When considering the negative consequences of the misuse of magic the first thing to come to mind for most people is the power-mad wizard kings of the past. While it is true that as an individual such beings have caused great suffering, such events are incredibly rare. I would argue that the greater suffering has been caused by the sum total of actions from countless well-meaning but foolish or misguided magic users. How many towns have burned down from one poorly thought out fire spell? How many kingdoms have been destroyed when a summoned demon outsmarted their caller? The prosperous city of Shrumdale was destroyed in a flood after a city planner had the bright idea of refilling the aquafer with a portal to the Elemental Plane of Water. Unfortunately, he forgot to schedule an order to close the portal once the aquafer was full. Even more terrifying are some of the hypothetical magical apocalypses which scholars have theorized could occur from seemingly minor mistakes. The first two concepts we’ll explore in this chapter share a theme of automation; the self-replicating transmutation spell and the paper-clip making golem.

-Excerpt from Magical Ethics

The thin one was rendered unconscious even more easily than the thick one, much to Mud’s delight. The tactic Mud had come up with after learning about human anatomy was simple. Mud was considerably heavy. Mud was, after all, half as tall as a grown man and composed almost entirely of powdered rock. If not for the rough construction of the roof planks and Mud’s own amorphous form it was unlikely it would be able to latch to the roof as it did. Additionally, by compressing its torso tightly with Amorphous Form, Mud was able to reach a surface hardness comparable to a solid stone. As a result of this hardness and weight, Mud falling from the roof had dealt surprising damage. Improving the damage further, during the second attack Mud had the insight to aim for the back of the thin human’s head as it leaned forward.

That idea had not come from Mud itself, however. After knocking out the thick human with the ‘rock fall’ tactic and two more motivating whacks with its arms, Mud had acquired the ‘Sneak Attack’ skill. The skill seemed to function by adding related insight to Mud’s mind when it would be useful. This was the second time foreign knowledge from a skill had aided Mud. The first time was when the scarred one had surprised Mud as it attempted to leave the kitchen. The idea from Stealth to flatten itself as much as possible and remain perfectly still had, apparently, worked, so Mud wasn’t complaining. It was terrifying moving its eyes to where the scarred one couldn’t see them, though. Removing enemies from its line of sight was exactly what it vowed not to do!

Mud moved to strip the thin human, then froze in shock. Rapid, stomping footsteps were coming from the direction of the kitchen. It seems the scarred human has given up on caution and was trying to catch the ambusher in the act. Mud rapidly slithered up the wall to the roof, and once again entrusted itself to the Stealth skill.

The scarred human came to a halt in a low stance as soon as it arrived, short sword drawn. Mud kept one eye on the figure. It was too dangerous to not observe. The scarred human glanced for a moment at his unconscious and bleeding companion, then continued to scan the room. His line of sight lingered for a moment on Mud, but moved on.

“I know you’re in here. Come out and show yourself.”

There’s no way I’m doing that, thought Mud. After looking around for a few moments, the scarred human slowly began moving in the direction of the collapsed form of the thin human. Mud noticed with satisfaction that the path the scarred human was taking would lead it directly underneath Mud’s own position. A perfect opportunity for a sneak attack! As the scarred human passed directly underneath, Mud began slowly condensing and separating from the roof, preparing to fall.

“Got you!”

In a flash, the scarred one spun around and swung his sword at Mud. The blade sunk deep into Mud’s torso, nearly splitting it in half. The force of the blow shot Mud halfway across the room.

To Muds surprise, the attack didn’t seem to damage it. The split was easily closed with Amorphous Form, and a quick check of Status showed that its ‘hp’ had not been reduced. Perhaps Mud was actually incredibly strong? Filled with confidence, Mud slithered directly at the sword wielding intruder.

Immediately after Mud entered sword range, the scarred one chopped once again. Sharp metal cleanly sliced through Mud’s right arm at the shoulder, causing it to fall to the floor and rapidly lose shape.

[Maximum hp reduced by 2]

Pain. Searing white hot pain filled Mud’s body. This was the first time it had ever felt such a sensation, and it just wanted it to end. Mud’s form spasmed wildly, and dozens of tentacles of mud thrashed randomly. Shocked by the unexpected display, the scarred one was struck in the knee with tentacle and was forced to step back. Mud didn’t even notice.

Desperate for the pain to end, mud grabbed handfuls of its former arm and pressed it against the stump where it had been.

[Maximum hp increased by 1]

[Maximum hp increased by 1]

It worked, somewhat. The pain lessened considerably and Mud felt like it could recover now, given time. Mud turned its attention back to the scarred human. It seems Mud had greatly underestimated him. If the fight continued this way, Mud was certain it would die. Mud refocused its attention on its enemy, prepared for a bitter fight to the death.

The scarred human put some weight on its knee, and winced slightly. He glanced between his collapsed leader and Mud a few times, sighed... then turned around and sprinted to the front door and out of the building.

Mud was momentarily rendered immobilized by shock. The scarred human had simply run away and abandoned its leader? It was fine with Mud since he wasn’t carrying any of The Master's belongings but... it was merely unexpected. Regaining focus, Mud turned back to the thin one and began stripping him.

In order to protect this home, Mud couldn’t waste any resource. These clothes or equipment might come in handy. It was useful to have supplies that could be freely destroyed or lost, unlike The Master’s possessions.

One might think that since Mud is The Master’s possession, anything Mud acquires would automatically also be the possessions of The Master, and therefore need to be protected. That had been how Mud thought, too, until it read the book on anatomy. Based on what was written, it was obvious now to Mud that The Master was dead. With that realization, Mud had to reevaluate the meaning of its orders. Defend my home, and my possessions.

As Mud saw it, there were two ways it could interpret those words. Defend what The Master owned at the moment he gave the order, or defend whatever The Master currently owned at the moment of following the order. While similar, the two interpretations were subtly different. For example, if the master were to use its gold to purchase something, what would Mud need to do? With the second interpretation Mud would defend the new object The Master had purchased and ignore the money. With the first, Mud would ignore the newly purchased object and need to somehow protect the money from the merchant. Until the revelation of The Master’s death, Mud had followed the second interpretation since it seemed more likely to be what The Master intended.

However, such an interpretation was now meaningless. The Master was dead, and could not own anything. Therefore, the only way to follow The Master’s orders was to defend everything The Master owned at the moment of giving the order for eternity.

Such an endeavor would likely be extremely difficult, complex, and never ending. Exactly the kind of job a golem loves.