Amber's Enchantment

Chapter 8

The Death of a Slave

The pattern of fires on Destran's surface was being changed by the mysterious mana draining holes in the world. The normally random flames started appearing primarily near the holes themselves. What no one realized was that while the mana from Fron poured onto the planet evenly, the ability of the minerals, plants and animals to absorb that mana was dependant on the fires themselves. With the fires clustered around the mana draining holes, the substances and creatures able to absorb new mana had it stolen from them.

The sentient peoples of Destran had not yet put together that the holes were deliberate. The brisk trade that Melen Lustran had done had played into the shadows' hands. The transfer of massive amounts of copper from one dimension to another was having a predictable (if you had the right knowledge) result. Now that the flow of copper had been cut off, the invaders would take more direct action.

*****

"Hold her down," H'Renith called out. "Her collar can't heal this properly if she keeps moving."

Four slaves bore their weight down on Luce as she cried out, writhing, at the pain of having half her thigh ripped off. The pool of blood slowed its growth as her collar's magic closed off severed blood vessels. Dawn, H'Renith's assistant waved the fuming potion under Luce's nose, as the combined efforts of the four slaves and the physician finally held her still enough to receive a proper does of the sleep inducer. Luce's body relaxed as she was driven far from the agony of being partially eaten.

H'Renith turned towards Garth. "What in the names of the Gods did this?" She pointed at the gaping emptiness that had been part of Luce's thigh. Even as they looked, the magic of the collar was slowly replacing the lost tissue.

"I don't know, exactly. Some strange creature I've never heard of before, let alone seen, burst out of the cavern wall and attacked the nearest slave, Luce. It had ripped a part of her leg off before anyone else could react. It's fortunate that Aurora and Yestil were with her." Garth was referring to the feline and saurian slaves. Aurora's claws and sharp teeth could be used on non-sentient life without her collar putting her into a temporary sleep. Yestil's incredible strength was able to restrain the strange worm creature long enough for the cat woman to shred it. "What's the prognosis on Luce?"

H'Renith knew he wasn't asking if she would heal, but how long it would take. "I don't know for sure. I've never seen such massive trauma on a slave before. Even the stabbing through the heart that you have someone do as a demonstration to new captives only does minor physical damage, in terms of how much needs to be repaired. I'll be giving her a nutrient potion while she sleeps. There's no need for her to be awake through this process"

Nutrient potions were rarely used, certainly not by people who weren't in a medical coma of some sort. Their frequent use could lead to atrophy of the digestive system and total dependence. A regular supply of food intake, however, would speed up the collar's healing

"Thank you, H'Renith. I'm hoping this is an isolated case."

Even as he said the words and turned away, Garth knew he was lying. Reports had been trickling in of similar attacks in mines. Strange, never before seen, creatures (not all of which were worm-like) were busting out of the cavern walls and consuming anything alive that was there. There were no reports of breakouts in areas that didn't have living creatures in them, though a pen of yelti were just as likely to be attacked as a gang of hard working miners.

Garth's ruminations ended as he entered the meeting room. Thabian, Inclon, Silene and Vesti were already present, as well as Aurora and Yestil. Garth didn't wait to be asked. "Luce will be in a healing sleep for at least a week. H'Renith has never seen such trauma before and isn't sure just how long a full healing will take. She's using nutrient potions."

Thabian breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good to know."

Inclon set to brief Garth on what had already been discussed. "Aurora was just telling us that she had warning that something was going to happen, though clearly not what. Apparently she can hear something as the creature approaches through the rock."

"Yes, Master. I wasn't sure just what it was. I knew it was higher pitched than most other people can hear." Aurora could both see and hear in frequencies others couldn't; spectra called ultrasonic and infrared on other worlds. "It was a kind of buzzing noise, like a swarm of julit," she added, referring to the small stinging insects that seemed to always be found near flowering plants.

"It's possible that we could design magical detectors that could warn of these types of sounds in advance," Silene added. "Advance warning could give time to move people out of the way."

"I'm not sure that will do any good. These things seem to be able to detect living creatures through the rock. They might well just follow the people as they fled."

"Advance warning could also give us a chance to be ready to kill them as the burst forth," Thabian replied.

Vesti pulled something out of his magical pocket. He dropped it on the table with a dull clunk. Clearly it was solid and heavy. "I'm not sure warning will be enough. I'm also not sure just why any of the slaves that encountered it are still alive. This is a section of the thing's skin." He drew a knife and scraped it along the

skin

. The knife came away visibly dulled. "This stuff is harder than most rocks. How, by all that's holy, did your claws do the damage you did, Aurora?"

The slave looked confused. "I don't know, Master. They just did."

"Pardon, Masters," Yestil's deep voice interrupted. "They didn't the first time. When you first clawed the thing, your claws seemed to wear away. It was only after that that you made any headway against it. Good thing too; it was incredibly strong."

"Are you telling us that Aurora's claws changed in consistency after her first attack on the creature?" Silene asked in exasperation.

"It seemed that way, Mistress."

Vesti's eye's rose in surprise. A though occurred to him. Making motions of a spell, he uttered an incantation and a lens of energy formed in front of him. He looked at Aurora though the lens. "Fascinating," he whispered.

"What's that," Silene asked.

"A new spell I developed, It lets me see the residual traces of magic that has been recently used on a target. Aurora's arms, shoulders and hands have been subjected to very powerful magic recently. Aurora, would you scratch the table top with a claw, please?"

With a look of confusion, Aurora did as she was told. The confusion turned to shock as her claw left a deep gouge in the solid marble surface. "How...?"

"Now, slap the table with your full strength."

The slave did so, and everyone's cup tipped over with the force; except Vesti's, as he had grabbed his as he gave the order. A crack appeared in the table, running from the imprint of Aurora's hand. Aurora looked at her hand in horror.

Everyone at the table except the slaves and Vesti started commenting at once; unable to believe what they has just seen. Yestil, however, turned to Aurora and whispered encouragement to the frightened slave. "It'll be okay, Aurora. I had the same worry, what if I hurt someone with my strength. You can be trained to control it, just as I was."

"Enough!" Thabian bellowed. As the room quieted again, he turned his attention to Vesti. "You expected this. Explain."

"Certainly, lord. Partly, I expected this result simply because of what she did to the creature. But there's more to it. As a preface, tell me, Lord, Y'Grantlo, does a slave ever fail training? Has there ever been a slave who was unable to master some technique or skill?"

"No, our training methods are infallible."

"The guild would pay a hefty fee to have equally infallible training methods. Potential wizards are always failing in some discipline. It's why most wizards specialize. I suspect, how ever that there's more to it. We've been focused on Amber's

unique

ability to perform magic as a slave. But, I've been wondering about that. I developed this new spell because I was beginning to suspect something. It's inconceivable that all these captives you slave houses take are universally able to master every technique, even pleasure/pain symbiosis. Thousands of men and women taken over the centuries, all able to convert pain to pleasure and orgasm under the whip."

"Can you make your point, please?"

"My point is this. In the past two weeks, every last slave in this house has been subjected to some kind of magical spell; and I don't mean the active spells on the collars. They've been subjected to some spell that has, in some way, modified them." He put up his hand to forestall the interruptions. "Please, I don't mean to say that some strange, renegade wizard has been changing your slaves without your knowledge. I believe the slaves have been changing themselves. Every slave in this complex is capable, on an unconscious level, of using magic on themselves. What makes Amber unique is not that she can use magic but that she can use it purposefully."

Garth looked at the wizard incredulously, a look shared by the others at the table. "Are you telling us that slaves succeed in their training because they magically enable themselves to do so? Then why do we have slaves that have difficulty with training at all?"

"I can't be certain, but I suspect it's a combination of varying levels of power and control, and psychological. Some slaves take longer to make the changes needed because they are simply not as good at the magic as others, and some because they have mental blocks, shall we say, to making the changes that have to be overcome first. As for Aurora, if she hadn't had the claws and killer instinct in the first place, I doubt she'd been able to change herself enough, fast enough, to kill the beast."

"This is all well and good, but we're getting side tracked. What can we do about these attacks? Why are these creatures suddenly appearing now?"

"Silene shook her head. "I'd say the why should be obvious. There's only one thing setting this burning time apart from the ones in the past; the shadow creatures and the holes in the world. Somehow, these things have been either created by the shadows or they've been disturbed by the actions of the shadows. To stop the attacks, we have to stop the machinations of the shadow creatures."

"I'm more concerned with their sudden need to eat people," Garth added.

"Not just people, but any living creature," Thabian corrected. "What do we know about these things?"

"Not much. This latest attack is the first time one of the bodies have been recovered. Guild experts are looking at it as we speak." As if someone had heard what he said, Vesti heard the ping of a communications summons from Ponet. He turned to the gathering. "The guild is calling, we may have some answers. I accept the summons."

"Vesti," Ponet's image paused briefly. "Good, you're not alone. The investigation of the creature is still ongoing, but an early result needs to be forwarded to you as soon as possible. The creature is almost bereft of mana. In fact, only our most sensitive wizards were able to detect any mana at all."

"Could it be attacking living creatures for their mana?"

"That's what we're afraid of. It's even more specific, though. Every attack, according to the data we have available, is on something that doesn't have any variation in it's mana levels over time. In other words, sentient creatures and our domesticated beasts."

"Are you telling us," Inclon asked, "that these things are specifically targeting civilization?" He paused less than a second before adding, "Have they attacked crops?"

"Yes, that's what it seems like. No, plants haven't been attacked yet."

"That makes sense," Inclon mused. At the confused faces around him, he explained, "Domestic crops have the lowest mana levels of any substances in the world; lower than the lowest levels of those things that do vary. Sentient beings and domesticated beasts tend to have moderate to high levels of mana that never change. If these things are trying to make up for some kind of induced mana deficiency, they would target the things with the most mana that aren't on the surface."

Inclon had uttered out loud the very thing everyone else had sensed but been unwilling, subconsciously, to acknowledge. Of all the people (and images) at the table, only one was smiling.

"Well, that makes what we need to do very clear."

"What are you talking about?" Ponet's eyes suddenly widened. "You! What in the names of the Gods are

you

doing there?"

"Saving our collective asses. The guild would never see this as they deny it's even possible." She pulled her mana seed out. "We place these away from people in areas that are near attack zones and let the creatures have them."

Vesti put his head in his hands as Ponet asked the expected question. "What is that?"

"It's a mana seed, of course. I've stored a fair bit of mana in it. You know,

moved

mana from somewhere else to the crystal."

"Mana can't be..." Ponet's voice faltered at repeating the commonly held non-fact as he recalled that the current crisis was the result of mana being moved, on a massive scale, from this world to another.

"Yes, that's right. Your precious laws of magic are just wrong." Her voice switched from false sympathy to harsh unforgiveness. "Get over it! And before you ask, no, I won't teach you how. Let Vesti do it, he's been making them for years."

*****

"Report!" Melen ordered. Her face was awash with anger and fear.

"It's not good, ma'am. It seems impossible to drive the things off once they appear. It's like they have no fear, or that any fear they may have is overcome by some other need or force. They're also incredibly tough. That's to be expected if Talindal's theory is correct." The warrior was referring to Madam Lustren's archivist. "Any creature able to live and move in the depths of the mountain would have to have skin harder than almost every known mineral. There is one bright development. The wizard's new apprentice, no journeyman," he corrected himself, "is apparently an expert in enchanting weapons. We were able to kill the latest one to attack, though we still lost three men in the process."

"Is there any way to predict when and where the attacks will occur? Having some kind of advanced warning would give you an advantage, would it not?"

"Yes, ma'am, it would. All we know for certain is that the attacks seem to target groups of people and herd animals. The farther from the cavern walls, the larger a group seems to need to be to attract an attack."

Melen seemed to sink into herself, as if drained of her will. She visibly pulled herself together. "Move herds of whatever size seems to draw the attacks to the cavern walls, and move as many people as we can away." She saw from his reaction that she was giving orders that had already been started. Relieved that she could still trust her guard captain to anticipate her needs, she continued. "Impress upon the journeyman how important it is to speed up the enchanting process. He has full access to anything in the caverns that he needs.

"I understand, ma'am. I've already had construction of temporary shelters in the common areas started. I am concerned about one thing, though. These things have never emerged in an area that wasn't full of people or animals. It's like they can sense where their prey is through the rock. And in some cases, they've come up through the floor. I'm fearful that pulling away from the walls will simply change where they end up attacking. It may depend on what they have the bigger appetite for, people or herd animals."

"We can't worry about maybes, Captain. If that's what ends up happening, we'll deal with it then. Make sure the herd animals you put near the walls are the ones the creatures seem to have the greatest affinity for. We can hedge our bets."

"At once, ma'am."

*****

The screams of the dying yeltin and injured merchants echoed ominously in the corridor. Heversham tried, unsuccessfully, to tune them out as he surveyed the remains of the creature. His first thought was that they'd been attacked by an immense cockroach. An acrid smell stung at his eyes, but he didn't complain. Without the acid potion Napure had devised was the only reason his caravan had survive intact; well mostly intact. "What do you make of it, Napure?"

"This shouldn't be here," the dwarf muttered. "It belongs deep."

"You know what this is?"

"Only from legend." Heversham knew that for dwarves, a legend was a fact whose source had been lost in time. Napure prodded the creature's remains, revealing a curious lump of metal inside it. "This is a lump of iron. Miners know that iron comes in two types of veins. The most common are really mixtures of iron and other, less useful minerals that have to be smelted out. Occasionally, though, you'll run into what we call a node vein. Node veins are runs of ordinary rock containing nodules of pure iron that needs no smelting at all. These creatures are responsible for those nodes. Legend says that these creatures, called hematites, eat rock and excrete pure iron. But they shouldn't be here, and they certainly shouldn't be trying to eat living creatures."

"Very strange," Heversham replied. "Not every attack we've heard of is by this thing. Are there other legends?"

"Oh yes. There's something like this creature for nearly every useful mineral or metal. Most are supposed to be much smaller than this thing. One or two are quite a bit larger."

"Just how much larger are we talking about?"

"Oh, big enough to swallow a yeltin whole," the dwarf muttered, seemingly unaware of the panicked expression on the merchant's face.

*****

Amber's pussy glistened with moisture as she lowered herself onto Thebes' cock. She moaned as it penetrated her depths, filling her with pleasurable feelings as it filled her cunt. Uncharacteristically, Thebes wasn't participating in the sex, instead letting Amber do all the work. Once she had engulfed him completely, she started grinding on him. Her hips rocked and swiveled as she did a slow bounce on him. She felt her own arousal grow as she worked on driving Thebes to what she hoped would be a massive climax.

Thebes wasn't fighting the feelings Amber was inspiring in him, but he didn't help her along either. This was one of Amber's final tests in her training; could she please a Master without seeking or reaching her own climax. She had already demonstrated the ability to resist coming, and the ability to give great pleasure to males and females. Now she had to do both at the same time. It was easy for a slave to get lost in one part of the test and fail the other. The fact that she had been denied a climax for the last two days made this test one of the most difficult slaves had to face.

This wasn't to say that Amber couldn't be aroused during the test; she simply couldn't actively seek her pleasure and she had to not come no matter what. As she moved on Thebes' penis, she flexed the muscles in her cunt, squeezing them in a rhythm that felt like being milked. She could see and feel Thebes' response to her actions, even while her own arousal grew. She leaned forward to kiss and fondle Thebes in addition to the fucking she was doing. She didn't fight her arousal, but channeled the sensations into a greater enthusiasm in her ministrations. In the back of her mind, she fought against her own orgasm.

Her need had her panting with frustration. Her frustration drove her to even more energetic gyrations on the cock embedded in her pussy. Her desire to obey the command to not cum warred with her desire to give in to the wonderful sensations she was creating in herself. That Thebes was playing the most insensitive and poorly trained male didn't make obedience any easier. Yet, Amber's training held and she pushed Thebes over the edge while hanging on herself.