Chapter 38
The Ultimate Sacrifice: Sort of
Dead.
One of his wardens had died and there was not a damn thing he could do to stop it. Fury blossomed in Justin's breast as he threw himself at the massive golem once again.
"I am the wrath of Aeducan," the massive golem crowed, its fist still slick with warden blood. "I am invincible, immortal, I am destruction incarnate, and I am the last thing you shall ever see."
"Fuck you!" Justin roared; plunging his sword into the creature's hip joint, electricity arced from its armor flinging him across the room. He collided with a wall of burnt meat all that remained of the defenders of Kal'Hirol when they told their master that they had failed.
It was just them against the golem, the golem that had once been an overly ambitious dwarf prince, a golem gone mad.
IOI
The chamber had become a slaughter house by the time they had arrived. The guards and smith that had fled from above were dead, slain by their monstrous creation. The great smelter bubbled with the smell of burnt bodies and molten silverite. Smithing tools lay scattered everywhere for when the monster had first gone berserk. The only thing untouched by the golem's wrath was a single inert golem, its frame waiting to be given animation from the anvil.
The wardens would not let that happen.
The Maelstrom Golem was huge, twenty feet tall easily; crystalline spikes adorned its massive arms, crystals that sparked with raw voltage. The creature's head was clearly meant to be dwarven, the crystals jutting from its chin and scalp gave the illusion of hair and a beard. The eyes flashed with red flickering instability; if the creature had been sane before being laid on the Anvil it clearly was not sane now.
In the center of the room sat the Anvil itself. It appeared to have been put together again using raw lyrium as the mortar. Any mage in Thedas would have been able to see this had been a mistake. Magic flared uncontrollably off the infernal device.
Justin had motioned to his fellows, Leonie and Colo took to the left and right respectively, trying to surround the massive creature. Faizyl scampered up a rack of tools, looking for a nice spot of high ground where he could get a clear shot at the golem's head. Merrill took to the shadows, Justin advised the Dalish to hold nothing back in this fight, blood, necromancy everything was fair game. The elf warned him that that might not be advisable, the veil was so thin here, she might tear it using such power, then they would have demons to deal with. Justin nodded, telling the elf to do what she could.
Justin advanced; time to get the big guy's attention.
"Obey," a near hysterical voice shouted, its form hidden behind the golems massive shape, "I command you to stop.
Chuckling, the golem scooped the figure up. Justin recognized him as the chantry brother who had been in the assembly when they had arrived; a small crystalline rod was gripped in his hand.
"I probably should have told you Simons," the creature laughed with a booming voice, "we have been having problems with the control rods… they don't work." The golem smiled, "The smiths' said it was something about instability in the anvil itself, but as you can see as a golem I work just fine. I guess I will just have to find someone loyal like your two bodyguards were. Too bad they were no match for the wardens."
Electricity arced out into the chantry brother; his scream was cut short as he was cooked by the raw energy. The golem threw the burnt husk, against the wall, leaving a dry smear in its wake.
The golem turned its attention to Justin then.
"So you are the one who has caused us so much trouble today," the creature said arrogantly.
Justin nodded, "Lord Aeducan I presume, or do you prefer to be called Maelstrom golem now?"
"I am the death of Orzammar," the creature said proudly, "The city will pay for casting out its greatest warrior."
"Yes, because you murdered your older brother."
"I was betrayed!" the golem roared glaring down at the warden commander, "Bhelen played Trian and I against each other!"
"But you did murder him?"
"Of course!" the golem smirked, "the throne was rightfully mine. If only Bhelen had not led Father to the scene. If only my faithless allies in the Assembly had supported me. If only…"
Justin saw Leonie sneaking up behind the massive creature. A few more steps and she would be able to drive her sword into the monster's lower back. If they got it on the ground, maybe they could take its head off like the others.
"If only?" Justin laughed at the mad man's excuses, "Are you listening to yourself Aeducan? You murdered your own flesh and blood! You say you are the greatest warrior in Orzammar, maybe you were once, if the Maker had been kinder you may have been one of our world's greatest heroes. Now, you are just a pawn in smarter peoples' games."
"I was betrayed!" the creature roared leaning closer to Justin, the warden was ready to leap back should the creature reach for him. "I am the rightful King of Orzammar! I am…"
Leonie struck.
The golem whirled kicking Justin away, its massive hand seized the Orlesian, she struggled in its grip, it squeezed. She cried out as her great sword fell from her hand.
"And what is this!" the golem chuckled, "a pretty little doll to play with?"
Leonie spit in the golem's face.
Roaring the creature slammed her down on the nearest hard surface it could find, the anvil of the void itself. The warden cried out as her back broke, snapped from the impact.
"I am wrath incarnate," the monster crowed, raising its massive fist, "all who oppose me shall be crushed!"
The Orlesian's eyes widened, one final thought rushed through her mind, Uncle here I come.
The golem's fist came down.
Leonie fell into darkness.
Beneath her shattered body, the anvil of the void drank deep of her blood, magic pulsed in its core.
IOI
Faizyl was horrified; the brutality of the woman's death shocked him. Justin roared in rage as he charged the creature. Colo attacked from behind, as Merrill fired blasts of stone at the golem's head. The golem brought one massive fist down on the ground hard; the shockwave knocked the wardens from their feet.
"The first to fall!" it laughed madly, "I shall destroy you all! Do you hear me wardens? Once I reach Orzammar I shall destroy my idiot brother! Then the assembly shall die! I desire Deshyr Blood!"
Faizyl rose from hiding, he fired an arrow at the creature's eye.
"Then come get some Uncle Duran!" he cried angrily.
"I will flatten you ant!" the golem said pulling the arrow from its glowing eye socket, "Who are you to call me Uncle?"
Faizyl laughed merrily, "I am the son of one of your betrayers. The man whose family you doomed when you failed in your little coup. Do you remember your cousin Revelka Uncle? Probably not, you always were too self-absorbed to care about family." Faizyl nocked and released another arrow, this one struck the golem in the mouth, he giggled at the choking sounds coming from the mighty creature, how can it choke it doesn't even breathe. The thought made him laugh harder.
"So you are one of my cousin's bastards?" the golem snarled spitting out the arrow, getting angrier by the moment.
Just a few more moments Faizyl thought, the wardens were rising unsteadily to their feet.
"Oh I'm worse than that." Faizyl giggled, he inched closer to the giant smelting cup behind him, he could smell the molten metal bubbling in the great vat. "I am heir to one of your greatest betrayers Uncle. I am Faizyl, son of Baizyl and Revelka, do you hear me you arrogant pile of metal! I am Faizyl! I am the rightful Lord Harrowmont!"
The golem's eyes flashed with fury.
"HAAAAARRROWWMONNTT!" the creature bellowed as tried to smash the dwarf.
Just as Faizyl planned.
He pressed a button on his harness; it pulled him to the ceiling out of the way of the massive fist. A fist that struck the smelting cup, it shattered. Molten metal poured down over the golem, lightning crystals were buried in molten silverite. The joints that gave its right arm movement filled with metal jamming its arm into an extended position. The golem shocked staggered and fell over.
Faizyl looked down upon the wardens who had watched the exchange curiously.
"He is ready now Warden," the young Lord Harrowmont chuckled, "send him to the scrap pile."
"With pleasure," Justin whispered angrily, glancing at the Orlesian's shattered body, He raised his weapons.
"FOR LEONIE!" he roared.
The wardens charged.
IOI
In the corner the inert golem stirred, life flowed into the silverite shell, life fed to it from the Anvil of the Void. Blue light flared in its eyes, eyes far more stable than its three predecessors. Massive hands rubbed at its eyes like a child awakening from a nap. It observed the battle before it with great confusion.
Justin and Colo danced around the damaged golem, their blades digging deep into the joints of the golem's good arm. Faizyl fired another explosive arrow; it struck the creature where the golem's thigh met its knee. The arrow exploded shearing the creature's leg of at the ankle. Merrill unleashed a swarm of foul smelling roots against the creature, without its lightning to burn them off, the roots dug deeper into the golem, a chest plate bulged outward.
The golem saw its smaller counterpart was functional; it reached for it with its bad arm.
"Help me brother!" it cried.
The new golem rose and slowly began to walk towards the battle.
It was eager to help.
IOI
"The other ones up," Faizyl shouted down.
Justin regarded the new golem it seemed slower than the others. It moved with a carefulness he had not seen in the others.
Faizyl shot at it, but it raised its arm protecting its head, and since the dwarf was out of explosive arrows, it had little to fear from those.
"You are done Wardens!" the damaged maelstrom golem laughed, "between the two of us we shall…"
The new golem broke into a sprint; it blew past Merrill, Colo and Justin, its fist raised for a strike.
A fist that struck the maelstrom golem in the face, the crystal beard shattered, as the head snapped back, the massive creature fell flat on its back the smaller golem leapt on top of it. The new golem's fists hammered its larger brother.
"Noooo!" the maelstrom golem wailed, "I am the poweeeer of Aeducan! I cannnn't beee deeefeateeeed!"
The smaller golem grasped its large brother's head in its hands, and began to yank viciously at it. It screamed in fury at the maelstrom golem.
Justin could not hear what was being said over the banging of metal and the shriek of it being torn. He just stood there transfixed by the two titans.
Colo came up beside him, a confused look on the man's face, "why is this one helping us?"
Justin had his suspicions, and they were heartbreaking.
Metal bent as the head of the Maelstrom golem was torn from its body. Electricity sparked weakly, ineffective against another golem. The spirit that had once animated the body of Lord Duran Aeducan was released from the metal shell. If there was any justice in the Maker's world Justin hoped it was on its way to the void right now.
May you be lost forever you bastard!
They approached the new golem slowly as it climbed down from the destroyed larger one. This golem was forged from the finest silverite; its metal face seemed to flow like water as its features took shape from the magic animating the creature. Merrill shifted shyly, if what she felt was true, oh creators their poor friend.
"L-Leonie?" Justin asked the golem.
The golem blinked its glowing blue eyes. It looked down at its large hammer like fists.
"J…Justin?" it asked, it's…no her… Orlesian accent sounding strange coming from a mouth of metal.
The warden commander nodded.
Faizyl lowered himself down to the others.
"Leonie," he asked grinning madly, "that you in there girl?"
The golem nodded slowly.
"Oh Maker, "Leonie said in her tinny golem voice, "I…feel…I feel so… strange."
She glanced over at the anvil of the void, and the broken body lying on its surface. The golem walked slowly up to it. It looked down into the cloudy empty eyes of the young warden who had died there so painfully, a metal finger brushed the cold skin.
Overcome with emotion, Leonie raised her head metal head and wailed, grief, rage, and terror given voice.
Justin said nothing. He would remember her pained cry for the rest of his days.