In every dark place and every shadow crept the tiny forms. Before the signal could be let out half the population lay already cold. Later men would come to learn the cause of the disaster to be but the incompetence of one man.

Tasked to light the torches which kept at bay the things in the low places, he chose instead to drown himself in strong spirit. Why were not further precautions taken? It's an easy thing to say with hindsight. That a single man's foolishness should doom an entire city seems madness to us now, but why should they change a system which had worked for a hundred years afore?

Even as the alarm went up and roused the defenders, it was already too late. Chaos reigned in the street, and no few were crushed in the stampede to flee. A fire took hold in the slums, raging out of control. Some argued that it should be let to burn, the light of flame serving as a ward against the insidious darkness.

Those few with the strength to fight back were overwhelmed by sheer number. It is said that the Leader in the town, a wise and ancient beast, died entwined with the corpses of dungeons most powerful denizens.

Many held hope for the respite of daylight, but few made it to that much-desired destination. With the rising of the sun, those who remained fled.

Some years later the town was reclaimed. Through much toil and bloodshed of the kingdom's best, the creeping things were pushed back, and fortifications built anew. Much more care was put into the design of the lights this time, or so I hear. I myself shall not be returning to that place, my place of birth. Even now, I have not forgotten that night. Even now, I feel fear at the sight of my own shadow.

-Excerpt from The Fall of Domumbra

The group ascended and left the dungeon without incident. Novus fought with renewed fervor. After each battle, she would seek approving words from Mud. As it made no difference to the golem, it began rating the girl's performance on a sliding scale.

When rated highly she showed signs of joy, and when rated low she showed signs of depression. Mud was slightly concerned by the rapid mood swings Novus was now displaying, recalling the risk of mental deterioration from the influence spell it had now cast upon the girl twice.

When offered, the other members of the party quickly refused to receive the same rating service. Ego did agree, but on the condition that she always be rated with the highest possible score.

Like so, the group quickly made its way up the stairs and out of the dungeon fortification. There, having already returned from their work, stood the city council of Geltheas, locked in a heated conversation. Feeling no desire to engage in troublesome conversations at the moment, Mud directed the group in a wide arc around them.

Thankful to not be called out to, the group went their separate ways. Before leaving, they made plans to regroup the following morning.

"This is terrible. This is well outside of calculations." A heavily sweating and unhealthy man struggled to loosen the collar on his uncomfortable white formal jacket; the mayor of Geltheas, Guy Fallow.

Thagi Ghul nodded sharply, his imposing black armor covered in the dried remains of green blood. "I told you something like this could happen if we close the dungeon early."

Fallow shook his head vigorously and rubbed some nervous sweat from his forehead. "No, this is well beyond even the worst projections you gave me."

"I agree, this was not merely the result of not clearing the dungeon for a few days." The Great Magician Magnus hobbled his way into the conversation.

"Hmm, so says the King's dog, of course, you would want to deflect blame." Thagi Ghul eyed the newcomer suspiciously. "Well, unfortunately, I have to agree with you. This is odd. I also found something on the bottom floor. A strange artifact."

Beside him, the beautiful female mage, guard captain Lgur, held up a geometric object.

A twelve-sided polyhedron, roughly the size of a melon. Made of dull black stone, each five-sided face covered in scrawling red rune script. Although it appeared to be made of stone, Lgur held it far in front of her without need to rebalance her stance, displaying its unusually low weight.

"A man-made contrivance in a dungeon? And it wasn't eaten? That alone is strange..." Magnus leaned over the object and rubbed his bald head, smacking his lips a few times. Eventually, he stood as near to upright as his ancient body would allow. "Right, this is certainly an enchantment. I've no idea what it does, it's too advanced for me."

"Enchantment too advanced for the Great Magician." A worried look twisted Guy Fallows face. "There's only one explanation, and I really don't like it."

Everyone present turned and looked in the same direction. East. Though the bank building blocked their sight, they all had the same building in their mind. Outside the city gates, past the slums, up a short trail through the woods. The home of the only man who could have made this device. And likely, the man truly responsible for this days disaster.

After returning to his domain, Mud immediately proceeded to the basement, along with Jabrax. Before beginning its species ascendance, there was one last task the golem wanted to complete. Turning towards its demon, Mud asked a question that had been on its mind.

"Jabrax, is there another room below this one?"

The demon scowled deeply, annoyance clear on her face. Slowly, as though the words were being forced from her mouth, she replied. "Yeeeessss."

As Mud became more familiar with its Domain, a certain peculiarity had become apparent to it. The shape of Mud's domain appeared to be a sphere, centered on the middle of the first floor of the mansion. Even the dirt below the lawn was included, so long as it was within the sphere.

There was, however, a large gap in the Domain, an area that Mud could not sense the inside of. That being the area directly below the basement. At first, Mud had not noticed this discrepancy, having never chosen to look there. Only by chance, when it decided to check every part of its domain while waiting for its fight with Suzy, had it noticed the discrepancy. And now, its suspicions had been confirmed.

"Show me how to access the sub-basement."

Jabrax grumbled, but did as instructed. Walking to a nondescript stretch of stone wall, she traced an intricate symbol with the tip of her finger. After a moments delay, a section of the wall lowered to reveal stairs going deeper into the depths of the mansion.

With the way open, Mud's Domain quickly flooded down the stairs, completing its spherical shape as best it could. Certain walls remained impermeable, but Mud quickly understood the general layout of the lower floor.

Finding nothing below that required its immediate attention, Mud decided to put off the exploration for the time being. A feeling of tightness in its soul constantly clawed at its attention. It had put off the matter for long enough; it was time to ascend.

"Jabrax, protect me and the house during my transformation. Use your judgment." Crawling through the door to the sub-basement, Mud pressed a nearby switch, causing the door to close behind it. Alone and hidden at the top of the stairs to the sub-basement, Mud concentrated its will. As it focused on the desire to evolve, the expected aid of the Akashic Record appeared.

Would you like to evolve?

With a thought, Mud accepted. Immediately, power began to overflow from Mud's soul, infusing every part of its body. The golem's muddy flesh boiled and churned, warped by the wild forces flowing through it. A strange euphoria filled Mud's mind, mixed with a stinging pain. For the first time in its short life, the golem lost consciousness.

Four of the most influential figures in the city of Geltheas climbed the twisting forest path. While Ghul, Magnus, and head priest Dicitiam showed no signs of fatigue, Fallow was clearly winded by their pace.

"Can you slow down- huff- a bit?" Mayor Fallow managed to croak out between gasped breathes. The others ignored him. Fallow smiled slightly at the abuse.

Before long, the group arrived at their destination; the home of the Great Enchanter Cithlar.

Wasting no time, Ghul began slamming on the door. "Cithlar, you old goat, get out here! You have some explaining to do." After a short time of knocking, the door was opened. Standing behind the door was not Cithlar, to nobody's surprise. Instead, the Great Enchanter's niece Jabrax stood, looking worried.

"Yes? What business does the city council have with my uncle?"

"That's no concern of yours. Bring Cithlar out immediately. We need to talk to him personally." Leaning forward, Thagi radiated an aura of bloodlust. "Now."

Shrinking back in terror, the girl nodded rapidly. "Yes, of course, sir. I'll get him. Y-you can just wait in the side room there." Pointing hastily to a door, Jabrax ran away, and down the stairs into the building's basement.

Taking the girls directions, the group proceeded into the indicated room, finding several mismatched chairs and sofas arranged around a small coffee table. Pushing down their unease, the group sat down and relaxed on the surprisingly comfortable seats.

After a short wait, a familiar voice called into the room. "So, what's so important that you feel the need to call an old man away from his hobbies, eh?" Rounding the corner of the door, there stood an elderly looking man in an orange robe.