Three Robed Individuals

Bagwis skipped ahead with a lightness in his step that could only come from victory, whistling a merry tune. His mood was jubilant after retrieving the sundial from the cave tower, his mind already racing with how to use it. Behind him, however, Alab walked with much heavier steps, his gaze glued to Bagwis' back with a furrowed brow.

There was something off about that fight with the golem. Alab's experience as a swordsman told him that a battle like that should've been far more grueling. A golem of that size, even in a weakened state, should have lasted longer than it did. It crumbled almost too easily under his sword mana. For something guarding a cave dungeon, it didn't seem... right.

Alab's instincts screamed that something was wrong, but he shook his head, shoving the thought away. Thinking's never been my strong suit, he reminded himself. I'm just here to fight. He cast one last glance at Bagwis' carefree demeanor before muttering to himself, "Kid's got no clue."

-Back at the crumbled down Cave Dungeon-

The scene was one of devastation. The once-animated golem now lay in pieces, crumbled and scattered across the cave floor like the rest of the cave rubbles. The air was thick with dust, and in the middle of the mess stood three robed figures, all glaring down at the debris as though it had personally offended them.

"My beloved baby golem! Noooo!" wailed one of the figures, throwing their arms dramatically into the air. The voice was unmistakably female, dripping with exaggerated sorrow.

Nimbus, the robed woman in question, dropped to her knees and began frantically gathering the shattered remains of the golem. "Look at this! They even smashed the head! The HEAD!" She shook a piece of rock that might have once been part of the golem's eye socket. "Who does that to a child?! WHO?!"

"Someone who clearly doesn't give a crap about your weird rock fetish," one of her companions replied dryly. His voice was smooth but laced with biting sarcasm. He crouched down, lazily poking at a chunk of rubble with his finger. "Really, Nimbus, you've got to stop getting attached to everything we summon. It's starting to get embarrassing. Like I'm embarrassed for you."

Nimbus shot him a glare that could melt steel. "You shut your mouth, Zephyr! My golem was a masterpiece! My beloved creation! My child! A beautiful work of art! How dare they do this!"

"A real masterpiece alright," Zephyr replied, casually kicking a rock. "Lasted what? Five minutes? Very impressive." Zephyr slowly clapped his hands to further his mockery.

Nimbus growled and looked to the third figure, who stood silent and menacing at the edge of the ruins. "Stratus, you tell him! Tell him my golem was amazing!"

Stratus crossed his arms, his hood obscuring most of his face. His voice came out low, deliberate. "The golem... did its job."

Nimbus huffed in arrogance as she looked at Zephyr. "See? Stratus gets it."

Zephyr snorted. "Sure, if its job was getting pummeled into a fine powder, then yes, it did a magnificent job."

"Shut up!" Nimbus snapped, waving a fist at him. "You wouldn't understand, Zephyr. You don't know what it's like to have something you created with your own hands destroyed like this!"

"Because I'm smart enough not to get emotionally attached to things that literally don't have feelings," Zephyr quipped back, unfazed. He crouched by what was once the golem's left arm and sighed. "Anyway, whoever did this took your precious sundial too."

Nimbus' face twisted in fury. "They even took my sundial?!" She stood up, her fists trembling. "That's a corrupted artifact! What kind of idiot would even touch it?!"

"Someone with a death wish perhaps," Zephyr mused. "That thing is practically a mana bomb waiting to go off in someone's brain. Either that, or the guy who took it is already batshit crazy."

Nimbus fumed, pacing back and forth. "I'll find them. I'll hunt them down and strangle them with my bare hands!" Her eyes gleamed with murderous intent.

Zephyr gave an exaggerated yawn. "Sure, sure. We all know how you love your dramatic revenge speeches. But maybe stop it at the 'kill them.' Shits starting to get old."

Nimbus stopped pacing and shot him another withering glare. "I swear, one of these days I'm going to sew your mouth shut."

"Please do," Zephyr shot back with a grin as if daring the woman. "I've been told my quiet face is my best feature."

Stratus, having remained silent for most of the exchange, finally spoke again. "Enough."

The single word immediately silenced the bickering between Nimbus and Zephyr. Stratus took a step forward, his gaze fixed on the golem—or what's left of it. "The misplaced burn marks left on the ground.....it was most likely sword user. Strong. Precise."

Zephyr scratched his head. "Sword mana, huh? That narrows it down."

Nimbus clenched her fists tighter. "Probably some pompous noble brat or some dumb knight whose a nobles lap dog. I'll bet it's one of those trashy clans trying to make a name for themselves again."

Stratus shook his head. "No....they took the sundial. No noble from any major clan in their right mind would touch something that corrupted."

Zephyr hummed thoughtfully. "Which means....what, exactly?"

Stratus stared at the sundial's empty resting place. "It could be them."

Nimbus stopped fuming and looked at him, confused. "Them? You don't mean... that organization?"

Stratus didn't reply immediately, but the dark look in his eyes answered for him.

Zephyr let out a long, dramatic sigh. "Oh great, so now we're dealing with those lunatics? I thought this job was supposed to be a quick stop! Check on the dumb golem, cause some chaos, and leave. Now we've got a whole conspiracy on our hands!"

Nimbus stomped her foot. "I don't care who they are! I'll hunt them down and make them pay for what they did to my baby!"

Zephyr looked at the grumpy woman with distaste. "You say that like you won't lose your temper and blow something up before we even find them."

"Shut up!" Nimbus shouted, grabbing a handful of golem rubble and chucking it at Zephyr's head.

Zephyr easily dodged it and grinned wickedly. "Too slow. And also you are aware that you are chucking your baby's remains at me, right?" 

"My child! Noooooo! Mother's sorry!"

Seeing Nimbus frantically collecting her thrown rubbles made Zephyr let out a fit of laughter.

Stratus sighed, the weight of their situation clear in his posture. "Enough. Clean up the mess. Make sure no one finds any traces of us. We'll have to investigate this deeper. But remember, whoever took that sundial now has a corrupted artifact in their hands. And if they're still sane... they won't be for long."

Nimbus grinned maniacally. "Good. That means when I find them, they'll already be half-dead."

Zephyr shook his head. "Charming as always, Nimbus. Remind me never to get on your bad side."

Nimbus shot him a toothy grin. "Oh, don't worry. You've been on my bad side since the day we met."

Zephyr snickered at her reply.

Stratus rolled his eyes beneath his hood. "Both of you. Shut up and start cleaning."

Nimbus cracked her knuckles and bent down, gathering the remaining pieces of the golem with a wicked smile. "Can't wait to see the look on their faces when I get my hands on them."

Zephyr leaned against the cave wall, arms crossed. "Yeah, yeah. Just make sure you don't cry over the next golem, okay?"

Nimbus ignored him, her eyes gleaming with dark anticipation as they worked to erase their presence.