The True Source of Magic Pt. 02

When she was fully armoured and was about to pick up her shield, Kadren saw a band of goblinoids walking in from the far side of the chamber, about ten of them. They were carrying large drinking vessels, and began to place them to the mouths of the prisoners, who drank obediently. Kadren tried to quickly equip herself with the shield, but dropped it. She had lost some strength in her limb from the burn, and it was still rather painful trying to equip the shield in that arm. She gave up the notion of having a shield and went swiftly to pick up her mace.

Kadren turned towards her enemies, weapon in hand, and saw that the prisoners who had drank of the mysterious draught were now sleeping; it only took a few sips. The prisoners' faces were pathetic, and it seemed to Kadren that much of the unsightliness was due to some disfigurement. She could not quite figure it out, but, in looking at them, Kadren got the feeling that the prisoners had been forced to look like Elves through some painful, unnatural manipulation. When she was under Cal's spell, Kadren did indeed think they were enviable beauties of some elven blood, but with the spell lifted, the overall effect was a pitiable appearance.

With her enemies still paying her no mind, and with her now armed and armoured, Kadren decided that this would be a good time to make her exit. As she neared the opening she and Cal had entered from, however, a flame suddenly burst forth and filled the exit. The fire was large, and the heat was intense, even from ten feet away, and Kadren knew that it would be death or deathly pain to go through it.

"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" asked Cal.

He was singing no longer, but he did not turn to look at Kadren. Instead, he had a vessel in hand, and was helping to distribute the mystery draught, as if he was not concerned at all with Kadren escaping.

Kadren's heart dropped. For one fleeting moment she had tasted triumph and freedom, but now she realized she had never truly believed she would escape... She surveyed her surrounding for what to do next. She noticed that she felt alert, and somewhat refreshed, as if she had just awoken from a nap, and her thinking was rather clear. She eyed the two exits on the far end of the chamber, saw Cal and the goblinoids in between, decided that she would have to fight for her way out, and steeled herself for battle. An unexpected calm came over Kadren after her decision, possibly because she had faced certain death twice now, in such a short time; and knowing what she had to do, even if it meant certain death, was more pleasant than uncertainty.

She headed towards one of the exits on the far side of the chamber, and met no resistance from Cal or the goblinoids. The exit filled with fire, however, sooner than before, even at more than twenty feet away. And this time, Kadren saw Cal casting the spell, drinking vessel in one hand, fluid movements with the other, muttering something inaudible, and a flame sprang up in the remaining exit as well. That made things even simpler, and was along the lines of what Kadren was expecting. With the brave calm she had mustered, Kadren faced her enemies.

Cal gave the vessel back to one of the goblinoids. All the prisoners were sleeping now or were about to. Cal walked towards Kadren, and stopped about ten feet away. He then began stripping his armor and clothing. Soon he was naked, completely comfortable in his beautiful body, and staring at Kadren with a smirk. Kadren looked away a little, but kept him in her line of sight, watching out for any move he was going to make. She would not let him have her; she was ready to fight to the death to preserve her chastity.

"This body does not seem to appeal to you," said Cal. "Perhaps another will do."

And he began stripping again. Kadren had to look directly at him, because she wanted to know what he could possibly be stripping when he was already fully naked. What she saw horrified her.

It was his skin that he was stripping, his flesh, and he kept peeling it off like it was a large overcoat. Apparently, it was also somewhat of an unpleasant experience for Cal, as he kept grunting while stripping away the layer of flesh. And the grunts grew gradually louder, and higher-pitched, until it was a woman yelling as the whole layer of flesh finally came undone. Underneath was a woman, slightly wet- and squished-looking, but very quickly, as she continued yelling, swelled and morphed. And when the yelling and swelling had subsided, there stood a woman of angelic (or devilish) beauty... bewitching face, curvaceous features... seductive allure exuded from every part of this woman. She was noticeably taller when she was Cal, but she still retained a regal height after her transformation. And, like Cal, her long hair was pitch black and luxuriant, and her eyes were just as dark in color, but they glistened much more than her hair. Her skin, however, was as pale as the full moon. This being was surely a Moon Elf; if so, the stories did not do their beauty justice.