294 Killing Menial (1/2)
”Nix said to attack as soon as we made contact.” Mortimus crested a tall ice ridge, in the distance he could see the Keep where Menial ruled. He sniffed the air, although painful to admit, the puppet's senses were much sharper than his own. ”Do you think Dire Wolves are all this strong?”
”No. This is an Emperor Dire Wolf, Nix said that normal dire wolves would only be as strong as one of his Revenant-level works.” Scarlett raised her head to the sky and howled loudly.
Mortimus listened to the howl echoing in the distance. ”What are you doing?”
Scarlett nudged him with her nose. ”Calling my army. Go find your own.” She raised her head toward the sky again, thinking about anguish and pain of the last few months. She howled again, her call was answered from dozens of different directions.
Mortimus trotted back to the Titan pack. ”Time to split up. Kill the smaller wolves and control any Dire Wolves you find.”
*********
Mina dove deep into the water, welcoming the embrace of the sea as she followed the coastline North, all four of her Vilas following closely. When she saw the map of Everspire, her heart had jumped in excitement. The entire western coast was open sea all the way to the Zintian Icecap. She would find him without having to cross any deserts. In a few days, they would be together again.
**********
The two wolves padded softly down the corridor, every few minutes Nix would stop and sniff the air.
”Are we lost Nix?”
”Yep,” Nix admitted. The halls were a maze of twists and turns that made little sense. Sometimes they would end in nothing but a bare wall. ”You're no help, can't you use those natural animal senses?”
Gil's long wolf tongue lolled out of one side of his mouth while he trotted alongside him. ”I'm a turtle. I can pick up scents in and out of the water.”
Nix stopped suddenly, his ears pricking forward. ”They're here.”
Gil skidded to a stop. ”Who? Menial?”
/Titan: Nix: Welcome to Zintia.
/Titan: Mortimus: Nix! You beat us here?
/Titan: Nix: Let's call it a draw. Start hitting them.
”FOOL! GET CONTROL OF YOUR OWN MINIONS!”
A shout echoed through the lower halls, super-sensitive wolf ears weren't needed, Menial was angry. The two stealthed Dire Wolves ran down the halls, finally finding a door that led upwards they loped up the stairs a dozen at a time.
”This way.” Nix exited the stairway and slowed to a walk. The overwhelming sense of Ice radiated from a set of double doors. The sound of voices and footsteps could be heard from the other side.
Gil sniffed the door and then shook his wolf head. ”Bad smells Nix.”
The two wolves jumped in opposite directions when the door opened suddenly, a servant exited and left the door to close on its own. Nix leaped through and moved to one side, a scuffling at his heels told him that Gil had managed also.
The doors led to a smaller room where tables of food and wine were laid out. Dozens of cushions lay on the floor.
An archway provided the only entrance into a much larger room. Unexpectedly this room was warm, the crackling sounds of a fire burning filled the air. Thick luxurious carpeting covered the floor, there were only two occupants.
[I can sense you, pretend wolf.]
Nix's head turned toward the throne, a robed mage sat comfortably with a plate of food in front of him. He was obscenely thin, his emaciated body looked like a skeleton sitting on the overly large throne. His long white hair hung down in several braids. He cluelessly continued eating with one hand while his other toyed with his hair. The only other occupant was a brown wolf, it was chained with silver links to an iron ring that had been bolted to the floor. Its yellow eyes were staring directly at him.
[You can't destroy him without first dealing with the Pandemonium artifact.]
Nix eyes moved to the center of the room, where a crystal goblet was on display like some sort of trophy.
[That's a fake. The real one sits on the arm of his throne.]
/Titan: Nix: Get ready Gil.
/Titan: Gil: Do I really have to blow myself up? Can't I kill a few things first?
/Titan: Nix: Stop whining or I'll do it for you. On my signal.
[I'll create an opening.]
The brown wolf morphed slowly into a woman. She was completely nude, her long brown hair fell over her perfect behind. She stretched her back slowly, her sinuous movements drew the attention of Menial.
”Why did you change forms?” Menial continued to eat while he watched her.
She lay back on the floor, one hand holding the heavy steel collar around her neck. ”It chafes my coat. I can still function in this form.”
Menial grabbed a handful of meat from the plate and stood up. ”Function? Hundreds of your minions are revolting. You call that functioning?”
”Your will is my life. I cannot disobey.” The wolf-woman bowed her head from her spot on the floor.
The thin man stared at her. He licked his lips obscenely and dropped his robes. ”Service your master bitch.”
/Titan: Nix: Now!
Nix leaped for the goblet that Menial left behind while Gil's wolf jaws clamped down on the other.
[Dire Wolf Emperor: Self-Destruct]