text: [Themes: fantasy]
  
  You creep quietly among the outskirts of Captain Kano's villa. From your vantage point, you see several patrol units on the perimeter. From a few open windows, it doesn't look to be that heavily guarded on the inside. To the east of the villa you see his sloop, The Boar, docked with members of his crew playing dice and drinking outside. Lady Myrr leads the raid group. There were only ten of you total, way less numbers than you expected. When you brought it up she simply said, We will create more fear if Kano disappears during the night. The others will not sleep as easy.
  
  Lady Myrr whispers her commands, "We'll split into two groups. Darius' will strike near The Boar cutting off reinforcements and my group will sneak into the villa, find Kano, and end his life. Once you see the building burning, we'll meet back at the manor. Kill anyone who gets in your way."
  
  Everyone nods in agreement. Unsurprisingly, Myrr puts you in her group. You are a little disappointed when Caitlyn is put in the other, especially since Darius was in charge. At first you're afraid his hatred of you will cause problems for Caitlyn, but then you remember he hates her too. Myrr silently leads the way towards the villa. Staying in the high grass, you use the cover of night to sneak past the patrols undetected. One unlucky pirate chooses a spot near you to relieve himself. Lady Myrr takes advantage of his vulnerable position and greets him with knife to the throat.
  
  Your group reaches the villa with no other encounters. The inside is filled with mahogany furniture and oil paintings. You move stealthily through the hallways. Internally you comment on the decor, Captain Kano sure is a lavish man. Hmm, I would have assumed a pirate captain's villa to be, well, more rambunctious, you think. It's quiet. Too quiet... A whirling sound fills the air. Led by your acute senses, your blade automatically moves into a defensive position blocking the projectile that was aimed at your heart.
  
  "Ambush!" you yell.
  
  Several doors in the hallway swing open and men rush out with their scimitars and sabres raised high. You meet the first attacker, parrying his blade before countering with a deadly blow to the gut. The second doesn't even get a chance to swing before your lighting thrust drops him. The narrow corridor allows your group to fight a few at a time, but each kill is replaced with another fresh body.
  
  Fighting with her back to yours, Lady Myrr shouts, "Show yourself, coward! I know you're here!"
  
  "Halt your advance!" a voice cries amidst the fighting.
  
  The pirates halt their attack and stand aside for their captain. Kano, you presume, strides forward. His tall frame overshadows his men. His mouth twists into a crooked smile as he takes the pipe from his mouth to speak.
  
  "Well, well. What do we have here? A pirate queen out in the open? So unprotected. So exposed." Turning to you he adds, "Ah, the prince that I've heard so much about. You're a little more baby-faced than I was expecting. The tales of your swordsmanship made me think you were a seasoned man."
  
  "Prince?" Lady Myrr asks.
  
  Ignoring her and putting the facts together, you reply to Kano.
  
  "I take it you and Governor Lucius have been talking. You are fools if you think aligning with Rath is in your best interest. They'll turn on you in a second. You think Rath will just let you rule here without oversight? No, they'll use you for their own gain and toss you aside once they have what they need."
  
  "You're a prince?" Lady Myrr asks again. Captain Kano also ignores her.
  
  "Ha-ha-ha! How dumb do you think I am? Miranna will survive as it always has. Rath is only a means to an end. There isn't a nation that can rule Miranna. Miranna belongs to the free. If Rath decides to dishonor their agreement, they will meet the same end as every invading nation. Our ships will sink any attack force. Neither Rath nor Brelia has a navy that can defeat us. But that is none of your concern. I'm afraid your time is at an end. I would have preferred to ransom you to Orson, but Darius was very adamant about this part of the deal. He even refused a majority share in your would-be ransom. Can you believe that?"
  
  "Actually, I can. That guy hates me," you respond.
  
  "Darius would never—"
  
  Lady Myrr starts to speak before Darius enters with a bloodied Caitlyn bound and gagged. He pushes her to the ground in front of you. She looks up to you, eyes watering as if to apologize for getting captured.
  
  "I'm sorry, my Lady. I believed in you, I really did, but this prince has corrupted your mind and your ideals. I don't know why you took so much interest in him. It should have been me at your side and yet you cast me aside for what? For an irresponsible fling? I've known you long enough to see the way you look at him. Why couldn't it have been me? I've always done everything you've asked! Yet you treat me like one of your common slaves. I am more than that. We could have been more than that! Miranna deserves a strong ruler. I'm sorry it had to come to this," Darius confesses.
  
  "I'm sorry too," Lady Myrr speaks softly. Louder she adds, "Sorry that I trusted a miscreant like you! The deepest levels of Hell belong to fucking traitors like you. You're betraying me because I didn't fuck you? I doubt your small cock would even get close to satisfying me. You're despicable, you're a bitch, and I will fucking kill you for this. One by one, I'll remove your fingernails and then move to the fingers themselves next. I'll break every bone in your fucking body. Then I'll show you your reflection in the mirror before ripping out your eyes, so the last thing you'll see will be your fucked up, mutilated body."
  
  Visibly hurt by her words, Darius replies to you and Lady Myrr.
  
  "I will miss that passion once you're gone. This is all your fault, Prince. Everything was fine before you arrived, although I guess you didn't really have a choice in that matter. Captain Kano filled me in. Perhaps you both were meant for each other having the whole betrayed thing in common. Before I kill you, I want to make you suffer so I'll give you a choice. You can save one of your precious ladies here... you'll just need to kill the other. You have my word, I'll spare the one who you don't execute. You'll still die, of course, but at least you can save one of them. My final gift to you. So, Prince, who will it be?"
  
  > Don't kill either
  You will not take part in his ultimatum. Two options are placed before you, but that does not mean you have to take either. You care immensely for both Lady Myrr and Caitlyn. Each is a part of you. Caitlyn is testament to your heritage and Myrr is your future. With a cry, you take the offensive. Whirling your blade around, you scoop a dagger off the ground and flip it to Cait who catches it with her bound hands. As she works on cutting the rope, you attack Darius with a series of upper cuts and low sweeps. He is able to block a few of your attacks before you catch him with a deep cut to his side. He clutches the wound and with his defenses lowered, you crumple him with a knee to the temple. Captain Kano and the rest of his crew resume their charge. Caitlyn finally gets his hands unbound and joins you armed with the dagger. With the rest of the crew engaged, your assault is brought to a halt. Again, you are forced to fighting back to back to survive.
  
  "We can't hold them much longer! Got any ideas?" Lady Myrr shouts as she parries and incoming blade.
  
  "I'm a little too busy to think of one now!" you shout back.
  
  A round object catches your eye on an incoming pirate. At his waist hangs a grenade. You quickly disperse the pirate in front of you and move towards it. Suddenly, Captain Kano blocks your way. He takes another puff at his pipe before swinging his cutlass at your head. Easily dodging the attack, you front roll forward and stab the pirate behind him in the gut. As he drops, you pull the grenade at his belt and turn just in time to block another attack from Kano. You parry a few more before directing his cutlass out of position. With Kano exposed, you bury your sword in his shoulder and rip the pipe from his mouth pulling a few teeth out in the process. Igniting the grenade with the pipe, you toss it into the mix of Kano's crew. The blast knocks you from your feet. Blinded by the smoke, a hand grabs your arm and pulls you through the dark mist and outside the villa.
  
  "Holy shit! Did you see that?" you exclaim to Caitlyn whose hand just led you out.
  
  "Saw. And felt," she replies. You notice a sizable wound at her side. The result of the grenade shrapnel.
  
  "Fuck, that looks deep. We need to get you medical attention."
  
  She waves you off.
  
  "I'll be fine. Just need to find somewhere to rest for awhile. This whole place is in an uproar. More crew from The Boar is probably on their way. We need to move."
  
  "Where's Lady Myrr?" you ask.
  
  "Don't know. Didn't see her escape. She could be dead for all I care. Does she really fuck that good? Why didn't you just kill her?" Caitlyn asks.
  
  "Now's not the time, Cait. For all I know, he would have just killed everyone anyway. You can't trust the word of someone who just betrayed their master."
  
  "Fair point. Let's get out of here."
  
  You aren't sure where Lady Myrr is. She could be captured by Captain Kano. Going back and looking for her could mean your death, although she was very clear that attempted escape would be punished by death. You don't think this would count as an attempted escape, but Lady Myrr has a vicious temper and you really don't want to be on the bad end of it.
  
  > go back for her
  There is a reason why you didn't choose to kill Lady Myrr. Leaving her to die, or worse, would be going back on that decision. No, you had to save her.
  
  "Cait, I'm going back," you say.
  
  "What? Why?"
  
  "I need to make sure Lady Myrr is ok. She could be Kano's prisoner. I don't even want to imagine what that sick fuck would do to her."
  
  "Who cares? She's the one holding us here. We're free! Once I'm healed, we could earn enough money to charter a trip back to Brelia," Caitlyn says.
  
  "I need to know she's not dead."
  
  "You know, Prince, I've never thought you were the smartest guy, but this is fucking dumb. After all we've been through, you're just going to throw your life away for the bitch that's holding your leash? Fine. Go ahead. Don't expect any rescue on my part. If I even make it."
  
  Caitlyn storms off into the darkness leaving you alone. The grenade in the villa caused a lot of damage. Part of the building is still on fire and you can see crew members rushing around with buckets of water. At least they'll be distracted. Besides, they won't expect the person who blew a hole in the wall to sneak back in, you reason. You make it past the scrambling fire fighters and make it to the villa. The inside of the building is a mess. Debris is scattered everywhere. The paintings that you first admired are torn and littered on the floor. Turning the corner, you see a bloodied Lady Myrr strapped to a chair in front of Captain Kano and his crew members.
  
  "Heh, bet you didn't think your plan would turn out this way. Your attempt failed and your new toy of prince left you here to die. You have nothing left except your life. Which I intend to take shortly," Kano finishes his taunt with a slap to Lady Myrr's cheek.
  
  "Finish the deed then, swine," she spits.
  
  "Oh, I'm about to. But it'd be a shame not to take advantage of such a beautiful creature before," Kano's says running his hand down the side of her face.
  
  You burst into the room with a string of curses. Fueled by hate, you draw your sword to run Kano through. You never make it that far. A pistol shot tags your leg collapsing you to the ground. As you're getting up, another shot hits you in the chest. A wounded Darius emerges from the shadows holding two smoking flintlock pistols. You lay in a pool of your own blood. The last thing you see is a cruel smile upon his face as he walks towards Lady Myrr.