(Continued from Ch 30, Seeping Toxins)

The Chronicles of Rapina
Chapter 31, The Shadows of Wizardry


"You look stunning poured into black silk, my dear, does she not?" Thane asked.

Rames rubbed his hands together and held them near Rapina's loins as if by a fire.

Rapina giggled.

"I see only one problem with your outfit," Thane said.

"Hmm?" Rapina asked.

"This is a night operation, and your blades are silvery, far too reflective. If you should find yourself in battle, your blades would betray your position. Try these instead." Thane held up a pair of black leather sheathes. The hilts of the weapons they contained were also black leather; the metal of the pommels and hilt guards were dull black as well.

Rapina loosened her belt and replaced her weapons with the ones Thane had given her. She drew the rapier part way and saw that the metal of the blades was the same dull black color as the hilt guard. She squinted at the tang mark, it was the mark of The Montfort Forge. 

"Oh thank you! Thank you Guardian Thane, I love these Montfort blades. I really missed the one I had."

Thane chuckled, "Yes, Guardian Rames said that was painfully obvious. Now that you will be helping us handle the clandestine affairs of the Church, you shall not lack for quality equipment. I have a darkwood bow for you as well. It is somewhat stronger than the one you are used to. I do hope you can bend it." Thane handed Rapina the bow.

Rapina gritted her teeth a bit but she was able to bend the bow.

"Splendid, Guardian Rames, I shall never doubt your opinions as an arms master again."

Rames chuckled, "We had a little disagreement over bows. Guardian Thane wanted me to get a somewhat weaker bow, but I felt you could grow into this one."

Rapina smiled, "What's our assignment?"

It is a simple matter, really. You are to consecrate several small graveyards to Mortaebius, and create another. In order to accomplish the feat, you must drive your horses hard, luckily skeleton horses do not tire. Guardian Rames will show you the maps. You are to study them. Here also is a compass and your copies of the maps in case you should become separated. After you are finished, I shall take you to this Graveyard in the county of Li'Yeiraun. You shall make a large circle around the area as you consecrate and then you will create a graveyard here, in a forest just east of Castle Yeiraun."

Other than feeling a bit of soreness in her rump, the consecration of various graveyards around Li'Yeiraun was going very well. Rapina dismounted at still another tiny graveyard. A small parsonage to an agricultural deity could be seen not far off.

"We begin," Rames said. "Hail Mortaebius guardian of the dead, the dead who lie here entreat thee, hallow this ground that the dead might rest." 

"Hail Mortaebius, keeper of the deceased, we the living entreat thee, hallow this ground that the dead be held in thy embrace, to rise only in the direst need," Rapina said. 

A door to the parsonage opened and closed, "Is someone there."

In a lowered voice, Rames continued with the consecration, "Hearken, ye buried and departed, to the power of Mortaebius coursing through thy rotting flesh and bones." 

Rapina continued, "Harken, ye living to the call of thy ancestors in Mortaebius' embrace, and know his power will preserve thee, until death takes life's grace.

Both Rapina and Rames finished the consecration. "...and thus we close the circle, life and death, the cycle is complete." 

"Food! Food! You got food? Snuffle-snuff!" Rames half shouted in a crazed voice as the Parson approached.

The parson held a crossbow on Rames. "Hold up there beggar."

"Me smell fooood!" Rames shouted.

Rapina stealthily circled the parson in the darkness as Rames' voice drew his attention. Since both she and her companion were dressed in black with their exposed skin thoroughly sooted, the Parson was having a difficult time seeing them in the dim light, and Rames was making sure the parson concentrated on him. When Rapina was behind the parson, she poised her hand just over the man's sword hilt and raised her other hand to tap on his left shoulder.

"Look out behind you, sir," Rames said.

At that moment the parson felt a tap on his shoulder and whirled, but Rapina's hand took his sword and slowed him long enough for her to hit the trigger on his crossbow. The bolt fired into the open air as Rapina's boot kicked the parson off his feet.

Rames was on the Parson in an instant. Me told you look out. Now me look for Fooood! Rames knelt on one of the man's arms and searched him. 

Rapina stamped on the man's arm as he went for a knife. Rames snatched the knife and threw it as far as he could while Rapina removed the bolts from the parson's quiver and tossed them as well.

"He not got no food. You go get us food. We not hurt you. Rames stood the man up and pushed him towards the parsonage."

As the parson hustled towards his house, Rames and Rapina stealthily made their way back to their horses and mounted up. When the parsonage door closed, they galloped off.

"Whew, that was close. I'm so glad you warned him about the person behind him, I think he might have shot you in surprise if I had just tapped him on the shoulder."

Rames chuckled, "Yes, it did work rather well. For a moment I was almost his friend."

The consecration of the remaining graveyards went without a hitch, but there was still the one to be created. Rames and Rapina rode slowly, stopping frequently to listen for guards. They saw a pair of them walk by in the distance. 

When Rames stopped, Rapina immediately dismounted and took down her shovel. She dug a hole, tossed an open burlap sack of bones into it and buried it. She paced off twelve paces distance and did the same with a second skeleton. Rames was doing likewise, some distance away. After the burial was done, they immediately did the consecration ritual in voices barely above a whisper. When they were finished they stopped and listened for a moment; a pair of guards was coming. Carefully they laid down.

"I hate it when the mists rise off the ground like that, it gives me the creeps," a first guard said.

"Bah, you afraid of spooks?" his partner asked.

"Na, just don't like the way it obscures things."

"Well come on then, lets walk on through there, nothing to be afraid of.

Rapina held her breath. One of the guards nearly stepped on her, but he passed. The mists seemed to be thickening by the minute. After the guards had gone some distance, Rapina heard chanting in a low voice from nearby. 

"Be very quiet, the guards are near, Rapina whispered in a barely audible voice."

Rames picked up leaves and sifted them over the small burried holes until his spell-enhanced night vision told him the ground looked untouched. He could see Rapina was doing the same.

Thane, who had arrived with the mists, checked the work of the others, and when he was satisfied, handed them the leads to their horses, took their hands and began to chant.

Rapina thanked her lucky stars that the guards were not due to pass this way for another few minutes. When the three of them materialized back at the abode, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Do you suppose they will find the tracks of our horses?"

"Nay, I doubt it, the leaves are thick in that area, as is the forest. The trail you came in on is well traveled by horses and guards, so I expect we will be just fine. However, I did include some insurance on the skeletons you buried. Should they be triggered by an attacker who unearths them, they will stand up causing a glyph to fire that will send a message to me," Thane said.

Our work for the evening is not done. We must transport a number of skeletons to Red Jack's camp yet tonight. I have animated the bodies of two criminals delivered by the constable as well," Thane added.

When they arrived, Red Jack's camp was bustling with quiet activity. A number of ghouls combed the area surrounding the camp for spies while Rames and Roger took the skeletons to the appointed locations for shallow burial. Rapina assisted the pirates in making a pack train to the graveyard. The pirates carried great pieces of their longship, tools and other supplies. Thane began transporting groups of pirates to some far off graveyard. By the time the birds sung heralding the dawn, the pirates had removed the ship from its tent, but the tent still stood. Within the tent, bowls of flaming oil had replaced the flaming skeletons. 

In fact, the pirate camp looked much the same as it always had, except that the number of pirates in it was greatly reduced. Those deemed too green to fight well, plus a few officers that had been put in charge of building the new camp, were no longer present. The pirates that remained put on a show of activity while the number of guards searching the forest around the camp quietly doubled in number. At dawn, Kroz bid the pirates adieu and took Kent and most of his ghouls with him as he left.

---

The next night, Thane came to his afternoon "breakfast" looking as though he was trying to figure out what might go wrong with a plan he had worked on for many hours.

"Good evening Guardian Thane," Rapina said.

"Good evening Rapina. Tonight is an important night. We will discuss our plan, and when we are done it will be time to put it into action..."

---

The sun was just about to slip below the horizon when Rage walked down the path for the guard post farthest from the camp.

Rage saw the large tree and took the runed cover from over the stone set in his sword. A recruit he hardly knew accompanied him to guard duty. Kroz had told Rage that the sword he had stolen from Lord Li'Yeiraun's men had been bugged with a magic stone. Now it was his turn to use their little gadget against them. He pocketed the cover then went on. Once at the guard post he struck up a conversation with the two young guards, a conversation he knew Nordula would overhear. "Okay men, you're relived. Get back to camp quick; remember it'll be midnight before you know it, and the captain wants you to get into your groups and be ready to move out, so make sure you pack up. We're going to slip out right under the noses of those spying dogs."

"Aye sir," the youth said as he started down the trail.

"What group're ye in Blood?" Biler asked. 

"Me? Number five, how about you?" Blood said.

"Group seven, we're the best," Biller replied.

"Bah..." Blood said.

Rage smiled to himself. When this guard duty was over, he would pry the stone from the sword and give it to Roger. The camp wards were going to be unearthed and packed up for the most part, but Roger was a walking ward.

---

Rapina waited in a shadow. She was near the cobbled path that led to the front door of Madam Agnes' House of Angels. It was in Yeiraun Villiage. Yeiraun castle was a mile walk up a hill to the north.

The disguise Rames was wearing looked utterly ridiculous, but the one Thane was wearing was an absolute scream.

Rapina heard the whinney of a horse.

"I can't believe my luck!" Rames said as he played "Hans." "Imagine that, an out of town gentleman coming away with the newest and definitely the most heavenly angel of the bunch. It was worth the small fortune I paid."

Lieutenant Richter looked forward to this night every week. Yes, every week he picked up a bottle and one of Agnes' girls and was back to his room for a nine to midnight romp. Occasionally he even let one of the sergeants have a taste.

Rapina started up the path with Rames and looked up at the lieutenant as he came down the path. The coy expression on her face coupled with the tug on the officer's lust served to grab his attention and slow his pace as he gave Rapina a good looking over.

"Hans! Hansel! I know you're in there, I dragged your words out of that hotel clerk!" Thane said in a disguised voice. Thane, dressed as a rather ugly but convincing woman opened the gate of Madam Agnes' house with a resounding squeak.

"Hans" stiffened. Swore under his breath, then whispered frantically to the Lieutenant, "Sir, I've got this new girl for the entire night, and she's yours if you bail me out of what's about to happen with my damned wife." Rames pushed Rapina at the Lieutenant.

"Ooo," Rapina squawked as she bumped into the Lieutenant, giving his lust a little jerk on impact.

The lieutenant had no time to think or react before a homely woman bore down on "Hans" like a mad hornet.

"Shame on you! The very idea that you would fraternize with harlots! You are a married man!"

"Nonsense, you have it all wrong. Hilda, I'd like you to meet my friend," Hans said.

"Good to meet you Hilda, my name's Adolf Richter, I'm an old friend of your husband. I'm sure he was just over here looking for me. We had a lot of catching up to do."

"We sure did honey, it's so great to see him, why Adolf is one of the best swordsmen I've ever known. Uh, he works for, uh..."

"Lord Li'Yeiraun."

"Yes, and Lord Li'Yeiraun holds him in high esteem. It's great to see an old friend with such an honorable post, isn't it Hilda? I thought I might find him over here at the, uh house of the ladies. I heard he, uh, sometimes comes here and I was um going to ask around and see when he'd be in. Low and behold I bumped into him coming out with this young lady and we've been catching up on old times ever since."

Hilda looked a little nonplused, "Well, thank heaven you weren't frequenting this house of ill repute as I had first suspected. Hilda glared at the Lieutenant. You should get yourself a wife, Adolf. These ladies are evil, you understand? eeevil! Now come along Hans, you get away from this place."

"Yes dear," Hans whimpered as Hilda hauled him towards the gate.

Richter chuckled, "Poor sap, it's men like him who remind me that a smart man never marries."

"Men like him remind you?" Rapina asked innocently as she tugged at Richter's lust.

"And girls like you," Richter smiled saltily. "Lets stop in and see Agnes a minute."

"Okay, have you got some money?" Rapina asked.

"Shit, do you think she'd charge me for you all over again?" Richter asked.

Rapina smiled, "Um, I just got here yesterday; do you think she would?" Rapina asked.

Richter looked at the door uneasily, then back at Rapina. Damn she was so young, and so breathtaking. He could pay for her all over again but that would cost... nah.

Richter did an about face, took Rapina's hand and led her down the walkway, "What's your name?"

"Leanna." Rapina smiled.

---

Edgar the ghoul peered down from the treetop. Not even the half-elven sentries posted around the perimeter of the Li'Yeiraun camp could see him. His corpse was as cold as the air around it. As of a few minutes ago, men were frantically donning armor, filling quivers, and generally racing around as if about to go into battle. Edgar climbed down the tree. He had a message to get to Kroz's assistant.

---


Richter knocked on the heavy door, "It's Richter, open up."

A grizzled old Sergeant opened the door.

Simply because she was an imp, Rapina tugged at the old Sergeant's lust.

"Oi, who's th' girl?" the sergeant asked.

"Got her down at Agnes'. Damn pretty, isn't she Sergeant Deinzen?" Lieutenant Richter asked.

"Jah!" Sergeant Deinzen agreed.

"'Leanna, this is Sergeant Deinzen. I Got her for the whole night," Richter grinned.

"Let me know if he falls asleep on ya," Deinzen chuckled.

Rapina blushed, "Okay," she said smiling.

The lieutenant led her through the heavy door. It was evident that Mansun Dido had given accurate drawings and descriptions of Castle Li'Yieraun to Thane. The plans had come at a price however. Thane's little coup was to be much more bloodless than originally planned. At night all doors to the castle were barred and bolted from the inside with large, heavy bars and huge metal bolts. The only way past the barred doors was down a corridor that led right through the guard barracks, and only the Lieutenant had the key into the castle proper.

Rapina followed the Lieutenant down an isle that went through a large room full of bunk beds. On the other side he unlocked a heavy door and entered a corridor. After ten more paces he opened a door on the left and took Rapina through a small office room where he grabbed some glasses and a corkscrew for the bottle of wine he'd bought while in town. On the other side of the office was the Lieutenant's bedroom.

"Who says a man who's supposed to be on call every night of the week can't have a little fun," Richter grinned as he passed Rapina a glass of wine. Richter looked at the beauty he had picked up and took a moment just to gloat on his good fortune. He began to wonder just how much stuffing she had packed beneath her breasts to make them look so full. Heheh, turn around girl.

Rapina turned and felt the Lieutenant's fingers unbuttoning her dress. His breathing was rapid and hot against her neck. Her nose twitched as his lust tickled her senses.

"Heheh, step out of that now, I want to see what you've got on under it."

Rapina turned, blushed and stepped out of her dress. The black satin lace teddy underneath had been copied from a sample procured days earlier by Rames from one of Agnes' Angels.

Richter licked his lips and began to unlace Rapina's front. When he was finished he slid the teddy's straps over her shoulders and pulled it down. Her ripe breasts jiggled free, her nipples already erect.

a loud knocking could be heard on the outer door.

"Shit!"

"One minute," The lieutenant whispered and disappeared into the office.

"It's Captain Gleister, get the men together on the double. Leave old Deinzen and a skeleton crew. We will need every available man. The pirates are bugging out and we need to catch them as they leave or we'll likely not catch them at all.

"Yes sir!" Richter said.

After the captain left, Richter poked his head in the room took a few more steps and kissed Rapina's nipples. Damn pirates! I might be back before morning. You stay here until then."

Rapina nodded, "okay."

In the next half hour, Rapina heard a great deal of activity, and then the castle around her grew quiet. Rapina took a lamp and went into the office. Thankfully the lieutenant had not locked the door out. Perhaps he knew he might not be back until long after morning or maybe he had just been in too big a hurry. Rapina laced up her teddy and walked to the door to the barracks. It was locked. She wrinkled her nose, trying to settle on a course of action. Rapina shrugged and knocked on the door.

What the? Blade drawn, the sergeant opened the door into the officer's corridor.

Rapina grimaced and jumped backwards when she saw the sergeant's blade. Her breasts jiggled succulently.

"Ooo, um sorry to bother you, but the lieutenant left me all alone in his room. He seemed to be in a rush. He wanted me to stay till morning, but there's nothing to do in there."

"Well, now I'm sure I could find somethin' for ye to do out here," Sergeant Deinzen said.

"Who's that," asked one of the four guards remaining in the barracks.

"That'd be th' lieutenant's harlot. Deinzen laughed, "He was just about to dip his rod when the captain came in and told him it was time to pull out."

The guards laughed. Two got up from their bunks and came to take a look.

"One hell of a woman too, isn't she, Deiter?" Seargeant Deinzen asked

"Jah, she sure is," Guard Deiter agreed.

"Hey, I've got somethin' you can do girl. Watch the door for me a second, Dieter."

Deinzen buttoned down his trousers and pulled out his half erect cock. 

"Suck."

Rapina blinked as thoughts raced through her mind, "How am I supposed to put him to sleep with my mouth?" Rapina slurped him into her mouth and tried to draw on his energy, but it was no use, the best she could do was tug on his lust. Her mouth just wasn't set up the same way as her vagina. She knew how to use her throat on a man, Guardian Rames had taught her, but how was she going to work any magic if all he wanted was her mouth? Rapina smiled inwardly and began to finger herself as she sucked on the Sergeant. She tried to go slowly as she frantically fingered herself.

"Faster girl, I'm supposed to be on duty," Sergeant Deinzen said.

Rapina's head bobbed up and down, her moans escaping her throat as she used everything she had trying to get herself to orgasm before the Sergeant came in her mouth. 

Deinzen shook his head, "ever seen a hoar who enjoyed her work like this one?"

The sergeant pumped and plunged adding speed to the young woman's otherwise impressive performance.

Rapina's could hardly stand it she was giving herself so much stimulation, and then she felt Deinzen shudder as hot jets of cum began to shoot down her throat. Just as the man was about to pull out, Rapina took hold of his balls. She sucked what was left of his erection to the cadence of her own slippery clit-teasing finger.

"Heheh, you're a real natural," Sergeant Deinzen said.

1Uhuhaaah, Rapina rode her orgasm to the cloud of Deinzen's mind and touched him with lust and stiffness as powerful as those she had inflicted on the late reverend Evangeline.

Deinzen removed Rapina's hand from his balls. Whew, you're a grabby one, girl. Care for a whirl men?

---

"Huddle closer!" the magician, Nordula said. "Good, now hold together." Sweat ran from Nordula's brow. Two a night had been about right, now he was teleporting groups of four men together at once. He had already used up every elixir of power and energy stone he had, and finally he was nearly done.

Nordula collapsed as he pronounced the final word. The men disappeared.

"Nordula, I would be gravely disappointed if you were unable to teleport the remainder of my personal guards and I," Lord Heinrich Li'Yieraun said.

"Let me rest a moment m'Lord, I will come with you, and that should make it a little easier. Teleporting others without going oneself is a taxing proposition, without the stone on the other side it is not even practical. Nordula wiped the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief. He was spent; he knew he would have to rest for at least twenty minutes.

Fifteen minutes later Lord Li'Yieraun cleared his throat, "Nordula?"

"Five more minutes m' Lord, and I should have the energy," Nordula said.

Li'Yeiraun nearly growled. Finally Nordula stood and gathered the two bodyguards and his lord together.

Nordula's head felt as though it had been clubbed repeatedly, yet he knew he must make one last supreme effort. He was sure the warriors would be occupied making preparations until near midnight. He would sleep in the camp. He wrapped his fur cloak around him and began to incant the spell. He did not like the way the evening was progressing. His plan had been to transport the men a day or two before the battle was to take place so he could rest up from the taxing duty of teleportation, but because the pirates had decided to try to slip away he was expected to teleport and fight in one night, but how could he cast when he had used up all his reserves on transportation?

---


The guard walking the wall of Yeiraun castle cussed to himself, "Why do I have to take a second shift anyways, I should be at my leisure, damn pirates! Wha? did I hear something? What in hell's up with the lights going out? The guard put his hand up to check for rain, then whirled suddenly, but it had grown so dark. He smelled rotten meat. Someone was there, but before he could strike out, they scratched him, and he froze solid with some kind of magical fear. The ghoul gibbered softly, crouching in the darkness that seemed to cling to him, and then moved off down the wall.

The skeletal assassin, Elizabetta, jumped off the wall above the gate, her blackjack expertly rapped on the back of the gate guard's skull before she flattened against the cobbles with the impact of her thirty-foot fall. Her charcoal-colored bones were not brittle like those of lesser skeletons, but instead were firm but flexible as rubber. Blunt weapons and falls were now mere nuisances. 

The second gate guard could hardly see, and certainly could not believe what was happening. A shadow fell off the wall? He swished his sword behind his comrade, but hit only air. Suddenly something hit him like a rubber ball that had bounced from the top of the wall. Ulch! His jaw shattered as the flexible skull hit him like a blackjack. He fell over backwards and the creature gouged a spot behind his ears. Suddenly everything went black. 

Thane smiled within his death mask as the gate quietly opened. Under the cover of clinging darkness, Thane and his guards led a string of black leather-clad skeletal draft horses through the gate of Yeiraun castle. A number of double animated skeletons flanked the horses and when they were through the gate, Elizabetta waited as her two flexible skeletal helpers dragged a body each to the gate from the wall. A shadowy Kent came up and scratched the men before dragging them off into the shadows.

"Nnnggugulp," Rapina gasped and swallowed as Deiter filled her mouth with cum. She tugged wildly at Sergeant Deinzen's lust as he pistoned in and out of her wanton cleft.

"Ooooo..." Deinzen croaked as his orgasm seemed to stretch to infinity. The pleasure was so overwhelming. When it was finally over, he shuddered and collapsed.

Rapina rolled the sergeant off her and gasped for breath. Deiter came around to the front of the bunk and sat her back up. His mouth latched onto her right nipple and he suckled her and fingered her clit like a man possessed. She reached behind him and massaged his buttocks. Eventually her fingers wrapped under, found the base of his rod and stimulated him. His staff rose.

There came a knocking at the great door to the outside.

Guard Dieter ignored the knock, he would get it later, besides, the knocker had not identified himself, and that was the rule. His fingers had tasted what he must have and now he would have his rising erection between her lovely thighs.

Rapina moaned as Deiter entered her.

Dieter laughed and cried as he pumped himself between the gates of Elysium. At last his eyes rolled back in his head, his loins surged forward and he hollered in ecstasy. 

Rapina drew the power out of the guard with all her might. He pumped and hollered for several minutes before collapsing on top of her.

An insistent knock sounded at the door. Rapina was about to roll Dieter off when he pushed up drunkenly. He was obviously addled.

Deiter shot back the bolt and opened the door. Wha?

The ghoul scratched Deiter's face and he froze.

Rapina screamed hoarsely.

Kent pretended to scratch Rapina and she froze. 

"Ghouls immobilize those guards, bind the wench over one of the horses, I think I might have a use for her later on." Thane cast vision in darkness on Rapina as Kent bound her over the back of a horse.

He had the ghouls toss the guards into a cell in the block just on the other side of the barracks. Once the last of them was in, Thane shot home the bolt on the outside of the door.

After the last skeletal horse had come in from the courtyard, the Elizabetta, the skeletal assassin bolted the door to the barracks.

Thane opened the door to the officers' corridor with the sergeant's key and moved his entourage forward. "Where is the key to the inner door, Thane whispered in Rapina's ear.

"The lieutenant had a key ring, but he left in such a hurry, I think he still had it with him," Rapina whispered.

"Elizabetta, the lock if you are able," Thane said.

The skeletal assassin removed lock picks from a pouch, worked a few minutes, then opened the door.

"Splendid." Thane intoned arcane syllables and filled the room beyond the door with darkness. Now, take your cohorts and scout our way to Nordula's chambers."

The skeletal assassins and the pack of ghouls they led slunk ahead. Thane and his entourage followed more slowly. At last they arrived at the door to Nordula's chambers. Thane first dispelled any magic holding the door fast, then Elizabetta worked on the lock for about ten minutes, periodically requesting tools from a case on one of the horses. Thane filled the rooms surrounding the entrance to Nordula's chambers with darkness. The ghouls and the other two skeletal assassins scouted for and immobilized guards in the area. There were few to remove, however. The castle was largely empty. At last the door opened.

Elizabetta sent her underlings forward to check for traps.

Thane assisted with his mage-sight, detecting and dispelling a glyph on the door. Once the party made it into Nordula's library, Thane began dispelling magic on the books, and designating which books needed to be packed within the rib cages of the horses. Any work on magic was taken away.

Once in, the skeletal assassin carefully checked for secret doors in Nordula's chambers. Her two cohorts assisted, while Thane did the same using magic. 

Thane found a magical stone in the mantle of the fireplace in Nordula's bedroom. He dispelled it, then carefully pried it off and put it in a tiny metal box.

In the study Elizabetta found a bookcase that slid aside revealing another bookcase hidden within the wall behind the first.

"Excellent, you are a fine servant of our god, Elizabetta." 

Kent ran in. "town guardsmen, master."

Rapina gasped, "You've had it now!"

Thane dispelled the books in the hidden bookcase in case any were magically trapped. "Examine the case for mechanical traps then get those books loaded. I have other things to attend to."

Thane smiled. "I Have no worries as long as these fools have no mage," He rasped as he passed her. I shall increase the darkened areas of the castle. You shall immobilize these meddling town guardsmen. It appears that someone escaped the castle and fetched them. As the darkened areas grew, ghouls chittered and men screamed.

"Skeletons, front four ranks, defend only. Let the ghouls handle this," Thane ordered.

A lone guard somehow made it past the skeletons and into the room.

"Thane pointed a finger at him and said, "Death" in the frightening voice of his death mask. 

The town guardsman blanched and ran from the room as if the hounds of hell were chasing him.

Rapina peered from the back of the horse she was draped over as if paralyzed. "What hideous spell was that?" She whispered.

"He didn't give me a chance to cast one," Thane chuckled.

Rapina groaned. Thane had simply scared the man. It was much quicker than spellcasting.

"Good, I think we are set here; Let us head for the laboratory," Thane said.

Rapina just shook her head, Thane was so casual. He cast spells to detect and dispel while Elizabetta and her assassins checked for traps and entered the laboratory. It was really surprising how few traps there were. Rapina supposed it stood to reason since Nordula was actually using his books and laboratory probably less than an hour before they had arrived. 

Thane snatched up a kettle, some lab books, various items and reagents from the lab and then had them packed in one of the horses. When he was satisfied they left the laboratory. Upstairs the ghouls were slinking around paralyzing anyone who dared enter the magical darkness. 

Once outside the castle, Rapina heard arrows wiz by in the air. Thankfully none hit her. Soon Thane and his entourage were marching towards the forest in darkness that was lost in the night. The ghouls paralyzed those soldiers foolish enough to enter the inky blackness surrounding the necromancer's caravan.

Thane chuckled, "I'm sure Li'Yeiraun's troops would have been better equipped with light stones and such, but I would venture to guess just about all of them are being used at the pirate camp along with any other magical items Nordula might have that would aid in a battle. When they got to the previously consecrated graveyard, Thane cast graveyard mists.

The entourage appeared in a cemetery next to an ancient temple that Rapina had never seen. They entered a stream near the temple and traveled half a mile to a lake. There Thane again cast the graveyard mists spell. Next they appeared briefly on an island in a steamy swamp. They followed an ancient road into the water, and from there Thane took them to the abode. 

"Was that lake a cemetary?" Rapina asked.

Thane wiped his brow and chuckled, "both the lake and the swamp were sites where a great many bodies were dumped or fell from ancient battles. The cemeteries I took us too were consecrated and or warded, and each had a rich history behind it. All these things tend to be very hard on divination magics."

"Oh, I get it," Rapina said.

"Given that Nordula's forebears were fond of reading the tea leaves, I decided to make it very difficult if not impossible for him to figure out my final destination. Thane smiled. Now get dressed, we must rescue the pirates. Rames is with them playing Karmoz, my soldierly assistant who wears a helmet with a leather mask. Thane collapsed on a chair in the great hall, "I must rest for a moment." Thane wiped the sweat from his brow. He had cast far too many spells already.

---

Fletcher Arzeal grimaced as an arrow grazed his arm. It was obvious that Li'Yieraun's men included some half-elves or elves. The first decoy group of pirates had left the camp at half past midnight. They had spotted the expected ambush and had routed back into camp, landing many enemies in the pit traps and deadly snares that had been set up for them. The center of the pirates' camp was now a fortified dip in the ground that had been squared up, its walls made sheer and reinforced by timbers. Earth had been spread out from the walls to make sure fire would not spread easily in the pirates' makeshift keep. Some of the old camp shacks still stood, and the perimeter of the camp was protected by standing spears and armed skeletons buried in extremely shallow graves so that the enemy could not count them. The tent that once stood around the ship was empty, but it had been left up as a ploy so that the enemy would believe there was still a ship within.

Arzeal picked off another man and then heard a far off scream. He wondered if Edgar was responsible and found himself almost wishing Kroz would arrive with the rest of the ghouls. For now, the battle was a stalemate. Afraid of the traps set by the pirates, the nobleman's forces surrounded the pirate camp and attempted to pick Jacks men off with arrows, however most of the men were behind solid cover. Arzeal was busy attempting to fend off the elves among the enemy, unfortunately, there appeared to be perhaps ten of them and they were moving in to attempt to find a way to get at the hiding pirates. Almost too late Arzeal spotted the heat signatures in the trees. He tapped the man in the leather mask. "Ten archers in the trees over there," Arzeal said. 

The pirates screamed as many arrows found their marks.

"97th archers rise and fire," Karmoz, the masked warrior played by Rames said.

Seven skeletal archers rose from their very shallow graves and fired on the archers in the trees. Their vision was not hampered in the least by the darkness.

Li'Yiraun Archers began screaming and falling from the trees as arrows began hitting them.

Well back from the front lines and surrounded by his personal guard, Lord Heinrich Li'Yeiraun brooded as news came in from his messengers.

"The elves attempted to use the trees to get high enough to get by the cover of the pirate earthworks, but the pirates somehow spotted them, and fired back picking our men off!" Captain Gleister reported.

"Damn it! Does Jack have more elves than we thought?" Count Li'Yeiraun asked. 

"It is easy to see that our archers do not have the visual advantage as we thought. The enemy has those who can see and fire on them even under cover of foliage and darkness," Captain Gleister said.

"Captain, we must use our infantry. Our numbers are superior. Concentrate them and attempt to break the pirate perimeter."

---

Arzeal listened as a hoard of soldiers came in from the South, "Ready archers."

A red spotlight directed by the pirates illumined the approach. The hired soldiers screamed battle cries and came forward. 

"Fire at will!" Arzeal ordered.

"77th archers rise to kneel, and fire at will," Karmoz ordered. A group of ten skeleton archers rose from their shallow graves and began firing at the enemy.

"Heheh, I see yew." Brackston fired arrow after arrow as did every pirate in a wild effort to break the enemy charge.

"47th archers, rise, wheel right, fire at will," Karmoz ordered. 77th infantry, ready spears, all set and rise to crouch."

"Do them numbers have anything to do with anything?" Skitch asked.

"Other than incorporating a few memory hooks as to what direction they're in, the numbers have nothing whatever to do with anything," Karmoz whispered. The skeletons are told what group they are in, and it doesn't really matter to them what the name or number is. I like to keep the numbers large so the enemy thinks we have plenty of squads," Karmoz chuckled.

"Heheh, good deal." Skitch let fly another shaft and then another. Skitch howled with crazed laughter as the front lines of mercenaries met the raised spears of the skeletons.

"Ghosts!" "Skeletons!" "Vampires!" The mercenary charge turned into a route as the sheer horror of fighting undead enemies was suddenly sprung on them. 

"Aye, tharr we got 'em! Pound tharr backs with arrows men, every one we hit is one that we won't be seein' in th' next charge." That warr shock value; th' idiots don't know it, but they could 'ave won through if their livers hadn't turned ta lillies. That hesitation at th' skeletons allowed are arrows ta do their best work an' give their fear some grounds, but it warr smoke and mirrors. Now they'll 'ave ta regroup, an' that'll buy us some time. If Heinie knew how few there are of us, and how green me men are, he'd be on us in a heartbeat, but after we turned 'is ambush on th' road into one of our own, he's broodin'; he don't trust 'is luck, an' 'e thinks I got a trick up me sleeve as usual. He'll be spittin' nails when 'e finds out what I really 'ad up me sleeve."

---

"Animated skeletons milord, there must have been hundreds of them," the mercenary commander said. "My men were pinned down by missile fire, and when we made the edge of the camp proper, the undead met us with spears!" The commander's voice wavered. "Morale broke and we routed."

"Fools, you lost your heads. How many of these fell creatures were there? Have you a reliable count, or have the numbers grown with the telling?" Li'Yeiraun asked.

"Pathfinder, send a few trustworthy and level-headed men up for a look. If we are outnumbered, I want to know about it. If not then we must prepare for another charge. Incompetent mercenaries! It is just like that slippery, cheating son of a bitch pirate to find himself a dark priest or necromancer just when I have him in my grasp!" Li'Yeiraun snarled.
------------

It was the better part of an hour before the Li'Yeiraun's next charge was set up. This one had a backbone of his own men behind the mercenary front lines, and everyone had been informed that a skeleton could be destroyed much as a man could be.

"What's keepin' that damn Kroz, I sure hope he didn't sell out ta Heinie. Arzeal, what's goin' on out tharr?" Captain Red Jack asked.

"They're massing for a charge, sir, a big one," Arzeal replied.

"Karmoz, it's goin' ta be all we can do ta hold this'n back. If I had ta make a guess, I'd say we're cooked. I'd move th' bulk o' yer forces up ta th' front they'll be attackin.' Then again, I wouldn't put it past Heiny ta try ta send a little squad up are ass while we're occupied. " 

"I will move the skeletons on the sides somewhat towards the front, and leave those in the rear as reserves," Karmoz whispered.

"Sounds like a plan," Jack said. "Mates, lets be gettin' every arrow we 'ave left out an' ready, thisn's goin' ta be big, and we might not live through it. Damn necromancer's still playin' hookie. Thank all th' gods 'e brought us a hoard o' arrows night before last. We're going ta need 'em."

A few minutes later the charge was sounded. 

Arzeal climbed a large tree in the camp and took cover behind a stout limb. He was the first archer to begin firing. His elevation, night vision and accuracy were second to none.

The pirates could see a little better than usual as the mercenaries had brought a few mage lights with them and many of the bodies gave spotty illumination to the area of the forest they had come through. As soon as the enemy could be seen, the pirates let fly.

"Shoot fast, but make 'em count, mates." The captain drew back his bow and fired.

Many men fell to the pirate archers, but the enemy got closer and closer, soon melee broke out between the front lines of the attackers and the skeleton spearmen at the perimeter of the camp. The pirates continued to ply their bows from the fortified center of the camp.

"Good evening," Kroz said as he dropped the illusion he had used to get Rapina, his ghouls and skeletons from the graveyard to the pirate camp. "It looks like the skeletons could use a hand."

"Glad ye could make it, I was beginnin' ta think ye were workin' fer Heinie." Jack snaped.

Kroz droned a few syllables and the front line was engulfed in darkness.

"Nay, the packing took longer than expected, and I had to use a bit of misdirection to guarantee I would not be magically tracked later. What is the news," Kroz asked.

"Th' news is that tharr is a charge we 'aven't got a snowball's chance in 'ell o' stoppin.' Got any bright ideas on how ye're going ta get us outta here before they're on top of us?" Jack asked.

"I have brought a few additional troops. And this scroll of shadow summoning," Kroz said. Thane rolled out a scroll and intoned the spell. The shadows seemed to coalesce into something shaped vaguely like a human. Kroz pointed at the creature, "You will obey Kent, this ghoul. Kent, you and your ghouls will keep the enemy occupied while I escape with the pirates. Eat when it is safe, and double or triple your number if it is convenient. I will set up as much magical darkness in the area in addition to what I have already cast on you and yours as I can before I leave. Be advised, however, that the other side has a mage. If their mage begins dispelling the darkness, then rout and use hit and run tactics around their parameter until near dawn. At that time find burrows and dig in. 

When Li'Yieraun pulls out, I will come to collect you and your new friends. During the nights to come, continue using hit and run tactics. If you are doing well, see if you can locate and loot the tent of their mage, Nordula. Use a diversion to draw him away or wait until he steps out on his own accord if that proves practical. Do not risk yourselves unduly once we have left. At that time your primary objectives will be to survive, feed, multiply, and demoralize the enemy"

Kroz began casting; darkness engulfed more and more of the forest around the pirates. Now whisper it to the next man, join hands, then we go South forty paces to an area I prepared earlier. Kroz cast vision in darkness on the pirate officers, then resumed casting magical darkness until sweat bristled from his brow. The last spell put out the lights in the pirate camp. The men began to march South. In the darkness, they could hear the ghouls at work on mercenaries who had won their way past the skeletal troops.

Kroz took hold of the hands of Rapina and Red jack and placed them on his shoulders. "Let us pray." Kroz set up an illusion spell to echo the murmurings of the pirates so that the source of the sound could not easily be located, and then began casting graveyard mists.

"Hail Mortaebius, Lord of the dead..." Arzeal stood at the perimeter of the group of pirates. He let fly one shaft after another, assisting the ghouls as they kept the enemy confused and away from the pirates. A recruit kept his hand on the archer's shoulder and kept him moving as the group stepped forward slowly while the mists rose. Arzeal droned the prayer to Mortaebius he had learned as he sent mercenary after mercenary to join the god of the dead.

When the mists cleared, Rapina and Red Jack were holding the necromancer up. "I must rest. I do hope I got everyone," Kroz rasped.

"All right, get yer red lights on, lets see who we got," Red Jack ordered.

Rapina moved the slider on her mage light and illumined the area around her in Red.

The captain and the officers took stock and conferred. "We lost about ten ta death before th' escape, and four either got lost 'er Kroz didn't get 'em moved 'cause they weren't touchin th' rest of us, er weren't prayin' ta Mortaebius. Those men'll be missed. Thanks ta Slice, it looks like we still got Bloody Brackston. Ye can tell me how ye liked yer first transport by magic later, Brackston." 

Some of ye may wonder what this warr all about. Well what we did was Kroz took a stab at their mage while 'e warr occupied with chasin' us pirates. If it works, then that mage is going ta have a harder time nailin' us, and at the same time, are mage is goin' ta be more powerful. Also we made areselves some money, an I got me wench a little extra education, on account of negotiatin' a good deal all around. If we're lucky, Kroz may be able ta retrieve some o' th' cadavers from tanight's battle, but ye never know. It depends on what ol' Heinie does now that 'e's out there all alone. Now lets get movin' Tharr's more'n a few miles ta cover afore we get ta are new camp."
-------

This ends, The Shadows of Wizardry, chapter 31 of The Chronicles of Rapina.
The story continues in chapter 32, Yieraun Castle.

Copyright 2001 by Rapina