The Tale of Gottfried Ch. 03

"What now?" asked Basil after chewing off the restraints from behind Gottfried's back. Gottfried stood up, rubbing his wrists, and trying to smear the bloody symbols from his chest.

Gottfried was no hero, and therefore stayed out of any altercations to the best of his abilities. But now he was seeing red and couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Burn everything," he said with a growl. Basil fluttered to the nearest tent, burping small flames on the canvas top that would rapidly spread through the camp. As he flew from tent to tent, Gottfried snuck behind a distracted soldier and crushed his windpipe with his arm.

Gottfried let the soldier drop to the ground with a thud. He quickly took the soldier's dull sword and walked through the spreading flames as the camp came to life. People flooded from their burning tents in a panic, yelling and scurrying around for their weapons, trying to locate the enemy.

Soon the flames were so out of control it was as if it were daytime. There was so much commotion that Gottfried had a very good time going unnoticed. Adrenaline was coursing through him, and he felt incredibly focused.

Suddenly he felt a pang in his stomach, twisting and giving him goosebumps despite the roaring fires around him. He could feel Basil getting scared. "Time to leave," he said to himself, satisfied with the chaos he and Basil had caused.

Gottfried started to make the little clicking noises, hoping it would reach Gretchen and leave her immobilized.

And it certainly was reaching Gretchen. She had been smart enough to escape the camp with a knife, hiding behind a twisted tree in the nearby bog. She huffed and slid to the damp ground, sticking the knife in the mud next to her. Now she had to start all over again. She blew the silver hair away from her face and tried to think of a new plan.

Gretchen hadn't really thought that lot was very smart or organized, but she was being fed and respected. Her thoughts were interrupted as her head slowly started to ache. It felt like needles being pushed into her ears. It went from annoying, to mildly uncomfortable, to absolute agony.

Gretchen covered her ears with her palms, grinding her teeth and beginning to writhe in the dirt. She tried desperately not to scream, but the headache wasn't passing. It was getting worse by the minute.

For what seemed like a lifetime she kicked and squirmed on the ground, trying to endure the screeching in her head. She just wanted to pass out so the pain would stop.

Eventually she was found, and by none other than Gottfried. He looked down at her, a bloody Basil tucked under his arm, and continued his clicking. He wanted her to feel the pain as long as possible.

Gottfried used the sword he had acquired to draw a large square in the dirt while quietly mumbling a short spell. Gretchen could see his lips move, but the only thing she could hear was the continuous screaming in her ears.

The ground Gottfried had carved disappeared and became a black hole with a splintering wood ladder leading down. He reached down and dragged her to the hole by her hair. Finally she passed out from the excruciating pain.

Basil's blood was warm against Gottfried's chest, giving him a jolt of panic. The ladder wasn't very long, and in his anger he was not gentle when he pulled her with them. In fact he almost just dropped her.

His home was underground, only accessible through that specific spell he had created himself. The main room, which they entered, was one large chaotic and psychedelic mess. Books were stacked in tall towers, scattered along the walls. Various bottles of different colored liquids littered the shelves and desk, along with complicated contraptions, animal bones, and jars. The warped wood floor was stained with every color imaginable.

Gottfried cleared a table and set down Basil. It seemed he only tore a wing, an easy fix, but that didn't make him feel any better.

He brought his attention to Gretchen limply sprawled on the ground. He looped his hands underneath her arms and dragged her down the hall to a particular room where he kept his magical experiments, especially those involving living creatures, while he worked on them.

He pulled her to the farthest wall and set her limp body on the floor. He left quickly without a glace backwards and walked back to a sniveling Basil.

As Gottfried attended to Basil's torn wing his mind began to whirl. He had planned all of this for so long and nothing had gone accordingly. So what now? Quite frankly he was stumped. This was becoming a lot less enjoyable by the minute.

When Basil was stitched up and slumbering quietly, Gottfried sat down in the only chair that was not knocked over and picked a book up from the floor. He stared at the pages, but it was exhausting trying to concentrate on the words.

He rested his face on his hand and grumbled nonsense to himself. He wasn't completely satisfied, but she was starting to become more of a trouble than she was worth. She had already gotten him mixed up in a battle he did not want to be in, gaining enemies he did not need, and Basil had gotten hurt.

He had been working on quite a few projects lately, she could be of use in that way. He could turn her into a cat. Then he wouldn't have to kill her, and he wouldn't have to put up with her constant complaining anymore.

He had been in the middle of researching ways to transfigure humans into other creatures, but the only experimental subject he had was himself. And now he was stuck looking like the human version of Basil. He had always hated his bright red hair, but the mossy green and black reminded him of a bog, which he found even less flattering. He tried to find a way to take away the green, even by bleaching it, but nothing worked. Well, instead of killing Gretchen he could put her to some use.

Meanwhile, Gretchen was groaning and lifting herself from the hard stone floor. It felt like her brain was swollen to the point of cracking her skull. When her vision focused, she looked around to see almost complete darkness around her.

The only light came from glowing blue writing scribbled around the door frame. With what little visibility she had she could see the room was stone and brick. It was cold, damp, and the floor was covered in different symbols painted over and over in a seemingly random order.

"Ew," she said when she felt something wet underneath her hand. She lifted it to see a red sticky fluid that had not yet dried on the floor. She tried to wipe it off on the wall, revolted by the thick texture of the fluid.

She wondered how long she had been there. If there were any windows maybe she could have some grasp of time. The only way in or out seemed to be the wood door in front of her. She approached it curiously, slowly reaching her hand out. But it was as though there was a pane of glass between her hand and it. She couldn't see it, but something was keeping her front touching the door.

Gretchen sighed and put her hands on her waist. Was he going to keep her here forever or was this temporary? Either way, the only option was to find a way out. She scoured the room for a sign of any irregularities. Maybe a loose brick in the wall, or small crevice that would help her escape.

No one had out right said it, but she assumed she had known magic before she lost her memories. If after that she could still keep the knowledge to know how to speak and read, why couldn't her knowledge of magic stayed too?

"Useless," she said to herself, still stubbornly looking around the empty room. There were some bones in one corner, but she had seen her fill of dead bodies recently and was affected very little by it now.

Would he keep her here to starve to death and become just bones in a corner like this?

Her thoughts were rudely interrupted when Gottfried opened the door and dropped a book on the floor in front of her.

"What's that?" Gretchen asked, taking a step back.

"Choose your beast," he said casually, as if he were half paying attention.

Gretchen gave him a suspicious glare and bent down to open the book. It was a collection of different creatures and their odd biographies. She still didn't understand, but she didn't care enough to think about it. And she didn't think her opinion mattered at this point anyway.

"You're evil," she spat, tossing the book at the wall.

He scrunched his face and replied, "I'm sorry to break it to you but YOU are the villain in this story, not me."

Gretchen threw her arms up and yelled, "What the fuck could I have done that's so bad?"

Gottfried bent down and picked up the book, wiping the dust off the leather cover. Even if she had chosen, he probably wouldn't have gone through with her request. Really, he just wanted to be a little dramatic and scare her just a little. "I don't have enough time to list all of the reasons I loathe you."

Gretchen didn't reply but watched his every move. He was the only way she was going to get out. Otherwise it was hopeless. She needed to trick him somehow or find how he's passing through that door.

He left her for what felt like an eternity, but she had no real concept of time. When he did come back, the only acknowledgement she received from him was a suspicious glare. He brought a stained bowl full of what looked like the same thick red substance she had gotten on her palm earlier.

She cringed and watched as he dipped his finger in and sloppily drew large, complicated designs. She didn't need to know magic to know something that messy was bound to yield not quite-so-perfect results.

He did this on and off for hours, coming in to add to the drawings using different pigments and salts for a few minutes, then leaving her in the darkness again. And still she couldn't figure out how he was able to pass through the door.

While impatiently waiting for Gottfried to come back, trying to sharpen one of the bones in the corner of the room, she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. She looked up and above the door was a large blinking eyeball coming from the wall.

Gretchen screamed and threw the bone at the eye. As it hit the eye, she heard a small screech, so quiet it was almost like a whisper. The bone fell to the ground and the eye started to blink rapidly, now red and watering.

Gretchen yelped as a small hole opened up on the ground next to her. A small voice came from the hole, beginning to say, "That was ru-" but was quickly interrupted by Gretchen shoving one of the bones into the hole in a panic.

The hole, which appeared to be full of teeth, spat out the bone. "Stop!" it said. The eye disappeared above the door and reappeared above the hole. "Stop hitting me!" it said again in an annoyed tone.

"What the fuck are you?" she asked in a panic, quickly scooching away from the eyeball.

"I WAS a goblin, and if you could refrain from using such foul language it would be much appreciated," it said, rolling its big watering eyeball. "What are you doing here anyway?" The way he said 'you' sounded very condescending.

Gretchen slumped against the wall and shrugged. "Waiting for death I suppose" she said with a dramatic sigh.

The eye blinked, and after a long moment of silence said, "Want to get out of here?"

"Yes. Yes I do."

Meanwhile, Gottfried was rifling through the chaotic mess on his desk. Basil was fast asleep in a separate room, slowly recovering. Gottfried shuffled through a cabinet, taking out individual bags and vials of various powders.

He dearly wished his handwriting were better, as it was hard to decipher the tiny, scribbled labels on each one. Lawrence, the bug-eyed magician who had previously knocked him out and taken Gretchen, had given him the idea that it was time to utilize powders and other ingredients to accomplish his goals instead of relying on strength of his own magic.

He was ready to start his transfiguration experiments, but Gretchen was cleverer than the average beast. He needed some help to make her more pliable, more obedient. Sleeping powders wouldn't help, she needed to be conscious.

"Aha," he said to himself, pulling out a pale pink root. She'd practically be a zombie when she took this. Sure, she'd be conscious, but she would have to follow his every order. She'd be like a puppet, alive but her actions would be solely controlled by him. Maybe he could even get her to shut up for a while.

He crushed the dry root until it was a fine power, which took some time, but Gottfried was patient. He was going to do this right. If this worked than he could consider his revenge complete, and would succeed where many, many others could not. He was getting tired of her anyway.

Just like Lawrence, he poured the powder in his palm and concealed it with his hand. He was wary when he opened the door to the dark room, but it appeared Gretchen was sleeping against the far wall. He heard a small snore and rolled his eyes.

Gottfried entered the room and kneeled to Gretchen's face. She looked so peaceful. It gave him the creeps. He opened his palm and before he could gently blow the powder on her face, Gretchen's hand shot up. She smacked the back of his hand so hard his own palm nearly broke his nose.

He rubbed his eyes and tried to cough out the powder, but he had no time to retaliate before the little mouth opened up in the floor and sunk it's teeth into Gottfried's boot, pulling him face down to the ground.

Gretchen stood up quickly and covered her nose with the front of her tunic to avoid breathing in the pinkish powder still lingering in the air.

Unlike last time, Gottfried did not pass out. He just looked very, very confused while spitting and trying to dislodge his foot from the toothy hole.

Gretchen hadn't expected this to work so well. She hadn't even thought he would have anything dangerous she could use against him other than their original plan of attack, which mostly was relying on sheer luck.

"Ow! You fucking bitch," he yelled, still in shock.

Gretchen kicked him in the side and screamed, "Just shut up!"

And he did. The goblin's mouth, muffled by Gottfried's foot, yelled, "Tadoo! Da Tadoo!" Unfortunately, it did not translate well to Gretchen. Gottfried was still furiously struggling and reaching out to grab her, but he stopped his swearing and yelling. When Gretchen started to make the connection, she nervously ordered, "Let us out."

At first all that happened was Gottfried halted his struggling, but he slowly inched towards the door and reached his wrist to the entrance. She saw a tiny tattoo above his palm, which she assumed had to have been the key. Immediately the hole spat out Gottfried from its mouth and disappeared, but out from the other wall appeared a small blue creature. It was hunched over, and unnervingly wrinkly and skinny.

He started to laugh and clap excitedly, while Gottfried sat next to the door, wrist still halfway out while making a stubborn expression. "Oh thank you!" repeated the goblin while he observed his own body. When he had calmed down enough to stop jumping, he approached Gretchen and took her hand, turning it over. With his long nail he carefully drew a rune on her palm. It burned, but was only mildly painful.

"I work on the Twilight Train, if you ever need help, just press against this on your hand, ask for Toby and we'll pick you up."

"Oh that's so nice," Gretchen said with a smile. "What's a train?"

The Goblin snorted and waved his hand. "Just call if you need help."

With that he stuck his tongue out at Gottfried and scurried out of the house. She could even hear him scrambling up the ladder from afar.

For a minute Gretchen and Gottfried exchanged angry looks in silence. Slowly Gretchen walked through the door and into the hall. That went rather well. He didn't seem to be very lucky.

"Go, uh, in that room," she said, pointing to the main room they had entered through. "And you can't hurt me. Or talk."

He hesitated, but did what she ordered and stood in front of one of the desks. Gretchen couldn't tell if this was a trick or if he was just fooling her, but if she truly had control now was the time to take advantage of that.

"Uh, get on your knees and stay over there," she said nervously pointing to the ground.

Gottfried's ability to hesitate was diminishing. He tried to stay calm inside, but she was making more of a mess here than he ever had. Gretchen had found a leather bag and was quickly filling it with books and every labeled potion or powder she could get her hands on, knocking bottles and various contraptions on the floor.

A fur-lined cloak was lazily hanging off the single standing chair, which she took and immediately wrapped around herself. She snatched a long dagger, still neatly in its sheath. When she could not physically carry anymore, she saw the pink powder in the marble mortar and pestle. She picked it up and scooped up some of the powder on her fingers and put it in front of Gottfried's face. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have him as weak as possible, and hopefully for as long as possible.

"Lick it off," she commanded in an uneasy tone.

Gottfried's eye twitched but he leaned close and began to lick the powder off of her fingers. He cringed at the taste, all the while thinking, 'bite her fingers off, just bite them off.' But no matter how much he focused, he couldn't do anything but what she told him. He was present and conscious, but his body was not under his control anymore.

"You're just like a dog," she said condescendingly as he licked her fingers until they were clean of the powder.

The comment made his insides burn. It wasn't completely impossible to do a spell without having to verbalize it, but it was so wildly difficult he had never truly attempted it. He repeated words over and over in his head, screaming them on the inside, hoping something would help stop this.

When Gretchen was now sure he was not tricking her she pulled up the chair and sat down. She nudged his chest with her foot and ordered, "Rub my foot."

Gottfried lurched as he took her foot and gently started to rub with his fingers. He imagined himself crushing her toes and breaking her ankle into a thousand pieces.

Gretchen pulled out a map she had found tucked in one of the books and started to read it while Gottfried circled his fingers around her ankle. "I think I actually like you when you don't talk," she said, her eyes scouring the map. She could see now why It was so satisfying for him to treat her the way he did.

Gottfried couldn't answer, but there were quite a few things he wanted to say to her right now. When she finally told him to stop it was only to start rubbing her other foot, which made him infinitely more annoyed.

"Keep going up," she casually ordered, extending her leg further, keeping her eyes on the map. Gottfried managed to roll his eyes, but he moved his hands to her calf, squeezing and rubbing circles on her muscles gently.

Gottfried had a fleeting moment of panic when she didn't stop him from moving further up her inner thigh.

But it became obvious that's exactly what she wanted because she closed her eyes and sighed, slouching in her chair to inch closer. "Lick me here," she said, grasping a chunk of his hair and leading him between her legs.

'Nope. No. Fuck no. NO.' he screamed in his head, doing everything in his power to lean away as far as possible. But even if he'd had the ability to lean away, her grip on his hair was a little too forceful for his liking.

Gottfried managed to squeeze his eyes shut as his tongue brushed along her inner thigh, where he could taste a bit of moisture that had formed between her legs.

He was genuinely surprised at how aggressive she was. She was pulling his hair tightly to a painful extent, and she was nearly trapping him with her legs as his tongue circled around her tight opening.

"Keep going," she said, eyes half closed as she pulled him closer. Gottfried's tongue fluttered between her legs, running along her slit and tasting the fluids quickly escaping her. Gretchen's leg twitched and she gave a loud moan as his tongue dipped inside of her.