"Serve me."
It was the first thing Kenric said to the golem when it shrunk back to its original size. Everyone stared at him for it, but he had eyes only for the golem right now.
"What?" Noodle exclaimed, "Boss, are you crazy? That thing isn't a person, it's… magic!"
Kenric spared him a glance, "Your point?"
"That thing isn't like Lady Filangris: it's not a mage, it's an inexplicable monster made of rocks! And you want to bring it with us?"
"Inexplicable?" Kenric asked, "Weren't you listening when Lady Filangris was telling us about golems?"
"Yeah, but she said normal golems can't talk and stuff, right? They just listen to orders," Noodle said. He turned to Elizabeth, "Come on, tell him how weird this is!"
Elizabeth looked conflicted, "I… must admit, I have never heard of a golem possessing free will and being able to talk, much less it being able to grow in size as well." She asked the golem, "I know you said you have sentience because you were a living soul transplanted into the body of a golem, but how can you grow so large?"
The golem shrugged, "Magic."
"Are there limits to it?" Kenric asked.
"One of them you pointed out yourself," the golem said, "It's not really a limit, but my weak point gets bigger as well, so I always have to think about that. The second, and way more important limit, is that the larger I get the less time I can remain operational. I have to stop moving for a while if I grow too big for too long. Also, I have to stand on earth to grow big, I can't pull it off on any other surface. My master said it was because of resonance or something." He was speaking subduedly, volunteering information with no hesitation—losing must have come as a big shock to him.
"I see," Kenric said, "And how big can you get?"
"As in my maximum size?" The golem asked, "I don't know the exact measurement, but it's pretty dang big. I can get higher than these trees, at least. Of course, like I said, if I do get that big, I'll only be able to move around for like ten seconds before shutting down for a while."
Kenric smiled slightly, "That won't be a problem at all. I repeat: serve me. Do so, and you'll have plenty of enemies to show your superiority off to. That's what you said you wanted, no?"
Noodle pulled at his hair frustratedly, "Haven't you been listening to me, boss? This thing is unnatural, how can we ever trust it? It even killed all those guys who came before!"
"Hey, I haven't even said I'll accept yet," The golem protested.
Kenric ignored him, "According to the golem, they attacked first."
"And why wouldn't they?" Noodle said, "Look at it! It's a monster! It—!"
Kenric tapped his cane against the ground firmly. The ground was soft, so it didn't make a loud sound, but even the soft thud was enough to stop Noodle in his tracks. He pinned Noodle with a cold, hard look, "Defeat him then."
"Wh-what?"
"Defeat the golem, and prove to me that you'll make up for all that I'll lose by discarding him," his tone brooked no argument, and Noodle knew it. He looked between them, as though trying to think of a new argument that might convince his mind, before finally sighing.
Kenric said, recognising Noodle's submission, "The matter is settled then." He turned back to the golem. The golem was silent for several moments before it spoke, its voice stronger now for some reason, "The way you do things is interesting. Alright, I accept. I pledge myself to your service."
Kenric grinned darkly, he could already imagine all the ways he could use this golem's abilities to his advantage, "Good. Now, you said you had no name. Simply calling you 'the golem' will get troublesome, especially if we come across any other golems, do you have any names in mind?"
The golem tilted his head in thought, "Not really, no. Call me whatever you like."
"Go, then. From golem," Kenric decided immediately.
"Er…" Elizabeth said.
"Is there a problem?" Kenric asked.
Noodle palmed his forehead, muttering, "The same thing happened with Aida…" He said accusingly, "That's not a name."
"Have you any suggestions then?" Kenric asked.
"How about… Gordon?" Elizabeth said, "It incorporates the Go."
"Gordon it is," Kenric said, "Any problems with that name?"
"Gordon…" the golem nodded, "Gordon works."
"Good," Kenric said, "Now, can you decrease in size as well?"
"No, I can't get any smaller than this," Gordon said, "I can only grow bigger. Besides, why would I even want to get smaller? That's dumb."
"That means we can't take you back with us," Kenric said, "In that case, you will go that way—" he pointed north, "—until you see a city. There should be a road there, you will follow it west—"
"West?" Gordon asked.
"You will turn left while facing the city," Kenric explained, "Then you will follow that path until you see a destroyed village on a hill. You will wait for us there. Will you have any problems with this?"
"Uh… straight, city, left, and then destroyed village," Gordon recited, "Nope, I should be all good."
"Excellent," Kenric said, "Make sure not to let anyone see you. Do golems need sleep?"
"Sort of," Gordon said, "But I can keep going for several days if I have to. I just need to shut down for a bit to charge up the magical energy that lets me move from time to time."
"I see," Kenric said, "That's why you can't move for long when you grow larger, because you use up all your magical energy."
Gordon shrugged, "That's my best guess."
"In that case, travel primarily by night," Kenric ordered, "You'll have a better chance of remaining hidden."
"Got it," Gordon gave his best attempt at a bow, "See you soon then."
"Tomorrow, most likely," Kenric said. He gave him a nod before turning to leave, "Come, let us return to Lord Aubet and tell him his threat is gone."
"And what are we going to say?" Noodle asked, "We don't exactly have proof."
"A good point," Kenric said, "Noodle, get me something from one of Lord Aubet's soldiers' corpses. Something like a pendant will do. The rest he can confirm himself when he sends his people to retrieve their bodies."
Noodle sighed at the thought of returning to that scene of horrors, "Yes, my lord…"