Malroth stroked Lily's hair the next morning, his fingers running over her right arm, feeling the cold stone there. "I can't believe this happened…" He got up, slamming his fist into the wall. "Dammit!"
"I have good newsss." Tiny landed on the bedpost, sad eyes turned on Lily who was sleeping thanks to his magic. "Goldi can reverse what has been done to Lily's arm… but he needs more power to do it. That stone necklace he gave Babsss alssso sssaved the bunny girl. She would be dead if not for that trinket."
Malroth was leaning against the wall, casting a glare back at Tiny. "How. How do I get Goldi's power back?"
"It isss not ssso sssimple, Malroth." Tiny frowned, turning his own glare on the door as Magrog stepped in. "What isss it, Blacksssmith?"
"I made a sling for Lily's arm. That was it isn't hanging free and causing her pain." Magrog set the piece of cloth down, glancing at Malroth. "I don't know if there's enough medicine to truly stop the pain, though."
Malroth and Tiny watched as the blacksmith walked out of the room. "Wake her up." Malroth snatched the sling up and pulled Lily up, easily holding her against him as he tried to finagle the sling onto the sleeping girl. Tiny let out a sigh, releasing the magic that was on Lily.
Lily let out a whimper but did her best to stay quiet as Malroth helped her into this weird contraption. She let out a soft noise when the weight of her arm was off her shoulder. Relieving some of the pain. "Mal…"
"Babs is alive, but we have to defeat Madusa to bring her back. But… none of us are sure… on how to do that."
"Ordelia said that Madusa hates shiny things, beautiful buildings… we just need to make a bigger and better bar."
"Yeah, wanna tell me how we're going to do that when your drawing hand is stone?"
"Can I have my book?"
Malroth growled but he left Lily to grab her book and a pen. He came back, tossing them on the bed. He watched as she rolled over and carefully, and sloppily, build a blueprint. "Are you serious? That looks worse than my handwriting."
"Mal!" Lily snarled, turning a glare on Malroth who raised his hands and quieted himself as she went back to concentrating.
A little over an hour later, Lily had three pages of blueprints sketched out. Malroth crawled onto the bed, sandwiching her body between his and the bed. "Does… Does that say gold?"
"What better way to get that giant eyeball out of the ground than to make a golden bar?"
"Do you know how much gold that's going to use?!"
"Yup." Lily rolled over, flipping Malroth off of her so she could take her blueprints down to the others.
Malroth licked his lips, feeling her determination in his bones as he jumped up and chased after her. "Digby! Dougie! Get your lazy asses over here! You need to clear those rocks about the Copper Bar! Lily needs that space!"
Lily looked back up the stairs at Malroth, how had he known she wanted to build up there? She gave a shrug and watched as the two miners whimpered before making their way up top, clearing the way for Lily. Malroth didn't leave them to their own devices, he joined them in destroying the area and making it suitable for Lily. "Well?! You coming, Lily?"
The whole town was rushing up when Lily set the first blueprint out, gawking at it. "That thing's huge…" Magrog turned to Lily, eyes wide. "And all out of gold? Amazing…"
"Is that even possible?!" Dougie gasped, scratching his head as he looked over it.
"Are a bunch of meat heads even able to build such a classy pub?" Malroth leaned against Lily, looked down at her, smirking at the eye roll he got. The whole town was buzzing with excitement as the miners ran down to the mines to collect what they needed to. Magrog and Serge watched as Lily laid the first fifty blocks. It was just like back at Furrowfield, and it made Lily smile.
Magrog came up to her, smiling at the skeleton of a blueprint. "Lily, I couldn't help but notice that you left a few holes in the blueprint. Did you have a plan for those?"
"I want to put light boxes there, but I wanted them to be red. I just… don't know how to get them red yet."
"Oh! You could collect dye, there's some in an oasis just beyond the port." Magrog couldn't finish his sentence before Lily was shouting for Malroth and the two were off hunting.
The two stared at the land just over the canal of water, Malroth was scratching his head as he looked down at Lily's arm, wondering how they were going to get over there. Lily looked up, seeing a ledge that stuck out some. With a nod, she was slowly climbing the cliff face, using her chin in place of her right arm as she moved.
Malroth groaned and rolled his eyes, but he followed Lily all the same. "Now what?" He grumbled when they reached the top. He eyed her as she took out her windbreaker, tying it together so she could hold onto it with one hand. "Are you serious?"
"Yes. Now, get ready to grab on!" Lily ran at the edge, jumping off. She let out a small noise when Malroth easily grabbed her ankles and the two awkwardly glided over to the other side. When the two landed, they were met with a small horde of monsters, but they were able to easily take them out before the horde could do too much damage. "Mal, over there!"
Malroth looked at the little oasis that Lily was pointing to, seeing the clay that she would need to make the dye. He jumped down, breaking up the clay and bringing it back to her. "Got it."
"Thank you, Mal." Lily pushed her hip out, letting him put the clay in her pouch and grab the map, taking them back to Khrumbul-Dun. The two stared in awe at the building, the first level was almost complete. They ducked into the smithy to finish the light blocks Lily wanted. It took her some extra time, but she was able to use her stone right hand to hold pieces steady as she worked them together with her left. She handed them off to Malroth who held them while Lily made a special dying pot. Once she was done she instructed him to place it in the corner that was empty. The two slowly started dunking the lights, watching as the dye stuck and turned them red.
Malroth helped Lily carry the blocks up to the golden bar, placing them where she pointed to. Magic flowed over Malroth, making his skin crawl, he gave Lily a grin when she looked at him, concern in her eyes. "It's fine."
Magrog ran over, clapping at the two. "We did it! Now onto the next!"
"What do you have planned for the next level, Lily?!" The townspeople cheered, clapping as they looked over their handywork.
Magrog smiled when the blueprint went up and everyone get to work. "I noticed some spots again, what are you wanting to put there?"
"Blue light boxes."
"Blue? You're going for the whole darn library, ain't ya?" Magrog laughed but shrugged at her. "I wish I could help with this one, but I haven't the slightest idea on where to look."
"Ahem!" Ordelia ran over, stopping what she had been doing. "Perhaps we can help! Down at the underground lake! There is where you should start."
Lily and Malroth frowned as they picked their way across the lake, looking down into the water where they saw a cave under the water. Malroth grabbed Lily, pulling her onto his back in a way that wouldn't hurt her arm. "Take a deep breath!" When he heard her breathe in deep, he jumped in, swimming with her on his back through the cool water.
The two gasped for air when they resurfaced after the long swim, Malroth pushed Lily out of the water first, seeing blue clay covering the walls of this little cave. He set to work, getting as much as he could reach with his axe.
The two used the map to get back to town, seeing that the second level was now almost complete. Malroth smirked, looking to Lily. "They work faster than Furrowfield."
"They're more desperate to finish, I think. We don't know how long Goldi's magic will keep Babs alive in that stone. The sooner we defeat Madusa, the sooner we can save Babs." Lily led the way into the smithy and set to work.
The town looked over the new bar, grinning at Lily as she and Malroth set the last piece then put up the last blueprint. Den walked over to her this time, scratching his chin. "So, what wild color are you going after this time?"
"Diamonds."
Everyone around them stopped, gawking at Lily as she rubbed her chin, trying to think of where to start. Ordelia laughed as Jules bounced over. "You really have an eye for the fortuni, don't you! If you want diamonds, you'll have to use that wonderful flute! Use it!"
Before Lily could use the flute, Ordelia walked over. "Has it heard the legend of Khrumbul-Dun? Of a beauty turned beast. It is quite dark, but lovely too." Before Lily could object, Ordelia started. "Once upon a time, a beauty came to Khrumbul-Dun, she fell in love with a man, so infatuated by his shine, she quickly grew jealous of his other admirers. She turned him to stone, leaving him to rot here while she hid away beneath ground."
"IT'S TRUE. THAT BEAUTY WAS MADUSA. SHE WAS IN LOVE WITH ME. JEALOUSY TURNED ME TO STONE. TURNED HER INTO MONSTER."
Den scratched his chin, laughing a little. "So, that's the other bit to my story! Who knew Goldi was such a 'eartbreaker!"
"Play that flute, Lil." Malroth pulled her away from the townspeople, listening for the echo when Lily played the flute. His attention snapped to an area just outside of town. He looked to Lily who looked puzzled. "Over here! Dougie! Digby! On me!"
The four made their way over, staring at the ground at their feet. "Oh… no way, Malroff. That's too much work, even fer us miners." Digby whimpered, slowly stepping away from it.
"NOT FOR ME. ME PUNCH HOLE IN GROUND, DEEPER THAN DEEP!" Goldi came over, not giving them any warning as he slammed his fists into the ground. Lily clung to Malroth when the ground shook and hot air bubbled out, making her skin burn.
"You ain't really gonna go down there, are ya?! You'll burn to a crisp!" Dougie scrambled away from the edge, eyes wide. "And you'll be flatter than a pancake! That's one 'ell of a fall!"
"Nah! We have our windbreaker to slow our decent!" Malroth laughed as he wrapped his arm around Lily's waist, giving her a sly look. "You ready?"
"Mal… you aren't serious." Then he jumped and Lily let out a screech, clinging to him as best she could. She felt the windbreaker catch them, slowing their decent for a moment before the hot air started to burn it up. "Mal!"
Malroth quickly put the breaker away before it could burn away. He bit his glove off, claws dug into the stone walls that led down. He snarled, feeling the rock trying to rip at his fingers. Finally, their screaming decent slowed and they were hanging by Malroth's grip on the rock, still a hefty fall from the ground.
"Mal… when did…?" Lily stared at his hand, his nails had turned almost black as claws started to form and his fingers were starting to turn green.
"Don't worry about it." He snarled, as he looked around. "Do you trust me?"
"With my life, Mal." Lily pressed her face against his neck, feeling him shift the arm that was wrapped around her, then he tossed her up some. She tried to smother her scream as Malroth dropped down to the ground beneath them.
Malroth put himself beneath Lily as she fell, ignoring the ache in his legs from his landing as he easily caught her and set her down. "Easy peasy." He winked at her and wiped the sweat from his brow. "Now… before we burn, let's get through this place and get those diamonds."
The two followed the path of stone until they were met with lava. Lily carefully pulled out the bottomless pot, using her stone hand as a way to pour it out onto the lava. She smiled as the lava turned to solid stone so the two could run up. They made it a fair distance until a few blocks gave out beneath Lily and she nearly fell in.
Malroth lunged, grabbing her and the pot, making sure they were both on solid ground before they continued on. He grabbed the back of her dress, pointing to the pot so he could take a nice big gulp. The two went back to making progress, being a lot more careful as they picked their way across the land bridges the bottomless pot made them.
Lily back pedaled when the lava advanced despite the water. "Mal!" She gasped, feeling him lift her up and jump to higher ground. "What do we do?"
"Hell if I know. Do you want to try to push through, or build a little land bridge?"
"I don't want to spend that much time making a land bridge that'll be too narrow and risk one of us falling in." Lily frowned, watching the lava eat away the blocks she created with the water.
"Alright, pour and run as soon as you get some blocks made, got it?"
"Right." Lily let Malroth carry her back down before she started pouring, the two ran as she poured. The lava was closing in, but Malroth jumped up to a safe spot, grabbing the collar of Lily's dress and yanking her up so she didn't get taken out by the lava.
They rounded a corner, seeing a shrine looming just ahead. "Mal…"
Malroth slowly walked along the path, a mix of emotions crossing his face. "Whoa… what is… what is this place? It feels… strangely familiar… almost like I'm… coming home…" He stopped, pointing into the shrine. "Lily! Monsters!"
Lily swallowed the lump in her throat when she saw a dragon with the two priests. "This is… going to be a hard fight, Mal."
Malroth looked back, seeing she was having to use her left hand to wield her blade. "Right… just go easy on yourself, alright?"
The two ran head first into battle with the two shamans and casters, dodging around the dragon when they could. The two casters were the easiest to take out, one shaman went to bring his hammers down on Lily, only to be blocked by Malroth who dove to stop the attack. He forced the shaman back, swinging wildly and taking him out.
The two turned to the last shaman, diving behind him so he took the brunt of the attack from the dragon's fireball. Malroth swung, his ax digging into the shaman's back. Once they were taken care off, they set to work on the dragon, dancing and diving around the monster. It took time, especially with Lily swinging awkwardly with her left hand, but the two finally took out the dragon.
"How… are the two of you so strong…" One of the shaman's whimpered, trying to claw his way towards the other shaman who had the gash in his back. "Perhaps you aren't from this world…" He let out a weak chuckle, looking to Lily. "Then your destiny is set in stone… and an interesting one… it will be."
Before either friend could move, Malroth's knees buckled and he slammed his head against the ground, a muffled scream leaving him as he gripped his head.
My Lord and Master…
Hear me…
"No…" Malroth whimpered, rubbing his head against the ground, trying to ignore the voice that echoed in his head.
Hear me, Malroth…
O Might Master of Destruction…
"That voice… it's the same one I heard on the island." Lily ran over to Malroth, seeing the tears at the edge of his eyes from the pain he was in.
Those monsters worshipped You…
And yet you showed them no mercy…
How very fitting…
But I would expect no less
From the Lord of Ruin
"Give it a rest, will you?! I'm not the lord of anything! I don't know what you're talking about!" Malroth ripped away from Lily, his voice angry and bouncing off the walls around them.
Man, Monster or God…
None can escape their fate…
You are the Master of Destruction…
Your destiny is set in stone
The world is hurtling headlong into oblivion
And the only one who can save it…
Is You…
"What the hell is going on?! Sorry about that, Lily… the heat down here must be addling my brain… I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Plus, we've got more important things to think about – like digging up some diamonds!"
Lily played the flute one last time, watching as Malroth picked his way behind the shrine, ducking around two falls of lava. He turned the stone wall to dust, revealing mounds and mounds of diamonds. "Ha, ha! Look, Lily! We found it!"
Lily ran over, starting the slow chipping to get the diamonds free. She looked over, seeing Malroth was working with her. It took longer than either would have liked to admit, and a lot of water for themselves, before they could get the last of the diamonds. Lily sat down quickly, an idea coming to her mind as she carefully scribbled away in her book.
"Is now really the time?" Malroth groaned as he sat next to her, rubbing his face free of sweat.
"Yes! I don't want to lose this idea!" Lily bubbled, her eyes glittering as she drew. "Gauntlets for Goldi, he should be able to use them to bounce that stone spell back at Madusa when she comes back up!"
The two appeared back in Khrumbul-Dun, and when they did, Magrog came over, a metal darker than gold in his hands. "Lily… I want you to have this, I'm not sure what kind of metal it is, but it's tougher than diamonds… and I hope it'll help you with your-"
"Yes! That's what I needed!" Lily gasped, snatching the metal from Magrog before running into the smithy. "Thank you!"
Malroth laughed and stood guard outside of the smithy, listening to Lily work away at the gauntlets. She emerged a little while later, smiling as she ran over to Goldi. "Heads up, golem!" Goldi barely had any time to react when Lily hurled the gauntlets at him.
Goldi let out a sharp noise as he took the hit, he slammed the gauntlets together, a roar leaving him. "LILY MAKE ME STRONGER. CAN WITHSTAND STONE SPELL. THROW IT BACK NOW. WE HAVE CHANCE!"
"We've finished the bar… but Madusa is no where to be seen." Magrog frowned as he came up to Lily. "Is it not enough for her? How can all that gold not be enough?"
Lily had her hand to her chin as she made her way back to the smithy, thinking of an idea to lure Madusa out. "She has to know we're rearing up for an attack…" Lily set to work, mindless talking to herself as she used the last of the diamonds on this final project. She walked past all the curious bystanders, still mumbling to herself. Was this going to work? Would Babs return to normal? What was happening to Malroth? What did that voice mean? Was there something she was doing that was causing Malroth pain and agony?
Malroth guided Lily up the stairs, making sure she didn't trip and fall on her face as she distractedly climbed up to the Gold Bar. "What are you going on about?" He chuckled and led her up, helping her climb the ladder and watching as she placed the final piece. It looked like Goldirox.
"GOLD BAR FINISHED NOW… BUT WHY IT LOOK LIKE ME?"
"I believe I can answer this one!" Serge piped up, grinning up at Goldi. "As the guardian of the mine, you're ever so important to this island. This is Lily's way of honoring your vital contribution!"
"It's very nice, our dears. And so shiny! Madusa won't be able to resists turning it to stone! The Underseer will be up here soon enough, mark our words!" Ordelia laughed as she leaned against Digby.
"And when she does, we'll have to strike hard and fast. We mustn't let her get the jump on us this time!" Magrog raised his sword getting the rest wound up with him.
Soon enough everyone was shouting about wanting their own sword, they were in this for Babs, no matter what that meant. Lily let out a gasp as the ground shook beneath her. "Shit… Magrog! We need to make swords, now!"
Magrog gave a stern nod before running to the smithy with Lily, it was time to face the evil of this island once and for all.
