When Kun'nuk'kles woke, he was still on the floor. But there was a blanket over him, and his staff was leaning against the wall. He sat up, and tried to remember why he was there. Oh, yes… the healing spell. That had taken a lot out of him. Much more than the Chaos Bindings had. His eyes went wide, and he scrambled to his feet. The Chaos Emeralds! They were still in the hands of that… whoever it was!
Kun'nuk'kles ran out of the house, eyes wildly searching, when a hand from within the house dragged him back in. "What do you think you're doing?" Menshi demanded.
"The Chaos Emeralds… they're still in the hands of… the one who had me thrown in the condemned cell!" Kun'nuk'kles explained.
"The what?"
"The Chaos Emeralds. They're three of the Chaos Spirits, Imprisoned in a cage of beryl."
Her eyes widened in horror. "That's… he cannot be allowed to have that kind of power! I'll fetch father… he'll know what to do!" she exclaimed, and ran off.
When she came back, Mentaka was with her. "What is all this talk of Chaos Spirits and Emeralds I hear from my daughter, Wizard?" he asked, in a raspy voice.
Kun'nuk'kles explained again, and Mentaka's face went hard. "I see… well, this usurper… what is his name, anyway?"
"Uroth," Menshi answered.
"Uroth, is it? Well, he cannot be allowed to continue with this charade. I will confront him."
"Are you sure that's wise, Mentaka? He controls the warriors and villagers with his voice alone. He would surely have you killed."
Mentaka nodded. "True. That is why you're coming with me."
"Me? Oh, all right…"
"Good. Let's go."
And with that, Mentaka walked out the door at a measured pace, and Kun'nuk'kles followed him, waiting for trouble. Amazingly, the trouble didn't come until they came back to the temple. They were about to light it again. "Now, I say NAY!" Mentaka shouted.
The entire crowd turned to look at him, and hushed whispers went through it when they saw. "Mentaka? How is it that you are here?" the false Elder asked, pushing his way through the crowd.
"The good wizard here purged my body of the poison that you gave to me," Mentaka answered, glaring levelly at Uroth.
The crowd gasped, looking at Uroth in much the same way as Mentaka was. Kun'nuk'kles, unnoticed, started chanting a spell. Uroth's face contorted into a sneer. "So, you figured it out, did you? Well, this time, I'll make sure the job is done right!"
Uroth swung his staff at Mentaka's head, but Mentaka did not flinch. Just before impact, Kun'nuk'kles shouted, "Shield!"
The staff bounced off of some invisible barrier with a wild sparking. Uroth's eyes went wide, and saw Kun'nuk'kles for the first time since Mentaka had shown himself. "You! How dare you!"
"How dare you? How dare you strike at an unarmed Echidna?" Kun'nuk'kles shot back.
Uroth screamed in fury, his eyes boggling. He swung his staff… and was blocked easily by Kun'nuk'kles. "Where are the Chaos Emeralds, Uroth?" he demanded.
"You'll never find those blasphemies!" Uroth growled, and swung again.
Kun'nuk'kles blocked, and then countered with a sweeping motion of his staff, knocking Uroth to the ground. As he groaned on the ground, groping for his staff, Kun'nuk'kles stepped on his arm. Uroth howled in pain, and glared at Kun'nuk'kles. "The Chaos Emeralds aren't blasphemies," Kun'nuk'kles explained calmly, while grinding his foot down on Uroth's arm. "I don't believe that any blasphemy has taken place while I've been here. But it IS sacrilegious to burn down the damn temple! Now… where are the Chaos Emeralds?"
Uroth howled in pain again, and tried to grab Kun'nuk'kles's leg with his other hand. This did not go well for him, as Kun'nuk'kles used his staff to bring his other arm to the ground so that he could step on it with his other foot. Then, he pointed his staff, crystal-first, at Uroth's head, about 2 inches from his nose. "Last chance, moron…" Kun'nuk'kles said, with just a hint of a growl in his voice. "If you won't answer, then you're going to experience ALMOST the exact same thing I did to the host of Chaos Green. Only you'll get it in the face…"
Uroth whimpered. "The altar… the Chaos Emeralds are on the altar… we were going to destroy them with purifying flames…"
"Thank you," Kun'nuk'kles said, and then kicked him in the face.
"Just out of curiosity…" Mentaka murmured in his ear. "What DID you do to the host of Chaos Green?"
"Point-blank fireballs to the back of the neck," he replied.
"Urrgh."
"Indeed."
