When morning came, Heather woke to the sound of distant hammering. The sun was still low, the morning air laden with dew and the smells of the swamp. She lifted her head to see Quinny running across the courtyard and heading their way.
“Heather, Frank, you have to come see this!” she said excitedly.
Heather sat up and yawned before smiling at the snoring spider asleep beside her. Quinny ran up to the palanquin and pointed back to the keep.
“You won’t believe what Legeis is doing below the keep.”
The morning light stung Heather’s eyes as she picked the spider up to move him aside. “What is he doing?”
“You have to see it. I can’t explain it,” Quinny insisted.
Heather looked to Frank, who was sitting on a log nearby. “Shall we go see this amazing thing?” He shrugged and stood, hunching over to follow along as Quinny led the way. Heather grabbed the groggy spider and carried him with as she caught up to Frank. A clicking noise alerted her to the bone knight running up behind, ever vigilant in its protection.
“How did you sleep?” he asked as they followed across the courtyard.
“Just fine,” Heather answered as Webster made a squeaking yawn. She set him down to scurry along and fell in beside Frank. “I think we should take the center trail. I don’t want to deal with another golem on the way to the goblins.”
Frank nodded and gave her a sideways glance. “We are planning to invade a wizard's home. There are going to be more golems.”
“I am working on a solution to that,” Heather replied. “Most of my necromancer spells only affect living things. I have to find a way to hurt something that isn’t living.”
“Can’t you fire darts of bone?” he asked.
“I can, and if I use skulls, I can launch an exploding one, but I suspect it won't do enough damage.”
“Well, we need to think of something, or the next golem might be our last,” Frank said.
Heather wasn't sure she liked that concept and made a mental note to study the book more. Surely there was something in there that could help; the golem section was thirty pages long after all. She would look again, but for now, they would see this mystery below the keep.
Quinny led the way, taking them to a side door on the main keep building. It concealed a stairwell down, and from somewhere below, the hammering continued.
They descended into a hallway lit by strange metallic lights. They were placed every ten feet along what looked like a bronze pipe. As they went deeper, a second pipe rose out of the floor and traveled along the ground until they reached a ledge with a railing revealing a cave below. Breanne hovered on the ledge, looking down at the wonders beneath the keep.
Heather joined Breanne to stand at a metal railing looking over a massive natural cave the looked like the set of a movie. Metal pipes ran along the floor and ceiling, some dripping water, others hissing steam. The cave was illuminated by lights that seemed a strange mix of magic and the mechanical. A gigantic boiler of brass plates dominated one corner, fire roaring behind a narrow door. Water flowed out of a pipe to turn a water wheel that, in turn, worked a bellows blowing air through a forge that glowed red hot. The forge itself was made of cut stone blocks and surrounded by anvils and barrels of metal and scrap. There were tables everywhere, covered in tools and parts and things she couldn't identify. Barrels filled with metal parts lined the walls, and bits and pieces were strewn about the floor. Legeis leaned over a table, looking through a lens as he tapped at something with a small hammer.
“What is this place?” she asked, unable to contemplate what she was seeing.
“It's the Batcave!” Quinny laughed and motioned them to follow down a flight of stairs. They arrived in the workshop as Legeis began assembling a dozen metal balls, filling them with black powder and attaching a small cap.
“Where did all this come from?” Heather asked as she approached him, careful not to trip over a cable or part.
He looked up and lifted his goggles to blink at her. “I made it all. I can create a workshop, and keep adding points to it to expand it. Since I found this cave, I haven't had to spend any points on anything but tools and machines.”
“It's like a sci-fi movie down here, what do you do with all this?” Heather asked, turning about to take it all in.
“More steampunk than sci-fi,” he replied and began packing the metal spheres in a pouch. “I need a workshop to craft my weapons and bombs. I can do some of it with a mobile took kit and reload almost any of my gadgets, but to make new ones, I need this.”
“It looks amazing,” Heather said as she continued to turn around until something special caught her eye. “What is that?”
“That is what I was talking about,” Legeis said as he led the way to a metal platform with three lights shining down on the object in the center. It had the shape of a huge man, but its proportions were bulky and exaggerated. Its two legs were wide and stood in armored feet. Its lower body was rounded and connected to an even larger upper body with an open section on the top. Two massive arms hung nearly to the ground on each side, with a third one coming out of the back to hang over the right shoulder. It was constructed of shining metal, but parts of it were clearly missing. On tables all around were gears, cables, bolts, and bits of machinery that looked ready to install.
“Is this your battle suit?” Heather asked.
“Yeah, this baby is going to make a name for me, and give me the firepower I need to do bigger and better things. The only problem is the power source. Steam isn't going to run this thing for long, and adding a boiler will only slow it down. What I need is a way to power it without needing fuel and water.”
“You want to animate it like the golems,” Heather said with a nod.
“Exactly,” he replied. “Then I won’t have a vulnerable power source that can run out of fuel at the worst times.”
Heather walked up and ran a hand over the metal plating. It was almost cartoony in proportions, but it looked impressive and reminded her of a diving suit. “Aside from a power source, Is it finished?”
“Nah, it takes a long time to build the parts, and I need to level up a few times to make some of the things I need.”
“Is steam the only source you know how to make?”
Legeis shook his head. “Nah, but its the best option I have for now. A few levels and I can make a sort of engine, and battery pack. It will still add weight and need fuel, though, which will limit its range and ability.”
Heather smirked at him, nodding in approval. “You're trying to cheat the system and exploit the magic of making golems.”
Legeis shrugged. “Hey, I'm not cheating per say. They made the rules; if the rules allow it, that's on their heads, not mine. Besides, you don't win by playing by the rules. You win by making the rules play your way.”
“You don’t consider this an exploit?” Frank asked.
Legeis smiled broadly. “Exploit is such a dirty word. I like to think of it as creatively repurposing.”
“Hmm, I like the sound of that,” Heather remarked and walked away from the battle suit.
“You should; you're doing the same thing. I noticed the skeletons with plants in them. I didn't understand it at first, but now that I know you've chosen, it makes sense. You're abusing the mechanics of how the plants grow to make them mobile weapons. Using the skeletons as platforms to carry them in just like my battle suit will.”
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“Heather is very creative with her powers,” Frank said as she looked over the suit.
“I respect that,” Legeis said wit a nod. “Oh, by the way, there's a graveyard behind the keep if you need more manpower. I know you lost a few to the traps outside.”
“Thank you; I will raise some more.” There was a sudden bang behind them, and they looked back to see Quinny shove something behind her back while a cloud of smoke wafted over her head.
“I didn’t touch anything!” she said with an alarmed look on her face as a red tube fell to the ground behind her.
Legeis watched her scoot away and went back to talking to Heather. “You're welcome, anyway, this is why I'm in the swamps. That wizard has some special way to animate the golems, and I want to see if I can use it on my suit.”
Heather nodded. “Then, we will help you figure out what it is.”
“Thanks, Well my gears packed and ready, we can leave whenever you guys want.”
“Then let's go to the graveyard and then get going. I want to hear what these goblins have to say, and then tackle that wizard's lair,” Heather replied with a smile.
They returned upstairs and went out a small back gate to find a modest overgrown graveyard. Heather raised another dozen skeletons to add to her forces but didn’t have the materials to add plants. She did think of another idea and turned to Legeis. “How big an explosive can you make?”
“I can fill a barrel with black powder if you want,” he replied.
“Can you fill something that will fit inside a rib cage?” she asked.
He laughed and nodded. “Lady, you are a dangerous thinker.”
An hour later, Heather had six skeletons with black canisters in their chest, and six with red ones. They finally arrived at the courtyard as the sun was just about to move to noon. It was here they looked into the face of a scowling goblin woman with hands on hips.
“Must go!” Umtha shouted, tapping her foot in annoyance. “Sun already high, waste day!”
“She’s a little intense,” Legeis remarked as she pulled his goggles down.
“Umtha is a good friend,” Heather remarked as she hoisted Webster into her palanquin. “Oh, you're welcome to ride if you want.”
“I See you built that thing to carry a dozen people, but I would prefer to walk. That things a target if you know what I mean, and I want to be mobile.” He walked up and looked over the crude construction of the palanquin, tugging on poles to test the lashing's strength. “You know, I could build you one of these that was a lot less crude and had some armor and defenses.”
“This will do for now,” Heather said as she climbed in. “But, I will reconsider your offer after you have your golem secrets.”
“Fair enough, one good deed for another. You get farther in this world with fair trades anyway,” he agreed.
Heather sat back as Umtha took her seat and ordered the skeletons to march, pointing into the swamps' tall grass. She took out the dark book and began to flip pages going back over the sections that talked about golems. Somewhere in all this was a key to defeating them, some weakness she could exploit. She smiled at the word exploit, Legeis was right, why play by the rules and limit yourself. If the rules allow something to happen, even if it wasn't intended, then by definition, it is within the rules. Webster once again made himself useful by using an arm to hold her pages open as she lounged and read.
They marched for nearly an hour before Umtha stopped to point out a large shape moving in the reeds, another giant slug appeared this time looking right at them and sliding their way. Frank and the others went to intercept it, but Legeis called them to stop and produced a metal tube. He fired a small ball at the monster that burst in a cloud of white powder, coating the beast and trail. It screeched in pain and veered away, slipping into the swamp without so much a fight.
“What was that?” Quinny asked.
“Salt bomb,” Legeis replied. “I always carry a half dozen of them in the swamps. Lot's of things in here don't like salt and will turn away from it. You can use ash too, but it's less effective. I also have a few pepper bombs, think of the worst pepper spray you can imagine and then triple it.”
“You come prepared,” Frank said.
“I have been in these swamps for months, making this trip dozens of times. I have learned how to avoid fights and slip by unnoticed when I can.”
They watched the monster slip away for a minute before Umtha ordered the skeletons to walk on. Heather spent the time pouring over a particular portion of the book. It discussed how nearly any material could be a golem, but the method of making them significantly differed. A necromancer infused a skeletal construct with an undead spirit, giving it a false life. A nature class could infuse primal life spirits into constructs to animate them. Wizards could draw on pure magic to create a facsimile of life, and warlocks could call spirits from the abyss to infuse an artificial body. What the golem was resistant to was primarily based on what it was made of. A nature spirit used living plants and woods and would be very vulnerable to her necromancy spells. She used undead that would be vulnerable to holy spells, but wizards could use nearly any material, earth, stone, wood, metal, glass. So long as it could be shaped into a body, they could bring it to life. There were limits on how many golems one could control based on your level and how powerful you made each individual one. The size of the body determined how much power could be invested in them, and the book hinted that golems as large as fifty feet tall were possible to make.
She read the section on materials over and over, trying to decide what she was missing, then finally it dawned on her.
“Of course, metal corrodes!” She went to her panel and looked at her most recent spells and tapped rotting bolt. She looked down its list of options to see it could be upgraded, and at the fifth tier, it gained the ability to corrode metal, turning it to rust as if aging quickly. She always had some points on hand for emergency upgrades but not enough to get to tier five. Growling at herself for picking all those skills and draining her reserve of points, she realized she hadn't leveled in awhile despite numerous battles and looked to see how far away the next level was. It was close, but the amount needed increased at every level, making the next level harder to reach. She would need one good battle to push her over the top and buy good fortune; it arrived with a warbling hiss.
The water to the left of the trail burst up as a long snake-like neck rose high into the air. It was crowned by a squat head with a large mouth full of razor-like teeth. It's black eyes looked down on them as muck dripped from its mouth and it let loose a shrill roar. Heather threw the book down, getting ready to fight as four more necks rose from the water.
“Hydra!” Legeis shouted as the beast suddenly splashed through the swamp, coming right at them.
Heather fell into her magic and loosed a rotting bolt catching a neck as the beast lumbered onto the path. A bomb exploded on its shoulder as Frank, Quinny, and the bone knight raced to intercept it. The monster lashed with terrible speed snapping at Quinny show danced to the side but was struck by the neck. She flew off her feet, landing into the swamp beside them as Frank slashed the side of another snapping head.
Heather looked to her special skeletons and didn't want to waste them just yet; instead, she turned to the zombies following behind the palanquin. “Get in there and kill that thing!” she yelled to the zombies, sending them shuffling in as another bomb burst on the hydra's side. The beast began lashing out with all five heads, tearing zombies apart. Frank let out a roar and leaped on a neck, biting and slashing at it as the beast tried to pull away. He seemed to grow in size slightly as his muscles rippled with power, actually holding the creature down as Heather looked on in amazement. A free head lashed out, catching him from behind before yanking him away. Heather cried out and hurled a rotting bolt blasting the monster in the face and causing it to drop Frank. A head lashed at Heather open jaws racing in, but she leveled her scythe and sprayed the open mouth with a cloud of reddish mist. The beast let out a spitting gargle, and it yanked away, thrashing side to side to get the taste out of its mouth.
The bone knight scored a terrible blow on a leg as yet another bomb burst on its side. Quinny jumped out of the water and buried her sword in it, but the heads lashed about snapping and biting, keeping them all at bay. It turned about swinging a large tail that rolled across the ground. It swept everything in its path and took the legs out of her skeletons holding up the palanquin. The cart lifted into the air and then crashed to the ground tossing her and it's contents about. She heard a painful squeak and looked to see poor Webster had been injured by the falling book.
“Oh! Webster!” she cried and quickly threw the book to the side. “Webster, I am so sorry!” the spider stumbled to the side, and she felt ashamed he had been hurt. She quickly reached for him, placed a pulsing heal, grabbed her scythe, before turning to face the monster.
“You're going to pay for that!” she shouted and dashed in scythe in both hands. A head lashed at a zombie, and Heather closed in the scythe producing a shrill whine as it split the air. The beast wailed as the neck split, leaving a bloody stump behind. Another head snapped at her, but she crossed her arms, and a wall of leaves intercepted its bite. A second head came around the wall but was doused in pink gas. It jerked and spasmed tossing side to side asHeather slashed out, cutting a second head from the beast's body.
A third head was blasted by a black ray of light, causing the beast to snap at Breanne, but it was a trick bringing an open jaw down So Legeis could throw a bomb inside. It's neck suddenly swelled and burst, severing a third head in a gruesome display of gore.
With only two heads left and Frank and Quinny tearing up its backside, the beast stumbled about snapping at anything it could reach. Heather ran for the body, cutting a swath across its chest as the monster howled. It turned about shaking its hide to throw Frank and Quinny off and then tore into the waters desperate to get away.
“No, you don't!” Heather yelled and ran for the edge of the churning waters. She sang to the water as giant lily pads formed and then dashed after the beast. She caught up to it ten yards in and cut another line across a rear leg. “Nobody hurts my spider!” she yelled as the beast turned about with it's remaining two head. From the shore, the rest looked on in shock, not sure what to do.
“What is she doing?” Frank asked in alarm.
“That girls got some fire,” Legeis added.
“Ha! Heather’s an angry Tsundere!” Quinny laughed.
“This isn’t a harem animie,” Frank argued.
“Sure it is,” Quinny laughed. “Heather, Breanne and I are the harem, and your the boring clueless the boy.”
“So which trope does that make you?” he asked.
Quinny stood tall and put a hand to her chest. “I am the himedere of course.”
Frank went to reply but the battle in the water stole his attention as Heather insanely fought alone.
A snapping head hit another leaf shield as the beast turned about. A hail of rotting bolts pelted the second head as it came in and was sprayed with pink mist. As it choked, the scythe came up under its jaw, the blade protruding from the top of its head. She cut the head in half, leaving only one functioning head as the beast tried to back away, keeping the one jaw lashing to hold her at bay.
“You had better level me up!” Heather snarled as she raised her scythe high. The beast hissed as she dashed ahead, leaping from the last Lilly pad. Heather caught the side of the neck and hung on as the monster swung its head high, tossing her off to land on its back. She slid on the slick skin and buried the blade to hold herself in place. The monster lurched in pain, looking down with a bloodthirsty rage in its eyes.
“Heather!” Frank yelled and tried to run after her across the lily pads.
Heather smiled, holding on with one hand as she looked up at the beast. Its jaw raced in as Heather held on and began to chant. “By the grave, by the bone, by boiling pox, may all the lives now recede and rot!”
The scythe pulsed with black light and darkness spread around the wound caused by the blade as her curse of rotting was cast directly into the body of the injured monster. It lurched and shuddered, tossing its head high as it let out a shrill wail. It stumbled just a few steps more before collapsing into the water as its body rapidly turning into black rotting goo.
“Eww, gross!” Heather yelled as she struggled to get up and run from the spreading sickness. She stumbled and slid down the side as Frank arrived to catch her. He splashed through the water, holding her above it as the hydra rotted into the marsh.
“Nicely done,” Legeis complimented as Frank delivered Heather to the shore.
“That thing hurt my spider,” Heather said as she knelt to pick up Webster, who was scurrying to come to meet her. “I am sorry you got hurt,” she said and hugged him.
Quinny looked at Breanne and leaned over to whisper. “When did Heather have a child?”
Breanne swatted the back of Quinny's head as there was an audible ding from Heather.
Heather set Webster down and smiled. “Just what I needed,” she said, pulling open the panel and tapping away.
“That girl is dangerous when she’s angry,” Legeis whispered to Quinny.
“Heather is a magical girl, she glows with blue light when she's really mad,” Quinny replied.
“Ha, If she is, I hope that wizard has a life insurance policy,” Legeis laughed.
Heather didn't hear the exchange, too focused on the points she was spending. When they next met a metal golem, she was going to be far more capable in combat. Her smiled grew even wider as she looked at her new spells. “Well, well, what is a ghoul knight?”