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[Thrax]

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Lord Apollo had long since stopped worrying about enemies. He was too old for that and besides, he had plenty of hired guards to watch over both him, his kin, and his enormous treasure. During his lifetime he had killed many a man, and woman, when the lust for gold had consumed him. His coffers flowed as freely with their treasures as their innocent blood had flowed by his hand. He had built a palatial mansion on the outskirts of Britain with it, set up a prospering merchant business, was satisfied with his years and accomplishments and looked forward to more of both.

In that he was to be disappointed.

"My Lord Apollo, a man is at the door. He claims to have business with you. Shall I let him in?" the servant barked.

The fat jowls of Apollo's cheeks wiggled slightly as he nodded and threw an upraised hand. "By all means, let him in." His mind already was working at a plan to rob and kill the man as he left his dwelling... if he could get away with it. He called two of his best guards, standing near, and whispered to them. They both nodded and stepped back in their positions flanking his dais.

The servant led a man in, dressed in dark green. "My Lord, this is Lord Spawn, Sheriff of the Regency. Shall he approach thee?"

At the mention of "sheriff" Apollo turned to his guards and shook his head. They saw the gesture and nodded. He looked back at his servant. "Let him approach."

Spawn narrowed the distance, stopping a few feet short of the platform on which Lord Apollo's gilded throne rested, with him upon it. He bowed low, removing his wizard's hat with a suave flourish. "Greetings Lord Apollo. I am Lord Spawn. I have come to conduct vital business with you," he said as he raised up.

"What business have I with the Regency, m'lord? I am a peaceable merchant who is keen to mind his own business. I have had no concourse with the Regency for many long years... or is your business personal?"

In a flash, Spawn drew his bokuto. "Oh, it is quite personal!" he said as he moved quickly toward the guard on the left, bringing the weapon in a circle above his head and landing it with a crunching sound against the side of the man's face. As Apollo gasped and fell backward in his seat, the other guard lowered his halberd and lunged at him with it. The sheriff sidestepped the attack gracefully and whipped the bokuto back quickly, slamming it against the man's exposed face just below the bridge of his nose. He groaned and fell with a dull thud to the floor. The servant began yelling for help, but his words were cut short by a flamestrike spell from Spawn that enveloped him, killing him instantly. Apollo lolled on the ground, moaning, clutching at his back. "I... I... think I have... broken my back," he muttered, his eyes widening at Spawn as he walked closer to him, purposefully.

He leaned over and looked him over. "Yes... yes you have. I can sense it," he said without pity. He looked into his eyes. "Where is your treasure hoard, old man?"

Apollo, despite his wounds and fear, replied defiantly. "I will... never tell... you! Curse you! Who sent you?"

"Sent me? Oh, my servant told me about your little treasure. I have need of it. Now, if you wish a painless death, tell me where it is," he stated calmly.

"Never!! I will never... tell you!"

Spawn stood up, wiping the blood from his bokuto. "That is too bad. I was going to spare you and your family, but now you have angered me, and I do terrible things when I am angry."

"No!! Please!! Wait!! I'll tell you!" the man shouted.

The sheriff ignored his plea, bringing the point of wooden sword down into the man's gut and then withdrew it slowly. He watched, impassively, as the man's life ebbed, then cut off his head with his dagger. Taking the head with him, he exited the chamber to search the house for others who would, seeing the grisly trophy, likely be a bit more cooperative than he had been.

[Thrax]

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Opening his eyes suddenly, Lord Apollo came to an awareness that he was alive. He had that surge of relief that follows a particularly gruesome nightmare in which one does not survive a most hideous death. A sigh escaped his lips. Then he surveyed his surroundings, noting with some discomfort and annoyance that he could not turn his head, but only move his eyes from side to side, up and down. When he looked across the way, toward a bone throne whereupon a man sat, he saw the man in his dream who had killed him! The mounting terror grew proportionally to the realization that he was, indeed, alive and awake, but without his body.

"Good evening, Lord Apollo," the man greeted him.

"W... where am I?" he managed to stammer.

"More like... 'why' are you, don't you think?"

"My body! What have you done to me?!!!" he screeched in abject horror.

The man merely laughed. "You are a small example of the power that grows within me day by day. You see, I could not get other members of your family to tell me any more than you did. It seems you kept your secret even from them. You are... were... a most untrusting man. Very wise of you."

"You killed them?"

"Every... last... one. Including the servants. I could not have anyone running around spreading rumors that the Sheriff of the Regency is mad and went on a killing spree, could I? Besides, I enjoy it.

"You are mad!!! Insane!!!"

Spawn smiled. "No, you are mistaken. I am not insane, just... bored. Now, I need you to tell me where your treasure is."

"You killed my family and you expect me to tell you that?! To the nine hells with you!!" Apollo would have spat, but he had no capacity for it any longer.

"You might think again. Look what sits atop those ebony spires. See how they gaze down at you?" Spawn took his bokuto and pointed upward where several very large ravens perched, squawking intermittently. "My guess is they are hungry, and they know a meal when they see one!" he mocked. "Oh, and, in case you don't know, I left you the capacity for pain. Have you ever wondered what it might feel like to have your eyes devoured while you can do nothing to prevent it? But I can, and will, if you will just tell me where your treasure is."

Lord Apollo had no trouble then in telling the Avatar exactly where his treasure was, what it contained, and how to avoid the traps set for theives and robbers. And while the Avatar cast a ward to protect him from the scavengers, he was not permitted to die as he begged him for many days thereafter.