307 Arch Nemesis Una (1/2)

/Inferno: Sharl: We'll clean up the loose ends down here.

Nix followed Ducky, who seemed to be able to sense the cloud's movements through walls. They came to a final set of steps that went upward into a dark attic.

/Alpha Team: Ducky: Up the stairs, lots of puppets up here.

Nix held Wrath out in front of him, the white fire from the blade lit up the stairs as it creaked under their feet. The room was quite large, perhaps 20 meters across. Human puppets lay fully dressed in perfect rows.

/Alpha Team: Tess: This is high on the creepy scale. Things always this in Alpha?

/Alpha Team: Semmi: Pretty much.

/Alpha Team: Pon: At least it isn't a demon with his junk swinging around.

/Alpha Team: Wind: Looks like a morgue.

/Alpha Team: Nix: We'll burn them when we're done.

”Here, Nix.” Ducky was standing next to an object that could only be described as an altar. It looked much like the one in the Gemini Temple, only this one was encased in glass. Two figures lay side-by-side on the altar.

Nix stared at the pair beneath the glass, they were male and female and their hands were joined together. ”The cloud went in there?”

Ducky nodded and pointed to a crystal that was mounted on the end of the wooden staff that the man held.

/Alpha Team: Semmi: Man and Wife maybe?

/Alpha Team: Tess: The man is dead.

/Alpha Team: Ducky: The woman is a puppet.

Nix studied the woman for a moment, there was something familiar about her. ”She's not human. That's an air elemental puppet.”

Tess moved beside him and bent closer. ”How can you tell?”

Nix pointed to an object touching her shoulder. ”She's laying on her wings.”

/Inferno: Semmi: Aren't their wings black?”

/Inferno: Nix: No, that's just Rhy. They can be a couple of different colors.

Nix cautiously placed a hand on the glass, it shone brightly for a moment before disappearing, writing hovered in the air in large, bright letters.

This is the final resting place of the Puppetmaster Kellix Warden and a puppet made in the image of Arch-Nemesis Bria Chelonia. When the real Bria died suddenly, Kellix labored night and day to recreate a perfect image of her. A Demon named Jester promised Kellix that it would restore Bria's soul to his creation; if Kellix consented to create human puppets. After making several puppets, Kellix discovered that Jester was cheating him. The Puppetmaster used ancient magic to capture the demon and imprison him in a Chaos crystal. He then placed this crystal into one of the human puppets he had created. Unknown to Kellix, Jester's chaos magic transferred to the puppet also.

There are many options in front of you. You may choose what you wish.

/Alpha Team: Semmi: Hmm... That Jester demon is in the crystal?

Nix carefully extracted the crystal staff from the dead puppetmaster's hand.

Chaos Crystal

Description: Jester's

prison.

Type of Soul: Demon, Inherently Neutral/Evil

Primary Path: Chaos Magic.

Additional description: Will permanently fuse

with any puppet. It is bound to its master's will.

[Whisper Nix to Hyai] Could you tell Una to find me at once.

[Whisper Hyai to Una] She's on her way.

/Alpha Team: Jun Li: What are we going to do?

/Alpha Team: Nix: We'll put the puppet master with his human puppets and cremate everything.

/Alpha Team: Semmi: And the crystal?

/Alpha Team: Nix: We will destroy it.

/Alpha Team: Jun Li: What's an Arch-Nemesis Nix?

/Alpha Team: Nix: It means she reached the Nemesis level in two separate elements.

***********

A half-hour later, all the human puppets were stacked in a large pile in one of the crumbling fountains. Kellix had been carefully wrapped in cloth and placed on top of his creations.

Pon and Nix were standing off to one side, the old man frowning at all the bodies. ”You and me Nix?”

Nix nodded. ”Do it.”

[Tides of Flame]

Pon targeted the fountain.

[Hades Field]

A multitude of flames swept over the puppet master and his creations, within a few moments, nothing was left but ashes.

”Hey old man, the hell was that 'Final Strike' spell? I never heard of that one.”

Pon's old face creased in a grimace. ”Used my trump card, can only be cast after you receive a mortal wound.”

”It's kinda badass.”

/Inferno: Pon: Hey Sharl, did you guys ever catch that damn Vintner?

/Inferno: Sharl: Nope. Slippery bastard for sure.

The two fire mages walked over to the old blacksmith shop where the rest of Inferno were waiting. Sharl was standing next to an anvil with a large hammer in her hands. ”Now Nix?”

”So impatient.” Nix sat the crystal on the anvil and stepped away. ”Wait until I deal with the last puppet before you do it, Jester may get desperate and try to animate one of them.”

Sharl hefted the hammer in one hand. ”Give me the word and I'll crush this thing.”

When Una arrived at the Keep, Nix escorted her to the attic where the Elemental puppet still lay undisturbed. ”This puppet is better than anything I can make, I can't risk using enhancements other than the Dire Wolf you inhabit.”

Una examined it carefully with her wolf senses. ”She's an Air Elemental.”

Nix nodded. ”That was your Dragon Path also, she has another element but I can't discern it.”

”You'll let me have this Nix?” Una's yellow wolf eyes stared at him.