Chapter 22

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Tifre wondered, could another piece of the Gorgostone really be in this volcano? If Azog and the other pirates found it, they would sell it to the highest bidder. That could mean a power hungry warlord. Maybe someone in Mystera could use it to rebuild this kingdom. Or maybe the leaders of Faerun would buy it, or maybe the high king of Darokin. One thing that kept those two kingdoms from fighting was that they would have to fight on equal terms. But if one side had two pieces of the Gorgostone, would they be arrogant to invade. Perhaps the other side woud fear such aggression, and preemptively attack. Tifre decided she couldn't let that happen. The delicate balance between Faerun and Darokin wasn't perfect, but it was better than all out war. Another thought occured to Tifre, if she had two pieces of the Gorgostone, she could rebuild Mystera, her homeland could prosper again. Neither the ruling council of the Harpers nor king Liam would be arrogant enough to trifle with Mystera if they had two pieces. Malark had taught her that noone could be trusted with more than one piece, that such power would corrupt the purest of souls. Ofcourse that option would be gone if Tifre left this group before they reached the volcano. Azog didn't bring her along because he trusted her, he brought her because she happened to overhear the same information that he did. Whether it was fate or blind dumb luck, it was just these four. They had taken only what they could carry, a little bit of food, a rope, and their weapons. Tifre took her piece of the Gorgostone, and concealed it well.

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Azog, Ogthrak, Selencia, and Tifre reached the volcano shortly before sunrise. The trip had taken longer than Azog had anticipated, his absence would be noticed soon. It was one thing for his crew to believe he had merely fallen asleep with a tavern wench or a prostitute, but that would only buy him so much time. Going back to them was no longer an option, if he didn't get something from the volcano, he didn't know what he would do. Surprisingly there was a village near this volcano. Tifre couldn't help but wonder, "Who would pick an active volcano to lay down roots?" Azog answered her question "People who'd been kicked out of everywhere else." The villagers were sleeping, noone was guarding the volcano. The four pirates snuck inside, and soon found a path to the center. They found a large rock, but it was completely surrounded by a giant pool of lava. They could see this rock, it did indeed have a lot of gold. This miser was paranoid indeed, but he must have had a way to access this gold himself, or at least a way to put more gold on the rock. Azog decided they sould use their rope to create a crude bridge, and one by one they'd take what gold they could carry. Tifre volunteered to go first. If the other piece of the Gorgostone was there, she wanted it first. It was a narrow cross, and a thought occured to her. Perhaps the miser had a similar rope bridge, but eventually he fell into the lava. If she fell, would she die instantly, or painfully burn to death. She didn't particularly like either of those options. Still, if it happened, maybe her piece of the Gorgostone would be destroyed, or at least inaccessible forever. But Tifre wanted to live, and she still believed herself to be the best chance to protect the stone. Tifre made it, and she immediately looked for the other piece of the Gorgostone. She was familiar with the essence of her own stone, and couldn't sense another one on this rock. Maybe the story of the miser having this piece was just a legend, and those were notoriously unreliable. In any event Tifre gathered what gold she could carry and made her way back across the rope bridge. Then one by one the other three made their way across and back, each with as much god as they could carry. Azog and Selencia were overjoyed, with this much gold they could each retire and live quite comfortably in Darokin for the rest of their lives. Ogthrak was happy for another reason, with this gold he could have his vengeance. Tifre decided to stay with this group for a little while longer. They knew that the crew they'd abandoned would be looking for them. They had to put as much distance between them and that port as possible, and there was safety in numbers. When the pirates left the volcano the villagers were surprised than anyone had returned. They weren't the first to enter the volcano searching for gold, but they were the first in a very long time to actually survive with gold. They gave some of the gold to the villagers in exchange for their silence, should anyone show up asking. Hopefully, if the old crew showed up, they would assume they died in the volcano. They trecked the rest of the day towards Darokin. When the sunset they set up camp and agreed to sleep in shifts. Tifre had the first shift of guard duty, than Ogthrak woke up to relieve her, but Tifre stayed awake at first.

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Ogthrak: You should sleep now.

Tifre: I'm too wound up, it will be a while before I can sleep again. You don't mind the company?

Ogthrak: No. You don't trust me?

Tifre: I have a hard time trusting anyone.

Ogthrak: I understand. It's why I only drink from my own canteen.

Tifre: Makes sense. I hear you're looking for revenge against some Trogolodites.

Ogthrak: Does this bother you?

Tifre: I lived in Glantri, back when the Orks controlled it. My family got along pretty well with the Orks, but then the Trogolodites took over. They killed my parents and sold me into slavery. I have no love for the Trogolodites.

Ogthrak: They are the traditional enemy of my people, but they are not my main enemy. I am from the Frostwolf clan. Today they call it Tuma, but to my people it will always be Draenor. When Liam, now high king Liam, wanted to conquer our land, the traitorous Goff tribes allied with Darokin. I was a child at the time, but my parents saw that we would lose. So they took me and fled. The Goffs and the armies of Darokin took our and, and slaughtered all those who resisted. The remenants of the Frostwolf clan were scattered, becoming thieves and prostitutes. And on the ruins of our land, they built Tuma.

Tifre: That's why you want revenge on Darokin and the Goff tribe?

Ogthrak: No. My parents' desertion brought shame to my family, we became outcasts even among the surviving refugees. I need to slaughter everyone who saw our shame, and their children. Only then will all true memories of this shame be erased.

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Ogthrak's story made Tifre more determined to do what she had to do. She had been in doubt when it seemed he wanted revenge against Darokin, the Trogolodites, and the Goffs. But the fact that he was willing to slaughter desperate refugees, his own people nonetheless, Tifre knew what she had to do. Malark had taught her about herbs, which ones could heal, which ones could kill. She had already made the poison, and pretended to go to sleep. When Ogthrak's back was turned Tifre quietly put the poison in his canteen. He thought he was merely getting sleepy. When he lost consciousness Tifre dragged his body to the river, along with much of the gold. Selencia and Azog would think he had run off with the gold. But Selencia caught her, and confronted her.

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Selencia: So you were planning to steal the gold and frame Ogthrak.

Tifre: No, it isn't like that.

Selencia: I'm listening.

Tifre: I did murder Ogthrak, but only because he was planning to murder thousands of innocent refugees.

Selencia: What business was that of yours?

Tifre: I couldn't just let him hurt so many innocent people.

Selencia: You do seem to be naive enough to really believe that.

Tifre: It's this innocence that convinced me to save your life.

Selencia: That's true. I do still owe you for that. I'll help you dispose of his body and the gold. But we both have to act innocent when Azog wakes up. I have a plan.

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After they dumped Ogthrak's body and most of the gold in the river, Tifre tried to get some sleep. She got maybe an hour of sleep before Azog's screams woke her. He was clearly angry, and threatening Selencia.

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Azog: Where is Ogthrak and the gold?

Selencia: I don't know. Tifre was on guard duty right before him, wasn't she?

Tifre: Yeah. I went to sleep as soon as he relieved me. Wait, did he steal our gold?

Azog: Maybe you were in on it with him, or possibly Selencia here.

Selencia: If either of us had stolen the gold why would we still be here? Besides, Ogthrak was the only one strong enough to carry that much gold by himself.

Tifre: You know as well as I do how obsessed he was with vengeance, maybe he was worried that his share alone wasn't enough.

Azog: You're right. He betrayed us. And now, we can't even return to the crew.

Selencia: Maybe it doesn't have to be a total loss. We were traveling to Tuma for the Gorgostone and the other treasures. Why don't we complete that journey and just split the loot three ways?

Azog: You do have a point. And you two are definitely coming with me. Just in case you thought about hiding the gold around here, at least this way I can keep an eye on you both.

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Tifre now had serious doubts about what she had gotten herself into. On the one hand she had prevented Ogthrak from slaughtering several thousand refugees. On the other hand, this piece of the Gorgostone had been relatively secure with the king of thieves. Now, two pirates were more determined than ever to get this piece. Tifre could only go with them, and decide what to do when they reached Tuma.