I gazed around at my surroundings once more and sighed. I had never really known what my grandfather was truly like. In the past, he only came for short visits and he more often than not, barely recognized my presence. Now that I knew what he was like, however, I wished that I was a complete stranger to him. Perhaps I would have kept my natural form if I hadn't been a blood relative of his. I folded my arms as I continued walking. There wasn't anything besides trees in the area I was currently in. I turned and glanced behind me. There was nothing the other way as well. Whatever cave Rodimus was talking about was certainly not in my area.
Something shiny caught my eye and I walked towards it. It was a piece of metal that appeared to have been broken off of something. Perhaps it had been a walking cane or a metallic container or something to that effect. I picked it up and gazed at it, my distorted reflection stared back at me and I closed my eyes. I muttered the first spell that came to mind and felt the shard change to liquid in my hand. I opened my eyes and watched the liquid drip off my fingertips. I had remembered an early spell that I had learned with my mother. I thought I had forgotten it since I hadn't used it in a long time, but I had just proved to myself how good my memory was. I wiped the liquid off of my hand then turned my attention to a chipmunk that sat watching me.
For some reason, it was not terrified by my appearance and I wondered if perhaps it saw beyond my hideous face. Rodimus and Zolf were able to. Zolf especially because he had known me as I had once been. Rodimus knew my mother and of my father so he judged me based off of my parents. But here, here was a tiny creature that looked upon me with no fear in its eyes and it had no previous dealings with me to make a judgment based off of my character. It based its decision of whether to run or not on what it saw. It was an incident that many would take for granted but such an encounter made me feel slightly better about the predicament I was in. Perhaps the most horrible thing about the transformation Rezo made me undergo was the fact that the view of myself had drastically changed. I saw myself as something not fit to be around others and perhaps I was a little too extreme in that mind-set but I still refused to walk around like I was completely normal. I had to keep my face hidden for not only the sanity of anyone I might run into but for my mental well-being also because each time I looked upon someone, the face only served as a reminder that I was once fully human.
The sun's warmth had greatly increased the temperature, I noticed as I stepped out at the meeting spot but I didn't feel hot. With this body, I no longer sweated, which I suppose could be considered a good thing. Rodimus and Zolf stepped out of the woods, wiping their foreheads and I looked around as I tried to locate our annoying chaperone, Dilgear.
"The humidity has suddenly gone up," Rodimus commented as he gazed up at the sky. "There are clouds building up in the west. Perhaps it will rain during our trip."
"Did you locate the cave that you had heard about?" I inquired and Rodimus shook his head.
"Unfortunately, no. I know it's around here somewhere, though."
"I found it," Zolf said and I looked at him.
"Did it look promising?" I inquired.
"It appears to be occupied."
"Occupied?"
"It is the home of a wild animal. I did not venture inside, but I think it would be best if we leave the beast alone."
"So your true feelings finally come out," Dilgear said as he stepped into the clearing. We looked at him for a moment then I shook my head.
"Of course not. Zolf was merely telling us that something is occupying the cave we were searching for," I replied. "We weren't even talking about you."
"I do not wish to disturb the creature living inside the cave. The artifact that we're searching for may not even be in there," Zolf said and Dilgear snorted in annoyance.
"You're scared, aren't you? All right, show me where the cave is and I'LL go check it out. It appears to me that I'm the only one that has any courage in this group," Dilgear said and I narrowed my eyes in anger. If that werewolf had anything, it was certainly ignorance but I wasn't going to call him on it. He may be an ignorant fool, but he was still a werewolf and the natural defenses that he carried were certainly real. Not that it mattered at all with my skin but if we managed to get him enraged, Zolf and Rodimus were at risk. Zolf, I knew, could most likely take care of himself by casting a spell, but spell casting took time and if Dilgear was attacking while Zolf was casting Zolf was a goner.
"If you want to take the risk, be my guest Dilgear," Zolf said and Dilgear bared his fangs.
"Now you will see why the Red Priest chose me for this job," Dilgear said and Zolf sighed.
"Very well then. Go that way for half a mile then turn right. Keep heading in that direction until you see the cave."
"I'd advise you all to stay here and wait. If I do find the artifact, though, I'm certainly not going to give you credit for any of this."
"Can we leave without him?" Zolf asked, once Dilgear had walked out of sight.
"We can certainly try. A lot more ground can be covered without him. Besides, I have the feeling that like a bad coin, he's going to turn up again," Rodimus said and I nodded my head.
"But for a while, we can be completely free of him. That should give us all peace of mind," I said and pointed to a path. "Let's go that way. We're sure to approach another town by the time the day ends."
"It's too bad we don't have horses or something like that. We'd be able to go twice as fast," Zolf commented.
"We must make do with what we have. At least until we can do better."
We made good time on foot and I guess that because my body was the way it was, I didn't get tired as easily. I first noticed this about an hour after we left Dilgear. Rodimus was commenting on the heat and I brought a hand up to my face then drew it away. There had been no sweat on my brow. I could not feel heat, at least not like the others could. Could I actually feel like I used to? Not feel as in emotion, for I already knew that my emotions still were extremely strong, but feel as in touch. I was constructed partially of golem, I told myself as I gazed at my gray hands covered with the slate colored scales. They were hands, obviously, but did they actually have the nerve endings at the tips of my fingers the way I used to have them? I stared at my hands, noting something extremely odd. There was no texture on my fingertips. No little grooves in the skin which meant no fingerprints. With no fingerprints, was I capable of feeling things like Rodimus and Zolf could?
"You've been extremely quiet, Master Zelgadis. Is something wrong?" Zolf inquired as he picked up his canteen of water.
"No, nothing's wrong," I replied as I lowered my hands away from my face. "I'm just discovering some more things that I've never thought about before."
"Such as?" Rodimus inquired and I looked at him.
"Fingerprints. Is the reason why our fingers can feel so much is because of the fingerprints we own? You own, I mean. I There can be no fingerprints on a rock."
"I see what you mean, but what are you trying to get at?"
"If feeling is generated by the same area that generates fingerprints, then how does a creature with no fingerprints feel?"
There was a silence as they thought about my question and I folded my arms and thought. Even the clothes I wore felt odd against my hardened skin. Rezo said I was a third human, but what third was that? My skin looked nothing like a human's and my ears were nothing like either a human or a golem. My outside appearance was mostly human and demon so perhaps, my emotions were human. But how was that possible? Wasn't my body and emotions connected?
"I'm afraid we don't have an answer for you, Master Zelgadis," Zolf said and I looked at him.
"It's all right. It was just something I hadn't noticed before."
There were a lot of things I was rediscovering as we made our trek. We soon reached another village where we learned of a mysterious statue. We got ourselves a room at the inn and discussed the possibilities of the new information. I pulled up my collar as I sat down in a stiff wooden chair. I didn't want any stranger to see my true appearance. I don't think I could stand the shock of people as they looked upon me. Zolf glanced at me and laid a hand over mine. I looked at him and drew my hand away.
"I found that a curios shop has what we're looking for," he said. "I suggest we should look into it tomorrow."
"There is also rumor of a gang called the Black Dragons around this area. When I went downstairs to the bar, I overheard the locals saying that they make a regular run here. It would be wise for us to keep our guard up," Rodimus said.
"I do not think we will run into them, but it is always good to be careful," I said. "So the stone is in a curios shop?" I inquired and Zolf nodded his head.
"I suggest we visit it early the next morning before the crowd starts," he replied.
"I've never seen a crowd in a curios shop, but okay," Rodimus said.
"I understood what he meant. If we wait until late in the day, it is possible that what we are searching for may no longer be there," I said and yawned slightly. I hoped that Dilgear wouldn't find us anytime soon. Especially not when what I was searching for was so close at hand. It seemed to be a stroke of luck that the Philosopher's Stone was so close. It had to be hidden in another object because an item as legendary as the Philosopher's Stone would not be in a mere curios shop for long.
"Do you think that werewolf will locate us?" Zolf asked and I sighed.
"He will eventually. I just hope he doesn't find us before we get the stone. I don't want to put such a priceless object in his hands," I replied.
"Let us not concern ourselves with werewolves tonight. Let's get a good night's rest and get the stone early in the morning," Rodimus said and Zolf nodded his head.
"Rodimus is right. There's no sense worrying ourselves with something that doesn't need to be worried about," Zolf said as I took off my cloak. I sighed at the sight of my chest and glanced at the others.
"Does it look as awful as I see it?" I inquired and Zolf shook his head.
"Master Zelgadis, no matter how your appearance changes, you are still the same person on the inside. Never forget that."
"Should we keep watches?" Rodimus inquired.
"I don't see that it's necessary but if you want to, you can."
"Can we at least blow the lamp out?" I inquired and Zolf blew out the light.
"Good night, Master Zelgadis," he said as I closed my eyes.