[Bone Fortress 0300 hours Ice Faction: 172 Undead Faction 331]

Fey used her long staff's to help Mortimus remove a large piece of the wall that had pinned Ronnie and Bali. The dark archer pulled her broken bow from the rubble, her dark eyes filled with anger.

"How did we step into a trap, Bali?"

Bali shrugged. Her lower half was still buried in the rubble. "Going to need a healer, Ronnie."

/Inferno: Ronnie: Need a healer for my bestie.

/Inferno: Nezbit: Location?

/Inferno: Ronnie: Western edge of the Keep.

Despite her thin stature, Fey was much stronger than the average person. A fact that was evident when she picked up broken pieces of rock that an average person would struggle to move. "I saw Morti. He and Nix are going after Hulo."

Mortimus and Gil were both in their Bone Forms, shifting collapsed walls and digging through the rubble.

/Inferno: Fey: We've marked the locations of all our trapped members. Please be patient. Mortimus and Gil are on the way.

/Inferno: Jun Li: Thanks... Sharl, Elan Mtui, and Beta are close by. They aren't responding to whispers.

********************

After ten minutes of trailing Hulo, it became apparent that they were steadily gaining on him. Nix was sure he must be carrying some artifact that caused the waters to recede temporarily as the witch passed thru. Something that he didn't have to worry about while Ducky and Soup were with them.

Morti led the group, the weight of his skeleton claws gouging into the passage's rock floor. "I don't get what he's doing."

Soup was walking behind Morti, creating a moving pocket of air nearly twenty meters in diameter. She did it effortlessly, even pumping up her fluorescent glow so that the group could see better.

/Family: Duck: She is so beautiful when she does that.

Nix nodded in agreement while trying to solve their Hulo problem. "Hold up."

Nix took a seat on a large boulder covered with cave moss and still damp from the water excavation. "He's heading toward the locked door. That's the general direction. He must have discovered another method of tracking it."

Ducky took a seat beside him while Morti plopped down on his bone butt. "It makes sense why he abandoned the Keep. He wants the Spectrum; perhaps the Bone Fortress is meaningless to him."

"Maybe," Nix agreed. "Rabi gave us a location on Hulo just before the Keep came crashing down. Hulo may have presumed that we'd think he was still in the rubble."

Nix moved to the floor and leaned against the rock he had been sitting on. "I've had enough of that guy. Time for him to chase us." Nix brought out his Rotter puppet. "I'll cut through the ocean and catch up with him. Put up some wards to hold the water back."

Ducky nodded. "He's not the only one who can make traps. We'll start preparing."

A few minutes later, the Rotter had made it to open water. It stayed close to the ocean floor, letting the thick sea foilage mask his presence as he weaved effortlessly toward the entrance.

***********

Hulo stared at the locked door, his purple eyes glowing brightly while he cast his magic. Dozens of drawn runes were etched into the door, the wall, and the floor. The witch's black hair had been singed, and there were three deep gouges on his face that no amount of healing would completely erase. Hulo already knew the reason why the scars were permanent. Nix's Phoenix form was a legendary creature.

Hulo stepped back from the door and activated the first rune.

Hulo has initiated [Past Tense]. He studied the door while the runes created a domino effect; the first have dozen spells would work together in an effort to open the door. The witch's face lost its impassive stare when he realized it would not open. "Even if I was here in person, I'd still need the key."

The spell continued to evolve as each rune activated, the ghost of an image appeared in front of the door. Hulo focused on what the blurred figure was doing. The image locked the door and then turned to speak to his companions. The witch's scream of rage echoed in the cavern. "NIX!

In a fit of anger, his staff swung at the image, passing harmlessly through and colliding with the door in a shower of purple flames. In distraction, he failed to sense the approaching predator, the Rotter sunk its teeth deep into the witch's shoulder before leaping away.

The terror of the Black Hand fills your thoughts.

Despite the surprise attack, Hulo was quick to respond. He slashed diagonally with his staff, barely missing the retreating creature. The witch-puppet touched the black disc that attached itself to the back of his neck. "This won't stop me. I'll kill you and then remove it."

"Hello, Jargon Kane," Nix said the words calmly as if ordering lunch at a tavern.

Hulo's eyes glittered dangerously, his staff pointing at the Rotter. "How did you know?"

The Rotter stealthed suddenly and shifted positions; the witch's eyes tracked him without pause. It would have been easier if Hulo couldn't see through his stealth. "I'm an animator. Of course, I recognize a puppet when I see one. Even if you did use the Dominance spell line."

"How did you know?" Hulo took a step forward, eyeing the distance between the exit and Nix.

"I learned about it in your office. Right before I took your City Key and stole your precious Talumbir."

"Your lying."

Rotter-nix would have smiled if he had the lips for it. "Want to know how difficult it is to carry this with webbed feet?" The rotter moved its clenched back foot slightly, releasing a shiny gold object that rolled a few meters across the floor.

"T-That's my pen!"

"It goes well with my heritage ring collection. What can I say? I like shiny stuff." Nix darted to one side without even thinking about it, causing the scroll that Hulo fired at him to strike the floor where he'd been standing.

A second rune landed directly on the puppet, pinning it to the ground as the cavern filled with Hulo's laughter. "Now you're locked inside a puppet also. It will make killing you easier. When I find your body."

The witch took a step closer and then paused. Something was wrong. He advanced to the edge of the binding rune he had cast. Nix had dropped the puppet before the spell landed. "NIX!" The witch shrieked like a banshee. A moment later, the puppet disappeared in purple fire.

***************

Nix opened his eyes an instant later; Morti was sitting quietly next to the far wall, watching as Soup and Ducky worked together. Wards had been set up at the convergence of every passage within fifty meters of their position. Ducky had etched runes onto the floor using the staff that Glacia had dropped.

"He's on his way." Nix jumped to his feet and ignited his Emerald Fury Aura. "I've got the black hand on him."

Ducky hummed to herself while she finished her objective. "Are you sure he's following you?"

Nix nodded confidently. "Pretty sure."

/Family: Nix: He's prepared. He has dozens of scrolls that he can fire off by breaking them open. He also has artifacts that store his runes. We have to put him down fast.

Ducky smiled at Soup and motioned for her to retreat. "We have a few minutes, Soupy. Give me a moment with Nix."

Soup nodded and waved before diving directly into the wall of water that was being held back by wards.

Nix glanced at the water witch. "Something up?"

"Of course. I figured out how we can kill Hulo."

"I think not." A rage-filled voice spoke from behind Morti. Before anyone could react, a binding circle surrounded the Bone Bear.

Nix pushed white sonic flames into the hilt of his blade and charged the witch.

Nix has initiated [Steps of the Sword Master].

Hulo broke open a scroll resulting in the image of a transparent net flying toward Nix. The Inferno Leader bent beneath it, elongating his step and bending backward as it passed harmlessly over him.

Nix's free hand extended as a half dozen strands of Emerald flame strands shot toward Hulo; the witch raised his staff to counter before he understood that the attack was a feint. The sonic blade passed through the witch's right wrist, causing the staff to clatter onto the floor as Hulo's pain-filled eyes widened in surprise.

Nix morphed into his Phoenix form without missing a beat, bathing the purple-eyed witch in orange flames. Hulo screamed in agony but managed to stay in place long enough to grab his staff with his uninjured hand. He slammed it onto the ground, instantly shifting ten meters away, while his clothes smoldered like an overstuffed fireplace.

Hulo's lips muttered an incantation as he raised his staff toward Nix.

Hulo has been charmed.

Hulo has resisted charm.

Before Hulo could resume his interrupted cast, a figure flashed from the warded wall of water behind him. Her jade-colored fist slammed into his back.

Soup has activated [Sonic Boom].

The witch was picked up and tossed the width of the room where he bounced against the rock wall with a bone-crunching thud.

Hulo has cast [Quick Recovery][Healed Retreat]

[Interupted]

Hulo has been charmed.

Hulo has resisted charm.

The loud sound of a staff impacting the ground drew Nix's attention. The ground around Hulo glowed bright green with countless runes.

Nix assumed his basilisk form, a sense of dread filling his thoughts when he felt the power of the spell. The air around him thickened, halting his progress five meters from Hulo, who was grinning maniacally at him.

"I didn't want to use this!" A Greater Scroll canister appeared in the air in front of him.

"Swat!" Morti's big paw slammed down onto the distracted witch, knocking him to the ground.

"Bear Stomp!" Morti reared back on his hind legs as a shield formed around the fallen witch. The shield collapsed under the Titan cub's strength, his paws crushing both of the witch's legs.

Hulo's scream of agony filled the cavern as his eyes showed desperation.

Hulo has been charmed.

Nix has cast [Petrify]

An instant later, Hulo turned to stone.

/Family: Morti: Did I wait long enough?

Nix glanced over his shoulder, where the binding spell was still holding the Titan cub. "How did ... " The Inferno leader laughed loudly; the sudden release of nerves seemed infectious as everyone joined in.

/Family: Morti: Ducky made an Illusion of me. Fooled him!

/Family: Nix: Fooled me too.

/Family: Ducky: Perfect timing, Morti.

Morti changed into his Titan cub form and pushed his wet nose into Nix's face. "I'm good at a lot of things."

Nix hugged the cub's neck, even though his arms could barely go around him. "As your Chevalier, I have to agree."

The Inferno Mage stepped closer to the stoned witch, his hand extended and turned black, causing the temperature in the cave to plummet. Nix didn't stop until the statue was completely encased in Black Ice.

Morti's large nose huffed at the witch's remains. "Gonna leave him here?"

Nix nodded. "Yep."

"It was fun swatting him. I even bear stomped him" Morti fell in step with Nix as the Inferno Leader began walking toward the lower level entrance.

Nix chuckled at the memory. "Bear stomp? Is that new?

"Yep. Just invented it. Want a ride?"

"Sure." Nix jumped up the Titan's back and then gave Ducky and Soup a hand up. "Can you carry all of us?"

"Of course. I'm very strong."