It lands with a thud, forming a small crater. Dust and dirt rise in the air and mix with the spray of blood, flesh and organs that fly out of half a dozen of the creatures.

It breathes an Icy Gale, a breath of frost exhales, from its mouth and many of the surviving creatures freeze and become entombed in ice.

The once berserk beasts are caught in their last living moment, still like a painting.

It crushes even more of the frozen beasts then stomps any remaining survivors.

The creatures of the Island of Ein make no sense.

The frosty behemoth is in sharp contrast to the summery island. It is a large rotund being standing the size of a two-storey house. It has a white rock-like outer skin and a thin, pointed orange nose. It wears thick, red armour stuffed with long lines of fur across its chest and a red hat.

How do you get a creature of ice and rock within a mile of a Basilisk that is within a mile of a Hydra? It is like some noble fool chose what they liked and threw them all together to watch them play.

Two beady, black eyes lock onto me.

Focus! Focus on the Ice Golem!

The Ice Golem puts a closed fist to an open palm. They are wrapping their fist.

Then it smiles widely.

The Winter construct unleashes a flurry of blows. The first hit breaks my guard and pain reverberates through my upper body, the second hit knocks the air out of my lungs and a rapid third swing sends me flying through the air.

I tumble a few feet down the hill before coming to a stop. I look up and see Bara dash and grab the large rock creature. A golemesqe beast.

They are even in strength somehow even though it towers over the hulking Bara. My ally's four arms strain in a contest of brawn and tenacity.

I hear a hiss.

I kill a snake sneaking in the grass as I catch my breath again.

I run a wide circle around the Ice Golem and thrust a spear into its exposed back. The steel point bounces off the rock hide with a shower of sparks having no effect.

The Golem turns its head like it is an owl and it grins at me. A toothless maw. The head swivels back and it blows an Icy Gale at Bara.

Caught in a mutual grip the ice starts to encase the bulky Minothian.

We should have run.

I sprint towards the Golem and slide under, popping up in front of Bara and getting hit with most of the cold breath of the Icy Gale.

My limbs freeze up as my body turns painfully cold. I want to run and scream for warmth but I can do nothing as I feel the bitter frost like knives stabbing all over my flesh. I exhale a puff of steamy air before becoming still.

Ice cracks at my back and Bara dashes forward and leaps onto the Ice Golem’s head.

She pummels its face, her fists bleed as the sharp stone cuts through her thick skin.

The Golem tries to pull her off but she jumps out of the way and it claws its face. She leaps and propels off its hand and punches the Golem in the eye. It bellows in pain for the first time in the fight.

Its eyes are vulnerable.

The Ice Golem catches Bara and tries to squeeze them but Bara is unyielding. Their muscles bulge and with their great strength, they strain and hold firm.

The Golem, failing to crush the Minothian, throws her into the dirt but Bara scrambles out of the way to avoid a further squashing stomp by the rocky behemoth.

A sharp pain stings from my chest as I am bitten but a dog-faced, lion-bodied beast with the wings of an eagle and tail covered in porcupine spikes. It is easily as tall as a horse.

Fuck!

Bara rushes to my rescue and takes my spear. Bara thrusts the spear but the Chimera nimbly dodges out of the way.

The Ice Golem switches targets from Bara and me to the more dangerous Chimera.

The Golem tackles the Chimera. The Chimera’s tail whips out and starts bashing the rocky hide of the Golem but to little effect.

The Ice Golem and Chimera fight viciously in a melee of fist and claw. The Chimera takes consecutive stunning blows but its counters do little damage. It disengages and flies back.

The Golem with its opponent on the run bellows another Icy Gale. In response, the Chimera unleashes a breath of flames, expelling hot fumes from its throat. The Firey Breath blows through the Icy Gale and scorches the Golem.

The Golem is burned and sluggish. However, it endures.

The Chimera, hoping to seize on the Golem’s vulnerability, leaps onto it clawing and biting but to no avail.

The Golem grabs and holds the Chimera by the scruff of the neck and with its other hand pummels into the soft underbelly of the Chimera.

The desperate Chimera breathes fire onto the Golem. The rocky hide of the Golem melts and the construct shields its eyes and tries to take the brunt of the damage onto its arm.

The arm burns through and a chunk of it falls off as the Chimera leaps back to try and create distance between the durable Golem and itself.

The Golem scoops up its arm and throws it with precision through the back of the Chimera.

The Chimera stumbles back with a cry of pain and falls beside me.

Bara acting quickly slices through the Chimera, the cut sprays hot blood all over me and my frozen limbs burn but I can move again.

If the Chimera couldn’t take it, how can we?

I share a panicking glance with Bara and we bolt back to the tree line as far away from the gate and the gatekeeper as we can sprint.

We can lose it among the trees. If we can make it that far back.

The Golem bounds after us, intent on finishing us once and for all.

The Golem though far heavier than us has a far greater length of stride and gains on us gradually. We make it near the treeline when with my chest burning from the exertion I stop next to a fallen tree log and a large boulder.

I will hold it back.

"I cannot avoid all pain in life. Sometimes I have to face pain and overcome."

If I time the bolt right.

I see out of the corner of me that Bara throws over my spear.

I catch it.

"Thanks." I say out of habit.

We are sticking in the fight; hurt and with plenty of bruises but very much alive.

The Golem charges straight at us, we roll out of the way and we sidestep and dodge the Golem’s mighty swings.

It leans back to exhale an Icy Gale but I fire a mana bolt down its open jaw sending it recoiling back with a creaking yelp.

I try to get close but it swipes wildly and I dodge back unable to move in close.

Unable to seize upon its weakness, the Golem recovers and charges.

It goes to grab me but I roll out of the way.

However, the rocky creature scoops up the fallen tree log instead and throws it with expert aim.

The improvised spear smashes into Bara and shatters on impact. Bara goes unconscious from the blow and dozens of cuts from the splinters.

It grabs the nearby boulder in one hand. Its remaining hand.

I begin forming the first spell that comes to mind.

A love tap with its fist is not satisfying enough. Does it need a boulder?

It raises the boulder high but stops and grins. The thing laughs. An ear-splitting, creaking sounding gloat.

Those few seconds as it enjoys the kill are what I need.

It plants the boulder down.

I cast portal.

I send the boulder that would have crushed me to the clouds above. It looks at me then it looks up. The boulder falls and crushes the golem’s back with its impact.

My aim was off. Shit.

The durable construct is still functioning. I get up, spear in hand.

I leap and the bells ring in my ears. The sharp point plunges through its vulnerable eye. I shove the spear all down through its insides. The spear shatters into pieces and the Ice Golem falls to the earth and slides slowly down the hill, very much dead.

"It’s done." I gasp and collapse on the grass laying on the hillside.

My belly rises and falls with each breath and I marvel at the reality that I am still alive.

A blur of movement and Bara catches a snake that was about to take a chunk of my neck. She squeezes and pops its brains out through its eyes and mouth. She puts a hand out and I take it and she pulls me up with ease.

We stagger over to the gate but it is sealed shut. Not even Bara’s formidable strength could push it open. Its guardian has fallen but we have no way through the thick doors.

Bara motions for me to follow.

Maybe fortune hasn’t abandoned me, if I have met a guide this useful and an ally powerful enough to match strength for strength an expert level Golem.

They lead me on a walk by the gate and around the wall.

They come to stop and point to broken parts of the wall.

I nod in recognition and they point along a path up the wall.

Climb?

Where is one of them lifting stones from the Archmage’s tower when I need it?

Bara goes first and we climb.

Watching them climb up ahead, I realise they look very similar to Ingen’s back home. The same four arms, and thick chest. They have a tail unlike Ingen’s but no horns. Also, Ingen’s have the face of a bull, Bara’s is closer to that of a human and related species like demons.

The comparison of two species from two distinct dimensions hardly seems relevant now. Focus.

It is a perilous climb up the loose bits of the broken wall.

My shoulders burn and stabbing pain shoots through my fingers.

It had been a long day, after a tiring past couple of days and my will to battle through the pain and keep going is draining.

We are not even halfway up the wall.

Bara seems to be having a little difficulty, scaling the wall with the ease of a goat bounding up a sheer mountainside.

My mind slows, and I focus on the next step. One hand, move that foot, then the hand. Push off the foot and there, I am a little higher up the wall.

I reach out the nook where I place my grip crumbles and I sway holding on.

I feel a great strain ripple along my shoulders and upper arms but I swing back and get a new hold.

I look down and see a tiger the size of an inn licking its lips as it paces back and forth. It has the tail of a snake.

I am not so high, where if I fall I will die, but the fall is great enough that my legs will break and broken legs are a death sentence on the Isle of Ein.

Though, that great beast might just eat me before I hit the ground.

I slow my breath and steady my nerves.

I look up and see Bara motioning for me to hurry up.

Further, I see spiders the size of cats crawling out of the wall and surrounding Bara.

"Bara!" I shout and point.

They take a moment then look around and see the incoming threat.

They bat a spider that leaps at them. It falls and becomes a late lunch for the Chimaera below.

I push on trying to close the distance.

I fire a mana bolt and blast one of the spiders. Its legs fold into its underbelly and it falls below, inches by me.

Bara boots one in the face and at the same time, I hit one with another mana bolt.

The Spider’s sting is a fingertip away from Bara’s neck when it dies.

I don’t have the time, or a free hand to cast a summon to come to our aid.

I climb closer and closer and fewer Spiders crawl out until then stop. Together Bara and I have sent about a dozen of them to the hungry beast below.

Perhaps the mounting dead and facing two instead of one was enough to deter them?

We climb once more.

It is a gruelling climb but now we are close to the top.

The end is in sight when a great bird swoops down to attack Bara.

I fire a mana bolt, the blue energy burns its feathers and it flies off.

A Giant bird is close to the size of a deer.

Talons pierce through my back. Talons like short swords.

I blast a mana bolt through its face, the talons pull out of my back as the Giant bird falls.

Hot blood leaks and I feel weaker and colder by the second.

My limbs shake but I cling on.

I look up and see Bara is scaling on top of the wall.

She’s made it. Good. Just me left.

Another Giant Pigeon flies down.

I jump up then leap onto it. It flies high and I jump off at the top of the wall.

Fleeing the flock of Giant Birds, Bara opens the door and I run through.

She slams it shut.

Finally, we are in Dagonlith.