Zorac didn't bother with a shirt as he burst into the hall and ran for the stairs. He wasn't even sure how to find Rajeen as the woman's private chambers were well beyond the areas only her harem girls could enter. He dashed into the common room to find it empty except for the tiger guards who stood watch at every doorway. He expected as much as it was well past midnight, but he had prayed a harem girl would be about still cleaning up. With no other option, he ran for the guards at one of the private halls and was not surprised when they crossed their swords to bar his way.
"Please, I need to speak to Rajeen," the lizardman said. "Jaina is in danger!"
"No entrance without permission," one of the guards growled.
"Didn't you hear me?" Zorac shouted. "I said Jaina is in danger! I have to warn Rajeen!"
"Stand back, or we will cut you down," one of the guards said in a voice that dripped with threat.
"Hold!" a voice called as the two guards began to draw their swords. A woman with dark skin and white hair peeked around the corner wearing harem silks. "What did you say about Jaina?"
"She came to me in a dream and told me she was in danger. She begged me to run to Rajeen and tell her where she was," Zorac said with a pleading voice. "You have to believe me. She used some kind of magic to enter my dreams."
"She uses the fairy's glitter. It allows the Gisley woman to manipulate the user's dreams," the woman replied with a tense voice.
"Yes, that's it!" he exclaimed. "The gnoll guy, Roric, he gave me a small jar of glitter and told me how to use it."
"Then they must trust you or see something of value in you," the woman replied.
"Then you believe me?" Zorac asked. "You have to get me to Rajeen. There is no time to waste."
"I cannot take you to my master," the woman replied. "But I believe you, and I will risk telling her you are here. Stay here and do not attempt to pass the guards." With that, she vanished around the corner, leaving him to wonder what would happen next.
Zorac stepped away from the guards, who looked as if they were still not ready to let him pass, and waited a few moments. A minute later, he heard a distant shout of anger followed by a chorus of voices steadily drawing closer. Then two lights appeared in the darkness of the hall. Blue eyes full of anger stared out at him as the tigress appeared flanked by a dozen women armed for battle.
"Deliver your message," Rajeen demanded as she stepped into the room wearing only a slip around her waist.
Zorac quickly repeated everything Jaina had said as the tiger woman's eyes blazed with anger. He impressed the point that they were trapped and outnumbered with very little strength left to fight. Rajeen didn't waste a moment and turned to her girls with a snarl on her lips.
"Wake everyone and order them into armor!" She shouted as she turned to head back into the hall. "I want the tunnels scoured for trespassers, and my beloveds found! Send a messenger to the rogue's guilds, and tell them I want all the exits sealed! Nobody gets out of that dungeon unless I say they can leave!"
Women ran off to follow her orders, and moments later, a gong rang out three times. Zorac ran back to his room and gathered his armor and club before rushing down through a hallway of guests, looking out doorways to see what was going on. He rushed in his scale mail armor to the common room, where he saw Rajeen wearing black leather with metal plates covered in small sharp spikes.
"Lady Rajeen?" Zorac said as the woman stood in the doorway while a small army of women ran by in the hall.
"Ah, I was hoping you would come back," Rajeen said as she smiled. "It would appear you are special to Jaina, so I will trust you to come with us."
Zorac nodded and shouldered his club as Rajeen snapped her fingers and ordered the guards to follow. Moments later, an army of angry women poured into the sewers, fanning out to block every exit and sweep into the lower dungeons. Many of them knew the dungeons well and led raiding parties to begin clearing entire sections. When they found the fools threatening the master's beloveds, they would teach them just how poor a decision they had made.
"Evalynn rustled Roric awake as he slept in a huddle with the girls. He blinked his tired eyes and looked up to see her troubled expression and knew their time was up.
"I hear something coming," Evalynn said and pointed to the doorway. "We are about to be discovered."
"Get up," Roric called as he rustled the sleeping women.
"What?" Gisley asked as she rubbed her eyes.
"Our enemies have found us," Roric sighed and helped Chandice up. "We have to hold them off as long as we can."
Jaina looked at Evalynn, who nodded that the danger was real and the time for resting had come to an end. Judging by how little stamina she had recovered, she guessed less than two hours had passed. Still, it would be enough for a controlled fight, provided the number of foes was small.
Roric took charge of the strategy, asking Chandice to pull her devil back so they could use the door as a choke point. The room was large where Gisley, Jaina, and Chandice could hide safely back to avoid area of effect spells. There were even a few nooks that they could use for cover once the doorway was lost and they. Chandice was to conserve her power so that as soon as her devil died, she could summon two imps who could do far more damage than she could right now. Gisley would use her sword to defend Chandice and Jaina while Roric, Evalynn, and the devil focused on holding the doorway.
They huddled in the chamber, waiting until they all heard the thumps of armored feet. Evalynn charged the moment the door was thrown open, immediately scoring a solid hit on a human woman with an ax. Behind her were several more players, but they were quickly shoved back by Evalynn's attack. Roric moved through the door with her, the devil warrior right behind, engaging a dwarf man and a slightly shorter woman with green hair. The ambush had its desired effect, taking them by surprise, but it quickly turned as the short woman began to teleport around, laughing as she kept stabbing with a slender knife.
"That's a type of fairy," Gisley said as her antenna went up. "It's like an evil leprechaun. They can teleport short distances and create illusions."
"Great, more illusions," Jaina said as she winced when Roric was stabbed in the leg. She and Gisley were still absorbing damage, and he would likely pull on them to heal when he needed it. Though this was helping, it left Jaina longing for a way to affect the battle more directly. She just wasn't a class that was good in direct combat, and dungeons were not her strong suit. Eventually, that would change, but until it did, all she could do was hope she had enough health for Roric to draw on.
Roric desperately tried to swat the rapidly darting fairy, who kept vanishing in puffs of mist. Every time he did, he or Evalynn cried out as he stabbed at them from behind with a slender knife. Roric found it hard to twist and turn in the corridor, especially with his long spear. However, the dangerous foe was short and had plenty of room to maneuver about. Moreover, being able to teleport made it much harder to pin her down, distracting them from the other foes.
It was an excellent tactic, but Roric could see a pattern in his attacks. She was darting from one to the other in perfect succession, always arriving directly behind. Roric planned his attack catching a glimpse as the fairy stabbed at Evalynn, then turned rapidly even as she vanished. He slashed at the spot that used to be directly behind him, catching the player as she appeared. The pest cried out in pain as Roric's blow took her off her feet to slam into a wall. Roric tried to skewer her, but the fairy blinked away before he could strike. Suspecting she might focus on him now, Roric jumped forward while turning in the air. Sure enough, the angry fairy appeared to strike at him only to find he was out of reach. However, the long spear was more than able to strike back, scoring a second hit on the miniature pest.
"No fair!" the lurikeen cried as she stumbled back only to be caught by Evalynn, who saw an opportunity. She took a firm hit from the dwarf so that she could visit some payback on the little pest. Her blow tossed her at Roric, who tried to skewer her, only for her to blink away. She arrived in the room before the three girls and smiled to see two of them were naked.
"I hope we take you two alive," she said with a wicked smile.
"Keep dreaming," Gisley replied and slashed at her with her sword, only for her to blink away. Jaina immediately grew her claws and wisely pressed her back to Gisley's so the creature couldn't get behind either of them.
Chandice backed up to the wall and, with a word, was surrounded by a halo of fire. The poor player appeared at her side and was immediately burned, but she managed to stab Chandice's leg, causing her to cry in pain.
"Friggan damage auras!" the player cried as she hopped around and looked back with rage in her eyes before a red lance of light struck and sent her flying. She hit the floor as a ray of moonlight came down, flattening her to the stone where she finally lay motionless.
"I can't do that too many more times," Gisley said as she watched the dead player carefully.
"Was that red light you?" Jaina asked.
"It was Roric," Chandice replied as she limped away from the wall. "He used that ranged attack to throw a phantom spear."
Jaina turned back the fight in the tunnel to see Roric and Evalynn were faring far better in a two-on-two fight. Without the annoying pest to keep them turning, they could focus on the remaining combatants who were no match for Evalynn.
"This one's not low level," the dwarf cried as Evalynn used a special ability that had her moving in a blurring series of attacks. She struck the poor player five times as he tried in vain to scurry back. The devil and Roric were double-teaming the woman who appeared the be the more dangerous of the two attackers. She wore heavy armor and swung a one-handed ax with deadly precision while using her free hand to cast defensive spells. She produced shields, gusts of wind, and even counter punches, but being on the defensive wasn't helping her cause. Slowly she began to take hits, and when Evanlynn finally ended the dwarf, it turned to three on one.
