Gail woke some time later, nursing a stiff shoulder from lying too long on the ground. She didn't know how long she had been sleeping and she didn't much care. She was warm at last and that was all that mattered.
She was just remembering the deep pain in her ribs when a pail of cold water splashed across her face. The shock made her sit up at once, glancing around with wide eyes.
The clerics were back. One looped the rope around her neck again, pulling it tight while the others watched on. Gail stuck her finger inside the loop, tugging it so she could breathe. The clerics were just stupid enough to choke her without even trying. The nearest cleric barked a series of orders which she diligently ignored until he yanked the rope, almost dislocating her finger and pulling her upright at the same time.
'Bloody hell,' she said, shaking her finger. 'What is wrong with you?'
She considered pushing him into the fire. It would be fun to watch him burn, but it wouldn't serve any purpose at all. There were half a dozen clerics in the room, and several more blocking the entrance. There was no way she could overpower them all. Gail chewed her lip as she considered her options. It didn't take long to realise she had no options at all.
With no other choice, she allowed them to guide her back out through the cave's only entrance. They took her down a narrow tunnel with torches mounted at intervals along the walls. Soft orange light illuminated the walls around her, and an odd smell rose up from the tunnels below, getting worse as they descended.
She started when she heard screaming like before, each time coming from a different direction. The voices sounded closer this time. Maybe her time was running out? Maybe she should have attacked them when she had had the chance?
They turned a corner, stepping into a large open cave where half a dozen naked women had been tied on their backs to waist-high stone slabs. Blood covered the stone between their thighs and their heads jerked back and forth as they babbled in torment.
'No,' Gail said, turning to run back the way she had come.
The rope yanked tight on her neck and she fell backwards, landing on her backside on the hard rock floor. Pain erupted in her ribs as a shock wave ran up her spine. Gail grunted as the clerics reached down and grabbed her.
'No!' she said. 'Let me go!'
She struggled and kicked, punching one of them in the head with her left hand. Her right hand was useless, swollen and bloody after being pierced by Malkor's spear. It had split open when she fell on it, leaving one finger hanging loose at an odd angle.
The clerics quickly overpowered her, beating her with their fists until she couldn't protect herself anymore. She slumped, bloodied and half-senseless as they ripped off her clothes and dragged her naked towards the nearest stone slab.
She was only vaguely aware of what happened next. Tears formed in her eyes as they tied her to the cold stone slab with rough rope, securing her in place. She was surprised when they walked away, seemingly uninterested in her fate.
She lay panting as her senses gradually returned, and when she looked up she saw more clerics standing on a ledge high above her with a wide cage standing between them. Inside the cage was the blackest, foulest creature she had ever seen. Its paper-like wings flapped in the confined space as they thrust something into its side, making it shriek in pain. Its savage beak snapped at the cage around it, bending the bars in several places. The clerics barked in an excited frenzy before stepping back and flinging the cage doors open.
The last thing Gail remembered was a big black shadow swooping down towards her. She heard screams, much closer this time, and realised they were her own.