At the border of the Deadlands - Narrators Pov:

The chime of the burial clock rings across the city as the village gathered at the local cemetery to bury their deceased.

Widows, children, friends and drinking buddies mourn the loss of another gentle soul; as another good man has been laid to rest.

The priest preaches for the final time.

"... And may you rest in peace, as the goddess embrace your arrival." [Priest]

As the burial clocks go silent, people are ready to go back to the mundane village life when they hear another sound.

A faint sound, akin to the banging of several drums, but the racket was not quite the sound of a leather drum. No this was another sound, a wooden sound.

*Bang, Bang!*

*Bang, Bang!*

*Bang, Bang!*

*Bang, Bang!*

*Bang, Bang!*

*Bang, Bang!*

All around them; the banging on wood, as a deep [Mist] laid itself over the graveyard. Sound of nervousness and unrest flooded through the crowd.

The villagers had never experienced something like this before!

And as the first arm broke through the earth a woman's shrill scream overpowered the words of unrest. As panic and fear overwhelmed the villagers.

The dead walk again!

Underworld - Keepers pov:

'Bwhahahaha! This is gold!' [Keeper]

In the winding tunnels, a green blur could be seen now and again sprinting at full neck speed, followed by the "clitter clatter" noise of footsteps as a large-sized creature follows in pursuit, bulldozing through the tunnel and anyone standing in her way.

'Bwahaha! I can't stop laughing; this is too much!' [Keeper]

I follow the green blur, enjoying the scene unfold when the goblin bellows out in a scream.

"Keeper! HELP ME!" [Trash]

Hey, he didn't speak in his third person. He might be in mortal danger if he is trying this hard, I look back at the pursuer.

"My love-zzz! Don't run away-zzz" [One-Fang]

Hm... Nope!

I might be hallucinating this, but I think her six eyes have turned heart-shaped. You're on your own, Trash!

I notice the goblin looking my way his eyes staring straight at my incorporeal form.

Can he see me!?

"KEEEPEEEERR!!!" [Trash]

Oh! I never saw him mad before; it's an ugly look on him! Well, I guess this is all my fault, to begin with, "te-he!"

Keepers memories POV:

I had just made the spider queen yield to me when she asked the most mind-boggling question!

Marriage!

I was stunned; Trash was stunned, even the Imps where stunned!

What is marriage? My broken pieced mind tried to make sense of it: It's some bond like that of a servant? No that is not quite right; it's an oath of endless devotion. Dedication to one!

Does she want to devote herself to me? But she thinks Trash is me... So she wants to dedicate herself to Trash?

...hm.

Chaos told me that I needed to bolster my defenses for what is to come... So a big spider wouldn't be half bad, my nemesis now becoming my ally. Besides, I don't have that insatiable urge to kill her anymore... I wonder why that is? Was it because she yielded to me?

Without actually coming to a sound conclusion I went with my stomach, and my gut told me to recruit the spider!

Whatever this marriage thing is I will let Trash handle it, I can sugar-coat it as his reward or something. Yea sounds good enough!

"Sure!" I said in Trash voice as I hear him in my mind 'Eeeh!? Trash to young to marry!' Whatever that meant!?

Present:

So yea... Oh! She is gaining on him.

"Aaaah! IMPUS! IMPUS! IMPUS! IMPUS!" [Trash]

Wait? He summoned four Imps!? Why would he summon imps? They are worthless! And as Malek would have said; Cost inefficient. Did I just now quote Malek? I think I feel sick to my soul!

"Cave in. Cave in the tunnel!" [Trash]

"Eeep!" [Imps]

Wait. What!?

The imps followed the command and disappeared up the walls, moments later small rocks started to fall as the tunnel got unstable.

"Love-zzz?" [One-Fang]

The small rocks didn't seem to phase the large-sized spider!

But as she almost reached the goblin, the tunnel started to cave in.

*Rumble*

That's when the ground gave way under them, and they fell, out of the reach of my Lairs domain.

...

Emm... I might have taken it to far... I hope they are okay... I mean, I don't care! They're just expendable troops... It's just suddenly so quiet around here...

...

Hmm, I wonder what the Imps are up to at the gold veins?

Trash Pov:

Were am Trash?

Fall! Fall far. But Trash fine? Why Trash fine?

Look, Trash sitting on silk thread. Spider thread?

Trash hear groan!

"Love! You fine-zzz?" [One-Fang]

Below; spider queen flipped on back, holding up the net with elongated front legs.

Trash jump of the net and run!

"Love-zzz? No, don't-zzz leave me-zzz!" [One-Fang]

Trash runs around a corner, taking a breather, exhausted.

New thing Trash hate: Hate running!

Hm? Why spider lady not follow. Curious! Look around the corner. Spider is not moving. Twitching, yes! But not move. Is Spider hurt?

Trash hears soft sobs.

*bu-hu, bu-hu-hu!* [One-Fang]

Grasping-sensation in trash chest! Trash feel... Bad? Trash doesn't want to feel bad, how Trash makes; feeling go away?

*Bu-hu-hu!* [One-Fang]

... Trash will regret this!

*Sigh* [Trash]

Trash lurks forward slowly to Spider. Dark, but Trash see Spider back-legs: hurt, bleeding! Stuck into the wall. See wall; see four spider leg marks from top to bottom.

Stop fall?

Spider hurt saving Trash!? No one saves Trash before, Trash always alone...

Trash's bad feeling turns sad!

Trash proclaims his position!

"Promis not to eat Trash!" [Trash]

"*Sob* Love-zzz? *Snivel*" [One-Fang]

Bad feeling stronger than instinct, Trash ignores instinct, Trash goes, pull on one leg.

"Help pull!" [Trash]

Together Trash succeeded to pull the first leg free. Then second, third and fourth.

Spider free!!!

Trash makes some distance. Not trust Spider!

"*Snivel* Thank you-zzz! " [One-Fang]

Trash hesitating, look upwards.

"Can spider lady get Trash back up?" [Trash]

Spider looks up.

"I can try-zzz!" [One-Fang]

Spider lady uses elongated front legs to heave up no problem, placing back legs: Slips! Spider falls!

*boom!*

Trash worried...

"...mm, Spider lady okay?" [Trash]

Spider look at Trash — sad look in eyes.

"My legs are hurt-zzz can't crawl on wall-zzz, can manage on ground-zzz... But where are we-zzz?" [One-Fang]

Thrash don't know! Trash didn't notice. Trash look, closer look!

This no cave tunnel, Stone slabs stacked wall. Vines and roots on walls. Flat floor and roof, cracks here and there. This definitely no cave, this humanmade, dirty, dusty old ruin!

*A, ah, tchoo!* [Trash] too dusty! Nose itchy!

Spider and Trash in ruin hallway. One direction blocked by debris... Trash fault... And Imps!

Ah! Thrash knows! Trash smart Goblin!

"Impus!" [Trash]

Trash raising a hand like a cool mage, Trash looks cool - but nothing happened... Trash sad, different sad... hurt!

"No work! Trash thinks we need to find a way out self!" [Trash]

Trash sneer at Spider.

"Spider not eat Trash! Trash Keeper's general!" [Trash]

Spider look at Trash, question?

"I won't-zzz eat you. Not until-zzz I bear your children-zzz and you have given me a stronger brood-zzz" [One-Fang]

Trash heart sink!

Underworld - Old ruins - Narrators Pov:

The goblin named Thrash keeps a secure distance from the spider queen as they traversed through the hallways. Some times they would find themselves at a dead-end, having to turn around to walk some more before they encountered another dead-end. This repeated several times as they walked.

Trash could also hear with his [Highten senses] heavy breathing from something moving around in the same hallway's as them; which made Trash feel uncomfortable as the sound seemed unnatural to him. He hoped they wouldn't encounter whatever made these sounds!

The queen stayed quiet during this time, limping forward on her damaged back joints in deep thought over something which coincidently was a new thing for her evolved mind.

There was only one thing that mattered for a brood, and that was healthy offsprings, and a though mate would ensure this. It was also part of the broods culture for the bride to eat the male for his nutrition to help the new broodlings to grow. That was normal, but now after her evolution. What was normal? She had fallen for a goblin without second thoughts purely by his strength to beat her. Trash didn't even seem willing even after he had accepted her proposal. Was she not beautiful enough for him?

It was a lot for her new intelligence as her thought continued swirling around in her head.

They continued following the splitting hallways until they found a new path they had not gone before, with black and white tiles leading fifty feet ahead or so. The tiles were broken and corroded by time, and a few of them couldn't even be distinguished from each other by how broken they were.

"Trash doesn't like this!" [Trash]

The queen still in thought didn't notice the goblin stopping and continued onward toward the tiles with her front leg. Passing above Trash as her elongated leg pressed down on a white slab: Darts started shooting out from holes in the wall most missing the elongated leg, a few embedding in her legs protective chitin, but no severe damage was to note.

"Ow-zzz!" [One-Fang]

The queen getting rushed from her thoughts looked around. As she gained her bearings back, she evaluated what was before her — tilting her head at the unnatural environment.

Trash observed the incident unfold and after witnessing the spiders elongated legs potential usefulness the goblin came up with a plan.

"Trash got the idea! Spider lady press another one." [Trash]

Looking at the Goblin questioningly, she did what he asked. When the elongated leg pressed down on a second tile this time black, the tile exploded charring the queen's chitin, but yet again, the chitin armor protected the queen's leg from any mortal harm showing how reliable her natural armor usually is.

"Another one!" [Trash]

After a short pause looking over her charred leg, the queen continued: Dud, electricity, gas, dud, spikes and so forth. At one instance a corroding mist was expelled melting some of the exterior chitin the only noteworthy damage the queen received, except for some scrapes and dents.

After a while of this, the goblin chimed in.

"Stop! Trash thinks Trash knows the path now!" [Trash]

Jumping on the "dud" tiles the goblin started his journey across, but just a few tiles in he lost his footing on a cracked "dud" tile, falling towards the side.

"Oh oh!" [Trash]

But as he was about to fall an elongated leg catch him mid-fall.

"Lo... Trash alright-zzz?" [One-Fang]

"*phew!* You save Trash!" [Trash]

After regaining his footing, the goblin went through the rest of the tiles in a breeze reaching the other end of the puzzle.

"Now Spider ladies turn!" [Trash]

The queen looked stumped at the goblin then at the trap tiles. Her large size filled the hallway, and her legs just barely fit in the hall considering this she would not get through unscathed as she could not follow the path of "dud's" that the goblin took.

"I can't-zzz get through-zzz!" [One-Fang]

The goblin considered leaving the spider behind. Fewer worries for him, less likely to get eaten. But he had no clue of where they were going and what dangers might lie ahead. And that breathing sound had gotten him on the edge ever since they got here.

Looking at the spider and then at the tiles he said:

"Spider lady step the third tile next to the left wall!" [Trash]

Doing what the goblin asked, she reached for the left tile.

"NO! Trash left, not spiders!"

Reaching for the right tile, the spider triggered a trap; as harmless oil poured down from the roof.

"Next two more up on left wall. Spiders left!" [Trash]

Trash might seem like a young inexperienced and easily frightened goblin. But ever since slavers captured Trash and set to work in human society, the goblin learned a lot. The most important lesson of all, to avoid a good beating: to memorize!

By directing the queen and avoiding the deadlier traps she was able to walk on the tiles. Though the prosses was long and tedious as the goblin had to lead all of her eight legs.

It was going well, but unfortunately, size did matter in this scenario, and as the queen reached halfway the spider miss stepped with one of her back legs onto a trap they had not triggered beforehand.

A mechanical noise as dust spewed off the walls and the scraping sound of rock grinding on rock hinted to what was about to come.

"Oh-oh! Spider lady hurry!" [Trash]

Confused and frightened because of the sudden urgency the queen misstepped on another tile as darts fired from the walls, embedding into her soft body making her hiss in pain.

*Zhiiii!* [One-Fang]

The walls started to slowly move towards the spider giving her less space for her feat the more time that went by.

The goblin looked at the distance between the spider and himself.

"Jump!" [Trash]

Without a second thought, she bent down tightening her muscles as darts dislodged from her skin. Then she jumped!

The goblin sees the body of the queen is closing in on him in the air; he expected the queen to be able to jump quite far. But forgot to include her damaged back joints, and she was just barely able to get through in time as the walls shut closed behind her.

The queen sighed in relief, as she had avoided becoming a spider pancake.

But... Where was Trash?

"Trash-zzz?" [One-Fang]

The queen looked around without finding the green goblin when she heard a muffled voice coming from under her.

"Mj mh guuuu!" [Trash]

Rising she sees a green arm reaching forward as Trash heaves himself out from under her.

"Spider lady heavy!" [Trash]

The queen felt a rush of heat collecting at her face and a stinging sensation different from a wound received by a weapon. She felt embarrassment for the first time in her life, and she did not particularly like it, with a "hump!" she stormed off ahead leaving a stumped goblin behind prone on the floor.

"... Something Trash say?" [Trash]

Dungeon - Keepers Pov:

*Ting!*

*Ting!*

*Ting!*

*Break*

*Clack!*

I have been staring at this shiny thing the Imps are excavating from the wall for a while now. I don't think I have ever seen such a beautiful rock before!

The "Gold" transports to a small cave room close by for storage. Not even a door or a guard outside.

After consideration I ordered the Imps to transport the yellow rocks to my room, the value not even recognized as I just wanted to collect the shiny gold!

After exerting my command to the Imps, I saw no reason to stay as the only exciting thing was the yellow rocks which I by now could go and watch in my room.

But what now?...

I know! I should mess with Tra... Oh, yea he fell down a hole...

...

What should I do?

Underworld - Old ruins - Narrators Pov:

After catching up to the queen, the goblin had to keep a steady rhythm to keep up to the fuming spider.

After walking some more, a strong odor filled Trash nose as they entered what looks like a den.

The ground was filled with droppings, and old human bones, more recent was some half-eaten rodent still reasonably fresh.

The goblins stomach growled at him as he decided to take the welcoming snack.

'Trash wonders, who den this is?' [Trash]

The queen didn't even look in the way of the meat and continued.

They walked for what felt like hours when they eventually reached an iron gate.

After seeing the shut gate, the goblin stopped in his tracks.

"Hmm, what no..." [Trash]

*crash, break!*

It seemed that the queen did not even think twice as she pulled the gate off its hinges. The iron, breaking off pieces of the wall in the prosses.

"Trash thinks that works as well!" [Trash]

The path unhindered they continued. But the goblin couldn't shake this feeling; why where there a closed gate? Was it to keep intruders out? Or something inside?

*clak!*

A sound of a stone rolling behind him made the goblin jump. The dust had hindered his smell while his ears had been focusing on the weird breathing and had not noticed anything following them. As he looked behind him, he saw:

A small creature was hiding in the debris of stone from where the gate previously had stood. It's size more modest than even a goblin. Long flowing untidy hair covering most of its face. Pouting out in the front of its fur was a fat pink snout, and on top of his head was two small horns.

The goblin stared at the small creature.

*Muuuh* [Creature]

The creature bellowed in a meek way making the goblin jump again.

"What-zzz you doing-zzz!?" [One-Fang]

The queen turned around annoyed to see the small creature, her six eyes shifting between the beast and the goblin.

"What's-zzz that-zzz?" [One-Fang]

The goblin shrugs.

"A baby?" [Trash]

"Then where-zzz is it's-zzz mother-zzz?" [One-Fang]

"Em..." [Trash]

Eco of hooves was clopping on stone as metal scraped along the ground.

*Clop* *scrape* *Clop* *scrape* *Clop*

"Heading straight for us!" [Trash]

At the end of the tunnel where they came from was a creature with a size larger than an average human male, with a giant two-sided ax scraping on the floor behind it.

The giant humanoid bellowed with its mighty warcry "MOOOOOO!", lowering its head for a charge.

It's head and lower body that of a cow while it's upper body that of a man... Woman!

The goblin could not help himself from staring at the hypnotizing mountains swinging back and forth as the minotaur ruched at him.

"TRASH-zzz!" [One-Fang]

*Clash!*

A chitin leg blocked the ax that was swinging for the goblins nape. The arachnid queen had successfully parried the swing with her chitin leg.

Smoke was coming out of the female minotaur's nose as she raised her ax again — the pure force of her muscle is forcing the shaft to move.

What entailed was an exchange of blows. The queen's elongated limbs are keeping the minotaur at bay in the narrow corridor as the goblin was curled up on the floor covering his head — Wile the clash of steel and chitin ringed above him.

*Ting!!!*

*Swooch!*

*Smack.*

*Swat!*

*Clash!*

The queen getting pushed back slightly by every blow until there was an unnatural crack.

The queen's chitin legs had gone through a lot of stress, traps and all. Along one of the legs, a crack had appeared, showing the soft inside. The queen retracted the damaged limb and kept up the barrage of elongated legs when:

*Krack!*

Now with only two offensive legs left the queen was getting pushed back by the raw strength of the minotaur.

The queen made a clicking noise as she quickly came to the conclusion of the retreat, and grabbed the goblin from the ground as she turned around and sprayed the minotaur with her [Sticky webbing] worried that it would not hold for long and made her escape further into the maze.

Keepers POV:

'Arrg! Lair!?' [Keeper]

Suddenly a rush of urgency filled my soul. As I felt my Lair call me. Something is happening, something which he needs me to see.

...

I arrived at Lairs side as I see a creature which I had not witnessed before in my dungeon.

The creature was covered in a shiny mucus and stood with it's back turned towards me inspecting Lair.

Its spine was visible from the back almost looking like it wanted to protrude out of the skin creating several semi-spike like shapes. The same semi-spikes grew out of the shoulders, kneecaps, and elbows.

It stood on it's two back legs like a human its posture not that different except for a hunched back; its skin was gray as if all life had left it, no hair to note. Though I have never seen this creature, it seemed familiar to me... somehow...

The creature turned around and looking at me with a singular eye covering half its face.

"This is your fault!" [Creature]

A raspy voice with scorn in it, 'had I done something to this creature?' That voice... Who does it remind me?

"It's all your FAULT!" [Creature]

The previous study now mostly empty as Lair's heart was the only thing occupying it... Maybe it's more of a heart room then hmm?

During my thought process, the creature dug into the ground with its bare hands and broke a piece of it throwing it at me, unfaced and unscathed by his tantrum as I had no human form.

Then I hear him speaking in a tong I only heard one other man speak as the creature conjured a spell. Yet, no mana approached at his beckon.

"Nooo! NO, NO, NO, NOOO!" [Creature]

I calmly observed an open cocoon hanging in one of Lairs tendrils, as my cogwheels turned.

'Maleck!?" [Keeper]

One a closer examination one this creature, I noticed that he had no traces of mana, and his ki was: Purple, passively connected with the Lairs nerve system.

My previous statement of his skin being gray because of loss of life force might be a little bit off; instead, he's drained of all his magick!

The creature is holding its head as it murmurs incoherently.

Oh, Lair! You have outdone yourself! I stated with glee.

Bobfrays journal: Nothics

Nothics are the result of a curse befalling wizards who delved too deep into arcane knowledge. Losing connection to the mana.

Once transformed, the Nothic holds no discernible memory of its former self, except for a faint notion that there might be a way to reverse its condition.

Dangers and derange should be exterminated with cation!

Underworld - Old Ruin's - Narrators Pov:

The spider queen and goblin reached a double door as the queen burst through.

They had entered a stone room filled with alchemist equipment's not much different from Maleck's previous study except for the excess of corpses, limbs, and organs stored in dusty jars.

The room seemed to previously be a place of worship as several damage statues embedded the stone room walls.

"Watch out!" [Trash]

*uuurrrr* [???]

The queen swiped her legs towards the imminent threat. As she sliced the creature in half making it fall to the ground.

The creature still lived as it heaved its torso forward with its arms as the stench of rot oozed off the zombie.

*uurrrr* [Zombie]

Grabbing a loose rock, Trash used it to bash in the skull of the zombie.

*Crush!*

*Cquash*

"Nasty creature!" [Trash]

*Clop, Clop, Clop* The sound of hooves on stone.

"No time-zzz, where go-zzz?" [One-Fang]

The room was a dead end, no more routes more than the way they came.

On the ground thirty feet away a cirkel was drawn on the ground, glowing faintly with mana.

"There!" [Trash]

Running towards the glow, the sound of hooves echoed throughout the room.

"MOOO!"

Hot on their tale, twenty feet, ten, five.

A bright light engulfed the circlet as the queen and goblin steeped into it.

In the next instant, they were in a cramped room... Well uncomfortable for a large creature light only by the dim light of the same circlet as the one they stepped on.

"Off! Crowded, where is [door]? [Open] the...." [Trash]

*rumbel, rumbel, rumbel*

A crack opened as an outside light source came through to the small space.

Keepers Pov:

Interesting.

'get out!' [Maleck]

No, I rather not.

'GET OUT OF MY BODY!' [Maleck]

Hmm, interesting.

Weird Insight Notic specific; magically see the life thread of a creature and learns one fact or secret about the target. Horrific Gaze

Notic specific.

When driven to violence, its horrific gaze will rot the flesh from its enemies’ bones.

I flex my claws. Everything about this body was pointy. While I have possessed insects and a goblinoid, this was the first monstrous creature with terrible talons and a single enormous eye. It was unusual.

*rumbel, rumbel, rumbel*

My attention directed towards the sound behind Lair as the wall moved. And two creature falls out.

*Ouf!* [Trash]

Laying on the ground was two familiar creatures.

"Where have you two been?" [Keeper]

"Uuuur long story, Trash to exhausted" [Trash]

One-fang took to her feet silently. Her body was filled with wounds as she limped forward and laid down in a corner licking her wounds.

"What's with her?" [Keeper]

"Trash don't know, ask self!" [Trash]

Naa, instead I took a peek at the room behind Lair's heart. a room approximately between five-ten feet, seems like a secret room, nothing in it though except for a drawn cirkel in the ground.

*Flash*

"Arhg!" [Keeper]

Then I was surprised as my eyes... Eye. Got burned by a bright light. I feel something colliding with my possessed form as I get flung back into the air.

"Not you!" [Trash]

"Zzzzzhhaaa!" [One-Fang]

*Slice!*

"Nooo!" [Trash]

As my sight returned, I saw tree blurs moving around, no two! As shapes started to return, I see one-fang on the ground not moving. Above stands a creature half-man half-beast swinging its ax wildly as an enraged Trash clings by its horn ripping and gnawing at its head. But Trash couldn't hold on for long as the creature trashed and turned until the goblin got flung off and into a wall falling limp to the floor.

Minotaur

A mythical creature locked away deep within a labyrinth. Half-humanoid half-cow. Welding the strength of a thousand men.

Female

"GET OUT!" [Keeper/Maleck]

The minotaur reacted to my voice looking at me, then grabbing its head as if something was hurting it.

"Mo-OOOO!" [Minutaur]

It shook its head, then she charged.