One tall half-elf walked over and shoved a pickaxe into my hands.

“Here. You can go work with the others. You’re going to mine for ore until you can pay your way out of here.”

“What about Ponki? Why isn’t she working?”

“Ponki? PONKI?!” he screamed, eyes wide, “You stay away from Ponki! She’s evil!” Grandma Ponki stuck her head out from behind the curtain

“Don’t listen to stupid elf boy! Help Ponki, and Ponki helps you escape!”

“Get back, witch! You killed Simthil!”

“He was dead! I use his parts! Is natural cycle!”

As the two argued, I snuck away, I needed to get out of there. Whatever the cost. I quietly snuck around the other workers. I could see the guards and the workers alike, staring at Ponki with fear. Was there something she wasn’t telling me…? Soon I found myself over at the bottom of the enormous pile of bodies. I looked at the rotting corpses, searching for already detached parts, hoping that I could find a few. After searching for about an hour, I had the two arms, the two legs, but only two heads. I needed one more. I searched, and I searched, but I couldn’t find a detached head. I knew what I had to do, I wasn’t happy about it, but I knew what I had to do. I reached a rotting corpse, his neck still clinging to the rotting clump of barely recognizable features. I gave it a tug, the sinews of the bodies neck started to snap and tear. As it came off, a putrid sludge poured from the esophagus of this once living creature. I dropped the parts and vomited on the ground. I spewed for about two minutes before standing up, picking up the parts, and heading back to the tent. As the moon rose into the sky, I was trudging back to Grandma Ponki’s tent.

“Oh! You are back!”she said, then whispered under her breath, “I thought you died. Would have been waste of parts.”

“What?!”

“Nothing child, just muttering to self.”

“Alright, I brought you the parts, now you have to teach me ‘the arts’.”

“Yes, yes, but first! You help Ponki sew.”

“Will it be the flesh golem?”

“Yes… you still help?”

“Yes Ponki, of course. You’ve been the only one here who’s been kind to me.” She had a surprised look on her face, then she smiled. It was eerie at the same time comforting. She reached out and touched my hand, saying,

“What is name cat boy?”

“My father gave me the name Makon, but he sold me so...”

“Sold you?! What awful man would sell wonderful, kind, child like you? Must’ve been crazy.” she said, thinking out loud. Then she looked up with an intelligent glint in her eye. “You need new name. Strong name to fit strong boy!”

Trying to forget what happened to me, I decided that this would be a good first step.

“Sounds good, what did you have in mind?”

“Levias. Your new name Levias.”

“Levias?”

“Yes. He is strong hero in Ponki’s village. Oh! You take Ponki’s last name! Levias Tongek… Like grandson!” She looked so happy, I couldn’t disagree with her.

“Sounds good, Ponki.”

She frowned “Call me, Grandma Ponki.”

“Of course Grandma Ponki.” I said, grinning. Soon enough, after much gagging, we had sewn the extra parts onto the flesh golem. She held my hand and said,

“I still have to teach you arts, so we can raise flesh golem.”

“Raise it? What do you mean?”

“I have to teach you art of bone shaman.”

“What does that mean?”

“You will be able to raise dead. Bend them to your will. You will control life and death. It will help escape outside of awful compound. You will help raise, it will take long time, but it will work.” I was in awe. I had no clue what this small, old, tengu woman was capable of. She was going to teach me the arts of a shaman. How to heal, how to resurrect a fallen ally… How to stop a heart, and how to keep the body moving. I stayed in that compound for eight years. Not because we were trapped there, but because this old woman had become my family. Through those eight long years, we loved by some, and feared by all. For I was the apprentice of a healer, a killer, a bone shaman.

I was out gathering some parts for another meat puppet. The means of control for the constant angry visitors that seemed to plague Grandma Ponski and I. She would yell at them, as I would control the sewn together monstrosity to scare them away, waving a poorly put together makeshift weapon. It scared them nonetheless. Grandma Ponki called me back to the tent, stepping outside and yelling my name. My real name.

“Levias! Levias!” She cawed,

I popped my head up from the corpse pile,“Yes, Grandma?”

“The time has come, Levias! We can finally leave! Our time has come!”

“I’m coming grandma, I’m coming!” I shouted with glee, racing down the pile of bodies at top speed, tripping over one after the other eventually tumbling down the pile.

“Levias, my grandson, we can finally do it. We can leave!” She grinned like a madman and sprinted back into the tent. I got up, pushing my foot off of a rotting corpse and hopping the small wooden wall that kept the massive pile in there. I sprinted past the other workers, pushing past to get back to the tent. I knew immediately what she meant. We were going to be free! I rushed through the curtain pushing it aside and stepping in, excitedly looking around. Grandma Ponki looked at me, her grin plastered on her face. I whipped around, 

"Grandma, where's the last ingredient? You said we needed a soul. The only souls that I know of are in the shard mine, specters or..." I trailed off seeing one of the guards tied to the table. His features were a mask of fear and pain. there were symbols carved into his skin, tattooing his body. I knew where we were getting our soul. Grandma Ponki walked over to me, giving me a comforting pat on the back, slipping a jagged orcish dagger into my left hand.

"You can do this Levias, all you do, is stab him in heart. You finish training, and raise flesh Golem." I nod solemnly knowing what must be done. I walk over to the terrified orc lifting the dagger high, and I plunge it into his chest. My first kill. I watch as he gasps, his breath slowly becomes weak... and he stops moving once and for all. Grandma Ponki and I lather our hands in his blood. I look down at them, knowing I can never take this back. I look over at the Flesh Golem, I place my hands on it's head, Grandma Ponki does the same. I watch as both of us start to chant, the words of ancient times, of languages long dead. We speak in tongues as the amalgamation's fingers start to twitch. We stop abruptly, and the flesh golem stands. As if under a spell, it sat up. 

"What can I do for you masters?" The Flesh Golem Rumbled, It's deep throaty growl of a voice. Ponki grin widens, 

"We need you to kill everyone in this place, break down the gate, and then after all of that, we need you to die." I whispered, Grandma Ponki smiled a sickenly sweet smile...