The Connected System

The metal container stood out in a sea of trees. Loch was surprised to see it. He’d expected a wooden building or shed, not a metal shipping container. That was something he’d thought the Worldcore would have taken, like it did cars. It looked like it had been in the forest for decades, the sides covered in rust with vines and moss growing over the sides and across the top.

That didn’t make sense as the forest was new, literally only weeks old.

The Worldcore had grown it instantly, building it and making it appear like it was hundreds of years old. Was it really that hard to accept it could do the same to the metal container. Loch couldn’t see any writing on it, maybe it hadn’t even belonged to the recycling company and was part of the forest taken from somewhere else? It could have been buried in some woods for decades.

The back was to them as they approached. He couldn’t see if the door was shut or open. Using hand signals, Loch spread the group out. Elora and Harper circled the container on each side. Loch went down the left side, Harper’s side. Brian followed Elora. Piper, Julia and the scavengers stayed back with Jenny between them and the container. She held her new sword, the one taken from the elf that Elora had killed.

He couldn’t hear anything as he moved, carefully avoiding exposed roots and the myriad sticks and leaves on the ground. The trees were spread out but not in straight lines, making him have to weave around them. Some were growing tight against the container. Harper was just ahead, reaching the corner.

She stopped, peaking around before pulling back. Harper moved back to meet Loch.

“Doors cracked open, facing the other side,” she whispered.

Loch nodded. He wasn’t worried about Elora being seen or accidentally tripping any trap that might be on the door. He absolutely expected there to be something going on with the container. A trap, or even some kind of monster inside. There was a reason the Connection had left the container.

“Stay here, I’m going to send Brian over,” Loch whispered.

Harper nodded, moving closer to the corner.

Loch made his way back around the container, coming down the right side. He could barely make out Elora at the far corner, the trees and Brian in the way. The large man turned, saw Loch and nodded. He walked past without a word.

Loch trusted Brian, but knew the big man understood. An unknown situation, it was best to have Loch in front facing it. That also allowed Brian and Harper to attack from the rear, hopefully whatever they would be facing’s blindside. If this was something they knew, or could do an Evaluate on, Loch would have had Brian go first.

Elora had turned to see what was happening but returned her attention to the front, looking back around the corner. She pulled back when Loch came up alongside.

“I have seen nothing,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

She moved back so Loch could lean forward.

The door was really two leaves, which Harper wouldn’t have noticed from her side and probably hadn’t thought of. When was the last time she’d paid attention to a shipping container. Loch had seen lots of his lifetime and knew there were two doors that opened. One of them was closed, with the way the moss grew, he couldn’t tell if the locking bars were still in place. The other was open but only a couple of inches. Not enough to see inside the container. He couldn’t see anything that would indicate a trap. No trip wires or such.

But this was the Connection. The trap could be sprung by any number of invisible means.

He leaned back around the corner, moving away from it with Elora following.

“Did you see or sense anything?”

“No,” she replied. “I do not have a specific Trap Detecting Skill but my Deep Ranger Skills can detect a lot but they are not perfect. If the trap was nature based…”

Loch nodded. He looked at the forest around them. There had to be a way to open the door. He knew from experience that the doors had some weight to them, but weren’t all that heavy. The open one meant the locking bars weren’t engaged. He spotted a large branch fallen on the ground.

It looked long and thick enough.

As quietly as he could, Loch walked over to it. He shrunk Onyx down and hung the axe off his belt before picking up the log. The length was right, about eight feet long. The weight wasn’t bad. It appeared solid enough. Pre-Connection, Loch wouldn’t have struggled with the weight but the length would have made it awkward to carry. Now, he had no issues.

He made his way back to the container.

“Go around the other side, tell them to spread out,” he told Elora. “I’m going to push the door open so be ready for whatever happens.”

The elf nodded, moving quickly around the container. Loch was amazed at how fast but silently she could move. Elves in stories were considered to be one with nature, able to move freely through the forests without leaving a trace or sound. Elora was proof that the stories were true.

Moving past the corner, Loch held the log in his hands, shifting for a better grip. Within a minute, he could see Elora and Brian moving to stand behind some trees in front of the container’s doors. Harper was around, he just couldn’t see her.

Everyone in position, Loch pushed the log forward. It tapped the metal of the door, which barely moved. He adjusted the log, pushing just on the inside of the door. It started moving an inch at a time, the hinges squeaking. Loch had to put more pressure into the push, the door not wanting to open. It moved, pushing against leaves and moss that had grown along the bottom.

More of the opening was revealed, still not enough to see inside.

The door burst open, ripping the log from Loch’s hands. It slammed against a tree behind it, the sound loud through the forest. Standing where the door had been was a suit of armor. It stood about seven feet tall, having to duck to get out of the container. Bulky, but moving easily. Every inch was covered in dull and pitted steel, a deep gray color. Spikes grew out of the shoulders and elbow joints. It carried no weapon, the full visor helmet turning to look at Loch. Through the thin slit, Loch could see a red glow.

STEEL ARMOR GOLEM

Through Evaluate, the Golem felt weaker than Loch. He pegged it around Level Twenty, maybe as low as Eighteen. It took a step toward him, the joints creaking as it moved.

“Cerie,” he yelled out. “What’s a Golem?”

He could see the green glow of the fairy in the edge of his vision, not taking his eyes off the slowly approaching Golem. Cerie’s glow grew brighter as she came closer.

Loch shook his hand, working to get rid of the numbness from the log being ripped from his grip. The surprise of the Golem’s appearance had been so quick, he hadn’t been able to let go of the log. His fingers hurt but were recovering. The log lay broken ten feet to the side.

“A Golem is an animated creation,” Cerie said, hovering just behind Loch. “There is too much variety to really say more. An Enchanter creates them from various materials, employing runes and other means to grant the Golem Abilities and Skills.”

“Does the type of material make them stronger,” Loch asked, drawing Onyx and enlarging the axe. He looked at the axe side and back to the armor. Adjusting his trip, Loch turned Onyx around, presenting the hammerhead side.

The Golem stopped, its head turning as Elora and Brian stepped out from behind the trees. It didn’t move, the helmet shifting from one to the other. The red glow flared briefly as it looked at each person. Loch wondered if it was using some form of Evaluate?

“No,” Cerie answered. “The material does not determine overall strength, just the basis of Abilities.”

“Great,” Loch muttered, stepping closer, noticing the spiked knuckles on the armored gloves.

The closed fist, spikes leading, headed for his head. Loch ducked, swinging Onyx into the side of the Golem. There was a loud clang. Both Loch and the Golem stumbled at the impact, Loch recovering faster. Onyx had left a dent in the armor. He had to duck and step to the side to avoid a fist, twisting to avoid the second.

Looking past the Golem, he saw another walking out of the container. He stepped to the left, making the Golem twist. Onyx slammed into an armored knee, causing it to buckle. The Golem stumbled, Loch pushed it as hard as he could. It fell to the ground with a crash, already pushing itself up.

“That one’s yours,” Loch yelled to Brian, the large man already charging it with his giant club raised.

Stepping forward, Loch raised Onyx, waiting for the Golem to get closer. He saw a form appear on top of the container, taking a step back to pull the Golem further from the entrance. Harper jumped off the container, landing on the Golem’s shoulders. Her tonfas, hooked end out, swung down. She dug the hooks into the visor of the Golem and pulled. Loch expected the visor to be yanked off but the armor was all one piece. The head bent back, the body arching. The hands reached up for Harper.

Jumping up, her feet on the Golem’s shoulders, she leapt forward, the hooks snapping the head forward. The Golem lurched as Harper hit the ground in a roll. Loch swung Onyx, Activating Smash. The Ability was the same as the axe head’s Cleave, just focused on bashing. The hammer slammed into the chest of the Golem with a loud clang. The armor caved in, a huge dent forming. Loch pulled Onyx back, swinging again at the same spot. It slammed home, another loud clang, the dent deeper. Loch pulled the hammer back to swing again.

The fist caught him in the shoulder. He rolled with the punch, feeling the spikes cut into his shoulder, blood leaking out. He landed hard, rolling across the ground to avoid the stomping feet.

A flash of light exploded on the Golem’s back. Harper was back on top of the container, throwing her knives at the armored creature. Loch watched as the flames from the throwing knife spread out from the point of impact, the armor turning red from the heat. They spread further than Loch would have thought, as if the metal armor was conducting the heat.

The Golem twisted, looking up at her. Loch leapt up, Activating Bulwark. The shield formed in front of his left arm. He slammed the energy shield into the side of the Golem, causing the spikes to burst out. Lightning crackled around the Golem, spreading across the armor. It snapped and sparked leaving a trail of charred metal.

Loch pushed with the energy shield, the Golem stumbling back. It reached for him with its longer arms, Loch moving in close to get it from grabbing him. He swung Onyx, not a full swing, there wasn’t room for that, the head striking an armored knee. The metal slightly dented, the Golem stumbling a bit. Another throwing knife struck it in the head, flames spreading around the helmet.

“Loch,” someone shouted.

He thought it was Jenny.

Pushing against the Golem, he shoved it back a couple of steps, giving himself some breathing room. Stepping back he looked down the container, having a bad angle through the trees. He could see Jenny, with Piper and Julia moving closer to the container. Jenny was fighting something. He couldn’t make it out.

“On it,” Harper yelled.

Loch had to trust that she could handle whatever was out there. He had enough to deal with, ducking to avoid a spiked fist aiming for his head. He pushed up with Bulwark, getting under the arm and lifting it wide. Onyx, with a weak swing, caught the golem in the armpit joint. Another clang, another dent, this one twisting the metal.

The Golem tried to move the arm. It was slow, the sound of metal grinding with every movement.

The creature wasn’t that tough an opponent overall. It was slow, didn’t react quickly. There was some speed when it attacked, but the only attacks it could make were with its fists. Those could be avoided. The only thing that made the Golem difficult was the strength of the armor and the creature’s Health. It had to have a lot.

Or maybe not much, the strength of the armor keeping it in the fight.

All the hits Loch had made, the scorch marks across the armor, didn’t seem to be slowing it down. Loch knew he would win. He’d pound the thing over and over until it couldn’t move, the armor would be so dented. But he’d take some hits along the way.

What really worried him was whatever Jenny and Harper were fighting. He saw streaks of black. Piper had summoned an inkcreature.

He glanced at Brian and Elora. The elf’s sword was useless against the metal armor. She darted around it, slapping at it with the flat of the blade, causing the Golem to turn, leaving it open for Brian’s attack. The giant club would slam into the creature, each blow a loud clang, each blow leaving a large dent. They were having better luck against it than he was.

Evaluate gave Loch the sense that it was weaker than the one he was facing, but not by much.

Brian’s much greater strength and weapon were perfect against the Steel Armor Golem.

It could barely lift its arms, not moving for fear of toppling over from the dented and broken knees. A couple more good blows and the Golem would be finished. Maybe not killed, but it wouldn’t be able to move. Once they managed to knock it over, that would be the end.

Loch knew he could keep his Golem occupied until Brian and Elora killed theirs, but there was the unknown monster or monsters to worry about.

The way he was going, it would be a long and drawn out fight, waiting for Brian to come and bash the thing until it couldn’t move. But that could take too long. Loch couldn’t do much against the Golem, not without taking some risks.

Screw it, he thought. It was time to end this fight.