More than you imagined

Caderos handpicks the troopers that will investigate this new development and only a handful of men are left behind with the important task of watching the slaves you have already found in the first raid of the temple and guarding it from attack whilst the rest of the men rush off to this new target. Once you're properly dressed and Dorothea has been placed back in your tent chained to the center pole you join the other men already in the chapel gathered around the small shrine to Artimis in the corner of the sanctuary.

Caderos' men have already removed the tapestry and there does indeed appear to be a concealed door hidden by the massive cloth, which now lays at the feet of a statue of the statue of the virgin huntress. As eager as the men were to investigate the hidden rooms beneath the school, you are a little surprised to find the door itself still shut. Caderos smiles and waves you over when he sees you arrive.

"Adonis, good timing." He punches you on the chest hard enough for you to feel it even through your armor; if that blow was his idea of a friendly greeting, you'd hate to have him hit you for real. "I was waiting for you to show up," he tells you cheerfully, "after all, it was you that learned of this place, so we wanted you with us when we **** it." To your surprise all the gathered men nod in agreement. No sour looks or suspicious muttering when they see you, in fact, not a single one of them referred to you as 'Fresh Meat', instead these warriors now seem to see you as one of them - and a lucky man to be around at that. You had hoped something like this would happen, but it was less than a week ago that you had killed one of their comrades and inherited his belongings by besting him.

"Thank you, sir." You salute him as best you can and then with a nod Caderos turns and barks at the men.

"Break this bitch open." Four of the largest start pushing at the great slab of a door. It's bared on the other side, but the combined muscle of the men creates a crack wide enough for pry bars to find a purchase and soon its creaking groans of protest end as the door's hinges pop revealing a long winding staircase down into the darkness. The stone stairwell is dimly lit by thick beeswax candles placed every twenty paces or so, but other than that clear indication that Dorothea hadn't been lying about these secret places being occupied there was no sign of anyone. Caderos motions his men to follow and only two remain outside in case any women try to flee out this entrance. The Captain is, of course, first down the well-worn steps, but once again you're right behind him walking down the candle lit stairs.

The stairwell winds deep underground and the dim, flickering light from the candles is just enough to keep you from running into walls. It looks like the lower levels of this secret tunnel are even older and deeper than the underground sewers which run all under the city. While you might be impressed with the depth and age of this hidden area, there is no doubt that the rest of the men have only one thing on their minds. Even in their armor and hard soled sandals, it is so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

In fact, you finally begin to appreciate just how professional they are when they are doing their jobs. They take this stealthy hunting of potential slaves very seriously, and strangely enough, you're starting to feel the same way; if you're going to have to do this job, you might as well do it right. The difference between this mentality and the 'do as little as you can get away with' attitude that you had when you were a **** brings a smile to your face, it's an ironic twist of the fates, if you say so yourself.

All of a sudden, all thoughts and actions stop as Caderos holds up a hand and you can hear the faint sounds of voices echoing from further ahead, as expected the voices are unmistakably female. Caderos motions with his hands at the men behind you, you guess when he points at you and two others are going ahead with him the other six men holding position on the stairs. The four of you move slowly and silently down the stairs towards the glow of lamplight until you reach a large stone balcony which overlooks a cavernous space. From above you can see a suite of large, interconnected rooms apparently carved out of solid stone and brightly lit by a multitude of oil lanterns. These chambers might well have been excavated specifically for a situation such as this.

Directly below you there is a large central area which is, from the sounds of laughter and music, a hub of activity. Judging by the smell of food cooking and smoke wafting from the room to your left, it's most likely a servant's chambers for preparing and storing food. There's the smaller chamber on the right and even from here you can spot a large amount of valuables, piles of silk gowns and embroidered tapestries, marble statues, paintings with gilded frames, amphora filled with wine or oil and several chests overflowing with gold and silver coins and gems that sparkled in the lamplight like some wild dream.

Creeping to the edge of the balcony you are able to peer down properly into the central chamber and that's when you see them, women of nobility lounging around on plush pillows and dressed in fine silken robes like at some party despite what is happening above ground. A few serving girls are busy attending to their needs, fetching them wine and food from the adjacent storeroom while these young women prattle on about this and that. They have that obnoxious air of high class that you have hated ever since you had to deal with it every day of your life. It was not until you ran away to save Eudora from her horrible fate which awaited her in this city, risking the gruesome fate that awaited escaped slaves if you were caught, that you were able to escape the oppressive attitude of arrogant nobles. Caderos taps you lightly on the back which brings you out of your glaring at the aristocratic women and he grins at you with a nod mouthing " good job" which you nod back to before looking back again.

Is it possible that these noblewomen really don't care at all about what's going on atop the hidden chamber except for how it is affecting their plans for the upcoming party season? The only ones who seem concerned for those left behind are the quartet of Athenian priestess's who are kneeling before several small statues of the Goddess in a makeshift altar as they pray for safety of their school. Ignoring the fervent chanting of the temple priestess's you turn you attention back to the wealthy young students who had been (temporarily) saved from the fate of their less affluent peers and listen closely.

If you focus enough, you are able to follow parts of the individual conversations. Most seem focused about how the invasion of the city is ruining their lives. Some wonder if the temple school had been taken yet, and if their rooms had been badly damaged. A few were worrying about family or friends who could not find sanctuary in the citadel. Notably, there is no mention of the thousands of commoners that were being killed, **** and enslaved with the fall of the walls. In general, these young women seemed to have little understanding of the horrors of war, some were even wondering if the seige had ended, and the armies had marched back to their home cities. From the way they talk it doesn't seem like they are worried about running out of supplies anytime soon, or the possibility that they might share in the fate of the less fortunate women of Athenapolis.

There did seem to be a general understanding that young women like their fellow students left in the temple school above would be enslaved and even sold in great **** auctions, but the women resting in comfort seemed, even to your mind, incredibly naive about the fate of lovely young maidens captured by a plundering army. Common women, you heard one state with absolute authority would be sold naked, but should their friends be taken, they would be have to be treated with the dignity their position deserved. Not, the lithe blonde girl added with a thin laugh, that some of the prettier ones didn't deserve to be bought by a wealthy man or woman for sexual pleasure, but it just wasn't done. You listen in amazement when that conversation turns to using the hidden valuables to redeem their friends from slavery or (and there was a good deal of malicious laughter with this) those young women that they wanted to buy, not to free - but to own. These wealthy young noblewomen were actually looking forward to purchasing old rivals from the **** blocks after the war is over to use and humiliate.

Your focus shifts from one group to another before you hear something that gets your attention.

"...othea had this coming. As if a whore like her is in the same league as the rest of us!" The speaker's two friends giggle nervously as she continues "I bet the chubby cunt has already been fucked by a dozen men." Says a long-limbed red head who has the air of the highest nobility, like everything is beneath her. Even trapped way down here, her red locks have been elaborately twisted and arranged with ruby hairpins and the silk gown that covers her from neck to ankles is embroidered with hundreds of golden butterflies. The two young women beside her are less ornately bejeweled nor quite as haughty, a sandy-haired girl with large dark eyes watches every move with calculated focus while a petite raven-haired woman is less attentive, but still careful not to offend the noblewoman. None of the three are that impressive to look at, in spite of her long thin build and expensive clothing, the redhead's face is quite plain, she has barely any chest at all. You far prefer a woman with Dorothea's nice curves to the redhead's flat chest and narrow hips.

Her two friends are only slightly more impressive, the small-framed raven-haired woman has a nice ass from what you can see, and the brunette has lovely eyes and a passable chest, between the three of them they might make an average ****. Listening carefully the other two seem less sure about the whole thing; clearly it was the red-head's plan to exclude Dorothea from the group selected to hide away. The small dark-haired woman even cautiously challenges the leader, after the noble woman makes a particularly nasty (but surprisingly accurate) comment about what a slut Dorothea actually is.

"Yeah, but still I'm not sure she deserved it." Emboldened, the brunette nods in agreement with her petite friend's doubt, but the concern of the two young women just brings scorn from the plain faced aristocrat.

"Perhaps you should go back up there and save her then?" Seeing neither of them get up she just smiles knowingly and sips from her glass.

Gritting your teeth, you look to the captain and motion with a finger as to wanting to go in. He holds up his hand and has one of the men who came with you fetch the rest of the waiting men; it seems he thinks you will need all the men you can get for this. It is a rich hunting ground, and you already have your prey in sight.