Steal's coal-black eyes widened as he took another step back.

Calm down, calm down. If you're a warlock you'll sorta just dissapear if you get banged up, nothing to eat if that happened, it's a waste.

If their was one thing Steal could respect just as much as kindness and feeding him, it was the act of not attempting to kill or beat him to death on sight, a trait that was lacking in the vast majority of the creatures and people that Steal had encountered in his past week of life.

Which is why, rather than try and blast the telepathic spider with a bolt of eldritch magic, bash it with his rock or just sprint away, he spoke too. It felt alien on his tongue, like his mouth spome words he was never meant to speak, whilst simultaneously being something he understood completely. Something that came naturally to him.

"What did you kill?"

Umm... I think his name was Gary or something, he was a... Umm... He was a Tasty

"A Tasty?"

Yeah, named after what they're meat is like. Here, have a taste.

The spider clicked and clacked it's mandibles as it tore a thin clump of red muscle from the creature's back, she held the flesh in her mandibles, swinging her head towards Steal and letting go to toss it towards him, though it fell a little early and hit the ground ahead of him.

"I... Is this okay?"

The spider seemed to nod as it bobbed it's body up and down on it's eight spindly legs, though it was hard to tell, the creature had an anatomy that Steal wasn't familiar with at all.

He picked the stringy meat up off the dead grass and cracked dirt, batting away a few bits of twigs and leaves that had already sunk into the wet, warm meat.

Quickly, he pressed the first of the meat to his tongue, licked it, tasted the delicious, coppery taste of blood, then smiled. He tore into the flesh eagerly, though it didn't feel real or filling, he could taste it, but as he swallowed, he couldn't feel it sliding down his throat or plopping into his stomach.

It was an odd feeling.

"Tasty... Yes"

It looked like the spider nodded again.

You still haven't introduced yourself, Gary wasn't polite either y'know

Adolfus tapped one of her legs on the dead Tasty's hairy back.

"I... My name is Steal. Goblin... Do you know what a familiar is?"

Technically I'm one, well, not really because I've not been bound. There's actually a whole thing around this, did da-... Baphomet not tell you anything?

"Not really... Just told me to capture a familiar.

And you don't even know what a familiar is?

"Mhmm..."

Okay... Let me think, well, a familiar is a demon, but generally a...

The spider shivered a little, though the sudden sharper tone to her voice implied it was from her anger rather than the eerie, icy breeze that never stopped winding it's way through the woods around them.

LESSER demon is what you'll find around here, like me... A familiar is sort of like a friend or a companion-

"Friend... like Kor'Ak"

Not really sure what a Kor'Ak is, but sure.

"I would like another friend"

... I'm sure you would...

Something heavy shook the ground beneath them the sound of long-dead and dry trees snapping and being splintered rose above anything else.

Steal ear's flattened and drooped besides his head in worry as he pressed against the dead Tasty's body, Adolfus scurried down besides him.

Dammit I didn't know Roland was in this area... Guess I'm finding a new territory to keep...

"Roland?"

He's this big ro-

A boulder smashed into the ground besides them, followed by a new voice, a lot more janky, and a lot less friendly.

waRLOcK, gO AwaY, BAd oNE WaNT tO CaPTUrE uS!

Fuck off Roland you stone-cold prick, some of us wanna get outta here!

Another colossal boulder struck besides them, then they both rose above them and slinked back behind the Tasty's body.

AdOLFus, YoU KiLlED GaRY aNd bE NiCE To WARLocK!

Steal let out a heavy sigh as he gripped the stone in his right-hand, at the very least, the giant body of the beast behind him provided a little cover from whatever was bouncing it's voice around in his mind.

Sorry Steal but I gotta go, unlike you, if I die here, I'm dead.

The spider bunched her legs, then sprang forwards to the nearest tree as she hurriedly scurried up the trunk, liekly trying to escape by darting through the treetops and out of vision.

It was a good plan.

Ruined by the colossal pillar of jagged black, glassy stone that swung outwards in a sweeping arc, crunching the tree she was climbing into splinters and throwing her to the ground.

Within the sounds of jagged wooden splinters raining down on the dirt around him, he swore he heard something crunch.

Argh! Roland you dick

His knees shook for the briefest of moments. He knew he couldn't die. Apparently she.. it... whatever Adolfus was could.

But still, the feeling of his bones being crushed, his lungs deflating, heart popping. All of it stuck with him now. Every single pain, every possibility to suffer ran through his mind and tugged at his muscles to make him run.

Just a moment to collect himself, a moment to think.

Adolfus screamed louder.

The shadow of the dead Tasty grew taller, larger, he felt it's hair stroke upwards along his back.

Not enough time to think.

He spun around to see a towering mass of stone dotted with flaming, orange dots that spewed some sort of thick, bright yellow liquid. Gargantuan, boulder-like fists unfolded into colossal, stony hands.

He had a moment to note that this looked like a darker, unfinished version of the statue he'd seen in the place the elves had held him in. There were no smooth lines, defined, carved muscles or even facial features, just an ever brighter orange crater where the... thing's face should have been. In it's rough hands, it held the Tasty, lifting it without a single sign of strain or effort.

Then the tasty came crashing down.

Steal darted out of the way as the colossal mass of flesh and muscle smashed into the dirt where he'd just stood.

He didn't know if it was himself or Adolfus that's voice was running through his mind, the sounds began to blur together as a great cloud of dust rolled over him.

RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN

And he did run.

He dashed forwards through the great, billowing cloud of kicked up dirt and loose, simian hair.

Rock... Orange... Back... Weak...

Her voice slurred it's way through his mind, weaker, less intimidating, less confident, just desperate.

The goblin jumped to the ground as the black column of stones curved a lower arc than before, searching the dust for him. To good success, as the cloud made by the rocky creature was blown away with it's arcing sweep.

The bright orange crater seemed to lock onto the goblin.

Running again, he flung himself beneath the colossus' body and span as he picked himself up. The creature's back was dotted with dozens upon dozens of those same craters, though unlike the other glowing pores, they didn't drip that strange yellow liquid, they spewed it in great geysers from the creature's back.

Steal had enough time for his eyes to follow one of the great geysers of liquid as a glob of it burned it's way through one of the dead trees around the, boring a clean hole through the wood and setting the tree alight.

Then it turned, the swing of it's great, gargantuan arms carrying the rest of it's body with it.

Not enough time to dodge.

Steal's clawed feet kicked up a torrent of dust as he sprinted directly towards the creature's back, leaping forwards as he felt something cold and hard strike his side.

You Have Suffered 47 Damage (Glancing Blow)

CRUNCH

Something that felt very important broke and shattered as he was battered to the floor, his vision blurred and his body screamed again as every breath brought blood to his mouth.

Another hail of wooden splinters rained down around him as the half-dozen trees at the end of the monster's swing were shattered.

MP: 31/78 (2.0/m)

He had enough MP in him for one bolt. That was it.

The column of black stone smashed down besides him as he launched himself forwards to one side, jumping back towards it and trying to find grip on the lumpy rock.

Steal was brought up into the air as the creature rose it's arm to try and shake him off.

It was somewhat succesful as Steal tumbled down it's raised arm towards it's body.

A glob of lava spewed from the giant orange crater on the rocky creature's face, narrowly missing Steal as he tumbled more erratically down it's arm, managing to stop his descent by swinging the weight of his body around the monster's neck. Then he dropped down along it's back, feet and hands finding holds in the orange pores on it's back.

The stone around the pores was more than just warm, it was scorching, he could feel his flesh cooking as he held on.

You Have Suffered 1 Fire Damage.

You Have Suffered 1 Fire Damage.

You Have Suffered 1 Fire Damage.

You Have Suffered 1 Fire Damage.

You Have Suffered 1 Fire Damage.

He didn't have any time to waste.

He felt the power well in his body, pulled to his palm.

"Daemon Bolt!"

A flash of brilliant purple and blues erupted from his hand and blasted into one of the largest pores on the creatures back.

It stopped moving. The brillaint orange around the craters on it's body dimmed and dulled until they were black, and the creature just hung still.

For a moment, then it fell.

And Steal fell with it.