Cry for Help
Elves were a populous intelligent race that all lived a secluded life on an enormous island. There were however remnants of some branch families on the mainland. They lived well under the protection of the elven god, and were blessed with good talent and long lives. Many of them made prominent contributions to the arts.
Naturally, elven slaves were highly sought after. Despite the protests and warnings of their race, their price had only increased, with wave after wave of adventurers hunting for them.
Half-elves were more common than purebloods. They still inherited the elfin beauty and elegance, and most of them stood out in terms of appearance, which had led to several disasters. It was not particularly surprising to see a half-elf maid in Pirates’ Cove, but Leylin’s expression had changed in spite of that.
“What’s your name?”
“My name is Karen, respected young master!” The ‘half-elf’ forced a smile. It appeared that she was not very well trained, and could not properly display her bodily assets to her customers.
“It looks like you haven’t been doing this for very long, how much are you for one night?” Leylin asked directly.
This sort of sudden humiliation made Karen want to clench her teeth, but she held herself back and revealed a dazzling smile, “One Dambrath gold coin...”
The price was a little high, but Leylin still nodded, “It’s a reasonable price, especially for a half-drow like you...”
The moment he called her half-drow, Karen rose up angrily. She was like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on.
“How do you know that?” she blurted out. She immediately covered her mouth, but clearly realised that she’d already all but confirmed it.
“Your eye colour. The colouring agent you used to stain it can’t fool me. You ears are also pointier than normal mixed-bloods by 12.4%, and they are slightly concave...” Leylin lightly pointed out the gaps in her disguise. His sharp observations made Karen subconsciously take a few steps back.
The corner of Leylin’s mouth tilted up in a smile as he saw Karen’s stats:
[Name: Karen, Rank 5 Assassin, Race: Half-Drow. Stats: Strength: 1 (3), Agility: 2 (5), Vitality: 0.5 (2), Spirit: 3, Feats: 1. Night Vision: Dark elves have the ability to see even at night. 2. Shadow Perception: Dark elves are sensitive to shadow particles, and are innately gifted assassins and pirates. Status: Poisoned by unknown toxin, causing strength, vitality and agility to fall!]
Karen’s physical stats somewhat surprised Leylin. She even had the abilities of a rank 5 assassin, but some unknown poison had taken control of her, locking half of her strength away.
It was very clear that the person who controlled Karen from the shadows only thought that she was an ordinary half-elf, otherwise they would never have let her come here. Would that not be like sending someone out to assassinate himself?
Leylin smiled faintly. This rank 5 assassin could not touch even a hair on his head.
“Haven’t dark elves always lived underground? How could you appear here, and even take up this line of work?”
Dark elves were a type of elf which were rumoured to live in the darkness. They had awoken the dark nature in their blood, becoming extremely brutal. They longed for violence, blood and chaos, and had separated from the regular elves to move underground. Some rumours said that their gifts in bed could make both men and immortals die of pleasure, that it was comparable to charm and pleasure magic.
“I’m a halfblood. I moved out from the underground with my clan, but we were all scattered in an attack. When I woke up, I was on a trading ship which was later attacked by the Barbarians...” Leylin’s eyes seemed to be filled with magic charm, and Karen could only helplessly tell her story.
‘No wonder... Half-drow really don’t differ too much from half-elves, and only a specialised scholar would be able to tell the difference. She’s a rank 5 assassin, and she did not have enough power to fight back against the entire Barbarian pirate fleet, not to mention that she was affected by the toxin’s restrictions... Of course, an assassin’s camouflage and disguise abilities could let her fool others, so that they thought that she was an ordinary half-elf.’
Something dawned in Leylin’s eyes as he said, “And after that you were controlled by the pirates, and now work for them as a maid?”
“Yes...” Karen nodded, and her eyes seemed to fill with momentary hope. She immediately knelt on the ground, looking up at Leylin, “Sir! I beg you, please save me from this hellhole!”
“Save you?” Leylin had an evil smile on his face as he sat back down, “Why would I save you? Give me a reason.”
Even Leylin had to admit that Karen was a rare beauty, especially with her eyes which were like the ocean waves. Her unique charm gave him a subconscious favourable impression of her.
“I...” Karen bit her lip, “I’m a rank 5 assassin. If you can save me, I’m be willing to serve you for a hundred years. I swear it in the name of the Dark Maiden!”
The Dark Maiden was a god who tended towards the good alignment, and could not be reconciled with the gods that other dark elves believed in. If Karen believed in this god, then perhaps this was the reason why she had been driven away from the underground.
“Why would you do that? Can’t you save up money to buy back your freedom?” Although she seemed rather out of practice, this was clearly not the first time she had done this sort of thing. This sort of life wasn’t completely unsuitable for a half-drow, and Leylin couldn’t think of why she would want to pay such a huge price for freedom.
“Is their price very high?” Leylin could only guess.
“No!” Karen’s lips curved into a rather heartbreaking smile, “They won’t ever let me go. As a slave, I don’t have the authority to buy my freedom. After I can’t be a maid anymore, those barbarians will sacrifice me to their gods...”
Leylin realised that the barbarians had saved her for some bloody and violent sacrificial rituals. Seeing Karen in that state, perhaps she had recently seen this happen several times, and so she began to plan her escape, begging Leylin for his help.
Even though she was pleading for help, she would meet an even worse fate if she asked the wrong person. Leylin seemed to have an air of nobility about him, and Karen was sure that he was not a pirate.
As a result, after realising that her cover had been broken, Karen immediately asked him for help. She almost did not mind promising to become his slave instead.
‘He’s a young man after all, if I could charm him...’ her eyes were filled with anticipation.
As a half-drow, she was born with the knowledge of how to handle males, and did not require further education on that matter. Although Leylin did not look too easily charmed, she was quite willing to at least try. When she thought of this, Karen’s heart seemed to be fired up, leaving two faint traces of a blush on her face. She appeared even more charming and lovely.
“A rank 5 assassin?” Leylin looked as if he was thinking over the matter with some difficulty, making Karen reluctant to mention her thoughts.
“You... Do you know anything about sailing?” After a long moment, Leylin stopped pondering and asked this question.
“Sailing?” Karen was shocked dumb. She originally thought that Leylin would come out with an outrageous request, but she had long made her mind up to use all her techniques to mesmerise him. She never thought that he would ask such a completely irrelevant question.
“Yes, I am a pirate captain, and I’m in need of sailors to be my underlings.” Leylin waved his hand and seemed to admit it very reluctantly. There was a trace of humour in his eyes, as if he was playing a joke on her, and Karen immediately knew that he had seen through all her plots.
“I... Honestly I don’t, but I will work hard to learn. I beg you, Sir,” Karen wanted to come up to Leylin and hug him, but Leylin nimbly dodged her.
“Then it looks like you aren’t much use to me,” Leylin said, making Karen’s heart completely sink.
“However, since you’re a dark elf, and you lived in the Underdark before, then you’re slightly worth something,” Leylin continued, his voice drifting into Karen’s ears and raising a thread of hope once again.
“Tell me, Karen, are you willing to become my dagger in the shadows, to help me dispatch my rivals, and drink the blood of my enemies?”
An invisible hand tilted Karen’s chin upwards, making her eyes widen considerably. “Mage Hand! You’re a wizard!”
This nobleman had come to a port where pirates fenced their goods, and although she did not know why, all Karen could see was opportunity! “I’m willing! In the name of the Dark Maiden I swear this— I will become your sharpest dagger!” Karen respectfully knelt down on her knees, making a strange gesture with her hand.
“Very well,” Leylin nodded. He really had recruited her on the basis of her being a half-drow assassin.
After all, he currently lacked a spy network and assassin group. Since Karen had recently lived in the Underdark, she would have good experience and knowledge in torture and interrogation as well as assassination. As a rank 5 professional assassin, she was just barely good enough to be of use...