Yamara

James shrugged the matter aside for the time being. "Sometimes I do. But right now, it's far more important that we bend our mind to figuring out what these two women are doing in Standopolis. Oh, and get in touch with Belwyr and see if any of his scouts have ever heard of a city to the south called Belleville."

Paul nodded, hopping to his feet. He tossed a sloppy salute James' way more as a friendly jest then a proper show of respect. Then he was out the door. James watched the door that he had gone through for a moment longer, pondering the young assistant. He showed much promise, though he had far to go if he was ever to be worthy of replacing James as head of the Elendarian Intelligence Agency. Shaking the thoughts from his head, he glanced at his arm and saw that the bandage on it had finally stopped the bleeding from the dagger the older of the two women had hit him with. He sighed and decided that before he did anything else, he needed to get his wound taken care of by a priest.

I woke up from my magically induced slumber and heard the sound of keys jingling in a lock. I fought the urge to stretch and groan at the pain that assaulted me. My body had been frozen from the paralysis spell, causing my joints and muscles to ache. More immediately of concern to me was the fiery pain in my face from my swollen lips and bruised jaw. All of those inconveniences I bore silently, however, for the guard opened the door then and crept in as quietly as a man wearing a chain jerkin can be said to creep.

Peering through narrow slits, I saw Brina lying near me, partially wrapped in only my cloak, as she had been when we were captured. Part of me was glad to see her; another part wished she would have been taken elsewhere so that I would be able to escape more easily on my own. Then the shadow of the guard fell over me, blocking what little light filtered in through the open doorway.

He stopped before us, and based upon the lack of anybody other then the single guard in our cell, I knew that he was up to no good.

"You want the young one?" The guard closest to me called out softly.

"Bah, you're daft man!" The other one called back as quietly, but with a warning tone in his voice. "I'm not for laying a hand on them until Earl James says so, and if you've half a wit about you, neither will you!"

The guard near me snorted in derision. "You're a coward 'tis all. They'll be off for the block after he's done with them, the Earl won't let abide any spies that isn't his own here. Besides, you're the half-wit ta think we'll have another chance at two beauties like this again ere they be swinging from the gibbet!"

I risked a glance to see how things were laid out. The one guard was only a couple of feet between Brina and I, while the other one remained outside of the room at the door, refusing to look into the room so worried was he that they would be discovered. The guard discovered my movement though, and before I could do a thing about it, he had his sword drawn and pointing at me.

"Methinks I'll try this one out, she looks like she could use a man's touch."

I tried to scowl, but it hurt my face too much, so instead I just lay there limply. At least I could open my eyes fully and take in our new surroundings. "Off with your clothes, wench."

Fighting the urge to utter a nasty retort, I reached down and pulled my skimpy top off of my body, letting my average sized breasts be displayed for the guard's perverse pleasure. From the lewd grin of the one near me, I knew that he was taking pleasure indeed.

"And the rest," he said, nodding over the point of his sword at my skimpy loincloth. My belt with my scabbards, weapons, and pouches had already been removed, leaving me effectively naked already. Shrugging at what I would have to endure, I reached down and untied it and let it fall to the course rock floor of the room. I lay there fully revealed before my would-be ravager, expecting the worse.

"Get in here and keep an eye on the other one," he said to the far guard as he sheathed his sword. He began fumbling with his armor then, struggling to undo his hardened leather breeches under his chain shirt so that he could unsheathe his other sword. Grumbling something under his breath, the other guard moved into the room and drew his own blade.

I braced myself when the man kicked my legs apart with his boot and then fell to his knees between my outstretched limbs. I noticed that he had not been smart enough to take his weapons off, and that was where my hope rested. He got closer to me, his hand wrapped around his chubby little soldier to guide it. I braced myself, preparing for his inevitable invasion. My plan was simple, as soon as he was in me and started to lose control of himself at that moment when all men are equals, I would pretend to enjoy it and wrap my legs and arms about him, stealing his dagger and plunging it into his back.

My plan was shattered though. Seconds before the guard could begin his rape of me, the other guard hissed out a warning, "Beren, get up! Baron Paul comes!"

The guard in front of me, Beren, scrambled to his feet. His hands flew to his breeches, stuffing his package back inside and quickly tying the laces. I smirked as he backed up quickly so that he was next to the other guard. While my bid for freedom had disappeared, the haste and disappointment of the guard nearly made it worth it to me.

"What goes on here? Earl James left orders that the door was not to be opened unless he or I was present!" Paul snapped at the guards.

"Sorry Milord," Beren stammered. "One of them made some noises like she was sick or something, we came in to see what was afoot an there she lays like a whore, trying to win our favor."

Paul raised an eyebrow and looked at me. By now I had drawn my legs back together and had shifted to my side so that I appeared to be trying for some sort of modesty by making my blond curls hidden in a shadow and my breasts partially concealed by my arms which were wrapped in front of them. I cursed myself for not being quicker though, for my pose was lax enough to convey that modesty was not a serious concern of mine. He glanced back at the guards and nodded, though I thought he probably did not believe them, but did not consider the matter worth debating.

"Leave me, and lock the door behind me," He ordered. At once the guards obeyed, stepping out of the cell and shutting and barring the door from without.

"Well, well, looks like I get my wish after all," Paul mused, stepping close to me but keeping far enough away that I could not launch any sort of attack at him. I tried to scowl again, and again winced at the pain. Abandoning all modesty, I let my arms fall to my sides and I slowly rose from the floor, stretching as best I could to loosen up the kinks in my muscles.

Paul's eyes moved over my body hungrily, devouring what he saw. While far from aroused, the belowground prison was cool enough that my nipples were quite firmly erect, fueling whatever fantasies he might have had.

"Both of you naked and unable to resist me, how poetic."

I heard Brina's sharp intake of breath and knew that she had been only pretending to sleep. From the way that Paul's eyes darted to her, I knew that he had heard it as well.

"Why don't you try to find out just how much resistance we have left?" I said defiantly. I was angry with myself for getting captured so easily, and though I had checked and was missing no teeth, my jaw hurt like hell. All in all, it was not the beginning of a good day for me.

"Perhaps later," he said with a lecherous grin. "But first, we need to figure out what to do with you two. You see, Earl James and I think you are spies for the dark one. Our priests and wizards can find no magic about you, though some of your equipment possessed some minor dweomers. Nonetheless, you are surely not as innocent as you would have poor Berk believe."

The fingers on his right hand tapped absently on the hilt of a shortsword at his side. A shortsword that I recognized instantly. My anger grew. Not only had they taken us hostage without warrant, but now they had stolen from us as well.

"What's the matter, see something familiar?" He taunted me. I fought back the urge to lunge at him, but my headache and general low tolerance level was beginning to tell on me.

"I bet you'd like it back, wouldn't you?" He asked, tapping the pommel of my sword.

He was goading me and he knew it, but I do not think he was ready for me to act on it so quickly. "You talk to much," I growled at him as I lunged. His reflexes were good, I had to give him that. He jumped to the side away from and had my - now his - sword drawn quickly. What he had forgotten about was Brina.

Using more of the strange unarmed fighting style that I had seen her and Sandala use, she exploded into action as soon as he came within range. She pivoted quickly on the ground, her legs sweeping out and catching Paul in the back of the knees. He fell forward, surprised by her attack but having the presence of mind to try and throw himself away from her.

I was on him then, stepping on the back of his hand where it was wrapped around the hilt of the sword. He tried to throw me off but before he could do so my fist came down, connecting high on the side of his face, ensuring a black eye and a throbbing headache. It also ensured that I would have a sore hand and bruised knuckles too, but that was a concern for later.

He rolled away from me then, using the force of my blow to aid his momentum. I was off balance from the punch, allowing him to pull his hand holding the sword out from under my bare foot. He lurched back to his feet and stood on the defensive, sword leveled at Brina before she could finish her charge she was about to begin.

Distraction reared its ugly head then, as the door was opened and Earl James along with both guards entered the cell. Paul glanced over at them, his position requiring him to turn his head slightly to see them. That was all that we needed. I feinted in towards him, drawing his attention back to me. Brina also lunged in. Paul was fast, as I said, and he reacted accordingly, drawing the light weight shortsword back across in a swing aimed at her neck.

What happened next made me revise my opinion of Brina again, for it was a maneuver that nearly took my breath away. She dropped under the swing of the blade and launched a strike straight up with the palm of her fist leading the way. She hit the sword hilt as it crossed her head, striking it with enough force to knock it out of Paul's hand.

He was more stunned by it then I was, which allowed me to charge at him again with little threat of any lethal defense. He took a quick step back and turned to face me, throwing a haymaker at my face, which I easily avoided. Brina slipped behind him quickly and had her arms around his neck in a hold guaranteed to require his submission.

I glanced at James and saw him open his mouth, but the word, "Enough!" came to slow, for by the time the first syllable was uttered, there was a loud pop in the room that indicated Brina had finished Paul off with a forceful twist of his head. I forgot how strong she was, in spite of her size.

Both guards looked on in shock as Paul's limp body collapsed to the ground. James had a stunned look on his face too, but it quickly changed to disbelief at the thought of two unarmed and naked girls defeating his protégé. From there it turned to anger, and from anger to rage. He drew his own longsword and advanced on us, deadly intent in his eyes.

I scooped up my fallen shortsword and settled into a defensive position, wishing I had a dagger in my left hand. Brina slipped into a relaxed crouch as well with Paul's body at her feet. I realized yet again what a strange and dangerous young woman she was. James came on, and now the guards advanced behind him, their own longswords drawn.

"Even after killing the three of you, we can't escape," I said, multiple courses of action flashing through my mind in a heartbeat. I glanced at Brina and directed my eyes to the dirk on Paul's belt. In a quick and fluid motion, Brina reached down and pulled it free then tossed it to me. I caught it easily and turned my attention back just in time to deflect Beren's clumsy lunge at me.

With his sword out of the way, I took my newly acquired dagger and plunged it hilt deep into the side of his neck, twisting it when it hit bottom. He fell to the ground, trying to scoot away from me, one hand clutching at the gaping holes in his throat from which his lifeblood gurgled out.

My real concern was for Brina. James advanced on her and his movements matched every stance or shift in balance she adopted. Finally he lunged in at her, causing her to dodge to the side. He kept his distance and his balance, preventing her from launching any counter attacks.

The other guard advanced on me then. He had been waiting near the door to prevent us from making a break for it, but with his partner down, he had no choice but to come at me. He approached more carefully, having seen what I did to Beren. My concern for Brina was growing, so I threw caution to the wind and took the offensive against the guard.

Brina used my cloak to good effect then, whipping it around on her arm to foul up James' sword, slowing it enough so that she could land a solid kick to his stomach. He grunted and had his balance shifted back so that he had to take a half step back. He recovered quickly, yanking his sword free of the cloak and scoring a shallow cut along the outside of her left arm.

I tossed my dagger at the guard from an underhanded position, making him dodge to the side to avoid it. While distracted, I launched an overhand swing at him, drawing his longsword up high to keep his head from being split in two. Left with only my knee for a weapon, I drove it up and into his crotch, knocking the wind out of him in a small squeal. He doubled over briefly, the danger of his situation already overriding the impulse to curl into a fetal position. However, briefly was long enough, since my shortsword was no longer tangled up in his longsword. The point descended rapidly, sinking into his back just below his neck as he tried to stand back up. He shuddered and fell to his knees after a paralyzing moment of agony. I withdrew my blade and turned away from him to let him collapse to the ground and die.

I saw Brina try another foot sweep, but James deftly avoided it by jumping over her feet. Before he could launch a counter-attack she continued her sweep into another revolution, her leg aimed higher and driving out at the point of impact this time. He stumbled back and fell to one knee as her heel impacted directly with the front of his knee.

I slipped up behind him and laid my shortsword on his shoulder, the razor edge of it resting lightly against his neck. Brina sprung back to her feet and grinned triumphantly. I saw she had another minor wound on the inside of her right thigh as well, but she did not appear inconvenienced by it in spite of the trickle of blood that ran down the inside of her leg.

James, sensing defeat, dropped his sword and glared at Brina with undisguised hatred. "Everyone's life will last much longer if you don't make me kill you," I said, reaching down and grabbing the back of his tunic to indicate I wanted him to stand up. He did so slowly and raised his hands away from him. Brina moved closer and searched him carefully, removing a few throwing daggers and a dirk from his person, in addition to the longsword on the ground.

"Who are you?" He asked, his voice hard with anger.

"You're hardly in a position to ask questions," I responded, pressing lightly against his neck with my sword. "But since you asked so nicely, I'll tell you anyhow. I'm Yamara and she is Brina, and most recently, we're from Acathia."

"Where is that, somewhere in the Dark One's land?" He spat out.

"Don't know any Dark Ones, do you, Brina?" I said, enjoying the twist of fate.

"Could he mean a priest or a city-state King?" She asked.

"You know who I mean, don't taunt me!" He seethed. "The Dark One is far greater then any petty tyrant ruling any of the city-states to the south!"

"I don't think that's what he meant," I said rhetorically. "Acathia is, I believe, another world. Two suns there and only one here, you know. Before that I came from a world known as Halador. I tend to get myself involved with magical events that go awry."

"Yamara, what are we going to do now?" Brina asked me after a moment of thoughtful silence. I glanced at her, briefly surprised at how lost and small and almost innocent she looked in spite of the guard with the broken neck she had killed only a few minutes earlier.

"Yes, what are you going to do now?" James asked, trying to conceal the venom in his voice. "Everybody knows me well here, you'll not be able to escape."

I chafed at his words and his tone. We were in the position we were in entirely because of him. Left to our own devices, we would have moved on as best we could and not bothered him or his city. I was reminded of my desire to kill him then, and very nearly acted on it. I stayed my hand though, certain of a better way to do things. If only I could figure out what that way was. Perhaps my greatest mistake I ever made was in not acting on my instincts then and there.

"Tell us of this place," I said after a moment of thought, uncertain of what we would do, but knowing that we needed more information before we could do much of anything.

"Tell you of what place? This dungeon? The palace? Elendar? Malatoria?" His tone mocked me.

"We'll need to learn about this hole in the ground, but we can start with Malatoria."

James spoke of Malatoria then, haltingly and grudgingly at first, but gathering speed as he was questioned and prodded on. In what seemed a short order, Brina and I learned of the warlike and monotheistic Gneissian Empire to the west first. Gneiss was led by a man known as the Speaker of Symbos, the ageless high priest of the Gneissian God, Symbos. The preachings of Symbos were such that all citizens of the mighty empire were taught to believe only in what they were told. All creatures and things of magic not of a divine origin was false, in their eyes. That included any non-human race. No elves, dwarves, halflings, orcs, lizardfolk, gnomes, creatures of fairy (fey or benign in nature) were allowed within the great wall surrounding the empire. Soldiers serving along the wall or even further out, in border patrols or special missions, were reeducated before being allowed to return to the general public to maintain the falsehood of their existence.

I was fascinated that a con of such a magnitude could work successfully. James looked at me wearily, his long winded lesson broken up. Briefly, I saw a calculating look come into his eyes. He glanced around briefly, and then began to tell us more.

Gneissians could not completely disbelieve in magic, for whenever a war arose with Elendar or any of the other smaller nations of Malatoria, or something happened within the empire that could not be explained away in a normal way, magic was blamed. Magic was the tool of lesser, evil Gods. Not even Gods, according to the teachings of Symbos, but demons really.

"Sounds like Gneiss is ruled by a Sorcerer-King," Brina commented dryly, clearly not impressed.

James looked at her blankly, uncertain of what she was saying. "Where we are from, Acathia, the world is hot and lifeless. Where life does prosper is around oasises and fertile ground. Cities spring up there, and they are generally led by a powerful man or woman wielding a unique type of magic to lead great armies of men. They then title themselves as Sorcerer-Kings, and do whatever they can to run as corrupt a government as possible to break the backs of the slaves and freemen forced to eek out a living within their realm."