All eyes turned to Marin, who had been in charge of the latest intelligence mission. "Alas, I fear not. I, rather, we, were able to infiltrate men into the forbidden regions by placing them as guards on a caravan. Noxo's illusions aparantly worked in having them accepted as familiar faces, but by now the Priest Kings have undoubtably discovered the deception. They will likely search any man who tries to enter in disguise."
This pronouncement was met with looks of dismay from the brotherhood, until Lasix suddenly smiled. "Why do we have to send men? Even the lair of the Priest Kings requires slaves, if for nothing else than to serve their human minions. Why don't we send our agents as kajira?"
"A curious thought, friend Lasix," opined Labon. "Given the Gorean view of women matches our own, it is likely they would never suspect a kajira of being an enemy agent. But I find it unlikely that anyone would volunteer to take on the role needed for this assignment."
An even half-dozen of his colleagues laughed at their young compatriot. It was Marin himself who pointed out "Why transform anyone. Simply send actual kajira, their minds suitably modified to complete their mission."
"A fine idea, but who among us is willing to lose a slave, or will we merely take some at random?"
"No bother," replied Marin, we will not pick our agents at random, in fact, I am willing to designate my milk-slut, Bessie, as one of our agents."
Lasix remained impassive, but inwardly his mind raced. Why was Marin so readily agreeing to his suggestion. true, it was logical, but usually Marin accepted someone else's idea with all the grace of a spoiled infant. And why the sudden desire to have his own slave sent. That last could at least be countered right away. "That is very generous of you, my brother. And since I rank beside you in our council, it is only right that I too contribute a slave to the mission. Elsie is placed at the disposal of the brotherhood for this purpose."
Marin accepted the offer with an ill-disguised reluctance, and four other milk-sluts were chosen to join the original pair. This way, should one or more not make it to their destination, others still might carry out their goals.
Now Bakran and Lasix, the two most adept at mental manipulation, went to work altering the minds of the slaves. While milk-sluts required only enough intelligence to lactate, on this mission the kajira would need to interact with others, observe details while not appearing curious, and report their findings. After that, their minds could revert to mush for all the wizards cared.
Eventually, the six girls were ready. A red-head named Portia was named as lead girl, with Bessie and Elsie merely members of the chain. They would be placed with a slave caravan known to be supplying the Priest King's headquarters. Once inside, they would seek out whatever informationt hey could find, and then, using a spell designed for the purpose by Bakran, transmit their observations mentally to the brotherhood.
The next morning, the chain of girls departed, eager to carry out the instructions imbedded in their minds by the new spells.
Wed Nov 17 21:27:42 1999