The floor had stared to slope downwards until it disappeared totally under their feet a distance back and the whole group of amazons as well as the two mercenaries were now swimming through the pitch black system. The stench was not as foul now as it had been a bit back and a much needed surge of hope filled the now even more decimated group.

-When do we get out of this hellhole, Ta’Ra-Lin asked the Lu’Thara emissary, while trying to keep her head above the slime as best as she could. -I believe we should be at the edge of the city very soon she replied, her years revealing themselves in her heavy panting. Ta’Ra-Lin just hoped that their guide would last until they got out of this mudpit. Without her assistance they would surely be lost in this dark and evil maze.

The two city guards standing on the platform looked as if they had seen a group of malicious ghosts. Ta’Ra-Lin figured that if their mud covered appearance failed to scare the two men off, their smell would undoubtedly do the job. Irrespectively of which, the two guards yanked a couple of torches from the their holders on the stone wall and jumped into a small rowing boat lashed to the platform in the water, almost overturning the small vehicle while doing so. Mud & mucus sprayed in every direction as they set of down the nearby tunnel opening, waving their oars like crazy.

As Ta’Ra-Lin got up on the platform with mucus running down her limbs, she had a chance to inspect the room they were in. The two guards had been kind enough to leave behind one torch on the wall. Compared to the tunnels and the chambers they had passed while wandering through this labyrinth, this room was huge. On the far side, above the opening through which they had entered the room, was a small platform with a door leading from it. To the left and right were two tunnel openings one of which had been used by the chicken-hearted fleeing guards. The room was rectangular, maybe thirty-five feet along the short-end in which the two platforms were situated and maybe ten or fifteen feet more on the long side.

-So, is this the end of this godforsaken city?, Ta’Ra-Lin asked the emissary who with great exertion had just managed to pull herself up on the platform with the help of friendly amazon hands pushing her. -Yes, I think it is, I really do, she said with tangible relief.

The platform on which the group were hurdled was situated in one of the short-side corners of the room. Separating this platform from an identical platform just fifteen feet away was a huge wooden floodgate in front of which a couple of wooden boards were placed to allow passage between the two platforms. Two huge wheels, clearly meant for maneuvering the gate were mounted there. One on each platform. From winches behind the wheels, heavy chains disappeared into the darkness overhead.

-It looks like our way out of this town goes through this gate, Ta’Ra-Lin said, looking at the adversary. -Let us get to work on these wheels and let’s also hope that age hasn’t disabled their function in the same way the years have with you, old woman, she concluded, smirking at the Lu’Thara emissary.

While Ta’Ra-Lin was getting on the emissaries nerves, the last of the amazons to climb upon the platform had just got to her feet, looking down to inspect the mess. The vain little thing gave up a yell at the sight of the filth attached to her fancy boots. The filth saved her life because the second she crouched down, a whistling arrow passed over her head, planting itself firmly with a thud in the wall a few feet away, after having passed between two of her startled comrades. -Now you heathens are all dead!!, an angry voice rang out over the water from the far end of the room.

It didn’t take much imagination to figure out whom the ones were who wanted the amazons and the two mercenaries dead. One of the amazons bent forward gurgling, clutching at an arrow in her stomach and fell headlong into the greasy porridge which welcomed the doomed girl with a friendly sloppy sound.

Ta’Ra-Lin shouted out her orders and five of the courageous young girls took off running over the planks to the other platform where they readied their bows and started to retaliate for their unlucky sister. As the amazon archers started to shoot back making every arrow count, the emissary ordered the ones not fighting back the Khor wenches to get to work on the wheels.

-We better fight these bitches first and worry about getting out later, Ta’Ra-Lin shouted at her, but to no avail. The emissary was as stubborn as ever and Ta’Ra-Lin bent, intent on lecturing the elderly woman later. Her trust in the Lu’Tharians judgment had increased greatly lately though.

She couldn’t help to worry somewhat as she saw the amount of Hura’Khor warriors streaming out of the small door at the far end. The archers among the Khor girls were easily counted and Ta’Ra-Lin thanked her gods for this. The amazon archery skill was well renowned for good reasons and thus even though the water in the room began to fill with swimming Khor warriors, not few of them threw up their arms, sinking with amazon arrows in their supple bodies, some staying afloat like little islands with shafts poking out of them and some sinking to the bottom, greasy bubbles on the surface, the only evidence of their existence.

The three eager young amazons that the emissary had ordered to attack the wheel on the other platform had almost succeeded in getting to the other side when before dying, the last of the Khor archers managed to hit the last one of them. The girl was of small stature and the archer was skilled and strong. The arrow skewered her through her soft throat, jerking her from the wooden planks and nailing her to the old rotten wood of the floodgate, leaving her to hang, her legs twitching and with blood and urine trickling down her body and into the muddy waters.

The stream of Khor girls had started to thin out on the other side of the room. All those who had come through the door had thrown themselves into the goo intent on the destruction of their amazon foe. Two of the archers were laying lifeless over the rails and the last one had stumbled over the edge, floating head down in the slime with a bloodied arrowhead sticking out of her back. Still standing on the platform were two priestesses shouting commands and encouragements to their fellow warriors.

At the floodgate platforms the amazons had been forced to let go of their bows and engage in hand to hand combat with crazed Khor warrioresses trying to get onto their platforms. The Khor women cared little for their own life and limbs. The ones behind them pressed on as good as they could without any support for their feet and thus, the moment an amazon withdrew her blade from the helmet eye-slits or the chest of an unlucky Khor woman, another one was already in her place trying to get up on the platform to shed her share of amazon blood.

The water in front of the two platforms was swarming with Khor women. Stomping in the water and occasionally on each other to keep afloat at the same time as pushing forward proved to be a bit to demanding for some of them. Some had removed their heavy helmets and had thrown them aside before entering the water while others kept them on for the protection they would offer. Helmets and chainmail attire now pulled them downwards and some of them drowned before even getting a chance to prove their worth as warriors of their evil goddess, their hands waving desperately above the surface in search of a helping hand that would very unlikely come.

-How’s it going with the gate, Ta’Ra-Lin shouted at the amazons from the heat of the battle. Even though the deceased among the Khor warriors could not easily be counted, the water was still swarming with them. An overeager amazon had leaned out too far above the sludge in her attempt to skewer an opponent. A Khor woman had used her ankles as a mean to get up and had thus made the young woman lose her balance. She had fallen screaming into the muddy waters where her body had immediately been skewered multiple times by the blades of the crazed cultists.

The Hura’Khor woman who had used the amazon as a handle fared little better than her doomed adversary. She was lying on her stomach on the platform, her legs still in the water and trying frantically to heave herself onto the platform completely. Had her fellow cultists helped her and thus getting a combatant amongst the amazons, she may have made it or at least have gotten the chance to avenge some of her sisters. With an agonized exhale she died with an amazon blade shoved through her mantel, chainmail top and her chest, her blood running over the stone and back into the water.

Another Khor cultist had managed to crawl on top of the second platform by shoving her amazon opponents blade aside and jumping her foe with her whole weight. The amazon held back the Khor woman’s blade which was now disturbingly close to her jugular vein, the Khor warriors intentions painfully evident to the amazon youngster.

The girl was strong and managed to keep her opponent at bay as her two archer companions did their best with sword in hand, causing great havoc and bloodshed among the quickly tiring enemy floundering below.

Ta’Ra-Lin fought as best as she could, sweat breaking out on her forehead as she separated an opponents arm from her shoulder and kicked the wounded woman in the chest, making her topple backwards into the goo with blood spraying from her grisly wound, shrieking her agony and terror.

Ahn’Riel had left her position at the frontline and was now pushing the old wheels with all her power. This gate had clearly not been opened for generations and she couldn’t figure out why it had been guarded. What made this gate more special then the rest of the system which had evidently been totally unoccupied except for the fish monsters they had encountered earlier.

Suddenly, with a sickening crunch, decades of assembled slime, mucus and stratum let go of their grip on the ancient oak floodgate and it began to move upwards. First inch by inch and then faster through the sweating efforts of the amazons pushing the wheels for all they were worth.

-Yes!!!, It’s happening!!!, the emissary shouted with joy. Keep those bitches at bay for few moments more and we will leave this rotten stinking place. The room that previously had resounded with the clinging of steel against steel and steel against flesh as well as the shrieks and moans of the dying, now filled with a much more sinister sound. It was a growling and sucking noise, all at once.

Between the two platforms, plenty of Hura’Khor wenches had joined forces in an attempt to access the platforms in the least protected spot. A decision they now started to regret. They shrieked in fear, let go of their weapons and tried desperately to cling to the platform as well as the slimy and slippery surface of the gate.

The floodgate was coming up steadily and on its far-side there was a gigantic empty space to fill.

The panic started to spread among the Khor warrioresses in the room as the current started grabbing at their legs and booted feet. The priestesses on the far platform realized too late what was about to happen to their proud number and yelled at their companions in the water to draw back.

It was too late though. The gate creaked alarmingly but kept moving upwards, hanging in its aging chains. Some of the Khor warriors who were closest to the platforms had not yet been affected by the suction, but their companions fared worse. A lot worse. They screamed, and shouted, clung and climbed on one another in attempts to free themselves of the force that tore mercilessly at their legs and threatened to pull them beneath the surface and under the gate. Two of the Khor warriors nearest to the floodgate clung desperately to the legs of the dead amazon who still hung, nailed to the gate. Had the arrow on which the poor amazon was hanging been stronger, the two of them may just have made it. It wasn’t however and with a crack like from a dry twig it burst.

The two of them along with the dead amazon disappeared beneath the surface with two swiftly muffled screams. Pulled down as if by strong hands. Then they were gone.

The murmuring, the gurgling and the growling from the water was unbearable. More and more of the Khor women discarded their weapons to be able to use both hands while trying to climb the platforms while others simply succumbed to the suction, slipped under the surface and were sucked out under the floodgate.

A large whirlpool had started to emerge in the middle of the room and the amazons marveled at its beauty as it consumed their helpless and frantically waving enemies. Every thought of battle now forgotten in the heads of the Khor warrioresses, they tried everything in their power to get away from the suction of the whirl, threatening to suck them into itself as it had with dozens of their sisters in arms.

Many of them clung to the edges of the platforms as the torrent tore at their bodies, their nails scratching at the cold stone and drawing blood in the process. As one of them seemed to get on top of the situation her hopes were immediately dashed as a fellow warrioress on her way to her damp doom, grabbed hold of her ankle, tearing her screaming from her position and securing them both a death in the roaring water or what lied beyond the old gate.

Others fared little better as the amazons set aside to secure the edges would accomplish their task with great appetite for blood. Severed heads, arms and fingers now adorned the stone on which they stood, kicking screaming foes back into the rapid waters with well aimed boots planted in faces, chests and tummies.

When the water started to cool down in its ravenous fury, the two priestesses had long since departed, screaming their rage and desperation down the tunnel from which they had arrived gloriously shortly before. Apart from the grisly remains of the Khor warrior women left on the platform, no trace could be found of their previous existence. Apart from the one hanging on to the edge of the far side platform of course. The warrioress was screaming her defiance and her hatred to the great amusement of the amazons. She hung on to the edge of the platform with exhausted fingers.

Had she used some of the energy spent on curses and spitting on finding a good grip she may have made it. Now, she slid hastily and shrieking shrilly down the intense inclination of the chamber’s floor towards the bright light opening below the opened floodgate, through which she disappeared with a final and long, shrill yell of terror. This was followed by a brief moment of silence and then the roaring cry of victory of the amazons.

Ta’Ra-Lin had no doubts that this chamber would soon be swarming with more of the bloodthirsty wenches if not with city guards and started to arrange the decent onto the slippery, sloping and treacherous floor below, helped by Ahn’Riel and eagerly followed by the ten remaining and slightly worn amazon girls.

The sight when they got down on the floor of the floodgate chamber was quite overwhelming. As dry, uninviting and scorching as the desert had been on the other side of the great city, just as humid, luxuriant and beautiful was the jungle spreading far below them under the tender mist of early morning.

The descent from the cliff on which the mighty walls of Noh’Bokk stood went on without much adventuring. Although close, none of the amazons, nor their mercenary leaders slipped on the rock even if the eructation of the city sewer had greased and smeared the rocky surface beyond recognition.

Once on the ground, the group made their way away from the immediate vicinity of the rock wall to avoid being seen from above or at worst, by city archers. The risk of being seen from above was next to nothing because of the mist as well as the dense vegetation though.

The emptying of the city’s bowels had not undergone unseen down on the jungle floor. A veritable lake of mucus had formed below the floodgate three-hundred feet above their heads. The rough rock surface between the gate and the ground was not entirely plumb at it had received its fair share of Hura’Khor warrior women who had met crashing defeat against its rock. Others had ended up in the treetops nearest to the cliff and now they hung there moving softly in the wind. The most part of the evil cultist girls had ended up in the stinking porridge right below the cliff though

One of the cultists had miraculously managed to get up after the fall and had wandered a few steps before falling on her face a few feet into the foliage. As the amazons turned her over they saw the hilt of a dagger sticking out of her tummy. She had seemingly tried to arm herself to greet the amazons warmly on their descent. A well placed root seemed to have made her trip and misfortune and careless handling of her blade had done the rest of the job.

They left the dead girl lying on her face with her filthy mantel covering her discarded yet shapely flesh. They could not help admiring the poor dead girl’s determination.