And so the days passed; Armand engaged Thoedeon and Jomead in a series of experiments, the results of which were showing progress. He and the elf had designed a doorway that they would take with them to the capitol and with the dwarf’s help, he designed an excellent weapon for him to use both in and out of the dungeon when he got there.

  The wolf pups had grown to the point where they could move on their own and became more than a handful for the duo of Isolde and Gideon to manage. They tried to divvy the creatures amongst the guards, but not many were keen on owning and maintaining essentially a wild animal.

  While Gideon had decided to adopt two of them, they were not willing or really capable of keeping the remaining ten. Without a mother to teach them, they probably wouldn’t survive back in the wild. So they went to consult the goblin for a potential solution.

  “What can we do, Armand?” Isolde said, pouting and obviously worried for the lives of these tiny creatures. "They are wild animals, not playthings," the goblin thought but had the restraint to not say. Just release them and whether they live or die depends on fate. He sighed because he knew what he needed to do but was hesitant to do so…

  “I’ll take care of them,” he finally sighed. It would only be for a while till she left and he could put them back into the system.

  “You promise?” She asked.

  “Of course.” He replied.

  “I can’t wait to see them when I come back!” She said excitedly as she rushed off to catch one of the little guys who made an escape attempt. The goblin groaned internally, knowing that he had just made a losing deal. He had forgotten the bit where she should be able to return at any time once the dimensional doorway was set up in her library.

  He was excited at the idea of being able to expand access to an increased number of visitors. The goblin would have access to increased mana and faith, ensuring the dungeon's protection and security in his escape plans. But the security risks would be torturous. He had already planned to create a hall for all the new passages to funnel all the visitors through.

  While he wanted to hold on to the group longer, he could feel their desire to get going. It hurt but it was only a matter of time. “How long did it take for you to find your way here?” The goblin asked the group one night over dinner.

  “The dungeon itself is only a few hours into the forest of death,” Gideon replied, then took a long drink of wine, and continued, “The capital of the kingdom is about a month’s march from there.”

  “That’s if you follow the roads, and gods know that they are infested with bandits these days.” Jomead added, practically spitting as he added on, “Bloody Bandit Bastards…” Whether it was a name or insult, Armand was unsure.

  “I wish I could help but you know…” The goblin helplessly shrugged.

  “We could use one of your constructs; that would make the trip home smooth sailing.” Jomead couldn’t help but hint. Armand frowned at the comment, not that he was unwilling to give one to them, but rather, how would they use it?

  “Are any of you familiar with soul magic?” The goblin asked them, to which they stared back with wide eyes.

  “That stuff has been long forbidden by the Association of Kingdoms.” Theoden clarified. “Being caught doing such an act warrants the death penalty.”

  “One of the benefits of being an isolationist is that you are unaware of any laws and unaware when you break them.” The goblin jested with a laugh. “Still, I’m not sure then how I could lend you one without putting you all in hot water.”

  “Perhaps you should elaborate on the situation?” The elf asked.

  “Well, the way that I control constructs, I take a bit of my own soul and implant it into a soul that has been wiped clean. I was planning to have one of you simulate the process. But I also don’t want any of you to get in trouble.”

  “Why don’t you just create constructs the normal way?? Theoden confusedly asked.

  “Perhaps an introduction to the normal way would be effective.” The goblin countered. So the elf began to explain.

  “Well, normally we bind an elemental or demon familiar to the construct, but they are generally unwilling or need a very demanding contract before they agree to the task.”

  “The only summons willing to do the job are not very intelligent.” Jomead bluntly summarized, “making the things close to useless sometimes.”

  “Well, if you are okay with breaking inter-kingdom law, I can get you a construct you can control.” The goblin said with a bit of a laugh. The group of four looked back and forth amongst each other.

  “I’ll do it.” Theodeon volunteered. The goblin nodded and summoned a sheet of paper and then handed it to the elf.

  “You need to memorize this incantation; when you are done with that, we can begin the process.” Armand said.

  “I do have one request.” The elf asked.

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  “Other than getting a super powerful construct minion?” The goblin said with a hint of sarcasm. The elf’s face was a little downtrodden and serious. After a moment the goblin spoke again, “I’m sorry; I see you have something serious to say. Please tell me.”

  The elf’s face lightened up. “I wanted to ask you about my dream.” This piqued the goblin’s interest.

  “Your desire to create a safe space for the elves of your hometown?” The goblin asked.

  “Indeed,” the elf confirmed, “I have been reading through Doors to Dimensional Design and I would need to find an unoccupied plane of existence to create my forest. This would entail an endless search or an extreme cost to some powerful being.”

  “I see you wish to deal with being closer to you.” The goblin began to connect the dots.

  “Indeed, you have access to this dimension and from your expansions, I feel like you could easily accommodate the elves.” Theodeon stated his request.

  “I could, but it is a potentially tremendous risk.” The more foot traffic in the dungeon, the more danger he would be in. But the gears in his head were turning and he had an idea. “Okay, I can agree to your request but I too have a condition.”

  “Of course! Anything!” The elf replied, excitement creeping across his face.

  “I need you to add a new god to your pantheon of faiths.” The elves traditionally worshiped the gods of nature, like the Grand Mother and various other life-related gods.

  “That would be tricky; when it comes to faith, they can be obstinate.” The elf was willing but he was unsure of his kinsman.

  “Would they be willing if it was the one who provided them safe harbor? Or in other words, “If it was me?” The goblin said with a smile, rerevealing what he had previously told them but they didn’t remember.

  “I thought I had just dreamt that part.” The elf replied with a cold sweat across his face. “But you are not a god; why would you want worship? You do not seem like that kind of guy.”

  “You are correct; I would prefer to remain in the shadows.” The goblin laughed; the elf knew him well. “However, to escape the bounds of the dungeon, I need to become one.”

  “People can become gods?” Gideon asked in astonishment.

  “Indeed. The act of worship is enough to transform a being into a god. There are side effects but I have a plan in place to deal with those.” The goblin replied, and he turned back to the elf. “So what say you?”

  “I think if a certain ‘god’ were to rescue the elves, they would happily add them to their pantheon of beliefs.” The elf said with a grin.

  The goblin clapped his hands. “Then it is settled; let’s get to work.” He stood up and beckoned the group to follow as he headed to the soul-severing ritual. “I just need to figure out space.”

  Isolde had caught up. “Can you not just make more space?”

  “The place is getting quite hard to expand,” he began to explain. “The further I reach out, the harder it is to expand.”

  “What about the gardens?” She asked the goblin; meanwhile, the trio had just caught up to them, slightly out of breath.

  “I’m currently using it as a soul farm, but it could work…” The goblin said as he walked and talked.

  “Have you tried going down?” Jomead asked.

  “Down?” The goblin stopped in place.

  “Yeah,” the dwarf said while shrugging, “When we dwarves run out of space, we just go down.”

  Armand decided to try the suggestion; he tried creating a path down and to his surprise, he could expand downwards with little effort. “My gods!” The goblin stopped and gave the dwarf a shoulder pat. “You’re right, I don’t know why I never thought of it.”

  “Sometimes we don’t see the obvious answer,” Gideon commented. By this point they had arrived at the ritual room.

  “How true,” The goblin replied, and he once again turned to the elf. “Please sit in the center of the circle.” The elf then did so, and the goblin then described what Theoden needed to do to have the ritual be successful. “Make sure it is just a small piece!” Armand seriously said.

  “I will do my best.” The elf replied, and as he began to chant, Armand summoned a soul from the dungeon core and directed it to come to him. Theoden did the job, passing out in the process. But he did not repair or transfer the fragment like he was supposed to.

  Luckily, he was there. The goblin guided the soul fragment to the blank soul and had them fuse, then repaired the damage to the original soul. “The job is done…” Armand finally breathed out. Isolde, Gideon, and Jomead quickly ran up to check on the collapsed elf.

  “Is he…?” Isolde began to ask.

  “He is fine.” The goblin stopped her. “I’ve done this a hundred times and look at me! I’m fine!” Armand said with a smile that caused the conscious trio to glare at him suspiciously.

  The goblin took the fresh soul clone and placed it in Theoden’s body; that way it wouldn’t rebel because of its proximity to the main soul. “Let’s call this for today; why don’t you all begin your preparations to leave?”

  What else could they do? They hauled the unconscious elf back to his bedroom and the rest began working. After a couple of hours, Theoden awoke; he sat upright and saw that he wasn’t alone. A metal beetle sat on his chest, and only a few moments later the little goblin walked into the room.

  “Did I do it?” The elf asked; he tried to hold out and did not expect to pass out.

  “You did well enough,” the goblin comforted him. “I finished the rest of the ritual and if you inspect yourself, you should notice something special. The elf did so and looked in on himself; he had not really looked at his own soul much but he was surprised to see a second smaller soul present.

  “I assume this is the product of the ritual.” He said with no little astonishment.

  “Indeed, it is.” The goblin replied, “This is how I control all the constructs here and it is the way you will use to control my gift to you.” He waved for the elf to come.

  “I’m beginning to see why soul magics are banned and illegal,” Theoden couldn’t help but think. As he stood up, the duo walked out of the room.

  “Indeed, I don’t know the ramifications of the magic but I know of some side effects.” The goblin began to explain, “Make sure to reassert control over it or it may try to kill you…” Finally the goblin had someone to share his struggles of a divided soul with.