Argosy of Blood, Chapter 1

Valerius is a mercenary travelling to Messantia looking for work. He finds Hessan, the Zingaran pirate, on the beach in the wreckage of a ship after a storm and helps him out. They get involved in a dispute with an Ophirian merchant named Timura over salvage of the wreckage. Chicanery ensues and the merchant and his two guards are soon dead on the beach with the merchant's slaves running away. Valerius and Hessan gather the wreckage of the ship, they have appropriated the wagon, cargo, and personal effects of the merchant.

The pair not only has salvaged several large amphorae of Zingarian Wine, but to their surprise they discover the merchant's cargo is Zamoran Silver Lotus Powder, a powerful and lucrative narcotic, hidden inside bags of grain and bound for delivery to the Tethys thieve's guild in Messantia. They take their booty to a nearby village, where they encounter a temple to the cult of Derketa, dedicated to the service of visiting sailors in port. The priestesses of Derketa instruct Velerius and Hessan in the proper use of Zamoran Silver Lotus Powder, burning it in incense braziers and inhaling the fumes. The new friends enjoy the fruits of their labors in the form of a narcotic orgy of wine, women, and mind-altering substances.

They wake the next day on the wagon they appropriated from the Ophirian merchant, stripped of all the wine and powder, with naught but their clothing and equipment on their backs. They are disoriented and groggy from the previous night's festivities. Hessan soon gathers his bearings and recognizes their location along the coast. He knows of a secret pirate cove known only to his pirate band of his now lost ship. They could find shelter and supplies.

They descend the secret stairs to the lair and enter the secret cave, only to discover the lair already occupied by a rival pirate ship!

To Be Continued...