Nikolas had followed Viktor reluctantly, and only because he had stammered something about Sylvia. He'd been getting ready to help the poor girl being berated in the beer tent when the ground had begun to shake. Immediately, he had thought earthquake. Not once would it ever have occurred to him that feral ice golems would be invading the city. It was unheard of. So, when it did happen, Nikolas simply froze. He had no clue what to do. He was shocked, confused, and hugely overwhelmed by the chaos ensuing around him. When Viktor found him, he had all but given up on trying to protect himself. Up to that point, the golems had ignored him. The moment he realized that his only friend might have been in trouble, though, Nikolas had jumped into action.
Now, he was standing with Viktor, blocked from reaching Sylvia by an eight-foot golem. He gawked up at the beast, unsure of what to do. He knew standing before it and staring like some lug wasn't the solution, however. So, he took action; he moved just in time, too, for at that moment, the golem rose its great arm and struck the ground where he had just been standing. He jumped to his feet, glancing over at Viktor, who was bleeding profusely. The thing was slow, too slow to react to his quick dodge. That gave Nikolas and Viktor the upper hand. In no reality would they ever have been able to take the thing down on brute strength, though they were both large men. So, he had to find something that would have given him the advantage. He was fortunate to have found it so early.
"Viktor, when I tell you to, you're going to turn around and run as fast as you can. Don't stop or look back until you're at my shop, got it? We're gonna get Sylvia, but only if we survive this golem. Ready?" he waited for a response, watching the golem diligently, anticipating its every move.
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The mountain whispered quiet songs to Merileth as she settled into an open area at its foot. She closed her eyes, listening to the sound of the winds whistling softly through the high ridges. The sound jumped down to her ears, as if made to entertain only her. This, she believed, was how her people should worship. The earth gave them this song, so why should she spend her days under the solar roses never hearing its tune? Was that really the way that they were meant to live? It was too dreary. She needed to be free. She needed to hear these beautiful sounds.
Slowly, she began to drift away to sleep, Braigon keeping diligent watch beside her. It was early afternoon, and the mountain's whispers were bringing her peace. Just as she lost consciousness completely, however, Merileth's ears piqued. She bolted upright, straining to listen to the strange new sound. Something was amiss. This was not the song of the mountains, nor was it the crash of the current on the distant shore. This was something foreign and malicious. Braigon heard it, too, and flew high over her head, searching for the sound without leaving her sight. She whistled for him, and he came back down.
Once she had mounted the faithful moth, Merileth flew rapid fire toward...something. She wasn't even sure in which direction she was headed. She looked around, drawing her knife from the rope around her waist, a knot forming in her stomach. Something wasn't right, and she could feel it. Before she could see it, though, the feral golem was standing over her. She squealed, pulling on Braigon to reverse direction. Unfortunately for Merileth, he, too, had panicked, and was unable to respond properly to her. He reared, flying straight up into the air. Merileth lost her grip almost instantly, and fell to the ground with a loud thud.
The short drop didn't do much to Merileth, save for bruise her rump. She jumped to her feet, waving her knife like crazy. It didn't seem to phase the golem, though, who was still headed right toward her. Squealing at the top of her lungs, Merileth turned and ran with all of her might. She hoped that without Braigon she could make it back to the solar roses. Once there, she was certain that she would be safe. The earth wasn't going to allow this, though. As some sort of sick punishment for missing the worship of the solstice, a part of the earth rose up before her where she couldn't see it, and Merileth tripped. By the time she regained her footing, the golem was upon her. It picked the young elf up without any sort of grace, throwing her over its shoulder and knocking her out almost immediately.
