We made our way back, my mind heavy. Short as a stint it was, informal as it was, I had been a soldier. If nothing else, I should have just sucked it up and went for the front once Gaven had given me the Aen. Hell, the Aedolon itself could’ve been wielded by me to fight them, who cared who knew that I could wield it?

And yet… I didn’t want to fight there, didn’t want to die there. I frowned. This is getting pretty damn wangsty. I thought to myself. It doesn’t matter in any case, if after this I end up on the front lines, I’ll be too busy to worry. Right now, have to focus, can’t kill demons if I die to golems… Though one has to wonder how a demon would fare against a golem in single combat.

I set down the deer carcass by the others, Numen preparing it as I prepared the fire and tools. It wasn’t long before the food was done, I set the extra aside, we would dry it out later, for now, I just wanted to eat. The stew was pretty good, Numen had managed to scrounge up a few herbs from the wild, which improved the taste immensely.

I sat by my armour as the sun went down, meticulously taking it apart and converting it back into a form I was familiar with. I could feel the others staring over, Rince had spluttered when I’d taken apart the metallic looking bits of my armour like paper, now he just stared in dumb shock. I cocked my head for a moment, thinking on which of my designs to use. “Would probably be better if I didn’t look like an Edratchi that managed to break past the defences…” I muttered to myself, turning it to a more subdued, less frightening form.

“What on earth is that?” Rince asked, finally managing to get a hold of himself. “I mean… gods… I’ve never even heard of an artefact like that. Where… How?” He leaned back, shaking his head. “The more I know you the less I understand… Ugh.”

“It’s not exactly common.” I said. “Though I’m fairly certain it’s not the only one of its kind.” I continued, stressing the word ever so slightly, tended to find it harder to make outright lies. “The confusion is a common reaction far as I can tell.” I said with a grin. “So I would appreciate it if you did not spread it around.” He nodded numbly. “I’ll take first watch then?”

The others agreed, with as many people as we did, Numen took the watch with me. With Azarint and Rince, Qent and Frejr as the next groups. I continued folding my armour, mixing cloth and metal now that I could. Numen stalked the perimeter, bow in hand. I donned my armour, strapping in the pieces and fusing them at the points of attachment, before starting my own circuit.

We didn’t speak during this time, I made sure my routes were somewhat random, yet tight enough to leave few gaps. Occasionally I’d cross paths with Numen, and give her a nod. The hours passed quickly, and soon enough I went to wake up Azrarint, while Numen woke Rince beside him. He sat up, turning to me and brought his hand to the side of his helm. He mumbled something, then rose from the bed. I lay down on my blanket, Numen beside me, and closed my eyes.

“What do you think is going on in that town?” I heard her whisper. I turned my head, arching an eyebrow at her under the moonlight. “It’s strange isn’t it? No one responding to communication attempts, golems all around… Do you think… maybe they’re all already dead?”

I stared up, into the tree canopies and the sliver of visible sky. “What about the people that the army reportedly saw?” I asked. “I think it’s just trauma, maybe they’re afraid we’re a hallucination, or that if they open the gates the demons might come back. We’ll find out then, but you and I should sleep… There’s no telling what we’ll find, and we need to be rested.” She sighed.

“It never ends does it?” I heard a little mirth and a little sadness to her voice. “Good night.”

I woke up the next morning to Frejr poking me with her sword’s scabbard. I sat up. “It’s not even dawn yet is it?” I asked. Numen groggily clutched her head. “Not enough sleep?” I asked her, giving her a wry smile. She shook her head.

“Couldn’t sleep.” She replied, voice a little terse. “Just… give me a bit of time…” I nodded sympathetically. Not everyone was able to be rested the same way I was, and before Page, I hadn’t felt so rested at all before. I’d always felt guilty about sleep, felt like I was wasting time better spent. Though my parents certainly disagreed on that. I thought, a smile touching the corners of my lips.

Arriving on the edge of the town, I could see the golems patrolling the edges. They were the normal golem form, humanoid, if bulky, and formed from large chunks of stone and clay. Their surface was blackened and burnt, with a few spiderweb cracks across the clay portions of several. They look like they’ve been through hell… I thought. Though it’s more like hell got brought to them.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“We will be with you.” Frejr said, hefting a warhammer. “Azarint and I will attempt to intercept them, but it would be best if you weakened the golems. Qent will try to hinder them in any way he can. The military at least covered the costs for Numen’s arrows.”

Numen sighed theatrically, bringing out several glowing arrows. “So does Kael have some other hidden ace up his sleeve this time as well?” I laughed. “Come on, Sensitive, heals fast on his own, one of the best fighters I know?” She pouted.

I drew the Aen. “Well… I guess there’s no real use keeping it a secret anymore. Except to them anyway…” I gestured towards the golems, palming the hilt. I walked towards them, Frejr and Azarint in tow. The golem saw me, and changed to an aggressive stance. “I don’t think we’ll be able to talk about this will we?” I called out to no avail. “So be it…” I muttered, breaking into a sprint.

The golem trudged forward to meet me, the sound of grinding earth and stone coming to meet me. As it swung I dropped into a slide, Aen flashing out at the golem’s feet. A crunch came from behind me and I slid onto my feet, crouching with the Aen in front of me in an icepick grip. The golem lurched and stumbled, unsteady. Its feet crumbling at the edges.

Frejr took the cue, bringing the warhammer into a low swing. The golem swung at her, brushing her away as the swing connected, it lurched forward, and Frejr threw herself to the side, letting the golem crash where she had lay. I Delved, the golem’s feet had been cut off from its soul, it tried to push itself up, and I leapt onto its back. Driving the Aen deep into its chest, I scrambled its soul, tearing it apart. It rolled over, and I grimaced, trying to push myself away.

A gauntlet grabbed my arm, pulling me just shy of it. The golem reached out, and I slashed viciously at it with the Aen, driving my elbow as it neared to shatter its hand. A high pitched whine caught my attention, and I turned to see a glowing arrow streak from Numen’s bow. It struck a second golem that Azarint had engaged, shattering on impact. The golem itself lurched back, the point where it had been struck showing a sizable dent in it.

Something squeezed around my foot. “Dammit!” I cursed, turning my attention back to the golem as it pulled me closer to it. It spasmed, it’s soul leaking from the tears I’d made in it, and I drove the Aen into its head, where its eyes seemed to be. That… turned out to be a horrible mistake.

It flailed about, sending me off to the side. I tumbled across the ground, making sure to keep the Aen facing away from me. I rolled to my feet next to another golem. Oh… crap. I brought my arms up just as it kicked me, sending me back a distance next to another golem. I winced. That hurt!

I stumbled forward, ducking under a swing as I jammed the Aen into this golem’s chest, sliding around it. There were about seven more golems that had begun to converge on us. I hesitated for less than a second, breaking into a run deeper into the city. All of them followed me. Guess they prioritise whoever is going further into the town. I grimaced in pain. Guerilla it is. “Wait there!” I shouted as I entered, I could only hope they were able to hear me.

I ducked between buildings, scaling them and lying in wait. Every time one separated from the group, I struck, weaving patterns with the Aen into its front before taking off again. I couldn’t hear any of the others, and Delving showed only the golems’ souls, so I stayed, marking each and every one of them. The good thing about fighting golems was that they never learned. Every time they would lose me, and every time they would split. Small mercies… I thought, rubbing my arms.

“When they come out, I need you to shoot them in the chest.” I told Numen as I reached them, collapsing next to the others. I coughed a little. No blood, that’s good. I winced. At least I didn’t have broken bones this time. I leaned back, Delving. “Any moment now…”

They streaked from the streets, and Numen wasted no time. An arrow streaking from her bow with a whine. It leapt straight across the distance, and the golem’s torso shattered. She nocked another arrow, it was hard to tell, but they seemed to speed up the further they flew. Beside me Qent closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, raising his arms up as though addressing a crowd. The ground beneath them softened, turning to mud and slowing them.

Only two cleared that hurdle, where Frejr and Azarint easily moved forward to meet them. Frejr swung her warhammer into the golem’s torso, while Azarint thrusted his mace at the other. They were dispatched easily after that. “Guess I didn’t need to get up after all…” I said, sighing and sitting down. “You guys can go ahead if you want. I’ll just… let some things mend for a bit…” I grimaced.

“What was that?” Rince asked, lowering his spear. “I saw a dagger made of light… That’s just… what was that?” Numen turned to me, echoing the same sentiment.

“You know, when people start telling stories about you, I’m probably going to believe everything they tell me.” She said, rolling her eyes. “Can you transform into a dragon too?” She teased. You joke, but you don’t know that they’re both shapeshifters… I thought.

“Aether blade.” I said, sliding the Aen back into my armour. “Makes things brittle, tears souls apart. I learned that I could use it back when we were hunting those bandits in the caves.”

“Aether?” Qent asked. “That’s not even supposed to be…” He paused, eyes widening. “You’re one of the Aerathi?” he asked, turning to me. “In the stories that’s what they used to beat them back, aether… That’s why some people, mostly themselves, claim the Animus mages are descended from them… Now anyway… But… you can use aether?”

“I’m not one of the Aerathi, had one of them tell that to me himself.” I said, holding up a hand to stop their questions. “That said, I’m not normal either, so don’t any of you try it alright?” I grumbled. “Dammit… whatever, I’m mostly fine now, let’s go.”