The giant crate rattled once more and the growling from within grew louder. The runes etched into the wood flared as the material groaned and creaked, struggling against whatever lurked within.

“Fuck this,” I whispered, closing the box of aetherite. It weighed a lot more than I liked, but the Wand of Shaping didn’t just help create shields or new doors. Intelligent usage had helped with mobility before, too. Now, I hoped to use it to help me escape the ship. First, I needed to get the heavy container out of the hold. So, I stood next to it and pressed the wand to the floor, picturing the pillar stored in one of the three memory crystals. It had kept me alive since the trial by combat in Grog’s Table.

Unfortunately, another booming explosion sounded from above, shaking the entire vessel. I stumbled forward, and my foot caught the box containing the aetherite. As I fell, my right elbow awkwardly struck the metal, sending a shock through the limb. The hand opened reflexively, and the wand fell out, clattering noisily into the hold’s shadows. If that wasn’t bad enough, the giant crate broke free of its binds and fell on its side, bursting open.

I didn’t wait to Identify the shape within as it ripped itself free of the chains. Instead, I pulled the shadow cape close around me, ensuring squirming black covered me from head to toe. Concerned about the creature’s other senses, I dove into cover, moving in the wand’s direction. Hruk hadn’t given me a full demonstration of the Alarmed Light Ball, so I snatched it out of the air and slid my finger over the runes to deactivate it.

The growls sent vibrations through the wood and left my bones rattling, too. I peeked out from behind a collapsed stack of boxes and shot Identify at it.

Krier Flesh Golem

Created by the imp mages of the Krier Dungeon, no two flesh golems are the same. They’re created using the best body parts the imps can scavenge and animated using a summoned elemental. Fortunately, because of the living Krier Dungeon’s imprisonment, they have access to a limited pool of creatures.

The specimen’s individual parts are a mystery, but the fire elemental in its chest powers it.

Looking at the beast, two words came to mind: chimera and wendigo. It looked like Frankenstein’s monster but made using beast parts. A horse's skull sat in place of the head and pulsing flesh peeked out through the many orifices. Glowing golden eyes darted back and forth, scanning the hold while an orange glow from the human-like chest and mouth illuminated its surroundings. Dried blood covered the antlers atop its head and the five-fingered, clawed hands. It stood hunched over on cloven feet and, because of their length, the arms dragged along the ground as they moved.

The creature spun around twice, likely unsure of what to do. I needed the beast to leave, so I flicked my right wrist, activating the Mage’s Hand. A well-aimed throw got it past the beast. The golem followed the movement, growling. I took control of the tool, freezing it mid air and tapped the ceiling. A guttural below sounded from the creature, and it spun around, looking for the sound’s source. I moved the Mage Hand to the golem’s left, getting it to the hole I had used to enter the deck. Swift tapping got the beast’s attention, and it chased after the Mage Hand. I guided the tool to the deck above and tapped the floor.

I held my breath as the golem’s long arms reached up through the hole and it started pulling itself up. A quick flick of the wrist summoned the Mage Hand back. Much to my horror, the beast froze. Its glowing eyes followed the retreating magical tool, even though it almost perfectly blended into the darkness.

“Damn,” I mumbled, flicking my wrist, trying to take control of the Mage Hand and redirect it. Unfortunately, there was no interrupting the retrieval function once it started. The tool slipped into my shadow cloak, and the golem’s eyes brightened. When it bellowed again, the hold and its contents rattled. Little flames leaked out of the monster’s nostrils and mouth. They transitioned from orange to yellow, adding more light to the darkness.

Instead of continuing to the next level, the golem dropped back into the cargo hold. Its weight cracked the wood and floor around the monstrous beast appeared to sag. The light leaking through its chest brightened as the golem fell into a squat. Then it leaned forwards and flames ripped through the hold towards me. I didn’t wait in place and dashed to the side, rushing towards the closest external wall.

The golem’s head and the tongue of yellow flame followed me.

“Fucker can see me,” I grunted, diving behind a metal chest. The cloak didn’t help. Which meant the monster could likely track me using its other senses or see through Gram’s cloak.

The stream of flames stopped, but several tiny fires continued to burn all around me. They burned hot, rapidly adding smoke to the already hot air. Wood groaned and cracked under cloven hooves and my instincts told me to move. Just running wouldn’t do me any good, so I activated the Bracer of Draconic Smoke on my left forearm. Black wisps burst from the device. It didn’t hinder my vision much, but I knew it would hinder all others in the vicinity. Gold and orange wisps joined the darkness, providing magical interferences.

Much to my relief, the golem’s head didn’t follow me when I changed position, but then I got too close to one of the burning flames and inhaled a mouthful of smoke. At first, I tried to suppress the coughs, despite my protesting lungs. Coughing would give away my position. Then a familiar sensation caught me by surprise. However, I struggled to recognise the feeling. Then it struck me just as my lungs gave up and a burst of coughs escaped me.

The golem bellowed and charged blindly in my direction again. Diving got me out of its path, but the giant clawed fingers swiped at where I had stood, barely missing me. My heart thumped in my chest, and for a heartbeat I wondered what the hell was wrong with me to crave such excitement. As I pushed the thought out of my head, I identified the odd sensation.

“Hey, buddy,” I whispered. “You, alright? Do you have enough fuel to burn in there?”

The golem paused mid-bellow. Its horse-skull tilted to the side, and the golden eyes focused on where I hid.

“That’s right,” I said. “I’m talking to you.”

The sensation I felt had reared its head for the first time when I encountered Liv and her other spectral friends. Then it had again stirred when the field elementals revealed themselves to me in Eldar’s Plains. Spirit Sense had come to life, reacting to the flame elemental powering the golem. Hruk had told me that elementals were a type of spirit. I didn’t sense the ones in his device and the refilling flasks since his runescripts shielded their presence. However, I could clearly feel the entity burning inside the golem now.

“Are you alright?”

Hungry.

Then the beast charged at me once again. This time, dodging didn’t do me much good. I ducked under the claws, but the left arm’s backswing caught me across the chest and flung me across the hold. My shoulder struck a wooden wall, and something cracked loudly inside. The violent coughing that followed as I slid to the floor helped refill my lungs with air, but sucked in smoke too.

Hungry. End sleep. Angry. Hungry.

Now that I was down on the ground and more or less immobile, the flesh golem didn’t charge. It ambled towards me, sucking in ambient flames as it walked. The light coming off it brightened, further illuminating the hold.

As I blinked the spots away, my eyes fell upon my prized tool. The Wand of Shaping lay a couple of metres away. I lacked the strength and willpower to fetch it, so I sent the Mage Hand floating towards it. Sudden movements would likely hasten the golem’s approach, so I had the magical tool move slowly.

“Why do you want to eat me, of all things? Aren’t you a fire elemental? There are things around here that burn a lot better than me.”

Living burns flesh. More flesh lets me burn longer. Hungry.

“Are you sure you want to waste your time on me, then?” I asked. “If you listen, there are a lot more people right above us. By the time you feed on me, the fire will spread, and they’ll flee. You’ll be left on a boat sinking into Eldar’s River while they run away, taking all of their flesh with them.”

The flesh golem paused. It turned its head up towards the ceiling and inhaled deeply. The flames surrounding us once again shrunk, their essence flying into the monster. Capitalising on its distraction, I got the Mage Hand to move faster and bring the Wand of Shaping back into my hands. Much to my disappointment, a large crack ran along its side. The crystal fragment housing the wall shape had fallen out, meaning I only had the window and pillar left.

Slow burn.

The words echoed inside my head, and a hint of amusement accompanied them.

I feast on your flesh. Then the others.

“You’re a greedy fucker, aren’t you?”

The flesh golem bellowed once again and charged at me. I reversed the wand in my hand and ran it along the wall, hoping the cracks wouldn’t interfere with the function.

Fortunately, they didn’t. Windows opened up in the wall, one after the other. Smoke and hot air rushed towards me as I fell backwards out of the vessel. The flesh golem’s golden eyes widened within their holes and a panicked below escaped it. However, the hooves failed to find traction and slow the charge. Then I lost view of the monster and dropped.

My hand tightly clung on to the rough window pane and my cape tangled around a broken plank, arresting my momentum. The flesh golem didn’t have such luck.

Hate you.

The sensation that accompanied Spirit Sense winked out as the monster touched the water. It didn’t thrash or try to swim, but went straight under and disappeared. My bones and muscles protested as I climbed up through the conjured opening. Somehow, I had survived an encounter with a beast much too powerful for me. Charisma hadn’t won its friendship, but instead opened a dialogue and helped slow it. Now, I just needed to find a way to take the aetherite and escape. I hoped Hruk and Doctor Whoo were faring better above.