Sisters of the Mists Ch. 09

"If it wouldn't put more work on your shoulders, I'd ask you to make all the charms before Ashley, Celes, or Andrea blesses them with their powers. You do such beautiful work with so little effort," Edna remarked as Danica rolled her neck in a circle to relieve a tight knot at the back of her head.

"I'm almost done with Ashley's. I just need to put in a couple more touches, and it will be ready to enchant. I'll start on yours then."

"It will be nice to have a place to call my own again, but there's no rush. The couch is as comfortable as it was the day I first arrived."

Melanie -- the younger looking clone of Marlena -- approached with her toy to announce, "I'm finished."

Danica looked the toy over for a second, seeing that the redheaded clone had chosen a realistic appearance with a few embellishments here and there. "It looks beautiful. Just put it on one of the shelves in the kiln. As soon as all of you finish, I'll fire the kiln. Do you want to help your sisters?"

"I think I'll go take a nap," Melanie replied with a little color rising in her cheeks.

Danica felt the desire that accompanied that blush, fueled by anticipation for the clay cock the clone still held in her hands. Melanie might indeed take a nap, but she had other business to attend to first.

"That's fine, Melanie. You just call if you need anything. I'll be right here with Danica and your sisters," Edna responded, letting the slightly ashamed young woman know that she wouldn't arrive unexpectedly in the other wing of the manor.

Melanie nodded, and then hurried off toward her room.

"Back to work. I'm so close to finished now that I'm anticipating working my magic on this," Danica said, and then mentally added, Not nearly as eager as the girls are, though. Their anticipation is so strong that I don't think I'd need my powers to notice it.

True that, Edna responded in a mental chuckle.

Danica slid open a drawer in her worktable, and then another. After opening a few more drawers, she wrinkled her nose and said. "I'm out of balsa. I thought I had enough to complete both cottages and still have extra."

"I can go fetch it from wherever you have it stored," Edna offered.

Danica shrugged her shoulders and said, "That's the problem. All that I had was here. I'll have to go somewhere and buy some, or find it myself." Remembering a shop she'd once visited on a recommendation, she knew exactly where she would go to purchase what she needed.

The recollection of the shop also brought with it other memories. Although she'd spent little time with him during the last years of her enslavement to Zoraster, Danica couldn't help but fondly remember Damian. It was his guidance and encouragement that helped her release her ability to craft magic items. When one of the female servants had stolen his heart, Danica had reluctantly distanced herself from him. The older woman had felt threatened by Danica, which bothered both mentor and prize pupil.

"I know exactly where to go to get some. I might just be able to find out what an old friend is up to while I'm at it, as well," Danica announced with a smile.

"Go on, then. The girls are doing fine on their own, and I'm sure you'll be back in plenty of time to start the kiln before they grow impatient," Edna said with a wave of her hand.

"I'll hurry back. I'm going to go change into something that won't attract as much attention as my robe."

Shortly thereafter, dressed in a pretty but unremarkable dress, Danica teleported near the town where she wanted to shop. She had good reason to remain somewhat inconspicuous, because the shop was in Ferrartene, the heart of Zoraster's power. Although a border town far from his seat of power, she had little doubt that his grip was firm on the little hamlet.

None saw her magical arrival, which she considered a good start to the trip. A short walk brought her to the outskirts of town, and she was soon lost in the bustle of the villagers going about their daily business. Even though her dress was far from the most flattering she owned, several thoughts from men passing by about how good she looked brought a smile to her face.

While the shop's primary source of income was from those who worked the Art, it also catered to any number of more common needs, and thus didn't carry any stigma as a place for wizards only. A pair of village women exited the building even as Danica entered. The women greeted her with warm smiles, which she returned as she entered the shop.

The balding shopkeeper leaned against his broom as Danica entered, asking, "What can I get for you today?"

"I need balsa wood. I was so wrapped up in what I was working on that I didn't realize I was out."

"I just had some arrive only this morning. Come into the back and you can choose what you need."

Danica had little trouble finding exactly the sort of pieces she needed, in quantities large enough to finish the models and maintain plenty for future work. "I'm glad Damian recommended you," she remarked as the shopkeeper helped her carry the wood to the front of the shop once more.

As he sat his burden down on the counter, the balding merchant asked, "Damian Silverstone?"

"Yes. He told me that you would have nearly anything that a wizard might want to use for making magic items -- or you could find it."

"Have you heard from Damian recently? I've not seen him for months, and he looked a bit out of sorts on his last visit."

Danica's brow furrowed, as she didn't like the sound of that. She had little feared for Damian's safety when she escaped Zoraster's compound, as she knew he possessed numerous artifacts that could protect him from nearly any form of attack. While any magical protection was finite, Danica had full confidence that the master craftsman would have more than enough time to escape to somewhere safe, if such was necessary. "I've not seen him in quite some time either. Maybe I should look in on him."

"Have him drop by here if you do. I've some things I'm sure he'll be interested in, and I miss his company," the shopkeep punctuated the last with a sigh. "Damian's visits are about all that encourages me to keep this place open."

Danica counted out her coin, paying far more than the wood was worth. Even spending lavishly, she'd barely made a dent in the vast fortune that she and Celes had stolen from Zoraster, which was in itself only a fraction of his horde. "I will. Please tell him that Danica would like to see him, if you see him first."

"This is far more..." The merchant started to protest, seeing how much coin Danica was pushing across the counter to him.

"Just accept it," Danica said with a wink. "The next time I come by, I might need something more exotic, and that will help you keep such things on hand without fraying your own purse."

"I thank you -- Danica, was it?"

"Yes, and thank you. I'll be sure to think of you when I need anything, and recommend you to anyone who asks," Danica promised as she fed the balsa into her bag of holding.

"I surely appreciate it. Good day, and come again."

Danica smiled and nodded as she exited the shop, but her expression tightened almost as soon as she passed over the threshold. Mindless of appearances, she walked at a brisk pace toward the edge of town where she could use her magic without anyone seeing her.

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

Damian completed the mass enchantment of the arrow-repelling rings with a sigh. The work was beneath him, uninteresting, and a sign of the truth he still struggled to accept. He worked his fingers through his salt-and-pepper hair, sighing again and shaking his head.

A touch on his shoulder caused him to turn and smile at Branene, the lovely woman who had shared his life and bed for the last few years. Though graying even as he was, she had a vitality and life that kept them both feeling young.

"Damian, don't put on appearances. Your smile is half-hearted. What's wrong?"

"It is this work. Though I endeavor to repay my host for the many boons of my time here, the work is tedious." Damian prayed that Branene would not detect the lie, as he had no desire to let her see the chains now binding him.

"I understand," she said with a smile, and then leaned down to kiss him on the cheek. "Lunch will be ready in just a few minutes. If you aren't washed up and at the table, I'll come chase you out of here with a switch."

"Yes, Dear," Damian said with a genuine laugh. Branene chuckled as she walked out of the room, letting her bottom sway to attract his eye.

Attract his eye it did, but his expression fell almost as soon as she passed out of sight. As he did several times daily, Damian pulled out the pendant around his neck to examine the enchantments upon it. Though a master of creating magic items, he could not decipher the dweomers around the cursed jewelry. Some were plain to his keen eye, but he knew that far more lurked beneath the surface of the enchanted device.

Slipping the hated chain back into his robe, Damian stood to join his lover and companion at the table.

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

Danica clenched her teeth and let out a despondent, "No," as she recognized the pendant around Damian's neck for what it was -- one of Zoraster's slave chains.

Her mind whirled as she tried to find a way to spirit Damian away without sounding hundreds of alarms within Zoraster's complex. Though she knew that scrying through the Hellgate was undetectable, opening it -- if she could even manage to do so -- within her old prison would surely alert all of the mad Archmage's associates.

The only thing that she knew for certain was that she refused to leave her old friend, lover, and mentor trapped in Zoraster's clutches. She had endured slavery in the complex for far too long to consider leaving anyone else to the twisted whims of the place's inhabitants.

She had little doubt that the chain around Damian's neck would prevent him from leaving the complex without permission. Considering his skills, she doubted that whoever had replaced Zoraster would send Damian out into the world to perform tasks. She realized that she needed to contact him so that he could stand ready to leave on a moment's notice with his lover.

Her psionic abilities would allow her to do so, but she knew that attempting to do so over long distances would weaken her. She still owned several apartments close to Montbank, but assumed that agents of Zoraster and his magic were surely waiting for her to foolishly venture into one of them. She continued to pay necessary taxes on all the residences to foster that possibility in the mind of Zoraster's replacement.

A smile crept across her face as she remembered a place within Montbank itself that could provide her with the perfect location. She couldn't teleport directly into the house, as the numerous magical protections would prevent that. Even as she puzzled over a way around that problem, something in the back of her mind caused her to shift the focus of the Hellgate to the house she thought of.

The rune structure over the door snapped into focus in her mind the moment the shimmering of the portal ended. A single missing rune in the center of the structure was a key that would allow a person who knew it to bypass the formidable defenses of the unassuming home.

Danica knew instantly what rune should fill the open space. The rune decorated the center of a table in the basement of the very house she was looking at. Closing the portal to the outside world, Danica sat on a stone surrounding the pool in her little pocket reality to weave together the strands of the plan forming in her mind.

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

The image of the rune in Danica's mind alerted its creator -- or rather the true expression of the quiet wizard that had once owned the home Danica observed.

Though Sekmamun, god of magic, had not understood the vision of the future he'd observed, he knew well enough the importance of such visions. Without hesitation, he had broken away a tiny sliver of his power, creating an avatar on the world of mortals. That avatar had purchased and warded the home within what was a small, poor town at the time. In the basement, the mortal wizard aspect of Sekmamun had created the rune table in preparation for one who would come many years in the future.

The benefactor of that vision and that work now considered the boon granted her once more. Though the meaning of the vision was still unclear, the god of magic could feel a rightness in the woman who had gained rune knowledge through his intervention.

A touch of another's mind then caught the attention of the god. A smile crept across the god's face as he considered that the new sensation was related to the first. Within her new home in Osiramun, Hathortari read his holy book and contemplated the beliefs within. The whispered song of his calling pulsed within her.

Sekmamun considered the freed slave who now moved slowly toward service as his priestess, and all the others that worked for the good of the world who were connected to Danica. From her spread strands of hope, a counter-balance to the darkness threatening to overshadow the world of mortals below. This, above all else, had convinced the god to agree to mend the schism between the gods and the Fey.

Leaving portions of his consciousness to observe Hathortari and Danica, the god allowed the rest of his mind to seek other matters of importance.

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

Danica looked out through the Hellgate portal, and beyond that the window of the empty room in the inn. Some distance down the street, she could see the home that was her true focus.

Taking a deep breath, Danica concentrated on the rune in her mind. She knew that she would have no time for mistakes once she passed through the portal. Zoraster's influence was so deeply entrenched within all of Montbank that she was sure that someone would know the instant she left her pocket reality and passed into the real world. She planned to return to the Hellgate before anyone could possibly find her.

When she felt prepared, Danica opened the portal and leaned through. She traced the rune in the air as quickly as possible, concentrating upon the sigil to prevent it from flaring into magical light. As soon as she completed the last whorl of the magical symbol, she spoke the name of the rune and pushed it toward the house down the street.

The rune streaked across the intervening space, invisible to any that could not see magic, and passing through obstacles such as the window as if they didn't exist. When the rune touched the pattern above the door of the house, the rune structure there flashed for a fraction of a second.

Danica immediately jerked her head back inside the Hellgate and closed the portal to the world outside, while maintaining her ability to see out into the world beyond. She wondered if she had overestimated Zoraster's minions for a minute or two, but then heard the door opening on the opposite side of the room.

Shifting the focus of the viewing portal, she saw a nondescript man look around the room, his expression betraying a touch of anxiety when he found no one inside. Danica smirked at him and stuck out her tongue, even though she knew that the man couldn't possibly see her.

Thinking, Let's see if this works, Danica attempted to shift the focus of the Hellgate's viewing portal to the basement of the house down the street. When she saw the familiar table, she let out a little exclamation of triumph. She was able to open the portal without triggering the magical defenses of the house, and didn't even feel the oppressive gloom of the dispell when she stepped into room.

Quickly closing her eyes, she sent her thoughts upstairs, seeking the owners of the home. As soon as she made contact, a sharp tingle shot through her sex and her nipples stiffened. The couple was having sex, and Danica had to press her hand over her mound as she broke away from the mental contact, to suppress the resulting need caused by the arousing thoughts from upstairs.

I don't think they'll be coming downstairs any time soon, she thought, and then sat down on the floor. Except for the table, and the shelves in the cold room, the basement was otherwise bare, offering no alternative to the cold stone beneath her.

Danica centered her mind and again let her thoughts reach out. Upon touching Damian's mind, she chose to wait for a precious minute, as he was about to leave the table. If possible, she wanted to make contact when he was not in view of his lover.

Damian's mood was resigned and depressed, overshadowing his thoughts as he walked into his lab to return to his work. Danica waited until he sat down and attempted to focus his mind on his work. Damian, don't speak aloud -- it's Danica.

"Da..." Damian began, and then clamped his mouth shut. D-danica?

Damian, there is so much I need to explain. You're wearing one of Zoraster's chains, so you probably know far more than you want to already. I want to help you escape.

Damian's mental voice grew stronger as he acclimated his thoughts to the strange form of communication. I will not endanger my Branene for my own gain. If I must endure this life for her sake, I will.

I can get you both out of there in the blink of an eye. I can take you somewhere where Zoraster's people can't possibly reach you. Zoraster didn't even push his luck with Darkniciad, and I doubt that whoever replaced him is any more foolish.

Darkniciad? Damian asked with both surprise and awe in his mental voice. Darkni the Enchanter?

Yes. She sent along the mental equivalent of a smile before continuing, I think that the two of you would get along pretty well.

What do I need to do?

Are there any wards preventing teleportation in your lab?

No, that would be impossible. Those wards would interfere with some of the work Ebonar has ordered me to undertake. I fear that I may be struck down by the black Art within this chain if I were to attempt to do so, however.

Remembering the old guardian's words upon gifting her with the pearls that she had used to free Marlena and Andrea, Danica knew that Damian was one of those she was supposed to free. That won't be a problem, either. Trust me, Damian. Do you still have your satchel of hasty departure?

Yes, and all of Branene's things are now linked to it as well.

Good, you won't have to leave anything behind. How long will you need to prepare the satchel? Don't use it until I arrive, but have it and Branene close at hand.

Danica could hear the workings of Damian's mind, and knew the answer almost before he could send his thoughts back to her. Perhaps a half an hour. Branene will be suspicious if I ask her to come into the lab before she finishes the dishes.

I'll contact you this way again in half an hour then. If you're ready, I'll come get you and take you both to Darkniciad's isle. Remembering two others from her time of enslavement, Danica asked, Do you know Olaf and Amphros, who work in the tradesman's longhouses?

Yes, Damian responded, Both left shortly after Zoraster's demise.

Good, I was worried about them too. Get ready, because I don't want to worry about you any more.

I will, Danica. Thank you.

Danica broke off contact, finding the wait almost unbearable.

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

"Damian, you are anxious. What is wrong? Please don't hide your feelings from me," Branene said with a touch of both concern and irritation.

With the satchel of hasty departure sitting at his side, Damian struggled to maintain an appearance of working, while at the same time keeping his love nearby. "I am anxious, my love. I trust that the source of my unease is near an end, however. Trust in me, Branene."

Leaning down to kiss his neck, Branene said, "You sound more excited than uneasy. Do you have a surprise for me that you're hiding?"