There are several other gladiators in cells around the arena, hapless victims of the Arab Slave Trade who showed particular fight or courage against the slave masters...
One slave gladiator is a young Asian woman wearing black silk garments and a hood and scarf over her nose and mouth, a pair of oriental blades sheathed at her hips, and a bandolier of star-shaped throwing blades across her chest...
One slave gladiator is a middle aged Englishman, wearing leather cuirass and armed with war hammer and steel shield bearing a sea drake rampant...
Another slave gladiator is a feisty Irish halfling thief the emir caught defiling his concubines in the harem... O’Reilly is leather-clad and wears a bandolier of throwing knives and a pair of short swords on his hips...
Another slave gladiator is a stoic French crusader priest... He wears a cross-embroidered tunic over chainmail hauberk, has a wooden shield bearing a red cross, and a spiked morningstar...
Another gladiator is a stocky dwarf smith from the Kingdom Under the Mountain (the Bavarian Alps mountain dwarf realm), clad in chain shirt and armed with warhammer and battleaxe at his hips...
Yet another gladiator is an exotic and comely high elf of Avalon who was unfortunate enough to be captured by the Arabs while on holiday... He is clad in glittering mail like fine mesh of star silver, and is armed with a longbow and quiver of arrows, with a slim longsword in a jeweled scabbard at his waist...
Another slave gladiator is the captured crusader knight from England, clad in full plate, with steel shield bearing a winged bull rampant, armed with heavy footman’s mace...
Finally, there is Udo, another dwarf from the Kingdom Under the Mountain, captured along with his kinsman Gloin... Udo is a fat dwarf, as big around as he is tall, armed with a greataxe and clad in chain shirt...
Altin nods enthusiastically to Wulfgar's fierce words, and sets about freeing all the prisoners.
Bowing to each of the adventurers, the Asian woman speaks in accented English: Much obligated to your service for freeing me, honorable ladies and gentlemen! I am Achiko of the Koga ninja clan, at your service! I am skilled in infiltration, reconnaissance, sabotage and assassination. I await your orders!
As he is freed, this Englishman shakes the adventurers’ hands firmly and smiles gratefully.
By the Lance of Saint George! I’m freed by good fellow Christians and Europeans! Praise be to God! I am Baldwin of Folkestone, blacksmith by trade... I am in your debt!
Freed from his cell, this little halfling grins broadly and bows...
Top o’ the evenin’ to ye, boyos! I be Cutpurse O’Reilly o’ the Firth o’ Mead! ‘Taint a purse I canno cut and ‘taint a flower I canno pluck! Hehehe!
Crossing himself, this French priest thanks the party quietly for freeing him.
In French: I am in your debt, Good Folk!
Altin returns Achiko's bow with a smile and shakes Baldwin's hand warmly. "No man or woman should be slave for the pleasure or profit of others. That is the reason we are here."
The dwarf Gloin gives each adventurer a cuff on the shoulder and a grin.
Gloin Ironbender, best weaponsmith under the mountain, at your service, lads and lassies!
The high elf looks down his nose at the mountain dwarves, and sighs. He bows to his liberators and speaks in a melodious voice in English: I do hope the plan is to mete out just vengeance against this deplorable emir and his minions... I’ll even fight at the side of these dwarves, if so...
Oh, thank God! Thank you for freeing me... I don’t know how much longer I could take this stiff cot and the terribly spicy fodder they pass as food here... Sir Godfrey Bullfinch, at your service... I say, I don’t suppose you have anything stronger to drink than this bitter gaveh they keep expecting me to swill... Bloody buggering Arabs...
Ja! Ja! Some beer vould be wery much appreciated! I am Udo Bierschlauffer von Zwergerreich Unter den Bergen! Hahaha! Pleased to meet you!
As the adventurers free the last of the captive gladiators, a pair of guards appears on patrol... Badly outnumbered, they wisely turn back the way they came and run, calling out in Arabic: ALERT!! ALERT!! The prisoners have escaped!!
Grinning from ear to ear and bowing or shaking hands of the other prisoners he greets them all. Once Volreg hears the guards starting to run off, the farmer frowns slightly as he points towards the exit. "We must make haste! There are quite a bit of them, hopefully not enough to stop us from defeating the emir. Though, the large serpent may be a bit of a problem! Perhaps we can escape and plan an attack of sorts?"
Mwikali looks about in the panic and tries to see if there is anything flammable around. If so she uses spark to cause a fire for the guards to be distracted by.
Vanna looks at the new "recruits".I hope each of you are ready to use your weapons. we might be in a bad way here soon. Any idea hiw to get out of this hole?
I think I know the way out, lads and lasses! Follow me! chirps O’Reilly...
The halfling rogue dashes around the circular corridor where all the cells now lie open, and disappears around the corner to the north...
O’Reilly leads the way to a spiral stone stairway that both ascends and descends... He races up the stairs...
At the top of the stairs, O’Reilly looks around and says, The coast be clear, folks! This way! He leads the band of adventurers and freed gladiators down another corridor to a straight stairway ascending to the second above ground level of the palace, down another corridor with walls decorated with murals depicting turban-wearing horsemen with lances hunting a dire tiger, to a door flanked by a pair of muscular, pot-bellies eunuch guards!
Oops! Forgot about these fat bastards! squeaks the halfling, as he brandished his small short swords...
Confronted by over a dozen armed gladiators, the two eunuch guards scream high-pitched screams and flee, leaving the door to the emir’s harem unguarded!
Well, that was easy! chimes O’Reilly, and he pulls the door open, revealing a lavishly decorated harem chamber with a giant bed covered with silk pillows and comforters, on which a dozen beautiful, scantily-clad women lounge, sipping wine from golden chalices inlaid with moonstones...
EEEEEEKK!!! Oh! It’s just our Little Lover! What are you doing here, Little Lover!? You’ll be killed if the guards find you here!
The dozen harem girls giggle and ogle the dashing adventurers and gladiators that enter the harem chamber...
Hello again, lasses! A pity there’s no time for us to finish what we started... We’ll need a few of those silken sheets, my darlings... Quick, mates! Tie sheets end-to-end and secure one end to the bedpost there... We’ll use them as a rope and climb out yonder window!
O’Reilly points to an arched window with ornately graven shutters, which he then rushes over to, hops up on the sill, and throws wide open, revealing the night sky outside over a fragrant garden below...
The female ninja quickly springs upon the bed and snatches up a silk comforter...
The high elf of Avalon races to join the ninja and helps her tie two silk comforters together...
Vanna helps the others tie sheets together. She then looks at the kept women.
If you want to live freely, come with us. If you want to live in servitudr on yoyr back, that's your decision. Come with us if you want a fresh start.
The emir is a pig! He calls us wives and treats us like whores! He treats his beastly pet behir Boombada better than he treats us!
The others seem unanimous in this attitude and rise up to join the rebellion!
Udo ties one end of the silk comforter rope to the post of the giant harem bed and tests it to make sure it is secure...
Ja! Dis vill hold!
Achiko leaps off the bed with the other end of the silk comforter rope, and climbing out the window, repels down the palace wall into the garden below...
Come, ladies! Down the rope you go, loves!
The galliant elf magus helps the dozen harem girls climb out the window and descend the rope...
Oh, thank you, handsome elf!
The harem girls descend the rope nimbly, alighting in the fragrant garden below...
Mwikali casts animate rope and uses it to wrao it about her and easily let her be slid to the ground. " Now ladies if you wish We have a ship that you can join offering you a better life one were you are subservient to no man save the ones you choose to follow, if you are interested stay with us we would be glad to train you" Mwikali says with an ho est smile hoping the ladies would take up the offer.
Grinning at this sudden development, Altin waits till it's his turn to climb out the window, one eye on the door to the harem chamber.
Mwikali casts animate rope and uses it to wrao it about her and easily let her be slid to the ground. " Now ladies if you wish We have a ship that you can join offering you a better life one were you are subservient to no man save the ones you choose to follow, if you are interested stay with us we would be glad to train you" Mwikali says with an ho est smile hoping the ladies would take up the offer.
Are you kidding!? A chance to be sailors instead of slaves and have men serve us if we choose?? Of course we will join you, right girls?
Yes! Absolutely! Thank you for this great opportunity, Lady Mwikali!
All hail Captain Mwikali! We shall be The She-Wolves of the Sea! Hahaha!
Nay! The Lionesses of the Sea!
Laughing, Altin says, "Ladies, I'll be happy to serve you later, but for now we need to keep moving. You can conquer thr high seas once we get you to safety!"
As if saying the word “lionesses” caught its attention, the watch-tiger the emir keeps in his garden to discourage thieves or escapes such as the one now occurring makes its presence known with a deep growl from the shadows of the fragrant garden...
GRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!
"Spoke too soon... why do I always do that...?"
" Such a beautiful creature, Altin do you have anything that may charm our feline friend here?"[/b) She says as she raises her hands in a non thrwating manner. Looming at the lioness she stares at it. She keeps calm trying to not look afraid.
[B]"Good kitten, Good kitten you are a beautiful creature and deserve to be free. Yes you do." she says tryong to be calm.
The dozen harem girls, Achiko the ninja, and Mwikali are at the bottom in the garden with the tiger....
Everyone else is in the harem chamber above...
A pair of green eyes glow in the shadows...
ROAAAAAARRRR!!!
AAAAAIIIIEEEEEEK!! A TIGER!!
Emir Al’Haaq is watching Boombada toy with the four gladiators before going for the kill... The din of the crowd of sheikhs and palace guards gathered to watch the bloody spectacle might drown out the roar of the garden tiger and the screams of terrified harem girls...
In fact, it does, to Al’Haaq... He hears not the sounds of rebellion outside his palace from the underground Blood Pit of Marrakech...