Page 54 of The Necromancer's Prisoner

Iggie tensed at the distaste in the priest’s voice. Alistair, however, appeared unfazed.

“Iggie sent him to rejoin the remainder of his undead. It seemed prudent to keep him reanimated in case we had further use of his services.”

Kelvin folded his hands on the table in front of him, his golden robes shimmering in the flickering torchlight. His lip curled. “While I admire your thriftiness, Sir Knight, I believe the Church would argue some tools are better left unused, no matter their convenience.”

Alistair was spared the need to reply by Erys snapping the spell book closed. All eyes fastened on him as he idly tapped its cover, appearing lost deep in thought.

“Well?” Liliana asked, her impatience winning out. “Did you find anything?”

“Oh my, yes,” Erys said absently.

When it was clear he didn’t intend to elaborate, Liliana slapped her palm against the table. “For Allaria’s sake then, spit it out! What did you find?”

Erys blinked, seeming to come back to himself. He let out a long breath. “I believe Sir Alistair has the right of it. This is indeed one of my tomes, and I recognize the writing as Matrim’s. He always had a messy hand—part of what made him unsuitable for spellcraft.”

Liliana redirected her glare from Iggie to the old wizard. “Are you in the habit of leaving dangerous spells lying around for anyone to steal?”

“Not generally, no,” Erys said without a trace of sarcasm. His earnestness only seemed to stoke Liliana’s anger. “I have no idea how Matrim knew of this particular book, much less how he retrieved it without my knowledge. The spells it contains are not to be taken lightly, even by an experienced practitioner. With Matrim’s level of skill, it’s little wonder that the ritual became corrupted. In fact, we’re lucky he didn’t causemoredamage.”

Liliana growled, her jaw tightening, and Maxwell cleared his throat.

“Let’s everyone just take a moment to calm down,” he said, waving his hands in what was probably meant to be a placating gesture. “What we need right now isn’t to leverage blame but to decide how best to approach this crisis now that we know what we’re dealing with.”

Any momentary faith Iggie had in Maxwell’s sudden leadership withered when the mayor paused, his eyes darting about the chamber. “Er, I’m open to suggestions.”

Brother Kelvin’s face twitched with what might have been barely concealed scorn as he turned toward Erys. “If this creature was summoned, can you devise a way tounsummon it?”

Erys shook his head. “What we are dealing with here is essentially a harmonite golem—one forged by voidflame and made only more potent by the lives sacrificed in its creation. While I could conceivably devise a counter-ritual, I fear we don’t have the time.”

The priest’s calculating gaze narrowed. “What are you not telling us?”

Erys shuffled the papers in front of him. When he spoke, his tone was grave. “When someone creates a golem, they imbue it with an inherent purpose. Based on Matrim’s notes and Alistair’s testimony, I surmise that Matrim had intended this golem as a grand demonstration of his power, to be unveiled to us during Dawncoming. Without Matrim here to modify its orders, the golem will do its best to enact its final commands.”

“Which means?” Liliana demanded. “Speak plainly, mage.”

“Which means that it will come here, to Singer’s Rest, on Dawncoming. And given its corrupted nature and apparent proclivity for violence, I don’t expect it to be a pleasant meeting.”

Silence hung heavy over the room as Erys’ words sank in, leaving Iggie reeling. After witnessing the battle at the tower and reliving Julian’s horror, he already loathed knowing that the golem prowled the nearby wilderness. But to learn that it would comehere, and soon…

“But…but Dawncoming is only two days away!” Maxwell sputtered, his eyes widening in something close to panic. “Surely, there is something you can do?”

Erys gave a helpless shrug. “I would if I could. But I am no battle mage, and as I said, it would take too long for me to unravel Matrim’s spell. Not to mention the risks involved in meddling with magic tainted by voidflame.”

“If magic alone cannot solve this, then we will need to stop the abomination by force.”

Alistair’s pronouncement rang out through the chamber, drawing everyone’s attention. Iggie turned to regard him, his heart swelling at the sure set of the paladin’s shoulders and the determined look on his chiseled face. Alistair appeared ready to take on the Void itself, and in that moment, Iggie would have eagerly followed the paladin anywhere.

The others, however, were not so easily convinced.

Liliana gave a derisive snort. “Correct me if I’m wrong, paladin, but did you not admit a mere day ago that your attacks had no effect on this creature?” Her gaze flicked to Kelvin, the hostility in her tone easing a fraction at the look of warning on the priest’s face. “I don’t mean to question the Order’s capabilities, but such a foe seems beyond even your hands.”

“Perhaps I can offer a solution for that,” Erys said. He stroked his chin, appearing to have recovered at least some of his composure. “Golems typically take on the inherent properties of the materials used in their creation. If we can identify a weakness to exploit, that might grant our champion here the edge he needs.”

“Harmonite, huh?” Liliana leaned back in her seat, her fingers toying with a small harmonite crystal set into her lapel. “While the crystals remain pliable in their raw form, once they’ve been shaped and the magic within them stabilized, they become nearly impossible to destroy. Your best bet is sufficient force applied to a singular spot. Thatmightcause a strong enough cascade reaction to shatter the entire crystalline lattice all at once.”

Iggie was still trying to parse the artisan’s words when Alistair rested a hand on the hilt of his sword. “So, you’re saying if I focus my attacks on one spot, that’ll eventually kill the beast?”

“Perhaps.” Liliana shrugged, her brawny shoulders bunching. “But you’d have to cause enough damage to impact the harmonite’s structural integrity. If your attacks are too weak, they’ll slide right off the crystal.”