The first thing Elijah felt upon the completion of the spell-driven transformation was that the new form was roughly bipedal. Not like his human or cindrandir forms. It took a moment for him to recognize the difference, but when he did, he couldn’t contain a smile. Or that would have been the case if his new form was capable of such an expression.

It wasn’t.

The body was that of a velociraptor, though with a few key differences. The first – and most welcome – was that the arms weren’t entirely vestigial. Instead, they were slightly longer than what his characterization might have led him to expect, though the shoulder joint was much less articulate than a human’s. Still, he suspected they would come in useful, at the very least while traversing difficult terrain.

The second difference was the head. Elijah wasn’t certain exactly what differentiated between a long-extinct dinosaur and a dragon, but the scourgedrake definitely veered toward the latter. Perhaps it was the sharp proportions, the mane of black spines going down his back, or something in the eyes, but the fact was that no one would look at the result of Shape of the Scourge and think it was some simple reptile.

Even if it was built like one.

Overall, the form was about ten feet from the tip of his snout to the end of his barbed tail, but when Elijah moved, he felt lighter than ever. His mouth was full of knife-like fangs, and his skin was mottled green-and-black that screamed danger to anyone who saw him.

In short, he looked like the highly venomous creature he was.

But the shape – like all the others that had come before – wasn’t only the abilities or the bestial look. Rather, it came with increased attributes as well, and when Elijah looked at his changed status, he couldn’t keep a shiver from traveling down his spiny back.

A hundred points in strength. Two hundred in dexterity. Twenty-five in regeneration. It was no wonder that he felt more powerful than he ever had in the Shape of Venom.

It was such a huge influx of attributes that Elijah couldn’t help but move. He took off across the landscape, moving at speeds usually reserved for open-wheeled racecars. And he could turn on a dime, too. He leaped, sending himself hundreds of feet into the air, kicked off a floating crystal, then threw himself in the opposite direction.

With his unique anatomy – and with the assistance of the huge talons on his feet – he could move with incredible control. When he reached top speed, his torso was low to the ground, with his head cutting through the air like a keel and his thick tail aiding his attempts at steering.

It was an incredible feeling – almost as freeing as flying – and Elijah lost himself to the sheer joy of running hundreds of miles an hour. It was hours later before he returned to where he’d left his gear. With the senses of a born predator, he immediately discerned two things.

First, the cleansing powder had done its job – at least to the extent that it could. There were still traces of blood and giant gore there, but by that point, those had become inescapable. He’d need to get a new set of armor soon, he was certain. At some point he’d lost one of his gauntlets, and one of the greaves had long since been sacrificed to the fires of the Crucible.

But Elijah was far more concerned with the second thing he noticed.

He wasn’t alone.

“It’s not nice to sneak up on people,” he said, coming to a stop. “What do you want, Chelsea?”

The woman stepped out from behind the boulder, her spear in hand. That was her preferred weapon, and she was the person who’d thrown the spear that had shattered the summoned titan before it could fully form. So, it was clear to Elijah that she knew what she was doing with the implement.

Still, he was high enough on his recent empowerment that he didn’t think she could really hurt him. Not permanently.

Besides, she’d proven herself an ally. Maybe not a staunch one, but for the time being, they were on the same side. And what’s more, the origin of her issues was clear enough. So, Elijah let the Shape of the Scourge fall away.

That was when he remembered that he was naked.

“Shit,” he muttered. “Mind turning around?”

Chelsea gave him a long look before letting the corners of her mouth turn up in a smile. Only then did she turn around, allowing Elijah to scurry to his clothes and get dressed. He didn’t bother with his armor – not yet – and when he’d pulled on a pair of pants, said, “Alright. I’m decent.”

“That’s to be seen,” she replied, turning back to him slowly. As he yanked a shirt over his head, she asked, “Where did you get all those scars?”

“Occupational hazard,” he answered.

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“And your occupation?”

“Adventurer? I don’t know. I just keep finding myself in tight spots. Usually, there’s acid or fire,” he said. “Maybe I should be more careful.”

She sighed. “I don’t know that the world can afford that, Mr. Hart,” she revealed.

“Call me Elijah.”

“I’d prefer not to.”

He sighed. “Fine. What’s up? I’m sure you didn’t come out here to have a friendly chat? Are the others ready to move on?” he asked. Indeed, the group had stopped to rest for a couple of days before making the final push to Stillstone, where they expected to find the exit that would take them back to Earth.

Elijah, Oscar, and the pack didn’t need the rest, but some of the more vulnerable among the raiders did.

“No. Not yet. We’re still planning on camping here for a couple of days,” she answered. “I’m here on a diplomatic mission.”

“Oh. I’m guessing you represent your guild?” he asked. “Why do you call one another that? Why not an organization? A union? Some other vague label?”

“Guilds are common throughout the multi-verse, and I guess we all thought it sounded grand,” the woman answered, pushing her hair behind her ear. “I am an authorized representative of the League of Ancients. Fourth from the very top, if you can believe it. And to think, I was a part-time yoga instructor before the world went to hell.”

“I was a very bad marine biologist,” Elijah admitted.

“How did you end up where you are, then?” she asked.

Elijah shrugged. He had no interest in getting into his whole backstory. “Same way everyone else did. Just trying to survive. Turns out I’m pretty good at that part,” he allowed. Then, he changed the subject. “So, what’s the League of Ancients want from me?”

“An alliance.”

“No.”

She blinked. “But you must understand that we’re all in this together. I think –”

“Alliance is too permanent a word. Truce sounds better from where I’m standing. It has a temporary ring to it,” he reasoned. “You know, until Earth gets out of this mess. I saw what happens when a world is excised. It’s not pretty. I think I can speak for everyone in the world when I say we want to avoid that. So, I’m fine with working together until then. Sharing intelligence. Not killing each other. That kind of thing.”

“And what do you want in return?”

He shrugged. “Nothing, really. That’s the thing about being where I am. You all don’t really have anything I want,” he admitted. Then, he tapped his lip. “Wait. That’s not true. You do have something. I could probably just take it from you, but I…really don’t want to go down that road.”

“What is it?” she asked, barely keeping herself from taking a step back.

“I’m not going to hurt you.”

“That’s not what that veiled threat promised just now.”

Elijah sighed again. “I am really bad at this kind of thing, so I’m just going to come right out and say it,” he explained. “I want to plant a tree outside this Primal Realm. And outside any of the others that might be conquered.”

“Territory.”

“What?”

“You want to expand your territory. I looked it up. Druids, I mean,” she said. “You’re all about trees and nature and domains called groves. It doesn’t take a genius to see what you’re asking for.”

“What? No. That’s not it at all. I’m trying to help,” he argued. He took a deep breath to calm his irritated nerves. “The trees siphon ethera from the Primal Realms, keeping their power in check. We could cut the giants outside down to a trickle and keep it from growing too powerful in here. That’s what my trees do. It has nothing to do with territory.”

Yet.

Elijah had no real frame of reference, but with the connection between the progenitor tree and its offspring, it didn’t take a leap of logic to conclude that those trees might be the key to expanding the grove.

But that wasn’t the goal – just a possible offshoot.

“What would we get for allowing that?” she asked.

To live, Elijah wanted to say. But he let that statement die before it was even born. Instead, he said, “A safer planet.”

“Going to need more than that. Like an alliance.”

Elijah looked around. “I told you – no alliance. What I can say is that I won’t oppose you,” he allowed. “If you want to set up and farm places like this, then that’s up to you. I won’t stop you. I’ll even abide by your Four Corners Accord, so long as you provide me with a copy. I won’t agree to something without reading it, but if it’s what you described, then I have no issue with that.”

She frowned, giving it some thought. After a second, she turned away from him and stared out at the barren landscape. For a few moments, she continued to think until, at last, she said, “I think we can do that. I’ll get you a copy of the Four Corners Accord when we leave the Primal Realm. After that, I’d like for you to meet the head of our guild to finalize the agreement.”

“You understand that you’re not really in a position to make demands.”

“Think of it as a courtesy call for a future ally. You will like Desmond. He’s a pragmatist as well.”

“Fine.”

After that, Elijah gathered his things and returned to where he’d made camp with Oscar and the dogs. Pointedly, the raiders had settled in about a hundred yards away. Close enough to provide mutual defense, but not so close as to remind them of the monsters in their midst.

He explained the conversation to Oscar, who just accepted it with a nod. Then, Elijah asked the all-important question that had been hovering over them since the very beginning of the Primal Realm.

“So? Are you coming to the grove?”

Oscar was silent for a moment. He never answered questions flippantly, instead giving them due consideration before offering a response. His dirty face scrunched as he stared at the flaming chihuahua in their midst. The other dogs sensed his discomfort, and they stirred.

“It will be good for you,” Elijah persisted. “The dogs will enjoy it, too. There are lots of animals there for them to play with. We even have crabs as big as cars. And I’ve already told you about Ironshore. You’ll like it there. The people are nice. Lots of good restaurants. And you can meet Carmen. I’m willing to bet she could make you a new pair of axes.

“And buddy – you could really use a barber. I know I’m not one to talk, but you make me look practically civilized. There are a couple of gnomes in Ironshore who can work wonders. I haven’t visited them in a while…”

Not since the orcs had killed one of their number. How long ago had that been? It felt like an eternity, but it couldn’t have been more than five years.

“But they’ll set you up, man. The dogs can get a good grooming, too. It’s a win-win.”

After a few more moments, Oscar finally said, “Very well. I will…visit your grove.”

Elijah grinned and clapped him on the back as a couple of the dogs let out barks of solidarity. “That’s awesome. You won’t regret it.” He glanced around. “Now, we just need to get out of this Primal Realm and back to the real world.”