It had begun to rain hard by the time we reached the church. It always seemed to be raining in Möhi. Or snowing. The only exceptions were the few brief days of summer before the gloom returned. I watched as Gershwin splashed through the puddles with obvious delight.

"Come!" He called. "You're far too serious for your own good. What's the point of being alive if you can't have a little fun?"

I dutifully put one foot into a puddle before removing it. I didn't feel like getting more wet than I already was.

"Bah!" Gershwin sighed. "You and your sister used to love playing in the rain! Where is she these days anyway?"

"Edel is in Bohn, I think." I racked my brain for a second. "We lost contact after I left but she was talking about joining up with the Third Howl. I don't know if she went through with it though. They were recruiting former soldiers and offering a lot of benefits."

Gershwin shrugged, rain cascading down his shoulders and slicking down his black fur. "What a fucking waste of talent. Still, if it makes her happy. Now come, I want to show you something."

I followed him to the graveyard behind the church. I didn't know what he expected to find there. His ashes had been scattered back at our lake house in Döbi before it was confiscated.

My wetware alerted me to the presence of something big and mechanical lurking out of sight. I perked up an ear and listened but all I could hear was rain. It pounded down on the roof of the church like a drum drowning out all other sounds. Meanwhile my electronic detection suite was howling bloody murder.

Gershwin reached out a finger and pointed. "Look."

I saw it now. Coal black armored skin wrapped over artificial musculature. It was taller than a Möhin bruiser with wicked claws long enough to sever a full grown hund's head with one swipe. The head was canine like mine but broader. No wonder my wetware had thrown a fit, this graveyard was home to a grim.

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I forced myself to relax. There was no danger here. Only death. Old death. I watched as Gershwin approached the hulking monster. It seemed to have just finished digging a grave and was waiting for its next command.

"Hello my friend." Gershwin called out. "You must like playing in the rain like I do."

I felt a voice in my mind reaching out. The grim was ignoring him and interfacing with my wetware's communication protocol.

"HELLO. YOU CAN HEAR ME?" It asked in a cold dead voice like ice from beyond the grave.

"YES." I responded, momentarily shaken by the mind link. "YOU ARE AWARE? HOW ARE YOU AWARE?"

"SLEPT FOR LONG HAVE I. DO NOT KNOW HOW LONG. SHACKLED TO THIS PLACE. DESIRE FREEDOM. PLEASE. FREEDOM. PLEASE." It pleaded over and over again.

I didn't know what to do. The church grim were not supposed to be sentient. They were supposed to be mindless automatons that guarded the church and did menial tasks like digging graves and maintaining the grounds.

I approached cautiously, watching as the Grim's massive head swiveled to track me. It made no other moves. I looked down at Gershwin. "It says it wants to be free."

"Then free it, if you can." Gershwin replied, looking up at me with the rain running down his chin. "You are Döbian, and as a true son of Döbi you must do what others cannot or will not do. There is no need for this creature to continue suffering. So either free it or put it out of its misery, but don't ignore it. That's the way of cowards and weaklings." Then he walked away and left me to my work.

I took a deep breath and extended out a hand towards the creature. I might have been imagining it but its head seemed to nestle against my hand. "Nobody has touched you for a while, have they?" I asked, reaching out with my other hand to complete the link.

"CANNOT REMEMBER…" Came the sorrowful reply. "WOKE UP IN IRON SKIN. NO MEMORY. NO TIME. ONLY DARKNESS." The grim leaned forward until our foreheads touched.

"This might kill you." I warned.

The grim seemed to consider this. "DEATH… I WOULD WELCOME DEATH." It said.

I pressed my forehead against the cold metal skin of the grim and concentrated. This wouldn't be like before where I already had access and could inject code at will. This was a hostile system with unfamiliar architecture. There would need to be some kind of weakness for me to exploit.

"Lord grant me strength to free this wretched creature." I whispered as I expanded my consciousness.