Dala was able to lead them southwards, discovering more of what seemed to be a laboratory jail system. The cells lined every single wall and each one of them had a number above it. The numbers began with one, two, then quickly went up to a hundred and beyond. Dala's mind kept wondering on those people that had been experimented on. Each time she bit down on the inside of her cheek to refocus her mind. They couldn't think about that now! Once they survived then they can consider the victims. They needed to avoid becoming victims to do that. The girl focused on her wayfinder, carefully peaking around each corner and keeping her hears alert. While Raizel was noticing the pipes, Dala was noticing a pattern in her wayfinder. 

The alchemist had designed the building to be confusing to outsiders, but there was one path through the system that had been consistent. An alchemist wouldn't want to get lost or have to walk miles to get to her laboratories. As a result, the labs were all close together, separated by only a few rooms or feet. If there was a lab around one corner, then another one wouldn't be far behind.

"We need to follow the labs to get out." She explained, "But I'm guessing since the labs are so dangerous, the golems will be patrolling that route." 

She began looking at her wayfinder harder, trying to figure out a better route. The teenager looked at the wayfinder closely, trying to connect any additional patterns. There seemed to be a circular effect in the architecture. Each path would eventually lead back to the main path. 

"Alright. I think I found a way to minimize going near the golems." She explained, "And-"

Before she could say another word, a massive golem stepped from around the corner and slammed it's fists into the ground, barely missing Dala. She jumped back and pulled out her sword. But looking at the stone hard golem, she realized that a regular sword won't do much. Sheathing her sword, she kicked the golem, drawing its attention away from Raizel and raced out of the way before it could hit her. 

"Oi! Golem boy are you gonna do you're job or what?!" Dala shouted. 

Raizel was acting as lookout while Dala studied her wayfinder's widget. Every so now and then he would glance at the device in her hands, taking note of the map that was slowly filling itself in. Based on how far they had walked, they were gradually making a curve along one side. The laboratories slowly pieced together the bigger picture of what exactly had been going on here for decades, and after seeing enough specimens the artificer understood why Zets'Ki had gotten involved. Dala then spoke up saying she had figured out the best path to pass through this area into the next. But before she could finish, he felt the ground vibrate before catching sight of a golem that had managed to sneak up on them. Its hit barely missed them, thanks to how slow the construct was. It was strong and durable, but due to its bulky composition its movements weren't quick. 

Pushing himself back up from rolling away, he saw Dala bait the golem while navigating the laboratory. "Oi! Golem boy are you gonna do you're job or what?!" Even though he was shaking, he cracked a smile. "So that's what you're going to call me?" Raizel quipped back, taking out his Baltil warhammer. "I take out one golem in a volcano and suddenly I'm the expert?" Kiting around the golem while its back was turned, he got a running start and jumped onto its back. Even if you destroyed the limbs, since it was a construct it would simply reform itself after. The only way to 'kill' a golem was to take out its core. He didn't care about salvaging anything from this place, so he wasn't going to hold back. Normally cores were placed in a portion that had the greatest protection, like the center of its body. Raising the hammerhead up high, he brought it down with a heavy swing. 

"Agh!" It was a direct hit, leaving a crater where the blow landed. Dust and pieces of rock flew everywhere and he was coughing. There was another reason why he didn't like using this weapon even without the skyfire enchantment–the recoil from the collision was strong. The more dense and resistant the material was, the worse the recoil would be. It might be nothing for a dwarf or a giant, but for someone who was almost no different from a human, it wasn't something he could keep doing non-stop. Despite the hole in its body, the golem was still moving. It was preparing to swipe at him when a tiny fire elemental flew into its face, pestering it like a fly. With a heavy hand it slapped Nuri against the wall, but those few seconds were what he needed to find the dislodged core. Unlike the golem borne from magma, the core for this one was artificial. A small container with engraved symbols lay on the ground cushioned by a pile of dirt. Wasting no time, Raizel slammed the hammer down with a loud crack!

As the core was obliterated, the golem froze. It shuddered for a moment before collapsing into a mound of packed earth. "There, that took longer than it should have." He said, trying to shake off the tingling feeling in his hands. "That's one less sentry we'll need to worry about when we come back." The tiny fire elemental wobbled over to sit on his shoulder, flickering to show its exhaustion. "Are there any more coming this way?" He asked Dala, really hoping she'd say no.

"If the shoe fits." Dala quipped. 

The war hammer smashed against the golem's side, sending rocks and dust flying through the air. A stone flew past Dala's head, almost hitting her. She quickly moved back from the golem as it stumbled forwards. The creature raised its arm to hit Raizel but the fire elemental flew around, only to get slapped against the wall. The creature had given him enough time to dislodge the artificial core and destroy the golem with one final hit. The crack echoed across the hallways, like it was trying to signal the world their location. They couldn't stay here. 

"Move!" She exclaimed, pulling him towards the left corridor. 

She knew this would be away from the hall with the most labs but they couldn't go straight, else risk getting caught by more golems. They dashed around another corner and she pulled him to wait. They were still close to the main hall, only two corners away from the dead golem. Sounds of golems stomping towards their fallen comrade echoed through the halls. She waited for a moment until the golems continued moving onwards, still searching for the cause of the noise. She carefully pulled him around the corner, towards the left for the third time. They ended up in the lab hall again but the golems had moved on. 

"Each hall always circles back to this one." She whispered as quietly as she could, "We need to keep going straight." 

They eventually found two massive doors made up of metal, supposedly leading towards the exit. In front of the doors weren't any golems. Instead there were twisted pale arms covering the doorway, each arm attached to the walls with flesh. The arms were freakishly long and had claws for fingers. Pulling a stone from her pocket, she threw it at the door. One of the many arms came to life and slashed at the stone. Pieces of the stone fell apart, destroyed by the razor sharp fingers. 

"More experiments…" Dala said with disgust. 

She pulled her sword out from its sheath, trying to think of the safest place to cut without getting hit by the nails. 

The noise definitely wasn't working in their favor now. Dala dragged him out of sight in time, and they watched as the other sentries wandered around before leaving. Simple constructs didn't have a lot of intelligence thankfully. When they were in the clear, she explained how this entire area was structured. It was a full circle, meaning the cells and laboratories were arranged like spokes on a wheel. The path leading in was a straight line down the 'center'. Moving on before they could be found, they found the door leading further into the Crucible. Back when they made it into this area, they only needed to take out a few undead. This time it wasn't going to be so easy. If the laboratories weren't disturbing enough, what guarded this door was nearly a dozen arms. They looked like they were part of the wall itself–as crazy as it sounded. Dala tested to see if they were real, and sure enough, they were. 

He exhaled slowly, watching the stone fall in pieces. "I'm not going to even try to figure out how this is even possible." While Dala looked for a way to take out the arms, Raizel was looking around to see if there was anything else they didn't notice at first. How did the arms know that something was approaching? If they were just disembodied limbs, they wouldn't be able to know if something was passing through until it was right in front of them. They had no eyes or ears either. Were they sensing if something approached by changes in the airflow in this corridor? Maybe he was overthinking this. "Hold on, let me see what I have. We might be able to get rid of them without getting too close." A boomerang wouldn't be as effective in a narrow space, and daggers might just embed themselves. "Found it! Ok, this had better work." In his hand was a feather-shaped dagger that looked sharp but light. Not only could it make a clean cut through almost anything, but it would return to the thrower with the right phrase.

He threw it at one of the arms as fast as he could. As it whizzed through the air, the arms began to react. However when they tried to slash it, the blade sliced through them without resistance. Pieces of hands dropped to the floor along with some claws, removing the biggest threat. Holding his hand up to receive the dagger, he said: "Return." The feather dagger flew back, spinning so it safely landed in his grasp. Now he knew that it worked, he kept throwing and recalling the dagger until the arms were declawed. "Alright, let's head in." He said, throwing a glance over his shoulder. Another step closer towards the heart mean another step closer to stopping the ritual. 

With Raizel’s quick thinking and strange feather-like dagger, the arms fell to the floor and the path was theirs once more. They were getting closer than ever before. Dala worried about what they would find when they arrived but she couldn’t afford to worry. They were either doing this or not. The teenager gave Raizel a nod and reached for the handles but stopped. She held out a hand to stop Raizel from touching the metal handles of the door. Reaching for her waterskin, she tossed some water on it. The second the water hit the handles it made a sizzling noise before evaporating. The water amount was small but it told them all they needed to know about the temperature in the next room. Dala reached into her bag and pulled out a pair of thick leather gloves. She safely pushed open the doors and drew her sword, preparing for whatever may come next.

The sweltering heat-blasted outwards as soon as she opened the door. It was as if all the heat from the Sularia desert had been compacted into one room. The only thing more powerful than the humidity was the brightness of the room, a drastic shift from the darkened catacombs and the decently-lit asylum. Dala squinted her eyes to inspect the corners of the room. She was able to make out the golden pools and vats pouring the liquid gold. Steam filled the room, making it difficult to see every detail. For a second, she thought she saw one of the golden pools move. Maybe paranoia was finally getting to her.

“What does an alchemist need all this gold for?” She asked as they walked further into the furnace, “Is it an ingredient or something?”

These were the moments the teenager wished she’d researched more about alchemists in general. The catacombs and the asylum both made sense. Both of those had something to do with the undead or experimentation. She knew the vampiress wanted to become immortal lacking any flaws but she didn’t understand the gold part. Once Raizel explained it, she realized how much time this woman had been obsessing over immorality. This unfortunate had made enemies out of everyone through her actions and left herself completely alone. If it wasn’t for the atrocities she committed Dala might have been able to conjure some form of pity for her. But she crossed that line long ago…

Suddenly a hand reached out of the golden pool reaching for Raizel’s leg. She threw one of her many daggers at the molten gold hand. Upon impact, the dagger melted and the creature’s form fell apart. Dala’s eyes were wide with shock. She took a few steps back from the pool but kept her eyes glued to it. The liquid shifted and changed as if it was almost alive.

“What the hell did that woman do here?” Dala muttered.

When Dala stopped him from opening the door, he thought it was because she noticed a trap. When she threw water on the door however, the reason soon became clear. If it wasn't for her thinking ahead, he could've burnt his hands. Once they were in, the heat hit them face-first like a gust of wind. It wasn't just hot, it was humid as well. The air was heavy with steam, and it was more like a broiler than the dry heat of the forge he was used to. This made it even worse. His eyes were struggling to adjust to the sheer gleam the whole area gave off. Everything was tinted gold through the reflected light. And unlike the laboratories and catacombs, they could see all around them. Massive machinery hung from the ceiling, vats pouring a near-endless stream of steaming shimmering liquid into the pools. "This is a furnace all right–anybody in metal would be baked by now." As they went along, he made small talk explaining some things he knew about alchemy. Even if he couldn't decipher the diagrams back in the Asylum, Raizel was familiar with the concepts of transmutation and the four stages of alchemy. 

"–So alchemy isn't actually about turning metals into gold. It originally came from old scholars' research on the secret of immortality–the philosopher's stone. Basically it's supposed to be a legendary miracle drug and ultimate catalyst. You can use it to transform everything into something else, no matter how different or impossible. There's also a whole bunch of mumbo jumbo on philosophy, but most people aren't interested in that. Anyway, there are four stages to make a philosopher's stone: nigredo, albedo, citrinitas, and rubedo. In layman's terms they translate into the colors black, white, yellow, and red." He said, trying to give Dala a short condensed version of the basics based on what he knew. Alchemy also used geometry to create magical circles which were used for transmutation, probably had something to do with a precise formula. You also needed reagents to perform reactions. This was known as the 'law of equivalent exchange'. Attempting to perform alchemical rituals without the right objects would result in something terrible happening to the one initiating them. 

Suddenly Dala threw a dagger down at the ground close to him, and he looked in time to see it hit something–causing what looked like molten gold to splash. While the puddle was motionless, the weapon started to dissolve, and then the liquid started to twitch. Raizel backed away thankful that none of the fluid got on him. But then a terrible idea crossed his mind…living gold. He started cursing while desperately trying to convince himself he was wrong. "You know, I was wondering why the labs back there were arranged in a circular formation… I really hope I'm wrong–but I think this entire facility is actually a giant alchemy circle." Those pipes he saw back there were connected to the Furnace. And those pools of gold all around them? "This 'gold', all of this–used to be people." The realization was even worse now that he'd said it. How on earth did that woman transmute living beings into gold? And how many people were sacrificed to create this sheer volume of it?

"We need to find her. She's recreating the steps to make a philosopher's stone!" It didn't matter she was making a philosopher's stone or not–she needed to be stopped!

Dala listened carefully as Raizel explained the basics of alchemy. 

"So they're a bunch of snobby nerds," Dala commented.

Then he made another realization about the gold. These golden THINGS were once people. Her eyes widened as she watched the molten gold shift and move, never able to fully pull itself together. Raizel shouted about how she was planning to make the philosopher's stone. Even Dala, as ignorant as she was, had heard about the stone. No one had ever been able to create the stone. Then there was the troubling fact they were in a giant alchemy circle. They didn't have any more time to waste on speculation. They either stopped her now or everyone would end up dead.

"Stay away from the edges!" Dala shouted as she ran into the furnace.

The sweltering heat tried to pull her back but she kept running. The molten gold reached out with its dripping arms, trying to catch both Dala and Raizel. She managed to jump and dodge and keep away from the edges. The edges of her clothes were burnt from proximity to the heat of the golden monstrosities. They reached the other end of the furnace where a metal ladder led upwards, out of the furnace and towards a pair of brass doors. Dala reached into her bag and pulled out a pair of leather winter gloves, something she had forgotten to take out of her bag. After tossing the pair of gloves to Raizel, she began to climb up the ladder as quickly as she could. When she reached the top of the ladder, she pushed open the brass doors and made her way to the final room. The Sanctorium.

The laboratory was filled with notes, alchemy tools, and chemicals but the main thing that drew her eye was the large incubation vat in the center of the room. A glowing shade of crimson surrounded the vat and reflected across the room. The vat was surrounded by golden golems clearly placed there to guard the area. Finally, Dala looked at the alchemist, the one who created such horrors, and was surprised to find she looked more human than expected. Dala half expected some disgusting monster but instead found a regular-looking vampire. Dala looked over to Raizel.

"Got any ideas?" She whispered.

Now that they knew the danger they were in, it was time to run. The remnants of the poor souls who were put through torture reached out to them pitifully with desperation in their movements–but they had to keep going. These people were beyond help now. Granting them death would be the greatest mercy at this point. The heat was oppressive and stifling, making it hard to breathe with the moisture in the air. Catching up with Dala, once they had gloves on they both started to climb their way to the final and last part of the Crucible: the Sanctorium. The last step in the process was Rubedo. And when they opened the great doors that were surprisingly unlocked, they saw the woman herself…along with what her horrific actions had been leading up to. This was likely where she had spent the latter portion of her time once she had no use for what she left in the Asylum. Notes, formulas, and equipment still in use were present. The pipes that he first saw in the Asylum that continued through the Furnace reached their final destination, connecting from all directions to converge on the vat that was radiating a crimson aura. 

The fluid inside it was clear, meaning it must have been further processed before feeding into the incubation vat. Ekaterina van Eisser was standing at the back of the chamber, facing her pet project on the cusp of completion. The fact she didn't even react to the doors being opened meant she didn't expect anyone to make it this far, or she was too focused on her work to care. The hybrid golems standing around the room likely gave her the confidence to not be on alert. These golems were built different from the lumbering earthen sentries patrolling the cells. Their bodies were more compact, a mixture of earth with veins of hardened gold that still held a degree of flexibility. It wouldn't be as easy to use the environment to slow them down. The guards hadn't detected their presence yet when Dala whispered in his ear. 

As for ideas, he didn't have many. "Once we go in, we'll have to act fast. We won't be able to handle these golems easily in a confined space." Raizel had no idea how powerful the vampire was, but their priority was the vat and then her. "We need to cut the tank off and destroy whatever she has inside first, van Eisser and the golems are a secondary priority. It'll be tough though." It was just the two of them going up against twice their numbers. Could they really pull this off? He took a quick mental inventory of what weapons and equipment he had right now. "I have some immovable rods and half a dozen ranged throwing weapons. I can use the rods to slow the golems down and block them off, but my daggers and throwing stars won't last long. My hammer can crack the incubation vat's glass for sure, but I'll need some time for that." He also had Nuri too; but the little elemental could only buy a few seconds at most. 

Golems surrounded the vat and their master, ready to fight when they need to. Gold acted as the blood in their veins while stone made up their body. Ekaterina never even bothered to look at them but she had a feeling this was normal for the vampiress. Dala doubted she even looked at the people she massacred. All that woman noticed was her work. The teenager listened to Raizel as he suggested some ideas and listed the resources they had. Dala still had her grappling hook, an unlit torch, some rope, and a few health potions along with some food for her journey. A plan formed in her head as she looked over the situation. The vat was their highest priority as Raizel said. Since her weapons were too small to affect the vat, it meant Raiz would have to go after the vat. He would need someone to take the heat off of him. But there was one thing they had over the golems and their master. A height difference. With a smile, she turned to Raiz and began explaining her plan.

"Hand me some of those rods. I'll need your fire buddy too." She whispered, "Stay around the door areas and try to not draw attention to yourself. When you hear screaming, go for the vat and take it down."

The teenager was mostly improvising at this point but she knew exactly where to hit. The girl took one of the rods and jumped through the door. The rod stopped high above the golems and Ekaterina. They either hadn't noticed her yet or they didn't care, as she wasn't too close to the vat or their mistress. Using the rods, she placed them midair making her way over the golems, removing them as soon as she was done using them. She almost looked like a monkey hanging onto tiny branches. Eventually, she stopped over the piles of papers and research files, years of research that Ekaterina had built up. Dala carefully stood on two of the rods and pulled her unlit torch from her back. She signalled for Nuri to light the torch with the elemental's fire abilities. Nuri lit up the torch. The fire was small but just what a pile of paper needed to start a bonfire. The teenager dropped the torch onto the pile of papers and watched as the flames jumped from page to page.

"HEY VAMPIRE BITCH!" Dala shouted, "Hope you didn't need these papers!"

Ekaterina whirled around just in time to see her work burn up in a growing fire. The vampiress screamed curses at Dala while rushing to save some of her work. Meanwhile, Dala began throwing a few of her health potions at other piles of work, drenching them and staining them with the red liquid. She also took some of her food and threw it at the alchemy positions and into any open container with liquids she could find. A few alchemy stations blew up due to the adding food to delicate chemical compounds. The golems quickly broke their circle around the vat to protect their mistress, who was still trying to recover her work.

"Stop her idiots!" Ekaterina furiously screamed.

The only problem was the height. Dala held the high ground in the air while the golems were stuck on the ground. So the golems began moving over to the walls, smashing their fingers into them and slowly began climbing up the walls to reach Dala.

"Well that's just fucking unfair," Dala muttered.

Now she needed another clever little plan. One that didn't involve her getting smashed to pieces by giant golems.

He handed her the rods and took out Nuri in preparation. This time he would need the Baltil hammer to make sure the vat took as much damage as possible. Giving Dala a nod, he went into position while waiting for the signal. The small blue fire elemental went with the girl, the wisp almost unnoticeable when high up. Nuri set the torch alight and then flew back towards its owner as its fire was used to create a distraction that would most definitely get the alchemist's attention. If there was one thing that she couldn't ignore, it would be this. Ekaterina van Eisser screamed the moment she saw the flames spread across the papers, devouring them like dry tinder. Years of toil, years of endless experimentation and study were being reduced to ashes! Breaking her composure at last, the vampire shrieked commanding the golems stationed to protect her and her work. "KILL HER!!" She could not afford a setback–not when she was so close!

Raizel was shocked when he saw the golems improvise in removing Dala's height advantage. He initially thought the plan would buy them more time, but he had to act fast. Maybe the gold granted these golems greater intelligence, since they were essentially people? Breaking into a sprint, he swung the hammer hard when he was only a few steps away from the glass. The head of the weapon slammed into it with a loud crack, creating a spiderweb fracture at the site of impact. The walls were thicker than he expected, so he quickly gave it another hit with a yell. This time it shattered. A gaping hole in the incubation vat exposed the horrid, inhuman mass that the alchemist had nurtured using the essence of the dead and the living. It was like a gigantic lump of flesh, pulsing and beating as if it were alive. An overwhelming aura of energy was leaking out into the Sanctorium, making Raizel lightheaded. He was snapped out of it by the vampire's scream, and he quickly ran back towards the doors as some of the golems were heading his way. Fluid was pouring out from the vat as well, so his next goal was to cut off the supply. Picking up a piece of equipment, he cast a skyfire enchantment on it before hurling it at the damaged vat, creating a small explosion. 

He bashed some of the pipes he could reach with his Baltil warhammer, the metal creaking and groaning as they were bent out of shape. When one of the pipes was bent at an angle, he gave it a well-angled whack. The blow broke it open, and golden liquid similar to what they saw in the Furnace came gushing out. The golems dissolved as soon as they touched it, their golden inclusions melding back with their original source. Losing what stability they had, Raizel could avoid them as long as he stayed out of reach. By now the Sanctorium was slowly becoming flooded with the liquid gold as the leakage from the vat started to stop.

The vampire, completely distraught as things spiraled out of control, desperately tried to keep the ritual from ending. "NO NO NO NO!!!" A woman obsessed, her hands were now bloody as she tried to patch up the gap with fallen shards. The reddish light emanating from the 'thing' in the tank was starting to glow more brightly as the procedure was derailed. Without a proper contained environment, the alchemical process would turn chaotic. The energies were becoming thick, making anyone who was slightly magically sensitive feel like pressure was building up inside their skulls. Raizel had a bad feeling about this. "WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!!" He shouted at Dala, trying to distract the remaining golems with small explosions from enchanted thrown objects. An immense amount of power had been channeled through the facility into the incubation vat. Now that it was destroyed, there was only one place where it could go…