Under Taria’s guidance, the bandit clan actually came to be quite revered in the scattered villages of Ikaatan. No longer terrors of theft and kidnapping, the clan instead became a symbol of good tiding, often bringing them gold or food. They ransomed plenty of the rich and corrupt back to the rich and corrupt families, still keeping their old kidnapping and thieving ways, but the bandits helped out where help was needed.

On top of that, they faced the even more important task of finding out exactly where Morrina the necromancer was hiding. There had been no trace of her anywhere within the forest, though that was clearly where the undead creatures were coming from. Not a fortress or an encampment in sight and the bandits seemed ready to give up but Taria kept them looking.

Her good friend Arys, the mercenary, returned from her trip to the capital escorting the queen and hit upon an idea.

“You know, when I first saw her, I got the sense Fa’rah knew more about things going on in Ikaatan than she let on. She already knew about me falling out with Lila. And she heard about you and Queen Janessa getting captured. Maybe you can talk to her.”

“I doubt she’ll say much,” Taria said. She stood up straight and tall. “But I’ll give it a shot.” Taria took in a breath and her voice boomed across the camp. “Extra guards on the prisoner’s tent! I’m going to speak to her! Now!”

Several women flanked the tent and parted as Taria followed them. She ducked low, pushing one flap of the canvas aside, and knelt down to meet the eyes of their bound and gagged captive.

Fa’rah had been tied up quite tightly within the tent, though her ropes were loosened sometimes to feed her and keep her alive. Her feet and hands were almost touching in the tight hogtie of ropes binding her wrists and ankles together and to each other. More rope made her elbows touch and bound her arms together at the biceps. Yet further rope encircled her chest like a harness, also pinning her arms to her back. Fa’rah’s mighty thighs had also been tied together, with one final rope binding her just below the knees. To make the struggle more difficult and breath harder to get, a dark cloth tightly covered her mouth and nose, holding in more cloths that packed her mouth full and made her cheeks bulge. With yet another cloth pulled between her teeth to hold those cloths in, the layered gag rendered the former bandit leader silent.

“Mmmph!” she said as Taria approached, kneeling down in front of her. “Lmmt mm gmm! Plmmph!”

“Fa’rah... I’m going to ask you some yes or no questions before I consider removing your gag. You will nod for yes and shake for no and you will tell me things truthfully. You understand?”

“Ymmph!” Fa’rah said, struggling a bit with her bonds and nodding.

“Very well. Have you heard of the necromancer Morrina?”

“Hmmph!” Fa’rah said, nodding again.

“Have you ever seen her?”

Fa’rah simply nodded this time, her eye going wide.

“You seem... frightened by that information. Does that mean you know where she hides herself?”

Fa’rah hesitated, thrashing about in her bonds and grunting away into her gag. She shook her head violently, closing her eyes. “PPLLLMMMPPHH! NMMMMM!!”

“Fa’rah... do you know where Morrina is hiding?”

Sweat dripping from her body, and resting her head on the floor of the tent, Fa’rah breathed hard and slowly nodded. “Ymmmpphh...” she said weakly.

“Well then you’ll have to tell me.”

Taria reached forward and pulled the cloth covering Fa’rah’s mouth and nose down, as well as the one between her teeth, helping her spit out the many cloths stuffing her mouth. The captive former bandit let out a long breath and stretched her jaw a bit.

“Taria... you don’t understand. She’s... I can’t!”

“You can’t what?”

“She’ll make me into... one of those things! I can’t tell you anything!”

“You can and you will, Fa’rah. We can always find ways to tie you up tighter...”

“Goddess no! Please! Stop tying me up, please!”

“Then just tell me.”

“But... she knows! She’ll know! She always knows!”

“Fa’rah... she won’t get to you as long as you’re here with us. Understand? We could always just leave you like this out in the middle of the woods for her to find. So it’s either you’re her prisoner, getting turned into one of those creatures, or you’re our prisoner. You might have to stay tied up and gagged but that’s a better fate than becoming undead, wouldn’t you say?”

“Come on, Taria! You can’t just-”

“Wouldn’t you say?” Taria said, slower.

“Yes... yes I would,” Fa’rah said, hanging her head.

“Then tell me how she’s hiding.”

Fa’rah let out a long, nervous breath and did her best to look up into Taria’s eyes from her hogtied position.

“It’s underground.”

“What’s underground?”

“I don’t really know...” Fa’rah said. “It’s like a cave... fortress... thing. Full of coffins and alcoves for dead bodies...”

“Catacombs then,” Taria said.

“Yeah, that’s the word,” Fa’rah said. “But I don’t remember there being an entrance. The tunnels are under the forest. That’s all I remember her saying.”

“Under the forest...” Taria took a moment to think. Her knowledge of Ikaatan’s history all came from her mother, descended from the original people who called the island home. She never mentioned anything about catacombs but did always mention the old ways of the ‘eternal rest beneath the forest floor.’ And then Taria remembered something else.

“The old prophecy...”

“Wait... did you say prophecy?” Fa’rah asked. “That necromancer kept me tied to a chair and practically hammered some prophecy into my head. I don’t know what her plans were for me but I am damn lucky I escaped.”

“How did she catch you?”

“I don’t know! I just set up camp, went to sleep for the night, and then woke up inside... wherever she is. Those catacombs.”

“I bet the entrance is long since buried,” Taria said. “She must be using something in her dark magic to appear on the surface. And you have no idea at all what she wanted with you?”

“No! She’s out of her mind, that necromancer, I swear!”

“Maybe not... do you remember the words of the prophecy at all?”

“Goddess, I still dream about them...” Fa’rah said.

“Then let me start...” Taria began. “No longer the beasts of wing and fire, soar above and impose their desire.”

Fa’rah recited a line back to her almost automatically. “Below the green their sleep evermore, the end awaits beyond the door...”

Fa’rah paused for a moment. “What door? What the hell is this weird rhyme?” Taria ignored her and recited the next line back.

“The lost awakened by the darkening night, from the trees they emerge; the living dead wight.”

Again, without hesitation, Fa’rah was able to recite the next line. “An island consumed with fear and hate, shall see its doom and seal its fate.”

Taria spoke again. “One sword in the night protects it all, the warrior stands to preclude the fall.”

Fa’rah spoke the final line. “If the warrior should stand no more, then the end of Ikaatan shall come to fore...”

Taria nodded once and let the words sink in. “It’s not just a prophecy of what will be. It’s a prophecy of what may be as well.”

“So? What does that mean?”

“The warrior... the one who stands... she’s looking for them.”

“Who... the necromancer?”

“Yes,” Taria said. “Morrina wants to find out who it is that stands between her and the end of Ikaatan she wants to bring about. You didn’t happen to notice any other captured warriors there with you?”

“No, I could barely concentrate in a place like that. There could have been but I don’t really remember anything but the fear... the horrible sounds... Goddess... I don’t want to go back there.”

“I can see that from the look in your eyes. My only question now is why go through all the trouble of trying to rescue me and take back the old clan?”

“Hey, look, I miss the old days, all right? Being in charge and everything... until that damn Jhana came to me I was on top of the damn world. Now... this happens to me everywhere I go!” Fa’rah said, struggling a bit with the ropes binding her.

“And that’s well deserved. Tell me... what were your plans after you ‘rescued’ me? Fight Brina? Maybe try to ransom me back to them in exchange for leadership? Or some other convoluted scheme of backstabbing?”

“You’re just trying to justify keeping me tied up in this tent, aren’t you!?” Fa’rah growled, writhing in her bonds.

“So I hit close to the mark then... I guess that’s why Morrina hasn’t bothered trying to recapture you. After all, would a backstabber really be the warrior fated to save Ikaatan from her undead creatures?”

“You think... that’s what she wanted me for? What was she going to do?”

Taria remembered her conversation with Morrina then and a realization dawned on her. No... she thought to herself. That’s... that’s not true, is it?

“Hey! I asked you a damn question, Taria! What was she going to do?”

Taria didn’t look at Fa’rah this time, instead closing her eyes and remembered the necromancer’s words. “She wanted to break your will. Turn you into an ally of sorts. Make you fight by her side. That way the warrior wouldn’t be there to protect Ikaatan...”

“And how the hell do you know that?”

Taria let out a long breath and opened her eyes, still not looking at Fa’rah. “She said that to me.”

“Hang on... does that mean she thinks...” Taria nodded. Fa’rah let out an uproarious laugh. “Yeah right! The great and virtuous Maateni of Ikaatan! Some protector you would be! No damn way!”

As Fa’rah continued laughing, Taria grew irritated and stuffed the cloths back into her mouth, pulling up the cloth that cleave gagged her to keep them in, followed by the one that had been covering Fa’rah’s mouth and nose.

Though her voice was muffled, Fa’rah’s taunting laughter continued into her layered gag as Taria left the tent behind and kept the necromancer in her mind’s eye.

“Taria...” one of the bandits said. “Are you... okay?”

“I’m fine,” Taria said to her. “Just... keep the prisoner gagged. I’ve had enough of her voice for one day.”

“Of course. Did she tell you anything?”

Taria reflected on their conversation and could only wonder if the prophecy really was talking about her.

“She told me enough,” Taria said.

...

The bright, silver moon hung low in the sky as the three women silently stalked through the forest. Taria led them and didn’t know exactly what she was looking for but she knew they had to find it somewhere in these old woods.

Arys whispered from somewhere behind her and echoed Taria's thoughts.

"What are we looking for out here?"

"Quiet, girl," Brina whispered from beside her. "You don't want to stir up those things out here, do you?"

"No… but I don't even know what we're looking for."

"Both of you stop," Taria hissed behind her. "I told you. We'll know it when we find it."

They crept on through thick brush for what felt like ages until Taria stopped them dead. Wordless, she pointed ahead through the trees where a point of eerie green light shone through the thick trees.

Arys stared ahead, wide-eyed and couldn't speak, even if she wanted to. The sight instilled a deep, inner terror within her very being.

Brina, however, seemed unaffected by it and pressed on, trying to keep close to Taria.

Arys found herself falling behind but did her best to follow and keep up... until a strong hand clamped over her mouth and some force pulled her backward without a sound.

Brina stopped when she noticed the lack of footsteps behind her… and herself felt a strong hand clamp over her mouth and someone strong pulling her backward.

Taria didn't notice any of this, focussed and drawn in to the green light, hoping it might give her the answers she desired.

Finally reaching the clearing, Taria noticed the swirling, green portal in the ground first before anything else.

She crept up to the strange portal and peered down into it. Inside was nothing but a swirling, abyssal darkness, revealing nothing about what was on the other side.

Taria felt tempted to jump in and see where it led for herself… but she suddenly had the feeling she was being watched. Her senses went on high alert and she noticed then that her two companions were no longer behind her.

"I see you have sensed my presence… warrior," a cold, feminine voice said from behind her.

Taria whirled around and her hand fell to the hilt of the blade at her hip on instinct. The sight in front of her made her eyes narrow.

Brina and Arys flanked Morrina on either side… and they were both tightly tied with rope with a glowing red hue and gagged with large rubber-like ball gags filling their mouths.

The gags were held in by a strap of light brown leather. The rubber ball in Arys’ mouth glowed a dark purple colour. Morrina seemed to know of the mercenary’s penchant for spellcasting. Brina’s glowed bright red and, though she struggled, something about her seemed off. Like she couldn’t use all of her strength...

The ropes criss-crossed their legs in an ‘x’ pattern, binding them together below the knees and at the ankles. Thick coils bound their thighs just above the knees. A harness of the glowing rope encircled each woman’s chest, accentuating them, while also pinning their upper arms to their sides. Their wrists were tied behind their backs, crossed one over the other and cinched very tightly together. Both captives also wore thick, steel collars with rope leashes attached to them that Morrina held in each hand.

Brina and Arys fought their bonds but remained standing upright while their captor held them in place. Morrina marched them forward a few steps into the moonlight, forcing them both to hop along behind her.

“MMMMRRGHH!” Brina growled, baring her teeth, saliva dripping down from her ball gag.

“Mmmnnpph!” Arys said, struggling a bit but finding no give to the strange, glowing ropes.

“Warrior.... I heard you when the sun was up. Reciting the prophecy. I have been listening to you.”

“Let them go...” Taria said, tightening the grip on her sword. Morrina ignored her words and forced the two captive women to hop closer still to their ally.

“You spoke the prophecy to the one I held captive myself. A bit... ironic that you now hold her captive. I was foolish to believe she might be the one spoken of when I have been seeing the Warrior with my own eyes, slaying my minions with such ease.”

Taria kept her harsh glare upon the necromancer and her two captive allies. Both Arys and Brina squirmed and writhed in their tight bonds as Morrina hopped them closer still.

“You think the prophecy speaks of me?” Taria asked.

“As do you, Warrior. I knew it as soon as you spotted me the first time. I possess knowledge that you do not.”

“What knowledge?”

Morrina smirked and led the two captive women toward the portal in the ground.

“You will follow. And then you may yet understand this knowledge.”

“Let my friends go first.”

Morrina let out a low, menacing chuckle. “Then why else would you follow, Warrior? They are my prisoners. Your will is to change that? Then follow.”

Morrina stepped into the swirling, green portal and descended the darkness as though climbing down a staircase, her two captives in two hopping along without another choice.

Taria put one sandaled foot forward, expected to fall into the hole in the ground but found herself stepping on something solid...

Taking another tentative, step, Taria was again standing on something solid. She continued like this, slowly, while Morrina disappeared from sight. One hand still on the hilt of her blade, Taria pressed on into the darkness. Further and further she went, until she could see nothing but the infinite black abyss of the swirling portal in front of her. Still she pressed on, hoping to catch a glimpse of Morrina and her captured friends but there was nothing.

The darkness consumed her very soul, her entire being, as she walked down the invisible staircase until she could think no more, walking onward in a sleep-like trance. Before long, Taria lost consciousness and found herself collapsing to the ground, falling into a deep, dark sleep...

...

Dim torchlight, green in colour, greeted her bleary vision as Taria awoke once more. When she sat up, the sound of rattling chains immediately grabbed her attention and she was awake in seconds.

Heavy iron shackles restrained her wrists behind her back and another set of shackles held her biceps closer together. The iron glowed with the same eerie green of the torches on either side of her.

A length of chain, also glowing green, framed her chest and wrapped up her arms and torso to pin her arms to her back. Her ankles were shackled together as well, tightened on over her knee high sandals, and they were attached to a heavy iron ball just beside her. They, of course, glowed green.

When she tried to sit forward, she felt her neck wrenched back slightly and then felt the heavy iron collar around her neck where a chain attached her to the stone wall behind her.

Taria felt a soreness to her jaw and then noticed a similar ball gag to the ones her friends had been wearing was wedged into her mouth by a thick leather strap.

She growled into the gag, dripping saliva down onto her chest as she did. Taria struggled a bit with her chains but quickly realized it was pointless. There wouldn't be any easy escape this time.

"The Warrior awakens…" a familiar voice said.

Taria growled into her gag again, managing to stand up on her feet, rattling her chains some more as she struggled.

"I had a feeling my enchantments would not work on you…."

Taria took a moment to find Morrina in the pale light in front of her and noticed that… someone was missing. Brina still stood beside her, tightly bound and gagged, but Arys was nowhere to be seen.

"Wegghrmmph Agghrymmphh!?" Taria demanded, stifled by the ball gag.

"I do have honour, Warrior. She remains bound but I released her into the forest as soon as I had you in chains. Of course, I kept this one as… incentive for your obedience," Morrina said, nodding toward Brina. The bandit growled into her own gag in response.

Taria strained against her chains and glared daggers at her captor.

"Warrior… is this not what you desire? My knowledge of your… abilities?"

"Wgghmmt mmblmmtmmph?"

"For instance… you are not cowering in fear. Your chains are enchanted to instill fear into even the strongest hearts. But, as the ancient legend says… "Her will is iron. Her courage, steel. No magic can break her nor make her kneel."

Taria growled into her ball gag once more, drooling again rather profusely.

"And here you stand, Warrior, chained and shackled with metal enchanted to put fear into your heart and… nothing. Just as fearless as before."

Morrina strode closer to Taria, dragging Brina forward and forcing her to hop with her. She continued speaking.

"When Death arises from the grave, it shall only be seen by the brave."

Taria said nothing, still rattling her chains in a futile effort to get free.

"That speaks of you, Warrior. Another part of the ancient legend. I cloak myself upon sending the dead upon the living of the surface and yet… you saw me. Twice now."

"Mmmrrgghh…."

Morrina flicked her wrist and Taria's sword hovered in the air where it had been laying beside her. It came loose from its sheath and the blade shimmered in the green torchlight.

"She wields a blade precious and true. Beasts of night shall fear and rue. Divine silver is her sword. To battle the unholy horde."

With another flick of her wrist, the sword stuck in the floor, just out of Taria's reach.

"Even your own blade matches the old legend, warrior. You are whom I seek."

"Mmmpphh…" Taria grunted.

"And as I stated, dearest Warrior… you will fight by my side. Once I break you…"

"Yghhmm wgghmmnt!" Taria snarled.

"We shall see…"

…

Out in the woods, a muffled sound was lost between the trees as a lone woman, small and lithe, struggled in tight ropes and a ball gag, all glowing dark purple.

No matter what Arys tried, she couldn't free herself. She wasn't really powerful or anything but she couldn't get any of her magic to work either, though she couldn't have spoken her spells anyway with the huge ball gag in her mouth.

As she worked her wrists back and forth, trying to find some slack, she heard voices in the trees. They sounded like… the bandits! Taria's all female bandits had set up camp not too far away and it seemed they were worried at how long their new leader had been gone.

"Hggghhllmmp!!" Arys called into her gag. She could only hope to get their attention.

Arys listened closely to the approaching voices. It sounded like two bandits… possibly a third. And they weren't stopping their hushed discussion.

They must not have heard me Arys thought. She took in a deep breath, having to swallow some saliva from around the ball gag.

"HHHHGGGHHLLMMMPPP!!"

The sound of the footsteps stopped.

"What was that?" She heard a woman's voice ask.

"I think it was a voice," another woman said.

"Sounded muffled," a third said.

"It came from over here. Could be the boss and Brina got into trouble," the first said.

"Nah, that's ridiculous," said the third. "They're too tough for that to happen. Probably that mousy merc."

"Wasn't she with them?" the second asked.

"Whatever is going on, it's some kind of trouble," the first said. "Boss said they were dealing with a necromancer. She might need help."

"I guess…"

They sounded reluctant to help, to Arys' keen ear. It seemed their resentment hadn't yet worn off…

Arys sighed with relief when three large bandit women emerged from the trees. The third voice she heard belonged to the tallest of the three, a tough, scarred woman who didn't much like Arys named Ria.

"See? Told you it was the mousy merc."

"Ughhmmtghhmm mmggh, plghhmmph! Tgghrghhmmph mmn trghhmmblmm!!"

"What's she saying?" the shorter woman, the second to speak, asked. Arys didn't know the name of this strong, rather pretty brunette.

"Beats me," the first said. She was usually one of the women Taria picked for patrol duty. A short, broad shouldered, tough older woman with black hair, tanned skin, and excellent tracking skills. She was called Gwynna.

"But I'd reckon she crossed Maateni…" Gwynna said.

"You're probably right," Ria said. "Or else we would have seen the others. I bet she expected us to find this one and stow with that loudmouth, Fa'rah."

"She might not kill but she's still pretty ruthless to leave her out here," the one Arys didn't know said.

"True enough," Gwynna said, hauling the bound and gagged mercenary over her shoulder. "Let's get her back to camp and wait for Maateni. She'll let is know what to do with her."

Arys struggled in her strong grip, unable to break free. "Nnghhhmmm! Shghhmph mmghnn trgghmmblmmm!! MMMMMPPHHH!!"

The bandits didn't listen, laughing as they carried their new captive as she struggled away, screaming into her gag.

Though they did remark on the strange restraints on Arys, they decided Taria had more aces up her sleeve than they thought.

With Taria and Brina still in Morrina's clutches, and Arys now being held by the bandits, the mercenary knew then that they were all in big trouble...

Story Theme Song: Syd Duran- Chained and Bound