304 Thornwood Keep part three (1/2)

Nightmare walked easily beside Morti as he waddled westward toward the turtle house. Ducky was lying on Morti's back, hugging his neck while she hummed playfully. Her blue eyes were turned toward Nix and his mount. ”I like your horse Nix.”

”Want a horse, Ducky?”

The Water Witch shook her head. ”Can't I just ride Morti?”

”Sure, but I'll get you one for when Morti isn't here.” Nix thought back to the cavern fight. ”Ducky... where'd you learn that puppet trap?”

”I could see attachments points on it; I used a simple water weave to bind them.” Ducky nodded to herself as she recalled it. ”Your puppets don't have that; I can't discern any difference between your puppets and the creatures they represent.”

Nix was tempted to turn into town and check out the damage, but first, he decided to talk to his guild. ”There's one huge difference, Ducky. Want to guess?”

Ducky sat upright and assumed a more traditional riding position. ”Do you think that puppet was a natural magic user?”

Nix shook his head. ”Almost certainly not.”

Ducky pursed her lips. ”That's not good. It means that the puppet master can use its own magic skills through a puppet.”

Nix nodded in agreement. ”My own pets are limited to the parent beasts natural abilities. Although truthfully, I haven't attempted a beast with magic abilities.”

Morti's big nose sniffed the air a few times. ”Mom's here, Nix.”

Nix glanced up at the hill they were climbing. ”She must be looking for you. My place is right over this ridge.”

A minute later, they topped the ridge and were offered a good view of the turtle home. It's looked like an oasis of healthy vegetation in a desert of decay. Everything outside of the protective perimeter was blackened and dead. Scarlett and Gil were talking with Jun Li.

Nix dismounted and led Nightmare around the back of the building to the rock-walled pond.

[Summons: Soup]

Soup immediately entered the pond, her huge body taking up nearly a third of it.

[Summons: Fey]

Fey appeared in her human form; her long white staff carried in one hand. Both her and Ducky were temporarily staying with Morti at the Nescari Fortress, but she had asked to see the turtle house.

Nix put a hand on Morti before he could climb in the pond. ”Let's talk to Scarlett first.”

Scarlett gave him an apologetic look when he approached. ”This hasn't happened in so long that I forgot about it, Nix.”

Nix waved off her apology. He already knew that the Titans had investigated the event the first time it happened, more than ten years earlier, and could find nothing. ”No worries, we'll take care of this.”

Morti pushed his big head into his mother's side; she hugged him affectionately. ”Are you here to see me, Mom?”

Scarlett shook her head. ”I thought you were in the practice yard with your Chevalier.”

Morti sat back on his big behind and looked down at his mother. ”Can't we get someone else? He smells funny.”

”Morti... The Chevalier is a position of importance; we chose him specifically for this task.”

”Nix can be my Chevalier.” The big bear waddled away, heading directly for the splashing that was coming from the back of the house.

Nix kept a straight face and was saved from commenting when he saw Fajii approaching. She offered him a smile and a kiss on the cheek.

”Can I get you and Nansu to inspect the damage to the trees and vegetation?”

Fajii nodded. ”Can I take Nightmare?”

”Go ahead, tell Nan to get Flash from Pon, before the old bastard decides it's his horse.”

/Inferno: Nix: Start scouting Bali, if any of those things from last night are still alive, kill them off.

/Inferno: Bali: We're on it, boss. I'll have a report on local wildlife in a few hours.

”Sure is a nice house, Nix.” Gil's round face had a broad smile plastered on it. ”I'm gonna check it out. Is Soup here?”

Nix nodded. ”There's a small pond in the back.”

Scarlett considered her words carefully, not wanting to discourage Nix. ”From what I remember, last time it took ten years to recover. The older, larger trees managed to survive, but the smaller trees and plant life were completely wiped out.”

”I have two alchemists that are knowledgable in botany; once they finish their study, we'll react appropriately.”

Scarlett grabbed his arm and gently pulled him aside, Gil was already walking around the house to check out the turtle pond. ”We are so thankful to have Morti back, Nix.”

Nix nodded. ”I'm sure.”

”I didn't realize how big Morti is until he was playing in the practice yard with the other cubs.”

”Aren't all Titan cubs big?”