...I hate Mondays.

The first thing I see upon exiting the portal was the now-empty record room. The Domain was placed here for two reasons; firstly, to hide the ever present glow of the portal, should anyone stumble down here. Secondly, it was to speed up the process of moving all information about Sammy, and her Creator, into the Domain; after all, why waste possible leads for finding him?

I feel Cilla's hand leave mine as she turns to Gabbie; more specifically, her staff. "So, the message has been sent to the Temple, correct?"

"Yep! Angels are great, aren't they? I wish I had more than, like... two." Says Ariel from within his Alma. "But, at least that's enough to get both messages delivered."

Our party leaves the Lab, moving into the dark tunnels of the abandoned sewer, where Ashes uses a Life-Flame Utterance to light the way. Finding the ladder up, Trixie goes first; being the hardest to see, she was the best choice to scout for any possible ambush.

"All clear, lovelies." She says, landing on Scotts head; who seemed to not mind his new headwear.

Exiting via the ladder, the party quickly moves into a nearby alley as Gabbie and I use our insightful abilities; her Ariel's Eyes, and my God's Eye. With no indication of anyone spying on us, Gabbie dispels her Incantation, as it's glow would draw too much attention. Thankfully, I had no such need, allowing for continued searches as we went. We work our way through the streets, doing our best to act as though we knew nothing of the coming plans of Urgog. We even take a short stop for Scott to look at some fine thread being peddled at a street corner; a small expenditure of coin later, and the Tailor seemed pleased.

Finally reaching the Temple of Tailum, that smile on Scott's face soured a small bit. Either way, we reach the entrance; finding it guarded by a single woman, in a robe of a ruby red hue; a massive, spiked two-handed metal club around the size of her own massive body in hand. Her skin was in stark contrast to her clothing; a dark cyan-hue. A scrap of cloth is tied to one of her two dark-blue horns, and her ghostly-white hair was tied back into an odd bun; held in place by two long pins. I recognized the species from Cilla's lessons. A Blue Oni from the land of Yukong. She was around eight-feet tall, with a muscular build that seemed to be awe-inspiring for Sammy.

"Wooow." Says our Slime, staring up at the giantess. "You're strong."

The Priestess nods in stoic acknowledgement; then speaking to Gabbie with a voice that carried the strength of giants, while maintaining a fierce femininity. "Are you the Neophyte? I was told one was in town."

Gabriella bows with humble grace. "Yes; I am. My Lord Brother's Alma is here, upon my badge of office."

"Then enter. We are three hours or so away from our hero's return." Says the Oni; a small smile crossing her features as she turns, grasping the massive, steel doors of the Temple. "Ooo, I can already taste the feast; every chef, baker, or some-such in Bludbag will be here. I expect the whole town will be coming in the next hour or so... oh, where are my manners. I am Hakai, Announcer Battle-Priestess of this Temple."

"Announcer?" I ask as I walk up the stairs. "What does that role entail, if you don't mind me asking."

"Oh, you'll see..." She says, giving me a wink as she begins to pry the doors apart. "... Cute-One."

Oh, gods damn it...

Entering the Temple, I'm a bit surprised at what I see. Unlike the exterior, the walls are spotless and undamaged, draped with ruby-red banners baring the image of a two-sided axe; as well as a variety of elegant portraits, detailing the worn and scarred faces of many a warrior. The walls themselves are a familiar sight of melted stone, which I had come to finally learn the name of in one of Cilla's recent Lessons; Polymerized Stone. The flooring was carpeted, with testing taps of my foot finding wooden foundation creaking beneath. The ceiling was muraled, depicting the Goddess herself; Tailum, the Dwarven Deity of War. The style was mosaic, with extra detail placed upon a slain bull by the feet of the warrior; the cause of her rage, her beloved pet Tungstun.

"Wow, nice place." Says Ariel still presently viewing from his Alma. "Maybe we can get something like this set up once we reach Hoctin, aye' sis?"

Priestess Hakai leads us down the hall to the right, but not before calling out to an unseen other member of the congregation. "Burgroo! It's your shift!"

As we leave down the hall, I see a massive green-skinned man come from the left hall; then proceeding to leave out the massive doors, and pull them shut.

"You've all probably seen the large amount of Runacathy successes around town, despite the town lacking one." Says the Priestess of Tailum. "It is because of this Arena, and our Goddess. As the Last Seat of the Light, Lady Tailum sits on the edge of the Dark; because of this, worship of her is nearly as common amongst the Dark's Lands as it is for the Light's. When redeeming one's self at a Runacathy, most who do not wish to take up mercenary work or the such often come to these Arenas, where the Goddess of War beckons us open arms."

I wonder if Zetra, the Goddess of Greed, is treated the same way?

"Ah, here we are." Says Hakai, reaching yet another massive iron door. "One moment."

The massive Oni grasped a heavy iron knocker at the doors center, knocking it as hard as she could several times. Each knock caused pulses of red-hot energy to sear into the door, building up until the door had turned white-hot; then, the door opened, cooling back down the instant it did so.

A test of strength to open the door? Makes enough sense, considering who's temple this is...

The door had given way to a robust waiting area, filled with finely crafted tables, and chairs; all made of stone, and worked into the very building. Their legs poked up from under the carpeted flooring, suggesting that it was connected to the very foundations of the Arena Temple. The actual table tops were large plates of polished metal, nailed into the stone, which were near-perfectly reflective. Hakai dropped down into one of the chairs; which proved their sturdy nature, as the stone seat hadn't shattered to pieces under her bulk.

"This is where all well-known warriors come to drink and feast between bouts in the Arena. Guests, such as yourselves, are also welcome... but now I wonder. Which of you is the strongest?" Asks the Priestess, pulling at her robe.

The large layer of crimson cloth falls away, leaving the Oni with naught but a matching breast-wrapping, and short-legged undergarments. Held back by those thin layers of cloth were two massive blueberry breasts, with a set of abdominal muscles just below them that could grind a boulder to dust. Some in the party, like Scott, Gabbie, and Zana, are shocked at the sudden undressing, making various exclamations. Others are... "Impressed;" Ashes, Trixe, and Eve, in particular, show great excitement at this showing of skin. I, of course was completely unaffected by this...

"Cute-One, you're drooling." Says Hakai with a toothy grin, tugging at her breast-wrapping; which must have been enchanted, given that each of her bountiful bouncing bosoms was bigger than my head...

I'm slapped on the back of the head by a certain Fuzzball, returning my to my senses. "Strongest! Yeah, I'm that! That one! Haha..."

A second slap, this time from Scott. "Really? Are you sure about that, Chap? I seem to remember almost killing you once."

And a third from Sammy. "Hehe! This is fun!"

The Priestess of Tailum seems amused by this. "Well, how about you all figure it out the old-fashioned way; an arm wrestle. The last one standing wrestles with me."

Her arms are almost the size of my torso...

Not one to back down, Scott takes a seat at one of the tables. "Well then. Let's settle this like gentlemen. Who's stronger..."

"Didn't I kill you several times?" I ask cheekily, taking the seat opposite, and taking a hold of his hand.

"Only because I let you..." Growls the Gentleman Barbarian; working himself up for that enhanced strength of his. "Three. Two. One!"

At first, I nearly lost right away; not exactly knowing if we started on a "One," "Zero," or "Go." Once I had caught myself, however, I quickly reset our match back to the center. Putting half of my strength into my push, I found I couldn't keep up with Scott's Barbaric-Strength, forcing me to press even harder. At around three-fourths of a full push, Scott buckled, and his hand slammed onto the metal; just as another hand did the same behind me.

Sammy was having her own competition, it seemed; with Gabriella, of all people. Our Powerhouse Priestess, however, couldn't out muscle the Slimy Slugger; not that I could blame her, Sammy's punches were something else.

Speaking of which, our Goopy Gal then hopped her way over to me. "Let's go, Boss!"

Scott moved quickly out of the way, nursing a bruise that was now slowly forming on his knuckles. "Hey! Watch it, Sammy!"

"Sorry Double-Friend!" Sammy says, lining up her arm with mine on the table.

Unlike with Scott, I didn't fear breaking any bones when competing with Sammy; which meant that when she reached her "One", I instantly slammed her hand into the table as hard as I could; even still, she had put up slightly more resistance than Scott had.

"Mmm, cute, and strong..." Whispered Hakai to herself.

Getting up from my seat, and heading towards the Priestess of Tailum, I crank my arms around in it's socket; trying to limber up for what was likely going to be the hardest test of strength I had. I line up my hand with hers... except, It seems her hand can completely wrap around my own.

"Three."

Oh gods...

"Two."

...what have I signed up for!

"One!"

Just like with Sammy, I go right into a full push; unlike with Sammy, the Oni doesn't even budge. From the lack of exertion present on her face, or even focus, It seemed Hakai was simply playing with me. This, however, was unfortunate...

...for her.

You... dare!?

A switch in my brain, linked to that ever-prideful Fae side of my being, had decided to take over. With animalistic, murderous intent, I begin slowly pressing the massive Oni's hand towards the table. Amused by this, she presses back; the act of which only entices further primal fury from my base-mind. The act of resistance was, in and of itself, an insult; one layer atop the initial insult of not even trying. With berserk fervor, I slam her hand hard into the table.

Too hard, even.

As the Priestess is slammed right through the mixture of metal and stone, destroying the table. It takes a few seconds to register what just happened, but once my brain finally returns from its base-self, I look down in shock and horror; seeing very little through the kicked up particulates of stone and dust.

"Oh Gods! I'm so sorry!" I say, reaching to help up Hakai; who's still form might have been dead for all I knew.

With shockingly fast movements for someone so large, I'm grabbed by the arm, and pulled into the pursed lips of the powerful Priestess. Thankfully, it had all gone unseen; as I didn't exactly want another slap from Cilla, but the following words whispered to me caused a stiffness in my trousers.

"Barracks. One hour from now. The left hall from where we entered." Whispers Hakai as our lips part, her tone now starkly changed; from powerful, and authoritative, to lustful, and submissive.

The dust clears as she rises to her feet, speaking clearly in her usual voice. "Haha! It's been a few months since someone broke one of these tables. I'll send for our men to come fix it; until then, let me show you where you'll be observing the Chosen's arrival..."