Stowaway Slaves (8 page)

NAME:
Teo

 

FROM:
The Orient

 

HEIGHT:
5'5”

 

BODY TYPE:
Slender

 

BEST FRIEND:
Ruma

 

CELLMATE:
Argon

 

TEO QUIZ:
How well do you know Teo? Can you answer the following three question?

1.
WHERE IS TEO WHEN HE IS SEEN PICKING DIRT FROM HIS TOENAILS?

2.
WHEN TEO CHARGES AT AN ARCHED WINDOW, WHO THINKS HE IS CHARGING IN FOR A FIGHT?

3.
APART FROM HIS NAME, WHAT ARE TEO'S FIRST WORDS?

In a previous weapon profile, we looked at various swords. The pirates described in this book would have used something a little different. They would have used a special sort of sword called a
cutlass
.

The cutlass is very similar to a sword, but with one major difference—it has a curved blade. The cutlass was used on many ships because of its ability to cut through thick ropes . . . vital when you're caught in a storm and need to sever the sails!

The boarding axe was a special, long-handled axe that pirates used to break down the cabin doors of ships they boarded. There was also another version of the boarding axe: A short-handled one that was used when pirates leaped from one ship to another and slid down the sails, ripping them open as their axes bit through the material. (This latter variety may have existed only in fictional stories and films about pirates, but it's certainly an amazing sight to watch!)

 

 

R
uma, Argon, Teo, and Gladius were led down from their cell at the top of the Suvius Tower, dragged by the jailer's guards with such force that several cuts and bruises were earned along the way. At one point, Gladius stumbled and fell headfirst down a flight of steps in the tower courtyard. However, rather than stop his momentum, the guards simply laughed and one even gave him an experimental kick to see if he would keep going. By the time the group reached the gates of the fortress, they had stored up enough hatred for their captors to last several lifetimes.

In the courtyard, an eerie silence reigned. The guards assembled the slave line with a series of grunts and shoves. Then they withdrew, making space for the arrival of the spindly, gnomelike jailer who had so gleefully given the prisoners news of their pending executions. He climbed a wooden ladder beside the gates and hurried along a platform that spanned the gap just under the great archway. The slave line followed his progress and their eyes came to rest on the recognizable form of Drin Hain, draped in his trademark black robes and hood. The jailer cupped a hand to his face and whispered something to the ghostlike figure . . .