Syllia chose five, the least tired, paladins from her platoon. The rest of her people, she dismissed, and ordered them to find a place. Due to the siege, they will remain here for some time. Braking in was easy, but fighting their way out would be impossible. And they were holy knights, and it was against their oath anyway. They must stay here until the last orc, warlock, or other monstrosities dies. Only then will they be allowed to return. While they waited for their guide, they checked their gear. Syllia cleaned her golem cat and inspected for any major damage, but it looked good enough for one more run. However, after she finishes her task, she will need to spend a whole day properly checking her cat golem. Back in the oasis, she learned how to dismantle the armor and carefully clean all the machinery hidden inside.

  They don’t need to wait long before the Adventurers Guild's guild master appears.

  “I will guide you, Lieutenant.” He said.

  “I appreciate your help, Guild Master.” She answered.

  “Are your team ready?”

  “Yes. We can go.”

  “I heard you have some important news for our Dungeon Master. So the fastest route?” He asked when they cleared the first room.

  “Yes. We are also not interested in any prizes along the way. Maybe some mana stones will be useful, but we will look for them when we need a break.”

  “Understood.”

  The initial plan to reach the fifth floor in the morning was too ambitious. If Syllia and her knights were completely rested, they could do this. Although animals and monsters along the way weren’t dangerous for them, they still needed a few breaks along the way. The fatigue of the journey and the fighting under the city walls was slowly catching up with them. Nonetheless, they reached the fifth floor around noon the next day.

  At her destination, she dismissed her companions and waited for the Dungeon Master and all leaders of the city to gather.

  “Lieutenant, now that everyone is here, please tell us what happened in On Taram. While your achievement of taming the golems could be important, we all know that it’s just a distraction for spies.” Dungeon Master begins the meeting.

  “Yes, my lord.” Syllia nodded and reached into her bag for a small chest. “Grand Priestess, please break the seal.” She asked Vianola. The enchanted seal on the chest was designed to protect the most valuable and important scrolls. Only the grand priests of the Sun have the key and the knowledge to break it without damaging or destroying what is inside. And inside was another wooden box.

  “It was Grand Master Unroth's fault.” Grand Forge Master said, seeing the halfling's mark on the lid.

  “I was told it was actually Dungeon Mistress who created this artifact. Grand Master only managed to copy it.” The elven lieutenant answered and opened the lid. Inside, they saw an intricate array with some mana stones and gems attached to it. And none of them could understand it. “This artifact allows for instant communication with anyone who has a similar artifact.” Syllia's explanation made all gathered freeze in shock.

  “No wonder that you and your men were in a hurry,” Duncan whispered.

  “Is that this device from your world, Dungeon Master, which you tried to recreate so hard?” The Grand Scholar Melaniphi asked.

  “Radio. Yes. But it looks so different.” He confirmed.

  “The most important question is, does it work?” Minotaur Grand Priestess asked.

  “It should work, Grand Priestess. This gem is shining, which means someone is waiting beside another such artifact in On Taram.” Syllia pointed at the shining gem at the edge of the artifact.

  “Then please show us.” Dungeon Master said, and Syllia reached for the artifact.

  “The use is simple, but a little demanding. You need to know the person with whom you need to talk, and feed your mana into it. That's why someone from the On Taram is calling me. I don’t have a way to guess who is on the other side.” She explained and inserted her mana. Immediately, an illusion of a man in priestly robes appeared above the artifact.

  “Yes?” He asked, clearly surprised and nervous.

  “Lieutenant Syllia, reporting, completing orders given by General Serator. This is my path.” She said exactly how it was decided before her departure. A person can be captured, tortured, and drugged to force compliance. But the path never lies. The priest squinted his eyes to read everything to be sure.

  “I’m Priest Olen, and this is my path.” He showed his path to confirm that she is talking with someone from On Taram. “I will inform the General and the grand priests immediately about your success.”

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  “Understood. We will be waiting.” She answered and ended the connection.

  All gathered stood around her, trying to comprehend what had happened, or more like trying to ensure they weren’t dreaming. This priest was in On Taram, and they saw and heard him as if he were there with them.

  They needed to wait a whole hour before the artifact was activated again. During that time, Syllia explained everything about her golem and told us as much as she could about what was happening in On Taram. Until the siege, they received regular letters, but now it was impossible. Whenever orcs or warlacks see a bird, they hunt it down.

  When the call came in this time, they saw a group of people. All of them carry symbols of their stations, and at he front stood a young woman in a blacksmith outfit. After the lengthy introduction, they learn she was a Dungeon Mistress of On Taram. The whole conference began with Dunegon Mistress scolding Syllia for not resting properly after reaching the City of the Adventurers.

  “Dungeon Mistress, I want to apologize for my forgetfulness and for not sending Lieutenant immediately to the barracks to rest.” The General Commander bowed after sending Syllia away and reestablishing the connection.

  “It’s ok. I understand this is an important development that could change a lot, and everyone is excited about it.” She answered.

  The whole conference stretched for hours. There was a lot of information to exchange. The most important was Duncan's ability to coordinate the defense of the north, even being surrounded by enemy forces. The castles on the border were self-sufficient and had competent commanders, but his task was to predict enemy movements and organize a counterattack if needed. It will take time to build and deliver those artifacts to all citadels and other important places, but through On Taram, they could send orders and receive reports. But the most shocking part was what the Dungeon Mistress planned half a year ago, and General Serator made it happen. She created enormous golems that could carry cargo and troops to the besieged cities and castles. Yes, they managed to build only three of them so far. But they have already shipped them and plan to manufacture more. Though they can't say how quickly they'll be able to do so because they lack the manpower to build them.

  Skalamyr town was a mining town. It was placed around a week from the nearest border citadel, so it was quite far north. It was a prosperous city full of foundries and workshops, and underground, the dwarves made their own town. A few months ago, Commander of the Paladins received a letter that a company of castle builders would arrive in the first month of spring. They requested to start building a fort for them. It was a difficult undertaking, because it was the middle of winter, and roaming bands of necromancers. And they didn't have any building materials prepared. Nonetheless, they proceed. Miners, with the help of mages, break the ground, and woodcutters cut trees. Half of their work will need to be improved when the warm months come, but it can protect people for now.

  Rolf and nine other guards stood on the gates of the fort. He was the younger brother of Hyrra, and he had the warrior's path. He had a choice to become an adventurer, guard, soldier, or paladin. He chose to become a guard. He was nineteen years old, and it was the best way for him to gain experience before he decided to join the City Lord's army, or even enlist as a paladin. He wasn’t interested in becoming an adventurer because it would mean a lot of traveling, and most likely, he would never see his family again.

  Today they had nice weather. The temperature was still below the freezing point of water, but not by much. Builders were busy with their work, and scouts didn’t find traces of necromancers in the vicinity.

  Rolf suddenly saw movement on the south road. He squinted his eyes to be sure, but something was there.

  “Sergeant! Something is moving on the south road!” He shouted to his commanding officer.

  “Really? Let me see for myself. Most likely, it’s just a merchant. We had nice weather for the last few days, so most likely someone is trying to earn some gold.” The Elven officer said and took out his spyglass. After a moment, he found it and cursed profoundly.

  “How in the Lady's name do they do that, not being cursed by the gods!”

  “Sergeant?” Rolf asked worriedly.

  “It’s a castle builder's company.” He answered.

  “Then that is good. Yes?”

  “Some stupid southern noble sent with them an enormous beast. I don’t remember its name, but it’s so big that within a week, it will eat all our remaining stock of hay. And it has no fur to keep it from freezing.”

  “Maybe it’s a mana beast?” Someone asked.

  “Yes, sergeant. And if it’s a mana beast, it could be a meat-eating one. We could feed it with cultists.” Another added, but seeing the eyes of his superior, he immediately added. “Just joking!”

  “I hope so.” The elven sergeant answered and looked through the spyglass again, because something wasn’t right. The mana beast or not, if an animal can't handle cold, the tamer won’t be able to force it to move. There was also the color of the skin of the beast. It was the color of shining brass, not gray or any other color usual for living creatures. He looked at the crest on the forehead of the best. The shape of the tower was familiar, and the sword with the shield suggested holy knights. There was a strange wheal similar to the wheals used in dwarven machinery. He lowered his spyglass to look at the people, and then he saw something that made his legs almost buckle.

  “This is not a beast.” He whispered, shocked. “It’s the golem.”

  “Sir? Rolf asked, not understanding what his commander was saying.

  “Olav, Pert, Sylvia. Run immediately to the town. Inform all grand priests, City Lord, and our general that castle builders are coming and they bring a war golem with them.” He shouted an order.

  Shortly after the last of the officials arrived, expedition forces reached the fort. For some time, when the golems became visible, because it wasn’t just one but three enormous beasts, people stopped their work and gawked at the procession. Paladins and golems halted at the gates to the fort. On the side of the golem, doors opened, the ladder was unfolded, and someone walked down on it.

  He and the dwarven commander of paladins approached gathered leaders.

  “I’m Grand Master Losgram, commander of the Castle Builders company.” The dwarf saluted and presented his path.

  “I’m Lieutenant Henley. I’m the commander of the first On Taram Golem Platoon.” The human presented his path.

  “Welcome to the city, Skalamyr.” The city Lord stepped forward.