The Akn-Reibar adventure begins

Eilwy walked through the crowded city streets, pulling the two **** nymphs behind her. The guards at the city gates had recognised the fearsome Black Reaver immediately and let the three girls through without any particular challenge. Once again, Eilwy thanked her lucky stars that she had not arrived in front of those same guards as the helpless captive of the two young nymphs, her reputation in tatters.

The streets were packed with merchants, peasants and pickpockets. Sometimes slavers could be seen, moving their property through the streets in chains and encouraging them with whips or canes.

There were of course plenty of fearful people in Akn-Reibar, much more dangerous than simple street thieves. Lethal assassins prowled the alleys; powerful clerics, noble paladins, and wicked blackguards ran the temples; quick witted fighters brawled in the bars. There were also many powerful magic users, including the Red Wizard Azabal who kept watch over the city from the windows of his Dark Tower and who was reputed to be even more powerful that Eilwy herself. Despite the dangers, Eilwy felt quite at home - she was a city girl at heart!

She tugged the nymphs on their leash all the way to the market. She had grown bored of them and was keen to dispose of them properly so she could get on with her business at the Temple.

The market was busy, as ever, with a mix merchants and traders and sounds of raised voices. A stage had been set up on the far side of the square, and being pulled onto it by a huge orc was a small brown haired woman of maybe thirty years age. She was completely naked, hands tied behind her back, with lovely milky skin and pert breasts and a neatly shaved patch of dark pubic hair. The crowd gave an appreciative cheer at the sight of her, with some laughter and ironic clapping that made the woman flush a deep red colour as she stumbled forward for crowd's appraisal. Eilwy could tell from her posture that she was well bred, and the bids immediately started quite high.

"Who is that?" She asked a slaver, curiously.

He grinned. "She's a beauty, ain't she? She's the Ambassador from The Peldine Empire. Or she was until yesterday, ha ha! The king declared war on them, and she was caught trying to escape the city in the back of a cart. The king sent her here as a message to the empire. Doesn't look quite so proud and fearsome without her clothes, does she?" The slaver gave the blushing woman a leering look and smiled. "Yeah, she's a prize and no mistake. I'd buy her myself if I had the gold."

Eilwy nodded, feigning a smile as the slaver laughed. The slavers were disgusting for sure, but they could be useful. "Do you have any use for a couple of nymphs?" she asked, pulling the two girls forward.

The slaver's eyes narrowed as he evaluated the two slender nymphs, who shuffled uncomfortably under his gaze. Then he reached out and opened Niamh's mouth, checking her teeth like a horse whilst she boggled at him in indignation. Satisfied, he felt her breasts, and then finally slid a hand up her dress. Niamh stiffened and she shouted curses at the indignity, but the slaver rooted around under her dress until he was satisfied. Then he repeated the process for poor Assha.

Not for the first time that day, Eilwy thanked her stars it wasn't her being so crudely evaluated. Would the slaver have dared assess the enchantress's own body in the same way, had the nymphs brought her here in rope? She felt the answer was yes.

"Good stock," the slaver said finally. "Young. Pretty. I'd get maybe ten gold pieces each from the whorehouses or maybe if a noble with a taste for the exotic fancies a bid. I'll give you six each? Then we both make a profit."

To the slaver's surprise, Eilwy agreed immediately without haggling, passing him the leash. She didn't really care about the money, she just wanted the nymphs dealt with and sold off. She took the gold, and bid the girls farewell sweetly. They glared at her helplessly. The slaver was already removing their clothes and readying them for the stage.

As Eilwy passed out of the crowd and back to the street, she heard the final bid for the Peldine Ambassador at sixty gold. The Ambassador shuffled off the stage, shamefaced, led on a leash by a large madam from an upper quality whorehouse that specialised in exotic ladies. What a fate for such a high born noble, Eilwy mused with a derisive snort. The Peldine Empire would be furious, for sure.

With the nymphs finally disposed of and out of her hair, Eilwy felt like she could put her own shameful experience in Fandorn Forest far behind her. With a small skip in her step, she set off for the Temple, where she had a strange task to complete.