The Golem
As the weeks went by, the city
council of Femren came to realize that giving up all that gold in exchange for the
stone golem may well have been a really good deal after all. The fact that it
never got tired or needed to sleep, didn’t need to eat or relieve itself, and
most importantly, didn’t need to be paid, proved to be more invaluable than
they could have ever imagined.
The first task they set it was building
a city wall, a project they had been putting off, since most of the available
men were either focused on mining, or wanted to charge more for their labors
than the councilmen had been willing to pay. Once given the task, the golem set
to it, moving slowly but steadily along. The services of the stonemason’s guild
were still required to pull the stones from the quarry and properly shape them
to fit the wall, but the golem would ceaselessly haul them from the quarry to
the wall and put them into place. It worked day and night, only pausing in its
efforts on those occasions when the stonemasons had fallen far enough behind it
to not have any stones ready.
The townsfolk were initially more
than a little afraid of the golem. While they were thrilled that it had killed
the blood mage, at the same time, the fact that it was powerful enough to do so
gave them cause to be wary. But as time went on they came to realize that there
was nothing to be afraid of. When it wasn’t going quietly about its work, it
would simply stand in place. The children, who at first had hidden at the very
sight of it, were soon following it around, and climbing on it when it would stand
immobile awaiting the efforts of the stonemasons.
Even though it never responded,
the people would greet it as it walked past as if it were a friendly neighbor.
The people of Femren were very proud of the fact that they had their very own
golem, almost like it was a status symbol. There was only one person in the
town who really, really did not like the golem, and that was Ferrig, the
blacksmith. Ferrig was a big, burly man – the biggest, burliest man in the
town, in fact. A fact that he took great pride in. He would often do feats of
strength to show off for the ladies, or as wagers to win himself free drinks in
the tavern.
At least, until the golem showed
up. With its inhuman strength, no one was impressed with poor old Ferrig any
more. It didn’t matter that his strength was natural, and human, and built up
over years working metal on his forge, while the golem’s strength was inhuman, unnatural
enchantment. Oh no, no one could be bothered to think about that when they
ignored him or laughed when he tried to show off his muscles. No more wagers
for drinks, no more girls swooning over him. And all because of that golem! By
the Gods, something had to be done about it.
After much thinking, Ferrig
gathered up all the gold he could spare, left his assistants in charge of the
smithy, got up on his horse, and headed down the road to the capital. The
resources he’d require could not be found in Femren, nor did he have the skill
required – at least not yet. But a traveler a while back had told him of an
amazing invention, one he’d almost not believed at the time. It was called a
cannon, and supposedly it could hurl a metal ball great distances with
incredible force. And most importantly, there was no magic to it. It was something
a blacksmith could construct, and by the Gods he was going to learn to
construct one.
He’d been to the capital a few
times over the years, so he knew where in the market district the smithies were
to be found. He went from one to another, asking if they knew the secret to
making a cannon. It took many attempts, but finally he found someone who could
indeed assist him in building a cannon. He’d been ready to pay whatever the
smith had asked, but one look at his size and strength, and the smith had
offered to help him for free, in exchange for him using his muscles to help
with several other projects the smith was working on.
And so Ferrig had agreed. He
ended up spending several weeks with the smith, learning how to make cannons
and assisting the smith in making a number that he needed for the city watch.
There were numerous other jobs he ended up being forced to spend time on as
well, as part of his payment, but in Ferrig’s mind it was more than worth it.
Finally, the smith’s other cannon order was completed, and Ferrig had gained
enough skill that he was ready to forge a cannon of his own.
When the cannon was finally
complete, Ferrig couldn’t have been more proud of himself. It was a thing of
beauty. He had also forged one single cannonball for it. Now came the next
stage of his quest – he had to acquire gunpowder for it, and more importantly,
learn how to shoot it. This required a trip to the city watch, who were
responsible for all the cannons that lined the walls of the capital. The smith
who’d trained Ferrig was able to make an introduction to the head of the watch,
informing him of how helpful Ferrig had been in constructing the batch of
cannons that they had just received.
Ferrig and the watch captain sat
down to discuss Ferrig’s requirements, and were able to come to an agreement.
Ferrig would assist the watch in getting their new cannons lifted up onto the
walls and put in place, and in return he would be taught how to properly aim
and fire one, and be provided with a small amount of gunpowder for his own
cannon. Ferrig readily agreed to the deal – now here was a place that knew the
value of human strength, unlike all those fools back home in Femren!
With his training done and his
gunpowder acquired, he had but one more task to complete in the capital, and
then he would be ready to return home to complete his quest. Of course, his
final task here was not one he was comfortable with, but it was also one he
knew would be necessary if he wanted success. For even though the cannon could
easily send its cannonball smashing through normal stone, the golem was
enchanted stone, which meant that Ferrig would need magic of his own if he was
going to end the menace of the golem once and for all.
With help from the watch captain,
Ferrig was able to locate a wizard who was willing to place an enchantment on his
cannonball that would guarantee it would shatter the golem and end the spell
that animated it. Sadly, though, the wizard had no use for Ferrig’s strength, and
was only interested in gold. It took almost every bit of gold that he had, but
Ferrig was able to make a deal, and a day later he had his enchanted
cannonball. Now it was time to return home!
The cannon was attached to a
wheeled base, and Ferrig pulled it along behind his horse. When he neared Femren,
he left the road, circling around the town to the hills that overlooked it.
Leaving the cannon, he road closer to town, eyes alert for the golem. Soon he
saw it. Luckily it was not currently engaged in any work, and was just standing
there. There were people around it, but no one too close. Perfect!
Ferrig went back to his cannon,
hauling it to a better position. Once it was in place, he went through the
process he’d been taught, putting in the gunpowder and the enchanted
cannonball. Then he very carefully aimed. A smile spread across his face as he
lit the fuse. BOOM! The cannon roared, kicking back so far it knocked Ferrig
over. The cannonball sped through the air. Ferrig’s aim had been true, and the
cannonball impacted dead center in the middle of the golem’s chest.
There was an explosion of stone
as the cannonball punched through the golem’s chest and imbedded in the wall
behind it. And then the enchantment took over, breaking down the magic that
animated the golem. It collapsed to the ground, nothing more than a pile of rubble.
Ferrig jumped into the air, his fists raised rose over his head in triumph.
That showed that mystical monstrosity! Now he would once more be the strong man
of the village.
Many of the townsfolk in the immediate
vicinity had been knocked to the ground by the blast. As they stood up and
dusted themselves off, there was initially confusion, but all too quickly they
realized what had happened. Everyone looked up in the direction the cannonball
had come from. The sunlight was such that they could only make out the outline
of the attacker, but they could clearly see he was there.
Ferrig’s smile faded abruptly as
he watched the townsfolk. The looks on their faces and their shouts of anger as
they charged towards him gave him sudden concern. He quickly ran for his horse,
eager to get out of sight before the villagers got to him. Maybe destroying the
golem hadn’t been such a good idea after all.
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