The Duchess quickly grew bored with her newest captive. The girl alternated between trying to put on a show of bravely ignoring her and begging for her release. But the blubbering and begging was mundane and pitiful. Any threat seemed to scare the half-breed, making threatening her not worth the effort. Poisoning her mind proved immensely entertaining, though. It had only taken a few hints about how careless Alwyn had been to gain a small tantrum where she stomped her foot and declared, "I didn't like him from the start."

After some coaxing, Suzette told a surprisingly entertaining tale of how she had first met the Lord of Summer, complete with his insults and clumsy attempts to order her into his bed. Midnight had asked her to repeat that part three times, digging forth every word and detail of the encounter that had nearly started a war with the mortal realm. But of course, the Hound had saved Alwyn from the embarrassment of having his newly grown embassy chopped down by a horde of mortal lumberjacks armed with axes of cold iron.

And the stories of "Bob" the nobody had her doubling over in laughter. "He thought he was so smart, fooling us all the time, but it was easy to see through the illusion. None of us said anything on account of Baron William does the same thing when he wants to go slumming and drinking beer with some of the workers. It went on for months, him choking down mortal beer and me charging him ten times as much as it was worth. And he got confused with money a lot, paying in gold, not silver. So, of course, we was happy to see him and call him Bob."

In only a week, though, Duchess Midnight had heard all of the tales of Bob and had them written into a book by one of her blind scribes. She had forgiven the man his countless chuckles and outright laughter. Laughing at Alwyn was going to the newest rage at court next season. After that, the novelty of her captive wore off, as it had with all of her captives. When word came that the Dire Beasts were soon giving birth, she forgot about the girl entirely. Dire Beasts were very picky about which whelps they allowed to mature. Often, an entire litter was judged unfit, and the newborns were forced to run clumsily away from their mothers before the whole pack hunted them down. It was something she never wanted to miss.

========

Suzette waited as long as she could before trying to escape. She could only judge time by how hungry she became. She ate only when her stomach began to growl and counted every six muffins as a day. Her captor's visits became less and less as she ran out of Bob Stories to tell her. At some point, she quit coming to talk. Considering the time difference, Suzette had expected it at some point. For her, it was a month, but outside, only twelve hours passed. After eating over twenty muffins, she decided it was time to try and venture out of her cage. At least she could find a different book to read!

Surprisingly, the books for children of Fae Lords had proven interesting after she worked out how the runes were used and learned some of the language. A copy of "My First Book of Runes" and "Stupid Fae Stuff for Dummies" was helpful. She had no idea what the book titles were, but she felt her names summed them up appropriately. They were illuminated with numerous pictures hand-drawn in vibrant inks. Armed with the rudimentary knowledge, she was hoping to use her forced confinement to use. What if it took Ben a week to get Ozzy back here? That was half a year stuck in a birdcage.

The staff was leaning in a corner, far out of reach, and there wasn't a use for it right now. The crazy fae bitch had laughed at her other magical items and dismissed them as trinkets. And, probably, she was right. Almost. She didn't need them; what she needed was her dogs. When she had first gained the spell to summon the two hounds, they had been magical constructs that guarded her. But over time, they had begun to act more and more like real dogs, demanding attention from her and sleeping near her. To anyone else, they were a shadow. Ozzy had tried to pet them with no success, although when he summoned a shark, the dogs happily chased it around the room for as long as he concentrated on it. Smoke and Shadow had things in common.

Carefully releasing the spell, she held her breath, expecting someone to rush in or alarms to blare. Neither happened. She let the dogs explore the room, watching where they went. They didn't like the area by the desk and refused to go near the door. One bookshelf made them shy away. Knowing where to look, Suzette memorized the locations of where she thought the traps were. The next test was a book. She had them bring another book from the low shelf from which the Duchess had pulled the primers. Each dog grabbed something and trotted over to her. The first book showed pictures of birds and monsters with wings. Each had a name and entry under it. She understood one rune in ten. The next book held fairy tales. She recognized several. The words were easier, and she had clues. "Good job boys. I owe you each a treat." She petted her dogs through the cage, sent them back to wherever they came from, and began to read.

=========

Two days after he last saw Suzette, Ben and Mudhead thundered through the gates of Gadobhra and past the ACME building, seeking a Captain of the Smoke who was currently fighting with a gigantic, fire-breathing goat. At Elite Level 13, Charcoal Muncher was a challenge for Ozzy, but he was ideally adapted to dealing with it and had yelled for everyone else to back off. The goat had a nasty charge, but its worst ability was its breath. It smelled like sulfur and rotten fish, and the flames it breathed out couldn't be extinguished and slowly burned a person to a crispy corpse. Fire Resistance cut down on the damage done, and Ozzy had a lot of that.

Accompanying Ben were Alwyn and Prince Bertram, The Knight Equinus. His mount's special abilities had wrapped the party in an aura that increased their speed but, more importantly, let them pass through foes unseen. Several groups of confused bandits and ogres would go hungry and wonder how a group of horses had ridden past their ambushes. Bertram was enthralled as they rode up to the group of workers and farmers, watching the fight. All knights longed for this type of fight, and part of him secretly hoped the mortal might fall and give him a chance at the monster. As soon as he thought it, he buried the notion as unworthy. He'd have to find out if such beasts were common in the area and find his own.

Ozzy had stopped Charcoal Muncher's charge, grasping the goat by the horns and weathering its weak kicks and devastating fire. Sensing that its fire had little effect on its foe, the goat opened wide and prepared to take a bite of the Butcher, even if he wasn't fully cooked. Ozzy took advantage of the opening and blew a torrent of smoke from his mouth that turned into a school of small sharks that swam into the goat's mouth and down into its large belly. Wide, pain-filled eyes attested to the effectiveness of the attack, and the panicked beast reared and threw Ozzy over the top of its head. Choking and coughing, the goat managed to breathe out the sharks, who latched onto its rear legs and tail, chewing away happily. Charcoal Muncher turned and prepared to charge, only to find the Butcher already doing so. The head of his polearm hit solidly in the beast's chest, splitting the wishbone and making a mess of its lungs. Unsteady on its legs, Ozzy pushed it to the ground with his weapon and held it there.

"Everybody who wants to, come give the thing a hearty whack. Make sure you do damage. Give the youngsters the first shots."

A dozen teenage butchers from the Hamlets raced up to hit the monster with large cleavers before giving others a turn. Fifty whacks later, the beast died, distributing bonuses to all involved in the fight. Ozzy turned to Ben, who was riding forward.

"You're back. Did things go well?" From Ben's expression, they hadn't.

"Do you remember taking with a Fae Lady right after you returned from the Smoke?"

"Yeah, as soon as I got off the boat. Suzette said she calls herself Selma when she hangs out with Bob. She wanted to do business, but she never came back. You're going to tell me something I don't want to hear, aren't you."

Ozzy could tell Ben was angry. Very angry. "She played us for fools. She acted like she was a friend of Alwyn's but later used fancy words to claim that she didn't have to let Suzette go. The other Fae Lords agreed, even if they weren't happy. She's treating Suzy as a guest and can't hurt her, but she can't leave. Alwyn and I have figured out what has made her so angry. He made a deal with Woodrat and Billy, setting up trade agreements. Duchess Midnight doesn't know there was more than one Captain on that ship. She told Alwyn that she talked to you first and has accused him of breaking some rules. She thinks you blew off the deal, or Alwyn took advantage of you. Either way, she knows you and Suzette have a relationship, and that made Suzette a pawn in her little power play."

"And let me guess, she wants to talk to me and make a deal before she lets Suzette go. Shit, and I was just getting caught up with all my work. Now I have to do business with some crazy elf."

Ben watched Ozzy closely. The Butcher's hands were clenched into fists, breathing hard. That wasn't a good sign, but they had a long ride for him to cool off. Ozzy was more dangerous after he turned his anger into a grudge. The Butcher turned and picked up his bag. "Fine. Let's rescue my girl. If some bitch wants a deal, I'll make her a deal."

Ben pointed to the two Fae Lords. "We have an escort, and I have some ideas about what you might offer her. Rolly's coming too; he and Squirmie will be here soon, and Prince Bertram said he could summon a mount that would hold you. He's pretty solid and wants us just to call him Bert when he's in town."

"Indeed, it's refreshing to dispense with titles and nonsense when on campaign. I enjoyed your battle with the monstrous beast. Bob tells me that these enchanted lands spawn such often?" He'd dismounted his horse and offered the Butcher his hand. Ozzy shook it politely.

"Yep. We clear the stockyards as much as possible, and something nasty shows up most nights, but you never know what."

Bert looked thoughtful. "Bob has told me something of his apprenticeship under your tutelage, learning to dress game and prepare the meat for feasts. With the bonus of fighting such creatures, his sudden interest in hard work is explained." He clapped Bob on the back, staggering him. "I travel in good company with stout warriors. I shame we can't tarry; I'm sure this land has more secrets to reveal."

Ben looked up. "Oh, you have no idea how true that is."

A massive winged shadow passed over the group. Butchers and farmers ran to take cover in the Butcher's guild or hid behind anything they could find. The creatures in the stockyards crouched and huddled in tight groups against the fences, and a group of huge two-headed bison broke out and stampeded for the Beast Woods. Prince Bertram's eyes grew huge, and he went to pull his sword, but Bob stayed his hand. The two stood very still as a creature the size of four elephants landed gently in front of them.

The sphynx was looking good; Adrianna had been out just that day to do her hair and ribbons. Rolly leaped from her back, and Ben handled the introductions. "My lords of the Fae, I am pleased to introduce you to Princess Sahkmet of Aethiopia. Princess, before you are Lord Alwyn of Summer, who you have graciously let hunt your lands. Accompanying him is Prince Bertrand, the Knight Equinus. We shall be traveling together if they meet your approval."

Both Alwyn and Bertrand bowed deeply. This was old Royalty before them, of the type that devastated cities when displeased.

She prowled around them in a circle, then nodded. "I approve of them. Do the two of you enjoy riddles?"