Debt's owed must be payed

With Galeon at your side, you approach the fight acting as a spectator but your true intention is to interfere before it is too late. There is no way you are going to let this young Amazon queen be raped by some sleazy mercenary captain with no respect for the contract he was serving under. Long ago your father King Achilles taught you that mercenaries switch sides as easily as the moon changes phase if they believe they are on the loosing side or think they'll have an easier time enriching their lives with gold plunder and slaves, but this Captain and his company of cut-throats has a particularly bad reputation for cruelty and greed. Normally you would not pick a side in a personal feud, even in a case like this where it is clear who the more worthy combatant is, but you owe the young Queen of Accor's late mother a debt.

The Amazon queen evacuated your wounded after a mission to sabotage a key Persian port town went disastrously wrong. Your men succeeded in destroying a good part of the stockpiled supplies before the trap was sprung; both steep roads leading down to the waterfront stockyard were suddenly filled with Achaemenid warriors pinning you between them and the docks. Over night, you lost almost a third of your warriors as they were steadily forced back until even you were starting to lose hope. No matter how many of the Persians you killed it wasn't enough; it seemed like for each man you cut down, two more stepped in constantly driving you and your troops back. You later learned that the entire operation had been a trap set to capture you, but at the time you couldn't understand how everything could go so wrong.

You get closer to the fight watching closely to gauge the skill of both warriors and start to hear why this is personal. Nassos' men are hooting and hollering for their commander to put the young queen on her back and breed her like a bitch, while the warrior-queen's companions screaming for their leader to avenge her mother's death. The grim-faced warrior-women of Accor are yelling encouragement but you sense a desperation in their fierce cries. It doesn't look at all good for their beautiful queen.

The battered Amazon rises slowly to her knees, using the tip of her sword thrust into the ground to lift herself up. She brushes the fresh blood dripping from her brow and glares up at the squat man who is thrusting his hips back and forth crudely. If Nassos had wanted to, he could have ended the duel then and there, but like a tomcat playing with a limping mouse, this man wants to humiliate his opponent, not just defeat her. As she glares at the man defiantly, Nassos smirks and press the tip of his blade under her chin.

“Do you surrender Lass?” he asks in a rough voice as he forces her to look at him. “If you beg real pretty, I might be persuaded to be gentle with you.” His men roar in laughter as if the idea of him being gentle with a woman was the funniest thing they had ever heard. You hear a rumble of anger coming from many of your troops who had gathered to watch the spectacle, even the assembled men and women from Athenapolis and the United Armies look displeased by the success of the veteran mercenary.

Growling the young woman strikes the blade away from her chin with her gauntlet and even takes a swing at Nassos with her sword, but the burley man steps into her swing blocking the weak swing by grabbing her wrist. He then knees her in the gut causing her to stumble and fall onto her back.

As Nassos approaches the wounded queen, he lets out a deep-bellied laugh, “You are as stubborn as your mother and just as easy to provoke into foolish mistakes, cunt.” He grabs one of her legs and snaps off the greave that covers her lower leg with practiced ease. “I love the way Amazon armor comes off, it makes it so much easier once you get these bitches on the ground.” Nassos announces to the onlookers as he reaches for the other kicking leg. “I’m gonna take you right here in front of your lezzie Sisters so they can see how a real man fucks, and if I'm not satisfied with your tight little cunt, I'll toss them your head.”

You see the rage building in the young queen's eyes, especially at the mention of her mother and you decide to step in and end this when suddenly the warrior woman gets both her bare legs into the man’s gut and with a guttural cry kicks him hard enough to force him back knocking the wind out of him. To your right, the Amazons let out a loud cheer as their queen staggers to feet once more tightly grasping the hilt of her sword.

“The only head that will fly today will be yours,” she growls, ready to face him once more.

The Amazon's bravery and determination reminds you once again of her mother, Queen Hyphiroe of Accor to whom you owe more than you could ever pay. With the Persians controlling the cliffs above and both winding roads down to the small port below there was no escape for your force of almost one-hundred fighting men and women. It was only a matter of time before their forces would overwhelm your badly outnumbered troops. The fleet of galleys skimming across the bay waters with the break of the new day was one of the most spectacular sights you have ever witnessed. While some of the galleys turned their attention to the heavily laden ships anchored in the quiet bay, three others braved the hail of arrows from the cliffs above to pull alongside the wharfs where your wounded could be lowered onto their already crowded decks. Seeing his target escaping caused the Persian general to lunch one final push, this time spearheaded by a force of immortals who fought their way all the way to the very dock where you and five others were buying time to complete the desperate evacuation.

In the end only you survived this last stand and that was only because of your adopted father's friend and loyal officer. Captain Pendas was already dying from injuries when he stood by your side with the other four hoplites and was still standing when the other men were struck down one by one. From behind you came the cries of your men imploring you to join them on the last galley but you ordered them away from the grappling hooks that were already trying to hook the overloaded galley. Only once the boat was safely free of the dock did you turn to Captain Pendas and salute the veteran hoplite with a bloody grin.

“Let's finish this together and make my father proud.” You had told the man as you turned to face the angry mob who had been cheated of their prize. However, instead of letting you die or be captured, Pendas slammed into you from the side knocking you off the wharf into the deep waters below. You can only guess that he hoped to spare you the slow death you would have faced in the Achaemenid dungeons, but instead of drowning you were dragged by the sea currents to a small encampment north of the battle and washed up barely alive on a secluded beach. You were found by a trio of women bathing in the gentle waves and taken to a hidden hospital where your wounds were treated by none other than Princess Artistaene. The Persian emperor's own daughter was only two years your senior, but she had a poise that left a lasting impact.

The Persian Princess seemed to be treating the wounded civilians caught in the middle of the opposing forces of the war. The beautiful princess had made it her mission to alleviate the horrors of war. Not only did she and her handmaidens treat the elderly, children and sick and shelter refugees forced from their homes but she tended to wounded fighters of both sides, caring for you personally even after learning of your identity. She asked only you to not alert either side of the conflict of her makeshift hospital. The kindness she showed you taught the lesson that not every enemy is without honor and that for all the glory of battle for warriors, there is pain and hardship suffered by the common folk. This was the first time you saw this aspect of war and by the time you were healed enough to leave her encampment, you had a pretty serious crush on the exotic Lady. Perhaps you are trying to emulate her in Athenapolis what she had done years ago outside that small Persian port.

You snap back to the present due to a shift in the crowd's emotions who fall silent as the Amazon queen stands over Captain Nassos, her chestplate rising and falling rapidly as she tries to catch her breath. Lost in your memories you missed how she went from losing badly to a hard-fought victory but noted that it was due to the mercenary Captain's arrogance and the sheer stubbornness of the Amazon Queen. Nassos, knowing what is coming next, lets out a weak laugh:

“It’s a shame, I would have loved to see if your screams were as sweet as your mother's.” You can see raged-filled tears in the young Queen’s eyes. “Your mother had such a lovely scream.” The arrogant bastard of a man smiles wickedly, apparently content to die but wanting to get in one last barb before his end. You consider stepping in to keep the woman from killing the defeated man in cold blood but Galeon holds you back and it ends as the trembling Amazon grasps the hilt of her blade in both of her hands.

“Then my scream WILL BE THE LAST THING YOU HEAR!!!” she yells and just as she promised she lets out a bloodcurdling shriek before cutting off his head with one quick swing of her blade.