100 Day Puzzle
The Artificer's Secret
The Artificer's Wife
Busy in Beeston
Amanda, called Mandy by her father, is an absent-minded, shy woman living in the outskirts of Beeston. Mandy's day in the bee fields goes off the rails when a mysterious klaeterhund crashes in the nearby woods. Though wary of the stranger and put off by his gruff personality, Mandy nurses him back to health, slowly warming up to him as she realizes that he's so cold and rude because his eternal life isn't so much a blessing as it is a curse. Everyone he knows and grows fond of dies and he is left alone.
When the artificer mentions what brought him into the area, he is surprised to find Mandy ready and willing to help him retrieve the ancient artifact, a comb core, he'd sought out for over three hundred years. The two find that they make a great team. As they get closer to their goal, Mandy realizes that, as soon as he gets the comb core, he'll return home to use it for magical purposes, leaving her lonely and shy once again. She has a chance to smash the comb core without him knowing, but, she remembers how much this means to him and how long he's searched it out. Once they recover the core, she tells him she's fallen for him and he turns to look at her, a sad look on his furry face. He tells her he cares about her, too, but that he cares too much to stay with her.
Deal with a Demon
The artificer wakes up at his work table late at night to find his research into eternal life stolen by a rival inventor. With his life's work gone, the artificer starts off to get his revenge, only to hear a sinister voice from the shadows warn him that his enemy is stronger than he thinks. The voice offers him help in his quest for revenge, but the artificer turns it down, thinking he is more than capable of foiling this evil thief.
After getting tricked by a clever ruse, the artificer finds himself locked i a cage and left in the desert to die. While he sits there and tries to find a way out of his fate, the voice returns and tells him it is still willing to help. Desperate to get out and thirsty for vengeance, the artificer agrees to accept the voice's help. The voice reveals itself to belong to Evilinda, the king of all demons and hater of all things good and pure.
By agreeing to Evilinda, the artificer has promised himself to her eternal service. Evilinda tells him how to get into his rival's fortress and helps him get past a few guards. Unfortunately, his rival notices his arrival just before the artificer can strike him down. The rival uses a powerful blast to tear the artificer to shreds. Somehow, his body knits itself back together, making him realize that his agreement with Evilinda granted him what he sought. No longer bound by the fear of death, the artificer walks up and takes the research, enduring deadly hits with ease. He laughs and strolls out with the information and is joined by Evilida outside of the fortress. She burns the information and wraps her tails around him, saying she found such a useful toy this time and that she can't wait to see how far the two of them will go.
The Inventor's Slippers