Rescue — Part 2
It had been six days since Aleksandra and Vendra had begun their journey and things were not going the way Aleksandra had thought and hoped they would. The main problem was the slave-wagon and its human cargo. The wagon was large and cumbersome. Though the four horses that pulled it may have been adequate for roads and tracks, they struggled to draw the wagon across the countryside they were now traversing.
Encouraged by Hemming Greve, their departure from the site of the battle had been as rapid as possible. They took what food and water stores the raiding party could spare, although it was obvious that they would have to forage and hunt if they were to feed all seven of them for the entire journey
As they were about to leave the weather changed, a cloying mist began to form.
“We will mask your wagon tracks, this cloying fog will help with that in this rocky ground. Once you have gone we will continue our search. Perhaps we can successfully recover some other... captives,” said Hemming Greve, “But we definitely need to know more about the witches and their disposition in this area.”
“I understand and thank you,” said Aleksandra.
“I don’t have to tell you to use the utmost caution and to trust no one you might meet,” said Hemming Greve then he looked around, his eyes taking in the swirling mist that made the figures of the other raiders indistinct. Their actions muffled and their shapes dim in the gloaming light of the mist. His voice trailed off.
“Is something amiss?” asked Aleksandra as she looked at the expression on Hemming Greves face.
He frowned, “Probably just an old man worrying over nothing, but this mist does not feel... right. It as if there is something unnatural about it,” said Hemming Greve as he looked around, “Something... fell, but something familiar.”
Then he shook his head and turned his face to Aleksandra, “Ignore me Aleksandra, blame it on an old man’s excessive caution. Now you must leave but be careful, we both know the witches have ways and powers we do not possess. They may track you despite our efforts at subterfuge. Hopefully this mist will help you but as I’ve said take extreme care and, The Five Who Are One permitting, we’ll meet again in Lindest.”
Aleksandra took a last look at Hemming Greve then she climbed up onto the wagon and sat next to Vendra before picking up the reins. Without looking back she urged the horses on.
As the wagon made its slow way across the rugged ground the wet, cloying mist began to thin and they were able to see much further ahead. After two hours Aleksandra stopped the wagon and climbed down. Then she unhitched one of the two horses tied to the rear of the wagon and mounted it.
“I’ll scout ahead,” she said to Vendra, “Keep trying to head east and I’ll find you again, just make the best time you can,”
Vendra had simply nodded as Aleksandra wheeled her horse and rode away into the wetly clinging mist.
For six hours Aleksandra scouted the route she hoped they would be able to follow. An experienced tracker and hunter, Aleksandera had looked for the best and simplest route for the wagon and horses to take. Gradually the light, already diminished by the ever-present mist, began to fade and Aleksandra turned back. Her timing was perfect as she arrived back at the wagon just as Vendra brought it to a halt.
The area they had stopped in was both hilly and wooded, with stands of trees forming thick copses that would serve as a hiding place for the black wagon and its four horses. After searching, Vendra found a way into a brush and tree-choked depression that would provide the hiding place they needed.
With the wagon in place and hidden, and as they made their first camp, Vendra asked Aleksandra if she had noticed something about the wagon.
“What do you mean?” asked Aleksandra as she opened the back of the wagon.
“Well,” said Vendra, “it’s longer on the outside than it is on the inside.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes, I noticed it before we left but I became more convinced as we travelled,” replied Vendra.
Aleksandra looked at her friend for a moment then nodded, “Alright let’s check, we need to open the wagon and see how our... ex-captives are anyway.”
There was no longer a lock on the door at the rear of the black slave-wagon but none of the occupants had made any attempt to open it.
An odour assailed Aleksandra’s senses as she opened the rear doors to the wagon. It was an odour that she unfortunately recognised as it assailed her, a mixture of sex and leather. The five slaves had had the entire day to find a way to occupy themselves and it was obvious that they had chosen sex as the way to fill in the time. Aleksandra was carrying a torch but she suddenly found it unnecessary, what looked like large gems embedded in the leather that covered the ceiling of the wagon were glowing brightly and giving enough light to see clearly enough.
Aleksandra looked at Vendra who took the torch from her and placed it outside the wagon as Aleksandra took in the sight before her. The five occupants of the wagon were now kneeling in a line, their leather masked faces turned to the floor their gloved hands resting on their thighs as they silently waited.
Aleksandra felt the same dismay at the sight as she had when she saw these five women for the first time. But then again these were not truly women anymore rather they were, at the same time, more and much less than other women. They were sex-slaves and what was more, almost by accident, they were Aleksandra’s sex-slaves.
Almost involuntarily Aleksandra’s eyes roved over the five women’s bodies. Now that they were virtually naked she could see the piercings that adorned them, the gold rings through their nipples, navel’s and clitorises were now on view. There was also a gold ring circling the centre of their lower lips and without being told Aleksandra knew their tongues would also be pierced with two gold studs. How could any woman do this to another woman thought Aleksandra?
With a shudder Aleksandra looked away from the five kneeling figures and studied the inside of the wagon. Striding forward past the five kneeling slaves Aleksandra counted her footsteps until she reached the end of the wagon. Vendra was right, it was smaller inside than it should be.
Looking more carefully in the wagons magical light Aleksandra could see a finely defined seam in the studded leather that covered the wagon’s walls. It was about the right size for a door. Unfortunately, there appeared to be no way of opening it to see what lay on the other side.
“You were right Vendra, but I can’t see any way to get to the other side of this false wall short of breaking it down and it looks as if that would be difficult to say the least.”
“Perhaps... perhaps we should ask... one of them, one of the... women we rescued,” said Vendra, unwilling to turn and look at the five semi-naked women, “After all this has been their home since they were... altered.”
“Yes, that’s a good idea,” said Aleksandra reluctantly.
Aleksandra turned and looked at the backs of the five kneeling, semi-naked women, she paused as continued to look.
Finally Aleksandra spoke, “One, stand up and come here know,” she said, attempting to make what she said a command rather than a request.
In a fluid and utterly erotic motion the auburn-haired slave climbed to her stiletto booted feet and walked towards Aleksandra and Vendra. Aleksandra had never had any sexual interest in women whatsoever but even she had to admit that the creature walking towards her was truly beautiful and decidedly sexual. Vendra glanced as the sex-slave approached then she quickly turned her face away, blushing deeply with embarrassment at the sight of the semi-naked woman.
One turned its leather-masked face to the floor “Mistress, how may this slave be of service?” said one subserviently.
Aleksandra swallowed nervously, this was a new experience for her, “Your previous... owner, failed to show me how to access the door in this wall. Show me how to do it,” she said.
“Yes Mistress,” said one as it stepped forward.
Aleksandra watched carefully as the slave pressed four of the studs embedded in the leather wall with its gloved finger. With a click the partially hidden door came ajar swinging far enough outwards for it to be grasped and opened fully. Aleksandra thought for a moment then pushed the door closed. With another click the door sealed itself, becoming virtually unnoticeable once more.
“Show me again,” ordered Aleksandra.
“Yes Mistress,” said the slave as its leather-gloved fingers once again pressed the four studs in the same sequence.
With a click of some internal mechanism the door once again opened, Aleksandra looked to the slave, meaning to give her thanks, but then she paused; thanks were both pointless and unnecessary. Not only wouldn’t the slave understand why it’s Mistress was thanking it there was no need to do so. Slaves obeyed or else they were punished realised Aleksandra. One had simply done what was expected of it and obeyed its owner. Aleksandra paused for a moment then she reached out and pulled open the disguised door and stepped through it.
Six large, uncoloured crystals embedded in the leather-covered ceiling immediately brightened, bathing the area in a red, magically generated light. The effect of the red light and the black leather that covered everything in what looked for all the world like a room was, in Aleksandra’s mind, to give the space a gloomy and ominous feel.
The fact that that space had been designed as a room was indisputable, what were effectively the walls of the wagon were partially covered by wardrobes, doors and cupboards as well as storage racks. To Aleksandra’s surprise there was even an area for ablutions with a broad sink and jugs for water as well as soaps, perfumes and cosmetics. However, the one thing that defined the use of the area was the remarkably large bed that projected from the farthest wall.
From behind her Aleksandra heard Vendra gasp in amazement. Despite the black walls it was obvious that this was a fairly comfortable place to sleep. But there was something strange about the area, an odour that Aleksandra did not recognise but was noticeable despite the prevailing smell of leather. Then there was the sound, a low ringing tone just on the edge of hearing, only noticeable if she really concentrated.
Without warning Aleksandra’s knees began to buckle as a wave of dizziness swept through her. Aleksandra closed her eyes as hands grabbed her arms and she was helped to sit on the only available flat area, the end of the satin-sheeted bed. Aleksandra closed her eyes to stop the world trying to spin round and round as the buzzing in her ears became louder and she felt that she wanted to vomit. Aleksandra managed to hold on to her stomach contents as slowly but surely the dizziness subsided and the ringing in her ears reduced. Aleksandra’s eyes gradually opened and she licked her lips as she looked around.
Vendra had sagged to her knees and she was holding her head in her hands as she leant against the studded leather covered door of a cupboard; Vendra’s eyes were closed and her face was pale and sickly. Aleksandra realised that whatever had affected her had impacted on her friend just as deeply. Something was very wrong with this room. Then Aleksandra looked straight ahead of her and realised that of the three of them that had entered the room only two had been affected in such a dramatic way.
Standing directly in front of Aleksandra was the sex-slave known as one, and unlike Vendra and Aleksandra the slave showed absolutely no signs of the dizziness that had so deeply affected Aleksandra. But there were signs of other things and actions that Aleksandra noticed, things that Aleksandra found disturbing.
The slave was holding Aleksandra’s arms in its leather-gloved hands making it obvious to Aleksandra that it was one that had helped her to sit on the bed. For no reason she could fathom Aleksandra’s eyes moved down from the slave’s leather-masked face, her gaze pausing on one’s large full breasts she noticed the slave’s pierced nipples were erect and hard. Then her eyes continued to move downwards over one’s flat stomach and then to the slave’s pubes where small drops that looked like dew on a stem of grass could be seen glistening in the slave’s auburn pubic hair.
Aleksandra suddenly realised what she was doing, where she was looking, and quickly turned her eyes away.
“Are you alright Mistress?” asked the slave called one in a concerned tone as it looked down at Aleksandra where she sat on the black satin sheet.
“I’m fine,” replied Aleksandra dismissively, “Let go of me,” she ordered.
Without comment one let go of Aleksandra’s arms and stepped backwards, the tips of the long thin stiletto heels of the slaves boots sinking into the soft leather of the floor without causing any damage.
Aleksandra looked at Vendra, her friend had managed to regain her feet but was still supporting herself with a hand on the studded leather wall.
“Are you alright Vendra?” asked Aleksandra.
“Yes, I think so,” she said as she looked at Aleksandra, “What just happened?”
“I’ve no idea but I don’t like it. Let’s get out of this place,” she said.
“Yes please,” said Vendra as she turned and walked from the room.
As Aleksandra passed the slave called one she stopped, “Cover yourself and tell the others to do the same, I don’t need to see your breasts or pubes,” she ordered, “And I want all of you to remove those masks until I tell you otherwise.”
“As you command, Mistress,” replied one subserviently.
“And one more thing, from now on I expect you to be the... leading slave my orders for the others will come through you, do you understand?”
“Yes Mistress, this slave understands.”
“Good, now do as I’ve told you,” said Aleksandra then with a last look around she too left the room.
Outside the wagon Aleksandra took a deep breath of the cool night air and looked up through the canopy of branches at the star filled sky. She had no idea what had just happened but she found it extremely disturbing. The witches were known for their use of magic and what Vendra and she had just experienced smacked strongly of it. However, whatever the spell was she thanked the Five Who Are One that it seemed to have had no lasting effect on either of them.
Aleksandra realised that Vendra was watching her, “Let’s finish setting up camp, then we can prepare food for ourselves and our... guests. I did a sweep on my way back and found no evidence of pursuit but we’ll share the watch through this night.”
Without further comment the two women set to work.
...
It was six days into the slow journey back to the refugee camp and the days had settled into a rhythm. After their first night they had changed their travelling pattern at Vendra’s suggestion, moving the black wagon during the night by the light of two of the three moons and each morning hiding the wagon as best possible.
Fortunately, the area they were travelling through had heavily wooded copses and in places allowed acceptable hiding places to be found as long as their fires were kept smoke free and to a minimum. So far their caution had paid off and they had been successful in their attempts but Aleksandra wanted that success to continue the alternative was unthinkable. Aleksandra felt that up to now they had been very lucky, the slow moving wagon was an easy target but so far they had evaded the search that must surely be taking place.
Each evening at dusk their temporary and well-hidden camp would be broken and Aleksandra or Vendra would set out to scout the way ahead and also check that, as yet, no one was on their trail. Each morning they would prepare food for themselves and the five slaves, either using some of the supplies they had brought or more commonly relying on the hunting and foraging skills of Aleksandra.
It had been Aleksandra who had spent this particular night scouting ahead. It was a night when the major and the median moons were in the sky and giving a strong silvery light. She had risked going much further afield than she had previously done. Vendra already had a hiding place chosen, a stand of trees with thick, apparently impenetrable bushes that formed a small clearing around a cliff face that could be entered with care and then the entrance disguised.
Aleksandra had worked silently beside Vendra as they cleared away any wagon tracks on the rock hard ground and then made their route into the trees and bushes invisible. Temporarily safe they had made a smokeless fire and prepared food for all seven of them, still Aleksandra remained silent. Vendra had looked questioningly at her friend as they ate but remained equally silent until their meal was finished.
Finally Vendra spoke, “You returned much later than normal Aleksandra, did something happen, did you find something?”
Aleksandra continued to look down at the fire between them for several more seconds then she looked at Vendra, “Yes, I found... something,” she said with a sigh, “Something I was hoping I wouldn’t find.”
Vendra remained silent as she waited for Aleksandra to continue.
“We’ve known we are probably being hunted but so far we’ve been lucky. Last night however, was the closest I‘ve come to being discovered. The fact that I wasn’t is probably pure and utter luck.”
“Tell me what happened,” said Vendra anxiously.
“I had reached a point where I thought it was time for me to turn back but not far ahead was a low ridge. I made the decision to go to the top of the ridge and see what I could observe on the other side. I didn’t want to be outlined on the top of the ridge so I left my horse at the bottom and made my way to the top, crawling on all fours for the last few feet until I could see the other side.”
“The three moons were full and very bright last night. As you know it was Tremas Eve, and I could see that on the other side of the ridge was a bowl shaped area several miles across and covered with knee high grass. We’ll need to avoid this place as we move forward as it’s far to open and exposed for us to cross safely. For a few moments I saw nothing and was getting ready to leave then I noticed movement. Ten people six men and four women, were running through the knee-high grass directly towards my hiding place and then I saw the reason why they were in such a panic.”
Aleksandra paused and looked at her clasped hands, “Following them were five riders, four dressed in red leather armour and the fifth in a flowing black robe, they were the Witch-Queens troops.”
Aleksandra looked up, a worried expression on her face as she gazed at Vendra, “I have seen their like before. The ones in the red leather armour are part of the Witch-Queen’s personal regiment called The Blood-Guard. The woman in the black robes was a member of the religious sect called The Sisters of Torment. They are not the sort you would like to have chasing you, but I fear that is exactly what they may be doing, they may be hunting for us.”
“But if they were looking for us why were they chasing those people?” asked Vendra.
“I know this is the first time you’ve been this far into the occupied lands but I’ve told you and the others what the witches do to those they capture.”
“Yes you have... but it’s different when you’re actually a target. So what happened to the ten people you saw?” then a thought seemed to strike Vendra, “They weren’t any of our friends were they?” she asked with obvious concern.
“No, I recognised none of them, which is a blessing,” said Aleksandra.
“Please, tell me what happened,” said Vendra quietly, “It may ease things to share what you saw.”
Aleksandra wanted to tell Vendra that there was only one thing that could possibly give her ease but that was a step she was unwilling to take, “Yes, you may be right,” she said then paused to gather her composure.
“As I said there were ten of them and the worrying thing was that they and the five that were following them were coming directly towards me. I was well hidden at the top of the ridge but the witches magic is well known to me and I froze, worried that any movement would expose my position and hoped they wouldn’t get to close to me. At one point I actually think I held my breath, worried that even that would give me away.”
“But obviously you weren’t spotted,” said Vendra.
“Luckily for me I wasn’t, but the ones being chased weren’t as fortunate. The witches weren’t in any hurry as they killed the men first I could only watch as three balls of green fire erupted and immolated four of them. I’ll never forget their screams as they were quickly burned to ashes or the panic this caused in the others. There were no screams, no shouts they simply used all their energy to flee as fast as possible but they weren’t fast enough. On foot they simply weren’t going to escape the witches on their horses.”
Aleksandra looked at Vendra, “Perhaps this will help you realise what we’re up against. The witches were actually laughing as they casually chased down the last two men. A single blow from a sword decapitated one while arrows through the neck and chest killed the other when he stopped running and turned to try and defend himself. Then the four Blood Guard turned their attention to the four women who had scattered and were running for their lives.”
There was an unhappy expression on Aleksandra’s face as she continued to look at Vendra, “Of course I knew they didn’t have a hope of escaping but I prayed to The Five that they would. Unfortunately my prayers went unheard and it didn’t take long for the four women to be captured and brought together some twenty paces from where I was hiding. I knew what was going to happen next and I was right.”
Aleksandra paused, took a deep breath and then continued, “The four women were all attractive, and all in their twenties or early thirties. They were all dressed the same in white pantaloons and long sleeved, high-necked white blouses and white sandals, I recognised who they were because I’d seen their like before. In the refugee camp, shortly after I arrived, a group of women dressed identically to the four tended to the sick and distributed food. They were nuns from The Conclave of Caer-Corlendell and the men who had died were their protectors. What they were doing in Grent I have no idea. Perhaps there was a site nearby that was sacred to their order or perhaps they simply got lost. Whatever the reason I knew they were now doomed.”
Pausing to take a sip of her drink Aleksandra shook her head, “They were close to me Vendra, only about twenty or thirty paces away, kneeling on the ground and praying as I tried to keep as still possible. The Blood Guard had dismounted and were watching them, laughing and arguing... well... about which one of them would own which of the nuns and all the time the woman in the black velvet robe sat on her horse looking down at them.”
Again there was a pause, “I knew if I tried to move away I would be seen so I tried to shrink into the grass and scrub as I reluctantly watched. The gambling finished and the four looked with lust-filled faces at the four captives.”
Vendra waited patiently for the unhappy Aleksandra to continue her tale, “Then they began to do what I knew was going to happen. The four soldiers took bottles from bags hanging from their saddles and forced the nuns to drink the contents. At first the kneeling women struggled and fought but in a very short time their resistance ended and they simply knelt unmoving as they were forced to drink the last contents of the bottles. The soldiers wasted no time, as the woman in black robes sat on her horse watching they cut the nuns clothes from their bodies then pushed them onto their backs. Again they went to the bags on their saddles and this time they took out harnesses with phalluses attached to them. As I watched they removed their leather armour and then stepped into the harnesses and pulled them up their thighs and secured them so that the imitation phalluses jutted from their groins like an obscene parody of a man.”
Aleksandra paused, “I’ve explained to all of you in the resistance what the witches do with attractive women they capture,” said Aleksandra as she looked with obvious unhappiness at Vendra.
“Yes, and until I saw what was in that wagon I thought you were exaggerating, trying to make sure we fought hard not to be captured and to encourage hatred of the Witch-Queen and her forces. I can tell you that I wasn’t the only one who thought like that but now it is plain to me, as it will be to all, that you were telling the truth,” said Vendra as she looked over her shoulder at the slave-wagon.
She turned back to Aleksandra, “And did the witches... did they... did they enslave the nuns in the way you’ve described?”
Aleksandra nodded, “Yes, they did exactly as I’ve described in the past. As they lay unmoving the nuns were defiled. The witches mounted them as a man would a woman, their fake phalluses buried deeply in their victims. Then they began to ravish them as they chanted in that terrible language they use for magic. It always makes my skin crawl when I hear them speak it,” said Aleksandra with a shudder.
Again Aleksandra looked intently at her friend, “You know there was nothing I could do don’t you Vendra?”
“Of course I know that Aleksandra,” said Vendra reassuringly.
“Thank you, it was difficult to be so close but so helpless, especially when the nuns were finally dressed in red leather suits and hoods and had collars locked round their necks. I knew it was too late for them, they were as much sex-slaves as the ones in the wagon and that unless I remained still and silent I would suffer the same fate. The four soldiers refitted their armour and picked up their weapons. Then they mounted their horses and their new slaves climbed onto the horses with their new owners but the soldiers didn’t ride off. Instead they waited, looking at the woman. Instead of leaving the woman in the black robes looked slowly around as if searching and I will swear to my dying day that she looked directly at me,” said Aleksandra with a slow shake of her head.
“I held my breath and prayed to The Five that she wouldn’t notice me and it seems my prayer was answered because the five witches turned their horses and rode away, taking their new slaves with them. I waited hardly believing my luck until they vanished into the distance then crept back to my horse. My knees were weak but I mounted and with the sun just starting to rise above the horizon rode back here,” said Aleksandra apparently completing her story.
Aleksandra looked at the ground, she knew the tale was incomplete but there was no way that she was going to tell Vendra that while she had watched the four nuns being... being fucked into slavery she had not felt revulsion or horror. Instead, unexpected feelings of extreme sexual pleasure had filled her body and mind, her pussy had flooded with juices and her nipples had become rock hard as she watched.
Seemingly unable to stop herself Aleksandra’s hand had slipped under her buckskin pants and she had begun to masturbate as she watched the nuns being transformed into sex-slaves. Finally Aleksandra reached orgasm when the four at last stood silently waiting, now sex-slaves dressed in red leather suits, red thigh length boots, red leather gloves and with their heads encased in red leather hoods that left only their eyes uncovered.
Even remembering it now had an effect on Aleksandra, she could feel the sexual pleasure returning and dampness forming between her legs. Desperately she tried to wash the memory from her mind but she was rescued from her rising desire from an unexpected source.
Vendra and Aleksandra grabbed their weapons and leapt to their feet as a woman’s voice spoke, “At last I’ve found you.”