A Monster Life Ch. 40-42

The party followed Royle and entered a gully at the edge of a broad stretch of barren land. It was a little deeper than their heights. 'Golems come here more often so we need to be quiet.' the boy said.

Conchim looked up at the sky. 'I'll fly high enough to blend in with the darkness. If need be, I can distract a golem if it's about to spot you in here.'

Ulric gave her a smile. 'Thanks. That'll be a great help.'

She peeked out across the open space, then flew up quickly. The rest went on their way and Ulric was impressed with the boy's ability to navigate through the narrow crack without stumbling. 'You have no trouble seeing in the dark? There's not much light in here.'

The boy grinned. 'I like to play outside in the moonlight with my friends. It makes hide and seek a tougher challenge.'

Iphigenia chuckled. 'And makes for good training in hiding from golems.'

Pebbles falling to the ground stopped them in their tracks. Ulric looked up at Conchim hovering above them, and pushed himself up against the sides of the gully to take a peek above ground level. 'Golem up ahead.' he whispered when he spotted a grey figure in the distance. 'We'll need to move silently.'

The group continued carefully in silence until the thumps of the golem's footsteps sounded through the ground. They pressed themselves against the steep side of the gully and breathed as shallow as they could. Susi pressed herself against Ulric and he put one arm around her.

The golem moved along the very edge of the gully while its heavy footsteps caused earth to crumble from the sides. It stopped for a few moments right above their heads, then continued along the gully.

'It's far enough.' said Ulric across the link after a little while and the group continued.

The group left the gully just inside the trees and Royle pointed out the next direction. 'It's not far now but we might have to avoid one of the village's guarding golems.'

The party followed the boy through the trees until they reached the edge close to the village. A single light was visible behind window blinds at one of the houses. 'That's my home.' Royle said. 'There's always someone keeping an eye on my brother.' He peered left and right. 'No golem in sight, follow me.'

Swiftly, they all crossed the open space between the trees and the village, and Royle ushered them through the stable door at the back of the house. The only cow eyed them with little interest and the couple of chickens kept to the corner they were in. 'Wait here.' said Royle. 'I'll tell my parents about you first.'

He stepped into the house and Ulric and the girls recognised the anger and relief of parents who thought their child was in big trouble. The amount of Mispel flowers took the edge off of their anger, and a few moments later the boy beckoned the party to come in. 'These are the people that saved me.' he said as he gestured to them. 'They also helped me gather the Mispel flowers.'

Ulric's suspicion of the boy's poverty was confirmed by the pale and thin appearance of his mother and father, and the sparse and worn furniture inside. Iphigenia stepped forward when the boy's parents watched the bloodwolves in apprehension. 'Our party's named Quaint. We were travelling towards the other side of the mountain range when we heard your son was in trouble.'

His father glanced at Royle, then stood up from his seat on the bed where Royle's brother lay. 'Then I thank you from the bottom of his mother's and my heart.' He glanced at Susi and Ulric. 'I'm sorry we have nothing to repay you with though.'

Iphigenia gave him a quick smile. 'Don't worry about that, we were glad to save him. We heard about your other son, and offer our help to cure him.'

Royle's mother grabbed her husband's arm. 'Please! If you can do anything for Emileo, I'll repay you in whatever way I can!'

Iphigenia held up her hand. 'Don't worry about that. Let's first see if your son can be cured.'

Royle went to Jowa's place and brought him back. The old man was surprised to see the strange group in the house but went to work on making the cure from the Mispel flowers. Kaui provided him with a few other herbs and together they finished the strong smelling thick drink, which Emileo drank slowly.

'All we can do now is wait.' Jowa said to the boys' parents and looked at Kaui. 'But I have a feeling he'll be saved.'

Emilio's mother stroked his forehead and smiled in renewed hope. His father shook Jowa's hand. 'Thank you.'

Jowa gestured with his head to Royle. 'Thank your son and his saviours, without them bringing back those flowers I wouldn't have been able to do anything.'

Royle's father grabbed his shoulder. 'Although I worry about you, you also showed you're on your way to becoming a good man.'

Royle smiled at his father.

'Royle mentioned the situation here.' said Iphigenia. 'Can you tell us more about it?'

Royle's father introduced himself and his wife as Hubero and Wiliamy, and confirmed what Royle already told them. There was too little known about the source of the golems to tell other than they came from lord Malovick's castle.

'We'll have to find out more about the constructor.' said Ulric.

'The best way would be to infiltrate the lord's castle and collect more information from the inside.' said Elzbieta.

'One of my friends works at the castle.' said Wiliamy. 'She'll be sure to help us smuggle someone inside.'

'I have no problem with that as long as there's no danger.' said Ulric.

Iphigenia stroked his neck. 'We know how much you care, Wolfie, but trust us not to worry you too much..'

He sighed. 'Sorry, but I just can't help myself.'

'We know, darling.' said Elzbieta. 'Some things can only be done by one of us though.'

He nodded. Wiliamy. gestured at Iphigenia. 'You're the only one that wouldn't stand out.'

'Then I will go.' said Iphigenia.

***

'Be careful.' said Ulric.

Iphigenia kissed him. 'Of course I will.' she said and poked his nose. 'Otherwise you'll cause a disaster rescuing me.'

He grinned. 'You know me all too well.'

The lord's castle was close to the village and atop the only hill in the country and Iphigenia looked over the gate, wall, and towers at the front as she approached it with Mantia, the elder friend of Wiliamy. Despite her age, Iphigenia saw the woman was no frail thing. 'I'll introduce you as a grandchild from my sister's side.' Mantia said. 'Most people here know I have a sister living on the other side of the country.'

'Anything I need to know about that side of the family?' asked Iphigenia.

'My sister lost her husband a few years ago, you lived with her and your parents until you came here to look for work. Since I can't be around forever, I'm going to see if you can replace me by the time I'm too weak to work.'

Iphigenia nodded. 'Won't they think that'll take many years yet, like I do?'

Mantia chuckled. 'That'll remind them how much it takes to replace me.'

'Good morning, Mantia.' said the guard at the gate. 'Who's the pretty lass with you?'

'The grandchild from my sister, Iphigenia.' said Mantia and poked the guard's chest. 'If you're thinking of wooing her I'll tell Janella what you're up to.'

He burst out in laughter. 'She already made it clear I'm not to get close to other women.'

Mantia folded her arms and nodded. 'Good, she'll be a good wife to you.'

He smiled. 'And I'll always be grateful for you introducing us to each other.'

Mantia gestured at Iphigenia. 'She came to live with us now and I'm seeing if she can work here and in time take over for me.'

He let out a long whistle and looked at Iphigenia. 'Good luck with that.'

Iphigenia returned a little smile. 'Thank you. I'm sure I'll have a lot to learn from my granny.'

'Come, I'll show you around the castle.' said Mantia.

Iphigenia followed Mantia through the front court towards the kitchen at the side. 'Only a few guards at the main gate, but I did spot a golem at a large overhang just inside the wall behind the gate.' she said over the link. 'It looks like it would fit more of them underneath.'

'They might be on patrol if they're part of the guard.' said Elzbieta.

'Likely. I'll see if I can find out exactly how many are used.' said Iphigenia just before entering the warm kitchen filled with the damp smells of cooking and wet laundry.

Mantia introduced Iphigenia to the rest of the servants who were present, and showed her the rest of the castle under the pretence of sharing the work. 'You can put down the basket here.' said Mantia as they entered a room with several cabinets. One of the maids was folding and putting away clothing. 'Eleanna will sort out the laundry, and move clean ones to the drawers in the bedrooms when needed.'

Iphigenia nodded. 'Many bedrooms?'

Mantia went over the rooms in her head while counting on her fingers. 'Well, there's the lord and his wife in one, their two sons and two daughters each have one, and the oldest son and the two daughters have a spouse. There are also two rooms at each side of the castle for the guards but their needs are divided among the twenty of them, and the captain and vice captain have a private room next to those, but taking care of those is also tasked to the guards. There are three guest bedrooms, but those aren't in use now.' She chuckled. 'Of course, the three golems here don't need our service. Also, the four servants who live next to the kitchen take care of their own things.'

'Good, we know their numbers now.' said Ulric.

Iphigenia smiled at Mantia, who returned a quick wink. 'Oh!' she said and tapped her chin with one finger. 'Before you make a mistake and cause trouble, let me show you where the constructor's chambers and work space are because entering those is prohibited.' Iphigenia raised an eyebrow. 'The lord said the constructor doesn't want to be disturbed under any circumstance, and any of us only come there to pick up and deliver laundry and leave meals and pick up the empty plates later.'

Iphigenia nodded and followed Mantia after a quick wave to Eleanna. 'Who is this constructor?'

Mantia shrugged. 'No one has seen him but the lord. Apparently they met during the lord's trip to another country, and since then the constructor has been living and creating golems here. The couple of times he came out of his chambers, he rode in the carriage with drawn curtains with only the lord as his company and the captain driving.'

'So we have no idea who it is.' said Elzbieta.

'I'll see if I can spot a way to get into there.' said Iphigenia.

'All right, just make sure you can escape if you get caught.' said Ulric.

Iphigenia giggled. 'As long as you're here, I always have an escape, Wolfie.'

He chuckled. 'I'd prefer it doesn't come to that.'

Mantia led Iphigenia to a corner at the back of the castle and gestured into the empty and windowless brick passage with a heavy wooden door at the end. An empty tray lay at the door with a dirty plate and a small jug. 'This is it.' she said and moved towards the end. 'You see? All we have to do is pick up what's here.'

Iphigenia picked up the tray but she found no clue from the contents. 'All right, just pick up and deliver here.' she said and examined the door. It had no distinguishing features but there was one thing she noticed. 'I think I see a way to accidentally enter the room.' she said to the others.

'Accidentally?' asked Elzbieta.

'Yes. The door swings inward. I just have to display my clumsy side to use as an excuse.'

Ulric chuckled. 'If they'd seen you fight they wouldn't believe it.'

Iphigenia chuckled. 'I'll try not to get into a fight in the meantime.'

She began in the kitchen with nudging the jar with salt stones, which Mantia had strategically placed at the edge of the shelf above the stove, into the soup. A guard who came to pick up their stew found a broom handle in a very inconvenient place while Iphigenia swept the floor. A tub of underwear became less white when a jar with strawberry jam fell into it from a full tray. When Iphigenia offered to take a tray of glasses to the main dining room, Mantia reached out and took her hands. 'Iphi, my dear, why don't you go retrieve the tray from the constructor. I expect he'll be done eating by now.'

Iphigenia nodded. 'Sure thing.' she said cheerfully, and went on her way while Mantia let out a sigh. From the corner of her eye she noticed others looked relieved and felt confident that Iphigenia's cover worked well.

Iphigenia found the tray with empty plate, looked back to make sure she wasn't seen, untied the bow of her apron, lifted the tray, and dropped it loudly onto the floor while stepping on the hem of her apron and falling against the door. She pushed down the handle as she tried to stop her fall, swung open the door, and stumbled inside on her knees. 'Owowow!' she groaned while she pushed herself up from the floor and brushed her knees, all the while inconspicuously looking around for any movement.

The chamber was lit by just a few large candles, enough for Iphigenia to see it filled with books, stones, wood carvings, crystals glowing softly in shades of red, green, blue, yellow on tables and shelves. Someone dressed in a dark robe slipped through a door opening on the opposite end. "The constructor?" she thought. 'I'm very sorry.' she said. 'My apron came loose and when I picked up the tray I stepped on it and fell forward into the door and I didn't mean to disturb you.' She kicked against a jar and sent it rolling towards the door. 'Ah! Sorry! Let me get that!' She reached the door and caught a glimpse of a thick wooden slab on the floor with a stony mass on top, before a bulky golem blocked her view. The shadows on its stone face made it look as if it glared down at her. She picked up the jar and held it visibly in front of her. 'Sorry. I'll put this back where it was.' After placing it in its original place, she left through the chamber door and curtsied. 'My apologies for disturbing you.' There was no reaction from the golem and she closed the door.

'What are you doing there?'

Iphigenia turned to find the guard she'd met earlier in the kitchen stepping towards her, then keeping a little distance with some worry in his expression. 'I'm sorry, I came here to pick up the empty plates but then I tripped over my apron and stumbled into the door, and then-'

'All right, all right.' said the guard. 'I get the gist. Just hurry on back, the lord doesn't want anyone hanging around the constructor and bothering him.'

'Yes, thank you.' she said and hurriedly gathered the tray and plates, and the guard stepped aside quickly as she passed him.

He cleared his throat. 'Also, take my advice and be more mindful of what you're doing. A clumsy maid will never be popular with guys.'

She gave him a nod. 'I'll try.' she said and focused her thoughts on Ulric and the other girls. 'I didn't get to see the constructor, but it looks like he's building another big golem.'

'If it's anything like the ones we've seen around here, it'll spell trouble.' said Ulric. 'We'll talk about it when you're back.'

42 - Capture

'What's this?' asked Ulric some time after Iphigenia began her clumsy routine.

'Something happening outside?' asked Valdys when she saw him peeking through the gap between window shutters.

Susi lay on his lap and growled softly, but he silenced her by petting her head. 'There's some sort of four legged golem coming with a cage on its back along with some guards.'

Valdys moved up behind him to see what he was looking at and the other girls gathered at other windows. 'That's a prison golem.' said Royle of the golem that resembled a thick, walking stone table with a head at one side and an enclosed platform on its back with iron bars, large enough to hold a dozen people. He glared at the group walking in front of it. 'I know that man in the middle with the long black coat, Rolak. He's the one collecting taxes.' He suppressed the urge to spit after speaking the name.

'Do you even have money that can be taxed?' asked Ulric.

'Almost nothing, but they take part of our own harvest as tax.'

'Look. There's another one coming.' said Elzbieta.

Everyone watched another golem approaching the first group, and this one had a humanoid body like the other's they'd seen, but instead of hands it had large axe blades. Ulric raised his eyebrows. 'What the..'

Royle clenched his fists. 'That's one of the village golems. It's strong enough to cut a tree down with one swing of its axes.' The group halted at a house within sight. 'That's Galuk's house!'

'What're they doing?' asked Conchim when the guards pulled an older man from the house and pushed him into the cage.

'They're going to take him to one of the lord's farms where he'll be forced to work!' said Royle and pulled on Ulric's arm. 'You're strong! You have to help him!'

Ulric looked from the boy to the scene outside. 'That would only be a bad move right now.' he grumbled.

'But you have to! He's old and will die there!'

Elzbieta laid her hands on the boy's shoulders. 'If we fight them right now, we won't be able to find a weakness and defeat the lord and his men, and those golems. Everything will be for nothing.'

Royle glared at the group. 'I want them all dead.'

The axe golem raised his arms, and in a loud crash destroyed the front of the house. Ulric's fists itched. 'They'll get what's coming to them.' he grumbled. 'I promise you that.'

***

'He keeps demanding more and more each year.' said Hubero when he came home to check up on Emilio. He stroked the peacefully sleeping boy's scruffy hair with a sad smile as he worried about his family's future. 'Many of us worry we won't have enough left to feed ourselves next year. We might even have no choice and need to work on the lord's lands to survive.'

'All while he uses those detestable golems to stifle righteous protests.' said Elzbieta.

Hubero nodded gravely.

She looked at Ulric. 'We'll need to take out those golems first. That should disrupt the actions of the guard and provide opportunity for the people to fight alongside us. We won't be able to take down all those trained men on our own.'

'I went over the various processes of creating golems and how they're controlled.' said Valdys. 'There's a common requirement in the form of mana sources, one that gives the golem power, one that controls its actions. If we can take out either, we can disable them.'

'I'm guessing the lord wants to keep all control of the golems to himself.' Ulric said.

Valdys nodded. 'Then he should have an object for that purpose. The only problem is, it could be almost anything.'

Ulric looked between the window blinds at the wrecked house. 'He'd likely worry it might get stolen.'

Elzbieta sat back in her chair. 'So it'll have to be something he keeps close, otherwise it might be out of reach if he needs it.'

'So, something on his person, something he can't lose easily.'

Royle looked at his father. 'His rings?'

Hubero smiled at his son. 'His rings.' He turned to the others. 'He wears a few rings and rumour has it that he never takes them off.'

Ulric grinned. 'Sounds like something worth investigating.' He tuned in to Iphigenia and explained the situation.

'All right, I'll see what I can find out.' she said.

***

Malovick shot back with his chair from his desk when he spotted the cloaked figure in a dark corner of his chambers. 'Who are you?'

Tarrence lowered his hood and the lord held his breath while his heart raced in fear. 'Who I am matters not. What I am about to tell you does.'

Malovick's gripped the arms of his chair to stop his hands trembling. 'What do you want?'

Tarrence showed him the slightest of smiles. 'I don't want anything but to warn you of invaders that have sneaked into your country and will try to get rid of you.'