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The cargo bay was filled with the rhythmic padded impacts of the dense punching bag. The program Quayl was running with the Puuqpu holo-projector was an advanced version custom-made by Gem, and specially tailored to withstand his strength. The projector had also been bolted to the floor in case of any force feedback. Even though he was training without his crab claws, he could still hit it with a crushing force. While he got stronger, a weightlifting program was added as well. Not to be neglected, a cardio program was also available and provided a glorified treadmill that featured a trail through the Puuqpu homeworld wilderness. It was complete with strange animals that would sometimes run with him for support.
The hallway door to the bay opened and Gem sauntered in. She half expected the projector to fly at her again, but it stayed in place. “Enjoying the updates?” She asked with a smile of accomplishment. She liked working with the Puuqpu technology, it was interesting and intelligent.
“I am. So far so good.” He said. “Though, ever since Hermes called me ‘squishy’, I’ve been thinking about it. You know that feeling when you’ve done something hundreds of times, then you get sick and weakened, then get better, then you do that thing again and you notice that your strength is sapped? That’s how I feel, like I can’t hit hard enough.” He went back to throwing punches, putting all his effort into it a few quick times before stopping.
Gem closed the distance between them, she wanted to talk more. “Quayl, you are full of secrets. I don’t like it.” She began. “We need you to be focused. Whatever Hermes has in store for you is big. I can feel it.”
“I know.” He agreed. “I’m a little nervous. I think I’ll feel better once I get stronger.”
She wagged her finger. “I’ll make a deal with you. Defeat a real opponent and I’ll leave you alone about your secrets.”
Quayl thought for a moment, then agreed. “Ok.” He turned to the projector. “Hey Piri,” it chirped to respond. “Give me an opponent, my size, medium difficulty.”
“No safety protocols.” Gem intervened.
The Piri program replied and repeated the order, with no safety protocols included.
A man-sized Puuqpu warrior appeared and Quayl summoned his claws. He took up a boxing stance and made himself ready.
“Remember to breathe,” Gem told him, and in the middle of a breath, his opponent took a jab. With an easy block, Quayl countered. His opponent blocked as well and counter-countered. Quayl blocked again but his defenses had an opening, he realized it and before he could react, he was smacked in the cheek. He didn’t expect the next hit, the error was thinking it would’ve been only one, but the opponent wasn’t a sportsman and hit him again with a one-two punch. Both hits were hard, painful, and Quayl withdrew to regroup. He took a powerful right hook swing from the outside and successfully hit him, but his opponent’s foot hooked his ankle and Quayl went down on his back. He grunted in surprise, and to add injury to the insult, his opponent punched him once more in the stomach, stunning him.
Gem intervened. “Piri, stop the program.” The Puuqpu withdrew and disappeared. Quayl put his claws away.
She helped him up and gave him some advice. “You can’t rely on strength alone. It’ll take skill and cunning. Effectiveness. What are you going to do when a Namina hits you with a lightning bolt from 20 feet away?”
He clutched at his stomach and rubbed his face. “I see your point.”
“Now, about those secrets.” She pried, putting her hands on her hips expectantly. A deal was a deal.
“Hebu is special, even for a Namina, and there was a girl I met on Labora before it was destroyed. Her… soul was forced to be reincarnated, and she is inside Hebu. I found out when I wrote her a letter.” Quayl waited for a response. There was none so he continued. “That’s why they are killing everyone. They need souls to reincarnate as their soldiers… and even more scary, ammunition.”
Gem was frozen. It took a moment for everything to sink in. Quayl waited for any reaction, anger, sadness, anything, but the blank purity of thought and horror was silent and penetrating. Quayl hung his head, he couldn’t watch her think, he didn’t want to think much about it either. “Junne’s dad…” she said.
“Don’t think about it. We can’t AFFORD to think about it and continue to function.” Quayl sighed. “That’s why I’m trying to get stronger, it’s what I can contribute. Save people, every person saved is one less Namina, and every dead Namina is another freed soul.” Gem sighed.
“We’re not the ones saving people though, we’re delivering letters. I understand that the Nummuses make us all stronger, smarter, talented, and sometimes even lucky, but we’re not like you. You have real power! I think the next Nummus should be yours alone.”
Quayl agreed. “I think that would be best. Everything feels foreboding… well… more foreboding than usual.”
Gem nodded. “I hear ya. We’re almost to our next destination, so let’s head upstairs.”
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The planet that came into view wasn’t a smooth round ball that one would expect, but a bumpy, rocky mass of boulders and sand. All forms of rock were present, and the atmosphere was tinged red from dusted minerals floating all about. Wind-swept dunes filled the cracks between crumbled stone structures and even the occasional angular building was noticeable among the collection. It appeared that something once thrived on the planet’s surface, but it was long gone. Former basins sat sapped of their waters, and any tree was withered and pummeled by the world’s special form of deterioration.
The Aerios came in close to look for a place to land. Junne was looking everywhere but there wasn’t a single flat patch of land to settle. “This is pretty rough terrain.” He said. “Are we too late? Did the Namina get to them first?”
A beep came from the communications console. “We’re getting a signal,” Gem advised. “We’re receiving a set of coordinates, not far at all from here.”
Junne pulled the ship around and headed for them, and in a moment, was at the said coordinates. “Just more rock.” He stated.
Below them, the boulders, stones, and sand parted, and a deep chasm opened beneath. It was easily wide enough for the ship. Slowly, Junne piloted the ship downward, and the descent was illuminated with glowing crystal fixtures attached to the wall in random arrangements. The Aerios touched down on a thin bed of sand, and it rippled with the ship’s gravity drive.
Gem commented. “They certainly could use an interior designer.”
“Maybe they’re rock people?” Junne said.
A large being came from one of many caves that extended from the landing site and met the crew at the bottom of the landing ramp. It was indeed a rock person. He was tall, bulky, and made of gray stones, both large and small. Adorning his form was an entanglement of vines, leaves, and flowers dappled and twisted about. He came close to the crew and towered over them for a moment, then finally, he looked down upon them. “Couriers, hmm? Come this way.” His voice was that of scraping stone and sand, and his menacing breathing was similar to the rattle of sliding gravel. He gestured for the crew to follow. “Follow me.” He said sternly and lowly.
Through a tunneling cave formation that appeared to be formed by smashing rocks together, they came upon a chamber. Before them sat a form of a stage, and behind it was a large stone door, crooked and ungeometric, but a door nonetheless. There were two more rock people in the chamber, all looking similar in size and plant life coverings as the first. Their greeter took position on the left side of the stage. The center one stepped forward. “I am Golem. These are my Golems. Golem and Golem. Welcome to the world we call home, but we also call it Golem.”
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Quayl looked at the letter in his hand and he read the name, which was Golem. “This is going to be difficult…” he admitted, but tried anyway and stepped forward. “I am here to deliver a divine letter to… Golem.” He stated.
All three Golems chuckled then the middle one spoke. “Squishy human, I believe Golem is within our inner sanctum.”
“Great, can you take us to them?” Quayl asked, and again, the three laughed.
“No, we cannot, not without a trial. We only accept the strongest into our inner sanctum, only the worthy can enter.”
Junne stepped forward. “What must we do?”
The center Golem continued. “We will judge you by a show of strength, cunning, and skill. I will test the strongest of you. Should any of you fail your challenge, all of you must leave.”
“And I, the most cunning.” Said the Golem to the left.
“And I, the most skilled.” The right one said.
The crew looked at one another. “Ok,” Gem said. “Quayl, you and Stevero to the crazy fighting thing and try not to die, we ladies will show these Golems how smart we can be, and Junne and Rob will go do the skill thing. Does that sound like a plan?” Nobody said otherwise, so that was that.
“Very well.” Said the center Golem. “Let it begin.”
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Gem and Hebu followed their Golem to a room off from the main chamber. Inside this room was a table. A very familiar game was set up on it. Gem immediately recognized the board and its pieces. “Oh! We’re going to play Chess!” She said in delight.
“Yes, we play Chess.” The Golem said and sat on the opposite side of her and the table. The board was already set, and on its smooth checker-patterned battlefield were the black pieces made of obsidian, and the white side made of marble.
Gem sat on an uncomfortable stone cylinder and the table came to her height. “Get many human competitors?” She assumed the size and the proportions of the board, table, and stools had that in purpose.
“Many that average a human’s size. We do. None pass. Black goes first.” He gestures to Gem.
“That’s a mistake.” She said and made her first move. “Do you play often?”
“I do.” The Golem replied and made his move. “I play in championships. I played last year in the interplanetary league.”
“Hm.” Gem hummed and made a bold early maneuver. “I’m not hearing that you won.”
The Golem was angered, caught in a moment of embarrassment. He played an equally bold move. “I must admit that I wasn’t the best then, but I have studied and ruminated on the plays that the champion had done.”
Gem played a subtle move, the Golem reacted, and then she moved aggressively. “So you studied my mother?” The Golem stopped. “You heard me. My mother won last year. She taught me everything I know and more.”
“I’m sure you know chess is also a battlefield of wits and banter as well. It tells of one’s personality.” He made a move.
“I’ve heard that. I don’t find the merit in believing that.” She made a move.
“Heh, you should. The Queen represents the motherly figure in your life. You protect your mother. Tell me, is she still alive? Did Namina kill her?” It was a ploy to make her think about her Queen and possibly coax her to move it from her king.
“That’s an awful thing to say!” She blurted out, and yet she still protected the Queen. “What about YOUR mother? Is she alive and well?” Gem moved a strategic bishop to cover and threaten several possible pieces within a few turns.
“Heheheh.” His laughter was that of grinding bricks. He moved his Queen unexpectedly and both protected and put limiting plays on Gem. She was beginning to see the skill in him. “Golems don’t have mothers.” He warned.
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Junne and Rob followed their Golem challenger down a cave that was winding and narrow. Rob turned to Junne with uncertainty in his voice. “What do you think the challenge will be?”
The Golem interrupted to answer. “Ever hear of the game called Nopes?”
Junne laughed. “I played with the Puuqpu, and I play the tabletop version. I’d like to say I’m pretty good at it.” He turned to Rob to whisper. “Oh man, this is going to be easy.”
They came to a large dome chamber floored with flat thin sand. “This is our arena. It’s full-sized.” The Golem said and took a stony data pad from its place on the wall. He activated several functions and the room came to life. The sand became great dunes and what seemed like mountains compared to what Junne had been playing. From the ceiling came two balls that came in like meteors. They slammed into the floor with heft and density.
Junne observed the balls and chose the red-marbled one. “These are bowling balls.” He said and tried to pick it up. “Good god, this is heavy!” He had to hoist it up with both hands. “Why are they so heavy?”
“Have you not played Nopes before?” The Golem laughed. “This is the real Nopes! In all its original sizes and measurements!”
Junne dropped the dense ball to the surface and its impact made it nearly stick to the spot, it left no give or bounce, and disrupted the thin soil in a dusty cloud. He looked at Rob, and he shrugged. “Ok, I guess I’ll give it a shot,” Junne said.
The Golem picked up his ball easily and tossed it up and down in one hand to display his uninhibited strength. “I’ll let you go first.” He stated. “See what you’ve got.”
“What style?” Junne asked.
“Zero-style. Roll the ball onto the center of the target, and points are rewarded for the rings around it. One, three, and five for the center.”
Junne nodded. “I know how to play.” He told him. In actuality, he was worried. The ball was too heavy, and he had no confidence that he could roll the ball the distance needed to land on the targets. “You go first.” He said with no confidence.
The Golem smiled. “Very well.” He tapped at the datapad and targets appeared.
For those who don’t know how to play Nopes, you have to bowl (large scale), putt (medium scale), or use a pool cue (tabletop) to roll a ball onto a round target space. There are seven targets, and sometimes less or more by preference. In a standard arrangement, there is one in the center of the playing field and six equally placed around it with space between them for terrain. Each target is a flat area for the ball to land and stop, but it could be at any elevation. There is a tiny center point marked in the target’s center zone called a mecca. This marks the very center of the target area. There are also two rings around the center, the outermost is worth one point, and the next closest to the center is worth three. If two balls are in the center, the one closest to the mecca gets the five points and the other receives no points. If the other ball is in the rings and a ball is within the center zone, points are rewarded to both players, so sometimes it’s beneficial to shoot for the rings if the opponent is too close to the mecca to make a play. If one ball strikes the other, nobody gets any points, allowing a new shot with new results to happen. Aggressive play can have more blocking of points in this manner. It’s called a ‘Nope’ when this happens. Each player takes a shot to complete one turn. After both players have taken their turns, the terrain of the playing field and targets will randomly shift. Wherever the balls roll if they are not on a target zone and out in the terrain is where they must be played. If they are on a target, they must shoot for a different target of their choosing. Once points are earned on a target, a new target must be chosen. You can not shoot for the center if you are in the target zones. Strategy can be used to either stay away from your opponent’s ball or to stay close and cause ‘Nopes’ to happen. That is up to the player’s play style. In standard play, the first to achieve 50 points is declared the winner. Other durations can also be set by turn number as well, and whoever has the most points is the victor. The playfield can be a physical arena, but it is popular to play a holographic version for different sizes.
The Golem and Junne stepped up to the nearest target to make their first plays. The Golem took his turn first and sat down the data pad. He tossed his ball from hand to hand to gauge its weight and stood in his chosen location in the target zone. After a quick survey of the landscape, he rolled his ball down the terrain. It coasted and then nestled itself in a shallow trough near a target. It was a solid and favorable first shot.
Junne breathed deeply and tried rolling his ball, putting his fingers in a few of the many holes featured to roll it like a bowling ball. It didn’t have much momentum, but it settled in a valley adjacent to the Golem’s ball. It wasn’t his ideal target. He was hoping to at least Nope the Golem from scoring points and chipping away at the numbers.
This amused the Golem. “Playing reserved, are we?”
“Sure why not?” Junne said and tried not to break his game face. “What strategies do you favor?” It was a bold question, knowing the Golem would mock him, but in that, he might expose what he was thinking.
“Strategies?” He sounded confused. “I play for fun.”
“For fun?” Junne cocked an eyebrow.
“Indeed. I invented the game.”
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Quayl and Stevero and their challenging Golem went nowhere. The stage before the great stone door was their arena. Before anyone could think, they all knew what the strength challenge was about to be.
“I gotta fight him, don’t I?” Quayl asked.
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“Most likely,” Stevero responded. “It would be un-Golem-like to not have a brawl challenge.”
Quayl’s Golem challenger stepped to the far side and allowed him to come up onto the stage. He took his courier’s coat off and tossed it to Stevero. To him, the battle had already begun. He was observing his opponent’s movements and how his joints worked. He thought direct blows on the large slate armor pieces would deal little damage if not none. The plants wrapping around him seemed non-consequential and thought they were worn like clothing to tell one another apart. His challenger stretched and loosened his form to be ready for movement. How fast was yet to be seen.
“Are you ready?” The Golem asked.
“What are the rules?” Quayl asked, hoping to perhaps squeeze together a plan of attack.
“Rules? If you must have rules to prevent having your squishy body hurt too badly, the rule is submission. Make the other yield and the challenge will be complete.”
The rules didn’t provide any leverage or comfort, and Quayl was growing uneasy. He looked at Stevero. “Gotta try I guess.”
Stevero pulled out a medical scanner. “I’ll keep an eye on your condition. Crab armor isn’t as strong as stone, you could crack.” He warned.
Quayl put every ounce of energy into the formation of his crab arms, he made them as dense and as hardened as he could muster. Despite his boiling apprehension, he put his arms up and took a boxing posture with the Golem. The Golem, however, didn’t take up any sort of fighting posture.
The Golem tested the waters and took a jab at Quayl. His rocky fist was blocked skillfully, and he held his own ground. There was another hit and another successful block. The Golem was attacking aggressively, likely underestimating Quayl and he knew that. He waited until there was a smile on the Golem’s face, and none too soon that was when he struck. The Golem blocked the blow to his face by putting his arms up. The familiar stance provided a vulnerability so Quayl punched in a sideswiping to punch away his defenses, he attacked a blocking arm purposefully to knock it out of the way rather than brute-force a hit to his face. The opening was clear, and Quayl followed up with a hard jab to the exposed eye. The Golem winced and withdrew.
“You’re stronger than you look.” He commented.
Quayl replied. “And you’re weaker.”
The Golem didn’t like this remark. He grunted and clenched in on himself, grew in mass and size, and crystals sprouted across his body and formed new plates of armor over his existing rocks and vines covering him. He grew diamonds on his fists and arms and turned them from hard rocky limbs into sharp crystalline weapons. “That feels better.” He grinned.
“Stevero? I could use some help.” Quayl lowered himself and was purely on the defensive. “Stevero!?”
“I’m working! I’m working!” He yelled out and he tapped away and let the medical scanner study the situation.
“Squishy human,” the Golem taunted. “Rock beats scissors.”
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The terrain of the Nopes field was growing increasingly more difficult, and Junne struggled to roll the ball where needed to go. Their challenger was smug and confident that he would win the game, and they would have to leave the planet without their delivery completed.
Junne was exhausted. “I don’t think I can keep this up. I’m making bad shots.”
“Let me take over,” Rob advised. “I understand how to play, we played together a few times. I suck, but with your help, I’m sure we can win.” Junne had no choice but to agree. Rob took the ball and felt its weight, he was stronger than Junne. “Ok, this isn’t too bad.” He said.
“To you.” Junne took offense for being weaker than him.
“Do you want my help or not?” He said, and Junne gestured for him to take a shot. “Ok, I’ll roll it, and you tell me where to shoot it.”
Junne surveyed the landscape. “It’s risky to try and nope his ball, if you can, get it over to the target on the left. It’s a bit further but even a few points would close the gap.”
Rob intervened. “He’s ahead by five points. Even if we match him, he’ll get to 50 first and win.”
“What are you suggesting?” Junne asked.
“I can throw the ball further than you. I say we nope him.” Rob said.
Junne sighed and looked at the Golem. He patiently waited while the squishy humans planned their move. “Ok, I hope you know what you’re doing.” Rob nodded and picked up the ball. With determination, he stood at the bottom of a valley.
Rob rolled the ball, he nearly threw it, and it went a little left, but the hill corrected it and it rolled a bit to the right again. It was headed for the Golem’s ball, and in a second, it lightly tapped it. They had successfully Noped their opponent. If they hadn’t, he would’ve won the game.
“Impressive.” The Golem said with commendation. “However, let’s see if you can pick up the points needed to win.” The Golem took his ball and rolled it for a new target. He chose the nearest one and hoped for a bullseye. To his dismay, he landed on the ring close to the center and only gained three points. He was now at a score of 49 points. Junne and Rob had a chance, they were 45 points and a center ball would win them the game.
Rob made the shot for the next target, a target further away that was across more even ground. He rolled, and to their luck, the ball landed in the center.
“Excellent shot.” The Golem commented. His ball was in a valley but had a chance to be closer to the mecca, or even Nope them altogether. Junne and Rob held their breath as he took his shot.
It was a miracle, but his ball did not touch theirs, nor was it closer to the mecca. Junne and Rob won the match. They celebrated with a cheer and a joyous high five, then calmed down to finish the friendly competition.
“You are the victor.” The Golem stated, and the playing field leveled out back to a flat space. The targets disappeared but the balls remained though they were no longer needed. “You both worked together admirably, I was not expecting such teamwork, well done. Rob had a wide smile of accomplishment across his face despite only making a single shot. Junne was tired and worn from the exertion having played most of the game. The Golem, however, didn’t smile. He had lost but wasn’t defeated, he knew a good game when he saw one and had shown sportsmanship. Altogether, they left to enter the main chamber where Quayl was in combat.
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Quayl’s Golem opponent was showing no sign of slowing, and he hit like a close-range cannon.
He called out to Stevero for guidance. “Stevero, have I done any damage at all?”
“No,” he quickly studied the Golem. “Not a crack. You need to be careful, you’re cracked all over!”
“Yeah, I know!” He yelled at him and blocked another hit. Bits of his spikes chipped off his chitin armor.
“Wait, I found something on a scan!” Stevero yelled. He stepped up onto the stage. “I call a time-out!”
The Golem had a punch half-cocked behind him, Quayl wouldn’t have been able to block while he was stunned from the previous impact. “Very well. You have one minute.” The Golem bargained.
Quayl went to Stevero, out of breath and bruised. He stretched his limbs and jaw and was hurt across most of his body. Stevero used a first-aid emitter to relieve the pain symptoms of the damage, but the bruises and cracks in his armor would remain. It was only a superficial fix. “I found something,” Stevero said.
“Oh thank God, what is it?”
“His diamond armor isn’t part of his body, it’s held on by the plants covering him. If you can pry off his right chest plate, the flower beneath is a weak spot, it’s like a heart for him. Snip it and it’ll kill him.”
“But,” Quayl said between breaths. “The goal isn’t to kill him, it’s to make him submit.”
“I don’t see any other way. It’s either he kills you or you kill him.”
“No.” Quayl refused, he knew the rules and didn’t want to break them. It might not mean a victory for him.
The Golem clapped his hands together and caused a thunderous sound. “Times up!” He informed the humans. “Fight or yield, you’re choice.”
“I chose to fight, didn’t I?” Quayl said and stretched his limbs out. The pain was gone but his range of motion was limited. He could feel the pressures of the bruises and cracked armor. He took a defensive stance and prepared for a counterattack. Swiftly the Golem started the round.
Quayl dodged and ducked, he needed to be close and close in on the chunk in his armor. The Golem didn’t seem to have noticed the aimed efforts Quayl was maneuvering towards, which gave an opening to a proper attack. Quayl, in a swift shallow swing, grabbed the edge of the diamond chest plate and pulled with all his might. Just as Stevero told him it would, the plate came loose and was tossed away from the fight. He distracted the Golem with his right claw to his face, it was a weak hit, but it was not meant to be of any consequence. In a bold move, Quayl had the flower in his claw. However, he didn’t snip it, and the Golem froze for but a second in realization.
“Scissors beats paper,” Quayl said coolly. The Golem pushed Quayl down forcefully and placed a 1000-pound foot on his chest. He couldn’t move, and the pressure of the rock had sapped him of his air. “I… I yield! I yield!” He said with the last of his breath, and closer to death than he would’ve liked.
The Golem lifted his foot to give his opponent his right to air. “No,” he said and offered a hand to lift Quayl. “I yield.” Quayl was lifted from the ground and was very confused.
“I don’t understand?”
The Golem chuckled. “I heard what you and your friend had talked about. You could have easily killed me. You had the opportunity to do so, but I heard what you had said. You chose not to kill me. You chose to obey the rules of the fight despite being outmatched and hurt badly. To show mercy is a strength higher than brawn. I commend this of you.” The Golem came forward and placed a large hand on Quayl’s shoulder, and being done with combat, he receded his crab arms to their normal human state. The Golem lowered his armor as well and the diamond plating went to his back to form a shell-like structure.
With a healing emitter in hand, Stevero took more time to apply the aid to Quayl’s injuries. “I wonder how the others are doing?” He asked.
Quayl sighed. “I hope they are doing better than me.”
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A black rook, a white knight, a black bishop, a white pawn, each piece was carefully, strategically placed a dozen moves ahead in anticipation of the opponent’s attack and defenses.
Gem had been silent, so had the Golem, so had Hebu, and the chamber as well. There was hesitation in Gem’s thinking. Her moves came slower as more time came between each one. There was one move that her opponent had made a few turns back that made him stop and think. It had been the only indication so far that he had been caught in a tough position. She thought about his move and saw that in turn, she could repeat it.
The Golem made his move, a knight to a risky position. “Check.” He said and smiled. Gem knew her next move but faked her frustration and exasperated her expression. Playing to his ego would prevent him from thinking more than he needed to. She hoped to catch him off-guard.
She made her move. “Check.” She said, and her plan worked. His king was at risk and her piece was blocking her king. A move was forced upon the Golem, and he had to take it, putting his king back into a protected position. Gem moved her queen unexpectedly. “Check.” She said again, and the Golem made his move to take her queen. Her most powerful piece was now gone from the board and there was little to work with. If the queen represented her mother, she would have been told to make the move, and if it was between her or Gem, Gem would be the survivor. This didn’t mean a victory for Gem, there were too many possibilities, even with the remaining few pieces. The hesitation on Gem’s mind was evident, and no longer a ruse or trick.
The moment haunted her, but Hebu came forward. She moved a forgotten pawn to the end of the board, turning it into a queen. “Checkmate.” She said, and the game had been won with her help.
The Golem sat stunned, motionless, and his eyes grew darker as anger boiled. Gem stood up slowly and backed away before the Golem erupted and swiped the whole board and all its pieces to scatter across the floor of the chamber.
“Impossible!” He boomed in the echoey chamber.
“Don’t hate the player, hate the game, son.” Gem fired with a smirk and stood in defiance against the Golem’s towering size and anger.
The Golem quickly stepped to the wall and pounded on it with his fist. An opening showed itself and inside was a shelf with two glass cups and a bottle of wine. He brought these to the table and set them down. “A new challenge!” He roared. “One of even more cunning and wit!” He slid one cup to Gem’s side and one on his own with the bottle in the center. “The rules are simple! There are two cups of wine, as well as this,” he took from a pocket a tiny vial of a clear liquid. “This is a potent and deadly acid poison that can kill even me. It is odorless and tasteless. Anything it burned will smolder and stink.”
“Oh!” Gem exclaimed. “I saw this in a movie once!” She giggled.
“So did I, but unlike that wonderful work of fiction, you are not immune to this poison.” The Golem reminded her. The Golem then poured the wine into each cup. “I’ll give your friend the poison to pour into one of these cups. It is her choice.” Gem was silent, the stakes were much higher now. He gave the poison to Hebu.
“No.” Hebu refused. “Gem should be the one to choose which one is poisoned.” She gave the poison to Gem. “I will be the one to drink,” Hebu told them.
“Hebu, no…” Gem pleaded, but Hebu wasn’t going to budge on the subject.
“Make your choice and be silent.” He said. “We will stand together and face the wall while you place the poison.” Hebu joined the Golem in the same direction. They stood shoulder to shoulder, if one turned, the other would see. Gem made her choice and placed the poison.
Hebu and the Golem took their seats at the table, and before them sat the two cups of wine, the bottle, and the vial. However, they both noticed the vial sat empty of its poison. It indeed had been placed somewhere.
“So,” Gem began. “Which cup has the poison?” She looked worried. Neither of them knew, and unlike one of them doing it like in the movie, there was a third party.
“Hmmph.” The Golem began. “This has certainly turned from a sport to a challenge of life and death.” He stated obviously.
Gem scoffed. “You’re stalling.”
“YOU BE SILENT!” He burst out. “I’m thinking.” His frantic thought was visible, which was a giveaway that the poison was indeed fatal to his kind unless he was lying.
Hebu asked. “Just so you know, I am Namina.” It was a dangerous ploy.
“What!? You butcher!” He rose from the table.
“If you wish to kill me, let’s continue our game. Surely one of us will die, but surely I won’t make it out of here alive, not with the others like you.” She set her plan in motion.
He looked at Gem who simply nodded, and noticed Hebu hadn’t moved, seeing that if it was a signal, it wasn’t meant for her. The Golem pondered, fists clenched, and wanted to pummel her into a pulp on the floor, but no, it wasn’t his place, his brother on the stage was the one to test one’s strength, not his. He adhered to his own rules. “If there is any death to be, it’ll happen here and now. “YOU will die here and now.” He snorted at her. “I say we drink our own cups.” Hebu took hers and lifted it slowly. “Wait! At the same time.”
“My apologies,” Hebu said. “My kind don’t have movies. I’m not familiar with these rules.” Hebu put her cup down.
“You moved without hesitation. Either your cup doesn’t have poison in it, or you are immune to the poison.” There was a pause. The Golem grabbed Hebu’s hand. He held it to the table and took the vial carefully. He flicked it at the back of her hand until drops flicked out onto it. Just a few fractions of a poison caused her skin to burn and blister. He let go and she recoiled in pain. “Just checking.” He said and confirmed that she was indeed not immune. Hebu took notice too. Where flicks of poison landed on him, his stone fingers sizzled. She looked beneath the table.
The Golem told her a fact. “The poison would burn and sizzle on the gravel floor. We would first hear it if we didn’t smell it afterward.” Hebu nodded. He looked at Gem, who stood still as can be, and watched this battle of wits play out. “Ah,” he said, he made a valuable discovery. “Your friend wouldn’t want to hurt you. You must be valuable to her and your crew. Perhaps you are a traitor to your kind?” He said.
Hebu nodded. “I have helped where I can.”
“I know the answer.” He said and grabbed the bottle of wine. “It’s in the wine bottle.”
Nobody moved, nobody spoke.
The Golem laughed and took Hebu’s cup. He tossed the wine within it away onto the floor. He then poured the remainder of the wine from the bottle into Hebu’s cup. “Now, we drink our cups together.”
“Alright.” Hebu agreed.
Simultaneously, they both consumed their drinks. The Golem hit the table with his cup and laughed. “No more Namina shall ever set foot on our planet ever again!”
However, Hebu didn’t flinch.
The Golem began clutching at his chest and breathed heavily, but he felt nothing, and the poison wasn’t in his drink. He was perfectly fine, and so was Hebu.
“WHERE IS THE POISON!?” He roared, confused and upset.
Hebu laughed, and Gem then gave him the answer. “The only thing that can contain Tipocane poison is silica. It did not burn the glass vial, the cups, or the wine bottle.”
“WHERE IS THE POISON!?” He bellowed once again.
“Hold on hold on, I gotta tell you how good I am first.” She said, “I knew the only place I could put the poison was something made of glass.” She walked over to where some of the chess pieces lay strewn about. Very carefully, she picked an upright obsidian piece from the ground and put it on the table. It was a rook, and on top of it were its walls and rampart depicting a castle. Inside its top, there was just enough of a cup to hold the poison safely inside. “Obsidian is also made of silica. It’s glass.”
The astonishment on the Golem’s face was a sight to behold. He put his hands to his face and was defeated in all facets of the feeling. “Oh…my…rocks. I didn’t even notice the chess piece.” He stood. “I do hope you are on the side of good. You have true wit, true talent even.” Slowly he sulked to the door and gestured for them to follow.
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Once the crew assembled in the main hall, the Golems stood in their places on their stage and addressed them.
“You have done well to prove your worth.” Said the center Golem.
The Golem of Wits was still pouting over his loss. “Too well.” He grumpily muttered, and Hebu and Gem shared a fist bump. “One human is no match for a single Golem, but two working together is formidable.”
“You are all welcome in our inner sanctuary. However, I wish only for the courier and the Namina girl to enter.”
Hebu and Quayl accepted the terms, and he stumbled across the stage to the big double door in the back with Hebu. She bolstered him while the first aid emitter’s effects were beginning to wear off. The door was opened for them and they followed a Golem inside and through a wide and winding corridor.
Their world opened up to them, but beauty had been taken from them. What looked like it once was a tropical rainforest was now ash and hollowed husks of trees felled and skeletonized upright. The ground splashed with ash around each step, and the burnt smell of ember and char ravaged the senses. “This is what we are now.” The Golem spoke. “The Namina couldn’t penetrate our defenses to take our plants, so they electrified the ground deeply and destroyed us from orbit. We all burned from the inside out.”
Quayl and Hebu were in awe, and Hebu shook her head. “They couldn’t get to your plants, they should’ve cut their losses. They should’ve moved on. This is so senseless.”
“Little Namina girl, this is what I wanted you to see.” He stood upright and took his post at the entrance. “We have mourning to do. Make your delivery and get out.” He stiffened and stood. If no one had ever seen him move, he would’ve been mistaken for a statue.
Through ash and burnt brittle plant life, Hebu held Quayl together as he began limping through ash. Further into the sanctuary, the crystal lights covered in soot provided dim and suffocated light like blurry suns across the high walls. The thick air was a fog for their range of vision, and all around them were the dancing ghosts of floating ashen leaves made small and insignificant. Everything was ephemeral. Everything and everyone was dead.
Quayl looked at the letter. “Here.” He said and turned to a blank spot on the ground. He waited a moment, and from the ash rose the phantom image of a small Golem boy. He was young and mostly made up of plants and small budding flowers, and his stones were not yet polished by age; they glittered in the light. He took the letter from Quayl, opened it, and read the message. He looked at Quayl in thanks, then became focused on Hebu.
He spoke, “Punish the bad ones, free the good ones.” His form was whisked away.
“Wait,” Hebu cried. “Wait! What do you mean?” Where the boy was, the ash parted, and the stones of his body remained in a pile. Hebu lifted some of them. “No!” She cried more. “Which ones are good and bad? Tell me!” There was only soot and ash that remained. Her tears fell in grief for her kind’s destruction, and she mourned the loss of good simple people.
Her sorrow uncovered something in the ash, and below the stones was a seed. She carefully picked it up and cradled it in her hands. “Quayl?” she asked.
“It’s not ours to take. I know you want to grow it, but its best chance of survival is here.” He told her. The tears she shed watered it, and it was the most she could do for it. She blew the ash away gently and dug with a finger a shallow hole for it, then covered it up to protect it. She had hope now that she had helped the people of Golem, and kept it in her mind that perhaps the hope held onto it as well. A glowing nummus had appeared. Hebu took it and stood, then handed it to Quayl. “This is no time to be squishy.”
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The crew all sat in the cargo bay on simple replicated chairs. They all brought snacks with them as well as a communal pack of cookies. Quayl was in a low boxing ring practicing against a level 6 Puuqpu warrior. He had defeated 1 through 5 already with better skill and smoother ease. The cookies were once evenly distributed as currency, but now some had more than others. Gem, so far, was in the lead with her gambling intuition.
“I say he goes down.” She said, “I’ve seen him lose before. These simulations are pretty slick.”
“No way,” Junne countered. “He’s got the skill. What do you think, Rob?” He simply gave it a thumbs down and sputtered flatulence with his tongue and lips.
The round began, and Quayl was on the offensive with his arms and claws coming out faster than ever. He showed the crew that he wasn’t the same crab person as before. His arms were larger, denser, had more spikes and even blazed bright with an opposing orange and yellow. The fury of attacks back and forth was intense, both the man-sized Puuqpu warrior and Quayl exchanged quick jabs, wide powerful punches, and precise blocks and rolling counters.
The Puuqpu warrior seemed to have gotten the upper hand, but in a clever move, Quayl displayed a feat of acrobatics. He used an arm to elevate himself and kick the warrior over. In a moment of reprieve, Quayl tested a newfound technique. He put his arms together, and all the armor and chitin from his left arm and claw was absorbed into his right arm. The result was an enormous and dangerous sharp and powerful superclaw. If holograms could show fear, this one certainly did. Quayl came down on the warrior like a meteor and crushed him beneath the broad side of the claw. The warrior resisted and tried pushing the claw off himself, but Quayl twisted it and had his neck in his grip. Before any second thought, he closed his claw and severed the head of the warrior from his body. He had won.
“Ohhhhh ewwwwww really? Was that REALLY necessary?” Gem covered her eyes. Rob was laughing hysterically.
Quayl raised his single powerful claw and gave the crew a war cry. “Who’s squishy now BITCH!?”