Rau crept to the edge of the entryway and peered through into the dimly lit room. The floor appeared to be made of flat, grey stone and the walls were covered in dozens of tapestries of various sizes, shapes, and quality. The tapestries fluttered slightly, stirred by a small breeze, but he couldn't see any windows from where he stood.
A sound, like rock scraping against rock, echoed through the room and sent his heart racing. He crouched and waited, his eyes wide and his body prepared to flee at the first sign of the keep's guards.
As the scraping grew louder, movement caught Rau's eye. A massive, marble hand swung into view near the center of the room, followed by another. The hands braced against the floor and a body, human-like in shape and made of smooth stone, came into view as it dragged across the floor.
A golem? Here? he thought as he watched the living stone drag itself slowly across the room. And an incomplete one, at that. The king killed all of the mages in his lands decades ago. How has a golem come to be here?
Rau shifted slightly, digging into his pouch for a few reagents, then froze. The golem's body suddenly swung around and it now faced the entryway, its glowing eyes searching for any signs of movement. Its mouth opened and it emitted a gutteral, rumbling sound that set Rau on edge. A few tense moments passed, then the creature swung back around and continued its journey across the room.
Rau let out a shaky breath and continued his search for reagents more carefully, avoiding as much noise as possible. The construct's body may be incomplete, but its awareness certainly seemed to be intact. This would certainly slow the progress of his mission significantly.
Hopefully I won't run out of time...
This prompt was provided by @mariannewest and can be found here.
Image sourced from Pixabay.
