While the bipedal golems slowly strolled down the long, empty sidewalk, I rode my steed up and down the street, getting a solid feel for how it moved and responded to my directions. I did have some experience in horseback riding, though that only helped me stay on its back. Unaided, my mount was going probably around sixty miles per hour, though I honestly had no way of knowing for sure without a speed gun of some sort. All I could tell was that I could make it from one end of the long street all the way to the other in just under thirty seconds. My best guess was that the street was just under a half mile long, which was how I calculated my speed.

When I pushed my magic into the quadruped golem, that speed increased dramatically. It was even harder to tell at that speed just how long it took, but I was pretty sure it was around twenty-three seconds.

Of course, speed wasn't the only important point, as the mount's maneuverability was just as, if not more important. The golem was small enough that I could weave in between traffic, but I didn't quite trust it to run. However, I could use my druidcraft control to tighten up all the gaps and empty space inside the equine construct. It reduced its top speed by a noticeable amount, maybe to around fifty miles per hour with my magic, but it made a visually notable difference in its size as well, meaning I had much more faith that it could easily fit through traffic.

He could also easily clear cars with a jump, which I tested by having the bipedal golems stand in the road. I might have clipped them a couple times as I was getting used to everything, but soon, we were easily jumping them. The controls for the steed were tuned pretty well, using a combination of movements, sound, and the reins. The golem interpreted my commands and movements precisely, and I knew as I got better, so would the stallion.

To say I was absolutely ecstatic with my creation was an understatement, especially considering that this was just the beginning. The best part about golems was that they were massively customizable. Not only could I remove the golem core and upgrade it any time that I wanted, but I could also affix various magical items to the golem as well, letting them do basically anything I could think of. I was still limited to ritualized items at this point, but that was hardly a shallow limit. I already had plans to add stun wands to their arms when I got around to making those.

On top of all that, I could also physically modify the golem as well. Typically, that would involve removing the golem core and physically modifying or repairing the golem frame, but I had my druidcraft, so shifting the shape of my living golems was easy. I already added a vine and bark side holster for my staff alongside my steed, the chunk of blue crystal poking out the top.

While I was testing my top speed, it didn't take long for me to lose track of time, galloping up and down the road, laughing and cackling at my successful creation. Unfortunately, while the street was mostly shops, businesses, and office space, there must have been someone around to report me.

About an hour into my totally necessary and definitely not just for fun experiment, I could hear the sounds of a distant motor. It got louder as it got closer until it came around the corner to reveal a motorcycle. It was the standard cop cycle design, with emergency lights along its front and back, cargo on the back half, and a chunky front end. It was painted mostly black, with gray highlights and the PRT logo along both sides. Riding it was Miss Militia, who parked the vehicle and climbed off, stopping as I approached her, still on my mount

"Arcanum…wanna explain what's going on here?" She asked as I approached. "We got a complaint of some sort of horse riding cape running up and down the street. You're lucky they got a good enough look at your face to describe your mask; otherwise, I would have shown up with the cavalry."

"Sorry about that, Miss Militia," I said, chuckling at her joke as I dropped down off of my golem, patting his side as I got closer. "I didn't think anyone lived on this road, guess I was wrong. I'm just doing some testing of my new ride."

"About that… what exactly is... it?" She asked, gesturing to my golem.

"First off, let me just say that it's not actually alive," I explained, holding up my hands. "Well… technically, it's a tree, so it kind of is, but it's not like a new life form or anything."

The female hero gave me a very not-impressed look, and I couldn't help but chuckle and nod.

"Yeah, okay, fair enough. So I've mentioned that internal power source I have? It lets me do everything I can, and I recently discovered it has some plant manipulation abilities. Like a plant control Striker ability, to put it into PRT terms."

"... the rapid production trees at the old camp," She said, her eyes going wide. "Those were you! We thought you had inspired another cape to try and give back!"

"Yeah, that was me, but to be clear, I am not a bio-tinker," I explained, wincing at the visible flinch that Miss Militia had at the mention of "bio-tinker." "I'm not creating new life, just enhancing and manipulating what already exists. Striker, not bio-tinker."

She nodded before suddenly tensing up. Her hand went to her hip, where her power was already shifting into a standard-issue police pistol. As she drew her weapon, she stepped closer, but also around me, keeping her weapon aimed downward as she put her hand on my shoulder, trying to push me to the side. I turned to see the four bipedal golems had finally caught up, stepping through the light of a lamp a bit further down the road.

"Oh, I made those too," I explained, whistling for the golems to stop. "Same concept, different shape. They are defensive… well I've been calling them golems cause it fits. Think of them like tinker constructs."

She stared at the constructs, then back at me. Slowly, she holstered her weapon, which, rather than simply sitting in her holster, flickered into a switchblade, then back into a Colt revolver. It made me wonder if she was doing it on purpose or if flipping its shape around was more like a nervous tik.

"What are they for?" She asked, watching as the hunched-over constructs of wood, bark, and vine settled to the ground on my order.

"To protect the homeless community that hangs out not far from here," I said vaguely, trying to give the woman deniable plausibility when it came to their location. "They should heavily discourage any further bullshit from the E88."

"So… you're not going out hunting for them?" She asked, sounding surprised.

"What? No!" I responded with wide eyes. "Not yet, anyway, I don't have the kind of experience I want, nor do I have a proper grip on my power. Eventually, I plan on… well doing something about them, but that's in the future. Right now, just making sure that the community is left alone is my priority. If they attack me there... well, there's not much I can do about that."

"That's good to hear," She said, seeming genuinely glad. "Rogue or vigilant capes rarely survive long on their own, especially when they push back against established gangs. Your powers may be extensive, but that can only get you so far."

"I'm aware," I said with a smile, though she couldn't see it through my mask.

For a long moment, she was silent, and while I assumed someone was talking in her ear, we were too close for Alya to whisper to me. After a few seconds of silence on her part, she nodded.

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"Arcanum, influencing living material like this, even if it's only a striker ability, it sets off a lot of red flags," She explained. "We already have samples of the fruit and trees-"

"The trees should be dead by… well, honestly, you should have already started to see some minor signs of degradation," I pointed out. "Unless you already cut and burned them down?"

"We monitored the area, but since they didn't seem to be putting out any pollen or other contaminants, there was no need to cut them down," She explained. "Are you telling me they die on their own?"

"When I have them producing so much food, yeah," I responded with a nod. "And they weren't making pollen because they were sterilized, as were all the fruits. Nothing will grow from them. They won't even accept grafts, and if you tried to take one, it would wither in just under an hour. Even if you managed to connect a graft to a new tree in a few minutes, it would kill the tree by the end of the day. Producing that much fruit that fast is hell on the tree."

"So they have no way to reproduce, and they would die quickly without consistent attention," She confirmed, to which I nodded. "That is good. Those sorts of limitations make people feel much better. And their fruit is safe?"

"Yeah, of course, I wouldn't have bothered if it wasn't. I've eaten some myself," I explained with a shrug. "It's just normal fruit stuff, just grown really fast. I have no intention of selling any of the produce. Hell, it's not even that high quality."

"What do you mean?"

"I could make a tree produce the best apple you have ever tasted," I explained. "But it would take time. Not as much as a normal tree, mind you, but still a few weeks, at least. But the goal wasn't to taste amazing, it was to feed as many people as possible. All the fruit that the accelerated trees grow tastes vaguely off-season. Not bad, not great, just a solid meh."

Miss Militia, trying as she might to keep up, seemed a bit stunned by the deluge of information I was giving her. Honestly, I didn't mind explaining what my druidcraft was capable of because, at this point, it had very little bearing in combat. If it ever went up in level, that might change, but for now, it was a helpful tool that took time and effort to use and was, therefore, primarily useless in the heat of battle. Not only that but if it did level up, then plenty of what I was telling her would change, meaning any info I was feeding them would no longer be accurate.

"And what about these?" She finally asked, gesturing to my horse and the frozen-in-place golems, as well as my horse. "How exactly do these work?"

"Oh, they are something different," I said simply. "Like I said, think of them like tinker tech. They don't reproduce, so no worries there."

There was a pause as she waited for me to elaborate, a few seconds passing before she finally realized that I had no intention to.

"Very well, I suppose we should be glad that you didn't try and do this during the day," She admitted, giving me a harsh look. "Still, you're making a lot of noise…"

"Really? I didn't know they sent heroes out to investigate noise complaints," I fired back, chuckling at the idea. "Speaking of which, did they wake you up for this? Cause I feel bad enough now that I know I've been keeping people up around here."

"No, I take the night shift since I don't sleep," she explained, continuing when I tilted my head in the universal for confusion. "I'm a Noctis Cape, I don't sleep. I haven't since I got my powers."

"I… didn't know that was a thing," I admitted, though I regretted it the moment I did, as she looked at me strangely.

Now it was her turn to tilt her head in confusion, not understanding how I didn't know something that was apparently common knowledge. At least it was here. Mentally, I cursed my lack of knowledge. I did all sorts of research when I first arrived here, doing my best to catch up, but it still occasionally slipped my mind that I needed to be careful. I did my best to stay calm, though, using the same excuse I usually did for not knowing cape stuff.

"But that's what I get for not paying attention to the cape scene when I was younger and in school," I continued with a shrug. "They told me it was important, but… it never seemed like it to me, but now look at me, scrambling to do my research and still missing some stuff."

That seemed to satisfy her, and she nodded understandingly. After a moment, she broached a new topic.

"Arcanum, how against joining the Protectorate are you?" She asked, holding up her hand to hold off my immediate response. "I know you don't exactly trust this branch after what happened, but what about a different branch? You could do a lot of good in another city, but with the support system to keep you alive. Friends, allies, people to fight with you and keep you from being overwhelmed."

For a long moment, I stared at the patriotic heroine, shocked by her words. For all intents and purposes, running off to another branch didn't benefit this one at all. She wanted me to run to another city purely because she wanted me to have proper protection and support.

"I... honestly, if you had asked me that a few weeks ago, I might have actually taken you up on that offer," I admitted with a shake of my head. But now I have responsibilities here, people who are depending on me. I can't just abandon them now."

She nodded in understanding, as if expecting that response. She held out her hand, and we shook silently. She quickly climbed back onto her motorcycle before finally looking back at me.

"Well, Arcanum, I'm glad you're not running off to do anything stupid. Don't be afraid to call us if you need help." She said with a nod, her eyes crinkling with a smile. "And try to keep it down. People are trying to sleep."

"What? Not gonna say you have a perfect horse speed measuring device, we just need to go get some power testing done?" I asked, the military-inspired cape snorting as she hopped onto her motorcycle.

"I don't think we have a treadmill quite that big," She admitted, her eyes crinkling slightly in a way that showed she was smiling. "Have a good night, Arcanum."

"You too Miss Militia."

She started her cycle back up, and I easily remounted my four-legged golem. I watched as she drove away, turning onto one of the many intersecting roads and disappearing out of sight. I gave a soft whistle to the golems, all four of which left the sidewalk to follow behind me. We trotted away, eventually leaving the long road behind, making my way through back alleys and abandoned roads and entering the Docks proper.

From there, it was a short ride to eventually arrive at the outskirts of the Docks community. Rather than disturb anyone, I picked a random alleyway and got the golems to all fold themselves up and huddle into a corner beside a dumpster, which I then covered with a tarp. I then had my new steed lay down on the ground before curling up against him and using him as rest.

Between the magic inherent to a golem and the magic I was pouring into him as we ran up and down the long street, the stallion golem was noticeably warm. Between that and pulling off my overcoat to use as a blanket, I slept pretty well. I was sure I would have plenty to explain the following morning, but with me there, hopefully no-one would panic.