I Want To Stay
Warning: This story contains mature subject matter. Reader discretion is advised.
I repeat: Reader discretion is advised.
This story starts out as a potential Caskett story, however, it does end as one.
There is no major character death. There is minor character death discussed.
This story contains both sexual situations as well as acts of violence. If either of these are not to your liking, you have been warned.
As with all stories in this series if you ignore the warnings and read it and complain, that is your fault. You didn't listen.
You need to read "Where Am I?" first to understand this story.
Sorry i thought i had fixed the previous chapter to say it was a 2 parter. My mistake. I apologize.
One Chapter Only
Kate had new spells memorized for what was coming.
Darting Duplicate – Creates a duplicate of herself so there are now two that look exactly the same.
Ear Piercing Scream – Cause sonic damage to targets in front of you.
Interrogation – Target answers questions truthfully or suffers pain.
Kate watched Rick taking things out of chests he had in his bedroom and each item went on the bed. Their bed now, not just his bed. She was sleeping here now.
Kate fingered the first item he lay out on the bed. It was clearly full figure, navy blue in color, had a really high collar, very wide sleeves, and a belt that looked like it was made of gray colored cords. "What's this?" She was curious about what he was doing.
"My Robe of the Archmagi. It grants me certain benefits," Rick explained and lay a cape on the bed next. "Cloak of Displacement. Means someone can't hit me as easily." Rick kept searching. "Boots of Teleport. …Belt of Magnificence. Makes me stronger, smarter, better-looking, and other things," Rick said and continued looking.
"Better-looking?" She thought he was already handsome. How could he look even more handsome?
"Bracers of Armor. Basically, it's a knight's armor broken down to magical bracers. …Ring of Protection. Pretty much the same thing." Rick kept looking.
"Eyes of Petrification. Whatever looks me in the eye can be turned to stone," Rick told her.
"You mean like Medusa? The lady with snakes in her head?" Kate picked up the goggles and looked them over. They looked like plain old swimming goggles to her. Like the ones used in the Olympics.
"These are for you. Gloves of Dexterity. They make everything you do quicker, especially your hands when you use your quarterstaff," Rick told her and went back to looking.
"Mine, huh?" Kate picked them up and tried them on. To her surprise they instantly changed size to fit her hands.
"Here, this is yours too. If you find yourself in trouble simply blow on that horn. It will summon fighters to protect you. Not very many but better than nothing." Rick left it behind.
It looked like an ivory horn to her. Black where you blew and ivory where the sound came out.
"There's this. It's for you too. Necklace of Acid. You wear it, pull off one of the balls, and throw it. Whatever it hits, it will break and burst into a ball of acid. Just make sure you throw it far enough away or you'll get caught in the blast," Rick cautioned.
"Necklace of Fireballs. That one's for me." Rick lay them out as well.
"The Shirt of the Fey is yours. Someone has to have a weapon made of Cold Iron to do full damage if they get close enough to hit you."
That had Kate taking off her top. She wasn't bashful and certainly not around Rick. He was her lover. "It even fits."
"All magic items adapt to fit the wearer. At least most times." Rick went back to searching.
"Oh." That was new. She didn't know that. But there was a lot about magic that she didn't know or understand.
"OOO, I haven't used this thing in a long time. Kind of forgot about it. Standard of Heroism. You stick this in the ground and all allies within thirty feet gain benefits." Rick leaned it up against the bed since it was kind of tall.
"What else do you have in these chests?" Kate was curious. She saw that he was leaving things inside them.
"I have all kinds of things. I used to go what you might call Adventuring. Some of these I took from evil enemies. Others I bought from other Wizards. Most of this stuff we won't be needing since we won't be staying out there," he told her.
"Here, use this staff. This is a Staff of Glory. You can use it to send out various light objects. From a simple light to sunlight. Lots of Undead hate sunlight. Plus, you can use it to fight with. It is a quarterstaff after all." Rick handed it over and took out his own staff.
"This one is mine. Staff of the Magi. I haven't used this beauty for a while. Not since I created this place and began making Golems and potions. Nineteen different spells are possible using this. Very handy thing to have." Rick was finished.
"If Alexis and her husband are coming too, what do they have?" Did they have to show up and let Rick hand out more items?
"They have all their own magic items. They each have what they need. I took Alexis with me when she got old enough. Her husband had been doing what we had been doing. He has what he needs as well," Rick explained since he didn't have anything for them. Save for handing out potions to be used. Either drink them or throw them.
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Kate was still a bit sore from last night. It had been a little while since she'd had sex with anyone. She did, however, have every intention of having sex with Rick again. Just not tonight. She still didn't understand how his cock fit inside her but that didn't mean she still needed to adapt to his size so the soreness didn't return.
So here she was all wrapped up in one arm and one wing. It was better than a blanket. They were both sound asleep when a sudden sound woke them both up only to have it happen again. This time it was joined by a sudden bright light that went away but was still bright.
"The Alarm." Rick was up suddenly leaving Kate behind and looking out one of his windows. What he saw as well as Kate when she joined him was this bright light that was slowly floating down.
"You have one of those?" Kate had seen them in movies even if she didn't know the name for them. The lit up the ground below them.
"Time to get dressed and ready," Rick told her and he went to his pile of items while Kate did the same thing.
Kate was a little worried about what was going to happen. But she was a cop and she wasn't that scared.
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Kate watched as Rick vanished to go get Alexis and Aldon, then come back and go down to somewhere behind his Golems that might already be out there fighting whatever was out there.
It felt like it was taking forever but it was only five minutes according to her dad's watch when suddenly all three of them showed up and said the Command word to keep from being pounded into the ground.
Kate couldn't help but notice that Alexis and Aldon looked different. They both looked ready for a fight. Kate had questions but they could wait.
Alexis and Aldon both took out weapons as Rick motioned Kate to join them. Alexis noticed that her dad must have shared some of his stuff with her. She was hoping Kate was ready for this. It might get ugly. Eight hundred most of which were likely undead was not going to be fun.
"Everyone ready?" Rick was teleporting them from this circle to a location of his choice. He didn't really wait for a reply and soon all four of them found themselves out at the edge of a small field of trees. Under the dim light they could see the army walking their way out in the open.
The alarm might have warned them, but it had also warned the army.
"Where are your Golems?" Kate queried since he had eight or was it nine of them out here somewhere? The only good thing Kate could see was that the area between the two mountain ranges was a little tight but not that tight. Plus, there was a small stream in the same area.
"Spread out and get ready. They're down there, trust me, they're down there." Rick knew they were. He even knew precisely where they were. Each of them was hidden behind a permanent illusion spell and if that didn't work, the entire area was hidden under a different spell.
Hallucinatory Terrain You make natural terrain look, sound, and smell like some other sort of natural terrain.
It meant the entire area was one big trap. As soon as they stepped into it and activated the Golems was when the fun started. Behind them was a small river coming down from the mountain to the north. It joined another river coming from Thay and dumped into the Sea of Dlurg. Rick's job was only to monitor and defend the pass. What happened on that river was out of his perview.
They all watched as suddenly skeletons began to fall left and right as they fell apart. Figuring out just how that happened wasn't all that easy. A few actually managed to get past that area but no sooner than they did then they disappeared. They just up and vanished.
"What happened, Rick?" Kate hadn't gone that far so she could talk to him.
"Some of those boulders you see are an illusion. Hidden inside those boulders are my Golems," Rick told her. "Between us and them is a deep ditch that I used several spells to create. About two thousand feet deep in fact. Let's see them climb out of that," Rick said with satisfaction.
"Cute." Kate liked it and went back to watching. She soon had a new question. "What's that black thing floating around one of the boulders?"
"Wraith. An undead," Rick responded and then spoke in a language she wasn't any good at. When he stopped she spotted what looked like an ice storm raining down in that area. Rick gave her a warning. "Get ready to use that staff and send out a sunlight beam at it."
The Golems seemed to be doing pretty well. That was until all of a sudden parts of the ditch Rick had dug using spells just appeared. "Damn!" Rick cursed. "Dispel Magic, I'm thinking. Now how do they get across?" It wasn't only deep but too far across to just jump.
The answer to that emerged without warning when a bridge over there showed up. That was followed by a massive fog rolling in.
"The Golems can't hit them if they can't see them. Tricky." He meant bad news because little by little Zombies walked across the bridge, albeit slowly. Then a War Troll ran right through them forcing some of them over the side.
That had Rick casting another spell and directing it at Alexis since he could see her. "War Troll. Armor is Adamantine."
That told Alexis he was going to be a problem so she could tell her husband.
"What the fuck is that thing?" Kate had never seen anything like it. It was tall, mostly gray, had armor and a weapon bigger than she was. This one had what looked like rams' horns on the sides of its head and had skulls hanging from its waist.
"War Troll," Rick told her. "You need acid to kill it and it can heal itself and regenerate lost limbs in a couple of minutes."
"Foul creatures," Rick muttered under his breath.
"Oh, Fuck." No sooner than Kate cursed and another one was right behind it. Then out of nowhere what looked to Kate like a telephone pole lodged in its chest causing it to fall to the ground.
"Aldon," Rick whispered since he approved even if it didn't kill it. It was going to feel that. Then the one behind it also had a similar pole lodge in its chest causing it to fall down. "Keep it up, Aldon."
Rick and Kate went back to watching the Golems that neither could actually see as they kept killing skeletons and Zombies. The Wraith could no longer be seen.
Then Kate saw it right in front of her. She was a little surprised but she was a trained cop and she was ready. She pointed her staff and out came a beam of sunlight and in the blink of an eye it shattered into pieces.
However, right behind it a Hill Giant appeared out of nowhere, but it was too far away to hit her. It had to move first. That had Kate casting her first spell while here. Now there were two of her.
Rick pointed his staff at the bridge and launched a fireball at it. He watched it as it traveled away from him with a little tail of fire and blew up on the bridge. The problem with that decision was that now anyone watching knew where he was.
Sure enough, only a moment later and not far away, a Hill Giant showed up.
Kate was very thankful there were two of her because the other her just had a large wooden club pass through it. That had her dancing around so it couldn't figure out which one was her.
Rick used his staff and a Wall of Fire appeared between him and the Hill Giant. Just how brave did he feel?
The problem with his choice was that Rick couldn't see past his wall, but he trusted his Golems to do their job. And this Hill Giant had a problem. Rick's Guardian Golem didn't give a shit about the wall of fire. So he just walked through it and started hitting him, shrugging off any hits he took.
"RICK!" So far her Hill Giant was hitting the other her and she was mostly just tapping him with her staff. She needed help and soon.
Rick used his staff yet again and rather abruptly Kate had company. She saw it and was all set to scream and run for it. This massive Rock-thing with legs and arms unexpectedly showed up, however, it swung and hit her Hill Giant.
Because of the wall Rick nor Kate could see how Alexis and her husband were doing.
What they didn't see was Alexis throwing a crystal clear gem from her necklace and the area around the two down War Trolls erupted in a storm of Acid.
"Try and keep them down, babe!" Alexis urged her husband.
Aldon gave them something to think about after the Acid Storm was gone as this large Lion showed up and attacked the Troll up front. He didn't last long since these Trolls were just far too powerful. But the second the Lion died and vanished another Acid Storm engulfed both of them.
Rick watched as his Guardian Golem joined him, telling him his Hill Giant was dead. That was when things got interesting. At that moment Red Wizard teleported in and was instantly hit by his Golem.
What the Red Wizard really wanted to do was cast a spell at Rick but that damn Golem had just hit him and he couldn't keep his concentration due to the pain. Then the Golem hit him again and little stars that he recognized as being Magic Missiles hit him and he fell to the ground.
Kate was happy when whatever that Rock-thing was killed the Hill Giant that was trying to kill her.
Rick canceled his wall so he could see what was going on. He liked what he saw. "STOP!" Rick called out to his Golem. He wanted this Red Wizard alive.
Rick couldn't see his own Golems hidden by his spell but what he didn't see was any skeletons or Zombies at all. The two War Trolls were still down and it was apparent that Alexis and her husband had that under control. These two Hill Giants looked dead and it looked like the other Red Wizards and someone else were leaving.
"We won!" Rick was ecstatic. They went up against an eight hundred man army of mostly skeletons and Zombies with a couple of War Trolls, a couple of Hill Giants, three Red Wizards, and one leader. And they WON!
"Now what?" Kate knew it wasn't she that had done this. It was all Rick and his Golems mostly.
"Now we pick up our injured Red Wizard and go home. Then I have to come back and move all of my Golems to new locations. These locations have been compromised." He had work in front of him.
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Rick, Kate, Alexis, and Aldon spoke the Command word and since their Red Wizard was unconscious he didn't need to say anything.
Aldon healed his wounds just enough to get him to wake up after Kate had tied his hands behind his back and tied his ankles together. She gagged him after being told to do so. Something about some spells that were all verbal.
"Why do we need him?" Aldon questioned as they were still right next to the Adamantine Golem for safety.
"Interrogation," Kate said. She had offered to it as well. "I was going to be a Homicide Detective before I ended up here but I've seen a few interrogations."
"He's all yours. We need to know all he knows. You two stay with Kate and get him to talk. I need to move all my Golems before they come back." Rick teleported away.
"Can he do that? He teleported to get all of us here, then there, back again and now he's going back." Kate looked at Alexis for an answer.
"That might have been his last teleport, but I trust Dad to make it back here," Alexis explained. "Since he left his Guardian Golem behind he must not need him."
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Kate was sitting on the ground petting Midnight and was even petting Embers while Alexis and her husband watched the still-awake Red Wizard named Hazlick.
"So how is Buttlick?" Kate asked when Alexis got close enough to talk to her.
That had Alexis snorting out a laugh. "Still charmed. You realize Dad is going to want to go to that place."
"Yes, it's just if he's right, this Bloodgate Nexus can be used to get my parents from that realm and into this one. Then find a Cleric that can bring them back to life. I won't ask him, but I need this Nexus." Kate looked up at her.
"You heard him. You need eight people to sacrifice to make it work. And even before that you need to go through all four Elemental Nodes to reach it," Alexis pointed out.
"Yeah." The sacrifice part was what gave Kate pause. Eight people had to die to bring her parents from that realm into this one. "Red Wizards, Hill Giants, or Trolls maybe." They had killed a few already. Maybe she was willing to sacrifice them to get her parents. It was something she was going to have to deal with.
"Capture eight live people for a sacrifice, Kate," Alexis said.
"Yeah, I know," Kate whispered. The way she said it made it sound bad. Really bad.
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Rick was listening to Alexis explain what they had learned from their charmed Red Wizard. "The Thayans have constructed a portal to the Thaymount to transport their armies across Faerûn to the Sword Coast. They can land in the middle of any city on the Sword Coast they choose. But there's worse.
"If they sacrifice eight people to the Bloodgate they can use it to transport others from say one of the 666 layers of the Abyss or one of the Layers of Hell to serve them. Presumably for every eight sacrifices they can bring one Demon, for example. Perhaps even a Demon Lord.
"They tested this way to see how easy it would be to get all the people for sacrifice they needed," Alexis explained to him.
That had Rick leaning against his Adamantine Golem since this wasn't just bad news, it was really bad news. "This is beyond me. We need to go to the Capital."
"It gets better, Dad. The only way to reach the Bloodgate is by going through one of the four Elemental Nodes they have set up around it. Naturally, there are four and he doesn't understand the need for the Elemental Nodes, but apparently there's something in each of them needed to make the Bloodgate work. They only need the sacrifice of eight people to open a portal to another plane of existence."
"To close it we need to kill whatever's in each Node before we can destroy the Bloodgate." Rick shook his head. "This is just lovely. We're going to need help." He was sure of it now.
"One more thing and this is where Kate comes in. This Bloodgate can be used to transfer someone from any other plane of existence to this one. Meaning if we sacrifice eight people we can move both of her parents to this plane and Realm before we destroy the Bloodgate.
"This gate is located under and near the village of Daggerford on the Sword Coast. Not actually in Thay. However, it's sitting on something called the Doomvault. This Doomvault holds the Phylactery Vault. These Phylacteries are what hold the life force or soul of a Lich. The only way to really kill a Lich is to destroy the vessel his soul is in," Alexis added.
Rick summarized this. "We kill eight people to save two."
Kate looked at him and silently pleaded with him. She got that they needed to kill eight people to save her parents but these Thayans were evil. Couldn't they sacrifice eight evil people that needed to die to save two good people?
"What did our guy know about this Doomvault? Like how to get in it? What's in it? Anything besides these Phylacteries?" Rick questioned her and watched her shake her head. "Perfect!" Now he didn't know what to do.
Rick rubbed his eyes tiredly. "I think you two can go home. We'll handle our friend here," he told his daughter and her husband.
"Let us know what you decide, Dad. If this Bloodgate isn't destroyed our reason to even be here is moot. Thay takes control over the Sword Coast and we're going to need to move." Alexis joined her husband and went home.
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"You can stop now, Kate. We have to destroy this Bloodgate without question. We just can't do it alone. As for sacrificing eight people to reach your parents, we need to talk about that." Rick was uncomfortable with sacrifice. Even if it was for a good cause.
"What about this one?" Kate pointed at the all tied up Red Wizard.
"When the Charm wears off and he doesn't speak the Command word, which I'm not telling him, my Golem will kill him. It's his job. Come on, Embers, let's go home." Rick meant his bedroom so he could put all this stuff away and go back to being Rick.
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Kate was resting on Rick after yet another orgasm. He was still inside her but he was softening little by little. Kate was thinking that what this man could do to a woman's body should be a sin. And she had plans to be a major sinner if that was the case.
She had finally gotten to taste him. She was expecting salty with maybe a touch of bitter. She got neither of those from his taste. If anything, she was thinking of not ever eating again and just giving him a blowjob. Kate actually grinned at that thought.
"Is there a plan for my parents?" Kate knew what she was asking. She was talking about about killing people in a sacrifice.
"We need to put an end to that Bloodgate. We don't do that and the Gold Coast is going to become part of Thay. That happens and I need to move. Alexis and Aldon need to move as well. Aglarond will become part of Thay as well. That Gate has to go.
"Do we sacrifice eight people? I don't have an issue with eight Red Wizards dying on me. Now do we have to slit their throats after tying them down? That I have an issue with. I may be a Demon but I'm not Evil and don't really want to start to be.
"And before you say it I didn't kill that Red Wizard outside. I just didn't save him." Rick cut her off at the pass.
Kate lay her head on his chest. She didn't want to slit their throats open either and kill tied down men. She wasn't a Dark Witch, she was a White Witch. Her mother had taught her the difference.
"What do we do?" This was her first and maybe best chance to get her parents back. Her heart was soaring at the possibility. She had thought they were dead and death was death, something you didn't come back from. Except she believed Rick when he said it was possible here.
"We go to the Capital and talk with The Palace of the Simbul or to the Green Palace and talk with the Queen. We may need to talk to the High Steward a kounsill Nerrol Hamastyl. Embassy of Silverymoon. Around here Silverymoon is a large and powerful city. Perhaps a trip to Silverymoon to talk to the Lady might be justified.
"I'll leave it to the Palace and the Lady as to if we sacrifice people to make the Bloodgate work for your parents before we destroy it. I'll do what they say. They say no then we find another way to reach your parents.
"Before that we go to The House of the Four Moons — Temple of Selûne. If there's a Cleric in the Capital that can bring back your parents that's the place to start. If not, we have another reason to go to Silverymoon. You'll like Silverymoon. It's a beautiful city that has parks and trees all throughout it. Seemingly every building has a deck partially out over the walkways. Every deck has planters and it's a city requirement to plant hanging plants from your deck.
"Most people actually plant plants that produce a lovely fragrance. It's not a dirty city, either. It's nice and clean and either fresh smelling or there's a fragrance. If we're forced to leave here that's where I want to move to," Rick told her.
"I suppose." Kate meant leaving it up to other people. If it was too Evil for them then it was likely too Evil for her and Rick.
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True Resurrection
This spell closes all wounds, neutralizes any poison, cures all Diseases, and lifts any Curses affecting the creature when it died. The spell replaces damaged or missing organs or limbs.
The spell can even provide a new body if the original no longer exists, in which case you must speak the creature's name. The creature then appears in an unoccupied space you choose within ten feet of you.
Rick and Kate soon learned that The House of the Four Moons didn't have a Cleric powerful enough to cast this spell. He did know that the dead couldn't be dead for longer than two hundred years.
"Now what?" Kate looked at Rick for help.
"We do what we talked about. We go to the Green Palace and the Embassy for Silverymoon. The Embassy may know if they have a Cleric that can cast this spell. If not we have a problem." Rick began walking toward the Palace so they could set up a meeting.
It meant coming back in two weeks to talk to her so here they were, sitting with Alexis and Aldon and talking about what to do.
Alexis broke it to her. "I don't know how to solve this, Kate. I'm sorry, but I don't. Even if I could go I'm not tying them down and cutting their throats."
"Yeah." Kate knew that was coming. She had the same issue.
"IF!?" Rick looked at her for an explanation.
"We think she's pregnant," Aldon revealed.
"Pregnant?" Kate was shocked. Happy for her, but shocked.
"PUMPKIN!"Rick was up and bent down to hug her and got hugged back. "Boy or girl? Never mind. You're making me a grandfather." Rick moved to Aldon and shook his hand. Then he hugged him and thumped him on his back.
Rick eventually sat back down and put his foot down. "Neither of you are coming. I'm not letting you risk your life and the life of your baby. I'm also not risking taking that baby's father away from him or her. So you two stay."
"Can we go to Silverymoon though?" Alexis asked him. "Neither of us have ever been there. We would like to see it. We hear good things about it."
"We won't be going for another two weeks. I've never teleported a baby before." Rick was quite concerned about that.
"It'll work, Dad. Just come and get us. We'll be ready. Maybe do some house shopping. Can you imagine living in Silverymoon and raising a family?" Alexis was almost giddy at the idea.
"Leave Mesring? I thought you liked your house. You live in a tree." Rick was taken aback. His daughter and her family might be moving! Granted, they would be one Teleport away but Silverymoon wasn't just the other side of any mountain around here.
"It's Silverymoon, Dad!" Alexis thought that was reason enough. They would work out how they lived there after they got there and did some searching.
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Their meeting at the Green Palace had gone well. They were shocked to learn what Rick had learned to be sure. They would try and find people to help in the task of destroying this Bloodgate. But he was warned that it would take time to find people with enough skill who were willing to go.
It was agreed that Silverymoon might know people but they were a long ways away so getting people from that city would be a challenge.
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Rick and Kate were back with Alexis and Aldon yet again waiting for them to get ready for the trip. "Just how far away is this city?" Kate had no idea. That had Rick taking her outside so he could draw in the dirt.
"This is Faerûn as far as I know it." Rick started drawing. "We are approximately here, next door to Thay. This is a massive desert called Anauroch. To the west of this desert is Silverymoon, the Jewel of the North. It would take months of travel to reach it. It's in a land called The Silver Marches. Gaining people for this from there will be difficult. They may know of some place along the Coast that might be more helpful.
"We're going because we need a Cleric for your parents if we get to do that," Rick told her and let her look at his crude map.
"And a city that far away has an Embassy here?" Kate was amazed.
"There are others but none represent a city of this size or power," Rick countered.
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Alexis and her husband were off exploring. Despite Rick being more than willing to stay where he was, he was willing to move with his daughter and her family. He wanted to be there to watch his grandchild grow up.
Having a scroll from the Green Palace and the Embassy actually gained him an audience with the Lady after only an hour's wait.
Later Rick left the meeting with three scrolls and three locations for him to try and gain mercenaries or Adventurers willing to go destroy this Bloodgate.
Heliogabalus Located in Damara
Westgate Located on The Dragon Coast
Lyrabar Located in Impiltur
Here in Silverymoon Rick and Kate found a Cleric old enough and powerful enough to cast True Resurrection for both of her parents. For a price. Thirty thousand gold pieces for each spell. Each spell took over an hour to cast and he needed to know their full names. Since they were far from being dead for two hundred years, they simply had to come back, pay him the cost, and he would prepare and cast the two spells the next day.
Kate knew the full names of both of her parents. She even knew her mother's maiden name if it came to that. "Do you have sixty thousand?" She had no idea just how much that really was here.
"Not any longer, no. Another reason to go destroy this Bloodgate. Find some gold, find something we can sell. I suppose I could build a Guardian Golem for someone and sell it to him or her. We can worry about that after we deal with this Bloodgate first." Next was the challenge of finding Alexis and Aldon.
There was a rainbow bridge joining the sides of Silverymoon with each other. It was there they were supposed to meet.
"We found one, Dad! We even bought it. It has an empty store on the ground floor, and the two upper floors are the residence. You should see it, it's nice." Alexis dragged her dad off to show him.
It was right off of a square that was part park filled with trees and benches and even a fountain and small pond. Their new home had a balcony hanging out over the walkway and it had jasmine plants hanging down from planter boxes. It gave the area a lovely smell.
"It's not furnished but we can fix that." Alexis was more than happy. This city felt bigger, safer, prettier, and was really lovely. It felt like a dream come true. "We just have to get you to teleport us and our stuff here." She doubted that he would refuse.
"What are you going to do with the retail space?" Rick questioned.
"We're still working on that but we have a couple of ideas. First, we'll put up a wall across the back and turn the back end into a workroom. We bought it so we can move anytime. We even have keys." Alexis held them up.
Rick didn't see it as being large enough for him. He needed a workroom to make Golems. A place to set up his Lab to make potions, and this space wasn't nearly large enough.
If he moved here he needed to figure out what to do with all of his Golems. The ones in the pass would probably have to remain. But he had his Garden Golem, Stone Golem and Adamantine Golem, in addition to his Guardian Golem.
"Are we moving?" Kate questioned him, not really realizing that she was talking about staying with him and moving in. In her mind it was simple. He was all she had. At least until her parents were back. The Cleric had assured her that it would work. They just had to get them into this realm. He could do nothing with them in a different realm.
"Sounds like it, doesn't it? I'm just not sure what the Green Palace is going to think of it. My deal is for me to be a barrier between them and Thay. If I leave what happens?" Rick wasn't sure about it. Not at all.
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It is one month later
Rick and even Kate had been busy. They had helped Alexis and Aldon to pack for the move to Silverymoon. Rick cast Magic Circle to get all of this stuff into the ground floor of their new house. That was followed by teleporting them to the same location.
Rick and Kate hated it but someone needed to watch over Embers and Midnight for them. It was actually a tearful goodbye since it felt like they were leaving part of them behind.
After saying the Command word. "This part sucks, Rick." Kate wiped away tears.
"They're safer there. Where we're going is going to be dangerous." Rick wasn't immune to missing Embers being around. "Let's go get dressed and join the others." They had a small team. Instead of hitting one Elemental Node at a time they were going to break up and hit all of them at the same time, forcing them to defend all four at once.
Rick, his Guardian Golem, and Kate were back outside, all dressed, and ready for combat. All Rick had to do was teleport them to the rendezvous location and then teleport to their starting location.
It was here that they met Istefel who was a human Paladin. Darfin Floshin was a Gold Elf fighter slash Sorcerer as team one. Shelendra Floshin was Darfin's sister and was a Gold Elf Cleric. Hardarr Karakya was a human Thief and team two. Kelson Reader was a Dwarven Cleric. Mennek Ariz was a Half-Orc Druid and they were team three. Rick and Kate were team four.
"According to our charmed Red Wizard we teleport to the same location. From there we step into our individual Elemental Nodes. After we gain the keys we step through the far end of the Gate to reach the Bloodgate.
"We can expect one or two Elementals plus anything else in each Node. The Bloodgate is where things will get interesting. We can expect them to be ready and have eight people there for sacrifice. That means Priests, Red Wizards, Guards, and perhaps even a Lich.
"Try not to completely kill all the Priests and Red Wizards. We have plans for them. The Guards might be useful. As for the Lich, kill him and send him back to his Phylactery to create a new body. Leave the Bloodgate to me. Anything you find is yours.
Rick gave them incentive to accomplish it. "If Thay manages to make this Bloodgate work, all of Faerûn could be in trouble with an opening to one or more levels of the Abyss or even Hell itself. None of our homes will be safe."
"Let's get started." Istefel took out his massive Greatsword and was ready to kill the Evil he came upon. Demons in the Abyss should stay in the Abyss where they belonged.
Rick drew a circle, made sure everyone had every toe inside the circle, and activated it. From there they split up and headed for their individual Nodes. Rick and Kate got the Air Node since the Dwarf wanted the Earth Node and the Paladin wanted the Fire Node.
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"Interesting," Kate commented as she saw semi-solid sheets of freezing fog, ice shards, and lightning. "I guess this makes sense." They were in an Air element. It was freezing cold in planes flying thousands of feet in the air. Fog and lightning made sense.
"Remember don't get too far from me. My Golem is our fighter," Rick reminded her and they took off walking to find that key.
"OW!" Kate spun and swept her staff; it felt like she hit something. "Something hit me."
This time Rick felt it. He swept his staff through the air and was certain that he hit something even though it was invisible. So he expended a charge, sent a force charge into whatever it was, and watched a solidified small beast with wings fall to the ground.
Much to Kate's ire she got hit again. She spun around, swung her staff, and watched something fall to the ground. "What is it?"
"I have no idea. It's invisible when alive so my Golem isn't going to see them." If he had a way to see Invisible he would have brought it but he didn't.
They had found three dead ends already. They had to enter and turn the corner to know that. "It's a maze," Kate realized but at least they didn't have to go too far to find out it was a dead end.
They finally found one after five dead ends that wasn't a dead end. What they saw was a pillar that was the object holding the air key—the smooth metal orb perforated with holes. It was suspended inside a ten foot wide pillar of fog that held lightning blasts at irregular intervals. And they also saw two large men made of air.
"Air Elementals. Probably guards," Rick offered as he stepped inside the room and immediately cast a spell. Five little stars flew from his hands and hit one.
Since his Golem's job was to get between him and an attacker it was taking all the hits and damage while Kate swung away at one as did Rick who expended a charge on each swing.
Rick killed his first since his Golem was helping, so now the other one had three hitting it and it died quickly.
Now they were circling this column filled with lightning. Rick decided to risk and reached in with both hands after handing his staff to Kate.
"OW!Son of a… that stings." Now he needed a potion to repair the damage.
"My turn." Kate handed him both staffs and cast one of her three spells. They both watched it just hover out and into her hands. Now she was standing there holding it and grinning at him.
Rick grinned at her. "Witch." Kate put it under an arm, took back her staff, and grinned back at him. "Now how do we get out?" Kate looked around and thought she spotted it.
Now came the main problem. They didn't have any method to talk to the others to know if they were ready. So if they stepped through they might find themselves all alone against whatever was on the other side.
"Give them a minute," Rick suggested and watched Kate look at her dad's watch.
"One minute," Kate agreed and let him pour a potion down her throat. Rick did the same. She followed him through and they realized that they were first.
There was a massive red ring right in front of them. They could see only two of the other gates. They also saw people lying on stones in alcoves. From the alcoves they could see, there was blood flowing down, across the floor, and over to the Bloodgate. But they couldn't see all eight alcoves.
They did, however, see a Lich standing in the very center of the Bloodgate holding a staff. He was holding his arms to either side like he was trying to hold up the Bloodgate. Around him were three Red Wizards, four Red Clerics, and each alcove had someone holding a dagger dripping in blood.
Rick instantly used his Staff to summon a neutral Air Elemental Elder that would fight for him. It immediately began hitting the closest Red Wizard.
Kate took her surprise action to use her staff and send a beam of Sunlight straight at one of the Red Clerics and blinded her momentarily.
"KILL THEM ALL!" the Lich roared which had them all moving in to attack these four. At that moment Rick's Golem stepped in front of him to protect him.
Just then the two from the Fire Node stepped through and attacked the Lich who was forced to stand there trying to hold the Gate open and in one piece. Losing the keys from the four Nodes was causing it to collapse.
Kate took a pair of Magic Missiles to her chest which hurt like a bitch and pissed her off.
Then right next to them the two from the Water Node stepped out and attacked the Red Clerics.
The Golem was doing fine and Rick was casting his own Magic Missiles at the Red Wizard that had hit Kate and now he was bleeding badly.
A heartbeat later out walked the two from the Earth Node. One attacked the Lich while the other attacked the Red Clerics from behind.
Everything was going fine till the Lich finally gave up trying to support the Bloodgate and used his Staff to send out Chain Lightning that struck every enemy in the room with lightning. It hurt all of them but Kate was the weakest one there and it hurt her the most.
Kate hid behind Rick and with fumbling fingers took out a vial and swallowed the contents. She almost instantly felt better.
Soon the Lich fell to the ground and effectively vanished, leaving the rest of them behind.
"I've got a live one," one of their Clerics called out while they inspected the people on the stones that were to be sacrificed.
Rick meanwhile had two of the servants that were there to slit throats Charmed. Everyone else was prisoners. Rick drew a circle and once all the others and their captives were inside he sent them.
Neither of them liked it but they each cut a throat and the blood flowed across the floor to join all the others.
"The second all the blood reaches the Gate call out the names to your parents. Keep it up until we need to run," Rick told her. Based on what he was seeing, he was thinking it was the Four Nodes, this Gate, and blood from eight sacrifices.
In the interim Rick cast Detect Magic and walked around collecting everything that was magical along with every coin all the dead Red Wizards and Red Clerics that were left behind had on them. He needed gold to hire that Cleric for the spells.
"BABE!"Kate thought she saw something but wasn't sure. This was new to her.
"Those are ghosts!" Rick overlooked being called Babe for now. "Stand in the circle. It's time to leave." Rick pointed at his Golem. "You too."
Rick joined them in the circle and cast two quick spells. They both watched these two little red balls come out of his hand, land on the floor, and just sit there.
"Ready?" Rick looked at Kate who had dropped her Air Node key and was now holding her staff and a potion. "Toss it," Rick told her and said the Command word; they were gone.
The ground rumbled, and a terrible groan sounded from beneath the earth. As all the animals within miles fled in panic, the ground split open and the earth began to bleed lava.
That was followed by two large fireballs erupting. The plan that Rick had was that if the Delayed Blast Fireballs didn't destroy the Bloodgate then at least it would be buried in live lava from the mini volcano that the potion caused. He only had the one given that it took him two and a half months to make only that one.
They arrived next to all the others. "Gentlemen, Lady, that worked out perfectly and I thank you." Rick told them all. Next he held out a potion. "Cure potion, anyone? I have a lot of them."
None of them took it. Each group stepped into the circle with their prisoner to be interrogated later and Rick sent them off one group at a time.
"Home or Alexis?" Rick asked Kate.
"Alexis. I want Midnight back," Kate told him. "He better live forever or he's going to break my heart." Instantly she found herself next to Rick looking like a human still using his Change Self ability. They paid one copper piece to get past the gate and headed for their new home.
"MEOW!"Alexis and Aldon watched him race down the stairs and into the store that was still wide open and empty. That had Embers right behind him, followed by Alexis and Aldon.
"DAD!" Alexis hurried over to him and hugged him and Embers at the same time. Aldon simply smiled at both of them.
"Did it work?" Alexis finally let go of him and looked at both of them. Except both of them just grinned at her. "OH, COME ON!"
"We saw two ghosts. We're hoping it's them," Rick told her.
"YES!"Alexis shot both arms high in the air.
"And the Bloodgate?" Aldon queried.
"Two delayed blast fireballs and a mini volcano should bury it for a very long time," Rick answered.
"Nice work, sir." Aldon was impressed.
"So when are you moving to Silverymoon?" Alexis asked since she did want both of them here. She was hoping that these two were a couple. She didn't need a mother but her dad needed someone and Kate was nice.
"Can't afford it. I have to make sure I have the sixty thousand for these two True Resurrection spells that might be tomorrow. Though if I can make a Guardian Golem and sell it…" Rick shrugged. "Maybe."
"The sooner the better, Dad. Just make sure you bring Kate with you. You know, if her parents do come back they could have your old place. It's just one teleport spell later for a visit. They can take over your job if they're capable." She didn't know much about either of her parents.
Kate blushed since it sounded like Alexis liked her being with her dad.
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Rick and Kate were in an antechamber, waiting. The Cleric had insisted that he do this alone. Each spell took just over an hour. One hour and eleven minutes to be precise and he didn't want to be interrupted, so he was doing this alone.
That meant Kate was looking at her dad's watch again. And again. And again. She had already thanked Rick from her heart for spending nearly every gold piece he had for this. Selling the magic weapons the Red Wizards and Red Clerics had plus that staff the Lich had been using, as well as what little amount of coin they had on them. Thankfully, it was enough.
What Rick wanted to do was tell her to sit down and relax. But it wasn't his parents being brought back so he held his tongue and waited.
"DAD!"Kate charged him the second he stepped into the room. She wrapped herself around him and sobbed. She had missed him and even more importantly it meant that other ghost had a good chance of being her mom.
Kate calmed down. They had just over an hour to talk till finally Johanna walked in and got the same treatment from Kate.
"Little Ricky Rodgers." Johanna finally got to hug him. "I want to hear everything."
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Johanna and Jim spoke the Command word when they arrived in front of Rick's Adamantine Golem. They followed him and both cats after spending hours with Alexis and her husband learning that they had just moved to Silverymoon and that Alexis was pregnant.
Jim and Johanna walked very slowly as they looked the place over and saw a lot of things.
They were going to get Kate's old bed and one of them was going to get Rick's sleeping bag since there was just the one bed not meant for two people.
The next morning Jim had gone with Rick and Embers the burning cat to see his barn, his Lab, and where he made his Golems.
"And when do I get a grandchild?" Johanna questioned Katie.
"MOM!" Kate wasn't ready to be pregnant. Granted, they'd been having a lot of sex so ending up pregnant was possible. "We've only been together for a couple of months. Give me a chance, can't ya?"
"Fine. You've got another month. Tell me, how powerful have you gotten?" She meant Witch powers.
"I can't even do second level spells yet. Just three cantrips and five first level spells. What I use is all stuff Rick gave me to use. I don't even have my Glock on me. I have your ring." Kate took her necklace off over her head and handed her mom her old ring.
"I have Dad's watch too. I had just made Junior Homicide Detective when suddenly I ended up here. Talk about a shock." Kate was adapting but it was difficult.
"Homicide Detective?" Johanna didn't understand.
"Someone killed you and the police said it was a random act of gang violence. That didn't sit well with me so I quit Stanford and entered the Police Academy. I was going to find out who killed you," Kate explained.
"I know who killed me. Well, not who actually stabbed me, but I know who wanted me dead. He simply acted a little faster than I thought, and before you ask, who it is no longer matters. We all live here now. That realm no longer holds any meaning for us." Johanna beat her to it.
"Fine!" Kate crossed her arms over her chest and sulked. Who had killed her mom was all she wanted to know. "You'll tell me eventually." Kate would get to her at some point.
"We'll see." Johanna dived into her personal life. "Do you at least like Rick?"
"Yes." Kate began blushing because sex with him was incredible. Like no one else she had ever had. "And no, I'm not telling you everything." Kate stopped her right there.
"Rick is an Incubus, Katie. I already know everything. So Wizard, Alchemist, and Golem Warmaster. Not what I was expecting. We need to start training you as a Witch now that I'm back. This place can be dangerous." Johanna planned to be her teacher.
"You're telling me." Kate rolled her eyes. "Real Undead, real Trolls, Hill Giants, whatever a Lich is, Red this and Red that. This place is nuts."
"You're only on first level spells, Katie. It goes up to nine. The trick is learning all the spells that are available to us Witches. I only have just so many. I'm thinking even I only have half of the number of first level spells that are available to us.
"Spells can be powerful, very powerful. I don't know what Rick's spell level is but I know there is a ninth level spell that is called WISH. A real wish. The ultimate spell for a Wizard. Rick just needs to reach that level someday," Johanna told her and Kate's mouth fell open. Rick hadn't told her that.
"Alexis wants us to move to Silverymoon with her. Rick's thinking about it but we can't afford it. Plus, Rick is needed here. He and his Golems are the barrier between here and a place called Thay," Kate told her.
"WE!?" Johanna grinned at her. "Well, I'm a Witch and your father is a Sorcerer/Warlock. He, like you, needs a lot of training, however. But he can cast a spell faster than anyone you'll ever see."
"Is that what Dad was doing?" Kate had never really learned what her dad was capable of. Though he could just suddenly do things. Kate watched her mother nod her head.
"If we stay here we can help." Johanna knew she didn't have anywhere else to go. They literally had no money and the only clothes they both had was what they were wearing.
Jim burst in just about then. "You think that Adamantine Golem was something? He has one that follows him everywhere he goes. You should see what he has in that barn. You really need to see that and he's already working on another Golem. It's made out of swords! All swords." Jim was amazed.
Kate defended him. "Rick's Golems are all that stopped those eight hundred plus that attacked earlier. Undead, Trolls, Hill Giants, and Red Wizards. We'd all be dead if not for his Golems." Kate saw her mother grinning at her.
Alright, fine. She was falling in love with him. But they weren't married yet and she wasn't pregnant. At least she didn't think she was pregnant. She was a Witch and she felt like she would know if she was suddenly pregnant.
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The toilet and shower was downstairs. But with four of them the hot water was going to go fast now. Kate was up and dressed just enough and found her mother up and cooking breakfast.
"MOM!" Kate wrapped her arms around her. She had been dead. She had identified her dead body and now she was alive again.
"I've forgotten how to cook like this. I got used to electricity. Talk about a shock when we arrived there. Cars, buildings way too tall, guns, more trash than I care to think about. More pollution than I care to think about, too. So if I burn something you'll have to forgive me," Johanna said but was happy to be being hugged by her daughter.
"There's really only one bathroom?" Johanna questioned. "This should be fun." Johanna was thinking the exact opposite. "Is there a plan? You two know more than we do."
"Alexis wants us to move to Silverymoon with her. I'm pretty sure Rick is thinking about it. Though his deal is to protect the pass not far from here where his Golems are stationed. If he wants to leave will they let him? If he does leave who guards the pass from Thay?"
"Well, your father and I have literally no money here, so it sounds like us. Except didn't you say Rick couldn't afford to move?" Johanna thought she remembered that.
"He can't. He's thinking of making another Guardian Golem and selling it to someone that needs it. Then use that money to buy a place in Silverymoon if he can find a place," Kate explained.
"Sounds like a job for me and your father. Jim isn't up to teleport yet but he can be eventually. We can come for a visit," Johanna offered.
"That's what Alexis said. You're sure this is what you want? You could come with us," Kate said.
"Your dad and I have the same problem Rick does. No money to move with. We don't even have money to buy food. I see hunting in our future. Though I did see a lot of crops outside and that really cute green guy," Johanna mentioned.
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In the end it was going to take Rick months to build a Guardian Golem so they were all staying here for a while. That didn't mean the four of them didn't make trips to Silverymoon for visits until when finally Alexis gave birth to a little girl, Katarina Marie.
Long before Rick finished the Golem, he proposed and a crying Kate Beckett accepted. She even got a new ring. She loved him, knew he loved her, and was getting married with her parents around her in a realm she had known nothing about. Her old life was forgotten. Her heart was here now.