Message-ID: <54434asstr$1157116201@assm.asstr.org>
From: Shalon Wood <dstar@pele.cx>
Subject: {ASSM} New Age Dawning 6 (Ff rom fantasy viol blood)
Lines: 229
Date: Fri, 01 Sep 2006 09:10:01 -0400
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Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories
Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d

Standard disclaimers apply; this story may or may not contain, in any
given part, graphic depictions of lesbianism, homosexuality, group sex,
bdsm, underage (teen) sex, magic, occultism, violence, and biting 
sarcasm.  If you're underage, or if for any other reason it's illegal 
for you to read this, or you're disturbed by the content, please don't 
read it.

Archived at http://pandora.pele.cx, and we've got a web-forum at
http://playground.pele.cx/forums as well, for discussion of both
Pandora and our other stories. 

Comments *greatly* appreciated.

Enjoy,

Velvet
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Adara watched the girl closely as they went down the stairs again.
Rhishandri hesitated at the bottom, at the line of light, then stepped
carefully into it. She shivered, swaying a bit, then walked on. She seemed
to be doing well enough, but Adara resolved to keep an eye on her, anyway.

The majority of the shopping was tedious and exhausting, but without
incident. Adara did the choosing and the bargaining, and arranged for
everything to be delivered to the inn, while Rhishandri followed her like a
silent shadow through the small town.

The final thing they needed were pack animals, and this also proved easy
enough to take care of. Though, with only one dealer in town, the quality
available left a bit to be desired. Still, Adara managed to find five
decent dalas. They followed the merchant into his office to conclude the
deal. As he started filling out a bill of sale and Adara counted out coins,
he looked up at her with a smile. "I happened to be in the inn last night
when you arrived," he said, "and was privileged to get a peek at your
merchandise. Would you be interested in a trade?"

She raised an eyebrow. "What merchandise would you be referring to?"

He nodded towards Rhishandri's cloaked figure. "I can understand why you
wouldn't want to sell her in this pitiful backwater, but I have a buyer who
would pay _top_ price for her, even if she's not a virgin."

Adara stared at him, stiffening, and her eyes narrowed dangerously. "I'm
afraid there's been a miscommunication," she said, slowly. "She's _not_
merchandise."

He shifted a bit in his chair, licking his lips nervously, but the lure of
profit was obviously too strong to resist. "Come now, bed-partners are easy
to come by, but a financial opportunity like this is once in a lifetime."

"She's not my slave. She's my _apprentice_," Adara snapped.

The man paled, but named a price, anyway. A very impressive price.

"No," Adara said, her icy voice making it plain that further offers would
be considered an insult.

He sighed and leaned back in the chair. "Very well. It's your choice. But
if you tire of her any time soon, you know where to find me." He bent over
his desk, signing the papers for the animals. "When will you be picking
them up?" he asked, casually.

"This afternoon," she said. "Or possibly this evening. It depends on how
long it takes me to complete the rest of my business here."

"If you can give me a concrete time, I can have someone waiting here for
you. Otherwise, you'll have to take your chances."

Adara looked thoughtful for a moment. "Let's say just after sundown, then
-- I'm certain that my business won't run that long."

He nodded, handing her the papers. "Very well, then. And don't forget, if
you change your mind..."

"I won't," she said firmly.

#

Rhishandri followed her quietly out of the office. "That was... a _lot_ of
gold," she said, softly, as they turned towards the inn. 

Adara nodded. "It was."

"Were... did you consider it?" the girl asked hesitantly.

"No," said Adara, glancing over at her.

Rhishandri tugged on the hood, pulling it further down over her head, her
face completely hidden in its shadow. "Why not?"

"I've been a slave. I didn't particularly care for it," Adara said, and
smiled, her sharp teeth gleaming. "Neither did my owner, at the end.
Luckily for him, he didn't have long to regret it."

"Oh," Rhishandri said, quietly, and was silent the rest of the way back to
the inn.

#

Most of the packages were waiting for them at the inn, and the rest arrived
while they were packing. Most of it was standard fare -- blankets, dried
goods, other camping supplies. But Adara had also ordered spools of copper
and silver wire, sheets of copper, silver, and iron, iron rods, and various
semiprecious stones. These she looked over carefully before packing away to
be used later, when she had the time to indulge her hobby. Other than that,
the packing was tedious, bun not difficult for someone who'd done it so
frequently before.

Which was fortunate, as Rhishandri wasn't much help. Even if she had known
what to do, the day had obviously drained her, even with the help of the
cloak. She tried, but she was so tired and slow that eventually Adara just
sent her to rest in front of the fire.

As Adara more than halfway expected, Rhishandri perked up almost as soon as
the sun began to set. She wasn't back up to full speed, by any means, but
she was muchly improved from the wan little zombie she had been while the
daylight weighed her down. 

Adara cocked her head, looking at the girl. "Need a snack?" she asked.

Rhi shook her head hurriedly. "I'm well, thank you."

She'd have to get used to her needs eventually, but there would be no point
to pushing, so Adara just shrugged. "All right. You'll probably have more
than enough, anyway. I figure there's a good chance that last dealer will
try to kidnap you."

"What?!" Rhishandri stared at her, her eyes wide with shock.

Adara smiled slightly. "Think about how much he offered me for you --
enough for a decent small keep -- and then consider that he obviously
thought that he'd make a _large_ profit, even with that. He won't let the
fact that I'm not willing stop him."

"Oh," Rhi said weakly. "I didn't think of that. Sh-should I stay here,
then?"

"No. He might expect that," Adara said.

"Oh." Rhi's eyes were still wide and frightened. "What should we do, then?"


"Just be ready," Adara said with a feral smile. "He won't be expecting
_us_."

"Oh," the girl repeated, sounding a bit lost. "All right." She didn't seem
particularly reassured, but she meekly followed Adara downstairs once
everything was packed. 

Adara was almost finished with her dinner... as well as Rhishandri's...
when Conor arrived. "Well. Everything ready?" he asked cheerfully.

Adara nodded. "Just need to pick up the dalas. Problem, though."

"Oh?"

"Dealer offered me.. a very large sum for Rhi. Figure there's going to be
trouble."

"Ah," he said, frowning. "How large, exactly?"	She told him, and he let
out a low whistle.

"Figure if he could afford to _pay_ that much, he's not going to accept
'no' for an answer," Adara said.

Conor shook his head. "That's just... unbelievable." He gave Rhi an
apologetic smile. "Sorry,  darlin', you're a pretty little thing, but no
woman's _that_ pretty. Why in 'ells was he offerin' that kind o' price?"

"I suspect he has a mage as a client," Adara said, thoughtfully. "The ass I
worked for mentioned that he'd 'never again find such a perfect candidate,'
or something like that. Maybe there was something special about her
_before_."

Rhishandri shook her head. "No," she said. "I was always just another
daughter. I just happened to be the right age for... for _his_ spell. I was
even betrothed at the time, just as any girl."

Adara's frown grew darker. "I'm no mage. Not like that, anyway. But I can't
imagine that finding a girl the right age would be that difficult."

Conor stared at Rhi, letting his eyes go slightly unfocused for a moment,
then shook his head. He rubbed his temples. "I canna tell between what
might ha' been there before, and what is only here _now_," he said.

"If there is something," Adara said, "that explains his failure."

"It doesn't seem likely," Rhishandri said. "It was my age that made me
suitable for him. He... he turned down my younger sister because she wasn't
'of breedable age'. Most girls my age have already been wed. My betrothed
was reluctant, though, and hadn't sent for me yet, so I was still available
to him."

"Still," Adara said, "he could easily have purchased a younger girl and
waited."

"Perhaps he was in a hurry, then," Rhi suggested.

Conor looked thoughtfully at her. "There's a hedge wizard, lives right
outside town. He's mainly a fortune teller, but identification is one o'
his specialties."

Rhishandri wrinkled her nose in distaste, but Adara nodded. "Good idea,"
she said. "Well stop by on our way out."

"Good," Conor said. "Now. How much trouble do ye think the animal merchant
is like ta be?

"I don't know, but I doubt he'll give up easily," Adara said with a
thoughtful frown. "Perhaps your presence will be enough to deter him.
Maybe."

Conor looked skeptical at that. "Lady, if _yer_ presence doesna faze him, I
dinna see how _mine_ is like to, but I'll go along with ye, anyway, and be
what help I can."

Adara stood. "Let's be off, then," she said, throwing a handful of coins on
the table.

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Take a look!

-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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