The day started like all the other days had started for me. The stench of 82 came wafting into my cell before I could even hear his shouts. I made my way out of the cell block and into the courtyard. I passed a patch in the walls I had made the other day along the way. A large crack had been forming down the side of a structural wall. So, I had been instructed that I was to fix it. This made the most sense since I was the only one in the fort with the right specialty to do that type of work. It had taken me a moment to get it all set up right, but after a few moments, I got the hang of creating walls.
I met up with Marco as we began to organize in the courtyard.
“Hey, do you think I could change that awful holy aura on the walls if I replaced enough of them?” I asked him.
“Umm, I don’t know. I guess I did feel a bit of demonic affinity coming off of it,” Marco said.
“That’s what I mean. Maybe with enough time and repairs, these walls wouldn’t be able to hold us in anymore.”
“Yeah, it seems like that could work.”
Looking around, I noticed that others had begun looking at us. I decided it was for the best if I didn’t share any more of these revelations with Marco if I didn’t want to be called out for conspiring. 82 began his usual ritual of barking orders at the rest of us. Most people tuned out his words unless they were spoken to directly.
“468 and 471, you two are on escort duty today,” 82 said.
I had barely heard 82 when he said this. Since I was beginning to feel tired again. I mean even though the sun had yet to rise we had to be awake. Apparently, 82 thought it would be a good day for Marco and me to do an escort job.
“What?” Marco asked.
“You heard me!” 82 barked back. His portly belly jiggled as he began criticizing Marco. “Don’t speak, boy, unless instructed to do so! You ain’t in mommy’s womb no more, so start acting like it!”
Marco quickly quieted down. Even though talking back would have been a more typical route for either of us. Everyone knew that standing up to 82, especially during roll call, was asking for the worst punishment he could think of. The other day we had watched him grab his scratching fork straight into someone’s face after talking back. The fork had protruded from her face for the entire roll call that day. Today, that girl had a bandage covering the area where she had been stabbed, but I could still make out that her skin was turning green around the affected area.
82 finished telling everyone what their duties were for the day, so Marco and I made our way to the opened gate. As we made our way through the archway, we both dropped to the ground unconscious. This is why I decided to begin the process of deactivating the enchantments on the fort one repair wall at a time.
Marco and I awoke to a plump man dressed in the full regalia of the inquisitors. He also had the pointy mask that the inquisitors used to keep their identities a secret. However, this man did not look like much of a fighter compared to the other inquisitors I had seen. This also included the fact that he didn’t seem to carry any weapon save a small dagger at his side.
“You may call me Mouse. I take it you two are the runts they stuck me with this time?” Mouse asked.
“Runts!” Marko said.
“Yes, that is what you two are. The newcomers to the litter of weapons.”
Marco began to channel his power into his hands. As he did, Mouse began stepping back from him and putting his hands up to try and protect himself. It looked like my suspicion about him was correct. Mouse was not much of a fighter and would back down quicker than any soldier had the right to do.
“Marco! That’s enough. He gets the point,” I said as I reached out and pulled his hand back down to his side.
Marco squashed the fire that had begun to wipe out Mouse. The attention of people walking by on the streets had begun clinging to us. Unluckily for us, we were still in the barracks district, which means that the attention on us was mostly from trained soldiers. Most of the soldiers around us had already begun to reach for weapons.
“So, what did you need us for?” I asked Mouse.
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“Uh, yes. I needed you for guard duty. Also, one of you will, need to push that cart there.”
“Can my golem do that?” I asked.
“If you are certain it can keep up,” Mouse replied.
“Shouldn’t be an issue.”
I motioned my golem through the gate. At that moment I had a realization. But it was too late to stop the golem from passing through. To my surprise, however, it did not collapse into pieces. The golem looked the same as if the gate had done nothing to it. It shared that intrinsic trait with the wall I created. Non-living things with demonic affinity were unaffected by the enchanted walls. The golem continued on its way as it grabbed onto the cart. Mouse started walking out towards the central part of the capital. Marco, my golem, and I followed closely behind him.
The capital was a bustle of activity. People were going every which way, all looking as if they had somewhere important to be. I noticed that no one was coming near the three of us. The streets were shoulder-to-shoulder people, but no one dared come within ten feet of our cart. Everyone looked as if they were frightened of us. It was not only because we were military. I saw a few city guards passing us within the crowd.
“Marco, I think they are avoiding us,” I said.
“It’s because of who we are. They are only scared because of what they hear we can do,” Marco replied.
“But neither of us has done anything.”
“Speak for yourself.”
I looked downtrodden. How could I have forgotten what he had gone through already?
“I am sorry,” I said.
Marco ignored me after that short interaction. His eyes stared daggers into the back of Mouse who was still leading the way.
As the city passed us by, I couldn’t help but continue to admire it. The architecture of the buildings was far more varied than in Hillcrest. Some streets were reminiscent of Hillcrest, with heavy brick bases followed by two to three stories of wood-framed construction. Other streets had modern buildings with large glass windows ordained with various stone bricks. But, everywhere was teaming with life and people of different backgrounds. Merchants walked alongside peasants who walked alongside people of nonhuman lineage. I had never seen a place with many different types of people, from dwarves to half-giant. The half-giant, however, was collared with a slave suppression ring.
“Look at him,” I said to Marco, pointing at the half-giant.
“What about it?” Marco questioned.
“That’s a slave collar.”
“And?”
“I thought they were expensive and hard to come by.”
“Not for the people of this city. Especially those who are adventurers.”
Marco gestured at the people who were walking in front of the half-giant. Leading him was the unmistakable trademark of an adventuring party, which means that all of them were dressed in myriad colors. I could sense that their equipment had more magic imbued into it than I could ever hope to get into my golem.
“Stop talking and more walking!” Mouse scolded us.
I couldn’t help but crack a smile, and soon both Marco and I were laughing. Our laughter only served to infuriate the man more. Mouse only served to lose control as he continued his yelling.
“Having issues, Mouse?” came a judgmental voice.
The three of us turned to see a town guard dressed in finer armor than the rest. He was tailed by another guard who gave off the impression of a trained warrior.
“Uh, Arnold, it’s nice to see you again so soon,” Mouse replied.
“If you can’t keep these two under control in the city, I will have to escort you back to the barracks. You wouldn’t want the Tiger princess to see you unable to handle a menial task, now would you?” Arnold said while staring down his nose at Mouse.
“Of course not. Now both of you two stop.”
“Or what?” Marco asked, “It’s not like you will be able to stop us.”
“Silence, demon! You are in the presence of the captain of the city watch!” said the man to Arnold’s side.
“I will show you….”
I pulled on Marco’s shirt as he started with the two newcomers.
“Marco,” I said.
Marco let out a little grunt as he quieted down. I could tell that he didn’t want to. But what else were we supposed to do, fight them?
“Now, that’s much better. Keep your demons muzzled while in town. Actually, on the other hand….” Arnold trailed off, “No, I think it would be better if you didn’t. That way the Locknomores can have what they are owed.”
Mouse kept his head down as Arnold and his lackey walked away from us. I could continue to hear Arnold as he left, laughing while putting down both the inquisitors and the demonic affinity users.
Mouse and Marco kept quiet for the rest of the errand running. It turned out that Mouse was primarily gathering a few more weapons for the inquisitors along with some various necessities, including food. Not a person tried anything on the cart. Whether that be because of Marco or myself, I didn’t know. It could have been the golem stopping through the city that kept everyone at arm's length away.
We returned to the fort after completing our mission. Mouse looked to have lost some of his earlier bravadoes along the way. He also did not look energetic enough to push the now-weighted-down cart back to the inquisitor's base. However, that was his problem rather than ours. I instructed my golem to carry me back to my cell. My golem placed one of its arms around my shoulders and the other near my bottom. That way I could at least look dignified when returning to my cell.