[Jerimiah]

The Captain of the Town Guard stormed into the old man's library.

"Five Men!" shouted Rade. "I lost five men tonight! Frozen solid in the forest. I thought that golem of yours was supposed to protect us!"

"I gave the golem orders to obey your commands. It isn't my fault if your use of him wasn't sufficient to protect your men. I was watching from here... You should have let him lead the attack instead of holding him in reserve."

"Those men had families! Wives and children! What am I supposed to tell them!"

"The truth. They died apprehending a dangerous criminal. They gave their lives to protect Bephal. If that's not good enough, then make something up. It's your problem, not mine."

"I want December! I want a yard of his hide for every man I lost!"

"If your request wouldn't result in his death I would be more than happy to oblige. Unfortunately, I need him alive. I am so very close..."

"To what!? What is this about?"

"My daughter. I will have Julia back, and I need December alive to do it."

"Julia is dead."

Jerimiah nodded, and smiled.

Rade stepped back, aghast.

"Gods! The cemetery...! Necromancy! I will have no part of this!"

"Too late, you superstitious idiot! I already have what I need. You have retrieved her corpse and I have extracted what I need from it. I have performed the initial rites... summoned her spirit to its new body... In a few hours I shall have strength enough to perform the final ceremony that will bring life to that body, and return her to the land of the living. "

"You violate the sanctity of death! You are more of a monster than December ever was!"

"Ahh... but I shall be a monster that has defied death! I shall be a monster who has stolen back what was snatched from him!"

"And for this you risk the lives of my men!"

"Your part in this is over. Your gold is in the usual place."

"I will have December turned over to me! You will not use him to revive a dead assassin!"

"The only reason I don't incinerate you where you stand is that I need to conserve what remains of my energy for the ceremony."

"Bastard!" Rade took several steps toward the old man.

"Golem!"

There immediately arose a sound of something heavy mounting the hidden staircase behind the wall. The bookcase slid open, and the ice golem entered the room. Rade drew his sword.

"Go ahead. Fight it. You'll lose."

"Stop!" Rade shouted as the golem bared down on him.


"... and of course I removed the spell that made him obey your commands. Golem, stop."

The ice creature stood perfectly still.

"Golem, escort our guest to the front door. See that he leaves."

"Wait. I'm going, but this isn't over, Jerimiah! I'll rouse the others! My men will not let December live, and they will not let you commit whatever abomination you have planned." Rade turned and quickly made his way down the stairs and out the front door.

"Quite right, Mr. Captain-of-the-Guard. It is far from over. Golem! Is the prisoner secure in his cell?"

The construct nodded slowly.

"Good. Follow that fool, but stay far enough away so that he does not see you. When he is a fair distance from the house, kill him."

The golem nodded once more, and slowly started down the stairs. Jerimiah sat down on the hard wooden floor of the library, folded his legs across in a yogic position, and began to meditate. His lips moved almost imperceptibly as he whispered arcane words of power. His heartbeat slowed, and the air around him seemed to glow as the old man regenerated his considerable energies in preparation for what was to come.

[December]

December paced to and fro in the bare cell. He had already inspected the metal door, and found it to be quite sturdy and heavily enchanted. A skilled thief may have been able to pick the lock, but unfortunately, December had never perfected that particular art. He considered using his magic, but Trisk would have reinforced the door and walls to be resistant to his power. Or would he? The rope that had previously bound him to the library chair had been enchanted against him, but the chair itself had not been. Once he was alone in the cell, it was an easy matter for December to freeze the chair, lowering its temperature until it became brittle. He snapped the sturdy wooden frame as if it had been composed of twigs, and the enchanted rope fell uselessly to the floor. Perhaps he could free himself from this place after all. However, there was still the matter of the golem. The living statue of ice stood guard outside the cell; December could see it through the small barred opening in the cell door. He had already come up with several possible ways to deal with the creature should he have to face it in combat, however, Trisk would no doubt be alerted if December managed to release himself. Dealing with Trisk AND the golem would be difficult. But not impossible.

December continued to examine his surroundings. Besides the remains of the chair, the cell was completely empty. The monotony of the gray stone walls was broken only by the metal door and a small metal grate in the center of the stone floor. The grate was slightly more than a half-inch in diameter, and covered a drain-pipe of equal size. Clearly, it offered no means of escape.

December's thoughts turned to something he'd seen earlier, when the golem had carried him down the hall. There was another cell next to the one he currently occupied. It had not been empty. December distinctly remembered seeing a human form laying prone on some kind of table or altar. Another prisoner? Some kind of sacrifice? The shape did not respond as the lumbering golem walked past. It did not stir, awaken, or come to the cell door to investigate. December concluded that the occupant of the cell was either dead or was never alive at all.

A sudden noise caught his attention. December peered through the door just in time to see the golem disappear down the hall. Trisk must have called it away.

Now would be a good time to escape.

December was running his fingers across the door, looking for a weakening in the enchantment, when another sound drew his attention. It was coming from the grated opening in the floor. December watched as the metallic scraping noises grew louder, and finally the metal cover popped free of the drain pipe. A pale head with large reptilian eyes emerged into the room.

"What kept you?" asked December.

"Many wardss masster. Much magic. J'Hasp find a way in through the ssewerss."

"The boy?"

"With Rivusss."

December nodded, and J'Hasp began to extract himself from the hole. Flexible bones and joints bent and contorted to fit J'Hasp's body through the impossibly small opening. Sharp claws scraped across the stone floor as he dragged himself up and out of the drain pipe. After only a few moments, J'Hasp was in the cell with December.

"I doubt I shall be able to leave in the same manner." said December, "Find a way to open that door."

J'Hasp obliged happily, trotting over to the door. After a few moments of sniffing, J'Hasp turned to look at his master.

"Door is magic...lock is not. J'Hasp pick?"

"Yes. And be quick about it."

The grotesque creature used its claws as lockpicks and, after a few moments, was rewarded with a loud *click* from the lock. The door swung open with hardly a sound.

"We go now?"

"Now quite yet. I have yet to determine Trisk's motive for bringing me here. I think we should take a look around."

"Masster?"

"Do not worry. Together, we are more than capable of dealing with Trisk and his abominations."

J'Hasp nodded.

"I think I shall start with the cell next door..."