{"id":4864,"date":"2017-01-23T00:01:56","date_gmt":"2017-01-23T05:01:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tellest.com\/?p=4864"},"modified":"2017-02-03T07:06:57","modified_gmt":"2017-02-03T12:06:57","slug":"golem-maker-city-part-three","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/golem-maker-city-part-three\/","title":{"rendered":"The Golem-Maker of the City, Part Three"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Golem-Maker of the City<\/strong>
\nBy Aaron Canton<\/strong>
\n\u2014Part Three\u2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Hours later, Laika had flopped down on her bed and was staring up at the ceiling when someone knocked on the door. \u201cLaika?\u201d called Mr. Renzeya\u2019s voice. \u201cCan I come in?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUh-huh,\u201d 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\u2019t feeling particularly hungry and didn\u2019t smile or grab at the dish. \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I would come see how you\u2019re doing.\u201d Renzeya set the tray on Laika\u2019s nightstand and smiled down at her. \u201cHave you figured out what you\u2019ll do about the Vestigo Guild apprentices yet?\u201d<\/p>\n

She slowly shook her head. \u201cSorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry?\u201d Renzeya frowned, then shut the door behind him and knelt by her bed. He was a broad man with a muscular build that hadn\u2019t changed since he\u2019d been a mighty warrior with the Viscosan guard, but his hands were gentle as he helped slip a fresh pillow under Laika\u2019s head so she could rest more comfortably. \u201cYou don\u2019t need to be sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMmf.\u201d Laika shook her head again and tried to push herself up, but she was exhausted\u2014not least because she\u2019d 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. \u201cI know. I just… I should be better at this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d asked Renzeya, but his tone was gentle and not reproving. \u201cHave you done anything like this before?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, but…\u201d Laika was silent for a long moment. Why did<\/em> she feel like she should be better at this? If none of the other kids could solve the problem, why should she\u2014who was still relatively new to town and who had rarely interacted with friends her own age before\u2014be any better than her friends or any of the other kids?<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I am<\/em> really good at magic,\u201d she continued at last. \u201cI 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\u2019t use my powers to do anything useful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Renzeya\u2019s frown deepened. \u201cThe mayor took advantage of you. Just because you have a gift doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re obligated to work without end like he had you do. And your golems are very<\/em> useful. Don\u2019t sell yourself short\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know,\u201d she quickly interjected. \u201cBut I still feel like I should<\/em> be able to do something! I mean, I have all kinds of people helping me\u2014Miss Naphkator and Mr. Cenard and Mr. Reynoll, and Mr. Grannick when he brought me here, and you\u2014and I still can\u2019t figure out which of their ideas is the best one!\u201d She pushed herself up at that. \u201cI don\u2019t want to waste…\u201d<\/p>\n

She trailed off, but Renzeya tilted his head and said, \u201cWhat would you be wasting? Not their time, surely?\u201d<\/p>\n

Laika turned away.<\/p>\n

\u201cLaika.\u201d Renzeya moved around the girl\u2019s bed so she was looking at him again. \u201cNobody here is teaching you anything expecting you to beat up a bully every month.\u201d Laika did smile a little at that, and Renzeya went on. \u201cThey\u2019re teaching you because they like it. Because you\u2019re a good student who listens and practices and wants to someday use what they teach you to do amazing things. You\u2019ve already repaid them, every time you come in for another lesson and remember everything from the last one. And Grannick\u2019s happy just to know you\u2019re living your life here, away from the village that did you wrong. He\u2019s always eager to hear of what you\u2019ve been up to, even if it\u2019s just running around with your friends. You\u2019re not wasting anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

A slow smile formed on Laika\u2019s 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\u2019s eyes had actually twinkled after she\u2019d mastered a meditation technique. And of course there was Grannick, whom Laika recalled was always happy to see her even if she really hadn\u2019t been up to much since he\u2019d last left. But then she thought of the other people she was worried about letting down and her smile slipped. \u201cWhat about my friends, though? Don\u2019t I need to help them?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I know you will,\u201d said Renzeya. \u201cBecause you are a very<\/em> talented girl. But I\u2019m sure they\u2019d understand if you didn\u2019t come up with a perfect plan the first day, wouldn\u2019t they?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess…\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere you go.\u201d Renzeya patted her shoulder. \u201cDon\u2019t be so hard on yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laika thought for a long moment before slowly nodding. Renzeya had been a great warrior himself, and he\u2019d 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\u2014surely it was all right she hadn\u2019t quite figured this one out yet. \u201cAll right,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I\u2019ll think about it some more. Try to figure out which of the plans they told me downstairs is best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Renzeya paused and a slow smile crossed his face. \u201cDo you have<\/em> to use one of those plans?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, no, but… Naphkator and the others are real smart!\u201d Laika insisted. \u201cThey could all make their own plans work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, but they aren\u2019t you,\u201d said Renzeya. \u201cNaphkator likes fighting, so she\u2019s 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\u2019s great at negotiating with people standing in his way. What do you like?\u201d<\/p>\n

Laika blinked. \u201cI like all those things. I really like using magic to make golems\u2014but I also like Miss Naphkator\u2019s fighting training, and sometimes I like just talking to people.\u201d She paused as something occurred to her. \u201cHey… could I maybe use a little of all<\/em> their plans?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see why not,\u201d said Renzeya. \u201cIn fact, if it\u2019s your own idea, it\u2019s probably better suited to you than any of theirs. What did you have in mind?\u201d<\/p>\n

Laika described the ideas she was pulling together in her mind, combining little bits of Naphkator\u2019s, Cenard\u2019s, and Reynoll\u2019s ideas. Renzeya occasionally chimed in with a suggestion of his own, but he didn\u2019t seem to feel she needed many of those, and Laika felt her smile growing as the plan came together. \u201cI think this will work!\u201d she said as she finished, eyes gleaming again. \u201cAnd Brandon won\u2019t know what hit him!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sounds good to me. Let me know if you need any help\u2014although, personally, I think you\u2019ll do fine on your own.\u201d Renzeya stood and flashed a brilliant grin at Laika. \u201cAs for materials, we\u2019ve got some stone and lumber out back for the new wing of the guild, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019ll be a problem if you take a few pieces. Want me to send some up?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, please!\u201d said Laika at once. \u201cThank you! And\u2014if it\u2019s not much trouble\u2014maybe a few other materials?\u201d She named them. \u201cPlease?\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019d need to put her plan into action.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Golem-Maker of the City By Aaron Canton \u2014Part Three\u2014 Hours later, Laika had flopped down on her bed and was staring up at the ceiling when someone knocked on the door. \u201cLaika?\u201d called Mr. Renzeya\u2019s voice. \u201cCan I come in?\u201d \u201cUh-huh,\u201d Laika managed. She groaned and looked up just in time to see Renzeya […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3274,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[145,146],"tags":[273,525,1470,1454],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Short-Story-Panel.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1UVey-1gs","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4864"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4864"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4865,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4864\/revisions\/4865"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}