"So J, what are we doing today?"
"We're taking over the world."
Nyx and Jerry were enjoying their time on the bench outside his house, trying to outdo each other throwing pebbles and other bits of rubbish at the tree in the middle of the road. So far, Jerry was the only one who hadn't missed, giving him a two-point lead over the golem. "Hmm... sounds like something I wouldn't mind doing. But how?"
The wizard just shrugged and shook his head humorously at the golem's pointless 'not taking the bait' joke. "I... would sell soup to everyone. Then, when everyone wants seconds, I'll charge them money."
Nyx snorted at Jerry's 'business idea'. "I bet. Do you really think you can conquer the world with soup?" His voice whispered wryly as Nyx slumped against the wall, his toned abdomen visible from under his black top reflecting the sun, slightly causing the wizard to look away from the golem in embarrassment as Nyx threw one last stone, hitting the tree and breaking a twig.
"Probably. I'd buy a bank with all that money and work it out from there. I've always wanted one." he clapped his hand imagining it the dream come true.
But Nyx mentally abandoned Jerry for a moment. His own funny question sparked a small series of questions slowly crawling from the back of his mind. He remembered his meeting with Tamira, how the goddess had given a second life but warned him about her inner circle war between gods, how Amar struck her down but made it out on her last leg just to die later on. Their brothers and sisters splitting into factions to fight for control of the world or simply to combat it. Even though he had accepted the goddess's deal, how he respected it was entirely up to him. But what about her enemies. Now Nyx'. How are they controlling the world, will control it if not yet done?
"What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing really..."
"Hmm... I've heard that before. Especially when people are upset."
The golem's ragged breath was loud. "I'm stuck in something I can't manage anyway possible. So I've tried not to think about it, or maybe I've just totally forgot whatsoever. But—I don't know. Like, what'd you do?
Jerry's fingers crossed, his elbows now resting on his knees as he processed a response. A near-response at least. Maybe something. "Are you cursed or something?"
Nyx just chuckled back. "My only curse is that I can't piss myself drunk from alcohol." His hand played with the wiry strands of hair on his head, a simple way trying make for some comfort. "When I was alive, you know, before—" Nyx flailed his hands out to no one but making the idee. "All I wanted was to travel, but now I'm afraid."
"I mean... you're pretty tough. You fight monsters like it's your last day alive, and you survived it-- hell. You're not hungry, or thirsty, or... anything else you'd need to... oh..." Jerry broke off. Maybe none of that was the actual problem. Probably Nyx didn't want to go out there in the world like a stupid girl looking for a charming prince but to have someone with him? "Sorry... yeah. Women shouldn't travel alone, my bad."
"Jerry." Nyx had caught the wizard's attention once again. "I'm technically a man."
"..." Jerry's skin just turned slightly pale, his words catching in his throat and his voice going numb. "...really? How... how come?" The wizard's mind was. AAAAAH. SHIIT!
"Well, I didn't want to say anything!" Nyx laughed hiding it under his hands. "It's easier than going through all this 'I'm a man, address me properly' nonsense and other bullshit. Plus, I was a changeling, so it's nothing new to me." he gave a quick glance to his hand, after giving a large smile. "And it's easier to pick up chicks." finishing with a funny wink impling-- the sex think.
.
.
.
"What's up, man?"
"...eh.Nothing, I just need to lie down a little."
---------------------------
"How many more are there..?"
"...seven."
"Dörk... how do you bear doing all this?"
"Tea and vodka. And sometimes I work in the backyard. Y'know.. for stress." All the men had the same sorrowful look on their face as if they had just run out of tears. Yet another magical 'hot horn' was done crafted for the infirmary, and they already had to jump to the next one. "And what's worse, I have to make some more scrolls." The gruff wizard, though yet not bald, rubbed his tired eyes and scalp from fatigue. Almost seven hours of work, of which only five horns got done, took its toll on everyone. Plus the boredom.
"Eh... I've had enough. I'm going to get something to eat."
"Sure... I'd like that too." Dörk sat up and turned to his colleagues. "There's no better time for a break than when you're hungry." Both men had the same idee but got on different ways and heading for the place calling their own.
His door creaked softly and the glyph master entered the hallway of his dwelling. "Hey girl! Nyx, you around?" The house returned only a note of silence that rang in Dörk's ears as he made his way upstairs and flopped on the makeshift bed and kicked off his boots. "Oowwh..." he yawned, resting his head on the pillow. "I think I need to wash the sheets..." But the wizard did not drift off to sleep, instead he rolled over in bed and grabbed his travel backpack, pulling out a really sharp slender knife. The time on the bed was not long but ended with him opening the pantry, taking out a thick piece of smoked pork belly seasoned with paprika, oregano, and salt for extra taste. "Olivia.. love you girl.."
The main man spent the next almost hour nibbling on his greasy snack, while picking up one of the books he found around the house about the "Art of Woodworking." Not a bad choice to pass the time, but he was already getting tired of JUST bacon and reading with no good snack seemed a bit forced.
"Hm... where's that girl now?"
Leaving the loft and proceeding to the golem's room, no one answers the knock on the door. Where did you go? Dörk analyzes his surroundings a little. Knickknacks. Mirror. He opened one of the drawers. Sheets. Quilts... "Wow." Of all things, he grabbed a mace leaning the wall next to bed's head and four spears on the floor. It wasn't one of those huge ones to carry on your shoulder but to swing and kill with one hand. Something simpler, a little shorter than a sword and completely of black metal. "And heavy. Where did you steal this..eh?"
Minutes later, our wizard had left the cul-de-sac, not far away, just at one of the wells already placed with their horns for bettering water. "Finally got your head out of that ass of a job, eh man?" Callahan and Cecil had come by for the same thing, clean water.
"Owwh... well, it's been a long day. But I still have two small things to do and then I'm DONE!" Dörk had sealed the cap of his leather flask and just had to talk a little with his comrades. "By the way. Did any of you guys see Nyx? I don't think I've seen her today or even yesterday if I think that much."
Cecil was indifferent, not that he was very interested in the golem except that she had a killer figure, but he didn't bother to respond other than with a shrug. On the other hand, Callahan nodded with good will. "Out there, maybe digging a hole and... digging on snacks..." His personality was not much of a jester, but he couldn't help it right now. "She's real busy with dead bodies. Then again, it's her call. Then again, she ain't eating much else."
The wizard's take was already a bit heavier. Maybe it was time to put the pen to work, finally not slacking but trying to do the scrolls and help the golem with his training... And maybe moving along with the plan. "I suppose so. But I wonder if it's still worth the effort. What... I figure the bodies are 3-4 weeks old? At this point, it's like getting water from a rock."
Callahan figured what Dörk's trying to say. "So she'll run out of food. Right?" At which the wizard confirmed. "And what you gonna do then, smarthead?"
His gaze wavered with some uncertainty, but eventually he had to come up with a plan. "Maybe she could work in the infirmary as a nurse?"
"Fuck no!" Callahan recoiled at Dörk's idea. "What kind of batshit nonsense is that? Yeah, her walkig around in a skirt, stanching bleeding with a man's handhold strength and easing headaches using a hammer. So 1800s. Besides... I don't think she'd be too fond hanging around soldiers that much. Some guys can be real idiots, you know, particularly with women."
The only other wizard present was bored out of his mind but nonetheless joined in. "Maybe she can talk it out with the general, I don't know." he muttered through his long beard. "We're all paid somehow, maybe she can negotiate a little. I mean, enough people are in the infirmary to make a snack out of, but they're dwindling by the day."
"And I don't think they have the needles to throw around on people the girl.."
"I talked something with the general about giving Nyx something." But in the end, he was completely mad to forget. "Oh, yes. I said maybe we could make her some armor."
"We?" Cecil shrugged, perplexed and somewhat feeling exploited.
"Well... whoever wants to help, yeah—'we'." raising quotation marks back to the man. "Besides... we can get a little artistic, just this once." Both keen eyes locked onto Callahan's, stars appearing from both wizards.
"Okay."
.
.
.
"What you do there buddy."
"....Not much... Just playing with some old sketches."
-----------------------
The sun hung low above the horizon yet still to cast a few rays of light, delaying the onset of darkness. Just enough time for soldiers left outside the city walls to retreat. "Would you like a ride in the cart?"
The soldier's words were accompanied by Nyx's shovel hitting the pile of armor and weapons behind the luggage rack. "I wouldn't mind. Thanks."
Glancing around, apart from bent and broken armor and weapons there was nothing else to look at. Except for him. He was just as grimy as the stuff they were taking back to town. His black top was not like the leather vest worn before. It had to be washed clean of the dirt and scraps that stuck to the fabric, and rubbing the fabric with his hands... he might as well give it to a dog.
"Uh... excuse me, miss."
A man, the one who was steering the horse from the hauler's seat turned to the living statue. "I just want to say thank you. You saved my brother, you know?"
"When was that? On the road when we got attacked?"
"Yay. Right. He's in bed now, but I know he'll be fine. I just wanted to... well, I don't know what I wanted to get out of all this. Just to give you my thanks, I guess." But he turned back to the road with a smile that could only be described as shy.
Nyx didn't follow up, just letting the soldier's gratitude hang there as the last thing said between the two. He didn't accept it or say anything back... not until the views of the surroundings made him. "Thanks for the ride, but I'm gonna get down here. I need to do something."
A few soldiers gave him strange looks as they moved by and even fewer bothered to take a second look. "Sleeping outside again, girl? Ha!"
Come on, go away.
"Don't catch ticks or a cold." another made fun of him.
Come on, get going.
"Girl, what are you doing?" said the team's man in charge to the golem. Both were now locked in an unofficial face-off between authority and the persistence of a determined 'human'.
"Nothing special." But Nyx didn't want to tell the captain anything. "I want to see if I can find some clothes to wear over there." The golem made the captain turn his head to a group of houses beyond the small potato field where there was a mill. "If anyone asks."
"There are plenty of abandoned houses in town you can search." The man was firm. If he had to do shitty work, at least he wouldn't be a jerk to his subordinates, especially when they were volunteers. "What's the deal with the houses?"
He didn't see it.
The big statue shook his head at the man. "I'll be fine... I'll be back before the gate closes." Nyx said gently to him. Luckily for Kara's charms, he just turned to the rest of the team and headed for the city.
He slowly broke away from the soldiers. Then he started running. In less than a minute, he reached the other side of the field ending behind in a a small meadow. "Hmm... He saw me coming." Yet Nyx hadn't noticed anything around him for now. Moving past the house, two tin buckets were scattered on the ground next to a door. He kicked one, and metal clanging made a sharp sound.
The next minute was filled with Nyx banging the buckets together to seemingly no avail. "Maybe better to look around."
There were about eight houses he could search and their surroundings. The first one he came to had its door locked and yet the windows remained intact. Nothing outside except for a small empty smokehouse over the other side with a scythe hanging over the side. The second one... the door was open, not wide open, but just enough to still appear closed. To Nyx's surprise, the door hinges did not creak amd his curiosity eating away at him for a second to see they were coated with. . . some kind of grease unfamiliar to the golem. The interior of the first room was a sideways hallway leading to two rooms. The first had a large, high bed, big enough for two or three people, a small table and benches with backrests. A mirror hung on the wall near the ceiling, tilted at an angle useful to anyone. In hindsight, everything was looking fine except for the thick dust on the rudimentary furniture and the cold metal stove. But the most beautiful thing he could find was... a toy duck painted with green and black for its wings and body, orange for its beak and wheels for feet. Nyx was gentle with the toy, he didn't take it with him but left the piece of wood on the tabletop. The second room was just a kitchen, with a stone oven and a long table built from a single plank. The drawers looked to hold few possessions, none useful but one ugly blouse, so the golem left with nothing.
Outside, the golem had lost his patience. "HEY!! IS ANYONE THERE?"
And his prayers were answered. From above.
An imposing figure had landed on his back, scratching along his neck and face, seeking to finish him off with a single fatal attack. The attacker's weight caused the golem to lose its balance and slip on a patch of gravel, both monsters falling onto the grass, though the attacker came out on top.
It was still trying to tear through Nyx's artificial body, but the attacks weren't as effective as they would be on a real person. And between attacks and Nyx trying to protect his face, the monster's visage was visible. It had skin the color of rot, with various traces of black dried blood here and there. There was no hair on its head but the face was human and just as tinted and dirty as the rest of the naked body. The eyes, on the other hand, were two completely red orbs, lacking the natural iris found in animals and humans.
He stopped it, catching its black claw and punching the beast in the gut and grabbing the monster by the throat. The golem's arm was set to crush its windpipe, killing the monster as fast as possible, but the humanoid jerked away from the sudden pain and got free. Both of them took a step back, the golem back on its feet and daggers in its hands, preparing its own standoff right there. "What the fuck are you?!"
But the beast said nothing, now moving back and forth on all fours. Instead of attacking, it roared, the violent sound vibrating from its throat but it had no effect on the golem or anything else around the two, who was preparing to hurl one of his daggers at the monster with his magic.
Nyx's tongue instinctively licked his lower lip in anticipatory response to the impending attack. The bizarre humanoid sprinted toward him. Its claws were ineffective against his stone skin. It had not tried to bite him with its sharp teeth. Nyx could easily crush the monster. But... this was becoming a game of skill. His dagger flew from his left hand and struck the monster in the head. Almost... almost landing a blow that could've proven fatal if the blade's curve hadn't ruined the blow. The dagger failed to pierce the skull, the blade falling to the ground. But the monster was hurt, clutching its head in pain, its claws trying to stop the bleeding caused by theavy sharp metal.
"It suits you pretty good!" Nyx shouted in anger, dashing forward to stab the creature with his second dagger. They both clashed like predator and prey, Nyx plunging the dagger through the monster's left hand. It struggled, both of them. Nyx had shown himself to be strong so far, her weight and rocky fists were enough to fight her way this far. To fight a griffin, roll over a carriage along a horse. The only time she had been defenseless-- almost-- was against the lizard-man behemoth. Face to face with that mosnter, Nyx felt like a tiny girl. This monster now could push back against his efforts equally. They were a true match in strength. But his claws were of no use, and the golem's sharp dagger would pierce every inch of his body.
The stone golem was losing his patience. Even with the dagger through its hand, it had to change something. "You worthless piece of shit---!
As the monster blocked Nyx's two-handed sledgehammer over its head, both ended up losing their grip and got separated again, with Nyx's dagger still stuck in the thing's arm. Just as he got back on his feet to see what was going on, he realized he was surrounded.
...Three. Four other hideous monsters had shown up. "Sweet." His lost dagger cut through grass and landed back in his right hand using the callback spell. "Very sweet." The ugly creatures' primitive minds couldn't grasp the sarcasm in his voice, but they didn't need to. They were about to die.
One of the new monsters was brave, but it attacked was not new. It leaped high to get its claws on the golem's head. It was very open. If he had his spears with him, Nyx might have just skewer the monster like a kebab. But instead his dagger pierced its midsection, cutting through flesh down to its naked junk and disemboweling him. Only the creature fell completely to the ground, struggling to crawl away but falling unconscious and dying in seconds. Nyx still held himself, pushing his body up and grounding this legs, stained with blood and feces leaked from intestines, but nonetheless ready to fuck up with another.
To fuck up nothing yet. Their furious voices were growling back and forth, the one with the dagger in his forearm glaring back at the others. They were getting scared. To their simple minds, the golem was like the first 'human' turn out to be a monster . No flesh to cut and infect. No blood to lick on. No fear. Nyx checked before as a target. Their brains had learned over time-- that 'humans' were easy prey. Now they were fighting against their own instincts. But one followed his instincts. He seemed somewhat weaker, slimmer than the rest of its brothers. Yet he jumped ahead to attack like the rest. Just another stupid animal.
"HAA!" The golem's keen elbow drove in that ugly face and putting him in a side headlock. He fought back with all his might. There was still life left in him, until Nyx rammed his dagger through the hollow jaw, splitting his mouth and drilling through his inner skull. The last struggle was Nyx's, twisting the blade and snapping the jaw in two, leaving the monster's dead to his feet.
"COME ON, RATS!"
The two species shared no mutual language, but they followed. The remaining three still alive roared at Nyx, clashing with the golem and among themselves over who would deliver the final blow. They clawed at his legs, guts, thighs, face, pulling the golem around and hitting with all they got.
Nyx never even bothered to raise a shield against them. They were just... mentally exhausting, like mad dogs pulling on a doll. They avoided the blade or didn't dare grab or strike the palm still holding the dagger. Complete animals. His hand grabbed one by the throat and the sharp tip pierced his temple, turning his frontal lobe into a salad.
Their fight took an unexpected turn. The ugly thing, still with the dagger stuck his forearm, caught the golem in a headlock from the back. Not so feral. Not just brainless. Primitive, yes. But apparently could learn. The brute squeezed the golem's neck hard, trying to do whatever possible just to be victorious, and in a lucky move, he managed to dig his sharp claw through the golem's eye socket, destroying its right eye.
"HHRAAA!" it roared in triumph, having gained the upper hand over the golem.
"KRA! I'll have to fix that---!" One of the two remaining ugly creatures met its fate with Nyx's boot across its mouth, the golem breaking several teeth in its ugly jaws. The playtime had gone on too long. Nyx dropped his last dagger, instead using both hands to rip the ugly thing off his back. It was a slow process. But satisfying. The creature responsible for all the mess was as muscular, strength equal Nyx', but the golem grabbed the ugly thing by its long fingers, putting more and more pressure on its joints. Slowly. Slowly. He pushed pain through his hands until he was free.
"KRAA--KRAA--KRAAAA!!!" it squealed like a pig ready for slaughter. Nyx move the grip across the span of its palms, was getting worse and worse, and the ugly thing struggled to escape before his bones turned to mush. Amidst all the commotion, the remaining shitface watched in fear as his alpha was subdued by the golem with pure willpower.
Now the abomination was on its knees, adrenaline still pushing it to fight. But Nyx stood tall, looking down at it. At a beast. An ugly abomination. A sick thing... It had lost the last of its strength and now hung there by hands like a servant begging for mercy from its master.
The only thing the alpha found was unwavering hatred. He was slam face down to the ground, taking two fast stomps but enough to spread skull and brains open over the grass.
With all that... The now white pants were just as filthy as the naked figures trying to prey on the living statue.
"And where are you...?" The fear induced was growing, now both remaining enemies just stared at each other. "Let's try again." The monster had gotten up on all fours. Nyx summoned the blade back in his palm. The monster fled. And was stabbed in the back by the flying dagger. True kill this time, even with his good eye missing.