Liz signaled to Alfred to stay silent and said: ˝I'm a traveler that got lost in these woods, the name's Liz. And this here is my guardian golem Alfred. We don't mean any harm, we just want to enter the village to find some lodging and maybe some transportation for our journey. Greet them Alfred.˝ She gave him a nudge.

˝Greeting guardsmen, we indeed mean you no harm.˝ Alfred said with a bow. Surprising the two guards.

˝Lost? In these woods? How'd a simple traveling gnome with only a spear wielding golem guarding her survive in there. There's large packs of wolf living in those woods.˝  Said the burly guardsman, looking at them with suspicion.

˝Weird, we only encountered one lone wolf in there. And don't underestimate Alfred, he's quite tought even if he isn't a war golem.˝  Liz said while pointing at Alfred.

˝It's true that your golem seems a bit different, all the ones I saw have only ever said single word sentences. Must be quite a fancy one then. So about that wolf, was it really alone?˝ The guard said still not lowering his spear.

˝Just one wolf, it did seem kinda strange at the time. Look we even have it's hide.˝ Liz said while Alfred showed the hide.

˝That does look like grey wolf hide. So you're at least telling the truth about that, well this could be serious if the wolves have disappeared.˝ Said the guard while pondering.

˝Why would it be a problem if there's less wolves? It would be safer right?˝ 

˝Not necessarily, it could mean a stronger predator is in those woods and the wolves ran away. Or that there isn't enough food for them so they migrated. The second option would be bad for our hunters, but the first one is what I'm most worried about.˝ The guard said and looked over at his coworker. ˝What do you think Bill?˝

˝I think it's best if they talk to the chief. He would know better than us. They still seem suspicious though so I think one of us should go with them so they don't cause trouble. Should I go, or will you go Ted?˝ Bill asked.

˝You should go, I'll stay here in case anyone or anything else comes out of the woods. Just hurry back when you're done. You two follow him, also no funny business while in the village. Ah, I'm Ted by the way, and welcome to Furshire ˝ Ted said as he let them pass into the village.

˝Nice to meet you Ted.˝ Alfred said while moving past making Ted grunt in response.

˝Alright let's get this over with, the sooner we get to the chief the faster we can all go on our way. I'm Bill by the by.˝ He said while entering Furshire.

˝Nice to meet you too BIll.˝ Alfred said again.

˝Yeah, yeah you weird golem. Is it supposed to be like that?˝ Bill asked Liz with a curious face.

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˝He's a protype my family made a few years ago so he's a bit special. But he can function as a butler and as a guard so that's a big plus.˝ Liz said a she looked around the village.

The village contained a lumber mill, a small smithy, what seemed to be a small tavern, two dozen houses and what was probably the chief's home that was double the size of the other houses.

˝Oh, a prototype you say. Just make sure it doesn't do anything weird.˝ Bill said as they got to the chief's home. 

˝So what's this chief like?˝ Liz said before BIll could open the door.

˝He's a weird old man, that has many problems. Well at least he knows how to run a village.˝  Bill said as he continued to open the door, only to get a punch in the face as soon as he stepped in. He fell on his back clutching his face.

˝Who are you calling a weird old man little BIlly!˝ Said a grey cat-kin with a furious face.

Bill got up and said: ˝Ow, seriously Grandpa. I was just joking for fucks sake.˝ 

˝You want another one for using that kind of language in the chief's house? What are you even doing here? Slacking at you job again?˝ The chief said still not noticing Liz or Alfred and preparing another knuckle sandwich for Bill.

˝No, I was just escorting these two. They're apparently a traveler and her golem that came out of the forrest. They said some disburing things about their time in the forrest so I brought them here. They're called Liz and Alfred, and that old man over there is chief William. I better go back to my post, I don't want another beating.˝ Bill said as he ran off back to the entrance of the village.

˝Nice to meet you chief William.˝ Said both Liz and Alfred with a bow.

˝Likewise, so let's go to my office and talk there.˝ Said William as he headed up the stairs to his office.

When they got to the office William sat behind his desk and said: ˝So what happened in the forrest?˝ He said as he took a quill and some paper.

˝So we were traveling through the forrest for around 4 days following the river and saw only one lonely wolf. We have it's hide here as proof.˝ Liz said pointing at the hide.

˝Hm, I see. That does sound disturbing, I'll sent some people to investigate the forrest. So what were you even doing in the forrest?˝ William said staring at them.

˝Well we kinda got lost. I'm actually from from the dwarven nation of Rubia. But due to certain circumstances I decided to travel around the world and the first step was going through the forrest.˝ Liz said making up a lie.

˝I won't pry about that. Since you don't look like a spy since that weird looking golem would stand out too much, I'll believe you. Especially since you gave us some important information about the forrest.˝ William said while inspecting Alfred.

˝Thank you for your kindness.˝ Alfred said surprising William.

˝Wow, that's one fancy golem. Is he a butler golem, the nobles in the capital have a few of them?˝ William said.

˝No, he is more like a half butler half guard golem.˝ Liz said hoping William doesn't find that suspicious.

˝Interesting. So what are you going to do now? Stay in the village a bit, we do have some free rooms in the tavern.¨ William said writing some things on the paper.

˝Not really, we're actually trying to get to the capital. Do you have any caravans going there any time soon?˝ Liz said looking up at the sitting William.

˝Now that's a funny coincidence. I was just about to send a few people to the capital to request some adventurers. You know for the forrest investigation, the guards around here aren't strong enough to head in deep into the forrest so we have to rely on adventurers.˝ WIlliam said chuckling a bit.

˝Is there a way we can join the group? We don't have any money, but we do have this hide. We don't know if it's worth anything though.˝ Liz said while Alfred showed it off to William.

˝Hm, barely worth anything. Not experienced at skinning right?. But I could let you go with them if you protect them during the journey.  I mean if you can defeat a grey wolf you can probably handle yourself a bit. That way I don't need to send any guards away.˝ William said as he finished his adventurer request with a signature.

˝Yeah, we'll do that. Thank you for the opportunity. When will the caravan go to the capital?˝ Liz said happily. While Alfred nodded in confirmation.

˝You'll head out tomorrow morning, since this is an important request I'll assemble the group as fast as possible. You can rest in the tavern on my expense for the night.˝ William said as he got up and escorted them out of his house.

Before heading off to find some people for the journey William turned to them and said: ˝Just tell the tavernkeep that I sent you and you'll get a room. And just a warning to you two. Be careful in the capital, since Alfred is such a unique golem some might try to steal him. So just be wary of the nobles, those bastards are a selfish bunch.˝ He waved and headed off.

˝That went better than expected, right Alfred¨ Liz said looking at Alfred.

˝Indeed, let's go to the tavern and get the room and get you some food.˝ Alfred said as he headed towards the tavern,

˝Food and maybe some beer! I hope they have some tasty stuff!˝ Liz said with while grinning.