On the 11th day of their ride, they reached Weidfeld, the capital of the empire. The city, laying at a river in a valley, seemed as large as Lashayette or Thy-Web-Rell, but most dwellings were of simple stone or even wood, the streets were muddy, and a thick orb of brown dust hang over the valley. Tashmal explained to Dana this was caused by the fires in houses which warmed the places. In Weidfeld, brown coal was used, which had a distinctive smell to it when burning.
The group headed for the embassy of Albor, passing through the outer districts of the city. On reaching a gate in the main wall, they had to stop and Megan shortly talked with the weibel of the guards. They could then pass the gate without further ado.
In the streets of the inner city, many women went about their business despite the cold. Dana spotted a beverage and cigarette shop to the left. She halted her horse and called out to the others:
"Please wait a moment, I have to buy new cigarettes."
Tashmal said quickly:
"Dont go alone, Dana."
Zoet dismounted too and said:
"I will accompany her, I need new sticks too."
The cigarettes were the gift of the goddesses, but the priesthood of the temples sold them to merchants for good money. One of the reasons the church in the empire was so rich.
Dana and Zoet entered the shop. Behind the counter, a slender brunette in her forties smiled at them.
"What can I do for you, myladies?"
"10 packs of Laxago, and a pack of matches," Dana ordered, followed by Zoet who ordered several packs of Kaskago, the warrior brand.
The clerk put the items on the counter and the two ladies paid her, before stashing the cigarettes in their hip bags. Dana felt a strong urge to smoke, decided she didnt want to wait and opened one of the packs, mouthing a cigarette. Zoet did likewise. A soft moan of greed escaped Dana, and she fumbled with her matches.
"Quick!" Zoet mumbled. - "Yes, mmh, in a moment!"
Suddenly, a thick wadding protruding from the cigarettes filter filled Danas mouth, gagging her effectively. She moaned in surprise, her muscles felt like rubber. Zoet too let out a deep mmpphing sound, gagged by her cigarette like Dana.
The blonde tried to remove the stick from her lips, but it was glued to them by magic.
The cigarette gag spell! Dana thought and tried to draw her sword and get out of the shop. From a room in the back of the shop, two muscled women appeared and quickly sized Zoet and Dana by the arms. They struggled in the strong grips, but they felt so weak and soft. Moaning in their magical gags, both were dragged to the backroom. The brunette behind the counter laughed.
In the backroom, there were already eight other ladies sitting with their backs against the wall, tightly tied and thoroughly gagged, struggling and mmpphing to no avail. They were all young and pretty. 
So its a coincidence again. They are not after me specifically. Its just my bad luck again, Dana thought, while she was rudely bound with ropes. 
Another woman was in the room, a redhead wearing a long blue gown and carrying a magical staff with a yellow gleaming crystal. The maga who had spoken the spell. Obviously, the other young women had been caught the same way. The sorceress smiled and eyed Dana and Zoet approvingly.
Both were now securely tied up, and the two henchwomen, removed the cigarettes from their lips and stuffed normal gag packings  into the slack mouths of the blonde and the alboran knight.
Dana was not very concerned. Her friends were just outside on the street and would soon come after them to search for them. On the other hand, it couldnt hurt to accelerate things a bit.
"Sirf! Sirf, are you there?"
"Sure, Danadeva. You look delicious as always, all tied up."
"Very funny. Do you think you can find a bit spare time to alert the others to the situation?"
"I thought you would like to prolong your predicament a bit, keeping in mind how fond you are of being bound and gagged."
"Well, to tell the truth, right now I am not in the mood. So, please tell one of the witches what is going on, if you please."
"Astonishing. Not in the mood? Well, under these circumstances I might consider helping you and Zoet out."
Dana and the Alboran had been sat against a wall now like the other captives and their legs were being tied.
"Consider? Sirf, in Moravan, my home region, it is custom to nail black cats to the door if something strange happens around them. One thinks they are servants of the dark aspects. I might CONSIDER doing this to you."
"I know about this ugly custom. Barbarians down there. Well, before you get really agitated, your friends are already in action. Megan, Tashmal and Rowenn will enter the shop now, while Niyi is at the backdoor. I alerted them the very moment you so greedily mouthed the cigarette in the shop. I know the signs of this spell quite well."
"So you just had a bit fun with me?"
"Naturally."
Dana heard the shopkeeper welcome someone, then Tashmals voice:
"Greetings, civa. We have left something in your shop. Two friends to be exact. We want to take them with us again. You dont mind if my friend here ties you up, dont you?"
"What? How dare you, what is the meaning of this. Ahh, not so tight, you bitch!"
"Manners, civa. That calls for a gag."
The redhaired maga and the two musclewomen changed quick glances. But it was too late. Tashmal and Megan, sword and staff drawn respectively, entered the back room.
Megan said:
"Issue a spell and you will learn what pain is."
Tashmal added:
"And you two surely dont want to experience an impaling on cold steel, do you?"
From the second door in the room, Niyi entered, sword drawn too. The two henchwomen raised their hands and knelt. The maga, on the other hand, seemed not as prudent. She started to say a spell, but Megan was quicker. An invisible hand beat the other woman across her mouth. Blood showed on her lips. The maga groaned in pain and shock, and her staff fell down to the floor. Niyi was quickly beside her und put her blade at a delicate throat. The blue eyes of the woman stared at her, very wide and moist.
A short while later, Dana, Zoet and the other women were free again, while the Maga, her two minions and the shopkeeper struggled bound and gagged on the ground.
The other ex captives had thanked the friends sincerely. One, a pretty blonde with green eyes and short hair in expensive tan boots and gloves and red attire said:
"I am Bemalad Restab, daughter of the great spice merchants. I, and my mothers, are forever in your debt.  How can our family repay this?"
"Dont worry," Megan answered. "We are alboran diplomats and friends on a mission for the witchdom here in Weidfeld. Take our help as a goodwill gesture."
"Very well. Whats with these sluts here?"
"You should call the city guards. We must be on our way. If the guard want to speak to us about the incident, we can be found at the witchdoms embassy."
"I will handle matters. Thanks again."
Dana finally lit a cigarette, enjoyed it for a moment, then turned to Tashmal:
"I find it curious that a maga would become slave hunter. Cant she make enough money with her magical abilities in legal ways?"
"Probably, Dana, but not all hunters are motivated by money. Many do it for the thrill or fun, And/or they like to see other women packaged, just like you do. With the difference that they have no qualms to make it happen."
The Achaian smiled:
"I wonder how it comes about that you seem to be drawn to situations like this. You had to enter just this shop, just when a hunt for slaves was on."
"I dont know. Its as if everyone in the wide world wants to package me."
"The curse of Danadeva," Tashmal laughed.
Rowenn said:
"Well, after this little adventure, lets be on our way again. The Ambassador awaits us already, Trish said to me."
So, they left the shop, not without getting some cigarettes for free, as a compensation, as Tashmal said, who was putting packs into a leathern shopping bag.
Outside, Trish, Marule and Zusha were waiting with the horses. Zushas face was expressionless again, but Trish and Marule couldnt hide a smile.
Dana sighed and mounted her horse.

***

"So, bottomline is, you need a guide, even if Lady Danadeva can see the place in dream world. The catacombss under the city are very old and very straggly. One can easily loose her way there."
The Ambassador, Witch Hill-orth-Feld, leaned back and put a streak of her brown hair back into her hairknot. 
It was late in the evening of their arrival in the city. All had had a hot bath and a warm meal, cooked by the gifted kitchen mistress of the embassy.  After some chatting with the ambassador, they went down to business.
"There are many women using the catacombs, nearly all on the illegal side. Thieves, smugglers, slave hunters." the witch continued.
"Not slave hunters again", Trish groaned, and Dana had to smile.
Megan asked the ambassador:
"Do you know someone who would guide us?"
"Yes, there is an experienced thief I have used for spy business often. She is quite reliable, as long as the pay is right. My assistant has already contacted her. You can meet her tomorrow. Her name is Retre Zeivel."
The witch continued:
"There is one other thing. The High Mother of the order of Zoralad, goddess of death, grief and dreams, has learned about Lady Danadeva and her arrival in the city, and wants to see her, on behalf of the Kaisera herself. The High Mother has invited you all to the temple of Zoralad."
"Its a trap, I am sure of that." Tashmal immediately said.
"Well, the order of Zoralad is at odds with the order of Kerke, and it has traditionally good relations with the witchdom of Albor. So I dont agree with Tashmal here." Megan objected.
Rowenn added:
"But it would be dangerous to follow the invitation nonetheless."
"In the end, it comes from the Kaisera herself. You can hardly reject it outright." the Ambassador said.
Dana played with a cigarette at her lips and mumbled:
"Cant you invite her to visit us here at the embassy?"
"I can try, but its an affront. On the other hand, they should understand our security measures."
"Speaking of security measures, the Kerke sisters should now be free again." Tashmal sighed. "Perhaps they have already travelled here by fighter dragon."
"Oh, not again," Trish groaned.
Dana accepted a light from Zusha to her right, blew out smoke and let the others know:
"I have visited them last night in dreamworld. Yes, they are free again, but they are in a large fortress far in the east, the Kerkemark I presume. Getting new orders from their GreatKonnetabel, I guess. By the way, all had their hair regrown."
The group laughed at the last piece of information.
Marule giggled:
"Its reassuring the mighty warriors are as vain as any woman."
"So with luck," Dana concluded, "we wont have to deal with them yet again."
"There is a large temple here in Weidfeld and  several priestresses and knights at the Kaiseras court. So we must be ready to deal with those, if they attack us." Megan warned.
"I will double the guards this night," the Ambassador offered, and everyone agreed.
Shortly thereafter, the friends retired for the night. Tashmal and Dana enjoyed a soft, large bed for their pleasures and a refreshing sleep afterwards, and Dana awakened in the morning for a new day of the adventure that her life had become.
After breakfast alboran style, the ambassadors assistant, a darkhaired witch named Shordan, led Dana, Tashmal, Zusha, Megan and Rowenn in a coach to the meeting with Retre Zeivel, the thief.
Dana had somehow expected to meet her in a shabby inn in one of the worst districts of Weidfeld, but instead the coach halted at a noble Kaff house overlooking the greatest plaza of Weidfeld, opposite to the Kaiseras palace and the temples of Tarave and Kerke. 
Retre Zeivel too wasnt what Dana had expected of a thief. She wore expensive clothes, including shiny long boots and gloves in black and a blue corsage, her pretty face was adorned with exquisite makeup, and she throned like a noblewoman at a table at one of the great windows of the establishment on the second floor. She had dark brown hair in two ponytails, falling forward over her shoulders and dangling left and right of her breasts.
At the groups arrival, she rose elegantly and bowed her head to everyone, as was custom in the empire, while Shordan made the introductions.
All sat down at the table, except Zusha in her manacles and throat collar, who knelt down beside it.
After ordering Kaff and cake, Tashmal took the initiative. She wore her light green attire today, and matching eye makup and lipstick.
"You already know, Lady Zeivel, that we need to visit the catacombs. The witches have recommended you as an experienced guide. I learned you have also been made aware of the danger laying ahead."
Retre kept her face cool and impassive. Slowly, she mouthed a cigarette. Dana had done likewise, and offered the thief a light. The brunette accepted, took the first drag and smoked with grace. The ex maid lit up herself and couldnt help but imagine Retres face gagged, she naked safe for boots and gloves and struggling in tight ropes. Oh my, she thought, I am a slave hunter at heart. Where will this end? I cant go round and imagine every woman I meet as package. She felt arousal already.
"I know of the danger, and the witches know my price. Considering I am participating in the rescue of all womankind, I made it very affordable and low."
The thief spoke to Tashmal, but her brown eyes were on Dana all the time. Megan took over from Tashmal:
"Its probably asking too much of you, to do it for free, so lets forget the money, you will get what you ask. We have found the place we want to visit in dreamworld, and have drawn a simple map. Will you take a look?"
"Sure, let me see." Retres eyes finally left Dana and looked down on the sheet of paper with the map drawn by Trish. 
“Well, yes, I know how to reach that place. But thats Wer rat territory.”
“I thought these creatures were only legend,” Tashmal said with a raised eyebrow.
The thief blew out smoke, her eyes leaving the map and wandering to the kneeling Zusha.
“Partly. That they are magical creatures and former humans is nonsense naturally, but they are intelligent beings, about as big as humans and they go erect. They prey on those who visit the catacombs alone and away from the better known areas. Normally they avoid big, well armed groups, but if we go directly to them, and they feel their nest endangered, they will most probably attack.”
“How to deal with them?”  Dana asked, her eyes pendling between Retre and Zusha, who now glared at each other.
The brunette thief ashed into the tray on the table, her eyes not leaving the Rondaka now and said thoughtfully:
“What an interesting slave you have there. So proud. May I command her?”
“If you wish, Lady Zeivel, but what of the Wer rats?”
“Slave, approach me on your knees.”
Reluctantly, Zusha obeyed and hobbled to Retres side at the table, staring back at her.
The doranian thief fingered a fresh Malego out of her pack and put the stick of lust and arousal delicately between Zushas lips, who, surprised, sucked inadvertently on it and let out a “Mmmh!”
The others waited more or less patient while Retre lit a match and slowly brought the flame near Zushas stick.
“Take a light from a mistress, beautiful slave.”
Zusha hesitated, shot a quick glance at Dana, who raised an eyebrow in the gesture she had copied from Tashmal. Then the Rondaka moved her head slightly, lit her Malego on the small flame, blew out smoke around the stick.
“Ahh, you look very hot with a cigarette, slave.”
“Well, after this is settled, may we come back to the wer rats? Please? Lady Zeivel?”
“Sure. They are afraid of – fire.” Retre smiled and raised the still burning match.
“We should be able to keep them at bay with some torches or magical fire balls and the like.”
“Good to hear that. We dont want to waste time, we will go in tomorrow morning. Is that okay for you, Lady Zeivel?” 
Tashmal was the politeness in person, though it seemed she was not very fond of the thief, who still eyed the smoking Zusha. The brunette Doraian killed her own smoke and reached over to take a strand of Zushas black mane into her gloved fingers.
“Wonderful hair. Is the slave for sale?”
“I am afraid, no”, Dana said dead pan.
“Too bad. Going in tomorrow is fine with me. I am ready. Will the slave accompany us?”
“Yes she will. If you like her, you might join us in the embassy tonight, for some pleasure. I might consider offering her to you for the night.”
“That is most generous, Lady Danadeva, but I must decline. I have some matters to settle tonight, not related to our impending adventure.”
Your loss, Dana thought. Well, finally someone who is fascinated more with our Zusha than with my boobs.
“Dont trust this woman” Sirfs deep voice said in her head.
“I dont intend to, Mylord. It seems the prospect of a male invasion interests her not in the least. This one is out only for her personal advantage.”
“You are getting better at reading people. Or just looking for an excuse for yet another packaging?”
“I admit I imagined it. I must further admit I have started to imagine every pretty girl I see and meet as a package.”
“Dont I know it. Well, given the rate of assaults on you its probably a healthy attitude. As is not to trust all those ladies.”
“Dont worry, wont make that mistake, at least not with Miss Zeivel here.”
While Dana spoke with Sirf in her mind, Tashmal and the thief were discussing further details of the operation.
Retre stroke Zushas hair all the time, and the Redskinn fumed about that, but kept her temper, obviously determined to hold up her cover as a more or less docile slave.
Dana could smell love honey nearby. It came from the thiefs sex, who had to be very much in heat. Lady Retre Zeivel seemed to be very hot about Rondakas and especially Zusha.
“I said it often enough, but wont hurt to say it one more time: You females all think with this organ between your legs.”
“With what do males think? With their phalli? Or their belly? Probably not with their brain.”
“Its age related. In Youth, males think with the phalli, later with the belly, and only near death they start to think with the brain. But most dont become old enough for the latter.”
“I see.”