I closed my screens with a smile, and Isabel asked, "Good haul?"

I nodded, but my smile faded as I said, "I only got two levels from that, though. I thought it would have been more."

Isabel's small smile grew sympathetic. "It will slow down as you level up. It will take more effort the higher you go. The creatures were around your level, and therefore the gains are limited. Two levels is still pretty good, and you still have two contracts to fulfill." I supposed that made sense and leaned back against a large rock.

Despite just killing nine creatures, I felt at peace with it. It wasn't like I was happy about the necessity, but Isabel had made it clear why it had to be done. I needed to toughen up so I wouldn't cripple myself at a crucial moment down the line. We ate mostly in silence, with Lyra teasingly trying to steal food off Isabel's plate. But Isabel slapped her down brutally, both figuratively and literally. Feeling well enough to travel, we packed up and were soon on the move again. We had to travel a bit for the next contract, closer to the foot of the mountain in the distance, and we needed to be back within three weeks.

We didn't encounter any trouble over the next few days, just a whole lot of walking. The terrain began to change on the third day, becoming rockier and the vegetation sparser. Lyra explained that elemental spirits sometimes took on a physical form, but that they often were hunted down. There were reports of a type of golem roaming the foothills.

Elemental spirits had their own set of priorities, and often those didn’t mesh well with those of the mortal races. Our job wasn’t to destroy the golem, but to find out what it was doing, and only then make a decision whether to destroy it or not.

At noon, we reached the top of a hill and were greeted by a breathtaking view of the mountain foothills. We had been climbing for some time, and a few kilometers away, the incline became a steep cliff. We knew where to start our search for the golem, but we needed a plan to cover a large area effectively. Isabel took out a flat stone and a piece of chalk and began sketching a grid pattern over a rough map of the area. "The golem was last spotted in the eastern foothills, so that's where we'll start. It's likely that it has moved since then, but we might be able to find tracks or other clues. Golems are dangerous creatures, so we'll stick together on this one. No one goes off alone!"

Lyra and I nodded in agreement, though I did so more out of obedience to her than understanding of the situation.

We set off again and searched for a couple of hours with no luck. But things changed drastically soon after when we heard a rumbling from the cliffside in the distance. Isabel corrected our course, and we went to investigate. As we got closer, we found a huge hole dug into the cliffside. It was uneven and disorganized but big enough for two wagons to enter side by side. The noise was coming from inside the cave, and Isabel signaled for us to be quiet as we approached. The ground shook a little beneath us, and the closer we got to the cave, the stronger the tremors became. I began to feel nervous about the whole thing. I didn't want to mess with something that could cause that kind of disturbance.

As we stepped into the dark cave, Isabel held up a hand to stop us. "I will go in alone, I will scout things out and come back immediately," she said with a determined look on her face. "You two ready yourself, I might be bringing a friend." Lyra nodded with a grin, while I just swallowed nervously and clenched my sweaty hands.

Isabel was gone for what felt like an eternity, and suddenly the sounds stopped, leaving a deafening silence. Isabel came sprinting out with a look of panic on her face. "That is no regular golem! Run!" she yelled as she motioned for us to follow. Lyra and I glanced at each other, and then we ran. The sound of giant footsteps grew louder and closer with each passing moment.

I risked a glance over my shoulder and felt my heart stop as a giant creature of metal and stone burst from the cave, immediately setting its sights on us. I wasn't an expert in reading stony facial features or anything, but this thing looked pretty mad! We increased our pace, but the giant caught up to us quickly.

Isabel saw that we weren't going to get away and spun around. "We have to fight! Lyra, keep running and get some distance. David, make yourself scarce and look for an opening!" Her orders were given with snap and authority, and we nodded and followed them.

Isabel pulled out her huge sword and got into a fighting stance as the giant approached. It swung a huge fist down towards her like a meteor, but she jumped aside just in time, and the ground erupted from the force of the impact. The shockwave pushed me back a few steps despite my distance, but Isabel was already moving. Her sword whistled through the air and impacted with the giant's wrist, shearing off a large chunk of stone and causing the giant to let out a moaning roar.

I saw my chance and moved in, sprinting towards the nearest leg and swinging my staff with all my might. It impacted with the ankle, sending a web of cracks out from it. It wasn't enough to cripple the giant, but it did hurt it, and I suspected that a few more strikes like that might actually do some real damage.

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I began to move away, but the giant kicked out and managed to clip my shoulder, sending me flying four meters through the air. I was knocked half delirious from the impact, but after a few moments, I managed to get to my feet, ready to continue the fight.

Isabel bravely lured the giant away from me, leaving Lyra free to unleash a series of devastating fireballs. Three large balls of condensed fire were launched at the giant, each of them exploding on impact and tearing large pieces from its shoulders and back. Despite the damage, the giant let out a deafening moan and began to turn towards Lyra. However, Isabel intervened once again, launching a furious chain of attacks on the giant's opposite leg.

Before Isabel was able to do much damage however, the golem kicked out and hit her with its full force. She was sent flying back and she smacked into a large stone that crumbled. Isabel slowly began to stand, but she looked pretty disoriented. The golem began to turn towards Isabel, and I knew I had to do something.

As I stood there, unsure of what to do next, I suddenly felt a persistent buzzing in my mind. It wasn't until the Harlequin's voice erupted in my head that I realized what was happening. "Finally!" the spirit exclaimed. "You bloody halfwit, this is no elemental spirit! This is something else entirely!" The Harlequin sounded furious, a tone that was vastly different from its usual sharp tongue.

Confused, I asked, "different how?

The spirit let out a maniacal laugh. "It is no spirit at all! It is just a soul! I am a spirit and a soul. That is just a soul! Every spirit has a soul, but not every soul is a spirit. A soul needs a vessel to exist, and this one is in the wrong vessel. It goes against the rules of creation!"

My mind was spinning. "Rules of creation? What? You know what, no, forget it. Just tell me what you want me to do about it for now!"

Harlequin's laugh was more controlled this time. "I... That is to say we, all of my kin, need that thing destroyed. It is an abomination!"

Realizing that I needed to act quickly, I asked, "great advice there! Perhaps you could tell me how we destroy it?"

"You need to aim for its weak points," Harlequin replied. "Put on the bloody mask and I can show you."

I summoned the mask onto my face and looked at the golem, studying it carefully. Then, I noticed a patch on the golem's back glowing with a slight purple hue. "What the hell is that?" I asked.

Harlequin laughed in that creepy way it had and explained, "That is where the soul is trapped, some kind of device. Destroy that and we release the soul. Release the soul and we destroy the golem."

Feeling a strong sense of determination, I nodded slowly. "Okay, I can't reach that. How am I supposed to... Lyra!"

Harlequin laughed again. "You are getting it now. I knew there was a brain somewhere in there! We need to make a real nuisance of ourselves, distract it for the interesting one to have a clear shot!"

I wasn’t surprised that Harlequin found Lyra interesting, and I watched as Lyra bombarded the approaching golem from the side. They were alike in some ways after all, No time to think on that, though."

I had no time to run to Lyra, so instead, I decided to use another method: magic. I concentrated on a memory of the golem and created a lifesize illusion of it, complete with a big arrow pointing to the spot Harlequin had indicated. Lyra looked at me with surprise before she focused on the illusion. She looked back at me and I could see she was confused.

I pointed to the illusion, then I mimed her hitting it by smacking my right fist into my left hand. "Hit that specific spot," I whispered.

Lyra didn’t seem to understand why I wanted her to hit that specific spot, but she gave me an uncharacteristically serious face and nodded. "Good," I thought. "Now I just have to distract the big guy. How hard can that be?"

As it turned out, not hard at all. Harlequin spoke in my mind again, "The abomination doesn’t like water!"

"How the hell do you know that?" I asked.

"I have many talents, dear partner," Harlequin replied with his obligatory creepy laughter. "And one such talent is an instinctual knowledge of how to really drive someone up a wall!"

I ran around the golem as fast as I could, gesturing for Isabel to stay quiet for now. Soon, I was exactly opposite Lyra, and I grinned. It was time for a bit of magic!

I concentrated on what Harlequin recommended I do, slowly forming an image in my mind. "Remember, partner," Harlequin whispered. "An illusion is not just an illusion. Make someone believe the illusion is real, and for them, it will become real. Imagination is a powerful tool, and a true Trickster uses it to play on the fears of his opponents."

My spirit buddy was still creepy as hell, but his words opened up new possibilities for me to try. I refocused on my task, excited and worried. This was going to be a grand illusion, and I wasn't sure if my ether stores would hold up.

An illusion appeared as if conjured from mist, it was shaped like a giant water serpent made entirely of water and I carefully guided it towards my target. the golem spun in fury and that is when I realized that I might not have thought things through. It stomped on the ground, causing a massive wave of earth and rock to rush towards me and my illusion. I cursed, "Fuck this world! That isn't anywhere close to fair!" and let the illusion fade.

With no other option, I conjured Mirror Mirage and poured all the ether I had left into it. I was pretty certain I was going to die, but I was determined to try and survive this mess. The wave hit me with the force of a rocky tsunami, and to my surprise, the shield held for a moment or two before shattering. I was buried instantly, but the spell had slowed the impact a little, keeping me alive. As rocks pummeled me, I felt bones breaking and unbearable pain erupted from everywhere at once. Suddenly I felt myself freefalling, I had apparently reached a small cliff. Soon after however, I hit the ground with a jarring impact, and everything went black.