Again, this is only a Janae part, apologies for all who were waiting for John's next part. I got crazy busy over the last two days, as I am currently selling my father's house and that is a lot of work and all kinds of stress. As such, I decided to release Janae's part first, because I don't want to keep you waiting any longer. John is coming up next, probably with a little extra to make up for the longer wait
Janae
As he had promised, Semsi was waiting for her behind the stables after midnight. She had considered his offer carefully and though she went there half expecting a trap, she considered it worth the risk. In any way, she was reasonably certain she could overpower him if he was about to try anything.
The man was leaning in the small space between the stables and the wooden palisade, the moonlight illuminating his pearly white teeth. “Glad you considered my offer”, he spoke and Janae stopped a few feet away from him, her arms crossed. “Wasn't much of a choice”, she growled. “This can hardly get any worse, so I figured I could at least hear you out”
Semsi gave her a nod. “Exactly”, he confirmed. “And as I promised before, you will not regret it. I am a man of my word” Carefully, Janae came closer, all the while eyeing him for any sign of treachery. He seemed unarmed, but she could hardly search him for hidden blades. “First of all, I know you are loyal to the other two”, Semsi continued. “So, before I say anything else, be assured my offer includes them as well. I don't just offer you your own freedom, but if this all works out, I can assure you they will be free as well”
Janae narrowed her eyes. “If it works out?”, she growled and Semsi shrugged. “Like anything worth any sort of risk, success is not guaranteed”, he admitted. “But the danger is reasonable, considering the reward for me and for you” He smiled, though it faded quickly as he noticed Janae's glare. “Before you say anything, why me?”, she hissed. “You give any slave you meet a similar offer? Freedom for some ominous favour?”
Semsi chuckled and his expression grew serious in an instant. There was something else in his gaze, something she hadn't seen before. A dangerous intelligence, unusual but not unheard of for a man in his line of work. “Only the ones I have seen fighting”, he spoke and Janae tensed up. “We know each other?”, she asked, as neither his name, nor his face rung any bells.
This time, Semsi shook his head. “And I wouldn't even say I know you all that much”, he admitted. “I have seen you fighting, that's all. Ten years ago, in Skahaz' Pit. You were one of zo Prezn's priced fighters, whereas I was just an overly impressionable boy in the crowd” The look on his face was one of admiration, but Janae was only more wary of him now. She preferred to deal with dumb brutes, whereas this one was smart and quite likely more ambitious than she preferred.
“That was a decade ago”, she replied and Semsi shrugged. “And I doubt you slowed down ever since”, he told her. “I saw you on that day, carving your way through whatever the masters threw at you, like a vengeful spirit. Never before and never again have I seen such ruthless dedication to kill” As he said this, Janae shook her head. “I never fought to kill”, she growled. “I fought to live. They tried to kill me, so I dealt with them” She leant closer. “With all of them”, she added in a menacing tone.
Semsi's smile returned. “No need for the thinly veiled threats”, he spoke. “I just meant to tell you how I know of you. See, I have a good memory. Perfect even. Sometimes it's a curse, but more often than not, it's a true blessing. I can tell you what I wore on that day, or on any other day in the last twenty years. What I ate, where I slept, the smell of my landlord as he beat me with a whip for not paying my rent in time...” His smile faded. “And I remember you quite well. Janae... they cheered for you on that day, but none cheered louder than Abbas zo Prezn... al-Yunkari, as he likes to call himself in these parts of the world”, he added. “I sat close to him, so I could see the admiration in his eyes, the love... not much of that left after you killed his father, eh?”
With a sudden, angry growl, Janae grabbed Semsi by the collar of his shirt and pushed him against the palisade. He did not resist, even though he quite likely could put up a good fight, judging by the muscles she felt beneath his shirt. Still, she pushed himself against the palisade and gave him a vicious glare. “If you truly saw me fight in that godsforsaken pit, then you know you shouldn't mess with me!”, she spat. “And you know just what I would do to prevent going back there ever again. I betrayed a man who loved me with all his heart to get out of that place and I never, never looked back”
For a moment, it seemed Semsi would dare making a quip, but at the last moment, he did the smart thing and just kept his mouth shut for a second. Instead, he merely gave her a nod and she released him. “When I saw you here, hearing your name, seeing who placed that collar around your neck, it was not too hard to deduce that you are indeed the same Janae I saw in the pit all these years ago”, he told her. “A woman dedicated, no, desperate to never go back to that place. At the same time, a true artist with a blade in her hands. Sounds to me like you need my help”
“And you need mine”, Janae replied. “So spit it out or I'll show you just how little patience I have with people who waste my time” Semsi raised an eyebrow. “That would be short-sighted, m'lady”, he argued. “But so be it. Hear me out and make your choice. See... I may not look the part, but I am not just good with the blade. I've taught myself how to read and write and I have absorbed every piece of knowledge I could lay my eyes on. I am destined for greater things”
Janae rolled her eyes. “I've heard that one before”, she spoke. “Usually from people who were destined to bleed out in the gutter. What do you want and how could you ever help me?” Briefly, Semsi's smirk returned. “Rowan thinks she owns this outpost because she has a piece of paper that proves it. Truth be told, she just got lucky”, he spoke. “She owns this outpost because she hired a man with too much integrity for his own good. There's so much coin she earns every week and we see so little of it and yet, without us some warlord would have long since taken over this entire place. Salazar is fine with getting less than he deserves and he keeps the men in line. He is fine with letting slaver scum like Abbas and Bakr cross this bridge, even though there's quite a few among us who would love to cut their throats and just dump them into the Rhoyne”
Finally, he was getting somewhere with this. Janae had served among sellswords for long enough to know what he was hinting at. “Let me guess, things would change with you at the top”, she spoke, before she narrowed her eyes. “And let me guess again, you're Salazar's second-in-command” Semsi gave her a nod. “Let's just say, I'd take over if something were to happen to him”, he confirmed. “The only man actually loyal to Rowan is Brair, her brute of a bodyguard. The rest is here because of Salazar”
“And of course you can't kill him, or else they all turn on you”, Janae deduced and Semsi sighed. “Unfortunately, yes”, he spoke. “But if he were to die without anyone connecting his premature demise to me, I would follow him as captain of our little unit. And my first order would be to get rid of Rowan and Brair, take over this bridge and change the way things are being run here”
“Your first order would be to kill me alongside them”, Janae growled. “You'd have no choice, after me killing your seemingly beloved captain. Someone could get suspicious” Semsi shook his head. “That's why I want you to do it in a way that no one would ever trace to you”, he told her. “And before you worry your pretty little head, let me just say, I've heard a chance will present itself quite soon”
This caught her off guard. “You planned through all of this”, she spoke and he gave her a nod. “I know what Rowan wants from Abbas”, he told her. “And he will be pissed, oh so very much, but he will accept it, because he always keeps his word” His smirk faded. “You are going to go on a journey, together with Salazar and a few others. It won't be a long journey, but it'll be a perilous one. The kind that could easily kill a man”
“To where?”, Janae spoke, but before Semsi could reply, a loud commotion sounded from the main house. He chuckled thinly. “Speaking of the Stranger”, he growled. “Come. Surely he wants to tell you himself” He grabbed Janae by the shoulder, though she quickly and viciously shook him off, before both turned to the courtyard.
Abbas was just storming out of the main house, with Rowan Krios and her guard, the hulking Brair in tow. “Janae!”, the slaver roared. “Bakr! Get the fuck over here!” As soon as he finished this sentence, Bakr indeed appeared out of the alehouse, with Khar Shun, the sellsword from Yi Ti shortly behind him. Both were staggering and Khar Shun even still held a mug of ale in one hand. Finally behind them, Salazar Redwind, the man Semsi had asked her to kill.
“Janae, where...!”, Abbas began, before he cut himself off. “There you are!” She briefly glanced over her shoulder, but Semsi had been smart enough to remain in the shadows. “I won't stand for this, girl!”, the slaver spat, as he turned back to Rowan, who stopped a few feet away from him. The moonlight shined upon her smug smile. “I believe you will, Ghiscari”, she spoke. “It is a small favour, like the one I did for you”
“Bullshit!”, Abbas spat and as he approached the girl, Brair moved between them. From behind, Salazar slowly came closer. “Is there a problem, mylady?”, he asked and Rowan shook her head. “My friend here just needs to come to terms with my offer”, she replied. “It's the best you're going to get, Abbas”
The slaver narrowed his eyes. “I'm not going to die for you!”, he barked and she shook her head. “I never asked you to go yourself”, she replied. “Send your companion. Or your pit slave” With these words, she glanced at Janae and gave her an inscrutable glare. “I lost people for you too, Abbas”, she reminded him. “What I ask of you is perfectly reasonable”
“Abbas?”, Ryder's voice sounded from the far end of the courtyard. “What's the matter?” Abbas clenched his fists, before slightly shaking his head. “It's all good, Ryder”, he spoke. “Though I may have need for your blade soon” He glanced at Brair, then at Salazar, the latter of whom seemed ready for a fight. “Though not with them”, he then added, followed by a small sigh.
“So you accept?”, Rowan asked and Abbas gave her a disgruntled nod. “I have no choice, have I?”, he growled, before he shot Janae a glare. “Get over here!”, he barked. As she sensed his anger, Janae couldn't help but smirk. “What's the matter, Abbas?”, she asked. “How did the little girl get under your skin?”
Abbas narrowed his eyes and briefly, Janae noticed that Rowan was grinning gleefully. “You shouldn't be so smug, bitch”, the slaver barked. “This concerns you as well. I... I have need for your blade” Janae raised an eyebrow. “Now you come crawling...”, she growled and she realized immediately she had overstepped his patience. “Ryder!”, he snarled. “I'll give Janae an order now and if she doesn't answer with 'Yes, Master', I want you to bring me one of Behara's eyeballs”
He was serious, she knew it at once. She knew him well enough forw this, gods be damned. “What do you want?”, she was quick to ask and the slaver calmed down a bit. “Rowan just told me what she wants of me. My side of an old deal” He looked at the girl, perhaps in the fleeting hope that she was jesting with whatever she demanded of him, but Rowan merely crossed her arms as she began to speak. “I am desperately waiting for a package from Pentos”, she spoke. “It was supposed to arrive here by boat two months ago. Just a fortnight before you arrived, one of the men who were sent to fetch it came back. Poor bastard was half dead and completely mad by the time he got here”
She made a pause and this time, Janae saw a sliver of fear on the girl's face, befitting for someone her age who had seen something gruesome. “Infected with greyscale”, she then revealed. “We made it quick for him, but his affliction only proved that he was not a liar when he told me this outrageous tale of how they lost my package”
Greyscale... Janae had heard of this horrible disease and it made her skin crawl. It was a death sentence of the most gruesome kind. “Where did he contract it?”, she asked and as Rowan spoke up again, her voice was shivering slightly. “There's a ruined city to the north, half a week by boat, built on both sides of the river”, she told her. “If you travel down the Lhorulu by boat, you have to go through it at some point. The Rhoynar who built it called it Chroyane. Now there are no Rhoynar anymore and their city is but a foggy ruin”
Janae couldn't claim to have heard of that city, but truth be told, she never had much of an interest in the Rhoynar of old. She was a sellsword, not a graverobber. What she knew though was that the Rhoynar cities were now full of dangers. “Why would anyone travel down that route?”, she growled and Rowan shrugged. “It's not as if the road is any safer”, she brought up. “And it's twice as fast. I don't blame my people for choosing to go through Chroyane. What I blame them for is losing my package to bloody Stone Men”
Immediately, a chill went down Janae's spine. Oh yes, she had heard of these. Seen them even, though in the pitiful state just before the disease clouded their minds, where they were just conscious enough to know what was happening to them. And she had heard stories of how much worse they were in the late stage.
“They are the citizens of Chroyane now”, Rowan informed her, not without visible glee at her displeasure. It didn't seem to be any malice directed towards Janae in particular, she assumed the girl just genuinely enjoyed toying with people. “And they have something that belongs to me. A pouch of documents, signed by the Prince of Pentos. I want them back” She narrowed her eyes, as she and Abbas glared at each other in silence.
Finally, the Ghiscari groaned in frustration and spoke up. “You are infuriating!”, he barked and she gave him a wide grin that almost made her seem sympathetic, if not for the grim matter they were discussing. Janae knew what Abbas would say and she knew she had no choice, not if she wanted to keep Behara save from his malice. “Janae, I order you to accompany the bitch's men to Chroyane”, he then pressed through his clenched teeth.
“Acceptable”, Rowan spoke. “Though we do have to work on your manners. Captain Salazar!” The one-eyed sellsword saluted. “I will prepare a team of my men”, he said at once, without even needing to hear her command. “If mylady allows it, I will lead them myself. I owe them to put myself in the same danger”
“I was hoping you'd say that”, the girl admitted. “I could not wish for a better man to lead this expedition” Salazar looked from her to Janae and he gave her a nod. “It's not my first journey into that accursed city”, he told her. “Follow my lead and I'll make sure you'll get out of there alive and well”
“I wish to join as well”, Ryder spoke up, to Janae's surprise. She gave him a suspicious look. Salazar was the loyal type, it was clear to see, while she had no choice. But Ryder? Abbas could never force a man like him, but here he was, freely offering his aid. And his approach seemed to calm the Ghiscari notably. Though still angry, Abbas managed to nod at him with genuine gratitude. “I'll pay you three times your normal wage if you do that for me”, he promised and the fact that he did so unprompted clued Janae in just how nervous he was. He had a habit of acting prematurely whenever he was nervous. Once, nervous was basically his default state of mind, but it seemed he calmed quite a lot over the last decade. That he was visibly trembling right now made it clear to her how bad he expected this trip to go down.
Slowly, she approached him and for a moment, he seemed fearful. “She really got you by the balls, huh?”, she whispered, just as she stopped right next to him. He sighed, before reluctantly nodding. “You may consider me many things, but I am always a man of my word”, he claimed. “Come on now, mock me for being so foolish. Gods know, I'd have to remove your tongue to shut you up”
Janae shook her head. “I won't mock you, because it's my life you risk with that fool's promise”, she hissed. “Whereas all you'd have to lose is your fucking word” Without even missing a beat, Abbas gave her a nod. “Then take a guess what's more important to me”, he replied coldly and turned around without giving her another look. “We have a deal, Rowan”, he assured her.
The girl smirked, before giving him a nod. “I suggest you all get some rest then!”, she called out to her people. “Captain Salazar, I expect your men ready in the morning” The sellsword saluted in front of her and with this gesture, it was clear their meeting here in the courtyard was over. Janae stood there, fists clenched, as Abbas stopped and glanced over his shoulder once again, right at her. “Thank you, Janae”, he spoke and she raised an eyebrow. “This talk made me feel a little less guilty about sending you to your likely death”
She merely rolled her eyes as he turned away once again. “Fucking asshole...”, she mumbled beneath her breath and she couldn't care less if he had heard her or not. Instead of Abbas, it was Salazar who approached her, the very same man Semsi had sent her to kill. She wondered how much the sellsword knew about this trip to come. How did he know about her being sent to Chroyane?
“You shouldn't speak so loudly”, Salazar warned her, though he had to suppress a smirk. “Leave it to me to insult this bastard” She raised an eyebrow. “What's it to you?”, she asked and the captain shrugged. “You may have noticed, I don't like him very much”, he spoke. “Known him for years, though not as close as you knew him, I suppose. That hatred in his voice whenever he speaks to you, that is something personal”
She gave him a nod, though she did not dare to elaborate. This Salazar, he didn't seem like too bad a person. Of course, she had killed good people in the past, most of the times without any regrets whatsoever. The trick was not to get close to them. When he realized she would not answer, Salazar sighed. “Listen, I won't ask why you haven't escaped yet. Abbas is not even nearly as smart as he thinks he is, Bakr is an oaf and I doubt Harrington would put up much of a struggle if you would just run away”, he deduced. “You got your reasons, the very same that make you obey his command despite the risks”
“Perceptive”, she growled and he grabbed her by the arm, before giving her a brief glare out of his one eye. “Listen, woman, I don't give a flying fuck about your grudge with Abbas”, he spoke. “But I've been to Chroyane before and in there, I need to trust you. And you need to trust me, or else you won't ever leave that city again” He narrowed his eye. “So, can I trust you?”
She sighed. “You can”, she assured him. “I've worked with a group before and I've been to my fair share of shitty places” She shook her head. “You're right, by the way. I have my reason to stay with Abbas. That's why I have to get back here. If you say I need to trust you to get through this alive, then so be it”
This seemed enough to please Salazar for now and the sellsword let go of her. “Good”, he growled. “I don't want to lose anyone in there, even someone I barely know” He gave her a half-hearted pat on the shoulder, before he turned away. “Your friends are probably sleeping already. I had Khar Shun bring them something to eat earlier, maybe they saved something for you”, he told her. “You should get some sleep as well”
She sighed at his comment. How could she even think about sleeping after what she had just heard? Chroyane, Greyscale, the Stone Men... and Semsi the Slicer, who wanted her to kill a man she hardly knew, but whom she couldn't help but feel at least a sliver of sympathy for. As if escaping on her own wouldn't be hard enough already!
With growing frustration and a hint of hunger, she entered the barracks Rowan had assigned to her, Harpy and Behara. The latter two were caged in a small holding cell, whereas Janae, in that sick illusion of freedom Abbas had granted her, had been given a straw mattress in the open room to sleep on. It would be easy, so damn easy to climb over the walls, jump into the Rhoyne and swim to freedom. But the key to the cage was with Ryder Harrington and she knew better than to try and steal from him.
Behara was already fast asleep, thankfully. The girl was slumped over, her eyes closed and her breath going steady. Right now, she seemed at peace, despite the horrors she had to endure in the last few weeks. Harpy, however, was still awake and she opened her eyes as soon as Janae entered the room.
“We kept you some food”, she whispered, carefully not to wake the younger girl up. Janae gave her a thankful nod, as she walked over to the cage. A small bowl of soup was standing there, cold of course, but she was starving. “I heard the commotion out there”, Harpy added, as Janae sat down next to the cage. “Is Abbas in trouble at last?”
This time, Janae had to shake her head. “Unfortunately, no”, she replied quietly. “Though he fucked me over once again. Ordered me to accompany Rowan's sellswords into some gods-forsaken Rhoynar ruin. Stone Men stole something from that brat” Harpy had enough self-control to suppress a gasp. “She wants you to fight against Stone Men?”, she whispered, coming closer to keep her agitated voice down. “Has she lost her mind?”
“She's quite serious about this, I'm afraid”, Janae told her. “Come tomorrow, me, Ryder and some of Rowan's men are going to leave for Chroyane” She sighed, as she glanced at Behara and Harpy understood at once. The girl gave her a smile that was supposed to look reassuring. On her pale, scared and far too young face, it barely managed to hide how terrified she was. “Don't worry about us”, she spoke. “I'll keep her safe”
“He won't harm her as long as I'm not around”, Janae said, trying to convince herself. “But make sure you both get through this. I need to know there's someone to come back to when this new shitshow is dealt with” Harpy reached out for her and briefly, she grabbed her hand, clenching it with genuine fondness. “As I said, I'll keep her safe”, she promised.
As soon as she said this, she narrowed her eyes. “And your meeting with Semsi?”, she asked. “How did that go? Is he able to help us?” Janae sighed as she thought back on his offer. It was not just Salazar who would die, but Rowan and her bodyguard as well, not that she felt sorry for the latter two. That was, if Semsi's plan worked at all and if he had enough decency to go through with his side of the deal. Truth be told, a man who conspired to kill his commanding officer as coldly as that was not the sort she would like to trust.
And another thought crossed her mind. Harpy... of course she could trust her. The girl had her heart in the right place. That being said, Janae had to think back to that night in the barn, with her and Haar. No one would mourn for the drunken sellsword and under different circumstances, she would have killed him herself. Harpy had done it to keep Behara safe, or perhaps to safe herself, but in the process she had made it only worse for all of them. Could she truly trust the girl not to do anything reckless again? Could she truly trust her with the details of Semsi's offer?
[Tell Harpy about Semsi's offer] [Keep the details to yourself]