Chapter 30: Growing the Vine
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You may notice the chapter jumps from 28 to 30. As mentioned in the past, this was my first story, published in FF.net.  Starting on 2018 and ending on 2020, spanning over a dozen of related stories on the same AU (now known as the God Rising AU by the fandom) Chapter 29 was a Q&A but for the sake of simplicity and to avoid confusion to new readers, I'll leave it as is. 

You will notice that it's rough around the edges. A lot of what's written here is before I even had a beta team and shows my evolution as an author both of Fanfiction and Original stories. If you want to read my other stories, go to my ff.net page or join us on Discord.

 

The next two days were spent just establishing communications, while the elven slaves could not move freely, the humans of Black Justice could, and the Neia's hotel room became ground zero for planning. Illyana became their go to since she was assigned to service the humans, so no amount of coming or going by her was treated suspiciously, as long as she either carried something in or out.

"The elven communication network is good enough that we know a lot before the general populace does, we know who trades with whom, we know who is sleeping with whom, and above all we know what laws will be passed or repealed before anyone else outside the central building. However the problem is conveying that information. We've never had a centralized coordinator because we had no place to do that." Illyana said.

"You do now." Neia answered. "You. You'll be working out of here, sorting information for distribution. Your network grows like vines, and we need it to stretch everywhere for this to have a chance. Entwining everything until we find the opportunity to strangle this system."

Illyana frowned, "I'm happy to do that, but I'm only one person, I need two or even three others." She said,

"I have ninety men and women with me, soon to rise back up to one hundred, each of whom has an elf female serving their room. You can have as large a staff as you need. I am just guessing here...but I expect it isn't uncommon for a superior to force a subordinate in the same hotel to give up his...entertainment," she covered her mouth and suppressed the urge to retch, "for the senior's own enjoyment?"

Illyana nodded. "You're correct, it is not uncommon at all." Her eyes welled up, but she fiercely wiped away the tears before they fell, as if to banish whatever she remembered. She then pressed on to say, "That will make this easier. We are your Vines then."

"What else can you tell us?" Skana asked.

"Nobody pays much mind to us." The three women looked at her quizzically.

Illyana breathed deeply, "You're thinking of me as a person, but legally I am an object. That chair you're sitting on, when you are not sitting on it, do you take any notice of it? No, you notice it only when you want to use it. Its the same for me, they see me when they want to hurt me, train me, or use me for something, then they forget I exist. Strictly speaking, I am simply a tool that works, according to the law." She said, sounding pragmatic and matter of fact, but beneath it lay a voice filled with heartbreak and bitterness.

CZ looked at the other three women. "Why?" She asked.

"Why what?" Illyana asked in confusion.

"Why do that? In Nazarick, and in the Sorcerer Kingdom, all serve the King, but all who serve are together. Why do you need to do that to each other?" She asked.

"I guess..." Neia scratched her head trying to think of a way to explain this to a demon maid.

"We don't, not really." Skana said. "Some do it because they can, but when someone who wants to be served doesn't deserve to be and doesn't have the personal power to make others serve him, well he will often try to create institutions and laws that will force others down, even though they're no worse than he is in reality. Illyana isn't less than I am. She was born an elf, and I a human, we are closely matched, so enslaving all her kind I could never do, but if I am part of the side who wins a war or captures her while she's weak, my laws and people can break her for me, so that I can get what I don't deserve and she would never give...herself."

Skana's explanation was short, but damning of the city. CZ at least, seemed to accept it.

"Well said Skana." Neia replied.

Illyana continued, her voice carrying a hard edge, "Their neglect of us becomes our ally, when we're not in use, we're locked alone, they do keep guards, but we're thoroughly put through our paces in a terrifying process that turns us into perfect slaves. They create small incentives to keep us divided and easy to rule, for females like me...this place..." she stood and spun herself around until coming back to where she was, encompassing the whole of the Golden Roan with her motion, "this living nightmare of being used like an object is a virtual paradise compared to others. The clients who come here are wealthy, which doesn't make them kinder, but because I'm expensive stock, I cost a lot to replace, so the men and women who come here are not likely to kill me or mark me permanently in such a way that an expensive healing will be required before I can return to work. The low cost brothels are worse, the females there are cheap and easily disposable." She said with a shudder, and Neia remembered the conversation regarding the cost of skilled versus unskilled labor.

"I've been extensively trained in how to please someone, that takes time, but the low cost brothels buy us in bulk, but just as bad as that are the breeding pens, used to offset purchase costs by raising homegrown stock, they buy male elves, then they beat them, and the ones that break first are used on females to create children that can be sold..." I'llyana paused as Neia and Skana got up, went to a chamberpot, and vomited in it one right after the other.

"While the males who held out longer are gelded and sold as labor in mines, on boats, or on farms, or do work in the city. But the worst out of all of these things are the pits." She said, her voice taking on a haunted tone and her eyes growing wide with terror.

"What are those?" CZ asked.

"The pits are what they call 'torturtainment' where slaves who are used up and no good for their current work, are tortured to death for the entertainment of the crowd. Its horrific enough that even some of the citizens of this city consider it to be abhorrent, but a wealthy enough part of the population revel in it. I went once, a nobleman wanted to have a beautiful servant on hand to...do things...for him while he watched. I saw...things...before he...before he had me do things...they were terrible enough that it was the only time I was glad to be doing what I was doing...so that I didn't have to see...didn't have to see...but I heard...I heard everything..." Illyana began to shake violently, she hugged her own body as tightly as she shut her eyes, but even that could not keep the tears from seeping out.

"Hey...hey..." Neia said and got up, she went and touched the elf woman's shoulders and knelt in front of her, so that she was looking up at the quivering figure, "Look at me, look at me." She said softly, and Illyana vomited over the front of Neia, then she opened her eyes wide with absolute horror, and terror like Neia had not seen since Jaldabaoth's invasion as she looked at the vomit covered human.

Illyana started babbling apologies, "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry mistress, please...please let me do anything to clean it up, just don't...don't hurt me...don't hurt me..." She began to sob, her lovely eyes wild with terror as she imagined what could be done to her, she dropped to her knees and searched desperately for a rag before wildly grabbing her own long beautiful blonde hair and wiping at the vomit she'd expelled.

Neia was in shock for a moment, but recovered just as the desperate slave started to wipe at the rather nasty substance with her hair, shaking and crying as she did so, and Neia responded to this by shaking her roughly enough to get her attention. "Illyana, look at me!" She snapped in a fierce, commanding voice that she was sure elves were conditioned to listen to.

Illyana froze and met her eyes. "Its OK." Neia said. "Its alright, I don't blame you, nobody blames you, you didn't do anything wrong alright? You're not there anymore, and you're not going to be punished, do you understand? You're not going to the pits, the pens, or anywhere else, I'm Neia Baraja, and I protect the weak, I do not abuse them. It might be a bit nasty, but...it'll clean up just fine." She gave the traumatized elf a weak smile. "Skana, could you fetch me a towel, it really is rather unpleasant."

"Of course, there are not many bodily expulsions that are not." Skana said dryly, and went and grabbed one for both Neia and Illyana.

"I promise you, on my life and on my faith, nobody will ever do that to you, and you'll never see it or hear it again." Neia said as she began to wipe herself clean, and handed a towel to Illyana to do the same.

The elf woman gradually ceased her shaking and came to her senses, the momentary flashback to her terror passing away, it took several minutes for her to collect herself.

"I think Lord Ainz would hate this place." CZ said curtly.

"Now...focus Illyana, we need to know everything we can, OK?" Neia said to her.

The elf woman nodded mutely.

"Now, you said you're neglected, what kind of conditions are you neglected in? Are you chained up, isolated, able to move around?" Neia asked as she tossed the towel to one side.

Illyana set hers aside and said softly, "We're kept locked up in pens down below, its dungeon like in its security, but we're...expensive, so we're treated a bit better, there is running water to keep ourselves clean, herbs to heal the injuries done by people here." She gestured around to the bedroom. "We are provided with makeup, and basic cleaning equipment, the scraps of what human guests finish are brought to us to eat, so the food isn't even that bad if you don't mind eating what someone else has chewed on and taken bites out of. We don't have beds, we get bed rolls to use."

"And the guards?" Skana asked her.

"The customers fill out comment cards at the end of each stay, and the females with the lowest...satisfaction rating, are sent to the guard's barracks for...practice. I...I went once..." She started shaking violently again. "I won't survive a second time...I won't. But that is all they come in for, after that, they don't come back until morning to open the door to let us out to go to new rooms." Neia held Illyana's hands and waited until the elf calmed herself down.

"That gives us an opening." Neia said softly.

"What?" CZ asked.

"Can I ask Lord Ainz if he can do for the elves here as he did for Black Justice?" Neia asked. "If they are given the time and training we had, then they could fight for their freedom and win." Neia said.

CZ went quiet for a few minutes as messages were exchanged, with CZ asking for help as Neia asked, and waiting for replies, the rest of the room remained quiet, sensing important issues were at hand, until at last CZ turned her attention to the three women. "Lord Ainz has gone from Nazarick to inspect his domain in E-Rantel, Carne Village, and the Empire (*AN: The Lemurian Paradox story), he will be gone for some time. Also, much of the recently made Runecrafted gear has been directed to his army under General Enri Emmot and General Zaryusu Sasha, he will spare some equipment for you however, when you are ready to receive it. He said if you can wait until he returns from his obligations, he is willing to offer some of your elves the training you request."

"It will have to do." Neia said softly. "Illyana, the other females down below, are they willing to fight?" She asked.

"They are." She said, "If there is a chance, then we will take it."

"And how far do these vines spread, can we get training to anyone outside of the Golden Roan?" Skana asked.

Illyana thought about it for a time, tapping her fingers and pondering the question. "There is a way." She said, "It isn't the best, slaves see each other often, but interactions are brief and we live apart. However the public service slaves are the link that binds all within the city. They clean up the discipline places, they work the streets, they collect the garbage, they pass through the great estates to deliver messages, if it happens in this city, somewhere there is a public service slave that takes part in some way."

Neia and Skana shared a look. "This is...not going to be easy." Neia said.

"No." Skana agreed. "This won't be like the villages, the demihumans, or Prart, or even Yanana."

"Tinamoc is 'purchasing' some as well, we can train them reliably at least, we'll just have to establish a camp somewhere secure, somewhere we can train safely." Neia said, "The rest, we can provide them with one new instruction per day and allow them to spread the knowledge of that one single maneuver, and practice it only in isolation each night."

"We only have three weeks." Skana said. "Can we delay departure any?"

"Probably not. Or if so, not by much...this...isn't going to work at all. Not the way I want to do it, not like Prart." She said.

"Why not do the opposite?" CZ asked simply.

"What?" Neia said.

"Just get out." CZ answered in her usual neutral tone, that to the now familiar Neia & Skana was recognizable as at least a little condescending, as if she was stating the obvious.

Neia and Skana shared a look, while Illyana for a moment looked as if she was going to start sobbing, thinking that CZ had suggested they abandon the elves and both Neia & Skana were considering it.

"She's got a point." Neia said, "We don't have to take the city, just get out of it. There are forests, boats, hill country, we need to treat this as a prison break rather than a conquest, victory and freedom are in survival and escape, if we get over the border and in to the Northern Kingdom, all we have to do is make it to Prart, and we can migrate to the Abelion Hills from there, once in the Sorcerer King's territory, his forces would be able to escort us the rest of the way into the interior of his kingdom, far beyond the reach of the Southern Holy Kingdom."

Skana had a broad smile on her face. "CZ you're a genius."

"You're observant." CZ said in a neutral tone that carried only the faintest hint of satisfied pride to her familiar friends.

"You will be the first." Neia said to Illyana and she stood up, went, and took out her sword, she tossed the sheath to the elf girl, who caught it with wide eyed surprise. "You're going to teach the other females what I teach you, if asked why you're going there while we're still in attendance, say we ordered you to go there as I wanted some alone time with my friends and you are to join us in the morning."

Illyana nodded numbly.

"Swing at me." Neia said. And Illyana drew back the sheath and swung it wildly at Neia's side, Neia stepped into the swing bringing her inside beyond the edge, grabbed Illyana's wrist, twisted it to force her to drop the sword in pain, then lifted up her arm and forced her down, as she did so, she drew a knife and pressed it to the elf girl's throat.

For a moment, Illyana started shaking again, fearing just in that instant, that it had all been some cruel trick and she was going to die, a used up scarcely clad slave bleeding out on a beautiful rug, only mourned for what she cost to replace. It was a hateful thought, one that didn't fade until Neia released her and stepped back. "Again, this time we will go slowly, calm yourself, breath slowly, keep control, and I will show you what I did in steps, then we will switch and you will try it on me."

The next few hours left Illyana sweaty and bruised, which to the free and enslaved employees of the hotel, not to mention the patrons, meant she looked entirely normal for a living toy when she eventually left, the brutality of her position, created for her the camoflauge needed to help her overthrow it. It was an irony not lost on the girl as she went unopposed to the pens down below the hotel where the other female elves who were not in use, spent their hours.

She conveyed everything she was told, and using a broom as a sword and a hairbrush as a dagger, she began to train the other women, the collective being instructed to teach the first slave to enter which was also able to leave. In this way, a slow resistance began to form. The next few days were spent learning new combat methods in the style of Black Justice, while Neia instructed Illyana, Skana went to the warehoused slaves being acquired by Tinamoc, and trained them as a group. Tinamoc paid no mind, checking in only periodically, while other members of Black Justice under orders from Neia, began to train their 'purchases' and 'room girls' in the same way Neia trained Illyana.

It was in the middle of this training one day that Neia received a message that shocked her to her core. So much so that instead of blocking the blow, she took it straight to the gut. Illyana's hand jumped to her mouth in surprise. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I thought..." she began as Neia doubled over and raised her hand, to stop her apologies.

"Its alright, you're supposed to try to hit me, its my fault for not responding properly, its just I've been interrupted, wait just a moment." She straightened and Illyana set down the sheath and sat at the table, Neia quietly felt a sense of approval, the elf now sat more comfortably on the furniture again, and a small glimmer of self respect had begun to show in her eyes as she grew in skill, however slightly it might be.

"You have got to be kidding me." Neia said. "You're telling me that Blue Rose is asking for MY help? The same adventurers that let my Kingdom be burned up by a demon emperor are asking me to help them? Why should I do that? Yes I know they did point us to the Sorcerer King...oh...they're on a contract here protecting the Sorcerer King's followers...yes that does rather change the equation. Alright Robel, yes a gate, it'll take to long to get there by foot or horseback, keep your fangs on, I'll be ready to go to Kedyn in minutes." Neia closed the communication with a sigh.

Illyana looked at her curiously. "I have to go to Kedyn." Neia said with a heavy sigh. "CZ, can you take over with Illyana for me? I'm taking a gate there, I should be back within a few days, if all goes well, I'll have an adamantite team in my debt, and that can't be a bad thing." She said.

"Can't." CZ said.

"What...why?" Neia asked incredulously.

"I Guard you." CZ said.

Neia rolled her eyes, "I won't be in that much danger."

"Enough." CZ said.

Neia sighed. "Illyana, please wait here, when Skana returns, have her pick up where we left off, and please explain to her that I'll be back here in a few days and that I'm sorry for the abrupt departure, I have to go to Kedyn."

"Take care of yourself mistress Neia..." Illyana said softly.

"Just...Neia, Illyana." Neia said with a smile.

"When I'm truly free, Mistress Neia." Illyana said with a genuine little smile.

"Oh and tell Skana I'll miss her, and not to worry." Neia said with a little smile.

"I will, mistress Neia." Illyana said, and she stood and began to practice the sword swinging motion Neia had taught to her.

A few minutes later, she'd gathered a few things, taken out a gate scroll and then stepped through it into a place in Kedyn's history.

 

 

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