The Angkhora Warriors

Part 8: Shaman Du

At midnight, the healer arrived at the doorstep and warned everyone that the shaman was on her way. Shortly after he arrived, they heard something, or some things, walking on the roof of the hut.

"She's here," the healer said. The walking soon started to sound like tapping. Like several sharp objects tapping and scratching the surface of the roof. As they listened, the tapping stopped and a voice came from inside the hut in the dark corner of the ceiling. They could see the silhouette of a large being there, and it started to slowly descend from the ceiling. Once it entered the light, they could see a giant spider with a woman's head lowering herself to the floor on an invisible web. When all eight legs touched the floor, the healer bowed with respect, "Shaman Du."

Boran bowed accordingly and greeted "Shaman Du..."

Du crawled slowly over to Dinda's mother and studied her closer and intensely. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Yessss. The curse of the Mistress," Du whispered. "Mistress of the Shamans. The Red Witch." Then she looked at Dinda, studying her black lips. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Hmmmm, very interesting." She then turned to her father. "Boran, the spice trader. Your reputation precedes you."

"Err, thank you..." her father replied.

"Your trade has benefited the Dark Lord's Army greatly," she complemented.

Du walked toward the healer, and the healer whispered into Du's ears. Du gave him his bag of gold and the healer scurried out of the hut. She then turned to the rest of them, looking at Sriga with one enlarged eye, taking a sniff of him, "Hmmmmm...."

Sriga sensed danger and began to growl. Dinda had asked him to join this meeting, but hurried to quiet him. "Ssssh..." She put her hand on the back of Sriga's neck to calm him down. It's a technique she'd used often to keep him from turning vicious.

Her father began to look at Du suspiciously. "Err, what is going on here, Shaman? Why have you dismissed the healer?"

"You have served the Dark Lord well, but there is a new opportunity for you to show your allegiance to the Dark Lord even more... hmmmm?" Du suggested.

"How so?" her father asked cautiously.

"Your daughter." Du turned to Dinda.

Sriga stepped in between the spider and Dinda but Du only smiled and said, "She has a special gift, the Kiss of Death. She will be a valuable asset in the Dark Lord's Army," she explained. "Although she looks pure and innocent, there is a darkness inside her that will turn her into a great assassin."

Her father paused in a long silence, looking at Du in horror and then at Dinda.

"Dad?" Dinda whimpered.

Sriga grabbed Dinda's hand. "Don't worry, she's not taking you"

"And what about my wife? Will you heal her?" her father asked.

Du walked over to Nangna and her mother growled, woke up, and clawed at Du. Du shot her webbing at her mother, restraining her to the wall. She could barely move as she tried to break free from the webbing.

"Your wife is an Undead now. She has joined the Dark Army. My sister, the Red Witch, leader of the Shadowless, has done an excellent job creating more Undeads for the Dark Lord's army." Du cackled "Hahahaha..."

"No! I want my family back," her father protested.

Du started pacing around the house and kicked the door open. Several shadow soldiers rushed into the hut. Monkeys with swords and spears. Sriga immediately transformed into a werewolf and shoved Dinda into a corner to keep her safe.