Yes, a hero’s work is never done.

Always inclined to aid people in need, Khala decided to helpt the stuck woodcutters, “Of course we will help. We should have your cart moving again in a heartbeat.” She turned to her friends and they hopped of their horses without even the need to tell them.

“That’s mighty generous of you, young lady. You are a gift from the gods,” one of the men dressed in a dark hood said, “Please, help Karl push from the back.”

Looking at the men and cart, Mira saw that one of the wheels was sunken nearly half-way into the mud. The swordswoman had to chuckle, “My, my. How did you manage to get this wheel stuck so deeply? Did you bury it?” She approached the back-end of the cart, her sword sheathed at her hip and her shield slung on her back to free her hands. Getting in position next to the man called Karl, she got ready to lift and push the cart. Mira looked to her two friends, “Well, are you waiting for an invitation or something?”

“What are you looking at me for? I’m not going to ruin this dress with mud!” Ariane protested, “Besides, my speciality isn’t exactly brute strength, y’know?”

Khala shook her head, “C’mon, the more people help the faster all of us can go about our way.” The small half-elven girl hopped off her horse and joined Mira. “Go and help with the horse up front if you don’t want to push, Ariane,” Khala suggested.

“Alright, I can do that,” Ariane went to the front of the cart, where the hooded man stood with the horse drawing the cart. She looked him over a moment, a smile creeping on her lips as she realised he was rather athletic and handsome. Thinking it might be fun to tease him, Ariane smiled at him, “Awfully hot day today, isn’t it? I wonder if you know any streams or lakes around where we could cool off?” The sorceress fanned her ample cleavage with her hand.

The man could not help but eye her bosom lustily, he chuckled and smiled at the elven sorceress, “I know a few places around these parts where one could unwind. Maybe I could show them to you, once we have the cart free?”

“Hey! Stop flirting up front and let’s do this!” Mira shouted from the back of the cart.

Ariane rolled her eyes, “Fine, fine, spoilsport.” She took the reins of the horse, “Alright, on my signal push with all you have back there! One, two, push now!” The sorceress coaxed the horse to pull the heavy cart forward.

Everyone did their best, pushing with all their might to get the cart free from the mud. At first, it didn’t budge an inch, but with some effort it began moving a little before getting stuck again. Mira’s boots sunk in the mud, and with every move forward, she was getting covered in more and of the sticky earth. Khala wasn’t fairing any better, sinking in deeply and the rest of her splattered with flecks of mud.

“C’mon,” Ariane shouted at the horse, “move!” She tried to **** it to move forward. To her horror, she slipped and landed in the mud bum first. “Darnation! Look at my dress… it’s ruined!” Too bad Ariane wasn’t an earth mage, she could’ve removed that mud from her clothes without effort.

“It’s no use, I’ve never seen stubborn mud like this,” Mira said a bit out of breath from the exertion.

Khala nodded, “Yes, it’s very strange. It’s as if it’s...” The half-elven woman’s eyes shot open and her hands went to her daggers. Unfortunately, her hands never reached them, a strange **** holding them. Neither could she free feet from the mud. Her head whipped around and she saw the hooded man chanting a silent spell.

“Finally figured it out, little half-elf?” the man laughed. It became obvious, he was an earth mage and this whole situation was a trap.

Khala looked to her companions and they were similarly unable to move, “Let us go, you fiend. What do you want?”

“Unhand me right now, mage bastard, or I’ll break your legs,” Mira growled.

Ariane began to open her mouth to cast magic of her own, but a patch of wet earth suddenly covered her mouth and gagged her, stopping her somatic spell in its tracks. “Don’t think I forgot about you either, elven sorceress,” the mage said to Ariane, a sinister grin on his lips, “I’ll get back to you soon. The elf tried to shake off the earthen gag, but to no avail, it didn’t fly off as normal mud should.

He then turned back to Mira, “You are in no position to make threats, girl,” the mage sneered and caused the mud around Mira’s feet to constrict, “I’m the only one who could break any legs right now, so watch your tone.” Mira howled in pain and only looked at him with fire and hatred in her eyes. He turned to Khala, “Now, what do I want? Your money would do for now, after that… we’ll see.” He signalled to Karl to look through their possessions.

Karl approached them one-by-one, looking them over and taking their coin pouches. He looked at the fine necklace laying on Khala’s shoulders, which had belonged to her mother.

“If you take that, I swear nothing in this world will stop me from gutting you,” Khala spat at him. He didn’t care and ripped the necklace from her. “No! You fucking pig, give that back!” Khala helplessly struggled against her bindings.

Their horses were not spared either, anything of value was taken from the saddlebags. With all of them thoroughly robbed, the mage smiled, “Not a bad haul for three young women, it’s our lucky day.” With a small chant and gesture of his hand, the cart emerged from the magical mud as if it had never been stuck at all, ready to move again.

He looked over the three would-be-heroines and stroked his chin, “Now, what to do with you?”