Nigkala Tales Pt. 18: So Many Interruptions

"He-he. Quite right. Still, be sure the next time you feel this unease, be on the alert. I also agree that you search. It is likely there will be magical and mundane traps. Now to the story, tell it to me. I want to hear it in your own words, as a tale of Nigkala, exaggerations and all."

"Very well, my Queen. The day started out normally, but soon things started to happen...." While there wasn't much sex, I knew she also liked violence, so when I spoke of the fight, I emphasized the blood being splattered everywhere, the wailing of the injured, and the panic before I stepped up. I described my attacks as generating much more blood than actually happened, and its response was to ignore the loss of blood and instead be even more focused on me. My leaps were faster and higher, and my defense made it fail to even scratch my clothes. The final beheading had a pause where I said, 'Your time is over', before I swung. The head flew higher, spinning with blood going everywhere but my outfit. And I received a spontaneous round of applause when I spoke, 'Flawless Victory', even as the body disintegrated beside me.

"Oh, that was fun. All you need to add is a celebratory orgy, and it would be perfect."

"I regret orgies do not fit that movie, but an after party of the cast and crew could have had one. Regrettably, everyone was anxious to get back to civilization, so that didn't happen. But the wrap party will likely have something happen, as my ways are known. You want an orgy there, it can happen. He-he."

"He-he. Plan on it."

I realized then it would be a blowout. I decided to bring lots of condoms, and when things started moving, I would discreetly put them out all over. I figured three hundred in assorted styles and sizes should be enough. I hoped.

"You have given me your news and the tale. What of your questions?"

"It concerns the sites of power. Hugeng's home is next to a holy lake. At that lake, and because of it, my chi was cleansed. I felt far clearer in body and spirit after. Recently, I had realized that clarity was diminishing. I decided to see if I could find another. I found a waterfall that chose to aid me. And its guardian.

"But my quest found another before that. The bunker. I spoke to you of it. While I tried to feed it chi, it was unable to retain much. But it retained enough to keep a connection to me. Somehow, the mage found it, and it was helpless against the mage's capture. Its power is now within one of the talismans An gave me from the mage. The mage used its link to hunt me. I do not know if anything is left at the bunker. I desire to return it to the land, but preferably in a better location. An said he did not know if it would be possible, and that finding such a place could be difficult.

"That, and bending the other talismans to me, are the tasks ahead of me of which I seek your advice and teaching. I have yet to examine any of the talismans. I learned from the mage what he thinks they do, but he may not know all there is to know about them. One can summon monsters to do his will. One is used to evade security. And the last is the crystal formed from the bunker, and I know he summoned a lightning bolt using it."

"How did you question him?"

"He was unconscious from the bolt I tossed back at him. So I read his mind. His will put up stiff resistance, but I got past it, and saw this in his thoughts."

"Show me." I brought the incident to mind, and showed her. "You picked up quite a bit about lesser talismans. Yet there is much you don't know."

"While my instinct has served me well, I feel these tasks would best be accomplished if I knew more. I fear the mistakes I might make in my ignorance."

"You are right to fear magic. Yet, you already know more than you think. I shall watch you search the mage's abodes, and decide then what to teach you."

I then gave her the little detail of An's sending me back to my trailer, and my need to relieve myself with such a shocking finality. That brought her some laughter.

The next day I went to the golf course, and found it buzzing with the news that some major damage had occurred on one of the holes. I soon figured out it was the one with the bunker. The prevailing theory was someone got a mini dozer and had it wreck the bunker and a fair bit around it. I went out to the bunker, and examined it. First with my eyes, then with my other senses. I could feel some residue of power from the mage, but nothing of the bunker's power. Not even the little chi from the air as it passed.

I went to the nearest bit of residue, and examined it with all my senses. I soon spotted its dissonance with nature, and realized that, left alone, it would continue to do some damage for a time. When I went to touch it, I felt pain, so I drew back and examined my hand. I had some sort of burn or rash resulting from my touch. I willed my own spirit to heal it, and it quickly did so. I wondered. Could I 'heal' the residue? I placed my hand near, and willed healing into the residue. It resisted at first, but quickly was overcome. Its power remained, but it was now in harmony. So I pushed it into the land to spread its power to heal the land.

With that minor success, I went to all the other bits of residue I could find and did the same. When I looked up, I saw the old groundskeeper watching me.

"You done?"

"Sorry, I got curious. I didn't mean to prevent your work."

"I saw what you did. I have a touch of second sight, at least with plants. There was a bad feeling all over this area, and you dealt with it. Thank you. You have made my work much easier."

"Please keep it quiet. I don't want others to know."

"Gladly. I have seen you here before, and this bunker recently became alive somehow. It also seemed to be connected to you. Now, sadly, it is dead."

"Not dead, but trapped in a crystal. I intend of freeing it, not here, but someplace it can grow and thrive."

"How did this happen?"

"An evil man thought to enslave it to gain its power. He now faces judgment for his crimes."

"Good. He tore up my course something awful."

"With it cleansed of bad influences, I expect you will have it in shape in no time."

"Maybe. It depends on how much damage there is, and how much it will cost to fix, as opposed to just growing grass over everything."

"Is there some way I can help?"

"You already have. What you did just now will save me weeks of work, and a lot of supplies from being wasted. The owners will like the revised estimate I will give them later today. It will likely tilt the decision towards restoration of what was."

"Then I am glad to have helped." I then left, and headed back to the clubhouse and got a snack before heading home.

Now that I knew nothing remained at the course, I started researching what I learned of the mage's abodes. He had one for mundane stuff, where I did not expect to find anything, and another out in the country at a former farm. I also checked up on the local laws to see how much trouble I would be in if I got caught. Finally, I loaded up my George Holt outfit, latex gloves, and make-up kit. I also loaded up a bald wig, as I figured that would most likely be seen as actually being bald if I was careful enough with the makeup.

I loaded up on cash, and drove out to the area, and checked in to a motel wearing a wig with long hair that mostly hid my breasts. I whammied the attendant to forget what I looked like. I then took a nap until it was dark. It took nearly an hour to apply my outfit. I left my ID, jewelry, and phone in the room, and only took the burn phone I used for teleporting. I figured I was about ten miles from his residence. I walked out of camera range and then teleported to a place very close to his home. I then turned on the burn phone to get its GPS info. I had also dressed in black to help avoid detection.

Using the phone, I found the place, and cased it by standing still and using my other senses. I alerted Inanna to the search, and felt her watching through me. I did notice there was some sort of protection covering the doors and windows. The garage did not have any protection, and it had some windows on the side. I summoned an enchanted obsidian dagger. I then closed on the side of the garage, and looked in. It was empty. My dagger made quick work of the window, then I teleported in. I then examined the area. There was no change, so I was likely unseen.

I then used my rock sense to learn what the bottom of the house was like. It was clearly slab construction, just like the garage. Good thing concrete is rock. I used my rock power to displace a square of concrete from the floor over a few feet. I then removed a square hole down fifteen feet. I added solid rock sides to hold up the dirt on either side. I added steps in the wall opposite the house. I then climbed down into the hole. Turning to face the house, I did the same, but horizontally, in about one foot increments. I used the rock sense until I felt I was under the largest room on the ground floor. I then made a hole up to the slab.

Climbing, I carefully made a shelf to the side. Then I displaced a square of the slab to the shelf. I then climbed up to, but not into, the room, where I scanned the room with everything I had. When I felt it was clear, I stepped into the room and summoned a quarter inch steel plate to cover the hole. Eventually, I scanned the whole house, including the second floor and the only enchantments were the security keeping people out, and another designed to make people ignore this place. I decided to make use of that, so I closed all the curtains, and turned on lights as I went through each room, looking for magic information.

I found a safe with my rock sense, and realizing I could directly sense the gears, I opened it. I found several passports, so I took pictures of them with my phone and put them back. Nothing else seemed interesting, so I closed it. I hit pay dirt in his bedroom. He kept a journal of sorts, so I kept that. I paid careful attention to his library. I did find a secret stash of books, but it appeared he had a smut fetish that he kept secret. I put things back as they were. I then left the way I came, restoring things as they were. Back in the garage, I turned off the phone, then teleported back near the hotel. I quickly entered my room and removed my disguise. I then went to bed. In the morning, I left the motel leaving no trace of myself, and slipped the key to the desk while the clerk wasn't looking.

I drove out to the country. There, I rented a van without any identification by using my whammie and cash. On the way there, I stopped and went off-road to apply my costume. As it was a cloudy day, I decided to make a light rain to keep people inside, and to also obscure sight of me. This time, I dressed to look like a salesman, with a sample bag and everything. When I came to the turnoff, I summoned the dagger, a sword, and most of my battle augmentations. I pulled up to the farmhouse, and parked. I alerted Inanna, and felt her watching through me. Packing the sword in the bag, and hiding the dagger in a pocket, I got out. Making a pretense of brushing the wrinkles from my suit, I scanned the place.

There was a lot of magic about the house, but the barn in back had less of a signature. Thanks to Hugeng's training, I recognized the illusory nature of the magic at the barn, so I made a greater effort to see past it. I added my other senses to help. It seemed the barn was a fortress. This squared with what I recalled from my interrogation of him. I decided to start by using that information to bypass the security.

I headed out to the barn, and moved to the side of the door and looked for the hidden keypad. My rock sense found it easily by the metal it had within it. I used the password I had gotten, and suddenly the door opened. I then used the second password to deactivate the door trap. I stepped inside, and it was immediately apparent there was more magic here. I took my exploration slow, to ensure I had deactivated every trap I knew about, and avoiding as much as I could any area that looked warded. My rock sense helped me avoid a number of traps, because I sensed metal where there should not be metal.

I then surveyed the entire place for magic. As I identified each, I tried to link it to the information I gained from my interrogation. Those that I thought were only traps, I tried to defuse, by forcing my will upon them. Some succumbed quickly, others did not. When it failed, I tried triggering them from a distance. There were a number of effects, but apparently this mage did not want to harm the barn, so the effects were survivable. Since I triggered them remotely, they rarely reached me. Twice, An's protection of air saved me from poison, and I quickly used wind to push the poison outside. Another spat high velocity pellets that bounced off my hardened body, leaving only welts. But at last, I had defeated all the traps I could find.

Then I began my study of what remained. As I studied each bit of magic, I spoke my understanding to Inanna. My biggest concern was the harm they could cause if left intact. As I studied one lesser aura near the floor, I realized it hid a secret panel. Opening the panel, I learned there was another talisman. Even Inanna was surprised. It was rather powerful, and she suggested I take care with this one. I summoned a stone container, and filled the bottom with loose sand. I then used pinpoint wind to blow it out and into the container. I then filled the rest of the container with sand and sealed it off with more stone. I then put it into my bag. Eventually, I finished going over all the magic here. Next I searched for secret spaces.

Having already found two in the barn and some at his house, I figured there would be more. I was right. I found three more. Two had mundane traps that broke against my hardened body, the third was just secret. All three contained unpublished books, so I took all three. Last was to go over everything in the barn, looking for information about magic. I found a few, but Inanna told me to ignore them as they were false books. Then I found his library. It wasn't hidden in a secret panel, but rather there was a piece of plywood leaning on the wall that prevented access to a deep bookshelf. There wasn't room to slide it out or easily pulling it away because it was blocked in.

Looking about, I noticed there was a pulley system directly overhead, but it had an unusual hook on the end. Looking at the floor, I saw two indentations in the floor that seemed to correspond to it. I looked for the control, and soon learned that there was a light switch to one side near a lamp. The switch, however, was level. So I went over and pushed it down. Suddenly, the pulley activated and the hook descended. Apparently the hook just fit in the indentation, and when I pushed the switch up it went up, taking the plywood with it. It finally revealed a small bookcase, with over a dozen books.

Inanna said, "Found it. I knew you had it in you. Take them all."

I did, but I needed two trips to put them in the van, along with the talisman. Despite having found this, I continued to make sure I missed nothing. I was about to head to the house when Inanna stopped me.

"You have done well, eliminating most of the magical dangers here. However, there are a few left that need attention. Please lend me your body and voice for a bit."

I mentally stepped back and invited her in. Suddenly, I spoke some words I did not understand, and likewise made some gestures. In response, I felt several things I had not though harmful were suddenly and completely undone. Then I felt Inanna release me.

"When you have time, I will explain what you missed. Continue with the house."

I went to the Dorothy doors, opened them, and descended the stairs to a root cellar. It was also sanctuary in case of disaster. I went to the side of the cellar and found the keypad there. I entered its password, and then I began my scans. Once I found everything in this room, I began disarming them. Apparently, he used quantity rather than quality down here. I did as much as I could from a distance. There were only a handful I could not defuse, and when I triggered these, there was far more damage. The one that spewed acid ruined my costume, but the costume gave me enough time to summon neutralizing minerals. Once the house was cleared, I searched it for secret spaces. I found two more stashes of smut, and four that had bogus books in them, but real mundane traps. The one that tried to electrocute me utterly failed to harm me.

When I searched for magical information, I found several books that were somewhat protected. But as I looked at each, Inanna told me they were fakes and to leave them. It was night when I left. Once I was a distance away, I stopped and took off what remained of the costume. I used a dagger to cut it into small strips, and I dumped them into a trash bin at a rest stop. I stopped at my car and transferred everything. Then I dropped off the van just outside the lot where I rented it, and slid the keys into the mail slot, wrapped in five twenties. I walked back to my car and drove home.

In the morning, I replaced the costume, so I could use it as needed. After lunch, I began reading the journal. It was written in poor Chinese, but I was able to understand it, even with the deliberate obfuscations that were added. It covered several decades. I learned the talisman was the prize when he got the drop on a more powerful mage, but it stubbornly resisted his efforts to claim its power. As such, he didn't know what it was. The secret unpublished books were described only by where he found or bought them. The greatest yield from this book was contact information on three other mages, one of whom lived in another country.

I left the talismans for later, except for the one from the bunker. I fed it a little of my chi every day, and I sensed an easing of its psychological pain. I started in on the various tomes. First I checked for magical wards, traps, and such. I slowly learned how to open the books without triggering the defenses. As I did, I skimmed the books quickly to get a sense of them, so I could order their study. With all the distractions that pulled me away, it took nearly two months to do that. During that time, Inanna explained what I had missed. I then began reading in depth the simplest book. I also noted it was one of the first that the mage acquired. Having already gone over a more complex book of magic before, there was a lot that was redundant, but expressed in a different style. But there was some that was new to me. My biggest disappointment was that there was nothing on talismans in this book. Still, the month-long study was not wasted, as I did learn a little, including another's style of magic notation.

Before I could get to the next book, the wrap party happened. I remembered to bring the condoms, and got the help to hide it for later. I could feel Inanna watching in the background. Once the Producer made his speech, I felt Inanna's interest gather. Quickly, I went to the staffer holding my secret bag, and gave him and some of the other staffers the task of opening each box and placing them around the area. I whammied them to obey my instruction, without making a fuss.

Wandering over to the pool table, I called next game. No one objected, because I had a very short dress on, and I would be bending over the table to make my shots. This would give everyone a clear look at my vagina from behind, and everyone knew it. It was partly why I had not joined in earlier. I was right. Inanna used me to start the orgy. I was given the option to break, and had leaned over, when some guy moved behind me. He tried to be quiet, but I heard his zipper open, and I also heard the silence of those watching him. So I wasn't surprised when just after I sent the cue ball into the others, he plunged into me. He, however, was surprised at how wet I was.