"False Conscience"

by Black Mantle

ACT I:

It had been three weeks since the witch returned home, and the last two were not something that she enjoyed. Every night was infested by some kind of nightmare; ones of absolute terror, ones where no matter how you try to forget, they linger well into the day. Deneb started to contemplate all that has happened over the last two months, ever since she was ejected from her home by the Lord Lexar. The idea froze her, she realized that she shouldn't remain in her wet state, and got up from her contaminated bed.

Walking over to a coat rack, she pulls off a nightgown, but instead of pulling the robe on, she uses it as a towel to scrub the sticky solutions now coating her person. Her main door opens to allow a zombie-like figure to slouch through the passageway. Looking up, Deneb notices the visitor.

"Prepare me a bath, a hot one."

The stranger leaves as Deneb continues to clean herself as much as possible. After a minute, the stranger returns then leaves again. Tossing aside the robe, Deneb follows the stranger through the door, little concerned over her undressed state. Moving closer to her visitor, the servant's figure comes into view, although it looks like a shabbily dressed man, it has one unusual feature; its head was a pumpkin. Deneb always admired that trait, or rather her accomplishment in creating the trait. As she follows her eternally faithful servant, she reminisces.

* * *

58 days ago…

CRASH!!!

"That was a loud knock!" Deneb looked out into Valparine's courtyard to see that the Rebels had invaded her home. Collecting up four of her pumpkins, she sought to remove them from the premises. Moments later she found herself face to face with Warren flanked on each side by a samurai and a valkyrie, but what scared her most, the two animated skeletons taking the lead. Although her forces attacked with everything they had, the two undead fiends absorbed most of it, while the three living adversaries concentrated everything on her. Deneb was captured and brought before Lexar.

Lexar examined one of Deneb's pumpkin warriors that he picked up wandering in the mountains. "So, this is the result of your experiments, half-man, half-pumpkin warriors? Interesting, sick, but interesting."

"You like?♥"

"No, I don't like. But what's done is done."

"My sentiments exactly.♥"

Lexar gives Deneb a strange glance of wonderment and disgust.

"Look, I'm reeeeeeeeeally sorry, and I won't do it again.♥ O.K.?"

"You're sorry?!"

"No, I mean it. I really do!" Deneb was starting to worry, she knew she could sweet-talk most people, but Lexar wasn't going to break.

"You think that a simple 'sorry' will get you off the hook?" Lexar paces a bit, wondering how to deal with the witch. "I'm not the type to hold a grudge, nor am I the type to condemn anyone, but these experiments you've been performing are despicable. I almost wish Warren didn't take you alive."

Deneb's heart sank.

"I'm giving you to the locals, and we'll se what they decide."

"I… I understand."

* * *

3 days later…

Deneb almost felt like crying for mercy as they strung her up on a large wooden pole. She could only think of what Lexar would have done should he have decided to handle this. {Throw me in jail, put me to hard labor, or keep me as a prostitute for his men? Well, probably not the last one, that's what I might decide.}

Baljib's mayor unscrolled a document and read it aloud. "Deneb, witch of Valparine Castle, you have been found guilty of your crimes against the people in this region, so we will now hand down your sentence. You will be tied to a pole in the village square for public display for one day; after which, you will be burned at sundown."

It was not a particularly hot day; so Deneb had a nice day to enjoy, save for all the staring villagers. By day's end, she was tired and hungry. She looked up to see a crowd starting to gather around her, splitting in one place to allow the mayor and the counsel entry into the square. Several people start stacking logs and hay at the base of the pole.

"Deneb, do you have any last words?"

"First, I'm sorry. Second, ROAST IN HELL!"

"Daring young words for the circumstances." Two people with torches enter, and start to light the combustible materials at the base of the stake.

{This is it. I wish Lexar were here, he'd never allow this, I'm sure of it. I know I deserve to be punished, but come on, this is ridiculous.}

Deneb could start to feel the heat at her feet when…

rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

The people looked up in time to see a giant pumpkin roll through the streets, bowling over anyone unfortunate enough to be in its path.

"RUN!"

Deneb looks up to see her last remaining pumpkins coming to her rescue. The three mutants, and one small mutant, yanked out the pole and started to head for the mountains. A few people gave chase, only to be stopped when a large pumpkin landed on top of them.

* * *

Deneb and her vegetarian consort entered a medium sized, very well lit room. In the middle was a bathtub, connected by pipes to a large cauldron full of water, sitting atop a roaring fire. Deneb had the primitive water heater installed when she first moved to Valparine. When she wanted a hot bath, she WANTED a hot bath. Slipping into the tub, she could feel the salts dissolving off her body; the warmth of the lipid water was like a warm summer sunbeam caressing her body in a loving hug. Taking a bar of soap, she started to lather herself, cleaning every orifice of her person, even behind the ears. She was an evil witch, but a clean one.

After her scrub, she sat in the water for a few minutes. An eternity seemed to pass as she lay there, adding a bit more hot water to the pool when it got cold. Looking to her side, she could see her awaiting servant, and near the door, two black figures stood.

* * *

43 days ago…

After having spent the last week and a half crossing the mountains, she eventually found herself in the Pogrom Forest. She knew Kapella had a secret hideout, perhaps there was something there she could use; perhaps Kapella himself had escaped and was waiting there. She soon arrived at a small cave, Kapella was not there, and no evidence suggested that anyone had been here recently. Searching a nook on the inside of the cave wall, Deneb pulls on a switch to open a secret passage next to the cave's main entrance.

Inside the hidden room was a corridor leading into the mountain. As the door closed behind Deneb and her four rescuers, a network of crystals embedded in the walls started to light up, showing the way into the cavern. The corridor eventually led to a large chamber, decorated in various magical talismans and artifacts.

Unable to further ignore her grumbling stomach, Deneb walks over to a large cupboard and opens the wooden doors with a creak. Inside are jars and bottles of various sizes, each containing some weird concoction or another.

"Where does he keep the food?" Deneb whispers to herself.

Opening another cupboard, Deneb grabs one of the jars and opens it.

Smelling the contents, "Strawberry?" Deneb dips her finger in the red gooey mixture. "Strawberry! Kapella was pretty good with preserves, strange considering he deals with the dead. Albeleo I could understand." Deneb rescrews the jar and puts it back. Looking further into the cupboard, she tries to identify the rest of the foodstuffs.

"Blueberry, salt pork…" Noticing nothing fresh in the cupboard, she closes it. "Gonna have to do some shopping. Surely he's got to have some money around here."

{Money, why don't I just steal it? No, I can't do that, no sense alerting anyone to my presence here.}

One of Deneb's pumpkins brings her a pouch of Goth.

"Money!♥ Excellent!♥" Taking the pouch, Deneb runs off, leaving her minions behind.

* * *

Deneb returned from her shopping excursion in Melanion, just managing to avoid detection by pulling an old cape over herself.

"Alright, we got milk, bread, butter, fresh fruit, a nice juicy steak, mmm…"

Deneb started to further examine her new surroundings as the pumpkins started to take the food and prepare a meal for their mistress. She first found what appeared to be sleeping quarters, to call it anything but that would be an injustice.

"What the, I'M supposed to sleep on this?! Well, it's better than dirt and rocks."

Looking around some more, Deneb found Kapella's study. In the middle of the room was a large crystal ball, and the shelves that covered the walls, were stacked with various tomes.

"I thought the Empire gave ME all the books they had. Look at what Kapella had." She starts to glance over the titles. "Maybe there's something here I can use."

* * *

6 days later…

"What the…" Deneb looks closer at a reference in one of the books Kapella had hidden away.

"The Karosta, a legendary league of black warriors who once inhabited Castle Valparine in the southern mountains. The Karosta were once the most powerful black warriors to roam Zenobia, and few had the power to stand up against them. Approximately 420 years before the Imperial Age, a troop of these warriors attacked Valparine Castle, which was then governed by the powerful magic-user Fohi. Fohi, whom many reported to be a great necromancer of the highest class, a lich, struck them all down with one powerful blast of magic, and sealed their souls in Valparine Castle."

"Another band of Karosta attacked two months later, this time they were equipped with magic-repelling armor to defend against Fohi. But Fohi had a different tactic, this time; he repelled the attackers with their own kind. Reviving the souls of the fallen Karosta, Fohi created a band of invincible shadow knights, to fight the Karosta. The Karosta were virtually wiped out."

"47 years later, when Fohi died at the age of 386, the shadow knights disappeared. It is believed that their souls may still be contained inside Fohi's secret lab in Valparine Castle."

Deneb sits back for a minute, as she tries to consume the story. "I had no idea my castle had such a history." Deneb returned to the book where she saw another entry.

"I have to get Deneb out of Valparine. If I could revive the shadow knights, I would be invincible."

"Get rid of me, eh? I don't think so."

Deneb continued to read up on the Karosta and the shadow knights of Fohi, hoping to find a way to resurrect them for herself.

* * *

2 days later…

Deneb returned from another shopping trip. Laying her bags on the main table, she started to unpack them. {Where are my pumpkins?}

"Mmm… a nice apple pie."

"Is that what we're having for dessert?"

Deneb turns around to see Kapella standing behind her. "Kapella!♥ I'm so glad to see you!♥ Why are you here?♥" Deneb leaps back to sit on the table.

"Cut the sickening cute act, Deneb, I'm not in the mood for it. I just spent the last 4 weeks out and abroad after being defeated by that blasted Rebel leader, Lexar. And by the way, it is I who should be asking why you are here!"

"Same as you.♥ By the way, where are my loyal servants?♥"

As if on cue, a large clump of mass is dumped beside the table. Deneb's pumpkins or what's left of them were unceremoniously racked by some of Kapella's undead minions.

"They put up a good fight, but it was otherwise useless. Still, they did take out several of my minions."

"Oh no! Speak to me." Realizing they couldn't talk, Deneb rephrased it, "Just flop around to show me you're alive."

The dismembered beings started to move; standing up, they tried to pull themselves back together.

"So Deneb, you were also beaten by Lexar were you?"

"Yeah, so is there any chance of trying to get our castles back?"

"Slim, but together, I suppose its possible."

"Especially if we had the Karosta.♥"

Kapella froze, "the Karosta? It would seem that you've done your homework."

"Yeah, so I was thinking, since you're such the big and powerful necromancer and all, if you help me get my home back, I could make it worth your while.♥" Deneb started to spread her legs in order to give Kapella as much of a look at her underwear as possible.

Kapella hesitates for a moment. "Would you stop that!"

"Aw!♥ Come on, with the shadow knights, we could get revenge on those who defeated us.♥" Deneb started to pull back on her skirt, to give an even better view.

"It wouldn't matter if we did, first, the shadow knights are part of Valparine Castle, they can't leave. Second, we still would need to find Fohi's library."

"I know where it is!"

Kapella sneers, "You do?"

"Sure, it's located in the southeast wing, in the basement. There's a secret switch hidden in the back of a grandfather clock.♥"

Kapella sarcastically responds, "Well, well. It seems as if you're as smart as you are beautiful." The skeletons and ghost behind Kapella start to move towards Deneb.

Deneb smiles an evil grin, "I know."

Pulling a Tarot Card from under her robe, she throws it to the ground where it explodes in a flash of light. The skeletons crumble to dust while the ghosts vaporize in the blast. Kapella looks around, unbelieving at how Deneb tricked him so easily. Before he could fight back, a pumpkin fell on his head, making him look like one of Deneb's demented experiments. Deneb jumps down, and punches Kapella in the gut, followed by an elbow to the back of the head.

Deneb reaches down and takes Kapella's master spell book, which he has always kept with him. "Thank you.♥"

* * *

The water was starting to cool down in Deneb's tub, causing her to lapse from her reminiscence. Looking at her skin, she noticed herself wrinkling like a prune, so she decided to get out. The cold air caused every inch of her skin to chill, as if she was just plunged into the middle of a blizzard. She grabbed a towel to wipe off as much of the icy feeling as possible, but the cold air was still nipping at her now spongy skin. Although unaware of the exact time, Deneb was certain that the sun had not yet risen.

She returned to her bedroom where her sheets had already been replaced. Slipping into her warm, soft, inviting bed, she tried to get back to sleep. But images of that night returned to haunt her before her eyes could even batter. Scared, she pulled away the sheets to allow the brisk draft to return her to full consciousness.

After a few moments, the cold air no longer felt as cold and Deneb soon found herself drifting off. Pulling on a clean robe, she started to pace her room, letting the woven feel of her carpet scrub her bare feet.

{I can't keep this up.}

Giving in, Deneb returned to her bed, disrobed, and tried to fall asleep, hoping against hope that her dreams would not be plagued as before.

* * *

23 days ago…

Deneb had managed to return to Valparine without anyone seeing her. Sneaking in at night, Deneb worked her way to the southeast wing. Finding the clock, she pulled on the switch hidden inside, revealing a dark passageway. Followed by her minions, Deneb crawled down the dark flight of stairs to a chamber below, even more decorated in dark artifacts than Kapella's cave was. She set out to work.

After an hour, it was ready. The bones had been cast, the potions concocted, and the spell was ready to start. Using an ancient spell in Kapella's book, so ancient it was in a text that made no sense to her, she chanted to the demon realm. From all over the room, black fog started to appear as the shadowy forms of dozens of men materialized.

"Yes, it worked."

The shadow knights fully formed, then started to move towards their summoner.

"Alright, now you're gonna do as I say." Deneb noticed they weren't stopping. "Hold it. Stop right there! What are you…?"

The shadow knights started to pull their swords as they continued to focus in on their target.

* * *

"AAAAAAAARRGHH!"

Deneb shot up from her bed, at least this time, she wasn't sweating, nor had she wet her bed.

"That didn't happen! Damn these dreams."

To Be Continued…