Arturus cursed his companions. Cursed the ruins. Cursed his own stubbornness and curiosity. He banged his head yet again against a support beam. Another curse escaped his lips.

He knew he shouldn't even be here. After all, he was a theoretical professor. Not one of those young ones who dig in the dirt and explore ruins. If he just hadn't overheard those adventurers the last fortnight.

He didn't know why adventurers were visiting one of his usual bars, but their hushed talk he overheard, caught his interest at once. Everyone knew the old ruins of the old city of Ferlington. They had been found about fifty years ago. It had been explored by scholars and adventurers alike. There couldn't be found anything new. Or so he had thought. Till he overheard the men.

They had found a ruin below the ruins of the city. Much older and of different origin. Maybe he had been tired of all the younger colleges. What else might have moved him to finance an expedition? He hoped what he found might be worth it.

The group stopped in one of the abandoned gangways below the abandoned city. Most likely a service tunnel used by maids and servants. One adventurer grabbed a wooden wall and pulled it aside. Behind it was the entrance to a cave system. As the cave quickly slanted downward his group had no choice but to rappel down a steep cliff. This was not helping to get Arturus's mood up again.

When they finally reached the bottom he could see where a recent cave-in revealed part of the ruins he was looking for. Indeed they were unlike anything he had ever seen. Personally or in a book. Curiosity made him walk towards it, only to be held back by one of the adventurers.

Right. They had warned him. The ruins were protected by golems. Staying at the rear he let his experienced companions push deeper. They entered a wide corridor. Twelve person could easily stand side by side here.

They were maybe 90 feet into the ruin when Arturus noticed a figure slumped against the wall. The leader of the adventurers had noticed it too and instructed one of his guys to check it out. Damaged and not combat ready was the evaluation.

Nodding the leader gave the signal to move on. Coming closer, Arturus could see the golem for the first time in detail. It was not what he had expected. He had seen plenty and build a few of his own. But this was on another level entirely. The golem looked like a young woman. If it hadn't been for the gray skin and the damaged parts he would have sworn it was a human. But beneath, what looked like ripped skin, he saw metal and other non-organic components. Fascinated Arturus summoned a magic light and stepped closer to inspect the automaton.

Again he was grabbed by the leader. "Careful professor. They look dead but they aren't. After we secured everything we will get you some specimen."

The corridor ended about two hundred feet in. Opening into a big round room. Cautious they entered it and it was good that they were heading in carefully. Several golems were slumped against the wall just like the first one. Unlike the former, these started to move quickly. Charging the adventurers head on.

They were unarmed but Arturus figured out fast why they posed a threat. Most inflicted wounds didn't even faze them. They just continued on with kicks and punches. Only if the underlying support structure was damaged or a limb was torn off they would deactivate.

The curious thing was that the adventurers only pushed them back and didn't really attack. Then, after maybe five to ten minutes, one by one the golems stopped. More than that. They simply fell down where they were standing. The leader then checked how his team was holding up. Besides some minor bruises, they all were fine.

Arriving beside Arturus the group leader explained:"They can only activate for a limited amount of time each day. We do not know why."

"How intelligent are they?" wanted Arturus to know.

Shrugging the leader replied. "We saw team attacks like this before. Besides that. Well, that is your job to determine."

Arturus shuddered. These golems reminded him of nasty rumors he heard. A secret brothel had opened its gates. No prostitutes worked there. But rather lifelike dolls. At least that was the hushed word in the street. Arturus never gave them much interest. He took it as mere slander.

One of his colleagues is rumored of creating those dolls. The professor Benson was young and very driven. So he made quite some enemies and those rumors were surely a consequence. Simple slander. But now that Arturus saw these golems he vowed to himself to find out if there was any truth to it. Maybe he wasn't the first professional to visit these ruins. But for now, he had to concentrate on what lay before him.

They continued onward. The leader had told him at the beginning that there was a room deep inside that looked like a workshop and it was their first destination. From drawn maps, Arturus knew it was three corridors and two rooms further in.

On their way, they encountered one more ambush. Still, they managed to push through without loss. There were a few doors scattered about, but he saw no door handle or other means to open them.

Arturus was astonished that even with this evident age the ruins were still in great shape. But it all paled when they arrived at the workshop. He certainly could see why the adventurers had named it like that. Machines and tool littered the whole big circular room. He could also see why the leader wanted to show it to him. Half disassembled golems were scattered around and even more various body parts for them.

Surrounding the room were smaller rooms connected by doors and windows. A rather strange setup he remarked. However, all but one door were sealed. The one open reminded him of a vault door used in banks or treasuries. Or the remains of it. He saw the damage done by flames, acid and pure raw power.

Behind it was something of beauty. He stepped closer to examine it in detail. Arturus took it for a sculpture or an artificial side project of whoever built this room. He tried to describe it to himself but failed. It reminded him of a bush. But instead of wood, it was grown out of metal. Instead of normal leaves, it had small crystal-like pedals or thorns. Not bigger than a thumb's nail.

"Fascinating isn't it?" came from behind him. He turned around and saw the leader of the adventurers. "Its even more fascinating to see it work. By the way, greeting from professor Benson."

Before Arturus could reply he was pushed backward. Pain seared his back as the thorns and petals cut his skin. He pushed himself away from the sculpture. Yet one of the thorns stuck to his skin. Pain flared as it slid deeper and Arturus screamed in agony. He could feel the thorn cutting, drilling and burrow further into his flesh.

A sudden fatigue had him drop to his knees and hands. Then he collapsed on the floor. Still conscious he felt his body but a paralyzing numbness robbed him of every means of fighting back.

Finally, the thorn reached his heart. The pain ebbed away and for the first time, he could think clearly. He quickly deduced that thinking, hearing and staring straight ahead are all the options left to him.

While slumped down he couldn't see the treacherous leader but he could hear him. "Good. Another one caught in the trap. Strip him and dump him over there. Then we clear the rest of the ruins. Finally, we load some golems and get outta here. Got it? Get moving."

Arturus couldn't do anything as he was manhandled. Once stripped of his clothes he felt the roughness and the chilly surface of the floor. Laying on his back he stared straight up. Time passed. How much he couldn't tell. He heard now and then activity around him. Male voices inquiring what was going on. Screams of agony. The thump of bodies around him. Probably the hired help to steer the carts upstairs. With sadness, he concluded that he wasn't the only victim.

Then the adventurers left. Though by now he wasn't sure they were real adventurers. The leader mentioned professor Benson. Had all this been a setup for him? He had many questions. But even if there had been someone around his body couldn't move. Asking was outside of his capabilities. As was anything else. Panic tried to grip him. Whatever his future was holding now he knew it wasn't good. And that scared him.

*****

More time passed. The floor underneath him slowly got less cold. But his mind deducted the real reason. The floor wasn't getting warmer. His body grew colder. He knew his body was cold as a corpse now. Was he dead? Was this his afterlife? Stuck in his dead body for eternity?

There was sudden movement of his body. Not by him. By someone else. He was manhandled. Again. Whoever it was dragged him over to a wall. Then he was flipped over and saw that it was one of the golems. It moved him more till his back rested against the wall and his head staring straight ahead. He recognized the pose. The same pose he had seen on the golems on his way down. He fought his own mind to not jump to conclusions.

He distracted himself by looking at the room. While he couldn't move his eyes, or even blink, he still saw enough for now. Of course, there was his naked body. A view of a part of the giant room. A few of the machines with unknown purpose. And bodies. Those of the helpers he had hired. Finally, there was a lone golem, the one who moved him, helping to rest another body against one of the machines.

Once done she moved out of his line of sight. There was a grinding sound. As if stone slid against stone. One of the doors he concluded. Then there was nothing. No movement. No sounds. Just the same static view. Time passed. How long he couldn't tell.

He woke up. Still, nothing had changed. New panic filled him. Yet he fought it down. He knew he would go insane if he let himself go down that path. Instead, he chose to fight. Not knowing what good it might do him. If it would even amount to anything. Still, he had to try. His mind was his greatest asset. That he knew.

Slowly he focused his mind on the task at hand. The only thing he could do. He studied his view. Not just in passing but every detail. First, he noticed he could still see. Why? The treacherous band had left. They were deep down underground and no torch around. Yet he could see. He spotted the answer shortly thereafter. Near the ceiling were long panels. They emitted light. Not much. Just enough to paint the room in a weak twilight. The machines purposes eluded him. Even after studying every detail for hours.

A grinding sound broke his concentration. The golem appeared again. She proceeded to move two more of his fellow bodies. Then she vanished again. But while she worked he noticed another detail. The skin of the other bodies had become pale. Like those of a corpse. With concern, he noticed that the golems skin nearly matched those of the bodies. His own included.

More time passed without anything obvious happening. It was the details that worried him. Changes so slow that anyone watching wouldn't notice. Those that crept in right under his gaze. It was the hair. It was growing. On the other bodies but also on his own. It was definitely faster than normal. After two more times succumbing to sleep his own reached his shoulders. The touch of them the first new thing feeling in several days.

But he noticed other changes too. He saw it on the other bodies first. They lost weight. Not like decomposing corpses. No. It simply vanished. Their bellies becoming more trim. Arms and legs lost definition. Their faces shifted. It was when the growth started in him when he had his final conclusion. Twin mounds grew right on his own chest. He knew it. They slowly would become women. Worse. They would join the other golems in the ruins.

Right then he should have been afraid or maybe go mad. Fearing the change. Instead, he wanted it to happen. Desperately hoping it would happen faster. Not because he wanted to be one of them. No. It was because he knew one thing: golems can move. Moving means he could still act. Acting means he had still a gasp on shaping his own destiny. It also meant that one day he could have revenge.

*****

Time was had to judge down there. So he set a rudimentary system to track it. The time span awake was one day. And day by day the changes were happening he expected. His chest and butt filled out. His legs got shapely. He couldn't see his face but by judging the other bodies it would become more beautiful and female. Of course, he had to watch as his male sexual organ receded day by day.

However, it was the unexpected changes that threw him off. After two weeks by his counting, he noticed a change in his vision. It became clearer. Sharper. Better. But there was more. Normally every human had a focused field of view and a peripheral area that was unfocused. Now slowly the focused area spread till it hit the border of his vision. Not the gradual fade to black. No, this border was crisp and clear. He was definitely intrigued by it. So far everything he had suffered through had been a loss to him. Now he gained something. Not much. But it told him there could be more to come. Things he didn't foresee.

The first came two days later. He could see the outline of a rectangle. The curious thing was that it was outside of his field of view. It was to the right. Just behind the border, it stood out against the black background. He didn't know how he could see it he just knew he could. Then he noticed something else. First, the bottom line appeared thicker. Then he got it. The rectangle was slowly filling. Like a glass being filled with wine. Ever so slowly it was filled in. When he guessed it was twenty percent full the rectangle turned orange. By fifty it turned yellow. Just when it became green, at seventy-five, he drifted off to sleep.

*****

He woke up when his vision was changed by movement. One of his fellow companions stirred and slowly stood up. He was elated that his theory was right. They would all be able to move again. The shaking newly born golem had its first steps. Slowly it moved closer. Bridging a few steps towards Arturus. Then it picked up a chunk of debris. It turned to Arturus again and he suddenly knew he was in trouble. Whoever it was was blaming him for their demise.

A moment later it swung the crude weapon down. Hitting him everywhere. Pain seared his body. But as quickly as the onslaught started it stopped. The other golem collapsed on top of him. Once again without movement. He reasoned its allotted time must have been up.

Finally, he could assess his situation. He was in bad shape. The debris had cut into his skin in multiple areas. His vision was mostly blocked by a golem turned hostile to him. Worse the other transformed companions might hold the same grudge. But there were also new things. Below his vision, they where. It was strange alien writing on top of things that reminded him of signs or placards. The left didn't do anything but the right pulsed or flashed slowly. He wondered why.

As he concentrated on the right one suddenly his world expanded. Or rather the things he was seeing, below his vision, expanded. There appeared something that reminded him of a window. Through it, he could see a young woman. By the gray skin, he knew it was a golem. The golem was unmoving. Maybe because it was damaged. He saw some cuts on its torso. Lines of light linked these cuts to more strange texts of an alien script.

Then he figured it out. Those cut corresponded to his own cuts. He saw a diagram of himself. A rather realistic one. For the first time, he saw his new face. It was pretty, if not outright beautiful. It mesmerized him for a moment.

But then he reminded himself of the situation. If one golem could move by now surely all could. And they might seek revenge too. No matter how misguided it was. But it also meant that he too could move. He just had to figure out how. He concentrated on the right sign again and the window vanished. He had returned to his normal view. He found it strange that he could process his normal view and the detailed window at the same time. But for now, he pushed the curiosity over it aside.

Next, he concentrated on the left sign. He guessed right and movement came to him. After so long trapped in one position it felt strange to move. Yet he knew what he needed to do and that he had only limited time to do it. First, he pushed the other golem off himself. Then he scrambled to his feet. He knew now why the other golem had trouble at first. The shifted mass and the new shape was strange and he wasn't used to it. Still, he moved on or rather stumbled on.

Soon he ducked behind a machine and moved on ducked. Blocking the line of sight might help him shake off any pursuers. Then he noticed the rectangle. Just like he thought it was a gauge. One that was quickly draining. Looking around he saw two exits. One where they had come in and one leading to unknown areas. He chose the later.

However, as he came near it his gauge was nearly empty. He hurried to sit behind one of the machines. The way every golem usually sat. He knew the reason why. At least in this position, he could see a bit of the surrounding area.

Then the last of the gauge emptied and once again he became immobile. He noticed another thing. The left sign got darker. Probably to say it wasn't available at the moment. Now all he could do was to wait till he could activate his movement again and pray that no one found him.

*****

He was studying his health window when his gauge finally filled up to twenty-five percent. At the same time, it switched to orange again the left sign lost its darker shade. The gauge had filled slower than he thought. He had a theory why. The cuts were slowly closing. Not by much but enough that he noticed. That probably meant what animated him was also used to heal or repair him.

Now that he could activate himself again he contemplated if it would be wise to do so. With so little charge he couldn't move far. His pursuers would probably wait till they were full. But given his slowed recharging their movement range topped his own and there was a high chance they would find him next time they activated. The only option he saw was to move outside of the area they suspected him and that meant to move immediately and as often as he could.

He concentrated on the left sign. But given the function, he should rather think button. It didn't push inward but it carried a function. So button was a more correct guess than a sign he reasoned. Once again he felt his body stir. He also noticed that his gauge dropped at once into the red again. Maybe five percent. Probably needed for activation. Not good but he executed his plan anyway.

He barely reached the corridor before he had to stop. Again he had to wait. Then, when he reached twenty-five percent, he moved on. Just past a bend, he settled down. His charge had maybe two percent left. He concentrated on his activation button. His movement left him. Mentally he filed away that he could deactivate early to save charge.

Then he passed out from exhaustion.

*****

When he woke up his charge barely reached a third of the maximum. Again he activated and stood up. As he looked behind him, he froze. Not because his gauge was empty. No. Behind him, maybe ten feet away, was a golem. It looked like the charge had run out and it simply collapsed. He couldn't see the face but he recognized the piece of debris in its hand.

Spooked he moved on as fast as he could. A moment later he arrived in a small room. There were about a dozen golems leaning against the wall. His charge was running low and he made a snap decision. He quickly sat down between two golems and then lowered his head. Then he deactivated early.

It took some time but then he heard his hunter enter the room. He saw only the feet go from golem to golem. Finally, they stopped right before him. Delicate fingers lifted his chin and he saw his enemy's face. Slowly a nasty smile formed.

Then it lifted its weapon. Arturus was helpless. He couldn't activate yet. He was doomed. The golem swung its weapon down but missed. Two of the other golems had activated. They moved to protect Arturus. His hunter saw its impending loss and turned to leave, only to fall down as the charge had run out.

His protectors, however, did close in further. They pried the weapon away and then used it in a violent display of brutality to maul the hunter's legs. Throwing away the rock they came back to Arturus. They moved him into the proper golem resting pose and then sat beside him. For the first time in a while, he felt safe.

*****

It was strange. The golems around him didn't move. His body was still repairing the damage so it was recharging slower. The others lacked injuries so they should reach one hundred percent before him. Yet none of them moved, except for the one time when his hunter activated and started crawling towards him. Two other golems activated, dragged his hunter a little away, and then sat down again.

Arturus didn't mind much. It meant he had time to finally catch his breath. Well, not in the literal sense. He hadn't taken a single breath since his transformation. Not even when he activated. That was curious. With no air or other substance as food or water, how was his body moving? Magic? He had never been good at practical magic but what little he had eluded him now completely. He had checked time and time again before his first activation. So many questions. He just hoped he would find the answers and that these, in turn, wouldn't reveal new questions.

*****

The cuts on his body had been fading away. Only thin lines remained and he guessed those would vanish too. With his charge full he could activate. But for what? The group here gave him security. But on the other hand, they didn't move at all unless it was necessary. So what to do? There was one thing on his mind. He activated. Slowly he moved to his hunter.

Then, when he was sure it could see him, he started gesturing. He tried to convey it was not his fault. That he was a victim too. But as his hunter activated and saw the anger and hate in its eyes he knew he didn't reach it. As it tried to grab his legs he shuffled back only to bump into someone behind him. Turning around he saw that every other golem had activated. They had seen everything. Would they judge him?

One of them, the one on his left when he first sat down, stepped forward. She grabbed Arturus hand gently and lead him away. He saw her gesturing to the others and they too followed. Together as a group they moved into another corridor and followed it for a moment. Then the golem that led him stopped and let go of his hand.

She clearly was the leader he reasoned. It became more evident as she made a certain gesture. When the other golems saw it they looked for a spot to sit down and deactivated. Finally, she turned to him and repeated the gesture. He nodded and complied. After he had powered down she too sat down, right next to him, and went still.

Then they waited. Something he got used too in the last days and weeks. It wasn't long after Arturus charge went full that the leader beside him stirred. Another gesture, a new one, and all the others activated. Arturus followed their example. It made sense to him. Synchronized activation meant synthesized movement and resting place.

They moved further into areas of the ruins unknown to Arturus. He didn't mind. What bothered him more was that none of the others reacted much to his affords to communicate. He always got gestures that conveyed he should be patient. For what he didn't know.

But there were other things he noticed. The first time walking without being chased freed his mind to study things. For example his own gait and those of the others. He thought he had gotten used to his new body. After all, he had spent quite some time in it now.

But walking now brought new sensations. The sway of his hips and his bosom. Both very distracting. Unused to them he noticed his gait was off. Compared to the others he walked wrong. Like a man. Some of the other walked in female grace, used to their body. Arturus guessed they had always been female or were transformed a long time ago.

In the others, he saw a gradient between his gait and those walking like women. By it, he reasoned they had been once male, like himself, and in what order they were transformed. However, how long ago that was he couldn't tell.

It was one of the things it vexed him the most. Why are the golems female and why are they so lifelike? For what purpose. Is the transformation through the thorned metal bush the only way to create them? Were the souls of its victims needed? So many questions filled his mind and while he had now companions he still spent most of his time alone. After all what had the treacherous leader said? Golems could work only for five to ten minutes a day. He guessed it was more like five and the rest was fluctuation caused by early activation. It still meant he spent a lot of time each day unmoving. Alone with his thoughts.

*****

There was a routine. Three times they moved. The fourth time they used their short time span to socialize as best as they could. Some hugged each other to spend some comfort. Others danced. They also talked in a sign language he didn't understand. One more thing that vexed him. His curiosity was peaked when he saw two golems kiss passionately. How much of their biological function remained? Could they have sex?

With sudden insight, he knew they could. In a way. The rumors about the brothels came back to mind. He was sure there was a connection. Lifelike dolls. Golems. He was sure they were one and the same. It also meant that so-called "adventurers" had been here more than the one time they had told him. These rumors had been persistent the last few years. He wondered how many of his fellow golems were victims like himself. Lured here under false pretense.

There was a thought more terrifying: they will be back. And what would he do when they did? The limited time they had wasn't much and certainly not enough to last as a good defense. He shuddered at the thought how it would be if they caught him. It probably wouldn't take long to break someone. Take away the limited time they had and soon or later everyone would break. Besides most of them were defenseless. Who knows what the bastards might do. He needed a plan. Fast. For now staying with the group was his best option. But would that be enough? He certainly hoped so.

*****

It was about two weeks with the group when they arrived at another breach, where the ruins had crumbled and opened up to a cave system. What distracted him were the crystals overhead, growing from the ceiling. They gave off a soft glow. He saw remains of crystals on the ground too but they appeared to be broken off on purpose.

They didn't venture in very deeply. Just enough till he noticed the soft sand beneath his feet. The leader pulled him aside and then one by one the golems around him wrote their names in the sand. So they hadn't traveled randomly through the ruins. Arriving here had been their goal.

He looked down and tried to memorize their names. The leader was Nerin. The others were Lily, Sara, Iris, Babs and a few others. Finally, it was his turn to write his name down. As he had written his name down the others gathered. Nerin, the leader, crouched down and erased part of his name then added something. Arturus had become Arti. Babs however couched down too. When she was done his name read Artea. He saw smiles all around. Apparently, he just had been renamed.

Reluctantly he gave a thumbs up. He reasoned he could be Atrea to them. After all, he knew who he really was and making a fuzz out of the topic might lower their willingness to help him.

After the introductions were done Arturus finally could ask some questions. Though their limited time frame and the limitation of writing in the sand made it a tedious task. It took days but he learned a lot. Mostly about their history.

Not everyone had been lured here. Some were stuck here for decades. It didn't matter what they were before. Adventures in search of loot. A thief desperate for a hideout. Merchants who had looked for shelter in a storm and stumbled upon the entrance.

Lily had come to look for her missing brother. When he asked if she had found him she nodded and pointed at Babs. Everyone had an origin but it all didn't matter now. They were golems now. They talked about why they stayed here and didn't try to get help from outside.

They reminded him of the steep climb downward. Without a rope, they couldn't hope to climb the rock face. Not with their limited time. Finally, they told him about the crystals. They warned him they were a big danger to them. That a single touch was all it needed. They compared them to drugs but with only a very short duration. Some golems got addicted to them and hoarded them. They warned him to stay away from those junkies. They defend their stash against everyone.

He still had more questions but Nerin told him they had to move on. Staying at one point for too long was dangerous. But before they did go they lead him a little more into the cave. There was a big underground lake. What made it special were the many crystals glowing under the surface. Much bigger and brighter than the one that lined the ceiling. He also saw that the rocky shore immediately dropped down in a steep cliff on all sides.

What horrified him where the dim outlines of golems he could make out on the ground of the lake. Probably junkies that wanted to reach the bigger crystals in the lake. Now they were stuck there forever. Arturus frowned and turned away. After the next rest, they left the caves behind them.

*****

Their next stop was clear. Back to the workshop. Nerin told him of the golem named Tara. Like himself, she was a scholar, though her focus was purely on archeology. However, they all agreed that his own focus, magical machinery, and automatons, could be beneficial. Now they just had to persuade Tara to share her knowledge with him. Something that might prove difficult, as she was known to be very secretive.

It was five days after their departure from the cave that they arrived at the entrance. Like every day, they sat down to rest. From what Nerin had told him it would take three or four more days for them to reach the workshop. He hoped that the others that had fallen victim would have moved away. He didn't want another confrontation. Even with his new group as support.

*****

It was late and he nearly had drifted off to sleep when sudden sounds broke the silence. He could hear footsteps and voices. Next, he saw torchlight coming nearer. He knew it was probably them. The bastards responsible for his demise. He checked his charge. Maybe a pinch over fifty percent. Not that great. He knew what would follow was a fight. He didn't look forward to it. Not with the goal that Nerin taught him. They took undamaged golems with them so the number one priority was not to harm them. It was to provoke them enough that they damaged him. He knew he would repair himself over time but still, he didn't like it. Damage hurt and the repairing would slow down his recharging speed.

Cautiously they advanced closer. They knew that Arturus group would most likely attack them. It was hard for Arturus to not activate. He wanted to beat them to a pulp for what they did to him.

Not convinced of their helplessness the leader ordered one of his men to spear one of the golems. The man complied and rammed it deep into Lili's tight. He knew it must hurt but she didn't activate. That earned her some respect from him.

Next, they spear one of the other golems. Still no reaction. Satisfied the leader commented that they probably had no time left and ordered his men to move through. It was when two-thirds of the group had passed that Nerin activated and with her the rest. Like furies the charged at the men. The resulting skirmish quickly descended into chaos.

Arturus anger got the best of him. He forgot the plan or strategy. He just wanted to hurt them. He kicked and punched left and right. Then his hands grabbed on to something. The neck of a man.

Arturus strangled him with all his might. Watched with satisfaction the vain attempts to stop him. Suddenly his vision halved. His hands slipped. His legs gave in. His body shut down because of massive injury. He didn't know what it was. Only that it hurt like a hell and he could only see with his left eye. The pain faded quickly. It didn't vanish. It just became a muted sensation. He felt it before with the cuts but he had thought it was nothing.

Now robbed of his movement yet again he could only watch. He saw a few of the other golems laying on the floor. Their bodies damaged. The rest of their group still fought but with their numbers gone the enemies could hold them at a distance. Then one by one the flopped to the floor. Their charge empty and their bodies undamaged. Artrus knew that was a bad sign.

Their group had killed three of the enemies. Sadly, Arturus noted, his intended victim still lived. Coughing like hell but the bastard was still standing. Suddenly his head was jerked around. Something slid out of him. Then he saw a man stepping over him. In his hand a short spear that dripped black ooze. That was curious. Was that ooze from him? Arturus had seen it from a few other golems before. But not everyone was leaking it.

With nothing else to do and his curiosity was caught, he opened his health window. There he saw his body. Mostly untouched but in his head, he saw the big wound. It had clearly gone through him. Entered through the back of his head and pushed out through his right eye. His logic dictated that he had to be dead. That his brain had been pierced. Yet he lived. That meant something else must have taken over the function from it.

Clearly, the body of a golem was a lot more different than he had first thought. Closing the screen he concentrated on his surroundings again. The enemy group had left but they didn't stay away for long. When they came back they carried the undamaged golems away.

New rage flooded Arturus, but he was helpless. He was only a spectator now. But it became worse when they returned again. A long line of unwashed and chained feet shuffled past him. Slaves. He guessed at least twenty. When the enemies returned sometimes later the slaves weren't with them. Sadly Arturus knew where he could find them. Soon the ruins would have many new golems.

*****

It took days for his wound to close. Meanwhile, his recharge speed had slowed down significantly. He was glad for Lily who still had only her damaged leg. She was the first one being able to activate again. She helped as many of them as she could to the normal resting position.

The next days were boring for Arturus. However, one incident stood out. A single golem moved past their group. She carried many of those crystals Narin had warned him about. A junkie. When the golem stepped over him one of the crystals dropped and landed on his chest. Contrary to Nerins warning he felt nothing unusual. Maybe it was a different sort of crystal. This one and those the junkie was carrying missed their glow. Quickly the junkie grabbed the dropped crystal and hurried on.

When she had distanced herself enough she sat down. She piled the crystals beside her and froze. Instead of the usual stare at a room, this golem only looked at the crystals. It was late and Arturus was tired so he let himself fall asleep. The next morning greeted him with the same sight. His group still healing and the junkie still some distance away. However, there was one difference. The crystals were glowing. That was curious. He was even more intrigued when he saw what the awakened junkie did. Instead of grabbing all the crystals and hurrying on she only picked up one.

A smile of delight crept on her face. She moved the crystal along her body as if it was body paint of some kind. Slowly the crystal lost its glow. When it had dimmed down she picked up another one and continued on. This repeated itself till she had only one left. Instead of moving it like the others she deftly pushed it into her vagina. She shuddered as an orgasm wracked her. Though all Arturus could hear was the faint sound of her limps scrapping against the floor.

Then she gathered her stuff and hurried on. Arturus was bewildered. Had he really just seen a golem masturbating? But there was something else. Something he couldn't put his finger on till it suddenly dawned on him. Time. Or rather the time he had watched her. It had been long. Longer than a golem usually could activate.

Instead of the maybe eight or so minutes, it had been thirty or even more. And then she still had charge left to move on. Something was fishy and he reckoned it had to do with the crystals. He activated and looked around. He noticed the others had looked in a different direction. Hadn't seen her masturbate or how long. But he noticed one more thing. The Golem hadn't dropped one crystal. She had dropped two.

The second one had missed Arturus and was now laying behind him. Outside of the other golems view and shining in a soft glow. Arturus knew he had to touch it. Test it. Find out its properties.

Remembering his own guess that it may extend his charge he did prepare first. He looked for a prominent line standing out on a nearby wall. He aligned it with the current charge displayed by his gauge. It had maybe drained nine percent. Then he blindly touched behind him till his fingers met the crystal.

He knew when he did. It felt good. Good as in arousing. It was as if the skin that touched the crystal had become an erogenous zone. But he didn't let himself be distracted too much. He carefully monitored his gauge. Slowly but steady it was climbing. It nearly reached one hundred when it stopped. Not just his gauge but the arousing feeling in his fingers too. Looking down he saw that the crystal had lost its glow. So there was a way to extend the time. Did Nerin and the other know?

What would the do if they knew of his experiment? For now, Arturus decided to keep his findings hidden. But carrying the crystal around might expose him. He needed a plan and he quickly found one in the example of the junkie. He palmed the crystal in his hand. Not hard as it was only as big as his ring finger. Then he stood up and walked a bit around as he had seen others do. When he was sure no one would see what he was about to do he stopped.

He hesitated for a moment. What he was about to do was unsettling to him. He wasn*t that used to his new anatomy. Still, he did go ahead and quickly pushed the crystal into his own vagina. No orgasm followed. Probably because its glow had been drained. However, a shame filled him. Before he could do anything to betray his deeds he returned to his spot and deactivated.

*****

Two days later the last golem had healed and they moved on. However, things were different. When they moved Arturus always noticed a slight good feeling from his Vagina. It always dimmed down after a short while. The other thing was that Nerin was more cautiously. Normally they moved till they had only ten percent charge left. Now she stopped at around twenty.

More vexing was that she took longer to start moving too. It took Arturus a week till he figured it out. The crystal was still active. It made his charge last longer. So Nerin stopped like she usually did and he had only more charge left because of the crystal. Of course, the crystal helped to recharge him too.

That explained why he had to wait on the others in the morning. He had gotten so used to his charge cycle was a time measurement that he hadn't noticed when it changed. Of course, there also was the erotic tingling after an activation. He reasoned that the feeling was his instinct to sort away the unknown feeling of the power transfer from crystal to him. Once the crystal was empty it did go away.

Though he hadn't checked yet he reasoned that the crystal helped to charge him first and only then, when he was full, filled itself. It was as if the crystal was a secondary charge gauge. Now that he thought about it it made sense. The bush or to be more precise its thorns had been crystal too.

He smelled a connection there. He needed to conduct some experiments. More importantly, he needed more crystals. Good thing he once had to listen to a boring lecture of one of this geology colleges. Crystals can be grown. The most important thing was to have a seed. And as it happens he was carrying one with him.

***** authors note *****

Here the story ends. Not properly, but because my motivation to write it vanished. The plan was to write it as a defiant and scientific story to the end.

How should it have ended:
Arturus would have met Tara - the other professor turned golem - and together they would find a way to upgrade the golems. Extending their time and such. Before they could share this with the other golems another raid occurs. Arturus escapes by running to the underground lake and diving into it. By sheer determination, he manages to climb out of the lake only to learn a harsh truth. All golems in the ruins gone. So is the metal bush with its thorns.
Arturus does some last modifications to appear more human and then finds a way out of the cave only to learn a harsh truth. Decades had gone by. The golems common knowledge. The thorns of the bush broken off and inlet into daggers and swords.
As the last free golem, he sets out to free all the others and upgrade them to give them back their freedom.
When he manages it he becomes a hermit focused on one point: create a male golem body. As he had never given up on returning to being male.

I think the slow pacing of the story didn't help to keep my own interest in the story. After months without progress, I decided to abandon the story and focus on others.