CPC-02. Couch Potato Crisis, page 13
part #2 of Couch Potato Chronicles Series
Right before night fell, the caravan stopped and the humans invoked a portable campground. The campground effect formed a large circle which prevented mist monsters from spawning within its field. They lasted about twelve hours, long enough for a meal and a good night’s sleep. A dim blue circle marked the outer reaches of the campground’s effect.
One of the slavers produced a piece of glowing chalk and drew a large ring several meters past the outside perimeter of the campground. When he circled the entire campsite and completed the circle, a translucent yellow wall rose up into the air. Kiwi recognized the proximity alarm spell, likely placed not to warn the humans of monsters coming in, but to prevent their slaves from escaping.
They positioned each wagon on the perimeter of the campground, covering the spell’s effect and forming an impromptu physical wall to block anyone from leaving. The humans marched the other two elves to the center of the campground and made them sleep on the grass. They then built a metal cage to keep the elves in place. Though the autumn night was cold, no one gave the slaves blankets or clothing to keep them warm.
The two raptors she’d seen earlier prowled around the area. Unleashed, they still wore their muzzles. Any escape plans would have to take them into account.
A guard gave Kiwi more of the tasteless porridge they’d given her earlier. Despite the horrid taste, she ate everything in the bowl. Two guards then lifted her to her feet and shoved her into the cage with two other elves. They returned her gag but didn’t bind her collar to the wall.
Jeremy approached. “I know you’re thinking of escape, green-hair. All you feral elves try to escape at the beginning. I’ve witnessed dozens of attempts, but none have been successful under my watch.” He smiled. “That’s why I’m so in demand. It’s always amusing to see what kind of plans you imbeciles come up with.”
He indicated the two raptors. “If by some unlikely chance you do get away, our raptors will make short work of you. Their favorite meal is elf-flesh. We keep them hungry, see. The only meat they ever get is when one of your kind misbehaves or tries to escape.”
She wanted to say something back, but the gag silenced her. The other two elves in the cage stayed as far as they could from the rough man.
“Oh, you want to talk? I didn’t ask you a question, so you don’t have permission to speak.”
“Quit conversing with the livestock, Jeremy,” came a voice from another human male.
“Fine, Benton,” he said.
Kiwi decided then and there that whatever escape plan she devised would involve punishing Jeremy.
She attempted to speak with the other elves, but her gag made that impossible. Hours passed and the majority of the guards had fallen asleep, as evidenced by the light snoring sound.
“It’s okay, most of the guards are asleep,” came a quiet female voice. Kiwi looked around for the source, but it was difficult to make out anything in the near pitch-blackness. The greater moon, Perm, was a sliver hidden behind the clouds and failed to provide much illumination. The cloudy sky obscured the stars. The snake god Entropy was similarly obstructed, so none of his reflected light reached them. Every so often a guard carrying a magical torch passed by, providing momentary illumination before he passed out of sight. She couldn’t make out more than simple outlines.
“Don’t be afraid. I’ll remove your gag and untie you.”
A small purple-haired fairy zipped into her field of view. She glowed dimly in the darkness. Kiwi was certain she’d seen the fairy before—she looked just like the fairy who’d kidnapped her months ago. The fairy produced a small needle-sized blade and cut the cloth. Within a few moments, her gag fell away, landing on her lap.
“Trista?” she asked, hesitantly. She looked like the same fairy, but her voice and mannerisms were completely different.
“That’s me. Let me free your hands and legs next.”
“Why are you here? I thought we were enemies. You tried to kidnap me.”
The fairy drooped and hung her head. “I know, and I feel just awful about that. That’s why I wanted to find you and apologize.”
“You want to...apologize?”
The fairy’s head drooped. “I’m sorry that I had you kidnapped.”
“Twice.”
“What?”
“You kidnapped me twice. Once out on the field, and once on the Belcross Express.”
“Yeah. Sorry about that. But since coming back to life, I’ve turned over a new leaf. I’m a nice fairy now, honest.”
Kiwi shook her head. “I guess it’s fine. It’s not like you're the first person to kidnap me. If you could do something about the collar around my neck, that would go a long way toward making us even.”
“Already tried. It uses a high-level magical lock, and I don’t have the skill to undo it.”
“Then why don’t you untie those two?”
Trista looked at the other two elves and perked up. “Sure, I can do that. Listen, most of the humans are asleep, but there are still two guards on patrol. Don’t let them hear you or see that you’re free.”
Kiwi nodded and the fairy got to work freeing the other two slaves.
“Are you a fairy?” the dark elf asked, once her gag was removed.
“My name is Trista Twinklebottom, and you don’t need to worry about me. I’m a nice fairy.”
“It's just that I’ve never seen one in person before. I’m Mara and this is my big brother Fingaerion.”
Trista worked at unshackling Fin. “Normally, my kind live in seclusion, where other people can’t find us. It’s not uncommon for someone to go their entire life without ever seeing a fairy.”
“But you’re different?”
Trista nodded. “Wanderlust took hold of me early, and I’ve been a free spirit ever since.” She stopped and pointed at herself. “Because of how small I am, I died a lot at first.”
Mara crawled toward Trista on her hands and knees. “Were you in my pocket before? I thought I felt something moving around in there.”
The fairy nodded. “I was hiding from the humans.”
She put her hands to her cheeks. “I can’t believe I had a fairy in my pocket! But, why are you here?”
Trista sighed. “I hid in a magic hole, then this and that happened, and now I’m here.”
Kiwi frowned. “That doesn’t explain anything.” She cocked her head. “What magic hole?”
Trista removed the portable hole from her pocket and unfolded it, drawing the ends apart so it increased in size. “It’s Pan’s portable hole. I found it at the Spiral Tower after resurrecting.”
Mara poked her head into the hole and looked around. “Can we use this to hide from the slavers and escape?”
Trista put her right finger to her lower lip in thought. “I don’t see why not. The hole is big enough to hold all of you. I could put it in my pocket and fly away. They’ll never see us.”
Kiwi narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. “We can’t do that.”
“Why not?” asked Fin, who’d been freed. “It sounds like a good plan.”
Trista flittered toward Kiwi. “Hey, Kiwi. Listen, you probably think I’m still trying to kidnap you. You’re afraid to go inside the portable hole because you’d have to trust me to let you out. What can I say to make you believe me?”
Kiwi shook her head. “It’s not that—okay, it’s not just that.”
“What then?”
Kiwi indicated the faintly glowing yellow wall of magic just beyond the campsite. “As soon as you cross that line, an alarm will sound. The humans will know we’re trying to escape and hunt us down. We’ll need to create a distraction before trying anything.”
Fin inched closer to Kiwi, inspecting her closely. “The fairy called you Kiwi. Are you...Princess Kiwistafel?”
She nodded.
“Then it’s as I feared,” said Fin. “They got you too.”
“How long have you been here?” Asked Kiwi.
“In Zhakara? I’ve been here for just over a decade, and my sister was born here. Mara and I were just caught trying to escape.”
A light approached, and the elven pair remained silent until it passed. For the first time, Kiwi got a good look at the boy. The light revealed his high elven features before it faded and the guard passed from sight.
“What about you?” Asked Fin quietly, “How did you get caught?”
It was a good question. Kiwi opened her combat log and scrolled back. What she found confirmed her suspicions.
“Queen Murderjoy used a charm spell on a person I trusted and used that person to lure me away.”
“Betrayed by someone you trusted. That’s rough.”
“It wasn’t Tasha’s fault. I think she was under the influence of a charm spell.”
“Tasha? That’s the name of your friend? Doesn’t sound like an elven name.”
“She’s a human.”
“Then you definitely shouldn’t trust her. Humans care only for their own well being.”
Kiwi changed the subject. She addressed the high elf boy. “Do you know where they’re taking us?”
He shook his head slowly. “I’m not sure. No, wait. They mentioned something. I remember the guard said something about a Doctor Penfold.”
Kiwi’s eyes went wide. “They’re taking us to Doctor Penfold’s lab?”
“I think so. Who is that?”
“Queen Murderjoy’s chief scientist. Even by Zhakaran standards, the man is…” She shuddered. “The stories I’ve heard about him are the stuff of nightmares. They say he’s experimented in the field of amalgamation, the blending of two or more beings. According to reports, he’s experimenting on elves, performing dissections on living subjects. We don’t want to be anywhere near Doctor Penfold.”
“Experiments on living elves?” Fin asked. “Why?”
“To see what makes us immune from old age. He’s trying to find a way to make humans immortal. The one advantage we have over humans is our long lifespan. Humans are numerous and they multiply at a terrifying rate, but each usually only lives maybe 70 to 80 years. If humans had elven immortality, we wouldn’t stand a chance.”
Fin winced. “That sounds nasty. I’d pass, but I’m certain we have no say in the matter.”
They sat in silence as another guard passed carrying a torch. The dark-elven girl stared at Kiwi, wide eyed. Kiwi got a good look at Mara for the first time. There were scars and scrapes on the girl’s face. But that didn’t make sense since scarring was so easily cured by magic or restorative items.
“How long have you had those scars?”
“My scars?”
“Your face.”
The elven girl took a deep intake of breath. “I’ve had them forever. My masters gave them to me when I didn’t work fast enough.”
“You’ve never received a healing spell or potion?”
Heart containers refilled by eating, but the only way to cure deep wounds was via recovery magic, curative potions, or the use of a save point.
“ It’s forbidden. We aren’t allowed to be healed. Healing is only for humans.”
That’s absurd. “Just give me a minute. I want to try something.”
“What are you gonna do?” asked Fin.
“You’ll find out if it works.”
As a child, Kiwi was trained by the greatest magic user in all of the allied kingdoms. Her mentor, Magus Savik Dhogma, had instructed her from an early age, and he hadn’t allowed her to gain even a single level until she mastered mana manipulation. She’d never been more grateful for his tutelage. He may have been harsh at times, but without his training and techniques, her current situation would be inescapable.
After instructing her in the fine art of mana manipulation, his very next lesson included several techniques for escaping mana collars. At the time, she didn’t dream she’d ever need to put that lesson into effect.
Magic inhibiting collars collected a person’s mana, interrupting its flow from the caster’s heart at their neck, interrupting its path to the caster’s head. It then reflected that energy back at the caster in the form of an electrical spell, causing pain and momentary paralysis. It then drained the remainder of the caster’s mana, until their reserves were completely exhausted. Most prisoners fitted with such collars never try to cast more than once, so intense is the pain.
The trick to defeating these collars was to overload them by building up a ridiculous amount of mana in the body, more than any spell would be able to properly utilize. The mana was then channeled back in on itself in a great loop throughout the body before it was drawn into the caster's head all at once. The collar absorbed all the mana until it overloaded, causing it to burn out.
The Magus had her perform practical tests when she was still a kid. She’d resented him for it, so painful were the sessions every time she failed. Now, that capability had become her lifeline.
She began gathering energy in her body, starting at the solar plexus, and forming a circuit that wound through each of her arms and legs in turn. The density of mana in her body grew, but it was still inadequate to the task of damaging the collar. If she unleashed the energy now, the collar would electrocute her, leaving her paralized for who knew how long. She’d already gathered the mana; it was too late to turn back now. Whether this led to success or disaster—there was no middle ground. She pushed more and more energy into the lines of power.
Not yet. She needed more. The lines of mana that wound into each of her legs were straight, but they were full and couldn’t hold more. Increasing the density beyond this would force the mana into her head, and she wasn’t ready for that yet.
So, she mentally worked the lines that ran from her hips, through her knees, and into her feet. They were straight, so she twisted them around and around, coiling them like a snake. The lines of power lengthened giving her more to work with, but it still wasn’t enough. Not yet.
To ensure this would work, she needed more. She wound the lines in her torso into multiple layers of coiled magic lines, filling every part of her body with power. Her eyes glowed, and their light clearly illuminated the features of her two acquaintances, even in the pitch black of night. The entire carriage was bright with the power of her mana.
Her heart fluttered. If a guard happened by, everything would be ruined.
“What are you doing?” Fin whispered loudly. Kiwi put the thought out of her mind. It still wasn’t enough. Not yet. She needed more. Just a tiny bit more energy.
The coils of power in her legs became thinner and thinner, then longer and longer. Her head throbbed painfully. She couldn’t remain conscious for much longer with so much raw mana flooding her body, but she’d learned these lessons well—she needed to gather more. She’d get only one shot at this and it had to count. It had to have all the power she could amass.
Her entire body now glowed. Pathways of light emitted from her hands, their light further illuminating the air. It was now or never.
Twinklebottom whispered, “They’re coming, Kiwi!”
Kiwi released her mana, pushing all the lines of power into her head at once, forcing them upward, timing their movements to coincide with one another.
Crack!
The iron collar snapped into two halves, each of which fell to the floor. She’d done it! The remaining mana continued its rush to her head. It wouldn’t do to waste the mana she'd already gathered.
Kiwi placed her hands on Mara’s forehead and muttered “Veerân Shokâ”. Light from the guard’s magic torch passed by the carriage as Kiwi’s healing spell took effect. The scrapes and cuts on the girl’s face vanished.
“Your collar came off!” said Fin, louder than he intended. He lowered his voice, “How did you do that?”
The guard passed beyond sight. Kiwi smiled in the darkness. “Just a technique I picked up.” She whispered to Mara, “How do you feel?”
“What did you do, big sister?” asked Mara.
“I healed you. It’s a simple spell. I could teach you to do that if you want, though it might take some time to learn the fundamentals.” Kiwi cocked her head. “Did you just call me big sister?”
Fin said, “She calls all of our elven friends either brother or sister. She never knew her family.”
Mara gasped. “You healed me? I… I can’t feel the cuts on my face. It doesn’t hurt anymore. No no no no no no… they’ll see! The masters will see the scars are gone. They’ll give me new ones.”
“They won’t see you, Mara. We’re escaping tonight.”
Fin looked worried. “Our last attempt didn’t work out so well. The slavers will use our collars to track us, and you said an alarm would go off if we left the camp.”
“Don’t worry, I have a plan. I’ll create a distraction. Once the guards are occupied, we’ll climb into Pan’s Portable Hole and escape.”
The guard made yet another round. This time Kiwi focused on him.
Benton (Level 44 Fighter)
Kiwi was only a level 28 healer, and her newfound friends were levels 1 and 2. A direct confrontation was out of the question.
Fin asked, “What kind of distraction did you have in mind?”
“I’ll show you.” Once the guard passed, she put her hands to the ground. Her eyes glowed as she muttered, “Absyna.” A brief glow of light emitted from where her hands touched the ground.
“What was that?” Fin asked.
“Nothing much. You know the campground spell, right?”
“Of course,” said Fin. “My father used them while we traveled together.”
“The humans invoked a disposable campground which cast a spell, preventing monsters from spawning while they slept. I just dismissed the spell.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means in about an hour or so, monsters will begin to attack. We just wait until the mist gathers.”
Mara asked, “Monsters? Isn’t that bad?”
Kiwi shook her head in a tight arc. “A monster attack is the perfect diversion for what I have in mind, and since it’s night, the mobs will be much more powerful than the guards are used to. When the mist monsters appear, we’ll climb into the portable hole and Trista can fly us away. They’ll be so busy fighting monsters, they won’t notice that we’ve escaped until it’s too late.”
