by Ian Rodgers
By sundown she had found the large caravan of wagons and cages that had set up camp once more. The peg-legged orc slaver that had saved her was sitting on a crate, seemingly waiting for her.
“Are you sure you want to join us?” He questioned. “You’ll be a monster. Reviled everywhere you go.”
Dora laughed bitterly, which caused some of the caravan’s crew to look up.
“How is that any different from the life I just left?”
The green skinned behemoth gave a grin filled with pain and understanding.
“Welcome to the Yellowmoon Menagerie, brat. I’m your boss now.”
“I’m Dora,” she said, shaking the orc’s hand.
“Scarrot Yellowmoon.” He stood from his seat and hobbled into the campsite. “Find a tent and go to sleep. We move on in the morning.”
Dora nodded and marched in. A tall, lanky human approached her, offering up a thick canvas tent for her to sleep in. She took it gratefully.
She looked around for a spot to set up, eyes lingering on the collared men and women inside the cages of the caravan. Her grip tightened on the bundle of fabric in her hands.
This was her life, now. What cruel humor the gods must have.
Chapter 16: White lilies, green mint
A scream of pure agony fused with frustration and disbelief stirred Dora from her dreams. No, her memories. Darkness faded away as pale light invaded her personal space and stabbed her in the eyeballs.
A frown marred her face as she returned to wakefulness. How many times was this going to happen?! Getting knocked unconscious was becoming old and tiresome. And reliving her unpleasant past made the half-orc growl bitterly.
As her mind cleared away the cobwebs of sleep fear surged through her as she recalled where exactly she had been before succumbing to the demonic avatar’s powers, as well as the situation she’d been forced into.
Her eyes shot open and she looked around the ritual room wildly. What she saw made the Healer extremely confused, but nonetheless relieved.
The avatar of the Queen Swathed in Vermillion had fallen off of the altar and was clawing at tiny white buds that were popping up all over her arms. They also seemed to be spreading across the rest of the demon’s flesh regardless of how many were ripped bloodily from her.
Dora could only stare as she recognized the white substance: lilies. Dozens, turning to hundreds, of white blossomed lilies were crawling upon the demonic being, looking for all the world as if they were trying to consume her.
Each blossom was filled to bursting with pure Light element magic and the powerful stench of the perfume in the air was supplanted by floral scents that banished the tainted musk.
The cultists weren’t having it any easier, Dora noted as she twisted her neck to observe them after hearing a chorus of garbled screams. Most had similar flowers popping out of them. Only Kari and a paltry few others did not, leading the Healer to assume the lack of foliage was related to their level of corruption.
“What are you?!” the Vermillion Queen screeched, staring at Dora. Or at least, the half-orc assumed the demon lord was staring. It was hard to tell with tentacles in place of eyes.
When Dora did not respond the Queen lunged, trying to take out the woman who had disrupted her ritual and all her plans. As soon as her fingers brushed against the light green flesh, however, they erupted into a veritable bouquet of white petals. The Queen Swathed in Vermillion recoiled as if she’d doused her hands with acid. The way she was screaming made it seem like it certainly felt like a similar experience.
Seeing her foes incapacitated for the moment, Dora redoubled her efforts to break free, snapping the ropes with a burst of energy she hadn’t known she still possessed. She tumbled off the worn, stained altar and hurried over to Kari who was looking around in dopey befuddlement.
“Snap out of it!” Dora shouted, waving her hand in the older woman’s face. She fed a bit of power into the collar in hopes of mitigating the demonic influence with Naliot’s own. It worked, and the raven-haired beauty blinked slowly as if emerging from a daze.
“Dora?” she mumbled.
“Yes, it’s me! We need to go, now!”
“Go?”
“Exactly!” Dora said with growing worry. “We have to find an escape route! Can your eyes find one for us?”
Kari groaned and clutched her head as the demonic allure tried to cling even tighter to her. With the other cultists disabled she was one of the few under the Queen’s control who could confront the half-orc.
Dora wasn’t going to let that happen though, and decided to drag her friend away from the room to give Kari some breathing space.
“NO!” The Queen’s avatar roared. Being unable to touch the young half-orc the demon lord directed one of her minions to cut them off at the exit.
Dora blanched and fought down a wave of bile that threatened to rise up in her mouth at the man’s appearance.
It was the transvestite from before, but now covered in flowers. His eyes, nose, and ears were stuffed with lilies growing from them, and all over his legs dozens of blossoms crawled, trying to trip him up. Yet, he was still able to move and function despite it all and he dashed at the duo, arms outstretched.
“Stay back!” Dora shouted, delivering a vicious kick to his groin. He toppled, clutching that tender part of him.
“Someone stop them!” The Vermillion Queen roared. Her slavish devotees surged forward, desperate to appease their mistress and hopefully undo what had happened to them.
As the Healer faced down the charge, a wild idea popped into her head and she smirked. Reached into a pocket discreetly sewn into a portion of her borrowed garments. Dora withdrew a small ceramic pot.
There was no time to apply the alchemical oil to anything, nor was there enough of it. In the end, she took a gamble and hurled the jar towards one of the larger flaming torches.
It flew over the heads of the cultists that rushed her and landed squarely amid the flames. The container cracked, and the intense heat shattered the entire thing. The greasy substance within ignited, sending emerald flames flying everywhere, as well as a cloud of noxious green through the room.
Dora’s eyes widened in surprise and she quickly checked the remaining two jars. Her face grew pale as she realized she’d thrown the pot full of Nightmare Poison instead of the one containing Salve of Slumber.
She wasted no time at all and grabbed Kari’s hand, pulling the dazed woman away from the roiling green haze of death. Magic from the flames mingled with that within the alchemical substance, increasing its potency.
Behind them, she could hear screams of panic and pain. Then came the terrible sounds of ripping meat and flesh and the squelches of blood splashing around.
Dora dared to glance back and was unable to restrain the vomit that erupted from her when she saw what had happened.
Trapped inside their own worst nightmares, the cultists, already addled by pain from the holy flowers sprouting from them, turned on each other and literally began tearing each other apart with their bare hands or any tools nearby.
Unable to tell friend from foe, the ritual chamber and a few nearby rooms turned into an orgy of bloodshed as the cultists went mad. Even the avatar of the Queen Swathed in Vermillion was not spared as her own minions attacked her blindly, ripping the transformed statue to pieces.
With a bone shattering screech of defiance, the demon lord of perversion was destroyed, her essence catapulted back to the Abyss as the ritual failed. By now Dora was far enough from the site that the explosion of wayward energy did not strike her or her addled yet recovering friend. It did, however, cause the ceiling to crack and for part of the wall to slide apart, forcing them to find another way to the surface.
“Kari, are you alright now?” Dora asked, taking a break once the aftershocks of the detonation faded away.
“I-I think so. I felt like my thoughts were wrapped in velvet and I couldn’t control myself,” the collared woman complained. She gave her head a sh
ake. “Where are we?”
“Trapped in the cultist’s underground hideout somewhere,” Dora said. “The original path was cut off and I had to make a detour. But now that you’re back, we can find a way out!”
“Alright, give me a minute,” Kari said, massaging her temples. Once her headache diminished she activated her Divine Eyes of Appraisal.
“Hmm, there seems to be a service entrance up ahead. Old, and hasn’t been used for decades. It leads straight out to beyond the walls.”
“Perfect! We can escape that way and then make our way back in from the main gate,” Dora said happily.
“Actually, I have a better idea,” Kari piped up after a moment of thoughtful silence. “Hear me out before you say anything: What if we stole the Aegis Sphere and used it as our getaway vehicle?”
“That’s insane,” Dora whispered. “Go on.”
“I know where Krave hid the key. It’s in the excavation site inside a safe. He didn’t trust anyone not to break into his rooms in the tower to steal it so he kept it there. And it has enough power for one, maybe two, dimensional jumps. Or a dozen or so teleportation hops. We could go anywhere! And best of all, it would screw over the Tower Lords.”
Dora offered up a feral grin.
“I like that. I like that a lot.” She then frowned as a thought came to her. “But I can’t leave. My family is still trapped in Annod Bol.”
“Do you really want to continue being a slaver?” Kari asked. “I know that this job is tearing you apart inside. The things you do haunt your dreams.”
She reached out and held Dora’s hands in her own. “Come with me. You can leave this wretched place behind and find a new life! If you come with me, I can find you a job with father’s company! It’ll be wonderful!”
Dora bit her lip. The offer was tempting. Oh, so very tempting. She wanted it. Wanted the freedom from the horrid wasteland around her, release from the pain and guilt she carried from all the people she had turned into property.
But when she tried to agree to go with Kari, she saw Reesh and Rindon. Uldo and Holt. Even Scarrot flashed before her eyes. They had all done so much for her. Dora had meant what she said when she’d claimed they were her family.
“I-I can’t leave them,” Dora whispered, and she broke eye contact with Kari who smiled sadly in understanding.
“Alright then.” She stood up. “This way to the exit.”
The pair hurried along the path towards the secret exit. The door was large and old and took a while to budge, but when they did cool night air washed over them and they sighed in relief and bliss at the sensation.
Above them, the stars gleamed and the moon illuminated the fields and farms around the wall’s perimeter. With their path lit the duo did not bother to stop at all, sprinting through the darkness towards the excavation site.
They found it completely abandoned, not a single person, slave or otherwise, around.
“Must have been moved back to the city,” Kari guessed.
“More likely a nearby barracks,” Dora added. “They still needed them nearby to work, but don’t want them to get any ideas. Can’t have slaves around impromptu weapons like shovels and picks. Especially when there are riots.”
The raven-haired woman nodded in agreement and carefully picked her way down the slopes and ramps and stairs built into the large pit. Dora followed the other woman’s lead. Kari’s eyes were beyond useful. They could pierce the gloom of darkness and lead them down unobstructed paths.
At long last they reached the ruined hanger where the Aegis Sphere lay. Only a trio of small, guttering torches brought light to the place. The long, sharp shadows gave the room a more oppressive feeling.
As Kari searched for the hidden lockbox Dora’s attention was purchased by a mournful grunting. The half-orc made her way towards the sound and gasped in surprise when she saw the golden mole languishing in a cage in a corner.
“You poor thing,” Dora muttered. She smashed the lock with a fierce kick and the large golden furred animal jumped out eagerly and gave the Healer loud happy snuffles. She then used her override command to remove its collar. At that it made joyful cries and nuzzled against the green skinned woman.
“Alright, you’re free now,” Dora said before she left to find Kari. The large mole merely tilted its head and crawled after her.
“Did you find it?” Dora inquired when she saw her friend skip over in an unbelievably chipper mood.
“Oh yes, I did!” Kari cackled, holding the glowing orb-key aloft like it was a sacred artifact. Though for some, it might as well have been.
Many considered Titans as mythical entities who had helped create the world alongside the gods. And their magitech simply had to be seen to be believed.
“Dora, if you would?” Kari asked, presenting her neck to the half-orc. Dora nodded and placed her hand on the back of the collar and muttered a few words. With a dainty click the silver collar popped open and slipped off.
It clattered on the tiles and Kari’s face lit up with pure joy. She was free! Finally free!
“What do you want to do with the collar?” Dora asked, picking the item in question off the ground. Kari shrugged.
“Don’t care. Melt it down, slap it onto Lord Tiegan… it’s all up to you.”
“What would happen if I put it on?” Dora mused.
“You’d become a slave,” Kari said with exasperation. She bounced over to the entrance of the Aegis Sphere and commanded it to open.
“Would I, though?” Dora asked. “After all, I still have Handler status for the collar, even if you’ve been freed. No one has revoked my permission on it. Would I own myself if I put it on? What would that even do to me?”
Kari paused in her joyful steps as she contemplated Dora’s question.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I’ve never heard of anyone doing something like that.”
“Me neither,” the Healer agreed. She tucked the item away, clipping it onto a section of her clothes. She could experiment later.
The golden mole sniffed the collar and recoiled in disgust. Dora patted it on the head comfortingly.
Dora entered Aegis Sphere after a moment and looked around as Kari ensconced herself in the command room of the device. It was still as stark and sterile as last time. Though the grimy boot prints they were tracking in gave it a … lived-in feel. Yeah, that’s it. “Lived-in.”
Without warning everything lurched, Dora barely able to let out a sound of surprise as the entire vehicle tilted and spun.
“Owww,” the Healer groaned, staggering to her feet. As she looked around, Dora noticed that everything was now right side up. Kari had used the key to return the Aegis Sphere to its proper balance.
“How about a little warning next time?” she grumbled. Nearby the golden mole scrambled about in a cute manner as it tried to right itself. Feeling pity Dora helped flip it back onto its feet.
“Sorry, I hadn’t expected it to be that sudden,” Kari groaned, massaging her spine where she’d slammed into the oversized chair. “But I think I’ve got a hang of the controls now. I can leave whenever I want.”
Dora nodded in understanding. Companionable silence filled the air. Until a gasp and an “uh-oh” came from Kari.
“‘Uh-oh?’ What do you mean by that?” Dora demanded. The merchant’s daughter coughed awkwardly.
“So, I may have accidentally initiated a jump sequence. That means in a few minutes the Aegis Sphere will have warmed up its engine and power coils and then teleport away. And unfortunately, I don’t know where it’ll end up. There seems to be a preprogrammed destination though. Perhaps a repair spot?”
“That’s great,” Dora complained. She stomped over to the exit, ready to leave before it was too late.
“By the way Dora, did you ever find out what ‘ildora’ means?” Kari asked after a quick look through the controls of the Aegis Sphere.
“Is now really the best time for linguistics?” the half-orc asked incredulously. The golden
mole snuffled in agreement. She absentmindedly patted the magical beast on the head.
“I don’t know if we’ll ever get a chance to finish this conversation!” Kari retorted.
“No! I never learned about it! Now I have to leave before you go to wherever it is you’re going to go!” Dora quickly made her way towards the exit of the magitech vehicle. She paused when something bumped against her leg.
“I’m sorry, boy, but it won’t be safe for you if you come with me,” Dora said softly, patting the massive mole sorrowfully. “Please. Stay with Kari. She can protect you, and if nothing else, she can take you back to Gaeum.”
“Yeah, sure, whatever!” the raven-haired woman called out, almost drowned out by a loud, obnoxious beep. “Now are you going to leave or not?”
A loud hum was starting to echo from the mirror-like surface of the Aegis Sphere. Dust and chunks of stone started to fall as the vibrations and magical energy upset the crumbling ruins.
“Give me a moment!” Dora shouted back before turning her attention to the golden mole. “Be free and happy, little guy. And if you ever find me again, well, I hope I won’t have to put you in a cage once more.”
The mole gazed up at her with a pitiful expression, forcing Dora to leave before she began to get all weepy. As she stepped out of the Aegis Sphere she heard Kari call out to her moments before the hatch slid shut.
“Dora! In the orcish tongue, ‘ildora’ is their word for the mint plant!”
The half-orc spun around in shock, suddenly desperate for more answers. But it was too late. The door was sealed tight. She could no longer even see where the opening had been as the door had slid shut seamlessly.
A kaleidoscope of energy began to spit and crackle from the spherical artifact, and Dora decided it was prudent to make a run for it. She didn’t want to be teleported elsewhere by the Aegis Sphere while it initiated Planeswalking, nor was she interested in being torn to shreds by the violent rainbow cascade appearing around it.
With a howl that shattered her eardrums the Aegis Sphere seemed to implode and explode at once. The burst of displaced air threw Dora onto her rear, dazing her.
