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C

Disgrace

C

After Ufrelyn's little revelation the guy decides that I'm not worth any more of his precious attention and he and his friend turn away to listen to Kofyr's interrogation. Ah well, it could have gone worse I guess. At least we're all in one piece and he has stopped kicking Andy. Even though it still riles me that he will now certainly look down on me from the high pedestal of some perceived moral superiority.

Now we can listen as well and maybe try to formulate a plan to turn things to our advantage again. Andy's and mine I mean. I don't see much of an opportunity for the other two to get out of the hole they have so stupidly dug for themselves.

During the next hour of painstakingly thorough questioning it gets increasingly clear that neither Andy nor me really had anything to do with the whole bone disaster, which for a reason I don't quite understand makes Lord Liral look at me with even more distaste. I have no idea what goes on in his head, but I think he could at least tell his men to remove our bonds. He doesn't though. What is his problem?

I understand after he offers to give us over to Kofyr if the Drow will bring his oh so great and important bone back. That really drops my jaw!

Who'd have thought that the high born and noble Lord would stoop so low as to use people as tokens of trade? The soldiers around me look slightly uneasy at the suggestion, but don't do anything to remedy the situation. Spineless bastards all of them!

It's no big surprise when Kofyr agrees to go, together with the mage and another of the soldiers, to retrieve the stolen artefact in exchange for Ufrelyn's and his own freedom as well as Andy's and mine. Or rather their freedom and our custody. As far as I can tell this day is getting progressively worse, with no signs of improvement.

My apprehension grows to new heights when Liral tells his mage to open a portal. The last time I was pushed through a portal nothing good came of it and I don't see any reason why things should be different in this case. There's no telling where we might end up this time and nobody seems inclined to give out any information about our destination. I can guess though that it'll probably be some sort of residence or stronghold in the possession our dear Lord Liral. Where else would he bring valuable prisoners after he apparently doesn't put much trust in the city guards any more?

I step through the stupid portal with an absolute minimum of cooperation, a behaviour which causes several dark scowls on the side of Liral's soldiers, who basically have to drag me through the chaotic swirl of colours, and does nothing to improve our situation. As always Andy manages to run into me as soon as he takes his first step in our new surroundings. This time I restrain myself and merely throw him a short, subdued glare, before I am utterly mesmerized by the sight of the hall sized room we now find ourselves in.

The ceiling must be there somewhere above our heads, but I can't make it out through the spelled, white mist that is floating lazily through a thick maze of slender, grey columns which fills the whole hall. I can't tell for sure though how far this place really expands, because its boundaries are mostly obscured by the aforementioned mist. The sweet smell of wood and water that hangs in the air confuses me even further, as I can see no trees and the only real green I can see are a few Roses which wind their fragile stems around some of the colums. It makes me wonder though, whether we actually are in a building or if this is just a beautiful and highly sophisticated illusion.

After witnessing the extravagant and lavishly decorated, but tightly controlled world of the Drow city this seems like a strange opposite. It serves the same purpose and yet it is so very different in its core, so undefined and free. Someone tugs on my sleeve to get me going again and I realize that I am staring, but so are Andy and Ufrelyn. The gate is already closing as I watch and since neither Kofyr nor his new companions have joined us I think it is safe to assume that they'll start on their little venture immediately, leaving the rest of us to wait here in this excessively elegant, but slightly eerie place.

"Enjoying the sights?" Liral wants to know with a condescending sneer and for once I just keep my mouth shut and shrug. Anything I could possibly say now would change nothing in the way he perceives me so why bother? If he wants to despise me so badly then he's more than welcome to do so. I can't stand him either.

Surprisingly after they change our bonds so that our hands are in front of us once again all three of us are put in the same room. Together with no less than four oppressively scowling sentries, but at least I still have Andy. There is one double bed and a small, wooden table with a mirror and a simple basin of clean water. The large room has no furniture other than that, which leads to the current situation where we, the terribly dangerous prisoners, are seated on the rough, green carpet with our guards standing at the walls trying to keep up their impressive glare despite the fact that their facial muscles must surely be cramping. My special friend from before is present as well, a circumstance which is not to my liking, because he's still giving me strange looks and the way his gaze drifts towards Andy from time to time tells me clearly that he's coming to some conclusions about us. Not that he's wrong, but he'll certainly manage to get the whole facts confused anyway.

I decide that, since he's obviously making up his own little story in any case I can just as well go ahead and get a bit more comfortable, so I rest my head on Andy's shoulder and try to catch a bit more sleep. Sleep is important for your well being and I have learned early in my life to get as much of it as I can possibly manage. This habit has sometimes lead others to call me lazy, but I don't really care much about that. It's not true after all. I just know better than to waste my time running after things I'll never have anyway.

Two hours later I'm awake again, my special friend is still staring and my backside is starting to hurt from sitting on this rock hard, uncomfortable piece of shit they call a carpet. In addition to this delighting state of affairs I'm getting very bored and thirsty. Ufrelyn is still sitting in the same position she had adopted two hours ago when I went to sleep, with a face so neutral I can't even tell if she's tired or not. I really don't know how she does that. Andy is currently trying to hide behind the thick, white curtain of his hair, but he's not doing a very good job of it with the restless way he keeps moving all the time. Maybe he's bored as well.

"Toren?" He says quietly, which instantly makes our guards narrow their eyes in renewed watchfulness.

"Yes?"

"Could you scratch my back?"

For a moment I'm actually taken aback, but then I realize that he has no other option than to ask me, because it is a bit difficult to scratch your own back when your hands are bound before you.

"Fine." I sigh and start scratching between his shoulder blades.

"Ah, maybe a bit further down darling?"

Rolling my eyes I follow his direction and move my hands downwards.

"A little harder?"

A sharp laugh erupts somewhere from my right. Hm, who on earth could that be? Yes, of course it is the stupid soldier who likes to kick his prisoners.

"Is that your usual kind of foreplay?" He wants to know with a leer, at which I see his comrades give him slightly appalled glances. It seems I'm not the only one who thinks his comment a bit tasteless. I have to bite back a laugh though when Andy actually answers with a voice so serious and matter of fact only I will probably know that he's joking.

"No, the usual foreplay would start with me taking our clothes off, licking him all over and whispering lots of dirty things in his ears."

"That version of events was rather short don't you think?" I whisper for Andy can be far more elaborate than that, but I'm nonetheless pleased with the slightly shocked faces of our guards. Even Ufrelyn has to repress a smile.

Maybe this is the best time to ask for a bit of water. Despite my thirst I didn't dare to try this before, because nobody seemed to care very much whether the three of us died or lived, but now that they are still in shock and more vulnerable I might be able to convince one of them.

"Could you please..."

"No!"

Ok there goes my theory. I'm still thirsty though.

"But I just..."

"No! Can't you listen or do I have to make you understand?"

So he doesn't even want to know what it is that I need? Well fine. That means war then.

"If you don't get me a glass of water this instant, I'll fuck him right in front of you!"

I growl at the circle in general.

"As if you'd ever do that."

The unveiled contempt in that statement irks me so much that I actually decide to turn my not so serious threat into real action and pull a slightly surprised Andy into a sudden kiss. My resolve lasts about ten seconds, until I feel the tip of sword at the side of my neck and release him.

"You wouldn't dare doing that."
I challenge the young soldier who is holding this inconvenient weapon.

"Yes he would." My special friend claims nastily. "If you persist in performing indecent acts I will in fact order him to stab you." His face turns into a grimace of disgust as he continues in a hiss. "You are such a worthless disgrace for an Elf! I'm sure your clan has probably cast you out you traitor."

With that he has hit a sore spot. Too close are these words to those my Master had me repeat over and over until I didn't know truth from lie any longer. Instantly I turn pale and cannot bear to face him any longer. Some wounds are slow to heal.