Torius leapt down from the quarterdeck. He lunged at Joss's attacker, driving his cutlass into the creature's torso before it could free its spear. It screeched a warbling cry, and two tentacles writhed out to entangle the captain's legs.

"Torius!" Celeste's heart was in her throat as she watched him wrench his cutlass free and hack away one of the clinging limbs. Before he could strike again, the other one jerked sharply and he fell. Like Joss, he lay on the deck as his opponent raised its spear to strike.

With a wordless cry, Celeste lashed out with her most destructive spell. A spear of flame lanced out to strike the cecaelia. It shrieked and writhed as the heat seared its flesh, dropping its spear to bat at the smoldering wounds. Torius took the opportunity to drive his cutlass up into its chest.

Still the thing clutched him, tentacles wrapping his arm and snaking around his neck. Celeste darted forward, but before she could reach him, an arrow transfixed the cecaelia's head, and it fell. She looked up to the quarterdeck, where Thillion was already nocking another arrow. Flashing a smile, she turned to Torius, who was peeling away the tentacles and struggling to his feet, trying not to slip in the pool of blood, slime, and black ink that spread across the deck.

"Are you all right?" she asked, peering at the red wheals on his neck.

"Fine!" he insisted. "Celeste, you shouldn't—"

"Shouldn't what? Save your life?" A woman screamed and they turned to see a pirate struggling on the end of a spear. Celeste sent another searing line of flame at the cecaelia, which screeched in agony and retreated. "I am not so frail as you imagine, Captain Vin ..."

The Pathfinder Tales Library

Novels

Prince of Wolves by Dave Gross
Winter Witch by Elaine Cunningham
Plague of Shadows by Howard Andrew Jones
The Worldwound Gambit by Robin D. Laws
Master of Devils by Dave Gross
Death's Heretic by James L. Sutter
Song of the Serpent by Hugh Mattews
City of the Fallen Sky by Tim Pratt
Nightglass by Liane Merciel
Blood of the City by Robin D. Laws
Queen of Thorns by Dave Gross
Called to Darkness by Richard Lee Byers
Liar's Blade by Tim Pratt
Pirate's Honor by Chris A. Jackson
The Wizard's Mask by Ed Greenwood
King of Chaos by Dave Gross

Journals

The Compass Stone: The Collected Journals of Eando Kline edited by James L. Sutter
Hell's Pawns by Dave Gross
Dark Tapestry by Elaine Cunnningham
Prodigal Sons edited by James L. Sutter
Plague of Light by Robin D. Laws
Guilty Blood by F. Wesley Schneider
Husks by Dave Gross

Short Stories

"The Lost Pathfinder" by Dave Gross
"Certainty" by Liane Merciel
"The Swamp Warden" by Amber E. Scott
"Noble Sacrifice" by Richard Ford
"Blood Crimes" by J. C. Hay
"The Secret of the Rose and Glove by Kevin Andrew Murphy
"Lord of Penance" by Richard Lee Byers
"Guns of Alkenstar" by Ed Greenwod
"The Ghosts of Broken Blades" by Monte Cook
"The Walkers from the Crypt" by Howard Andrew Jones
"A Lesson in Taxonomy" by Dave Gross
"The Illusionist" by Elaine Cunningham
"Two Pieces of Tarnished Silver by Erik Mona
"The Ironroot Deception" by Robin D. Laws
"Plow and Sword" by Robert E. Vardeman
"A Passage to Absalom" by Dave Gross
"The Seventh Execution" by Amber E. Scott
"The Box" by Bill Ward
"Blood and Money by Steven Savile
"Faithful Servants" by James L. Sutter
"Fingers of Death—No, Doom!" by Lucien Soulban
"The Perfumer's Apprentice" by Kevin Andrew Murphy
"Krunzle the Quick" by Hugh Matthews
"Mother Bears" by Wendy N. Wagner
"Hell or High Water" by Ari Marmell

Pirate's Honor © 2013 Paizo Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means digital, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or conveyed via the Internet or a website without prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles and reviews.

Paizo, Paizo Publishing, LLC, the Paizo golem logo, and Pathfinder are registered trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Pathfinder Campaign Setting, and Pathfinder Tales are trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC.

Cover art by Denman Rooke.
Cover design by Andrew Vallas.
Map by Crystal Frasier.

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paizo.com

ISBN 978-1-60125-523-5 (mass market paperback)
ISBN 978-1-60125-524-1 (ebook)

Publisher's Cataloging-In-Publication Data
(Prepared by The Donohue Group, Inc.)

Jackson, Chris A.
Pirate's honor / Chris A. Jackson.

p. : map ; cm. — (Pathfinder tales)

Set in the world of the role-playing game, Pathfinder.
Issued also as an ebook.
ISBN: 978-1-60125-523-5 (mass market pbk.)

1. Pirates—Fiction. 2. Piracy—Fiction. 3. Jewelry theft—Fiction. 4. Imaginary places—Fiction. 5. Pathfinder (Game)—Fiction. 6. Fantasy fiction. 7. Adventure fiction. I. Title. II. Series: Pathfinder tales library.

PS3610.A357 P57 2013
813/.6

First printing April 2013.

Printed in the United States of America.

This one is for the gamers.

Without the inspiration of roleplaying games, and all of you who spend endless nights around the table, rolling dice, arguing rules, and living alternate lives, I never would have put pen to page.

paizo.com #2495541, Ronald Hartman <rh82759@netzero.net>, Sep 24, 2013

Chapter One

The Stars Never Lie

Scales rustled across the hardwood deck of the corsair Stargazer as she plied the moonlit waters of the Obari Ocean. The crew of the ship had heard the sound many times before, especially on nights when the sky hung overhead like a black silk tapestry strewn with diamonds. This was her time, and they knew better than to bother her when her attention was on the heavens.

Celeste squinted through her sextant at the bright planet Triaxus, also known as the Wanderer, which had just entered the constellation of the Sea Wraith. That boded well, and she manipulated the stylus to scratch down the planet's angle to the horizon. Glancing at the neat array of hour- and minute-glasses—calibrated that very evening at the precise moment of sunset—she noted the exact time. She took another sighting, this one of the rising moon, and the stylus scratched down another pair of numbers. Lowering the sextant, Celeste performed the calculations to determine the ship's latitude and longitude. With a flick of magic so familiar that she barely had to think of the spell, she floated her plotting tools out of their leather case, rolled out the chart of the Jalmeray coast, and meticulously plotted their position.

"Well?" a gravelly voice asked as the stylus scratched an "X" on the chart and wrote down the time.

Celeste's tail gave an involuntary flick of annoyance at the interruption, but she stifled her natural response to rise on her coils and hiss. Most of the crew members were more cautious about interrupting the lunar naga during her reading of the stars, but Stargazer's half-orc bosun was an incautious fellow. Besides, he was just doing his job. They were sailing in dangerous waters, and he needed to know their position.

"You may turn to zero-eight-zero degrees, Grogul, or as close to that heading as the wind will allow." Celeste put away her instruments and folded the case closed against the salt air. "We're beyond Jalmeray's southern reefs, and can begin our approach of Kaina Katakka's south coast."

"Good!" Grogul turned away without a word of thanks, as usual, and started barking orders to the crew.

Stargazer turned to windward, her sails trimmed smartly, and began the slow beat to the northeast. When they settled on their new heading, Celeste noted the set of the stars against the foremast and yards; if they started to drift off course, she would know.

Though she had two hours until she needed to take another celestial fix on their position, Celeste retrieved her sextant once again and recorded the elevations of several more planets. She then traded the sextant for a finely wrought telescope and observed the heavenly bodies more closely. She noted every detail—every angle, rotation, and position of every moon—and carefully scratched them into her logbook. These observations had nothing to do with celestial navigation, but with the science of astrology: the intricate song of the heavens and its interaction with the events and beings of this world.

Tonight, she was concerned with the stars' attitude regarding one particular being: Torius Vin, captain of the Stargazer.

With the harmonies of the planets and constellations singing in her mind, and all the numerical data she needed to interpret them, she consulted her astrological texts. This was the hard part; the stars never lied, but interpretation of their message was often fraught with uncertainty. She knew Torius's astrological signature—the position of every celestial body of significance at the moment of his birth—and she had just observed the current state of the cosmos. How these two interacted was the puzzle she had to solve.

Nothing of significance had changed since her previous reading: The planet Liavara, the Dreamer, still traversed the constellation of the Lantern Bearer, Torius's birth sign. The Wanderer would soon cross the constellation of the Key, the symbol of Abadar, the god of wealth. The planet Castrovel was ascending into the Lantern Bearer, denoting desire, lust, love, or life. The reading seemed straightforward; Torius's dreams, his desire for wealth, would be realized.

Celeste crooked a smile and bent to the chart. If the prophecy still held, then so did their course. Her readings of the other planets—Eox, the Dead, traversing the Wagon, beneath the constellation of the Throne—had pointed to the long-dead indigenous peoples of the island nation of Jalmeray. Those who had not perished or been enslaved when the great Vudrani maharajah Khiben-Sald introduced his foreign gods and elemental creatures to the island had fled to Kaina Katakka. There they had lived for a time, until the governance of Jalmeray fell into the hands of the Arclords. Wanting no potentially rebellious natives so near, the Arclords had exterminated the entire population, leaving Kaina Katakka a devastated ruin.

That was their destination.

Destiny resides in the stars, she thought, closing her texts and stowing them. She gazed up into the endless tapestry of the cosmos and sighed with pleasure. Out here, far from land, the veil of the heavens shone so clearly that it seemed close enough to touch. Here under the stars—aboard a pirate ship, of all places—she had found her own dreams' desire: a home. These people trusted her, relied upon her expertise and appreciated her talent in reading the secrets of the firmament. She belonged. She was loved.

Celeste swayed with the easy motion of the ship, reveling in a peaceful night under the stars, her favorite place in the world. Her mind drifted, and she contemplated her other favorite place. A smile touched her pale lips, and her forked tongue flicked out to scent the night air. There it was, that heady fragrance of leather, spice, and human, as signature as his stellar harmonic.

Torius Vin ...

The ship's bell chimed, interrupting her thoughts. Eight notes in two-stroke pairs, which meant the watch change. As if her thoughts had conjured him from the air, she heard his approach, his soft leather boots brushing the deck with a faint whisk not unlike that of her own scales. She did not turn, but waited, knowing how he would greet her, longing for that familiar touch.

"Celeste," he said, his voice singing the song of the heavens in her mind as his hand ran through her alabaster hair.

"My captain." She turned and smiled at him, her coils shuddering in an involuntary shiver of delight.

"Are we on course?" He glanced at the chart on the deck.

She scanned the stars and nodded. "There's a slight northerly set to the current, but we're not far off the plot line. I'll take another fix to confirm my calculations, but we should reach Kaina Katakka's coast before dawn. We will reach the cove by late morning."

"Good." His fingers slipped from her hair and he left her to make his rounds of Stargazer's quarterdeck, checking the hundreds of details that kept the ship running smoothly. She neither knew nor cared much about these details. Her milieu was above, while his was here—his ship, his crew, canvas and wood, steel and rope, lives dependent on his every decision. She might chart their destiny, but he sailed it. He returned to her and asked quietly, "So, you're sure about this?"

She smiled at him again. In front of his crew, he was always decisive and confident; only with her did he let down his guard and expose his uncertainties. "The stars never lie, my captain."

"I know, but the truth they tell is often only clear in hindsight."

"Torius," she said, brushing against his shoulder, "the prophecy is clear; your dreams and desires for wealth will be realized here."

"Good, because I've been dreaming of gold a lot lately. A pirate's got to eat, after all. After our last little problem, money's been hard to come by." He turned away and began to pace the quarterdeck, his hands clenched firmly behind his back. She watched, admiring the preternatural grace that made his movements so fluid, almost serpentine, even on the rolling deck of a ship.

The problem he mentioned had cost them virtually their entire stake, including the profits of their last successful job. She slithered to his side and whispered, "Don't worry."

He laughed quietly, running his hand slowly through her hair again. "Telling the captain of a ship not to worry is like telling the desert not to be dry or the ocean not to be wet, Celeste. Until we get a solid stake again, enough to pay the crew and provision the ship properly, I'm going to worry."

"Very well, my captain," she said, leaning in to nuzzle his neck. That was another reason she loved him: he might be a pirate, but he truly cared about his people. He cared about her. She turned to her navigational instruments once again and floated the sextant up to her eye. "You worry, and I will consult the stars."

∗ ∗ ∗

Torius squinted into the glare as the island's barren coast coalesced from the thinning morning mists. As always, Celeste's navigation was flawless. She had already retired to his cabin for the day, so he would have to compliment her later. He just hoped her astrological prophecy was as accurate.

"This cove got a name, Captain?" Grogul asked, as the brigantine eased slowly nearer under reefed topsails alone.

Torius glanced up at the half-orc; he was taller by a wide hand and probably outweighed the captain by half, but Torius knew that he was more than the brute he appeared to be. Grogul was a fine bosun, a skilled sailor, and a good tactician, even if he did disdain the more esoteric points of seamanship. More than anything, Grogul was solid, dependable, and unfailingly loyal. The captain wouldn't trade him for a half-dozen fancy, rapier-wielding swashbucklers.

"Not on the chart." Torius scanned the rocky beach with his spyglass. There were no visible signs that the place had ever been inhabited. "Used to be a village or town or something here. Seems way back when Nex gave Jalmeray to the Vudrani, the indigenous population hightailed it and came here. Then the Arclords blasted the entire island to cinders." He wasn't about to tell Grogul the rumors that the island was haunted.

"And they brought their treasures with 'em?" Grogul squinted skeptically at Torius as he ran a thumbnail down the gleaming edge of his axe. "Just waitin' in a big pile for us to pick up?"

"That's what we're here to find out. More likely to find a smuggler's stash or some such."

"As long as it spends, I'm not picky, sir." Grogul knew as well as anyone the dire straits they were in when it came to ready cash.

Torius pointed to the northeast corner of the sheltered cove. "Drop a stern kedge and bring her in close there. The tide's on the rise, so drop the bow anchor when there's a fathom under her keel, and keep her hove short. Oh, and have Snick get her babies ready, just in case we have to dissuade any pursuit."

"Aye, Captain!" Grogul grinned. "You want me to tell her she's in command while we're ashore, since we're short a first mate?"

"Sure. It'll make her day." Torius smiled, knowing his gnome engineer would revel in her authority, short-lived though it might be, driving the crew crazy with all manner of inane orders. Snick was an invaluable member of the crew; she kept the ship functioning and her babies—the twelve beautifully crafted ballistae nestled below the deck—working perfectly. But she wasn't much of a sailor. "Launch the boats when we're anchored. I'll be in my cabin."

"Aye, sir."

Despite the daylight outside, Torius's cabin was as dark as midnight, with black curtains drawn tight over the transom windows and a shade pulled over the skylight. Celeste lay coiled on her collection of thick pillows and rugs, only the waves of her white hair visible in the gloom. He moved silently to his bunk and lit a lamp, keeping the flame low. His sword, a beautiful silver-hilted cutlass, hung from a peg. He lifted it down and clipped it to his belt, then pulled a brace of knives from a drawer. He clipped the long fighting dagger with a sword-catching crosspiece to the other side of his belt, and slid the heavy throwing knife into his boot. He retrieved a couple of his standard surprises, trinkets and potions that could distract an enemy or save a life if they ran into trouble, and tucked them away. One last adjustment of his belt and a glance in the mirror—just to make sure that his mustache and goatee were trimmed and combed properly and his hat had just the right rakish tilt—and he was ready.

"Be careful, my captain," Celeste said as he reached for the door's brass handle.

"Don't worry, my love." He gave her an easy smile. "This is the fun part."

Her tail twitched, but she settled back down without another word. He left her there in the dark and joined Grogul on deck. The longboats were bobbing beside the ship, the shore party armed and ready. He regarded them professionally and grinned his approval—all proven pirates, men and women he'd trust with his life, and who trusted him with theirs.

"Don't worry about the ship while you're gone, Captain!" a sprightly voice called from the quarterdeck. He looked up to see Snick standing with her slim legs splayed wide, her tiny hands on her narrow hips. She wore a brilliant red tricorne hat that clashed horribly with her sea-green hair, and a short cutlass at her belt. She snapped him an exaggerated salute. "I'll keep an eye on things for you!"

"Just keep your babies manned, Snick," he ordered, "and if anything that's not us tries to come aboard my ship, kill it."

"Consider said beastie killed, Captain!"

"Good!" He turned to Grogul. "Let's go."

"Man the boats, you scrags!" The crew leapt to comply, swarming down the boarding nets into the boats.

They rowed ashore in silence, stowing their oars when the boats' keels grated onto the rocky beach. Several sailors splashed into the surf to pull the boats higher. Torius, exerting his captain's prerogative, waited until he could vault ashore off the prow without getting his boots wet. The last thing he wanted was to squish when he walked if they were going to do much exploring. Grogul assigned four pirates with heavy crossbows to watch the boats, and joined his captain as the dozen others worked their way to higher ground.

"You sure about this, Captain?" He kept his voice low, his squinted eyes scanning the rocky, vine-strewn cliffs. "Don't look like much."

"As sure as I've ever been about one of Celeste's prophecies." Torius gave the half-orc a grin.

"And how sure is that?" Grogul's dubious gaze turned to him; he was never easily put off by Torius's assurances.

"We'll find something here, Grogul." He clapped the half-orc's meaty shoulder. "As for my dreams' desire for wealth ..." He looked around skeptically at the devastated landscape. "I don't think the Arclords left enough to satisfy all of my—"

A strange, musical trill split the sultry air, drawing everyone's attention. Swords rasped free of scabbards, and Torius found his hand on the hilt of his cutlass.

"Whassat?" asked one of the pirates, pointing to the foliage-covered cliff face. "It's comin' from up there!"

"This way!" another said, pointing to an overgrown path.

A number of the pirates started forward, eager to find the source of the call, but Torius called them back with a harsh, "Hold fast there! Nobody goes blundering off!"

Three of them stopped in their tracks at the command, but several others just kept climbing up the brush-strewn hillside, not even looking back at their captain.

That's not good, Torius thought. They're trained better than that.

"Grogul! Come on!" He drew his cutlass and hurried after them. "The rest of you, form up and follow. Quickly now!"

Luckily, Torius and Grogul were less hindered by the overgrowth than the pirates breaking trail. The captain's group scrambled up, dislodging dry vines, loose rocks, and a cascade of leaves, reaching the top just as the errant pirates hacked away a thick veil of foliage covering a gaping cave mouth. Grogul's huge hand closed on a shoulder and he jerked one woman back before she could venture inside. Torius and the others did likewise, pulling their friends away. All the while, the strange trilling call continued from within. One man twisted out of his mate's grasp and dashed into the darkness.

"Epok! No!" Torius shouted, too late.

The trilling call fell silent, and a sharp crack and a loud thump echoed from within. The pirates who had struggled to enter the cave stopped and looked at one another, their eyes wide with bewilderment. Torius shivered with an unknown fear. Something was wrong; none of his crew were so green that they would go charging into a dark cave like that.

"Don't like this, Captain." Grogul moved to the side of the cave entrance. Torius did likewise and motioned his pirates to split into two squads, one with Grogul and one with himself. He could see now that the arching mouth of the cavern had been fashioned with stonecutting tools, though it was so ancient and cracked that it had begun to look as rugged as a natural cave.

"Neither do I." Torius peered into the darkness. "Who's got the torches?"

Indistinct murmuring was the only answer he got. Grogul looked abashed—or as abashed as the half-orc ever looked, which wasn't much.

"Didn't know we'd be spelunking, Captain."

"Well, we'll probably have enough light from the cave mouth." Torius knew it was no good to chastise the bosun now, but later ...He had another means to light their way if it got too dark, but torches were good for more than light. "Can you see anything in there, Grogul?"

"Nope. Too much light out here." The half-orc shaded his eyes and shook his head. "Maybe once we're inside.

"Epok?" Torius called. He listened for a reply, for a hint that his man was still alive, for anything. He heard a faint scratch that might have been a foot on stone, then nothing. "This stinks like ..." Then he realized that he could detect something, but not with his ears. The distinct scent of rotten meat wafted out from within.

Torius snapped his fingers to get Grogul's attention and, with simple hand signals, outlined a cautious strategy; Grogul would proceed inside with his troop, their backs against one wall, while Torius did the same down the other. Both would keep a sharp eye out for traps or an ambush. Once inside, they would reassess the situation.

They moved slowly, checking every step as they were swallowed up by the cave's darkness. Grogul was the first to call a halt, his sharp eyes penetrating the gloom far easier than the humans'.

"Ssst! Captain!" he called in a stage whisper. "I think we found Epok."

"Gozreh's guts!" Torius swore as his eyes became accustomed to the gloom. Epok stood before them, one hand still clutching his cutlass, while the other gripped one of the wrist-thick bamboo spikes that had impaled him. A wide frame studded with sharpened stakes had swung down from above, propelled by a heavy stone counterweight. It spanned the entire tunnel, and would have killed or maimed several of his crew had they ventured inside with the unlucky Epok.

"There," Torius said, pointing to the thin trip cord that had released the deadly trap.

"Aye, and he wasn't the first." Grogul gestured with his axe at the skeletal remnants of several other unfortunate trespassers. There were at least half a dozen of them scattered along the sides of the corridor beyond the trap, still wearing the tatters of their long-decayed clothing and clutching rusted weapons.

"Well, we're not going to join the club. Come on, and everyone watch your step!" Torius advanced, cutlass thrust before him.

They edged past the trap, flattening themselves against the rough-hewn wall to pass. Grogul had to nudge the thing to fit his thick torso through the gap, causing Epok's gape-mouthed corpse to sag on the spikes. Torius swallowed hard. Epok had been a solid pirate. Passing the frame, he noticed the condition of the device; though not green, the bamboo was far from old. The island wasn't as deserted as he'd expected.

When the last of his squad had passed, they formed up again, advancing slowly. Enough light trickled in from the cave mouth to show that the tunnel widened ahead. Then their rear guard gave a startled gasp and cried out.

"Captain! Epok! He's not dead!"

"What?" Torius turned, his free hand reaching for the curative potion he'd brought from the ship. Torius knew death when he saw it, and Epok had looked as dead as dead gets. But true to the pirate's claim, Epok was moving, struggling to free himself of the murderous spikes thrust through his chest. Judri, the tall Mwangi woman who had called out, moved to help her comrade. "Wait!"

Epok's hand lashed out to grab her tunic, while his other lifted his cutlass to strike. Judri gaped in shock as the sword thrust through the bamboo frame, ill-aimed but accurate enough to pierce her shoulder. Her scream echoed around the cavern as Epok drew his weapon back for another strike.

Torius dashed back, sword raised, but Grogul beat him there. The bosun's heavy axe smashed through Epok's arm, the bamboo frame, and into the animated corpse's torso. Judri stumbled back, but the zombie—Torius could no longer think of it as Epok—wasn't through yet. It thrust clumsily at Grogul, the cutlass scoring a line on the half-orc's arm. Grogul growled a curse, snatched its wrist and bent the arm over the frame until the elbow joint popped and bent backward. He wrenched his axe free and severed the other arm with a chop. The zombie still fought to free itself, but literally disarmed, its struggles were futile.

Torius went to Judri. The wound was deep, and right in the shoulder joint. It was hardly mortal, but would ruin her sword arm for good if it wasn't tended properly. He flipped the stopper from the bottle and pressed it to her lips. "Drink!"

Judri complied and the wound in her shoulder closed immediately. Then her eyes widened and she pointed behind Torius. "Captain!"

"We got trouble, Captain," Grogul growled, reaching down to hoist the injured woman to her feet.

Not three feet away, the bony remnants of the trap's previous victims twitched and clawed their way to their feet, their rusted swords and axes clutched in fleshless fingers.

"Defensive formation! Now!" Torius flicked up Judri's fallen cutlass with the toe of his boot, caught it and put the hilt in her hand. "Everyone! And watch your backs!"

The veteran pirates formed a double row in close formation, half facing the scrabbling skeletons, the other half guarding against the darkness of the corridor behind them. This way, Torius figured, they could defeat the skeletons and then face whatever menace might await them farther down the corridor without worrying about a threat at their backs. At least, that was the theory.

At the first clash of blades, however, theory and practice diverged as the moaning wail of new assailants echoed in the dark behind them.

"Damn but this is a pretty trap!" Torius said between clenched teeth. "I'm going to have a few terse words for Celeste when we get back to the ship."

"If we get back, you mean." Grogul deflected a skeleton's axe, then smashed his attacker to shards with a powerful overhead chop. He glanced toward the dim corridor behind them, wrinkled his nose, and spat. "Zombies. Lots of 'em. Gods, I hate zombies."

"Gozreh's guts!" Torius parried a blade and gave a deft twist. The fine cutlass snicked through the skeleton's forearm like a piece of kindling, but the monster raked him with its free hand, leaving bloody trails down his forearm. The crewman to his left smashed a boarding axe down through its skull, and it toppled. At least they were fragile. He spared a glance over his shoulder and saw the crowd of zombies shambling out of the darkness. Some were armed and some weren't, but their eyes gleamed with the maniacal, hungry look shared by all undead. "This is not my dream's desire!"

"Unless you've been havin' some pretty weird dreams," Grogul agreed, hacking down another skeleton.

"Not even in my nightmares would I desire this!" Torius parried and slashed low, severing his opponent's spine just below the empty rib cage. The skeleton went down, but still managed to clutch at his legs. "Forward! Take down the skeletons before we have to fight on both sides!"

The pirates focused their attacks, smashing with a vengeance at their bony adversaries in an effort to beat them down before the shambling zombies arrived. Already Torius could hear the slow scuff of rotting feet against the stone floor and smell the rank stench of decaying flesh.

Finally, the last skeleton fell under a flurry of blades and the pirates turned to face their new foes. Aside from a few scratches and one shallow cut, they were all hale and ready. Torius and Grogul pushed through to stand in the front of their double line.

"Now we'll see what's what!" Grogul said with a tusky grin, swinging his axe from a center position where he could do the most damage.

"Watch our flanks!" Torius ordered. "And aim for their joints. Take them down, then finish them on the ground!"

He tensed, listening to the muttered curses of his crew. They knew there was no retreat. The trap grating was as effective as a portcullis; if they tried to squeeze past while being mauled by the zombies, people would die, and if Epok's sudden animation was any clue, each fallen pirate meant a new foe. Their only hope was to find whatever had animated the dead and destroy it.

"Ready!" he yelled, brandishing his cutlass.

"Aye, Captain!" his crew cried out, and Torius felt his heart lift.

"All right! On my word!" The undead shambled relentlessly forward. "Now!"

The pirates lunged as one, their blades cleaving the zombies with a predictably sickening result. Putrid flesh spattered the floor and walls of the corridor, and the stone underfoot quickly became slick with the foul suppuration that seeped from their wounds. Several of the undead went down, but others swung their rusted weapons or grappled and clawed at the pirates.

Torius slashed, aiming for their joints, trying to sever the limbs that reached for him. He had just downed one zombie and turned to the next when everything suddenly went black, as if someone had rolled a huge boulder across the cavern's mouth.

"Back!" Torius commanded, disengaging from his opponent and fighting to maintain his orientation. "Everyone step back!"

One step, then two, and he could see again. A wall of darkness so thick Torius doubted he could swing his blade through it loomed before them, but the zombies emerged unimpeded from the black, sloughing forward, their clawlike hands outstretched. Then, to Torius's horror, the darkness advanced with them.

"Gotta take out whatever's doin' that!" Grogul suggested, hefting his axe. "If they pin us against that grating, we're meat!"

"We'll have to run it." Torius looked at his crew, gauging their morale. By their dubious faces, he knew they couldn't do it, not with any hope of getting through. But someone had to. "You and me, Grogul! The rest of you, form a defensive line. If we don't win through, get back to the ship."

The pirates shouted, "Aye, sir!" in unison; they'd stand as long as they could.

"Now, Grogul!"

"Aye, Captain!"

They charged into the darkness.

paizo.com #2495541, Ronald Hartman <rh82759@netzero.net>, Sep 24, 2013

Chapter Two

Dreams of Portent

Torius heard Grogul's roar of rage and felt something wet and pulpy spatter his face and shoulder.

Just don't think about it! He thrust and slashed blindly, shouldering through the noisome mass of zombies. Clawed hands tore at him, but he shoved his way forward. Unless they made it through and killed whatever had cast this infernal spell, they would all perish. Finally, hacking an arm free and shouldering aside another stinking corpse, he stumbled from the opaque darkness into the dimness of a larger chamber.

Torius blinked and heard a shuffle beside him, followed by a grunt and the unmistakable sound of Grogul hawking and spitting.

"Grogul?"

"Yeah, Captain." He hawked and spat again. "That was fun, but I remember why I hate zombies."

"The smell?" Torius ventured, wiping a gobbet of rotten meat from his face and squinting into the darkness. He could only make out dim shapes.

"No, the taste. I'm never gonna get it out of my mouth!"

Sounds of fighting rang out behind them beyond the curtain of darkness. "Grogul, can you see anything?"

"Sure, Captain. You can't?"

"Too dark."

"Oh, well I think we found the source of the ...look out!"

Torius flung himself into a diving roll, and something whistled past his head. As he rolled to his feet, he was already reaching into his pocket for a remedy to the darkness. Flames that didn't burn burst from the enchanted stone in his palm, and torchlight flooded the chamber. He saw Grogul go down and recoiled at the sight of the half-orc's assailant. It was scrawny, wrapped in filthy rags, and obviously long dead. Pendulous breasts signified that it had once been a woman. Unfortunately, this one wasn't as mindless as the other undead—zombies didn't cast spells. A feral grin split its face in a caricature of a smile, and its clawed hands reached down for the half-orc. Torius had no hope of intercepting the thing before it tore Grogul's throat out, but he did have one trick.

"Hey, you! Hag!" As the undead creature looked up, its grinning maw agape, Torius flipped his cutlass high into the air, then drew the dagger from his boot and threw it. The blade flew unerringly into the gaping maw, plunging into the undead flesh just as the silver hilt of his sword smacked back into his palm. "How does that taste?"

To his horror, the creature simply reached up, jerked the knife free, and threw it back at him. Only a pirate's honed reflexes allowed him to raise his cutlass in time to deflect the missile.

"Grogul?" Now that he had the creature's undivided attention, Torius advanced slowly, hoping that his bosun would shake off whatever effect had laid him low and hack the undead hag down. No such luck—Grogul gave a little moan and managed to roll over, but that appeared to be the extent of his participation. "Wonderful."

The thing's horrible maw opened and a ghastly hiss issued forth, sending a chill of fear through Torius's veins. His step faltered, his grip on his cutlass became slick with sweat, and his heart pounded in his breast. He was going to die here, and this thing was going to animate his corpse like it had Epok's. He would be a zombie ...or worse. Torius took a step back, but there was nowhere to run. Grogul was down, and from the sound of it, his sailors were fighting for their lives. They called out to him, their voices pleading for help. They were dying, and he couldn't even fight!

His crew, his ship, Celeste ...

"No!" He brought his cutlass up with a flourish, then dropped the flame stone and drew his fighting dagger. Crouching with a blade in each hand, he sneered at the undead hag before him. "Not today, you rotten piece of hacked-up meat! I'm not dying today!"

It lunged, and with it came a swarming cloud of bats, screeching and biting at him. But Torius was beyond fear. He met the assault with a spinning dodge that took him under the worst of the swarm, and drove his cutlass up into the creature's spindly chest.

It howled and lashed at him with its clawed hands. He parried one with his dagger and fingers clattered to the floor. The other gouged furrows in the flesh of his shoulder. Torius spun away and swung his cutlass around again, lower this time. One of the thing's knee joints snapped under the assault. It went down, grabbing at him as it fell, but its claws met only steel, and more of its fingers fell away.

Torius took a step back, then thought better of relishing his impending victory. After all, who knew what foul magic this thing might hurl at him before it was destroyed? He lunged forward once more, slashing his cutlass down on its fragile neck. The vile head rolled away, and the creature finally stilled.

Pale light flooded the chamber, and he whirled around to see that the veil of darkness had vanished. A cheer rose from the pirates who still battled the zombies, illuminated by the light from the cave mouth. Some of them were slashed and bleeding, but they were all still standing. Torius heaved a sigh of relief and grinned. Grogul was moving with a bit more coordination now, and Torius paused long enough to rouse the half-orc.

"Get up! Come on! Up, you great green killing machine!" He hauled on the bosun's arm, and Grogul responded, at least to the point of making it to his feet and hefting his axe. Some of the undead were already shuffling back into the chamber. "Come on, man! There're zombies to hack!" Torius let out a cackle of laughter and dragged his comrade back into the fray.

∗ ∗ ∗

"Hate zombies," Grogul said, hawking and spitting once again.

"Could be worse," Torius said, wiping the last of the noisome slime from his blade and snapping it into its scabbard. "She could have kissed you."

The comment elicited some nervous laughter from his scratched and lacerated crew. Everyone bore some injury, though most were minor. Grogul's momentary paralysis had passed, and other than the cut on his arm, he seemed fine. The floor was littered with zombie parts, the stench of rotten meat overpowering. Footing in the corridor was treacherous, but the main chamber remained relatively clear, except for one zombie that Grogul had splattered against the tall stone throne in the middle of the room. A tangle of broken stone and pulped zombie cluttered the floor, but nothing else faced them.

"Come on." Torius clapped his bosun's shoulder. "There's got to be something here worth plundering, eh lads? Let's look for the wealth of my dreams' desire."

The suggestion brought a chorus of agreement, and his pirates fanned out.

"Careful now! Don't trip any more traps!" Torius retrieved his flame stone and held it high.

They proceeded to carefully examine the chamber, and found a few items of interest—baubles and trinkets that might fetch a few scarabs in the bazaars of Katapesh. But there was no hoard of treasure. Torius sighed in frustration.

"Have a look here, Captain!" Grogul waved him over.

Torius strode over and peered down at the small stone slab that had been revealed when the throne toppled. It was clearly a secret stash, but the irregular hole in the top looked suspiciously like some kind of lock.

"Damn! I knew I should have brought Snick along!" Aside from being an excellent engineer, Snick had a knack for locks which she blushingly attributed to her misspent youth.

"Don't need a gnome to open this!" Grogul protested, pulling a short crowbar from his satchel. "Just gimme a second."

"Careful, Grogul! We found one—"

But the half-orc had already jammed the implement into the gap at the edge of the panel and leaned his weight into it. There was a loud metallic crack, and the stone slab tilted up.

Maybe Celeste's prophecy was right, Torius thought as the contents of the secret chamber glittered in the light of his flame stone.

Grogul yelled, "Look out!" and Torius looked up just in time to see a huge slab of stone swinging down from the wall right at his head.

"Sonofa—" he managed, just before the stone sent him tumbling into darkness.

∗ ∗ ∗

I'm dreaming, Torius thought, as a woman sauntered out of the mists, lustrous ebony hair cascading in waves over her perfect shoulders. Skin like fresh milk, clad in only the most gossamer of veils, teased his eyes. Nothing else could be this good.

She didn't just move, she undulated, her curves swaying in ways that no woman's curves had a right to. She stopped before him, lifting one graceful hand to run a finger down the line of his jaw. Her other hand caressed him significantly lower, and he realized he was naked. A shiver ran up his spine. Yes, this was going to be a good dream ...

"Hello, Torius," she said, a perfect smile gracing her perfect lips.

"Vreva!" Startled, he realized that he knew her. Vreva Jhafae, courtesan nonpareil, plied her trade in the slave-market port of Okeno, among the masters of the Fleshfairs and the captains of the yellow-sailed slave galleys. Her favors commanded fees that would have supported Torius's entire ship and crew for a month. Though he despised her trade, she was also one of Torius's most valuable informants.

Torius had learned years ago that a pirate—at least one who wished to retire with more than scars and sea stories to his name—needed to be more than a simple brigand waiting for the next merchant to sail past. Torius specialized in valuable rarities—usually artwork, magical items or religious relics—pursuing specific items based on specific information. Attack and escape was his policy; he took only the targeted treasure and avoided unnecessary killing, preferring to leave his victims alive for future plundering. This he accomplished through a network of well-placed—and well-paid—informants in ports around the Inner Sea. Vreva was one of his best.

"I see that you recognize me, even in your dreams." She smiled with lips made for sin and no other purpose. "How sweet."

"What are you doing here?" He pushed away her questing hands. His struggles seemed futile, as if he could not touch her, but she could touch him.

"I have a message for you, Torius." Her fingertips ran expertly over his body, and his body responded. "Oh, I see at least part of you is getting my message."

"Stop it, Vreva!" He stepped back. Torius realized that this must be a spell, a magical projection of her into his dream. Since Vreva didn't cast spells, it meant that she had paid a wizard to cast the magic on her, which was expensive. Which in turn meant that it must be important. "You didn't invade my dreams just to seduce me. What do you want?"

"Now, Torius. If you want my message, you have to let me give you all of it." She smoothed the gossamer gown against her curves. "But if you insist on addressing business before pleasure, very well. I have an opportunity for you, if you're in a position to act quickly. Visit me soon, and you may reap a valuable reward."

"What reward?" he demanded, willing himself clothed. It wasn't armor, but it made him feel more secure, at least against her.

"The rest of my message ..." She sidled up to him again, ignoring his question. The fabric of her diaphanous gown tented across her upturned breasts, more enticement than concealment. He held his ground, trying to ignore her body pressing against his. The dark pools of her eyes fixed his gaze even as her flowery, musky scent threatened to overwhelm his restraint. He clenched his jaw until his head pounded. "...is more intimate."

"Vreva, you can go now!" She wasn't even paying attention to him.

"Torius, this is only a dream." She pressed closer, until her sweet breath filled his mouth with every word. "Besides, the spell is already paid for ..."

∗ ∗ ∗

Celeste slithered back and forth across the confines of the cabin, fraught with worry. She'd been watching over Torius since Grogul had returned with the unconscious captain slung over his shoulder more than an hour ago.

"Bah! He'll be fine. Just a crack on the head." The bosun had deposited Torius in his bunk. "But if this is all the captain desires, he needs to work on his dreams." He dumped the meager pile of plunder onto the table and stomped off.

Celeste looked over the cache—a few handfuls of silver and gold coins, some baubles and jewelry, and a couple of scrolls that she had yet to identify—and hissed. Something was wrong; how could she have misconstrued this pitiful pile as a prophecy of wealth? Yet she was sure that her sightings and research had been accurate. This foray should have realized Torius's dreams' desire for wealth, or she had made a grave error.

Torius stirred under the sheet, turning his head and muttering nonsense. Snick, who had a modicum of healing lore, had helped her undress the captain and tended his scratches and cuts before leaving him to her care. Celeste had draped a damp cloth on his forehead. He wasn't feverish, but he hadn't woken, either. Now he appeared to be in the throes of some horrid nightmare.

This is all my fault, she thought with a wave of guilt. I sent him in there, and now he's lying here senseless!

Her coils writhed as she lifted the cloth with a flick of her magic, dampened it in the basin, and replaced it on his forehead. He tossed his head and mumbled, but she held the cloth in place.

"Please," she said, focusing on his tortured features. Though not particularly devout, she was willing to plead with any force in the universe if it would help him survive. "Please don't let him die ..."

"No ...don't ..."

"Oh, you poor dear," she said, leaning close, caressing him gently with the tip of her tail. Fleetingly, she longed to hold him with arms she didn't have. Their intervals of intimacy—when she imbibed a magical potion to assume human form—were few and far between. Though it felt strange to hold him close with arms and legs, she relished the pleasure it allowed them to share. But lately, with their funds dangerously low, there was no money for extravagances like potions. Over the last few weeks, it was all Torius could afford to keep the crew fed and the ship in order. No money for them ...no expenditure for personal pleasures ...

"Vreva ..." he mumbled, and Celeste stopped short.

"What?" She leaned close to catch the word. It had sounded like ...

"Vreva! Please!"

Celeste reared back, a quiet hiss escaping her throat as a sudden surge of anger suffused her, stiffening her coils. She knew that name, knew who and what that woman was. Torius was dreaming of her!

"His dreams' desire," she said, remembering her own prophecy.

Torius stirred under the thin sheet, twisting and turning, and she could see plainly that the dream had aroused him. He was dreaming of that woman, with her arms and legs and her courtesan's ways. He was making love to her!

She hissed in anger and lashed forward, plunging her fangs into his shoulder.

"Ow!" Torius vaulted up out of his bunk, scrambling away and reaching for his sword. Before he drew it from the scabbard, however, he blinked and recognized his surroundings, then looked down at the bleeding holes in his shoulder. "Celeste! You bit me!"

"How astute you are to notice!" She knew there was really no danger in her venom for Torius; he had become inured, and even mildly addicted to it over the years. She looked down pointedly and said, "You're lucky I bit your shoulder!"

He looked down again and noticed his own state of arousal. "What?" He grabbed the sheet and wrapped it around his waist, which didn't really conceal much. "What are you talking about, Celeste? Why did you bite me?" He hung up his sword and leaned back against the bunk, massaging the lump on his head. "And why does my head feel like a smith's been using it for an anvil?"

"I bit you," Celeste seethed, "because you were dreaming of her!" Then, slightly abashed: "And your head hurts because you were knocked unconscious. Grogul brought you back, and I was tending you. But then you started dreaming—dreaming of Vreva! Don't deny it! You were calling her name!"

"As a matter of fact, Celeste, I wasn't dreaming of her. She invaded my dream with magic." He rose and retrieved his trousers, struggling to pull them on in his current condition. "She had a message for me. A business proposition."

"A business proposition?" She nodded to the bulge in his trousers. "Her business or yours?"

"Mine." He grabbed a shirt and pushed his arms into the sleeves, wincing at the raw scratches and the new wound in his shoulder. "And I admit, she was trying to seduce me. She always tries to seduce me. It's like a game she never gets tired of playing. But it was just a dream, Celeste."

"It looked to me like she was more than trying to seduce you!"

"Celeste, you have to understand one thing about men." He opened the cabin door, shouted for someone to fetch Grogul, and turned back to her. "We don't have control over our ...physical responses to things like that."

"You don't?" That seemed unbelievable to her. How could a creature not have control over its own appendages? "Why not?"

"I don't know why, but that's the way it is." He came to her and placed his hands on where her shoulders would have been if she had them. "And you don't have to be jealous of Vreva Jhafae. The woman's a prostitute."

Celeste knew Torius's feelings about people who sold their sexual favors, but it still didn't completely alleviate her concerns. Before she could reply, however, Grogul entered the cabin.

"Good to see you on an even keel, Captain!" he said with a grin and a salute. "You took a nasty crack to the noggin. You feelin' all right?"

"A headache is all. Everyone else all right?"

"Oh, aye. Just some scratches and such. Nothin' a good scrubbin' and poultice won't cure. Everyone's fit for action."

"Good. And did we get anything from that cavern?"

"Might keep us in grog for a fortnight, Captain, but it wasn't enough to write home about. The crew ain't too happy about that." Grogul waved toward the table and frowned. "Oh, and a couple of scrolls that I couldn't read. Celeste said she'd take a look at 'em."

"Well, no matter. Set course north for Okeno. Vreva's got a job for us."

"Aye, sir!" The half-orc's frown deepened. "Don't much care for that city, but business is business." Grogul left, and the sounds of the crew preparing to haul anchor reverberated through the ship.

Torius turned to Celeste. "Please plot our course to Okeno. I'm going to see if I can't find something to ease this headache ...and maybe a bandage for my shoulder."

He left her in the cabin, vacillating between anger, jealousy, and guilt. Celeste knew they couldn't turn down an opportunity for income, and Vreva had put them onto good jobs in the past. Still ...Celeste's tail twitched. She didn't trust the woman, and she and Grogul shared a dislike of Okeno. The city of slavers made her nervous.

paizo.com #2495541, Ronald Hartman <rh82759@netzero.net>, Sep 24, 2013

Chapter Three

Friends in Low Places

Torius glared at the Okeno waterfront and gritted his teeth. At a young age, he had learned to hate the color yellow. It made him both furious and nauseous at the same time. Unfortunately, the sheltered bay was named Yellow Harbor for good reason. Crowded with its infamous fleet of yellow-sailed slave galleys and the sprawling markets of the Fleshfairs, both sea and shore were resplendent with that particular hue.

He wrinkled his nose as they sailed into the harbor; downwind of the city proper, the telltale stench of slavery filled the air. Bloated corpses—slaves who had outlived their usefulness or died in transit to the city—bobbed on the gentle swells. So prevalent was the disposal practice that a city ordinance stipulated that such "refuse" was to be discarded only on the outflowing tide, so as not to clog the harbor. A permanent school of sharks—as well as more dire denizens of the sea—patrolled just outside the breakwater to eagerly dispose of the offal.

His gorge rose in his throat as he spotted the emaciated body of a child bobbing among the flotsam. Not today, he thought, wrenching his attention away from the pitiful sight. I can't do anything about it today ...

"Dock us as far away from the slaver fleet as you can manage, Grogul," he ordered, scowling at the long galleys docked in precise rows.

"How do you feel about Hermea?" the half-orc asked with a similar scowl. "That's far away."

"Just dock the ship." He turned to his engineer. "Snick, are we rigged for mayhem?"

"Aye, Captain!" The gnome had a new hat, a puce one that matched her hair no better than the previous. Actually, it looked like the same hat, dyed a different color and now sporting a peacock feather. "Lookin' as dangerous as a dragon with a toothache!"

"Good."

In Okeno, you looked dangerous or you looked like potential merchandise. Non-slaver merchant ships that visited the port often found themselves pursued by the swift and heavily armed slave galleys upon their departures. Torius's goal was to look as dangerous as possible. That meant loaded ballistae at every port; sentries fore, aft, and in the crow's nest at all times with loaded crossbows openly displayed; and every member of the crew wearing at least one weapon, preferably two, on his or her hip. Even Soursop the cook wore a pair of heavy cleavers at his belt when he ventured on deck to empty the slop buckets.

Celeste, unfortunately, had to stay below throughout their stay. If even one slaver caught sight of her, they would likely attack Stargazer right at the dock. She was unusual enough to sell for a fortune on the slave block.

They docked the ship with little trouble, and bereft of a first mate, Torius haggled with the dockmaster himself. Grogul offered, but the captain didn't want to add to the body count in the bay if the dockmaster angered the half-orc. At last, with the dock lines secure and scowling pirates lining the rails, he was ready to go ashore to conduct his business with Vreva Jhafae.

"I'll need a shore party, Grogul; one not including you. I want you aboard Stargazer in case there's trouble."

"Figured you would, sir, so I picked Joss to head 'em. He's solid." He waved the pirates forward.

"Good." Torius eyed them; three men and a woman, all armed and looking ready for action. He knew he could depend on them in a fight, but wasn't so sure that he could depend on any of them keeping their heads on straight where they were going. Torius had donned his kaftan and head scarf—his typical garb when ashore in these southern ports—as had the shore party. It was best to blend into the crowd, and there was no lack of rich slavers and their entourages of bodyguards in Okeno. Joss grinned maniacally, his gap-toothed smile alone enough to scare most slavers into a case of bowel flux. Torius nodded his approval. "Nobody leaves the ship by themselves, Grogul. If you need something from one of the markets, assign a detail of no less than four."

"I know the rules, Captain." The bosun gave him a grin and a salute. "Have fun with your negotiations."

"Fun?" Torius sneered. "I'd rather spend time with a bad-tempered ogre."

"Aye, sir, but you gotta admit, Vreva's good to look at."

"So is a succubus," Torius commented, waving to his detail. "Come on."

Their trek through the city was mercifully short. The opulent inn where Vreva Jhafae made her home and conducted her business was close to the Fleshfairs, where her clientele plied their trades. Torius kept his eyes fixed on his path, ignoring the presentations of merchandise as they passed slave shop after slave shop. He knew what he would see if he let his eyes wander: men, women, boys, and girls of every race arrayed in orderly, if not aesthetically pleasing, displays. Most wore tattered rags, chains binding their hands and feet—new stock that had not yet been broken. Experienced, well-conditioned slaves wore better clothing and no chains, their yellow collars of ownership the only evidence of their status. A few unfortunate enough to be deemed pretty or handsome wore little more than those collars, their "wares" displayed openly for the perusal of prospective buyers.

"Not today ..." Torius murmured through clenched teeth, steering them clear of the worst of it.

The Inn of the Eighth Sin was not exactly a brothel, but a few of the higher-class ladies of Vreva's ilk made their homes there. The innkeeper enjoyed a brisk business in all manner of entertainments, some mundane and some not. He also employed an inordinate number of guards to keep order.

"Captain Vin!" With some difficulty, the rotund innkeeper extracted himself from behind the glistening mother-of-pearl front desk. He waddled out to greet Torius with all proper ceremony, bowing low, touching his brow, and sweeping his arm in a wide arc. The man had a phenomenal memory, and greeted all of his returning customers by name. "Abadar exults to see you once again in my humble establishment. You honor me with your presence."

"The honor is mine, Master Quopek." Torius bowed low, mirroring the man's gesture. In his travels, he had mastered the customs of myriad cultures; the problem was remembering which one to use where. A gesture that denoted friendship or trust in one culture could be taken as a deadly insult in another.

"What can I do for you and the fearsome crew of the Stargazer today, Captain? We have some very fine Chelish wine and the best refined pesh available on the market. Some company, perhaps? We have slaves of all manner to see to your every whim. Baths, massage, women, girls, boys ..."

"I received an invitation to visit Miss Jhafae," Torius said, struggling to maintain a calm demeanor. "If she is not entertaining a ...client, I would see her at once."

"Ah, of course. I remember that she is a special acquaintance of yours." Quopek winked broadly and turned to his desk. "She is not usually busy so early in the day, but let me just consult her appointment book." From a drawer of his desk he pulled a thick book bound in mauve leather. He consulted its pages and nodded. "Yes, she is free, and in her apartments. If you wish to proceed, I will see that your people are well entertained in your absence."

"Not too well entertained, Master Quopek." Torius bowed again and cast a warning look at the grinning Joss. "You stay sober, Joss, or there'll be the devil to pay."

"Sober as a magistrate, Captain!" Joss saluted, though his eyes strayed toward the scantily clad ladies who lounged in the inn's common room.

"Good." Torius tightened his belt a notch, smoothed his mustache, and climbed the sweeping marble stairs to the top floor where Vreva Jhafae made her home.

The double doors to her suite were works of art, burnished teak deeply carved and inlaid with polished brass and semiprecious stones in a mosaic of the goddess Calistria. The deity was displayed in all her lascivious splendor, surrounded by adoring subjects in the throes of lustful homage. He lifted the erotically shaped brass clapper and rapped it three times, feeling instantly like he needed to wash his hand.

"Torius Vin!" Vreva exclaimed in her musical contralto as she swept the doors wide. Her eyes gleamed, and her rouged lips glistened as she smiled. "Please, do come in!" She swept her arm in a graceful arc and curtsied with the poise of a dancer.

Despite himself, Torius caught his breath at the sight and subtle scent of her, remembered so vividly from his dream. She wore a less revealing garment than she had in that vision: a pastel confusion of veils drawn snug around her slim waist by golden cord—translucent, opaque, and startlingly transparent in varying shades of purple and pink. As she moved, subtle hints of her fabulous figure were revealed just long enough to catch his eye before becoming hidden again. Her coiffure was an elaborate confusion of onyx waves and intricate braids woven with more golden cord, a few delicate curls dangling to caress the nape of her neck. He steeled his resolve and entered her abode.

"Vreva." He looked around. She had redecorated her suite since his last visit. Instead of the former silver-and-white palette, the walls, floors, upholstery, and curtains were a riot of crimson and gold. It was artfully done, but not his style. "Can't say I like what you've done to the place."

"Alas, I am a slave to fashion, dear Torius." She closed the doors and moved to the expansive sideboard, where she filled two long-stemmed crystal goblets with blood-red wine from a matching carafe. "My decorator is a Taldan, and he's all the rage. Of course, now I'll have to buy a whole new wardrobe, since the new colors clash horribly with all my outfits. Oh, well!" She proffered one of the wineglasses, her delicate fingers tipped with pink-lacquered nails.

He considered refusing the wine on principle but relented. She was bringing him business; it would be bad manners to refuse her hospitality. He lifted the goblet from her grasp, taking care not to let his fingers brush hers. "Thank you."

"To our continued profitable association," she said, raising her glass for a toast.

"I'll drink to that," he said as the crystal vessels touched, chiming a musical note. He took a sip, and his eyebrows arched in appreciation. Oak and walnut, plum, and a hint of smoke caressed his palate. Vreva had excellent taste in wine. "This is delicious. Chelish?"

"Why, yes!" She beamed at him, her sensuality glowing with her seemingly honest delight. "A touch of my homeland. I find it staves off the lingering desire to return there more effectively than anything else I've tried." She sipped again and waved a hand at a lavishly upholstered divan. "You never told me you knew wine."

He sank into the cushions at one end of the divan. Beautiful though it was, the blatant opulence discomforted him. Much like its owner, he thought. As much as he reviled her profession for personal reasons, her constant manipulative attempts at seduction were what really set his teeth on edge. Vreva reclined at the far end, stretching her legs so that her lovely bare feet were inches from his knee. She was far too close for his liking, but his back pressed against the armrest, and he couldn't retreat any farther without standing.

"There are a great many things about me that I have never—and will never—tell you, Vreva." A pure white cat emerged from behind the divan and hopped up into Vreva's lap, where it curled into a purring ball. No accounting for taste. "Your cat doesn't match your new decor either. Guess it's time for a new one. You must go through pets like you go through men."

She stared at him for a moment, her eyes veiled, before continuing as if she hadn't heard the insult.

"You do enjoy playing the mysterious pirate, don't you? I, on the other hand, am an open book." She sighed and waved her hand in a graceful arc. "A slave to the passions of men and a hedonist beyond compare." She adjusted her position, unconsciously—or perhaps intentionally—exposing an expanse of shapely thigh. "Is that why I make you uncomfortable, Torius? Am I too honest in my licentious lifestyle for your delicate sensibilities?"

"I'm a pirate, Vreva," he said, though he wasn't telling her anything she didn't already know. She'd been profiting from his piracy for more than three years. "I don't have delicate sensibilities."

"Oh, but isn't it true that you refuse to traffic in slaves, Torius?" She arched her ebony eyebrows and sipped her wine. "That's unusual for a pirate. It sounds like the choice of a man who has some moral code from which he refuses to deviate."

"It's the choice of a man who doesn't want to shovel human shit from the bilge of his ship," he said casually. "And I could never fly yellow sails. They'd clash with the rest of the ship."

"I see." She sipped her wine, the deep, dark pools of her eyes studying him relentlessly.

After an extended silence, he began to feel even more uncomfortable with her scrutiny. He tossed back his wine as if it were cheap grog and rose from the divan. "You mentioned a business proposition?" He strode to the sideboard and refilled his goblet without asking. The neck of the carafe clanked against the rim almost hard enough to chip the crystal. "Something lucrative?"

"Quite lucrative, if you can manage it." She waited with the patience of a spider as he strolled back to the divan and sat. "A very valuable item has been stolen. The thief who stole this item will board a ship in four days. If you can intercept the ship and take the item, it will fetch you a small fortune in the bazaars of Katapesh."

"I'm interested," he said with cautious expectation. Stealing from thieves was one of his favorite pastimes—much safer than stealing from rich men directly. Rich men had guards and traps and nasty spells protecting their treasures. But thieves ...What were they going to do, call the authorities? He took another sip of wine and held it on his tongue before swallowing. He could get used to this taste, but a bottle probably cost more than a good healing potion. Which reminded him ... "How much do you want?"

"Thirty percent," she said, her casual tone at odds with her businesslike gaze.

"Twenty, after our expenses," he countered, more comfortable now that the haggling had begun.

"Twenty-seven percent, before your expenses." Her smile was sweet enough to make his teeth hurt.

"Twenty-two percent, after fifty percent of expenses. Without knowing the ship I'll have to take to get this thing, I insist that you incur some of the risk of damage to Stargazer."

"Twenty-five percent, and I see no reason why I should be held responsible for anything that happens to your ship. If you don't feel up to the challenge after you learn the details, you can decline the offer."

"Twenty-four percent, and half my expenses. I really must insist."

"Insist all you want, Torius, but I'm not—" She suddenly raised one immaculately manicured finger, her eyebrows arching like a recurved bow being pulled to fire. "How about this? I'll pay all your expenses, and meet your twenty-four percent, if you spend tonight here with me. Just the two of us."

He gaped at her, unsure if he had heard her correctly. "You what?"

"I'll pay your expenses," she repeated as she leaned forward, exposing a distracting swell of pale flesh, "and agree to twenty-four percent of your take on this enterprise, if you share my bed this night." When he didn't answer, she laughed musically. "Oh, come now, Torius. Men have paid me as much as we're haggling over for an afternoon's dalliance. Surely you don't believe that you wouldn't enjoy my company. In your dream, you seemed quite—"

"Twenty-five percent." He clenched his teeth in rage at her offer, as well as his body's irrepressible response to her sensuality. He crossed his legs and growled. "No expenses."

"My dear Torius!" Vreva gaped at him in honest surprise. She stared at him for a long moment, then inclined her head in a polite nod of acceptance. "Whoever she is, she must be very special for you to refuse my offer."

"My personal life is not up for discussion, and my physical attentions are not up for barter, Vreva." He quaffed his wine, set the goblet on the low table beside the divan, and stood. "Now, do we have an accord, or do you prefer to continue your childish games?"

She emptied her goblet and nudged her feline companion. The cat hopped down with an insulted look common to its kind, and Vreva rose to her feet, seemingly at ease with his brusque manner. She held out a hand. "We have an accord."

Against his better judgment, Torius reached out and took her hand. Her grip was like fine silk, smooth and supple yet strong. In his dream he had only imagined her touch, not truly felt it. Now he remembered why he avoided it. They had sealed deals before with a handshake, and each time Torius felt as if he left a tiny sliver of his soul in her grasp.

Vreva smiled as their hands parted. She picked up his goblet and flowed across the carpeted floor to the sideboard. She poured more wine for them both and returned, holding one out for him to take.

"The name of the ship is the Queen's Chalice; she will leave Sothis bound for Ostenso in four days. The item you seek is a necklace called the Star of Thumen. Until recently, it belonged to Keiratek Nhil of Sothis. He is wealthy and powerful advisor to the Council of Sun and Sky. The necklace is magical, and is said to bestow untold knowledge upon the wearer." She sipped her wine.

"What kind of knowledge?"

"I haven't the faintest idea," she admitted with a shrug. "The thief's name is Twilp Farfan, a halfling. He's experienced and very careful, which is why he's letting things cool down for a few days before boarding the ship."

"Contract theft, or is he looking for a fence?"

"Contract. Some high something-or-other in Egorian, which is how I learned of the heist." She lifted her glass. "My wine importer often brings me news from home."

"Ah." He swirled his wine, admiring the hue, but then noted a tiny smudge of Vreva's lip rouge on the rim. She had switched glasses. He wondered if she'd done it on purpose, then dismissed it as a simple mistake. Nevertheless, when he brought it to his lips, he made sure to place them where hers had not touched. "You've never told me why you left Cheliax, Vreva."

"There are a great many things about me that I have never—and will never—tell you, Torius," she said with another smoldering smile.

He couldn't help but laugh at having his own words thrown back at him so readily. He raised his glass to her. "A fair touch." Crystal chimed again as they clinked glasses, and he took another sip. "Four days. Good. That'll give me time to hire a new first mate."

"Oh? What happened to Caliel?"

"I killed him," he said, fixing her with an even stare and levying a smile of his own.

"Dare I ask why?" She seemed unperturbed at his admission.

"He betrayed me. That simple."

"Remind me never to betray you, then."

"Very well. Never betray me, Vreva. If you do, I'll kill you as quickly and easily as I did Caliel."

"Then I've got nothing to worry about." She finished her wine.

"Good." He finished his and handed her his goblet. "Thank you for the wine. It was remarkable. Next time you order a shipment, get an extra case and I'll buy it from you."

"I'll be happy to give you a case, Torius." She escorted him to the door and opened it for him. "I'll have Quopek deliver it to your ship."

"Thank you," he said honestly. A gift of wine was one offer from her that he was willing to accept. He gave her a sweeping bow and turned to go, but the dulcet tone of her voice stopped him in his tracks.

"And tell your lady, whoever she is, that I envy her your attentions." He looked at her, but could detect no guile in her expression. "I would very much like to meet her one day."

The thought of Celeste meeting Vreva made Torius laugh out loud. "For your sake, Vreva, you better pray to your goddess that you never, ever do."

∗ ∗ ∗

Scales whispered on wood, back and forth, back and forth, her tail twitching with every sinuous turn. Torius's cabin was barely large enough for the ship's captain to pace, let alone a lunar naga measuring ten feet from head to tail. She bumped the stool beside the chart table with the tip of her tail, and it fell over, causing her to turn and hiss. Celeste was in a fine, high temper, and she had only herself to blame.

Dreams and wealth, desire and wealth, dreams' desire. She turned and re-turned the prophecy over in her mind. Wealth, dreams, desire, lust ...

Vreva ...

Celeste despised the woman, though she'd neither met nor even seen her. She was a professional seductress, and though Torius had explained exactly why that was abhorrent to him, he had also admitted to being unable to control his own body. And now Celeste was stuck here on Stargazer while he was with Vreva.

"And I sent him to her!" she hissed, turning again in the confined space.

What a cruel joke the stars were playing on her. But her prophecy could not have been false. The stars never lied.

Her tail quivered, rattling against the leg of the chart table. She sighed and stopped her incessant slithering, coiling instead in the center of the floor. Closing her eyes, she tried to still her mind and focus on Torius. She had no doubt of his feelings for her. Years ago, he had rescued her from a fate she didn't want to even consider, and had offered her a place aboard Stargazer despite the risk her presence created. Here she had discovered night skies far from the polluting light of the cities of humanoids. Oh, what glorious starscapes they had seen together! They had counted the shooting stars in a meteor shower east of Absalom, charted an unnamed comet's progress across the sky while transiting the Obari Ocean, and pledged their love under the arc of the heavens at both solstice and equinox.

But now ...

She shivered with the memory of curling around Torius, closing her eyes and laying her head on his chest while he stroked her hair. And their short but sweet stolen moments when she made love to him in human form, the bitter taste of the potion disappearing with his kisses. She had thought it enough, but as Celeste remembered Torius's reaction as he dreamed of Vreva, she considered that perhaps she had been wrong. With what she'd learned about the libidos of human men aboard a ship full of pirates, and what she knew of Vreva, she thought it might be far too tempting for him to satisfy his physical urges with her. And if he did, Celeste knew that she would never again hold his heart as she did now.

Have more faith in yourself, she thought. Arms and legs are the only thing that woman has that I do not. And she spreads hers far too easily. Torius and I share a love of the sky and the sea, of adventure and freedom ...and each other. The stars may not lie, but perhaps I misread them.

Celeste was doubtful about this last thought, but forced her worries aside. To take her mind away from her tumultuous thoughts, she slithered over to the table and used her magic to unroll one of the scrolls that they had retrieved from the island cavern.

"Fah!" she scoffed. It was an incantation for animating a corpse. She found such magic revolting, but knew the scroll would fetch a few scarabs in Katapesh.

Unrolling the second scroll, she gasped. The scroll fell as her spell failed, the wooden spindle clattering to the floor. Cautiously, she unrolled it again and leaned close to read.

Could this be the significance of the stars' prophecy? Her heart fluttered as she read. The scroll would bring everything together: the prophecy, Torius, her ...

With this spell, she could transform herself into whatever humanoid form she chose, but the incantation was relatively simple. Unlike the more powerful spell in the potions they used, this was well within her capability to learn. She could take human form more often. Is that what Torius wanted?

"His dreams' desire ..."

A knock at the door startled her out of her disturbing thoughts. She rerolled the scroll and tucked it away. She had heard no commotion overhead, so there was little chance that danger lurked on the other side of the door, but nonetheless she prepared her magic before responding.

"Who is it?"

"It's Snick! I've got lunch for you, Celeste."

"I'm not hungry. Thank you, Snick."

The door, which Celeste knew had been locked, clicked open and swung aside to reveal the diminutive gnome holding a tray of food in one hand and a pair of crooked lockpicks in the other. She stuffed the tools in her pocket and grinned. "One of your favorites. Eel pie. Soursop made it special for you ...with extra pepper."

Celeste sighed and nodded to the chart table. "You can put it there, Snick. Thank you. I'm just not very hungry right now."

"Okay." The gnome placed the tray on the table and laid out a spoon and fork. "I know you're worried about Torius, Celeste. We all are. He's been pushin' too hard since our last little ...difficulty, but he'll be back on an even keel soon enough. You'll see."

"I'm not worried," she lied, moving to the table and flicking her forked tongue over the wonderful-smelling eel pie. Still, her stomach knotted at the thought of food. "Torius values loyalty above all things, Snick. He won't betray me."

"That what you're worried about? Nah! He's not the type to go dippin' into a trollop's purse!" Snick waved and backed out of the cabin. "You need anything, you just give a holler."

"I will, Snick. Thank you."

The door closed and clicked as the gnome relocked it. Celeste wondered sometimes about Snick; the gnome didn't have a violent bone in her body, yet here she was on a ship full of pirates, tending the killing machines she called her babies. All for Torius.

She'd once asked the gnome how she happened to join the crew, and Snick had just laughed.

"Oh, there's just something about Torius. He's got a way about him, you know?" A wistful look had come over Snick's face. "It's like he knows you, even when he doesn't. He looks at you, and with one glance he knows you. Just like that!" And the gnome had snapped her fingers.

Celeste resolved that she was right; Torius had a knack with people. Within moments of meeting someone, he could tell things about them. And he was usually—though not always—right in his assessment. His crew was fiercely loyal and would follow him through the Eye of Abendego if he led them there. And he repaid them with loyalty that was, if anything, even stronger. Snick and Celeste knew that better than most of the crew. Snick was what pirates called a gallows jumper, someone who has been called back from death by magical means. Torius had paid a high price for Snick's revival, which was part of the reason they were in their current financial debacle, but it had never crossed his mind not to do it. As for herself, well, Torius had saved Celeste more than once from the covetous machinations of men intent on using her for one vile purpose or another. She owed him more than she could ever repay.

In fact, she thought with a pang of guilt, I owe him my trust above all else.

He had told her that she had no reason to be jealous of Vreva Jhafae. She had to trust him. If she couldn't, she was lost, and no reading of the night sky could lead her back.

paizo.com #2495541, Ronald Hartman <rh82759@netzero.net>, Sep 24, 2013

Chapter Four

My Last First Mate

Torius took a deep breath as he entered the dark, dingy hole-in-the-wall pub and smiled. There were a few corners of Okeno that were not dominated by the noisome stench of slavery, and the Tipsy Trollop was one of them.

Other trade items did, after all, come to the city, and traders from all across the Inner Sea came and went, usually stopping here on their way to or from Katapesh, Quantium, or Niswan, hoping to make a quick sale. Several inns and taverns catered to those sailors and merchants, who, for one reason or other, didn't care to deal in slaves. It was here that Torius would search for a new first mate.

"This could take a while," he told his two remaining escorts. He had sent the others back to the ship. "Have a drink at the bar. I'll be at that corner table."

He stopped at the bar, looked up at the bawdy painting of a drunken streetwalker that hung over the row of kegs and bottles, and tried not to grit his teeth at the memories the image rekindled. Not today ...He waved to the bartender.

"Ahoy, Capt'n Vin. Good to see yer still floatin'. What can I ge'cha?"

"Three ales, and water mine by half, Gambley. I'm going to sit for a spell and take in the scenery." He passed a gold scarab across the bar, many times the price of the drinks. "I'm looking for a new first mate. I've put word out at a few of the other places where real sailors drink and told them I could be found here. I hope you don't mind."

"Mind? Hell no!" Gambley grinned, showing the gapped remnants of dozens of bar brawls. "More business for me!" He laughed and drew their drinks from a barrel, watering one by half just as Torius had asked.

"Thanks, Gambley." Torius took his tankard, sat in the corner so he could see the entire room, and put his feet up to wait for his new first mate to walk through the door.

He had offered the position to Grogul, of course, but the half-orc had just laughed and said, "Nah. Not me! I deal with the men, sir. I let you officer types deal with the charts and logs and all those skinflint dockmasters and tax collectors."

Torius sighed with both relief and regret. He'd offered Grogul the position because he felt that the man had earned it. Torius trusted his bosun without reservation, and knew he would make an acceptable first mate, but he was an exceptional bosun. With Grogul on deck, discipline was tight. If there was grumbling, it was either resolved quickly or the offender was put ashore at the next port with a brand-new complement of bruises. Scuffles or thievery among the crew were dealt with directly, the offender nursing a sore head for a few days rather than stripes from the cat o' nine tails. But Grogul was also the first to admit that he lacked the finesse required in a good first mate; confessing that he'd rather smack an official upside the head than slip him a bribe. Which meant that Torius had to fill the vacant first mate slot. The trouble, as always, was to find someone both skilled and trustworthy.

Hours later, he leaned back in his chair with a disappointed sigh and watched his third applicant walk out the door. The first hadn't sufficient knowledge. The second told at least one lie that Torius could discern, which did not bode well for anything else that came out of her mouth. And the third bragged about his experiences aboard the yellow-sailed slave galleys, saying he wanted to branch out into new markets. With this one, Torius had been hard-pressed to remain cordial and not send the man out of the tavern on his ear.

The afternoon sun shining through the Tipsy Trollop's grimy windows had crept all the way across the floor to Torius's table, and he was considering giving up, when a long shadow fell across his mug of ale. At a glance he saw that the tall fellow was an elf, and from his stance, Torius judged he was a sailor. Unfortunately, that was just about all a visual inspection could yield. Torius found elves, and even half-elves, difficult to gauge. He could never tell how old they were, and they held their emotions closer to the vest than other races. His last first mate, Caliel, had been a half-elf, and proved himself a traitor. Torius hadn't yet recovered his confidence from that betrayal. Of course, Caliel would never recover, being dead. Torius allowed himself a quick smile and resolved to assess this new candidate on his own merits.

"You are Captain Vin?" the elf asked with a cordial nod.

"I am." Torius gestured to the chair across the table. "And you are ..."

"My name is Thillion." He took the proffered seat, moving his chair slightly so that his back was not to the crowded room. "The barkeep told me that you're looking for a first mate."

"That I am." Torius took a shallow sip from his mug of watered ale. "Can I buy you a drink?"

"That would be very generous of you." Torius waved a barmaid over, and the elf said, "Icewine please, with lime."

Torius cocked an eyebrow and suppressed a disgusted sneer. "Wine with lime? That sounds ...interesting."

"It's a taste I picked up out of necessity. I've never been partial to grog, and of course the lime staves off scurvy."

"Each to his own taste," Torius said.

"Your ship is the Stargazer, no?"

"It is," Torius admitted. "Do you know her?" He waited for the elf to flatter him with false compliments, but Thillion surprised him.

"Only by reputation. A brigantine, isn't she?"

"Yes." Torius began to feel like he was the one being interviewed. It was disconcerting, so he tried to regain control of the conversation. "You have experience in the Inner Sea?"

"I have experience throughout the Inner Sea, the western Arcadian Ocean and Lake Encarthan." The elf's wine arrived, and he deftly squeezed the wedge of lime into the cup, then peeled the flesh from the rind with gleaming white teeth. "I have yet to traverse the Obari Ocean, but have been as far south as Mechitar."

Torius raised an eyebrow. If the elf's claims were true, he was older than Torius had guessed.

"And you have experience as first mate?"

"For about twenty years on various vessels." Thillion swirled the wine in his cup and took a sip. "I'm well versed in celestial navigation and can barter as well as anyone. I know the customs of every nation along the Inner Sea and speak many of the languages."

Torius liked what he was hearing, but he forced himself to keep his expectations low. How many applicants had he interviewed in the past who talked a great tale then washed out when he posed a real question? His next was one of his favorites.

"If I asked you to plot a course from Sedeq to Corentyn along the North Tack, how long would that trip take, and what ports might we stop in along the way?"

No confusion clouded the elf's eyes, and he responded promptly. "I don't know your ship, Captain Vin, so an estimate would be rough."

"She's a brigantine, as you know, ninety-five feet at the waterline, with a clipper bow, following stern, thrice foreyards and a clean coppered bottom. She'll hoist eight thousand square feet of sail, not including spritsails, which we can set for light air. We rig staysails for close-wind work. Give me your best estimate."

"Laden or unladen?"

A good question. "Laden."

"Very well." The elf's brow furrowed. "The North Tack from Sedeq will take you along the coast on a beam reach west of Yanimere Island. You do not want to shoot the gap between Yanimere and the mainland; the current is dangerous enough to wreck a ship on a northerly reach. From there, you run straight to Absalom. A close reach to Oppara, figuring an extra day to beat up the delta, then assuming the current prevailing winds, you could drop your staysails and enjoy a broad reach to Cassomir, Almas, Ostenso, Westcrown and on to Corentyn. Assuming a laden downwind speed of eight knots, and a one-day stop at each port, that gives you a transit of approximately twenty-three days, barring inclement weather, evasion of pirates, or ...other unfriendly encounters."

The estimate was spot-on, but Torius wasn't through. "And the return trip, taking the South Tack with the same conditions."

"Assuming she's a weatherly ship, beating against the prevailing easterlies under reefed topsails and staysails and using the southern capes to your advantage, you could touch at Manaket, Merab, and Sothis, reaching Katapesh in about thirty days. A couple more if there's a blow. There are fewer stops and not the same profit on the South Tack, but you could pick up a load of pesh in Katapesh and make an easy run back to Sedeq that'd make up the difference."

"Very good!" Torius raised his tankard in toast; the elf knew his business. "Now, I'll let you know straight up that Stargazer is a cosmopolitan vessel. Katapesh is home port, but we get around, and I have crew from nearly every nation and race. I'll ask you up front if you have any problem with other non-human races, and I expect an honest answer."

"I have no problems with other races, Captain, as long as they're civil to me and sane." Thillion smiled and sipped his wine. "Please do not assume that because I'm an elf I'm also a bigot."

"I won't, if you realize that I'm only asking to stave off potential problems." Torius leveled a stare at the elf. "If I take you on in this position, you'll be working closely with my bosun, Grogul. He's a half-orc, and the best man aboard my ship, though I'll thank you for not telling him that. Until you prove your worth, I'll value you far less than I value him. Is that understood?"

"Of course, Captain." The elf looked slightly surprised. "I would expect nothing less."

"Good." Next came the most delicate question. "Now, I must ask one other thing, and once again, please be honest." He sipped his ale and cleared his throat, lowering his voice to a pitch that would barely reach across the table. "Many of our ...business ventures tend to dip beneath the law. I prefer to keep bloodshed to a minimum, and don't believe in unwarranted violence. But I'll let you know now that you'll be using that shiny rapier at your hip if you become my first mate."

"Do you mean that you engage in open piracy, Captain?" The elf raised one slim eyebrow, but his tone remained questioning, not disapproving.

"Not open, so to speak. We usually target specific items being transported outside of the ship's general cargo."

"I see," the elf said, and once again his tone stayed neutral.

"Would you have difficulty working under those conditions?"

"I've never felt a particular ...penchant for abiding any one nation's laws, Captain. I don't think I would have any problem serving on such a ship, if the ventures are profitable and not too dangerous, but I will be honest with you. If I find myself in a situation I find unacceptable or ...distasteful, I'll depart your ship at the first convenient port."

"Fair enough. If we're honest with each other, we should have no problems." Torius finished his ale and sighed. "Thillion, I'm prepared to offer you the position right here and now, but there's one more thing you should know about me before you accept."

"Yes, Captain?"

"I demand absolute loyalty from my crew." He fixed the elf's almond-shaped eyes with a level stare. "I've been betrayed in the past, and I won't tolerate it."

"Betrayed?" Now both of the elf's brows arched. "How, if I may ask?"

"My last first mate sold our navigator into slavery. That mate is now dead, Thillion. I abhor slavery, and I consider betrayal an act of mutiny and treat it accordingly. Is that clear?"

"Crystal clear, Captain."

"As first mate you'll receive eight percent of our net take after ship's expenses, with bonuses for extra duty. You'll have your own cabin and will stand three watches a day. Three hot meals will be provided, and a ration of grog." He nodded to the elf's cup. "Sorry, but if you want wine, you'll have to supply your own. Do you accept those terms?"

"Those terms are perfectly acceptable, Captain Vin."

"Good!" Torius stood and extended his hand. "Welcome aboard Stargazer, Thillion."

"Thank you, Captain." The elf shook his hand firmly.

"Grab your gear, and we'll head down to the ship."

"What you see is all I have, Captain." The elf shrugged. "My previous ship met with a ...mishap, and all hands were forced to abandon her with what they could carry. I managed to save my bow," he indicated an unstrung bow in a long leather scabbard across his back, "and had enough in my belt pouch to buy this sword."

"Well! You'll have to tell me about that adventure some time." Torius leaned close and whispered, "Best not spread it around the crew, though. Some are superstitious about a man coming off a wrecked ship."

"Of course, sir."

"Well, then let's head down to the docks, and I'll introduce you to the rest of the crew." He waved his escort forward. "This is Joss, bosun's mate, and Marci, foremast jack. This is our new first mate, Thillion."

"Pleased to mee'cha, sir," they both said, with the customary sailor's salute.

"Likewise," Thillion said, with just the right nod and tone of officer to crew.

"Good! This way, then." Torius led them out into the sultry afternoon air and back to the ship. "We'll take on water and provisions and put this place in our wake."

∗ ∗ ∗

"And this will be your cabin, port-side aft."

Celeste's tail stopped twitching at the sound of Torius's voice. He had been gone most of the day, and she couldn't imagine that the entire time had been taken up with Vreva Jhafae, unless ...No! She shoved the thought away. He was back, and that was what mattered. She rushed to the door as his key clicked in the lock.

"This is my cabin, which I share with my navigator, Celeste." The door swung open. "She's a—"

"Captain! Look out!" The tall elf standing beside Torius grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back while reaching for the blade at his hip. He drew the weapon, but the long rapier didn't quite clear the scabbard before his elbow met with the wall of the narrow passage.

Celeste's reaction was reflexive; she rose on her coils, flared her body wide, and hissed. Her most destructive spell leapt into her mind, but a warning flashed through her thoughts. Casting the spell in the confines of a narrow corridor could easily catch the entire ship on fire. Even as she pinched back on the spell, dismissing it, Torius grabbed the elf's wrist and bellowed a command.

"Stand down, Mister Thillion! This instant!"

"But sir! It's a ..." The elf took a step back, clearly unsure of exactly what Celeste was, and let his rapier slide back into its scabbard.

"This," Torius interjected, stepping between her and the elf, "is Celeste. She's a lunar naga, as you can see. She's also Stargazer's navigator and an invaluable member of my crew."

"A member of your crew?" The elf gaped at her, his pointed ears drooping in shock. "I'm sorry, Captain, but when you mentioned getting along with other non-human races, I assumed they would at least have legs!"

Incensed, Celeste whirled and slithered back into the cabin, away from this insulting elf and out of striking distance. She was sorely tempted to bite him, but knew Torius wouldn't approve. She whirled back to watch them with narrowed eyes.

"I'll thank you to keep a civil tongue in your head, Thillion." Torius stood before the door with his shoulders squared and his arms folded, which was never a good sign. "Celeste is not only the finest navigator I've ever met, but a star-reader as well. She's been with me for years."

"She also ssspeaks perfectly good Taldane and does not appreciate being ssspoken of as if ssshe is not here!" Or she could speak perfectly, if she could stop hissing like a snake. She bit back her anger and slithered forward again, glaring at the elf and striving to speak clearly. "Who is this?"

"Thillion is our new first mate, Celeste. He'll be taking Caliel's position."

She looked him up and down. "I hope he's more trustworthy than Caliel. He's certainly no better mannered!" Whirling a final time, she retreated into the cabin without another word.

She heard Torius sigh and tell the elf, "Well, get acquainted with the ship, Thillion. Have Grogul or Snick show you around. We're taking on fresh provisions, but should be able to make the evening tide's ebb."

"Aye, sir."

The door closed with a click and she turned back to Torius. "An interesting fellow. I wonder if you'll end up having to kill him, too."

"I sincerely hope not." He grinned at her and raised a hand to run it through her hair. "I think you already scared him half to death."

"What was I supposed to do, roll over and play dead?" She slithered away from his touch, her tail flicking against the chart table hard enough to rattle the instruments in their rack. "You've been gone all day. Did you have a nice time with your courtesan friend?"

"Vreva isn't a friend, Celeste. You know that. She's a business associate." He hung his cutlass on its peg beside his bunk and turned back to her. "I told you, you needn't be jealous of her. She's not my type." He removed his head scarf and kaftan and tossed them on the bunk.

"Your type?" Celeste had thought that she had calmed herself, but her encounter with the new first mate had agitated her again. It didn't help that she was exhausted. It was almost evening, and she hadn't slept a wink. "She's human, isn't she?"

"Yes, she's human, but she's also a prostitute. You know how I feel about that."

"And what am I, Torius? Your navigator? Your lover? Your pet?"

"Celeste!" He stared at her in shock. "You know how I feel about you!"

"Yes, Torius, I know, but does anyone else?" She slithered a tight circle, indicating the confines of his cabin. "I spend so much time in this room that I feel like a prisoner! In port I have to stay below, at sea I can only go on deck when we're out of sight of land and other ships. I feel like you're ashamed of me. Of us."

"That's not fair, Celeste. You know why you have to stay out of sight. If someone saw you, there'd be trouble."

"Are you sssure that's the reason?"

"Of course I'm sure!"

Celeste hissed again. She knew she was being unreasonable, but couldn't help lashing out. She wanted to believe him, needed to believe him, but ..." Then why didn't you tell your new first mate that we're lovers?"

"I ...I just met the man this afternoon. It didn't come up."

"So what did come up this afternoon, Torius?" She glanced pointedly at his trousers. "Did your courtesan business associate do any of her own snake charming?"

"We talked, Celeste. That's all. We have a job that's going to pay, and pay well." He retrieved his sword and clipped it to his belt. "We'll be back on our feet inside two weeks, with enough money to take a little time off."

Surprised, Celeste swallowed the next jibe she had readied. This was the first time she had ever heard him mention taking time for himself—for them. "Time off? You mean ...off the ship? You and me? Us?"

"Yes, us. I was thinking we might visit the observatory southeast of Katapesh city. You've always wanted to see it."

"The magical one?" Celeste shivered, her scales rustling against the wooden deck. The mystical observatory was purported to be an ancient shrine of the goddess Desna. She longed to lie atop the warm stone at sunset, watch as the light faded and the stars appeared, and observe the heavens magnified. Perhaps the magic would allow her to peer into the very depths of the universe. "We could go? Really?"

"Really." He moved to her once again, his hands up, palms out in supplication. "We can arrange a caravan. Take a couple of weeks."

"You promise?" His arms encircled her, so warm and strong. She shivered again, and wrapped her tail about his legs. She considered telling him about the scroll she'd deciphered, but didn't want to interrupt this moment.

"I promise, Celeste." He released her and stepped back. "Now please, get some rest. I've got to get the ship ready, and I'll need you to plot a course for me later."

"I will." Exhaustion rose up like a wave in her, and she looked forward to curling up and dreaming about their visit to the observatory.

"Promise me you'll get some sleep?"

"I promise, Torius. Thank you." She hesitated then added, "I do trust you. It is just that ..."

"I know, Celeste. Don't worry. I'm yours and no one else's."

"All right."

He left the room and she curled up on her pillows. She did trust him, and soon they would travel together to the observatory, fulfilling her dreams' desire. The thought relaxed her, the uneasiness flowing away like water, but still a bothersome worry niggled at her mind. Her thoughts continued to run in circles, and she knew she had to do one more thing before she could sleep.

Uncoiling, she slithered to the bunk where his kaftan lay, the clean white cloth with its shiny gold thread gleaming in the faint light through the ports. She leaned close and flicked her tongue over the collar. There was a faint scent of him, spice and leather and sweat, but no sweetness of perfume, nothing feminine. She flicked her forked tongue again and breathed deeply of his aroma. She lifted the kaftan with a flick of her magic and brought it back to her nest, then curled up with it tucked under her head like a pillow. His scent calmed her, eased her mind, and allowed her to drift into a restful slumber.

paizo.com #2495541, Ronald Hartman <rh82759@netzero.net>, Sep 24, 2013

Chapter Five

Thieves in the Night

Moonlight wove a path of silver across the ocean swells to the west, illuminating Stargazer's quarterdeck in a pearly glow. The same moonlight tipped the peak of the Stepped Tower of Djedefar, barely visible far to the southwest on the tip of the Alamein Peninsula. Celeste hummed as she manipulated the stylus to mark an "X" on the chart and jot down the time. She glanced aloft. Any minute now ...

As if he had read her thoughts, the lookout in the crow's nest called out, "Sails to the southwest, Captain! A galleon! Looks like they're turning north!"

Celeste felt Torius's hand run through her hair. She leaned into him as he whispered into her ear, "Right on the mark. Again."

"I don't believe it!" Thillion stepped up and stared down at the chart, apparently oblivious to their private moment. "Almost two hundred sea miles and you make contact at the moment he makes his turn!"

"You doubted me?" She hissed quietly, but Torius ran his fingers along her spine until she ceased her complaint. The elf had been cordial toward her since their first run-in, but she was still unsure about him. He had made no more rude remarks, but she had occasionally caught him glancing at her nervously.

"Not at all, Miss Celeste. If Captain Vin has confidence in your abilities, so do I. I'm merely curious as to your technique. Your precision is astounding!"

"It's a simple calculation of multiple vectors with set and drift figured into the equation." She manipulated the dividers with her magic to walk off the distance from their starting point to their current position. The tool resembled little silver legs pirouetting across the chart of their own accord, like a dancer she had seen in Katapesh during one of her infrequent trips ashore.

"As any competent captain would do, once out of the River Sphinx, the master of the Queen's Chalice hugged the northern Osirian coast on his westward leg to take advantage of the prevailing winds and currents. By staying close to shore, he also keeps within the area patrolled by the Osirian Navy. Their war galleys rarely venture into open waters."

She glanced at Thillion, realizing that, with his experience, he probably already knew much of what she was telling him. He seemed to be listening attentively while examining the chart, running his fingers lightly over the parchment, tracing their route. Perhaps, she considered, he's not as bad as I thought.

"Torius's ...informant ..." Celeste wrinkled her nose at the thought of Vreva, but shook off her temper and continued. "...told him that the Chalice is a galleon half again the length of Stargazer. Once we caught sight of her north of Totra, I was able to determine her course and speed and plot an intercept, keeping us just out of sight. We intercepted him here to confirm his turn to the north to strike out straight for Ostenso."

Torius took up the explanation, tapping a finger on the chart at a spot north of the Alamein Peninsula. "We'll take them in the open sea, outside of Osirian territorial waters. We'll keep our distance until they're well offshore, then close in after moonset. If they spot us and run downwind, a galleon's best point of sail, there's no port to put into within a couple of days. We should be able to catch them if that happens, but I'd rather take them before they have a chance to run."

As Thillion peered at the chart, he withdrew a small length of twisted chain from his pocket. The metal links jingled as he twisted and turned them, and Celeste realized that the chain was actually a complicated puzzle. He fiddled with it as he thought, and squinted into the night sky and at the ship's black sails. "And you always strike at night?"

"Generally," Torius said. "We'll tack to the southeast now to stay out of sight, then tack again and come up on her windward quarter. With our black sails and all lights doused, they shouldn't see us until we're right on their beam and ready to board."

"In the dark?" the elf said. "That sounds ...challenging." The puzzle chain fell silent.

"Most lookouts look forward," Torius said. "And merchantmen run lights at night. That'll give us a target."

"Impressive," Thillion said in an appreciative tone. "I look forward to the plan's implementation. In addition, and with your permission, Miss Celeste," he gave her a short bow, "I would like to have a look at your calculations."

She didn't know if Thillion was just playing up to his new captain, but he seemed sincere enough. She always enjoyed showing people her work, but few had shown interest. Their previous first mate had disliked her, and Grogul and Snick showed little aptitude or interest.

"I have no objections," Celeste said.

"For now, why don't you hit your bunk, Thillion," Torius interrupted. "You'll need your rest for later. You can have a look at her calculations during your watch."

"Aye, sir." The elf saluted the captain and nodded to Celeste. "I look forward to your tutelage."

"Good night," she said with a nod.

Celeste set about putting her tools away while Torius ordered their course change. After the ship came about, he stood at the taffrail watching the Stepped Tower shrink in the distance, his hands clenched behind his back. Sensing a tremor in his stance, Celeste slithered up behind him. His hands shook slightly, clenched so tightly that his knuckles shone white in the moonlight.

She pressed her body against his back and lowered her head to nip him gently on the neck. Before she pulled back, she tasted the familiar mingling of his blood and her venom. Resting her chin on his shoulder, she watched the distant tower. After a moment, his trembling ceased. Torius unclenched his hands and leaned on the rail, breathing deeply, his eyes closed.

"Feel better?" she whispered, nuzzling his neck.

Neither of them knew when his body had become dependent on her venom, but it had. Now, if he went for more than a day without some small touch of her fangs, he began to shake and have sweats. The symptoms worsened day by day until he could barely hold a sword, but vanished immediately when she gave him her next bite.

"Yes." He drew a sigh and let it out slowly. "Thank you."

"Good." She tickled his neck with a flick of her tongue. "Don't get blood on your collar."

"Oh, thanks." He withdrew a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped away the tiny dribble before it could mark his shirt. "Can't have the whole crew knowing their captain's a venom addict."

His tone made the last a jest, but she knew he was self-conscious about the issue. As if his crew would think him weak for having such a dependency.

"Your secret is safe with me, my love," she whispered, leaning in for a kiss.

They both turned back to watch the Alamein Peninsula fade into the moonlit night.

"So ..." Torius began, his voice exaggeratedly casual, "this scroll we found works like the potion? Is it the same spell?"

"No, it's different." She had mentioned the scroll, but both of them had been too preoccupied to discuss it. Also, her own feelings about the ramifications of this new magic were troubling her. Though she craved more intimacy with Torius, she sometimes felt as if she was being untrue to herself by taking on human form merely for their pleasure. The potions they used were expensive, and so their lovemaking rare. But now ...She took a deep breath and said, "It will transform me into any humanoid form I desire. In fact, it would change you into another humanoid form, if you could cast it, but it wouldn't change you into a naga like the potion is able to do. If you would only try ..." She glanced at him sidelong.

"Celeste ..." Torius gave her an uneasy smile. They'd talked about him using the potion to take naga form before, and she knew he had an aversion to the notion.

"Never mind, my captain," she said, nuzzling his neck. "I'm only teasing."

"And you say this is a simple spell ...as in, ‘inexpensive'?"

"Less expensive than the potions, without a doubt. I'm sure you could get a wizard in Katapesh to scribe copies of it. And when we have more than one, I can commit it to memory."

"You can?" His eyes widened in pleased surprise.

"Yes. It should be well within my capability."

"If you can cast it multiple times per day, it would come in handy for our trip to the observatory," he said as he ran his hand through her hair again.

She brightened at his mention of their trip. Celeste wasn't sure which excited her more: time alone with Torius away from the ship and crew, or visiting the mystical observatory. Both at once sounded like paradise.

Flicking her tail against his leg, she said, "Go be captain and leave me to do my navigation. I must plot our course to intercept the Queen's Chalice."

"Was that an order?" The lilt of his tone made the question a joke. "Because I thought that I was captain of the Stargazer."

"Oh, you're captain, Captain," she said, casting a smile back at him. "And yes, it was an order."

His laugh carried far enough to earn a few curious glances from the crew.

∗ ∗ ∗

Black sails tore through the night, the wings of a great raptor swooping down on its prey. Torius stood beside his helmswoman, his eyes fixed on the high transom lights of the Queen's Chalice. They were less than a quarter mile away and closing fast. The wind had kicked up a bit, propelling them across the wave tops and whipping his hair about his face. The approach would be tricky, and the danger, the tension surging through him, heightened every sensation to fever pitch.

Gozreh help me, but I love this!

Glancing across the deck, he saw his crew arrayed for the pending action. Thillion stood forward with the boarding party, while Grogul stayed aft on the quarterdeck. Celeste was out of sight, just inside the sterncastle door, as usual. He didn't want rumors spreading around the Inner Sea of a lunar naga aboard a black-sailed brigantine, but her magic would be a formidable asset if all Hell broke loose.

If our ruse works, this should be more of a negotiation than a fight, he thought, though a twinge of worry pricked at him like a dull needle trying to pierce heavy sailcloth. This was not their regular approach to thievery on the high seas.

"Everything ready, Snick?" he asked quietly as the gnome drew near. Sound traveled far over water, and he didn't want to alert a keen-eared merchant sailor to their presence.

"Ready to light 'em up, sir," she said with a grin. Snick had taken to his plan like a mermaid takes to water, gleefully adding a few embellishments of her own.

Stepping away from the helmswoman and lowering his voice further, he asked, "You think it'll work?" Torius often confided things to Snick that he shared with no other member of the crew, including Celeste. The little gnome, despite her quirks and often inappropriate humor, had earned his unwavering trust. He'd known her longer than anyone else on the crew, and he'd come to rely on her devious sense of trickery.

"Certainly got the element of surprise," she said, winking one of her big eyes. "Better get below to tend my babies in case we need 'em."

"Hopefully we won't," he said, giving her the nod, his confidence renewed.

Torius saw her whisper something to Grogul as she passed him. The bosun swatted at her ineffectually, and Torius cringed in anticipation of Snick's high-pitched laughter. No sound reached him over the wind singing in the rigging, however, and he relaxed.

"Don't feel right about this, Captain," the half-orc grumbled, stepping closer. "Feels like cheatin'."

"We're pirates, Grogul." He gave his bosun a smile. "Cheating is what we do best."

"Aye, sir. I don't usually mind disguises and lyin' and such, but this just makes me feel dirty." Grogul hefted a large megaphone, his expression doubtful.

Torius arched his eyebrows, intrigued at the thought of anything making the betusked half-orc feel dirty. He opened his mouth to voice a question but decided that he didn't really want to know the answer.

"Is the boarding party ready?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now remember, nobody dies unless it's necessary." He fixed his bosun with a hard stare; one of Grogul's few faults was his exuberance for fighting. "If this plan works, there shouldn't be any need for killing."

"And if it doesn't work and they come at us with swords and pikes?"

"Well, that would be the ‘necessary' part, wouldn't it?" He clapped Grogul cheerfully on the shoulder. "What do you think about Thillion? Is he up to this?"

"Seems like he knows which is the pointy end of that pig sticker at his hip." Grogul shrugged. "He could be solid or he could be fish bait. We'll find out soon enough."

"Keep an eye on him," Torius whispered. Thillion was well forward, but elves had such uncanny hearing.

"Aye, sir."

Torius stepped back to the helm and peered forward, gauging their approach. They were closer than he had realized—about a hundred yards. Looking down, he noticed the helmswoman's white-knuckled grip on the wheel.

"I'll take her now, Windy."

"Aye, sir. Thank you, sir." Windy Kate released a deep breath as she stepped aside, obviously relieved to let her captain do the tricky bits himself. She was the best hand at the wheel among the crew, but claimed that maneuvers like this gave her gray hairs.

Torius grasped the wheel, feeling the interplay of wind and sea on the ship's movement. The timing of their final turn would be critical. A miscalculation or a rogue wave might put their bowsprit right through the galleon's pretty transom windows.

Fifty yards ...

He gauged the sea innately, as if Stargazer were merely an extension of his own body, rolling with the swells and shuddering with the slap of the wind-driven chop. He steered a course toward Queen's Chalice's starboard aft quarter, directly in the galleon's wake in the hope that its phosphorescence and spume would hide their own foaming bow crest.

Closer they flew: twenty yards ...

Torius grinned. "Ready, Grogul?"

"Aye, sir!"

"Gozreh be merciful," Torius muttered, as Stargazer crested a wave and the galleon lay only ten yards from the tip of their bowsprit.

He hauled the wheel hard to starboard to bring the two ships on parallel courses. This was the most dangerous part; despite the large hemp bumpers mounted on the portside rail, a mistake now could send them careening into the much larger and heavier galleon, damaging or even sinking Stargazer. As the ship steadied on her course, a shout rang out from the galleon. They'd been spotted.

"Light 'em up!" Torius shouted, steadying the wheel so that the two ships flew over the waves side by side less than twenty feet apart. "Loose sheets and let fly the colors!"

Magnesium lamps on Stargazer's deck and crow's nest flared to life, flooding the galleon with blinding white light. One lamp highlighted the Osirian flag, sewn by Snick the previous day, as it unfurled high on Stargazer's main topmast. The sails flapped as their sheets were slacked, decreasing their speed so the pirate ship could stay abreast of the slower galleon. Grogul raised the megaphone.

"Queen's Chalice!" the bosun bellowed. Torius winced. Grogul's bellows were loud enough to rattle glass on their own; amplified, they were deafening. "Heave to and prepare to be boarded by the Osirian Navy! If you resist or attempt to flee, we will sink your ship! Heave to!"

Men scurried around the galleon's deck. Some, Torius noted with a quick glance, bore weapons. That wasn't good.

"We're not in Osirian waters!" someone shouted back. "You have no right to board us!"

"Snick! Warning shot!" Torius ordered.

"Aye, sir!" came her gleeful reply from the open hatch on the main deck. As Stargazer rolled, the crack of a ballista split the night, and the bolt thudded home in the galleon's mainmast.

"Show-off," Grogul muttered before raising the megaphone again. "Queen's Chalice! Heave to and prepare to be boarded, or be sunk!"

Silence from the galleon.

"Well?" Torius asked. He gripped the spokes of the wheel, eyes straight ahead, intent on keeping them from colliding with the galleon. "Grogul, what's going on?"

"Looks like they're slacking sheets, sir." The half-orc sounded disappointed. "Yep, they're heaving to."

"Grapples!" Torius shouted, easing the helm to port as twenty grapple hooks flew across the narrow gap between the ships. There was a dull thud as the two hulls squeezed the hemp bumpers between them, and the sailors secured the lines. "Slack sheets! Furl the fores'l, forecourse, and foretop. Cross sheet the stays'ls." He handed the helm back to Windy Kate and turned to his bosun. "Grogul, you're with me."

"Aye, sir!" The half-orc grinned and checked his weapons.

"No plundering! We get what we came for and that's all."

"Aye, sir," Grogul agreed, definite disappointment in his tone now.

"Boarding party!"

Forty armed pirates, each wearing an armband bearing the golden scarab of Osirion—Snick's work again—clambered up the grappling lines and onto the galleon's higher rail.

"I hate pretending to be official," Grogul grumbled. "Takes all the fun out of bein' a—"

Torius shushed him and prayed that the sham badges held up under close scrutiny. "Lieutenant!" he barked as he leapt down from the galleon's rail onto the deck. He was gratified to see that the merchant crew, at least those on deck, did not outnumber his boarding party. "Secure their weapons!"

"Aye, Captain!" Thillion, responding to his contrived title, drew his rapier as he and his squad moved forward to take the merchant sailors' weapons.

"You're not Osirian Navy!" protested a man wearing gold epaulets on the shoulders of his jacket. "I'm not handing my ship over to a bunch of bloody-handed pirates!"

"We are privateers contracted by the Osirian Navy, Captain," Torius lied, striding forward with a hand on his cutlass. "As such, we have every right to board a ship carrying stolen goods. We have no interest in your ship or your legal cargo, but if you refuse to comply with our demands, we are authorized to sink your ship." He gestured to the ballista bolt fixed in the galleon's mainmast. "I have a dozen more bolts, each enchanted to blast a hole the size of a man's head, ready to fire into your hull below the waterline."

"What?" The man glared at him in suspicion, but the brief flicker of doubt in his eyes was all Torius needed.

"I said, Captain, that you have an item aboard your ship that was stolen from one of Sothis's foremost citizens." He stepped close to the man and fixed him with a dangerous stare. He heard the shuffle of feet as his crew moved in right behind him. Grogul growled softly; a nice touch.

The man's eyes widened, and Torius continued.

"The thief has already been caught and has admitted that he'd hired someone to transport the stolen item aboard your ship. If you hand this person over, you will be free to go. We don't believe you are complicit in this crime and have no interest in harming anyone aboard." That last bit, at least, was the truth, even if the rest of it was sheer fabrication.

"What person and what item?" the captain demanded, still skeptical.

"What was stolen is none of your concern, but the fellow we seek is a halfling by the name of Twilp Farfan. If you hand him over, Captain, there will be no trouble." The captain's face twitched in recognition of the name, though he still looked dubious. Torius frowned in frustration; the longer this confrontation wore on, the greater the chance of someone on either side triggering hostilities. "Come on, man! You're unknowingly transporting stolen property, a relic of great value to the Osirian government. They want it back, and they contracted me to get it for them. It's that simple. You can either hand over the halfling and we sail our separate ways, or we find him ourselves and people die. Your choice, Captain, but decide now! I don't have time to waste!"

"Miss Lawtel," the captain barked to a short woman wearing an officer's jacket. "Please find Mister Farfan and bring him here."

"Lieutenant!" Torius waved Thillion forward. "Accompany Miss Lawtel, if you please, and make sure the halfling does not dispose of the evidence!"

"Aye, Captain!" Thillion saluted and gestured for two of his men to accompany him. They all vanished into the galleon's towering sterncastle.

The two captains glared at one another while the merchant crew grumbled and the pirates looked menacing. One by one, the magnesium lamps burned out. The shadows grew until darkness shrouded the entire deck. The skeleton crew still aboard Stargazer rigged conventional lanterns, but these cast only dim pools of illumination. The silence grew strained, and Torius noticed shuffling among the merchant crew.

"Captain, please tell your men to stand still!" he commanded. "Do not assume that because I have not yet committed violence, I won't if provoked."

The captain looked to his men and sighed. "No foolishness there! Do as he says and we'll see if this man is good to his word."

There was a note of defiance in the statement that Torius didn't like at all. Come on, Thillion, he thought, fingering the hilt of his cutlass as the minutes passed. Hurry up, for Gozreh's sake!

Finally, the elf and his men appeared. A worried-looking halfling dangled between two burly pirates, his hairy toes trailing along the deck as they brought him forward.

"He led us on a bit of a chase, Captain." Thillion grinned, visibly out of breath. "He's slippery."

"Well and good, Lieutenant. Thank you." Torius turned to the two men holding the halfling and nodded. They let the fellow drop. "Let's have a little talk, Mister Farfan." Torius gripped the back of the halfling's jacket and guided him away from the merchant captain and crew.

"What do you want with me? I didn't do anything? I'm just a perfume merchant!" The fellow's claim would have been convincing if Torius didn't know it was a lie.

"Come now, Mister Farfan." He pitched his voice for the halfling's ears only. "I know what you took, and I want it. So far I've told the captain that you're only transporting stolen goods, not that you're actually the thief. I'm prepared to send you on your way if you just hand it over."

"Hand what over? I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Don't lie to me, Mister Farfan," Torius threatened. "You stole the Star of Thumen from Keiratek Nhil of Sothis. My bet is that it's on you right now. You either hand it over, or my bosun searches you. And trust me when I tell you that he'll enjoy the search, but you won't." He nodded toward Grogul, who leered and licked his lips.

The halfling swallowed, his eyes wide. "You're not Osirian mercenaries at all, are you?"

"If we were, I probably wouldn't be offering to let you go, would I?" Torius's tolerance was running thin. "Give it up, Farfan! You've got nowhere to run."

The halfling glared at him, then reached inside his waistcoat and retrieved a small leather pouch. "Bloody pirate!" he muttered as he handed it over.

"Guilty as charged," Torius quipped. Releasing the thief's jacket, he dipped his fingers inside the pouch and pulled out the necklace. The dim light glittered on a beautiful web of heavy platinum links, a star sapphire the size of a robin's egg at its center. He wished Celeste were there to tell him if it was truly the relic, but time was running short. He couldn't imagine that Farfan would have prepared a duplicate on the outside chance that he would be robbed. He slipped it back into the pouch and tucked it into his pocket. "Thank you, Mister Farfan. It's a pleasure doing business with a fellow thief. Please keep in mind that we could just as easily have taken you aboard and used you for shark bait as we sailed back to Absalom."

"How kind of you," the fellow said between clenched teeth. "You've killed me anyway, you know. The man who paid me to get that will be very upset. If the captain of this tub doesn't throw me overboard first, I'll be hunted down when I get home."

"Oh, but you're a resourceful fellow. I'm sure you'll think of something. But I can take care of one of those problems for you." Torius patted the halfling's shoulder and turned back to his crew. "Lieutenant! We're leaving. Now." He bowed to the captain of the Queen's Chalice, doffing his hat and sweeping it in an arc. "Thank you for your cooperation, Captain. You and your ship are free to go. You see, I'm a man of honor."

"I appreciate your honesty, Captain." The man's brows arched in surprise.

"Safe sailing, Captain!" Torius leapt the gap between the two ships. He landed deftly on the rail, grabbed a stay, and turned to salute smartly. "And don't be too hard on the halfling. He's just a victim, a pawn of thieves and powerful men."

"I'll take it under advisement." The captain of the Queen's Chalice returned his salute, and Torius smiled. He would have no trouble from that quarter. Even if the man could identify Stargazer—doubtful, considering the darkness, the glare of the magnesium lights, and the black cloth they'd draped over the name placards—he wasn't likely to think beyond the ruse of the Osirian flag and arm bands. The captain had lost nothing, had minimal damage to his mainmast, and had suffered no violence. It would take more time and effort to report the incident than it was worth, and no merchant captain was so honest that he willingly called the authorities' attention to himself. As for Farfan, well—he could hardly claim that he'd been robbed, except to the man who had contracted him to commit the theft.

"Recover the grapples and cast off!" he ordered, mounting the steps to his quarterdeck. "Tend your sheets! Helm, bear away!"

Orders rang out from Thillion and Grogul, and the two ships parted. Stargazer sheared away to starboard, her sails cracking as they filled. The ship tacked through the wind smartly, and they started their upwind beat to the southeast. They would be well over the horizon by the time the sun rose.

"Set a course of one-four-zero degrees, Thillion," he ordered once they were out of hearing of the galleon. "Well done, everyone! Snick, that was a hell of a shot! Grogul, thank you for not killing anyone. A round of grog for the off-watches!" That earned a ragged cheer.

"One-four-zero degrees, Captain. We're rigged to beat to weather!" The first mate sported a huge grin.

"Well, how do you like being a pirate, Thillion?"

"If it's always this easy, sir, I like it very much indeed!"

"It's not always this easy, I'll admit." Torius clapped him on the shoulder. "Call me up for the midwatch. I'll be in my cabin."

"Aye, sir."

The off-watch crew stood around the grog cask with their cups, laughing about the ruse they had pulled off. Snick stood on the main hatch cover, reveling in the compliments on her marksmanship. Only Grogul seemed surly, probably due to the missed opportunity to wield his axe. Torius bid them good night and went to his cabin.

Celeste waited there for him, beaming with pleasure. "That was quite a performance! You should have been an actor instead of a pirate."

"And give up sailing? No chance." He knew she couldn't resist watching, using her magic to render herself invisible. Torius pulled the leather pouch from his pocket. "Can you tell me if this is genuine?"

"I can tell you right now that it's magical. Hmm, let me see ...it has a very strong aura." The drawstring on the bag opened without him touching it, and the necklace floated out. "Oooh, it's pretty, too!"

"That it is," he agreed, smiling at her. Sometimes she was so like a human woman. "So, you think this is the Star of Thumen?"

"I can't tell you specifically, but it's powerful. There's one fail-safe way to test it." The necklace's clasp clicked open and it floated around her neck.

"Be careful, Celeste!" Torius stepped close, ready to rip the necklace away at the first sign of anything wrong with her. He'd heard of such items bearing terrible curses.

"Don't worry, Torius. I would have detected any danger." The clasp clicked behind her neck and her eyes widened in surprise. "Oh ...my! Yes, I see ...This is without a doubt the genuine Star of Thumen. It fills my mind with the knowledge of the ancient pharaohs. I can see why it's so valuable to an advisor to the Council of Sun and Sky."

"Good. Now, if you don't mind, Celeste, would you please take it off?"

"Oh, but Torius, they knew so much!" Her eyes were still wide. "They charted the heavens, and knew the planets so well! Let me just take some notes before I remove it."

"If you take it off now, you can put it back on, Celeste. I just want to make sure you can take it off."

"Oh! Yes, I see what you mean." The clasp clicked and the necklace floated out from around her neck and into his hand. "See, no curse."

"Thank you." He put the necklace in its pouch and put the pouch on the chart table. "You can wear it whenever you want, Celeste, but remember that we're selling it as soon as we reach Katapesh. It's worth a fortune, and we need the money."

"I know." Her tail flicked in a gesture he knew meant she was anxious. He couldn't tell if she was upset or just anticipating donning the necklace. "I just want to take some notes. Truly."

"No problem. We've got a four- or five-day sail back to Katapesh. Take all the notes you want."

"Thank you, Torius." She slithered over and nuzzled his neck, nipping him with her fangs.

He felt a moment's lightheadedness as her venom perfused his body, and relaxed into the familiar sensation. "I really should stop this someday," he murmured.

"Why?" Celeste nuzzled his neck again. "If it gives you pleasure ..."

"The cravings ..." He didn't want to hurt her feelings; she felt bad enough for his addiction already. "They're just ...inconvenient sometimes."

"If you want me to stop, I will." She leaned in and kissed him.

"Maybe when we have some time, but not today." He ran his hands down her smooth scales, wishing they had a potion, or that she had the new spell to cast. Their relationship was nothing if not challenging. He suppressed his urges and nodded to the necklace. "Just be careful with that, Celeste. It's our stake. We sell this, we're back in business, and we can take some time for ourselves."

"The observatory?" Her face lit up once again.

"Exactly." He doffed his jacket and sat on the edge of the bunk to pull off his boots. He was glad she looked forward to their trip, though sometimes it seemed that she loved the night sky more than she loved him. "I need to get some sleep. I relieve Thillion at midnight."

"You're taking the midwatch? I'll join you on the quarterdeck."

"That would be nice." He removed his shirt and trousers and lay down, pulling the light sheet over him to ward off the cool night air. "Wake me at midnight. Good night, Celeste."

"Good night, my captain."

He rolled over, automatically bracing himself against the roll of the ship. Sailors learned early to sleep when the opportunity arose, and Torius had spent most of his life on the sea. But tonight, with the excitement of the ruse, the relief that it had all gone so well, and the prized Star of Thumen safe in his grasp, he found his mind preoccupied. Consequently, he was still awake when he heard the faint jingle of the necklace being drawn from its bag, and the click of the clasp closing around Celeste's neck. The quiet scratch of a stylus reached his ears as she began to transcribe the knowledge of the ancient Osirian pharaohs.

Gozreh be merciful, he thought, forcing himself to rest while he could.

paizo.com #2495541, Ronald Hartman <rh82759@netzero.net>, Sep 24, 2013

Chapter Six

Dawn of Surprises

Why didn't I see this coming?

Celeste set her eye once again to her telescope and scanned the eastern sky. The horizon glowed pale pink with predawn light, muting the stars' radiance, but she could still discern the Lantern Bearer as the constellation rose from the sea. She aimed the telescope lower until wave crests heaved into her field of view, and there it was! A scarlet pinpoint edged into sight, as if the Lantern Bearer's torch burned with two flames. Akiton the Red, the war planet, representing danger, death, mayhem ...

Fool! she derided herself. She had been completely focused on figuring out the puzzle of her last prophecy for Torius. The confusion of whether his dreams' desire meant the dream that Vreva had invaded, implying that Torius desired the courtesan, or the new spell they had found, which implied that his desire was for more intimacy with Celeste, had left her drifting like flotsam on a stormy sea. As a result, she had neglected to track the future courses of the planets among the stars. She should have foretold this warning days ago, given them time to anticipate and prepare.

Danger, death, mayhem ...

"I'm blind," she murmured as she gathered up her astrological texts, instruments, and charts.

Celeste slithered from the quarterdeck down to the main deck, barely aware of the crew. It was well into the morning watch, and Torius was sleeping in their cabin. They had enjoyed four starlit hours during his watch, but now, exhausted, he had gone back to bed. She had stayed on deck to take one more navigational fix for Grogul when she sighted the rising red fleck on the horizon.

"I've got to warn him."

She entered the sterncastle and slithered past the galley, flicking her tongue absently: biscuits, sausage, and porridge. Normally, she would stop to enjoy the aromas, but now she ignored them. The cabin door opened before her and she slithered inside, depositing her things on the navigation table before moving to Torius's bunk. He slept soundly, his back against the bulkhead, legs and arms braced against the pitch and roll of the ship. She hated to wake him, but this was important.

"Torius," she whispered, bending close, trying not to startle him awake; he was disagreeable when startled. "Torius. I must speak with you."

"Torius isn't here. He's sleeping." The captain opened one eye, then closed it. "Unless the ship's on fire."

"The ship's not on fire, but I need to speak to you. Something dire is coming. Soon. Maybe today."

"What?" He opened both eyes and blinked. "Celeste, I just got to sleep. If this is another prophecy, can't it wait until after breakfast?"

"I'm sorry. I know you're tired, but this is something I should have seen coming. I was distracted by ...other things, and I missed it. Akiton the Red rises in the Lantern Bearer's constellation, Torius. It's a red dawn. There'll be blood by the end of the day."

"Blood?" He propped himself up on one elbow to look at her. "You think that we're in danger because Akiton is coming up with the sun and happens to be in the Lantern Bearer's constellation?"

"Yesss!" She reared back at his dismissive tone. "Don't discount this, Torius. I'm telling you, there is danger coming."

"I don't doubt you, Celeste, but think about it. We're pirates, for Gozreh's sake! Isn't prophecy of danger pretty much a constant for us?" He flopped back down onto his pillow and turned his back to her.

"Aren't you going to do something?" she asked, glaring at him in disbelief.

"Yes. I'm going to sleep at least three more hours and then eat my breakfast so I'm ready to face this danger you've prophesied."

Her tail slapped the table leg.

"Please don't bite me, Celeste. I'm serious. I need sleep."

"So you're going to ignore this until the danger appears and just hope for the bessst?"

"No. You're right. Please tell Grogul to keep a sharp lookout for danger of any kind. He's to pass that order to Thillion when the watch changes. If anyone spots anything, they're to wake me immediately." He rolled back and opened one eye to look at her. "Is that enough for me not to get bitten?"

"Barely," she hissed. "Pleasant dreamsss, Torius. Maybe Vreva will come visit you again while you sleep."

She slithered out of the cabin before he could say another word—or worse, start snoring.

∗ ∗ ∗

"Sails! Sails on the horizon!"

Torius woke with the lookout's call, blinking sleep from his eyes. Light crept around the curtains covering the ports; the sun was up.

"Where away?" Grogul's call told Torius that it was still the morning watch. Instinctively, he did some quick calculations and got a rough mental fix on their position.

"Twenty degrees off the starboard bow. Three ships. Two-masted lateen rigs, hull down."

Lateen rigs meant galleys or dhows: warships or slavers if they were galleys, coastal merchants or fishermen if they were dhows. He waited, anticipating Grogul's next question.

"What color sails?"

"White!"

It seemed that sleep was out of the question this morning. Torius levered himself out of his bunk. He hadn't gotten enough sleep by half, but he knew Grogul would be pounding on his door in a minute. It was probably just fishing dhows running their nets, but it was best to have a look just in case it turned out to be something dangerous.

An uneasy memory hit him. What was it? Half asleep, groggy, Celeste bending over him. He had nearly convinced himself that it had been a dream. His recollection was muddled, but he remembered something about another prophecy. Danger.

And he'd discounted it.

He glanced over to where Celeste lay curled on her pillows, her smooth, sinuous body perfectly still save for her slow, even breathing. Torius dragged on a shirt and trousers and quietly eased himself out of the cabin, bootless so as not to wake her.

Gozreh be merciful, he thought as he made his way up to the deck. The cool morning breeze ruffled his hair as he emerged, and he reflexively scanned the sky to gauge the weather. The few low clouds would burn off with the heat of day, but high horsetails from the south could mean increasing winds. Right now the winds were about ten knots dead east, and Stargazer was slowly beating close-hauled to the southeast against light seas.

"Captain!" Grogul lowered the spyglass he was peering through as Torius mounted the steps to the quarterdeck. "Lookout's sighted sails to the south off our starboard bow. Three ships, lateen-rigged two masters. They're not slavers."

"I heard." He held out a hand and Grogul dutifully put his spyglass into it.

"Can't see much from the deck yet, sir. Just their top pennants."

Torius took a look anyway, grunting when he spied the tiny triangles of white topped with streaming red pennants. "Well, they're not fishermen like I'd hoped." Looking up at the crow's nest, he noted that Grogul had already changed over to their white sails. "Who's on the foretop?"

"Lacy Jane, sir," the bosun said.

"And the time?"

"It's just coming up on six bells."

"Wake Thillion. Let's see if his elf eyes can give us some details."

"Aye, sir."

In less than five minutes, Thillion was on deck. He snapped a salute and said, "I was just finishing breakfast, sir. What's wrong?"

"Nothing yet, but I could use a pair of sharp eyes on the foretop." He handed over the spyglass. "Sails sighted two points off our starboard bow. They look like galleys, but I want details."

"Aye, sir!" The elf tucked the spyglass into his belt and dashed to the foremast shrouds. He climbed the ratlines like a spider on a web, stretching his long legs and arms up two rungs at a time, then flipped up into the crow's nest. He raised the spyglass, and in moments called down, "Three Osirian war galleys, Captain. They're running full and by, and using their sweeps as well. Heading about three-two-zero degrees and probably making ten knots!"

"Gozreh's guts," Torius muttered, clenching his fists. "I hate it when she's right about these things."

"Captain?" Grogul looked concerned.

"Nothing." Torius bit his lip and scanned the sky again. "Well, we don't know they're after us yet, but there's an easy way to find out. Tack the ship, Grogul. Point us straight north for the open sea. If they deviate to follow, we'll know the jig is up."

"Aye, sir." Grogul shouted orders and the crew prepared to bring the ship about.

Thillion returned to the quarterdeck and handed the spyglass back to Torius. "We're running?"

"We're changing course," Torius corrected. "They've got no reason to suspect us of anything, but there's no point in taking chances. If they chase us, then we run."

"Like a gigolo from a jealous husband," Grogul joked as he watched the sailors prepare. When all was ready, he bellowed, "Hard a-lee!"

Windy Kate spun the wheel, and Stargazer turned up into the wind. The jibs backwinded first, and as they pulled the bow around and through the point of wind, sailors loosed the windward sheets and tightened the leeward ones. In moments, canvas snapped taut as the crew sheeted the jibs and staysails home, and they surged off on their new course.

"Rig the squares, Grogul." Torius handed the spyglass back to the half-orc. "I'm going to put on my boots and have breakfast."

"Aye, sir." Grogul relayed the orders. The foremast jacks swarmed aloft and were unfurling the big square-rigged foresails as Torius ducked through the sterncastle door.

Torius went aft and eased open the door to his cabin, trying not to wake Celeste. After the sunlight on deck, it seemed doubly dark inside.

"We've tacked," Celeste said, her disembodied voice drifting to him in the dimness of the cabin. Her scales rustled as she stirred from her cushions. "Trouble?"

"Not yet, but there are three Osirian war galleys to the south. We tacked to find out if they're interested in chasing us, though there's no reason why they should be." He retrieved his boots and put them on, then put his sword on as well—not because he needed it, but just to make himself feel better. "And yes, I know you told me there would be danger."

"Maybe next time I tell you something, you'll actually listen." She didn't sound angry, but she didn't sound happy either.

"What should I have done, Celeste?" Her implication that this was somehow his fault annoyed him. "If I'd changed course when you told me, we might very well have run into some other danger. I know your prophesies are real, but they don't provide enough information for me to act before they come true."

"Would you rather I stopped reading the stars for you?" Her voice sounded smaller now. Hurt. His eyes were adjusting to the low light, and her pale features seemed suspended in the air above her nest of pillows.

"No, Celeste." He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair with a sigh. He was tired and hungry, and this conversation wasn't going well. "It's not that I think your prophesies aren't valuable. It's just that, more often than not, I don't know how to act on them. And I don't like the friction that causes between us."

"I see." She settled back down to her cushions, watching him. "I'll help all I can, Torius. That's all I can offer."

"That's all I can ask." He opened the door, then turned back to her before went through. "Get some sleep. We may need your help if this goes bad."

Only after a hearty breakfast and two cups of Soursop's rigging tar-strength coffee did Torius feel ready to face the day. The day, however, seemed destined to try his patience. When he returned to the quarterdeck, both Thillion and Grogul looked at him with grim faces.

"They're after us," the half-orc said, his tone brooking no argument. "As soon as we tacked, they altered course to intercept."

"They're pulling hard and making all of ten knots, Captain," Thillion added.

"Gozreh's guts!" Torius pulled out his spyglass and looked to the south. The sails, emblazoned with the golden scarab of Osirion, were edging above the horizon now, though the galleys' long, low hulls were still beyond his view. "Why the hell are they after us?"

"It could be that they're approaching for nothing more than identification purposes." Thillion's words sounded reasonable—but then, he'd only been a pirate for a few days.

"Smells like a trap to me," Grogul said, hawking and spitting over the rail.

"But in the entire Inner Sea, how could anyone know that we'd be here, now, right after stealing the ..." Torius's words wound down and he lowered the spyglass as his mind snapped to the only possible conclusion. "Vreva."

"Who's Vreva?" Thillion asked.

"You think she sold us out?" Grogul growled.

"Who else knew we'd be in this vicinity and carrying stolen Osirian property? The trade route between Sothis and Ostenso is well established, so it's pretty easy to deduce where we would strike. And Vreva knows I always take our loot to Katapesh to sell; it's where I get the best price."

"We're too predictable, you mean," Grogul said.

"Who's Vreva?" Thillion asked again.

Torius slapped the rail in frustration. "But why? It doesn't make sense."

"Who the hell is Vreva?" Thillion snapped, scowling at them both as the Osirians' sails grew larger by the minute.

"A courtesan in Okeno, one of my informants, and apparently a traitorous bitch." Torius raised the spyglass again, gauging the warships' distance and angle of approach. "If she rolled on us, someone must have paid her damn well for it. She's made some serious money from our business association; she wouldn't give that up without the right incentive."

"Seems to me we gotta live through this before we start worryin' about who rolled on us and why, Captain," Grogul suggested. "Should we bear off the wind a few points? It'd decrease their angle of approach and might keep them from cuttin' us off."

"No." Torius shook his head and scanned the sky once again. "Stargazer's best tack is a beam reach. We run like the Archfiend himself is on our heels for open sea. Bend every sail she'll bear, Grogul, and shift weight to starboard to stiffen her up. If you can squeeze another knot out of her, they won't cut us off." He felt heartened, sure that Stargazer could outrun the galleys.

"But if what you say is true, and we've been betrayed, they will undoubtedly continue the chase," Thillion said, obviously worried.

"No doubt!" Torius agreed with a grin. "But galleys don't handle open sea well, and it looks like a blow is brewing. If Gozreh blesses us with bad weather, we'll lose them."

"And if she doesn't?" Thillion asked.

"Then this afternoon will be all kinds of fun," Grogul said with a maniacal grin.

"Don't worry, Thillion." Torius clapped the nervous elf on the shoulder. "This is the not-so-easy side of pirating, but we've been in tighter spots than this. Pass the word to Snick; tell her to rig for action just in case. I'm going to see if I can get some more sleep. Wake me if anything changes."

"Aye, sir!" the first mate and bosun both replied before turning to their duties.

Torius entered the cabin quietly, but a lamp was on, and Celeste was already awake when she raised her head from her pillows.

"Well?" she asked, her body undulating as she uncoiled and slithered over to him.

"They're after us," he said, sitting on his bunk and wrenching off his boots. "We're running for open sea where the weather will work to our advantage."

"Will they catch us?"

"We'll know by this afternoon." He pulled off his shirt and flung it onto his bunk. "Your prophecy was spot on. We're in danger."

"And you were right," she said, floating his shirt up with her magic and hanging it on a peg. "There was no way to know what form the danger would take, and no way to act to prevent it."

"Well, now we know, and we're taking action." He pulled off his trousers, hung them deliberately on their own peg and strolled over to her. "Until we know more, I suggest we both get some rest. We could be in for a busy afternoon."

"How can you think of sleeping?" she asked.

"Easy." Torius drew his fingers through her silken hair, lifted it to his lips, and kissed the tresses. "I just close my eyes and picture the woman I love."

"But ...I'm not a woman," she whispered.

"Oh, but you are, my love." He pulled her into a firm embrace, relishing the cool of her smooth scales against his skin. Her long, sinuous body quivered, then relaxed. "You don't have to be human to be a woman, Celeste. Come on—you won't fit in my bunk, but if I put my pillow down with yours, I'll fit in your nest."

"Mmmm, that sounds nice."

Soon they were lying together in the darkness, his arms wrapped around her, and her coils enfolding him. She drew a thin blanket over them with a flick of magic. Torius closed his eyes, breathed in the scent of her hair, and sighed in contentment, regardless of the perils the day promised to bring.

Just before he dozed off, he heard her murmur, "You're always so warm."

∗ ∗ ∗

At noon, Torius strode onto the deck, well rested, well fed, and ready to face any challenge. Unfortunately, that challenge included not only the three huge Osirian war galleys no more than three miles off of Stargazer's stern, but the scowling faces of Grogul and Thillion. Snick stood with them on the quarterdeck and seemed to be the only one not in a serious state of dread.

"Could be worse!" she insisted, tilting her tricorne to a jaunty angle. The hat was now bright green and sported a rooster's tailfeather, but at least this version matched her hair. "They could be slavers!"

"So you consider it a better fate to be killed or imprisoned than to be shackled and sold?" Thillion's puzzle chain was out again and he was working it like a string of prayer beads.

"Well, duh!" She placed her tiny fists on her hips and looked at him like he was stupid. "Trust me; dead's not so bad, though it is a mite chilly. And prison's just kinda like a really crappy inn if you think about it: uncomfortable beds and lousy food. But slavery ...Well, slavery's like prison except with hard labor, still-lousy food, regular beatings and, if you're cute, like me," she smacked him deftly on the rump, "and you, regular doses of rape thrown in."

"Point taken," Thillion admitted, scowling at her.

"I see that our Osirian friends are persistent," Torius said, pulling out his spyglass. He looked closely at the war galleys. They were spread out to offer each one fresh wind and a line of approach should Stargazer deviate from her present course. In addition to their sails, their speed was augmented by double rows of long sweeps that rose and fell in perfect cadence, churning the water beside the ships into froth.

"Yes, sir," Thillion said. "The seas have slowed them, but not enough. They're closing at about one knot. I estimate two and a half hours before they have us in range of their bow catapults."

"Well, that narrows our options." Torius frowned at the sky. The wind hadn't kicked up as much as he'd hoped, which benefited the war galleys. At this rate, the galleys would catch them by midafternoon, hours before darkness fell and Stargazer might be able to slip away unseen. "They obviously know who we are and what we have, else they'd never have ventured this far offshore. If they get alongside, each ship can beat our broadside volley by a factor of four at least. And if they board us, we're seriously outnumbered. I'm open to suggestions."

"Throw the Star of Thumen into the sea and let them board us," Thillion said flatly. "No evidence, no crime. They'll be forced to release us."

Grogul and Snick stared at the elf as if he were a raving lunatic.

"With all due respect, sir," Grogul said, "I'm not givin' up that necklace without a fight. It's worth a fortune, and without some profit on this trip, we'll be eatin' our boots for lack of provisions."

"And have you smelled his boots?" Snick held her nose with one hand and waved the air with the other. The comment earned a growl from the bosun.

"We can't hope to win a fight against those!" the elf countered, gesturing toward the warships. "Personally, I'd rather be poor and alive than rich and dead."

"We'll keep that option in mind as a last resort, Thillion," Torius said before the discussion devolved into open bickering. "But I'm not prepared to throw the relic away just yet. Besides, they probably wouldn't believe we didn't have it, and they'd tear the ship apart looking. That means they'd find Celeste, which is a whole new pot of trouble. So, any other suggestions?"

Snick chimed in. "Galleys may be faster than us, Captain, but they can't maneuver worth sour owl spit."

"If we try to dodge them, they'll rake us with full ballista broadsides as we pass." Thillion said.

"No, they won't! Can't fire until they ship their oars, which takes time." Snick's eyes came alight with mischief. Torius had seen her like this before, and knew she had some harebrained scheme that would likely scare yesterday's lunch right out of their pursuers and give him a few gray hairs as a bonus.

"What are you suggesting, Snick?"

"If we let them get close enough to take a couple of potshots with their bow catapults, they'll fan out so each one has an open field of fire and can block our avenues of escape, right? So we let them close, then wear ship real quick-like and sail right between two of 'em! They won't be able to ship oars and load ballistae before we get in position to fire a double broadside!"

"Pardon me, sir, but that's insane!" Thillion's voice rose in pitch. "We can fire our twelve ballistae, but what good will that do us? We can't damage two warships badly enough in one pass to slow them, and we risk our rig being damaged by their bow and stern siege engines, which would slow us."

"Can too slow them!" Snick protested. "Let me rig our swimmer bolts with drogues attached. Hit 'em below the waterline, and they won't be able to cut 'em loose for at least an hour. That'll give us a good nine-mile head start, which should make it dark by the time they catch up. By that time we've given them the slip, slicker than orc poop on a wet deck!"

"Swimmer bolts?" Thillion looked puzzled. "I've never heard of such before."

Torius smiled, picking up on Snick's excitement. This might just work, he thought, though obviously Thillion had a different opinion. He explained to the elf. "They're specialized ballista bolts designed to work effectively on targets below the water. They'll travel as far underwater as a normal shot does above. They're good for dissuading submerged threats like sea drakes, or hitting ships below the waterline. Drogues attached would slow the galleys significantly, and make them impossible to maneuver."

"Even if that worked, there would still be one undamaged warship, Captain." Thillion said dubiously.

"But one is much more manageable than three, Thillion." Torius twirled his mustache as he worked out the details in his mind. "Grogul, your opinion?"

"Snick's plan sounds as good as any, sir, and might be crazy enough to work." The half-orc eyed the gnome with resigned approval. "It certainly has the element of surprise."

"I love surprises!" Snick jumped and shot her fist into the air.

"My thoughts exactly," Torius said. His first mate still didn't look convinced. "Thillion, I'll keep the Star of Thumen in my pocket, so if we get boarded, I can drop it over the side. But understand, I'll not do that unless we're in danger of being overwhelmed. Lack of evidence won't matter. They'll take this ship apart board by board and imprison everyone aboard as a matter of course. Celeste will be killed outright or sold into slavery. I'll fight to the death before I let that happen. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir." The elf didn't look happy, but then, none of them did. Except Snick, of course, whose eyes still glowed with unbridled mischief.

"Very good." He took one last look at the galleys, then snapped shut his spyglass and put it in his pocket. "Let's make this happen. Rig the ship for action. If we lose a sail or a spar, I want it replaced before I can spit. I want every member of the crew armed and cover rigged on the bulwarks for them to hide behind. And I want everything ready in two hours. We've all got work to do, so let's be at it."

"Aye, sir!" they all agreed.

"Thillion, I'll ask you to stay on deck for a bit. I've got to tell Celeste that we might be in for a fight."

"Of course, Captain." The elf looked at him curiously. "I'm unfamiliar with her ...um ...capabilities, sir. What can she do?"

"Aside from some impressive magic, she's quite formidable in a fight. For personal reasons, I'd really rather not put her in harm's way, but she'll likely insist." He started away, but then turned back. "Oh, and tune up your bow. If you're as good with it as I'm hoping you are, I've got a use for your marksmanship."

"Aye, sir!"

Torius returned the elf's salute and went below to deliver the bad news to Celeste.

paizo.com #2495541, Ronald Hartman <rh82759@netzero.net>, Sep 24, 2013

Chapter Seven

A Surprise Engagement

How did I ever let that crazy gnome talk me into this?" Torius muttered, glancing over his shoulder. He instantly wished he hadn't.

Spray flew from the bows of the three Osirian war galleys, not two hundred yards behind Stargazer and gaining. Their sails bellied full and the banks of oars continued to dip and pull, dip and pull, propelling the ships forward. Every time one of the galleys mounted a swell, its fierce bronze bow ram thrust through. The ram on the ship to port was shaped like a bull's head, the one to starboard a rhinoceros. The prow on the galley directly behind wasn't built for ramming, but was a long spire with a sharpened tip for impaling. The rising seas had hindered their progress more than the brigantine, but not enough.

Gozreh be merciful, Torius thought as he considered the damage the rams could do to his beloved ship. Of course, he didn't intend to let the galleys get close enough to use them. Of greater concern at the moment was the bow catapult of the galley behind them. Each successive shot came closer. The other two hadn't begun firing yet, but their siege engines were loaded and ready. Things were going to get very ugly, very soon.

The catapult cracked, and its heavy granite projectile plunged into the sea barely twenty feet behind Stargazer. Torius wiped the spray from his face and clenched his fists. It was time.

"At the next shot!" he shouted to Grogul. "Stand ready, and make sure everyone not handling the sails is under cover!"

"Aye, sir! You can bet your arse on that one!" Pirates huddled behind the bulwarks, barrels, coils of rope—anything that could stop an arrow. Each one clutched a crossbow, ready to fire from cover.

"As soon as they fire, we jibe hard to port. Quick on the action, boys and girls!"

Torius scanned Stargazer's rigging one last time, looking for anything amiss. Jibing under full sail in brisk winds was a touchy maneuver, usually done slowly and carefully to minimize strain on the rig. They had no time for slow and careful. They needed to turn fast, and the shock on the mainsail boom and sheeting lines would be tremendous. They'd be lucky if the boom didn't rip free from the mast and tear the mainsail from luff to leach, but it was too late to change their strategy. They'd taken all the precautions they could, rigging preventer lines to take up the strain, but still his stomach clenched with anxiety. If something broke, they'd be fish in a barrel.

Torius looked to his first mate. "Thillion, you've got your target! Don't miss!"

"I'll do my best, sir," the elf said. He stood half-hidden behind the main mast, his bow ready and an arrow nocked.

"All right! Everyone ready!" Torius moved to the helm so he could help Windy Kate when the moment came. He looked over his shoulder. The galley's catapult crew had loaded another granite sphere into their machine. The officer in charge ordered some adjustments and then raised his arm.

"Ready ..." Torius gripped the wheel in white-knuckled anticipation and watched closely. The galley's bow plunged into a wave trough and began to rise. The catapult officer stood poised, waiting for the ship to top the wave crest before firing to give the shot maximum range. "Ready ..."

The bow rose, and the officer's arm fell.

"Jibe! Jibe! Jibe!" Torius shouted, hauling the wheel hard over.

Stargazer roared around to port, an arc of spray flying before her bow. The veteran seamen adjusted the jib and foresail sheets just enough to give the ship maximal thrust as she swung downwind. The ship came through the wind and her main boom swept to leeward, pulling men across the deck as they clung desperately to the sheeting lines to ease the strain. The brigantine's huge mainsail filled with a crack like a ballista shot over Torius's head, but nothing broke.

The catapult's granite ball missed Stargazer's transom windows by less than an arm-span.

Torius took a deep breath and wiped the spray from his brow.

Stargazer heeled sharply to starboard as she came around on the opposite tack. Despite her outstanding sailing capabilities, however, a ninety-five-foot brigantine does not turn on a coin. Even with her rudder hard over, Stargazer's bowsprit aimed straight at the westernmost warship. Torius swore under his breath; they were going to pass far closer to the war galley than he wanted.

"Thillion!" he bellowed, pointing to the galley's forward siege weapon.

"Aye, sir!" The elf stepped from cover and fired his bow three times in quick succession. Arrows felled two of the catapult's crew and the third shot thudded into the weapon's frame just below a man's startled eyes. The crew dove for cover and the weapon lay dormant as Stargazer roared past its field of fire.

"It's gonna be close!" Grogul bellowed, drawing Torius's eyes forward.

The galley's bulwarks were lined with tall shields that protected a row of archers. As Stargazer continued her turn, her long bowsprit swept over the warship's rail and the bobstay chain raked through several of the shields. Splinters flew and archers flung themselves to the deck to avoid being decapitated, but many more archers stood poised and ready.

"Cover!" Torius shouted, grasping Kate's collar to yank her down behind the binnacle.

"Fire!" came a shout from the war galley, and arrows raked Stargazer's deck, thudding into wood, rope and flesh.

Before the Osirians could fire again, Grogul bellowed, "FIRE ALL!" and every crossbow aboard loosed its bolt in answer.

Torius cringed as men screamed and fell aboard the war galley, but his regret at the bloodshed was interrupted by the horrendous crash of Stargazer's bow ripping through the warship's bank of oars. Splinters flew as the long shafts fractured and sprang back, and more screams issued from the galley's oar ports as the rowers inside were smashed against their seats.

Torius turned to his left, expecting a volley of arrows from the other galley. The archers there stood ready but did not fire; their captain had evidently ordered his men to hold their fire for fear of raking the other war galley with arrows.

Damned lucky! Torius thought. Now it's time to slow them down. "Snick! Fire when ready!"

"Aye, sir!" came the shrill call from below, and six ballistae cracked from the port side of the ship.

Torius watched the bolts splash into the water just before reaching their target, each trailing fifty feet of stout line. They pierced the galley's hull, and small white balls on the lines blossomed into canvas drogues that quickly filled with water. A moment later, as the brigantine rolled, the starboard-side ballistae cracked. He couldn't see them hit from his position, but he heard the impacts.

"Thillion! Take out that—" The thump of the war galley's stern catapult interrupted his order.

Torius ducked as the granite sphere crashed through the brigantine's rigging, splintering wood and tearing canvas. The foretopsail yard fell in a mess of splinters and tangled lines. He was on his feet in a heartbeat, shouting orders, even as another ragged volley of arrows raked his ship. Then they were past the warship's stern and in the clear. Behind them, the galleys struggled to turn. One was still undamaged and unhindered by drogues, but it would take time for them to resume the pursuit.

We did it! Torius's heart soared. Granted, they had damage, but they had cut their foes by two-thirds and had a decent head start. He grinned as he left the helm to Windy Kate and started assessing the damage.

"Cut down that wreckage! Repair crews, get aloft. Snick, I want a spare foretop yard up on deck right now! Windy, bear off! We'll run downwind until we get a new fore-tops'l rigged."

The crew leapt to comply, but Grogul's concerned shout stopped them short. "Captain! We got a problem!"

Torius looked to where the half-orc pointed. He swore as dozens of writhing tentacles slithered over the rail. The tentacles were followed by the tips of spears, and then humanoid upper bodies marked with colorful tattoos and wearing the armbands of Osirian mercenaries.

Torius drew his cutlass and shouted the only command he could think of. Fortunately, it was the right one.

"Stargazers! Repel boarders!"

∗ ∗ ∗

Celeste longed to be on deck beside her captain, taking an active part in the action with the war galleys, but she knew Torius was right. She could contribute nothing without exposing herself to unwanted scrutiny. She stayed where she was, safe in the sterncastle, her tail lashing in frustration. At Torius's shout, however, she cracked open the door for a look and caught her breath in horror. She had expected the boarders to be Osirian warriors, but these creatures were not even humanoid. At least, not quite.

Only ten feet away, Joss battled one of the strange human-octopus hybrids. Celeste had never seen one before, but recognized it from the stories she'd heard. The cecaelia—as tall as the sailor and certainly more muscular—fended off Joss's cutlass and sent tentacles writhing at his legs. With his attention on his opponent's spear, and before Celeste could call out a warning, the slimy members latched on and jerked Joss's legs out from under him. A horrible scream tore from the pirate's throat as the creature plunged its long-headed spear down, pinning him to the deck.

"No!" Torius leapt down from the quarterdeck. He lunged at Joss's attacker, driving his cutlass into the creature's torso before it could free its spear. It screeched a warbling cry, and two tentacles writhed out to entangle the captain's legs.

"Torius!" Celeste's heart was in her throat as she watched him wrench his cutlass free and hack away one of the clinging limbs. Before he could strike again, the other one jerked sharply and he fell. Like Joss, he lay on the deck as his opponent raised its spear to strike.

With a wordless cry, Celeste lashed out with her most destructive spell. A spear of flame lanced out to strike the cecaelia. It shrieked and writhed as the heat seared its flesh, dropping its spear to bat at the smoldering wounds. Torius took the opportunity to drive his cutlass up into its chest.

Still the thing clutched him, tentacles wrapping his arm and snaking around his neck. Celeste darted forward, but before she could reach him, an arrow transfixed the cecaelia's head, and it fell. She looked up to the quarterdeck, where Thillion was already nocking another arrow. Flashing a smile, she turned to Torius, who was peeling away the tentacles and struggling to his feet, trying not to slip in the pool of blood, slime, and black ink that spread across the deck.

"Are you all right?" she asked, peering at the red wheals on his neck.

"Fine!" he insisted. "Celeste, you shouldn't—"

"Shouldn't what? Save your life?" A woman screamed and they turned to see a pirate struggling on the end of a spear. Celeste sent another searing line of flame at the cecaelia, which screeched in agony and retreated. "I am not so frail as you imagine, Captain Vin!"

"Celeste, I—"

Without waiting to hear his protest, she cast another spell and winked into invisibility. She had seen that the pirates outnumbered the cecaelias, but the longer reach of the invaders' spears and their entangling tentacles were wreaking havoc. Though Grogul was doing well, hacking away tentacles with his axe and deflecting spear thrusts, and Thillion rained arrows down on their foes, several of the crew had already gone down—tripped and spitted when they tried to get close enough to strike with their shorter cutlasses. Those remaining hung back, looking unsure of how to attack these creatures without suffering the same fate.

Determined to help turn the tide, Celeste slithered behind one of the tentacled horrors and struck, plunging her fangs deep into its neck and flexing her body to inject the maximum amount of venom before letting go. The cecaelia cried out in pain and whirled its spear around as she became visible, but she was well inside the arc of the long weapon. Cold, slimy tentacles grasped her lower body, but her lack of legs foiled its attempt to trip her or bear her down, and her scaly hide was tough enough to resist any harm from the powerful suckers. It lashed out with a fist, but the blow did little real damage, and she simply plunged her fangs into its arm. A pirate lunged from behind to drive a cutlass into its back.

As the cecaelia shuddered and fell, Celeste shook its clinging tentacles off with a sweep of her powerful tail. The pirate gave her a gleeful nod and leapt to his next attack.

"Stargazers!" she cried, sending a flight of crackling magical darts to strike yet another foe. "Fight for your ship! Fight for your captain!"

Hissing, she rose on her coils and swayed her body sinuously. Her dark scales shimmered until they glowed with a silvery radiance. A few cecaelias stopped to stare, mesmerized by the display. The distraction gave a fleeting advantage to the Stargazers, and they surged forth to exploit it. One opponent was dealt a killing blow by Grogul, and the others were set upon by pirates, startling them out of their trances.

A cecaelia rushed at Celeste as her glow faded. She sent another flight of missiles at it, but it kept coming, thrusting its broad-bladed spear. Torius leapt forward to slash at the cecaelia's arm, shouting, "For Stargazer!" It whirled on him, but he deflected a spear thrust and danced out of reach of its tentacles. Celeste lashed forward to bury her fangs in the slimy creature's hide, and the crew echoed Torius's call and fought with renewed vigor.

"Cut 'em down!" Grogul bellowed. The half-orc swung his axe with deadly accuracy, separating the human and octopus halves of his opponent, splattering gore and black ink across the deck.

As Celeste slithered back from her reeling opponent to prepare another spell, Snick and her ballista crews boiled up from the main hatch armed with crossbows.

"Sorry we're late!" the gnome called out as they fired a devastating volley of bolts. Two more cecaelias fell writhing to the deck.

A warbling cry rang out from the largest cecaelia, a massive creature with tattoos adorning not only its human torso, but also its tentacles. A half-dozen bolts and arrows protruded from its flesh and several tentacles had been shortened by sword strokes, but it fought on. At its call, the remaining invaders retreated to the rail and over the side, plunging into the sea, but the large one paused at the railing.

Celeste hissed and cast a spell even as the creature hurled its spear.

Her spell struck, and the cecaelia screamed and plunged overboard to quench its seared flesh, but her cry of triumph ended in a gasp of pain as its spear pierced her scales.

"Celeste!" Torius cried, rushing to her side.

She stared down at the spear's shaft protruding from her body and hissed in alarm. She tried to pull the weapon free with her magic, but its barbed head was lodged in her flesh. Pain flared, and she felt suddenly lightheaded. She writhed reflexively, but every movement sent waves of agony rippling through her body.

"Celeste!" Torius was at her side, his cutlass clattering forgotten to the deck. "Oh, gods! Snick, bring your healer's kit! Just lie still, Celeste. Don't move."

"As I said, I am not as fragile as you imagine," she reminded him between gritted teeth, easing herself down to the deck to keep the spear still. "The wound isn't in a vital spot, but I can't free the blade. You'll have to cut it out."

"Captain!" Thillion called from the quarterdeck. "The third galley is turning to follow us!"

"Grogul, get a new fore-topsail rigged! Windy, take us downwind until the new sail is set and then head north again!" Torius glanced toward the quarterdeck, then back at Celeste. "Gozreh's guts, where's that blasted gnome?"

Celeste had never been injured like this before. The determination and bloodlust she had felt during the battle seeped away like her blood that now stained the deck. She wanted nothing more than to have Torius ease her pain, but the rest of the crew raced about the deck, attending to their duties despite their wounds. She could do no less, and neither could her captain.

"Torius!" Celeste snapped, lowering her voice. "I am not going to die! You must do your job, or you put your entire ship in peril. Your crew needs to see you on the quarterdeck! Go!"

"I can't leave you!" he insisted.

"You've got to!" She nudged him with a flick of her magic, then retrieved his fallen sword and floated it into his hand. "If your crew doesn't see you in command, they'll lose confidence in you. If we have to fight again, you'll need that confidence. Go, or I swear by the stars, I'll bite you!"

Before he could answer, Snick arrived with a big leather bag. She put the bag down and cringed at the sight of the spear lodged in Celeste's body. "Yeeouch! That's gotta smart!"

"It's not as bad as it looks," Celeste said, though she was hard pressed to keep her voice steady. "I'll be fine, Torius! Go!"

"Take care of her, Snick." Torius stood and wiped his cutlass on his shirt before snapping it back into its scabbard. "Then see to the other injured." He turned away, shouting orders as he mounted the steps to the quarterdeck.

"So, is it really not that bad, or were you lying so he wouldn't worry about you?" Snick asked, opening her bag. "Because it looks plenty bad to me."

"I don't think it struck anything vital, though it hurts like the devil." The spear's head—a foot-long blade with two long barbs where it met the shaft—was lodged deep in her lower body, far below her vital organs and off-center enough to miss her spine. She should have been heartened, but she just felt sick, and could barely keep her voice from shaking. "There's nothing down there but muscle. If you cut the barbs free, you should be able to pull it out."

"Right." Snick wasn't a healer, but she was good with her hands and had learned quite a bit about patching up wounded pirates over the years. She pulled a slim knife from the bag and stropped it on a steel to hone the edge. "Gonna smart some, but try to hold still." She grinned at Celeste. "And don't bite me."

"Just do it."

Snick held the split scales apart and made two deft cuts, slicing through the underlying flesh to free the barbs. Celeste hissed as pain shot through her again. She managed not to move, though her tail shuddered as the gnome drew the razor-edged steel from her body. The spear clanked to the deck, and Snick applied a thick pad to the wound to staunch the bleeding.

"Nice blade," the gnome commented, nudging the gleaming weapon with a toe. "It'll sell for quite a few scarabs. We've got a few potions if you want one."

"Save them for those whose lives are in danger." Celeste rose up on her coils; it was still painful, but she could move. "Just tie a bandage around me for now."

Celeste held the pad in place with her magic while Snick wrapped a roll of clean cloth several times around her body, tying a sailor's knot to hold it in place.

"Better go see if anybody's dyin'. I'll put some unguent on that later to keep it from going septic." The gnome put her tools away and hefted the bag, hurrying to where some sailors were helping their injured mates.

Celeste flexed her coils and winced at the pain. Around her, the mid-deck looked like a slaughterhouse, drenched in the blood of humans and cecaelias, and the black ink that the creatures secreted. Sailors were hefting cecaelia bodies overboard and arranging the dead Stargazers in a neat row. Celeste counted seven bodies, and twice that many wounded. Other sailors worked frantically to repair the damage from the catapult shot, climbing through the rigging like monkeys, cutting and splicing and hauling up the new spar, spurred on by Grogul's harsh commands. Others had pulled a spare sail from the forecastle hatch and were rigging blocks to haul it aloft.

Grogul stopped and looked her over.

"First time I seen you in a real scrap, Miss Celeste. You fight pretty good." He was spattered with gore and bore a few shallow cuts but was otherwise uninjured. The axe at his belt was caked with slime and blood. He pointed to her bandage. "Bad?"

"Not really," she said, giving him an appreciative nod. "And thank you. I don't think Torius liked it when I joined the fight, but I could not just sit by and watch."

"You saved a lot of lives, Miss Celeste, the captain's among 'em. He might not thank you for it, but I will. That magic of yours, and that trick you did with your scales glowin' like that, rallied the men and scared the ink right out of those things." He gave her a sailor's salute and a grin. "I better get these swabs workin' or we'll be in a real pickle."

∗ ∗ ∗

Torius turned at the rustle of scales on wood to see Celeste slithering up the steps to the quarterdeck, her lower body swathed in a bandage. He clenched his fists behind his back at the thought of her injury, but he knew she'd been right to join the fight. She'd rallied his crew when he had failed, and had even saved his life. Then she'd been right again when she told him to attend to his duties and let Snick see to her injury. He was still trying to figure out why that made him angry.

"How are you?" he asked, nodding at the bandage. The pad was stained red, but the bleeding had been staunched. She moved normally, albeit hesitantly.

"I'm fine, Captain," she assured him. "I believe your bosun would call such an injury ‘just a poke with a stick.' I will heal in time."

She slithered slowly to the taffrail where he and Thillion were scowling at the pursuing war galley. At this point, there wasn't much more they could do other than scowl. The warship was a good two miles behind. The other two lay adrift many more miles back.

"Well, time is something we might not have much of." He gestured to the pursuing ship.

"But we've gained some distance, and we showed them that we're not defenseless," Thillion said, sounding far more upbeat as he turned toward the navigator. "If Miss Celeste could cast her flame spell at them, it might dissuade our pursuers—or, even better, set their sails afire."

Celeste shook her head. "Unfortunately, the spell's range is limited, perhaps from here to our own forward mast. And I only have one remaining."

"Magic's not going to help us now. We've got to outrun them. Unless," Torius cocked an eyebrow at Celeste, "you can prophesy what course to steer for some higher seas."

Pain shot through Celeste's eyes. Torius didn't think it was from her wound, but his anger smothered any guilt he might have felt about his unwarranted sarcasm.

Turning from him, she squinted into the sky before replying. "I would be happy to read the stars for you, once the sun sets. Until then, I think I should lie down and rest."

"If we're still alive when the sun sets, I promise to hang on your every word." Torius regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. He smiled at her, trying to remove some of the sting, but she didn't look at him. "Go get some rest, Celeste. If it comes down to a fight, we will need you."

Still without looking at him, she said, "Very well, Captain. I'll be in the cabin," then slithered away.

Torius watched her until her tail vanished down the steps. Thankfully, Thillion remained silent. He started to turn away, but a shrill voice brought him back.

"Gotta admit, my plan worked!" Snick was all smiles as she strutted up the steps to the quarterdeck.

"Aye, it worked," Grogul admitted. "It was crazy, but it worked."

"It worked because it was crazy!" The gnome stopped in front of Torius and gave an exaggerated salute. "All cleaned up, sir!"

"The new foretop's rigged, sir," Grogul added, jerking a thumb over his shoulder. "And I appointed Fenric as my new bosun's mate. Joss didn't make it."

"I know." Torius gritted his teeth as he looked along the deck where pirates were scrubbing the wooden planks and dousing them with seawater. The water sluicing through the scuppers turned the ship's wake red. "What's the total butcher's bill, Snick?"

"Seven dead, twelve wounded. Two were bad, and I gave 'em our last two potions. The others should be able to fight in a couple of days. Just some stitches and willow bark tea to keep fever down."

"Seven? Gozreh's guts ..." He shook his head.

"Could've been a lot worse, sir," Snick reminded him. "Celeste really turned the tide! She's one bad ...uh ...naga, Captain!"

"That she is," he agreed, "but we can't count on her to save the day again." He nodded to the war galley. "We've got to outrun that ship, but I'm out of tricks. So if anyone can think of something to speed us up or slow them down, now's the time to speak up."

"Other than praying for bad weather, I got nothin', sir," Grogul said with a shrug. "We're flyin' every scrap of canvas she'll bear, and I shifted all the weight possible to her windward side."

"I could dismantle a couple of my babies and bring 'em up here to shoot backward," Snick offered. "Load 'em with pitch-soaked bolts and try to set their sails on fire when they get close."

"Good thought. Do that, Snick."

"We could lighten ship," Thillion suggested. "Throw everything we don't need over the side. It might give us half a knot."

"That's something. Start with half our water and oldest provisions. Saving a year-old barrel of salt pork won't matter much in the long run, and might just save our lives. Bury our dead at sea. Wrap them in sail cloth and weigh them down with ballast stones; I don't want our pursuers fishing their bodies out of the water." A thought came to him. "And break out that case of wine that Vreva gave me and distribute it to the wounded. I don't think I want it anymore."

"You really think she sold us out?" Grogul asked.

"Someone did, and I intend to find out who. But first, we've got to survive until dark." He squinted at the sky. The high horsetails had thickened and wheeled to the east. "Three hours to sundown, and another three until the moon sets. We've got to keep them off us for six hours."

"Six hours ..." Grogul pulled the axe from his belt and inspected the gore-spattered blade. He peeled a gobbet of dried flesh from it and flicked it over the side.

Neither Thillion nor Snick said anything. They all knew that their chances of keeping ahead of the warship for another six hours were slim.

"Just keep praying for bad weather," Torius added, glaring at the war galley.

paizo.com #2495541, Ronald Hartman <rh82759@netzero.net>, Sep 24, 2013

Chapter Eight

Pirate's Luck

You gotta be the luckiest son of a scallywag ever to sail the Inner Sea, Captain!" Snick laughed as she fought to dismantle the ballista she had just labored two hours to bring up from belowdecks and assemble at the taffrail. "Gozreh must really have plans for you down the line."

"Pirate's luck!" Torius agreed with a grin. He gripped a stay and laughed into the brisk wind that had piped up as the sun descended toward the horizon. Higher winds and seas had finally forced the war galley to reef its sails and then drop them altogether. The narrow-hulled ship couldn't handle such seas on the beam, and had finally turned its bow into the weather to ride it out under sweeps only. The galley now lay more than three miles back. The cloud cover had thickened as well, promising a dark night. He clapped Thillion on the shoulder. "Our bloodhound appears to have lost his taste for the hunt. Remind me to donate to Gozreh's temple when we get back to Katapesh."

"I'll be happy to match your donation, Captain," the elf said.

"Good!" Torius released his grip on the stay and leaned over the rail to shout down to the mid-deck. "Grogul! Take her as far upwind as she'll bear. Rig for night and reef for weather! We'll tack and beat to the southeast as soon as it's dark!"

"Aye, sir!" The bosun bellowed to the deck watch and pirates scrambled up the rigging, striking the big square-rigged sails and replacing the rest with the black canvas that rendered them virtually invisible at night.

Torius turned back to Thillion. "With this overcast, we'll sail right past them and they won't even see us."

"Aye, sir." There was a troubled note to the elf's demeanor.

"Cheer up man! We've jumped the gallows on this one!"

"No doubt, sir, but I was wondering what we do now?" He gestured to the distant Osirian galley. "Why did they pursue us so far from the coast, putting themselves at such risk? Either they wanted the Star of Thumen very badly, or someone wants to destroy you ...someone powerful enough to have influence with the Osirian Navy. Even if we get away now, we'll be a hunted ship in these waters, and it's a difficult patch of sea to avoid."

"Don't worry so much, Thillion." Torius gripped the elf's shoulder. "That's my job. Your job is to make sure the crew does their jobs. As soon as we're well away from that warship, we'll sit down and work out a plan. Got it?"

"Got it, sir."

"Good." He looked at the darkening sky. "We tack in a half-hour. Pass the word to Grogul."

"Very good, sir!" Thillion left the quarterdeck as the ballista team heaved the heavy frame of their siege engine down the steps to the main hatchway.

"A little stiff, isn't he?" Snick jerked her head at Thillion's retreating back as she dusted her hands on her shirt.

"He's just not used to being on the wrong side of the law, I think." Torius ruffled her hair.

"Aye, sir." She glared at him and ran her hand through her unruly mop, though the wind promptly mussed it up again. "So, we goin' after Vreva?"

"That's what we have to discuss." He heaved a sigh. His high spirits had ebbed; now it was time to consider his options. If Vreva had indeed betrayed them, he had no qualms about killing her. Traitors deserved nothing less. But there could be serious repercussions. The courtesan had a lot of very dangerous friends.

"I'll let Celeste know," Snick said, heading for the stairs. "I gotta check her bandage anyway."

"We'll be down in an hour or so," he told her. "Tell Soursop to make us something hot to eat."

"Aye, sir!"

Snick skipped off the quarterdeck, leaving him alone with his thoughts. Torius leaned on the taffrail and watched the war galley fade into the darkening night.

"Pirate's luck," he muttered. His mind wandered back to the battle on deck, his gut wrenching again as he pictured the spear piercing Celeste. He remembered his mind emptying of all thought when he didn't know if she would live or die. Was it bad luck that she had been hit, or good luck that she had survived? He remembered the seven splashes of his dead sailors being buried at sea, sinking into the depths, gone forever. "Some luck they had ..."

"It's been a half-hour, Captain," Thillion announced, startling Torius out of his musing.

"Very good!" He pulled out his spyglass and scanned the horizon. There was no sign of the war galley—though in this gloom, he could barely discern where sea met sky. He just hoped his pirate's luck held. Closing the spyglass, he turned and said, "Tack the ship. Call everyone on deck and rig for action, just in case."

"Aye, sir!" Thillion relayed the order, and the ship wheeled into the wind.

∗ ∗ ∗

Celeste winced and wrinkled her nose as Snick smeared a gob of evil-smelling unguent into her wound. "That stingsss," she hissed, flexing her coils. "Are you certain it's necessary?"

"Yep!" The gnome rewrapped the bandage firmly. "Deep wound like that goes untended, and within a day, you'll have a fever and a pocket of pus in there. Then I'd have to lance it and swab it with alcohol, which would really sting! My old pa used to say that an ounce of prevention was worth a bottle of healing potion, and he was right." She cinched the knot tight and grinned. "He was a mean old fart, but he was right."

"Thank you, Snick." Celeste undulated her body to test the bandage. "The pain is much less, and the sting is fading."

"Aye, there's numbroot in that goop." She started packing up her bag. "You'll be right as rain in a few days. Which reminds me! Weather's goin' snotty, so the galley had to drop sail and heave to. We're in the clear."

"Good." Celeste had felt the ship tack and wondered what was going on. She floated her bag of navigational instruments from the table. "I'll go take a fix and plot a course back to Katapesh."

"May as well relax," Snick said. "Clouds thickened up. Good for stayin' hid, but bad for stargazing."

"Oh ..." She let the bag drift back down to the table and frowned. Cloudy nights always put her in a bad mood. Besides, she wanted to see Torius. She had been distressed earlier when she left him to come below, lying awake for some time before finally falling asleep. It had seemed that he was angry with her, but she couldn't figure out why. Now that she was rested and in less pain, she reasoned it out. Of course he had been upset: sailors had died, the galley had renewed its pursuit, and he was worried about her injury. She wanted to reassure him that he had done all he could.

"Don't worry." Snick went to the door and opened it. "Captain'll be down soon. He wants to have a little confab about what to do next. Gotta see if Soursop's got our grub ready. Be right back."

Celeste coiled on her nest of cushions and selected an astrological text to read while she waited. It wasn't long before Snick entered again, this time bearing a large tray of bowls and a basket. The wonderful aroma of stew and bread wafted through the cabin, and Celeste rose up, flicking her tongue in anticipation. Torius followed her in, bearing a tray with a pitcher and cups. Thillion and a glowering Grogul were the last to enter. The cabin was a little crowded, but everyone found a place to sit and Snick passed out bowls of stew and bread. Torius poured them all cups of water and sat on the edge of his bunk.

"We got away relatively unscathed today, all things considered," the captain began. "Seven dead and thirteen wounded, including Celeste. As I see it, Vreva Jhafae has got to have something to do with this. Just what, I don't know, but I intend to find out why that high-priced doxy would turn traitor. So, we head for Okeno."

"Should sail to Katapesh first and sell the necklace," Snick protested. "Can't do much until we get some money."

The gnome pulled a flask from her pocket and poured a measure of dark liquid into her cup of water. She offered it to Celeste, who shook her head; wine was pleasant, but she had no taste for rum. Celeste glanced over at her captain as he poured some of the liquor into his cup. She was pleased that his opinion of Vreva had not changed; his dream's desire, the woman was not. She settled comfortably onto her cushions and sampled the stew.

"Regardless of where we go, we'll have to be wary," Thillion warned. "If the Osirian Navy is after us, who knows who else might be on the lookout for us, too?" The elf shook his head as Snick offered the flask, adding, "My watch on deck."

Grogul reached across Thillion and grabbed the flask. He downed his water in one gulp, then emptied the flask into his cup. "I'm with you, Captain. Let's head for Okeno and choke the truth out of that traitorous bitch." He tossed the flask back to Snick, who shook the empty container with a frown.

"I agree with the captain and Grogul. We must confront Vreva Jhafae and discover why she betrayed us." Celeste smiled at Torius. "Before we kill her."

"I didn't say we would kill her out of hand," Torius protested. "I've been thinking about this all day, and killing Vreva is not without danger. She's got a lot of friends among the slavers. If word got out that we'd killed her, we'd be dodging yellow sails the rest of our lives."

Celeste had been savoring the delicious stew, but at Torius's comment, her delight fled. She may as well have been eating a stale, weevil-ridden ship's biscuit.

"That's why I say we cash in first!" Snick put in. "Killing Vreva could make us a lot of enemies. Don't have enough ballista bolts to take on all of 'em."

"You said Vreva betrayed usss," protested Celeste. "You've always said that traitors deserve death. Why show her mercy?"

Torius looked at her with a grim expression. "We don't even know yet if she has betrayed us. She could be just a pawn, fed the information and passing it on unknowingly. We have to get the truth."

"I can get the truth out of her." Celeste stared back at Torius and rattled her tail. She felt everyone's eyes on them, but didn't care. What is he thinking, defending this woman? Thillion's voice cut the tension.

"How would you get the truth?" the elf asked, his slim eyebrows arching. "Magic?"

"Yesss." She smiled, showing her fangs. "Though her death will be up close and persssonal."

"Whatever we do, we'd better do it as soon as we hit the Okeno docks." Grogul took a huge bite of stew and talked around it while he chewed. "Vreva gets word that her trap didn't go as planned, and she'll vanish quicker than Celeste does with her little magic trick."

"I don't think so." Torius shook his head. "She's set herself up very nicely where she is. No, if she's guilty, she'll hide behind her slaver friends or hire bodyguards. But if she does get wind of us, she will be very hard to get to.

Snick looked disgruntled. "So how are you going to sneak a ten-foot snake—no offense intended—into Vreva's apartments if we don't have enough money to buy potions to make Celeste look human? We've got to sell the necklace first!"

Torius turned to Celeste with a hopeful look on his face. "How about that scroll? We've got a few days' sail before we reach Okeno. Could you learn the spell by then?"

Celeste shook her head. "I don't dare until we get it copied. If I should attempt it and fail, the scroll would be ruined and the spell lost to us. However, I can become invisible. If you can manage a carriage, I can move quickly from the ship to the carriage, then to Vreva's apartments and back." She shuddered to think of the consequences of materializing in the lobby of an inn full of slavers. "Although delays would complicate matters."

Torius nodded. "We should be able to get you there and back safely." He looked around at the rest of the crew. "So, the next question is: how do we ensure that we get up to Vreva's apartments without having to fight?"

Grogul slurped down the last of his stew and belched. "I'd suggest sending a dozen armed men ahead to make sure there're no surprises at the inn. We don't know if Quopek's in on this or not, and he's not likely to let you go charging up to Vreva's apartments anyway."

"Good point. You can go ahead with a squad and wait at the inn for us to arrive. We'll bluster our way through before he can summon all of his guards." He looked to the gnome. "Snick, do you see any more problems with my brilliant plan? This is right up your alley."

"Don't like it, sir." She shook her mop of green hair. "Can't count the number of ways it could go bad, and you'd be stuck halfway across Okeno from the ship. How're we supposed to get you back if we've got no money? We should go to Katapesh and sell the Star of Thumen first, then if this plan goes wrong, we've got the money to attempt a rescue ...or have you raised if you're dead."

Celeste frowned with concern, but Torius just laughed. He reached over and opened a slim drawer under his navigation table to retrieve the leather pouch containing the necklace. "It's right here. If I die, you drag my corpse aboard, haul it to Katapesh, sell the necklace, and have me revived. The priest at the temple of Gozreh should give you a discount."

"Okay," Snick agreed, though she still didn't look happy with the plan.

Torius put the necklace back in the drawer and stood. "All right, then! We sail hard for Okeno. We've got an appointment with the Lady Jhafae! But ..." Everyone stopped and looked at him, and Torius leveled a warning look back into each and every pair of eyes. "Understand one thing: I decide whether or not to kill Vreva. I'll make that decision once we discover the truth, and not a moment before. Understood?"

Celeste met his gaze, then nodded as the rest of them said, "Aye, Captain" and filed out of the cabin.

"Wake me at midnight, Thillion," Torius called out the door, "I'll take the midwatch. Don't spare the canvas and don't stray off course. I'll have Celeste dead-reckon our position and plot a course line."

Celeste slithered to the navigation table to work on her calculations. She was confused. Time and again Torius had expressed his dislike for Vreva, both her profession and her seductive manipulations. Now it looked like Vreva had betrayed them as well. He had killed Caliel for betraying him. It seemed simple: kill Vreva. But Torius didn't want her killed. Celeste didn't understand.

She glanced sidelong at Torius as he poured fresh water into the basin, then stripped out of his soiled clothing to wash off the blood and slime from the battle. The wheals on his neck and arm were still an angry red, and his left leg bore a dark bruise, though she hadn't noticed him limping. Celeste watched him wash with a pang of yearning. Only that morning that they had lain together on her cushions, entwined and happy; now it felt as if a rift had opened up between them. He had included everyone in his warning about killing Vreva, but she felt as if he had singled her out. His decision had reawakened her suspicions of his motives concerning the woman.

"Promise me one thing, Torius," she said.

"I will if I can." He turned to face her as he toweled himself dry.

"If we discover that Vreva betrayed us, and you do decide to kill her ..." She looked up from her calculations, her tail rattling against the cabin floor. "Let me do it."

"As a matter of fact, I was thinking that poison would be the perfect way to dispose of Vreva Jhafae." He tossed his towel aside and raised a finger. "If we find out that she's behind this, then you'll have your chance."

"That's all I ask." She turned back to her work.

Celeste heard Torius climb into his bunk and draw up the sheet. The light faded as he turned down the lamp. It mattered little to her; she could see perfectly well in the dark. Her stylus continued to scratch numbers on the parchment, while the rulers and dividers clicked and danced on the chart. Long after she thought that he had fallen asleep, his voice startled her.

"Thank you, Celeste."

She looked at him and saw the glint of his eyes in the low lantern light. "For what?"

"For my life," he said simply. "You saved it today. Don't think I don't appreciate that."

"But you didn't want me to fight."

"Yeah, well, I was wrong." He rolled over and sighed. "There's one more thing you have to understand about human men, Celeste."

"What's that?"

"We're idiots."

"Oh ...that." She hissed a low chuckle. "Snick told me that years ago."

"Figures," he muttered, taking another deep breath.

She watched his chest rise and fall until his breathing deepened with sleep, then turned back to her work.

paizo.com #2495541, Ronald Hartman <rh82759@netzero.net>, Sep 24, 2013

Chapter Nine

Coils Within Coils

Gods-damned dead air," Torius swore, wiping the sweat from his brow and glaring at the mirror-smooth sea.

The wind had slacked in the lee of Stonespine Island, leaving them to coast along on the barest breeze. Then, in the pass east of Six Shells, it had died completely. There, an eddy had nearly put them onto the rocks, forcing them to launch the boats and pull Stargazer to safety. Now Torius stood on the bow, watching his sailors laboriously haul on their oars as they towed the ship into Yellow Harbor. The previous shift of rowers had just come back aboard, thirsty and drenched in sweat from their hours laboring in the torrid midday heat. So much for his plan to arrive in the predawn cool, when the dim light and early hour would have lessened the chance that one of Vreva's many friends would spot them. His pirate's luck had finally failed.

"Water and grog for the off-watch, Grogul. They earned it."

"Aye, sir. That they did."

"Furl sails, Thillion," he called to the quarterdeck. "They're not doing us a damn bit of good anyway." He squinted at the pall of smoky air hanging over the city and wrinkled his nose. With no wind to blow away the stench, the reek ashore would be as thick as a wizard's stink spell.

"Aye, sir." Thillion relayed the order and the men scrambled to obey.

"Rotten luck, this calm." Grogul sniffed the air like a bloodhound.

"Gozreh gives and Gozreh takes away." Torius raised a spyglass to scan the docks. "Don't forget the timely little bit of weather that delivered us from that last war galley. I just hope this delayed arrival doesn't alert our quarry. You can bet that Vreva has friends all over the city. If she gets word that we've arrived before we get to her, things could turn ugly."

"Ugly how?" Grogul looked sidelong at his captain.

"Like a hundred slavers waiting for us at the Inn of the Eighth Sin." Torius lowered his spyglass and tucked it away. "Is that ugly enough?"

"Downright ogre-ugly," Grogul agreed.

Torius strode aft toward the quarterdeck and stopped at the open hatch to the main hold. "Snick! How're things looking down there?"

"Hunky-dory, sir! Ready for anything!" Light trickled in from the open ports below, where the ballistae were lined up like wooden soldiers, ready for firing.

"Good. Stay sharp." He continued up to the quarterdeck where Thillion stood beside the binnacle, his puzzle chain clicking and clacking in his hands as his eyes watched the crew furling the sails. "I want you to keep a close eye on the waterfront until we're docked," Torius ordered. "If you see anything suspicious, like someone hurrying away after noticing us, let me know."

"Aye, sir." Thillion put his chain away and squinted into the haze. "I'll watch from the foretop; much better view from up there."

"Good. Sing out if you spot anything."

The elf dashed to the foremast shrouds and began to climb the ratlines. Torius noted with approval the longbow and quiver slung on his first mate's back as he ascended; the elf had learned caution. Torius stepped aft and peered down into the skylight above his cabin. He could see nothing in the darkness, but he knew Celeste was down there waiting.

"You ready, Celeste? We're coming into Okeno."

"I am ready, my captain." Her voice rose from the darkness like a ghost.

"Good. I'll be down as soon as we dock."

"I'll be waiting."

He strode away from the skylight, clenching his fists to hide his own anxiety; he hated putting Celeste in danger like this. She had gone ashore before, of course, either invisibly or using potions to assume human form. Usually such forays were only for short trips to someplace she could watch goings-on covertly, or to escape into the wilderness for a few days, but sneaking her through a city of slavers was something else entirely. He scanned the waterfront once again, squinting into the haze until he found what he was looking for.

"Grogul!"

"Aye, Captain!" The half-orc still stood on the foredeck directing the boats.

"Pier number four." It was closer to the slaver docks than they usually put in, but that meant it was also closer to Vreva's inn, which could mean the difference between life and death—or worse—if things went poorly. He gritted his teeth at the thought of a running fight through the Fleshfairs, Celeste drawing the eyes of every slavemaster.

"Aye, sir!" Grogul's call banished the horrific image, and Torius steadied himself. This was the plan they had all agreed on; it was time to follow through.

The painfully slow process of docking the ship with no wind did not calm Torius's mood in the slightest. When the last line was finally tied and the boats were stowed, he called Thillion down and they met Grogul and Snick on deck.

"Grogul, take your team and go. Thillion, pay the dockmaster, then find a coach and bring it to the head of the dock. Take some crew with you to keep the way clear. Snick, keep your mates on the ballistae until we're back aboard. And keep an eye on things; Gozreh only knows what might show up."

"Like a bunch of assassins waiting for you to come back?" She flashed a wry grin as the bosun and first mate hurried off on their tasks.

"Something like that." He tried to grin back at her, but his mouth didn't want to cooperate. "I'm counting on you, Snick. If things go bad, we'll need every trick you've got to get out of here alive."

"I'm with you, sir!" she said with a flashy salute.

"Good. I'll be in my cabin. Give a shout when Thillion gets back with the coach."

"Aye, sir!"

He strode to his cabin, took a deep breath, and entered. Celeste was slithering back and forth, whacking the table leg with her tail on each circuit. He wasn't sure if she was nervous or just tired of waiting. Either way, it might behoove him to keep out of striking distance. He forced a casual smile and strode to his bunk.

"Well?" She ceased her slithering, but her tail still twitched.

"Grogul's off to the inn and Thillion's getting us a coach." He donned his kaftan and headscarf, grateful for the garment's subtle cooling enchantment in the sweltering air. He tucked his cutlass through the sash, then added his daggers and usual sundry tricks to his pockets. "You're sure you're okay with this? I can probably get the information on my—"

"I'm going with you!" she insisted, slithering up to him and flaring her body in a subtle challenge. He knew better than to disagree with her when she was in this mood. Then she surprised him, leaning in quick, almost a strike, to plant a kiss on his lips. "I need to exact another promise from you, though."

"Anything you want ...within reason." He wanted to put her at ease, but hedged in case she revived the subject of killing Vreva.

"If things go bad, don't let slavers take me." Her tone was edged like a knife. "I will not spend the rest of my life chained in an alchemist's shop or wizard's laboratory, or stuck behind bars in some menagerie. You must promise me you won't let that happen."

"I'll do everything in my power to make sure it doesn't, Celeste. You know that."

"Everything?" she asked. "Even ...kill me?"

"I—" Torius broke out in a sweat that even the most enchanted kaftan could not alleviate. How could she ask that? But by her tone, he knew she was deadly serious. She'd been a slave before, and knew as well as he what that entailed. Like Snick had said, death was easier. He clenched his jaw until his head pounded, then cupped her beautiful face in his hands and gazed steadily into her luminous dark eyes. "Yes, even that. But I'll fight like all the devils in Hell before it comes to that."

"Oh, so will I, my captain. On that you can rely!" She leaned in again and kissed him hard, parting with a flick of her forked tongue and a smile.

"Good." He returned her smile and took a step back. "Now, how do I look?" He struck a pose, hand on sword hilt and flashing her his most rakish smile. Her laughter lightened his dread mood.

"Like a pirate prince, my captain."

"I was trying for pirate king, but I'll settle for—"

"Captain!" Snick called from above. "Coach is here."

"All right, Snick." He turned back to Celeste. "Ready?"

"Ready." She muttered a spell and vanished before his eyes.

"Right. Follow close, and try not to trip anyone with your tail."

The carriage ride was miserable; a ten-foot lunar naga coiled in a space designed for four human-sized passengers didn't leave much room. His kaftan kept him cool, but the air within quickly became stuffy. Celeste's spell wore off, and they couldn't open the drapes for fear that some passerby would spot her. The city choked under a miasmic pall, the stench of sweat, dung, and slavery enough to make him gag. By the time they stopped in front of the Inn of the Eighth Sin, Torius found himself longing for a breath of fresh sea air.

He parted the shade a crack and peered out to see Grogul striding over.

"Let's go." He turned to Celeste, but she had already cast her spell. It looked as if he were alone in the carriage, though he could still feel her weight against him. Torius opened the carriage door and stepped out into the sweltering midday sun. Flipping a coin to the driver, he said, "Wait for us," and adjusted his kaftan to give Celeste a few seconds to exit the carriage. He saw the vehicle's frame lurch and felt a gentle nudge between his shoulder blades; she was ready.

"This way, sir." Grogul gave a short whistle and two squads of pirates emerged from the alleys to the left and right of the inn. One man stayed with the carriage—both to make sure the driver didn't leave and to keep an eye on the streets—while the rest formed up on either side of them, hands on their sword hilts and faces grim.

"Stay close, Celeste," Torius murmured as they mounted the steps to the inn's foyer.

Torius strode into the Inn of the Eighth Sin as if he owned the place, his white kaftan billowing and his pirates flanking him like an honor guard. Their sudden entrance captured the innkeeper's undivided attention. Quopek stood and smiled, at first glance obviously expecting a rich customer with his entourage. The smile fell when he recognized Torius and his forbidding escort.

"Captain Vin!" Quopek bustled out from behind his desk faster than his corpulent frame would have suggested possible, his arms wide and suspicion spreading across his blubbery features. "To what do I owe this sudden and unannounced ...invasion?" With a subtle flick of his wrists, four burly guards emerged from alcoves set around the lobby. They were all easily the size of Grogul, with massive arms and huge scimitars tucked through the sashes at their waists.

"Nothing to concern yourself about, Master Quopek." Torius swept the man a fluid bow, but didn't slow his stride. "We will be gone from your fine establishment in a trice. But first, I have important business with Vreva Jhafae that cannot be delayed. Please indulge my men while my bodyguard and I visit the lady."

"But Captain!" Quopek protested as Torius, Grogul, and the invisible Celeste ascended the broad stair to the upper floors. "The lady is entertaining!"

"Not to worry, Master Quopek! Not to worry at all!" Torius glanced back as they rounded the first landing. Six stern-faced pirates stood at the foot of the stairs, arms crossed and hands on the hilts of their swords. Fenric, Grogul's new bosun's mate, had one huge arm around the stunned innkeeper's shoulders as if they were old friends, though her other hand rested on the dirk at her belt. The innkeeper's guards, each facing his own pirate attendant, looked unsure. Thankfully the rest of the lobby remained quiet.

They reached the top floor quickly and Torius gestured to the ornate double doors. "There."

Grogul tried the latch and shook his head. "Locked."

"Kick it."

Without the slightest hesitation, Grogul smashed one huge booted foot into the juncture between the doors, fracturing the latch and flinging them wide. Torius strode into the opulent apartments, but stopped so suddenly that Celeste bumped into him, nearly knocking him to his knees. He heard her soft hiss, but was unsure if it was due to their collision or the sight of what lay before them.

"Torius!" Vreva Jhafae sat perched atop her pale, soft-fleshed guest upon a low divan. Both their bodies glistened with oil and the sweat of their amorous exertions, but while this enhanced Vreva's exquisite physique, her client merely looked slimy.

The man beneath her cried out in alarm and promptly bucked her right off and onto the floor. The courtesan squealed in protest, but the man paid her no heed, vaulting to his feet and reaching for his discarded yellow robes. Torius drew his sword and leveled it at him.

"You," he growled. "Out. Now."

The terrified man reached for his shoes, took one look at the captain's naked blade and the hulking half-orc with his axe, and decided his need for footwear was suddenly less pressing than his need to vacate the premises. He clutched the robes to cover himself and dashed for the door. Grogul slammed the portal closed and took station there, axe in hand. By the time Torius turned back, Vreva had managed not only to stand, but also to don a robe and regain her composure.

"I don't recall inviting you into my chambers, Captain," she said, fastening the tie of her red silk robe loose enough to provide an expansive view as she bent to pick up her white cat. The animal lay at the foot of the divan, apparently unperturbed by the intrusion, though its tail lashed back and forth like a taskmaster's whip. Vreva stroked its alabaster fur, cast Torius an acerbic glance, and sauntered to the sideboard to pour a glass of pale wine. "Please tell me this is a business call, because I'm simply exhausted and I don't think I could ...fit you in, otherwise."

"Oh, this is business all right." Torius's anger flared at her nonchalance. He advanced, brandishing his sword. "This is the business of seven dead sailors, three Osirian war galleys, and the deceitful, traitorous bitch who set me up!" He lashed out with his cutlass, shattering the glass in her hand. Her cat leapt away in a hissing panic, leaving scratches on her forearm.

Vreva looked at the blood slowly welling from her pale skin, then back at him, amazingly unruffled. She inspected the stem of the wineglass in her hand and put it back on the sideboard. "I am completely sure that I have no idea what you're talking about, dear Torius." She turned away from the sideboard and strolled fluidly toward the divan. "If something went wrong with your endeavor, I assure you, it was no fault of mine."

For a fleeting instant, he almost believed her. Then he recalled the dying screams of his crew and his resolve firmed. He took three long steps and brought the flat of his blade against her throat, halting her progress.

"Explain to me then, dear Vreva, how three Osirian warships knew exactly where to intercept me after I had taken the Star of Thumen. Explain to me how they recognized my ship." He brought the back edge of the sword up under her jaw, where one deft twist could end her life in a spray of blood. "Explain to me why my people are dead, Vreva, when you were the only person who knew exactly where and when we were going to strike!"

"I said, I don't know, Torius." She turned to face him, risking a cut from his blade. "Perhaps you've got a traitor among your crew. That's happened before, or so you told me."

"Yes, it has," he seethed, straining to keep his mien neutral. In fact, he hadn't considered a traitor. After Caliel, he had thoroughly reassessed each and every member of his crew and deemed them trustworthy. Only Thillion was new. Thillion, an elf who was so hard to read, who had suggested they throw the Star of Thumen overboard, suggested that they allow the navy to board ...No! He remembered the timely shot that had saved his life. Not Thillion. Hoping to all the gods he was right, he shifted his cutlass until the tip rested at the hollow of her throat. "I told you what would happen if you ever betrayed me."

To his astonishment, she laughed at him. Not just a subtle chuckle but a deep, musical laugh of unbridled mirth. He longed to end that music with a quick thrust of his sword, but he couldn't. Not yet.

"You honestly think to kill me, Torius Vin? You wouldn't make it back to your ship in one piece! I've more friends in this city than you have in the entire world! Rich, powerful friends who pay very well for my favors. Imagine their anger if they discovered that you took me from them. Even if you did make it out of Okeno alive, you wouldn't find a safe harbor anywhere on the Inner Sea!"

Torius fumed at the truth of her words. He lowered his sword and turned away, then whirled back and lashed out with the back of his left hand. The blow wasn't as hard as he wanted it to be, but it caught her squarely and sent her sprawling to the floor. He put the tip of his sword to her exquisite breast and pressed just hard enough to prick the skin.

"Tell me who paid you to do this, Vreva."

She wiped the blood from her lip and smiled at him. "Did that make you feel good, Torius? Because I can arrange entertainment like that for you, if that's what you like." She licked her lip and sighed. "Does your ladyfriend let you slap her around? Is that why you're so devoted to her?"

Torius flushed hot with rage, longing to simply extend his elbow, to drive the tip of his sword into Vreva's heart and watch the surprise spread across her face as she died. Unfortunately, he needed more from her than revenge; he needed information. He stepped back and sheathed his sword.

"You have an unhealthy interest in my ladyfriend, Vreva," he said. "The last time we met, you said you wanted to meet her one day. Well, today is that day. Vreva Jhafae, meet Celeste."

∗ ∗ ∗

Celeste cancelled her invisibility with a thought as she surged forward and wound herself around Vreva. Barely able to keep her anger under control as she watched the woman taunt Torius, she now brushed her black scales against the courtesan's soft, pale skin and hissed. A truncated scream escaped Vreva's throat as she recoiled. Celeste hissed again, showing her fangs as she bent forward, her face inches from the courtesan's.

"Who paid you to betray Toriusss Vin?" she asked, tightening her coils until the woman was pressed into a cowering ball.

"Torius!" Vreva cried, showing much more fear now than she had when the pirate's sword pricked her breast. "What manner of monster is this?"

"Celeste is a lunar naga, Vreva." His voice sounded hard and dangerous. "She is also my navigator and my lover, and she means the world to me. And neither of us appreciates your insults. So if you don't want her fangs in your throat, I suggest you answer her question."

"This is your lady? You have sex with this ...creature?" Vreva shuddered in open revulsion. "That's disgusting!"

"Coming from a woman who lies with slavers for money, that's possibly the most asinine statement I've ever heard!" His voice shook with rage. "Not that you'd understand, but we love one another. Now, answer her question, Vreva."

"I ...can't."

Celeste felt the woman try to pull away from the smooth coils that surrounded her, but Celeste just coiled tighter. The muscles of Vreva's jaw bunched, her pulse pounding at her throat.

"I can't tell you," Vreva repeated. "He's powerful, Torius. He threatened to destroy me."

"Fine, I'll just let Celeste ask the questions then."

Celeste smiled into Vreva's terrified face and whispered her spell. She felt the enchantment grasp Vreva's mind, cradling it and soothing it. "Vreva, tell us who paid you to betray Toriusss."

"I ...can't!" Vreva closed her eyes and turned her face away, and Celeste's felt her influence on the woman's mind fail.

Celeste narrowed her eyes, looking closely at Vreva. The courtesan's face was flushed, her hands trembled, and her skin was slick with a sheen of sweat that had nothing to do with the heat or her earlier exertions. Whoever this person was, Vreva had taken his threats to heart. Mere coercion would not work here. Reluctantly, Celeste relaxed her coils and pulled back. She cast her spell once more, felt it take hold, and phrased her question more carefully. "Vreva, we understand that you are frightened. Tell us who paid you to betray Torius, and we will protect you. You need not be afraid of this man. We can't protect you unless we know his name."

Vreva Jhafae opened her eyes, and her expression transformed from terror to hope. This close, Celeste couldn't help but understand the secret of the woman's success. For a human, she truly was exquisite, with wide, dark eyes; flawless skin; and full, sensuous lips. Celeste hated her all the more for that beauty.

"Benrahi Ekhan of Azir," the courtesan said finally, sighing in relief. "He's a powerful merchant prince who somehow discovered that I was one of your informants. He sent someone. One of his thugs. He offered me two thousand scarabs. I turned him down, but he said Ekhan would destroy me if I didn't help him. Promise you'll protect me from him!"

Celeste reared back; she knew that name. They had intercepted a magical relic destined for Benrahi Ekhan not long ago; a religious relic that the merchant intended to smuggle into Rahadoum.

"Vreva, how did he—" A piercing whistle from outside the balcony interrupted her.

"City guard's coming!" Grogul barked. "We got maybe two minutes."

"We've got to go!" Torius said. "Come on, Celeste. We got what we came for."

Celeste glanced at Vreva, then at Torius, exposing her fangs. "May I?"

"There's no sense in killing her, Celeste." Torius glowered at Vreva and shook his head. "She was just a pawn. Besides, I'm sure Benrahi Ekhan will do the job for us when he finds out who gave us his name."

"Torius!" Vreva's eyes widened in panic. "You can't! You said—she said you would protect me!"

Celeste slithered away from the horrified courtesan, incensed at Torius's decision. The woman had just admitted to betraying them, and he was going to let her live. She cancelled the mind charm, relishing the sight of hope draining into shock on the woman's face. Vreva knew she'd been enchanted into telling them the truth.

"Come now, Vreva," Torius said as he turned away and started for the door. "I know from experience that you're an accomplished liar. Surely you can't expect other people to tell the truth when you don't."

Celeste cast her invisibility and followed Grogul out.

"Torius! Please!" Vreva cried as the doors slammed behind them.

As they descended the stairs, Celeste thought that the woman's muffled pleas of despair were just about the sweetest sound she had ever heard.

paizo.com #2495541, Ronald Hartman <rh82759@netzero.net>, Sep 24, 2013

Chapter Ten

Don't Get Mad

Torius swept down the stairs, not even breaking stride as he tossed a jingling pouch to the innkeeper. "Rest assured, Master Quopek, Mistress Jhafae is quite well, though she will need a new latch for her door. I'm sure there's enough in here to cover the cost." He continued past, ignoring the man's sputtering protests and motioning his pirates to follow.

"He didn't look very happy," Grogul said as they exited the building and hurried to the carriage.

"That bridge is as good as burnt anyway," Torius muttered.

Grogul opened the carriage door, and Torius stopped to allow Celeste to board before joining her. The pirate captain flung himself into the seat and exhaled heavily as his bosun slammed the door. The vehicle lurched into motion, and Celeste flickered into view.

"You should have let me kill her!" She rattled her tail hard against the wooden door. Thankfully, the noise was masked by the coach's iron-shod wheels clattering over the cobblestone street.

"Killing her would only have made things worse." He wasn't about to tell her how close he'd come to burying his cutlass in the woman's chest. "Quopek won't make a fuss; I gave him more than enough to fix the little damage we did. I'm just trying to get us out of here alive. Besides, you heard Vreva; she only betrayed us because Ekhan threatened to destroy her."

"And paid her two thousand scarabs," Celeste reminded him. "She sold our lives for money, Torius, just as if she had sold us into slavery. Surely you don't feel sorry for her."

"Sorry?" He barked a humorless laugh. "I don't feel sorry for her, Celeste, but I understand her. A woman like Vreva makes her living by her reputation with her clientele. A few words from someone like Benrahi Ekhan in the right ears and she's out of business, or worse. She might be the highest paid trollop in Okeno, but she has no defense against that. If Ekhan is as powerful as she says, he could easily grind her under the heel of his boot."

"Do you think he will?"

"I don't know if he'd go so far as to kill her, but if he finds out that she gave us his name, it wouldn't surprise me if she ended up chained to some sultan's bedpost. She would fetch a high price on the slave block."

"That would be a fitting fate for her."

The thought of Vreva reduced to a pleasure slave brought Torius no satisfaction. Though he had wanted to kill her only minutes ago, he couldn't wish slavery on anyone.

"Benrahi Ekhan," he said in a hard tone. "He's the one who killed my men. He's the one we should hate."

Silence reigned for the rest of the trip, the two of them brooding quietly, each lost in thought. The ride back to the docks was uneventful, though every time the carriage slowed or stopped in the crowded streets, Torius imagined armies of slavers massing around them. Finally they clattered to a halt and the driver rapped on the roof. Torius looked out to confirm that they were indeed at the dock and not surrounded by city guards and nodded. Celeste popped out of sight, and they hurried back to the ship.

"Thillion, get ready to cast off as soon as Grogul gets back," Torius ordered. "When we're clear of the harbor, I want you, Snick, and Grogul in my cabin. We've got to talk."

"Aye, sir." His puzzle chain clattered in his hands. "Did you get everything you needed?"

"We got enough." He opened the sterncastle door and heard Celeste slither past. He suddenly felt as if a heavy weight had lifted from his shoulders. "I'll be down in a bit, Celeste."

"I'll be waiting."

He closed the door and climbed the steps to the quarterdeck. The waterfront seemed quiet, and he thought that maybe, just maybe, they would get out of Yellow Harbor alive. Only when the last dock line had been brought aboard and the open water between the ship and the dock had widened to a boat-length did he go below.

An hour later they were still waiting for Thillion, though Snick and Grogul had joined them in his cabin. The elf was on watch, and had told Torius that he didn't want to come down to dinner until he was sure no slavers had followed them out of Okeno. The door finally opened, but instead of the tall elf, Soursop entered bearing a heavily laden tray.

"My famous Spicy Curry and Lentil Surprise," he said as he passed out the bowls, winking at Celeste in passing before hurrying back to his galley.

"How long until Ekhan finds out we're not dead?" Grogul asked when the door closed.

"Impossible to say." The first bite of stew brought tears to Torius's eyes with both its temperature and its spice. "Gozreh's guts, what does Soursop put in this?"

"Wouldn't be much of a surprise if he told you, would it?" Snick sampled the stew and made an exaggerated face, fanning her mouth.

"Best if you don't know." Grogul dipped a slab of bread into the fluorescent yellow gravy swimming with meat and lentils. He took a huge bite and blinked. "Clears your sinuses right up though."

"Like a breath of fresh air after Okeno," Torius muttered.

"Speaking of fresh air," Thillion said as he entered the cabin, "the breeze has finally picked up. We're clear of Okeno and don't have any unwelcome company. We're making about three knots, and should be in Katapesh in two days."

"Hey, the elf's got pretty sharp ears!" Snick said with a laugh. "Sharp! Get it!" She touched her own ears and laughed, ignoring the groans of her companions.

"Do you think Benrahi Ekhan will come after us again?" Celeste asked. Her spoon floated through the air between the bowl and her mouth as she ate the stew with murmurs of delight. She adored spicy food, and Torius often wondered if Soursop catered to her tastes rather than his captain's.

"He might." Torius nibbled bread between bites to dampen the fire. "Though if he does, it won't be the same as the last."

"Why use such an elaborate plan to begin with?" Celeste continued. "It must have taken a lot of money, time, and influence to set this up. If he was angry because you stole from him, why not just hire an assassin to cut your throat?"

"Because my throat's not that easy to cut!" Torius proclaimed, more to set aside Celeste's concerns than to really address the question. Unfortunately, Thillion wasn't going to let him get away with brushing her off.

"With all due respect, Captain, nobody's invulnerable to assassination."

"True, but try to think of this from a merchant's point of view." Torius sampled more stew and managed not to wince. "A professional assassin, someone good enough to take me out on the first attempt and get away clean, would cost more than he paid Vreva and would also be someone he probably wouldn't want to have dealings with. Though if he tries again, he might go that route."

"Also, he didn't just try to kill you, Captain," Snick put in. "He tried to kill all of us, or at least have us all locked up."

"What sort of man is this Benrahi Ekhan?" asked Thillion. The elf sampled his stew and immediately reached for a cup of water.

"I don't really know that much about him." Torius gave a shrug. "We wanted to get more from Vreva, but we were a little pressed for time. A few months ago, we stole something that Ekhan was trying to smuggle into Rahadoum. As far as I know, he's just a wealthy merchant and occasional smuggler. We took what I thought were reasonable precautions to keep anyone from figuring out who we were, but they evidently failed."

"Maybe he'll just cut his losses and call it even," Grogul suggested.

"He might, but I'm not about to!" The more Torius considered the situation, the angrier he got. He put his bowl aside and stood to pace the confines of his cabin. "We may not know what kind of man Ekhan is, but he obviously doesn't know what kind of man I am, either. He just poked a dragon with a stick!" He turned, his pacing increasing with his temper. "Yes, we stole from him. Fine! We're bad guys—that's what we do. A pirate's got to make a living, after all. But he killed my crew! I am not going to let him get away with that! It's a matter of honor!"

"Honor?" Snick looked at him like he'd suddenly turned purple. "We've got honor?"

Grogul ignored the gnome. "So how are we going to pay him back? Kill him?"

"Yeah, right!" Snick scoffed. "You know what kind of security men like him have? You come up with a plan to slit his throat without gettin' gutted in the process!"

"Pardon me, sir, but I'm not much for assassination." Thillion met Torius's gaze without a hint of apology. "Besides, killing Benrahi Ekhan would gain us nothing."

"Are you suggesting that I should let him get away with killing my crew?" Torius felt his face flushing hot.

"No, Captain, but getting angry in situations like this never solves anything."

"Works for me." Grogul scowled at the elf.

"Well, it doesn't for me." The elf remained unfazed by his captain's temper or Grogul's quip. "What I'm saying is this: don't get mad, get even. And in this particular instance, get rich in the process."

That stopped Torius cold, his anger quenched like a candle hit by a breaking wave. "How? Rob him? Target his shipping interests?" That thought had merit.

Thillion rose to his feet and began flipping his puzzle chain through his fingers so fast Torius could barely see the individual links. "Nothing so blatant, Captain. But before we can work out a plan, we must know more about Benrahi Ekhan. Everything is for sale in Katapesh, including information. In a couple of days, we could know the man better than his mother does."

"Why bother?" Grogul asked.

"Know the man, know his weakness," Thillion countered. "Sir, if I may be excused, it's still my watch on deck, and you've given me much to think on."

Torius nodded absently. He barely heard the others resume their conversation as they ate their stew. His mind was too occupied with thoughts of revenge ...and riches.

∗ ∗ ∗

Celeste squinted into her sextant, trying to concentrate on her work. The first plot of the evening was always the most critical, but the incessant click-click-click of Thillion's puzzle chain was bothering her.

Unlike Torius, the elf didn't pace the deck when he stood watch. Instead, he stood beside the binnacle or at the forward rail of the quarterdeck overlooking the mid-deck, hands behind his back, feet braced far apart and knees flexing with the roll of the ship. Tonight, their second night out of Okeno, he had added constant fiddling with that silly toy, and Celeste was about ready to snatch it out of his grasp and fling it overboard.

Finally, the noise ceased. Celeste took a deep breath and sighted a star, then quickly jotted down the angle and the time. The scuff of a boot from behind told her why Thillion had stopped fiddling; he wanted their position.

"I'll have a fix in a few minutes, Thillion," she said, anticipating his question.

"Thank you, but it's not our position I'm interested in." He stepped around her instruments and leaned against the taffrail, looking at her in a disquieting manner. After a long moment, during which Celeste tried to ignore his gaze and attend her work, he said, "You're quite beautiful, you know."

The statement snapped her concentration, and the sextant fell toward the sea. Celeste snatched it back with her magic, put it safely back in its case, and then turned disbelieving eyes on him. "Excuse me?"

"You are very beautiful," he repeated. "Have you ever tried to seduce a man?"

Celeste hissed, and flared her body involuntarily. "Do you think I seduced Torius? Is that what you're implying?"

Thillion held up his hands in a placating gesture. "I'm sorry, Miss Celeste. I did not mean to upset you. It's plain to see that you and the captain care very deeply for one another, and I didn't mean to suggest otherwise. My mind has been preoccupied, and apparently my thoughts are racing ahead of my manners. Please allow me to start again."

Not quite mollified, but willing to give him a second chance, Celeste coiled comfortably and eyed the elf. Finally she nodded, and he continued.

"It is my understanding that you use a potion to take on human form to be intimate with the captain; how long does that last?"

Celeste gaped again at such a personal question. "Who told you about that?"

"Snick told me." He raised a hand to forestall her protest. "Please understand: I'm not merely being inquisitive. The captain has charged me with devising a plan for retribution against Benrahi Ekhan."

"You said that you would gather information about Ekhan, not about us!"

"And as soon as we reach Katapesh, we will begin to do so. However, discovering Ekhan's weaknesses is one thing; exploiting them is quite another. I must know our capabilities before I can determine how best to approach the situation. The captain, Snick, Grogul, and even Soursop have already answered all manner of questions."

Celeste cocked an eyebrow and wondered just what information Torius had imparted to his first mate, but what he said made sense. How could he devise a plan if he didn't know what they could do? Taking a deep breath, she answered.

"The potion lasts about ten minutes, depending on the wizard or alchemist who made it; some spellcasters produce better potions than others. The scroll that we discovered will accomplish the same result—changing me into virtually any humanoid form I wish—yet only for about five minutes. Once Torius has it copied, I should be able to commit it to memory and cast it repeatedly."

"Five minutes ..." Thillion said softly. He pulled the puzzle chain out of his pocket, fiddling with it as he thought, then looked up again. "And your other magic? For example, this mind charm that you used on Vreva Jhafae. How often can you cast it, and how long does it last?"

Thank the stars, Celeste thought as the subject shifted away from her love life to one she was happy to discuss. "Ah, that spell is quite long-lasting. Hours. Not so for my invisibility, which again lasts only a few minutes. I can cast any one of my spells many times per day, though doing so may preclude me from casting other spells."

"Wonderful!" Thillion's countenance brightened; he looked quite pleased with himself. "And finally, what can you tell me about your venom?"

"My venom?" Celeste asked, wary again. "Well, like many vipers, I can regulate the amount of venom I inject in each bite. It can be quite deadly if enough is administered. What would you like to know about it?"

"Snick told me that you were once abducted by a wizard who wanted you for your venom. Why would such a person be interested in a simple poison?"

"Yes, well, lunar naga venom is not a simple poison." She felt a little uncomfortable about where this conversation was going. She had no fond memories of that incident. "Some humans covet it for other purposes. This man wished to make complex compound poisons by mixing my venom with refined pesh. He boasted that the result would drive victims into such a state of manic hallucination that they would take their own lives, even to the point of strangling themselves to death."

"Really! That is very intriguing." He went back to working the puzzle chain. "Hallucinations, you say?"

"Yes." She didn't really want to go into further details, but could see that his curiosity was piqued. "He got the idea from the legends of lunar nagas and their followers."

"And what legends are those?"

This was where she was hoping the conversation would not lead. She tried to phrase her answer carefully. "It's not uncommon for humanoids who are interested in the cosmos or astrology to become enamored of a lunar naga. They sometimes mix our venom with alcohol and some acidic juices to fashion a kind of drug."

"They drink your venom?" He seemed slightly shocked, but his eyes were alight with intrigue as well.

"Not directly. That would be lethal in large doses, but the acidic alcohol mixture partially breaks down the venom and creates a hallucinogenic substance that isn't toxic." She didn't want to dwell on this subject. "Their ...craving for this drug ensures their continued devotion to the lunar naga."

"A drug cult," he said, realization clear on his face. "That's very interesting!"

"Why the interest?" Celeste smiled, revealing her fangs. "Do you want me to bite Benrahi Ekhan?"

"Something more subtle, I think. Thank you, Miss Celeste! You have given me much to think about."

As the first mate strode away for his hourly check of the ship, Celeste noticed that Snick was watching her from the binnacle, where she was apparently working on the ship's compass. When Thillion descended the steps to the middle deck, the gnome left her work and sauntered over.

"So what did he want?"

"He asked me some extremely peculiar questions."

"He's been asking everyone weird stuff!" Snick grinned and hopped up onto the rail to grasp the backstay, swinging around it once and kicking her heels. "Asked about my babies, how far they shoot and what kind of special bolts we have, how well I can see in the dark, and if I can sneak into the cabins when they're locked—you know I can do it, so don't give me that look. And, here's the kicker: he asked if I ever seduced a man!"

"Well, have you?" Celeste gave the gnome a curious smile.

"Ha!" Snick laughed. "Told him when you're as cute as me, you don't have to seduce anyone." The gnome jumped down from her perch and strutted away, waving good night.

Celeste went back to her navigational observations. At least now she understood the motive behind Thillion's questions. But somehow, they still made her uneasy.

paizo.com #2495541, Ronald Hartman <rh82759@netzero.net>, Sep 24, 2013

Chapter Eleven

It Takes Money

Torius! You son of a one-legged goatherd!" The dockmaster strode down the creaking wooden planks of his domain and clasped hands with the pirate captain.

"Kerrig, you tough old piece of dragon hide! Good to see you!" That wasn't exactly true; the dockmaster's palm was always greasy and his breath reeked of smoked sardines, but for some reason, the man liked Torius and always welcomed him heartily. Of course, that may have been due to the small pouch of scarabs that always passed between them with their handshake. With this incentive, Kerrig would keep the authorities away from Stargazer.

"You've been gone so long, I thought you were dead!" the dockmaster said, pocketing the pouch with practiced ease.

"I was, but the devils threw me back! They were afraid I'd take over Hell and start charging them rent!" When their laughter subsided, Torius asked, "So, you hear of anyone looking for me or Stargazer?"

"You run into trouble?"

"I am trouble, Kerrig. Sometimes it comes back to haunt me." Torius studied the dockmaster's eager face—the man could sniff out an opportunity for profit like a bloodhound on the scent—and handed over one of his few remaining scarabs. "What have you heard?"

"Nothing of consequence. There was a bit of a stink a few months ago that had your name attached to it, but it's all blown over now. Old news."

"Good. You hear anything new, you let me know, and I'll make it worth your while." Considering his scarabs well spent, Torius put his mind to business. "Also, do me a favor and send Old Black down when you see him."

"Straightaway, Torius!" The dockmaster waved as he strode away down the dock.

"Grogul, you're with me," Torius said as he crossed the gangplank onto the ship. "Thillion, stay here for now. As soon as we sell our prize, we'll have money to buy all the information you need. Snick, Old Black will be coming down later. See what he can do to make Stargazer look more like a merchant and less like a corsair. I don't want the Osirian Navy on us like stink on a globster every time we sail into their waters."

Snick made a face. "Hate that old codger, Captain. He stinks like creosote, and I swear that pipe he smokes is stuffed full of camel dung!"

"That's okay, Snick." He ruffled her hair and grinned. "I'm sure he hates you, too."

As Torius and Grogul descended the gangplank and started down the dock, the gnome's shrill voice followed them. "Of course he does! He hates everybody!"

"Exactly!" He shouted back, stretching his legs out into a long, easy stride that fluttered the hem of his kaftan. As they ventured away from the docks and into the Lower City, Torius breathed in air thick with the tang of the sea, the crowds and the pack animals laden with goods from all around the world. Though the stench of Okeno repulsed him, the air in Katapesh seemed less tainted. Sure, there were slaves; there were slaves all over the Inner Sea. But here the stink of human trafficking was masked by the scents of a thousand spices and foods, the tang of fresh-cut hardwood, hot metal—and, best of all, money. Here more than anywhere, the air seemed to carry the sweet scent of gold.

Katapesh was like no other city on the Inner Sea, a place devoted solely to commerce, with only one overriding principle: do not disrupt trade. For a pirate, this was the perfect home port, a place to sell any commodity or relic for a good price with no questions, and to purchase whatever was needed to outfit a ship and crew for the next job.

"Gozreh help me, but I missed this cesspool." Torius scanned the crowds. All manner of people walked about, most clothed in the local style—kaftans and turbans—while others proudly wore the costumes distinctive to their homelands. The pirates stopped to allow a colorful procession to pass: a merchant trailed by a bevy of veiled women bedecked in gowns of sheer gauze, jewelry glittering at their necks, wrists, and ankles. Torius didn't know if they were his wares or his wives, but he could appreciate beauty when he saw it.

"Gotta admit, Katapesh does have its charms." Grogul leered past the stern-faced guards at the curves revealed through the translucent fabric. He laughed as he added, "The last one in line's got a tail!"

"And ...?" Torius asked as he gave his bosun a stern glance.

"Ah, nothing, Captain," Grogul hastened to say, looking as apologetic as a half-orc can, which was not much. "But I guess you're not the only man with a taste for unusual women!"

"Exceptional women," Torius corrected. "I have a taste for exceptional women."

"Of course, Captain. By Besmara's bloody cutlass, I've been at sea too long." Grogul shook his head, watching hips sway as the women promenaded away. "You think we'll have time for shore leave, Captain?"

"We should." Torius squinted against the morning sun reflecting off the high, glossy-black bluff called the Obsidian Wall that separated the Lower City from the higher Inner City. "The work on Stargazer will take several days. Besides, we'll need time to hunt down whatever information Thillion needs to devise a plan."

"Yeah, about that," Grogul said hesitantly. "He asked me some pretty strange questions ..."

Torius barked a laugh. "I can't imagine they were any stranger than the ones he asked me, but if Thillion can come up with some way to get back at Ekhan and make us rich in the process, I'll answer all the questions he's got."

He led Grogul through the chaos of one of the many bazaars. Merchants called, customers haggled, and children screeched as they chased each other through the narrow streets. Torius kept one hand firmly against the bulge beneath his sash where he had secreted the Star of Thumen. Finally, he turned in at a shop displaying a lamp and star on a gold-painted placard. He pushed aside a curtain of beaded strands, the tinkle of brass bells tied to their ends announcing his arrival. As Torius's eyes adjusted to the relatively dim and thankfully cool interior, an elderly man with a face like a dried date tottered forward. His robes were nondescript, but his fingers shone with rings of gold and silver studded with precious gems.

"Ah, Captain Vin!" the merchant said as he approached, holding out both hands.

"Jhamaal!" Torius offered his hands and tolerated the merchant's traditional greeting of a kiss on each cheek.

"You honor me with your presence! Please, come sit. Mahalla! Tea and a pipe for us!" As a beautiful young woman—Jhamaal's granddaughter—hurried into the back room, the merchant waved Torius to a low table surrounded by overstuffed cushions.

Torius sat, and Grogul took up a cross-armed stance behind him, a grim look on his face. The bosun took his security role seriously. Jhamaal lowered himself onto the opposing cushion, and within moments, the woman brought a heavy silver pot that steamed from the spout, and an elaborate hookah into which she put several lumps of pesh.

"Captain Vin." Jhamaal bowed his head. "Please accept my humble hospitality."

"I am grateful for your generous welcome. I would love a cup of tea."

Only after the pirate had taken his first sip of the scalding hot black tea, and Jhamaal had inhaled deeply from the hookah, was the subject of business broached.

"And what do you bring me today, my good Captain?" the merchant's eyes gleamed in anticipation.

Torius pulled out the pouch, opened it, and reverently extracted the necklace, holding it against the black leather to highlight its beauty.

"Ah, yes, it is lovely," Jhamaal said, pulling a jeweler's loupe from a pocket to peer at the gem. "Exquisite workmanship. I offer you twelve hundred scarabs."

"Ah, but it's not just a piece of jewelry, my friend. Its beauty pales beside its mystical properties. Try it on."

Torius had donned the necklace, and knew that only by wearing the Star of Thumen could Jhamaal appreciate its value. He sipped his tea and watched as Jhamaal fastened the necklace around his neck.

The old man's eyes widened briefly, then narrowed. Finally, he shrugged. "Knowledge does have value. It might be of most value to an Osirionologist, perhaps, but I know no one in Katapesh who would be interested. I might be able to sell it to someone at the Pathfinder lodge, but I know of no one there who has an interest in Osirion. You would do better to sell it in Sothis or Absalom."

Torius went cold despite the over-hot cup of tea burning his palm. If the merchant said there was nobody local who would be interested in the necklace, he was probably right; Jhamaal knew everyone in the city. "But all manner of adventurers visit Katapesh. Surely one planning an expedition to the land of the pharaohs would be interested."

Jhamaal shook his head. "This knowledge is too esoteric for a common visitor to make use of, and such adventurers are rare in Katapesh. The most I can offer you is three thousand scarabs."

Torius was stumped. They needed more than that to disguise the ship—they needed to buy information, provisions, and whatever Thillion deemed necessary to deal with Ekhan. Where would he get the money if he couldn't get a decent price for the Star of Thumen? Torius could think of only one answer.

Smiling confidently, he lied.

"I do have a buyer in mind for this—a connoisseur of arcane relics—whom I guarantee will pay at least forty thousand scarabs, if not more. I brought it to you because I need money now, Jhamaal, but if you're not willing to hold onto it until I bring you a buyer ..." Torius reached out his hand, palm up.

"Forty thousand, you say?" Jhamaal scratched his grizzled chin and narrowed his eyes. "Perhaps if you bring this buyer to me, we can arrange a deal that will benefit us both. I could pay you ten thousand scarabs now and another ten thousand when the buyer makes her purchase." He raised a speculative eyebrow, but the pirate captain laughed.

"Don't think I'll give away my secrets so you can bypass me in the deal! I'll not tell you whether the buyer is a man or woman, human or elf, alive or undead, but I will give you my personal assurance that if I cannot find a buyer who will double your investment, I'll buy it back myself for what you pay me today. That way you run no risk and stand to gain a huge profit."

"The chance to gain a huge profit, you mean," Jhamaal pointed out, his eyes narrowing again. "I am not a bank or pawnbroker, Captain Vin. I must make a profit on every transaction. If you cannot find a buyer who will double my investment as you say, you will buy this bauble back from me for what I pay you, plus ten percent."

"Very well." Torius sipped his tea and smiled. "Twenty thousand scarabs."

Jhamaal smiled and stuck out his hand. "You drive a hard bargain, Captain Vin. I am trusting you to honor our agreement."

"Don't worry, my old friend. Have patience—it will take some time to bring the buyer here—but fear not, I will return. Katapesh is my home port, and I have my standing with the merchant guilds to consider. I would not dare to renege on such a deal."

To seal the deal, Jhamaal sucked on his hookah while Torius gulped his tea. The beverage was still hot enough to burn his tongue, but the pirate paid no heed. He had gotten his money.

"So who's this buyer?" Grogul asked, his voice pitched low as they ducked out of the shop and into the blistering noonday heat.

"I have no idea, but we needed the money now." Torius's stomach roiled with the acidic tea and his clothes reeked of pesh smoke. Not to mention that he had just promised something that he had no idea how he was going to deliver. The only saving grace was the heavy bag of gems Jhamaal had given him. The precious stones were much easier to carry than gold, or even platinum, and with the accompanying certificates of appraisal notarized by the priest of the banker god Abadar at the Immaculate Repository, they were liquid currency. He kept the certificates in his sash, but had passed the bag to Grogul. The half-orc had slipped it into his trousers, the one place no thug or cutpurse would dream of putting his hand.

"Where to next?" Grogul asked, as Torius led him around the corner toward the Day Gate and the Inner City.

"To a wizard to get this scroll copied, then back to the ship. Why?"

"Because I'm starving." They were passing an open-air eatery, and the smell of grilling meat hung heavy in the air.

"Are you ever not starving, Grogul?" Torius stopped and fished a silver penny from his pouch and flipped it to the man behind the grill. "Six!"

"Sure," Grogul said, taking four of the skewers of sizzling meat and handing two to Torius. "Right after I've eaten." He used his tusks to slip the meat from one skewer into his mouth, chewed twice and swallowed.

Torius sampled the meat. It was spicy and delicious. He tried to enjoy it without thinking about what it might have been when it was walking, crawling, flapping, or slithering. It was an unknown, much like the future he had just charted for them.

∗ ∗ ∗

"A slave collar?" Torius dropped the piece of paper he was holding as if it had burned him. "I told you I don't deal in slaves! What the hell—"

"Captain," Thillion said in a conciliatory tone, "the collar will be a deception. I'll have Snick fix the lock so that it opens freely. It's part of Celeste's disguise."

"Celeste's disguise? You want to disguise Celeste as a slave? Have you told her about this?"

"No. I intend to present the entire plan once I've worked out more of the details. I compiled this list of potential supplies to give you an idea of the costs we might incur."

"Just what in Gozreh's name is this plan if it calls for Celeste to play a slave?" Torius asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"Please indulge me, Captain. I'm still awaiting some vital information. If I were to try to explain the plan to you now, I'm afraid it would be incomprehensible. Think of this as a picture puzzle; before you can begin to solve the puzzle, you have to turn all the pieces face up. The pieces of this puzzle consist of information about both Benrahi Ekhan's vulnerabilities and our capabilities. By this evening, most of the pieces should be face up and I will present the plan in its entirety."

"All right." Torius picked up the piece of paper once again and examined the list. "Dresses?"

"Also for Celeste."

Torius looked skeptically at Thillion, but from the elf's composed mien, he seemed to think that there was nothing unusual in buying dresses for a naga. "Alcohol burner, heating mantle, pots and bowls ...Is one of us posing as an alchemist?"

"No, sir."

"Ten cases of wine?" Torius shook his head. "Thillion, I told you that you'd have to bring your own wine aboard if you won't drink the grog the rest of the crew—"

"Not for me, Captain. It's for Ekhan."

"So, we're going to wine and dine him into submission?"

"Not exactly, sir. The wine is part of the plan. A way for us to manipulate Ekhan without him knowing. The slave collar and dresses will allow Celeste to get close to him, which will also allow us to control him with her charm magic."

An inkling of what the elf had in mind began to form in Torius's head. He was still in a foul mood from an argument with Old Black about how much it would cost to have the ship squibbed, and looking at this list, he saw some items that would cost them a pretty scarab. Thillion's plan was supposed to make them rich, but right now he only saw it making them poorer. Torius handed the list back.

"We have enough to cover these costs from the sale of the necklace, but the money won't last forever. We've got to make a profit from this scheme."

"If all goes as I plan, we'll make a handsome profit, as well as solving several other problems. Oh, and speaking of solving problems, I think I've found a buyer for the Star of Thumen."

"Who?"

Thillion smiled.

The implication sank in. Torius stared at his first mate in shock. "You're kidding me. Ekhan?"

"It depends on how badly Keiratek Nhil wants it back. I'm willing to bet that he wants it back very badly. Who better to return it to its rightful owner than the man who arranged its theft?" Thillion's grin would have looked more appropriate on a demon than an elf. "That's our goal: to manipulate Ekhan into coming here, buying the Star of Thumen, and returning it to Keiratek Nhil. And when he does, we spring our trap."

"Gozreh's guts, man! Remind me never to play cards with you!"

"Well, if all these cards fall according to plan, we'll be up to our eyebrows in gold, and Ekhan will be up to his in trouble."

"That's good, because I warn you that Celeste's not going to like that slave collar one bit."

∗ ∗ ∗

"I love it!" Snick said, grinning like a merchant with an exclusive trade contract.

"I hate it!" Celeste whirled to glare at Thillion. The sharp movement sent pain lancing through the taut muscles of her neck and made her aching head pound with her heartbeat. Two days of hammering by Old Black's shipwrights had left her sleepless and irritable. "I will never again wear a collar, and I won't pretend to be anyone's pleasure slave!"

"I could play that part," Snick declared, strutting around the cabin with an exaggerated sway to her slender hips.

"Let me get this straight." Grogul ignored the gnome's antics and scratched his head, his eyes squinted in thought. "Ekhan arranged to have the Star of Thumen stolen for the sole purpose of trapping us, so we're going to trap him with the very same necklace?"

"Exactly!" Thillion grinned in triumph. "There are many variables in this plan that can cause difficulty, but it's vital that we convince him to return the Star of Thumen to Keiratek Nhil himself. We play on his greed for that. That will put him in the perfect position to take the fall for stealing it in the first place, and we'll be there to take credit for bringing him to justice."

"And you think he's dumb enough to believe us?"

"Benrahi Ekhan is many things, but he is not stupid. That's the reason we need to assuage his fears. That'll be accomplished by Celeste's seduction and a two-pronged assault on his mind that will break his confidence and open him up to suggestion. By the time he reaches Sothis, he'll agree to anything she suggests."

The cabin erupted in three different voices: Celeste's angry refusal, Grogul's incredulous disbelief, and Snick's enthusiastic delight.

"Everyone calm down!" Torius snapped. "Let's at least hear him out. Thillion, here's what I like about the plan: it neutralizes Ekhan, it clears our names with the Osirians, and we get rich. What I don't like is using Celeste as bait. Why her? Why can't we find someone else to play the part?"

Heartened by Torius's words, Celeste was nevertheless discomforted by the gleam in Thillion's eyes. Having lived and worked for years with Torius, Grogul, and Snick, she knew their moods and general mind-sets. This elf, however, kept surprising her with his strange intensity, his unthinking comments, and his oh-so-personal questions.

"Please, let me explain," the first mate began. "From what we've learned, Ekhan's weaknesses are his arrogance, his lust for money and power, and his passion for unique objects of beauty, be they art, literature, or magic. He has an extensive collection, and he's not above devious means to acquire his treasures. Your original theft of one of his acquired treasures fostered his plan for revenge. We set the trap with something rare and beautiful. I find Miss Celeste quite beautiful in her natural state. Would you say, Captain, that she is beautiful in human form?"

Torius's eyes softened when he looked at her, which calmed her nerves somewhat. They understood one another; he would never make her pose as a slave.

"She's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. No one else comes close."

"Exactly!" Thillion exclaimed. "And not just beautiful, but unique! That's key! I'm sure that Ekhan will feel the same way. As to why we can't use someone else: Miss Celeste is ideal for this role because not only will she attract Ekhan with her unique beauty, she can also use her magic to charm him. That also allows us to play with his mind, which is vital. This is a man of great power and influence. We have to break his confidence, drive him to near madness to destroy his credibility with the Osirians. If things play out, the combination of Celeste's seduction, her magic, and the mental instability we hope to induce will have him right where we want him by the time we get back to Sothis."

"I know nothing of seduction," Celeste protested, "and I can only be in human form for minutes at a time." A pleasure slave—how dare he!

"The time factor actually works in our favor," Thillion countered. "Brief glimpses can be more enticing than long looks, and having you pose as the captain's slave presents the added enticement of forbidden fruit. The less he sees of you, the more he'll want you, and by gaining his trust with your magic, you can make him crave your company. Also, you'll have weeks to practice while we travel to Azir to pick him up. And ...we may have someone to coach you in the finer points of playing the courtesan. We need someone in Sothis to prepare for our arrival, and since Vreva Jhafae is indirectly responsible for our current situation, and is also threatened by Ekhan, I thought we would ask her to help."

"Vreva?" Celeste flared her body and rose on her coils. "You intend to have Vreva Jhafae teach me how to act like a human being?"

Thillion leaned back, his eyes worried as he looked back and forth between Celeste and Torius. "She is a courtesan. Being graceful, sensual, and persuasive is what she's best at."

"You mean besides lying, betraying, and spreading her legs for any man with a hundred scarabs!" Celeste writhed with anger. "Or is she to teach me that, as well?"

"Celeste!" Torius snapped. He nodded to Thillion and added hesitantly, "He does have a point ..."

Celeste stared at Torius in disbelief, overwhelmed by both fury and disappointment. She opened her mouth to speak, but Snick cut her off.

"So we've got him lusting after Celeste—then what? How are we were going to drive him crazy?"

Thillion's reply was enthusiastic. "We addict him to a hallucinogenic drug. Miss Celeste informed me that lunar nagas often form drug cults using a concoction of their venom as an addictive hallucinogen. I immediately saw an application for our purposes."

Celeste saw Torius stiffen, his jaw clenching, and his hands balling into fists at his sides. He didn't look at her, but stared fixedly at Thillion as the first mate continued.

"An alchemist in the Nightstalls sold me a recipe for such a concoction. By spiking Ekhan's wine, we can gradually induce hallucinations and addiction. We can also purchase scrolls of illusion magic for Miss Celeste to cast to reinforce those hallucinations, and the rest of us can play simple tricks on our own. By the time we're done with him, he'll be putty in our hands." Thillion sat back with a self-satisfied smile.

Everyone looked to Torius, then to Celeste. She felt as if she lay coiled under a giant magnifying glass, but her resolve held firm.

"I'll help however I can, but I will not play the part of anyone's slave." She glared at Thillion, then looked to Torius for support, but the captain wouldn't meet her eyes.

"It's your decision, Celeste," Torius said, his voice hard. "I can't make you do anything you don't want to do."

Celeste's stomach knotted with unease at the lackadaisical support. He knew what she'd gone through, how she felt about her time as a slave, yet he wouldn't back her position. Instead, he put the decision on her. If she refused to help, and the plan failed, it would be her fault.

Torius stood abruptly, his next words clipped. "All right, everybody, let's sleep on this. I like the overall plan, but without Celeste we'll have to find someone else to play that part. Snick, this is your kind of scam, so I want you to go over every detail with Thillion. Think it through and look for improvements and ways we could get into trouble."

"Captain," Thillion said, "some of the details are dependent on—"

"We'll discuss it tomorrow. Meanwhile, everyone's got to think of a disguise and an assumed name; we have no idea what Ekhan knows about us."

"Blue hair okay?" Snick asked.

"Fine. And arrange to take your babies off the ship and store them. Merchants don't carry such elaborate weaponry, and I don't want Ekhan or, Gozreh forbid, the Chelish Navy stumbling across them. And since we'll have to pass through the Arch of Aroden to get to Azir, that's a distinct possibility. Rent warehouse space here and we'll leave some crew behind to guard them. Understood?"

"Uh ...I suppose." Her smile faded.

"Grogul, you're hard to disguise and you're well known as my bosun. While Ekhan's aboard, you'll have to play a common sailor and bunk forward with the rest of the crew. Got it?"

"No problem, Captain."

"Thillion, you're new to the crew, so you're probably okay with only a name change. When Old Black's done with the ship, she won't look much like her old self, so have some new ship's papers forged and order placards with the name Sea Serpent. We won't put them on until we're well away; who knows if Ekhan has eyes on the Katapesh docks."

"What's your disguise going to be?" Snick asked.

"I'll shave, cut my hair, wear a fez, and play the most obsequious, money-grubbing merchant captain you've ever had the displeasure to meet. By the time we get Benrahi Ekhan back to Katapesh, we'll be the best of friends."

Snick lingered while the others filed out. "Captain, Old Black wants to knock out part of the hold's deck to add cargo space, but I—"

"We'll talk later, Snick."

The gnome raised her eyebrows, then left, closing the door behind her. Torius immediately turned to Celeste.

"Celeste, did you—"

"I'm not taking courtesan lessons from Vreva, Torius!"

"That's not what I was going to say!" he snapped, then looked down while he took several deep breaths.

Celeste was taken aback; Torius never yelled at her. She was still angry, but his reaction caught her off guard. Finally he looked her in the eye, a strange expression on his face.

"Celeste, did you get me addicted to your venom so that you could control me?"

Cold fingers clutched her heart, and she stared at him in shock. "No! Torius, I would never do that!"

"Yet you told Thillion that lunar nagas use their venom to addict followers in drug cults."

"Yes, but ...well, no! The followers take the concoction of their own accord. It's not the same!"

"How not the same? I'm addicted to your venom; if a day goes by without you biting me, I start shaking like a drunk coming off a binge!" His fists were clenched white at his sides. "How is that not control?"

"I don't control you, Torius!"

They stared at one another for a long moment, and she could see the doubt in his eyes. Turning away, he grabbed his sword, then pulled something from his pocket and tossed it onto the table. He left the cabin before she could think of anything more to say.

Slithering over to the table, Celeste used her magic to unroll the scroll he had dropped; it was a copy of the transformation spell. She hissed as she read it. What she hoped would enhance the intimacy between them had been perverted into something that would transform her into a slave. She hissed again and let the scroll reroll.

Still angry and confused, she curled up in her nest. Despite her exhaustion, sleep wouldn't come. Her head continued to pound in time with the carpenters' hammers as the work stretched on into the night. An image came unbidden into her mind—Vreva's glistening body as she fornicated with the slaver, her graceful motions as she walked, the way she posed while talking ...Was that what the crew—what Torius—wanted her to be? Her fury ebbed, replaced by distress as she considered Torius's question about the venom.

"I would never do that!" she whispered.

She uncoiled and recoiled, trying to get comfortable, but she may as well have been lying on a bed of nails. Deep down, she knew it wasn't discomfort keeping her awake, or even the noise, but rather the dread that her answer to his question might have been a lie.

paizo.com #2495541, Ronald Hartman <rh82759@netzero.net>, Sep 24, 2013

Chapter Twelve

Transformations

Celeste thrashed on her bed of pillows, but the vibrations of hammers, chisels, and saws that reverberated through the ship would give her no peace. Three days of the shipwrights' work and three nights without a decent view of the stars had left her teetering on the brink of madness. All she wanted was sleep, but guilt lay heavy on her troubled mind. It had been long years since she had been this miserable.

And on top of it all, Torius hadn't come back to the cabin since the previous evening.

As darkness began to descend outside, the hammering and shouting finally wound down. She twisted around once more and curled into a quivering heap, pleading for sleep as she buried her head among her coils.

"Celeste?"

She snapped upright, hissing and flaring reflexively, but it was only Torius. She must have drifted off and not heard him enter the cabin. She eased back down and uncoiled.

"You startled me."

"Then we're even." He took a deep breath. "I came to ask if you wanted dinner. Snick said you haven't been eating."

"No, thank you. I'm not very hungry. I've been unable to sleep with all the pounding. Did you want to have another meeting in here?"

"We'll meet in the galley."

Torius looked no better than she felt. His hands quivered when he hung up his sword, his face glistened, and his hair was matted with sweat. When he doffed his kaftan, his underlying shirt bore dark stains under the arms. Guilt flooded over her; these were withdrawal symptoms. He was suffering from his addiction to her venom.

"Thillion's altered the plan to take you out of it." He washed his face in the basin and toweled dry. "We still want to use your venom, if that's all right, but you won't have to deal with Ekhan. We will, however, have to move you to the forepeak and keep you out of sight once Ekhan's on board."

"Will I be able to come out at night?"

"Maybe when Ekhan is sleeping. It depends on his habits. We'll have to be careful."

"And who will play the part of your pleasure slave?" She tried to keep the sarcasm out of her voice, but wasn't sure if she managed it.

"Vreva, if she'll do it, and if Ekhan doesn't know her personally. She said he sent a thug, but he still may know her by sight. We have to talk to her before we firm up the plan."

Celeste's aching head reeled; Vreva Jhafae playing the part of Torius's pleasure slave meant that the woman would spend at least a month in their cabin while Celeste was forced to hide at the other end of the ship.

"Go ahead and get some sleep." He didn't seem to notice her agitation. "We'll probably be heading out to sea late tomorrow once they finish work on the ship, and I'll need you to plot a course to Okeno."

He left without another word.

Sleep was the farthest thing from Celeste's mind now, with visions of Vreva playing an all-too-willing sex slave plaguing her thoughts. An uncomfortable rift had opened up between Celeste and Torius; the doubt she had seen in his eyes haunted her, as did the specter of her own guilt. How long could Torius withstand the courtesan's seduction, especially if he harbored the suspicion that Celeste had deliberately addicted him to her venom as a means of control? She knew Torius—he had no tolerance for that kind of control ...from anyone.

"I'll lose him," she realized, lashing her tail in frustration.

Torius, this ship, and the crew had become as important to her as the night sky, yet she risked losing it all because she was unwilling to don a phony collar and take seduction lessons from Vreva. With a surge of resolve and a flick of magic, she cast her invisibility spell and opened the cabin door.

Celeste peered down the dim corridor, wary of any worker or shipwright who might have lingered to finish up a job. She saw no one. Her mouth watered as the aromas of garlic, curry, and meat wafted to her. Familiar voices reached her from the galley; though most of the crew ate forward, Torius and his officers generally took their meals there. Gathering her courage, she slithered forward as quietly as she could.

"It all depends on Vreva," Thillion said as she neared the galley door. "If she's unwilling to help, we're sunk."

"I don't like the idea of her spending time alone with Ekhan," Grogul added. "It'd give her the perfect opportunity to rat us out."

Celeste peered around the corner into the galley, relieved to see only Thillion, Torius, Grogul, and Snick at the table, though Soursop clattered around the stove. She slithered silently into the room. Torius's back was to her, and she could see the sheen of sweat on his neck. His hands remained clenched under the table.

"I'm afraid that's a risk we'll have to take, unless we completely change the plan," Torius said. "We'll just have to make it worth her while. Vreva is out for only one person, and that's herself."

"That's what worries me," Grogul said. "Ekhan's got more to offer than we do. He's rich and powerful."

Celeste whispered a spell under her breath, then carefully approached the table.

"She's gotta know she's shark bait if we find out—" Snick began, but Celeste interrupted her by cancelling her invisibility spell.

Grogul, Snick, and Thillion jumped at her sudden appearance. Torius whipped around and lurched off the bench seat to stare at her.

"Celeste!" Torius sounded flustered and looked wildly around before fumbling off his shirt and wrapping it around her. She hadn't thought to put on clothes. "What—"

"I'll do it," Celeste said, trying to sound calm despite her aching head and tumultuous thoughts. She fumbled her arms into the sleeves of his shirt. "And as you can see, the transformation spell works. I learned it today when I was unable to sleep."

"You'll ...what?" Torius blinked at her, and she tried to smile.

"I will play your slave, wear a collar, and even take lessons from Vreva Jhafae, if I can manage to be in the same room without biting her." She accepted Torius's help to sit on one of the benches, and smiled at Soursop when he placed a plate in front of her, his huge belly jiggling like a pudding as he chuckled.

"I put some extra pepper sauce in there for ya, Miss Celeste." He winked and wiped his hands on his apron.

"Thank you." Celeste picked up a fork, holding it awkwardly in her slender fingers. Funny—she had never eaten in human form. She and Torius had always had better things to do when she had arms and legs. The fork dropped from her clumsy fingers, and she sighed. "I'll need much practice."

She could feel everyone's eyes on her, so she kept her gaze down. Once more she tried to manipulate the food-laden fork, but it tilted and the food plopped onto her plate. Her hunger got the best of her, and she used her magic to float a bite of Soursop's fluffy curry-and-garlic mashed potatoes up to her mouth. She closed her eyes in bliss at the explosion of flavors.

"You'll have plenty of time to practice." Torius looked at her curiously. "Why the sudden change of mind?"

"I was being selfish and foolish," she replied not untruthfully, though it certainly wasn't the entire basis of her decision. "Frankly, playing this part frightens me, and I find the thought of interacting with Vreva nauseating. But if you all believe that I can do this, and are willing to help me, I'm willing to try."

She looked up to see Thillion's surprise, Snick's satisfied grin, and Grogul's relief, but her captain's gentle smile was the only response that really mattered. Heartened, she dug into her dinner and listened to the rest of them talk.

"All right, then we're back to our original plan. Celeste, you'll come into the city with me tomorrow to buy some illusion scrolls. I also want to pick up some potions and more copies of the transformation scroll in case of an emergency. Then we'll head for Okeno and see if we can't enlist Vreva's help."

Thillion nodded. "There's one more factor to consider. In dealing with Ekhan, we would benefit from an alliance with someone on the inside, someone who knows Benrahi Ekhan and can convince him to do business with us."

"The halfling," Torius said with a nod. "Twilp Farfan. How do we find him?"

Thillion grinned and looked to Snick.

"Thillion sent me on a little fact-finding mission." The gnome gave him a wink. "Found out he works out of Ostenso. He's sold stuff in the bazaars here and he's got a reputation among ...certain people I know for being a pretty good acquirer. But nobody said he worked for Ekhan."

"Excellent information, Snick. Thank you." Thillion turned back to Torius. "We must try to persuade Farfan into helping us. I don't know how yet, but I'm sure he has a weakness. Everyone does. It'll depend on his loyalty to Ekhan."

"He's a thief, isn't he?" Grogul said derisively.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Snick's luminous eyes flashed with ire.

"Thieves don't have any loyalty," he said with a shrug.

"That's like saying all half-orcs are murderous thugs, or that pirates have no honor." Snick shook her head. "Thieves have more loyalty than you think. If Farfan had a reputation as a backstabber, Ekhan wouldn't have trusted him in the first place."

"Great!" Grogul's tone dripped sarcasm. "So we just need to convince a traitorous courtesan and a loyal thief to help us drive a vengeful merchant crazy. This is gonna be fun."

Celeste kept eating. She didn't think this plan was going to be fun at all.

∗ ∗ ∗

By the time Torius dragged himself back to his cabin that night, it was near midnight and he felt like a kebab that had been grilled, dropped in the dirt, and gnawed by rats. Grogul and Thillion had accompanied him into the city to make a few more purchases necessary for their scheme. Then, back on Stargazer, Snick had dragged him through every inch of the ship, showing him all the changes the shipwrights had made so far and detailing the work to be finished in the morning. At noon tomorrow, cargo would arrive to be loaded into the newly expanded hold. His hand quaked like a leaf in the wind as he turned the latch on his cabin door.

"Hello, Torius."

He blinked in surprise to see Celeste awake, swaying beneath the open skylight, gazing up at the faint stars. "I thought you'd be sleeping," he said. He peeled out of his sodden shirt and poured water into the basin for a quick rinse of his face and arms. "You looked tired at dinner."

"I'm exhausted," she admitted, her scales rustling as she uncoiled and slithered to the navigation table, "but I wanted to talk to you."

"About the plan?" He regarded her as he toweled dry. He had been pleased—and proud, he had to admit—when she had agreed to participate. He knew how hard it would be for her to allow a slave collar around her neck, not to mention dealing with Vreva. Her willingness to help had mollified the smoldering resentment he still felt at discovering that she had known of her venom's addictive properties. He wanted to believe that she hadn't addicted him deliberately, but whenever he thought he had convinced himself, the cravings grew stronger and he had to shove his hands deep into his pockets so no one would see them shake.

She shook her head, her hair swaying gently. "No, not about the plan. It's about the question you asked me earlier. About me using my venom to control you."

Torius went cold. "What about it?" he asked between clenched teeth. He wasn't sure if he was ready to discuss this.

"I ...I cast my thoughts back to the time we first met, and I remembered. That day, I cast a spell to charm you, to make you want to take me with you." She shook her head violently, and looked down, her draped hair hiding her face. "I'm sorry, but I didn't know you then, and I would have done anything to be out of that place. If you hadn't taken me away, I would have found some way to kill myself."

Torius remembered that day, opening a rusty door in the slaver's filthy dungeon to see this stunning woman in chains, tears streaking her pale face. It hadn't mattered to him that she wasn't human. She was beautiful and bright and fascinating, and he had known he had to take her with him and keep her safe. That memory now lay before him like a lump of coal. Had he truly felt that way, or had Celeste merely put those thoughts into his mind?

"I cast the spell several times those first few days out of fear that you would change your mind about making me your navigator. Most of the crew didn't care for me, and I thought you might put me ashore where I would run the risk of being taken captive again. I had no way to know the honorable man that you are. That was before I fell in love with you. Before I knew I could love a human. I haven't used it since."

"So why did you addict me to your venom?"

"That was an accident." Her voice trembled, barely above a whisper. "Do you remember the first time I bit you?"

Torius laughed in spite of himself. "How could I forget? I was sick for two days and Snick thought I was going to die. She was so furious that she told me to put you off at the first port. Half of the crew wanted to kill you. But by that time I loved you, too." He wrinkled his brow. "Or I thought I did."

"I had not cast a charm on you for more than a month by then. It was also the first time we made love. Remember, you purchased those potions?"

"I remember," he said, the lump of ice in his gut thawing a trifle.

"That was the first time I took human form, and I was a little scared. When I did it, I kept my fangs and poison ...just in case." Celeste slithered back to the skylight, looked up, and sighed. "I had never experienced anything like that; the feeling of release, of giving myself up to someone so completely. You could have killed me if you had wanted to, and I would have died happy. It was both exhilarating and frightening. I just ...bit you in the throes of passion, I suppose. After you became sick, I thought that if I gave you small doses of venom, you would build up resistance to the poison, and I wouldn't accidently kill you if I lost control. And ...you seemed to like it."

"Sure I liked it! And I became addicted." He didn't bother to keep the anger out of his voice.

"I didn't know that would happen," she insisted, looking at him with red-rimmed eyes. "I offered to stop. I've offered to stop dozens of times, and you've always said no."

"Celeste, that's not the way it works. Addiction is like offering a drowning merchant a bag of gold. He knows it'll kill him, but he'll take it anyway." He sighed, sat on the edge of his bunk and ran his hands through his hair. "Right now, if you offered to bite me, I'd say yes, even knowing it's making me a slave."

"You are not my slave, Torius." Celeste slithered over to him and leaned down to look into his eyes. "I have never tried to manipulate you using my venom. I never would—never could make anyone my slave, because I know what being a slave means! I thought you understood that."

"I do understand, Celeste, but I don't know if you do." He stared at her, and his eyes stung with tears. What he had to say next could save their relationship—or destroy it. "Right now, I don't know if I love you, or if I'm just addicted to you."

She reeled back from him, her body flaring, shock contorting her face. "Torius! How can you say such a thing?"

"Because it's the truth!" His heart wrenched to see the pain he'd caused her, but he had to make her understand. "We both know what it's like to be a slave, Celeste, and we'd both rather die than experience that again. But understand this; addiction is just another kind of slavery. I watched it ensnare my mother and drag her down until her pesh became more important to her than I was. I've always sworn that I won't live like that. I can't live like that. But it's just been too easy, too nice, to keep accepting your venom and making the excuse that it's just because I love you."

"Then I'll stop, and you'll be free of me." Her voice quavered, and her scales rustled against the floor as her entire body trembled. Tears pooled in her dark eyes.

"I don't want to be free of you, Celeste!" He longed to embrace her and run his hands through her hair, but he knew where that would lead. She would bite him, and he would be her slave. And the worst part was that he would love it. He dug his fingernails into his palms, hoping that the pain would allow him to control himself. "I just need to know if what I feel for you is in my heart or just running through my veins. Please tell me you can understand that."

"I understand." She turned away and slithered back to her nest, curling up with her head tucked into her coils.

"I'm sorry, Celeste," he said as he fell back onto his bunk. He stared at the ceiling as a tremor shook him, and gritted his teeth against the desire to go to her and beg her to put her fangs in his neck.

"So am I," he heard her murmur before sleep finally shrouded his mind.

∗ ∗ ∗

Razor-edged steel hung half an inch from Torius's throat, but he still couldn't suppress the tremors that wracked his body.

"Hold still, damn it!" Snick pulled the razor away and glared at him. "You don't stop shaking, I'm going to end up cutting your throat!"

"I'm trying!" He clenched his teeth to keep them from chattering. "Though right now, it would be a mercy if you did."

He sat on a stool beside the taffrail so the shorn hair would blow over the side. His hands were shaking too badly for him to shave himself without serious damage, let alone shear off his beloved mustache and goatee. The peculiar motion of the ship didn't help. Stargazer, now Sea Serpent, wasn't handling like she used to, and Windy Kate was having a hard time keeping her on an even keel. Torius hadn't thought that decreasing the rake of the masts and modifying the rigging would cause such a difference. Most of the problem, though, was the hold full of pig iron that they had taken on. It weighed the ship down, making her wallow and respond slowly.

"Maybe you should cut my hair first," he said as the wind whipped his loose locks into his eyes.

"Never tell an artist what to paint first!" Snick took a handful of his hair and pulled his head to one side with surprising strength. The razor whisked away his stubble from ear to chin in one lightning pass. "Well, that's a start!"

"Gozreh's guts, Snick! Try to leave some skin behind!" He fingered his baby-smooth cheek, surprised when his fingers didn't come away bloody.

"Quit whining, sir!" She wrenched his head to the other side and swept another patch of his face clean.

"Just make sure you leave my head attached, okay?"

"Pull it out of your arse for one minute and I might consider it!" Her voice was quiet enough to avoid being overheard by the helmswoman, but edged as sharp as the razor in her hand. Tug and scrape, tug and scrape, she continued shaving.

"You still mad about leaving your babies behind?" He gripped the rail and tried to relax, but the harder he tried, the more he shook.

"No, sir!" She cleaned the razor on her sleeve and took another pass. "Just wondering what the hell you think you're doing, is all."

"What are you talking about, Snick? I'm sitting here like you told me to." He lifted his chin at her insistence and tried not to flinch as the razor scraped down his neck.

"Talking about you shaking like a rattlesnake's tail." She cleaned the razor again and examined her work. "Go like this." She stretched her upper lip downward, and he mimicked the pose.

"I'm trying to kick this damn addiction before we have to deal with Ekhan," he whispered, struggling again not to flinch as she sheared off his long-tended mustache. As far as Torius could tell, Snick was still the only member of the crew who knew of his addiction, but with his symptoms worsening, he didn't know how long he could keep his condition secret.

"You're not going to be fit to deal with Vreva, let alone Ekhan, if you don't straighten up." She did some more trimming and touching up. "There! How's that?" She cleaned and folded the razor and held up a small mirror.

He blinked at his reflection. "I look ten years younger."

"Yep. Now for your hair." She took a pair of scissors from her kit and went to work, talking as bits of hair fluttered away on the breeze. "Don't you think it'd be better to wait until after we're done with this little scam to kick the habit?"

"Celeste and I are ...having problems," he said, as her hands moved deftly over his scalp. With every snip of the scissors, his neck grew cooler in the breeze. "I've got to kick this to straighten it out."

"Your personal life's not my business, sir." She turned his head this way and that, trimming as she spoke. "But my life is your business, and keeping it is a whole hell of a lot more important to me than whether my captain and his lady are having a spat. And you can't do your business if you're having the shakes. You walk into Vreva's apartment like this and she'll eat you alive, and not in a good way."

"After the lecture I gave Celeste the other day, there's no way I can ask her to bite me, Snick. And I don't think she would even if I did ask."

"If I get what you need, just enough to stop the shakes, you'd take it?" She trimmed around his ears and then opened the razor again to touch up his sideburns and neck.

"What are you suggesting?" he asked. But he knew exactly what she meant, and cursed himself for the spurt of hope that set his heart thumping.

"Thillion's been fiddling with Celeste's venom, trying to perfect his cocktail." She chuckled and nearly cut him. "Half the crew's volunteered to test his concoctions, and they've been having some pretty weird visions."

"It's working?"

"Better than we'd hoped. He's fine-tuning his mixture so we can ease Ekhan into this without him knowing." She put the razor away again and stood back for a look. "Thing is, I can get some venom from his stores. Enough to tide you over, I think."

"Without Thillion suspecting?"

"Do I look stupid?" Snick picked up the mirror and looked at her reflection. "I don't think so!"

Torius sat quietly as she made a couple of final touches. His mouth was dry and his stomach roiled. Vreva would certainly see the desperate condition he was in and take full advantage of it. And they needed her for this plan to work. He couldn't afford to screw things up just so he could prove a point to Celeste. Guilt threatened to dismantle his reasoning, but he ignored it.

"Do it, Snick, but only enough to stop the shakes and get me through to Sothis. Once we drop Vreva off, we'll have a solid week of open-sea sailing, and I can kick it then."

"Good. Now have a look and tell me what you think." She held up the mirror for him.

"Gozreh's guts, Snick!" He peered at his reflection and saw a stranger looking back with wide eyes. "I look completely different!"

"That was the plan, wasn't it?" She put away her tools and gave him a grin. "Meet me in the main hold in fifteen minutes."

"All right." He ran a hand through his short hair, trying to get used to the feeling. He wasn't sure if his fingers trembled from withdrawals or anticipation of getting some venom. He glanced around the deck and saw that everyone was intent on their jobs. Then, with exaggerated nonchalance, Torius headed for the main hold to wait for Snick.

∗ ∗ ∗

"Getting everything sorted out?"

Celeste turned from the drawer of scrolls and potion bottles and gaped at Torius as he entered the cabin. "Torius! You look ...very different!" Like a young boy, she thought. The short hair and clean shave had transformed him into another person. She longed to go to him, to nuzzle his clean-shaven chin, but the pain and guilt hung like a wall between them.

"Yeah." He ran his hands through his hair and stroked his chin. "It's going to take some getting used to."

"Well, it certainly is an effective disguise. I barely recognized you." She closed the drawer and turned to him. His face wasn't so pallid and sweaty, and his stance looked steadier. "You look like you're feeling better, too."

"A bit." He shrugged and stepped over to the table where six dresses were laid out, ready for alteration. "Do you like the dresses?"

"Wearing clothes will require some ...acclimation. I cast the transformation spell earlier, and couldn't even figure out how to put one on. I'll need practice walking and ...other things." She slithered to the table and lifted one of the beautiful dresses with her magic. "But they are pretty."

"We'll have Snick alter them to make them more alluring, but I want to wait for Vreva's opinion."

Celeste cringed at the thought of taking Vreva's opinion on anything, and glanced sidelong at him to see if he was making some sort of tasteless joke. He ran a hand down the glittering black fabric of the dress she'd chosen. Dark as the night sky and worked with sequins, it almost reminded her of her own scales. His hand flowed down the material smoothly, not shaking at all. In fact, he was acting perfectly normal, when this morning he'd been worse than ever.

"You seem to have overcome your cravings very quickly. Faster than I thought possible."

"Oh, well, a little pesh brandy helps kill the shakes, but I think they're fading." He shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets, backing away. "I should be right as rain for my little talk with Vreva."

"Do you think she'll agree?" She had her doubts about the courtesan, and not just about whether or not they could trust her, even if she did agree to help them. Thinking of her alone with Torius, especially with the rift that had grown between them, gave her nightmares.

"I think she will, but not without getting a cut." He turned away and changed quickly into a clean shirt; the one he wore was marked with sweat and hair clippings. "She'll agree because it gets her out from under Ekhan's heel, but she'll follow through for the money."

"You know her very well," she said as he worked the buttons on the cuffs. She watched his fingers; they moved quickly and deftly. Yes, he had certainly gotten over his cravings quickly.

"Just a feeling." He turned to the door. "I better get back on deck. It's my watch. We should make Yellow Harbor tomorrow evening. I want to arrive after sunset."

"All right." She slithered back to the dresses and examined them again as the door closed behind her. She held another up with her magic, and the golden fabric shimmered in the light. She wondered about Torius's quick recovery; she had smelled no hint of pesh brandy on him, but there was no doubt that his symptoms were completely gone.

Perhaps he was not as addicted to me as he thought.

paizo.com #2495541, Ronald Hartman <rh82759@netzero.net>, Sep 24, 2013

Chapter Thirteen

Lessons in Humanity

Hemp creaked faintly as Torius inched down the rope. His feet touched the stone railing of Vreva's balcony and he teetered there for a moment before catching his balance.

Thank Gozreh for Snick and her pilfered venom. He glanced over his shoulder at the deadly drop to the cobblestone street. This was no place to have the shakes. Easing down from the railing into the shadows, he tugged the rope twice and watched it recede up into the darkness where Grogul crouched on the roof. He peered through the gauzy curtains into the courtesan's apartment. Vreva sat in a plushly upholstered chair with her back to the balcony, a book in her hand and an empty wineglass on the table beside her. She was alone.

Torius sighed in relief. The last thing he had wanted was to interrupt her with another client. All-too-vivid memories of his last visit still plagued his sleep. He slipped through the curtains into her apartment.

A hiss froze him in his tracks. Vreva's cat lay on the back of a divan, staring at him with wide yellow eyes.

"If you've come to kill me," Vreva said calmly, "please try not to get blood on the—"

"If I didn't kill you last time I was here, why would I now?" He enjoyed her surprise as she turned to face him.

"Torius? Gods above, I barely recognize you." She put her book aside and stood. A small, elegantly crafted crossbow rested in her other hand, cocked and ready, but not aimed at him. She surprised him by putting the weapon down and picking up her wineglass. "If you're here to hit me again, I'm afraid I'll have to charge you my usual fee for such violent foreplay." She indicated the fading bruise that marred her pale cheek. "As you can see, your attentions have left me unfit to entertain my regular clients."

"I've come here to make you an offer, Vreva."

"An offer?" She cocked an eyebrow at him. "What kind of offer?"

"Exactly what you asked for: protection." He stepped away from the balcony but kept his distance; the crossbow was still too close to her hand for him to let his guard down.

"From Benrahi Ekhan?" She smiled wryly. "How are you going to manage that? Whisk me away on your pirate ship? I don't know if that would be any safer than sitting here, and it sounds tedious in the extreme."

"If I could end that threat forever, would you be interested?"

Her fleeting look of surprise quickly faded to one of suspicion. "Why would you offer that?"

"You're not the only one he threatened." He crossed his arms and leaned back against the red velvet-papered wall. "Because of Ekhan, seven of my people are dead and the Osirian Navy is hunting me. I intend to exact payment for the former and rectify the latter. We don't need your help, but it would be useful. Since you would benefit from this endeavor, I thought I'd make the offer."

"So what exactly do you want from me?"

As she strolled to the sideboard and poured herself a refill, Torius noticed that her gown was, by Vreva's standards, very modest: no plunging neckline, no high slit to show her legs as she moved. For the first time in all his years' acquaintance with the courtesan, he was seeing a different Vreva Jhafae than he thought he knew. He shook off the distracting thought and got down to business.

"Information first: What can you tell me about Benrahi Ekhan? Is he married, monogamous, polygamous? If so, is he faithful to his wife or wives? Does he have any vices, habits, addictions, unusual proclivities?" Thillion had already dredged up quite a bit about the man, but Vreva might know something they didn't. Also, if she lied to him, he might be able to catch her at it.

She shook her head. "I don't know much about him. He's rich, powerful, and makes a lot of money moving things into and out of Rahadoum, both legally and illegally. He has people all over the Inner Sea working for him under standard finder's-fee contracts, and he sometimes purchases stolen items if he can sell them at a significant profit."

"What about Twilp Farfan?"

"He works out of Ostenso, and does contract thefts for Ekhan."

"Exclusively?"

"I don't think so. His name has been bandied about for other jobs, too."

"You seem to know an awful lot for not knowing much." Torius gave her a thin smile. "Have you ever met Ekhan in person? Does he know you by sight?"

"No, I've never met him." Vreva sipped her wine as she strolled back to her chair. He tensed as she lifted the small crossbow, ready to dive for cover. "As I told you earlier, he threatens by messenger. This was for him."

She put the weapon back down, and Torius took a relieved breath. "Name?"

"He never gave one," she said, one eyebrow cocked. "Thugs rarely do. But I don't think he's staying in Okeno. I have friends watching out for him. Friends who also gave me what little information I have on Ekhan." Anger flashed briefly in her eyes as she waved her hand to indicate the apartment. "My life might not seem like much to you, Torius, but I've worked very hard to get where I am. He threatened to destroy me. Am I supposed to sit back and take that?"

A sarcastic reply sprang to Torius's lips, but for some reason he didn't voice it. He watched as Vreva reclined in her chair, once again poised and calm, her expression almost bored. Her position forced him to edge farther into the room so he could face her. Her white cat hopped down from its perch, trotted over and leapt up into her lap. Turning around twice, it settled down, tucked one paw under its body, and stretched the other, unsheathing its sharp claws. He swore the beast was glaring at him.

Vreva sipped her wine and pursed her lips. "So, what's second?"

"Second?"

"You said ‘information first.' If there's a first, there's usually a second." Vreva sighed. "You said you plan to end Ekhan's threat, and you wouldn't be here if you didn't need my help. So, how are you going to accomplish it, what exactly would my role be, and how much are you willing to pay me for it?"

Torius barked a laugh. "Pay you? I thought you'd be eager to help just to get Ekhan off your back."

Vreva stared at him with narrowed eyes. "Do you want my help or not?"

"Very well, we can discuss payment." Torius strode to her sideboard, brazenly poured himself a drink, and quaffed it in one swallow. "After you agree to help us."

"And if I don't like your plan?"

"Don't worry, it's right up your alley. I need you to use your wiles to prepare the Osirian authorities to believe the truth when it walks through their front door."

"The truth?"

"About who really stole the Star of Thumen. I'm not prepared to tell you everything until we're out of Okeno. You'll forgive me if I don't particularly trust you." He leveled a stare and a thin smile at her.

She raised her wineglass toward him in a toast and nodded in acknowledgment. "All right. Anything else?"

"Um, yes." Torius was unsure how to explain the rest, so he just plunged in. "I need you to coach Celeste. She's going to take human form, but she needs lessons on how to move, act, and ...uh ...interact with a man."

"Oh, for the love of Calistria!" Vreva's eyes widened. "You intend for her to seduce Ekhan!"

"Not entirely. Not like you would. She can use her magic to befriend him, but the plan will work better if she appears attractive to him. The problem is, she's not used to having arms and legs and tends to be a little clumsy. We hoped you could teach her how to be graceful and alluring—you know, courtesan tricks."

"You want me to teach a monster to be a courtesan?" A trill of laughter escaped her throat. "Oh, that's rich, Torius."

Torius slammed his wineglass down on the counter, surprised it didn't shatter. He took a deep breath to control his temper at her comment. Despite his claim to the contrary, they needed Vreva for this; it wouldn't do to alienate her. He tried another tack. "You don't think you could do it?"

"Oh, I could, but not easily. You must understand, Torius, it takes years to learn the art of seduction." Vreva put her wine aside and shooed her feline companion off her lap. She stood in a motion so fluid that it looked just short of levitation. Gliding across the floor to him like a curvaceous ghost, she was suddenly sensuous, even in her modest gown. She stopped before him and ran a finger along his smooth jaw, sending a shiver down his spine. Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips, and she sighed. "I love your new look, by the way, and the black suits you." She fondled the collar of his shirt.

"Will you do it or not?" He brushed her hand aside. His own trembled slightly; he wondered if his cravings were returning, or if was just due to Vreva's proximity.

"How long would I have to teach her?"

"Four or five days if we sail slowly."

She reached up again and ran her fingers through his short hair. He shivered. She moved closer, and he swore he could feel an envelope of heat enshrouding her body. "And my payment?"

"Since you already earned two thousand scarabs selling me out, I thought that might suffice."

"You want me to teach this," she ran her fingers down the curve of his ear, then his neck, sending a sensation like an electric shock thorough his body, "to your ...lady friend in four or five days, and you're only willing to pay me what I've already earned?"

She inched closer, and he backed up until he bumped the sideboard, rattling the decanters. "I don't need you to teach her your entire profession, Vreva, just a few tricks."

"How about this one?" she breathed, leaning in to brush his lips with hers—not a kiss, but a promise of one. Her sweet breath caressed him, her breasts pressing the thin fabric of his shirt. His knees turned to water, and she backed away with a smile. "Would you like me to teach her that?"

"Why do you keep playing this game with me, Vreva?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"Because I enjoy it, Torius!" She whirled away with a laugh and strolled back to her chair. "You're so much fun to tease, as are most men who are in love." She turned back, all mirth dissolving from her elegant features. "But understand this: you're asking me to leave my home and my business, travel to Osirion for some unknown period of time, and somehow reverse the machinations of a rich, powerful man who has already threatened to destroy me—all to get you off the hook. And you want me to teach your Celeste enough to have Benrahi Ekhan groveling at her feet. You can't seriously expect me to do that for free."

"Our plan should yield enough to make it profitable for everyone, Vreva." He couldn't give her specifics simply because he had no idea how much they stood to gain.

"Fine. I'll settle for twenty-five percent of the take." She waved her hand dismissively. "Take it or leave it."

"Very well. I'll pay your price, Vreva, but you'll be civil to Celeste, or by Gozreh I'll have you flogged and then troll you behind the ship on a meat hook. Not that I think any self-respecting shark would bite you."

"Now Torius, why ever would I be rude to your ...lady love?" She retrieved her wine and stroked her cat as it perched on the arm of the chair.

"Because I imagine you would derive the same perverse pleasure from it as you do from trying to seduce me." He strode to the balcony and turned back. "Do we have an agreement?"

"We do."

"How soon can you be aboard my ship?"

"I have several loose ends to tie up," she said with no hint of double entendre. "Tomorrow evening at the earliest."

"I'll send someone to fetch you," he said. And have someone watching you like a hawk until then.

"Send plenty of big, strong men to carry my luggage. I like to travel in comfort."

"Of course." Torius pushed through the curtains, hopped up onto the balcony rail, and whistled a soft twitter into the night sky. The end of the rope fell from above. He gripped it firmly, gave it a tug, and vanished into the night.

∗ ∗ ∗

How many trunks does one woman need? Celeste swore quietly as she heard yet another heavy thump from outside the cabin. She glanced at her one small sea chest; it was big enough to hold all of her navigational instruments and astrological books—everything she owned.

A musical feminine laugh from the corridor set Celeste's teeth on edge. Drawn like a moth to a flame, she cracked open the door and peered out. Two sailors, foolish grins on their faces, were struggling to maneuver a large chest into a cabin down the corridor. Vreva stood to one side, smiling at them and murmuring encouragement while she cradled her white cat in her arms. The courtesan was garbed in a beautiful golden gown and headdress, a translucent veil covering the lower part of her face. As if she knew she was being observed, Vreva's kohl-lined eyes snapped from the men to her. Celeste felt a surge of loathing and instinctively bared her fangs. Vreva simply smiled politely, inclined her head in a respectful nod, and followed her luggage into her cabin.

Annoyed, Celeste slammed the door and retreated to her nest, coiling in a tight spiral and concentrating on keeping her tail from twitching. In moments the ship was underway, the gentle roll easing her taut nerves. As night deepened, the lights of Okeno faded and the stars grew brighter. Celeste moved to her favored spot beneath the skylight, gazed up at the night sky, and felt a measure of peace. That peace shattered with the click of the cabin door and the familiar tread of boots—Torius—accompanied by a softer, lighter footfall.

Her.

"Celeste, Vreva's here."

"Yes." Celeste's tail twitched as she turned to face them, and it took some effort to quell its movement. She flicked her tongue, tasting the courtesan's scent, a distinctive combination of flowers, exotic spices, and musk. The same scent that had tainted Torius's shirt when he returned last night to tell everyone that Vreva had agreed to help. While the others had been elated, Celeste had felt infuriated—and worried. For the first time ever, Torius's love for her was in question. Though he had cast off the addiction readily enough, he still seemed distant. And now Vreva was here, looking flawless from the top of her coif to the tips of her pedicured toes.

Well, not quite flawless. Celeste noted with satisfaction the slight discoloration of a bruise on the courtesan's cheek that couldn't be entirely hidden by her makeup.

"Miss Celeste," Vreva said with a polite nod. "I'm delighted to meet you under circumstances more pleasant than our last encounter. It's my understanding that we will be working closely for the next several days. I hope there are no hard feelings between us."

"I wasn't aware that you had any feelingsss," Celeste hissed. "Don't they get in the way of your whoring?"

"Celeste!" Torius snapped, his face flushing with sudden anger. "Vreva has agreed to help us, and has—so far—been civil and pleasant. The least you could do is offer the same courtesy!"

She reeled back, his rebuke like a slap in the face. "How can you expect me to be nice to someone like ...her? She betrayed usss!"

"And now she's trying to help us. You agreed to listen to her and try to learn what she has to teach you. If you aren't at least civil, how do you expect to accomplish that?"

"I don't!" She flared and glared at him. "What could she possibly teach me?"

"Well, first," Vreva said, moving to the side without appearing to even take a step, then curtseying with fluid grace, "I could teach you the one lesson every courtesan must master: that is, despite the fact that we do have feelings, we must only show those feelings that our paramours wish to see. I, for instance, loathe snakes, but I'm in complete mastery of that emotion."

"You weren't the last time we met," Celeste sneered.

"No, I wasn't," Vreva conceded. "But that was quite the most unusual circumstance I have ever encountered. If you're to convince Benrahi Ekhan that you're attracted to him, and thus encourage his attraction to you, you must learn to hide your true feelings."

"To lie." Celeste flicked her tail again. "What's so difficult about telling a lie?"

"Ah, do you lie so easily?" Vreva glanced toward Torius. "Besides, hiding your true emotions is nothing like telling a lie, although you'll be doing that, too. I thought that to start, the three of us should share a meal to get acquainted. You can tell me what you expect to accomplish, and I'll tell you if it's possible. I know very little about lunar nagas, and will no doubt have many questions."

Torius broke the awkward silence. "I'll have Soursop serve our dinner in here."

"I ..." Celeste looked to Torius, but he was already headed for the door. "Oh, very well!" Turning toward the table, she gathered up her navigational tools and charts with her magic and deposited them in the sea chest by her nest. She looked up to see Vreva assessing her with a raised brow.

"That was unexpected, but something I should have guessed." Vreva settled onto the starboard side bench seat and moved around to the back so that she was facing the room, which was also as far away from Celeste as she could manage. "You use magic to manipulate objects. How dexterous are you?"

"As dexterous as most humans are with their hands." Celeste coiled at the head of the table. "But I can't lift anything heavy."

Torius came back in and took the portside seat. Soursop soon followed, bearing a tray laden with cups, utensils, and three plates of food. Celeste took the liberty of floating the items into precise positions on the table, resisting the urge to dump the steaming meal in Vreva's lap.

Vreva lifted her cup as if to drink, but then put it down, an inspired look on her face. "Soursop, would you be a dear and bring us one of the bottles of wine and three of the crystal wineglasses from my red trunk? The bottle with the blue label, please."

The cook looked to Torius, who nodded. "Aye, Miss Jhafae."

After Soursop had left the cabin, the courtesan turned to Celeste. "There, what did I just do?"

"What do you mean? You looked at your cup of water and asked Soursop for wine."

"Yes, I did that, but did I show my distaste at the grimy cup or the tepid water?" She looked to Torius. "I understand you serve a crew of pirates, Torius, but the least you could do is clean the cups."

"We're not so picky as you, Vreva," he said, drinking deeply from his own cup.

"Benrahi Ekhan will be," she said, and Celeste was surprised to see Torius's face redden.

"Good point." He picked up his fork and peered at the bent tines. "We'll buy some new tableware in Sothis. Thanks for the tip."

"My pleasure." She turned back to Celeste. "To get back to our lesson: I was polite to Soursop without being insulting, which will help forge a positive relationship, and I got what I wanted. Was that lying?"

"No," Celeste said grudgingly. "You were acting nice."

"I was being nice. We'll save the acting for the difficult tasks. Now, while we eat, I want you to watch what I do and try to understand why I do it. A good courtesan is aware of her every move and does nothing without purpose." She picked up her knife and fork and began eating, her movements precise and fluid without being dainty or exaggerated.

Soursop came back in and put the bottle on the table with three beautiful cut crystal glasses. "There you are, Miss. Dunno how those fancy glasses are gonna stay upright if the ship takes a roll."

"Oh! I hadn't thought of that!" Vreva looked worried. "We'll be careful. Thank you, Soursop!"

"No problem, Miss." The cook smiled at her and left.

"And what did I do there, Celeste?" she asked as she uncorked the bottle and filled their glasses.

"You thanked him."

"No, I lied and reinforced our fledgling relationship." She lifted her long-stemmed glass to admire the color of the wine. "I knew these wouldn't do for use aboard ship, but I asked for them anyway. When he pointed out the obvious, I played like it hadn't occurred to me and thanked him for his concern. Now we're friends. See?"

"That's very ...manipulative." Celeste lifted her own glass and sampled the wine. It was delicious, but she refused to acknowledge that to Vreva.

"The art of the courtesan is all about manipulation, Celeste." Vreva gave her a winning smile. "You're just learning the basics. For instance ..."

She put her wineglass down just as the ship took a roll, and it tilted.

"Oh!" She snatched the delicate crystal and managed to keep it from falling, but a drop of wine sloshed right into Torius's lap. "Oh, I'm sorry, Torius! Here, let me ..." She leaned over and dabbed her napkin on his trousers. Torius jumped like he'd been bitten.

"Stop that!" Celeste snapped.

Vreva laughed, removed her hand from Torius's lap and sat back. "You see? I accomplished two things with my feigned clumsiness. First, I informed my male dining companion that I would very much welcome a dalliance with him, and second, I angered his lover, thus exposing her jealousy for all to see. And all of it planned from the beginning under the guise of disliking my dirty cup."

"That's ...devious!" Celeste felt a kind of disgusted awe. Vreva was very good at what she did.

"And you, too, must learn to be devious if you hope to deceive Benrahi Ekhan." Vreva picked up her fork and resumed eating, steadying her wineglass with one hand without appearing the slightest bit awkward. "Now, a courtesan must master the skill of doing many things at once, sometimes to use one action to disguise or conceal another. With that magic of yours, can you unbutton Torius's shirt from where you sit?"

"Yes," Celeste said, instantly suspicious.

"Show me, but don't stop eating and don't let your glass tilt."

Celeste did as the woman suggested, flipping open the buttons of his shirt in quick succession.

"Slowly ...slowly, my dear. You're not opening him up like a birthday present; you're undressing the man you love." She gestured to Torius. "Now button those back up, and let's try this again."

Celeste did as she was told, not really seeing the point, but willing to learn.

"Yes ..." the courtesan said with a slow smile as the buttons flipped out of their holes one at a time. "Oh, yes ...very good. This opens up all kinds of possibilities I hadn't even considered." She raised her glass in toast. "My dear, we're going to make you irresistible."

Celeste narrowed her eyes at Vreva, wondering if she was being sincere, but realized that, with the woman's skill at lying, she would never know. Torius glanced at Celeste, shrugged, and raised his own glass. Celeste lifted her glass and gave it the barest tilt of acknowledgment before sipping her wine. As its warmth worked its way to her belly, she felt intrigue begin to nudge at the abhorrence for Vreva that filled her heart.

∗ ∗ ∗

Celeste coiled in front of Grogul, swaying with the roll of the ship, her tail twitching with nervous tension, discomfort, and fatigue. He stood like a statue in the center of the cabin, his broad shoulders stiff and his face stern and disapproving. She shivered all over, wishing that she could slither out of the uncomfortable gown, but Vreva insisted she become accustomed to wearing clothes, as well as having her hair bound up so tightly it hurt. The little dangling tendrils tickled her neck, distracting her.

"I don't want to do this any longer today," she said, scowling at Vreva. "I'm exhausted."

"What you want isn't relevant, Celeste." The courtesan sighed in resignation. "I'm tired, too, but I neither show my fatigue nor complain about it. Again, please."

"Fine." Celeste widened her eyes in a feigned look of surprise, feeling rather foolish about it. As the ship rolled, she exclaimed, "Oh!" and toppled forward into Grogul, forcing him to catch her. "Oh, I'm sorry ..." She brushed his neck with her lips, then pulled away just enough to gaze up at him from beneath her eyelashes in a practiced look of innocence. "I'm so clumsy sometimes," she said, her lips so close they brushed his cheek.

"Good, but not good enough. Don't stretch so high; as a human you're not that tall." Vreva approached and repositioned Celeste, tilting her head and squaring her body. She seemed to have overcome her aversion to snakes and had no problem pushing Celeste this way and that. "There. You see? Temptation without flirtation. Remember." She backed away. "I think we're going to have to use a spell to get it right, but watch me go through it once more."

"Miss Jhafae, I don't think—"

"Dear Grogul, please!" Vreva said with a laugh. "We don't need you to think, so just relax and enjoy it."

"Yes, ma'am." The bosun resumed his stoic stance. Celeste slithered out of the way and positioned herself so she could watch Vreva closely. She still didn't like the woman, but she had to admit that she was a master of her art.

Vreva took a casual stance two steps away from Grogul, then, timing it perfectly with the ship's roll, she tripped and toppled into Grogul's arms, her exclamations of surprise sounding perfectly sincere even as her hands explored his muscular torso. She finished her last apology with her lips presented in a promised kiss. Pulling away, her hand pressed to her breast, she cast a last furtive glance back at him, as if regretting her departure.

"Got it?" Vreva smoothed her gown and moved out of the way.

"Yes, but I don't know if I can do that with my hands. I'm too clumsy."

"Let yourself be clumsy, Celeste. Remember: turn your weaknesses into strengths. You're frail, bewildered, clumsy, and vulnerable, and you find this new man fascinating; a welcome refuge in a sea of uncertainty."

"Why would Ekhan want a woman who's so helpless?" Celeste asked. "Torius wouldn't like that."

"Yes, well, Torius isn't like most men." Vreva motioned Celeste forward. "Which is another good reason we're not using him for this exercise. Now, cast the spell and try again."

Celeste stilled her mind, pictured herself in human form, and cast the spell. She felt the peculiar but now familiar sensation of her tail shortening and splitting into legs, causing her to teeter for a moment before she caught her balance. Arms sprouted from her sides, and she wiggled them into the sleeves of her gown. Breasts and hips swelled from her body, pressing against the dress's thin fabric, and her scales smoothed into flawless alabaster skin. She adjusted the dress, stumbled with the next roll of the ship, and fell into Grogul's arms.

"Oh!" She fumbled her fingers along the hardness of his chest, pressing her breasts against him. Her lips brushed his neck, and her breath caressed his skin as she whispered, "Oh, I'm sorry!" She pulled back only far enough so that her mouth was poised a fingerbreadth from his chin, the tips of her breasts still brushing his chest. She shivered with the sensation. Torius was the only man she had ever allowed so close; she remembered his comment about being unable to control his body's responses and better understood what he meant.

Pushing aside the distraction, she said, "I'm so clumsy sometimes," as she let her fingers trail away. She stepped back, bit her lip just so, and turned away, casting a longing glance back over her shoulder as she fled.

Then the dress tripped her and she sprawled to the deck.

"Shit!" she cursed, but Grogul was there in an instant to help her, his huge hands encircling her waist and lifting her. She accepted his help with what little grace she could muster and found herself once again pressed against him. He released her and they both backed away, mumbling apologies, embarrassed by the intimacy.

"Oh, that was fabulous!" Vreva exclaimed, clapping her hands and laughing merrily. "That last little improvisation was just glorious! You're learning so quickly, my dear! But don't say ‘shit'—Ekhan might not like it."

"I didn't improvise that," Celeste confessed, tugging the gown back into place. "I tripped."

"Really?" Vreva's eyebrows arched. "Well, it worked beautifully. The rest was very good, too, but you still need to work on your hands. Clumsy feet you can blame on the roll of the ship, but you've got to practice with your—"

Torius burst into the cabin. "Grogul! I need you on deck. Now."

"Give us just a few minutes, Captain." Vreva gestured to Celeste. "Celeste just cast a spell, and—"

"I decide what's important on my ship, Vreva, and you just got trumped by an Osirian warship. You'll have to do without my bosun for a while!"

The two men left, Torius slamming the door behind them. Celeste started to sit, but Vreva grabbed her arm.

"Oh no you don't." She handed Celeste two short sticks. "Here! Now walk back and forth and practice while the spell lasts."

"Fine!" Strolling back and forth across the cabin, she twirled the sticks in her fingers. She was pleased with the progress she'd made in just a few days, but she was still apt to fumble occasionally. When she did slip up, she could usually disguise the gaffe with a flick of magic. She badly wanted to show Torius what she could do, but things were still strained between them. They barely spoke, despite sharing the same cabin. Her eyes suddenly burned, and she fumbled one of the sticks, but caught it with magic before Vreva could comment. She glanced up, but the courtesan seemed lost in thought, chin cupped in one hand and her finger crooked over her lips.

"I wish I knew why he hates me so much," Vreva murmured as she leaned back against the table.

"Grogul? He just acts like he hates everyone."

"No, not Grogul, my dear. Your Captain Vin." She shook her head and sighed. "He's hated me from the moment we met, and I've never figured out why. That's the main reason I tease him so mercilessly, you know."

"He hates you because of what you are, Vreva," Celeste answered automatically.

"A woman?" She gave a short chuckle. "Nothing personal, my dear, but sometimes I think that's why he loves you. Now, sit down on the stool and stand up a few times without tripping over the dress, and don't forget your hands."

"Torius doesn't hate all women, just ..." She had learned not to call Vreva a whore, but the temptation still loomed.

"Just those who sell their favors to men?" Vreva finished.

Celeste sat carefully on the tiny stool and then stood up, moving as she'd been taught to offer fleeting glimpses of her legs and cleavage. She looked at her instructor as she answered her question. "Yes, that. You remind him of his mother."

"His mother?" Vreva's eyes widened in shock. "Why?"

"She was a pesh addict." She sat again and stood. "She turned to ...prostitution to support her habit. When that wasn't enough, she sold him into slavery. He's never forgiven her for that."

"For the love of Calistria! Neither would I!" Vreva's already pale complexion paled further. She took a deep breath and looked out a transom window, but she seemed calm enough when she turned back to Celeste. "Now bend over and pick up that chart like I showed you."

Celeste did as she was told, but suddenly felt a wash of guilt. Why had she told Vreva such a dark secret? Most of the crew didn't even know that much of their captain's history. One of Vreva's tricks, she thought anxiously. Using me to get information about Torius. What would Torius do if he found out Celeste had betrayed his trust? She looked at Vreva.

"Please don't tell Torius I told you that. It's a sensitive subject with him."

"I wouldn't dream of it, my dear," Vreva assured her. "Actually, it explains a great many things about our good Captain Vin. Thank you." Her face showed no hint of guile—but then, by her own admission, the woman was a consummate liar.

"You mean my Captain Vin, don't you?" Celeste asked with a practiced smile, using every trick she'd learned not to show her annoyance.

"Right you are. Now come here and we'll practice that touch on the neck I showed you, while you've still got fingers."

paizo.com #2495541, Ronald Hartman <rh82759@netzero.net>, Sep 24, 2013

Chapter Fourteen

Deceptions

Wonderful!" Torius lowered his spyglass. It was hardly necessary anyway—the Osirian war galley was less than two miles away and closing fast. The crew's tension was palpable as they awaited his next order: flee, fight, or hold course.

"It was bound to happen, Captain," Thillion pointed out, though he looked as nervous as Torius felt. "I mean, we're sailing to Sothis. We were bound to meet up with a galley somewhere."

"I know." Torius forced a smile. "I was just hoping to put it off as long as possible. Grogul! We're going to get boarded! Make sure everyone maintains our disguise. We're merchants hauling cargo to Sothis. Snick, make sure we're secure below."

"Aye, sir!" Grogul and Snick replied. The gnome dashed below while Grogul went forward to where he would pose as a foremast jack.

"Fenric, you're bosun. Got it?" Torius barked.

"Got it, sir!" She grinned and started shouting orders.

"What about Celeste?" Thillion asked.

"Gozreh's guts!" As if he didn't have enough to worry about, he had forgotten that Celeste and Vreva were below playing courtesan. He flexed his neck and took a deep breath to calm his taut nerves. "I'll go let them know this is the real thing. Take us two points to starboard to look like we just want to pass. If he changes course to intercept, heave to, but I should be back by then."

"Aye, sir." Thillion gave the order to Windy Kate as Torius went below.

When he opened his cabin door, he found Vreva and Celeste standing so close they were virtually in each other's arms. He stopped, taken aback, and Celeste stepped away from the courtesan, her cheeks flushing pink.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but we've got company. I didn't know you were ..." He waved a hand vaguely in their direction, not quite sure what it was that Vreva had been teaching.

"We weren't—" Celeste began, but Vreva stepped forward to interrupt.

"You took away our male subject, Captain." Vreva raised an eyebrow at him. "Rather than waste a spell, we continued our lesson. After all, if Celeste can act appropriately with me, she should have no problem with Ekhan."

"I see your point," he admitted, though he was amazed that Celeste was tolerating Vreva's proximity without sinking her fangs into the woman's throat. He changed the subject. "I came down to warn you that we're probably going to be boarded by the Osirian Navy. I think we're pretty well disguised, but no doubt they'll inspect us. They're looking for a brigantine, and we're still a brigantine. Vreva, you should go to your cabin. Celeste, if you think you're up for it, you could try out your disguise, but if you want to just hide in here invisibly, that's fine with me."

"I ..."

"Hiding her implies you have something to hide, Torius," Vreva said. "Disguising herself as human would be safer, though she's not ready to face inspection alone."

"What are you suggesting?"

"That I help." She turned to Celeste. "You can take any human form with that spell, yes?"

"Yes, but why would I want to look other than this?"

"You're too exotic not to draw questions you aren't ready to answer," the courtesan countered. "Can you manage to look Chelish, like me—similar in coloring and features, but not exactly the same—as if we were related?"

"I should be able to do that, yes."

"Good." Vreva turned back to Torius. "I propose we play sisters on our way to Sothis. That way I can be there to help Celeste with the deception."

"You ...would do that?" He couldn't keep the suspicion from his voice. Vreva had worked hard the past few days teaching Celeste, but he still didn't trust her.

"Trust me, Torius," she said as if she had read his mind. "It's in my best interest to help her get through this, and I promise you, nobody will give her a second glance if I'm with her."

Celeste whipped around to glare at the courtesan.

"I'm not sure if I like the idea of—"

"She's right, Torius," Celeste interrupted, stepping in front of Vreva. "It'll be better this way. Vreva can distract attention from me, but I'll be there in case something goes wrong." She startled him with a wink.

"Ah. All right." With Celeste in the room, Vreva couldn't easily betray them. He looked at her curiously; it seemed that her lessons with Vreva were making her sly. "If you're supposed to be sisters, then I suggest you wait in Vreva's cabin."

"Now you better go," Celeste said, an uneasy look on her face. "I'm getting itchy, which means that I am about to transform back to my natural state. Then I must figure out what to look like next, and I don't need your presence as a distraction."

"All right. I'll knock three times on the door and let you know I have officials with me to give you time to cast your spell. Be ready."

"We'll be ready, Torius." Vreva took Celeste's arm in a sisterly embrace. "Don't worry."

∗ ∗ ∗

Three knocks sounded on the door, and Torius's voice announced their visitor. Celeste glanced quickly at Vreva, concentrated on the form she wanted to take, and cast the spell.

"Just a moment!" Vreva called as she bustled to the door. She looked back at Celeste before opening it, and her eyes widened before she smiled and nodded approval.

Celeste straightened her dress and sat on the edge of the bunk; they had agreed that it would be easier if she didn't try to walk. She picked up a book to appear as if she had been reading. Vreva's white cat glared at her from where it lay on her pillow, its ears cocked back, yellow eyes narrow.

Vreva opened the door.

"Yes, Captain?"

Torius stood there with an Osirian naval officer and two glowering guards. The former wore pure-white robes and a cobra-inscribed torc of authority around his neck, while the latter were bare-chested, with white skirts about their hips and muscular legs. All of them were armed with the strange-looking khopeshes common in Osirion.

"I'm sorry to disturb you and your sister, Miss Jhafae, but we're being inspected by the Osirian Navy. Not to worry, it's all a matter of course." He turned to the official. "Captain Tetok, may I present our passengers, Miss Vreva Jhafae and her sister Celeste. They're traveling with us to your fine city of Sothis." He waved the official into the small cabin.

Celeste tried to smile, but her nervousness made her feel like she was grimacing, so she merely sat quietly and tried to look innocent—and human.

"Your purpose for visiting Osirion?" the captain asked, his dark eyes sweeping around the cabin before roving over the two women.

"Pleasure, Captain Tetok." Vreva smiled demurely. "We're taking an extended tour of many cities along the Inner Sea as part of my sister's education. Your country's history is legendary, and we wish to experience its wonders firsthand."

"And the two of you are traveling alone?" He seemed skeptical.

"Only as far as Sothis, Captain. There we will hire reputable guides, guards, and bearers for our luggage." She indicated the many trunks with a graceful wave. "In fact, we would welcome a recommendation if you know someone trustworthy."

Why is she prolonging this by asking him for a recommendation? Celeste stifled a protest, her smothered words coming out as a snort. Tetok's eyes snapped to hers, then slowly descended until he was staring at her chest, though his face remained impassive. Celeste squirmed under his regard, and he finally looked back to Vreva.

"I can give you several recommendations, Miss Jhafae. My ship will be back in Sothis within a week. If you and your sister would do me the pleasure of calling on me, I will personally assist you."

"Oh, that would be lovely, Captain! Thank you." Vreva smiled and curtsied, and once again Celeste saw the captain's eyes stray, but only for a moment.

"It would give me joy to assist two such beautiful ladies," he said, giving her a short bow. He turned toward Celeste, his eyes lingering on her as he bowed once again, more slowly this time. She tried to smile and felt her cheeks grow hot. She felt ready to explode before he finally said, "Now, Captain Akhiri, your ship's papers?"

"This way, if you please, sir." Torius waved the officer and his guards down the corridor. Grasping the handle, he winked at Celeste before pulling the door closed.

Celeste released her breath in a relieved gust as she stood. "Why did he keep staring at me? Did I do something wrong?"

Vreva leaned against the door with a strained smile and said, "You did fine, my dear. Men are supposed to look at you." Then she walked a slow circle around Celeste, squinting while she looked her up and down.

Celeste smoothed her dress, uncomfortable under the woman's scrutiny. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing really," Vreva said, her tone unconvincing. "I just thought you were a bit more skilled with your spell, and would manage something a little closer to my shape, that's all."

"This is your shape," Celeste protested. "But the dress is fitted to my own form."

"That is not my shape!" Vreva scoffed. "Your ...backside is too large and you're nearly popping out of the neckline."

"I copied your shape precisely, Vreva." Celeste looked down at the plump breasts that strained the fabric of her bodice. "I can't help it if my dress makes you look fat."

∗ ∗ ∗

"Be careful with that!" Torius snapped as two of his sailors bumped one of Vreva's trunks against the side of the narrow corridor. "If you scratch that wood, you'll have no grog for the next two weeks."

"How kind of you to worry about my luggage, Captain," Vreva said as she exited her cabin.

Torius scowled at her. "I'm worried about my bulkheads, Vreva, not your trunks."

He heard his cabin door open and turned, surprised to see Celeste walk out in human form, dressed and made up like a courtesan. She said nothing to him, but approached Vreva. Torius tensed.

"Vreva," Celeste said hesitantly, "I'd like to thank you for your help. I feel ...more able to carry out my role with what you've taught me. This does not mean that I like you. I appreciate your teachings, but if you betray us again, I will bite you."

"Well." Vreva's eyebrows arched in surprise. "I consider myself duly warned. Good luck with Ekhan, Celeste. Keep practicing—you're not quite ready for the real world yet."

Torius breathed a sigh of relief when the two women parted without incident, then followed Vreva outside. The three-hour sail up the Crimson Canal from the River Sphinx had left the captain's nerves on edge, and their assigned dockage put several locked gates between his ship and the open sea, which left him feeling trapped. Thillion had debarked as soon as they hit the dock to find someplace suitable for Vreva to stay, and the first mate was now back at the ship organizing the sale of their cargo and the purchase of another. Torius wanted to get Vreva settled and leave as quickly as possible.

The coach ride to her new living quarters was quiet, Torius and Vreva seated opposite one another in the carriage. Grogul and several sailors rode on the outside, ready to haul the courtesan's trunks into her new apartment. His eyes caught a splash of green as they passed one of the city's many oases: a grove of date palms towered above verdant shrubs dotted with vibrantly hued flowers, all surrounding an ancient stone well from which women drew water to fill the earthenware jars that they carried on their heads. It was a cool, green refuge from the city's oppressive heat, tucked amid a maze of monochromatic edifices constructed of sandstone and mud bricks. He glanced at Vreva, but she continued to stare out the carriage window, ignoring him completely. Finally they pulled up to a tall building pitted with small windows, discernible from similar buildings around it only by the distinguishing crest over the lintel. They were escorted to a fourth-floor apartment by an obsequious manager who scuttled around like a beetle, eager to accommodate the beautiful lady.

"This will do, don't you think?" Torius asked as he walked around the comfortable little apartment. "It's got windows on two sides for a nice cross breeze and a view of the Black Dome."

"It's small and dreary," Vreva complained, eyeing the sturdy furnishings around the common room with distaste. She dropped her cat, and the animal scampered off to explore, its tail thrashing the air. "I'll have to buy all new furniture, not to mention drapes, rugs, and wall hangings." She walked past him to the window and glanced out. "And the Black Dome is a giant bug—not exactly the most settling sight first thing in the morning. The neighborhood's not bad, but it's hardly upscale."

Torius disregarded her complaints, but eyed her curiously. Vreva wasn't acting like herself at all, and hadn't since their encounter with the Osirian galley. Though she still dressed in her courtesan's garb, she had stopped the seductive mannerisms—the flashes of leg or cleavage, standing too close when she spoke to him, and the constant teasing. Her attitude in the carriage had been downright demure. She was acting almost like a normal woman.

"I'll give you some money to spruce the place up," he offered. He was feeling flush with the news that Thillion had brought back from his venture into the city. "Though with the reward Nhil is offering for the return of the Star of Thumen, I'm tempted to dump our plan, sail right back to Katapesh to pick up the necklace, and bring it back myself!"

"Don't you dare, Torius!" She turned on him with a scowl. "You dragged me away from my home to this ...place to neutralize the threat of Benrahi Ekhan. If you back out of the plan now, there's nothing to stop him from destroying me. You can sail off into the sunset! I can't!"

"All right, all right." He raised his hands in surrender. "It was just a thought. But if we can't find Twilp Farfan, or if he refuses to help, we may have to take the money and run."

"If Farfan refuses, then convince him," she said, still scowling. "You're good at convincing people to help you, even when they don't want to. I'm here, aren't I?"

"That you are." As he stepped past her to look out the window, she walked to the other side of the room. Nothing in her movements would have alerted a casual observer, but Torius had fended off her advances too many times to not notice that she was keeping her distance. He pointed down the street. "I'm leaving four men here. They'll stay in an apartment about a block away—a less expensive one than this—close enough in case you need protection or someone to run errands."

"And to make sure I don't run off," she countered with a sigh. "I know you don't trust me, Torius. You don't have to pretend."

"I'm not pretending," he said. "I don't trust you. But Ekhan seems to have people all over, and if one of them recognizes you, four pirates could come in handy." The four you know about, anyway, he thought.

"I gave you good information for years, Torius, and you trusted me. Now you treat me like I'm evil incarnate." She waved a hand dismissively. "It doesn't matter. Why don't you just run along to your ship?"

Torius wrinkled his brow. He'd never known the courtesan to be so ...emotional. "Is something wrong, Vreva? You seem distracted."

"Distracted? Of course I'm distracted!" She sat down on the arm of a chair, then stood again with a disgusted sniff, brushing nonexistent dust from her dress. "This plan you've cooked up is complicated, Torius. Any one of a thousand things could go wrong, and I'd be sitting here gloriously unaware as Ekhan himself sails into Sothis to carry out his promise to destroy me."

"I understand that, Vreva, but you might consider the circumstances. I've never betrayed you before, and I don't intend to now. Though the way you're acting isn't easing my worries."

"Really?" She cocked an eyebrow at him as if he'd insulted her. "And how am I acting?"

"Different. You haven't tried to seduce me once since we left the ship."

Vreva rolled her eyes. "You complain when I do try to seduce you, and now you complain when I don't. Well, I'm not trying to seduce you, Captain Vin, because it no longer amuses me to do so. After meeting Celeste, and quite frankly coming to like her a little bit, teasing you just isn't the same. Though I do still envy her your attentions."

"You like her?" Torius was taken aback. He'd been amazed that Celeste had tolerated Vreva's tutoring so well, but had assumed that the courtesan's actions were just an act. He found Vreva's claim hard to believe. "I thought you abhorred snakes."

"I do, but Celeste is not a snake." She looked at him as if he were a dimwitted child. "She might not be human, but she's a woman, even if she doesn't think of herself as one."

"I'm surprised you realized that, Vreva," he admitted, fighting to control his confusion. Vreva Jhafae as a compassionate human being was a concept he wasn't sure he could wrap his mind around.

"I'm full of surprises, Torius. Now go away and let me get to work."

"As you wish." He went to the door and looked back at her one more time. Out of her element, she seemed ...fragile. He shook his head. "We'll be back in six or seven weeks. I'll contact you if anything changes. When we return, I expect you to have the commander of the Eyes of Sothis eating out of your hand."

"Fine, Torius." She made a shooing motion. "Bye-bye, now."

Torius left the apartment and descended the steps to the street, bewildered by the changes in Vreva and Celeste. He tried to dismiss the distraction from his mind; he still had to find a halfling thief, scam a merchant prince, make some money, and keep his people alive while doing it. Right now, however, those plans seemed less complicated than trying to understand two women.

paizo.com #2495541, Ronald Hartman <rh82759@netzero.net>, Sep 24, 2013

Chapter Fifteen

Honor Among Thieves

Gods, I hate the Chelish Navy." Torius scanned the Ostenso waterfront, crowded with warships bearing the red-and-black flags of Cheliax. He'd had more than one run-in with the Corentyn armada and had endeavored to stay well away from their warships—and from Cheliax—ever since. He felt confident that their disguises would hold up under casual scrutiny from the Chelish Navy, but there were a few Corentyn captains who knew him personally.

Let's just pray that there aren't any Corentyn ships stationed here, he thought.

"You hate all navies, Captain!" Snick chirped. "And I'm sure that pirates aren't at the top of their favorite-people list. All's fair in love and war, you know!"

"Thank Gozreh we're not at war with that," Torius countered, gesturing to a line of huge war galleons, their lofty sterncastles bristling with siege engines. "Sometimes I wonder why the devils don't rule the whole Inner Sea."

"Just be happy the notion hasn't crossed their narrow little minds yet," Snick said.

Torius squinted at the confusion of piers, docks, and buildings perched on pilings over the murky harbor water. It formed a maze even a rat would get lost in.

"Think we can find him?"

Snick sighed. "What have I been telling you during our entire crossing from Sothis, Captain?"

"Piece of cake."

"Yup!" she agreed. "Piece of cake."

"Watch yourself in there," he said gravely. "You know how they feel about slips around here."

"Slips are halflings, Captain," she scoffed. "I'm a gnome. The hair's a dead giveaway." She waggled her fluorescent blue head under his nose.

"These people worship Asmodeus, Snick. Do you think your hair will stop them from making a slave out of you?"

The gnome's smirk fell. "I get your point." They watched in silence for the few moments it took Snick to regain her sense of humor. "Hell of a place for a slip thief to make a living," she said, chuckling at her own joke.

"There's an adel coming out to greet us, Captain," Thillion said as he mounted the steps to the quarterdeck. He pointed to the Chelish flag fluttering from the forepost of the approaching barge. "Looks official."

"Heave to, Thillion," Torius ordered, straightening his fez and rehearsing his lines in his mind. "Boarding ladder on the port side."

"Aye, sir! Heave to! Helm to windward!"

Stargazer—Torius had difficulty thinking of his beloved vessel as Sea Serpent—turned slowly into the wind, jibs and staysails cross-sheeted so the ship balanced between wind and water, as still as a stone. At least it's the harbormaster's barge, and not the navy, he thought.

"Time to turn on the charm," Torius muttered as the adel came alongside and the rowers shipped their oars. The woman standing in the bow had coloring akin to Vreva's, typically Chelish with dark hair and a pale complexion, but that was where any similarity to the courtesan ended. She looked to be as tall as Torius, but with broader shoulders, and she wore a bastard sword at her hip that he doubted he could wield. Her hard features were set in a look of authoritative conviction. This woman meant business.

"Watch it, Captain," Snick whispered. "Women like her don't appreciate charm. And she doesn't look like she's got a sense of humor, so I'd better make myself scarce."

"Good idea, and thanks for the advice." He straightened his jacket and descended to the mid-deck. Probably just a quick check of cargo, he assured himself. He smiled broadly as he welcomed the official and her entourage aboard.

"Abidi Ben Akhiri, Captain of the Sea Serpent, at your service, ma'am," he said in his practiced Thuvian accent, bowing low as she stepped onto the deck flanked by two heavily armed guards.

Looking hard at him, she came right to the point. "Your purpose in Ostenso?"

"Trade, ma'am. Our last port was Sothis, where we acquired a cargo of fine spices. My brother Fadiri said that such wonderful spices would sell at a very high price in your glorious nation."

"Spices ..." she said in a bored tone. "I suppose I should have a look. Open your main hold."

"This way, please!" He waved a hand to the main hatch. "I'm sure you will find everything in order."

Leaning over the main hatchway coaming, she peered down into the hold. "How much spice are you hauling?"

"Eighty tons of the finest cinnamon, sage, and rosemary the world has ever seen, ma'am. Some smaller amounts of saffron and various dried peppers." He thanked the gods that the cargo was legitimate, bought with the proceeds from selling their load of iron in Sothis. "Would you like me to open a crate or two for you to inspect?"

"No." She held out her hand. "Ship's papers."

"Ahh, they're in my cabin." He cursed himself for not having them on hand. He'd been too distracted by the fleet of Chelish warships docked at the piers to think of it. "Let me send someone to fetch—"

"It'll be quicker if I just come aft." She started walking. Her strides were longer than his, and he was forced to stretch his legs to get ahead of her.

He felt a fine sheen of sweat break out on his brow, and his hand trembled as he reached for the latch to the door. Not now! he thought, suppressing the urge to clench his hands. He was taking only enough venom to keep his shakes under control, but stress often brought out his symptoms. And now was not the time for him to look like he was uncomfortable or hiding something.

"Of course, ma'am. Right this way." He opened the sterncastle door for her, relieved to see that her escort didn't follow as he led her aft; his cabin would be crowded enough with the two of them ...and Celeste.

"You'll pardon me, but I keep my cabin locked to protect my personal items from the greedy hands of my crew," he explained as he fumbled with keys, rattling them in the lock to warn Celeste and praying that she took the hint.

The harbormaster just looked at him and didn't say a word.

"Here you are." He opened the door and swept an arm for her to enter. The cabin looked empty, but he knew Celeste was there somewhere. Stepping cautiously, he went to the navigation table to get the forged papers.

While she waited, the woman's eyes roamed around the cabin. Her gaze lingered on the nest of pillows and rugs in the corner opposite his bunk, and her brow furrowed with curiosity. "What's that for?"

"That?" He feigned embarrassment and bowed. "My apologies, ma'am. I don't wish to offend, but I often entertain ...friends in my cabin."

"Friends? I don't—" Her eyes flicked from the pillows to his narrow bunk, then back. She slowly looked him up and down—then, to his horror, smiled. "I see."

He returned her smile, trying not to look too uncomfortable.

"Is this your first trip to Ostenso, Captain? I know most ships that frequent my city, and I don't remember ever seeing yours." She strolled over to the nest of pillows and prodded one of the plush cushions with her heavy boot, as if testing its resiliency. She looked back at him. "And I would have remembered you."

"This is my first trip to your fair city, ma'am," he said, swallowing and clenching his hands behind his back to keep his trembling hidden.

"My name is Lothera Cothos."

"I'm honored to meet you, Mistress Cothos." He gave her a careful bow.

"Ostenso can be a difficult place to do business, Captain." Her voice was no longer imperious or bored; instead, it hand transformed into something like the purr of a big cat. "I know every merchant in the city, and I can help you become more ...intimately familiar with the ins and outs of doing business here."

Oh, holy Gozreh be merciful, he thought, trying not to cringe at her blunt innuendo. If this woman kisses me, Celeste is going to bite her head right off! "I'd welcome any help, of course, Mistress Cothos."

"Come to my villa this evening for dinner." She gave him another smile, though her words were more command than invitation. "We can discuss ...business. I'll send a carriage for you at sunset."

"Thank you, Mistress Cothos," he said with another bow. He knew what she wanted. The idea of selling himself for the sake of the plan made him cringe, but he couldn't very well refuse. Not when he'd asked Celeste to seduce Benrahi. Still ... "I would be honored to dine with you."

"Very good." She held out a gloved hand, and he shook it. Her grip was every bit as firm as his own. "I look forward to tonight, Captain."

"As do I, Mistress Cothos," he lied as he followed her out of the cabin, realizing that she hadn't even looked at the forged ship's papers.

∗ ∗ ∗

Celeste buried her fangs to the fullest and flexed the muscles that ejected her venom.

"Is that enough?" She peered at the pearly liquid in the bottom of Thillion's jar.

"For now, yes." He slipped the cloth off the top of the jar and inserted a large waxed cork. "I shouldn't need more for a few days, though it seems to go quickly. Thank you, Miss Celeste. I'll let you know if I need more."

"I hate doing that," she murmured as the cabin door closed behind the first mate. She turned to Torius. "It reminds me of being a ...captive." She shuddered at the memory of a cold collar around her neck, being locked away without a view of the night sky, restrained by magic, just for her venom.

"We're all having to do things we don't like to make this work."

She smiled and shook her head, remembering his obvious discomfort with Lothera Cothos. She didn't want to say it, but the irony of the situation plucked her sense of humor. She had been training hard to learn the arts of the courtesan, and now he was going to have to play a similar part.

"What's funny?"

"Nothing. I ..." She balked, not wanting to make him angry. Despite the uneventful sail to Ostenso, he had remained distant. He had responded politely when she had shown him her newly agile fingers, but ignored her subtle hints that they might find interesting ways of testing her dexterity in human form. He had overcome his addiction easily enough, yet he obviously still harbored doubts that he loved her. She knew her own feelings and hoped that time would bring back their intimacy. So far, it hadn't. "I just hope you don't have to do anything you ...dislike with Lothera Cothos."

"I don't think I'm going. Snick and Grogul are going out to drop some lures for Farfan, and I'd better go with them."

"I think you have to go, Torius." She fought to keep her voice calm. "Like you said: we all have to do things we don't like to make this work."

"It's not the same thing! You heard her. You know what she wants from me. I won't prostitute myself for this plan."

"I know she invited you to dinner, and I know that if you refuse her invitation there'll be trouble." His blatant double standard angered her, but she didn't want to set him off and widen the gap between them further. She knew his problem with people who used sex for gain, but she hadn't thought he would balk like this. "We don't know how far I'll have to go with Ekhan, either."

"I'm not forcing you to play this role, Celeste."

"No, you're not. I agreed because this plan is the best way to get what we want—what we need." She stifled her temper and thanked Vreva's training under her breath. "Now you need to do what needs to be done. If you refuse this woman's invitation, she's going to be angry. She'll send a full inspection team to search every crack of this ship. Do you think our disguises will withstand that kind of scrutiny?"

Torius's brows knitted in displeasure. "What if it's not only a meal she wants? You're okay with ...that?"

His tone challenged her, but Celeste didn't allow her anger to show. Nor did she allow the unwelcome vision of Torius and Lothera that flashed through her mind to upset her. She slithered up to him, not too close, but near enough that he could see the sincerity and love in her face.

"I learned one very important thing from Vreva Jhafae, Torius." She kept her voice smooth and calm. "It will get me through my time with Ekhan, and it can get you through this evening."

"And what's that?" His voice was calmer, his ire easing.

She answered with an encouraging smile. "What we do with our bodies need not reflect what we feel in our hearts."

∗ ∗ ∗

"Did you find him?" Torius asked Snick as he worked the latch to his cabin door. He nodded to Celeste as he entered and went straight for his cupboard. He pulled down a bottle and cup, and poured himself a stiff shot of spiced rum. He knocked it back and swished it around his mouth before swallowing. Lothera Cothos smoked nasty-smelling little cigars, and he couldn't get the taste out of his mouth. He fought to banish the memory of the woman's unwelcome attentions; the numbing warmth of the rum that spread to his gut and his head helped. He poured another shot and then put cups out for the others.

"Torius, are you—" Celeste began, but Snick interrupted by answering his question.

"Put out some feelers, Captain." Snick slid into the seat beside the table. Snatching the rum bottle before Grogul could get hold of it, she poured even amounts into each cup for the bosun to distribute.

"That sounds a little vague," Torius said. Celeste declined the rum, her face somber, so Torius poured her portion into his own cup.

"Some local pilferers drink at a place called the Two Pinches. We dropped a few hints with Farfan's name attached. If he's in the city and looking for work, he should show up tomorrow night."

"And if he doesn't show, we've wasted a day." Torius started to slip into the opposing bench seat, then thought better of it. Sitting down was one thing he wouldn't be doing much of for the rest of the night. He quaffed half of the contents of his cup and began to pace. It was late, and though he was tired, he knew he was still too keyed up to sleep. "We've got to get this taken care of and get the hell out of this city. I don't relish dancing on the end of a yardarm if we're recognized."

"We've still got to sell our cargo, Captain," Thillion reminded him. "It was too late when we arrived to—"

"Bothek Imports will give us a good price on the spices," Torius interrupted, "and we've got a deal to buy a cargo of good Chelish wine."

"Well, someone had some good luck tonight." Snick gave him a grin. "You must have been very persuasive, Captain."

"I was." Torius downed his rum and reached for the bottle. He ignored the smiles on their faces. "And I now intend to get drunk enough to obliterate every memory of this evening."

"Was it that bad?" Grogul asked.

"Suffice it to say that Lothera Cothos is probably more your type than mine, Grogul." He leaned against the edge of the settee and winced. "She's ...demanding and doesn't take no for an answer. You were right about one thing, Celeste: she would have been very upset if I'd refused to go."

"So, how was the food?" Grogul asked, struggling to maintain a straight face. He failed, and he, Thillion, and Snick burst into uncontrollable snickers.

"Happy to see that you all find this so entertaining!" Torius slugged back the last of his rum and smacked the cup down on the table. The laughter died like a heart-shot dove, and Torius noticed that his hands were shaking. He clenched them into fists. "Now get out and do your jobs so we can get the hell out of this damned city before Lothera Cothos invites me back for an encore performance, or I guarantee there will be all shades of hell to pay."

He waited until they had left, then lurched off the seat and headed for the door.

"Torius, I—"

"Forget it!" he snapped, interrupting whatever Celeste had been about to say. He glanced back with regret—she was the only one who hadn't laughed at him—but he didn't have time now for a heartfelt discussion. He strode out of the cabin, careful not to slam the door.

Torius avoided meeting anyone as he made his way to the main hold. Lifting a lamp from its peg, he glanced around to ensure that he was alone and edged into a narrow gap between two bales of cinnamon. He took a deep breath of the overpowering scent, hoping to banish the strong odor of tobacco smoke that seemed to be stuck to him. He pulled a small glass vial out of his pocket and popped the cork, then rolled up his sleeve and slid the grooved sail needle that Snick had fashioned for him from the slot in his belt. He opened the lamp and held the needle briefly over the flame, then waved it in the air to cool it off. Dipping the needle into the vial, he watched anxiously as the pearly liquid filled the tiny groove. When it was full, he slipped the needle under the skin on the inside of his forearm. He left it there for a moment, then pulled it free and pressed on the tiny wound to keep it from bleeding.

Within moments, he felt his muscles relax, the tension of the day receding before the rush of Celeste's venom. The stress of spending an evening with Lothera had been trying enough; the laughter from his crew had put him over the edge. He noticed the pinprick from earlier in the day, when he had taken a dose to ease his stress-induced symptoms after the harbormaster's visit. One dose was usually plenty to get him through the day, but today ...well, today had been demanding.

In the lamplight, the skin on the inside of his forearm shone dark and bruised from the repeated injuries, and it was sore to the touch. He rolled down his sleeve and stowed the needle and vial, hiding the evidence of his weakness.

I've got to stop this, he thought, gritting his teeth as he headed up on deck to walk off his mood. But not today ...

∗ ∗ ∗

Torius followed Snick into The Two Pinches and, with one look around, thought, Well, this place looks like fun. He was glad he hadn't said it aloud—his sarcasm might have gotten them killed

In most civilized ports, bars were filled with music, drink, and camaraderie; sailors intent on spending their pay; and fawning ladies and gentlemen of the evening eager to earn their own. Drinkers would be singing sea chanteys, and everyone would be smiling. Here the clientele sat alone or in small morose groups, nursing their drinks with bowed heads or engaged in muted conversations. The bartender communicated in scowls and grunts, and the lone barmaid looked as if she were dressed for a funeral. Torius figured that this was probably the norm around here—the working-class Chelaxians weren't big on cheer, since most ways for poor folks to have a good time could induce a visit from a few Hellknights. And that was the last thing that anyone in this pub wanted.

Torius, Snick, and Grogul sat at a vacant table, and Torius waved for ale. When the libation arrived, Snick sniffed hers dubiously and pushed it away. Torius sampled his and suppressed a cough; the ale was spiked with grain alcohol. Grogul took a swallow of his and smacked his lips.

"Think he'll show?" Torius asked, glancing casually at the dismal crowd. Most looked like dockworkers, but some wore weapons—daggers mostly, but one or two swords, and one woman had a nasty-looking pair of hand axes on her hips. His kind of folks. He just wished someone would smile.

"If he's not here already, he will be," Snick said confidently. "No self-respecting burglar would turn down the offer we put out."

"Didn't know burglars had any self-respect," Grogul mumbled.

"You're just cranky 'cause I got to be your boss last night."

"Why'd you do that?" Torius asked, wrinkling his brow. Sometimes Snick's actions were unfathomable, even after she explained them.

"What self-respecting slip's gonna respond to an offer put out by someone as big as him?" She jerked a thumb toward Grogul. "Short is as short does!"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" the bosun asked.

Snick opened her mouth to reply, and Torius was relieved when she instead nodded toward the corner and whispered, "Company."

Torius suppressed the urge to turn around, trusting Grogul to watch his back until the newcomer came close. He did, however, let his hand drift down to the dagger at his belt. He'd left his cutlass on Stargazer, since its showy silver hilt would draw unwanted attention in a place like this.

"You Snick?" the newcomer asked as he strolled up to the table.

Torius glanced at the fellow, gauging the threat. It wasn't much. The man was no halfling, but he wasn't particularly tall. A single dagger hung from his belt, though it looked more like a sailor's rigging knife than a weapon.

"I am," Snick replied. "Who's askin'?"

"Me? I'm nobody."

"Nice to meet you, Nobody."

His mouth twitched at her comment, and he tossed his head toward a dim corner of the pub. "Back room. A short friend of mine wants to meet you about that business proposition you were circulating last night." He turned and walked away without another word.

"Well?" Snick asked with a raised eyebrow. "Could be a trap, or Farfan might just want privacy."

"Probably the latter, unless you were careless last night." Torius stood and the others followed suit. "You go in first, Snick. I don't want to scare him away before I can talk to him."

"Right." She preceded them to the corner door.

The portal opened into a tidy little room with a table, some shelves, and another door, but no windows. Twilp Farfan sat behind the table, smiling pleasantly. He looked more comfortable in the dark leathers he now wore than he had in the merchant garb that Torius remembered from the Queen's Chalice. Two humans stood at the other door, and they weren't smiling at all. Hired muscle, Torius thought. He closed the door behind him and stepped out from behind Grogul.

"Word is you're interested in my services," the halfling said to Snick, waving to the chair across the table. "It just so happens that I—" He squinted at Torius and Grogul, and his eyes widened.

"We just want to talk, Farfan," Torius said, holding his hands out—open and empty.

"Well, I don't want to listen!" The halfling stood and put his own hand out, but it wasn't empty: a slim throwing dagger gleamed in the lantern light. "Gentlemen, show them the door."

The two goons reached for the spiked cudgels at their belts as they approached, but by the time they took their second step, Grogul had his axe out.

"Wait!" Torius cried, but his plea went unheeded. Twilp let fly his dagger just as Snick barreled into Torius hard enough to knock him down. He took a bruising blow to his shoulder from a chair, but at least the blade missed his throat. As he rolled up, he caught a glimpse of one of the thugs going down, his chest flayed open, and the other backing away.

"Captain!" Snick cried, and he looked to where she pointed in time to see a small trapdoor in the floor drop closed behind Twilp Farfan.

"Crap! Come on!" The door from the pub burst open and two more armed men surged into the room. Grogul turned to face them as Torius yanked open the trapdoor. "Snick! Go! Grogul, come on!"

The gnome dropped through the trapdoor, and Torius followed. He glanced up to see Grogul vault over the table, then lift the stout piece of furniture and fling it at their unwelcome guests. The maneuver slowed the thugs enough to allow the half-orc to drop through the hole without receiving a parting shot and slam the trapdoor behind him.

Torius couldn't see a thing in the dark under the building, but the air was still and humid. Water lapped not far beneath him, echoing off the undersides of the structures above, and there was an unnerving sense of open space. His head cracked against a beam when he tried to stand up straight.

"Snick?" He reached for the pouch at his belt as he heard the gnome's reply.

"This way, Captain! Quick!"

Yellow light flooded their surroundings as Torius freed the light-enchanted stone from the pouch. Beside him, Grogul was jamming the haft of one of his throwing axes through the handle of the trapdoor. They stood on a narrow catwalk of planks that ran beneath the piers of the city. There was only about five feet between the boards and the overhead beams, and less than a foot between the planks and the lapping waters of the bay. Though Snick and the fleeing halfling had plenty of headroom, he and Grogul had to crouch. Looking around, Torius caught a glimpse of the gnome's shocking blue hair off to his left.

"Come on, Grogul." He dashed after Snick at his best speed, which wasn't very good considering his enforced stoop and the slippery water-soaked planks. The dark water looked particularly sinister with his light glinting off the wavelets; the last thing he wanted was to fall in.

"With you, Captain!" Grogul bellowed, and the boards flexed with the half-orc's footfalls.

The narrow catwalks formed quite a labyrinth under the city, and Torius could see how they would be invaluable to a thief like Farfan. He could move anywhere in the lower city without exposing himself to the unwelcome scrutiny of the Ostenso city guard or, even worse, the Hellknights.

"This way, Captain!" Snick shouted again. He tried to keep her in sight without falling or knocking himself out cold on the overhead beams. From the loud thumps and profuse cursing behind him, Grogul wasn't having as much luck. They took turn after turn until Torius was completely disoriented. Then he heard the slam of a door ahead, and a curse from the gnome.

"Damn! He locked it!"

When Torius and Grogul finally caught up, Snick was standing on a short ladder, intently twisting the tools of her trade in the lock of the overhead trapdoor. She didn't seem to be having much luck, and every second they delayed gave Twilp Farfan more time to vanish.

"Grogul! Force it!" As the half-orc edged past him, Torius heard a click from overhead.

"Look out!"

As Torius lunged back and Grogul dove forward, liquid splashed down between them onto the catwalk and into the water. An empty bucket hung from a hinge atop an overhead beam. The liquid was dark in the dim light, but with one whiff, Torius knew what it was.

"Blood!" He drew his dagger and struggled to his feet. "Open that door, Grogul! Now!"

"Right!" The half orc stowed his axe, applied his shoulder to the trapdoor and pushed. The door creaked but held.

"Look!" Snick yelped, pointing at the water. Something large moved beneath the surface, indistinct in the light. "Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!" She drew a small dagger and huddled as far back toward the ladder as she could.

"Open the gods-damned door, Grogul! Now!" Torius prepared to leap the puddle of blood that stained the catwalk—he would surely slip and fall if he tried to walk through it—then froze as the water roiled. Now or never, he thought, and jumped.

Pain lanced through his leg, and he fell flat on his face in the blood. The light stone dropped from his hand into the mess, where it stuck and glowed with a sickly red light. Before Torius could pull himself upright, something jerked hard on his leg. A wave of agony surged through him, followed by a strange weakness. He looked down at his leg, then wished he hadn't. A barbed claw longer than his forearm was clamped onto his calf, the long tines piercing deep into the muscle. Something out of a nightmare surged up from the water, all wicked red spines and lashing antennae, and another barbed claw lashed out.

Reefclaws. Torius slashed at the claw with his dagger, but the edge of his blade just skittered along the tough, chitinous shell. The second claw latched onto his ankle as well, and the beast's powerful tail lashed the water to pull him across the blood-slick boards toward the inky black depths.

He raised his dagger to stab at the thing, but the sudden weakness caused by the creature's poison blunted his attack. He managed to work the point of the blade into the joint of the claw and twist, popping the spiny member free, but the other still clutched him, and he was nearing the edge of the planks.

Snick's tiny dagger plunged into the reefclaw's eye, and the beast reared back, snapping its jaws. The grip on his ankle released, and the spiny horror retreated into the water.

"Thanks, Snick. I—"

Torius's gratitude was cut short by a huge splash as two more of the creatures surged up from the water, claws lashing out to grasp his already lacerated leg and drag him into the sea. Panic surged through his nerves, but the pervasive weakness of the poison persisted. Rather than attack—his dagger having proven less than effective against the chitinous armor—he plunged his blade into a crack between the bloody boards in an attempt to arrest his slide.

The two reefclaws, not to be denied their dinner, thrashed and pulled. Torius gripped the hilt of his weapon with both hands but felt his grip weakening. Water lapped at his ravaged leg. He was sliding back ...he couldn't force his fingers to keep hold of the dagger's hilt.

Grogul's huge hand gripped Torius's arm, hauling him back onto the catwalk. Pain lanced through him as the reefclaws tore at him, ripping a scream from his throat. The foremost creature lunged up to bury the long tines of a claw into his thigh.

"Damned lobster!" Grogul bellowed and brought his axe down on the creature's head. The heavy blade sliced through the hard shell, splitting the thing's skull in a single stroke. The reefclaw exploded into a lashing frenzy, releasing Torius to slash blindly with its claws. One claw clamped onto another reefclaw's sinuous body, and the creature responded in kind, clamping its free claw onto the dying monster's flailing tail.

Grogul brought his axe down again, this time to sever the claw that grasped Torius's leg. The spiny member snapped at the joint, and the bosun dragged his captain away from the grappling creatures. They hit the water in an explosion of lashing tails and slashing claws as even more reefclaws came to feast on the flesh of their brethren.

"You okay, Captain?" Grogul dropped his axe and wrenched the amputated claws from Torius's leg, casting them into the water.

"Hell no, I'm not okay!" Torius tried to say, but the words came out so slurred that they were unintelligible. The weakness had him gasping for breath. "D ...door!" he managed, watching the roiling water.

"I got him, Grogul!" Snick pressed the neck of a small bottle to Torius's lips. "Get that door open before more of those things crawl up here."

Torius would have agreed if he'd been able to speak, but settled on swallowing the sweet elixir that Snick poured down his throat. The pain in his leg ebbed immediately, and the wounds began to close. Snick dropped the empty potion bottle and dragged him farther away from the blood-smeared section of walkway. His head lolled, and he drew a ragged breath, but he still could barely move.

"Where's that other blasted ..." Snick muttered, rifling through her bag. "There you are!"

She pulled a small vial from the bag, flipped out the crystal stopper with her thumb, and dumped the contents into his mouth. He swallowed to keep from choking, and a heavy load seemed to lift from his chest. The weakness in his hands receded. He tried flexing his fingers and found that he could.

"Thanks again, Snick." His words were still a little slurred as he struggled to sit up. "Lucky you had that potion!"

"No luck to it." She retrieved his dagger and the flame stone. "Never waltz into a den of thieves without a poison cure in your pocket."

Grogul grunted in triumph as the trapdoor finally splintered, and he burst up through the opening.

The half-orc's bellow of anger—never a good sign—shivered the boards above their head. Torius hurried as best he could, but his coordination was still off and he barked a shin on the rungs. Snick hauled on his arm, helping him through the trapdoor. He struggled to his feet and cracked his head on the low ceiling, almost laying himself out again. Stifling a curse, he looked around the small room. There was no other exit, and the low ceiling was slanted. Aside from a bedroll, a chest, and a lamp, the place was empty; this was nothing but a bolthole. Grogul stood by the far wall—the highest portion of the room and the only place he could stand up straight—one huge hand pinning Farfan to the wall by his throat, the other holding his bloody battleaxe as if he intended to bury it in the terrified halfling's skull. A throwing dagger stuck out of the half-orc's shoulder, hilt-deep in his flesh.

"Don't kill him, Grogul!" Torius shrugged off the last effects of the reefclaws' debilitating poison.

"Why not?" the half-orc growled, seething with anger. "He tried to kill us!"

"Because we need him, remember?" He reached up and pulled the dagger out of his bosun's shoulder, which got Grogul's attention. "Now, put him down."

"Fine!" The half-orc let go, and Farfan fell to the floor, gasping for breath.

"Here, Grogul." Snick offered another potion. "You're bleeding."

"Bah!" Grogul wiped the blood away and spat. "Save it." He flexed his shoulder and glared at the halfling. "May as well have poked myself with a sail needle."

"See? We're all fine." Torius helped the halfling to his feet and handed back his dagger. "No harm done. Just a misunderstanding."

"What ...what do you want?" Farfan croaked, massaging his throat with one hand as he took the dagger with the other. "What happened after the Queen's Chalice wasn't my fault!"

"We know that, Twilp." Torius stepped back in case the thief decided to use the dagger he'd just returned. "We just want to talk to you, and perhaps offer you a little work."

"Work?" Farfan still looked terrified, but his eyes gleamed with curiosity. "What kind of work?"

"Your kind of work." Torius sat cross-legged on the floor, pulled a slim flask from his bloodstained shirt, unscrewed the lid, and took a long pull of spiced rum. "Come on. I don't think those reefclaws are going away anytime soon, and I was going to buy you a drink back at that pub anyway. This is a damn sight better than that slop they were serving, I guarantee."

The halfling sat, still wary and still holding his bloody dagger in his hand, but he accepted the flask from Torius and sniffed it. His bushy eyebrows rose, and he took a sip of the liquor.

"Damn! That's good!"

"Life's too short to drink bad liquor." Torius took another swig and passed the flask to Grogul. The half-orc accepted it with a grunt and took a long pull.

Snick declined, but handed the flask back to Farfan. "That was a pretty slick trap with the bucket of blood. Slick, you know."

"Thanks." The halfling took a bigger gulp before handing the flask back to Torius, then pointed to the slanted roof. "There's an abattoir overhead, and the reefclaws are always eager to eat the offal. Sorry, but I thought you were going to kill me."

"Understandable." Torius stashed the flask. "No hard feelings. In your position, I probably would have done the same."

"So, about this work." Farfan's eyes flicked around the three faces. "This wouldn't be related to our previous meeting, would it?"

"As a matter of fact, it would." Torius gave him an easy smile. "So let's sit back and I'll tell you what we're planning, why we need you, and how this could make you a nice little pot of gold."

"Okay." The halfling cleaned the dagger on his pant leg and tucked it away. "I'm listening."

paizo.com #2495541, Ronald Hartman <rh82759@netzero.net>, Sep 24, 2013

Chapter Sixteen

Matters of Trust

One point to port, Captain." Celeste kept her voice low as she swept her telescope across the dark horizon. Though she couldn't see them, she knew that the headlands to the north and south grew ever closer, constricting their path, funneling them into the narrow Hespereth Strait. Far to the west, the stars lowest on the horizon began to wink out, eclipsed by the rising blackness of ancient dark stone: the Arch of Aroden. "And we should slow down. Our bow crest is too prominent."

"One point port rudder, Windy. Thillion, furl the fores'l and the inner jib." Torius's voice was equally hushed, but edged with tension. "Remember, no shouts, no calls, and no lights!"

"Aye, sir." Thillion went forward to relay the orders, a silent shadow in the darkness.

The warning was hardly necessary. They all knew that the Corentyn armada sailed constant patrol along the shattered arch, pacing back and forth like a pack of caged wolves, hungry and patient. And pirates were their favored prey. No one made a sound.

The ship was rigged for night running, with black canvas aloft and the entire crew in dark clothing to avoid attracting watchful eyes. Celeste wore a black cloak with a deep hood, her alabaster hair and face hidden in its depths.

As they neared the arch, she lifted a compass to accompany her telescope, took several quick bearings, and noted the exact time. A sailor crouched beside a row of hour and minute glasses, his sole job to turn them in sequence so that she could read the time at a glance. She waited exactly one minute, took another sighting, and made another mental note.

The wind blew from dead astern, and as their speed waned, the following sea rolled the ship in a lazy corkscrew motion. Celeste's sinuous body swayed with the roll, telescope and compass both moving with her. On a clear night, she could count the moons and rings of Liavara with her telescope—a far finer instrument than any sailor's spyglass—so she had no problem discerning the towering black shapes against the starscape. The first lights of the Corentyn armada began to wink above the horizon—one, then another, then two more—and she began a running mental log of their bearings, calculating courses and speeds in her head. This was their one advantage: the Corentyn ships had to run lights to keep track of one another in the darkness, but this allowed her to see them while Stargazer remained invisible.

The Arch of Aroden loomed, the ancient viaduct that had long ago linked the continents of Avistan and Garund across the narrow Hespereth Strait. Now it was nothing but a ruin of cracked megaliths jutting hundreds of feet above the sea, many of the smaller support arches that held up the main span having long since fallen into the depths. Two more lights blinked into view, more distant, but still Celeste tracked them, collating all the data with Stargazer's speed and course.

A navigator of lesser skill would have had to continuously update a pen-and-paper plot, writing out the complicated formulas to predict the speed and path of each ship. Celeste did it all in her head, gauging all the variables innately, racing through the calculations, anticipating where each ship would be at the moment Stargazer passed under the arch. It would be like crossing a street busy with charging coaches: without perfect timing, one ran the risk of being crushed under their wheels—or, in this case, being spotted by a Corentyn warship.

"Are we on course?" Torius asked.

"Yes." She swept the horizon again and revised her calculations. "Trust me."

"I do," he said, though the tremor in his voice belied his words.

She took another timed sighting, gauging the angles of the towering arches, and the numbers in her mind clashed. Something was not right; they seemed to have suddenly sped up. "I need to know our speed, Captain. Quickly!"

"Run the knot log, Thillion!" he hissed down to the mid-deck. "Double quick!"

She barely heard the faint splash of the log line as she watched the angles of her two reference points steepen, counting the seconds. Five and a half knots, she estimated.

"Four and a half knots, sir!" came the elf's hissed reply.

"My calculations differ!" Celeste strained to keep her voice low, calm, sure. When a ship's actual speed differed from its speed through the water, measured by the knot log, the answer was simple. "We must have picked up a current. It's throwing off my plot. We must slow down by a knot, Captain."

"Snick!" he whispered over his shoulder. "Deploy two ten-fathom drogue lines. Now!"

"Aye, sir! Drogues away!"

Two coils of tarred and weighted line splashed over the transom, and Celeste felt the ship jerk as the small cones tied along the lines filled with water and snapped taut. Celeste counted the time, not daring to glance at the minute glasses, calculating the steepening angles, gauging her reference points, the ships, the current ...all the variables converging.

"Speed, please!"

"The log, Thillion!" Torius hissed.

The answer came back in moments. "Three and a half knots, sir!"

"Celeste?" Torius's voice was edged like a knife.

"Husssh!" she hissed, checking her targets once again. As they neared the arch, all the speeds and courses of the warships, the currents and eddies, the winds, and Stargazer weaving a complex dance with them all, painted an intricate picture in her mind. With each passing moment, as all the angles steepened and distances diminished, their opportunities for adjustment narrowed.

Too close, she thought, biting her lip as she watched the nearest warship. Need to hide! "Two points to port! Quickly!"

"Windy, steer twenty degrees to port!"

Stargazer turned until her bowsprit pointed just left of a towering stone pillar. Celeste watched the nearest warship, its navigation lights clear to the northwest of the pillar, its southerly course and speed steady. She glanced at her other targets and dismissed them. This one, however, was going to pass very close.

"Celeste, there's a southbound warship just north of that column," Torius said, his eye glued to his spyglass. "If we continue on this course, we'll run right into them on the other side!"

"There are six warships within a four-mile radius, and don't worry—we will not continue on this course."

"Six?" His voice cracked, but he cleared his throat and muttered, "Gozreh be merciful, I only saw three."

"Ready for a turn to starboard ..." She raised her telescope and watched the lights of the southbound warship disappear behind the huge stone pillar. "Now! Three points to starboard, and cut loose the drogues!"

"Do it!" Torius hissed. Stargazer's long bowsprit swept to starboard, so they were now approaching the column at an angle, hidden from the warship's view. As the severed drogue lines splashed into their wake, their speed increased, but now the current was pushing them toward the ancient megalith.

"Celeste, the pillar," Torius warned.

"I know. We'll miss it." She heard him inhale sharply, but she didn't have the time to allay his fears with explanations. "I promise."

"Hold your course, Windy," he ordered.

Steady now, she thought as the massive stone column neared, Stargazer's bow pointed dangerously close to it. The warship was now completely blocked from view.

"Turn to port on my mark, Captain," she whispered.

"Port?"

"Yesss, port!" Celeste hissed. "You know, left?"

"But ..."

"Trussst me!"

"Ready turn to port!" he said, and she thought she heard his teeth grind.

Celeste stared at the southern edge of the pillar. There! The warship's bowsprit emerged, a shadow against the starry sky. The luminous bow wake came next, then the foredeck, faintly illuminated by the flickering light of a lantern on the mid-deck. The mainmast and quarterdeck, where most of the lookouts would be, remained blocked from sight. Perfect! She turned back toward the more immediate threat: a thousand tons of ancient stone towering just off their port bow.

"Steady ..." she whispered. The pillar loomed, blotting out half the sky. "Steady ..."

As Stargazer's bowsprit shot past the pillar with only twenty feet to spare, the current that surged around the pillar's base slammed into the bow of the ship, thrusting them to starboard.

"Now!"

"Port rudder!"

Windy Kate hauled the helm over, and Stargazer wheeled around the massive column, still blocked from the view of the southbound warship. When the pirate ship emerged from behind the column, the warship was more than two hundred yards away, her glowing transom lights bright to Celeste's dark-attuned eyes. She took a quick sighting of the other five targets, but none of the other warships were close enough to be of concern. Stargazer ghosted west into the Arcadian Ocean, silent and invisible. Safe ...

Only when they were miles west of the arch did the crew stir from their stress-induced silence, congratulating each other in hoarse whispers. Torius turned to Celeste and quirked a half-smile.

"You scared the crap out of me, Celeste, but we made it. Thank you."

"You're welcome." She doffed her hood and turned to him. "You seemed doubtful that I could do it."

"I was just nervous, Celeste." He waved it off. "Captain's prerogative. It's my job to worry, remember?"

"Perhaps it would be easier on your nerves if you simply trusted me." Celeste waited for a reply, watching him as he gazed into the distant darkness, but none was forthcoming. A familiar pang of anguish stabbed through her. It hurt that he didn't trust her, but the fact that he wouldn't respond to her attempt to point it out hurt worse. The passage from Ostenso had been similar: polite acknowledgment, but still no real engagement, no interaction, no love. Like two passing ships, she thought.

Sighing quietly, she gathered up her navigational supplies. "You may turn to the southwest, Captain. I'll plot our position in a couple of hours. Our passage to Azir should only be three days at most, so time runs short. I'll be below, practicing in my human form." Alone, Celeste headed for their cabin. She knew something had to change between them, and she made a silent vow to make it happen.

∗ ∗ ∗

Torius rolled down his sleeve and headed to his cabin. The stress-induced shakes were gone, and he hoped to grab a nap before his watch. They were well beyond the arch now; by dawn, the coast of Rahadoum would be visible. He rolled his neck to ease the tension in his muscles and laughed to himself. Celeste had done an amazing job getting them through the arch, even if she had scared him half to death. She was hands down the best navigator plying the waters of the Inner Sea.

So why didn't I tell her that? His smile slipped. You know why. He scratched the dull ache on his forearm. The flood of guilt threatened to drown him. He had to tell her eventually, he knew. But not today. I can't deal with this today! He was beginning to believe his own lies now, even though he knew they were lies.

Opening the cabin door, he stopped, taken aback. Celeste stood before him in human form, wearing a dark-blue gown with a plunging neckline. Her hair was done up in an intricate mass of curls and twists, held in place with black-lacquered sticks. Her kohl-rimmed eyes looked huge and luminous, crimson-tinted lips begging to be kissed. The sight of her took his breath away; only the golden collar around her neck tainted the image.

"How goes the dress rehearsal?" he asked, stifling the surge of desire that welled up from the pit of his stomach.

"It goes well ...I think." She casually knocked a spoon from the table to the floor and bent down to pick it up. Her dress gaped, giving him a fleeting glimpse of the pale swell of her breasts. It reminded him of something Vreva would do. He swallowed his desire and looked away.

"I have to ask you something," he said as he doffed his dark coat and hung up his sword.

"Of course. If I can ask a favor of you in return."

"Fair enough." He sat on the edge of his bunk and met her dark gaze. "Do you really think that I don't trust you?"

"It certainly sounded so," she said as she placed the spoon on the table.

"I do trust you, Celeste, but you've got to understand that I'm responsible for every life aboard this ship. Your skills—what you did getting us through the arch—are so far beyond anything I can do ...If I don't understand what you're doing, or think it endangers us, I've got to question you. It's my job." He looked into her eyes, imploring her to understand. "But if you doubt my trust in front of the crew, they'll think I don't trust them, and I do—you and them. I'm sorry I made you doubt that." Saying it sounded like a horrible double standard, but if he was going to maintain command, Celeste had to follow the same rules as every other member of the crew.

"And I'm sorry I made you look bad, Torius. I won't question your trust again." She sounded sincere and even gave him a tentative smile. "In public."

"Oh, feel free to give me all nine shades of Hell in private." He gave a short laugh, relieved that she understood. "So, what favor do you need?

"I need to know if my actions are alluring. Grogul and Thillion always say so when I practice with them, but I think they're just being polite. I want you to give me an honest opinion. Watch, please."

She sauntered over to where he sat, her body moving in a gentle, sinuous sway. Leaning in slightly, she ran her fingers through his short hair then trailed them down the curve of his ear and his neck, sending a shiver down his spine. A flash of recollection made him pull away. The touch had been exactly the same as Vreva's the night he sneaked into her apartment.

"Was that not right?" Celeste asked, frowning and backing away.

"No! Er ...yes, it was perfectly right, Celeste. I'm sorry, but ...it reminds me of Vreva and her games. Dressed like this, you remind me of Vreva." He stood and tried to give her a reassuring smile.

"Well, I will be playing the role of your pleasure slave, so I should probably take that as a compliment." She ran her fingers slowly down the front of his shirt, and the buttons popped out of their loops in their wake. "But with me, you need not resist." She slid a hand under his shirt, her fingertips brushing feather-light across his skin. He shuddered at the sensation. It had been a very long time since she last touched him like that.

"You're not going to do that to Ekhan, are you?"

"I ...don't know," she said hesitantly. The ship rolled, and she stumbled into him, her breasts pressing against his chest, their lips suddenly so close he could almost taste her. "Is it working?"

"It's working," he admitted breathlessly. He gently ran his hands up her bare arms, over her shoulders and up to caress the warm skin of her neck. "I ...just don't like the idea of it working so well on Benrahi Ekhan."

"I don't plan for it to go this far, but I should be ready ...just in case." She trembled under his touch, but he didn't know if it was a real response or part of the act. "You told me that I needn't be jealous of Vreva. You must trust me with Ekhan."

"I do trust you, Celeste. That doesn't mean I have to like it."

"I'd be worried if you did like the thought of me with another man, my captain." She drew back just enough so she could reach up and pull two of the sticks from her coif. A cascade of alabaster hair fell down over his hands, and he automatically ran his fingers through her tresses.

The ship rolled, and she stumbled into him again, tumbling them both onto his bunk. For a moment she lay atop him, her hair spilling over him in a white waterfall. Pushing herself up with her arms, she stared down at him and whispered in a sultry tone, "Please excuse my clumsiness."

"I don't think you need any more practice, Celeste," Torius whispered as he ran his hands over her lithe torso. Gods, he missed her touch so much! "Unless Ekhan is a eunuch, I think you've learned everything you need to know to seduce him."

"Good. I'm trying to be ...oh, damn!"

Torius felt Celeste's body shift under his hands. Her arms shortened, her breasts flattened and vanished, and her legs suddenly fused into her natural, long, sinuous form. She slithered off him and coiled at the foot of his bunk, a frown marring her beautiful lips.

"I apologize. I can usually detect when the spell's about to fail. I guess I was ...preoccupied."

Torius chuckled and stood up, reaching out to remove her golden collar and lay it aside. "That'd be very bad if it happened with Ekhan. Can you cast the spell again if you feel yourself starting to change?"

"Yes, but Ekhan will notice if we're close. I've thought of some ways to hide it, and if he's charmed he should believe an explanation that I'm mumbling an oath or praying, but—"

"Best not say you're praying. He's from Rahadoum, remember? If you appear too religious, it might turn him against you."

"I hadn't thought of that. Thank you."

"Can you cast it again now?" He brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers.

A sad smile quirked her lips, her eyes suddenly bright in the lantern light. "I'm sorry. That was my last spell for today."

"Well ..." Dampening his ardor, he went back to the bunk and sat on the edge to take off his boots. His body ached to hold her, but it had been a very trying day, and he was due on watch in a few hours. He untucked his shirt and started to pull it off, but stopped when he remembered the bruises on his forearm. Now was not a good time for Celeste to see them and start asking questions. Perhaps it was best that they had been interrupted. He changed the action into a broad stretch and lay back on the bunk. "Just promise me you'll be careful around Ekhan."

"I will be, Torius. I know you'll worry, but I can do this. You must trust me, or the whole plan will fall apart."

"I know."

"Speaking of trust, what do you think about Twilp?" She stowed her hair sticks in a drawer, and floated the dress over her head, laying it out over the back of the settee. "You seemed to have your doubts about him earlier."

"Him I don't trust. I've got to be careful never to leave him alone with Ekhan."

"Snick seems to think he's trustworthy."

"Snick likes him." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Birds of a feather, those two. I need to sleep for a while, Celeste. We can talk when I'm on watch."

"All right."

The lamps dimmed, and sleep took him.

∗ ∗ ∗

"Feels like we've been violated," Snick said as they watched the soldiers of the Pure Legion march down Stargazer's gangplank and back into the crowds on the Azir waterfront.

"Don't suggest anything to them." Twilp snickered and gave her a nudge. "They'll start searching places you really don't want them to look."

"The important thing is that they didn't find anything. Not that we had anything for them to find, of course." Torius didn't appreciate the halfling's humor. He was still getting over the experience of having every inch of the ship searched.

It had seemed to take the soldiers forever to rifle through every drawer and locker in his cabin, while Celeste stood there in human form. Thank Gozreh—can't say that in Port Godless, he reminded himself—they finished before she ran out of transformation spells. They'd been less interested in her than in the scrolls and potions stowed in his navigation table, and seemed disappointed at not finding any religious items or signs of divine magic. Knowing they would be searched, Torius had sent six solid pirates ashore on one of the tiny outlying islands with all of their curative potions. They would pick them up on the way back north.

"Kind of strange, isn't it, Captain?" Snick asked. "Here we are, hauling legal cargo into a port with not a thing to hide, and we get searched."

"It does." He scratched his forearm absently, deciding that he'd better take another dose of Celeste's venom before he and Twilp visited Benrahi Ekhan. It would undoubtedly be a stressful meeting. "You think he'll see us today, Twilp?"

"Maybe." The halfling shrugged and pointed to a huge manor dominating the peak of a nearby hill. "By the way, that's his estate right there. The one with the golden dome."

"Nice place." Torius raised his spyglass for a closer look. Beneath the central dome, white walls and spiral minarets with brilliant blue accents jutted out at incongruous, asymmetrical angles. A few other structures in the city sported similar improbable architecture, but Ekhan's manor stood out nonetheless. "He's richer than I thought. You sure he'll go for this?"

"One thing I've discovered about rich merchants, Captain Akhiri," Twilp said, using Torius's pseudonym, "is that they're always looking for ways to increase their fortune."

"I hope so." Torius lowered the spyglass and sighed. He had talked long and hard with Snick about Farfan, and she had finally convinced him to trust the halfling, at least within reason. The problem was, once they were inside the merchant prince's home, Torius would be at Twilp Farfan's mercy. If there was going to be a betrayal, that would be where it occurred. Unfortunately, they had come too far to turn back now. "Go ahead and send Ekhan the message. And cross your fingers for luck. We're going to need it."

∗ ∗ ∗

Torius's fingers twitched as he gazed around the reception room at Ekhan's displayed treasures. The collection was extensive, more than Torius had seen in many museums, each item shown to its best advantage whether set atop an elegant pedestal or tucked into a custom-made niche in the wall. The sale of any one of these objects would support Torius, his ship, and his crew for months. An elaborate fountain of magically animated crystal nymphs cavorting in a cascade of water dominated the center of the room. In such a water-impoverished country as Rahadoum, the extravagant use of water for pleasure stood as a symbol of wealth. The entire room was designed to impress.

Or intimidate, he thought, casting a casual glance at the stone-faced guards at the room's exits.

"Twilp Farfan!"

A tall Garundi man of perhaps fifty years—flanked by yet another guard—strode into the room. Benrahi Ekhan. Torius's gut tightened as he beheld the man who tried to kill him and his crew. At first glance, Ekhan exuded wealth, power, and arrogance from the tip of his immaculate hair to the curled toes of his shoes. Torius's hand itched to draw the kukri from his hip and slice the smug look of superiority off the merchant's face, but the bodyguard was incentive enough not to do anything foolish. Not today, he thought, fighting to maintain his sycophantic smile as the merchant approached. This was the moment of truth; if his trust in Twilp Farfan was misplaced, this would be the moment of betrayal. He gauged the bodyguard, Ekhan, Twilp, and his slim avenues of escape, struggling to remain calm.

"Please tell me you came all this way to inform me that that insufferable pirate Torius Vin is adorning a gibbet in Sothis." Ekhan stopped before the fountain, still several steps away, his bodyguard close behind. Still, Torius gauged that he could kill the merchant before the bodyguard's scimitar took his head off. Maybe.

"Alas, I'm not, Master Ekhan," Farfan said as he bowed low. "Though I played my part to perfection, allowing Vin to take the necklace from me, I've since learned that the pirate evaded the trap."

Torius's tension eased a trifle.

"Yes, that's what my sources have told me as well." Ekhan's smile didn't fade in the least, though the skin around his eyes tightened.

So he already knew, Torius thought. He just wanted to see if Farfan would tell him the truth. This man would bear close watching. Ekhan was no self-indulgent merchant getting fat and lazy on his profits. He was shrewd.

"So you come here, perhaps, to tell me where he is?" Ekhan asked, his eyebrows rising.

"Alas, I didn't, Master Ekhan," the halfling repeated. "I've only heard rumors that he's taken the long passage east across the Obari Ocean. A dangerous route, for many don't return from that crossing."

Ekhan's smile faded, his steely eyes settling into a dangerous glower. "So why, exactly, are you here?" Those eyes flicked to Torius for an instant, but did not linger before returning to the halfling.

"Why am I ever here, Master Ekhan?" Twilp spread his arms wide. "Because I've discovered an opportunity for significant financial gain."

"And that is?" Ekhan turned to examine the interplay of crystal and water before them, as if bored with the halfling's prattle. Torius tensed. They couldn't let Ekhan dismiss them before the offer had even been made. Farfan was being too coy.

"A twofold boon for you, Master Ekhan." Twilp strolled forward to stand beside the merchant prince, evidently appreciating the fountain's beauty. Torius edged forward. "An immediate reward and the potential for untold riches in the future. This opportunity was brought to my attention by my friend here." Twilp gestured to Torius. "I would like to introduce you to Abidi Ben Akhiri, captain of the merchant ship Sea Serpent."

Ekhan turned to face him, and Torius stepped up and bowed deeply. "Master Ekhan, allow me to express my great pleasure at meeting you—a man of legendary prowess in the mercantile arts—face to face."

"Yes, yes," Ekhan said, his arrogant impatience palpable.

"I'm but a merchant sailor, Master Ekhan, but in my travels I learn many things. And so it was that I learned of a magical trinket of perhaps great interest to some, but of limited value in its current location. Elsewhere, I heard of a powerful and wealthy man seeking to recover a relic that had been stolen. But only later, when I was tipping a cup with my good friend Master Farfan here, was I able to put two and two together."

"Stop talking in riddles and tell me what you mean!" Ekhan snapped, though Torius could see the gleam of avarice in his eyes.

"Very well, Master Ekhan." He bowed to hide his smile. Gotcha! "A merchant tried to sell me a necklace that he claimed contained the secrets of Osirion. He'd purchased this necklace, he said, from one Torius Vin, who had since sailed off to the east. The price of this trinket was too dear for my shallow pockets, so I declined. In Sothis, the foremost story in the market was of the theft of a magical necklace from one Keiratek Nhil, who's offering a grand reward for its return. In Ostenso, I related the tales of my travels to Master Farfan. In turn, he told me of a great merchant who is familiar with this artifact, and is ever on the lookout for an opportunity. And so, here we are before you."

"The Star of Thumen?" Ekhan asked, looking at Twilp with a furrowed brow.

"The very same, Master Ekhan." Twilp beamed as if he'd just handed over the keys to the city. "If we purchase the Star of Thumen and return it to Nhil, the reward is more than twice the price."

Ekhan laughed. "And I suppose you expect me to give you a bag of gold to go and buy it. You're delusional, Farfan!" The merchant prince turned away and snapped his fingers. "Escort our guests out."

The door guards stepped forward, and Torius tensed, but before he could appeal to the merchant, Twilp cut him off.

"Please, Master Ekhan! I'm suggesting nothing of the sort. I said this would bring you a twofold boon, remember? You've not heard the best part!"

Ekhan turned back and snapped his fingers again. The guards halted. "I'm through listening to riddles and stories, Farfan! You'll tell me this instant the entirety of this plot of yours, or I'll have you thrown out into the street!"

"There's more for you to gain than just the reward! Think of what a friendship with an advisor to the Council of Sun and Sky would bring you. If you personally return the Star of Thumen to the hand of Keiratek Nhil, you'll gain that friendship. The reward is a fortune, but it pales in comparison to the riches you could reap from future trade with Osirion and Nhil as your ally."

The merchant prince's eyes widened slightly, then narrowed. "There's one flaw in your plan, Farfan: I don't like to travel. That's why I have agents."

Torius's jaw clenched. This was something about Ekhan that they had not known. If they couldn't convince him to leave Azir, the plan was sunk.

Twilp shook his head. "If you have the Star of Thumen returned through an agent, the opportunity to forge a friendship with Nhil will be lost. The face that Nhil looks upon when his precious relic is returned is the face he'll remember. The face to which he'll show his gratitude."

"What do you gain from this, Farfan?"

"Just the usual finder's percentage, Master Ekhan." Twilp gave him a wry smile. "I did steal the Star of Thumen for you in the first place. It only seems apropos that I also profit from its return."

"And you?" Ekhan asked Torius. "What do you want?"

"The same, Master Ekhan," he said with a bow, "and the privilege of providing you with luxurious transportation on this journey—at no cost to you, of course. The honor of having you aboard my ship will be payment enough. If you approve of the manner in which I conduct my business, perhaps you will consider me for work in the future." The free passage was no small offer: a berth on a merchant ship able to accommodate Ekhan in his accustomed luxury would not be a trifling sum.

"I'll pay you two thousand gold measures right now for the name of the merchant Vin sold that necklace to." Ekhan's mouth fixed in a line, his lips pressed together.

"Oh, but Master Ekhan, to me, the value of an association with a man such as yourself is beyond price." They could not let Ekhan go to Katapesh without them. He had to convince the merchant that it was in his best interest to take Torius up on his offer. Holding the name of the merchant who had the Star of Thumen was a fragile lever; Ekhan could find that out himself, but not for free, and not quickly. "Every moment we delay is a chance that someone will buy the relic before you can. My ship is among the fastest sailing the Inner Sea!"

"I see." Ekhan furrowed his brow. "How much is the necklace being sold for?"

"Forty-eight thousand scarabs." He'd promised Jhamaal forty, and wanted to leave room for haggling.

Ekhan didn't even twitch at the price. "And how much is Nhil offering for a reward?"

"A hundred thousand." Torius felt a twinge of satisfaction when one of Ekhan's eyebrows rose.

"I see." Ekhan turned to examine the fountain, as if he might find enlightenment in its beautiful display. Torius watched the man's hands flex and relax rhythmically behind his back, wondering if they should try another ploy. If they appeared too willing, too generous, Ekhan might smell a trap. He glanced at Twilp, who simply shrugged and raised his bushy eyebrows.

"Captain Akhiri," Ekhan turned to face them once more, "what accommodations might I expect aboard your ship, and how long would this trip take?"

"Azir to Katapesh is about thirty days—less, if the weather's kind to us. Katapesh to Sothis will take only five days. Then it'll be perhaps fifteen days back to Azir as the downwind run to the west is much quicker than the beat to the east. You will, of course, have a luxurious private cabin, with three sumptuous meals prepared for you each day by my personal chef. And I have a store of very fine Chelish wine that will be at your disposal throughout the journey. However," Torius added in an apologetic tone, "I'm afraid there won't be sufficient room for wives or concubines."

"My family will remain here, safe and secure under the protection of my clan." Ekhan indicated the bodyguard at his elbow with a flick of one bejeweled hand. "Only my bodyguard, Pok-Nal, will accompany me, and a simple cot or hammock will do for him. He will sleep in my quarters, of course."

"Of course." Torius nodded to the bodyguard, though he cursed inwardly. The success of their plan depended on Celeste's meeting with the merchant privately, but to argue against the guard would make Ekhan suspicious. Eying the guard more closely, he glimpsed a wide bronze collar inscribed with fine engravings around the man's neck. A slave? He thought it strange that a man like Ekhan would have a slave as his closest protector. Time to rethink the plan, he thought anxiously, but first, we need to get Ekhan on the ship. "I will accommodate your every whim, Master Ekhan."

After another long moment of thought, Benrahi Ekhan finally smiled. "Gentlemen, we have a deal. I'll require a few days to make arrangements for my absence. When may we leave?"

Torius had no difficulty showing a genuine grin of elation. "As soon as you're ready, Master Ekhan. The Sea Serpent awaits!" He bowed deeply. The shark had just taken the bait.

paizo.com #2495541, Ronald Hartman <rh82759@netzero.net>, Sep 24, 2013

Chapter Seventeen

Unwanted Guests

He's coming aboard!" Snick whispered down through the skylight.

"What does he look like?" Celeste's stomach clenched with nerves.

She sat coiled before the large bulkhead-mounted mirror, floating another mirror behind so she could see the back of her head. Placing a final hair stick into her coif, she nodded in satisfaction. Snick had originally volunteered to help with her hair, but when Celeste found monkey fists, long splices, and other sailor's knots woven into her tresses, she decided to do it herself.

"Looks rich," the gnome whispered. "Fine clothes and lots of trunks, though not as many as Vreva. Bodyguard looks like he could be trouble."

"I'm not interested in the bodyguard, Snick!" She pulled a few curled tendrils of hair free to frame her face, then applied a stick of carmine to her lips. "I must know what Ekhan looks like!"

"Well, he's tall and—Oh, the captain's bringing him aft! Get ready!"

Celeste cast her transformation spell and quickly straightened her dress. It was the golden one that hugged her waist, with a slit up the side to her hip and a neckline that plunged almost to the point of indecency. She looked in the mirror and stopped short. Though she'd done this dozens of times now, she still barely recognized the woman staring back at her with kohl-accented eyes and smiling with carmine-painted lips.

I look like a painted doxy, she thought before reminding herself that she was playing precisely that role. Tearing her eyes from her reflection, she moved to listen at the door. She took two deep, calming breaths, arranged her expression, and waited.

"As you can see, Master Ekhan, the Sea Serpent is a fine ship." Torius's voice was muffled through the door, but she could discern his words clearly enough. "Though smaller than some, she's fast, weatherly, and spacious for her size. Here's your cabin, just forward of the galley, where the ship's motion is the least, affording you a more comfortable passage. I've taken the liberty of—"

Celeste opened the door and rushed out, "My captain! I—Oh!" She stopped short and stared, not having to feign surprise.

No one had told her that Ekhan was handsome.

Tall and broad of shoulder, he looked nothing like she expected. The few merchants she had seen tended toward plump, stoop-shouldered, and overdressed. Instead of a kaftan or robes, Ekhan wore a close-fitting brocade jacket with a high collar, a golden silk shirt, and loose-fitting pants of a light, shimmering fabric, rich without being ostentatious or flamboyant. Rings glittered on his long, slender fingers, and a curved dagger in a bejeweled sheath was tucked through the wide silk sash that girded his trim waist. His skin was dark, set off by long, black hair tied back in a simple club, gray at the temples, giving him a distinguished look.

His sharp, dark eyes caught her gaze, and for a moment she couldn't move, like a mouse spellbound by a viper.

A tall man in colorful robes stepped from behind the merchant, drawing her attention. His hand rested on the hilt of a great curved scimitar at his waist. The slave bodyguard, she realized. His glinting pale eyes were fixed upon her, but it was the collar around his neck that made her skin crawl. She'd worn a collar like that once.

Remembering her job, Celeste curtsied low, giving a fleeting glimpse of pale leg and breast. While her face was averted, she murmured another spell, then said, "Pardon me, my captain! I heard your voice and—"

"Get back in the cabin, Celeste!" Torius snapped. In a conciliatory tone, he said to the merchant, "My apologies, Master Ekhan. She is nothing. Only my personal slave."

Though she knew it was an act, the words stung. Celeste turned sharply, fumbled for the door, and glanced furtively back. The view was altered now with her spell-enhanced sight, revealing several magical auras. She squinted; the bodyguard's collar and sword, at least one of Ekhan's rings, and something stronger on the merchant that she couldn't discern with the bodyguard standing between them—all radiated magic. She paused, locking her eyes onto Ekhan's for a moment before biting her lip and closing the door. Her first performance was complete. It had lasted only seconds, but her heart was pounding like a drum. She leaned her back against the door, took several deep breaths to calm herself, and listened.

"She is very unusual." Ekhan's deep voice smooth and calm. "So pale, yet her eyes are dark. Not a true albino."

"No, Master Ekhan. She's unique, a throwback to a long-vanished race of ice-dwellers in the north of Tian Xia. She's my one indulgence, but she's often more trouble than the pleasure she gives me."

"I see," Ekhan replied. "Unique, you say?"

"Yes. There's no other like her in the entire Inner Sea region, though she's headstrong for a slave. Not to worry, Master Ekhan, I'll beat her soundly for her insolence!"

"She did not appear insolent, Captain," Ekhan said, his tone firm. "She is your property, of course, and you must do as you deem necessary, but I took no insult."

"Of course. This way, please, Master Ekhan. I've taken the liberty of putting a bottle of my finest Chelish wine in your cabin ..."

The voices dwindled and Celeste pushed herself away from the door. She started taking down her hair with trembling hands, finally resorting to magic after dropping two of the hair sticks. Once undressed, cleaned of makeup and back in her natural form, she coiled in her nest of cushions and considered the encounter.

Thank the stars for Vreva's training, she thought. She was pleased at the spark of interest she'd seen in Ekhan's eyes, but there was something dangerous there, too; something that unnerved her. One thing was certain: despite the training and hours of practice, this was going to be a lot more difficult than she had ever imagined.

∗ ∗ ∗

The cabin was dim when Torius finally returned, the shades pulled tight across the transom windows edged in the red light of sunset. Celeste lay curled in her nest, her pale face placid in the repose of sleep, her hair strewn across the cushions. He paused to drink in the sight of her—no makeup, no dress, no courtesan's tricks or guile. This was how he loved her ...

He caught his breath as the thought struck him. He did love her. Though he was still taking her venom, he didn't rely on her to inject him. He'd disconnected the addiction from her, and she was still there in his heart. When she opened her eyes and regarded him, his pulse quickened.

"Why are you staring at me?" She rose from her pillows and cocked her head at him.

"I just ..." Tell her, he thought, but then balked. He would have to explain the lies, his addiction, his weakness. Guilt clenched his stomach in a knot. "I didn't want to wake you."

"Is Ekhan settled?" she asked.

"Yes, and not feeling too well his first day at sea. Dinner's soon; we'll see how he likes the chef's cuisine. Soursop's as nervous as you were. I'll have Snick bring you a plate." Torius took his good jacket from the locker and donned it over his loose shirt. He ran his fingers through his short hair to straighten it and saw her watching him in the mirror.

"You did a great job today," he complimented. "What do you think of him?"

Celeste took on a contemplative look. "He's ...impressive. He has the bearing of a man who's used to getting what he wants. You said he was a merchant prince, but he seems more prince than merchant."

"Huh! Well, you didn't see the gleam in his eye when we mentioned the reward," Torius pointed out. "You seemed to impress him, too. Oh, and just like we thought, Pok-Nal's going to be a problem. He sticks to Ekhan like glue and searched his cabin from top to bottom. I'll be surprised if he doesn't taste Ekhan's food for him. Did you get a good look at him?"

"The collar he wears is enchanted." He could hear the tremble of revulsion in her voice. "It undoubtedly compels or constrains him in some manner."

"That's interesting." Torius nodded as an idea sprang to mind. "Actually, that might work for us! Every slave longs to be free, right?" She looked at him quizzically as he moved to the table and pulled a chart out of the drawer, then tapped his finger to the paper. "Got to find something dangerous, some threat to get Pok-Nal away from Ekhan long enough for us to get that collar off."

"Dangerous?" She scowled and moved to look down at the chart. "He may fight if you try to remove it."

"It might not be easy, but it's either remove the collar or kill him." He looked at her. "The plan won't work if we can't get you alone with Ekhan."

She looked from his face down to his finger on the chart and her eyes widened. "The Screeching Arch?"

"It's the only thing I can think of." He rolled up the chart. "I'll get the others together on the quarterdeck to see if anyone's got a better idea. You can listen in through the skylight. Can't risk tramping everyone down here to talk."

"All right." He could hear by her tone that she already didn't like his plan.

"It's a three-day run to the arch, so that gives us some time to work out the details. I'll need you to calculate our course and speed to put us in sight of the Screeching Arch at nightfall."

∗ ∗ ∗

"My apologies for the boisterous ride, Master Ekhan." Torius seated himself at the galley table across from the merchant prince. As usual, Pok-Nal hovered by his master's shoulder.

"Is it a storm?" Ekhan swallowed as the ship took a roll, his fingertips white with his grip on the edge of the table. Ekhan had emerged only intermittently their first two days out of port, looking rather green, but now his color and his appetite seemed to have improved.

"No, no. It's just that the eastward run through the Hespereth Strait is a beat against the prevailing wind and current. It should improve once we get through. I trust you've been comfortable in your cabin?"

"The bunk is narrow and the mattress is lumpy," the merchant complained. He stared skeptically at the plate Snick placed before him: spiced mackerel goulash on a bed of noodles, and a mango-avocado salad. Soursop had outdone himself. "And I must insist that my bed linens be washed regularly. They are beginning to stink."

"Of course, Master Ekhan," Torius replied, gritting his teeth at the man's attitude. "I'll see that they are cleaned every other day, and I'll have your mattress replaced."

"Good." Ekhan ate a bit of the salad. The ship took another lurch and he dropped his fork to grasp the edge of the table again. "You're sure we're not in any danger?"

"The seas aren't dangerous, but we will be taking a risk tonight as we pass through the arch. Flick!" Torius snapped his fingers, and Snick rushed over, an obedient smile on her face as she played her role as his cabin gnome to the hilt. She'd even stitched herself a little uniform. "Wine for Master Ekhan and myself."

"Aye, Captain!"

"What risk? The Corentyn blockade, you mean?" Ekhan asked.

"Oh no, we'll be avoiding the blockade ships completely." Snick poured a bit of wine into his glass, and Torius sniffed and tasted it. The tiny bit of venom mixture that laced the drink was undetectable over the flavor of the full-bodied wine. He had to drink it; Ekhan might refuse to drink wine that no one else did. If he had a few hallucinations, he'd just have to put up with them. He certainly didn't plan to drink enough to form another addiction. He nodded to Snick, and she poured Ekhan a full glass.

"Why run the blockade?" Ekhan took a bite of goulash with some trepidation and washed it quickly down with a healthy gulp of wine. Torius smiled; he knew Soursop's spicy food would prove useful one day.

"Why, for your benefit, Master Ekhan, of course." Torius dug into his dinner with gusto.

"We don't want to get boarded by the Corentyns," Twilp warned, "not carrying the kind of cash you are. They always take a healthy tithe for the transport of general goods, and that's fine and dandy, but some of the captains are less scrupulous than others, especially when it comes to personal property. A chest full of platinum sphinxes like the one you're carrying ...well, that might just go missing entirely."

"I see. So what's the risk?" Ekhan sipped his wine again, and Snick hovered at the merchant's elbow to make sure his glass remained full.

"Ah, well, the place we plan to cross is avoided by the armada due its denizens."

"Denizens? What are you talking about? Sea monsters?"

"Nothing so dire, Master Ekhan. Just a colony of gigantic bats."

Pok-Nal leaned down to whisper something into his master's ear.

"Just how dangerous are these creatures, Captain?" Ekhan asked, waving Pok-Nal back.

"They're only dangerous in large numbers, which is rare. But they're dangerous enough that the armada ships avoid this area at night, when the creatures are most active. They're a mixed blessing, actually." He raised his glass to Ekhan in a toast, and the merchant tipped his own in salute.

Torius heard the sound of running feet pounding overhead, then the slam of the sterncastle door. Right on time, he thought, as Thillion leaned through the galley door.

"We need you on deck, Captain. We're coming up on the arch."

"Very well. I regret having to excuse myself, but duty calls." Torius pushed himself up from his seat. "Master Ekhan, Master Farfan, I must ask you to remain belowdecks for your own safety while we transit the arch. Please stay here and finish your dinners. I shouldn't be long. Flick, open another bottle of wine for Master Ekhan, then go to my cabin and lock the door. Souso," he waved his hand at Soursop, "go through the main hold and hand crossbows up to the deck crew. Quillion, come with me."

Torius strode for the deck, Thillion at his heels. Once outside with the sterncastle door closed behind them, Grogul approached and handed Thillion and Torius balls of soft beeswax.

"You can hear the damned things already, sir. Best stop up your ears before they figure out we're here."

"Are you sure they'll attack, Captain?" Thillion took his bow from the bosun and strung it.

"No doubt. They always attack ships at night." Torius stuffed the wax in his ears as he mounted the quarterdeck. The biggest threat from the screechbats was their deafening cries. Without the precautionary ear protection, a man could easily be knocked senseless.

"How far to the arch?" he asked Grogul.

"About two miles," Grogul said, his voice muffled but still audible. "There was one warship about four miles off, but we're runnin' dark and he's already made his turn back north. He didn't see us."

"Good," Torius said. "Make sure everyone's ready. I don't want to lose anyone by carelessness. Have them hunker down and make a lot of noise. I know we can fend them off with crossbows, but I want it to sound like there's a battle going on up here. The louder, the better."

"Got it, sir," the half-orc said, going forward.

Torius turned to his first mate. "You okay with this, Thillion? If we can't get that collar off, we can't let Pok-Nal get back to Ekhan. The whole plan depends on this."

"I'm not happy about it, sir, but I'm not going to balk, if that's what you mean." He tested the string of his bow and picked an arrow.

"Good. Get in position." Torius raised his spyglass and sighted the dark bulk of the arch. "Twenty degrees to starboard, Windy, and hold that course."

Kate said, "Aye, sir," overly loud to compensate for the plugs in her ears.

Torius walked aft to the open skylight and hissed down into it. "Snick?"

"Reach down, sir."

He did, and the gnome's hand grasped his. He hauled her up and nodded in approval of her bandolier bristling with lockpicks and tools. He clapped her on the shoulder, handed her two balls of beeswax, and sent her to her hiding place. Kneeling next to the skylight, he took out one of his earplugs. The screeches were loud, but tolerable. "You ready, Celeste?"

"Ready, my captain," she said from the darkness. His cutlass floated up to him.

"Good." He grabbed the weapon and clipped it to his belt, then bent low over the skylight. His stomach suddenly knotted up, but it wasn't fear of the screechbats. It wasn't fear for himself at all. He could just make out Celeste's light features in the dark cabin. "Please be careful with Ekhan. And Celeste, remember that I—"

"Captain! Here they come!"

Thillion's warning reached him just as a high-pitched screech tore at his ears. He lurched up from the skylight, slammed it shut, and shoved his earplug back into place. High overhead, huge shadows detached themselves from the looming stone arch, and leathery wings beat the air as the ravenous bats swooped down on their prey.

∗ ∗ ∗

Celeste cringed at the shouts, screams, and pounding from the deck overhead, highlighted by the bats' painful shrieks. It's all staged, she reminded herself. They're not really fighting for their lives. She stood close to the cabin door, waiting for her cue. Finally she heard the slam of the sterncastle door and Torius's voice.

"I must apologize, but we are in dire straits! There're more bats than I've ever seen! I need everyone who can wield a sword on deck! Farfan, see Quillion for a weapon. Master Ekhan, for your own safety, sir, would you please lend me Pok-Nal? I wouldn't ask, but it's a matter of life and death! We can't man the sails! You're safe down here, but if we don't fight them off, we'll drift onto the rocks!"

Celeste couldn't hear Ekhan's reply, but when Torius started babbling, "Thank you, thank you!" she assumed the merchant had given his permission. She heard the sounds of running and the slam of the sterncastle door.

Celeste breathed deeply and counted slowly to twenty before transforming herself. With a quick glance in the mirror and an adjustment of her dress, she snatched open the cabin door and dashed to the galley.

You're frail, bewildered and vulnerable, and you find this new man fascinating, she reminded herself. And you're terrified! Don't forget terrified. The last bit required very little acting as she stumbled through the door and locked eyes with Benrahi Ekhan.

"Oh!" She looked wildly around the galley before turning her gaze back to Ekhan. "Forgive me, Great Master," she stammered, curtsying. "I thought I heard my captain. I was frightened, and I ...I ..." She bit her lip until tears pooled in her eyes.

"You're the captain's slave, Celeste, am I right?" Ekhan sat with one hand clenching the edge of the table—whether steadying himself against the roll of the ship or the effects of the wine, Celeste couldn't tell. His eyes seemed clear, however, and they remained fixed upon her. "Shouldn't you be in your cabin? What happened to the gnome Akhiri sent to you?"

"Yes, Great Master, I am Celeste." She bowed her head and wrung her hands. She dare not cast the charm spell with his attention directly on her. "I apologize for my intrusion, but Flick fainted. I became frightened, and the noise ..." She glanced at the deck over their heads. "It sounds as if the world is ending!"

"You needn't worry." His tone was calm and confident. "There is a fight going on above, but we're safe here. My man, Pok-Nal, is assisting the captain and crew, and he is a superb swordsman." He waved her away. "You should go back to your cabin, or risk your master's displeasure."

"But ..." Celeste's heart sank. She couldn't leave, but Ekhan was still staring right at her and she dared not cast her charm spell. She clutched her ears and quailed. "But ...that sound!" She took a hesitant step forward as the ship rolled, feigned a stumble into the near bench, and fell to her knees. With the table blocking her from his view, she murmured her charm spell.

Ekhan lurched around the table and reached down to help her up. "Are you all right?" The abrupt change in his manner and a gentle pressure in her head told her that the spell had taken hold. It hadn't happened exactly as she'd planned, but she had achieved the desired result.

"I ..." She clutched him as he lifted her, leaning into him with the next roll of the ship. He was tall enough that her brow barely reached his chin. She tilted her head and breathed against his smooth neck. He smelled pleasantly of spices and fragrance, his breath scented with wine. Her fingers quested over the contours of his chest; the silk of his shirt was smooth and cool, but she felt a heavy pendant beneath the material. She tilted her head back until their lips were only a finger-width apart. "Forgive me, Great Master. I'm so clumsy sometimes."

"It's my pleasure," he said with a reassuring smile.

His hold remained firm. Celeste found his grasp slightly disconcerting, as if she were trapped, but it was not wholly unpleasant. His strong hands gripped her shoulders just as Torius's had.

This is not the time to think of the man you love, she told herself, forcing the memory away.

"Are you all right?"

"Please," she whispered as she pulled back, "do not tell Captain Akhiri that I left his cabin. He will punish me." She cast her eyes down and trembled in his grasp.

"Don't worry, I won't tell. It's not often that I have the opportunity to hold a woman as beautiful as you in my arms."

"Great Master, you flatter me!" Celeste clutched her hands to her breast and bowed her head. The charm spell, it seemed, was working all too well. "I'm but a slave, and not worthy of such praise."

"What? Not worthy?" Ekhan touched her chin with a finger, pulling her face up to meet his gaze once again. "Slave or no, you are a beautiful woman, Celeste. No collar can change that."

Celeste hadn't expected that from him, even with the charm. He was treating her like a person, not a slave. She felt a strange warmth at his words. It's the spell, she told herself, trying to tear her eyes away from his, to feign the embarrassment she had practiced, to play the frightened slave. But something wouldn't let her.

"Great Master, I—"

A bellow of rage rattled the very timbers over their heads, and Celeste knew instantly that it was Grogul. A roar like that did not bode well.

"Stars be kind," she whispered.

"What did you say?"

Celeste felt a flutter of panic—she hadn't realized she'd spoken aloud. "Just a plea to the stars, Great Master, that the battle goes well. It is common saying among my people."

"Your people worship the stars?"

"Worship?" She looked up into his eyes and her mind raced; she could think of nothing to tell him but the truth. "No, Great Master. We read the stars for their prophecy. The stars never lie."

"You read the future in the stars?" he asked, his eyes fixed on hers. She knew he was still enchanted, but if she answered wrongly it could all come apart in her hands.

"Not as such. We read the stars and attempt to interpret their message." She cast a furtive glance at the door. "The battle's ended. I should go. If I don't, my master will be angry with me."

"Oh! Of course." He released her and backed away, a flicker of embarrassment in his eyes. "You should go."

She turned away, then paused at the door and glanced back. "Please do not tell Captain Akhiri that we spoke."

"I won't," he assured her. Charmed or not, she believed him.

"Thank you, Great Master." She gave him a furtive smile, curtsied, and fled.

∗ ∗ ∗

"Defend the ship!" Torius shouted, urging Pok-Nal forward as they exited the sterncastle.

He squinted into the darkness, and ducked as a screechbat swooped down. Too close. The crew hunkered low where the bats had trouble reaching them, but Torius was standing in the open, vulnerable to being plucked up by the beasts' great talons. He skidded over to the foremast and stood with his back to it, but when he looked around for Pok-Nal, the man was nowhere in sight.

What the hell?

A shriek different from the bats' usual cries sounded overhead, and one of the creatures crashed to the deck in front of him. He stared in shock as the thing flopped around feebly and died, its chest flayed open. Startled, Torius looked up.

Pok-Nal hovered well above the deck, his eyes glittering as brightly as the stars overhead and his scimitar dripping blood. Another bat flew at him, but he swooped and slashed through one of its leathery wings. It, too, fell to the deck, flapping madly. While most of the sailors just stared, Grogul rushed out to dispatch the maimed creature before it could injure anyone.

But Pok-Nal wasn't finished. He dove and swooped around the soaring screechbats, his robes swirling behind him as he attacked the creatures.

"Look out!" a crewman bellowed. Torius ducked reflexively, but realized that the warning had not been for him.

Another screechbat dove, but instead of attacking Pok-Nal with claws or teeth, it stalled in the air just out of reach. Opening its toothy maw, the bat let loose a screech that shattered glass in a half-dozen lanterns and ports. Even with his earplugs, Torius felt the force of the assault. Pok-Nal, without the protection, caught the full brunt of the cry and tumbled to the deck.

"Grogul, cover us! Snick!" Torius lunged to the stunned bodyguard's side and pinned him down. "Stay still, Pok-Nal! We just want to remove your slave collar."

Pok-Nal bucked and smashed his head back into Torius's face. The blow caught the pirate squarely on the cheekbone, sending him reeling, stars bursting before his eyes as he fell back on the deck. By the time his vision cleared, Pok-Nal had whirled to his feet, his scimitar poised to strike. Torius rolled, barely managing to raise his cutlass to deflect the blow.

"Wait! You don't understand!" Torius deflected another strike. "Your collar! We want to help you!"

"How dare you!" Pok-Nal hissed, his eyes glittering fiercely. "I wear no collar! You think me—a lord of the jann—to be a slave?"

Gozreh's guts! He doesn't even know he's got it on! He scrabbled into a defensive crouch and deflected two more lightning slashes from the bodyguard's scimitar. Pok-Nal was good; it was all Torius could do to keep the curved blade from gutting him.

Then Grogul lunged from behind, his thick arms pinning the genie's arms to his sides at the elbows. Pok-Nal strained against the grip, but Grogul held him fast.

"Snick! The lock!" Torius lunged forward with his cutlass to knock the scimitar out of Pok-Nal's hand, but a screechbat swooped at him, and he was forced to defend himself. An arrow shot out of the darkness, piercing the bat's leg, and it flew off. He turned back to the bodyguard ...too late.

Pok-Nal had shifted his grip on the scimitar and, before Torius could shout a warning, stabbed backward, plunging the blade into Grogul's abdomen.

The half-orc's bellow rattled Torius's teeth.

Grogul fell to his knees, blood cascading down his leg, but didn't let go. Torius's reflex urged him to plant eight inches of steel in the janni's chest, but instead he slashed Pok-Nal's sword hand, forcing him to release his grip on the scimitar.

Pok-Nal disappeared.

"Where did he—"

"I've still got him!" Grogul yelled, his voice harsh with pain. "Hurry, gods damn it!"

Torius reached out, felt Pok-Nal still struggling in Grogul's grasp, and the janni winked back into sight, the spell broken. Blood pooled on the deck, pouring down the bosun's leg in sheets. The half-orc wouldn't be able to hold on much longer.

"Captain!" Snick arrived with her lockpicks in hand. "Hold him steady!"

"Release me, you—" Pok-Nal snarled, but Torius silenced him with a headlock.

"Now, Snick! Hurry!" The gnome put her tools to the task, and in moments the lock clicked open. Torius flung the collar to the deck.

Pok-Nal went suddenly still.

"Let go, Grogul," Torius ordered. The half-orc's arms went slack and he toppled to the bloody deck, the scimitar still transfixing his abdomen, bright blood pulsing from around the blade.

Pok-Nal stood and stepped away. He stared at them, at the collar on the deck, one hand on his throat, his glittering eyes wide.

But Torius's attention was on his bosun. He knelt in the blood and pressed his hands on the wound to staunch the flow. Grogul had been with him for years, by his side through thick and thin. He couldn't die. Torius stomach twisted as he felt his friend's blood pulse between his fingers.

"Got ...stuck good ...this time," Grogul said between clenched teeth. "Gonna ...leave a ...mark, for sure."

"Snick, a potion!" While the gnome fumbled for a bottle, Torius gripped the scimitar's hilt. "I've got to pull it out, Grogul."

"Figured that." The half-orc nodded. "Do it!"

Torius slipped the blade free of his friend's body. Grogul clutched the wound, but even more blood gushed from between his fingers. Snick pressed the bottle to his lips, and Grogul drank greedily. When the bottle ran empty, he spread his hands and looked down at the wide scar on his abdomen.

"Told ya it'd leave a mark." He looked up at Snick and growled, "Could you have picked that damned lock a little slower?"

"Oh, that's gratitude for you! I save your green hide, and all I get is criticism!" She poked him in the chest and made a raspberry.

Torius turned to Pok-Nal. The rest of the crew surrounded the janni, crossbows trained on him. "You feel a little different now?" he asked.

"I ..." Pok-Nal stared at him. "Why did you do this thing? Why risk your life to free a slave who didn't even know he was a slave?"

"Nothing personal, Pok-Nal, but we didn't do it for you. We're after Ekhan, and we needed you out of the way." He held the bloody scimitar toward the janni hilt-first.

"Ekhan ..." the former bodyguard growled, his hand closing around the weapon's hilt. "I will take his head!"

"I'd really rather you didn't." Torius held up his hands to forestall the janni. "We've got better plans for him. Besides, it would have been a lot easier to kill you, but we didn't, so you owe us one." He pointed to Grogul, still lying in a pool of blood. "You owe him one."

Pok-Nal wiped the scimitar's blade on his cloak and sheathed it, his glittering eyes glaring at Torius. "As you wish, Captain Akhiri. I'll refrain from taking my revenge on Benrahi Ekhan, but my debt to you is settled." He bowed shortly, touching his forehead with his fingers.

"Actually, the name's Torius Vin." Torius grinned, enjoying the janni's startled look that evolved into a knowing smile. "Now we've got to figure out what to do with you before—"

"There's no need, Captain Vin." Pok-Nal stepped back and bowed again, then bowed to Grogul as well. "Farewell."

The janni vanished with a faint pop.

Snick scurried to where he had stood and waved her arms around. "He's really gone this time."

"Holy ..." Torius closed his gaping mouth and bent down to pick up the magical slave collar. "Well, that solves the problem of hiding him, I suppose, but now we've got to tell Ekhan that his bodyguard is dead." He heaved the collar into the sea. It felt good to be rid of the vile thing.

"When he sees your face and Grogul's blood on the deck, he won't be hard to convince, Captain." Thillion slipped his bow back into its scabbard and helped the bosun to his feet.

"I think we can make up a convincing story," Twilp agreed, emerging from his hiding place and dusting his hands off as if he'd personally vanquished the mob of screechbats.

"Right." Torius handed his cutlass to Snick and pointed up to the quarterdeck. "Back to my cabin, Snick. Get cleaned up and check to see if Celeste's back. I don't want to barge in if she's in the middle of ...charming Ekhan. Give us a whistle when it's all clear."

"Aye, Captain!" The gnome dashed off, and Torius turned to the others.

"Grogul, take another potion to be sure you're all healed up. We've got plenty and we don't need you busting open like a bag of sausages." He clapped his bosun on the shoulder and grinned. "The rest of you, let's all look like we just had the fight of our lives." He reached down and wetted his hand in the puddle of blood and smeared it on Twilp's shirt, smiling at the disgusted look the halfling gave him.

paizo.com #2495541, Ronald Hartman <rh82759@netzero.net>, Sep 24, 2013

Chapter Eighteen

Collateral Damage

Torius staggered through the door into the galley, leaning heavily on Twilp and leaving a bloody handprint on the lintel as the halfling helped him onto a bench. Ekhan stared at them—at the blood—in shock.

"Get Flick," Torius ordered the halfling. "Potions for the wounded."

Twilp darted out of the galley, and in a moment could be heard banging on the door to the captain's cabin, yelling "Flick! Flick! We need healing potions now!"

"By all the planes of existence, what happened, man?" Ekhan's eyes were as wide as hen's eggs, his face pale.

Before Torius could answer, Snick ran in with a couple of small bottles. Torius waved her on. "Take them out on deck; the others need them more than I do. Take Master Farfan to help." The two dashed off.

"Pok-Nal!" Ekhan had finally noticed the absence of his bodyguard, and he didn't sound happy. "Where is Pok-Nal?"

"I'm sorry, Master Ekhan." Torius shook his head. "He's gone."

"What do you mean, gone? Tell me at once what happened to my bodyguard!"

"The bats ...they tore him apart," the pirate lied, fighting to keep a grin from his face as Ekhan's jaw dropped.

Ekhan rose, his face flushed and his hands clenched in anger. "This is unacceptable, Captain! You should have told me of the risk in taking this route! We should have taken our chances with the armada!"

"And you should have told me Pok-Nal could fly!" Torius retorted. "If I'd known, I would have warned him not to. All we had to do was fight them off until we were away from the arch. Pok-Nal took to the air and was immediately mobbed. He didn't stand a chance."

Ekhan glared at Torius, his mouth set in a hard line. "Do you know how much that slave cost me, Captain Akhiri? I'll never be able to get another like him!"

Rage washed over Torius at the merchant's callous disregard. Ekhan didn't care if Pok-Nal was dead. He only cared that he lost his investment. But despite the fact that Torius wanted to throw the man overboard, he had to keep the peace for their plan to work. He quelled his anger and adopted an abashed mien.

"You have my sincerest apologies, Master Ekhan," he said as he bowed his head. "I admit that I misjudged the situation, but there was nothing I could do to save Pok-Nal. For the rest of the voyage, I'll assign my most capable man to your service."

After a long silence, Ekhan said, "You will also compensate me for my loss, Captain. I expect your man to be outside my door within the hour."

"In the morning will have to suffice, I'm afraid. He was badly injured trying to save your bodyguard's life."

"Very well." Ekhan snatched the wine bottle from the table. "I'll be in my cabin."

"Very well." Torius rose stiffly and went aft, his hands shaking as he worked the key in his cabin door.

"Mission accomplished," he said to Celeste when the door was safely closed. He kept his voice low, though his nerves were still buzzing with post-battle energy and the confrontation with Ekhan. "One freed slave and one very angry merchant prince!"

"You're injured!" Celeste slithered forward. "Snick told me about Pok-Nal, but failed to mention that!"

"It's just a cut." He examined the injury in the mirror. It was deep, but the bleeding had stopped, and it would stitch up readily enough. It might even give him a rakish scar. He wet a cloth in the basin and laved the blood from his face and hands, hissing as the water dripped into the cut. "I'll be fine. Grogul got the worst of it. Most of this blood is his."

"Is he all right?"

"He'll be fine, but it was close." Seeing her reflection behind him in the mirror, he noticed that she still wore her makeup and dress, though the garment draped loosely over her serpentine body. "Why are you still wearing all that? Planning to slip off later tonight to see your new beau?" He'd intended it as a joke, but he saw her stiffen. "Sorry, I didn't mean—"

"I thought you might like to see what I looked like before I removed everything." Celeste cast her spell and the dress filled and snugged over her suddenly human curves. Tugging the gown into place, she turned to give him a full view.

"I love the dress." The black material highlighted her pale skin, and the sequins reminded him of her shimmering scales. He reached out to brush aside one of the tendrils of hair that framed her face, but saw the dried blood beneath his nails and pulled back. He would wait until he was clean before touching her. He turned back to wash his hands more thoroughly and pull his bloody shirt over his head. "How did it go with Ekhan?"

"Well enough ...I suppose," she said. Her hesitance sent a chill up his spine, as if the water he was splashing over his head were ice cold.

"What went wrong?" He grabbed a towel and scrubbed his hair dry.

"Nothing went wrong," she said in an exasperated tone. "When I heard Grogul bellow, I said ‘stars be kind,' and Ekhan picked up on it. I didn't mean to tell him that I read the stars, but I couldn't think of a convincing lie. Actually, I think it made me more interesting to him. He asked me if—" Celeste hissed. "What happened to your arm?"

"What?" Cursing silently, Torius dropped the towel and looked at the bruises on his forearm as if seeing them for the first time. "Oh, well ...Pok-Nal's collar must have bruised me."

"Those don't look—"

A knock at the door interrupted her.

"Yes? Who is it?" he called.

"Benrahi Ekhan, Captain. I have something to ask you."

"Shit!" he muttered, horrified at the thought of Ekhan standing outside the door, listening to their discussion. The last thing he wanted right now was a confrontation, but how to get rid of him quickly? Need a distraction! he thought in panic. He cast his eyes about the cabin, and Celeste in her courtesan's garb gave him an idea.

"A moment please, Master Ekhan." He rushed to Celeste. "Quick!" Grabbing the straps of her gown, he jerked them off her shoulders and down to her waist, wincing as he heard a seam tear. At her shocked gasp, he waved her to silence. He grabbed the golden slave collar from the table and thrust it into her hands. "Play like he's interrupted us!" He pushed her onto the cushions and, loosening his belt, strode to the door and opened it.

"Master Ekhan! Please forgive my appearance. I was just ...well ...I find that danger strengthens the libido. Don't you?" Torius followed the merchant prince's gaze as it flicked around the cabin and settled on Celeste. She lay on the cushions in silence, her torn dress clutched to her breasts, her head turned away as if in shame.

She's become quite the actress, Torius thought.

"No, I do not, Captain!" Ekhan snapped, his voice cold. "I came to ask what happened to the collar that Pok-Nal wore. It's enchanted, and of great value."

Torius sighed silently in relief and replied, "I'm sorry, Master Ekhan, but the bats dragged your bodyguard out over the water before tearing him limb from limb. I am afraid that what the beasts did not take fell into the sea."

"I see." Ekhan's eyes slid past Torius to Celeste once again before flashing back. "That is unfortunate. I had hoped to use it to ensure the loyalty of my new bodyguard. Your ineptitude has cost me a lot, Captain!" He whirled away and Torius closed and carefully locked the door.

"Well!" Torius strode over and sat on the edge of the pillows, keeping his voice low. "That went well."

Celeste's form shifted before his eyes, and her powerful tail swept him off the pillows onto the floor. He stared at her in shock as she slithered away, flaring and hissing.

"Toriusss, I may be playing the part of your pleasure ssslave, but I do not appreciate being treated like one!" The dress soared over her head, landing on the settee in a crumpled heap. She coiled before the mirror, and a towel rose to scrub away her makeup as her hair sticks flew like arrows into her drawer.

"Celeste! That's not fair," he whispered, worried that Ekhan might overhear her tirade. He picked himself up off of the floor and tried to explain. "I had to think fast, and it just seemed like the thing to do."

"Really? And how does it aid our plan to show Benrahi Ekhan that you use me to assuage your battle lust?" She slithered past him to curl up on her pillows, her eyes flashing dark and dangerous. "It would have sufficed to have him see me fully clothed! You didn't have to rip my dress off!"

"We needed a distraction, and I didn't rip your dress off, Celeste!" he argued.

"No? Well, tell that to Snick when she has to mend it!" Celeste turned her back to him.

"I'm sorry if I offended you," he said heavily, leaning against the chart table and rubbing his eyes. He bumped the cut on his cheek and sucked air through his teeth to stifle a curse. The livid bruises on his left forearm shone in the lamplight. At least it distracted her from that. Guilt stabbed him at the thought, but he ignored it and grabbed a clean shirt from his locker. "I've got to check on Grogul and see Snick about stitching up this cut. I'm still keyed up from the fight, so I'll just stay up for my usual watch."

She didn't respond, so he pulled on his shirt and headed out. "Lock the door," he reminded her.

The lock clicked immediately after he closed the door. He tried to turn his mind to the tasks at hand and set out to find Snick, but his thoughts kept returning to the hurt look in Celeste's eyes after the stupid incident with the dress. He sighed in exasperation. The more time she spent in human form, the less she seemed like herself.

∗ ∗ ∗

Celeste's stomach tightened as she opened the cabin door a crack and peered down the passage. No one was around: Torius was still on watch, and it was too early for Soursop to be up and about in the galley. She took a breath to steel her nerves, slipped out of the cabin, and edged down the corridor, treading lightly on bare feet.

Why are you doing this, Celeste? She asked herself again and again, but still had no good answer. She had lain coiled under the skylight for hours, unable to find solace in the stars or get over the humiliation she had felt when Ekhan gazed upon her in her shameful disarray. She knew it shouldn't bother her—she was merely playing a role—but for some reason it did. It had also ruined the image she was trying to impress upon him. She wanted Ekhan to see her as attractive and appealing, interesting, worthy of note, worthy of his trust—not a cheap sex toy to be used and discarded.

Torius would be furious if he learned of this unplanned visit to Ekhan, but she didn't care. It was his own fault for his unthinking actions, and she hadn't the time to wait until he was back to discuss it with him. This was something she had to do now. It simply felt right.

The brushed wool of her voluminous weather cloak felt itchy against her skin, the low hem swishing on the floorboards as she clutched it close, wrapping her whole body securely in its rumpled depths. The only other thing she wore was the golden collar: no fancy dress flashing glimpses of skin, no sultry makeup, no hair sticks or elaborate coif. She didn't want Ekhan to look on her as a courtesan, but as a woman.

She rapped lightly on his cabin door and whispered, "Master Ekhan!" There was no answer, so she rapped again, slightly louder, praying that Thillion wouldn't wake in his cabin across the corridor. "Master Ekhan! Please! Wake up!"

"Who's there?" His voice was sleepy and thick.

"Celeste!" she whispered through the door.

She heard the latch click, and the door eased open a crack. Benrahi Ekhan peered through at her and blinked. His face was stern, his mouth a hard line.

"What are you doing out of your master's cabin?"

Celeste curtsied deeply and lowered her gaze to the floor. Thus concealed, she mumbled the spell of charming. After a brief resistance, she felt Ekhan's mind accept her enchantment, then she pulled the hood of her cloak back, her hair spilling out in a white wave, and gazed up at him. His expression had softened from suspicion to simple surprise.

"Captain Akhiri is on watch, Great Master. I wanted to speak with you." She bit her lip and cast a terrified glance down the corridor, then looked back to him. "Please, may I please come in? Just for a moment?"

"Of course," he said, stepping aside and waving her in. He wore a colorful robe over a red silk nightshirt and held a sheathed dagger in one hand.

"Thank you, Great Master." She eased into his cabin and stood with her back to the wall beside the door, her eyes fixed on the dagger. "I had to come before Captain Akhiri assigns one of his men to guard you. I wanted you to see me as I truly am, not painted like a doxy. And not when my master has just ...I wouldn't have you think of me that way."

"I don't think badly of you, Celeste." He put the dagger on the shelf beside his bunk. "A slave has no choice in what she wears or does at her master's bidding."

"You honor me, Great Master." She curtsied carefully

"But Celeste, why do you care what I think about you?" Ekhan sat on the edge of his bunk, his eyes fixed on hers.

She bit her lip and cast her eyes down again. "You're ...different, Great Master," she whispered. "You're kind and thoughtful. I could see that the moment I first saw you." She looked again into his eyes. They were dark and intense and seemed to look right into her soul. A strange warmth spread through her.

"I'm just a man, Celeste," he demurred.

"No, Great Master," she said, kneeling before him and reaching out one trembling hand to touch his knee. "You're ...more than most men. You're more than ...him!"

A thump from overhead startled her, and she lurched clumsily to her feet. "I should go!"

"Yes." He rose from the bunk with a curious look on his face. "I think that would be best." He opened the door and cast a quick glance up and down the corridor. "No one is about. Quickly!"

"Thank you, Great Master." She pulled the hood of her cloak up over her hair, then stopped. Looking up into his eyes once again, she bit her lip and said, "If you send your bodyguard away late at night, when Captain Akhiri is on watch, I could sneak out again, if only for a few moments. If you wish to see me, that is."

"That would please me, Celeste." His mouth curved into a faint smile.

"You honor me, Great Master," she whispered. As she slipped past him, she leaned close, their faces barely an inch apart, poised in the promise of a kiss. She stopped as if frozen, caught between desire and propriety.

He looked a little startled, but did not pull away.

"Forgive me, Great Master," she breathed as she pulled back and lowered her face.

"Nonsense." He touched her chin with his fingertips and pulled her face back up to look at him. "There is nothing to forgive."

With a tentative smile, she turned away and hurried down the corridor to her own cabin. At her door, she glanced back. Benrahi Ekhan stood in his own doorway, watching her. Celeste flashed him a parting smile and fled into her cabin.

She flipped the lock and leaned against the bulkhead, her knees trembling. Those dark eyes on her, that penetrating gaze, was frightening, but also ...thrilling. She clutched her stomach, trying to banish the tingling warmth that had settled there.

"He's charmed," she reminded herself as she flung off her cloak and floated it to the back of the settee. "Of course he finds me attractive—that's the objective of the plan."

The plan doesn't call for you to find him attractive, too, her conscience whispered. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and stopped, opening the cloak and looking at her human form. Wondering ...

Celeste felt the familiar tingling itch and watched her transformation fade. Her arms receded, and her breasts flattened into the tough plates that protected her upper body. Her legs fused, lengthened and darkened into the ebony scales that glittered in the low lamplight. She sighed as she eased into the comforting familiarity of her own shape; it felt good to be a naga once again. She extinguished the lamp and slithered to her favorite spot under the skylight to stare up at the stars, wondering how Benrahi Ekhan would react if he ever saw her for what she really was.

∗ ∗ ∗

"Good evening, Master Ekhan ...Master Farfan." Torius flashed an obsequious smile as he took his seat across from the merchant. "I trust you find your new bodyguard acceptable." He gestured to Grogul, who loomed behind the merchant prince.

"He is ...adequate," Ekhan answered, his tone dismissive.

Arrogant bastard, Torius thought, motioning for Snick to pour wine for them. The merchant's temper seemed to have cooled since the previous night, but he remained sullen. Well, we'll see if we can't cheer the son of a bitch up a little.

"Drogul may not be able to fly, but I assure you, he's an accomplished fighter and utterly loyal." He sipped his wine, satisfied that he still couldn't taste the venom mixture. "He once saved me from a whole school of reefclaws, despite the great risk to his own safety."

"Is that so?" Ekhan quaffed a third of his cup of wine and glanced dubiously over his shoulder at the half-orc. "He seems rather ...dull-witted."

Torius cringed, but to Grogul's credit he didn't hack the merchant's head off for the insult. "He's not given to witty repartee, but I didn't think you wanted someone to entertain you." Torius waved for Snick to serve their dinners. "He's the strong, silent type, but he has a keen eye and a quick blade."

"Well, he certainly is more intimidating than Pok-Nal," Twilp put in. Ekhan didn't even respond to the halfling's comment.

Snick placed plates before them, each with two roasted squabs surrounded a colorful mix of mango and pepper slices. The tiny birds were stuffed with rice and roasted garlic cloves, and garnished with sprigs of rosemary. Soursop had made remarkable progress with his high cuisine.

"This looks delightful, Souso." Torius sliced a tiny leg from one of his squabs and peeled the crispy skin and tender meat from the bone with his teeth. It was delicious.

Ekhan peered at his dinner with a dubious expression and prodded one of his squabs with a fork, then shook his head. "Are you sure these are done properly? I thought—" He stopped and poked the squab again.

Torius watched him closely. Sullen or no, this was odd behavior for the merchant. Snick had mentioned that the man had already gone through one bottle of wine today—was the drug having an effect? "Is there a problem, Master Ekhan?"

"No." Ekhan shook his head again and took a gulp of wine. He sliced off a bite of breast meat and ate it, nodded, and chased it down with more wine. "No, it's fine. Delicious, actually. My compliments to your chef."

Torius nodded with a satisfied smile. "Yes, I was very lucky to find him. He was trained in Absalom by a culinary master."

"Mmmm." Ekhan said around another bite, slicing meat from bone with deft strokes of his knife. "Is he for sale?"

"I'm sorry, Master Ekhan, but Souso is not a slave." He sipped his wine and shrugged.

"Pity." The merchant regarded him with narrowed eyes. "Speaking of slaves, I am quite serious about compensation for the loss of Pok-Nal, Captain. I expect to be paid for the result of your carelessness."

"If it was entirely my fault, I would agree, but I can't be held responsible for Pok-Nal's actions or my ignorance of his intention to fly up into a swarm of ravenous monsters. I'll compensate you half of his value."

"But the need for his assistance in the first place, you cannot deny, was due to your error. I must be reimbursed his full value, plus the cost of the collar." Ekhan spooned a tiny bit of the rice stuffing from inside one of his birds and stared at it, his mouth twisted. He blinked rapidly, looked at it again and ate it warily.

"I can't deny that," Torius said, seemingly considering the merchant's argument. In the end he could promise anything Ekhan wanted—their plan would conclude before any compensation would have to be paid—but to capitulate too readily might cause suspicion. "I'll compensate you for the cost of your slave, Master Ekhan, but not for the magical collar. Would that suffice?"

Ekhan pursed his lips in thought, the muscles around his left eye twitching. "Very well, Captain. I will deduct the appropriate amount from your percentage of our profits."

Torius nodded in acquiescence. "Agreed. Flick, more wine for our guest!" He raised his glass in toast and sipped sparingly as Ekhan drank deeply of the venom-laced wine.

paizo.com #2495541, Ronald Hartman <rh82759@netzero.net>, Sep 24, 2013

Chapter Nineteen

Strange Women and Tainted Wine

Drogul, take this laundry out on deck and wash it in fresh water. Take your time and be very careful! Each one of those shirts costs more than that glorified meat cleaver you carry around."

"Right away, Master Ekhan."

Celeste cracked open the cabin door and peered out. Ekhan's voice had been loud enough to carry down the corridor. As she watched Grogul exit onto the deck, the merchant peered out. He caught her eye and nodded.

She cast her charm spell on him immediately, stepped out and hurried down the passage, trying to look terrified but determined. He smiled and waved her through the door. It closed with a quiet click and he locked it.

"You honor me, Great Master." She curtsied deeply. "Truly, the stars shine on me." This was the second time he'd sent Grogul away so that she could sneak out of her cabin to see him. She was becoming more comfortable in Ekhan's presence, and the role she played had become more natural.

"Again with the stars," he said with a wry smile, waving her to the room's single chair. "Sit, please."

"I'll sit if you desire it, Great Master, but I don't wish to be disrespectful." The chair sat to one side of the fold-down table, opposite the bunk. A half-full bottle of wine sat in the rack behind the table. She slipped into the chair and crossed her legs, giving him a clear view of her thigh as she adjusted her dress.

"It's not disrespectful to sit when I ask you to, Celeste." Ekhan sat on the bed and rested one arm on the table. "I wish to know more about this belief of yours, that you can read the future in the stars. In Rahadoum we've done away with such beliefs. Man is responsible for his own destiny, not some capricious deity."

"We don't believe that the stars are gods, Great Master," she explained, "nor do we believe that they control our future." She watched as Ekhan picked up his wineglass and sipped the tainted wine. The crimson liquid rippled in concentric circles; his hand had a tremor that she hadn't noticed before. A twinge of guilt stabbed her—it was her venom affecting him so. "We seek guidance from the movements of the stars, their interactions. We call it the Dance of the Heavens. The message isn't always clear, but it serves to focus our attention on our own actions, as well as those of others, and how they affect events as they unfold."

"Is it like a wizard's spell, then?" He finished his wine and poured more, staring at the label on the bottle for a moment before putting it back in the rack.

"No, it's not magic, but more like ..." She paused as if considering her answer, maintaining a thoughtful demeanor. Using her magic, she deftly lifted the bottle and moved it to the next hole in the rack.

Ekhan started, staring at the bottle.

"Are you all right, Great Master?" She tried to fill her voice with concern. It wasn't as hard as it should have been.

"I ..." He blinked hard. "Did you see ..."

"Did I see what, Great Master?"

"Nothing." He looked at the wine in his glass and sipped again. "So, your reading of the stars is not magic and not a religion. What is it?"

"It's more of a science." As she spoke, she rotated the wine bottle in the rack, turning it first one way then the other, as if the label were a face, watching first him, then her, then him again. "As a ranger may decipher what is happening in the forest by how the animals act, we can often see, generally speaking, what will happen by the movement of the planets and their moons among the constellations."

"A science?" He studiously ignored the turning bottle, but the muscles of his jaw writhed under the skin. "I don't see how it could be a science. Science cannot predict the future."

"An observation, then." She continued to turn the bottle. His hand trembled worse now as he lifted his glass to drink, and she reached out—tentative, shy—to touch him. "Does my presence upset you, Great Master? You seem ...tense."

"It's not you, Celeste." Ekhan sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Travel doesn't agree with me, and I haven't been sleeping well. Fatigue and stress, nothing more."

A faint itch presaged the end of her transformation spell. "I should go." Feigning distress, she stood and turned away, recasting the enchantment under her breath. "You need rest."

"Please," he said, and she turned back. "Stay a bit longer, Celeste. Your presence soothes me. I feel ...different when you're here. Calmer, somehow. And I enjoy our conversations."

"As you wish, Great Master." She curtsied again and nudged one of her hair sticks out with her magic. It clattered to the floor and half of her coif fell free. "Oh, I'm always dropping these silly things." She bent to pick it up as Vreva had taught her—giving Ekhan a glimpse down her gaping dress—then stood and tried to coil her hair back into place, biting her lip. Looking up, she saw that he was smiling at her. "Is something wrong, Great Master?"

"Nothing, Celeste." He shook his head with a little chuckle.

"I'm clumsy, I know. It's funny. I understand." She ducked her head and sat back down.

"No, Celeste. It's not like that at all." Something in the tone of his voice made her look up. There was no scorn or derision in his dark eyes. She felt a surge of trepidation, danger ...and intrigue. "You make me smile because you are so ...innocent."

"I'm hardly innocent, Great Master." She cast her eyes down and bit her lip hard, bringing tears to her eyes. "My master..."

"I know, Celeste." The kindness in his voice drew her eyes inexorably up to his once more. "But that makes you no less innocent and no less beautiful."

Heat flushed to her face. Her vision swam with her tears and she blinked. She looked down as they spilled down her cheeks.

"I ...really should go, Master Ekhan." She rose and hurried to the door.

"Celeste, I—"

She looked back, wiping the tears away. "Thank you." Celeste slipped out the door and dashed for her cabin.

∗ ∗ ∗

"Master Ekhan! It's good to see you out on deck!" Torius waved down to the merchant. "Please come up to the quarterdeck. It's a glorious morning, isn't it?"

"If you say so, Captain," Ekhan grumbled as he mounted the steps, followed obediently by Grogul.

Torius turned and gave Windy Kate a covert nod. "That's Glasswall Isle off our starboard beam, Master Ekhan. We've traversed nearly half the coast of Thuvia! The winds have been kind to us."

"Good. The sooner I can return home, the better."

Ekhan's face was ashen, a sheen of sweat glazed his brow and upper lip, and his stance appeared shaky. These were symptoms with which Torius was all too familiar, and from Grogul's reports, Ekhan was going through withdrawals every morning. Not until lunch and his first glass of wine did the malady ease. The plan was progressing perfectly: Celeste visited Ekhan's cabin at least every other night, plying his mind with suggestions, and the persistent hallucinations were wreaking havoc upon his poise and general state of mind. He jumped at every shadow and coil of rope. By the time they reached Sothis, he would be a paranoid wreck. The goal now was to ensure that he didn't make a connection between the wine and his hallucinations. With that in mind, Grogul had courteously suggested to Ekhan that he might benefit from a breath of fresh air.

"Come now, Master Ekhan. Surely the voyage isn't treating you that badly."

Ekhan gave him a sour look. "I told you I don't like to travel. Don't attempt to humor me."

"Well, some of us are not meant to be sailors, I suppose. Come here, please. I'll show you an old sailor's trick that will help."

"What trick?" Ekhan approached grudgingly.

"Have you ever taken a turn at the wheel of a ship?" He waved a hand to Windy Kate at the helm.

"No, I ...can't say that I have."

"Well, it's guaranteed to make you feel better. Here! Grasp the spokes firmly." Windy Kate stepped back and Torius maneuvered Ekhan behind the wheel. "It's all about concentration. See the compass card here on the binnacle? This mark on the card always faces north, and the needle indicates the direction we're pointing. Right now the needle is on one-six-zero degrees, meaning that we're headed south-southeast. All you need do is keep us headed in the same direction by watching the compass. Understand?"

"And how is this supposed to make me feel better?" Ekhan asked, sounding unconvinced.

"Concentration. It focuses your mind on something besides feeling sick." Torius smiled at him and released the wheel. "Now, hold this heading and get the feel of the ship."

"All right."

Torius let Ekhan steer for a time, watched him settle into place, becoming accustomed to how the wind and waves pushed the ship this way or that. Windy Kate stood behind and slightly to the merchant's right, seemingly swaying with the roll of the ship. Torius knew otherwise. When it appeared that the merchant was actually getting the hang of it, he gave the helmswoman a discreet nod.

Windy Kate took the powerful magnet out of her pocket and slowly swept it to port. The compass card followed, the mark denoting north tracking the magnet.

Ekhan steered to starboard to compensate for the false change in course, and the ship veered.

"Steady now," Torius said. "One-six-zero degrees, remember."

"I remember! But it—"

Windy Kate moved the magnet back, and the compass swung. Ekhan hauled the wheel back to port, but just as he reached the proper heading again, the helmswoman moved the magnet to starboard. Ekhan wrenched the wheel back and forth, chasing the swinging compass, his face flushing red.

"Are you all right, Master Ekhan?" Torius asked, fighting to keep his tone concerned.

"I'm fine, it's just this damn thing keeps—"

Windy Kate jerked the magnet from right to left so hard that the compass card did a full revolution.

Ekhan released the wheel, his eyes wide and disbelieving, and backed away. He bumped into the helmswoman, who quickly pocketed the magnet.

"Pardon me, Master Ekhan. Here, I'll take it." Windy Kate stepped around the merchant and grabbed the wheel, steering the ship on a course of one-six-zero degrees, her eyes fixed on the rock-steady compass.

"I'm not feeling well." Ekhan swallowed and glared at the compass.

"My apologies, Master Ekhan." Torius clutched the man's arm to steady him. "I honestly thought it would help, but I suppose it's not for everyone. You look like you could use a drink."

"A drink?" Ekhan stared at him. "It's still morning!"

"First lesson every sailor learns," Torius said, pulling a silver flask from his pocket and unscrewing the lid, "is that the sun's over the yardarm somewhere." He took a short pull from the flask and pressed it into the merchant prince's hand.

Ekhan sniffed the flask and raised an eyebrow, then tilted it into his mouth. He swallowed and sucked air through his teeth. "Hoo! What is that?"

"Spiced grog. Rum, spices, and some lime and sugar to take the edge off." Plus a healthy dose of naga venom. "It'll make you feel better. I promise."

And in the span of only a few minutes, of course, it did.

∗ ∗ ∗

"We're coming up on the northeast point of Osirion, Captain," Thillion reported as he entered the galley. He saluted and nodded respectfully to Ekhan before taking his seat. Snick staggered in behind him bearing a heavy crate in her arms. "We should make our turn to the south before morning. Winds are good, and I expect that we'll make Katapesh in four days or so."

"Excellent news! Don't you agree, Master Ekhan?"

"I do." Ekhan stared at Snick, who had changed her hair color to a shocking pink. He shook his head and looked away.

Torius grinned and took note of the gnome's burden. "Oh, and I see Flick has found more of that vintage. I knew I had some stowed somewhere." Torius grabbed two bottles out of the crate and put them on the table. This wine contained the highest concentration of venom yet, though not as high as they intended to go. Even the small amount he was taking with dinner was giving Torius a few weird visions, but nothing he couldn't handle. It was worth it to see Ekhan sweat. Twisting the cork free of one of the bottles, he poured Ekhan's glass full, then a smaller measure into his own.

"Thank you, Captain." Ekhan sipped the wine and sighed contentedly. "I must say, I've developed quite a fondness for this wine. I must arrange for you to make regular shipments to Azir."

"I have a contact in Ostenso who can supply it at a fair price." Torius suppressed a shudder at the memory of Lothera Cothos, then smiled pleasantly as Snick placed their plates on the table. "Ah, you're in for a treat tonight, Master Ekhan. Eel pie is one of Souso's specialties!"

"Eel pie?" Ekhan peered at the crusty pie on his plate and flinched, then blinked and shook his head. "What kind of eels?

"I believe they're grass eels." Torius wondered just what the merchant thought he saw on his plate. "He skins and fillets the tiny creatures, then sautés them in wine and peppers before baking them in this delightful crust." He plunged his fork into the pie and took a bite, closing his eyes in unfeigned bliss as he chewed and swallowed.

"Mmmm, delicious!" Twilp said, digging into the flaky crust.

Ekhan tried a tentative bite and his eyebrows arched in surprise. "Actually quite good. At least your chef lives up to your promised standards." He sipped his wine and ate eagerly while Torius bit his tongue at the merchant's acerbic comment.

"You seem to have finally developed a liking for sea travel, Master Ekhan," Thillion said. "You have a sailor's appetite."

"I would not call it a liking, Mister Quillion. I no longer feel so ill in the mornings, but ..." He hesitated, and took another bite of his pie.

"But what, Master Ekhan? If there's some way I can make your journey more pleasant, please let me know." Torius furrowed his brow, feigning concern.

"It's this damned constant motion. It's giving me some ...unsettling dreams."

"Really? I've heard of people unaccustomed to long sea voyages having vivid dreams, but not anything long-lasting. I hope they're not disturbing you overmuch."

"I ...it's nothing serious." He sipped his wine, his eyes snapping left and right, then back to his plate.

"I certainly hope not," Torius agreed, fighting to keep his face stern.

Snick appeared bearing a tray with another eel pie on it and started toward the door.

"Where are you going with that, Flick?" Torius asked sharply.

She looked convincingly terrified. "Um, I was taking a pie to Celeste, Captain."

"Put it back," he ordered, his voice hard.

"But, sir, it's her favorite," Snick whined.

"I'm well aware of that, Flick, but Celeste hasn't earned any special treatment. Especially lately. Put it back, now!"

"Yes, sir." Snick dragged her feet as she took the pie back to Soursop.

"And no sneaking it to her later, or I'll know. In fact, nothing for her tonight." He leaned back in his chair and sipped his wine. Noticing that Ekhan was staring at him, he said, "My pardon, Master Ekhan, but disciplining slaves is a never-ending chore. I'm sure you'll agree. Give them any leeway at all and they begin to think they're people."

"On that we agree, Captain," the merchant replied. "There is no substitute for proper discipline. Though the right collar helps, too." He finished his wine, and Snick was right there to refill his glass. Swirling the vintage and gazing at the heavy legs that ran down the inside of the glass, his countenance suddenly brightened. "This dish is really quite delicious. Since there's one extra, I'll have it as a late-night snack. I've lost some weight with the stress of the voyage, and often wake hungry in the night."

Well, I'll be damned, Torius thought, waving his hand as if it were of no consequence. "Of course, Master Ekhan. Souso can put it on the side of the stove to stay warm, and you can have Drogul retrieve it at your pleasure."

The extra eel pie had been a test to see if Ekhan had begun to have feelings for Celeste outside of the influence of her charm spells. Celeste thought he did, but Torius doubted it. If indeed he had requested the extra pie for her, it would tell them that their plan was working: Celeste's visits were having a lasting effect on his mind.

"Excellent." Ekhan nodded and raised his glass. He peered into it, blinked, and jerked back.

"Something wrong with your wine, Master Ekhan?"

"Oh, no. I just ..." He blinked again and sampled the wine, shaking his head slowly. "It's nothing."

Torius smiled and gestured for Snick to bring their dessert. As the meal continued, he surreptitiously watched Ekhan, wondering what was going on in the man's drug-addled head. Torius had always thought himself to be a good judge of character, but Celeste, it seemed, knew the merchant prince better than anyone else.

∗ ∗ ∗

"I have a present for you," Ekhan whispered as Celeste slipped into his cabin.

"A present?" She breathed in the luscious aroma of eel pie and had to suppress the urge to flick her tongue out to savor it. She smiled tentatively at him as he proffered a covered dish and widened her eyes as if in disbelief. Inside, she felt a surge of vindication: she had been right about him.

They had set up this little charade as a test, and Ekhan had passed with flying colors. The merchant prince had not been under her spell when he'd made the request for the extra eel pie; he had honest feelings for her. And here was the proof, a thoughtful gift from the man whom they had all believed to be a monster. Torius had been surprised, but Celeste had not. Ekhan felt something for her, which made her feel terrible about what they had planned for her to do to him during tonight's visit.

"Eel pie?"

"Flick said it was your favorite, but the captain held it back to ...discipline you. I asked him to put it aside for me, knowing that you would be hungry." He smiled warmly and placed the dish on the table beside a silver spoon.

"Great Master, you honor me." She knelt before him, bowing her head in thanks for his gracious gesture. Briefly, she considered doing without her magic tonight to further test his feelings for her, but rejected the idea as too risky. She cast her charm spell under the cover of her obedient position. "You should not have risked yourself for me."

"It's not such a risk, Celeste. I am a guest on Captain Akhiri's ship, and he's trying to curry my favor. Come and eat."

He took her hand and helped her to her feet. Only then did she notice that he had placed the dish not in front of the chair where she usually sat, but on the opposite side of the table. He guided her to his bunk and sat her down, then uncovered the dish and handed her the spoon. She thought to demure again, but she had skipped dinner and the pie did smell wonderful.

Misreading her hesitation, Ekhan said, "Here, I'll have some wine to keep you company while you eat." He poured himself a cup of the venom-laced wine and sat beside her on the bunk.

Celeste forgot about her hunger and the pie cooling in front of her. A discomfort, a feeling of being cornered, surged through her, but there was also a trembling thrill, a tentative wanting. All she could think about was how close his leg was to hers, close enough to brush against if she just shifted. He seemed larger sitting so near, and his proximity lifted the hairs on the back of her neck. The atmosphere seemed charged with energy, as if she had readied a powerful spell and held it in check only by sheer force of will. She wondered if Ekhan felt it, too.

"Eat, please, Celeste," he requested.

"Yes, Great Master."

Ekhan sipped his wine as she ate, uncomfortable under his unwavering gaze. It took all her training not to fidget under his scrutiny. This close, it was a challenge to renew her transformation without his notice, but she had much practice doing so. More than once, when he had noticed her mumbling, she dissembled, explaining that she often spoke oaths or pleas to the stars in her native tongue.

When she had finished most of the pie, she dabbed her mouth with the napkin that had covered the dish and asked, "May I beg to ask a question, Great Master?" She took another bite of pie and cast a fleeting glance at him, drinking in his dark eyes.

"Only if you do a favor for me, Celeste," he said with an intensity she had yet to hear in his voice.

Stars be kind, this is it. She steeled her nerves. Despite all her training and the knowledge that this moment could come, Celeste was unsure if she was capable of following through with his request. Hesitating long enough to steady her voice, she whispered, "Anything, Great Master."

"Call me Benrahi."

"What?" She looked up at him in honest shock. This was not the command she'd expected. "Great Master, I—"

"Tut, tut! You will call me Benrahi, or I'll take away your pie and will not ask you back to my cabin ...for a week."

She swallowed, ducked her head, and said, "You honor this humble slave beyond her due ...Benrahi."

"See? Was that so hard?" He brushed aside a tendril of her hair and lifted her chin to face him, the now-familiar gesture that always made her feel so strange. So warm. "Now, what's your question?"

"Why did you do this?" she asked, gesturing to the nearly consumed pie. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Do I need a reason?" he asked with winsome smile and another sip of wine.

Celeste wanted to slap the cup out of his hand, scream that it was poisoned, but she didn't. She had a job to do, but first she wanted—no, she needed—to know the answer to her question.

"If you do have a reason, Great—Benrahi, I'd truly like to know it."

"In truth, I don't know, Celeste." He rose from the bunk and began to pace the confines of the cabin. As she watched, he snapped sharp glances into the dim corners of the room, his uneasiness seeming to increase. Her stomach clenched on her meal; she knew it was her venom wreaking havoc on his mind. "This voyage is tedious and doesn't agree with me. You are beautiful and interesting, and I enjoy your company. Talking with you eases my mind."

"Only talking?" she asked, surprised at her own question.

Benrahi stopped pacing and stood facing her, his mien serious. "You are another man's property, Celeste, and I am his guest aboard this ship. I'll not break the law of ownership by ordering you to please me."

"But ..." Celeste paused as the warning itch of her failing spell spread over her body. With his attention right on her, it would be impossible to recast the spell without him noticing. She let the silver spoon fall from her fingers to clatter to the floor, and bent down to recover it. While doing so, she surreptitiously recast the spell, shifting her form ever so subtly, and breathing easier when she felt it take effect. She put aside the spoon and stood. It was time to do what she had come here to do and get out before things went too far.

He smiled, indicating the empty plate, and asked, "Did you enjoy your eel pie?"

"I did," she admitted, giving him a smile. "It is my favorite. Thank you."

"You are quite welcome."

"I should go, but ..."

"Yes, my dear?"

"You are so kind to me. I know you will not order me, but if I ...chose to please you ..." Celeste eased up to Benrahi, using all the moves and gestures that Vreva had taught her and hating herself for the sudden hunger it brought to his eyes. She leaned in, and he did not pull back. Their lips met and parted, and she flicked her long forked tongue into his mouth.

Benrahi jerked back like he'd been slapped, bringing his hand to his mouth in horror. "You ..." He stared at her in shock.

Celeste collapsed to the floor, her face in her hands, her dismay only partially an act. He had been so kind to her, and she was trying to drive him mad. She didn't have to bite her lip this time to urge her tears.

"Oh, Great Master, I apologize for my rudeness. I thought ...I didn't mean to ..." Her face hidden from his sight, she muttered her transformation spell yet again, felt her tongue shorten, the forks fusing into a round human shape.

"No, Celeste! I'm sorry!" He clutched her arms, pulling her to her feet, his face contorted with distress. "I'm having ...I think I've had too much wine, is all. I was startled."

"I was too forward, Great—Benrahi." She averted her eyes. "You should not apologize. I am only a slave."

"No, Celeste. Never only." His voice was low and rough, and when his fingers touched her chin and brought her eyes up, she felt as if she could drown in the dark depths of his gaze. Their faces were so close she could feel his warm breath on her lips, her skin burning like fire under his touch.

This isn't supposed to happen! she screamed in her mind. She stood like a rabbit hypnotized by a swaying cobra as he leaned in. She was helpless to resist—and, deep in her soul, uncertain whether she wanted to.

"Stars be kind," she murmured as their lips met again, and the heat of his kiss burned through her like fire.

∗ ∗ ∗

"How did it go?" Torius asked, closing and locking the door before turning to Celeste.

She stirred from her position beneath the skylight to look at him, then turned back to the stars. "He gave me the pie. The rest went much as you expected it would."

"Excellent!" He smacked his fist into his palm in triumph and gave a low chuckle. "I knew he'd try to kiss you! Serves the bastard right! I hope he has nightmares for a month!" He reached for the bottle of rum and poured himself a nightcap.

"Do you?"

"What?" He turned to Celeste, his mind stumbling over her question.

"Do you have nightmares?" She slithered over to him and flicked her forked tongue. "You've kissed me like this. Does it give you nightmares, Torius?"

"No, Celeste, it doesn't. I love you." He stared at her, dumbfounded. She sounded upset. What the hell is going on?

"Do you?" She slithered back to the skylight and turned her face to the heavens. "You told me you were unsure whether you loved me or were just addicted to my venom."

"Yes, I did, but you haven't bitten me in weeks." He hated himself for the half-lie. Half-truth, he corrected. He did love her, and she hadn't bitten him. That he was still addicted to her venom was an entirely different issue.

Then why don't you tell her?

He forced the thought down. Not today. He'd tell her later, once this was all done with. "I'm over it, Celeste, but I'm not over you."

"You're sure?" She looked at him, but he couldn't read the thoughts behind her dark eyes.

"Yes, I'm sure."

She broke their gaze and looked back up to the stars, and he sighed in guilty relief at having skirted the addiction issue once again. He sat on the edge of his bunk to sip his rum. "What brought this on, anyway?"

"It's Benrahi. I don't know if I can continue this act anymore, Torius."

"What?" He felt like he'd been kicked in the gut. After all their work, all their planning and pain, blood and lies, she was having second thoughts?

"After ...tonight, when I came back here I was sick. Physically sick, Torius! Without being magically charmed, he thought enough of me to procure a meal when he believed that I would go hungry. He was kind and considerate, and I tortured him. Can't we figure out a way to simply take his money? He's not the villain we thought he was."

"Oh, really?" He put his cup down, his hand shaking with sudden anger. Were they even talking about the same man? Torius dealt with the smug merchant for hours every day, but Celeste only saw him for fleeting minutes while he was charmed by her magic. Well, it was high time to remind her who they were dealing with.

"Do you remember Joss, Celeste? How about Jorey, or that Varisian woman Cammy, or One-Eyed Pete? You remember Ginny Greenpockets or Bottlenose Bart? How about Ponce, the lad with the scraggly red whiskers that wouldn't ever grow in fully because he was probably only sixteen, and he'll never be seventeen! You should remember them because you were there when they died." He snatched up his drink, knocked it back and cracked the cup down onto the navigation table.

"I remember them," she said quietly.

"Good, because those are my nightmares, Celeste!" He fought to keep his voice low, but his blood was boiling. "I hear their screams every night and see their faces every time I close my eyes. That son of a bitch Ekhan killed them. He might not have held the sword, but he killed them nonetheless."

"I understand that, Torius." She looked at him again, tears glittering on her cheeks. "But will destroying Ekhan bring them back?"

"No," he admitted, then added, "but it might just help me sleep at night." He turned away from her and rolled into his bunk, not even bothering to kick off his boots. Her scales rustled across the cabin floor and stopped next to his bed. The blanket pulled itself up over him.

"Very well, Torius," she said, and he rolled over to look at her. "I'll try to carry it through, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."

"No." His anger dissipated as he remembered saying those very words to her not long ago. "No, it doesn't, and I'd be worried if you did. Just promise me that if you decide you can't follow through, you'll tell me, not Ekhan."

She reeled back as if he'd slapped her. "I would never betray you like that, and you know it!"

"I thought I did, but after tonight, I wasn't sure. It's good to hear you say it." He rolled back over. "Good night, Celeste. I'm sorry we fought."

"As am I, my captain," she replied softly. Her scales rustled away, and she resumed her solitary contemplation of the stars.

paizo.com #2495541, Ronald Hartman <rh82759@netzero.net>, Sep 24, 2013

Chapter Twenty

Merchant's Paradise

Welcome to Katapesh, Master Ekhan!" Torius swept his arm out to encompass the sprawling metropolis. The early morning breeze blew from the shore, bringing with it all the scents of the massive, bustling city. Added to that were the odors of the fishing boats heading out for their day trips, their reeking nets piled high on their decks, and the pungent scent of the guano that streaked the towering Dockside Giant.

Ekhan wrinkled his nose. "It is ...dirtier than I imagined."

"It may not smell pretty, but it's a merchant's paradise. Any commodity in the world can be purchased, sold, rented, or bartered for here. There's no place else quite like it in all the world!" Torius grinned with an elation he didn't feel. In fact, he had been dreading their arrival. If their disguises were ever going to be penetrated, it would be here. Torius and his crew were well known, and just one person greeting him by name in front of Ekhan would destroy their entire scam.

"It looks rather ...chaotic." Ekhan squinted at the waterfront with its tangle of docks, ships, and colorful canvas awnings, then beyond toward the maze of bazaars. Suddenly, he jerked away from a coil of line on the deck. He prodded the rope with his toe and shook his head. Signs of his hallucinations had become even more prevalent of late.

Torius barked out an involuntary laugh. "Oh, it most assuredly is chaotic, Master Ekhan."

"I look forward to perusing the bazaars while you trade out your cargo," the merchant prince said with a nod. "I have heard much about the—"

"Oh, no!" Torius interrupted. This was exactly what he could not let happen. "We are here for one purpose, and one purpose only, Master Ekhan: to recover the Star of Thumen. I risked your safety once, and that was one time too many. You are my guest. I am responsible for your life."

"I'm not helpless, Captain Akhiri!" Ekhan argued, but Torius shrugged and spread his hands wide.

"I don't suggest that you are, but you're not familiar with Katapesh, either." He swept an arm again to indicate the vast walled city. "This is not Azir, Master Ekhan. There are near a quarter million souls in this city, and most of them are blacker than a demon's heart. Someone of your obvious wealth and stature becomes a target for thieves, kidnappers, or worse. I must insist that we minimize your exposure to the ruffians by taking a large security force with us to purchase the Star of Thumen, then return immediately to the ship. We won't be staying here long anyway. We can turn over our cargo in a day or so."

"I've heard many tales of Katapesh, Captain, and I've never heard that it was so dangerous." Ekhan may as well have called him a liar by the tone of his voice.

"Consult with Master Farfan if you don't believe me. He's well-acquainted with the baser elements of the city. But first we must dock the ship and offer the proper gratuities to the local authorities. The dockmasters here are just as vile and avaricious as the thieves, and the sight of you will certainly set their palms itching. I must ask you to retire to your cabin until all formalities are completed; it'll undoubtedly save us both many hundreds of scarabs."

"Very well." Ekhan stomped down the steps toward the sterncastle door, obviously perturbed. Grogul followed dutifully, looking back at Torius to roll his eyes.

Torius motioned Thillion over and handed him a heavy pouch. "As soon as we touch the dock, I want you to talk to Kerrig. Make damned sure he understands that nobody comes near Sea Serpent and nobody knows us. Tell him I'll double what's in the pouch when we get out of here safely."

"Aye, sir." Thillion pocketed the pouch.

"Then get to Jhamaal and make sure everything's still set. He can expect us later today."

"Aye, sir."

"While we're off dealing with Jhamaal, I want you to get those Aziri silks sold and a load of pig iron stowed aboard. Don't bother haggling. I want to be out of here as soon as we can. Nobody comes aboard, and we handle the loading ourselves."

"Aye, sir."

Torius sighed heavily. "You think we can pull this off?"

"I don't know, sir," Thillion said with a grimace. "Without getting recognized and Ekhan finding out ..."

"I was hoping you'd say, ‘Aye, sir.'"

"I didn't want to lie to you, sir." Thillion gave him a crooked smile and a shrug.

Torius waved his first mate away and focused his attention on docking the ship. With the last dock line secure and Thillion on his mission to Jhamaal's shop, Torius went below and summoned Ekhan and Farfan to the galley.

"Gentlemen, we are ready to retrieve the Star of Thumen, but first, I must insist that you both wear kaftans and head scarves for our trip into the city. We do not want to look like tourists." Torius laid out two kaftans on the galley table, one sized for a halfling and one for Ekhan.

Ekhan picked up the garment and made a face.

"I apologize that I don't have anything more resplendent, but wearing fine clothes in Katapesh is an invitation for thieves and pickpockets. It'll be dangerous enough with my men carrying your chest full of treasure."

"He's right, Master Ekhan," Twilp said, donning his kaftan with practiced ease. "The garments keep you remarkably cool, as well."

"I am familiar with the function of a kaftan, Farfan. I simply hoped to don a clean one!"

Torius sighed, tired of the merchant's grievances. Not only was the tainted wine giving him hallucinations, it also seemed to be making him paranoid and moody as well. That would work to their advantage when they sprung the trap, damaging his credibility with the Sothis authorities, but putting up with him in the meantime was testing the pirate captain's patience.

It would be easier to kill him, buy the Star of Thumen with his money, take it back to Sothis, and have Vreva return it for the reward. But that wouldn't clear their names with the Osirians, and Torius wasn't much for blatant murder.

"Please, Master Ekhan, I assure you that the garment is clean. See, you can use this fold of cloth from the head scarf to cover your face if there is blowing sand or some unpleasant odor. Like this." He brought his own scarf around his face and tucked it in the other side.

"A remarkable innovation!" Ekhan's sarcasm was thick enough to cut with a knife. He quickly mimicked Torius's action and let the material fall back.

Torius bit his lip. "We should go, but please keep your eyes open and your hands on your pouches."

"I must say that I'm quite ready for some fresh air." Ekhan glanced around the galley as if the walls were closing in on him. "I need to stretch my legs."

"I regret to say that Katapesh is not the city for fresh air." Torius gave him a sheepish grin. "But you will get your exercise, of that I am sure! Please, come!"

Torius tried to watch both Ekhan and his surroundings as they wound their way through the bazaars of Katapesh's Lower City. Four of his strongest crewmen carried a chest containing five thousand newly minted platinum sphinxes, the payment for the Star of Thumen. With four, they need not strain under the weight, but they still drew covetous stares. Six additional sailors acted as guards, though Grogul's menacing scowl was probably the best means of staving off unwanted attention.

Ekhan stared openly at the myriad shops, tents, inns, and brothels, his eyes flickering around like twin hornets. He mentioned visiting the slave markets, reminding Torius that, due to his carelessness, he had to replace Pok-Nal. Torius avoided the detour by reminding the merchant that he had no collar to control a slave, and he dare not trust a stranger with his safety. When they passed several open-air eateries, the merchant tied his face cloth up to keep the heavy smoke at bay. Torius kept his face covered for the entire trip, and muttered a silent thanks to Gozreh when they reached Jhamaal's shop without being accosted or recognized.

"Now, Master Ekhan, when you speak with Jhamaal, you should—"

"I know how to negotiate, Captain Akhiri," Ekhan snapped. "I don't need lessons from the likes of you!"

"Of course." Torius bowed, suppressing his flush of anger at the merchant's deprecating tone, and held aside the curtain of beaded strands for Ekhan. They entered to the chime of the brass bells tied to the bead curtain, and Torius dropped his face cloth.

"Captain Akhiri!" Jhamaal called out, bustling forward with a smile. "It has been some time indeed since you last visited me. Come in, come in!" The bells chimed again, and Jhamaal's eyes glittered with avarice at the sight of the four men carrying the heavy chest into his shop. "You and your companions are most welcome in my humble establishment."

"Thank you, Master Jhamaal. May I introduce my most illustrious friend—"

"Benrahi Ekhan of Azir." Ekhan stepped past Torius, executing a perfect bow of greeting. "I've traveled a very long distance to do business with you, Jhamaal."

"I'm honored by your presence, Master Ekhan." Jhamaal clapped his hands. "Mahalla! Refreshments for our guests! Please accept my hospitality while we do business."

"I'm pleased to accept." Ekhan flashed a gregarious smile and took a seat upon one of the plush pillows. Torius followed suit.

Jhamaal sat down. "And just what might I interest you in today, Master Ekhan?"

∗ ∗ ∗

"They're gone!" Snick announced, peeking out of the captain's cabin door. "Come on!"

Celeste slithered after the gnome, following her down the corridor to Benrahi's door. She nodded to Windy Kate, who stood guard at the sterncastle door just in case Torius and Benrahi returned unexpectedly. Snick slipped a spare key into the lock and ushered Celeste into the merchant's cabin. Celeste stayed near the door where she could glance out to see Windy Kate while the gnome began to examine Benrahi's things.

"Man, he's got some nice clothes!" The gnome held up a brushed-silk shirt that probably cost fifty scarabs. "I could sell his wardrobe and retire!"

"Just look at the locksss, and let'sss get out of here!"

"Not just here to practice on his locks." Snick fingered the shirt's lapel and rifled through the others that hung in the locker. "Got to check through his stuff so that when I have to do this in a hurry, I won't run into any unpleasant surprises. Once knew a merchant who kept a pretty coffer full of asps in his room. Fed 'em mice through a slot and shook 'em up to keep 'em angry. It's my hands at risk here, not yours." She giggled. "Oh, right—you don't have hands."

"The chestsss! He's not going to hide the Star of Thumen in his clothes locker, Snick! He'll put it in one of the locked chests!"

"You think?" Snick closed the locker and knelt beside the merchant's bed to examine one of the chests, picking out the smallest one first. She ran her slim fingers all over the surface, her tongue sticking out the corner of her mouth. Finally, she chose two of her lockpicks and went to work. The lock lost the battle with a quiet click and the gnome grinned. She lifted the lid a crack and passed a thin metal strip around the edge before opening it fully. She looked inside, her eyes as big as hen's eggs, and gasped, "Ooh, pretty!"

Despite her nervousness, Celeste was curious. "What?"

Snick held up a pair of brilliant red silk shorts. "Fancy underpants!"

"Snick!" Celeste glared, yanked the shorts out of the gnome's grasp with her magic, re-folded them, and put them back in the chest. "Just check for traps and let's go! We've got no right to—"

"Hey, when someone sets the whole Osirion Navy on my cute little behind, it gives me every right to go through his things!" Though Snick's voice still carried its mischievous lilt, her large eyes were harder than Celeste had ever seen. They glared at one another for a moment before Snick looked back into the chest.

"Besides," she continued as she expertly rifled through the contents, "you never know what you might find. Gotta check everything! Let's see: cologne, extra razor, some bottles, and a set of combs and brushes. Your turn."

Celeste cast a quick spell and peered at the arrayed contents. "Two of the bottles are potions, and the razor has an enchantment."

"A magical razor?" The gnome made a curious face and unfolded the razor. "I wonder what—"

"Snick!"

"Oh, all right." With another glare, she closed and relocked the chest. "One down."

Celeste's tail twitched as she watched Snick invade every single chest and trunk, pulling out then carefully replacing their contents as she went. Celeste checked everything for magic, but detected nothing else. She and Snick spoke little, and the uncomfortable silence made Celeste even more nervous. They had always had a close, easy relationship until this.

"Stars be kind," she muttered, trying to suppress the butterflies that fluttered in her stomach. Torius wasn't the only one who would be upset if she decided that she couldn't uphold her part in the plan.

∗ ∗ ∗

"Did you pick up any tips in there, Captain?" Grogul whispered as they exited the shop.

"I've never seen anything like it." Torius shook his head in awe. Benrahi Ekhan was indeed a master merchant. Though Jhamaal was no novice, Ekhan had counter-offered, cajoled, and charmed his way to a better deal than Torius had imagined possible, sweetening the offer with promises that he would keep in contact through one of his many agents for future business opportunities.

"I told you he was good," Twilp said with a quirky grin.

Moments later, Jhamaal and Ekhan emerged, laughing and bestowing on one another the traditional cheek kisses between friends or close associates.

"So you will keep an eye out for those items, and contact one of my agents if they come into your possession?"

"Most assuredly, Master Ekhan." Jhamaal smiled and bowed before reentering his shop, a happy merchant.

"I must say, Master Ekhan, I'm impressed." The squad of pirates surrounded them and they walked away from the shop. "You've made a fast friend of Jhamaal. He'll be grateful for your business, and an invaluable contact."

"You think I actually intend to do business with that little weasel?" Ekhan scoffed, jerking away from a street vendor carrying a stack of flatbread balanced on his head. He shook his head and blinked hard, then continued. "Tell them what they want to hear and they'll follow you anywhere. As long as I get what I want, what do I care what I have to promise to commoners like him?"

Now it was Torius's turn to blink. It was all an act! He looked at Ekhan's smug expression and felt a chill despite the torrid heat. The pirate captain prided himself on reading people, but he had not doubted the merchant prince's sincerity once during the exchange. Ekhan was a master, all right—a master of lies. His contempt for the man deepened—Torius might lie on occasion, but Ekhan seemed to treat people as if they were merely disposable assets. He was glad to have an excuse to leave the merchant's company.

"This is where, much to my regret, I must leave you, Master Ekhan." He paused at a crossing of streets. "I must deal with cargo issues. Be assured that my crew will return you directly to the ship, safe and sound."

"Very well, Captain." Ekhan waved him off, barely breaking his stride. "Do what you must."

Torius and Grogul exchanged a meaningful glance before the half-orc hurried to catch up with Ekhan. He had his orders: get back to the ship with no detours and no interruptions. Two sailors stayed with Torius, and he led them through the maze of streets and bazaars until they arrived at a small shop built of sturdy bricks, with high, barred windows too small to admit even a halfling.

"Stay out here," he ordered his escort, pulling down his face scarf as he ducked inside. "Master Vinosh. So very good to see you after so long!"

"Hello ...Captain Vin? I hardly recognized you!" The dwarf's bushy gray eyebrows rose in surprise, but he bustled from behind his workbench and shook Torius's hand. "You shaved off your whiskers! No man should have to shave off his whiskers!"

"I'm afraid I had no choice, Master Vinosh." He grinned at the fellow and winked. "Jealous husbands around every corner, you know."

"Ha! Not that I'd be knowing about such problems, being as wrinkled and ugly as a warthog!" That was no exaggeration: Vinosh had more wrinkles than Torius had sea miles, but that didn't change the fact that he was the most skilled jeweler Torius knew. "You're here for your order, of course."

"Yes. Any difficulties?" Torius followed the dwarf to his workbench.

"None of import. Finding the right stone was challenging, but a cousin of mine is a supplier. And old Jhamaal was wary about letting me examine the original, but I finally convinced him I wouldn't run off with it."

Vinosh squatted down by a locked chest, fiddled with a complex mechanism on the front, then opened it and retrieved a leather pouch. Motioning Torius closer, he pulled a glittering trinket out and laid it carefully atop a black velvet pad on the bench: the Star of Thumen—or so it appeared.

"Look closely, Captain. Beautiful, no? It's as close to a perfect match as you'll get, right down to the flaws and scratches. Only a truly skilled jeweler would be able to detect the differences from the original, and only if they're examined side by side."

"And the magic?" He peered in awe at the beautiful necklace; he would not have been able to say that it wasn't the true Star of Thumen.

"I contracted a wizard to enchant it with a simple magical aura." The dwarf shrugged. "It doesn't do anything, mind you, but it'll fool a cursory magical inspection."

"Perfect! Master Vinosh, you're a marvel!" Well pleased, Torius pulled out his pouch. "Now I believe I owe you some money ..."

∗ ∗ ∗

"A toast to our most excellent guest, a prince among merchants, Master Benrahi Ekhan!" Torius stood and raised his glass, urging the others to their feet. "May his contracts flourish and his purse grow ever heavier!" Thillion and Twilp stood and toasted Ekhan. At his side, Celeste stumbled as her dress caught on the bench, and he feigned a scowl of disapproval.

She'd had some misgivings about her role in the carefully orchestrated dinner, but Torius had insisted. Long-planned, it marked the beginning of their final assault on the merchant's mind. By the time they reached Sothis, he'd be barking mad. The commander of the Eyes of Sothis, the city's illustrious guard company, wouldn't believe a word out of his mouth.

"Thank you, Captain Akhiri." Ekhan sipped his wine, and the celebrants drank—all save Celeste, who had no glass.

In fact, only a small pewter plate lay before her, in contrast to the others' place settings of finest porcelain, crystal glasses, and ranks of gleaming silver forks, knives, and spoons. Torius cast a sidelong glance at her as they sat back down; she looked absolutely beautiful tonight, clad in a low-cut red dress that clung to her human curves like a second skin. Ekhan' eyes examined her rather boldly, Torius noted, considering she was another man's property—or, at least, was acting as another man's property. Celeste adjusted her dress, and Torius caught a glimpse of one of the illusion scrolls she had secreted in the folds of crimson cloth.

This is going to be good.

Snick stepped up and slid a broad silver platter onto the table, removing the cover with a flourish.

"I have spared no expense for tonight's feast, Master Ekhan! Seven culinary masterpieces made especially for the occasion. The first is our appetizer: plump, juicy, deep-fried scorpions from the Salt Hills of Osirion." Torius grasped several of the crunchy morsels with a pair of silver serving tongs and put them on the merchant's plate, then doled out servings to everyone else ...except Celeste.

"Scorpions?" Ekhan peered at the crusty creatures and flinched. "Aren't they poisonous?"

"Oh, they're quite deadly when alive, Master Ekhan!" Torius laughed, skewered one with a fork and bit off the tail, crunching it happily. "But the poison is neutralized in the cooking process, and adds a distinctive, piquant flavor!" He took another bite and slid the uneaten portion from his fork onto Celeste's plate.

"Thank you, Master," she murmured.

He watched expectantly as Ekhan pinned a scorpion to his plate with his fork, then cut it into bite-sized pieces. Tasting one, the merchant chewed and smiled. "Quite delicious!"

Torius felt his smile slip and glanced over at Celeste. She was pinching tiny pieces off of her morsel and eating them delicately with her fingers, the illusion scroll unused in her lap. She was supposed to have cast the spell, sending illusory scorpions skittering from Ekhan's plate into his own lap, but hadn't.

Suddenly he realized that Ekhan was talking to him. "Excuse me?"

"Your slave ..." Ekhan waved a fork at Celeste. "What is her name again?"

"Celeste, Master Ekhan."

"That's right. She is quite beautiful. This is the first time you've brought her to table. I must say, her presence adds a certain ambiance."

"I thought you might appreciate a change in scenery." Torius looked sidelong at Celeste and ran the back of his fingers along her neck just above the golden collar, brushing her luminous curls. She shuddered at his touch and he smiled. "She doesn't get out much, so please forgive her table manners." He chuckled at his own joke.

"She certainly enhances the company." Ekhan skewered a scorpion and, smiling directly at Torius, reached across the table and flipped the morsel onto Celeste's plate.

Everyone froze.

Celeste stared down at the crispy piece of food as if it might come back to life and sting her. Torius looked at her plate and then back at Ekhan, his teeth clenched in a tight smile. The merchant held his gaze, still smiling, a shrewd gleam in his eye. The man knew his action was a horrible breach of etiquette, and was all but daring Torius to call him on it, reveling in the protocol of hospitality that forbade the captain from insulting his honored guest.

"You don't mind, do you?" Ekhan asked smoothly, the muscles at the corner of his eye twitching spasmodically.

"Of course not." Torius gave a casual wave of his hand. "Eat, Celeste. Don't insult our guest."

"Thank you, Master." Although her words should have been for Torius, her eyes were fixed upon Ekhan. A shy smile crossed her lips, answered by a minute nod from the merchant.

Torius clenched his teeth again as he bent over his plate. He knew it was all part of the act—Celeste playing up to Ekhan—so why did it make him so uneasy? It was one thing to consider her actions in the few minutes she stole with the merchant every few days, but it was quite another to watch their exchange right before his eyes.

Snick approached with the second course, an artfully garnished nest of soft-boiled razorscale eggs. Torius announced the dish and glanced at Celeste.

Nothing happened.

Torius nudged her under the table as he served out the large eggs, placing each one in a special cup that Snick placed on their plates. The illusion should have sent Ekhan scrabbling away from the table as tiny lizards cracked out of their eggs and hissed at him, but the scroll in her lap remained unused.

"The razorscale is a reptile?" Ekhan cracked the thick shell with a deft motion of his eating knife.

"Yes." While the merchant was occupied peeling back the broken shell, Torius cast another surreptitious glance at Celeste. Her eyes were downcast, fixed upon the scroll in her lap. Why doesn't she cast it? He nudged her again as he continued to speak to Ekhan. "Large desert lizards. Their scales are sharp enough to slice the skin off a man's hand. But their eggs ..."—he removed the top of the shell from his egg and dipped a silver spoon into the green-tinged interior—" ...are delicious."

"Mmm, they are!" Ekhan agreed, eating with relish.

Torius smiled as if pleased, but cast another glare at Celeste. Her eyes remained down, the scroll gripped tightly in her hands.

The meal proceeded without incident, much to Torius's building vexation. The curried cuttlefish tentacles did not writhe out of Ekhan's soup bowl; the fried swamp-worm larvae did not squirm in the salad. And with each course, Ekhan placed a portion upon Celeste's plate. The man was actually enjoying the dinner that was supposed to drive him into a paranoid frenzy.

Soursop had just placed onto the table the main course—a large calopus rib roast too heavy for Snick to carry—when Celeste spoke quietly.

"I beg to be excused, Master. You honor me with your invitation to eat with our most noble guest, but I am unused to such rich fare." She bowed her head submissively, but Torius saw that her knuckles were white on the unused scrolls. Her plea to be excused was their agreed-upon cue: her last transformation spell was about to run out.

"Very well, Celeste." He nodded curtly, dismissing her with a wave. He fished a key from his pocket and tossed it to the Snick. "Flick, escort her to my cabin. And lock the door."

"Yes, Captain."

Celeste extracted herself from the bench, tucking the unused scrolls out of Ekhan's sight. "Thank you, Master," she whispered, curtseying before following Snick out.

"I hope the lady feels all right," Ekhan said as Torius carved and served the rib roast.

"Celeste is no lady, Master Ekhan." Torius flashed a thin smile at the merchant prince. "She's a slave. My slave. And rest assured, she'll be punished for her rudeness."

"Of course." Ekhan cut a bite of rare meat from the bone, popped the morsel into his mouth and chewed. "Delicious!"

∗ ∗ ∗

Celeste startled as Torius burst into the cabin.

"What the hell was that all about?" he snapped in a low whisper as he closed the door and flipped the lock. His anger was frightful, but Celeste was determined to tell him the truth.

"I couldn't do it." She nodded to the unused scrolls on the navigation table. "You asked me to tell you if I couldn't continue this, and I'm telling you. I couldn't cast those spells just to torture him."

"And why the hell not?" He tore off his dinner jacket and clawed at the collar of his shirt as if it choked him. His hands were shaking.

"He was being so nice! You saw him!"

"Nice? What I saw was a man trying to get my goat by deliberately undermining my authority with my own slave. It wasn't about you! He was playing with me. He was angry that I told him he couldn't go wandering around Katapesh, and he was getting back at me for it! Besides, he was only being nice to you because he was charmed."

"He wasn't charmed, Torius." She slithered from her nest to confront him, hurt by the implication of his remark and determined to make him see the truth. "Not tonight. Believe it or not, he actually wanted to be nice to me!"

"He wasn't charmed?" He gaped at her in shock. "You took that risk?"

"There was no risk. He cares for me, Torius. I know it."

He looked at her skeptically, then turned away and continued to undress. "Well, it served his purposes, regardless. It was a power play, Celeste. I'm in charge, and he doesn't like it. He's used to being the boss, and he can't stand someone else running the show." He turned back to her, his shirt open to the waist, his belt hanging loose. "You can't just quit. We're too far into this."

"I can't continue to torture his mind, Torius!" she insisted, her eyes stinging with tears. "Haven't we done enough to him already? He's not a monster."

"He's not?"

Celeste despaired to see the muscles of Torius's jaw writhe under his smooth skin, his hands clench into fists. Rarely did he let his anger get the better of him, but lately ...

His voice came out in a harsh whisper. "Show him what you really are, Celeste, and I guarantee you'll see what kind of a monster he is. He'd have you in chains in an instant, or skinned for a trophy! Ask him what he'd do to me if he ever discovered who I really am. Ask him how many slaves he owns back on that huge estate of his, how many young girls he keeps chained to his bed for his personal entertainment."

"You don't know that!" She coiled and uncoiled, tightening the bridle on her anger.

"No, I don't know it, but I'm willing to bet my life that I'm right about him. In fact, I am betting my life—all our lives." He took a deep breath and turned away, then stopped and turned back. "I think you should ask him!"

"What?" She stared at him, horror gripping her in a cold vise. "You can't be serious."

"I'm deadly serious, Celeste." He leaned toward her, face flushed. "I think you should go to him tomorrow. Ask him about his slaves. Ask him why he tried to get us all killed. Ask him if he'll buy you from me and set you free, but ask him without casting a charm on him first."

The chill in her bones firmed into a cold resolve. "And if you're wrong about him?"

A bark of humorless laughter escaped his throat. "If he turns out not to be the bastard I think he is, we'll just switch the necklaces and leave him in Sothis, instead of dragging him in front of the authorities." He folded his arms and leaned back against the bulkhead. "He'll be embarrassed and out several thousand scarabs, but he won't be destroyed. I'll have Vreva return the real necklace to Nhil and collect the reward, and we'll get the hell out of there before Ekhan can figure out what's happened."

"You would do that for me?" She couldn't believe he was suggesting this.

"Sure." He waved a hand and turned away. "Just go ahead and ask him."

"All right, I will." She watched as he struggled out of the rest of his clothes, lay down, and pulled the blanket up. He didn't even say good night.

Celeste slithered back under the skylight, but couldn't see the stars for the lights of the city. She slumped, then went to her cushions and curled up. Torius's breath was still ragged; she knew he wasn't asleep, but she didn't say anything. She also knew she was right about Benrahi. What she didn't know was why Torius didn't believe her.

And if he still loves me, she thought. And what Snick, Grogul, Thillion, and the rest of the crew will do if I force them to change the plan. Her friends ...her home ...Torius ...She was risking it all to save Benrahi Ekhan, a man to whom she could never tell the truth. A man who thought she was human.

paizo.com #2495541, Ronald Hartman <rh82759@netzero.net>, Sep 24, 2013

Chapter Twenty-One

Temptations of the Flesh

Thank you, Master Ekhan."

At the sound of Thillion's voice, Celeste opened the door a crack and peered out. The elf stood at Benrahi's door, Grogul by his side. He bowed and smiled into the merchant's cabin.

"Without Drogul's help, it would take us several additional hours to load the new cargo. I'll have him back to you before lunch."

Celeste watched Thillion and Grogul leave before she cast her transformation spell, gathered her nerve, and crept out of her cabin. Her urgent knock on Benrahi's door was met by a cautious, "Who is it?"

"Celeste!" she whispered, bracing herself. You have to do this! You have to show Torius that you're right about him.

The door opened a crack, his eyes wide when he saw her. "Celeste!" He urged her inside and quickly shut the door. "What are you doing here in daylight? The captain mustn't find you in my cabin, and I don't know how long he'll be off the ship."

"You needn't worry, Benrahi." She gave him a tentative smile, though her stomach was in knots. This would be the true test: without the charm spell, would his feelings for her be the same? "He's gone into the city while the crew loads the new cargo. He'll be absent for several hours, though I dare not linger long. I just ...wanted to see you. I learned that we will be taking you back to Azir soon. Once you are gone ..." She turned away. "I will have only him for company again."

"Did he treat you poorly last night, Celeste?" Benrahi laid gentle hands on her shoulders and turned her toward him. "I'm afraid I angered him during dinner. I didn't mean to, but I despise the way he treats you, throwing you tidbits like a dog." He went to his cabinet and filled a cup with wine, even though it was only midmorning. His hands were shaking, and he was pale and sweating. "I hope his punishment wasn't severe. I feel terrible."

Celeste bowed her head, her stomach clenching tighter. She was nervous enough talking with him without her charm influencing his mind; his symptoms of addiction only added guilt. "My master was angry because you favored me with your attention, but he'd punish me regardless of what either of us did." She brought her hands up to cover her face. "Please forgive my weakness, Benrahi, but sometimes I think that I'd rather die than have him touch me again."

"Shhhh, Celeste. You must never say that." He put his cup down and took her by the hands, pulling them away from her face, touching her chin to bring her eyes up to his. "Your slavery doesn't have to last forever. If you please your master, someday he might free you."

"Captain Akhiri will never free me, Benrahi. He knows that the moment he does, I'll leave him. I'll never be free of him ...unless ..." Celeste lowered her eyes, her heart in her throat. Even without the charm spell, Benrahi was being kind to her, but she had to be sure of him. She had to know if he was truly the man he seemed to be.

"Unless?" he encouraged, drawing her eyes up to his again.

His compassion strengthened her resolve, and she looked into his eyes. "Unless ...you bought me."

Benrahi's face went still, and Celeste wondered if she'd gone too far. His brow furrowed for a moment, and she feared he was finding his feelings for her less ardent than he remembered. If this failed, if he laughed at her, she would be putting the whole plan and their lives at risk.

His reply was gentle. "You would rather be with me than Captain Akhiri?"

"Oh, yes."

His lips curved slowly.

"Why do you smile?"

"What man wouldn't smile when told by a beautiful woman that she prefers him over another? All men vie for treasure, and you, my dear, are indeed a treasure." His eyes roved over her face, drinking her in, lifting her heart in a warm embrace. "I've never seen another woman like you. I have many beautiful things, Celeste, but you outshine them all like the sun outshines the stars. Have you ever seen the stars in the desert sky? I could take you there and you could read the future for me. I could do much with you by my side." He twirled a tendril of her hair around one finger.

By his side! Celeste's heart leapt into her throat. She didn't trust her ears. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? She had to know. "You ...would take off this collar? You would ...free me?"

Benrahi skimmed his finger around the collar's edge. His touch felt as if a brand burned her skin. "I would."

"Oh, Benrahi!" It's true. I was right about him. He's not a monster. Her heart felt like it would burst, not only with the feeling of vindication that she was right in her assessment of the merchant and Torius was wrong, but with a sense of sudden ease. They would not have to destroy this man. Yes, he had set the Osirian authorities after them, but they had stolen from him. Torius's thin-skinned sense of honor was too easily pricked.

"I'll talk with Captain Akhiri."

"Truly?" she asked, an honest tear trickling from the corner of her eye. "For me?"

"Truly, Celeste." He brushed the tear away from her cheek with his thumb, and bent down to touch her lips with his.

Heat swept over Celeste as she leaned into the lingering kiss. When Benrahi breathed, she breathed. Where he touched her, her skin tingled like pins and needles. He was so gentle, so kind, not at all the way Torius thought.

Torius!

With a surge of guilt, she pulled away, a gasp of horror escaping her throat. She felt as if the bottom had just fallen out of the world, and she was plummeting into Hell. Oh, gods! Torius!

"Celeste! What's wrong?"

"I ..." Her mind whirled with mortification at what she was feeling for Benrahi. Right behind it came the sudden certainty that she still loved Torius—that despite their problems, those feelings still ran as deep as ever, and she could never truly be with Benrahi. She firmed her resolve. She was right about Benrahi: he did have honest feelings for her. She would have to be satisfied with that. But there was still one more thing she needed to know to convince her captain that he shouldn't destroy Benrahi Ekhan. "I just had a horrible thought." She looked up to him. "I know you're a powerful man, and your wrath is fearsome, but I don't wish you to take vengeance upon Captain Akhiri for the way he's treated me."

"Vengeance? Why would you think I'd do such a thing, Celeste?" He gave a wry laugh. "Did Captain Akhiri tell you that I was such a terrible man?"

"No. The captain doesn't discuss things with me as you do. When he's not using me or showing me off, it's like I'm not even there. But I overhead him tell Quillion that you control a vast empire that encompasses the entire Inner Sea, and that no man who crosses you lives long enough to even count his spoils. He said that you wreaked terrible revenge on a pirate and his crew when they robbed you. I know you don't think highly of Captain Akhiri, and I don't like him myself, but he hasn't always been cruel, and he saved me from an even more ghastly fate. He's not a kind master, but he could've been much worse, and I quite like Flick and some of the others. Please don't destroy him as you did that pirate."

He surprised her by barking a laugh and shaking his head. "So, I'm a covetous emperor who crushes his enemies, am I?" He laughed again. "Celeste, you needn't fear. I won't touch a hair on Captain Akhiri's head. My wrath has been greatly exaggerated. The laws of my clan demanded that I act against that pirate. He stole from me, and it would've been a sign of weakness if I let the affront pass. I really had no choice. Had I not, my clan might have replaced me with another. Does that ease your mind?"

Celeste nodded and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. She'd been right about him, about all of it. Now she knew what she had to do: she had to convince Torius to change their plan. It seemed her world had just been turned upside down. She was risking everything to help this man, but looking up into his thoughtful eyes, she knew she was doing what she must. It felt right.

"Thank you, Benrahi." She leaned against him, pressing her cheek to his chest. As his arms enfolded her, however, a strange odor wrinkled her nose: a faint scent of smoke, like a kettle on a stove in which all the liquid has boiled away. Fire? She pushed away to sniff the air.

"Do you smell that?"

Benrahi sniffed and shook his head. "No. I smell nothing. What ..."

She sniffed again, and now she, too, smelled nothing. "I thought ..." She shook her head and smiled at him. "It's nothing ...my imagination."

Celeste brushed his cheek with her fingers—his skin bore a light sheen of sweat, and she could feel the faint tremor, see the twitch in the muscles around his eyes that was the result of her venom. "I should go. I've lingered here too long already."

"Visit me again when we leave Katapesh." He gathered her hand into his, pulled it up and kissed her fingertips. "Until then ..." He pulled her in for another passionate kiss. After a short eternity, he released her and cautiously opened the cabin door. He checked the corridor before waving her on.

Celeste's knees were still shaking when she closed her cabin door. She had been right about Benrahi Ekhan. He was no monster, just a man in love ...with her.

∗ ∗ ∗

Torius strode across the gangplank, relieved to finally be home. He'd spent two sweltering hours wandering the city, and was footsore and anxious to be under way. He'd given Celeste more than enough time for her conversation with Ekhan—now it was time to move onto the last stage of the plan. With luck, a week from now they'd have their lives back, not to mention a small fortune.

"All loaded, Captain." Thillion nodded toward the main hatch, which was already closed and battened. "The tide turns within the hour, and we can be beyond the headlands before dusk."

"Good!" Torius pulled a pouch from his pocket. "Give this to Kerrig with my thanks, then cast off and put to sea. I'll be in my cabin if you need me."

"Aye, Captain."

Torius slipped into his cabin quietly, but as he eased the lock into place, he heard Celeste rouse from her nest. He turned with an apologetic shrug. "Sorry to wake you."

"Don't be." She slithered off her pillows and undulated her coils in a manner that always reminded him of a stretching cat. "I was only dozing."

He took off his kaftan and hung it on a peg to air; he hadn't worn his fine white one for fear of being recognized, and without its magic to keep him cool, his shirt was damp with sweat. "So, how did your talk with Ekhan go?"

"He's not what we believed him to be when we devised our plan, my captain."

Her words caught him by surprise, and he whirled toward her. "What?"

As Celeste quickly outlined her conversation with the merchant, the muscles of his neck and shoulders tightened with every word. "So you see, he only sought revenge because his clan required it. And he said he would free me."

"I don't believe it!" This image of Ekhan didn't match the man he knew. Then the answer came to him. "He lied! He'd say anything to get ..." he waved his hand at her body, struggling for a euphemism that wasn't crude " ...what he wants."

"That is not all that he wantsss!" She hissed and flared, evidently understanding his thoughts precisely. "He's had innumerable opportunities, Torius, and he's never taken advantage. Not once! You agreed to change the plan if I discovered that he wasn't the monster we thought he was. If I can't trust your word on this, how can I trust your word on anything? Where's your vaunted pirate's honor now?"

Torius felt the last like a kick in the gut. He had told her that they would change the plan, but he'd been so sure that talking with an uncharmed Ekhan would change her mind. Admittedly, she seemed to know the merchant prince better than the rest of them, but to change their entire plan ...He looked at Celeste's determined expression and knew it was hopeless to argue. To go back on his word would make him no better than the merchant prince, and would destroy what little remained of their relationship.

"All right." He ran a hand over his face and sighed heavily. "We'll have to find some way to delay him from contacting Nhil until Vreva can return the Star of Thumen and get the reward. Then we can lure him off the ship with a fake appointment to return the necklace. That should give us a big enough head start to be over the horizon before he finds out the necklace he's carrying is a fake. With any luck, he'll be jittery enough that the authorities won't believe him. We'll return to Katapesh, rearm the ship, and run. Ekhan's going to be even madder at Captain Akhiri than he was at Torius Vin—who knows how far he'll go to get revenge this time?"

"Thank you," she said, and her gratitude sounded heartfelt. "I suppose our trip to the observatory—"

"Is the least of our worries," he said with true regret. He had dreamt of many cool nights surrounded by the endless plain, just the two of them gazing at the heavens, discussing the stars and planets and how such far-off objects augured the future—their future. That future was now as dark as a cloudy night. "I've got to explain this to everyone. Gozreh's guts, what a mess."

His stomach clenched with the thought of the position he'd put everyone in. He had to figure out a way to protect everyone, but his mind was still half-numb and his sweaty shirt clung to him like something cold and dead. Pulling the shirt over his head, he flung it aside and poured the basin full of tepid water.

"Torius! Your arm!"

He froze. He'd completely forgotten about the bruises on his forearm.

"It's been a month since your fight with Pok-Nal—those bruises can't be from his collar! What's going on?" Her voice was tense, and he heard the dry rattle of her tail flicking against the floor.

Guilt seized him like the constricting coils of a huge snake, forcing out the truth. There was no way around it; he couldn't lie to her anymore. Hesitantly, he held out his arm to show her the bruises, wincing as he made himself look at each tiny scar or scab where the needle had pierced him.

"I'm sorry, Celeste," he whispered, his heart in his throat. "I ...lied to you. I'm still addicted to your venom. I didn't have the strength to stop."

"You ..." She stared at his arm for a long moment, then up at him, pain heavy in her eyes. "How do you do it?"

"Snick stole some of the venom that Thillion was using." He pulled the small vial from his pocket and the grooved sail needle from his belt to show her. "I take it to keep the shakes away. Every time I try to stop, they come back. I started because I didn't dare sneak into Vreva's apartment when I couldn't keep from shaking, and I knew Twilp would never agree to help us if I didn't look confident and ...normal. And now, with Ekhan on board, we couldn't risk him seeing me like that, so ..."

"So you're still addicted to me."

The hurt in her voice nearly undid him.

"No, Celeste!" He wanted to take her face in his hands, caress away the pain he'd caused, but he felt like he'd given up that right. "I'm addicted to your venom, not you. I love you! I wasn't lying about that. I know that the two are separate now. I just can't ..."

The betrayal in her eyes was too much to bear. She would never trust him again.

"Gods damn it!" He whirled around and slammed his fist into the bulkhead. Pain shot up his arm. He clenched his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut. A memory rose in his mind: a woman, older than her years with wizened flesh and sunken eyes, her shaking hand reaching for a block of pesh even as she shoved him toward the leering slaver. He slumped against the wall, self-loathing surging up his throat like a flood of sour vomit. "I never wanted to be like her, and now look at me."

"You're not like her, Torius!" Celeste's smooth scales pressed cool against his back, her voice low and intense in his ear. "Your mother was a pesh addict, and her affliction hurt everyone around her. Your addiction to my venom was an accident, but it's harmless."

"Harmless?" He turned to her, hating the tremor in his voice, the weakness it betrayed. "How can anything that has this kind of a hold on me be harmless, Celeste? I watched my mother learn to care more for her pesh than she did for me! She sold me for pesh, for Gozreh's sake! Her own son!"

"You're not like her!" she reiterated. "You care for the people around you. You'd never force me to give you venom to feed your addiction."

Though the idea nearly made him retch, he wondered if it was true. "How can you know that?"

"I know you, Torius! You're not defined by what runs through your veins. Human blood doesn't run through mine, yet I love you. I don't know how I could ever live without loving you."

He stared at her in astonishment. She loved him? Even after all this—the lies, the betrayal, the addiction—she still loved him? The thought buoyed him up, a bit of floating debris for a drowning man to grasp. His knees steadied, and he blinked away the tears. If she still loved him, maybe there was some hope after all.

"So what you're saying it that you're addicted to me, too." He cleared his throat and felt the lump there ease. "I never thought of love that way before."

"You're in my veins, Torius Vin," she said with a soft smile, leaning in to nuzzle his neck. "Even if you sometimes drive me to distraction."

He felt the faint prick of her fangs and pulled away.

"Please, Celeste. No," he said, surprised that he could refuse her offer. He drew a ragged breath, firming his resolve. "If you bite me, I'll associate you with my addiction. If I do it this way," he raised his bruised arm, "it's something shameful. Something I could maybe force myself to stop once this whole thing is over."

"Very well." Her voice was surprisingly calm. "I do miss it, though."

"Biting me?" He gaped at her, startled by her admission. "Really?"

"Really." She murmured something under her breath, and her flesh flowed like melting wax as she transformed. She stood before him without raiment, white hair cascading over her shoulders, her pearly skin glowing in the dim light of the cabin, more beautiful than he could bear to look upon. "But that doesn't mean I can't try to get you addicted to something else."

She flowed into his arms, her milky skin caressing his, forcing him to catch his breath. Her hands clutched him to her, nails grasping for purchase on his back, her lips coursing over his neck, his ear, his cheek, and finally his mouth, setting a fire in the pit of his stomach.

"Gozreh be merciful, but I could love being addicted to this," he whispered as her breath mingled with his own.

∗ ∗ ∗

Celeste lay in her nest, unable to sleep, her emotions roiling like gale-driven seas. The lingering warmth of Torius's body in the cushions, the scent of him, brought a smile to her lips. His honesty had resolved the issues that separated them, and their stolen moment of love had strengthened their bond. They understood one another now. Everything was out in the open, honest and true.

Then she considered Benrahi, and her smile slipped.

Dishonesty and lies, manipulation and magic were the tools she'd used to wriggle herself into his affections. She felt soiled, as if the courtesan tricks that Vreva had taught her were weapons she had used to flay him open and gouge his soul. Weapons more lethal than knives or swords.

She knew she could never go with Benrahi, despite his promises, and realized now that she had never truly wanted to. But the feeling she got when the merchant prince looked at her with those dark eyes ...

That, too, is an addiction.

After rolling over several more times, she stirred from her bed, knowing she wouldn't sleep. With her magic, she slid aside a teak slat that kept her orrery safe in its protective nook and floated the delicate apparatus over to the navigation table.

She opened the shade covering the skylight, and light from the afternoon sun glittered on the elaborate clockwork representation of the solar system. As she turned the little handle, enamel-painted globes revolved around the yellow orb of the sun. The larger planets of Liavara and Bretheda even had their own tiny orbiting moons. It wasn't to scale, of course, but all the angles, rotations, and positions were accurate. And best of all, the black enameled base displayed the thirteen astrological signs of the Cosmic Caravan, represented in tiny flecks of white, yellow, red, and blue. Though it would never rival gazing upon the heavens themselves, it would do for now.

After consulting an almanac, she set the planets to their positions of a month ago, then turned the handle and watched their movements. Her pen scratched notes in her journal, and the pages of her astronomical text flipped back and forth as she looked up alignments. In retrospect, many of the interactions of the planets and constellations were obvious in their portents, but as the tiny globes rotated from the past dates into the future, their messages blurred. After an hour of making notes, looking up potential meanings and trying to reference those to the people around her, she felt a little frustrated. Torius's sign, the Lantern Bearer, seemed to be in flux. The planet Verces, sometimes called the Line, was ascending, which usually meant an important decision to be made—yes or no, stay or leave, fight or run. She didn't know Benrahi's birth date, so of course she couldn't read anything about him.

She bit her lip in consternation and decided to read her own stars, something she rarely ventured. Her astrological sign was the Stargazer—apropos in so many ways. She watched the tiny planets of the orrery in their orbits as she turned the handle. Aucturn, the Stranger, moved into the Stargazer constellation.

Celeste flipped through her texts, looking for a hint as to the possible meaning of this conjunction. The unexpected, or the arrival of someone unknown, seemed to be the consensus. Well, that's just vague enough to be irritating. After putting the orrery away and stowing her books and tools, she curled up to sleep. Torius often said that her prophesies were clear only in hindsight, but at least she knew what to look for. When the stranger appeared, she would be ready.

∗ ∗ ∗

"I don't like it," Grogul growled.

"Like that's a surprise!" Snick poked him in the ribs and ducked a backhanded swipe. "You don't like anything."

"I'd like to kick your skinny little—"

"That's enough!" Torius snapped, continuing to pace the cramped confines of the forecastle. His stomach was clenched in more knots than fishnet in a hurricane, thoughts of mutiny roiling his gut with every plunge and rise of the ship. "I'm not asking anyone to like it. I'm telling you that we're changing the plan, why we're changing it and how. I know this way will be more dangerous and won't get us off the hook with the Osirian Navy, but we'll still get a handsome payoff. Things will blow over eventually. Until then, we'll make a long run to Tian Xia.

"You'll run off to Tian Xia, but what do I do?" Twilp jumped off his seat and began his own pacing, his face red and his fists clenched. "You're putting my neck on a chopping block! I agreed to this scheme because it meant taking Ekhan out of the picture for good. Now you're saying that he's not such a bad guy, but I guarantee you he'll be hell-bent on revenge. You can sail off into the sunset, but guess what? I'll still be around, and he'll associate me with you. He'll have me skinned and tan my hide for a pair of boots!"

"You could come with us," Snick suggested, a lilt of hope in her voice, but the halfling was already shaking his head.

"Not much call for a burglar aboard a pirate ship, Snick. Sorry."

"It doesn't sound to me like we're gonna be a pirate ship." Grogul's tone fairly dripped with disgust. "I didn't sign on to be a merchant, and a six-month passage to Tian Xia sounds about as exciting as watching paint dry."

"It might not be fun, but it'll be profitable. And there's always the chance that something will crop up along the way. Anyone who wants to leave the ship will get their full share of the take, of course." Torius looked around the room, avoiding Grogul's eyes. It stung him to think that he might lose his best sailor, but he remained resolute that he would honor his promise to Celeste.

"I want double my agreed share," Twilp declared. "That might be enough, barely, to get me out of Sothis alive and far enough away that he'll never find me."

"You wouldn't necessarily be blamed by Ekhan," Torius said. "In fact, you could probably earn his trust by playing the dutiful lackey and suggesting that the avaricious Captain Akhiri stole the real Star of Thumen from him and cheated you in the process. We'll already be on Ekhan's most-hated list, so it won't really do us any harm."

"That's not bad, I suppose." The halfling's bushy eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Someone will have to go with him to meet with Nhil, and when he finds out that Vreva has already returned the real necklace, I could claim that you cheated us both."

"That's perfect. Good." Torius sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Anything else?"

"Captain."

Thillion's voice was low and calm, but there was a burr of tension there as well. Torius suddenly realized that the elf had not said a word either for or against the new plan. He turned toward his first mate and nodded.

"Captain, I appreciate your honesty with us, but I'm not prepared to spend my life on the run. If our plan does not include eliminating the threat from the Osirian authorities, I'll fulfill my duties until we reach Katapesh, and then I'll be leaving the ship." Torius felt like he'd been kicked in the gut. "Now if you'll excuse me, it's my watch." With that, he rose and left the room.

Torius stared after him, his heart sinking. Thillion was a fine first mate, but the thought of losing a friend stung worse than the notion of trying to find a replacement. Well, I may as well take all my pain now. "Grogul? Snick?"

Grogul stood up from the small table. "I don't like this new plan, Captain, and I don't like losing Thillion over it. And don't get any ideas about making me your new first mate, either. I won't keep the books and I won't deal with a bunch of smarmy dockmasters and merchants!"

"But you'll stay?"

"I'll stay." The bosun gave a massive shrug. "I figure if we don't find trouble, we can always make it." He bared his tusks in a malicious grin.

Torius smiled, then turned to Snick. His engineer looked at him with narrowed eyes, her arms crossed and her lower lip jutting out, looking as belligerent as a three-foot-tall gnome with pink hair could look. His smile faltered.

"You need a haircut."

Torius felt his heart lighten, and he let out a bark of involuntary laughter. Two out of three wasn't bad. He still wasn't happy, but his stomach had loosened up and he felt better about the new plan. It would be dangerous, but they were used to that.

"All we need now," he said, "is the real Star of Thumen."

∗ ∗ ∗

Celeste peered out from behind her cabin door, and Snick popped her head out just below. In the corridor, Grogul loomed like a small mountain, eyes and tusks gleaming in the faint light from the night-dimmed lanterns. He crooked a finger and Celeste followed Snick to Benrahi's cabin, slithering carefully to keep her scales from rustling on the floor. At the door, they could hear the merchant's snoring from within.

They wouldn't have a better opportunity than this to exchange the fake Star of Thumen for the real, but the thought of making the switch while Benrahi slept made Celeste's scales shudder. Snick used the spare key on the lock, turning it carefully to muffle the faint click of the brass tumblers. She turned the latch and eased the door open on silent hinges.

The merchant prince slept soundly in his bunk, his head lolling slightly with the roll of the ship. An empty wine bottle stood in the nook beside his bed, and Celeste knew that it had been full when Benrahi went to his cabin. She slithered to the head of the bunk, whispered the charm spell and felt it take hold of Ekhan's mind. He stirred with a snort, and she froze.

"Who?" His eyes fluttered open. "Celeste?"

Even in the darkness, she could see that his eyes were glassy with sleep, drink, and the heavy dose of venom mixture. She leaned close, so her familiar face filled his view instead of her serpentine body or Snick's shocking pink hair.

"Shhhh, my dear Benrahi. You're dreaming." She leaned in to brush his lips with hers. "Sleep, and dream of me ...Sleep and dream ..."

His eyes sagged closed and he eased back to sleep—aided by the magical comfort of her presence and the drugged wine—while she whispered to him. When his breath had deepened, and his eyes began to dart to and fro under his lids, she straightened and turned away. Murmuring another spell, she glanced around the room. Only one of his chests showed a magical aura. She looked to Snick and nodded toward the smallest chest.

The gnome went to work.

Thanks to their previous reconnaissance, Snick picked the lock with no trouble and almost no sound. The lid creaked faintly as she lifted it, and Ekhan stirred again. Celeste turned back and whispered gentle suggestions of sleep and pleasant dreams until he relaxed into somnolence once again.

Beneath his nightshirt she noticed another powerful magical aura, the heavy pendant or medallion she had felt upon his breast. Curious, she leaned closer, studying the aura, trying to determine what the item might be. From behind her came the faint rustle of Snick rifling through the contents of the chest, sounding more like a breath of wind than a theft in progress. Celeste ignored it, intent on discovering what it was that Benrahi kept hidden. Just when she felt she was on the verge of identifying the aura, a soft gasp from Snick snapped her concentration. Celeste turned to see what was wrong, visions of poisoned needles and spring-loaded vials of acid rising in her mind. Snick stared into the chest, horror painted on her features as she slowly drew something from its dark depths.

With a flourish, the gnome unfurled the pair of red silk shorts she had found on their previous incursion and dangled them, grinning and mouthing the words, "Ooh, pretty!"

Celeste's ire rose and she nearly hissed, but at that moment Ekhan snorted. She flashed a glare at the gnome, then once again bent low to whisper soothing suggestions of dreams and slumber. She heard Snick close the chest and the faint click that meant she'd relocked it. The gnome tapped Celeste's tail with a finger, their signal that the task had been completed; it was time to leave. Snick opened the door and Celeste turned and quietly fled. When the door was again safely locked, they nodded to Grogul and crept down the hall to the captain's cabin.

"Well?" Torius asked in a tense whisper when the cabin door was closed.

"Got it!" Snick pulled a leather pouch from her pocket, holding it up in triumph.

"After playing a stupid little joke that could have gotten us caught!" Celeste magicked the pouch out of Snick's hand and opened it, then floated the necklace out and around her neck. The knowledge of the pharaohs flashed into her mind. Satisfied, she replaced it in the pouch, and gave it to Torius. "It's genuine."

"It better be." Breathing a sigh of relief, he sat on the edge of the bunk. "No more jokes, Snick. At least not when Ekhan's in the same room."

"You two just aren't any fun at all!" the gnome complained, giving them a hurt look.

"You want fun?" Celeste slithered in a tight circle around Snick and tightened her coils until only the gnome's head was visible. "I should bite you for your little joke!"

"I'll be good! I'll be good!" Snick pleaded, her eyes wide in feigned terror. She knew Celeste too well to take the threat seriously.

"Celeste ..."

Celeste sighed at Torius's warning. She was genuinely angry, but Snick's support of the change in plan had earned her a modicum of tolerance. Though he didn't say it in so many words, Celeste knew that Torius was deeply moved by Snick and Grogul's loyalty. Thillion—well, that was another story.

Easing her coils, she released Snick.

The gnome dashed for the door. As she slipped out, Celeste heard her whisper, "No sense of humor at all!"

paizo.com #2495541, Ronald Hartman <rh82759@netzero.net>, Sep 24, 2013

Chapter Twenty-Two

Bought and Paid For

As Stargazer approached the Eye of Sothis, the harbor island at the center of the great city's canal, Torius suppressed a nervous shudder. The same three war galleys they had battled nearly two months before lay docked at the naval pier. This was where everything would come together, where their plan could either come to fruition or fail, and the sight of those warships felt like a harbinger of doom. He clenched his hands to silence the faint tremors and tried to think of something other than all the ways this could go wrong.

Gozreh's guts, I can't wait to just be Torius Vin the pirate again, he thought, running a hand over his face and instantly missing his beloved beard and mustache. He was tired of being Captain Akhiri, the obsequious merchant, and seeing a face he didn't recognize in the mirror.

"At least we'll be on the other side of the Eye from the navy yard." Thillion looked over his shoulder at the long, straight Crimson Canal. "We should be able to sell our cargo at the Eye easily enough. That way there are no gates between us and the river.

"Good." Torius pulled a wax-sealed roll of parchment and a jingling pouch out of his pocket and handed both to his first mate. "As soon as we hit the dock, send a runner to Vreva with the scroll, then go make nice with the harbormaster. Timing will be everything if we want to get out of here before Ekhan can convince the authorities that we've cheated him. I've got to talk to our illustrious passenger about arranging his meeting with Nhil. We should have no problem putting him off until this afternoon."

"Aye, sir."

Torius gave his mate a nod and strode through the sterncastle door. Instead of going to Ekhan's cabin, however, he ducked into the main hold. Backing into a corner, he quickly rolled up his sleeve. His hands shook as he pulled out the bottle of venom and filled the needle. He stabbed it into his forearm deeper than he had intended, piercing the muscle.

"Gozreh's guts!" He pulled the needle out and pressed his thumb to the wound. The brief rush of euphoria eased the shakes like a wave washing away footprints from a beach. He drew a tremulous breath and let it out.

And I'm sick to death of this. Once they were on the long passage to Tian Xia, he'd have all the time in the world to put this filthy addiction behind him. He stuffed away the venom and the needle, rolled down his sleeve, and headed for the merchant's cabin.

"I'll go get the captain, Master Ekhan." Grogul's voice was unmistakable, and the half-orc emerged from Ekhan's cabin, followed closely by the merchant prince.

"No need. I was just coming to see you, Master Ekhan." As Torius shuffled sideways to get by his massive bosun in the narrow corridor, Grogul gave him a covert look. His heavy eyebrows were raised, his mouth was set in a grim scowl, and he snapped his eyes toward Ekhan.

"Ah, Captain!" The merchant squinted at Torius, then Grogul, and jerked back, then blinked and shook off another obvious hallucination.

Since their departure from Katapesh, they had been plying Ekhan with the greatest concentration of the venom mixture that they dared. Consequently, his paranoia, hallucinations, and delusions were at an all-time high. He'd developed a constant tic and continually peered into shadows and corners as if plagued by demons. It would have to be enough—if this behavior wasn't enough to ruin his credibility with the authorities, the whole plan was sunk.

"I see that we're in Sothis. I need to speak with you before we dock."

"And I to you." Torius waved a hand toward the galley. "Please, let's sit and have some refreshment. Souso, bring us some wine and a bite to eat."

"Thank you, Captain."

Ekhan took his customary seat across the table from Torius, and Grogul took his station behind him. The bosun's normally impassive expression was anything but, and his hand gripped the haft of his axe hard enough to whiten his knuckles.

What the hell is wrong? Soursop brought a plate of cheese and a bottle of wine. Torius poured out two glasses and took one for himself. "What can I help you with, Master Ekhan?"

"I will not mince words, Captain. I would like to purchase Celeste from you."

"You what?" Torius nearly choked on his wine. Celeste had said that Ekhan had offered to buy her, but he hadn't expected an offer so soon.

"I wish to purchase your slave, Captain. Is that so difficult to understand?" The merchant sipped his wine, his eyes focused on Torius's face. "I find her intriguing and wish to have her as my own."

"I ...understand perfectly, Master Ekhan, it's just that I've owned her for quite some time now. I never considered selling her. I've grown ...attached to her, you understand."

"I understand all too well, Captain." Ekhan swirled his wine in his cup and pursed his lips. "I'll give you five thousand gold measures for her."

Torius stifled his surprise. Five thousand for a pleasure slave was quite a sum. "Master Ekhan, I couldn't possibly—"

"Seven thousand."

Torius picked a piece of cheese from the plate and ate it as he considered the offer. He knew from Snick that Ekhan still had plenty of money. Why not take him for all they could get? With careful negotiation, Torius could wrangle a nice purchase price and the scam would be over before Ekhan could take possession. The moment Twilp left with him to meet with Nhil, they would cast off lines and sail away.

Washing the sharp cheese down with a sip of wine, he saw Grogul slowly shake his head, then raise a hand and pass his thumb silently across his throat. He wants to kill Ekhan. Why? Taking the man's money wouldn't increase the danger of their plan, but Gozreh help him if he had to tell Celeste that they had killed the merchant prince; she would be on him like a cobra on a mongoose. Torius shook his head, both to Ekhan's offer and to Grogul's suggestion.

"That's a noble sum, Master Ekhan, but I couldn't part with my pleasure slave ...for less than ten thousand."

"I will pay eight thousand for her, Captain. No more."

"But she is, as I mentioned previously, a unique specimen." Torius smiled thinly, warming to the negotiations. "And she has been trained by the most adept instructors in the arts of sensual pleasure. I'd never forgive myself if I let her go for less than nine thousand."

"You could buy a half-dozen pleasure slaves for that, Captain!" Ekhan said with a scornful laugh.

"I could, Master Ekhan, but they would pale in comparison to Celeste." He sipped his wine. "We both know that you could recoup her price twice over in just a month if you leased her favors to your rich friends in Azir. Her unique appearance alone is enough to make men pay exorbitant fees to sample her charms."

"I don't intend to open a brothel with Celeste as its centerpiece, Captain!" Ekhan slammed down his wine cup, slopping its contents onto the tablecloth. "This wine is sour! Bring a new bottle!"

"Souso, a new bottle of wine." Torius pushed his cup aside and leaned on the table, looking straight into Ekhan's eyes. "What you plan to do with Celeste isn't my concern, Master Ekhan. But I will be compensated appropriately for such an exquisite slave. Eight thousand five hundred is the lowest price I'll accept."

Soursop poured the new wine, and Torius was careful to take only a tiny sip of the highly envenomed drink. As it was, he would likely have some mild hallucinations of his own later, but he was feeling good about the deal on the table.

Ekhan raised his cup and gulped the wine, then nodded. "Very well, Captain Akhiri. I will pay your price. Have your men take my trunks ashore as soon as the ship is docked. I will be leaving the Sea Serpent directly and taking Celeste with me."

"Leaving?" This time Torius did choke on the wine, and had to cough to clear his throat.

Behind Ekhan, Grogul clenched his jaw and shook his head. That's why Grogul wants to kill him! He plans to take her off the ship! He briefly considered giving the half-orc the nod and dealing with the consequences later. But I promised Celeste that Ekhan would make it out of this scam with little more than embarrassment. Maybe he could talk the man out of it.

"But Master Ekhan," he said in his most wheedling tone, "our agreement—"

"Our agreement was for a finder's fee for the Star of Thumen and transportation at no charge. The way I see it, Captain, you're getting a deal here. Instead of having to take me all the way back to Azir, you may go about your business." His dark eyes narrowed. "And I've decided that I want no part of your business. Once I've received the reward from Keiratek Nhil, you'll get your gold, but I'll arrange my own passage back to Azir. Now, please have Celeste and her possessions brought ashore and put with mine." He gulped down the rest of his wine and lurched to his feet, his hands shaking while his eyes darted around the room.

"Celeste's possessions?" Torius rose slowly, fighting not to grind his teeth. "As a slave, Celeste has no possessions, Master Ekhan. Our negotiated price was for Celeste, not for the clothing and other things that I allow her to wear. I could possibly sell them to you for—"

Ekhan slammed his hands on the table, his face livid. "I'll not give you another gold piece, Akhiri! Don't push me, Captain—I can ruin you with a flick of my finger! I am not without influence, even here!"

And I can kill you with a flick my finger, Torius thought. It would be so much easier ...But Celeste would never forgive me.

Torius heaved a sigh. There was still a way out of this—a risky one, but doable—but it would be up to Celeste.

"Very well, Master Ekhan. You'll receive Celeste and all of her possessions in exchange for eight thousand five hundred gold measures, and you'll leave my ship. I'll remain docked here until I receive my payment for the recovery of the Star of Thumen and then our association will end." He bowed shortly and smiled. "Your goods will, of course, be delivered to you undamaged."

"They better be!" Ekhan snapped. "I'll get your money."

∗ ∗ ∗

Torius entered the cabin, closed the door behind him, and dropped a bulging sack onto the floor. It landed with a heavy jingle. "We're in trouble."

"What?" Celeste slithered off her nest and stared at him, then the bag. "What's that? I heard raised voices, but not your words. What happened?"

"Ekhan just bought you." He nudged the sack with his toe.

"He ...he did?"

"He did. Eighty-five hundred gold. Lucky he paid me in platinum sphinxes, otherwise I'd have needed Grogul to carry it."

"I ...That's ...a great deal of money." Though the thought of being bought and sold disgusted her, a little spot of warmth glowed in her stomach at such a price. Benrahi had followed through on his word, and thought enough of her to pay an extraordinary sum. But the look on Torius's face screamed danger. Something was wrong. "What trouble are we in?"

"He's leaving the ship, now, and he's taking you with him."

Celeste's stomach dropped. "That isss not right! He is sssupposed to ..." Words failed her as she looked into Torius's eyes. "By the stars! You're serious!"

"Serious as a headsman's axe. Grogul wanted to kill him, but I held him off. It's your choice: you go with him, or we kill him before he leaves the ship."

"Kill him?" A pit of dread opened up before her. "I ...I can't, Torius!"

"Decide now, Celeste. We can't let him go ashore and then kill him later. Men like Ekhan draw attention. If he ends up dead, there'll be questions, and we'll be in even more trouble that we are now ...if that's possible."

Her stomach roiled as she recalled her recent prophecy of a vital decision for Torius: life or death for Ekhan. And Torius had let Ekhan live. Then he had given the same decision to her. "We can't kill him just because he intends to leave and wants me with him. We must find another way."

"Frankly, I hate the thought of you going with him." He lifted a hand to run his fingers through her hair, his eyes filled with worry. "But you're very good at manipulating him. And you have your charm spells. If you go, I'll have someone follow to keep an eye on you. We'll get you out as soon as we've got the reward money. I'll have Thillion tell the harbormaster that we were just dropping off passengers. He can have the ship ready to leave at a moment's notice."

Celeste cocked her head, considering her options. Thank the stars, I haven't used many spells today. After a moment, she nodded.

"I believe I can do this. I have sufficient transformation spells to maintain my human form for just over half of an hour, and the scrolls and potions we brought for emergencies will more than double that. I also have the four illusion scrolls that I didn't use; they'll last much longer and will be adequate for showing me in human form as long as he doesn't touch me and perceive the illusion."

"He better not touch you," Torius muttered.

"Torius, I didn't mean—"

"I know, I know. All right, then, let's do this." Torius dragged her sea chest from beneath the chart table. After pulling out all the charts and navigational instruments, he started packing her dresses. "Which one do you want to wear?"

"The blue one; it's the easiest to walk in. Also, I'll need my hooded cloak. Put one of the illusion scrolls and two potions in the pockets, and pack the rest in the chest." She floated the dress over her head, then coiled in front of the mirror to quickly apply kohl and rouge. Lastly, she coiled her hair into a simple twist fastened by her hair sticks. Once done, she floated all of her remaining accoutrements into the chest, and Torius closed it. "How will you know where I am?"

"Convince Ekhan to take Twilp with him, and I'll have Snick follow." He held out her cloak. "Make sure he leaves you at the inn when he goes to see Nhil. We'll get you out then."

"That shouldn't be a problem." She slipped into the cloak and fastened the clasp.

"Right." He didn't sound convinced. "What about a weapon? You could hide a dagger under your dresses, or my kukri."

"Benrahi wouldn't harm me." Torius had always been protective of her, and though she sometimes resented it, she knew it was only because he loved her. To ease his mind, she smiled, baring her fangs. "Besides, I don't need a knife, Toriusss."

"Oh, right." Torius bit his lip and reached out and cupped her cheek in one hand. She leaned into the warmth of his palm and they stood in silence, staring at one another for a moment. "You're sure about this?"

"I'm nervous, but yes, I'm sure."

Torius reached for her and she slithered into his arms. His kiss was sweet, but she felt the tension in his body as he pressed her close. His arms felt good around her, easing her nerves, and she forgot for a moment what she was about to do. Then the shouts of the sailors as they tossed thick hawsers to the dock crew interrupted their moment of peace.

"We should go," Torius whispered, releasing her from his embrace. He lifted the golden collar from the navigation table and held it up. "Can't forget this."

"Oh ...yes." The touch of the cool metal on her neck sent a nervous shiver down her spine. She'd worn the collar throughout their charade, but putting it on now felt ominous, as if she'd never be able to take it off. She felt like changing her mind, but if she balked, Benrahi would die. Instead, she steeled her nerves and flashed him a quick smile. "I'm ready, my captain."

She cast her transformation spell, then adjusted her dress and followed Torius from the cabin.

The sunlight dazzled her as they emerged from the sterncastle. Celeste pulled her hood over her head, blinking hard to clear her vision. Benrahi Ekhan stood on deck, resplendent in his beautiful clothes, his rings winking on his fingers as they reflected the sun. Only the suspicion in his eyes, the way he jerked back when someone ventured too close, and the persistent facial tic reminded her that he was not quite the same man who first boarded in Azir. Twilp stood next to him, speaking in low tones and gesticulating with his hands. As they neared, Celeste could hear the halfling's pleading words.

"A man such as yourself does not travel without servants, Master Ekhan. You know you can trust me, and I know what you need."

"I'll hire new servants." The merchant turned his back on Twilp and noticed Celeste and Torius. "At last, my dear Celeste arrives."

"One more reason I should go with you, Master Ekhan," Twilp interrupted, stepping up to them. "She'll draw attention. I know Sothis, and I can help keep you safe."

"You protect me?"

"It would be wise to have someone you can trust at your side, Benrahi." Celeste let her voice tremble as she cast a fearful look at the sprawling city. "A great man such as yourself is apt to attract those who might wish you ill."

"You're right, Celeste, but not to worry. I am not without protection." Benrahi's fingers strayed to his chest, tapping the pendant hidden beneath his shirt. He looked down at Twilp with less derision than he had a moment ago. "Though I suppose the halfling has his uses, at least until we reach Azir."

"I only wish to be of service, Master Ekhan." Twilp gave him a low bow. "I know the perfect place for you to stay! The Harp and Thistle is the finest inn in the city. It is located in the best district and caters to only the noblest clientele."

"Come along, then. You can ride atop the coach."

"Thank you, Master Ekhan!"

Benrahi led the way down the gangplank, trailed by Celeste, Torius, and lastly Twilp lugging his small trunk. A large coach awaited them at the head of the pier. Torius handed Celeste's sea chest to Grogul, who loaded it amidst the merchant's luggage. Twilp scrambled on top.

"I see you've got all of your ...possessions." Torius looked pointedly at Celeste. She didn't appreciate the lecherous smile, even if it was an act. "I hope you find her worth the price you paid."

"I'm sure I will, Captain. You see, I always get what I want." Benrahi wrapped one arm possessively around Celeste's shoulders and drew her close. "Your finder's fee, minus Pok-Nal's cost, will be delivered by this evening."

Torius nodded and backed away from the carriage. Celeste spared him a glance as she climbed aboard, but dared not offer him an encouraging smile, lest Benrahi notice. She hunkered into the corner of the carriage and pulled back her hood. Benrahi settled into the opposing bench, leaning back in his seat to stare at her as the carriage lurched into motion. He had, at times, simply watched her during their clandestine meetings, but his stare seemed different now. His features possessed a smug satisfaction that she hadn't noticed before. She shifted, uncomfortable under that scrutiny, and looked out the window as they traversed a high arched bridge from the Eye of Sothis into the city. As they descended, she felt as if she was being swallowed by a great beast of beige-colored stone. The chaos of the waterfront gave way to a higher-class neighborhood with larger buildings and wider streets interspersed with crowded markets and green oases. She glanced at him furtively, but his eyes never left her.

Suddenly, she started to itch.

Easing her hand into her pocket, she felt the illusion scroll, but with Benrahi watching her, she dared not use it. Celeste looked out the window for something to distract his attention.

"Benrahi! Look at the Black Dome! It's like nothing I've ever seen!"

Obligingly, he turned to look.

"Watch the way the colors scintillate as we move along."

He watched. "Yes. It is very ...interesting."

With his attention averted, she unrolled the vellum sheet under a fold of her cloak and peered at the page. Completing it would require her to speak the final phrase aloud, which he might hear. The carriage turned a corner and transitioned from a sandy street onto a stone-paved avenue lined with towering palms. The iron-shod wheels clattered and clashed on the paving stones.

Thank the stars! She completed the spell in a whisper, envisioning herself in her current form, a human woman garbed in her blue dress and black cloak. The words vanished from the page. A moment later, she felt the familiar constriction as her arms and legs fused into serpentine form. A quick glance confirmed that she still appeared as a human, and she breathed easier. Now she just had to concentrate to maintain the image, use her magic to manipulate objects that she appeared to lift or move with her hands, and keep her tail out of Benrahi's way.

"Celeste," he said, turning back to her.

"Yes, Benrahi."

"You may continue to use my given name when we're alone, but in the company of others, I must insist that you address me as ‘Master.'"

Celeste stiffened. "As you wish, Benrahi."

"Good." He gave her a smile that held none of his previous admiration and looked back out the window.

Only then did she realize her mistake—focused on other things, she hadn't bothered to renew her charm spell, and the magic had run out. She could try to recast it now, but in doing so, she might lose her illusion.

"Stars be kind," she murmured as the carriage took her deeper into the maze of the unfamiliar city and farther away from Torius Vin.

∗ ∗ ∗

"Go, Snick!" Torius ordered as the carriage rolled away.

"I'm gone!" The gnome dashed after the carriage and leapt onto the baggage rack just before the vehicle vanished into the traffic of carts, carriages, palanquins, horses, and trains of camels.

"At least we know where they'll be," Torius said. "That was quick thinking on Twilp's part."

"As long as Ekhan doesn't change his mind," Grogul said with a scowl.

"Thanks for that comforting thought." Torius's nerves were already singing like violin strings at the thought of Celeste alone with Ekhan. She might believe he was harmless, but she hadn't seen the look of triumph Ekhan had thrown him as he boarded the carriage.

"Captain!"

He turned as Thillion hurried up the pier with Torius's white kaftan draped over one arm and his silver-hilted cutlass in the other. Grogul whistled for a carriage while Torius donned the garment and wrapped the scarf around his head. "Send half a dozen men to Vreva's for her trunks; we'll start her packing as soon as we get there. We should be back in a few hours with Celeste, and I want to be off the dock five minutes after that."

"The harbormaster was quite receptive to our ...needs. We've got top priority." Thillion extended his hand and Torius shook it, then accepted his sword. "Be careful, Captain,"

"Don't worry, Thillion. That's my job, remember?" He slipped the scabbard through his waist sash and took a deep breath. "Besides, all I've got to do is convince Vreva to go along with the new plan. Celeste's got the risky part. Just be ready to sail the instant we return."

"Aye, sir." The elf stepped back as they boarded the carriage.

Torius looked back as they rolled away, trying to suppress the feeling that he was abandoning a sinking ship.

∗ ∗ ∗

Celeste's scales slid over the plush carpets without a whisper as she followed Benrahi into the luxurious suite. The Harp and Thistle was like no inn she had ever seen. It resembled an elegant palace in miniature, all white marble, fluted columns, and plush furniture. The suite was no less opulent, with a large common room and two bedrooms. She moved quickly out of the way of the servants bearing their trunks, lest they tread on her tail and discover her illusion.

"Well! Here we are!" Benrahi strode to a low sideboard and perused the artful array of crystal decanters, goblets, and glasses. Finally choosing one decanter, he poured a measure of amber liquid into a bowl-sized snifter and swirled it, closing his eyes to savor its aroma before sipping. "What do you think, Celeste?"

"It is very beautiful, Master."

"I demand only the best." He waved a hand at the servants. "Place those trunks in the larger bedroom and that small one in the other. Farfan, you'll sleep out here in the common room, which is only appropriate for common people." He barked a laugh at his own joke.

"Of course, Master Ekhan." Twilp nodded obediently and stowed his small trunk behind a divan.

Celeste's eyes followed Benrahi as he drew aside the cascade of sheer curtains and strode onto the balcony. The Black Dome dominated the skyline; below sprawled the city of Sothis, a great jumble of amber buildings dotted with golden domes and tall minarets.

The door clicked shut behind the departing servants.

Celeste felt like she had opened a book in the middle and begun reading without knowing the story. On the ship, Benrahi had been kind and considerate to her, charmed or not. Now ...A shiver ran her full length as she recalled him ordering her to address him as "Master." Then, when they had arrived at the inn, he had debarked the carriage and left her to trail behind, ignoring her as he chatted with the innkeeper. Not once had he looked at her with those caring dark eyes or brushed her cheek with his fingertips. Not that she wanted him to touch her, since it might break the illusion, but even so ...

She glanced toward Twilp with a raised eyebrow, but the halfling just shrugged. They waited in silence while the merchant prince gazed out over the city, sipping his brandy, the sun glittering on his lustrous clothing. Finally, he turned, his snifter empty and a satisfied smile on his face.

"By all the planes of the existence, it feels good to be off that damned ship and back into a dry desert heat!" He strode back into the room and looked around as if seeing it for the first time. His left eye twitched constantly, and he blinked, squinting at them each in turn. "I feel as if I've made a passage from water into fire! And I'm much more comfortable in fire. No more constant rocking, bad food, narrow bunk, or salty clothing. And no more whining, incompetent Captain Akhiri to listen to." He strode back to the sideboard, picked up a different decanter, removed the crystal stopper and sniffed.

Celeste stiffened at his insult of Torius. "Master, might I ask—"

"No," he interrupted, not even turning to look at her as he replaced the stopper and picked out another decanter. "You may not ask me anything right now, Celeste."

Her stomach tightened even more, her apprehension flaring like a rising star. He had never spoken to her in that tone before. She longed to cast a charm spell, but was afraid of losing control of the illusion. The short-lived transformation spells required no concentration, but had to be conserved for times when an illusion was impractical or impossible, such as if he touched her.

Benrahi finally went back to the first decanter, poured another drink, and turned back to them, his smile intact.

"Farfan, go find Keiratek Nhil and inform him that I have recovered the Star of Thumen for him. Tell him that I have just completed an arduous sea voyage to return his lost treasure. I know he will want to reclaim it directly, so, despite my fatigue, I will receive him at his earliest convenience. Also, tell him that I will place it into his hands only to ensure that it doesn't go astray again. I don't want any lackey showing up. Go now."

"Yes, Master Ekhan." Twilp bowed and turned to go, then stopped as Celeste spoke.

"Master, perhaps you should rest first." She shot a worried glance at Twilp. Torius would not have had time yet to return the true necklace to Nhil. They would have to delay Benrahi if they could. "A bath, perhaps? You could go to meet with Master Nhil this afternoon, once refreshed."

"No, Celeste. I don't need rest. And I have what he wants. Why should I go running to him? No, he will come to me. And I prefer to get this over with now so I can relax for the rest of the day undisturbed. Farfan, didn't I tell you to go?"

"Of course, Master Ekhan." The halfling dashed out the door, casting an unreadable look back at Celeste.

The door clicked closed and they were alone.

"Benrahi, I—"

"Celeste!"

She nearly reared back and hissed at his sharp tone, but managed to control herself, casting her gaze down so he wouldn't see the alarm in her eyes.

"Look at me, Celeste."

His voice was softer now, more like the way he had spoken to her aboard the ship. She looked at him, relaxing a bit at the sight of his smile. He leaned back against the sideboard, the amber liquid sloshing in the glass as his hand trembled.

"You are a truly beautiful woman. Unique. You'll be the centerpiece of my collection, a glowing beacon of perfection. With you, I will outshine all others. In the dark of the desert night, you will read my fortune in the stars. I foresee a long and profitable future with you in my service."

In his service? What happened to ‘at his side'? Celeste was confused. "Master? You said that you would free me."

Benrahi nodded. "And I will, Celeste. Beauty eventually fades, and in time you'll no longer be pleasing to look upon. Then, if you've served me well, I'll free you. But understand this. I paid an exorbitant price for you, and I must recoup that investment. I expect you to be an exceptional slave until I decide to free you. That includes calling me ‘Master' in public, and not interrupting me. I know that our interactions were less formal on the ship, but that was different. We were merely two individuals attracted to one another. I needed a distraction on that tedious trip, and you were certainly lovelier and livelier company than that green-skinned oaf Akhiri called a bodyguard. But now you are my property, and as such, you must treat me with the respect and deference a master is accorded."

Her mind staggered at his words, and she fought to maintain her concentration on the illusion. Benrahi didn't seem upset, and a quick glance confirmed that she still looked human. He pushed away from the sideboard and began to circle her, tilting his head this way and that and eying her intently.

"Stay still!" he ordered when she started to turn.

Nervousness crept up her spine. He was too close. If he touched her and penetrated the illusion, he would see her in her true form. Unwilling to risk detection, she cast a transformation spell while he strolled behind her, trusting that any shift in her appearance would be dismissed as another hallucination.

He stood in front of her again, still staring. "Remove your cloak."

Celeste unfastened the garment and eased it off her shoulders, then caught her breath as Benrahi grabbed it and tossed it over a divan. The potion bottles clinked in the pocket, but didn't break. The merchant seemed not to have heard the tiny noise, his eyes continuing to rove over her. He strode around her once again, his steps slow and measured, as if inspecting a camel for sale.

This has gone far enough! She brought the charm spell to mind. This is not the man who fed me eel pie, who coaxed me into calling him Benrahi, who made my knees go weak with a kiss! This is—the memory of her prophecy flooded through her—the Stranger!

This wasn't the man she'd come to know. In fact, he sounded much like the Benrahi that Torius reviled. Had her captain been right all along? She opened her mouth to recite the charm spell, to make Benrahi stop leering at her and saying cruel things, but reconsidered. She had insisted that they change the plan on the basis of how well she knew Benrahi Ekhan. If she had been mistaken about him ...She needed to know who he really was, how wrong she had been. Strengthening her resolve, she held back the spell. She would endure; she would find out who this stranger truly was.

He came around to face her again, stopping so close that she could smell the brandy on his breath. She lowered her gaze to avoid his eyes, but he lifted her chin gently. The gesture she had taken as affection now unnerved her. She stared at the spasm of flesh beneath his eye, trying to ignore his touch as he trailed his fingers from her chin, down her neck, then along the edge of the gown's plunging neckline.

"The color of this dress does not flatter you. Take it off."

Her heart skipped a beat. Surely she had not heard him right. "Master, I—"

"Take it off! Now!"

His shout rocked her back on her heels.

Celeste had never been ashamed of her own nudity; she wore no clothes as a naga, so why would their lack embarrass her in human form? But this ...this was obscene. Benrahi's gaze made her feel unclean somehow. Shame, revulsion, and a smoldering anger all burned within her at once. Then a memory came to her, calm words in Vreva's musical voice—Despite the fact that we do have feelings, we must only show those feelings that our paramours wish to see.

Though her emotions raged, Celeste kept her face passive as she drew the straps of her dress off her shoulders. Disgust roiled in her gut as the slick fabric eased down past her breasts and over her hips. Memories of her years of slavery lurked behind her eyes as she let the garment drop to her feet like a pool of deep-blue water. She felt his dark eyes crawling over her—inspecting her from head to toe—as if some vile insect skittered along her skin.

Once more he circled, and she waited for his touch. If he tries to force me, I'll kill him, and to hell with the consequences! But the touch did not come, and finally he strolled back around in front of her, his expression a fusion of lust and avarice.

"Do you know," he said, his tone sickeningly casual, "that something Captain Akhiri said has actually given me an idea? As I said, I paid an extraordinary price for you, but I believe I have a way to recoup that cost." He paused and ran a finger down the line of her jaw. She couldn't suppress a shiver of revulsion. "He told me you were trained in the arts of sensual pleasure. Your unique beauty coupled with those skills will demand a very high price from very rich men. I will, of course, personally choose those whom I allow to touch you, but even so, I expect that you'll earn me quite a fortune."

So this is the real Benrahi Ekhan, she realized, swallowing the bile that threatened to rise in her throat. This lecherous pimp is the man I thought I felt something for. How could she ever have been so deceived? Torius's words came to her in a rush: He lied! He'll say anything ...

"Go to your chamber. Put on your black dress; it's my favorite. After I've dealt with Nhil, you will demonstrate your skills for me. All of your skills. Go."

Desperately trying to maintain her dignity before his belittling gaze, Celeste picked up her dress and cloak and walked to her room. She threw the lock on the door with a flick of magic and leaned back against it, a wrenching sob rising from her throat. She bit it back and banished the transformation spell, collapsing to the carpet as she returned to her natural state. Her serpentine coils were a familiar comfort as she lay there, her mind a morass of shame, disgust, and anger. She longed to flee, to find her way back to the ship, to Torius, but she couldn't—wouldn't. Her own folly had put her in this position, and the success of the entire plan rested on her now. She would not let her crewmates—her friends—down.

I'll deal with this stranger, she thought as a cold resolve settled over her.

paizo.com #2495541, Ronald Hartman <rh82759@netzero.net>, Sep 24, 2013

Chapter Twenty-Three

Double-Crossed

Let me get this straight," Vreva fumed, prowling her now tastefully decorated apartment like an elegant caged animal. "I spend weeks living in squalor, grooming the commander of the Eyes of Sothis to the point where I literally have him eating out of my hand, and you tell me that the plan has changed?"

"That's right, Vreva." Torius clenched and relaxed his hands behind his back, forcing his nerves to calm. There wasn't room enough for two people to pace the floor. They had arrived to find a locked door and the runner Thillion had sent still waiting with his unread message. They waited what seemed like hours—actually only a few minutes—with Torius pacing and Grogul muttering curses. Vreva finally arrived in a well-cushioned palanquin, her hair freshly coifed and her nails gleaming.

Then the arguing started.

"We've learned a great deal about Benrahi Ekhan, and decided that our original plan was overkill. Don't worry, we'll still get the payoff, and you'll get your percentage."

"And I spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder?" she countered. "I've learned a great deal about Benrahi Ekhan as well, Torius, and believe me, we're both better off if we stick to your original plan. It's all set up."

"This isn't up for negotiation, Vreva. The plan's been changed. Celeste is with Ekhan now and everything's set."

"She's with him? Alone?" She stopped pacing to stare at him, worry plain in her eyes.

"Twilp's with her, and Snick's watching them. If anything goes wrong, we'll know."

Vreva pursed her perfect lips and shook her head. "I don't like it Torius. I don't like it at all."

"I don't particularly like it either, but that's irrelevant. I'll return the Star of Thumen to Nhil myself if you won't, but that will be even more dangerous for everyone. If I get recognized and arrested, nobody gets a reward. We've got to do this right now. Celeste will delay Ekhan, but—"

A rapid knock at the door interrupted him.

"That's your team of movers, Vreva. We've got to get you—"

Before Grogul could turn the latch, the lock clicked and Snick burst in, breathless and sweating as she pocketed her lockpicks.

"Snick! What the—"

"Trouble," she panted, leaning down with her hands on her knees. "Twilp sent me ...to tell you that ...Ekhan just sent him to bring Nhil to the Harp and Thistle ...so he can return the Star of Thumen."

Torius swore under his breath. This day just kept getting worse and worse.

"Except Ekhan has the counterfeit necklace, correct?" Vreva asked.

"Yup!"

Everyone looked at Torius.

This completely screwed up their hastily altered plan. He closed his eyes as he tried to figure out their next move. "So we won't be able to get to Nhil until after their meeting, which means that Ekhan will already know that his necklace is a fake. I don't like this. He'll go straight to the authorities, which won't give us much time to return the necklace. Timing is going to be tight. I want Celeste out of there!"

"Really, Torius! You've changed the plan three times in the span of ten minutes. This is ridiculous!" Vreva held out a hand. "You go rescue Celeste, and I'll return the Star of Thumen to Nhil."

"Good try, Vreva, but I'm not handing it over until you and I are standing on Nhil's doorstep."

"You still don't trust me?" She gave him an incredulous look.

"Do you really find that surprising?"

"Not really, I suppose."

"Good." Torius bit his lip in thought. He had to play this just right. Celeste was smart and capable. He had to trust her. "Snick, get back to the Harp and Thistle. The instant Ekhan leaves to go to the authorities, get Celeste back to the ship. Tell Thillion what's happened and make sure he's ready to sail upon our return."

"Aye sir!" Snick grinned and dashed out the door.

"So, now we wait?" Vreva strolled over to the small sideboard and poured two glasses of wine. "How long?"

"Just long enough for you to pack your things and for Keiratek Nhil to get back to his home, then we go see him."

"Torius." She proffered one of the glasses to him. "I couldn't possibly pack in the time it would take—"

"No, but Grogul can." Torius snatched the glass of wine. "I've lost my taste for Chelish wine, thanks, though I'm sure my bosun would appreciate it."

"Damn right, Captain." Grogul took the goblet, knocked it back in one gulp, and sighed. "Ahhh. Not bad for spoiled grape juice!"

"Drink up, Vreva," Torius said with a grim smile, "and start packing."

∗ ∗ ∗

Celeste waited with the patience of a viper coiled outside a rat's nest, her ear pressed against the door and her heart smoldering with anger at every clink of a glass or rustle of a footstep. Ekhan had manipulated her even as she had manipulated him. The trouble was, he was better at it. With just a kind word, a gesture, a touch, she had believed that he had feelings for her.

Torius was right, she admitted.

The click of the suite's outer door opening sounded like a clap of thunder in her ear.

"Advisor Nhil, may I present Master Benrahi Ekhan, Merchant Prince of Azir," Twilp announced.

She eased her door open a tiny crack to watch.

"It is an honor to finally meet you, Advisor Nhil." Ekhan executed a low bow.

The advisor's party advanced into Celeste's view. Four large, well-muscled men flanked Keiratek Nhil, each wearing a broad gold belt, torque, and headband adorned with a cobra emblem, as well as a huge khopesh at his belt. Keiratek Nhil wore a flowing white skirt that draped to his knees and a white half-cloak over his shoulders that left his slim chest and stomach bare. His head was shaved smooth, and he also wore a golden headband and the torque displaying his badge of office. A veiled woman wearing a gown of intricate knots and ties, decorative bags and pouches strung about her slim hips, followed at his heel. Her bare midriff displayed an elaborate tattoo, and a ruby the size of a grape nestled in her navel.

"If the news this servant brings to my ear is true, it's a great pleasure to meet you as well, Benrahi Ekhan of Azir," Nhil said with a nod. "You have the Star of Thumen?"

"I do, Advisor Nhil. In my travels, I heard of the relic's theft and, being a collector myself, I understood your distress. Upon discovering the necklace with a merchant in Katapesh, I acquired it at great expense in order to return it to you. May I offer you some refreshment? Wine, or perhaps one of the fine spirits provided by this establishment?"

"I'm not here to socialize, Ekhan. I'm here for the Star of Thumen. Don't worry—you'll have your reward. Now please, show it to me."

Celeste bared her fangs as she watched Ekhan's smile fade into a strained expression of hospitality. Nhil was treating him as Ekhan had treated her. A war between pride and avarice raged on his face, but in the end, avarice won out.

"Of course, Advisor Nhil. I have it right here." He produced the small pouch from his jacket pocket and withdrew the necklace, displaying it on his palm for Nhil to see.

The advisor waved his female companion forward.

She's a wizard, Celeste realized as the woman dipped her fingers into one of the pouches at her hip and pulled out a tiny vial of dark liquid and a feather. Deftly popping the cork, she stirred the liquid with the feather, reciting a stream of breathy words from beneath her veil. The liquid and feather vanished into shimmering dust, and her hand glowed with a faint aura. She passed that hand over the necklace, and her eyes widened in surprise. She turned to her master, leaning in to whisper in his ear.

Here it comes, you bastard, Celeste thought, watching Ekhan's face as she anticipated Nhil's reaction.

"How dare you!" Nhil roared. "You actually thought you could deceive me with a weakly enchanted imitation of the Star of Thumen? You are a fool as well as a liar!" He waved, and his four guards stepped forward, hands on their swords.

"Advisor Nhil, I ..." Ekhan gaped in shock at the necklace in his hand, then at the four armed men and the glaring Keiratek Nhil. "I assure you! This is the genuine Star of Thumen. A guild wizard in Katapesh confirmed its authenticity!"

"This is a fraud, Ekhan, as are you! I should have you flogged and run out of the city into the desert for this insult!" He whirled away, flung open the door, and strode out, his wizard and four guards following in close order.

The door slammed with deafening finality. Ekhan stood there shaking in apoplectic rage, his hand clenching around the fake necklace. Twilp backed away from the merchant prince, the fear on his face either genuine or a convincing act.

"Akhiri ..." Ekhan muttered through clenched teeth. "Celeste!"

Celeste started as he whirled and strode toward her door, his face dark with rage. She barely had time to back away and cast her transformation spell before Ekhan burst through.

Straightening her dress, she curtseyed. "Yes, Master?"

"What deception did you cook up with that bastard of a sea captain?" The heavy platinum chains of the necklace danced like metal snakes from his trembling fist. "Where is the Star of Thumen?"

"Master!" She cast her eyes down, submissive. "I know nothing of any—"

Pain exploded through her face as his fist caught her squarely on the cheek, the metal links of the necklace gashing her as the blow sent her sprawling to the carpet. Her ears rang. Her hand went to her cheek and came away smeared with blood.

"Don't lie to me, you sniveling bitch!" Ekhan towered over her, his face contorted with rage and the bloody necklace still dangling from his fist. "I'll see his head on a pike, and yours with it!"

Rage surged up from her belly like lava from an erupting volcano. She levered herself up onto her elbow to look at him, and stopped. Beyond Ekhan's legs, Twilp stood with a dagger in his hand. The halfling jerked his chin toward the merchant, asking permission to kill. A smoldering fury settled over her, and Celeste gave him a little shake of her head.

If someone is going to kill Ekhan, it will be me, she thought. One flick of magic would transform her back to her natural form. As a human she was weak, but as a lunar naga—

Don't get mad, get even ...Thillion's adage suddenly sounded in her mind, chilling her anger to cold resolve. Death was too easy for someone like Benrahi Ekhan.

Dragging herself to her knees, she bent low, her face an inch from the carpet. Blood dripped from her gashed cheek, staining the white fibers, but she didn't care. She had saved Ekhan's life, pitting herself against Torius and the rest of her friends. No more. Their plan was about to change again, but she needed to get word to the others. Glaring at Ekhan's feet, she murmured the charm spell, felt it grasp his mind. Then, with a deep, steadying breath, she groveled.

"Please forgive me, Master. I don't know what vile deception Captain Akhiri has perpetrated upon you. I was only his slave. You must believe me!"

"Yes, I ..." His voice wavered, uncertain. "I suppose you were."

"I'm sorry for your loss, Master, but if you go quickly to explain to Keiratek Nhil what has happened, I'm sure he will understand. You have been deceived. You are a victim."

"I ...yes. Yes, you're right!" He reached down to help her up, cringing when he caught sight of her battered face. "I'm ...I didn't mean to hurt you, Celeste, but ..."

"I understand, Master. You were angry." She trembled expertly in his grasp and averted her eyes, biting back her revulsion at his touch. "Hurry, Master! You must explain to Keiratek Nhil that you were robbed!"

Ekhan blinked, his eye twitching. He released her and drew back. "Yes, I should go talk with Nhil." He turned and hurried to the door, then stopped as he caught sight of Twilp. "Farfan! Go into my room and get one of the blue bottles from the smallest chest. Give it to Celeste. She'll lose her value if she's scarred." He tossed a key to the halfling.

"Yes, Master Ekhan! At once!"

"And don't go anywhere! I may need you to steal the real Star of Thumen back for me ...and murder Abidi Ben Akhiri."

The door slammed and Celeste leaned against the wall, her ears still ringing and her legs unsteady. She lurched to her sea chest to retrieve the extra potions and scrolls. She tucked them into the pockets of her cloak, hoping she had enough to follow through with her plan. Then Twilp was back with a small bottle in his hand. He handed it over, grimacing at the sight of her face.

"You should have let me put a dagger in his back."

"No." She popped the stopper and quaffed the contents. Her ears stopped ringing and the ragged cuts on her cheek closed. She poured some water into the small basin and sponged the blood from her face, then took another deep breath to force down her rage. "No, he deserves worse than death, Twilp, and we're going to give it to him! You must find Torius before they return the Star of Thumen to Nhil! Tell him to get Vreva in place, then get the real necklace and make the switch before Ekhan and I arrive at the Eyes of Sothis pavilion."

Twilp grinned. "So we're back to the original plan?"

"Except for the fact that I'll be with Ekhan, yes, but you must hurry! I'll have to stay with him to slow him down, but I don't know how long I can keep him from going to the authorities." She gathered up her cloak and led him out to the common room. "We need an excuse for you to get away."

"I'll think of something, don't worry. Oh, and here!" Twilp ran to his chest and pulled out several small vials. "A gift from Thillion. I didn't have the opportunity to do this earlier." He hurried to the decanters and emptied all of the vials into the one that Ekhan favored. "There's enough venom mixture in there to make his head explode."

"Perfect!" she said with a sly smile. Her smile faded as she felt the telltale itch of her failing spell. As she elongated into her natural form, another idea came to her. She floated a potion bottle from her cloak pocket and tucked it under the slit of her dress, then draped the cloak over a nearby chair. She flicked her tail and grinned, showing her fangs. "One more trick to get Ekhan ready to plead his case before the commander of the Eyes of Sothis. Let's give him a show he'll never forget."

"Right!"

They didn't have long to wait. She heard Ekhan's footsteps in the corridor before he burst into the suite, raging at the air.

"He threatened to have me arrested! Me! Why, I—" He stopped short, staring open-mouthed at Celeste.

She twitched her tail and flexed her long black coils. The pattern of her scales matched her dress so well that it was difficult to see where the fabric ended and her reptilian body began. Twilp stood beside her, his face impassive, as if nothing were amiss.

"Thank you for the healing potion, Master." She gave him a curtsy, then frowned at his stunned expression and gave him a quizzical look. "Is something wrong?"

"No!" He tore his eyes away and went straight to the sideboard, pouring himself a large drink from the venom-tainted decanter.

While his back was turned, Celeste downed the transformation potion and handed off the bottle to Twilp, who pocketed it. When Ekhan turned back, she appeared once again as a human woman wearing a long black dress with sequins that sparkled like stars. He blinked at her and shook his head.

"I've got to figure out what to do next." His eyes twitched around the room in desperation.

"We've got to keep the Sea Serpent from sailing!" Twilp suggested. "I'll go bribe the harbormaster to impound the ship!"

"That's an excellent idea, Master," Celeste seconded. His mind was still held by her charm spell, so the suggestion should be enough to sway him.

"Yes! Yes, that's good!" Ekhan put his glass aside and pulled a bulging belt pouch from beneath his long jacket. He dumped half of its contents into the halfling's hands. "Pay the harbormaster whatever he wants, but don't let that ship sail!"

"Yes, Master Ekhan!" Twilp turned, giving a wink to Celeste.

"Master, are you certain you still have the false necklace?" Celeste asked.

"Of course." Ekhan patted his upper-left breast pocket. "Why?"

Because Twilp needs to know which pocket you keep it in, you bastard, she thought.

Twilp gave her another wink and dashed off.

To Ekhan she said, "You can show it to the commander of the Eyes of Sothis as evidence of Captain Akhiri's treachery. When they catch him with the real necklace, you'll likely receive not only the reward from Keiratek Nhil, but also a reward for bringing a thief to justice!"

"That's ..." He looked at her and blinked, then shook his head. He quaffed some more of the tainted liquor, though his eyes were already glassy and his voice a bit slurred. "That's brilliant!" He raised a hand to her face, and she couldn't suppress a flinch. "I'm sorry about injuring you, Celeste. I was just so angry."

"It's nothing, Master," she said, though she longed to bury her fangs in his wrist. "The damage is healed, thanks to you."

She smiled at him, but his eyes focused beyond her and widened with sudden panic. Dropping his glass, he backed away until he hit the sideboard.

Celeste managed to look concerned, satisfied that the massive dose of the drug had taken effect. "What's wrong, Master?"

"Nothing, nothing!" He wiped his sweating brow with the back of his hand and took a shuddering breath. "It's just ...the Black Dome, it ...never mind!" He looked around the suite again as if he'd forgotten something and shook his head. "I'm going to the commander of the Eyes of Sothis now. I'll be back later."

"Oh, Master, please take me with you!" she said as he started to turn away. "I don't feel safe staying here alone."

"No, Celeste, it's safer for you here than out in the streets. Don't worry, I'll be back soon."

Celeste wondered at his refusal. Was the drug affecting his mind to the point that he had resisted the charm spell? No, the spell was still intact. Perhaps she just had to be more persuasive.

"Please," she pleaded, "take me with you, Master. I—I can help you! I can tell the authorities what an evil man Captain Akhiri is!"

Ekhan wrinkled his brow in thought, then, to her great relief, nodded. "Yes. That ...that would help. All right."

"Thank you, Master."

Celeste straightened her dress and retrieved her cloak, feigning clumsiness with the clasp; she had to delay Ekhan as much as possible. As he took her by the hand and led her out the door, she considered her remaining spells and potions, and her limited time in human form.

Stars be kind, she thought, running the calculations in her head while trying to calm her nerves. And I thought running the Corentyn blockade was tricky!

∗ ∗ ∗

"Give me that!" Vreva snatched the translucent silk chemise from Grogul and thrust the lacy garment into the last trunk. Her irritation at being rushed had only been stoked by the bosun displaying some of her more interesting items to the sailors who were handling her trunks.

"Enough!" Torius barked. He was eager to be underway, unnerved at the thought of Celeste in Ekhan's company. Granted, Twilp was with her, but he was even having concerns about that. What if the halfling turned on them, revealing Celeste for what she really was to get back into Ekhan's good graces? "If you're quite finished with—"

The door banged open, and Twilp and Snick skidded in, both panting from exertion.

"We're back to the original plan!" the halfling snapped, holding out a hand. "I need the real necklace!"

"What? Why?"

"Because Benrahi Ekhan's a right bastard and deserves to have his testicles nailed to a cactus!" Snick insisted.

"What happened?" He reached into his pocket for the Star of Thumen, a cold hand of dread gripping his heart. "What did he do?"

"He hit Celeste after Nhil accused him of being a fraud." Twilp held up a forestalling hand. "Don't worry, she's fine, but she's spitting mad."

"He hit her?" Torius's rage flared white-hot, but tempered as he considered the situation. "And she didn't kill him?"

"Nope! He's still alive." The halfling snatched the pouch and stuffed it in his pocket, then grabbed Snick's sleeve and pulled her toward the door. "She insisted we go back to the original plan. Ekhan's going to the authorities, and she's going with him. She said she'd try to slow him down, but we need to get the real necklace on him before he gets there. Get to the Eyes of Sothis pavilion and get things set up! We'll find Celeste and Ekhan and switch the necklaces before they arrive."

"Later, Captain!" Snick flashed a grin, dashing off behind the halfling.

"Damn, but she's enjoying this," Grogul growled, hefting his axe.

"Yes, she is, and we've got to go." He reached for Vreva's hand. "Come on! You're center stage again!"

"Torius, really!" She jerked away from his grasp. "This is ridiculous! You're totally out of your mind! You come in here and tell me you've changed the plan, that Benrahi Ekhan isn't such a bad guy after all. Now he's attacked Celeste and you're changing it back? You wouldn't listen to me, but now that you've learned he really is a bastard, we're off to get him in front of Commander Quetaal like we should have done an hour ago?"

"Vreva." He took a deep breath and calmed his nerves by sheer force of will. "We need you. You're the one who set up this part. And ...you were right. About Ekhan, I mean. I should have listened to you."

"Well, it's nice to hear you say that, anyway." She turned to pick up her cloak and cat. The luxurious lavender garment matched her gown and makeup perfectly. The cat simply meowed in protest. "But I don't hurry anywhere! We'll take a comfortable carriage and you'll pay the driver to hurry while we relax in the back."

"Of course!" He pushed her out the door. "But if you make us late just because you can't go anywhere without your cat, I'll skin the animal for a hat! Now move!"

∗ ∗ ∗

Ekhan's sweaty fingers slithered like a nest of eels in Celeste's grasp as he dragged her through the streets. She hung on with a mixture of revulsion and desperation, dragging her feet in an effort to delay him. She had talked the merchant out of taking a carriage, explaining that it would be faster to walk the narrow streets, and suggested a number of wrong turns, but they were still ahead of schedule. She needed to slow him down.

"This way, Master! See! The Black Dome is this way!" She dragged Ekhan to a stop and pointed down a crowded market street. It would be faster to go around the busy market, but the Black Dome loomed close beyond the rows of buildings. The Eyes of Sothis pavilion that they needed was situated strategically at the Dome's main entrance.

"What?" He looked wildly around, his face streaming with sweat and his eyes darting like a pair of cornered rats. "Yes! Yes, of course!"

"Are you all right, Master?" she asked with feigned concern. The drug was hitting him hard; he was beyond paranoia, jumping at every shadow.

"Fine! I'm fine ..." He pulled a ragged breath into his lungs. "Come on!"

He pulled her down the narrow street, weaving through the throng of shoppers and hawking merchants. The bustling crowds jostled them, and twice she nearly lost her grip on his hand. The route was slowing them down, but she worried that Twilp would never find them to exchange the necklaces.

The market was little more than an alley lined with stalls, their awnings shading all sorts of wares. The merchants stood before their goods calling out to potential customers. One little man actually grabbed Ekhan's sleeve, thrusting a platter of sweetmeats dripping with honey. Ekhan shoved him aside, sending the sweets flying. The man's angry protests faded behind them as they continued on.

For the third time since they had begun this excursion, Celeste felt the ominous itch that heralded the end of her transformation spell. The first time she had simply recast her spell; they had been on a wide avenue with few other people around, and pulling out a potion or scroll would have been too conspicuous. The second time she had contrived to drink a potion under the guise of stumbling over a crooked cobble. In this crowd, she decided to dare a scroll. Aside from clutching her hand, Ekhan was paying little attention to her, so she was able to drag out a scroll one-handed and unravel it with her magic.

Ekhan cried out in triumph, and Celeste glanced up. At the end of the market, barely half a block away, the street opened into a square. Beyond, the banners of the Eyes of Sothis pavilion fluttered in the breeze.

Raised voices rang out from ahead, and the crowd surged with movement. Amid cries of protest and anger, a tall man in long, shabby robes and headscarf staggered from the throng. He bumped hard into Ekhan, jostling him and breaking his grip on her hand.

"Master!" Celeste fell, huddling over the scroll to read the finishing phrase. Magic surged through her and she renewed her form, letting the spent scroll fall to be trodden under many feet. She lurched up, shoving through the mob between her and Ekhan. When she reached his side, he was dusting off his clothes.

"Dirty beggar!" Ekhan swore before grabbing her hand again and dragging her forward. "Look, Celeste! We're almost there!"

"Yes, Master." Silently thanking the dirty beggar for the distraction, and trying not to grimace at Ekhan's sweaty grip, Celeste followed.

They stumbled into the wide square, and she took a moment to scan the crowd. Twilp was nowhere to be seen, and there was no way to delay Ekhan any further. If he walked into that building with the false necklace, the plan would fail and it would be her fault. But short of killing him in front of hundreds of people, she could think of no way to stop him.

"By all the planes of existence!" He panted as he dragged her up the broad steps. At the top, he stopped and released her hand. Ekhan straightened his clothes and wiped the streaming sweat from his face with his sleeve. "The heat ..."

"Yes, Master. Perhaps a moment to rest would be—"

"No! We've got to get them to stop Akhiri before he can sail." He reached for her hand.

"Master, please," she adjusted her dress and cloak, trying to stall a few moments more, "I should walk behind, as is proper for a slave."

"Yes, I suppose you're right." He cleared his throat and took another deep breath, trying to appear calm, though the collar of his shirt was soaked through and his hands shook like a luffing sail. "Two steps behind and one to the left, Celeste." He strode through the doors without another look back.

Just the right distance to bite you in the ass, she thought as she withdrew a scroll of illusion from the pocket of her cloak. She looked around desperately as she followed, but Twilp Farfan was still nowhere in sight.

paizo.com #2495541, Ronald Hartman <rh82759@netzero.net>, Sep 24, 2013

Chapter Twenty-Four

Star-Crossed

The spent scroll rustled like a freshly molted skin as Celeste stuffed it back into the pocket of her cloak. She hung back from Ekhan and tucked her tail out of the way of the milling soldiers, aides, and pages.

Ekhan stood before a long counter, gesticulating wildly as he demanded to see the commander. Surprisingly, the officer in charge seemed unfazed by the merchant's behavior, calmly asking questions and scratching on a piece of parchment before waving over a burly guardsman and handing him the note.

"This way, sir." The guard, armored in a beautiful golden breastplate and helm, bowed stiffly and waved a hand toward a long, pillared corridor. "Commander Quetaal will attend you in his reception chamber."

"Excellent!" The merchant prince jerked his jacket straight and twisted his neck as if his collar were too tight. His eyes darted around the room, finally landing on Celeste. "Celeste! Follow!"

"Yes, Master." She gritted her teeth at being ordered like a dog, and cast one more desperate glance around the hall. Her heart sank; there was no sign of either Torius or Twilp. She had not been able to delay Ekhan long enough. She considered her diminishing options. An invisibility spell and fleeing back to the ship would only give Ekhan more reason to set the Eyes of Sothis onto them. No, she would have to follow through to the end—whatever end that might be.

The corridor ended in a pair of massive polished brass doors that stood open, flanked by four more gold-plated guards. Celeste followed Ekhan through into a lofty chamber that took her breath away. Towering walls of white marble draped with tapestries depicting heroic scenes of battle glittered with gold hieroglyphs, as did four massive pillars supporting a gilded dome in the room's center. Long military banners hung between the pillars, fluttering faintly in the warm desert breeze wafting through high-set windows.

Their golden-armored escort led them to the very center of the room, where a broad desk of white marble sat before a row of banners. The white marble floor beneath their feet glittered with gold inlay depicting the iconic golden scarab of Osirion. The officer seated behind the desk, obviously Commander Quetaal, seemed chiseled of the same materials: golden breastplate and white linen adorned his broad-shouldered frame. Whereas a lesser man would have been diminished by the scale and splendor of the chamber, it seemed as if the room had been built around the commander. Beneath a clean-shaven pate, a wide scar bisected one of his dark eyebrows, and his contoured golden breastplate bore more than a few scars of its own. Both his bearing and his appearance said soldier in a clear, inarguable voice. Celeste could readily imagine him in the midst of battle, fighting beneath one of the waving banners.

To his right, looking quite at home amidst the opulence, Vreva Jhafae reclined on a low divan. The courtesan's eyes did not meet hers, but Celeste felt a flicker of hope. If Vreva was here, then Torius should be here, too! But a quick scan of the room showed no sign of her captain.

"Commander Quetaal," Ekhan began, his voice wavering and sweat dripping from his brow, "I must inform you of a theft. The Star of Thumen was stolen from me by a vile and despicable man!"

Ekhan's head snapped to the side as Vreva adjusted her position on the couch, exposing one long leg for a fleeting moment before modestly draping her gown over the bared flesh. She stroked the white cat in her lap in a blatantly sensual manner. Celeste smiled at the movements, so obviously planned to her now practiced eye.

"The Star of Thumen was indeed stolen." Commander Quetaal also glanced over, gifting Vreva with an indulgent smile. Accepting the parchment from the guardsman, he looked it over, then let it drop to the desktop. "Now you say that it was stolen from you? Who is this thief, then?"

"An unscrupulous sea captain by the name of Abidi Ben Akhiri, Commander," Ekhan said. "He switched it with this!" He pulled the pouch from his pocket and dumped the false necklace into his hand, thrusting it out for the commander to see. "A cheap imitation that would not fool an imbecile!"

"And yet it seems to have readily fooled you, has it not, Master Ekhan?" Vreva's voice caressed the air like stone-washed silk, so smooth that Ekhan merely gaped at her for a moment before responding to the insinuation.

"Who is this ...this painted woman to sit there and insult me?" Ekhan closed his hand around the necklace.

The sight of the platinum chains dangling from Ekhan's fist started Celeste's tail twitching. Peering more closely at the glittering links, however, something struck her as wrong. Where's the blood? She remembered all too clearly the stain of her blood on the shiny metal. These links were not just clean, they were spotless.

"Master Ekhan." Commander Quetaal rose from his chair, his large warrior's hands flat on his desk. "This lady is a dear friend and valued advisor, whereas you are a merchant from a foreign land. You'd do well not to insult her." He straightened and crossed his thick arms, his black brows knitting. "You say this necklace is a replica of the actual Star of Thumen?"

"Yes," the merchant said, his tone subdued. "I know it is!"

The commander nodded. "How do you know this?"

"I tried to return it to Keiratek Nhil!" Ekhan's gaze flashed between Vreva and the commander as if trying to decide which presented the greater threat. "His wizard discovered the fraud, and Nhil accused me of trying to cheat him. He didn't believe I had been robbed. You must apprehend Akhiri this instant! You must clear my name with Keiratek Nhil!"

"I must?" The commander raised one dark eyebrow and stiffened, the muscles of his forearms and neck flexing. "I am Commander of the Eyes of Sothis. It's not for you, a foreign merchant, to tell me what I must do."

"But Commander! The thief could escape at any moment! He has the real Star of Thumen!" Ekhan was sweating profusely and spraying spittle over the desk with each fervent proclamation.

A faint look of disgust crossed Quetaal's face. Celeste sensed the inherent danger—this man was an impressive example of authority, not to be trifled with—but Ekhan seemed oblivious to the effect of his ranting. She suppressed a smile. This was the reason they had assaulted his mind: his credibility was ruined by his manner. Thillion's a genius!

Vreva must have noticed also, and her soft chuckle drew everyone's attention. "You see, my dear Quetaal? Is he not exactly as I told you he would be?"

"Exactly as you said." The commander nodded to her politely before turning back to Ekhan. "So, you say that you were returning the stolen Star of Thumen to Nhil, but it turned out to be a fake. This necklace, you say, is that fake."

"Exactly!" Ekhan exclaimed. "It was real, but now it's fake! Akhiri switched them!"

Quetaal squinted dubiously at the necklace and shrugged. "It looks real enough to me, but I'm no wizard. Rastaha!"

In answer to the call, an elderly man, bald and wrinkled, hobbled out from behind a tapestry to approach the desk. He bowed stiffly. "Yes, Commander."

"Please confirm that the necklace Master Ekhan is holding is not the genuine Star of Thumen. I need to know the truth."

"At once, Commander." He smiled and stepped toward Ekhan, pulling a small vial and a feather from his pocket. "Please hold out the necklace."

"This is a waste of time!" Ekhan insisted, though he complied, proffering the necklace on his open palm.

Celeste tensed as the wizard cast his spell and waved his hand over the necklace. His wizened face creased into even more wrinkles as he smiled broadly. Celeste readied her invisibility spell. She could still flee, find Torius, make it to the ship ...

As quick as a striking viper, far faster than she believed such an aged man could move, the wizard snatched the necklace from Ekhan's hand and tossed it to Commander Quetaal.

"You ...thief!" Ekhan sputtered as the wizard backed away.

"Interesting choice of words, don't you think, dear Quetaal?" Vreva said with a sultry laugh.

"Indeed." Commander Quetaal held up the glittering necklace. "The genuine Star of Thumen, Rastaha?"

"Unmistakably, Commander."

Celeste gaped then closed her mouth. How ...

"Just as I promised," Vreva said, stroking her cat as if she had not a care in the world.

"Just as you promised," the commander agreed.

"What?" Ekhan stared, his mouth gaping in shock. "Impossible! Less than an hour ago, I ...Celeste! You saw!"

"I saw what, Master?" She bowed her head to hide her smile. "You sent me to my room. I saw nothing."

"But ...but ..."

"Where did you get this necklace, Master Ekhan?" Commander Quetaal planted his fists on his desk and leaned toward the merchant prince, his tone hard.

"I ...I purchased it! From a merchant in Katapesh!"

"And how did a Katapeshi merchant come by an Osirian relic?"

"He bought it from the man who stole it, of course!" Ekhan seemed to recover a sliver of composure.

"And who might that have been?" The commander's eyes glittered like black knives as he stared at Ekhan.

"That damned pirate Torius Vin stole it! You know that!"

"Ahhh!" Quetaal once again stood tall, his eyes gleaming with a triumphant light, fixed on Ekhan. "Yes, I was told that Torius Vin stole the Star of Thumen. What I need to know now, Master Ekhan, is how you knew that particular bit of information."

"I ...I have people throughout the Inner Sea who give me information, Commander! I am a merchant prince! I deal in all kinds of merchandise!"

"Yes, you do have people throughout the Inner Sea." The commander's lips thinned into a pitiless smile. "In fact, I recently discovered that it was one of your people who informed me that Torius Vin had stolen the Star of Thumen, and where we might find him. As a result, my people died and my ships were damaged. Unfortunately, your man died during questioning, Master Ekhan, but he was quite explicit when he finally told us exactly how you arranged the theft of the Star of Thumen, how you set Torius Vin up to take the blame, and how you threatened my friend here, Vreva Jhafae."

"Gozreh's guts," Celeste mumbled under her breath, appropriating one of Torius's exclamations.

"Vreva Jhafae?" Ekhan stumbled back, his hands grasping his chest as he stared at the courtesan. "You?"

"You didn't honestly think that your threat to destroy me would go unanswered, did you, Ekhan?" Vreva's eyes smoldered as she returned his stare. "If so, then you're an even bigger fool than I thought."

"And an even bigger fool"—everyone turned to the new voice, the swaggering pirate who strode from behind a tapestry—"to think you could kill Torius Vin, threaten my crew, my ship."

"Akhiri! You! But I ...Who ..." Ekhan's voice, a tremulous squeak, barely reached Celeste's ears. "Torius Vin?"

"I place you under arrest for the theft of the Star of Thumen, Benrahi Ekhan!" Quetaal's smile turned feral as he motioned to the squad of guards. "And I hold you accountable for the deaths of fourteen sailors and mercenaries of the Osirian Navy. You'll be stripped of all your personal possessions, and your clan will be informed of your crime. Take him!"

Celeste suddenly felt as if an enormous weight had been lifted from her, but her relief was short-lived.

"Don't you touch me!" Ekhan backed away from the guards toward Celeste. She slithered back so he wouldn't trip over her tail. "I am Benrahi Ekhan, Merchant Prince of Azir! You have no right!" He turned toward her, but seemed not to see her, his eyes wide with panic. His hands tore at his expensive jacket and shirt.

He's gone completely mad! she thought, backing away. Then she remembered his professed protection, the pendant he wore—the one with the powerful magical aura. Oh gods ...

Ekhan wrenched at the chain around his neck until the links broke, a flat bronze vessel gleaming in his shaking hand. He jerked the lead stopper from the flask, releasing a noxious crimson fume that billowed into a towering cloud.

At first, Celeste thought it just an obscuring fog to hide the merchant's flight, but then the vapor coalesced into a massive humanoid figure. Black horns jutted from its head, waves of heat radiating from the scarlet flesh, gilded armor and shield, and its enormous burning sword.

"Gods and stars, an efreeti!" Celeste slithered back until she bumped into a pillar.

"Yes!" Ekhan's voice shrilled with madness. "And mine to command! Genie, kill them all!"

The efreeti cast a wide glance as if assessing the foes arrayed before it and raised its huge sword over the settee where Vreva lay. The courtesan's eyes widened as she stared up at the creature. Its bellow finally released her paralysis, and her scream tore through the air like a knife.

"You're coming with me, you traitorous harlot!"

At Ekhan's voice, Celeste tore her eyes from the spectacle. Something swiped her side, and Ekhan stumbled away from her, staring as if she were another hallucination. He reached again, grabbing for her arm, but his hand passed right through the illusory limb. His eyes widened and he staggered back from her, and she realized that he had pierced her illusion.

Enough of this! Casting aside the spell that maintained her human appearance, she bared her fangs and coiled, ready to lash out at Ekhan's bared chest.

Before she could strike, however, the merchant prince shouted a single word and vanished from sight.

∗ ∗ ∗

Torius's feeling of sweet revenge melted in a wave of blinding heat, his jaw dropping as the efreeti took form.

"This can't be good," Grogul muttered from behind him. Torius reached for his cutlass.

"Kill them all!" Ekhan screeched.

"Nope. Not good." Torius watched the efreeti's huge sword rise, but his feet seemed to be welded to the floor. Vreva's ear-splitting scream shocked him out of his trance.

Her cat, at least, had the sense to leap away, but Vreva sat transfixed, a mouse before a lion, unable to move.

"Gozreh's guts!" Torius dashed forward even as the flaming blade started to fall. He snatched Vreva's arm in passing and jerked her off the divan, burning splinters showering them both as the elegant piece of furniture exploded into fiery kindling. They rolled to safety, ending in an intimate tangle of arms and legs.

"Torius, this is hardly the time!" the courtesan exclaimed, though her voice shook.

"I thought you were always up for a tumble, Vreva." He flashed a grin and rolled to his feet.

He drew his cutlass as Commander Quetaal and his five guards charged to the attack. Yells and calls echoed from the corridor, and the metallic clash of armor and weapons signaled that reinforcements were on the way. The efreeti gestured, and a barrier of searing flames leapt up to block the doorway. The two unfortunate guards leading the charge tumbled into the flames, their screams slashing the air like knives.

With a thunderclap that rattled the room, lightning lashed out from the wizard Rastaha's hands, raking the efreeti across the chest and eliciting a bellow of pain. Two of Quetaal's guards landed heavy blows with their swords, and Grogul threw one of his hand axes, embedding it in the creature's shoulder.

Despite these attacks, the efreeti was not deterred. It swung its huge sword in a flat arc that sent a guard flying in a spray of blood, smashed armor, and cooked meat. A spear of flame shot from its other hand to strike Rastaha, setting the wizard's robes ablaze. The old man's high-pitched scream wavered as he fell into a rolling, burning heap.

"Attack!" Quetaal roared, slashing at the efreeti with his gleaming khopesh. The weapon slashed through a plate of the creature's armor and gouged a bloody track in its thigh.

As the efreeti raised its burning sword above Quetaal's head, Torius shouted, "Grogul! With me!" and lunged forward.

∗ ∗ ∗

Celeste checked her strike and hissed in frustration as she stared at the blank spot where Ekhan had vanished. Invisible or teleported? The room shook with the crash of the efreeti's sword.

Torius! He was alive, at least—she saw him there, rolling on the floor with Vreva. Before she could even hiss, he was up, sword in hand, facing the efreeti.

Leave the efreeti to the warriors, she thought. Ekhan is mine!

Assuming he was invisible—if he had teleported, there was nothing she could do—she turned toward the door. Suddenly, flames roared to life, blocking the exit. Good—that meant Ekhan was trapped in here with the rest of them. She turned back and forth, watching, listening, and scenting the air with her forked tongue, but the din of battle and the stench of smoke and burning flesh drowned two of her senses.

Ekhan is a coward, she thought, moving away from the battle, beyond the pillars toward the tapestry-covered walls. She looked for any hint, any sign—the flutter of a tapestry, the scuff of a shoe. Then the tiniest change caught her eye: a drop of water—sweat!—glistened on the marble floor. Celeste cast a flight of magical motes at the spot, but they merely impacted against the wall beyond.

Thunder crashed, and she ducked reflexively, the flash of lightning blinding her for a moment.

Curse it! she thought, flicking her tail in annoyance as she blinked the afterimages from her eyes. Not that her eyes were any use when the enemy was invisible. But Ekhan was no wizard, so how ...

Celeste cast the spell that would reveal magical auras and, sweeping her gaze around the room, detected several: the Star of Thumen atop the desk, the commander's sword and armor, Torius's cutlass, and a pile of robes she took to be the wizard. Curiously, there were also several on Vreva.

Wrenching her attention back to her task, she swept her gaze away from the combatants. There! An aura of magic glowed against the near wall. It had to be Benrahi Ekhan! She sent another flight of arcane missiles streaking toward the aura, and was rewarded by a spray of blood that spattered the wall. Ekhan's cry of pain revealed him further, and a trail of blood betrayed him as he moved.

Hissing, Celeste slithered forward to strike. Her fangs caught fabric and tore through it, but did not pierce flesh. She lashed out her tail and felt him stumble over it, then struck again. This time she latched on with enough of a grip to elicit a panicked cry and injected some venom. Pain blossomed in her back, and she cried out, releasing her grip on the merchant.

Benrahi Ekhan blinked into sight, his jeweled dagger in hand, the blade dark with her blood. He backed away in horror, eyes wide with madness and fear.

"Stay away from me!" he cried, brandishing the blade. "Stay away, you monster!"

"You call me a monssster?" she seethed, slithering after him. "You try to kill the man I love, kill my friendsss, keep me as your sex slave, and you call me a monssster?"

Celeste coiled and launched herself at him, plunging her fangs deep into the flesh of his shoulder. He stabbed at her again, but she refused to let go, flexing and tearing at him until the knife fell to the floor. She released her hold, hissing and spitting blood and venom.

Ekhan collapsed, grasping his mangled shoulder and scrabbling away from her.

"Thisss is for treating me like a ssslave!" she hissed, lashing out to bite him on the leg. He screamed and she let him go.

"And thisss is for treating me like your whore!" She struck, burying her fangs in his chest, feeling them grate against his ribs. He screamed again, and she pulled back.

"Please! No!" Ekhan lay in a quivering heap, his hands shaking as tears streamed from his eyes and spittle flecked his mouth.

"How could I ever have thought you had feelings for anyone but yourself, you worthless piece of filth?" She hissed, towering over him, flaring in rage. "I'd kill you right here and now, but that would be a kindness you don't deserve! But I'll take that ring, so you can't crawl away unseen." She struck, viper quick, and had the finger with the enchanted ring between her teeth. A snap of her sinuous body and it came off with a spray of blood. Ignoring his screams, she spat the severed member on the floor and magicked the enchanted ring into a pocket of her cloak.

Staring down at the merchant in disgust, Celeste floated the slave collar from around her neck and cast it down at his feet. "I hope you wake up with that around your neck!"

Whipping out her tail, she struck Ekhan a powerful blow to the head that sent him sprawling into unconsciousness.

∗ ∗ ∗

Blistering heat scorched Torius's arm as he buried his cutlass in the efreeti's knee. Wrenching it free, he dodged a crushing blow from the burning sword, though the impact of the massive weapon sprayed him with stinging marble fragments. Rolling away, he saw Grogul launch himself from the desk, his axe raised for a heavy overhead blow. The efreeti raised its shield, but the axe's broad blade slammed through it and into the efreeti's arm. The efreeti bellowed in pain and rage, smashing its shield into the half-orc. Grogul lost his grip on his weapon and landed in a sprawling heap, his leather jerkin smoldering.

"Grogul!" Torius dashed in to slash at the efreeti's wrist, relieved when he saw his friend roll to his feet and draw his two long kukris.

"Guards, to me!" bellowed Quetaal, slashing at the burning genie's legs with his khopesh. Once again, he cleaved armor and gouged through the red flesh. The efreeti's answering blow sent the man sprawling and left a deep crease in the commander's breastplate.

"Need to hit it where it counts!" Torius muttered, glancing around the room. An idea flashed into his mind and, dismissing the possibility that it was potentially suicidal, he acted on it. Sheathing his cutlass, he dashed past the efreeti toward the commander's desk. Bounding up onto it, Torius launched himself into the air and grabbed hold of a long banner that hung from the ceiling. Praying that it was firmly attached, he kicked his legs to swing as high as he could. At the apex of his arc, Torius twisted in the air and drew his sword.

In that instant, the entire room lay before him. Grogul charged the efreeti from behind, both kukris poised to strike. Quetaal had rolled to his feet to parry a blow from the flaming sword, while his two remaining soldiers hacked away at the efreeti's legs. Vreva lay huddled against one wall, clutching her terrified cat. But it was the sight of Celeste coiled over the still form of Benrahi Ekhan that made him smile. Her gaze met his for a moment. An eternity. As he began to swing back down, he saw her lips move, and motes of magical energy streaked toward the efreeti.

His swing carried him back over the commander's desk and directly at the efreeti's head. The creature's glowing eyes shifted to him and narrowed, and Torius swallowed hard. If this didn't work, he was in big trouble.

Celeste's missiles struck just as Grogul planted his kukri in the genie's back. The efreeti threw its head back, bellowing in rage and pain, and as Torius flew past, he plunged his cutlass into the thing's exposed throat. Blood like molten metal sprayed him, but he managed to keep a grip on both the banner and his sword as he continued on his swing. The blade tore free, drenched to the hilt with steaming gore.

Twisting again, Torius saw the efreeti collapse to its knees, clutching its throat with both hands. Sparks and ash flew as its fiery blade hit the floor with a discordant clang. Quetaal lunged forward to bury his khopesh deep in the efreeti's chest, and the huge body toppled lifeless to the carnage-littered floor. Torius released his grip on the banner and landed lightly on his feet.

"Now that was fun!" Grogul wrenched his blades from the efreeti's smoldering flesh and spat.

"Torius!"

He turned and dropped his sword as Celeste barreled into his arms. He staggered with the impact and held her close as she planted kisses all over his face until their lips finally met. He realized in the midst of the kiss that her arms were so tight around his neck that he thought she might choke him. Amid all the mayhem, she had thought to transform into her human form, which would preclude a lot of difficult questions. Finally, he pulled away and stared into her beautiful dark eyes.

"Gozreh's guts, you're amazing." He grinned at her like an idiot.

"You're pretty amazing yourself, my captain," she said, giving him another kiss. Torius forgot the stinging burns of the efreeti's blood for a long, sweet moment.

"You two really should get a room if you're going to do that."

They broke their clinch and turned to see Vreva Jhafae standing nearby, petting her white cat and rolling her eyes, her courtesan's poise intact, as if nothing untoward had occurred.

paizo.com #2495541, Ronald Hartman <rh82759@netzero.net>, Sep 24, 2013

Chapter Twenty-Five

Just Rewards

Healers!" Quetaal bellowed.

As the flames at the doorway died away, guards surged into the room. On their heels came white-robed clerics who fanned out to attend to the injured and slain. Only two of the original five guards remained standing. A cleric of the sun goddess Sarenrae knelt beside the wizard Rastaha who, though badly burned, still lived.

"Gozreh's guts, what a mess!" Torius released Celeste and retrieved his sword, wiping it on the hem of his shirt before slipping it into its scabbard. "We knew Ekhan wore something magical, but not something like that!" He waved his arm at the dead efreeti.

"I would hope that if you had known, you would have at least told me," Vreva said as she daintily picked her way through the carnage. "I would have suggested a change of plan."

"And if I had known that Ekhan's man had already provided enough evidence to bring him to justice, I would have suggested a change in plan!" Celeste glared at the courtesan.

Torius narrowed his eyes and joined Celeste in the glare. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"And ruin the surprise?" She laughed and waved a hand at their ire. "I simply had to have my due, Torius. I'll not let a man like Ekhan threaten me with impunity. Besides, you changed the plan three times. I didn't change it, I merely improved it."

"Well, it's done, regardless," Commander Quetaal said as he approached. "No one's at fault in this save Benrahi Ekhan, and he's going to pay, and pay dearly."

They all turned to watch four guardsmen drag the unconscious merchant prince from the room, his hands and feet bound in iron.

"Which is only right." Vreva fingered a tear in her lavender gown. "He ruined my dress."

"Captain Vin." Quetaal approached, his eyes flicking between the three of them. "I appreciate your assistance in the recovery of the Star of Thumen. And rest assured, your name will be cleared of all wrongdoing."

"Why thank—"

Quetaal held up a hand. "However ..." His eyes hardened, and he folded his thick arms over his dented golden breastplate. "In the future, please inform the authorities when you learn of the theft of one of Osirion's relics instead of chasing after it yourself. The lives of those sailors need not have been lost if you had merely let them board your ship."

"The mercenaries who did board my ship were not interested in arresting us, Commander. Seven of my crew died defending us. And if I had allowed the navy to board us, I would've been arrested and convicted." Torius glanced at Vreva, then back to Quetaal. There was no way for the commander to know Torius's true nature, unless Vreva betrayed him ...again. "We didn't know Ekhan had stolen the Star of Thumen at that point, and had no way to clear our names. Besides, the reward is an unattainable sum for a simple merchant captain."

"I suppose that is true." Quetaal unfolded his arms and nodded. "Your honor has been vindicated. Vreva told me how hard you've worked to ensure that justice was done. There will be no repercussions ...this time." He held out a hand.

Torius breathed a silent sigh of relief as he shook Quetaal's hand. "Thank you, Commander. I appreciate that, as will my crew."

Celeste sidled up to him and clasped his free hand. "My captain, we should get back to the ship."

"Not before he introduces me to you, lovely lady," Quetaal said with an appreciative smile.

"Excuse my lapse of manners, Commander Quetaal. This is Celeste, my navigator and close companion."

"Delighted." Taking Celeste's hand, Quetaal raised it to his lips and kissed it. "Your aid in apprehending Ekhan is much appreciated."

Celeste curtsied and smiled, shooting a look at Vreva that made the courtesan scowl. "It was truly my pleasure, Commander."

"Now, we really need to get to our ship," Torius interrupted, reclaiming Celeste's hand from the commander. "Celeste is injured and needs to recuperate."

"My clerics can tend her wounds if—"

"No! Thank you, sir. We have means of healing, and she'll be more comfortable in familiar surroundings." Torius's fingers ached from the tight hold Celeste had on them. "I trust Vreva to see to matters here, Commander."

"You do?" both Vreva and Celeste said in perfect unison. Vreva looked pleasantly surprised, and Celeste suspicious.

Quetaal continued as if he noticed nothing, which perhaps he hadn't; he didn't know Celeste and Vreva as well as Torius. "I'll conduct Lady Jhafae to a more suitable venue where she can recover from her ordeal. Then I'll return the Star of Thumen to Keiratek Nhil and arrange for the reward to be delivered. There will also be a substantial reward for bringing the culprit behind this whole thing to justice. However, that may take a couple of days." He gave Vreva a smoldering glance before turning back to Torius. "Paperwork, you know."

"I leave it in your hands, Commander. Thank you." Torius bowed low, wincing as Celeste's nails dug into his palm. He jerked his head at Grogul, who had finally recovered all of his weapons, though he was eying the efreeti's huge sword with interest.

"Oh, and Captain."

The authority in Quetaal's voice brooked no disobedience, and Torius stopped and turned. Is this Vreva's final play? he wondered warily. He looked expectantly at the commander.

"Vreva never did tell me what you did to anger Benrahi Ekhan," Quetaal said.

"It was a ...business dispute, wasn't it?" Vreva said with a raised eyebrow.

"It was," Torius agreed, bowing again. "He couldn't stand the competition. Thank you again, Commander." Squeezing Celeste's hand, he hurried her out of the ruins of the reception chamber and into a waiting carriage before her transformation spell failed and she had no hand to grasp.

∗ ∗ ∗

"Thank you for getting me out of there," Celeste said, wincing as she tried to get comfortable on the carriage seat. Her wounds were not serious, her hard scales having turned most of the dagger's edge, but they stung, especially when she sat down. "I think ...yes, the spell is ending. Careful!"

Grogul and Torius edged out of the way as she transformed into a ten-foot naga in the confines of the carriage.

"Besmara's boots!" Grogul said with a grumble. "No offense, Miss Celeste, but your coil's on my foot."

"Sorry." She shifted, but both men were still pressed against the walls.

"How did you manage to be with Ekhan all day without him seeing you like this?" Torius ran a hand down her smooth scales. "The illusion scrolls?"

"Illusion scrolls, transformation scrolls, potions, and spells. It was tricky, but I managed."

"Twilp said Ekhan hit you." Torius brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers. "I'm sorry that happened, Celeste."

"I'm impressed you didn't bite his head off when he did it," Grogul added with a tusky grin. "I'd have killed him on the spot."

"Believe me, Grogul, I almost did, though I'm glad now that I refrained. I'd rather see him punished properly, though I wish it hadn't taken the lives of those guards to capture him." She shook her head and turned to Torius. "My captain, I must apologize. I was wrong about Ekhan. I didn't realize that he was manipulating me. Frankly, I didn't think he could while charmed. He was ...very good at it."

Torius smiled wryly. "Men like Ekhan lie to friends and enemies as a matter of course, but he's not going to be talking his way out of the trouble he's in now." His smile faltered. "Though I wish Vreva had told me about getting the confession from Ekhan's man. It would have saved us a lot of trouble."

"And you wonder why I still don't trust her," Celeste said with a shake of her head. "I can't believe you let her settle all the reward details. A hundred thousand scarabs would get her far."

"Not far enough to elude us, and she knows that now. I don't trust her either, but I do trust Commander Quetaal. It'd be difficult for her to cross us at this point. Don't worry, I'll have Snick and Twilp keep an eye on her until we leave."

"That reminds me!" Celeste nudged him with her tail. "Do you know how they switched the necklaces?"

"I have no idea, but I'm sure they'll fill us in on every detail."

"Whether we want to hear them or not," Grogul grumbled.

∗ ∗ ∗

"Can't believe you didn't recognize us!" Snick chortled.

Celeste accepted a glass of Chelish wine from Torius as he set out an array of bottles and cups on the galley table. The ship lay docked at the Eye of Sothis, and it was good to see all her friends gathered around safe and sound. Soursop had ceremoniously burned his little white chef's hat, and was back in his usual greasy apron behind his counter, happily chopping vegetables for the evening meal. Only Thillion seemed less than elated, though she had no idea why.

She stretched her coils and tried to relax. A potion had closed her cuts and eased her aches and pains, but she still hummed with pent-up energy. Sipping the wine, she felt its warmth trickle down to her stomach, and smiled.

"How could I have recognized you? With you on Twilp's shoulders, you were six feet tall!"

"That's what we were hoping," Twilp said, "though my back is killing me."

"Hey!" Snick slapped his shoulder. "I'm not that heavy! Besides, I offered to carry you on my shoulders, but you said Ekhan would recognize you!" Her pink hair was still streaked with brown from the shoe polish that hadn't quite washed out.

"And he would have." Twilp reached into his pocket and came out with a small leather pouch. "Here's your counterfeit necklace." He tossed it to Torius. "It's worth a bit of gold."

"I know. I've already paid for it once." Torius poured the necklace out of the pouch onto his palm, and the platinum chains dangled like icicles. He held it out to Celeste. "It's pretty. You could keep it."

"No, thank you." She shuddered at the faint smears of blood on the metal. "We should probably break it down and sell it. Having a copy of the Star of Thumen around might not be a good idea." She had her own reasons for wanting to see the necklace destroyed that Torius need not know. He was already protective of her. If he knew that Ekhan had hit her with more than his fist ...

"Here! Let me!" Snick grabbed the necklace from Torius and produced a tiny pair of pliers. Gripping the platinum links in the hem of her shirt, she applied the tool, and in seconds the egg-sized star sapphire popped free of its mounting. She rolled it across the table to Torius, wiped the metal links once more and passed them over to her captain, perfectly clean. "We can sell the chain for the value of the metal."

Celeste looked curiously at the gnome, but Snick just smiled back and winked.

"Vinosh'll buy the gem back. We'll take a loss, but with the reward—that reminds me ..." Torius pocketed the gem, then looked at Snick and Twilp and raised his cup of spiced rum. "You two get the dubious honor of keeping an eye on Vreva until she boards the ship."

"That sounds like fun!" Twilp chirped, dampening his enthusiasm when Snick glared at him.

"Actually, I recovered something from Ekhan that could make spying on her a lot easier." Celeste enjoyed the consternation on their faces as she magicked Ekhan's ring out of the pocket of her discarded cloak and dropped it onto the table. It was still stained with his blood.

"I remember seeing that on Ekhan's finger!" Twilp's eyes widened. "Magic, huh? Know what it does?"

"Yes, and you're going to love it."

∗ ∗ ∗

"Well, here she is, Captain, safe and sound with all the loot!" Twilp hopped off the back of the carriage as it rolled to a stop in front of Stargazer. Vreva's voice called imperiously from inside, and a sailor ran up to open the door. "So I guess this is good-bye."

"I'd offer you a lift to Ostenso, Twilp, but it's a little out of my way." Torius shook the halfling's hand.

"No worries about that, Captain. I think I might stay in Sothis for a while. Maybe do a little business."

"You're happy with your cut, then?"

"Oh, yes. More than happy." Twilp admired the ring on his finger and grinned. "Take care, Torius. And if you ever need a little help ..." he cleared his throat at his self-deprecating pun, "don't be afraid to call on me."

"I might. So long, Twilp."

He watched the halfling walk away, then glanced at the ship and saw Snick peering out from behind the mast. The gnome had told him that she and Twilp had already said their good-byes, but he knew she wouldn't be able to resist a last look. It was probably a good thing that the halfling wasn't coming along; one romance aboard a pirate ship was enough.

"Sir." Thillion stood stiffly behind him, waiting to be acknowledged.

Torius sighed. "Thillion, will you please relax! I'm not mad because you planned to leave the ship! Working on a pirate ship was what you signed on for, not being hunted halfway around the world. Besides, everything worked out fine in the end. And if you hadn't come up with such a great plan in the first place, I probably would have listened to Grogul or Snick, and right now we'd be either dead or in an Aziri prison."

A smile spread across the first mate's face and he nodded. "Aye, Captain! The tide ebbs within the hour, so as soon as everything is stowed we can be underway."

"Good." Torius waved to a second carriage pulling up, packed to overflowing with Vreva's luggage and their rewards. Grogul jumped down from beside the driver, axe in hand. "Get it loaded, and get us out of here." He clapped his first mate on the shoulder, waved to his bosun, and hurried up the gangplank after Vreva. Celeste awaited them, looking beautiful in her golden dress that Snick had altered to make slightly less revealing.

"I must admit, Celeste, you've achieved a certain grace in your human form," Vreva said as she stepped onto Stargazer's deck. "I'm quite impressed."

"Thank you. I've had much practice. And I must admit that I'm equally impressed, Vreva. You managed not to dress like a courtesan for once, and you resisted the temptation to abscond with our reward."

"It was difficult, I admit." Vreva tugged at the high collar of her simple white gown, brushing off the barb.

"Ladies, please," Torius said. "It's only five days to Okeno. I hope you can keep from each other's throats that long, at least."

"My dear Torius, we're simply chatting." Vreva scratched her cat under the chin and smiled.

"Besides," Celeste added, "you know perfectly well that neither of us are ladies."

"Oh, that's right!" Vreva exclaimed with a blatantly false air of surprise. "You're part snake, aren't you?"

"I am! And you're all—"

"Both of you stop it!" Torius snapped. "This is ridiculous! I honestly don't know why you two still keep this up."

"Snakes and cats, Captain," Snick piped up. "Put 'em on the same boat and there's bound to be some hissing."

Grogul laughed as he strode up the gangplank behind the last of the trunks. "Your jokes are getting better, Snick! They're still bad, mind you, but they're better!"

"Come on." Torius flashed a glare at the gnome and the half-orc. "Everything worked out perfectly, and we have both of you ladies to thank for it, equally. Now let's get these things stowed and split up the rewards."

"Oh, I already took the liberty, Torius." Vreva pointed to two of the many trunks. "Those two contain my thirty percent, and the others contain your seventy percent, just like we agreed."

"We agreed on seventy-five, twenty-five, Vreva."

"I knew she'd try to cheat us," Celeste said.

"I'm not trying to cheat anyone, Celeste. I simply forgot our original agreement. Besides, someone changed the plan." She lifted a manicured finger and ran it down the rakish scar on Torius's cheek. "Not that I don't like changes, you understand. Some I like quite a lot, in fact. And I'm always open to ...negotiations."

"Ssstop that!" Celeste hissed.

Vreva's cat promptly hissed back.

"Told you," Snick chirped.

"There will be no negotiating, Vreva." Torius pushed her hand away. "I suggest you go to your cabin and settle in. Dinner will be at four bells in the dog's watch; that's six o'clock. I'll have it sent to your cabin."

"Very well, Torius." She gave him a polite nod, and another to Celeste. She turned and glided across the deck to vanish into the sterncastle without another glance back.

"I still don't like her," Celeste said, "and I'll never trust her."

"You don't have to like people to do business with them, Celeste." Torius ran a hand through her hair. "Just try not to bite her, okay?"

"You never let me bite anyone!" she said with a pout. "First you, now her ...next you'll complain because I bit Benrahi Ekhan!"

Torius laughed. "No, my love, I'll never tell you that you shouldn't have done that!"

∗ ∗ ∗

Stargazer's bell rang eight pure notes in precise two-note pairs, and the change of the watch began. Celeste, coiled beside the quarterdeck's windward rail, ignored the pirate crew as the old watch going below passed the new watch coming on deck, the men and women exchanging greetings and jests. The stars above commanded all her attention as they whirled through the heavens, her tranquil playground. It had been so long since she had been out beneath the night sky.

"No telescope tonight?" Torius asked from surprisingly close behind her. Celeste hadn't heard his approach. She curled her tail, but did not look back at him.

"Not tonight." She sighed wistfully as she gazed at the heavens. "Sometimes I just like to look at all the stars at once, a million million flames all spinning with their own planets, and maybe even their own people. I like to think that perhaps someone out there is looking back at me right here, right this instant. It's ...comforting."

"Why?" His fingers trailed through her unbound hair, and she thrilled at the touch.

"It makes me feel less alone."

"You're not alone, Celeste." He moved closer, encircling her with one arm, the warmth of his body like a furnace against her cool scales.

"I know." She leaned into him and they stared at the stars for a while without words, each absorbed in thought, until she finally broke the silence.

"I'm sorry about the way I acted with Vreva. She was being kind, in her own way, and I picked a fight with her. I honestly don't know why she riles me so." She turned to him and nuzzled his neck, resisting the urge to give him a nip. "I know you don't have any feelings for her, Torius."

"Oh, I have plenty of feelings for her," he said with a laugh, "most of them bad. Though lately she has been less ...obnoxious than usual."

"Obnoxious?" Celeste pulled back and looked at him, expecting some joke, but he seemed serious. "You think she's obnoxious?"

"Only when she's playing her courtesan's tricks." He pulled her close again, and they swayed together with the pitch and roll of the ship. "Did I ever tell you what she said about her constant attempts to seduce me?"

"No, and I'm not sure I want to know."

"I think you should. She said she enjoyed teasing a man who was in love with another woman."

"She said that?" She turned to stare at him.

"She did, and that's one of the few things she's said that I truly believed." Torius leaned back against the rail and gave her the rakish smile she'd fallen in love with. "I've ordered her to stay below at night, Celeste. The stars belong to you. I won't have her disturbing you when you're enjoying them."

"Thank you, Torius." Celeste leaned in and kissed him, the familiar shiver of pleasure running down her long body. Nuzzling his chin, she felt the scratch of a nascent beard. "Letting your whiskers grow back?"

"Well, I wouldn't be much of a pirate without whiskers, would I?" He raised his eyes to the stars.

"No." She nuzzled his neck, then turned her own gaze back to the heavens. "No, you wouldn't."

"By the way ..." he said, his tone exaggeratedly casual. Celeste looked at him curiously and he finally continued. "You said that we have one more transformation potion left, right?"

"Yes, but now that I know the spell, we no longer need a potion to—" Celeste stopped and looked into Torius's eyes. "Are you suggesting ...?"

"I'm suggesting ..." he took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "that when my watch is over, you might want to help me discover what it's like to have scales."

"And a tail," she said with her best sultry chuckle. "Don't forget your tail."

About the Author

A sailing writer or a writing sailor—he's not exactly sure which—Chris A. Jackson can usually be found in one of three places: sailing in the Caribbean aboard his beloved floating home; tapping away on a laptop in some secluded anchorage; or attending science fiction, fantasy, or gaming conventions. Chris and his wife Anne cut all lines to the rat race in 2009 when they left St. Petersburg, Florida and started cruising and writing full time—the combination of the two has been very good for the couple, and has inspired some wonderful stories.

Pirate's Honor is Chris's first Pathfinder Tales novel, and the short prequel story, "Stargazer," can be found online for free at paizo.com/pathfindertales. His other novels include the Scimitar Seas nautical fantasy series from Dragon Moon Press, which has won sequential gold medal awards in fantasy from ForeWord Reviews, as well as Weapon of Flesh, Deathmask, A Soul for Tsing, and the Cornerstones Trilogy. For samples of his work, his blog, and his convention schedule, visit jaxbooks.com.

Acknowledgments

Great inspiration was drawn from the nautical adventure novels of Patrick O'Brian, and, of course, Paizo's fabulous world of Golarion. Much thanks to the creators of both. Thanks, as always, to my front-line editor and wife, Anne, for her patience and eye to detail. Also, thanks to my beta readers, Kim, James, and Jamie: you always find things we miss. Special thanks to James Sutter for editorial input and giving me the chance to play in the Paizo sandbox. You've got the best bunch of toys in the world!

Glossary

All Pathfinder Tales novels are set in the rich and vibrant world of the Pathfinder campaign setting. Below are explanations of several key terms used in this book. For more information on the world of Golarion and the strange monsters, people, and deities that make it their home, see The Inner Sea World Guide, or dive into the game and begin playing your own adventures with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook or the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beginner Box, all available at paizo.com. Fans of pirate adventures like this one may particularly want to check out the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path and Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Isles of the Shackles—a guide to Golarion's most notorious pirate islands.

Abadar: Master of the First Vault and the god of cities, wealth, merchants, and law.

Absalom: Largest city in the Inner Sea region.

Alamein Peninsula: Land mass in the northwestern region of Osirion.

Arcadian Ocean: Massive ocean west of the Inner Sea region.

Arch of Aroden: Enormous viaduct that once connected the continents of Avistan and Garund across the Hespereth Strait. Currently broken.

Archfiend: Asmodeus.

Arclord: One of the rulers of Nex.

Aroden: Human who ascended to become the god of humanity, but who died mysteriously a hundred years ago, causing widespread chaos.

Asmodeus: Devil-god of tyranny, slavery, pride, and contracts; lord of Hell and current patron deity of Cheliax.

Avistan: The northern continent of the Inner Sea region.

Azir: Port capital of Rahadoum.

Besmara: Goddess of piracy, strife, and sea monsters.

Black Dome: Famous district of Osirion constructed inside the carapace of an immense beetle slain thousands of years ago.

Calistria: Goddess of trickery, lust, and revenge.

Cecaelia: Aquatic monsters with the upper bodies of humans and the lower bodies of octopuses.

Chelaxian: Someone from Cheliax.

Cheliax: Devil-worshiping nation in Avistan.

Chelish: Of or relating to the nation of Cheliax.

Corentyn: Port city located at Cheliax's southernmost point, from which the nation can restrict passage between the Inner Sea and the Arcadian Ocean.

Council of Sun and Sky: Governing body that rules Osirion under the authority of the Ruby Prince.

Crimson Canal: Important trade canal that routes the waters of the River Sphinx through Sothis.

Desna: Good-natured goddess of dreams, stars, travelers, and luck.

Devils: Fiendish occupants of Hell who seek to corrupt mortals in order to claim their souls.

Dwarves: Short, stocky humanoids who excel at physical labor, mining, and craftsmanship.

Efreeti: One of a race of evil fire-dwelling genies.

Elves: Race of long-lived and beautiful humanoids. Identifiable by their pointed ears, lithe bodies, and pupils so large their eyes appear to be one color.

Eye of Abendego: Enormous permanent hurricane west of Garund.

Eye of Sothis: Harbor island in the center of the Crimson Canal in Sothis, from which the city regulates river trade.

Eyes of Sothis: City guard of Sothis.

Fleshfairs: Okeno's notorious slave market.

Garund: Continent south of the Inner Sea, renowned for its deserts and jungles.

Garundi: Human ethnic group consisting of dark-skinned people, mostly found in northern Garund.

Genies: Humanoid denizens of the elemental planes.

Globster: Sea monster that takes the form of a hideous mass of flotsam and rotting flesh.

Gnomes: Small humanoids with strange mind-sets, originally from the First World.

Gozreh: God of nature, weather, and the sea, with both male and female aspects.

Half-Elves: The children of unions between elves and humans. Taller, longer-lived, and generally more graceful and attractive than the average human, yet not nearly so much so as their full elven kin.

Half-Orcs: Bred from humans and orcs, members of this race have green or gray skin, brutish appearances, and short tempers, and are mistrusted by many societies.

Halflings: Race of humanoids known for their tiny stature, deft hands, and mischievous personalities.

Hell: Plane of evil and tyrannical order ruled by devils, where many evil souls go after they die.

Hellknights: Organization of hardened law enforcers whose tactics are often seen as harsh and intimidating, and who bind devils to their will. Based in Cheliax.

Hermea: Utopian island nation far out in the Arcadian Ocean, ruled by a dragon who only invites the most impressive humanoids to join his created society.

Hespereth Strait: Narrow strait between Avistan and Garund separating the Inner Sea from the Arcadian Ocean. Formerly spanned by the Arch of Aroden before its partial collapse.

Inner Sea: Sea separating the continents of Avistan and Garund; the center of the Pathfinder campaign setting.

Jalmeray: Island nation in the Obari Ocean, heavily influenced by the customs and cultures of distant Vudra.

Jann: The most human of the genie races. The singular form is janni.

Kaina Katakka: Smaller island off the coast of Jalmeray.

Katapesh: Mighty trade nation on the eastern coast of Garund. Also the name of its capital city.

Katapeshi: Of or related to the nation of Katapesh.

Lunar Nagas: Breed of nagas obsessed with the stars and astrology.

Measure (currency): Gold coin from Absalom.

Mwangi: Of or pertaining to the hot, jungle region of Garund known as the Mwangi Expanse; someone from that region.

Nagas: Race of intelligent, magical creatures with the heads of humans and bodies of snakes.

Nex: Nation in Garund formerly ruled by a powerful wizard of the same name.

Nightstalls: Katapesh's most infamous marketplace, where anything can be bought and sold.

Obari Ocean: Ocean east of Garundi.

Ogres: Race of hulking and brutal humanoids with little intelligence and an enormous capacity for cruelty.

Okeno: Port city on Stonespine Island; center for the slave trade on the Inner Sea.

Orcs: Bestial, warlike race of humanoids originally hailing from deep underground, who now roam the surface in barbaric bands. Universally hated by more civilized races.

Osirian: Of or relating to the region of Osirion, or a resident of Osirion.

Osirion: Desert kingdom ruled by pharaohs in northeastern Garund.

Ostenso: Port city in the devil-worshiping nation of Cheliax.

Pathfinder Society: Organization of traveling scholars and adventurers who seek to document the world's wonders. Based out of Absalom and run by a mysterious and masked group called the Decemvirate.

Pesh: Type of narcotic drug.

Port Godless: Deprecating nickname for Azir, used by foreigners.

Pure Legion: Elite military enforcers of Rahadoum's government-mandated atheism.

Rahadoum: Atheist nation where religion is outlawed.

Ranger: Someone specialized in surviving in the wilderness; often employed as scouts, guides, and skirmishers.

Reefclaw: Poisonous aquatic predator resembling a lobster with an eel-like tail.

River Sphinx: The main river running through Osirion.

Sarenrae: Goddess of the sun, honesty, and redemption.

Scarab (currency): Gold coin from Katapesh.

Screechbat: Giant bats with debilitating sonic attacks.

Scroll: Magical document in which a spell is recorded so that it can be released when read, even if the reader doesn't know how to cast that spell. Destroyed as part of the casting process.

Slip: Racial slur referring to a halfling, used primarily in Cheliax.

Sothis: Capital of Osirion.

Sphinx (currency): Platinum coin from Absalom.

Stonespine Island: Island in the Obari Ocean owned by Katapesh, and famous for the slaver port of Okeno.

Taldan: Of or from Taldor; a citizen of Taldor.

Taldane: The common trade language of Golarion's Inner Sea region.

Taldor: Former empire in the Inner Sea region, now mostly fallen into decadence.

Thuvia: Desert nation on the Inner Sea, famous for the production of a magical elixir which grants immortality.

Thuvian: Of or related to Thuvia.

Tian Xia: Continent on the opposite side of the world from the Inner Sea region.

Varisian: Something from Varisia, or else a member of the often maligned Varisian ethnic group, which is known for its music, dance, and traveling caravans.

Vudra: Exotic continent far to the east of the Inner Sea.

Vudrani: Someone or something from Vudra.

Wizard: Someone who casts magical spells through research of arcane secrets and the constant study of spells, which he or she records in a spellbook.

Yellow Harbor: The main harbor of Okeno, named for the yellow sails of the slaver ships.