Prototype's Gate

The bear shifted, taking the form of a tall, muscular man. "Thanks for saving me, but we can talk later. I need to reach the grove as soon as possible," Halsin said as he turned into a rat and scurried away.

Alex walked back to Volo and the tortured man. "Do you know a way out of here without needing to use the main entrance?" Alex asked them.

The man nodded. "Where you found me, there is a secret passage. I can guide you there."

Alex nodded. "Volo, go with him," Alex ordered as he turned around and left.

"Wait, where are you going?" Volo stopped him.

Alex didn't respond and walked away. Volo could spot a small figure wearing red armor walking next to Alex.

...

(It seems you were telling the truth; I can walk to the surface,) Glut said as he moved to Alex side.

Alex didn't respond, just pushed the massive door open. Outside the sanctum, there was no one. Alex grabbed Glut and jumped as high as possible. A pair of raven-like wings grew from his back, and he took off high into the sky. He could already spot the Absolute's army marching to the grove, and it seemed like some were already fighting at the gate.

"Glut, I will drop you nearby. You can go all out, but keep the spores in check," Alex noted.

Alex descended low, let go of Glut, and rose back up. He flew ahead, closer to the grove gate. The situation was dire. The tieflings were shooting as many goblins as they could from the stone ramparts around the gate, but there were simply too many. The gate had been broken, and goblins were pouring inside.

(Lump, where are you?) Alex asked as he felt Lump's presence.

Bullet was heading to the surface too, but he was still outside his range.

(And I thought you died,) Lump said trying to appear sad. *(I am at the gate fighting those insufferable goblins.)

(Keep going, and if you die, don't worry, I can bring you back.)

(Pardon me? WHAT?)]

Alex soared even higher. Gone were the wings, replaced by his armor mode. He shifted his weight to become as heavy as possible, and brought forth his elemental energy, causing him to glow fiery red. He cast Enlarge on himself, doubling in size. Just like a meteor, he crashed with such power that the ground shook. A molten crater formed where he landed. But this wasn't enough. Black spikes emerged all around him, impaling everything within a 20-meter radius.

Everyone stopped and looked at the being that had just killed a quarter of the entire army with one attack. The being wore dark, obsidian-like armor pulsing with fiery red energy. The creature shifted its arm into a dark bluish blade with edges glowing fiery red. It jumped ahead, killing everything in its path until it reached the gate.

Then it turned around and brought both its arms down. Spikes, as tall as a man, emerged from the ground in a conic area, 20 meters ahead, killing or wounding anything in their path.

“Is it with us?” a tiefling asked, looking at the carnage ahead. He felt like he was back in Avernus.

“I hope so. I don't think we stand a chance against it,” another said.

The goblins inside the grove were slowly being killed by the rest of the tieflings, now that the main gate was protected. The orcs and bugbears were more difficult, but they were slowly chipping away at them.

At the back of the army, Glut was like a killing machine. He was taller , tall as a ogre. His arms , legs and torso were extended. Using his long arms and his mace, he wiped away anyone trying to attack him. When they died, if they were whole enough, they rose back up as his minions. An ogre succeeded in cutting off one of his arms, but he just grabbed a goblin and put it in his maw that was in the middle of the torso, immediately regenerating the missing limb.

As the battle raged on, the defenders found renewed strength. Alex, now a towering figure of destruction, cleaved through the ranks of the invaders. He keep shifting , blade , claws , wip , muscle mass , hammerfists . Eviscerating everything in his path.

The last remnants of the invaders were finally defeated, their bodies littering the battlefield. Glut, now in his normal form, stood next to Alex. Bullet had also made his presence felt, occasionally emerging from the ground to drag some goblins below. Now, he was hiding somewhere underground. Lump lay nearby, munching on a dead goblin, his body riddled with bleeding wounds.

Tieflings pointed their crossbows at Alex, and even some druids kept their eyes on him and Glut. Alex could spot Karlach and Wyll among the crowd. From the crowd emerged a tiefling, Zevlor, his gait steady and serious.

"My name is Zevlor, leader of this group of tieflings. Thank you for saving us," Zevlor said, not breaking eye contact.

"Name's Zeus. How did all this happen? How did the Absolute army find out the location of the grove?" Zeus asked.

"We don’t know yet, but that’s not important right now. Two army leaders are already dead, and one is missing. Their army is no more, so tomorrow at sunset, we are leaving for Baldur's Gate as the druids gave us an ultimatum."

Suddenly, behind him, appeared Halsin, who grabbed Alex's shoulder.

"Halsin, you’re alive!" a druid shouted.

"Yes, I am, and all thanks to this man," Halsin said, patting Alex’s shoulder and showing a charming smile.

"My name is Halsin. I am an archdruid and leader of this grove. Thank you for the help."

"I need to reach Moonrise Tower. There are more cultists there," Alex noted. From the information he gathered, the army was planning to heading there , orders from someone with the title of True Soul.

"The cultists will still be there tomorrow."

Alex shook his head. Halsin just smiled and waved for him to follow. The crowd parted ways and let them through.

...

They stopped at the entrance of the druid's ruins when they spotted a man and woman tiefling arguing with a druid. Everyone was startled by Alex's appearance, but they calmed down a bit when they spotted Halsin.

"What's happening here?" Halsin asked.

"Master Halsin," the druid bowed. "These tieflings want their daughter back after she tried to steal the Sacred Idol."

"Please give our daughter back," the mother pleaded.

Halsin's brows furrowed. "This is a grave thing to do. Where is the girl right now?" Halsin said with a serious expression.

"Inside. She is being judged by Kagha right now."

The druid parted ways, and Halsin and Alex walked inside the druid sanctum. Halsin walked to an inscribed stone wall and put his hand on it. The wall dropped down, and they walked inside. Alex looked ahead and spotted the girl with a snake next to her that was ready to lunge. Alex phased out and grabbed the snake by the neck before it could strike. Every druid took a fighting stance, and even the girl took a few steps back, intimidated by Alex's appearance.

"Everyone calm down," Halsin commanded. All eyes moved from Alex to Halsin.

"Master Halsin!" everyone bowed.

"Kagha, what were you planning to do to this girl?" Halsin asked with a stern face.

"Judge her for her actions. To try and steal our Sacred Idol, she deserves a heavy punishment."

"If Tella would have bitten her, she would have died. This is not our way. The idol is a mere object. It’s nothing compared to a life, a creation of nature," Halsin said, anger on his face.

"Yes, Master Halsin, my judgment was mistaken," she said through her teeth.

"No, I doubt that. You ordered the Rite of Thorns to begin and to send out all the tieflings, knowing well enough that they would be killed by the Absolute armies. I will allow you to stay, but consider yourself a novice anew. You have forgotten the ways of the druids, our place in the natural order. You will learn it all once again right here. If you backslide, nature’s fury will crush you."

"As you wish, Master Halsin," she responded, trying to hide the scowl on her face.

Halsin walked to the girl and knelt next to her. "What’s your name?" Halsin asked.

"Arabella."

"Arabella, I’m sorry for everything that has been done to you," Halsin said, lowering his head. "This was my mistake for believing Kagha was a competent druid." He slowly rose. "Go to your parents and tell everyone that they don’t need to leave anymore."

The girl nodded and left. Alex let go of the snake, which slithered away.

"I’m sorry for this. Please follow me; we have much to discuss." Alex nodded and followed Halsin into some kind of library with a big statue of a wolf. A dwarf woman was there, and when she spotted Halsin, she quickly ran to him.

"Master Halsin," she said with a bow.

Halsin showed her a charming smile. "Good to see you too, Nettie. Now please leave us alone. We have much to talk about with our guest."

Nettie stood up, albeit a little tense, and left. After making sure Nettie left, he looked at Alex. "You can shift back. I know you are the man that saved me back at the Shattered Sanctum."

Alex kept staring at him. His body shifted, taking his normal appearance.

Halsin brought forth a chair and waved for Alex to take a seat. "Thank you for helping the grove. Without you and your red comrade’s intervention, who knows how many would have died, not to mention I would still be held captive if you had not released me," Halsin said with a small bow.

Alex nodded. "This is not the end, just the start," he pointed out.

"Indeed, what we saw today was just a small fraction of the army. Who knows how many members they have?"

"As I said, after this, I will go to Moonrise Tower. Something big is about to take place there."

"I intend to do the same. I must find out who is behind this murderous cult."

Alex looked at a jar with a tadpole floating in a clear liquid on a stone table. "If they have tadpoles, they must have an Elder Brain under their control or controlling them."

"This is not the way of an Elder Brain. I’ve never heard of tadpoles that don’t transform their hosts. Something is blocking their transformation," Halsin said.

Alex nodded. "You said you intend to leave. What about the rest of the grove?"

"The Rite of Thorns will be completed, making it impossible to get in or out until things settle. Of course, everyone who wants to stay will be welcome, no matter their race."

They stood in silence for a few moments.

"Sorry if I ask, but what are you? In my years of adventuring, I’ve seen nothing that could do what you did today."

Alex closed his eyes, thinking of how much to reveal about himself. This Halsin, seemed to be respected by everyone, not by fear, but like a child respects their loving parent. He was a good man and could prove a worthy ally