After its initial attack, Man Can stood still, the head of the apprentice swinging slightly to the same rhythm of the eye in the golem's socket. The Nuit's words fell against the automaton with absolutely no effect as the golem remained in the slightly extended position it had moved into to headbutt Pandaemus.
As the Nuit began to slowly look around, squinting in the half-darkness as the moon faded in and out with the passage of the clouds above, Man Can continued to remain motionless. The dangling head had come to a relatively calm hang, while the eye had managed to roll back such that the back of the eye now faced out. There was still the steady dripping of bodily fluid from the mass in the golem's hands landing with squishy sounding drips upon the earth below. The usual sounds of the forest had picked up again, soft feet upon broken earth, shrill cries of both prey and predator, the gentle lapping of the water against the island's land.
As the clouds allowed the moon to shine bright once more, the telltale crimson glint shone a tantalizing reflection onto Pandaemus' face. The bauble had been dislodged during the slight altercation and now lay a few feet behind the golem, apparently having rolled back there when it had headbutted him. In the revealing, silver light, the object was much easier to make out. It was a sphere of reddish crystal with a dulled, golden circle that ran the entire circumference. A slimmer, silver circle also ran around the sphere, separating it into four distinct quarters. Near one of the intersections was a small metal loop that was apparently meant for a chain or necklace to be threaded through for an easier way to transport the item. All in all, it was a strangely attractive little instrument and certainly the one the Nuit Inarta had asked for.
As if reacting to the shimmering red glare the object cast upon Pandaemus' face, the golem jerked back, its mechanical voice losing some of the steady cadence.
"Bro Ken."
Its head jerked to the side as if appraising the Nuit before it.
"Bro Ken."
The remains of Manny shivered as the golem's arms pulled against it.
"Bro Ken. Bro Ken."
With a terrible explosion of sundering flesh, the mass was split into two sections that were quickly dropped to the ground. The golem's entire body twitched, jerking up and down, to the left and right, giving the appearance of several comand inputs being delivered at the same time, causing bodily confusion.
As the flesh hit the ground with sickening thuds, the golem's right arm swung around, narrowly missing the Nuit in front of it.
"Break. Break. Break."
The golem's voice had become slightly garbled, stuck on a single word as it advanced upon Pandaemus.
"Break. Break."
Another swing with its right arm, followed by a jerky hammer smash with its left.
"Break."
Whatever had kept the golem at bay seemed to no longer be having any kind of calming effect. It was now a matter of kill or be killed.
Common
