Keys to the Demon Prison

"Make him like Hugo," Seth proposed. "Not pretty, just big."

"I like that," Trask agreed. "Build him sturdy. Thick arms and legs. Bigger than the other statue if we can."

"We’ll have to make him lying down," Mara said. "Otherwise he won’t hold together."

Berrigan had cleared most of the squishy clay from his area and was now using his knife to carve out large slabs of the firmer material. As they delved downward, it soon became apparent that the clay went quite deep. Three piles grew quickly at the edges of the clay pit. Elise and Mara stole from the largest pile to work on feet and legs. Tanu started running heavy loads of clay from the other piles to the largest one.

After several minutes, arms gray-green with clay past his elbows, Vincent ran to check the basins. "Over half full," he announced. "I better help mold the figure. Tanu, help me transfer more clay to our champion. Keep fresh clay coming!"

"You heard the man," Trask growled, using a sword to carve out another huge greenish slab.

Seth noticed that nobody dug out clay faster than Berrigan. The young man moved in tireless silence, his thin limbs carrying larger loads than Seth would have pictured. Muscles burning, Seth continued to harvest clay at his best pace, reminding himself that each dense wad would add mass to their defender. He was not as effective as Berrigan or Trask, but he was moving more material than Kendra.

Elise and Mara were now working on the arms, Tanu was adding bulk to the torso, and Vincent appeared to be fashioning a large hammer. The clay warrior might actually take shape!

"Check the basins, Kendra," Vincent called.

She ran across the floor. "Getting really full. Like seven-eighths. We only have a couple of minutes left."

"Berrigan can keep digging out clay," Vincent cried, placing the handle of the huge war hammer onto the crude right palm. "Everyone else should work on the warrior. We have lots of clay piled, get it over here! We’ll want a shield for the left arm, and thicken up those legs. Make the feet bigger for stability. Hurry!"

The clay pit had already been excavated to waist deep in most places. Seth boosted himself out and started transfer-ring clay from the piles to beef up the legs. As he packed new clay against the existing clay, Seth wondered how long their warrior could survive. After all, the other statue was solid stone. Wouldn’t its club slash apart the clay champion without any trouble? What use was a clay hammer against stone?

Kendra remained beside the basins. The statue loomed over her, almost twice her height. "Almost full," she called. "Maybe fifteen more seconds."

"Get away from the statue," Trask ordered.

"Don’t stress about the head!" Vincent directed fervently. "I like him without much neck. More sturdy. Add to the shoulders! Quickly!"

Kendra raced back across the floor from the basins. Seth added another small slab of clay to the left foot. Mara crouched over the face, hollowing out eyes and shaping a nose.

As Seth heard the water lapping over the sides of the basins, a sudden wind swept through the room with surprising force. Staggering, Seth found himself leaning against the gale to keep his balance.

The wind died as quickly as it had risen, and the statue on the other side of the room stepped out of the alcove. The bulky figure on the ground sat up, no longer composed of clay. Like the other statue, the champion they had sculpted was now made of solid, greenish stone.

"He should have a name," Mara said.

"Goliath," Elise suggested.

"I like it," Vincent said.

"What should we call the other statue?" Tanu asked. "Nancy," Seth said quickly. Vincent and Trask chuckled.

Goliath tottered to his feet. He had a squarish head with no neck. One bulky leg was a bit shorter than the other. The toes on the right foot were too long and shaped like carrots. Now that Goliath was standing, his arms looked a little stubby, but they were thick, with a rectangular shield attached to one forearm and a heavy stone hammer in the opposite hand. The clay had not been properly smoothed, so irregular bulges and slabs covered his surface, contributing to his rough-hewn look. Goliath was not quite as tall as Nancy, who had a long jaw and a high forehead, but his shoulders were just as high and somewhat broader.

While the statues approached each other, Trask herded everyone back toward the entryway. Tanu scooped up the egg-shaped key. Walking backwards, Seth stared as the opponents seemed to measure one another, moving cautiously, weapons held ready. As an art project, Goliath was a failure. He looked slapped together by some careless kid. But as a combatant designed for smashing enemy statues, he had potential.

"Can we help Goliath?" Seth asked.

"I don’t think arrows and swords will do much," Trask replied. "If I had brought a sledgehammer, it might be a different story."

"Couldn’t we provide distractions?" Elise asked.

Trask shrugged. "We might end up as the wrong kind of distractions. The guardian statue could use our welfare to bait Goliath and force mistakes. Let’s see how our champion fares. His bulk might give him a shot."

As the statues circled each other, it became clear that Nancy was more balanced and therefore moved more fluidly. The enemy statue tested Goliath by switching direction several times and making little feints. Given his somewhat lopsided construction, Goliath did not change direction very smoothly. The first strike by Nancy came as Goliath teetered momentarily on his short leg. The enemy statue darted forward, swinging the curved, flat club in a vicious arc. Connecting fiercely with Goliath’s head, the top two-thirds of the club snapped off. In retaliation, Goliath swung his shield, which landed with a tremendous crack of stone against stone. Nancy stumbled backward with Goliath in pursuit.

Seth cupped his hands around his mouth and cheered.

Without looking over, the enemy statue flung the remaining length of his club toward Seth. Mara dove, tackling Seth to the floor as the broken club hissed over them before clattering down the passage.

From the cool, hard floor, Seth watched as Goliath swung his hammer several times, but Nancy managed to evade the blows with nimble footwork. As Goliath kept up the pursuit, hammer swinging aggressively, the enemy statue started looking for openings, sneaking in punches or kicks between strokes. The counterattacks proved ineffective, connecting weakly before Nancy had to dodge the next major blow.

Goliath relentlessly pressed his advantage, pursuing the enemy statue around the room, always maneuvering himself to keep his opponent away from the entrance to the passage. Seth watched with his hands balled into fists, his anxiety rising as Nancy proved to be impossible for Goliath to hit. What would they do if Goliath lost? There was no chance they could stand against the huge and agile statue. It would smash them into hamburger.