A Drow's Dilemma Ep. 06: Rescue

Author's Note:

A Drow's Dilemma began as a one-on-one roleplaying project and has been converted into a chapter-by-chapter format for weekly posting with the permission and assistance from my partner. It will contain a considerable amount of sexual themes such as femdom, lesbian, straight, 'reverse' rape, BDSM, group sex, romance, and other themes. This particular chapter contains not much in the way of sexy stuff and focuses on the action of the plot. The main goal of the story, however, is to tell an epic tale of adventures, gods and goddesses, fae, and nymphomaniacs. This episode and every episode to come will be available for free on Literotica for the foreseeable future.

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Episode Six: Rescue

As always, Gurzan was exactly as good as his word. The moment the sun reached its zenith (or the moment the noon bell rang, either way...) he returned to the group's temporary hideout. Ashyr and Celeste were simply sitting side-by-side, waiting for him. "My companion and I have found where our people are being kept." He said flatly when he saw Celeste and the drow sitting side-by-side within the hideout. "Most of them are in the city prison. It should be easy to get them out. However, Artur and Caleldir are held in the fortress dungeons, which enormously complicates matters. Since releasing one group will cause greater security at the the other location, we will have to split up." He thought for a moment. "There are four of us, so we should go in groups of two."

"She can heal people, you can heal people. The teams seem pretty clear to me. I say you go with your fabled bird to get the troop. Celeste and I will sneak Artur and Caleldir out." Ashyr said with a nod.

"Hmmph." Gurzan grunted. "That makes perfect sense. If Celeste can heal up Caleldir from his ordeal, he will be able to help with the escape. If nothing else, he had ways of concealing lockpicks that make it unlikely that Faust would have found them. And no, he does not hide them in wherever you are imagining, Drow." He gave her one of his typically disapproving looks. Drow and their depravities never ceased to annoy him. Of course, pretty much everything that did not trigger a 'Detect Law' Spell annoyed him.

He shook his mind away from his suspicions. If this was to succeed, he would have to trust her. For a moment. However much it irked him. "This plan will work." He finally said. He tossed her his bone-and-silver whistle. "Signal me when you are in position. One long blow for ready, two short blasts for emergency retreat. My companion is the only one with the ability to hear its magic sound, and she can hear it from anywhere, so no one else will know that something is up. Once you have signaled, I will swoop in and free our company. My companion has brought some... allies with her; we will evacuate by flight from the roof. Some of our performers can work minor illusions, which should suffice to keep us hidden in our flight out. Artur will be able to tell you where to meet us at."

The old half-orc paused, looking at Ashyr and Celeste for confirmation. "However you get those two out is up to you. Is this plan acceptable?"

"Yeah. Break a leg." The drow said, trying out the phrase she'd heard the night before. It felt... right.

After listening to the two women, he stepped out into the alley. "See you at the place Artur will tell you." He said. "Good luck." Putting his fingers to his mouth, he blew a long, piercing whistle. A shadow passed over the alley, and before either Celeste or Ashyr could catch a good glimpse, some flying creature a little bigger than a harpy swooped in and carried Gurzan off in its claws.

Both women turned to look at each other. "Fuck me, the bird was huge." Celeste said with wonder in her eyes. Ashyr valiantly resisted making a dirty remark.

Celeste led Ashyr to where the fortress sat upon a slight incline on the southern edge of the city. The area around the place was remarkably well-maintained and clearly rich. Ashyr felt such extravagance was surpassed only by the Duskhaven estate which was, of course, the grandest most wonderful thing she would ever see no matter what was brought before her to refute it. The human woman walked calmly down the streets. At first she was dressed in her normal attire. On the way, however, and Ashyr wasn't quite sure how it had happened, Celeste picked up some servant from the fortress' clothes. The drow that followed at a distance in the shadows found that she was glad of her friend's slow pace. It was easy to trail the wrong person if she wasn't careful.

They made it all the way up and into the fortress gardens through what Ashyr assumed was a servant's entrance. No one challenged someone who looked like a busy servant. The drow has to get into the gardens the hard way. It was lucky that she could climb so well.

"Wait here." Celeste said when she got the drow to meet in a pretty patch of trees that looked just a little too well-manicured to have sprouted here naturally. She held off Ashyr's protestations. "I'm going to try to get a feel for the fortress first. You can't just walk in blindly and get lost. Even if you do find them, you'd have no idea where to go. I'll find them and an escape route."

Ashyr fidgeted. "Don't put yourself in danger. I don't want to have to rescue you too." She responded with affected gruffness. She knew it had been going on for a while, but it was weird that she cared.

The blond smiled, and it was like the sun set with all the beauty that brought darkness and relief from her tired crimson eyes. Then, to the drow's happy surprise, Celeste kissed her on the lips. Soundly.

The blonde bard smiled to herself when she hurried up to the fortress proper. Just the look on Ashyr's face had made that kiss worth it. But that was not the only reason she was pleased with herself. Now was not the time to think upon her relationship with that strange and beautiful dark woman. She had a clear goal in her mind, and she intended to impress everyone with just how useful her skill set could be.

She walked into another servant door and sweet-talked her way into the kitchens. It was during that awkward hour between lunch and dinner where there was not much cooking to be done yet. Because of this, there was a single creature inside: a small goblin who scrubbed the floors with a slouched and desolate air. With her sweetest smile, she approached the creature.

"Hello." She said. "What's your name, little guy?"

The goblin looked over to her with complete bafflement. It took him a moment to compute. "Name's Fucking, miss."

Celeste coughed. "Yo - what?!" She composed herself slightly. "Is... is that a family name, or...?"

"Dunno parents. Born here. 'Clean that mess, you fucking goblin. Turn that wheel, fucking goblin.' Fucking."

She understood, and felt even more sorry for the thing. "How would you like to leave here, to go with people who don't boss you around and are mean, get a new name?"

"Name's fine. Fucking likes his name. Fucking does not like it here." He gestured at the room around him. "Wanna go out. They won't let me."

"Well, I will let you."

--

Celeste didn't return until the sun was mostly set. She had a beautifully triumphant grin on her face. "I think I knew the perfect route. And I've made a friend. If you see a goblin, don't worry about it. I got him to help me in exchange for his rescue. Please try to keep him safe." Great. Just what she needed. But the blonde made Ashyr agree before telling her anything else.

Once the plan was explained and understood, Ashyr blew once on the silent whistle and hoped that she was doing it right. Then she made her way through the castle. It had been a long, hard debate, but Ashyr managed to make Celeste wait for her in the washing room where the dirty water flowed into the river beside the city. It wasn't a large enough hole for any invading forces, but just a couple people could get out pretty easily. Celeste did manage to press a potion of moderate healing strength into Ashyr's hands. "Just in case one of their friends wasn't mobile enough."

The drow went down a few staircases until she could find the way by the screaming and chain-rattling alone. -Ah, the sweet sounds of home- She thought to herself almost ruefully. One guard had to die before she could get into the torture chambers. From there she saw multiple rooms with heavy iron doors. Each prisoner was kept separately, away from any comfort they might find in a friend going through the same ordeal. There was an interrogation taking place - she could tell by the whipping noises. She burst through the open door onto the man whose face said he was enjoying himself entirely too much... or just enough, depending on the perspective. His enjoyment was ruined by the knife drawn across his neck.

As the interrogator was falling, a series of terribly sickening pops and crunches came from the interrogated. "It is good to see you here!" Caleldir said with surprising cheerfulness, voice much weaker than normal, but attitude pretty much the same as usual. The pops and crunches had been him slithering and wrenching himself out of the ropes.

"You have saved me from a hard decision." He continued. "Getting out of those ropes with him there hitting me would have been nearly impossible. I do not think it was necessary to kill him though. He was just following instructions, after all." He ruefully rubbed a rather nasty looking wound. "He did take a little bit more enjoyment in it than strictly necessary though. I suppose that it is unlikely that a fellow with his notions of pleasure will be missed. Now, if you would kindly get me some clothing, I would be most grateful." Though not entirely naked, the pale young elf was near so, wearing only his undergarments. His body was lean and athletically muscled in the typical elvish fashion. But, stunningly, his completely colorless skin appeared slightly translucent, with the outlines of objects behind him hinted at through his body. He was also clearly, and severely, bruised... for a few seconds. Now that his interrogator was not actively injuring him any longer, his wounds vanished, leaving dried blood but otherwise completely unmarred skin. "Fortunately." He observed. "They had not yet gotten around to using cold iron on me. If they had, this whole thing could have gotten really nasty." He blinked, looking at Ashyr. "I think I did mention that my... mother was fae, after all." He had referred to that 'fact', but generally in conjunction with his more unbelievable stories.

Despite his dissonantly cheerful expression and tone, once he managed to stand up, Caleldir promptly keeled over. "Dreadfully sorry!" He gasped out. "I am not in the best of shape here. I have taken rather more damage than I am used to." Suddenly, he noticed his hand. And the rest of his body. He groaned. "Well. I suppose that you will have almost as many questions as they did." He said woefully. "This fine sadist here kept a journal. If you feel the need to get information, ask the book." He stumbled over to the dead interrogator. "I ask that you keep this next bit a deadly secret, else I will have to kill you." He looked as severe as someone in his state could for a few moments, then shrugged. "I am kidding of course. I would not kill you. I would be upset though. Well, this guy is not going to be using his life anymore. Might as well put it to good use." He put his hand on the dead torturers face. "I really hate doing this." He muttered. A deathly blue glow covered his hand, and the man shriveled into a mummy. Caleldir stood up much faster and more fluidly than he had knelt. "We should throw this guy into the moat. Would not do to have him found in this state."

Ashyr stared at the verbose and slightly transparent elf with a completely bemused expression. She opened her mouth, blinked, shook her head, and then made another heroic attempt to speak. There was a see-through pale elf who acted for all the world like he'd just come out of anything other than a nice, long torture session. Hell, he just kind of... popped and crackled his way out of restraints. The fool even seemed to have no particularity hard feelings against the guy who must have caused him so much pain. Then he was this terrifying life-drainer of death and desiccation. Wasn't there also a bit about cold iron fortunately not being used? She didn't know whether she was more scared or aroused. The drow finally managed to latch onto one thing that resonated with her. The rest she would have to figure out later.

"I see nothing wrong with what you are wearing." She said with a lecherous grin. Something about the expression still seemed slightly dazed. It was probably the slightly vacant look in her eyes.

"Well I do not like running around in this state of undress." Caleldir looked down at himself. Normal color, and no-longer see-through. Good. He looked at the mummified corpse. He closed his eyes. "Well, I suppose that this guy is not using his clothes either... No, that is just nasty. I will pick up something from the armory. If we make it that way." He noticed Ashyr's rather... suggestive grin.

She shut her eyes tightly, shook herself, and tried to get her brain to wake. It was a process. What didn't help was the very slight blush she could see on Caleldir's pale skin. It was endearing somehow, in a sexy way. "Gah, um. I'm going to go find Artur. Yes. Artur. Needs saving." She mumbled to herself as she turned away. "Wait. There was a book?"

"Yes, Artur. I do not think that he is in nearly as bad a state as I was. They noticed very quickly that I could take significantly more punishment." He shivered. "It was extremely unpleasant." He let out a long breath, seeming to compose himself. "But yes, a book. I am afraid that I do not hold up well under pain, and I told him a lot of things I really do not want anyone around here to know. Nothing that he wanted from me, though, since I did not know the information he wanted. Which is a very good thing, since I probably would have told him shamefully quickly. I do not want to go through that again. I do not know if you have ever been tortured (you are Drow though, so I suppose that it is a possibility) but I really do not recommend it. Fortunately, the fool did not communicate at all with his superiors (I suppose he was ordered not to do so until he had the information sought, which I did not know, after all. No, I am not bitter about that fact. Not at all)." He certainly sounded bitter. "He did record everything in his journal. I would prefer not to leave that for Lord Faust to find." He fumbled around with some of the man's instruments with obvious distaste. "Yech. Most of these still have bits of me on them. Unsanitary." At last, he pulled out a bloodstained journal. "Here it is." He went to put in his pocket, then realized that he was still naked. "Perhaps you can stash this somewhere?" He asked.

The drow looked like she was still having a hard time coping with everything. It was the lightness of his tone, mostly. She would have been a towering rage of death and fury had she been in the same circumstance. "It depends on the torture, really. Remind me one day to show you the good kind." She found herself saying.

Yeah. Maybe he should wear clothes. Her brain was getting stuck on that one, titillating subject. She needed to focus.

"I am not sure that the word's 'good' and 'torture' should be used in conjunction with each other, even if only by implication." Caleldir said, frowning.

Ashyr looked down at the dead torturer who, technically speaking, was wearing clothes that Caleldir could also wear. She didn't want him in that as much as he didn't want to wear it. Okay, maybe it would be interesting to see him in a... Lolth's tits, there she went again. She fled the room and began to search frantically for Artur.

She could still hear him talking, though, apparently to himself. "I suppose one could argue that 'the good kind' would be the type of restrained torture sparingly and efficiently used on the obviously guilty, but I have no idea why she would offer to show me that, so she is likely referring to something else." The man mused. Ashyr struggled to put those words out of her mind instead of imagining herself showing him exactly what she meant.

The leader of the troupe was as far down the hall as he could be from Cal, and tied up in a similar fashion. "Gods, girl. It's so good to see you." The man coughed upon seeing his rescuer.

He did look like he was in a little better shape injury-wise than Cal had been. Artur, however, was older. Or, at least, he was mortal. The drow ran up to him and quickly undid everything that was holding the man in place. The caravan leader got to be the proud recipient of the health potion that Celeste had given her. Only after he drank it could he stand properly. Ashyr was then a little more motivated to find clothes for the (hopefully) former prisoners to wear. Artur was not a good-looking man without his shirt on. He was slightly portly and saggy, and the brown curls that topped his head seemed to be present everywhere on his body. Everywhere. Walking rather slowly, but recovering a little more fully with each step, he was not far behind Ashyr when she emerged from the room.

"Ah! Good to see you again." Caleldir said to Artur when the chipper half-elf(?) came into view. "Are you enjoying the accommodations as much I am? Hopefully not. The hospitality here is a little much for me."

Ashyr nodded at Caleldir, glad to see him recovering and glad to see him mostly naked still. But on the topic of nudity ,Artur still was as well, and she was not so happy about that. "I saw a chest up the stairs in what I guess is the lounge room for the guards. My guess is that they'll have your clothes there." She told them finally, just now remembering that little detail. "But hurry; Celeste is waiting for us in the washing room. Oh, and you'll be happy to know that Gurzan got away. He's rescuing the rest of the troop as we speak. Probably."

Caleldir nodded back. "I am glad to hear that Gurzan is out. He will get them out, no fear. His wi- err, eagle companion will see to that. You get Artur out, I will retrieve our belongings and catch up with you." He smiled in a wry way. "Do not worry about me. I can move unseen when I wish. I can also get past any locks, if necessary." He coughed and hacked like a dying cat for a few seconds, then pulled out from his mouth a thin, slimy packet. Making a disgusted face, he removed a few lockpicks from it. "Handy hiding spot. If they would have left me alone, I would have been able to use these to escape. Sadly, they did not. I guess they were too excited." He saluted the two of them. "Back in a moment. Ms. Duskhaven, please do not kill anyone unnecessary while I am gone."

So saying, he crept off, bare feet making no noise against the stone floor.

"Ugh." Ashyr said upon seeing him hack up some lockpicks. It was a smart plan, she had to admit. She wasn't sure she'd be able to successfully retrieve the things herself if she decided to copy him. He said his bit and she watched him leave. She totally didn't take the time appreciate the view she had from behind. Totally. Ashyr regretted that it was unlikely that she'd see him again in a similar state of undress - at least not for a while. It had been a while since she'd entertained herself with a man, and he was extremely attractive as men went. Artur nudged her gently and gave her a knowing, highly amused look. She shoved him back with slightly more force. Her face, however didn't look too perturbed.

After a suitable length of time had passed, Caleldir caught back up to the two of them. He tossed Artur his clothing. As for himself, he was wearing a very ragged set of familiar leather armor that featured an obvious hole in front of and behind his heart. He touched the hole. "Not a good place for your armor to be non-functioning, eh?" He laughed blackly. "Sadly, they had nothing else in my size. I think. I did not try everything. At least I have a blade now. Lead the way, Ms. Duskhaven!"