Dungeon Master 4

by Eric Vall

  We all stared at her in surprise. The entire time we had played, Carmedy was a sore loser, but this time around, she was close to winning, and she celebrated as she stuck out her tongue playfully at Rana over the tabletop. Morrigan glanced up from her cards, raised a long-fingernailed hand into the air, and pointed between Carmedy’s large eyes.

  “Idiot,” she declared as she lay down a card on top of Carmedy’s.

  “Wha-what?” the cat asked, and then she turned her head left and right to look into mine and Annalise’s faces with shock, “I’m n-not an idiot! Why would she say that? That’s so mean!”

  “According to the rules, that is what I was supposed to say,” the elf said plainly as she swiped two cards from the deck and offered them to Carmedy. “Take two cards and skip your turn.”

  The cat looked wildly across the table for support from her comrades, but Rana shook her head sadly and nodded towards the two cards Morrigan offered in her delicate, tattooed hand. Annalise shrugged and gave the cat an apologetic pat on the back but offered no words of comfort. In the end, Carmedy’s soft black ears lowered to her head, and she took the cards the elf held out to her.

  With the game continuing on, the alchemist played hard, trying to regain the lead she had prior, but it was all for nothing. To everyone’s surprise, Morrigan lay down a card, only one left in her hand, and declared with a prideful smirk.

  “One card.”

  I had two cards left, Rana three, Annalise two also, and Carmedy had picked up five as we went around. We were in the last stretch of the game, and it looked as if Morrigan was going to win. We all hunched over the table and gave each other steely, suspicious glances whenever our eyes met. Carmedy was biting her lip anxiously, and Rana’s red and white tail swished behind her back so quickly it was almost a blur. In the growing darkness around us as the sun set, the cat’s eyes began to flash and glow as she thought through each of her moves. Right before it was Morrigan’s turn, the win within her grasp, Annalise slammed down a nine with an evil grin.

  “Hearts, also, one card!” the swordswoman shouted gleefully.

  Morrigan huffed as she reached out and grabbed another card from the deck. Fea and Macha cawed noisily in protest from the elf’s shoulders, and Morrigan reached up and quieted them with a stroke of her finger as she whispered to them in her elvish language that none of us could understand. The fox-woman was next, and she lay down her card with a flap, her face constricted with concentration.

  “One card.” I smiled as I placed the seven of hearts on top of the pile.

  Carmedy’s expression soured from beside me, and she wriggled in her seat. The alchemist’s eyes flitted back and forth from her hand to the pile of cards on the table. She bit her lips and laid down the two of hearts on top, her hand now holding only four cards.

  Annalise sighed as she looked down at her last card and grabbed another from the deck. Then she looked pointedly over at Morrigan to signal the elf to take her turn. With a glint in her dark eyes, she lay down her second card, a black eight printed in the middle of the thick paper, and stared into my face with a pleased expression.

  “Spades, one card,” the elf purred as she rested her chin in her palm and blinked alluringly in my direction. She must have thought she had effectively deterred me.

  I laughed inwardly as I turned my head to her and lay my last card down on top of the others with a sickly-sweet smile, clearing my hand of all cards. Resting on top of the spent deck was the ace of spades. Morrigan’s mouth dropped open, Rana’s eyes widened, and Carmedy fumbled with her cards and scrambled to pick them up with a squeak. Annalise gave me an approving nod and smiled as she lay her one card face down on the tabletop.

  “Master wins,” the swordswoman said as she cleared the table of cards, and my minions handed over the rest of theirs.

  “Are we going to play again?” the cat asked cheerfully, and Annalise lifted her eyes to mine and waited for my decision.

  “Does everyone else want to?” I probed as I looked into their faces. Each woman, even Morrigan who hadn’t given any indication that she liked the game or not, nodded fervently. I smiled to Annalise, and with relish, she handed over the deck of cards and made me the dealer this time.

  We played until it was dark and the ship’s crew came around and lit lamps around the deck. The air turned deathly cold, and once we finished, we cleaned up our game and placed the barrels we had been sitting on back in their rightful place. The five of us headed off to bed together, and I remembered the times before when our party would pair off into separate rooms. It warmed my heart thinking we were no longer five different people on a single journey together, but instead a family moving as a unit, sleeping, eating, and living together in harmony.

  Our room on the ship was large, and the bed within was piled high with thick blankets and down pillows. Carmedy was the first to race in and jumped head first onto the bed, burrowing herself deep enough in that only the top of her head could be seen. Annalise laughed softly as she slipped out of her boots and coat, then slipped in beside the snuggled cat. I used my power to peel my heavy armor away but left my underclothes on as I walked to the opposite side of the bed. I slid in behind Carmedy and wrapped my arms around her small, soft form. Rana came next as she stripped out of her heavy coat and the dress underneath, then Morrigan’s slender form, dressed only in her gauzy slip as she pulled the blankets back and climbed in after.

  It took a few minutes for my minions to fall asleep, and I lay in the darkness and listened to the soft and comforting sounds they made. As usual, Rana and Carmedy were snoring, and occasionally, Annalise would shift in her sleep as a soft whimper would escape her lips. Morrigan was the only one of my minions who slept in complete silence. Once the elf woman found a comfortable spot, she’d nestle herself in and then lay there until morning.

  Long ago, while trapped in my dungeon, I dreaded sleep. There was no way to count the passage of time, and sleep only made the feeling of dysphoria worse. I would wake and have no idea if I had only slept for hours, or years. The only changes I saw around me were in the clothes and weapons new warriors carried while attempting to plunder my dungeon.

  I enjoyed sleeping now, even though my sleep was void and dreamless as it had always been. The only reason I loved it now was because I knew that when I laid down and when I woke up, I’d be surrounded by my devoted minions who never left my side. I closed my eyes and stroked one of Carmedy’s soft ears, and she purred deep in the back of her throat in her sleep. I smiled to myself as Rana’s paw snaked under my arm and rested against my chiseled chest, over my avatar’s beating heart. Then I slipped into slumber easily as I did most nights with each of the women I loved deeply settled in comfortably beside me.

  I woke to the soft sound of feet padding away, and I lifted my head and saw the swinging chestnut braid right as the door closed behind it. I looked towards the porthole on the curved metal hull and saw the sun hadn’t risen yet. I untangled myself from the mess of limbs and climbed over Carmedy’s sleeping form.

  The cat flipped over with her eyes tightly squeezed shut, pulled the blanket up to her chin and, still asleep, murmured crossly, “Hand over the cupcake and nobody gets hurt.”

  I chuckled to myself as I slipped into my boots and threw on my dark cloak. Then I snuck out the door with a backward glance at the women still fast asleep in our bed, and a small smile spread across my lips. I turned and headed down the door-lined hall and then up the steps to the deck. The stars were brightly burning in the sky, and there was a loud crunching coming from over the side of the ship. I turned my head, my breath rising into the air as I searched for my high queen. She was nowhere to be found on deck, and panic rose in my throat as I searched even more feverishly. As I came down from the bow and passed our captain who gave me a friendly tip of his hat, I heard her laughter from somewhere.

  I calmed myself and listened to the steady beat of her heart, the heart that wholly belonged to me. She was a clever woman, and I leaned my head b
ack and craned my neck, and as I looked, her beautiful face peeked over the edge of the crow’s nest. She gave me a jaunty wave with a smirk. Her legs hung through the metal rungs of the nest and swung out underneath her. I grabbed the handholds on the mast and made my way up to the high queen waiting above. The air was colder the higher I went, but somehow it was still refreshing. When I reached the top, I sat down next to Annalise and pulled the swordswoman close to my side.

  “Come here often?” she joked into my ear, and the warmth of her breath tickled the flesh of my neck.

  “Only when gorgeous queens are hanging out up here,” I kidded back, and she giggled softly into my cloak. “Why are you up here, by the way?”

  “I wanted to see the sky,” the swordswoman whispered as she gestured to the millions of pinpricks of light hanging above our heads. “I feel like I haven’t looked at it in such a long time. We’ve spent so much time underground lately. I started to miss the open sky and the blinking light of the stars. Plus, laying next to Carmedy is like sleeping beside a blazing fireplace. I just need to cool myself down for a bit.”

  “Ah,” I said as I tilted my head back and enjoyed the view above. “Does it get annoying being cramped together like that? I can see about us getting separate rooms when we get to Machstein.”

  “No, I don’t mind it, but I would like some private time every once in a while, just you and I,” she admitted as she too leaned back and stared up at the stars.

  “Annalise,” I murmured as I took her hand, placed it into my lap, and cupped it between both of my much larger hands, “I don’t think I’ve ever asked any of you this, but how did you meet? When I met all of you, you were already an adventuring party, but how did you all come together?”

  The high queen smiled widely and nodded, and then her fingers intertwined with mine as she started to tell me the story of how all of my minions came to be. “I met Rana first. When I escaped Tamarisch, I stowed away on a ship and went as far south as it would take me. They found me hiding among the boxes and trunks they were transporting and threw me out in this teeny-tiny town called Edenborough. I only had a little money and the clothes on my back. I spent about two weeks inside the hull of the ship, and when I came out, I looked similar to a drowned rat.”

  She snorted a little and then went on. “To make things worse, any place that I tried to rent a room from turned me away because of how terrible I looked. I wandered around for a few days, bought some measly supplies, and camped out in the woods. It was midsummer, and there was a small stream I found and was able to wash myself up in. I stayed in the woods for about a month. Thankfully, I had my unnamed sword and was able to hunt for most of my meals. One day, I went back into town and was shopping at a local bazaar when a fight broke out in the middle of the street. One of the vendors was accusing someone of stealing.”

  “Rana,” I breathed through a grin, and the name floated upwards on a cloud of condensation.

  Annalise bobbed her head slowly as she pulled her hood up against the cold. “She was scruffier looking then and a lot meaner, but watching her lay in the dirt as three men beat the crap out of her … I couldn’t take it. I drew my sword and just bounded into the group, brandishing it at people left and right. I had no idea what I was doing. I’d been trained to fight but had never actually been in one. I grabbed Rana by the back of her shirt and hauled ass out of there. At that time, I was terrified of being caught by anyone, so I wore this long brown cloak and a face covering whenever I went into town. So, I looked like some crazy masked woman as I worked my way along through this huge crowd of people, wielding a sword towards anyone who dared come near while dragging a kicking and screaming fox-woman behind me.”

  Annalise giggled to herself as she rocked forward and placed her hands over her mouth for a second. She let them fall away as she leaned in closer to my face and tittered.

  “Poor Rana, I never realized how terrifying it must have been for her. She must have thought I was a kidnapper or something. I finally got out of the crowd, and I’m just lugging her behind me. Mind you, Rana was trying to break free this entire time. She’s scratching at me and trying to grab onto passing carts and wagons, but thankfully, I kept a pretty good hold on her. I just ran as fast as I could through town and brought her to my camp. Do you know what she did? It’s so Rana it’s not even funny.”

  “Knowing Rana, I bet she tried to punch you.” I chuckled as I ran my thumb over the back of her hand, and my eyes moved over her lovely face in the darkness.

  “She tried to kick my feet out from underneath me, and when I dodged, she tried to bludgeon me with my cast iron skillet.” She laughed softly from beside me and turned to look out at the water as it reflected the almost full moon.

  “What did you do to calm her down?” I asked as I leaned back against the cold mast.

  “Well, first, I removed my mask and sheathed my sword,” Annalise answered, “then I held up my hands to her, showing that I meant no harm. We circled each other for a long time, Rana still throwing punches any chance she got, and me actively avoiding them while not striking out at her. But I quickly got tired of it, and the next time she came at me, I grabbed her and pinned her to the ground. This entire time, she was hurling curses and threatening to kill me when she got loose.”

  She shook her head as her brown braid danced in the wind. “I remember being so agitated. I saved this girl’s ass and had shown her I wasn’t going to hurt her, and she was still trying to attack me! Finally, she realized I had her trapped, and she couldn’t move her arms or legs. She was huffing and puffing below me, and it gave me some time to speak as she caught her breath. I wish I could tell you I spoke to her calmly, but the truth is I was screaming at her. I was so angry, I told her I was just trying to help, and that was no way you should treat someone who saved you from being murdered in the street. She looked up at me with those big blue eyes, and we just stared at each other furiously for a few passing seconds. I continued to explain the situation, and she stayed completely still the entire time as she listened. I was able to get her to calm down, and then I rolled off her and offered a truce. I wouldn’t say Rana and I were instant friends, it’s certainly not like how we are now, but we slowly warmed up to each other.”

  “And Carmedy?” I inquired.

  Annalise rested her head on my shoulder, and her eyes glassed over wistfully as she recalled it all.

  “We were in a tavern getting something to eat before we headed out again. There was a loud commotion at the bar, and Rana and I went to see what was going on,” Annalise told me, her voice light with happiness. “Carmedy had eaten four pies in five minutes and didn’t have enough money to pay. These two big men were holding her by the wrists and jerking her around like she was a ragdoll. I had some extra coin and paid the men off. We thought that was it and went to leave, and this black cat covered in pie filling follows us out, introduces herself, and asks us if she can come along, doesn’t matter where we’re going, just as long as it was fun. It wasn’t like we adopted Carmedy, Carmedy adopted us. The party was a lot more fun with her around. She brought a lot of innocent fun into the group that wasn’t there before. I’d say Rana and I are fairly serious people, Carmedy brought so much laughter with her when she joined.”

  “What about Morrigan?” I asked then.

  “She was so afraid, Master,” Annalise said with furrowed brows as her face grew more serious. “We found her in the mountains not far from where the High Elves reside. She was living in a cave. We had been traveling through the forest when it suddenly started downpouring rain. We scrambled up the foothill and found the cave mouth. I had hoped the rain would end soon, but it didn’t so we decided to stay the night. We lay down for bed around our campfire, and next thing we know, there are two big, black ravens circling our heads and taking turns diving down to peck at us with their sharp beaks.”

  The high queen quirked an odd smile. “We managed to fight them off by throwing rocks and stones at them then they suddenly flew off down the
cave. We’re sitting there, laughing it off as some strange occurrence, and right as we’re about to try and go back to bed, Morrigan appears out of the dark with two pitch black ravens sitting on her shoulders. It was so scary, I’m pretty sure Carmedy peed herself in fear. So, this elf didn’t speak, not to us at least. She came at us, and I drew my sword and Rana had her fists raised, but she ran right past us to the nearly empty skillet from dinner and started scarfing down our leftovers.”

  “She was hungry?” I inquired, and Annalise’s lips set into a thin line.

  “She was starving. She’d been kicked out and didn’t know how to live on her own. She was surviving on mushrooms that grew in the cave, and nuts and berries Fea and Macha would bring to her. We cooked up almost everything we had in our packs, and she just stuffed it all in. She never spoke to us, not until we packed up to leave the next day. She asked me where we were going and what we were doing. I explained to her we were adventurers searching for gold and dungeons to conquer. To all of our surprise, she asked if she could join us.”

  “And?” I asked.

  She glanced at me, a smile twitching at the corners of her lips. “Rana and I sort of glanced at each other. We both were uneasy about allowing this creepy woman to come along, but you know who shouted yes and hugged Morrigan excitedly? Carmedy, of course.” Annalise sat back against the mast, and our shoulders pressed into each other. “That’s how we all came together. It was a bit weird in the beginning, we were only four women who barely knew each other, traveling all over the country searching for treasure. But if we hadn’t come together, we wouldn’t have found that dungeon, and we wouldn’t have found you, Master.”