"How are you feeling?" Asked Gilreg, as Nulrok woke up. The others were asleep around the mage, and the goblin warrior was standing guard by the door.

"Like I've died and come back," the mage answered while scratching his spikey white hair.

"You gave us a scare! Lucky for us, the elf knows his craft."

Nulork nodded, glanced at Tassarion, and then asked, "So what are we up to?"

"We were waiting for you to wake up. Now that you are well, we will continue to Doom Spire. Oh, and we found a magic staff," the warrior answered and motioned his head to the smooth dark wooden staff leaning against the wall.

Nulrok's dark pupilless eyes went wide with excitement. The mage immediately rose to his feet, stumbled a little as the ground was tilted, and then went over to examine the staff. He rubbed his hands along the polished surface and closed his eyes to connect with it. Runes that were not visible moments earlier began to glow with a red light along the entirety of the staff's surface.

"I wonder, what do these mean? Nulrok asked as he studied the glowing runes. After a while, they faded.

Gilreg studied the rug briefly and then tapped Nulrok on the shoulder.

"They look the same as these," observed the warrior.

Nulrok nodded in agreement. There were similar markings that created a pattern that went along the edges of the rug. The mage focused on the staff again, and the glowing red runes appeared. They were able to compare the two.

"They are almost identical, but not quite," Nulrok observed, and Raine had woken up. The chieftain's daughter walked over to them.

"I might be mistaken, but the markings look similar to the ones on Shaymus's face and body. You know the ones that appeared during her duel?" Said Raine.

The three of them turned to look at the small sleeping goblin. Gilreg shrugged. He couldn't recall the markings. Nulrok pondered as he tapped his chin. Suddenly everything shook. Violently shook as if the building they were in was struck by something massive. The orc, Tassarion, and Shaymus were awakened instantly. There were a few more minutes of hard rumblings where Nulrok and Gilreg stumbled to their knees and were thrown off balance. It eventually subsided, and the group could hear the sound of rushing sand from the next room. Eyes wide with shock, Gilreg rushed to open the door. The other room was filled with sand, and more sand rushed into their room. The window was blocked!

"Quickly! The stairs," Gilreg barked. Without pause, they all grabbed their packs and rushed for the dark stairway. Tassarion holding his torch, their only light source. They made their way down as fast as possible as the rushing sand threatened to engulf them.

The stairwell they took winded downwards. It was wide enough for one orc or for two goblins and elves. The stairs were made from the same light brown cut stone as the building. When they first entered, it was slanted, but now it seemed properly upright. The shaking had stopped, and the sand was no longer flowing down the stairs after them.

"Did the building straighten itself out?" Asked Raine.

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"I think you are right," responded Nulrok.

"I hope there is another exit down there," observed Booger. The sand had piled completely in the room above the stairs, effectively trapping them.

"Only one way to find out. Nulrok gives us more light," Gilreg said.

The spiky white-haired mage closed his pupilless eyes and concentrated. He took a deep breath and completed an incantation along with hand gestures from his left hand. In his right hand, he used his newly discovered staff to aid him. The glowing red ruins appeared along the smooth dark wood again as it channeled his mana. Five floating orbs of fire appeared beside him. Using the Life Magic trick he learned from Annya, Nulrok breathed deeply and swayed from side to side. He waved his staff in circles as he reached out and linked with each of his comrades. The glowing orbs floated over to each of them and were connected with their energies. Nulrok opened his eyes wide as he stared at the staff.

"This thing is good!" Exclaimed the mage.

"What just happened?" Raine asked.

"Oh, right, I used a Life Magic trick to link with all of you. I then connected the fire spell to you. The orbs will follow you like your own personal torches," answered the mage.

"What about the staff?" Raine followed up.

"It channels energy really well, and the orbs will stay with you for hours. It is. How do I explain this? I guess it would be like having a perfectly balanced sword made with the best quality steel. Imagine how having such a sword would improve your combat abilities."

The others nodded in understanding. Raine motioned for them to continue. Gilreg took the lead with his shield, and Booger followed behind with his poleaxe. The next two were Shaymus and Tassarion, with Nulrok and Raine bringing the rear. They descended the stairs for several minutes as they moved slowly and were on high alert. At the bottom, the stairs led to a large circular room that was nearly forty meters in diameter. The stairs were at the edge of the circle. Their light sources did not extend fully into the room, and on the far side across from them, they could barely make out the shapes of three doors. In the middle of the room to their left was a massive-looking metal statue. It stood on two legs and two arms that ended in wicked weapons. A metal hammer for their left "hand" and an axe blade for their right "hand." It stood nearly two heads taller than Booger, and it was hunched over. Intermixing gears could be seen at its elbow and knee joints. Its face consisted of just two circular orbs that appeared to be their eyes. It was also extremely wide, about 3 meters from axe "hand" to hammer "hand."

"What is that thing?" Shaymus asked, and she drew her sword.

"If it is alive, I doubt your blade would do anything to it," observed Tassarion.

"No one asked you!" Snapped the pale-eyed goblin.

"Shhh," hushed Gilreg, annoyance on his face. He turned to study the room. To their right, about 20 meters along the circular wall, was a hallway covered in darkness.

Raine stepped to the front examining the floors. "I don't see any traps," she said.

"We check the doors?" Asked the goblin warrior. The others shrugged.

"Let's stay clear of that thing," Tassarion suggested.

Shaymus wanted to make a retort, but she actually agreed. She was unnerved by it. They slowly entered the room, scanned the floors, and circled around the statue. They froze when the statue suddenly moved. Its eyes glowed green, and it stuttered, rising to its full height. It turned to look at them. The eyes turned red. It made to move, but it stumbled. The gears cranked, and sparks flew from its joints.

"I don't think it's friendly," Shaymus said, and the others nodded in agreement.

"It's a golem," Raine said in awe.

"A what?" Asked Gilreg.

"A Golem, I have read about them. They are magical guardians. Very strong, nearly invulnerable. Powered by a soul stone," the chieftain's daughter answered.

"Looks like it's broken," Nulrok observed as the massive construct struggled to get its legs working.

"Should we risk it and explore the doors?" Wondered Gilreg.

At that moment, the golem charged forward.