Trail and Ruins

Wanderer could clearly hear the shouts of their pursuers echoing from above as their hooved feet hit the cold stone floor of the now familiar ruins, Emio’s small form meaning that they had already entered the little room at the bottom of the ladder by the time the Vessel showed up.

The moment Wanderer caught up, they were off again, bursting out the door to the entrance room.

With a yell, the guard who was posted outside the entrance (and was once again sleeping) jumped back out of shock, reaching for their sword before they realised what was happening.

Immediately, the Vessel began telling them of the coming invasion, the guard so oblivious that they had to actively hear the shouts from above before realising what was happening.

Already, the rebel had wasted enough of Wanderer’s precious time, so when they reached for their sword once again with an irritating burst of courage, the Vessel slapped their hand and pointed toward the way back to the main base.

To their own credit, the guard realised what they had to do and obeyed without hesitation, sprinting down the corridor like they were being chased by ticks.

Wanderer did the same only a moment later.

Intending to throw off their pursuers and prevent the messenger from being captured, the Vessel went in the opposite direction, pushing over a nearby lantern to show the chasers which way they went.

The corridor they ducked down was, as all of the halls in the ruin were, incredibly long and so despite their distance, Wanderer still managed a glimpse of their pursuers before they rushed down a separate hall.

Despite the situation, the Vessel was rather happy with their circumstance, not only were they further distracting the enemy from their goal, but with so much distance they could surely lose them in the winding underground labyrinth.

And Wanderer began doing exactly that, bursting through a hundred separate rooms, making sure to close every door and replace every opening behind them as they went.

Eventually, in the now pitch black that was only navigable because of Emio’s light, the trio came to a round auditorium and a great sense of relief came over them all.

From the central, sand-filled courtyard, twelve separate corridors split off in every direction, each leading to another district of the ancient ruins.

Perhaps, there was a chance, however small, that their pursuers could wind their way through the Golem’s every attempt at misdirection in the dark, but from here, there was no possible way that their enemies could know where they were going.

They rushed down the third entry to their right, before scurrying behind a thick door that led to a room similar to the one that served as a dining hall in the main base.

They ran toward the exit at the other side of the room, then stopped and doubled back round, retracing their steps and instead hiding behind a large pile of sand right next to the entry.

And then they waited, picking out shards of glass and petting Emio as they did so, all they had to do was wait until they were certain that the warriors had given up then find their way back to the surface.

They felt a little better than they did before, perhaps they had not given the warning that would have been best, but none could argue they did not risk their life to help the rebels.

With all the force scattered and disorganised, Keshte would surely have had time to prepare their people, and if necessary, move out.

A part of Wanderer insisted that, if they had been faster, then an evacuation would not have been needed, yet they didn't need their Spirit’s reassurance to realise the error in that thinking.

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“This was all planned long before I got involved.” The Vessel resolved.

Indeed, with the way things turned out it was a miracle Wanderer was able to disrupt those plans at all.

Having little else to do, the Vessel thought back to their pursuers, in particular the large commander who had given Wanderer the most difficulty.

They had caught a glimpse of bands of metal inlaid into the leader's skin, a familiar material that Wanderer had recognised as the same metal that formed the largest of the coins in their pouch.

After fixing the last bit of damage on their soft body, they fished out of their pouch one of those very coins, admiring the unnatural shine that came off of it, far brighter than what should have been possible in Emio’s dim light.

It was the same metal, there was no doubt about that, but why would anyone wish to inlay it into their body?

Usually, having anything inside you that wasn't meant to be there was unequivocally a bad thing, especially for a human who was made of things like flesh and blood (which, if Wanderer risked being a little arrogant, was quite a bit less practical than clay).

Perplexed, the Golem focused on the coin in front of them, hoping to glean some otherworldly knowledge relating to the practice.

To their surprise, if they truly focused on the coin in their hand, they began to feel something happening.

A tingling sensation overtook where their clay flesh touched the shiny surface, like some kind of power was flowing into their body from the tips of their fingers.

It wasn't until they looked inside themself with their mind’s eye that they realised what was happening.

In the magic channels which piloted their body and took magic from their soul, Spirit and blessing, where their fingers touched the metal that same magic flowed ever so slightly faster.

Curious, Wanderer palmed the coin, placing it closer to the larger channels in their body.

Both Spirit and Golem looked on in fascination as the power which fuelled them bolstered in strength and speed, providing a rush of enhancement.

They watched in awe as their grip became almost doubly as tight, the coin getting shoved into their soft clay body in the process.

Wanderer saw very quickly how the commander had been able to keep up with them.

“What if I were to place this ne-” the Vessel’s thought was interrupted and muse quickly forgotten, as the dreadful shouts of their pursuers could be heard in the distance.

“How? There is no way they could have tracked me this far” Wanderer thought in disbelief, the halls were too labyrinthine and rooms too repetitive for any one person to ever be able to get their bearings in the maze, let alone track a single Golem.

“It doesn't matter, they would never be able to know which way I came in the circular room.” the Vessel resolved, deciding to stay put and wait it out.

But even against their most desperate of hopes and most infallible reasoning, the Golem’s enemies drew closer, unhindered by Wanderer’s attempts at misdirection.

“They must be using magic” there was no other possibility.

Fear seized the Vessel’s soul as their Spirit began to panic once again and Emio shifted in unease, if magic was being used, was it even possible to escape?

The door next to them swung open with force as their pursuers caught up, the eyeless warrior at the front of the pack with the commander close behind.

In the nick of time, Wanderer hid behind the sand pile next to them, covering Emio’s eye as to snuff out its light.

The Vessel prepared to fight, seeing it as the only way out of their situation and knowing they would have to reconcile it to themself later, they couldn't hide from magic, after all.

Yet to their surprise, the group ran right past them, hollering threats and insults Wanderer was simply too preoccupied to process.

The Vessel watched in morbid curiosity as their pursuers, despite their blatant advantage, made it all the way to the end of the room until their guide stopped, right in the place where Wanderer had begun to double over their own trail.

“They aren't following me”, Wanderer realised, “They are following the path I took!”.

With infinite thankfulness for their own past actions, the Vessel took the small opportunity they had been given and bolted right out the door they had just entered from, not even attempting to be stealthy.

There was a small part of Wanderer that felt joy at the angered shouts of exclamation that echoed from the warriors, and they allowed themself to revel in it for just a second.

In moments the chase was on again, and this time, Wanderer knew what to do.