Gualla looked up at the strange being that had spoken to her. "I do not know what an Adventurers Guild is," she began, "but we remain grateful. We need to leave the temple and search for survivors."

"Not yet," the being, Bob, shook his head. "There were a thousand of those monsters on this temple, and we expect to find another thousand on each of the others, but there are still monsters roaming around the city itself. We need you to stay inside until we finish clearing them all."

She blanched, her tail lashing back and forth for a moment before she brought herself back under control. "How long will we need to remain within the temple? We do not have the supplies to remain here for long."

"One way or another, this will be over in a couple of hours," Bob replied.

"Are you not confident in your ability to defeat the monsters?" Gualla asked in surprise. She had little to base her expectations on, but none of the beings seemed to be wounded.

"It's not a question of defeating them, it's a question of getting to them before they get into one of the temples," Bob's voice, while higher pitched than she was accustomed to, held a grim note. "To that end, we need to get to the next temple," he paused for a moment. "Would you be willing to accompany us? I can keep you in a safe space until we arrive at the temple, then you could inform whoever is in charge there, which would save us from having to repeat this conversation. Seconds count," he warned.

"Of course," Gualla agreed. She turned to her acolyte, who had maintained a respectful distance. "Inform the others I will return when the Avatars complete their holy work."

"Not Avatars, not holy," Bob objected as an archway made of blueish-black energy appeared. He gestured toward it. "Hope on through and take a seat, I'll come to get you in just a few minutes.

The massive feline stood up with a chuff and a shake, which failed to dislodge Lara's little girl, before sauntering into the portal.

Lara lunged after her, unable to match the huge cat's casual speed, hurling herself through the portal as well.

Bob rubbed the sides of his head as he shook it. "Well, it's not like anything in there is really breakable," he muttered.

Gualla looked at the portal, her head cocked to the side, her tail swishing. "Where does this lead?"

"I have a dimensional space attached to my matrix, where I have built a home," Bob explained. "I'll tell you all about it later, but we need to move."

Gualla took a deep breath and stepped through the swirl of energy.

She was surprised to find herself in a room that looked very much like a dining area. The chairs and table were slightly oversized, and the chairs had an odd wooden frame rising from the rear, but they were still recognizable.

Lara was scolding Laura, who still clung to the back of the enormous cat.

"Laura, you can't just run off like that!" Lara repeated. "It's not safe!"

"I'm with the Avatar of Kessen," Laura replied, digging her hands into the silky ruff of the gargantuan predator. "He won't let anything hurt me."

Gualla's eyes widened for a moment. While Kessen was regarded as one of the lower gods, it was one of the most beloved. It was Kessen who had sent its children to aid the Urlinad when they had first begun to till the soil, protecting their now stationary harvests from the plague of rodents that had come forth to despoil it. It was considered a blessing to shelter the children of Kessen beneath one's roof, and any home that failed to do so eventually suffered the predation of pests upon their gardens or fields.

"They don't want to be called Avatars," Laura told her daughter.

Gualla shook her head, turning from the pair as the quiet rumble of a purring cat filled the space. She ran her hand along the nearest chair, marveling at how finely sanded it was. She frowned as she ran her hand along the seat, and then the frame rising up. There were no joints, no evidence of having been built at all. It was almost as if the chair had been a tree that had been convinced to grow into the shape of a chair.

Her tail practically vibrating, she moved through a doorway, intent on exploring as much of this strange home as she could.

"I'm going to say it again," Jessica said as Bob finished, the mana crystals in his fist dissipating. "That's not right. Mozzies are bad enough as they are without you supercharging them, yeah?"

"I'm not saying that Geneva Convention prohibits that," Mike gestured at the eight swarms circling Bob, "I'm just saying that if they knew about it, they absolutely would."

"Blame Thidwell," Bob replied, "I got the idea from him."

"I know Thidwell isn't evil," Harv muttered, "but sometimes you have to wonder."

"And that's coming from Heir to the Well of Souls," Elli grinned.

Bob shook his head, turning his attention to Dave. "You ready?"

"It's uncomfortable holding it, but yeah," Dave agreed.

"Lead us out," Bob said.

Dave nodded and poked his head around the corner of the building across from the next temple.

There was a sudden flash of light, then a huge boom.

Harv ran around the corner, the rest of the group following.

The stone blocks that comprised the front of the temple were somewhat reduced, missing a few inches of stone and somehow polished.

There was also a notable lack of monsters, although even as they ran, the monsters began to pour around the sides of the temple.

Bob checked his quest as they approached the entrance.

New Quest!

Meluben has been overrun by monsters! The Urlinad have barricaded themselves in their temples, praying to their gods to save them. Unfortunately, their gods are not real, but the monsters are. It falls on you to save them.

Kill the monsters, 1,420/10,732

Locate the Temples, 10/10

Protect the Urlinad.

"You got over three hundred with that blast!" Bob yelled as Harv touched the stone blocking the entrance.

"More than the last time," Dave agreed as they fell into formation.

Trebor roared as the monsters arrived, and Bob grinned as he imagined the damage a Tanky Trebor plus four thousand Eternal Servant mosquitoes were going to cause.

"I'll grab our guests and put them to work," Bob told Bailli as the Storm Princess began to send her Lightning Blasts crashing into the monsters.

Opening a portal he dropped through it.

He found Lara still sitting on Monroe, although she wasn't so much clinging now as she was delving a thorough ruff rub, as evidenced by the super-sized floofers purr motor humming along at moderate six out ten.

Bob had initially thought the Urlinad were humans, but now that he could see them in something other than the light provided by Bailli's lightning, he realized that they were more accurately described as human-adjacent.

They didn't have skin so much as they had a sort of pebbled hide, which ran from head to toe, or head to tail rather, as they had short, heavy tails. He revised his opinion of their height as he noted that Lara would probably be close to eight feet tall if she stood fully upright, but her posture had a natural forward lean, balanced by her tail. Her upper legs were incredibly well developed, implying that the increased gravity on this planet did indeed require greater physical strength just to move around. Her feet were wide, with three toes that splayed out further and were slightly larger than you might expect, which mirrored her hands, which had two fingers and an opposable thumb.

Her features were somewhat human in cast, notably her ears, although instead of eyebrows, she had a brow ridge that likely served the same purpose. Her eyes were offset, sort of like a horse, while her nose and mouth formed something that he could only describe as an incredibly stunted muzzle. The combination wasn't hideous or offputting, just unexpected. It certainly wasn't as intimidating or frightening as a Draconian.

"Where's Gualla?" He asked as he looked around the room.

"I'm here, Lord Bob," Gualla said as she came through the door to the kitchen, shaking her hand and casting off drops of water onto the floor.

"Not a lord," Bob said firmly. Gualla looked similar to Lara, although she had more wrinkles around her eyes and a few on her neck, probably indicating that she was older. Now that he had two Urlinad to compare, he realized that their skin tone was slightly different, and they had a very subtle pattern of stripes and spots that varies wildly. Lara was unavailable for study, as the was almost completely buried in Monroe.

"We're at the next temple, I need you to inform them of what is happening, but you'll need to work quickly. Our opening salvo was more successful, and we've modified our tactics slightly to increase our kill speed," Bob opened a portal and motioned for Gualla to enter before turning his attention back to Lara.

"Do you want to come out and into the temple?" Bob asked.

"I'd rather stay," Lara replied, lowering her head. She nodded towards Lara and Monroe, "I don't think I could pry her away from the Avatar of Kessen if I tried," she finished, a slight smile crossing her features.

"He's not an Avatar, although he does act like one," Bob said as he walked through his portal.

As he passed through, he heard Lara murmur, "All Kessen's children do."

Bob emerged from the portal to find Bailli cackling with manic glee as she threw Lightning Blast after Lightning Blast, each one chaining out to hit seven other targets.

The four Urlinad who had been closest to the entrance were staring at her in awe.

Dave wasn't blasting anything, instead maintaining concentration on a chained spell of his own, which surrounded all four front liners with an almost transparent green tint. Each time they were struck, even though most of the blows were parried, a spike of sizzling green acid lashed out into the attacker.

The bone-chilling cold of Harv's necromancy filled the air, slowing the monsters, while Amanda and Eddi summoned packs of wolves and t-rexes to tear into the monsters.

They were clearing the monsters more quickly than he had hoped, having revised their tactics from the previous fight.

It had been a long time since they'd had to fight a horde like this, but they'd adjusted quickly.

He smiled as he began to summon his effect over time Swarms. He had to put in the work as well.

Bob rolled his head tiredly as watched six High Priestesses and three High Priests pour through his portal.

Gualla had insisted on the High Priestess of the second temple accompanying them to the third, stating that they would be able to convince the High Priest there more quickly.

She'd returned with the second High Priestess and the High Priest in tow, making the same argument.

By the fifth temple, a precedent had been established, and Gualla didn't bother asking or explaining.

As they began the battle, Bob checked his quest.

New Quest!

Meluben has been overrun by monsters! The Urlinad have barricaded themselves in their temples, praying to their gods to save them. Unfortunately, their gods are not real, but the monsters are. It falls on you to save them.

Kill the monsters, 10,461/10,732

Locate the Temples, 10/10

Protect the Urlinad.

"Just a couple of hundred to go!" Bob yelled.

He began summoning his swarms as his friends worked together like a well-oiled machine. He noticed that the nine Urlinad that had arrived with him didn't make a run for the center of the temple as they had before, instead watching as the monsters were systematically destroyed.

They were joined by another High Priest, judging by his ridiculous headdress, moments before the battle ended.

Quest Completed!

Meluben has been overrun by monsters! The Urlinad have barricaded themselves in their temples, praying to their gods to save them. Unfortunately, their gods are not real, but the monsters are. It falls on you to save them.

Kill the monsters, 10,732/10,732

Locate the Temples, 10/10

Protect the Urlinad. Complete.

Hidden Objective, Prevent the deaths of any Urlinad in the temples. Complete.

Dungeon first clear bonus included in reward.

Reward superseded by Mandatory Request.

Reclamation Protocol Active.

Another System notification waited behind the first.

Quest Advanced!

The planet Url has drawn too much energy, for too long. The System requires your aid to disperse the energy.

Correct overflow condition for all Dungeons on Url. 1/84

This is a mandatory quest. Failure to complete this quest will result in sanctions.

This quest supersedes the hidden quest 'Planetary First Clear,' and the value of the reward for that quest will be used to increase the reward for this one.

Reclamation protocol active.

New Objective. Save the Urlinad. 10,732/ ?

"No loot?" Eddi asked in surprise.

"I'm guessing we'll get it at the end of the quest," Bob said slowly.

"Well, that's going to get expensive," Jack grumbled. "If we have to burn two thousand crystals for each Dungeon, that's a hundred and sixty-eight thousand crystals."

"Can we delve this Dungeon again now that we've cleared it?" Jessica asked. "It won't just keep rolling the rewards into the mandatory quest, will it?"

"Fuck, if it does, we ought to make sure we clear each one a dozen times, pump up that reward as much as possible," Dave said as Amanda pulled him into a hug.

"We might not have a choice," Bob shook his head. "We'll have to see how far we reduced the capacity of this Dungeon and how quickly it will recover. We have to stop all eighty-four of them from overflowing, and I'm pretty sure that means that if any of them are overflowing again when we clear the last one, we'll have to loop back to take care of it before we complete the quest."

"Shit," Mike sighed.

"Pretty much," Bob agreed.

"Bob," Gualla said from behind him, grabbing his attention.

He turned to look at Gualla.

"It's safe to leave the temples?" She asked hopefully.

"It is," Bob nodded.

"Gods be praised," she said fervently. "The blue squares said as much, but people are frightened by them almost as much as the beasts. We will send acolytes to the other temples to let them know. Do you have time to sit down with us and help us understand what is happening? We don't wish to impose, but we are lost."

"There is a lot I can tell you," Bob began, "but I have a feeling the big questions you have are ones that I'm still looking for the answers to."