"I'll ask Mistress Sarah if she will receive you," offered Jacqui, holding out her hand for more credits."How much will it cost me?" asked Karl, takin...g a fistful of money out of his overalls."All of it," came the unexpected reply, and Jacqui scooped all of his money on to her table."That's not enough," she snorted, "No where near enough. Come on, you're rich; pay up."Karl was so shocked by this unexpected aggression that he paid up all the rest of the money he had on him without a murmur and. The largest ship had the statue of the goddess Aphrodite on its bow and had golden trimmings to help it stand out.At first, the people of Deni thought that this was just another wealthy Greek noble or a Tartien Warband coming to remind them that they were the dominant power in Helena. But instead, the Nordics were pleased to find that the ship wasn’t filled with Greek men or wealthy nobles. Instead, it was filled with the tan-skinned Amazons of Accor. Even better, the ship belonged to their. ‘You won’t survive the voyage,’ she said with a shake and a shudder before lifting her head and losing her smile. She returned to her trance to justify a medium that was full of doom and peril, desperation and death. Now, ready to explain the unexplained, she continued with new found reassurance. ‘Not to worry, not to worry, you will be okay. You will be alright. You will emerge whole again.’ ‘Okay? What do you mean okay? What do you mean I won’t survive the voyage? Am I to die? How? When? By. He handed it to me. I expected to come, see lots of beautiful things and leave. No roses were landing in my lap according to my plans, and yet here one is, the innocent velvet petals smiling up at me from the exquisite bloom. The tightening in my chest drifts lower to my thighs as I feel the familiar eyes of a particular stranger settle on me and people begin to leave.I'm not entirely sure what I am supposed to do. I could still leave, I suppose, but the flower in my lap is like a lead weight.