The Twisted Golem

AK510-40 Cool Summer End Week 4

[Charon Guiding, Shale Resting, Cycles Watching]

Moonday (afternoon)

They continued the descent as quickly as they could. There was no sense in waiting for reinforcements now that The Prince and Cromith knew how potent their abilities were. They reached the doors to the first storage level and were forced to stop. There was a musical lock barring their way. Ethan examined the door for several minutes and sent him mind back to the years when he had been Setanta Fochlachan. The Bard had often used such locks. He played his Canaith mandolin, in a precise and extremely complex melody and as the delicate music echoed through cavernous stairwell the hundred of tiny lock and catches on the door began to click and move in time. After only a few moments of flawless playing the door unlocked.
The sight beyond the door took their breath away. Stored in massive steel racks were thousands of warforged bodies. Ivellios' keen intellect quickly noted that because the racks were a hundred wide and deep and because there were four level, there must be around forty thousand warforged bodies stored in the complex.
Ethan was stunned. This was not just the army the had been looking for. This could be a nation.
"Well we've found an army!" he exclaimed. "How do we wake them up!"
"No so fast," Ivellios didn't look optimistic. "According the books and the tapestry, we need kellum to animate these guys and we need to put the kellum into the reactor down stairs. Tionscail knows how many we'll be able to activate."
"Damn." Ethan cursed. "The DeDannan left here because the kellum was exhausted. Where are we going to get more kellum?"
Ivellios slowly drew the kellum rod from his belt. "How about this?" He ventured.
"Whoa there Ivellios, have you any idea how powerful that rod is?" interrupted Tim. "There's got to be a better way."
"Yeah it is a nice rod alright," agreed the mountain elf.

"Did you hear that?" he asked.
They all moved to defensive positions. When Ivellios thought he heard something, an attack was usually imminent. They were about to ask Charmer if his exceptionally keen ears had notice anything when they noticed he had gone missing. That was odd.
The lights went out.
"Croi protect us," prayed Tanner.
A twisted frame of blackened metal appeared into the shadows of Ethan's light spell. It was vaguely humanoid in shape and covered in smoky black tendrils of dark energy. Powerful undead shadows reeking with Fallen hatred circled around it. It's twisted metal face grinned an evil grin. It was the herald of The High Feeder Lord. It was the servant of Athru. It had forsaken Tionscail. It was here to kill.
The corrupted golem unleashed the power of Feo and sent a black wave of his hatred at the mortals.
Pain and suffering were the gift of Feo and only the favour of the Gods saved them from oblivion. The power of Charon fortified their bodies against the menace of Feo, but they were badly weakened and Ivellios was barely clinging to life after the assault. Before they could react the shadows surged forward, threatening, mocking and leering. They promised destruction and pain to their prey.
Battered and shaken, Vedic Tim Tanner of Croi pushed himself back up off his knees and opened The Book Of Creation. He prepared to call upon the power of Croi to destroy the vile spawn of Feo. The passages of The Book were indelibly marked in his mind and he spoke them with the power that a truly devout believer.

"And as we walk through shrouded land
In dark and lonely halls
We place you into Bas's hand
To send your souls to walls

Bas is your true master now
Feo's taint is washed away
Your fallen spirit I do crush
Croi burns your sins away"

He moved quickly between the shadows as he prayed and then the symbol of Croi shone from his armoured chest as he roared with all his might.
"In the name of The Sun, The Moons and The Holy Trinity! Begone unto the light!
The powerful shadows had been sneering at the Vedic's feeble attempts to channel the power of the Chosen against them. He couldn't possibly channel enough energy to hurt even one of them.
It was a common mistake.
Tanner's faith and the Book of Creation were a potent combination and Croi had heard his prayer.
A blinding explosion of light lanced throughout the chamber as Tanner's heart lit up like the sun. The searing rays of incandescent light were a mere whisper of Croi's terrible power. Every single shadow was utterly destroyed. The twisted golem clanged slightly as it's flight faltered for a moment, in the wash of positive energy.
"Incredible…" whispered a relieved Ivellios.
Seizing the initiative Ethan roared a Charon war cry and charged the creature. His bardic magic guided his hand and his flail struck true. The creature's metal frame was dented by the force of his blow.
But the golem's face twisted into an evil grin. Already it was beginning to recover from the attack.
Ivellios fled from the golem. His extensive knowledge of arcane lore told him that a golem such as this was impervious to magic. Tionscail gifted many of his creation's with immunity to the powers of Draiocht.
Tin Tan's flaming spittle flew across the room and hit the golem's chest but to the blackened monstrosity it was as water to a babe.
Sharp adamantine claws slashed Ethan and opened deep wounds across his face and chest.
Ethan attacked again but to no avail. The creature seemed impervious to his weapon.
Then the Vedic noticed that the black tendrils had returned. The creature was about to send out another wave of dark energy and there was no way for Ethan to get clear in time.
Tim raced to Ethan. The golems tendrils darkened. Tim leapt through the air. Feo's energy began to lash out. He landed between the golem and the bard and shouted "Light of Croi protect us!"
The utterly destructive hatred of Feo, kills all living things. Only the Gods can stand in it's path.
The wave of oblivion crashed onto the Vedic and roiled over the bard. The destructive bile of a demented God ate at their very right to exist. Death was inevitable.
Inevitable, but not imminent. Ethan's devotion to the Gods was impressive even to the Vedic. He reached out to the light of Croi and found it as his life was being pulled away. He forged the light into a shield. Ethan's devotion bolstered the shield. The shield held. The wave passed in a whisper and they survived. The clerics fell to the ground exhausted. The golem towered over them and flexed it's talons.

Then Carraig's huge fists slammed into it's arrogant smirking face. It staggered back and moved into a fighting crouch. Through the pain and fear, Ivellios was enjoying this. This was the first time he had literally wiped the smile of someone's face. Even if it was a golem.
The two golems faced off. Carraig was over nine feet tall and weighed over two thousand pounds. The smaller warped metal figure looked far less menacing when faced with Carraig's immense bulk. It lashed out with it's claws. They raked across Carraig's stone arms and chest. Sparks flew and the claws bit deep into the stone. Carraig's mind wasn't built to process pain. He barely even noticed the damage.
"Grab him!" ordered Carraig's master from a safe distance, hoping that this would allow Ethan and Tanner to escape.
Carraig extended his thick stone arm and grabbed the dark metal figure by the throat. It lashed at the arm and chunks of rock flew off, but Carraig was unimpressed and maintained his grip.
He hefted the golem as if to test it's weight and then smashed it's head into his own. The animating light in the metal golems eyes flickered as it was pummelled.
It looked very worried. It called on Feo's dark energy again and lashed at Carraig. The destructive magic could have lain waste to an entire army.
Carraig didn't even notice it.
"Tionscail's gift to many of his children is immunity to magic," quoted Ivellios a smirk quietly growing on his lips. Tin Tan had to admit that smashing the fallen golem to pieces with an even bigger golem, was probably the most fun you could have without setting something on fire.
Carraig now had both hands wrapped around the golem's throat and had crushed it flat. He smashed his forehead into it's twisted face. Again the animating magic faltered. The dark golem was desperate to escape and tried to wrestle it's way out of Carraig's mighty grip. It's strength surprised both Carraig and his master.
Thin metal arms pushed back the massive bulk of the stone golem and it levered it's way out of Carraig's unsubtle grapple. As soon as it freed itself from Carraig's rocky grasp, it fled.
Carraig lashed out at it as it ran connecting with yet another punishing blow that bent several of it's ribs. It fled the room and flew down through the empty air of the stairwell, looking for the safety of it's master.
Ivellios called Carraig back. He was badly damaged from several talon gashed but didn't seem to notice.
"Good boy Carraig!" Ivellios patted the golem on the shoulder.
Carraig smiled.