Blinded by the light

Aleshanee did the only thing she could think of. She recalled a light spell used for blinding enemies. She raised up her great ivory staff and vanished into thin air.

A dazzling blue light suddenly appeared between the two naked women, Steiner, and Trimon. The brunt of the light attack went as Aleshanee had planned, blinding both Trimon and Steiner, who had already unbuckled their breeches and had them twisted around their ankles in all their blind confusion.

Aleshanee swung the great staff, catching Trimon on the side of the head. Blood spewed from his mouth and his eyes rolled to the back of his head as he crumpled to the floor in a lifeless heap. But Steiner was a master thief and rogue. Even though he was blinded, his finely honed instincts took over and his counter attack upon the Sorceress was successful as he knocked her to the floor, ****.

Dyani and Azella ran to the fallen Sorceress' side. Azella cradled her head in her arms, and was relieved to find her still breathing. She had risked her life to save Azella and Dyani from a twisted fate that might have been worse than **** itself. Especially at the cruel hands of Trimon.

Steiner's vision slowly returned, and he could make out the shapes of the three women on the floor in front of him. "Seems like I might owe you three a debt of gratitude. You've done me a great service by ridding me of Trimon. I may be a thief, but I hated Trimon as much as the next person. I was in debt to him, and this plot to seize power was part of my repayment of that debt. You've freed me in more ways than you know. Yet there is now the question of the Queen, because I was a part of the plot to kill the King and kidnap the Queen, unwilling or not. This means I cannot set any of you free. But neither can I kill you for the debt I owe you. I have some choices to make. I can keep you here, and make you a part of the organization. If you refuse, I'll be **** to sell you at the **** markets to foreigners, so you'll never be seen again. Or I could simply train the three of you, and turn you into my slaves. I am not sure which choice appeals to me the most."

It was at that moment Trimon and Steiner's men came bounding back into the room, having herard the commotion. Steiner turned to all of them. "Trimon is dead, killed by this Sorceress. You are all free of Trimon, and you are free to leave, or free to join me."

"But what about the Kingdom? What about living a life of royalty?" bellowed Boffin.

"Boffin, I grow tired of your stupidity." Steiner walked towards him, throwing him an angry glance. "We are thieves, and we are free to be thieves. We are not royalty, nor will we ever be. I never sought to be that in the first place. None of us would have lived freely in the same palace with Trimon. We always would have been under the scrutiny of his watchful, suspicious eye."

Steiner turned to the women. He walked over, picked up the white ivory staff, and smashed it on the floor. Sparks of dazzling light flew through the air, and the remains smoked in his hands. He threw the broken staff aside. "Take off her clothes" he said to Azella and Dyani. "Her robes might still contain magic, and I don't want you escaping. However, I will give you better quarters than the dungeons."

He once again turned to the men assembled there. "Not a hair on their heads is to be harmed unless I say so. They are to be confined with the rest of the harem girls. I will decide what to do with them."

Meanwhile Dyani and Azella stripped the Sorceress of her clothes as Steiner ordered them to do. She was now naked, and slowly regaining her senses. They helped her to her feet, as they all stood now before Steiner and his men.

"You don't have to do this" said Dyani. "All of this can be blamed on Trimon. No one else has to know your part in this. You can trust us to keep quiet. You have my word as Queen."

"That may very well be" said Steiner. "But it's a risk I'm not willing to take. I'm sorry." He turned to his men. "Take them away."