The rest of the day went on in much the same fashion, albeit with substantially fewer world-shattering gifts and revelations. Shesh alternated between reading the books they had been given, while Cera did her best to answer their questions.

From the book Shesh learned that their town lay in the Elven Kingdom of Yaar; a landlocked monarchy that derived its name from the vast Yaar Forest in which it presided. Apart from the roads and towns, all of the Yaar Kingdom’s territory was covered in dense forest that left very little area for standard agriculture. The kingdom had only grown as large and populous as it now was (or at least up to the previous century) because it was a trade hub linking the opposite sides of the forest.

To the west of Yaar was the Solean Empire, a Human-dominated theocracy that heavily restricted other sapient races. Elves had mostly full rights but could not own land. Animalkin had little to no rights and were often enslaved. Goblins and Orcs had the worst of it, as were considered monstrous species and killed on sight. According to the book, these extreme laws were a result of their strict religion centered around the worship of a sun god called Sol. They were powerful both economically and militarily but were for the most part in their history uninterested in conquest.

Shesh queried Cera if such a xenophobic religion didn’t cause friction with Yaar, and  she confirmed that it did:  Only Elves could trade with the Soleans, and  Human merchants used to prejudice against others regularly caused trouble in the Yaarian cities they passed through. Peace between the two powers was kept partially by the difficulty of invading the heavily forested Yaar and partially by their mutual trade dependencies of Solean food and Yaar lumber.

“Slavers are also a problem. Soleans look the other way as long as they abstain from kidnapping other Humans.” Cera added in a tone of extreme disgust. “They’re the main reason why Yaar keeps a strict border guard, rather than any threat of an actual armed invasion.”

To the east of Yaar was another Human country, The Republic of Ayt. Formerly another kingdom, they had recently reformed into a republic of smaller states that were ruled by a senate of state delegates. The book didn’t have much information about them, apart from them being on unfriendly terms with the Soleans who saw the reformation as an affront to their concept of Divine Mandate. Cera filled in the gap, explaining that after the Republic of Ayt failed to collapse and revert to a monarchy the Soleans declared a holy war against them which had continued intermittently for the past half a century or so. Due to Yaar being a natural land barrier, most of their conflict was waged via naval battles across the Darrummian Sea to the south over certain strategic islands.

“Don’t bother with what it says about the North.” Cera interrupted when she noticed Shesh reaching that section. “When this book was written the Saffon Empire ruled a territory almost as large as the Solean Empire and the Republic of Ayt put together, but they’re gone now. A cataclysm obliterated their capital, annihilating the ruling family entirely. The remaining feudal lords have among themselves ever since, so now there’s only a loose scattering of independent duchies all vying for control.”

[What do you mean by cataclysm?] Shesh asked.

“I’ve heard all sorts of explanations, ranging from a magical experiment gone wrong to a demonic invasion.” The adventurer explained. “It’s impossible to know for sure what happened, but I don’t think an entire city being obliterated can be All we really know is that an entire city vanished overnight, taking a whole empire’s future with it.”

[Maybe it was a Dragon?] Shesh suggested. They’d read about Dragons in one of Tenna’s books:  an intriguing recanting of a Dragon fending off hordes of poachers and adventurers seeking its hide.

“Dragons don’t exist. At least, not anymore.” Cera scoffed. “I know some royals supposedly have bones they keep as heirlooms, but I’ve never heard of anyone actually seeing a live one. Even if they exist somewhere, I think a giant fire-breathing creature being responsible for Saffon’s destruction would have been the talk of the century had that been the case.”

Shesh was disappointed to learn that. Dragons had seemed so glorious and noble in the book. Shesh would have liked to meet one someday.

[What was the biggest creature you’ve ever encountered?] Shesh wrote down.

“Ah, let me think…” Cera tapped her chin. “I was hired one time as a guard on a merchant ship bound for Yi. About halfway there, where the sea is probably deepest, we were attacked by a sea serpent bigger than anything I’ve ever seen. Its neck must have been as as a full-grown ash tree. We later learned it was attached to a body as big as a galleon. Each tooth was easily as long as my arm, and it had scores of them.”

[How did you defeat it?] Shesh asked, trying to imagine such a monstrous beast.

“We didn’t.” Cera admitted. “It ripped apart the ship and we had to escape on longboats. After a few minutes of devouring the livestock in the hold, it uttered a screech that almost blew out my ears. While distracted by our ship, it itself had fallen prey…to a Kraken. Judging by the size of the tentacles that pulled the sea serpent back down into the depths, that would have been the biggest creature I’ve ever seen.”

[What is a Kraken?] Shesh inquired.

“You know about Dragons but not about Krakens?” Cera chuckled. “It looks like a gargantuan – you know what a squid is, right? Anyway, they’ve been known to reach hundreds of meters in length, with d arms strong enough to lift a ship clear out of the water and smash it back down.”

[Sounds terrifying. How do you even beat such a thing?] Shesh shook their head in awe.

“It’s not impossible…but it might as well be.” The adventurer crossed her arms. “Theoretically I suppose you could gather a battalion of sorcerers using frost magic: They could restrain it by freezing the sea around it. Unlike the Dragons of legend, Krakens haven’t been known to use magic, so they shouldn’t have an answer to that.”

[I see. Thanks for answering my questions.] Shesh inscribed, hoping that they weren’t being a bother.

Cera reached over and patted the top of Shesh’s head. “Asking questions is good. Curiosity is good. Don’t let anyone teach you different.” She admonished. “There’s two lessons to be learned from that story: First is that there’s always a bigger fish, sometimes literally. The second is that you should never give up. Aid can come from very unlikely sources.”

[Like how helping me.] Shesh noted. another chuckle from the tall Elf.

“Not quite what I meant, but I suppose so.” She answered. “Call that another lesson then: you don’t need a reason to help someone. You might have some factors that make you predisposed to helping someone, like the reasons I gave you for me deciding to reach out. However, even if there’s no existing connection don’t let that stop you from giving assistance to a stranger who needs it.”

Shesh liked this reasoning. It made sense that helping others when possible would make the world a better place. After all, Shesh’s own life had vastly improved because of Cera’s kindness.

[Is that why you became an adventurer? To help others?] Shesh asked.

“For me, yeah, that was my reason.” Cera nodded, but her a slight hesitation made Shesh pause. “A lot of others do it for the thrill of the adventure. A buddy of mine used to say that the Adventurer’s Guild’s motto should be ‘Apathia tragoedia et taedium crimen est’, just to highlight what the priority for a lot of them is.”

The motto wasn’t in a language that Shesh knew, but it was similar enough to spoken Elvish that they thought they caught the gist in context.

[People risk their lives out of boredom?] Shesh questioned incredulously, though the words written on the slate did not convey that emotion well it must have been evident by their head recoiling.

“More than you’d expect. Many people get addicted to the excitement. It’s like a drug to them. Some are looking to make a name for themselves. They’re often as addicted to praise as the previous group is to danger. There are also those who just enjoy the violence; that see being an adventurer as a legal method to act on their bloodlust. Those are the ones you really need to watch out for.”

Cera sighed and rubbed her temple. “Your average adventurer probably has all those qualities mixed in them, really. It’s their inclination towards one or the other that makes the difference. Knowing how to recognize the signs and find like-minded allies is the most important step in assembling a party that can mesh well ”

Shesh fantasized about what life as an adventurer must be like. Despite Cera’s descriptions taking a dark turn towards the end, it still seemed to the Golem like quite the rewarding and interesting lifestyle. Getting to travel all over the continent, meeting and helping new people, and seeing all sorts of strange and awe-inspiring creatures. Certainly a far cry from Shesh’s quiet café worker lifestyle.

[Do you enjoy being an adventurer?] They asked.

“I do. Didn’t always, but now I think I do.” Cera nodded. “Wouldn’t say it’s my calling or anything like that, but I find the work satisfying and I believe I’m making a positive contribution to our society.”

Shesh began to write down another question, but was interrupted by the Elf exclaiming “Oh, look at the time; I’d better get you back to Tenna’s place soon.”

Shesh was both surprised and disappointed. [Didn’t Tenna say you could bring me back in the morning?] They questioned.

“He did, but we don’t want to wear out his generosity on the first time.” Cera explained fastening the books back together with the belt. She reached out her hand out for the writing tablet. “Don’t worry, we’re just doing this so it would be easier for us to ask it of him the next times.”

Shesh was reluctant to return the slate, but they could see why it would be odd to return home with it. The Golem wiped the surface clean before handing it back to Cera.

“Come on, we need to get there before Tenna goes to bed.” The Elf hurried, leading the way out of the apartment door. “Well, I could probably sneak you in even after, but I don’t think he’d like that and the point is to stay on his good graces.”

Just as the walk over from the café had seemed long to Shesh, the walk back seemed to be over in the blink of a hypothetical eye.

“Oh, by the way I left a surprise for you.” Cera grinned as they approached Summer Breeze. “There’s a loose tile on the back patio, next to where Tenna keeps his gardening tools. When it’s dark check it out, but remember to hide the gift again before morning so Tenna can’t find it, okay?”

Shesh couldn’t answer now, but their interest was certainly piqued. The curiosity of finding what the surprise could be had despondency over the social event being over.

“Hey, Tenna. Cera called out, deliberately letting the entry bell ring as she walked in.

“Cera! I didn’t expect you to be back so soon.” The old café owner replied, looking up from counting the day’s earnings. “I thought I’d have to retrieve No.6 from your place myself some emergency request.”

“Nah, I may be a bit forgetful at times but I wouldn’t do that to you.” Cera waved off the low expectations. The other golems were already sweeping and cleaning, which meant that the café was already closed.

“Did you finish cleaning your apartment?” Tenna asked, walking over with a spare cleaning cloth that Shesh knew was intended for them. “Wipe down the front counter.” Tenna ordered, and the Golem obeyed. Pretending to be as simple as their siblings was not any easier now than it had been this morning, to say the least.

“Ehh, not quite.” Cera scratched the back of her head. “You wouldn’t believe the mess that was there before.”

“Knowing you I think I would.” Tenna chuckled hoarsely. “To be honest I was a bit concerned for a while, but I’m glad to see you’re cleaning up a bit now – and I’m not just talking about the apartment.”

“Yeah, I know. I appreciate your concern.” Cera’s smile grew warmer. “If you don’t mind though, could I keep borrowing Sh- I mean, could I borrow No.6 again from time to time? Even after I finish tidying up I’ve thought of a few more things that a golem could be useful for.”

“You know, if you kept more of your rewards you could afford your own golem.” The old Elf chided. “I hear it’s what a lot of adventurers of your caliber do: buy a golem as a porter and general helper.”

“Yeah, you know as well as I do that I can’t handle savings of that caliber.” Cera shook her head.

Tenna nodded ruefully. “Yes, you can borrow my golem from time to time.” He relented. “In fact, it would probably stop weirding off customers if you took No.6 with you rather than talk to it here. You know when the slow days are, right? You can take it on those.”

“Thanks Man!” Cera beamed. “I’ll make it up to you – I think I’ve got a pretty good lead on where I can get some taimim berries.”

“Don’t go angering any dryads on my behalf.” Tenna scolded, but then after a moment added “But… I won’t say no if you do get your hands on them. It’s been a while since I’ve made my Tamim Cordial.”

“That’s the spirit.” Cera laughed heartily. “Well, I won’t keep you up. Good night, Ol’ Man!”

With that she was gone, and Shesh’s world had shrunk back to the walls of the café.

Tenna watched them clean for a few minutes, causing Shesh to wonder if this excursion had aroused the old Elf’s suspicions. Tenna did not give any other signs to that effect, and went to bed a short time later as he usually did.

Shesh did not waste any time after that; they swapped places with the golem that had been about to take out the food trash, taking the sack out back to the garden area and depositing it in the composting crate. After a moment of making sure there wasn’t anyone watching from a nearby building, they located the loose tile and quickly pried it open.

Hidden in a small alcove there was a very ornate book, much newer than the textbooks Shesh had read in Cera’s home. Embossed in curved golden letters on the thick leather cover were the words: Advanced Enchanting Theory.

Zrooper

Fun fact: the working title for this chapter was "Shesh's Big Book of Exposition". Hopefully all this info wasn't too tiring! Now we have a better grasp of the current worldstate, at least on this particular continent and as far as Shesh can know at the moment.