To be honest, Raptor couldn’t quite remember why he had decided to go into the cave. It stank, and the gargoyles that lined the sides just sat there doing nothing. He wished that something would have the common courtesy to try to kill him, for the sake of his own entertainment. A few hours into the eventless walk, and the Dovahkiin was wondering whether he should just give up.
‘Do you remember the burning?’ An ominous voice echoed in Raptor’s head, coaxing him to respond.
Raptor immediately froze, swiftly scanning the area as he felt a jolt of terror.
“Do I know you?” The Dragonborn asked softly, his voice not betraying the hatred he felt at the anonymous reminder. At the word ‘burning’, painful memories had flooded his head, ones he had been thankful to have long forgotten. The voice chuckled, seemingly aware of Raptor’s agitation.
‘Wouldn’t you like it all to end?’ The words boomed through his head, their piercing noise nearly driving the Argonian to the ground.
“What do you mean, explain yourself!” Raptor called, trying to keep his calm. Now wasn’t the time to screw around, he needed to focus on the threat. “Where are you?”
With a loud crash, dirt and stone suddenly fell from the cavern ceiling. The debris drew itself together, forming a massive humanoid shape.
“A golem. About time I met a challenge here.” He muttered, expecting no coherent response from the magical life form. He recognized it, but it was still distinctly different from any golem he had previously encountered. Probably a result of Equestria and Tamriel’s differences in magic. Mostly compatible with each other, as far as he could tell, but still different.
“Don’t mess with me.” Raptor growled, raising his Deadric shield and charging the golem. “I’ve dealt with your kind before, I can rip you apart just as easily.” Gaining speed, he slammed into the golem’s leg with earth shattering force. Or with what could normally have been described as such, except the creature’s earthen leg hadn’t shattered.
“Alright, a little tougher than I expected. I need to think this one through.” The Dragonborn rolled to the side, dodging the powerful downward slam of the rock behemoth’s fist.
Raptor began circling the golem, attempting to confuse it and find its magical weak spot. As far as he could tell, this golem seemed to operate like those he’d fought in Tamriel. That meant it was being kept alive by a magical conduit, acting essentially as its heart. Disable the heart, and the golem would be nothing more than a statue. The only problem was, this golem’s conduit appeared to be tucked away deep inside the creature’s body.
That should be impossible, but it seemed to be the case here. Normally, the conduit needs to be exposed to air in order to vent out excess magical energy. If a port isn’t provided, the pressure will build up and cause the creature to explode. There was no immediately apparent port on the golem, but Raptor was confident that he could find one.
He guessed that the conduit was likely in either the golem’s chest or head, offering it the best possible protection. A large enough concussive force was usually able to momentarily stall a conduit, all Raptor had to do was poke around until he got results.
“FUS RO DAH!” Raptor roared, directing his shout towards the golem’s featureless head. The giant staggered backwards, but wasn’t stunned.
The Argonian grumbled, slightly annoyed that he hadn’t succeeded on his first attempt. He put his shield on his back and drew out a second sword. Short but strong, the Deadric blade should be more than sufficient in a golem fight.
Raptor took a deep breath, and broke into an inhumanly fast sprint towards the monster. The golem slammed its massive fists into the ground, but it had little chance in hitting such a quick target.
“WULD NAH KEST!” Bellowed Raptor, increasing his speeds to such an extent that the golem had difficulty tracking his movement. Dropping to his knees and sliding, his armor drew sparks from the stone ground as he sped towards the giant’s legs. Raising his swords and slicing through the golem’s legs, Raptor severed some of the magical circuits in its lower extremities. Serving a similar purpose to veins and arteries in a normal creature, the broken circuits left the golem partially crippled. The Dragonborn wasted no time, leaping to his feet and jumping towards the monster’s back.
Raptor yelled as he dug his dual blades deep into the golem’s back, before suddenly being propelled backwards into the cave wall. In a last-ditch attempt to kill its attacker, the golem’s back exploded. It had successfully removed the source of its agony, but had also revealed its most vulnerable part: its conduit. Raptor gazed at the cyan glow for a brief moment, appreciating the beautiful sight before he would destroy it. His admiration turned to concern as the swirling conduit turned crimson. “Shit man, no need to get all pissy. Go back to the pretty blue!”
The golem savagely turned towards Raptor, letting out a hideous scream. Though only minutes old, the creature had a sense of self-preservation. That was gone now, the earthen monster consumed with pure hatred and malice. In its simple mind, there was nothing to lose.
Despite the increased danger, Raptor grinned slightly. Though the monster would now be more wild and unpredictable, it would also start to get sloppy. A careless combatant wouldn’t last long under most circumstances.
“Come on, big guy.” Raptor goaded on his assailant as he dodged its powerful swipe. “I hope you weren’t expecting us to stay at second base all night.”
"In fact, I’d say this encounter is just about ready for a climax!” Raptor charged the monster, angling his blades forwards. The golem responded in kind, lumbering rapidly towards Raptor despite its injured legs. Time seemed to slow down as the two combatants neared each other, running at full speed.
“FEIM!” The Dragon language was let loose by the Dovahkiin a fraction of a second before the golem’s hand slammed down upon him, one word being all he needed. Raptor smiled. He’d won.
Raptor shot out of the fist, appearing like a ghost. His eyes burned like a blue fire, and his body left an ethereal trail behind it. The intangibility effect quickly wore off, but he no longer needed it.
Adrenaline shot through his system as he threw his blades to the side and conjured a Deadric bow. Time seemed to slow around Raptor, he could feel each pump of his heart as it sent blood flowing through his veins. It’d been a while since he’d killed. Too long. Raptor drew back the bow and let the arrow fly straight through the golem’s chest, piercing the conduit. As it contacted the source of the golem’s energy, its enchantment was activated. The arrow exploded, sending globs of the conduit flying out of the golem’s exposed back. The monster stood still, now only a lifeless statue. The fight was over. Raptor strode over to the wall and scooped up some of the splattered remnants, placing it in an enchanted jar before the magical substance could evaporate away.
“Well, aren’t you a special little sunflower?” Raptor chuckled at the conduit. He wasn’t much for studying, but learning more about Equestrian magic could be useful to him. No need to let the conduit go to waste. “Or is the saying ‘special little shaman’?” The Argonian scratched his chin. “Special little snail? Scroll? Sorcerer? Syrup? Salt? Eh. Fuck if I know.” The Dragonborn shrugged and laid down to take a quick rest. He hadn’t noticed any other creatures nearby, might as well get a little sleep in.