Pervikar

by John Evans

  "I wouldn't call it cooking," commented Gedda, which caused Cendri to turn around and glare at her.

  Per told them all of what had happened and what the ghost had said to him. Octavia, skipping over a couple of details, told everyone what she had seen and what the ghost had said to her. They were all silent for several minutes after she finished speaking.

  "May Zaius comfort her soul," intoned Karlto in a short prayer. "What do we do now?"

  "I don't know," said Per. "I think I'm safe in saying that we don't want to be subjugated to a nightly ritual of this."

  "You have that correct," said Octavia with Cendri and Gedda also nodding assent. "It's one thing to want to have sex and another to be forced to have it."

  "Then we had better get ready to leave," said Per. “But I want to get to the bottom of this first. Is there anywhere we didn’t search?”

  "We could check the basement before we go," suggested Gedda.

  "We've never searched the basement?" asked Per rhetorically. Everyone looked at everyone else and then they all shook their heads no.

  "It appears not, old boy," said Karlto. "At least, not beyond the first cursory look."

  "Okay, let’s have a look before we go," said Per.

  Chapter 16: Laying Old Ghosts To Rest

  The basement was cold and dark. As Karlto had pointed out earlier, it had a large wine cellar and several large rooms for storage. A search of the entire basement revealed nothing until Pawl noticed some scratches on the floor.

  "What do you think?" he asked as he pointed the scratches out to everyone.

  The scratches were circular and led from a blank wall to another wall where several large heavy barrels had been stacked up. The placement of the barrels looked odd to Per. They were cluttered in the center of the wall and stacked one on top of another haphazardly. As large and as heavy as the barrels were, it had taken a great deal of effort to stack them. The sloppy stacking was out of contrast with the tidy and neat order of the rest of the merchandise stored in the basement. As they approached the barrels, Per felt a great uneasiness about them as he walked closer to them.

  "I don't feel good about this," said Cendri, disgust clearly showing on her face.

  "I say, neither do I," commented Karlto.

  "Let's get out of here," said Gedda.

  "Hold on," ordered Pawl. "Everyone, back up."

  As Per moved back, the feeling went away. Pawl stood in front, facing the barrels. He moved his fingers in a pattern and muttered a few low words. A dim glow began at his fingertips and a corresponding glow appeared on one of the barrels, outlining a strange design. Pawl snorted and muttered some more words, while scattering some dust before him. The design brightened slightly before disappearing altogether.

  "A ward of revulsion," said Pawl, turning around to face the others. "A simple spell to keep people away. Someone doesn't want anyone tampering with those barrels."

  Per walked over and began rolling the barrels back to their original position. Everyone joined in and they soon uncovered a door in the wall. Per tried to knob and found that the door was locked.

  "Allow me," said Gedda, elbowing Per aside.

  She knelt down and pulled out a small set of tools. Using her picks and with a deft twist of the wrist, the lock clicked back in the door. Standing up, Gedda turned the doorknob and pushed the door open.

  The twelve-foot square room beyond the door was bare, except for the skeleton lying in the center of the room. It had been wearing what was once an expensive blue gown. The cause of death was immediately apparent - the rear of the skull was caved in.

  "I think we have found the mistress of the house," stated Pawl.

  "No one deserves to die like that," said Per. "I wish we could help her. Let's find something to put her remains in so we can take them back to town."

  "Why?" asked Gedda. "No one will disturb them here."

  "Except the killer," said Per. "If he comes here and finds out that we have discovered the body, he could get rid of it before we can come back with the authorities."

  "You know who did it, don't you?" asked Gedda. "Who is it?"

  "I think it was the magistrate's son, but I'm not certain," said Per. "I’m just going on what she wrote in her diary."

  They found a long wooden box that would hold her bones until they rode back to town. Karlto volunteered to pack up her remains as everyone else prepared to leave. Per had just finished packing when he heard someone run down the back staircase. Gedda burst breathlessly into the kitchen.

  "Someone is coming," she exclaimed. "I was upstairs and saw two riders coming this way in the distance."

  "How far away are they?" asked Per.

  "About an hour or more in this snow," replied Gedda.

  "Do we meet them or what?" asked Octavia.

  "With a body in the cellar?" commented Per. "I vote for prudence. Check out back and see if there is a place to hide us and the horses. Pawl, go with Octavia. We need to cover up the fact that we were here. The fire is already out. Cendri, go down and get Karlto. If he's ready, help him bring up the box. Otherwise, leave it there and close the door."

  He turned and grasped Gedda by the shoulders. "As for you, I want you to put back everything you have taken and in its proper place. I do mean everything, understand?"

  "Yes, sir," answered Gedda meekly.

  Octavia found a group of buildings that had obviously been used as servants’ quarters a couple of hundred yards away from the main house and all of the group's equipment was quickly moved there. The horses were also moved from the stable to an outbuilding. Per cleaned up the kitchen and left the door open to chill the room, then he and Pawl then went upstairs.

  The riders were closer and easily seen in the afternoon sun. Per had not realized how late in the day it was. Due to the heavy winter clothing the riders were wearing, Per could not make out their features, but he was certain one was a man and the other a woman. He motioned to Pawl that they should leave.

  "One second, Per," said Pawl as they exited the room.

  Pawl picked up a pinch of dust and blew on it as he rubbed it between his fingers. A fine settling of dust appeared in the room, covering their footprints.

  "It's a minor cantrip, the reverse of the one I use to clean my room," he said. "I never thought I'd be using it to hide my footprints."

  As they left the manor, Pawl dusted down all the rooms behind them. Per closed the kitchen door and used a branch to sweep their prints from the snow. They met the others in the small building that used to belong to the gardener. The smell of herbs and spices reminded Per of his mother's farm.

  "Do you think they will notice we’ve been here?" Cendri asked Octavia.

  "Possibly, but it is getting dark. They may not notice anything." Octavia turned to Per. "Did you see who they are?"

  "No," answered Per. "They were too bundled up, but I think it's a man and a woman."

  "A woman!" exclaimed Cendri. "She might not know of the ghost. We have to warn her."

  "I'm going to sneak back in shortly," said Per. "Once I know who they are and what they are doing here, I'll tell them of the ghost. If it is safe."

  "Per, you're not much of one for sneaking around," replied Gedda. "Why don't you let me go in and find out who they are?"

  Per gave her a sharp look. "And what will you do when the ghost takes over your body?"

  "Uh, sorry, didn't think about that."

  "No, I'm sorry," apologized Per. "I'm liking this situation less and less with each passing minute. I'm praying that the ghost is confined to the house and won't come here."

  "I'll go with you, old boy," said Karlto. "Zaius granted me a silence spell for my prayers. We can be seen, but we won't be heard."

  "Sounds good," said Per. "As long as we don't accidentally silence the people we are going to watch."

  "Good point," said Karlto. "I'll try to keep it in mind, while we are inside."

  Per left his armor and shield behind, taking only his sword, Dorgeth,
but Octavia stopped him before he could leave. “Be careful," she warned him. "If she paralyzes you again, you'll be at the mercy of whoever is in the house. If you come back and find Pawl dead with a smile on his face, you'll know she was here."

  Per chuckled and squeezed Octavia's arm. "We'll be back," he assured her. "We can't let Pawl have all the fun."

  Per and Karlto trudged through the snow to the back door. Candlelight flickered behind the windows of several rooms and two chimneys had smoke coming out of them.

  "Let's try the spell here," whispered Per.

  Karlto nodded and closed his eyes. He made a couple simple gestures with his hands and something dropped from his palm. Then turned and whispered to Per who heard nothing. Per whispered back, then talked normally and then yelled. His actions all resulted in an eerie silence around the two of them. Per nodded and they went in through the back door.

  The kitchen was dark and Per could see light peeking out from under the door leading to the dining room. He tapped Karlto on the shoulder and pointed towards the back staircase. They went up the stairs and crossed the second floor to where the front staircase led down to the foyer. From this location, Per could hear the two people perfectly.

  "I'll say it again, Erik, this is enchanting," came a woman's voice from downstairs.

  "A little bit removed for my tastes, Fiona, but it does have its charm." The man's voice was cultured with precise diction. "Luckily, I get to oversee the property for the owner while she is away."

  "And the owner is...?" asked Fiona.

  "Her portrait is in your bedroom," replied Erik. "She left to go to her husband's grand estate, but she can not part with this, her old ancestral home."

  "Your father must be very proud of you managing such a large estate," said Fiona. "Will you be following in his footsteps as magistrate?"

  Per and Karlto both looked at each other. Per now knew that Erik was the magistrate's son and was convinced that he had killed the lady who owned this manor.

  "Well, my dear, it is getting late," they heard Erik say. "We have a long journey back to town tomorrow, so we should get to bed. Please bolt your door. We are far from civilization and would feel better knowing you are safe."

  "Oh, Erik," chided Fiona jokingly. "If it makes you feel better, I'll do it."

  Per motioned Karlto back and the two of them ran noiselessly into a spare room where they could see the doorway to the master bedroom. Erik and Fiona came up the stairs and Per got his first look at the two of them.

  Erik was a tall, thin man in his early twenties, with a handsome face and a shock of curly brown hair. He was richly dressed in velvet with an expensive dagger by his side. Fiona was a young woman around eighteen with long honey-blond hair. Her black gown showed off her hourglass figure without being vulgar or cheap. Erik kissed her hand before she went into the master bedroom. A loud clink reverberated down the hall as Fiona threw the bolt on the door.

  Per watched as Erik sat down in a chair just outside the master bedroom. It appeared that he was waiting for something and Per had a strong guess as to what that was. It was only a short while later before Per heard the bolt being thrown back and Fiona came out of the bedroom stark naked.

  "Well, my dear, right on time," said Erik.

  "Erik, please, remove the curse," pleaded Fiona. "Let this woman go."

  "Why?" asked Erik. "She means nothing to me. You are the only one I cared about. The only one I loved, but you cared nothing for anyone, except to use them and discard them as you will. No man was good enough for you when you were alive. Now, any man will fill your needs. You know, the next time I come here I think I try hunting. Of course, I'll have to bring my hounds with me."

  "I could kill you!" snarled Fiona, her body shaking as the ghost inside her fought against the curse.

  "Of course you could," replied Erik nonplussed. "Then your niece - what is she, fourteen? - would be brought here by ten of my men to collect her inheritance within four or five days. Imagine what would happen that night. If you did not wish to witness it, you could leave her body after the first one and let her deal with the other nine alone."

  Per started forward ready to cleave Erik's head from his body. Only Karlto grabbing his arm and shaking his head no stopped Per. He blew out a silent breath and settled back down.

  "Erik! Please! Please, fuck me now!" pleaded Fiona, her body shaking. Her breasts quivered in unbridled lust as she reached between her legs and started rubbing her wet cunt. "I need your cock. Fuck me. Please, fuck me!"

  "What a charming invitation," sneered Erik, smiling cruelly. "I believe Fiona is a virgin. You get to lose your maidenhood again. Think of how lucky you are. You have gotten not only to lose your virginity once, but several times. No other woman on earth can say that."

  Erik led Fiona back into the bedroom. Per could see that her inner thighs were shiny from her juices. After Erik closed the door, Per touched Karlto and they headed towards the back stairs. As they reached the head of the stairs, they heard Fiona cry out in both pleasure and pain. Per was fuming by the time they returned to the others.

  "What happened?" asked Octavia, not liking the expression on either man's face.

  "Why did you stop me?" Per asked Karlto angrily, ignoring Octavia's question.

  "Because you would have killed him, old boy," said Karlto sadly. "He deserves to die, but if you had killed him, then she would have still been in that woman's body. With the curse, that would have left either you or me or both to satisfy her. I'm not sure what would have happened then."

  "What did happen?" asked Octavia again.

  Per told them everything that had happened in the manor house. The general consensus when he had finished was that killing was too good for Erik.

  "Karlto was right," admitted Per. "The ghost with her curse would still have been here. Karlto and I would probably be paralyzed on the floor and the ghost's niece would have been brought here to be possessed by the ghost and all that that entails."

  "The curse may be broken," said Pawl hesitantly. "Per, when you fought against Cendri, you said the ghost almost separated from her. That may be the key."

  "What do you mean?" asked Karlto.

  "I don't know if it will work, but if someone can reject and hold out against the ghost, she may be driven out of the person's body and the curse broken," said Pawl.

  "In other words, one of us women has to go into the house, get possessed and then one of you stalwart men have to fight off our advances, right?" asked Octavia.

  "Uh, yeah," murmured Pawl.

  "Not possible," said Per. “She'll just zap the man stiff as a board and have her way with him. It won't work."

  "It could work," said Gedda pondering over the issue.

  "How?" came the question from several people at once.

  "The problem is keeping the male and female apart. Just confine her so she can't get at him and he can't get at her."

  "It might not break the curse if they are both confined," said Pawl. "But, if she is accessible to him, his rejection may still be valid."

  "Whoa! Hold on!" cried out Per. "I hear a lot of ‘ifs' and ‘maybes' in this. Pawl, are you certain that this will break the curse?"

  Pawl grimaced. "No, I'm not certain. It's all based on what happened when you tried to fight off the ghost in Cendri. We have to get a man and a woman in the same room, tie her up so she can't paralyze him and he has to reject all offers and proposals she makes. I believe that this will force the ghost out of her body and break the curse."

  "But if she is forced to leave the woman's body, what would prevent her from coming here and possessing another body?" asked Per. "We don't know the range which the ghost can travel."

  "That could happen," admitted Octavia. "You will have to tie up all three of us in the same room."

  "How'd I get roped into this?" yipped Gedda.

  "We can't do this," exclaimed Per. "It's too dangerous."

  "I agree," chimed in Gedda. "It could turn on us like a mad dog."
>
  "You're absolutely right," agreed Octavia, "but if we don't break the curse, who will? Do we leave the ghost to prey on unsuspecting travelers like ourselves? What do we do about Erik and the niece? No one will be closer to a solution than we are now."

  Per knew that Octavia was right, but he still did not like it. "Gedda?" he asked.

  "I see no profit in this at all," she said sourly. "This noble shit is for the birds. However, if I don't do it, Cendri will bash me on the head and tie me to a chair. I guess I'm in."

  "Cendri?" asked Per.

  "You don't have to ask," she replied.

  Octavia nodded her head affirmatively when Per looked towards her. He sighed in resignation. "Alright, who's the patsy who's going to stay in the same room with them?"

  "I volunteer," said Karlto with a flourish. "As a priest of Zaius, I believe I have the conviction and fortitude required for this endeavor."

  "Oh, Karlto," said Octavia sweetly as she snuggled up to him. She pressed her large breasts against his chest and placed her arms around his neck. She then leaned close and whispered in his ear. Karlto's expression changed from surprise to open astonishment to utter delight as she whispered in his ear. Octavia finished what she had to say and leaned back to smile up into his eyes.

  Karlto smiled back, his face full of hope and delight. "My dear, I'd love to," he said.

  Octavia let go of his neck and patted Karlto on the cheek. "You lose."

  "Oh, damn!" cursed Karlto. He turned to Pawl and Per. "It'll have to be one of you two chaps. It appears that I am too susceptible to Octavia's charms."

  "Per, as much as I would like to, I think your strength would be better here," said Pawl.

  "It's going to be more of a test of wills than a test of strength," stated Per.

  "Don't forget character," added Pawl. "Ladies, I think you should decide between the three of us."

  "I'm out, old boy," said Karlto. "Octavia knows how to push my buttons too well. She knows how lecherous I really am."

  "Then I'm out, too," said Pawl. "Remember how you found me with the Burgassi and why?"