Reality Check

The next few days passed in the blink of an eye. Nearly every day, I’d spend the day playing with Rorick until he had to leave, but at night I was free to explore the forest. Oh, that’s what I found out was his name. The more he spoke, the more I seemed to be able to learn the language, although I couldn't say anything back.

I thought magic came to me pretty quickly, but it seemed like so did languages. I guess golems are pretty good at learning things quicker than other species?

Today was an especially exciting day, since Rorick promised to show me the forest's flower bed. It was an amazing sight, according to him, but incredibly rare, since it was a field of flowers unique to the forest. He said he’d never been there himself, since monsters roamed around that area, but in my experience, there weren’t many beasts in the forest. Not since I started exploring it. Maybe he meant the boars, but if we encountered one of those, I was confident I could scare it away.

He took longer than usual. I got pretty bored waiting and instead decided to check up on him. I headed towards his home, the place I saw him disappear to most days after we played. It took a while, being so slow and all, but I managed to find an open field beyond the mess of trees.

Dried out crops lay in rows and men pulled the small vegetables, roots and all, from the dirt. I hid behind the shrubbery of the forest barrier and made sure I wasn’t spotted by making myself semi-invisible.

He’s never invited me into the village, so I assume they wouldn’t be as friendly with me. I watched from a distance, but still didn’t see Rorick. Did he forget about me? No way, he was super excited yesterday to go with me. Maybe he just overslept?

I got tired of waiting and pulled back. No point staring much longer.

{Twinheaded Feathertail} {Greyrock stone} {Jasper Fish}

I walked along the riverbank and appraised things as I went; it became a daily ritual for me as I traversed the forest. I noticed the skill hadn’t evolved just yet, which probably meant it took longer to evolve each time around.

Should I just go alone? No, I can’t do that to him. He wanted to see it more than anything… Also, I don’t know the way just yet.

Sudden clatter of horsehooves drew my attention. I flicked towards it and clunkily waddled over, my body hidden as I did so. Just as I thought, a horse had passed by, drawing a carriage along with it. It was quite grand, big enough for five people easily, yet I only spotted the driver and one other riding in the carriage.

They followed a bumpy path, the tracks barely worn through from rare visits. I couldn’t help but think something bad had just passed by, so I decided to follow. Luckily, we weren’t too far from the village.

Once I arrived back at my hiding spot, I cast the illusion spell and waited. The rider stopped in the centre of the village, his large wooden wheels parked over some grain and noticeably irritated the farmer, who had to back away before being knocked. Even though one of his veins was throbbing, he didn’t say a word.

The one who rode in the carriage stepped out, his eyes scanned over the crowding villagers and he spat at their feet.

“I hate the boons, the smell is rotten here… Where is the chief? I don’t have all day?!” He suddenly yelled, covering his nose.

He was dressed in pretty heavy armour, a sword at his waist that looked about as tall as me. It was my first time seeing a real knight, but weren’t they supposed to be nicer than that? I had a feeling I was misled in my previous life.

He grew antsy, the knight turned away and grabbed the carriages frame, ready to leave, when suddenly a man rushed from a distance.

“P-please, don’t go! We need the medicine, please tell me you brought it?” His panicked expression was matched only by his haste. “My son, he’s very ill–”

“I don’t care about your filthy squables!” He smacked the older man away.

What the hell– that’s no knight. He’s just some petty thug at this point. I want to step in, but he could be dangerous. I don’t know how strong he is just yet, I shouldn’t mess with other people's business.

“Please… the medicine…?” The chief begged from the floor.

The villagers grew angry, their fierce expressions forced a foot or two forward. Most of them looked ready to jump the guy, but were quickly brought back to reality when he gripped his sword's hilt.

“Tisk-tisk-tisk,” he waved his finger. “Don’t forget, I’m an ambassador for the lord of these lands. One more step and I’ll hack up the lot of you!” He cracked a smile. “I’m afraid I have no medicine for you. Lord Midas gave word to cut off all funding to this village, effective immediately.”

“W-what–?! That’s insane. Why would he do such a thing? We have met the quota every month and given almost all the crops we’ve yielded, why is he condemning us, his people?”

The armoured thug stepped onto the carriage, barely looking at them as he inspected the glove he used to slap the chief. “It appears he no longer has any use for you. Be thankful he hasn’t ordered me to slaughter you all. You’re free to live out your lives as you please, but don’t expect any charity or benefit from lord Midas.” With that, he gave a gesture to the driver and with a sudden mush, the driver's horse set off and they disappeared through the forest's trees.

The village chief clutched his head in his hands and curled into a ball on the floor and tears fell from his eyes.

“My boy…oh, my poor little Rorick…”

N-no, I must have heard wrong. Surely he means a different Rorick–he has to, right…?

I broke past the boundary and without releasing it, managed a good few feet into the property of the village. Only once I heard the soft crunch of some kind of foreign-looking vegetable, did I notice what I was doing.

“W-what the– it’s a monster! Monster, in the village!!” A villager screamed out. His voice cracked from fear as he jumped to a frightened position.

“A golem, what’s that doing here? A magician must have summoned it, but why here?! Did we anger an adventurer?”

They looked pretty freaked out. I tried waving my hands, showing them I meant no harm, but it didn’t go over as well as when I tried that with Rorick. First, they flung rocks at me, then came the pitchforks. None of it hurt, obviously, but I was still taken aback.

I used to be human, you know? Is this my life now? They won’t even give me a chance to prove I’m not a dangerous golem…

Without a choice, I retreated into the forest.