else to do but move on. Only six trees in total were scrapped, with another seven showing signs of the strange harvesting, so Lundra's farm was in no real danger. Golemite bent the fence back into place and the two intrepid adventurers continued down the path.
It was Asriel who eventually remembered Skye's talk of metal bugs and suggested that such a thing could've been responsible.
"Yeah, maybe." Golemite said, "But I ain't never heard of any bugs attackin' crops around here."
"So? Look at this place, Golemite." Asriel said, gesturing to the woods. "With the birds and the squirrels, whose to say there aren't some kind of metal insects living in there?"
"Lundra and Meiah." Golemite said immediately. "They didn't seem ta give 'em much thought."
"Maybe they're just in denial. I mean, if they've been getting buy without bug problems and one suddenly pops up, that means they have to find a solution, maybe even a costly one."
Eventually, the small mystery faded in Asriel's mind, his thoughts on what could lay beyond the border of he Brass Woods. Given how alien the Brass Woods were in comparison to Nowhere and the Underground, he realized it could really be anything.
Still, some small worry remained in him. He found himself watching the woods more often, especially after they passed out of Lundra's Orchards. With nothing but the Brass Woods on both sides, Asriel slowly started to feel fenced in, trapped even. The ting of little metal squirrel feet or bird talons soon had him jumping at every sound. It didn't help that he was still catching glimpses of the strange creatures within the Brass Woods.
"Golemite." Asriel said when he couldn't stand it anymore.
"I know." Golemite said. "It's been followin' us since we left Lundra's farmhouse."
Asriel felt a cold sliver of fear shoot through him. "W-what is it?"
"Dunno for sure." He gave Asriel a pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry 'bout it. It tries anything, and I'll flatten it."
That did relieve some of Asriel's woes; there weren't many things in the Underground or the Deep that would willingly attack a Golem. Still, he kept his hands on his makeshift daggers until the Brass Woods thinned and they spotted trails of chimney smoke in the distance.
"Must be gettin' close to Glencove Village." Golemite said, picking up his pace a little. "'Bout time too. Feels like we've been walking for days."
Asriel was too tired to argue. As though sensing this, Golemite picked up the young Dreemurr and put him on his shoulder. Asriel would've protested this, but he was relieved to finally be able to rest his legs.
"Hope one of Jenny's sisters is here." Golemite said as drew near the entrance to the village. "Think she'll have a diner too?"
"I hope so." Asriel said, "We ate the last of Lundra's lunch an hour ago."
Golemite passed through the village gate and came to a sudden halt. Asriel didn't have to ask why; what they'd mistaken for chimney fires were in fact the ashen remains of the houses of Glencove Village. The small town had been destroyed.
