Sargasso eyed the three dwarves across from him at the table in the military tent. He didn’t know their names. He thought he heard one of them say their name was Darryle; perhaps it was Larryle. He couldn’t remember, and he didn’t care. They sat before him dressed in finery, and he picked them up from a tavern in a village that had escaped his initial wrath. They had been going on to anyone who would listen about a man who blinded them with mere words.

That had always been one of Drake’s favorite tricks. He reserved it for the especially contemptible. If they had any information on his whereabouts, Sargasso needed it yesterday. His sweep had to be clean and fast, or he could forget about breathing, let alone a promotion.

“Gentlemen,” Sargasso crooned, “please tell me your story again from the beginning.”

“We were hunting in the woods,” one of the dwarves huffed indignantly, ashing his pipe into a tray. “We had been doing the hard work of trapping all morning, you see…”

“Yes, why don’t we skip to the part where you lost your sight?”

“There was a man,” whimpered another one of the dwarves, “with hair yellow like straw and eyes blue like the sky in summer…”

Drake! That son of a bitch!.

The bigger dwarf dabbed at his forehead with a handkerchief. “He started talking crazy, then whispered nonsense, and the next thing my brothers and I knew, we were blind.”

“I see. Which forest was this?” Sargasso asked, leaning forward.

“You believe us?” one asked incredulously.

“Yes, now, which forest,” Sargasso asked again impatiently.

“The one right outside of the village of Poppy.”

By the gods, damn him! Sargasso slammed his fist on the table. The three dwarves jumped collectively. The captain had been reasonably sure Drake had been in Poppy since he met with Gaius. Sargasso had eliminated enough of the board to have a good guess. Yet, hearing this confirmed was terrible news. Damn that witch! She had clearly been protecting him in hindsight.

However, that changed little; even if he had known Drake had been there, there was no guarantee he could have won that fight that day against the witch of Poppy. A figure he had come to learn more about in his digging and one he loathed entirely. She would be a problem.

Gaius had said Drake wouldn’t go far, intent on playing house with the first wench he encountered that would have him. Yet, Sargasso hoped Drake had moved on from Poppy, but he had not. That left him with an unpleasant nut to crack.

“Anything else you can remember?” the captain pressed.

“Yeah, he was with a loudmouth goblin woman,” the handsome dwarf spat.

Sargasso smirked. That must be the whore whose bed he had found. What a simple creature. He couldn’t even find a human. Pathetic. The captain did not think highly of love or romance in general. Physical needs were one thing, but the idea of chaining yourself willingly to another person seemed insane. People were so weak they served only one purpose: to be a foothold to the next rung of life.

“Thank you, gentlemen, you have been most…helpful.”

“When you find the bastard, break his teeth for us!” Cried one of the dwarves.

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“Oh, you needn’t worry about him. Rest assured, he will be taken care of.”

“What did he do? Is he a violent criminal?”

“The worst you can imagine,” Sargasso sneered. He stood from the table. The captain wasn’t sure how he would get Drake out of Poppy. He would need an opening of some kind to make it happen. A fair fight didn’t interest him. He wanted an overwhelming advantage. “Sorry about this, by the way,” Sargasso snapped his fingers and pointed at his men standing by the tent wall. The soldiers sprang to life and drew their swords. They menaced the dwarves as they encroached on them.

“What’s happening?” One asked.

He remembered they were blind. “Oh, sorry, I’m killing you now,” the captain added casually.

“But we told you everything we know!” a dwarf cried.

“Exactly, and now you’re a loose end. I can’t have those,” he shook his head.

“But who would believe our story!?”

“I did,” Sargasso said, then exited the military tent. Screams soon followed

***

The good luck the captain had been waiting for had arrived. Knowing the bastard had not left Poppy meant there was no reason to continue his search. Instead, he could now lay low and wait to spring a trap. He had ordered his men to encamp close, but not too close to Poppy to keep an eye on it. This had been a wise choice.

That was how he spotted the trolls first attacking the village. He had thought about piggy packing on the raid with his men. However, the possibility that a troll could squish him was real, and he wasn’t willing to risk it. However, he was willing to watch the carnage from a distance through a telescope. It had been highly entertaining.

The trolls had put on quite a show until the man of the hour had shown up. The captain finally had visual proof the Shadow Drake was in Poppy. Seeing him cut the troll king down made Sargasso’s stomach clench. It had been easy to forget that his prey was no ordinary man. Drake had claws. The captain’s hand tightened around his sword. So do I.

Plus, the truth was that Sargasso was backed against the edge of a cliff. There would be no third chance if he failed to bring Drake back. There was little choice but to stage the fight against the simpleton and win it.

He watched the trolls drag their king and comrades from the village in defeat. Sargasso grinned. Yes, they would make for the perfect distraction. He had seen the entire fight and, in particular, had noticed that the witch needed Drake’s help to beat the trolls. If he could set the trolls on the village under the orders of his men, he could take the rest of his forces and bushwack Drake at the perfect time with his best, when he was alone, away from the village. The Keeper Knights he had brought with him on loan from the Lord Commander would do nicely. They all possessed weapons like his, none as unique, but all able to cut and pierce Drake’s magical but delightfully vulnerable body.

***

Sargasso followed the beleaguered trolls to a nearby cave. It was located in the woods of Poppy but was part of an old mining camp. He would need to make a note of this in his report. This would be the perfect place for Drake to hide if he should choose to run again. The trolls dragged themselves in, and the captain followed shortly after that with his men.

As his soldiers began lighting torches, he pulled his sword. “Good evening to you,” he sneered. The trolls spun around, surprise and terror plastered on their colossal faces. “Fear not, I am here merely to parlay with your leader,” Sargasso reassured.

A troll, even grander than the others, came forward with hands that hung limply at the wrists. Yes, this had been the one he had seen Drake crush.

The Troll King grimaced. “What do you seek, outsider,” it growled.

“To the point, I love it,” Sargasso laughed, eyeing the troll's ruined hands. “You and your men are going to attack Poppy again in two weeks,” Sargasso ordered.

“And why the fuck would we do that, not with that…whatever he is still there,” the king argued.

“Because…” Sargasso pointed the tip of his sword toward the slit of skin exposed under the troll's neck. “I said so.” The sword tip shot forward, the blade extending by magic. The blade had run him through before the king could utter another sound. Blood began to drip down the blade as Sargasso recalled it. “Any other questions? Two weeks, I’ll be back.”

He sheathed his sword. Then he snapped his fingers, remembering something. “Keep your eyes peeled for a goblin woman. She should be in the village too. We can use her as bait.”

A troll with one bleeding eye came forward. Sargasso put his hand back on his blade, expecting a fight.

“The goblin bitch is mine!” the troll barked.

Sargasso smiled mockingly. “So she shall be, but not before we use her as bait. Then you can keep a nice set of goblin ears for yourself…king.”

The new king of the trolls roared as Sargasso laughed.