LEGEND OF NEVETSECNUAC - ON THE WAY TO THE CAPITAL - SECTION 33

Disaidun Agripe (ended) stopped her reminisces (recollections) and then stood up to stretch her limbs that had gone gradually stiff in her squatting position.

 “This is intolerable. How much longer do I have to wait before I see some action?” Mumbling to herself, Disaidun paced back and forth in the restricted space then, stopping, she pinned her face up against a peep hole between two deck planks and strained her ears to the sounds up above.  Aside from the creaks and groans of the rigging, all was deathly still.  She jerked back, suddenly aware that the irritating, muffled noises from their cabin had as well, totally ceased (stopped).

“He does not deserve this pain.  In fact, it would have been more merciful if I had stuck a knife between his ribs or poisoned him.”  Disaidun inclined her head. 

01- DISAIDUN AGRIPE

That would have been his fate in any case once they had gone ashore in the next port.

She had no other choice, she told herself, for Ceroz being so besotted (love struck), he would never have left her voluntarily.  He had to be forced.

“That’s right, you brought this on yourself.  Having no backbone, sooner or later you would have been preyed upon.  If not I, then another would have come by to summarily end your worthless existence.” 

Despite her denials, however, she did harbor some compassion, some fondness for Ceroz; for he had always been most loving, attentive, kind, and sensitive to her needs, an ideal husband (spouse) in fact, if it were not for his cowardice. 

“Why couldn't he be a bit more like his half-brother, Zohuj Kez?” She sighed.

  For even without a man's equipment, Zohuj had demonstrated more masculine attributes (trait) than Ceroz.

It suddenly dawned on her that she had not heard the brat's squalling either, not since last night, or an uncertain dread crept into her heart.  “Had he smothered the baby in his anguish?  Well, it is better than drowning or being ….”  But then angry feeling took hold, that and, sheer contempt.   

“If he did that…that alone proves just how spineless, how pathetic he is!” She huffed angrily and began pacing the space behind the barricade once more, her hands firmly clasped together behind her back.

“Oh, this suspense is unbearable!”  Halting, Disaidun stamped her foot. “I wish it was all over with already.  If it doesn't start soon, I'm going just to burst!”

                                                                              ~

 

02- SHIP FOLLOWING THEM IS NOW SEEN

The curtain (shroud) of fog lifted exactly the time Zunrogo had predicted it, revealing a familiar craft swiftly bearing down on them.  Seeing that the, all clear flag, had been hoisted the oarsmen, on Lance Diostin's order, now rowed with greater zeal and the vessel shot forward over the water like a gust of wind, hardly skimming the surface.  However, as they drew closer Lance Diostin's keen eyesight detected the figure of Captain Doku, though taller in stature, with his back towards them at the ship's prow, as-well-as, a notable absence of the usual crew.  Suspecting a ruse, he grew particularly apprehensive and, assembling his ablest archers, instructed them to take aim and shoot at the captain once they were within range.

A volley of arrows rained down upon Tizan; alerted just in time however, by a low whistle from Zunrogo, Tizan turned slightly askew and, (wielding his sword,) with the flat of his whirling blade, warded off the most dangerous shafts from piercing his head, neck and legs.  After which, he quickly took cover beside Zunrogo; then chuckling, he pulled a dozen or so arrows out of the light breastplate he had worn under his shirt.  Grinning wryly, he broke the bunch of them in two over his knee and cast them disdainfully onto the open deck for Lance Diostin to see.

Zunrogo was not pleased. “What a waist.” He huffed, “those arrows could have been reused.”

“What a fool.” Sangui, in the other vessel scoffed, witnessing Tzan’s impertinence.

"No matter, I'll have that bastard's hide stretched out on the deck soon enough." Lance Diostin simply shrugged.  "I had expected as much."

"I suppose Captain Doku has already been murdered," his second in command, Sangui Xiory, speculated, "and the crew incapacitated, if not killed outright."

03- SANGUI XIORY

"No.", Lance Diostin countered.  "Zunrogo would not discard the crew until the very end, when they would have outlived their usefulness."

 A sinister smile registered on Lance Diostin’s lips as he looked away.

“Remarkable how Lance Diostin can anticipate Zunrogo's every move.” Sangui looked up at him with admiration.

Despite his young age, Lance Diostin was a brilliant tactician; furthermore, his exceptional (unequal) skill in wielding the sword, as well, other military prowess’s had earned him the admiration and regard of many seasoned military generals in the Imperial army.

"It's simple, Lieutenant." Lance Diostin said, surmising the other’s thought.  "You see; that bastard thinks he'll succeed."

"In a pig's eye," Sangui laughed.

"A word of caution, though." Lance's serious demeanor sobered up the conversation.

 "Do not underestimate that Tizan fellow we shot at, or you'll suffer greatly for it."

“As far as I can see, his reputation is far too exaggerated.” Sangui scoffed inwardly, discounting the good advice while nodding his agreement outwardly.

“Wasn’t he just a fisherman’s son? This low-born plebe (army cadet) doesn’t scare me.  You just wait; I'll show him up for the blundering trainee he is.”  He stole a look up at Lance.

“Pity; I’ll be sorry to lose Sangui.” From the corner of his eye observing Sanqui’s reaction, Lance Diostin somewhat disgruntled, shook his head then went below decks to don (wear, put on) his battle armor.

Soon after, standing on the aft deck before his (amassed) strike force, Lance Diostin addressed the assembled men, warning them of the traps he anticipated on the target vessel then stepped aside, leaving it to Sangui to brief the men on the expected nature of these dangerous pitfalls and give them a crash course on how to detect and avoid them.

Lance was sure he had correctly predicted most of the ingenious devices Zunrogo would have planted around the vessel, given the materials he had at hand, but saw no need to extrapolate on all of them.

As it were, this first contingent, mostly made up of new recruits, was deemed expendable; their deaths would rid Lance Diostin of defective (incompetent, flawed) bunch; meanwhile, their attack exploited as a diversionary tactic (of easy pickings), would mislead the enemy and weaken them with false sense of overconfidence (daring) and certainty.

Second contingent was temporarily held back, for Lance Diostin did not intend on sacrificing his best men to a sure defeat.

04-  LANCE DIOSTIN JPD

“Next onslaught will be drawn out for as long as possible,” Lance Diostin grimaced pensively. “It should prove amusing, at the very least.” 

Lance's spies had informed him of the remarkable progress Zunrogo had made in his fighting style, hence he expected him, unlike most of Lance’s previous foes, to withstand the first wave of attack. Meanwhile the marksmen sustaining extreme vigilance shot at anything and everything that had made the slightest move on the target vessel, their aim getting more exact (precise) as the distance, between the two, gradually (bit by bit) diminished.

 When the vessels had moved to within nine feet of each other Lance Diostin raised a mighty war cry and, brandishing his magnificent sword, leapt onto the other boat to lead, the first contingent in attack.  Avoiding all the snares and traps, with the skill of an invincible (omnipotent, supreme) warrior, Lance headed straight (directly) for Zunrogo and launched his murderous assault, at once engaging the captain in a fierce mortal struggle.

The first contingent as anticipated, one after another, fell victim to Zunrogo’s clever, rather ingenious contraptions: many were hacked to pieces by sprung blades or stabbed by poisoned darts.  Others were hopelessly ensnared in nets where they were finished off by Tizan, who had lain in wait.  Those lucky enough to get through found Tizan too difficult to contend with as he twirled among them, leaving their lifeless husks twitching upon the deck.

With a fierce cry Sangui, leading the second wave of more experienced fighters from below decks, entered the fray (battle) only to be cut down, after a desperate engagement, by Tizan's flailing sword. 

The pursuing vessel’s civilian captain left behind to man (work) his crew, seeing the destruction of recruits and erroneously suspecting things were not going so well, rushed to the tiller (rudder, helm) to turn the vessel about. Unfortunately, he never got the chance, for Tizan with a mighty leap, jumping over the heads of the still boarding men, began slaughtering the crew from their rear.

05- TZAN  CHARGES FORWARD UNSTOPABLE

After the Captain was sliced and all his mates hacked to pieces, Tizan cut through next, the second wave which had regrouped to bar his way to the hold.

Pandemonium broke out below decks as he set about slaughtering those who had stayed to guard the precious arsenal.

Stepping over the corpses littering the floor, Tizan's brief investigation revealed, to his utter delight, the expected stocks of oil, pitch, sulfur, and tinder along with the arrowheads used to launch their mixture onto opposing vessels.  Tizan had with him a small quantity of incendiary powders, in case Zunrogo's assessment had proven wrong.  Now, with these for strikers, he immediately set to work placing the firebombs in the most strategic locations to ensure the maximum damage.

After lighting the long fuses, he rushed above deck.  The badly wounded Captain, as his last living act, had been successful in changing the vessel's course and there was now a considerable distance between the two ships.  Tizan dove swiftly into the river.  He had always been a strong and expert swimmer so, despite the currents that pitched and tossed him about, he was able to catch up to his own vessel in no time at all and was soon hauling himself back on board.

 He crouched to catch his breath, inclining his head to see the pursuing vessel torn apart by several successive explosions.  Before long the whole boat was ablaze, great flames leaping into the sky and a thick, billowing cloud of black smoke boiled into the sky.  Then the hull of the vessel split it two and the pieces sizzled and hissed as water flooded into the hold. 

06- SHIP BLOWN UP

Whirling around and around, the boat disappeared into a whirlpool, leaving nothing behind on the river's choppy surface but a few charred timbers and a floating carpet of yellow sulfur powder.

 As Tizan watched the complete destruction of Lance Diostin’s vessel, his eye caught countless dead or stunned fish floating now on the surface of the water and, in his mind's eye, a long-buried recollection of other fish killed by deliberate explosions pushed its way past all the barriers he had set up against it.  Wrapped around it as an indissoluble part of the event remembered were all the other memories that had lain dormant in his mind for so many years yet now flashed for a split-second back into his consciousness.  Absentmindedly his hand reached up to the far corner of his left brow and caressed the deep, furrowed scar on his temple.

 

                                                                                   ~

 

(END OF SECTION 33)

 

 LEGEND OF NEVETSECNUAC - ON THE WAY TO THE CAPITAL - SECTION 32

 

 With nothing else left to do, Tizan donned (wore, put on) Captain Duko's attire over the light armor he kept on underneath to protect him from arrows then, as ordered, went back below decks to retrieve (fetch) Disaidun Agripe.

This time quite unexpectedly, Disaidun’s spineless husband, having mustered all his courage, charged at Tizan just as they were headed out the door. 

 

01- CEROS AGRIPE STRIKES BACK

Though Ceroz Agripe was half-crazed, filled with remorse and rage, he was still no match for the Lieutenant of Imperial guards and so, with just one blow from the back of his fist, hardly any effort at all on Tizan's part, Ceroz was hurled right across the room, bloodied and almost cataleptic (almost out cold), to crash onto the floor of the cabin.

 "You dare oppose me, wretch!" Tizan’s rage not assuaged, growling he went over to deliver a couple of vicious kicks to the Ceroz's side; the force of the second kick was such, it lifted the massive body up and slammed (smashed, crashed) it against the far wall of the cabin.

 

02- CEROS AGRIPE KICKED TO FAR END

 Tizan turned his fiery gaze back to the woman Disaidun Agripe and bellowed.  "What have you done to him to bring him to such a state?"

Not condescending to answer, Disaidun Agripe simply shrugged and walked on ahead.

“Quite the vixen, aren't you?” Tizan smirked as he locked and barred the door behind them.  In truth he liked a woman with such spunk but, since Captain Zunrogo had taken special interest in her, she was off-limits to him.  Such was the rule he had always lived by and continued to follow. 

Grabbing Disaidun Agripe’s arm forcefully next, and ignoring her volley of threats, he lugged (toted) her to the barricade.  "This is your post.  The captain forbids you to stray an inch from this point…  Understand?"  Only then Tizan let go of her arm. He was inwardly thrilled at her repressed seething contempt for him, and could not help but provoke her further, "We have only a few hours now before the fog lifts.  If you want to pray for your salvation, go ahead; now may be your only chance."  He smirked.

 

Her retort froze on her lips when her eye just then caught the exceptionally crafted crossbow leaning in the far corner.  Walking over, Disaidun Agripe picked it up, examined it carefully and said, “Where did you find this?  It’s magnificent."

Then, she sedately withdrew an arrow from its quiver.

 

“Show off, as if you can discern a good weapon from a bad one.  Some maven (expert, professional, doyen) you are.” He’d inwardly scoffed, fixing his cold gaze at her; Tzan once more could not resist goading (inciting) her, "You do know how to use it, I trust?".

 

Disaidun Agripe did not answer him but, instead, loaded the arrow in the blink of an eye then aimed it directly at Tizan's heart and asked. “Do you want a demonstration?"

This was too much!  Throwing his head back and trusting his hidden armor, Tizan laughed heartily, "Go ahead, I dare you to."

 

03-TZAN JP

Just then Zunrogo appeared on the scene, his stern looks at once sending Tizan without another word, scurrying off to above deck, to take up his assigned post.

Disaidun Agripe’s (Jepipi's) alluring approach was met with the same icy rebuke.

Not taking it to heart, she behaved as if he bade her, sizing up Zunrogo from the corner of her eye and admiring his heroic countenance.

 

“By the Gods, he is magnificent! “Gearing up for this single, bitter battle, she was positive he would triumph over any foe, however invincible, before the end of the day.

                                                                                         ~

 

For seemingly endless hours now, Disaidun Agripe (Miss Jepipi) had fidgeted at her post.  These times preceding an engagement (battle) had always seemed to drag on forever; furthermore, the angry rants and ravings of her half-crazed husband Ceroz, only two doors down aggravated her soul and ignited her ire, making things far worse.

“Oh, why won't he shut up?” Disaidun Agripe groaned, for her conscience bothered her a little now; after all, it was she who had brought him to this state.

“But it was necessary,” she told herself to ease the guilt.  “I had to do what I did to survive.  Why couldn't he be a bit more like his half-brother?  Insipid fool brought this misfortune down upon himself because he's less of a man, he’s so weak! “Her face contorted in disgust.

 

                                                                             ~

 

Yesterday, upon her return from her blissful experience with Zunrogo, she had hesitated for a few moments outside the cabin door, just long enough to dishevel her hair, loosen her belt, scratch her shoulders, and rip her bodice slightly, altering her appearance and assuming a tragic countenance.

 Let inside and, finally free (away) from Tizan's prying eyes, Disaidun had then given an incredible performance of a woman who had been both physically and mentally abused.

 

Ceroz Agripe already looked haggard, his face unusually gaunt and pale, and his eyes sunken and bloodshot.  It tore at his heart and ripped his bowels to shreds, nearly driving him to the brink of insanity to hear Disaidun’s embellished accounts of the shameful mauling (pawing, battering) that she had supposedly endured at the hands of that vile, lecherous old official, Luvet. That’s right; not Zunrogo but Luvet, her husband was led to believe, was the supposed sole perpetrator of this grievous sexual assault on his beloved wife Disaidun.

 

04- LUVET

Luvet’d spared her face but not her body, under her garments, she’d claimed, was all black and blue as testament of his ill treatment. She had brazenly offered to show it to him but Ceroz, the fool, trusting in her implicitly, simply taken her at her word.

Ceroz Agripe was further led to believe that, behind Luvet's seemingly benign, quiet disposition lay a calculating, sinister, greedy, licentious, and vindictive villain who had, from the moment he’d laid eyes on Disaidun, lusted after her and from then on shamelessly had striven (endeavored) to possess her.

The convincing story Disaidun fed her husband was wretched enough in itself but her quiet tears, her unspoken insinuations just compounded Ceroz’s already intolerable existence, his unbearable misery. Highly incensed, Ceroz Agripe’d gnashed his teeth, shaken his fist in the air and vowed to exact vengeance on that dog's spawn. 

“He'd make him pay dearly for his vile deeds, enlist the help of his half-brother, Zohuj Kez and his influential friends, if needs be.”

"And how do you propose to survive this present danger?  You know you're powerless to stop him or them."  Disaidun had rebuked him, then relayed to him the information she’d overheard, when they thought she’d passed out, in Luvet’s cabin.

Luvet the mastermind, Ceroz Agripe came to believe, had conspired from the start with Captain Doku, the two assassins, the Imperial guard Tizan and Captain Zunrogo, and the seemingly upright scholar, to intercept in mid-stream a tribute vessel bound for the Capital with its cargo of gold bullion.

The details of this grand larceny had been worked out months in advance, down to the minutest point and, the specific measures needed for smooth transition and the eventual execution, now had been finalized.  Many more were involved in a scheme of this magnitude, including some subversives planted on the targeted vessel. The few expendable passengers/witnesses, like them, were all imprisoned in their cabins, to be dealt with later; their predictable demise, however, would eliminate (eradicate) any possibility of trouble later-on.

Then she reminded her husband how she had wanted to disembark along with the other, lucky passengers when the opportunity had availed itself, when there was still time.

She blamed him, on his short-sightedness, his eagerness to reach his new post, and consequently, for this terrible predicament.

Her ill luck had also been the contributor. She then softening, had exclaimed, looking as though she desperately sought to exonerate at least in part, his guilt, which further endeared her to him, “How wonderful she was; how so very naïve to believe in nonsensical superstition.” Fool that he was, she could read him like a book.

 

05-CEROS AND DISAIDUN AGRIPE

 “Oh, darling husband, what can we do, what can you do to save me?” Once more she had wept unconsolably, heart wrenchingly.  After which, when she, feeling terribly parched, dried her eyes, and asked her husband to fetch her some water from the jug.

Her husband eager to please and to console her had rushed to do her bidding.

 It was at that point in time, when she looking even more dismal (gloomy), robbed him of least hope, by telling him that before she was sent back, she had been told, but was afraid to tell him till then, how the villain Luvet intended to murder Ceroz and the baby and if she did not agree to be his concubine in future, he threatened to sell her into slavery (bondage).

As for the reasons why, she had been sent back, it was simply to allow her to say her final farewells, while they finalized their plan and corrected prior overlooked areas of incongruity (conflict ).

"Oh, dear husband our bliss has been so cruelly cut short; as doomed individuals we are, robbed of ecstasy of growing old together. You’ll never see your son grow up. He’ll never grow up! “Disaidun Agripe had looked at him with hurtful, resigned eyes then burst into loud sobs to once more, wrench his heart.

She’d watched (seen) from the corner of her eye how self-loathing and reproach gnawed at his entrails, how flustered, how sickened at heart he’d suddenly felt, in his dire predicament.

For a brief second, seeing how she had broken him with her words, she had felt the stirring of remorse tugging at her conscience; but she had already resolved in Zunrogo's cabin to carry this ploy through to the bitter end.

"Don't worry, husband," her heart again hardened, she had seized this opportunity to add salt to his open wounds.

 "I will not blame you for what will happen to me in future. As I said earlier, I was born under an unlucky star; it has been my curse my entire life.  I don't see why it should change now.  I'm grateful for this one brief period of happiness you have given me.  It will be one fond memory I will carry with me to my grave."

Then once again Disaidun Agripe had recounted in detail, the shameful episodes with Luvet; at the end of which, she’d thrown herself at her husband’s feet, imploring him to have mercy and, by killing her right there and then, put an end to her torment.

 Of course, Disaidun knew Ceroz was totally incapable of such an act.  It was just one more pummel of guilt, another whack of disgrace, all, fostering chagrin, to further constrict the loop (strap, noose, snare, rope) around her husband’s neck, to sap his honor, his manhood and ultimately, push him over the edge.

Egged on by her pleading the fool had tried, given it his best shot too; to predictably in the end, when, she had started to turn ashen, when her eyes had bulged out only a little and, she had started to emit slight gurgling sounds, he had suddenly broken off his grip on her neck and then, with a horrified look on his face, fallen back.

"I can't go through with it! I'm no murderer." He’d cried out.

 “What did I almost do?” Traumatized Ceroz Agripe had glared hatefully at those still partially clenched, despicable hands that had almost taken the life of his beloved wife.

He had next, burying his face and fallen on his knees, had sobbed hysterically, uncontrollably, like a child.

 

06- DISRAUGHT CEROS AGRIPE

Disaidun Agripe, her senses restored to norm, though inwardly sullen, going over, had murmured her encouragement. "It’s all right, dear.  You did nothing wrong. I asked you to; I made you do it. You are not to be blamed. You are a good man; you always were.  We’ll be all right."  She'd then sobbed inconsolably as she cradled him and rocked his head soothingly in her arms.  "Please don't cry.”

 Drying her tears, she’d then to further shame him, promised resolutely, “You need not try, dear; I’ll find the strength somehow for us both and, avenge this wrong. This time I'll find it in myself too..."  She did not have to complete her sentence, for he had understood (grasped) her meaning. 

Disaidun would rather end her own life by throwing herself into the cold river and perishing in the watery grave, than suffer further shame. 

Her strong determination only belittled him further, robbing what little bit of humanity was left within him.  He felt smaller than a maggot, slime, a piece of offal.

 

 

                                                                              ~

 

 

(END OF SECTION 32)

 LEGEND OF NEVETSECNUAC - ON THE WAY TO THE CAPITAL - SECTION 31

Had Disaidun Agripe known what really was at stake, how many conditions were to be added to the end of his statement, she would have (fled as if her life depended on it) run and kept on running.  Imagining only the best, however, she again thanked him profusely and promised, "Oh, you'll see how appreciative I can be."

01-DISAIDUN AGRIPE JP 23

Then she remembered the other condition and asked. "What was the second thing you wished me to do?"

"Oh, nothing particularly hard.” he smiled.  "You know the situation we face."

 He waited to hear her answer, then gave an entirely different account as to the reasons behind the anticipated, armed assault.

There were just two grains of truth in this fiction (story) he fed her: one, the foe in the pursuing vessel was fast gaining on them and two, the expected engagement would be at noon of the following day as soon as the fog had lifted.

 "Your part in all of this will be is, to guard the entrance to the cabins on the lower decks, when the assault starts.  You will be, of course, positioned behind a strong, impenetrable barricade and though it is highly doubtful that anyone could break through, in the likelihood that they do, it will be your responsibility to intercept (block) them."

"It is then my task to protect the Scholar Norek," she strove to impress Zunrogo but was met with a blank stare.

Disaidun Agripe obviously had no inkling of the scholar's importance or his identity.  "Why do you ask?"  He was curious to find out how she arrived at her notion.

Her answer was expectedly, tritely dull.  "Oh, I’d just overheard Captain Doku whispering something about him to another shipmate.  The rest of their conversation, beyond his name, was incomprehensible, I’m afraid.  I have also noticed how vigilant you and that big fellow Tizan are in guarding him.  I don't wish to pry (meddle), but is Norek's life in danger from these pursuers?"  She still pushed, even though she knew better.

 

"Let’s just say that his work is highly controversial and offensive to some crude individuals, whose ill-breeding overhaul (outstrip) their aesthetic sense." Zunrogo brushed her question away, with a wave of his hand.

Disaidun Agripe did not buy any of this but wisely desisted pursuing the matter. “There will be ample time in future, to understand his reasons for this deception.” She falsely believed.

"Of course, you must be armed.  Are you adept (capable) in handling swords, and also, the crossbow?  Perhaps you may prefer a machete or an axe at close quarters."

"I have been trained in all of them." she boasted.  "I will use whatever you think is best."

"I think the crossbow will be more ideal in stopping those, capable enough to breach the barricade.  You can also utilize a knife, if it’s warranted, in such close quarters."

"And what of the other entrance?" she asked, trying to impress him.

When Zunrogo looked at her sharply she beamed, sure she had one up on him, "The secret passage, behind the bookcase, in Captain's cabin?"

But Zunrogo robbed her of any further satisfaction when he laughed knowingly and nodded, "You are a resourceful girl, aren't you?"

 Meeting his stern gaze, she abashed, cast her eyes down. As Disaidun Agripe indulged herself in the luxury of self-reproach, incensed Zunrogo, made a mental note to have Tizan take care of that crucial detail that had escaped them both.

"You need not worry about that secret passage.  It has long been secured well and proper."  He lied, after his prolonged scrutiny of her.

Her cheeks had flushed crimson (cherry red) under his burning stare but, even though all her senses were alerting her, she chose to believe otherwise.

 

Zunrogo could now afford to be magnanimous.

"Good.", he finally broke his silence. His eyes were unmistakably soft and affectionate, at odds with his cold, forced smile. 

"Then I would say for now, our business is concluded."  Nevertheless, he remained reluctant to dismiss her outright.

His mixed signals made her shift uneasily into her seat.  Disaidun did not wish to go either; furthermore, she hoped that he would ask her to stay.  Her worst fear was that he would reject her.

She watched him rising to his feet, and after fetching the jug on the night table, (which was set aside for him to indulge in just before sleep,) breaking the seal then pouring himself a cupful. It gladdened her heart, when he took the trouble to pour on for her as well, and then quietly (in silence) placed one of the cups on the table in front of her.

His burrowing (investigating) eyes were fixed on her, as they drank their alcoholic brew (beverage, draft) in long prolonged sips, his expression all the while, frustratingly unreadable.

By now Disaidun Agripe was on the brink of letting her passion explode.

Zunrogo looking away, smiled knowingly, and after another sip, simply put his cup down and slightly leaned forward.

"Perhaps we can now talk of more pleasant things." He said softly as his hand reaching forward, his fingers lightly tapped (pat) the top of her hand; Zunrogo’s implied suggestion, stole her breath away.

02- ZUNROGO TUGO JP 5

 Disaidun did not pull her hand away, nor did she reject him when he next took her hand into his and this time, gently squeezed it; instead, she shut her eyes and let the thrilling, warm sensation envelop her (swathe her). She told herself that she had longed for this moment from the instant she had laid eyes on him, that she was a willing participant in whatever he desired and that, whole-heartedly, she also desired him.

 

                                                                                ~

 

When the fervent, immoral interlude was over, Disaidun Agripe beamed in delight, truly believing Zunrogo's affections had come straight from his heart.  She may have suspected otherwise had he tried to steal the letter from her bodice and, had he done so, she was not altogether certain she could have found the strength to refuse him.  Fortunately, he had made no such attempt.

 

Tizan, when he was now escorting her back to her cabin, masking his umbrage, had remained surprisingly civil in his treatment of her. 

 

Of course earlier while she’d slept peacefully in Captain’s bed, Tizan summoned to Zunrogo’s presence, in the next room were summarily briefed about the slight changes in their plan: that furthermore, Disaidun Agripe (Miss Jepipi), had now been temporarily recruited to (abridge, fill-in) secure the gap in their defenses created by Frastos and Briac's absences and, even though her contribution was negligible (insignificant) at best, it was nonetheless necessary.

Tizan had also been (commanded) ordered to say nothing, to run no interference, but to keep her under scrutiny (a watch) as she waved her net of deception over her husband and set the wheels of (destiny) destruction in motion.

 

                                                                                 ~

 

Once the secret entrance from the deceased Captain Doku's quarters had been effectively barricaded from within, Zunrogo quickly climbed above deck to assess the work Tizan had completed. 

He smiled in satisfaction, seeing that all the traps had been properly set in the key positions according to his exact specifications and that the fortifications on deck were all solidly reinforced to encompass the required parameters of stress.

That afternoon, both Zunrogo and Tizan, furthermore, had jointly concluded the last leg of the preparations by erecting below decks the barricade that would be Disaidun Agripe’s (Miss Jepipi's) duty to defend, leaving only one passage that would be sealed later from the inside. 

                                                                                          ~

 

Now that all the necessary preparations were concluded (finished, done) and the vessel had been made completely battle-ready, Zunrogo next went to the mast and, as Doku (had he been alive,) would have done at this point, hoisted the red flag with the single white star enclosed within an equilateral diamond.  Their pursuers would interpret this, as the “all clear” signal that they have been expecting.

As they watched the pennant hanging limp in the mist, Zunrogo took a few moments to update (apprise) Tizan of another revision to his prior plan; that, he intended on apprehending the culprit Lance Diostin alive, but gave no explanation, whatsoever, for the reason for this last-minute amendment.

 The outcome of the battle would determine whether-or-not, Zunrogo could risk taking his Lieutenant Tizan into total confidence; it was still too early for him to expose his actual intentions, should Tizan prove unworthy or, was somehow captured.

03- -TZAN JP

Tizan, of course, sensing that there was more at stake here than met the eye but, at the same time, knowing it would be fruitless to press Zunrogo for answers, remained reticent (taciturn, quiet). Tizan was confident that, even if in future Zunrogo didn’t oblige him with an apt answer, he could still, with his resourcefulness, resolve this mystery.

 

(END OF SECTION 31)