“This is going to be easy.” I smirked as the chime sound rang in my ears yet again.
My companions looked at me in curiosity, but I didn’t explain and instead continued toward the portcullis. It was a simple task to get past the first guard and past the palace walls, and I walked with my head held high toward the next obstacle.
By the time we reached the corridor leading to the King of Arajah, my women and friends looked at me with wonder and amazement in their eyes. I predicted each twist and turn out loud, but I walked at a stately pace.
I had all the time in the world, after all, and I meant to get that one hundred percent completion before letting time continue forward.
“You make everything look easy,” Caelia observed with a wry smile. “I wish I had half the foresight you do.”
“Well, fortunately, I’m looking out for you, too,” I laughed. “You have nothing to worry about with me around.”
“I consider myself lucky to be in your presence,” the dark-skinned shopkeeper replied as she cast me a flirtatious wink.
I’d really been enjoying Caelia’s growing confidence, and watching her come out of her shell was the highlight of claiming her as my woman. Her growth and change were astonishing, and it made me eager to see what our future together held.
Caelia would be an amazing mother, I could already tell.
I led my followers into the king’s personal sitting room, but I was already summoning my plant familiars with the grunts of power as I opened the door, so King Idinavisth was bound and restrained before we even made eye contact. His steel-gray gaze widened as my companions and I entered the chamber, and he opened his mouth to shout, but a bundle of leaves forced their way between his lips, which effectively shut him up.
“Hello, King Idinavisth,” I greeted with a friendly smile. “I am Sir Sebastian, the Archduke of Sorreyal, Dragon Slayer, Red Hands the Pirate Bane, and the God of Time. It’s a pleasure to meet you again.”
The plant leaves sensed my desire to speak with the king, and the bundles of green slowly removed themselves from his lips.
“God of Time?” The king frowned. “Again? I have never met you before…”
I chuckled to myself as I took a seat opposing the leader of Arajah, and I picked a couple of grapes from his plate to once again plop them casually into my mouth. I chewed thoughtfully as I stared into the king’s gray eyes, but the smile never left my face.
This was fun.
“We need to talk,” I said, and I ignored his questions. “I have some concerns about the way you’ve been ruling Arajah, and it’s about time you answered for your crimes.”
“Crimes?” King Idinavisth shook his head as much as the vines would allow, and his gaze showed his confusion. “I have done everything I could to provide for my people.”
“While also handing them over to slaver pirates,” I pointed out with a lifted eyebrow.
We went back and forth just like before until the king broke, and he gazed up at me with the same pitiful look as he had during the last run through. This time, though, I planned on laying the demands on thickly. I wanted to find his boundary lines, so I had to test him first.
Before I made my demands, I made a new save point while the king was still tied up in front of me. I let the king sit in silence for a minute as he contemplated what in the world I could possibly desire from him, but then I cleared my throat.
“You, and all of Arajah, must accept me as the one, true god of this world,” I demanded. “You will pay fealties to me in exchange for protection, and you shall open your shores to trade between Sorreyal and Arajah. All of the islanders must join the Bastian church and build a monument to me in the market square.”
“You are asking for much,” the king argued with a sad shake of his head. “Yet, if what you say is true, and you can end the pirate problem once and for all, then I have little choice but to trust in you.”
“He speaks honest words,” Risthan said from the couch. “I have watched this man in action during our journey, and everything he says is the truth. He will save Arajah.”
“You would speak for a foreigner?” The king raised a questioning eyebrow.
“We all would,” Sarosh said in a loud, clear voice, and her chin was lifted proudly as she met the king’s gaze. “He has already done more for our people than you ever have.”
The king inhaled sharply, and I could tell he wanted to punish her insolence somehow, but he didn’t say anything to my priestess before turning back to me.
“Very well, I will grant your wishes.” The king inclined his head as much as the vines would allow. “It can’t be a worse deal than I’ve already received from the pirates.”
“That’s the spirit,” I laughed, but I still didn’t trust the king.
He agreed to all of my demands a little too easily for my tastes.
I would keep a watchful eye, but I wasn’t sure what the king could gain from working against me. Would the pirates even come to his aid if he thought me to be a threat? I knew the Arajians wouldn’t be helped by any other local islands since they’d spent so many years shutting the world out, so if King Idinavisth summoned anyone for help, it would be the bloodthirsty murderers he was sacrificing his people to. The pirates could see me as a potential threat if I was taking away their source of slave labor, but I didn’t have enough information to make a decision yet.
I almost wished he’d summon the pirate king straight to Arajah since it would make my quest that much easier to complete, but I didn’t care how far I had to go to hunt him down.
The pirate king was going to die by my hands.
“We’ll need rooms in the palace,” I continued as I gestured to my companions. “And access to everything on the island.”
Risthan and the other Arajians tensed at this last demand, and we all knew what “everything on the island” entailed, but the king merely inclined his head yet again, so I doubted he’d picked up on my subtler meaning.
“You will have everything you need to complete your work,” King Idinavisth said. “I will assign servants to cater to your every wish, and you may have the unoccupied eastern wing of the palace for your own personal chambers while you stay in Arajah. How long do you plan to stay on the island?”
I chuckled to myself at the nervousness hidden behind his question, and I had to admit, the king was rather talented at navigating a tricky conversation without creating any animosity.
“As long as it takes,” I replied as I crossed my arms over my chest. “And I don’t expect our welcome to expire any time soon.”
“Of course not.” King Idinavisth fidgeted beneath his bindings. “What exactly do you plan to do with your time here?”
“Figure out how to end the pirate plague, obviously,” I snorted. “The thing you should have been doing years ago.”
The king was silent, but I could see an internal debate waging in his eyes. His gaze flicked to the Arajians within my company, and the loathing he felt was made obvious in the sour expression twisting his lips.
“These are your people who I had to save,” I said as I gestured to the metallic-haired elf-like people on the couches behind me. “If it wasn’t for you, they never would have left Arajah. They have more reason to hate you than you them, so I’d wipe that look off your face whenever you look at my friends.”
“I meant no such disrespect,” the king said in a hurried tone, and he wiggled his fingers beneath the vines restraining him as though he was attempting a dismissive wave of his hands. “Please, forgive me.”
I sighed and raked a hand through my hair, but I didn’t really hold any animosity toward the king. He was a weak-willed man doing what he thought was the right thing in a wrong situation, but I couldn’t hide my disappointment in the cowardly leader.
“I will let it slide this once,” I said in a hard voice that brokered no room for argument. “The next time you give my companions a look like that, our deal is off.”
“Very well,” the king said, but his voice shook slightly.
I nodded in satisfaction, and I crossed my arms over my chest as my gaze turned to my companions.
“Let’s find our rooms and settle in,” I suggested. “We’ll have more time to discuss the current situation with the king over dinner.”
“Yes, yes, by all means, please join me for the evening meal.” The king latched onto the segue as though it was his last chance for freedom, but I still didn’t trust him, so I was hesitant to release him from his bindings.
I couldn’t leave him tied up forever, though, so I released my vines with a wave of my willpower, and my plant familiar pulled away from the king.
“A bed sounds lovely,” Caelia breathed as she stood from the sofa. “All this excitement has worn me out. I’m ready for a nap on a feather bed.”
“Only the best for you, babe,” I assured her as I flashed the dark-skinned beauty a wink.
“I shall call for servants to lead the way to the east wing,” King Idinavisth said as he rubbed his wrists gingerly in the spot where the vines had held him to his chair, but then he pushed himself to his feet on slightly wobbly knees and flashed us a broad smile. “It shall only take a moment.”
I tensed as the king crossed the room to a large rope dangling from the ceiling, and the strand ended in a large golden tassel. It was this knot the king pulled on, and no more than a few seconds later, a small team of servants filed into the room.
King Idinavisth gave quick instructions to prepare the east wing for us to occupy, and a moment later, my companions and I were following a silver-haired younger man through the palace.
The incredible woodwork common in Arajah was visible everywhere we looked, from decorated and carved trim pieces lining the ceilings and floors, to statues, glossy doors, and window frames. Curios and cabinets topped with ornamental figurines and decorative bowls of fruits and vegetables lined the corridors, and each cupboard looked hand-carved from the finest timber.
My women oohed and aahed over the fine craftsmanship, but the Arajians seemed slightly less than impressed. Sarosh’s eyes widened every once in a while, but the former slaves kept their gaze locked on the thick padded carpets beneath our feet. Risthan looked sullen as he kept his vision locked on our escort as though they could be leading us in the wrong direction, but I had no worries.
I was the God of Time, after all. What was there for me to worry about?
“We should employ a local craftsman to make us some furniture for our house,” Evangeline suggested as she gestured to a double-doored cabinet to our left. “They make the most beautiful things here.”
“That’s a good idea,” I agreed. “There are beautiful pieces everywhere I look. I’ll ask the king for recommendations. After we handle the pirate problem, then all we have left to do is stimulate the local economy. I want them excited and prepared to receive the legions of trade ships soon coming their way from Sorreyal.”
The servant escorting us to the east wing inhaled sharply and was obviously listening to our conversation, but I could tell he felt a sense of pride for the palace he worked in by the way the younger man lifted his chin and straightened his shoulders.
That was a good sign.
We continued through the palace, and after we turned a corner into a wide hallway with windows on either end, the sun hit our backs with warming rays. The silver-haired servant paused at the end of the long corridor, and the younger man gestured to the many doors and archways opening off from the hallway.
“Welcome to the east wing of the palace,” the younger man said with a dramatic flourish. “Staff are coming to stock the kitchens with anything your stomachs could desire, and each room shall have its own attendant to await your every need.”
“Thanks.” I grinned, but then I turned to my companions and gestured down the hall. “Go pick out your rooms. We’re living in the lap of luxury for the next few days.”
The eager looks in the eyes of the former slaves made me chuckle, and the Arajians scurried down the corridor to peek into each room. Amazed gasps and sounds of awe filled my ears, but I turned my attention back to our escort.
“Thank you again,” I said. “You can tell the king we are satisfied for the remainder of the day. I will have an audience with his majesty sometime in the morning before I venture back into the city.”
I’d told the king I’d see him at dinner, but I wanted him to sweat a little more.
“I will see what the king’s schedule looks like,” the servant said in a vague tone.
“Nope.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “I think you misheard me. I said I was going to grant the king an audience with me. It wasn’t a request, it was an offer.”
I had no intention of going to see the king at a set time and place. It would be far better to have him expecting me at any moment only to have waited for nothing. I’d go have another chat with him when I was good and ready.
“Y-Y-Yes, Your Grace,” the servant stammered as he back-pedaled away from me. “I will alert his majesty.”
He was roughly twenty feet away from me when he turned around and dashed shamelessly down the hallways leading away from the east wing, and I shook my head in amusement as I watched him go. Then I went to check on my companions, and to figure out where I would be sleeping for the next few nights. I was sure my women had claimed an adequate bed chamber for the three of us, so I just needed to find my lovers.
The kitchen staff flowed into the main corridor of the east wing a moment later, and the horde of Arajian servants hurried through the archway and into the kitchen. I glanced in as I passed by, and I watched as they leapt into action preparing some sort of Arajian delicacy I was sure to love since I wasn’t super hard to please.
I found Evangeline and Caelia in a lavish bedroom with a massive bed at the center of the space, and the mattress had to be more than king-sized since I had to crawl across it to reach my lovers. The bed laid beneath a beautiful stained-glass ceiling window, and the white blankets and sheets were bathed in radiant colors.
“Wow, you guys really know how to pick a room,” I complimented once I’d reached the center of the bed.
Then I glanced around at the other accommodations, and an eager grin spread across my face. It was like the honeymoon suite or something because a pool of water was built into the floor on the opposite side of the room. Another stained-glass window bathed the dark blue liquid in warmth and color, and the scene was too inviting to ignore.
“Let’s swim,” I suggested with an enthusiastic bounce on the bed that sent my lovers reeling in either direction in a fit of giggles.
“Anything you wish, Bash,” Caelia chuckled as she steadied herself once more.
“Should we put on our bathing suits just in case someone enters?” Eva’s smile was teasing and mischievous, so I could tell what answer she wanted to hear.
I shook my head. “Fuck, no.”
Both girls erupted into another fit of giggles, but I couldn’t resist working them up into a frenzy, so I launched myself at them with tickling fingers. The women squealed as they scurried away from my digging digits, but I merely chased them toward the steaming pool of water.
We all tore our clothes off in a hurry, and we left a trail of discarded fabrics in our wake as we splashed into the warm, inviting liquid. I sighed contentedly as I lowered my weary shoulders into the heat, but then the bars of soap and sponges along the rim caught my attention.
Evangeline’s gaze followed my own, and the duke’s daughter was nimble as she skittered through the water toward the soap. Caelia quickly picked up on Eva’s intentions, and a moment later, both women were scrubbing me clean and massaging my tired muscles.
It was a heaven fit for a god.
The next morning, I decided to make him wait even longer than I’d told the servant, so my party and I all traveled down into the city to explore, and Sarosh acted as a tour guide and cultural translator as we worked our way through the market square. We all wore our full sets of armor even though the island was occupied by pacifists, but I wasn’t going to leave anything up to chance.
Especially not if Eva and Caelia could both be carrying my babies.
Risthan and the other Arajians had refused my offer for armor, and they’d insisted there was nothing to fear in Custanov. Despite my skepticism, I relaxed my guard ever so slightly as we filtered through the densely-packed streets when my instincts told me there were no immediate threats, but I made sure we stayed together as a group.
There were fishermen hawking their daily catch, and weavers shouting about the quality of their threadwork, but my eye was drawn to the woodworkers. The statues and carvings taken from an entire log reminded me of the chainsaw carvers from Earth who occupied every pioneer town attraction, but the Arajian craftsmen put the rednecks to shame.
There were forest creatures galore, but I spotted a few hybrid-looking things, and I wondered about local mythology. My gaze lingered on the feminine form of a tree nymph, and I found my feet angling toward the booth of their own volition.
Every god deserved a fine carving of his likeness.
“Hello, there!” I greeted with a broad smile.
The vendor immediately narrowed his gray eyes at me, and he pulled his shapeless brown robes tighter about him, but then his gaze landed on the Arajians within my company. The carving merchant nodded his head to them in greeting, but he refused to meet my eye.
“The God of Time greeted you,” Evangeline said in a warning tone. “You would be wise to respond.”
“Easy, now,” I chuckled as I placed a comforting hand on my wife’s shoulder. “We don’t want to scare them without reason.”
“Sorry.” The blonde bombshell relaxed slightly beneath the pressure of my palm, and her lips twitched into the hint of a smile.
I tweaked her nose affectionately before I turned back to the vendor.
“I am interested in your wares,” I said as I gestured to the fine carvings all around us. “How much would it cost to get a likeness of myself created?”
“The king himself could not afford custom work,” the vendor argued, but I could hear the pleasure in his voice from the request, so I considered his statement a haggling tactic.
“I am richer than the king of Arajah himself,” I countered.
The merchant’s eyes widened, and I could see the gears turning in his head as he tried to find the lie in my statement. My companions said nothing, but the amused smiles on their faces spoke volumes.
“Six hundred gold pieces for a small likeness,” the vendor declared with a victorious air, but then he softened his tone and gestured to the wood nymph that had caught my eye. “Perhaps I could interest you in one of my personal pieces instead. They are much more affordable.”
“What about this stuff?” I smirked as I reached into my coin bag and pulled out a handful of Zaborian gold. “I took it from murdering, thieving pirates, and I’d much rather have it in the pockets of Arajians.”
“This is a quality coin,” the merchant agreed as he accepted one of the metal circles and bit down upon it. The teeth marks indented into the gold were plain to see, and the vendor’s eyes widened. “I accept.”
“You’ll carve me?” I grinned.
“As fine a piece as money can buy,” the merchant confirmed, but then he turned to rifle through a box on the ground behind him, and he swiveled back around with a pad of paper and a piece of charcoal in his hands. “Now, if you’ll have a seat, I will take some notes on your image to work from.”
“Smart thinking,” I said, and I situated myself on one of the uncarved logs strewn amongst the carvings.
My companions began to look a little bored while they watched the vendor sketch my face, but after a few moments, the brown-robed merchant revealed his drawing. My women gasped as they gazed at my likeness, and I had to admit it was super accurate.
“It will take me the rest of the day to complete the project,” the vendor said. “Come back at sunset with six hundred gold pieces like the one you showed me.”
“Sounds good to me,” I laughed. “Money well spent.”
My companions and I explored the rest of the market square, but we didn’t have any particular destination in mind, so our trail zigzagged from one stand to the next until we’d spoken to every merchant. Sarosh and Risthan explained various things my women and I were unfamiliar with, and we tried a variety of exotic foods, but then I spotted an armorer.
The wooden armor gleamed in the sunlight, and every piece appeared to be buffed into a bright shine. They were perfectly made, with the grain of the wood creating swirls and patterns, and I itched to see the stats.
“Greetings, pirate,” the vendor said as I approached.
“I’m no pirate,” I said, but I jerked my chin toward his wares. “Do you mind if I check out your armor?”
“My apologies!” The man let out a bellowing laugh that resembled a braying donkey. “I don’t ever see any other foreigners on our shores. Help yourself, and if you have any questions or want to try anything on, just let me know.”
A friendly Arajian, who would have thought?
It was a nice change of pace, but it only seemed to highlight the coldness of the rest of the population even more.
“Thanks.” I grinned, but my hand immediately went to the wrist guards laid out on the table in front of me.
They resembled the leather pads used to protect the inside of an archer’s wrist from the twang of the bowstring, and I imagined Mahini would feel very appreciative of the gift.
I pressed my pointer finger against the wood grain to activate the stats, and I let out a low whistle when the translucent text bubble popped into existence in mid-air.
Durability - 100%
Weight - 3lbs
Quality - Fine
Magical Aspect - None
Magical Ability - None
They weren’t super awesome, and my gear blew the wooden armor’s stats out of the water, but I wanted them as a gift anyway, so it didn’t really matter. I fished out a gold Zaborian coin and pressed it into the vendor’s hands, and he nodded in satisfaction.
“Thanks,” I said before turning toward the next stall.
Eva and Caelia investigated the gauntlets for themselves as we walked, and they admired the fine sheen to the wood grain.
“Sarosh, do you know what they do to make the wood shine like this?” Eva asked as she handed the gauntlets to the silver-haired priestess.
“I do not.” Sarosh shook her head, but she cast an admiring glance at my recent purchase nonetheless. “The Arajian woodworkers are well-known for their secret keeping skills as well as their talent with shaping wood.”
“It seems all the Arajians pride themselves on being secretive,” I pointed out. “You would think they’re happy with the way things are around here.”
Sarosh let out a sad sigh, and her gray eyes swept around at the Arajian merchants and shoppers. Risthan, too, had a wistful look about him as he peered around at his people, but he didn’t comment. The former slaves were quiet as well, and I wondered what I’d have to do to get them to come out of their shells.
It was time to shake things up around Custanov.
I made a new save point as I made my way to the small group of benches and picnic tables occupying the center of the market square, but instead of sitting down, I climbed to the top of a table’s surface and cleared my throat loudly.
A few Arajians nearby paused in their shopping to gaze up at me with a mixture of animosity and curiosity, but I was confident I’d have every single eye in the market locked onto me in a matter of moments.
“People of Custanov and all Arajians, hear me now!” I lifted my voice loud enough for everyone in the market square to hear me. “I am a foreigner to your island, but I am already your friend. Come, come closer to hear the messages of freedom and prosperity I would share with you!”
Sarosh and my two women spread out amongst the market, and I could see them guiding people toward the center like ushers at a movie theater. My Arajian companions took seats at the table closest to the one I stood upon, and they lifted their eyes to my face with just as much curiosity as the rest of the citizens of Custanov’s marketplace.
I waited for a few moments while the people gathered around the table, and I nodded my head in greeting to those who stared openly at my face. I was sure I appeared strange to the people who saw metallic sheens everywhere, but to me they were the odd-looking ones.
“Who is he?”
“What does he want?”
“There are foreigners upon our shores!”
“Is he one of the pirates?”
I listened in amusement to the whispered questions echoing all around me, but I continued to wait as the suspense built in the air.
“We should run!”
“This can’t be good!”
The murmurs grew more worried and frantic the longer I paused, but I wanted to shock and awe the crowd, so I needed them to be on the edge of their seats. When a sizable crowd had gathered, and all the shops and booths were empty of customers, I lifted my hands in the air to signal for silence.
A hush fell immediately, and I had the rapt attention of everyone present. I swept my gaze from eye to eye, and I took in the range of metallic hues of both the irises and hair of the Arajian people. While I knew only a fraction of the population was present at that time in the market square, there was enough for word to spread to even the outlying villages beyond Custanov.
“Are you tired?” I asked the crowd at large, but I didn’t exactly expect an immediate response, so I was undeterred when they remained silent. “Are you sick?”
I paused for dramatic effect as I continued to make eye contact with individual members of the crowd. Their silver and gray-hued gazes met mine with curiosity and confusion, but there was still a hint of animosity toward me. They didn’t trust outsiders, and after their family and friends had been sacrificed to the murdering pirates, they were even more guarded against foreigners.
It was to be expected.
“How long have you been tirelessly working toward the betterment of Arajah?” I paused after each question to let the weight of my words settle in. “You are all duty-bound to the island you call home. Every single one of you. How many have you lost in the name of duty? Are you ready for the sacrifices to end?”
There were murmurs of agreement from deep within the crowd, but some hesitant voices still remained.
“Why are we wasting our time listening to a raving madman?”
“Hear him out.”
“What nonsense.”
I cleared my throat again, and the murmurs fell deadly silent. The silence had been broken now, but the majority of the group still stared quietly up at me as though giving me the benefit of the doubt.
“I am Sir Sebastian, the Archduke of Sorreyal, the Slayer of Dragons, Red Hands the Pirate Bane, and the God of Time.” I held up the palms of my hands, and I summoned fire in one fist and ice in the other. “I have traveled from across the world to free you from the pirate scourge.”
The hush remained, and hardly anyone dared to breathe as my words hung in the air like Halloween decorations. Then a cacophony of laughter and snorts of derision erupted, and I was bathed in the crowd’s ire.
“An outsider? Helping us?”
“What a joke!”
“Get out of here!”
My heart fell into the pit of my stomach as I endured the verbal assault from the crowd.
They didn’t believe me.
Chime.
I wasn’t about to get laughed at again, so I’d just have to figure out how to win over the crowd in a different way. My name and titles alone weren’t enough to convince them to follow me to freedom, but I had other methods of persuasion.
Once more, I climbed to the top of a table’s surface and cleared my throat loudly.
I repeated my introduction questions to gather the crowd around me, and then I paused to think of the best way to approach things. The people of Arajah didn’t trust outsiders, but would they believe their own kind? I eyed the former slaves I’d freed from the pirate assholes, and I scratched the stubble of my jaw as I considered my assets.
“How long have you been tirelessly working toward the betterment of Arajah?” I again paused after each question to let the weight of my words settle in. “How many have you lost in the name of duty? Are you ready for the sacrifices to end?”
I gestured to the freed Arajians who’d been sacrificed to the pirates by King Idinavisth and the other nobles in charge of the island.
“These are your people sitting here before you. Do you recognize them?” I pointed to Alaster and Torin. “Are these men not fathers and brothers? Do they mean nothing to you?”
The crowd shuffled uneasily as people flashed each other questioning glances, but no one stepped forward to claim relation to the two men. Then I pointed to the three women, Janella, Ivasthi, and Samaria, and I repeated the questions again, but the people of Custanov’s market square did not claim them, either.
“These people did nothing wrong,” I declared, and I cast a judgmental glance around at those who’d yet to be sacrificed. “When you are chosen, you will also have done nothing wrong, except--”
I cut myself off and held a single pointer finger in the air until the tension in the crowd built to a boil.
“Except you’ve stood idly by while your own blood and kin have been handed over to bloodthirsty, heartless monsters.”
A murmur of discontent swept through the Arajians, and they exchanged nervous glances.
“We did nothing!” a woman’s voice called out over the silver and copper-colored heads. “Because there was nothing we could do!”
Shouts of agreement echoed her words, but I ignored them while I zeroed in on her face. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and her amber eyes were full of pain.
“Who was it?” I asked in a soft voice. “Who did they take from you?”
“My husband,” came the choked response, and then the woman began to sob. “If there was anything I could have done to prevent it, believe me, I would have!”
“I believe you,” I assured her, and I hopped down from the table to cross the distance between us. The crowd parted to let me through, and a moment later, I had wrapped the Arajian woman in my arms. She hesitated briefly before she collapsed against me, and awed murmurs swept through the densely-packed people around me. “There, there, it’s alright. I’m here to fix it.”
“F-F-Fix it?” The crying woman pushed away from my chest to look up at me with a look of utter confusion. “How can you undo what’s already been done?”
“Your husband was cast into a life of slavery,” I said, but I squeezed her arms to give her strength. “That does not mean he is dead. And if he lives, we can still save him, but we have to act fast.”
“How?”
“Save a sacrifice?”
“Preposterous!”
“Don’t listen to this madman!”
The arguing voices among the crowd of Arajian shoppers grew intense, and I stiffened as I prepared for them to turn hostile, but the pacifists did nothing more than harden their tones.
“People of Custanov!” Risthan’s voice cut across the arguing citizens, and a hushed silence again fell over the people in the market square. He’d taken my empty spot on top of the picnic table, and he stood with his shoulders squared and his chin proudly lifted. “I am Risthan, son of Radamash, and I am one of you. I will speak for this man.”
Sarosh mounted the table and stood beside the silver-haired nobleman. “I am Sarosh, and I am one of you. I will speak for this man.”
One by one, my Arajian friends stood on top of the tables and declared their loyalty to me. My heart soared at the sight, and the doubt sweeping through the crowd was once more replaced by curious fascination.
“We have come home to free Arajah from the darkness upon her!” Risthan announced. “Sir Sebastian will end the terror of the pirates once and for all!”
“Let’s just see about that!” a male voice growled.
Shouts of alarm followed by grunts of pain echoed the new voice, and then a man shoved his way through the densely-packed crowd toward me. He was shirtless, and the muscles of his chest bulged beneath colorful, but faded, tattoos. His head was shaved, but a long goatee hung down past his nipples.
A skull and crossbones also decorated his upper arm, and I inhaled sharply.
A pirate.
“Step any closer and your life is in danger,” I warned the man in a low, dangerous tone.
“Try me,” he said.
I grinned as I made a new save point.
This was going to be fun.