Master Of None

"The legs will need to be filled with many supports. They will have to be the toughest possible alloy we have if you want it to go in to battle. Elemental mana crystal spikes are easy enough as well. We have plenty to fashion in to spikes. The mana core will be tough. We will need to design a network of them so they can power every aspect." Grey was looking at the designs and blue prints much more carefully. 

"Why not just use runes to speed up the mana attraction around the spikes. I might not know how runes work since I haven't started to learn them. But I know what their purposes usually are." Walker wasn't sure why carving them all over a large shell would be a problem. 

"That's what we will do. It will take weeks to carve one properly over the curved surface but it will be worth the efficiency we gain." Grey clapped Walker on the shoulder sending him stumbling to the side.

"You can head to the mines and request a list of refined ingots for this project and what I will need." Grey scribbled a long list down and gave it to the apprentice to take with him. The look of joy that the apprentice wasn't being sent away from the city was all too plain on his face. 

Gils' attention had been caught on something from across the room. "I have never seen a monster like that. What is that golem based off of?" Grey turned around and saw what Gil was gazing at. 

"Come and look what we have. It could be the lucky apprentice who gets to travel the world." Grey knew that Gil had just found something interesting but wanted to wait for the heroes to make their opinions now. 

"I haven't seen a monster like that either. Is it from farther away?" The apprentice that was hard at work on their creation found Grey and the three heroes looking over his shoulder. 

"Um! Hello, Master builder. Is there anything you need?" The apprentice had been so deep in focus that he could not have noticed them. However, his work was so detailed and minute that each tiny touch didn't make a sound. 

"If I remember you started this project seven months ago and you have only created one thing. Explain to our guests the details." Grey gave a small push and let the heroes take the lead. 

"Yes! This is modeled after a night stalker panther. They are very rare monsters that reside in between the swamps and the ruins. They are very secretive monsters and kill in an instant. They would be assassins in animal form." The apprentice shared a few drawings of these night stalker panthers. 

"The claws are incredibly sharp and the teeth are very sharp as well. They could tear apart any prey defeating them in an instant. They also normally have dark fur that hides them away from the naked eye. Many hunters can never get a sight of them." This interested Gil very much. He had hunted many animals and monsters but never one that he could not see at all.

"The scariest part about them is the fact that they have very dense bones for something that moves so quietly. They can cut and tear through very tough defenses and take a hard hit because of this." The last part summed up an ultimate predator. This night stalker panther was clearly a very tough opponent. 

"I spent most of my savings on the bones to use as the base before I coated them in metal alloys. It allows me to build in the gears and mana systems without sacrificing the proper design. The rest of the parts are small gears. The claws themselves have forty parts each so that they can shred through something more easily." 

Grey was pondering all of this. "The design and detail required to make it worthless as a mass production unit. However, it is ideal for special assignments that other columns could not do. Can a pelt be fitted over it and darkness elemental runes carved in  to it to add more to its' sneaking abilities?" Walker and Gil had thought Grey would actually let them ask questions but this was already out the window since Grey had become interested. 

"I should be able to carve the runes on the larger [arts and the pelt can be stretched over it with some proper designing." The apprentice confirmed this and waited for the response. 

"Then you may leave and find this pelt. I also need some other materials for my projects. I have a list on my work bench. Be back in two months." The apprentice looked like he had been scolded and sent away. However, Grey saw this as a valuable real life experience yet, others did not. 

"How far will he need to go that he is getting two months?" Walker couldn't help but think this is way too long to be sent out for materials. 

"That panther pelt he needs is only sold by one merchant group that travels through the swamps instead of around. They are incredibly hard to get. He'll need a month to find them and might need to travel with them for a time to get the materials needed." Grey had this memorized due to his many years of material hunting. 

" I don't' think we would be doing such a thing. That could be extremely dangerous. The swamps are not a place for anyone to be. It's surprising that you know a merchant group that travels through there." Walker was curious how this would happen. Grey somehow knew the only merchants that went through the swamp lands directly. 

"Well,  I was not always cooped up here. Before I invented a new golem I was always looking for a new material or a new design inspiration. I traveled." Grey had long retired from traveling but it was still a fresh memory.

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