Captive Rogue

"Thish way," the guard slurred through his missing teeth as he turned the key to the dungeon and grabbed a torch. Alura watch his eyes linger on the slender curve of her ear before he turned to lead the way down the stairs.

The elven maiden carefully pulled her hair back over her ears. Her kind didn't go to human settlements much, and the humans harbored a fair amount of suspicion and superstition about them. Not surprising from a people with so little magic available to them, but their fear could make them dangerous. For the first time, Alura was glad she had fallen in with Kartos. The hulking human that walked confidently behind her claimed to be from one of the wild tribes of the north, and it hadn't taken her much to convince him to aid her in discovering how her people had mysteriously vanished. There was something about him that made her feel uneasy, but she could never put her finger on exactly what. At this moment, however, his intimidating presence filled her with confidence that the dungeon guard would be on his best behavior. Alduin, the wizard she had hired for this, followed behind silently.

They descended down a spiral staircase and passed through two sets of barred doors before they arrived at a series of cells that lined the walls on either side of them. A rancid stench filled the air as they entered the room, and it was all Alura could do to keep from vomiting whenever she breathed. Alduin likewise seemed appalled by the smell.

The guard seemed to notice and said, "Don' mind the shtench. We don' lets 'em do much washin'. Ye gets ushed to it."

I don't plan on it, she thought to herself. Aloud she said, "Where is this thief?"

"Right frough ere mish," the guard replied, stepping in front of a cell and fiddling with his keys, "Jusht a warnin', we hads to gag her on account of her bittin' ush every chance she got, so she'll not me shayin' much. Not the mosht friendly of wenchesh."

Alura nodded hurridly, her hand over her nose and mouth in an effort to blot out the pervasive smell. The door swung open and the jailor stepped aside, ushering Alura and her companions inside. They entered a large room, mostly empty except for a few tables with sinister looking equipment scattered across them, and a series of free standing cells jutting out of the floor. Only a few were occupied and most of those occupants seemed starved and too weak to move, though Alura's keen elven ear caught a couple of prisoners making lude comments about her as she walked past their cells. 

They arrived at a cell on the far end of the room. Inside was a young woman, barely dressed, with short dirty-blonde hair and a leather cord fastened between her teeth. Her arms were shackled to the bars on her cell above her head, and a heavy weight was fastened to one ankle. As they entered, the woman glared up at them and shifted herself defensively, here eyes darting between Alura and the imposing Kartos.

"What's her name?" Alura inquired of the jailer.

"Taneeya," the guard replied, "caught dish one tryin' ta shteal apples in the market."

"And for that you put her here?" Alduin replied, clearly appalled.

"Naw," the guard replied, "for what she done to the guards what tried to bring 'er in. Garber shtill can't walk, and Fergus won't be pleashing no wenchesh no time shoon. And there's me teef." He pointed to his mouth to clarify the last statement.

Alura crept forward and crouched down so she could look the prisoner in the eye. "Taneeya," she said, "I've come here looking for the help of an expert thief. Someone who can help me to get in and out of dangerous places that have been sealed away for years. The guards here tell me you're pretty good at that sort of thing, but they also say that I can't trust you. That you'll rob me and leave at your earliest opportunity." She paused and waited for a response, but the captive woman simply held her gaze and continued to glare.

Alura continued, "I understand that you've gotten yourself into a lot of trouble. I'm willing to pay for your freedom if you'll help me. Understand though that I will be having this mage put you under a geas spell, so you cannot betray me or my companion, or abandon us, or work against our purpose. Will you agree to that?" She indicated Alduin as she spoke, who was still desperately trying not to breath.

Taneeya's eyes darted over to the mage, but her expression did not change. Slowly, her eyes returned to Alura's, and the two women studied one another for a moment. At last, the captive gave the barest hint of a nod.

"Oh, thank the gods!" Alduin gasped as he began to cast the enchantment over the woman. Alura counted out the agreed upon price and handed it to the jailer, who then gave her a small key and bid her farewell. When the spell was complete, Alduin stayed only long enough to receive his payment, and then departed expeditiously. Kartos looked on as Alura unfastened the manacles around the other woman's hands and the ball and chain on her foot. Taneeya spat out the leather strap that had clung between her teeth and stood up, stretching stiff joints.

"So, I'm to be your thief," she said, looking over the small elven maiden before her. Turning to Kartos she added, "I take it he's your muscle." The barbarian stood there with his arms crossed and made no reply. Alura nodded.

"Ok, fine. Let's get this done. I'll need equipment."

"The guards have given us your thieving tools." Kartos replied, his voice booming through the open room.

"Great," Taneeya replied unenthusiastically, "I'll need my armor too."

"No armor," Kartos replied with a crass smile, "you'll travel as you are."

Taneeya stared at the two in disbelief.

"We are pressed for time," Alura said apologetically.

Taneeya was ready to object, but then immediately felt a magical force come over her, compelling her to agree. So that was what it felt like to be under a geas. This was not going to be fun.

The three exited the dungeon and mounted the horses that were awaiting them. Alura led them south into the wild barrens. Somewhere down here was the long forgotten Chamber of Augury, a sight used by the elves in ancient times to contact powerful beings. She hoped that there she might discover how her people had disappeared, where they had gone, and what she could do to bring them back. Hopefully, these two with her would be enough to face whatever danger lay in their path.
 

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It's hard to tell, but I'm using a modified Ultra Woman model for the Rogue Taneeya (hence, the name). Fiddling around with something I toyed with a long while ago when I came out with these images: