Merchant Crab-Chapter 214: Bouldly Going Where No Boulder Has Gone Before

A rock came down a hill.

Not just any rock. It was a boulder, big and heavy.

And it was not rolling down the hill, but rather walking.

It walked on two massive legs, made of stone too, as was everything else making up the construct—a chest, arms, even a head.

The golem’s new and improved body was sturdy, its primordium rock reinforced with strains of magically-infused cobalt, but one small patch on its chest still remained from its old life.

A tiny X was scratched on the stone surface by a small pincer many moons ago, signing the name of the rock’s best friend—Balthazar.

The rock had a name too. He was called Bouldy. Or just “friend” to his… well, friends.

Bouldy smiled as he leisurely walked down the countryside road, his orb eyes closed as the timid light of the sun that pierced through the cloudy sky bathed him in its warmth. A warmth he could not properly feel, of course, as he had no skin, flesh, or even bones. But he still enjoyed the experience, because it reminded him of his crab friend, and the many mornings spent sunbathing together.

The boulder did not travel alone, however.

On its left shoulder sat another rock, barely noticeable for how tiny it was when compared to the golem. Its color was lighter, it was perfectly round, and barely larger than a strawberry.

Its head—which was really its entire body—had two beady eyes and a small mouth, all three of them smiling together with childlike joy.

Her name was Pebbles, and she was… a pebble.

“Creee!” she chirped in a high-pitched tone, asking the golem if they were there yet.

“Friend,” the smiling giant gently replied, letting her know they were not home yet but would be soon.

Bouldy did not actually know where he was, where he was coming from, or where exactly he was heading. All he knew was his destination—the pond he called home.

How the living rock knew the way home, he could not tell. He only knew that no matter how far away he was, he could always tell which way to go to find his dear crab friend. Something deep within his heart—the pulsing golem core in his chest—kept leading him in the right direction, like a compass that pointed the way home and to his friends.

Bouldy’s tireless march came to a stop when he spotted something on the side of the road.

Carefully bending down, the golem plucked a small violet flower from the grass growing on the edge of the woods, a content smile spreading across his rough stone face.

“Friend,” he said to Pebbles, bringing the flower up to his shoulder for her to see.

The stone giant felt it was important for him to pass down his knowledge about the world to the little one as they traveled. The way he saw it, the best way to start it would be to teach her about all the many colorful flower friends they’d come across on their way home.

After all, if there was something the golem was familiar with were plants and flowers. He had plenty of them growing around and on him throughout his existence as a boulder.

The small pebble gave a happy chirp after taking in the beauty of the many petals presented in front of her. After she was satisfied, the bigger stone carefully moved the flower to his other hand and brought it up to his other shoulder.

With surprising deftness for his size, the giant planted the flower in one of the grooves of the stones that formed his shoulder, adding it to the large collection of many colorful plants already stuck to it.

Pebbles chirped in approval. It was at her request that the golem had started adding one of each new flower they’d come across, hoping to share their fauna collection with all their friends once they got home. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

With the top portion of his right arm looking like a blooming meadow, Bouldy continued down the dirt path, with not a clue what the next bend on the road would bring—and not a single worry about it either.

As the two rocks came upon a clearing, echoes of yells and frantic clamoring filled the air, making the giant pause.

Placing a thick hand over his brow, the golem scanned the open fields ahead of him.

Right there, over in the distance, down the path he was already on, Bouldy saw the shapes of houses, their roofs and chimneys standing out against the bright morning sky. It was a village of humans.

He smiled. Perhaps they were having a celebration of some kind?

Seeing as the small settlement was already down the path he was taking anyway, the golem simply continued heading its way, the same friendly expression on his face as always.

As he got closer, Bouldy realized there was a body of water next to the village. It was bigger than any pond the living stone had ever seen—and he had seen a grand total of one in his life.

The traveler stopped for a moment to take in the view of the ocean next to the fishing village. It was breathtaking. Or at least it would be, if the animated construct had any breath to be taken.

Vast expanses of blue stretched out into the horizon, waves rolling across the surface in mesmerizing ways the golem had never seen.

Bouldy could not wait to tell everyone back home about the size of the pond he had just found.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

He stood a mere two or three steps away from the edge of the village when more shouting brought the golem’s attention back to the small streets ahead of him. Whatever party the people there were throwing sounded very vibrant. The golem wondered if they would let him join in.

Smoke was coming from behind a few buildings. Perhaps they had a bonfire going, the rock figured.

Suddenly, a horse came bolting out of an alley in a frenzy, whinnying loudly as a wooden wagon with a missing wheel bounced wildly from side to side behind the creature it was attached to. Bouldy watched as the panicked horse darted past him, disappearing up the road.

It seemed to him the inhabitants of that place knew how to throw a wild party.

The living boulder approached the opening between the two ends of the crude fence surrounding the settlement. Next to it, a wooden sign spelled the village’s name.

“Friend…” Bouldy muttered as he narrowed his eye-orbs at the sign while rubbing his chiseled stone chin with a rocky index and thumb.

The golem did know how to read.

After a solid minute of scrutinizing the puzzling symbols on the wooden plaque, the giant shrugged and turned to enter the village, wondering where everyone was.

Following the indistinct yells in the distance, the golem and the pebble turned at the first corner and peeked into the smaller street.

Bouldy’s stony brow jumped as he saw three small human figures running in his direction.

By definition, humans were already smaller than the golem, but these were even smaller than that. They were children, he realized.

The kids—two girls and one boy—were sprinting down the street with red, sweaty faces, their wide eyes more focused on looking back than forward. As they were about to collide with Bouldy’s massive legs, they skidded to a stop.

Except for the boy, who turned his gaze forward too late and crashed straight into solid rock.

“Oof!” the kid exclaimed as his body bounced off the giant’s leg and he landed on the ground.

The smaller girl gasped as she looked up at the golem, while the taller one pulled her back by the hand and stepped protectively in front of her.

“What was tha—” the boy started saying as he stood back up, rubbing the side of his face with one hand and his bottom with the other, but the words faded as his gaze slowly traveled up from the leg he had collided with and to Bouldy’s face.

The golem smiled at them. “Friend.”

“Get back!” the one protecting the smaller girl yelled, a distinct tinge of courage surging through her scared voice.

“We can’t go back, those things will get us too!” the boy said, his panicked gaze turning to the girls. “We’re stuck!”

The taller girl looked around, her eyes wide and her expression desperate. Reaching into a nearby barrel, she grabbed a fishing rod and held it up like a sword, pointing it at Bouldy, who continued smiling down at them without a care in the world.

“S-stay away!” the girl yelled. “I-I know how to use this!”

The golem tilted his head, looking puzzled. Perhaps she wanted to take him fishing, he figured. That was certainly nice of her.

“I…” the smaller girl started, peeking from behind her protector. “I don’t think it wants to hurt us.”

“What?!” exclaimed the boy, who had stepped back to the side of the other two. “Look at it, it’s huge! And made of… rocks!”

“Yeah, but… I think it’s friendly?” the timid little girl said, gripping her friend’s sleeve tight as she stared at the golem’s right shoulder and the collection of colorful flowers adorning it.

The other girl glanced back at the smaller one for a moment and with a sudden motion lowered the fishing rod.

“Can you help us?” she said to the giant towering over them. “Please! Our parents, everyone else, they need help.”

She pointed down the street, to where they had come from, and Bouldy’s gaze followed her direction.

“Friend?” he asked.

“Yes,” the smaller of the three kids said, stepping out from behind her friend. “Please help our friends!”

Bouldy closed his eyes and broadened his smile.

With one step forward, the golem cleared the distance between him and the three kids, walking past them and down the street to where they had directed him.

He now knew where the party was, and they apparently needed a hand with it. Bouldy couldn’t wait to join them and help. He wondered if there would be any music.

“Woah!” exclaimed the boy as a massive stone leg crossed in front of him.

The youngest of them looked up at the other girl. “Do you think it can help them?”

“I hope so,” the taller one said, looking at the construct’s back as it headed down the street, the fishing rod still hanging loosely from her hand.

Bouldy reached the end of the street and stepped out into what seemed to be the center of the village, with every other path between the houses leading into the small square where a water well stood.

The boulder’s smile widened. He had finally found the party.

All around the square there were papers flying in the air, there were colorful fruits all over, filling the place with bright colors, and a few bonfires crackled with tall flames in a few places. Bouldy did find it odd that the bonfires had been started on carriages and market stands, and that some of the ripe fruits were splattered on the cobblestones, but he figured it would be rude to question their traditions.

Everywhere he turned he saw villagers partying. Some ran, their arms in the air and yelling in what the golem figured was extreme excitement for how great of a time they were having. Others were dancing in place, their feet stomping and kicking the air in a very chaotic choreography, while they kept bringing their hands up to their heads.

As he looked closer, Bouldy noticed the energetic dancers had something around their faces. Party masks, perhaps?

No, not masks, he quickly realized. The villagers had something wet and squishy tightly wrapped around their heads. Something alive.

Starfish were attached to them, their limbs firmly gripping the humans’ faces, covering them completely. The villagers twisted in place or bounced around, trying to grab the back of the creature embracing them.

The golem clapped in delight.

They were hugging and dancing, he concluded with great joy.

It was odd that they were doing it without any music playing, but what did an animated stone construct know about human celebration habits anyway? He was just happy to be there, amidst all that fun, and hoped it would be all right with the locals if he joined in for a while. Perhaps it was a fishing village tradition, where they received and celebrated their aquatic neighbors. That made sense to the thinking boulder.

Strangely, no one seemed to pay the giant moving statue any mind as they darted around the village square and streets, some engaged in a tight hug with their starfish friend, others enjoying a playful game of catch with them.

Until one individual finally noticed him.

A man, young and dressed in wet and partially torn clothes stood atop a small dune on the other side of the square, overseeing the scene. He didn’t feel like a local of that place, but perhaps more like an adventurer instead.

At least from the neck down.

A starfish was tightly wrapped around the young man’s face too, but this one appeared different from the others. It was bigger, slightly darker, and its top three limbs were stretched up over the human’s forehead, forming what looked like a crown shape around his head.

The strange adventurer’s sights landed on the golem—or at least so it seemed, it was hard to tell since there were no eyes to be seen on him or his starfish—and he tensed up, his fingers curling in apparent anger.

Bouldy smiled and waved at him.

The starfish-man yelled in rage, gurgling noises coming from behind the being covering his mouth. Between wet and muffled burblings that were impossible to understand, only his name was clear.

“I… am… King Starfish!”