Poses!  You know the deal.  But this also gives us the chance to talk a bit about the character.  Laika is the youngest hero in the Tellest universe at the moment, which gives us some pretty interesting opportunities.  One of Aaron Canton’s creations, Laika has already had three stories that she’s taken part in, which is the most that any debut character has had in one anthology.

We wanted to give her a playful pose since she is so young and innocent at this stage.  Laika has the ability to take inanimate material and awaken them in the form of a golem.  here, we have her with “Goldie,” one of her creations.

In our final version, Hozure softened some of Laika’s features, while sharpening some of Goldie’s.

It’ll be interesting to see where this character goes.  She’s the first one that we’ve had that begins at a young age who we can see move along throughout her life’s journey.  She’s got a lot of positive influences in her life right now, and seeing where her studies will take her can be pretty entertaining.  Only time will tell.

We’ll be back in another three weeks with another Hozure character, but stay tuned next week for some kobolds from our upcoming Quantum Quest expansion!

The post Character Art – Laika, the Golem-Maker appeared first on Tellest.

The next day was bright and sunny—Laika’s favorite weather—and she smiled out the stairwell window as she descended to the guild’s lobby, a set of six one-foot-high golems in tow behind her. “I’m going out, Mr. Renzeya!” she called once she’d reached the bottom floor. “I’ll be back for lunch!”

“That sounds fine,” responded Renzeya, who had poked his head into the lobby with a knowing grin. “Just don’t get into trouble.”

“Who? Me?” Laika chirped, affecting an expression of injured innocence. “I would never!”

Renzeya’s grin grew as he gestured to the door. “Go then,” he urged. “I’m sure you don’t want to keep your friends… or anyone else… waiting.”

Laika giggled before hurrying outside—stopping for only a moment to let her iron golems by the doorway bang their staves a few more times than usual, just for a little added ceremony—and then rushed towards the square. Her new golems chased after her, with only a couple bits getting caught in the rough cobblestones of the road and breaking off. They were fairly simple golems which she’d whipped up just since last afternoon, but she knew they were good enough to serve her purpose. “Come on!” she urged them as they advanced. “We gotta go take back the square!”

The golems saluted as they ran—she’d got them trained to do that, at least—and as she sped up, they matched pace until they all were tearing through the streets at a rush.

They reached the square in just a few minutes, where the situation looked much the same as it had the previous day. Most of the kids, Laika’s friends included, were clustered on the square’s sides and staring longingly at its center while the half-dozen mage apprentices watched Brandon waving his wand in a tightly-controlled pattern. Normally, Laika might have been curious enough to wait and see what kind of spell Brandon was casting, but she had a mission to complete, and they were losing precious minutes of playtime.  Instead, she skidded to a stop by her friends and murmured to her golems. “Now! Go now!”

“What are you doing?” Matthias asked as the golems hurried away into the crowd, cutting between people’s legs and even knocking a few people aside as they ran. They were short enough that they vanished almost immediately, and within thirty seconds, Laika knew none of her friends could see where they’d gone. “They’ll break your golems again—”

“Nope!” Laika grinned at him. “I’ve got a plan to get rid of them!”

“A plan?” Thomas grinned. “Awesome. Need any help?”

“Nope! But if Lyra wants to write a song about it later, that’d be really neat!” Laika turned to Lyra, who blushed—she was comfortable performing other people’s pieces, but composing and playing her own made her lose her confidence, so Laika always tried to remind her how good she was at it—and then gave a quick nod. Laika beamed at her, then spun on her heel to face the square. “Here I go. Wish me luck!”

“Good luck!” said all three of her friends at once, and Laika’s smile grew. It was nice to have friends, she thought. She’d never had them before—she’d been stuck in a shed making golems from dawn to dusk—but now that she did, she wouldn’t let anyone hurt them. Not even big kids with magic like Brandon and his gang. After all, she was strong too—more than strong enough to stop the bullies in their tracks.

And she had just the plan to do it.

She squared her shoulders and then advanced towards the square’s center as she had the previous day. “Hey, Brandon!” she called. “I wanna talk to you!”

Brandon sighed then turned toward her as a lazy, cruel grin spread across his face. “Again?” he said. “Where’s the golems? Learn your lesson?”

Laika shrugged. “I wanted to make a deal with you!” she chirped, counting seconds in her head. “So that you can use the square sometimes and we can use it sometimes. How’s that sound?”

“A deal?” Brandon looked at the other mages, most of whom were chuckling by this point, before turning back to her with a sneer. “And why, exactly, should members of the Vestigo Guild listen to a little kid like you?”

“Well,” said Laika, trying to match the conciliatory tone Reynoll used in his diplomatic negotiations. “There must be something you want…”

As she spoke, she saw her little golems advance out into the open from the side of the square behind the mages, all of whom were looking at her. They crept closer, their leafy feet completely silent on the ground, and their vine fingers twitching a little as they neared the mages.

“Oh really?” taunted Brandon. “’Cause right now I’m thinking all we want’s to be able to practice our magic in peace. What else you got that we would want?”

Reynoll had described many times how it could be useful to keep someone talking, and Laika knew all his tricks. “I got a lot!” she said, spreading her arms wide and inviting them to waste time laughing at her instead of paying attention to their surroundings. And sure enough, the big kids laughed and teased her—and the golems crossed more of the square as they snuck up on the mages.

“Like personal golems to do all our cleaning and chores and stuff?” asked another mage. “’Cause that could be nice.”

Brandon thought for a moment, then grinned. “You know what? I could go for a cleaning golem—in fact, I bet we all could. And hey, I guess if we ever needed more golems to do other stuff, we could just come back here, and you’d make them for us, right?” He chuckled. “So that we’d leave you alone—”

Then one of Laika’s little golems rushed up behind him, reached out with its vine fingers, and ripped his wand from his hand.

Brandon’s mouth dropped as the other mages drew their own wands, but it all happened so quickly that Brandon’s friends had no time to look behind them, where Laika’s remaining golems were standing. In moments, her other golems pounced and snatched up the remaining wands. They then ran behind Laika, who took the wands and beamed—her magic had worked perfectly. If Mr. Cenard had seen her, she knew he would have been proud. “How about this?” she asked. “I’ll give you your wands back if you agree to let everyone else use the square!”

The mages gaped—except for Brandon, who flushed. “Give those back!”

“Not unless you promise to let us use the—”

Brandon bunched up his fists and took a big step forwards. “Give,” he hissed. “Them. Back. Now.”

Laika thought for a moment—then stuck out her tongue at him. “Come get them!”

The kids around the square gasped, and then Brandon rushed her with a roar.

He was a big kid, and Laika knew that if she let him land any blows he could really hurt her. But she also knew, from Miss Naphkator, lots of tricks for avoiding that. As he ran at her she waited until the last minute, then dropped into a crouch, and as his fists swung over her head, she swept her arms out at just the right time. He ran right into her grasp, and she twisted to redirect his momentum outwards and send him stumbling away, until he tripped and smashed into the ground. “Ow!” he screamed, rolling over and revealing bruises and cuts on his face. “You jerk! I’m telling!”

“Telling what?” Laika asked. “You attacked me! And yesterday you broke my golems first too! Everyone saw it!”

Brandon’s eyes flashed as he hauled himself back up to his feet. “That’s not what my friends will say!” he snapped. “They’ll back me up, say you started it—”

“And say I somehow got all your wands without you noticing?” Laika grinned and waggled the wands at him, though she kept an eye on the other mages—all staring at the scene in shock—just in case they tried to intervene. “Okay, go ahead! Of course, they’ll want to know what happened and I guess you’ll have to explain how my golems beat all of you.” Her eyes twinkled. “Sound good?”

Brandon’s eyes darted back and forth for a moment before his face took on a darker shade of red. “Then maybe I won’t tell. I’ll just wipe the smile off your face—”

“And we can do this again?” Laika dropped into a combat form Naphkator had taught her, and even though Brandon was bigger than her, when he saw her steady, focused stance, he faltered. One hand went up to his bleeding cheek, and Laika smiled. “’Cause you might have had a lot of magic school, but I’ve gotten lessons from a real knight!”

The mage stiffened, but then his shoulders slumped. “Fine,” he hissed. “Whatever. Just give us back the stupid wands, and we’ll leave.”

All around the square other kids burst into applause, and Laika almost cheered at her own triumph. If she’d just beaten him in a fight like Miss Naphkator had suggested, he could have tattled, but now he couldn’t do that without embarrassing himself by admitting he and his friends had all lost their wands to Laika’s magic. And if she’d just used her magic to take their wands like Mr. Cenard had proposed, Brandon might have attacked her friends in revenge, but now he was too scared to do that. So he was giving up… and she hadn’t even had to bribe him with any golems to do it. “See?” Laika teased as she sorted through the wands. “I knew I had something you wanted!”

The mages all swore, in front of all the other kids, they would never try to stop anyone from playing in the square again. A couple seemed hesitant, but then Laika threatened to break their wands over her knee and they quickly gave in. She returned the wands after that, but not before carefully carving a strip from each of them with a pocketknife so she could still prove she’d had the wands at one point by showing how the strips fit the damage to each wand. This way, if Brandon went back on his word and tried to tattle, she’d be ready. Brandon scowled when she carved a piece off his wand, but he could do nothing about it except jam his wand into his pocket when he got it back and then turn around. “Let’s go,” he growled. “This square sucks anyways.”

“Bye!” called Laika as the mages scurried away, the other kids jeering too. “Don’t come back unless you wanna mess with me again!” She grinned, then turned back to the other kids. “Okay, what do you want to do—”

“Three cheers for Laika and her golems!” yelled Thomas from one side of the square. “Hip hip hooray!”

“ Hip hip hooray!” echoed the other kids.

Laika grinned, and at that moment, she knew the day was going to be absolutely perfect.

*          *          *          *          *

When Laika returned to the guild a few hours later, she was still chewing the last of the warm honey rolls the others had bought for her, and at the same time, she was humming the new song Lyra had composed. She was just up to the verse about how Laika had thrown Brandon onto the ground with the force of a mighty avalanche when she walked into the guild’s lobby—and saw several adventurers looking at her.

“So?” Miss Naphkator asked, leaning against one wall and cocking a grin at her. “How’d the quest go?”

Laika quickly swallowed and then grinned at her. “It went great! The mages left, and I don’t think they’ll come back ever again! And then everyone bought me honey rolls and candy, and Lyra made up a new song for me, and now a bunch of kids want me to teach them fighting moves!” That had probably been the most fun part of the victory celebrations—everyone had been watching her as she explained and demonstrated how to do the move she’d used on Brandon, and then she’d had her golems help practice with the others until all the kids more or less had it down. “It was awesome!”

“I hope our advice was of some use to you,” said Mr. Cenard. He was leaning on his wizard’s staff near Reynoll, while Renzeya himself was waiting by the entrance to the bar and dining area. “Did you find it helpful?”

“Uh-huh!” Laika quickly nodded, and her golems behind her followed suit. “It was!”

“Well.” Renzeya stepped to one side so Laika could get through the door into the dining area. “In that case, I’d say it’s your turn, Laika.”

“My turn?”

“To tell us your story!” Miss Naphkator grinned. “We’ve told you plenty of ours—now you should tell us the great saga of how little Laika from the mountains beat a big, tough, Vestigo mage in front of everyone!”

Laika blinked, for a moment scarcely able to believe it. “You… want to hear my story?”

“Of course,” said Mr. Cenard. “After all, it does seem like you’ve had an impressive adventure.”

“Perhaps even worthy of being recorded in the guild’s journals,” Reynoll noted.

The golem-maker slowly grinned at the adventurers around her. And as she headed into the dining area, sitting down in the most comfortable chair and gathering her golems around her so she could point to them as needed during her story, she felt happier than she ever had before.

The post The Golem-Maker of the City, Part Four appeared first on Tellest.

Hours later, Laika had flopped down on her bed and was staring up at the ceiling when someone knocked on the door. “Laika?” called Mr. Renzeya’s voice. “Can I come in?”

“Uh-huh,” Laika managed. She groaned and looked up just in time to see Renzeya enter her room with a small tray of strawberries and cream. Even though that was one of her favorite dishes, she wasn’t feeling particularly hungry and didn’t smile or grab at the dish. “What’s going on?” she asked.

“I thought I would come see how you’re doing.” Renzeya set the tray on Laika’s nightstand and smiled down at her. “Have you figured out what you’ll do about the Vestigo Guild apprentices yet?”

She slowly shook her head. “Sorry.”

“Sorry?” Renzeya frowned, then shut the door behind him and knelt by her bed. He was a broad man with a muscular build that hadn’t changed since he’d been a mighty warrior with the Viscosan guard, but his hands were gentle as he helped slip a fresh pillow under Laika’s head so she could rest more comfortably. “You don’t need to be sorry.”

“Mmf.” Laika shook her head again and tried to push herself up, but she was exhausted—not least because she’d spent the past few hours pacing around her room as she tried to work out which of the three ideas the guild patrons had given her might actually get rid of Brandon and the other mages. “I know. I just… I should be better at this.”

“Why?” asked Renzeya, but his tone was gentle and not reproving. “Have you done anything like this before?”

“No, but…” Laika was silent for a long moment. Why did she feel like she should be better at this? If none of the other kids could solve the problem, why should she—who was still relatively new to town and who had rarely interacted with friends her own age before—be any better than her friends or any of the other kids?

“But I am really good at magic,” she continued at last. “I can do all kinds of things. And back where I grew up, the mayor always said, because I had power, it was my job to use it to help people. But now I can’t use my powers to do anything useful.”

Renzeya’s frown deepened. “The mayor took advantage of you. Just because you have a gift doesn’t mean you’re obligated to work without end like he had you do. And your golems are very useful. Don’t sell yourself short—”

“I know,” she quickly interjected. “But I still feel like I should be able to do something! I mean, I have all kinds of people helping me—Miss Naphkator and Mr. Cenard and Mr. Reynoll, and Mr. Grannick when he brought me here, and you—and I still can’t figure out which of their ideas is the best one!” She pushed herself up at that. “I don’t want to waste…”

She trailed off, but Renzeya tilted his head and said, “What would you be wasting? Not their time, surely?”

Laika turned away.

“Laika.” Renzeya moved around the girl’s bed so she was looking at him again. “Nobody here is teaching you anything expecting you to beat up a bully every month.” Laika did smile a little at that, and Renzeya went on. “They’re teaching you because they like it. Because you’re a good student who listens and practices and wants to someday use what they teach you to do amazing things. You’ve already repaid them, every time you come in for another lesson and remember everything from the last one. And Grannick’s happy just to know you’re living your life here, away from the village that did you wrong. He’s always eager to hear of what you’ve been up to, even if it’s just running around with your friends. You’re not wasting anything.”

A slow smile formed on Laika’s face, and she thought back to when Naphkator had grinned after Laika had learned a complicated blocking move, or when Reynoll had bought her a candy once she could recite a couple of his stories verbatim, or when Cenard’s eyes had actually twinkled after she’d mastered a meditation technique. And of course there was Grannick, whom Laika recalled was always happy to see her even if she really hadn’t been up to much since he’d last left. But then she thought of the other people she was worried about letting down and her smile slipped. “What about my friends, though? Don’t I need to help them?”

“And I know you will,” said Renzeya. “Because you are a very talented girl. But I’m sure they’d understand if you didn’t come up with a perfect plan the first day, wouldn’t they?”

“I guess…”

“There you go.” Renzeya patted her shoulder. “Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

Laika thought for a long moment before slowly nodding. Renzeya had been a great warrior himself, and he’d probably fought loads of bullies. She knew he had to know what he was talking about. And even in her village, she sometimes had to take a day or two to work out a golem problem—surely it was all right she hadn’t quite figured this one out yet. “All right,” she said. “And I’ll think about it some more. Try to figure out which of the plans they told me downstairs is best.”

Renzeya paused and a slow smile crossed his face. “Do you have to use one of those plans?”

“Well, no, but… Naphkator and the others are real smart!” Laika insisted. “They could all make their own plans work.”

“Yes, but they aren’t you,” said Renzeya. “Naphkator likes fighting, so she’s tough enough to fight people and make them back down. Cenard likes magic, so he has experience using spells to win fights. Reynoll likes being diplomatic and making deals, so he’s great at negotiating with people standing in his way. What do you like?”

Laika blinked. “I like all those things. I really like using magic to make golems—but I also like Miss Naphkator’s fighting training, and sometimes I like just talking to people.” She paused as something occurred to her. “Hey… could I maybe use a little of all their plans?”

“I don’t see why not,” said Renzeya. “In fact, if it’s your own idea, it’s probably better suited to you than any of theirs. What did you have in mind?”

Laika described the ideas she was pulling together in her mind, combining little bits of Naphkator’s, Cenard’s, and Reynoll’s ideas. Renzeya occasionally chimed in with a suggestion of his own, but he didn’t seem to feel she needed many of those, and Laika felt her smile growing as the plan came together. “I think this will work!” she said as she finished, eyes gleaming again. “And Brandon won’t know what hit him!”

“It sounds good to me. Let me know if you need any help—although, personally, I think you’ll do fine on your own.” Renzeya stood and flashed a brilliant grin at Laika. “As for materials, we’ve got some stone and lumber out back for the new wing of the guild, but I don’t think it’ll be a problem if you take a few pieces. Want me to send some up?”

“Yes, please!” said Laika at once. “Thank you! And—if it’s not much trouble—maybe a few other materials?” She named them. “Please?”

Renzeya chuckled and agreed before wishing Laika good luck on her quest and leaving her to her work. A few minutes later, porters came up with the supplies, and Laika busily started creating everything she’d need to put her plan into action.

The post The Golem-Maker of the City, Part Three appeared first on Tellest.

Laika stumbled back to the Adventurers Guild, head drooping and feet dragging, and went right to the stairs to go up to her room. Normally she would have stopped in the bar and dining area first so she could listen to the adventurers talking about the awesome quests they had completed and the great battles they had triumphed in, or—if the bar had been quiet—would have curled up in a corner with one of the diaries or journals retired adventurers had donated to Renzeya’s library. But this time, her only goal was collapsing into bed and hoping the stupid day would just end already.

“Laika?” She turned to see Renzeya passing through the lobby with a great jeweled sword in his hands. “Are you all right?”

She was silent for a moment before shaking her head. “Some mage kids broke my golems,” she said quietly. “And they threw me an’ my friends out of the square so we can’t play there anymore.”

“What?” Renzeya looked baffled for a moment before frowning. “That doesn’t sound right. Why don’t you come in here and tell me all about it?”

For a moment, Laika wanted to keep going. That was what she’d done back in her hometown, after all. When she’d been sad or upset, it had been her duty to hide that from all the villagers, get back to work making golems, and let whatever was bothering her fade on its own. But she wasn’t in her hometown anymore, she thought; Grannick had brought her here. She could be sad in public now. “Okay,” she managed, turning to the bar. “That sounds good.”

The dining area was nearly full, a sign there was a big quest or job somewhere that adventurers were getting ready for, but Renzeya got her a seat in a big chair with a comfortable cushion. A few moments later a rich bowl of stew, a thick piece of cinnamon-spiced nut bread, and a big glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice were set in front of her. “So,” said Renzeya, sitting across from her as if she was his only concern. “What exactly happened?”

Laika quickly recounted the story as she dug into the food, and between the rich, savory taste of the chicken in the stew and the sweet spiciness of the bread, she began to feel a little better. But when she got to the part where Brandon had broken her golems, she felt her spirits drooping over again. “He said his magic was important and mine was stupid,” she murmured. “And then he broke them, and I couldn’t pick up the pieces because he made me leave the square.”

Renzeya nodded. “And so you’re upset because they broke your golems?”

The girl began to nod before stopping herself. “That’s part of it, but…” She thought for a moment as she carefully split off part of the crust of the nut bread so she could savor it by itself. “My friends still couldn’t use the square, and I felt really bad about it. Like I should have been able to help them.”

“Hmm.” Renzeya leaned back. “Well. That’s a very mature response, Laika. It sounds like you’re already thinking like a leader.”

Laika smiled a little, but it quickly fell when she looked back into her rapidly cooling stew. “What should I do, Mr. Renzeya?” she asked. “Back home the mayor wanted me to be happy making golems for him, so he stopped anyone who was being mean to me—I never had to do it myself. And they said adults can’t help now because the mages are super important.”

“Well, the Vestigo Guild is vital to the city,” mused Renzeya. “So they do have influence. And they may well be willing to hush up misconduct from their apprentices rather than let them draw the guild’s name into disrepute.” The guild leader grimaced, fierce anger visible on his face, and for a moment Laika could see why nobody even thought about starting trouble in Renzeya’s guildhall. “You may have to deal with this yourself—assuming you don’t simply rebuild your golems and find another square.”

“I don’t wanna find another square!” Laika insisted. “It’s not fair. We were there first, and we weren’t even stopping them from playing. We just wanted to play too!” She crossed her arms. “I wanna make them let us back into the square and to promise never to break my golems—or anyone’s toys—ever again. But I don’t know what to do.”

“Why not just punch him in the nose?”

Laika brightened a little and turned as Renzeya looked up at Lily Naphkator, who had moved next to their table with a tankard of beer and a plate piled high with chicken drumsticks and roasted potatoes. Lily was a tall, wiry woman with brown skin, a jagged scar across her right cheek, and a rapier at her side with a big diamond set in the hilt. As far as Laika was concerned, Lily was one of the coolest adults ever. “Punch him?” Laika repeated. “Would that be okay?”

“Why not? Sounds like that mage twerp hit you first by breaking your golems. ‘Scuze me, kid.” Lily dropped into the seat next to Laika and bit a large chunk off a drumstick. “Just give him one right in the face. He’s a mage, right? Most of them are pretty bad in a brawl—and unlike you, he hasn’t been trained by one of the best duelists in the land.” She smirked. “He’ll go down like a sack of potatoes, and he won’t bother you anymore.”

“But…” Laika glanced at Renzeya, who was frowning, before turning back to Lily. “What if he tells someone and gets me in trouble? Or Mr. Renzeya?”

“Just tell him that if he does that, you’ll come back and beat him up again.” Lily took a long draught from her tankard. “Did that myself once. A minor noble wanted my family’s ancestral lands, so he bribed a barrister—that’s someone who says what’s legal and what isn’t—to fake up a title deed saying he was the real owner of my manor. Then he had his goons try to evict me for trespassing.” Her eyes gleamed, and Laika—as she always did during Lily’s stories—leaned forwards so she could hear better. “I thrashed his goons, of course, but when I went to thrash him, he got all smug and said he’d have me thrown in jail. So—did I leave?”

“Uh-uh!” said Laika, who knew Lily never backed down from any confrontation when she was convinced she was in the right.

“’Course not!” Lily continued. “He had this big marble statue in his yard, so I grabbed my enchanted mace from my pack, went up to it, and bam!” She mimed swinging a mace. “Knocked it down in one strike, made him go all white and gape like a fish.” She bulged her cheeks in a fish-like way, drawing laughter from Laika. “Before I left, I told him that if he tried to have me arrested, I’d bring his mansion down on top of his head. Next day, I heard he’d taken an early visit to his summer home in Cranebridge. That was three years ago; I’m pretty sure he’s still there.”

Laika clapped at the end of the story, but as Lily took another swig from her tankard, the girl’s brow knitted. It was one thing for Lily to threaten someone, she thought, but Lily was really strong. Even if Laika could hit Brandon hard enough to make him not want to tangle with her again, she didn’t think she could make him so scared that he wouldn’t even tell his teachers what she’d done. He’d go to them and cause a lot of trouble for her and her friends.

“Aw, come on, Lily. You’re always about the smashing.” Laika turned again to see the wizard Averic Cenard approaching. He was a short, red-faced man who had a big black mustache and walked with a cane that doubled as his wizard’s staff. He was wearing his formal robes, which Laika knew meant he was meeting with other wizards that day. “Ever hear of the subtle arts?”

“Sure.” Lily grinned. “Those’re the arts where you chant for half a day to cast a spell on the bad guys, except by then all the real warriors already showed up, beat up the bad guys, and made off with all the loot.”

Cenard chuckled and sat next to Renzeya. “Ah, but when one spell can best an army of villains, perhaps spending the day casting it is preferable to spending a fortune hiring ‘real warriors’ by the dozen to fight them.” He steepled his fingers as Lily laughed and Laika smiled, familiar with their longstanding argument. “In any event, Laika, you have a prodigious talent for one so young. Why not beat this Brandon fellow at his own game? Show your magic is superior to his. Embarrass him off the field.”

Laika tilted her head. Cenard had taught her a few techniques, mostly for gathering up her magic to build stronger golems, but when she thought back to them, she couldn’t recall any that would guarantee her a victory. “But he’s got more training than me, and he’s older. What if he’s better?”

“You have a rare talent for one so young—I think it highly unlikely he can beat you, particularly as he’s quite likely to underestimate you.” Cenard’s eyes twinkled. “He won’t know what hit him, and he’ll be forced to back down… without any claim against you he can bring to the adults in his guild.”

Laika nodded, but her smile had faded. If Laika beat him in a magic show instead of a fistfight, then he might not be able to go to the adults like he would if she hurt him—he’d just look whiny—but he also wouldn’t be scared of her coming back. He’d just be embarrassed, and he might even seek revenge on her or her friends. Laika couldn’t have that.

Meanwhile, a third figure had stepped over from a nearby table. Renzeya nodded at the figure of Reynoll, an official whom Laika knew often served as the point of contact between the government and the mercenaries it occasionally hired. Reynoll had no weapons training or magic to teach Laika, but he knew more about the history of the city than anyone else Laika had met, and he was often willing to fill in the gaps—or correct the lies—in the adventurer journals Laika read for fun. “I couldn’t help overhearing,” said Reynoll, his northern accent perfectly crisp as usual. “And might I suggest a third option? That of diplomacy?”

“Diplomacy?” repeated Laika.

“Yes. He holds the square. You want the square. Surely there is a trade you could work out.” Reynoll munched on a piece of oat bread covered in melted goat cheese. “Perhaps if you gave him a golem, he would leave you alone. And then you would need not fear retaliation from him or his superiors.”

But that also felt wrong to Laika. Brandon was in the wrong, and he’d broken her favorite golems, so why should she give him anything? And besides, she didn’t want to be forced to make golems for people that would mistreat her anymore. She hadn’t done that since leaving her hometown, and she wouldn’t start again!

Renzeya glanced at her and seemed to notice her frowning. “I think we’ve all given her enough advice, lads,” he said. “Maybe we could let her be.” He then looked back down at Laika. “But if you do want to talk things over, I’ll be up later, okay?”

Laika nodded, and as the others got up to go, she returned to her food.  Although she tucked in with gusto and was as nice as she could be to Renzeya and everyone else who greeted her, Laika’s mind was still uneasy. She had to deal with Brandon, she knew, but despite all the advice she’d been given…

She had absolutely no idea how.

The post The Golem-Maker of the City, Part Two appeared first on Tellest.

“Mr. Renzeya, can I go out to play?” Laika beamed up at Renzeya with her brightest smile. “I finished my lunch, washed the dishes, and cleaned up my room. And a few of my friends and I were gonna practice sparring in the town square! So… can I?”

Cedric Renzeya, veteran of the Viscosan guard and current head of Viscosa’s Adventurers Guild, looked over his desk at her with an amused expression. They were in his office, a large room in the rear of the guild with racks of weapons, shelves of books, and several maps lining the walls. “I don’t know,” he drawled, leaning back a little in his chair. “Is that really the only reason you want to go out?”

Laika blushed a little—Renzeya was too good at reading her, she thought. “Well… there’s also a bakery with a special on honey rolls today, and I was thinking maybe I could stop in?” She clasped her hands together and looked right into his eyes as she smiled. “Please? Just to get one piece?”

Renzeya let the moment extend for a moment longer before flashing a smile of his own and gesturing at the door. “Of course. Have fun with your friends, Laika—but remember: one piece. If you’re going to be a great hero someday—”

“I have to eat right, I know. Thanks, Mr. Renzeya!” Laika was already scampering out the door and down the short hallway to the main lobby of the guild. “I’ll be back for dinner!”

She rushed through the lobby, greeting the various adventurers who said hello to her. Though she’d grown a couple inches since she’d been brought to the guild and now wore shiny, sparkling dresses instead of the faded brown ones she’d arrived in, she otherwise didn’t look too different from when she’d first arrived. She had the same long blond hair tied into braids, the same bright blue eyes, the same charming smile that had helped make her lots of friends. And so, even though some of the patrons had been gone for months on various adventures, almost everyone recognized and waved at her. “Hey, Laika!” called one of the regulars, a middle-aged mercenary named Lily Naphkator, known for her skill with a rapier. “Gonna go show your friends what I’ve been teaching you?”

“Of course!” chirped Laika, flashing a quick grin at Miss Naphkator before vaulting onto the stairs. “Thomas said he was a better sparrer than me, and I gotta prove him wrong!”

No sooner had she run into her room than two of her golems, Rosie and Lim-Lim, turned from their posts by her bed and trotted to her side, prompting another smile to appear on her face. Laika was a natural at making golems, and while she didn’t have to make dozens of them every day anymore—the warrior called Grannick had taken her away from the village where she’d been cooped up in a shed and forced to build as many as the mayor could sell to neighboring villages—she still liked experimenting with her talents and learning how to build better golems out of new materials. Both Rosie and Lim-Lim were basic humanoids about as tall as Laika herself and didn’t look much different from any other golem she had made.  Rosie still smelled as sweet as when Laika had first crafted her out of bits of rosewood, and the limestone that comprised Lim-Lim was so easy to work with that Laika found it simple to give him fun add-ons like cat ears and tails, so they were definitely her favorites. “Come on!” she called to her golems as they helped gather up sticks and wooden bucklers for sparring and coins for the honey rolls. “We gotta go!”

The golems saluted—Lim-Lim bonking himself in the head in the process, which Laika made a note to look into later—and then chased after her as she rushed back out of her room.

Laika hurried down the stairs and out the front door of the guild, passing the two iron golems she’d built as sentinels, which obediently banged their staves down whenever she or Mr. Renzeya entered or left the building. Once outside and on the sunny streets of Viscosa, she quickly straightened her green dress—a present from a guild member whom she’d loaned a housekeeping golem for a few weeks—so the flecks of emerald in its fabric sparkled in the sun. Then she was racing to the nearby town square where she knew Thomas, Matthias, and Lyra would be waiting. “Hey!” she called as she approached the square, her golems easily keeping pace with her and drawing interested glances from passersby. “Hey, Thomas, ready to play? Thomas—”

She reached the square but skidded to a halt when she saw it was almost empty. While the cobblestones were usually swarming with other kids running around and playing games at this time of day, now the only people in the square proper were a half-dozen kids—maybe two or three years older than Laika herself—standing in the center. They all wore green habits, which Laika recognized as the uniform of the Vestigo Mage Guild, and a blocky blond boy waved his wand around while the others watched.

“Laika!” called a voice. The girl turned to see her friends and several other kids standing against the wall of a nearby building facing the square. She approached them as Thomas, the one who had called to her, gestured at the young mages. “Can you believe this? They won’t let anyone else play!”

“Why not?” asked Laika. Her golems formed up behind her as she looked out into the square. “They’re barely using any of it!”

Thomas shrugged. He had brown hair, hazel eyes, and an athletic build that made him look kind of cute in Laika’s opinion—though she would never admit that out loud. “They just said nobody else can use it.”

“And they’re mages,” added Matthias, a short boy with scraggly black hair. “If we do anything, they could turn us into frogs!”

Laika frowned, thinking back to something another Adventurers Guild regular had told her once. “Mr. Cenard says that’s really hard,” she said at last. “And he’s a real mage, and he can do all kinds of cool stuff, so he’d know. I bet they can’t do any of that.” She looked at the kids. “I’m gonna go talk to them!”

“Be careful!” murmured Lyra. She was a lithe girl who always had her little lute with her and had appointed herself the de facto bard of the group. “I mean, I know you’re a super-powerful golem-maker and all, but… but those kids are scary!”

Laika just grinned and waved for her golems to follow her, then jogged up to the mages while the other kids watched. “Excuse me!” she called as she approached. “Um, my friends and I want to—”

“Beat it!” The blond mage snapped, not looking away from the others. “We’re using this square to practice magic. Go play somewhere else!”

A scowl crossed Laika’s face. “It’s not yours!” she insisted. “Everyone should be able to use it!”

“Are you deaf?” the kid snapped. “I—”

“Brandon, wait,” said another mage. “She’s got magic too. Look.”

Brandon finally looked up at Laika, and then his gaze moved to the golems behind her. Laika grinned and waved at the golems, who quickly ran through a series of poses she found impressed people. “Right,” she said. “I do also have magic! And me and my friends—and the other kids—want to play too. So—” A sneer ran across Brandon’s face, and she trailed off. “What?”

“We’re apprentices in the Vestigo Guild,” Brandon snapped. “You know, the most important mages guild in Raleigh? The one responsible for guarding the king and the nobles from any dark wizards that might try to hurt him? We’re learning important magic, and we have to practice. That’s a lot more important than letting a novice like you play with stupid constructs like those.”

Laika flushed red. “Rosie and Lim-Lim aren’t stupid!” she yelled. “They’re—”

“You named them? Wow.” Brandon twirled his wand for a moment, and then a wicked gleam came to his eyes. “Here, let me teach you some real magic.” With a snap of his wrist, two bolts of green light flashed out of his wand, and both of Laika’s golem’s shuddered and collapsed back into little pieces of wood and stone, their animating magic gone.

“What? No!” Laika’s mouth dropped as she stared at the ruins of her golems. “You can’t—you—”

“Why not? You gonna tell on us?” taunted Brandon. “Our instructors keep the city safe. I don’t think your family’ll want to mess with them—or us.”  He shoved Laika hard enough to make her stumble into the rubble that had been her golems. “Now get out of here, kid!”

The other mages laughed, and Laika was tempted for a moment to turn back and punch them in the nose.  Instead she lowered her head and slowly retreated away from the wood and stone that had been her favorite toys.

The post The Golem Maker of the City, Part One appeared first on Tellest.