The story so far:
Jasni - A young woman from the west who has been sent off to do a year abroad by her new stepmother. She is very unhappy about this, especially since she is not familiar with Sattvic Discipline and has been given a trained Sattvic governess.
Miss Emily Candlewick - A Sattvan trained governess assigned to Jasni to help get her to her aunt's house in the Third Riding outside the great city of DunnisUrom.
En route to the Weatherthorp family (see below) Miss Emily and her ward have been captured by two men (and a one of their judicial slaves, an astrologer) due to their encounter with a bandit ("Lady Vulpis") who has interfered in their plans.
Kalvan Koros - Formerly a young lieutenant in the DunnisUrom Legion detachment. Punished for bad behavior, he resigned his position and took on service as the footman to the Dame Knight Listily. Under most circumstances, this would be a humiliating demotion.
Dame Listily - A young, decorated Dame Knight who achieved wide acclaim in her campaign against the Unclean. A singularly imposing figure, she has been given the Third Riding outside of DunnisUrom to govern and protect.
The Weatherthorp family - Matron (works in the kitchen, raises her daughters), the patriarch (Jasob, a good-natured farmer), and four daughters (Nally, Salli, Heather, and Esti). Heather is encountered by the Dame Knight and her footman after being punished following a row with her mother. They live in the Third Riding and have reason to fear that Unclean are active and ranging outside of the old wood.
The family, Kalvan, and the Dame Knight Listily, are en route to the Third Riding's stronghold (the Dame Knight's home) as the Unclean have been found too close to the family farm for them to shelter there safely.
Cais Verah - Son of the Great House Verah (which has ties to the Crown and the Throne that go back to antiquity). He has been tentatively arranged to a union with the Dame Knight. Her lineage is not nearly as prestigious as his, but she is highly accomplished and regarded, unlike Cais who is in trouble with his mother (Lady Verah) for having tried to circumvent her authority.
Yais of House Verah - a street girl and highly adept pickpocket. She was recruited by Cias as part of his plan to obtain an item from a powerful man that might let him escape his mother's machinations. In order to attend the celebration event, she was required to act as a "pet-girl" (a punishment usually used on housemaids which requires them to crawl and act as a household pet for a period of time). When the plot was exposed, Yais was given a choice to stay on as a pet in the great house or be returned, punished, to the streets. She chose to stay and is now Cais' personal servant / pet.
Miss Astalia - a wealthy merchant woman. Born to humble beginnings, she has been ruthless and driven to achieve wealth and power. Now she is embroiled with some plan involving the transport of a mysterious box from an exotic port in the south back to her co-conspirators in DunnisUrom. She has been waylaid and captured by...
Secretary Fresta - a young secretary / servant to the overbearing Astalia, Fresta spends much of her time being a suffering plaything to her mistress. Now she has been captured by bandits!
Nissa "Lady Vulpis", the Bandit Queen - The leader of a group of bandits who have been robbing coaches and other travelers in the Western Wood. She caught Emily and Jasni's coach, but released them after a brief examination of the cargo. She caught Astalia's coach and when the woman ran into the woods, the bandit queen (a term for a woman who leads a bandit party) ran her down and caught her. She had the mysterious box with her, but had hidden it prior to being captured.
Judgment Moon Pt 03
THIRD RIDING - THE MOORLANDS: EMILY CANDLEWICK
Emily sat naked in the cell. They were in the basement of an ancient stone manor house that had stood out in the moorlands, probably for a hundred years.
The basement of the house had been converted into a workshop of sorts. There were waterlights shining, making the stone rooms and corridors bright. She saw machines--some with coils of metal, some with glass covered dials and meters. Some with hatches that could open to put kindling or coal or some other fuel into. There were numerous cabinets and work tables and tool-racks. Most concerning to her, however, was the selection of speculums and enema bags and tubes with a frightening collection of exotic nozzles.
A flat table was fitted with restraints built into it and a peculiar collection of copper pipes ran from near where she presumed her head would be up into the ceiling. They looked like plumbing pipes but connected to nothing she could see.
The astrologer, 'Shelton' was a particularly nasty piece of work. He ordered her into the restraint cage in the back of the wagon-contraption she'd been herded into. With her head and wrists sticking out, caged as though she was on her knees in a pillory, he had used a paddle like device with a metal-coated surface and a trigger. He would hold it against her skin and pull the trigger and it erupted in a terrible shock! She had been caught unawares and howled.
He had laughed and placed the paddle against her sex. He'd offered her a chance to beg him and she had unwisely refused. On the second try, she had begged him to spare her there! It hadn't helped. She had peed in front of him, urine running down both of her thighs.
The only thing that spared her at all was that his device seemed to take time to recover before it could be used again, but she had been sobbing when they reached the house.
She was marched, naked, down to the basement under orders of Mr. Rath. He'd told Shelton, apparently his owned Judicial slave, was allowed to "enjoy himself" but not to "overly harm her."
He had not ordered her cleaned so, of course, the man left her wet. She had glimpsed her ward--Jasni was still clothed, and looked like she may have cried a little, but was otherwise bearing up well. She was grateful for that.
The obese man, a Mr. Towbee, had requested a custom key from his partner, Mr. Rath, and had taken the astrologer off to somewhere in the basement, the big man's small, mean eyes, falling over her body--a look that suggested he'd far rather have HER for what he had planned--but would settle for their slave for now.
Her captors were in no hurry to make use of her, it seemed. She could hear grunts and whimpers and groans from the chambers where Mr. Towbee was, in her estimation, availing his cock of Shelton. From the noises, it sounded like Shelton was somewhat used to this treatment but was certainly suffering grandly.
However much she might appreciate his ordeal after the terrible shock-paddle thing, this did not bode well for her. And, worse, when they were done with what they wanted, Mr. Towbee would likely be ready to go again, this time with the subject he really wanted.
Her cell was sturdy--bars, and a door built into the wall. Around her on three sides were solid stone, and the lock looked heavy and effective. There was a stone block against the back serving as perhaps a sitting surface or a bed. A bucket was within reach, she presumed as a makeshift chamber pot. There were rings inset to the back wall where shackles could be affixed. No, her stay here was not going to be a pleasant one.
Mr. Towbee's endurance was proving to be impressive, not that she felt much sympathy for Shelton. She hugged herself when she heard a door from the flight of stairs open and shifted to sit as properly as she could on the stone bench.
It was Jasni! The girl looked around the strange workshop and glanced at Mr. Rath.
"Go on," said the man. "Say hello to your governess."
The girl was commendably composed. Mr. Rath, apparently deciding not to entertain them with the sounds from Mr. Towbee's exploits, stalked out of the room, with a hard look at Emily: BEHAVE!
Emily felt the humiliation of being naked and smelling of urine in front of her ward--but the girl looked more concerned for Emily's health than her dignity. Their fingers laced between the bars.
"Did Mr. Rath--" Emily started.
