Chapter 3

A first look at the city

After I finish moping, I fly up again, decided to find more signs of intelligent life… and it does not take me long to find large fields of cereals and fruit trees a few kilometres down the southern edge of the forest.

In the middle is a city at least ten times bigger than the one I used to live in. The buildings are much more densely packed. Assuming individuals about my size, the population could easily reach the twelves of thousands or even a dozen times as much if they are as small as the imps.

I fly low to keep myself out of view and I draw close to the fringe. 

As I do, a myriad of strange voices screams simultaneously in my head.

“KILL THOSE FOUL CREATURES, GOD COMMANDS IT!”

“CLEANSE THIS LAND OFFERED TO US BY GOD!”

“DESTROY THE GODLESS MONSTERS!”

“TRAITORS, ALL OF THEM! KILL THEM BEFORE THEY KILL US ALL!”

“WHERE IS GOD? WE ALL ROT IN THE NETHER.”

I do not understand what the voices are, but I have soon forced to acknowledge there is nothing I can do to dismiss them.

Feeling more disheartened than ever, and despite the constant hammering, I sort my thoughts and prepare a new entry.

“Recording!” 

I found a city much larger than the one I used to live in.

Normally, I would make that the focus of my report but I have stumbled upon something even more interesting, and that I believe to be linked to the undead part of myself.

As soon as I came into view of this city - figuratively speaking - ‘disembodied voices’ manifested within my head. 

Pondering on their nature and the content of what they ‘say’ - for lack of a better term - I can postulate two things.

Firstly, the voices have used concepts unknown to me, which makes it clear they are an entirely separate entity, or more probably a myriad of separate entities.

Secondly, there was no such manifestation near the Imp’s settlement. While it is entirely possible that it is due to the scope of the population, there is another interesting possibility: Could the ‘Undead’s’ hatred be directed at civilization rather than life itself?

From now on, whenever I use the term ‘Voices’ it will be in reference to the disembodied voices. 

“Stop recording!”

Things are getting so interesting… the only pity is that I had to die once to get there.

<><><>

I observe the city and its people from within the forest with farsight. The metropolis is surrounded by an enormous wall, but there are also some slightly smaller ones inside.

Extending from the city, there are four wide roads, each connected to a gate. Those gates are guarded by metal golems, and each being entering the city must first present them a small wooden plate, or exchange rounded pieces of metal for one.

I am very excited, so far, I have counted three different species and all of them seem to act as equals.

“Start recording!”

There are three species coming in and out of the city and I will list them by size.

The smallest appears reptilian but seeing them go without a care for the sun, I doubt they are actually ectotherm and there were some individuals among my samples that I believed to be pregnant. Without further study, I cannot yet dismiss them being ovoviviparous.

The tallest adults I have seen were around one hundred and fifty centimetres tall and even if I have seen a few children I have yet to see any babies.

From the appearance alone, I have little doubt that they are descendants of the Krok tribe, sometimes we encountered them near swamps and rivers.

I myself saw one myself when I was still alive, and they were far bigger and muscular than the current individual. Just like the Krok of old, they have six fingers.

The following creature is barely bigger, yet somewhat resemble my kin. 

Compared to us, their features are coarser, hairier and have only five fingers. 

I have a hard time differencing the adults from the young. I mean, the females tend to be smaller and less hairy than their male counterparts, but so does the young.

Anyway, there is more variation in sizes than within the previous species: some individuals can be as small as one hundred and forty centimetres or as tall one seventy.

Just like it was the case with the size, there is little consistency to their build, I have seen small muscular individuals stand near tall and fat ones.

The last species reminds me of foxes, but their mouths are flat mouth and their fur is very short. 

There are very few variations in height among the adults, but it is not as pronounced as in the previous species, most specimens stand around one hundred and ninety with some rare individuals pushing beyond that.

Most of them tend to have thin bodies and lean muscles, but I did see a few who were fat and flabby.

Just like the previous species, they only have five fingers.

Overall, despite the differences, those three species, and the imps and brutes before them are much like my own: the face, nose, arms, and legs follow a similar template and the only major differences are the eyes, ears and skin.

“Stop recording!”

There are many stone and earth golems working the field as one would expect, but the proportion seems pretty low compared to the global population… I would say there probably fewer of them than in the city.

It might sound counter-intuitive, but the metal golems are the more numerous. It is not entirely impossible to make temporary construct out of metal but it is highly unlikely considering the poor efficiency.

I do not get the reasoning behind the assignation of many greater golems to sentry and patrol duties but I do not know much about their culture to make an educated guess. For all I know - even if it does not look like it right now- it might be too dangerous of a job to give to people.

I might not have encountered any myself because were as afraid of me as normal animals, but their number was a lot higher than when I was alive.

Still, I would like to know what method they are using to avoid mana deprivation with so many inefficient metal constructs going.

I cast invisibility, and every anti-detection spell I know on myself and position myself near the road to get a look at the creatures’ magic circuits when they pass along.

Being blinded by the spell is not a problem for the current me, but on the other hand, I do not know how useful my spell will be since just like me, the residents of the metropolis could have senses I have never heard about.

Thankfully, they do not, and this time I am able to finish my studies without being detected.

As it stands, none of the three species is well suited for magic. The foxlike creatures are by far the best of the three, as proven by the number of - laughably bad - enchanted tools they carry compared to the other two.

Nevertheless, that fact alone explains why there is such an overwhelmingly high number of permanent constructs.

Being both curious about their activity so far from the metropolis, and how they interact when they are not under the watchful eyes of their peers, I follow some of them in their travels. After all, it is common knowledge that individuals act closer to their true nature when there are fewer of them around.

My observations take me to the eastern confines of the forest, and very soon I realize that the further I go, the less diverse the population becomes.

In fact, by the time I have traversed a large river, all the settlements are inhabited by a single species, the dwarfs - the ones that look kind of like me is hurtful to say every time.

There are still individuals from other species traveling along the road - always with cargo -, but the relationship appears far less cordial than in the big city.

As I continue to travel south-east along the road, I discover a strange group. If it were not for my life perception, I would have missed them altogether, as they lie in bushes and tall grasses away from the road.

Something about them does not agree with me, and I decided to observe from afar. 

As is the case with many travelers, this group carries a variety of wooden and metal objects, but unlike these, every single member carries at least one or two.

<><><> 

Finally, they stir, I must say it is high time because I was about to abandon my observation.

The reason for the sudden change seems to be a group of travelers. Most of them are reptilian, but a group of foxes is also accompanying them, carrying the same type of instruments as the off-road people.

I still don’t understand the cultural significance of the object, but since one of the reptiles also carries one of these long-curved sticks, it contradicts my earlier theory of tools or status symbols reserved for the bigger races.

Those in hiding stat moving around discreetly and their ways remind me of ambush predators, which might be why they made me feel uncomfortable in the first place.

The forest people - all dwarfs - suddenly get up and start doing some strange movements with their wooden tools. In an instant, many small wooden rods rain upon the poor traveler, killing most of them… As for those who did not, they are quickly finished off by the predator long knives and metal poles.

The rods are quickly retrieved, along with the corpse, cargo, and the deceased possessions. Once they are done, they remove all traces of their terrible act, much like hunter clean their traps to avoid alerting future prey.

This is exactly why I wanted to see how those creatures acted away from civilization.

Is that the reason why there are so many golems? Is the city a special place of enforced peace? But if they do not get along, why do they visit each other?

In retrospect, I should have guessed the sticks and poles were tools of murder: it is self-explanatory when you think about how low their magic affinity is. It makes sense that they would develop tools to cut and pierce while keeping their distance.

Even so, I do not think I could have ever thought of it on my own… a life without magic just does not make sense to me.

I will continue to observe this group a little longer to see if their actions condoned by their peers and how the brethren of their victims respond.

<><><>

This time, they are attacking other dwarfs. For me, the fact that this was never about species or territory makes their actions even more reprehensible but for the survivors, it was only the beginning of their ordeals.

Unlike what happened earlier, the females and young-lings have been captured and are forced to walk south. From the evil dwarfs' attitude, it seems as though they are worried about pursuit and their fear often manifest into verbal and physical violence against the poor captives

<><><>

I have continued my observations for almost two days now and despite my decision not to reveal myself, the disgusting deed committed against the captive almost compelled me to deal with them.

If it were not for my current nature, I would have gone. As one of unliving though I doubt I would be accepted and it is very likely the victim would see me as an even bigger threat than their captor and attack me. 

I wish I knew enough of their language to explain myself. 

I look again at the tortured souls and wonder if putting an end to their suffering would not be more merciful.

A bit less than Half-a-day has passed, and the dwarves have suddenly increased their pace and I cannot help but wonder why they waited until they reached a difficult mountainous terrain to do so.

The answer comes in the for a group of metal golems. The large metal construct appears to have a way of knowing the approximate position of the dwarfs and are in hot pursuit.

I fly a bit nearer to get a better look, and realize I was wrong about them, they are not constructed but living beings.

Coming closer also gives me the reason why they can follow their quarry with such ease: their magic circuits are highly specialized toward physical strengthening and detection. And that is not all though, although not as developed as the foxes, the quantity of mana inside their bodies probably means they at least capable of simple spells.

How a creature of metal managed to develop this way is a question I would love to have to answer to.

While still keeping an eye - figuratively - on the dwarf, I concentrate my attention on their pursuit. If they continue the way they are going, they will miss their target by a wide margin.

As I ponder on a way to show them the right direction without revealing myself, they suddenly change direction. 

In that direction is a scout whose species I cannot tell by size or magic circuit. About two metres tall, the creature is clad in hard leather and its magic circuit that I can only describe one as born trackers. In fact, I would have missed it altogether were it not for my magic vision.

They are almost on the evil dwarfs, and I somehow find myself rooting for their victory against the devious murderer.

In a display of irony, the killers fall in an ambush. Despite outnumbering their assailant almost two to one, the newcomers are the superior force and make short work of the devious individual.

To my surprise and delight, despite being from a different species the metal creatures and their allies provide shelter and care for the captives as though they were their own. 

What can I say, my liking of them grows by the minute!

I do not know if it is because I relaxed and made some noise, but one of the creatures stop and push up what I had assumed to be their face. Under the metal mask is Krok, with eyes full of intelligence and suspicion.

It Sniffs the air and calls the others.

Had I still, a heart it would have skipped a beat for, despite the thick accent and the shape of the mouth, there is no mistaking these words: it is The Language! My species’ own speech! 

I am so delighted that it takes all my strength of will to stop myself from calling up to them.

I take a figurative long breath then slowly fly back north, toward the heart of the forest. 

The metal vestments have given me an idea: I only need to create one for myself and I will be able to dissimulate my nature. 

Soon, I found myself dreaming of a future where I exchange words with others!

The wake-up call is harsh though. Where am I going to find enough metal to cover myself?

Considering the state of my room, there is no way I can access the vault. I never visited it myself but I know it was far underground… it was the most protected part of the city though so…

I better go and ascertain the situation by myself, and even if it does not work, I have just remembered something else: Imps and brutes had metal tools. As badly made as they were made, the size and shape were adapted to their physiology, which means they have access to metal.

“I have hope, now!”

“FOR THE EMPIRE!”

“GOD BLESS US!”

“AVENGE US!”

I do not have long lost hope of the ‘voices’ stopping on their own, but I sure wish they started making sense.