Companion

The day that followed was near silent. Everyone went about their business as usual; the only sound was the occasional chat or whisper between people when necessary. Well, it’s not right to use the word ‘usual’, as there was an eerie feeling in the air. This was no longer the same village I had arrived in a week ago.

It felt gloomier.

I decided to leave the village, and after fixing up some last adjustments on the wells and crops, I’d head to the boundary line to disappear. I wasn’t in the mood for any goodbyes or awkward last words, especially after everything that happened yesterday. I simply wanted to leave.

“Guardian.” A clear call appeared behind me.

Busted. Sneaking around really is out of the picture with a body like this. Well, I had a feeling they’d want to yell or scream at me, I deserve it, so I’ll just take it on the chin and leave.

The chief and a few workers in the field gathered behind him, their eyes on me. One by one, they lowered their heads, sincerity in all of their expressions.

W-what is this? Aren’t they supposed to yell or throw rocks at me?

“We knew you wouldn’t stay forever, but thank you! We never could have gotten this far if not for you, so thank you for everything!!” The chief got down on his knees and knelt low enough for his head to hit the dirt.

Bell wasn’t at his side, not surprisingly. The rest gave a few quiet nods; it seemed like the entire village felt similarly. As my eyes wandered through the landscape, I spotted more people stopping their tasks to look over and lower their heads. The chief stepped forward with a rucksack strapped around his back, then handed it to me with a serious tone I had only heard once from him before,

“Rorick looked truly happy. For that, I’d like to thank you once again.” He patted me once more on the shoulder and stepped away, the villagers following him back to their work.

I opened the leather bag to find some of Rorick's books wrapped together neatly by string. The very stories and adventurer accounts that he treasured like precious gems over the years were suddenly mine. I wasn’t sure how I felt about having them, but I knew I couldn’t give them back. I decided to keep them.

A strange tug on my chest persisted the further I got from the boundary line. In a matter of seconds, the village’s sight was consumed by bushes and trunks as I ventured on. When I looked back again, it was gone.

So what now? I wondered while walking through the forest. My mana had returned for the most part, and my body had completely healed, cracks and all.

Is there something moving towards the village? Don’t tell me it's another monster, no, this feels more like a person. It might be that knight again…

I decided to investigate, since I felt bad for letting that knight go before. If it were him again, I’d just push him back and make it clear not to mess with the village again. I intercepted the presence and came face to face with a woman dressed in pink robes, smacking the bushes and greenery with her wooden staff.

Her eyes widened as she noticed me and came to a complete stop.

Her staff, which was nearly taller than her, nearly fell out of her hands, “Uh…? A Golem!”

She waved it through the air in a twisting arc and settled in my direction, where white light gathered into a sphere.

I felt the tinge of magic collect in front of her, even though it was quite weak.

Straight to the attack?! She didn’t even give me a chance to explain myself… Well, it’s not like I would be able to. Even so, that was a bit of an overreaction, wasn’t it?

I waved my hands defensively, but my message didn’t come across completely. She shot me a distrustful glare and retreated back a step or two. The white orb swirled in a controlled, perpetual motion.

“Stay right there.”

I stood frozen on the spot. Even if she didn’t look too strong, I didn’t want to risk getting myself in more trouble than I could handle. I still didn’t have a perfect grasp on how strong humans were in this world.

The light dissipated from her staff. “Wait, can you understand me?” Once I gave her a respectful nod back, she lowered the staff a bit more, and her expression softened. “Fascinating… are you some kind of Familiar or something? Where’s your master?”

What’s a Familiar? I think I remember that term from Fantasy games, isn’t that like a servant or pet that mages control? I don’t think I have one of those, as far as I know. Will she attack me again if she finds out I don’t belong to anyone? Whatever, I’m not really in the mood to play games, so I’ll just answer honestly.

I shook my head, and her brows rose. Her mouth formed a circle, “Whoa! I’ve never heard of a Golem that can understand the human language without a pact or a Familiar Sigil. Just what kind of Golem are you?” She walked up to me to examine.

From wanting to fight, to being impressed? This girl’s all over the show! Huh, what’s that? I motioned to the rolled-up parchment that poked out of her bag.

“Oh, this?" She said, reacting to my staring. "I'm actually in the middle of a job right now.” She took out the page and revealed a long paragraph of directions and instructions below a drawn-out map. The corners of her mouth dropped. “It’s been a pain trying to find this village out here in the middle of nowhere, but a job's a job.”

Village…? I guess she really was heading towards the Roricks' village, but what job would she have out there?

“Something about healing a kid, but this forest is crazy with all the monsters roaming around. It’s like a maze, too!” She rambled on, but I lost interest near the halfway point. Noticing she got a bit worked up, she cleared her throat and put the page away, “Anyways, I'd better be on my way. Thanks for listening to me, Mr. Golem.” She waved and carried on walking.

This must be what the chief meant when he said they tried ‘everything’. I wouldn’t be surprised if they sent out that request to neighbouring cities, but probably didn’t have much luck because of where the village is located.

Roricks already… She’s too late.

I tugged at her cape along her waist and got a slightly annoyed glare in return.

“I don’t have time to play, shoo-shoo!” She gestured for me to leave, but I ignored it.

How am I supposed to tell her it’s too late? I can’t just let her go back and start asking about Rorick, right after he died. The villagers would get totally bummed out. I need some way to talk to her, anything is better than miming this out!

I searched around aimlessly and looked down on the ground, where I began to run my finger through the dirt to form letters. Her eyes lit up with childlike twinkles as she read it aloud.

“Whoa, you can write too!”

After a few seconds, her grin faded.

“So, you’re telling me the job is cancelled then…?” She covered her face and let out a deep sigh. Her head slung back and looked up for a moment before returning to normal, “Well, that’s a bummer. I came out all this way, too. You’re amazing. Where did a golem learn to read and write?”

I quickly scribbled my answer into the dirt.

(From. Village.)

“You really are a weird golem. Too bad though, I really needed the cash…” She massaged her temple and suddenly spun around in the opposite direction, “I guess I'd better go find a new quest to take on.”

Quest? As in, an adventurer? I knew she must be a mage, but she’s a full-blown adventurer then!

I tugged at her cape again, and her glare doubled in intensity.

(Take. With. You.)

“Huh, why?!” Her eyes widened, “You’re with the villagers, aren’t you? I’m not going to play around, adventuring is serious work!”

Our eyes locked. I’m sure she felt I wasn’t going to budge, because she immediately relinquished that determined glower.

“Fine then, you can tag along.” With a reluctant gesture to follow her, she carried on walking. “Come on then, we’ve gotta hurry along.”

I gave her a nod and tightened the bag strap around my torso, signalling that I was ready to go.

She doesn’t seem too hard to convince. I'd better make sure I don’t abuse that.

She stopped a few feet ahead and glanced over her shoulder, “Well, Mr. Golem, are you only going to follow me, or do you want to go somewhere specific? Do you have a goal in mind?” She looked genuinely curious as she waited for a response.

I gave it a second of thought, but something came to mind immediately as I adjusted the strap of the sack of books along my back. The mental image of Rorick's smile raced across my memory, and my finger dragged across the dirt.

(Become. Adventurer.)