Bound in Spirals Ch. 04

Author's Note:

This chapter of my story also contains no sex, and I don't anticipate there being any for a few more chapters. If you're looking for a quickie, I suggest you look elsewhere.

This story contains minor gore and graphic descriptions of pain(Unrelated to sex). Just to warn those who are bothered by that sort of thing.

All aspects of this story are fictional. Any resemblances to real people are entirely coincidental. All characters participating in sexual acts are 18 years of age or above.

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Sam didn't dream that night, to his own surprise. He expected to have nightmares, seeing the severed body of Frenna, with her spilt intestines, and his own killings, but he felt the same cold unfeelingness towards those as he had the night before. He sighed as he stretched himself. He felt a soreness in his back as he realized he'd forgotten to remove his sword from where he'd bound it. 'Goddammit.' He thought as he rubbed his back grumpily.

As he stood up he noticed the misty haze that had snuck up on them in the night. He could hardly see 10 feet ahead as he scanned their surroundings. The dawning sun lit the small barren clearing where Letta had stopped to sleep. He turned back to his still slumbering companions, giggling to himself at the sight of Theodore snuggling up to his lance, leaning against Letta's thickly furred belly.

He decided to let them sleep and began to cautiously explore their surroundings, careful not to get lost in the fog. He walked silently for a while, prodding about with his boots. The earth beneath his feet was soft, and he saw sprinkled dew on the low mosslike plants on the ground. As he looked down he noticed the numerous rips in his shirt and he could feel the moist air touching his exposed skin. 'I wonder...'

Experimentally, he pinched closed the largest tear in the center of his chest and accessed his magic. He imagined his power flowing out from his fingers and sealing the fabric. He forced his intentions into his magic, and instantly small threads extended from his fingertips. He watched as the power flowed out and coalesced around the rip. Then, the thin swirling lines extended inward, covering the opening, and it snapped closed instantly.

Sam sat in amazement at the delicacy that the magic was able to accomplish. It did it in barely a fraction of a second, too. He pulled the shirt up slightly to examine the seal closer, and the only sign that it had ever been torn was a minuscule strand of prismatic power. He quickly repeated the process on all of the tears in his clothes, and was satisfied as he looked down at himself, looking like he'd never even fought. At least to a non-mage's eye.

After a moment, he realized something. He had yet to release his hold on his magic, but he did not feel the twisted joy that came when his power had no focus. 'What the...'

'Ah, that is because I am holding it back.' Said a familiar voice.

"Huh?" Sam spun around, but saw no one.

He paused. 'Wait, that came from in my head...'

'I see you have figured out who I am now, that makes this a bit easier.' Samson said.

'Wait you're back? Where'd you even go before?' Sam asked quickly.

'Well, technically I was never really gone. I've just been doing some... exploration, so to speak.' He replied.

Sam frowned. 'What's that supposed to mean?'

'Most of it was just trying to find the edge to your pool of magic, but I also took some time to examine your memories too.' Samson said. 'The first task has been fruitless thus far, which I find perplexing, to say the least. But, your memories have been quite enlightening.'

'I-I see.' Sam said hesitantly. 'So, why are you in my mind in the first place? Didn't you die?'

'Hmm, well I don't know the answer to that myself. I have a few theories, but I was never taught anything related to such an occurrence, so they are mere guesses. All I can say is that somehow, as our bodies switched places, my mind was bound to yours. I believe it had something to do with my body dying in the process. As though instead of my soul being released into the void or wherever it would go, it got attached to you through our magical bond.' Samson answered.

'A-Alright then... I suppose that makes the most sense.' Sam said, rubbing the back of his head.

'Oh, speaking of magic.' Samson said after a few seconds of silence. 'From now on, I want you to avoid learning about magic from external sources. Your ignorance of the subject may prove useful, since most mages are taught specific methods, I've noticed we tend to lack creativity. You might be able to come up with some abstract concepts.' Samson said, sounding a bit excited.

'Um, do you really think that'll work? Wouldn't it be better for me to learn what is already known, so I'm not just rediscovering old tricks or something?' Sam asked confusedly.

'Meh, well it probably won't work, but it couldn't hurt to try, right?'

'Uh, yeah I think it could definitely hurt to try! What if something could've helped me survive, and my lack of knowledge gets me killed?!' Sam exclaimed.

'Ahh, don't worry about it. If it comes to that I can just take over like we did back with the argwolf, and if it doesn't seem to work then I can just give you my information on magic.' Samson said, sounding unconcerned. 'Where is that wolf, by the way?'

'Letta? She's back there a little ways, still sleeping I think. Theodore is there too.' Sam replied.

'Letta? I guess we got quite the catch, eh?' Samson said. 'If we ever need to assassinate a queen, we got someone with first hand experience. Might come in handy.'

'Well, we shouldn't need to do that, right?' Sam asked warily.

'I mean, we're going to be living a long time. What else are we going to do when we get bored?' Samson said jokingly.

Sam just shook his head, and turned to walk back. 'How do you even know anything about binding magic? You didn't have it when you were still alive?'

'What do you mean? Of course I had it! How do you think I was able to bind the argwolf?' Samson replied.

'Well if you had it, then why did you die?'

'I'd been fighting for 6 damn hours! I could hardly even think, let alone concentrate enough to use magic!' Samson said indignantly, then seemed to sigh. 'Besides, even being one of the stronger male mages, my healing isn't nearly as fast acting as yours. You could say you might be something of an anomaly among men.'

'Anomaly? How so?'

'Ah, right... Well, to put it simply, male mages are not often above B class. As far as I know, I was one of 7 male A class mages in our entire army. It is very possible that you are the most powerful man alive, as far as raw energy goes.' Samson said. 'Compared to the female mages... I'm not really sure. I guarantee you are at least SS class though from what I've been able to see.'

Sam rubbed the back of his head thoughtfully. 'I see... I guess that's why some of the council didn't like me very much.'

'Hehe, yes that was quite satisfying to watch. Oh, by the way, don't go back to them again. They'll only try to use us.'

'Yeah yeah, I heard that from Letta and Theodore.' Sam said. 'But, where am I supposed to go? I don't have any ties to this place at all.'

'Exactly! That's the best part, we can go wherever we want!'

'I don't know, man, I'm a bit afraid to be honest.' Sam sighed. 'Don't you even want to see your family again? To let them know you're alright?'

'Oh, uh... yeah, I guess I do. If my sister even survived that last attack...' Samson said, sounding downcast.

'Oh, uh, right... I didn't even really consider that. Sorry.'

'Ah no worries, I'm sure she's fine. She's quite crafty when she needs to be.' Samson said, but despite his words he still sounded worried.

Sam tried to think of something else to say, but decided against it. He walked the rest of the way back in silence. He thought for a moment that he'd gotten lost, until he nearly bumped right into Letta's enormous body. Blinking, he looked along her figure and saw Theodore still sleeping in the same position. 'Jesus, it is foggy as hell.' He thought.

'Why is it so foggy around here?' He asked Samson.

'We're headed to Eltinn right?'

'Yeah.'

'Then this is the misty plains. They're pretty much always like this as far as I know, no one is really sure why. Easy to get lost in, but nothing else particularly dangerous about it.' He replied.

'Ah, alright then. Think I should wake them up?'

'If you want to reach Eltinn before nightfall, then yes.'

With that Sam walked to Theodore and gently prodded him awake. He shot up, and shook his head.

"Huh? I'm up, I'm up... Wait..." Theodore said, still half asleep.

"We should get going." Sam said. "This fog unnerves me a bit."

"Oh, uh... Yeah, yeah, we should." Theodore mumbled as he rose, propped on his lance.

Sam tried to wake Letta up mentally, but found her to be unresponsive. He debated whether he should just let her sleep after all, then shook his head and walked up to her side. He pressed his hands against her, feeling her steady breathing. After shoving against her several times she shifted slightly, but did not wake.

"WAKE UP!" He shouted and shoved her again.

Finally, her ear twitched and she raised her head slightly. A loud noise vibrated out from her and Sam didn't know whether it was a groan or a growl.

'Why do you wake me, pup?' She said, sounding grumpy.

'Goddamn, you're the deepest sleeping animal I've ever seen.' Sam said. 'I don't wanna stay in this place very long, the sooner we get to town the better.'

'I am going back to sleep.' Letta said flatly and laid her head back down.

Sam groaned, but didn't see anything he could do.

"She doesn't want to get up yet." Sam said, turning to Theodore.

He yawned and said, "that's alright, I'll look around a bit and see if I can find anything better to eat than those raw tates."

Sam nodded and stayed with Letta, just incase Theodore got lost.

'Theo seems to be the same as always.' Samson said sounding disappointed. 'I thought he'd show at least a little more emotion when I'd died...'

Sam thought for a moment, then said, 'I think he's hiding it, when I first told him, he seemed pretty sad.'

'Wouldn't surprise me really, when we first joined the queen's army I caught him crying once. He was holding a small painting of his wife. Never saw it again though.' Samson said, sounding thoughtful.

'He's married? How old is Theodore?' Sam asked, slightly surprised.

'Yeah, he's married, and I think he turned 22 recently. He's got a 3 year old daughter too, back home. His wife is the sweetest woman I've ever met, they're a perfect match in my opinion.' Samson said with a laugh. 'Once, I got the chance to visit them on one of our short leaves. While I was there, Ella, that's her name, tried to feed us about 20 different pies, and I'd never seen Theo smile so much. I couldn't help but get caught up in their happiness.'

Sam found himself smiling at the thought, and chuckling softly.

'Well, at least my sister was distraught... She always was quite attached to me though.' Samson said.

'Yeah, I could tell by the way she beat the love into me when I told her I wasn't you.' Sam said. 'Where were ya when that happened, pal?'

'Hey! I still hadn't figured out what had happened to me, and our connection wasn't strong enough to communicate yet, don't blame me!' Samson said with mock indignation.

Sam chuckled and shook his head. 'Where does your family live? Perhaps we can stop by. Not like I've got any other plans anyway.'

'They're in Stralden, the capital.' Samson said.

'I know that name.' Sam replied. 'Grettia mentioned sending me there when I was at their council tent. Maybe we shouldn't go, actually.'

'Well, if anything Stralden would be one of the hardest places to find us. The capital is enormous, if we got a haircut and a change of clothes nobody would find us. Not enough people saw you personally, and I doubt anyone in the council aside from Grettia perhaps would be willing to look for you themselves. You see, the female mages in power tend to dislike unusually powerful males, shatters their sense of superiority.' Samson said, a tinge of satisfaction coming from his tone.

'I-I see...' Sam replied uncertainly. 'Then I suppose we'll go to Stralden.'

'Yes, and...' Samson started, but was cut off by a yell from the mist.

Sam shot up instinctively, and squinted as he looked into the fog, searching for the source. 'That was Theodore...' He sprinted into the haze. As he started, he felt a shift in the air behind him as Letta leapt forward. 'Wow, really? Wouldn't get up when I was yelling.' He thought, then berated himself for thinking such a thing when his friend was in danger.

"Theodore!" Sam yelled as he ran, then said to Samson, 'I thought you said this place wasn't particularly dangerous.'

'I didn't think it was!' He answered defensively. 'Hey watch it!'

Sam realized his warning too late, and ran straight into what had caught Theodore. He fumbled and tried to step back, but his feet were stuck. Around boots was a viscous, translucent ooze. A short distance away Sam saw Theodore's silhouette stood flailing about, trying to free himself from the trapping sludge. 'What the hell is this?!'

'It's a slime!' Responded Samson, to his thought. 'It will dissolve your body if we don't get out quick!'

Sam felt terror crawl up his spine, that didn't sound like something his magic could fix. He began to panic. 'Letta! Help us!' He screamed mentally.

'I was just as foolish.' She replied shamefully. 'I only have one paw out of reach, and I cannot get enough leverage.'

"Fuuuuck..." Sam mumbled as he tried to yank backward to safety, only inches away.

'Wait, calm down, just try to think for a moment. Panicking won't get you out.' Samson said, but despite his words he sounded scared.

Sam tried to steady his mind, and closed his eyes for a few seconds. 'My boots!' He looked down hopefully, and saw the slime slowly converging around his feet. It was climbing up the leather, seeking to enclose him in a corrosive cocoon. He franticly bent down and untied the laces, and wriggled his right foot free. He pulled it out with a cheer of victory.

He stepped down on the uncovered earth behind him, and again bent down to his other boot. The slime touched the tips of his fingers just as he finished untying it, and he felt a tingling against his skin. He jerked his left foot out of the boot. He fell backward flailing his arms, trying to keep his balance. As he hit the ground he laughed shakily, then remembered his two companions.

'Help Letta first, you can't get Theo out alone. The slime will have reached the tops of his boots already.' Samson said, his worry obvious.

'Letta where are you?! Bark or something!' Sam sent out as he stood up, and backed away from the burbling slime.

He heard a low whine from off to his left, the direction opposite to Theodore. One last look at his boots, and he saw the slime pouring into them. His fingertips stung slightly as he turned to run to Letta. This time, he watched his feet, carefully staying several yards from the perimeter of the slow moving slime. A second later, he found where Letta had gotten stuck. Her forepaws and back left paw were all sunken into the entrapping sludge.

It was already slowly climbing her legs, and reaching out for the final one. He quickly wracked his mind for anything that might save her. 'What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?! C'mon, c'mon think Sam think!' He stood there, knowing that he didn't have the strength to pull her out. Slapping himself, he forced his thoughts to focus. 'Samson, do you have any ideas? How do you get out of this slime thing?'

'I-I don't know, I thought they had been killed off years ago.' Samson said, sounding panicked for the first time. 'I only know they can be killed with fire, but we don't have any...'

"Dammit!" Sam grunted and came closer to Letta's hind leg. Letta looked back at him as he did. Her ears pressed down and eyes wide, looking a combination of fear and humiliation. "Don't worry I'll think of something!"

He could see the slime eating away at her fur. It blackened and assimilated into the body of clear green. Her free paw was scratching away desperately, trying to gain some traction. An idea passed through his mind, and he grasped for it. 'That's it!' Crouching down, he reached for his magic. It took a moment, but the power surfaced. His bare arms flared brightly, the involute forms whipping excitedly across his skin.

Touching Letta's large paw with both hands, he imagined his power flowing around her leg and connecting to the earth. Thick ropes of power branched out from his hands and circled her paw. Her fur parted around the cords as they grew downward. Then, as the magic touched the dry dirt below them it snapped off of his arms, like a taught cable being cut. He stood up then spoke to Letta.

'Letta, I've anchored your foot, try to pull yourself free! Now!' Then he sprinted around to her ensnared hind leg and anchored his own feet to the ground. He leaned forward and hugged the thick leg, ready to help with his meager strength.

He felt her muscles clenched and began to pull backward with everything he had. The leg did not seem to budge. He gritted his teeth and yanked backward with a growl, Letta followed suit. Finally, he felt the slime give slightly, and then with a squelch her paw was jerked free. It knocked him backward, and he slammed on his back, unable to gain his balance with his legs bound. The air was knocked from his lungs and he grunted.

Quickly, he released his binds and jumped up, gasping for breath, and backed away from the pool. Where Letta's paw had just been the slime was coalescing back into an unbroken blob. Sam lunged to her freed paw and hastily anchored it down.

"Letta, again!" He shouted, cringing as he saw the patchy, blackened fur.

He saw her muscles shift and strain through her thick fur. Her front right came up first with a wet slurping sound, and she cradled it under her. The slime groaned and gurgled as it converged once again.

'U-Unbind my hind legs.' Letta said, her pain was bleeding into her words and she spoke rapidly. 'Not just yet, wait for me to pull my other one free so I can fall backward away from it.'

'Got it.' Sam said and knelt down between her legs, one hand on each. He stared intently at her last paw, waiting for it to break from the slime.

He heard her, rather than saw her, heaving with her full power. A roar emanated from within Letta as her paw breached from the clutches of the all consuming muck. Sam hastily released the binds, and they snapped away. Falling to the earth slackly and crumbling away like burning paper, the binds disappeared. He released his power, not allowing it to overtake him.

Above him, Letta reared back on her hind legs and hit the ground on her side with a booming thud. She rose up slowly, and began hobbling toward where Theodore's excruciating screams echoed. 'I-I can't...' He heard Samson say faintly in the back of his mind.

Sam followed at a sprint. He grimaced at her left forepaw, which was held up as she limped forward. It had very few remaining patches of fur, and it bled in small trickles from the raw pink skin. He looked away biting his lip.

When they reached Theodore, Sam clenched his jaw. The slime had risen nearly to his waist. Through it, Sam could see only fragments of his clothing remaining, and globules of blood were peppered around what remained of his legs.

"Quickly Letta, pull him out!" Sam yelled franticly, unable to watch as Theodore screamed and tore at his hair.

Letta leant toward him gingerly and clamped her muzzle around him as gently as she dared. Sam could still hear the screams of agony through her mouth as she yanked him out of the gripping sludge. He followed her again over the packed earth, and away from the abomination that had nearly claimed them. The mists parted around her as she trotted, he could hear a faint whine under the piercing cry from Theodore.