Tina Daniell - Maquesta Kar-Thon

"We've got to hurry," she told the gnome. "We've got to collect my father, Fritzen, Vartan, and Sando. And we've got to get out of here. I don't want any trouble."

"Oh, I'd say you've already found trouble, Captain Kar-Thon."

Maquesta and Koraf whirled to see a gruesome sight. Striding toward them was a bedraggled-looking Mandracore. He was flanked by a pair of merrow, aquatic ogres. Looking as if they could be twins, the ogres each had a tangled mass of hair that resembled dried seaweed. A blue-green tinge to their skin, they had scales covering their shoulders, necks, and parts of their arms. They each wore a leather breastplate that did little to hide their bulging muscles.

Mandracore, too, wore armor, black leather studded with bits of steel. His face was recently scarred, the most prominent wound being a long, pink welt that ran from just above his right eye down through his cheek. Looking closely, Maq noticed his right eye did not move, and the pupil was glassy. He wore a heavy gold chain about his neck. A large charm in the shape of a closed fist dangled from it. She suspected it was a piece of jewelry taken from the merchant's treasure cave.

As the pirate chieftain approached, his billowing red cape carefully covered his right arm, and he walked with a discernible limp. She was concerned he hid a weapon, so she brushed in front of Lendle and put her hand on the hilt of her short sword. Koraf growled deeply, the sound rumbling in his thick throat.

"You'd fight me here?" Mandracore pronounced, as he waved his left arm in an arc. Maq followed his gesture and noted shop owners looking out their windows and passersby pausing to watch. "Why, look, there's a city guard! A rare sight in Lacynos, to be sure. Maybe he'd look the other way, eh, Maquesta? Maybe he wouldn't see you run me through. Or maybe he'd see you draw your blade against this humble and respected visitor and throw you in jail-for a long time. Perhaps you'd end up in Lord Attat's dungeon. I hear he buys prisoners and puts them to work in the arena. I wonder how long you'd last there? Of course, you could ask your first mate. I hear he's a star among the lord's pit fighters."

"I left you for dead," Maquesta hissed.

"Ah, and you were very nearly correct, my dear," Mandracore replied silkily. "Bullsharks." He threw back his cape, revealing a stump where his right arm used to be. "If it hadn't been for my trusted ogre friends, the sharks would have eaten all of me. As it was, the beasts had to settle for a few of my sailors-and my sword arm. I was barely able to reach the Butcher , no thanks to you. During the entire voyage back here I burned with a rage I had never felt before. What you did to me was far more severe than what your father did years ago." The pirate snarled, the ale on his breath strong and pungent.

"We've been repairing the Butcher for days, and with each sunrise I prayed I would see you again. Today, those prayers were answered when I saw your ship thunder into the harbor. If the Perechon were in any better shape than my own ship, I'd take it and leave you what's left of mine."

Mandracore took another step toward Maquesta, and she made a move to draw her blade. A small hand on her wrist stopped her. Lendle's eyes narrowed, and he shook his head, nodding toward the Lacynos guard.

Mandracore's not worth it, the gnome mouthed.

"You owe me Captain Kar-Thon," Mandracore sneered. "You've cost me my sword arm, some of my best sailors, and a considerable amount of coin. If I had stopped your efforts to retrieve whatever beast you were catching for Lord Attat, I would have gathered quite a tidy sum. So, my dear Maquesta, you will make good your debt. Do you understand? Maybe I will collect while you are in port, while what few authorities there are look the other way. Or maybe I will collect while you are on the open sea. But I guarantee you this, Captain Kar-Thon, as sure as the sun rises on the Blood Sea I will collect everything you owe me."

The ogres brushed by Maquesta, Koraf, and Lendle, the sweaty stench of their bodies filling the air and nearly making Maq gag. Turning to watch Mandracore's small procession, a shiver raced up Maquesta's spine.

"I should have made sure he was dead," she whispered. "Never leave your enemies with a breath in their lungs." Mandracore the Reaver had important friends in this port city. She knew she couldn't raise a hand against him here, though she suspected he could do what he liked to her and the Perechon with impunity.

"We have to leave Lacynos soon," she whispered to Lendle and Kof. "Mandracore's enemies have a way of disappearing, and it looks as if I just made the top of his list. He's probably at least a day away from having his mainmast repaired. I mean to be long gone before he can raise a single sail."

The gnome nodded and scurried after her, once more trying to keep up with her long, swift strides. Koraf took one last look at the harbor and at Mandracore's crippled pirate ship. Then he hurried to catch up.

As the trio neared Lord Attat's manor, Maquesta noticed the streets were quiet. No one was about in the few blocks surrounding the palace. Doors were closed; windows were shuttered. It was almost as if the neighbors were expecting misfortune. Gritting her teeth, she ignored the nervous feeling in her stomach, and strode to the main gate. A pair of burly minotaurs barred her way.

"I'm here to see Lord Attat," she barked. "He's expecting me."

The minotaurs glowered at her, and she returned their stare. "Let me inside now!" she fumed, her hand finding its way to the pommel of her sword. Still, they did not move. Furious, she barked a few words at them in their own language, words she had learned from Koraf.

Finally, the guards nodded to her, understanding her intent. They stepped aside, allowing her, Koraf, and the gnome to pass. Lendle nudged her hand as they entered the courtyard, pointing out the minotaurs watching them. Maquesta had never seen so many minotaurs milling about in one place. There were more today than after she and the others had broken out of Attat's dungeon. Each was armed, and they seemed to regard her with obvious interest. That Attat felt the need of this many guards to deal with her gave her a large dose of satisfaction.

She strode purposefully toward the main building where the doors opened for her, and she continued on her course-through the marble-floored hallways where innumerable treasures of art were hung, past the sitting room with its valuable stringed instruments, and into the minotaur lord's immense chamber.

Attat was sitting on his throne beneath the ki-rin skin on the wall, a cage resting in his lap. He was poking a thin-bladed knife at whatever was inside. The room was too long for Maquesta to make out all the details, though she could tell the hapless creature was gray, perhaps a squirrel or a large rat. The two imposing guards on either side of the minotaur lord stepped closer to their master. As she moved farther in, they gripped their massive spears. Once again, chained to the pillars were Attat's creatures-the great white bear, which growled angrily as she passed by; the griffon and hippogriff, still menacing each other, though the chains about their necks kept them from touching; and a few beasts she hadn't seen before. Among them was a thick reddish-brown snake with golden spots that had wrapped itself about its pillar. Maq guessed if it were uncoiled it would be at least twenty feet long. There was also a man with a hawk's head and with dark yellow claws for feet.

"A kenku," Lendle whispered, "A most unusual creature who dislikes elves and humans."

"And minotaurs now, I'll wager" Maquesta whispered back.

As she, Koraf, and the gnome padded forward, more of the columns came into view. One had chained to it a yellow-skinned ape with large, pink eyes. It must be nearly nine feet tall, she judged as she returned its gaze. The ape jumped back, revealing two more of Lord Attat's captives. Maquesta shuddered. Fritzen and Vartan were chained to the farthest pillar. From the looks of them, they'd been beaten. The half-ogre lifted his head when Maq approached and offered her a weak smile.