The Chronicles of Rapina, Chapters 23-26

The Jolly Roger

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[Rapina]023 A Queen Revealed
[Rapina]024 Southern Comfort
[Rapina]025 Reunions
[Rapina]026 The Jolly Roger


[Rapina]023 A Queen Revealed


Thane arrived nearly an hour after midnight two weeks
after he had left.  After bidding Mortancer Greel and
his skeletal horses and bearers goodbye, Thane allowed
his face beneath the concealing death mask he wore to
take on a less controlled expression.  He looked quite
pleased with himself.  He had accomplished many things.
As he walked down the stairs from the Cliff-top graves
of the former priests of Mortaebius he idly wondered if
he still had apprentices.  He moved the ebon slider on
his newly made mage light, and the light it put out
changed from red to white as the clear crystal was
revealed above the red one.  He noted that the gardens
were well weeded and that the new bean plants Rapina
had planted not long before he left were thriving.

As he walked down the stairs in the midst of his
skeletal guards and bearers he noted that the stairs
were as clean as he had ever seen them, another good
sign.  When he walked into the grand hall, he could
smell the delicious aroma of roast duck.  He continued
through the hall, stopping at a storage closet in his
chambers to deposit his "project."  Then he went on to
his laboratory with his skeletal guards and bearers to
drop off some of the supplies he had brought.  He then
went down to one of the storage rooms for more
skeletons.  While passing the storage room Rames used
as a gym, Thane heard movement and poked his head in.
Rames was stuffing a large canvas bag full of cattail
heads.

"Guardian Rames, how good it is to see you..." Thane
said.

"Alive?"  Rames asked.

"Whatever do you mean," Thane smiled.

"You left me with Captain Red Jack's red-hot wench,"
Rames said.

"Indeed.  Come along, we can walk and talk, I have an
enormous pile of supplies to bring down from the
gardens above the abode," Thane said.

"And you were counting on my sleeping with her," Rames
said.

"I was?" A smile pulled at Thane's lips.  "I do believe
you're beginning to catch on to the way I think."

"Who me?  I had no idea, I'm just a soldier.  I do what
I'm told.  I was in the bath with Rapina the day after
you left and she filled me in."

"Oh she did, did she? And what did she say?" Thane
asked.

"She said you were the chess master, and you had sent
me, your knight, to her square to determine if she was
a pawn or a queen. If she was a queen, I was to
determine what color she was, black or white.  She said
you hated not knowing the nature of all the pieces on
your chess board."

Thane chuckled, "You know, the longer that girl is with
us, the more I like her.  I do hope you weren't
thinking you could keep her all to yourself."

"I expect she's not a one man woman," Rames said.

"No, not according to Red Jack.  He maintained she
was... red hot." Thane smiled.

"Gods, that's for sure," Rames said.

"I need to know about her powers.  What did you find
out?" Thane asked.

"She is no pawn, that's for sure," Rames said. "The day
after you left I changed our schedule so that we had
arms practice right after the time our magic lesson
would normally end.  I had picked some blackberries and
had Rapina bake pies during some of the time we'd
normally have had our lesson, then we went up and I
tested her skills at arms."

"How were they?" Thane asked.

"Avengene never turned a recruit out of basic who was
any better. There's plenty I can teach her, but she's
got the basics more than covered, and she knows a few
tricks even I haven't seen.  We sparred for hours.
She's got real fighting stamina.  We both smelled
pretty bad after that, and Rapina said we needed a
bath, but I didn't want to let the pie get any colder,
so Rapina suggested we eat the pie _in_ the bath.  What
man could refuse that offer?"

Thane raised an eyebrow.  By this time the necromancer
and his entourage had made it to the cliff-top gardens
and Thane gave the many skeletons orders to pick up the
supplies he and Mortancer Greel had brought in.
"There, go ahead Rames, I am listening."

"Well, we had some pie and one thing led to another.  I
tell you, I have been with a few women in my day.
Soldiers can't afford to be too picky.  I've never
blasted like that - incredibly long and intense, and
when I was done, I didn't loose my lust.  I was shaking
from fatigue, but I wanted her.  I'd have taken her
again right then and there soon as I could catch my
breath, but she jumped out of the tub and toweled off.
While she was toweling, she snapped something about
celibacy and apologized to me.  She said she had never
had a problem controlling herself before, but her
control had slipped and I was going to be bushed the
next day."

Thane raised an eyebrow.  By this time, the entourage
had arrived back at the storage room and Thane gave
them orders to set things down.  Thane waved his finger
in a small circle for Rames to continue.

"I chased her, but she had a head start and got to her
room and wedged the door with her chair just before I
got there.  Let me tell you, I was seriously thinking
about breaking the door down, but then I realized I was
thinking with something other than my head.  It took me
a few hours of reading to settle down, and then I went
to sleep.  It wasn't even 12 hours that I had been
awake that day with Rapina, but I still overslept past
the time I'd normally have gotten up the next day.  I
woke up about 18 hours after going to sleep, and I was
beat to shit the whole day.  I got her two days later
though, Rames grinned saltily.  After that first slip,
she's been a lot better. She tires a man out, but no
more so than a day's march, and she's a hell of a lot
more fun than a day's march." Rames grinned like a
pirate.

Thane thrummed his fingers on his lips as he digested
what he had just heard.  "Well then, it appears
Mortaebius has blessed us with a most unusual
companion.  Was that roast duck I smelled?"

"Yes, I took Rapina duck-hunting earlier today. She
thought you might appreciate a good welcome-home meal
when you arrived," Rames said.

"That's very considerate of her.  How's her archery?"
Thane asked.

"She's a fair shot.  She has a bit of a strength
disadvantage compared to some of the young men I've
worked with, but she judges her shots well, and my
guess is she could wield a stronger bow than the one
she has.  She has been using that one since her first
day in pirate basic.  She brought down one of the two
ducks we'll be eating."

"Two ducks?  It sounds like quite a feast she has
planned.  That suits me fine.  I am sure you will want
to know something about my trip, and though I cannot
tell you a great deal, I can tell you something.  That
and a long meal will give us time to start discussing
your readings."

Shortly after Thane and Rames sat down, Rapina and her
skeletal servants brought out the meal.  Rapina removed
her apron, hung it on a skeleton and sat down.

"Good to see you Guardian Thane, how did the trip go?"
Rapina said.

"Marvelous, most productive, Rapina.  I had quite a
time. Each evening we dined with a different
distinguished priest of the Order in a different city.
Amusingly, if they were of the Shroud, we wore illusion
robes and maskes so that we could not recognize one
another.  Thus if we are ever interrogated, there is no
chance of our revealing one another.   I learned many
things, my faith was deepened and Mortaebius ushered me
deeper into the fold.  In addition, some of the members
of the order were wizards as well and the conversations
we had has deepened my grasp of magic.

As of now there are many more places I can go with my
graveyard mists spell than Rosehaven or Turnmoor.  I
was also able to obtain some supplies that pertain to
some advanced animations that I have always wanted to
try but could never afford.  Rames and I will be
setting up many of the currently empty laboratory rooms
and soon you shall see the fruits of my labors.
Thankfully I saved back many of the bodies of the
pirates, especially the more notably evil ones, and
they shall be perfect for the advanced animation I will
be attempting."

Thane smiled within himself.  It was true he had dined
in many cities. The first night he had worn a shroud
with an illusory death mask and had been initiated as a
necromancer of Mortaebius, a Mortancer.  He was now
Mortancer Ashe.  At the initiation he had secured many
invitations and had visited the temples and homes of
several of the Mortancers of Mortaebius. For a group of
people who must hide their faces from one anther, and
the exact locations of their abodes, they were quite
supportive and made him feel most welcome.  He had
learned who specialized in which of the advanced
animations and who might need those that he had chosen
for his specialty.  He had spent most of his time with
Mortancer Ember who had taught him the advanced
animation he had settled on as the best one for his
current situation.  Given what had transpired while he
was away, he was now encouraged that his decision had
been doubly wise.
--

[Rapina]024 Southern Comfort


Rapina's sixteenth birthday had passed in August
without celebration during her first few weeks with
Thane.  She really had not thought to mention it.
August and the summer were long gone now.  The bean
plants Rapina had put in, put out only one crop of
green beans before the autumn frosts hit.  Ironically,
it was only with the help of Kent's searches of the
isle at dawn and dusk that Rapina had been able to
locate and lay in a supply of contraceptive herbs
before the cold destroyed them. Rapina could not
complain about how long the weather had stayed mild in
the fall, but if Thane's abode had been cold before,
the chill had deepened. Now there was no relief to be
had by going up on the clifftops.  A pervasive chill
began to settle into Rapina's bones; her only respite
from it was when she cooked meals in the kitchen.

Ever since Thane returned from his trip he and Rames
had been working very hard.  Thane had supplies stacked
both in a storage room and in the lab, and Rames was
supervising the building of a secret laboratory wing.
At least it was going to be secret once it was done.
Thane had cut the secret door using magic, and one
could hardly see the crack when it was closed, even
from very close up. Rapina could faintly hear the picks
and chisels of a multitude of skeletons in spite of the
distance to the area behind the regular lab.  They were
working all day and all night.

It had been her duty to unpack a hoard of regular
laboratory furnishings. She was astounded at the money
Thane must have spent - thousands of gold pieces.  His
laboratory went from the meager set-up of an
impoverished herbalist to the state-of-the-art
laboratory of a court wizard of a wealthy nobleman.  He
was even installing plumbing!  Rapina assumed that
Thane was funding his laboratory expansion with Red
Jack's chest of gems.

Meanwhile Thane himself had set aside one of the old
laboratory rooms as a temporary facility for his
advanced animations.  He still spent a fair amount of
time studying, but now he seemed to be doing quite a
bit of praying and meditating in his chapel to create
some sort of resinous goo in his font.  Beyond that, he
had a stone-bending spell that he was using to cut
semi-cylindrical alcoves into the walls of the great
hall. The radius of each alcove was about three feet.
Rapina had asked him about the reason for the alcoves,
but the response of Thane had been for her to wait and
see.

Rapina simply took care of the housework and read as
many books as she could as fast as she could.  She
brought sparkles of pride to Thane's serious visage
every time she showed her mental agility and rapidly
expanding knowledge of magic.  She was the acknowledged
star of the magical discussions Thane held with his
apprentices each afternoon after breakfast, although
she never tried to show off.

To his credit, Rames did not seem to mind. When he
needed help understanding something, he went to Rapina
first to see if she could help him work out a solution.
Thane was nearly always too busy to be bothered.  Thane
had encouraged Rames to continue weapons practice after
the magic lesson at the beginning of every weekday.
Thus Rapina had less time each day, but now that she
knew how to handle her skeletal servants and was no
longer celibate, she was sharper than ever, and much
happier. With the daily workouts, her body remained as
strong and capable as it had been in the best days of
her training under the pirates.

About three weeks after Thane arrived home from his
trip, Rapina was putting dinner on the table in the
great hall.  For some reason, Thane liked to eat there
instead of the kitchen now that he had servants. Rapina
would have preferred the kitchen.  It was warmer
because of the cook stove.  The table in the great hall
was much too long for the three residents of the isle.
Thane sat at the head end closest to the kitchen while
Rapina and Rames sat on either side of the table near
him.  Rames aready sat at his seat looking hungry.

Rapina smiled at Guardian Rames.  He was a killer like
the pirates, but she knew his best side.  He had
continued to improve her skill with the rapier and was
now teaching her how to defend herself without weapons.
Rapina smirked to herself.  She suspected that half the
reason Rames was teaching her unarmed combat was so he
could touch her more often.  He usually made love to
her every other day.  She would have enjoyed having him
more often, but she would not allow him to take her two
days in a row.  Her control was better now that she was
no longer celibate but, ironically, in Thane's
household she thought it wise to underscore the fact
that she was not a normal woman.  It was exactly the
opposite of what she had needed to do with the pirates.
Besides, Rames needed his rest or he might loose his
vigor, and she very much enjoyed his vigor.

At that moment, Guardian Thane appeared from the door
to the parlor looking very pleased with himself.  One
of his skeletons set a cylinder of ceramic material
into the alcove in the West wall across from the end of
the table where the living residents of the isle sat to
eat.  Thane took off the glove with the fingertips cut
out that he'd taken to wearing on his right hand when
the weather turned cold.  Both Rapina and Rames had
taken similar measures. The cold was a miserable thing
that seeped into a person's bones.  Rapina felt sorry
for Rames.  He did not get to work in the kitchen.

Thane folded the side of the rug that the long table
sat on over on itself.  "I can tell you are both cold.
This place is even more miserable in the winter than it
is in the summer, but we can now truly give thanks to
our glorious god Mortaebius for deliverance.  I was
able to come across the processes for some advanced
animations some time ago, but up until recently, I had
been unable to afford to try them.  In addition, the
animation I selected required that the dead man be
evil.  It rests on the fact that such men go to the
lower planes where pits of fire abound to torment them.
I could not be sure I had good subjects in that regard
until I bested Red Jack and his men," Thane smiled.

"I'm sure you will both appreciate the advanced
animation I settled on to try first.  With a flourish
of Thane's hand, his skeletons opened the door to the
parlor, and the door from the parlor to the main spiral
stair of the abode.  There was the familiar ticking of
bone on stone as a skeleton double-timed it through the
parlor and burst into the great hall.

"Stand in that alcove atop the ceramic base," Thane
ordered in a self-satisfied voice.

Rapina gaped.  The skeleton was on fire. Red, yellow
and orange flames bathed the skeleton from the tip of
its boney toes to the top of its head.  The fire was
exceptionally hot yet smokeless.

"That's astonishing Guardian Thane, I never knew such a
thing was possible," Rames said.

"Believe it Guardian Rames, the very flames of the
hells pulled through the link between this man's bones
and his tormented spirit.  The best part is that when
the skeleton is destroyed, it explodes, turning the
grave-robbing fools who would fight such a monster into
human roasts.  The flaming skeletons are quite a bit
more work than even my double-animated skeletons. Take
heart, however, I can now take advantage of the richly
deserved torment of these men to end the torment that
winter throws at my aging bones each year.  It will be
a great relief, and I am sure you will agree it is a
better improvement even than the plumbing we are
installing in the lab.  We will all benefit, and we can
get Rapina some more flattering clothing rather than
having her wandering around here cowled up in fashions
gleaned from the sea chests of the pirates."

"Do not get too attached to these particular flaming
skeletons, however.  I will be forfeiting seven of them
in exchange for an advanced animation that I am not
skilled enough to create.  Have no fear, however.  The
exchange is not to be made until I have sufficient
additional flaming skeletons to keep the abode at least
minimally warm.  I have no desire to suffer another
winter of bone-numbing cold.  I have found I work much
more efficiently when the abode is warm."

Rapina idly wondered what horror would be worth seven
flaming skeletons.

From then on, Thane produced about two flaming
skeletons every two weeks, and in a month there were
four more of them, plus one Thane claimed was a failed
experiment at expediting their creation. Rapina
suspected it was actually Thane's first try done when
he was away training and hidden away until later.  The
fires of this particular skeleton were confined only to
its chest cavity and skull, and they tended to be bluer
and to produce less heat.  This one served as a heater
for Thane's personal suite of rooms.  The others were
scattered through the upper areas of the abode making
it much warmer.  Two stood in the great hall, now the
warmest room in the house.

Rapina's waking hours settled into a routine.  In the
"morning" actually the afternoon, she got up before the
others then made and served breakfast.  Over breakfast,
Thane usually started informal discussion about
previously assigned readings.  Following breakfast
Rapina cleared away the dishes, then Thane delivered a
two-hour lesson on magic, sometimes making use of a
blackboard on wheels that he had purchased for that
purpose. After the magic lesson, Guardian Rames held
arms practice for nearly another two hours.  Following
arms practice, Rapina bathed, often with Rames, then
she rushed up to fix lunch.  After lunch she did dishes
and housework, interspersing as much reading as she
could while supervising her skeletons.  Then it was
time to fix dinner and afterwards supervise the
skeletons doing of the dishes. Once the dishes were
done and the kitchen cleaned up, Rapina was free to
study and shortly after that it was time for bed.

On the weekends, Rapina did meals but no other
housework. Saturdays Thane gave an alchemy lesson and
lab work.  Sundays one of the priests would do a short
service to Mortaebius and then Rapina could study or
goof off.  It was a full schedule but on days when
Guardian Rames made love to her, Rapina found she could
do just fine on less than her normal allotment of
sleep.  It was during these times that she devoured
extracurricular magic books, sometimes with Rames sound
asleep beside her.

In addition to the secret necromantic laboratory wing,
Thane and Rames built a secret passageway that opened
behind the fireplace in the great hall. It led to a
room for hiding the flaming skeletons in case of guests
not of the Order of the Shroud. Thane also purchased
cressets on brass stands that would fit where the
skeletons normally stood to fill the alcoves with some
likely looking item when the flaming skeletons were
secreted away.  Rapina's job of doing the housework was
somewhat easier in the winter because there was no
garden.  Instead Rapina organized Thane's non-
necromantic laboratory rooms.

It was a Sunday a little past the middle of winter, and
in spite of her busy schedule, Rapina was a little
bored.  She was now quite adept at her job and had even
more free time to read magic books, but today she was
within the spar of rock directly above the abode. The
works for the second of Thane's wicker elevators were
housed in a room somewhere within the stone below her.
Below that was the main circular stair that went down
from the cliff top gardens to the laboratory and
residence level and then down to the storage and jail
level.  Rapina's gardens were now nestled under a
blanket of snow.

Above her in a cramped little secret room with eight
cracks, each looking out in one of the eight compass
directions, were the eight skeletons who watched the
isle and the waters of grand lake for signs of humans.
If they spied anyone, they pulled the rope that rung
one of the eight warning gongs that hung side by side
down in the abode.  The room in which Rapina stood was
an observation room with large, illusion-shrouded
windows looking out in each of the four cardinal
directions.  Thane had recently installed a very large
telescope on a heavy base in this room so that he could
keep a better eye on the isle and the lake.  Rapina
peered through the eyepiece.  Ice choked the lake at
this time of year, and added to the cloistered feeling
of the isle.  She turned the telescope and looked to
the Northeast.  She could see the area Rames had
prepared for a vineyard, but it was all covered with
snow.

Rapina sighed.  She missed Drake and Doanthalas and she
had no idea what had become of them.  Kent and Edgar
were now hideous ghouls, and Kent was hugely bloated.
Rapina did not want to know how Thane scared up the
bodies to feed his prized ghoul.  She knew that at
least some of what fed him were the bodies of criminals
shipped to the isle for burial but, up until recently,
there had been no such shipments.  Now constable Olsen
and deputy Barns sometimes did their winter executions
and sledded out over the ice covering the lake to
deliver the bodies of the dead.  Mortician Hagston
often did likewise with funereal parties, as winter was
a popular time to die.

Unfortunately, Rapina always wound up cloistered in
alternative quarters when the isle had visitors.  She
made meals and laid them out for the guests but was
then to disappear and eat elsewhere.  Also during these
times Thane burned oil in the cressets because he could
not let guests see the flaming skeletons.  He and Rames
were already planning a heating system that made use of
ducts under the floors with flaming skeletons heating
the air for the ducts.  To his credit, Thane was very
careful about not letting people from the area see
Rapina's face if it could be avoided.  The law said he
had Rapina for seven years, but the Avengenes were
powerful nobles, and Thane did not want to tempt fate
by letting them know he had the woman they sought for
killing their son.

Rapina's magical studies were going well, and there was
no question that she was Thane's star pupil.  Rames was
an intelligent man, but he lacked some of Rapina's
acuity and her uncanny memory. That and he tended also
to think like a warrior, something Thane was constantly
chuckling about.  Rapina was doing so well that Thane
had upped the ante.  He was now very seriously teaching
her deportment.  He had said that if she were going to
specialize in charm and sex-based magics, she would
need to learn to resemble a member of the upper class.
He believed that charming a pauper was seldom of use,
but charming a nobleman could be most beneficial.

Rapina knew that the necromancer never acted without
reason.  She wondered if there were more specific
reasons he was teaching her deportment.  Rapina
fingered the mage light pendant Thane had given her.
Rames had an identical light, as did Thane.  It was a
tiny rod made of obsidian, clear crystal and red
crystal with a polished silver slider that had been
chemically tarnished to a dull gray on the outside.
Depending on where the slider was positioned, the
device emitted white, red or no light depending on
which layers of the rod were exposed.  Flashes of light
could be used to signal others, and the red light was
useful in that it did not hamper night vision. Rapina
now wore the light on a silver chain that reminded her
of the one that had once held the dreamstone.  All of
her things were gone now.  Thane had insisted she get
rid of everything that tied her to her past.  She
regretted doing it, but she knew he was right.  Her
master could be cold, calculating and harsh, but his
mind was as sharp as a quill.

Rapina often helped Rames with his studies, and the
warrior in turn cheered her up when she was bored or
upset, made love to her, and took her on little outings
around the isle during the weekends.  Sometimes they
would go slide around on the frozen pond in the valley
of the dead or go hunting, ice fishing or hiking.
Rapina smiled.  Rames did his best to keep the winter
from being overly oppressive, but as the wind whistled
though the natural tower wherein Rapina stood, she
could not help feeling as though she were in exile from
humanity.  To his credit, Thane had designed and gifted
her three winter dresses, a cloak, shoes and
accessories befitting a noblewoman.  In addition, he
and Rames had seen to it that she had seven different
changes of silk and satin lingerie.  They had dropped
the hint that Rapina could wear the lingerie in the
rather too warm skeleton-heated great hall while
reading.  Just because she enjoyed the tickle of the
men's lust, Rapina sometimes did just that.

Thane was in great spirits of late, for his macabre
animations - the flaming skeletons - were keeping the
main area of the abode quite warm, something the
middle-aged man seemed to gloat over to no end.  Rapina
remembered the pervasive, bone-numbing cold they had
experienced before Thane's advanced animations had
remedied the problem.  She did not know how many full
winters Thane had spent huddled around the cook stove
in his kitchen, but the number was large enough, no
doubt.  She could not blame him for gloating now that
he could relax in warmth and comfort.  A chill wind
blew though Rapina's cloak, and she decided to descend
the ladder and return to the staircase and to the warm
abode.  The sun was setting, and She had to make
"lunch."

Thane emerged from his chambers looking pleased with
himself and sat down as Rapina finished setting "lunch"
out.  When both she and Rames were situated, Thane made
his announcement.

"You both look rather glum."  Thane smiled, giving his
statement time to sink in."

"It's the winter, Guardian Thane, it gets to you after
a while, even though the abode is much more comfortable
with your new animations."

Rapina nodded in agreement.

"I do believe you are right, but my animations are not
the only new magics I have learned.  As you have seen,
I have left you several times to visit other priests of
Mortaebius and conduct various business.  Having the
graveyard mists spell gives me new freedom, and my
visit, last night, with the priests of Mortaebius has
brought grave news.  I have learned that the church of
the vindicator is once again on the move ravaging our
temples in the South of Avengene's domain with a new,
more powerful group of "bandits."  Our sources indicate
that these "bandits" are unusually well trained and may
actually be loyalist troops of Avengene.  Since his
campaigns in the mountains to the North grind to a
virtual halt in the winter, this theory would seem to
have some merit.  The Marquis of Avengene would have
some troops to spare in the dead of winter."

"Rather than fight a loosing battle within a province
wherein the Lord is a zealous supporter of the
vindicator, our priests are fleeing out of Avengene,
primarily to the South.  Already one of our temples
South of Avengene in the barony of Bristol has been
hit, and once the vindicator's forces consolidate their
holdings inside Avengene, It is certain they will more
often strike in the baronies surrounding Avengene.  The
Order of the Shroud is attempting to protect the
interests of the Church.  Fresh corpses, weapons, armor
and gold are badly needed.  I have already given up the
zombies I made of the pirate recruits.  I was able to
keep the veterans only because I argued that they were
too valuable for advanced animations to be wasted as
mere cannon fodder."

"One other thing you should know, Rapina, Captain Red
Jack escaped execution this summer when a few of his
loyal men started fires and a riot at his would-be
execution ceremony in the square of Turnmoor.  In the
confusion, his men spirited the Captain to safety."

Rapina could not help smiling, "really?"

"Indeed. Since then, the city has raised an astonishing
sum.  There were several nobles in the crowd to watch
the execution, and one of them was even killed.  Thus
Red Jack's bounty has more than tripled and the sums on
the heads of his few men, now including your young
friend Drake, are quite considerable.  The order has
requested that, since I have actually seen and talked
with Red Jack, and since I have some of his personal
effects, I might easily locate him using my viewing
pool.  I have been able to do so.  The original plan
was to catch him and turn his body in for the bounty.
Unlike the previous price on his head, the amount given
for him alive is not higher than that given for him
dead.  As a matter of fact, his wanted poster does not
even say, 'Wanted dead or alive,' It just says, 'Wanted
dead.'  His bounty would help fund the defense of our
temples." Thane paused dramatically.

Rapina grimaced.

"However, I suggested an alternative plan to the order
that I think may be more useful to us in the long run.
As you know, the church of Mortaebius is fairly
wealthy.  The mortuary business is a good one.   We
could hire mercenaries, but they do not have nearly the
fear value that our undead troops have, and we are now
faced with a well-trained foe that might easily mow
down mercenaries if they had their wits about them.
The Order is yet undecided pending your advice, Rapina.
The have set a date for a hearing.  At that time,
someone will come to pick you up.  He will appear to be
death.  You will accompany him to a meeting where you
are to tell those assembled whether you think it
possible to convince Red Jack that my plan is to his
benefit," Thane said.

"What is your plan?" Rapina asked.

"Thane smiled the smile of the chess master.  "Red
Jack's bounty has grown truly substantial.  It is now
high enough that wizards other than myself, especially
lesser wizards and those greater wizards who regularly
do community service work will be attracted to the job
of locating Red Jack.  I found him in a matter of
hours.  I have mentioned that I had certain advantages,
but although I am now officially a wizard, I am at the
very lowest level of true wizardry.   Others might just
as well locate him without such advantages.  He and his
ships are in need of magical protection, protection
that will be proof against location and viewing via
wizardry.  I personally am not powerful enough to
provide this protection, however, the Order of the
Shroud is more than able to do so, for a price."

"What's the price?" Rapina asked uneasily.

"That is the amusing detail of my plan.  It will cost
something Red Jack would normally throw away.  It is
well known that he and his men are cold-blooded
killers, and the church of Mortaebius is in grave need
of a steady supply of corpses.  Ironically, although
our church deals with corpses every day, we seldom deal
with many corpses in one place at one time.  Moreover
most of our priests have no idea what the order of the
Shroud would want with corpses, thus we have trouble
getting them unless we steal them from our own
graveyards.  We could force our priests to give them
up, but they do have loyalty to their clients and the
Order has traditionally not resorted to such measures
save under the direst of circumstances.  It makes too
many waves within the church.  The order has already
spent those corpses easily available in this conflict
in Avengene.  If Red Jack will provide us with the dead
from his raids, we will protect him from magical spies.
He must still beware of normal spies, however.  What do
you think?"

Rapina grimaced, "It sounds like you are making him an
offer he can't refuse.  "Work with us or we turn you
in."

Thane smiled evilly, "Indeed, however the offer is not
without benefit to Red Jack, even if it does carry the
probability of dire consequences should he refuse it.
Besides, if he works with us, I suspect he will want us
to make certain concessions, and we may be willing to
bargain with him, at least to some small degree.
Currently he is in a vulnerable position while he tries
to rebuild his fleet.  I believe I have two of his
longships sunk in my cove."

Rapina smiled sourly.

"The plot is beautiful save for one small detail,"
Thane said.

"What's that?" Rapina asked.

"You, my dear.  We will need you to help with the
negotiations, but the pirates know you, and I am sure
that unadulterated stories of Red Jack's defeat on this
isle may have leaked to his new men.  If one of Jack's
men is captured and tells the authorities that you have
been visiting the pirates it could prove dangerous to
me. The authorities may realize that you are supposed
to be on indenture to me, and that if you are working
with the pirates, then I must also be working with
them."

"Oh, is there any way around that?" Rapina asked.

"Indeed I believe there is.  I have been working on a
solution that will allow me to keep my good name for a
little longer.  Unfortunately, in the end, the ultimate
price of fighting Avengene's bands of temple-destroying
outlaws seems to be turning outlaw myself.   In spite
of the slaughter of many of our brethren, the duke does
not wish to intervene.  Holy wars are notoriously
messy.   The Order Of the Shroud is content to let the
legitimate face of our church attempt to fight
Avengene's lawlessness through legal channels.  At the
same time, we of the shroud must counter the immediate
threat by channeling the energies of Mortaebius to
allow our god to enlist the power of the dead to his
cause.  I will hold onto my good name for as long as
possible, but I realize this war will not be kind to
it.  Since you are the most obvious link between
lawlessness and me, you must appear to sever the tie
between us, and I have been planning towards that end.
Tonight we must switch to a diurnal schedule and
journey to Granville."

Rapina cleaned up after "lunch," then supervised her
skeletons while doing her assigned readings and some
extra reading as well.  Meanwhile Thane was busy in the
laboratory with a "project."  After dinner, which in
Thane's abode took place a couple hours before dawn,
Thane began to explain his plan.

"Very well, we must first make a sled trip across the
frozen lake, but you will not need to walk.   I claimed
in my pigeon message to Hagston that you had an
intolerable case of the winter glums and you were as
snappy as the frosts.  I wrote that I thought being
around people might help you. We are so isolated here.
I had Mortican Hagston send me the hearse sled and a
pair of horses just yesterday.  A couple of locals
brought it and then walked back.  I am far too wealthy
to be walking eighteen miles to Granville.  Before we
stage our event, we will also be using some boxed
skeletons I will be bringing to create and consecrating
a small, secret graveyard in a secluded area of town.
That way I may never have to make that walk again."
Thane smiled.

Rapina was unused to being up all day, but she enjoyed
the trip West across the ice, and then South overland.
Guardian Thane was a brilliant conversationalist when
it came to magic, and Rapina enjoyed just listening to
him speak.

Her role in town was simple.  She walked around acting
glum and snappy while Thane tried to cheer her up.  The
second night there Thane took Constable Olsen, Deputy
Barns, and a fat merchant seaman named Captain Hogs to
dinner.  It was on the way out of the restaurant that
the plot went into action.

"Stern! Stern! Stern!  Right from wrong! right from
wrong!  That's all I ever get from you Guardian Thane!
Damn it why do you have to be so proper?  You could
have raped me a dozen times and I would have welcomed
it, but you are so DAMNED PROPER!   I can't stand it!"
Rapina screamed.

"Serina, you must understa..." Thane started.

As all eyes shifted to Guardian Thane, Rapina suddenly
turned and snatched Barnses' short sword out of its
sheath.   She slashed the hamstrings of Constable
Olsen's left leg as she kicked deputy Barnes off his
feet, and then she took off at a dead run into the
alley.

Serina!  Serina! Come back!  Thane bumbled into Barns
as he got back up, tripping over the man in his haste
to go after "Serina" and sending them both back onto
the cobbles, thus giving Rapina an even better head
start.

Oh goodness, Serina!  Thane chased after the deputy
while the fat sea captain took a different direction.
Constable Olsen limped a few paces and then held his
bleeding leg.

Thane was making plenty of noise calling to her as he
chased the deputy.  This gave Rapina a very good idea
of where they were.  She jumped a stone fence and hid
as they ran past, then changed directions and headed
for the hotel carriage house at a run.  It was a lucky
thing she was in such good shape because she had just
finished saddling the fastest-looking horse she could
find when Captain Hogs burst into the stable, drawing
his rapier.  With her luck he was probably a fine
swordsman as well as a genius who realized she would
run for a stable, Rapina grimaced.  She really did not
have time for this.  While his words of warning
concerning his mastery of the Rapier were still on his
lips, she locked blades with him, spun and flattened
him with a roundhouse kick to the back of the head.

Captain Hogs had been about to warn the girl that she
was no match for his skill at arms when someone clubbed
him in the back of the head and he went out like a
light.

"Thank you Guardian Rames," Rapina thought as she
considered anew the reasons why Rames had given her so
many unarmed combat lessons.  She snatched the
Captain's rapier, mounted the horse and galloped out of
town before the hobbled constable could raise the
alarm.  About ten minutes later she heard the baying of
the hounds.  She stopped and took a package of herbs
from within her dress, leaned out from her mount and
carefully sprinkled the herbs on her path.  "That
should fix the dogs," Rapina smiled.

She resumed her night ride moving far faster than most
would have dared. Thane had fortified her vision with a
spell that he cast on her just before meeting the
others for dinner.  After sprinkling the herbs she
trotted her horse down to the banks of the River
Augustana.  The hounds were less than ten minutes away.
The original plan had been for her to dismount and pick
her way carefully across the river, but there was not
time for that.  She stayed on the horse and kept her
eyes peeled, going around any area that looked as if it
might be a thin spot in the ice.  On the other side she
breathed a sigh of relief but staid on the ice until
she made it to the first creek.  She turned just in
time to be sure her pursuers would not see her.  The
hounds were getting closer, but they were still on the
wrong side of the river and had yet to encounter her
little surprise.  She trotted South up the creek and
into the forest, and then turned and rode West,
paralleling the river.

She was pretty sure she had passed over five creeks
that went North towards the river, but when she
followed the creek South for two miles, she did not
find the ancient burial ground that was supposed to be
there.   She might have mistaken a long puddle for a
creek and not gone far enough, or she might have
mistaken a creek for a snow filled gully and gone too
far. She decided she must not have gone far enough and
continued to the next creek, but after having gone both
south and north along the creek, she did not find what
she was looking for there either.  Damn!  She headed
East back the way she had come, though she was South of
her original trail.  By the time she went by the next
creek, It was getting dangerously close to dawn and her
vision spell had run out.

She fished the mage-light pendant Thane had given her
from between her breasts and put it outside her cloak
with the red crystal exposed.  Then she heard the
hounds, fewer than there had been in the beginning, but
they were close, certainly on this side of the river.
She doused her light and walked her horse to cover.
The hounds passed, they seemed to be following her old
trail.  They would go to the next creek, then come
back.  Rapina sprinkled another packet of herbs on her
trail and then urged her mount Eastward in the
darkness.  She used her light whenever she rode into a
dip to determine if it was the creek bed she was
looking for.

When at last she found the creek, she could hear a
single hound.  It had turned and was coming Eastwards.
Assuming she had found the right creek, was she North
or South of the burial grounds?   She saw a red light
to the South and quickened her pace, hastily dumping a
third packet of herbs in the trail behind her.  As she
rode she placed her hand over her own light then
removed it to make it flash a few times.  It had to be
Thane, but before she made it to him, his light died.
Mists rose and blotted out his image.  She could hear a
rasping voice chanting a spell.  It didn't sound like
Thane at all, but she had no other option.  She
galloped up, chanting a prayer to Mortaebius under her
breath as was proper when Thane was casting the
graveyard mists spell, and then reached down into the
mists and found a man's shoulder.

"Hail Moraebius champion of the dead, may I show no
fear before thy curtain, may I cross into thy realm
with my head held high, and may I bolster thy cause
before I die," Rapina intoned.

The mists blotted out the forest night, and muffled the
sounds of the approaching hounds to nothing.  Rapina
gasped with relief as the mists cleared slightly and
she was in the clifftop gardens of the abode.  She felt
the horse lurch forward as Thane slapped its rump.  She
heard garments dropping to the ground, and the rasping
voice turned into Thane's, yet never fully stopped its
chanting.  Rapina held her hand against her breast and
said a silent prayer to Mortaebius as she realized she
could see the rosy hues of dawn brightening the skies
on the Eastern horizon.  The mists thickened, and then
cleared; thankfully Thane was gone.  He had returned to
Granville to play the part of the bereaved guardian of
Serina who had never left his hotel room.

Rames smiled from the doorway to the abode and then
walked out to collect the garments Thane had dropped.
"I'd say that was a little tight.  I sure hope he made
it back to Granville okay."

Rapina dismounted and embraced the soldier-priest.  She
held him for a while, and then they went into the abode
and she recounted the night's events to him as they
cooked a meal in the kitchen together.

Rames shook his head, "Too bad you couldn't get by that
outlaw past, but at least you'll be able to help your
old outlaw friends."

"And the church of Mortaebius."

"Heheh, and the church.  I'll bet Thane was figuring
you took off on him towards the dawn there."

"Let him think what he wants.  Rooting around in the
dark trying to count frozen creeks correctly is harder
in reality than it is on paper.  If it weren't for
snow-filled gullies and long puddles I'd probably have
been fine.  I'm sure glad I made it.  My dark vision
ran out on me before I found Thane.  If he hadn't had
his red light open I would never have seen him and made
it to the burial ground in time.  The hounds were
coming up on us too.  I don't think the hunters were
close enough to see anything though, and my trail would
have seemed to go in circles, because it did.  I wonder
what we should do with the horse?"

"Rames laughed, "You were supposed to leave her at the
ancient burial ground."

"I barely made it to Thane as it was.  There was no
time to dismount and get reacquainted.  Actually with
the hounds coming up, I probably did the right thing."

"Yes, I think you did.  I'll hide the horse in the
interior of the island.  There are a few meadows in the
forest.  I'll build her a wind break and keep her fed
from our meager stores of grain.  When Thane returns,
he can ship her back to the burial ground, and she will
probably wander back to Granville from there on her
own," Rames said.

"I don't know how Thane found that burial place.  The
locals are horribly superstitious about burying their
dead only on land surrounded by water," Rapina said.

That old burial ground is little more than a monolith
in the forest.  I don't think they know the ancients
shucked their bodies there.  In a way our keeping the
horse a while longer will help make it seem like you
got farther away.  Assuming she returns home, the
constable will have to estimate you rode her quite a
while before you gave her up.  We have to hide you as
well.  We set up a place for you in the secret passages
beneath the tombs.  Thane wants you to hide out there
until he has come back and any visitors have left."

"Ugh, I hope you included a stack of books," Rapina
said.
---------------------

A few days later Rapina was able to return to the abode

"Welcome home, Rapina," Thane said.

"Thank you Guardian Thane." Rapina smiled.

Guardian Rames has filled me in on the happenings
during your night ride.  That night I said I was tired
and returned to the hotel after the chase had begun.  I
waited a couple hours there and tried to get some
sleep.  It was lucky I did, because Barnes returned
after about an hour and asked for an article of
clothing of yours to put a new pack of hounds on your
scent.  I gave him what he wanted and appeared to
return to bed.  Not long after that, I left the hotel
under cover of illusion.  I went to the unmarked
graveyard we had created in town during our first
evening in Granville and transported to the burial
ground.  The hounds were disconcerting, but I decided
to stay.  I gathered the shadows around me.  When at
last I saw you, I lit my light until your signal told
me you were heading my way.  Since there was still a
hound approaching, I doused the light and began casting
the graveyard mists spell.

After bringing you here, I transported back to our
Granville graveyard and then I snuck back to the hotel.
I took a short nap and got up for breakfast at the
hotel.  That afternoon I located Deputy Barnes who had
slept in after his nighttime hunt.  He recounted his
version of the story.  Your first packet of herbs took
out his entire pack of hounds, but he returned to town
to get some other dogs owned by a local hunter.  After
that he kept a couple dogs back, and he was very glad
he did so because your second packet destroyed the
scenting ability of all but two remaining hounds.  He
believed he saw a red light for a moment, but he cannot
be sure.  Shortly after seeing the light he lost the
scenting ability of another hound, and had to get out
of the creek bed and go around the herbs to relocate
your trail.  This slowed him, and that was the last he
saw of you.  The last dog lost his sense of smell in
the creek near the monolith."

"He did?" Rapina asked.

Thane chuckled, "Indeed, shortly after I arrived I
dumped a few packets around the area of the monolith.
I knew that if things became very close, it would be
better if the dogs lost their sense of smell, than if
the trail simply went inexplicably cold.

"Regrettably I was forced to sell or destroy everything
you used to have during your stay here save what you
had on you when you escaped, of course.  Assuming the
pirates see you, the possessions you will have at your
disposal will be the ones you had upon your escape, and
new ones from your new master.  It will be as if you
really did leave me."

"Oh no!  All my things are gone?"

"Not to worry, the next role you play will be that of
Rapina apprentice to Kroz, a dark necromancer.  I, of
course, will be playing Kroz.  There is still a chance
that certain noblemen might try to link you to Thane of
Graveston isle, and if they could find any trace of
necromancy on this isle, then they might be able to
make something stick.  For that reason, and for the
future, I am considering building a second residence,
one that would be located out of the reach of the
armies of noblemen during such religious conflicts as
these.  That is still on the horizon.  For now, you
will be housed in a suite within the secret laboratory
wing.  When we move my laboratories to a new location,
we will also move you."

"What will I wear?" Rapina asked.

"Something nondescript from the pirate chests for the
moment.  When you are dressed, come up to the clifftop.
We will be going on a little trip."

Rapina found some clothing from the chest of one of the
smaller men and put it on.  She looked anything but
glamorous.  On the cliff top, Thane was dressed in his
Mortancer robes.  He wore a leather mask over the death
mask and he was wearing a pair of black gloves instead
of the gloves that made his hands look skeletal.

Thane began casting, and when the mists cleared, they
were in a city cemetery.

"Welcome to Bleckner," Thane rasped. "There are some
shops here where I believe we can find you some
functional garb.  Black silk, kidskin gloves, items
that would appeal to the stylish adventurer.  After
that I believe we will go to Argos.  It is a large city
famous for its finery.  There we will find you some
dresses and under things.  I regret not being able to
design for you myself, but my style might be
recognized, so we will just have to go with the styles
of others."

The shopping spree lasted over a period of several days
and included a new main gauche, and a sheath for the
serviceable rapier she had lifted from Captain Hogs.
By the end of the week, she was ready to speak before
the council of Mortancers.

Thane gave her a final drill in the honorifics proper
to the addressing of the priests she was about to come
before, and then left.  A half-hour later Rapina stood
at the top of the steps to the abode looking out at the
snow-covered gardens.  Rames had shoveled an area
around the exit so that Rapina's dress would not get
wet in the snow.  She was not exactly prepared for what
happened next.  There was no warning.  It was not like
the graveyard mists spell that Thane used, and no one
dressed like death materialized close to her as Thane
had explained might happen.  Instead, the space in
front of her wrenched open and she was suddenly staring
into a room.  It was like a small amphitheater with a
tabletop that went around in a ring that was
interrupted at eight points so that one could get to
the dais at the center of the room.  A simple but
luxurious chair currently sat on the dais.

"Enter," said a voice like dry leaves in the wind.

Inwardly Rapina shook with fear, but she had grown
strong in conditions that would have rendered the minds
of others into goo.  Thane had drilled her in the art
of deportment, and she wrapped herself in that training
like armor. She stepped into the chamber of the
Mortancers of Mortaebius with the grace of a queen.

Even though the arrayed wizards were all dressed in
hooded shrouds and had illusory faces that looked like
those of her skeletal servants, Rapina knew that there
were men behind those faces.  She looked at the visage
of one of the senior Mortancers.  His eyes were red
points of light.  Overwhelming feelings of death and
magic radiated from him in great waves.  Rapina had
serious doubts that he was wearing an illusion mask,
though she assumed many of the others were.  Each of
the other personages in the room also emitted a
palpable sense of power, though some were more
overwhelming than others were.  The room was lit by a
red glow that seemed to concentrate on the tabletops
and the central dais.

"Hail Mortancers of Mortaebius, may your powers
preserve the life of Mortaebius' church for as long as
the living die," Rapina intoned, a little amazed her
voice did not crack.

"Welcome to our circle Rapina.  Please take off your
cloak and be seated upon the dais."

Rapina curtsied to Mortancer Bain; then A skeletal
figure took her coat.  Rapina stepped onto the dais and
seated herself.  She caught herself in time not to grin
when the skeletal figures in front of her beheld her
décolletage.  Rapina's nose tingled strongly as the
combined lust of several wizards washed over her.  She
felt not one whit of lust from Mortancer Bain, the
creature with the flickering red lights within his
skeletal eye sockets.  Rapina sensed no lust from
another Mortancer also seated before her, this one had
eyes that were glowing points of ice blue light.

"You have been brought here to briefly address the
council of Mortancers on the mater of Red Jack," Bain
rasped.  "It is well known that one of our priests is
responsible for capturing the pirate captain and
destroying his fleet.  Many of our number believe it is
foolish to work with one who will doubtless hold a
grudge against us.  You know Captain Red Jack better
than anyone here assembled does.  Tell us how Jack will
react to our offer."

Rapina stifled the urge to swallow in dread.  "Red Jack
is a ruthless but reasonable man.  He is astute.  He
knows when to run, and he knows when to cut his losses.
He is not easily intimidated.  His men respect his
abilities. That is why he remained free for so long in
spite of the bounty on his head.  Jack will not have to
like you to deal with you.  If he saw some advantage in
a deal and felt that the other party would deliver, he
would deal with the devil himself.

Threat alone will not sway him, but I believe if he
sees benefit in the deal, he will at least consider it
and try to strike a bargain. There is no doubt that he
could provide the Mortancers of Mortaebius with a
steady stream of corpses for the conflict with the
church of the vindicator if you make it worth his
while.

As long as you are willing to negotiate and uphold your
end of any bargain struck, I believe that I would be
able to convince him to bargain with you even though
one of your order defeated him.  I believe that Red
Jack takes experience to heart.  When something goes
wrong, he does not repeat it, he fixes it.  He knows
that conflict with sorcerers is costly.  With the new
price on his head, I'm sure he worries about mundane
spies in his midst and he is more than intelligent
enough to realize that sorcerous spies could be at
least as much trouble.

I don't know if he would deal with just anyone, but I
feel confident I could convince him that a bargain
would be beneficial to his continued success as a
pirate.  Needless to say, his continued success as a
pirate could be useful to the Order."  Rapina hoped she
was telling the truth, because she knew if she was not
then she would have to get over Jack's death all over
again.

There was some discussion and some minor distention,
but in the end the Mortancers decided that, if Red Jack
would deal with them, then the captain would be
considerably more valuable to their war effort alive
than dead.  Moreover, if he did not deliver, there was
always the option of killing him.  One Mortancer
suggested that they kill Jack and bring him back as
undead, but another maintained that if his men were
typically superstitious sailors they would bolt.
Furthermore, Jack's charisma had held his men together
and almost secured him a victory even in the face of
fearful undead foes.  An undead pirate captain would
loose that charisma.

The same Mortancer added that Jack might suspect that
Rapina was working for the priest who defeated him, but
it could be arranged so that he would never know for
sure.  Rapina could say that she was working with a
patron of the church whose methods were a bit more
proactive than the priest who had defeated the pirates
was, but that the two men had had business dealings.

Rapina considered the speech mannerisms and reasoning
of the Mortancer who looked at the psychological
aspects of Red Jack's men.  Rapina smiled inwardly, had
it not been for the conversation she had overheard in
the abode, she would have guessed Mortancer Greel was
Guardian Thane but she realized he must simply be
speaking for Thane.  She could not really tell which
skeletal figure was Thane.  The illusion shroud that
made the wizards look like robed skeletons also
disguised their voices so that they sounded like
talking corpses.  Based on her lust sense, Rapina
believed Mortancer Ashe to be Guardian Thane.  After
the discussion, there was a vote, a vote that went
quite convincingly in favor of negotiating a deal.

"Then it is decided.  The council of Mortancers will
endorse the plan and help in its initial establishment.
Assuming a bargain is struck, those priests who put
forth the motion to work with Red Jack will
administrate our dealings with him in as clandestine a
fashion as possible.  Thank you for having this
interview with us, Rapina, it has been enlightening.
We have provided a trustworthy assistant to look after
our interests in this matter.  He will fill you in on
our negotiating position.  At the end of this meeting,
I will send you and our assistant to negotiate this
deal.  You may leave us now."

Rapina curtsied and left with the skeletal assistant.
The skeletal assistant surprised Rapina.  He was none
other than the assistant to the council that Bain had
spoken of, and the surprise did not end there.  Not
long after learning the gist of what things the Order
of the Shroud might agree to during the bargaining, it
was time to go.

Rapina and the council's assistant were taken to a
strong room where Rapina donned her cloak. Mortancer
Bain cast several spells on her and wizard-locked a
jeweled silver choker around her neck.  Mortancer Bain
then cast a transport spell on Rapina and the
assistant.  She was not quite prepared for it when her
stomach decided it wanted to come visit her throat, but
it took her only a second to regain her composure and
look around.
-----------

[Rapina]025 Reunions

Elisabetta and Doanthalas spent a week in one of
Paolo's safehouses.  It was largely unnecessary since
anyone who could link Doanthalas with the escape was
dead.  The time was welcome as it gave the elf time to
relax and think. The time they spent together helped to
slowly form a bond between the elf and human.  Both had
skeletons in their closets and both needed someone to
help them work through their problems.

The assassin smiled as she awoke.  Her smile
disappeared when she reached over only to discover the
elf was no longer there.  Elisabetta knew he did not
need sleep, but she could not help wishing that he
would at least lay with her until she awoke. The smile
returned with the remembrance of the previous night's
activities. Elisabetta had experienced her fair share
of lovers, but none had been as adept as Doanthalas.
She wondered if all elves were as good in bed.

With a shrug she threw off the covers and jumped out of
bed. The cold early autumn air caused goose bumps to
appear over her entire body. When she cradled herself
for warmth her nipples were hard against her forearms.
Glancing into the next room she spotted Doanthalas
sitting cross-legged in front of the fire.  There was a
serenity to the scene as the light from the fire played
across his body. Elisabetta watched the elf for a few
moments.  Although she was freezing and wanted nothing
more than to press herself up against his warm flesh
she waited.  It was nice just to watch him.

Every so often his body would tremble.  She wondered if
it was from the cold or if he was remembering some
horrible experience. His story had been hard to believe
at first, but his conviction had been steadfast.  Plus
his depictions of the fiends and their lairs had been
so detailed that Elisabetta couldn't help but believe.
Still his stories seemed so detached from her and what
she had been through. Elisabetta shook off any
unpleasant thoughts as she stepped onto the mat behind
the sylvan elf.  Gently she laid her hands on his
shoulders and traced his tattoos down to the front of
his chest.  She pressed her body against the warmth of
his back and hugged him as she sat down behind the elf.
Doanthalas seemed to purr as he came out of his
reverie.

Doanthalas could not think of a better way to be roused
from his reverie than by the feeling of Elisabetta's
body against his.  Her skin felt so soft and silky and
her breasts caressed his back in a way that was beyond
words. He took her hands in his and turned to kiss her.
The assassin's lips were sweet and cool to the touch.
For a long time, they just sat in front of the fire
holding each other.  The company was reassuring.
Elisabetta stood up and grabbed her clothes before
turning to Doanthalas.  She seemed as if ready to
speak. "What dark cloud passes over the clear skies of
your mind Elisabetta?" the elf asked.

Elisabetta knelt in front of Doanthalas and grabbed his
hands.  "Thank you," was all that she could say before
the tears welled up in her eyes.  The elf cocked his
head not fully understanding what she meant. "Paolo is
the only other man who's ever treated me right," she
said as she ran her fingers through his coppery-red
hair.  "I told you how he saved me from a slave's
life... not only did... well, Doanthalas.  You know the
story. The point is... after the beatings and the
rapes... a woman loses faith in men and society and...
loses hope.  Paolo restored that hope and faith and...
and now with you..."

The sylvan elf squeezed her hand affectionately.  He
understood all too well what is was like to lose all
hope. "Elisabetta," he began, "with you the river of
hope flows freely once again for one of the woods."
She looked so beautiful to him kneeling in front of
him. Her dark hair cascaded around her shoulders and
complemented the sensuousness of her natural curves.
Her eyes seemed to swallow him up every time he looked
into them.  Against his better judgment, Doanthalas was
developing sincere feelings for this woman.  She helped
to ease so much of the pain.

A troubled look crossed his face as he turned to gaze
into the fire.  A terrible thought had entered to elf's
mind.  As a human, Elisabetta would live for another
thirty or forty years at the most.  Doanthalas hated
the thought of losing her that quickly. It was not an
easy thing watching someone that you love die before
your eyes.  He had witnessed his brother's death at the
hands of the fiends.  He did not want to witness
Elisabetta's.  Doanthalas was a sylvan elf and they
lived for a millennium or longer.  How many
Elisabetta's would he have to watch grow old and die?
His thoughts shifted to those of his people.  It had
been close to a century since he had seen one of his
own kind.  He ached to be home with them.

"What's wrong?" she asked.  "You look troubled."

"Come with me," the elf stated simply.

"Where?"

To the wooded womb that birthed me... the place of my
people... home," Doanthalas said it with a look of
yearning in his eyes.  "My heart aches for my family
and friends... my forest brethren.  I want you too see
the beauty of it with me."

Without stopping to consider her answer Elisabetta
said, "Yes."

-------------------------

Doanthalas was busy making preparations for the
journey.  When Elisabetta had shown him a map he had
looked at her with a confused look on his face.
Apparently, his people didn't use maps.  When she asked
how they were going to find his people with no idea of
where they were going Doanthalas had simply replied, "I
will know like the robin knows when returning from his
wintery home each spring." "Let him be cryptic," she
thought as she rounded the corner into the marketplace.
She had a few things of her own to do before they
departed.

A lone merchant at a small stand held up a small
trinket for her inspection. "Genuine pirate treasure!
Only three silvers!" the merchant rasped. A wide
brimmed hat sheltered his face from the sun and his
body seemed to be lost amongst the loose folds of his
clothes.

"Three silvers say you?" she asked as she stepped up to
his stand.

The man rubbed his hands together and replied, "Aye.
Only three silvers. You are right!"

"It's... okaaaaaaay," she said as she casually tossed
it back to the merchant who fumbled it and dropped it
on the ground.  "But what I'm looking for is something
that was owned by the nefarious pirate RED JACK!"

The merchant looked up in surprise, but then smiled
broadly.  "I have just the thing," he said as he lifted
a small scroll case made from a human femur. With a sly
look the man glanced from side to side before
whispering, "It contains a treasure map.  That it
does."  He nodded with pride as Elisabetta took the
case from him.

"It most likely contains a simple child's drawing of
Turnmoor or some equally worthless document," she said
dismissively.  "But... I'm in a generous mood so I
shall take it."

"Excellent!" the man exclaimed as he took her money.
"You won't be sorry. That map will lead you to a
treasure worthy of a pirate as sinister as Red Jack!"

The assassin smiled as she walked away.  She knew the
location of one of Paolo's safehouses very near to the
marketplace.  There she would be able to work
uninterrupted and unobserved.

-----------------

A few hours later Paolo packed up his wares and
disappeared down the back streets of Turnmoor.  He had
made only one sale that day, but he didn't care. He was
in the business of killing; not selling.  The discarded
trinket was the only evidence of his passing.

The assassin locked the door behind her and lit a
candle.  All the windows were shuttered and locked.  A
quick search of the premises confirmed that Elisabetta
was indeed alone. She placed the Femur scroll case on
the table and looked at it for a moment. There by the
seam was Paolo's mark; a two-headed serpent.  Both ends
of the femur screwed off to reveal the map inside. The
map was worthless and obviously made up.  None of the
rivers or cities corresponded to any actual rivers or
cities.  But then again the map wasn't important.  The
writing on the map was. Elisabetta picked up the two
scroll ends and screwed them together.  Each end had a
string of symbols etched along its edge.  When placed
together the symbols matched up to reveal a code.  She
used the code to decipher the words on the map.

----------------------

Light reflected off the polished surface of the locket.
Doanthalas had taken it off the body of one of the
guards he had slain.  What had compelled him to take it
remained a mystery to the elf. All the locket did was
cause him pain.  The sight of it made him feel
despicable.  Doanthalas had only opened the locket once
to see what was inside.  What he saw had been too much
for him. Inside was a picture of the slain guard, an
attractive woman (most likely his wife), and a
beautiful young girl (probably his daughter).  The elf
wondered what they would do without the guard.  How
much pain they must be feeling, and it was all because
of Doanthalas. The opening of the door interrupted the
elf's musings.  Standing up he pocketed the locket and
stepped back into the shadows.

Seeing Doanthalas trying to hide in the shadows of the
room momentarily brightened her mood.  With a smile
Elisabetta teased, "Tsk.  Tsk.  You DO need to pay
better attention when I'm teaching you things."

With an embarrassed look Doanthalas stepped out of the
shadows.  Although Elisabetta was smiling he could tell
that something was weighing heavily on her mind.

Her mood darkened almost immediately.  "Doanthalas, I
have some news you'll want to hear," she said as she
shut the door and locked it.  "It's about Rage... he's
been captured."

"Let Jack and his men come for the boy.  The time to
rejoin my people has come," the elf said curtly.

"He'll be dead by the time Jack and his men hear about
his capture!" the assassin said as she grabbed
Doanthalas by the shoulders.  "By the Gods!  He's
practically a child!"

"No.  By human standards he is a man.  By mine he is an
infant."  Doanthalas' thoughts turned to the picture in
the locket. Who would care when Rage was gone?  Jack
might.  Some of his men might, but not in the same way
a mother and father might.  The elf liked Rage.  The
kid still possessed a lot of innocence and naiveté.  He
deserved better than to die like this. Besides the elf
felt protective of the kid.  Rage had a kind soul.
With a nod of his head Doanthalas motioned for
Elisabetta to continue.

------------------------------------


It had been two days since they had left Turnmoor.  A
coalition of wealthy men from around Turnmoor had
joined a few noblemen in a team effort to destroy Jack,
but they had only been able to find and capture one
pirate. Rage had been informed by Henrich Li'Yeiraun,
that he was being moved to the location where he would
be executed. Rage had not seen an opportunity for
escape either day.  A couple of instances had been
promising, but had passed too quickly for him to
exploit.  Tonight, however, was different.  Most of the
guards had passed out after a hard night of drinking
and storytelling.  The guard with the keys to Rage's
manacles was snoring not two feet away. The other guard
had not passed out, but did have a full bladder from
too much ale.  When he went to go find himself a tree
Rage made his move. The young pirate grabbed the keys
and unlocked his manacles.  The he took the guard's
sword and dagger.  Finally he moved as stealthily (and
melodramatically) as he could to the safety of the tree
line.  Rage had no intention of being executed, ever.

When Rage had disappeared into the darkness the guard
returned from the tree he had found.  He did his best
to make his curses and rantings sound convincing as he
attempted to rouse the handful of other guards.

-------------------------

"Tell me again how you lost him," Henrich Li'Yeiraun
said with an iciness that made the man standing before
him shiver.

"My Lord, we... his trail was easy to follow for the
first day and a half, but then... we... we lost him.
His trail just... disappeared," the man said with great
and obvious discomfort.

"How is that possible?  Please explain," Henrich
sneered.

"It's not possible unless he..." the man struggled for
words, "...unless he had some sort of help."

"I see," Henrich clasped his hands behind his back and
began to pace the room.  "SIX of my BEST pathfinders,
with you as their leader," he indicated the man
standing before him, "failed to track a blundering
CHILD for more than ONE DAY!" He stepped in front of
the pathfinder and gave him a piercing stare.  "I am
NOT happy!" Henrich resumed his pacing. "Since you were
the leader of this mission you hold responsibility for
its success or failure."

The man appeared ready to say something, but then
thought better of it and bit his lip.  He swallowed
hard when Henrich began speaking again.

"As the responsible party I think it only fitting that
you take the place of the prisoner you lost at his
execution!" Gasps were heard throughout the room and
the pathfinder's jaw dropped. "This fiasco has cost me
a lot of time and money.  I do not like failure. That
is why you must be my example to my men.  Guards!  Take
him away."

The guards dragged the stunned pathfinder out of the
room.  When the door had shut Henrich Li'Yeiraun turned
to the gathered Turnmoor officials who were all trying
to speak at once.

Henrich Li'Yeiraun held up his hand for silence, "ONE
AT A TIME... if you will gentlemen."

"We took a huge gamble on this plan of yours Lord
Li'Yeiraun and it appears that we've all lost.  I, for
one, do not like to lose either.  Red Jack MUST be made
to pay!"

"And that he will," Henrich walked up to the front of
the room.  "Gentlemen, your lack of faith strikes me to
the quick.  Did you honestly think I would not have
prepared for this eventuality?"

With a skeptical look the official said, "You mean you
really HAVEN'T lost him?"

Lord Li'Yeiraun smiled evilly, "Not by a long shot."

"So you just sentenced that man to death for no
reason?"

Holding up a finger he said, "No, for a very GOOD
reason.  He DID fail me. It is only because of my
planning and foresight that the location of this pirate
is still known to me.  The death of the pathfinder will
serve as an example to my men that I will brook no
failure."

The gathered coalition of nobles, gentlemen and
officials of the city of Turnmoor looked at each other
and swallowed hard. None of them EVER wanted to be on
the bad side of Henrich Li'Yeiraun.

----------------------------------------------


Elisabetta and Doanthalas had caught up with Rage a day
after his "escape". The elf's superior knowledge of the
natural world had enabled them to lose their pursuers
easily.  When the trio was sure they had lost the
pathfinders they set about the task of finding Red
Jack. Rage wanted to return to the pirate lifestyle
even though Doanthalas tried to talk him out of it.
Elisabetta encouraged the boy to follow his heart no
matter where it led him.  This turned out to be back to
the pirate camp.

For months, they scoured the countryside looking for
any sign of Jack and his pirates.  Everywhere they went
they found the same thing, nothing.  Doanthalas was
growing restless.  He wanted to be back with his
people. Elisabetta did her best to keep Doanthalas's'
spirits high.  She taught him all the skills she had
learned from Paolo to distract him from the huge amount
of time that was going by.  Rage helped her to teach
the elf about human society, and every day they all
practiced together with their weapons.  Each had
something to contribute for the benefit of the others.

In return Doanthalas taught them about his people.  He
also showed them how to live off the land and use the
natural world to its best effect.  A strong bond of
friendship formed between the trio as the months
progressed.  However, every night Rage and Elisabetta's
sleep was interrupted by Doanthalas's' tortured
screams. A few more months passed in this way, and
winter was well along before the trio got their break.
While they rested along a roadside, they spotted a man
and woman approaching in the distance.  The companions
greeted them when the two were within earshot. The man
and woman returned the greetings, but looked surprised
when they got a closer look at Rage.

"What?!?!" the young pirate queried.  Doanthalas was
usually the one to get strange looks.  The unwanted
attention made Rage uncomfortable.

"You are Rage, one of Red Jack's pirates, are you not?"
it came out as more of a statement than a question.

The elf's hand moved toward the hilt of his sword.  He
was not sure who this man was, but he did look like a
capable warrior.  It was possible that he was a bounty
hunter come to collect his bounty. The woman, however,
had the bearing of a noblewoman... not a warrior.

Elisabetta's attention was drawn to the young woman.
Why did she look so familiar?  Who was she?  The
assassin could not put her finger on it.

"Forgive me if I offend," the man said as he removed
his cap and ran his fingers through his short chestnut
brown hair.  "My name is Mansun Dido."

"And how, exactly, do you know who I am?" the young
pirate asked.

"I was the leader of the pathfinders sent to track you
down after your escape."  Mansun noticed the trio's
tense reaction to his last statement and pleaded, "Stay
your hands!  I beg you."

The woman stepped between the companions and Mansun her
emerald eyes flashing confidently as her long light
brown hair blew in the breeze.  "Please.  Listen to us.
We are not here for THAT purpose.  Mansun no longer
works for... Lord Li'Yeiraun.  He is now in my employ."


That was it!  The name Li'Yeiraun had jogged her
memory.  "I know you," she said as she walked up to the
woman.  "You're Adriana Li'Yeiraun... Henrich's
daughter."

"Yes.  Unfortunately I am.  How is it that you know
this?" she asked.

The assassin shrugged, "I live and work in Turnmoor and
like to keep abreast of situations that arise... it's
good for business.  But enough about me; you still
haven't explained why you are here."

"Fair enough.  Lady Li'Yeiraun helped me to escape
imprisonment and in return I'm helping her to find the
pirate Red Jack."

"Imprisonment?  What was your crime?"

"My crime was failing to follow your trail.  Lord
Li'Yeiraun sentenced me to take your place at the
execution."

Doanthalas helped me to lose your group," he said
indicating the tattooed elf.  "I ran into him and
Elisabetta not long after I escaped.  I didn't even
know I was being followed, but Doanthalas knew right
away.  He hid us so well that one of your men
practically stepped on us and didn't discover our
hiding place.  It was pretty amazing."

Mansun turned a respectful eye towards the elf. "I've
been a pathfinder for years and, until now, had thought
that I was pretty damned good at it.  But it seems that
I still have much to learn."

The elf did not say anything.  Humans were so clumsy in
the natural world.

"We just obtained some information from Brackensville
this morning," Adriana said. "But now that we've met up
with you it looks like we won't need it after all."

"Well... there's just one slight problem with that...
we're not sure where Red Jack is either."  She looked
from Rage to Doanthalas who both just shrugged.

"Well, then with our information and your knowledge of
Red Jack we should be able to find him relatively
easily.  Correct?"

"Tell me the why of your seeking the dread pirate Red
Jack," the elf asked of Adriana.

"I... uh... my reasons are personal," she said as her
face flushed red.

The assassin watched Doanthalas shrug and walk over to
the pathfinder.  "Why don't you share this information
with us and then we'll decide if we can trust you
enough to take to Jack," she stated simply.

"You have no choice but to trust us.  We have the
information and you don't."

---------------------------------------------

An uneasy peace was accepted.  Although they still did
not trust each other the two groups set out.  Their
search took them to a remote area near Hapton on a
tributary of the Augustana West of Turnmoor that flowed
from the North.  The pirate camp was well hidden, but
easy enough for the elf and pathfinder to find working
together.  After the first few tense moments one of the
pirate sentries recognized Doanthalas and Rage.  The
small band was allowed into the camp.  Pike, Brackston,
and Skitch followed by Drake and Red Jack came out to
greet their comrades and question the other two.

"By the gods!  I'll be damned!  We figured you both for
dead or lost, but I'm glad to be wrong.  Where have you
been all this time?"

The sylvan elf clasped Pike's hand and the two
embraced.  He was genuinely glad to see the Norseman
again. "The months have rushed swiftly past like the
river past the rocks.  Much has happened and needs
telling, but... something has afflicted Drake and the
captain."  Doanthalas indicated the two gaping figures
standing mere feet away.

The Norseman glanced past Rage, Skitch and Brackston
who were all busy greeting one another.  The sight he
saw made him momentarily forget that he was going to
ask the name of the beautiful lady standing next to
Doanthalas. Red Jack and Drake were both staring open-
mouthed at the beautiful young lady and the stranger
accompanying her.  Pike turned to Doanthalas. "Who
are...", he began.

"Why is she here?!?!?!?!" the pirate captain bellowed.
"I want some answers NOW!!! And who are these OTHER
people?!?!"

Adriana Li'Yeiraun was standing in front of him.  He
could not believe his eyes.  Drake was overjoyed to see
her, but still too shocked to smile.  Jack's booming
voice brought him back to his senses.

The pirate captain intimidated Adriana, but she was a
noblewoman so she decided she had better act like one.
Adriana stepped up to Red Jack and said in a strong
voice, "I am Adriana Li'Yeiraun and this is my servant
Mansun Dido.  My reason for being here is simple; I
wish to join your group."

Many jaws dropped and some laughter erupted in the
camp.  For a few minutes things were chaotic as
everyone tried to speak at once.  Soon, however, Jack
had everything back under control.

"First of all," he began.  "Don't EVER use the name
Li'Yeiraun in my presence again, ever.  Secondly I
would never allow YOU to become a pirate."

"And why NOT?!?!?!" she challenged haughtily.  "I can
handle anything you've got!"

A thundering laugh issued forth from Jack's lungs.  "Oh
I KNOW for a fact that you can handle anything I throw
at you." the captain retorted.  "The fact is that no
daughter of mine is going to be a pirate.  Not now; not
EVER!"

The camp erupted into total chaos for a few minutes as
everyone debated this new revelation.  After things
finally calmed down introductions were finished and it
was agreed that Adriana and Mansun could stay.  At
least until Red Jack figured out something to do with
them.

---------------------------------


Henrich Li' Yeiraun smiled evilly as he spied the
events at the pirate camp through Nordula's magic
kettle.  The calm waters enabled them both to clearly
see the goings on almost as if they were right there.
Lord Li' Yeiraun turned to his court mage. Nordula was
a tall, lithe man with short, dark hair.  His crimson
and black robes were adorned with silver arcane symbols
and a gold talisman hung from his neck.  It glowed with
an unnatural light. It had been generations that
Nordula and his ancestors had served the Li' Yeiraun
family, yet Nordula had surpassed his ancestors.  He
was a true magician rather than a mere sooth sayer.
Henrich fixed his gaze on the wizard's dark brown eyes.
"Once again you have served me well.  Count on the
money you need for your spell research being delivered
very soon. Now that they are all assembled at Red
Jack's camp the time for action has come.  I do not
want to act rashly, however, so I must plan."  He
turned towards the door and took a few steps. "Be sure
to inform me if they appear ready to break camp.  I
want to keep them all together.  Revenge will be so
much sweeter that way."

The mage bowed as Lord Li' Yeiraun opened the door.
"As you wish milord."

------------------------------------


The next few days passed quickly for everyone except
Doanthalas and Elisabetta.  The elf had descended into
a depression that worried everyone. For hours on end he
would sit there twirling the locket in his hands and
gazing into the forest.  Only the assassin knew what
was on his mind. Elisabetta would have talked to the
elf about it if she did not have a lot on her own
troubled mind.  As it turned out Doanthalas saved her
the trouble.

The sight of her filled him with so many conflicting
emotions.  He wanted to take her in his arms so that
they could dissolve into each other, but at the same
time he loathed her.  She was a killer... an assassin
pure and simple. Where he had been taught to respect
all life, she had been taught to respect money and
power.  Not that Doanthalas had not done his fair share
of killing. He had.  But he had not had any choice...
or had he.  The locket felt hot in his hand.  Had it
really been necessary to kill those guards?  After all,
they were merely doing their job. The sight of her
muscular body silhouetted by the moonlight made his
heart beat faster.  She was so shapely and beautiful
and capable of great kindness. Yet, at the same time,
she was so deadly and capable of great evil.  Sooner or
later it would come between the bond they had formed. A
cool breeze blew his coppery hair across his tattooed
face.  With a sigh Doanthalas stepped out of the tree
line.  He deliberately stepped on a branch to alert her
to his presence.

Elisabetta instinctively drew her dagger as she spun
around to face the intruder.  Years working for Paolo
had made her paranoid.  That paranoia had kept her
alive so far. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw
the tattooed form of her lover standing in the
moonlight.  "Doanthalas!  You scared me...", she began.


"You have come to this place to kill him.  Haven't
you?"  the sylvan elf stated.

He knew!  Elisabetta had hoped to bring this up at a
later time, but Doanthalas had figured out her real
purpose sooner than expected.  No sense in lying to
him.  He would know. "Yes," she answered simply.

A profound look of sadness and disappointment crossed
his face.  "Know that I will not aid you in this task."


"Will you try to stop me then?"

"That I do not know," was all the sylvan elf could
manage to say before the emotions came flooding in.
Doanthalas began to fade silently into the forest.

"I owe Paolo my life!  I have to do this for him!
Don't you understand?" she managed to cry between sobs.


She had made her choice.  A coldness engulfed
Doanthalas's' body.  Every beat of his heart caused
severe pain.  The world seemed dark and distant to him.
With a few quick strides he gave himself over
completely to the forest.

------------------------------------------


Rage fell right back into his life.  It was good for
him to be back with Pike and Brackston and Skitch.
Everything was as it had been.  Everything except for
all the new faces in the camp.  The young pirate missed
his dead comrades. He also missed Drake, although Drake
was not dead.  He was just spending a lot of time with
Jack lately.  Maybe Jack had something big in mind for
the ex-farmer.

The logbooks had to be the most boring thing Drake
could think of to be working on.  He was glad that Jack
had taught him to read, but at the same time he hated
all the mundane tasks that came with it.  It did not
help that he was thinking about Adriana all the time
either. They were going to meet up later and gaze at
the stars.  She was teaching the young pirate about the
constellations and the particulars of wooing a lady.  A
smile played across his face as his quill scratched
against the paper of the logbook.

The captain cleared his throat loudly.  The fact that
Drake almost jumped out of his chair made Jack smile
broadly.  He formed his face into a stern mask before
Drake turned his way. "Drake," he began, "it's obvious
ta me that something is going on between ye and me
daughter."  The young pirate's mouth moved, but no
sound issued forth. Jack was enjoying watching the boy
squirm. "I feel I have to ask what yer intentions
towards her are.  Hmmm?"

"I... uh... er... that is I... ah," was all that he
could manage to blurt out. Drake had never been so
scared before in his life.  Even the horrible touch of
a ghoul was nothing compared to the stern look on Red
Jack's face at that moment.

"Ha!  Ha!  Ha!  Ha!" the pirate captain boomed.  The
sight of Drake was too much.  He could not hold back
the laughter anymore. "Relax son!  I'm glad that
Adriana has sense enough ta fall for a man like you
instead of the other riff raff in the camp.  Besides
there's something I've been meaning ta talk to ye
about."  He ran his fingers through his dark hair and
took a deep breath. "I'll be damned if I allow my
daughter to live a life like... like this!  Sure there
are some perks to being the 'Dread Pirate Red Jack,'
but I would give it all up for a moment o' peace.  True
peace. I hate having ta look over me shoulder all the
time.  I hate having ta sleep with one eye open.  I
hate the fact that I will be hunted until the day I
die. Do ye see why I don't want this life fer her?"
Drake nodded and Red Jack continued, "That's why I want
ye ta take her away from here.  Away from this... Away
from... me."  The captain's eyes glistened with
moisture.  "She never had a good father.  At least she
can have a good husband."

-----------------------------------


[Rapina]026 The Jolly Roger

The next night there was to be another reunion.

An instant after the transport spell was cast on her
Rapina was standing in the midst of a fire in the
middle of a pirate camp.  The layout was familiar.
Rapina blinked as two crossbow bolts and an arrow
ricocheted off one of the spells protecting her.  She
wondered why the fire was not burning her, but decided
to step out of it just the same. Her black-robed
skeletal companion accompanied her.  Several more
arrows bounced off the spell, one nearly transfixing
Brackston.

"Son of a bitch!  Hold up a second!  What in hell's
name are yew doin' steppin' out o' th fire with death,
Rapina?  Is that really yew?"  Brackston squinted.

"It's really me." Rapina said. "I need to talk to
Captain Red Jack.  Rapina pointed to the black-robed
skeleton next to her holding the scythe.  You are not
going to believe who that is."

"After what happened ta Kent, maybe I don' want ta
know!" Brackston practically hollered. "Hey Slice, yew
get yer pretty ass over ta the captain's tent an' tell
'im Rapina dressed like th' red queen o' Clairmont,
an' a corpse dressed like death 'jus stepped outa' th'
fire in th' middle o' camp an' want ta talk to 'im.
Yew tell 'im we shot th' intruders on sight jus' like
'e said, only th' arrows bounced off th' air in front
o' 'em.  Yew tell 'im if I see any more fuckin' sorcery
tanight I'm goin' ta piss!"

A few minutes passed before Pike and Drake appeared on
the scene.

"Wow, is that really you Rapina?" Pike asked.

Rapina smiled.  "It's really me."

"Can I touch you?" Pike asked.

"Um, I think so," Rapina said. "I'm not sure what all
the spells he cast on me do.  Best to take it slow."

Pike reached out his hand.  It encountered a bit of
resistance but he could move it toward her.

Rapina reached out and took Pike's hand.

"What's this all about?"  Suddenly Pike lunged with his
other free hand to grab for Rapina's throat.

Rapina had no time to react.  There was a blur from the
corner of her eye; Pike's traitorous hand stopped
inches from her neck, and it was gushing blood like a
fountain.

Pike looked down the handle of the scythe that had
somehow appeared between his hand and Rapina's neck.

"No heroics, Pike, let's do this one straight," The
skeleton rasped in an emotionless tone.

"Damn!" Pike dropped Rapina's hand to squeeze his
bloody left hand.  "How in hell?"  Pike froze as a
chill ran up his spine.  He looked at Rapina's skeletal
protector, "It couldn't be."

"Who else could have predicted that move?" The skeleton
asked.

Pike shuddered and shook his head.  "Sorry Rapina.
With all those spells, I was pretty sure you were not
here of your own free will. What's this all about?"

"We are here to offer Captain Red Jack a deal, but I
don't think he would want us discussing the particulars
in front of everyone.  I know you are looking out for
Jack.  I would not be here if I thought Kroz wanted to
kill him.  If his purpose was to kill Jack, he probably
would have sent more like him," Rapina pointed at her,
"negotiating partner."

Pike nodded and turned to the skeleton, "If you are not
here to kill us, then I guess he won't be needing that
scythe."

"The scythe is part of what I am now, Pike, and you
just proved I do need it.   As long as you are armed, I
will be armed.  Rapina is under my protection."

"Damn I'll say.  I've never seen anyone move that
fast," Pike said.

"Sometimes death strikes swiftly," The skeleton
replied.

A chill went down his spine as Pike stared at the
skeleton.  The Norseman shook himself and lead Rapina
to the Captain's tent.  The skeleton followed. At least
Rapina's hand had been warm, he hoped that meant
something.

"Ye've filled out a bit wench.  Ye're lookin' better
than ever, an' I like yer choice 'o colors.  What
brings ye here all dressed up like a scarlet
noblewench?"

Rapina blushed.  "Thank you Captain Red Jack.  Well, I
have a deal to discuss.  It might be a little scary for
some of the recruits, but I think it might be important
for you in the long run."

"All right.  I'll hear ye out.  Get me Arzeal, an'
Drake, Brackston and Skitch.  I'll be wantin' ta know
their opinion, an there's nothin' I'll be doin' without
'em in on it.  Clear Guts and Bled away to a safe
distance.  This'll be just the officers."

When the others arrived, Jack cleared his throat.  All
right, say yer piece girl.  This 'as got ta do with th'
necromancer aye?"

"It all started there anyway.  What do you remember
about him?"

"He's a priest o' that god o' the dead, Mortaebius, 'is
name is Thane.   He's there ta protect the isle from
grave robbers.  A little overkill in that one, I'd
say."

Rapina nodded, "Yes, Thane was not a bad sorcerer.
Kroz says he is not at the stature of a true wizard but
is working towards it.  As a priest he could command
and animate the dead, and as a magician he could cast
magical darkness and a few other minor spells.  Many
priests have no spells, magical or clerical, but there
are a few who are exceptional.  Most priests of
Mortaebius are little more than morticians.  Thane was
a priest in an order that protects the church.    Due
to their worshipping of the god of death, their church
has, um, some interesting friends and unofficial
priests that very few of them know about."

"Th' right 'and doesn't know what th' left 'and is
doing?" Jack asked.

Rapina nodded, "The secret patrons of the church
protect it in times of war.  Most of the priests of
Mortaebius know little or nothing about them.
Sometimes they appear to the priests as minions of
Mortaebius, and there are traditions within the church
that these minions are to be heeded in times of war.
For the church, one of those times is beginning.
However, before I talk about the trouble the church is
in, let me talk about the trouble you are in.  Then
I'll connect the two."


"Trouble's me middle name." Jack grinned.

Rapina smiled. "My, ah, partner has some posters."

"Here you are sir."  The skeleton reached into his
thick black robes and passed an envelope to Red Jack.

Red Jack froze as a chill went down his spine. "Roger?"


"Aye sir," the death skeleton replied.

"What happened to ye man?" Red Jack asked.

"I died sir, in the battle on the hill," Roger said.

"Damn it Roger, I was goin' ta say it looked like ye'd
lost a bit o' weight.  Now ye're tellin' me ye're dead,
what're ye doin' back here as a bag 'o bones an' why
can ye still talk an' think?" Jack asked.

"I am a death of Mortaebius now, sir.  Deaths are
created by the most powerful mage-priests of
Mortaebius.   I serve the god of death, and I will
serve you also if the deal is to your liking."

The captain grimaced, "Ye're dead, Roger."

"No sir, I am undead.  I was dead for a while, sir."
Roger said in his characteristic emotionless tone, made
all the worse by the fact that his voice sounded more
like a whispery rasp than it had when Roger was alive,
yet even so, the voice was recognizably Roger's.

"Aye."  Red Jack spread the posters out on the table.
"I've got this one o' Pike an this one o' me already.
I see Arzeal, Drake an' th' rest are worth a pretty
penny as well.  Thar's no doubt we're pricey men," Jack
chuckled.  "Go on, wench."

"You're so pricey that Kroz says you have reached the
point where you will start to receive unwanted wizardly
and priestly attention.  He himself found you in a
matter of hours."

"I see yer point, certain noblemen fer instance might
stoop ta hirein' a mage ta pinch me needle in the
haystack.  Who is this Kroz fellow anyways?" Jack
asked.

Rapina smiled.  Jack was amazing.  Rapina could not
take the grave note out of her voice, yet Jack was
making jokes.  "Kroz is a necromancer, a man with whom
Thane had some dealings.  There are not many magician-
priests of Mortaebius, but some of those are acquainted
with one another as friends or suppliers of things
necessary for the practice of magic.  Thane had bought
a few spells and things from Kroz in the past, so when
Thane obtained the bounty money, he contacted Kroz.
During their meeting Kroz expressed an interest in the
bodies of some of your men because their deeds in life
made them desirable for certain advanced animations.  I
was serving as Thane's maid at the time, so I was able
to overhear their conversation."

"Kroz takes a proactive stance towards the protection
of the church of Mortaebius, and is very worried that
his god's house on the prime material plane could be
destroyed by the forces of the vindicator.  Thane
bought some spells but, at least from what I overheard,
he was far too lawful to sell Kroz what he really
wanted, the bodies of your men."

"As Thane's servant, I had helped bury them in a group
grave in the valley of the dead, so I knew where they
were.  I needed to escape, so while Kroz was there, I
struck up a bargain with him.  He would take me on as
an apprentice and I in return would show him where the
bodies were.  I had to escape Thane but Kroz told me he
was willing to pick me up in a certain location if I
could escape.  Kroz did not want to loose a good
customer or get in trouble with the law.  He told me
where I needed to go in order for him to pick me up.
It took me some time, but not long ago, I got this
horrible case of the winter blahs, and Thane eventually
decided I had been away from people too long and took
me to the town of Granville.

Unfortunately, for the first couple days Thane didn't
go out at night while in town, and I didn't want to try
to escape during the day.  The night before we were
going to leave he took the constable and his deputy out
to dinner with us.  It was risky but I was able to
escape, steal a horse and get to the appointed place.
It must have been spelled, because somehow Kroz knew I
was there.  He came and picked me up.  Later he took me
to the island so that I could satisfy my end of the
bargain.  He is a necromancer, so he had no trouble
dealing with the undeads that wander the isle.
Actually Kent and Edgar discovered us digging up the
bodies, but Kroz commanded the two of them to help us
dig up the corpses.  Since they knew he had been there,
he simply stole them when we left."

"Kroz let me know that this winter in the marquisate of
Avengene, many of the priests of Mortaebius have been
killed.  Temples of Mortaebius have been sacked and
burned and the church was and currently is in dire need
of protection."

"A religious war?" Jack asked.

Rapina nodded, "Zealots of the church of the
vindicator, trying to destroy the competition.  They
are doing it on a large and growing scale.  They use
groups disguised as bandits and thieves, and Marquis
Avengene winks and looks the other way.  He's probably
in on it.  Outside the Marquis' territory, the
vindicator has a little less power, but that just means
the vindicator's zealots have to be a little more
careful."

The captain nodded, "Aye, so this Kroz, bein' a
necromancer is a worshiper of Mortaebius and he wants
ta be protectin' the morticians an' th' temples 'o
Mortaebius."

Rapina nodded, "preferably without them knowing the
details or the methods involved."

"Where do I come in?" Jack asked.

"You need to be shielded against wizardly spying and
Kroz needs dead bodies, a steady supply for the war
effort," Rapina said.

"I see what ye're drivin' at.  I may tell any man who
asks that Thane warr an illusionist, but none of me
officers who were there believe me.  They figure he
warr a necromancer, an' we don't want to be dealin'
with any necromancers if one o' 'em killed me men!"...
Jack paused dramatically.  "On th' other hand we're in
a bit of a bind. It's a cinch this Kroz knows where I
am, an' if he knows, then every two-bit wizard in
Clairmont might be able ta find out."  The captain
faced his men, "Wizardry appears ta work, otherwise
Rapina an' Roger wouldn't be appearin' in th' middle o'
a camp we all did are darndest ta keep secret."  Jack
looked back at Rapina, "First I got to decide if we're
goin' ta deal with ye at all, girl.  You two go back ta
th' central fire an' let me hash this one out wi' me
officers."
--------------------

After Rapina and Roger left, Arzeal returned from
escorting them to the fire and the captain faced
Brackston.

"All right Brackston, ye're th' first I want ta hear
from.  Ye've been squirmin' like a worm ever since ye
saw Roger, an' ta tell ye th' truth, I don't blame ye,"
Red Jack said.

"Yew can't go ahead with this one cap'n' we'll be
cursed fer sure," Brackston said.

"An what do ye suppose'll happen if I say, "No deal,"
Brackston?" Jack asked.

Brackston looked at the floor and clenched his fist.
"He will send a few like Roger an' Kent, an' de spooks
will cut us down like wheat.  I was there sir.  Yew
know Pike is fast, an' h' didn't telegraph de move.
Maybe Roger figured he'd try somefin', but I saw it
happen sir, no man could move that fast."

"He struck like death did 'e?" Jack laughed.  "Aye, an
now me best fighter's one-handed unless an' until that
wound heals.  Damn it! We don't even have a proper
leech!  Pike was trainin' th' recruits too, and now
that 'e's got a split hand we're out half an arms
master.  But that's not what we're here ta discuss.  We
got the devil on our doorstep wantin' ta make a deal.
I'm askin' fer yer ideas not yer fears.  Fears are
goin' ta do us about as much good as Pike's lunge at
Rapina's throat.

I know me wench pretty well, an' she's scared we won't
deal, which means she's pretty  sure we'll be on meat
hooks if we turn 'im down.  I'll tell ye somethin'
else, seein' Roger has jogged me memory.  Roger was
always me sixth sense concernin' spies and
infiltrators.  He could always spot a recruit who
didn't fit.  Skitch ye're not bad at figurin' who's a
spy, an' Brackston ye think they're all spies, 'cept
Slice 'cause 'e likes ye ta poke 'is pretty ass.  I'll
tell ye, after Turnmoor are reputation grew another
notch; tharr's plenty o' recruits out there, but
weedin' out th' bad apples is a bigger chore than ever.
We got plenty o' problems, an now we got the sovereign
o' 'em all landin' on us tanight.  What do ye think
Pike?"

"Pike growled.  I don't like it sir, but I really think
that is Roger.  He talks like Roger, and, more
important, he thinks like Roger.  Trouble is, Roger was
never that fast."

"Or that dead," Jack grinned.

"Even Skitch ain't that fast," Brackston said.

"Arzael, what's yer say?" Jack asked.

The archer grimaced,  "Things were a lot simpler before
we got so famous.  The way I see it, either we retire
and scatter, or we deal.  I saw those posters, and we
know at least Pike's and yours are authentic.  I'll bet
the others are as well.  If that kind of money won't
pay for wizardry, then it can't be bought.  We don't
really know what we are dealing with, but I think we
can be sure that Thane is a priest and necromancer of
Mortaebius.  It stands to reason that he would have
friends and associates that he bought supplies from,
and if Roger's any indication, our dead friends can be
used for advanced animations.

I don't see how Thane could have faked what happened at
the isle.  It scares me to even think about the battle.
Armored and mounted bones, shadows, ghouls, darkness,
wizardry, yet I realize we nearly won.  If this man is
even more powerful and less scrupulous than Thane is,
he is making us an offer we can't refuse.  If we have
to work with one of those devils, then we'd better make
the best of it.  Maybe we could get a few exploding
arrows and some other magics out of it.  The smoke
powder I was able to get to spring you from Turnmoor
was great, but we burned big money getting it."

"Aye, we're none too rich.  I had a little set aside
fer a rainy day, but I had ta bury it on Thane's isle.
Rapina was dressed awful nice, ye don't suppose that
Necromancer found more than the bodies of me men, do
ye?"

"Hard ta say, sir.  Could be he's got some sorcerous
power like a divinin' rod.  As fer what Arzeal said,
I've seen temples o' Mortaebius before sir.  They're
all over.  Death's a good business, an' as far as I
know, every church has its powerful patrons, and it
stands ta reason a church of the god of the dead would
have men like Thane and Kroz under their rugs.  The
whole thing just seems too... plausable ta be entirely
a fake.  I say we have ta deal with 'em whether we like
it or not unless we can find ourselves another group o'
wizards to work with who'll scare 'em off.  Question
is, where can a bunch o' pirates expect ta find a nice
upstandin' cabal 'o wizards ta look out after our best
interests?"

"Aye, beggars can't be choosers.  Brackston, ye had me
ol' men jumpin' out o' their skins when ye thought
Doanthalas was a demon.  How do ye think ye would
handle yerself around th' real thing?"

"Captain, yew're not considering..."

"I'm askin' fer better ideas an' so far we're comin' up
empty.  What do ye want me ta do?  Go ta the church o'
the vindicator an' ask 'em ta help us out against their
enemy?  That'd go over like a lead balloon.  In case ye
didn't know, th' vindicator's a god o' justice an'
righteousness.  I'm sure they'd be real glad ta cash in
are chips fer us.  We could hire areselves a wizard 'er
two if we had a hoard o' money, but are income ain't up
ta retainin' a mage."

"Us payin' wizards w' dead bodies is like someone
hirein' a mage fer spent fire wood.  It's a damn good
deal if ye can get over th' creepiness o' th' devil,
an' the fact that one o' 'em bested me battle skills,
killed me men, an almost got me executed.  Not ta
mention scarin' us all half ta death.  Kroz is a nervy
cuss even ta ask, but by the sounds o' things, it was
Rapina who swayed 'em ta deal.  He might have been
assumin' we wouldn't work with 'im, on account of
Thane, so 'e were goin' ta cash in are chips just like
the ol' vindicator would.

I have ta agree w' Arzeal, either we go inta this deal
whole hog an choke back are fear o' spooks like Roger,
or we go fer a separate an' early retirement.  Bein' as
how I lost me retirement money, I say we go in whole
hog.  Let's get as much as we can fer every cadaver an'
make 'im solve some o' the problems that have been
plaguin ' us since Thane just about ruined me.  Maybe I
could get some money out of 'im.  I'm sure 'e'd have
limits, but let's press 'em.  An' if 'e wants cadavers,
we'll give 'im cadavers.  It's one thing we seem ta be
good at makin'.

On th' other hand, now's th' time ta get out if ye need
to, with no hard feelin's.  Brackston, I can admit
retirin' might be th' thing ta do, an' if ye want ta go
an' take Slice with ye, I don't have a problem with
that.  Ye'll be sorely missed.  On th' other hand, I
can't afford anyone ta go daft on me w' fear or
superstition.  If we're goin' ta work with spooks, we'd
better buck up an' get used to it.  Let the recruits
pee their pants, we can't afford to.  If ye can't give
Roger a kiss on th' mouth, then ye'd better get out
while ye can."

"Heh, 'kiss death on the lips,' It's got a good ring to
it, sir," Skitch said.  I'm in for now, long as I can
retire in a few years when I have a nest egg.  I don't
want ta stay around 'till after the religious war's
over."

"Aye, this piratin' business is gettin' too
complicated.  Let's keep an eye on that holy war so we
know when are services will no longer be needed.  In
th' mean time, I have ta see what I can get outa Roger.
Just my luck I'd be negotiatin' with me own ex-first
mate.  How in hell's name am I supposed ta lie good?
That fool used ta do me books!"

"Bring that bag o' bones an' me scarlet wench back in
here.  Skitch, Arzeal, Drake, stay with me an' let me
know if ye get any wild ideas.  Pike, Brackston, stay
'er go as ye like.  All o' ye remember, I'm the fool
doin' th' negotiatin' here.  If ye 'ave an idea,
whisper it in me ear, don't go blurtin' it out ta th'
opposition half-baked, and remember whatever deal we
cut is fer th' ears o' the officers only.  We'll figure
out how ta sell it ta the men later; 'mean time th'
less they know, th' better."
---

Rapina and Roger returned.

"All right, I decided ta make a deal with ye, only
because I couldn't think o' another wizard who would
work with a bunch o' bloodthirsty pirates.  However, if
ye want a steady supply o' stiffs, ye're goin' ta have
ta help me solve a few o' me problems," Jack said.

Preventin' wizardly spies is fine fer th' long run, but
it ain't goin' ta get any work done.  It just shores up
a leak that hasn't sprung yet.  Th' worst leak I have
spy wise right now is me recruits, I can never be sure
if I got an honest ta goodness human spy on me hands.
Second thing is I'm broke, damn Thane took all me
money, I'll be wantin' it back.  Another thing, if
ye're workin' fer a mage, we'd like a little canned
magic ta help us out in emergencies, what can ye do ta
increase are fire power, or heal are wounds?  Ye just
ruined me arms master's hand ye know, an' I don't have
a proper leech."

"If we strike a bargain, I can help you pick out spies
as I always did," Roger said. "My job would be to serve
you and see that Mortaebius' interests were protected.
Kroz may also be able to help with spies, but his magic
is only practical on an individual scale, so we will
have to narrow down who we wish to test.

The wealth and possessions Thane won in the battle on
the hill and your original bounty money are his.  He is
a good customer, and an upstanding worshipper of
Mortaebius.  Kroz has no wish to offend him.  He
removed the remains of your men, but those were easily
replaced with the bodies of other men, and Thane will
never know the difference.  The money, however is
another matter entirely."

Captain red Jack swore under his breath.  "What ye're
sayin' is Thane already spent me money.  What about me
ships?  They're sittin' at th' bottom o' 'is cove?"
Jack asked.

"Kroz cannot simply take your ships from Thane's cove.
Again, they would be missed," Roger said.

"Well, if ye want yer cadavers, ye're goin' ta have ta
sweeten th' deal a little more than ye have.  I can get
along without yer wise council an' that way I won't
have ta worry about me recruits peein' their pants.
Have ye got anything ta offer other than a bit o'
advice an' some protection from wizards spyin' on me?

"Kroz has the ability to make healing potions, but he
lacks an important ingredient.  If you would like to
make a side deal with him to help him fetch a certain
creature, then he believes he can offer you healing
potions at a cut rate. "

"What ye're sayin' is ye cannot even offer us healin'
right now," Captain Red Jack grimaced.

"Healing is not germane to the god of the dead, however
Kroz is aware of a type of necromantic spell that can
be used to drain the life force of another and bestow
it on the necromancer to heal him.  There may be a way
to bestow the life force drained on a wounded
individual other than the necromancer.  He will look
into the matter, but can guarantee nothing.  He can,
however, increase your emergency fire power."

"What kind o' fire power are we talkin' about?" Jack
asked.

"Kroz can make you limited quantities of magical
incendiary arrows that burst in a five-foot radius of
magical flame," Roger said.

"Aye, fire balls ten foot across.  Those would come in
useful.  Now what about th' stiffs ye want.  Do I get
th' same service whether I give ye two or two hundred
in a month?  Ye know there are times in th' winter when
raidin' ain't possible, like right now fer instance. An
also there are times when we have ta make a run for it
an' can't be pickin up the stiffs."

"I am well-aquainted with those facts.  If you exceed
three hundred sixty-five corpses in a year, Kroz will
be willing to trade additional services or money for
additional corpses if they are needed," Roger said.

"Three hundred sixty-five!  Are ye daft?  Make that a
hundred fifty," Jack said.

"Two hundred fifty," Roger replied.

"A hundred seventy-five," Jack countered.

"Two hundred is my minimum," Roger said. "Adequately
warding a camp and one or more ships is an expensive
proposition."

"Damn it! Ye had one hell o' a poker face when ye were
alive, now yer not even playin' fair.  Two hundred it
is, but ye have to agree ta fix me arms master's hand
pronto," Jack said.

"Done," Roger replied.

"Now what about them magic arrows?" Jack asked.

"Kroz can provide ten per year, free," Roger said.

"That wouldn't even be enough ta fill a quiver, make it
forty.  We're gettin' little enough out of ye as it
is," Jack said.

"Twenty - ten per six months, but only for the first
year, to help you get established," Roger said.  You
can purchase more with money or corpses if Kroz needs
them.  There are a number of other side deals that are
possible as well.  Advanced animations often require
the cadavers of certain types of people.  Had I not in
life been efficient, dispassionate and unquestioning
loyal, for instance, I could not have become a death of
Mortaebius."

"Damn it Roger, twenty fire arrows every year, and
forty the first.  Th' heat is really on me since I
offended a lot of folks escapin' me execution this
year.  If ye 'ave useful sorceries, we can deal fer
'em.  Healin' an' fire, bein' th' most useful things I
can think of at th' moment.  If ye think ye got an
interestin' item, then give us a show, an' maybe we'll
work somethin' out if we can afford to."

"Done, but you will provide the unenchanted arrows,"
Roger said.

"Deal.  Arzeal likes 'is own arrows better anyway,"
Jack replied.  "What about a leech?"

"You will have to recruit a leech yourself.  You may
side deal with Kroz for mundane medicines compounded in
his laboratory if you wish," Roger said.

"All right, now we're gettin' somewhere.  What about
ye, Roger, what can ye do for me?" Jack asked.

"I can do anything I did in life, but I cannot work in
the light of the sun, captain," Roger said.

"No sun? I don't see why not, ye're lookin' mighty pale
ta me, Roger.  It looks like ye could use a tan," Jack
chuckled.

"All right ye're going ta protect me from wizardly
spyin' an' help keep me mundane spy problem to a
minimum with yer own wisdom an' th' necromancer's
magic.  Ye're going ta give me a quiver o' fire arrows
every year an' two quivers of 'em this year, an ye're
going ta sell me other magics ye have fer a reasonable
price.  What about if I go over 200 cadavers in a year
an' you could use 'em.  How much are ye willing to pay
for 'em?

"One gold per corpse," Roger said.

"One gold!?  Is that all a man's life is worth these
days, a single gold piece?" Jack asked.

"If the price is too high, then Kroz will be less
likely to buy your product.  You and I both know you
can have a man killed in any large city for a gold
Domain." Roger said.

"But a domain isn't even really all gold," Jack said.

"True, but it is what we usually mean by a gold piece,"
Roger said. "If a corpse is especially large or in mint
condition with no broken bones, we may give you more
for it, perhaps even a gold imperial.  Corpses that can
be used in advanced animations will be worth
considerably more, perhaps a gold dragon or even
several dragons."

"What do ye need ta have fer a special price?" Jack
asked.

"Look for exceptional skill at arms or thieving
abilities, people who have made a habit of evil deeds
in life, unquestioningly loyal warriors who follow the
orders of men of little conscience, and people who make
an art of complaining.  Any of these traits if
possessed in good measure will increase the value of
the cadaver," Roger said.

Captain Red Jack jotted a few notes in one of his log
books.  "Aye, I'll keep that in mind. One thing though,
if we get one o' these special corpses before we have
filled out th' quota o' 200, we still get ta sell 'im
at th' good price, not give 'im away fer free.
Otherwise I'm not goin' ta even try ta figure out who
might be o' special use to ye," Jack said.

"Agreed.  Corpses usable for advanced animations will
be dealt for separately from those usable only as
mundane undeads.  If you give us a corpse you think
should work for an advanced animation, however, and you
are wrong, we will expect a refund one and a half times
the original price," Roger said.

"One and a half!  But how do I know you'd be tellin'
the truth?" Jack asked.

"You will have to trust us, but you will likely know
when you give us a corpse with dubious credentials.
Since advanced animations are so time-consuming, Kroz
does not wish to waste his time on cadavers that will
not work out.  If you stand to loose if you give us a
bad corpse, I am sure you will seldom give us one.  If
you know you have a corpse that might be usable for
advanced animations, but you are unsure, tell us, and
we will charge you only a single gold over the original
price as a refund.  It is possible to check the
credentials using divinations and speaking with the
dead, but it is not worth the magic involved unless the
odds are reasonably good.

Now, how do ye propose to pick up th' corpses.  I can't
be having a pile o' smelly stiffs hangin' around me
ships fer long," Jack said.

"Kroz and I have put together a map.  It includes the
sites of shipwrecks and river battles as well as
graveyards near the river Augustana and her navigable
tributaries. These will serve as drop points where Kroz
can pick up the bodies.  He will check in with me
periodically and we will make arrangements on where any
new cadavers will be turned over.  The exchange must
always take place at night," Roger said.

"Aye, then I'll need mage lights fer me ships and such
like so we can run at night," Jack said.

"We will equip your ships with strong red spotlights
for that purpose.  Moreover we will provide you and
your officers with mage lights that can be opened to
expose white light or closed partway so that light is
channeled through a red crystal or shut off
completely," Roger said.

"That'll come in handy fer other times as well.  Ye
drive a hard bargain Roger Death, 'an ye got a poker
face I can see through, but it ain't much help ta see
inta yer skull.  Do I have ta sign me name in blood
somewhere?"

The terms of the agreement will be recorded and you
will receive a copy, but signatures might identify the
signers, therefore a simple handshake with death should
do the job.  Roger held out his boney hand.

Captain Red Jack looked at Roger's hand. "One more
thing.  As a part of are deal, I want me wench ta visit
now an' again.  I know she's an apprentice an' all
that, but I want ta see her when we make are exchanges
'an fer visits now an' again. Another thing, Roger, I
want ye ta help me intimidate me recruits when they
need intimidatin'," Jack said.

"Done.  You shall see Rapina during most exchanges of
corpses and you may invite her to stay for short
periods now and again.  She will have to keep up with
her studies, however, so you will have to work out the
details with her and she with Kroz.   I will serve you
as I always did, following your orders as long as they
do not contradict the wishes of Kroz or Mortaebius.  If
you wish me to help you in the management of the
recruits, I will do so," Roger said.

Let's shake on it then.  Captain Red Jack fearlessly
grabbed Roger's hand and shook it. "It's a deal!"

Roger shook the captain's hand, "I am sure Mortaebius
is pleased that you will be working with us, and I am
satisfied to return to your side."  Roger reached into
his black robe and began handing Red Jack mage lights.
The chains that held them were made of brass; the rods
were of black, red and clear glass, and the sliders
were tin.

The captain handed lights to his officers then toyed
with the light he had kept for himself.  "This'll sure
beat stumblin' around w' torches in th' rain."

Rapina saw that, in spite of its diminutive size the
new light Thane had given her was  more powerful than
the ones given to Jack.  On the other hand, Rapina felt
her light was overly strong and was glad she could
adjust its power by moving the slider to cover more or
less of the lighted crystal.

As Roger handed Jack a copy of  the map of the
graveyards along the river Augustana, Jack made a show
of looking between Rapina's magnificent breasts.  "I
see ye got a nice set o' lamps there too, wench."

Rapina blushed.

---

The story continues in [Rapina]027 In The Eyes of a
Sword on, The Touch of Darkness, page.

copyright 2001, 2002 by Rapina