CHAPTER 2

“Boss! Boss!! Boss!!!”

“What is it Gryza?” Galdashkeh responded to his pirates’ captain as he adjusted his native wine which was almost pouring from the table.

“Boss Galdashkeh, we have just received a message from the Fortress; they are clear to receive us; the reinforcements have also arrived there”,

“We can take the ship there now to draft further operations”, Gryza reported to his boss, spreading a small letter and a big map on the table.

“Oh well, it seems tonight just keeps getting better and better. We could arrange all the merchandise and prepare them for sale as early as possible” Galdashkeh said, wearing a confident smile on his face as he poured some of his native wine out of the jar into a bowl.

“The merchandise? I thought we had agreed to sell it to our clients over the Mediterranean Sea; they have made payments already,” Gryza interrupted.

“Oh I forgot, then we can just pick up the other merchandise and prepare them for sale to other clients. You know we need money to buy more ships?” Galdashkeh responded.

Gryza, after hearing this, shook his head, facing the ground in dismay.

“What is it Gryza?” Galdashkeh asked curiously. 

“The other merchandise....”

“Yes, what about them?” Galdashkeh asked again from his captain as he raised his bowl to sip some of his wine.

“...They are gone,” Gryza said sorrowfully.

Galdashkeh, hearing the shocking news, spat out his wine out of his mouth suddenly and stained the map Gryza was holding.

“Gone??? Who dares?” Galdashkeh asked angrily as he began lifting himself gently from his seat.

“That bastard, the new captive we've just caught,” Gryza said, his voice almost above whispers.

“You mean that rascal who calls himself the great warrior?” Galdashkeh asked, pointing his fingers to the exit of the room they were in; this time, his face was covered in disgust.

“Yes boss, he attacked our storage house weeks ago and killed all our men. He took all the merchandise and returned them to the owners, the people we stole the goods from” Gryza replied.

“Ha!”

Galdashkeh picked up his jar, poured some of his wine again into his bowl, and sipped it, wearing a reaction of irritation on his face from the bittered liquid he had just taken into his belly. 

“I'm going to make that bastard pay for every damage he has caused.”

“But instead of just killing him, I think there should be something valuable we could do with a rascal like him that can fetch us money. You know? Our goal is not just to go about killing people, we need to make more money.” Galdashkeh said to Gryza.

“I think you're right; we can trade him overseas for some bags of coins. We should be able to see ready buyers who will purchase him as a slave”. Gryza replies, using his fingers to pull his beard.

“That's good thinking Gryza, that's why I made you my loyal captain”. Galdashkeh said, sipping his wine from his bowl.

“But we need to get more goods, more merchandise, more treasures to sell. The last time we stole lots of goods and made our most profit was years ago when we attacked that small village…”

“Malja isn't it?” Gryza intercepted.

“Yes, you're very smart Gryza”.

“But that was many years ago”, Gryza replied to his boss.

“Oh well, that year was the best year of my life, the best highlight the entire Iron Mask pirates ever had, we made so much profit,” Galdashkeh responded as he walked away from his table towards a small window in the room to enjoy the view of the waters splashing as their ship propelled.

“Okay, boss, we will be arriving at the Fortress in no time”, Gryza concluded and packed his map, ready to leave the room.

“Oh, and before I forget!” Gryza said as he turned back. 

“What is it again?” Galdashkeh asked curiously.

“We also caught an old man; he stole one of our treasures a week ago from the storehouses,” Gryza reported.

“Have you killed him?” Galdashkeh asked, his voice laced with authority.

“No, not yet; he seems he would be worth something valuable too. I think we should get to his people and force them to pay a ransom to save his life,” Gryza said, massaging his beard again with his fingers.

“We can kill him after that”.

“Whatever! I want to start making sure I kill any other bastard who tries to steal from us” Galdashkeh said as he faced his view outside the window again.

“So what should we do to our new clients after we sell the merchandise left to those overseas who have paid?” Gryza asked his boss.

“Well, it seems we'll no longer be doing business with the clients overseas who have made payments. We take the merchandise and sell it to our new clients” Galdashkeh replied confidently.

“Okay, so what do we do to the clients who have paid already?” Gryza asked curiously.

Galdashkeh turned his face from his view outside the ship and looked directly into the eyes of Gryza, his captain.

“We kill them all” Galdashkeh said confidently, wearing a villainous smile on his face.

“Yes, boss,” Gryza said as he packed his stuff and left the room. They are about to arrive at the Iron Fortress, the main hideout of the Iron Mask pirate.

Somewhere at the base of the ship, the captives were locked in a cubicle where there was barely any space to sit. They were standing, packed together in the tight room with no light, only a little reflection from the moon.

Some of the captives who saw the scene that happened before they entered the ship began staring at Tydeus wondering how the Iron Mask were able to capture someone as powerful and muscular as him. 

Maybe the rumours about how he killed Apophis, the great beast of the dark world, were all lies. Maybe he just makes things up to scare people.

Suddenly, the prisoners noticed the ship was no longer in motion. From the tight room where they were, they began looking at themselves, will the Iron Mask throw them all into the river and feed them to the beasts of Nile?

They began hearing footsteps coming towards the door from the outside; it seemed they were all about to meet their maker.