Danica Pt. 07

Danica opened her eyes a moment later, determined she could not bear to witness what was to come. She steeled her will and made plans to distract the man, to lead him out of the room. She would lose the element of surprise, but she had to try to stop him from raping the little girl.

He placed the candles in the candelabra, lighting them and the brazier as Danica crept carefully around the shelves and tables toward the door. Danica turned away from the door when she reached it, watching as Omark shed his slavers robes.

Danica was just about to release her invisibility and shout when she realized the man was not mounting the table, but instead chanting and gesturing. She waited a moment, trying to determine what spell he was casting. His attention appeared focused not on the girl on the table, but on the brazier behind her head.

Danica could make no sense of the spell, but decided whatever it was could not bode well for the little girl. She had already drawn in her breath to scream when the brazier flared to sudden brightness, and then became a flame of darkness.

An overwhelming sense of evil filled the room. Danica found she was paralyzed, unable to make even the slightest move. Her fingers were scant inches from her rings, as she was preparing to deactivate their magic, but she could not move them closer.

The unknown presence in the darkness seemed to know she was there, and it seemed amused by her. Danica could feel waves of evil and dark amusement coming from the black flame above the brazier. She could almost hear something laughing at her.

At the same moment the brazier's flames turned to darkness, the little girl on the table lost her blank stare and started to sob. She struggled against the manacles to no avail, sobbing in fear.

Then Omark mounted the table, as Danica had feared he would. She was powerless to do anything but watch and listen because of the magical paralysis. Danica understood the faint bloodstains now, the mark of Omark violating numerous young girls on that table. She screamed silently in anger and despair, but could not force her body to do the same. Forced to watch the horrific act unfold, even the evil paralysis could not prevent tears from welling up in her eyes.

Omark dismounted the table, and then began to chant once more. He drew designs on the sobbing girl's flesh with her own blood, continuing to chant as Danica watched powerlessly.

As he chanted, the sense of evil in the room grew even more strong and chilling. Danica found her breath caught in her throat as Omark moved toward the head of the table, tracing two symbols on the girl's chest. The girl's sobbing ceased as he finished the last two sigils, and she once again assumed the blank stare of one who is ensorcelled.

Omark bent over the girl, smoothing her curly hair away from her neck. He then bent closer still, and pressed his lips against her neck. The girl stiffened and her eyes popped wide open. Her mouth opened in a silent scream, one that Danica matched as Omark pierced the girl's flesh and drank her blood.

Danica sobbed inwardly as she watched light and life leave the young girl's eyes, her stiffened body relaxing and going limp as Omark consumed her life. He rose, and Danica could see the punctures in the girl's now pale neck, as well as the blood running down Omark's chin. He chanted again to the dark flame in the brazier.

The dark blaze flared even higher, and a black nimbus of energy surrounded Omark. He threw back his head and arms, gasping with his eyes rolled back in ecstasy, as waves of dark energy pulsed through him.

Omark's body slowly relaxed, and the dark flame evaporated into a low burning natural flame once more. As soon as the ebon flame ceased to be, Danica regained control of her body and her fingers touched her rings, deactivating the magic. At the same time, the scream of horror and anger that had built up inside her erupted from her throat.

Omark spun, and moved toward her. Danica reacted instinctively, and burst out into the hall with Omark in pursuit. She ran toward the exit of the building, directly into one of the slavers coming the opposite way to see what the commotion was. He tried to grab her, but she spun away clawing at his arms. He managed to grab hold of her thin blouse, and it tore from her body as she escaped to continue her run for the door.

Danica burst past a pair of startled servants as she ran through the door. They scattered when they saw Omark and the slavers running after her. Danica heard Omark chanting in a loud voice. She stopped and spun, hearing the words of his spell.

She just managed to erect a shield to protect her from the bolts of darkness that streaked toward her. Then the slavers charged with their whips pulled from their belts.

Danica chanted an incantation, screaming the last words as she sent lightning streaking toward the advancing slavers. Three dropped to the ground, while the fourth fell only to his knees. He tried to rise again almost immediately, although groggily. The bolt shimmered against Omark's defensive shield and fizzled out.

Danica staggered slightly when his answering bolt of electricity slammed into her shield. The attack gave the fourth slaver time to stand and advance quickly toward her. Her hands moved through the gestures to cast another bolt at the slaver, but he closed quickly and snapped out his whip. It wrapped around her leg with painful pressure and he jerked, pulling her from her feet.

Danica scrambled to try to get upright, but the man leapt atop her. Danica could see Omark approaching as she struggled. She managed to get her hands free and gestured, chanting the words of a magic missile spell. The bolts of energy slammed into the slaver's chest and he fell backwards. Danica rolled away, and the slaver's grasping hand caught hold of her pants, tearing one of the legs almost completely free as she sprang to her feet.

A fireball leapt from Omark's stretched hand. Danica's shield protected her, but the slaver caught in the explosion was not so lucky. He fell to the ground, twitching and burning from the power of the spell.

Danica quickly chanted the words of the Crushing Fist, sending it streaking toward Omark. He brought his own spell, the Interposing Hand, to bear. His magic stopped Danica's attack cold. Danica ceased concentrating on the hand and quickly cast another lightning bolt. The bolt tore through Omark's disembodied hand and rent it asunder, but dissolved into nothingness against the man's shield.

Omark's next spell caused Danica's eyes to go wide. It hit her shield and dissolved it in a cluster of rainbow colored motes. Danica hurriedly chanted the words of the spell to restore her shield, but found her voice stolen by a silence spell before she could complete the chant. Danica inwardly cursed her decision not to put on the ring of Spell Turning, because it chafed her finger.

Omark stalked toward her, anger evident in his face. "Bitch, I know not why you are here, but you will not have long to regret your actions. Pity you have magic, as you have a fine body and would bring a good price. As it is, I will use your beautiful corpse to continue my neglected studies," he said as he bent and retrieved a knife from the belt of one of the dead slavers.

Danica backed away, and the man quickly cast another spell, paralyzing her. "No running now, little bitch. I unfortunately have no time to trifle with you, so I shall simply slit your throat and set about replacing these four," he revealed as he stalked toward her, the light of the sun glinting off the knife he carried.

Danica nearly panicked, but fell into the only defense she had. She concentrated on the last slaver's whip, lying barely within her limited range of vision. She brought the powers of her mind to bear on it, and it quickly snaked across the ground to entangle Omark's legs.

He fell with an exclamation of surprise, the knife skittering across the ground when the force of his landing caused him to drop it. It also broke his concentration, causing the spells holding and silencing Danica to fade away.

Danica quickly chanted and the force of her stunning spell slammed into the man, knocking him down to the ground on his back. He twitched and tried to rise, but Danica quickly followed by casting the Crimson Bands spell to immobilize him.

Danica dropped to her knees, concentrating all her will on the spell to hold the man. She was exhausted, and finding the battle difficult. A flash of light caught Danica's eye. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Celes.

Celes cast a spell of her own, and Omark stiffened as the paralyzing spell did its work. "Dearie, are ye alright?"

Danica fell down on her hands as she released her spell, gasping for breath. "I-I'm okay."

"The madman sent me, seein' what was happenin'. He's for comin' hisself."

Another flash of light signaled Zoraster's arrival with three wizards and a pair of soldiers.

"Have I mentioned I hate teleporting," Brandon said quietly. He then smiled and winked as he stared at Danica clad in only half a pair of pants and her bag of holding.

Celes stepped between the two and knelt to retrieve some clothing for Danica from the bag while Zoraster issued orders.

"Enter the rooms and secure them immediately," Zoraster commanded the wizards, who nodded and entered the slave house. "Clear everyone out," he ordered Brandon and the other soldier, who moved quickly to obey.

Zoraster turned toward the kneeling Danica. "Well, little rose, how did we come to this conclusion? I know nothing until the moment you burst from the room and this chaos ensued. Why did you not simply wait for him to leave, and return as you were instructed? Your survival was a near thing, and not yet ensured when I dispatched Celes."

Having recovered some of her strength, Danica was in the process of trying to dress. She shook her head and explained, "Horrible... Some terrible presence..." She shook her head again, her wits still not fully recovered.

Zoraster made a dismissive face. "Ah well -- later, when your mind is more ordered. I am satisfied with the results, despite the way you brought them about. I am pleased, little rose. You have done well." He then turned away toward the stiff form of Omark behind him.

Zoraster waved his hand, and Omark's body relaxed. The man quickly rolled into a crouch. Zoraster let out a wicked chuckle and said, "Do try, if you are feeling suicidal. It might prove amusing."

Omark screamed and his features changed, becoming angular -- almost animalistic. His canine teeth elongated into fangs, and he leapt toward Zoraster.

Zoraster gestured, and Omark slammed back to the ground with great force before he could reach the Archmage. The transformed wizard struggled against the force pinning him down, hissing and snarling.

"Ah -- that offers some explanation. Fool -- you have no idea the forces you were trifling with. Had you proven unworthy, you would have been trapped in an eternity of torture and damnation. Such a great risk to have the power of a vampire while being able to resist their normal weaknesses. This explains much." He gestured and Omark collapsed, limp and unconscious. "I'll deal with delving into your mind later," he said to the unconscious man. "Celes, return Danica to her quarters to recover. As I said, little rose, you have pleased me. Your freedom is granted. You will already find doors adjoining your new rooms to the old."

Celes teleported the pair back to Zoraster's abode.

{*****~~o~~0~~o~~*****}

Celes put Danica to bed, bringing restorative potions to help the redhead recover. After a while, Danica regained enough of her strength to tell Celes what had happened.

"The madman was havin' the right o' it. Omark was toyin' with creatures o' the Negative Material Plane. T' rite he performed is near unto lost ta the ages. It gives a man t' powers of a vampire. He'll be strong, able ta charm people wit' 'is gaze, an' gains strength from the drinkin' o' blood. He's not immune ta the sun nor other weaknesses o' the vampire, but he can resist it strong. If'n he's killed, he becomes a vampire in whole. It's the rite what brought the blood drinkin' abominations into the world in ages gone past," Celes explained.

Danica paled upon hearing the last thing Celes said. "Then that little girl..."

Celes shook her head. "Nay, she'll not become one of the undead. The livin' vampires dinna cause their victims ta rise from their graves. Ye were lucky, lass. The man's a powerful Necromancer ta be able ta perform the rite. If'n he'd not been lackin' his full thinkin' from the ecstasy o' takin' the life o' the wee lass, ye'd have likely been killed fer sure. Ye're surely growin' strong in the Art. Give ye a bit more time at yer studies, an' I'm not for sure I'd be wantin' ta stand against ye."

Danica blushed. "You're teasing me."

"What would I be doin' that for, Dearie? An old woman has no time for games," she said with a wink. "Ye have an affinity for Art ye suppressed for some reason. Since ye've been here, ye've broken those barriers an' started to come inta yer true potential."

Danica thought about it and realized it was true. She was learning magic now that she had thought would always be beyond her. She had awakened to all sorts of realizations since becoming Zoraster's prisoner here. As she thought, she remembered the freedom she had gained for completing her task.

Danica started to rise and Celes helped her. "He said the new rooms..." Danica began.

"Aye, there's doors -- I seen 'em when I brought ye in. Ye want to see 'em? Come along then, Dearie," Celes said.

They went to the door behind Danica's bath and entered the first room. It was empty, save for a large sunken tub in the floor. Danica gasped in delight when she saw it. Two people could comfortably stretch out to their full length in the tub, and it had the same sort of pipes to feed water into it from above as Danica's old tub.

"Och, but that woulda cost a pretty penny. Whoever had these rooms afore ye was high in the madman's favor."

"Zoraster said he had fallen into disfavor," Danica said absently, still enraptured with the sight of the tub.

"Likely he's dead then, and bettin' it's a happy thing for the world. Any who's bein' that high in the madman's favor is likely a bastard better gone from the world."

Danica opened a door near the tub and found a room apparently set aside specifically for the chamber pot. Little more than a closet, the room had a vent that Danica could feel a gentle breeze of fresh air coming through. Danica decided to move her chamber pot here as soon as possible.

Adjoining the room with the bath was a common room. The exit to the hall from the original owner's suite was in this room. Danica now had two exits to her suite. She exited and looked around, happy to discover that she now had a quicker path to the exit of the building.

Danica again smiled when she found the kitchen attached to the common room. She enjoyed cooking, and the space provided plenty of storage and countertops for organization. Finding a pantry, Danica and Celes both gasped in delight when they found a curious cabinet. When opened, they found that the interior of the cabinet had a magical cooling enchantment.

They left the kitchen and went back through the common room to the door on the opposite side. This opened into a lab and library, which connected to Danica's by a door. There were numerous shelves on the wall, but the room was otherwise bare.

Danica found a door covered in runes to absorb heat, and when she opened it, she found a smelting furnace inside. Danica had never considered working in metal, but if she chose to, she now had a furnace to melt metals. She thought she would have her kiln moved to this room, where the heat dissipating enchantments would make the whole of her lab more comfortable when firing the kiln.

"Och, but ye've got a set up now dearie. I'm likely ta be spendin' more time with ye," Celes said with a cackle.

"You're always welcome. If you want to use my lab to experiment, feel free. I have more than enough space now, though it will likely take me some time to furnish the new rooms." Danica yawned as she spoke.

"It's gettin' on into evening, Dearie, an' ye've had a tryin' day. Get yerself to bed an' think on that in the mornin'," Celes said and then led Danica back to her bed.

Celes tucked her in, and Danica was soon sound asleep.

{*****~~o~~0~~o~~*****}

Upon awakening, Danica began to rearrange things in her new rooms. She tracked down a large servant and asked him to move the larger items such as her kiln, chamber pot, and one of the tables from her lab. He seemed rather stunned and pleased when Danica gave him a few coins for his trouble. He quickly agreed to find a craftsman to hook up the vent pipe for her kiln, and returned shortly thereafter with someone. She gave him a few coins as well when he completed his work.

Danica then moved her woodworking tools and supplies to the new lab. These took up more room than her work in clay, and it made sense to move them into the larger space. She then tackled her crowded closet, transferring most of the garments to the walk-in closet of her new rooms.

She finished and sighed at the bareness of the new rooms. It would take her a very long time to begin to fill them out -- or so she was thinking when Zoraster entered.

"I see you are taking advantage of your new freedom. That is good, little rose. I am very pleased with the results of your last task, despite the fact that they were the result of breaking from that which I sent you to do. Pure luck has it that the sudden modification of your task kept the entirety of the man's research and considerable coinage intact, as well as the slave house itself. This is a most welcome result, as my Necromancers may pick up his studies without loss of ground. I have the fool himself -- alive -- to learn of the vampiric rite he undertook, and a pair of his captured slaves even reaped rewards for me when they were returned to their homes. The building itself will be easily modified into a storage house for my interests in the area, as well as serving as a much more suitable outpost than the rude hut I utilized there. I am very pleased indeed, little rose."

"You're welcome," Danica said with only the faintest hint of the sarcasm she felt.

Zoraster laughed long and loud. "Remember, little rose, breaking from your assigned task and failing to reap greater rewards will result in severe punishment, but when your wits serve my interests, you shall be rewarded. Thus, I have set aside a significant amount of the coin recovered for your use. It should be more than sufficient to furnish your new rooms and give you a rather sizeable cushion of coin for other purchases. I will surely have another task for you soon, little rose. You quickly vie for most favored of my pawns with Celes." He said the last with a sly, evil smile. "Good day, little rose."

Danica obtained permission to go into the city shortly thereafter, taking her new magical crafting and a large stock of coin with her in her bag of holding. She stopped first at the shop of a furniture maker. Judging from the pieces on display, Danica decided that the man must have extraordinarily gifts, and his apprentices seemed to be likewise talented. She commissioned a dining table and chairs large enough for six, a new bed, and several cushioned chairs and couches for her new common room.

She also requested a second bed for the other bedroom, in a canopied and curtained design. Three new tables and a new desk to fill out her lab completed her order -- two common tables and one specifically designed for her woodworking. Danica's ability to sketch what she wanted, in addition to describing the pieces impressed the man. When Danica paid up front without haggling, in full, he promised to make her work a priority and deliver it free of charge.