School #2
Chapter 6
Kate was officially third level, but just barely. She was just about fourth level. As a result, she could now cast four second-level spells and memorize five first-level and three second-level spells. Of the spells she could cast, she selected these first-level spells: Hex, Ray of Sickness, Witch Bolt, Sleep, and Bane. Of the second-level spells, Kate chose to memorize Invisibility, Blindness/Deafness, and Insect Spies. She liked the idea of using common insects to spy on someone.
Tara was also officially third level, but she was just barely third level and chose the same spells. It was amazing that they thought so much alike.
Nue made it to the fourth level from the third level. Horton stayed at the fifth level. Jennan remained at the fifth level at the end of it.
Kate couldn't be happier. She finally got to make love to Rick the night they returned home. She was also so thankful for Rick. If he hadn't been there, she was sure they wouldn't have made it. "What was the bear you kept changing into?"
"That was a Dire Bear. Think ultra-strong grizzly bear. It's my go-to animal whenever I'm in combat."
"It was certainly big and scary-looking." Kate had to hand it to him. "You use other animals?"
Rick nodded. "Yes, I'm a Displacer Beast on occasion. Also a Gold Dragon at times and other animals now and then. It depends on the situation. This worked out to be a Dire Bear most of the time."
"Thanks." Kate kissed him. "What do we do about the magical items?"
"They go into the Community Chest for use by anyone who needs it. The gold gets divided up between the five of you. I'm donating my share to the team."
That earned him another kiss. "Thank you for that, it's wonderful! Now I can go shopping for more clothes." Kate headed out to the store to purchase much-needed clothing.
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Kate and Tara were back on the second floor, searching for the other half of that scroll they needed. So far, none were even close to the first half.
"I don't know, Kate. Maybe it's not here at all." Tara broke it to her. "You would think that the two pieces would be close to each other, but they're not."
"I know, Tara, but I'm not giving up. It has got to be here somewhere."
"Fine, but let's take a break. I'm hungry." Just then, Tara's stomach growled loudly and her face turned bright red.
Kate giggled at that, but she gave in and went to eat with her. "Okay. I get it, girl!"
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It was time for another rooftop party and food and drink was everywhere. There was a band, and there was dancing. Except Kate was standing at the edge looking down. Rick stood next to her. "You're not eating or drinking. What's wrong, Kate?"
"Nothing's really wrong." Kate deliberately changed subjects. "What's down there?" She pointed to it. "I don't think I've ever been down there, at least not yet."
"That's the wall between two mountain ranges. It's double-gated and has double portcullises. Just inside that are the warehouses. We receive a supply ship every week with clothes and food mostly. Some wood and a few other things."
"So, that's the most dangerous spot, right?"
"No, not really. We have a deal with a Dragon Turtle. She's old, and she guards the bay. If more than one ship approaches, she attacks them. We contribute to her hoard once a month, and she guards the bay for us."
"A dragon turtle? I've never seen one before."
"Pray you never will. Because if you do, it means we're under attack. Though, what with the teachers and all the students, we can defend ourselves pretty good. Combined with the Dragon Turtle, we're well-defended."
"Come dance with me, please?" Rick held out his hand, and Kate took it, dancing with him in human form.
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Lyla came up to him while he was dancing with Kate. "Richard, we need to talk. Alone." By alone, she meant out of Kate's earshot.
"We can go downstairs to my office. I'm sorry, Kate, please excuse me." He walked away and left her behind.
Once they were in his office, Rick turned on her. "What's so blasted important that it couldn't wait, Lyla."
"We have a problem. I did a divination spell, and I learned something disturbing."
Rick crossed his arms. "I'm listening."
"There's a Yuan-Ti Fortress. A true Fortress packed with them."
"That's bad but not that bad, is it?"
"They built it not five miles from here, Richard. It's hidden in the jungle in a mountainside."
"That is bad. They could be building up to challenge us here." Rick sighed. "I'll assemble a team to go and take it out, probably the same team I used in the Temple. How much time do you think we have?"
"Perhaps a week, but not much more than that. Yuan-Ti are being added to the Fortress all the time. I don't know how big it is since something blocked my view of it. But I saw the entrance. It goes up a set of stairs to a double door with guard turrets on either side plus one in the middle just above the doors."
"Making entrance to the Fortress difficult but not impossible," Rick said while thinking about it. "I'll assemble the team first thing in the morning. We'll set out right after we're prepared."
Lyla nodded, relieved. "Duke and I will hold the fort. Combined with the students, we should be able to hold this place."
"Thanks, I think."
"Sorry." Lyla left Rick to think and plan.
Kate suddenly showed up. "I'm going with you."
"What are you doing here? Were you spying on us?"
"Spying is such a bad word, Rick. I was eavesdropping, and I'm going with you."
"Kate, this is a Yuan-Ti Fortress we're talking about here, not a walk in the park."
"I heard you. I can double up on my Witch Bolt. And I have Invisibility, meaning I can sneak inside."
Rick raised an eyebrow. "And sneak up on us talking."
Kate scrunched up her face at that. "But I'm going, and You. Can't. Stop. Me. I know when you're leaving." She crossed her arms across her chest and stared at him.
"We could be gone a week or more. It'll mean camping out just to get there." Rick played a card to get her to stay. "You'll miss time on your search for the other half of that scroll."
"Tara can stay and search. She knows what we're looking for."
"I'm not going to win this, am I?" Rick asked her, knowing he had already lost.
"No, you're not. So I'm going?" Kate held her breath, waiting for his answer.
"Yes, you can come with us. But if you get killed, don't blame me, woman."
"I won't get killed, Rick, you won't allow it."
Rick raised an eyebrow. "I won't allow it?"
"I'll leave and tell Tara she's on her own for about a week." Kate came up to him and kissed him. "We're making love tonight since I won't be able to after we leave. Oh, and I'm going to need our CUM while we're gone." Kate kissed him again and left his office.
"Oh boy," Rick sighed.
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They assembled in Rick's office. It would be him, Kate, the Vassal of Bahamut, the Rainbow Servant, the Bloodhound, a Cleric of Oghma, a Ranger, and a Thief. They were all teachers save for the Cleric of Oghma. But she was of high level. She wasn't Lyla's equal, but she was close.
"Kate, I think you know everyone here. Everyone, this is Kate. She's a Witch and is coming with us. Try to keep an eye on her."
Kate thought she could take care of herself but wasn't quite certain. Though with her Ethereal skill as a Succubus, at least they couldn't hit her.
"Kate, this is your backpack. I've packed it for you with what I think you'll need. Anything you want will always be on top." Rick handed her a rod. "This is your weapon, a Rod of Python. It's the size of a quarterstaff, but when thrown to the ground, it becomes a Constrictor Snake that will obey only your commands."
"Everyone ready?" Rick heard confirmation that they were ready to go. "Let's get started, and my Oghma will come with us."
Kate hung back with Rick. "Why is his armor so bright?" she asked about the Vassal of Bahamut.
"It's his Platinum Armor. He made it himself, and yes, it's magical. Everyone here is wearing magical armor, which reminds me." He took out a ring and handed it to Kate. "Here, put this on. It'll help to protect you." Rick watched her slide it on her finger.
"Laine, you take the lead; you know where we're going."
"You got it, Boss." And Laine the Bloodhound led the way.
Rick tried his best to give Kate an out. "It's not too late to go back, you know."
"I'm going with you. I understand the hazards, but I'm counting on my going Ethereal to help me. Plus, I can go Invisible. I hated leaving Patches behind, but where we're going is no place for a dog."
Just then, the Ranger made an announcement. "We're being followed."
"Patches, I told you to stay," Kate chided once he came into view. He looked sad, but he was determined to go with her. Where she went, so did he. "What am I going to do with you? I don't have any dog food for you."
Rick cleared his throat. "That's...not entirely true. I packed some dog food in your backpack. I figured he would follow you."
Kate loved him even more now. "All right, Patches, you can come, but you go where I say when I tell you." Kate pointed at him and got a bark out of him. "Bark softer, Patches." She got a fairly quiet woof out of him. "Better, come on." Kate motioned for him to follow.
"Come on, Patches, you can go with me up front," Laine called out and got Patches to join him, but the dog looked back at Kate constantly.
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"Five miles out means we'll be there in no time. We should camp for the night here. We camp with no fire." And with that, Rick took out his first meal, as did everyone else, including one for Patches.
They set up a tent, and Kate tried out her first-time tent camping. "It's nice in here."
"It's a constant temperature that's comfortable no matter what it is outside. The same for the bedrolls, as you know," Rick said.
"I remember the bedrolls." Kate slid into her bedroll, fully clothed, as did everyone else. Laine took first watch. Kate didn't get a turn.
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They came out of the jungle, where they saw nine smaller buildings and the entrance to the Fortress in the mountain's wall.
"I have a Ring of Invisibility," Laine the Bloodhound told them.
The Thief spoke up then. "As do I."
"I do as well," the Ranger said.
"I can cast Invisibility," Kate told them.
Rick made his decision. "You four go in and clear the way for the rest of us to get inside without being noticed."
"Patches, you stay here with Rick." Kate cast her spell, and the others put on their rings.
They made their way to the door, where they stopped and waited. "No traps and it's not locked," Laine told them, so they cracked open the door just a little and looked inside, then opened it wide enough to go inside and look around.
"You stay here," they told Kate. She wanted to ask why, but they went upstairs quickly, and she couldn't. Instead, she had a look around the place.
Kate saw a large room dominated by an enormous skeleton of what she thought was a T-Rex, recalling having seen one in pictures. Kate saw three doors and an opening in the wall. Since that opening was closer, she went there first. It led to a passageway going down.
Back in the main room, she saw balconies on either side up high, but no one was there. She spotted a large pool of water in the back past the colossal skeleton, so she headed in that direction. Once there, she saw someone lying in wait. She wondered just what an elf was doing there since it was supposed to be a Yuan-Ti Fortress.
Meanwhile, the others came down and went back up the other side. No one saw Kate, but they didn't stop to worry about it.
After they made their way back down, one of them removed his ring and gave the all clear signal for the others. The second they entered and got close to the enormous skeleton, all hell broke lose. The T-Rex skeleton attacked now that it could see them.
Kate watched both the fight and the elf, who appeared to be helping the skeleton by healing its wounds. So she cast Witch Bolt, and her bolt hit the elf and did damage.
The gang had finished destroying the skeleton, while Kate ended the elf, never knowing who he was.
Rick took hold of her shoulders and looked her over from head to foot. "By the gods, Kate, are you all right?"
"I'm fine, really. While you were fighting the skeleton, I was fighting that elf there who was healing the skeleton. I don't know why he did that, but I ended the little weasel."
"Good work. I wondered why it took us so long to finish it off. Now I know." Rick was able to breathe again.
"The opening leads down," Kate said. "Sorry, but I have no idea what's behind any of the doors."
Rick gave orders, and he, Kate, and Renee the Rainbow Servant got ready to take one door. "You two check out the passageway down there. The three of us will take this door while the rest of you take that door."
"By all that's holy!" What Rick and the others saw after opening the door made their blood run cold. It was a massive torture chamber filled with all kinds of devices meant to inflict pain and agony. Inside, sitting down, were two half-blooded Yuan-Ti. Rick abruptly changed into a Dire Bear, rushed them, and killed them with one great paw to each of them.
Thankfully, there was no one torturing prisoners at the moment. Kate walked around, looking at some of the many devices. "I recognize a few of these. That's an iron maiden. The one over there is the rack. And this one heats rods used for torturing people."
"Renee, take a look down that passageway," Rick said, and she inched her way down the passageway.
Everyone joined them, including Renee. "That way leads to prison cells, and that's all."
Another reported, "Next door is a meeting hall, but it was empty. I didn't see anything else, Rick."
And someone else told him, "The passageway leading down empties into another that splits off. There were a few doors down there."
Rick began to give orders, and they split up."You two take the double doors. The two of you take the single door, while the rest of us will go downstairs."
Downstairs, Rick saw a passageway going straight and one to the right. "Kill him before he warns the others," Rick called out. The Ranger drew his bow and put two arrows into him, while the magic user put a Magic Missile into him, dropping him.
Rick and the others went right, and the first thing they saw was a passageway leading down and three doors with another hallway that went left. Since the dead Yuan-Ti seemed headed for the first door, that was where they went.
Rick opened the door, changed to a Dire Bear right away, and attacked. Except for Kate, the others each took a Yuan-Ti to attack. There were four bunk beds. Some of them were asleep, while others were not. None of them were armed when Rick had opened the door.
They were dealt with immediately. "Barracks. How much you want to bet the other rooms down here are more barracks?" Rick questioned them.
"No bet here," one stated since they all agreed with him.
The four of them caught up to the others. "We found a dining hall and a kitchen. Neither of them had anyone inside them. We also found a minor shrine manned by a human Druid. He was praying to a statue of a snake, so we killed him."
They went outside to the first door on the left and the one at the end of the hall. "This door is locked," one of them told Rick and the Thief got to work. "Now it's not." And he opened it. All they found was an empty room covered in dust. Clearly, it hadn't been used for quite some time. In it was a single bed up against the wall.
Rick hesitated to open the door at the end of the hallway. "Everyone ready?" he asked, then opened the door. Sure enough, it was another barracks. It held four bunk beds, all with someone in them. And there was a door at the far end.
A massive fight started mostly because one of the Yuan-Ti ran for the door to alert the others, who in turn, ran to a door to warn the others. The third group came down the hallway, and they created a pincer movement against them.
Even Kate became involved in the hand-to-hand or weapon-to-weapon really fighting. "OW!" Kate screamed as she got hit before she could use her Ethereal to escape.
When it was finally over, they had 24 dead Yuan-Ti, though it had been costly. The cleric was busy handing out potions and curing wounds, including Kate's. She felt her pain go away. "Thank you."
Rick hurried over to her. "You okay?"
"I'm fine. I just got caught before I could go Ethereal, that's all. But I killed one all by myself." Kate was proud of herself.
"One?" Someone snorted. "We killed 24 of them."
Kate bristled. "Twenty-three technically since I killed one of them. It was the best I could do. I am just a third-level Witch."
Rick came to her defense. "Her being able to go Ethereal means she'll outlive all of us and escape to tell the others."
The Vassal of Bahamut clapped her on the back. "Welcome to the Party." As far as he was concerned, she could stay.
"Thanks… I think." Kate moved her shoulder, where he slapped her around a little.
They still had a lot of the Fortress to check out. This was only the beginning.