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Perilous Jack pulls the pieces of Engraved Shard from his pouch and offers them to the wizards.

Serra reaches for the artifacts doubtfully, but Dark Simon issues a cry of pleasure and takes them from Jack’s hands.

“A Command Disk!” he cries. He manipulates the three triangular shards, expertly connecting them into a circular disk perhaps eight inches in diameter, both surfaces of which are covered with intricate markings. “The Disk is meant to be inserted into the body of a Golem. The markings are instructions, readable only by the particular Golem for whom the Disk was created. Once the Disk is inserted, the Golem will act in whatever way the markings direct. All we need to know is which particular Golem the Disk was created for, and we may learn something.”

Serra looks doubtful. “What if the instructions just say to attack?”

Dark Simon shrugs. “Most Golems are programmed to do that anyway. The purpose of the Command Disk is to cause the Golem to act in a way that exceeds its usual programming – assassination, abduction, fetching an item, guarding a person, you name it.”

Jack thinks of the Iron Golem in the chamber of the Guardian of the Nightcrystal, but for reasons he does not understand, he remains silent. Dark Simon pockets the Command Disk.

Remove the Engraved Shards from the Pouch of Ghrul. Add the following to Jack’s Journal: I have collected three Engraved Shards, which Dark Simon tells me are pieces of a Command Disk for a Golem. I wonder if the Command Disk could be used in the Iron Golem I met in the home once occupied by the Guardian of the Nightcrystal?

Turn to 88.