Barsoom Tales II: Romance, Revolution and BLOODY REVENGE!!! -- COMPLETE

[barsoomcore]

Frying Pan, Fire: 12

"'..without exception the factual matters which appellants belatedly claims require development, are either irrelevant or are matters regarding which appellants...'"

Arrafin shook her head and passed the document back to Nevid.

"I can't figure it out. It's a bunch of legal gobbledegook."

Nevid flipped through the document, frowning. He and Arrafin and Isaac and Etienne sat alone in the hotel's restaurant, which last night had been so crowded. There was no sign of Elena or Zuleika.

Etienne sighed and helped himself to a pear.

"Where's your girlfriend, Nevid? Disappear again? So what, is somebody trying to take Isaac's rightful property or something?"

"I don't have any rightful property. It was all confiscated when -- "

Arrafin and Nevid both looked up.

"Yes? When...?"

"I don't want to talk -- "

"Treason? Was your father accused of treason?"

"Watch it."

Isaac's hand went to his swordhilt as anger flashed in his eyes. For a second the fury in his face blazed out, but the moment his friends shrank back, the burly warrior relaxed and bowed his head.

"I'm sorry. It still... Yes. Why?"

Nevid flipped pages.

"'Security and treason laws which prevent release of del Valençia holdings, capital, lands and chattels do not supersede del Maraviez property rights.' And this: 'The Appellants' argument that granting del Maraviez an exemption from the relevant requirements of the local security and treason laws violates the Establishment Clause, is substantially incorrect.' Blah, blah, blah, and then: 'For all of the above reasons this Court should reverse the judgment of the Court of Petrahegna.'"

Isaac blinked.

"What?"

"Your father, and you yourself, it seems, were found guilty of treason. Apparently, the Court of Petrahegna decided that the property of traitors does not pass to the Familias that the traitors were working for. This document is an appeal of that judgement by the del Maraviez, arguing that they should be given all of the traitors' possessions."

"Maybe you shouldn't call me a traitor quite so much."

"Sorry. But I think that's what this is. They're saying that you ARE guilty, but that your guilt shouldn't interfere with their right to your property."

"But Isabella said..."

Isaac's face darkened.

"Her name's on that document, isn't it?"

"She signed it. And her father, Rodrig."

"And now she's dead, so we can't ask her."

"And we'll never get in to see Rodrig. Nobody sees Rodrig del Maraviez."

"Fine."

"Fine?"

"Fine. It's over. They can have the property if they want it so bad. It didn't do my father any good. Or my mother. Both of them are dead now because of their wealth. I'd rather live in some kind of peace and quiet than try and fight all that, anyway."

A woman screamed upstairs. Etienne leapt to his feet and hurtled up the stairway.

"Zuleika."

*****

"Murderess! She killed him! She killed Alejandro! Kill her!"

Etienne pushed through the crowd, elbowing and kicking his way through the thronging mercenaries to the hotel room door. Once he saw what lay within the room, however, he recoiled back so strongly the heavy-set mercenaries yelling behind him nearly toppled backward.

Zuleika sat, no longer screaming but staring, wrapped in a bedsheet, at a gory display across the other side of the room. What had once been a man had been dismembered and strewn like banners and decorations across the walls, his face peeled and grinning horribly from the window-sill.

Etienne recovered and ran to Zuleika. Usually so sarcastic and confident, the Naridic woman collapsed against Etienne, weeping uncontrollably and begging him to help.

"Kill her!"

One of the mercenaries stepped into the room, and stopped dead, with the point of Etienne's long-knife under his jaw.

"Think carefully about what you do with the rest of your life. There might not be very much of it."

As the soldier stepped back, Etienne brandished his knife at the rest of them.

"No more warnings. If you want in here, I'm waiting."

He addressed Zuleika over his shoulder.

"You didn't kill the guy, did you?"

At her glower he shrugged and turned back to the angry mob.

"I guess you're feeling a little better."

Elena shoved through the crowd into the room.

"What the hell? Z, what happened here? Who did this?"

Zuleika shuddered and drew the blanket more tightly around her.

"Kaley. It was Kaley."

*****

Isaac returned from the huddle around the watch captain. Convincing him not to just drag Zuleika off had not been easy.

"I think we need to move to a different hotel. Those mercenaries aren't happy with us."

"Kind of tough to blame them. What the hell happened in there?"

Elena and Isaac both sighed at the same time, studying their friends across the restaurant. Kaley had not re-appeared yet, but Zuleika was still watching Nevid with an slow-burning anger. Arrafin detached herself from the group and came over to where Isaac and Elena leaned against the bar.

"So... Kaley."

"Yeah. That's weird."

"Yeah. Um. Do you think your. Um. Friend? Would know anything about it?"

Elena stared at Arrafin. Fixedly.

"My friend?"

"You know. Farouk ibn Zaoud. He's a spirit. Like her, right? So maybe he'd know something."

Isaac nodded.

"I'm worried by how much sense that makes."

With another sigh, Elena led the others past Zuleika, Nevid and Etienne, and the whole group trudged up the stairs to the room the women shared. Elena closed the door behind them and raised a hand to the amulet at her throat.

She blinked. In a shower of spraying colour, he appeared. Farouk ibn Zaoud, dressed in a few scraps of silk, his broad chest gleaming with manly appeal. Elena swallowed.

"Hi."

He bowed.

"Mistress. I am yours to command."

"Cool. I have a question for you. Can you answer questions?"

"All my knowledge is at my mistress' feet."

"Okay. So, you remember Kaley? The spirit girl? She killed somebody. Cut them all up and stuff. Why would a spirit do that?"

"Mistress, may I correct you?"

"Okay. Sure."

"The woman you call Kaley is not a spirit. She is a mortal whose soul has been stripped from her and who has been made a servant of the Tuthean Tarn."

"Who are they?"

"Great spirits who dwell among the islands of Shaer. Their court is a mighty one and their bindings are among the oldest of all spirits in Barsoom."

"So they made her do it?"

"She has no soul. No will of her own. All her actions are at the will of the Tuthean Tarn. But I cannot guess at their motives. If you wish to know why they have done this, you must journey to Shaer and ask them. It is possible they will answer."

Zuleika stepped forward.

"They'll answer."

She looked around at the others.

"So Kaley was a spy all along. These Tarn guys sent her to us. I knew we shouldn't have trusted her."

Nevid stared down at the floor, frustration darkening his face.

Arrafin shook her head.

"She seemed like such a confused girl."

"She's not a girl! Don't you remember your precious Madame Lick My Thong telling us that? She's not a girl. She's not even human."

Elena snickered at Zuleika's crassness, but her amusement died at Arrafin's earnest concern.

"She used to be. Think of what it must be like. A slave..."

Arrafin's voice trailed off as she looked over at Farouk ibn Zaoud.

"Do you mind being a slave?"

Farouk made no answer. Elena drew a breath in, studying the amulet in her hand.

Nevid raised his head. He spoke with uncharacteristic certainty.

"We have to free her. Kaley. I don't know why they sent her to us or what they want, but I don't think it's right to leave her enslaved like that. I want to go to Shaer and make them release her."

Zuleika snorted.

"You want to help HER? She tore a man to shreds. I watched."

"You heard him. They made her do it. She must be suffering, Zuleika. And how many more times will they make her do something like this? We have to free her. Somehow."

Isaac nodded.

"I like it. Seems doable. As long as we're not, you know, wanted for murder and likely to be arrested at any moment. Oh, darn."

Elena joined in.

"Or as long as the most powerful families in Saijadan aren't after us. Oops."

Arrafin chuckled.

"Yeah, and as long as the Kishak Empire isn't hunting us down. Oh, dear."

"As long as no insane vampire goddess freaks aren't sniffing after Arrafin's virginity. Damn."

Etienne shook his head at his friends' merriment.

"At least we're all agreeing on something."

 

[TwinBahamut]

Okay, I finally caught up.

I can empathize with what it feels like to have pretty much every major power in the world, including the nasty supernatural ones, out to get you. What next, the Tyrant's Shade shows up and threatens the player personally?

This is a fun story hour, if a bit gloomy and gory...

 

[barsoomcore]

Frying Pan, Fire: 13

"I guess those mercenaries are better at bribing officials than we are."

Arrafin shook her head at Saijadani corruption.

"Is everything in this country about money?"

"It's a more predictable motivator than crazy desert religion."

"Or icky vampire lust."

"Hey!"

Chuckling at the Naridic girl's suddenly red face, Elena leaned out around the corner to peer again at the wharf.

The soldiers they'd shared the hotel with last night had gathered here, joined by a detachment of city guardsmen, all of them looking alert and angry. She sighed.

"It's not going to be easy to get a ship out of here. And we're sure not walking to Shaer."

The group retreated back down the street and ducked into a small shop. Ignoring the merchant's greeting, they crowded around the window, staring out into the street.

Etienne had a suggestion.

"We could wait for nightfall and try to steal a boat."

"And until then?"

"Weren't we going to try and figure out how those Nevakada guys got into town? Why not carry on with that plan?"

Isaac nodded thoughtfully.

"Killing a basketful of Kishaks would really improve my mood, actually."

*****

"Well, Isaac, there's your basketful, right there."

"Maybe a bigger basket than I had in mind."

Isaac and Etienne perched on a rooftop, looking down through broken tiles into the office below. Beneath them lounged at least a dozen red-skinned warriors, obviously killing time without much enthusiasm.

The office belonged to del Corazor Shipping, and a variety of clues had brought the Saijadani pair here, most notably the drunken ramblings of a recently-dismissed warehouse guard. Elena, Zuleika, Arrafin and Nevid waited in the alley behind the office building.

"They do seem pretty calm, considering they're in the midst of an enemy city."

"Calm. Stupid. It's hard to tell with Kishaks."

*****

"I like ye, lad."

"Oh, no."

Zuleika recoiled as Kaley suddenly appeared on Nevid's arm, smiling at the Saijadani youth. Nevid's reaction was nearly as violent, but the dreamy Shaeric woman drifted along with him as he tried to retreat.

Elena tried a smile.

"Hi, Kaley. How are you?"

The girl kept staring at Nevid's face. She showed no sign of having heard Elena.

"Where have you been? Nevid, ask her where she's been."

Nevid's terrified gaze rolled over to Elena, then back to the smiling young girl clutching at his arm.

"Uh. Ka. Kaley. Kaley."

"I like ye, lad."

"Yes. Yes. That's good. I. I like you, too."

She sighed and gripped him tighter.

"Listen. Kaley. Where did you go? Where have you been?"

"Been? I've been with ye, lad. I've no hope to go elsewhere, have I?"

"But."

Nevid ran out of conversational steam. Arrafin tried a smile and tapped the girl on her shoulder.

"Hi, Kaley."

Without losing her dreamy smile, the girl turned to look at Arrafin.

"Ye're a nice lass. Ye'll no make me go, will ye?"

"No, Kaley. We don't want you to go. But we're wondering if you've seen. Um. The King. Recently."

Panic erupted in the girl's face and Arrafin put up her hands to try and reassure her.

"No, no, sweetie, it's okay. Nobody's going to hurt you."

Zuleika snorted but did not challenge the assertion.

"Does he make you do things? The King? Are you afraid of him?"

Kaley's nod was that of an unhappy child.

"He hurts me. But he can no find me here, ye see. Not with me lad by me side."

"He can't?"

"Only sometimes."

Nevid got some of his aplomb back and put an arm around the girl's slender shoulders. She smiled up at him with sudden joy.

"It'll be okay, Kaley. We'll help you."

"I know ye will."

Crashing, swearing and the sudden clang of steel exploded from inside. Zuleika swore.

"Those bastards started without us."

Charging inside, they found Isaac holding off most of the Kishak soldiers, swearing at the top of his lungs at Etienne, who was nowhere to be seen, although a few soldiers were aiming heavy blows at a desk nearby.

Overhead, a broken beam and a gaping hole in the roof told of what must have been a precipitate entrance.

The Kishaks turned as Zuleika waded into their midst, her sword flashing. Elena stretched out a hand and purple light flared as two soldiers convulsed, shuddering with unseen vibrations that seemed to nearly tear them to pieces.

Arrafin stepped away from her friends and drew on her dark power. Shadowy tendrils rose up around her, but suddenly collapsed back into the ground. The Naridic girl stamped her foot and tried to compose herself, her little owl fluttering over her wild curls.

Again her sorcerous skills failed her and she reeled, nearly overcome by the cold fury of Shadow she'd called upon.

Most of the soldiers were down, clutching at wounds or lying still, when the last pair dropped their swords and fell to their knees, pleading in their harsh tongues for mercy.

"To hell with every last f**king one of you."

Zuleika thrust her sword into the first one's abdomen, and as he keeled forward, she whirled the blade over her head and decapitated the other. Still in her battle fury, she kicked at the one she'd stabbed, shrieking with hideous laughter as he scrabbled for his entrails.

Elena grabbed the Naridic woman and shoved her back.

"That's enough, Z. That's enough."

They stared at each other, and Zuleika burst into tears.

Etienne crawled out from under the desk.

"Are any of them left alive?"

Isaac looked around with a grim look.

"Not 'alive', as such. Not as could answer a few questions, anyway."

Arrafin came forward. She bent down and heaved up the severed head of the last soldier.

"The one doesn't necessarily mean the other."

Everyone watched in a horrified daze as Arrafin settled the head on top of the desk Etienne had been under. She had to twist it a bit to get it to sit upright, but once the grisly task was done, she stepped back.

"Uh. Arrafin?"

"Just a minute."

The Naridic girl closed her eyes and the others pulled away as dark shadows swirled up around her. One of the gasping Kishak soldiers stopped gasping as the tendrils drifted over him.

The shadowy whorls and streams gathered in front of Arrafin and then surged into the severed head on the desk, which heaved and twitched.

"It worked. Great. Now we can ask it questions. Let's think carefully about this."

Arrafin turned with a happy smile to her friends, pleased with herself. Her smile faded at the varying looks of discomfort on the others' faces.

"What?"

*****

"Well, that was a waste of time."

"If you hadn't asked the same question twice..."

"I didn't know we had a time limit, Zuleika. Arrafin never said--"

"Don't you blame me, Etienne. I told you to think carefully."

"Thinking. Not exactly his strong suit."

"Well, at least we know the Tyrant's Shade doesn't know where we are. That's good."

The bickering party carried on down the dark street, making their way back towards the wharfs. As they neared where earlier in the day they'd seen the mercenaries and the guardsmen, they slowed.

"Etienne, go and look. See if they're still there."

The half-Kishak slipped into the shadows and disappeared. Elena shrugged.

"He is light on his feet."

Isaac's growl was an unhappy one.

"Not always."

The burly Saijadani still favoured his left arm after the battle in the office building. He started as Etienne re-emerged.

"No good. The wharfs are crawling with soldiers. We'll never get out of here."

Another figure detached from the shadows beyond Etienne. The entire group stepped back and readied their weapons. The voice was a woman's, but low and husky.

"Relax. I'm a friend. I can get you out of here."

Isaac's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"I don't think you're my friend."

"Oh, Isaac, I'm especially your friend."

Collette de Maynard stepped forward, smirking just a little.

"In fact, I just might be your only friend right now."

Her smirk disappeared.

"I know where they took your mother, Isaac. She's not dead. The del Orofin are holding her prisoner in Salejo. Do you want to see her?"

Isaac sheathed his sword.

"None of your tricks, b***h. And keep your hands where we can see them."

"I'll consider that a 'yes,' shall I?"

 

[Desdichado]

This is a fun story hour, if a bit gloomy and gory...

That's exactly why it's so fun.

 

[barsoomcore]

Frying Pan, Fire: 14

Isaac squinted in the sunshine.

"You know, this is all just a little weird."

"I agree," said Elena. "And I say with the caveat that for us, 'a little weird' is a lot weirder than it is for most people."

"Yeah."

The two sat on the deck of the Wavereaver, the ship Collette had brought them to a couple of nights ago, and on which they'd managed to escape Cadençia. They watched as their captain, a roguish-looking fellow named Mateo, strode past, calling out an order of some kind to his first mate, Natacha.

"How does he remember the battle for Pavairelle? I mean, that was thirty years ago."

"He looks like he's thirty himself."

"Exactly."

"And I don't like how they just laugh whenever we mention sorcery, like they know all about it."

"And I especially don't like that Collette put us on this boat. She's up to something, I know it."

"Maybe she just wants to help. Maybe she wants you."

"That's not funny."

Arrafin came over, unsteady against the motion of the boat, and lowered herself to the deck beside her friends.

"So, this boat is kind of weird."

"We were just discussing that. What's got your weird alert notioning?"

The Naridic girl looked around, then leaned towards Elena.

"Can you do your thing?"

"Which thing? I have such a plethora of options."

"The thing with your brain."

"Oh. That thing. No."

"You can't?"

"No. My brain doesn't work."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I just found out right now, when I tried."

"Oh. Well, my thing doesn't work either."

Isaac stared at the two women. Etienne walked up just as the Saijadani burst out, "What is wrong with your things?"

Etienne blinked.

"Whoa. This conversation is more interesting than I thought."

Arrafin looked up as Zuleika and Nevid joined them.

"Neither sorcery nor psionics seem to work on this boat. I can't grasp any Shadow at all. And Elena's brain doesn't work."

"How can you tell? Ouch. Sorry."

Isaac saw Mateo watching them from the other side of the main mast and waved the man over.

"Look, enough with the knowing smirks. Why doesn't sorcery work on this ship?"

"Oh, that. Well, sir, I gotta tell you, I don't really know."

The steady gaze of the assembled friends didn't seem to faze him at all.

"What I can tell you, sir, is that at the battle of Pavairelle we were caught in a blast of flame hundreds of feet high. Wiped out our entire squadron. Except us. Ever since then, we've had the feeling that maybe there's something weird about this ship."

"Excuse me, are you saying there was sorcery at the battle of Pavairelle? I've read seven different eye-witness accounts of that battle and nobody ever mentioned sorcery."

"Oh well, then, I must be mistaken, missie. Pay no mind."

"Wait. Are you saying this ship is impervious to sorcery?"

"Yep. Even had the Blood Council check the whole thing out. They confirmed it. There is no power on Barsoom capable of using sorcery against this ship in any way whatsoever. We are invulnerable."

With a quiet rushing sound, dark shadowy tendrils erupted from the deck behind Mateo, and coalesced into the stately, smiling form of the Demon Goddess, Yuek Man Chong. She bowed, her immense headdress toppling forward and then teetering back upright as she did so. Her eyes were only for Arrafin.

"Hello, darling. Did you think I wouldn't find you? You're not playing hard to get, now, are you?"

Isaac was sufficiently startled that he failed to prevent Arrafin scurrying forward to address her.

"Madame Yuek. But. How did you come here? I thought--"

Dark eyes darkened further.

"You mean you WERE avoiding me? Arrafin."

"No! Well. No. It's just. We. Um."

Arrafin retreated with a worried headshake, then stopped as curiousity overcame her fear.

"Try to do something. Something. Sorcerous."

She waved her hands in front of her face to demonstrate.

Madame Yuek frowned, then shrugged.

"Whatever will please you, dar--"

An expression none of them had ever witnessed took hold of the undead sorceress' face, and with hideous snarl she slapped Arrafin backhanded across the face, sending the girl sprawling backwards. Madame Yuek shrieked.

"What have you done!?"

Her hand reached out in a savage claw, fingernails stretching outwards into long talons, when she froze in place. Again her expression transformed in a heartbeat, into that terrible sadness Elena had witnessed long ago, in her castle in Shaer.

"Oh, Arrafin. Arrafin. Forgive me."

The Naridic girl got to her feet, sobbing, and ran to the rear of the ship and through a cabin door. Madame Yuek set after her, only to come up short as Isaac stepped in front of her.

"If you think I'll let you harm her, you're not so smart after all."

The vampire stared at him, her face now expressionless.

"Your concern for your friend is noted. I swear to you, if I intend to harm her, I will tear you to pieces first. Now step aside."

"What are you going to do?"

"Something I don't do very often, and something I don't chose to share with you."

One long-fingered, elegant hand gripped his shoulder. Isaac had just enough time to be surprised at the warmth and softness of that hand when he found himself lifted in to the air and placed to the side.

She'd lifted him off the ground. By the shoulder. With one hand. Isaac watched her pass him and go to the door Arrafin had fled through.

And kneel. She began speaking quietly.

The others looked each other over. Isaac glowered.

"She hit Arrafin."

Zuleika shrugged.

"I bet she's grovelling about that right now. Maybe Arrafin can get something out of her."

"Arrafin's not going let that bitch get away with something like that. She hit Arrafin. Hard."

Just as Isaac spoke, the door opened, and Arrafin, wiping at her nose and eyes, came out to look down at Madame Yuek. They stared at each other and the vampire bowed. Arrafin nodded.

The pair returned to where the others stood. The crew of the Wavereaver stood around staring. Arrafin drew in a shaky breath and spoke.

"Madame Yuek has a theory. About Shang and Nevid's head."

Elena crossed her arms.

"Does she? How nice for her."

"Elena. She said she was sorry. It's okay now."

"Sure. Everything's fine."

"Anyway. She thinks Shang wants to collect the fragment of the Blood Mother's soul so that nobody can restore it. There's a way to put her back together. To restore the Blood Council."

The others looked back and forth between Arrafin's intense face and the tall vampire standing beside her, staring off across the waves as though none of this had anything to do with her.

"Great. So how do we put her back together?"

Madame Yuek turned from her study of the sea to regard Elena with a cold gaze.

"You don't. I do. You help."

"Why would we help you? You're evil."

"I've never lied to you."

Etienne coughed.

"That's not exactly true, now, is it?"

A large number of eyes turned to him.

"You told us Shang destroyed the Blood Mother. But the Blood Council say you did it."

"That's right. So. Now what do you have to say for yourself, evil undead evil bad... person."

Madame Yuek smiled with what appeared to be actual good humour.

"Careful who you trust. But it's true, I may not have been completely forthcoming. Still, what I said was true. Shang did it.

"To understand my involvement, you have to understand my origin. Matai Shang made me."

She gestured to the deck and seated herself in a graceful motion. The others followed suit, with varying degrees less of grace, and arranged themselves in a sort of half-circle, facing where Madame Yuek knelt.

"I am perhaps his greatest achievement. He unlocked the secrets that had been hidden since the days of ancient horrors, and rediscovered the sorceries that created the vampires of old. And he saw me as a mortal woman, and he turned me into this."

With a sweeping gesture she indicated herself. Elena studied the white marble of what was once flesh and now seemed like a sort of liquid stone, and the horror of it struck her again.

"But why?"

"Why? Why would he turn a beautiful young woman into an indestructible engine of terror and death?"

She laughed and clapped her hands together as though relating a saucy joke.

"He did it so that I would stay pretty, no matter what he did to me."

Open-mouthed stares greeted this announcement, and the vampire laughed even harder.

"You see, when he created me, I was his slave. I was bound through his sorcery to do whatever he wished. Which was mostly suffer horrible tortures and be torn to pieces, screaming and screaming and screaming and screaming AND SCREAMING--"

Her laughter sank beneath a fiery glare and one of her hands punched through the decking beside her. With evident effort, Madame Yuek regained her composure.

"He sent me to gather the Blood Mother. Against the ancient might of the entire Blood Council, the most powerful cabal of sorcery the world has ever seen, he sent his favourite plaything. And I consumed them. I destroyed the entire city Zuyang in one breath. A million souls ravaged. And I took the Blood Mother to him.

"And then I played a little trick on him. As he was absorbed in the rituals required to perform his spell on the Blood Mother's soul, I performed a spell of my own. One I'd been preparing for over a century. I freed myself from his control in a sorcerous explosion so violent I was sure, for many years, that I'd killed him."

Her gaze settled, unseeing, on the deck before her. Arrafin coughed.

"But now you want to fix it, right? Fix the Blood Mother? Put her soul back together? Make things better?"

"I don't think I'd put it quite so strongly. But anything Shang doesn't want to happen strikes me as a good thing to do."

Her dark eyes drifted to Nevid.

"You have Tsing Kwan's memories, yes? What do you recall?"

"Destruction. Torture. You, killing people."

"Hm. Well, we all have our skills. Now, we need to bring this ship to the shore, so that I can disembark. If Shang realizes I'm here, and without sorcery..."

The deck tilted, timbers splintered and creaked, and the whole ship shook.

Giant figures stood fore and aft, glittering in the sunshine, translucent and deep ruby red, carved with facets as though formed from enormous gemstones.

"...it's possible he'll take the opportunity to cause trouble. This should be interesting."

 

[barsoomcore]

With apologies to our loyal readers, this week's episode of Barsoom Tales will be one day late.

 

[barsoomcore]

Frying Pan, Fire: 15

The ruby giant punched Madame Yuek in the face hard enough to blast her backwards right through the mainmast of the Wavereaver. The thick timber splintered with a deafening thunder, and sails began to topple all across the deck.

Isaac could only stare, openmouthed.

"Holy crap."

Zuleika wasted less time. The ship pitching and wallowing under the sudden weight of the two bizarre crystalline figures standing fore and aft, she scrambled along the heaving deck and launched herself at the after creature, standing astride the tiller.

Her scimitar clanged off the ruby facets of its body without leaving so much as a scratch.

More gemstone-like fists punched. A crew member flew screaming into the waves.

Isaac saw Madame Yuek get to her feet, a simmering fury burning on her face that made him glad she couldn't use any sorcery just then.

She stalked out of torn timbers towards the bow, hissing in savage anger.

Elena grabbed Arrafin and yanked on Isaac's collar.

"We have to get out of here! This whole ship is going to go down!"

The deck was awash, the ship unable to maintain herself as the enormous figures staggered towards their very angry target. A massive faceted foot stomped down near Elena and she, Isaac and Arrafin all scrambled aside, nearly pitching over the gunwales as the Wavereaver tilted again.

Arrafin struggled to free herself.

"We have to help! She'll die!"

"You've got no sorcery, I've got no powers. Weapons look useless. We can't help."

Etienne was busy tying off a stay for the forward mast.

"Speak for yourself. There's always room for us bold and dashing types."

Zuleika came stumbling to where they huddled.

"What are you going to do, kid? Charm them to death?"

"I don't think we want to be in the middle of this. Look at that."

Isaac pointed just as one of the fifteen-foot-tall crystal figures aimed another punch at the opulently-dressed Madame Yuek. This time she saw the attack coming, and met it with both fists.

It cracked.

Not completely, and Madame Yuek still plunged backwards, plowing a hole in the deck, but the immense fist showed clear fractures all the way up to the elbow.

"These things can be hurt."

A gun carriage creaked beside him. Isaac grinned.

"I want to blow something up."

"Make it snappy. Those things are going to punch her right through the hull one of these times."

Another walloping punch descended on Madame Yuek. She stepped aside and delivered one of her own, knocking one of the creatures backwards.

Elena stared. It was a bizarre spectacle, this opulently dressed lady spinning and lashing out with her long sleeves, versus immense automatons that should have been able to pulverise her with one blow. And yet she showed no signs of injury, and her blows rocked creatures that must have weighed several tons.

More deck timbers splintered. Mateo came scrambling past, clutching for balance.

"The longboat! Lower the boat!"

Isaac grabbed him.

"Look, get your crew and help me with these cannon. If we can point them at those bastards..."

Mateo shook himself free and kept on scrambling. Isaac swore in frustration.

Zuleika and Etienne had been comparing thoughts and turned to the others.

"The kid's got a good idea. Those things don't look too stable. Maybe we can get a couple of lines around one, yank it overboard. Etienne's taking the high road, I'm taking the low road."

Her dark eyes flashed at Arrafin.

"Pray to the Wind for us, sister."

She took off across the deck, dragging one of the cables that had come down with the mast. Elena looked back and forth between her and Etienne, who was now clambering up the forward stays, likewise dragging a cable.

"This is madness."

Madame Yuek screamed. They saw her lift off the ground, one hand clutched in the fist of one creature, the other hand held tight in the fist of the other. The creatures stepped back and her right arm came tearing free of her shoulder.

"Oh, we're dead."

Arrafin shrieked and ran forward.

Zuleika had reached the far side of the deck. She rushed along the gunwales there, snugging her cable up behind the nearest creature's heels. Etienne saw her and leapt straight out past the forward mast. He sailed upwards until his cable paid out, at which point it tightened against the mast and yanked him backwards.

"That kid's going to get himself killed one of these days."

Elena watched as the half-Kishak youth executed a perfect mid-air sumersault and slammed feet-first into the creature's face. It tried to step back and found its foot tangled in Zuleika's cable.

Fifteen feet of faceted ruby giant fell backwards, thumping down onto the deck and off into the water. It sank as though sucked downwards, and the cable entangled in its feet began uncoiling in a wild frenzy as tons of animate gemstone plunged towards the sea floor.

Zuleika looked to the other end of the cable. It was lashed around the stump of the main mast.

"Oh, God."

Arrafin scarcely noticed the toppling giant. She pushed through splintered timbers and flapping canvas to find the remains of Madame Yuek, strewn with blood, laying limp amid the ruins of the forward cabin.

Her dark eyes opened and she grinned with manic energy.

"Wow. It's been ages since anyone pulled my arm off. Help me up."

"What? Are you okay?"

"It'll be a while before I'm signing autographs, but otherwise, I'm fine."

A huge ruby fist plunged down beside them in an explosion of wood and sea spray. Arrafin tugged a timber off Madame Yuek's left arm and the vampire lifted her up and then they leapt free of the ruins.

Isaac had gotten Elena to help him, but they were unable to shift the Wavereaver's cannon. Madame Yuek took in the situation.

"Not bad. Is it loaded?"

Isaac nodded.

"That much, I've done. But we'll never get it turned around in--"

Madame Yuek lifted the gun, hoisted it on her left hip and turned to face the remaining gigantic figure.

"Light it."

Zuleika ran to the mast stump, raising her scimitar to chop at the cable as it thrashed and writhed like a live thing. The deck pitched as she prepared her strike, and she set her foot in a loop of the rapidly-disappearing cable.

Etienne got to his feet, triumphant and smug, only to see Zuleika suddenly vanish overboard, yanked into the water.

"What the?"

He ran to the edge of the deck where the cable sawed wildly at the rail, and just caught a glimpse of her bright jerkin as she was hauled downward into the gloom.

"Zuleika!"

Etienne dove overboard, swimming straight down alongside the still-rushing cable.

Isaac scrabbled in his pouch for a flint. The ruby giant saw them and stomped across the deck.

"You do know how to make fire, right? That secret hasn't been lost with the ages, even among you barbarians, has it? Or is it a mystery only to you?"

"You're not helping!"

"'You're not helping, Demon Goddess,' I think you mean."

The creature raised one foot, ready to stomp them all through the deck, but then the ship tilted sharply, beams groaning as if with sudden agony.

The cable had run out. The rail snapped, and the whole ship began to heave up on the side where Arrafin, Elena, Isaac and Madame Yuek stood.

"We're going down."

Etienne kicked and clawed at the water. The cable alongside him thrummed to a sudden halt, and he could hear the ship overhead groaning with strain. Zuleika was just below him, staring up at him in terror. She was too far down.

Steel flashed and he saw her scimitar in her hand.

She hung vertical along the rope, her foot extended down beneath her. He saw her flail, trying to cut the rope beneath her, but she couldn't reach. Her face turned up to him.

"Zuleika."

Her scimitar flashed once more; then she was gone, yanked downward faster than he could see.

The ship righted itself just as Isaac produced the flint from his pouch. The giant regained its balance and stepped towards them again.

"Arrafin, can you show the barbarian how to use it?"

"Shut up, Demon Goddess."

"Perhaps you'd like to take a turn holding this f**ker?"

Isaac gritted his teeth and remained silent as he struck a spark at the touchhole.

The creature was in mid-step when the cannonball caught it in its left shoulder, shattering half its torso and knocking it back right off the ship.

Madame Yuek was hurled backwards by the recoil, embedding herself in the deck with a groan.

"There's nothing like a peaceful cruise, is there?"

Some planking shifted and Nevid's head appeared.

"Are we sinking?"

*****

Gravel crunched under the longboat's hull as they rowed ashore. Madame Yuek stood amidships, her right arm still just a bloody stump. She watched with interest as the crew scrambled out and ran them up, then turned to Isaac.

"Help me out."

"You can't walk?"

"It will be undignified. Lift me out and set me on the beach."

She smiled. It was a very beautiful smile.

"Don't make me insist."

Isaac scowled but bent to lift the Tianese beauty. She laid her left arm along his shoulders, and Isaac was startled to find her warm and light in his arms. He lurched awkwardly out of the longboat and set her on the gravel.

She curtseyed.

"Well, I should leave before Shang gets all reckless again. And I need to heal and that's... well, you don't want to be around for that."

Shadow's dark tendrils rose up around her. She turned her smile once more on all of them.

"I am sorry for your friend. She was very brave. I promise you Shang will pay for her death."

She was gone.

Nearly everyone sighed. They turned to look at the hulk of the Wavereaver, wallowing in the shallows a hundred yards off shore. Elena grunted and suddenly Farouk ibn Zaoud was there.

"What is my mistress' command?"

"Can you fix our ship?"

"Of course, if my mistress wills it."

"I will it. Fix our ship."

"Have you any tools?"

"Tools? Oh. No."

"It may take quite a while, mistress."

"I'll watch."

Arrafin crossed to where Etienne had thumped down on the beach. He stared out at the dark water.

"I'm sorry about--"

"Don't. Don't say anything. Don't say anything at all."

 

[barsoomcore]

Frying Pan, Fire: 16

"That was anticlimactic."

Isaac looked over at Elena. The two Saijadani stood in the entry hall of a large country mansion, ready to fight whatever defenders the del Orofin family might have placed here, only to find the place empty.

Isaac stuffed one of his pistols back into his belt, still looking around cautiously.

"Let's just see what we find."

They edged forward, their boots silent in the thick carpet of the hall. Isaac stopped as something squished beneath his tread. He looked down.

"I think that's blood."

"Yeah, there's a couple of bodies over here. del Orofin soldiers, it looks like. I don't know what got to them, but these don't look like sword cuts."

Isaac joined Elena and they poked at the dead men.

"Holy. Those look like. Claw marks. Or bites. Or something."

"Something big."

Above a great chandelier and curving staircase told of wealth and elegance.

Elena gestured to the staircase.

"Upstairs? Think maybe they kept her in some locked guest room?"

Isaac shrugged.

"If that de Maynard bitch was even telling the truth about this place."

They made their way up the wide stairs. The house was silent around them, only the wind outside telling them that anything was moving in the world.

At the second floor they halted, peering down gloomy corridors. Many doors provided nothing but mute opportunity.

"I guess we start opening doors."

Twenty minutes they were back at the stairs, the hallways behind them full of open doors.

"Okay, so maybe the basement."

"Maybe we're being made fools of."

Isaac glowered further and the pair made their way downstairs, passing through several salons and the kitchen before finding a servant's hall from which a narrow stairway descended. They paused.

"That's quite a stink. I hope that's not, you know. Your mom."

"Thanks, Elena. Very sensitive."

They peered into darkness. Elena left her friend standing there for a few minutes, and returned with a lamp. Together they descended, stairs creaking beneath them.

The basement beneath the house seemed a single large room, supported by many pillars with ancient stone arches crossing between them. The air hung dank and thick with the stench of rot and decay. Piles of misshapen forms lay heaped up around many of the pillars. Elena leaned towards the nearest one and jerked back.

"Those are bones. Human bones. And. Flesh, too."

"What the hell? What happened here?"

Isaac peered into the shadows beyond where their lamp cast its glow. A regular set of lines and shapes hinted at some structure.

"Is that a cage?"

Picking their way carefully among the bodies and the noisome pools of fluid, they approached the six-foot-high object. It was indeed a cage, big enough for a man, with its door hanging open and twisted, the hinges nearly torn off.

Another body lay here with one arm reaching in through the bars of the cage. That arm was torn and flayed, and the man's head had been torn completely off.

"This door. It looks like..."

"Yeah. From the inside."

"Do you think one of these bodies is maybe..?"

Isaac stood very still. He drew a breath and looked around at the scattered bones and rotting entrails.

"I don't know what to think. But. It seems likely."

He took his cigar out of his mouth and flung it to the floor.

"Fine. I thought she was dead for the last year, now I know she's dead. Fine. Let's go."

"But, what happened here? Should we investigate maybe? Some kind of creature must have escaped, or something."

"Hell with that. Let the del Orofin clean up their own f**king mess."

Isaac stomped back to the stairs. Elena watched her friend, his agony so plain in his stiff posture, and she followed him in silence.

*****

The Blood Council Sanctuary in Salejo sat in the middle of the city's busy commercial district, an unassuming walled compound with a a single gate.

Inside, graceful buildings arranged across a gravel yard sat in a quiet that seemed miles away from the bustling streets outside.

Etienne sat uncomfortable on the floor of a small, featureless room. Sunlight slanted in through narrow latticework. He looked up as the door slid open and Kimiko Torokan entered.

"Etienne."

She knelt before him and bowed.

"Blood Sister. It's, uh, good to see you."

Her enigmatic face warmed with an enigmatic smile.

"There's no need to be anxious, Etienne. Please. I'm not jealous about Zuleika."

"You knew?"

The smile broadened.

"I assume you have something to discuss other than your romantic infidelities?"

"No."

The smile disappeared. Torokan raised her eyebrows. Etienne stared down at the floor.

"That is, I don't really have anything to discuss. I just wanted to see you, Kimiko."

"You... I see."

Torokan sat in stillness for a few heartbeats. She reached out and touched Etienne's arm.

"Are we still on the same side, Etienne? Are you still with us?"

"What side is our side?"

"She is dangerous. She is not to be trusted."

"Are you?"

They stared at each other. Distant rumbles and voices came through the lattice windows. At last Torokan spoke.

"You didn't come here for this conversation, did you?"

"No."

"Come here."

*****

Arrafin and Nevid sat side-by-side, frowning intently at a faded page of crabbed handwriting. Arrafin pointed.

"That's 'Dannockshire', right?"

"I think so. That's where Madame Yuek's castle was."

"That's where we found Kaley."

"I think we have to go back. Whoever these Tuthean Tarn are, that seems to be where they hold their court."

"Do you want to ask her or should I?"

Nevid turned around in his chair to address Kaley. The Shaeric girl brightened at the attention.

"Hello, lad. I like ye."

"Thank you, Kaley. I like you, too. Can I ask you a question?"

She nodded.

"What do you think about going back to Castle Dannockshire? Do you remember that place?"

"It was long ago I went up to the castle, it was. So long ago I went up there."

"Is that where you met the King?"

"Aye. And her. His Queen. Rhiaellian. She did no like me."

"Okay, thanks. We were thinking of going back there and asking them to free you. What do you think about that?"

Kaley stared at Nevid, motionless for long breaths. Then she smiled.

"I like ye."

Arrafin grinned.

"She is consistent, I have to give her that."

 

[barsoomcore]

Sorry, folks, no update this week. Holiday! Woo!

 

[barsoomcore]

Two weeks in a row without an update, sorry. Life has just bludgeoned me into the soft, sproingy turf.

Also, nobody posts nice compliments about how much they love my writing.