“Amusing, but no,” Darkness calmly replied, and then she reached up and took something off her neck and handed it down to Rick. “Take this. Leave your weapon. Only you go. This will disguise you.”
“Disguise me?! How is a cheap piece of Halloween jewelry going to disguise me?! What, I am supposed to pretend I'm a transvestite servant or something?!” Rick incredulously breathed, taking what appeared to be a gaudy silver necklace a woman might wear with a smoky stone attached.
“No. This is called a doppelganger amulet, and it is prized in many arcane circles. When you put it on, you will take on the form of Manza-zar. This should allow you to freely travel within the palace and find that bottle,” Darkness explained.
Narrowing his eyes, Rick growled, “You know, this could have been very helpful about twenty-fucking minutes ago.”
“It is a priceless artifact and not one, even now, that I am handing over lightly. You have your djinn, now go and get her bottle,” Darkness instructed, clearly not wanting to argue with him.
Exhaling and wrestling with his fears internally, Rick stared at the ornate necklace and shook his head.
“So, how does this thing work?”
“You simply put it on, and you will assume Manza-zar's form. I have met him before. I know what he looks like. You will look and sound just like him. But, be warned, if you come across any seers, if they suspect you in any way, they will be able to magically detect your ruse and either slay or apprehend you. In addition, steer clear of Manza-zar himself,” Darkness carefully instructed.
“Steer clear of Manza-zar?! I don't even know what he fucking looks like?” Rick protested.
“I will resolve that for you momentarily. It doesn't matter though. I think with all the commotion taking place in the city overhead, he should be leading his soldiers against my kin, so I think you should be safe,” Darkness guessed.
“You
think
I should be safe?” Rick agonized, slouching his shoulders in defeat.
While Rick thought just rescuing Jizzy was stressful and about the most heroic thing he had ever done in his entire life, going back up into that palace honestly bordered on insanity to him. The way he looked at it, they had just gotten lucky so far. Every minute, every second, he took not getting further away from the palace was just courting disaster and inevitably flirting with getting caught.
“There is no easy way out of this, Rick. You must retrieve that bottle, and the longer you waste arguing with me, the longer they have to discover Jizabel has escaped and come after you. Only when you possess both the bottle and the cap, will you be able to fully restore Jizabel and utilize her powers for your designs. This is a must,” Darkness assured him.
“Well, fuck it! I might as well do something else completely crazy, right?!” Rick finally conceded, taking the necklace and slipping it over his head.
As soon as he did so, Rick suddenly felt a queer change rippling through his entire body. In an instant, he felt goosebumps pepper his flesh, he began to sweat profusely, and he momentarily felt dizzy. As he reached up and put his hand against the nearby wall for support, Rick looked down for a moment to steady himself from the sudden intense vertigo sensations he felt overtaking him.
“Meow?” Kitty worried from nearby.
A moment later though, all those sudden changes over his body seemed to fade in a blink of an eye, and he had mastered himself once again. Looking up, Rick noticed Darkness' two burning eyes were no longer floating above him in the air like before, but she seemed to have somehow shrunk, and he now looked down upon her. Not fully understanding just what had happened, Rick turned around and looked down at Kitty, and he noticed that she too seemed like she had shrunk. Not only that, but Kitty stared up at him in disbelief and gave out a hesitant meow once again.
It was at that moment though, Rick suddenly realized exactly what had happened. When looking up, he saw the tunnel's stone ceiling just right over his head and the broad tunnel itself seemed to have gotten a whole lot smaller.
“Holy shit!” Rick breathed, suddenly realizing that the world hadn't gotten smaller around him, but he had gotten a whole lot bigger.
“I told you that the amulet would disguise you as Manza-zar,” Darkness chuckled, amused at his response.
“Ya, I guess... I guess I just didn't think about it,” Rick stuttered, staring down at his own hands which were now massive.
“Meow?” Kitty asked again, this time sniffing at his leg.
“It's me, Kitty. I'm just... changed,” Rick tried to assure her, and he saw her face looking confused but she did seem to be gradually coming to the understanding that it was, in fact, him.
“Observe!” Darkness then announced, and the shadowy demon held up her clawed hand.
As Rick looked on, a wavy black pool, like a puddle of ink, rippled for a moment in the air before the demon, and gradually, during the next few heartbeats, Rick saw a face emerging out of the ripples, a face he knew was now his, and a face he knew belonged to Manza-zar.
“Behold. You are now the perfect likeness of Manza-zar,” Darkness explained.
Staring at his reflection in the pool of darkness, Rick saw his nose and lips were broad, his eyes a deep walnut color, and his hair was dark as night. Even his skin was a deep coppery color, fine-tuned by living years and years in this scorched land of unending days. With just his natural bearing, Rick thought he had a commanding look about him, like a man who was accustomed to ordering others around and having his orders strictly obeyed or clearly there would be deadly consequences.
“Wow! I look like bad-ass motherfucker!” Rick breathed.
“You look like Manza-zar,” Darkness corrected, and she lowered her hand and the image immediately vanished. “So if you see him at a distance, avoid him at all costs, and get as far away as you can.”
“Good advice. He doesn't look like someone I want to piss off or meet in a dark alley in the middle of the night,” Rick warily noted.
“You have already have pissed him off, Rick. Just avoid meeting him and you'll be fine,” Darkness cleverly returned. “The amulet has disguised your clothing as well, to resemble what they wear, but beware, once you remove your clothing for whatever reason and the garments are no longer attached to your body, they will reveal their true form, just as if you took off the amulet.”
“Good. Good. All right. So... how long does this... little amulet work?” Rick asked, suddenly reaching down into his pants and feeling his enormous penis.
“What are you doing?” Darkness asked.
“I'm just checking to see if... everything changed. My god these kull have giant elephant dicks!” Rick marveled, feeling his giant penis and realizing it was as long as his forearm was before and twice as thick, just like the kull who had been molesting Jizzy.
“So easily amused,” Darkness blandly noted.
“Hey! You were pretty easily amused too not that long ago... Anyway how long will this thing work?” Rick asked.
“As long as you keep it on. I would not suggest taking it off until you return here,” Darkness soundly advised.
“Good idea. Well, I better not waste any more time. I can't believe I'm fucking doing this, but...”
“It must be done, Rick,” Darkness assured him.
“Right,” Rick replied, nodding his head and glancing back down at the unconscious genie.
“I will leave you now. Good luck. Call me when you are safe,” Darkness concluded.
“I will. Kitty, use my shotgun and guard Jizzy. I will whisper down to you from above when I come back. Hopefully, this all won't take too long. Listen for my voice, all right?” Rick instructed.
Staring up at him with wide eyes, Kitty simply nodded her head and moved aside so that he could climb up the iron ladder. Stepping over to the ladder again, Rick stared up at it and shook his head. He honestly couldn't believe he was going back into the palace dungeon, and at that moment, he hoped he would be back in five-to-ten minutes. Little did he know, he'd be gone for a little bit longer than that.
While at first Rick had to force himself not to appear to be sneaking around, after he passed a couple guards and started into the upper reaches of the palace proper, he was well into his acting role as lord of the city and growing into it by the moment. Strutting around with his naked chest puffed out like a rooster and with his hands firmly behind his back, Rick was soon marching around the opulent palace like he owned it, and he now felt like he knew how the CEOs felt strutting around his office at Samuel Barton & Sons.
As he strut by open chambers full of lavish furniture and armed guards seemed to be around almost every corner, at one point, Rick paused at an open window and stared out into the chaos taking place in the city below. While inside the palace it was still and peaceful, outside in the streets it was absolute mayhem. Staring down into the white-walled city from high above, Rick could see countless flashes of light in the darkness of the night, like fireworks going off in the distance, and even high overhead, he saw those strange sailing ships in the sky suddenly explode and come tumbling down from the heavens. Everywhere he looked it seems were explosions and the screams of the dying, and seeing the carnage from a distance, Rick swallowed hard and realized he had personally brought all this death and destruction to this world. All those heavy thoughts though only pressed him to find that bottle that much quicker, and he stepped away from the window and continued his search of the enormous palace.
After crossing through a couple corridors and peeking into a few lavish rooms, Rick then smelled something that gave him pause and immediately piqued his curiosity. He wasn't sure exactly what he was smelling at first, but he knew deep down he wanted to check it out. Swinging around a corner, he caught one of the eleven-foot tall guards picking his nose, and as soon as the guard saw him, he immediately shot to attention and pretended that he hadn't been doing anything. Abruptly stepping right up to the guard at the intersection, Rick stared hard at the cowering kull, who fearfully averted his gaze and stood at full attention. Feeling a little devilish, Rick then began his shrewd line of questioning.
“Your name, slave?”
“Azbul, your eminence!”
“Azbul...? Hmm...” Rick smartly repeated, narrowing his eyes and getting in the guard's face.
Though in his regular human form this eleven-foot guard would have been a giant to him, as Rick had taken on the form of Manza-zar, he now actually towered over the smaller guard by at least a good foot.
“I am new here, your eminence, from Ra-Kazal. How might I please you?” the guard asked, his chest out and eyes skittishly avoiding his.
“Present your blade!” Rick challenged with a growl.
“Of course, your eminence!” the guard shouted, and he immediately reached down and unsheathed his great scimitar, handing it handle-end to Rick and bowing low as he did so.
Snatching the curved blade out of the guard's hands, Rick examined the heavy sword closely and saw that it was nearly spotless and sharp as a razor, overall an excellent specimen and clearly well taken care of.
“Tsk... tsk... tsk,” Rick quietly admonished, shaking his head and then exhaling in disgust.
“Your eminence?!” the guard asked, his voice wavering.
“Azbul, I don't know how you think you can expect to work here in the palace and keep your blade in such shoddy condition. This is my palace after all and only my finest servants get the privileged of working here,” Rick chided.
“Of course, your eminence! My apologies,” begged the guard, bowing low.
“I see dignitaries here, Azbul, and hold... lavish banquets with... sumptuous meats and other good... stuff like that,” Rick rambled, clumsily making it up as he went along.
“Of course, your eminence! This will never happen again. I swear to you. Forgive me,” the guard groveled.
“You should be proud and honored to be here!” Rick continued his rant.
“I am, your eminence! I am!” pleaded the guard.
“Remember, Azbul, the nail that sticks up around here, is the nail that gets hammered down. I could ruin you, Azbul, and you and your whole family will be begging on the streets! You should be happy to be my servant! Proud to be my slave! Eager to serve me!” Rick growled, enjoying the whole thing a little too much.
“Forgive me, your eminence! Forgive me!” begged the guard, now on his knees. “All I want to do is serve and please you, your eminence! Serving you is my life. I live for this. I was born to serve! I was born to be your slave! I want nothing more than to please you... to make you happy!”
“Humph!” Rick breathed, and he cocked an eyebrow and was silent a few moments. “Rise and take back your weapon, Azbul.”
Jumping to his feet, the guard then gingerly took his sword back and hung it from the colorful sash at his waist
“You know, Azbul, I like your devotion,” Rick then changed his tact, shrewdly nodding his head.
“Whatever you desire, your eminence, is my command!” Azbul proudly breathed.
“Are you a... married man, Azbul? A committed man?” Rick asked, narrowing is eyes.
“I am, your eminence!”
“Good! Good! Married men always make the best slaves,” Rick noted.
“Of course, your eminence.”
“Do you know why that is, Azbul?” Rick asked, arching an eyebrow.
“No, your eminence.”
“It is because they have something to lose. Any person who feels they have something to lose can be easily controlled by those in power, Azbul,” Rick told him.
“I... I... I wouldn't know anything about that, your eminence.”
“Of course you wouldn't. You've been a slave your whole life. Now, about what you were doing when I first walked up...” Rick suddenly changed direction, raising his head and glowering down at the smaller man.
“I apologize, your eminence! Forgive me!” Azbul immediately shot back, his face blushing.
“Now, from now on, Azbul, I want you to thoroughly clean out your nose before you come to work. Do you understand? I don't want any of your bugger fragments on my marble floors. If anyone's bugger fragments are going to on my marble floors, they will be mine. Do you understand, Azbul?” Rick commanded.
“Of course, your eminence.”
“You're not flicking that shit onto my floors or my expensive drapery are you?” Rick asked, narrowing his eyes and leaning in over the guard.
“Never, your eminence! I eat them! I always... eat them. It's a bad habit, your eminence,” Azbul ashamedly explained himself, clearly embarrassed.
“By Kull, man! That is just disgusting! When you were a child, you did childish things. You are now an adult, Azbul, an adult!” Rick chided, his face grimacing.
“I apologize, your eminence. It will never happen again,” Azbul groveled.
“Well... at least you weren't smearing that shit on my fine silver,” Rick grumbled.
“Never, your eminence!”
“Good. Now if you catch any of the other guards picking their noses..., you make sure and let me know,” Rick quietly whispered, winking at the guard.
“Of course, your eminence!”
“Good! As you were,” Rick concluded, and then he turned, smirked, and walked off. “There is a slave born every minute.”
Stepping away from the frightened guard and following the sweet odor in the air, Rick shot down the right hallway, and after zigzagging down a couple other passages and peeking into unoccupied rooms filled with ornate furniture, Rick stood at the head of a much wider passageway. This particular hallway was much more extravagant than anything he had seen so far in the palace, and the sweet odor seemed to be coming from down there somewhere. After taking another deep whiff, Rick then felt his penis perk up unexpectedly in his pants, and he suddenly realized what exactly he was smelling. Ever since he had freed Darkness, his senses seemed on high-alert for any pussy nearby. In fact, he knew for a fact, at that moment, that was the strong odor he was now smelling. As he stood there contemplating all this, he suddenly thought he could just hear what sounded like someone playing a harp coming from down that elegant hallway.
His mind going wild with all the possibilities, Rick wondered if perhaps Manza-zar had a beautiful queen, or even better, a hot daughter of a princess? Or even better that, maybe there were multiple daughters down there?
Any thoughts of Jizzy's bottle soon got lost in these new revelations, and Rick suddenly felt more eager to check out this new lead. Quickening his pace, Rick was almost skipping down the long corridor, he was so giddy with excitement. Along with this new hallway being lined with eight guards on either side, all standing at attention, there were elaborately carved pillars and brightly hued drapery hanging from the ceiling overhead. After passing by every guard, Rick stepped between two stout, ivory pillars, and saw that the hallway then continued along to the left. He knew he had to be close to the source of that tangy odor now, and it was so strong at this point, he literally had to swallow the excited saliva splashing into his mouth. He felt like a male dog smelling a bitch in heat. He had to figure out where this lovely odor was coming from, and see if the lovely scent was indeed matched in the person to which it belonged.
“Your eminence!” unexpectedly came a deep voice from his right then, which caught Rick completely off-guard and caused him to jump.
Turning suddenly to his right, Rick saw a towering kull guard, much larger and more menacing than the eight other ones he had just passed by in the hallway behind him, and this guy wasn't only armed with one menacing scimitar, but two.
“My apologies, your eminence!” groveled the much larger man, and the muscular guard bowed his white-turban head respectfully low.
“No, it's... it's all right. I was just... lost in thought...Lots of things going on right now,” Rick stuttered, regaining his composure.
The burly guard appeared somewhere between afraid and anxious, and he quickly rambled on for a minute in his nervousness.
“Your eminence, I have guarded the harem as you have instructed. No one has been permitted access beyond this point, not even the eunuchs, your eminence.”
At the word harem, happy bells suddenly went off in Rick's mind, and the world around him came to an abrupt halt. Everything else he was thinking about, his mission, possibly being discovered by the seers, running across Manza-zar himself, everything vacated his mind in an instant, and that one word happily echoed repeatedly in his head. In fact, he thought it might have just been the most fantastic word he had ever heard in his entire life.
“I'm sorry, could you repeat that?” Rick asked, turning an attentive ear.
“I have been at my post here since the attacks started, as you commanded. No on has had access to the harem, your eminence... no one,” the guard repeated with a proud lip.
At hearing the wonderful word again, Rick's cock, like a submarine deep below the ocean engaging its periscope, suddenly perked up, and he once again felt a longing pull deep down inside of himself. It had never occurred to him that Manza-zar might have had a harem, but now that the guard had said it, it all made perfect sense to him. It was like the stars had all miraculously aligned for him at that moment, and they were dazzling in their beauty and their wonder left him awestruck. Now, he knew what the sweet odor was, and why it was so irresistible to him.
“Good job! Good job!” Rick suddenly blurted out, his voice more excited than he intended.
“Thank you, your eminence,” the guard bowed again, his face appearing a little more calm now.
“In fact, I want you and... your men to remain vigilant at your posts and don't let anyone through. You hear me, no one. Remember, the enemy is conniving and devious,” Rick ordered, trying to appear dignified though his cock was continuing to fill with blood and was starting to poke through his garb.