For two days I worked with iron, cutting and bending the metal parts to the right shape and size for the next golem. Early on the morning of the third, just as dawn was breaking, I set out to hunt.
At the edge of the forest, where a pair of hyenas were most often seen, I placed a scarecrow with my clothes, which I had worn for the past two days and slept in them tonight. I really hope that the smell I left behind will attract the critters. And to make it happen with a guarantee, I sprayed the cloth from a syringe with my blood. The lumberjack and his gear lay in the grass nearby, while Chappy and I moved twenty meters away from the bait in the field.
All that remained was to wait.
The appearance of the forest monsters I trivially missed. And if it were not for the golem, I would have seen only the first and the last blow of the clawed paw. Thanks to Chappy, who jumped up sharply, startling me at the same time, and threw a dart, and then another one.
A shriek and a roar of rage and pain followed. I jumped up from the ground with my rifle in my hands and saw a huge forest hyena with golem projectiles sticking out of its side, about fifteen meters away from me. A second creature was already flying out of the woods.
Saved from the double attack Lumberjack, who had time to rise from his hiding place, to step forward and swing his sledgehammer, meeting the monster in the air. The powerful blow, which broke the trunk of a ten centimeter thick linden, crushed the skull of the beast and tossed the hyena aside. It only had time to utter something between a shriek and a groan.
The lamb turned around at this noise. Upon seeing the Tin Man with his bloody hammer and his friend writhing in agony, the beast sprinted toward the golem, disregarding its wounds, and seized the armed arm with its fangs. To the sound of crumpling metal, the hyena began to tug at the golem in all directions, like a dog pulling a rag. On about the fifth tug, the limb with the sledgehammer was left in its mouth, and the Tin Man flew five meters away.
Seconds later, Chappy struck the hyena in the uninjured side with his spear. And that's when it really kicked. Not even an elephant could stand having a piece of iron sixty centimeters long and ten centimeters wide stuck in its belly. And this forest monster was no match for an elephant. Whimpering, the hyena tried to turn around to latch on to its attacker, but it squealed louder in pain and jerked toward the forest, about to leap from the blade.
Once again it was the Tin Man who put an end to the fight. Rising from the ground while his comrade held the creature down, he picked up the sledgehammer with his whole hand and struck it over the monster's head, crushing it to smithereens.
- That's amazing," I whispered.
The whole fight took at most a minute and a half. I only had time to rise from the ground, raise my rifle to my shoulder and try to catch the very fast creature in my sights. An ordinary man, even with a firearm, could never cope with these creatures unless he sat at least in a cage, as divers do when watching sharks.
And after all, you can't see them until they attack, despite the spotted hide that stands out among the forest greenery. It's a wonder they haven't yet swarmed into the village and gobbled up the villagers from the outskirts. With their ability to remain undetected, it would not have been difficult at all.
When I recovered from the quick skirmish, I went about my business of collecting blood. For this, the golems carried two canisters and funnels of plastic bottles. It remained to make a deep and wide incision in the neck, put the canister and funnel under it, and wait for all the blood to drain away. I hope you can't see from the village exactly what I'm doing near the carcasses. And if they do, I don't really care.
The hunt resulted in forty liters of dark red blood, much more spilled on the ground. There was a lot of it in the hyenas.
At home, after storing the canisters in a deep hole under the lid, away from the hot sun, I went to Smith's house.
- Have you come to brag? - he said, waiting for me at the open gate, then stepped aside and offered: - Come in.
- I'll be five minutes, Jack Smith, - I shook my head. - Just to tell me about hunting and to my place.
- Come in, to respect the elder. Let's drink tea with honey or jam. Though it's from last year, but they are not candied at all.
- Good.
Again they sat down on the bench in the arbor. In a couple of minutes a woman a little younger than my companion, in a long flowery dress and a shawl thrown over her shoulders, came out of the house. She was carrying a kettle and a tray with cups. After placing the dishes on the table, she left and came back again with "rosettes" full of light honey and cherry jam.
- Decided to show his usefulness and demonstrate the capabilities of golems? Or were you solving some business of your own? - he asked me.
- More like the former.
- And what do you need the jerry cans for?
- Canisters? Oh, canisters...
- What do you need blood for, Alex? - he suddenly asked.
I shuddered, panic struck my brain for a second, and then it dissipated immediately.
"Why should I be afraid? The truth will come out sooner or later."
- For golems, Jack. Can I ask you a question?
- How did you know? - he guessed. - There is such a thing - eighteen-fold binoculars. With it I could see the dirt under your feet, and not only how you bled from the throat of those beasts. Do they drink blood, your golems?
- What?" I was astonished at his question. - Come on, they're made of iron. It's not like that. The blood that flows in these things, I call them hyenas, by the way, has the power to bring any object to life. Golems can be paper, glass, or even wood, like Pinocchio. There is something in the blood that is not found in ordinary animals and our people, so you need not fear for yourself and the people of the village.
- Aren't there any monsters born at the hunting ground, like that knife-wielding multiform that crawls around your cars?
- His name's Crawler, and he's moderately intelligent. Nope, they don't. You have to add to that blood my blood, or rather, my wish, that a golem be born.
- You are a warlock," he said.
- A mage, yes. Ha, it's amazing to hear someone your age say that. Dumas and stories about communists and Komsomol members are better for you than fantasy, Jack," I smiled.
- The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion," he said. - Do the names sound familiar?
I nodded.
- I grew up on them. That and a lot of others, Alex," he grinned. - I read them before I transferred. So I know what golems and bloodbenders are.
- I see. Honestly, I never would have believed it.
- Never mind," he waved his hand. "Everyone should have an outlet in life, where they can rest their soul. So isn't common blood good enough for you?
- I suppose so, but it would take too much of mine to mix and it would take too much blood to drain.
- Will you make a golem for the village? The hunters can bring you more of those hyaenas, or rather their blood, if you must," the man asked quickly.
- They will still obey me, Jack. I have not yet tested their loyalty to the other commanders. I shall try to make one in the next few days and hand over the Tin Man to you, but temporarily, of course, only when I am on the road.
- What's a Tin Man?
- The very first golem I was in the village with. He walks around with a sledgehammer all the time, and sometimes with a shield.
- Ah," - the head grinned slightly, - "that one. God, what is not good for us.
- You shouldn't say that, Jack. It was he who killed those hyenas today. Yes, Jack, we shouldn't send hunters after those things. They may not be able to cope. I've run into them twice, and barely got out alive both times. These things, they're fucking fast. Plus, they can camouflage themselves so you can't see them from fifteen meters into the grass. The only thing that saved me was the golems, even though I always had a gun. I don't know how, but they sneak up close and personal. I wouldn't be surprised if they had some sort of eye-diverting ability. There's a reason their blood contains so much magic.
- Does it? - He said thoughtfully. - Oh, I see. Well, I'll be sure to tell mine.
I didn't have any tea. After talking and clearing up the situation with me, Jack Smith hurried off somewhere and sent me away again. The only thing I could ask him was the repair of the Loaf ". He presented it as a reward for killing two most dangerous raptors and for the skins, which the head had decided to take off, having found out that the fur of one of the raptors was practically intact. In the meantime, I had some free time, and so as not to spoil the blood, I set about making a new golem.
The fourth golem was unusual. For starters, it had six long legs that ended with four wide toes instead of the usual feet. The legs were attached to a base woven from strips and harnesses of metal covered in steel scales. Together with the legs and base, the height reached one meter and thirty centimeters. On the base was attached a torso with a crude semblance of a head and a pair of very long, thick arms. To each limb I added a second elbow and a second thumb. The torso as well as the base was a weave of harnesses and bands beneath a fine, half palm-high steel scales.
- You'll be the Arachnid," I christened my new creation, which was two and a half meters above the ground.
After the Arachnid, I got to work on the Tin Man, deciding to fix his appearance to make it more pleasing to the eye. That cast-iron, wheel, and other junk were unpleasant to the eye. Twenty-odd liters of magical blood-extract was enough for everything, even the weapons for Arachnid, who, like Chappy, was armed with a long spear with a broad tip. The only difference was the counterweight on the heel of the weapon, for at three meters long, Arachnid spent a little more time fighting inertia during the swing than he would have liked.
After finishing my new creation in the evening and straightening the old one, I collapsed like a log on the converted seat of the Jeep and fell into a dead sleep.
In the morning, taking Chappy and the Tin Man, I paid another visit to Smith's.
- Greetings, Alex, how are you doing on the magic front? - He greeted me with a smile. - I see that you have a new acquisition? And there's another one left to guard the castle, all big and leggy?
- I see that your intelligence service, Jack, is working very well, - I grinned.
- So you did not hide anybody, and what intelligence, - he waved his hand contemptuously. - The kids saw it, told their parents, and I heard the rumors from them.
- Kids and kids, parents and gossip, - I shook my head. - Only yesterday a golem appeared, and today his picture is already on your table.
- It's a village," he threw up his hands. - You sneeze at one end, they'll wish you health at the other.
- I see, I'll know. Well, what have I come to you, Jack, - I mentally ordered to come forward Lumberjack: - Here is your assistant and my contribution to the affairs of the village. It's not a new golem, just slightly adjusted and a little strengthened. Called Lumberjack, a little slow, but it is not strongly apparent. Can't sprint, that's all. But he's already got three wood hyenas on his record.
- Will he listen to me?
- Let's find out. Lumberjack! Do all this man's commands, like mine.
- And? - The chief squinted.
- So test him," - I shrugged, - "I'm curious myself.
- Ahem... ahem, Tin Man, lie on your back.
The golem rattled his weapon and slumped on the concrete path.
- It seems okay," - I commented, - "if you have any questions, then feel free to contact me. I won't give you the warranty card, but there's no such service in our company," - I joked.
Returning home, I visited the yard where the technician was working on my car. At that moment, seeing him fiddling with the metal, jacking and turning something and so on, I had the idea of making a small, bucket-sized multi-armed golem. It might come in handy during looting, for instance while taking apart the cars, machines, appliances, etc.; it would be able to squeeze through cracks and twist at the same time. There are a lot of ways to use it!
Today ... no, tomorrow I will do it. Too bad I don't have the right ingredient and will have to make do with my own blood and chicken blood, and too bad I feel lousy after yesterday's bloodletting. But again, the good thing is that the body recovers blood very quickly and I am not in danger of a long rehabilitation period from blood loss. I guess it's my personal peculiarity, a mutation.
I managed to arrange with Smith to give me a couple of liters of chicken blood without any problems. Then I arranged myself a small, incomplete glass of blood, then gathered in a pile of seven kilograms of scrap metal and began to create. To be honest, I was fascinated by the very possibility of creating quasi-living creatures out of nothing, out of garbage. If I had as much blood as an elephant, I would still be walking around with a pale face and suffering from anemia and weakness. But I would have all sorts of golems around me.
As I created the small repairman, hundreds of ideas popped into my head. One of them was to make a golem out of a loaf. The advantages are obvious: I don't need to control the car, it chooses its own road, patching the damage, and, most likely, it does not need gasoline, or can consume any combustible fuel, up to the oil, especially if this function I "prescribe" when activating the creation. The only pity is that I won't have enough for two tons of metal, plastic, and rubber.
However, it will be possible to try sometime. At least in parts to create. It is worth checking this option: find a "loaf" or other powerful spacious car, take it apart and make a golem of it, then gradually add the remaining parts to it and bring the form of creation closer to the machine form, until one day the last part will be in place and the golem will not seem like an ordinary UAZ. We managed to change the shape of the Lumberjack, so maybe we can do the same with the transport. And look at how Crawler grows and easily integrates each of my "gifts" into itself.
- But it's definitely not now, - I sighed, then looked at the small golem, which by the number of limbs and shapelessness gave a hundred points advantage of Crawler, and said: - And you will be Shpuntik.
UAZ was repaired quickly, but they didn't do much: they replaced two cracked leaf springs, added one extra leaf to each pack, welded with gas-welding the eyes for shock absorbers, which had broken because of the increased load, two shock absorbers also went under replacement (luckily, UAZ is fairly common, and many people have spare parts), put the muffler back, put the long roof rack and... everything. We were advised to change the rubber or not to overload the car any more, since a couple of wheels had small "hernias" that could explode at any time.