The Sorceress of the West

Damon had not realized that Adanna was merely playing with him. She could have done much more on their first encounter, or rather, their first thwarted theft. Adanna humiliated him for days, which, for some prideful souls, was worse than death itself. Something that Adanna could have easily done, without a shadow of a doubt. But the Sorceress of the West knew exactly what she was doing and preferred to be recognized as powerful rather than cruel. Or to be remembered more for her skills in handling problems than for unparalleled cruelty, as she preferred choosing her company over being isolated due to her own endless cruelty, should she choose that path. Having stolen a treasure so precious that it needed to be guarded by numerous traps, Damon remained at Adanna's feet for three days. The effectiveness of Adanna's traps lay, in fact, in capturing the thief after the treasure was taken, rather than preventing anyone from reaching it.

And so, the once skilled thief served the sorceress until, surprisingly not long after, he decided to attempt a new heist, this time with a companion. This time, the theft was supposed to be successful, as two of the most skilled thieves in the region were on the mission. What Damon didn't expect was that Adanna had modified the entire anti-theft system, or at least, he didn't imagine that so much would be altered, since, from appearances, after much spying, everything seemed the same. He had underestimated the intelligence and power of the sorceress. Caught once again, he was suddenly affected by the power of the traps and, in trying to protect himself, inadvertently hit his companion, Dante. Instantly, they were both reduced to the size of insects.

But what Dante didn't know was that he had fallen into a trap twice. Damon had convinced him that they were going to rescue a princess from the clutches of a nefarious guardian who kept her in a dungeon, in the deepest levels of the tower where Adanna lived. And that the sorceress, in turn, was the disguised form of a dragon whose power had been diminished by an ancient spell, but whose human form still granted her many abilities. Dante trusted his friend, as they had been companions in various other endeavors. Sometimes coming out with pockets full of money, and other times, only with wounds and stories to tell. The device Adanna had prepared would shrink only those with ill intentions, and Dante firmly believed he was participating in a rescue. However, Damon had brought an artifact that repelled spells and any other magical work. Nevertheless, Adanna wasn't called the Magus of the West for nothing, and although the artifact had deflected the shrinking magic from Dante, Damon's artifact shattered, causing the magic to affect him as well. Dante wouldn't have been shrunk if he had been directly hit by the device, but the incident gave Adanna much to study later on.

And so, two skilled adventurers spent a week serving at the feet of the goddess (for that is how she appeared to them then). The Sorceress of the West felt that, either Damon was very foolish, or he was genuinely expressing a desire to serve her and constantly pamper her feet, which was a delight for Adanna, as she never looked at either of the adventurers with malice. Especially Dante, who had been deceived, but upon seeing her in gigantic form, prostrated himself to serve her sincerely. Damon left Adanna's tower with the feeling that, in the end, he didn't know as much about women as he thought, and that now, he especially knew one through her feet.