Date: Friday, 25 Jun 1993 14:34:31 EDT
From: Michael Sander <344LWKC@CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU>
Message-ID: <93176.143431344LWKC@CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU>
Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn
Subject: [BBD] The Price of Freedom

[ADMIN: Again, I must thank all involved, and to welcome Joe back from
 "vacation".]

>"All right, talk."

Lancos grunted, mainly from Darvos' inspecting touch on his stomach, though
part of him wondered about the lack of concern in Kryalla's words.

Darvos withdrew his hand, spoke a magical incantation, and brought the other
hand near. He ran it parallel to the gash, and where it passed, only scarred
but sealed skin remained from the healing. "There. That's the last wound that
needs immediate attention."

"Good. Have you checked out Yosef?" the warrior asked.

"They would not hurt him." Kryalla assured. "Not if they wanted me."

"Well, then, let's see if he can tell us what's going on." Kaalzic stated,
hungry for information.

Yosef smiled. "Oh, I can do more than tell you, I can _show_ you. I remember
where they first brought me."

"Who heads all this? That mage who kidnapped Lissa?". This was from Darvos, a
bitter tone coming in when he thought of the earlier travesty.

"Lissa? Hmm, you must be talking about Velric. No, it's some guy who was only
called 'BBD'. I never saw him; can't tell you anything about him."

"What of Arcania?" The Shrouded One demanded.

"Uh, she must have followed me to Generica. Now, as you saw, she's after you."

Outwardly, Kryalla only nodded. But inside, the wall of doubt that had been
building in regards to Yosef gained another layer. "All right, let's go..."

* * * *

Velric sat in his laboratory, slightly nervous at what he was about to do.
The nervousness felt unusual to his experienced mind, but was understandable
with his much younger body. He was running out of chances before he forgot
how to safely carry out this procedure, before he became unable to cure his
own curse. Then, he could only watch himself grow younger and younger until he
no longer existed, unless someone else interfered. And he knew of no one who
would, perhaps especially his "benefactor", BBD.

The blood had been largely prepared beforehand, as part of the magics to see
if it would help him at all. And it _had_, although not to the degree he had
hoped. It would take a deeper magic to stablize his age and -- dare heeven
think it? -- free himself.

He began the first incantation, a simple one directed at himself to make sure
he was ready; that he would not make any mistakes. Feeling like his old self
-- so to speak -- again, he threw the next spell at the vial containing the
blood, and grinned maliciously when the liquid began to glow slightly, and
traces of black appeared within it. It was this blackness that he was after,
a sign of the mark the vampire had left upon biting Lissa. 'Now for the hard
part' he told himself as he cast the most important spell of the procedure,
putting heavy amounts of concentration into it, with both his mind and his
words of power.

The blackness slowly flowed together, and formed at the bottom, leaving the
rest for the blood. Velric strained a bit, and the black began to grow, to
take over the other liquid. Slowly but surely -- the blood seeming to resist
the intrusion -- the flask held less and less red, until it finally vanished.

The mage smiled. It had taken a lot of work, but it _would_ be worth it. He
picked up the vial, and drank nearly all its contents. He knew that what
remained would be just enough to try one final desperate maneuver, or
-- perhaps at BBD's instance -- to have for someone else.

He raised his eyebrows at the taste -- a sour, nearly putrid one that almost
prevented him from swallowing --, and that he didn't feel any immediate
change. He knew that that was not necessarily a sign of what had truly
occurred, though; that required testing.

He called upon his new blood -- the new powers he expected -- to change him,
to shapeshift his body into that of a wolf's, as vampires were supposed to be
able to do. He felt a tingling in his body; every one of his hairs felt like
they were standing on end; his breathing heatened as his temperature rose.

Then, coming as quickly as if he had called upon magics to alter him, a wolf
stood where Velric's body had a second ago. The mage looked in a nearby mirror
-- feeling his gaze holding more power, more focus, even in this form -- and
became overjoyed at his success; he now knew the process had worked, and had
boosted his own natural powers. Now he would try something more advanced;
something he could not do with his regular magics.

He concentrated on turning into mist; into becoming intangible. He felt his
body lighten, his limbs numb and soften. Then, he changed. He wasn't able to
see his surroundings, but was still familiar with them, and felt one with the
air. A sound vibration washed through him, metal clanking against metal, and
he inwardly celebrated, assured that the bracelet had fallen off.

This was almost his downfall. His lack of total concentration added to the
sound wave dispersed him a bit. He felt himself drift further and further
apart, scattering with the wind. He nearly panicked at the feeling, before
pulling himself together, both literally and figuratively.

Velric breathed heavily as he came back into human form, and calmed himself
down. It had been a narrow escape, and the mage knew he needed to replenish
his energy. He called a servant, who brought him a vial of blood that had
been collected from a more... normal person. Velric quaffed part of the blood,
before feeling sick. What liquid he had not already swallowed, he immediately
spit out. Not only did the blood taste awkward -- to the point of being
undrinkable -- but he felt no energy gain from it.

So, he realized, he wasn't a vampire. He could only duplicate some of the
powers of one, at great physical cost -- he had to be careful where he used
them.

But first his mind turned towards the bracelt, still lying on the floor. BBD
might not be checking on him at this particular moment -- with "guests"
expected and all -- but it would not be long. Velric's freedom -- and perhaps
the rest of his life -- might be short-lived if he did not act, as he knew all
to well BBD was not one to cross. At the same time, there was no way he would
just put the bracelet back on; he couldn't surrender his control again that
quickly. Instead, he used some of his own magic on it, to provide a buffer
between it and himself. BBD's commands would still be heard, but Velric would
be the one to decide whether or not to follow them from _now_ on. And when the
time came, he would revolt, and take over leadership _himself_.

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Michael Sander 344lwkc@cmuvm.csv.cmich.edu