Now I’ll just drip some more here...and another like this.
A few minutes later and I draw a large circle around everything I’ve drawn.
Everyone is quiet. Good.
“Hand me your spears,” I order a pair of goblins. They hand me their spears without hesitation. Now I turn to Leo and Cassandra.
“What are you going to do?” Leo asks.
“I need some blood,” I say.
“Monster!” Katie yells.
I slice into Leo’s arm. He grimaces. That should be enough blood on the spear. I carefully set it down and do the same to Cassandra. She grimaces as well, despite the brave face she has on. It doesn’t really matter how brave you are, or pretend to be, having someone slice into your arm hurts.
There. I reach into my pocket and grab the other ingredients. It is all here! I’m doing it! I’m actually doing it!
Get a hold of yourself Vivian. You’re doing it, you haven’t done it. Combine everything right, just like you memorized. There. That’s good. Oh, when I added the virgin blood it started to glow this bright white light. Oh...I am so excited! My heart is racing. Even my hands are shaking a little. Deep breath. Deep breath. There.
I kneel before the sigil, because demons like it when you suck them off, metaphorically anyway. And to gain this power I’m not above kneeling.
“Oh mighty Altazan, keeper of greed, watcher of deeds, please grant unto me your boon to this worthy soul, now and forever more. I offer you this pittance, these trinkets of glories and of missed opportunities, to revel in, to bathe in, and to do with what you will. Will you accept these and grant to me your power?”
Nothing is happening. Did I do it correctly? Did I forget something?
Wow! The whole sigil started to glow. The items I placed inside of it disappear and I’m engulfed in this light! Oh, I feel...euphoric! I’ve never been happier! This is true glory!
The light fades and the euphoria along with it. Did it work?
Only one way to find out. I summon a steel short blade on the ground.
It summoned! I summoned it! It is right there!
“Take that,” I command a goblin. The closest goblin picks it up.
“For me?” it asks.
“Yes. And there will be more. Even...” I summon a table and, what should I put on it? Oh, pastries! Goblins like sweets.
“Pastries for you.” I summon a few more tables. “Eat! And then I will need you to show me to your prison.”
I snap my fingers and wave Gerald and Katie over.
“This isn’t over. Once you free us we will speak of what you’ve done and your reign will be at an end...”
Now there is an idea...I summon a sharp little stiletto behind Katie...
“...there will be no force that can stop us! This is just a small victory in a larger war...”
I telekinetically let the dagger fly upwards to where I think her ass should be...
“Ahhh!” Katie yells.
And once that mouth of hers is open wide enough I summon a long pastry and shove it right in.
“Ummphh!” Katie says.
“What was that?” I ask.
“Mmpph, mmpph, mmmphh!” Katie says, trying to eat that whole pastry. She has too much in her mouth, poor thing. She can’t speak.
“I didn’t make that out. Can you repeat it?” I ask.
“Mmmuph uuuph,” Katie says.
“Sorry, not getting it,” I say. “Now, while they enjoy things, let’s get these three in their cells.”
“And the caster?” a goblin asks.
“Cassandra? I have some runes that will lock up magic.”
Cassandra looks at me, wondering what I plan on doing. What am I planning? I could just make a mage cell. Or...
“Are you familiar with chaos runes?” I ask.
She looks shocked.
“You wouldn’t,” Cassandra says.
“Oh, I would,” I say.
She looks annoyed. Chaos runes turn magical energies into, random things; sometimes harmless, sometimes not, usually not permanent. So while Cassandra might want to cast a fireball, it might turn her skin green. Or turn her into a dwarf. Or paralyze her. Her make her shit herself suddenly. Or plaster the cell with mud. Needless to say, her stay can quickly become very unpleasant.
“I expect all the red sashes you can muster to watch over them. I’ll send food down to them, but they are to be alive, in one piece, and in their cells,” I say.
“Yes highness.”
“Oh, and you can heal their injuries before they are put in their cells,” I say to Gerald.
Katie is trying to glower at me but she has frosting all over her mouth so she looks silly and I can’t help but laugh.
“I trust that you will be able to stay upstairs without any manacles or chains,” I say to Gerald as he walks to Katie to heal her. She just stands there sullen while he heals her of her injuries.
“I will not attempt escape or rescue of the others,” Gerald says.
“That is fine with me,” Cassandra says.
Oh, the wizard is being kind to Gerald.
“Thank you,” Gerald says as he walks over to Cassandra and heals her.
“I do not think less of you for your decisions. We are, after all, heroes,” Cassandra says with a smile.
Aww, they’ve made up. The priest then walks over to Leo and Leo just stands there, emotionless. He seems torn; on one hand his noble spirit agrees with Gerald. On the other hand it led to their imprisonment. Oh well. I may not have split the party for good, but I drove some distrust between Katie and Gerald.
“You may join us as they enter their cells,” I tell Gerald.
“I would like that,” Gerald says. “To make sure they are treated well.”
“Oh, I have no problem treating them well. But the moment they try to escape, and I will have fun with them,” I say, smiling.
The heroes all look at me, defeated. They are partly angry and partly depressed. They say nothing as I start to lead them to their cells.
I wonder what I’ll have for dinner. Fish? Steak? Wine? Brandy? Rum? Everything? Oh, this has been a good day. Best birthday ever.
The Goblin Queen and the Sigil of Altazan (The League of Sinister Means Book 2) Page 32
