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Rainfall: Assault By Tom J. Hyde Synopsis: Therobelin and his two companions, Xhaiden and Meghalen, venture into the foreboding Talon Forest to face the Rainfall Cult, unprepared for the challenges that await them. (Part 2) * * * Here's part 2 of the Rainfall series, which has been expanded to four parts now. Thank you all for your very kind comments regarding Arrival and I hope you enjoy the next action-packed tale of Therobelin and his companions. I do recommend that you read Rainfall: Arrival before you embark on this adventure. As always, I welcome your input and comments. Write a quick review for me or drop me a line at [email protected]. And feel free to check out my stories at TGStories.com. One more thing: in case anybody's wondering, I'm planning a full rewrite (and completion) of my Forbidden Fruit series, which will be hopefully completed in a month or so, after I'm done with Rainfall and do my next story in my Forest Cove saga on TGStories.com. Enjoy the story! -Tom J. Hyde Copyright 2006 * * * As the rain splattered on my helmet, I muttered some rather rude things about the gods to myself. Here we were, going on a quest to save the town of Ghanton and to restore the transformed men and women now residing in the Ghanton Brothel and the gods can't even give me some good weather. I was vaguely annoyed about the entire thing. The rain had started just as we had entered the Talon Forest, where the Rainfall Cult made their home. From what I had known from the past, they dwelt in an old fort that was once part of a network of defense structures all across Juknip Province. However, with the end of the Nation Wars, they had fallen into disuse and had eventually been abandoned all together. We had been traveling for almost two hours now and hadn't seen even the slightest sign of civilization. Every so often, I would swear that I would see movement out of the corner of my eye. That worried me and I suspected that we were being watched. Finally, around noon or so, when the rain had become a little more than a sprinkle, I motioned my party to halt. "I don't like this," I said to Meghalen and Xhaiden. "Something is very wrong." "I agree," Xhaiden said as he peered into the forest. "We should have seen someone by now." "Do you sense anything?" Meghalen asked me as he kept his hand on the hilt of his sword. "Any sort of magical presence?" "I've tried casting a life sign spell several times now, but something seems to be blocking it. I can't get a clear reading ahead of us." "Ther," Xhaiden said. "I'm beginning to think that we should have brought a larger force." "We don't have a choice," I said grimly. "Despite the fact that I can't sense anything ahead of us, I can sense that something has blocked our path back, something that we cannot be victorious against unless we push forward first." "What do you sense?" Xhaiden asked. "I'm not sure," I said as I concentrated on the presence behind us. "Whatever it is, it is old...very old." "That does not bode well for us," Xhaiden said as his eyes darted from shadow to shadow. I sighed. "Yes, I know." "If there's something behind us now..." Meghalen said, trailing off. "It means that someone knew we were coming," I grunted. "A spy in the town?" Xhaiden asked. "Maybe," I said. "Or maybe they just have well-hidden sentries posted at the edge of the forest. They may even have a magical detection grid, like the one outside the Imperial Palace." "If someone knows about our arrival, that means that they can bolster their defenses," the elf said. "You are quite right," I said. "Still, we must continue forward." "We can't just walk up to the old fort and knock on the door!" Xhaiden exclaimed. "Why not?" Meghalen grunted. "A nice frontal assault will do wonders for my sword." "Against a legion of very powerful mages, such a force would be suicide," I said firmly. "We need to think up another plan." "What about an invisibility spell?" Xhaiden asked. I pondered his suggestion for a few moments. "Illusion magic has never been my specialty, Xhaiden." "Nevertheless, can you try?" "There's no harm in trying," I said as I gathered the errant magical energies of the region to me. I was a little worried that such a spell to conceal all three of us would be noticed by the cult. But a frontal assault would be asking for death and without some semblances of stealth, we didn't have any way to scout the enemy position. I began to mutter my incantations softly. Xhaiden and Meghalen's horses bucked a little, perhaps sensing the magical energies I was harnessing. My mount had been with me for many years and was used to a great deal of magic casting in my presence, so she did not even tremble. After a good five minutes of chanting, I reached out my hands to allow the spell to begin. And from Xhaiden and Meghalen's sudden disappearance from my sight and their shouts of surprise, I knew it had worked. "Okay," Meghalen's voice said from a few feet away. "Good job, but if we can't see each other, then no good will come of it." Xhaiden only huffed with annoyance. I chuckled slightly. The location spell for a friendly who was invisible was easy. It took only a moment of incantations before the two of them were once again in my sight. "Is the spell still active?" Xhaiden asked as he glanced at myself and Meghalen. "Yes," I said. "I've only opened a small hole in the field so we can see each other." "Excellent!" Meghalen said. "Now all those cultists will know is that they're suddenly being cut apart by thin air!" "Not quite, Halen," I chided. "Any sudden motion might remove the spell. Invisibility spells are quite delicate. We won't be able to stay invisible for combat, only for reconnaissance." "Damnation," Meghalen spat. "It would have been fun to see the looks on their faces." "I'm sure," I said wryly. "Now we must move softly and quietly. While I believe we may have given our watchers the slip with this spell, the noise will give away our position just as much as our appearance." My two friends nodded. "Let's move out," I said as we urged our steeds forward. About a half hour later, we saw one of the cultists. She was definitely a woman, one with a rather stunning figure, even though it was draped in a heavy robe. We stopped for several minutes and just watched her. The cultist was performing some sort of ceremony over a puddle of rainwater. I thought this was extremely strange, since I had never heard of any sort of ritual that required rainwater as a reagent. However, there was an unmistakable magical energy emanating from both the woman and the puddle. I motioned for my companions to dismount carefully. I knew that we were close and that we should go the rest of the way on foot. The horses would be too easily detected. I whispered my instructions in my mounts ear, using my Horse's Tongue enchantment. She understood, because she led the two other horses away. I was a little nervous about the presence I had felt behind us, but I was almost positive that the presence would do nothing to the horses, because it was waiting for us. After some time, the woman stopped her chanting and took a vial from the depths of her robe. She carefully filled it with the rainwater and bottled the vial, placing it back inside her robe. When she began to move off, we followed. During the next hour, we followed the cultist through the forest. It had begun to rain again and I heard Meghalen muttering under his breath for a few moments before I silenced him with a look. The oddest part was that when the rain had started in earnest again, the woman giggled and did a little dance in a small clearing, allowing herself to get soaked through to the skin. I was beginning to suspect that the term ?Rainfall' in relation to these people was not just a comment on the local weather. These people had some sort of connection with the elements, specifically the rain. Doubt started to creep into my mind. If these people gathered their power from the rain, then we might be in trouble, as it had apparently been raining on and off for three months in the Province. However, a short while after the clearing, I decided that we had no choice. We had arrived at the Rainfall Encampment. However, encampment didn't begin to describe the threat that now faced us. The towers of the old fort were now fully surrounded by the trees of the forest. It was a standard Imperial Fort, with four towers and a large base structure made out of stone. I also knew on fairly good authority that this structure was one of the larger ones in the area, with a massive underground complex underneath. But what really worried me was the sentries. On every balcony of the towers, there was both an archer and what looked like a destruction mage. In front of the massive gate at the center of the complex were at least four female warriors in full battle gear. In addition, there were roving patrols of mages and warriors walking around the structure. The strangest thing was that while it was obviously built to be a fortress, it still looked like one. There was almost no sign of decay to the structure. I had fully expected to find a ruin, maybe a single standing tower, but this entire complex looked like it had been built only yesterday. I scanned the building with my mind and I detected the signs of heavy enchantments. The entire structure had been enchanted back to its original state by some very powerful and very old magic. This did not bode well for us. "By the gods, Ther," Xhaiden hissed. "I was expecting some tents and half-standing walls! Not a fortified bunker!" Even Meghalen looked nervous. "Ther, you know I'm always good for a fight, but this is even out of my league." I agreed. The fight was far too much for us. I was beginning to think that we might need to face the threat behind us, unknown as it was. And then I saw it. On the right forward tower, there was a minute imperfection in the magical shield protecting the stone. Two perfectly placed shots could bring the entire tower down. One would have to be a directed dispel at the shield. The second would probably have to be some sort of explosive charge. I knew that Xhaiden never went anywhere without a very large selection of arrows. "Xhaiden," I said quickly. "Do you have any fireball arrows?" The Elf shuffled through his pack for a few moments and then shook his head to my dismay. "No, the closest thing I have are some high-concussion arrowheads." "Concussion?" Meghalen asked. "That might work," I said as I made some rapid-fire calculations in my head. "Give me one of them and let me see if I can enhance it a little." Xhaiden handed the arrow over to me and with a few incantations, I could feel the power emanating from the arrowhead. It was unstable and it wouldn't last for long, but it might just be enough for what we needed. "Okay, here's the plan," I said and quickly told them my plan of attack. After I was done fielding several questions, I told them to take their positions. Meghalen moved off to the side, so that we could have a clear run at the main gate if my idea worked. I only prayed to whoever was listening at the moment that it did, or else this would be a short offensive. I nodded to Xhaiden and he prepared the arrow in his bow. I muttered my incantations and prepared the first shot. "Everybody ready?" I asked as my hands continued to dance in circles, conjuring the bolt of magical energy that was required for this attack. "Ready," Xhaiden said firmly. "Ready," Meghalen echoed. "Then let's do this," I said grimly and released the dispel. The bright green ball flew at the small imperfection rapidly. A moment later, Xhaiden released his arrow, which followed the ball straight and true. What happened next was beyond my expectations. The green dispel bolt slammed into the side of the tower, causing the entire tower to flash. It did just enough damage to punch a small hole in the tower, but nothing more, because that was what Xhaiden's arrow was for. The arrow shot directly through the tiny hole and exploded. The three of us covered our ears as a deafening boom came from the tower and gigantic cracks appeared throughout the stonework. It took only moments for the entire thing to come crashing down into a pile of rubble and dust. Needless to say, the cultists were rather disturbed at this latest incident and every single one of them went rushing to the tower, just as I had intended. I grinned and motioned for my team to move in. We swiftly moved through the trees, but slowly enough that the invisibility spell would still be active. About a dozen guards had stormed out of the main gate, leaving it ajar, which seemed a blindly stupid tactical maneuver, but I wasn't going to argue. Within one minute, we had slipped inside the Rainfall fortress. While I knew they would be on heightened alert, I was hoping they would think that it was true military force charging them and act accordingly. All we had to do was get Ballan alone and I was sure that we would be able to handle him. We slipped along the walls of the corridors, glancing into rooms for a hint of Ballan or anything else. Most of the chambers were barracks with at least four beds. Several of them appeared to be lecture halls and dining rooms. I realized quickly that this could take a very long time if we didn't know where we were going. I pulled my two companions into one of the rooms and quietly closed the door right before a group of a dozen warriors marched by our position. "What's the problem, Ther?" Meghalen asked. "I'm going to try and probe someone's mind," I said. "Maybe then we can figure out where Ballan is." Meghalen nodded. "Good idea. I don't want to wander this enchanted fortress any longer than I have to." I took a deep breath and calmed myself, reaching outwards and seeking the minds of one of the warriors who had just passed in the hallway. I was very careful as I slowly began to read his thoughts because I didn't want him to notice and possibly tip someone off. What I found there disturbed me greatly. However, I realized that I needed the information anyway, so I searched his memories for the location of Ballan and after a few careful moments, right before he was out of range, I found what I was looking for. As soon as I broke the connection, I fell to the ground, horrified by what I had sensed inside the poor warrior's mind. Xhaiden and Meghalen helped me back up to my feet as I shivered slightly. "What?" Xhaiden hissed. "What happened?" "I know where Ballan is," I muttered. "But we have a complication." "What complication?" Meghalen asked. "These people are not here willingly." "What?" Xhaiden said. "What do you mean?" "Ballan adjusted their minds and bodies so that they would be able servants of the Cult." "They're under a spell?" Meghalen asked. "A spell that forces them to fight for the Cult?" "That's not really it," I said grimly. "Their memories have been altered so that they believe that they want to serve, but underneath all of that, the real person is there, asleep." "Gods," Meghalen breathed. "What kind of monsters are we dealing with?" "I don't know," I said. "Did you find out any more about how Ballan does the transformations?" Xhaiden asked. "Yes," I nodded. "He first incapacitates his victims and then brings them to the central chamber of the complex. In that chamber, there is a massive crystal formation, unlike anything I have ever seen. The victims are brought before the crystal and Ballan commands the changes to occur, erasing their bodies and minds and replacing them with whatever Ballan chooses." I took a deep breath. "He used to simply create powerful mages and warriors and the occasional whore for his amusement, but in the last several years, he's started to create more of the whores. I'm guessing that he feels that his force is strong enough that he doesn't need any more warriors." "Did you get any idea of what he's trying to accomplish?" Meghalen asked. I thought hard about the memories I had dug from the ensorcelled man's mind, but they were fuzzy and vague. "I know that the crystal has something to do with his plan and the word ?resurrection' comes to mind, but I can't give you more than that." "So it looks like we'll have two targets," Meghalen said. "This magical crystal and Ballan himself." "Do you know where the chamber is?" Xhaiden asked. I nodded. "Then what are we waiting for?" Meghalen asked. "There's one thing," I said. "We cannot kill any of these people." "Tell me you are joking," Meghalen said. "They have no control over what they are doing," I hissed. "I will not condone the murder of innocents just because they are being controlled." "What do you expect us to do if we are discovered?" Meghalen countered. "Ask nicely for them to stand aside?" "I know you still have the Staff of Paralysis I gave you last year," I said. "And Xhaiden never goes anywhere without his Arrows of Incapacitation." Meghalen sighed. "I can't believe you're not going to let me cut anyone up," he groaned as he dug in his back for his Staff. After finding the two halves of the staff, he quickly muttered the incantation I had taught him to bring the silvery staff back together. Xhaiden quickly changed out his arrows with a minimum of fuss. I was lucky that I didn't have to change any of my weaponry as I would just be using a different school of magic. "I don't think this invisibility spell of yours will last much longer, Ther," Xhaiden said. "We should move out." I agreed. I could sense that the spell was very close to dispelling. I wasn't exactly sure how long we had, but we had to move quickly. Once we were sure the hallway was clear, we exited the room and I led the group quickly through the corridors and hallways. Occasionally, I could feel our invisibility shield flicker, but I managed to strengthen it just enough to make it past several sentries. I didn't like sulking around and I knew that Meghalen hated it more than I did. I didn't mind using stealth when the situation called for it, but the constant sneaking around just annoyed me. However, several minutes later, as we were approaching Ballan's chamber, we no longer had the option of using stealth. As we were passing a group of six guards, I felt the invisibility spell sputter and fail. The group of guards and my party just stared at each other for a moment. They were obviously startled by our sudden appearance out of thin air. So without a word on our part, we struck. Xhaiden shot out two arrows at one of them almost instantly. The man was quick though, as he brought his shield up to block the two blows. Three of them charged Meghalen, as he appeared to be the biggest threat, while I had two more on me. I fired off two stunning spells in quick succession at my targets. However, I was surprised when the two guards conjured magical shields right in front of them. I wasn't expecting that. When their hands began to glow red, I cursed. We might have been pulling our blows, but they certainly weren't. As the two guards fired two very large fireballs in my direction, I rolled to the floor, narrowly avoiding the fiery blasts. I then blasted one of them with a concussion spell. He landed about ten yards down the hall, leaving me with one more at the moment. I glanced to the side and grinned to see Meghalen grunting and groaning against the three large swords of his guards. He managed to block every blow the three of them were giving him and before I knew what happened, he slammed his staff into one of the guard's chest. I was worried for a moment that it might cave in the poor man's ribcage, but Meghalen knew what he was doing. The man simply froze and fell to the ground, his face stuck in an expression of surprise. I fired off another stunning spell at one of his guards, even as I sensed my own guard winding up for another fireball. My spell smashed the man attacking Meghalen in the shoulder and sent him spinning to the ground, unconscious. By the time I had returned my attention to my own ward, another fireball was shooting up the hall towards me. I cast a quick teleportation spell and jumped out of it's path. Apparently I had annoyed the man, because he came up at me, roaring, his sword held high. In a moment, I had my own sword in his hand and parried the blow. I could hear my companions grunting and groaning next to me, but I was no longer able to concentrate on anyone but the angry man bellowing in my face. He struck as a cobra would, but I was just a quick with a blade as he, though I traditionally favored magic. I blocked every strike he tried to connect with my body. He was quite good, but he had let the anger get the better of him. I gathered my energies even as I continued to fence with the man. But then he surprised me by giving me a sharp kick to the side. In my surprise, I dropped my weapon and fell to the ground. With a victorious cry, he lifted his sword and prepared to impale me to the ground. However, he had left himself vulnerable. With a flick of the wrist, I fired my stunning spell point blank into his chest. His eyes opened wide in shock as dropped his weapon and collapsed to the ground. I picked myself up off the floor just in time to see Meghalen land his final blow on his remaining guard, who fell softly to the ground. Finally, with a grunt, the final guard fell with three arrows in his chest. I looked at Xhaiden in shock but he smiled. "Just Arrows of Incapacitation, Ther," he said as he tried to catch his breath. "Good," I said as I glanced at the heaving body of Meghalen. "Do you feel better now?" I said with a grin. "Gods yes!" he cried. "Nothing like a good battle to get the blood pumping!" "I'm sure we were heard, my friends," I said as I glanced back up the hall. "We need to move out and finish this fight." "Agreed," Xhaiden said. From that moment on, we didn't waste any time. We bolted down the hallways at full speed since we didn't have surprise on our side anymore. At one point, a young woman exited a hall just as we were running forward. Xhaiden took her down with twin arrows before she ever knew what happened. And then, we were at the chamber. The closed door to the chamber was massive and ornately carved. It depicted what looked like a woman breaking free from some sort of prison while she was being worshipped by other women. For some reason, the entire scene made me nervous. But what made me more nervous was what was in front of the door. There were three heavily armored guards in front of the door. From what I could sense, I knew that we were no longer dealing with mind-altered minions. These people were true members of the Rainfall Cult. I could sense the magical energy pouring off them like a waterfall down a cliff. The two flanking the door were armed with vicious-looking polearms topped with three-pronged spikes. In addition, the polearms were obviously enchanted as they glowed a bright red color in the dim lighting of the torches. The middle character looked to be the captain of the guard. The magical potential coming from her was nothing short of astounding. I have met members of the Wizard's Council in the Imperial City that had less power than this single woman was showing. I couldn't get a good look at her weapon, because it was sheathed, though from what I could see, it looked gigantic. The most frightening part was that I recognized her armor. It was almost identical to my own enchanted glass armor I was wearing at that moment. The only difference was the color. While mine was a friendly blue, hers was a dark and foreboding crimson hue. I was lucky that the group had not spotted us yet and we ducked around the corner to strategize our attack. I knew I would have to take care of the middle because of his raw magical power. I tossed Meghalen and Xhaiden two amulets of shielding which would protect them from the magical energies of the two others for a time. "These people are true cultists," I said. "So don't pull any punches. They will not hesitate to destroy us." "Do you believe they have this transfiguration power?" Xhaiden asked as he glanced around the corner. I opened my mind and stalked their thoughts. After several seconds, I shook my head. "No, I believe only Ballan has access to that power. And I'm not sure if it's his power. It might be derived from this crystal I saw earlier." "Enough talk," Meghalen growled. "It's time to end this." I nodded and took a deep breath. Xhaiden nocked several arrows in his bow and made sure his Elvin daggers were within easy reach. Meghalen broke apart the staff and shoved it in his belt while he grabbed his claymore from his back. I unsheathed my sword and prepared my shield, calling forth my protection spells to fortify my armor and my mind for battle. We all looked at one another for a brief moment, then finally, I spoke a single word. "Go." The three of us came roaring around the corner with deafening battlecries that echoed though the hall. The three guards were startled for a moment. And then the female captain let loose a battlecry to match our own and rushed to face us. The first strikes were ranged. Xhaiden let loose with his bow and six arrows were in the air within two seconds, two for each target. However, the two guards armed with polearms spun their weapon in a strange fashion, creating a shield that shattered the arrows before they could make contact. The captain fired off a defensive spell that froze them in mid-air after which they floated the ground softly. We were now far too close for ranged combat. With a mighty shout, Meghalen brought his sword down upon the first of the secondary guards, who staggered under his blow, but was able to deflect it just in time. Xhaiden's attacker struck first, but in an amazing display of speed, he tossed the bow onto his back and threw up his daggers barely in time to block the blow. Meanwhile, the captain had unsheathed her sword and my breath caught just at the sight of it. It looked to be made out of metal I had never before seen and it glowed a dark crimson that matched the woman's armor. I didn't have further time to study it because within seconds, I was parrying her first massive blow. I quickly shoved Xhaiden and Meghalen out of my mind as I knew all my concentration should be focused on the woman I was battling. Any onlooker would have simply seen two blurs of light, one crimson and one azure, striking against one another. I felt my battlelust rise as I reveled in the fury of battle and I fired off a lighting spell, which she deftly dispelled before it had the chance to touch her. In return, she shot off a firebolt, which I simply dodged, allowing it to slam harmlessly into the wall behind me. Each clash of our blades caused a brilliant flash of light to illuminate the hallway. In those flashes I could see the determined look in the woman's eyes as she fought for what see believed. I was surprised that I did not see madness. There was only a certainty that she was right and that because of that, she would be victorious. When I struck first blood across her arm, I saw the first flicker of doubt. In response to my strike, she blasted me backwards with a concussion shot. I managed to cast a feather spell to help my landing, but it still hurt when I hit the ground. Almost instantly, she was upon me, trying to drive her sword into my chest. I narrowly missed her strike and kicked her feet out from underneath her. She swore as she collapsed, giving me just enough time to scramble to my feet. My hand glowed with unearthly power as I struck. I felt the energy course through me as I drained her magic directly from her body. She cried out in pain as the bright blue beam of magical essence was ripped from her chest and ran into me. I could feel my battlelust rise once more as I reenergized myself from her power. While I loathe admitting it, I could feel a cruel smile on my lips as I drained her. Before I could finish my draining spell, she managed to gather up enough energy to cast a shield before her to dispel my final strike. I cursed as she leapt to her feet, but I could tell from her movements that what I had done had cost her greatly. She was unsteady as she struck once more with her sword, now glowing dully in the torchlight. I easily parried the blow and made one of my own, striking her leg and arm in quick succession. She screamed out again and looked at me with pure venomous hatred in her eyes. In those same eyes, I could see her preparation for her last spell. And I knew exactly what spell it was, because I had helped to create it. I saw the dark energy begin to gather around her hands, combined with small ribbons of fire and ice. I saw the shadows gather behind her eyes as she prepared to throw her final strike at me. From her weakened state, there was a strong possibility that the simple act of casting the spell, known as Death's Hand, would kill her. But if she cast it correctly, even if she died moments later, there wouldn't be enough of me to fill a thimble. "Burn and die," she growled as she threw back her arm and began to fling the death energy at me. Before she could complete her strike, I said a single word that I had learned from my master many years ago. Instantly, a glowing shield appeared in front of me. Her eyes widened even as she released Death's Hand. The spell shattered the shield, but it was deflected. She cried out in agony. And I struck with no mercy. Using dark magic that I rarely used, I ripped the magical energy from her. I ripped away her fighting skills. She cried out as I took her warrior's spirit directly from her soul. And I took it all and absorbed it into my own. And it was over. The woman collapsed onto the ground. I could have killed her at that moment, but there was no need. I had taken her ability to fight and to use magic. Now, she was just the same as everyone her damn Cult had ever destroyed. I only left out the sex compulsions. As I became more aware of my surroundings again, I could feel my newfound energy still coursing through my veins. And then I noticed that Meghalen had finally struck home with his target, who was now dying slowly on the ground, a great gaping wound in his chest. However, Xhaiden was not faring nearly as well. He was lying on the ground, blood dripping from his face and arms where the polearm had slashed him. The guard stood over my Elvin friend, ready to make his final strike that would separate his head from his shoulders. With no hesitation, I attacked and used the exact same spell on the man as I just did on the captain. He screamed as I felt his energies flow into me, empowering me even further. As the energy flowed, I looked at my arm as it began to glow brightly in the torchlight. The man didn't last long under that kind of assault and collapsed before even thirty seconds had passed. I cast a quick healing spell on Xhaiden, enough to bring him to his feet and cast one on Meghalen as well for any wounds I didn't notice. Xhaiden grabbed a small vial off the side of his belt and drank it down quickly. I recognized it as one of the thousands of health potions available. It took a few moments, but Xhaiden was healed quickly by the combined effort of my spell and the potion. "Let's finish this," I said confidently. I strode up to the door and looked at it. It was obviously deeply enchanted with a powerful protection spell. However, with the fact that I had just drained two people of all their magical power and abilities, it didn't pose a problem. With a single burst, I blew open the door. A handsome man in his early thirties turned rapidly from an altar inside the torch lit room. Behind him was the massive crystal I had seen in the mind-altered man's memories. But what startled me was what I saw inside the crystal. Beneath the glowing red surface was one of the most stunning women I have ever seen. She was gloriously nude with waves of golden blonde hair. Her face looked like the face of an angel, even though her eyes were closed. Her breasts were large and matched her slim waist and ample hips perfectly. She was then finished off with two fantastically sculpted legs and dainty feet. The man before the altar nodded as if hearing an invisible voice. "Yes, mistress. He may just be the one," he said. "Master Ballan, I presume," I growled as studied my foe. "Indeed, Therobelin," the man said slyly. "I am here to make you pay for your crimes against the Province of Juknip and the Town of Ghanton." The man laughed. "Crimes? What a sense of humor you have, sir." I was not amused and I was still filled with the heady sensations of power that was still rolling around my mind. I lifted my sword and pointed it at his throat. "First, you will explain the magic of transfiguration to me and your knowledge of the mind-control you have used on the people here, in the Ghanton brothel and on Talissa." "Talissa?" he asked. "Oh yes, Talis. The man who wasn't strong enough to take my mistress." "Enough of your talking, Ballan," I said. I was in no mood for games. "Surrender this knowledge to me and you might yet live." The man smiled. "I'm thinking...no." Suddenly there was a blinding flash of light and as I fell into unconsciousness, I heard a woman's voice speak in my mind. "We have great things in store for you, Therobelin."