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Message: <blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 4788096" data-attributes="member: 3285">Chaugnar Faugn: Part 1 – The CitadelA sheer cliff face of volcanic rock rose fifty feet above them.  Sebastian flapped in a circle around it.  “I saw a wisp of smoke,” he shouted down.  “Perhaps from a campfire.”A stream of curses and warnings from above assailed him.  “Who goes thar?”“Oh, I know that voice,” said Kham.  “Baldric you old sea dog! Let us in!”“Kham?  Thar be Kham?”“Aye.  Now stop cursing and start lifting!”“What th’ hell be that thing flyin’ around!””You’ve met him, that’s Sebastian.  And he’s not so bad once you get past the wings…and tail…” Kham lowered his voice. “…and the claws…and the pointed ears…”A rope ladder was lowered and Kham clambered up it.Haggard from lack of nourishment, Baldric and his crew were in a sorry state indeed.  “This be what’s left of me crew.” Baldric introduced them with a flourish. “Me new first mate, Keaton.  Ye know Crazy Bob, me second mate.  This here’s Clive, a priest o’ Yarris.  And finally Wu Shu, th’ cook. As fer ye, ye look…” he looked Sebastian up and down, “different.”“We’ve been through a lot of changes lately,” said Kham.  “I thought you gave up the pirate’s life and became an honest man, Baldric?”Baldric grinned a gap-toothed grin.  “An’ here I thought ye were dead! ‘tis a strange thing, bein’ in politics.  Ye don’t know yer friends from yer enemies.  A bit like piracy, only without th’ ship.”“So you lost the election for the Privateer’s Seat on the Captain’s Council?”“Aye,” Baldric said glumly.  “Th’ fool, Xavier Gordon, won’t give up his seat.  Somethin’ about stayin’ in it until th’ war is over.”“Which one?” asked Beldin.Baldric chuckled.  “All of ‘em, if ye ask Gordon.  But mostly th’ Hinterlanders hired by th’ Emperor are stirrin’ up trouble.  They sent a punitive strike force against Entaris when word got out that Menisis was courtin’ th’ elorii.”“What?” Vlad asked in disbelief.  “That’s an act of war!”“Not an outright declaration o’ war, o’ course, but it’s comin’ to that.” The other crewmembers nodded their heads.  Except for Crazy Bob, who seemed to nod to himself all the time. “War keeps Freeport in business, ye see.  When Egil asked me fer help—“Kham rubbed his forehead. “Wait, Egil’s here?” “Aye.  We were pursuin’ Cho Sun’s ship, th’ Rapier, across the ocean when he doubled-back around and caught us with our pants down.  Destroyed th’ Shrike too.” The men took off their hats in reverence for the loss of their beloved ship.“Why were you pursuing Cho Sun?” asked Vlad.“After Kham was sentenced to th’ Hulks, Egil figured he was the only chance at stoppin’ Livius.  So he hired me and me mates to pursue him right to Nyambe.”“Who else was with you?” asked Sebastian.“The Countess D’Amberville, two of her girls, and Tranco.  Funny thing, havin’ a lady like that comin’ along.  I don’t know why she went with the likes of Egil, but she was very interested in stoppin’ Livius.”“He said Tranco, didn’t he,” Kham said to Vlad.  “Henry Tranco.”“Aye, that be him.”“Word is that they were captured by tcho-tchos,” said Beldin. “They plan to sacrifice the captives tonight.”Baldric’s bushy eyebrows went up.  “That’d be th’ village of Ola Tombo. We were separated after Cho Sun destroyed th’ Shrike.  I figured they’d be dead by now.”Sebastian and Beldin exchanged glances.  “We have to rescue them.  They can tell us where Livius was headed.”“Ye’ll be on yer own, though we’ll outfit ye as best we can.  All we’ve got here is fruit, goat milk, and th’ occasional wild boar.”From the pirates’ citadel, Kham could make out the tcho-tcho village.  “Of all the people in the world,” he muttered to himself, “it had to be Tranco.”</blockquote>

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