The three women of Lochlea hurried through the tunnels, feeling the heat go cold on their backs.

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Hannah squinted at the slithers of light that broke through the darkness to form outlines of tunnels.

"Wait," Sierra whispered when she stopped their run with a tone of caution to her voice.

She sniffed the air and crouched low to feel the stone ground beneath them. A rhythmic vibration was felt from the tips of her fingers. The pattern didn't feel like marching, running boots, moving objects or those made by creatures. It felt unworldly and alien.

"I don't like this. We should head back." She stood upright.

"Weren't you the one that sniffed the exit this way?" Lilia grumbled.

"I did and it is. There's something else here. I don't like the feeling it's giving me."

"Well, I say we press forward. We've come so far now." Lilia stated her decision.

"Of course, but what if the way forwards is like jumping from pan to fire? We shouldn't risk it." Sierra soberly countered Lilia's decision with her common sense.

Both women looked to Hannah for the ultimate decision.

Hannah sighed. It was very much like these two women to hold a difference in opinion, and always it was her decision that gave them a common ground.

"Look, we've come far and I don't sense soldiers chasing after us. If we go forward, we might face a threat we can't fight with our bare hands."

"Got it. We need armour and weapons. I think I know where to get this." Sierra jumped in, taking the reins of leadership over the group again.

"I'd feel more confident going this way with swords in my hands." Lilia agreed and screwed up her nose at her tatty dress that was frayed at hem against her ankles.

"As I've said before, men here aren't so bright." Sierra grinned.

The woman turned around and retraced their steps back to a few metres before their prison cell. Instead of continuing forward, they stopped before a fortified wooden door.

Sierra carefully pressed her elf ear to it, so she could decipher movements. None was detected. Satisfied the coast was clear, she searched for a discreet way to open it.

Lilia groaned when she turned the door's iron handle and it opened.

"At first I thought the soldiers were complacent or psychologically warped. For once, I share an opinion with you Seriph. These men really are stupid. How the heck they manage to keep The Glan a prison and the fear of God in prisoners."

"I figured it all went down hill when Tinker took over. Anything that man runs goes to shit." Sierra coolly answered. "lucky for us."

Lilia pushed her way through the door, so any attacks would be handled by her hands and skill first.

No one else was in the room.

Hannah quietly closed the door behind them. Her eyes widened at the sight of a guards' room. There were two beds, chest of drawers, a closet between the beds and flagons of ale dumped carelessly near the bedheads.

Sierra pulled open the closet and smiled at the sight of a short sword in its sheath propped up on the back corner.

Lilia helped herself to leather pants from a drawer, which were a tad tight around her calves and long at the ankles. The boots paired next to the drawer were just the right size. She tucked the hems into the boots then went about fitting a black cotton shirt to her chest, tying off the ends at her waist so her tanned skin and the black markings of the Lochlea fire breathing dragon crest was visible around her firm belly.

The only thing she took from her discarded dress was her treasured dark scarf, which she tied off around her neck. The scarf also carried the Lochlea's crest. It was her marker as a guard of the village.

"You'll find short sword-daggers in the drawer at that bed end." Sierra pointed to the chest of drawers behind Hannah.

"I'm not going to even ask how you know." Lilia shivered.

"Good call." Sierra grimaced at the thought of the times she had been lying on those beds with those apes of men on top of her.

Not any more. It was time for ultimate payback.

She reached up for the top of the closet and felt around its edges until she came upon what she was after. It was a small, palm-sized, box.

"Hold out your hands." She ordered the women.

Lilia and Hannah did so without question, and found themselves holding an iron ball in their palms. It felt cool to the touch and emitted an energy that made their skin tingle.

"Oh!" Hannah gasped with delight when she felt the force suppressing her magic being lifted.

"During banging sessions, I saw one of the guards grab the box and take out the ball, which he shoved underneath his tunic. I acquired the knowledge of the "Freball" from the guy ramming into me." Sierra soberly explained.

She added that the ball they held was a Freball and it wasn't made from iron. It was a derived mineral from a rock that fell to Staar from Dragona. The item countered all forms of dampening force spells that suppressed magic.

"We can use magic?" Hannah's blue eyes glowed with delight.

Sierra smiled and felt a boost of bravado at having a chance to win the heart of her woman. The only good thing about this situation was Corin wasn't around.

"Here." She tenderly took Hannah's Freball and tucked it in tight in Hannah's cleavage.

Hannah blushed.

"Doubt it'll fall out. Felt snug in there." Sierra flirted.

"Please." Lilia rolled her eyes and groaned.

"Thanks." Hannah awkwardly returned the gesture with a friendly smile that made Sierra turn away to hide her giddiness.

"Let's go." She ordered them now that they were armed for the way out.

"Go where?" A man chuckled from the doorway.

"Crap." Sierra hissed.