As Jace, Psycho, and Rock were hauled out of the ship’s hold, the mid-day sunlight caused all three characters to squint, and it took several moments of adjustment before they could see anything clearly. Jace focused his attention on the island, taking advantage of their lofted position to gain a unique perspective. Despite their situation, it looked beautiful. Palm trees lined the island's perimeter, while carefully tended crops grew in neat rows just inside. The colors burst like fireworks to his eyes as he took in the bananas, pineapples, oranges, and half a dozen other fruit trees. Raised beds held smaller plants, with a complex irrigation system run by windmills providing water to everything. Workers, primarily human slaves, moved about the field, diligently tending to the crops, and Jace didn’t see a hint of a whip or an abusive taskmaster. Instead, everything ran with smooth efficiency. This wasn’t the work of the troglodytes. This was Josephus’s doing.
“I will kill whoever is responsible for that.”
The venom in Psycho’s voice surprised Jace, and he turned from the prosperous plantation to see what raised the elf’s ire. Esther hung in a tiny cage just off the starboard side. While their cell was eight feet square and six tall, hers was a three-foot cube. The tall woman sat cross-legged in the center, her head hunched over so far it almost touched her knees. She wore the same starting tunic as the rest, but hers was filled with bloody holes resembling arrow puncture marks.
“Why would they . . .” Psycho started, but Jace put a restraining hand on him.
“Look at the evidence,” the orc said. “She had her fun with them.”
The elf didn’t know what his leader meant, so Jace pointed to the blood stains on the ship deck. Esther’s cage hung from a smaller crane than the one currently transporting them. When folded into its normal position, the short arm would be suspended over a broad section of the top deck. It was used to load cargo not destined for the hold, like food and everyday supplies. That staging area was liberally splattered with blood. “What happened?” Psycho asked.
“What do you think she did when the sailors tried to reach through the cage and molest her?” Jace asked.
“She grappled them and bit them,” Psycho replied. “And with her hands unbound . . .”
“She had access to her spells,” Jace finished for him. “See the green acid stains over there? I wouldn’t be surprised if she enthralled one of them and then turned him loose to attack his mates.” Jace smiled at the thought. “Oh, don’t worry, I’ll let you kill as many of them as you want, but don’t think Esther hasn’t already made them pay. They likely filled her with arrows and hung her over the side of the ship for their own safety.”
Now Esther sat unmoving, seemingly at rest. Jace didn’t think anyone could sleep in that position, but her eyes were closed.
Jace and Psycho turned from the woman as their cage hit the dock. Half a dozen troglodytes walked among the prisoners, inspecting the new batch of slaves. They had quickly passed over the first few cells and spent all their time on the last three. None of them dared get too close to Snowy’s cage, and the wolf bared her teeth at anyone who even looked at her. They spent some time reviewing the two women slumped over in their cells, who didn’t put on much of a show. But Jace and Psycho drew most of the attention. The elf was uninjured at level 20, and Jace was an orc.
“Potiphar!” one of the lizardmen cried. Jace thought the troglodyte looked important. His limited clothing was more colorful, and he held a short scepter. “What is this you’ve brought me? Am I to put these beings to work or hire them to take your job? They are a bit more qualified than the usual wretches you provide.”
The captain was still on the ship and had moved up from the lower levels when the last cage had been pulled up. He stood at the ship's railing and shouted back. “I’m just doing as I’ve been told, Djona. Ishmael often sends you heroes via your demon mother. Now he’s doing it by ship. His boy sent these to me. Is this not what you wanted?”
“Five at once,” the troglodyte called back. “And a wolf. How will I manage this?”
“Six, actually,” Potiphar replied.
All eyes turned to the end of the dock, where the small crane swung Esther’s cage over the wooden planks. For the larger cells, a troglodyte had jumped to the top of each and disconnected the rope so the crane could swing back and deliver another cage. For Esther, the men on the ship cut her line with a machete on their end when the cell was still a couple of feet above the dock, wasting at least 30 feet of rope as it pulled through the pulley and piled next to the woman’s prison that thunked unceremoniously on the pier. Jace winced on Esther’s behalf but then smiled at the implication. The men wanted the vampire off their ship as quickly as possible.
Djona, the lizard in charge, instructed his men to open the cages and lead the prisoners out. Besides Jace’s crew, six men and two women were released and tied together in a train, their arms still shackled behind them. Snowy was next, and the troglodytes took no chances, zapping her with their weapons first before opening the cage and dragging the wolf out. When the Stunned condition ended, they kept their weapons trained on her, and other than growling, Snowy made no move to attack.
Draya and Leah had to be helped from their cages. Jace, Psycho, and Rock did not put up any resistance either. That left Esther. The rest of the cells had doors that needed to be unlocked and opened. The tiny box at the end of the pier didn’t seem to have an opening, but a chain was tied around two bars and through a slot in the top. As three lizardmen approached the cage, the men on the ship gathered along the near side, watching with keen interest.
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Jace saw several of them talking and wouldn’t be surprised to find they were taking bets on what would happen. Two troglodytes kept their weapons ready and aimed forward while the unlucky third approached the cage. He made it to the front without incident and found the lock on the chain. After releasing it, the top came off, and the soldier removed it carefully as if looking at a surprise Christmas present.
“It’s just a girl,” he said.
Esther stirred, and the troglodyte stepped back. The woman stretched her legs and unfurled her spine as she rose to her feet, rolling her neck about as she worked the last few cricks out of her body. She stepped out of her prison, her slender legs easily splitting the gaps between the metal bars, and stood still a few feet from the open cage. She hadn’t modified the appearance of her tunic as before, and it still showed evidence of arrow attacks. She looked as weak and helpless as the other two women.
“Why isn’t she shackled?” Djona asked, loud enough for Potiphar to hear.
“Go ahead,” the captain shouted. “She’s yours now, do as you like.”
The soldier standing before Esther didn’t take orders from the human, but the suggestion seemed reasonable, and he had a spare set of restraints hanging from his belt. With one hand, he reached to his hip, and the other grabbed Esther’s arm forearm. He was dead a heartbeat later.
Jace was used to her lightning-quick moves and saw what she did better than most. Esther escaped the troglodyte’s weak grip and obtained one of her own on his arm, instantly Grappling him and spinning him around. It was considered a Surprise Attack since they weren’t in combat mode, and she got to add several bonuses. She turned him around, snapped his neck, and tossed him over the side of the dock. Before his body disappeared from view, she was once again standing still before her open cage.
The two remaining troglodytes were frozen in shock, but the splash of their companion’s corpse hitting the water brought them out of it, and they activated their weapons. Lightning leaped from the tridents and Stunned Esther where she stood. The two soldiers didn’t move for a few moments, not trusting their attack since the woman did not fall down.
“Hurry,” Djona said from a safe distance beside Jace pointing his scepter at the rogue. “Before it wears off.”
The two lizardmen looked at each other in terror, begging the other to go forward. Jace guessed one must have outranked the other because they didn’t argue for long. The loser crept forward cautiously, pulling a pair of shackles from his belt. Esther didn’t move. He circled the woman using as much space as the narrow pier gave him, coming up behind her. His webbed fingers carefully pulled her arms behind her back, and she didn’t resist.
Jace mentally counted the time in his head, guessing the soldier had 24 seconds tops. He almost made it, but he fumbled the metal restraints to the deck and crouched to retrieve them. Esther snapped out of it, spun around, and Grappled the troglodyte in front of her. The remaining lizardman had a quick trigger finger and zapped his friend as Esther bit down into his neck, draining two levels before the weapon-bearing lizardman changed tactics and charged her.
Esther discarded the Stunned creature and released the excess mana she had drained as acid that melted the third troglodyte on the spot. Her spell was usually cast at a group, spread out for several rounds. When designed for only one target, the intensity ratcheted up. Esther stepped over the pile of reptilian goo and stalked toward the remaining enemies.
“Hold!” Djona stepped away from Jace and toward Esther while the rest of his men cowered in their places. The commander’s declaration wasn’t just a request, as he released a spell at the same time. Jace guessed he must be a priest, and when the magic hit Esther, she stopped cold. However, she also wore one of the cursed rings Gromphy had made, and after taking five damage from it, she shrugged off the powerful spell and continued forward.
“Impossible,” Djona said but didn’t dwell on it too long. “Everyone! Shock her!”
Every troglodyte with a clear shot released an attack, and Esther was thrown from her feet. She failed with enough criticals that she was reduced to an unconscious condition. Lizardmen swarmed her, and within seconds, she was hauled to her feet with her hands shackled behind her.
Djona watched until he was sure Esther was done. Even when she woke up, if someone was touching her, she would be rendered Helpless and shouldn’t be able to free herself. The head troglodyte turned to Jace and spent a moment examining him. “Will I have to put her down?”
Jace didn’t know if the game was telling the lizardman he was in charge or if the priest had a spell to determine the leader. Either way, this troglodyte was different. He was dressed in the same style as the others, but his vest had a splash of color, he held the scepter, and he wore a hemp necklace strung with teeth. As the shaman looked closer, he was pretty sure they were troglodyte teeth. Had this man killed to gain his position?
Either way, Jace answered the question. “I would rather you not. If you give me a chance to talk with her, it will save the lives of many of your men.”
“Good. No more lives need to be lost.” With that thought, he turned to the ship, which had still not extended its gangway to the deck. A warning from the captain about the women’s potency would have been nice. “Are you not coming ashore? Food and drink have been prepared.”
Potiphar laughed. “I think we will stay on the ship tonight,” he replied. “You can load our payment in the morning, and we will be on our way. It looks like you will have your hands full with the new arrivals. No need to bother with us.”
“He’s that scared of her,” Djona asked Jace in a hushed tone.
“I would be if I had treated her like they had,” the orc replied.
“Then we shall treat her better,” Djona said. Jace was beginning to like him.
The troglodyte turned to the ship. “Very well,” he shouted. The captain waved goodbye, and the men left the ship's railing and disappeared from view.
Djona returned to Jace. “Now, come with me. It looks like your people could use a good meal, and we suddenly have a lot of extra food.”
Djona moved to the front of the line as some of his men tied Jace and Psycho into the slave train after Rock. Esther trailed the procession with four guards carrying her. The ranger was behind the shaman, and he leaned in to talk. “Did you make a new friend?”
Jace smiled at the perceptive elf. “I am pretty sure that is Joe.”
“And this slave master is someone we want to rescue?”
Now, Jace chuckled. “Give it time. All is not as it appears.”
Psycho asked no more questions, and the group moved off the dock and onto the island.