1-20 “Crepuscule”

We immediately head for the area where I had encountered the first amalgam with Stanton. Hopefully, if something dangerous did happen with that tree, Stanton got away safely. In the end though, it is too far for all of us to travel before it becomes dark. It is decided that if the resulting creature is likely to further the darkness, then it would be far better to camp the night and approach in the morning light.

Seeing the Lords and Ladies start to unpack their camping gear, Lady Averdine stops them and says, “Don't bother, I can do us better.”

With a few moments spent chanting and a few arcane gestures, a door appears. It stands freely, with its bottom a few inches from the forest floor. Turning the handle she, swings the door open, though there is no visible hinge that it attaches to. Behind the door, instead of the forest, is a well furnished room with several other doors leading out of it. She walks in and looks around the room for a bit, “Well, come on in.”

We all enter, the magical room. A lit fireplace sits along one wall, while almost all of the rest of the wall space is taken up by further doors leading out. What small portions of wall are left over are concealed behind statuary or paintings. Large comfortable looking chairs are arranged around a fine oaken table. Behind one door is a kitchen space, well stocked. The rest have bedrooms, too large to be next to each other in this small space. I don't think I could ever make it as a wizard, I'd spend too much time thinking about how all of these impossible things work...

Everyone in armor picks a room to unsuit in before coming back to the common room. It takes me a while to redetermine who is who now that the armor is off. Sephram offers to prepare a meal for us before we go to bed, Kenneth follows him offering to help. Hopefully the rookie knows how to cook. He quickly brings out several cups, bottles of wine and a bucket with chunks of ice inside. “This kitchen has everything,” excitement is clear on the rookie's face as he heads back into the kitchen.

Everyone else starts to drink, and after a short while Zilo starts up a tale from when he was working with a different group. I start to lose focus. I hope Stanton is doing okay, and Melanie is sure to be worried that I didn't come home this evening.

My distraction must have been apparent, even though I sat in a chair nearer to the fireplace. Lady Averdine walks over to me, “You don't seem to be enjoying yourself.”

“I know everyone decided it would be safest to wait until dawn, but I feel like I should be going as fast as I can, what if Stanton is in trouble.”

“Do you know him particularly well?”

“No, but even though we just met this morning we've already saved each other's lives at least once.”

“Oh, that's too bad. I have a spell that allows you to speak with someone far away, but it only works if you know them very well.”

“Really, do you think I could talk with my wife? She's probably worried sick that I never came home today.”

“Certainly, just focus on the thought of her, while I cast the spell. You'll only have a few sentences to say, she'll be able to say a few back.”

Focusing on the thought of her isn't hard, she's already on my mind. The Lady chants a few words and taps my cheek and then my ear. A strange tingling sensation passes through my head, and suddenly I feel like I'm at home, right next to her.

“Melanie?”

*Nivar? You're home! Wait, where are you?*

Her voice sounds like I'm right there. Nothing is more calming than her voice, except for looking into her eyes.

“Sorry, I won't be able to make it home tonight. I'm camped out with some of the watchmen, and, you won't believe this, our Liberators. They had particular interest in something I was investigating. I'm talking to you through a spell. I don't know how long it will last, but I wanted you to know I was fine, and I'll be back tomorrow.”

*That's good, we were worried that something had happened. It's not like you to come home late. Be sure to tell us all about it.*

The tingling passes. The spell must have ended. “Thank you, milady.”

“It's no trouble,” a smile crosses Lady Averdine's face, “It's nice to see a man as concerned about his wife as you are.”

I follow her back toward the rest of the group just as a meal consisting of roast chicken, bread, and salad is brought in from the kitchen. Zilo is just wrapping up a story where a dragon, purported to be a vicious man slayer, scared off his companions and then proceeded to talk with him for hours on end. Turned out the beast hadn't left his cave for years upon years, and was feeling quite lonely.

When the meal ends, everyone starts heading into the bedrooms. Lady Averdine stops and counts the doors, “Oh no! I seem to have made one room to few... Sephram, I guess you'll just have to share my room tonight.”

Mischief is clearly played out on her face as Sephram straightens out and salutes. “Yes milady.”

His face is nearly as red as the wine. The watchmen that haven't left the room yet share knowing looks. We all go to bed. One skill I've learned since the city started growing, and my workload with it, is falling asleep immediately. The skill doesn't fail me now.

1-19 “Liberators”

There's thirteen of them. It takes me a second before I recognize the arms and armor of those in the lead of the formation, It's the Lords and Ladies, our Liberators. Eight of them are, at least. The other five joined their group later. I wonder if that makes them Lords as well, the king awarded the land to the group. I would think not, but I don't know the laws and politics of the realm in that regard. Regardless, I salute. The rest of the men follow my lead. Most of them salute back, some of the newer members seem unused to such attention.

At the front of the group are Lords Hawklight and Hawkins, Lady Hefthammer, and one of the new members of their group. In the middle is Lord Carlmon, Lady Maple, Rose the druid (who I've heard of simply because of that large lizard beast she tends to ride around), a priestess of The Sun, and a rather shady looking fellow. Quite literally shady, his cloak or leather armor must be magically generating a very small aura of darkness, a classic thief's trick for those that can afford it. In the rear are Lords Gray and McGee, an unarmored woman, and a rather heavily armored man with no weapons.

They are equipped much the same as when they freed us from Iztram, though some of their gear seems to have more of a glow of magic to it. There isn't a standard among them, most of their armor varies wildly, from the heavy adamant plate armor of Lord Hawklight to the unarmed and unarmored Lady Maple. Their weapons are less visibly varied, mostly swords and longbows, Lady Hefthammer's massive maul being a notable exception. Lady Maple also stands out from the rest, being one of those body-as-a-weapon types, unarmed and unarmored. Normally, I would think that's crazy, but I've heard multiple times about her punching through someone's breastplate, I guess if you have at it hard enough it really works.

They dismount, Lady Maple takes the opportunity to show off by dismounting with a flip and a cartwheel. They ask us about the creatures and the strange effect on this delta. They would like to see the body of the creature I slew. First, they'll want to check on the sword at the middle of the crystallization, though. Lady Averdine starts walking, I guess floating would be more accurate, towards the area we avoided during our sweep. We figured that the nearer to the epicenter, the less likely we wanted to be there in the dark. Our Liberators approach the crystal landscape, and when they are with a few feet it starts to recede before them. The crystal flakes up and disintegrates leaving behind the original terrain. I'd like an explanation for that, seeing it makes me feel like we did absolutely nothing for the last few hours by clearing away those amalgam plants.

While the rest of them go off to see the sword that's caused this mess, the shadowy fellow sticks behind and comes over to us. “So, how are the fine watchmen of Midrange doing this evening?”

Sam responds, “Feeling like we might just as well have stayed home and just told you guys to go talk to Lady Averdine.”

“How are they doing that?”

“I don't exactly know, myself. From what I've gathered, they found some fountain of energy that runs counter to this strange crystal infection. Since they had this power they decided to go around and do stuff about it. I've heard that the stuff infects through a wound if you leave a shard inside, or just spreads like mold if the source is large enough. Only the original eight of them have that ability though, so I figured I'd just wait and see how you all are doing.”

“So what do you do for them?” The rookie actually just asked that. From the way he moves and the outfit, he is clearly a scout or something similar.

“I'm Zilo, master scout, infiltrator, and trapman. Entry facilitation, as well as spotting and disabling traps, those are my specialty. If the opportunity presents itself, I also like to counter ambush. According to them, the last guy they had in charge of the role got himself killed. Wasn't even a trap that got him, he just didn't know his place on the battlefield.”

We talk and introduce ourselves. He fills me in on the names of the rest of the group that I don't know, Gimaim the dwarf, the priestess is Celano, the unarmored woman is Isabella the sorceress, and the armored yet unarmed man is Alejandro. It doesn't take too long before Lady Hefthammer comes back to speak with me.

“Milady.”

“Looks like the sword that was causing this is already missing. Since our mere presence seems to remove the infection, they've decided to jog around the area.”

She questions me about the details of the encounter, how we were injured, and who healed us. She looks relieved when I tell her we went to Ziegfried.

“Are you certain that no shrapnel from the thing was embedded inside any living thing nearby?”

The only piece I even remember breaking off was that horn that...

Crap.

1-18 “Gardening”

Nothing responds to Sephram's shout. He sheaths his weapons and continues to walk around a bit before returning to where he crossed the barrier.

“It seems to be safe to travel on at the very least, though I would suggest that you stay close just in case there are more of those.” Sephram's tense posture returns as he stands near Lady Averdine.

“That was impressive. Who taught you to fight like that?” Sam follows the question with a glance around checking the bodyguard's armor, not even a scratch where the two hits connected with him.

“My mother was a Templar of The Hammer, my father was a master of unarmed combat, they taught me from earlier than I can remember.”

“That's an interesting sword you have. I haven't seen one designed like that, what is it?”

“It's a kodachi, a sword from my father's homeland. He came from far to the northeast of here.”

I've heard of some of the far off lands, but have never seen someone from that far away. I wonder what other weapons they have that are also different in style.

“Well, if it's safe to walk across, I think we should probably see if we can find any more of those plants and destroy them before they eat something that let's them move.”

We decide to do so until sunset. The sun is already low in the sky, we'll still have a decent enough amount of time, though. We can come back tomorrow, if we feel it's necessary. The lady and her bodyguard go off in one direction and we take the other side to cover more ground.

They look like they used to be pitcher plants, and they give off a deeper aura of darkness than the rest of this field. They seem to be able to sense us coming. The first one we come across turns, albeit very slowly, toward us. Though unnerving, none of us are afraid of this display. Halberds are long and these things can't move. It's obvious after destruction that there is a lot more under these plants than I would think, seeing the size of the leaves above ground. Instead of roots there is what I can only assume is a large pocket of a stomach, I guess that is why they can eat things larger than bugs now. Perhaps that stomach used to be the bulb they grew from. Luckily, we don't find anything in any of these.

For the most part, the plants are very easily dealt with. Just as I'm wondering how these things caught anything to begin with, the rookie gives me an unintentional demonstration. Whether out of boredom or just inexperience, he decides to try and stab through one in a small cluster instead of cutting. Reacting much faster than the rest we have encountered, its mouth widens and grabs on to the head of his weapon, good thing he knows enough to drop his weapon rather than allow himself to get pulled in to the group. We manage to kill the plants and let him retrieve his weapon, though it's now covered in goo.

“Way to go, rookie.” Sam probably has more against working with a rookie than the rest of us, with all of his time spent investigating solo.

“What the hell? That one was way faster than the others.” I'll give the rookie that much, it was that much faster, and he did manage to avoid being dinner. I should probably give him some pointers when we get back to the guardhouse.

“Maybe we should have gone back and gotten the gardener from up at the keep.”

“Why's that?” Gordon probably wants a real story but I'll only give him this much for now.

“I heard that when Iztram was in charge, he had the poor guy taking care of strangle vines.”

“I didn't even think those existed.”

“You should go find him, Gordon. He tells the story a lot better than I do.”

Not much of note happens along the rest of our path to clear the area. Occasionally we find one that has sprouted a pair of legs, but is still tethered in place. The darkness around the area grows faster than the lowering of the sun, we call it a day early before it becomes too dark to see. As we leave and discuss what should come next we hear a group of approaching horses.

Reminiscence-1 “Magic” =Zinto=

(He hasn't been mentioned by name in the story yet. Zinto Denwatch is Nivar Denwatch's father, an ex-mercenary. This memory takes place when Nivar was 14, one year after his mother died.)

There he goes again, working himself too hard. His mother was like that. He is getting sloppy from exhaustion now, and, with no rest, he should be. How long was he at the pell before we started our daily spar? He rushes forward, and is easily tripped and disarmed.

“Okay Nivar, that's enough sparring for today, time for a lesson.”

“Yes, Dad.”

Dutiful as usual, but I can hear the disappointment in his voice. He vastly prefers the sparring practice to any of the lessons I give him, tactical or otherwise. Sometimes I get the feeling that his mother would have done a better job of teaching him, if she was still around. She probably wouldn't approve of what I teach him either...

“Now, I know you like the craftsmanship and designs of weapons and armor more than magic...”

“Magic is cheating.”

“You feel that way now, but you'll see that even a warrior can use it to his advantage. I'm going to teach you about magical weapons and armor today.”

That got his interest, first time I've seen him look this attentive toward a lecture.

“First is weapons, general enchantments to increase the lethality of a weapon are called 'grades,' weapons are graded zero through five. Enchanting a weapon becomes more difficult as it gains more enchantments. Each grade has to be layered on top of the one before it, so the price of a magical weapon increases vastly with each grade.

“Can't you just start with the best type of magic?”

“Actually, that's a weird one. I don't know why but each grade requires all of the previous grades to be there. At least, that's what every enchanter I've talked to has told me.

“Grade Zero, refers to enchantments that don't aid in combat. These generally do things like prevent blades from dulling, or preventing steel from rusting. I never buy a weapon that isn't at least grade zero enchanted. Not many folks know this, but grade zero enchantments increase the durability of a weapon enough to let you break a non-magical weapon if you have enough strength behind your blow without risk of breaking your own.

“Grade One enchantment means that the weapon is of magically improved craftsmanship. Perhaps, for instance, the blade is sharpened beyond what even the best of smiths could manage.

“Grade Two is an increase in the power of the weapon's hits. Some of these enchantments might make the blade or head of the weapon to become heavier after the apex of a swing, adding to the force of a blow.

“Grade Three adds to the speed at which you swing the weapon, making your attacks harder to predict and more powerful.

“Grade Four makes a weapon become attuned to its wielder, letting you feel your weapon as an extension of yourself more readily. Even someone that has never had any fighting experience can defeat a skilled warrior by using a grade four weapon.

“A Grade Five weapon seeks out the gaps in an opponents defenses, almost aiming itself for you.”

“It doesn't go any higher?”

“Supposedly there have been instances of what would be called Grade Six weapons. Going beyond five brings out a personality in the weapon, almost aiming itself becomes aiming itself. Some even possess the wielder. But those are just in legends, I don't think they actually exist. There are more ways to get a more powerful weapon, this is through ungraded enchantments. These are considered separate because they direct their energy outward instead of actually residing in the weapon.

“Ungraded enchantments can be added to a weapon regardless of grade. A popular one is enveloping the blade in flames while fighting, or a blade that seeks out the vitals of a foe. One of the men in my mercenary company had a weapon that could float around and fight on its own for a few seconds if tossed into the air.”

“What about ranged weapons?”

“The same rules apply, a bow or crossbow will apply its magic to any ammunition that is fired from it. Though, if you use enchanted arrows, only the more powerful of enchantments will apply, firing a grade two arrow from a grade two bow won't help at all, since the arrow already has magical enhancements similar to those the bow is trying to add onto it.”

“How long does the arrow remain magical? And what about the ungraded enchantments?”

“It doesn't last long. It wears off very quickly after hitting something. If yours was the better magic you wouldn't want the enemy to retrieve the arrows to use against you, would you? Ungraded enchantments always seem to combine if they are different enough. Even opposed elements will stack up. You could fire an iced arrow from a bow that adds flames, and end up with an arrow flying at your enemy that would fluctuate between the intense heat of fire and the biting cold of the ice.”

“What was the best weapon you ever had?”

“Hm? I would say my best weapon is my grade three broadsword, I've never shown you how the blade can be wreathed in acid, have I?

Haven't even drawn that one since his mother died, even thinking about it reminds me of her. She was always the penultimate damsel in distress. I came to this town in the middle of an orc raid, that was the first time I saved her. I stuck around under the pretense that the little village needed guarding, but it was really she who kept me there. Bandits, ogres, trolls, goblins, everyone seemed to want to a piece of her. Every time, I'd come running. There was even a necromancer one time. I should tell Nivar that story some time, when he's old enough to appreciate how pissed the codger was when I told him his virgin sacrifice, wasn't.

“Armors are also graded zero through five. Enchanting armor is easier and therefore less expensive than weapons. I've heard this is because there is more space to work the magic on, but not one enchanter has ever been willing to share their secrets with me, so I am unsure if that is the case.

“Grade Zero is much the same as it is with weapons.

“Grade One strengthens the armor without reducing its flexibility when moving.

“Grade Two adds invisible magical plates around the armor that can only be seen while they are deflecting a weapon.”

“How am I supposed to get around armor I can't even see?”

“When you see it briefly after contact you can look for gaps, and just because the plates are magic doesn't mean they are unbreakable.

“Grade three adds further plates that only even exist when a weapon is contacting them, these plates are generally positioned at joints or other places where a permanent plate would heavily reduce mobility.

“Grade Four adds a small aura of magical energy that slightly slows incoming attacks right before they make contact.

“Lastly, Grade Five takes that magical aura and causes it to also churn, twisting attacks and deflecting them to the side.

“The ungraded enchantments do several things. Some add additional protection to vital organs. Others offer resistance to fire or lightning, which is important if your enemies are employing a wizard against you. Some emanate a small field that deadens spells before they even reach you. Another man in my company had a shield that could float about of its own accord, letting him use a two handed war axe without forgoing a shield.”

Nivar chuckles slightly, he's normally so serious.

“What's so funny?”

“What if you had five or even ten shields floating around you all at once, wouldn't that look silly?”

“Yeah and they'd probably stop you from hitting anything just as much as they'd stop you from being hit.”

I join him in laughter. He got me, now I can't get that thought out of my head.

1-17 “A duck?”

We all approach the glowing wall as Sephram walks in toward where the river still runs through the crystalline ground.

“That's odd, I guess the crystallization has stopped growing,” Lady Averdine indicates where her barrier meets the ground.  “It used to be growing right up to that spot, even climbing upward, slowly trying to overcome the wall.”

Sure enough there's about half a foot between the edge of the strange growth and the barrier’s foot.

Our attention is then grabbed by a splash. We look back toward the river and Sephram. Out of the water have climbed two more amalgamations. One shares the features of a duck and a beaver, or maybe it is just the features of a platypus. It also must have caught a crayfish.  Two large pincers extend from additional arms near its front. The other seems to have the bodily features of an otter, the head of a frog and is slightly smaller than the first.

Sephram, whose motions read of tenseness the whole time he stood near the Lady, now seems relaxed in the face of a pair of slightly more than wolf-sized enemies. His stance is wide and aggressive, each sword held toward one of two enemies.  The amount of time before any of them make a further move is long enough for the lot of us to draw our crossbows.   We begin loading as the first move is made.

The frog-otter, in a motion similar to what I've seen before, launches a spear-like tongue at Sephram. Before I even have time to give warning, he deflects it with the longsword in his right hand. Sidestepping, he slashes a portion of it off before it recedes. The other begins to approach him, its gait rather comical and clumsy-seeming as it totters along.

The frog-otter also begins to run at him, but faster and with less confusion among its limbs.  It leaps at him only to be met by what I can only describe as a whirlwind of steel. Not shifting his feet at all, Sephram brings his blades around in swift circular strokes, each making contact with either a crunch as fractured pieces of the beast’s armor fall to the ground or a softer sound as the blade meets an unprotected section. His speed is hard to follow, as pieces of the amalgam fall to the ground.

The duck-thing has made its approach in this time, despite being hit by a volley of our crossbow fire, most of which bounced harmlessly off of the hard plates covering it. Sephram turns and defends himself from a surprisingly fast barrage of punches and grabs made by the lobster-like claws of the thing. Only one makes it past his guard and contacts despite his dodges. It does nothing more than make him step back a pace with the force. His chest plate takes the blow, not even leaving a dent.

Moving around the beast so as to make it turn slowly leaving only one claw to contend with, Sephram begins his own offensive. Using the longsword  to fend off the closer claw's strikes, he brings his other foreign blade down right where the oddly placed extra arm meets the body. It falls lifelessly to the ground. The more confident of us launch a second volley at the two locked in close quarters. One, probably fired by the rookie, deflects off Sephram's vambrace, the rest either stick in the duck-thing's front or bouncing ineffectively to the ground.

With its remaining arm the creature manages to grab Sephram's leg. Before it can take advantage of this, Sephram severs the limb. He follows with a thrust that goes straight through one eye on the creature's duck-like head, and comes out the other. Spasming slightly for a second or two, it slumps over.

I hear the men exchange coins as Sephram stomps the ground twice and yells, “Any more?!”

1-16 “Crystal Delta”

I don't have much reason to trust the sorceress, yet she doesn't seem to be lying.

“Well, I guess we follow.”

The shimmering gateway floats slightly above the ground. I don't see any clue as to where it leads, only a white glow. Hesitating only slightly, I enter the portal.

Immediately, I emerge to the sound of water lapping riverbanks. The journey was dizzying despite its short length, it takes me a short while to bring everything into focus. One of the men bumps into me from behind as they begin to emerge from the portal itself.

After getting my bearings I look around, I've been here once, a long time ago. 'New Lake.' It was formed before I was born, but is so called because one of the previous owners of Midrange Keep created it when, out of some amazing miscalculation, his engineers were digging a channel to draw water to make a moat for the keep and, somehow, ended up drawing the water here, many furlongs south of the castle. The lake was created in what used to be a rather large and deep valley among the wide and hilly plains of this area. The fishing was good here until Iztram had come to power. Renaming the lake after himself and overfishing it until naught was left. Nobody has bothered coming around since, I suppose they're giving some time for the fish to come back.

Looking toward the delta that leads into the lake I see the Lady and Sephram, as well as something very odd. Several acres of the delta are completely covered in a gem-like substance. What used to be rough sand or silt, was now smooth with angular rises and falls. The variety of color is also a jarring change in the terrain. No longer just tans browns and greens, the entire spectrum must be represented now. The area is also slightly darkened even accounting for the approaching sunset, except for a faintly shimmering wall of light around the whole area.

The men look uneasy, something like this isn't natural. We don't have training to deal with magical issues of this scale, and there are only a few wizards in town that work for us.

Moving to get a closer look, I turn to the Lady and ask, “What happened here?”

“I found out about this just recently myself actually,” She responds, “I had been collecting clay from here for a while. One day I had found a sword sticking from the ground. I don't know why, but I had a bad feeling about it so I let it be. For my next several visits I found the area near the sword to be crystallizing. I decided to observe it for a few days, the last of which saw an explosion of growth. It went from about two acres to over seven in one night. That's when I placed this mana barrier around the area.”

“And you think the creature got past your wall?”

“No, I think it got out before I sealed the area off. I had noticed strange effects on some of the carnivorous plantlife, but once I saw some of them taking on frog-like or bird-like aspects I actively began destroying them, lest they grow larger or mobile and become dangerous. There might be more, if one managed to escape before my vigil on the place.”

“What about this sword, where is it?”

“I left it there in the middle, you can't really see it from here, though.” She points off into the distance.

“Is it safe to walk along this ground.”

“I wouldn't know. I prefer to levitate, it keep my shoes from getting dirty.”

It is just now that I notice that she's been floating a few inches off of the ground this whole time. Though her gem studded boots still seem to be supporting her weight on some unseen platform. I'm not sure I want to walk on this terrain, especially if this stuff has been growing.

Sephram speaks up, “Allow me to test the safety of this ground if you wish to explore it.”

“A wonderful idea, I'm sure you can handle anything unpleasant that may happen,” responds Lady Averdine.

“Two copper says something bad happens.” Mario whispers behind me. Betting, some of the watchman use it as a means to make light of something that's too serious, others use it to get better meals.

“I'll take you up on that.” Gordon this time.

“Five copper says he'll be able to handle it, if something bad happens.” Sam bets.

“He's pretty decked, sounds like a fools bet to me.” Mario responds, and then the rookie accepts the challenge.

Drawing both of his swords, each glowing with what must be layers of enchantment, Sephram steps past the magical wall. It oscillates and lets him through.

1-15 “Averdine”

“Having fun talking to Number One, I see.”

As I turn from the golem to face toward her, I see the faces of the other men with me. The older ones are better at hiding it, but I know that look. It's a look I haven't given any other woman since I met Melanie all those years ago. While the rest of the men are busy 'keeping an eye' on the sorceress, I decide to keep turning and check the armored man standing next to her.

This guy is incredibly well equipped. A full suit of plate glows of magic, made out of what I imagine must be adamant, a very rare greenish metal much stronger than steel and only slightly heavier. Two mismatched swords hang from his belt. One is a long sword with an elaborate handguard, hilt, and sheath. That one seems to be pressing the size limit of a one handed weapon. The other is of a style unfamiliar to me. The hilt is unusually long for its shorter blade and is wrapped in closely woven cord. The sheath shows it to have a smaller, slightly curved blade that reminds me of a scimitar or sabre of some kind. Yet the blade is not quite curved enough, and the handguard is a small simple flat circle of metal. A close faced sallet covers his head. He manages to stand very close to the lady without impeding her movement or bumping into her at all, his motions read of tenseness.

“I've heard of golems before, but I'd thought they were mindless. I didn't think they were capable of carrying a conversation.”

“Most aren't, this is my first design for an improved golem. One not prone to going berserk and with more mental capability. I'm Lady Averdine, and this is my bodyguard and sometimes gateman Sephram. I'm guessing by your voice that you are Watchman Nivar. What did you come to speak with me about? You, at least, didn't come to stare.”

At this, I hear the men behind all shift slightly.

“While investigating missing livestock, we followed strange tracks through the woods. At the end we found a nest and were attacked by a strange creature. It seemed to be a combination of other animals, and most likely magical in nature. Would you happen to know anything about that.”

She turns to the golem, “Number One, has anything like that been around here lately?”

“AFFIRMATIVE, A BEING SIMILAR IN TO THAT DESCRIPTION WAS SPOTTED NEAR THE PERIMETER THREE DAYS AGO AT TWILIGHT. THE LIGHT LEVEL WAS UNUSUALLY LOW AROUND SAID BEING. DESPITE TWO VERBAL ATTEMPTS AT DISSUASION, IT ATTEMPTED TO CLIMB THE WALL. I THREW IT OUT INTO THE WOODS. INJURED, IT RETREATED.”

“A crystalline creature?”

“AFFIRMATIVE, THE CREATURE ALMOST SEEMED TO BE A GOLEM ITSELF.”

“Crystalline... I think I know where it came from then. Down by New Lake, I can show you.”

“If we leave now it will be after sunset before we get there.”

“Not if we take a shortcut.”

With a few motions of her hands and some unidentifiable chanting, a portal opens beside us all, Lady Averdine and her bodyguard step through before I have a chance to protest.

1-14 “Guardian”

She's able to talk through the golem? It must be convenient to be such a powerful sorceress, instead of pondering it myself I decide to ask, “Are there any other things it can do like that, things other than fighting?”

“YES WATCHMAN NIVAR, I WAS ALSO CONSTRUCTED WITH MANUAL LABOR IN MIND. I CAN MEASURE AND CUT WOOD OR STONE WITH GREAT PRECISION. I NEED TO BE FITTED WITH ACTUAL HANDS TO DO HEAVY LIFTING, THOUGH.”

It's here that I take a much closer look at its construction. The 'hands' are indeed not actual hands holding swords. They are designed to look like they are gauntlets, yet they are joined with the blades. Looking closer at the 'face' of the golem I notice that the great helm that serves as its head is comically designed, the ventilation holes (which I'm sure are just there for decoration), along with the slanting curve of the eye holes, give the impression of a smiling face. I'm still very impressed by the quality and intricacy of the armor plates.

“ADDITIONALLY I AM LINKED WITH SEVERAL GEMS POSITIONED ALONG THE WALL, I CAN SEE AS THOUGH I WAS STANDING AT ALL OF THEM.”

“You can't be able to get to them very fast can you?” The rookie again.

“I WAS DESIGNED TO LOOK DECEPTIVE IN THAT MATTER. I CAN PROBABLY OUTRUN ANY OF YOU, BARRING ANY MAGIC ITEMS YOU MIGHT BE CONCEALING.”

“Why are you telling us all of this, aren't you, or your master worried about people using such information against you?”

“YOU ARE CITY WATCHMAN, AND THE LADY HAS DONE NOTHING WRONG, I HAVE NO REASON TO WITHHOLD ANY INFORMATION FROM YOU.”

“What if we were lying?”

“I BEAR AN ENCHANTMENT THAT DETECTS LIES, WHILE I WILL NOT KNOW THE EXACT TRUTH, I WILL SEE A FALSEHOOD, BARRING MAGIC ITEMS OR OTHER EFFECTS PREVENTING SUCH DIVINATION.”

“Really? Mario, have you ever been drunk on duty?”

“No, sir.”

“YOU LIE KNAVE!” The voice that comes out this time is different in tone and inflection, Mario is visibly shaken. It also lacks the subtle reverberation in the golem's speaking voice, much like when Lady Averdine was speaking through it. Mario looks a little scared. “PARDON ME, THAT IS A RESPONSE TRIGGERED WHENEVER SOMEONE LIES IN MY PRESENCE. IT IS A RECORDING OF THE OTHER GATEMAN, AND IS COMBINED WITH A MINOR ENCHANTMENT TO SHAKE UP THE LIAR. THIS IS USUALLY FOLLOWED WITH A BEATING, DEPENDING ON THE LIE.” The cheery tone of the golem's voice... I'm unsure whether it make that last line more or less intimidating.

Mario's face flushes, “Well how about you sir, have you ever been drunk on duty?”

“No, I avoid alcoholic drinks, don't particularly enjoy the taste of them.”

Nothing out of the golem. There are very few occasions when I drink, and I haven't imbibed enough to get drunk since my teens.

The gate opens and closes as Lady Averdine and an armored man walk out to greet us.