Danica Prelude

No customers had entered for some time when Danica's normal closing time approached. She went ahead and turned the sign, after a quick look up and down the street for last minute customers. Once again, she hurried to close up shop – content in the amount of coin she had made today, and that she was on her way back to Robert's tonight.

She smiled thinking about that, as she finished locking up. A quick bath and a change of clothes later, and she was on her way to Robert's.

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

It had been hard for Danica to leave Robert that morning without making love to him again, but she had promised to be open on time, and was determined to live up to that promise. Danica took a few extra minutes to primp before opening, thinking every little bit of good impression couldn't hurt. She wore tighter robes than usual, to show off her breasts, and left her hair down instead of putting it up as she usually did.

She placed Arrant's staff near the door of the vault, so she could retrieve it almost instantly when he arrived, and arranged a few unique magic items she possessed on the counter, hoping to pique his interest in them. The items were powerful, and beyond the means of most who entered her shop. They were either gifts from her sister, or the result of skillful trades.

When she was ready, she opened up the shop, and saw the dark figure of Arrant already approaching from down the street. Danica went behind the counter and practiced a few smiles, trying to find just the right one to brighten his day when he entered.

Arrant swept into the shop like an ill wind, muttering under his breath. Danica said, "One moment sir and I will retrieve your staff. Feel free to look around."

She thought the trust she showed in leaving him alone in the shop for even a few moments might impress him, indicating that she knew him – and his reputation. She quickly retrieved the staff and brought it out to him.

Immediately upon grasping the staff, the wizard's eyes went wide, and he tossed back his cowl, "What have you done?"

Taken aback, Danica stammered, "I'm sorry sir, what do you mean?"

Running his fingers over the staff in a trembling caress, Arrant growled, "My wonderful staff, its power has been sapped!"

"You must be mistaken sir; that cannot have happened," Danica disagreed. She slipped into the second sight and suppressed a gasp. The glow from the staff still showed great power, but it had undoubtedly dimmed.

"Lies! Think you I know not the vast powers of my own possessions! The coin that will be required to restore this to its former glory is more than you will earn in a lifetime! I demand satisfaction!"

Danica panicked now. She had hoped to impress the influential wizard and better herself, now she faced possible ruin. If he spread word of this to others, she would be destitute in no time, "Sir, I do not understand how this could have happened, but I assure you I will compensate you for your loss. I have some unique items here..." she said gesturing at the magic items that she had set out earlier.

"Trinkets!" He screamed and swept them off the counter.

Danica started from the sudden violent motion, and quickly added to her offer, "They would be only a part, it will take time, but I can make payments in coin and other..."

"Silence! It would take a lifetime for you to possibly compensate me for the coin alone! How will you compensate me for the time the staff's restoration will require? What can you offer that will give me satisfaction for the terrible inconvenience you have lain upon me?" Arrant’s eyes bulged wide with anger, burning into Danica.

Danica had only one real weapon left at her disposal – one she had used sparingly over the years, but one that had never failed her when she resorted to it. She hated doing it, because it made her feel cheap – even when she was attracted to the person she hoped to manipulate. Stepping around the counter, she let her hips sway as he scowled at her.

Once out from behind the counter, Danica loosened the ties on her robe nonchalantly. "Perhaps there is something I have here that you haven't seen, which might interest you," she said in a sultry tone, and let her robe fall open to reveal hints of her breasts.

For just an instant, amusement crossed the wizard's features. Then he snorted, and pushed her away when she tried to move in closer to him. "Foolish woman, such things do not interest me."

Danica pulled her robe closed and lowered her head, "I don't know what I can do, I don't understand how this has happened and I have nothing else to offer."

The man raised one hand to his chin and said, "Perhaps there is a way you can compensate me for this travesty."

"Please, let me know what it is sir, I would do anything to assure you this is not the way I do business and compensate you for your loss."

A smile crept across his lips, "There are a few spells I have never been able to acquire, hoarded away and kept from my grasp – no matter what I offered. I know where some of these spells can be found. If you were to acquire them for me, from the library where they are hidden just beyond my grasp, perhaps I might be willing to forget about this whole sordid affair."

Confusion crossed Danica’s features. "If they are beyond your reach, how am I to attain them?"

"They are beyond my reach because I consider the risk to my reputation greater than my desire – great as that desire is. You, however, seem to have little to lose at this point."

Danica hung her head. If Arrant spread the word of this, her business with visiting wizards would trickle off to nothing. She would have to lean on her family to get by, and she couldn’t bear the thought of proving she was a failure again. "I have no real choice. I will do it."

"If you succeed, I will forget this entire incident occurred. Fetch a pen and paper, and do cover yourself before someone wanders in."

Danica tied her robe and brought the requested items. Arrant wrote for a few minutes, and then pushed the paper across the counter to Danica.

"The books I wish to acquire are in the library of Zoraster Arias. These are the titles, instructions of how to reach his stronghold and the library, and even the location of the books within the library. With a little planning and stealth, you should be able to acquire them. You might even be able to conceal your involvement and return to your life if you are careful."

"I understand," Danica responded, while trying to fight back a sob.

Arrant pulled back up his cowl, and passed something else across the counter to Danica, it was some sort of small charm, the letter 'A' within a circle, crafted in silver. "Hold this in your hand, and speak my name when you have acquired the books. It will vanish to let you know the magic has worked."

Danica nodded, and with that, Arrant left her shop. She quickly locked the door and spun the sign, arming the wards there and upon the vault. With that done, she collapsed on her bed and wept for many hours.

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

When at last Danica mastered her emotions, she went back out and fully closed down her shop, though it was only midday. She gathered every single coin she had, dropped them in a purse, and then began packing.

Once she had packed everything she thought she would need, and could possibly carry, Danica locked the door to her home with a sigh of regret. It would be quite some time before she was able to return even if she was successful, because Montbank was far away in lands she had never traveled. Passage on a ship would be quicker, but was beyond her means if she wanted to have any coin left once she got there.

She absolutely refused to ask for help from her sister; though she had little doubt it would have been gladly given if she asked. Danica was determined to get out of this mess on her own, just as she had somehow gotten into it without help. She realized she might have no choice but to ask for help when she returned, because it would take coin she wouldn't have to reopen the shop – if she was ever able to do so again.

This is what I get for wishing to have some change, and excitement in my life, Danica thought bitterly.

Danica made her way to Robert's house, and found he was not there. Checking at the herbalist's shop he used as a base to ply his trade, she found he was away at a farmhouse outside the city.

She knew she would never leave if she didn't go before her nerve left her. Danica penned a note saying she had to go on a journey, and would be gone some time. She signed it, I love you – Danica, and handed it to the herbalist to deliver to Robert.

With that, Danica walked back out into the street and tried to figure out how to begin her long, frightening journey.

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

"I have ensnared another, Master Zoraster."

"Excellent, Arrant, I hope this one proves more useful than the others. Most have been little more than sacrificial lambs. While I need such, I also require some more useful pawns."

"This one seems somewhat resourceful, and willing to employ everything at her disposal when necessary. She offered her body to me without a second thought."

Zoraster laughed, "That sounds promising – was the offer worth accepting?"

"I would say so, and in fact I considered it. I came to the conclusion it would be better to refuse her and make her more desperate."

"A wise decision, and the sort of decision I expected you to make when I gave you this task."

"One I am happy to undertake, Master Zoraster."

"Seek others – I need many pawns to fulfill my designs."

"It shall be done."

Zoraster banished the image in his scrying mirror. "What have we caught in our web this time? Another gnat, or have we perhaps captured a butterfly this time?"

An image in another mirror caught Zoraster's eye, and he turned toward it. Within the mirror, he saw a woman with dirty blonde hair, on her knees, a man's cock engulfed in her mouth.

Zoraster sighed as he watched, seeing the fear and disgust in the woman's features. "Such a simple task, and yet you betray yourself. It is a pity you are yet another gnat – another lamb to the slaughter. It is no matter. You have served your purpose."

He pulled a small globe from a pocket in his robe and spoke into it, "Kill the woman as well, she has outlived her usefulness."

A voice arose from the orb, "Can I have a bit of fun with her first?"

"You may do with her as you please, but she must never be seen again. If she dies now, it appears to be connected to the fool's death, and is easily explained. If she – or her corpse – turns up later, there will be questions. Ensure that does not happen, or your suffering shall be great."

"I get it."

"Return for your payment when he is dead and you are done with her." Zoraster put away the orb, laughing as he concentrated on the talisman Arrant had given to the woman most recently ensnared. Soon enough, Zoraster would know all he needed to know about her.

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

I hope you liked this tale, and will continue to read Danica's ongoing story. Please take a moment to vote, and perhaps comment. That's the only payment a free author gets, and every bit of feedback is most appreciated!

You may find later chapters have some flubs and grammar issues, until I finish posting all the edits. Look for the note at the beginning of each chapter about my editor, Roust, and that will let you know whether the chapter is newly edited.