The Ravager left Pon, Shae, and Fey just outside of the Keep while he bailed off of his Raven and started paddling through the surf toward the Keep''s steep walls. His three friends were belted into the saddle of their respective bone crows. Their task was clear, kill cia with the Trinity me.


    /Alpha: Pon: Not sure I approve of a mission where the n is for my mount to return to base with my unconscious body.


    /Alpha: Nix; We could always forget to bring you back.


    /Alpha: Fey: We''re ready, Nix!


    /Alpha: Shae: Line her up for us; we''ll finish the job.


    /Alpha: Nix: Never doubted it.


    /Alpha: Darsi: There are a bunch of people on the roof of the keep. It looks like they are doing reload exercises with those cannons.


    /Alpha: Nix: After we get our shot off, you can take out whomever you like.


    /Alpha: Darsi: Thanks, Trip-7.


    [Whisper: Nix to Ducky] Coming through your window in twenty seconds.


    [Whisper: Ducky to Nix] Nix? You are okay?


    [Whisper: Nix to Ducky] Yes. We''ll chat in a bit.


    The Ravager''s sharp ws dug deep furrows into the Keep''s wall as it climbed upward with little hindrance. He was just below the surface of Ducky''s window when a quick pair of hands reached out and nabbed him.


    "Nix!!" Ducky squeezed him tight like you would a favorite stuffed animal before she rained kisses on his nose and head. Her pale blue lips smiled wide enough for all of her teeth to show. "Are you going to meet with cia again?"


    The Ravager waited until the Water Witch set him down before answering. "She had her chance. The three of us are going to take her down."


    Ducky sat on the edge of her bed and kicked open her trunk. "I managed to grab some gear from the armory; I''ll put it on while you brief me."


    Ravager Nix turned his back politely while Ducky changed. "You, me, and Pradi will lure cia into the path of the Trinity me."


    Ducky made a noise from behind him. "That scary me that they teamed up to makest time?" The Water Witch shuddered in reflex; it had blown arge holepletely through the keep. If they were able to hit cia with it...


    "Yes. Where''s your thief?" Nix stood on his back legs, peering into the open doorway. His eyes changed from yellow to red, but no thermal images were within range.


    "They think there''s a water Nymph in the lower levels. Pradi has been trying to find it."


    The Ravager''s gaze stayed on the open doorway. "Let''s get him up here."


    Ducky shook her head slightly. "Communication with the lower part of the keep isn''t possible."


    "Let''s go round him up then." The Ravager waited until Ducky exited the room and then fell in step beside her.


    They passed several Trifecta members on their way to the lower level entrance, but none of them dared stop Ducky. Sandi had been very clear, kill Pradi if you get the chance but avoid starting anything with the Water Witch.


    /Family: Nix: Who is the strongest Witch in the Keep?


    /Family: Ducky: Hulo.


    /Family: Nix: Never heard of him. Part of Trifecta?


    /Family: Ducky: Yes. He is the Vice-Commander under Sandi. There''s a peculiar scent that lingers around him.


    /Family: Nix: My Ravager nose can figure it out; let me know if you see him.


    They turned down a long hallway, dimly lit by torches that caused their shadows to dance on the walls. A group of yers stood in an open archway; they moved to one side when they saw Ducky and the Ravager.


    /Family: Ducky: Seems that our luck is good. The one with the short brown hair is Hulo.


    Ravager-Nix stared at the man, letting his vision cycle through the different ranges. The ck predator seemed to stumble before righting himself and continuing through the nearby doorway.


    /Family: Nix: Hulo has no thermal signature.


    /Family: Ducky: What does that mean?


    /Family: Nix: Not sure. I have an artifact that does something simr. Anyone could have one, I guess. The real problem is that he smells like dragon. A particr dragon.


    /Family: Ducky: Jargon Kane?


    /Family: Nix: Yes. He hasn''t been seen in the Sky Kingdom for quite some time. Tai thinks he is at the Tembai Academy.


    [Whisper: Hulo to cia] Free information for you. Ducky just entered the lower halls.


    [Whisper: cia to Hulo] I don''t really care.


    [Whisper: Hulo to cia] Pradi is already down there; Ducky has some sort of vicious-looking predator with her. Dark as night with a long body and snout.


    [Whisper: cia to Hulo] That is interesting. Thank you, Hulo.


    **************


    After ten minutes of swimming down long hallways and diving into flooded staircases, Nix was convinced that his next puppet hybrid would have some otter in it. The Ravager was a decent swimmer, but its long ws were made for rending flesh.


    The duo stood at the intersection of two long hallways; the water was deep enough to soak Nix''s underside while he darted back and forth, searching for scent. The Ravager stopped suddenly, its ck nose sniffing the air. "Found Pradi, this way!"


    Nix sshed noisily down the hallway while Ducky followed effortlessly behind him; her fluid stride was silent despite the water level reaching her shins.


    cia has cast [Ice Wraith].


    "Pradi!" Ducky sprinted down the hall, increasing her speed until the Ravager struggled to keep up.


    They turned a sharp corner and then immediately slid down a steep ramp that had been coated with ice. The Ravager''s long ws dug into the Ice while Ducky glided down without a second thought.


    "Wee, Ducky."


    You have entered a Binding Circle.


    Nix and Ducky both stared in surprise. cia hade, but she wasn''t alone.


    "Is this creature your familiar, Ducky?" A woman with curly brown hair and eyes the color of sand, spoke softly in the dim light. She wore a short ck robe, with leather leggings and open-toed sandals that exposed her painted nails.


    Ducky ignored the woman and nced at her thief. "Are you okay, Pradi?"


    The thief nodded, he had several ice pins protruding from his left shoulder, but the wound looked minor. "I''m sorry! This is my fault."


    Pradi has joined Family.


    /Family: Nix: Just rx. Don''t do anything stupid.


    The Ravager quickly scanned the room. It was circr in shape, approximately thirty meters across. The shin-deep water on the floor had been sh-frozen, either as camouge for the trap or the result of cia''s attack.


    Ducky smiled sweetly at the two women, her blue eyes studying the trap for a moment before she answered. "Nice of you to make our task easier. Unfortunately, we can''t let either of you leave here alive."


    Sandi''sugh was pleasant, a throaty alto that echoed in the room. "Give me that creature''s spirit bond, and I''ll let you and Pradi die quickly."


    "Hmm... That''s a sweet offer. I like sweet things." Ducky''s smooth voice was soft, but everyone in the room heard it clearly.


    "Don''t try to charm me! I have a special artifact that makes me immune to control effects."


    Ducky smiled and stepped out of the binding circle; the Ravager followed her while a sudden quiet nketed the room.


    "W-What? How did you get out of my trap?" Sandi took a step back while raising her staff in front of her.


    Ducky''s blue eyes seemed deep and calm. "What trap?"


    Sandi has been charmed.


    Nix bolted forward, shing by the witch to arrive in front of cia. Instantly dodging as a dozen ice spears impaled the spot where he''d been. He side-stepped the swinging staff and scampered up the wall like it was adder.


    Sandi has cast [Clouded Vision]


    The uracy of cia''s ranged spells has decreased by fifty percent.


    "Damn you, stupid Bitch!" cia turned her staff toward Sandi, the space between them filled with ice projectiles as the Trifecta leader was pinned to the wall.


    Toote, she realized her mistake; the Ravager was much faster than her. It sprang towards her, its teeth moving toward her staff.


    [Backstab][Water Dagger][Water Expansion]


    Pradi hasnded a critical strike on cia.


    A Water Dagger has wounded cia.


    A Water Dagger has expanded and created a significant strike.


    Instead of mping down on the staff, the Ravager jumped on it and shed at his intended target.


    "NOOO!" cia''s shriek caused the ice floor to shatter in an explosion of power. Her pale hand mped over her good eye.


    cia has been blinded.


    "I WILL DESTROY YOU!!"


    A wall of clear ice surrounded cia; blood streamed down her face as her expression turned maniacal.


    /Family: Nix: Time to run!


    Pradi moved first, his feet swishing from side to side like a speed skater with Ducky and Nix hot on his heels. They were halfway across the room when the exit became a wall of imprable ice. The Ravager shed at it with his ws, but the hardness was simr to ck Ice.


    /Family: Nix: Spread out. She''ll have to drop the Ice shield to attack us.


    cia turned toward the crunch of Nix''s ws as he moved across the shattered ice. As if calling him a liar, a half dozen spears shed toward him.


    "Shit!" Nix easily dodged, despite the number of projectiles. "Keep moving!"


    The shield surrounding cia moved with her as she advanced to the middle of the room. Her creepyugh sent shudders down the Ravager''s spine. "Do you think yourselves safe? I don''t need to see you."


    cia has cast a Greater Spell [Ice World].


    The temperature in the room plummeted suddenly, their breath condensing into crystals as they retreated from the Coven Leader. Ice formed on the walls, a crackling noise like broken ss while it expanded inward, slowly making the room smaller.


    /Family: Nix: Not good. She''ll turn this entire room into a solid chunk of ice.


    /Family: Ducky: Options?


    Nix turned toward the far exit. Therge sheet of ice blocking it was already expanding.


    /Family: Nix: Last resort, I guess. Self-destruct and try to create an exit for you guys.


    /Family: Pradi: Self-destruct?


    Nix closed on the blocked exit, skidding to a stop just as the entire room started vibrating. "The hell is that?"


    A shrill screeching noise caused the Ravager to back away from the exit, both paws covering his ears. Something was moving through the ice. Pradi swooped in and grabbed the Ravager since the high pitch seemed painful to the point where Nix could barely move.


    An instantter, the spinning tip of a bit punched through the ice wall, great shards of ice were flung off as water began coursing into the room. The sound of cracking ice was all the warning the upants had before the shield shattered under the pressure. A giant wave of water rushed in, but instead of flooding the room, it reversed direction and exited like an obedient pet.


    She stepped into the doorway, her round eyes scanning the upants. Columns of Water swirled around her she advanced, her bare, jade-colored feet not bothered by the icy floor.


    "You dare interfere with me?" cia''s voice throbbed with power as every piece of ice in the room rushed back toward the Coven Leader to reinforce her protective barrier.


    The spinning columns of water following the jade figure sharpened and then shed into the barrier, like a dozen drill bits, it punched into the shield. The Ravager jumped free of Prada and darted towards the distracted cia. The barrier shattered just as the predator closed; its hyper reflexes avoided the worst of it.


    As if sensing the Ravager''s presence, an Ice spear formed in the Coven Leader''s hand as she thrust the tip forward.


    [cia has been charmed]


    [cia has resisted charm]


    Nix slipped past the spear''s tip, both ws shing at the witch''s neck in a ssh of blood. cia stumbled backward just as a single column of water punched through her chest. The witch slid across the floor andnded against the wall where Sandi was still impaled.


    [cia has been in]


    Ravager Nix stood on his hind legs, staring at the dead witch. "If I said it once, I''ve said it a hundred times. Big mistake, underestimating my girl."


    Ducky''s gasp of surprise seemed loud in the sudden quiet. "Soupy?"