ARC II THE JESTER'S GAME
Chapter 6 Puppets on the Road
The road they travelled grew stranger with each passing day. The forests became darker. The mountains taller. The silence heavier. Even the wind seemed reluctant to travel through this part of Elyria. The black fox continued following them. Always watching. Always disappearing whenever anyone approached.
Moon refused to explain. Kev trusted that about as much as a cat trusted water. Nobody mentioned it. But everybody noticed. Something was hunting them. Or perhaps guiding them. Neither possibility was comforting.
The morning was cold. Thin mist drifted between ancient pines as the group traveled along an abandoned road. Moon sat behind Toivo atop one of the marble horses. Daylight had once again reduced him to his smaller form. His long black hair flowed almost to the horse's side. Kev rested in cat form upon Moon's lap.
The black cat's crimson eyes remained half-open. Watching. Listening. Waiting.
Gret rode ahead.
The giant warrior scanned the forest.
Toivo noticed it immediately.
"You sense something?"
Gret nodded.
"Aye."
His grip tightened around his greataxe.
"Too quiet."
Kev opened one eye.
"Wonderful."
The cat yawned.
"I was hoping for a boring day."
That was when the bells rang.
Jingle.
Jingle.
Jingle.
The sound echoed through the trees. Everyone stopped.
Toivo frowned.
"What is that?"
Jingle.
Jingle.
Jingle.
The bells sounded closer now. Almost playful. Almost cheerful. Yet every instinct screamed danger.
Moon slowly looked toward the forest. His his jet-black eyes turned into silver eyes narrowed.
Kev immediately stood. His fur rose. For once the demon looked serious.
"That," Kev said quietly.
"Is very bad."
The forest exploded. Four figures burst from the trees. Not monsters.Not bandits. Something worse. People. Or things pretending to be people. Each wore black-and-white clown clothing. Their faces were hidden behind porcelain masks painted with exaggerated smiles. Silver bells hung from their sleeves. Colorful ribbons fluttered behind them. Yet their movements were wrong. Too fast. Too sharp. Like puppets pulled by invisible strings.
Toivo immediately reached for Frostfang.
Gret lowered his stance.
Moon's expression became unreadable.
One clown tilted its head.
Then another. Then all four. Simultaneously. As if controlled by a single mind. Then they laughed. A horrible laughter. Not human.Not alive.
"Hahahahaha!"
"Hahahahaha!"
"Hahahahaha!"
"Hahahahaha!"
The sound echoed through the forest.
Toivo felt his skin crawl. Kev transformed instantly. Black smoke erupted around him. The cat vanished. A tall pale man appeared. Short red hair. Crimson eyes. Black suit immaculate despite the chaos. Sharp claws extended from his fingertips.
The clown puppets froze. Almost recognizing him.
Kev smiled. A very unpleasant smile.
"Oh."
He cracked his neck.
"I've been waiting to hit something."
The puppets attacked. The first moved like lightning. Its blade flashed toward Moon. Toivo intercepted instantly.
Frostfang collided with steel.
Sparks exploded.
The impact nearly threw him backward.
Strong. Far stronger than ordinary soldiers.
The puppet twisted unnaturally. Its arm bent at an impossible angle. A hidden dagger lunged toward Toivo's throat.
He ducked. The blade missed by inches.
Then Frostfang slammed upward.
CRACK.
The clown was thrown into a tree.
A second puppet charged Gret.
A mistake.
The giant warrior grinned.
"Finally."
His runic greataxe descended. The puppet crossed two swords to block. The result was predictable.
BOOM.
Both swords shattered. The clown flew through three trees before crashing into the forest floor.
Gret laughed.
"Too weak."
The puppet immediately stood back up. Uninjured. Gret stopped smiling.
"Ah."
Now that was unusual. The remaining two attacked together. One targeted Kev. The other lunged toward Moon.
Moon stepped lightly from the marble horse. Despite appearing like a child, his movements remained graceful. Almost dance-like.
The clown's sword flashed. Moon avoided it effortlessly. Silver silk erupted from his sleeves. Dozens of glowing ribbons spiraled through the air.
The puppet slashed them apart. More appeared. Then more. Then hundreds. The forest became a web of moonlight. The clown suddenly found itself bound. Moon flicked his wrist. The puppet crashed into a boulder. The entire rock shattered.
Nearby, Kev fought like a nightmare.
One moment he stood still. The next he appeared behind his opponent. Black claws tore through armor. The puppet's chest exploded.
Yet instead of blood Stuffing. Wood. Strings. The thing was literally a puppet.
Kev blinked.
"...Well that's disturbing."
The puppet continued moving despite being torn open.
Kev sighed.
"I preferred demons."
Toivo and Gret quickly joined forces. Years of experience met youthful determination. One puppet charged.
Toivo blocked high.
Gret struck low.
The clown stumbled.
Frostfang flashed.
The puppet lost an arm.
Gret's greataxe followed.
The entire body exploded into wooden fragments.
The bells stopped ringing.
One down.
Three remained.
The surviving puppets suddenly retreated.
They gathered together. Motionless. Watching. Then all four raised their heads toward the sky.
Their laughter returned.
"Hahahahaha!"
"Hahahahaha!"
"Hahahahaha!"
Moon's expression darkened.
He recognized that laughter. Not theirs. Someone else's. Someone controlling them. Far away. Watching through their eyes. The puppets spoke together. One voice. One mind. A voice filled with amusement.
"Found you."
The forest became silent. Even the wind stopped. The puppets tilted their heads. The smile painted on their masks somehow seemed wider.
"Hahahaha."
"We'll play again soon."
Then their bodies collapsed. Strings snapped. Wood cracked. The puppets fell lifeless to the ground.
Nobody spoke for several moments.
Toivo looked at Moon.
"You know who that was."
Moon remained silent.
Kev answered instead.
His expression unusually grim.
"Yes."
He stared at the broken puppets.
"And unfortunately..."
The demon's crimson eyes narrowed.
"I think they know who we are too."
Far away.
Beyond forests. Beyond mountains. Beyond the northern horizon. Someone laughed. And the game had begun.
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