There was a deep, short crump noise as the wave met the golem; the water exploded on contact with the creature, spraying boiling spatter across the dock and sending up a roiling cloud of steam. The steam rose, and billowed, and spread out across the dock, and the air was filled with the sound of hissing mixed with the sound of the torrential run-off as the remaining unvaporized water receded into the ocean.

After a short space of time, the sound of thundering footsteps approached. The white titan, riderless, waded into the steam cloud, but stopped short when it became apparent that it would be impossible to find footing, let alone the golem, among the mysterious maze of wharfs. He backed away from the steam cloud, which would very quickly scald anyone who spent too much time in it, and watched it cautiously. He looked back.

After a little while, the imp, and presumably the rest of the group, hurried up behind him.

"What happened," the imp barked excitedly, "is it dead?"

The buildings and piers within the cloud of steam, out of sight though they were, resounded with creaks and groans—although whether or not this was from the movement of the golem or merely from their tortured, sodden timbers expanding in the heat was not yet readily obvious.