by Des Pensable
‘Submit, you are beaten,’ he said into her mind.
‘No. I won’t allow you to win this way,’ she hissed at him.
‘You have no choice,’ and he squeezed her throat, choking her.
‘If you kill me, Miranda will never find out how to remove the tattoo,’ she replied.
‘Then if you love Miranda, you will submit,’ he said.
She hesitated, considered his words, then purred.
‘I submit, My Lord. You have me,’ and she let him take control of her mind and body.
Aquitain didn’t feel he had won the mental domination contest fairly by physically dominating her as well, but the outcome was the same. Queen Snowbelle was now mentally under his complete control and at his mercy.
He quickly released his grip around her throat and moved back from her, ordering her to change back to her nymph form and kneel before him.
‘Where is Miranda?’ he demanded.
‘She was in her private retreat which is inside the crack at the ledge on the south side of the gully wall, last time I checked earlier this morning, My Lord.’
‘Why did you attack me?’ he asked.
‘Because it was necessary before you could find out the other conditions to lift Miranda’s curse, My Lord.’
‘I thought it was you that had the chastity binding placed upon her,’ he said, a little confused.
‘It was, My Lord, but the Lady strengthened it and placed the conditions upon it,’ she replied.
‘Tell me the conditions,’ he commanded.
‘The first condition was that you must dominate me and you have succeeded, My Lord.
‘The second condition is that the curse can only be lifted by one of the same blood as Miranda.
‘The third condition is that he must be a king among your kind, My Lord.’
‘Well at least I did one of them,’ he thought.
‘I’ll release you if you agree to stop attacking me and calling me your Lord. My name is Aquitain.’
‘I agree,’ she said submissively, and he released the mental domination, freeing her body and her will.
She stood, and looking very unhappy turned her back on him, then called out a few arcane words and the gateway opened. She darted through and it closed behind her.
‘By the Powers, what’s a permanent gateway doing here?’ he thought.
**
Miranda flew back to the gully. The afternoon breeze had blown up and it was quite gusty. She had only been gone about ten minutes, and had scoured all the ravines leading to the gully. The exercise had loosened her tight muscle and she felt a little better, since he wasn’t anywhere close. She would continue waiting near the entrance to the gully, and concentrate on staying calm.
She landed at the entrance to the gully and immediately after changing to her newman form smelt a foul odour coming from further down the gully. She walked a few paces to get a better view, and noticed two large black and brown bear-like bodies near the edge of the southern wall about two hundred paces away. With her heart in her mouth she sprinted towards them to have a closer look, and as she drew closer recognised them as owlbears.
She carefully examined their bodies, noting the type of damage and the cause of death. Without a doubt, a bear had mauled both. She saw bloody footprints leading to the water and wet footprints coming out, leading to the cave under the waterfall. Her heart almost stopped and her mind froze for a few moments, then she screamed ‘No. Mother not this time!’ and she took off in fury for the fight of her life.
She burst through the waterfall into the cave and ran smack into the back of Aquitain, who was sitting still looking at the wall where the gateway had been. He swung around ready to attack whatever had attacked him, only to find Miranda on the ground.
‘By the Powers, Mandy you gave me a fright. I thought your mother was up to no good again.’
Miranda rose to her feet and smelt the female bear perfume in the air, and knew exactly what its effect was likely to have had on him.
‘Aquitain, what have you done?’ she said in a very accusing tone.
From her body language and her tone of voice he was under no illusion about what she was thinking.
‘Trust me Miranda, not what you’re thinking. Come outside and cool off in the stream, and then I’ll tell you what happened.’
As they left the cave and waded into the cold water under the cascade, Aquitain suddenly remembered that Alpha hadn’t said anything for a while. It hadn’t even welcomed Miranda, so he asked it why.
‘This woman will be the death of you,’ said Alpha.
‘Perhaps and perhaps not,’ he said. ‘But it will be damn interesting to find out!’
Chapter 26 Travelling
The ice-cold water quickly dampened any residual feelings that Aquitain had from the encounter with Snowbelle, and calmed Miranda a little. He knew that she wouldn’t let up until he told her every detail of the fight, and the cold water helped both of them keep a calm perspective on what had happened. In the end when he told her how he had used her mother’s strategy of sexual pleasure followed quickly by a domination attack, Miranda suddenly saw the irony of it and laughed with amusement, waded over to him and cuddled him around his huge furry neck.
Her whole attitude towards him changed again. There was no more doubt. He wasn’t just a brave young man in a bear suit; he was her hero this time. He had won three battles today, the owlbears, her mother and her heart. There were only two things she needed to find out. What did her mother tell him about her cursed tattoo? And when could he remove it?
‘After you dominated my mother, what did she say?’ asked Miranda.
‘Not a great deal,’ said Aquitain.
‘Did you ask her anything?’
‘Yes,’ said Aquitain.
‘What did you ask her?’ said Miranda, becoming annoyed.
‘General questions,’ Aquitain demurred, walking out of the cold water and trying to draw Miranda’s agony out a little longer. She followed him out of the water and walked beside him.
‘What sort of general questions?’ she asked impatiently.
‘You know, questions like how long has she lived here and where the gateway goes, and stuff like that.’
Miranda screamed and punched him in the shoulder.
‘Stop it. This is what I hate about you. You’re so bloody frustrating. Tell me what she said!’
‘Oh, what’s this, a temper tantrum from the princess?’ said Aquitain.
‘You’re playing with fire, bear! Be very careful!’ she warned in a very aggressive tone of voice.
Aquitain knew that he had gone far enough. Anymore and she’d explode.
‘Well, she did say some things about your chastity tattoo. It seems that the Lady has put three conditions on its removal.’
‘And what are they?’ she asked, hardly daring to breathe.
‘Firstly, the person that lifts the tattoo must overcome your mother in a mind battle, and I have managed to do that.’
‘Secondly the person must be of the same blood. And the third is perhaps too dangerous for you to know at the moment.’
‘What do you mean too dangerous for me to know!’ she exploded. ‘If you know, why shouldn’t I know?’
‘For the same reason your mother wouldn’t tell you. It could damage your relationship with her, and I don’t want that. Even now I’m guessing that she has locked you out of the gateway to your home.’
‘What? You’re joking, she would never do that!’ But just to convince herself she went into the cave under the waterfall and tried to open the gateway to find it no longer opened for her. She walked out of the cave with tears in her eyes.
‘I can’t believe it she’s locked me out and the Crin locked me out as well. It’s all your fault! I’m homeless, all because of you. The Cat Mother was right – you are an Agent of Chaos,’ she said tearfully.
‘I’m sorry Mandy. I never wanted any of this to happen. I still don’t feel like an Agent of Chaos. All I
ever try to do is the right thing. It’s just that my right thing seems to affect everyone around me. I didn’t put the conditions on your chastity belt. I just found out what they were for you. If you want I’ll leave,’ he said sadly.
‘No,’ she said, and hugged him around the neck.
‘Don’t leave. You’re right. You haven’t caused any of these problems. Other people have and I’m beginning to think what you said about the gods using us to do things might well be right. It couldn’t be much plainer. If the Lady put that cursed tattoo on me it’s for a reason that I don’t yet understand, and now I’m homeless like you. It looks like it’s you and me now. That is, if you want me to come with you.’
‘Of course I do Mandy. You’re the best friend I have in this world, and I owe you my life. Besides we’ve got to give the cat people their treasures back, and find both of our fathers yet. How can I do that without your help?’
‘You’re right Tain, let’s see what the gods have got in store for us; and if they want us to sow chaos then chaos they will have. The cat people live about twenty leagues to the north of us. If I flew there, is there any way that you could teleport to me? That would save us a long walk,’ suggested Miranda.
‘Now you’re starting to think like a wizard, Mandy. Never walk when you can teleport. If you fly there with Alpha I can use it as a teleport marker and teleport there. However, I’ll have to borrow your teleport ring, as the assassin took mine, as well as everything else. That was a big mistake. I know all those power crystals that he took since I made them, and I suspect that the air elemental orb was unique as well. If we find those items we find my assassin, and I guarantee he won’t get a second chance to kill me.’
‘There is also the problem of when I should teleport. If you are still flying I will appear beside you and drop like a stone. That would end my brief life as a flying bear.’
‘Tain, do you trust me?’ she said with glee.
‘I have already trusted you with my life; what else is there to give?’
She remembered that she had said the exact same thing to him just before he had showed her how to protect her mind from domination. He really was in a playful mood today. If only they could celebrate the way she wanted, then it would make a perfect day.
‘About a quarter of an hour’s walk from here is a lookout where you can see for leagues across the jungle. From there you can see the smoke from the campfires of the little people. They have a way of making coloured smoke. If I ask them to make some coloured smoke after I arrive then you can safely teleport.’
‘That’s very clever Mandy, that should work well, as long as they do it before dark.’
‘Tain, where is the dimension bag with all our gear in it?’
‘Oh, that. I buried it just around the corner to this gully. I suppose it would be a good idea to find it again, since we’ll need to take the mask and club with us.’
‘Why is it that I have to do all the thinking around here?’ asked Miranda.
‘I don’t know Mandy. I’m only a bear,’ he said and Miranda smiled and thought ‘Yes you are. You’re my lovely, cuddly, big bear.’
**
Belloe sat on an old, three-legged stool at a small round table opposite Chantalot the bard and a formidable looking woman aged about twenty years. He took another mouthful of beer from the chipped ceramic tavern mug and tried to work her out. She was taller than average, had jet-black hair, cut in the style of a man, a purple tattoo on her face, soft green eyes, lightly tanned skin, and wore a tight-fitting black leather outfit that accentuated her athletic build. Her strange accent confirmed her immediately as a foreigner, but from where he couldn’t guess. She wore knee high black leather boots with daggers sheathed in the sides, and wore a necklace made of several small, uncut common gemstones. They all appeared to glow dimly with an internal light.
‘Well, are you going to take me or not?’ Zephira asked sharply. She wanted Belloe and his men to take her and Chantalot on an expedition to the misty mountains, to search for magic beasts and rare herbs. She had said that she was collecting magic ingredients for a wizard up north, and needed a guide and assistance while collecting specimens.
Belloe wasn’t worried about the trip at all. He and his group had been on similar trips in the region she wanted to visit on several occasions, and he knew roughly where he might find some of the magical animals that interested her. The main problem was whether this was some type of trap.
He and his group had taken a spoilt young couple on an excursion into the wilderness a year ago. Unfortunately, the young couple had been killed a few days into the trip. The jungle was a dangerous place for the foolish or unwary. Was this another similar problem? He had seen and heard the bard in one of the inns before, and while he was impressed with his musical talent, that wasn’t of much use in a tight situation in the jungle.
‘Alright, yer on. It’s bloody dangerous where ye want to go, so it’ll cost yer two hundred gold up front,’ he said. ‘Yer better git yerself properly kitted out with some decent gear for traveling in the jungle. That leather yer wearin’ will be too hot and it’ll go moldy inside a week, and bring two pairs of boots. Don’t try to look pretty. I don’t want you drivin’ me men balmy. I’ll supply the traveling and camping gear. I hope yer don’t mind a few insect bites, and make sure yer gives a few silvers to the Lady. We be sure to be needin’ her help sometime on the trip. The first part of the journey be by boat. If yer agree, we can be ready to leave by dawn tomorrow, from outside the docks.’
‘One more thing, there will be three of us going. I will be bringing my personal assistant along to help me,’ said Zephira.
‘That be all right, as long as she’s up to the trip and stays away from the men,’ replied Belloe.
‘Oh, I’m sure the men won’t want anything to do with my assistant,’ she said with a sly smile. After discussing a few more details Zephira agreed to the contract, paid the retainer and stalked back to her room with Chantalot for some entertainment.
‘I think that you should have told him about Goth,’ said Chantalot.
‘He’ll find out soon enough,’ Zephira replied, with great anticipation of a good night ahead.
Belloe took another pull from his mug and thought, ‘Another spoilt brat that thinks she’s a bloody heroine, and a bard. Why do I do this job? This one’s going to be real trouble for sure!’
At noon Zephira and Chantalot arrived at the dock to meet the party she had hired the night before. She no longer wore her leather, but turned up wearing a dark green loosely fitting cotton tunic that covered her from neck to knee, but left her arms uncovered. She still wore knee-high brown leather boots with her daggers sheathed on the outside of each. In one hand she held a brightly coloured umbrella open to protect her skin from the sun. On both arms she had dark tattoos that seemed almost alive. Chantalot wore loose pants and a shirt, but had his leather amour and weapons bundled in his arms.
What made the party really stare was the large metal construct following her. It was shaped like a huge armoured warrior made of some type of black metal, and stood more than half again as big as the tallest man in the party. It carried a pack on its back as well as a huge sword. It had a vacant look in its eyes and didn’t acknowledge anyone.
‘Yer not be bringing that thing are you?’ grunted Belloe.
‘That is my assistant, Goth. Where I go, Goth goes!’ said the woman.
‘Yer didn’t say anything about a construct.’
‘You didn’t ask me,’ said the woman smugly.
After a few minutes of heated discussion amongst the group, Belloe came back, ‘I’m afraid it’ll be too big and heavy for the boat. Yer going to have ter leave it behind.’
‘Can’t we get a bigger boat?’
‘Not where we be going,’ he said.
‘What if my assistant was smaller?’
‘Well, if it was half as big, and a lot lighter we might fit it in.’
‘Done,’ she said and turning to the con
struct muttered a few arcane words and it shrank to half its size.
‘That be a useful trick,’ he said.
‘Well it won’t always fit through doors otherwise,’ she explained.
‘Is it likely to run amuck and try to kill everyone?’
‘Only if I tell it to,’ said Zephira with a smile, as she looked at the motley group aboard the boat. ‘We’ll need more men than this, won’t we?’
‘Yer right,’ said Belloe. ‘They be waiting at the camp up the river.’
‘Well, let’s get going.’
‘Righto. We be leaving after we load the squid aboard.’
‘What do we need squid for?’
‘Yer’ll soon see,’ said Belloe with a wry grin.
Zephira, Chantalot and Goth boarded the boat and moved to the front. The craft was ten paces long and about three wide. The front two thirds had no deck but planks lay crosswise along the length for seating. The rear third had flat decking raised a hand span above the height of the railing, that formed a small cabin, stacked with supplies. It had a single mast and furled sail. It also had a large oar fixed to the back both for steering and propulsion. There was a sturdy wooden seat fixed to the decking towards the front.
A pair of labourers loaded six large wicker baskets of squid aboard and left with a few coppers in hand. The captain of the boat, a small, wiry fellow wearing a wide-brimmed wicker hat, ordered the crew, two young teenage boys, to cast off the ropes, holding the boat to the dock. He then propelled the craft out into the bay using the single large oar, weaving it in a figure of eight pattern.
Zephira surveyed her party. There was Belloe, short, tough and stout. He had a weather-beaten face covered with a rich brown beard, greying at the edges. His eyes were a light granite grey and his occasional smile softened his rough, craggy demeanour. The big brawny greenish skinned fighter was simply called ‘The Orc’. He looked terribly strong, with huge chest and impressive arm and leg muscles. He was relatively ugly, but seemed to have a reasonably happy disposition.
