fantasy

"oooh, woman. I'm completely drunk there" thinked the Sentry of the Cult of the Flower, as she leaved the cell. "A nap should do the work, to do the rest of my watch in guard an ready! just a couple of minutes..."

the drunk cultist of Jabharil, the Goddess of Fertility, certainly was thinking in taking a nap... but not like that!

As the senseless sentry fall to the ground, Maylara quickly proceed to the next drunked guards of the prison where the Initiated where being held...

The time was limited.
She must free all the initiated, before Chadie Maltree, her 'alibi', began to worry why she take so long..

She must be quick... and stealthy.
And if the guards doesn't identificate the assaulter, so she doesn't blow her cover, would be even better...

But clearly, having organizated drinking games, and challenging them to drink before they where in their turn was a great idea, as now they where so drunk that they almost fall alone...

Once the four sentries of the watch where out, Maylara thinked the room was clear to free the prisioners, when she heared somebody coming from the upper levels.

the prison where the Cult of the Flower keep the Initiated as hostages was a private house in front of the Temple:

Supposedly, bot buildings where independent, and the house was used to smuggle things in secret to the temple, as a secret gallery run from the basement of the house -the prison- to the barracks of the Sentries...

But if somebody was coming down from the house, rather than the secret gallery, most likely they will be some of the fanatics garrisoning the upper levels of the house...

They wouldn't be drunk, but Maylara hoped she can deal with them, as she hidded in the shadows...

They where two fanatics, who came into the prison speaking and laughing carefree, when they suddendly see one of the senseless Sentries she defeated on the ground.

"What?"

"See that bottle. They are completely drunk!"

"Oh, that's why I want to be a Sentry. If we do that they will kick our asses!"

It was then, when Maylara jumped from his shadow corner, out from the visibility of the Fanatics:

Casting a spell she once stealed from the Priestess of Nege Laeh'le, she knocked out in a fraction of second the both drow women, who surprised, fall senseless to the stone floor.

"These where the last two guards" thinked Maylara, as she picked the keys from the KO sentry to open the cells...

They know that there was some sort of plan to rescue them, or so Lo'Kee had said to them... but still, the initiated heared with fear the struggles and silenced movements of the fight in the gallery between their cells...

finally, the door oppened, and entered a sentry of the Cult of the Flower...

had the plan failed?

"May!" said the Initiated Lo'Kee, recognicing her.

"Rescue is here" said Maylara, giving to them some keys.

"Help to open the other initiated cells... there are about twenty of them. We are very short of time! So do it NOW!"

Maylara counted again the Initiated: there where 24 of them: girls that where kidnapped by the Cult of the Flower to get a ransom from their families, not only in money, but even more important, in political influence, and to avoid attacks against interests of the cult.

Once she opened the cells, the little drows acted quickly, showing that they where, indeed, Initiated training to become acolytes of Nege:

despise some protests who wanted to get vengance from the sentries, they followed May order's, and locked the knocked out guard in their cells...

Meanwhile, Maylara bringed the clothes she obligated a slavegirl to leave in the entrance of the secret gallery under the temple, and she gave these clothes to the children.

"These are cultist clothes! We can't disguise with them! They will see inmediatly we aren't truly sentries!" said Initiated Lo'Kee, worried, upon seeing the disguises

"Said thanks to Mussy for the idea"

"what?"

"Use the ribbons in more imaginative ways!" said Maylara "you could wrap it like a top, and no one will notice."

"Why I have a fanatic uniform?" asked one of the two elder Initiated, a bit ashamed of it.

Maylara explained her plan quickly.

"We have no time to lost. I must leave now: However, I have an Alibi, and I need to return to the temple. There is heavily guarded, so only four girls will come with me: We will leave among the crowd gathered for the festival they are helding there.

The rest of you will go to the upper levels above the prison: is a private house, used by the Cult of the Flower as a secret access... There must be, still, some Fanatics guarding the entrance:

The Initiated disguised as Fanatics will go up first there, to see the situation... and once a path is clear, will guide the rest of the girls outside, to the street.

Is dangerous, I know, but I can't blow up my cover, or the enemy will be warned that we may know about their moves.

If you meet any resistence up there, will be two or four fanatics. Could you take care of them IF they find you?"

"Of course" said Initiated Lo'Kee.

"Our reunion point is in the square, two levels to the north, in ten minutes. Any question?"

"No ma'am!"

"Keep moving then! Go! go!"

A Drow fanatic, Member of the Cult of the Flower of the Godess of Fertility Jabharil.. trying to crawl in silence and use that knife

"Hello little thief!"

As the Fanatic from the Cults of the Flower heared that, her breath almost stopped. She slowly turned her head, to see a drow woman smiling had her... with a knife in her hand.

"You got sort of stucked there, right? I heared all your moans from there. I thinked I was going to go for you there!"

"Stupid! stupid!" thinked the Fanatic. It was supposed to be an easy mission to prove she can join as a rightful member of the Cult: enter in the house of an infidel, kill the inhabitants, and return...

She tried to be stealthy, and when she finded a ventilation duct, decided it was the best way to crawl her way in...

Thought she calculated wrong her own size -or maybe itwas tighter somewhere in the middle of it- and she was stucked there for some agonizating minutes, where she needed to struggle, until a companion, who was outside to look out if a patrol come around, entered as well in the duct and pushed her out of her problem...

After that, the fanatic finally arrived to the end of the duct, and was happy to see there was no grill in the end cutting her pass.

"Ah! now is all easy!" she thinked as she crawled out of the duct...

until she heared these two words:

"Hello little thief!"

The Fanatic quickly tried to go out from the duct and fight that infidel, but before she was able to go out from the duct, the drow girl pulled her hair, stopping her, and kicked her own knife away in the room.

"Now Miss: before the Acolytes come: how you want it: the fun or easy way?
Oh! wait!
You don't have to chose! Lucky me! Fun way then!"

"Just give up! Dammit!"

However, normally one thing Fanatics don't do, is to give up. Even if they are drow, fanatics from the Cult of the Flower, and breaked in your house to try to kill all the "infidels" to become a full pledged cultist.

Luckily for the "infidels" of Negemiliel, this one just suck in her "holy duties" of Purgation, and she finally surrender...

The Fanatic of the Cult of the Flower, in her mission to become a true cultist, was to assessinate the infidels of the house, failed.

She didn't explored first, and the daughter of the house, an Initiated of the cult of Nege, godess of War, was in the house

-and heared her struggles trying to enter by a ventilation conduct to small for her-

After she was defeated, she was putted in charge of other of the infidels of the house, meanwhile the Initiated go for a patrol of Acolytes, and to hunt down the fanatics partner.

"Stop struggling!" ordered the embarassed drow -owner of that "infidel" house, just an average trader wich make enough money so her daughter enter in the Cult of Nege-, as she tried to tie the Fanatic "Or I will find a frying pan and hit you!"

"Why did you followed me?" asked the White Hermit

"I wasn't following you! I just go in the same direction as you!" answered Hastur. "If it wasn't for my leg, I will have leaved you behind, anyway!"

It really didn't mattered. The white Hermit knew Hastur since he was almost a brat, and they don't get specially well along: However, it was nice to had some familiar company when going to the trading outpost:

The tradings posts from the Caliphate of Blazakhov where interesting places, full of intersting things, as well of dangers for lonely travelers... specially, non-humans travelers...

"slave market?" asked the White Hermit.

"I'm going elsewhere -I need some iron bars-... Is just that allways when I come there I pay a visit to the slave market."

"To see the 'goods'?"

"No! I was once enslaved and wasn't easy... but that time I also lost many of my people, and I allways had the hope to find a know face there."

"It had worked for you?"

"Well, I finded that way some cousins, and after a year I was able to buy their freedom.. and you?"

"I'm just passing. I had come for some supplies for my forge."

As the two elves walked across the Slave market, something atracted the attention of Hastur.

"Look! a black elf!"

"That's a drow" said the White Hermit, as they stoped to see the 'curiosity' "How strange there is one of them so far in the south"

"Look to the price! She is a luxury item! We should keep going."

"mmmmh..."

"what are you thinking? In buying her?" asked Hastur to the Hermit "she is costly man..."

Maylara Maltree was ready with her disguise and supplies to re-join Neroe in the column of Acolytes that was leaving the drow City-state of Negemiliel for a war to the surface, to finally escape from the underworld city

Then, suddenly, Maylara eared a scream of a panicked male and kids, and with her senses sharpened with the past days and weeks, she feel the danger, and as she turned, she saw running over her a drow acolyte and a Priestess, who was already chanting a spell, aimed against her.

She throwed in a movement all the bags and supplies she carried against the Priestess, who surprised and concentrated in the spell she was channeling, didnt dodged it, receiving fully the blow.

Maylara didnt waited to see the results of her improvised projectile, as she sprinted away in the narrow streets of Negemiliel She knew she was still being pursuited by the other drow acolyte of the Godess of war, Nege.

Everything was going to the plan. Everything was perfect and as always, her bad luck just jumped back to bite her:

As she was buying additional supplies and clothes for the escape to the surface, disguised as drow acolytes of Negemiliel, somebody finded her

And now, after trying to escape in the narrow streets and alleys, she was finally cornered by two drow acolytes:

A Priestess Maylara thinked she knew from somewhere- and an armored soldier

She was cornered and trapped, but Maylara was decided: she needed to get Neroe, safely, to the surface! So two drows will not be a problem for her

She is a spellthief, so she can counter the priestess She prepared to fight! She tried to calm down, telling herself she had already defeated a drow priestess and a captain already, so she can do it

-well, she take them by surprise, and this was not the case-

So, she charged, bravely, to fight the enemy: she was quick and resoursceful: she can do it!

to bad the other drow was quickier, and dodged her strike

Maylara Maltree charged, and her attack was easily dodged by the enemy, leaving Maylara in a very compromising position, and before she could react, the drow lieutenant hitted with her elbow in her back, and inmediatly after that, a vicious kick with the knee

May was already out of combat

The true is, Maylara was very good rogue, and her spellthief habilities gived her an edge, but the true is that she didnt had training, aside from some basic moves learned during childhood and some few tips from when she was a rookie adventurer (though she was captured before she get better)

Maylara had defeated previously others, but thanks to the element of surprise, but in a fight, she simply had no chance against a veteran warrior as an Acolyte of Nege, who trained since childhood

It was quite literally, childs play for the Lieutenant to dodge and counter attack Maylara.

Maylara Maltree was already out of combat with the elbow knee combo the acolyte used on her, but her enemy wasnt going to give her a chance to get back to action, and even more, if she thinked that Maylara was a dangerous super-agent, powerful sorceress and with legions of orcs in her disposition, so she quickly sended the rogue drow, violently, to the street floor.

Quick, Laehle! ordered the Lieutenant, as she finished tying the rogue drow Seal her Aura before she wake up!

The priestess Laehle was quite exited to have get such a dangerous enemy down as that secret agent/spellthief, getting some pay back for what she done to her before also, her mother will be proud of her!

She began to chant a pretty common and simple spell, a seal used normally in the new elven or drow slaves, to negate them the possibility of using magic for an escape.

Maylara was still stunned for the hits, but when she heared the chants of Laehle, she struggled, desesperated, to get free before she placed the curse on her

Done! say with a smile of triumph in her face Laehle

Then we need to get this slut to the captain she will want to interrogate her personally!