# From Slaves to Heroes in the Making



## Taboo (Jul 19, 2002)

Minx and Kierwin were on the beach, it was a common place to find them this time of year. Kierwin loved the woodlands, she was a Cleric of Elhonna and felt alive there and closer to Elhonna, but the ocean called to her at times and Minx loved the beach, she always had.  Besides, the roar of the surf made it a wonderful place for the two young elves to meditate, and to practice their spells, not to mention just to have fun.

One thing about Minx, she was strong-willed. She didn’t have a lot of friends.  To those she had, she would fight to the death to protect them, but she always felt that her values were the values that everyone should have.  It wouldn’t have been such a problem, but her parents had been a bit unusual, in that they had been very harsh with her when she was very young. They had insured that she had very high morals and even Kierwin had not been able to soften her opinions in any way.  Kierwin hoped that Minx would get along ok in a party if she joined one in the future when they went on quests or adventures.

The day had been beautiful, the elves loved nature anyway, but the sun, the warmth and the slight breeze made it all the better.  They had both tied their long, dark hair back behind their ears to help keep it from blowing in the breeze and keep it out of their eyes. Kierwin was used to having her hair down, but when she was practicing her swordsmanship or if the weather called for it, she followed Minx’ example and pulled hers back.

Minx was a wizard, young for an elf, only 115, just 5 years younger than Kierwin. She was willful, beautiful, and learning her craft fast. Even though she was a wizard through and through, she had learned a few clerical spells from her best friend.  She had, in turn taught Kierwin a few spells that she thought the Cleric could use. Kierwin was both in temperament and in her heart a true Cleric, but she had learned the spells the wizard had taught her quickly and well. They hoped that the extras would help them out when they were older and out on their old on adventures to help others.  Of course, they didn’t plan to adventure out for several more years.

They were both dedicated to their calling, but young enough to have fun. They still played the occasional practical joke now and then, the adults tended to look the other way knowing that the two girls were approaching adulthood and would soon face dangers that would keep them from remembering what fun was. Of course, most of the elves in their village enjoyed pulling pranks now and then.

They saw a ship dock off shore, about a hundred yards or so. They didn’t think much of it, other than to listen quietly to the music being played and notice the dancing. They figured it was a merchant ship or something along that line and decided not to worry about it. If they’d known what awaited them, they would have run all they way home right then, leaving their things behind.

For some reason, they thought about Snap. Actually, Snap was short for Snap-Crackle-Pop. They’d forgotten his real name by now. He’d been gone for so long that they hadn’t thought about him for a long time.  He was a sorcerer. His nickname came for all the spells that sizzled when he cast them.  The elves had taken him in when he was too young to even talk.  He was also a half-orc.  His nature was kind and gentle, but of course, most people were terrified of him.  Little did most people know that he was the one who was terrified of them!

Minx and Kierwin talked late into the night tending their fire and staring into the flames. They talked about Snap, wondering what he was doing, what had become of him. They listened to the music coming from the boat. As they listened, they could tell that there was obviously drinking going along with the dancing and music. They shook their heads at the foolishness of the humans on the ship from the sounds they could hear. They meditated about 4 hours before dawn. Kierwin planned to pray at dawn to Elhonna and Minx planned to study her spells.  Of course, what do they say about best laid plans?
The moment they finished praying and studying, they noticed a longboat had come to shore. As they stood, they noticed a sailor walking toward them. He asked about a water source saying that they had been on a long voyage and needed fresh water. As they talked, Kierwin noticed a second longboat pull up next to the first and before they could do anything, they were surrounded. She signaled to Minx and as they prepared to cast a sleep spell on the group, two very good looking male elves walked up in front of them.  

“I wouldn’t try anything if I were you, ladies.” One of them, said. “We’d like to invite you to breakfast on our ship.”

Minx answered firmly “Thank you, but we really must get back to our village, it’s just through the trees and they are expecting us. In fact, they’ll be looking for us any moment. We’re late getting back as it is.”
“I’m sorry, but we really must insist”, answered the other one, “and we would really hate to put scars on those beautiful faces.  Unfortunately, we will do anything we must to get you to have breakfast with us.”

Kierwin spoke up. “How about if we fix you breakfast right here, and we all have breakfast together? We are pretty good cooks. You look like reasonable men.  I’m sure we can work things out.”  All the while the two women were trying to think of a way out of this. Unfortunately they were coming up blank. Running was pretty much out of the question and the two of them didn’t have a chance of fighting their way out.

“Nice try, but I’m sure by now that you know exactly what I mean. Our employer has given us strict orders and you figure into them quite nicely.  Now, shall we do this the easy way, or the hard way? You are, quite outnumbered. You know that many of your spells won’t work on us, you are elves yourselves, and know that sleep doesn’t work on your own kind.  You are young, I doubt you have anything else that will help you against so many foes at once meaning you will have to fight.  We really don’t want to hurt you, but we will if you leave us no choice. One way or the other, you are coming with us.”

Kierwin thought briefly of her stepbrother, Gerald, only 28, but an adult for a human. She wished she had him and his sword to help her out of this one. She hadn’t thought much about him since he’d joined the Royal Guard seven years ago. Wishing certainly wasn’t going to help her now, she wondered why he came to mind, probably just because he could almost always best her when it came to their duels, not that she’d ever let him know how impressed she was by his swordplay! 

Minx and Kierwin looked at each other and the look said it all. They had no choice to but to go with them. The men took their weapons, all their gear, and tied their hands. When the longboats reached the ship, they were thrown into the hold and chained to a couple of other “guests” who were unconscious at the time.  As far as they could tell, their gear was left in the longboat, from what little they’d seen on the trip over to the ship, there was other gear stowed on the longboat as well.  Before they reached their destination, wherever that was, a few more people were thrown into the hold and shackled to those already down there.

They briefly spoke to those that they were chained to. Plans of escape were put on hold until they docked. No one knew where they were, where they were going, or why. One person stayed in the shadows and would not speak. He seemed to be a big man, and hid his features as much as he could. A woman seemed to be in shock and would not speak, but ate and drank when told. A man named Turk had been captured in a city named Aguilla when city guards had slipped something into his drink, took on the role of protector for her and even gave her a name, “Rowena.” He was young, around 20 and a fighter, built for fighting. He knew nothing about magic, but made up for it with his fighting skills (or so he claimed), was gallant to the ladies and would lay down his life for his friends. He was good looking, obviously a ladies man, and sounded like he was used to having money. He was probably the son of a nobleman, but the air about him could have come from his looks and his way with the ladies rather than his upbringing. All in all, he was rather arrogant, but so charming that most  women forgave him for his arrogant streak. This would affect them in the future, most likely, assuming they lived that long.

There was a dwarf named Thorin, an ex-slave whose back was covered in scars, named Girmund “the Hare”, Osa, and a few others, though they kept pretty much to themselves.  Thorin, Osa and Rowena had been on their way to Oakhurst when they were captured. Osa was on her way there to attempt to get a special apple that would hopefully cure a young lady in her homeland who had taken a bite of a white apple that had caused her to slip into a coma of sorts that nobody had been able to bring her out of.  Rumor had it that once a year, at the summer solstice; goblins brought a single apple to sell at Oakhurst that would heal any ailment.  Osa hoped to be able to obtain it.

They were not sure how long they were at sea, at least a week, maybe longer. Turk wondered about his horse. He had left her at a stable in Freeport before being kidnapped. He had tipped the lad at the stable quite well. He hoped the lad was as honest as he seemed and would take good care of her. Justice (his horse) was his prized possession, his best friend, quite honestly, and he hated the thought of losing her.  Enough of that line of thinking for now, getting out of this mess was what was important, there was time to take care of Freeport once they were all free. 
Their plan was simple, watch for an opportunity to escape and act on it.  Minx and Kierwin continued their regular routine, 4 hours of meditation followed by praying to Elhonna by Kierwin and studying by Minx.

After all this time, they still hadn’t learned anything about the stranger who kept to himself.  He kept to the shadows, spoke little and they still didn’t even know his name.

Finally, they felt the ship slow, and heard the sailors preparing to dock.


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