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.

"Leva!" Ducky caught the dark chancellor by surprise, wrapping her up in a tight hug while kissing her cheek.

Leva flapped her black wings once to get Ducky off her. She wagged a pale finger at the Water Witch. "You were supposed to visit me with Fey and Soup!"

Ducky stepped around the extended wings and looped an arm through Leva's. "We will! Fey is doing some secret stuff and isn't available for a while."

Nix held up a hand to stop any further discussion; he held up one of the bracelets that the cavern dwellers had been wearing. "Tell me about this and about Priscillian."

Leva snatched the bracelet without concern. As a creature of the Nether, she also was immune to its effects. "This belongs to Chancellor Cillia, also knows as the Corruptor."

"Corruptor?" Nix exchanged glances with his two companions, both of who shrugged slightly.

"Remember that pool you fell into while defeating the Nether King?" Leva suppressed a shudder; she didn't like to say the former Emperor's name. "That was Nether and dragon blood, creating it wouldn't have been possible without Cillia."

"Does this Cillian have a Nature ability? Everything in this cavern was grown by her." Nix glanced at the pile of plants that his ranger had uprooted. "Why grow anything?"

Leva studied the ground for a moment before walking toward the center pool. "When she received the Nature element, her Corruptor abilities changed it into something else. The plants you see here are fueled with the life force of humans."

Nix muttered a curse, stopping when Leva did, next to the central pool. "I'll need some more help on this one. You three head back to Dharta; I want to know what killed those people."

Bali's sharp ear caught the sound of crying. Those that weren't wearing the Corruptor charm had been placed in their beds. "What about the young-uns? We can't leave them unattended."

Nix considered her words for a moment before turning back to Leva. "The Scorched Earth Acolytes are currently training with Tai'Qui at her Temple. Bring all of them here to guard these people."

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

Sori Dah seemed much stronger than she had been the last time Nix had seen her. Her reddish-brown hair was tied in a single braid that reached her waist. The Chief Acolyte was in her lamia form; she bowed politely when she noticed the Inferno Leader." Greetings, Champion."

Somehow Sori had managed to lose most of the hissing noise used to mark her words, but it still lingered in the sound, giving her speech a peculiar sound. Nix had sent Leva to Haven to gather the acolytes; she had returned with a few unexpected guests.

Floyd has joined Alpha.

Pon has joined Alpha.

Sori Dah has joined Alpha.

/Alpha: Pon: This place smells bad.

/Alpha: Nix: Agreed. Welcome.

/Alpha: Floyd: Hey, Nix.

/Inferno: Nix: The Acolytes will stay here and watch over these people. Bali, Ducky, and Leva will head to Dharta and try to figure out how the entire city died.

/Inferno: Leva: Leaving now, unless there is something else.

/Inferno: Nix: Nope. Good luck. We're going to hunt down this Corruptor while you're doing that. I expect a report when I get back.

/Alpha: Pon: What's the plan?

Nix motioned toward the pool. "The roots of this orchard all lead beneath this pool. We can start our search there."

Floyd loosened the guns in his dual holsters before doing the same with the daggers that hung in his shoulder harness. As a trickster, his class could handle a wide variety of weapons. The Naga King liked to keep his options open.

Nix ignited his aura with the silver dread flames. Almost immediately, he started sinking into the ground next to the pool.

/Alpha: Nix: Follow me. Our prey does Nether damage, so let me and the old man lead the way.

/Alpha: Pon: I got my Nether immunity through your shared resistance. Shouldn't they get the same?

/Alpha: Nix: If we group long enough, but since yours is already high enough, you can help shield them.

/Alpha: Floyd: I don't need Pon to protect me.

/Alpha: Nix: Just stay behind us. I don't want to piss off the lamia harem.

/Alpha: Pon: Heh... No kidding.

/Alpha: Floyd: It's not a harem, fuckheads.

Pon grinned at the trickster before igniting his dread flame aura. "Stay close, Naga King."