The man who killed your mother.

You can feel the hair on the back of your neck stand on end when you realize just who this man is. You had only heard descriptions of him until now. A one-eyed man with both charm and confidence, donning black leather, a light fur cape held around his neck by a heavy silver chain with a medallion clasp of a wolf with a gleaming red ruby for its eye. Clenching your fists, you slowly rose to your feet while glaring daggers at the man.

The man, unfazed by your threatening glare, gives you a disgustingly charming smile and bows, “Your majesty,” he speaks, in this your first face-to-face interaction, as if you have no reason to hate him. “Forgive my manners for attending your party without a formal invitation. I am Captain Aristidis Mutos of the Silver Fangs.” Mutos then turns to the two men standing behind him, “And of course, my compatriots, Eftichios Nassos and Kostas Rodia.”

Much like Mutos, you recognize the two men from their description. Nassos is a burly bald man covered in burn scars dressed in the armor of a servant of Ares complete with shield and sword, while Rodias has a long slender face and armed only with a pair of slim daggers. The men seemed to be polar opposites of each other as far as personality went. Nassos has an uncomfortably broad smile when he runs his hungry eyes over your body, while Rodia lips a drawn tightly and constantly scans the tent with a grim look in his narrow eyes.

Mutos returns all the attention back to you, “Of course you already knew that, didn’t you lass,” his voice is calm and smooth like fish oil, “I’m sorry for your loss. She put up a good fight.”

Ever since the merchants arrived, you have been trying to hold in your temper and were succeeding until the man who killed your mother arrived. Since then, your anger has slowly been boiling up, but still, you are able to hold it in check. It isn’t until he makes this sincere sounding apology that you finally lose it.

You let out a loud scream that could be heard echoing through the tent before leaping over the table. However, even before you land, your guards have grabbed you by the arms and pulle you back. “You dare show your face here!” you howl with tears in your eyes, “I’m going to fucking kill you!” The trio try their best to look nonplussed, but you do not miss the surprised backward step Aristidis took or the way his hand jerks towards the hilt of his sword. Nassos is the quickest to react, and step between you and the target of your hatred.

“Oh, she is a fiery one,” his burnt face looks even more hideous when he laughs. “Go ahead,” He tells the two Amazons guards holding you back. “Let her go. I want to see what kind of fight she has.”

“Nassos, control your blood-lust,” Rodia voice sounds like a serpent's hiss, “This is neither the time nor the place.

Mutos rolls his remaining eye and shrugs off his advisor before lifting a cup of wine from a nearby table and sipping at it as casually as possible. “Honestly, your Majesty. Don’t you think you are overreacting?” by the time he sets the goblet back he seems as cool and urbane as ever. "We were at war, it was her or me, and the Gods chose her. Besides, you know that warlords, like mercenaries, have notoriously short life spans. I expect that you will meet a similar fate one day.”

“Sooner than she expects if she doesn't watch her words, ” adds Rodia giving you a threatening glare.

You growl at the man struggling to pull free of the Amazon's grip so that you may strangle Mutos. However, despite your almost god-like strength, you are unable to break free of your Sister's grip. As you growl and curse at the man, the Grand Marshall steps in to try to defuse the situation.

“Enough of this!” he commands in a firm voice, “Mutos, state your business and then be gone. You are not welcome here.”

Mutos smiles at the Marshall and bowed, “As you wish, ” he then turns to you. “Queen Xira, I have come because word has reached my ears that you are searching for the necessary parts for your ram ship.”

“Aye, a few thick logs and a hard ram.” Nassos quips with a large smile on his disfigured face, apparently pleased with his crude innuendo.

You are about to tell the large man where he could shove his logs when out of the corner of your eye, you notice Laoda pressing her hand against Ceno’s chest before he could charge the man. You couldn’t help but feel a little flustered at how protective the young Prince was of you but also a little worried he might attract unwanted speculation with his actions.

Just as you feared, as you turn your angry gaze back to Mutos, you could see that he is considering the young prince out of the corner of his good eye with newfound interest.

Mutos clears his throat, “Yes, as my companion so…elegantly exclaimed, ” Mutos glared back at Nassos, who just shrugs before gulping down a glass of wine as if it were mead. “We are aware of what you need, ” Mutos continues, “More importantly, we have what you need.”

You cocked your head upon hearing this. Just what was this man trying to pull? You think to yourself. You decided to remain silent as the man explains.

“As you may or may not be aware, ” he is clearly enjoying being the center of attention, “After our battle in Elaina, our fleet took a massive amount of damage. So much so that we had to scrap many of our ships and convert them into something a little more useful. Namely, the siege engines that we are currently using to clear our section of the walls. As fate would have it, we actually have an abundance of seasoned hardwood and even a ram that would fit perfectly on your ship.”

You narrow your eyes, “What’s the catch? ” you almost hiss out.

Mutos shrugs, “No catch. We have a vested interest in the taking of Athenapolis, just as you do, and your fleet breaking the river gate is a vital part of achieving this. All we ask is that you pay our price.”

“Which is?” you ask through clenched teeth.

“Remove the bounty you placed on our heads.” His gaze sweeps across the group of assembled Amazons before him. “Swear by Ares that your warriors will not attack our flank as we take the city together.”