When Cera returned to get Shesh again, Tenna scolded her for breaking the Golem’s palm. Without blinking, Cera apologized and even reimbursed the proprietor for the cost of the repair. Nevertheless, Tenna did not object to lending out his golem again. Once they had gotten to her place and Shesh had the small chalkboard in hand, they apologized profusely for the trouble. Shesh also did not forget to thank Cera for the book about enchanting. The adventurer shrugged off these statements just as quickly as she had Tenna’s accusation, only asking that Shesh be more careful with their body.
Over the next couple of weeks, Shesh settled into a new and vastly improved routine. At night in the café the Golem slowly and carefully studied enchantment from their book, in order to avoid any more accidents. Once every two or three days, Cera would come by and “borrow” Shesh, taking them back to her apartment to talk and study together.
After nearly a month had passed, Cera had another surprise for them.
Cera tossed a bundle of clothes onto one of the chairs. “Here, put this on.” She told them. The bundle contained a long-sleeved shirt, thick traveling trousers, a cloak, and a pair of leather boots. “We’re going to try disguising you so we’re not stuck in here when you visit.”
[I’m not sure about this...] Shesh wrote down, then held up the trousers apprehensively.
“It’ll be fine. Here, I’ll help you.” Shesh had never worn anything more than an apron before. Cera had to show them how to slide their legs into the trouser sleeves, how to pull the shirt over their head, and how to tie the shoelaces on the boots. The clothes seemed to fit quite well, and Shesh realized their friend either had an eye for this or managed to somehow measure them (or a physically identical golems) without them noticing.
“Now for the finishing touches.” the Adventurer grinned, passing Shesh a pair of brown leather gloves. While the Golem carefully slid their hands into the gloves, Cera retrieved some linen bandages. She began to wrap them around Shesh’s head and neck, leaving only the face plate exposed.
“Our cover story is going to be that you are a fellow adventurer of mine who suffered a bad head injury.” Cera explained. “That is why you cover your body completely, and why you can’t talk.”
[But what about my ‘eye’?] Shesh asked, pointing towards the vision enchantment in the middle of their face plate. [Won’t that be a dead giveaway?]
“You know, Golems aren’t the only ones that use vision sigils.” Cera answered. “People who are blinded sometimes use enchanted masks that allow them to see much like you can. Granted, usually their masks leave the mouth and nose exposed. But given your fictional injuries, that can be easily explained.”
Shesh tried to nod in response while Cera was still wrapping the bandages around their head, but only succeeded in jerking her arms a bit. Instead, they just tapped the chair’s back once with a finger.
Once she had finished, the Elf fetched a mirror so Shesh could see themself.
What they saw reflected in the mirror was an unfamiliar person. Mirror-Shesh looked for all intents and purposes like a normal traveler: They were a bit stockier than a normal Elf and more lanky compared to a Human or similar. Shesh realized they could easily pass for a Half-Elf, albeit one with a bandaged and masked face.
They stared at the mirror for a long time.
“Shesh? Are you okay?” Cera asked in a concerned tone. “Is something the matter?”
After a brief pause, Shesh picked up the tablet. [I had resigned myself to seeing the world through blinds.] They wrote slowly, pausing for a moment to wipe the slate and make room for more words. [I didn’t think I would ever have the possibility to leave.] For the first time in their life, Shesh’s handwriting became shaky. [But this is so much better than I ever dreamed.]
Shesh’s scrawling was interrupted by a pair of strong arms embracing them. “I’m sorry, I didn’t consider the implications on your feelings.” Cera apologized softly. “If I had realized, I would have done this sooner… Or at the very least helped ease you into it better.”
Receiving physical affection was just as new to Shesh as wearing clothes. The close physical contact was disconcerting, but the warmth was pleasant. The strength in Cera’s arms gave the Golem a sense of security they had never felt before.
“You okay?” Cera asked, and after Shesh nodded in confirmation gently pulled away. “I’m sorry, I should have asked if you were okay with hugging.” Then thinking back on her words, she chuckled, adding “And I’m sorry for apologizing so many times in a row, too.”
[I am fine] Shesh confirmed, the humor breaking them out of their introspective mood. [And… Thank you.]
Cera smiled and clapped Shesh on the shoulder. “Take your time, get familiar with moving around in your outfit.” She told them. “When you’re ready, we’ll try going outside. This time not as a master and servant, but as true equals.”
Shesh lapsed back into their introspection. Having Cera see them as a person was one thing, but as an equal? In Shesh’s mind, there couldn’t be many people in general equal to the veteran adventurer. Themself being among those felt wrong, seemed like a mistake. Undoubtedly it was her kindness and humility that had led her to say something like that.
Whether or not it was true, their friend had indicated that they would treat Shesh as such when they go out.
It took Shesh a while before they had psyched themselves up and were ready. Mentally steeling themselves, themselves, the Golem nodded to Cera. “Right, let's go.” The Elf beckoned, opening the door. Shesh moved to leave as instructed, pausing momentarily as Cera stuffed Shesh’s writing tablet and chalk into a large inner pocket of their cloak and lifted the hood of their cloak over their head.
“Now, remember to act naturally. You don’t have to pretend to be a simple golem anymore.” Cera said to her companion. “You can look and do anything like anyone else. Just try to relax and follow my lead, okay?”
The disguised Golem followed Cera out of the building. Their metaphorical nerves were thoroughly wired. Shesh readied themselves for the worst: They were prepared for people to stare at them, to call Cera out for dressing up a golem, maybe even attack them... but none of that occurred. The mask and hood drew attention from some people, but nobody except a few inquisitive children batted an eye or stopped to stare.
“Follow me, Shesh.” Cera grinned. Shesh stiffened briefly at being addressed by name out in public, but again nobody particularly minded. The Elf led them towards the downtown market district, a route which Shesh was familiar with. Unlike any of their previous journeys, Shesh found that people did not part for them as they usually did. After a couple of jostles where Shesh had to raise their hands in apology, they learned to dodge and weave through the crowd like everyone around them.
“We should get something for Tenna to show our appreciation.” Cera suggested as she pulled Shesh towards a fruit seller. “What do you think?”
Despite being unable to eat, Shesh had some experience with fruit from the café. After a moment of observation, they selected a small wicker basket of raspberries. “Take it.” The adventurer told Shesh while pulling some coins out to pay the farmer, who was a rabbit-eared Animalkin.
They passed through a few more stalls. Cera purchased some groceries for herself, then she recommended they make their way back to the apartment.
“We’re not staying. Just dropping off our purchases so that we don’t have to carry them around with us.” the Elf reassured a surprised Shesh, Sure enough they were soon out again. Over the rest of the day, Cera took Shesh on a tour of the city. They walked through various districts that Shesh had never seen before, starting from the outer district, closest to the walls. In the shade of the western gatehouse was a large open staging area, where carriages and wagons could be prepared and hitched. There were many inns and taverns that catered to travelers, as well as the local branch of the Adventurer’s Society, the kingdom-spanning adventurer’s guild.
Next, Cera took Shesh to the wealthier area of the artisan’s district. The shops there were larger and luxuriously furnished compared to the ones near Vetruvia’s workshop. A few even had armed guards stationed outside their front doors. Shesh caught glimpses of golems in a high-end restaurant - their counterparts were slim, shaped from white clay, covered in mahogany and inlaid with gold leaf decorations.
“Up ahead is the noble’s district.” Cera observed, gesturing towards a gate flanked by four guards in polished armor. “To pass this gate you need to either be a noble, be invited by one, or receive a special permit.” The Elf pulled a small scroll from her pocket, tossing and catching it with a grin.
“Papers, please.” A bored guard ordered as the two approached, and Cera obligingly handed over her scroll.
“Hmm...” The sentry unfolded the pass. “Cera Shirsdottir?”
“That’s me.” Cera flashed her winning smile.
“And... Shesh Pragg?” Shesh quickly nodded in response, though they were caught off guard by the last name they had been given. The guard raised an eyebrow, and Cera interjected.
“They’re mute, sir.” She explained. “Had an unfortunate encounter with a Cockatrice. They were lucky to survive, but as you can see...”
“Ah, adventurers, of course.” The guard rolled the scroll back up and returned it to Cera. “You may pass, just don’t cause any trouble.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it, sir.” Cera did a mock salute and continued forward. Shesh followed after, pausing only to nod politely at the guard as they passed by. The noble district was noticeably cleaner, no doubt thanks to the ceaseless efforts of the dozen or so white clay golems Shesh could see wandering around with brooms. In the center of the main boulevard was a long flower garden tended by a handful of golems, painted brown to avoid showing dirt smears. They were supervised by a sharply-dressed Elf. In the distance the main fort towered over everything else, easily the most massive structure Shesh had ever seen
Looking backwards towards the gate they had just passed through, Shesh found themselves looking at the largest golem they had ever seen. Standing motionless behind the gate, facing the noble district, was a massive gleaming metallic war golem. It was over two meters tall, with an oversized torso and enlarged arms whose closed knuckles scraped the ground. The war golem was completely covered by interlocking polished steel plates; The only exceptions were the inner part of its hands, which Shesh noticed were lined with leather.
“That’s why you don’t cause trouble in this area.” Cera told Shesh, noticing their interest. “If there’s a disturbance, one of the guards blows a whistle and then this gorilla-golem charges in. It’s the same kind of war golem the army uses, but softened up a bit so that it doesn’t crush any poor drunken baron’s kid that gets grabbed by it.”
Shesh pulled out their tablet and wrote [It’s a steel golem?]
Cera nodded. “There’s a steel frame underneath that thick armor.” she explained. “Mostly hollow, otherwise to move it you’d need a mana stone bigger than it is, but the arms and legs are solid metal.”
After they had gotten their fill of gawking at the war golem, Cera led Shesh deeper into the neighborhood. They walked until they reached a wide multi-tiered building. The plaque on the front read: Yaar Supplementary Academy.
[An academy?] Shesh asked.
“Yeah, we’re going to come here from time to time for lessons.” Cera explained. “I figured it’s not going to be practical for you to carry around writing utensils everywhere, and I don’t think giving you a voice is going to be at all easy, so this is the next big thing.”
[What do you mean?] The Golem pressed further.
“We’re both going to study sign language.” Cera revealed.
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Well done with how Shesh was moved by being able to go around in public, emotions were very well portrayed.
oh Shesh is so cute!!! i am so happy to see them going out and about!!
thank for the chapter
Thank you for reading (:
@Zrooper no thank you for writing it