Yes, let's rescue an Amazon Queen, Part 2. (Small strike .)

You start to think fast, as you block a claw strike here, and a wing buffet there. You take evasive maneuvers to avoid having the whip hit you, given the powerful muscles on the succubus. A narrow opening appears before you, when you manage to get the succubus to wrap the far end of the whip around an unlit pyre. You rush in, ducking underneath her claw strike, and slash away. One strike cuts through a wing, another strike hits home at an unprotected part of her leg, and a third strike cuts through some of the muscles of her strong arm. The succubus hisses from the third strike, and you suddenly feel the **** of her back kick to your gut, knocking you a good distance away.

You do your best to get up, as she pulls her whip free, only to start rolling away from her ensuing whip strikes, as she closes the gap to you. Now she tries to stomp you, hoping to impale you with the spiked heels of her boots. You quickly find enough of a pattern, to strike the pommel of your sword at her ankle. Then you take a quick stab at that ankle, when she howls from the pain, doing you best to slow down her foot speed. By now, you start to feel the effects of your first, real, hand-to-hand combat, as you find more opportunities to hack at her wings, or hobble her even more with a deep strike to the leg. The succubus goes down to one knee, as you find a change to go for her back. She senses you coming from behind, and manages to time an elbow strike to your chest. It takes your breath away, and you barely manage to block the next crack of her whip, with the **** of it knocking you backwards, and down to your rump.

She struggles to get back on her feet, ready to try and finish you off. You can feel the pain from the few ribs she cracked, and a bit of blood has poured out of your mouth. You barely get on your feet, just to barely avoid another crack of her whip, which is definitely not as accurate or powerful as it was initially. Moving as fast as you can to one flank, you charge in, using your shield to bash at her side. Having hobbled her earlier, you manage to knock her down. Finding the opportunity, you take advantage of the momentum you now have, pouring everything you have left into downward thrusts of your sword, at the succubus. A strike to the gut makes her howl in pain. Then you pull it out, and move forward, so that your next downward thrust, goes through the ribcage, and impale the succubus' heart. You watch as she goes into shock, as you push the sword in deeper, then give it a good twist.

"Enjoy...this...small...victory...while......you......can......mortal." The succubus tells you. "My.....m-m-mistress......can still.....make......your.....world....burn."

You pull your sword out of the succubus' flesh, watching the dark blood pour out of her mouth. You step back, managing to find a black leather pouch on her side, and cut it off from its strap. Picking it up, you rummage through its contents, finding a set of keys inside, among other things. By now, the barrier dissipates, and what's left of your strike ****, come to join you.

"Your highness!" Vessa calls out to you. "Are you alright."

"I'm battered," you tell your court mage, "but I survived to kill this foul demon."

"Incredible feat, with all due respect, your highness." One of the royal guards speak out, given your lack of training, which causes a small laughter to echo out.

"How many did we lose?" You ask Vessa.

"We lost several of the soldiers, and a couple of the mages." Vessa replies, as she walks over to you, pulling a vial out of her pouch. "Drink this healing potion, your highness. It will taste bitter, but it will heal your wounds."

"These keys that the succubus held must unlock something." You tell her, as you use your free hand to open the vial, and down all of its contents, no matter how bitter the liquid does taste.

"Your highness!" A scout nearby calls out. "This door is locked, and I cannot pick it open! I can also hear a woman's voice inside!"

You move to the said door, feeling the contents of the liquid mend your ribs. You go through the set of keys, finding the one that unlocks the door. Then you have the scout open the door, and have that scout, and a few soldiers go in first, as a safety measure. You walk in afterwards, your sword still drawn out, looking at what it inside. The room is bare, with nothing of note, save for a couple of light crystals that glow red. Between the crystals, however, you find a woman shackled to the wall, with a gag in her mouth. The red light doesn't give much hint of the woman's features, but you can see the outlines of her tall, muscular features. You can also see hints of her full, long hair, and the bikini-like two-piece outfit on her. Otherwise, her limbs are bare.

"By the gods, your highness," Vessa tells you, "it's the Amazon Queen!"

You walk up to the real Queen Cielina, working to relieve her mouth of the gag. Given the size of that gag, it definitely made for keeping her tongue in an uncomfortable position, and confining her breathing to just through her nose. She coughs pretty hard at first, and then she stares at you, before giving you a good headbutt.

"LET...ME....OUT!" Cielina tells you.

You use the other keys to unwork the shackles, starting with her ankles first, and then her wrists. Free of those binds, Cielina collapses onto her knees at first, then gets back up on her bared feet. She looks around at first, then looks to you.

"Where is she?!" Cielina asks you. "Where is that foul creature?!"

"The succubus with the red skin?" You tell her. "I slew her, while my soldiers stopped her attempt to stop a demon invasion."

"Not that one," Cielina replies, "the other one!"

"Likely disguised as you," you tell her, "to escalate your raid, and start another attempt at a demon invasion."

"And what of my lifemate," she asks you, "my beloved Maricara?"

"You mean the Amazon body we found on the--" you reply.

"NO!!" Cielina screams in sorrow and rage.

You watch as Cielina punches and shoves her way past your soldiers, making haste for the throne room. She barely manage to spit at the slain succubus, as it burns to ashes, only to collapse in front of the body of the other Amazon woman. When you head out to the throne room, you find Cielina on her knees, slumping over the body of what can only be the corpse of Maricara. You walk over to her, while the surviving members of the strike team make sure the bodies of the slain are accounted for. For awhile, Cielina cries, both over Maricara's body, and on your shoulder. Then she stops crying, grabbing a necklace from Maricara's neck, and puts it on her. Suddenly, she gets on her feet, and looks at you.

"Where's the way out?" She asks you. "I need to expose that creature, before she gets too many of my sisters killed."

"If you follow us to the cave," you tell her, "we'll get you out of here."

"The sooner, the better." She tells you. "I need to find whatever armor and weapons the creature didn't take at my encampment."