They walked for about five minutes before arriving at a clearing next to a lake. There were lots of temporary shelters, all of which were built with crudely chopped wood. Most villagers were either trying to patch up the holes in the walls and roof or building more shelters with freshly-chopped woods. The ones who weren't doing that were children and people preparing lunch.
"Stay here, I'll call the chiefs." The teenager then sprinted toward the largest and most complete looking shelter.
While they were waiting, Green decided to help out some of the villagers on his own volition. Ryder joined in and assured the villagers that his partner wasn't going to eat them. Brown rested at the sideline while Purple took a nap in the middle of the road, forcing the villagers to walk around him carefully.
"You must be the Dragon Rider! We are truly blessed to have your presence here." A middle-aged man spoke as he approached the human with a middle-aged woman. Both of them had the same unique physical characteristics as the teenager, though their robes were a lot more eye-catching and high-quality than the villagers.
Ryder turned around, deactivated his plant magic, and wiped the sweat on his forehead away. "Oh, hello. You must be the chief."
"Chiefs." The middle-aged woman corrected. "My name is Aviana." She then pointed at the man. "This is Bezalel, the founder of our village and the inventor of the Nekefesh golems."
"Aviana's more of a chief than I am. She's the one actually taking care of the village while I'm just your local tinkerer." Bezalel chuckled.
"Nice to meet you, Aviana, Bezalel. My name is Ryder. I can't say I heard of that kind of golem before." Ryder shook their hands.
"These golems rarely travel out of the village, so it's only natural you never heard of them," Aviana explained.
"It's quite embarrassing to say, but my creations didn't pass the Oriza Trade Association's inspection. That's why they never made it into the market or anywhere else for that matter." Bezalel smiled awkwardly.
"However, we can assure you that these golems worked as intended without the influence of the miasma." She shot a quick glare at her partner before looking back at Ryder. "Sarf told us that you're here to get rid of the miasma. Is that true?"
"Of course it's true, Aviana. He's the Dragon Rider, for goodness sake."
"Am I doing the talking right now or are you?" She glared at her partner again.
The craftsman looked away and remained silent.
"Yes, we're here to get rid of the miasma. Can you tell me more about your village and golems first? As well as how and when the miasma appeared." Ryder ignored their quarrels and took out his notebook.
"The land that our village currently sits on used to be an abandoned graveyard. When Bezalel was working on his golems, he stumbled upon this place and made a laboratory here."
"It's quiet here, you see. No one will get hurt if I fail, too." Bezalel smirked.
"He eventually succeeded in creating his first golem, which only required a little more than the ground where he created them."
"Wait, you're saying the golems don't have a mana crystal core?" The human raised his eyebrows.
Purple narrowed his eyes.
"That's right, Dragon Rider. It has always been my dream to make golems an affordable product, since crafting their cores from mana crystals is an expensive and time-consuming process. If golems can take care of all physical labors, there's no doubt poverty and hunger will be eliminated. Furthermore, people will be free to do what their hearts truly desire and society will have more time to advance science, magic, and art."
"That's quite the noble goal. Why didn't your golems pass the Association's inspection, then?"
Bezalel scoffed, "Because they're so stuck up in their own asses that they refuse to believe it's possible to create golems without the use of mana crystals. If you ask me, they merely want to make sure all golem craftsmen will buy their expensive crystals so they can make a profit before us."
"I see."
"As Bezalel continued to build more golems, he used them to shape the graveyard into a more comfortable living space. As time went on, outcasts, vagrants, and misfits discovered the place and wondered if they could stay. Bezalel agreed because he pitied them, but he had no clue how to run a village. I was his acquaintance when we were in an academy, and since I had failed to run for chief in another village, I decided to give this place a shot."
"Aviana is incredible, let me tell you that. She managed to turn a dinky settlement into a full-fledged village in a decade! Not only that, our village has become quite the popular tourism site! Isn't she incredible?" The middle-aged man's eyes were sparkling with admiration.
Aviana suppressed her grin and flattered as well, "It's also thanks to Bezalel's continuous improvement of his golems that our village could prosper the way it did. In a few more months, he'll be completing his first proper humanoid golem that can perform more complex tasks."
Purple groaned in annoyance, to which Ryder responded by asking, "So, when did the miasma appear?"
"It suddenly appeared in the middle of the village a few days ago after a black figure showed up," the chief answered.
"A black figure?" Ryder and Green raised their eyebrow muscles. "Can you describe what this black figure looks like?"
"According to the witnesses, they-"
"It's a woman with black skin!" Bezalel cut his partner off as she glanced at him in confusion. "I saw it with my own eyes. She was marching down the street with the golems before the miasma started appearing."
"I... see." The human scribbled.
"The miasma spread fast, and when it comes in contact with the golems, they start to go crazy and destroy everything around them." The craftsman's expression turned dark.
"Fortunately, the miasma didn't infect the villagers, unlike the rumors that suggest it would, and all the villagers made it out in time," Aviana added.
"None of the villagers were infected? That's... surprising. What about the barrier keeping the miasma from spilling out of the village? Who cast it?" When Ryder raised his head to look at the chiefs, both of them exchanged a panicked glance.
"We... have no clue. We were too busy trying to evacuate the village and lead them here."
"It's likely a barrier cast by someone who made the graveyard. After all, it's common knowledge that graveyards can give birth to unholy beings. I- We're lucky that never happened as the village was built and that the barrier existed. I'm certain that was what happened." Bezalel squeezed a reassuring smile.
"Uh-huh. Right." The dragon rider closed his notebook and put it into his pouch. "I'll do my best not to damage any of the golems while we destroy the core-"
"No, no, no." The craftsman lowered his voice. "It's perfectly fine if you need to destroy the golems when you get rid of the miasma. The golems are getting old, and it's time to replace them with new ones, so don't worry about it. Some of the villagers will get upset if they heard this, which is why I'm whispering right now. It's always heartbreaking to see something that has been in your life for so long go away, but I think this miasma may be a blessing in disguise now that you're here."
"...Okay. We'll try to wrap this up by the end of the day-"
"We expect a feast once we're done." Purple demanded.
"Purple..."
"You may work for free, Ryder, but I refuse to do so."
"If our food storage and kitchens aren't destroyed by the golems, then yes, we'll prepare a feast for all of you once this ordeal is over," Aviana promised.
"You better hope it isn't, or your precious villagers will be my dinner." The dragon grinned.
"He's joking! He's just joking!" Ryder quickly reassured when he saw the chiefs' horrified expression.
After they bade goodbye, the chiefs led the gang to their shelter so Brown could deposit all their supplies somewhere safe. Green used his vine magic to create an extra layer of protection, since he wasn't confident a village full of "outcasts, vagrants, and misfits" could be trusted. After a light lunch, the gang returned to the village's entrance.
