Dragons of Despair 1.9 -- Workshop, Tower of High Sorcery
The gemstone was too large to fit naturally into Ayrron's sphere, but Ormorn had gemcutter's equipment on hand. For the next several hours, Ayrron sat meticulously shaving the stone down, polishing the facets until they gleamed. The yellow was the most predominant colour was that bright gold colour, with a strong backing of green, but the streaks of brown that came from the elements of iron within the crystal started to shine as well -- a twisted core of strength running the length of the gem.
Ayrron agonised over the cut of the gem for a while, before finally settling on a shield cut. He cut the gem down and started to slot it into the center of his mechanical sphere, pushing it through the metallic grips he'd designed to hold the heart in the focal point. With the heart in place, Ayrron pulled on a tiny little metal arm in the chest cavity. The arm was held under tension, and when Ayrron released it, it sprang back into place, striking the heart. There was a ringing sound as the crystal vibrated with the impact. Ayrron watched as the vibrations spread throughout the device, triggering mechanisms all through the sphere. The chest cavity started to close, and over the next few seconds, all that could be heard was the repeated ticking of the arm against the cystal inside, like a tiny heartbeat.
Then there was a twitch. A number of metallic burrs emerged from the surface of the sphere, curling into tiny little feet. Two yellow eyes opened, and the ball rolled over until it could stand on all four feet. Two wings peeled off the back like sheets of thin metal, and a metallic tail detatched from around the flank to provide balance. The construct shook itself all over like a small dog and yawned, showing a smooth barrel inside the throat, glowing with a yellow-green light.
"Well done, boy," Master Ormorn said quietly at Ayrron's hip. "If you can keep working like that, you might make a fine mage yet one day." It was the closest to an actual compliment the gnome had ever come.