Our carriage trundled across the desert, carrying two more people than usual. Rashid and Shawza had planned to travel using the former’s personal golems, but we had insisted that they ride with us, as we had plenty of room to spare.
“The weather’s nice,” I remarked. “Not a single cloud in sight.”
“This is the norm here,” Rashid said. “Is that not the case in the Kingdom?”
“We get a lot of sunny days, but rarely are there no clouds at all.”
“Is that so? To think a short trip north could make such a difference. Fascinating.”
Ines, our driver, sat at the front, while Rashid and Lynne occupied the seat behind her. I sat with Rolo, Sirene, and Shawza on the wider seat at the back. Owing in part to Shawza’s large frame, we were close enough together that we bumped shoulders whenever the carriage experienced a particularly large jolt.
“Lady Lynneburg,” Rashid said, “I must thank you again for graciously allowing us to ride with you.”
“It was no trouble. We had the space, and a journey is more enjoyable with company.”
“Hah. I couldn’t agree more. Don’t you think so too, Shawza?”
The usual tension between Lynne and Rashid seemed to have faded, at least to some degree. They weren’t friends, by any means, but it was still a marked improvement. Shawza was the only person in the carriage who looked openly uncomfortable.
“Sir...” he said, “I still don’t see why we had to ride together.”
“Really? Are we not cooler in here than we would have been otherwise? One must accept kindness when it is offered—and this is an excellent opportunity to indulge in some cultural exchange.”
There was a long silence before Shawza replied, “Yes, sir.” He turned his discontented gaze to the window. Outside, the two wingless bird-shaped golems he and his master had intended to ride kept pace with us.
“Are you no good with carriages, Shawza?” I asked.
“That’s not the problem.”
“Really? You’ve had a frown on your face this whole time.”
Another pause. Then, “This is how I always look.”
That was fair enough; he did always look as though he were chewing something bitter. Still, he’d clearly been uncomfortable since getting aboard the carriage.
Sirene, who was sitting next to me, seemed restless for another reason. She glanced at Shawza every few seconds, clearly wanting to say something. Shawza must have been aware, though he seemed to be deliberately ignoring her.
Rolo sat between the pair, wearing a troubled smile. “You don’t have to worry, Shawza.”
“About?”
“I might be a demonfolk, but I don’t expose people’s secrets when I can help it.”
“Secrets? I don’t have any.”
“Oh... Of course not. S-Sorry—that was a strange thing to say.”
“You really can trust him, Shawza,” I chimed in. “He won’t air your dirty laundry, no matter how embarrassing it might be.”
Shawza went quiet for a moment. “I wonder about that.”
Sirene’s expression went through an impressive number of iterations as she listened to our conversation. She glanced from Shawza to Rolo, clearly on the verge of speaking up, but still never uttered a word. As much as I respected her restraint, I figured she really should just voice whatever was on her mind.
Our carriage raced across the desert at a rapid pace. Some of that speed came down to the horses’ enthusiasm—we had given them Divine Beast stew from the carriage’s cold storage—but we also had the luxury of more even terrain. The road we were taking was relatively flat, if one ignored the sections buried in sand.
The view outside the window was completely unobstructed. We were moving so quickly that the desert blurred past us, but the golems above had no trouble keeping up with our carriage.
“Do you always use those to get around?” I asked Shawza.
“We do,” Rashid answered in place of his taciturn bodyguard. “Artificial golems are quite handy for travel.”
“‘Artificial’? So they’re man-made?”
“Indeed. Some call them imitations of the specimens excavated from the Dungeon of Oblivion.”
“Wow. That’s some impressive craftsmanship. What sets them apart from the excavated ones, though?”
“There are quite a few differences, if one gets into the details...but the greatest have to do with the quality of the material and the power output. Artificial golems are nowhere near as formidable as their counterparts, since the latter were the product of technologies still unknown to us. Of course, making our own gives us more creative freedom, which allows us to put them to a wider variety of uses. One example are the golem birds that specialize in mail delivery.”
Now that I thought about it, Lynne had mentioned that the City Forgotten by Time’s main complex had been built by specialized construction golems. There must have been all sorts of golems out there, all designed to improve the people’s daily lives.
“Talented golem engineers are few and far between, so most belong to major companies,” Rashid continued. “It’s rare to get to meet one...but as we’re headed to the capital, you might get the chance. On that note, why not order your very own custom golem? You certainly have the funds.”
“That does sound pretty interesting.”
It had never occurred to me before, but I really could benefit from having my own golem. Even if it could only follow simple commands, I was sure it could help out with farmwork—watering the crops or spreading fertilizer, for example. If I brought it back to the beastfolk village, it would make tending to the massive field a cakewalk.
I didn’t know if the capital city’s markets would sell what I wanted, but if ordering a custom golem was on the table, well...the sky was the limit. Excitement welled up within me as I started to consider what I might ask for.