Hey everyone, writing this intro here on Memorial Day, staying inside, because my allergies at the moment are horrible. They've been like that all month, and I doubt they'll be any better in June. My parents and brother are in bad shape too - this whole family has it bad,
Still, this chapter I've been working on was rather long, so I split it into two parts, again. The second part should be out in a week or so.
But for now, let's continue. A brief word first on the B-plot in relation to the A-plot, time between them is not consistent; the A-plot of this chapter occurring over a little more than a day, the B-plot only about three hours. Also, some of the monsters used in the duel here are Speed Duel cards that have been modified for the rules of the core game. Any fans of Yu-Gi-Oh! Sevens will see what I mean. For those who aren't, suffice to say that Speed Duels are a spin-off of the core game, so some adaptation was needed.
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Shadowchasers
Blue Blood
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Chapter Ten
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…It Probably Is
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Dolores was in a bad situation. She knew it, Jalal (who was twenty feet to her right, bound with magical restraints and under guard) knew it, and she was certain her opponent knew it. If she couldn't win this duel, she'd never be able to look Jalal in the face again… Of course, if that would only be a problem - for her at least - for the next three hours, assuming what Saulie said was true.
"Saulie," she said, "just answer me one question."
"Mmm?"
"Why here? You and your group could have attacked us at the restaurant, and we could have done it there, why bring us all the way here? I mean, why have a duel in an arena when there are no spectators?"
"Hmm!" she remarked. "Good question. Well, this may sound kinda weird, but…" She turned slightly around, towards her grandfather on the platform behind her, who was now serving as his own tombstone in an underground fighting arena that only his clan seemed to know was now a shrine. "You know I've fought here so many times before - it ain't easy walkin' into this place night after night, knowin' ah might not be walkin' out, and ah know the one ah have to fight is thinkin' the same thing. But the strange part is, once ah'm here ah feel safer, more, eh, what's word here… confident, almost like he has my back. Maybe he does, or maybe ah'm just imagining things, but sometimes havin' somethin' to believe in is all that keeps ya goin', know what ah'm sayin'?
Dolores simply closed her eyes and nodded. She certainly did. No matter how this duel ended, it wasn't going to be pleasant.
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Nichole didn't sleep that night - nobody did, really. But while most of her friends didn't do much except lie awake worrying, Nichole found, to her delight, that the grimoire had accepted her signature. The previously empty pages were in writing she could easily read, with formulae and recipes for some of the most potent divine ravages and portents, divine powers that had been made famous by some of the most legendary of Justicars.
Unfortunately, at first, she was a little disappointed. While the formulae she had expected were there, such as the recipes for jade water and golden ice (types of holy water that could be used against undead and demons in an offensive manner) many of the detailed concoctions had been devised with the intent to punish evildoers and seemed outdated and brutal. There was the haunting conscience ritual, which would cause a criminal to be plagued by phantasms of his victims and depraved decadence which caused a hedonist to be sickened by the vices he had once indulged in.
All of these afflictions were meant to torment an unrepentant sinner until he saw the error of his ways and sought atonement. But it all seemed rather… extreme.
She stopped when she saw one called raging desire, reading the description: "Should one of lustful thoughts and carnal impulses be given to crimes of passion, the fate delivered by this affliction bestows insatiable sexual desire, rendered impotent and helpless when confronted by the objects of his affection until penance is done."
Nichole leaned back on her pillow, closed her eyes, briefly picturing Sven lecherously groping at a young woman in a bar like he always had, only for the would-be victim to belt him hard in the face or rack him mercilessly with a kick to the groin. She pictured it happening again and again, until he was in front of Nichole herself, bloodied, bruised, with black eyes and a broken nose, confessing to every assault on every woman in his long life of misogyny, pleading for mercy, his fate entirely in her hands…
Her eyes snapped open, and she sat up. One thing she remembered Gregory telling her, any fantasy you may have - be it regarding revenge or passion - was perfectly okay, but only so long as it remained a fantasy. Wanting to make it reality was never wise.
As she read further, the magics detailed within seemed more feasible. A section on how to construct the Alicorn's sacred goblet, a cup made by a horn freely given by a unicorn; one could safely drink anything placed in such a goblet, a foil to any assassin who used poison.
There was a whole section of the book dedicated to combating the undead. Details of a special diet that would cause one's blood to sicken and nauseate a vampire that tried to drink it, and information on cultivating the roses of eternal slumber… sacred flowers that if placed on a vampire's coffin, would keep the vampire trapped inside, turning the coffin into a prison.
She skimmed ahead a few pages. This book had far more pages than its size suggested and would take a long time to read. Damn, she thought, why did the old scribes never consider a table of contents?
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"Porgy! Ernie! Duke!" Saulie pointed to Jalal. "Watch him, make sure he doesn't get loose."
"Right, boss!" exclaimed Ernie. Then he turned to Porgy and quietly asked, "Uh, what exactly are we gonna do if he does get loose?"
Duke slapped him on the back of the head and said "Quiet!"
(Dolores: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - (Saulie: 8,000)
"And here we go!" Saulie made her first draw, and after a brief "Hmm!" used three cards, setting two of them in her Spell Zone, and then calling forth a bulky, overweight Warrior with gray skin and smoldering red eyes. He wore overalls with chains in place of suspenders, a bandana, and had bare feet. He carried a huge hammer. (1,600 ATK)
Iron Chain Repairman, thought Jalal. This could go either way but won't be pretty.
Dolores had certainly seen Iron Chain monsters before - an archetype that some duelists regarded as flawed and wasted potential - most, however, regarded them as garbage. It was as if whoever had designed them couldn't decide just what sort of strategy they were trying to enact. Still, a few of the more notorious cards in the group stood out.
If she has Iron Chain Repairman out, one of those set cards is likely Soul Anchor. So, I'll have to get creative here.
"I'll summon… Witch of the Black Forest."
Playing the card, a tall female Spellcaster rose up, with long dark hair and a flowing black and gray robe. Unnervingly, she had a third eye, which was open, above the other two, who were closed. (1,100 ATK)
Then she held two more cards forward. "I'll use Polymerization to bring her and Sangan together, on rye bread with Swiss cheese, hold the pickle."
The small, spherical, three-eyed Fiend appeared and chittered happily, the Fusion portal promptly appearing and drawing him and the Witch within. A short creature hopped from the portal, dressed in a miter and long robe with loose sleeves, both white and brown hues. It had green skin and Sangan's eyes, the third eye printed on the front of the miter and had a crooked staff. (2,100 ATK)
"Sanwitch, eh?" replied Saulie. "Cute."
"Don't get used to it, Saulie, most of my monsters aren't cute at all. Next, I'll use the Equip Spell, Overdone Burial. I'll discard this Level 5 monster to bring my Level 4 Witch of the Black Forest back from my Graveyard."
The Spell Card appeared, and then turned into a tombstone, and the ground in front of it cracked, a female hand reaching up from the grave below. The rest of the arm followed, then a second one, and then Witch struggled and grunted as she pulled herself out of the ground. (1,100 ATK)
"That monster I just discarded was called Infernoid Piaty. And because I have no more than eight total Levels of Effect monsters in play right now, I can banish it, and then summon…" A pit opened between Sanwitch and Witch, and a geyser of flames spouted upward with a plume of foul black smoke and a stench of brimstone.
The monster dragging itself out of the fiery portal was easily identified as Fiend-Type, as it had all the common characteristics; bat-like wings, two horns on its temples and a third on its forehead, a long, barbed tail, and a hunched over stance. However, as the flames and smoke died down, it resembled a Machine just as much. Its armored hide was metal - not metallic, actual metal, its joints were gears and there were two glass cylindrical devices on its spine with pulsating dark stones inside, suggesting power capsules. Sharp edges covered most of its body, and its red optic sensors focused squarely on Iron Chain Repairman, a red crosshair scope projected onto the Warrior's torso. (1,600 ATK)
Saulie almost squealed with delight upon seeing the monster. "Robot Fiends? Where have they been hiding them?"
"They're not easy to use; these monsters cannot be summoned normally, but when you bring them out, their powers can dominate the field quickly. For example, Infernoid Harmadik here can destroy one monster per turn."
The Infernoid's eyes flashed as it stared at Iron Chain Repairman, and then a burning ray of pure energy sliced through the air, leaving a red, glowing diagonal gash on the Warrior's ample torso. Repairman's eyes bugged out, and then it shattered, the hammer falling to the floor - in two pieces - and then also shattered.
"What a revoltin' development this is," remarked Saulie.
"Indeed. Witch, Sanwitch… Direct attack!"
Witch of the Black Forest closed her third eye and then opened her other two, placing one palm above the other as she started to create a ball of dark, pulsating magic. Sanwitch lifted its staff, the tip glowing as it produced a similar orb. Both monsters hurled the orbs forward, forming a spiraling destructive missile that homed in on Saulie.
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It was 4:30 AM when Nichole walked into the refectory and found that Hank, Maddie, Sonya, and Red Feather were already there. It seemed everyone had trouble sleeping. Hank was writing something in a notebook; next to him on the table was a rack holding two flasks of liquid. Sonya and Maddie seemed to be going over their cards, having already gone through several cups of Coffee's strong iced coffee with goat milk concoction that he got his name from.
Red was studying the journal. The strange journal written in drow language that Maddie had found in an abandoned laboratory in the Ebon Triad's lair, something that someone seemed to have been eager to recover. Or rather, the journal that should be strange, but was not. Red could not read drow, but she knew enough about enchanted writing and magical script to recognize such… and this journal did not have any of that whatsoever. Why was that strange? Well, odd as it may seem, very few drow could actually speak or read the drow language, which was a very archaic tongue.
This was not as unusual as it sounded; to make a comparison, Gaelic was a language that could be considered the native tongue of Scotland but spoken by very few modern citizens. The only reason to ever learn it was if you were an academician whose profession or hobby was finding and deciphering very old books.
The drow language was much older than Gaelic or most human languages and was also only commonly used by drow who had to find and decipher old books, but in their case, such drow were usually religious leaders, wizards, or both. Such scholars used the language for magical texts with secretive information, handwritten with hexed sigils and that sort of thing.
This? This was just a journal. It was a scribe's equivalent of using the good silverware to fix a sandwich for lunch, but why?
"Wow," said Nichole. "Never thought waking up this early would make me the last one up."
"Nobody was able to sleep," said Sonya, somberly.
"I slept a little," added Maddie, "about an hour, I think. Had the worst nightmare."
"Not sleeping might be better than what we dodged last night." Hank motioned to the flasks. "Wasn't hard to analyze that cake - it is laced with concentrated twilight bloom. Someone at that restaurant was trying to do us in."
"Well that certainly narrows it down," said Sonya, rolling her eyes.
"Uh… Good point."
"We've got more bad news, people." Francis entered the commissary, and he was more noticeably tired, his eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep. "I just got through to Jabels. He says Jalal is 'indisposed' right now."
Jabels was the boss' valet, and one of his idiosyncrasies was never being able to say "I don't know" when asked a question.
"So, we're on our own then?"
Nobody tried to answer Maddie's question, but after a minute Hank spoke up. "We'd better think of something soon, that… thing expects us to meet it in," he checked his watch. "Oh shit."
"What?"
"Forgot to reset this stupid thing, it's still on Montana time. I'll just -"
"Wait, hold it." Nichole grabbed Hank by the wrist and looked at the watch, the comment about time zones having given her an idea.
"If it's 6:45 in Montana, Chicago is an hour later… Yeah, he's awake." She activated her Duel Disk and turned on the communicator device. "Cross your fingers everyone…"
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"No… fucking… way…" gasped Dolores.
"Language!" scolded Saulie.
(D: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - (S: 4,800)
Losing that many Life Points in a single turn would be unpleasant for most duelists, but Saulie was standing there unbowed and unfazed, her hand on her hip with a smug smirk. "That all?" she asked.
Saulie was tough. Dolores realized that had her opponent demanded a more traditional form of dwarven combat - like boxing, or wrestling - Saulie would have smashed her by now. Was it out of honor for her clan and respect for the Shadowchasers' methods? Or because she didn't want the fight to be too easy? Maybe both? It was hard to say.
"Infernoid Harmadik can't battle this turn because it used its effect, so I'll just set this card facedown and it's your move."
"Thank ya, so here goes. I draw, and… Huh, seems ya used all your cards that turn, eh? Well, ah'll help ya with that. The Spell Card, Contingency Fee."
Jalal grunted a little, shifting his sitting position, causing Duke to say, "Settle down!"
That card lets Dolores draw until she has a hand of six, he thought, but also increases Saulie's Life Points by 1,000 for each card drawn. A useful but risky maneuver.
(D: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - (S: 10,800)
Dolores felt the same way; she was glad to get more cards, but Saulie was clearly taking an unorthodox approach. Then her foe used a monster card, exclaiming "Iron Maiden Enchantress!"
This was very unexpected. The monster that appeared was a mermaid. There was no mistaking the female monster's long fishtail. But she had an iron chestplate and helmet, both dull gray, and carried a long metal kanabō, the dour expression on her face telling Dolores that she was eager to clobber her with it. (1,200 ATK)
"Next, because ah her, ah can toss one'a my Iron Maidens to Special Summon the Iron Maiden Kanan."
She discarded a card and another grim female monster appeared, seemingly Kanan the Swordmistress with the same dull style of armor as Enchantress. Rather than a sword, her weapon was a two-foot–long shaft on a hilt with downward-pointing hook on the end, a jutte. She also had a large, rectangular-shaped tower shield with the Eye of Wdjat on the front. (2,000 DEF)
"Now ah can use Iron Maiden Enchantress' effect, and make an additional Normal Summon, so long as it's a Tribute Summon and ah use her as a sacrifice. Oh, and the monster ah'm summoning is Level 7, but 'cause of her effect, she can count one Iron Maiden as two monsters, so Enchantress, you're outta here." Enchantress turned into water, melting away into a puddle… and then, the puddle turned into a spout that rushed upward, shaping itself into a feminine shape…
"You're on duty… Iron Maiden Dian Keto!"
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The dial tone from Nichole's Duel Disk rang twice, and then a seductive female voice answered.
"Greetings, this is SAL, and because you are contacting me via this line, I assume you are speaking from at least 50 years in the past - seeing as you are unable to email - and if you are doing so because you made a mistake while trying to use Karl's time machine, or mistook it for the new toaster, say or enter 2 now and instructions for initiating the return trip will follow. Whatever you do, do not use it to make toast again and try to avoid any butterflies."
Both Francis and Nichole rolled their eyes. They were used to Karl's snarky AI assistant.
"If you want to leave a message for Nichole, say or enter 3 now, unless this is Beglerbeg Barlu Malctus the Proud, in which case I assure you she is NOT the reincarnation of your rival from three centuries ago and even if she was, that sort of pact is not legally binding here."
Maddie was about to say something, but Nichole said, "Long story."
"If you want to speak to Karl, say or enter 4 now, unless you are that sneaky bastard who tried to scam him into buying that ransomware program last week, in which case you can shove that receiver up your -"
"SAL!"
SAL's voice quickly turned sweet and friendly. "Oh, hello, Francis, how's Kettle?"
"Cauldron," he corrected. "And frankly, it's about to boil over at the moment. We need to speak to Karl."
"Like the message implied, he's not here."
"He's not with you?" asked Nichole. "How?"
This was a valid question. SAL's physical body was a special glove Karl wore on his left hand, and she could manifest through any computer Karl had access to. It was rare that they were apart.
"Hey, we aren't joined at the hip, you know! He said he was meeting with someone and needed privacy, I assume that means he's either on a date or meeting with some demonic temptress who is planning to seduce him, enslave his soul, and drag him screaming into the pits of Hell."
"WHAT?" shouted Maddie.
"All I know is, he sent me a code about two hours ago, an &89er."
"Eh?"
"A code we use. This one means either, 'I got lucky, won't be back until morning,' or 'It was a trap; if I don't contact you by 7AM, send help."
"WHAT?"
"With Karl, it could be both," said Nichole with a sigh. "SAL, listen, we have something of a crisis here, we can't reach Jalal, and Karl is pretty much the brainiest guy we know."
"Well sure, lay it on me Nichole, he might have something on his hard drives I can look up."
That sounded promising, so Nichole and Francis gave a description of what had occurred the previous night, trying to be as thorough and detailed as possible - SAL was a computer, after all, no matter how fast they spoke, she could record and download everything they said into her hard drive and remember it word for word.
"That… that is kind of heavy," she finally said. "I'll get back to you in a few hours. TTFN."
Nichole shook her head, hitting the switch and ending the transmission. "So now what?" asked Maddie.
"Don't sell SAL short everyone," said Francis, "she can be kind of… off at times, but as long as she doesn't link with the other two Allied Mastercomputers, we're in the clear."
Red Feather was about to ask something, but quickly Sonya stopped her saying, "I'll tell you later. Listen everyone, I think the best thing to do is try to find out where that stuff came from. Maddie, that apothecary store we went to when - uhm… Why were we at that store?"
Maddie had forgotten all about that. But now, she remembered.
It started about two weeks ago with her nightmare about a Shadowchaser named Tiffany - a strange woman in a mask whom she had never met - opposing a dark and evil version of Maddie herself. Almost as if she had acted in a movie and was then watching it. As she tried to get back to sleep, she - and likely half of Cauldron - had been roused by a loud explosion,
Naturally, she decided to check it out, and brought Sonya and Sypha to the southeast part of Cauldron - their version of Soho, more or less - where they discovered the explosion had occurred at a tower owned by an alchemist who was known for alchemists. More than that, the constabulary guarding it could not say, although the manager of a nearby apothecary store told them some stuff about shady characters going into the tower, needed a special key to get in, and something about 'Mulgo's Pocket', and…
"Wait, Mulgo's Pocket?"
Nichole was sure she had heard several goblins who had come to the soup kitchen in Chicago mention the word 'Mulgo' before. Usually, it was said the way someone would address a deity, like 'Thank Mulgo' or 'Mulgo knows where'. She never pried, and wasn't exactly an expert on goblin religion, though she did know most of them worshiped Maglubiyet, a violent god of war - not exactly someone you'd say prayers of thanks to.
"Think I've seen a few places around town that are popular with goblins. Maybe I'll scope out one for breakfast and see if anyone there knows anything about Mulgo."
As she got up, Sonya said, "Don't order sliders. Trust me, goblin sliders are something you do not want to try, Especially the beefsteak sliders, those aren't right."
"I'm going to check out that apothecary again," said Maddie.
"You ladies can handle that," said Hank. He started to pack up the toxicology equipment. "I'm going to see if I can find more info on Viscount Stronk."
"I'm going to help you," said Francis, "I'm starting to have doubts about him. What say we all meet for lunch at the Coy Nixie at one?"
It seemed like the best idea for now. They had a full 18 hours, but they didn't want to waste them.
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Almost every duelist had heard of Dian Keto, even though the Spell Card depicting her was very obsolete. She was a kindly, matronly old woman, the card's effect indicating she was the Goddess of Healing.
This monster was… not her. At least not yet. Given the green hue of her hair, this could have possibly been Dian Keto as a young woman, but she didn't look kindly at all.
Given her uniform, this was a police officer, but not the most modest, with a very short skirt and knee-high boots, along with a leather jacket that was unzipped, trailing behind her like a cloak. She wore dark sunglasses, and her hat had the Eye of Wdjat on the front. Both the handcuffs and baton on her belt were gold-plated. (2,500 ATK)
"I have a feeling this cop is on the take…" muttered Dolores.
"Not always a bad thing if you're one of the folks on the give! Finally, seeing as I only have Iron Maidens in play, I can Special Summon Iron Maiden Vishwar."
Playing the card caused yet another of the grim maidens to appear, this one a demon-like female with leather armor and sandals, horns on her forehead, and short, green hair. She held two long batons with perpendicular handles - tonfas - holding them so the long end faced towards her, against her forearms. (1,100 ATK)
"Now ah'll activate, uh…" She looked at Vishwar and then at Dian Keto. "Hmm, think ah'll wait on that for now. Vishwar, take down the Witch of the Black Forest!"
Iron Maiden Vishwar spun her two tonfas, and then leapt at Witch with the long ends now facing forwards. Witch was ready, however, scowling at the assailant and readying her magic again. As Vishwar closed in, she threw her dark spell, and Dolores shielded herself as an explosion seemed to obliterate both monsters.
"Whoa, they took each other out!" shouted Duke.
"Ah prefer to call it 'takin' one for the team'." Saulie looked at Dolores and then added, "Well? Witch's effect?"
At least she's being helpful, thought Dolores.
Be that as it may, no sooner did she get the card she needed than Dian Keto made her move. She charged and bull rushed Sanwitch, tackling the Spellcaster and then slamming his face against the floor, then restraining his arms with her handcuffs. She stood up looking down at him smugly, and then lifting her foot and bringing her heel down on the back of his neck in a coup de grace, causing Sanwitch to shatter.
"For goodness sake," said Dolores in disgust.
"Believe me, hon, everyone here has seen police brutality that makes Dian Keto's methods seem tame. And she's not done yet, by the way. First off by payin' 1,000 Life Points, ah can have Dian Keto take a look at yer hand and throw another of yer monsters into the slammer. So then…"
Her Life Points dipped further, and Keto lowered her sunglasses, causing the seven cards Dolores was holding to appear in oversized form. Saulie's eyes quickly turned to a Level 9 monster, and she quickly pointed to it.
"HEY!" shouted Dolores.
"Hay is fer horses, young lady. And not only did ah force ye to toss one of yer best monsters there, ah get to draw one card for every two levels it had over 5. Plus, seein' as ah had no cards in my hand when ah did that, ah get an extra card. But you also get ta draw once."
Dolores made another draw, and then Saulie continued. "Next, remember how ah discarded a card ta summon Kanan? Well, because one of yer defeated monsters was higher than Level 5, I can pay 1,000 more Life Points to summon her. So, I'll -"
"Wait," started Dolores, "I - uhm…" She stopped, looking at Infernoid Harmadik.
"Yes?"
This was a very hard decision for Dolores, and she had to make it quickly. Harmadik's effect could be used to banish that monster right now before Saulie could summon it, but she'd have to sacrifice one of her own monster. Naturally, she had intended to sacrifice Witch, but now the only monster she could use was Harmadik itself, and she really needed an Infernoid there right now.
"Uhm, never mind, go ahead."
Saulie's Life Points decreased again, and a new monster appeared kneeling in Defense Mode, an angel with feathered wings and blue skin. Much like the other Iron Maidens, she tore dull, gray armor, and her helmet had a crescent moon design on the forehead. Her weapon, that she held with all four hands, was a long shaft with two long, semi-circular prongs at the end with a spring-loaded mechanism at the end - a medieval man-catcher. (1,800 DEF)
(D: 7,600) - - - - - - - - - (S: 8,800)
"Just so you know, his effect ain't gonna work next turn, cause summonin' Iron Maiden LaMoon this way makes all Iron Maidens immune to card effects for the next turn."
And she's still got that Soul Anchor set. Terrific.
Her train of thought was interrupted by a loud slamming sound. She looked over to the jail cell to the right behind Saulie, and saw that Iron Maiden Enchantress (looking translucent, seeing as she was in Saulie's Graveyard) had closed it, caging three Duel Monsters, Witch of the Black Forest, Sanwitch and… Iron Maiden Vishwar? It was her all right, leaning against the wall of the cell in a sulk; it seemed Iron Maidens had little loyalty towards their own.
There was a growl from a large shadow in the back of the cage, and two fiery glowing eyes… Seemed there was another prisoner there.
"Ah end my turn," said Saulie.
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It had actually been easy to find a restaurant favored by goblins in Cauldron. Finding one that accommodated anyone other than goblins, however, that had been harder. When most of your customers are about four feet tall, your place of business is a little cramped and the seating isn't very comfortable.
It wasn't until 8AM that she found one with tables sized for humans, the Cranky Codger tavern in south Cauldron, the industrial district, a few blocks from the Clubber's Club Pub.
Every time Nichole entered a building in Cauldron it was like stepping into the past, but in this case, it didn't seem as far into the distant past as most. The owner of the place used to use it as a storeroom for a factory that made Chuuluuga-Cola, a type of carbonated drink made from peaches, garlic, and walnuts - available as a soft drink and a "hard" variety with alcoholic content. Supposedly this stuff tasted terrible, and the owner either went out of business because nobody would buy it or relocated to France because he found he made far more profit marketing it as fuel for riding lawn mowers.
That was the thing about goblins - they had made many significant contributions to modern technology, but rarely in the way they had intended.
The restaurant seemed quaint and rural. A hardwood floor with old wooden tables, much like your typical trucker stop where you'd find very strong coffee and most food made by deep frying. Her grandfather would have loved this place.
In the corner of the restaurant was an obvious goblin invention, a jukebox that seemed to have been made from old pipes and iron plating and a variety of cast-off mechanical parts, with the record player under a glass dome on the top. The records were changed on a random timer, often changing in the middle of a song, and with the genre changing dramatically. As Nicole was looking over the menu, it changed from "Walking on Sunshine" to the dentist song from Little Shop of Horrors.
Browsing at the menu, it did indeed have a lot of sliders, plus quite a few entries that seemed both elaborate and unhealthy. Whiskey grilled pulled pork sandwich… chicken sandwich with cheese and guacamole… Grilled cheese with sauteed mushrooms… She looked closely at the description for one sandwich.
Benzi's Barbecue Sandwich. Roast beef with smoked bacon, barbecue sauce, provolone, Swiss, and cheddar. Available with one of four varieties of sauce, mild, hot, extra-hot, and flaming napalm style.
That's….
"G'morning, cutie!" laughed a shrill female voice.
The goblin waitress scooted up to her table, literally, as she was wearing roller skates along with her traditional serving maid outfit. "Start ya off with coffee?"
The odd device she lifted was a strange looking coffee pot with two smaller pots, three spouts (one large, one small, and one that looked like a small chute), small hoses connecting the three pots, and some off dials and cranks.
"Uhm, yes please… Cream and two sugars."
"You got it!" The waitress turned two of the dials on the odd coffee pot, and after it whirred, clicked and steamed for a few seconds, poured it into her cup. Then the cream was added via the smaller spout, the sugar tumbling out of the chute.
"Uh, thank… you?" said Nichole.
"Yer velcome. So, what else can I getcha today?"
"Actually, uh… Kandy…" said Nichole, looking at her employee nametag. "I was hoping for something… different."
Kandy's smirk turned serious for a couple of seconds before her smile returned - that seemed a little promising, so Nichole just said it. "You know anything about the term 'Mulgo's Pocket'?"
"Hmm… maybe… Not sure I can tell ya, cutie, I'm just a waitress and this place has a strict policy against the employees sellin' information. At least not when I'm on the clock."
"Well, in that case I'll have the buttermilk waffles, bacon, and whole milk. Oh, and I'm a big tipper I might add."
Kandy smiled even broader and said, "Comin' up, I might be able to take my break early today…"
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Dolores activated her facedown Trap Card. "First, I activate Void Launch! So then, now I draw." She looked towards the cell, and thought, Don't worry old girl, I'll get you out of there.
"Because it's my Standby Phase, I can use the effect of this Trap to send two Infernoids from my deck to the Graveyard." She chose the two cards she wanted, then discarded them. "Next I'll set these three cards facedown, and then banish the two monsters I just discarded."
A flaming pit much larger than the one before appeared, again gargoyle-like in shape, but standing upright and far bulkier. It wore armor that seemed to be made of bronze and silver, while underneath, it seemed made of translucent crystal, under which could be seen gears and cogs turning. It held a long spear, the blade also made of crystal, had an abnormally large mouth with a grin, and electricity was coursing over its armor. (2,600 ATK)
"The Demon Lord of Thunder, Infernoid Seitesmas! And if I can't destroy your monsters via effects, I'll just have to take a different route." Seitesmas lifted his spear, drawing lighting into it. "Attack Iron Maiden Katan! Tempest Storm Fury!"
Kanan lifted her shield in an attempt to shield herself from the onslaught, but to Dolores' surprise, Saulie made no attempt to save her, the Trap Card not activating. The shield was blown to pieces, and so was Katan.
"Uh… Alright." Seitesmas pointed its spear at Dian Keto. "Because Seitesmas battled this turn, its effect can banish one of your monsters."
"Counter Trap activate…" Saulie finally used her set card, and it produced… a gate. A huge, iron set of doors with mechanical arms and legs, with a head that looked like that of a male dwarf (given the beard) with a Spartan helmet.
"What is THAT?
"Iron Chain Detain! Now watch what it does, this Trap Card's effect turns your monster's power to backfire, negating the effect and eradicating it!"
The gate swung open, and four barbed iron shackles shot out from it, grabbing hold of Seitesmas' limbs and yanking it into the dark maw of the gate, which slammed shut.
"That's not all it does, by the way now ya lose one card from your deck for every Level that monster had."
Seriously going to have to look up these cards when I get home, thought Dolores, again showing remarkable optimism. She took the top seven cards from her deck and briefly looked at them; she quickly took note of one, nodding before she discarded them.
"I'll end by moving Infernoid Harmadik to Defense Mode." The robot Fiend knelt, covering itself with its wings. (0 DEF) "And it is your turn."
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"So, ya wanna know what's in Mulgo's Pocket, huh? I warn ya, it's always somethin' you least expect."
"Well, I know what you mean, but -" Nichole was about to drink the beverage Kandy had brought to the table - she had asked for whole milk - but for some reason, it was green.
"No, no cutie, you don't get it. Mulgo never has what you expect in his pocket, that's the whole point. You see, he… Oh wait, wait, ya don't know who Mulgo is, right?"
Nichole nodded, so Kandy gave a brief explanation - while Maglubiyet was the chief god among goblin myths, Mulgo was much more popular and more widely revered. He was the god of merchants, thieves, commerce, travel, gambling, swindlers, luck - he was a lot like Hermes, except a goblin, and most myths portrayed him as a mortal goblin who gained divinity by tricking a powerful deity into giving it to him. The myths credit him with more than one goblin proverb, and while one of them is "Every man has his price," another was, "Always keep something in your pocket that enemies don't expect." After all, a master thief always had to watch out for other master thieves who sought to plunder the plunderer.
"So then, Mulgo's Pocket is just an allegory for when you find something unexpected when you're searching for something else?"
"Now you're getting the picture, cutie."
Nichole shook her head, thinking she had hit a dead end.
"But," added Kandy, "not sayin' it's only an idea, if ya know what I'm sayin'." She placed the bill in front of Nichole, who seemed a little dumbfounded by that sudden change of tone. "Ya ever find the place, tell'em Kandy Kaine sent ya, kay?"
Nichole picked up the slip of paper and watched her stride away. "Wait… Kandy Kaine? That's…"
"My folks were kinda weird," she said. "Smell ya later."
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"Then ah'll draw," started Saulie, and -"
"Hold it," said Dolores. "Trap activate, Void Purification." The card next to her Void Launch opened, revealing a second Continuous Trap Card. "This one has two effects, one of which I can use during one of your Standby Phases, and another I can use during mine. So right now, I can take an Infernoid from my Graveyard." She got what she wanted, and then put it with her other five cards, adding, "You see, Saulie, this mill strategy of yours isn't as debilitating to my deck as it is to most."
"Hmm!" said Saulie. "In that case, ah'd better step mah game up. First ah'll summon Iron Chain Mechanic!"
The new monster looked somewhat like Iron Chain Repairman with the same overalls and bare feet but was even less human-looking. It had upward-pointing tusks, a big, bulbous nose, big ears, big feet… In short, big, fat, and ugly. Rather than a hammer it had a monkey wrench that was just as big. (1,600 ATK)
"Then ah'll use this. Iron Chain Penitentiary!"
As she used the Field Spell, the walls of the fight club around them melted away, then large brick walls rose around them. It seemed they were now in a much larger version of the basement arena, but now above ground under an open night sky. Rather than balconies overhead, three floors with prison cells were around them with the golem from the Iron Chain Detain card behind Saulie acting as an impenetrable gate.
Dolores noticed that the cell holding three of her monsters and Vishwar was still there, and another cell held an unhappy-looking Iron Maiden Kanan. Clearly these Iron Maidens didn't show much team loyalty.
"Ah'll be as brief as I can. With this Field Spell in play, every Iron Chain monster I have gains 100 Attack an' Defense Points for each monster in your Graveyard, an' ah think that's seven." (Iron Chain Mechanic: 2,300 ATK) "While Iron Maidens get an additional 100 for every Spell and Trap Card there." (Iron Maiden LaMoon: 2,200 DEF, Iron Maiden Dian Keto: 2,900 ATK)
"In addition, using a monster effect costs 100 Life Points per Level or Rank of the monster, unless there's at least one Iron Chain or Iron Maiden in the player's Graveyard. Any questions?"
"Actually, I…" started Dolores.
"No? Good! Because my Iron Chain Mechanic is about to go to town on Infernoid Harmadik!"
The Mechanic's attack was brutal but unsubtle, lunging at Harmadik holding its wrench in both hands, then clobbering it hard and smashing it to pieces.
"Now that he's out of the way -" Iron Maiden Dian Keto produced a small cylindrical object about eight inches long, and then snapped her wrist, causing it to extend about two feet - a collapsible baton. "- Dian Keto has a clear shot at you!"
"I activate Eye of the Void!" shouted Dolores, using another of her Traps. "This Trap lets me bend the rules a little to Special Summon an Infernoid, so I'll bring out… The Lord of the Flies, Infernoid Antra, in Defense Mode!"
The monster that appeared was again, a mechanical being in the shape of a demon. It seemed to squat on two strong legs, and had six spindly, rubbery arms. Its head looked horse-like, on a long neck, and both the head and torso were covered with wires, tubes, and pipes placed haphazardly. It had two fan-like wings that seemed made of metal and glass, plus two crystalline orbs on its shoulders. (2,000 DEF)
"Seems she's going to need more than one set of handcuffs this time."
She was kidding, of course, and Dian Keto wasn't amused, slamming her weapon down on the defending Infernoid Antra and crushing it.
Dolores was safe, for the moment, but it seemed things had gotten even worse. With two more monsters in her Graveyard, Mechanic's Attack Score was now 2,500, while another Trap sent there put Dian Keto's Attack Score at a full 3,000 and LaMoon's Defense to 2,200.
"I'm endin' my turn, hon, an' that means ah can use the second effect of Iron Chain Detain. By payin' 1,000 Life Points, ah can take it from the Graveyard and set it again." The Counter Trap appeared again, set in her Spell Zone. "An' it's your move."
(D: 7,600) - - - - - - - - - (S: 7,800)
"Then I'll draw," said Dolores, "and I'll use Void Purification for my Standby Phase."
The giant golem-gate behind Saulie started to shake and tremble, then opened slightly. As it tried to hold itself closed, Infernoid Seitesmas struggled to get through and then wrenched itself flee, flying towards Dolores and turning into a stream of light that flew into the discard slot of her Duel Disk.
"Seitesmas is un-banished and now in my Graveyard, and now I'll banish Antra to summon Infernoid Patrulea."
This time, the Infernoid that appeared seemed to be an advanced and improved version of Antra. It had the same powerful legs, and while it only had two arms, those arms seemed stronger and more durable than the six that Antra had. Patrulea had the same horse-like head, with backward-pointing horns and the same wings, with more of those odd pulsating glass cylinders on its hips. Strangely, its armored carapace seemed to be made of both metal and wood. (1,800 ATK)
"This Infernoid is like Harmadik, except its effect works on Spell and Trap Cards; I have to pay 400 Life Points to use it due your Field Spell, so that's the card he's aiming at."
"Hehe, weren't you listening a minute ago? Again, ah activate Iron Chain Detain!"
"Actually, Saulie, I was listening a minute ago." Her Trap Card opened, showing a much older Counter Trap.
"Seven Tools of the Bandit?"
As the golem gate started to form again, a jackknife flew out of the card, and from it, two large blades, one small blade, a screwdriver, bottle opener, corkscrew, and small pair of scissors unfolded, then spun towards the huge golem. Its eyes bugged out, it fell to its needs, and then shattered into scrap metal.
(D: 6,200) - - - - - - - - - (S: 7,800)
"Now, as I was saying…"
Patrulea's eyes flashed with burning rage, and explosions rocked all over the walls of Iron Chain Penitentiary. The whole structure promptly crumbled into a smoking, smoldering wreck.
"Yeah, yeah, well what's he gonna do now?"
"Actually, he is not going to do anything else. Even if Patrulea was strong enough to defeat any of your monsters, he can't attack this turn." Dolores took another card. "He can't, anyway. I banish three of my Infernoids to bring forth Infernoid."
This time, the summoning didn't open a flaming portal, it was more like a fissure this time. Geysers of hellfire spouted from below before the enormous Fiend tore through the stone floor.
"I summon the Lord of Plagues, Infernoid Onuncu!"
In addition to being much larger than the other Infernoids, this… thing was far more horrific. Despite again being mechanical and made of steel, crystal, and glass, its armored hide resembled bone, its head being a metal skull. It had the same wings as Antra and Patrulea, but a larger wingspan; it had long, barbed tentacles instead of arms, a long, serpentine trunk in place of legs, and a discus-like apparatus on its back, similar to Destiny Hero - Celestia's. Although, unlike the Destiny hero, the interior of the disk had a plane of violet light inside it covered with odd circuitry, and the same circuitry was on its arms, truck, and spine of its wings. (3,000 ATK)
"Whoa, that's a big one!"
"Bigger than you think, Saulie, because by summoning this monster, he destroys all monsters on the field except himself."
"Uh… say what?"
What came next was like a spray of burning chemical incendiary from the beast's jaws, spewing across the field in a wide arc of fiery death. Mechanic, LaMoon, and consequently, Infernoid Patrulea were burned to ashes instantly, and while Dian Keto struggled in an attempt to withstand the onslaught, it was pointless, falling to her knees in a few seconds and vanishing in a cloud of soot and ashes.
"You're next, Saulie!"
For the first time since they'd met, Saulie actually seemed scared, even more so when a more concentrated stream of the fiery doom homed in on her. As she was engulfed in burning hot flames that seemed to burn into her very soul, she struggled and tried all she could not to scream out of fear and pain.
She didn't try hard enough.
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"WHAT IN SPELLMASON'S NAME IS THIS?"
The hamadryad herbalist who ran the apothecary shop didn't exactly have the reaction the three Shadowchasers expected. She flew into rage when Maddie simply mentioned twilight bloom. Even Red seemed nervous, and the little pixie in the gilded cage squirmed out of it in fright, flying up to the ceiling and hiding in the light fixture.
"Whoa, whoa, lady," said Maddie, "we just wanted -"
Then she started to shudder, the clerk seeming to become seven feet tall, her eyes giving a green glow with thorny vines entwining her limbs - it was fey glamor, but very convincing. "Listen to me, for the fourth time, I am not in the business of dealing poisons, so you can -"
Then another pixie flew up beside her and started whispering in her ear. They noticed two others started to massage her shoulders as the glamor started to fade.
"Ugh," she groaned, clutching her head, "I don't need this."
"Stress headache?" asked Sonya.
"The worst."
"So, uhm," said Maddie, "fourth time? How often does someone inquire about that stuff?"
The two pixies massaging her shoulders stopped long enough to fly to the other end of the counter and push a chair forward for the clerk to sit down, still clutching her forehead. Sonya noticed the one in the light fixture peeking down.
"It's okay," said Sonya softly, "come back down."
"Until a month ago, almost never. The requests started with that goblin who -"
"Wait, hold on, goblin?"
It seemed they had hit paydirt. The two pixies continued their massage, and the clerk started to explain in a far more amicable tone.
Once, years ago, she did indeed deal in twilight bloom and many other herbs used by people in shady professions. It was a mistake, one she had never intended to make again, but this strange goblin clearly never got the memo.
The goblin had come in asking for twilight bloom three times - he wore a hood but was obviously a goblin. The blue skin wasn't the only thing she noticed about him that was odd; he was far more formal and had an odd… smell. It wasn't body odor, he smelled of magic. It was as if he was so saturated with magic that he reeked of it.
The first time he had claimed it was for "research purposes". She had simply sternly told him to leave, telling him she didn't sell such things. The next time he came in with Hupert Dumptree."
"Wait, who?"
"Oh, yes, Hupert is a regular here - sort of. He comes in sometimes to buy those." She pointed to a shelf on the wall that held boxes of cigars. "Genuine Gitchegumee tobacco."
She emphasized the "genuine" part for sarcasm, most likely. Shadowchasers knew about Gitchegumee swamp, which was what elves called a certain part of the Everglades in Florida. None of them liked going there, not because the Shadowkind inhabitants were especially hostile or strong, but because they were annoying. The word "Gitchegumee'' was, in fact, a contraction of "Gli-tara-chemoghalla-uray-me", a phrase in Elvish which roughly translated meant, "a soggy pit where only idiots live because it stinks worse than an unwashed ogre's armpit". The tobacco grown there wasn't exactly pleasant (Sonya would compare the smell of burning Gitchegumee tobacco to a bonfire fueled by rotted meat) but it was an acquired taste by some.
"I'm guessing he's an obnoxious customer?"
"One of the worst. I hear he usually gets the stuff via biweekly shipments, but sometimes he goes through them all in only a week or ten days and has to come here to buy it. He's always complaining about tariffs and purchase limits, and that coming to shops like this is… 'undignified'. Now, where was I?"
She continued her explanation, saying that this second time the goblin came in requesting twilight bloom, Hupert had been there to buy his cigars, and she saw the two of them talking to each other later. Two days after that, Hupert came by alone, telling him he wanted to purchase twilight bloom for "official use by Cauldron's constabulary". This time she threatened to call the actual constabulary if they didn't stop bothering her. He said he would be back, but he never showed up.
That was the last time she could confirm the blue goblin had come here. "I think the little sneak tried to break into the place since then." The pixies started squeaking noisily, and she giggled. "My friends here at least caught someone trying to break in. Believe me, I didn't have any twilight bloom to sell him. At least they haven't come back since."
"This Hupert fellow, can you describe him?"
"Eh, oh, well, pretty sure he's human, but not normal human, he looks pretty weird. Overweight, always wears a tweed suit and a tie, and bald on the top of his head with mutton chop sideburns and a horseshoe mustache."
"Uh," said Maddie. "Thank… you."
They left the store, not knowing exactly what their next move would be. None of them knew anyone in Cauldron who looked like that.
"Well," said Sonya, "at least he wouldn't be hard to miss."
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Saulie was on her knees. Tears flowed down her eyes from the pain as she made long, slow gasps of breath.
(D: 6,200) - - - - - - - - - (S: 4,800)
Dolores tapped her foot and looked down towards her "Well, it seems the big, tough dwarven warrior-girl isn't as tough as she thought."
"Shut up…" mumbled Saulie.
"Starting to think this tough-girl attitude is nothing but an act."
"SHUT UP!"
"She's right, Saulie."
Everyone was surprised to see that the comment had come from Jalal. "You be quiet!" snapped Porgy.
Jalal ignored him (not being afraid of them in the least) and went on, "I've been around a long time, Saulie, and I can spot insincerity when I see it."
"I said -"
"LET'IM TALK!"
Porgy backed off at Saulie's command. She had recovered and was now more angry than afraid. "Go on, Jalal, let's hear it, the tired old 'this isn't you' speech might be good fer a few laughs."
"You're right, Saulie, it is a tired old cliche, one I discourage these days… Unless I feel it isn't a waste of breath. You feel the need to look tough Saulie, because you are. You wouldn't be standing there if you weren' this is all just a farce. You're doing this just to prove it to them, to us, and to yourself."
"An' ah should care because?"
"Because if Dolores and I are attentive enough to notice it, so can Khun, and I'm pretty sure he's watching this right now, if not broadcasting it to the deep web. Possibly with viewers making wagers on the outcome. If I had to guess, I'd say he's watching this right now while a brainwashed slave feeds him popcorn. This is all entertainment to him, and he's loving every second. So… By all means, continue, I do believe it is still Dolores' turn."
"That's right," said Dolores, "I'll set this…" She placed a facedown card. "And I'm done!"
Then Saulie groaned, clutching her stomach as she straightened up. "Boss?" started Ernie. "What are you…"
Duke slapped him on the back of the head. "It's the cost for Iron Chain Detain, dumbass, remember? If you use it and you don't have any Chains or Maidens at the end of your turn, you get hit with 2,000 points of damage."
Saulie coughed, then spit on the floor as she straightened up, and then drew a card. "But now that ah'm startin' my turn, ah get one back 'cause of Iron Chain Mechanic's effect. I just gotta banish him an' I get to summon a Level 4 or lower Iron Chain from my deck in Defense Mode, an' ah'm sure y'all will remember this one."
Iron Chain Repairman appeared again, kneeling in Defense Mode. (1,200 DEF) Of course, Dolores did indeed remember him, but she didn't know what the point was. Iron Chain Repairman was only useful for his ability to summon other Iron Chains from the Graveyard, and there weren't any there right now.
"Now ah'll summon Iron Chain Forge!"
The monster that appeared this time didn't have the most accurate name - it was hard to tell whether it was a forge, someone who used a forge, or something that had been made in a forge. It vaguely looked like Iron Chain Repairman, but rather than simply having Iron Chains as part of its clothing, this creature was Iron all over, like someone had soldered iron plating to every part of his body, forming solid iron armor. The only indication that there was anything alive inside were his eyes, angry-looking and bloodshot, looking at Dolores through its iron mask. Much like Repairman, it had a hammer, the business-end being red hot. (800 ATK)
Saulie took a card from her deck, flipped it around - a Level 3 monster - and tossed it. "By bringin' out this big fella, ah get to send a low-Level Iron Chain ta my Graveyard, other than a Machine. Which means ah can use Repairman's effect to summon it."
Repairman stood up, and slammed his hammer into the ground, causing a monster that was even more bizarre. It was at first glance a large serpent, or rather, a long, thick length of chain with a snake's head. (800 ATK)
Noticing Dolores' surly expression, she added, "Why so glum? Iron Chain Snake here is very friendly, it just loves giving hugs! Here, I'll show you."
Using its coils like a spring, Iron Chain Snake launched itself at Infernoid Onuncu, enlarging to almost ten times its length in mid-flight, then struck and wrapped its coils around Onuncu. Naturally, the Infernoid struggled a little, but it seemed far more annoyed by this than angry. (2,200 ATK)
"Big deal."
"True, that 800-point reduction still leaves your monster with almost three times as many Attack Points as Forge. But… Forge here is also a Tuner."
Dolores didn't respond - her quick change of expression was enough proof that she realized this was a big deal.
"Ah Tune my Level 4 Iron Chain Forge with my Level 4 Iron Chain Repairman!"
The Iron Chain Forge
"An explorer lost in a merciless expanse of Iron and blades, his soul has long since collapsed. Knowing naught but pain, he gains pleasure and release only by dishing it out!"
(*4 + *4 = *8)
"Ah summon you… Iron Chain Taskmaster!"
With a loud roar, the Synchro Monster leapt from above, landing with such an impact that the whole building shook. The best word to describe this monster was hulking, it was huge, muscular, and there were scars all over its limbs and bare torso, almost like Frankenstein's monster, but far more monstrous. He wore an iron mask that seemed to have been made of iron bars and railway spikes that had been bent and soldered together into a mask-like shape and then bolted directly onto his face, right below a bald head; other than the mask, his only clothing was a ragged pair of trousers. And naturally, he had a chain. A long, rusty chain, one end of which was wrapped around his left wrist, held with his right hand, with a spiked flail-head at the end. (2,400 ATK)
"And that is strong enough. Attack that… uh, thing, Taskmaster! Crushing Chain Rend!"
Saulie's henchmen all ducked as the abomination twirled the heavy flail around and around, then hurled it forward, sending it into the dead center of the giant Fiend and blowing it to shards. It was only 200 points of damage, but the wound hit Dolores far harder than she expected, as if she had been stabbed by knives.
"That hurt? Good! Cause now it's gonna get worse, cause Iron Chain Snake's effect sends one card to your Graveyard for each Level that monster had."
Jalal had intended to get Saulie to lower her guard by making her angry - it seemed right now he had succeeded only too well.
But it wasn't over, as once Dolores had discarded an entire fourth of her deck, Iron Chain Taskmaster started preparing for a second strike.
"That's right, Dolores, if this monster crushes one of yours, it gets a second attack, so long as I cut its Attack Score in half this turn."
The bladed mace was hurled forward a second time, this time at Dolores, slamming into her stomach and knocking her on her behind. "Ow…" she groaned.
"And cause that was a direct attack, his second effect makes you discard four more cards."
The Shadowchaser was dizzy from that blow. Didn't get up right away, looking at her deck, and then slowly taking the four cards. And then both she and Saulie saw she was in more trouble than she assumed.
(D: 4,800) - - - - - - - - - (S: 2,800)
"Heh… Looks like yer running on fumes there," said Saulie with a short laugh.
After all that milling from Saulie's cards - and some self-milling from her own - Dolores only had one card in her deck left…
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To be continued…
Before I post the fanmade cards, let me just end by saying, if I have any readers who served in the Armed Forces - or you are a family of someone who did, happy Memorial Day, and thank you for your dedicated service.
Stay safe.
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Iron Maiden Dian Keto (Effect Monster Card)
Aqua/Dark/Lvl8/2,500/2,500
Effect: Can be Tribute Summoned using 1 "Iron Maiden" or "Iron Chain" monster. Once per turn, you can pay 1,000 LP to look at your opponents' hand and select 1 card. That card is sent to the GY and your opponent draws 1 card. Then, you draw 1 card for each 2 Levels the sent card had over 5. If you had no cards in your hand when this effect was used, draw 1 additional card.
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Iron Maiden LaMoon (Effect Monster Card)
Aqua/Light/Lvl5/1,200/1,800
Effect: If this is sent from the field to the GY, banish it. If this card is in your GY, you may pay 1,000 LP to Special Summon this card from your GY in face-up Defense Position. If this card is summoned in this manner, its Battle Position cannot switch, and until your next Standby Phase, "Iron Maiden" monsters you control cannot be targeted or destroyed by card effects. You can only control 1 "Iron Maiden LaMoon".
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Iron Maiden Kanan (Effect Monster Card)
Aqua/Earth/Lvl4/1,400ATK/2,000DEF
Effect: This card can be Special Summoned from your hand by discarding an "Iron Maiden" or "Iron Chain" monster card (other than this card) from your hand.
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Iron Maiden Enchantress (Effect Monster Card)
Aqua/Water/Lvl4/1,500/800
Effect: If you Normal Summon this card, you may make a second Normal Summon that turn; this second Normal Summon must be a Tribute Summon and must use at least 1 "Iron Maiden Enchantress" a Tribute.
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Iron Maiden Vishwar (Effect Monster Card)
Aqua/Dark/Lvl3/1,100ATK/700DEF
Effect: If you only control "Iron Maiden" monsters, you may Special Summon this card from your hand.
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Iron Chain Detain (Counter Trap)
Image: A huge pair of metal doors with a keyhole insignia on the chest, with stubby legs and strong arms. Its head is built to resemble a male dwarf with a full beard and Spartan helmet.
Effect: You may activate this card when you control an "Iron Chain" or "Iron Maiden" monster that is Level 6 or higher and a monster activates its effect; negate that effect and banish that monster. You may then send cards from the top of your opponent's deck to the GY equal to the Level of the banished monster. During the End Phase of the turn you activate this card, you take 2,000 damage unless you control at least 1 "Iron Chain" and/or "Iron Maiden" monster. Once per turn, if this card is in your GY and was not activated that turn, you can pay 1,000 LP to take this card from your GY and set it but banish it if it leaves the field. You can only activate 1 "Iron Chain Detain" effect per turn, and only once that turn.
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Iron Chain Mechanic (Effect Monster)
Beast-Warrior/Earth/Lvl4/1,600ATK/1,200DEF
Effect: If this card is destroyed by your opponent (by battle or by card effect), you may, during the End Phase of the turn, Special Summon a Level 4 or lower "Iron Chain" monster from your deck in Defense Position during the next Standby Phase. During the End Phase of the turn a monster was Special Summoned in this manner, banish it face-down.
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Iron Chain Penitentiary (Field Spell Card)
Image: An ominous stone fortress on an island, seen from above, giving view of a courtyard with an interior lake. Guard towers and spiked spires surrounding the walls indicate its purpose as a prison.
Effect: If a player does not control an "Iron Chain" or "Iron Maiden" monster, they must pay 100 LP per Level or Rank of a monster to activate the effect of that monster on their field. "Iron Chain" monsters gain 100 ATK and DEF for each monster in the opponent's GY, and "Iron Maiden" monsters gain 100 ATK and DEF for each Spell and Trap Card in their opponent's GY. If a card(s) is sent from your opponent's deck to the GY while this card is in your GY: You can take this card from the GY and activate it but banish it if it leaves the field. You can only use this effect of "Iron Chain Facility" once per turn.
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Iron Chain Forge (Effect Tuner Monster Card)
Machine/Earth/Lvl4/800ATK/2,600ATK
Effect: Cannot be used to Synchro Summon except for an "Iron Chain" Synchro Monster. If your GY contains more monsters than your opponent's, the base ATK and DEF of this card are halved, and it cannot use its effects. When Normal Summoned, you may use 1 of the following effects, but you cannot apply the effect of an "Iron Chain Forge" again that turn.
Special Summon a Level 4 or lower non-Machine "Iron Chain" monster from your deck.
Move this card to face-up Defense Position. If moved to Defense Position in this manner, your opponent cannot attack any monster other than "Iron Chain Forge".
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Iron Chain Taskmaster (Effect Synchro Monster)
Warrior/Earth/Lvl8/2,400ATK/2,800DEF
Effect: If this card destroys a monster by battle, this card may attack a second time during the Battle Phase; if this second attack is a Direct Attack, its ATK is halved for the Damage Step only. If this card inflicts Battle Damage via a direct attack, send 4 cards from your opponent's deck to the GY. If this card …?