ACCUSATIONS AND GUILT

The sun streamed through the window, waking Esmerelda up. She stretched luxuriously, like a cat, and rolled to one side, seeing the sleeping form of the man beside her. He was tall, well built, with blond hair and clear skin. She smiled wickedly. He had been most satisfying-in more ways than one.

She idly played with his chest hair and thought about him. Leodoric Athanson, noted paladin of the All-Father, so easily swayed to her will. It was so enjoyable, taking these overstuffed fools down a peg or two. In the end, all his faith, piety, and power were nothing when it came to his gonads. Last night he had been her slave. She wondered just exactly what she could have made him do.

Leodoric snorted, and then was awake. He looked at the beautiful woman next to him in bed, with long dark hair and predatory eyes. Comprehension then flooded into his mind. With a shudder, he squirmed out of her bed.

"Going somewhere?" she asked, somewhat rhetorically.

After a few moments of looking around for his clothing, he asked, "Madam….. Where are my clothes?"

She adopted a hurtful, pouting look. "Why, don’t you remember?" She then grinned evilly. "You threw them on the divan in the other room."

Looking relieved, her left her and went into the outer room. Esmerelda chuckled, pulled herself out of bed, and threw on a light dressing gown. She followed him into her outer room, her hips swaying. When she caught up with him, he was half-dressed, pulling his tunic on over his pants. Idly, she sauntered up to him, lightly running her hand over his shoulder. "You don’t have to leave."

With his clothes on, he had gained some composure. "Madam, what happened last night was a mistake. Apparently, I was not myself."

Esmerelda’s grin stretched even further. "I’ll say. For someone who has been praising the benefits of chastity, you certainly weren’t lacking in desire last night."

Leodoric’s spine straightened. He turned around and faced her. "One might wonder, madam, if the reason I was not myself might have something to do with you. You are a sorceress, are you not?"

Esmerelda raised her eyebrows. "Indeed. But as to my magic, let’s just say that whatever happened, the only magic involved was that between a man and a woman."

"Still."

She was incredulous with this paladin’s hypocrisy. "Tell me, are you so afraid to admit you’re human?"

He stared hard at her. "That’s not the point." He reached down, buckled his belt and stormed to the front door. She followed.

He opened the door and went out into the street. As he walked away, he noticed the stares of several townspeople once he was recognized and where he was coming from was also. Esmerelda’s laughter followed him for bit. Face red, he strode briskly away, toward the temple.

Esmerelda finally stopped laughing. She shut the door, locked it, and went back into the bedroom. She banished all thought of Leodoric and settled on the bed. She had things to do today, and wanted to get started.

After getting dressed and eating breakfast, she thumbed through the books on her shelf. Grunting, she pulled out a heavy book bound in brass with a fanciful dragon embossed on the cover. This particular grimoire, plundered from the tomb of the lich-king Solinas, was giving her trouble. The language it had been written in was hundreds of years old, and had resisted any of her attempts to translate it magically. She’d be going to the mage’s guild in the city to hopefully find another book with a similar language so she could work it out. She carefully placed the ancient tome in a knapsack, and after grabbing her staff, left for the mage’s guild.

Some time later, she was sure she’d made a discovery. The language in the grimoire was the same as in an old herb-lore book she’d found in the guild library, one which had been cross-referenced with a trade language commonly used, and that she knew. She began the methodical process of converting the book word for word when she heard a knock on the door to her workroom. Puzzled, she got up and opened the door. A young page of the guild was there, holding a parchment and looking a bit flustered. "Lady Esmerelda?" he asked, somewhat hesitantly.

"Yes." She answered.

"By order of the holy church of the All-Father," he began, reading off the parchment, "You are to report there at once to answer charges against one of the clergy." He swallowed. "Failure to do so will result in you being declared outlaw, and therefore hunted by the church."

Esmerelda was livid. She knew exactly who was responsible for this, and by the gods, he’s answer for it. "Is there an escort outside?"

"Yes, ma’am," he answered, his voice breaking.

"Good. Tell them I’ll be down directly." She then shut the door.

Wrathful and thinking of every single curse she could cast, she put away her notes and the grimoire, and then took the herb-lore book back to the library, making a note of where it was. She then went downstairs, not quickly, just slow enough to show her utter contempt.

Esmerelda wasn’t the only one who was angry, it seemed. The doorman for the guild, a huge sorcerer called Jonder, stood like a bulwark against the intruders, which in this case was a pair of priests from the Church of the All-Father. She tapped him on the shoulder and her turned around to face her.

"Relax, Jonder," she said, "The good priests won’t be coming in. I’ll be going with them."

He didn’t change expression. "Indeed. If you need the guild’s assistance, madam, just call."

"That shouldn’t be necessary." She walked down the steps, then turned around in front of the priests, "After all, I know exactly what this is about."

Jonder gave a nasty grin. He then closed the door.

With deliberate carelessness, Esmerelda turned around and faced the clerics. "Well, gentlemen, LEAD THE WAY!"

Without ceremony or many words, the two priests led Esmerelda to the church of the All-Father. Even with the anger she felt, she had to admit that the temple was an impressive one – white marble inlaid with platinum. It was one of the more remarkable sights of the city.

She was escorted inside, away from the main areas of worship, to the administrative and residential areas of the temple. She was brought before Pelldiar Stormraven, the high priest of the temple. Pellidar was an old, wrinkled man in his sixties, but looked pretty spry still. He was sitting in a chair, reviewing a document when they approached.

They stopped in front of him. One of the priests who had escorted her to the temple approached. "Your grace, here is the sorceress Esmerelda."

Pellidar looked up. He took note of her, and then went back to his parchment. "Leave us."

The two priests bowed and left leaving Esmerelda alone with Pellidar.

After a minute, he looked up. "You’re a brave one. You came with the priests and you’re not panicking."

Esmerelda put he hands on her hips. "And why should I? I’ve done nothing wrong."

"That remains to be seen."

Before she could answer, other people entered. She recognized Leodoric, wearing white penitent robes, followed by another priest. He came up, stood next to Esmerelda, and knelt to the high priest. "Your grace, I have come to plead my case."

No one noticed the sour look on Esmerelda’s face. Pellidar said, "Rise, and speak."

He rose, and spoke. "Your grace, for some time now, I have been preaching the virtues of chastity and obedience to the rule. Last night, for what reason I cannot comprehend, this vile enchantress did use her arts to seduce me, and make me abandon my vows. That is why I have come to you."

Esmerelda was faintly surprised. While much of what he had said was in debate, he was also speaking the truth. She had seduced him, both for her own pleasure and to humiliate him. Suddenly, her conscience, a thing she thought she’d all but abandoned, spoke to her.

Pellidar addressed her. "And what do you have to say, woman?"

She exhaled. "I deny using magic on him. I did, however, seduce him. I admit that."

Pellidar paused for a minute, than spoke again. "The All-father’s wisdom reveals all. Both Leodoric and Esmerelda are guilty of minor crimes. Leodoric, you are guilty of abandoning your vows and of pride. Esmerelda, you are guilty of enticement against the will of the person."

"But I didn’t use magic on him!" She protested.

"I didn’t say you did. But you and I both know that magic is not necessary to bring about the desires of the flesh."

Esmerelda gritted her teeth but said nothing.

"Both of you," the high priest continued, "have done little in the way of actual crimes. No punishment by this church will be meted out. But, we would require a service by Leodoric, and should she volunteer to aid him, Esmerelda’s name will be cleared as well."

"And just what am I volunteering for?"

In response, the high priest gave her a roll of parchment. She unrolled it, and found a map. "Somewhere in the crypts of the temple is a presence. So far, it has resisted the attempts of the clergy to deal with it, so we need someone to go into the crypt, find out what it is, and deal with it."

Esmerelda rerolled the parchment and gave it to Leodoric. "All right. Meet me at the crypt entrance in an hour." Before anyone else could speak, she left.

* * * * *

One hour later, armed with a few things she used when adventuring, Esmerelda met Leodoric at the entrance to the tomb. He looked different in his armor, like bastion against evil. There was little of the man she had seduced last night.

He said nothing until she was next to him. "Are you ready, madam?" he asked formally. Esmerelda nodded. He opened the door to the crypt and went in first. She followed.

Before the door could shut behind them, Esmerelda reached into a belt pouch and brought forth a stone with a chain attached. She took the stone in one hand and cast a spell on it. When she took the chain and let the stone free, it was glowing with light, bright enough to illuminate the area. The paladin nodded approvingly, and set forth.

He carried the map, and they both used it frequently to check directions. The crypt seemed to be built with each room apparently designed like an afterthought. They continued for about an hour, going through all the many rooms and occasionally backtracking. At last, they found themselves in the section of the crypt that supposedly haunted. They slowed their pace and looked around, Esmerelda using her glowing stone like a torch.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a voice rang out. "Begone, intruders! Do not dare disturb the wrath of Halkon!"

Leodoric was slightly taken aback, but Esmerelda, who adventured off and on for several years, reacted quickly. She gave the glowing stone to the paladin, and cast a spell, looking around carefully. After a few minutes, she whispered, "Whatever is in here, isn’t magical. My spell revealed nothing in the area."

Leodoric grimaced. "Then we are dealing with a living thing, one that hopes to fool intruders. Follow me." He drew his sword and advanced. Esmerelda followed, pulling a wand from its sheath.

As they rounded a corner, the voice came again, "I bid thee begone, lest you feel the wrath of the spirits!"

Both stopped and looked around, but the gloom hid their quarry. After a few minutes, they continued.

Suddenly, the voice rang out again, this time much closer. "Die, human scum!"

They both turned, and saw something charging them. It looked sort of like a deer, but much larger, with no horns and a face like a monster. It was black as the shadows around them. Esmerelda recognized it immediately. A leucrotta.

Whatever his failings were, Leodoric was a capable fighter. He immediately met the charge of the leucrotta, bringing his sword up. He struck, his blade biting deep. The leucrotta screamed in its eerily human voice, and slammed both front hooves into the paladin, who staggered back.

Esmerelda wasted no time. She hastily cast a spell, throwing a bolt of lighting at the creature. That succeeded in driving it back.

Leodoric got his balance and advanced. The leucrotta continued to back up, occasionally looking for another route of escape. Esmerelda cast another spell, creating a mass of webs behind it. Hissing, it drew back until one of its hooves was caught in the webbing. Giving a look a pure hatred at both of them, the leucrotta charged, jumping over the paladin and heading straight for Esmerelda.

Esmerelda remained calm as the monster charged her. She pointed her wand and the creature, and spoke a word of power. A cone of frost hissed forth from the wand, enveloping the leucrotta. It gave a gasp and collapsed. Leodoric trotted up and stabbed the creature through the heart. It shuddered and died.

Esmerelda looked down at the dead monster. "It seems the "spirit presence" in the crypt was a leucrotta. They can speak human tongues."

Leodoric looked down at it. "I see." He raised his head and looked at her. "Thank you for your help. It would be a difficult to defeat that thing alone."

"No problem. Shall we leave? I’m sure the high priest will want a full report."

Leodoric looked down at it again. "Well, it shouldn’t stay here. We should try to take it with us."

Esmerelda chuckled. "And just how do you propose we do that? It’s got a weigh at least a ton. My magic can’t lift that much."

"Well, I guess we can leave it here for now. The high priest can send people to remove it."

Without another word, Esmerelda turned around and began walking out. Leodoric followed.

Neither said anything as they walked back to the entrance to the crypt. When they got there, Leodoric said, "Esmerelda, wait."

She turned around and looked at him.

"Madam," he began, once again coldly formal, the church of the All-Father thanks you for your aid in this matter. I’m sure the high priest will drop the matter of your actions for good."

"Leodoric, as I told you and the high priest, I didn’t cast any spell on you last night."

"Well, maybe you don’t think you did, but I’m sure something…"

The rest of what he was saying was cut off as Esmerelda came forward and kissed him. With the kiss, she cast a spell, one of her own creation. When she moved back, Leodoric was in a stupor.

Esmerelda exhaled. "There, Leodoric, I’ve cast a spell on you finally. I hope you’re happy."

She knew he’d be in her magically created stupor for a bit. She turned and walked out of the crypt, laughing.