Shesh had never been so busy in their life. Every night they studied enchanting for as long as they dared. More days than not they would either be homeschooled by Cera or be taught sign language at the academy. Tenna did not seem to mind particularly that Cera was “taking advantage of him” by using his golem all the time. Perhaps because business seemed to be particularly slow recently.

Signing was coming to Shesh as easily as reading and enchantment. After a month of training they could hold a simple conversation quite fluently. Since their cover story was of an injured adventurer, Shesh learned how to sign a lot of phrases related to that field. Shesh now knew how to sign that they were flanking left, or how to ask an archer or sorcerer for covering fire. 

Cera had a bit more difficulty with signing. She already had some rudimentary knowledge of adventurer hand signals that were based on Yaar Sign Language. Shesh’s skill had caught up with her by the end of the month, and when together, they tried to avoid using the tablet as much as possible.

Not all days were so exciting. On this standard day, Tenna had specifically asked Cera to not take Shesh. At the café, the Golem had been anticipating some sort of lunch rush, but the only customers coming in were the regulars who lived nearby, plus some of Tenna’s old friends. Thankfully Shesh had been assigned kitchen duty. This meant that they could practice some signing with their hands below the serving windowsill, while appearing to be motionless from the dining area.

This went on for a few hours. The monotony was finally broken by a familiar face arriving.

“Ah, Vet, there you are.” Tenna hurried over. “How are you? Everything alright?”

“All things considered, sure.” Answered a gruff Orc as she put her hat and coat on the coat hanger beside the door. “I’m not so old that you should be worried about my health, Tenna.”

Something had followed Vetruvia through the door. It was what seemed to be an ornate wooden chest, about the size of a large dog or guardcat. The chest stood on four wood-paneled clay legs, like animal versions of Shesh’s own limbs. On its forward-facing side a dopey-looking dog’s face was carved, with a golem vision rune on its forehead. 

Shesh had heard about dedicated porter-golems, but this was the first time they'd seen one. 

“I was surprised that you volunteered an inspection now, only a month after the last one.” Tenna explained, closing the café door after the porter golem had entered. “Usually I have to be the one to call you.”

“Well, with the troubles at the Solean border it’s getting a bit difficult to acquire materials. Figured I should make sure everything’s in shape before there’s a shortage.” Vetruvia walked over to the counter. “Besides, after what happened last time I figured I should keep a closer eye on your sixth golem, eh?” She chuckled, and unlocked the walking chest’s lid, withdrawing a well-used leather satchel.

“I’ve been keeping more careful.” Tenna protested, eliciting a huff from the old Orc. 

“Spare me your tales, Cera came to see me recently.” Vetruvia waved the aged Elf off. “She confessed to her own misdeeds in that regard. Grew up to be quite the handful, eh?”

“You say that, but you’re not that much older than her.” Tenna smiled in amusement. From a different Elf, that statement might have sounded arrogant. “Even with her... Peculiarities, I’m glad she’s doing better these days.”

“Yes, that I am as well.” Vetruvia agreed.

A moment of awkward silence passed, made even more uneasy for Shesh who was standing motionlessly nearby. 

Vetruvia broke the silence. “Well, that unpleasantness aside, I should get to work.” Picking up her satchel, the Orc turned around and fixed her gaze on their still observer. “I’ll start with this one. Six is the one she likes to borrow, right? I’ll do a thorough examination.”

“That’s fine.” Tenna nodded. “Take your time, it’s a slow day” Turning to address the Golem in question, the proprietor commanded: “No. 6, follow this person and obey her orders.”

Shesh had to consciously stop themselves from nodding in acknowledgement as they had become used to doing when interacting with Cera. Vetruvia led the way upstairs, followed by her porter golem and then Shesh. She set herself up in Tenna’s study, unrolling a heavily-used tool satchel on the desk. “No.6, close the door,” Vetruvia directed, “Then stand over there.” Shesh did as she instructed. 

The Golem had undergone many inspections during their lifetime. While the prospect of an especially detailed one made them nervous, they knew what to expect for the most part.

“Raise your arms.” Vetruvia ordered, and Shesh complied. The Orc produced a small magnifying glass from her satchel, and carefully examined the palm which had cracked before their previous encounter. “Hmm, s’okay this time.” Vetruvia mumbled. “Wouldn’t make the same mistake twice, eh? Lower your arms.”

Vetruvia placed her hands on both of Shesh’s shoulders, and the Golem knew that the next step was holding a hand in front of their head. The golemancer did as expected, causing a numbing sensation to encompass Shesh’s chestplate and a rush of anxiety to fill their head. Vetruvia removed the plate, exposing Shesh’s animating circle. To a regular “living” creature, this would be akin to someone studying their exposed heart and brain at once.

“Let’s see here... Mana stone is good, no obvious wear... Looks in perfect working order.” Vetruvia spoke to herself out loud. “Pfft, must be getting slow in my old age.” She grunted unexpectedly, then knelt closer and began to study the circle very closely with her magnifying glass.

It took all of Shesh’s strength not to flinch away, or clench their fists. Shesh had never had their magic circle scoured so closely before. While they themselves had never found any difference between their own circle and that of the other cafe golems, Shesh could not shake the fear that an expert golemancer’s eye would pick up on something they had not.

“Hmm...” After a lengthy examination Vetruvia pulled back, only to bring a jeweler's magnifying loupe and examine the sigils even closer. “Ah!” She gasped, suddenly pulled back.

If Shesh had lungs, they would have been holding their breath.

“Ha... Hahahaha!” The Orc suddenly burst out laughing, leaning forward again and looking at the circle as close as she managed. “That sly bastard. Of course, of course it’s a Divine.”

With an expression halfway between a grin and a grimace, she looked Shesh straight in their eye. “You can drop the act, Cera told me everything.”

Shesh still did not move, fear freezing them in place. Why would Cera have exposed them to another person without warning? Or was she bluffing after suspecting Shesh’s injury from before? Vetruvia didn’t seem particularly malicious to Shesh, but that didn’t mean that they trusted her.

“Suit yourself.” The golemancer sighed, pushing the chest plate back into place. As the feeling returned to Shesh’s torso, so too did some of their confidence. Still, they did not move.

Vetruvia stared at them for a while then asked, “Does the name Zira mean anything to you?”

Zira was a commonly worshiped God of Crafts The deity was popular among craftsmen in general, with golemancers showing a particular favor. That was as far as Shesh’s knowledge of Zira existed, but somehow the name still felt familiar beyond that.

“Well, next time you open up that book of yours, look it up.” Vetruvia shrugged, putting the magnifying glass back in the satchel. “Cera bought it from me, you know. I wondered what in gods’ names she was gonna do with a technical tome like that, given her complete lack of enchantment talent. I’m not senile just yet, and that girl isn’t half as clever as she thinks she is.”

Shesh felt a rush of anger at the disparagement of their benefactor.

[She’s doing her best! I’m thankful for...] Shesh began to sign, and then realized with horror that they had been goaded into blowing their cover.

The Orc grinned toothily. “There ya go. Sign language, eh? Not bad.” 

Shesh lowered their arms in embarrassment. With their cover broken, the Golem’s nervous body language seeped through in its entirety. 

“Now we can have a proper talk. Shesh, was it?” Vetruvia sat down slowly and carefully into Tenna’s writing chair.

After a moment’s hesitation, Shesh nodded. There was no point in trying to resume the masquerade. Besides, if she knew their name that could only mean she had indeed heard it from Cera.

“I did some digging myself.” Vetruvia continued with a somewhat smug expression. “In sixteen years, the recent hand incident notwithstanding, I’ve never had to perform any real maintenance on you. Your glyphs never degraded, your mana core has never been depleted. If I had paid any attention I should have realized that was abnormal.”

It was true, Shesh had seen every one of their lifeless “siblings” get their animation glyph repaired or have their core replaced, but never had it happen to themselves. They had considered it a boon, as it meant avoiding attention.

“Even now when I opened you up, there didn’t seem to be anything unusual. I had to look really closely to see exactly how extraordinary you are.”

Shesh’s curiosity overcame their anxiety. [What did you see?] They had long wondered exactly how it was that they were alive, and perhaps being able to consult an expert golemancer would be a good thing.

“Your sigils are exponentially more complex than they seem.” Vetruvia explained. “Every line and ring in your enchantment is composed of multiple other enchantments, layered and stacked in ways that should be impossible. It’d take an Elf’s lifetime to decipher even a small part of it.”

[So the one who made me was a genius.] Shesh concluded a little pridefully. [But why would they leave me in a mundane café?]

“I have a few theories.” Vetruvia remarked. “First of all, I don’t think your builder was a genius. In fact I know the guy, I was the middleman between Tenna and him, and trust me he’s thoroughly average at what he does.”

Shesh deflated slightly.

“But, you’re going to ask me how a completely average golem maker like I described made such a fantastical invention like yourself, right?” Vetruvia continued. “Well, my only conclusion is that he didn’t. I’d bet my right arm that your animation enchantment was altered after you were built.”

Shesh tilted their head in confusion. Something about that theory didn’t quite add up to them.

[But with the complexity of the enchantment you described, that would have been impossible to create on an existing enchantment circle.] Shesh argued. [They would have had to replace my entire midsection, and then it would have been simpler to start from scratch on an unanimated golem.]

“Impossible, yes, that’s a good word.” Vetruvia chuckled. “The impossible is something that enchanters have had to deal with several times in history.”

The orc brought herself back up to her feet, grunting at the cracking noises from her back. “Do me a favor: check the last chapter of that enchantment book, like I told you before.” She instructed. “In particular, the section titled ‘The Divine Enchantments’.”

Zrooper

Holy mudballs, is that another chapter??
Yes, I am not dead, and neither is Golem's Circle. Semester finals combined with good ol' fashioned writer's block have really set me back, leading to the unfortunate delay. Hopefully this won't happen again any time soon! I'm sorry for the delay!

Anyway, back to the biz: Shesh's circle of confidants grows ever so slightly. Coming up with new golem designs is still one of my favorite parts of writing this, and the porter golem was fun to envision!