Rets charged the newly christened deathmetal deer, letting out his own battle cry, half in mocking laughter at the creature for not having the same ability. “Bullwinkle!” Rets cried as he ran forward, using the name of his father’s once mighty elk mount as nothing more clever had sprung to mind. His history of both timely and witty remarks was hit or miss.
Now that Rets could see the creature clearly, the unholy aura it gave off was much stronger. He wasn’t sure if it was better described as haunted or possessed. It depended on if you classified the construct as a structure or a being he supposed. It was certainly large enough to be a structure. Rets came perhaps half way up the creature’s leg, long as they were. The body of the deer was nothing more than a single piece of metal the same diameter as the legs, not much more than a connection between legs and head. The head rose from the body another fifteen feet and was topped with a pair of massive antlers.
Despite not having any facial features other than its mouth, as Rets charged forward he felt the deathmetal deer’s attention focus on him. A few strides and it was almost on top of him. The mouth opened, the head swinging down toward Rets as it took one more step toward him.
Dracaena’s concussive arrow took the deathmetal deer on the lower part of its leg just before the foot came down. The explosion rocked both the deer and Rets, but Rets had been expecting it. As he dove to the side, tucking into a roll away from the concussive force, the deer’s foot was pushed back while its momentum continued to carry it forward. The construct fell onto its face with a tremendous crash. Snow and dirt exploded from the impact but Rets was already charging back through the debris, shield held forward to deflect the flying rubble. He reached the head of the deer before it had even begun to rise and with all his strength brought his mace down on the back of the creature’s head.
As should have been expected, it was like striking a giant metal pillar. Rets noticed the smallest of dents appear in the metal where his mace struck. Now that he was right on top of the creature, he could see the streaks and patches of rust on its pockmarked outer layer. He started to summon a burst of holy fire, but the deer moved quicker. Rets was slammed by the creature’s head and sent flying through the air. He waited for the inevitable impact of his head and spine against one of the nearby tree trunks, but instead found himself being slapped by the large outer branches of one of the trees and sent spinning. He hit the snow and immediately kept rolling so that he could come up in a run. As he began to rise, he had a fleeting thought of how nice padded snow drifts were to land on in comparison to rock faces or wooden buildings. Coming to his feet he was greeted to the site of a black iron antler the size of a food cart hurtling back at him on the creature's backswing. Rets dropped low, avoiding the certain squishy end of his adventuring career and sprayed the creature’s head with a gout of summoned holy fire.
If he hadn’t had the deer’s attention before, he did now. Though it still made no sound, waves of unholy pressure flew from the creature and caused Rets to take a few steps back. He would have tried for a second casting, but the creature was already moving to attempt another smash with its foot.
A second arrow boomed against the back of the creature’s skull and Rets saw a few metal flakes go spinning from the explosion. That wouldn’t cut it. If Dracaena was only inflicting what equated to minor scrapes and bruises on the construct, firing any more arrows without some secondary advantage would be close to useless. They continued their dance, the creature stomping and Rets dodging as he called out to Dracaena.
“Hold your arrows!” he shouted “They’re not doing enough damage to bring it down! We need to try something else.”
“Like what?” Dracaena called back, tossing another firebolt at the creature to give Rets some breathing room.
“We need to get it down to our level. Maybe a rope? Trip it up again, or tie up its legs.”
Dracaena gave him a doubtful expression but grabbed a rope from her shoulder pack and zipped toward the creature and Rets. Rets hit the creature with another gout of holy flame and once again felt the pulse of evil wash over him. He then removed his holy symbol of Ilmater and held it aloft toward the beast. As he chanted, he called upon the power of Ilmater, life energy flowing through him and expressing his will through the pendent. Rets started the most basic of exorcisms, a spell taught to every young priest and cleric of Illmater, and tried to force the evil animating the construct out. A third time he felt the pulse of evil flow from the thing, and the creature turned away from the pendant’s emanating light. Rets did not let up his chant. He continued to push the symbol at the creature and held its attention as Dracaena whipped one end of a rope around its front leg and then started for the opposite back leg. If they could hold the creature immobile for long enough, Rets should be able to perform an exorcism on the construct. It was obvious the construct was vulnerable to his holy magic.
The struggle continued for a few more seconds as Dracaena circled the second leg once and then started for the nearest tree, just ten yards from Rets. Rets started moving, keeping his pendent aloft and the monster distracted. Apparently it had not been distracted enough.
The hind leg not circled in rope snapped out, catching Dracaena directly in the side. There was the slightest sound of pain, muffled mostly by the solid thwack of impact and Dracaena was sent hurtling through the air. Unlike Rets, she was not so lucky with a soft branch landing. Dracaena smacked directly into the trunk of a large pine and bounced back into the snow. Rets’ heart dropped. His immediate impulse was to run directly to his fallen friend, but if he didn’t continue the plan the deathmetal deer would crush them both. Grabbing the dropped rope, Rets swung it around the trunk of the tree and cast a quick spell of mending, melding the two ends of rope together seamlessly. This required him to lower the pendent he had been holding aloft, and he felt the creature turn back toward him. Rets wasn’t sticking around though.
He took off toward the crumpled Dracaena knowing the deer would be right behind him. He didn’t need the deer to stand still anyway. You can’t trip if you don’t walk. Altering his course slightly right of where his friend lay, he threw a weak spell of healing on the run and then glanced back at the construct.
He was greeted with the sight of a nearly fifty-foot iron deer turning in pursuit, only to have the rope start to tighten and have its front foot once again not keep up with its momentum. It was working!
Then a loud pop sounded, and the rope went slack. The good news was it was too late for the deathmetal deer, and it was already in a losing battle with gravity. The bad news was Rets knew it wouldn’t be down long. Altering course once again he turned back toward Dracaena and sprinted to her side. He managed to get close enough that the shower of dirt and snow that met him from behind did not bury Dracaena in debris. Scooping her up he continued his sprint as a groggy voice asked “Did I just get kicked?”
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“It’s not that bad.” Rets replied, “Don’t be a baby. I got kicked too.”
Dracaena reached up and pinched him on the inside of his arm. “You got headbutted,” she corrected. “Getting kicked is worse.”
“And getting crushed will be even worse than that if we don’t figure out how to stop this thing.” Rets replied, sending another wave of healing into his companion. “What’s plan C?”
The two companions heard the telltale sounds of shattering limbs and heavy footsteps indicating the creature was back on its feet.
“Kill it with fire,” Dracaena stated dramatically. Her go-to move for all creepy crawlies.
“This isn’t a spider,” Rets said “It’s a hundred ton possessed iron construct. And your fire bolt didn’t do more than give it the warm and fuzzies”.
They continued their mad dash through the woods and Rets was finally able to get enough healing energy into Dracaena so that she could fly on her own again. She began keeping pace with Rets and threw in one more correction.
“Deathmetal deer,” she said with false exasperation. “Use its name, don’t be rude.”
Rets gave her annoyed look and the first spark of an idea began to form in his head. “I have a plan C. Use your last concussive arrow when you see me mark the co… the deathmetal deer,” he told her. The deer was right behind them at that point and before Dracaena could ask for more clarification, a giant foot plowed through the earth right between the pair.
Rets went left and Dracaena went right, Rets holding out his pendant once more and willing a small amount of light into the metal. The deathmetal deer immediately focused on the annoying light and gave chase. The twilight was starting to sink in by then and it was getting harder to dodge the incoming feet. Rets waited for a distraction from Dracaena hoping she would send another firebolt at the enraged deer. He realized a few seconds later his brief explanation had likely lacked sufficient leeway for Dracaena to help. Even now Dracaena had a concussive arrow knocked and was awaiting his signal.
Beating himself mentally for not having better communication skills, Rets took a gamble. He waited until the deathmetal deer’s foot slammed the ground only a few feet from him as he dodged, then reached out and bathed the planted appendage in blessed flames. The deer yanked its foot back, recoiling from the holy damage. Rets used the slight distraction to cast a slightly longer spell, aiming for the neck of the deathmetal deer.
Magically heating metal was normally used when Rets wanted an enemy to drop their weapon or when he needed to sear a fresh cut steak. He had only learned the spell from one of his brothers, a forge cleric of several decades, a few years back. It didn’t come as easy as his life spells, and had taken the better part of a year to get right. Aimed at the solid iron that made up the entirety of the construct, Rets wasn’t positive his plan would work. You never know until you try, he thought. The metal around the neck of the construct began to take on a red glow and Rets immediately noticed it start to warp as the head started sinking.
“Now!” he screamed, the end of his word being cut off as he was sent flying from another kick from the deathmetal deer. The angle of his flight was not as steep this time and he skidded and skipped across the snow and ground. Coming to rest against a large outcropping of rock he saw twin explosions in the night sky through his blurry swimming vision. The wave of evil energy that hit him this time made him want to vomit. Or maybe that was the impending concussion. Either way Rets reached into his bag and grabbed one of his two stored health potions, gulping down the licorice flavored liquid. As his sight cleared, he saw the deathmetal deer, still unbelievably silent despite a large section of its neck being blown into red hot chunks. The head and large antlers were starting to fall sideways, the last third of the connected neck bending with the weight. The creature was still kicking though. Even as Rets gained his feet he saw it turn to the side and swing its lolling head and neck at a quickly dodging blur in the trees. He had to get back, the fight wasn’t over.
Heaving himself off the ground, Rets dropped his crushed kite shield and started for the deathmetal deer. Dracaena still had the acidic arrow and they had a chance to end this, but not if she didn’t have time to get a shot off. Rets threw himself into the small clearing created by the deer’s thrashing and screamed at it while raising his pendent one more time.
“By the power of Ilmater, be gone all vile and evil spirits from this place!” he shouted, the glow emanating from his symbol of faith. He could tell his energy was running low and no amount of health potions would give him back the magical energy he needed to continue casting at this rate.
The deathmetal deer released another invisible wave of necrotic energy, turning its full rage and fury upon the creature that persistently hurt it with that light. It would destroy the light and its wielder, flailing and crushing with wild abandon at the radiance.
Rets leapt away from the stomping feet and swinging head, hoping he could keep up his dodging until the acid finished its job. Any second now Dracaena should be able to…
The explosion knocked Rets back, feet flipping over his head as he tumbled from the unexpected force. Hot metal shrapnel flew through the air stinging his face and pinging off his armor. Even as he came out of the improvised roll and back to his feet, the massive head and antlers of the deathmetal deer slammed into the ground a few yards away showering him in snow and pushing him back onto his butt. A short moment later the rest of the construct struck the ground with resounding force. It likely would have knocked him down a third time had he not already been sitting.
The woods were abnormally quiet in the immediate aftermath of the fight.
Rets rose from his position and approached the head of the deer cautiously. “What in the abyss kind of acid was that?” he called out to Dracaena.
“Yeahh,” Dracaena hedged, “I may have miscounted my arrows in my rush earlier. Worked great though, don’t you think?”
Rets gave the smug fairy a sideways glance, and then half coughed and half chuckled, “Yes, I suppose it did.”
The head of the creature rolled over and began snapping at Rets. It couldn’t reach him from the position it was in, but Rets did jump back and raise his mace into a ready stance. The thing was still alive?
Well, I guess not alive, Rets thought. Possessed. Still.
“So, whatever is controlling that thing is still in there huh?” Dracaena asked, staring at the snapping mouth of the construct.
“It appears so,” Rets said, finally a look of grim seriousness on his face. “I should be able to perform the exorcism now that it’s essentially immobile though”. He was tired, but this no longer had to be a rushed expenditure of saved energy. He could take his time and perform an entire ritual if he needed, praying and using energy provided directly from Ilmater himself. “I can handle this part, but maybe you should stick around and watch my back while I work. Just in case.”
“No problem,” Dracaena replied. “Leave the watch to me. We are actually pretty close to where I was going to make camp for the night anyway.” She patted Rets on the shoulder and then proceeded to shrink back down to her normal ten inches of height with a twist of the small ring on her pinky.
Rets looked at the writhing head on the ground and felt he could see the wretched trapped soul inside the metal. He sighed and bowed his head for a second, gathering himself. Then he got to work.