Danica Pt. 16

The obelisk was critical to his plan. He had obtained all else that he needed save the obelisk and the stone. Once they were in his possession, none could stand against him.

Turning to another mirror, he activated its magic and peered within. The bearded face of Darkniciad turned almost immediately in his direction, seeking the intrusion he sensed in his inner sanctum.

Zoraster banished the magic of the mirror with a thought and a curse. Can I spy on nothing this day?

Still cursing, he swept out of the room in search of a way to vent his anger.

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

Celes reached into a bag at her side and pulled out something familiar to Danica, one of the charms she had made during their time at the Forge that enabled them to ignore illusions. Celes winked at Danica and slipped it around her neck. She instantly saw the door directly across the hall from where they had just come. "Right there, directly in front of us."

Danica looked, and knowing where the illusion was, she could now easily see it as well. "Time to see if we can see anything without walking into his vision."

A few quick gestures summoned up Danica's spell, but she grabbed her head and yelped when something broke the magic almost instantly.

"Wards?" Celes asked, coming to steady Danica.

Danica shook her head. "No, He broke my spell. I could feel the direct attack on the magic, and feel the malevolence behind it. This wizard has centuries of bottled up hate and he's waiting to take it out on us."

"Wonderful," Telanor said with obvious sarcasm.

A loud, rattling laugh startled them all, emerging from somewhere beyond the doorway. This was followed by a voice that could have only come from beyond the grave, "Come, thieves, I would speak with you before you die."

"Yeah, we'll come in and have a cup of tea and discuss the manner of our dismemberment. Somebody thinks our brains are as dusty and dead as his," Telanor whispered.

Again the haunting laugh sounded. "Come now, no harm shall befall you until you cross my seal in the room beyond. I would hear of the world above before your avarice overcomes you. Centuries have passed since last I beheld the sacred sun."

Danica signaled for her companions to lean in close and whispered, "It's obvious he knows we're here, and he's ready for us. We may as well prepare and just walk out there. If he is telling the truth, all the better, we'll know more about what we face."

"I don't have any better ideas," Celes noted with a shrug.

Telanor just shook his head and checked all the rings, charms, and other magical protections on his person.

Danica and Celes armed every protection spell they could think of, pouring as much power into them as they could while maintaining the integrity of all the spells. They too checked their magical protection items, and then strode forward together into the room.

Danica could see no obvious wards here, just thousands of carved inscriptions on every wall. To the left, she saw their adversary standing just beyond a doorway, surrounded by the glint of gold.

The mummy was dressed in a fine robe, trimmed with gold. Only the creature’s desiccated hands were visible, everything else hidden by the robe and the cowl.

"I do hope you can resist your urge to face me and die – for a time," the mummy said and laughed.

"We don't have any urge to die at all," Danica said in an attempt to draw out the conversation and give them time to learn more about the creature if possible.

"You will come in time. No mortal can resist the splendor of my treasure. Then shall I slay you and drink your life essence. What of the world above – do the fools of the Necropolis stand guard over my prison still?"

"They're there, and it made it quite difficult to get in here," Danica answered.

The creature spoke again, "So, you do not come at their behest – such a pity. I have not fed upon the sweet nectar of life since they sealed me here with their accursed powers. They could not destroy me, so they entrapped me."

"You must have been much feared," Danica led.

"I am power beyond any which has ever walked the world. The gods themselves tremble in awe of my might, thus they have sent their lackeys to seal me here."

"Should've spared some power for your buddies, they fell easily enough," Telanor said beneath his breath.

The creature apparently heard the thief and turned toward him saying, "You are powerful to have defeated my guardians, but even their great power was but a grain of sand compared to my power."

Danica thought to Celes, I get the feeling this may not be as difficult as we thought. Perhaps magic has advanced much in the time he has been sealed here. They obviously feared and could not defeat his servants either, and we had little trouble, really.

Just keep him talking, see what more we can learn, Celes thought back. "I imagine you have more than gold amongst your treasure," Celes then said aloud.

The mummy's hollow laugh echoed through the tomb once more. "So, it is my great magic you seek, not my gold. A pity your greed already begins to overcome you."

"Perhaps something greater even than the trappings of your Art..." Danica led.

"You seek the obelisk? Foolish mortals, it will not abide your living touch," the creature informed them.

"So that's why you gave up your life, to possess it?" Danica asked.

"The Godsbane possessed me! Forced me to become the walking..." the creature stiffened and began to tremble.

"Think you hit a tender spot," Telanor mumbled as he moved to further interpose the women's bodies between him and the mummy.

The creature began to chant and Danica said, "So much for bargains," as she raised her wand simultaneously with Celes.

Both wands and the wizard mummy's spell came to life at the same time. A fireball exploded against Danica and Celes' shields. In the explosion of flame, Danica could not see if they had hit the mummy.

When the roar of the flames died down, Danica could again hear chanting. This time, Celes fired before the mummy could complete its spell. When the ray from the wand reached the mummy, it dissolved into motes of energy, runes flaring to angry red life on the arms of the mummy, and from beneath its cowl.

"Bloody hell – it has rune tattoos protecting it!" Celes spat as a chain lightning spell crackled around her shield.

"Be ready to use the Hellgate. Don't exhaust your power, Celes. We'll have to fight it with offensive magic and try to overcome its defenses. If the Ka comes to attack, we'll have to escape and find the means to combat it. I have a suspicion we won't have to, though."

Celes offered a curious look to Danica, but saw her friend was already chanting a spell. Celes then started her own chant as well.

Danica's fireball dissolved before the power of the mummy's runes, as did Celes' lightning bolt. The acidic spray and crushing fist spells that followed were no more effective. All the while, the magic of their adversary – fireballs and lightning bolts – crashed against their shield.

"He does seem rather limited," Celes observed as she considered what spell to hurl next.

"If it wasn't for those damn runes protecting him from magic, I think we could have felled him by now," Danica said as she drew forth a different wand.

Danica heard a whistling sound pass by her ear and saw a dagger bounce point first away from the neck of the mummy.

"Steel doesn't seem to work either," Telanor noted while putting away a second dagger he was about to hurl.

A thought occurred to Danica, "Celes, keep us protected. I have an idea. I need time to construct a window rift."

"Hurry, the thing doesn't seem to have much in the way of variety, but it's relentless, that's for sure."

Celes turned all her attention to maintaining the shielding spells while Danica hurried back to the doorway. As quickly as possible, Danica pulled forth the items she needed and cast her spell.

When the rift opened, Danica directed it to a low shelf in her lab. She reached through and retrieved several vials of Heraklan blessed holy wine. Once she had all four vials situated in a makeshift basket made of one of her robes, she returned to the others.

"Telanor, go back into the other room. Keep an eye out, because I think I heard something stirring. We may not have found all the mummies. Yell if you see anything," Danica instructed.

Telanor nodded and hurried back into the previous room. Celes turned to Danica and raised an eyebrow.

I just don't want him to see this, Danica thought to Celes. She then concentrated and caused all five vials of blessed wine to hover in the air with her mental powers. She stared hard at the attacking mummy, and when it began to chant the words of another spell, she sent the vials hurtling toward the creature.

As the vials reached the mummy, Danica sent a burst of power at them and shattered the vials. The blessed liquid within bathed the mummy, and it moaned in rage. Smoke drifted from beneath the creature’s robes as it writhed and tore at the cloth.

Danica then raised her wand and blasted the creature with its magic. The runes did not flare to life this time, and the mummy toppled to the ground.

Danica waited for a moment, and then cautiously crept forward. Both women raised their wands when the mummy twitched, but relaxed when they realized it was only stiffening back into the natural configuration the mummification of its body caused.

Celes had guessed what happened and asked, "The holy water broke the rune structure?"

Danica nodded. "I was aiming for the chest and head, guessing that would be where the heart of the structure would be."

"Things are awful quiet in here," the women heard from behind them. They turned to see Telanor looking into the room.

Danica waved Telanor toward them. "It’s down. Come make sure you don't see any traps."

After a thorough examination, the three found no traps or wards in the area, save upon the treasures stored within the tomb. Celes found the obelisk behind the wizard mummy’s sarcophagus.

Telanor took one look at the object and backed away. "Hey, this is your deal. That damn thing is making my insides squirm. I'll be out there admiring all the stuff we'll be leaving down here to rot."

Celes whispered, "Can you feel it, Danica?"

Danica shivered and nodded. "It's sentient in some way, and screaming for blood."

Celes warned, "We shouldn't touch it. If Zoraster wants to fight it, fine with me, but I'm not battling for control of my own mind with it."

Danica walked toward the doorway to cast her window rift spell again. "I have a lead lined box in my lab that it should fit in. We'll try that."

"Not a bad idea. I have a gold lined one if that doesn't work," Celes offered.

Danica cast her spell and retrieved the box. She sat it down on the sarcophagus and opened it. Then with Celes watching at the doorway for Telanor, Danica used the power of her mind to place the obelisk in the box and shut the lid.

Celes smiled and said, "That did it – I can't feel the thing. It was giving me goose bumps from across the room."

Danica slipped the box into her bag of holding. "We should get the mummies into their resting places. The Ka will become more active as it gets close to night, and I'd prefer the bodies were properly laid to rest by then. Even without the bodies being desecrated, they still might attack, and they aren't confined to the tomb like the bodies."

"Wouldn't hurt to leave an offering either, I suppose. Give them a reason not to chase us around," Celes suggested and jingled a purse on her belt.

Telanor complained the entire time they were depositing the bodies into the crypts, even though Danica and Celes used their magic to make the bodies weightless and all he had to do was guide them in place. Danica used a spell to copy the scrolls of magic and research within the tomb, and then returned the scrolls to their places. Celes left a few coins with each body as an offering, and then cast the Hellgate to return them to the city.

The thief almost immediately used his teleportation orb to leave, knowing his presence was not welcome, and not caring at all for the climate of the area. Celes and Danica settled into baths to wash away the grit and sweat on their bodies.

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

Zoraster appeared at Telanor's side almost the moment the thief materialized in his quarters. The Archmage asked, "Did they retrieve the obelisk?”

"Yeah, they got the thing. Any chance of getting back in there to loot that place? It's packed from one wall to the other with gold and gems."

"For what reason did you not plunder the riches already?" Zoraster inquired.

"Something about Ka coming to spook us if we did. All that stuff is protected by traps and magic too," Telanor explained and then shrugged.

Zoraster mused, "The Ka could be dangerous foes, but I think it was as much Danica's softhearted nature as anything. Were all the creatures destroyed?"

"Knocked down, that's it. Then she insisted we shelve them up in their boxes before we left."

Zoraster chuckled. "Ever considerate, my little rose. You can remember a location within the tomb well? Somewhere you can picture with perfect clarity?"

"Oh yeah, there's a damn pretty sword that's all gold and gems. I can remember that spot like I was looking at it now."

"I will determine whether it is possible to retrieve the treasure and inform you if I believe it is worth the effort."

"Oh yeah, I grabbed this up from one of the walking cadavers," Telanor said while handing over the serpentine staff, still in its rod form.

Zoraster examined the item and then handed it back to Telanor, "Interesting. I have little use for it, but you should maintain it. It will absorb nearly any hostile magic directed against you, and can release that power to cancel magic as well. You would be wise to utilize its second ability with regularity, because the release of energy prevents its final enchantment from activating. Should the eyes ever glow red, I would suggest you divest yourself of it immediately, preferably in the direction of a foe, and flee by the swiftest means possible."

"I'll keep that in mind," Telanor said as he tucked the wand back in his belt.

"Now, I believe I have something to retrieve from your unwilling companions." With that, the Archmage vanished from Telanor's quarters.

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

Danica heard the chime announcing a visitor immediately upon stepping from her bath. She quickly dried with a towel and pulled on fresh clothing just as Zoraster appeared in her doorway.

It took a great deal of self-control not to show evidence of her surprise when the Archmage paused with a look of irritation at the doorway to her room, pulling an ornate wand of ivory from somewhere within his robes before proceeding.

"I will have the obelisk now," he said to her.

Danica gestured to where the box containing the item rested on a dressing table.

"A lead lined box. I trust you found my prize disturbing?"

"It's sentient, and none too friendly. We didn't feel like waging a war for our souls with it," Danica explained.

"A wise caution," Zoraster admitted as he picked up the box and opened it. "Well, my little trinket, you do seem a bit angry, don't you?"

"What now? Shall we go desecrate a temple and tempt our fate further?" Danica asked with a little of her fire rising up within her.

"Your freedom is granted, and I have no need for your services at this time. Inform Celes the same applies to her," Zoraster said absently, and then vanished with the box.

Danica raised her eyebrows in surprise. She had never seen her tormentor so absorbed with anything before.

Celes walked into her room, "Did I hear Zoraster?"

"He's gone already. Our freedoms are granted and it seems our time is our own."

"As much as it can be," Celes said with a sigh.

"Well, now that we're clean and the heat of the day is cooling, let's get something to eat and I'll show you around the city. The artwork and statues here are breathtaking."

The two friends ate a light meal, Celes forced to avert her eyes from Hathortari often because of the painful feelings the woman sparked within her. Danica could feel the desire and pain coming from Celes in waves, and quickly led her from the house once they had eaten.

Once outside, Danica brought the subject up, "I'm sorry Tari pains you so much. Maybe we should just go, once we take a look around."

Celes shook her head. "No, I'll be fine. It just takes time for me to control myself around someone new. I've been able to sit and talk to Andrea for hours of late. We seem to share some similar interests. I've been able to fight past my attraction to her and concentrate on our friendship like I do with you."

A bright smile spread across Danica's face. "That's wonderful. We should have her over to my rooms as soon as we return. I've never had the chance to cook for her, and odds are I'll need to recharge her ring if she has been seeing her man as often as she had been last time we talked."

"And Marlena – the poor girl needs friends, and we're about all she has. She isn't coping with her new life as well as we are."

"I think we cope too well sometimes," Danica said aloud, and then spoke into Celes' mind, I need to tell you something else, but we should go to the temple to speak of it.

Celes acknowledged the mind contact with a sort of mental nod that made Danica smile wide and laugh. Danica noticed something just in front of Celes then and cried out, "Look out, scorpion!"

Celes was just about to step on the creature when Danica's cry alerted her to it. She yelped in surprise and sidestepped, pushing her hands forward in an instinctive warding gesture toward the creature.

Danica's mouth popped wide open when the scorpion vanished and instantly reappeared several feet away.

We need to go to the temple – now, Celes thought, the contact filled with a mixture of pain and anger.

Danica acknowledged the thought, and the pair immediately proceeded to the temple of Sekmamun.

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

Zoraster sat on a plain wooden chair, before a plain wooden table, in a small, featureless room. On the table before him sat the box he had retrieved only moments earlier from Danica. His heart beat quickly in anticipation, and his mouth watered.

Opening the box, he stared at the obelisk and shivered as he felt the waves of malevolent desire rolling from it, enticing him to pick it up and promising to suck his very life from him at the same time.

He stared at the object, steeling his will against its intrusions into his mind. Almost instantly, he felt the aura retreat, and he smiled. Continuing to bear down with his will, he ensured he was in complete control of the situation – and of himself.

At last, he reached toward the box. "You will be mine, and through you all shall be within my grasp."

Zoraster grasped the obelisk and stiffened as the violent mental battle began – practiced and powerful Archmage against ancient evil artifact.

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

Celes sat down heavily in a chair, and Danica sat down opposite her. "How did you do that?" Danica asked.

Celes sighed, and then grit her teeth. "I'm a witch. That is my power, I can move things – teleport them with a wave of my hand. I thought I was rid of it forever."

Danica’s expression betrayed her confusion as she said, "I don't understand. I thought witches needed potions and crystals and such to work magic. And why would you want to be rid of your power?"

Celes threw up her hands, and clenched her fists. A second later, a look crossed her face suggesting that she was worried about having made the gesture. "Mother always said I had a special destiny – that our line was destined for some grand task. She was a witch as well, though her powers were mental, like your psionic abilities. She was killed by a demon and I swore I was done with my destiny and being a witch altogether. My grandmother died the same way, and probably every other female member of my family."