Tablet Master Ch. 15

Saïna watched the huge Troll standing on the other side of the bottomless pit as she waited for the draw bridge to hit the ground. The Troll wore a shining full plate armor and had a dented great sword at his back. The Troll glared back at her while spinning the heavy wheel that reeled the heavy bridge chains. She crossed the bridge and passed him by, finally shifting her gaze to the tower before walking through the door as it opened.

She entered a large circular room. It offered a single chair facing a podium with a fancy empty throne in the center. She heard the bridge chain clanking again and looked over her shoulder to see the door shutting behind her.

The wizard sat on his throne when she turned her head back and he pointed the chair with his index finger.

Saïna sat.

Balzamir stared at her in silence, leaned into his throne with one leg crossed over the other, tapping his index finger at the arm rest.

"What's your name, beautiful," Balzamir asked after a long moment of silence.

"My name is Saïna," she said politely.

"Your previous master told you to obey me as you used to obey him before sending you here," the wizard said. "Will you obey me happily or grudgingly?"

"Happily, sir," she said, "as long as you're not asking me to do things I despise," she added.

"Indulge me on the things you despise," he said, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees.

"I despise killing people in general, even in self defense, I would try not to," she said. "I despise causing people to suffer unless they did something I consider despicable, some people will never learn empathy unless they suffer themselves as consequence to their actions. I despise anyone who'd hurt or kill another only to punish the one that wronged them; like killing a person's child to punish the parent. I despise-"

"Enough," he said loudly, raising one hand. "I will assume you're aware of the Khavi situation, are you?"

"I am, sir," she said.

"Do you despise me for it?"

"I do, sir."

"Why are you here then?"

"I'm here because Nate made a deal with you and he's a man of his word," she said.

"Has any of them ever told you how the Khavi came into our world?"

"I'm afraid not, sir."

"I'm a great summoner, but I also travel across multiple dimensions," Balzamir said, rising from his chair as he started pacing.

"I came across a very strange world filled with those strange creatures," he continued. "They looked mostly human, except they had two dicks and somehow an ugly amount of extra floppy skin, hanging all over their bodies," he shivered. "There were no females of their kind; thank the Gods; they were ugly as hell."

Balzamir stopped pacing and stepped down from the podium before walking in circle around her.

"The Khavi were all slaves to those ugly creatures," he said. "Loyal to them in ways that defies even the most potent mind controlling spells. I blended in at first, assuming their looks," he snorted. "I learned a great deal about the Khavi and how they'd go through a few phases during their lifetime, where it was possible to implant values, desires, goals, and more into their minds during those phases."

He stopped before her and looked down into her eyes.

Saïna stared back, unflinching.

"I rescued them from eternal slavery and brought them back to our world," he said. "Those ugly creatures, the Nohrks, were also versed in various kinds of magic and they held a grudge against me. Some of them still attack me sometimes, but it's becoming rarer as the years pass. I think some of them even settled down in our world and live amongst us and other species. They are no threat to me."

"All of this doesn't explain why you poisoned the Khavi," Saïna said.

Balazmir sighted deeply as he returned to sit on his throne.

"I had a deal with them," he said. "Their blood has magical properties I can use to make objects indestructible, mainly weapons. Their hair as other properties I use in some potions and their tentacles holds a significant quantity of energy I can harvest. I thought it was fair to ask them for it since I'd freed their entire species from the Nohrks. With time, they forgot their place and possibly forgot about the misery they were rescued from as their numbers grew larger in their, now free, community."

"What about the life sacrifices," Saïna asked.

"These little blue things are connected to something infinitely powerful," Balzamir said. "I have yet to discover the source of that energy, but for us, practitioner of magic, we bridge a connection to the forces of nature, or the Gods, or other supernatural creatures as we learn to develop our magic energy, ever growing, but most mortals would still require other source of energy to accomplish powerful spells. It is also well known that no matter how much energy one has developed, the amount of energy released at the time of death, when the soul parts from the body, is approximately twice as much."

Balzamir inhaled deeply with his eyes closed, as if savoring the taste of his own tongue.

"When a Khavi dies," he continued, "the amount of energy that comes out of that varies between ten to twenty times the amount of energy they had, including the energy within their tentacles."

He stood and glared at Saïna.

"So, yeah, I did sacrifice some of them when I needed such huge amount of energy," he said sternly. "I could have achieved the same thing by having all of them cut all of their tentacles for me to harvest, but -They- chose not to. -They- asked for an alternative and sacrificing one of their young was enough to provide me with the energy I needed, so they provided me with one. I did not have the luxury of time to argue with them, and quite frankly, I don't hold anyone's life so dear as to risk my own."

"Why did you ask for Zaakhipa's first born," Saïna asked.

"I saw how she acted around that foolish Dragon," Balzamir said. "She didn't even know how this would end, but it was obvious to me, so when the council needed my help once again; they asked for so many things over the years I can barely remember what the service was that day, but I do remember the price I asked; Zaakhipa's next born. I had every reason to believe it would be a Dragon Born Khavi. It wouldn't have been the first of their kind, but I never had the opportunity to examine the previous Dragonborn Khavi in the past and I had every reason to believe their energy would be even greater."

"You'd have sacrificed a baby," Saïna said, disgusted.

"I would have raised her to become my most loyal acolyte and probably the most powerful wizard in the entire world!"

"Why poison the entire community then," Saïna said, standing up and glaring at him.

"They needed to be reminded of what I had done for them," he said, glaring back. "I was not going to let them destroy my tower again, as they did the previous times, smashing it to shreds with their tentacles and almost killing my loyal Troll servant."

"Saving your precious Troll servant means more than an entire community of Khavi?"

"I was not going to let them die," Balzamir said. "I was on my way to cure them when that stupid Dragon came here changed into a Weretiger. Why do you think I gave him the scroll so easily?"

Balzamir laughed. "I bet he'll be so proud of himself for tricking me into giving him the cure."

Saïna frowned. "I guess you're not as bad as I painted you to be."

"Oh, dear little kitty," Balzamir mocked. "I'm no angel either and I wouldn't be what I am today if I wasn't excellent at grabbing an opportunity when I saw one."

Saïna raised an eyebrow.

"Be it as it may," he said, walking passed his chair and straight through the wall behind. "Follow me through this wall, but not from the podium, it's an illusion."

She walked along side the podium and cautiously passed through the illusionary wall.

The next room offered a dining table with two chairs, a table with baskets, with a few knives and tools to make food. Opposite to the table, a small archway leading to a staircase Balzamir was already walking into.

The second floor was a very impressive library. It offered four rows of bookshelf stretching from floor to ceiling as well as shelves covering every bit of walls around. A large table sat in the middle of the room with a few books resting on it, one of them open and held under a paper weight. On the opposite side was a small aviary with a few ravens.

"Keep up," Balzamir said from above.

She looked up the staircase that kept on going and hurried up to the next floor.

"This is your room," he said.

The room was about one quarter of the tower size. It offered a small bed, a bedside bucket, a small desk with a chair and a chest.

"This will be your room for when you are awake," Balzamir said. "The next door is my lab; from there we can reach my private room. You're free to go anywhere inside here, but you may not touch anything without my permission. I don't need much from you and I don't have time to waste grooming you or taking care of you. You make your own food in the kitchen downstairs, you keep yourself clean, remain silent, you may read any books from the library if you can, the less you bother me, the better. In time, I will let you leave this tower and even send you out to fetch ingredients in the forest or other things, otherwise, I'll have you provide me with your blood when I need it. I will try to find all possible properties from your hair, your skin, your bodily fluids, and basically anything your body has to offer or produces."

"What if I don't want to stay with you," she asked.

"I assumed you were trained to obey," he said, staring at her.

"I'm a prisoner and a slave," she said. "Nothing I would do for you would be of my own volition. Nate has nothing to do with my predicament and I'm only here to try and find a way to appease your anger so that you won't kill the Khavi people, nor Bahk, nor Nate."

"What about your life?" Balzamir raised an eyebrow.

"I don't fear for my life right now," she said, seizing an opportunity. "How about you take a few samples you need from me right away, some blood, fur, a tooth, a claw, anything you need and then you let me go on?"

"You're more valuable to me over a long period of time," he said. "Whatever properties I find from all that, I will need more to make potions and magic items from it."

"What if I told you that I'd leave in two days, no matter what," she said.

"I'd threaten to kill Nate and Bahk," he said. "If this isn't enough, I'd threaten to kill all the Khavi."

Saïna laughed. "You could do that, but you already said you were on your way to cure the Khavi people, so I doubt you'd kill them. I don't want to be here, you don't really want me around, especially if my stay here will only brew my anger and desire to kill you, and trust me, I'd eventually find a way, so why keep me around?"

"Here's the deal," she continued. "You take samples from me and let me go. I'm sure a powerful wizard like you can send me some sort of magical message wherever I am, or maybe even conjure me to you at any moment, so when you need more from me, you let me know and I'll come back here to contribute. This could be our relationship from the time being. I'll be free of you, you won't be bothered by my presence here, and you'll still get what you need from me when you need it. If one day I feel you're asking for too much, then we'll re negotiate or we'll find out who's more powerful between the two of us."

Balzamir examined her for a moment. "I'm more powerful," he said, high and proud. "I'm immortal and you cannot kill me." Unless you destroy my vessels, he thought.

Saïna smirked as she finally managed to get a peak in his mind. It hadn't been easy; the wizard's mind was well protected, and she had to thread carefully to avoid being detected.

"Everyone can be killed," she said. "It's only a matter of finding where their weakness lies."

You'll never find out where my other Troll is, he thought. "You'll soon realize some people's weaknesses are very well hidden." Balzamir said. "Regardless, your deal does have an appeal, but I had something else in mind for you." I need your body, he thought.

"What would that be," she said with a smile.

"I will cast a spell that will put you into a very deed slumber," he said. "This way, you won't be bored, and you will not bother me either. Sometimes I will need you awake, and this is when the room will become useful."

"What if I refuse?"

"You belong to me," he said. "As much as I may not harm the Khavi, I can still torture or kill your friends Bahk and Nate. You will comply or they will suffer until you do."

"What will you do with my body while I'm asleep," she said, carefully wording her question.

You won't really be sleeping, he thought. I will transfer my soul into your body so that I can finally be rid of this lesser one.

"My magic will ensure your body will not decay, nor die," he lied. "I will harvest what I need and when I need it."

"How long do you plan to keep me like this?"

"Forever," he said. "But don't worry, you'll never feel a thing." Your soul will be gone soon enough.

"Let me sum this up," she said. "You will torture my friends until I comply and when I do, it will essentially kill me because I will never wake up, except sometimes, and that's when you'd be harvesting my body, did I get it right?"

"You're a smart and perspicacious little kitty," he said.

Saïna sighed deeply.

"You're not just an opportunist," she said. "You're despicable. You almost had me there with your story about the Khavi and all that, but all you care about is your precious little self. You've threatened to hurt and kill my friends, you're implying my death, and you expect me to be compliant."

"Why don't you try your best to kill me, and we'll find out who's stronger," he said.

"I'd have to figure out where your other Troll is then, wouldn't I," she said with a smirk on her face.

How does she know about my Trolls? She saw the one outside, but she certainly can't know about Xitrhak in Praxion!

"What's this about Trolls," he said, pearls of sweat forming on his forehead.

"I know about Xitrhak in Praxion," she said, moving closer to him so she could whisper. "But I wonder if the second happens to be the one I saw outside earlier."

Balzamir took a step back.

She could see his fingers twisted with his hands parted slightly away from his body. She knew he was about to cast a spell.

She reached swiftly for his throat, her sharp claws digging effortlessly into his flesh.

"You think I can't kill you," she said, hissing through her teeth as she pushed him down on his knees.

He seized her wrist with both hands, trying in vain to free his neck as she gradually tightened her grip.

"You think you're so smart and powerful," she continued. "I told you how much I despised people like you and yet, you showed exactly that about you with flying colors. I told you how much I despised ending a life, no matter what the reason, but I still know when to recognize that killing is the lesser evil."

Balzamir squirmed under her supernatural grip, helpless as he futilely tried to speak, breathe, and break free all at the same time.

"I assume killing you right now will be a mistake," she said. "I must kill your Trolls first."

He struggled with a sudden surge of energy, but she held tight.

It was a diversion. He reached for a small silver coated knife at his belt and jammed it into her thigh.

Saïna roared from the pain. She couldn't tell if he expected her to let go or not, but the pain caused her to clench her fists. Every bone in his neck snapped loudly and blood gushed all over, leaking from every orifice of his face, and from the recently new ones her claws had created.

She stumped on his stomach and ripped his head off before tossing it down the stairs. She pulled the silver knife out and growled.

Balzamir's body suddenly fizzled into nothingness, leaving only his belongings on the ground and one of his rings rolling down a few steps.

She hurried to the lab and then into Balzamir's chambers. He wasn't there. She rushed back to the library and then downstairs. No one.

She opened the exit door carefully and saw the Troll standing near the draw bridge. The Troll didn't appear to be aware of the situation, but she had to make sure.

His mind was shielded just like Balzamir's mind was.

She stepped outside to try and initiate conversation, it always made it easier to avoid being noticed when she tried to read someone's mind.

The Troll turned to face her and muttered a few words.

His armor, already shiny, started glowing red as if on fire, his large, dented sword turned pitch black with some sort of dark grey fume surrounding it, and an aura of dark shadowy tendril like smoke appeared all around the Troll.

"You will pay for this," Balzamir's voice said through the Troll's mouth.

The tall monster swung its sword at her with great speed and strength.

She dove out of the way and rolled back on her feet swiftly before repeating a similar move as the creature swung again.

She jumped over the pit to avoid the blade for a third time and shifted to face the Troll on the other side.

Balzamir muttered another few words to cast a spell raising one hand towards her.

Dozens of black tendrils lashed towards her as they became more solid than smoke.

Saïna bounced backwards, but the tendrils kept on going faster than her, catching her in mid air before tossing her high into the sky and straight towards the Troll.

She stopped her fall, focusing on her ability to fly.

The Troll looked at her inquisitively as he held his sword tight and ready to strike at her.

"Werebeast don't usually fly," he said.

"Looks like I can," she said, dashing towards him with both fists forward.

The Troll swung his sword.

She swirled with grace to avoid the blow, swooped around him while grabbing one of his ankles and flew up.

The Troll let go of his sword as she continued towards the clouds. He grabbed one of her arms and held on to her other shoulder to secure his grip.

"Let me go," he said.

"If I let you go, you will plummet to the ground," she said. "Is this what you-"

Something interrupted her, a sudden sharp pain overwhelming all her senses and she stopped suddenly, pushing the Troll away from her before recoiling for a moment.

The Troll fell, Balzamir's voice screaming through it.

She allowed herself to fall for a moment and the pain subsided. She stopped, hovering as she watched the Troll slam into the ground below, immediately engulphed by a large dust cloud.

"A great and powerful wizard who can't even cast a spell to fly," Saïna said as she landed next to the Troll's agonizing body.

"Thisz isz naut how isz work," Balzamir's voice said thought the Troll's shattered bones.

"Here's the deal, Balzamir," she said, glaring. "I will not go to Praxion right now to kill your second Troll. I will not come back here ever again to disturb your peace or ask anything of you, in other words, I will let you live. I think you're smart enough not to miss an opportunity, but that makes you smart enough to know when someone's stronger than you. Let it go. Let the Khavi alone, if you ask them for anything, you make sure you offer a fair trade for it. You let Bahk and Nate alone and never go after them, unless you genuinely need their help or services in exchange for something, again, a fair trade, not through some threats. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," Balzamir's voice said from behind her.

She reflexively ducked and rolled aside to avoid a possible blow, but it was already too late.

A set of magical shackles closed around her ankles, waist, wrists, and neck before she completed her move. The chains slammed her right back to the ground with might, pinning her completely.