837 - Foot in the Door
It was all Nenet could do not to scream as she came face-to-face with Grisela.
Her entire body locked up in terror as her sister’s eyes stared into her own, memories of all the pain she’d suffered at the winter hag’s misshapen hands flooding her mind. In that moment she wasn’t a full gynosphinx anymore; she was a small, weak creature that couldn’t do anything except whimper and beg for mercy despite knowing that she wouldn’t receive any.
Nenet! What’s happening?!
No one would come to help her. No one would even tell Grisela to stop. They’d only remind her not to inflict any fatal wounds, because the pathetic creature she was torturing needed to be alive to serve as Mother’s spellbook. That was the only reason her life had any value.
Answer me! What’s your situation?!
There was no way to fight back. Nowhere that she could run. No hope in even defending herself. She couldn’t even hope that it would eventually stop, because it never would. Grisela would always be there to torment her, again and again and again, and even wishing for an end to it was more than she-
NENET! RESPOND! NOW!!!
Her master’s psychic scream caused the sphinx to gasp, jarred out of her panic and despair. M-Master! It’s Grisela! She-
That was when she noticed the dim aura clinging to the winter hag. With its wispy appearance and muted coloration, Nenet distantly realized that she was looking into the magical spectrum – belatedly remembering that she was using that and normal vision simultaneously now – and that the aura she was seeing was one that she’d glimpsed before...
It’s a puppet, she realized, suddenly aware of how the Grisela in front of her was standing absolutely motionless, not twitching, blinking, or even breathing. I thought...I thought it was the real thing...
Has it spotted you?
Swallowing, Nenet took a slow step to the side, every muscle tense as she waited for the effigy of her sister to follow her. But the puppet remained still, acting as though it was totally unaware of her. Taking a moment to steady her breathing, Nenet bent down and scooped up a rock, her paw trembling as she lifted the stone and threw it a short distance.
It landed with a soft thump in a snowbank, and sure enough Grisela’s puppet slowly turned its head in that direction, staring at the small indentation in the snow. Nenet could feel her heart thumping in her chest as she waited. Finally, the simulacrum turned back, staring out at the woods from its place just inside the protective illusion, resuming its silent vigil.
No, she answered at last. She didn’t-, I mean, it didn’t see me.
All at once, she could feel her composure crumbling, the sudden release of tension bringing with it a horrible sense of helplessness rather than the relief she’d been expecting. Her stomach heaved, the world spun, and Nenet couldn’t bring herself to stay there a second longer, wings flapping as she took off.
She just managed to reach a stone outcropping a few dozen feet away when the last of her self-control failed, leaving her struggling not to throw up as she started to sob. I’m sorry! she whimpered, her voice thick with anguish even in her thoughts. She didn’t know why she was apologizing, but at the moment it was all she could think to do. I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!
Calm down.
Unable to help but register that as criticism, Nenet flinched. I can’t!
Her admission brought with it a renewed sense of self-loathing. She had just been declaring that she’d absolutely succeed in recovering her master’s spine, yet now she was completely falling apart, despite all of the power he’d given her. I hate that I’m so useless, she moaned inwardly. I thought maybe I could be like Solvei, someone strong and brave that you could depend on, but I’m not...and I never will be...
But Lex’s reaction wasn’t what she expected, a derisive snort coming across their collection. When I first met Solvei, she had neither strength nor bravery.
That was enough to make Nenet blink, sniffling. Really?
The first time I met her, she had attacked a companion of mine. I subdued her, and she wept and pleaded to be released. Then, after I let her go, she begged me to help her save her family.
I had no idea, replied Nenet meekly, finding what Lex was saying difficult to imagine. Her master’s original servant had been a powerful fighter the first time Nenet had seen her, easily dispatching Blat before moving on to engage Grisela without the least bit of fear. It had taken Sissel herself to put her down, and even then Lex had brought her back, more powerful and completely unafraid of having a rematch with the one who’d killed her.
The idea that someone like that had once been like her was strangely comforting.
Describe your surroundings, demanded Lex abruptly.
Thrown off-kilter for a second time, Nenet couldn’t help a moment’s confusion. Huh?
I can’t see through your eyes now, Lex reminded her. Tell me the layout of the place. What do the structures look like? How many of Grisela’s puppets are there? Is there anyone else around? Describe it to me.
Taking a moment to collect herself, Nenet glanced around, not that she needed to; she’d been born here, never having known anywhere else. There aren’t many buildings. It’s mostly just a few simple two-story fortifications made out of stone and wood, set up at either end of the vale to watch for trespassers, and a few more on the mountainside to keep watch for flying intruders. Everything else is in the part of the mountain that Mother hollowed out.
Are the fortifications occupied?
No. I mean, two have Grisela’s puppets on them, but the rest are just standing around, not using the forts. Anticipating his next question, she quickly counted them up. There’s eight of them that I can see, but they’re not doing anything. I think they’re lesser puppets, the kind Grisela would make when she didn’t have much time, since they should have seen through my invisibility. She hated doing that; she always considered making those to be an art. I think she only left these behind to guard the place because of how fast Sissel rushed us out of here to intercept you...
She winced for a moment, remembering the first time she’d seen Lex, and she was midway through reminding herself that Solvei had also started out as his enemy when a glimpse of motion caught her eyes. Oh, and there’s two astradaemons guarding the place also, but-
What?! This time his voice was the one that was full of alarm. Nenet, get out of there! Those are high-ranking daemons! They can rip your soul out without having to kill you first!
Master, it’s okay! They’re only guarding against ethereal intruders!
...what?
Nenet paused, watching as the shadowy forms of the astradaemons flew by. They were terrifying to look at, having bodies were vaguely humanoid in shape, and as tall as Sissel, but were horrifically gaunt. Their skin looked as though it were composed of semi-solid oil, ripples running across it, and Nenet knew from her studies that those were the remaining fragments of the souls they’d consumed. Long claws extended from each of their four limbs, and a cluster of tentacles sprouted from between their shoulder blades, all of them twitching and writhing independently of each other, much like the long tail that trailed behind them.
But it was their faces that were the most unnerving. Their heads were vaguely eel-like in shape, having eyes that were solid red and jaws that were composed of multiple mandibles. Their teeth were angled slightly outward, protruding past their faces in a way that made it clear that they were predators of the worst kind.
Fortunately, Nenet knew that they were no threat to her.
Mother couldn’t afford to keep such powerful daemons as mercenaries, so she made a different arrangement with them. Since her wards don’t extend onto the Ethereal Plane, she has them stay in that dimension and patrol the area from there. They’ll devour the souls of anyone approaching ethereally, but they won’t do anything about anyone who comes near here on the Material Plane.
You’re certain of that? asked Lex, and Nenet could hear the tension in his mental voice. Absolutely certain?
The reminder that he was worried about her, that her humiliating breakdown hadn’t ruined his faith in her, was enough to make the corner’s of Nenet’s lips turn upward ever so slightly, feeling less wretched. Yes, I am.
Her statement was punctuated by the two astradaemons plunging into the mountainside, passing through the solid rock as though they were ghosts...which in a way, they were.
The Ethereal Plane was the immaterial counterpart to the physical world. The realm of ghosts and specters – as well as other creatures that had developed special means of navigating the non-physical space that composed that dimension – it overlapped with the Material Plane, allowing such creatures to observe the mortal realm without being able to touch it. But that wouldn’t be any sort of barrier to astradaemons, Nenet knew; those creatures could cross planar boundaries with a thought.
Fortunately, they were as selfish and spiteful as the rest of their kind. The terms of Mother’s deal made it very clear that they weren’t expected to do anything that involved the Material Plane. An army could have been laying waste to the place, and they wouldn’t have done a thing to help. As it was, the only reason she could even see them – since the Ethereal Plane was normally beyond what the naked eye could see – was because her gynosphinx evolution that Lex had drawn out of her conferred the power to spot invisible creatures, including those that were ethereal.
If something changed and the astradaemons did decide to get involved, she’d at least be able to see them coming.
Alright, answered Lex at last. Where is your mother likely to be now?
Inside the mountain, replied Nenet without hesitation. She made a suite of rooms all for herself in the deepest part of it. It’s the most secure part of the entire place. If she’s using her magic on your spine, that’s where she’ll be.
Then you know where you need to go.
Swallowing, Nenet nodded. Yes, Master.
It was only then that she realized that her panic attack was already ending. She’d been so distracted by what her master had said about Solvei – along with her describing the terrain to him, and then explain the situation with the astradaemons – that she’d forgotten how unnerved she’d been at running into an image of her tormentor. Already, her nausea was gone, and her breathing had returned to normal, her heart no longer pounding against her ribcage.
Had Lex done that on purpose, having her talk about other things so that she’d have a chance to calm down?
Reason said that was unlikely, but Nenet still felt another rush of gratitude toward him.
Kara’s influence or not, the sensation was wonderfully addictive, and Nenet couldn’t help but close her eyes and rejoice in it before reminding herself that she had a job to do. Master, I’m going to start heading in. I’ll try not to contact you again unless something happens.
Just remember what I said about exercising caution.
Smiling, Nenet hugged Belligerence to her chest. I will. And Master...thank you.
His only reply was a grunt of acknowledgment, and then he fell silent.
Wasting another few seconds to indulge in the fleeting remnants of the warm feeling going through her, Nenet let out a slow breath. Her invisibility spell only had a duration of a few minutes, and while it was able to fool Grisela’s automatons, Nenet had no doubt that Mother herself would immediately see her.
But right now, her biggest concern was making sure that Mother hadn’t summoned any other reinforcements to deter any possible interruptions while she worked. Fortunately, Nenet had a plan to run at least some minor reconnaissance; unfortunately, putting into practice would use up most of her invisibility spell’s duration.
Deciding that it was a worthwhile tradeoff, Nenet closed her eyes as she concentrated, calling up the magical formula that was her birthright as a gynosphinx. Now that she was inside Mother’s wards, a scrying spell should be able to work normally, and while Nenet had no doubt that Mother herself would notice any attempt to spy on her, the rest of the mountain complex wouldn’t be protected.
Slowly, after several minutes of piecing together the necessary magical instructions, an image appeared in consciousness, her clairvoyance spell taking shape.
And she was looking at the main juncture of the mountain’s interior, halfway between Grisela and Sissel’s rooms. If there was anyone patrolling the interior of the place, they’d have to pass through there eventually.
But as Nenet concentrated, rotating the immobile scrying sensor in a full circle, she couldn’t see anyone.
Of course, that didn’t mean anything. The sensor for this spell was fairly weak, and couldn’t transmit magical means of vision, so an invisible enemy would have been overlooked. But the sensor also had an audial component, and she couldn’t hear anything – not even the faintest of footsteps – no matter how hard she listened.
Opening her eyes, Nenet knew she had to get moving. In a few minutes she’d become visible again, and it was likely that Grisela’s puppets would move to attack her when she did. While Nenet suspected that she could likely win – lesser puppets were inferior to their greater counterparts in every way, and those were themselves less powerful than Grisela had been in reality – it wasn’t a prospect that she relished.
Flapping her wings, Nenet quickly made her way to the cave entrance. Looking inside, she quirked a brow at the sight of the unworked stone that made up the walls and ground.
Mother hadn’t restored the illusions that made the place seem like an opulent mansion.
That was unusual for her. Mother had luxurious tastes, ranging from a parade of exotic lovers – all of whom were killed and their souls given to the daemons once she was done with them – to delectable food and drink, and she indulged her appetites whenever possible. When it wasn’t possible, however, she had no compunctions about using her magic to make up the difference as much as she could.
Under Mother’s power, the rough-hewn walls of the mountain fastness had appeared more like an elegant castle, with carved friezes and bas-reliefs, bedecked in thick carpets and colorful tapestries depicting Mother in beautiful outfits. The dank and stale air had smelled fresh and lightly scented, as though bouquets of flowers had been planted nearby. It had even felt warmer, the temperature rising to a comfortable level compared to the chill that now permeated the caverns.
She’s either incredibly depleted, or in a serious rush to finish making that artifact now that she has Hvitdod’s curse, Nenet decided. Or both.
It was a heartening sign, but she didn’t let that make her careless as she crept inside, ears perked and making sure to look around carefully for magical auras, noting with a grimace that her invisibility spell had just worn off.
And yet, as Nenet crept deeper into the complex, there was no one around to spot her.
Pausing as she came to the intersection where she’d set her scrying sensor, Nenet let the clairvoyance spell fade. She may not have anyone else here, but I’m still going to have to get out once I recover Master’s vertebrae, she sighed inwardly, knowing that the lack of guards had made her task only slightly easier. Which means that I need to prepare as much as I can now, while I still have time.
Licking her lips, she awkwardly stood up on her hind legs, wobbling as she cradled Belligerence in her front paws.
Scrying wasn’t the only inherent magic her new body gave her. Another one was the ability to prepare a magical symbol that could incapacitate anyone who came within its range. But she still had to draw the symbol, and while Nenet had no doubt that Belligerence was more than capable of scratching the necessary glyphs into the stone floor, she wasn’t sure she could manipulate it well enough to draw them.
I should stop being afraid and just use the telekinesis Master gave me, she scolded herself, unable to help but glance around. Despite how empty the caverns seemed, Nenet couldn’t help but imagine that the flow of her telekinetic aura would bring someone running. I just wish I had hands! she sighed inwardly. Solvei was a winter wolf the first time I saw her, but then Master made her into an adlet. If only he’d given me the power to-
“Hngh!”
The groan that escaped Nenet’s mouth then was one of shock, as her point of view and center of balance both shifted at once.
Tumbling, she barely managed to avoid impaling herself on Belligerence as she collapsed, landing hard on her chest. “Ow,” she muttered, pushing herself upright, one hand coming up to rub her aching...
Wait.
One hand...?
Gasping, Nenet stared at the slim, furless fingers in front of her face. Her heart pounding, she glanced backward; sure enough, instead of the tawny coat and large wings, all she saw was a smooth, skin-covered back leading to the curves of her rear end, with only her Master’s mark upon her hips to showcase that she was the same sphinx as before.
But all of that mattered less to her than the fact that her tail was gone, leaving her staring in wonder as she wiggled her backside and felt nothing there.
She had become a human.
Had she not been well-versed in sphinx lore from the books that Mother had collected, Nenet might have panicked. Instead, it was awe that flowed through her mind then. This...this is the Two Feet at Noon technique! This is supposed to be something that only the most learned of sphinxes can do! Slowly, she stood up, having to struggle to keep her footing; between her rear counterbalance being gone, and how top-heavy her bipedal form was, it took her several moments to right herself.
Master, how powerful did you make me? she giggled excitedly, barely able to keep from accidentally transmitting that thought to him. I wonder...
Concentrating, Nenet bent her thoughts toward what else she knew about this power...namely, that it had an even more advanced version...
A second later, she felt her weight shift backward, barely managing to catch herself as she stumbled. Even before she glanced over her shoulder, she could see that her wings were back, as was the bronze fur that now covered her humanoid form. She still had fingers, but her feline form’s retractable claws now protruded from their tips. Even her tail, in all its ugliness, had returned, but for once Nenet couldn’t bring herself to be upset.
Three Feet in the Evening! she whooped inwardly. The humanoid-sphinx technique! I can’t believe I can do both! It’s supposed to take centuries to learn these!
Giggling more, she couldn’t help but jump up and down, almost falling over again from how that made her chest jiggle. I really am just like Solvei now! I bet she’ll be so happy for me! Master too!
The thought of Lex brought a smile to her lips, and Nenet quickly fumbled with Belligerence, marveling at how dexterous her new fingers were. Quickly carving the glyph into the intersection, she nodded, inordinately pleased with herself as she started down the hallway toward Mother’s suite.
She was so thrilled that she didn’t see the figure step out from an alcove behind her until it was too late.
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One should never fool around when in a dangerous place but given Nenet's lack of experience and new form and powers, I can't exactly blame her. Too bad this one might just cost her...fingers crossed on the outcome.
If forms are aquired through advancement in age, does the stats correspond to that form also, split between innate base stats and abilities in roll up, and those that can be learned and selected from the lists conciously?
Someone detected the Scry and decided to see what or who was casting it?
11605055 Nenet's careening wildly between euphoria and crippling self-doubt is perhaps inevitable, given that she's been severely abused up until now, and so doesn't have much in the way of coping skills. As Solvei/Akna recently pointed out, both of her lives prior to meeting Lex involved some form of combat training (and were relatively happy, until recent events saw misfortune fall both of them), so she's capable of reacting well in a crisis. Nenet...not so much.
Let's just hope that she's able to handle whatever's about to happen.
11605201 There's a long and insightful discussion to be had, with regard to monsters in the d20 System in general and sphinxes in particular, about the intersection of developing bio-magical powers with age and growth along with experience and skill, as well as how certain creatures undergo senescence as they age while select others only ever seem to continue on an upward trajectory (relating to a post I wrote on my other blog recently about dragons, and which is also salient to sphinxes if you look at the implications of the elder sphinx monster entry)...but that will have to be a discussion for another time, since it could potentially involve spoilers for future chapters.
As for who's approaching Nenet and how they were able to get the drop on her...I suspect we'll find out very soon.