A body of mounted scouts was already close by, not more than a couple of hours away. A dozens of galleys remained in the captured port town, the appro...ching men were a fraction of their remaining strength in the town. The approaching northern lords' army was nearly in place to control the junction of the main east-west road, which ran the length of the island and separated the approaching foes from their ships.The Port Admiral's men had stopped for the night in the village we'd liberated. Lord. . Excuse me?"The old man laughed. You'd laugh now, knowing what this thing is capable of. But at the time you didn't believe it."Take it. Free of charge," the old man told you.You didn't want to give up something free, especially if this was real silver, so you accepted the offer. That was several days ago. Since then, you've learned he wasn't lying. You made someone stuck in a funny pose. You made someone sneeze. Anything really did seem possible. You started to think about all the people. A moment later his door is thrown open. “Master Sternigan!” the woman standing in the doorway blurts out. “We’re under attack!”“By whom?” he asks calmly as he begins dressing.“Not sure yet, sir,” she says. “But the uniforms suggest that it’s the Black Dragon.”“Natalya ... you bitch...” he says under his breath.“And sir, there’s more...”“As there usually is...” the man says sarcastically. “Go on,” he says a moment later when the woman looks at him with a puzzled look on his face.“They have some. ’ ‘ You may want to be saved from the evil but your salvation is even beyond my powers, and as for the passion that you speak of that is only a fleeting lust that will bring me no fulfillment.’ ‘ Now I am hurt you know that is not true.’ ‘ I do not!’ ‘ Well you will learn in time my beauty, and I Lucias will be your teacher.’ All that I could do was look into those beautiful blue eyes and feel the heat rise within me. Just as I felt myself fall I could feel his arms catch me and lay me.