[House of Happy Endings] Escape from Sunberth (solo)

[Arianni D'Sorn]

Date: 85th of Fall 510 AV Location: Braga's House of Happy Endings Arianni spent her days in Sunberth not leaving the confines of Braga's brothel. While the human woman did not offer her to clients as a pleasure girl, the Konti was never allowed to leave the place either. Not that she wanted to, knowing the fate that awaited her outside: rape, and most likely death at the hands of the rapists, or rape and then slavery. Braga had made it clear to her that Sunberth was sure to leave a physical mark on her at the very least if she was ever found alone in the streets. Arianni did not need her gift of truth sense to know that Braga had not exaggerated that claim. While the woman had kept her safe, fed and clothed in her establishment, Arianni felt that Braga was loathed to help her escape from the city. She did not have to ask; from the tone of their conversation the first time they met, the Konti knew she would be kept as some sort of prize. Perhaps Braga was waiting for an offer she couldn't refuse from one of the parties interested in 'acquiring' Arianni. Perhaps she really was just concerned about the girl's welfare since there was nothing but pain and misery in the outside world. Men would take the first opportunity at violating her as soon as she walked out the door and the wilderness was equally as dangerous, if not more so. Either way, Arianni knew she was not getting out of Sunberth. Not with any of the locals' help. Arianni only had herself to depend on if she wanted to leave. Fortunately, she had the skills to do so. Braga had given her a small room for herself in the first floor of the building, along one of the less used hallways of the House of Happy Endings, keeping her away from any curious eyes. Nobody disturbed her save for the servants who would bring her food or direct her to the nearest bath unoccupied by neither client nor whore. Braga would occasionally pay her a visit as well, to check how she was acclimatizing to 'her new home', as the woman would say it. These occurrences where rare however, and for the most part, Arianni really did not have anyone to talk to. Truth be told, the Konti did not really mind, preferring the privacy of her room to chatting with any of the pleasure workers or even Braga herself. She wished she had a tome on magic to study to pass the time but its lack did not bother her either. Instead she used her time alone to take matters into her own hands and plan her escape from the city. She decided that nothing would hold her down.

[Arianni D'Sorn]

Since her first week in the brothel, Arianni had come to realize that the place had become a prison for her. The people inside with her were nice enough to her, but it was without a doubt that she could not leave. Braga did not even need to post guards at her door, for the dangers outside in the streets effectively kept the Konti locked inside her establishment. And so Arianni had begun to plot her escape. On the first day of the second week of her stay, just after dawn when most of the clients were leaving for their homes and the whores were retiring to their beds - to sleep rather than to please a passion-starved man - the Konti went to work. Locking her door, she placed the two chairs in her room on her bed so that they would not get in her way. It was easy enough to do; the chairs were made from some sort of lightweight wood. The table proved to be a different matter. Not physically strong, Arianni could not lift it up without making any noise and alerting her neighbors of the activity she was doing in her room. And so she settled with lifting it up on one side and tilting it until it sat on it side on one end of the room. That left the rug, which was easily rolled up. Underneath were the wooden floorboards, of course, nailed to the ground with no way for Arianni to pry them loose. Or so it had seemed. For several moments, the young Konti woman studied each of the wooden planks that served as floor boards, noting how they were held down firm by iron nails on each of their corners. She measured their size, at one point standing on top of them and even sitting to estimate how many she needed to remove in order for her slim form to fit in. Eventually, Arianni went to work. Focusing inwardly, she called upon her magical gift, creating a pea-sized rip in time and space just above one of the nail heads of one of the floorboards she wanted to remove. With utmost concentration, she lowered the small portal ever closer to her target. And then she instilled a 'pull' to it - one way, and only at the point where it hovered over the nail. It was one so strong that the nail was out before the Konti even realized it. It also left her light headed. Her next attempt left her swooning and she knew she was close to overgiving. Arianni proceeded more cautiously on the days that followed, not pushing her limits to the edge in case the tragedy that happened when she was younger occurred once more. She had finer control over her powers now and she had a telling sign whenever she was close to overgiving: the voice in her head, the whispers that called to her, grew more incessant, more commanding. She would cease all magic activities then for fear of falling into the trap of the voice's words. It had a compelling quality about it, one that she knew would lead to her downfall. And so she was prudent in her use of voiding, though it was difficult for her to ignore the call of the voice or the temptation to open more than one portal to finish her work faster. But she operated with the knowledge that her attempt at escaping would be for naught should she commit a mistake that would find her on the Other Side once more. And so she was careful. Very careful. It was close to the end of the season now and she had a nice little tunnel running underneath the House of Happy Endings, one only large enough to accommodate someone her side, and only if she crawled on all fours at that. A dog-sized portal was used to eat away the soil and rocks, though there was no pull to it. Arianni had learned from her lessons with removing the nails from the floorboards. Manually moving the portal to consume the packed dirt was enough for her. She knew not how far her tunnel went, but she had aimed for the shortest direction that would lead her away from the city: northwest. She had changed the timing of her tunneling as well, only working on it during the height of activity of the brothel, which was during the night when everyone thought she was sleeping. During the day the hole was covered up once more by the floorboards and the rug, topped by the table and chairs. No one would know anything was amiss. Arianni always went into her tunnel naked, knowing that she would be hardpressed to explain how she got soil and dirt on her dress if she went in fully clothed. She would wash away most of the grime when she returned and her daily baths, one she insisted from Braga to keep her scales shiny and lustrous, removed the worst of it. Today however, she brought her pack with her, for during the last leg of her digging the previous night she felt a change in the air pressure inside her tunnel, as if fresh air was coursing through it. Half a bell worth of using her portal to eat at the dirt revealed its source as her portal found no more dirt to swallow. She had broken through the ground, but she didn';t come out into the open night air as she expected. She broke through into another subterranean tunnel, one much larger than the one she had created. In the dim light of her torch, she could see the support beams that prevented the whole place from collapsing into itself. The Konti wondered who created such a place. Arianni didn't realize it but she was in one of the tunnels of the abandoned mine of Sunberth.

[Mastermind]

Digging the tunnel was long and taxing work. Arianni was left to her own designs, Braga seeming to have forgotten about her Konti “guest,” which helped the digging go unnoticed. It was the last day of Winter when the tunnel finally came to fruition, opening up into a larger tunnel of unknown origin. The tunnel was dark. Very dark. Voices and footsteps echoed faintly down the tunnel, belaying the thought of its abandonment. Someone, or something, was down here. The flicker of the torch lit up only a small segment of the tunnel Arianni had dug into. It was dirty, wet, and cold. The smells of rotting wood, sewage, and death hung thick in the damp air. On the floor there were puddles of various size, as well as broken rock and debris. Through the middle ran rusted tracks, pieces pried up or missing as often as not, and giving away the purpose of the tunnel. It was clearly a mine of some sorts. There were only two ways to go. Up. Or down. To the right the tunnel headed in a noticeably upward direction, and to the left it slanted down. But the echoes came from the right, increasing in frequency, while to the left there was only silence. Then the Konti heard voices, clearer this time. “Hurry up!” said one voice, shortly followed by, “Shut up, fool.” Some more banter came quickly, but the words couldn’t be made out. One thing was for sure, though. They were coming from the tunnel back to Braga’s.

[Arianni D'Sorn]

Dirty, naked and exhausted, Arianni, paused to rest as soon as she crawled out of her little rabbit hole, too tired to even take the time to dust off the soil that clung to her body or her pack. The candle she used to light her way was now but a little stump on its holder, its flame flickering as air breezed in from the tunnel that led to the right. She was about to close her eyes, just for a moment she thought, when the same air that made her light dance brought the sound of conversation to her. Voices! her senses screamed. She thought she would be out of the city's range by now! Why are there people here? Not familiar with the geography of the area, the Konti thought that she had stumbled upon an abandoned mine when she first broke through the tunnel wall. The state of neglect of the place gave the impression of its disuse. Apparently, it was not as abandoned as it seemed. She wanted to hope that that source of the voices were friendly people but after her initial encounter with the locals and from Braga's own warnings Arianni knew otherwise. She turned to crawl back into her little tunnel, to escape their sure-to-be violent hands, when new voices, much closer this time, emanated from the hole - her only escape route! Her absence must have been discovered and Braga had sent men to retrieve her! Fear gripped Arianni's heart. She knew not the true nature of her hostess but to have survived, even thrived, in a city such as Sunberth, surely the woman mustn't be all kindness and sweetness as she had first shown her. What if she had reached a decision to sell her? Or offer the Konti up to the clientele as one of her whores? What if she saw Arianni's escape as a betrayal and wanted to punish her? Should she risk seeking refuge from the mine residents in hopes of saving her from Braga's wrath? They might have their way with her, however. And for certain, she wasn't about to return to her little prison in Braga's brothel. Left with no choice, Arianni fled to the downward-sloping tunnel, running on bare feet and keeping her movements quiet. The little stump of a candle she carried gave out in her rush and she was swallowed in darkness. Left to feel her way in the inky blackness, Arianni hugged the wall, trying to find some sort of cubby or side tunnel to hide herself in. She hoped the men would not venture forth into the tunnel she was hiding in. If they did, she hoped they did not have torches with them. She hoped the tunnel she was in was truly abandoned and that no beast or monster lie in wait for unsuspecting victims like her. At that moment, she hoped for a lot of things.

[Mastermind]

The downward tunnel was dark, almost as dark as the Void. It continued in a mostly straight line, descending into the ground, for quite some time. After a few minutes, Arianni could hear the trickle of water, and the sound only got stronger as she kept up her descent. A couple minutes later, the smell hit her, like brackish water, feces, and garbage. The voices behind her faded slowly, until they could no longer be heard, and still the tunnel kept up its slight decline. Eventually the sound of flowing water was quite loud, but the echoing nature of the tunnel made it quite hard to tell just how far away it was. Then Arianni stepped in it, lukewarm water flowing around her foot, heading in the same direction as the wall she had been following. Down. The voices from behind returned, and faint flickers of light reflected along the surfaces of the tunnel from the way Arianni had came. Someone was following her. To make matters worse, a throaty growl issued forth from the depths of the tunnel, sounding very primal. Something was down there, and it sounded hungry.

[Arianni D'Sorn]

The smell became more and more unbearable the farther the Konti walked down the tunnel. It was as if she wasn't in an abandoned mine at all, but in some sort of sewage and garbage dump for the city. The stink made her gag and caused her eyes to water. The feel for the ground on her feet did not help matter much either. Barefooted, it felt as if she was stepping on whatever it was she was smelling. But there was no help for it; she needed to get away from the men that were after her. She pressed on, still hoping to find a small side tunnel or a branch in the path she was taking - anything to get away from her pursuers. Arianni froze as soon as she heard the low growl. The sound came quite a distance from her yet but it left her quivering on her feet. Something was down in the depths of the mine, something that did not sound friendly, not friendly at all. In fact, it sounded hungry. She knew without a doubt that she could be its next meal if she proceeded any further. And yet how could she turn back, when that way led to the people that were after her? Already she could see the faint glow of their torches at the other end, and hear their voices, unintelligible still but distinct in the near silence of the tunnel. Avalis guide me, she prayed forlornly, losing hope in her situation. She could not proceed, for almost certain death awaited her there. In the darkness, she would not even know when the beast would attack her until it was too late. She would not even know what it would do to her until it sank its fangs in the flesh of her neck or tore her belly open with its claws or... A shiver ran down Arianni's spine. Her vivid imagination was not helping. Should he turn back then, risk whatever fate awaited her at the hands of her pursuers? Surely it would be better than being devoured helplessly in the darkness. They are rational beings after all and not mindless beasts - surely she could reason with them to release her! ...could you?... the voice in her head cackled. Images of being raped and having her throat slit flashed through her mind, exactly as Braga had described to her when they first spoke all those days ago. If that would not happen, if they did not kill her outright, then she would be sold into slavery. But being raped - violated and abused - was most certainly never out of the picture. Help me! she pleaded to the voice in her head. You always have! Please... Only silence was her reply and she feared it had gone again until it spoke to her once more: ...there is always the Void, child... And again it laughed, tauntingly. No! Arianni cried, her voice echoing loudly in her mind. No. I won't return there. Briefly, she thought of the one friend she made back home, Satu. Confident and knowledgeable, the suvai fighter would know what to do in a situation such as this. Not like her, who was only good at matters intellectual. But her friend was not with her and she had to act immediately and choose her path and ultimately, her fate. Of course, she chose to live. Turning towards the distant light, Arianni crept back to where she came from, one hand still touching the wall to guide her and keep her oriented. She planned to plead to these people and beg to be spared and released so she could make her way to the city of Zeltiva. Surely these people would see to reason. They had to. In the darkness, Arianni forgot that she was still completely naked.

[Mastermind]

The voices drew closer as Arianni headed back up the dark tunnel. Close enough to tell that it was not actually voices, but a single voice, talking intermittently. The flickering light grew brighter as well as she progressed on her upward journey. Eventually two men came into view. From in the shadows Arianni could see them fairly well. Neither was known to the Konti. Instead she saw two small, scrappy looking men, hardly a few inches taller than her. Men small enough to have crawled through the tunnel after her. One was holding a torch, and both each had a short wooden stick, no more than a foot long. They pair was extremely dirty, their faces and clothes covered in dirty. As they came closer, it was evident they wore leather breastplates, and were armed with more than just sticks. One of them spoke. "That you, lil' lady?" he asked, as if he wasn't even sure someone was there. The duo took a few more steps closer then stopped. The speaker, the man without the torch, smiled a smile full of crooked teeth. "Sure is." He elbowed his partner. "Lookit, we found her. And ain't she jus' the prettiest lil' thing. Woowee, an' naked ta boot. They sure wasn't lyin', you are something ta look at, lil' lady." The torch wielder didn't smile or speak, he just nodded. The speaker moved closer. "Miss Braga wants ya back, lil' lady. And I aim ta take ya." He stepped even closer, and slapped his wooden stick on the palm of his other hand. "Now doncha fight, missy, it'll end bad fer ya." His smile faded to just a smirk, and he sighed. "Sure is a shame. They said yer not ta be..." he looked back at his partner. "How'd they put it, Yuri?" The other man said nothing. "Oh yeah, 'touched in that way.' That's what tha big feller said," continued the closer man. "Whata shame, I'd really have liked ta get a piece of you lil' lady." He gestured with the stick towards his partner, in something of a shooing motion. "Now lets get on, dun wanna keep 'em waitin'."

[Arianni D'Sorn]

Arianni shied away from the light as the humans approached. She did her best to cover her nudity with her pack, but it was only so big and there was a lot more skin on her left exposed. The chatty man's malicious comment did not help matters any and only made the poor Konti hug her bag closer to her chest to hide her more sensitive, and private, areas. That did not stop the men from leering, however. More than that, judging from the wooden batons they were carrying, it was obvious that the men would take her back to the brothel by force if necessary. Truly afraid now, Arianni tried to back away but to turn back the other way would mean she would have to deal with whatever beast was lurking in the darkness. She was caught between two entities that meant her ill and she had only meager means to protect herself. She was exhausted from her use of magic earlier and she hardly knew how to use the twin suvai in her pack. Arianni pressed herself against the tunnel wall and edged away with each step the men took towards her. She knew she could only go so far before the men lost patience and beat her to submission or the beast happened upon them. She wasn't sure which would be worse. "I don't want to go back. Please," she begged. One hand was outstretched before her, whether in supplication or to keep the men at bay, one could only guess. "I...I have coin. I'll pay you! Tell them you couldn't find me! I -" She tried to move away once more but instead just glanced behind her. "Please. There's something down there..."

[Mastermind]

"Coin eh?" said the talker, in response to Arianni's offer. "Lets see this coin o' yers, fore we go doin' anyting hasty." He guffawed. "It'd shore have ta be a pile a coin ta be worth it, what with tha matter of our wages. Not ta mention tha bonus if we bring ya back." He looked at his comrade. "Watcha think, Yuri? How much would tha lil' lady need ta buy our silence?" Yuri remained silent. The speaker grinned, a devilish, perverse grin. "Ya know, lil' lady. There are other things than coin ya could pay us with, if ya gets muh drift. Whatcha say ta that, huh?" He stepped closer, clearly admiring Arianni's nudity. "Been a while since I felt the touch of a...willin' wench." He laughed a soft, maniacal chuckle." Behind the Konti, the growls grew louder.

[Arianni D'Sorn]

"N-n-no!" Arianni shrieked as the man drew near, pulling her backpack tight to her body. As if suddenly realizing the racket she just made, the terrified Konti bit down on her lip and seemed to shrink even smaller when a sound came in reply to her voice. She heard the growls behind her and knew that whatever made them was making its way towards the three of them. She wondered if the men even heard it, so talkative was one of them. Keeping at least five steps between them, Arianni skirted away from the two humans to back against the opposite tunnel wall, inching closer towards the small rabbit hole she had dug to escape the brothel. The two men didn't seem like they would let her free, even if she paid them - her truth sense was hinting as much - though the talkative one was offering something...inappropriate... for them to even consider letting her go. Arianni felt violated just hearing the man speak. The other man, the quiet one, she couldn't get a read on. She had a feeling he was the more dangerous of the two. "I-I can't show you the coin. It's in my pack. A-a-and I'm using it r-r-right now. To cover m-m-myself," she stuttered from fear. She continued inching back along the wall until the two men were now between her and the direction where the growls were coming from. "I'll...I'll go back! Just p-p-please don't touch me." She reached the hole at last and prepared to climb back in, feet first. All the while she kept her eyes on the men, making sure they did not come too close. "Don't come too near!" she called to them. "I'll...I'll tell Braga if you did! I d-d-don't like to be touched. S-s-so give me a good h-h-head start crawling back up." It was all a bluff, of course. Arianni just didn't want to be in the tunnel when the beast made its appearance. She practically scrambled like a scared bunny as retreated into the small crawl space of her void-cleared tunnel.