" A goblin village huh? And you managed to escape alive that's surprising."

"Mere goblins aren't enough to kill me." Bolmer scoffed eating the stale bread he had stored in his pack. The five of us decided to sit by one of the pillars and discuss our next move, although we only got to the end of Bolmer's tale of how he single-handedly defeated a village full of goblins. "Hardly... If me and Ordwin hadn't stumbled upon you they'd still be throwing their excrements at you while beating you with their stone clubs." The deep-voiced dwarf known as Stone muttered. Bolmer shot him a glare as he slowly chewed his meal, Ham struggling to stifle his laugh simply looking away while holding his mouth. "If the fire serpents hadn't attacked the goblins instead of us we'd have been in a bad spot." Stone grumbles as he searches through his pack.

Finding what he needed he pulls out a stone ball the size of his fist and uncorks it before taking a drink. I lick my dry lips as I watch him slurp on the liquid before he notices me staring, with a slight roll of his eyes he shoves the ball forward while grunting "here". Taking the ball I mutter a small thank you before gulping down the liquid which turned out to be water. "Hey don't drink it all! that's my last one!" glancing at Stone briefly my lips still sucked on the water before finishing it and tossing it back to him. Now rubbing my stomach the light ache in my throat began to slowly subside, Stone gave me a piercing gaze as he shook the empty container, which I ignored feeling too satisfied with my throat no longer being dry.

"H..How did you t..t.ttwo end up here anyw..w..way?" Ordwin asks, unlike his hard and solid like appearance his voice was high and he talked with a stutter but it didn't seem to affect his intelligence or his strength in the least. Laying on my backside and rubbing my water ingorged stomach I told them of how I escaped the fiery serpents and ran into Ham, but before I could finish Ham interrupts, "whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on now. Did you save me? I can't help thinking it was the other way around there Gale." Ham barks, to which I simply shrugged my shoulders. "Here's what actually happened!" Ham mutters before going on with the story about how we found the collapsed fortress and the unknown creatures in the boulder, to which they all shared a laugh when he came to the part about my failed attempt to dance, as well as the task we were given if we wanted to gain access to the wet spot beyond the barrier.

"Ha! if that were me, my hammer would have smashed that barrier to dust! I guess you're lacking in strength Gale!" Bolmer laughs while showing off his hammer, it had a jet black stone and the handle was a dark blue with neatly crafted designs. I hated to admit but it was indeed a nice piece of craftsmanship. Grunting I ignored his poking and began looking forward to his attempt in smashing the barrier, hoping he would share in the same fate I suffered from when trying to destroy the invisible wall.

"You haven't found this violet shard yet? Stone mused before both me and Ham shook our heads in an annoyed expression. Looking up at the countless blue shards Ham points out all the different colored shards we've found so far. "B...but you hav..v.v.vvent found a flowe..e.er yet?" Ordwin asks stroking his mustache as he observes the ceiling. "Or the meadow they were referring to," Ham adds folding his arms clearly disgruntled by the situation. "The..e..these creatures w..w.weren't literal w.w.w.when they mentioned the meadow."

Ordwin mutters while nodding his head, seeming to have some kind of understanding. "What do you mean?" I ask slightly interested in his explanation, although the stuttering was slightly confusing. " M..M.M.My g.guess is that this giant collection of sh..sh..shards is the meadow, as for the f..f.flower they said each c..color represents a p.p..petal so wouldn't you need to c..c..collect all of the p..p.petals to make a flower?"

Listening to his explanation Ham nodded his head slowly seeming to understand what he was referring to, as did I. "So each shard is a petal for the flower, so we need to still find the violet." Ham mutters. Rethinking the beings riddle as metaphorically and not literal as well as Ordwin's explanation some of the pieces began to fit together. Each petal represents a shard, and each shard an element. There were eight elements in total fire, water, earth, air, light, dark, arcane and then void. That wasn't including the sub-elements, but the original ones brought into creation by the All-Father. Although void magic was simply a combination of every original element. If each color shard was to be a different element then purple would be void the combination of all elements. "I see," I mutter before explaining my guess to them to which they readily agreed.

"We'll worry about how to combine them once we have all the colored shards." Stone grumbles before standing. "Bolmer you keep watch at the tunnel, the smell of goblin shit will most likely keep the creatures of the dark away." Bolmer gave a disapproving glare before hobbling towards the tunnel sitting along the side before murmuring to himself.

"I don't suppose you know a way to get the shards down do you?" Ham asks, directing his question towards Ordwin too which he shook his head. "A..a..a..afraid not."

"How are we going to get up there?" Stone grumbles before I blast my dwarven fire towards the ceiling sending a shard tumbling down. All of their heads dart towards me with a sharp look, which I returned with a shrug, "How else were you planning to get them down? Unless one of you can fly." I responded before launching more dwarven fire towards the ceiling knocking more of the shards lose. Unlike there light appearance the shards were thick and solid as they hit the surface with a loud "thump." Glancing at each other the others nod before shooting their own fire knocking down as many shards as we could, being careful not to stand under the area they were falling from.

After about a few hours hundreds of shards lay scattered on the ground, yet it didn't seem like we even put a dent in the ceiling, as the countless blue shards still hung above us. The four of us scampered over to the fallen shards searching for the colored shards until we had 7 different colors in a pile blue, white, red, green, yellow, brown and black. Each shard had a different feel to it, they were all warm but the pulse that resonated from each one was at a different pace with each pulse a small light flickered from within. They looked smaller when hanging from the ceiling but in reality, it was about the size of a bottle but clearly not as fragile. "I..i.i've never seen any.y.ything like t.t.this before," Ordwin mutters holding a red shard. Nodding in agreement the rest of us looked into the shards the energy of the very element swirled within the crystals. "What do we do with them now?" Stone mutters, scratching his black beard. "I say we melt them together," I murmur.

Ham simply shrugged his shoulders to the suggestion as did Stone, but Ordwin seemed to be thinking about something before disagreeing. "I..I...I don't know about y..you but I've never d..d..dealt with the energy of a pu.uu.pure element, w..who knows what forcing t..t.them together might d.d.d.do. If your correct about the vv..violet shard representing t.t.the void element we could set off an elemental ex.x.xplosion or even cause a t..tear between time and sp..sp..space." Ham paled at the word explosion, "yeah I don't want to be blown up!" He barks as Stone hurridly agrees. "Then how are we suppose to put them together," I muse to which no one replied. As we all pondered how to put the shards together the familiar putrid smell attacks my nose as Bolmer enters the group.

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"You're all so slow!" He barks in impatience, "just put them together!" snatching up two shards he places them side by side like puzzle pieces. The two shards pulses were beating at different times until a single beat of the shards pulsed at the same time. As they began beating in sync the light within the two began to grow brighter until enveloping the two shards. All of us looking away from the blinding light before it began to slowly dim revealing the two shards being merged into one. A single beat pulsing from the crystal.

"Ha! ha! See! Maybe one of you more useless dwarves should go stand watch and let me do all the thinking!" Bolmer barks a large smirk on his face. Before any of us could mutter a word the two combined shards began to shake violently before floating in the air, rising steadily before it stopped a foot over us the shard hovered there for a moment twitching abnormally as a crack appeared on the surface. Then a swirl of shadows began pouring out of the newly formed crack. Each of us backing away expecting the crystals to explode. "What...did you do," I whispered through gritted teeth as the shadows began wrapping around the floating shard in a black ball the shadows seeming to solidify into an unknown substance. The black ball expanding rapidly increasing in size, "Is this a good or bad thing?" Stone mutters, to which Ordwin replied "I..i..i don't think this is a g..g.g.good thing." The pitch black ball stopped expanding after being nearly 10 feet in height. Sweat drenched me from head to toe from the unknown black sphere, the others seemed just as tense clutching their hammers on reflex.

"At least it stopped growing..." Bolmer mutters, and as if his voice was a signal the sound of breaking glass starts coming from the black sphere as cracks begin to form around the black ball rapidly spreading. "You just had to say something.." Ham growls wielding his hammer in anticipation. As the sphere implodes, I cover my eyes expecting to be hit with a wave of fragments, after realizing there was none I look where the strange orb once was.

In its place a creature I can only refer to as "the scariest thing I've ever seen" stood tall on two muscular legs. It was at least 8 feet in height, three red horns stuck out of its skull and curved wickedly at the tips, as well as two holes where its nose should be. The entire creature was covered in a reptilian-like dark green skin, while small tentacles surrounded its waist moving unnaturally causing my spine to tingle rapidly. Its arms were as muscular and large as it's bulging legs its hands seemed easily capable of crushing stone let alone a small dwarf. As if it wasn't intimidating enough two large wings emerged from it's back rippling with unnatural veins. It's eye's shot open and it bellowed loudly before smashing the ground with its gigantic fists. "WHAT IS THAT THING?" Bolmer shrieks before we all scurried away from the unnatural creature. "T..t..that looks l.l.l.like a Slithra!" Ordwin spits. The Slithra a reptilian race said to live underground away from all other creatures, no one even knew if the race still existed or not. The creatures were known for their quick regeneration as well as the venom that flowed like blood through their veins endlessly. "I thought the Slithra were extinct!" I bellow. "Apparently not," Stone growls.

The creature began sniffing the air before it's head swerved in our direction, revealing it's snake-like tongue in a low hiss. "I don't suppose it's friendly?" Ham mutters before another angry shriek echoes through the room. "Does that answer your question?" Stone murmers as the creature begins sprinting in our direction. It's slow but heavy steps shaking the ground causing my bones to jitter yet the anticipation of battle began to flow over me. Ham didn't wait for it to get close and began launching a volley of dwarven fire as it tried to close the distance. Knowing how powerful his flames were I was expecting it to be burnt to a crisp yet the powerful fire simply bounced off its skin not slowing the creature down in the slightest. The Slitha creature arched it's fist back before swinging at Ordwin. The fist was large but slow leaving plenty of room to avoid the attack, weaving to the left Ordwin bellows a nasily "

T..t.ttake this!" as he smashes his hammer into its leg. A small snap sounds before the beast snarls angrily backhanding Ordwin its hand half the size of the tall dwarf. Smashing the beast left him off balance leaving Ordwin open to the creatures strike, the smack sending him hurtling into a nearby pillar causing it to collapse leaving him in a pile of rubble. "Don't let up!" Stone bellows before smashing the ground with his hammer shouting an unknown skill he referred to as "quake." the ground shook slightly causing me to stumble briefly as cracks emerged from where his hammer struck. The newly formed small cracks rippled towards the beast before covering its feet and collapsing sending it falling into a small hole.

It shrieked before falling in the hole disappearing only briefly before it again rose from the darkness its wings flapping rapidly as it gave off a hiss. The wings narrowed before it whipped towards Stone it being much quicker in the air then on land he wasn't expecting the great increase in speed nor was Ham or Bolmer. The Slithra extended its gigantic hand at Stone to which I struck its fingers with a blow from my hammer breaking a few of its bones in the process. It stumbled briefly giving Bolmer an opening as he swung with his hammer at its right leg, the muscles and bone bending unusually from his impact forcing the beast on one knee as Ham proceeded to smash the other leg forcing it on both knees. The Slithra howled in pain as Stone leaped up to cave in the beast's skull and for a moment I thought we had won until Stone stayed suspended in the air. One of the creatures strange tentacles had wrapped around his neck before flinging him away as if he weighed nothing sending him crashing into a wall far off in the distance. More of the tentacles started to move unnaturally as they grew in size before whipping at the three of us.

It was fast and I struggled to avoid the lashes of the tentacles every dozen or so strikes a hot burn struck somewhere on my body. With the beast using the tentacles as well as swinging at us it felt like fighting two separate creatures, my legs and arms burned from the unending movement. The Slitra had successfully pinned the three of us down making it nearly impossible to counterattack and I knew we couldn't keep it up for much longer.

The broken limbs seemed to have fully recovered allowing the creature to move around much quicker making it that much harder to stay unscathed. "How are we suppose to kill this thing!" Ham pants before a tentacle snag's his leg hoisting him in the air, leaping up I grab the tentacle as I use "Melt". The tentacle whipped around as the creature bellowed in anger before swinging its fist at me, being stuck in the air I could do little to avoid the strike and awaited the impact. An explosion sounded overhead as over a dozen crystals began descending from the ceiling distracting the Slithra long enough for me Ham and Bolmer to get from under the falling shards.

The Slithra's head whipped towards us snarling before the beast could give chase a bellow resounds in the area, "Quake!" The unexpected shaking caused the beast to stumble before a volley of dwarven fire struck it from its right side hitting it in the eyes. The beast screeched at the sudden blindness before the shards began toppling over it some impaling it while others simply smashed into it.

The three of us didn't let this opportunity pass us by and sprung into action, the beast was heavily wounded as bright green blood poured out from its neck and right thigh. Ordwin and Stone approached quickly from the rubble they had launched their surprise attack from all of us launching into a full-scale assault bashing it with our hammers until only a pile of ground flesh remained the tenderized meat dissolving into it's on venom leaving a pool of the green blood. The only thing remaining being the merged shard that continued to pulse lightly.

All of us stared at the lightly pulsing shard drained from the unexpected battle, as Bolmer reached for the shard Stone slaps him over the head. "Ow! what was that for?" He barks

"You don't touch the shards anymore! Stone growls staring daggers at him. All of us nodding in agreement as Bolmer scoffs folding his arms. "Dwarves are so ungrateful."