white wall of pain filled his mind, leaving no room for anything else, not even thoughts of escape. The demon left Otto slumped in his chains, a dark reddish glow around his head, inflicting unimaginable suffering on the old man.
"You gave me your word, dark lord." the fire beast named Adramaleck crackled, knowing full well that a demon's word was worth slightly less than nothing. "His eyes were such a delicious treat. I will savor the rest, as I devour him over the next few centuries."
"I have no further need of him." came the reply. "Whatever he was plotting, to stop my glorious plan, will have stopped now that he is here. My plan will proceed, and, as such, of what use is he to me? Take him, and do as you will."
With a scorching grin, the beast turned, lifted Otto by the chains, and trudged off down the passage dragging it's prize behind it.
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eatrice pounded on the great doors of the Temple of Mithras in Wintermoor, screaming for any Knight who might hear. Fireballs rose from her fingers to the sky, in the hope of signaling anyone near. But, there was silence.
She ran from building to building, looking for anyone who might help her kidnapped master - but found no one. Small, glowing footprints were here and there in the snow, looking rather like those of a fairly heavy-set imp, but of the creature who had made them, there was no sign.
Finally, she found a note at the bar, in the tavern, from Castor to Skylark, telling of how the Knights had been called to ride forth against an evil uprising near Jhelom. She sighed, and slumped onto a bar stool, and buried her head in her hands.
After she had regained her composure, she journied to the Wispwood shire, but found all the able-bodied citizens had gone hunting, or had accompanied the Knights. Another gate took her to Iantown, but the recent Festival of the Sheep had left the citizens severely hung-over, and of little help.
Riding back towards Umbra, she stopped outside the home of Spyderbite, and, her hope dwindling, pounded on the door.
"Otto said he was in danger" she thought to herself. "If nothing else, perhaps self-preservation will be enough to get him to help"
A hidden teleporter beneath her feet suddenly glowed, and she found herself inside, in front of two very concerned looking vampires.
Spyderbite moved forwards. "I have been expecting you, Scribe. Had we not heard from you sooner we would have sought you out ourselves. Otto is an integral part of these lands and our own lives. Tell us all you know.. we shall do anything necessary to assist."
"Where is he, and how can we help him?" asked Katharine, her fangs gleaming in the candlelight, her eyes blazing dangerously. Beatrice gulped, and took a step backwards.
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he told them all she knew. Of the ancient vampires. Of the strange liquid that Otto had stolen from the demon. Of the effigy of Spyderbite that had been treated in the liquid. Of the huge, red hand, and the fire beast's history with Otto, and how Otto had first come to these lands. Beneath Spyder's robe, the black imp squirmed and squealed at these words, but was soon stilled by a firm grip around it's beak-like jaw.
Exhausted from the outpouring of all this information, she staggered forward, and was more than a little surprised to find Spyderbite catch her, and help her to a chair.
"There is a little more. I brought these with me - I thought they might be important."
She handed Spyderbite the blade that Otto had made, and one of the phials of liquid. Looking at the blade, Spyderbite handed it to his betrothed. "This is more your type of weapon than mine, I feel." he said.
Katharine looked at it, but did not take it. "No my Love.. inspect the blade again. Otto was clever enough to fashion it so that it can be wielded by either you or him.. but no one else. He had to the forsight to know that should something befall either of you, it would still serve its purpose".
Nodding at his wife to be, he took the weapon back from her. Too long to be a dagger that he was accustomed to, yet shorter than a sword. He noted that its balance and feel however were strangely familiar to him. He sheathed the knife in his belt and turned his attention to Beatrice.
"How do we proceed, Scribe? I do not have the power to open the Void or whatever Hells our friend is captive".
"There may already be a doorway, sir Vampire." she said, still unsure as to how one addresses a vampire politely. All the vampires she had encountered before had not really given her the chance to utter a sound.
"The liquid in this vial is not of this world. Otto had somehow managed to open a spy-hole into the lair of the demon I told you of, and through that hole, he did siphon off a huge quantity of this fluid - the same fluid the effigy of you was immersed in. I believe that if I was to either cast a gate spell, or summon an energy vortex, right onto the rim of the spy hole, it would widen enough to allow us through. But - even if it does - what do we do when we arrive there? These are beings far more ancient than any of us, or even than any we have encountered - they play with lives, souls, and worlds, as we might move a pebble about with our feet!"
Katharine looked suspiciously at the small glass container in the scribe's hand. "That looks terribly like liquid sunlight." she scowled. "You are sure it is not dangerous?"
"I do not know, ma'am." replied Beatrice meekly. "All I know is it's origin, and how it was being used. Beyond that, I know nothing else."
Spyderbite took it, and studied it. "This is not sunlight." He said after a while. "Watch, and you will see. There, in the swirling liquid - see you there? Small forms move and dart about. I see men and women of legend in there, in miniature. Their greatest moments, their greatest hours, being re-enacted. Most strange. If I did not know better, I would claim that what you have here is either bottled valor, or goodness!"
"Well, whatever it is, I am sure Otto was gathering it for a reason!" said Spyderbite. "Now come - time is wasting, and our friend is no doubt suffering. If they wanted him dead, we would be gathering around his grave by now. He is most certainly in pain, and probably wishing that he were dead. Show me this 'spy hole', and swiftly!"
Beatrice hesitated, unsure as to whether she should allow them into Otto's home, much less his private workshop... but then thought of the claw that had seized Otto - and opened a gateway to the snow field Otto called home.
Once in the shambles of a workshop, she set to work widening the hole, until, finally, it stood there, wide enough for a grown man to stride through. Fortunately, there was no sign of anyone, or any creature, on the other side.
Beatrice looked up from her spell casting, to find Spyderbite standing over her, with a strange look in his eye. "You have served your purpose well, little one." He said menacingly. Then Beatrice's world went black.
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get your own
