Ficlets

Interesting Companions

“The vinegar solution enables the free flow of quintessence energy through stacks of silver and copper plates contained in the core. Testing has shown me that a dangerous amount of energy can be produced.â€? Anso blushed, withholding his accident at the monastery.

“What of your crew?â€? he asked. “Why do they serve you so faithfully? Where are they from?â€?

She poured us both another full cup of wine. “They owe me their lives. Well, they owe my brother their lives.â€? She paused to gulp the wine down with gusto. “They came from a village in the eastern expanse of the Osman Empire, somewhere along the Black Sea. The Sultan decided he needed the land for some strategic reason or other and had them wiped out.â€?

“The whole village was set to fire. The Turks claimed that they were devil worshippers, and drove them into the sea.â€? Lucrezia’s facade softened as she told her story, she seemed almost to care for these men. “My brother Cesare found these survivors washed up on the shores of the Adriatic three years ago.â€?

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