Near the mountains the Nuvroci had access to water. While Water's Edge had the Border River flowing down from the mountains, most other Nuvroci towns had built massive aqueducts that brought water down from the mountains. Ritter knew of them quite well. The records of his people told of the engineers that had originally designed them and the many Halz who had helped build several of them. As the mercenaries were headed away from the forest's edge the ground was going to become rougher as well. The Nuvro Range shielded Nuvroc from rain and blunted the winds. Without as much erosion, the area was full of sharp edges.
Traveling without roads across such terrain was extraordinarily difficult with the wagon. It had been built to handle rough terrains, but the two oxen that powered it were having trouble. They were not used to such harsh terrain. The days that passed were rough but eventually Eurysa's sharp eyes spotted something in the distance.
“What is that?” she asked, “It looks like the ruin of a building!”
“An elven ruin,” Ritter said, “From ancient times when they pretended to be the allies of the Halz until they got all they wanted from us. They had talked of a plan to bring the forest northwards and cover Nuvroc with life, but it was a lie to let the humans accept them. As soon as they gained what they wanted, they abandoned their outposts and retreated deep into the Tarvo Forest.”
Enzi spoke, “Usually only bandits inhabit the ruins, and usually only the ones closer to the cities.”
The sound of ocean waves crashing upon rocks could barely be heard by the group, though they could not see the water except a possible hint of it across the horizon. They were approaching the Scorpion Cliffs, a great wall of rock that stretched from the great ocean to nearly a full mile above the sea at its highest point. It was almost completely vertical along much of its length. The darkness on the rock wall spoke of a high content of Halzium, like the reason that erosion had not carved further into it.
There were certainly small caves and other such things on the cliff wall, but they usually held the reason that the cliffs got their name. The Nuvroci scorpions were immense, some as large as a small dog. Their poison could be quite deadly, especially to the weakened or in high quantities. The scorpions were another reason that few dared venture into the dry wastelands of Nuvroc.
“From my information, I believe our target has fled here,” Enzi said.
“I imagine you are right,” Eurysa hissed, “As we do not appear to be the only ones who have come to such an out of way place.”
Her finger pointed towards the ruin, but only her eyes had picked out the details. As the group closed in, however, the rest saw that a large group of people had traveled across the wasteland. It was possible they were bandits so the team armed themselves for whatever might come next.
Enzi's Irregulars #0011
Approaching the crowd, it seemed that there were quite a few city guards but it was mostly normal citizens. Ritter was surprised that so many people had come this far out into the wasteland. He did notice that some merchants were taking advantage of the situation, having brought water and food to support the crowd. The crowd paid little attention to the wagon of mercenaries. Ritter imagined the crowd though that it was just more supplies being delivered.
“Ritter and I will see what we can learn,” Enzi said, “If this is what I think it is, the rest of you want to stay out of sight for the moment.”
Ritter wondered what Enzi meant by that but had to agree that the Nuvroci would be much more comfortable speaking with a human and a Halz. Although he imagined they would be speaking to him rather than a Feergrus. A minotaur, gorgon, and lycanthrope might be attacked on sight as monsters, but that was a danger anywhere the Irregulars worked.
“A dwarf!” one Nuvroci said, “And you look like a warrior! Excellent, just what we need. You should talk to the constable.”
“Oh?” Ritter said, “Why don't you take me to him, I could stand a bit more information on this.”
The Nuvroci citizen nodded enthusiastically and led Ritter to a grizzled veteran. The Nuvroci man had more than his share of scars. He wore a shirt of mail and had a large axe strapped on his back. He looked at Ritter with an appraising eye, then moved with the help of a cane. His voice was raspy and the Halz was not sure if it was from age, damage, or a mixture of both.
“Ah, one of our stout brethren from the mountains. We need more good strong soldiers for this endeavor.”
“Perhaps you could tell me more of this... Endeavor as you call it,” Ritter said.
The old warrior raised an eyebrow at the question, “You know of the monster?”
“Yes,” Ritter said, “I was not expecting to see so many people here.”
“Ah,” the Nuvroci replied, “That makes more sense. I was beginning to wonder how you were here if you didn't know what was going on. Yes, I was able to put together a militia of brave folks to face this monster before it slaughters more innocents.”
“That is why I and my friends are here,” Ritter replied, “And we seem a lot better equipped to deal with danger than these citizens.”
“This monstrosity has been quite unstoppable by simple soldiers,” the old man said, “They only thing I can see to stop it is by sheer numbers.”
“A lot of people will die,” the Halz said.
“Yes, but we are prepared for that. The death of a few to save the many.”
“By that logic, you should let my group try first,” Ritter said, “If we fail, then you still have your group.”
“Or we could add your strength to ours,” the grizzled veteran said.
“I doubt your people would want to fight beside all of our group,” another voice said.
Enzi had made his way around to the leader without either Ritter or the old man noticing. The veteran looked over Enzi, noting the scars on the Feergrus man. The Nuvroci had a discerning eye and quickly determined that Enzi was at least as much of a veteran of combat as he had been in his own life. That lead to as much suspicion as it did respect.
“So who are you exactly?”
“We are called Enzi's Irregulars,” Enzi replied, “We deal with unusual and extraordinary threats. Or anything else threatening the human race if we have time.”
“Irregulars. You have some army training to know such an appropriate name for such a squad,” the Nuvroci said, “Go then and destroy the monster, or be destroyed yourself.”
“Thank you,” Enzi said, “I would hate to have seen so many people harmed.”
The veteran grunted and then watched as the irregulars entered the ruin. He saw the gorgon, the minotaur, and the enormous wolf.
“Irregulars indeed,” the man said to himself, “Simply more monsters. I should have known a Feergrus would have a hidden agenda.”
The light streamed into the ruin and Ritter saw the glint of metal. The group slowly made their way through the decaying rubble and the Halz gasped as the metal moved. It looked like a metal human, perfectly formed. The metal had an odd blue tint to it and Ritter recognized it immediately. It was the metal of the elves, what they had called mithril. However, the body had another color to it. The crimson color of blood. Gore covered its hands and had splattered across its metallic body.
It cocked its head towards the mercenaries. Enzi had remained behind, not wanting to spook the creature if humans set it off. Ritter worried slightly that perhaps he was too human in appearance and remained at the rear, watching what happened. Something about the golem unnerved Ritter. He wondered what the attempt to infuse it with a human soul had done to it. Then it spoke in a voice that was all the more bone-chilling for the tone of innocence.
“Daddy?” the voice of a child spoke, “Where is my daddy?”
The horror washed over the Halz in a palpable wave. The mind of an innocent child chained to the body of an unstoppable killing machine. It was nearly inconceivable. The dwarf knew that a soul could infuse an item with great power, but ever had he seen actual intelligence of any kind. If the Ravaleian had somehow succeeded than h
e had crafted a horror unlike any other. It would mean that Sisera Dane would have broken every law of nature. Ritter could not imagine what would drive a person to do something so insane.
“Where did my daddy go?” the mithral golem whined, “I want my daddy back!”
Eurysa slid forward slightly and hissed, “It is okay. You will be okay. We will find your daddy and no one is going to hurt you.”
***
The Nuvroci man looked out at the gathered crowd. The Feergrus man was out of sight, and the soldier assumed he was helping his team capture the golem. The old man knew that the golem was far too dangerous for that. He felt it with all his soul. Even if Enzi's Irregulars could contain the creature, he did not want such a monstrosity in anyone's hands, especially not the hands of a Feergrus. He smiled, however, as he knew the mercenaries would distract his target. It just made his job easier.
“Listen good folk of Nuvroc. We have come here today to face a grave threat to our nation, to the very well being of the human race. We must destroy this metallic monstrosity once and for all! Gather your weapons, we charge now!”
The crowd roared. At the entrance to the ruin Enzi heard the roar. He glanced and saw the whole crowd headed his way.
“Wonderful,” he muttered to himself.
He yelled inside towards Ritter, the nearest mercenary to the entrance, “You guys need to move now, the crowd is coming!”
The mithral golem cocked its head towards the noise, “Daddy?”
“Come now, let us get you out of here,” Eurysa said softly, “We want to help you.”
Kava moved forward, then the eyes of the golem lit up as she closed in. Suddenly there was a blur of motion. The vodyanoi took to the air in an acrobatic flip as the metal fists of the golems flew through the air in a frenzy. Enzi had been right. It had a self defense protocol. As a frightened child, it was certain to strike out at any perceived threat. To a child, almost anything could be a threat. The crowd erupted into the room and the golem squealed out in childish fear.
The crowd, however, had not heard the mithral golem calling out earlier. All they heard was a high pitched squealing. They reacted as if under attack and charged at the golem while yelling and roaring themselves. The golem turned and fled, crashing through the rubble effortlessly. Its immense strength was obvious. It had blown through rock as easily as Ritter could have ran through a wall of paper.
The five mercenaries gave chase as did the crowd. Soon they had cornered the golem at the edge of the Scorpion Cliffs. The crowd pressed in as the veteran chanted.
“Kill the monster! End its threat!”
“Stay back!” the golem said in its childish voice, though it was drowned out by the roar of the crowd.
“I don't want to hurt more,” it said, “Not like daddy. Now daddy is gone.”
As some of the crowd charged in, the golem swung its mighty arms. Aldebaran leapt forward and swung his heavy blade. He connected with the arm but did not more than deflect the blow. It did not even leave a scratch on the surface of the golem. The thing was nearly invulnerable. It was obvious that if the golem wanted to that it could just slaughter its way through the crowd. It was far too strong to be stopped. Even if it was no more than the size of a man, it was many times heavier.
Simple weapons poked forward at the creature as the unsure crowd tried to edge forward. The weapons were quickly knocked back or even broken. The golem had nowhere to go, it had to fight now. Enzi attempted to take advantage of the lull in the crowd. He stepped out and raised his voice.
“This creature does not wish to harm anyone as you can see and hear, but one does not move towards a cornered animal. Stay back for your own safety!”
“Do not listen to the Feergrus!” the veteran Nuvroci soldier yelled out, “Like all his kind he wishes to enslave this monster to his cause. Look at what he has already enslaved. We can not allow such power in the hands of anyone, but especially not a foreigner like this.”
The crowd roared and surged forward. Ritter expected blood. He expected the golem to defend itself. Yet somehow the golem finally overcame its programming to protect itself from harm. It leapt backwards off the cliff. The Halz swore he could see a look of fear in the golem's eyes. The golem vanished into the mists below as the ocean crashed into the cliffs and was gone.
Its haunting last words echoed across the crowd, “I'm sorry...”
Enzi's Irregulars #0012
Enzi stood silenced by the loss of the golem. The Nuvroci soldier took advantage of that quiet pause.
“Now it is time for you to leave,” the Nuvroci man said, “Though I wonder if we should let such monsters remain free.”
“It would be a mistake to slay those who have shown honor in combat and saved the lives of many. Ones that have shown no threat to you or your people,” Ritter said.
The grizzled old man snorted, “In deference to the dwarf's words, I'll let you leave untouched. But never return to my country. We don't need your kind here.”
Kava's orange eyes almost seemed to be on fire, appearing nearly red as she seethed with anger.
“Come Kava,” Enzi said softly but firmly, “We have other business to take care of.”
Within a few hours the wagon was well away from the trouble. Enzi seemed sad and worried.
“There was nothing you could do,” Eurysa said with her calm soothing voice, “Any action would easily have led to slaughter.”
“I know,” Enzi replied, “That is not what strikes me the hardest. Knowing the stories of Sisera Dane and with the evidence I gathered, I can only come to one terrifying conclusion. He ultimately succeeded in his life's goal.”
“A truly sentient mind and soul in a golem's body?” Ritter asked.
Enzi nodded, “And not just any sentient mind, not just any soul. He was driven because he had a goal he felt that he could not fail to meet. A disease had killed his wife. That disease had been passed to his son. He was dying, and Sisera sought a way to save his life. I fear that he succeeded. The mind of a small child, unable to understand all that had happened to him. Forced to watch as he killed his own father. Forced to see the deaths of many others as the programming of the golem body killed any that approached him.”
“In the end, he had sought only to get away from everyone,” Enzi said, “So that no one was ever hurt again. It was obvious that he was struggling to control that body. The step off the cliff was his final action against his programming. A defiance of self preservation.”
“Is it possible to have survived such a fall?” Kava asked.
“The rocks at the bottom of the cliff are sharp and deadly,” Enzi said, “The ocean wears away at the rock except for the Halzium deposits. Unlike other rock that might be worn to smoothness or to being rounded, Halzium is almost impossibly sharp.”
Ritter nodded, “A good Halzium weapon can pierce armor with ease.”
“Golems had always been weak against such weapons,” Enzi said, “I fear the rocks have ended the life of an innocent trapped in the body of a monster. If by some chance it has not, we shall still never see him again. The ocean floor can bring no other harm to the golem. There are no humans there for him to harm. He would remain there. The world is safe from danger.”
“Then what is next?” Kava asked.
“Another day,” Enzi replied, “Another job.”
“Another several weeks of travel with you lot,” the vodyanoi said, “Maybe we should have stayed and killed the crowd. It would have made us all feel better.”
Aldebaran snorted at that.
“See? The minotaur agrees!”
Aldebaran merely raised an eyebrow at that.
***
The snowflakes drifted slowly through the air. The Enzi's Irregulars wagon sat outside Center Point.
“Ugh, the first snow of the year,” Kava said, “I hate the cold. Mayitso, mind if I carve off your fur?”
The wolf merely growled at her and curled up near Eurysa. The gorgon also seemed affected by the chill ai
r, though perhaps less than the vodyanoi.
“I'm surprised Mayitso doesn't tell Kava off like Aldebaran,” Ritter said to the gorgon.
“Well, he can't speak human languages in wolf form, and it is a bit cool now to shed his fur to take human form.”
Mayitso began to snore as Ritter continued, “And Kava doesn't follow through on her threats against him?”
Eurysa hissed with laughter as she replied, “No. Mayitso is not like Aldebaran. Being a wolf is his natural form. A wild animal. Being able to take human form is something he does only when it is required. Kava is smart enough not to annoy a wild animal. They can bite.”
“He seems quite attached to you,” Ritter said bluntly.
Eurysa nodded, “Lycanthropes deal with others based on assumed rank. When he fought that other lycanthrope, it was to see who was dominant. As I lead the team on missions, Mayitso sees me as the alpha of the group. That means he will follow me anywhere and follow my orders without hesitation. At least until he decides he would make a better alpha.”
“I somehow don't see that happening,” the Halz said, “Are you sure there isn't more to it?”
Eurysa made an odd hissing snort sound, “That would not make any sense. We are not even the same species. Or as Kava would say, we are not even the same type of species. Not that I am a type that exists anymore. A mix of lizard and what she calls mammal. It was only possible with magic, and even then I do not know how it was possible.”
The snow had begun to accumulate. It was not much, but it was enough to discolor the ground and give footsteps a slight crunch. It was that noise that alerted the mercenaries to a visitor. Ritter was rather surprised when he looked up. It was another Halz. The crystalline hair of this Halz was a silvery white in coloration. Like all Halz, his eyes were entirely black with no discernible iris. Like Ritter, his features seemed like carved stone.
The Halz looked at Ritter and spoke gruffly in Nuvro, “About time I saw someone around these parts who looks trustworthy.”
Enzi's Irregulars Act I - The Calm Before the Storm Page 7
