Chapter 21: Stone

"-. .-"

The small, hopelessly squishy creature of flesh was definitely odd, Shale mused to herself as she just stared at it. It was lying on the ground at the base of a tree, covered up in a simple, grey cloak that its hands clutched at, so as to shield its body from the chill of the night. Sleep, it had called it, this... 'activity' that consisted of doing absolutely nothing, except moving slightly from time to time, and not even being aware. The golem knew of this 'sleep' concept and the only sort of feeling, if she could even be said to have feelings, it stirred inside her was a faint envy, as she herself could never sleep and found life utterly boring at times.

Ah, and there it was, she was actually using 'she' when she was referring to herself. The small dwarf had told her that Shale sounded a lot like a female Dwarven name and decided to just refer to her as such. Already the small Warden's manner was affecting her, though she could not exactly tell why that was after just several hours of walking that road. Perhaps it was the decisive walk it had, with sure, large steps that gave her no reason or need to slow down and wait for it to catch up, even though she was three times its size.

Perhaps it was the strange feeling it conveyed, as though it was harboring a sort of wound inside of it, even though it never actually let it show on its expression. That was what the strange sensation she received through her crystals suggested at least. Or perhaps it simply was not exactly emotionally affected by it, though she had to admit she wouldn't exactly be an expert on the subject.

Perhaps it was its lighthearted manner and the way it just looked at her when she stomped on that chicken and turned it into so much mush on their way out of Honnleath. The small dwarf just stared a pair of silver-cyan eyes at her, an eyebrow raised more than the other in such a way that seemed to question her. Not judge or chastise, just question, though it did seem to have a personal stake in that whole affair. In fact, the small Warden seemed quite dejected after the loss of the bird and even sighed... deeply. "I was going to eat that," it had flatly stated, though what it said next was particularly pertinent. "Though I assume this may have been meant to be... I mean, just how stupid and oblivious can a bird be to not even notice your ground shaking stomping?"

Perhaps she wasn't as apprehensive of it as she had been with all other squishy creatures of flesh because of how it had actually went to the trouble of cleaning that pigeon crap off of her just because it felt like it. Granted, it had not exactly explained why it had gone to such lengths to do it, though it was true she hadn't actually asked it about it either. Well, except for mentioning it when she was reactivated.

Perhaps it was how completely relaxed it seemed to behave in her presence, even knowing that she had been found standing over her previous master's lifeless body, turned into an unrecognizable mess though it was. Maybe the so-called Grey Warden was oblivious to how easy to squish it actually was, or perhaps it didn't have any problems with it? Or perhaps it suffered from an unhealthy degree of self-confidence?

Or perhaps it was simply just another hopelessly squishy flesh being that had no idea what it had gotten itself into. Even looking at it now was a bit strange, how it seemed to be there, curled up in its cloak yet not truly being there at the same time. The other creature of flesh, the so-called mabari war hound, had strutted off and was now lying on its forepaws near the small pond next to which they had camped, staring at the fish, clearly and entrancingly visible in the light of the full moon. Or perhaps it was just thinking of eating them.

They had stopped some way off the main road, next to a forest spring, where the Warden ate what looked like some leftover pieces of fried meat, speaking only a few words before finally going to the base of the tree and falling into slumber. And it was still there, lying on its side with its back turned to her and some of its spiked, white hair emphasized by the moonlight that made it through the leaves of the various trees.

Presently, she was just standing there, staring at it, trying to gauge how long it would take for it to shift its position unconsciously. When nothing happened for half an hour, however, she just walked close, huffed thump after thump, until she was standing right next to it, staring down at it as it just lay there motionless, utterly defenseless. Its cloak covered most of its body, except for the tip of its bare left foot and the fingers of his right hand that held onto the cloak itself, to prevent it from falling off. Truly the dwarf looked even squishier without the metal clothing it had on when it reactivated her. Granted, its equipment was not far off, and its sword was within reach, but still...

Slowly, Shale lift her huge, stone foot and let it hover above him. It would be so easy to crush it into goo right there and there. Not that she necessary had the inclination of course, though even she thought it was somewhat odd that she had actually considered the prospect. The Warden had not been at all disrespectful towards her and had even lent her its purpose, at least until she could find out what her own was, if there even was one.

Her attention was drawn to the side when a menacing yet huffed snarl was heard. Turning its eerie, white, glowing eyes towards it, Shale saw the hound staring back at her, its head bowed low as a warning. What immediately struck her was how utterly strange it was that that creature of flesh, even smaller than the dwarf, actually had no reservation advancing upon a giant moving statue in such a threatening way. The hound had even bared its fangs at the construct, unconcerned with the fact that they were likely to just dent or outright crush against the granite she was made of.

Nevertheless, she found it quite interesting to look at how totally unflinching the dog was, this being the reason why she did not immediately detect the tingle that started to flow up her leg from the 'sole' of her rocky foot.

"You must be really bored," a voice spoke from below. That was when she finally noticed the strange feeling coursing through her and she instantly backed away, at last noticing that the dwarf had been pressing the tip of its right hand's index finger against her foot for quite some time. It even shone slightly before the light faded and the dwarf turned on its back, staring straight at her. Its long braided beard and moustache twisted in a very odd yet somehow appropriate way as its head turned.

The Warden didn't bother sitting up, but it had half of a smile on its face for some reason, a serene thing that did not fade as it continued speaking. "You golems don't sleep much do you?"

"I do not sleep, no... So it was just pretending to be asleep?" Shale surmised, quite apathetically.

"Not pretending, more like trying and failing," he answered, pushing up in a sitting position and letting himself rest on both arms as their palms pressed against the ground behind him.

"Oh? I assume this is where it blames my habit of shaking the ground when I make a step?" Shale sarcastically hypothesized.

"That was one of the reasons. But no, it seems I can't sleep right now anyway," he cleanly assured the golem, changing to a cross-legged position.

"Oh? Why not?" Shale inquired, though her flat tone left uncertainty as to whether or not she was really all that eager to know.

"You're not really interested in that," he observed, getting to his feet and stretching out his arms with a long yawn.

"I suppose not," she admitted.

The Warden wasn't looking at her. She could tell that even when it had been doing so, its gaze wasn't completely there. It was like its eyes were trying to reach some place far off, even more so than now, when it just stared at the starry sky and the large moon which was partially eclipsed by a harmless cloud. "Isn't it at all alarmed by how I was holding my foot right above it?"

Its gaze descended upon the ground, as if in reflection. "You didn't actually go all the way, which is more than others can brag about."

"That was remarkably vague," the construct observed.

"Well, your reasons for being in a position specifically aimed to stomp me are about just as vague, so we're even on that one," it shrewdly retorted with a grin.

"I suppose..."

After walking over to the mabari and patting its side a few times, the dwarf noble seemed to consider something, after which its eyes moved in such a way as to suggest it had gotten an idea. "I know! Since I can't sleep anyway, I'll have a go at that."

Striding over to where its bundle of equipment was waiting, it rummaged through it for a while, until it took out a sort of bag. The lumps in it, and the odd clattering noise it was making when moved brusquely enough, suggested it may be filled with stones or other such things. Turns out, however, that it was actually carrying a number of orange crystals that seemed to hum faintly and even glow in the dark.

"Ah! Crystals! Where did you find them!" Shale found herself asking with a higher degree of excitement than she had expected.

"In that mage's cellars. They were just lying around but I figured they may be similar to the ones already inset into you. Or just valuable enough to sell somewhere." Speaking those words, the dwarf walked up to her and then behind her. "I'll need you to sit, if you don't mind..."

The golem could practically feel the Warden's grin in the nuance of his voice, but she agreed. Ironically, however, even seated, her head was at around the same height as his, so large Shale was. Eventually, chiming and humming sounds began to be heard as the dwarf began to quaintly pull out each of the blue-purple crystals out of her, one by one.

"Hmm... I don't really remember any records of Golems with this sort of crystals before. And I do believe I read every one in the Shaperate." Its voice was even, as though it was a simple, scientific assessment.

"That mage, my so-called previous master, liked to experiment on me," Shale found herself replying, quite indignantly. "These crystals are meant to channel magic of the elemental kind... and it need not ask me how I know that, I just do."

"Far be it from me to question the mighty Shale," the warden snickered.

The night dragged on and, for a while, all that was heard was the periodic scraping of crystal on stone as the short, squishy one just removed or inset the crystals, each one sending a magical tingle through the golem's whole body. Well, the silence was broken by the occasional "Hmm... this one goes here," and "Oooh, now this should feel right!" There were also a few instances where the magic of the crystals seemed to spark flames, at which point the small Warden would say something along the lines of "Typical" and just go on with what he was doing.

Eventually, however, Shale just found herself blurting something unexpected. "It is quite calm."

"Hmm?" its voice was heard from behind her as he twisted a crystal in place. "You'll need to elaborate."

"What I meant is that it is not as... wary of me as I had expected," she awkwardly clarified. "All other fleshy creatures used to cower at the mere sight of me, and even after I got paralyzed it took a long time for anyone to get the courage to approach me. Not that I actually enjoyed them near me, mind you, what with the snuggling and... other things I care not remind myself of."

"Oh, that's probably because I don't exactly feel fear," its deep but soft voice replied as it tapped the tip of a crystal against her stone skin a few times, for reasons unknown. Perhaps it just liked the tapping sound?

"I see..."

After a while, the small one walked over to her side and knelt beside her in order to inset some crystals into her arms as well. "So, how exactly did that mage find you?" it asked.

"I am unsure... Underground, I think. He did so enjoy to just go down there, something to do with his magical research."

"Ah, that would make sense if it was the Deep Roads. But why aren't you calling him 'it'," the other one inquired, looking up at her momentarily, though his eyebrows half obscured his eyes.

"I just don't. Amusing aren't I?" Shale jabbed.

"So people were just afraid of you?"

"Oh yes. They used to run in fear whenever that mage spat 'Golem, be frightening!" she said with disdain. "It's not that I had a problem with it, of course. The problem was being ordered to do it."

"Well, I guess you don't need to worry about that anymore," the other one observed almost absentmindedly as he inserted the last small crystal into her stony wrist.

"Yes, and may I say that I still am not over how you so evilly confused me as to why I have free will."

"Seriously, get over it," was the bored response.

Shale just shrugged as her so-called companion walked over to her other arm and began putting in the last of the crystals.

"So, how does that feel?" the dwarf finally asked as he backed away and gazed upon the construct, stroking his bearded chin as he grinned expectantly.

"Ah, very nice, very nice indeed!" she sincerely proclaimed. "They do not make me look wide, do they? I find I am already wide enough as it is."

"And you wonder why I refer to you as a female," it answered, tilting its head to the side. "So, do they do anything?"

Shale looked at her own arms for a bit and they lit up in flames. She lifted her right one in front of her face and began to study it, twisting it from one side to another. "I must say that burning those damnable pigeons will feel especially satisfying after I've crushed them."

Seemingly noticing the worrisome level of bloodlust in that eerie voice, the small Warden massaged his eyes, partly to help them relax somewhat. Its questions were still unanswered, however. "So you don't really know exactly where you came from? Don't you remember anything?"

"I remember... a dark place. I am not certain what it was, or how long I was there for but... perhaps that was the Deep Roads? Why does it ask?"

Shale watched as the white-haired one went over and picked up its flacon of water, after which it took a good drink before answering. "My people lost our Golems some time ago... I was curious to know where you'd come from. Maybe there were more of you somewhere, I don't know..."

"Ah, so it's is saying my... kind was created by squishy creatures like itself?" Shale asked with some reservations.

"Paragon Caridin made the Golems, using the Anvil of the Void," the soft creature of flesh replied, sitting down with a thud and looking wistful. "A real force they were. I did, however, find it interesting that none of the records in the Shaperate actually said how they were made. That secret was lost several hundred years ago."

"I see. Is that not a bit... irresponsible?"

"Well, our current so-called Paragon did, in fact, go on an expedition to find it last year, but we haven't heard from her since and, to be fair, she was, more or less, eleven nugs short of a dozen."

"Such strange metaphors you beings of flesh use," Shale noted dryly.

"It means insane," Raonar explained, helpfully.

"I know that!" Shale actually sounded a bit put off. "Either way, I suppose it is no different from the rest of my so-called masters."

Bringing his hands together above his knees, the dwarf looked at her sideways. "Oh?"

"It sees me as just another tool, or so it seems. Something to carry its heavy loads, perhaps? Or just to kill things in its stead?"

"Wow, you really have this 'tool' complex down to the letter don't you?" the Warden noted with boredom. "That hypothesis kind of contradicts how I ordered you to have a free will, doesn't it?"

Shale actually seemed surprised at how obvious that answer had been. "Does it always do this?"

"Do what?"

"Set up situations so as to easily crush any and all assumptions that others may possibly form later?" she flippantly asked.

Of course, the Warden started laughing. "Haha! Oh, sod yes! It's just freaking hilarious to see someone's entire flawed reasoning crumble or outright explode in their faces. Makes it much more easy to actually make them see how ridiculous their way of thinking actually is."

Shale just raised a rocky eyebrow a him but said nothing more for a time. The diminutive Grey Warden sat for a while, staring blankly, either at the night sky or the distance. The golem would have expected it to again try to go to sleep, but it did not. it just... stayed there... in a very boring way. The golem tried to find something to distract her from that feeling that she had just remembered being affected by. There was nothing helpful around, however, and playing "I spy" on her own had already grown old after decades of being inanimate so that option wasn't actually an option at all.

She found it ironic that she actually would have wished for a bird to show up, even if it was just because she was bored enough to want to crush something. Perhaps she should just start destroying the forest one tree at a time? It was not trying to sleep, after all, so it shouldn't have a problem with it.

The dwarf's voice drew her attention again. "Rinne and I will take shifts if you want."

Turning around to face it again, Shale found it gazing sideways in her direction no less detachedly than it had been until then. "Take shifts at what?"

"Keeping you company of course!" he declared, dead serious, though he did let himself indulge in a chuckle.

"Keeping me company?" the construct incredulously echoed.

"I'll stay up half the night and prevent you from going mad with boredom, then I'll have Rinne do the same while I get my energy back in the time left," he summarized.

There was a moment of awkward silence.

"It really thinks that I actually want to spend time in the company of hopelessly squishy creatures of flesh?" the golem asked in disbelief, though she actually couldn't make out whether the disbelief was at how the dwarf actually thought that or at how she actually was far less against the idea than she would have expected to be.

"Am I wrong?" it directly inquired.

"I think it is just worried I might actually try to crush it into paste, or just stomp on it by accident," she deadpanned.

"Hmm, so the apathetic golem actually tried to dodge my question," he shot back with a snicker.

"..."

"Well?" it pressed.

The golem couldn't believe how utterly non-reluctant that creature actually was or did its best to appear as it offered that 'favor'. "Do as it likes," she uttered with a shrug of both shoulders. The problem was that she didn't really know if she was going to later end up wishing she had refused.

Somehow, the time seemed to pass far more quickly than Shale had expected. The dwarf dragged her attention into a variety of activities, from playing I spy to trying to make out just what the mabari's every odd snort sounded like. The biggest effect that had on the golem was making her wonder just why in Thedas that fleshy creature was acting so utterly at ease and with such an air of familiarity towards her. Wasn't she supposed to be imposing? Something that other living things should be afraid of? For one, it was refreshing. On the other hand, she thought that she wasn't as awe-inspiring as she thought, and that was quite frustrating.

"I still do not understand why it is acting so utterly at ease around me," she finally confessed as she just stood there, the Warden being seated and leaning against a tree just a short distance away from her. "I mean, even my sheer size was usually enough to make my old 'master's' horrible wife wince at the thought of me be being anywhere near her while she slept, despite how my control rod actually worked back then."

"You're asking me why I'm not being a douche? How very tactful of you," he smirked.

"It catches on quickly," she deadpanned again.

The dwarf stared blankly for a moment before answering. "You... remind me of home I guess."

And, at long last, Shale was stumped. "That... was an unexpected answer... What makes it say that?"

"Hmmm..." His fingers started to twirl his very long mustache into a spiral. "Well, let's see... You're huge, made of stone, you seem reliable, solid, strong, imposing and seem to have as much of an inclination to help me as you have to destroy me."

The golem actually felt taken aback by that description, not just because it was, in fact, a fairly accurate depiction of her per se, but because seeing one's home in such a light was somewhat... conflicting. And those words had been spoken so flatly too. "That is definitely the first time someone even told me something like that," she warily spoke as she looked down at it.

"I don't know whether I should say 'you're welcome' or 'sorry'," it replied, not even bothering to look up as she stood to its left.

"Both, most likely," she told it. "But... thank you for the answer I suppose."

The awkward socializing went on for a time, until the small Warden actually goaded Shale into starting a very graphic description of the many ways she had used or thought up for killing all the birds in existence. Her rambling went on for quite a while, until she finally realized that the flesh creature had not said anything in response for about just as long. That was when she finally looked back in its direction, only to see that it had collapsed on the ground.

Looking at it, there was really just one logical response she could put together for him just fall unconscious like that. "How rude." Of course, had she actually known about how it had almost not survived the Korcari Wilds, traveled on foot for many days, eliminated a whole darkspawn infestation and faced off an insane Desire Demon that almost tortured him to death, after which it gave him a whole new set of emotional scars and nearly caused him to turn into an abomination, she would have seen it far less rude for it to finally be overcome by exhaustion. Really, some people would have killed themselves by then. Or at least tried... maybe even multiple times.

That remark was met by a whine on the part of the black hound that shot her a disapproving glance before it walked up to its so-called master and bit onto its cloak, after which it carefully pulled it over him. Well, as well as she could manage at least.

"So now I am to talk to a fleshy creature that cannot even speak? How lovely..."

Rinne gave her a questioning look.

"Oh, don't look at me like that!" the golem protested, not bothering to keep her humming, magical voice down even in the slightest.

The hound chimed curiously.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

The mabari barked more or less excitedly, though it did not actually convey any message.

"Are you even intelligent?" the construct questioned it. "Come to think of it, why am I even speaking to you?"

The hound seemed to sneeze, and that just seemed to irk Shale even more. "And what is that supposed to tell me? That you're allergic to me?" The dog just whined, after which it barked again and again faked a sneeze. "So... What now? You're going to play mime?"

The rock giant couldn't believe her ears (if she even had any) when the four-legged creature of flesh barked in confirmation. "I suppose it's better than being crapped on by pigeons," she grumbled.

Rinne barked excitedly a few times and started to shake her tail before finally beginning the game. She faked a sneeze again.

"Right, a sneeze, I got that the first time," Shale flatly pointed out.

The hound barked in approval, after which it gave the sleeping dwarf a soft nudge with its nose while not drawing its eyes away from the stone giant. Then it lifted its head again and gave another bark.

"This whole situation screams of senselessness," the waking statue whined.

Rinne actually managed to grunt as though it were scolding the golem for not paying attention. Then, she repeated the earlier maneuver.

"Fine. First word, sneeze. Second word, dwarf."

The dog actually barked excitedly twice this time, but did nothing else, eyeing the golem eagerly as though it was her turn to do something. "So what now, am I just supposed to guess what that meant?"

Another approbative bark, and Shale was starting to think that maybe those many years of doing nothing but observing really had driven her mad. "Fine, dwarf sneezing. Astute enough for you?"

The hound, of course, barked again, but still waited for quite a while until the pieces finally clicked. "What, so you're afraid he's going to catch a cold?" Shale couldn't believe it, and the fact that the dog yet again confirmed her guess made it all even more unusual. "And what am I supposed to do about it? And why should I even care?"

The dog just moved its gaze towards the golem's right hand, huge though it was, after which it glanced over to her left and again looked up at her and gave a meaningful woof.

Shale immediately became outraged when she actually understood what that animal was getting at. "Oh, that is so not happening!"

The mabari whined at her, pleading, staring with what most would see as a heart-wrenching pair of eyes. Shale only saw what she usually saw, however. "Oh please don't tempt me. I may actually end up wanting to crush those things just because they look especially squishy."

That was when Rinne actually got annoyed with her and, as odd or impossible it may sound for a dog, frowned. When the golem just turned away from her, however, it started to sneeze. Again. And again, and again, and kept on sneezing, or faking it, until Shale just couldn't take it anymore.

"Oh, do stop that or heavens help me I will step on you!" the rock giant threatened as she turned around, only to get a confused stare in response. "Yes, that sneezing is annoying!" she felt like she needed to confirm.

Much to Shale's bewilderment, the dog started to bounce around, as though it was thrilled because the golem had apparently discovered something. Then, to make it all the more clear, the hound sneezed once more and gave its master yet another nudge.

Shale stared at those two in confusion for a while... and then it hit her. "Oh no... If he catches a cold, he'll start sneezing too!" The moving statue sounded positively horrified at the prospect, not just because the constant noise would be incredibly annoying but because loud sounds had the habit of scaring birds out of the trees on the side of the road and, as irony dictated, they would definitely end up covering her in their bodily wastes.

Unwavering in her determination to never, ever, ever let that happen, Shale just strode over to where the unconscious dwarf was lying, knelt next to him and moved her palms over him, using her new crystals' fire affinity to envelop him in a blanket of warmth. And all the while, the mabari war hound was sitting on the opposite side of the positively helpless and undeniably squishable Grey Warden, panting happily and occasionally glancing in Shale's direction with what could only be seen as an evil or at least devious expression.

"The two of you actually planned all this didn't you," the Golem mumbled, at which point the dog just barked absently, as though it was trying to say "I have no idea what you're talking about" in the least convincing manner possible.

So in the end, all Shale could actually think about was how bitterly ironic it was that not only had those two managed to make her do exactly what they wished, but they had actually made her want to do it.

And it had to be the two of them because that dog could not possibly have thought it all up itself.

Or could it? Oh no...

"I can't believe I was cowed by a dog of all things," the Golem finally moaned while thinking that, as outlandish an assumption might be, perhaps birds weren't, in fact, the most hateable squishy creatures of flesh in the world.

Author's note: I know not as long as some of the others, but it was necessary... more or less.

Next chapter will finally continue with the storyline (will jump straight to the wardens being utterly shocked at seeing Raonar alive and apparently already a hero in Redcliffe.)

And, of course, that review space is right there and waiting!