An Unexpected Ally

"Have you made peace with your gods, Princess of Iskandr?" crows the older green woman. "Come the dawn, your torments will begin, and you shall suffer as no red Martian has ever suffered before. We will keep you alive for seven days and nights as we torture you slowly, removing your flesh one strip at a time..."

You cannot suppress a shudder, and the green woman laughs with delight.

"Has your pride finally broken, Princess?" the woman jeers. "Soon will your body be broken as well--as was that of my only son, killed when your father's fleet bombarded our city without justification!"

Suddenly, the younger woman pulls out a long dagger and plunges it into the unguarded breast of your tormentor. The older woman falls to the ground without a sound, quite dead. "My name is Zula," says the younger green Martian, as she uses the blood-stained dagger to sever the ropes that still bind your wrists. "I have hidden a pair of thoats and provisions just outside the city, but we must hurry before the old woman's absence is noted."

"But, why are you doing this for me?" you ask, still shocked by this unexpected turn of events. "How can you turn against your own people?"

Zula pauses in the door, checking to make sure the corridor is clear, then turns to face you. "These are not my people," she explains emotionlessly. "I belong to the Zarkian tribe of green Martians. I was taken from my own people when I was a child, during a raid by these vicious animals." She spits at the body of the dead female on the floor. "I served that one as a slave all these years, and she was foolish enough to believe that she had broken my spirit."

The green woman looks into eyes. "What she said about your father is not true; the Zarkians are allies of Iskandr, and your father led the assault on this city in retribution for the raid during which I was captured. Many of my people died during that raid, so your father acted with just cause." She turns away again, and steps through the door. "Come now; we cannot afford to waste any more time here."

You follow Zula out into the corridor, and she leads you through a maze of dark tunnels to finally emerge just outside the city walls. You hear shouts in the distance, and assume that the body of the old woman has been discovered. Zula quickens her pace.

1. You reach the thoats without being discovered, and quickly mount up.
2. As you reach the place where the thoats are hidden, you see that a party of green warriors has got there before you.

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