The sun was in the noon position as Legeis suddenly veered off the trail. Heather could see Blackbast pointing into a collection of distant mesa’s and giving him instructions.
“We left the trail,” Heather said to her friends in the palanquin.
“Maybe it’s a shortcut?” Quinny asked from, where she sat beside Breanne at the far end.
Heather closed her eyes and looked through Webster's eyes, asking the spider to look around so she could get her bearings. They were leaving the trail behind as Legeis thumped along in a cloud of dust.
“I can't see anything useful through Webster,” she said. “But we're heading for some narrow canyons between the mesa's.”
“It probably is a shortcut,” Breanne agreed. “Blackbast has lived out here for years. She must know every secret path.”
Heather couldn't argue, but she was feeling cramped in the palanquin. Her back was sore in places where it pressed against Frank's armor, and she was tired of laying on her side. She decided to crawl on her hands and knees to the edge of the palanquin to see the near-transparent edge of the magic disc.
“Blackbast!” she called out loud, causing the cat woman to look back. “Can we stop for a second?”
Blackbast said something to Legeis, and the group came to a halt allowing Heather to crawl out and stretch her back.
“Is something wrong?” Blackbast asked from her perch on Legeis’s armor.
“My back is sore from being pressed against Frank,” Heather said. “He's too big to ride inside.” As she said that, Frank began to climb out, awkwardly dropping over the side to stand beside Heather.
“I can run with Legeis,” he said. “Undead don’t tire easily and can run for hours.”
“I can’t ask you to run the whole way,” Heather said and put a hand to his chest. “What if you and I ride inside the room?”
“I want to be out here in case something happens,” he replied.
Heather smiled and told him that Webster would alert her if anything happened, but he still wanted to run. He explained that he had been taking toughness and endurance upgrades for levels now, and he could run most of a day now.
Heather relented to let him run but felt terrible that he would be separate. She walked for a minute to stretch her legs and then went to return to the palanquin. Frank stood to one side, dragging his metal-clad nails in the sand as he watched her.
“Is something wrong?” she asked.
“Did you want to stay outside?” he asked.
“Well yeah, but I can’t run all day like you can,” Heather admitted. “I will slow us all down.”
“I could carry you,” Frank offered. “You could sit on my shoulder like Blackbast is on Legeis’s armor.”
Heather looked at him in surprise at the strange offer. She noted the armor plates of his shoulder were flat plates and were more than wide enough to sit on. With a shrug, she walked up to his chest and agreed to be carried.
Frank turned her around and wrapped his arms around her waist. She laughed out loud when he lifted her like she weighed nothing and deposited her on his shoulder. She wobbled a bit until she put an arm around the back of his head. Her legs dangled down his chest, and he wrapped them with an arm to hold her in place.
“Are we ready to go now?” Blackbast asked as if annoyed at the delay.
“We're ready,” Heather called and laughed again when Frank took off at a brisk run to keep up with Legeis. He kept pace beside the palanquin as she rocked on his shoulder. One hand firmly planted on her sunhat to keep the motion from causing it to fall.
For nearly half an hour, they approached the tall, crumbling mesa before finally arriving at a narrow passage between two of them. Heather urged Frank to catch up to Legeis, and when he did, she engaged Blackbast in a conversation.
“Where are we going?” Heather asked.
“Did you forget why Iskathet sent you to me?” Blackbast asked.
“She said you knew where to find a hidden library,” Heather replied with a hint of excitement.
“She is right, I do know where to find one, and I am taking you there first,” Blackbast replied. “It is hidden in the mesa here.”
“Shouldn’t we be pushing on to the glass?” Frank asked.
Blackbast stretched out on the back of Legeis's armor like a cat trying to get more comfortable. She let out a long rolling purr before turning to look at Frank with those hypnotic green eyes. “I thought she would appreciate going to the library before pressing on to the glass.”
“I do,” Heather said excitedly.
Frank turned his head to look at her, but she smiled and asked him nicely to take her to the library. He relented and followed them into the narrow canyon as she smiled and leaned back. Just as they arrived at the opening, Blackbast's ears perked up, and she called Legeis to a halt. She stood on the back of his armor, peering into the space ahead.
Heather followed suit as Frank came to a stop beside them. The canyon was strewn with large rocks with a relatively flat area right in the middle. A few cactus grew in the narrow band of sunlight that reached the ground. She saw nothing that indicated any danger but Blackbast twitched and turned around.
“Put her down,” she ordered to Frank as she leaped to the ground. “Something is in the canyon.”
Frank wasted no time in gently putting Heather down as Quinny crawled out of the palanquin. Breanne floated through the roof and joined them as the sound of shifting rocks echoed from ahead.
“I don’t see anything,” Frank said as he stared into the pass.
More rocks moved someplace ahead, and a slight cloud of dust rose from behind a large boulder. The group felt a tension as the threat remained unseen but continued to make noise that echoed from the walls of the tall canyon.
“What could it be?” Heather asked.
“Sand spiders maybe,” Blackbast said just before a loud screech dominated the air. A shadow moved, and something big came around the side of the stone. It was the size of a large car and covered in red plates like an insect. It resembled a scorpion but had two wicked tails and arms that ended in clubs covered in hooks. It produced a terrible shriek as it raced around the rock, quickly followed by another.
“Two of them,” Quinny said as she drew her sword.
“Three,” Blackbast corrected as a third with darker plates climbed over the rock and howled at them.
“Stay back,” Frank said to her as he took a step forward. “We will take care of this.”
Blackbast laughed and turned to face him. “Do you think me defenseless?”
He didn’t answer as he ran at the closest beast as Legeis opened up with rockets.
Blackbast threw a hand up and uttered a command word as a halo of light formed just above her fingertips. It was wide enough to encase her body and raced downward to flash on the ground. The girls looked on in surprise to see the woman it left behind.
Armor of black metal plates and interlocking rings now protected her body, leaving only the head and tail exposed. It was adorned with golden images of women blowing kisses to floating hearts. She had an acorn-shaped shield over her left arm with a great red heart in the center. Something like a whip rested over that heart, hinting at dark pleasures. In her right hand was a weapon that made Heather look on in awe. The handle was made of polished silver, a meter in length. It was one continuous carving of nude women locked in sexual acts with one another. It was capped by a ring from which hung three leather cords studded with black barbs. The cords were another meter long and ended at silver talons that glowed blue as Blackbast snapped the weapon like a whip.
She ran in to assist Frank, who had already cracked one of the beast's giant arms. She swung the terrible whip with a battle cry as it flared with electricity. The impact that weapon made caused black blood to fly and prompted a roar from the monster. It lashed out with both tails, but Blackbast leaped around like a cat, dodging them and giving one a good swipe, shattering the stinger at the end. Frank caught one of them before it was pulled back, and with his tremendous strength, he pulled the beast overexposing its vulnerable underside.
With a glow to her eyes, Blackbast struck, lashing the beast as it tried to right itself, producing wicked wounds that seeped with blood as the beast wailed. She continued to flay it alive, taking a rather long time before it finally twitched and collapsed. She and Frank turned to help Legeis to find him swinging a massive hammer as he batted one of the arms away. Umtha stood beside him, hurling bolts of electricity at the monster's face.
Heather and Quinny ran past him, heading for the third monster as it leaped from the rock and raced to meet them. Bolts of black shadow sailed over their shoulders, blasting pits in the monster's thick plates. Heather stopped short and called to the earth, causing it to suddenly bloom with skeletal arms as she called up minions to fight.
Quinny ran head-on, slicing one of the tails as the monster tried to impale her with it. A swipe from a hooks claw tumbled her to the side, but she was up in a heartbeat. Skeletons with rusted weapons now ran in to join the fray as the monster thrashed to keep them at bay.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Heather unleashed a hail of rotting bolts, magnified by her points and the blue, glowing scythe in her hand. They cracked the shell of the monster and instantly produced green seeping wounds that festered with decay. Quinny managed to cut one of the barbs from a tail and slashed the beast's face. It was quickly overwhelmed by skeletons but managed to grab one and crush it in a hooked claw. Heather turned back to see how the others were doing and paused to gape in surprise.
Frank charged the remaining beast, but Blackbast glared and pointed her horrible gory weapon before ordering the monster bound for discipline. Black chains appeared in the air and wrapped around the beast from every direction. It roared and flailed, but every move it made only tightened the chains. It collapsed to the ground as Blackbast sauntered closer, the cords of the whip dangling from her hand.
Frank and Legeis stepped away as she walked between them, a cruel expression on her face. Heather nearly had to look away as Blackbast took that horrible weapon to the monster's back, instantly causing it to wail. Peeking through her fingers, she watched as Blackbast flailed the beast until it gurgled and went motionless, blood staining the sands.
It was a frightening display of power and seemed out of place for the seductive woman. Heather nearly jumped when Blackbast suddenly turned, and Heather saw an almost sadistic look in her eyes. Blood dripped from the razor edge blades of her whip as she turned to assist in the final kill.
It didn't last long with Frank, Legeis, and Blackbast shredding an already wounded monster. When the battle was over, the landscape looked like a scene from a horror movie. Heather, Breanne, and Quinny stood side by side as they looked at the terrible weapon in Blackbasts hand.
The cat woman raised it high and called t the sky as the halo reformed at her feet. As the halo raced upward, it removed the blood-stained armor and weapon, leaving only the lightly dressed woman behind.
“What was that?” Quinny said in awe as Blackbast surveyed the carnage.
“It would appear our friend her has a dark side,” Breanne remarked.
“She is so powerful,” Heather said as Blackbast turned to meet her gaze and then approached.
“I am glad to see you are safe,” she said.
“I thought you were crazy going out in the desert with no weapons and insisting we couldn’t bring any,” Heather said. “I see I was wrong.”
Blackbast nodded, but her expression had changed to one of sorrow. “Now, do you see? I am never unarmed.”
“You were amazing,” Heather said. “What was that weapon you had?”
“A scourge of punishment,” Blackbast replied. “It is considered by many to be an abhorrent weapon.”
“Why?” she asked curiously.
Blackbast turned to look her in the eyes and make her point. “Because it doesn't kill quickly, instead it is designed to cause suffering. As a result, many see it as a weapon used by only the cruelest of players.”
“But you’re not cruel at all,” Quinny said. “You’re one of the nicest people I know.”
“I thank you for saying so,” Blackbast replied. She took a moment to clear her thoughts and paced a few steps away. She looked as if something was terribly bothering her as her tail twitched in rapid motions.
“I think you should know that Bastet has two faces to her coin. One is the face you see on me. She is known as the wife of Eden, the eager love, and ready to share of herself with any who desire it.” She took a few steps as her tail twitched in irritation. “But when battle arises, we call on the other side, the matron of punishment. When I assume that role, I feel no remorse for the pain I inflict and delight in the screams of others. The scourge of punishment is the only weapon we are permitted to carry. It is a threatening warning to those who would consider attacking us and a vile punishment to the fools who do. But to carry it fills my heart with dark desires and an urge to punish those I can.”
“Well, thank goodness it is in the hands of somebody who won't use it to harm others,” Heather suggested, but Blackbast looked away.
“That is perhaps not so true,” Blackbast replied. “My class is geared toward punishment. I can even gain a powerful combat buff by whipping a slave three times with the weapon before entering battle.”
“You’re encouraged to whip your slaves!” Heather said in alarm.
“Now, do you understand why I hide in my temple and do not like to travel? I hate taking the risk that I will need to call on such power. I have only ever used the buff one time. I will never endure one of my slaves weeping like that again.”
Heather saw tears forming in the woman’s eyes and ran to her side.
“This is why your slaves can't be far from you. You need them to boost your power in combat.”
“The more slaves I have, the more powerful I am,” Blackbast admitted. “And the more of them I can whip before a fight, the more terrible my power becomes. The blessing my collar conveys gives me the ability to fill a slave's life with decadent pleasures, but in return, they are expected to endure the pain.”
“That’s terrible,” Breanne remarked. “So you lure slaves in with promised of pleasure then give them pain instead.”
Blackbast folded her ears back and shook her head. “I do no such thing. I have control of the desire, and as I said, I have only used that power once. I have had many slaves in my time, and all of them would tell you they were cared for and treated like lovers. Such power is only needed in combat, and I rarely leave my temple.”
“So you can get a combat buff by whipping them, but you don’t use it,” Heather surmised. “I guess I wouldn’t use it either if I had such a power.”
Blackbast laughed and shook her head. “Come, let us leave this place and get to the library. It is not good to stare at such things. It gets into your heart and weighs you down.”
Blackbast walked away and climbed back onto Legeis's armor. Frank looked back to Heather, but she indicated she would ride in the palanquin for a bit with the others. Slowly the three girls and Umtha returned to the palanquin, and the journey resumed as they talked in whispers.
“She gets stronger by whipping slaves,” Breanne said. “That’s disturbing.”
“She said she wouldn’t do it,” Heather reminded. “She doesn't seem to like to use the combat side of her class.”
“She was so amazing,” Quinny said. “Did you see how fast she was?”
“And she swings that awful thing with practiced precision,” Breanne said.
Heather let out a sigh at the pointless observation. Of course, she knew how to handle the weapon. It was the only one her class was permitted and probably put points in its use. What bothered her the most was the combat buff and why it would require her to punish a slave to use?
“I hope I never have a power that requires me to harm somebody to use it,” Heather remarked.
“You’re a necromancer,” Quinny pointed out. “All your powers harm people.”
“I mean harm my friends or people I care about,” Heather corrected. “I wouldn't have the strength to trade friends suffering for personal power.”
Quinny sat up and shook her head, reminding Heather that she would volunteer if there were such a power.
“You will not,” Heather said in a defiant tone. “I would refuse to do it.”
“I'm just saying that if you had a power that needed a player to fuel it, I would let you do it,” Quinny said. “I trust you that you wouldn't use it unless you absolutely had to.”
“Quinny, I appreciate the offer, but the answer is no. Can we please talk about something else?”
Quinny shrugged and looked to Breanne, who let out a frustrated sigh and looked out into the canyon walls.
“I am afraid she might be more right than wrong,” Breanne began. “The necromancers did a lot of experimenting with undead. I am pretty sure they had powers that would consume undead to give them temporary boosts. They could consume summoned pets, of course, but a player was worth much more.”
“I don't need to hear this,” Heather argued and put a hand on Breanne's leg. “I am only playing this class because it helps my friends. I don't care if it's the secret to my getting home. I am never going to do something like that.”
“Awe, Heather is too nice,” Quinny teased and leaned into her. “She’s a good friend.”
Heather let out a pained sigh and put an arm around Quinny to hold her. Never had such a thought crossed her mind before; to harm a friend to gain a temporary boost in power. Even if the friend was willing, she would refuse to embrace such a thing. Like Blackbast, she couldn't endure the thought of somebody she cared about suffering at her hand.
“Something doesn’t make sense,” Quinny offered as she smiled in the embrace.
“What doesn’t?” Heather asked.
“Blackbast, she said she has had many slaves but only used the power once.”
“So?” Heather pressed.
Quinny looked at her as if the question was silly. “So, where are these other slaves? We didn't see any at the temple, and she had spare collars for use. Why doesn't she have any slaves now?”
“They must have been temporary slaves,” Breanne suggested. “They wore the collar like Heather did at first, so they could take it off.”
“Hmm,” Heather replied and dropped her arm. “Now, I am curious as to where the slaves are.”
“Well, we're at a walking pace right now,” Breanne pointed out. “We could get out and ask her.”
Heather smiled and climbed to the edge to see Breanne was right. They had slowed in the canyon and were traveling along at a typical walking pace. One by one, the girls climbed out and made their way forward, curious as to the answer.
Blackbast noticed their approach and reclined on the armor with a soft purr before asking them why they were out of the palanquin.
“Could we ask you a question?” Heather said for the group.
“Of course, sweet morsel. You can ask me anything,” Blackbast replied.
Heather smiled at the woman’s choice of words and fell in behind Legeis.
“You admitted that you have used that power before and that you have had many slaves. We were wondering where those slaves are.”
“Ahh, you have listened to my words,” Blackbast replied with a rumbling purr. “Now, you are curious as to why you have seen no slaves in my temple.”
“Yes,” Heather replied. “You did say you had some.”
Blackbast rolled onto her back and stretched her arms out behind her head. She looked so at ease on the armor that Heather really did wonder if she had been a cat on earth.
“The answer to your question is simple. I sold them,” Blackbast replied.
“You can sell your slaves?” Quinny gasped.
“How dreadful your class is,” Breanne added.
“Do not be so quick to judge me,” Blackbast countered as she sat up and stared down at the three girls.
“But I thought you said slaves had to stay near you?” Quinny asked.
“This is true,” Blackbast replied.
“But how do you sell a slave if it can't be away from you?” Heather asked.
“I can sell a slave only to another class that can keep one and has room for one more,” Blackbast said. “She must be a permanent slave, so I have full ownership. I am essentially transferring that ownership, but I do not do such a thing on a whim. I do it when a slave has been at my temple long enough. She has grown bored of this life and yearns to see more of the world and have new experiences. Then I go to the city, and I sell her to someone who can take her far away and give her those new things. It is a cruelty to keep a slave who needs to move on and have new experiences.”
“That makes sense,” Heather said as she pondered it.
“No, it doesn't,” Breanne argued. “You are trapping a living, thinking being in a life of servitude. She doesn't even have any say in who her master is now.”
Blackbast let out a “pft” and pointed a finger at Breanne. “Do not accuse me of such things. Slaves are a rare treasure, but sometimes they change, and this life no longer has any meaning to them. If a slave desires a change of scenery and jobs, I sell them, but if they desire freedom, I let them go. I only sell the ones that wish to remain slaves but move on. You need to stop attaching the real-world definition of a slave to this world's version. Here, a master and slave are a partnership with clearly defined roles. Each is getting something they want from the other, and each gives the other what they want out of love. You would be surprised to know that some people desire to be controlled in such away. They want another to take the burdens of life off their shoulders and keep them safe.”
“I suppose I do have a bias,” Breanne admitted. “It just doesn’t make any sense that the visitors would include such options.”
“I don’t know,” Heather remarked. “They included necromancers that turn people into enslaved undead.”
“That’s different,” Breanne argued.
“Is it?” Heather asked. “She puts a collar around a player then treats them like a lover. I kill them then reanimate their corpse. She cares about what her slaves want. Mine do what I say, mindlessly obeying like a robot.”
“The player isn’t there anymore,” Breanne said. “You’re just animating an empty shell.”
“It still seems rather cruel,” Heather insisted. “The more I learn about her class, the more I see safeguard and protections for the players. The visitors may have included it, but they went to great lengths to make it something different.”
“What good is knowing that?” Breanne asked.
Heather shrugged and explained that it was an insight into how the visitors thought. They cared enough to build such protections, yet it seemed strange the wider world lacked them. The more she thought about it, the more she was sure this was an important clue.
“Well, I don’t see the connection, but then you think very differently than I do,” Breanne sighed.
“I agree,” Blackbast purred. “She is unique in her outlook on things.”
“So, how long until we reach the library?” Quinny asked as the column came to a sudden halt.
Heather looked up to see Legeis looking over a massive rock slide that blocked the canyon.
“Is this what we are looking for?” he called back.
“This is it,” Blackbast said. “We’re here.”
“I don’t see anything,” Heather said as they looked around.
“That is because the rock slide has buried it,” Blackbast said. “But I found a way inside long ago.”
She jumped down and encouraged the girls to come with her. Leading the way, she took them to the edge of the slide where large rocks had fallen to lean against the cliff face. They formed a sort of angular tunnel that stretched off into the darkness.
“I'm not getting in there,” Legeis said. “I will wait outside with Umtha while you guys go in.”
“I can’t see a thing,” Heather said as she peered into the hole.
“I will give you cat sight,” Blackbast said and began a spell. She touched Heather on the forehead, and suddenly the blackness became only a faint shadow.
“This is nice,” Heather said as she looked around. “It makes the darkness brighter.”
Quinny leaned over to look Heather in the face and stared at her eyes.
“You have cat eyes,” Quinny said. “They are slits like Blackbasts.”
Heather reached a hand to her face as if to touch her eyes.
“It will fade when the spell does,” Blackbast said. “Now, let us go inside and find the library.
Frank led the way as they entered the tunnel. I was just large enough for him to squeeze by, but eventually, they arrived at a space and stood before a pair of doors that were anchored to a stone archway carved directly into the mesa. Blackbast stepped ahead and threw out her arm as if inviting them in.
“Welcome to the lost library of Azor.”