Chapter 18

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In all the confusion of the battle, there had been one thing that Tifre had been grateful for. She hadn't had time to let it all sink in. Her mentor was dead, she wasn't even sure if her parents were still alive. And she now had the sole purpose of protecting the stone, and choosing her own apprentice. Tifre didn't know how to do any of this, but one thing was certain. If she died here in the ocean, she would never be able to take on an apprentice. So Tifre swam with everything she had, just trying to stay alive. She finally made it to the Isle of Dread, where even pirates feared to go. Tifre was exhausted, barely noticed the others that were here. But their captain, Azog, he noticed her. Azog ordered his crew to give Tifre some food and water. When she regained her bearings, Tifre noticed that a young woman, maybe a year older than herself, was tied up, and guarded. She tried to remain defiant, but was clearly scared at whatever fate awaited he. Tifre decided not to tell captain Azog more than she had to.

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Tifre: Thank you for the food and water.

Azog: My pleasure. May I ask, what brought you here, how you could swim to this most dangerous island.

Tifre: I'm from Glantri. My parents were killed in the most recent conflict, and I was forced to flee. I did what I had to do to survive, including stealing. I was caught, and sold into slavery. During the recent storm me and other slaves tried to escape. We jumped off, took our chances. I couldn't say if any other survived.

Azog: Probably not. I am an Ork, the Trogolodites forced us off our land in this conflict. I had been a privateer, basically I was a pirate bribed to only attack Trogolodite ships. When it became obvious we would lose, we abandoned the conflict, and became ordinary pirates.

Tifre: What brings you here?

Azog: The girl you see tied up, her name is Selencia. She was one of my crew, but recently she tried to keep a treasure to herself, rather than sharing it with the rest of the crew. So we have come here to bury her alive.

Tifre: Wow, harsh.

Azog: It is a pirate's life, which she chose, she knew my rules. But despite her betrayel, some of her more loyal friends have been asking me to show her mercy. I fear if I did this, I might lose control of the whole crew. But your appearance, provides me a unique opportunity. You will fight Selencia in a knife fight, to the death. And no, you have no choice in the matter. If she wins, I will declare that she has suffered enough at the thought of being buried alive, and I will have given my crew blood, as well as sport. If you win, my crew will have seen both blood and sport, I will have given Selencia the chance to save her life, even if she didn't take it, and you will take her place in my crew. I'll understand if you want to take back your thanks for the food and water.

Tifre: Supposse I win this fight, but don't wish to be a pirate?

Azog: Then we slit your throat and are a bit short-handed for awhile.

Tifre; In that case, I'll be honored to kill Selencia and take her place in your crew.

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Malark had taught Tifre how to fight like this, but she wasn't sure she could win, or kill her opponent. Tifre tried to tell herself that this woman chose to be a pirate, and apparently wasn't even loyal to her fellow pirates. Still, she was a person, would Tifre really be able to take her life? She would soon find out. And if Selencia killed her, these pirates would likely take the Gorgostone, and have no idea its true value. Perhaps they would just leave it here, and someone else would find it one day. Tifre could not let that happen. Even if it meant becoming a pirate, she had to protect the Gorgostone at all costs, that was what Malark taught her.

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The pirates had a few minutes to wager on this fight, namely who would win. Few bet on Tifre to win. Admittedly they didn't know her, but perhaps they had reason to believe that Selencia would win the knife fight, maybe they had seen her in action. The fight soon began. It lasted only a few minutes, but it was intense. Tifre won, knocked Selencia to the ground, and held a knife to her throat. But she did not kill her opponent, not yet at least. She merely quietly said to her, "Stay down, and there's a chance we might both live through this." Selencia knew it was her only chance to survive, so she agreed.

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Tifre: Captain Azog, I ask you to spare her life. You've given your crew sport, she's suffered enough at the thought of being buried alive. This way, you'll have two able bodied crew members.

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Captain Azog thought about this for a moment. He also looked at his crew, it seemed most of them were okay with this idea.

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Azog: Very well, Selencia you are hereby pardoned for your sins. Now, let us all get back to the ship.

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As they went back to the ship Selencia thanked Tifre for sparing her. Tifre knew she would need this new friend to show her the ropes, and maybe help her to escape a pirate's life later.

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Selencia: Most wouldn't have done that, not for a stranger anyway.

Tifre: I'm a thief, but I've never killed anyone before. I hope to keep this streak going.

Selencia: Well whatever you need, from now on, I'll be there for you.

Tifre: Thanks. So what was this treasure you stole from them?

Selencia: More like a way to get to treasure. I got greedy and stupid, thought I could get to it myself.

Tifre: So what is it? Maybe what king Throduk alegedly escaped with when he was overthrown?

Selencia: It's much more valuable than that. Have you ever heard of the Gorgostone?