Esther Xerxes lived in a forest glade with . . .
She couldn’t remember. Kai Morte stood out in her memory, protecting their group with a vigilant guard, but she could not be sure how many others there were. Maybe five in total, or possibly six. They were all fallen angels, cast down by their gods for violations factual or fabricated, but cast down nonetheless. They found food, water, and shelter. It took a long while before they accepted that their banishment from heaven was not a temporary thing.
Divine beings are often punished or given tasks below their station in response to actions deemed unholy, but this felt different. They were alone in the forest for weeks with no sign from heaven, no divine powers, and not even a mortal priest was sent to give them direction. They felt there must be a way to restore their divinity, and huddling in the forest wasn’t giving them any answers.
Once they felt safe venturing out, Esther was nominated to do it. She was stealthy and could move quietly even among the leaves and twigs of the forest. Kai stood guard while she was gone, and she promised to return as soon as possible. Her job was to find a temple, inquire of the gods what the fallen angels needed to do to restore themselves, and then return.
It was night when she stumbled into a city. Her dealings with mortals in the realms had been brief in the past, always giving aid when they battled demonic or dark foes but never staying long and never observing daily life. Now she tried to navigate the nightlife of a bustling trading port at the mouth of a river with pirates, pickpockets, and swindlers all looking to make a profit. She was strong but naive, falling in with the wrong crowd, and despite her efforts, she was almost kidnapped, sold into slavery, and sailed off into the horizon, never to be seen again.
That was when Atrax stepped in. The handsome man beat off the ruffians and rescued her to a private room where he tended her wounds. Esther was smitten at once, and the two were inseparable. Somehow he knew she was a fallen angel, so she didn’t need to tell him her secret but insisted that he take her to a temple. He refused, convincing her that the priests of this treacherous city couldn’t be trusted, and if she revealed to them that she was a fallen angel, they would only take advantage of her. Instead, he taught her everything he knew about moving in the shadows, fighting with swords, and how a rogue could operate in a city where everyone looked out for themselves.
All he asked in return was to learn more about her. Where was she from? Did she have family or friends back home? What were their names? Esther resisted him at every question despite his skill with magical charms. The power that protected her true identity and the identity of those she left behind was implanted by the gods, and no spell of the realms could break it.
The only response Esther gave the persistent man was that it was time for her to return to her people. She had been gone too long, and they would begin to worry. Atrax always relented then, saying he was only curious, and insisted she stay with him longer.
Esther didn’t remember how long it was, days, weeks, or possibly months. Atrax’s charms weren’t strong enough to uncover her secrets but were sufficient to keep her under his care. He was a prince among rogues in the bustling city, and they lived in luxury without care or need. Esther didn’t venture back into the forest, but someone came looking for her.
Kai had been chosen to go out next, primarily to look for Esther but also to fulfill her original mission. He swore to return as soon as he knew something. When he hit the port city and asked if anyone had seen the stunningly beautiful woman, finding her didn’t take long. If Atrax was a prince, Esther was his princess, and he flaunted her in public frequently. But once Kai showed up, Atrax knew the game was up. When the knight proved resistant to the charms his vampire brood levied on him, Atrax was forced to take him prisoner.
Esther was furious, and Atrax revealed his vampire nature to her, threatening to kill Kai if she didn’t tell him how many others there were and where he could find them. Esther didn’t talk. So Atrax was forced to torture Kai instead. Hot pokers, thorns with gut-wrenching poison, and insects that crawled in and out of every crevice weren’t enough. The only thing either one cared about was the other, and they soon learned that Atrax’s threats to kill either of them if the other didn’t talk were hollow. Whatever this vampire needed them for, he needed them alive.
If Atrax couldn’t kill them, he did the next best thing. With Kai strapped to a torture rack and whipped by the vampire’s kobold slaves, Atrax brought Esther out before him. She was still beautiful, but a few days of isolation and constant interrogation had left her weak and haggard. The vampire propped her up before her fellow angel and gave his ultimatum one last time: Tell him where the other angels are, or Esther will suffer the consequences.
Kai refused, so Atrax turned her.
He bit her neck and sucked her half dry. Then he fed her his own blood and cast his sire spell. Kai screamed through the whole process, promising to bring the full wrath of heaven down on the demon spawn. He yanked on his chains with such force that Atrax thought he might actually rip them free from the stone walls. But the shackles held, and the knight was forced to watch as the woman he cared for was turned into an undead monster.
Atrax laughed through the whole procedure, promising to perform even more violating acts in front of Kai if he didn’t tell him what he wanted. Esther was sent back to her room to recover. She awoke at midnight with strength and agility she could hardly imagine. As a vampire, it was nothing for her to break down her locked door, kill a few guards, and return to Kai’s cell. She freed him, and while he was reluctant to go with her, fearing a trap, she eventually convinced him that while she was a vampire now, she was still the same woman he had known before.
They retraced their steps from the city back into the forest and eventually to the remaining fallen angels. None of them knew why they were being hunted, but they all agreed it wasn’t safe for them to stay. Nor was it safe for them to remember who they were. There was a magic user in their group, and a spell was cast using the powerful divine magic imbued in them to keep their secrets from others. Now this power was used to keep their secrets from themselves, and they were forced to forget everything about their past and were sent in opposite directions throughout the realms with new professions. Their names stayed the same, but since they didn’t remember each other, they couldn’t tell anyone they met.
Because they thought it might be necessary to one day meet again if the means to restore them to their heavenly realms was ever discovered, a key was fashioned to regain their memories. If someone spoke their name and the god they had served, they would remember their past. Likewise, if someone spoke the name of one of the other fallen angels and their god, they would remember all about them.
Because of what Atrax had told her, Esther remembered her past and that of Kai Morte but of no one else.
----------------------------------------
While Stemenia sucked Thomas’ life dry and used that power to wring every last drop of information from Esther, Atrax listened to the tale he already knew most of. Esther spoke in a monotone voice, recounting several horrific events as if she were reading a menu at a restaurant. Only the last part was news to Atrax, but he had already guessed it. He had let Esther escape, hoping to track down the fallen angels. He had found the glade where they had been hiding and now knew why they had no longer been there.
“Is that it?” Atrax asked when Stemenia released her hands from her victims, and Esther’s head dropped to her chest in exhaustion. “There must be more.”
“There isn’t,” she replied. “And this human is out of fuel for my spell either way.”
The vampire walked up to Thomas, who was gasping for air like a fish out of water. “Worthless mortal!” he cried, grabbing him by the lapels of his suit and yanking him forward. The clothing proved stronger than the bones in his weakened wrists and ankles as Atrax ripped him from his restraints and then tossed his limp body toward the gargoyles. The monsters tore him apart in glee.
The enraged vampire returned to Esther, who also hung listlessly but was still full of life. “You must know more about your past. Surely you’ve crossed paths with your angelic friends at some point since you separated.” Esther didn’t respond.
“Do you know the other gods in question?” Stemenia asked. “Did Karo’Kaffellon tell you who he was . . .” she stopped as Atrax turned on her.
“Don’t mention that name,” he said in a harsh whisper stepping away from Esther. “Don’t ever say that name.”
Stemenia shrank from the much taller vampire. “Sorry. Did your master tell you which other gods he was battling? He wants to steal their power, so certainly he knows which ones.”
If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
“He is testing me,” Atrax said stoically. “I must solve this problem for him. I cannot go and beg for more information. It would be a sign of weakness. Plus, there is another looking.”
“The player,” Stemenia said. “Do you think he is closer to finding the truth?”
Atrax laughed. “How could he be? I have Esther Xerxes shackled and Helpless. What does he have?”
“Who has me shackled and Helpless?”
Atrax spun back to see Esther standing free before him, hatred like a fire in her eyes. Stemenia’s mind magic had placed Esther in combat mode, and the spell increasing the Grappling ability of the restraints had expired. She had gained significantly more skill in escaping since Atrax had last seen her and had simply shrugged off the cuffs once the vampire was distracted.
He tried to react, but Esther was faster, grabbing him by his fancy clothes and tossing him toward the gargoyles. The hungry beasts were finishing off Thomas and were too dim-witted to tell one meal from the next and got several powerful attacks against the disoriented vampire before he could command them to stop.
It was just enough time for Esther to attack Stemenia. The tiefling was more dexterous than most, and without Esther’s normal boons from her equipment, she couldn’t get enough criticals on the Grapple attempt to consider the female Secured, but that changed once they backed up, and the rogue pinned the smaller mage against the board Thomas had been tied to. The vampire had enough time to take one level and then turned to release a web spell toward the other side of the room, the difficulty bolstered by the extra mana she had just drained.
Though the gargoyles had enormous Strength and Constitution, the abilities usually used to determine one’s Grappling defense, they were creatures of living stone and were given significant penalties to defend against combat maneuvers such as Disarm, Trip, and Grapple. They did have high magic resistance, but Esther got to add her Grappling ability to the web spell, and the slow-footed creatures were held tight.
Atrax had pulled himself free from the gargoyle scrum and had turned to charge Esther, but his Grappling defense was also not up to snuff. He didn’t fail with as many criticals as the monsters and was only held from the waist down. The gargoyles were all Helpless, with webbing climbing to their necks.
“You’ve learned some new tricks since we last met,” Atrax said, looking down at the magical snare he was in and then at the shackles she had escaped.
“You have no idea,” Esther replied as she tightened her grip on the tiefling and resumed feeding. The spell the mage had cast to dig out her memories had done some damage, and she needed her health and mana back.
“It doesn’t have to be like this,” Atrax said, trying to buy time. “We can be together. I don’t need the tiefling. She’s nothing to me.”
Esther laughed in her mind. She had just heard these two planning to turn her over to his demon master, who was so horrible he scared Imani, and Atrax didn’t feel comfortable speaking his name aloud. Of course, responding to his foolish claim would require her to break away from her feeding, which would be equally foolish.
Atrax could see Esther wasn’t as impulsive as she had been before. “Jace has made you wiser,” he said. “He has made you powerful. I get that. I can make you a goddess. I can restore you. My master knows how. That is why he wants you. You have the divine power inside you. Your fallen nature has disabled it, but it is still there. I can unlock it.”
Again, blatant lies, and Esther so wanted to respond to them, but she kept draining levels and building up mana. She knew how long her web spell would last and felt confident the gargoyles didn’t have the skill to break free, but Atrax got a fresh chance to save each round and could get lucky.
After stealing half of Stemenia’s levels, she dropped the demoness to the floor and sneered at Atrax, not bothering to wipe the blood from her mouth. “In your dreams,” she said, not wasting too much time before her excess mana expired. She released an acid spell. With all the mana she stole, it did a ton of damage.
Since the gargoyles spent most of their time perched on the corners of tall buildings, they had excellent cold and lightning resistance but didn’t do so well against acid. And since they were each Helpless in the web spell, they didn’t even get a chance to save against the damage. The initial blast did well over half damage to the three smaller creatures. Since they weren’t living beings, this didn’t send them into a death spiral, but the web lasted two more rounds, and over the next twelve seconds, the successive acid blasts brought them to nothing.
The fourth gargoyle took two rounds of heavy damage, but its magic resistance was high enough that even without a dice roll for the third round, it saved and only took half damage. Atrax saved the first round, taking half, but was still stuck in the web until it expired. Esther took the twelve seconds to gather as much of her equipment as possible. Her weapons, boots, and a few potions were on the first table she found. Her usual dress, hat, and jewelry were in another pile. She was still looking for her armor and gem bag when she heard the roar of the ape and knew the web had expired.
She turned to see the massive gargoyle charging her and had a second to contemplate her options. It had initiative against her and got the first offensive action. Dodging seemed her best option, but she knew this creature would have an impressive attack, and if it hit her, she didn’t know what would happen. As it closed the distance, she decided to tug on her hat instead and disappear in a column of pure darkness.
Even with the bonus to defense that Esther gained from hiding, if the gargoyle had attacked her last known position, it would have done close to half her health in damage. But the stupid construct didn’t understand the game mechanics well enough to know that Esther couldn’t have moved from her location except to Dodge a direct attack since it had the initiative. Instead of attacking, it cast one of its few spells, True Sight, a necessity for a monster that spent most of its time as a stationary guard.
As soon as the spell was cast, but before it took effect, Esther Shadow Stepped behind the creature. The spell didn’t illuminate an area but made the gargoyle’s eyes glow white, so shadows disappeared everywhere it looked. The spell took a full round to take effect, and Esther used her second action to attack from the shadows. The massive stone ape's size made it difficult, but the penalties it got for defending against Grappling attempts and the bonus Esther got from the Sneak Attack gave her the advantage she needed.
In one swift motion, she climbed the creature’s back, secured it into a Helpless condition, and snapped its neck. Upon its death, the body reverted to solid stone, and the head broke clean off in her hands. She hopped out of the way as the statue fell to the floor with a crash. She landed lightly on her feet and locked eyes with Atrax, who hadn’t moved since the web had expired. He was willing to let the gargoyle take the first attack, assuming the powerful beast would render Esther unconscious, and then he could tie her back up more carefully.
Now he realized he wanted no part of this woman. Esther tossed the huge head beside the stone body and pulled her swords. “Would you like to explain again what you can do for me?”
The vampire contemplated combat but knew better. His weapons were still in his inventory. He didn’t have the Quick Change ability Esther did, so he would have to spend a full round to go in and get them. Esther would kill him before he could attack.
“All that time, and you never came for me,” Esther said, seeing she had the man in an impossible situation. “I’ve found my name is quite famous in the realms. You must have known where I was, yet you never showed up.”
Atrax shrugged. “Travel restrictions,” he said. “Not all of us vampires can walk in sunlight.”
Esther smirked, realizing it was probably more complicated than that. Jace had told her that only other players like himself had visited her. She knew from personal experience that while she could walk anywhere, if she wanted to travel instantly between locations, she needed the help of another player.
“I knew if I waited long enough, you would come to me,” the vampire said. “Destiny has determined we will be together.”
She laughed at him. “Hardly seems like a good strategy if you are competing with another player. He won’t have the same ‘Travel Restrictions.’”
Atrax smiled at her cunning. After she escaped, he had wondered how much she had heard of his discussion with Stemenia. Her listless posture had been largely an act.
“Who is he?” Esther said, flipping the script so she was the one asking questions. “Surely he has heard of me too. Perhaps we’ve already met.”
Atrax wasn’t compelled to answer her questions, and he didn’t want to wait until she used mana to charm him. He was done underestimating her. There was a sound at the door to the room behind Esther, and when the woman glanced over her shoulder, the vampire fighter took advantage.
Esther’s eyes snapped back to her old friend when she saw him move, but he didn’t reach for a weapon. Instead, he spun and ran to the window. Bat wings sprang from his shoulders as he leaped out and flew away. “That’s right,” she said to herself. “I used to be able to do that.”
“Esther!”
She turned again toward the door at her name but recognized the voice and wasn’t surprised to find Gromphy behind her. The portal was slightly open, and the goblin poked his head in. “How did you find me?” she asked. As the adrenaline of the fight wore off, she felt the pulsing in the magic ring the goblin and given her. She had put it on with the rest of her jewelry without thinking.
Gromphy saw her look at the ring and didn’t answer the question as he moved further into the room. “We must go,” he said. “Our purpose here is below, and we must not tarry.” His eyes fell on the tiefling, slowly dying with only a few rounds of life left. “Art thou finished with her?”
Esther didn’t answer immediately, and the goblin didn’t wait. He walked up to her and cast a healing spell. He had enough bonuses from his high wisdom that he needed only five mana to initiate the magic, and it was enough to stop her death spiral. “Pick her up and follow me,” Gromphy commanded and turned to leave.
“Wait,” Esther said. “I don’t have all my equipment. I’m missing my gem bag and my armor.”
“We haven’t the time for thou to fret over a few lost jewels,” Gromphy said. “I shall replace anything thou hast lost.”
“Including the undead stone?”
Gromphy stopped. “The obsidian sphere our master forbade you from carrying?”
“He didn’t ‘forbade’ me,” she argued. “He implied it was a bad idea. We need to find it, or who knows where it will turn up.”
“If thy vampire lover hath taken it, we shan’t find it here.”
“He’s not my . . .” but Esther didn’t have time to argue with the goblin and let the retort hang in the air. She wondered how long he had been listening at the door before entering but tried not to worry about it.
Gromphy cast another spell and then looked about the room with a bright glow in his eyes. He pointed again to Stemenia on the floor. “Check her belt.”
Esther stepped closer, knelt beside the tiefling, and rolled her over to reveal a familiar gem bag hanging from her waist. On a hunch, she went through the inventory of the Helpless woman and found her armor too. She secured the items and lifted the diminutive mage off the ground. “Okay, I’m ready. Lead the way.”