Malroth had a hand on his hip as he watched Lily finalizing things with Brownbeard. She was running to Furrowfield and Khrumbul-Dun to do a few things and had asked him to stay behind in case their new friend showed up. She was doing errands and bringing people back for the celebration they were having in a few days. Malroth looked to the golden golem that was going with Lily, a frown on his face. She was plotting something, and it was killing him to not know what it was.
"Alright, Mal! I'm off." Lily turned to him as she got onto the boat, her hands were tucked behind her as she leaned towards him, smiling down at him.
Brownbeard was smiling at the two as Malroth climbed up onto the railing, grinning down at his builder as he squat down and braced himself on the bow with one hand. "Oi, Lily…" Malroth leaned towards her like he was going to kiss her, but then he lashed out, grabbing the back of her neck and holding her still. He tipped his head, unable to hide his grin that spread as Lily closed her eyes and waited for her farewell kiss. He shot forward, his tongue swiping across her lips as if asking for permission before pulling her against him and pushing past all of her defenses.
Brownbeard cleared his throat and looked away, having seen Lily's eyes shoot wide open and her go rigid. "Uhm… unless yer goin' wiv us mis'er Malroth…"
Malroth pulled back, a dark grin on his face when he saw that Lily was beat red and panting. He could hear her racing heart as she tried to think straight after that heated of a kiss. While she was still stunned, Malroth gave her a quick peck before saluting Brownbeard. "Take care of her, captain!"
"Aye, aye!" Brownbeard laughed as Malroth jumped off the ship and gave the boat a pat before waiting next to Brownbeard's hut.
Lily was still gawking as the ship set sail, her eyes locked on Malroth as he waved her off. She slowly turned to look at Brownbeard who was giving her a dopey grin.
Malroth frowned when the ship got out of view, he crossed his arms and turned to leave when Lulu popped up next to him. "What?"
"I'm surprised you didn't go with her, did you two get into a fight again?"
"No, she made a very valid point, one of us needs to be here in case that jackass shows up again." Malroth started to walk away, eyeing Lulu when the pink haired female started to follow him. "Are you going to be on my hip this whole time?"
"I am. To be honest, I don't wanna deal with the people of Moonbrooke… they're… kinda being downers." Lulu tucked her hands into the pockets of her apron, pouting at the ground as they walked. She smiled a little when Malroth pushed his arm out, offering it to her. She happily took it, leaning against the strong male as he led the way to the Scarlet Sands.
"What are they saying?"
"They're just upset with the sudden explosion of monsters and how Lily seemed to make them build their new castle…"
Malroth rolled his eyes. The inhabitants of Moonbrooke had been whining at Lily ever since she got back about how the skeleton of a castle they had built wasn't enough and how they needed her to build them a new one. So, she did what she was best at, she made up a blueprint and spread it out, leaving all of the materials for them to build a place to call home. It was surprising to him how the people of Furrowfield and Khrumbul-Dun couldn't seem to get enough blueprints but the people of Moonbrooke didn't seem to want blueprints. They wanted to sit around and let Lily do all of the work. "I'll go have a talk with them, they need to get their heads out of their asses-"
"No, don't. Mal, promise me you won't. They just-"
"Lulu. I'm not about to let them think they can sit on their asses and do nothing while Lily is working her ass off to make this island a place for humans and monsters co-exist. And I won't sit around while they talk shit on Lily." Malroth looked up at the pyramid when they got to the Scarlet Sands, frowning. "If they don't want to co-exist then when Brownbeard gets back they can go back to Moonbrooke."
Malroth had his hands in his pockets as he walked up to the castle in the Cerulean Steppe. He looked over, seeing Rosie was talking to Anessa and Gerome about some crops they could grow out here, especially since Lily and Wrigley had been hard at work getting the soil fit for crops and livestock. As he approached though, Anessa lost her smile and seemed to shut down. "Hey, Rosie."
Rosie looked between Malroth and Anessa, frowning at the two of them. "Hey. Is everything alright?"
"I hope so. How are the gardens?"
"They're… uhm… they're good. We have lots of crops right now, I'm gonna have to talk to Lily and see if she can help us expand at some point." Rosie tried to ignore the tension that was slowly building in the air around them but then it became almost too much for her to bare. "Look, I don't know what actually happened between the two of you, I only heard little bits from Wrigley who heard from some of the other monsters. I know Lily just left… but please, don't go around starting fights, Malroth."
"I'm not starting them." Malroth smiled at Rosie before turning his dark gaze on Anessa. "I'm only checking in on everyone before I start sending monsters to their respective areas, where they'll do good at. I think Hellen and Arisplotle would be a great addition up here."
"We have enough monsters with Lulu's chimera and the powie-yowie." Anessa frowned at Malroth, crossing her arms. "We're fine, thank you."
"You say that like you get to decide who lives where."
Rosie started at Malroth, her eyes widening as Anessa stepped into the God of Destruction, growling back at him. "I will not live side by side with heathens that have no right to be alive."
"Uhm… Anessa, you do realize you're talking… to their God. Right? You do know that Malroth is a God… right?" Rosie reached out to touch Anessa's arm when the soldier lashed out, pushing Rosie back. Rosie gasped and stumbled, crying out when Malroth lunged, slamming Anessa back against the castle walls. "Malroth! Stop!"
"Don't lash out at Rosie." Malroth snarled as he easily pinned Anessa with one arm. "What happened to the girl who seemed to be ecstatic to come live on the Isle? To the girl who wanted to help Lily?"
"That was before she got on her knees for a monster! You all spent years killing us! And now you want us to hold hands and sing praises for monsters?!" Anessa tried to lash out at Malroth but his reach was longer than hers. "To have feasts with them?!"
"You spent just as many years killing monsters." Malroth spun Anessa around, pinning her back against his chest and holding her so she had to look out at the scorpions and chimeras that fluttered around in the valley. "I'm not asking you to have feasts with them. I'm asking you to let them show you that they've changed. Hellen risked her life to save Lily. Arisplotle risked his life to help Lily." He squeezed the soldier when she started to fight his hold. "You almost got Lily killed." His voice came out in more of a growl than he meant, but it got the point across when Anessa stopped fighting. "If you have a problem with monsters then you go live on your monster free island of Moonbrooke."
Anessa stayed frozen where she was as Malroth let her go and shoved his hands in his pockets, walking away from them. She gnashed her teeth as tears burned in her eyes. "She killed Warwick!"
Malroth stopped, a wicked laugh bubbling up in his throat as he look over his shoulder at Anessa. He opened his mouth to speak, but Rosie beat him to the punch. "Warwick drove a wedge between Lily and Malroth, he gave Atlas a way to use her against you all. Warwick was more of a monster than Malroth will ever be." Rosie frowned at Anessa. "The Warwick that Lily… killed… was not the Warwick you grew up with."
Anessa glared at Rosie, flinching when Gerome reached out and touched her shoulder. "My brave Anessa… do you really hold that against Lily? Warwick died when his family did, the man we saw grow was a shell, nothing more than a puppet for Atlas to use against us."
Anessa ripped away from the old man. "You didn't… you didn't know him like I did."
"And you didn't know him like Lily did." Malroth turned and continued on his way. "Had she not done him in, I would have. And I'd have done what I did to him on Malhalla, but worse."
Rosie stared after Malroth as he headed towards the Green Gardens, dumbfounded. Surprisingly, neither he nor Lily had talked about Malhalla much; the monsters certainly did, they had met their God and come out as friends with him. Rosie risked glancing back at Anessa who was staring at her feet with her fists clenched. The farmer would have to come back later and check up on the soldier. She took off after Malroth, leaning forward as she walked so she could see those ruby eyes. "Malroth… what happened on Malhalla? I haven't heard any stories except what the monsters have said and even then it's only been up until Lily took off on the buggy to go find you."
Malroth was quiet for most of the walk back to the gardens, but when they were walking by the tablet, he let out a huff. "I tried to eat Lily."
Rosie puckered her lips as she stopped walking and just stared at Malroth. "Don't you… always… try to eat her?"
"Not…" Malroth rubbed his face, unable to help the chuckle that left him. "Not like that, Rosie. I tried to devour her, I wanted to devour her. Slowly." He let out a nervous laugh as he gripped his head with one hand. "Rosie… I still… I wake up in the middle of the night and I have to fight Him because he wants more…"
Rosie felt herself pale as she watched Malroth, he hated being away from Lily, but he was also afraid to be by her side. She reached out, carefully touching his shoulder. "Malroth… have you talked to Lily about this?"
"No… she'll just… be Lily about it." Malroth didn't fight off Rosie as the farmer slowly pulled him into a gentle hug, holding him against her. "Do what she normally does, smile that dopey grin and promise that we'll figure something out-"
"That's our Lily." Rosie laughed as she squeezed Malroth. "But you know she's right, we'll find something that'll help with the urges. Weren't you all talking about having to go to her world and get your remains from there? Maybe that's what He really wants and-" Rosie paused, thinking about her words. She wasn't sure why Malroth would wake up like that, and she could tell that he knew she was pulling words out of thin air. "Look, have you talked to Dracken about it? He might be able to help you understand and maybe control that better? That way you don't eat our friend."
"Right, I'll go talk to him and Pas-"
"MALROTH!"
Rosie and Malroth whirled, staring at Babs as she stomped up to them, two small monsters behind her. "Firs' o' all, these whiney lil' mons'ers need yer 'elp wiv somethin'." She waved to Arisplotle and Gremville who were gawking at the dancing girl. "But most importantly." She put her hands on her hips and growled at Malroth, the bunny ears on the top of her head wiggling with her jerky movements. "Did Lily already take off ta Khrumbul-Dun?! She promised me she'd take me!"
Malroth threw his hands up and shook his head. "Look, Babs, I didn't know she was going to take you. Though she seemed to be in a hurry this morning when she left."
"That brat!" Babs gasped, her bottom lip quivering. "I just…" She turned away, pouting as the monsters slowly wiggled around her.
Malroth sighed and crossed his arms, watching the two monsters. "What?" He growled when Rosie punched his arm. "What was that for?"
"You should be nicer to them." Rosie whispered, suddenly noticing that the monsters seemed confused as to why Rosie had punched Malroth.
"Yeah, I tried that when they first got here. It was awkward, they expect me to be snarly and destructive. I don't see myself that way, but I just decided to be myself and everyone seems fine with that."
"Right… you're not destructive at all…" Rosie let out a small laugh before shrugging at the glare she got from Malroth.
"Uhm…" Gremville fluttered up and landed on Rosie, clinging to her shoulder. "Mithter Malroth, thir… we need help with a blueprint Lily gave uth before she left."
Malroth raised a brow at the monster before scooping Arisplotle up. "Where at?"
"Behind your houthe."
Malroth stopped midstride, raising a brow at Gremville. "Excuse me?"
"Mith Lily wanted uth to thtay clothe until everyone get uthed to uth." Gremville let out a noise comparable to a purr when Rosie reached up and scratched under his chin. "We don't mind, the farmerth have actually helped uth a lot! Your friend Perry thcreamed when I came up behind him though."
Rosie laughed and patted his cheek. "Yeah, Perry still gets a little scared around you guys, try not to approach him from behind, if you can."
"Of courthe, of courthe."
The group made their way to the canyon between the farm and Scarlet Sands, Malroth didn't notice that Babs and Rosie stopped walking as he trudged through the ashy sands there. He looked over, eyebrows going up when he saw gigantic horns and claws and teeth strewn about as well as thick dark green scales. "What…"
"Those horns look like your horns-" Babs finally trotted up to Malroth, grabbing his arm and pointing to the large black horns that shot out of the ground.
"And… are those your teeth?" Rosie came up on the other side as she cleaned her glasses off to make sure she wasn't seeing things.
"Yeth! Mith Lily knowth that we're all out of plathe tho she gave uth a plathe to call home!" Gremville took off and landed on a pile of bones, smiling at the humans in front of him.
"Isn't it globtastic?! Lily worked glooper hard on this for ooze!" Arisplotle bounced out of Malroth's arms and over to a pile of decrepit armor on the ground nearby. As they all sat there staring at each other, clouds seemed to form above them, making it gloomier in this small canyon.
"Ah! Master Malroth! And Miss Rosie and Lady Babs, thank you all for coming!" Hellen came over, smiling at the humans as she stepped around splashes from the pool of poison nearby. "I'm glad they found you, Malroth. We need help destroying this canyon wall here. Lily told us we could build a temple here-"
"No offense, Hellen… but why don't you use the temple we already have?" Malroth frowned as he crossed his arms once again. "It's on the other side of the isle and much bigger than this space."
"Because there's still a giant hole in that one and Lily asked us if we would mind moving over here." Dracken called out as he walked up from behind them, arms full of books. Next to him was Pastor Al, who was just as weighed down with books and small trinkets. "The brat is plotting something, and I don't know what it is."
Rosie covered her mouth when she turned and saw Pastor Al. "P… Al? What? How?"
Malroth whipped to Rosie, eyes narrowed. "You didn't know he was still alive?"
"No. I hadn't been to see her yet… or anyone else from Furrowfield." Pastor Al sighed as he set his items down and looked to Rosie. "I… have been taking the time to… forgive myself, and prepare myself, for you to not forgive me, my child."
Rosie stopped where she was, stopping herself from throwing her arms around the pastor as she stared at him. "What…? What do you mean? Forgive you for what?"
Pastor Al glanced to Dracken; confusion set in his shoulders. "Do they not know what this world is?"
"I suppose not, though they didn't even know it was an illusion." Dracken sighed as he carried his books to a table of items and set them down before rejoining the group. "You're all dead."
"No shit." Malroth went to shrug when he saw Babs and Rosie flinch. "Wait, did… did you guys really think…?"
"Your souls were trapped in the illusion by Hargon's magic. Any humans and monsters that died during his reign, were brought here to fuel said illusion." Dracken rolled his shoulders as he sat on a rock, readying himself for a long story. "Hargon was a twisted being, he enjoyed the torture he put you humans through. Before Lily came along, you all were in this… replaying hell, of sorts. How you died in the illusion is how you died in your past life." He glanced to Al, a frown in his voice behind that blank mask. "And how you would continue to die in this illusion… over and over again."
Pastor Al tucked his hands behind his back and shook his head. "Until Lily and Malroth came along, that is. They upset the balance when they came to Furrowfield. When I came… I was on my way to kill you, Rosie…"
Rosie stayed where she was, a determined look in her eyes. "But you didn't."
"But I had been, killing you, for years."
"But that time you didn't. You helped us."
"Yes, but-" Al flinched when Rosie pulled him into a hug, her body trembling as she fought back her tears. "My dear, sweet Rosie… I am so very sorry…"
"Madusa killed us on Khrumbul, she's dead now." Babs shrugged as she stared at her hands. "It's kinda… 'ard to… learn that you was nothin' more than a 'lusion… and ta learn about 'ow ya died… but it's kinda relievin' ta know that in a way ya get justice."
"Madusa never killed you. She was like the Badboon, an Overseer, to make sure the underlings did their job and to reset the illusion when Malroth didn't gain the power he needed." Dracken turned to Babs, tilting his head at her.
"Wot?" Babs' eyebrows furrowed as she stared at Dracken. "Then… 'ow did I die?"
Lily and Brownbeard stared at the small makeshift boat that was docked in the pirates normal spot, it didn't look like it could survive a trip down a river so what it was doing there was baffling. Lily looked to the golem who only stared straight ahead, in the direction of the mining town. "Uhm… maybe just stay here for a few extra minutes until I can confirm who the boat belongs to?"
"Aye… ye read me mind, Lily." Brownbeard docked properly and watched as Lily led the golem off the boat and towards town.
Lily put her hand up, tipping her head in confusion when she saw a familiar brunette run from the kitchen into the copper bar. She looked over, seeing a familiar head of navy locks sitting and chatting with some of the miners that had stayed behind. "Hey… Clayton…" When the farmer turned, his eyes sparkled as he trotted towards Lily. "Not that I'm not… uhm… excited isn't the right word…"
"Surprised. You're surprised to see us?" Clayton laughed as he patted Lily on the shoulder. "Don't worry! I'm surprised we made it too!" He laughed more when Saffron came up, a small dog at her heels. "Harvest wanted to make the journey with us too, it worked out!"
"When did you guys learn to build a…" Lily looked over her shoulder in the direction of the docks, wondering what she should call that… thing. "raft…"
Saffron giggled from behind her hand and shook her head. "There was a sorcerer that used to live with the good Pastor, he had some books, so we did what builders do best! Besides, I got a letter from Lilian saying you were headed this way and then to Furrowfield to pick us up, so we decided to just meet you here."
"Right… well, would one of you mind telling Brownbeard that he can stay since you guys are here?"
"On it!" Clayton saluted Lily before running off for the docks. Saffron watched him go, a soft smile on her lips. "He's gotten a lot better about his attitude, since you last saw him." The taller female grinned at Lily before looking up at the golden golem. "What's he doing here? I'm surprised it isn't Malroth."
"We had something happen on the Isle, nothing bad, but I had things I needed to do and Malroth is more than enough muscle and bark to handle the Isle trouble if it comes to it." Lily held her arm out to Saffron, smiling when the dark-haired female took her arm. The two laughed when Harvest seemed to jump around, but then they noticed that she was going for Lily's bag. "Harvest, I swear I don't have anything good in here-" The builder gasped when the dog finally got a good hold and pulled the pouch off. "Harvest!"
Harvest dug into the pouch, easily pulling a large round mirror out. She sat back and wagged her tail, watching Lily with knowing eyes. "What the hell? When did that get in there…?" Lily stumbled back a few steps; her eyes wide as she began to hyperventilate at the sight of Ra's Mirror.
Saffron didn't seem to notice Lily's panic as she picked it up, smiling at the beautiful reflection of herself there. "It's just a mirror." She laughed and pointed it at Harvest, but then she let out a let scream when Harvest changed before their eyes. Where Harvest the dog once sat, a beautiful young girl now stood in a flowing white dress with a yellow ribbon around her midsection. She had her hands crossed in front of her and a graceful smile on her lips. When she opened her eyes, they were a soft brown. "Thank you, Saffron. It's nice to no longer be a pup. Let's not talk about the things I did when I was a dog, they were rather embarrassing."
Saffron looked up at Lily then back at Harvest. Lily carefully took the mirror from Saffron and tucked it back into her pouch. "Uhm… I'd hate to call you Harvest all the time… you must uhm… have a different name?"
"I do, but I've long since forgotten it. Besides, I like Harvest. We can continue to call me that." The girl smiled and pranced away, her dark golden hair bouncing around her as she bounced away.
Saffron slowly stood up, gawking after the girl as Clayton rejoined them. "Hey, who was that? She wasn't here before." Clayton took Saffron's hand, frowning at her shock.
"That was… Harvest…" Lily spoke numbly before shaking herself from her stupor and walking to the declaration post. "Oh, Goldi!"
LILY. SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU AGAIN. HOW ARE YOU?
"I'm good Goldi. I have something to ask of you, well, it's more of a proposition if you will."
I AM… CURIOUS. YOU BROUGHT GOLDEN GOLEM. WHAT FOR?
Lily grinned as the golem came up behind her and waited. "Well, you see…"
