Another person who was swamped with work was Grand Master Unroh. Right now, he was sitting in his workshop built under the sands of the desert. He was one of the first permanent residents of the new city. The other people, who were permanently living there, were the workers building the town. His workshop was the largest room ever built. It has plenty of space for a workbench, storage with shelves for tools and materials, and a small living area. There is only a simple bed, a low cabinet with a bowl of fresh water on it, and behind a curtain, there is a simple composting toilet. As in all towns, there were immediately people willing to take away the waste and bring him fresh water. The same goes for light stones. Living underground protected from the desert heat, but at the same time required access to a light source. Enchanters and artificers like him could earn a lot of money for making magical lamps, and kids collecting used stones and recharging them in the sun will also make some extra coppers.

  His task was recreating the Dungeon Mistress communication artifact. Despite his vast experience, it wasn’t an easy task. He wasn’t allowed to take it and study as long as he needed. It was the gods decision, and it makes sense. The dungeon and its master were sent to inspire and teach, not giving finished things.

  Another problem was a different way of designing arrays and using runes. The usual practice was to add the necessary elements around the core. It could create a tangled mess, which the artisan needed to find a starting point to untangle and understand how it works. Dungeon Mistress, however, created a new way. The array was divided into separate parts. They were next to each other, or sometimes overlapping, but each had its own purpose. She refined her way with each new golem, and this artifact was an example of a fully developed technique. On the one hand, it makes it much easier to identify all crucial parts and understand their functions. The Dungeon Mistress used these parts in different configurations on different golems, much like a tiler creates different mosaics from the same simple stones. It was a brilliant idea, most likely coming from her previous life, but it made it difficult to understand the whole thing. Normally, it was the core that decided how mana interacted with runes, and after inspecting it, you could tell the general purpose of the array. The new design had no core, and the result was the sum of all its parts. He needed to copy the whole array exactly and learn as much as he could in the process. With time, by observing the flow of mana, he will understand how it works.

  Right now, he was eating a late dinner after a whole day of building his own communication artifact. Tomorrow, he and Dungeon Mistress will test it to see if it is possible to connect two artifacts built by different artisans. This was one of the key tests to determine the usefulness of these artifacts. Every artisan has a little different way of doing things, not to mention that there will be attempts to add something more or improve the design. All this was praiseworthy, but it could make it impossible to connect artifacts made by two different people. It will be a disaster for citadel commanders if they cannot send messages reliably. To ensure reliable use, strict rules may need to be introduced regarding the creation of communication artifacts.

  For now, he was inspecting his own first artifact.

  “Let’s see if everything is in order.” He muttered to himself while eating. “This part is for creating an illusion. This part shows if someone wants to talk with you. Here we have a part that sends and receives mana from the caller.” This was, in his opinion, ingenious. Mana was sensitive to the will of the caster, but it also meant it could carry someone's will. Other dungeon masters were telling of strange waves carrying news. Obviously, none of them were able to explain how to do that. Last week, when he asked her about that, she said that she knew, she tried that, but mana interfered too much, so she used mana instead.

  He smacked his forehead.

  “Of course! I need to send my mana instead of the dungeon.” He finished his meal and plunged into the work to build a new artifact.

  Knocking on the door woke him up. His body was stiff because he had dozed off over his worktable.

  “Good morning, Grand Master. I came as usual to ask if some help is needed.” On the other side of the doors, a young human was standing. He was one of the people taking away the waste. “Everything all right, Grand Master.” He added, seeing a halfling artificer dishelved and with bloodshot eyes.

  “Yes. I just lost time while working.” Unroh answered. “Thank you for your concern. Please check everything like always. I think I will take a short nap after that.” His stomach grumbled. “After I eat something.” He added.

  Around noon, he was working again on his newest artifact. He checked the amulet he had created during the night and the modifications to the circuitry inside the wolf golem. He ordered one to study how it works. From the other golems, he ordered only their heads to see the changes and improvements made by the Dungeon Mistress. He doesn’t have the space anyway to collect all of them.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  When everything was in order, he pushed mana into his amulet. He felt that the connection was established, but the golem didn’t move.

  “Stupid me.” He muttered after long inspection what went wrong. “Magic didn't make it move. It’s the heart of the golem that moves it.” He opened a small compartment on the side of the golem and started moving the crank.

  “Let’s try one more time.” He pushed mana into the amulet, and this time, the connection was much better. “Stand.” He commanded, and the golem obeyed. “Ha ha ha! I did it!” For the next hour, he tried every possible command while carefully observing the golem's reaction. One problem became apparent right from the start. Golem doesn’t think. You command him to move forward, and he moves, not caring if something is on the way. Commands must be precise and thought out. The second issue was a mana. It turns out that to operate the golem, you needed to sacrifice a significant portion of your mana, and without high mana regeneration, the time for using it would be short.

  Regardless of those shortcomings, he did it and was officially recognized by receiving the title of golem tamer.

  When he took the golem out, panic almost broke out. It takes him some time to explain that he tamed this golem. But when people finally realized his achievement, they started congratulating him.

  “I can’t believe it! I’m hallucinating from the overwork already.” The Grand Forge master shouted. “You did it. I know that if someone could do it, you are a safe bet, Grand master Unroh. But see it for my own eyes? I almost can't believe it. How did you do it?”

  “I just connected the golem to my mana through this amulet. I’m acting like dungeon core to make it move.”

  “Of course! All dungeon creations are connected to the core and act according to the dungeon master's will.” Eriser agreed. “Well, now you are rich men. Also overworked. Anyone who can afford to pay you will immediately place their order for a golem.”

  “Grand Master, at the nearest convenient time, I want to discuss the possibility of ordering golems for holy knights. Also, I can provide people who will test how it could be used.” General Serator told.

  “I appreciate the offer. I will be grateful for help, and promise to help defenders of the innocent to the best of my abilities.” Grand Master Unroh proclaimed.

  “And now let us celebrate Grand Master achievement,” Naomi shouted.

  The golem was thoroughly tested over the next week. They even need to repair it three times. Initial assessment was that the golems could help, but only in specific situations. Frontline fighters couldn’t use them at all. Golems were not independent and needed commands from the operator to perform any action. People, while fighting, don’t have time to shout orders. The second drawback was the high mana cost needed to use them. Warriors rarely excel in the size of available mana and mana regeneration rate, and all they have is used during combat. And finally, repairs and maintenance. Even for a skilled craftsman, it can take several hours to remove the covers, clean the interior of sand, and reassemble.

  However, for caring goods and for mages, they could be promising. While walking, you don’t use mana, so porters with good mana and mana regen could use them.

  But for mages and archers, they could be an interesting tool. In battle, after the first salvo or two, the mage switches to assist frontliners, eventually trying to target enemy staging on the back. All mages had a good mana pool and regen, and some archers too. They are not distracted by the fighting on the front lines, and they can use golems in direct combat.

  “Lieutenant Syllia, reporting for duty.” The elven mage announced herself, entering the office of the General Serator.

  “At ease. How is your training with the golem going?”

  “It looks promising, General. As I mentioned in my previous report, I think my experience with animals is helpful. According to Grand Master Unroh, and I agree with him, mana can convey our will and feelings. For most people, an animal attack means biting or clawing. In reality, it’s much more. Sneaking, observing prey, choosing the right moment to jump. While I may not understand why they do what they do, I know how they do it. Golems supposedly remember how their living counterparts behave. While I give orders, I try to remember as much as I can what I saw in nature, and this could give my golem a better understanding of my order.”

  “Yes, I read the report. We need to test this more, but it sounds plausible. Lieutenant, I have a mission for you and your platoon. I wanted you to bring recent discoveries to the city of adventurers and give them to the dungeon master personally.”

  “Understood. What preparation do I need to make before departure?”

  “The route is prepared, and I organized sun elf guides for you. The crucial part will be the artifacts you will be carrying.”

  “Artifacts? You mean, sir, my golem and control amulet?”

  “There is one more artifact. I keep it completely secret, and you must destroy it without hesitation if you find yourself in a hopeless situation. Also, you can give it only to the dungeon master. No midlemen, helpers, or advisors.”

  “Understood.” She confirmed her orders.

  “Good. And now I will teach you how to use this artifact. Someone needs to explain how to use it.” He placed two small chests on the table and opened them. Inside were identical magical arrays. “Those artifacts allow us to talk over vast distances instantly.”

  “I heard rumors about trying to build such an artifact. Grand Master finally did it.” Syllia whispered, shocked.

  “To be exact, he recreated the Dungeon Mistress's personal artifact for the same purpose. But yes. Now you understand why it needs to be kept secret at all costs.”

  “Yes, sir. I swear that I will fulfill my task or die trying.”