Aeriella and the public whipping

Aeriella did not like acting on short notice. Which was somewhat ironic, because she was the one who often had to put out the fires and, despite occasional setbacks, she was quite good at it. The sense of urgency meant that she had little time to gather intelligence and prepare. In this particular case the elf had to again travel to a distant place outside of Laerinia’s realm. Her goal was to make contact with an important wizard named Nieobecnikus and safely bring him back to the court. The main problem was planning the route to his location. Aeriella did not know the region too well, there were many rivers and only a few bridges. She picked a road which looked to be the most main one of them all on a map and hoped that it would be good enough.

On the day of her departure she put on her favourite travelling outfit - an enchanted, golden catsuit. On her feet she wore silver, knee-high leather boots on ten centimetre tall block heels. To protect her head from the summer heat she also put on a fancy hat with a wide brim; it had a large colourful feather attached to it. The catsuit was made of a magical fibre; the sorceress had cast the spell herself and the garment was woven by the best available weaver. The item was light and comfortable, but at the same time provided protection against either cold or heat. It was also incredibly thin and tight; it was opaque, but its tightness created the illusion of transparency. The elf packed the necessary baggage, saddled her horse and was soon on her way.

Crossing Laerinia’s lands and the territories close to the border was not a problem; the sorceress knew the roads well and the people knew her. Her extravagant outfit still attracted a lot of attention, but no longer caused any scandals. Farther away the territory was no longer so familiar. One of the unknown places was a medium-sized city called Kammelteau. It would have been otherwise unremarkable, but one had to cross it in order to get to the bridge on its other side; this seemed to be the nearest bridge which allowed it to cross this river. Kammelteau did not collect any toll at its gates, relying instead on the income from the bridge toll; Aeriella rode into the place without having to stop at the entrance. To her surprise she was stopped when she was nearing the main square; two halberdiers blocked her path.

“Stop!” one of them demanded in an authoritative voice. They did not seem hostile, but it was clear that they expected full cooperation.

The elf obediently halted her horse; she was riding at a leisurely pace through the city anyway.

“What is it?” she asked in a polite, but not a subservient, voice.

“We need to see your licence?” the guard replied formally.

“What licence?” the startled sorceress was tempted to ask whether he meant her horse-riding licence, but decided to remain serious.

"In order to practice prostitution in Kammelteau you need to register and obtain a licence,” he answered in the same formal tone.

“Prostitution?!” Aeriella replied in shock, “I’m not a prostitute! I’m a noble lady and I’m merely passing through your town,” she added in a more dignified voice.

“You’re wearing the official outfit restricted for prostitutes, lady. According to the law, that makes you a prostitute. And for that you need a licence.”

“This is outrageous,” the elf said coldly, ”I want to talk to your captain.”

“He’s in the city hall and that’s exactly where we wanted to take you,” the guard replied, but he seemed a bit confused. Both halberdiers led the elf to the city hall.

…an hour later.

“As you can see our law,” the Captain, whose name was Percevale l'Audacieuse, explained in a patient, sympathetic voice, “even though quite unique, is also very specific in that regard. You have broken it, albeit unawarely, and you have to suffer the consequences.”

Aeriella no longer had any arguments to counter his reasoning. She had just finished studying said bill and could only remind herself that ignorance of the law did not exempt it from its compliance. As a noble lady she was a law-abiding subject.

“What are my options now?” she asked, resigned.

“You can register as a prostitute, pay a fee AND a fine for not doing so right away,” the Captain replied.

“And I’ll be able to leave right away?”

“No. You need to work for at least a week.”

“What?!”

“You can charge as much as you want to, but if someone comes up with the sum you HAVE TO offer him the services. You might not necessarily serve any clients, though I don’t doubt that you’d be popular. You just have to remain in the city for a week.”

“Is there an alternative?” the elf’s voice sounded more resigned.

“Yes,” the Captain replied, surprisingly agitated, “a public whipping.”

“You can’t be serious,” the sorceress contemplated whether she would be able to leave the city by ****.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds. Let me explain,” he quickly added, noticing her murderous gaze, “we use a special, enchanted belt for the whipping.”

“Enchanted?” Aeriella interrupted him, raising her eyebrows. Even in her current predicament her inner sorceress could not ignore a magical artifact in an unusual place.

“Yes, it’s magical,” Percevale explained, as if she did not understand the word ‘enchanted’, “it makes a lot of noise, but it doesn’t hurt.”

He then proceeded to explain in detail how the whole procedure looked. Aeriella did not like it, but the only alternatives were: spending a whole week in this cursed town or breaking out with ****. A short, sharp shock, even if humiliating, seemed to be the lesser evil. Before agreeing she had to check something though.

“Can I see the belt?” the elf asked when the Captain finished. She did her best to make her voice sound neutral.

“I guess so. There are no rules prohibiting it.”

It was obvious to Percevale that she wanted to test his claims about the belt being painless. As a sorceress Aeriella was also professionally interested in the artifact. When the Captain offered it to her, she simply held it in her hand, as if weighing it. It was an ordinary, unremarkable item albeit sturdy and well made of high-quality leather. She tried to analyze the spell which had been cast on the belt. Unfortunately, without proper laboratory tests, she could only rely on her talent and experience. She managed to learn that the belt indeed was enchanted and the spell seemed surprisingly potent; that knowledge would not improve her current situation though. Eventually the elf grabbed the belt firmly with one hand and hit the inside of her other palm with considerable ****. Percevale promises were confirmed, the hit made a lot more noise than it normally would, but she did not feel pain. She could sense its contact with her skin, but it was more like a pat than an actual strike; physically the whole ordeal should be tolerable. Naturally that would not diminish the humiliation of such a public treatment, but that could not be helped. The elf hit her own palm two more times, then handed the belt back to the Captain.

“All right,” Aeriella said in a resigned voice, “let’s be over with it.”

“I’ll give you something to drink, while we prepare the stage,” Percevale replied, trying not to sound too eager, “it’s quite hot out there and you’ll spend some time in the sun.”

The elf did not thank him, but she accepted the drink; there was no need for her to make the whole experience even harder for herself.

As the Captain was leaving he passed another man in the doorway. The newcomer was several years older and wore elegant, expensive clothes.

“Good morning,” he greeted the sorceress in a polite voice, “my name is Alainon le Désireux and I’m the mayor of Kammelteau.”

“I’m Lady Aeriella,” said the elf dryly.

“I understand that you’re upset, Dear Lady,” the Mayor maintained his polite tone, “but as peculiar as our laws are, they need to be upheld. I believe that Captain Percevale had already explained to you the whole procedure?”

“Yes, he had.”

“Splendid!” Alainon’s cheerfulness was borderline irritating, “I can assure you that the whole experience won’t be nearly as bad as you imagine it to be. I won’t bother you anymore, Lady. I hope we’ll have a chance to talk later.”

The sorceress did not reply to that. At least he knew when to stop and leave.