Perspective Shift: Flynn; Totems and Thralls

Inside the secret room was an altar with a bloodied statue bust on top. Bits of magic scribbles and ingredients adorned the altar, while the rest of the walls were bare, save a single sconce above the altar against the back wall.

I slowly approached the bust, aiming the dowsing rod towards it. It lit up like a Christmas tree. This was the totem I’d been looking for, housing the souls of his victims for later use. Without this, he’d hopefully be powerless.

“Oh dear,” said a voice from behind me. “It seems you’ve seen it.”

“Wha-” I said in surprise, whirling around just in time to see the butler, swinging a large kitchen knife overhead towards me. I barely managed to put the dowsing rod in between myself and the knife, but the **** of the attack snapped it like a twig.

I jumped backwards to try and draw my sword, but the butler’s onslaught was ceaseless, not giving me the chance as I scrambled to avoid getting impaled.

“I guess we can’t talk this out?” I said, narrowly avoiding a cut to the throat. Klaus didn’t respond, merely went for a thrust with the knife. I caught hold of his arm, stopping him in his tracks before he could stab me. “Yeah didn’t think so.”

I grabbed his arm with my other hand, trying to hold the abnormally strong butler in place. As we struggled with the knife, I headbutted him, breaking his concentration long enough to ram the knife into his ribs. The old man didn’t miss a beat, headbutting me back and knocking me away. He withdrew the knife from his stomach, and to my astonishment, there was no blood, despite the gash in his clothes and flesh.

“The hell!?” I exclaimed, rolling to the side as he charged me again. With the distance I created, I quickly drew my sword, taking a defensive stance. This time when the butler attacked, I sidestepped, slashing his back and knocking him away before turning towards the bust. With a heft of my sword, I cleaved the stone in two with an activation of mana blade. The butler’s advance slowed for a moment, and I took the opportunity to cleave his head from his shoulders.

A puff of green smoke evaporated from the corpse floating into the air before dissipating. The corpse itself, seemed to deflate somewhat, like whatever was powering it had disappeared.

“Hopefully the others are alright,” I muttered to myself, slowly exiting the altar room, sword drawn.