The dog made of pitch black darkness growled at Xalmann. The black energy wrapped around him like a wire, immobilizing him. He couldn't move as he watched the dog crouch down, getting ready to jump at him. Froth and drool like ink dribbled from its mouth. With a fierce bark, the canine leaped toward the Lizardman.

Outside, the Goblin stared angrily at Veliky, wincing from the pain of the burning axe embedded in their leg. They couldn't walk like this, the leg was useless. They were out of mana from all of the spells they'd used against that Lizarman and those annoying machines. Their ride was destroyed by the Halfling and they'd left the other one inside. This situation looked dire for him. He had just wanted to escape, but it seemed he had no choice. He couldn't get away like this. He pulled one last vial from his belt and uncorked it with his thumb.

Suddenly, the axe in his leg vanished. He hadn't expected this, but at least his leg wasn't being constantly burned anymore. The heat of the axe had also cauterized the wound, so the bleeding was minimal. Well, that was small relief. He still had to do this. With a look of grim resignation, he downed the contents of the vial in one gulp and coughed.

He glared at the Halfling as his skin started to boil and turn black. His body grew and the wound on his leg healed. His skin was almost like a black froth as he grew before it solidified again, boil-covered and lumpy, The Goblin had grown larger and more muscular, but misshapen. Their arms were larger than their torso, and they had grown a second pair which they supported themself on the knuckles of. Their little legs dangled uselessly below them. Their face extended forward with a snout like a lizard's, but pincers extended from the sides of their jaws. Their eyes were pitch black like their skin, a second pair on their forehead above the first.

The beast formerly known as Skunkt the Goblin let out a guttural growl. If they were going to die here, they'd do their best to take at least one of these intruders with them.

Inside, the dog fell to the ground with an axe in the bottom of its jaw. The dog had leapt at the Lizardman, but had run face first into the axe that had suddenly appeared in his hand. The dog melted away into nothing. Xalmann just hoped these annoying threads wrapped around him would go away soon as well.

---

Arcane Soul- Fire
Always There

Never before has Veliky seen something so twisted and malformed. The once-goblin's black eyes leer down at tiny quarterling. Its breath smells of sulphur and durian, and its skin is the texture of cucumbers. It slavers droplets onto the ground in front of her as its fanged snout draws closer to tear her flesh.

Slap

Veliky reaches up and lightly slaps the creature on the cheek. In terms of blunt force, the attack would be just strong enough to squish a marshmallow. Veliky would like to claim that it was only a partial slap - which it was - but her full force, realistically speaking, isn't much greater.

...Yet it seems to have done the job nonetheless. The monster closes its mouth and slurps up a strand of spittle. It isn't in pain, and it certainly isn't frightened. In fact, it doesn't seem to be feeling much of anything at all^[1]. It's quickly gone from a vengeful abomination to a really rather docile abomination.

It waddles backward on its hands; freeing Veliky from the stench of its breath; walks in a circle twice, then raises one of its back arms and scratches the side of its own face like a mangy mutt.

The giant, metal drake approaches, flattening a tent as it does. The spell which summoned the dark elemental has since ended. In addition to Knight, Rook is also mounted on the golem's back, but appears critically damaged.

"Mistress Veliky, report," Knight begins. Rook is laying its head against the Knight's shoulder from behind. "we have neutralized the enemies. However, Rook-10 is in critical condition. Recommendation: Rook-10 would benefit from immediate repairs."

Veliky keeps the once-goblin in a sidelong stare as it lies on its back and starts writhing about in an attempt to scratch some unreachable itch.

"Leave Rook, then. There's nothing we can do to repair it."

"Correction: Bishop-08 is equipped with a Blixt™ SuperPlus dispenser. A bottle from the container in its chest could rejuvenate Rook-10."

Blixt™ SuperPlus? Veliky had toyed with the idea at first, but her suspicions are now confirmed. Blixt™ SuperPlus was, last she remembered, a newly-commenced project that shouldn't have been completed for at least another three months. Corroborating evidence points to only one possibility. It's a bizarre possibility, to be certain, but these are bizarre circumstances.

But that's a thought for later.

"Good. Hopefully Bishop is still operational or, at least, the drinks are."

Continuing its mission to scratch its irritable skin, the once-goblin is now standing and rubbing its back against the wall of the temple. Veliky looks on with indifference.

"That thing won't be a threat, Shaa. Kill it or leave it, doesn't matter. More concerned about our units inside."

---

1. Calm Emotion

Shaa looked over at the pathetic goblin monster. On the one hand, it wasn’t hurting anyone or anything, so why kill it? On the other hand, just because it wasn’t doing anything now, didn’t mean that would it stay that way. What if it changed its mind and came after them later when they were unprepared? What happens when it gets hungry? Would it change back into a magic wielding goblin again? Why in the world was he in charge of this decision?

This was battle. Decisions had consequences and sometimes far reaching ones. Shaa picked up a large splinter of wood from the floor and walked towards the beast. Just because it was a monster didn’t mean it didn’t have the right to …do whatever goblin things did. He couldn’t just make assumptions, life and death decisions, on what might happen later. Shaa shook the stick towards the door so the goblin thing could see it. The motion got its attention.

Here gobby. Here boy! Get the stick. Get it!

The goblin monster seemed pretty excited about the stick. Shaa made him follow him back out the gate. With the goblin monster watching, Shaa hurls the stick as far as he can. The goblin monster chases it out into the distance and over a hill, without coming back. Hopefully it wouldn’t come back to bite them, literally.

Shaa started walking back into the temple when a large crack in the earth opened beneath him, causing him to fall in. Shaa could feel himself being pulled further and further into the earth. How could he be falling underground? Was there another mage they missed?

Shaa…

It was that voice again, the one from his madness. 

You spared the goblin, why?

I don’t…didn’t seem right to kill it.

Was he not your enemy?

I don’t think he knew anything about anyone. How could he be my enemy? 

You are powerful, his life was in your hands.

I didn’t want it. 

Yes, his life was not yours but you had the power to take it. Not for your life or your friends or some great purpose. It was just life and you let it be. This is why you must take this gift.

Gift? What gift?

The power to decide what returns to the earth and what does not. To create or to destroy. You are approaching a dangerous place and you are unarmed.

I’m always unarmed.

To overcome what is coming next, you do not need a weapon. You must BECOME the weapon. For the earth. For life. You must become UNSTOPPABLE.

Shaa could feel the earth all around him. The dirt, the stones, the creatures above and below. The earths power was seeping into him, around him, through him. His body was becoming one with the earth.

Am I dying? 

No….you are now REBORN!

Shaa felt a rushing sensation. He could tell that he was speeding back to the surface. He was emerging. The rocks got out of his way. The dirt could not hold him. Shaa burst out of the ground with a loud crack. He looked at his hands, his legs, his head. They were now made of stone. He was still him but his understanding opened of what the world was. He felt like a million pounds but light as a feather. He was truly one with the earth.

He could feel the rumbles in the earth as his new form stomped back into the temple. Whatever was in there now, would not stop him. He could no longer be stopped. He was the rock.

---

Juggernaut:
You become one with the earth domain, tapping into the savage strength and ferocity of the earth itself. You become immovable, unable to be stopped or even slowed down. Your skin now looks like the earth itself, your body is a hulking mass of solid stone. You ignore slowing effects, your speed unable to be manipulated or effected in a negative way. You also can not be knocked down and ignore effects that would push you back or knock you over.



 

The wires of dark energy melted away and Xalmann was free again. He looked around and saw the others entering. The Minotaur looked different, like he was now made entirely of stone. The Halfling looked the same, but with the sleeve of her jacket was torn and her arm was revealed for some reason. The machines had begun gathering their fallen comrades. These two were a lot more strange than the Lizardfolk had initially believed, mostly the Minotaur. Shaa had fought very well. Xalmann could respect him, even if he was a bit odd.

The fight had been tiring and Xalmann was covered in his own blood, but all of his wounds had been healed thanks to his different abilities. He walked over to his dagger on the ground, pulled out and dropped by the displacer-headed creature before they were ended by Shaa. He was annoyed that that Goblin had been allowed to live, but it was more trouble than it was worth to go try to kill it now that it was some monster and had already run away.

With the temple cleared of enemies, Xalmann walked over to the remaining lever on the wall. One had been pulled by the summoned minions, opening the front door, but the door leading further in remained closed. The group just needed some time to rest. The Halfling's robots were repaired by some liquid.

With their preparations complete, Xalmann pulled the lever and the inner door rose upward to reveal what was deeper inside.