Quoted By:
> Risk injury by ‘Speaking’ Arx, but conserve your mana.
It was clearly a ball of teeth, claws and rage but at the same time it was no bigger than a two year old, and there were bigger threats out there.
The imp lunged again.
"<span class="mu-b">Arx!</span>" The spear sprang up, the demon twisted and slammed its horns through the weapon, shattering it. Mel called another of the weapons from the ground, this time directly into her hands, then whipped it around like a stave, icy shaft slamming between the horns into its head, driving it to the ground in a daze.
She followed with a vicious kick to its side, then in a moment of twisted inspiration tossed with a heave into the air.
"<span class="mu-b">Arx</span>." The spear of ice shot out from the wall, threaded the imps' horns, and left it dangling, alive but helpless. It kicked and flailed for a moment, swaying hopelessly, then went limp with a look so comically deject that Mel almost laughed at it.
“Bad imp. Bad imp not protect.”
Mel grimaced. It..it wasn’t going to cry was it?
“Uh…”
“Master say protect! Not protect! Bad imp!”
“Wait, were you Joe’s?”
The imp lit up and nodded vigorously, swaying from the spear shaft.
“Joe master! Need to protect Joe!”
“He uh, he’s not here anymore.”
The imp flailed again, tiny claws swiping at the air. “Need to protect! Good imp protects! Where! Where!?”
Mel narrowed her eyes. “If I let you down will you go find Joe, and not fight me?”
The imp nodded solemnly, eyes wide. “Good imp protects. Master not here. Give not-master treasure, not-master let go?”
She studied the, frankly pathetic, creature in front of her. There were stories of course, hundreds of them, of the duplicity and cunning of demons, that they couldn’t be trusted…but surely they couldn’t be about this one.
“Alright. You’ll get a dozen spears through your head if you cross me though.”
“Good imp! Good imp! Not-master gets treasure, protect master! Good imp!”
Mel reached up and pulled on the ice spear, snapped. The imp hopped down, grinning ear to ear and scampered deeper into the cave.
“Good treasure! Good treasure! Then protect master!”
Mel chased after the imp, going down through winding tunnels, catching glimpse of storerooms and workshops, all in various states of chaos and disrepair. The imp dove into one of the storerooms, sending boxes flying, overturning tables. A few minutes of chaos later the imp returned with a box, setting it reverently into her hands.
“Bye not-master! Protect!” The imp bolted back up the temple at a full sprint.
