The Smiling Demon
I
“It is truly a Culmunus blessed day, is it not, my Lady?” Katrina heard her maidservant, Sori, ask.
They were standing on the portside deck of the ocean-going merchant ship, the Majestic Dream, staring out into the vastness of the Magnata Ocean before them. For two days, Porsuran the Sea God let loose his fury upon their helpless vessel. But today was clear and bright. The sailors interpreted this as proof that Posuran had judged them worthy of proceeding.
“Indeed it is, Sori,” Katrina answered. “It seems even the Gods wish me to leave home behind.” Katrina leaned against the rail with her head slightly bowed.
“I’m with you, my Lady. Isn’t that enough?”
Katrina looked at her maidservant and grinned at her. Sori’s long, dark brown hair swayed violently in the wind, much like her light blue dress. Her pretty, heart-shaped face brightened into an innocent smile that couldn’t help but melt Katrina’s heart.
“Yes, it is,” she replied while putting her arm around Sori in a friendly embrace.
Katrina continued to stare off into the endless ocean before her. Sori was correct, it did appear to be a beautiful, brilliant day in the middle of the Time of Scorch. Behind her the dual suns of the world, the blue Water Sun and the red Blood Sun, were just above the horizon. In front of her, at portside, one of the three moons of the world, Middle Child, could still be seen, though she didn’t deem it interesting to look at it. Instead, Katrina looked back to the events that led to her to where she was now. Salesa, her home, was a city-state on the coast in great turmoil. All of Salesa, including the Panarchaol, the ruling council that was composed of the city’s oligarchy, was divided almost exactly by half. Prior to that, Salesa had become wealthier and more powerful than at any time in her history. The Sorentas wished to use that power to directly administer neighboring Hyzephyrian city-states. The Mariats did not think that was best for Salesa. A civil war was the only result that could come from such a division of very powerful people.
Katrina’s father, Helsphant, was understandably worried. As a member of the oligarchy, he had to take a side in the coming struggle, or properties would be vandalized or even confiscated. In the end, he chose to side with the Mariats. But the only result of that was to put his family in danger of assassin’s knives. Katrina’s brothers, as men, would be expected to take such danger with perverse pride. Katrina, on the other hand, had to be taken to safety if at all possible.
To that end, Helsphant made arrangements to send the sixteen-year-old Katrina to Cremes, a landlocked city-state north-east of Salesa, by way of the coastal city of Barastan. Katrina’s mother came from Cremes, so there would be family there to care for her. Furthermore, she would be safest there, as the Sorentas would never dare to give the Mariats reasons to ally themselves with others by spreading the war. But despite everything, Katrina was depressed. Her family was going to be in great danger all the time. Meanwhile, she would get precious little news from home, being so far away. And all that time, all she could do would be to pray to the Gods.
Katrina felt another’s presence coming to her. She heard boot steps and she knew he was a man. She glanced at his direction, but as she didn’t turn her head, she didn’t see who it was.
“How are you today, Milady?” asked the ship’s captain.
“I am doing well, Captain Maric,” Katrina answered, not untruthfully. She was physically well, even if she wasn’t emotionally.
“We are making good time to Barastan,” the captain said. At Barastan, Katrina would be picked up by her mother’s family, and escorted to Cremes. “The wind is blowing north, and the ocean is nice and calm.”
Katrina looked to the ship’s bow and beyond to her destination. The journey from Salesa to Barastan was about four days, and they had traveled for three. But as she looked to her ever closer destination, she spotted something on the horizon.
The captain noticed Katrina’s attitude, and understood why. So he sought to remedy the situation. “Perhaps you would like to see the coast?” the captain asked the solemn Lady. “We are only two leagues from it, and it is quite beautiful at this hour.” But Katrina couldn’t bear to look there now. She liked looking at the endless expanse of ocean. One could look out there for hours and never feel a part of a group.
“No, thank you captain. I am fine where I am.”
“Very well,” he replied.
Katrina again looked toward her destination, almost wishing that it would never come. And as she did, she again saw that same weird object on the horizon, only larger.
“Captain, what is that?” Katrina asked as she pointed ahead.
The captain looked down Katrina’s arm to see what she was pointing at.
“I have no idea,” Maric said truthfully. “Teras,” the captain called to one of his officers. The captain went to the stern of his ship with Katrina following behind. Maric pointed out to Katrina’s mysterious object and Teras peered out. He took a brief look and reported.
“It’s another ship,” replied Teras. “And I believe that it’s a Barastan vessel.” Teras was blessed by the Gods with excellent, falcon-like sight. His reports on the horizon were almost never wrong.
“What are we going to do captain?” asked Katrina.
“We will call out to them. If they are willing to pass us by, we should be able to get some information about Barastan.” And so the captain called for the sea horn, a specially designed and magically endowed device used to call out to long distances. A sharp and clear noise was created by the horn that was only heard by those the horn was pointed at.
The horn was blown, and all they could do was wait for a reaction. A little while later, it was obvious that the ship had answered the call, as they were coming to them.
“Barastan will be nice,” said Sori to Katrina a short time later. “We’ll probably have to stay there a few days before we go to Cremes. So we can watch one of Almech’s plays, and even tour the marketplace and see all the great architecture. Perhaps even see the Garden of Melea,” she said sheepishly, because it was a dream of hers to see it. Sori was saying all this to cheer up Katrina, and Katrina appreciated it all. In fact she started smiling at Sori’s plan, if only because her uncle would not have planned for any of it to happen.
These two friends, guests on this ship, were sitting on the top deck, starboard-side. Sitting behind some large jars full of provisions, they mostly stayed out of the way of the crew and enjoyed their beautiful day. Katrina’s light-brown hair was poured over her green dress, as she looked up at the two suns of the world. Then it was announced that the Barastan ship was coming up on port-side.
Katrina went straight for the rail on that side of the ship. Being in and around ships all of her life, Katrina cold tell that it was a good ship, if a little worn down. The Barastan flag could clearly be seen on the top of the main mast. The new ship had a narrower hull and a swallower draft, a ship built more for speed than for cargo. Its sail was raised as they were against the wind, so the ship was now rowing to them with three rows of oars.
“The flags on the mast lines are a message,” said Thrakë, the ship’s first mate, to Katrina. “They say that they wish to talk and perhaps conduct a little ship to ship trading,” he continued.
“Oh, is that a good thing?” asked Katrina.
“Indeed it is,” came the reply.
Katrina, of course, knew all this. Ships and trade made her family one of the rulers of Salesa, so she knew these things almost by blood memory. But as any proper Lady knew, it was best to make men feel important. And so she let Thrakë continue on explaining aspects of the oncoming ship.
But as he was talking, the other ship lowered its messaging flags. That was a strange practice to Katrina. Usually the flags stayed where they were until another ship was sighted. But here the flags were lowered when they were about three leagues away. However, they were from a different city so this must be a different practice. But then new flags were raised. They were only black and red in an interesting pattern: three black, two red, one black, two red, and repeated.
“Quenessa, save us,” Thrakë quietly prayed to the queen of the gods. “They’re pirates! We called pirates to us!”
A strong chill of fear went through Katrina at the first-mate’s words. If any of the stories about pirates told to her were true, she was much safer in war-torn Salesa then on the Majestic Dream. According to those stories, pirates lived amongst the citizenry of coastal cities, going out to sea to plunder, only to return to sell their ill-gotten goods. Some pirates even were merchants who decided to do some ‘side business.’’
Katrina looked at the first-mate, desperate now for manly protectiveness. But instead he was in the throes of stark terror, and Katrina’s heart sank.
“We must flee at once,” called one of the crew. “Hard to starboard!”
“No,” cried the first-mate, regaining his courage. “We have let these ‘sea-wolves’ come too close to us. We will never out-run them now.”
“He is correct,” echoed the captain. “The only thing to do now is fight. To arms! Thrakë, see to it.”
At once Thrakë bolted away from Katrina and started barking orders. Even faster than his words, the crew steeled themselves and armed for battle. Captain Maric, for his part, made straight for Katrina.
“Milady,” he said when he arrived, “I want you to go down into the hold. Near the aft, you will find dirty rags and carpentry wood. Hide in the rags, and no matter what you hear going on up here…”
“Aie!” one of the crew suddenly screamed. “It’s the demon. The Smiling Demon is upon us.”
Katrina looked back at the ship. Almost on the ship’s stern stood a human-like figure. At this distance, all she could see was that it wore a torn and weather-beaten coat. Its face, however, was shiny and silver looking. And eerily enough, its face was locked in an inhumanly wide, mean-looking smile.
Katrina looked back at the captain for the rest of her instructions. But Maric’s face had turned sea-foam white. At that sight, Katrina became scared now more than before, and looked at the rest of the crew. Hope left her entirely at the sight. While most had stopped to stare blankly at the incoming ship, some were hugging their knees and muttering to themselves.
It was Thrakë who broke the stupor. “Come on men,” he shouted. “Let’s get to it.”
“No!” shouted the captain. “No, put up the blue flags. We shall surrender.”
Katrina saw that the command hit Thrakë hard, but that he understood perfectly why.
“Duramos,” the captain called, “fetch two sick cloaks.”
“Sick cloaks?” Katrina asked.
“Yes,” answered the captain. And he looked directly into Katrina’s eyes. “I want you and your hand-maiden to put them on. Stand as far away from the pirates as you can, and do nothing to draw their attention. If they do address you, respond to them in as deep a voice as you can, pretend as though you were a man.”
Katrina was perplexed at the plan. “What about hiding in the rags in the…?”
But Maric shook his head vigorously. “No,” he said. “That plan for was if they won the battle. In the throes of their victory they would take only things of value and leave trash alone. Now I am giving them time to search more thoroughly, so they would find you there.”
“Why?” asked Katrina.
“Because, it is the Smiling Demon,” Maric said through gritted teeth, clutching Katrina harshly by her arms. “Most pirates just leave some survivors and go off. But he leaves no survivors and sets fire to the ship afterwards.”
Only now did Katrina understand the danger they faced in this demon. Then Deramos appeared and gave both her and Sori sick-cloaks. They were woolen cloaks dyed black. With black gloves and a scarf, they ensemble managed to convey that the individual was to be kept at a distance.
The two women put them on, with Sori aiding her Lady. They then stood on the starboard side of the ship, near where they just were having their talk.
The pirate’s ship rowed right up close to the Majestic Dream. At the right moment, grappling hooks were sent over the rails, tying the two ships together. As gangplanks were strewn across, several pirates stood on their ship’s rail with arrows notched to bows, ready against trickery. As if good sailors knew treachery, thought Katrina. Then more pirates scurried their way across the gangplanks onto the captured ship. “On your knees,” one of them barked out with a harsh voice, and everyone, including Katrina and Sori, did just that.
Then the Demon came over, and a rush of relief came over Katrina. For instead of a manifest denizen of Hell, before her was nothing more than a man. He still wore his tattered coat, unbuttoned now with the hood down, but underneath that was armor, dirty, unkempt armor. A breastplate worn over a hauberk, gauntlets, and shin greaves were all the protect he had. Upon his face was a circular, shining steel mask with mouth slits patterned into a wide, toothy smile. The eye-holes were triangles pointed down, making the whole visage terrifying and indeed demonic.
Once the Smiling Demon had walked onto the Majestic Dream, he took off his mask in a slow motion. Katrina gasped involuntarily, for underneath that visage of Hell, the man was quite handsome, and looked no older than herself. He had hair the color of straw and gray eyes. He scanned the deck of the ship with such murderous intensity, that Katrina wondered if he would just slaughter the crew, and herself, on a whim.
“Where is the captain of this ship?” he finally asked in a soft, malicious voice. Still, Katrina was relieved at this, as it gave her hope that there would be no bloodshed.
Captain Maric immediately stood up. He presented himself with such dignity that Katrina was astonished that he was so terrified moments ago.
“What are you carrying on this ship?” the Smiling Demon asked, with intense malice.
“Two hundred bushels of apples from Notorene, two hundred seventy sealed barrels of coffee beans from Chessaly, forty weaves of silk from the Far East, fifty fine swords form Amitia, and eighty gold ingots from Salesa.”
Katrina grimaced at the mention of those last two. Those were her father’s gift to her mother’s family for taking her in. And instead they were going to Norkata damned pirates. Katrina glared menacingly at Maric for that betrayal, although something in the back of her mind told her it was for the best.
“Well captain,” the pirate captain said, “bring it all up.”
“Yes,” Maric agreed, and signaled to his men.
For the next few hours, the crew of the Majestic Dream hauled up their cargo by hand and placed it within the pirates’ ship. At first Katrina wondered what she and Sori would have to do in this back-breaking process. But the crew waved them off, claiming that their sickness made then unreliable and they would only get in the way. Katrina was grateful for such, as there was no way her delicate frame could have managed such hard-labor. She resolved then to have them all excellently rewarded for that.
Meanwhile, the Smiling Demon watched on, poised as if he were some conquering general watching the treasure of a defeated city carted home. His attitude sickened Katrina immeasurably. What right did he have to do this? she thought. He was no noble-born man of honor, who was entitled to the world.
When the last of the cargo was brought to the pirates’ ship, and the rest of the crew was safely back aboard and once again on their knees, Maric told the Smiling Demon to leave.
“Really? We have everything?” the pirate leader asked, bemused.
“Yes,” Maric replied, perplexed. “I am no fool who would hold out on you.”
The Smiling Demon smiled at Maric, a smile full of cruel intent.
“Why did you surrender to us?” the pirate asked.
“Well, because I figured you would spare us then. If it is known that you bestow mercy, then you would have an easier time of pirating off of Hyzephyria, as mariners would just give it to you.” However, by Maric’s tone, he did not truly believe it, or had just lost faith of it.
“Really?” the pirate asked, apparently astonished. “You just gave us a sovereign’s ransom in valuables. I’ve met men who have fought over less.”
Katrina was having trouble following the Smiling Demon’s logic, and evidently so did Captain Maric. But, Katrina was also having trouble placing the pirate captain’s strange accent. He spoke Barbari well enough, but it didn’t sound native at all. Katrina wondered if he was of that race of men that would attack Hyzephyrian ships, with the heads of sharks upon the bows of their ships, and then disappear to their island havens in the middle of the Magnata. But he did not look much like the descriptions she had heard.
“Besides,” continued the Smiling Demon, “those swords and gold bars were hardly worth shipping at such low volumes. Unless they’re gifts. And those gifts mean that there is someone of importance on your ship. And you’re trying to protect them aren’t you?”
Katrina’s heart leapt to her throat at the accusation. Captain Maric was beside himself.
“That…that is absurd!” he stammered out. But the pirate cut him off.
“Oh, I know now that you’re hiding a noble. Why else would you look so frightened? Clearly she is a woman; a man would have fought on regardless of the risk. So, where is she?”
“I surly have no idea what you are talking about,” Maric protested. But the Smiling Demon was having none of that.
“You will tell me where she is,” the Smiling Demon said violently, “or I will begin killing your crew one by one at random. Starting with him,” he said, pointing at some hapless crew-man.
Maric quickly made a move toward the Smiling Demon, but one of the pirates intercepted him. Another pirate unsheathed his sword and made his way to the chosen victim. As the pirate lifted his sword, Katrina mad her decision, and went to reveal herself. But not quickly enough.
“Halt,” yelled Sori as she threw off her hood and scarf. “I am the one you seek,” she said.
Sori walked straight toward the Smiling Demon, taking off her cloak as she did so. Sori walked with such grace and poise, that she almost looked every bit the noble she wasn’t. Katrina was conflicted on what to do now. She was more than willing to sacrifice herself to save a lowly crew-man’s life, and she was triply willing to do so for Sori. But to reveal herself now would be to make Sori’s sacrifice in vain. Katrina could hardly dishonor her like that, could she?
Standing before the Smiling Demon, Sori looked at him with the dignity of a highborn woman. “I am Lady Sori,” she claimed. “You needn’t harm the crew anymore. You may take me to do with as you will.” Sori tried desperately to hide the fear in her voice, to no avail.
But quick as the snake that he was, the Smiling Demon delivered a stunning blow to Sori’s midsection, causing her to double over in pain.
Monster! Katrina silently screamed. She glared now at the Smiling Demon with a look of murder in her eyes. Would that Helestia would come down and tear out your throat!
But the goddess of vengeance did not come, even as the Smiling Demon gazed across the ship’s deck.
“Nothing,” he said softly after a while. “Not a single man rose up to defend you. Not even the captain. You’re not that important after all!” he said with greater intensity. “You’re certainly not important to me!”
The Smiling Demon then grabbed Sori by the throat and pulled out a steel dagger. Before he could even move it in Sori’s direction Katrina screamed. Standing up, she quickly made her way to the Smiling Demon.
“I am Lady Katrina,” she said to his face. “She,” she indicated to Sori, “is my maid-servant, Sori.”
The Smiling Demon grabbed Katrina by her hair and brought her in close, to the protestations of Captain Maric. After making a few sniffs, he looked her right in the eyes.
“Well, you certainly smell rich,” he said, hopefully meaning her perfume. “Where were you going?”
“I was on my way to Barastan,” she replied truthfully. “There I was to meet my uncle, who lives in Cremes. Once with him I was to be placed under his care at his mansion. He is a very powerful man, who will do anything to see that I am made safe,” Katrina hoped that she had given the pirates a fright. She had not.
“You should hope that ‘anything’ includes paying ransom for his brother’s daughter. Hmm…Barastan’s roughly a day or two away from here. Captain,” he said to Maric, “I’m sure a man of honor such as yourself will report this to the concerned parties. Tell them that in seven days we are to meet at a place three miles south of Barastan. There is an isolated beach that smugglers make frequent use of. The authorities in Barastan should help them find it. They are to bring,” he looked at Katrina then, sizing her up said, “two hundred and eight pounds of gold,” approximately doubling her weight in gold. “We will make the exchange sometime after noon. Remember, seven days from now.”
Captain Maric glared murderously at the Smiling Demon, but agreed to do it nonetheless. The Smiling Demon made to take Katrina personally to his ship when Sori stopped him.
“No, I want to go with her.”
“Sori, no,” exclaimed Katrina.
“Now, now,” said the Smiling Demon. “If she wants to come, that’s her choice.” He then grabbed Sori roughly by the arm. “But you’ll only be serving my crew,” he said, and he threw Sori to one of his pirates.
In his arms, Sori began to whimper; only now realizing what she had gotten herself into. Katrina begged the Smiling Demon not to do that to Sori.
“It was her choice,” the Smiling Demon said, unmoved by Katrina’s pleas.
As the Smiling Demon led Katrina over the gangplanks onto his ship, she looked back at the Majestic Dream. Only a few hours ago, she hated being on that ship. Now she wished for more time on it. She didn’t realize until now just how safe he felt on that wooden horse. And now she was leaving it to sail now on a ship of terror. It was all she could do not to weep.
“Lady Katrina,” the Smiling Demon announced as they boarded, “welcome to Porsuran’s Hate.
They were standing on the portside deck of the ocean-going merchant ship, the Majestic Dream, staring out into the vastness of the Magnata Ocean before them. For two days, Porsuran the Sea God let loose his fury upon their helpless vessel. But today was clear and bright. The sailors interpreted this as proof that Posuran had judged them worthy of proceeding.
“Indeed it is, Sori,” Katrina answered. “It seems even the Gods wish me to leave home behind.” Katrina leaned against the rail with her head slightly bowed.
“I’m with you, my Lady. Isn’t that enough?”
Katrina looked at her maidservant and grinned at her. Sori’s long, dark brown hair swayed violently in the wind, much like her light blue dress. Her pretty, heart-shaped face brightened into an innocent smile that couldn’t help but melt Katrina’s heart.
“Yes, it is,” she replied while putting her arm around Sori in a friendly embrace.
Katrina continued to stare off into the endless ocean before her. Sori was correct, it did appear to be a beautiful, brilliant day in the middle of the Time of Scorch. Behind her the dual suns of the world, the blue Water Sun and the red Blood Sun, were just above the horizon. In front of her, at portside, one of the three moons of the world, Middle Child, could still be seen, though she didn’t deem it interesting to look at it. Instead, Katrina looked back to the events that led to her to where she was now. Salesa, her home, was a city-state on the coast in great turmoil. All of Salesa, including the Panarchaol, the ruling council that was composed of the city’s oligarchy, was divided almost exactly by half. Prior to that, Salesa had become wealthier and more powerful than at any time in her history. The Sorentas wished to use that power to directly administer neighboring Hyzephyrian city-states. The Mariats did not think that was best for Salesa. A civil war was the only result that could come from such a division of very powerful people.
Katrina’s father, Helsphant, was understandably worried. As a member of the oligarchy, he had to take a side in the coming struggle, or properties would be vandalized or even confiscated. In the end, he chose to side with the Mariats. But the only result of that was to put his family in danger of assassin’s knives. Katrina’s brothers, as men, would be expected to take such danger with perverse pride. Katrina, on the other hand, had to be taken to safety if at all possible.
To that end, Helsphant made arrangements to send the sixteen-year-old Katrina to Cremes, a landlocked city-state north-east of Salesa, by way of the coastal city of Barastan. Katrina’s mother came from Cremes, so there would be family there to care for her. Furthermore, she would be safest there, as the Sorentas would never dare to give the Mariats reasons to ally themselves with others by spreading the war. But despite everything, Katrina was depressed. Her family was going to be in great danger all the time. Meanwhile, she would get precious little news from home, being so far away. And all that time, all she could do would be to pray to the Gods.
Katrina felt another’s presence coming to her. She heard boot steps and she knew he was a man. She glanced at his direction, but as she didn’t turn her head, she didn’t see who it was.
“How are you today, Milady?” asked the ship’s captain.
“I am doing well, Captain Maric,” Katrina answered, not untruthfully. She was physically well, even if she wasn’t emotionally.
“We are making good time to Barastan,” the captain said. At Barastan, Katrina would be picked up by her mother’s family, and escorted to Cremes. “The wind is blowing north, and the ocean is nice and calm.”
Katrina looked to the ship’s bow and beyond to her destination. The journey from Salesa to Barastan was about four days, and they had traveled for three. But as she looked to her ever closer destination, she spotted something on the horizon.
The captain noticed Katrina’s attitude, and understood why. So he sought to remedy the situation. “Perhaps you would like to see the coast?” the captain asked the solemn Lady. “We are only two leagues from it, and it is quite beautiful at this hour.” But Katrina couldn’t bear to look there now. She liked looking at the endless expanse of ocean. One could look out there for hours and never feel a part of a group.
“No, thank you captain. I am fine where I am.”
“Very well,” he replied.
Katrina again looked toward her destination, almost wishing that it would never come. And as she did, she again saw that same weird object on the horizon, only larger.
“Captain, what is that?” Katrina asked as she pointed ahead.
The captain looked down Katrina’s arm to see what she was pointing at.
“I have no idea,” Maric said truthfully. “Teras,” the captain called to one of his officers. The captain went to the stern of his ship with Katrina following behind. Maric pointed out to Katrina’s mysterious object and Teras peered out. He took a brief look and reported.
“It’s another ship,” replied Teras. “And I believe that it’s a Barastan vessel.” Teras was blessed by the Gods with excellent, falcon-like sight. His reports on the horizon were almost never wrong.
“What are we going to do captain?” asked Katrina.
“We will call out to them. If they are willing to pass us by, we should be able to get some information about Barastan.” And so the captain called for the sea horn, a specially designed and magically endowed device used to call out to long distances. A sharp and clear noise was created by the horn that was only heard by those the horn was pointed at.
The horn was blown, and all they could do was wait for a reaction. A little while later, it was obvious that the ship had answered the call, as they were coming to them.
“Barastan will be nice,” said Sori to Katrina a short time later. “We’ll probably have to stay there a few days before we go to Cremes. So we can watch one of Almech’s plays, and even tour the marketplace and see all the great architecture. Perhaps even see the Garden of Melea,” she said sheepishly, because it was a dream of hers to see it. Sori was saying all this to cheer up Katrina, and Katrina appreciated it all. In fact she started smiling at Sori’s plan, if only because her uncle would not have planned for any of it to happen.
These two friends, guests on this ship, were sitting on the top deck, starboard-side. Sitting behind some large jars full of provisions, they mostly stayed out of the way of the crew and enjoyed their beautiful day. Katrina’s light-brown hair was poured over her green dress, as she looked up at the two suns of the world. Then it was announced that the Barastan ship was coming up on port-side.
Katrina went straight for the rail on that side of the ship. Being in and around ships all of her life, Katrina cold tell that it was a good ship, if a little worn down. The Barastan flag could clearly be seen on the top of the main mast. The new ship had a narrower hull and a swallower draft, a ship built more for speed than for cargo. Its sail was raised as they were against the wind, so the ship was now rowing to them with three rows of oars.
“The flags on the mast lines are a message,” said Thrakë, the ship’s first mate, to Katrina. “They say that they wish to talk and perhaps conduct a little ship to ship trading,” he continued.
“Oh, is that a good thing?” asked Katrina.
“Indeed it is,” came the reply.
Katrina, of course, knew all this. Ships and trade made her family one of the rulers of Salesa, so she knew these things almost by blood memory. But as any proper Lady knew, it was best to make men feel important. And so she let Thrakë continue on explaining aspects of the oncoming ship.
But as he was talking, the other ship lowered its messaging flags. That was a strange practice to Katrina. Usually the flags stayed where they were until another ship was sighted. But here the flags were lowered when they were about three leagues away. However, they were from a different city so this must be a different practice. But then new flags were raised. They were only black and red in an interesting pattern: three black, two red, one black, two red, and repeated.
“Quenessa, save us,” Thrakë quietly prayed to the queen of the gods. “They’re pirates! We called pirates to us!”
A strong chill of fear went through Katrina at the first-mate’s words. If any of the stories about pirates told to her were true, she was much safer in war-torn Salesa then on the Majestic Dream. According to those stories, pirates lived amongst the citizenry of coastal cities, going out to sea to plunder, only to return to sell their ill-gotten goods. Some pirates even were merchants who decided to do some ‘side business.’’
Katrina looked at the first-mate, desperate now for manly protectiveness. But instead he was in the throes of stark terror, and Katrina’s heart sank.
“We must flee at once,” called one of the crew. “Hard to starboard!”
“No,” cried the first-mate, regaining his courage. “We have let these ‘sea-wolves’ come too close to us. We will never out-run them now.”
“He is correct,” echoed the captain. “The only thing to do now is fight. To arms! Thrakë, see to it.”
At once Thrakë bolted away from Katrina and started barking orders. Even faster than his words, the crew steeled themselves and armed for battle. Captain Maric, for his part, made straight for Katrina.
“Milady,” he said when he arrived, “I want you to go down into the hold. Near the aft, you will find dirty rags and carpentry wood. Hide in the rags, and no matter what you hear going on up here…”
“Aie!” one of the crew suddenly screamed. “It’s the demon. The Smiling Demon is upon us.”
Katrina looked back at the ship. Almost on the ship’s stern stood a human-like figure. At this distance, all she could see was that it wore a torn and weather-beaten coat. Its face, however, was shiny and silver looking. And eerily enough, its face was locked in an inhumanly wide, mean-looking smile.
Katrina looked back at the captain for the rest of her instructions. But Maric’s face had turned sea-foam white. At that sight, Katrina became scared now more than before, and looked at the rest of the crew. Hope left her entirely at the sight. While most had stopped to stare blankly at the incoming ship, some were hugging their knees and muttering to themselves.
It was Thrakë who broke the stupor. “Come on men,” he shouted. “Let’s get to it.”
“No!” shouted the captain. “No, put up the blue flags. We shall surrender.”
Katrina saw that the command hit Thrakë hard, but that he understood perfectly why.
“Duramos,” the captain called, “fetch two sick cloaks.”
“Sick cloaks?” Katrina asked.
“Yes,” answered the captain. And he looked directly into Katrina’s eyes. “I want you and your hand-maiden to put them on. Stand as far away from the pirates as you can, and do nothing to draw their attention. If they do address you, respond to them in as deep a voice as you can, pretend as though you were a man.”
Katrina was perplexed at the plan. “What about hiding in the rags in the…?”
But Maric shook his head vigorously. “No,” he said. “That plan for was if they won the battle. In the throes of their victory they would take only things of value and leave trash alone. Now I am giving them time to search more thoroughly, so they would find you there.”
“Why?” asked Katrina.
“Because, it is the Smiling Demon,” Maric said through gritted teeth, clutching Katrina harshly by her arms. “Most pirates just leave some survivors and go off. But he leaves no survivors and sets fire to the ship afterwards.”
Only now did Katrina understand the danger they faced in this demon. Then Deramos appeared and gave both her and Sori sick-cloaks. They were woolen cloaks dyed black. With black gloves and a scarf, they ensemble managed to convey that the individual was to be kept at a distance.
The two women put them on, with Sori aiding her Lady. They then stood on the starboard side of the ship, near where they just were having their talk.
The pirate’s ship rowed right up close to the Majestic Dream. At the right moment, grappling hooks were sent over the rails, tying the two ships together. As gangplanks were strewn across, several pirates stood on their ship’s rail with arrows notched to bows, ready against trickery. As if good sailors knew treachery, thought Katrina. Then more pirates scurried their way across the gangplanks onto the captured ship. “On your knees,” one of them barked out with a harsh voice, and everyone, including Katrina and Sori, did just that.
Then the Demon came over, and a rush of relief came over Katrina. For instead of a manifest denizen of Hell, before her was nothing more than a man. He still wore his tattered coat, unbuttoned now with the hood down, but underneath that was armor, dirty, unkempt armor. A breastplate worn over a hauberk, gauntlets, and shin greaves were all the protect he had. Upon his face was a circular, shining steel mask with mouth slits patterned into a wide, toothy smile. The eye-holes were triangles pointed down, making the whole visage terrifying and indeed demonic.
Once the Smiling Demon had walked onto the Majestic Dream, he took off his mask in a slow motion. Katrina gasped involuntarily, for underneath that visage of Hell, the man was quite handsome, and looked no older than herself. He had hair the color of straw and gray eyes. He scanned the deck of the ship with such murderous intensity, that Katrina wondered if he would just slaughter the crew, and herself, on a whim.
“Where is the captain of this ship?” he finally asked in a soft, malicious voice. Still, Katrina was relieved at this, as it gave her hope that there would be no bloodshed.
Captain Maric immediately stood up. He presented himself with such dignity that Katrina was astonished that he was so terrified moments ago.
“What are you carrying on this ship?” the Smiling Demon asked, with intense malice.
“Two hundred bushels of apples from Notorene, two hundred seventy sealed barrels of coffee beans from Chessaly, forty weaves of silk from the Far East, fifty fine swords form Amitia, and eighty gold ingots from Salesa.”
Katrina grimaced at the mention of those last two. Those were her father’s gift to her mother’s family for taking her in. And instead they were going to Norkata damned pirates. Katrina glared menacingly at Maric for that betrayal, although something in the back of her mind told her it was for the best.
“Well captain,” the pirate captain said, “bring it all up.”
“Yes,” Maric agreed, and signaled to his men.
For the next few hours, the crew of the Majestic Dream hauled up their cargo by hand and placed it within the pirates’ ship. At first Katrina wondered what she and Sori would have to do in this back-breaking process. But the crew waved them off, claiming that their sickness made then unreliable and they would only get in the way. Katrina was grateful for such, as there was no way her delicate frame could have managed such hard-labor. She resolved then to have them all excellently rewarded for that.
Meanwhile, the Smiling Demon watched on, poised as if he were some conquering general watching the treasure of a defeated city carted home. His attitude sickened Katrina immeasurably. What right did he have to do this? she thought. He was no noble-born man of honor, who was entitled to the world.
When the last of the cargo was brought to the pirates’ ship, and the rest of the crew was safely back aboard and once again on their knees, Maric told the Smiling Demon to leave.
“Really? We have everything?” the pirate leader asked, bemused.
“Yes,” Maric replied, perplexed. “I am no fool who would hold out on you.”
The Smiling Demon smiled at Maric, a smile full of cruel intent.
“Why did you surrender to us?” the pirate asked.
“Well, because I figured you would spare us then. If it is known that you bestow mercy, then you would have an easier time of pirating off of Hyzephyria, as mariners would just give it to you.” However, by Maric’s tone, he did not truly believe it, or had just lost faith of it.
“Really?” the pirate asked, apparently astonished. “You just gave us a sovereign’s ransom in valuables. I’ve met men who have fought over less.”
Katrina was having trouble following the Smiling Demon’s logic, and evidently so did Captain Maric. But, Katrina was also having trouble placing the pirate captain’s strange accent. He spoke Barbari well enough, but it didn’t sound native at all. Katrina wondered if he was of that race of men that would attack Hyzephyrian ships, with the heads of sharks upon the bows of their ships, and then disappear to their island havens in the middle of the Magnata. But he did not look much like the descriptions she had heard.
“Besides,” continued the Smiling Demon, “those swords and gold bars were hardly worth shipping at such low volumes. Unless they’re gifts. And those gifts mean that there is someone of importance on your ship. And you’re trying to protect them aren’t you?”
Katrina’s heart leapt to her throat at the accusation. Captain Maric was beside himself.
“That…that is absurd!” he stammered out. But the pirate cut him off.
“Oh, I know now that you’re hiding a noble. Why else would you look so frightened? Clearly she is a woman; a man would have fought on regardless of the risk. So, where is she?”
“I surly have no idea what you are talking about,” Maric protested. But the Smiling Demon was having none of that.
“You will tell me where she is,” the Smiling Demon said violently, “or I will begin killing your crew one by one at random. Starting with him,” he said, pointing at some hapless crew-man.
Maric quickly made a move toward the Smiling Demon, but one of the pirates intercepted him. Another pirate unsheathed his sword and made his way to the chosen victim. As the pirate lifted his sword, Katrina mad her decision, and went to reveal herself. But not quickly enough.
“Halt,” yelled Sori as she threw off her hood and scarf. “I am the one you seek,” she said.
Sori walked straight toward the Smiling Demon, taking off her cloak as she did so. Sori walked with such grace and poise, that she almost looked every bit the noble she wasn’t. Katrina was conflicted on what to do now. She was more than willing to sacrifice herself to save a lowly crew-man’s life, and she was triply willing to do so for Sori. But to reveal herself now would be to make Sori’s sacrifice in vain. Katrina could hardly dishonor her like that, could she?
Standing before the Smiling Demon, Sori looked at him with the dignity of a highborn woman. “I am Lady Sori,” she claimed. “You needn’t harm the crew anymore. You may take me to do with as you will.” Sori tried desperately to hide the fear in her voice, to no avail.
But quick as the snake that he was, the Smiling Demon delivered a stunning blow to Sori’s midsection, causing her to double over in pain.
Monster! Katrina silently screamed. She glared now at the Smiling Demon with a look of murder in her eyes. Would that Helestia would come down and tear out your throat!
But the goddess of vengeance did not come, even as the Smiling Demon gazed across the ship’s deck.
“Nothing,” he said softly after a while. “Not a single man rose up to defend you. Not even the captain. You’re not that important after all!” he said with greater intensity. “You’re certainly not important to me!”
The Smiling Demon then grabbed Sori by the throat and pulled out a steel dagger. Before he could even move it in Sori’s direction Katrina screamed. Standing up, she quickly made her way to the Smiling Demon.
“I am Lady Katrina,” she said to his face. “She,” she indicated to Sori, “is my maid-servant, Sori.”
The Smiling Demon grabbed Katrina by her hair and brought her in close, to the protestations of Captain Maric. After making a few sniffs, he looked her right in the eyes.
“Well, you certainly smell rich,” he said, hopefully meaning her perfume. “Where were you going?”
“I was on my way to Barastan,” she replied truthfully. “There I was to meet my uncle, who lives in Cremes. Once with him I was to be placed under his care at his mansion. He is a very powerful man, who will do anything to see that I am made safe,” Katrina hoped that she had given the pirates a fright. She had not.
“You should hope that ‘anything’ includes paying ransom for his brother’s daughter. Hmm…Barastan’s roughly a day or two away from here. Captain,” he said to Maric, “I’m sure a man of honor such as yourself will report this to the concerned parties. Tell them that in seven days we are to meet at a place three miles south of Barastan. There is an isolated beach that smugglers make frequent use of. The authorities in Barastan should help them find it. They are to bring,” he looked at Katrina then, sizing her up said, “two hundred and eight pounds of gold,” approximately doubling her weight in gold. “We will make the exchange sometime after noon. Remember, seven days from now.”
Captain Maric glared murderously at the Smiling Demon, but agreed to do it nonetheless. The Smiling Demon made to take Katrina personally to his ship when Sori stopped him.
“No, I want to go with her.”
“Sori, no,” exclaimed Katrina.
“Now, now,” said the Smiling Demon. “If she wants to come, that’s her choice.” He then grabbed Sori roughly by the arm. “But you’ll only be serving my crew,” he said, and he threw Sori to one of his pirates.
In his arms, Sori began to whimper; only now realizing what she had gotten herself into. Katrina begged the Smiling Demon not to do that to Sori.
“It was her choice,” the Smiling Demon said, unmoved by Katrina’s pleas.
As the Smiling Demon led Katrina over the gangplanks onto his ship, she looked back at the Majestic Dream. Only a few hours ago, she hated being on that ship. Now she wished for more time on it. She didn’t realize until now just how safe he felt on that wooden horse. And now she was leaving it to sail now on a ship of terror. It was all she could do not to weep.
“Lady Katrina,” the Smiling Demon announced as they boarded, “welcome to Porsuran’s Hate.
II
Katrina was quickly brought to the captain’s cabin, and told to stay in there. While there, her terrified mind shut down. She had no idea what to do in this situation. If she was held in a Sorentian dungeon, she could easily appeal to their civility. But these were pirates; there was nothing she could do about her predicament.
As day became night, Katrina’s thoughts turned to Sori. Sori was born to a family slave less than a year after Katrina herself was born. Being of similar age, the two would often be put together to play. In time they would become the very best of friends. They even secretly, very secretly, hoped that Sori’s unknown father was in fact Katrina’s father, so that they could possibly be sisters. And in fact, the two were very much like sisters, though their relationship is and always was that of a master and a slave.
And now Sori was in a worse hell than Katrina was. Katrina began to cry.
But then the Smiling Demon came into the cabin, and she stopped crying immediately; she would not show weakness to this man. He glanced over to her as he went to place his tattered coat on a rack. He then began to take off his armor, starting with the gauntlets.
“We’re ransoming you off to your uncle, right?” he then asked. “Why’s that? Why did you have to leave home?”
Katrina crossed her arms over her chest and said nothing. She would defy him as long as she was aboard his ship. When the Smiling Demon saw this, he paused in the middle of taking off his breastplate. He then placed it on the floor and walked towards Katrina in a friendly manner. But when he got close to her, he grabbed her by throat and hit her three times with his bare fist. Katrina tried to block it, but he was too fast.
Slamming her onto the floor, he barked out, “Don’t ever treat me like that! You hear me? Never!”
Frightened and crying, Katrina could only whimper out her reply of yes. The Smiling Demon let go of her and backed away. Turning his back on her, he asked his question again, and this time Katrina dared not to answer.
“I co…come from…from Salesa. The…the city is about to…to descend into c..civil war. So…so my father sent me to Cremes to be safe.
The Smiling Demon looked at her and his face lit up. “Salesa is about to start fighting with itself? Excellent. Privateers will be much in demand.” The Smiling Demon was licking his chops at the prospect of legal piracy. “But I won’t be able to do it as the Smiling Demon most likely. And I might need a proxy, someone not foreign.
At the mention of ‘someone not foreign,’ Katrina looked up at the Smiling Demon. So he really is not Hyzephyrian, she thought. Before she could even think of the possible consequences, she asked him where he was from.
The Smiling Demon looked at her, suddenly remembering she was there. He then smiled at her in a creepy, comforting way.
“I am Thorathor Diorivick. I come from a village that is far to the north of Hyzephyria.”
“North of Hyzephyria?” exclaimed Katrina. “You mean north of the Wall!? You lived amongst orcs!?”
Thorathor laughed at that. “No, no,” he said, “I lived in a land that even orcs dare not tread.”
That statement horrified Katrina to no end. Orcs were, without doubt, the most terrifying creatures in all of Ubernorden, probably all of Aerith. That there was someplace they wouldn’t go, and Thorathor was from there, it was enough to drive Katrina mad with fright.
“It is a harsh, cold land, with the only farmable portions near the frozen coast,” Thorathor continued on, disregarding Katrina’s green color. “You’re considered god-blessed if you live for the first three years. You must fight in your first battle on your tenth year of life. I was twelve years living when my village was attacked and burned. So many warriors were sent to the Halohelt on that day. I stayed and fought, but eventually there was nothing left to fight for. For four years I traveled eastward, living like a mercenary as I went, until I met a group of long distance raiders on the coast of the Magnata Ocean. I’ve been a pirate ever since.”
Katrina almost could not believe what she was hearing. Thorathor’s brief summation of his life was obviously something that bothered him, or he wouldn’t have droned on about it. She wanted to ask him more, but fear of his reaction stopped her.
Once Thorathor had stopped he continued to remove his armor in silence. When his hauberk was off, he took off his sword belt. It was then Katrina noticed his weapon, and it wasn’t a commonly used blade. Its blade was roughly twenty inches in length, and curved from its unusual cross guard to its point. Normally used Hyzephyrian swords, the xenaphos sword, were about the same length but straight and leaf-shaped. Her curiosity got the best of her, and Katrina asked what it was. To her immediate relief, he gave her a look and smiled, holding the sword aloft.
“Ah, yes,” he said with pride in his voice. “On a whim, my former captain decided to sail straight into the Magnata Ocean to see just how far he could get. Not many wanted to sail into certain doom, but I and just enough for a skeleton crew joined in his experiment.
“Oh the wonders I saw on that voyage. I saw a group of young kraken try to attack our ship. I saw a double rainbow in two circles in the sky. A pod of some of the largest whales I’ve ever seen spraying almost in rhythmic time.” He paused in almost blissful reminiscence.
He then looked at his sword, getting back on track with his story. “We were almost at the endpoint of our journey. Another two or three days and we were going to turn back. But on this day we discovered another ship, a ship of unusual design out in the open ocean. Its hull was of a curved shape, and had wooden bars in the sail, rather than a plain sheet. Naturally we boarded her and found half-dead survivors.
“We decided to be ‘charitable’ and gave them some food. Out of gratitude, they told us everything. They didn’t come a whole new world, but from an archipelago. Apparently the entirely of the Magnata Ocean is dotted with islands large and small. Unfortunately, those islands were too far away for our little ship, it would take a major effort to send an expedition there.
“Once our questions were answered, we slaughtered them and looted their ship. This sword came from that ship. I was lucky to find it first, though I had to use it in order to keep it. Thankfully, the captain said that it was mine, and I’ve kept it since.”
Katrina was awestruck by the story told to her. However, there was one question on her mind that she just had to ask.
“Who is this captain you speak of?”
Thorathor looked at her with a subtle look of surprise, as he had not expected that question. “That was the pirate, Korbias Monfree. You would know him as the Smoke Monster,” he said to Katrina was flourish.
Indeed, Katrina had heard of the Smoke Monster.
“The Smoke Monster?” she asked unbelieving. “You were under the Smoke Monster? What was he like?”
“Pretty much like the stories,” Thorathor answered. “Hard drinking, never backing down from a fight, and harsh to his enemies.” Of course Katrina knew that Thorathor’s harsh was her cruelty.
As he spoke of his former captain, Thorathor walked over to his hammock. For a moment he just looked at it. Then he picked up the real object he was staring at, his Smiling Demon mask. He held it up and looked right into its eyes.
“It was he who gave me the idea for this, you know.”
Katrina was dumbstruck. “He told you to become the Smiling Demon?” she asked.
Thorathor was confused by her question. “No,” he said, “He didn’t tell me to become the Smiling Demon. He gave me the idea for it.
“Captain Monfree was known as the Smoke Monster because there was always a foul smelling smoke coming from his head. This was actually a kind-of hat, wig thing he would wear before going into any battle. It had long stiff strings soaked in tar and lamp oil. It was then lit to produce the stench and smoke. In addition to his long scraggily beard, it really was a vision out of hell.”
Katrina gave an involuntary shudder. She remembered a time when she was eleven; her father was having a private meeting with someone who worked for him. Though he wanted privacy, Katrina wanted, desired more than anything, to know what was going on. And while eavesdropping, she learned that the man had captained a ship her father owned. It was attacked by pirates, the man explained. And then he gave a description of the one leading the pirates, the Smoke Monster. Katrina had trouble sleeping for weeks after that bit of misbehavior.
“I was little more than a cabin-boy,” continued Thorathor. “But eventually, I was given the responsibility of helping Monfree assemble for battle. And one day I had the temerity to ask him why he went through all the trouble of putting it on.
“Well, he gave me a hard look and started to laugh. ‘Boy,’ he said, ‘this is my mark. It tells people who it is they’re dealing with. It scares them to know it’s me, and scared people don’t fight back. Know this boy, if you ever get your own captainship, make a mark of your own and you’ll own the seas.’
“A year or two later he retired to a place south of Portela. Might even still be there for all I know. But I took his advice, and when I formed my own crew, I made sure I found a mark.” He held his mask up in the air and admired it. “I’m not sure where or how I came up with this. But I do know that people fear my name all over Hyzephyria.”
Katrina could not help but feel impressed. Hearing this was like hearing tales of daring heroes in one’s family.
“That is incredible,” she said aloud.
Thorathor shook his head at her words, taken abruptly from his own little world. He delicately placed his mask on top of the rest of his attire, and then looked straight at Katrina.
“In two days we’ll arrive at a sea cave where we’ll keep you until the time of the ransom. Now get undressed,” he said with lecherous eyes.
Katrina was suddenly filled with more fright and dread than at any time of her life. “But you promised to return me unharmed!” she screeched.
“I never promised that,” the Smiling Demon said, eerily calm. “Get undressed!”
Katrina knew better than to disobey at this point. She could either let this happen to her, or she would be forced to do this. Whimpering and sobbing a little, Katrina undressed for the pirate captain.
As day became night, Katrina’s thoughts turned to Sori. Sori was born to a family slave less than a year after Katrina herself was born. Being of similar age, the two would often be put together to play. In time they would become the very best of friends. They even secretly, very secretly, hoped that Sori’s unknown father was in fact Katrina’s father, so that they could possibly be sisters. And in fact, the two were very much like sisters, though their relationship is and always was that of a master and a slave.
And now Sori was in a worse hell than Katrina was. Katrina began to cry.
But then the Smiling Demon came into the cabin, and she stopped crying immediately; she would not show weakness to this man. He glanced over to her as he went to place his tattered coat on a rack. He then began to take off his armor, starting with the gauntlets.
“We’re ransoming you off to your uncle, right?” he then asked. “Why’s that? Why did you have to leave home?”
Katrina crossed her arms over her chest and said nothing. She would defy him as long as she was aboard his ship. When the Smiling Demon saw this, he paused in the middle of taking off his breastplate. He then placed it on the floor and walked towards Katrina in a friendly manner. But when he got close to her, he grabbed her by throat and hit her three times with his bare fist. Katrina tried to block it, but he was too fast.
Slamming her onto the floor, he barked out, “Don’t ever treat me like that! You hear me? Never!”
Frightened and crying, Katrina could only whimper out her reply of yes. The Smiling Demon let go of her and backed away. Turning his back on her, he asked his question again, and this time Katrina dared not to answer.
“I co…come from…from Salesa. The…the city is about to…to descend into c..civil war. So…so my father sent me to Cremes to be safe.
The Smiling Demon looked at her and his face lit up. “Salesa is about to start fighting with itself? Excellent. Privateers will be much in demand.” The Smiling Demon was licking his chops at the prospect of legal piracy. “But I won’t be able to do it as the Smiling Demon most likely. And I might need a proxy, someone not foreign.
At the mention of ‘someone not foreign,’ Katrina looked up at the Smiling Demon. So he really is not Hyzephyrian, she thought. Before she could even think of the possible consequences, she asked him where he was from.
The Smiling Demon looked at her, suddenly remembering she was there. He then smiled at her in a creepy, comforting way.
“I am Thorathor Diorivick. I come from a village that is far to the north of Hyzephyria.”
“North of Hyzephyria?” exclaimed Katrina. “You mean north of the Wall!? You lived amongst orcs!?”
Thorathor laughed at that. “No, no,” he said, “I lived in a land that even orcs dare not tread.”
That statement horrified Katrina to no end. Orcs were, without doubt, the most terrifying creatures in all of Ubernorden, probably all of Aerith. That there was someplace they wouldn’t go, and Thorathor was from there, it was enough to drive Katrina mad with fright.
“It is a harsh, cold land, with the only farmable portions near the frozen coast,” Thorathor continued on, disregarding Katrina’s green color. “You’re considered god-blessed if you live for the first three years. You must fight in your first battle on your tenth year of life. I was twelve years living when my village was attacked and burned. So many warriors were sent to the Halohelt on that day. I stayed and fought, but eventually there was nothing left to fight for. For four years I traveled eastward, living like a mercenary as I went, until I met a group of long distance raiders on the coast of the Magnata Ocean. I’ve been a pirate ever since.”
Katrina almost could not believe what she was hearing. Thorathor’s brief summation of his life was obviously something that bothered him, or he wouldn’t have droned on about it. She wanted to ask him more, but fear of his reaction stopped her.
Once Thorathor had stopped he continued to remove his armor in silence. When his hauberk was off, he took off his sword belt. It was then Katrina noticed his weapon, and it wasn’t a commonly used blade. Its blade was roughly twenty inches in length, and curved from its unusual cross guard to its point. Normally used Hyzephyrian swords, the xenaphos sword, were about the same length but straight and leaf-shaped. Her curiosity got the best of her, and Katrina asked what it was. To her immediate relief, he gave her a look and smiled, holding the sword aloft.
“Ah, yes,” he said with pride in his voice. “On a whim, my former captain decided to sail straight into the Magnata Ocean to see just how far he could get. Not many wanted to sail into certain doom, but I and just enough for a skeleton crew joined in his experiment.
“Oh the wonders I saw on that voyage. I saw a group of young kraken try to attack our ship. I saw a double rainbow in two circles in the sky. A pod of some of the largest whales I’ve ever seen spraying almost in rhythmic time.” He paused in almost blissful reminiscence.
He then looked at his sword, getting back on track with his story. “We were almost at the endpoint of our journey. Another two or three days and we were going to turn back. But on this day we discovered another ship, a ship of unusual design out in the open ocean. Its hull was of a curved shape, and had wooden bars in the sail, rather than a plain sheet. Naturally we boarded her and found half-dead survivors.
“We decided to be ‘charitable’ and gave them some food. Out of gratitude, they told us everything. They didn’t come a whole new world, but from an archipelago. Apparently the entirely of the Magnata Ocean is dotted with islands large and small. Unfortunately, those islands were too far away for our little ship, it would take a major effort to send an expedition there.
“Once our questions were answered, we slaughtered them and looted their ship. This sword came from that ship. I was lucky to find it first, though I had to use it in order to keep it. Thankfully, the captain said that it was mine, and I’ve kept it since.”
Katrina was awestruck by the story told to her. However, there was one question on her mind that she just had to ask.
“Who is this captain you speak of?”
Thorathor looked at her with a subtle look of surprise, as he had not expected that question. “That was the pirate, Korbias Monfree. You would know him as the Smoke Monster,” he said to Katrina was flourish.
Indeed, Katrina had heard of the Smoke Monster.
“The Smoke Monster?” she asked unbelieving. “You were under the Smoke Monster? What was he like?”
“Pretty much like the stories,” Thorathor answered. “Hard drinking, never backing down from a fight, and harsh to his enemies.” Of course Katrina knew that Thorathor’s harsh was her cruelty.
As he spoke of his former captain, Thorathor walked over to his hammock. For a moment he just looked at it. Then he picked up the real object he was staring at, his Smiling Demon mask. He held it up and looked right into its eyes.
“It was he who gave me the idea for this, you know.”
Katrina was dumbstruck. “He told you to become the Smiling Demon?” she asked.
Thorathor was confused by her question. “No,” he said, “He didn’t tell me to become the Smiling Demon. He gave me the idea for it.
“Captain Monfree was known as the Smoke Monster because there was always a foul smelling smoke coming from his head. This was actually a kind-of hat, wig thing he would wear before going into any battle. It had long stiff strings soaked in tar and lamp oil. It was then lit to produce the stench and smoke. In addition to his long scraggily beard, it really was a vision out of hell.”
Katrina gave an involuntary shudder. She remembered a time when she was eleven; her father was having a private meeting with someone who worked for him. Though he wanted privacy, Katrina wanted, desired more than anything, to know what was going on. And while eavesdropping, she learned that the man had captained a ship her father owned. It was attacked by pirates, the man explained. And then he gave a description of the one leading the pirates, the Smoke Monster. Katrina had trouble sleeping for weeks after that bit of misbehavior.
“I was little more than a cabin-boy,” continued Thorathor. “But eventually, I was given the responsibility of helping Monfree assemble for battle. And one day I had the temerity to ask him why he went through all the trouble of putting it on.
“Well, he gave me a hard look and started to laugh. ‘Boy,’ he said, ‘this is my mark. It tells people who it is they’re dealing with. It scares them to know it’s me, and scared people don’t fight back. Know this boy, if you ever get your own captainship, make a mark of your own and you’ll own the seas.’
“A year or two later he retired to a place south of Portela. Might even still be there for all I know. But I took his advice, and when I formed my own crew, I made sure I found a mark.” He held his mask up in the air and admired it. “I’m not sure where or how I came up with this. But I do know that people fear my name all over Hyzephyria.”
Katrina could not help but feel impressed. Hearing this was like hearing tales of daring heroes in one’s family.
“That is incredible,” she said aloud.
Thorathor shook his head at her words, taken abruptly from his own little world. He delicately placed his mask on top of the rest of his attire, and then looked straight at Katrina.
“In two days we’ll arrive at a sea cave where we’ll keep you until the time of the ransom. Now get undressed,” he said with lecherous eyes.
Katrina was suddenly filled with more fright and dread than at any time of her life. “But you promised to return me unharmed!” she screeched.
“I never promised that,” the Smiling Demon said, eerily calm. “Get undressed!”
Katrina knew better than to disobey at this point. She could either let this happen to her, or she would be forced to do this. Whimpering and sobbing a little, Katrina undressed for the pirate captain.
III
After three days of traveling aboard the “Porsuran’s Hate,” Katrina was in the midst of a terrible depression. She was never let out of the captain’s cabin, so she rarely got to directly observe the wonderful travel conditions. But worst were the nights. Thorathor still used her as if she were his concubine, rather than a Lady. The nerve of that angered her only less than the shame she felt about it, since she couldn’t fight back. This only made her feel worse whenever she thought of Sori and what was happening to her.
Today she heard the pirates outside the cabin calling out and shouting to each other more so than usual. Katrina thought this to mean that they were nearing their destination. All Thorathor ever told her was that it was a cave. But since the first night, he was never so talkative. Katrina wondered if he now hated her for knowing what he told her.
The cabin grew darker then. It was far too early for it to be night, and it was too dark to be a cloud. In the darkness, Katrina let her other senses tell her what was going on. But with her inexperience with sailing, she couldn’t figure out much. So she sat there in silence trying to think of what awaited her in the cave.
Then the door to the cabin opened, and a pirate with a short brown beard holding a torch entered.
“Come with me,” he growled out softly, and Katrina didn’t think to disobey.
“Where are we?”
“It’s called the Shadow Cave,” the pirate answered. “It’s your new home for the moment.”
“I will be leaving then, soon?”
“Oh, yes. The Captain’s ransomed before, though it was by captives taken from rival crews. And he always returns the captive.” Unsurprisingly, Katrina was not reassured.
When she walked out of the cabin with her pirate escort, she found the ship already inside the cave. It was an enormous cavern, awesome to behold, Katrina noted that it was almost twice the size of her family’s mansion. A deep, harbor-like pool filled the cave up to a high ledge. This ledge seemed to act like a dock, and it was smooth all along the water’s edge. Beyond this ledge-dock, the cavern went on for a few yards until the jagged cave wall formed. The whole thing could have housed a small army with an accompanying fleet.
“Those crystals on the ceiling are called luminstones,” the pirate escort said.
Katrina hadn’t noticed the light emitting stones, or for that matter that there was visible light. But now that it was pointed out to her, she looked up and noticed that the cave ceiling was very high. “How did you ever manage to place those things up there?” she asked.
“We didn’t,” came the reply. “They were there before.”
“Well, who did, and why?”
“The captain says that Sea Elves mad the place. As for why, he doesn’t know.”
“Whatever the Sea Elves used this place for, it was before the Great Crisis,” stated Katrina, expressing her thoughts. “Or they’d probably still be using it. And have an actual presence in Hyzephyria.” Indeed the only community of elves that Katrina knew of that were close to Hyzephyria were the Wood Elves of the Northeast Wilderness which borders Orcland on the east.
Katrina was dragged off of the ship then and onto the ledge-dock. When she arrived, she saw Thorathor there as well giving orders to his crew. Now that she was on the ledge, Katrina saw that the wall was not as whole as she thought. Interspersed among the rough crags were hall-like tunnel entrances. Katrina actually wondered where they led. Her thoughts turned to escape, never minding that she could get lost, or worse.
But as quick as that kind of thinking came, they ended when Katrina spotted someone some distance away from her. “Sori,” she gasped out quietly. Sori appeared badly beaten and quite somber. “Sori!” Katrina shouted and ran to her friend. Sori’s mood picked up immediately upon seeing her master was well. Katrina embraced Sori in a tight hug without considering Sori’s pain form cracked ribs. Still holding her, Katrina looked right into Sori’s swollen, bruised face with grave conern.
“Lady Katrina, have you been struck?” asked Sori with deep concern.
Katrina knew she was talking about her black eye. Although it looked better than it once did, it was still quite visible.
“No, it is nothing,” Katrina said, not wanting Sori to start worrying about her.
Thorathor then walked up to them scowling as always. “You will be staying here until the day of the exchange,” he told them without preamble. “However, there are not enough provisions here for all of us to stay. So we will leave you here while the rest of us acquire more provisions. But you won’t be here alone; I don’t think you could survive alone. So I will leave you in the care of some of my men. Don’t worry, they won’t touch you.”
Thorathor made to leave, but Katrina stopped him. “Sori needs bandages and care. Will you provide them?”
Thorathor stared at Katrina with an intensity that made her quail. For a moment, she thought that he would deny this kindness just to spite her.
“Sure,” he finally said. “If she’s not treated, she might die. And then she’ll be no use whatsoever.”
“Hostages are troublesome that way,” Katrina said snarkily.
“Hostages?”
“Yes, hostages. What else would you call people you are planning to ransom?”
“I was never intending to ransom her off,” Thorathor said pointing at Sori. “Why would I?”
As Thorathor walked away, Katrina fell into despair. It had never occurred to her once that Sori would not be ransomed off with her. Sori saw her plight, and as usual, comforted her mistress.
“It is alright, my Lady. I am not that important after all.”
You are to me, Katrina said to herself. Just then, a terrible scream rent the air, a scream of abject terror. At once all pirates on the ledge looked in the direction of that terrible cry. Thorathor unsheathed his strange sword and immediately gestured for some to follow him. Katrina and Sori were left with the rest in great apprehension.
Katrina saw the pirates enter one of the tunnels and vanished. For a few agonizing minutes nothing was heard or seen. Then they came out, confused and angry.
“There are no evil spirits here Gegos,” Thorathor said. “I’ve been coming here since I crewed with Monfree. Nothing evil lives here!”
“Then who took Tahos?” asked someone who Katrina guessed was Gegos.
“We don’t know if Tahos was even taken,” said a different pirate.
“Tahos is no trickster,” claimed Gegos. “And he would never have screamed the way he had. Remember that time when Tahos leapt into the water to fight off those merfolk who were attacking our overboard comrades. Whatever spooked Tahos must be terrible indeed.”
“Captain,” another pirate asked, “what should we do?”
“Tahos is here somewhere,” Thorathor said. “This cave isn’t endless. We just have to find him. Salenos, take Rehmian, Thalos, Kelema, and Doriathemes and search the south end. Mahios take…” Thorathor trailed off and looked around, confused. “Where’s Salenos?” he final asked.
Everyone else looked around for Salenso, even Katrina and Sori, though they didn’t know what he looked like. Eventually it became apparent that Salenos wasn’t there. And that was when panic set in. The unknown horror had struck again, and this time, silently.
“Alright,” shouted Thorathor with closed eyes, “everyone, get back to the ship.”
The pirates began to move when they attacked. Creatures born of the nightmares of madmen spewed forth from the tunnels in the cave wall. They were hunched over and covered in scales like fish with large, milky eyes. Though they were shorter than the humans present, they moved with an inhuman speed, sword-like things in hand.
At their sight the pirates panicked and ran in every direction imaginable. Where they could run to, they didn’t care, and neither did Katrina and Sori, who ran as well. But before Katrina took three steps, she felt a cold, rough hand grasp her arm. Though she didn’t know whose hand it was, she immediately attacked the one who grabbed her. But her fist was too high, and the creature born of nightmares bore her onto its shoulders.
Katrina screamed and struggled, but the thing held on to her too well. All Katrina knew then was that the creature was taking her somewhere. Desperate to escape, she didn’t put any thought to the mind-breaking horrors that would befall her. She did, however, notice that she was being taken into a tunnel.
This tunnel was in fact dug by living creatures rather than moving water. But the tunnel’s rough and coarse digging stood in stark contrast to the cavern expertly carved out by elven skill. Torches were interspersed throughout the tunnel, giving off a particularly dim light. Katrina knew she was in the tunnel of the weird creatures. She stopped struggling as the enormity of her situation sunk into her.
After an unknown amount of time, Katrina was deposited into a dark chamber. Her abductor left her, and Katrina’s mind went wild. She was in the grip of such terror that none of her thoughts could coalesce. But with what little courage was left to her, she tried to think about a time in her life before now.
Her mind went to a time when she was ten years of age when Salesa was holding their annual Festival of Thanks. It was to be the first year that her oldest brother Helsphant the Younger would be able to compete in the Great Race, he even said that he would race for her. Later in the day, her older brother, Telmos, had promised to play with her; it would be the first time he treated her as an equal and not as a baby. Not yet old enough to be off on her own, Katrina walked along the crowded streets of Salesa with her father.
“Daddy, why do we do this every year,” a young Katrina asked, as she did every year since she learned to talk.
Helsphant the Elder, for his part, didn’t even realize that he was answering the same annual question again. “This is when we give thanks to the gods for existence. For without them, the Lich would have taken us all in ages past.”
“So the clowns and dancers are honoring the gods?”
“No, sweetheart,” Helsphant answered smiling at his daughter and patting her head. “They are here to entertain the observers. The games are where we give thanks to the gods. The spirit of competition heats up their blood, and makes them appreciate us all the more. And then we have the meal of thanks for all the gods have done for us.”
“Why do we have to make them appreciate us at all? What have they done for us lately?”
“Katrina! How could you say something like that?”
“Well,” Katrina said, unaware of her father’s contrition, “the Lich cannot get past the Adune Barrier. And the Black Wall, which we built, and the Keepers, who we support, keeps the orcs at bay. So why should we honor the gods?”
“Because,” Helsphannt said in an understanding manner, “the gods control the fate of us mortals, Katrina. It was they who gave us our wealth long ago so that we could live as luxuriously as we do.”
Katrina was rendered quite perplexed by her father’s last statement. “What do you mean? Does not everyone live like we do?”
Helsphant closed his eyes, realizing his daughter’s ignorance. “No, Katrina,” he said. “Most people are poor and don’t have the luxury to even eat much of the time.” Helsphant witnessed his daughter’s horror at that bit of information. “Do not worry over it, sweetheart. It just was not their fate to be born like us. But it was yours. So we should both thank the gods for that, should we not?”
Katrina didn’t answer her father. Her mind was too busy processing the fact that not everyone was rich like them. To her ten year-old mind, she couldn’t imagine anyone living differently than she did.
At once, Katrina’s side was struck by something. Back in the present, Katrina looked up to see a murderous looking Thorathor above her, his sword, soaked in some black liquid, raised above his head. She tried to get away, but something was on her and she couldn’t move fast enough. Thorathor thrust downward with his sword, and Katrina heard an inhuman, high-pitched scream that faded into silence.
Thorathor grabbed her roughly and growled out, “Get up!”
“But…but those…things,” Katrina stammered out as she stood.
“Don’t worry about those things,” Thorathor said. “See this sword,” he said, indicating his unusual blade. “It’s covered with their blood. Now I don’t know if they can die, but whenever I stick this into them, they stop moving. Now come on!”
Thorathor grabbed ahold of Katrina and started out of the chamber, into the evil things’ tunnels. Now that she had to travel through the tunnel herself she noticed how small it was. Both she and Thorathor had to crouch low in order to move through them.
“What happened?” Katrina asked.
“When those things attacked, I immediately fought back. My courage infected those of my people not taken and we drove them back.”
“And you came for me?”
“No,” Thorathor said icily. “I came for my men who didn’t manage to get free. I found you instead. And sadly, I cannot continue the search for them. Now hurry,” he growled.
Such was Katrina’s relief at being rescued that she barely acknowledged Thorathor’s malice. They traveled down the tunnels quite a ways, until one of the creatures ran into them. The shortness of the creature allowed it to stand basically upright, though it seemed to hunch forward naturally. It held in its hand a cruel looking sword, serrated and curved. Thorathor, unfortunately, had to crouch with bended legs to hold out his sword. Though Katrina was never taught how to use a sword, she knew that Thorathor was at an extreme disadvantage in this situation.
Thorathor put his sword behind him and leveled it for a thrust. For a few moments, neither one of the opponents moved, at both stood there silently eyeing one another. Then out of nowhere, the creature lunged forward. For an instant, Thorathor continued to remain still. But when the creature’s weapon was within inches of Thorathor, he thrust his sword clean through the creature’s torso.
Thorathor pulled out his sword and the two were off again. In spite of herself, Katrina was beginning to develop a certain affection for Thorathor. In her desperate and still endangered eyes, he seemed quite dashing as he led her away from the horrors that lived underground. Covered in the blood of his enemies, Katrina could almost see herself marrying such a man.
The fantasy soon vanished when she heard unusual noises and squeaks behind her. Both she and Thorathor turned around. Katrina couldn’t see anything down the tunnel, and she believed that Thorathor couldn’t either. Thorathor grabbed Katrina by the upper arm and they continued on. But only for a little ways, for that was when Thorathor stopped and looked at the sides of the tunnel.
Thorathor looked intently at something that bulged perceptively from the side that held a crystalline object that emitted a soft light. It appeared darker than the brown dirt surrounding them. Katrina looked to the other side of the tunnel and realized it was there as well. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Thorathor withdraw a knife, but her attention was on the strange object. She touched it and it felt rough but hard to her. It was certainly hard as wood. She traced the object up and down and noticed that more of the objects were above them, attached by a sinewy substance. On the ceiling, they were placed in a crisscross pattern. With a start, she realized what they were.
“These are support…beams…” she said to Thorathor, but she trailed off when she looked at him.
In the interim, Thorathor had carved a strange-looking symbol into the beam. He was now crouched there, close to the symbol, hands on the tunnel to either side of the beam, his forehead inches from the symbol. He was chanting in a language very alien to her. It sounded like he was saying, “lod dot breande.” Katrina recognized what he was doing was magic, but what spell? She knew better than to ask, lest his concentration be disturbed.
But soon enough, something happened. Some bright sparks emanated from the rune as it began to smoke. Thorathor grabbed Katrina again, and off they ran in the low tunnels. Behind her, Katrina heard a whoosh sound and looked behind to see the beam on fire. Katrina looked forward then and didn’t see the fire spread across the beams, destroying them one by one, though slowly. And as they left, the tunnel to hell, Katrina heard a soft thud coming from the tunnel, the unknown signal of the tunnel collapsing.
Out of the tunnel and into the cavern proper, Katrina was glad to smell the sea air. Then two xenaphos swords crossed Thorathor’s throat from either side of the tunnel exit. Two men then drove Thorathor to the ground and looked into the cave entrance.
“Lord Mikios,” one of the men called behind him, “we found her.”
As Katrina moved into the open cavern, she bore witness to a surreal sight. The remaining pirates were all on their knees, hands tied behind them, surrounded by armed men clad in pink capes; the color of Barastan. In the harbor, another ship was moored right next to the pirate’s ship. But before her brain could fully fathom what she was witnessing, she was turned around suddenly and embraced by a man.
“Katrina!” the man said. “Thank all the Ulerians you are safe.”
Still holding her, the man opened up to reveal himself. It was Mikios, her cousin from Cremes.
“Mikios! What are you doing here? How did you find us?”
He placed his hand on her cheek and said, “In due time, in due time. Take her to the ship,” he said to a man behind him. “Give her some food and warm clothes.”
As she was led away, Katrina overheard a different man yell out. “Which one of you is the Smiling Demon?” She turned her head and saw before the gathered pirates a tall, broad shouldered man with a long, rough beard. The size of the man frightened her and she guessed that the pirates were afraid also; for none of them moved. Except for one.
“I am the Smiling Demon,” Thorathor said, his hands now tied behind him.
“You?” the tall man said. “You don’t even look well enough to swab my ship.” The Barastan sailors laughed at the man’s insult; he was obviously the captain.
“Come to me then, so that I may use your beard as my mop.” The giant captain didn’t respond to that, and Katrina knew why. Even after three days of seeing it, Thorathor’s look of murder still froze her blood.
On the ship, she was led straight into the captain’s cabin. And there, for the first time in this entire ordeal, bliss finally overtook her.
“Sori,” she cried and ran straight into her still living friend.
For hours the two women talked to one another. Sori told Katrina that the nightmarish creatures only took a few of the pirates and Thorathor ordered an immediate pursuit. It was with sorrow that Sori admitted that it was a long time until she noticed Katrina was gone, any yet she did nothing, believing she couldn’t do anything to help, but Katrina forgave her servant. Sori continued, saying that pirate after pirate came back from the caves, but none came back rescuers. It was during this that the Barastan ship entered the cavern. After experiencing the attack by the nightmare beings, slight as it was, the pirates could not muster up the courage to fight back. As the only female in the group, Sori was taken by the sailors to the ship, while the pirates were questioned. She tried to tell the sailors where Katrina was taken, but she never knew what happened with that information until Katrina walked through the door.
When it was Katrina’s turn to tell her story, she did so in as much detail as possible. And when she was done, both of them fell asleep; though it was still midday.
Today she heard the pirates outside the cabin calling out and shouting to each other more so than usual. Katrina thought this to mean that they were nearing their destination. All Thorathor ever told her was that it was a cave. But since the first night, he was never so talkative. Katrina wondered if he now hated her for knowing what he told her.
The cabin grew darker then. It was far too early for it to be night, and it was too dark to be a cloud. In the darkness, Katrina let her other senses tell her what was going on. But with her inexperience with sailing, she couldn’t figure out much. So she sat there in silence trying to think of what awaited her in the cave.
Then the door to the cabin opened, and a pirate with a short brown beard holding a torch entered.
“Come with me,” he growled out softly, and Katrina didn’t think to disobey.
“Where are we?”
“It’s called the Shadow Cave,” the pirate answered. “It’s your new home for the moment.”
“I will be leaving then, soon?”
“Oh, yes. The Captain’s ransomed before, though it was by captives taken from rival crews. And he always returns the captive.” Unsurprisingly, Katrina was not reassured.
When she walked out of the cabin with her pirate escort, she found the ship already inside the cave. It was an enormous cavern, awesome to behold, Katrina noted that it was almost twice the size of her family’s mansion. A deep, harbor-like pool filled the cave up to a high ledge. This ledge seemed to act like a dock, and it was smooth all along the water’s edge. Beyond this ledge-dock, the cavern went on for a few yards until the jagged cave wall formed. The whole thing could have housed a small army with an accompanying fleet.
“Those crystals on the ceiling are called luminstones,” the pirate escort said.
Katrina hadn’t noticed the light emitting stones, or for that matter that there was visible light. But now that it was pointed out to her, she looked up and noticed that the cave ceiling was very high. “How did you ever manage to place those things up there?” she asked.
“We didn’t,” came the reply. “They were there before.”
“Well, who did, and why?”
“The captain says that Sea Elves mad the place. As for why, he doesn’t know.”
“Whatever the Sea Elves used this place for, it was before the Great Crisis,” stated Katrina, expressing her thoughts. “Or they’d probably still be using it. And have an actual presence in Hyzephyria.” Indeed the only community of elves that Katrina knew of that were close to Hyzephyria were the Wood Elves of the Northeast Wilderness which borders Orcland on the east.
Katrina was dragged off of the ship then and onto the ledge-dock. When she arrived, she saw Thorathor there as well giving orders to his crew. Now that she was on the ledge, Katrina saw that the wall was not as whole as she thought. Interspersed among the rough crags were hall-like tunnel entrances. Katrina actually wondered where they led. Her thoughts turned to escape, never minding that she could get lost, or worse.
But as quick as that kind of thinking came, they ended when Katrina spotted someone some distance away from her. “Sori,” she gasped out quietly. Sori appeared badly beaten and quite somber. “Sori!” Katrina shouted and ran to her friend. Sori’s mood picked up immediately upon seeing her master was well. Katrina embraced Sori in a tight hug without considering Sori’s pain form cracked ribs. Still holding her, Katrina looked right into Sori’s swollen, bruised face with grave conern.
“Lady Katrina, have you been struck?” asked Sori with deep concern.
Katrina knew she was talking about her black eye. Although it looked better than it once did, it was still quite visible.
“No, it is nothing,” Katrina said, not wanting Sori to start worrying about her.
Thorathor then walked up to them scowling as always. “You will be staying here until the day of the exchange,” he told them without preamble. “However, there are not enough provisions here for all of us to stay. So we will leave you here while the rest of us acquire more provisions. But you won’t be here alone; I don’t think you could survive alone. So I will leave you in the care of some of my men. Don’t worry, they won’t touch you.”
Thorathor made to leave, but Katrina stopped him. “Sori needs bandages and care. Will you provide them?”
Thorathor stared at Katrina with an intensity that made her quail. For a moment, she thought that he would deny this kindness just to spite her.
“Sure,” he finally said. “If she’s not treated, she might die. And then she’ll be no use whatsoever.”
“Hostages are troublesome that way,” Katrina said snarkily.
“Hostages?”
“Yes, hostages. What else would you call people you are planning to ransom?”
“I was never intending to ransom her off,” Thorathor said pointing at Sori. “Why would I?”
As Thorathor walked away, Katrina fell into despair. It had never occurred to her once that Sori would not be ransomed off with her. Sori saw her plight, and as usual, comforted her mistress.
“It is alright, my Lady. I am not that important after all.”
You are to me, Katrina said to herself. Just then, a terrible scream rent the air, a scream of abject terror. At once all pirates on the ledge looked in the direction of that terrible cry. Thorathor unsheathed his strange sword and immediately gestured for some to follow him. Katrina and Sori were left with the rest in great apprehension.
Katrina saw the pirates enter one of the tunnels and vanished. For a few agonizing minutes nothing was heard or seen. Then they came out, confused and angry.
“There are no evil spirits here Gegos,” Thorathor said. “I’ve been coming here since I crewed with Monfree. Nothing evil lives here!”
“Then who took Tahos?” asked someone who Katrina guessed was Gegos.
“We don’t know if Tahos was even taken,” said a different pirate.
“Tahos is no trickster,” claimed Gegos. “And he would never have screamed the way he had. Remember that time when Tahos leapt into the water to fight off those merfolk who were attacking our overboard comrades. Whatever spooked Tahos must be terrible indeed.”
“Captain,” another pirate asked, “what should we do?”
“Tahos is here somewhere,” Thorathor said. “This cave isn’t endless. We just have to find him. Salenos, take Rehmian, Thalos, Kelema, and Doriathemes and search the south end. Mahios take…” Thorathor trailed off and looked around, confused. “Where’s Salenos?” he final asked.
Everyone else looked around for Salenso, even Katrina and Sori, though they didn’t know what he looked like. Eventually it became apparent that Salenos wasn’t there. And that was when panic set in. The unknown horror had struck again, and this time, silently.
“Alright,” shouted Thorathor with closed eyes, “everyone, get back to the ship.”
The pirates began to move when they attacked. Creatures born of the nightmares of madmen spewed forth from the tunnels in the cave wall. They were hunched over and covered in scales like fish with large, milky eyes. Though they were shorter than the humans present, they moved with an inhuman speed, sword-like things in hand.
At their sight the pirates panicked and ran in every direction imaginable. Where they could run to, they didn’t care, and neither did Katrina and Sori, who ran as well. But before Katrina took three steps, she felt a cold, rough hand grasp her arm. Though she didn’t know whose hand it was, she immediately attacked the one who grabbed her. But her fist was too high, and the creature born of nightmares bore her onto its shoulders.
Katrina screamed and struggled, but the thing held on to her too well. All Katrina knew then was that the creature was taking her somewhere. Desperate to escape, she didn’t put any thought to the mind-breaking horrors that would befall her. She did, however, notice that she was being taken into a tunnel.
This tunnel was in fact dug by living creatures rather than moving water. But the tunnel’s rough and coarse digging stood in stark contrast to the cavern expertly carved out by elven skill. Torches were interspersed throughout the tunnel, giving off a particularly dim light. Katrina knew she was in the tunnel of the weird creatures. She stopped struggling as the enormity of her situation sunk into her.
After an unknown amount of time, Katrina was deposited into a dark chamber. Her abductor left her, and Katrina’s mind went wild. She was in the grip of such terror that none of her thoughts could coalesce. But with what little courage was left to her, she tried to think about a time in her life before now.
Her mind went to a time when she was ten years of age when Salesa was holding their annual Festival of Thanks. It was to be the first year that her oldest brother Helsphant the Younger would be able to compete in the Great Race, he even said that he would race for her. Later in the day, her older brother, Telmos, had promised to play with her; it would be the first time he treated her as an equal and not as a baby. Not yet old enough to be off on her own, Katrina walked along the crowded streets of Salesa with her father.
“Daddy, why do we do this every year,” a young Katrina asked, as she did every year since she learned to talk.
Helsphant the Elder, for his part, didn’t even realize that he was answering the same annual question again. “This is when we give thanks to the gods for existence. For without them, the Lich would have taken us all in ages past.”
“So the clowns and dancers are honoring the gods?”
“No, sweetheart,” Helsphant answered smiling at his daughter and patting her head. “They are here to entertain the observers. The games are where we give thanks to the gods. The spirit of competition heats up their blood, and makes them appreciate us all the more. And then we have the meal of thanks for all the gods have done for us.”
“Why do we have to make them appreciate us at all? What have they done for us lately?”
“Katrina! How could you say something like that?”
“Well,” Katrina said, unaware of her father’s contrition, “the Lich cannot get past the Adune Barrier. And the Black Wall, which we built, and the Keepers, who we support, keeps the orcs at bay. So why should we honor the gods?”
“Because,” Helsphannt said in an understanding manner, “the gods control the fate of us mortals, Katrina. It was they who gave us our wealth long ago so that we could live as luxuriously as we do.”
Katrina was rendered quite perplexed by her father’s last statement. “What do you mean? Does not everyone live like we do?”
Helsphant closed his eyes, realizing his daughter’s ignorance. “No, Katrina,” he said. “Most people are poor and don’t have the luxury to even eat much of the time.” Helsphant witnessed his daughter’s horror at that bit of information. “Do not worry over it, sweetheart. It just was not their fate to be born like us. But it was yours. So we should both thank the gods for that, should we not?”
Katrina didn’t answer her father. Her mind was too busy processing the fact that not everyone was rich like them. To her ten year-old mind, she couldn’t imagine anyone living differently than she did.
At once, Katrina’s side was struck by something. Back in the present, Katrina looked up to see a murderous looking Thorathor above her, his sword, soaked in some black liquid, raised above his head. She tried to get away, but something was on her and she couldn’t move fast enough. Thorathor thrust downward with his sword, and Katrina heard an inhuman, high-pitched scream that faded into silence.
Thorathor grabbed her roughly and growled out, “Get up!”
“But…but those…things,” Katrina stammered out as she stood.
“Don’t worry about those things,” Thorathor said. “See this sword,” he said, indicating his unusual blade. “It’s covered with their blood. Now I don’t know if they can die, but whenever I stick this into them, they stop moving. Now come on!”
Thorathor grabbed ahold of Katrina and started out of the chamber, into the evil things’ tunnels. Now that she had to travel through the tunnel herself she noticed how small it was. Both she and Thorathor had to crouch low in order to move through them.
“What happened?” Katrina asked.
“When those things attacked, I immediately fought back. My courage infected those of my people not taken and we drove them back.”
“And you came for me?”
“No,” Thorathor said icily. “I came for my men who didn’t manage to get free. I found you instead. And sadly, I cannot continue the search for them. Now hurry,” he growled.
Such was Katrina’s relief at being rescued that she barely acknowledged Thorathor’s malice. They traveled down the tunnels quite a ways, until one of the creatures ran into them. The shortness of the creature allowed it to stand basically upright, though it seemed to hunch forward naturally. It held in its hand a cruel looking sword, serrated and curved. Thorathor, unfortunately, had to crouch with bended legs to hold out his sword. Though Katrina was never taught how to use a sword, she knew that Thorathor was at an extreme disadvantage in this situation.
Thorathor put his sword behind him and leveled it for a thrust. For a few moments, neither one of the opponents moved, at both stood there silently eyeing one another. Then out of nowhere, the creature lunged forward. For an instant, Thorathor continued to remain still. But when the creature’s weapon was within inches of Thorathor, he thrust his sword clean through the creature’s torso.
Thorathor pulled out his sword and the two were off again. In spite of herself, Katrina was beginning to develop a certain affection for Thorathor. In her desperate and still endangered eyes, he seemed quite dashing as he led her away from the horrors that lived underground. Covered in the blood of his enemies, Katrina could almost see herself marrying such a man.
The fantasy soon vanished when she heard unusual noises and squeaks behind her. Both she and Thorathor turned around. Katrina couldn’t see anything down the tunnel, and she believed that Thorathor couldn’t either. Thorathor grabbed Katrina by the upper arm and they continued on. But only for a little ways, for that was when Thorathor stopped and looked at the sides of the tunnel.
Thorathor looked intently at something that bulged perceptively from the side that held a crystalline object that emitted a soft light. It appeared darker than the brown dirt surrounding them. Katrina looked to the other side of the tunnel and realized it was there as well. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Thorathor withdraw a knife, but her attention was on the strange object. She touched it and it felt rough but hard to her. It was certainly hard as wood. She traced the object up and down and noticed that more of the objects were above them, attached by a sinewy substance. On the ceiling, they were placed in a crisscross pattern. With a start, she realized what they were.
“These are support…beams…” she said to Thorathor, but she trailed off when she looked at him.
In the interim, Thorathor had carved a strange-looking symbol into the beam. He was now crouched there, close to the symbol, hands on the tunnel to either side of the beam, his forehead inches from the symbol. He was chanting in a language very alien to her. It sounded like he was saying, “lod dot breande.” Katrina recognized what he was doing was magic, but what spell? She knew better than to ask, lest his concentration be disturbed.
But soon enough, something happened. Some bright sparks emanated from the rune as it began to smoke. Thorathor grabbed Katrina again, and off they ran in the low tunnels. Behind her, Katrina heard a whoosh sound and looked behind to see the beam on fire. Katrina looked forward then and didn’t see the fire spread across the beams, destroying them one by one, though slowly. And as they left, the tunnel to hell, Katrina heard a soft thud coming from the tunnel, the unknown signal of the tunnel collapsing.
Out of the tunnel and into the cavern proper, Katrina was glad to smell the sea air. Then two xenaphos swords crossed Thorathor’s throat from either side of the tunnel exit. Two men then drove Thorathor to the ground and looked into the cave entrance.
“Lord Mikios,” one of the men called behind him, “we found her.”
As Katrina moved into the open cavern, she bore witness to a surreal sight. The remaining pirates were all on their knees, hands tied behind them, surrounded by armed men clad in pink capes; the color of Barastan. In the harbor, another ship was moored right next to the pirate’s ship. But before her brain could fully fathom what she was witnessing, she was turned around suddenly and embraced by a man.
“Katrina!” the man said. “Thank all the Ulerians you are safe.”
Still holding her, the man opened up to reveal himself. It was Mikios, her cousin from Cremes.
“Mikios! What are you doing here? How did you find us?”
He placed his hand on her cheek and said, “In due time, in due time. Take her to the ship,” he said to a man behind him. “Give her some food and warm clothes.”
As she was led away, Katrina overheard a different man yell out. “Which one of you is the Smiling Demon?” She turned her head and saw before the gathered pirates a tall, broad shouldered man with a long, rough beard. The size of the man frightened her and she guessed that the pirates were afraid also; for none of them moved. Except for one.
“I am the Smiling Demon,” Thorathor said, his hands now tied behind him.
“You?” the tall man said. “You don’t even look well enough to swab my ship.” The Barastan sailors laughed at the man’s insult; he was obviously the captain.
“Come to me then, so that I may use your beard as my mop.” The giant captain didn’t respond to that, and Katrina knew why. Even after three days of seeing it, Thorathor’s look of murder still froze her blood.
On the ship, she was led straight into the captain’s cabin. And there, for the first time in this entire ordeal, bliss finally overtook her.
“Sori,” she cried and ran straight into her still living friend.
For hours the two women talked to one another. Sori told Katrina that the nightmarish creatures only took a few of the pirates and Thorathor ordered an immediate pursuit. It was with sorrow that Sori admitted that it was a long time until she noticed Katrina was gone, any yet she did nothing, believing she couldn’t do anything to help, but Katrina forgave her servant. Sori continued, saying that pirate after pirate came back from the caves, but none came back rescuers. It was during this that the Barastan ship entered the cavern. After experiencing the attack by the nightmare beings, slight as it was, the pirates could not muster up the courage to fight back. As the only female in the group, Sori was taken by the sailors to the ship, while the pirates were questioned. She tried to tell the sailors where Katrina was taken, but she never knew what happened with that information until Katrina walked through the door.
When it was Katrina’s turn to tell her story, she did so in as much detail as possible. And when she was done, both of them fell asleep; though it was still midday.
IV
Hours later, when the warship was out to sea destined for Barastan, Mikios and the ship’s captain checked in on the two.
“How are you feeling?” the captain asked in his booming voice.
Katrina winced at the sound as she had grown used to Thorathor’s softer voice.
“The Lady Katrina is doing well,” answered Sori.
“Yes, I am,” Katrina confirmed. “But tell me, how was it that you found out where we were?”
“Oh, that is a strange tale,” said Mikios.
“When the Majestic Dream reached Barastan at last, I went straight to it to receive you. The captain then told me what had happened. Mad with rage, I stormed into the Wasileus’s palace demanding he send his entire fleet out to rescue you. A wise and empathetic man is the sovereign of Barastan as he first calmed me down by pretending to order such a thing, and then persuading me of the futility of such action. Dejected, I made ready to procure your ransom from Barastan money-lenders. But Arethia, magnificent goddess of gossip, must have smiled upon you, for your predicament was soon all the people of Barastan could talk about.”
“With good reason,” the captain interrupted. “The Smiling Demon is not known to take any survivors.”
“Yes,” agreed Mikios. “So it was that a man named Hemiarto heard your tale. He is a pirate and was about to be put to death for such. But he then claimed to know where the Smiling Demon might be holding you. Both of them used to crew with the Smoke Monster you see, so it was likely that the old hiding places might be used. In exchange for a permanent stay of execution he would tell us of several locations where the Smiling Demon might be hiding you. I am sure if it was any other pirate, Wasileus Fero would have refused, even with my pleas. But because it was a chance to take the Smiling Demon, the bargain was struck.
“However, I did persuade the Wasileus to allow me and some of my company to accompany the deployed ships so that if you were found, you would know them to be friends. By pure happenstance was it the ship I was on that found you.”
Katrina was truly amazed by what she had heard. Truly the gods had smiled upon her.
As did Mikios.
“I will leave you now. We should reach Barastan by evening. And then you can finally put this nightmare behind you.”
Mikios left then. Captain Balinor made to leave as well, but Katrina had a question for him.
“Captain, if you please? What has been done with Thorathor?” Katrina asked
“Who is Thorhore?” the captain asked.
“The Smiling Demon. What has been done with the Smiling Demon?”
Balinor flashed Katrina a cruel smile. “I had him tied to the main mast. I thought he should see the fate that awaited him first hand.”
Sori giggled at the revelation. Katrina felt nothing.
Later, as they were approaching the port of Barastan, Katrina stood on the ships prow. In just a few more minutes her adventure would be over, a tale to one day tell her children. Every so often she glanced behind her to look again at Thorathor.
The man who called himself the Smiling Demon stood up tied to the main mast. His eyes were closed and his dead tilted upward. He almost seemed serene there as he calmly proceeded to certain execution. Mikios then walked up to Katrina and noticed where her eyes were. “Why do you look at him?” he asked.
“He interests me, is all.” Katrina then stared out to Barastan again, turning her back on Thorathor.
“Put him out of your mind, Katrina,” said Mikios in a comforting tone. “He can no longer hurt you, and soon he will be Norkata’s problem.”
“And I do hope Norkata shows him all the cruelty he can muster. But I am just unable to dispel the belief that the end of his life would be a tragedy.”
Mikios wrapped his arms around Katrina’s waist. “That is just your feminine compassion, believing that even a man such as him is worthy of life. Just remember how he treated you and let Norkata take him.”
“I suppose,” Katrina replied, but not believing him.
They stood like that for a few moments, watching Barastan grow larger and larger. The docks could just barely be seen from this point, though obscured by the harbor. A tower could be seen at the harbor entrance on ship’s port side. It was a defensive tower that would raise a boon, anchored from across the mouth, for whenever Barastan was threatened by sea-born powers.
“Is Cerella there, waiting for us?” Katrina suddenly asked.
“No, my bride-to-be is still in Cremes. However, she is very much looking forward to meeting you.”
“As am I. I do hope we could be friends.”
“I am sure of that,” Mikios replied. “You two seem to have a lot in common.”
The men in our lives are too brave for their own good, Katrina said silently.
The ship’s captain then approached them. “As you can see, we are about to enter the harbor,” he told them.
“Is that tower manned?” asked Mikios, indicating the defense tower now getting larger and more impressive looking.
“Yes, it is fully manned by our very greatest warriors all day and every day.” Katrina knew that captain Balinor was exaggerating for the benefit of a foreign official. Most likely it was lightly manned, and only on the lookout for approaching threats. Soon enough they passed by the tower and the opposite boom anchor, and now they were in the Barastan harbor.
“We will have to wait for the remaining ships to return with my people aboard,” Mikios said to Katrina. Katrina did not reply. “That will necessitate waiting some days, but if you wish to proceed I can arrange…”
“No, no,” interrupted Katrina. “I want to wait so as to allow Sori to heal. How is she?” she asked the captain.
“She is resting well,” Balinor answered, perplexed by the Lady’s concern for her personal slave. “She should be seen by a proper physician after we dock, but I am confident in Narusis’s skill.”
“Very well,” answered Katrina.
She turned back to witness Barastan’s rapid approach. She thought about all that Barastan had to offer. With a jolt she remembered something Sori once said.
“Mikios, could we perhaps stay to see the Gardens of Melea? I do wish to see it. However, I would feel more comfortable doing so with Sori. So if we could just wait…”
“Captain!” yelled Thorathor.
All three turned to him, and all three were shocked to see him standing on the starboard rail. He had somehow loosed his ropes, and was now escaping.
“I’m sorry that the reward you were thinking of will no longer be yours,” Thorathor continued. “Lady Katrina,” he said, giving her a seaman’s sign of honor, “I do hope to meet you again, some day.”
And with that he dove into the harbor. Captain Balinor and Mikios ran to the spot where Thorathor had just been. Balinor swore.
“Why did he wait till now to do that if he could have done it anytime?” Mikios asked.
“Because now he is closer to land, and in calmer waters,” Balinor answered. “Bring the ship to starboard,” the captain ordered. “By Hikios, he will not escape.”
“No,” screamed Katrina, who had walked over to them. “Please, it is almost over. Let us just leave him be. Please.” Katrina was beginning to weep uncontrollably.
The captain was moved and belayed his orders, though he didn’t like it. Mikios brought Katrina into a hug in order to calm her down. She did by the time the ship was docked.
And when she stepped onto those wooden planks, Lady Katrina knew that her grand adventure was at an end.
“How are you feeling?” the captain asked in his booming voice.
Katrina winced at the sound as she had grown used to Thorathor’s softer voice.
“The Lady Katrina is doing well,” answered Sori.
“Yes, I am,” Katrina confirmed. “But tell me, how was it that you found out where we were?”
“Oh, that is a strange tale,” said Mikios.
“When the Majestic Dream reached Barastan at last, I went straight to it to receive you. The captain then told me what had happened. Mad with rage, I stormed into the Wasileus’s palace demanding he send his entire fleet out to rescue you. A wise and empathetic man is the sovereign of Barastan as he first calmed me down by pretending to order such a thing, and then persuading me of the futility of such action. Dejected, I made ready to procure your ransom from Barastan money-lenders. But Arethia, magnificent goddess of gossip, must have smiled upon you, for your predicament was soon all the people of Barastan could talk about.”
“With good reason,” the captain interrupted. “The Smiling Demon is not known to take any survivors.”
“Yes,” agreed Mikios. “So it was that a man named Hemiarto heard your tale. He is a pirate and was about to be put to death for such. But he then claimed to know where the Smiling Demon might be holding you. Both of them used to crew with the Smoke Monster you see, so it was likely that the old hiding places might be used. In exchange for a permanent stay of execution he would tell us of several locations where the Smiling Demon might be hiding you. I am sure if it was any other pirate, Wasileus Fero would have refused, even with my pleas. But because it was a chance to take the Smiling Demon, the bargain was struck.
“However, I did persuade the Wasileus to allow me and some of my company to accompany the deployed ships so that if you were found, you would know them to be friends. By pure happenstance was it the ship I was on that found you.”
Katrina was truly amazed by what she had heard. Truly the gods had smiled upon her.
As did Mikios.
“I will leave you now. We should reach Barastan by evening. And then you can finally put this nightmare behind you.”
Mikios left then. Captain Balinor made to leave as well, but Katrina had a question for him.
“Captain, if you please? What has been done with Thorathor?” Katrina asked
“Who is Thorhore?” the captain asked.
“The Smiling Demon. What has been done with the Smiling Demon?”
Balinor flashed Katrina a cruel smile. “I had him tied to the main mast. I thought he should see the fate that awaited him first hand.”
Sori giggled at the revelation. Katrina felt nothing.
Later, as they were approaching the port of Barastan, Katrina stood on the ships prow. In just a few more minutes her adventure would be over, a tale to one day tell her children. Every so often she glanced behind her to look again at Thorathor.
The man who called himself the Smiling Demon stood up tied to the main mast. His eyes were closed and his dead tilted upward. He almost seemed serene there as he calmly proceeded to certain execution. Mikios then walked up to Katrina and noticed where her eyes were. “Why do you look at him?” he asked.
“He interests me, is all.” Katrina then stared out to Barastan again, turning her back on Thorathor.
“Put him out of your mind, Katrina,” said Mikios in a comforting tone. “He can no longer hurt you, and soon he will be Norkata’s problem.”
“And I do hope Norkata shows him all the cruelty he can muster. But I am just unable to dispel the belief that the end of his life would be a tragedy.”
Mikios wrapped his arms around Katrina’s waist. “That is just your feminine compassion, believing that even a man such as him is worthy of life. Just remember how he treated you and let Norkata take him.”
“I suppose,” Katrina replied, but not believing him.
They stood like that for a few moments, watching Barastan grow larger and larger. The docks could just barely be seen from this point, though obscured by the harbor. A tower could be seen at the harbor entrance on ship’s port side. It was a defensive tower that would raise a boon, anchored from across the mouth, for whenever Barastan was threatened by sea-born powers.
“Is Cerella there, waiting for us?” Katrina suddenly asked.
“No, my bride-to-be is still in Cremes. However, she is very much looking forward to meeting you.”
“As am I. I do hope we could be friends.”
“I am sure of that,” Mikios replied. “You two seem to have a lot in common.”
The men in our lives are too brave for their own good, Katrina said silently.
The ship’s captain then approached them. “As you can see, we are about to enter the harbor,” he told them.
“Is that tower manned?” asked Mikios, indicating the defense tower now getting larger and more impressive looking.
“Yes, it is fully manned by our very greatest warriors all day and every day.” Katrina knew that captain Balinor was exaggerating for the benefit of a foreign official. Most likely it was lightly manned, and only on the lookout for approaching threats. Soon enough they passed by the tower and the opposite boom anchor, and now they were in the Barastan harbor.
“We will have to wait for the remaining ships to return with my people aboard,” Mikios said to Katrina. Katrina did not reply. “That will necessitate waiting some days, but if you wish to proceed I can arrange…”
“No, no,” interrupted Katrina. “I want to wait so as to allow Sori to heal. How is she?” she asked the captain.
“She is resting well,” Balinor answered, perplexed by the Lady’s concern for her personal slave. “She should be seen by a proper physician after we dock, but I am confident in Narusis’s skill.”
“Very well,” answered Katrina.
She turned back to witness Barastan’s rapid approach. She thought about all that Barastan had to offer. With a jolt she remembered something Sori once said.
“Mikios, could we perhaps stay to see the Gardens of Melea? I do wish to see it. However, I would feel more comfortable doing so with Sori. So if we could just wait…”
“Captain!” yelled Thorathor.
All three turned to him, and all three were shocked to see him standing on the starboard rail. He had somehow loosed his ropes, and was now escaping.
“I’m sorry that the reward you were thinking of will no longer be yours,” Thorathor continued. “Lady Katrina,” he said, giving her a seaman’s sign of honor, “I do hope to meet you again, some day.”
And with that he dove into the harbor. Captain Balinor and Mikios ran to the spot where Thorathor had just been. Balinor swore.
“Why did he wait till now to do that if he could have done it anytime?” Mikios asked.
“Because now he is closer to land, and in calmer waters,” Balinor answered. “Bring the ship to starboard,” the captain ordered. “By Hikios, he will not escape.”
“No,” screamed Katrina, who had walked over to them. “Please, it is almost over. Let us just leave him be. Please.” Katrina was beginning to weep uncontrollably.
The captain was moved and belayed his orders, though he didn’t like it. Mikios brought Katrina into a hug in order to calm her down. She did by the time the ship was docked.
And when she stepped onto those wooden planks, Lady Katrina knew that her grand adventure was at an end.