42

* Ulric and the girls are going to face some tough opponents, requiring some undercover work.

No, not that kind of undercover! :-p

Volume 3 is chapter complete up to 45 now, and I'm currently working on editing the entire thing.

*

40 - Between a Rock and a Golem

'We were hired to finish you off since there's no stronger gang than mine.' said the orc. 'I don't know the name but he was a canine, black with some brown in his throat.'

'Your name?' asked Elzbieta.

The orc sighed. 'Grandell.'

She held the tip of her knife in front of his nose and leaned closer. 'I'm sure there's more to tell. Unless you prefer my darling uses his claw instead of this.'

Grandell's eyes went wide. 'He only said the wolf's a failure, something about dominating him! That's all!'

Iphigenia looked at Ulric. 'Domination failure?'

He looked back at her. 'I'm beginning to wonder if my summoning wasn't an accident.'

She nodded. 'Increasing a monster's intelligence far enough might make it easier to handle.'

'Either way, the point is that there's someone actively trying to silence us.' said Elzbieta while staring into the orc's eyes. 'What did you notice about the canine?'

Grandell swallowed. 'Nothing! Really!'

'Darling, he says he'd like you to talk to him.'

Grandell's eyes shot at Ulric, who grated a rock against a claw. 'All right, I think this one's blunt enough to use.'

'No, wait!' said the orc. 'He never said it but I'm sure he's part of a higher demon organisation!'

'And what makes you think so?' asked Elzbieta.

'The money bag. It was marked on the inside with a small symbol that I recognised from the time I worked for a high demon. It's a circle with a flame in it I never learned anything more about it'

'Demetrus had some notes about a group of demons who acted in secrecy. It seemed they had some contacts in different countries and influence with powerful people.' said Valdys. 'They obviously have some talent in hiding if that's all that's known about them.'

Ulric nodded. 'We'll have to be extra careful from now on. This piece of scum proves they operate outside of demon territory.'

'We'll have to come up with some strategies for common situations.' said Iphigenia. 'If we're attacked again we should be ready to defend at once.'

'Indeed.' said Ulric and looked up at the cloudy sky. 'We'll discuss it while we continue our trek. I want to leave this place as far as possible behind us before we take our next rest.'

***

'Are those travellers going to be all right?' asked Ulric when the party went down the hill later.

'We treated their wounds, and they were on their way to a village just a few days from here, so they should be fine with the provisions we gave them and the weapons from the orcs.' said Iphigenia. 'What did you do with that orc?'

Ulric grumbled. 'Stripped him naked and tied his arm and legs around a tree. I smelled the scent of those brown-white striped vicious predators, the ones that attack at the least provocation.'

'Gotgers?' asked Iphigenia and chuckled. 'You have a mean streak.'

'It still feels too quick an end for what he did to others.'

'I can't disagree.' said Iphigenia and stroked his neck softly.

'So, what good fortune brought you to us, Conchim?' asked Ulric.

Her cheeks turned dark purple but she kept her eyes forward. 'There's just something I have to find out and for that I need to join you.'

Ulric tilted his ears. 'You want to join our party?'

She nodded. 'I can scout and fight from the sky and have some nature knowledge, I think I can be useful.'

Ulric chuckled. 'I think you already convinced us with the fight at your home and how you saved us just now. I have no objection to you joining us if everyone agrees.'

'No objection here, Wolfie.' said Iphigenia. 'I don't think anyone has.'

The others agreed and Ulric grinned a little at Conchim. 'Then with that, welcome to Quaint. I hope you'll be satisfied in our group.'

Valdys giggled. 'That's one way of putting it.'

Ulric blushed and flattened his ears. 'I didn't mean it in that way.'

Iphigenia giggled while noticing Conchim's cheeks turning even more purple, and stroked Ulric again. 'There's nothing we're not satisfied about in this party, Wolfie. although we need to improve our teamwork.'

'Conchim's flying ability provides us with an advantage in some situations.' said Elzbieta. 'We now have more options in our encounters.'

Ulric nodded. 'In other words, we have another reason to be glad you decided to join us, Conchim.'

'It's only to see if I won't be disappointed in what's going to happen.' she said. 'Otherwise I'll have to return home.'

'We'll likely encounter lethal situations though.' said Elzbieta. 'Are you prepared for those?'

'I am. That should also help me decide what to do in the future.'

'Talking about the future, do you know what's up ahead, Val?' asked Ulric.

'From the slight change in direction the artefact points to, it looks like we still have a long way to go. said Valdys and pointed at the gap in the mountain ridge ahead. 'My guess is it's beyond those mountains, and the only thing I found in the library is the mention of a country that's rather closed off. Few people enter and leave.'

'Any reason as to why?'

'Seems they're a very peaceful country and they want to keep it that way.'

Ulric nodded. 'Sounds suspicious to me but maybe it's true. We'll just have to see when we get there.'

***

Days later a path became clearer and turned into a small dirt road, and it eventually led to a tall fence made from spiked logs and a gate blocking the way ahead. A man with a large black moustache and metal armour appeared from a two storey wooden and squarish barrack located at the side of the road. He stepped towards to the gate but kept a few paces distance. 'Who are you?'

'We're a party of adventurers travelling to the other side of the mountains.' said Iphigenia. 'We'd like to pass through the gap.'

The moustache wiggled a little. 'Take a detour, No person without a permit is allowed to enter the country.'

'How can we get a permit?'

The moustache eyed Ulric and Susi, then the hidden face of Valdys under her hood, and lastly the harpy. Ulric was glad Conchim had decided to wear an easy garment covering her body before she left home, and lessen the attention she already drew. 'Submit a written request with ten gold pieces per person. Then it'll be evaluated.'

Iphigenia nodded. 'How much time will that take?'

'A month, maybe more.'

'Wait, a month on this world is forty-eight days, right?' asked Ulric over the link.

'That's correct, darling.' said Elzbieta. 'It's very close to one rotation of Ziodan.'

'We don't have that kind of time.' said Iphigenia. 'Is there a way to speed things up?'

The moustache shook. 'No.'

'Money?' tried Iphigenia.

The moustache was joined by thick eyebrows from a frown. 'No! Those are the rules! If you're not going to submit a request and wait, take the mountain pass. Now leave.'

'We should go.' said Ulric over the link.

'Right.' said Iphigenia, and everyone went back down the road while the moustache watched them.

'Are we going to just take this?' asked Valdys. 'If there really is a pass, it'll take a long time to cross those mountains.'

'It was better to leave.' said Ulric. 'I sensed something behind the barrack and it didn't feel right. We might've been in big trouble if we pressed on.'

Trixy chittered quickly and slipped out of Valdys's hood, and scurried into the trees. 'Be careful.' said Valdys.

'So, what do we do?' asked Kaui.

'For now, I suggest we skirt the fence they erected around here.' said Ulric. 'Maybe it isn't built all the way around the country, or maybe we find another place to pass through it.'

Trixy returned a little later and chittered excitedly on Ulric's shoulder. 'Good thing we didn't get into any trouble then. It would be troublesome if we had to deal with such a big golem before even setting one step into the country.' said Elzbieta.

Ulric nodded and looked along the fence winding through the forest. 'Let's see how far this thing goes.'

***

Dusk had begun when a kid's scream sounded from within the fence. 'Someone's in trouble!' said Kaui.

Ulric looked up and down the fence. 'Shit! No place to easily get over it!' A thud of something hitting the ground sounded together with another scream. Ulric grumbled. 'No choice.' He stepped away from the fence, then sprinted towards it and jumped up. The sharpened tips were wide enough for him to plant a foot between them and push himself over them, and landed safely on the other side.

'Master! Are you all right!?'

'I landed on grass.' Ulric said and looked at the row of a bush with long thorns growing along the fence. 'Luckily.' The next thud came from a short distance ahead of him and he hurried into the trees. 'I'm going in.'

He hurried to the trees and witnessed a boy stumbling hard in front of him. With unexpected speed, a stony golem twice the size of a man rushed out from the trees and lifted its fist to hit down on the boy.

With a sharp growl, Ulric bolted towards the boy. Before the boy could scream in fear again, Ulric caught his clothes between his teeth and snatched him out from underneath another heavy punch to the ground.

The golem wasn't fazed by the sudden arrival of the bloodwolf and hurried after Ulric. 'There's a golem chasing a boy!' Ulric said to the girls. 'I pulled the boy away but the golem is coming after us!'

'Can you make it back here!?' asked Iphigenia.

Ulric ran in a wide half circle around the golem back towards the fence. 'I can, but I can't jump that fence with the kid! I'm going to throw him over it at the spot where I jumped! Get ready to catch him!'

Elzbieta pulled a blanket from her pack. 'We'll be ready!'

'Watch out!' shouted the boy.

The golem was quicker than Ulric expected and he darted to the side in time to evade the large rock landing next to him. 'Shit! That was close!' He was glad the golem didn't have anything else to throw and stopped at the opening in the thorny bushes. 'My girls will catch you, don't worry.' he said to the bewildered boy, took him in his arms, and threw him up in the air.

The boy cried out as his chest tightened in a sudden new fear, then flailed when he fell back down to the ground. Conchim grabbed his clothes in her talons and slowed down his descent before the other girls caught him in the blanket. 'He's safe, darling!' said Elzbieta.

Ulric dodged a hit from the golem that caught up with him. 'Good! I think this thing will just crash through the fence when I jump over it, I'll have to lose it first!' he said while he ran and the golem stomped and crashed after him.

'There's a rock formation a little further into the forest.' said Conchim, who went back up into the air. 'Maybe we can defeat it there.'

'Lead the way.' said Ulric as he looked up at her through the trees.

Conchim flew around the top of a towering formation of rocks. It reminded Ulric of the earlier heaps he'd seen near Winter City. 'I think there are some loose rocks here that can be dropped on the golem.' said Conchim. 'They need a strong push.'

'All right.' said Ulric and jumped up at the side of the formation. He climbed and jumped up and looked back down at the golem underneath him. It swayed as it looked up at him. 'Stay right there.' he growled.

He nearly reached the top where Conchim hovered when she pointed down. 'The golem's moving away!'

Ulric glanced down at the golem following the foot of the formation and testing for a place to climb as well. 'Shit! This won't work if it comes after me.'

'Leave it to me.' said Conchim and picked up a couple of rocks in her talons, and dove towards the golem.

'Be careful!' said Ulric.

She let go of the rocks in her dive, and they hit the golem hard on its stony head. Ulric thought he saw a flicker of an annoyed expression. Conchim picked up two more rocks and went for the golem again.

This time, the golem deflected the rocks with its arm and swatted at the black harpy. At the next attack it followed Conchim's direction as she flew away, while watching her. 'It's working!' said Ulric while he searched the spaces between the rocks for a suitable place to push.

'It's in the right spot!' said Conchim as she hovered close above the golem, while it reached out and tried to grab her feet.

'I can't drop the rocks if you stay there!' said Ulric as he looked down.

'I can't move because it'll follow me! Just drop it! I'll get out of the way!'

Ulric sighed. 'All right, I'll trust that you can!' he said and wedged himself behind a rock, then pushed as hard as he could with his paws and feet. His muscles strained against the dead weight and he growled through clenched teeth. 'Move!'

A quick tremor went through the rocks, and Ulric's paws and feet shot out at the sudden movement of the rock. 'Get out!' shouted Ulric as It tumbled forward into other rocks, and within moments a heap of rock fell down the face of the formation. He shot towards the edge and let out a breath in relief when Conchim flew away and the golem got buried. 'Are you all right?'

'I'm fine.' said Conchim while she peered through the dirt cloud. 'I don't see any movement.'

Ulric hurried down and listened carefully for any sign of life. 'I think we did it, I hear nor sense anything moving underneath.'

Conchim came down and landed next to him. 'I hope whoever finds it will think this was an accident.'

Ulric nodded. 'Indeed. Let's hear what the boy has to say about this.'

***

At a secluded hollow a little away from the fence, Conchim and Ulric joined up with the others and found the pale looking boy drinking some hot tea in a bit of a daze. 'He calmed down, but it's been quite an ordeal for him, Master.' said Kaui. 'I made him a tea with relaxing herbs.'

Ulric nodded. 'Did he say anything?'

'Not much, just his name, Royle, and that he was on his way to gather flowers.' said Iphigenia.

'Let's have a bite to eat then, while he regains his senses.'

Colour came back to Royle's face and Ulric estimated the dark haired boy to be twelve or thirteen years old. His clothes were patched and a little large for his size, which made Ulric think his home was on the verge of poverty, especially since the boy ate eagerly while his face looked thin. His light brown eyes shone brighter with every bite and it reminded Ulric a little of himself when he ate his favourite pasta dish as a kid.

'Feeling better now?' asked Iphigenia when Royle couldn't eat another bite.

He nodded, then looked at Ulric with large eyes. 'The golem, is it gone!?'

'We buried it under a pile of large rocks.' said Ulric. 'There was no sign of life.'

The boy sighed deep and slumped. 'I thought I was going to die.'

'Luckily we passed by.' said Iphigenia. 'Why was it chasing you?'

Royle fiddled with his fingers. 'I was careless and fell asleep while I was waiting for it to turn dark. It must've heard me.'

'Waiting for dark? Why?'

Royle looked up at Iphigenia. 'To slip through the fence and gather Mispel flowers for a cure for my brother. He fell ill a while ago and old man Jowa said Mispel could be used as a medicine but it's hard to come by and we aren't allowed to leave the country unless we have permission, so I wanted to sneak through an opening me and my friends discovered some time ago.'

'You need permission to leave the country?' asked Valdys.

Royle nodded. 'It costs gold to ask for a permit, and even then it's not always given.'

Ulric grumbled. 'Prison.'

Elzbieta hummed. 'Didn't people protest this?'

Royle shook his head. 'Not any longer. My father told me that when the lord came into power, golems showed up everywhere and they said it was to keep everyone safe from monsters and enemies from other countries. Then the lord's soldiers began to pick up anyone who spoke bad of the lord later. A group of people fought back but were defeated by the soldiers and the golems. Now no one dares to speak up.'

Ulric looked at the girls. 'I know we're on our own errand and is it really any business of ours and can we even do anything at all, but I feel I can't really ignore this.'

Iphigenia nodded. 'I don't like it when people are oppressed.'

'I took an oath to help those in need.' said Elzbieta. 'I stand by those words.'

'You saw where I came from, so the answer should be obvious.' said Valdys.

'Master saved me, I'd like it if you can save many more people.' said Kaui.

Ulric looked at Royle and hummed. The boy shot forward towards Ulric. 'You defeated that golem, please help us! Teach us how to fight them!'

Ulric put his paw on the boy's shoulder. 'We'll begin with gathering those Mispel flowers and bringing them to your home, and checking out the situation. After that we'll decide if we can do something about it.'

Royle made a fist. 'Yes! Thank you!'

41 - Roleplay

'I wanted to hide until dark, then sneak to the hole in the fence if a guard golem wasn't around, collect these flowers, then go back home while sneaking past the golems that guard the village.' said Royle while he picked the Mispel flowers. The short column of its light blue petals looked ghostly in the light of the moon.

'The fence and villages are guarded by golems?' asked Iphigenia.

'Yes. Golems pass along the fence often, and the two in the village circle it all the time. There are also golems patrolling the forest and farmlands.'

'They're everywhere.' said Ulric.

Royle examined a flower, then left it to pick a bigger one. 'They are. There didn't used to be many but I heard the constructor learned faster ways to create golems.'

'Constructor?'

'Someone with the skills to create golems and other constructs, my love.' said Valdys. She projected a book in Ulric's mind. 'Here's a quick explanation.'

Ulric skimmed through it. 'Ah, I see now. Pretty impressive, although using flesh and bones to create a golem makes me a bit queasy.'

'I have what I need.' said Royle while he double-checked his full bag.

'I also found a few more plants that might be helpful if the Mispel isn't effective.' said Kaui.

'Good.' said Ulric. 'Lead the way home, Royle.'

The boy directed them along the fence until they came upon a low bush growing against it. 'Here it is. The gap in here is wide enough for me to crawl through, but I don't think all of you can fit through.'

Ulric parted the bush and examined the hole formed by wood rot, then looked back at the girls. 'Yeah, Iphi might be able to squeeze through but the rest of you who can't fly won't.' He stood up. 'Didn't we take a saw with us a while ago?'

Iphigenia rummaged in her pack and pulled out a saw sturdy enough to use on thin trees and thick branches. 'You'll have to still saw at the lowest height possible to avoid quick detection.'

'Yes.' Ulric said and checked the blade's teeth. 'Conchim, can you keep an eye out for golems?'

'Of course.' she said and flew up, went around in a large circle, then returned above their heads. 'All clear now, go ahead.'

Ulric didn't need to measure at what height he'd saw since it was obvious Kaui was the largest, and he knew exactly how wide her figure was from all that time holding it and enjoying her curves. "Damn, don't get distracted now." he thought when the pretty much engrained sensation tickled his arousal.

It gave him some extra energy to spend on sawing through the two poles, and without any forced break because of a patrolling golem, he soon dislodged the two pieces with a firm kick. 'This should do it. Let's hurry while the coast is still clear.'

The party went through after parting the thorny bush on the other side, and Ulric returned the two pieces to their places. 'We go this way now.' said Royle. 'There's a narrow and deep gully we can use to keep hidden. It doesn't lead directly to my village but it's safer than walking out in the open.'