The young man shifted his gaze from the High One Slate and walked a circuit along the edge of the hall. Yet apart from two statues of the Ipal Gods, there was nothing else here.
He stopped before a long stone set against the wall. After studying it for a moment, he touched a point with his golden spear. Instantly, the long stone trembled, and a clear, luminous glow emerged from within. After a while, a broad passage leading inward melted open in the stone.
He walked inside and discovered another hall, but there was still nothing within it.
Next, he searched every place he could find one by one, yet he found none of the clansmen sleeping here. However, this place had been well protected. It seemed its owner had left here prepared.
Still, he vaguely felt that there should be something of value here, only he had not discovered it—or perhaps had overlooked it.
He thought it over again, then looked toward the two statues of the Ipal Gods. Seeming to realize something at once, he walked over. After gazing at them for a moment, he tapped one with the golden spear. Ripples like water patterns seemed to emerge over the statue, after which it began to change. Its facial features blurred, but its overall form became heavier and more solid.
He said to himself, "Il Colossi? I never expected it really was this thing."
The Il Colossi had originally been armor used by the Ipal Gods to protect themselves. Later, however, they discovered a better way to use them: lure a certain evil god from beyond the Divine Vault, then seal it within the stone statue and make it obey their commands.
For a time, these things had become widespread among the Ipal Gods. Powerful though the