The wizard hissed under her breath. She turned to her magical senses for reassurance that she hadn’t been wrong. No, the key was magic she could see as clear as day. Minor enchantment and transmutation along with some underlying universal magic holding the arcane energies in place. This key was magic, and it was the only magic key that was in the pool. She focused on it harder, straining to find something to explain what was happening, but there was noth-.
‘NO GODS DAMN IT!’
Delde kicked the door hard with her foot with only pain as her reward. She barely reacted to it however, so incensed at her realisation as she was. Adriana was the only one of the group to venture towards her and risk her wrath.
‘Is… is the key you brought up not the correct one? If that is the case, we can always- ‘
‘No’. Delde hissed with venom dripping from her voice. ‘The key is magic. But the lock, the nine hells damned lock isn’t!’.
‘I’m afraid I don’t quite understand’.
‘IT’S!’
Delde stopped herself and took a breath. Forced herself to calm down. It wasn’t her fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. At least nobody present. Nobody who was alive. Delde reminded herself of why she was still here, what happened. This inconvenience was nothing compared to what happened to the townspeople who had arrived before them. She took another breath.
‘I’m sorry about that. It’s… The key is magical you see, not just enchanted to be detectable by my cantrip. It is designed to unlock a magical lock or otherwise interact with an enchanted item you see. But the lock on this door- ‘
She pointed at the lock in question.
‘-is not magical. This key isn’t designed for this lock. It probably has another purpose in the crypt, but it isn’t here’.
Delde let out a dismayed sigh.
‘Which means that we’re going to have to choose a different path to progress. According to the map we can either go through the obviously trapped corridor here, the door in the branching corridor, or the stairs leading down in the room we fought the giant bug. Any preferences?’.
She felt despondent. While Delde suspected that the key would have a use in some part of the crypt she couldn’t help but feel somewhat cheated of her victory. All that effort and she couldn’t even open a door in front of her.
‘Well, I’m for just going through the corridor here’.
Everyone looked at Dal incongruously, Baye even raised an eyebrow.
‘What? Look we know that the corridor is trapped, we even know what the trap is, or at least what it’s going to do. We don’t know what could be behind that door in the other corridor and if what Roldare said is true then going down to the lower level should be something we do when we’re certain that we’re ready for a hard fight. The way I see it, the obviously trapped corridor is the safest bet’.
The group took a moment to process what Dal had said.
‘Daft as it soonds ah think Dal on tae somethin’ there. We’re as well dealin’ wae whit we ken rather than walkin’ intae the unknown if we can’.
Delde had to admit it did make sense to her. As bad as an entrapped corridor was they could at least see that it was rendered partially safe, or at least less lethal. And while the light didn’t quite travel to the end of the corridor Delde could just make out a door at the other end of it, so it didn’t seem to lead to a dead end. Out of all the options they had this could be said to be the least dangerous. Which said more about the deadliness of their present circumstances more than anything else.
‘Well alright then!’ Dal clapped his hands together to grab everyone’s attention.
‘You all know the drill, keep behind me, try and step where I step, and don’t touch anything. We all know what we’ve got to look out for so try to keep away from the very sharp looking swords where you can’.
The gnome rubbed his hands together gleefully before cracking his neck.
‘Ok, so far, I’ve got a perfect record in this crypt for spotting its traps and I don’t intend to break it now. I’ll go ahead about ten feet of the rest of you, if anyone sees something move, either the statues or anything else, don’t run. Just keep back, let me know and I’ll assess the situation’.
‘Yie know, technically yie’ve no spotted the traps so much as yie’ve just set off every single trap we’ve come across so far. An yie just did it wae a broom handle so yie didnie fall intae the pit they opened up. So it’s no as if whit yie’ve done is that advanced or anythin’.
‘Hey! I set off all those traps on purpose! How else was I going to make sure that none of you fell into one that I’d warned you about? What, do you want to go ahead and look for the trigger to the deadly trap?’
‘Ah’m just tryin’ tae keep yie humble Dal’.
‘I am amazingly humble, I’m the humblest person you’ll probably ever meet, people come from far and wide to marvel at how magnificently humble I am. I could hold a massive public lecture on how humble I am, and people would pay thousands of gold coins just to watch me. But I don’t, because I’m so humble’.
The two looked at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter, followed shortly by the rest of the group. Delde still wasn’t sure about how Dal and Igmar were able to make jokes at each other’s expense without upsetting the other, but their friendship was pleasant to watch.
‘Aw right, but in aw seriousness ah think we should go in single file. Dal up ahead, then me, Adriana, Delde and Baye. Soond aw right?’.
Nobody had any complaints so that was the order they went forward in. Dal paused as he approached the first pair of statues and commenced his investigation for trap triggers. Delde didn’t know what precisely he was looking for, but as he spent longer and longer kneeling before the statues, she started to become concerned. Eventually he stood up shook his head and turned back to the rest of them.
‘Alright, stay back. I’m going to try something’.
Before anyone could react, he darted past the two statues with their raised swords as fast as he could. They remained still as stone. The gnome looked behind again and studied the floor once more with an intense concentration that Delde hadn’t expected to see on the usually flippant gnome. Once satisfied he addressed the group.
‘So… I think it should be safe to walk pass the statues’.
‘…Define “think”’.
Baye asked him.
‘As in it should be fine. Look, from what I can tell aren’t any triggers to set off the trap. At least not in front of them, they might just be further up ahead. I walked past them quickly just to make sure that I didn’t miss anything, but I never set off the trap. So yeah, I think it’s safe to walk past the statues. These ones at least’.
‘Well, looks like ah’m the next tae try it oot then’.
Igmar stepped forward and walked across the floor before the statues. He was slower than Dal, more cautious, but just as with Dal the statues remained stationary.
‘Ah swear if this whole thing ends up bein’ a big bloody bluff ah’m gonnie be bloody annoyed. Ah mean… is this corridor no trapped then?’
‘It could be that the trigger to all the statues is further down the corridor, and the traps meant to go off when there’s a good number of people in it’.
Dal mused aloud.
‘There is also the chance that the trap needs to be armed first and the townspeople never had a chance to get round to it. It does look like they were only midway through setting this up before they were attacked’.
Delde added, she didn’t know a great deal about traps and engineering. Her studies had been more focused in matters of the arcane, but she had picked up a little information. Dal snapped his fingers and pointed to her.
‘Also a fair point. I can’t see the working for the mechanics of this so I can’t be sure how exactly it’s meant to be activated. Whoever originally built this place was a real expert, if it wasn’t for the clues the townsfolk left for us, I’d probably have not known about the traps until it was too late. In any case we just need to keep going forward’.
Dal started off again as the rest of them walked past the statues with their covered swords with care. None of them had set anything off and they were able to pass the second set of statues with no issue either. They were at the halfway point of the corridor now, the door at the other end was more visible now. It was shut and looked very much like all the other doors indie the crypt, but Delde could just make out the fact that this one lacked a lock or keyhole on it. She had hoped that the key that she had gone through so much trouble to get would open the door, but no such luck.
Then as they were approaching the third set of statues Dal held out his hand to show them to stop. Once they did, he immediately fell to the floor and for a second Delde was scared that he had fallen victim to some hidden trap or an attack. But she realised that he was just examining the floor before this set of statues in greater detail. She could tell though from how animated he was slowly becoming that Dal seemed to have found something different here. He shot up to his feet and spun around to look at them quicker than a normal person would have risen with a gleam in his eyes.
‘Ok, this is the trigger to the trap in front of us, I’m sure. You can see the flagstones slightly raised and – you know what it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that if any of us step on this -’.
He pointed to the flagstone before him to emphasize it.
‘- then all these swords will swing down’.
Delde looked up at the raised stone swords. These ones had not been bound in leather wrappings and they looked far sharper than stone had any right to be.
‘Do you believe that you could disarm the trap? Now that you have found the trigger to it that is’.
Adriana looked pensively at the raised sword before her as she asked Dal. As the groups designated healer, she would be the one who would have to deal with any injuries caused from the trap, and as they had already agreed that she should hold off on using her divine magics, saving it for emergencies, Delde imagined that she was wary about how effect she would be without it.
‘It’s… tricky I’ll admit. I think that I can do it, but I’ll be honest, it’ll be difficult. Even prying up the flagstone to get to the mechanism will be hard and I have to be careful not to raise it too high otherwise…’
Dal seemed lost in thought, playing out a number of scenarios and hypotheticals in his mind. Delde mused that it was odd for her to be the one watching someone doing this for a change.
‘Ok, I’m going to make a go at it, but just to be safe the rest of you should position yourselves out of range of the swords. They look like they’re just designed to swing down so you should be fine if you just stand in-between them. You all get into position now before I get started on this’.
They all moved back down the corridor, spacing themselves in such a way that they looked like they would be safe if the swords swung down. Once they were in position Dal began his work. Delde was a little annoyed to not be able to watch him as he did so, although engineering was not a subject she was especially interested in she had hoped that seeing the mechanics of the trap might have given her some indication over who the creators of the crypt were. That said she was willing to make the sacrifice of not watching Dal work if it made things ever so slightly less dangerous for her.
They all waited with bated breath, half watching Dal work away, half watching the stone swords held by the statues. Closely looking at them Delde could make out faint groves and recesses at the joints of their arms, presumably necessary for them to attack intruders who set off the trap. She was idly wondering how much of the trap was mechanical and how much was magical when she heard an explosion of expletives coming from Dal as he rolled backwards from his prone position in an impressive feat of acrobatics.
A feat that was ignored by everyone for the most part as the all the statues in the hall swung their swords in unison down to the ground, stopping only an inch shy of hitting it. Delde was looking at the statues arms as they activated and witnessed the remarkable design behind them. Stone shifted like the lid of a puzzle box with incredible speed, leading to the positioning of the arms changing and the swords being swung down. Peering at the she could make out some magic behind them, but surprisingly little in comparison to the effect, had she not been in fear for her life Delde would have been quite impressed.
Fortunately for Delde the shock of seeing the trap activate so swiftly and smoothly froze her with fear, conveniently meaning that she was perfectly safe when the swords fell. Looking about she could see that everyone was unharmed as well, even Dal had managed to successfully roll out of harm’s way. What surprised and concerned her though was the fact that the statues swords hadn’t moved from their new positions close to the floor. Delde didn’t know what that meant, was this a part of the traps function or was it somehow broken?
‘ARRHHHH! This close! I was this close to disarming it! I didn’t think the failsafe would come in as fast! Should’ve moved quicker but no I had to be cautious. Ugh, that’s annoying’.
‘Er, Dal, the swords? Should they be resetting now, or did you do something to the trap?’.
‘Huh? Oh’.
Dal seemed to only now realise that the statues were still in their triggered state.
‘Well, that’s kind of weird, I’d of thought that the trap would’ve reset after going off. I don’t think I did anything to the mechanics of it that’d do this… Maybe the systems just old or it needs to be manually reset from somewhere else? I swear if these swords slice up just as we’re stepping over them I’m going to be so mad’.
‘Ah think yie’ll be a wee bit worse off than mad, we’ll aw be it they dae that’.
‘Yeah, true. Don’t worry though, just keep back from them and let me give them a quick look over, I’ll work it out’.
After an examination that seemed to involve sticking his eye dangerously close to one of the sharp blades, prodding it with his finger and at one point tasting it with his tongue. Delde was certain that that last bit was done purely for his own entertainment. It seemed to satisfy him though as he addressed the rest of the group.
‘So, it looks like the swords are locked into their position now. I’m not quite sure if it’s just the traps old, broken, or if it just has a manual reset somewhere else but for the time being it looks like we’re good to pass through here. The only thing is I’d say we should move quickly; I can’t tell if this trap is maybe on a timer for it to reset but if it is then they could go up at any time. So, you know, be quick about going past them’.
With that he headed off once again down the corridor, carefully slipping under the stone swords as he went. With nothing better to do everyone else followed suit, although only Baye was also short enough to slip under the blades with ease. Igmar was able to do so, but it was difficult and took him twice as long to get past than anyone else. Adriana and Delde on the other hand chose to step over the swords, going as quick as they could. It was times like these that made Delde wish that casting arcane magic could be done from within armour, but the complex nature of spellcasting, with precise gestures and mobility required for it, made it impractical. Of course, not wearing any armour did mean that she was more manurable and faster than Adriana who was in it, so she took it as a mixed blessing. The fact that divine spellcasting was posable in armour was just another difference between their magic styles.
The procession was slower than any of them would have liked with Dal’s warning of a possible timer, but the statues remained still as they slipped past their swords. Delde did come close to cutting her leg at one point but was able to catch herself and only had to deal with her robe getting cut. It was her favourite one, but as far as Delde was concerned it was better the robe than her.
Dal waited at the door for the rest of them to catch up, spending his time examining it for traps Delde presumed. He didn’t seem worried about it, so she assumed that the exit was clear. Once they were all together again, he opened the door and they all peered into the unlit chamber.
It was another large room, this one around forty by thirty foot in area. It was also divided into two sections due to a raised floor, there were two flights of stone stairs that led down to the lower section of the chamber from where they were. Delde could see one exit to the right of them as they cautiously made their way inside, it was another flight of stairs down into a dark passageway. Delde thought back to her map and grew concerned when she saw that but put it to the side for the moment.
As Adriana walked forward, she held the lantern aloft to illuminate the rest of the chamber revealing centrepiece of the room. At the opposite end of the chamber on the lower level there stood an eight-foot-tall wooden statue carved in the same form as the stone ones they had just passed in the corridor. It seemed like this was another representation of Kassen, but this one was not armed with a sword but rather he wielded a massive shield on each arm. One of the shields bore the inscription ‘HOME’ while the other bore the word ‘FAMILY’.
‘Well, if Roldare was talkin’ ony sense then ah’m bettin’ that those tower shields are whit we’re meant tae get. Er, Delde can yie tell frea here if that statue or onythin’ else is magical? Ah’m doubtin’ they’d make it this easy fer us tae get them’.
Delde was already in the process of examining the room under her magically enhanced senses and stepped forward to get the statue specifically in range. She remained on the upper level but was very aware that there was no guard rail to prevent falling almost ten feet to the lower one, thus she kept her distance from the edge.
She expanded her senses and pushed past the almost overwhelming presence of necromantic magics until she could sense the statue. Delde agreed with Igmar’s assessment of the statue, there was no way in her mind she could see it being anything less than a trap. She suspected that it would be like the stone statues they had just passed, probably designed to attack with one or both the shields when they got close. The real question was whether the base that it was on would rotate or not as if it didn’t move then they would be able to slip in from behind and deal with it. All she had to do was make sure she didn’t miss any subtle magic enchantments that might be on the statue or its base.
‘Oh…oh dear’
Delde focused as hard as she could on what she was detecting, she had to be wrong, there was no way the townspeople of Kassen would have access to such a thing as this. And even if they did why would they leave it in an ancient crypt in the middle of nowhere? Holgast couldn’t have created it, for all her mentor’s ability something like this was beyond his power. Her father might have had the magical potency to create something like this, but even then, she had never seen him create any magical items in all the time that she had known him. Even if this was a rather simple example of its kind, the technical ability needed to create one was significant, she didn’t know if her father could make something like this even if he wanted to, and if he did make this Delde could think of no reason for why he would offer it up to the townspeople of Kassen. She checked it again and again but no matter how many times she did it only reinforced her initial conclusion.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
‘Oh… oh this is bad. It’s a golem. A wood golem’
‘Whit’s that then?’
She rolled her eyes at Igmar’s ignorance to the colossal threat that stood before them.
‘A golem. It’s a magical construct that is created to fulfil a specific task, typically violently. They are physically powerful, utterly tireless, impossible to influence, and of particular importance to myself, immune to magic. Holgast once described them as being a spellcasters bane, a title that from my understanding they are very much worthy of. That is what is before us’.
They all stared at the golem in silence for a moment.
‘Wait, wait, wait, wait! You’re saying that the town of Kassen has this massively powerful magical super weapon just lying around and what, it did nothing while the townspeople in here were killed?! How would they even get something like this anyway? Are you sure that you’re not wrong about this?’
‘I’m certain, trust me. I’ve looked over it multiply times and I have no doubt that it’s a golem. To be fair the wood golem is one of the weakest forms of golem that there is so it’s not like its invincible. And to answer your question, if the golem was ordered to only attack in a specific circumstance, then it doesn’t matter what happens, it will only attack on those specific circumstances. Even if the entire crypt collapsed the golem would stay prepared to follow its original instructions. An outbreak of undead means nothing to it if they don’t interfere with its orders’.
‘Is there perhaps a way that we might use this golem against the Shadow in the other room? If it is as powerful as you say it is then perhaps the two could destroy each other, or at least leave the other in a weakened state that we might finish it off?’.
Delde was quietly impressed with Adriana’s idea. Unfortunately, she knew it would be a futile effort if they did try it.
‘It’s not a bad idea, but it wouldn’t work. From everything I know about them they are entirely task orientated. Golem’s are usually stationed in specific rooms and never leave them without a direct order, which we can’t give to this one’.
‘How’d anyone in Kassen get one of these here? Not exactly a magical hotspot. And somebody would’ve said something if someone came into town with one of these’.
Baye raised a good point, if someone in Kassen had managed to purchase a wood golem Delde had little doubt in her mind that gossip would spread like wildfire. Even if people didn’t know what it was it was still visually distinct enough that people would have noticed it. And while she probably wouldn’t have heard about it Delde figured that at least one of her companions would have heard something. So, if it wasn’t made in Kassen and it wasn’t a recent purchase then that left only one option.
‘If I had to guess I’d say that this is something that’s been here for a very long time. Perhaps since Kassen himself died. While the golem is made of wood it’s fuelled by magic, thus is protected from aging and general wear and tear. So, it is possible for it to be hundreds of years old. Though that does still leave the question of how a small frontier town could have afforded such a creation’.
‘Ah think the more important question is hoo can we beat it. After aw, we’ve no had ony rhymes or notes left frea us here, but Roldare did say we we’re gonnie need shields. Ah cannie imagine that they’d o set somethin’ like this up if there wisnie a way tae get them. Can yie think o onythin’ that could help us wi this Delde, onythin’ at aw?’
The young half-elf calmed her mind and centred herself. Igmar was correct, all the supposition in the world wasn’t going to help them with their immediate problem. They were going to need those shields, and that meant they were going to have to face the golem one way or another. She thought back to all the times she slipped into Holgasts library whilst he was taking one of his many naps a day. The warm light coming in from the windows, the faint acrid smell of her mentor’s pipe smoke, the comfortable over-stuffed leather couches. Better, simpler times. She thought back to the tomes that she studied in secret and all the knowledge she had gained from them, surely she had learnt something that would be pertinent to their present circumstances?
After some time of recollection Delde addressed everyone else.
‘From what I recall about wood golems specifically, they are immune to most spells save for those that are fire based. Actually, those spells tend to inflict more damage than they normally would. Also, I think that spells that directly affect wood are effective on them as well, though I don’t have access to any such spells myself. Adriana?’
The cleric shook her head. Delde shrugged.
‘I don’t know how effective they would be anyway so it’s no loss. As for anything else; as I said before wood golems are among the weakest golems there are, if we were facing an iron golem, I wouldn’t even be considering fighting it. As it stands, we might be able to defeat it if we work together. And like I said, golems are bound by their programming, if we run from the chamber there’s a good chance that it won’t follow us. Actually, in theory if all we need are the shields, we could just rip them off it and run and avoid the fight altogether. It might even deactivate once they’re removed, it depends on what exactly it was ordered to do’.
Delde couldn’t help but think that originally there had been a clue or rhyme or message that was meant to have been left here to guide them, but the townspeople had been killed before they had the chance to leave it for them. It felt strange to be following their half-prepared trials now, like she was walking over their graves. Her mind went back to the room with the blazing fire, the twisted bodies burning away. She shook her head and focused on the now.
Everyone now looked to Igmar as the most experienced in terms of warfare for guidance, although Delde felt that asking him to lead them through this was excessive. It was one thing to be a part of the town guard and have done drills in case of Kassen coming under attack, preparing to fight a golem was an entirely different level of combat.
‘Ah think… That ah’m oot o ma depth here… So, If yer no wantin’ tae follow ma plan ah’ll no take ony offence tae it. But whit ah’m thinkin is that Delde an Baye stay on this higher part o the room while me, Dal an Adriana aw go doon tae the golem. Me an Adriana on one side, Dal on the other. Delde an Baye can act as ranged support while the rest o us try an yank the tower shields off it. We’ll need tae try an have it facin’ the other way so that ony ranged attacks arenae getting’ blocked by the shields, bloodly things are big enough that even at is size they’ll have trouble hittin’ it. If it looks like yie can get a hit in an stay safe then dae it, but if it looks tae risky, or if it doesnae look like their daein’ ony damage then just try tae grab the shields. That soond awright tae everyone?’
‘Sounds alright to me, or at least as alright as running headfirst into a fight with a magical walking, clobbering statue can be’.
‘Sounds good’.
‘Yeah, says one of the ones who get to stay safe up on a ledge shooting from safety. I get to go toe to toe with the thing, I’ve got a sling and some stones for it, and I know how to use it, I could be sitting nice and safe too you know’.
‘If yer wantin tae Dal yie can, am no gonnie force yie tae dae somethin’ yer no wantin’ tae do. Ah just feel that yer better up close than further away, but if yid prefer tae be wae Delde an Baye ah’ll no stop yie’.
‘Phff, I’ll be fine, anyways why’d I want to hang around up here when I can go down there and get bragging rights for years about facing down a golem’.
Dal twirled his dagger in his hands for emphasis.
‘And you’re right, I am damn good up close and personal’.
‘Aye, well ah don’t think the golem’s gonnie have many weak spots fer yie tae stab at but by aw means have ago if yie want tae. Just remember whit ah said, if it’s no workin’ just go fer the shields’.
With that sorted they all went closer to the edge of the raised portion of thew room. Baye and Delde stood at the edge, the halfling ranger with her bow drawn and arrow notched. Igmar and Adriana went down the left-hand stairs, Dal down the right. The wood golem stood perfectly still throughout all of this. Delde wondered what the trigger for it would be to attack, she hoped that it would be when they tried to take the shields from it, that would give the other time to get into position.
They moved slowly down the stone stairs, their steps echoing in the large room. No movement from the golem still, this was looking good. Dal reached the bottom first as he hugged the wall and began moving into position behind the wooden golem. It was at that point things began to happen.
The first was that the golem became active, or perhaps it had always been active, and it was only now that somebody had gotten close enough to it that it was permitted to act. It turned towards Dal and began to take large, ponderous steps towards him that sounded like thunder or the steady beat of a war drum.
The second thing was that as soon as the golem stepped forward the stone stairs reoriented themselves to a forty-five-degree angle. In an instant the stairs were gone, replaced by a stone slide that Igmar and Adriana began to slide down. Through either luck, skill or both were able to stay on their feet though, making an awkward, stumbling stop at the base of the former stairs and began running towards the golem.
Dal meanwhile was dashing and darting about in a disorientating manner in an effort to distract or slip away from the golem. It wasn’t working. The golem was slow, yes, but every step was made with purpose, it never lost sight of him, its face constantly fixed on the gnome. Delde hoped that the golem wasn’t programmed to attack the first person to reach the bottom floor relentlessly. Igmar or Adriana could probably take a blow from it, but if it hit as hard as it looked like it would Dal would be lucky to survive.
Baye let fly an arrow that struck the golem in the centre of its head, a strike that would have been fatal to most normal foes. But the arrow bounced off the magical constructs head like it was nothing more than a stone thrown against a mighty oak. Delde could just see that a chip of wood had come away from the face of it. That was good, that meant they could damage it.
‘Thought this thing was made of wood!?’
‘Magically enchanted wood. It’s far more durable than the regular kind, but it can be damaged. Just don’t let up. It can’t reach us from up here’.
The golem broke its gaze on Dal for the first time since it started moving and turned to look at Baye. Delde’s mind raced, she was sure that wood golems had no inherent form of ranged attacks, she was certain. And if it was holding those massive shields then it wouldn’t be able to throw anything at them.
Unless it threw a shield.
Or this one was modified in some way to possess a ranged attack.
Or her understanding of golems was wrong or incomplete.
It seemed to stare into her very soul with its blank face. Then it turned back to face Dal who was already taking position behind it. Delde released a breath that she hadn’t realised that she’d been holding and began to channel the arcane formula in her mind. This was only a cantrip, she hadn’t chosen to memorise the burning hands spell this morning, but the spell she was casting was still fire based. It was time to see how correct her studies had been.
Delde stretched forth her hands and felt the magic flow around her, reacting to her will and changing as she desired. The chamber was still inundated with necromantic magic, but around herself she felt it dissipate slightly, as her command of the arcane challenged the force surrounding her. She uttered the final few syllables of the spell and a small sphere of fire appeared in her right hand. The young wizard felt the warmth in her hand and enjoyed the sensation for a moment before throwing it at the golem before her.
The flaming sphere she summoned with her produce flame cantrip arched in the air as it fell towards her target. Delde had never been especially good at hitting her targets with this cantrip, she didn’t find it intuitive and as she never had many opportunities back home to train with this specific spell. She didn’t have much hope for contributing much to this fight personally, but to her surprise the burning orb struck the golem on its shoulder, bursting into a small gout of fire before disappearing and leaving a blackened scorch mark in its place.
She reasoned that thanks to her high vantage point and the fact that the golem was such a large target her own poor aim was compensated for enough for her to have a reasonable chance of hitting it. Delde felt a small grin begin to form on her face despite her best efforts to maintain her composure. She could do this. They could do this. They would do it.
The golem turned to look at half-elf that had brought one of its weaknesses to bare, but as with Baye the golem just turned back towards Dal. But in doing so it left itself vulnerable to an attack in its flank from Igmar, who barrelled into the construct’s legs. slashing at them with his drawn sword. The blade left shallow scores in the wood, but it was far less damage than one would expect from steel on wood. Fortunately, Igmar seemed to be more interested in destabilising the golem as opposed to destroying it outright. As he went by, he shoved into the golems leg as one was raised making it wobble precariously.
Adriana came in behind him hacking into the same leg with her scimitar. To Delde she seemed more like a lumberjack chopping into a tree with a very unusual tool when compared to the dwarven fighters more calculated, precise strikes. But her blow did leave another gouge in its leg and its attention was no longer focused on Dal.
That was until the gnome stabbed into the same leg from behind, finally able to get behind it thanks to everyone distracting the magical construct. But as Igmar had warned him, the golem had none of the typical weak points that the short rouge would typically take advantage of. He took a good-sized chip of wood out of the same leg that Adriana and Igmar had attacked, but it did nothing to slow or discourage the wood golem from pursuing its assault.
The golem turned to Igmar and struck out at him with the shield bearing the word ‘FAMILY’, who was only just able to avoid it by leaping back at the last second. The second shield with the word ‘HOME’ emblazoned on it went rushing towards Dal, but the nimble gnome ducked down and rolled away to safety. Adriana stepped back as well, giving the golem a wide berth in case it lashed out at her as well.
‘Remember! Turn it away frea Delde an Baye! Gie them as best a chance tae hit the thing while we try tae get those shields off ‘im’.
The three on the lower lever then began to reposition themselves so that the wood golem’s back was facing Delde and her partner in ranged attacks. That said it was still much closer to them than it was before, dangerously so. The wizard could see it in much more detail than before, its features were plain and simple, as if it was only intended to bare a general resemblance to Kassen, or perhaps it was remodelled into its current form and had looked different originally. In the dim light from the lantern, they brought with them she could see some faint carvings on it, ivy or some other such thing. It seemed familiar to her, she had seen it somewhere recently she was sure of it.
‘…no…’.
She looked closer at the wood golem. It couldn’t be, could it? Was she wrong? No, there at its lower back, where a great many of the faint vine etchings on the golem converged there was something small. It wasn’t easy to see, but thanks to her elven heritage she could make it out. It could have been mistaken for old damage inflicted on it, but Delde knew what it was. An opening. A keyhole. She took out the key she had recovered from the deep pool mere minutes ago. The same faint ivy-like engravings.
‘Son of a bitch…’.
Baye was looking over at her incredulously and seemed like she was about to comment on her strange behaviour before Delde yelled out to everyone.
‘The key! The key goes into the golems back! There’s a keyhole there!’.
‘Whit are yie talkin’ aboot!?’
‘On the golems back there is a keyhole for the key I pulled out that pool! We can use it on the golem, I’m sure!’.
‘I see it too! Middle of the back! Small but it’s there!’.
Baye confirmed Delde’s words as she fired off another arrow at the wooden construct, this one hitting it square in the back.
‘What will inserting the key into the golem do? Will it deactivate the golem or otherwise disable it?’.
Adriana narrowly dodged to the right to avoid being battered by one of the tower shields. She raised a fair point as well as technically Delde didn’t know what would happen if somebody put the key in the golem and turned it. She had only managed to make a quick examination of it with her spell to detect magic and that had only told her that the wooden statue was a golem. For all she knew it would only further enhance their foe. But Delde doubted that. It made a certain sense to her that undergoing such an intense trial would pay off by giving them a tool to make a difficult fight against an opponent that much easier. Of course, she had no evidence to support her supposition, it was little more than educated guesswork on her part. But she was certain she was right.
‘It will stop the golem, I’m sure! I don’t have time to properly analyse it but I’m certain that using the key will help us! Please believe me!’.
Delde wasn’t expecting much from them. Despite what they had recently gone through together she had only known them for a few days now. Even that assessment of their relationship might be over estimating things; they didn’t know each other, not really, they had just learnt to get along because they had wound up grouped together due to the virtue of them all being around the same age. Assuming that their bond was more than that was a mistake. Delde tried to think of a way to better frame her argument to help sway them over to her idea.
‘Aw right then, new plan! Delde, chuck the key tae Dal! Me an Adriana will topple the big bloody golem an keep it doon fer as long as we can. Dal, you catch the key an go as quick as yie can an use the key on it! Baye an Delde can keep firin’ doon on it tae try an keep it distracted! Ready! Go!’
The dwarven fighter didn’t even give anyone the opportunity to respond before charging straight into the golem’s legs, not even attempting to attack it with his sword. He struck it with a loud ‘THUD’ that echoed through the dark chamber and sounded like it would have been quite painful to both parties to Delde’s ears.
But it had the desired effect as the golem began to tilt precariously over to one side. It looked like it was going to maintain its balance until Adriana suddenly rushed forward into its other leg pushing it just far enough to make the golem topple over in a tremendous crash that reverberated like thunder throughout the room. The golems fall shocked Delde enough that she was stunned for a second, but not Dal who raced down towards her with his hands held high. Regaining her composure, she lobbed the key towards him as best she could. Her aim was a little off, but the gnome was still able to catch it with ease, tossing it in the air before catching it with a grin.
‘DAL! Stop showin’ off and move!’.
The halfling at Delde’s side fired another arrow at the downed golem, one that came closer to Dal than he probably felt comfortable with. He darted back up the golem, climbing on top of it as he searched for the keyhole.
‘Further up! It’s near the middle of its back! At the centre mass of all the vine engravings!’
Delde did her best to guide him as she called forth another small orb of fire in her hand and threw it at the left leg of the wooden golem. It struck true leaving another scorch mark on it, but the construct was not fazed by anything that had just happened. Instead, it just began to push itself up from off the ground, a task that was made more awkward for it due to the fact it still wielded the twin tower shields in its hands.
It turned to look at Delde, up on the raised section of the room. She knew it was just a preprogramed reaction, to look at the most recent person to inflict damage at it. But the humanoid face and the utterly silent nature of the being still unnerved her. The fact that as a well learned wizard she was well aware of the kind of damage that it was capable of inflicting on her, and how little she would be able of responding in kind was also preying on her mind.
Before the golem could begin to rise up though two of her companions grabbed its arms. Igmar on the left, Adriana on the right. They did their best to pin them down, to try and prevent it from properly picking itself up, but it appeared to be much more challenging a task to perform when compared to knocking it down. The cleric didn’t seem to be providing much of a problem to it at all and even Igmar, with all his dwarven brawn didn’t look to be doing much better. The golems wooden limbs creaked and groaned as they slowly but incessantly began to lift itself up from the cold stone floor.
Dal meanwhile had been dashing across the golems back, almost on all fours as he attempted to say on despite its moving. Delde wasn’t sure if the golem even registered that Dal was on it, but it was still a difficult task to accomplish regardless as in his right hand, clasped tightly was the key.
‘THERE!’.
She cried out as Dal finally came before the keyhole she had spotted. She probably hadn’t needed to shout that to him, he was right in front of it and had vison just as good as, if not better than her own. Delde just felt frustrated over not being able to more directly contribute to the current problem. She didn’t want to be in peril, far from it, but the idea of having others endanger themselves whilst she stayed relatively safe sat poorly with her.
At that moment the wood golem jerked up, threatening to toss Dal from its back. Igmar and Adriana strained even harder against it as both Baye and Delde fired down upon its now scored and scorched legs. Dal recovered his balance and with a lighting fast jab, stabbed the key into its hole and desperately turned it.
At once the golem stopped moving as aggressively, releasing its grip on the two tower shields and then lying perfectly still on the floor. It looked to all the world to be a simple wooden statue that had just fallen down somehow.
They all stood dumbly, looking at their fallen foe. It took a moment for Igmar to release the arm he was holding, although Adriana was quick enough to let go of hers when it was clear the golem was no longer a threat.
‘HA! Ha ahahaha!’
Delde burst out in unexpected laughter. It was half hysterical half triumphant. She hadn’t delivered the killing blow to it, technically they hadn’t killed it at all, just taken advantage of an intentionally designed off switch. But she had been the one to recover the key, she had been the one to spot the keyhole. Delde felt good, powerful, she felt that her presence was vindicated here. She could and had made an impact on a difficult fight. In that moment, even the Shadow that was but a few chambers away from them didn’t seem as invincible anymore.
Her companions also joined in on her laughter, although it quickly morphed into cheering. After their defeat against the Shadow, they all felt empowered by their victory. It was as if a weight they hadn’t known they were carrying was lifted from their shoulders. They all felt elated at their success, and as Delde walked down the stone steps that had returned from their ‘slide’ state, and joined the rest of them her face was beginning to ache from all her smiling.
‘Gid job wae that key Delde! Made the whole fight wae the golem a bloody bit easier than it would o been!’.
‘And what about me!? I’m the one who caught it and actually did the using of it. Let me tell you, climbing up a bucking wood golem isn’t as easy as it looks, especially when you’re trying to not drop a key in your hand!’.
‘Aw right, you did a gid job an aw. Feelin’ better?’.
‘Ha, I’ll feel better when we get back home and I get to tell everyone about how I climbed up a rampaging wood golem to defeat it by using a magical key that was the only way of beating it! I’m not going to have to pay for a drink for months in the Seven Silvers after they hear this! Do you think that old bard Jocyn will write a song about me?’.
‘We were here as well y’know’.
Baye said, hands on her hips as she looked sternly at Dal. He just responded with a lopsided grin and a dismissive wave of his hand as he leaned relaxed against the fallen construct.
‘Meh, details. I’ll make sure to mention how all the rest of you were here as well, cheering for me, holding out hope that I your only chance for success would be able to kill the golem. Ha ha ha…’.
‘You know, technically it’s not actually dead. Just deactivated’.
Dal immediately stopped leaning on the golem and took a wide step away from it.
‘Wait what!?’
Everyone else had a good chuckle at his exaggerated reaction. Delde wasn’t certain how much of Dal’s behaviour was for show and how much was genuine, but he did have a knack for lightening the mood.
Igmar walked over and examined the two tower shields that they had acquired from the battle with a discerning eye.
‘Well, they’re tower shields aw right, but no the best o designs. Uncle Braggar widnae wid never have one o these in his shop. Too heavy tae lug aboot, even by tower shield standards. Aw dinnie ken who made them but ah hope naebody paid too much fer ‘em. They magical Delde?’.
It was her turn to run her discerning eye over them. But she could find no trace of magic upon either of them. She shook her head in the negative to Igmar.
‘So what? Are these not the shields that we were meant to grab?’
‘Yer guess is as gid as mine. Ah’m gonnie say we keep em with us though just in case. Er… Adriana, could you carry one o them. Dinnie bother aboot tryin’ tae us it in a fight, just drop it when one starts, it’ll dae yie no gid’.
The cleric bore the burden of the ‘FAMILY’ shield as best she could, although Delde could see from her expression that it was indeed a heavy item. Igmar carried the ‘HOME’ one with a little more grace, but only a little.