Master Of None

"Finally you're awake. We already have camp just about cleaned up." Remey was the one to catch Walker when he first opened his eyes. 

"Oh, sorry. I didn't realize that I was sp tired." Walker had not noticed he was so tired that he had slept right through the rest of the night. He must have used more mana than he expected and his body needed the sleep. 

"It's fine, I took your shift and netted some rock finches for breakfast. They aren't super meaty but they are perfect for bird soup." Gil was happy with his catch and offered Walker a bowl which was gladly taken. 

"This is pretty good. Why haven't you made it before?" Walker had not expected that Gil had such a good soup recipe hidden away. 

"I haven't caught many small birds recently. It's one my mom and dad taught me and I used it a lot when I was younger and hunting with my dad. Plus, we always have rabbit around so no point in making something else." Gil shrugged as he made himself another bowl before getting up to start putting the fire out. 

Walker thought that this made sense while he finished the bowl and got up to clean the rest of camp. "We are ready to head out. We should reach the dwarven city today, right leader?" Su was sure that they would arrive today based on their current pace. 

"We should get there just as night falls. I assume we will want to camp outside so we can avoid any meetings with officials late in the night." Walker knew that the party would be tired and that it was not very respectful to any leader of a country to show up in the night. It would set them up on a very poor start. 

"Does that mean we will be entering the areas they patrol soon? Do you think they have been finding the steel skinned worms and yellow slimes like us?" Remey was sure that the guards that patrolled the area around the city would have found evidence of the yellow slimes and have increased patrols. 

"They have to have found them. There are places all over here that show the worms coming to the surface. I bet that they have guards all over the place." Gil was almost certain that they would encounter dwarven guards in their journey as they walked closer to the smoke and entrance to the dwarf city. 

Midnight huffed to get everyone's attention, "I don't think it is real dwarven guards that patrol the area." Walker was watching a group of five things that were definitely not fitting to be called dwarves. 

"Those are the hand made dwarf golems. That is their main military force. I didn't think they would be so big." Remey was very excited to see them. She had seen in many books how big and domineering the dwarves would build their own golems to be. 

"So their hand made golems patrol the area and the dwarves are in the city. Look at them. They are made of metal and spew smoke. That is incredible. I wonder if they are also powered by mana?" Walker wanted to know how the golems worked. 

The seemingly sentient shape of the dwarven golems were contradicted by the blades at the end where hands would have been and the thick metal tubes that coiled around the arms and legs. There were multiple blue crystals that appeared to be controlling them as they walked through the worn paths. 

"Wait, look. There is a bone break vulture headed this way." Su had noticed the singular vulture flying towards the golems. There was a sizable rock in its talons and it was definitely aiming for the golems. 

Before the vulture even got near the golems one raised its bladed hand and fired it through the air. The blade slashed the vulture in half without any resistance. The next moment the wire that was attached to the bladed hand was retracted and the golem was heading to pick up the slain vulture. 

"So, avoid getting on the bad side of the golems. They are pretty powerful." Gil was rethinking just how cool he thought the golems were. On the other hand, Remey was full of even more energy seeing this attack. The two were opposite sides of the spectrum. 

"We should continue on. We may not enter the city today but it is better to be closer." Su pushed the party on and they soon saw the aboveground portion of the city. 

The large smoke stacks that towered in to the air let free constant bouts of smoke. The ground was made up of many larger stone buildings that housed a myriad of dwarven golems. There were a few armored shapes running about from building to building but the party wasn't sure if they were dwarves or another form of golem. 

"I wouldn't say this is an above ground city as much as a military camp." Walker was sure that there was more to it than he could see from their distance but it was still hard to tell. 

"That is what their main city is. It is for merchants and military use. We will need to pass through to be allowed entrance in the morning." Su had remembered the warnings from the merchants and other rulers when they came. It was sure to be tough entering in the morning. 

"Then we should rest up and prepare. We should be able to get inside without an issue but I am worried that we will need to go through so many military buildings." There was something about having so many golems built for battle around that put Walker on edge. 

"So that means Gil is making more soup!" Remey was already volunteering Gil to make dinner and Mifdignt fully supported her. The day had passed again without any issue and had been full of a few small learning opportunities. They needed to fully rest and prepare to act their part as ambassadors of a new alliance. 

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