{"id":5885,"date":"2018-02-13T06:47:49","date_gmt":"2018-02-13T11:47:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tellest.com\/?p=5885"},"modified":"2017-12-19T09:49:35","modified_gmt":"2017-12-19T14:49:35","slug":"golem-maker-tower-part-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/golem-maker-tower-part-one\/","title":{"rendered":"The Golem Maker of the Tower, Part One"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Golem Maker of the Tower<\/strong>
\nA Story by Aaron Canton<\/strong>
\n-Part One-<\/strong><\/p>\n

The tower of the Vestigo Mage Guild was a tall, shadowy structure surrounded by a high black fence. Everyone in town had heard rumors of mysterious and dangerous experiments taking place inside, and many had heard about a friend of a friend who had supposedly stumbled inside, irritated a short-tempered wizard, and promptly been turned into a frog. As a result, most people gave it a wide berth as they went through the southern part of Viscosa. Even those who had cause to approach it did so quietly and snuck away as soon as their business was concluded.<\/p>\n

The child and golem-maker known as Laika, however, had a slightly different approach. \u201cHello, Mr. Bestle!\u201d she chirped as she skipped to the gate trailed by two of her best golems, both carrying wicker baskets. One was made of marble; its basket contained a tasty lunch prepared for her by Mr. Renzeya of Viscosa\u2019s Adventurers Guild. The other, made of ash, carried some of her favorite toys. \u201cHow are you today?\u201d<\/p>\n

The mage on duty, Bestle, was an older man with green eyes and a puffy white beard. He adjusted his cowl a little so he could look down at Laika and smiled when he saw her face. \u201cExcellent, Laika. Thank you. Here to see Arendal?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUh-huh!\u201d Laika waved her golems forward. \u201cA bunch of us are having a picnic, and I thought maybe he\u2019d want to come! And then\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

Bestle held out a hand, stopping Laika from skipping past him into the compound. \u201cWait a moment. Arendal\u2019s master, Cenard, has given him a big project to complete. He does not have time to go picnic with you today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laika frowned. Arendal, a boy one year older than her with platinum-blond hair, bright amber eyes, and a gleaming smile, was one of her best friends, but it was becoming increasingly hard to see him. Lately it seemed that whenever she and the rest of their group\u2014Matthias, Thomas, Lyra, and so on\u2014got together, Arendal would just send a message saying he was busy doing complicated magic stuff and he\u2019d have to talk to them later. He\u2019d said he would hopefully be free today, which was why Laika had come to his tower to get him, but now it sounded like he would be chanting or playing with newt eyes or whatever else apprentice mages did when they weren\u2019t playing with their friends. \u201cAw, but he promised!\u201d Laika protested. \u201cHe said he\u2019d be around if we wanted to go to the park!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, but Cenard thinks Arendal may be ready to graduate to the next level of his apprenticeship and is giving him the final tests. Your friend needs time to complete them satisfactorily. Still\u2026\u201d Bestle scrutinized Laika for a few seconds before nodding firmly. \u201cI think he should be able to squeeze in a visit from a friend, as long as it\u2019s brief. Go on up, Laika.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Mr. Bestle!\u201d Laika grinned and waved her golems forward as she scurried into the compound. The tower itself was across a short yard, and she hurried through it, dodging the spots she knew were trapped with magical wards. The wards were spells mages had cast long ago and fixed to the ground so thieves trying to break into the compound would step on them and be stunned or frozen or made too heavy to move so they could be arrested. Arendal, though, had told Laika where the wards were, and she could quickly slip past them and arrive at the big wooden door of the tower. She pushed it open, let her eyes acclimate to the dim lighting like always, and ascended the stairs within.<\/p>\n

The Vestigo Mage Guild\u2019s tower was always cold and drafty, no matter what the temperature was outside, and Laika was convinced all the senior wizards had set that up just so they could wear thick, comfy robes all day. She shivered as she ran up the first flight of stairs towards the third story, where the apprentice mages lived and studied in little rooms. When she finally arrived there, she waited for her golems to catch up and then moved towards the third door on the left, just past a little torch flickering in its bracket. \u201cArendal!\u201d she called as she reached the door. \u201cHi!\u201d<\/p>\n

There were footsteps from inside the room, and the door swung open to reveal the bright, smiling face of Laika\u2019s friend. He wore a big brown robe and held a magic wand that sparked and fizzed in his hand. \u201cHey, Laika!\u201d said Arendal. \u201cNice to see you! Come in!\u201d<\/p>\n

He ushered Laika and her golems into his room. It wasn\u2019t large, but it had enough room for a little bed, dresser, and desk, as well as open space in the middle of the room where what looked like a half-completed crate sat next to a bunch of wooden planks and some carpentry tools. Arendal shut the door behind them and edged around the box to sit on his bed. \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou said you could play today, so I came by to get you!\u201d said Laika. \u201cBut Mr. Bestle said you can\u2019t. He said you have tests.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah\u2026\u201d Arendal sighed. \u201cMaster Cenard gave me some big projects before he promotes me to the next level. I really wanna advance, but I gotta get this stuff done first.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we\u2019re all going to play now,\u201d protested Laika. \u201cCan\u2019t you get promoted later?\u201d<\/p>\n

Arendal chuckled. \u201cBut when I get promoted, I get a bigger room, and I get to use better spell ingredients. I\u2019ll be able to cast real magic and not just little stuff.\u201d He waggled his wand, which sparked again. \u201cPlus, you know if I take too long to get promoted or screw up the tests, I\u2019ll get kicked out. I don\u2019t want to have to go back to my family\u2019s farm. I\u2019ve wanted to be a mage ever since a scout came to my village and said I had potential. I\u2019d be really upset if I had to leave because I couldn\u2019t finish one stupid little test.\u201d<\/p>\n

As far as Laika was concerned, it was very mean of the Vestigo Mage Guild to throw out the apprentices who were slower to advance than their friends. When she got older, she decided, she\u2019d try to do something about it. But in the meantime, she had a friend to support. \u201cWell, what\u2019s your project? Maybe I can help you finish it real quick so we can go picnic with Matthias and Thomas and Lyra!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to put this together with magic.\u201d Arendal nodded at the half-built crate and the wood next to it. \u201cAnd I only have two more days.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laika studied the box critically for a moment. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t look too hard,\u201d she said at last. \u201cHere, I\u2019ll put this piece here\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

But the instant she touched a wooden plank, her fingers felt tingly and then went numb. She yelped and stumbled back as both Arendal and her golems rushed to catch her. \u201cHey!\u201d she said, shaking her fingers as feeling returned to them. \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with the wood?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s bespelled,\u201d said Arendal. \u201cIf anything living touches any of the pieces, they go numb. And their magic goes through gloves too; I already checked.\u201d He sighed. \u201cLike I said, I have to build the crate using magic. I\u2019m not allowed to touch the wood or the nails or anything with my hands. And look.\u201d He gestured at the pieces of wood, which Laika noted were two different colors. \u201cYou\u2019d think I could just set up the four walls and then lay planks on top of them, right? But I\u2019m only allowed to use the red planks for the top, and they\u2019re a little shorter than the others. They cover the gap, but there\u2019s no overhang, so I can\u2019t rest them on top of the walls. Those planks go inside the box, and I have to nail them to the walls so they don\u2019t fall out. It\u2019s really tough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh,\u201d said Laika. She knelt and stared at the wood. \u201cThat sounds hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is. I\u2019ve never done anything needing this much focus at once before. Usually I do wards because wards you can break apart; if I want to write a ward that uses five sigils, I can write each one separately and focus on each one as I do it. But for this, I have to focus on the wood I\u2019m controlling, the nails, and the hammer all at the same time, and it gets really complicated.\u201d Arendal raised his wand. \u201cSee, I\u2019ve been trying, but\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

As he spoke, his wand glowed, and after a few seconds, a wooden piece twitched to life. It wriggled a few times before floating to the top of the half-finished crate and shifting over so that its end was pressed against the top of a crate wall. Arendal grunted, and his wand sparked harder as a few nails floated too. His face twisted in concentration, and he waved his wand yet again to make the hammer begin to fly\u2014but then the wood slipped down, clonking into the hammer, and everything fell to the bottom of the crate in a big pile.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd usually when I try, I lose focus, and that happens,\u201d Arendal concluded. \u201cIt keeps falling apart. I really don\u2019t want to get sent home, but I\u2019m stuck.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two were silent for a few moments. Laika was acutely aware of time passing and precious daylight minutes slipping away instead of being properly spent playing with friends, but she knew she shouldn\u2019t be focusing on that. Her friend was in trouble, and she had to find a way to help him. She didn\u2019t have much with her, just the food, her toys, and her golems\u2026<\/p>\n

She brightened. \u201cHey, I know!\u201d she said. \u201cMy golems can help you! They\u2019re not alive, so they can touch the wood! And they\u2019ll be able to put it together in minutes so we can go out and play!\u201d<\/p>\n

Arendal brightened before suddenly hesitating. \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m supposed to do this myself. If the golems do it for me, Master Cenard might get mad. But\u2026I really don\u2019t want to get kicked out, and I\u2019m supposed to get this done by tonight\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe they could just do a few pieces?\u201d offered Laika. \u201cOnce we get a few more pieces set up, it\u2019ll be easier to do the rest, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Both children looked at the half-built crate in the center of the room and the substantial pile of wood next to it that still needed to be added to the structure. \u201cAll right,\u201d said Arendal at last. \u201cBut only a few.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight!\u201d Laika clapped her hands. \u201cAshie! Speckle! We\u2019re going to put more of the box together!\u201d She waved at the crate and focused on her golems, and they immediately tossed their baskets aside and jogged over to the half-completed structure. Laika pursed her lips as she drew on her power to manipulate the golems exactly as she needed them to move. \u201cOkay. First we\u2019ll lift that wood there so it\u2019s next to the top of that plank\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

The golems worked quickly, with the marble golem Speckle hefting each piece of wood into the air and setting it in just the right place so Ashie could hammer in the nails that kept it stable. After only a few minutes, several more pieces were in place, and the crate began to look nearly done. Arendal didn\u2019t say anything, instead choosing to watch Laika\u2019s golems with what looked like wonder in his eyes. Laika remembered him telling her once he really admired her instinctive grasp of golem magic, and she felt a little surge of pride as the older boy smiled at her constructs while they worked.<\/p>\n

In the span of ten minutes, the crate was completed. Laika and Arendal both cheered. \u201cIt looks awesome!\u201d said Arendal. \u201cAlthough\u2026I mean, I was hoping to do a little more of it\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Laika frowned. Sure, she\u2019d gotten a little carried away, but she\u2019d hoped for something more along the lines of, \u2018Thank you for helping me, Laika! Your golems are the best golems ever!\u2019 But she reminded herself that boys were sometimes silly and didn\u2019t react to things the right way. \u201cBut now it\u2019s done,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was a silly project anyways\u2014and now you\u2019ll get promoted, and you won\u2019t have to go back to your village!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood point.\u201d Arendal was still for a moment longer before nodding. \u201cLet me just tell Master Cenard, and then we can go. Uh, better hide your golems, Laika\u2014just in case he looks around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laika quickly gathered her golems in the little closet in the back of the room. It was a tight fit, but she finished just before she heard Arendal\u2019s footsteps returning. She turned to see him reenter the room with Master Cenard behind him. Cenard scratched his big black mustache as he extended his staff into the room ahead of him. \u201cAh, hello, Laika. Come to give your friend moral support?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUh-huh!\u201d said Laika.<\/p>\n

Cenard paced around the box a few times, tapping it with his cane and even bending over to examine it in more detail once or twice. \u201cWell done!\u201d he said at last. \u201cThis is remarkable, Arendal. Truth be told, many of the apprentices here struggle with the crate test. But yours is immaculate. You pass.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes!\u201d cheered Arendal. \u201cThank you, Master!\u201d<\/p>\n

Laika jumped to her feet. \u201cNow he can go out to play, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course.\u201d Cenard turned towards the door. \u201cHave fun with your friends, Arendal. But do return soon\u2014you\u2019ll need to get ready for your final test. Pass that and you\u2019ll advance, and then you\u2019ll get a much bigger room.\u201d He turned back with a faint smile on his face. \u201cI remember when I was an apprentice. The tiny rooms were always the worst\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWait,\u201d said Arendal. \u201cWhat\u2019s the final test?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, you\u2019ll be casting spells in front of a committee. You know, building a crate or shelf or dresser or another piece of furniture, but instead of doing it in your room, you\u2019ll be doing it in front of several senior mages. It\u2019s basically what you just did, except bigger, and there\u2019s a strict time limit since the mages all have their own research they\u2019ll want to get back to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arendal gulped. \u201cOn my own?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course on your own. That\u2019s how all the tests are.\u201d Cenard looked puzzled for a moment, then shrugged and moved to the door. \u201cBut that\u2019s for later. Have fun with your friend!\u201d<\/p>\n

When he was gone, Arendal looked at Laika with horror on his face. \u201cLaika, I\u2019m not ready for this! I couldn\u2019t even build this box on my own\u2014I\u2019m not going to be able to build something bigger! And you won\u2019t be able to help me with the mages around!\u201d He put a hand to his head. \u201cAnd when I fail, they\u2019ll probably figure out I didn\u2019t build the crate on my own either! I\u2019m going to get thrown out of the guild and sent back to my village!\u201d<\/p>\n

Laika\u2019s mouth dropped. And though she wanted to comfort him, she couldn\u2019t think of anything she could do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Golem Maker of the Tower A Story by Aaron Canton -Part One- The tower of the Vestigo Mage Guild was a tall, shadowy structure surrounded by a high black fence. Everyone in town had heard rumors of mysterious and dangerous experiments taking place inside, and many had heard about a friend of a friend […]<\/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":[273,1454,149,1601],"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-1wV","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5885"}],"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=5885"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5885\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5886,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5885\/revisions\/5886"}],"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=5885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}