Stone 59

**Chapter 59**

Kahlan falls into the Rape Pit and is immediately set upon by a dozen men. Although her hands are tied (I don't remember that happening, but it's entirely possible that I missed it), she kicks one in the groin and smashes another's nose before they overpower her. The Band o' Thugs rips off her *"smallclothes,"* which is apparently faux-Medievalese for panties, and are about to Do Unspeakable Things to Our Heroine.

Kahlan desperately tries to think of a way out of this mess; or, as Terry Goodkind puts it: *"With frantic, effort, the spark of thought sprang forth."* She remembers that Zedd, a wizard of the First Order, was unable to remove her Mindrapist power, so Ranson certainly shouldn't be able to.

She then wonders *"Why wouldn't Ranson have wanted to rape her first? He said she disgusted him. But he said he wanted to strip her of her dignity. Why wouldn't he want to do it?"* Umm...maybe he's gay? Or he finds Kahlan unattractive? Or he's busy? Or he doesn't want to catch any diseases? After all, if she's raped by a whole Rape Pit full of thugs, that's got to be at least as degrading as being raped by one lone guy, right? \~/

Also, note the bizarre subtext: Kahlan is so vain she can't imagine a man *not* wanting to rape her.

Anyway, Kahlan shouts at the Band o' Thugs to stop, and says that if they have her one at a time instead of all at once, she'll cooperate and make it more pleasant for everyone. In the process she learns that Cyrilla was the last occupant of the Rape Pit; no word on what ever became of her.

To make a highly unpleasant scene short, Kahlan sluts it up for the Band o' Thugs and convinces them to both untie her hands and to rape her one at a time. After three and a half pages of Kahlan sexually debasing herself and getting groped and fondled, she **finally** manages to trigger her Mindrapist power and mindrape the big man currently touching her. \~/\~/ Ho ho; the rapist has become the rapee!

It's a staple of fantasy - of fiction in general, really - that the Heroine can be *threatened* with death/disfigurement/rape/etc, but nothing permanent or sexual can ever actually *happen* to her. Terry Goodkind seems determined to get as close as possible to that line without actually stepping over it.

Oh, and in the process of getting molested, Kahlan prays to the good spirits for help, then decides *"The good spirits had never helped her before. They had never come to her aid before,* ***despite her efforts on their behalf,*** *despite her pleas.*

*"To the Keeper with the worthless good spirits."* [emphasis mine]

What, exactly, were Kahlan's efforts on the good spirits' behalf? I can't recall her doing anying good spirit-related except referring to them a few times. Are Mindrapists suddenly religious authorities?

So Kahlan orders Mindraped Thug to protect her, and the other thugs attack him. Despite the ten-to-one odds (the guy whose nose Kahlan smashed is still down, though Groin Kick Guy has apparently recovered), and despite being in a small, confined space, Mindraped Thug manages to not only avoid being quickly slaughtered, but actually kill or disable four of the Non-Mindraped Thugs! How lucky for Kahlan that the one thug she mindraped turned out to be Bruce Lee. \~/

Kahlan somehow manages to broker a truce between Thug Lee and the six remaining thugs, forcing the thugs back into a corner on threat of unleashing the Whirlwind of Mindraped Terror. She also makes them throw back her panties, because *that's* important information to have. However, even Kahlan realizes that *"this uneasy truce could not go on for days."* No kidding; if it lasts an hour I'll be astonished.

And on that "tense" note, the chapter ends.

Drinks: 3

Rape Count: 10

<Previous Chapter  -  Next Chapter>