The slavers in the camp didn’t post any guards watching the forest’s edge beside the smoldering village ruins. Cari strode out of the tree line, putting on an air of confidence, hoping the knot twisting her gut at the moment didn’t betray her.
It wouldn’t do for her to be found vomiting behind the wall of a collapsed village cottage. For this to work, it was all about bravado of the sort that it was nearly unbelievable. Only by that could she hope to accomplish her mission.
Cari reached the center of the village before she ran into the first slaver. He did a double take in surprise when he saw she was alone. He kept glancing behind her, looking for anyone else backing her up.
When he didn’t see anyone, he called out and charged at the lone woman walking into their clutches. His cry to his comrades was choked off when Cari parried his scimitar with her dagger while in the same smooth motion she shoved twelve inches of her rapier blade through his throat.
2,500 experience
A snarl from behind her announced the arrival of a vengeful comrade of the unfortunate slaver who’d seen her first.
Cari spun in place, her prescience ability allowing her to duck under the scimitar seeking to decapitate her. Her extended leg swept the feet out from under the surprised slaver, dropping him to the ground.
A plunging dagger in his chest silenced his shout of alarm.
2,500 experience
Wrenching her dagger free as her sweeping leg continued around, she tripped two more charging slavers coming from the direction of the beach.
Cari pulled in her extended leg and somersaulted forward, slashing left and then right with her rapier, finishing the two new arrivals.
2,500 experience
2,500 experience
Rolling to her feet, Cari moved back into the same purposeful stride that carried her into the village. At this point, the slavers who’d seen her kill four of their crew with such brutal efficiency opted to hold back forming a loose semi-circle in front of her as she reached the beach. It appeared they were happy to have a standoff as long as she wasn’t attacking anyone.
Cari saw the assembled slaves chained at the shore, already being loaded into the boats. A quick scan of the clustered men, women, and children spotted Jaycee immediately. The little blonde-haired girl standing in her child-sized shackles, clutching at the skirts of a woman who placed a protective arm around the girl.
“Stop!” Cari stopped her advance and bellowed at the top of her lungs, using all the powerful command voice she’d developed as the captain of the Vengeance over the last year.
Every face turned to look in her direction. Cari smirked. She had their attention. Now to put the rest of her plan into place.
“Who’s in command here? Come on, show me the motherless son of a dog who belongs to that rat-infested tub out there.”
No one answered her right away. Then the crescent of slavers parted and a big man with a turban of golden fabric stepped forward. He wore a vest of red velvet over his bare, hairy chest. His baggy pants were of fine linen and his pointy-toed boots looked to be made of crocodile skin or perhaps some other reptile.
“I’m the captain of that ship you just maligned. Who the hell are you? I feel like I should know the name of the fool who stands in front of me before I decide whether to kill you or add you to my bounty.”
“I’m Cari Dix.”
The slaver captain’s eyebrows raised in surprise.
“Yes. I’m that Cari Dix.”
The captain looked around the smoldering ruins of the village, looking for some sort of trap or imminent attack that might explain Cari’s bold presence.
“I have to wonder what you think you’re doing. You’ve managed to kill a few of my crew, but you have to know we’d overwhelm you eventually by sheer numbers. You must have something else planned. What is it you want?”
“I’ve come to offer myself in exchange for the slaves you’ve gathered here. You know who I am so I’m sure you know of the price on my head in your homeland.”
“You are correct. Killing a member of the Sultan’s family has a way of gaining you a certain level of notoriety. You are worth a pretty penny, dead or alive.”
“Let the villagers go, and you’ll live to collect the bounty. Otherwise, I’ll kill you first and then finish off the rest of the crew when I’m done.”
“Oh, you think you can kill me as easily as you dispatched a few members of my crew? I’ll make you a counteroffer. I’ve heard you’re a master with that blade of yours. My ship’s champion will challenge you to a fight. If he wins, I take you and the slaves with me. If you win, my crew lets the slaves go, but I still get you and the bounty that goes with taking you alive.”
Cari had wondered if this might be the way the plan worked out. Honestly, she’d also expected him to order his crew to attack her all at once and take her down without giving in to her demands. Her plan would have worked either way, but this was a better option.
She nodded. “I agree to those terms. But how do I know you’ll hold up your end of the bargain?”
“You don’t.” The slaver captain smiled, showing a pair of gold teeth. “But you knew that already, didn’t you?”
Cari smiled but said nothing.
“Otto.” The slaver captain called out. “Take her alive. The Sultan wants to watch her die himself.”
A massive figure stepped forward, a seven-foot-tall orc wearing only a turban, baggy pants, and sandals. He carried a huge falchion, the broad, curved blade nearly four and a half feet long.
He grinned down at Cari as he approached. She decided the time for niceties was over. It was time for action.
Cari rushed directly at the green-skinned brute in front of her, dodging to the side at the last instant in an attempt at getting around him and slashing at the back of his leading knee, severing the hamstring tendons.
That was the plan.
She successfully dodged the descending falchion blade. She didn’t avoid the sweeping backhand blow from the orc’s other hand.
Stars exploded behind Cari’s eyes from the force of the knuckles on the side of her face. It lifted her from her feet, launching her six feet through the air to land on the sand face down and dazed.
Health damage — health -22
Sensing a follow-up strike in the midst of clearing her head, all Cari could do was roll several times to the right, away from the gathered slaver crew and into open ground.
She saw the pommel of the orc’s weapon pound into the sand where her head had been moments before. That blow would have surely rendered her unconscious.
It also told her the captain’s champion was following his orders to try and take her alive. That gave her an advantage, or at least it should.
Rolling over once more, Cari used her momentum to roll back to her feet. Her sword and dagger wove an intricate pattern in front of her to fend off the surprisingly quick strikes coming in at her again and again, seeking to get past her guard.
She heard a hissing intake of his breath when one of her ripostes slipped past his blade and she slashed open a gash on his arm.
It didn’t cause significant damage. The wound only appeared to anger him.
The speed of the falchion attacks increased. Cari didn’t know how he could wield the heavy and ungainly weapon with such grace and ease.
She took two slashing hits in rapid succession.
Health damage — health -8
Health damage — health -12
The slaver captain yelled over the shouts and jeers from his crew. “You can yield, girl, at any time. You know he has you beat.”
“Never.” Cari gritted her teeth against the pain and redoubled her efforts, pulling out tricks she’d never tried before in an effort to get past the orc’s defenses with a killing blow or at least hit him enough times to power-up her burst of speed.
The desperation of her attempts opened her up to more strikes from the heavy weapon.
Health damage — health -12
Health damage — health -10
Pain and blood loss took its toll on her. She was slowing down. It opened her up to a sweeping downward blow from above.
Cari raised her rapier, trying the stop the heavy falchion with her thinner, more delicate blade.
It didn’t work.
Her precious sword snapped in half, leaving her holding a foot and a half of useless steel in one hand.
The orc’s sandaled foot came up and kicked her in the gut, driving the air from her lungs in a coughing whoosh.
Unable to stop herself, Cari fell to her knees.
She was done, and she knew it.
Cari dropped her stub of a sword and her dagger into the sand and raised her hands.
This wasn’t part of the primary plan. She’d counted on her dueling ability to help her fight past anyone she faced one on one.
Cari glanced over her shoulder, praying she didn’t see her small shore party disobeying orders and trying to save her despite the odds.
The tree line was empty and she smiled. Good. They’d followed orders.
Cari caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She looked to the right in time to see the descending pommel of the falchion just before it struck her temple.
Health damage — health -12
Critical hit -- Unconsciousness
Quest completed — get captured alive by the slavers
10,000 experience
Everything went black as her eyes rolled back in her head and she slumped over onto the sandy beach.