<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/7pVHr7r.jpg)</div><br/>It had only been a few weeks since Sae'Ka had escaped from her former life, but she was already learning that surviving out on her own wasn't nearly as easy as she'd anticipated. She'd been managing to sustain herself by taking on some small jobs posted on the market boards, but it wasn't really helping her get anywhere, and she felt like she was wasting her time.<br/><br/>Of course, there were countless orders and associations that would happily take somebody with her skills if she wanted to join, but she'd lived under her mother's firm rule her entire life, so she was stubbornly unwilling to take anymore orders from anyone. Sae'Ka told herself that she'd rather die trying to make it on her own, but for that, she needed more power in order to build a reputation for herself by taking on more high profile contracts.<br/><br/>Which is precisely what had led her to Kulratha. Mostly through sheer coincidence and luck, Sae'Ka had learned that the Vizier's right hand, an enchantress by the name of Zozo, had acquired a pet that was incredibly rare and sought after. Thanks to her family being some of the most prominent slave traders specializing in exotics throughout the entire continent, Sae'Ka knew exactly what Zozo's pet was and what it was capable of just by the vague descriptions in the rumors.<br/><br/>The first part of her plan was attempting to rob a jeweler.<em>Attempting</em>, because she planned on intentionally allowing herself to be captured, right after showing off enough of her magic to ensure that the city guards would pass her off to the Vizier's eunuchs, who would then bring her to the spire for Zozo to do fuck knows what to her. Of course, Sae'Ka hadn't expected the eunuchs to strip her naked, force her into a small cage and parade her through the city. Not the proudest moment of her life, but at least she'd accounted for the most important thing, which was the magic inhibiting collar they'd locked around her neck.<br/><br/>When she was confident that she wasn't being watched, Sae'Ka spat out the tiny vial that she'd kept hidden under her tongue until then, catching it in her hands. Uncorking the vial, she poured the extremely potent acid contained within over the front of her collar, careful not to burn herself. They hadn't reached the tower yet, so the enchantments wouldn't have anything left to pick up by the time that they did. Even after they'd entered the tower without incident, Sae'Ka bided her time, waiting until it seemed like they were in a fairly deserted area without any more guards nearby to make her move.<br/><br/>When it seemed like the right time, she cracked her collar with her bare hands where the acid had eaten through it and immediately sent out a powerful pulse of energy in every direction. The wooden cage shattered and splintered violently, the four eunuchs carrying it let go and were blown away to the side and Sae'Ka braced herself for the short fall. Recovering and getting up before her gaolers, it was a trivial affair to dispatch them after using telekinesis to retrieve her sword which one of them had been carrying.<br/><br/>Putting her armor back on quickly - though most probably wouldn't really consider it armor - Sae'Ka left the bloodbath that she'd just created behind her and ventured deeper into the tower, looking for the quickest way up.