Lashar-kai : The Interrogator's Handbook

[UnderTheRedSheep.]

As she considered the past few months Lashar-kai was lost in thought, and she gazed without focus at the rough ceiling. On the table before her the bound man began to wake. The shield had shattered his cheekbone and dropped him senseless to the ground with one blow. His moans were muffled by the cloth gag she had tied around his mouth prior to carrying him to this place, but they were loud enough to snag a corner of her attention. She reached out absent mindedly and patted his cheek as she continued her review of recent events.

She had come to Baldur's Gate several months ago drawn by the opportunity to establish herself in a city again, at least for a while, and continue her research in a more intense manner. It had been several years since she left Waterdeep and as much as following the winds of her whims had been a pleasure, she was ready again for all the things a big city has to offer. She was tired of the road and the complete randomness of events. She was tired of making do at a moments notice, and of getting by with whatever was at hand. It was time she had a laboratory again. Time she turned her full attention to her studies once more.

She walked to the cave mouth and leaned against the cold stone. The ocean in front of her was almost flat, its color as gray and leaden as the sky above. Although she loved the wildness of storms and thrilled to see the angry waters hurled high and battered by howling gales, this was also one of her favorite scenes. The cold calm of a dull gray sea appealed to her. It reflected how she felt for the most of the time when she was not excited or in a rage. She watched how the slow swells rose and fell and felt her breathing slide into rhythm. Behind her the man began to thrash and struggle in earnest against the ropes that held him so tightly.

The city had proven more difficult to get a foothold in than she had expected. She had made discreet inquiries wherever she went, bought information with coin and alcohol, and traded tales of adventure for information on the city and those who held power. She had expected that the aftermath of war and the dire events that had seen a large section of the city in flames last year would provide many opportunities, but so far it had proved quite different. She had found some menial work to do that brought in a little coin, but nothing that promised the kind of money and power that she needed to establish herself as she wanted.

An analogy came to mind and she nodded to herself as she realized how well it fit the current situation. The city was like a giant card game that had been swept to the floor by a brawl. The established order had been upset. Players were scrambling on the floor to pick up old cards or to make off with coin. A new table was being set. There was room for new players if they were clever and quick, and possibly even new rules. She smiled suddenly and licked the salt from her lips.

Things were finally going well. She had been unable to ferret out any information on any undergound organizations that existed in the city. Every city had a Thieves guild or something similar, but her questions had all been deflected or led to dead ends. Perhaps they were in disarray at the moment? Perhaps leadership had been lost in all the troubles? She had finally ventured offshore in attempt to reach the kind of people willing to take shortcuts to wealth, and had met with success in the Roaring Shore. She had formed a fledgling partnership with a man who seemed as resourceful with ideas as he was skilled with a blade. She and Rhicke had found common ground very quickly and Lashar-kai had thrown caution to the winds and grasped his hand in solemn promise. Almost immediately after that she had managed to make arrangements to meet with a crew member of the Sea Wolf, something she had been trying to do for several weeks. Finally things were looking up and her persistence was paying off.

In stark contrast to the present, her first few weeks in Baldur's Gate had been a near disaster. She had moved too quickly. Confident in her power she had attempted to set up a base of operations in the Blade and Stars Inn. She had cowed the innkeeper and several of the regular patrons there with a vicious exhibition of her strength and casual cruelty, and had been given room and board free of charge. Greed had brought all her work undone. She had seen something that she wanted so badly it made her teeth ache, and she had offered herself and all her skills to the man who owned it. She had been sure that he would make a mistake, and ending his existence with a sharp blade in a dark corner would be easy to accomplish. Not only had he obviously been far more formidable than she had accounted for, but the man had outwitted her at every turn and then driven her from the Blade and Stars with a warning that all there were his friends. Anger swept through her and the air around her suddenly filled with the rich smell of burning cedar. She was not finished with him yet and who knows what opportunities may come her way. Nursing her anger she turned back from the cave mouth and closed in on her prisoner.

As she approached the table she pushed back her hood, and the man's eyes bulged with terror when he saw her clearly. A flush of heat ran through her as she saw his response, but she suppressed it. Now was not the time for emotion, now it was time for clinical study. She unrolled a leather bag containing her instruments and selected a small curved blade. She placed it on the table behind his head and untied the gag.

"Please mistress, mercy! Mercy, I beg you! You can take anything you want, anything!"

Around her head the air darkened and thickened like a brooding cloud. When she spoke her voice was as cold as ice and entirely without emotion.

"Mercy? You beg for mercy? You are a bandit. You and your comrade set upon me with the intention to rob and kill. There is no mercy here for you, and rest assured I will take everything I want. First you can tell me where your camp is."

She opened a thick leather notebook on a barrel top next to the table and began to write with a fine quill pen. Subject 105. Intervals between pain for eliciting maximum response. She studied the words for a minute then laid down the quill and picked up the blade. She sliced his tunic down the center and spread the leather wide to expose his pale, quivering belly. As she made the first incisions a tiny frown of concentration creased her brow, and her soft humming wove a deep melody beneath the chorus of his screams.

[UnderTheRedSheep.]

Lashar-kai stood on the bleak, stony coast of the Roaring Shore and watched the sea heave and swell with latent power. She was cloaked and hooded in her usual ebony black, and above her the sky was dull and overcast, in complete contrast to her mood. Rare good humor animated her today, and she chuckled once to herself, mightily pleased with the recent turn of events. The message left for her with Captain Pike had been true. She had finally met with one of the Hellstorm Crew, and right now she was delighted with the way the meeting had unfolded, and with the agreements they had made.

Tamina was the woman's name, and though she did not state her position, rumor in the Broken Goblet had it that she was now First Mate, having relinquished her captaincy to Alistair the Red. She had been expecting a rough and ready, sea-worn and battle-scarred woman with the face and hands of a man, but Tamina was anything but that. She was pretty, stylish, clean and well kept, with decent manners and an easy smile. Lashar could not help but think she was a toy, a plaything for the captain, something to help pass the time on long sea voyages. But the woman had surprised her again. When the cards were down Tamina had shown an unwavering core of steel, and her threats were so casually made that Lashar knew she was not one to underestimate.

Rhicke, the man with whom she had discussed a partnership, had not picked up letters left for him, so in his absence she had pushed ahead with their plans. Tamina had responded decisively to all her questions, and they soon established enough common ground to be able to hammer out an agreement for smuggling of select items to wherever they would earn best profit. Now all she had to do was raise a little more cash and finalize the deal.

Her cloak began to lift and swirl as the onshore winds gusted more strongly. Somewhere just over the horizon a storm was brewing, and Lashar-kai could feel it in her bones. She pushed back her hood with both hands, closed her eyes and tilted her head up to the sky. She quested outward and suddenly her senses were flooded with information on the coming storm. She swayed slightly as in her mind she caressed the shape of it, traced the major air currents and savored the weight of the water held in its grasp. Directly above her head the air began to curdle and darken in response to her reaching. Tiny discharges of energy leaped and sparked around her brow, and on the cliffs above her the men assigned to watch sketched superstitious hand signs to ward off evil.