Danica Pt. 14

Danica looked around for a place to cast the Rift spell. She needed two posts standing a short distance apart in order to cast the spell. After a glance around the room, she realized she would have to use the doorway. Nothing else provided the four anchor points she needed for the spell.

Digging into her bag of holding, Danica located a small jar containing pine tree sap. Next, she pulled out a long length of cotton string. Moving to the doorway, Danica judged where to put the first anchor point. She poured a dollop of the tree sap from the jar at that point, and quickly put one end of the string into it. A few words summoned up a chill cantrip, which quickly hardened the sap and held the string fast.

Danica moved to the next anchor point and repeated the process, until she had a rectangle of string in front of her the width of the doorway, and about three feet high. The square was positioned directly in front of her, so she could see and reach through it easily.

Danica then pulled a small silken pouch from her bag of holding. She removed one of the half dozen bits of square shaped silver from within the silk pouch. Danica took a moment to polish one of them with a cloth, also within the bag, and then put the rest away. With the necessary components in hand, Danica cast the spell.

The spell was a precursor to the spell that created bags of holding. The magic created an opening in space that could reach across vast distances to other places known by the caster. If the caster prepared the area beforehand, it was much easier to reach, and the caster could visually see what was in front of the other side of the rift.

Danica had prepared the other end of her rift, and a large double-sided cabinet appeared before her in the shimmering field enclosed by the strings. The small silver square crumbled to dust as the magic sprang to life.

Danica reached through and opened the cabinet, but had to concentrate and move the rift backwards a bit before she could fully open the door. Once it was open, Danica moved the rift in closer again to select what she needed from the shelves.

She first picked up a ring charged with numerous protections against the undead. Danica already had all these protections, but she decided to get one for Marlena, just in case. She selected a pair of wands charged with the Positive Forcebolt, and then moved the rift lower. Moving the rift to floor level while still standing and looking at the scene at eye level was more than a little disconcerting. Danica grabbed two more wands charged with the Destroy Undead spell, which she thought would prove sufficient for combating zombies. She had only grabbed the Positive Forcebolt wands in case there were other, stronger undead present.

Having what she needed now, Danica closed the rift. The strings instantly transformed into ash, which drifted down to the floor. Danica put the magic items into her little purse and returned to the common room.

Tonda smiled as Danica entered, gesturing to the food and drink on the table. They ate and then sat back to talk. Danica asked about the people here and learned that only a few chose to live in the town. Most of the people who lived on the island lived in small villages, with the only large building being a temple in the center of the island. These people lived a primitive life, and avoided the town more or less. A few ventured here on occasion to trade, and Danica correctly surmised that those were the nervous nude people she had seen in her exploration of the town.

The influence of white men had prompted the creation of the town. A few of the natives had befriended white visitors, and even bedded them. Tonda had a white ancestor somewhere in her parentage, accounting for her lighter skin. The town had stood here for many years, and was little changed from its humble beginnings.

There was another small town, if it could be called that, some distance to the west. It was really more of a camp, inhabited by foreigners who mined for gold in the hills there. Danica asked how to reach it, and Tonda told her of a trail made by the white men's wagons on the western edge of town that led to the miner's camp.

Danica knew there was little more to see here, at least during daylight, and decided to go to this town to see what she might find. She found the trail easily, but she only traveled down it a short distance. Once she reached what she considered a safe distance from the town, Danica sought out a clearing in the tree canopy overhead and cast a spell of flight.

Danica smiled and reveled in the feeling of soaring upward on the wings of magic. This was yet another one of the spells she had never thought to master, and one that had drawn her to become a wielder of Art in the first place. She didn't go very high above the tree canopy, although her heart sang out to her to dance among the clouds.

She flew westward, and soon saw the town. The woman's description proved accurate -- it was little more than a rude camp if what Danica could see from the air was any indication.

Danica found another clearing in the canopy where she judged she was far enough away to avoid detection, yet close enough that only a short walk would bring her to the camp. She returned to the ground with a sigh of regret, and then started walking.

As Danica emerged from the trees into the clearing, she revised her initial evaluation. It was a rude, filthy camp. She could smell excrement and unwashed bodies even here on the edge of the clearing.

Danica looked down at the revealing clothing she wore, and decided it was not the best attire for this place. She stepped back into the trees and reached into the bag of holding she had almost left behind. Danica changed into serviceable clothing that showed as little of her figure as her choices allowed. She really didn't have anything that truly tried to hide her body, save her wizard's robes, but what she selected at least covered her and didn't fit snugly to her curves.

Once again, she stepped from the trees and walked toward the miner's camp. Wrinkling her nose, she only took a few steps before she cast a spell that enclosed her in a bubble of fresh air to filter out the nauseating odors before they reached her.

The men all leered and approached her. Only her hand on the hilt of a dagger that she had prudently strapped on kept them away. It took only a short while to determine that the place was little more than a collection of rude shanties, with a single solid structure in the center of town. That one structure was, of course, the tavern.

Danica went inside and silently praised the enchantment wrapped around her. One look at the place told her what she would smell: a mixture of sweat, spilled beer, vomit, and urine. Danica sighed, wishing she'd just stayed where she was and walked the beach. There was nothing to see here as far as she could tell, making this a wasted trip.

She walked toward the bar anyway, disheveled women in revealing clothing staring daggers at her all the way. Danica smiled and gave the three women a toss of her hair. Go ahead and think I'm here to steal away your business if you want. I think I can endure the sound of you gnawing your livers in frustration until I leave, she thought.

She reached the bar and the barkeep walked over to her. "What'll ya have," he asked.

"I'm looking for whoever is in charge around here," Danica responded.

"That'd be me," the barkeep answered.

"No, I mean the camp, not the tavern."

"Like I said, that'd be me. What can I do for you?"

"Are you having unusual occurrences after nightfall?"

"What, you mean the walking dead? Nope, we don't have no problem with them here. Guess they don't like white meat," He replied with a loud laugh and a slap of the bar. More laughter erupted from nearby patrons, punctuated by a loud belch from one of them.

"You know of them, but have never seen them here?"

"They only bother the blakkers. Not my problem. Let the zombies eat 'em."

Danica only nodded by way of response, and then turned to leave. There was obviously some bad blood between the two peoples, more coming from here than the dark-skinned native people to the east, obviously.

Danica took a short walk to where the sweating, filthy men were mining for gold, and determined there was little to see there. She thought it odd that the undead avoided this place, as it seemed as though it would be a prime place to find living victims. Many of the shanties were little more than crude lean-tos. People here would be out in the open all night -- easy prey.

Danica returned to the trees and changed her clothes again. She wrinkled her nose when a breeze brought her scent to her. The modest clothing had caused her to sweat a lot, and she smelled none too sweet. She decided to visit the waterfall pool again to bathe before returning to the town.

A short walk brought her back to the clearing in the canopy, and she took to the air with a smile moments later. The flight to the pool was short, and she soon relaxed in the water.

Once she finished bathing, Danica returned to town. She purchased some fruit to eat, and then returned to Zoraster's outpost for a nap. The nap would help her remain alert during the night. Tonight, she planned to get a good look at the shambling dead.

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

"Don't go out there," Tonda begged as Danica prepared to face the undead.

"I have to find out what I can, and that means facing them. I'm prepared, and my magic is strong. They're only zombies -- I'll be in no danger."

"I like you. It is nice to have someone new to talk to. I don't want to lose you to the Nameless Ones."

"I like you too," Danica said and let a little of her desire show in her eyes. She could sense from Tonda's thoughts that the woman had noticed the glance. "Don't worry, we'll have time to get to know each other better. I'm in no real danger."

Danica smiled, and leaned in to kiss Tonda's cheek on impulse. The shy smile she received in response made Danica tingle all over.

Danica carefully checked her bag of holding, her wand belt, and her cleric-blessed dagger. She sent thoughts to her magic jewelry to ensure none of the items' powers were waning in any way. Finally satisfied, she stepped out the door into the fading sunlight.

Only a pair of people remained in view when Danica stepped out, and they hurried indoors before Danica five minutes passed. Danica sat down on a chair she had set outside the house for this purpose, and settled in to wait.

Around an hour later, the first of the undead slowly moved into view. At first, the creature wandered aimlessly. When it was about fifty feet away, the zombie's glazed eyes turned toward Danica, and the creature moved toward her. Its pace quickened as it approached.

Danica fell into her spell casting, and when the creature was about ten feet away, she released the magic. The power of the Destroy Undead spell dropped the creature in its tracks. The zombie pitched over on its face to the earth in mid-step.

Danica looked around, but didn't see any more of the living dead. She approached the corpse cautiously, tapping it with her booted foot. When the zombie didn't move, she knelt to examine it.

Danica didn't recognize any of the sigla drawn upon the body, but that didn't surprise her a great deal. Runes of the Art varied, and might look quite different when drawn by people far removed from each other. As Marlena had mentioned, Danica found no marks on the body. With considerable effort, she managed to roll it over to ascertain Marlena's observation.

Danica also curiously wondered why the corpse did not appear decayed. The stink of death hung heavily around the zombie, but other than that, the thing might as well be alive. Its flesh was still taut and full, not desiccated or visibly rotting. Beneath the runes, Danica saw a fine white powder, which she guessed was ash.

Danica cast a tongues spell in an attempt to read the runes on the body. Her vision wavered for a moment, and then the runes appeared as the familiar sigils of the Art. Her forehead wrinkled as she examined them, however. The runes made no sense. There were runes that appeared completely out of place, and some that were not even complete. The sigils could have nothing to do with the magic animating the corpses.

Danica cast a spell of divining upon the corpse, working quickly as she saw another zombie enter the range of her vision off to one side. She could see the evidence of the dark magic that had animated the creature. Something felt odd about the magic, as if it was not quite right. While she sensed the normal spell used to animate zombies, something about the magic seemed off.

The lingering power of the animation magic suddenly flared before Danica's eyes. She gasped and jumped back as one of the corpse's fingers twitched.

"What the?" Danica gasped out. This thing can't possibly be moving. The Destroy Undead spell should have severed its connection to the Negative Plane, releasing the body from its foul animation.

However, the zombie was moving, and trying to rise back to its feet. The second zombie Danica had noticed turned its face toward her, and movement in Danica's peripheral vision caused her to turn and see a third approaching from another direction. A fourth stepped from behind a hut as the one in front of Danica regained its feet.

Danica snatched one of the Positive Forcebolt wands from her belt and pointed it at the zombie in front of her. She activated her weapon and the zombie fell over backwards. Just the faintest hint of a wispy, man-shaped shimmering appeared over the corpse as it fell. As quickly as the spirit appeared, it vanished.

A horrible gurgling moan erupted from all quarters around Danica. She could see now that half a dozen of the zombies were moving purposely toward her. Four more shambled into view while Danica watched, all issuing the gurgling moan that set Danica's teeth on edge.

Danica aimed the wand at the closest zombie and discharged the magic item's power. Like the first zombie, the creature fell over to the earth. The moaning of the zombies ceased for a moment, and all the creatures stopped in their tracks. Then the moaning started up again as the creatures stalked toward Danica once more.

A quick glance around revealed at least two dozen of the creatures moving toward Danica now. She turned toward Zoraster's outpost and blasted one of the creatures between her and the door. When the undead paused again upon the destruction of the one by Danica's wand, she quickly ran into the house. Tonda slammed the door and bolted it as soon as Danica was inside.

Danica cursed in a steady stream under her breath and looked out the window. The zombies, which had all been moving toward her, now started to wander aimlessly through the town again.

Danica watched them move about for perhaps an hour, keeping a closer watch on the corpses on the ground. The downed zombies did not rise this time.

Danica lay back on a couch, pulling back the curtains so dawn's light would fall on her face when the sun rose, and then she drifted off into a doze.

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

Danica awakened when the first rays of light fell upon her face. She found Tonda asleep sitting on the couch next to her. Danica's legs draped over the dark-skinned woman's lap, and Danica smiled when she saw Tonda's hand lying over her mound.

Danica tried to get up without awakening Tonda, but this proved impossible. Tonda rose drowsily and followed Danica to the door. Danica opened the door to reveal only the slightest hints of light filtering through the clouds. Must have been a chance beam that woke me up, she thought.

Danica could see the three corpses in the steadily increasing light. Danica walked over to the nearest zombie and knelt to examine the corpse. The smell of death seemed stronger, and the flesh of the creature looked loose on its bones. Danica heard a gasp behind her and turned to see Tonda covering her mouth.

"M-my... My brother," Tonda gasped out, staring at the corpse.

The clouds parted, allowing the sun to shine upon the town while Tonda sobbed. Danica sat back in alarm as the sunlight touched the corpse in front of her. Almost immediately, the flesh appeared to melt. The corpse decayed in mere seconds under the light of the sun. A quick glance at the other three corpses showed the same reaction to dawn's light. Only skeletons and desiccated shells of flesh remained after the briefest exposure to the sun.

Tonda continued to sob, and Danica reached out to comfort her. "Shhh, it's alright. He's at rest now. We'll give him a proper burial. He's free."

Tonda choked back another sob and nodded. Danica cast a spell and gathered up the three corpses on a glowing disk of magical force. Tonda led Danica to a place out from the edge of town where she said her brother had liked to play as a child. Here Danica excavated a grave with her magic and deposited the three corpses inside. She then laid a comforting hand on Tonda's shoulder and turned to see other people approaching.

Each nodded to Danica as they passed, then moved toward Tonda and the grave. All tossed something into the grave as they approached, spoke to Tonda, and then turned to leave with another nod to Danica. As best as Danica could tell, the entire town turned out for the ceremony.

Danica sat down on a log and watched as the people filed by. When the last person walked by, Danica stood and prepared to fill the grave. One of five men who remained nearby shook his head. "No, we will give them to the earth. Know you have our thanks for freeing these from a mockery of life."

Danica simply nodded and returned to Zoraster's outpost, feeling very out of place in the town as its citizens all grieved for their dead a second time.

Danica contacted Marlena, discovering that the zombies in Marlena area engaged in the same unearthly moaning as the ones in the town had. Marlena sounded as though she was on the edge of exhaustion, and when Danica questioned her about it, the illusionist revealed that she was staying awake with drugs and sleeping only short periods of time. She said that Zoraster had instructed her to do so.

With the mental mention of Zoraster, his mind intruded on the conversation, Both of your instructions have changed. My necromancers have studied what the two of you have learned. Marlena, return with haste to the town. Take your rest there -- you shall have a long night. Danica, ensure she is prepared. You must both be at the temple at midnight, prepared to face the undead and their Master.

Danica did not miss the flash of fear from Marlena when she heard those words.

Regardless of the assumptions my necromancers have presented, any who practice the necromantic arts knows full well the power of this night and will take advantage of it. The Master of these undead creatures will be distracted by his rites and that should offset the increased power this night will grant him. I am sure you have deduced enough about the creatures to protect yourself from them as you face their Master, little rose.

Our mysterious necromancer is interfering with my plans, and he torments the natives. Therefore, you have two reasons to stop him -- three if you count the fact that he practices the foulest of black magic for his own gain, which I'm sure calls out to you for justice, little rose.

The mocking tone of Zoraster's voice caused Danica to grind her teeth and bite off a retort.

Capture him or destroy him, it matters not. I want him stopped and his Art in my possession. The temple is protected against scrying, so you will be on your own.

Zoraster's contact faded with his last words, and Danica thought to Marlena, Return quickly. We'll need time to prepare you after you wake up.