Chapter 591: Corrupted Nature (1/2)
Nix exchanged glances with Bali before turning back toward Felid Sah. ”How could you not know that the entire population of Dharta is dead?”
Felid Sah's dark face showed his disbelief. ”They aren't dead. There were stockpiles of wood and supplies enough for several days, plenty of time for us to set up here and send for the others.”
Nix glanced around the large dome-like cavern. ”You were going to try and move the entire population of Dharta in here?”
/Inferno: Bali: It's too small. Even the group they have now is too many.
/Inferno: Nix: We're missing something.
Bali nodded to herself. The magic-user had charmed her, despite the Ain'Dhassi ranger having a very high resistance to control-magic. ”We need the big gun.”
Nix replied with a short sentence. ”Here we go.”
[Summons: Ducky]
Ducky appeared in front of the duo a moment later, her all-blue eyes taking in everything without speaking. She immediately zeroed in on Felid Sah and offered him a sweet smile. ”You have something special on you.”
Felid Sah nodded and rolled up the bright sleeve of his red silk robe. ”Pricillian gave us all these charm bracelets.” The bracelet was a simple silver chain that was carefully woven around several shiny black rocks.
The Water Witch bent low to examine it, careful not to let it contact her skin. ”How many of these are there?”
Felid Sah considered the question for a moment. ”Nearly five thousand of them, it uses the power of nature to provide basic protection against the elements while safeguarding our good health.”
/Inferno: Ducky: It's draining their life force while making them more compliant. I can't touch it, Nix. You'll have to remove them.
/Inferno: Nix: Tell me how.
/Inferno: Ducky: It's Nether-based; with your immunity, it should be easy.
Nix reached out casually as if to examine the jewelry; instead, he unclasped it and stowed it away.
You have been exposed to Soul Siphon.
You are immune to Nether-based spells.
You have been exposed to Black Dusk.
You are immune to Nether-based spells.
You have been exposed to the Corruption Charm.
You are immune to Nether-based spells.
Nix read off the spells as they scrolled across his hud. He stepped back suddenly when Felid Sah collapsed forward onto the table.
Bali nudged Nix with an elbow, her pale face showing a grim expression. ”Kids are wearing these things!”
”Ducky and I will work on removing these from everyone. Tear this place apart and find us something that will lead us to this Priscillian person.”
”I'm on it, Commander.” Bali saluted crisply and headed toward the large garden.
The next few hours were a blur as Nix personally removed the bracelets from most of the cavern inhabitants. Thankfully, none of the really young children were wearing them. The immediate effect of breaking the enchantments was a deep sleep. Ducky had directed everyone to their sleeping areas before starting the operation.
Bali stood near the large tree at the center of the large dome. As someone well-versed in nature, everything about this garden orchard felt wrong. Her eyes fell casually on a row of small trees that were about a meter high. Each one was almost identical to the next and bore a yellow citrus fruit that closely resembled the lemons growing in the Parliament orchard.
The bark was rough to the touch and had a sticky sap that oozed out. She gripped the trunk of one tree and pulled upward; surprisingly, it easily released the soil beneath it. Bali pulled the tree free of the dirt with barely any effort, a single root as thick as a finger extended down into the ground. ”No root system?”
Yanking it free completely was quite difficult; the single root was burrowed down for a few inches before running horizontally under the ground. Her eyes followed the direction the root was headed as she pulled a second tree loose and then a third.
When Nix found her a long time later, nearly a dozen trees and plants had been pulled free of the ground. ”Taking up farming, Bali?”
Bali smiled widely, her pale face smudged with dirt. ”See that small stone pool at the center of the orchard? Everything growing here has a single root that leads in that direction.”
[Direct Contact: Leva]
Leva was sitting at her desk studying her hud when Nix's life-sized holo popped up in front of her. ”Something wrong, Nix?”
Nix nodded. ”We've run into some Nether-based artifacts and a very peculiar magic-user named Priscillian.” From the sudden change in expression, Nix realized that Leva knew the caster. ”Should I open up a breach?”
Leva nodded and stood up from behind her desk. She closed the direct contact just before she stepped through the breach that he created.