Danica Pt. 05

With the monsters now no longer a threat, Danica followed the tunnel the third goblin had appeared from, finding six pallets in another open area. She passed farther into the cave and soon discovered three large, simple beds in another area -- the warrior goblins' quarters.

The sounds of muffled screaming grew louder, and Danica continued on. She soon drew near a side passage and could tell she was very close to the source of the screams. She reactivated her rings and started down the passage.

As she neared a more brightly lit area, she heard hisses and snarls coming from ahead. She entered the room just in time to see two goblins pulling out of a pair of women who were bound spread out on tables in the middle of the room.

Both women were young and blonde, and one began sobbing when the creature lifted its hand off her mouth. The other woman lay very still.

One of the goblins looked over and said, "Idiot, you stole her breath," in the guttural language of goblins, and slapped the other.

"It bit me!" The creature protested, and shoved the other one.

Danica screamed in rage, though the globe of silence around her kept the creatures from hearing it. The goblins started when she suddenly appeared in their peripheral vision as she cast her spell.

They spun toward her and hissed, but the one who had suffocated the woman didn't even make it halfway around before her magical missiles thudded into it. It twitched and fell atop its victim, and then thudded to the floor.

The second creature growled and jumped toward Danica. She didn't have time to cast another spell, and only barely drew her dagger in time. The creature sank its claws into Danica's arms, but also sank her dagger into its chest. It hissed and gurgled as blood welled into its lungs. Its strength quickly drained, and Danica kicked it away to drown in its own blood.

Danica quickly went to the tables and sighed when she confirmed that the one woman was indeed dead. The other woman was sobbing hysterically. Danica sliced through the ropes holding the woman, and she immediately curled up into a fetal position. Danica asked, "Are there others?"

The woman continued to sob and did not answer, so Danica slapped her to try to shock her out of her hysterics. "Do you want to live? Get up now. I can get you free, but you have to control yourself. Are there others?" Danica asked.

The woman choked back a sob, caught her breath, and then nodded her head to indicate there were.

"Take me there, quickly. We have to get you all free of here before the rest return," Danica instructed.

The knowledge that there were still goblins alive spurred the young woman into action. She hurried out of the room with Danica hot on her heels. The woman followed the tunnel a short distance and turned into another open chamber. Danica entered behind the other woman and saw three more women -- bound and gagged -- in the room.

Danica rushed over to them and cut their bonds, releasing them. "Quickly. We have to get away now. The others will be returning."

The women, who were all nude, stood up wearily and tried to stamp circulation into their arms and legs.

"Come -- follow me quickly. Make no sound. The others are still around, and I don't know how close." Danica then led the women back to the tunnel entrance.

The women gasped collectively when they saw the five dead goblins in their rush from the cave. One asked quietly after the other blonde woman, and the one who Danica had freed first shook her head sadly.

Danica turned and put her finger to her lips, then held up her hand to indicate they should stop. She cast a clairaudience and clairvoyance spell to examine the area around the cave mouth. Her magic indicated that there was no danger outside the cave.

"Now, quickly, I know a safe place. Be quiet and mind your step. Try not to slide as we make our way down the trail. We will walk, not run, and you will do your best not to disturb anything as we do. Stay on the path where your footprints will not be noticed. Now come." Danica ordered, and exited the cave.

The women followed as Danica lead them quickly back down the path to the cave she had discovered earlier. There were no mishaps, and Danica felt confident the women would be safe there for a while. "Inside," she whispered and pointed at the cave mouth.

The women crawled inside, and Danica followed. She quickly intoned a lasting light spell over a small gem she pulled from her pocket. The women huddled together close to the entrance.

Danica went to them and whispered, "Stay quiet. Quench your thirst and then wash, it will help you relax." She pulled the shifts from her bag of holding, and suggested, "Put these on when you're finished. If I haven't returned for you by daybreak, run for a village or house below. You should see houses at the bottom of the hill. Stay on the trail and stay together unless you are pursued. If you are chased, split up and keep running. Do you understand?"

The women all nodded. Danica said, "I'm going back to ambush the rest of the filthy creatures when they return. My magic is strong, so have faith that I'll be back for you quickly, and unharmed." Danica then crawled back outside the cave.

Danica cast an illusion over the cave mouth to make it appear to be part of the hill. If the goblins knew about the cave, it would do little good. If they didn't, the illusion would hide it better for several hours. She couldn't risk putting up a wall of force, for fear it could trap the women inside. The powerful protective spell didn't always lapse because its caster was unconscious -- or dead.

She paused for a moment outside the cave and drained two potion bottles. The first was an antitoxin. The second was a painkiller and healer. Goblin claws could sometimes poison the blood when they broke skin, and the claw marks on her arms stung badly.

Danica hurried back up the hill, reactivating the magic of her rings once more. She approached cautiously, but saw no signs that the other goblins had returned. She settled on a small outcropping of stone next to the cave entrance and waited.

At least two hours passed before Danica heard the clumsy goblins approaching. She stood up and strained her eyes to see them, eventually making them out in the moonlight. Two of the warrior goblins carried pigs. The other held several chickens by their feet. Danica breathed a sigh of relief because they did not have a prisoner, which would have made her task much more difficult.

Danica let the creatures approach closer. She wanted to leave very little chance for error when she unleashed her magic. The stinking creatures reached the small clearing that led to the cave, and Danica intoned her spell.

The goblins quickly dropped the booty of their raid and scrambled for their weapons when she suddenly appeared. The two shamans called upon their powers, but Danica was the quicker.

Danica quivered as the lightning leapt from her fingers. She could feel the magic burning and tingling throughout her body as the bolt lit up the entire area and streaked into the creatures midst. The creatures all fell to the ground as the bolt arched back and forth between them, except one of the two shaman. That creature covered his eyes, apparently blinded by the flash of light. A faint nimbus of light surrounded him, and Danica assumed he had managed to get a shield of some sort up before her bolt had struck.

Danica cursed when the stubborn, resilient creatures started to rise, and spoke the words of another spell. One of the warrior goblins found its feet, and moved toward Danica as she neared the completion of her spell chant.

The shaman that had been struggling to rise suddenly screamed and scrambled away on its hands and knees. Though not very intelligent, the creature was smart enough to recognize some of the words of Danica's spell. It knew what was coming, and desperately didn't want to be in the area when it happened.

Danica finished the casting of the Meteor Swarm spell before the creature managed to escape more than a few feet away. Six fireballs streaked into the creatures' midst and exploded into an inferno around them. She heard their screams, as they burned alive in the intense heat. Danica shielded her eyes against the bright bursts, opening them as soon as the flashes ceased.

The flames had blackened the area, and small fires were burning everywhere. The warrior goblins and one of the shamans lay twisted and blackened from her magic on the earth. The other shaman stared at her with a twisted look of rage, and suddenly screamed in a very human voice.

The illusion around the false shaman faded, and a man in black robes stood in its place. "You stupid cow! Do you realize how much you have delayed my plans? I will make sure you live a very long time under the tender mercies of the next group of goblins I find." He then began to chant in a deep, horrible voice.

Danica quickly worked to activate her own defenses, chanting quickly and moving her hands in the required gestures. She was too late, and the man released his spell with a scream of rage.

The Ring of Spell Turning on Danica's finger glowed for a split second and the wizard screamed in rage again. It was then that Danica noticed that the man appeared frozen in place. He was moving his head slightly, but otherwise appeared to be unable to move.

"You stupid whore," he spat, "Do you have any idea how long it took me to find a shaman and coerce him here? How long it will take to do it again? My own spell will not last long against me, bitch. I will make you pay!" He screamed.

Danica noticed the wizard's fingers were already starting to twitch. She quickly cast a spell of her own. The Crimson Bands spell surrounded the man in four ruby circles of force, which contracted and snapped his arms to his sides, and pulled his feet together.

"My magic will last much longer," Danica taunted as she approached the bound magic user. She saw a bloodstone around his neck as she drew near, and knew him for what he was. Necromancer, she thought with disgust.

"You have not won, bitch," the bone wizard snarled, and closed his eyes in concentration. Danica spun when she heard a rustling behind her. Her eyes went wide when she saw a nude woman shambling out of the entrance of the cave. The woman's skin was pale with the pallor of death, and her body lurched as if unfamiliar with the act of walking. Behind it came four more, all moaning and reaching their hands toward Danica as they approached.

Danica screamed in surprised terror and hastily cast a fireball spell. It leapt from her hands and exploded in the midst of the zombies. Their desiccated flesh caught fire quickly, and the fireball blew apart the creature it struck directly.

The others -- their hair burned away and flames dancing over their flesh -- mindlessly continued to shamble forward. Three fell over and tried to crawl a few feet, but collapsed when their burning flesh could no longer support the animation of the wizard's necromantic spell.

The last zombie continued to stumble slowly toward Danica, moaning horribly and burning -- one side of its body a blackened waste. She spoke the words of another spell, and fell to her knees when the lightning bolt leapt from her hand and blasted the final zombie apart. Danica heard the man behind her screaming in frustration as she tried to gather up enough strength to rise.

"Damn you, whore," the necromancer screamed, and struggled against the magical bonds surrounding him.

Danica felt the force against her spell. The use of her magic weakened her, and she felt the strength of the bands breaking. Danica turned all her will to holding the bands in place, but still felt them failing.

Danica fell to her back with a weak scream when the man broke free. He charged toward her and jumped on her, blasting the air from her lungs. His hands wrapped around her throat, and he tried to choke the life from her. Danica struggled and managed to free one arm. She grasped her dagger hilt, and pulled it free to slice into the man's leg.

He screamed and grasped the wound. Danica kicked the wizard off her and gasped for air. He growled and lunged toward her again.

He landed atop her -- directly on the dagger Danica had interposed between them.

The hilt bit painfully into Danica's breast as his weight shoved it down. The wizard gasped and his eyes went wide. Blood trickled from his mouth and dripped onto Danica's face. Unable to resist it, a scream of revulsion burst from Danica's lips.

The necromancer's eyes rolled up into his head and he collapsed in a lifeless heap atop her. Danica struggled out from underneath his body and gasped for air, her bloody dagger in her hand.

When she caught her breath and mastered her panic, she rolled the man over. He stared at nothing and did not breathe. Danica let out a sigh that was half a sob, and slowly got to her feet. She noticed the blood soaking her blouse, and between that and the stench of burned goblin, she lost control. Turning away, she fell back to her knees and emptied her stomach onto the grass.

When she stopped gagging, Danica crawled weakly away from the carnage and drank another healing draught. She managed to keep it down, and lay on the grass waiting for it to do its work.

Finally finding the strength to rise, she wearily made her way back down the trail to the other cave. She stumbled to her knees too many times to count, once falling to her face and finding she nearly could not regain her feet. Somehow, she made it to the cave.

The women screamed when Danica half crawled, half lurched into the cave. When they realized it was Danica, they scrambled over to her.

"All... All dead. S-safe now," Danica gasped, and then she lost consciousness.

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

When Danica awoke, she found blankets wrapped around her, and all the women staring at her with concern. She could see the faint signs of daylight filtering through the small entrance of the cave.

"Are you alright?" A brunette woman asked her.

Danica nodded weakly and tried to sit up. She pulled the blankets back over her when she realized she was nude.

"Your clothes were covered in blood. You were so cold we were afraid you were injured. When we found no serious wounds, we washed the cuts and wrapped you in the blankets. Here," the woman explained, and handed Danica one of the silken shifts.

Danica stood and pulled on the shift, finding her strength was returning. "Are you all alright?"

"Yes. Thank you for freeing us," the brunette responded.

"You can return with me, and I'll get you back to your homes," Danica offered.

The women all smiled. Danica went to her bag of holding and retrieved some bread from within. She passed it out to the women and they all ate, restoring more of their strength.

When the sun fully cleared the horizon, Danica led the women down the trail. When the emerged at the bottom onto the road, they were met by a wagon. The merchant atop it stared wide-eyed as the five barely dressed women emerged onto the road.

He agreed to take them to the city, since that was his destination anyway. He talked animatedly, staring at the women lecherously, until they reached the city. Danica thanked him, gave him a coin, and then led the women up the small hill to Zoraster's abode.

Celes and Zoraster met them at the gates. A guard led the group into a guardhouse nearby, and Zoraster waited outside as Celes produced clothing for all the women, who immediately dressed.

"Are ye alright, Dearie?" Celes asked Danica.

"Yes. I'm fine," Danica sighed.

When the women were all dressed, Celes led them outside. A coach had pulled up near the gates while the women were inside the guardhouse.

"My coach will deliver you all back to your homes," Zoraster said, gesturing grandly to the carriage.

"Thank you, kind sir -- and you, lady," the brunette who had apparently become spokesman for the group said to Zoraster and Danica.

Zoraster's lip twisted into a crooked smile. "You're quite welcome."

Soldiers helped the women into the carriage and the driver set it into motion. Once it had rolled out from the gates, Zoraster turned with an impatient look on his face.

"Let us be off before the scavengers drag away everything. You were supposed to take care of this before returning, little rose." Zoraster scolded.

"The women were frightened," Danica offered as an excuse.

"Bah," Zoraster snorted. "Come."

A group of soldiers emerged from the gatehouse, led by Brandon. They all formed into tight ranks and Brandon saluted.

"We go to survey the area where the goblins had made their den. Gather near," Zoraster ordered, and raised his staff over his head.

The group of soldiers moved forward, as did Danica and Celes. Danica could not believe the man thought to transport himself, the two women, and a dozen guards such a distance, to a place he had never physically been.

Danica heard him speak a word of command and felt the magic grab hold of her. She recognized that they were just outside the clearing near the cave a moment later.

Many of the guards fell to their knees to retch. Brandon managed to keep his gorge down, but still looked green. "Damn but I hate magic," he grumbled. "Not so bad the second time though."

Danica and Celes both rolled their eyes.

"Ye gods an' demons lass -- ye sure made a right mess," Celes observed.

Danica surveyed the scene in daylight. Twisted and blackened goblins and pieces of the zombies littered the clearing. The necromancer lay in a puddle of blood at its center. Flies swarmed all over the area, and the stench was horrible.

"Bloody hell," Brandon exclaimed from behind Danica. "Remind me to never get on your bad side."

Danica glanced back with a perturbed look, and Brandon backed away holding up his hands defensively.

"If you are all quite through?" Zoraster said impatiently. "Gather the bodies -- or what's left of them -- over there." He pointed to the spot where he wished the men to place the bodies. "Bring everything else from inside the cave and place it where I stand now. Danica, Celes -- come with me."

The soldiers nodded and moved to obey. Zoraster led the women to the Necromancer in the center of the clearing. He swatted at the air once, and then spoke a word of magic. Every single fly in the area suddenly dropped to the ground -- instantly dead.

Strip him and find everything he has on him," Zoraster commanded the two women.

Celes and Danica tried to hold their breath, and managed to fight the robes off the man's stiff body. They gathered pouches of spell components, a few pieces of jewelry, and other assorted belongings from the robes and off his body.

"Give me that ring," Zoraster ordered when Danica removed a silver band set with a sapphire from one of the man's fingers.

Danica handed over the ring and Zoraster examined it closely. He then snarled and kicked the corpse at his feet. "Stupid bastard," he snarled. "I had use for this woman." The Archmage kicked the corpse again as he finished speaking.

The soldiers dragged out the first of the bodies and items from the cave. Zoraster ignored the bodies of the goblins, but paid close attention to the two human female corpses that emerged.

When the soldiers ceased to bring bodies, Zoraster inquired and learned there were no more bodies inside. "Bah -- the meddler must have turned her into one of the walking dead that you blasted into unrecognizable chunks." Zoraster kicked the Necromancer's body again to vent his frustration.

He then pulled out his amulet and touched it to the one around Danica's neck. He concentrated for a moment and then pulled away. "Yes, curse the fool, she was the last to fall. Tenacious even in death it seems." That mystery solved, Zoraster went to the pile of objects that was still emerging from the cave to examine them.