Avenger - Lifting strength + Durability

The large humanoid machine lumbered forward, and for a moment Kayla expected it to pitch over onto the stonework. As it walked, the Argivian stayed next to it, speaking to it, guiding each of its motions.

The pair reached the statue. Urza pointed to one side of the statue, and the machine placed a hand, metal with fingers of polished wood, on that location. He pointed to the other side, and the machine placed its other hand there.

Urza patted the side of the creature, and it began to lift.

After the bellowers, screamers, and grunters, the silence that surrounded the artifact was eerie. There was a slight humming, like the space between the notes of Kayla's music box. The metal humanoid bent at the knees (which seemed, from the princess's vantage point, to be constructed backward) and slowly lifted the figure from the ground.

There was a collective gasp from the crowd as daylight appeared beneath the jade statue. The construct pulled the statue straight up, holding it about a foot off the ground.

Slowly the great machine spun on its hips, its spine rotating all the way around, so that its knees were pointing forward. Then slowly, the machine started to walk toward the opposite side of the court.

It was slow going. The machine could hold the statue, but the courtyard had difficulty supporting both the machine and the statue. Paving stones crushed beneath the giant's feet, and at one point, the great metal creature pitched precipitously to the right as the stones turned to dust beneath the weight of its tread. There was a whining noise as wires spooled through pulleys, and Kayla was sure she was about to see the mechanical equivalent of a groin pull.

Urza was at the machine's side at once, examining the problem and shouting orders. The great metal thing responded, tipped the other way, and at last reached its final destination. Urza gave one last command, and the machine set down the jade megalith so that it faced the royal dais.

***

The Brother's War, Chapter 6