GOLEM

Joel lit up another cigarette.

“Another one? So soon?” Chinatsu asked. Joel glared at Chinatsu.

“Look, kid, I’m stressed out. Maybe grow up a little and you’ll understand,” he said, taking a drag off the cigarette and blowing smoke in Chinatsu’s face.

Chinatsu coughed. Jerk. He scuttled away from Joel to Miyabi’s side. Miyabi had been sticking close to Peony, who continued leading the group. Though it was often difficult to tell what direction they were heading in this place, Chinatsu knew it was East because the afternoon sun was mostly behind them.

When they exited the spider nest, he’d expected to see the other end of the blocked path, but they didn’t connect on that end. Peony said that they both went to the same place, so Chinatsu wondered when they’d meet up with that path again.

He kept thinking about the sigil he saw on the rubble. There was something about it that made him uneasy. Chinatsu could tell that it was magical in nature, but what was its purpose? Did someone intentionally create that roadblock?

“Hey Peony, how much longer will it be until we hit the center of this place?” Chinatsu asked.

“Assuming we don’t run into much more danger that could delay us, it should only be a few more days,” Peony replied.

“How long did it take you to reach the end the first time?” Miyabi asked.

“One lunar cycle,” Peony replied.

An entire month!? Though Chinatsu supposed it made sense. Judging by Peony’s map of the place, it was enormous. It scared him to think about what would have happened to him and Miyabi if it weren’t for the Elf coming to their aid.

“And there were no resets in that time? How often do they happen?” Miyabi asked.

Peony shook their head. “The first reset I encountered was after I’d made it to the end with Leonheart. They don’t happen as often as you think–people are not usually as lucky as all of you. Or prepared.”

“Well, I’m thankful for your help,” Chinatsu said. “But I am worried about what we’re going to do for food in this place.”

Masha slapped Chinatsu’s back, giving him a start.

“Leave that to me, dear! I’ve been keeping an eye out for edible plants this whole time,” she said, grinning.

“We could also eat Joel if you get desperate,” Peony said, shooting a look at the man in question.

“Wuzzat!?” he grumbled.

“I’d rather not…” Chinatsu replied.

The mood was lightened a bit as everyone laughed and shared the things they’d like to eat when they returned. For Joel, it was a classic hot dog with mustard, Masha wanted to have a savory pie, while Miyabi and Chinatsu found themselves craving curry rice.

Peony didn’t mention anything to them. Chinatsu wondered what their favorite food was. They had been gone so long from their home world, could the Elf even remember what those dishes tasted like? Or maybe Elves liked berries?

They turned a corner that sent them north. Peony pointed out that the two paths were going to link up ahead. As they got closer, a scraping sound that started off faint began to get louder.

“Does anyone else hear that?” Chinatsu asked.

“Yes. I’ve been hearing it for some time now. Get ready,” Masha said, pulling out her knife.

They stopped and waited. The scraping sound had a rhythm to it–a long scrape followed by a thud, another long scrape followed by a thud. It was footsteps. The ground shook slightly with each thud. Whatever was making them was big.

Miyabi drew her sword and positioned herself at the front of the group. Joel pulled out a switchblade from his pants pocket.

“Huh!? Did you have that this whole time!?” Chinatsu felt a tinge of jealousy. Joel smirked.

A Stone Golem rounded the next corner.

Miyabi lowered her sword, and Masha her knife. Joel sighed and put the switchblade away. Their weapons were going to be useless!!

The Golem raised its stone fist. All of them scattered before it came crashing down.

Chinatsu and the others ran past the Golem. The two paths met at a point with many other diverging paths. Which way led to the center? Which way was a dead end? Peony would know where to go.

“This way!” Peony tried to usher the others in the right direction, waving them down a path to the side.

The Golem’s fists slammed down again. Everyone moved in different directions to avoid it.

Chinatsu tried to look for Peony in the chaos, but felt himself being tugged along by Miyabi.

The two of them ran off in a random direction. Chinatsu couldn’t tell if they were being sent in the direction they had just come from or the direction they were heading anymore.

The Golem was slow, but relentless in its pursuit. It couldn’t chase all of them, of course, but ended up on the heels of Miyabi and Chinatsu.

It hammered its fists at the teenagers, separating them. Now the Golem was in sole pursuit of Chinatsu. He ran as fast as he could.

Chinatsu rounded a corner and ran down a path with many dead-end corridors branching off. He felt himself yanked to the right and pulled down to the ground. Before he could yell, a hand clapped over his mouth.

It was Masha and Joel!

Masha motioned for Chinatsu to be quiet as the Golem shuffled past them. They poked their heads out as it moved down the path and saw that Peony was in an adjacent corridor.

Peony held their finger to their lips and motioned them to move over. The three of them crept over and hid.

“Can that thing see? Hear?” Masha whispered.

“In a sense. It’s brought to life through magic,” Peony replied.

“Where’s Miyabi?” Chinatsu asked. She wasn’t with them.

He felt his anxiety swell in the pit of his stomach. Chinatsu was going to make a run for it to look for her when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t do anything stupid, kid,” Joel whispered.

Chinatsu was loath to admit he was right. He wanted to help Miyabi but knew it would cause more problems if he was reckless.

The Golem was starting to pace up and down, going in and out of the corridors. Whatever it was they were going to do, they needed to act fast.

Chinatsu wracked his brain for what he knew about Stone Golems from his tabletop sessions. Like the slime, its speed was a disadvantage. Like the Minotaur, its size was a disadvantage. All it had was raw strength.

He heard the thunderous smash of the Golem.

“AAAGGHH”

“Miyabi!” Chinatsu looked around the corner to see the Golem looming over Miyabi. She was trying to crawl away from it.

Its fists were raised high and ready to strike again.

Chinatsu rushed out. He wasn’t thinking about anything except rescuing Miyabi.

Miyabi cowered as the Golem began to bring its fists down. Chinatsu wasn’t going to make it!

“AWOOOO—”

The Golem stopped. Chinatsu dove for Miyabi and rolled away from the Golem with her.

“AWOOO—” the howling continued. The Golem turned its attention to the source.

It was Masha!

“Get away from there while it’s distracted!” she yelled.

Chinatsu helped Miyabi to her feet and watched the Golem stomp towards Masha. He noticed some white marks on the stone making up the Golem’s head. It was nearly hidden. Half tucked under the head and sandwiched by a stone making up the neck, Chinatsu recognized what it was–the sigil he saw on the rubble.

Masha darted around the Golem, ensuring its attention was focused on her, while Chinatsu brought Miyabi over to the others.

“Are you hurt?” Peony asked as Miyabi sat down and leaned against the wall. She was wheezing slightly and clutched the side of her stomach.

“I’m fine,” Miyabi grunted. “I think I just bruised a rib.”

The Elf got to work healing Miyabi. They pressed their hands to Miyabi’s side and began their healing prayers.

“I know how to beat this thing!” Chinatsu exclaimed. He turned to Joel, “I need your help!”

“Tell me what to do.”

“I want you to throw me on its back.”

“Are you nuts!?” Joel and Miyabi shouted in unison.

“There’s a sigil near its head,” Chinatsu explained. “If I can break that, then it will completely disable the Golem.”

“If you hurt yourself, then that’s on you,” Joel replied.

The two of them ran after the Golem. It was solely focused on Masha for the time being. She darted around its feet as it tried and failed to land blows on her.

“Masha! Keep distracting it!” Chinatsu called. He pulled out the craft knife and put it in his mouth. The golem’s attention was momentarily drawn to the sound of Chinatsu’s voice.

“Got it!” Masha affirmed before howling again. Her howls seemed to keep it focused on her, allowing Chinatsu and Joel to maneuver around it unnoticed.

The Golem bent down as it smashed the ground in front of it.

Joel put out his hands for Chinatsu and boosted him into the air, onto the Golem. Chinatsu was glad, for once, to have this small and light female body.

Getting onto the thing was easy, but holding on proved to be more challenging for Chinatsu. The Golem went crazy trying to throw him off. Chinatsu held on for dear life.

Chinatsu wrapped one arm tightly around the Golem’s head while he freed his other arm to grab the knife. He put the blade up to the seal.

The Golem bucked. A blade snapped off the craft knife. Chinatsu was thrown forward, and the knife went flying from his hand as he hit the ground.

Chinatsu rolled out of the way as the Golem smashed the ground once more.

Masha snatched up the knife. She put it in her mouth and jumped onto the Golem’s head while it was bent. Masha wrapped her legs around its neck to hold on as she contorted to reach the seal with her hands.

The Golem thrashed around, trying to knock her off as she chiseled and scraped with the knife. There was one blade left on the craft knife. Chinatsu hoped and prayed that it wouldn’t break.

“Almost…there…” Masha grunted. A few more scrapes and she managed to score a mark in the seal.

The Golem became immobile. The pink craft knife clattered down to the ground as Masha released it.

She jumped off with a tuck and roll before the Golem came crashing down in pieces. Chinatsu and Joel hurried out of the way as the rocks and small boulders making up its form dropped and rolled in every direction.

Chinatsu watched Masha stand up and brush herself off as the dust settled. She met his eye and let out a victorious cheer that sounded too much like another howl. Chinatsu couldn’t help but laugh.