A5G

Into the Land of Twilight

The sixth sense for outlying wealth quite easily aligned to the two most prominent display on the mage's workshop, namely the pair of weapons placed on opposite side. One was the exquisite polearm that even at a glance was obvious to be the work of a master artisan, the scars of battle only adding to its appeal. The other was as if a direct opposite, a bow whose subdued simplicity seemed to shine in betrayal of its apparent quality despite the light layer of dust covering its surface. Both looked no worse for wear, as if they hadn't stood in the same place for almost two millenia. Elf-made items certainly had longevity.

On a closer sense a lesser tingle came from a workshop desk at one side, the chaotic clutter of personal items strewn on top. It was as if the mage simply up and left one day, leaving his work and items unattended in a manner of someone who expected to be gone for a few hours. A sturdy metal strongbox stood unlocked, some kind of precisely cut red gemstones arranged within. A bulging pouch sat against it, the few coins that spilled out dulled by layers of dust. Finally, roughly at the center of the desk and off to one side amidst a bunch of tools and lenses, sat the last prominent curio of the room.

It's an eerie skull carved from a single piece of large crystal, occultic lines made out of gold symmetrically lining its surface. Upon closer inspection no scratch or other mark can be seen, beside a strangely jagged and uneven slot at the center of the forehead. A chain protrude from the top, as if the entire thing was meant to be worn as some sort of macabre necklace.

By its side was a simplistic hiltless dagger made out of pitch-black obsidian, the shape a perfect fit for the skull's slot. Reflections on its glassy surface seemed to move on their own when the observer's attention was focused elsewhere, but it's probably a trick of the eye.

If anyone's attentive at all, they'll notice that not a speck of dust accumulated on either objects.

Into the Land of Twilight

Engelbert carefully lifted his foot off the now defunct golem, the layer of leather sole of his boots burned to reveal the metal underneath. The armor encasement was very thorough, but metal wasn't quite the multipurpose material. His balance was slightly off and he clanked loudly every other step, but at least he fared better than the now very slowly cooling remnant of his foe.

"All things considered, I suppose that went well." He's a bit subdued, somewhat blaming himself for not stopping the golem despite the low likelihood of it succeeding. Looking to help with the fire revealed that Fia had extinguished it more efficiently than a cadre of men with buckets, so that's one less thing to do. As for healing the injured... Roxas got it covered. Shrugging, Engelbert clattered to retrieve the sword that was discarded halfway through his sprint toward the golem.

"Are we cataloguing this library, or shall we move to the next room? I recall daytime is allegedly quite dangerous here, we dont have that much time." Said the knight at their boss, sword now secured where it belong. Sunrise was still a few hours away, but there's a lot of books to go through not to mention more potential security measures. His attention momentarily shifted to the golem. "We can probably borrow the hammer to force entry if the door isn't opening."

Into the Land of Twilight

A barrier hummed to life, its translucent surface promising safety within its embrace. Some were already enveloped within, others ran inside without a second thought, but several made different judgment or plainly was too far to reach it in time.

The golem was unmoving, between damaged or immobilized limbs and divertion of power supply, making it an easy - if no less dangerous - target to strike. Magic flowed into Carnatia's rapier, forming a layer to break other magic as it flashed forward to truly finish the target. The physical world darkened to her sight, the energy coursing through the golem coming into visibility for a single moment, mana travelling in a single direction through the vein-like pathways. A single point of convergence was centered at the head before it went toward the shattered crystal through a large channel, one that was partially damaged from the shot a moment earlier.

The bladepoint struck at the convergence, smashing apart and blocking the core from fueling more energy into the destructive beam. Yet for a single dangerous moment the upsurge of energy found a different outlet, sparks of electricity travelling up the rapier and burned her grip just as she ripped the sword out with a flourish. As color returned to the world, however, so did an entirely different set of premonition.

Even though it's nowhere near full charge, the golem had determined that it wouldn't get any better chance and fired through the damaged focus. Fractured beams blasted out of the shattered eye, its size and intensity varied according to the shards. Not all of those was directed outward either, the head smoking and rapidly glowing orange as temperature increased.

Most of the beams splashed on the barrier, the protective dome rippled but held against the assault. Some struck across Tillius' shield, painting angry orange lines that slowly faded into black scorch marks over its surface, Gray Flame safely hidden behind. Carnatia did her best, twisting and turning to avoid the worst of it, but there's simply too many to dodge. A leg took the first hit, the momentary stagger scoring more burned gash on her limbs and torso, overwhelming her senses... then it all stopped.

Engelbert had reached the golem, his armor glowing with pale blue lines oddly similar to the golem's surface from earlier as he took the brunt of the energy beam. It only lasted for a few seconds, the knight managed to wrench the golem off-balance and toppled it to the floor face-down where it continued blasting impotently. An armored foot stomped the head to keep the construct from rising, fighting off an increasingly weakening struggle until something finally gave and the golem abruptly powered down.

Silence reigned, save for the merry crackle of the flame eating up that one bookshelf nearby. The golem's head was partially liquefied, as was the floor right underneath it. If the focus hadn't been broken and it was allowed to fully charge the beam attack... they've probably gotten through the fight remarkably well, all things considered. Even the collateral damage was minimum, the barrier coincidentally managing to protect the exposed half of the ancient books from the final attack.

Into the Land of Twilight

The powershot struck with force way beyond what a mundane bow could, the golem's head snapped back in a whiplash upon impact. It remained in place for several long seconds, yet with seemingly great difficulty it rigidly rose to the original position. The arrow had sunken several inches into the face, right at the spot Carnatia had struck earlier. Several shards of the shattered eye had came loose, uneven crystals gleaming with potent energy that clattered on the stone floor.

Errant mana bleed out of the faceplate, crackling red not dissimilar to the wounds on the chest. But even then the pulsation did not cease. Mana continued to build up, deep humming thrum that echoed as it travelled from the core to the head... no, something was different. The bottom core was visibly dimmer than a few moment earlier, though whatever implication it had was up to individual interpretations.

Into the Land of Twilight

The angle for the shot wasn't that great, but one of the arrow managed to lodge itself into the molten gap on the golem's armor anyway. It burst aflame, not looking like it had achieved anything with the immediate vicinity of the damaged region already damaged quite severely.

Tillius' javelin that found its way to the other side of the gaping hole met much of the same result, the projectile burning from the sheer temperature of the wound. If the golem registered any damage it showed no sign of doing anything about it, having higher priority matters it had to attend to.

A moment of prescience willed Carnatia to duck really low, an instinctual reaction from her combat experience as the mirror images charged forward. A titanic counterblow whipped mere inch over her form, passing through the illusory fighters and the pillar they used as cover, shrapnel of stone and gravel loudly bouncing off Rezello's armored form. Without missing a beat the noble duelist sprung forth, a singular precision strike landing dead center at the golem's cyclopean eye.

A crisp crack echoed, like the sound of breaking glass stretched over several long seconds. Stream of frost engulfed the golem as it staggered back, liquefied stone splashing and summarily igniting the bookshelves behind it. Whether it was from the pure physical force or the spellbreaking strike, the crimson glow of the singular eye had turned into a dozen fractured fragments.

Yet the ominous light was not extinguished.

Instead it spread, a spiderweb of crimson lines that pulsated upward from one spot at the center of the torso and another slightly lower. The wave of energy travelled up, past the wound that looked like it should be the location of a third core, a good chunk of the mana dispersing chaotically out of the molten rend in the form of blood-red crackle of lightning. Yet despite the blatant inefficiency a portion of the mana did found its final destination, the lines spread across the head taking an intense glow as if it housed a miniature sun within.

There, leaning against a burning bookshelf with its limbs frozen shut, the golem craned its head as if to survey the intruders. A dozen flash of dim red spread, fractured version of the scanning cone from earlier that barely functioned now, yet still enough for its final purpose.

"T.TER.M.NA.E INN.ERS."

Not too far away, Engelbert was already up on his feet and sprinting to rejoin the battle. Whether he'd make it in time was suspect at best, but it's the thought that counts. Probably.

Into the Land of Twilight

The blade coated in baleful aura struck at the golem, meeting resistance for a split second before plunging through with little difficulty. The guardian pushed itself up, hammer swinging in an arc that barely missed the retreating shinobi, knee joint grinding loudly in protest. A hole was visibly bored straight through, liquefied stone glowing orange-yellow as it dripped out like molten blood. Not a big wound considering the golem's size, but the continuous sparks and errant mana scattering from the site indicated the continuous damage the molten stone wreacked upon the internal system.

"E.E.EE.ERR. R. DA.DA.DAMAG. C.C.AL A.A.TH.Z.Z.ED."

Including the speaker system, apparently, judging from the totally not ominous pieces of message it barely managed to let out.

Into the Land of Twilight

The arrow found its mark on the golem, who didn't even bothered to dodge. It clunked in the eyehole where the crimson gleam coming from, not finding any purchase before falling out with its momentum spent. Seems that whatever the material it constituted of was tougher than a single arrow.

Rezello barely made it in time, circling to find the golem from the side just as it passed by. A precise blow found the back of the knee, a familiar crimson lines spiderwebbing from the point of impact before it summarily frizzled and died. The resulting impact resounded in a satisfying dull thud, the metal striking stone and found it wanting.

The golem still continued forward, but an increasingly discordant grinding noise echoed from the joint and at the third step something snapped. It stumbled, the damaged knee missed a beat and the following iced heel found the ground at an awkward angle, slipping uncontrollably instead of finding a measured landing.

It fell heavily onto its knee, one arm catching the ground to avoid fully dropping.

Into the Land of Twilight

The golem's head moved, tracking and rapidly shifting between different illusions. It attempted to do something, red lines glowing across the armor before it abruptly crackled with static and fizzled with no apparent effect. For a moment it paused, whatever subroutine buried in its artificial mind navigating through the problem.

"ERROR. TERMINATE."

It swung the oversized warhammer with titanic force, the aftereffect cracking like a bullwhip as it passed through the probing illusions. The golem wielded the weapon with textbook mastery, its grip alternating between wide and controlled swing as it just barely missed the pillars it passed by.

Ignoring the illusions that was already struck once, it advanced onto Engelbert with a mighty overhead swing. Metallic ring echoed from the impact, the hammerhead meeting the flat of the blade before sliding past, the momentum bleeding ineffectually instead of crushing the knight under.

At this moment Fia seized the opening, a rapidly creeping layer of ice rising underneath the golem. It reacted with unnatural haste, stomping and kicking off just out of the area. The rime caught most of one leg, coating it up to the knee though unlike the illusory invaders earlier the golem was nowhere as vulnerable to the cold.

As if finding a priority target, the cyclopean crimson gleam fixed onto the sorceress. The golem stomped twice, breaking off most of the ice before it bowled forward. It tackled past Engelbert whose attempt of obstruction lasted a grand total of 1.3 seconds before he's bodily shoved aside, shouting compaints about not being made out of a ton of steel.

It was slightly clumsy, crushed ice sticking to its heel making its footing kinda precarious, but even then it stomped forward with the unwavering surety of a mindless creation of magic.

Into the Land of Twilight

"Surely it shouldn't contain enough energy for that kind of damage at this point?" Engelbert voiced with some skepticism, though there's no time to wait for answer when the golem itself roused into activity. Stepping forward ahead of the rest of the party, the knight draw his own sword into a high guard with the tip pointed at the sole enemy. "Seems that it's displeased by our presence. Leave it to me!"

Closer and closer, it was increasingly apparent that the golem was... big. Made him felt like a malnourished teenager before a barbarian wildman. Would be so much better if Forbann was here, but he felt that the golem wouldn't allow anyone to disengage to get the big oni.

Oh well, time to earn his keep.

He'll maintain a defensive posture, to deflect incoming blow away should the golem attack the moment it got into range. Test out how strong it was, exactly. Once the capability was gauged, he can engage it for real. Engelbert was likely weaker than the golem as far as raw physical might went, but he should be resilient enough to not be instantly swept away.

Into the Land of Twilight

"Ah, welcome back!" Engelbert jovially greeted the newly awakened, seeing their eyes flickering back into consciousness. And without any extra shade-inflicted grievous wound either! "Right about time, I believe we are overstaying our welcome- The shrieking howl from the nearby ruin punctuated the statement, the knight gesturing to that general direction. "So let us be on our way, eh?"

The group hurried, curiosity momentarily dampened by the powerful urge of not getting horribly murdered in an illusory world. Following Sir Gray's lead, they rapidly left the more severe spectral infestation into an eeriely quiet part of the ruined town. A large-ish building emerged from the darkness, bigger than any other structures he had seen so far, seemingly untouched by the shade's presence. Whatever enchantment that protected the stone had long since ran its course, rendering the building as mundane - if well built - as any other. Engelbert spared one last glance outside before passing the threshold into the building, the gnarled tips of the dead tree's branch barely visible in the distance like countless crooked fingers clawing at the night sky.

A corvid sat at the remnant of a wall across the munincipal building, though the knight showed no sign of noticing it as he turned and stepped inside.

While he doubted he'd spot anything that may be lurking within before it did, Engelbert didn't slacken on the watch. His glances darted from empty hallways to dark corners, alert for any sign of nefarious intent revealed by the strong beam of Vesemir's lantern. Nothing was apparent though, even as they reached the destination and the elf almost smugly produced a keycard to open the way. Soon enough, however, the latest roadblock made itself known.

"That glint, its weapon is entirely metallic. If it can swing it effectively, even a glancing blow will be devastating." Engelbert observed, sizing up the silent guardian. Actually... looking at the door behind him, and then back at where the golem stood, the thing must be at least half a fold larger than a regular human. He increased the potential threat level of the golem up by a notch, the more mass it could move around the deadlier it would be. "I've dismantled my fair share of golems, but it mostly bears down to giving them severe enough beating until they stops moving. Golems usually still have more vulnerable precision parts to help them move efficiently, these can be damaged even if the outer shell is tougher."

It's more energy efficient to make use of mechanical advantage than to magically animate an empty shell after all. Not to mention how the latter was vulnerable to disruption, physical and otherwise. He wondered how the elven golem would fare after millenia of neglect, but considering how well-preserved everything seemed to be... they'll have a fight in their hands soon.

"I can keep it occupied, does anyone have heavy enough attack to properly damage it?"