- Where the People Went

Tess spat blood out of her mouth as she stood.

"Are you alright?" Roxy asked her, stepping over the body of the fallen warrior.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Who would have thought the syndicate would rear their head in such a ballsy way after all this time?"

"Who are the syndicate?" Marcus asked.

"They're a group made up of gangs from Nosia. I had a run in with them about seven years ago while assigned to the city. They disappeared for a long time." Tess told him. "But for them to be back so boldly, and with a new benefactor..."

"It might not seem like it, but they're trouble for the North. Especially now," Roxy said, picking up the explanation.

"Especially now? Why?" Elanor asked.

"Things... are a little dangerous around us. We can't afford to be dealing with threats from inside."

"That's not important right now," Tess interrupted. "We have to figure out why things are being sent here. Plus," she gestured around with her head, "we're gaining a bit of an audience."

As though waiting for a cue, a small, frail, old woman stepped forward, supported under the shoulder by a younger, brown haired woman.

"Excuse me, thank you."

Her words surprised them. They had assumed the warriors were there for the sake of the village, so why were they being thanked for killing them?

As though reading their minds, the woman explained why she was grateful.

"They showed up one day, just out of nowhere. Killed anyone who fought back. They murdered many of us, humiliated us, made an example of us."

"They took groups of whoever was left, just herded them up and threw them into a carriage, never to be seen again. The rest of us they forced to remain, tending to the crops just to give it to them."

"We were barely alive here. We felt fated to death. Thank you for saving us."

A long, heavy silence settled in after the woman finished speaking.

"Where?" Marcus asked.

"Where?" the woman repeated, confused by what he meant.

"Where did they take those people?"

"We don't know. They took care to never speak about their business in front of us."

"Actually, I saw them."

To the old woman's left, a young boy, a not much older than Marcus, had stepped forward.

"I think they were going there," he said, pointing northeast, "to the mountains."

"Do you know why they're taking people there?" Tess asked him.

"Sorry, I don't," the boy replied, shaking his head.

"I guess we're going there then," Tess said with a glance to her companions. "Thanks for telling us," she said to the boy.

"Don't worry about them. We'll deal with them," the old woman said to Tess, who had shifted her gaze to the corpses of the warriors.

"Thank you," Tess responded, before turning and leaving, followed by Elanor and Roxy.

"Did you do anything?" Marcus asked, glaring at the boy.

"Huh? What do you mean?" the boy responded.

"You saw them. Did you do anything to stop them?" he clarified, with a tone filled with disdain.

"He's only a child." the woman who supported the elder began to object. "What do you expect him t-"

"How old do you think we are?" Marcus cut her off. "His age is no excuse for his weakness."

His comment received no response, the villagers too stunned by his words to reply.

"They mercilessly killed people who fought. Our friends, our families, all who you see have lost people. Can't you understand that, understand our fear? Is that truly a reason to hate those of us who didn't fight them?" A faceless voice finally spoke, breaking out of the crowd.

"I don't hate you for your weakness. Not everyone is favoured by fate, chosen to be strong. I just don't respect you," he said nonchalantly, before turning and following the others.

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They travelled quickly to the foot of the mountain, using a carriage they had been allowed to take from outside the village.

The road was empty, their only companions being the sparse population of wildlife that lived in and around the few trees that lined the road.

Once at the foot of the mountain they disembarked from the carriage, and began to travel along the narrow, rough, rocky path that led up the mountain.

Once on the path, they found that the rocks formed a narrow layer coating a wet, muddy surface underfoot. It was hidden from the setting sun by the mountain, and the large bushes and trees that were scattered around cast fake images onto the minds of the group. As a result, their journey remained relatively silent as they crept up the mountain.

As they walked, they began to notice signs of people being there before. Crushed branches and leaves, ground pebbles, and many pairs of muddy footprints indicated they were on the right path.

Eventually, the path flattened out as the surface of the mountain opened, revealing an entrance into the cold interior of the mountain.

"Well, I guess there's no point waiting," Tess said. "Marcus, could you give us light?"

"Sure."

He snapped his fingers, and a pillar of flame exploded in front of them. It roared furiously, before collapsing onto itself and taking shape. Eventually, rocks rose through the flames and merged with them, and then the bundle of flames solidified and took form.

It was humanoid, but very unlike a human.

It stood rather short, but made up its mass with its width. Its torso and limbs were all wide, as though the creature was an extreme bodybuilder.

As it finished taking form, both Elanor and Roxy instinctively took a step back, hesitant of the immense heat it was momentarily emitting.

"A fire golem?" Tess exclaimed. "Are you sure you can maintain it?"

"I should be able to, no worries," Marcus responded, reassuring her with a smile.

'Of course he can, he grew so much through the training,' she thought to herself. 'I don't need to worry.'

A long time ago, some Earth elementalists realised that they could give form to the earth and let it move around by pouring their magical power, Manan, into it. Sometime after that, others that wielded power of other elements alongside Earth figured out that they could imbue those elements into the golems, granting them additional offensive and defensive capabilities. The amalgamation of elements also gave the golems extra abilities, depending on what they elements they were joined with.

By pairing Earth with Fire in a golem, the golem could be used to illuminate areas, provide heat, and do other things that fire could, while also using powers imbued with fire.

"Very well," Tess said. "Lead the way."