A Mage Rising: (The Chronicles of Herst 2: A LitRPG Saga)
Page 37
White Gold Ring of Wisdom: A ring made of white gold and decorated with etched symbols. It is enchanted to improve INT. Item class: Rare. Durability: 30/30. +7 WIS.
Studded Leather Bracers of the Viper: Plain black leather bracers with high steel studs that a skilled enchanted placed the aspect of the viper on for quick strike movements. Light Armor. Item class: Rare. Durability 39/50. Armor: +10. +3 AGI. Increased rate of fire for projectile weapons.
Fingerless Linen Gloves of Concentration: Thin linen gloves with the fingers cut out for better dexterity that cover midway to the elbow. The enchantment placed on these increases concentration and makes it less likely to be interrupted when casting a spell or using a skill. Black with gold colored embroidery. Light Armor. Item class: Rare. Durability: 25/30. Armor: +5. +2 WIS. Casting interrupt resistance.
For myself I take the rings. The iron ones for INT and WIS that I had go to Thia since I can’t wear any more enchanted rings. I have a ring on the index and ring finger as well as thumb of each hand. If I put rings on the other fingers or on one that already has an enchanted ring then I wouldn’t receive the bonuses from either of the rings. Something about them interfering with one another according to one of the books I read. This means a person can wear a max of six rings with bonuses. I could wear more un-enchanted jewelry without consequence but that just isn’t me. The gloves go to Thia as well. Bracers go to Azzaria while the choker is snagged by Timbre. Grace asks me if she can get the throwing knives and I gladly hand them over.
After everyone gears up with their new loot I walk over to Curt. “Do you know when the slave market shuts down for the night?”
Curt looks up at me from his seat against the wall and nods his head. “They should be closing up now. You can gather the people who are going with us in a minute. I will lead you through the sewer to a spot near the underground holding area for the slave market when you are ready.”
Turning away from Curt I walk over to the others. “We are going to be leaving soon so let’s head over to the trap door.” I turn from my girls to everyone else. “You all stay here and keep quiet. We’ll return as soon as we can and be leaving shortly after that, so be ready.”
Grace, who was standing as she adjusted her new bandolier, touches my arm to get my attention quietly. “I want to help” she states simply.
I look into her eyes and only see her sincerity. “Best thing you can do is help arrange the people that come back here. I will need them in a line two people wide. You should also get everyone to stay quiet so there isn’t an alarm raised while I’m working on the collars. Can you do that?” It feels really weird to me giving orders to someone far older than me, but she nods in agreement and I move on.
Azzaria, Thia, Timbre, and I all walk over and meet Curt at the trap door in the corner of the room. Without a word he opens the trap door and enters. The rest of us follow suit and join him in the small basement. A minute later Curt has opened a hidden door in one wall by pushing a combination of stones next to it. It reveals a set of narrow stairs leading down to another door with a handle. Curt pulls the knob and together we follow him into the sewers of Riverock.
Chapter 19
What does a sewer in a world of fantasy creatures and magic look like? Same as anywhere if you ask me. It stinks and has moss growing on the walls. The ceiling is just low enough to make me constantly have to duck my head, which is making my back hurt from the odd position. Could have been worse though. The sewer is wide and actually has a walkway that isn’t submerged in the slow moving muck. Following Curt we walk down the tunnel. I’m one of the few people that actually needs to duck down and the smell along with the pain in my back is making me annoyed. Watching the others walk comfortably isn’t helping my mood either.
I shake off my discomfort a little while later when Curt stops to point across the river of sludge to our left. “That direction and just above the level of the sewers. You see that hole in the wall? That is the drain from the slave complex. The edge of the holding area is about ten feet or so past that wall and above.”
Curt is looking at me as he says that, his eyebrow raised as if to say ”Well?” I ignore his challenging look and turn my attention to the wall across from us. There is maybe three or four feet of slow moving sewage between us so I could hop over it but I take a moment to think. With all the people I’ll be bringing back this way and a need to do something with the excess rocks and dirt I get a better idea. Focusing on the wall in front of me I use Shape Earth. I have used it so much that I can quickly feel out what is through the earth using the odd sixth sense the spell comes with.
After seeing what I need I start shifting the stones and bricks that are in the way of my destination. I move them slowly, spending extra mana to try and keep the noise down so we don’t alert anyone. Eventually I form a small bridge over the sewage first. Slowly, I form steps that lead up to a hole in the floor of the basement being used to store the slaves for the auction. I even added tall handrails on the bridge to prevent anyone from falling into the slurry or smells below. That last part was mainly because I didn’t want to have the smell follow me around due to an errant step of a confused slave. Turning back to Curt I now get to raise my own eyebrow. Still, all I get is a nod of respect in return.
Stepping across the bridge I speak quietly to the others. “Hopefully no one else heard that, so keep it down until we see what we are dealing with.” Quietly we ascend the stairs and enter the room with all the cages we saw yesterday. As we step between the cages I see wide eyed slaves watching us. Some of them show only fear but some have a glimmer of hope. “Can you please try to block the door in case we get company Timbre?” Looking to the cages I finally run into a snag. “Damn. I forgot about opening the cages” I say out loud as I work the problem mentally.
“Perhaps I can be of assistance in that regard at least.” This is from Curt as he steps up to a cage with a wood elf woman in it. He takes out a couple lock picks and starts to tinker in the lock.
There has to be something I can do about it with all my magic. I look through all my spells as Curt unlocks the cage he is working on and moves to the next one in line. Azzaria steps forward to coax the elf out of the cage and quietly reassures her that we are here to help. Most of what I can do to break the lock or cut through the bars would risk the prisoner within. I think about using Frost to freeze the lock and then smash it, but I’m sure it doesn’t get cold enough to actually accomplish that. The only thing I can think of to help in freeing the slaves is Folded Space, but it essentially compresses the space between two locations. This means the bars are still in the way. Thinking it over though makes me wonder if it’s possible to funnel the spell between the bars and sort of warp the space there making it bigger. Or maybe it’s more accurate to say anything passing through would become smaller?
Deciding to give it a try I step a couple of cells down to where the lamia woman that resembles a rattlesnake is watching us intently with her reptilian eyes. Focusing as hard as I can I cast Folded Space and try to more finely direct how the spell warps space. After a moment where it feels like it’s going to slip free of my control and cause a backlash the spell snaps into existence. The completion of the spell actually catches me off guard with its sudden stabilization. Sort of like mentally leaning against a door when someone opens it a minute later.
Regaining my wits I pull out a copper coin and toss it through the place I focused my spell on. It passes through easily and lands on the floor inside the cage. The coin would have passed through the bars where I aimed but it came out the other side just fine. It looked a little odd though, like the coin suddenly swerved around the bar. The lamia lady seems to have noticed as well because she hisses. Something I take as an expression of surprise. Not taking time to think about it I step through. What follows is a new experience for me in pain. It’s like being crushed by a trash compactor, then shoved through a key hole. At the end there is the sensation of being ripped apart, forcefully expanding my body.
I’m kind of happy I got to test it but not so much that I had to. Stepping off to the side I lean against the side of the cage as nonchalantly as I can muster and cast a Mana Barrier on myself. I take a good look at her now that she is frozen for the next few seconds. She has a forked tongue, that is currently flicking the air, and elongated canine teethe that are bared. Though she was attacking me I don’t see malice in her expression. It’s more fear and desperation than anything. As I observe her, Thia is waving away others that came in response to the rattling sound.
When she is released from the hold she continues forward and is only barely able to stop herself from plowing face first into the bars of her cell. “You done? I’m here to help you ya know.” Her head whips around to me at my words. She hisses at me again and backs up a little. “Enough. I’m pretty sure you speak common, I see it in your eyes.” Not really, but I think I can see a little less desperation in her expression. I’m just trying to draw her into a dialogue.
It works because a moment later she finally says something other than a hiss. “What do you want with us?”
“Weren’t you listening? I’m here to help you. I can take you to a place where you are free.”
Her tongue flicks out again before she speaks again. “You smell of elf, wolf, and something else not human. You smell odd too. Why would I trust you when you have slaves with you.”
I nod a little at her accusations. “Good points, but just because you smell my…lovers, doesn’t mean I will force you to be the next. In fact, we all love each other.” Not needed to keep it as much of a secret now that we are leaving tonight I send a mental nudge and thought to Thia who is watching. I also nod in her direction for the benefit of the woman in the cell with me. She looks over to see Thia removing her collar all by herself. The lamia lady gasps at seeing this. “Also, the only slaves here are the ones that were already here when we showed up. I plan on changing that though.”
Now her head whips back to me again. The fast movement may be a thing with her race or it could just be the emotional roller coaster I see playing across her features. “You would free us?” I can hear the blossoming hope in her voice.
“If you will let me?” I motion to the collar around her neck and I can see the debate in her. “What can it hurt to see what I can do? You’re already collared and in a cage.” I can see that my words have an effect and she deflates a little. “I will remove the collar on one condition.” Her slit pupil eyes meet mine and, though alien to me, they are pretty. “The condition is that you do not intentionally cause harm to me or my people. You can go your own way when we get where we are going but until then you behave. No biting.”
This actually gets a little laugh from her. Then her posture changes subtly and when she speaks it’s in a husky tone that carries something else with it. “I would be sooo grateful if you were able to remove this for me.” Something slippery probes at my mind. It’s almost like the bond I share with Thia trying to establish itself in me. I can tell this attempted connection isn’t two way like the one between Thia and I though. It’s one sided and coming from the person sharing the cell with me. With a focused effort I push away the questing tendril of thought and seal off my mind from further attempts. I’m guessing my high WIS score is helping with this since it is also related to mental resistances.
Once I’m mentally protected I fling a Mana Bolt at her, hitting right between her large assets. That stops the sultry sway she was using to approach me and makes her rub her voluptuous chest to get rid of the stinging. I made sure to cast it as weak as I could. “Last chance to accept my offer before I decide that you aren’t trustworthy and leave you.” I say this as casually as I can, but I really don’t want to leave anyone in this place. Still, I can tell that showing weakness to this woman is a mistake and will only cause me more headaches in the future.
You have earned the ability Acting lvl 1.
Is there an ability for everything in this world? I quickly dismiss the new ability message and focus back on the woman in front of me. A little of the desperation is back in her eyes after my words and I stuff down the little bit of guilt I feel for scaring her more. It’s necessary, for her good as well as mine. When she speaks again, her tone is back to normal. “Very well. I promise to do no intentional harm to you or those you consider your people. I also acknowledge a life debt to you if you are able to free me.” What the hell? I didn’t ask for a life debt. What is a life debt here anyway? That question is answered by the message I get a moment later.
Gem has acknowledged a life debt to you if you can free her from slavery. She will now be bound to you by honor until she feels she has repaid that debt to you.
“So your name is Gem? That is pretty, but I didn’t ask you for a life debt. I release you of that. The promise to do no harm is enough” I tell her.
She actually giggles at that. “No can do. Unless you fail to free me then it’s already done.” She gives me a sly look.
I role my eyes at the presumptuous lamia woman but put the rest out of my mind for the moment. I step up to her and she stands still while I put a hand on the collar around her neck. A little easier than last time I still have to put effort into removing the enchantment from the device. When I’m done, the collar unlocks and I put it in my storage space. Stepping back I see her raise her hands to her neck and feel around where her collar was. After a second of feeling around, her face blooms into a beautiful smile that warms her whole face. A second from that I am suffocating. It takes a second for my brain to register the quick movement and what happened. She lunged across the small space between us and not expecting an attack after our deal, I was caught off guard.
Before I could do anything about it she is hugging my face between her massive breasts. Through my bond to her I can feel annoyance surge up in Thia. Pulling away I’m able to draw in a breath and then extricate myself from a suddenly clingy Gem. Shaking my head at the abrupt change in attitude from her I look to the cell bars. “Okay, time to leave this cage. I would take you the same way I came in, Gem, but it is very…unpleasant. We may just need to wait for Curt to come back.”
She slides up next to me near the bars and then slides her tail through the bars. “I got this” she tells me. As I watch, her tail coils around a pair of bars a few times and then tightens. She squeezes the two bars together widening the gap between them. She then moves to the next couple over and repeats the process, widening the gap. When she is done the expanded gap between the two sets of bars is just large enough for us to squeeze through. Well, Gem needed a little help getting her bust through the gap and refused help from anyone but me. Much to the displeasure of the three women in my life that all arrived in time for that little fiasco.
By the time that was all done, with Gem and I free outside of the cell, Curt has finished with over half of the cages. The previous residents of the cages start to gather near the exit, waiting for our signal to leave and for someone to lead them. “Gem. Please help Curt free the last of the people imprisoned so that we can get moving.”
With a wicked expression on her face she responds in a demure and sultry tone. “Of course.” Then she slides off behind me, trailing a hand across my back as she passes.
I just roll my eyes at the obvious attempt to provoke the three women standing with me. “Ignore her. She is just trying to get under your skin” I
tell them. Turning to the escapees, I grab the collar of the nearest one without warning. She stiffens up but a moment later she relaxes as I store another one of those infernal collars. After that the rest are crowding me a little as they want me to help them next. Azzaria and Timbre help out with that and are only letting one come to me at a time. After a few I need to rest and recover my mana for a few minutes. When all thirty plus freed slaves are ready to head out I have only been able to remove the collars of about a dozen. With Azzaria speaking quietly to everyone she explains to them that we are getting out of here and points to Curt who starts to lead them back into the sewer.
My girls wait around me as I work on another collar. When I’m done I send the dwarf woman to join the rest of the group. I follow them out and turn back to the small bridge and staircase I created when we entered. Closing it up is faster though I do still try to keep it quiet. Then I turn and run to catch up with the moving group. When I reach the rear of the line I grab one of the slaves and stop them as I work on the collar. Azzaria, Timbre and Thia all stick with me but Gem stops as well. Again the spike of annoyance from Thia comes through. I’m willing to believe that if Thia is not happy about Gem’s presence than Azzaria probably feels the same way. I don’t think Timbre cares too much as long as I keep her.