"They are the home of fire ants." He paused. "Do you know what fire ants favorite food is?" He waited a moment for his prisoners to answer. When they didn't he continued. "There favorite food is the paste I have just spread on your pale skin, elf." With that he walked over and kicked the mounds, causing the ants to run about agitated. He then reached out a pulled Greyfox toward him. She came with no resistance. Mika was sickened to see the creature's hands on his niece and saddened to see that there was nothing in her eyes. "This little bitch is what you came for, hmmm?" He wrapped her in one large arm and pawed her breasts, slobbering all over her face. "I've had this little bitch for the last year. She was sweet and tight but now she's lost her luster, don't you think?”
Mika twisted in his bonds. "Let her go, you animal!"
"Why should I?" Samuel responded with a fake look of puzzlement on his massive face. "I have a better idea. I'm going to take this little bit of trash and sell her to a whore house. Someplace where I can come and use her anytime I wish. What do you think?" Mika growled. Samuel walked over and kicked Mika in the ribs. After a moment he decided that would be fun so he laid into the elf staked out before him. After a few minutes he tired of this and moved on to placing shallow cuts along his arms and legs. He signaled to the guards to do the same to Samis. Soon the two prisoners had broken ribs and were weak from blood loss. Samuel tired quickly of the lack of response from his victims and stood up, waving the guards off. "I'm going to leave you now, scum. Think about just what will happen to your little niece in the hands of all those men.
Just the thing to take you down to hell. Good-bye you pitiful excuse for a warrior. See you in Hell." With that last remark he turned and strode off, dragging an unresisting Greyfox behind him.
Mika let out a low moan as he saw his only remaining family being taken away to be sold into slavery. He had failed his sister and worse yet he had led his friends to their death. Little Meryl, sweet Katlin and strong Slias all dead because he didn't plan well enough. And soon he and Samis would be eaten alive by the fire ants. He knew that their bites were poisonous. Samis turned his head and tried to calm his friend. In a low voice he reminded Mika that Karleen and Levy were still alive and waiting not far away. They would come soon and free them and they could find out were Greyfox was sold and buy her free. Not everything was lost. He knew that what he said was being heard but he doubted that Mika was understanding a word. The elf was sinking into the melancholy that they had thought they had stopped.
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Katlin awoke disoriented. Why was she lying on the ground? She started to move and pulled up short as the wound in her side pulled open. Gasping she placed her hand against the wound to stop the flow of blood. She weakly pushed herself upright with one hand and looked about her. Lying on the ground just to her side was the body of the halfling, Meryl. She let out a little cry as she saw his head lying off to one side. Tears slid down her cheeks as she said a silent farewell to the young creature who died trying to help her. She used her sword to push herself to her feet and looked around again. Off to the side of the road she saw Slias lying facedown with two arrows in his back. She hobbled over to him and slowly knelt down to check if he still lived. He didn't. Another friend gone. She looked about trying to find Samis and Mika. She didn't see them anywhere obvious. She also didn't see the horses. It was unlikely that they would have left her lying in the road, so they didn't take them. Taking a quick glance at the sun she saw that about a hour had passed since they rode out to meet Elvenbane. Karleen should be getting curious right about now. She listened carefully and she could hear two horses coming down the road. She walked back out to the middle and waited. Within moments Karleen and a very tired looking Levy rode up. The look on the young mage's face was terrible. She could tell he blamed himself for what he saw in front of him. They dismounted and rushed over to catch Katlin as she started to fall.
"Where are the others?" Levy demanded.
Katlin looked up. "Slias is over there. I'm not sure where Mika and Samis are." With that she lost her hold on consciousness. Karleen eased her to the ground and started healing the wound on the maiden's side.
Levy walked heavy footed over toward the corpse of Slias. Looking down at his friend and tutor's body he spoke quietly. "Thank you for saving my mind. I wish I could have been here to save your life." After a moment he shook his head and tried a low level seeker spell. Nothing happened. His energies were still too low. He would have to rely on the old tracking skills his father taught him so long ago. Within a few minutes he found the trail and followed it back beyond the road. He found his two friends staked to the ground and covered in fire ants. He called out to Karleen to hurry as he pulled off his cloak and used it to remove the masses of ants. He cut them free and dragged first Mika and then Samis away from the disturbed mounds. The ants tried to climb up him but he had just enough power to place a very low level shield around himself. The type used to scare off bugs. It made him more tired than he like to do so but he didn't need to be bitten too. Karleen had enough troubles.
She came over the hill just as he started dragging Samis up the hill. She knelt down next to Mika and examined his wounds. The fire ants had bitten him all over his chest and belly, trying to get to more of the paste Elvenbane had smeared on his skin. His was shivering in reaction as the poison worked its way through his system. She sent a wave of healing energy into him but she knew that it was just a stop gap measure. They had to get the wounded into Greymer to a real healer. She just wasn't strong enough. She reached out her hand to send a wave of energy into Samis. His larger human form stood up better to the bites of the fire ants. The poison hadn't spread as far.
He looked about and tried to push himself up. "Karleen, where's..?" He stopped when he saw Mika lying on the ground next to him and Katlin slowly walking over the hill leading three horses. She was a sight. He had thought she was dead when she fell under his feet. "Katlin! You're alive!" He struggled upright. She came over and placed her arms about her friend.
"Yes, I live. Others weren't so lucky."
Samis looked about. He didn't see Meryl or Slias. He hung his head. The little one had come on this journey at his suggestion. It was one of his first trips out of the city. He had been so excited to be part of adventure, now he would never be excited again. And Slias. Wise, gentle Slias. They had their arguments but never had he made the loser feel slow or of lesser a mind. He felt slow and hot and knew that it was from the poison of the fire ants bites. "We need to do something for them." He tried to stand but he couldn't find the strength to get past his knees.
"Don't. I'll take care of them." Answered a quiet Levy. "I haven't done anything today." He turned and walked back toward the bodies of their two friends.
"But that's not your...fault." Samis tried to tell him. Karleen just shook her head. Nothing could be said to make the mage feel better. Katlin silently agreed with Samis. She let go of the reins and carefully bent down to help Karleen lift Mika off the ground. She held him up as Karleen mounted one of the horses and then aided the healer in pulling the elf up to lay in front of her saddle. Next she helped Samis to his feet and then onto the second horse. She turned the third animal about and led the other two back toward the mage and his sad duty. He had no strength or time to dig graves so he placed his two friends together and was slowly building a caern over them from the stones at the side of the road. Katlin got down and gave him a hand. Samis started to get down when Karleen ordered him to stay put. "Your in no shape." He nodded. It took Levy and Katlin well over an hour to cover the bodies. Katlin sang the requiem and they rode
off toward the city.
As the sun set they reached the gates of Greymer. The gates were just getting ready to close. The guards looked over the party in front of them. "What's your business in Greymer?"
Karleen spoke up. "What does it look like! I am a Carmelite Healer and I am bringing in some patients!" ,
The guards were taken back by her tone of
voice. She had put just enough command in her voice to make them believe her. "I'm sorry Lady. We didn't recognize you. Please go right in. Would you like an escort?" The left hand guard stepped forward.
"Why, thank you. These people really need care as quickly as possible."
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Mika awoke in a strange room. He didn't remember how he got there. He looked about, after a moment his eyes focused on a face above his. It was Karleen. "Where?"
"Your inside the Carmelite Healing college. You've been here for four days."
"Four days!" He tried to sit up. He fell back dizzy. He waited until his head cleared again before he spoke. "What happened to the others?"
Karleen closed her eyes. Mika could tell that the news was bad. "Samis suffered the same bites as you did but his human constitution held off the poison better. They let him go yesterday. Katlin is alive and doing quite well. Her wound was not as serious as we thought at first." Mika let out a sigh at that. He thought she had died during the first few minutes of the battle. "Levy is slowly regaining his power and seems to be fine." She paused for a moment. Mika looked into her eyes. "What about Meryl and Slias?"
"Meryl and Slias rest together in a grave outside the city." She closed her eyes and Mika could see the tears sliding down her cheeks. He closed his own. It was his fault that those two gentle beings were dead. They suffered together in silence for a long minute.
Karleen took another deep breath and wiped her eyes. "There's more news. After we got you three here Levy and I went out to try and find your niece."
"And?"
"We checked all of the slave marts, none had received a shipment of elf maidens in the last month. They told us that it was common for the girls to be sold under the table, directly to the houses."
"Into the houses." Mika repeated. It would be much harder to find his niece. One girl, who looked not to be in her right senses, alone. There had to be dozens of houses in the red lantern district.
"Levy and Katlin are looking into them right now." She pushed him back down as he tried to sit up again. "I'm sorry Mika, but you're going to have to stay in bed. The poison left you very weak. The Lady Healer told me that it will be weeks before you can get out of bed."
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A week later Levy and Katlin stood by the side of Mika's bed. "I'm sorry but she doesn't seem to be in any of the houses. We checked every one of them. Not a one had elf maids working for them." Katlin spoke, the disgust clear in her voice.
"Levy?"
The young mage didn't look at his friend as he spoke. "I'm sorry too, Mika. My powers have only just begun to come back. I can hardly cause a candle to light. I've been worthless." The pain and self hate in his voice was evident. Mika reached up and took his hand.
"Levy, don't be like this. It wasn't you fault. You didn't know that the snakeman was a priest along with being a mage."
"I should have."
Katlin put an arm around him. "No, you shouldn't. Levy, you are only twenty years old. Even for a human that's young. How can you expect to win every battle? Most mages are still apprentices, a very few are journeymen. Never have I heard of a masterclass mage at the age of twenty. You do not blame you for what happened and you should not blame yourself." He just stood, silently listening to her words. Mika found that he was more worried about this young man than he was upset about the news of his niece.
Mika tried a different approach. "Levy, I think you should come with me when I return home. There is someone there I want you to talk to." Karleen had been at Mika to go home and leave the investigating to herself and Samis. Humans were less noticeable she told him. He just decided that it would be for the best, if just for a few months.
Levy thought over the offer. "What does it matter? I'll go with you." He replied in a quiet voice. Mika and Katlin both let out the breath they had been holding.
"I'll need your help to keep me going. Karleen says that I'm going to be weak for another month at least. We'll have to travel slow. Do you think you'd mind going out and getting the things we'll need. You know travel rations, horses, etc."
"No problem." Levy turned and left the room. Now that he had something else to think on he seemed a little less gloomy. Maybe this trip would pull him out of his despair.
"I'll go along with him. Make sure he gets everything." Katlin grasped Mika's outstretched arm. "That was a good idea. I hope it works. The kid really thinks its all his fault." She turned to leave. "Oh, don't you worry about Greyfox. Karleen and Samis have put together a team of the local busy boys to help them. They are confident that they'll get information on her whereabouts before you reach Mer'Beryl. So rest easy, we'll be ready to leave first thing in the morning. Good day to you my good friend." With that she hurried out of the room to catch up with Levy.
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CHAPTER FIVE
GREYFOX IS SOLD
The sale of the captives went quickly. Elven slaves where always desired. They would outlive their owners and could take a lot of damage. He sold all of the women to his favorite brothel, with the stipulation that he could use them when ever he was in town. It was a place where no one would think to look for the women. The house was not a 'known' brothel. Only special customers allowed inside.
It was ten years later when Greyfox finally came out of her own mind. She was now called Loralil and was the favorite at Madame Ursa's house of Elven pleasures. Madame Ursa only had Elves and half Elves as her girls. She catered to the type of men who preferred docile women they could do what ever they wished to. No need to woo or be gentle. And Loralil was her prize. Due to the early treatment she received at Samuel Elvenbane's hands she was a witless little thing. She could take any amount of abuse and never fight back. In fact she would cringe and quiver just the way they liked all the time. It was too bad that she had to be cared for. She would not take care of herself at all. But then she had plenty of girls here who were willing to bathe and dress the girl. They all seemed to want to take care of the silly chit. Why anyone would want to she just couldn't fathom. As long as she was presentable each evening Madam Ursa didn't care.
On one such evening Loralil turned her gaze outside her own mind. At first she was confused. How had she gotten from the basement of her parents' home to this cloth bedecked chamber? She looked around as she sat up. That was when she realized that she wasn't wearing anything. She quickly grabbed the sheet and covered her breasts as she heard a sound coming from behind the partition in the room. BREASTS, WHAT BREASTS? Loralil looked down at herself. Last she remembered she was just starting to grow breasts, now she had two large masses on her chest. She touched them to be sure they were real. Where was she and what happened? She couldn't have grown breasts overnight. As she was furiously thinking a man came out from behind the partition. He was naked and carrying a strop. He was lightly tapping it against his palm as he gazed over at the whore he had rented.
"Now, my little one, we shall have such a ride, " he said as he walked toward the bed. Loralil tried to back up but was stopped by the headboard. What did he mean? The fog she had between her thoughts now and the memory of the last ten years was thinning but not enough. She had images of men, lots of men, like this one using her in ways that turned her stomach. She reached out for anything she could reach to use as a weapon. By some trick of fate the man had laid his dagger on the stand next to the bed. Loralil's hand landed on it and in an instant she grabbed it up and threw it. All the skill earned in secret when she was a girl came back to her in a rush. She knew exactly how to grasp the knife for the best throw and to send it where she wanted to. It flew straight and true into the chest of the man walking toward her. He stopped with a puzzled look on his face, looked down and then crumpled to the floor. Loralil heard a muffled scream and a thud from inside the wall to her left.
She scrabbled off the bed and went to rummage in the wardrobe she saw. Inside she found only frilly, shear things that would
barely cover her skin and did nothing to cover her nakedness. Within moments she heard boots stamping toward her door. She crouched over the body of the man and pulled to dislodge the dagger from his chest. The door crashed open and she spun to face the intruders.
Standing in the doorway was Madame Ursa and her bouncer Bobby the Club. Madame Ursa took one look at the scene before her and let out a screech of rage. The man at Loralil's feet was one of her best customers. She pointed at Loralil and Bobby rushed forward and grabbed the hand that held the dagger. Prying her fingers off the hilt, he lifted her until her feet dangled in the air. "What do you want me to do with this Mistress?"
"Put me down, you oaf!"
"Well, well," Madame Ursa drawled as she walked toward Loralil. "You can talk. When did you learn to do that?"
"When I was a baby, when else."
Madame Ursa had Bobby lower Loralil to the floor, then she stepped up to her and slapped her across the face. "When you speak to me, you will be polite and address me as Mistress. You got that chit."
"Like hell I will. Your not my mistress. I don't belong to anyone!"
"Yes, you do. I bought you from Samuel Elvenbane ten years ago. You've been my property for a long time now. What I want to know is when you decided to come out of the little world you lived in and why."
"I don't have to tell you anything, you flesh monger." She struggled against Bobby's grip. "Let me go, you mountain." Loralil tried twisting, kicking and biting to no avail. Bobby had a grip like iron.
"Bobby, let her go. I've got to figure out what to do with her. Let's go." She turned and swept out of the room. Bobby followed his mistress, locking the door.