Second Skin Omnibus

by M Damon Baker

Sufficiently chagrinned, we advanced slowly, even more alert for the presence of any traps or other devices, and not to our surprise, we found several, carefully disarming each as we went. They were all well beyond my ability to handle, but Khorim patiently described every step of the process to me as he dismantled them.

  After clearing the last trap, we were faced with the entrance to a small cavern, and taking another look at my map showed that the dot lay just a short distance inside the cave’s entrance—we had arrived at our destination.

  There was no telling what she might have waiting for us if we entered the cavern, so rather than go in after her, we decided to try and draw the Defiler out. Before doing so, I set my own traps just outside the cave, and approaching as close as I could, I cast two traps across the cave’s entrance. I dared not get too close, so we would need to draw her out a little bit farther for the traps to activate, but it was the best I could do without taking too much risk. With my traps laid, we arranged ourselves in anticipation of our fight with the Defiler.

  Broda, Stel, and Venna formed an obvious line for the Defiler to focus on, and once she had engaged with the heavily armored trio, Tási and I would join in the attack from both sides. Khorim would attempt a sneak attack from behind once she came out and he was able to find an angle. We took up our positions and Tási kicked off our ambush by sending a ball of fire into the mouth of the cave.

  I had watched the halfling sling bolts of fire before, but this one was much larger than anything I had seen her cast. The ball of flame shot through the cavern entrance and then exploded with a thundering boom. Even though I was temporarily blinded by the flash of light, I could still hear the bitter screams of pain and rage that echoed from inside the Defiler’s haunt.

  Without warning, an arrow shot out from the dark cave, taking Stel in the shoulder. The force of the impact spun him to the ground, and he remained there—still alive, but clearly stunned by the powerful force of the blow. There was no time to help him, as more arrows immediately came shooting out of the dark at us. Venna and Broda managed to dodge out of the way, and the arrows shot into the forest with such force that the trees vibrated with every impact.

  With her targets hidden from her gaze, the Defiler finally emerged from the darkness to continue her assault. Even with my Enhanced Sight, my eyes had been unable to penetrate the distant darkness inside the cavern, but then, as the Defiler stepped out under the night sky, I saw her clearly for the first time.

  She was obviously older than me, but by how much I could not be certain. The passing years and the harsh path she’d chosen for herself had laid waste to her body. Her pale skin contrasted sharply with her filthy, matted hair that appeared dark, but could have been any color beneath its thick layers of dirt. She wore black leathers, much like my own, but they were in a terrible state of disrepair; her isolated life had clearly not afforded her the opportunity to have them mended. Although I saw no blades on her in that brief moment, she carried her bow like a trained marksman, drawing and nocking arrows with incredible speed.

  In some ways, I almost felt she was my mirror image, a stark reminder of what might happen should I let the day be eclipsed by night, as the Dryad had cautioned. The thought gave me a slight moment of pause before I discarded the useless musing, and nocking my own arrow, I took aim and waited for her to step just a little bit farther out and into the confines of my trap before I revealed my presence to her.

  As I sighted in on her, she turned more quickly than I would have thought possible and made a gesture at Venna. The Defiler had cast a Spell of some sort and it struck Venna, causing her to shriek out in pain and collapse to the ground. Her tortured screams tore through my soul; I wanted to run to her aid, but we needed to win this fight first, and if I left my position to help Venna now, I would become a target, and the Defiler might kill us all. It pained me to do so, to stand by and listen while Venna suffered, but I remained where I was, waiting for my one shot, just as we had planned.

  The Defiler caught sight of Tási next and seemed to recognize the Evoker as the one who had caused her so much pain. Tási tried to dart aside from the Defiler’s attack, but a series of sharp stone spikes shot out from the ground, gouging a line of deep furrows across the halfling’s thigh. The attack sent her sprawling to the ground, and the echoes of Tási’s pained cries joined with Venna’s, ringing in my ears and fueling my rising anger.

  The Defiler was clearly far stronger than we’d anticipated, and she obviously had the upper hand. At least three of my friends were down, and for all I knew, Broda might have been injured as well since I could not locate her amidst all the chaos. I knew that Khorim was desperately trying to sneak up on the Defiler, but I feared his attack might come too late—I needed her to step out just a bit, just a few more steps, and she would be in my trap. Then we would have her.

  None of my injured friends could withstand another of her attacks, so in an act of desperation, I stepped out from behind my cover, revealing my presence to her. I fired a shot quickly, but she deftly sidestepped my arrow and it flew harmlessly past her. With a wicked grin, she drew back and aimed her own arrow at me. I knew that when she released that shaft, it would be the end of me—she had me in her sights and I would not escape her deadly aim.

  But escape had not been my plan; maneuvering had been my only goal. As the Defiler stepped into her stance, her foot entered the faint red outline of my trap’s borders.

  The jolt of the vines shooting out of the ground sent her arrow wide and in seconds, she was ensnared by the grasping tendrils of my snare. Not wanting to give her a second of reprieve, I began to pepper her with arrows.

  I imbued my first shot with Stun, and I knew that if she resisted its effects, my job would only be harder. Luckily, the arrow rendered her unable to move, and the vines only tightened their grip around her immobile body.

  Then I hit her with everything I had, stacking Blood Price and even hitting her with a Penetrator shot, and when her health bar was down to a mere sliver, I sent a final Swarm arrow into her chest and watched as the light flickered out of her eyes. She had not died easily, but now that the Defiler was done, I rushed to aid Venna, who had seemed to suffer the worst injury of all.

  Tási was by Venna’s side when I got there. The halfling had already tended to her own wounds and was now aiding her mentor. Stel was there as well, the arrow still protruding from his shoulder seeming to cause him less concern than his wife’s continued misery. Broda stood nearby with an arrow stuck in her leg as well, and as much as I wanted to help Venna, Tási was already tending her, so I turned my attention to Stel instead.

  He never took his eyes from Venna as I gently guided him down to the ground. I warned him when it came time to pull out the arrow, but he only grunted his assent, never averting his gaze. The arrow came out with a sick, wet ‘pop’ and Stel nearly passed out from the pain. His face grew pale, but he fought to remain conscious. I would have preferred he fade out and avoid the pain, but I knew he would rather stay there with Venna, regardless of the price, so, I placed a crystal against his torn shoulder and crushed it into his skin. The powerful magic began to take effect immediately and the deep hole in his body slowly knitted itself back together. When Stel tried to stand up again, I pushed him back down.

  “Two minutes,” I begged him softly. “Just give yourself two minutes.”

  His eyes met mine and I felt his anger at me. Stel wanted nothing more than to be by Venna’s side, and I was standing in his way, but the moment passed quickly, and his gazed softened. Stel was no fool, and despite the intense emotions involved, he knew I was right—he had no additional healing to offer her, and Tási was already taking care of that anyway. Venna would best be served by having her husband whole and hearty once more.

  Before leaving, I gave Stel an extra healing potion and went to check on Broda’s condition. Tási was still busy with Venna, and although I was concerned with how long it was taking, I knew that she was in good hands.

  Broda bein
g Broda, she had already removed the arrow from her leg when I arrived at her side and was looking at me with an impatient glare.

  “Sorry, am I too late?” I teased her.

  “Just do your thing,” she grumbled as a reply.

  I administered a crystal to Broda, and once her wound had closed, left her with an extra potion just as I had with Stel.

  I became concerned when I noticed that Tási was still hovering over Venna, while Stel peered over her shoulder with an obvious look of concern on his face. I rushed to Venna’s side and sat down opposite Tási while she worked.

  “How can I help?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”

  “Whatever the Defiler did to me, we cannot stop it,” Venna said in short, pained gasps.

  “We are just barely holding the effects at bay,” Tási added, her own voice weak from exertion. “She’s used all her Aura and I can only do a little more before mine is gone as well.”

  I still had the purple crystals and I offered them to her.

  “Good idea, but they won’t provide enough to make a difference,” Tási replied. “The spells I’m using draw constantly on my Aura, the crystal’s effects will not be able to keep up.”

  “I’m going to have to ask you to do something that you are not going to want to do,” Tási said firmly. “But you’re going to do it anyway.”

  “What do you need from me?”

  “Come over here and sit behind me,” Tási instructed.

  “I need your Aura. Without it, Venna will die. Whatever it is that the Defiler has done to her is corrupting her body; it’s like the plague, only far stronger, and if she dies from this corruption, you will be unable to bring her back. Do you understand?”

  “What about the antidote?” Stel asked from behind me.

  “She has already taken it,” Tási said. “It had no effect.”

  “I need your Aura, Dreya—I need it to save Venna’s life. Will you give it to me?”

  “Of course! Tell me what I need to do,” I answered without hesitation.

  “I need you to place your hands on me, on my lower back, one on either side of my spine. That is where the Aura will flow best. Once you have done that, just focus on letting your Aura flow, I will be able to do the rest.”

  Tási reached behind her body and opened a small clasp in the back of her robes, allowing me to reach inside them.

  “Do it,” Tási commanded.

  “You don’t understand—”

  “I understand that Venna will die if you don’t!” Tási shouted.

  Despite my intense misgivings, and near sense of panic, whatever might happen, that was the one outcome that I simply would not—could not—accept.

  “This will be difficult for both of us,” I said to my friends gathered around. “Please allow us some privacy, I don’t know how either of us may react under these circumstances.”

  “Come Stel,” Broda urged as she guided him away. “Let them work.”

  When they’d left us, I reluctantly did as Tási had asked.

  “I’m sorry, Tási,” I said as I placed my shaking hands on her back.

  She shuddered immediately as I laid my hands on her soft skin. I felt her muscles tense under my fingers as the warmth of her flowed back into me, filling my body with the electric thrill that always accompanied such delicate contact.

  To her credit, Tási worked through the intense experience, though I could feel her shiver as she continued to respond to my touch. Hesitating, I did as Tási instructed and focused my thoughts on letting my Aura flow into her, feeding her from my own magic reserves.

  She fumbled her words for a moment as I felt the flow of energy begin. The raw sensations I felt coming from Tási increased, and I sucked in a deep breath in shock as the powerful waves coursed through me, barely managing to regain myself as my body slowly adjusted to the flow of pure energy.

  I could feel Tási as she trembled beneath my hands. Her body was slick with sweat, and she shuddered periodically as the overwhelming waves of energy and intimate sensations continuously coursed through her.

  I cannot say how long we remained that way. It felt like hours but was perhaps only a few minutes. Eventually, the incredible burden took its toll on Tási, and with a final gasp, she collapsed to the ground in a small heap.

  I wasn’t much better off myself—the whole process was extremely draining, unlike anything else I had experienced. The feeling of having my Aura siphoned off left me dazed and exhausted, and it took a while for me to regain my focus.

  When the fog finally lifted, I was immediately gripped by the fear that we had failed, that our efforts had not lasted long enough to withstand the effect of the Defiler’s magic.

  Looking at Venna, I was relieved to see that she seemed to be recovered. When we’d begun, Venna appeared much like one of the early plague victims—weak and sick and progressively getting worse. But now, instead of the sickly, ashen look she’d had before, Venna seemed quiet, almost peaceful, and without a hint of the pain and disease that had wracked her body before. Reassured, I turned to check on Tási and was taken aback by what I had done to the poor woman.

  She lay there on the ground, drenched, almost as if she’d been dropped in a river. Her face was pale, and she shivered in the cold night air. In a panic, I called out to my friends for help, and they rushed to our side.

  “Stel, Khorim, take Venna back to the wagon and make her comfortable,” I ordered franticly. “Broda, help me get her out of these clothes and into something warm and dry!”

  The men lifted Venna up carefully while Broda and I rummaged through Tási’s pack searching for spare clothes. We found another set of robes and a pile of cloths she kept for tending wounds and set about removing her drenched outfit.

  Tási’s boots came off with a wet ‘slosh,’ and I couldn’t help but be amazed at the sheer volume of water her body had lost. We quickly removed her soaked robes and undergarments and began blotting her skin dry with the bandages.

  We worked quickly to dry her off before getting her into a fresh set of clothes, and Broda, sensing my guilt over what had happened, tried to break the tension.

  “Would never have thought the little thing could hide so much under those robes,” Broda joked.

  I couldn’t help but agree—Broda’s comment wasn’t far off.

  Although she had a pretty face, I had never been able to tell much about her body. Tási’s robes were a nearly shapeless mass of flowing folds, giving away no clues about what lay underneath. But now, with her laid out before us, I saw what those robes had been concealing.

  Tási body seemed to flow in a succession of perfect curves, each one melding seamlessly into the next like a series of gentle waves. She had a petite hourglass form with lush hips, and the glistening skin of her firm breasts rose from her chest in two perfect spheres. From head to toe, Tási’s body was a series of flawlessly smooth skin, flowing in graceful arcs.

  I couldn’t help but admire her figure as I worked to dry her off, carefully padding her skin with the soft cloths. I tried my best to keep from touching her but couldn’t avoid occasionally brushing against her skin as I wiped the sweat from her body. I winced as on each occasion a soft moan escaped her, and her body would shiver yet again. Once she was finally dry, I took a moment to put on my gloves before dressing her—there was no way I could avoid contact while we worked to put clothes on Tási’s limp body and, unconscious or not, I was unwilling to inflict any more harm on her.

  When we had her in a clean set of clothes, Broda wrapped Tási in a spare blanket. Lifting her limp form off the ground, I cradled Tási in my arms and started walking back towards the wagon. Khorim met us on the way and guided us to where Stel had driven the wagon. The two men had gotten Venna safely tucked away in the bed of the wagon and then decided to bring it closer to us, guiding the wagon carefully through the trees as they approached the scene of our battle.

  We nestle Tási in the wagon’s bed and draped her with another blanket, and I couldn�
��t help but feel a terrible sense of guilt looking down on the poor halfling as she lay there, wondering just how much damage I had done to her. Broda seemed to notice and once again rescued me from my dark musings.

  “Let her rest,” she whispered quietly. “We’ve done all we can for now. Come help me look for anything worth salvaging.”

  She was right of course. There really wasn’t anything else we could do for either Tási or Venna at that moment, but the torments they had both endured were over, and the rest was up to them. All we could do then was wait for each of them to recover. Reluctantly, I let Broda lead me away while Stel and Khorim stood watch over the wagon. When we arrived at the scene of the battle, Broda stepped aside, taking up a watch position and indicating for me to begin the search.

  The Defiler’s body still lay in a jumbled heap where it had fallen to the ground, and I was struck again by just how much she remined me of myself. Her body lay face down on the ground, and I refused to turn her over—I had no desire to see her dead eyes, fearing what I might discover when I looked into them. With the bow still clutched in her frozen hands and her darkened hair and armor, her image was close enough to my own that I was already unnerved. Instead, I simply stepped over to her corpse, pressed my hand against her leg, and called up the loot menu.

  Only three items appeared, but all were tinged with a light blue glow, indicating the presence of magic. One was, of course, the token I had been searching for and the other two were her bow and the entire set of her armor. Stowing it all away for later inspection, I left the Defiler’s body where it lay and followed Broda into the cavern.

  There was little to be seen inside the small cave. The bedding where the Defiler had been sleeping was piled in one dark corner, and the only other object was a backpack lying at the foot of her makeshift bed. Ignoring the pile of blankets, I snatched up the backpack and quickly left the confines of the dark cave. Once outside in the fresh air, I opened the pack to examine its contents.

  Most of its contents were basic sundry items: fire making tools, random equipment, and the like. I discarded those items, tossing them carelessly on top of the Defiler’s corpse. I wanted to retain as few of her tainted possessions as possible, keeping only those items that could be turned to some redeeming purpose, which left me with very little once I’d discarded the rest.