To Dominate While Unseen: VII
Tuesday, August 19, 2003 (05:56:01)

Posted by TerishD

Chapter Seven

Dethii almost screamed as she awoke and her body sat up in the strange bed. She quickly looked around the room with a shocked expression, and her eyes stayed wide as the covers of the bed fell to reveal her bare upper torso. There was someone present to gaze upon her, but the youthful appearing white haired lady was moving her eyes elsewhere to assure that she placed her needlepoint in a proper location. The wizard remembered something about previously being elated to see Fenshallit, and allowed her body to relax feeling delighted to see the lady now.

The adventurers learn more about their situation as they further attempt to rescue Dethii.


Chapter Seven

Dethii almost screamed as she awoke and her body sat up in the strange bed. She quickly looked around the room with a shocked expression, and her eyes stayed wide as the covers of the bed fell to reveal her bare upper torso. There was someone present to gaze upon her, but the youthful appearing white haired lady was moving her eyes elsewhere to assure that she placed her needlepoint in a proper location. The wizard remembered something about previously being elated to see Fenshallit, and allowed her body to relax feeling delighted to see the lady now.

The one who once served an elemental noble whispered as she moved to gather some garments, "Let's not wake my lord, Dethii. The sun is surely gaining height, but the mist above us still blocks most celestial lights. I thus doubt that we are completely safe. I want my husband fully rested before he again starts challenging the danger around us."

The reddish haired young lady accepted the clothes that were given to her and quickly moved behind a screen even though Jackal did not move from his resting position on the floor. Fenshallit mentioned that she had spent most of her previous life sleeping on a rock floor only padded with a folded blanket, so felt certain that her husband was getting proper rest. The words did not really comfort Dethii, but having one concern soothed did enable her to focus on other problems.

"I am supposed to be married today."

Fenshallit continued to whisper as she replied. "We will do everything we can to prevent such from happening, Dethii."

Both ladies turned as the door was opened. The female wizard was still behind the screen, but stood on her tip toes in order to face the fear of being recognized. The butler was startled to see an additional lady in the room, but quickly dropped the look of alarm on his face.

"Lady Dethii, it is nice to see you this morning." The was a slight emphasis on the visual descriptor. "Your dress was set out last night. Lord Yestinin is disposed at the moment, but is looking forward to you wearing it later in the day."

"I do not want to soil the garment." The reddish haired lady wanted to use the butler's name, but did not know it. "I will change after the midday meal."

"Certainly, my lady. A certain spell would be appreciated as well." The butler looked over the room, then focused on Fenshallit as he said, "Breakfast will be served within the hour."

The white haired lady assured the servant that all would soon be at the table, then quickly had him exit the room. She turned back to the partition only to see Dethii partially clothed as she held onto a side of the ornate divider. There was a strained look on her features, and she explained herself as Fenshallit came to her.

"I feel a strong urge to go and put on that dress. I also must ready my magic for the day."

A masculine voice sounded, "What spell was he talking about?"

Dethii answered as she allowed Fenshallit to direct her to finish dressing. "I received an old parchment giving the specifics of an invisibility spell. It is different from the normal spell described in most texts. The magic will continue as long as I do nothing even slightly aggressive."

The white haired lady understood a certain reasoning. "Lord Yestinin is seeking to control you. He wants you demure and pleasant at all times."

The female wizard nodded as she replied, "I believe that he is also naturally invisible, so just desires me in that state. I think that he can see me when I am invisible."

Jackal was checking over his clothes as he said, "Pervert. I wonder how many other invisible ladies he has locked away here."

Fenshallit felt a need to move to her husband, but first spoke to Dethii. "Do not wear that dress in your room. You do not want to obligate yourself to Lord Yestinin. If you desire, I will acquire one of your regular dresses later. My lord has however allowed me to acquire some quality gowns, and I must say that you presently doing one of them credit."

The reddish haired lady thanked Fenshallit, then looked to the man in the room to say, "I told you that I needed to be rescued."


Rain was very interested in a shelf of books set in the dining room. To be honest, he was curious about the entire range of art presented in the mansion. Certain pieces of statuary were very morbid. There were also pictures of strange cities with tall buildings. The elf cleric tried to talk to his wife about the art, but she quickly lost interest in the topic considering it as just another sign that their host was slightly weird. Rain was thus glad when he saw his friend enter the room with the two human ladies.

"Jackal, can you read Desatry? I believe this book is written in that language."

The bard moved to the book shelf willing to look at the large tome laid open on an otherwise bare shelf. Its size, place of importance, and the fact that Rain found it of interest definitely made it of some importance to Jackal. He stopped abruptly with only a close glance at the text however, then backed to the large table in the middle of the room as his eyes darted to the other artwork.

"Lord Yestinin is an orange shirt. My parents were orange shirts. That is why Derinda's family did not like me."

Yes, Rain asked him what he was talking about, and Jackal did answer. "Orange shirts are humans abducted from another world and pulled through He-Who-Holds-All to ours. Their bodies are changed, but they still think in the manner of their old world. As a child, I was taught a lot of strange things."

The bard did identify the tome as being a copy of a holy book from the other world. The cityscapes he mentioned as supposedly being views of the other world. He found certain pieces of statuary and art interesting however.

"The crosses have all had one side of their horizontal beams broken or painted off. The cross is central to the religion of orange shirts, an important person was killed on it, so supposedly has an affect on undead like when you present your icon of your god."

"It must work, or why else would he desecrate all of them."

Jackal did not want to discuss the topic. He had left his past behind. The fact that his friend was so willing to accept the alien icons a possible symbols of a true deity, only made talking with him less pleasurable. It was the heathens, the witches, that promoted the induction of orange shirts, and even Rain would profess that the witches worshipped no true gods. The bard turned to the ladies determined to solve the problem at hand and get away from this place.

Watussin noticed the strange look on Jackal's face when he went to move a chair to take a seat at the table, and spoke to him glad that he recognized a certain difference. "They are metal. I don't believe that Lord Yestinin wants someone to have an easy time in gaining a small sharp piece of wood. The table is wood, but it is made of large thick sections. If you see a thin ornate section, you are probably looking at metal."

Jackal started a whispered discussion with the ladies about their host. Dethii wanted to supply every scrap of information desired, but truly knew nothing of her unwanted fiancé. She felt that she had first been bitten by the vampire on a late stroll with a potential suitor that had the full support of her parents. Her mother and a couple of aunts were in the garden chaperoning the couple when the attack occurred, but they were not close enough to prevent some closeness. The wizard really did not like the young man however, so was not next to him when his body spouted blood and flew into some shrubs. Dethi remembered hearing a voice close to her, but what it said and any other memory of that night was not present in her mind. She awoke the next morning to a mass of ladies concerned about her health and softly speaking of the terrible thing that had been done to the one the parents hoped would have been her husband. She again awoke to the presence of a number of female relatives a couple of mornings later, but could remember nothing of the night before. Fearing for her life, and wanting nothing more to do with her parents' attempts to marry her off, she fled to rejoin her heroic friends.

Watussin mentioned discovering the use of metal in the house the night before. She did not go into details about the activity that made the bed creak, but did identify the piece of furniture as being the source of her realization. With the oddity of the bed realized, she and her husband had paid attention to the other items about the mansion and noted the consistent odd details.

Fenshallit had no real information to supply. Such a fact did not bother her. She was proud to see both her husband and Dethii still alive and in good spirits. In fact, not wishing to hear any complaint about a lack of service, the white haired lady stood and sought things to fulfill certain desires.

The butler returned and immediately moved to the one who was opening panels in the wall. Fenshallit only smiled as the man went to a place next to a wall, moved a piece of paneling showing it to be a door to a closet, and mentioned a need for cups to go with the pot of tea that he had upon a silver platter. As the white haired lady helped the butler, she quizzed him concerning the number of servants active on the estate. There was no indication of displeasure or surprise when the butler answered that presently there were barely more than a handful.

"How does your lord pay his rent?"

"I do not concern myself with the affairs of Lord Yestinin."

Fenshallit clearly caught the indication that the butler did not want to consider certain thoughts. As she considered a method to pry, she turned to her husband who approached. Thinking him to only want some tea, the white haired lady held forth a cup that she had prepared for him. Jackal had however also heard the words from the butler, and did have something to say in return.

"I guess that means that you do not know where Major Chedrau is?"

The butler had his body stand completely erect as he replied, "I was informed that he would be unavailable."

"Because he is dead?"

The interrogation was ended as Watussin gasped and Dethii rose from her place at the table. She was acting as if hearing words from somebody, and the presence of another was further indicated as she began to waltz to the front of the room clearly moving with an invisible partner. Whatever soft voice the unseen individual had been using to speak to the wizard was strengthened so all could now hear.

"I did not have a use for the major, so gave him to one of my consorts." A smile actually came to Dethii's face as the invisible man added, "I treat all of my ladies well, and my wife will never lack for comfort."

Something else was said to the reddish haired lady, and they heard her reply, "I have not readied my magic for today."

There had been movement of the adventurers towards the wizard, but uncertainty caused them not to get too close. Jackal was not armored because his wife had stressed that he needed to present a respectful appearance to their host, but she had allowed him to add a couple of rapiers to his outfit. Rain however considered his armor part of his vocation, although his wife was only in a lovely dress. All tensed as they heard the unseen presence softly speak to his dancing partner.

"Then I guess they get to watch."

As Dethii stopped moving and bent her head to one side, all four of her friends armed themselves. The men readied the weapons that were evident. Fenshallit moved to her husband and claimed one of his rapiers. Watussin lifted the hem of her dress and released some laces holding a magicked sickle.

The collar around the wizard's throat was removed as a voice confidently said, "You cannot stop me from claiming Dethii as my own."

Well, yes, of course they will try. The action starts again with the next chapter.