One of the percussionists was being cheeky, so Darnoc had him strung
up by his arms over a cauldron full of boiling mouthpiece disinfectant and
key oil.
"What? You don't want to live forever in my kind and gentle service?" she asked sweetly while pushing on his legs to make him sway.
"I want my drumsticks back!" he said furiously, looking anywhere but at Darnoc. He looked out into the horizon. No stars were out this night. They never were in the land of Egarots Moor. He missed his drumsticks! They were shiny and blue, and he wanted them back. But Darnoc's words had been too much for him. He was a boy with relatively good looks, but he was rather short and skinny, and most of the girls called him 'full of himself'. His name was Koil.
"But wouldn't it be better to live forever with me doing light labor than growing old and frail?" Darnoc persisted.
"I choose a mortal life!" he growled, and then spat in her face. With a shriek of rage, Darnoc cut the ropes holding him aloft, and he fell with a splash, screaming in agony as his whole body was covered in the thick, searing concoction. But he couldn't die. He couldn't die, so he writhed in pain, trying in vain to extract himself from the liquid. After several eternities, Darnoc became bored of it, and lifted Koil out of the boiling stuff, and placed him in the care of her oldest and most dedicated percussionist. Luke. (ahh my love) Well, he was dedicated to percussion, not to her, but she overlooked this fact because he was hot.
"Take this insubordinate child, and clean him up as best you can," she demanded. "and then, straight back to work." Luke nodded and took the groaning Koil in his arms. As he was hurrying towards the finished part of the fortress, Darnoc called after him again. "Oh, and Luke, when you come back out, I want to see you with your shirt OFF! Understand?" Luke reddened slightly beneath his constant tan, but gave a small nod to show that he understood.
"Why don't you stand up to her?" Koil asked through gritted teeth as he tried not to show how much pain he was in from bouncing on Luke's shoulder. Luke didn't mention that he had thought about it many times.
"Are you crazy Koil?" he asked. "You know she has our drumsticks! We are powerless!"
"So steal the drumsticks!" Koil ground out. "She's only one dark sorceress, and there are
like a lot of us! Please Luke! Just think about it!" Luke sighed. He felt bad for the poor drummer. He had never asked for any of this, and neither had any of the others.
"I'll think about it," he said grimly.
"Thank you," Koil rasped. Now inside the actual building, they had reached a bedroom of sorts. Actually, it was just a bunch of straw pallets with thin blankets over them. Koil's was in the darkest, dampest corner that was farthest away from the thin, arrow slit window. Koil kept his cries of pain o himself as Luke set his burned body onto the rough, burlap covered mattress. That done, Luke went to the window where there was a slightly drooping aloe vera plant. He cut off some and applied to the most badly burnt parts of Koil's body. While doing this, he thought with pity that poor Koil could never be a father because of this. It was sad, as Koil was only sixteen or so.
"You just rest there Koil," Luke said gently. Then with a sigh, he pulled off his shirt and went away to join the other poor slaves. For Koil, sleep was very long in the coming. He kept going over the events of the past couple days in his mind. All had gone downhill when the bass drum had gone missing. And then Luke had shown up. When this had happened, Koil had felt a ray of hope. Luke was his hero, his idol. If anybody could get them out of this, Luke could.
AN: YAY! I'm out of Darnoc mode for the moment!
Before Annod Yawnoc could lay a hand upon the gigantic Mahogany front door, it was pulled wide open. Standing before them now was an older woman in a long black gown with gigantic puffed sleeves. Her white-streaked brown hair was pulled up in a severe bun right at the top of her head. Cassie was reminded forcefully of the not-so-nice lady on Young Frankenstein. She was even holding the rack of candles for God's sake! She nodded to the three of them in, and without a word, she turned on her heel and walked slowly into the forbidding interior. Cassie felt that she should follow, and to her relief, this seemed entirely the correct thing to do. Pausing at the foot of a wide stone staircase, the woman turned back to the two girls. Anood Yawnoc had disappeared.
"My name is Madame Velovskie, and I am the misstress of zis house. You will obey me instantly, and visout question. Since I understand Madame Velovskie is rather difficult to say, I vill allow you to call me Vellie. Is zat understood?" Even if Cassie or Ashley had wanted to protest(which they didn't), Vellie's face which was flickering in and out of clear view because of the candles, looked so eerie that they would not have dared to contradict her. They nodded meekly. "Good zen."
As dark and bleak as the castle was, Ashley had to admit that she and Cassie's new living quarters were quite satisfactory. Angels formed from the stained glassin the windows created beautiful colored patterns on the stone floors which had a pretty oriental rug beside the bed. And the bed was an enormous four poster which was situated next to yet another mahogany door which probably led to the bathroom.
"You must be famished," Vellie said. "I vill leave you here and get zu someting to eat." Then she added with a slight glare, "Do not even tink of trying to run avay! Zese valls are heavily guarded." And then she too left.
"Well," Ashley said releasing a deep breath. "That could have been a lot worse." Cassie nodded and sat indian style on the oriental rug. Ashley laid on the bed. Cassie glared at her for no apparent reason. "But I wish Jaz was here." Her eyes grew wistful and sad. "I mean, I love him soooo much!"
"Mmmmm," Cassie replied. It was obvious that Ashley was about to start one of her Jaz rants. These could go on for several hours.
"I mean, it's his smile! It's so evil, but I love it so much! I love HIM so much! But his eyes! Oh My God! I could just stare into them forever! I really want that to happen! You know, those eye moments before the kiss! ahh! I just love him! I want to marry him and have his children! And I know he's kind of a geek, but he's such a cute geek! and when he talks to me! And I know I'm ranting, but I just can't help it because I love him! "That smile!........................."
This went on for quite awhile until their door opened again and Vellie appeared bearing a tray filled with all manner of really really good things.
"FOOD!" Cassie cried gleefully springing from her sitting position. Vellie looked rather revolted but said nothing as she handed her Burden to Cassie's eager hands. Then she left again.
Cassie looked happily at the food for a moment. But only a moment. The wafting smell was too much for her food addicted stomach. And considering the fact that her plate held cheezy pasta and cheezy garlic bread, it was incredible that she had paused for even that moment. She completely ignored the salad. Ashley ate at a more dignified pace, and paid a bit of attention to the salad. But not much. (Come on! Calories and carbs or healthy food?) Half an hour later, Vellie came to collect the tray and plates, all of which were completely void of food of any sort. She smiled, satisfied.
"You have a healthy appetite. Zis is good, because as of tomorrow it's good old Irish food for the likes of you. I'm German myself, but ze master insists." Cassie looked slightly panicked. She had heard of Irish food from her mother. She didn't care for corned beef and cabbage. But she brightened again. POTATOES! those were her staple food. All would be well if she had lots of potatoes! She was so deep in thought that she hadn't noticed that Vellie had left.
"We'd better go to sleep," Ashley said tensely. "We've got a really sucky day ahead."
"Right," Cassie replied getting up and crawling into the other side of the bed. It was quite comfortable. "Well, good night Guinievere. Dream of Jaz."
AN: YAY! another chap done, and its the weekend which opens up all new possibilities. And the promise of chocolate bunnies! Yes! Happy Easter to any and all who celebrate it! And what the hell! I'm just going to dedicate this whole story to FallinWtrsClaw and Notamonkey128. YAY! you are all now famous!
"What? You don't want to live forever in my kind and gentle service?" she asked sweetly while pushing on his legs to make him sway.
"I want my drumsticks back!" he said furiously, looking anywhere but at Darnoc. He looked out into the horizon. No stars were out this night. They never were in the land of Egarots Moor. He missed his drumsticks! They were shiny and blue, and he wanted them back. But Darnoc's words had been too much for him. He was a boy with relatively good looks, but he was rather short and skinny, and most of the girls called him 'full of himself'. His name was Koil.
"But wouldn't it be better to live forever with me doing light labor than growing old and frail?" Darnoc persisted.
"I choose a mortal life!" he growled, and then spat in her face. With a shriek of rage, Darnoc cut the ropes holding him aloft, and he fell with a splash, screaming in agony as his whole body was covered in the thick, searing concoction. But he couldn't die. He couldn't die, so he writhed in pain, trying in vain to extract himself from the liquid. After several eternities, Darnoc became bored of it, and lifted Koil out of the boiling stuff, and placed him in the care of her oldest and most dedicated percussionist. Luke. (ahh my love) Well, he was dedicated to percussion, not to her, but she overlooked this fact because he was hot.
"Take this insubordinate child, and clean him up as best you can," she demanded. "and then, straight back to work." Luke nodded and took the groaning Koil in his arms. As he was hurrying towards the finished part of the fortress, Darnoc called after him again. "Oh, and Luke, when you come back out, I want to see you with your shirt OFF! Understand?" Luke reddened slightly beneath his constant tan, but gave a small nod to show that he understood.
"Why don't you stand up to her?" Koil asked through gritted teeth as he tried not to show how much pain he was in from bouncing on Luke's shoulder. Luke didn't mention that he had thought about it many times.
"Are you crazy Koil?" he asked. "You know she has our drumsticks! We are powerless!"
"So steal the drumsticks!" Koil ground out. "She's only one dark sorceress, and there are
like a lot of us! Please Luke! Just think about it!" Luke sighed. He felt bad for the poor drummer. He had never asked for any of this, and neither had any of the others.
"I'll think about it," he said grimly.
"Thank you," Koil rasped. Now inside the actual building, they had reached a bedroom of sorts. Actually, it was just a bunch of straw pallets with thin blankets over them. Koil's was in the darkest, dampest corner that was farthest away from the thin, arrow slit window. Koil kept his cries of pain o himself as Luke set his burned body onto the rough, burlap covered mattress. That done, Luke went to the window where there was a slightly drooping aloe vera plant. He cut off some and applied to the most badly burnt parts of Koil's body. While doing this, he thought with pity that poor Koil could never be a father because of this. It was sad, as Koil was only sixteen or so.
"You just rest there Koil," Luke said gently. Then with a sigh, he pulled off his shirt and went away to join the other poor slaves. For Koil, sleep was very long in the coming. He kept going over the events of the past couple days in his mind. All had gone downhill when the bass drum had gone missing. And then Luke had shown up. When this had happened, Koil had felt a ray of hope. Luke was his hero, his idol. If anybody could get them out of this, Luke could.
AN: YAY! I'm out of Darnoc mode for the moment!
Before Annod Yawnoc could lay a hand upon the gigantic Mahogany front door, it was pulled wide open. Standing before them now was an older woman in a long black gown with gigantic puffed sleeves. Her white-streaked brown hair was pulled up in a severe bun right at the top of her head. Cassie was reminded forcefully of the not-so-nice lady on Young Frankenstein. She was even holding the rack of candles for God's sake! She nodded to the three of them in, and without a word, she turned on her heel and walked slowly into the forbidding interior. Cassie felt that she should follow, and to her relief, this seemed entirely the correct thing to do. Pausing at the foot of a wide stone staircase, the woman turned back to the two girls. Anood Yawnoc had disappeared.
"My name is Madame Velovskie, and I am the misstress of zis house. You will obey me instantly, and visout question. Since I understand Madame Velovskie is rather difficult to say, I vill allow you to call me Vellie. Is zat understood?" Even if Cassie or Ashley had wanted to protest(which they didn't), Vellie's face which was flickering in and out of clear view because of the candles, looked so eerie that they would not have dared to contradict her. They nodded meekly. "Good zen."
As dark and bleak as the castle was, Ashley had to admit that she and Cassie's new living quarters were quite satisfactory. Angels formed from the stained glassin the windows created beautiful colored patterns on the stone floors which had a pretty oriental rug beside the bed. And the bed was an enormous four poster which was situated next to yet another mahogany door which probably led to the bathroom.
"You must be famished," Vellie said. "I vill leave you here and get zu someting to eat." Then she added with a slight glare, "Do not even tink of trying to run avay! Zese valls are heavily guarded." And then she too left.
"Well," Ashley said releasing a deep breath. "That could have been a lot worse." Cassie nodded and sat indian style on the oriental rug. Ashley laid on the bed. Cassie glared at her for no apparent reason. "But I wish Jaz was here." Her eyes grew wistful and sad. "I mean, I love him soooo much!"
"Mmmmm," Cassie replied. It was obvious that Ashley was about to start one of her Jaz rants. These could go on for several hours.
"I mean, it's his smile! It's so evil, but I love it so much! I love HIM so much! But his eyes! Oh My God! I could just stare into them forever! I really want that to happen! You know, those eye moments before the kiss! ahh! I just love him! I want to marry him and have his children! And I know he's kind of a geek, but he's such a cute geek! and when he talks to me! And I know I'm ranting, but I just can't help it because I love him! "That smile!........................."
This went on for quite awhile until their door opened again and Vellie appeared bearing a tray filled with all manner of really really good things.
"FOOD!" Cassie cried gleefully springing from her sitting position. Vellie looked rather revolted but said nothing as she handed her Burden to Cassie's eager hands. Then she left again.
Cassie looked happily at the food for a moment. But only a moment. The wafting smell was too much for her food addicted stomach. And considering the fact that her plate held cheezy pasta and cheezy garlic bread, it was incredible that she had paused for even that moment. She completely ignored the salad. Ashley ate at a more dignified pace, and paid a bit of attention to the salad. But not much. (Come on! Calories and carbs or healthy food?) Half an hour later, Vellie came to collect the tray and plates, all of which were completely void of food of any sort. She smiled, satisfied.
"You have a healthy appetite. Zis is good, because as of tomorrow it's good old Irish food for the likes of you. I'm German myself, but ze master insists." Cassie looked slightly panicked. She had heard of Irish food from her mother. She didn't care for corned beef and cabbage. But she brightened again. POTATOES! those were her staple food. All would be well if she had lots of potatoes! She was so deep in thought that she hadn't noticed that Vellie had left.
"We'd better go to sleep," Ashley said tensely. "We've got a really sucky day ahead."
"Right," Cassie replied getting up and crawling into the other side of the bed. It was quite comfortable. "Well, good night Guinievere. Dream of Jaz."
AN: YAY! another chap done, and its the weekend which opens up all new possibilities. And the promise of chocolate bunnies! Yes! Happy Easter to any and all who celebrate it! And what the hell! I'm just going to dedicate this whole story to FallinWtrsClaw and Notamonkey128. YAY! you are all now famous!