Don’t be a fucking idiot and try to finish every optional Quest in every dungeon you delve. They’re optional for a reason. Usually, they’re more dangerous than the main Quest. If you find yourself thinking, ‘hey, there’s only like a 5% chance I’ll die doing this’, then you probably shouldn’t fucking do it!
Let me clue you in on some math here, kids. Do something with a 95% survival rate over and over again and more often than not you’ll end up dead before you get through twenty of them.
- Delver’s Guild Handbook, Section 11 - "Quests”
I aimed at the same shoulder Elin had targeted and gently squeezed the trigger. My shot hit true, and thirty tiny little balls of water appeared on the golem’s armor, exploding into steam a moment later.
THUD
The golem stepped out of the swirling cloud. The hissing steam had removed the blackened color from the armor wherever the pellets had hit, revealing shiny metal beneath. I watched the shoulder flex as it swung its thick arm with its next step. There! It looks darker, like it cooled off a bit!
I started to shout with excitement, but I choked it back as I noticed the darker spots lightening as the heat won out over the tiny bit of water.
THUD
I thought for a moment.
THUD
The golem had reached the first of the crude huts.
THUD
It seemed to be picking up the pace now that it could move in a straight line. I remembered fleeing the scorp in the Tutorial and it crashing into the wall. Would that do anything to it? Maybe it could buy us some time at least.
THUD
THUD
We started to run wildly in different directions as Raylan continued backing up, but the golem turned slowly towards me.
THUD bang!
“Over here, asshole!” Raylan shouted out loud, waving his pistol in the air. He’d shot the golem in its big fat head, not doing any damage but succeeding in getting its attention.
THUD
Seeing that it was following him, Raylan turned and started heading for the far wall, looking over his shoulder and trying to speed up at the same time as the golem.
THUD
THUD
THUD THUD
THUD THUD THUD
The entire room shook violently, almost knocking me from my feet, and rocks exploded out from the impact. Raylan was knocked from his feet as his barrier flared and shattered. As rocks rained down around us, I heard a grinding sound from above and looked up in horror.
Time seemed to slow down as I saw a huge spike of rock crack, then fall. I hurled myself to the side as the stalactite crashed into the ground where I’d just been standing. Trembling, I scrambled to my feet and saw Raylan doing the same, thankful that he hadn’t been killed by flying debris. There was a cloud of dust where the golem had impacted the wall. For a moment, there was silence.
CRUNNNCH
THUD
The golem stepped out of the cloud, dust swirling around it. The collision with the wall had dented and damaged its armor, but it seemed to be moving as smoothly as it had before. Behind it, there was a massive crater in the cave wall, with a pile of fresh rubble at the bottom.
“FUCK!” I shouted at the top of my lungs as the golem turned towards Raylan and started moving after him.
Part of me agreed with her - a big part - but it was shouted down. My mind conjured up a vision of us constantly fleeing through the dungeon, trying to fight our way through whatever monsters were left as this monstrosity just kept coming. NO! That’s not going to happen. We’re going to stop it here, now, and take its fucking Essence. Whatever it takes, this thing is going down!
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My mind whirled, forming and discarding several plans. The golem ignored the rest of us, single-mindedly stomping after Raylan. I looked around, noting the several thick columns of stone reaching from floor to ceiling. A few of them were wider than the golem was tall. No, I decided, if it takes out one of those then the whole cave might collapse. There. We’ll try that one.
I gathered the other two up near the column I’d selected, which was about halfway between where it had crashed into the wall and the chieftain's house in the center of the village. As I explained the plan to them, I ejected the rest of the shells from my shotgun and started loading my slugs. First the four from my bandolier, then more from my pouch until I had a full load of seven shells.
I yelled at Raylan as he passed by the crater, getting his attention.
Raylan slowed slightly at the entrance, letting the golem get a bit closer, then started through the village, leading it almost along the same path as before.
THUD
THUD
THUD THUD
THUD THUD THUD
The golem accelerated, barreling through the village. Zaire, Elin, and I crouched behind a nearby rock, waiting tensely. As Raylan passed the pillar, he swerved behind it and the golem did its best to mimic the sudden turn. It tried to push off its right leg, cutting the angle to get to Raylan.
The golem’s wide shoulder clipped the column, blasting out rocks and dust and staggering it. It didn’t see the two back-to-back Earth Walls Zaire had conjured out of sight behind the pillar. Already off balance, its leg crashed into the two-foot-thick magical rock barrier and smashed it apart. Ducking behind our cover, I felt a bit of mana flow into me even as debris crashed against the rock.
CRUNNNCH BOOM!
The floor shook again, a bit less violently this time, and there was a horrible screech as the golem face-planted on the rock and slid for a few feet before coming to a stop.
BOOM!click-clickBOOM!click-clickBOOM!
I put my red dot right on the molten back of the giant’s left knee and started unloading water-infused slugs faster than I’d ever fired before. The instant the barrel came back down to my target I had already racked the next slug in and was firing again. There was a violent explosion of steam erupting with each shot, my slugs seeming to penetrate into the molten metal before the water appeared inside the hole. The force of the steam expanding was blowing chunks of hot metal out of the vulnerable back of its joint.
Beside me, Zaire was casting Earth Spike after Earth Spike, aiming for the shoulders and armpits. The knees were covered in the front by armored plates, but the shoulders joints were more exposed in that direction. A few spikes missed and shattered on its armor, but several penetrated into the creature before breaking off as it started to thrash. Droplets of molten metal hissed off of my barrier as I moved closer with each shot, emptying my magazine in seconds.
Raylan skidded to a halt near us, breathing hard, as Elin snatched the last of my expended shells off the ground and held them out for me. She hadn’t been happy with her part in the plan, but she was smart enough to realize neither of her Spells were going to do us any good. I started shoving the shells one at a time into my bandolier, immediately yanking each one back out and slamming it back into my gun as my mana ticked away. Eight mana. Four mana - one of the shells I’d already fired. Eight mana. Eight mana.
I staggered and fell to a knee as my focus bottomed out. Breathing unsteadily, I watched as the golem managed to get its hands underneath it. Earth Spikes exploded as the movement ripped them to shreds while still inside its shoulders. The cloud of steam was finally dispersing, and I could see the gaping holes in the knee where the combination of slugs plus steam had blown the joint apart.
The golem heaved, trying to right itself, and with a wrenching screech its left leg ripped off at the knee. Still unsteadily resting on my knee, I screamed in triumph at the sight.
It’s working! I just need more mana to finish it, I’m almost completely out. I know Vale said these were dangerous, but we’re putting a stop to this thing now!
I reached into my pouch and found the mana potion easily by the raised ‘M’ on its cap. Setting my gun down for just a moment, I spun the cap off and downed the potion in a single gulp, getting a fleeting glimpse of a blue glow from within the vial.
The potion seared its way down my throat, and hit my stomach like a hammer. Mana exploded within me, pouring into me with painful intensity. I felt it burn through my body and a spike of agony lanced through my right eye and I screamed again.
My vision blurred for a moment before snapping back into focus. I rose unsteadily to my feet and took aim at the other knee. Unable to stand, the huge golem pounded its fist into the ground, leaving behind a small crater. Its fingers dug into the new handhold and it started to drag its body towards me. I circled to get a clear shot, then ripped through the four slugs I’d loaded, taking out the back of its right knee this time.
As I turned to Elin for more shells, Raylan darted in. Lifting the huge orcish axe overhead, his face contorted in pain from his injured arm, he drove the heavy blade into the damaged knee with a crunch. The blade sank halfway into the joint, finishing what my shots had started, the lower leg ripping free.
I managed to load two more shells, burning through twelve more mana, before I stumbled again. Fucking focus! I heard a clinking sound and saw that Zaire had just downed his own mana potion. The golem lifted its upper body into the air on one hand, the other stretching out towards me. Zaire shouted, and an Earth Spike exploded up, driving into the thing’s shoulder. Already off balance, the impact was enough to drive the raised shoulder higher into the air.
The golem held its balance for just a moment, its body almost sideways, before it toppled over onto its back with a resounding clang. Undeterred, it managed to sit up, damaged shoulder joints creaking. The body of the golem was now facing away from me, but it turned its head towards us and it didn't stop swiveling until it was looking straight at me, even though a person’s neck would have shattered halfway through.
One of its hands reached back, trying to twist far enough to reach me, but I stepped in towards the creature's other side and placed my red dot right over the left eye slit of its helmet.
BOOM! click-click BOOM!
I fired deliberately, delicately squeezing the trigger each time, and from point-blank range both shells punched through the opening into the golem’s head before being surrounded by water. Steam exploded back out at me, and I stumbled and fell, rolling away from the incredible heat. Raylan and Elin grabbed me and pulled me away from the danger. Surely that finished it… SHIT!
The golem’s head emerged from the steam. The left eye was dark, and the helmet was grotesquely bulging out around it, but the right eye was still dimly illuminated. I groaned, trying to roll to my feet, but Raylan pushed me gently back down.
He reached down and pulled the shortsword from the sheathe on my leg, then stood. He hefted the blade briefly in his right hand, weighing it. Then he lunged, blurring as he Quick Stepped forward, driving the point of the blade into the golem’s remaining eye with incredible speed. There was a flash of light and a horrible screech, and my eyes widened as I saw his blade glow momentarily, and then he was dancing back away from the construct, more than a foot of steel embedded into its head.
He must have used Double Impact too, what a nasty combo! I would not want…
My thoughts came to a halt as the golem stiffened and then slumped to the floor with a crash. A moment later, a blast of Essence as powerful as we’d gotten from all the orcs combined rushed into me, and I collapsed on my back in relief, staring blankly up at the ceiling of the cave.