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Tale 10 – “Eye of the Basilisk.” – Part 3.

  "Crew has disbanded and all but one debt be paid, Captain." A dirty and foul-smelling pirate named Quentin addressed Pearly with a gold gleam in his brown eyes. "Jus' meself left..." Standing upright with his skinny and slimy hand on his pistol handle, Quentin looked over the older voluptuous Pearly. "...Though me shouldn't be call'n you Captain, see'n you ain't gots a boat as it were."

  Easily double Quentin's age, Pearly was more concerned about the subtle gesture that her former first mate had just made with his hands, rather than the idea of Pearly paying off her final debt with sex. Regretting the choice to meet Quentin in an unused alley, Pearly kept her doubts in check. "Your gold is safe. Go to the barkeep for your letter. There be instructions for yer gold." Pearly took two steps back and with a swift motion, drew her pearl-infused pistol with the hammer locked in pce before Quentin had the chance to move. "Now then. You have two choices. A bullet, or live another day and get your pay. What do you, say?" With her own confident stance, Pearly stood nearly as tall as Quentin. Fshing her pearl-capped teeth, Pearly tightened her finger on the trigger. "Don't even think about revenge. I'm always gonna be faster." An upsurge of wind blew Quentin's scent of sweat, cheap beer and mud across Pearly's nose. With a sigh, she wrinkled her nose. "Take the gold and spend it on a-"

  Intent on using the fortune of the wind and Pearly's reaction as his signal Quentin quickly drew his pistol and managed to pull the trigger. "What the-?"He commented before a shot rang out. Clutching his stomach as he began to bleed all over the stone alleyway, Quentin dropped to his knees and muttered, "How...how..."

  Blowing the bck power smoke from the barrel of her gun, Pearly holstered the weapon and walked off to leave Quentin to his fate. Hastily making her way from the scene, Pearly made it to the edge of town and id low while the town guard responded to Quentin's cry for help.

  Counting time by the movement of the stars and moon, Pearly estimated about an hour in her hiring spot before she stepped out and went in the direction of the town stables.

  Surrounded by the heavy smell of horses and hay, Pearly picked the lock on the gate of the house that belonged to an affluent woman she'd met a few nights ago. "I'm so happy you talk in your sleep, Hannah." Pearly rubbed the front of the horse's head. "It's okay girl, You'll be back home before long, I just need your services for a quick ride." Once the horse was saddled, Pearly reached into one of her pouches and left a small leather pouch full of silver. "Better you than Quentin, lonely Hannah."

  A pair of loud clomping guards interrupted Pearly and quickly started blowing their whistles. "Horse thief!!" One guard screamed as loud as he could. Holding up her hand, the second guard drew her sword. "Halt. You can't..."

  "We'll call it even, Rachael?" Pearly winked at the blushing guard and kicked the horse's fnks and galloped towards the two protectors.

  "Pearly wait.." Rachael tried to protest and then waved at her former lover. "She told me she gave up all of this..." Acting on her rapid heartbeat and favor, Rachael clobbered her fellow guard in the head and watched him hit the ground with a ring from his chain armor. Listening as the sound of hooves faded, Rachael blew a kiss into the night, "I'll tell Hannah ter this evening. I hope she's with it, Pearly."

  Pulsating with pain, the other guard slowly sat up and held his head. "Ungh...ow, what happened?"

  "You tripped, hit your head and blew your whistle, in that order." Rachael lied, "No horse thief, either." She means down and helped get the fellow guard to his feet. "Happens to all of us at some point."

  –

  A few minutes passed by before Pearly came to the realization that she wasn’t being chased by the town guard. Unwilling to drain the horse any further, she pulled on the reins and brought her steed to a cantor.

  Traveling along these particur roads was something that Pearly knew very well, even if she didn’t actually know the names of the various paths that the locals had given them. It was an easy system that she kept, roads were based on direction and time it took to reach the next town and the town was always named for the women she met in said town. “Humm..” She offered and spoke to the horse as though the big animal could understand her clearly. “...We just left Hannah, and are…” Pearly looked at the stars and confirmed she was headed south and right into the arms of a particurly cute redhead whom she affectionately renamed, Lay. “You got it boy, we are headed to Lay, couldn’t very well call her…that..name. So she got Lay..” Pearly ughed and watched her lovely bar maiden appear in her mind. “...for obvious reasons.”

  Lost in thought, Pearly followed the illusion of Lay until she reached the gates of the small town. Coming to a stop before a pair of guards surrounded in torchlight, Pearly smiled and softly looked at the pair with her one dreamy amber eye. “Look at you two.” Pearly winked, “Are you here to escort me around this fine town? Very well, Walk ahead of me and tell me all about this cute pce.”

  One of the guards, clearly smitten with the lovely older pirate, nearly tripped over his feet to walk to her side. “I-I…” He patted his shiny chest pte, “...am Curtis and my companion is Trey. Welcome to Malsend Harbor, ma’am.”

  “Is that where I am?” Pearly jumped down from the horse and handed Trey the reins. “I am simply terrible with names, darling.” She casually pced her hand on Trey’s shoulder. “I am on a delivery for Crow farms.” She looked at Curtis pleadingly. “Tell me I have the right pce.” Pearly promptly pointed out the brand on the horse's back leg. “See here? The little H.C. and the corn stalk? Miss Hannah Crow is coming ter and needs a fresh horse for their holdings…” Pearly looked around as though she were partly confused. “Pray tell me I have the right town.”

  Nodding quickly and stepping in front of his partner, Curtis stood up straight and proud as he spoke, “Ma’am, you have the right pce. Don’t worry, we have a stablehand that can deliver Miss Crow’s horse.”

  With a hefty chuckle, Trey began walking away. “Curtis, I swear.” Shaking his head, Trey gently pulled the horse behind him as he disappeared from view. “I’ll be right back, try not to be too foolish and keep her at the gates until I get back.”

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