I went back to the Golem at the counter, and handed him the paper. He asked "Are you sure, you want that task. It actually been there for quite some time, and no one wanted to take it". I nodded my head, ad said "Yep, I will take it". The Golem replied "As you like. You will have to report to the owner of the mansion. Your specialisation is not medicine, but we will not stop you, from taking that task. Remember that, if you are unsuccessful, your contribution will fall… by 200 points. This will mean, you will have -100 points. In such a case, the next task, will be assigned to you straight away, and you will have to complete it, otherwise you will lose the membership, and will not be able to apply ever again".
I said "I understand, I still want to take this task". He nodded, and registered it. He then added "I hope you know, what you are doing". I replied "Don't worry so much, I'm not stupid enough to take on something, I would not be able to handle". He nodded his head, and wished me luck. The task I took, concerned an ill creature, that a wealthy Golem owned. The reward was actually very good for the Bronze Rank task. I would receive 4 Red Hals as a payment, and 200 points of Contribution. This was not the only reason I took that task. 'When I finish that task, I will also get the gratitude of a wealthy Golem. This in itself is a good enough reward' I thought. Knowing some wealthy people, was no a bad idea. 'This may open many doors for me, that might've been shut otherwise' I thought.
I went to the place specified on the paper, and arrived at a large building. When I knocked on the doors, a large Golem opened and asked "Yes?". I showed him the paper, and said "I'm here to treat the ill pet, that belongs to the owner of this mansion". The Golem looked at me from head to toe a few times, and asked "Can you do it?". I also asked a question "Would I take that task, if I couldn't?". He laughed a bit, and said "You don't even know what is wrong. How do you plan o treating my pet?".
I said "So far, I didn't come across an illness, I couldn't heal. I will take a look, this will cost you nothing, while I can lose much more". He became serious, and said "That is true. I like your attitude boy. Come in, I will show you my pet". I entered the mansion, and the first impression I got, was 'This place is lonely'. There were no other Golems, or even servants inside. It was just this one owner, and his pet, that I had yet to see.
He took me to a room, in which a creature was lying down. I've never seen such a creature before. It looked like a dog, but it's whole body, was made from stones. He said "This is Slate, my pet". I asked "What is the exact problem?". He replied "Slate doesn't want to absorb energy, and is very weak. Slate is just like us Golems, we don't eat food, like you humans do. We absorb the energy from special rocks. The whole city is built upon such rocks, as well as the areas around the city. I simply absorb the energy from a stone. Slate stopped doing it for some reason".
I could see that the creature seemed weak, and it was quite small. I asked "Is it perhaps correct, that Slate was much bigger in the past?". He nodded his head, and said "That is correct. Slate was at least, three times bigger in the past. It almost has no energy left, and I lost hope to be honest. No one seems to know what to do". I thought about it for a while, then said "I will have a look".
I walked over, and touched the stone dog. It felt just like any rock. It wasn't warn, nor was it cold. I asked the Golem next to me. "Can I inspect you?". He became confused, so I explained "I don't have much experience with these type of creatures. I want to check you first, to know what condition should Slate be in". He realised what I meant, and said "Alright". The Golem sat down, while I came over. I touched his forehead, arms and legs. 'Hmmm… There is a difference. The Golem is much more refined, and somehow I can feel life coursing through the rock. The dog, has none of that' I thought.
I took out a dagger, and slashed at the Golem. He became furious, and shouted "What the hell are you doing!". I said "Quiet down. I need to examine you properly. I'm not going to do anything inappropriate". The Golem was stunned and became quiet. I continued, and slashed at some of the Golem's limbs. Then I noticed a small strand of something going out. I asked "Do you feel pain?". The Golem replied "Yes, although not as much as you humans do". I asked another question "Did you perhaps feel some of your energy disappear? A very tiny amount of it?". He shook his head, and said "No". I said "Focus now. I'm going to do the same thing. Try to feel, if some of your energy disappears".
I slashed at the same place a few more times, and the Golem exclaimed "I felt it! You are right, some of my energy did escape". 'So, this is the life energy of Golems. Let's see, if I can harness some of it' I thought. I then said to the Golem "You said that, you can absort the energy from special rocks. Can you do it now? Just focus on absorbing it, as much as you can". He nodded his head, and said "Alright". He took out some stones, and started absorbing the energy from them. I on the other hand, began slashing at the same place, as before. Soon, more and more of that life energy started coming out. I quickly took out a bottle, and tried collecting it. To my surprise, I managed to collect some. I said "You can stop now". The Golem stopped absorbing the energy from the stones, and asked "So, what have you found out?".
I said, while showing him the bottle "This is your life energy. This is what your pet lacks. I'm aware that you knew about it, but now I know, how the energy looks like. I need to examine your pet now". I walked over to the pet and started slashing at it. It didn't seem to mind at all, it only looked at me confused. The Golem behind me, gritted his teeth loudly, but I didn't stop.
Soon, I saw a single strand of energy coming out, it was very weak. I tried collecting it, but only a faint whisp was collected. I looked at both vials and said "Interesting". The Golem behind said "What is so interesting?". I replied "Your energy, is different to that of your pet. This might be a reason, why it didn't absorb the same energy. It might require a different one, in order to feed on". The Golem was confused, and asked "What different energy?". I also asked another question "When did this start happening? Was it soon after you got your pet?". He thought about it, and said "Yes, now that I think about it. This happened about 20, maybe more days, after me and Slate started living together". I nodded my head, and asked another question "Where did you get your pet from?".
He said "I found Slate a long time ago. When I was out on a job, away from the City. I found Slate next to a cave. It seemed to like me, and tagged along. From that point, we were together". I asked "Do you remember which cave it was?". He thought about it for a while, and said "I think, I will be able to find that place". I said "Good, then let's go. I have a theory, but I need to make sure. If I'm correct, your pet can be saved. Before that, let me try one more thing".
I took out a vial of medicine, and smeared it onto the stone dog. The medicine was quickly absorbed, and the stone dog seemed to regain a bit of clarity, but it was still very weak. I said "Even if I give Slate more medicine, it will not solve the problem permanently. I could lie to you, and simply give Slate a lot of strong medicine, then proclaim to have cured your pet, and collect my rewards. I'm sure you figured out already, that I'm not going to do that. I also want to figure out that energy problem myself. Let's go, take me to that cave".
He was shocked. After a moment of being stunned, he woke up from his thoughts, and replied "You are quite honest. Fine, we will go to that cave. If you can really solve that energy problem, you will have my utmost gratitude".