Danica Pt. 08

Danica looked over the document and determined that the enchantments would work fine with the preparatory magics cast over the earring during its creation. Celes had worked on the outline with the same meticulousness she had shown in her casting. The spell listings were absolutely perfect in every detail. With such careful notes, she could finish both earrings tomorrow -- though Danica smiled and thought it would likely take two days the way Celes worked.

Danica continued to study her spell the next day while Celes worked on her enchantments in the other room of the lab. At nightfall, Danica felt her blood burn and knew she had mastered the spell. "Oh yes," she delightfully exclaimed.

Celes walked into the room shortly thereafter wearing her new earrings and a wide smile. "I take it from that shout earlier that you've had some success?" Celes tilted her head to let the light catch her earrings as she spoke.

Danica smiled and revealed, "I learned Gunthar's Multiplicity."

Celes blew out a whistle. "Dearie -- that thing's a tongue twister and a half. I nearly sprained my tongue trying to learn it. I'll have to watch you cast it the first time." Moving one of the dangling stars on her earrings with the tip of her finger, Celes said, "I finished them."

"Well, let's see them work," Danica said and clapped her hands while standing.

Celes pulled a candle from her pocket. Danica made a sound of delighted surprise when she saw it. The candle was a corkscrew of wax in subtly different, light shades of green. "It's beautiful. You make them yourself?"

"It was my mother's trade. I'm good, but this is crude compared to some of the ones my mother made. She was an artist. Wizards and rich folk for miles around mourned her loss when she passed on." Taking a deep breath, Celes sat the candle on the table and concentrated for a moment. The wick lit with a little pop and burned cheerily.

"It works!" Celes laughed.

The light scent of the candle, reminding Danica of the scent of the air after a spring shower in a field of flowers, slowly filled the room. "It smells delightful. You have to make me some. You should consider working on some enchantments having to do with them. It would seem a natural extension of skills you already have."

"I hadn't even considered it, but you're right. Now I just need to test the other one," Celes said with a sly grin.

"I think I have the perfect test subject," Danica revealed with a wicked grin of her own. She went out and found a servant to fetch Brandon.

He arrived shortly thereafter, and he had a look of curiosity on his face when Danica let him in. He twitched his eyebrows and broke out in a wide smile when he saw Celes in the room as well.

"What can I do for ya?" he asked. "I'm still on duty, so if you're looking' for some private time it'll have to wait an hour or so." He winked and a laughed to punctuate the suggestive statement.

Danica and Celes both rolled their eyes, Celes smiling wickedly.

Brandon started to squirm quite suddenly, and then scratched his crotch. He tried to be inconspicuous at first, but as the intensity increased, he threw decorum to the wind and dug under his clothing. "Bloody hell," he growled as he scratched.

Danica and Celes both laughed, and Celes dismissed the enchantment of her earring. They both laughed as Brandon sighed in relief and stopped scratching.

"That's a right nasty thing to do to a fella. It felt like the fleas of a thousand dogs had set up camp down there," Brandon grumbled with a scowl.

"Well, maybe it will remind you to think before you speak that way to a woman next time," Danica said with a condescending smile.

A look of regret crossed Brandon's face. "I'm sorry," he said with a sincerity that caused both women to raise their eyebrows in surprise. "I've been a squire, then a soldier all my life. I guess I never really learned how to behave around women, at least not... Well... You know... Women aside of ladies of the night."

"Och, I'm sorry ta have played such a nasty trickin' on ye," Celes apologized, using her accent since they weren't alone. "If'n I'd knowed ye had some decency hidin' in ye I'd have never done it."

"You are certainly full of surprises Brandon." Danica's eyebrows rose in curiosity as she spoke.

"Dunno about that. I'm not bright enough to hide too many surprises."

"Well, we're sorry anyway. There's a hundred men around here who deserved more to have Celes' new little magic tested on them than you."

Brandon smiled a wide, wicked smile. "Well, keep it a secret and I'll be able to enjoy a private laugh when I see someone in the barracks scratching' at hisself for all he's worth."

Celes and Danica couldn't help but laugh.

"Why don't we go down into the city and have something to eat?" Danica asked. Celes nodded her agreement, and Danica added, "Why don't you come with us Brandon?"

"I don't get paid that well," he said with a laugh. "Any place I could afford to eat I wouldn't want to."

"I'll pay. It's an apology to you for the prank we pulled," Danica offered.

"Well, I'll try not to embarrass the both of you as a way of apologizing myself. I'll get cleaned up as soon as I'm off duty." He scratched for a moment and said, "Have I ever mentioned that I hate magic?"

Both women laughed in response, and he smiled as he went out the door. Danica obtained permission to go into the city and the women waited until Brandon returned. He cleaned up surprisingly well.

Danica and Celes were both surprised to find that Brandon had a sort of rough, earthy charm when his guard was down. They also discovered he had a very healthy appetite for both food and ale. They both enjoyed the evening and his company -- and they told him so. He made them promise not to spread it around or it would ruin his reputation.

When they reached the complex on top of the hill, both women kissed him on the cheek at the gate. He blushed and looked thoroughly scandalized until he noticed the open-mouthed stares of the guards at the gate. He then puffed out his chest and smiled broadly as he walked back into the complex. Celes and Danica laughed over the incident as they returned to their own rooms.

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

Zoraster called Celes to a task the next day, leaving Danica alone. Originally, Danica had thought to study the Counter Triggering enchantment next, but Celes' branching out into new areas of study prompted Danica to do so as well.

Danica had wanted to try to create a new original spell of her own for a while now. She didn't feel as confident in this as she had in magic item creation, so she decided to start slow, much as Celes had with the creation of her earrings.

The spell Danica settled on was similar to the Hand spells, though not on such a grand and powerful scale. She had thought of two actually, but knew which one she wanted to attempt first.

She first extensively studied the words of the Hands spells, and then moved on to some cantrips that had somewhat similar effects to what she wanted to do. The pinch cantrip, tickle cantrip, poke cantrip, and several others all received intense scrutiny from her.

Danica felt the need to relax and clear her mind each night. She tried to go to sleep the first day and get back to work in the morning, but found her work the next day was slow and difficult. She decided to spend each evening in leisure to offset this.

She went to Andrea's room the first night, again bringing her toy that pleasured them both when worn. She received a note saying another spell component jar was ready the next day, so she spent the next evening with Grant and Heather. She took Brandon down into the city again another night, and found he could be quite a gentle lover when given reason, after she rented them a room at the inn where they had dined.

For just less than a month, she studied by day, and satisfied her sexual needs by night with those closest to her. She had denied the needs of her body for the needs of her mind for too long, she thought.

Danica now felt that she possessed an extensive knowledge of all the similar spells. She knew how they worked, and how the words and gestures brought their power into being.

Danica knew from her reading that spell components related to the effects would be necessary for the creation of the spell. All spells had components, though it was not always necessary to use them in the casting once a mage truly mastered the spell. She thought carefully, and decided that a silk glove would be the perfect physical component for her spell.

She went and commissioned twenty pairs from a silk maker in the city, receiving strange looks when she requested fingers about a quarter again longer than they should be. Payment up front assured that the gloves would arrive within the week. She also decided to stop by the shop Amphros had suggested to commission the tools she would need to work in soft metal.

Danica's once considerable purse was growing quite light when she left the last shop. She knew she still had coin held on account, but also knew that the more she studied and created, the more she was going to need to spend. It was quite possible she would soon either have to find a way to acquire more coin, or suspend her studies for a time.

Celes had returned a day or so before, and Danica asked her friend for several of the scented candles. She needed to be in a deep state of meditation while considering each of the spells she had studied to try to combine and modify them into the type of spell she wished to create.

Danica found the candles did exactly what she wanted them to do. She soaked in her tub, the candles burning for long hours as she considered and pieced together the beginnings of the spell. Whether in the bath, lying on her bed, or anywhere else, the candles always burned.

Danica made several false starts upon trying to write the words of her new spell a week later. She tossed over a dozen starts aside, as she could feel they weren't right. Each attempt felt closer than the last, however.

The fifteenth time she tried, the words flowed from her pen. She wrote in an even, careful script, considering each word and each letter as they arose in her mind, though she knew in her heart that they were perfect. She could feel her blood warming, building toward the burning that would signal success. That evening, she felt intense warmth spread throughout her body as she finished the last accent mark of her writing. It was far stronger than anything she had ever experienced in learning an existing spell, and she knew she had succeeded in finding the correct wording of her spell.

Danica took one of the silken gloves with the long fingers from her lab and walked into her bedroom. She disrobed and lay down on the bed, holding the soft glove against her breast and clearing her mind to cast the spell she had created for the first time, to see if it truly worked as intended.

Danica spoke the words of the spell quickly and perfectly. It was easy considering how long she had spent considering and writing them. She lightly tossed the silken glove into the air upon completion of the spell. The glove shimmered with light and transformed into a disembodied hand similar to those created by the Hands spells. Human sized, the hand had elongated fingers just like the gloves that served as the component of the spell.

Danica found it took little concentration to manipulate the hand. She shuddered from its impossibly soft touch as the fingers ran slowly up her tummy from her belly button under her mental urging. She gasped when the fingers slid up the globe of her breast to tease her nipple.

Danica directed the hand with absent thoughts, sending it roaming all over her body before bringing it down between her parted legs. The impossibly soft fingers rubbed her, probing deeper inside her than any real fingers ever could. The fingers curved upward inside her to rub the bundle of nerves behind her mound with pinpoint directness she had never before experienced. It pinched and rolled her clit between the finger and thumb, driving Danica into a shuddering, gasping state of ecstasy.

Danica built quickly to an orgasm under the touch of her spell. She used her hands, free because of the spell, to caress her breasts and pinch her nipples as the hand of her spell pleasured her so well. Danica came with a gasping scream, shuddering on the bed. The hand continued to obey the last command Danica had given it -- rubbing her clit at a furious pace -- as Danica's orgasm clouded her mind too much to direct the spell.

Danica just recovered enough to send her thoughts to the spell to slow down on her oversensitive clit when she felt the mental connection wink out. The hand vanished as the spell expired.

Danica gently rubbed her folds with her own hand as she slowly came down. The spell hadn't lasted as long as she had thought it would. Without the long exploration of her body she had first used it for, however, the duration would be long enough to make her come many times.

Danica decided to name the spell Danica's Pleasuring Hand. It felt a bit vain and gloating, but she decided that her very first original spell should bear her name. She made a copy of the spell and sent it to Celes' quarters with a wicked smile. She then yawned and realized how late it was. Lying down on her bed, Danica drifted off to sleep, content in both body and mind.

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

Danica decided to take a break from her studies the next day, content with having created her first original spell for now. She was lounging in her sunken tub when she heard the door open.

Zoraster strode into the room with a wide smile, admiring Danica's body beneath the water. "Don't bother getting dressed. I'm quite enjoying the view, as usual," he said with a laugh. "Congratulations on your success in creating an original spell. Considering the way you thrashed about and squealed, it would seem to have come out perfectly."

Danica rose up from the bath unashamedly, ignoring Zoraster's jibes. He watched the rivulets of water running down her nude body with intent interest. She dried off and wrapped a towel about her, standing next to the tub with her arms crossed, waiting for him to reveal why he was here.

Zoraster chuckled. "Very well then, little rose -- I have a new task for you. I note you have exhausted much of your supply of coin, and your freedom for completion of this task shall be a replenishing of those coin reserves, and the freedom to pass into the city without needing to stop and obtain permission. There is a certain government official I need distracted sufficiently in order to bribe numerous members of his underlings without him becoming aware of such. You may go about this however you choose, but I will tell you he has an extremely jealous and vindictive wife. Letting her catch the two of you in a compromising position would most certainly accomplish my goals. He is singularly unattractive and somewhat overweight, but I'm quite sure if you deprive yourself of other satisfactions long enough you could surely summon up enough wetness for him to penetrate you."

"How long does he need to be distracted?" Danica asked, thinking she could find another way to accomplish the goal.

"For perhaps a month. It will likely take that long to contact everyone my agents need to reach and negotiate their terms. Celes has just left on a task of her own, and since you have some differences..." Zoraster paused and laughed. "... with Camilla, I shall have another transport you to the city. Send word to the man who gives you permission to enter the city when you are ready to leave, but please do make haste. This situation is quite sensitive and the opportunity will soon pass by. Such will not amuse me. Good day, little rose."

Danica mused that she may as well try to continue her studies if she found the time while on her task. She considered carefully and realized that the odds favored forgetting something she would need in her studies if she tried to pick and choose. That meant she needed a way to carry nearly all of her research materials. She knew of one way, and knew Damian might know where to find it.

She went to his rooms and inquired about a magic item called a Satchel of Hasty Departure. Command words linked possessions to the bag, the items shrinking and packing themselves in the magical satchel within moments. Darkniciad had created the versatile and useful magic item, freely distributing the details of the process amongst wizards at conclaves over the last decade or so. Only the long and exhaustive process necessary to create them kept the magical creation from being commonplace in every mageware shop in the world now. Danica had one in her shop, a gift from her sister. She could pack her whole shop and most of her home in instants with it.

Damian had one as well, linked to everything he owned. Having recently finished one he planned to offer for sale to fund his research, he gave it to Danica instead. She thanked him with a long kiss, and told him she wished she had time to thank him properly.

Danica returned to her rooms and began the long process of linking the Satchel to things she might want when traveling. She created several command words for different groups of things. She could pack all of her clothes, or just some of them. She could pack up her woodworking tools and research, but not the clay. It took her the entire day to link everything she thought she might need. She made a meal in the kitchen, something she had not done in a while, and then sent for a bottle of wine and drank it slowly as she considered her task.

The next morning Danica finished determining what she would take with her, and spoke the necessary command words that caused the things she had selected to magically leap into the bag and pack themselves. She then sent word that she was prepared to leave.

The wizard who arrived to transport her was a man in his late thirties, bearded and somewhat attractive. He said nothing more than was necessary and transported Danica where she needed to go.

"I will return when you have completed or failed in your task," he said and vanished.

Danica snorted in aggravation at the callous man, and then sat down to examine a packet of papers he had handed her when they arrived moments before. Reading through the documents, Danica learned what she needed to know about her target and the city.

Danica sighed after she had finished looking over the papers. The man was a low ranking official, apparently very dedicated in his work. He watched his subordinates carefully and immediately replaced them if they showed any signs of corruption. This was apparently the quality in him Zoraster wished to see distracted.

The man was in charge of overseeing the prices and taxes on crops sold within the city. He was an administrator and rarely left his desk, letting his subordinates take care of the physical part of the job. There was little chance that causing commotions amongst the farmers and merchants would cause him any significant distraction any time soon -- or for very long.

Danica had mulled over the situation carefully, and she could think of no other course. Zoraster's suggestion was the only one that seemed to have any chance of accomplishing her goal. She went through her clothes and selected a plain dress made of common cloth, cut low enough to display her breasts to good advantage. She put on her corset to accentuate the display even more.

Danica concocted a story to use to get her into the man's office, and then made her way there. There was a merchant waiting when she arrived, though the man who arranged appointments in the place told her that it would be a very slow day.

The merchant walked down the hall and into the office shortly thereafter when called. Danica noticed several other officials leaving the building, apparently taking advantage of the slow day to leave their desks early. By the time the merchant emerged, few remained.