Soul Fire sale, chapter 6. (Patreon)

Here we go, first offering of the month. The main event will drop soon. For now, please enjoy.

I did not expect to be gone so soon. I turned back as the loving Castellan threw a bag at me; a large one that clunked most soundly on the drawbridge, and did not bounce.

When I was picking out the truly large knife at my belt, I'd been expecting to make sure I'd covered everything, hedged my bets, and leave the next morning.

Instead, I was leaving now, mere minutes after the would-be slaver King left in a carriage to the capital of this fine kingdom. I was being assisted by the Castellan, who really did not like me for some reason.

It was a little heartening to see my assigned maid wringing her hands in distress in the background behind all the armed men. That was something, at least.

"Your supplies. Should you need more, you are welcome to return. However, some proof of your deeds are required."

Right. He was all but saying I'd hide out in the woods until the food ran out and come back. Which I'll admit was an idea that had occurred to me, but I wasn't about that. If I ever came back here... well, I'd never say never, but the reason would have to be a great one. I'd surely get better treatment in some random village over here. Well, maids aside.

The crowd moved, as Oliver pushed his way between some of the soldiers. "Wait for me! I'm coming!"

The group at last parted for him; if the Castellan was surprised, he didn't show it. Everyone fell silent as he picked the bag thrown at me up and rushed to my side.

Where he shoved it at my chest. "Here. Whew, that thing is heavy."

It was indeed heavy; I almost dropped it as he let go. What had they put in this thing? There had to be more than I'd grabbed myself. Whatever, I wasn't opening it up here, and it had straps to be worn as a backpack. I cinched it up, and used a little bit of magic to reduce the weight.

It was something easy that was barely a spell, and something I was fairly sure any spell caster could use. Judging from Oliver's stutter and smile, he caught it.

"Come on, let's go, daylight is burning!"

Oliver pulled me the first few steps while shouldering his own bag and setting off with a jaunty gait.

A gait he dropped as we reached the other side of the bridge, and it started to rise with a series of clanks and clunks.

"What a bunch of assholes. Wouldn't even send a single front line fighter with us, even though we're both backline types."

Ah, so he had his own run-ins. The company in misery made me feel a bit better. "It'll be fine, I have something that will solve that problem, once we get somewhere a little more private."

Surely a golem could tank for us, right? I mean it may not do much against numbers, but if we had that problem, we could just leave it; a creature made of clay or stone and magic would be expendable.

"Right. I've also got a few things I can do. We aren't totally helpless."

"We aren't helpless at all, no matter what they think. The issue is, we had to lie to them, so they didn't know any better."

Not having them know everyone was only smart, even if that led to us getting shoved out the door into the cold, where we wouldn't be a drain on their resources.

"So... how did you get free?"

Oliver was giving my hand a curious stare. Right, he wasn't. "I think it was a combination of my job and my name. My name is an assumed one, for obvious reasons, so the curse had little to latch onto there, and my job is very resistant to curses in general. So it isn't something I can just hand over as a solution."

We took a few steps, and I let Oliver stew just a little bit. "However, as I said, my job is very resistant to curses... and it's also outstanding with them. So, given enough time, I'm sure I can break yours."

The sigh of relief was loud and sloppy. "Good to hear."

"The idea will be to not just free you, but all of us who were summoned. Once I figure out how."

It might be as simple as just reading my spell list, but I hadn't seen any way to break the thing at my first pass. It was another thing I needed privacy for, and it was my second order of business. Right after the golem.

We took a left at the first fork of the road. To the west. I knew we were still being watched, so we should at least look like we're taking orders for now.

The road didn't look ominous at all; nothing like the people around me had been telling me about for the last day. We followed it, and Oliver walked to my side, neither of us taking the lead. That was one way to do it.

"We need to find a river."

Clay was more likely than stone, and most Clay was found by riverbanks. I could jump up some mud in a pinch since I planned to cheat anyway, but I'd like to get this settled before we went to our first village. After all, if we asked about a river or clay or stone, and then showed up with a golem, the gig would be up.

I wanted to see just how realistic I could make my clay man, if I tried. With some skills backing me, I should be able to do a little.

The back up plan would be to declare one of these items let me do it; maybe the broom. Though why a broom would do that was beyond me, surely magic items didn't always follow logic.

I mean, if the broom followed the logic of back home, it would allow me to fly. How that would work is beyond me, but once we stopped, I intended to try and figure out what it did exactly. As well as how you'd even sit on a broom. I wasn't going to hobby horse the thing, but side saddle?

Knowing my luck, the thing was just a broom, and I'd been baited.

A sudden burst of heat in my side surprised me; the sheath was warm, almost hot.

The broom had heard me, and was angry. I knew in an instant.

But that was... surely not, right?

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just peachy." The sheath cooled down. I guess the point had been made.

"How are you doing, by the way? With... everything?"

A good question. "I'm dealing. How about you?"

Oliver smiled at me. "I'm dealing too."

We walked a few more steps before I realized I had a map and that the moat the castle had been boasting had to be fed from somewhere. I stopped and dropped the bag. It wasn't as if I could break anything in it now - and took the time to drag it out.

"Oh right," Oliver said idly as he came back to read over my shoulder.

There was a river nearby, a bit north of us. It looked to be fed from glacial melt up the mountain and wound it's way like a serpent through this half of the map, if I was reading things right. I could be wrong; it had been some time since I'd learned how; cell phones and GPS had ruined me.

So, it would be to the left, again. Back towards and a bit beyond the castle, through the forest. The supposedly very dangerous forest. The good news is, a river like this was a good source of clay.

How I knew that? I wasn't sure. But I knew it.

It was about twelve miles away, according to the map, and running parallel to us. It also ran down to the nearest village on our route, so we could just follow it instead of the road if we wanted. I'd give it another mile, for any watchers to get bored and for us to get far enough away from any easy contact with the fort before we turned off.

"Looks like we keep on the road for a bit, then go north. Is that what you're seeing?"

Oliver scratched his head. Right, he was younger than I was, even if he didn't know it. "If you say so. I kind of understand what I'm seeing, but then again, I don't."

Right, I knew it. In basic skills, Oliver would be even more useless than I was... and with the castellan not sending any help, that put him at a major disadvantage. Of course, did the castellan not send any help because of Oliver, or because Oliver decided to hitch along with me?

Long-term, betting on me and our shared world would seem like the better bet, since he already knew I was as close to free as any of us otherworldly types. I could be an ax murderer though, it wasn't like he had any way of knowing.

Then again, that went for him too. I'd have to keep an eye out tonight. Even if he clearly needed me.

Oliver must have seen something in my face: "You alright?"

"Yeah, sorry. Just thinking."

The man backed off a step while pretending not to notice whatever it was. I'd need to work on that; I wasn't sure I liked being so read-able.

I counted down the time. At the rate we were walking, an hour on the road, and we could turn off. Then, depending on how bad the terrain was, reaching the river would take all day. I really didn't want to be without a meat shield of some kind in the dark.

I picked up my pace - and Oliver matched it with ease. As if he'd just been matching me before.

Annoying. It was annoying. He knew my secret, and he knew we needed to hurry.

"Are you not cold in that?"

Right. Of course. "It's enchanted to be warm. Isn't yours?"

The man made a show of patting himself down. "I don't think so. I mean, I know it's enchanted to be tougher than normal and protect me, but it just seems to be normally warm."

"Huh." Different jobs, different enchantments? Though I was sure I had some of those same ones... This dress could probably repel gunfire. I just had that feeling. Then again, he had a robe, and I was wearing the medieval equivalent of a cocktail dress.

Or worse. I'd have to see just how bad it was when I reached actual civilization here, or what passed for it. Clearly, a fort in the middle of nowhere where the only women present were the maids would not qualify as this world's Paris.

"I do have this," Oliver continued while pulling a stick out of a sheath. No, a wand.

I was a little jelly, his small item was an actual weapon and the sheath was a tooled leather one made for the polished bit of wood. The wand itself was black, and even though I could tell it was wood, it looked more like smooth obsidian than anything else. My broom heated up again, just for a moment.

"What does it do?"

"It projects lightning."

Ah. Well, I could do that, with no stick involved. Technically. "I thought for sure it would be one that spit fireballs."

Oliver gave me a flat look: "Of course not, I can do that already, and often enough I don't need a weapon for it. This is to cover what I'm weak at."

I didn't really have the heart to tell him; not when he looked so earnest.

"Right, I get you. Unfortunately, they didn't have anything cool like that for me."

"They had a matching hat," the mage pointed out, while pointing to his own broad brimmed pointy hat.

It was clearly a lie, of course. "Our hats look nothing alike."

I would not stand for any hat slander, as mine was clearly superior to his.

He gave my wonderful fashion statement another once-over. His reply was dryer than the Sahara, and just as drawn out: "Right."

Still, the best response was to agree and just move on. "Right. Alright, let's go.

Off the road, the sun went from a warm presence to a shadowy thought, and the temperature seemed to drop twenty degrees immediately.

It was enough to touch me through the enchantments, but I was committed now.

Oliver crashed into the treeline behind me, managing to make twice as much noise as anyone should. "Hey, wait for me!"

A reminder of caution was in order. "Shh. Watch your footing, pick your way carefully, and if you must talk, whisper."

He'd already scared all the wildlife away from us for miles. Even the birds.

Well, except the predators. Those wouldn't be scared away by a yelling guy in a robe tripping over every tree branch on the forest floor.

He gave me a look, telling me what he thought of my orders, but I didn't need to be a scout or woodsman to speak sense.

I couldn't really make a golem of wood. At least, not a good one, one that would last. I needed something either more durable or more resilient in order to properly seat the energies I'd be using.

How I knew that was anyone's guess, but being here now required a certain suspension of what was normal, a certain lean into the unbelievable, in order to cope.

Wood would have been convenient, though, because I wasn't fifty steps in and I was already sick of hiking in a forest. The going was even slower than the road, for all that I tried to keep the pace.

Right, we were far enough away to be out of sight. I pulled the little broom out. "Okay, how do I get you to work?"

"What?" Oliver asked loudly, coming into my view on the right, as he grabbed a tree to steady himself. At least he wasn't panting yet, for all that he looked like he should.

The broom understood me and grew in my hand.

"What's this? You thinking of cheating already, or are you going to sweep the forest?"

Good joke. In no way has that one been told before.

The broom warmed in my hand; it seemed to agree with me.

Then it lifted into the air, pulling my hand up. Right, I guess that was simple enough. But if I tried to do things that way, I'd likely get my arms pulled out of their sockets in minutes.

I could still move it with ease, one handed. I turned it so the length was horizontal, and it stayed there. So, maybe a bit like a bike... I scooted my hand up and slapped my butt down, gently, but the wooden handle took my weight like it was supported. It wasn't too bad, and I could reach around with my other hand to hold on, as if I were sitting on a swing but holding onto the seat and not the chains we used to use to suspend them.

I pulled my feet up, and the broom floated there with me on it. Simple.

"Okay so now what? Go?"

The broom lurched. "Slowly!"

The broom slowed down. All the way to walking speed, or at least what would have been walking speed on the road. We were avoiding all the crap I could trip on, the broom and I.

My grin was short lived when I looked over to find Oliver keeping pace with me by just floating upright in the air. "I like the idea of cheating too. Walking is for plebs."

Well, walking was indeed for plebs, but I needed a broom to do what he could do with a few words. He hadn't even said the words loud enough for me to hear them! I wasn't sure I could learn spells that way, but I wanted to find out.

I guess I'd make an exchange formal later, and we take things from there.

With both of us off the ground, it was much easier going. I could control the broom just by thinking about how fast and how high I wanted to go, which made everything easy. Balancing was no problem like this; the thing didn't bounce or spin in my hands, so there seemed to be no chance of it spilling me on the ground.

I had a feeling that it would be a different story at different speeds, and I was in no hurry to try that out.

"Why don't we just...."

"Because anything higher than the trees can be seen for a long way, and we don't want anyone seeing you fly, at the very least. The fort isn't that far. Anything closer, like whatever monsters are in here, could sight in and take pot-shots at us."

"Right, I knew there was a reason we were here, limiting our vision and other senses."

Oliver did have a point.

"Everything is a trade off. You can feel free to do as you like. I'll try and put you back together when someone shoots you full of arrows, or whatever."

Oliver sulked, quieting down.

I waited a bit, then asked a question I felt needed an answer. "How long can you keep that spell up?"

"About an hour. Maybe a bit less."

I sent a thought to the broom, and it started zig-zagging through the trees. "Then we should probably get the most out of it. Besides, it'll be good training for us."

"Right. That's something."

We focused in order to avoid splitting our heads open, while the scenery began to flash for us, just a bit. I was reminded of that old movie, star wars something something, with the bikes on the green planet. Even though we weren't going that fast.

Still, I was sure we made a fair bit of distance before Oliver's spell ran out.

He went from pulling a superman one moment to touching down in a skid. He did stay upright, and didn't plow into anything. Which was good. I slowed down again to match him, and sent a mental question to the broom. Asking if it was good to continue.

The broom warmed in my hands, though oddly enough, not under my seat. The answer seemed to be it was fine, and could go for some time yet. Maybe forever.

Surely not, right? Surely it wasn't that strong an item, or some other kingdom would have it. I mean, if it'd been me, I'd have sold it to feed my people or pay for infrastructure or something. Maybe even mercenaries.

Still, it was back to walking. Oliver was once again crashing through the forest, acting as a beacon to everything. I could act as an unwelcome surprise to any potential enemies, but we had to see them first.

Was there anything I could do to help that?

My spell list had something... sense life. Was now the time to experiment? The spell seemed simple enough, with the tool tip just saying it sensed living things in a certain range around me, and could be used for plants or animals. That seemed very useful.

What the range was, the spell didn't say. Instead, it gave a form of equation I recognized. The one used to determine the size of a circle... or in this case, a radius, with a number already plugged in. The number matched my level of fifty, which meant....

Wow, that was some radius, if I was reading this right. Damn.

There was no need to worry or delay; I cast the spell and felt it take hold.

All animal life in... a very large area was revealed to me; from the smallest bug to the largest predator. What was this, a full mile? Something close.

I should feel overwhelmed, but I was not. All the tiny and larger little lights blooming in my head were there with no unease at all, contained, and there for my perusal. That, the largest life form close to us, could only be some type of deer. It was deer shaped; all of this had a shape as if I was staring at everything through infra-red or something.

I kind of felt like the predator from that old movie. All I'd need to do breathe loudly and make clicking sounds.

Oliver looked person shaped, of course. The spell continued, and I had no problem parsing it.

"Well?"

"Nothing around us that looks dangerous."

Oliver blew a breath. "Well, that's a relief. I was a bit worried for a minute there."

It made sense because on the ground as he was, mobile he wasn't.

A pulse of warmth as I sent the command for the broom to lower; it almost felt like a protest.

I hopped off; Oliver asked "what are you doing?"

"Conserving power. I don't know how long the broom can hold me, but I bet it's not all day. So I'll save it for when I need it."

Now that I knew we were much more safe than I initially suspected.

"Makes sense to me. I don't mind the company. How long will your spell last?"

"I'm not sure." According to the screen projected in front of my face that only I could see, the time the spell could last was... an hour a level? The term used wasn't an hour of course, but that was what my head translated it as. That was broken as hell. Knowledge was power, after all.

"We shouldn't have to worry for most of the day."

I didn't lie, but I didn't give everything away.

Oliver took it in stride. "Sweet."

Then he started whistling as he walked along.

Well, why not? It wasn't like anything around was predator shaped or dangerous looking. Of course, it might be better if his whistling was in key or an actual song or something.

I'd show him how it was done.

After my third pass of "don't stop believing," he got the idea, and matched me for the fourth... still badly, but at least with something to strive to he was a little better.

Everything either ran from us, or hid from us, and the walk was far more pleasant now. Even if we tripped the same amount.

Time passed, and my legs began to burn in that pleasant manner which let me know I was actually exercising; this body's fitness seemed at least equal to what I was used to.

The sky was beginning to darken when I heard the unmistakable sound of running water. It was coming from my left; I altered course.

"You're a machine, I swear," Oliver complained. He was still slightly behind me, but he was huffing now.

"This has been a pleasant nature hike, city boy."

I was a city boy too, of course, but he didn't need to know that. I was at least a bit more prepared for this than he was. I'm not sure what that says about me.

"I wasn't talking about that. We didn't break for lunch."

"It won't kill you. What are you, a hobbit? You'll be asking about second breakfast next."

The man might have been morbidly obese on the other side; there was no way to know.

"Are you serious right now?"

The plaintive whine didn't do much for my nerves. "In a way, yes. We aren't exactly in a land of plenty. We saw how the king and his cronies ate, but we also saw how the common soldier looked."

They hadn't exactly been living it up. We'd choked down thin soup and tough trail bread for a day. The rations I'd been given to head off on were bread and jerky. I was in no rush with that.

"You have a point. We should save the stuff we have and go after perishables first. Not that I know what to look for."

"Don't look at me, I'm just as citified as you." I hated to admit that after just calling him out for it, but better that than he expect too much of me.

It wasn't entirely true, of course. I knew plants and where to look for them now. Hunting was a big no-go though. I was certain I could find some mushrooms and tubers here, on the lee side of these places and along the river.

But even if I caught, say, one of the rabbits I was seeing around, I had no idea how to butcher it, except a vague idea that we needed to take the stomach out first or it could make us sick. Something like that.

Still, I could go for a stir fry right about now. Information beamed directly into one's head was convenient, if creepy.

It could wait; we needed to get to the river as soon as possible to be able to find the clay I needed before dark.

We needed a tank before the nocturnal predators came out.

The sound of running water drew me on, and I got us to the river right as the sun slipped behind the trees. It wasn't that easy, of course. There was a cliff before the beach; the river had retreated from its banks somewhat, leaving a fair bit between the bed and where we were.

That was actually very lucky for us; I just pulled the broom out and rode it down. "Get some firewood, if you please, and bring it down there. I've got to do the thing."

The sand bar I'd pointed to would make things easy; most things coming for us would likely avoid the water, which meant they would come at us from one direction, and watching our backs would be easy. A good fire built in front of that should keep most things away.

I needed to search this cliff for clay right now though, or I wouldn't be able to find it until morning. I could cheat the rest to save time. It wouldn't be ideal, but it would be better than nothing.

Luckily, I didn't have to go far before finding an entire section of it. The spell itself would allow me to pull the clay from the earth. Somehow, I just knew.

It required a bit of drawing, however, and a bit of magic I wasn't going to be fond of. I would need to make ink.

The stuff required to make it was in the pouch I'd slid down the front, disguised as humble cooking herbs and plants. My wonderful maid had premixed them while packing my stuff, all without knowing what they were for.

A small mortar and pestle would do the work, and for the last ingredient... I had to steal myself. It was only a little cut, after all.

I decided on a finger; a thin lengthwise cut on my index, and the blood flowed freely enough. I waited, watching the red stuff pump out and gravity do the work, ignoring the pain as it hit. My new knife was really sharp, it seemed.

That was good. And that was enough blood. I wiped the remainder and bandaged the digit; that would hold it for now, until I used the excess to brew a healing draught.

Being able to make healing potions seemed a very cool and useful skill.

The finger was a mistake. With it bandaged, curling my index finger around anything became a chore; I should have gone for the palm instead. A lesson for next time, I guess.

I switched to my off hand and mixed the mixture. Drawing the circle and words I needed in order to cast this along the uneven surface was more difficult than I'd hoped. Still, just as the gloom overtook me, the thing clicked inside my mind, and I knew it was ready. Somehow.

I started the chant. Then I finished the chant; the time in between the five repetitions needed seemed to pass in an instant.

It was dark now, with the fluttering hint of what could only be a crackling fire back the way I'd come from.

Now for the cheating. Thanks to how I'd done this, I could shape the body how I wanted. If I could keep an image clear in my head.

The size would be larger than most humans, probably. The spell seemed to suggest as much.

I watched the clay flow, responding to my will. An image of a large guy in my mind, Ken dolled so as to avoid any uncomfortable conversation later. The legs took form... and no, something was wrong. Those were far too small for the suggestion of a body builder I'd had in mind. My image wavered for a moment before I could steady it.

It didn't seem to matter at all, either way. The lump of clay flowed up from the legs into a set of hips that flared a bit too wide. I could feel my heart hit the floor.

I mean, I guess the size and shape wouldn't affect the ability? I wouldn't be able to hide behind the thing exactly, but would the skills and abilities change? Too late to worry about it now. I was committed.

That... was not either the Barbie or Ken doll treatment. Way to go me? Maybe we could distract stupid enemies? No, I had a normal robe I could use as clothes, just for such an occasion.

Well, not exactly this one, but close enough.

The torso formed next, and while the golem was going to be bigger than I was overall, I couldn't stop the spike of disappointment that in at least one area, I had it beat. I mean seriously, these things were a hindrance.

The face formed last, and well, she was cute enough. She looked a bit like the sister I never had and possibly never wanted.

The clay stopped flowing; the golem was now done. It was six feet tall if an inch, and built like a female athlete. Not quite power lifter territory, but I could see tone and bulge - which was a little misleading. The predominant color was a dark tan, and that was all I could tell on that front.

The thing that was really weird was the long dirt brown hair. I hadn't even imagined hair.

The eyes were amber, and seemed to collect the low light like such gems might. It was aware and watching.

Right. I opened my bag again, and brought out the robe. No, wait, it may not know how. I'd better be careful with this; it could rip the thing. "Hold your arms out."

Good, it understood arms at least. I bunched the cloth up and stuck the correct holes on each limb. "Now hold your arms up, like this."

I demonstrated, and my creation matched me without a sound of complaint or change in expression. As expected, the robe fell to the point where I could pull it over its head, and I wasted no time on that. "Alright, you can put your arms down."

It did, allowing them to fall back to its sides. Staring at me, without even a hint of expectation.

"Follow me."

I didn't need to look to know it was; I could hear the firm and uncaring steps - with just a bit of a squelch. Would it need shoes?

Oliver squinted past the fire he'd made, taking it all in. "That... was not what I expected."

At least he'd made himself useful; that was quite a pile of firewood. Should I?

Yeah, I should tell him. "Not what I expected either; I was aiming for something a little more Arnold, and this is what I got."

He was still staring.

I looked, and the golem was three good paces behind me, no more and no less. I moved, and it did too, to match. Right, I guess that would look a little odd.

"She'll need a name."

Right, I guess she would, just to avoid confusion and hey you moments. I turned back.

"Stay here. From now on, your name is Loam, and you will respond to that name. Loam, you will remain alert and step between myself and anyone who means me harm. You will defend me, and attack anyone or anything that means me harm unless I say otherwise. You will, if at all possible, do the same for Oliver if I am not in danger."

My creation looked around, its eyes seeming to cast sparks in the darkness for a second. I pointed: "That is Oliver. do you understand?"

There was a mouth, but... it nodded instead.

I'd made a tongue, right? I'd imagined a tongue and a throat; it would be weird if those... other areas had formed so well, and the throat hadn't. Maybe it didn't know speech yet.

Whatever, it understood. Or if not, that was the best I'd get. I could finally settle down and relax. And fix my finger. I brought the mortar out again; I had enough stuff to go ahead and make some healing potions.

I got to work, idly noting Oliver sit down next to the fire opposite me.

"What happened to your finger?"

"I had to settle for quick and dirty."

He waited a minute, while I mashed plants up again. "Won't that affect the quality?"

Rushing always affected build quality, for anything. "Yes, but I did what I could. She - it - should work until I get to a good source of pure elemental iron or something similar."

Once I found the best source of metal I could, there would be no reason to worry. Without any sort of power loss due to poor quality material, anything I made with the full ritual should be strong enough to solo a dragon.

Hopefully. There was always the chance that I was insane and reading the situation wrong. It wasn't even like I could only have one golem; it was just an issue of how much magic power I wanted to devote to them. Any golem would require an infusion of mana from me daily in order to continue working, and even Loam would need a significant amount.

That was a bridge I could cross later.