Doppelgänger 1
She was doing her best to be stealthy. Snohbal had observed the area for weeks and made mental notes of everything. She had decided that today was the day. Everything and everyone was right where she expected them to be.
Snohbal had just a few differences from those of her kind. Her long hair was more brown that bordered on being red rather than the typical black. Plus her legs were a lot longer than was normal. Other than these two traits she was indistinguishable from others like her.
She was as equally beautiful as the others. It didn't hurt that she was barely dressed. She wore black thigh-high boots that only added to her height. Her top was all one piece but it barely covered her breasts. Mostly just her nipples. Combine that with a large amount of exposed skin and she was seductive just to look at.
As was typical, she had large bat-like wings on her back. So large in fact that they dragged along the ground a touch when she walked. They were a deep burgundy red in color and were edged with black on the upper side.
In the mortal world she was a walking wet dream, provided you could overlook her wings. Her skin was deeply tanned and smooth as silk.
She smiled broadly, spread her wings, and jumped. The sound of them flapping was something she wanted to avoid so she had chosen her jump-off point with great care. All she had to do was glide.
Snohbal was still smiling as she glided in for her landing. From here she had to be fast and quiet as possible. Most of the guards were small and weak. While she hated physical combat she did have very sharp claws which was why she was here. There was something here that she was hoping would prevent her from having to use her claws.
It was almost legendary, yet the owner was so sure of himself that he didn't think anyone would dare steal it from him. Snohbal, however, had other plans. She saw it as having her name written all over it.
She landed and quickly slipped just inside the opening where she watched while the guard walked past her, never even looking in her direction. The second he was out of view she swiftly went up the stairs. Three flights up brought her into a grand hallway.
It was easily 60 feet wide with columns on one side and an invisible barrier between each column. The view looked out onto the large expanse of land. The opposite wall was filled with four sets of large, wooden, double doors. These doors were nothing like the ordinary doors people of lower order – like her – used. They were tall, thick, and bound with a nearly indestructible metal. She had never had the pleasure of trying to open them herself. But seeing who did open them left her with the idea that they were heavy.
Fortunately she didn't have to open them since what she was after was farther on at the end of the hallway and then up another set of stairs. It was there that things would get complicated.
Snohbal spread her wings and did her best to just glide down the massive hallway. She feared that if she ran the sound of her boots hitting the stone floor would alert the guards. Besides she had to be fast.
She had just cleared the far archway when one of those large heavy doors opened and out walked one of the guards that were on this level. He was one of the ones she wanted to avoid at all cost.
He looked like an overly muscled giant frog that walked on two legs. His hands were massive and his claws were much larger and curved than hers. It was his large face and his mouth that was filled with teeth that scared her more. His kind were known to be incredibly strong and yet equally incredibly stupid. Snohbal thought that if she talked fast enough she could talk herself out of trouble. If she didn't he could rip her open in seconds.
She didn't wait for him and moved on tiptoe over to the next set of stairs. Behind her she could hear the door close followed by the guard opening another door. So far everything was going just as she'd planned.
The top of the stairs opened into yet another hallway. This one was far narrower and much more private. This level held the private rooms for the people that lived here.
The master of the house was gone since she had seen him leave with his mate. He was a person that she wouldn't last a heartbeat against. He was so far above her status that it wasn't even funny. What he would do to her if she was caught would be her worst nightmare. It didn't help that he was viciously evil in the extreme.
It was well known that he loved seeing anything living suffer. He himself rarely did anything; he just watched. He was big, he was fat, and he was ugly. Snohbal guessed that he weighed in at 600 pounds easily. His skin was dark orange; his wings were more the color of parchment. He had two large horns, one on each side of his head where she had ears.
He always had a skeletal head hanging from a belt around his fat middle. It was the weapon that he wielded that gave him most of his authority and power, though. It was a rod that was easily four feet long with the skull of an unknown creature on one end. Its green glowing eyes were what terrified her the most. She had witnessed him using it and between his massive strength and the rays that shot out of those eyes, he was someone to be avoided if at all possible. It didn't help that he had a vile temper. If something didn't go his way, hundreds suffered to satisfy his anger. Worse, they didn't just ultimately die, they were made to suffer.
Snohbal needed the door on the far end but had to wait. "Come on, come on." If he was late it would upset her delicately timed plan. She had little room for things to go wrong.
Finally out one of the doors came what she knew would appear based on her observations.
This was another one of those that she didn't want to meet in physical combat. It wasn't his physical strength that worried her, though that was a concern. Though that was a concern. No, this one was different.
He was horribly thin and was solid black from head to… Well, he had no toes since he had no feet. He literally floated everywhere he went. His arms were overly long and almost dragged on the floor. His hands were huge with fingers that ended in nails that were easily 6 inches long.
His black wings were smaller than hers. They were tattered as though he'd been in countless fights and had had them sliced by a knife or simply been bitten and ripped off. She could believe it since his mouth was overly large and filled with long pointed teeth. That and he had two long horns jutting out off the upper back of his head. Snohbal was glad to not have horns. She feared that they would affect her beauty, the beauty with which she wanted to be associated.
Others of her kind were far more willing to be whores than she was. Some would scheme and use their bodies to get things. Yes, she wanted those things just as much if not more, but she wasn't willing to sell herself like others. Plus while they liked horns, she hated them.
Snohbal waited and watched; he spread his wings and went out on patrol. Like everyone else in her world, this being was vicious and incredibly evil. She had watched one like him literally rip a person's soul out of his body. A living husk was left behind that was then fed to the lower life forms that desired meat. What happened to those souls she had no idea and had no great need to find out. Her imagination was good enough.
It wasn't until he had risen and gone over the building that she ran on tiptoe across the stone walkway. Upon reaching the door she stopped to listen. It was this room that she knew little about since she had never been in it. Nor had she been able to get any information on what was inside.
It was possible that he had left one of her kind behind after raping her. Or it was possible that he had a pet. It was also possible that he had someone or something guarding the room.
This was where she would have to take her chances. Snohbal crept through the door open and peered inside. It was well lit by brazers that had fire in them that many areas of her land had, a fire that never went out.
She only had time to peek inside. This was her only escape, so it was now or perhaps never. She slid inside and closed the door.
The room was expansive and while it wasn't totally to her taste, it was definitely soft and comfortable. It had things that only someone of his rank and power could possibly ever have.
As much as she wanted a lot of what was in here she was after only the one item. She moved about the room trying to find it.
There was a sitting room area, a place that looked like a library that caught her interest. Books were something that were extremely rare in her world. Snohbal couldn't resist; she pulled the fanny pack off of her waist and opened it. She ran her fingers over several spines till she reached a book that looked like it had never been removed. This book was removed and stuffed into her pack.
She continued running her fingers over the spines as fast as she could. She had decided that books that looked like they were used often were the books she didn't want. She was taking a gamble that these books would be more valuable. If they were not read often that might mean something good.
She found only four books before she worried that she was using up precious time. Time she might need to find what she came here for. With great reluctance she left the books and moved over to the sleeping area.
The bed was massive, filled with soft items. The feel of the sheets made her moan. It made her wish her pack had space. It was true that the inside was larger than the outside, but it was one of the few items that she had. She had to be picky about what went inside. It might be bigger on the inside than the outside, but it wasn't that big on the inside.
She quickly searched the bed and moved pillows around, running her hands over everything. She was ready to start cursing since there were no drawers anywhere. Everything was out in the open. All of the shelves, no matter where located, were all open.
She still had a pillow in her hand when something large and shiny got her attention. It wasn't what she came for, but it was gorgeous.
She took it off the shelf. She'd never seen a gem like it. It was blue-white and seemed to glow from the inside. It was encased inside a small globe and had pale ice blue tendrils leading from the gem in the center to the edge of the globe. It didn't hurt that the gem was as big as her fist. She wasted no time in stuffing it into her pack.
She looked around. It had to be here, it just had to. "Maybe," she thought and stepped over to a wall that was filled with large weapons. There were double bladed battle-axes, a massive sword that looked like it might weighed tons. She scanned the wall till she saw it. Then she snatched it off the wall.
The hilt was solid gold and yet it weighed almost nothing. The blade looked to be one huge solid ruby. It was easily 10 inches long with about half of that being the blade. There was a skull on the hilt where it joined with the blade and a rounded ruby on the end of the hilt. She really wanted to study it more closely but she needed to get out of there before she stayed too long if she hadn't already.
In response to her fear a side door seemed to open on its own and in walked a tiger who had clearly nudged the door open. He was ice blue with stripes of solid white. He growled menacingly the moment he saw Snohbal. She ran for the door with the tiger hot on her tail. She yanked the door open and jumped outside. Then she took two steps, jumped over the side, and spread her wings.
The tiger had no choice but to stop. Furious, he roared at her, his fur crackling with lightening. Snohbal dived for the ground and flapped her wings as hard as she could while she powered just inches above the ground and flew off into the distance.
Her heart was still pounding an hour later as she glided to her own little hiding place.
She had been spotted and knew that the land would be turned upside down looking for whoever it was. Eventually even her little hiding place would be found. She hurriedly gathered up everything she owned. Her new books stayed in her pack while she stuffed everything else she would need into a larger bag that was also bigger on the inside than the outside. She stowed her things as quickly as she could, not caring how it was packed.
Snohbal belted her red sash, secured her new dagger in place, and left her home. She knew where she wanted to go and knew it was going to take time to reach it.
She flew high and hard. That she could be seen, caught and tortured for years before she died made her heart pound harder. Even just a chance encounter with a stronger person of her world scared her. This was her one shot. If she failed her life was over. Her fears were generating tears that she wiped away from time to time.
Her destination was far off in the distance. It was one of the more secret locations that very few even knew about, let alone knew where it was located. She had come across it by sheer happenstance, observing people going in and coming out. Almost no one used it over the months that she had watched it. It was watching people not of her kind exit from the door that convinced her just what it was.
She had seen real humans, slim humans that were solid black with long silver hair. Even these short people that looked to be covered in hair, yet each carried either a massive hammer or an equally large axe. One was double-bladed. All of them reeked of untrustworthiness. She feared they were more likely to rape her and abuse her.
She was hoping that this door would take her to a new land. Someplace a lot safer. A new home where she could be herself.
She knew from her time observing it that there were no guards and that very few people ever used it no matter if they were coming or going. So she wasn't afraid to simply fly right up to it.
She paused and looked around. This had been home even if she didn't like it. Her hope was that she would never be here again. Yet again she knew she had to be quick. She had heard that others of her kind and still others could be summoned in a moment's notice. One second they were there and the next they were gone. Only a rare few were ever heard from again.
Snohbal opened the door and stepped inside. What she found was not what she was expecting. She found herself on a landing that was maybe 30 by 30 feet square. There was a wood staircase that went up and a metal one that went down. She walked over to the edge that didn't have a railing. It was here that her mouth dropped open; she looked up and then down in awe.
She couldn't see the far walls, mostly because the farther out she looked the thicker the mist got. She could just make out that the staircase went up to another landing while the one down did the same. The one down looked larger while the one up looked tiny. The one up looked just wide enough for one person. Other than that the place was unremarkable. There were no paintings, no carvings, no dead or even live bodies. No one and nothing was moving.
She had to make a choice – up or down – since going back through the door was out of the question. She wasn't going back. Down looked easier and since the stairs were made of metal it looked safer. Snohbal made her decision. "Up it is."
She was still climbing up the stairs. She was on her 8th landing and was finding that the stair lengths varied. The first one had been relatively short. The one she was on now was proving to be incredibly long. What was worse was that it was made of rope and planks. It looked horribly unstable.
Another thing she noticed was that on each and every landing there was a door. Even the doors had varied in look and material. Wood, metal, or both. One looked a lot like the thick, heavily-bound door back at the mansion from where she had stolen her items. Another looked like a fragile-looking wooden door. She thought if she blew on it, it would fracture and be destroyed.
Nothing made sense. She was still climbing when she started to hear noise. When she got closer she could tell they were voices. Now her fears of who or what she would meet started getting to her.
She hadn't yet reached the landing but could see over the last step and out onto the landing. It was filled with people and small shacks. The place bustled with activity.
She slowly and tentatively stepped up onto the landing. What she saw boggled her mind. There were humans, short people with long hair. Even long hair growing from their faces. Some of this hair was decorated; beads and other things had been added.
Most everyone had weapons. However, it was one person that she had eyes for. He was encased in metal, or so it looked. He had obviously spotted her and was stomping his way straight for her. As he did he drew out a large sword that actually started to glow ice blue.
A thin woman was dressed in metal and clothes and had a weapon of her own, though it was still at her side. "Rodney, NO! You know the rules of this place. You know the consequences of breaking those rules." She laid a hand on his upper arm, the arm that didn't have the sword in it.
To Snohbal's great relief he actually did stop. She couldn't see his face since he was wearing a helmet that only had slits in it. How he breathed in that thing escaped her. She heard him growl and then he put his sword away. He turned in place and stomped back the way he'd come. It was then that she noticed that the noise picked up again and people were turning away from her.
She watched as the woman walked up close to her. "You will forgive my friend. He has a strong hatred for your kind. It's nothing personal. My name is Alasse."
"Snohbal," she replied. "What are you?" She had never seen anything like her.
"You must be new here. I'm a high elf. My religious friend, Rodney, is human. We are traveling with another human and a friend of mine." Snohbal looked beyond her where she saw Rodney standing with three other people, one of whom looked much like Alasse.
"May I ask which door you came out of?" Alasse queried.
"Nine landings down. This staircase is very long," Snohbal answered. Alasse nodded.
"You've not been here before have you?" She could see that Snohbal was carrying very little and was obviously alone. Seeing Snowball shake her head told her what she needed to know.
"I'll do you a favor though I don't know why. Maybe I just sense something about you. This place is called The Endless Stair. Some call it the Stair of Freedom. One of the Gods spent time and energy building it.
Not every landing has a door and each door does not always lead to a different plane of existence. This area is one of only a few way stations for lack of a better word. It is filled with little shops where you can buy or sell things. Or get food, get information from either the vendors or people that come here.
There are a few rules and trust me when I say they are enforced with severe consequences. One is you cannot attack anyone. If you initiate combat you will pay a price. Out there is the Astral Sea. It is a place that no one can travel. If you go over the side you will fall forever. Your wings will not help you. Flight in any form is not possible.
These stairs are said to go on forever. There is no end to them. Go up or down until you die of old age and you will never see the end."
"So it is safe?" Snohbal asked. She liked that idea. Alasse shook her head.
"As I said you should not initiate combat. However, that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Plus you will run across thieves who will try and steal what you carry; others will run scams. They'll promise you something for a price and then not deliver.
You are free to sleep where you please. Go though any door you find or turn around and come right back in again. I warn you – sleeping runs the risk of being robbed. Theft is not a crime here. May I ask where you are going?" Alasse was curious.
"Somewhere safer. I'm escaping my home," Snohbal told her since she had told her much more than she knew.
"Interesting." Alasse had never heard of such a thing. Snohbal was unique for her kind.
"Go where you wish, just be careful and remember the rules. May your travels be free of trouble." She bowed slightly and turned her back on Snohbal. Then she walked back to her friends.
It told Snohbal a lot of what she needed to know. She looked around at the various shops. It was here that she decided to buy some food. She had some and it would last her days, but it never hurt to have a little more.
She was mildly surprised that proprietor took her coins. He even gave back change in the same type coin. She went across to the far side and started climbing stairs again while she slowly ate what she had purchased.
Five landings later, all of which varied in size, she came across a different type of stairs. These appeared to go in a large wide circle. As she climbed it looked like it was built into the side of whatever the wall was made of. She couldn't see the stairs on the far side thanks to the mist that made up the Astral Sea.
She wasn't very physical and was starting to get tired. "Maybe going up wasn't such a good idea." Her legs were starting to cramp a bit. Step after step going up was taking a toll on her. She had been climbing for some time and had yet to come across another landing.
It felt like forever when she finally came to a landing that was small. She hadn't seen anyone going down and there was no one behind her. Still she took Alasse's warning to heart about sleeping here. This landing like all the others had a door.
She decided that maybe sleeping on the other side of the door would be safer.