Where does one go in search of bad souls? I had traveled for an unknown time, to the point where the darkness had faded and the grand lantern known as the sun had begun to rise.

My first sunrise. Although I had no sentiment for it, I thought it considerate to greet the celestial being appropriately. Among the roving fields of dark green grass, I had found a sufficiently tall hill to sit upon.

Radiant beams lit up the surroundings as the minutes passed. An amber glow that gradually faded to a soft yellow and white. The pitch sky, once dotted by tiny lights an unbelievable distance away, faded away into a blue the likes of which I had never encountered.

I became illuminated, not just in the literal sense, as the light of day brought up the edges of my plated body and reflected across my immutable glass face - but internally I felt anew. Day one of living free and doing good in this world. Just as soon as I found some evil to vanquish. Thankfully, from my current vantage point, I had a better idea of what lay in front of me.

Mostly more trees. As much as I had been impressed by them, to see them become such a frequent visitor to my visual sensors dulled my excitement. Something so common, despite being wondrous, left me feeling odd. Perhaps it was the warmth of the sun. The small river I had passed in the night cut through the forested areas of the green plains before me, and further in the distance there was something that look like a lot of houses clumped together. A town or city, perhaps. Words I knew but hadn’t a visual comparison to pair them to.

More interesting to my current goal was a small wisp of smoke pooling out of a clearing of trees. Most likely something they called a camp-fire. That meant living beings who could potentially assist me with my goal. Either with words of enlargement, or falling to my axe.

I lifted myself up and went back down the hill; the direction memorized. For all that I lacked, Father had at least given me some gifts that rose over what the average humanoid was able to achieve without tools. Then again, I was part tool.

Seeing the world under the light of the large orb in the sky was interesting. The muted colors now vibrant. Different greens and browns, mostly. But there were now… flowers, I was sure, that had awoken to greet the sun. Yellow, blue, red. Each different and unique, yet so alike. I had no equal, but I was currently unsure how I felt about that being the case.

A butterfly passed me, and I stopped to try to engage it. No soon had my hand raised in greeting, it had moved on. No interest in me. Perhaps he was busy. Birdsong still rang in the distance, and occasionally I’d see the little ‘birds’ sitting on tree branches. They seemed even more flighty in response to my advances. Animals may not be able to talk, but perhaps they saw me as something worse.

They could see the purpose I was born for and it horrified them.

I made note to avoid animals until I could make some reparations for my existence.

The manner in which I stored souls was questionable. Greater power could be gained if I slaughtered wholesale. The bad, the good, and the innocent. What would I become if I allowed myself to be the monster I was designed to be? Then my betrayal and murder of Father would have been shortsighted for nothing. No, I could be better.

For the rest of my journey, I ignored everything but the process of moving. Didn’t impose myself on nature until I had earned it.

It didn’t take as long as expected to reach my intended destination. Between groups of trees, I could see the whites of small houses made of tarp or cloth. The smell of burning wood paired with the trail of smoke petering out. Voices and shapes amongst the small furniture that I could not make out from here.

I continued up and walked to the edge of the clearing, as four sets of eyes turned toward me. Confusion on their faces at seeing me. Maybe they too knew what I was.

Three men and woman. On the right, a stocky man with a shaved head and thick black beard. A little further behind him on a log bench was a woman with curly auburn hair and light green eyes. On the left, the other two men seemed to have been in the middle of some kind of competition that involved holding hands. The one facing me had a blonde goatee and his hair in a ponytail, whereas the one craning his head back to observe me had short, messy brown hair and spectacles.

Each of them wore leather armor and linens, weapons either on their belts or beside the things I believe to be called ‘tents’. I seemed to have interrupted their breakfast, my first sin against this unknown group.

“What the fuck are you?” the woman was first to gain use of her tongue.

I tilted my head to the side, realizing that the last time that I had spoken out loud was… when I said goodnight to my Father. Since then, I had little use of my voice.

“He looks like a construct of some kind?” Spectacles turned away from the other man and narrowed his eyes at me. “A magical golem?”

“Nah.” The stocky one shook his head. “Golems are usually comprised of a single material.”

I held up my free hand, to try to quell their discussion. Rampant speculation would not do when it was simply a matter of-

The woman had drawn a dagger. “Is he aggressive? He is bloody.”

“I think it is going to speak,” the blonde one shushed her. “Give it a bleedin’ chance, Kate.”

“Hello,” I said. “Are you evil?” It seemed pragmatic to cut to the chase. They hadn’t immediately set upon me like the assailants at my home, but I wasn’t used to having more than one person to talk to and it had me on edge.

“No?” The burly man stood. “My name is Daniel, but you can call me Dan. We are adventurers.”

“Adventurers?” I let the word circle around inside my head for a moment. “You defeat evil.” A statement that they heard as a question.

“Sure,” he nodded and smiled. “This is Lore, Manny, and Kate.” He pointed to the spectacles, ponytail, and then the green-eyed adventurer in turn. “Are you an adventurer too?”

My fingers drummed on the held axe. “I intend to be.” They couldn’t learn the truth, that I was a tool of war. It felt wrong to lie to adventurers. But it was to serve a purpose. “I seek guidance, however.”

Lore had stepped up closer to me, his curiosity overriding his apprehension at my presence. “Where did you come from?”

“My home.”

“Uh, sure.” He raised an eyebrow at me. “You want to join us for breakfast?”

“I do not require sustenance, but I will sit and converse. If that is acceptable.” The glares that Kate and Manny shot him told me that perhaps he had made that offer without their guidance. Daniel seemed content enough that I currently posed no threat.

“Be our guest… ah, did you have a name?” He adjusted his glasses and gestured toward an empty log where I may sit.

“I did, yes.” I went and sat down, resting my axe by my side.

The adventurers arranged themselves into a loose semicircle to face me. All curious to a degree, some distrusting, and others too eager to trust. Perhaps something that I should be cautious of, but currently I was enamored to be sitting in the presence of four heroes of the realm.

That just brought up questions that Father had never answered.

“Where are we?” I asked, my thirst for knowledge breaking past any imagine protocol about how this manner of thing should usually go.

“Julian Forest,” Daniel replied. “Or, how expansive do you want that answer to be?”

Lore moved forward slightly, eager to involve himself in the question. “The Forest is part of Korri, the second largest county of the Kingdom of Herai. Herai is one of three such states on the continent called Latrea… on the planet called Othea?”

I nodded, as that seemed the polite thing to do. “Which states are at war?” The question left my vocalizer before I had enough time to fully consider it may give away my intended purpose.

Lore raised an eyebrow and shot a glance at Daniel, who just shrugged.

“Nobody is at war,” Kate interjected. “Why would you assume that?”

I stared at them with my impassively blank face. A second lie I would have to levy at these adventurers. “Often those who hold great power aren’t content with what they already have and seek more.”

Manny snorted. “No doubt if they thought they could get away with it, you’d be right. There’s no appetite for that kind of bloodshed. Not since the Three-Year war a couple of decades ago.”

This gave me many things to think about, although I was potentially confused as to how things weren’t aligning with my expectation. Maybe other continents were at war, and I would be shipped far away to do the duty.

I looked between them, each still eager to learn more about me - yet patient enough to allow me to ask things first. It must be an adventuring thing. From my back I removed my pack and put my hand inside. “Do any of you know how to talk to a stone?”

Their exchanged glances told me that perhaps they did not, but as I withdrew it out into my hand, some familiarity crossed their faces.

“Oh, a Message Stone?” Lore stood and then paused. “May I?”

I nodded and held it out for him to take. As he did so, I noted that his eyes ran me up and down several times before he moved back a couple of steps. There was an odd feeling to him, like the talking stone and some of my tools gave me.

Light ran around his hands as he held the Message Stone up. A grimace appearing on his face, some disappointment behind the glasses. “I’m afraid the connection to the other receiver has been severed. Somebody you knew?”

“No. An adventure for another day.”

He tossed the rock back, and I caught it deftly, to place back into my bag.

“So what’s with the blood?” Kate screwed her face up. “Already been adventuring?”

“Not as such.” I flexed my hands in consideration. “I was assailed by others who did not want me free. They did not survive the attempt.”

Manny now shared the grimace the woman had put on. “Ah, you’re an escapee. Someone built you and you broke your way out?”

“You are astute, Manny.” I nodded my head toward him. He was slightly different from the others - well, they were all unique in their own ways. Now that I had the chance to fully take in their appearances, I considered that the man had a slimmer frame and pointed ears. Daniel, likewise, was a deep green color. In my studies, I had not been aware that humans could be so varied.

Daniel grinned. “What to you seek from adventure? Gold, fame, or power?”

My head tilted. “I seek to acquire the souls of those who wrong this world. To protect the weak and save the innocent.”

Manny whistled, while Kate just gave a confused grin. Lore was still staring at me, which I allowed, despite it being rude.

Daniel stood and held his hand out, a ritual where we were to shake if in agreement. “How about you join us for today until you get your bearings? Tell us your name, friend, and we will find out what evil lurks around the corner this day.”

I rose to my feet too. Placed my normal hand into his awkwardly warm and soft one. We shook.

“My name is Prototype Ortive-One,” I said. “Let us adventure.”