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Adithian
archer who’s more trouble than she’s worth.  If it’s simply revenge you’re
after, I can assure you, I have plans for the girl.”
    True, his plans involved “getting
to know you” brunches and gifts of colorful flowers, but those could possibly
be torture for the girl, right?  It wasn’t like being around Uriah was a
pleasure for anyone.  He was a selfish, drunken asshole.  And those were his best qualities.  Being forced to endure him during their hypothetical picnic
brunches would probably drive the girl over the edge anyway.
    Rowland shook his head.  “I
couldn’t even if I wanted t o, Uriah.”  He sighed.  “I need her.  There’s all sorts of red tape with this job, you know that.”  He shrugged, as if
helpless.  “She’s not mine to give.”
    “ Triple.”   Uriah retorted
immediately, undaunted.  “She’s just a little thing anyway.  You and your men
could find some other sturdier girl to keep you company.”
    “You know, ordinarily, I’d jump at
an offer like that, Uriah.”  Rowland soothed.  “I respect the fact that you…”
    “…and my ship.”  Uriah all but
whispered, then repeated more forcefully, cutting him off.  “I’ll pay you
triple, and give you the Whore .”
    Uriah loved that ship.  But he’d
toss it aside if it got him the girl and kept him from doing what he knew he’d
have to do in a moment.
    “I can’t, Uriah.”  Rowland spread
his arms helplessly.  “My hands are tied here.  I need her.”
    Uriah moved towards the door again.
    Outside, the woman’s screaming and
thrashing was growing weaker.
    Uriah stood in the doorway, at the
turning point of his past and future. 
    And it was never any choice at all.
    Not even for a moment.
    “I understand.”  Uriah nodded, his
voice even.  “That’s what I thought you’d say, Rowland.  But you know I had to
try.”
    “That’s my boy.”  Rowland clapped
him on the back.  “Now, let’s say you and I…”
    The rest of his words were cut off
as Uriah turned in one fluid motion and plunged his sword straight into the
man’s stomach.  Rowland gave a gasping cry, which Uriah stifled by covering the
man’s mouth with a hand.  “You r eally should have just given her to me,
Rowland.  I told you she was mine.”  He whispered as he stabbed the man again
and dropped the body to the floor.  “You’ve made this so much more
difficult, you stupid bastard.”
    Uriah looked up at the ceiling of
the dead captain’s cabin, praying to the uncaring gods of his people.
    At this point, as long as the girl
lived, it would be worth it.
    That was his “best case scenario”
here, since this was a really, really bad situation to be in.
    Long-term planning had never been
Uriah’s strong suit, sadly.  His people weren’t known for their patience or for
their tactical minds.  Mainly, they just bludgeoned their foes until one of
them stopped moving.  Any sort of “plan” was the antithesis of the spirit of
the Grizzwood.
    If he had been born with the
ability to strategize, he could have undoubtedly gotten out of this situation
with the woman intact.  Sadly, Uriah had been taught from an early age to think
with his fists.
    In this case though, it had gotten
him into serious trouble.
    He wasn’t going to live through
this.
    No chance.
    But the good thing about never
thinking things through was that he didn’t have to think about that either.  All that mattered was that he was one step closer to getting the woman
and what he wanted.  And it was time to move.
    “Root, hog, or die.”  As his mother
had often said.
    He hurriedly stuffed the dead man
into one of the wardrobes and made his way back to the door to the cabin.  He
took a deep breath and strolled out into the sunlight, laughing.  “...and
then she stepped on the ball! ”   He laughed uproariously at the
punchline to a joke he didn’t know the setup for, hoping that it sounded
sufficiently drunken and relaxed.  “Oh, that