Red orange flames licked up at the night sky as the settlement burned. The sounds of clashing steel and cursing could be heard everywhere, and that was before Vaneera even stepped off her ship.
It was high tide, and the darkened waves chopped up against the sides of the dock as the centaur clopped slowly down the ramp and onto the pier. Behind her, a fair sized vessel was anchored, and above her, a flag depicting a shattered green gem loomed in the breeze.
The aged wood of the pier creaked under the hooves of the pirate as she made her way toward the settlement, and it was clear that she was in no rush to get to her destination. Her girls would have made quick work of most resistance by the time she made her presence known, and she did so hate to sully her blade on the undeserving ruffian.
As the pirate captain set foot on land, her body was illuminated by the fires that burned from every direction. She was large even for a centaur woman, and she stood fully nine feet tall from hoof to head. Her dark hair was long and tightly braided into miniature dreadlocks that were so fine that they looked like curls. Her deeply tanned face was feminine yet hardened, and her grey eyes shone with satisfaction as she surveyed the work of her crew.
Several bodies could be seen here and there, most already charred from the fires that had been set. Vaneera strode up to one and looked down at it with all the interest of a god noticing an insect, and she sniffed to herself.
"Hm, they really were careless if they thought a few mercenaries were going to stop us," she mused.
She adjusted the sheath at her side and continued on. On her human half, she wore a tight crimson garb that was lashed over with an intricate weaving of leather armor. Her large breasts were made to look even larger as a bit of cleavage swelled over a thin steel breastplate, and a long red scarf around her neck ran down to her equine back.
Vaneera's coat was a beautiful chestnut brown, and though she was scarred in several places, it was obvious that she took great pride in her lustre. Her long, dark tail was braided in the same manner that her hair was, and around her hind end she wore a red barding that matched her torso.
As she moved forward, something unmistakable shifted beneath the barding at her underside. Layered as she was, there was no mistaking the heavy quiver of her manhood, and the outline of her giant testicles could be seen easily as the layers of material struggled to hold her in.
Vaneera was a female alpha, cast out at birth and reviled by even her own parents. She'd dragged her way up through life, using any and all means to survive, until she'd forged a place for herself in the world and taken her destiny by force.
The settlement burned on as Vaneera approached the tavern. It was the only building that wasn't set to fire, per her instructions, and she smiled widely when she saw the burning oil lamps in the windows.
Their attack had been swift and quiet, and everything had happened so quickly that those inside didn't even have time to douse their lamps. The settlement was nothing more than a group of child stealing slavers and bandits, and she knew that they wouldn't have any women or riches to plunder. There was only one reason she'd decided to strike, and it was more a matter of principal than anything else. Several weeks prior, she'd had dealings with one of the merchants there (a man who was probably a burning corpse by then) and he'd short changed her during a transaction. It was important to the equine woman that people respected her and her business dealings, and she simply couldn't have anyone thinking that they could take advantage of her or her crew.
The centaur captain took a step toward the door when she suddenly heard a howl to her left.
"To hell with you, freakish bitch!"
Her hand caught the throat of a pike as she snapped her head to the ground. A bandit was lying there, his body half charred and his face burned beyond repair, and he was so ragged looking that she'd mistaken him for dead. He was glaring up at her with eyes that were filled with a lifetime of malice, and his arm shook as he tried desperately to stab her with the weapon.
Vaneera yanked the pike upward and tossed it over her shoulder before she settled her hoove firmly down onto the man's chest, "I'll get there soon enough... maybe you can scout it out for me."
The burned bandit couldn't reply even if he wanted to, because she was already pushing down on his chest with more force and weight than five men could have mustered. She felt his ribs crack beneath her powerful leg, and she stared into his eyes as he wheezed out his last breath.
The matter settled, she turned away from the dead man and continued on toward the tavern.
She'd expected the tavern to be completely empty, but surprisingly, it was not.
There was a scattering of skewed tables and knocked over chairs all over the room, and signs that people had gotten up and left in a hurry were everywhere. There were several plates that still had hot food on them, full tankards of ale and playing cards and dice sitting on every other table.
She barely noticed any of it however as her eyes immediately fell upon the cloaked figure sitting at a table directly in front of her.
"Good evening, my lady," the cloaked figure spoke with a masculine yet gentle tone.
Vaneera cocked her head and smiled slightly as she glanced around. It was possible that they could have set a trap for her, but then, there was nowhere that anyone could hide other than the bar on the far side of the room. She took a step forward and asked casually, "You didn't run?"
"I didn't," the man agreed with her with a slight nod, "Didn't see the point. If I had lost my head and fled like all the others, I'd probably be quite crispy by now... either that, or I'd have actually lost my head to one of your girls. Besides, I knew you wouldn't set a light to this place; everywhere else, surely, but here..." he shook his head knowingly, "Not a chance."
Vaneera smiled widely, doing nothing to hide her amusement, "Oh? How did you know, exactly?"
"It wasn't hard to figure out. Once I learned that Foley tried to give you less than what you agreed on, I knew it would only be a matter of time before you returned to make a lesson of this place. The wine you smuggled for him is fine and expensive, and I know you must have gone through great lengths to get so much of it. Where else would we store such a great quantity of wine but a cellar, and where would we have a cellar but right beneath the tavern... the only tavern in town," the man chuckled. "And, more to the point, why would you want to burn such fine wine, especially when you can reclaim it and sell it all over again?"
The centaur's eyes narrowed before she broke into a wide smile, "I don't generally expect deductive reasoning this far north. I must say, I'm impressed. Still, that doesn't explain why you stayed in plain sight. You could have hid somewhere until we left; do you not fear for your life?"
"There is some fear, yes, but mostly, it's admiration," the man folded his hands and leaned forward, "Vaneera Tuskcraven in the flesh. Captain of the Gilded Loupe, leader of the Shattered Emerald crew and the most hung alpha since..."
"Careful," the centaur cut him off, "I've killed men for saying less." Her tone was firm but her smile never wavered, "Tell me what you want; such flattery is never given without an ulterior motive."
"Agreed," the man nodded once. "I simply wish to have a drink with you, truth be told," he raised his hands show that he was unarmed before he reached for a decanter that was sitting on the table in front of him, "The wine you brought here is among the finest in the world, not to mention the rarest, it would be an absolute shame if you didn't at least..."
