| 1 |  | The gang discuss the Cardinal, the real power behind the guards and the kingdom. Windy feels something else is going on but Bran mocks him. Turo tells him that Windy's magic real. The Royal Torture Chamber: Dove is strung up by his wrists, wearing nothing but a tattered loin cloth and visited by the Cardinal and a small page boy. The Queen wants to have Dove's eyes put out before he is flayed alive. The blue eyed Cardinal will give Dove a chance to bring a message to someone in Shadow Market. His orange haired page boys take Dove down, clean him up, and give him a hot meal. A very young looking Falcon is summoned by the Queen, who tells him she has had dreams of Hawk, the way it was. Falcon tells the green eyed Queen that he loves her. She doesn't return the comment. She sends Falcon to find the bodyguard of the Cardinal, telling Falcon she thinks the Cardinal is up to something. Bran, Windy, and Turo, totally naked are near the lake, all having a peaceful time. Hawk puts his cape around Windy, who likes it here. Windy asks Hawk to come swimming and Hawk thought he would never ask. Hawk removes his clothes. McTutt goes bouncing. Greylone has Ichi in a limbo like area, watching Hawk's group through his crystal call, calling Hawk a fool for treating Windblade as a friend and not using him. Greylone uses Ichi, a white haired elf to zap a black haired leather wearing elf. Greylone calls to his four loin cloth wearing slaves to take him away. These slaves all have regular human ears. Greylone will teach him the power of hate, as he would have taught Windblade. Greylone found Ichi and the slave boys, formerly of the tribe of DaFeng in DRAGONRING Issue 10. A fight breaks out in the lower levels of ShadowMarket: Falcon has red masked guards fight Dove and his hooded pageboy like guards. Dove says, "Slay the idiots!" Dove is back in his armor and face helmet. His guards seem to win out over Falcon's guards, in fact, choking them and pulling them by their face masks. One red hood gets on top of a page guard and knifes at him. Pack Rats arrive, sent by the Overlord. One puts his sword in the back of a hood boy and it goes out his lower chest. Another jumps at the hood boy who is on top the page. Soon, al are captured or dead. Dove has two swords across Falcon's shoulders, near his neck. Dove tells Falcon he has a message for him to give to the Queen, "Here!" he puts his sword into Falcon's side or stomach. Falcon falls off the ledge into the water. Dove laughs and tells the Packrats to take him to their master. Dove reads a message from the Cardinal to join forces with the Overlord. A Packrat brings a hood boy forward. Overlord hypnotizes him into seeing all is well and makes him dive off a ledge into fire below. Overlord tells Cardinal's Dove and elf boys to tell Cardinal he will take care of the Queen's death.
By Barry Blair, additional pencils: Pat McEown. |
