Obeying the orders from Tiger I trudged after the two orc hunters equipped with bows and clubs outside of town. These orc hunters were among the largest of their tribe. Their monster-skinned pelts set them slightly apart from most. One of the orcs seemed to have a tunic made of a giant vampire bat. With the head of the creature as a hood. The other was covered in lizard hide with their heads dangling like ornaments from his neck.

As we neared the fallen walls my golem motioned to follow me, but I held up a hand to stop it. I needed the golem to protect Marco after all. I would have to hope that I could manufacture another golem on this hunt. Or, maybe these orc hunters would be capable of protecting me from danger.

Then I saw what I needed! It was right there in the fallen bricks of the outpost's walls. There was a flowering bush growing a few paces from the wall. The bush seemed to be similar to a geranium. It made me wonder if someone before us had planted these bushes as a way to make the fort feel like more of a home. A sensation of home would feel nice, especially in a barren place like this fort. Maybe I could talk to Tiger about feeling more comfortable around this area. I know that she is determined to make us work. But, would I have to continue this way in such a drab manner? Although my rob did allow for a few twirls being able to accessorize with it would be nice.

As I approached the geraniums I could sense a trace amount of necrotic affinity. Most likely it was from the siege of this outpost. So, I bent down to make a ritual and used the geraniums as the living component and the loose bricks as the body. The golem I created with this process was crude. This was mostly due to the rush of the process. The rush was due to the orcs deciding to not stop to wait for me to draw out the ritual to completion. The golem that was created had a jagged shape that showed the lack of effort on my part, however, it would work as a base. Its current humanoid shape would allow it to follow us, and for me to change it into a soul-bound golem like my other golem. That was if we did find something to kill out here. A part of me clung to the hope that this hunt would be for nothing.

The hunt seemed like it might go that way. Since it occurred to me that we were not merely hunting animals. The orcs had passed on two deer that ran past our view. We had kicked them out of the brush they were bedding down in. I wanted to ask the orcs what we were hunting for. Yet, each time I tried to engage them in conversation, they put a finger over their lips to quiet me.

We were deep in the evergreen forest when I heard the loud crunching of a creature. It charged out from behind a rather large spruce tree and let out a low, guttural roar. The creature was some kind of chimera. This one was an unnatural creature with the head of an eagle with horns and the body of a goat. Many people hypothesized that these creatures were created by demonic surges of affinities.

Before the fight commenced, I motioned for the crude golem to take the position in the front. As I planned, the chimera charged straight into the golem. The golem was not quick enough to stop it. But, it did not need to be as its arms reached out and put the goat-headed chimera into a chokehold of sorts. The chimera did manage to lash about in the grasp of the golem. This caused a few large chips to form in the golem’s outer shell.

But, all the chimera’s thrashing about was for nothing as it stayed in the golem’s grapple. The orcs took no time at all to start lining up shots with their bows piercing directly into the chimera’s flesh. As the orcs peppered more and more arrows made quick work out of the chimera.

The orcs then began to grunt at me and motion toward the downed chimera. So, I approached it and snapped off a protruding arrow. I dipped the arrow in its blood and used it to draw out my ritual circle. I had to contain the chimera’s soul in the golem's vessel. Otherwise, Tiger might send me back to that wretched prison. But, I was unsure about the stability of a chimera’s soul, so I paused momentarily. Monsters were labeled so for their unnatural appearance and drive to attack people. Chimera’s even more so since they were an amalgamation of different beasts. It was also a little-known fact that their souls were in constant fluctuation. I focused on first extracting the affinity for air that the eagle half of the chimera contained. Then I tried to parse out where the soul of the creature was within its shell. I found it and, to my surprise, it seemed to be calmed by the death of its vessel. I went forward with the ritual and finished the circle. I had molded my golem and this chimera’s soul into the shape of a large canine creature. With the natural affinity for air, I suspected that this form would use agility. I thought the form of an ox would not do for this new golem. Oxen to me we’re not the most agile of creatures the gods had put on this plane.

After killing one monster, I hoped the new task was to go after more of them. Now that I had an improved golem alongside me, I could take a more active role in hunting down new monsters. Though, with the sun already setting, the orcs had other plans for our day. The orcs and I made our way back toward the outpost. I suppose the hunt could continue another day.

We made it back to the outpost with the moon in full view of the sky. The outpost was not equipped yet to accommodate my sleeping arrangements. So, I had to make do with what bedding we brought with us on our way in the cart. After all, Tiger had stated that we were here to kill the dwarves in the mountains. So, what would I need for the simple comforts of life?

I awoke the next morning to the sounds of orcish noises. It took me a moment of sheer panic to realize where I was. Tiger had made peace with the orcs, using their tactic of strong-arming her way into a leadership position. Now she was prepping us to go to war with an entire colony of dwarves. With her strategic mind, what was to say was that she hadn’t found a way to also bring the dwarves to their knees by an alternate method than simply bloodshed.

“Tiger, I will be out again today with the orcs to continue hunting.” I had made it a continued habit to tag along with the orcs on their hunts. I didn’t always create a golem from a fallen monster. More often than not, we would need the creatures that were killed for sustenance. If I turned everything into ritual dust, there would be nothing left to eat. I had gotten two more golems created alongside the already established ox and canine. These two golems were both humanoids. This was at the request of Tiger, who said we could use a few more for hands to rebuild parts of the outposts.

Stolen story; please report.

“Do you need to be directing every hunt?” she asked, knowing the answer already. She had asked me the question once before.

I gave her the rehearsed answer, “Yes, to get the soul of a creature, I need to be within a compact time frame. Before the soul leaves the body.”

“Well, we could also use this ability of yours for rebuilding and reinforcing the walls. But today I have another more critical assignment for you and Marco to take. I need you two to find a few of the dwarves and let them see your powers. Kill a few if you need, but cause the rest to flee.”

“So, you are starting the fight with the dwarves already? Do you think with the small force we have that we will be able to fight an entire village of dwarves?”

“Don’t worry about that for now I want to show a bit of our hand. After this, you will need to be back at the outpost for a while to fortify our walls once again. If they come to seize this outpost, I would like it to hold out through their assaults.”

“I don’t know how much reconstruction of the walls is going to help if they tore them down before. My powers are not for creating fortified defenses. At least I don’t think they are.”

“No, but you are the only one with any kind of construction-based powers. Trust me, I have checked with the orc chief. Most of the orcs have powers that enhance their natural abilities. Now go and make a mess of some dwarves.”

Our dwarf hunting party comprised the two orc hunters that had been with me before. With them, Marco and I tagged along. They had sent us out to kill a few dwarves. With the sub-task being to use their souls. Either to fuel the fire burning within Marco or create another of my golems. We had been closing in on the mountaintops for a while when we saw signs of life. The paths through the forest here had been cleared. By the hands of humanoids, most likely those of the dwarves. It still left a few tree stumps in their place after they had been felled.

The orcs motioned for us to stay so they could keep moving ahead. They moved with a grace that I would not have thought possible because of their size and stature. It was clear that they were the real hunters here.

“Marco,” I whispered over to him, “We need a chance to talk alone. Something is off about this entire mission. I feel we are pawns in Tiger’s game.”

“What else are we supposed to do? She might have another motive, but you and I are getting stronger. The strength that would take us years to build under a stricter master. I say let her play her games if it involves us becoming strong enough to put down any enemy.”

When the orcs returned, they gave the two of us grins. Their curved teeth poked out of their mouths as their grins turned into nods for us to follow them. The one I had begun calling Vamp took the lead while the other I had named Liz followed behind him.

The dwarves were only a few miles from where we had paused. Their numbers here were larger than our own. Twenty burly dwarves with large fur clothing made it hard to tell the males from the females. A few of the dwarves were felling spruce trees. Others worked on cutting the large trees into manageable pieces. While others hauled the cut logs into a cart headed by a ram that was at least the size of the chimera if not larger. The dwarves all carried an ax, whether it be a small hatchet or a large ax with a mallet's end on one side.

Marco moved first without prompting or a strategy. He lit the closest dwarf on fire. The screams of the dwarf startled the others. Using this brutality as a leaping-off point I began to move my golems into action. I commanded my canine golem to attack another of the dwarves. To my surprise, the screams that came out of this dwarf were that of a woman. My canine golem didn’t seem to care as it ripped her to pieces. It seemed at first that she was going to put up a fight, but her ax was no better than a file to the golem. She only made a few small chips before falling lifeless. Her corpse was left a bloody mess by the golem’s improvised teeth.

One dwarf slammed their hands down on the ground and created a wall of clay between us and their comrades. I could hear the others running behind the earthen wall. Unfortunately for the dwarves, they did not realize that my powers were the direct counter to this type of ability. I demonstrated that as I simply waved my hand, and the wall turned to harmless dust. That allowed Marco to lunge forward and find another target for his flames. His pursuit should have been a foolish action if the dwarves had fortified themselves. Since Marco was no more dangerous than a person without affinities when it came to a physical confrontation. However, the dwarves were already in a panic and they were even less trained than Marco or I.

I moved over to the dwarf I had killed and forced the soul into a small clay doll. I had made a few of these dolls in anticipation of moments like these when I would not have time to do a proper ritual. These dolls already had a ritual circle carved into their chests. I had also mixed a few drops of my blood with the clay before formation.

“Marco!” I shouted. He was already moving to give chase to the dwarves. “Tiger instructed us to attack and retreat.”

“I am not giving up this chance, Devin,” He called back.

I pointed at Marco and my canine gave me a chase with my over-enthused friend. Thankfully, Marco’s attempt at a chase was about as atheistic as that of the dwarves. Both of their slowish jogs were enough for my canine to slowly trot alongside him.

Vamp and Liz regrouped with me looking no more exhausted than when we started. They had left most of the slaughtering to us. With the stature of the dwarves I had expected more of a fight, but this felt no better than swatting at bugs.

Vamp and Liz had readied themselves for the dwarves. But, the dwarves didn’t have the chance to fight us head-on. I pointed to where Marco had run off and we began a quick pace to close the distance. Our pace was manageable to not alert the entire mountainside of our whereabouts. Unlike Marco, the orcs and I had no intention of projecting our location to possible enemies.

The orcs guided me through the dwarven trails with ease. The distance between us and Marco had closed in not over five hundred feet. Marco lay before us, completely out of breath. "Marco," I scolded, "The least you could have done is kill another dwarf with all that bravado."

"They move faster than you would think." I lent down a hand for Marco to grab onto. As I hoisted my comrade up, he continued, "For now, let's head back to the outpost. They might head back with force to the spot we attacked them at. Right now I am too worn out to keep on fighting them."

"Alright, but next time we attack, then retreat as planned. Okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, can we go now?"