Dolion ignorantly wandered through the city of Pune, India, with no clue where the place he was instructed to find was in it and worse, without his sword sheathed on his hip again. Fresh from his hotel but very low on Indian rupees to afford another stay in the city, this was the day he would need to achieve his objective that he had been putting off. The Golden eccentric was frustrated that his organization located this highly feared object in one of the few nations that he neglected studying and thought was boring.
"What's a famous comedian with a love for dark humor doing in Asia?" Said a peculiar man that looked around his age out of nowhere as he wrapped his arms around Dolion's shoulders and walked with him. He was glad he ran into another person who spoke decent English or was pleasant but he removed his arm from around him. "I'm not particularly too good for India because I like making others laugh. I'm here as a tourist. Change of scenery." Dolion answered to this young man with a missing tooth, brown unbuttoned shirt and a strange hairstyle with bangs, chin hairs and he was athletically built. "It'll help out the next spot you visit if you take the time out to learn the language and local culture enough to navigate around." This man suggested to Dolion with an obviously disingenuous friendly voice. "Got a name, Furtive guide?" He asked, feeling fed up with talking to a stranger. "You can call me that or Aryaman if you want to be friends, how fortunate that you ran into the best kind to be a companion on a trip like this?" Aryaman replied as he gave a beaming smile. Dolion respected the fact he wasn't afraid to smile even with a missing tooth and the rest yellow. "Alright, I got a few rupees left, I just need to get here." Dolion lost his phone in his grand hotel room but wrote the location his father gave him on a notepad in his vest's inner pocket in case he did. "Easy." Aryaman replied with enough confidence that made him sound trustworthy. The two walked down the road and around the block with Aryaman leading and Dolion following for two hours until they got to a strange barber shop that looked like it could be a home on a street that did not seem like an ancient statue could be located inside of but he was curious if his hunch was on the mark and followed him inside anyway.
They arrive inside this peculiar shop and Aryaman immediately begins speaking Marathi to the men inside that outnumber him one to ten inside this decent sized shop. Dolion noticed that these men looked like rough stereotypical modern day bandits but he didn't want to judge just yet. Most happen to be his size or larger, with scars and facial hair, The entire conversation Dolion stood with a grin as friendly and unsuspecting he could make while not understanding a word being said by his new "friend" and his old he assumed. "You did excellent, Baylie!" Said the large and belly hairy man Aryaman was speaking to mostly in English surprisingly. All of the men including Aryaman or Baylie turned their gaze toward him. He couldn't resist chuckling at his name much to Aryaman's nerves. "Enough of the ogling, gentlemen, what's the deal here?" Dolion asked as he got the suspicion they were attempting to intimidate him. "We'll knock you out, take that golden pair of Nunchucks and after testing if it's authentic then we'll sell it. We know you're an Artifact collector, rich boy." The rough and hairy thug explained with his gruff voice but overconfident tone. Dolion heard one of them banging a crowbar, saw knives in their hands. "Artifact collector?" The Golden eccentric asked rhetorically, feeling disrespected by the thought. "Here's what'll happen if you succeed but leave me alive." Dolion finished as he grabbed the pair from his side and dropped it. Almost immediately, The Golden Eccentric's curse sent him into his transformation combated by his Nunchaku of Latence. Aryaman upon seeing it froze petrified with sheer terror. The crew laid their eyes on his monstrous form and fled without hesitation, one moaning from the horror, another's heart was beating quicker than he ran.
Dolion picked up his pair of Nunchaku of Latence since he couldn't switch back to his true human form without them close enough. "Disgusting hunters all over the globe and I had to r encounter some of India's own on an assignment?!" Dolion frustratedly complained as he took a moment to ponder what his next actions were going to be after the betrayal he suspected but hoped against. "What. The. Absolute. Hell. Are you?!" Dolion heard from his betrayer, Aryaman who stayed unlike the others. He turned around to see the deceitful thug behind a table that flipped as one of the men trampled and tripped on as he fled. "One of the very last men that one of your kind would want to become aware of your job." Dolion answered as he grabbed him up with one hand. "Listen, bro, dawg, um I'm babbling, I- I've only been with those guys for two weeks. Swear!" Aryaman admitted and pleaded for his life as Dolion dropped him after he felt like he was telling the truth. "I know of one other place they hang, spare me and I'll take you to them right now for whatever you got to do!" Aryaman finished begging and offering with trembling hands and a yawn Dolion found strange but it was a quirk from feeling uneasy. "Fine, and if you really know where this garden is then you'll guide me here… first!" Dolion accepted and demanded using an assertive tone.
Aryaman and Dolion traveled together through Pune to the garden The Golden Eccentric was assigned to arrive but now he had to find the statue he was assigned to locate next, he was thinking it'd be the easiest part since the city's bigger than the special Garden for tourists. Shockingly, Aryaman knew where the statues were after Aryaman decided to pay for both of their entries. Dolion saw genuine guilt and shame on his betrayer's face as he looked while they walked. "What really are you?" Aryaman asked Dolion when he noticed him looking over at him. "Very cursed and blessed." The Golden Eccentric answered as they were a few feet away from the statue he was searching for, for what felt like forever. "No, I mean—" Aryaman halted himself as he struggled with his words to not upset this dangerous man. "I answered every way of phrasing what you meant." Dolion answered with a calm tone. "I'll be back eventually for that lead on the hunters, stay away from them in the meantime, now get away from here if you want to keep your life." Dolion finished with a stern tone as he prepared himself for what was coming up next. Aryaman looked confused but he nodded and backed away. Dolion grabbed hands with the statue of a man who looked like he belonged to a forgotten time. Aryaman saw gray electrical energy statically surging around him that surged around a small area. He saw Dolion's fugacious body as the static energy surged worsened, he touched his chin on his chest with lowered eyebrows and a vacant stare before deciding to sprint and leaping directly into Dolion's static energy where it trapped him.
Aryaman looked towards the skies while he felt tingly, it was like the day skipped to the afternoon and unlike before the city was being flooded with immense rain that didn't look to be stopping anytime soon. "I told you to leave, now I have to take responsibility for you. Stay six feet behind me always." Dolion scolded Aryaman frustratedly. "Did we move through time or— why and where, who?!" Aryaman truly was lost for words but overwhelmed by so many thoughts. "Long story, what you need to know is that we've invaded a place we're gonna need to survive and we're going to be hunted by a powerful Golem. Think to yourself for a moment, I need silence to get us out of here." Dolion informed his betrayer, Aryaman listened to him but he was panicking to himself. The Golden Eccentric stood still, placing his chin on his right shoulder as he focused on the staff of Adhik, clearing his mind of anything else. Dolion's body felt stranger than ever before, he could feel it's immense power, it's immense authority and elegance. He thought about handing his limiter to his betrayer using the fact he wants to live and escape like him but the consequences of it had changed his mind. Dolion began walking out of the garden as he was feeling drawn to his objective. Aryaman saw the silhouette of a nine foot tall creature standing in the far distance. He closed his eyes then opened them back up and what he saw vanished.
"What's this golem you mentioned look like? If you're too scared to tell me about it, I'll definitely make fun of you for it." Aryaman asked and teased as the two walked out of the garden. "We don't have the luxury to be scared, you'll know it when you see it." Dolion answered as he kept his concentration and body sensitive to the staff's energy. Aryaman heard something that was murmurous, compelling him to feel nervous and from another point as they walked through the city he heard something that was susurrous. He felt like he was going bananas, he sniffled then told Dolion about the sounds who wasn't hearing anything but the rain fall around them. "That's the Golem stalking us, they say it resembles its master as a prankster before ripping apart those who travel for what's under its protection as someone they hold dear or hold as an enemy, nobody has ever seen the Golem of the Lore Vessel's true form or lived to let it be known." Dolion informed Aryaman with a slightly cheeky grin on his face, in an attempt to make Aryaman uneasy, it worked. "I saw it earlier and… the closest monsters to describe it is as a beefier yeti or Bigfoot." Aryaman replied. "You tried to get me killed earlier then didn't feel like making it up to me by letting me know it showed up?!" Dolion complained and tried to guilt trip him. Aryaman didn't know how to respond except with a face full of guilt. Dolion liked what he was seeing. The Betrayer heard another sound behind them and immediately turned around with The Golden Eccentric following.
"This man has your looks, height and age each except by ten times." Said Aryaman as he backed away slowly. "The Golem as my uncle. With the small fame I've got some people online think that he's my dad. He's in the C.I.A." Dolion replied as he inched closer, "RUN! HIDE!" He yelled urgently as he pointed to Aryaman while the shapeshifter Golem was in the middle of sprinting before it leaped high above. It missed as Dolion rolled out of its way and left a small crater in the concrete. Dolion scaled his strength from it and was left relieved from the results, Dolion easily slipped and dodged the Golem's swings and fired back with his own overwhelming and devastating jabs and hooks that managed to hit. The powerful Golem in the form of his uncle eventually fell flat on its face after fifteen hooks to the body. The brief encounter fondly reminded The Golden Eccentric of his days before joining the I.A.S of sparring with his uncle and cousin. "Does this mean he likely had to impale me with his spear?" One of the many uninvited thoughts that visited Dolion as he was on his way to regroup with his betrayer. "Had me really worried his skills were going to be ten times yours too." Aryaman confessed as he came from hiding behind a garbage truck, "The man it was disguising as used to be a hundred times ahead of me. Let's continue moving." Dolion replied.
The Golden Eccentric continued to follow his inkling to the staff as the Deceiving thief walked next to him, until Dolion stopped right outside the final type of business he thought he'd see, anywhere in the year he was living in. Shocked to find the place as filled and booming as it were, he had questioned if what they were seeing were real people but Aryaman was enticed by the women. "You look like you're pretty upset about finding this place that's filled with sweetness." Said Aryaman as he couldn't remove his eyes from the women greeting and pushing the two inside. "This place has a source inside but now I'm feeling two more overwhelming sources, I swear it better be inside of this worthless place, Baylie." Said Dolion with his tone of utter frustration. The girls continued pushing The Golden Eccentric and his tagalong inside the brothel, Dolion noticed the girls had unusual strength. Aryaman began dancing with the girls and ogling their bodies while Dolion was attempting to specify where the original source that led them to the brothel came from but it vanished and he only felt two at this point. He made his way to regroup with the thieving thug but all the girls got silent and lined up like they were mindless. Dolion elbowed for Aryaman's attention while he was wondering what was going on with the women.
Aryaman turned around and was taken aback by the woman with a devious grin that he saw sitting in a throne with the clients and workers behind bowing as she sat."It's the Golem playing its games again, stay near!" Dolion demanded as the two squared up back to back since brothel clientele and workers didn't look like they'd let the pair leave. "I got your back this time, they don't look that strong, I'm sure I can take on a few girls!" Aryaman declared as he readied himself like one of the many bar fights he fought in. "Don't—" Dolion halted his warning of underestimating since Aryaman struck first and launched into the fight. Dolion shrugged before picking off the batch on the other side of him. Nobody landed a touch on The Golden Eccentric but Aryaman was roughed up by the end of it. He picked his fellow adventurer off the ground before realizing the Golem was running in for a sneak attack and tossed him away. He dipped and slipped through its swings but a kick to his chest landed that gave them decent space, Dolion didn't feel it weirdly enough, he wasn't expecting it. He knocked the Golem to the ground seemingly unconscious after landing fifteen of the twenty hooks that hit the Golem like a wrecking ball before finishing it with an elbow strike to its chin that sent it soaring away. "You just knocked out my grandma, dark comic." Aryaman informed him with an upset tone. Dolion compared their faces in his head as he looked back at the Golem in her form. "On the bright side, if her medical bill spans across a state like anyone would guess, you can invest into some of my uncle's self defense classes so you won't get spanked by brothel folk." Dolion replied as he shrugged. "Shamelessly advertising your uncle's business while practicing your delivery, who wouldn't love this?" Aryaman replied sarcastically as he shook his head, "Do your magic mind thingy now, back in the rain." Aryaman finished as he followed. "I'm saving myself for one woman anyway, let's get gone." Dolion replied jokingly. Thunder began roaring intensely from outside of the Brothel.
Dolion who was feeling complications, pain was intensifying in his head while he heard ringing in his ears and Aryaman was made aware by the screaming and groaning he couldn't help as it worsened with every step until he began seeing visions accompanied by the voices of folks familiar with him when they stepped outside. "Sick cheating bastard!" He heard his mother's voice screaming angrily. A memory he recalls vividly from his childhood that he's stuck trying to figure out if he wants to forget or not. "Your boy's a very slow learner, Ant." He heard from his uncle's voice with grand disappointment in his tone, another memory he's split on the importance of keeping. "I don't think the boy's going to make it without them but if he does there's no promise he'll be able to move again, think heavily about how far you'll go to save him!" He heard the voice of the current I.A.S director from back when he was eighteen years old. "I have no clue how detached I'd become if I lost you or Bacia." He heard from his father's voice in a sorrowful tone, the only time he ever heard such a tone from him in his years, from the day that his recklessness went from being the closest he had ever been to the end of his life to shifting its direction entirely. He had become content with his position at the I.A.S being permanent until one assignment. Her face popped into his head after visions of a tragic future kept appearing to him. The Golem from afar and Aryaman are exchanging the stink eye with one another until Dolion awoke from his visions, the thief blinks and his silent stalker vanishes like a poltergeist.
"My heart was racing like a cheetah, it showed back up but only kept staring at me with its lifeless silver eyes, don't ever leave me alone like that again." Aryaman complained as he helped his friend back on both feet when he came to. "Beautiful description, I'm fine since it only gave me a slight headache and threw me down memory lane just now. Don't worry, if it attacks us while we're far from any source I can still handle it." Dolion informed the bar fighter. "That's what scares me about here, if the time comes where you won't be able to protect us, unlike in the violent streets of Pune, I won't be able to stand a chance for either of our sakes. You're the M.V.P." Aryaman confessed with slight hesitancy. Dolion pointed around them with Aryaman getting what he meant before he gave The Golden Eccentric nasty eyes. "Keep that bag of flowers on you safe, you're doing your part." Dolion assured him with a smile. "You know what I meant, right?" Aryaman asked after he thought Dolion didn't realize he wasn't literal. "I feel drawn to two overwhelming sources coming from the western and the southern sides of the city right now, so if you were a betting man?" Dolion asked as he couldn't be decisive anymore. "I dabble, just a bit in the art, hmm… southern people are the luckiest type in the world from my personal experience." Aryaman answered, leading to Dolion concentrating on the southern source as their next destination.
The two were on edge and realized they had a longer journey to the southern source either of them had initially thought, the rain pouring down much heavier than before leading Aryaman to searching for something to cover them, in one of the vacant and abandoned cars on their way, he found an umbrella. "You never gave me an actual answer to who you really are besides an edgy humorist, so who are you?" Said Aryaman unexpectedly as he struggled to find something else to strike up a conversation with Dolion. "My two goals right now are to get you out of here alive and find exactly what was assigned, it'd be counterproductive to the first one if I were to answer the real question you're asking me." Dolion answered with a drastically colder tone hoping to stray his mind away from probing further for his sake. "Fine, then what did you see when you were wilding earlier?" Aryaman asked, and he caught on to the trick a moment after he finished. "Wild guess, he kept drawing memories that he was hoping would deeply upset me or that word you kids these days use, he's trolling? He showed a memory that he didn't realize inspires me to succeed every time it's in my mind, though." Dolion answered with a lighthearted tone towards the end. "You're eighteen and I'm twenty-four, I'm your elder boy." Aryaman replied with a thumbs down. "Oh, I'm actually older than you!" Dolion celebrated as he felt like he called it. Aryaman kept badgering him about revealing his age and how much older but to Kidd around, he wouldn't tell him.
"This is definitely not something on this side of the city." Aryaman whispered in utter disbelief. They had halted their walk for a moment when a gigantic and magnificently tall bridge came into their sights, that they found themselves unfortunately far underneath and from the top, it was beaten down enough to climb up but Aryaman had zero wall scaling or parkour experience to be able to keep up, he called himself only a bar brawler, thief and thug with limited education that the Golden Eccentric didn't like hearing him call himself. Dolion could feel the southern source they've been traveling towards originating at the top. "I've got cuffs… for various reasons… I'll use these in case your arms give out, get on my back and wrap your arms and legs around me." Dolion commanded as he didn't want to risk leaving his responsibility alone and vulnerable but saw giving him his nunchaku so he can use his cursed form with stability as no considerable option. "I'll take my chances hiding down here with the Golem, I feel Like, he and I were vibing better than we can anyway." Aryaman replied as a cover not wanting to admit his fearfulness of heights. "Quit with the social interwebs words and cling on already, we're going up!" Dolion replied calmly as he readied the cuffs. Dolion and Aryaman scaled up the bridge, it took them an hour with a few stops of Dolion calming down his passenger and powering through him blowing Dolion's eardrums out with his screams of panic. Dolion was slightly exhausted and irked while Aryaman got out of the cuffs and cradled up rethinking his choice to follow him. "I'm betting the Golem heard that from down there, now he's calling you the monster he doesn't want to see here." Dolion joked when he sat next to him. Aryaman laughed and chuckled when he pulled himself together. Appreciating comedy being medicinal. Dolion saw a pile of junk and went through all of it but what they came searching for wasn't up top. He let out a very deep sigh and shook his head realizing they have to go back down but decided to let Aryaman take his brief break.
"You mind answering questions right now, at least one?" Dolion asked while he sat next to him. "Unlike you, comedian, I'm an open book… way more open than a Tegan renocoapare history book." Aryaman answered with a calm tone as his arm covered his eyes while he laid down. "What do you plan on doing with your life after we've made it out of this dimensional plane?" Dolion asked with a serious and curious voice as he looked down at him. "Watching television growing up they teach that Comedians are cool celebs with enough girls and money, you've been a dork and now showing your age asking that type of question." Aryaman replied with an exhausted tone as he remained laying down. "Answer seriously for me." Dolion responded with a sterner tone, Aryaman sat up and shrugged with no plans in mind. "I've been living my life like this since I moved out here after high school. It's easier living, I'm not capable of much else. I'm just floating through life." Aryaman stuttered as he opened up, he hesitated from confusion of whether or not Dolion was some type of cop was on his mind. "Name any legitimate job that you wish you could get into that you'd trade in your life of crime over." Dolion rephrased his question as he understood his response very well. "Being a paramedic like my little brother was hoping I'd become someday." He directly blurted out with zero doubt or need to ponder. The Golden Eccentric took a look up after hearing low hissing and immediately had to grab Aryaman's body and leapt off. As the two were falling to the ground from the top, an immensely loud crash could be heard, Dolion turned around and witnessed the bridge totally collapsing, pure destruction as they were dropping, Aryaman's heart was racing as he grabbed onto his friend like his very existence depended on him.
After Dolion timed their landing by shifting into his cursed transformation to land them before shifting out before his sanity timer reached zero, the two shook hands before heading to the western source Dolion felt earlier and for some unexpected idea is drawing him even stronger than before letting him know this was where it would be located. "What is this object capable of that you're willing to come here for?" Aryaman couldn't help but ask as his curiosity got the best of him. "A staff capable of moving any number of folks anywhere or banishing others anywhere, it's threat level that is highly dependent on the wielder's competence with handling a particular factor that exists. Fortunately eighty five percent of the world can't use the staff to even the lowest degree." Dolion answered as they continued walking towards it. "What will you do with this thing?" Aryaman questioned as he began pondering what he would do with it. "Nothing. Store it until a day we can destroy it." Dolion answered with a direct response. "I'm pretty sure I got you to tell me your real job, kid." Aryaman nodded as he was sure. "I was trying to mess with you earlier when I was secretive. I didn't feel like explaining and answering. If only every criminal was as gullible." Dolion replied before laughing out loud. "If only every lawman was as lazy." Aryaman mumbled before the two were cracking up in unison.
The Golden Eccentric felt overwhelmed by the Artifact's energy before it vanished and he could no longer feel it realizing that meant it had to be in one of the businesses on the street of Pune, India, they're about to turn the corner and see. The two saw a noodle shop, a building shaped like a letter and a gardening related business with other uninteresting buildings. Dolion took into account what his father told him about the creator of this hunt with the fact Golems take after their masters and his guess was for them to check the noodle shop first, until the Golem in its true form appeared before them breathing heavily while forcing the two to hear disembodied hissing and snarling. "When the battle begins and I'm keeping it occupied, head for the noodle shop but if it's not there then give your best bet." Dolion commanded Aryaman with him nodding in reply. The Golden Eccentric stepped lightly slowly towards the Golem who was standing in their way menacingly without any expression on its face. It was dark black with silver eyes and stood twelve feet tall with lengthy, muscular arms. Standing like a hungry gorilla. "Thirteen minutes." Dolion reminded himself as he charged the Golem and it charged in response, Aryaman had hid away but came out immediately to initiate their plan.
He attempted a front flip over it as he timed its swing, he noted the Golem increased in speed than when it took the previous forms, it wasn't too fast for him to evade its intimidating arms and well formed kicks. One successful backhand sent Dolion soaring and crashing his back into a wall of one of the buildings around them. The attack broke one of his arms and brutalized the other, he didn't want to imagine what'd happen with a clean hit to his head or somewhere vital. He took note that its strength increased drastically. He grabbed out one of the plums he carries inside his coat's pockets before transforming into his cursed form, imbuing his energy inside the fruit afterwards and devouring it to heal his broken bones. He stretched his wings after blasting it with his sonic scream as powerful as he could which worked to leave it dazed like he intended and allowing him to feel comfortable soaring in for a clean attack with its guard down. He swiftly lunged upwards then headed directly for it with the same plummeting punch the Golem tried sneakily against the duo much earlier. He smashed the Golem's head into the ground before stomping it into the ground and belly to belly suplexing it with height further afterwards. It got back up when Dolion's stamina nerfing while using his curse and carrying the Nunchaku on him took effect. While he was exhausted and his heart racing, the Golem stood back up unaffected by his attacks, it grabbed him by his head and gripped it tight before uppercutting his ribs as he couldn't do anything. He groaned loudly as it didn't hold back, he felt fortunate that he still had minutes left for Aryaman to find the staff, they discussed in detail what it looked like on the way to the final source. The Golem dropped Dolion and left him on all fours, leaving Dolion speculating but not afraid of what it'd do next.
The Golem picked him up by his head, he could smell the vile scent of his hands as it covered his face. The Golem held him up by his head as he heard the Golem's hissing and snarl then it delivered a blow to his gut that made him spit out his acidic gray blood with acidic spit mixed in, as he was soaring through the air, eventually mid-air, Dolion reverted back before the timer would hit zero in the last minute.