The pub was bustling already with life as the girls ran around getting ready for the miners to come get breakfast before heading down to the mines. "Ey, Barby! Can I getcha to go cook yer famous steak and mushroom sticks? Sam asked for a 'ole bag last night." One of the girls trotted behind the bar, passing Barby, a girl with long brown hair and bright blue eyes.

Barby looked up from the tankard she was cleaning, her plush lips parted some before she set the tankard down on the drying rack. "Yeah, o'course." She dried her hands off on the plain white apron at her hips as she walked out of the pub. Some of the miners were getting their tools cleaned and ready for a long day of work.

"Ah, if it isn't the diamond that still evades me with every wakin' moment."

The deep voice had Barby's cheeks warming as she turned, seeing a tall man walking towards her. His dark skin was harder than the steel he used and his bright, diamond blue eyes glistening in the morning sunlight. "Oh, shucks, Goldi. You'll make a girl blush."

"That's the goal." Goldi winked at the blushing beauty. He had come to Khrumbul-Dun a few months ago and the very moment he laid eyes on this dark-haired girl; he had fallen head over heels for her. She enjoyed playing hard to get, but she had always flirted back. "I just needed to see my favorite girl before I drifted into my dreams."

"It's a good thing we don't sleep at the same time, I would wake up exhausted from 'ow much I run around yer mind." Barby laughed, waving at him to follow her into the kitchen. She knew the other girls were jealous of the attention that Goldi gave her. He was an enigma, something foreign that came waltzing into Khrumbul-Dun and stealing all of the glory. Any time he dove into the mines, he would come up with carts and carts of gold. Recently he started finding diamonds, before Barby knew it, he would probably start finding Zenithium.

Goldi followed her into the kitchen, ducking into the room so he could watch her cook. "I'm surprised ya don't wake up exhausted anyways, I can't help myself from thinking about the most gorgeous woman in all of Khrumbul-Dun." He smirked when Barby gave him a side eye. He collapsed against the wall, his hand going over his chest. "A look like that! Oh, how it stops my heart!"

Malroth put a hand up, stopping Goldi from talking. "Aren't you going to tell us about how you got turned into a golem?"

"I'm gettin' there." Goldi deadpanned Malroth, glaring at the tanned male.

Malroth huffed as he grabbed Lily, pulling her into his lap so he could wrap himself around her. "Wake me up when it gets interesting."

"How cute are they though! Goldi has been trying to swoon Babs for so long!" Lily cupped her cheeks, hearts in her eyes as she watched Babs and Goldi. "But I didn't know you ever went by Barby."

Babs put a finger to her chin, frowning some. "Barby is my given name. Babs is a nickname that I prefer. I've never gone by Barby."

Goldi was leaning back on his hands, a warm smile on his face as he watched Babs. "When we first met ya did, but then I called ya Babs once and it stuck like glue. I guess in your next life, this life it called to ya."

Rosie and Lulu inched forward, stars in their eyes as they clasped their hands in front of their chests. "Please, continue!"

Goldi cleared his throat before continuing with his tale, ignoring the loud groan from Malroth and the pout from Dougie and Digby.

Barby leaned against the counter, wiping the sweat from her brow with a sigh. "Those boys really know 'ow to keep us busy!" She laughed as she looked to the other girls who were also taking a moment to breathe. The boys had all rushed in and rushed out for breakfast, pausing only long enough to flirt with the girls as they inhaled their food.

"I know someone 'oo would love to keep ya busy, Barby!" One of the girls teased Barby, watching as her cheeks slowly turned red. "I bet 'ee could go mining in yer-"

Barby lunged, playfully going to smack the other girl with a wet towel when the doors to the pub opened and a woman walked in, her hair was deep blue and in soft curls around her shoulders. Her deep green eyes were narrowed on the girls who helped to run the pub. "Oh! Uhm, hello! Welcome to Khrumbul-Dun!" Barby quickly straightened up, flicking her wrist so the wet towel in her hand only hit her friend on the nose and not across her whole face. "I'm Barby, I'll be more than 'appy to get ya whatever ya need!"

The woman paused in front of the bar, looking Barby up and down, a frown flicking across her soft lips before she grinned. "Wonderful to meet you, Barby. You can call me Mady. I'm actually looking for someone."

"Oh?" Barby happened to glance up, seeing Goldi getting ready to enter the pub until he saw the head of blue hair. She tilted her head in curiosity when he immediately made a B-line away from the pub. "Can ya describe 'im to us?"

"Dark skin, long dreads with lots of little trinkets, his eyes are like a clear pond in the middle of summer." Mady tipped her head when all of the girls stilled. "Is he here?"

"Uhm, 'ee was 'ere." Barby carefully set the towel down on the counter, frowning at the woman in front of her. "I don't mean to be rude, but Khrumbul-Dun is a desert, those furs that you're wearing, they'll be extremely hot very quickly."

"Thank you for the warning. I'll keep it in mind." There was a knowing glint in Mady's eyes. Barby hadn't lied when she had said the man she was looking for had been here. She tucked her hair behind her ears, showing off the multiple piercings she had. "Do you mind if I sit and relax for a moment? I've traveled quite a ways."

"O'course, o'course!" Barby waved to a table to the right, trying to cover her nervous smile. "I actually need to go get lunch prepared but Avalyn will gladly take care of ya."

Avalyn, the girl who had been teasing Barby jerked and grinned at Mady. "Of course!"

Mady watched Barby as she left the pub, smirking. "You all aren't used to newcomers, are you?"

Barby looked around as soon as she got outside, frowning at Goldi who was peaking around the smithy. "Hey!" She hissed as she trotted over to him. "I ain't ever seen ya look nervous before." She lashed out, smacking his thick bicep. "Is she a lover?!"

"Wh-What?! No! She's…" Goldi scratched his chin as he thought of how to describe what that woman was. "We met a while back, well before I came here. She became obsessed with me, dunno why, but she's not safe. I'm not sure how we can get rid of her, but we have to get her to leave Khrumbul-Dun."

Barby frowned up at Goldi. "She's awful pretty. Didja flirt with 'er and drive 'er crazy?"

"No!" Goldi kneeled in front of Barby, carefully taking her hands in his much larger ones. "Babs, darlin' I swear to you, I never flirted with her. Not intentionally. We were both staying on a different island when we stumbled across each other the first time, she reached out to me and just…" He frowned, seeing his girl was pouting at him. "What?"

"Say it again."

"Say what again?"

"What ya just called me."

Goldi went lax, tilting his head at her before he broke out into a deep laugh. Someone that made him worried was in his new haven and the girl that he adored was stuck on the fact that he gave her a pet name. "Babs?"

She smiled; she knew she shouldn't be stuck on that. Not when Goldi was so concerned about Mady but it made her heart flutter. "I can tell 'er that ya left town this morning after returning from the mines. But if she doesn't buy it right away and stays for a few days then I'm not sure what to do."

"I can stay in the mines for a few days, I don't mind, really." Goldi pulled Babs' hands up to his lips, kissing her soft knuckles gently. A grin spread wide across his lips when he noticed the blush on her cheeks. "I'll head to the mines, see if ya can get her to leave. But don't push her to her limits, avoid upsettin' her if ya can."

Babs nodded, her eyes following him as he stood up again. "I'll bring ya meals when I can, and company o' course."

"Is Mady Madusa?" Lily leaned forward; her eyes wide as she watched Goldi who huffed at her. "She has to be! Was she pretty?"

Babs gave Lily a side eye, a deep frown on her face. "Lily-"

"I've said it before, Madusa was a beauty. But she was deadly, and she was jealous of the attention that Babs and I gave each other." Goldi reached over, brushing a few blonde strands away from Babs' face when the wind caught them.

A month had passed and no matter what Babs had said to Mady to try and persuade the beautiful woman to leave, it never worked. Mady talked about how she was enjoying Khrumbul-Dun, all of the muscular men running around and gawking at her. She soaked up their attention almost as much as she soaked up the sun that baked the desert around them.

Babs was standing on the declaration post, her arms crossed beneath her chest as she stared down at the mines. She had a stern pout on her lips, she almost hated to admit how much she missed seeing Goldi, but she never went to the mines and if she started to now, Mady would take notice. She let out a huff and started tapping the toe of her boot against the old bricks she stood on. "Oh, what to do…"

Movement to her right had her turning her head, a sudden chill of fear dripping down her spine. She didn't want to face Mady right then. But it wasn't Mady. It was someone brand new. "Can I 'elp ya?"

The woman stopped, a large hammer attached to her back. She had long blonde hair that was pulled back with a red bandana, her eyes were as blue as the ocean that surrounded the island of Khrumbul-Dun. She was looking around curiously, taking a bite of the plumberry in her hand. "Mmm?"

"I ain't ever seen yer face 'ere before. Comin' for a visit?"

"Mmhm!" The woman grinned as she swallowed the bite of fruit. "Yeah! My name is Marie, I came from Furrowfield with the latest trade shipment. They said you had mines full of ore, and I need to get my hands on some."

Babs' eyes sparkled for a moment as she ran over to Marie. "'Ow wonderful! My name is Babs, I know you just got here… but could I get you to do me some favors?"

"Eh? I mean… yeah, I suppose." Marie gave an awkward grin to Babs, weary of what she wanted her to do. "As long as I don't gotta kill monsters, I'm really not all that brave."

"No, no. Just make a delivery into the mines, if that's where yer gonna go."

"Huh? I gotta mine it myself?"

"Yeah? We use what gets brought up." Babs laughed softly, grabbing Marie's free hand, dragging her towards the kitchen. "It's not that bad down there, I've just been super busy so I can't go down there all that of'en!"

Marie finished her plumberry by the time Babs finished packing up two pouches of food. "Two pouches?"

"One is for you, as a thanks for taking this'n." Babs grabbed Maries hands, her eyes pleading with the other woman. "There's a man down in there, 'is name is Goldi. Would ya tell 'im I miss 'im? An' that I'm still workin' out the problem."

"Awfully cryptic, aren't'cha?" Marie laughed but patted Babs' hand. "Don't worry, I'll pass along your message. Do you know where I'll find him in there?"

Goldi wiped the sweat from his brow when he noticed a blonde haired woman walking towards him. He raised a messy brow towards her as he set his hammer down. "Lost?"

"Nah, you're Goldi, right?" Marie pulled a pouch off her hip and held it out to him. "Babs sent this down, said she misses you and she's still working on your all's problem."

Goldi carefully took the pouch from Marie, watching her carefully. "And who are you?"

"I'm Marie." She pulled a steak and marshroom stick from another pouch, popping a marshroom into her mouth before looking around. "So, where do I get the best iron around here?"

Goldi pointed to a bag near the wall he had been chipping away at. "You can take that bag, as a thanks for running errands for Babs and I."

"I'll be here for a few days so I can make a few more trips down here if you're gonna be here for much longer." She paused as she went to pick up the bag, this was going to be heavy. "Are you hiding from something?"

"Uh…" Goldi stared at the steak and marshroom stick he was holding, frowning some. "Yeah, there's a woman named Mady here that has been giving me issues recently, I'm trying to think of how to get her to leave Khrumbul-Dun but I don't think I can do it safely."

Marie let out a grunt as she picked up the bag, grinning over her shoulder at Goldi. "Listen, I'm not an expert, but sometimes, there's no way to let someone down easily. You have to give them the what for." She shrugged, bouncing the stick up and down with her tongue. "Sometimes they think you have something they need… but you aren't gifted like that… you just have to prove it."

"Sounds like you have your own can of worms you need to talk about." Goldi leaned against his hammer, letting her know she could stay and hide for a little while.

Marie thought for a moment, but shook her head. "I only have one power hungry worm." She glanced at the heavy bag that was hanging over her shoulder. "That's why I'm gettin' this iron."

Goldi let out a roar of laughter, waving her off. "Good luck with your worm, Marie."

"Maybe I can help with yours while I'm here." Marie called back to him as she left him to the wall of ore.

Goldi swiped his tongue over his teeth as he stepped up to the wall of ore. He let out a deep growl and swung, his bare fist slamming into the hard rock. He hit hard enough that the rock cracked.

Marie looked back, brows raised curiously. "That's a mood."

Goldi was sitting on a ledge, one leg propped up as he drank from his waterskin. His diamond blue eyes flicking over to Marie when she popped around the corner. "Back already?"

"Yeah… I met that Mady chick." Marie let out a low whistle as she plopped down next to Goldi, holding up a waterskin. "Treat from Babs."

Goldi set his to the side before grabbing the one Marie held out to him, a curious brow raised. "What's this?" He pulled the cork and took a whiff, an ornery grin spreading across his lips. "Diggers Jigger. Gotta be careful with this stuff."

"Yeah, I learned that the hard way last night. My brain is still mush." Marie laughed, freezing when she noticed Goldi was gulping it down. "You miners are insane."

"Just now learning that?" Goldi let out a satisfied sigh, letting the drink do its thing before he got up. "Are you going to stay down here and mine with me?" He grabbed his hammer, swinging it up and over his shoulder.

"What other option do I have? Go back up top and deal with the nut job? No thanks." Marie freed the hammer from her back and trotted after Goldi, following him down the way some to a new wall of ore.

"Where did that builder run off to?" Mady toyed with her braided hair, frowning some as she walked around the town. She spotted Babs, grinning when the barmaid frowned. "You look like you aren't happy to see me, dear."

"I love gettin' visitors to Khrumbul, but you're distracting the miners. I mean no offense, but will you be staying much longer?" Babs stopped just outside of the bar, meeting the other woman's gaze. "We 'ave quotas we gotta meet and the miners just aren't gettin' the ore we need to fill the orders from Furrowfield and Moonbrooke."

"I was planning on staying for good." Mady raised a brow at Babs, unable to hide her smirk when the dark haired female put on a fake smile. "Is that a problem?"

"You use magic, don'tcha?"

Mady turned, glaring at Marie who was walking up behind her, tossing a vineapple and catching it. "How did-"

"I can feel it." Marie took a bite of the fruit, grinning at Mady. "You could make a lot more money in Moonbrooke, enchanting weapons for the army."

"I have no desire to work for them. Greedy and no charm."

Marie turned her head, spitting a few seeds out before speaking again. "One of the girls said you were looking for someone, right? A tall fella, long dreads that he usually ties up?" A dark look crossed Mady's face. "I saw him over on Furrowfield a few weeks ago, hopped off with a run of ore."

Mady scowled, tossing her braid over her shoulder, a 'hmph' leaving her. "You're good at lying." A dark sneer spread across her plump lips, showing off the elongated canine teeth. "I would believe you, but to be honest, I know he's in the mines. How silly of him to think I didn't mark him."

Marie felt herself pale, Goldi was right to be worried. The blue haired woman was a threat. "What do you want from him?"

Mady held her hand up, examining the perfectly manicured nails. "Did you know that you're pregnant, builder?" She threw her hand back, magic erupting from her fingers, sending Babs backwards into the side of the bar. She hadn't seen Babs pull a knife from her apron, hadn't seen her slowly stepping towards her.

Marie tossed her vineapple to the side, slowly freeing a long thin blade from her hip. The guard was the shape of a golden falcon with a chain that attached to the pommel. "Babs, are you alright?"

Babs lifted her head, a small groan leaving her lips. "Yeah… I'm fine…" She whispered, her words turned to a whisper when she saw Goldi coming up the stairs from the mines. "Goldi…?"

"I was going to give you the option to walk away, Madusa. But you took things too far by hurting Babs." Goldi cracked his knuckles and tipped his head from side to side, cracking his neck with the motion.

"How did you know Babs had been hurt?" Lulu was covering her mouth with her hands, her brown eyes wide and full of worry.

Malroth glared at Lulu. "They were getting to a fight, why'd you have to interrupt?"

"When you care about someone the way I care about Babs, you can always tell when they get hurt. I made a promise to never let her get hurt, and I didn't uphold that promise." Goldi looked down at his hands, he pushed aside his sorrow and looked to Lily. Her blue eyes were unfocused and aimed at the sand they sat on, tears threatening to spill over. "Is everything alright, Lily?"

Lily flinched and looked up at Goldi. "I have a lot of questions… but I'll wait." Malroth squeezed Lily tight against him, hiding his face against the back of her neck. He could feel her start to relax again.

Goldi's fist hit the ground, a snarl leaving him when he whirled around, seeing Madusa standing behind him, smirking over her shoulder at him. "I hate magic users."

"How rude." Madusa laughed, tipping her head to the side to dodge a strike from Marie. "I, unlike you Builder, like to tell the truth. And truth be told, you're going to be a nuisance. I heard through the grapevine that someone is looking for you."

Marie hopped back away from Madusa, blue eyes narrowing on the witch. She gnashed her teeth as she held her free hand up. "What's it to you?"

Goldi was three steps away from Madusa when he noticed a bright light gathering at the tips of Marie's fingers. He came to a halt, barely able to back pedal out of the way when the bright light shot forward. He dropped down when Madusa lashed out with a magic of her own, sending the light careening upwards, almost striking the hulking man. "Seriously. I hate magic users!"

Madusa snapped her fingers, disappearing for a moment before reappearing behind Marie. "Like I said, a nuisance." She hissed as a portal opened up in front of them. Marie pushed back against Madusa, only to get shoved through the portal.

Goldi and Babs gawked at Madusa when the portal closed, Goldi quickly helped Babs to her feet. "You gotta get everyone out of here, to safety."

Babs looked around, seeing everyone was slowly gathering to see what the commotion was. "I'm not leavin' ya, Goldi. We'll face 'er together."

"How cute. Would you say she's the jewel of your eye, Goldi?" Madusa grinned as she pointed a finger towards Babs, magic gathering at the tip.

Goldi surged forward, his fist quickly connecting with Madusa's jaw as she fired off the magic. He glanced back to make sure Babs was okay, only to see her gawking at the potted flower next to her. "Goldi! She was gonna turn me to diamonds!?"

Goldi turned his attention to Madusa who was staggering but still on her feet. "You bitch."

"The only other being I've seen with such rage before is a Golden Golem." Madusa snarled, gripping her jaw as she held her hand up to Goldi. "Your rage will be their demise!"

"Your jealousy will be yours!" Goldi roared as he grabbed Madusa's raised hand, his other hand easily covering her face. Magic exploded between the two of them, sending anything that wasn't bolted down flying.

Madusa's eyes glowed as she laughed from behind Goldi's hand. "Yes! The Master will be most pleased! How joyous for us that this happened!" She ripped away from Goldi, a screaming tearing from her throat as she gripped her head.

Babs tucked herself against the bar but kept her eyes locked on the two before her, the magic was a whirlwind around them, whipping her hair around her head. She watched in horror as Madusa's hair ripped free from the braid and slowly turned into snakes. She covered her mouth when she noticed Goldi was changing too.

Before she knew it, he was towering over all of them. Tall and proud he slowly stood, his muscled build changed into brilliant golden bricks. "Goldi…" The squeak of her voice had the man turned monster turning to her, brilliant diamond eyes sparkling as he stared at her.

"One of the most volatile creatures known to man!" Madusa laughed from where she now floated, a round creature with snakes swarming around one large green eye. "From now until the end of time, you will be cursed to destroy all you hold dear! Every time she helps you become golden, you will tear her apart." She purred, watching the recognition fade from the diamond eyes and rage take over.

Babs threw her arms up, as if that would protect her from the large golden fist that came crashing down over her.

Babs stared at Goldi, struggling to blink back the tears that welled up in her eyes. "It wasn't yer fault, Goldi. Madusa made you do it."

Goldi started to reach over, to brush a stray golden strand of hair from Babs' face when he stopped. He seemed afraid to touch her, like he was going to hurt her if he did. His body almost seemed to melt into her when she pulled his hand against her cheek. "I'm so sorry, Babs."

"Goldi…"

Everyone turned and looked to see Lily trembling as she lost control of her tears. "What happened to my mom?"