Merijest relit the dead party’s campfire. She sat with her back against the wall. Her stomach was bleeding night-sky blue blood where the [Cone of Ice] had impaled her. More blood colored the inside of her mouth. As she gestured and whispered a hex, a feather picked itself from her plumage. The base of the feather squeezed itself into a point and it moved like a needle through the skin around Merijest’s stomach, creating a web of glowing sutures. The feather moved away from her stomach, tightening the sutures and bringing the flesh together. With a wince from the demoness, all evidence of the injury had gone.
“Let me see your wound,” she said.
Thesa wrenched herself off the ground. She approached and slumped against the wall beside Merijest, struggling to hold herself up as she shook.
“This will be easier if you lie down,” Merijest said as she guided Thesa to a more relaxed position with her head in the demoness’s lap. The skin and scales of her thighs were smooth and comfortable.
“You are safe now,” Merijest said. She pushed Thesa’s armor aside and repeated the same hex she had cast on herself. Thesa winced as the enchanted feather sewed up her wounds. Each time it pushed into her flesh, she felt the vanes tickling through a new break. The process was excruciating. Still, she was grateful that being undead didn’t preclude her from healing spells.
“I know that,” Thesa managed through shaking lips. She wondered what Merijest read into her quivering voice. Thesa knew the threat of the party had passed. She knew that Merijest would not hurt her as long as she was useful. She wanted to say her current panic had nothing to do with safety. Wanted to say it was only the guilt of killing without some greater plan. But she realized that was not completely true. Finally she added, “but I don’t feel it.”
For a moment, Merijest looked genuinely sympathetic. Then her attention turned to patching up her non-sapient [Familiars]. The Chimerblin sat almost like a slouched human, licking a small wound on its ape-like skin. The Three-Eyed Grackle perched on the demoness’s shoulder, preening its frazzled feathers. Their injuries were less severe so Thesa remained laying in Merijest’s lap all the while. Then, she fell asleep.
***
An unusually vivid dream came to Thesa. At least, it was unusually vivid for her. Again, a humanoid rib bone in her hand. The smell of wine. An itch behind her skull but when she reached to scratch it, she felt nothing. The scene changed and she saw another of the Knights fully armored and standing in a cavern. The Knight was yelling something but Thesa couldn’t hear her.
***
When she woke, Thesa still had her head in Merijest’s lap, although the demoness too had fallen asleep. A ring of blue light suggested some sort of warding spell and the Chimerblin moved between each door of the chamber. The Three-Eyed Grackle was curled up near the fire. Thesa thought she must have only gotten half of a normal rest, but she couldn’t fall back asleep.
Thesa had a gut feeling the Knight in her dream had been Kelreyn, one of her friends at the Convent. They’d trained together for years both as children at the Convent Schoolhouse and as young adults in the Convent Knight Training program.
However, Thesa lacked the skills to discern a prophetic [Dream] from a regular dream.
Kelreyn… Was she in danger? What could Thesa even do about that? She wanted to sit up and get closer to the fire, but Merijest’s sleeping hands was on her shoulder. When Thesa began to shift herself into an upright position, Merijest started to stir and although she was growing more comfortable with her new…patron, she didn’t want to see what would happen if she woke a [High Devil].
Suddenly, Thesa realized she hadn’t seen the Hundred-Legged Snake since the fight began. That wasn’t terribly unusual. Although they can scuttle with uncomfortable speed, Hundred-Legged Snakes move slowly over longer distances and struggle to keep up with walking humanoids. Looking around the room, she finally spotted the creature with its jaw unhinged. It was halfway through swallowing the bird-kin [Fighter].
Thesa’s eyes widened and her heart rate increased, but she definitely didn’t want to wake up Merijest. That would only fuel the idea that she was afraid of Hundred-Legged Snakes (which she was). At the same time, she could not bring herself to look away from what was happening because the hair on her neck told her that she needed to keep better track of its location. Skin crawling, she watched for an hour or two before the Hundred-Legged Snake had completely swallowed its prey and fallen asleep, digesting.
Despite her fear, Thesa managed another hour or two of sleep. It wasn’t restful and this time her dreams were full of Hundred-Legged Snakes. But it was still sleep.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
The next day, Thesa followed Merijest and her merry band of beasts through a few more [Floors]. Again, there were no sapient adventurers. It was pretty difficult to make it down this far.
Thesa had taken the sword from the dead bird-kin [Fighter], but she was wary about using it. Luckily, she did not have to.
On [Floor] 86, Merijest befriended a Cow-Dog, which seemed likely to follow the group. It looked almost like a regular dalmatian except for the horns and udders.
***
image [https://alicepow.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/cowdog.jpg]
Cow-Dog
Rank: D
Attacks: Scratch, Gore
Notes: Excitable and friendly, the Cow-Dog’s milk is a specialty in some regions.
***
“If the [Dungeon] is a giant mimic, then where do all the monsters come from?” Thesa wondered.
“Some find their way in but many of them are created by the Imitative Cavern. Especially this far down. They are the organs through which the creature breaks down its food.” Merijest said. “Before you ask me anything else, we need to talk about your…performance last night.” Her expression was wry, but not necessarily mean. She added, “You’re not exactly a born sales woman.”
“Well, I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare,” Thesa said. She blushed. “I’m not really great at evangelizing.”
“Don’t [Paladins] need high [Charisma]?” Merijest asked. One hand on the maroon scales of her hip.
“I do have high [Charisma]!” Thesa said. “It's my highest stat and it makes–made me very good as a [Paladin]. But I don’t have the kind of [Charisma] where you can talk to people well. I just have a lot of conviction. At least, that’s what Archknight Superior said.”
Merijest looked Thesa up and down. She bit her lip with sharp teeth. “I guess it makes sense if all your [Charisma] is based on…appearances.”
While Thesa blushed, Merijest stood up and began walking down a winding corridor as she continued talking. “Anyways, we need to work on your pitch if I am to gain any new sapient followers. For one thing, we should go over your abilities as my [Familiar] and talk about the lead in. Part of what makes you useful is that your appearance will not immediately frighten off adventurers. You need to let the conversation go a little longer before you bring me up.”
Thesa thought about this and nodded as she followed. “So what should I say? ‘Hey, I’m Thesa. I’m not a [Paladin] but I used to be and I’d like to talk to you about something’?” Thesa was, it must be said, really trying.
Merijest laughed warmly. “It's a good start, but maybe just take a break after ‘Hey, I'm Thesa.’ Find out their names before you start filling in the rest of your life. Otherwise you risk coming across as too…”
“Desperate?” Thesa asked.
“I was going to say ‘forceful,’ but take your pick.” Merijest shrugged. “But what do I know? You're the first sapient I've had on my team in…ever.”
That surprised Thesa. “But what about the legions of soldiers in all your battles with the Knights over the ages?”
Merijest stopped walking and looked back at Thesa. Her face showed genuine confusion. “I have no idea what you're talking about.”
Thesa explained, “Like, there was this battle like 40 or 50 years ago in the Valrine Canyon, where the Knights rescued dozens of innocent victims from the clutches of an army of cultists acting in your name.”
“Thesa, I've only been…active for like ten years.” Merijest corrected. “Whatever you're thinking of, it must have been someone else.”
Thesa tried to remember more clearly. “No, it was definitely about you. I think that one of the Knights told me you had resurfaced after decades of dormancy. Also, I think Archbishop Superior was there. She said the cultists were sacrificing babies in exchange for horrible spells and…”
“And what?” Merijest asked. Her face showed a mix of concern and amusement.
“Um, and they…delivered the dead to Beautuk's [Domain]. I think Beautuk said you were the latest incarnation of an enemy he'd been opposing for millenia.” Thesa stopped walking as she thought about all the things she had seen since she died. Her legs shook under her, so she took a seat on the ground. “I guess it's kind of confusing. A lot of the things I thought were true were lies. I don't know where it ends.”
Merijest sighed. Standing over Thesa, she said, “Sounds like the Knights beefed up my evil resume.”
“Sorry,” Thesa said. “I didn't mean to accuse you of sacrificing babies or whatever.”
“How about we start fresh? My name is Merijest. What's yours?”
Thesa laughed. “I'm Thesa. Nice to meet you,” she said in a sing-songy voice.
Merijest laughed softly. She sat down and put a hand on Thesa's knee. “I know it's scary to question things you've believed for a long time.”
Thesa looked away. Tears were welling in her eyes and she was still trying to swallow them up and pretend she was fine. For her part, Merijest pretended not to notice.
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BONUS VIGNETTE
Before her more distressing and esoteric dream, Thesa had a different kind of dream… It started with her head, as it was in real life, resting in Merijest’s lap, supported by the demoness’s soft thighs…
NOBODY could know about that dream. She needed to forget it, just like she had successfully forgotten about that time she looked at Merijest’s butt for too long… FUCK! Now she was remembering that again too.