7-6A¶

Stepping in and out of the legs of his massive golem, Bathus whispers to himself quickly. You only catch snippets of words as you eyeball the construct, holding back for the moment, but "souls" and "devils" are hard to mistake. As if hearing your thoughts, Bathus's head snaps up and his eyes bore into you. "Yes! That is correct! I have learned the name of the last soul stolen from the warriors... my warriors. Now the devils will fetch me them all. And oh, how these poor souls hunger for vengeance - trapped for so long, separated and lost. The city's destruction will mark the rise of a new House Ardoc. A house that answers to no one!"

With that last mad scream, Bathus departs through the silver-inlaid door behind him. The golem neither follows its master nor attacks, and instead sits in front of the exit. Its ponderous weight presses against the wall, and you can make out half-a-dozen spiderweb cracks that begin to spread across the surface.

As you consider the situation, you hear the familiar voice of Merriman Ardoc, Bathus's father, speaking to your minds. Clearly, the focus stone is doing its job. "Render the golem inert, and I can tell you how to control it. But you must swear to bring Bathus to me alive, first."

You quickly agree to the deal, but further instruction is going to have to wait, as the cracks reach two other, similar doors. When the first crack ruptures the seal of silver inlays that are set around the frame, the door begins to shake. Mere seconds later, another crack erases two more seals and the door bursts open.

At first, all you can see is darkness within, like a cloud of shadows. Then the shadows coalesce and a devil steps boldly out into the light. Its eyes are filled with madness and rage – you don’t have to work hard to guess at whom. But he is not here at the moment… and you need to get that golem under your control. As the second door slams open and another infernal beast crawls forth, you signal to your companions, and rush forward into battle.

Development
The last of the devils falls, cursing Bathus with its last breath. Clearly, they do not have a good working relationship. Perhaps that is something you can leverage.

The golem sits before you, damaged but intact. More importantly, it is inert, as Merriman Ardoc called it. You listen to his instructions, broadcast from the comfort of his study through the focus stone. Tracing the lines of power carved into the construct’s torso and head, you repeat the words he gives you. After a few seconds that seem like minutes, its eyes flicker to life. It stands, and you can feel it … waiting. You give it a tentative command, and it obeys.

You grin at your companions and order the golem deeper into the complex after Bathus.