Cris had been surprised when the construct had approached him and snapped the ropes holding him down with two fingers before grabbing and flinging them to the back wall where they hit and slid down to the floor.

His hunger and thirst were beginning to grow, and he wasn’t sure if the entire experience that he had gone through so far was a delusion produced by his mind and he wasn’t just passed out in the back alley of the tavern after someone had drugged his drink.

‘Ren. Meet Cristiano, he’s a foreigner like me. Not like you obviously, anyone calling you foreigner would have to understand that you’re not made of meat, flesh and bone like we are. Cristiano, this is my bodyguard and executioner if necessary. Call him Ren. He won’t mind. His name has its own meaning in my language but you wouldn’t understand it. A kind of joke you see. You don’t speak any other languages do you? Apologies, I forgot to ask.’ said Ge.

His eyes surprised Chris. Despite his odd appearance as a clear foreigner to these lands his eyes were what drew the most attention. Both of his eyes were a deep golden hue. His skin was lighter than Cris’s own, and his hair, and eyebrows were pure black. He lacked any facial hair on his face though and his skin was smooth and shined with a polish.

At first glance he was similar to those who hailed from the Graboki Dynasty in the mountains to the East which had once been part of the old kingdom coalition before the Dark Lord was killed.

‘Ren, you’re being rude. Cris, I need to talk with him a moment. Stay away from the door for now. Please, for your own safety. We only need a moment’. said Maxton Ge.

His golden eyes shined as he blinked and gave Cris a reassuring hand on his shoulder before turning and pulling Ren to a corner of the room where he began talking in the same musical language that he had heard earlier when he had woken up. There was a shift and drop in tones when they talked, he noticed that much at least but he did keep his distance away from the door but kept his eyes on it warily as he moved to an opposite corner of the room.

Whether he didn’t understand their spoken language he owed them a debt and a little privacy was worth being rescued. He considered using his aura senses but his near lack of energy stopped him from being effective with them. At the most he had enough for another quick burst check unless he was able to find something safe to eat and drink. The moss on the wall and drips of water on the stone from the metal hooks on the ceiling weren’t appetising.

Instead he turned his attention towards studying the build of Ren. The pair didn’t seem to care that Cris was watching them as long as he kept a suitable difference. When Maxton Ge noticed he just waved a hand at him, gave a smile and carried on talking to Ren with occasional hand gestures as though to emphasise a point.

The appearance of the construct called Ren had surprised Cris far more than his voice had, for all he was able to tell he was a normal human. There was simply enough specific detail designed onto him that he would easily pass as a soldier from a distant kingdom.

Dressed in an old, even ancient style of armour with an attached sword and shield he passed for a man in his mid-thirties, long hair tied back into a bob on the back of his head.

On his face a fine black moustache and a short beard. The quality of design of whatever paint has been used was unable to be distinguished from living flesh.

His entire body, except for his hands were covered in the suit of heavy armour with overlapping plates which reached down to his knees and ending in a pair of leather ankle boots. He was partially covered in blood and flesh but it appeared to be absorbed into the materials that had been used to build his body.

When they had finished their brief conversation Maxton Ge made a shooing motion with his hands as he rolled around a transparent glass ball filled partially with liquid. Cracking it open he drank down the contents in several gulps before rubbing his stomach in apparent satisfaction.

‘The good stuff, that could wipe out a few villages but it’ll satisfy me for now. I’ve yet to adjust to this magical corruption of your kingdom but this will be sufficient for immediate needs of protection. The trick is never to create too virulent. You can say hello to our new friend Ren, he’s obviously not a threat or a trick and if he was I’m pretty sure you could snap his neck easily. Not that would ever happen between comrades of course, unless you fully turned into one of those corrupted and looked to directly being an obstruction. Ren?’ said Maxton Ge.

The construct called Ren turned to look at Maxton with an obvious pressure of displeasure but Cris was unable to detect any change of emotion on his face.

Crunching several pieces of wood and rock beneath his feet he took several steps across the room towards Cris.

[My function is to assist Disease Master until he achieves specific goals required by a Son or Daughter of Heaven. Happily once he fails he will die by my hand or if I meet destruction then another or my brothers or sisters will take on the task. Success gives him a sufficient reward. I am pleased to meet you Cristiano. My title is Ren.] said the painted construct and he stuck out his hand in a greeting.

The fact that the eyes of Ren didn’t blink once and that only the mouth moved but not a single other muscle was odd to say the least but Cris considered himself lucky to meet such a unique creation. He took the expressed hand and gripped it tightly squeezing his own in a clasp.

‘I’ve heard of augmented and stories and several myths of golems who were created through alchemy, prayer and magic but did you build this living wonder? He must be full of tricks. Nice to meet you as well Ren, thank for freeing me even if you didn’t mean to.’ asked Cris as he stretched his body out a little to get some feeling back into his limbs.

He was still hungry and thirsty but being free was a good start. The thought of either breaking the chair apart and taking part of it as a club or using some of the rope or chain had passed his mind but he simply lacked a great deal of strength to use it effectively.

His combat training had been fighting against a single opponent who was corrupted before he could knock them down and restrain them. Realistically having two opponents by his side would give him a much higher chance of survival and he’d had no luck from Agnes and the two with her turning up to rescue him.

Where did they get to?

I’m running into a lot of strange new friends.

[Disease Master. Our new companion designate is suffering from a state of hunger and dehydration. Requesting permission to provide him with trial supply goods and preferred basic combat weaponry from storage. I will not supply armour unless necessary. You are most welcome young Master Cris. I’m glad you understand politeness. Disease Master, confirmation is required.] said Ren.

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The construct walked the several strides towards the broken and shattered remains of the door frame and turned on side on as he took his shield and short sword and covered the he entrance with his body blocking anyone who would attempt to gain entry once more.

Maxton Ge was busy pinching his own skin as he examined one of the walls with dark red splatters as he licked a finger and placed it against the surface before putting the tip of it onto his tongue and smacking his lips.

‘Not pure, this room held several partially contaminated once but the lack of quality continues to frustrate me. Ren, this young man is our fresh comrade. Offer him what he needs and we’ll make our way out of here. I don’t like to cover my shoes in blood and rotten flesh of the mess you made when you performed a satisfactory rescue attempt. We have an appointment schedule to stick to I believe. Do your job Ren and then we leave. I leave the choice up to both of you.’ said Maxton Ge as he continued to run a finger across the stone walls.

He was either stuck with very strange people or he was the one who wasn’t used to those who lived he in the wider world beyond the capital city and the surrounding countryside. He didn’t have clear memories of the collection of city states he had grown up in aside from stories told to him by his mother before she had left them and Alessandro.

Old memories hold little value.

Cris shook his head, he looked at the stone room that they had been left in. Realistically it was a holding cell of sorts, he’d taken a short moment to explore the room but it was mostly bare aside from the two chairs they had been seated in, several hanging chains and hooks from the stone ceiling and plain stone walls with various dark patches.

Nothing worth trying to take. Time for them to leave. He moved up to Ren who was stood half-way through the doorway.

‘Do you have a spare weapon then Ren?’ asked Cris.

The construct turned to him and held out the hand holding the sword at an angle while keeping the hand holding the shield covering the door.

Uncertain if he should take the offered sword Cris turned his gaze back towards Maxton Ge who was focused on the walls before he paid attention to Ren holding the sword at a downward angle.

‘I’d prefer a dagger if you have one to spare. The sword is a nice weapon but not my style, I’ve not been trained in one. No armour? I suppose that any other help is appreciated, I’ve had an...interesting day so far.’ said Cris.

Ren opened the hand holding the sword and before it fell down onto the floor there was a dark blue glow around his hand as the item simply vanished into thin air. Although he would have been surprised at the trick, Cris was more interested when a leather arm bracer with metal studded straps containing two plain-looking daggers appeared held in the hand of the construct called Ren.

He reached out and took the leather bracer and strapped it around his arm. Pulling one of the knives out he weighed it in his hand before getting used to the weight. It was a well-balanced blade despite being plain-looking. With his meagre dregs of light and purity magic remaining he reached out a hint of sense to the metal both in his hand and the remaining one in the brace.

When he received no sensation back in return he accepted the weapon as a plain one but whether or not he would be able to channel light magic into them was a different question. He'd need to determine the strength of the metal in the blades and their suitability when he was able to recover a little more of his own powers.

After withdrawing the second blade he ran through a basic combat movement which his head servant Alessandro had taught him before clinking both of the knives together and finishing with a deep bow of respect towards Ren.

His mother had always taught him to show politeness and skill when meeting new allies before she had left him as a young boy. Despite the ten years since he had last seen her, the lessons that she had tried to impart on him as a noble, even as a foreign one in appearance to this kingdom had come in useful.

Still bowed he adjusted his voice a little. It'd be better than trying to clear out a dry and dusty throat. He'd already been told indirectly that he'd be given trial supply goods and a flask of water and dried meat would help his immediate survival when they had to fight their way out of this corruption cultist den.

'I thank you friend Ren. As comrades we will work together and I promise your gift of knives will be put to good use against both our foes.' said Cris.

He held the movement likely longer than was necessary and his muscles began to cramp and ache but he would do his best to hold the pose until a verbal response was given.

[You show the right amounts of respect young Master Cris. I am glad the weapon suits you. It belonged to a skilled bandit leader who tried to kill Disease Master during our long trip here. Do you have a taste preference?] said Ren as he nodded his approval. His body had remained entirely still except for a small movement from his head and arm.

When he had received a reply and straightened himself ignoring his cramps and ache from his hungry stomach Cris had noticed an odd aspect of the construct, despite it's precise human appearance it lacked details that you only noticed when you paid close attention.

For one it was similar to a statue, a highly lifelike statue but it made motions as smooth as any human would. He doubted that he could have maintained a sideways pose holding a shield in the doorway blocking off any potential attacks. The fact that it never breathed, took in a single breath to either exhale or inhale and kept perfectly still was marginally unnerving.

The voice of Maxton Ge called out.

'You gave him my bracer of knives? I was the one who made that bandit leader bleed from his eyes until they exploded. Forget it, Ren, you're not a walking restaurant, you should be able to recognise from his appearance when he comes from. Just give him the pre-packed noodles. With meat, he'll need the protein, then give him one of my boosting drinks. The man looks both hungry and dehydrated. I'm sorry Cris, this idiot forgets that he's dealing with living organic beings on occasion. Not all of us can stand lack of energy. Give him the food and I need to leave this room, it bores me now and I want to have a quick look at any corrupted bodies you sufficiently intact.'

Cris shook his own head as he patted the leather bracer with twin knives strapped to his arm. Despite his own hunger and thirst being armed had made him far more comfortable than he had earlier. He steadied an arm to the wall next to the door when he experienced another deep hunger pang.

'I am grateful for any form of provisio-' started Cris as he was interrupted.

Maxton Ge had walked up as he has been talking and with one hand under his armpit held him steady while another gestured towards the construct. He lightly tapped the open hand which had previously glowed blue when both the sword had vanished and the leather bracer had appeared.

'Cris, do you know what Ren means? In my language it translates as a person. It isn't his name. He hasn't been alive long enough nor done enough for the Sons and Daughters of Heaven to provide him with one. You'd be better off not treating him as a conscious being and rather as some constructed death machine following orders. He might pass as a man in all aspects that you or I do but he remains a man with no name. Ren, forget the noodles and just give him a recovery drink and a container of water. No more of this politeness. We need to find ourselves a quick exit.'