Danica Pt. 14

Author's Notes:

This story is erotic fantasy, set in a world of magic. I reserve the right to be listed as the author of this work, wherever it is posted. If found posted anywhere except Literotica.com with this note attached, this story is posted without my permission. © Darkniciad 2000-2007

The sexual situations in this story will be far ranging, and may prove disturbing to some readers. Please be warned that the villains of the story are really evil, and the things they do are not glossed over, or toned down.

I make use of modern weights and measures quite often in my work, because those are the weights and measures of my fantasy world. I know many fantasy readers prefer more archaic terms, and I hope those readers can overlook my use of miles, feet, and other such measures.

The culture represented in this chapter is not meant to represent any existing real world culture; it is a combination of several things.

You really need to read the previous parts of the story to know the characters and the storyline. This tale follows Danica in her day-to-day adventures, with the greater plot emerging slowly at first. Think of it more as a serial than a novel, and you'll be in the right mindset.

This is an edited version of this tale, making use of what I've learned since starting to post at Literotica, and the services of my tireless editor, Roust Writer.

{*****~~o~~0~~o~~*****}

"Little rose, you have gained admittance to a place that interests me. Tell me now how you managed to gain entry," Zoraster said while bringing a finger to his chin and adopting an expression indicating impatience.

Danica felt magic swirling around her and wondered how Zoraster had activated it. It didn't really matter though, because she knew it for what it was -- a spell of truth detection.

"I joined them in their bed, though I imagine you know that much."

"Indeed, I believed that to be the case. I simply wished confirmation from the spell that you no doubt feel wrapped around you. Now, describe the nature of the wards."

"They're a combination of Art, runes, and spell weaving. The entire house is dispelled, none can enter without invitation, it is protected from the elements and weathering, and no form of scrying can penetrate it."

"Curious. I knew the mage who owned that house and I never would have suspected him of delving into broader art. I thought him to be of little consequence. A pity he is already dead. Did you discover any books, scrolls, magic items?"

Danica did not want to reveal the secret of the rune table. Her mind worked quickly as she spoke, "I found the laboratory in the basement. The shelves were all empty, and the only other thing there was a worktable. There was a cold room, and its magic was still working. They used it to store food and wine." She hoped glossing over everything would be sufficient.

"Nothing of import then. I had suspected as much, although being prevented from examining the home so close to my power base disturbed me. It seems you have performed a service for me unwittingly, and I find this pleasing. You also go about your tasks without complaint, and perform well. Perhaps you might wish to serve me willingly? Our hunger for knowledge and magic seems to be compatible, and you are quite entertaining -- to say the least."

Danica felt anger boil up inside her. Serve you willingly? NEVER! She thought, while keeping her face impassive.

Zoraster laughed. "You hide it well, but I can sense your hatred. No matter, I never expected you to accept. Tomorrow morning I will require your services to transport Marlena. Here is the pattern you will use." He then handed Danica a sheaf of paper depicting some sort of exotic bird against a sunset.

"You will transport Marlena, and remain in my outpost, prepared to return her here when her task is complete. Give her one of your charms so that she may summon you when it is needful. The town is a small one, and my agents have little explored it in years. Spend your time there seeing how things have changed in that time. I will not require a report, though you may speak your thoughts to your amulet, which will record them for my examination. Marlena's task is the true purpose of your visit. Be prepared, should there be the need for a hasty retrieval. Good day, little rose."

Zoraster left then and Danica packed her Satchel of Hasty Departure. With all the Art she had placed upon her jewelry and clothing, she didn't need to pack much in the way of magical devices to feel well prepared.

Danica stepped into her lab then, planning to start some sketches for Marlena's toy based on what she had learned in her encounter with the young couple. However, the true runes swirled through her mind, demanding attention.

Danica had never truly gained skill with the runes, and even now, it took her long weeks of research to imprint a new one in her mind. Danica went to her bookshelves, now nearly full of tomes she had magically copied from the library, and selected a book of true runes. Flipping through the book for a while, she decided to try to use another rune. She chose one for fire and studied it. The lines and patterns of the rune snapped into focus in Danica's mind almost immediately. Something in the magic of that table had opened a pathway in her mind.

Danica put down the book and tore some scrap parchment, placing it in a brazier. She cleared her mind for a few moments, and then traced the rune for fire while speaking its name. The parchment instantly burst into flame. Danica smiled and traced the rune for light. She found it easy, where before it had always taken a lot of concentration to summon up the power of the run. The rune flared into brilliance as she finished the tracing. On a whim, Danica tried something else she had never attempted before. She traced the glowing rune again, altering it subtly. The glow of the rune changed from a natural white light to one of pale blue. Another alteration and the glow changed to amber.

Danica banished the rune with a little laugh, and then turned to a glass of water she had left sitting on one of her worktables. Danica traced the rune for ice and pushed it toward the glass. The water instantly froze -- and the glass shattered.

"Ooops," Danica muttered. She spoke the words of a telekinetic cantrip, but used her hidden mental powers more than the spell to gather up the shattered glass and ice to deposit the shards in a waste bin across the room.

Danica tried several other runes, and to her delight, found that she could command them all with ease. She longed to test more -- the runes from the table she had never seen before -- but she didn't want to reveal them to Zoraster. She already brought too much power to the madman in her tasks without giving him more. She assumed he was always watching, and refused to reveal the new runes.

Not always, Danica thought. She knew that when within in a dispelled area, like Layla and Daniel's house, neither the charm around her neck nor scrying magic could spy on her. The Spell Engine also protected her from Zoraster's prying eyes.

Danica smiled and knew how she would test the other runes that now burned in her mind -- but not tonight. She pushed thoughts of the runes away for the time being, not wishing to reveal too much to the mad Archmage with her experiments. Instead, she picked up pen and paper to begin work on Marlena's toy, as she had originally planned.

She concentrated on the balls of the toy, thinking carefully about what materials she should use. Wood -- and even clay -- wouldn't provide the texture she wished to attain without a lot of magical enhancement. Considering the problem for a few minutes, she sketched and made notes while mulling over the problem.

She first thought of glass marbles, but realized they would be far too heavy. Hollow glass balls would be perfect, she thought. She smiled and thought Grant could help her with that. They could help me in other ways, too. It's been too long since we were together.

Danica thought more about the feeling of the orbs while she caressed and explored Daniel. They felt somewhat connected from above, yet able to roll beneath her fingers. Enclosing them in tubes of felt sewed to allow movement would work. She thought that the felt ends should join at the top, leaving the enclosed glass balls dangling like a small boa.

That solved the internal feeling. Now, she needed to decide how to simulate the external texture. After a few minutes, she decided that lightly brushing the felt with a pliable resin would work best. Some careful stitching would give it the proper texture and attached feeling.

Danica located some felt and a pair of marbles, quickly cobbling together a crude version of her idea. She swung the marbles back and forth, bouncing them off her forearm, and felt that her plan would work.

It took only a short time to sketch out the rest of the toy with this part firmly settled in her mind. She sat back with a satisfied grin and looked over the list of people she would need to speak with. She had a few unique ideas she wanted to use to make the whole thing look more attractive in its non-magical form, instead of a hodgepodge of leather, wood, and felt.

Feeling the lateness of the hour creeping up on her, Danica yawned and went to her bed. She knew that she needed to get up early to transport Marlena in the morning.

{*****~~o~~0~~o~~*****}

A knock on the door startled Danica. She pulled on a robe and went to the door, expecting to find Zoraster standing there scowling at her. She found Marlena waiting outside instead of the Archmage, however.

"You're supposed to take me somewhere," Marlena said.

Danica yawned. "Yes -- I'm sorry. I'm ready -- I packed everything last night. Give me a moment to splash some water on my face and get dressed, and we'll be going."

"May I look around your lab while you dress?"

"Of course, I won't be long."

Danica quickly dressed, taking some of the alertness drug for good measure to chase away the sleep fog in her head. She walked into the lab and found Marlena looking over Danica's notes from the previous evening. The illusionist couldn't help but know what the notes represented, because every page plainly indicated what Danica was making.

"I wish I understood this. This is the freedom Zoraster will grant me if I'm successful in my task -- a small lab and library of my own. I was so dedicated to illusion that I ignored everything else. There is little for me to do here except learn, so I thought I might try to expand my knowledge."

"If you ever need any direction or assistance, my door is always open. I would connect all your studies to your study of illusion at first. If you want to craft an item, make it one dealing with illusion. If you wish to create a unique spell, make it one of illusion. Do the same if you plan to brew potions or anything else. It would be a good stepping-stone. I've found that approach makes things easy for me as I transition from one study to another."

"Thank you, I'll try that. I might take up that offer for assistance as well. It's all quite daunting. It makes me nervous to even think about it."

Danica smiled and pointed at her notes on the table. "Let me finish this for you and you'll have a way to relax."

Marlena blushed and covered a giggle with her hand. "I'm anxious for your magical toy, though it embarrasses me. I can't wait to have one of my own."

"I'll concentrate on it then," Danica said with a wink. "Shall we go then?"

Marlena nodded and took Danica's hand. Danica spoke the words of the teleportation spell with the pattern firmly in her mind, and they walked the corridors of magic.

{*****~~o~~0~~o~~*****}

The first thing both women noticed was the oppressive heat. The air was heavy with moisture. Both women gasped at first, and it took them a few moments to adjust to the hot, humid atmosphere.

"Gods, it's hot," Danica exclaimed while fanning her hand in front of her face. A woman with long, kinky, curled hair walked into the room and bowed as Danica finished speaking. The woman's skin reminded Danica of coffee with a lot of cream -- dark and exotic. She had a nice figure, which was easy to see considering her revealing clothing. The woman wore a top that hung from her shoulders by thin straps and barely reached below her breasts. A sarong tied around her hips left little to the imagination. Both articles had a pattern that looked like flowers and flower petals, dominated by orange.

"I was told to expect you, and to tell you there is clothing in the drawers there more suited to the heat. I am at your service here. If you need anything, just call and I will come. You may call me Tonda."

Her accent and the way she spoke indicated that she probably wasn't speaking her native tongue. "Thank you, Tonda. We'll call if we need you," Danica responded.

The woman bowed and Danica couldn't help but admire the sight of her hips swaying as the woman strutted out of the room. She had a full rounded bottom -- not large, just full -- and the way it moved when Tonda walked made Danica salivate.

Danica went to the drawers to dig through them. She quickly found a sarong and top she believed would fit and flung them on the bed. She started to pull off the stifling clothing she wore and turned to Marlena, gesturing toward the drawers.

Marlena went to the drawers to find something that would fit her as well. Danica asked her, "So, what is your task -- if you can talk about it?"

"I'm to observe a temple in the jungle on this island. I'm supposed to use my magic to explore the temple."

"Island, hmm? I wasn't told anything about where I was going. Your task sounds simple enough," Danica said as she shrugged off the last of her clothing and reached for the sarong.

Marlena turned back to Danica, having made her selection from the drawer. Her eyes lingered on Danica's nude backside for a moment, and then she asked, "How did you transport us here if you didn't know where you were going?"

Danica tied on the sarong and pushed her hip out to the side, looking down her body and liking the way the sarong looked on her, though not particularly enamored with the drab, beige color. She nodded in the direction of the pattern room and answered, "You memorize the patterns. They're unique, and you can teleport with that image in your mind. I asked the same question at one point, before I could use the teleportation spell."

Danica pulled on the top as Marlena undressed. Danica tried to avoid looking at the woman, knowing she was nowhere near comfortable with another woman seeing her nude, especially considering that she knew Danica found her arousing.

Marlena looked stunning in the clothing, though the color suited her no better than it did Danica. "My task isn't much of a task at all. I'm supposed to observe the town and report back. He didn't give me any more specific instructions than that. I think he's just giving me busy work," Danica revealed.

"I should be going. I was told to hasten into the jungle and to the temple immediately upon my arrival, and not to be seen outside the house at all."

"Good luck. Be safe," Danica said, and handed over the charm that would summon her if necessary. Marlena had used one before, and knew all she needed to know about it.

Marlena smiled and said, "You too," before walking out of the bedroom. By the time Danica put away her own clothing and walked into the main part of the house, Marlena was already invisible. Danica felt a touch of air against her cheek and knew the door had opened and closed. She marveled at the other woman's command of illusion. Danica neither had seen the door open, nor heard it, and she was looking right at it.

Danica noticed Tonda seated off to one side, sipping something. "I could use a drink too."

"It is fruit juice. I shall fetch you some if you wish," Tonda said, putting her cup down in preparation to stand.

Danica waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. "It's alright, I'll get it myself. You can relax. I'm used to taking care of myself."

"The two of you are much more pleasant than the last. He was a..." Tonda paused and appeared to search for a word for a moment before continuing. "He was most unpleasant and ordered me about like a trained monkey."

Danica rolled her eyes. "Unfortunately many men are like that. Zoraster seems to attract the worst of the lot as well."

"It would seem the women are of a different sort," Tonda responded with a smile. "Our native dress is most pleasing upon you. Although, the top is a bit tight, I think. The color looks wrong with your hair."

"I might have to do something about that. Yours is perfect I think."

Tonda's smile grew wider. "I dyed it myself. I could do some for you and the other if you would like. I believe green would suit you both well."

Danica noticed how Tonda referred to her and Marlena. "I'm Danica, and the other woman is Marlena. I'm sorry for not offering our names."

"I wondered when you would remember. Danica it is, then. Allow me to show you where the fruits are so you may make more to drink, should the pitcher be empty. Then I shall go to work on your clothing. In the bedroom, you will find a box atop the dressing table. It has stones for your needs. My people trade mostly in goods, but gems and stones are used as well, since your people have come. The jade and pearls are most prized."

"Thank you," Danica said as Tonda led her to the kitchen to show her how to make the exotic fruit drink.

Danica finished her drink and then took some jade beads and pearls from the box in the bedroom. The gems were of high quality, and Danica assumed that they were worth a lot. She assumed that she would quickly discover the value of the gemstones.

Danica reached into a satchel she had brought with her, one not enchanted with magic, and selected a small purse on a thin leather belt. The purse, like everything in the satchel, was enchanted with the holding enchantment and would hold much more than physically possible. She emptied the jade and pearls into the purse and then went outside.

Though Danica recognized that she was on an island, it was obviously a very large one. She was not far from the sea, but there were none of the foul smells that she associated with the sea in other places. Apparently, the people here didn't toss their garbage and offal into the sea, forgetting that the tide would bring it back to them, as so many did.

Stepping away from the house, the warm ocean breeze blew across Danica's skin. The wind offered respite from the hot, humid air despite its warmth. The abundant vegetation was a combination of seaside plants like palms, jungle trees, and planted gardens.

Danica saw wide stretches of pure white sand along the water, and the water itself was a clear, vibrant blue. Most of the houses were round, apparently derived from huts. There were a few common structures, such as Zoraster's outpost, but the majority of buildings in the town shared the odd native design. Danica thought it likely that the interiors consisted of a single round room, and didn't think she would like living in one very much.

Zoraster's outpost was some distance from the heart of the town, and as she moved toward the center of the clustered building, Danica noticed that she was a rarity. Almost everyone she passed was dark of hair and skin -- most much darker than Tonda was. She received only a few odd glances as she walked through town, however.

As she reached the area where the houses were most concentrated, Danica noticed something else as a couple passed by her. A strong breeze revealed that the people here wore nothing beneath their sarongs. Danica's eyes widened when she saw the size of the man in front of her before he slapped his sarong down and cursed in a language Danica didn't understand.