Prisoner

From Grigbertz

http://grigbertz.com/gallery/sketches/AQ_dungeon Let me improvise a story for this: There was a kingdom of Kelvynia which was beset by monsters like the orc on the picture. The creatures swarmed from underground tunnels stretching below the kingdom. Mages in the kingdom learned that a powerful and corrupt elven mage directs those attacks, his sanctum lying at the deepest level of the underground. It was natural that heroes from far and near flocked to fight this threat and cleared level after level of the dungeon. Yet, even the most rugged swashbucklers did not manage to storm the elven mage's stronghold called the red pit. Constant fighting lasted for many years, and the king founded many daring expeditions to catch the elven mage, all of which had failed. The kings eldest daughter, princess Beatrix was just coming of age then. She often met with the adventurers that visited her father's court and she yearned for a life of adventure herself. The king provided her with lessons from the greates swordsmen of the kingdom but he did not agree when Beatrix asked about going into the Red Pit. Beatrix was young and brash so he did not care about her father disallowing her the trip. She still did not want to grief her father, so she decided to let a trusted serving girl to pose as herself until she gets back victorious. Mayana the serving girl assumed her place as she knew the princess very good, she promised to alert the king if Beatrix would not get back after a month. Beatrix secretly readied herself for the trip, she donned a suit of mithril chainmail, magical wristbands that protected her from magic and a set of dragonskin boots of speed. She also had the most powerful sword from the kingdom's armoury with her, the white-mithril blade called angel's fang. Under the cover of darkness she skillfully sneaked out of the castle and gone inside the tunnels. She dispatched many opponents with her heroic fighting prowess and acrobatical dexterity. She overcame traps, spells and daemons to get to the evil mage's sanctuary. Walking trough the red corridors of the lowest dungeon she saw many prisoners, men and women clad in chains, brave heroes in humilitating bonds, iron collars and steel masks. The princess scoured the place for the wicked elven mage, but he was nowhere to be seen. She decided to free the prisoners first, approaching a handsome young man that was chained spread-eagled to a wooden wheel she let her guard down for a moment... The mage who was invisible all the time struck her down with the most vile of magics, a spell so strong that the princess anti-magic bracelets shattered to thousand pieces in one moment. When she woke up she was naked and chained in a cell, guarded by orcish warriors. The girl was trained even for escaping chains but for some reason her captors locked her in manacles short just enough to prevent her from escaping. She still hoped that a rescue party will come for her when the serving girl Mayana who was impersonating her will alert the king. It was the biggest possible suprise when Mayana walked into her cell, holding the hand of the evil elvish mage and smiling wickedly. "I will not give up being a princess, me and my lover will eventually rule this kingdom together", Mayana said. As the elf wizard lovingly kissed Mayana's neck, Princess Beatrix knew that her hopes were dashed. .