Epilogue

I woke up and lounged happily in the makeshift bed I'd cobbled together from the remnants of buildings long ago swallowed up by the world. You would think that after enough time had passed I'd get over so simple a pleasure, but if such a day was coming I could not see the first hint of it.

This must be how Tam and Perinque felt every day I thought. Fighting the earth to make things without the power of a builder was a challenge I had hardly grasped in the short window between losing my power and losing my soul. But there was a certain pleasure in bringing shape to the world with my hands instead of by my will alone.

Stretching, I reluctantly rose from the bed and surveyed the room. The broken chests I'd salvaged from that structure were symbolic in a way. I was broken, in ways I still didn't understand. But I was free. The voice was gone. Whatever it was that Tam, Tim now I suppose, had done had seen to that. He had seemed regretful at the act, but could I see him again, I would thank him for the gift. It was his remorse that told me there was an unknown cost to this freedom, but it was a cost I gladly paid in ignorance.

Taking my quiver from the wobbly weapon rack I'd salvaged, I slipped it over my shoulder and picked up my bow. It was lucky the world had not consumed these remnants from my past, as it was unlikely I could have managed to put their like together again. I'd also found a wooden boomerang in a chest some time ago. But it was damnably hard to use without the Builder's power, and I had not taken the time to work out the way of it yet.

I decided to leave the climbing supplies I'd gathered, as I had no intention of traveling below the surface today. I would enjoy the sun and travel towards the collection of structures the Builder had erected. Now that he and the Nurse were no longer alone, the Builder had taken the time to construct more dwellings for the companions his actions brought into the world.

Stepping out from the cave, I foraged around for a mushroom to sate my hunger when it inevitably arrived, and upon finding one, started towards the structures.

Squirrels made their way along the treetops above me, and the occasional slime popped its way through the forest, oblivious to my passing. I kept my eyes out for a small pink slime in hopes that my old friend might make an appearance, but if she were watching, she did so beyond my view. I knew that my once friends struggled with the corruption of the world, and that without a change lingering, or the draw of the Wall of Flesh, it was unlikely they could act of their own volition. This did not stop my wishful thinking however, and so I continued to spare that small attention to my surroundings as I walked.

The first of the structures came into view. It was the home given the Merchant, Kristian he was called, and it was no more inspired than the Nurse's home had been. Approaching it I noted he was out, and sparing no more than a glance at the interior with some minor jealousy at the new bed within, I continued on to the Nurse's home.

She was home, as often was the case, and she smiled at my approach.

"Hey Gaul, what brings you out of your cave?"

I returned the smile. Kathryn was more at ease these days than she had been in past. This was due in part to the loss of her memories from before her arrival in Terraria, but it was the same for all inhabitants of the land. I had no memories of a life beyond the fabric of this world, and it was impossible to know if I had lost something from the time before my eternity of enslavement.

"I have come to see how the Builder progresses," I answered her.

It was a strange conflict of desires that drove me these days. I had spent so long watching for a Builder that would end the cycle, that I found myself lost when I realized that though it still guided my actions, it was no longer a matter that concerned me. I was free of the Wall, and without that presence, the end of this cycle meant an unknown change to everything I'd known for most of an eternity. And I couldn't care less.

"He's been gone for a few days now," Kathryn said, "and he's begun exploring the corruption, so I'm a little concerned," she added.

"And the merchant?" I asked.

"Kristian," she emphasized his name, waving her arm in a loose gesture towards the east, "is exploring the nearby hills. He claims to have seen someone in a purple hat while out a few days ago, and he's intent on seeking them out."

"The Travelling Merchant has begun to visit it appears," I said almost to myself.

"So there's actually someone out there?" she asked.

"I believe so," I answered, "though I have not seen him myself."

"Well that's a relief, I was beginning to wonder if he had imagined it."

"And yourself?"

"Hah, I'm trying to figure out how to distill the healing power of the mushrooms into a tonic," she stated.

"Have you attempted to bind it with gel?" I asked her.

She frowned at me, "Slime slop? You want me to try and blend mushrooms with slime slop?"

I shrugged, "It is the way-"

"Of this world, yeah, yeah," she muttered, "I don't think I'd want to drink that concoction."

"It is fortunate that the Builder will most like be the one to consume it then," I responded to her distaste, tossing her a silver coin I had scavenged from below.

Her eyes briefly glowed with her power and she pocketed the coin, "So that you may see it come together," I answered the question remaining in her gaze.

"You know he's got a name," she changed the subject with the hint of a smile returning.

"I am aware that he refers to himself as-"

"Guile," his voice interrupted our conversation.

"Speak of the Builder," I chuckled to myself, though I knew this would not be a pleasant conversation.

As if in response to my thoughts, a wall of stone rapidly came into being between myself and the buildings I had come to see. He had become even more confident in his skill it appeared.

"Gaul," the Nurse spoke on my behalf, "was coming to see how you were doing."

"You are not welcome here," he said to me, speaking as if the Nurse had not spoken.

"I am quite aware of your misguided-"

A shaft of stone jutted out from the wall in my direction, stopping just short of touching me. There were limits to his power, and yet he still insisted on attempt to cow me.

"Leave," he threatened, though we both knew it to be a hollow threat.

My time with the Wall during his awakening had left irreparable scars on his temperament towards me. No attempt at pleasant conversation would change that anytime soon. Nor would the words of his companions sway his distrust.

"Have you encountered a Demonic Altar in your exploration of the Corruption?" I asked him. For though I no longer had the power of a Builder, some remnant of the presence the Wall exerted over the land remained to me, and I knew he carried some small number of the lenses dropped by the Demon Eyes that came with the darkness.

"He asked where you were," I could hear the shrug in her voice from beyond the wall.

"If you combine lenses at a demon altar," I continued without waiting for his response, "you might be able to find a way to summon The Eye of Cthulu."

Not that I was confident the Builder was prepared for the encounter. Though now that he could fall without fear of corruption, it mattered not whether he was prepared, and it would perhaps inspire him to take more seriously his development.

"You will want to wait until night before using it, though," I added, "And it would be wise to find somewhere free of obstacles, as it is surprisingly nimble for so large an entity, and you will want the freedom to move unobstructed."

There was no response, nor did I expect one. Turning, I walked back into the sparse wood. I had served my role as his Guide, and now I could return to my idle distractions. Perhaps I would venture below after all.