We ended up checking the next three rooms on this floor even though I could tell the light wasn't coming from them. Viltria might have been in one, and we didn't want to get caught from behind by her. She wasn't hiding in them, and they held nothing of interest for us, so we simply moved on and reached another downward staircase.

  The light got brighter and was clearly coming from the floor below. I stop and listened carefully and thought I heard some moaning. Perhaps Turin was whimpering down below. Slowly, I snuck down the stairs trying not to make a sound, and when I reached the landing of the floor below I saw where the light was coming from. It was flooding out of an arched opening about ten feet ahead on my right.

  The four of us crept up next to this archway and peaked inside. The room past this archway was clearly a large living room judging by its furnishing. There was a standing lamp next to a large couch, and on this couch, a beautiful, naked, female, dark elf was leaning back, gripping her left breast and holding a leash with her other hand. Little moans of pleasure escaped her mouth which was tilted up towards the ceiling, and I could see that her gray nipples were hard. The leash led down towards her groin and attached itself to the neck of a collared elf whose own mouth seemed to be busy at work between her legs.

  I think we've found both Turin and Viltria, but this was abhorrent. Viltria was using and forcing the captive Turin to pleasure her. I can't imagine being forced to do something like this against my will. This bitch needed to die.

  I was struggling to come up with the best way to express my disgust over the situation when Eldertits whispered, "This is kinda hot, maybe we should just watch for a bit."

  "Yeah, she's sexy as hell," Rondo whispered back.

  What the hell was wrong with my companions? Could they not see that poor Turin was being forced to do this.

  Angrily I whispered back, "This is disgusting, what's the matter with you two?"

  "Jesus, Ryland," Eldertits snapped back, "Don't be such a prude and let us enjoy this, you don't have to watch."

  "Can you not see the problem here?" I asked still angry.

  I was about to answer my own question when Elaria cut in, "She's black, it is disgusting."

  "Oh my god, No!" I snapped raising my voice. "What is wrong with all of you?"

  Silence followed my outburst, and I knew immediately that I screwed up, because the moans coming from the other room had suddenly ceased.

  Chapter Seventeen: Turin and Viltria

  "Damn it, Ryland!" Eldertits yelled at me while charging in the other room. "Why couldn't you be silently voyeuristic like the rest of us?"

  Following her in I could see that Viltria had equipped some clothing, though the dark elf still had a lot of skin showing. She was standing up and staring at us through violet rimmed eyes. In one hand she held the leash leading to a still-naked Turin, and in the other hand, she held a wicked looking staff that would have probably made Chane jealous.

  Behind me, I could distinctly hear Rondo out in the hallway speaking to Elaria, "Really, so you're saying it was disgusting because she was black? That was your big issue with the whole thing?"

  "Who are you and how did you get into my house?" Viltria asked in a commanding voice.

  I looked at this noble woman, who clearly had a lot to be proud about. She was gorgeous, and her long mauve hair perfectly complimented her eyes. Her figure was slim, toned, and she had clearly done very well for herself in this life.

  Having thought all of that though, she disgusted me. She had forced slavery upon another person, even if elves were her mortal enemies. Then to top that off, she'd made that person sexually pleasure her. I made up my mind, I was going to destroy this evil creature.

  "We're here for him," I said finally answering her and summoning a fireball into my left hand.

  Eldertits summoned her axe and was walking slowly forward towards Viltria looking a bit like the grim reaper with her hood up still. The two of us would be handling the first part of this fight on our own, because Elaria and Rondo were still out in the hall, now shouting at each other, completely ignoring the impending battle that was about to take place in the next room.

  "You're here for Turin?" Viltria asked slightly surprised.

  "Yeah," Eldertits responded, "you have three options. You can hand him over nicely and we don't hurt you, or we can take him by force from you."

  "And the third option?" Viltria asked raising an eyebrow.

  "We all join you on that couch for berries and cream, and then we take Turin afterward," Eldertits said happily.

  "But you're not black, you're brown!" filtered in from the hallway during the long pause Viltria took after Eldertits said this.

  I don't think there was a person or NPC that Eldertits couldn't catch off guard. The woman made a habit of saying the most inappropriate things at the most ridiculous times. Truly, it was a gift or a curse depending on how you looked at it.

  "Well," Viltria finally responded, "tempting as that offer is, I don't think I'll be taking you up on it. How dare you threaten me in my own house!"

  "Don't you act offended," I said in my most dangerous voice, "You're the foul creature who enslaved another, and worse yet, you're forcing him to pleasure you against his will!"

  I shot my fireball at her. I saw where this was going, and I figured I'd cut to the chase. This bitch was going to pay for what she'd done.

  What happened next shocked me. Turin leapt in front of her and summoned a large shield that deflected my fireball. This left me standing there with my mouth gaping at the collared elf. I've heard of Stockholm Syndrome but never thought I'd see it in action.

  "Please wait," Turin said lowering his shield, "Viltria is innocent of what you think she's done."

  "How is she innocent?" I asked. "She kidnapped and enslaved you."

  "No, she did not," Turin said calmly, "I came here of my own free will."

  "Wait, what?" I asked looking dumbfounded. "So you chose to become a slave and be collared like a dog?"

  "It's not like that," Turin said smiling at me, "I'm only pretending to be a slave."

  "It's true," Viltria said from behind him, "He isn't actually my slave."

  "Then what is all of this?" I said motioning with my arms at them.

  To my surprise, both of them blushed and looked uneasy for the first time.

  Finally, Turin spoke up and said quietly, "Sometimes we enjoy role playing with the slave thing."

  Eldertits burst out laughing and said, "I love it, we got some serious S&M shit going on here! Is she always the dom or do you sometimes switch it up?"

  Averting his eyes Turin mumbled, "she's always the dom."

  "Okay," I said trying to refocus the conversation, "that still doesn't explain why you are doing this."

  "That's because," Turin started, glancing back at Viltria who nodded, "we're in love, and neither of our peoples would ever accept this relationship. This was the only way we could be together."

  This caused a whole new round of laughter from Eldertits, who I'm pretty sure was close to crying at this point judging by the sounds she was making from under the hood.

  "It's bondage Romeo and Juliet," Eldertits said cackling, "This is like the plot to a bad porno or something."

  "I'm sorry, my companion is highly inappropriate," I said. "Turin, your family sent us to rescue you. They think you're suffering the worst kind of fate possible for an elf."

  A pained expression came over Turin's face that quickly resolved itself into a look of determination.

  "I'm sorry that you came all this way, but I'm not going back there," Turin said to me.

  "I think you owe it to your parents to let them know you're alright," I said to Turin thinking about how I felt when my own kids started to leave home.

  "Yeah, maybe," the elf responded not sounding convinced at all.

  "And besides," I added, "this is hardly much of a life for you. Sure, you get to be with the woman you love, and I'm sure she's a wonderful person, but if you stay here you'll spend your whole life being treated worse than a dog by everyone else around."

  "What am I supposed to do?" he asked irritated, "We can't go to Ithielthiel. They'll kill her on sight."

  "I don't know," I said. "It's a big world. Isn't there somewhere else where an elf and a dark elf can go and live in peace?"

  "If there is, I don't know where it is," Turin responded sounding distraught.

  "Look, I'll help you find it," I said to the young elf, "but first, come back with us to Ithielthiel and let your parents know you're alright."

  "I won't leave Viltria," Turin said with fire in his eyes.

  "That's not a problem, she can come with," I responded calmly. "If we snuck two elves in here, how hard can it be to sneak one dark elf into Ithielthiel for a while?"

  "You snuck two elves in here?" Viltria asked alarmed.

  "Tits, would you please?" I asked the elf, who complied a moment later by lowering her hood.

  "And the other one?" Viltria asked not taking her eyes off of Eldertits.

  "She's in the hall arguing with our other friend," I said jerking my head back towards the archway. "Look, I know we can do this. Just come with us, and I promise we will help you."

  They both looked at one another, and then Viltria slowly nodded her head at Turin who turned to me and said, "Okay we're in."

  You have created and accepted a new quest: Free Romeo and Juliet From Their Bondage.

  "The elf, Turin, and his dark elf lover, Viltria, are looking for a place where they can live and love without persecution."

  Type: Epic

  Reward: 10,000 XP, 5,000 reputation with both Turin and Viltria, 500 paragon points

  Penalty for failure to complete: -1000 reputation with both Turin and Viltria. -100 paragon points.

  Damn it, Tits. Now I'm even making quests based off of things you've said. It was actually a huge surprise that I could make a quest for myself, but I suppose if you promised you would do something for someone it was basically a quest. I wondered how the game determined the reward and penalties, though?

  I gave up on this line of thinking quickly as I wasn't getting anywhere with it and moved on to a more pressing matter. How are we going to get three elves out of Maleuhur undetected? I doubt I could just walk all three elves out without being stopped or attacked. Maybe two slaves and a hooded Eldertits would work? Did dark elves allow valuable elvish slaves to leave their city? Maybe if they were owned by dark elves?

  "Human, you've offered to help us, and we don't even know your name," Viltria said bringing me out of my contemplation.

  "Oh, I'm Ryland, and this here is Eldertits," I said and then pointed my thumb behind me. "You'll meet Elaria, the elf, and Midnight Rondo, the human, in a minute if they ever stop bickering."

  "I'm sure you two know what lover's quarrels are like," Eldertits added, "Elaria tries to pretend like she's only a white meat kind of girl, but we all know she secretly loves it dark."

  "I have no idea what you're talking about, elf," Viltria said in response to this last statement.

  "Please, call me Tits," Eldertits said smiling at her.

  It was at this moment that Rondo and Elaria decided to walk in the room. The latter immediately drew her bow and arrow upon seeing Viltria.

  "Stand back, I'll handle this black demon," Elaria said aiming at the dark elf.

  "Whoa, Whoa, Whoa!" I yelled putting my hands up and moving in between Elaria and her target. "She's okay, she's not our enemy."

  "They're all our enemies!" Elaria said and motioned for me to move out of the way.

  "God damn it, Elaria, this is exactly what I'm talking about!" Rondo yelled at her. "You're simply judging her by the color of her skin, not by the content of her character."

  "Holy shit!" Eldertits exclaimed, "I didn't realize we had the famous Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the house."

  "Stow it, Tits!" Rondo snapped at her, "she needs to hear this. Not all of these dark elves are bad and not all of you light elves are good. Tits is actually a very good example of an elf of questionable character."

  "I resent that!" Tits responded in mock outrage, "I am known throughout all of Irune for my outstanding moral character."

  "More like you're known throughout Irune for how much of the forest you've slept with," Elaria quipped with a small smile.

  Rondo actually laughed and smiled at the elf for a moment before they remembered they were fighting with each other. Viltria and Turin stood behind me, and they clearly weren't sure what to make of these two new figures.

  "Seriously Elaria," I said before Eldertits could respond and derail this conversation any further, "please put the bow down. We've been speaking with these two while you've been out in the hallway, and she's not any danger to us."

  "You can't know that," Elaria shot back at me refusing to lower her weapon.

  "I know it," Turin interjected, "She loves me, and I promise she will not harm any of you."

  Turning, Elaria looked up and down at Turin who was still leashed and naked. She gave him a quizzical look as if to ask who the hell are you and why are you naked but didn't actually say anything.

  "Turin," Viltria said quietly next to him, "you may want to equip some clothing."

  The young elf looked up and down at himself and blushed furiously. Quickly he equipped some simple elven clothes, but to his credit, he continued to stare defiantly at Elaria.

  I took this time to fill both Elaria and Rondo in on the conversation we just had with Viltria and Turin before they came into the room. Elaria was less than pleased, especially when I told them about the promise I made to the two lovers and the associated quest.

  Sighing, Elaria put her bow away but refused to take her eyes off of Viltria. Sometimes you've just got to take what small victories you can get. I didn't know the full history of the relations between the sibling races, but I knew that a lot of the elves back in Ithielthiel felt the same way about dark elves.

  Addressing Viltria, I asked, "We're going to need a different way back to the surface from Maleuhur besides going through the Black Gate."

  I explained our encounter with the slavers and the fact that they followed us all the way to the Black Gate. After what I had did to them and the hatred status I garnered with them, I was pretty sure they'd at least be watching in case we returned.

  Viltria didn't say anything while I told my tale, but afterward, she looked a bit uncomfortable and had a pained expression on her face.

  Finally, after a long silence she said, "I know of a way, but I will have to temporarily blind you if we go that route."

  "Absolutely not!" Elaria shouted, "We can't trust her."

  Viltria sighed and said, "I may not appreciate how my people view my love interests, but I am not about to betray secrets to a group I barely know, especially when one of them is an openly hostile elf."

  "What do you mean by temporarily blind?" I asked a bit concerned by the implication.

  "It's a simple spell I cast," Viltria said waving her hand as if in dismissal. "I assure you the effect is only temporary, and you will feel no pain."

  "That works for me as long as you can get us all back to the surface safely," I responded.

  Elaria looked like she wanted to argue some more when a loud knocking came from down the hall. The six of us froze and stood there staring at each other until it sounded again, and this time it was followed by shouting.

  "Lady Viltria!" a masculine voice yelled. "Lady Viltria, are you in there? Lady Viltria please answer, we have reason to believe foreigners may be trying to con you!"

  "You all weren't very inconspicuous getting here, were you?" Viltria asked me, sounding annoyed.

  "We may have made enemies with the clerk running the slavers' hall," I admitted.

  "Lady Viltria!" the voice yelled again followed by the knocking. "Are you there? If you do not answer, we'll be forced to break the door."

  "Quickly, follow me," Viltria hissed moving out of the room.

  The rest of us followed her down the hallway and through a door which led to a kitchen. She went over to the far corner and stepped on the corner of a large tile. After she removed her foot, the tile lifted up and floated into mid-air revealing a staircase leading down into the darkness.

  "Get inside and don't make any noise," Viltria said to us. "No, not you Turin."

  Elaria looked like she wanted to object, but I just stared her down, and the four of us quickly filed down the staircase. I looked up just in time to see Viltria press her foot down on the ground next to the opening. The tile sank back into the ground, and we were covered in total darkness.

  I sat down on the steps and waited with bated breath. Time passed, and nothing seemed to happen until suddenly, I could hear muffled sounds above but was unable to make anything out. Suddenly, the noises grew louder and then faded away.

  Were they gone and were we safe? I hoped that Viltria would be back to let us out soon. I wasn't particularly enjoying sitting in the darkness while waiting, and I could feel Elaria fidgeting below me. If we weren't let out soon she was probably going to lose it.

  Without warning, the ceiling above me split open and dim light streamed in. I stood up and climbed up and onto the kitchen floor. Viltria and Turin were standing there looking anxious.

  "We need to leave. I managed to convince them that you haven't been here yet, but they promised to keep an eye on my house for you," Viltria said to me as the rest of the group climbed out of the staircase behind me.

  "Yeah, and do you have a way to get us away from here without being noticed?" I asked.

  "That staircase behind you leads down to the second tier," Viltria responded. "We can use it to get you away from my house without being noticed by the guards."

  "And from there, are we able to get to this other route out of the city?" I asked.

 

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