Pandemonium Not Worth The Price

[Aeyliea]

This was the brutal, visceral reality of the battlefield, and it was something the Norei woman was uniquely suited to dealing with. The path of the warrior had been her chosen route since she was old enough to wield a stick, to carry the spear into battle. Tis was where she belonged.

Blood still ran down her arm where the bolt had struck her from the second nameless thug, who was now starting to get to their feet, if a touch slowly. She had no attention for him, instead focusing on the well-dressed man with the heavy knives in his hand. The wound ached abominably, but it was a simple trick of concentration to ignore it, for the time being. It wouldn't impede her much if she was quick.

"You are a fool, barbaric woman in a cultured world," the well-dressed man said, suddenly. He was eyeing her as she rose from behind her desk, two handed sword coming to bear before her, angled slightly up. She slowly came around the desk, worldlessly, and then dropped into a stance, one foot forward, knees slightly bent. "You can call me Edward. Maybe you should put that sword down, and we can talk."

The captain snorted at that. "Time for talking, it was done when you kicked my door in," she said in her heavily accented common. She took a step forward, cautious. "Think of that, you should have. Didn't. Maybe regretting it, perhaps?"

Edward smirked at that. "Just the way we do business, woman. Just the way we do business." his knives dropped into a more relaxed stance, hanging at his sides, but Aeyliea did not change her wary, ready set one bit. "This is a big city, and we have to make sure our turf is marked out quite clearly. And certain individuals are encroaching on our interests. Call this a friendly warning."

"Friendly? A proper Norei welcome, I will show you." And then she moved.

Steel rang against steel. She had ducked in close enough that the superior reach of her weapon should have afforded her ample advantage, but the criminal was unphased by this. He neatly knocked her blade aside with one and took a slash at her with the other, although the reach was nowhere near enough to reach Aeyliea. She followed it up with a surprisingly quick series of slashes that he deflected, one after the other. he's a fast one, he is. A cold, dispassionate thought. The trance was descending upon her, every movement careful and calculated with little wasted effort.

"Not bad with that thing," he grunted at her as he turned a quick sideways slash, locking it with both blades as he danced away and to the left. Their fight resembled a deadly ballet, each dancing as if they had choreographed the entire encounter ahead of time. "Not enough, though. We've dealt with the like of you, before. The Guard, politicians, merchants, the mighty and the weak." Edward was grinning, and it wasn't a pleasant thing to behold.

His words were meaningless though. A means to distract her, perhaps?

She pressed his defense again, a flurry of blows that were pure speed and agility with little strength behind them. It was a complex dance, but she ended up between him and the door, and in a fluid motion, she stepped back from a counter on his part, blade swinging out wide. She felt the tug of the impact but didn't bother to look behind, knowing she had severed the hand that held the sword behind her, and the thug shrieked in pain and surprise as blood fountained from the stump where his hand had been.

Edward took the opportunity to slide in, and she felt fiery pain as he managed to score her along the ribs just under her arm, narrowly missing her armpit with a killing thrust. Ignoring the pain with some difficulty, she took advantage of his close proximity to punch him in the face with her off hand, swinging the great sword round at him one handed. The blow knocked him off balance, and he barely got a knife up to parry her second blow. The blade knocked the flat of his own knife back into his shoulder, hitting him hard enough to make him stagger sideways.

"Your move, pigeon," she observed thickly. Blood ran down her side now, a more serious wound than the first, and soaked into her pants, running down her leg in a thin rivulet.

-

There were no longer any onlookers or innocents left on the street, and somewhere in the distance the shouts of the Guard were being raised. It wouldn't be long before more swords were here, this time with the official backing of the city's government, and that would put an end to it all.

Of course, that wasn't yet.

The twins had taken to their bolt hole, and were expertly working together. The second and third thug of that group went down, and if the hits weren't as precise and pretty as the opening volley that had set the whole shit-show in motion, well, they still worked just fine. One dropped with a bolt jutting from his gut, shrieking in pain and clutching at the wound. The other took theirs to the chest and fell, coughing great sprays of blood. The other three fanned out, and took up position behind cover, taking shots at the shop that the twins had holed up in. The steady fire of crossbows between the two of them couldn't last very long, and it was unlikely that they were going to kill anyone else - though the watcher on Manama might succeed in choking the life out of her before the firefight was over.

These men didn't care. They, like the mercenaries, were paid very well for their work but, unlike the mercenaries, their lives and, more importantly, the lives of their families were at stake. They just had to keep the mercenaries' attention long enough for Two-Faced Eddie - Edward to his face, of course - did what he had come to do. The Boss had been very, very specific about the task they were here for. When he said persuasion, it generally meant only one thing.

 

[Tian]

Tian remained silent through this exchange, a sullen figure in the background projecting a certain air of danger. he was particularly accomplished at this sort of thing, at least. The local dialect was sometimes difficult to parse, but Tian had been alive for so long, heard so many different language, dialects, accents, that it didn't make much difference to him at this point.

Tian raised a hand at the offered pipe, and smirked. "Do you have any idea what those things do to your lungs? You should see someones' lungs if they been doing that for a long time," he said. The way he said it, delivered as strictly fact, alluded to the fact that he, personally, had seen someones lungs. "Well, parts of their lungs anyway," he added in a musing, afterthought manner.

He didn't add that the guards had chosen the correct answer, because then it might have been their lungs he was examining, and who wanted that.

Instead, Tian followed Mad Eye into the, what for lack of any better description must be, tavern.

 

[Tobias Tookins]

Tobias and Tian

Tobias shrugged at Tian's words.

"Better to live a full life than a long one, I think."

He passed the pipe back to the guard as he made his way down the stairway they watched, which led to a long, winding platform risen just above the sea, hidden in high tide. Even more rickety and rushed together than the actual north end of the dock, this part boasted a many accidents from unwary sea rats, and even finding boats parked atop it by mid afternoon if high tide receded. The path led back towards the rocky cliff-side which Alliria sat upon, a large alcove eroded away beneath the cliff face which the path led to. When the two men neared the ending of the rickety shambles called a dock, Tobias waved them slow, listening a moment. Laughter rang out in the distance, echoed off the stones which the cliff-side made itself out to be, three distinct voices heard, to which one Tobias immediately attributed it to Kidd.

"Aye, he's here alright, fuckin' bastard. Listen, whatever you do, Kidd's my priority, and if he makes moves I want to be the one ta fuckin' bust the bugger up. He's right shitless without help, so he'll have summin fer your blades, worry not."

Tobias resumed his pace and walked into the alcove.

This wasn't an inn. This wasn't a tavern. This was a pile of rocks, with a few bones and trash littered about. A sign perched just beyond the dock's meeting with land read "The Crest" which immediately got sprayed by water, hence its name. One could see it were nothing but a hollowed out cavern whose outer walls were then taken off by the sea and time, leaving it to be a damp, rocky space where the drunkards went to die in their sleep, as high tide flooded the vicinity. Tobias gestured at three bodies all throwing bottles out into the ocean, two normal sized, and one child sized. He glared as the three were unaware of their guests, Tobias stomping up to them and yelling

"Kidd! Where the fuck have you been?!"

 

[Manama Saar Ba'Dul]

Manama struggled beneath the weight of her captor as hot breath poured across her face, the air restriction causing her memory to space apart as she digested the input given to her by her brain. Her whole body slacked a moment as she let go of his forearms, almost too abruptly, which gave the opponent ample confusion, and he softened his grip thinking she'd died, only to feel the razor edge of one of her hunting knives go between the calf and the mid rift, the larger man howling in pain at the experience. She began to knee the knife further and further into his body until he were forced to crawl off of her, collapsing into the ground near her as he tried to dislodge the weapon which robbed him of further movement. She grabbed an arrow from the ground and slowly made her way towards him, before sticking the piece into his throat.

"Rot in the belly of Hissut!"She spat at the man before falling forwards, unconscious.

 

[Scythe and Nyght]

Scythe's body was ready to fire again. Caution, that was their watchword now, even more so than precision. They'd managed to drop those remaining two crossbowmen and finish off the group the unlucky Cynthia had started on, but there was still a whole other group three from around the other corner. And they knew Scythe and Nyght's position, maybe even Sash Girl's too. Thing about windows was, they tended to silhouette the shit out of you. Gave even novice archers, crossbowmen, rowdy kids with rocks, what-have-you, something to draw a bead on in preparation for your prairie-dogging head to pop back up. Like those marksmanship shows and competitions at a fair, only your head was a lot bigger than an apple.

So Scythe's body hadn't the luxury of aiming for more than a split-second. He popped up. Spotted the group of three crossbowmen, now having spread out and found their own sources of cover outside. Aimed, as an enemy bolt slammed into one of the open wooden shutters and swung it back to bang against the outside wall of the shop. And fired. Not the best shot, bit wild from the reflexive flinch brought on by the thud and whap of the enemy bolt and the shutter. But his eyes had spotted the crossbowmen's various positions.

Nyght's turn. As Scythe's body ducked back down, hers sprang up, already aimed at one of them. But after she fired and before she too ducked back down, her eyes caught something. Sash Girl. Near Cynthia. Down on the street, losing a friendly game of 'Choke-this-bastard'.

Scythe's body put his foot in the claw of his crossbow. Vigorously pulled back the string like he was rowing a boat. And they called out:

Scythe: "Hold on out there, Sash Girl."
Nyght: "You're doing great. A real inspiration for the both of us."

Bolt. Out of his leather bolt case fastened to the back of his belt. Set down. Loaded. Ready to fly.

Scythe's body stood up, intent on leveling his crossbow on the thug choking out Sash Girl--

Heard it as soon as they felt it. A bolt, skidding against Scythe's left temple. The entire thing. The metal of the bolthead scraping against his skull, a flash of heat from the friction of the wooden shaft grinding against the skin. A tug, and his hood jerked down with enough force to seem as if a man the size of Mad Eye Toby had done it. The bolthead pierced through the thick cloth of the hood, but the shaft had gotten stuck halfway through. The whole thing happened as fast as a snap of their fingers, and Scythe's body staggered and tumbled down to the shop floor, his crossbow fumbling out of hand.

Nyght winced. Her body felt it too. A spectral gash across her own temple. The warmth of phantom blood gushing down the side of her face. It wasn't fatal--like most light head wounds, it looked much worse than it actually was--but it would hinder her body's ability to focus and aim.

Staying low and out of sight from the outside, she scrambled across the gap to Scythe's window, exchanging her unloaded crossbow for Scythe's loaded one. Best to stay unpredictable. Pop up from here instead of her window this time.

And she stood. Crossbow aimed directly out the window and at--

Hey, good news. Sash Girl stabbed the shit outta that guy.

Quick correction. And Nyght's body snap-fired a bolt out at another of the crossbowmen, before dropping back down and clutching the side of her head too. And both of them clenched their teeth.

Fuck that hurt.

 

[Tian]

If it wasn't for the fact that it seemed devoid of any patrons, The Crest might have been a fine drinking establishment by his lights. The perfect kind of place to draw the lowest of the lowlifes, and with a convenient disposal system nearby. There was no need to drag a heavy ass corpse a mile to a river just to dump the evidence, not that he'd ever bothered nor would ever bother to do so. The only terrible thing was the reek of brine and rotted fish and refuse that washed up along the rickety dock, replete with seaweed and the finer kind of slime that made every footstep uncertain.

He moved along with the effortless ease of a trained predator, close on Tobias heels. It was surprising that the large man seemed completely at his ease in the presence of the former assassin, but then, Tobias didn't appear to be one that was as bright as he was brash. Not everyone could be a genius, but there was a lot to be said for damned lucky. There was also a lot of be said for damned mean, and Tobias might actually fit both bills.

This is business that needs to be handled quickly, he thought to himself. It would be nice to get some rest, or at least get into bed for a while. How restful the night might be would be entirely upon the woman he shared that bed with, and given the events of the day, it would probably be rough, maybe even violent.

Don't need to think about that right now. Business now, pleasure later. Pleasure was a rare find, though.

Tian found himself a nice, damp wall to lean on where the light fell just so, to where his entire face was shrouded in shadows and he could be menacing without actually doing anything, or at least without doing anything overt. It didn't count if he trimmed his nails with one of the great knives at his hip while he stared out to see, seemingly at his ease.

With every muscle taut, and ready to fly into violent action at a moments notice.

 

[Aeyliea]

Only three left standing. Three that you know of, deary, and don't kid yourself otherwise. Only three.

Alise didn't like those odds. She hadn't joined this outfit to fight, because it wasn't her style. She didn't have the courage of a lion to stand in the face of overwhelming odds, nor did she possess a singular skill with blade, bow, or spear. She had her arts, passed down to her from her mother and her mother before her, trained in the ancient ways of healing. No, she wasn't a fighter, but the job paid far, far more than even her mother had made dealing with merchants and nobles and commoners alike, fixing their ills as best she could.

Alise was considering her options. She could see Cynthia lying in the street like a crumpled rag doll, the leather finned bolt not even visible from where she was. There was an awful lot of blood around the woman, already beginning to thicken and clot. There were others down, too, some closer and some further away, including one of the new hires. She had just gutted the bastard standing against the wall when all of this began.

A shriek from her right, and her head snapped to one side just in time to catch a man falling back, a great bloody tear in his upper arm where a crossbow bolt had practically torn the bicep from his arm. Lot of blood there, he would probably not make it if he wasn't tended to but - and she grinned - that was his problem. Shoot at her, would he?

Gathering her courage, she swallowed down the lump of ice in her throat and took off into the street. The two remaining thugs were too busy dealing with the mercenaries in the shop, their attention focused solely on the open windows where the crossbowmen were firing back. The insistent, shrill whistles of the city guard on their way was getting louder. This fight would be over soon, in a few minutes at the most.

She made it to Cynthia first, and dropped to one knee to lay a hand on the womans's back. Flesh already cooling and now, up close and personal, she could see her lifeless eyes, already glazed over with a befuddled look of shock and anger. One hand was wrapped around the bolt that had torn her heart in half. At least she had gone quickly. Regardless, there was nothing to be done here. Heart as hard as stone, Alise got up and ran to the next victim, one of the bystanders that had been shot in the cross fire. The older woman was also dead, which wasn't surprising at all.

Next was Manama, sprawled out on the ground. Alise gritted her teeth, and drew upon the inner wellspring of power she had inherited, sending tendrils of magic deep, questing for the damage done. Forced healing was never pleasant for the one receiving it, but then the mercenary wasn't in any shape to argue, now was she?

-

This contest was nearing its end, and she knew it. And so, unfortunately, did he.

The man picked himself back up quickly, his injuries all minor. Those goddamned knives of his were a challenge to say the least. What was worse, the close in style that those weapons demanded put a greater emphasis on the power he could put behind his blows. She couldn't match him strength for strength, and she was struggling to match him for speed.

The handless thug had flopped to the ground, clutching the stump of his arm. He was out of the fight, as was the other. Just the one man left.

"This is foolishness, and you know it," Edward said, suddenly. He was looking at her in a calculating way, knives held at the ready. "I don't usually dirty my hands with this kind of work, anymore. I have people for that but," he said, gesturing at the men on the ground, "it would appear my eye for useful help is...slightly less than it once was."

She could feel the blood pooling in her boot, and knew that time was not on her side. Neither wound was severe on its own, but they were weakening her as surely as the sun would set. The mobster knew this as well, and was biding time, waiting for her to weaken enough that she didn't pose a threat.

"Why have you done these things?" Her eyes were still as sharp as a hawks, though he didn't flinch back. "What contract to dissuade us from?"

"You assume that's why we're here?" He wore a smug look on his face, and shrugged. "Ok, so maybe we are. The Lord that hired you is trying to double-cross us. Lets say we have a vested interest in his daughter, whether he likes it or not." He began to advance on her, a step at a time. She tightened the grip on the hilt of her blade. "You are an obstacle in that plan, my dear, plain and simple."

"I'm not the only one," she observed. A click resounded through the room.

Even as the source became apparent - the little girl who had brought in their lunch, earlier, stood in the doorway with a cocked and loaded crossbow held unsteadily in her hands - it because equally apparent that this was not going to end like she would like it too. Even as the slip of a girl pulled the trigger, he was already twisting sideways. The bolt, when it flew, cut through air where he had been a moment before, but was no longer. Instead, he slid around that weapon and rushed the girl, grabbing her by her throat and spinning, sliding her into a armlock around her neck, feet dangling over the ground. The girl choked and kicked at him, feebly, as he held the knife he hadn't dropped to accomplish this to her throat, face alreayd growing dark from lack of air.

"Maybe not, but how many of your people are you going to kill just to keep a contract from a pretentious prick?"

 

[Tobias Tookins]

A small weasel of a halfling was chucking rocks at the body of water which swayed back and forth tenaciously, clouds beginning to form as the wild eyed Tobias began to walk up to him. The little hobbit had on a bright green jacket with a complimenting vest atop a frilled white shirt, a large leather tricorne hat atop his head. He had on no pants, surrounded by a few guards and many contracted women laying about on fine foreign rugs and pillows to match, bottles, food, and waste strewn about the vicinity, hookahs lit here and there. There were two men throwing rocks with the hobbit, who turned with sudden alarm at the sound of the ominously fearsome boom of bass which echoed across the damp chasm, an upturned nose and shrewd, piercing glances fervently posed in the two men's direction. He squeaked as Tobias kicked over a lit hookah as he walked through the scene, just next to a half naked woman who jumped up to her feet in fright as the coals splashed near her, grabbing the kinder by his collar and lifting him up to face him.

"You fuckin' chump! Where ya been buck-o? Hidin' off between a pair of legs while blowin' me off fer me last gig? I'm glad to see ya got my friend and I company, we were wonderin' when we could sit down fer a spell, drink away the blues while pissin' off rewards reaped off the backs of others!" He smacked the hobbit whose cheeks began to blush, a sheepish grin then adorning a poor maintenance of composure in the face of the little man, long side burns poking out from under the cap.

"M-Maddy! I thought I told Davy not to let anyone in here," he said before giving a nervous chuckle, eyes scrunching with his piggish upturned nose while the whiskers on his lips drooped. He looked around at his guards who held a hand on sword hilts still sheathed, everyone's attention on the two men, only a few actually noticing the shadow of Tian. "How ya been m-m-mate? I swears I didn't run off with the money friend, j-just had to pay f-fees regarding o-"

"Your fuck up Kidd! Your!" Tobias was emphasizing the vowels per sake of the moment. "Not mine, not our, your!" He smacked the kinder again. Someone drew their sword. It was one of the men, actually boys on closer appearance, who were throwing rocks with the captive, sputtering out "Stop!" with a similar anxiousness as Kidd, Toby's mad eye chameleon swiveling towards the protester, who he then spit in the direction of as he focused the vile stare upon the captain, eyes encrusted in malice. "I've got half a mind ta take yer head off meself, wit me teeth Kidd!" The bottom eyelids raised to cover the lower half of the irises, the top of his mad eye popping completely out of the top eyelid's grasp as his intent focused on the little man's face, whose face was as green as his clothing.

"N-nah n-n-not how I re-"

Tobias punched the weaseled face which produced an audible crack from the cartilage of the nose as it folded in on itself, Tobias letting him go and thrusting his body forward into the punch as he sent the kinder flying into another hookah, those in the area fleeing towards a perimeter forming around the scene. Kidd howled and scrambled on his belly to rise as Tobias walked up and stepped on his backside, holding him to the earth, groaning for help. No one moved. Mad Eye looked around slowly before thrusting a thumb in the direction of the rickety pathway.

"Out."

The half naked women began filing past towards the dock, some swooping to gather up something here and there, to be ushered by another in haste. The guards pulled their short swords in unison, each one donning matching black leather gear, some loosening their wrists with the quick fumbling of their blades in the air. Tobias pressed down harder on the squirming body beneath his feet, cracking his knuckles as he shrugged.

"You wanna help him? Be my guest."

No one moved.

 

[Manama Saar Ba'Dul]

Manama woke slowly as Alise stooped above her, feeling the energy shifting the cells in her body with an uncomfortable aching she learned to stomach, confusion wracking her head.

"The desk woman? And the twins? Where's the white haired woman?" Her eyes were glossy as if moving at another speed, looking about her at the strewn bodies littering the road. She remembered her deed of the day with dismay and left the rumbling voice in her head on autopilot as the whistles of approaching guardsmen sang in the distance, closer now than before, the desert girl fumbling to stand and find her weapons, maybe a body or two, although she wondered how they'd explain this. For certain she were going to the gallows if she stood about waiting for the coroners to arrive, having to tell of her deeds would certainly send her to Hissut.

She found her bow first, near the place she laid in, the arrows from her quiver strewn about. She picked them up in haste as quickly as she could, the stomping of heavy boots growing louder. She took another glance at the old woman, then towards Cynthia, her eyes gesticulating sorrow as she turned towards the gate which led into the compound. Motioning to Alise, she asked,

"The Matron, we should find her, yes?"

 

[Scythe and Nyght]

Scythe's body yanked the stuck bolt out of his hood. A quiet ripping as the metal bolthead tore some more of the cloth on the way back out. They'd have to visit a tailor after the job was said and done anyway, so fuck it, no need to be gentle. Nyght's body put down the crossbow next to her own and took Scythe's ascot and whipped the folded cloth open and loose and passed it to Scythe. And then braced the other side of Scythe's head with her free hand. Both of them held their breath and Nyght pressed the cloth of his hood against the deep gash running across his head.

Both of them: "Aaaaahhh! FUCK!"

Boy, did that sting like hell. As if they were back kicking those hornet's nests again for a goof and the whole nest's worth of hornets had all flown out, landed in a perfectly straight line along the sides of their heads, and all stung at once. And their stingers were actually daggers. Daggers that had been dipped in molten lead.

The shopkeep gave them a queer look. Yeah, sure, they let the show slip a little. Happened. Especially in moments like this.

"Hey, shopkeep," said Scythe.
"You wanna do us a favor?" said Nyght.
"Mind taking a look out that window?"
"And seeing if they're still out there?"

The shopkeep, only visible from the nose up from behind the counter of the shop, began to sink lower behind it.

A mumbling, apologetic voice. "No, no, I do believe I'm rather comfortable right here, thank you very much."

"I'm kidding," said Scythe.
"And I'm kidding too," said Nyght.

The sticky blood practically welded the cloth of Scythe's hood to his head. Nyght drew her hand back some, both of them wincing as Scythe brought the ascot up and wrapped it around his head like a bandanna and tied a knot. He was just going to have to look stupid like that until this thing settled down and they could get his body's wound properly looked at.

And while Scythe brought his hands up to the knot to keep pressure over the wound, Nyght drew her razor sword and kept her eyes on the shop's door, staying crouched and low. No telling if the remaining thugs might try rushing the door, so better to not be caught with their pants down trying to reload one of the crossbows right now. Scythe's body, still sitting on his ass, kept his eyes on the window above them. One of 'em might try and get clever, you never knew.

"Hey, shopkeep," said Nyght.

"Yes'm?"

"This happen a lot around here?" said Scythe.

"On occasion, I s'pose...uh, sir."

"How 'bout those guards, eh?" said Nyght.

"What...what guards? Er, ma'am?"

"Exactly," said Scythe. "Be nice if they'd hurry the fuck up."

Well, who knows. Maybe when Sash Girl got done stabbing that one guy she'd go and break the necks of the remaining few with just her thighs. Might not even need the guards. Wishful thinking. Would be nice if this scrap ended before they got too woozy from blood loss.

And they winced once. Their lips pursed and their noses scrunched. It was all they could muster to not clench their eyes. Fuck, that bolt took some of Scythe's ear off. They felt it. Shaved a bit of the top off. Turned that natural wide arch into an abrupt flat line. Son of a bitch, healing that was gonna cost them.

Lay low. Wait for those whistles and heavy boots to get here. Let them finish the fight.

 

[Tian]

Flashes of steel, bright in the dark, fetid air of the crest. One, two, three....four, as rapidly as schooling fish in warm, coastal waters.

A moment later, four sounds of steel against stone, so quick that they almost melded into one sound. The noise was accompanied by sparks, as of flint and steel being struck.

And a moment after that, both guards gasped in surprise, blood beginning to track down both cheeks. Shallow gashes to either side of their eyes, compliments of throwing knives that neither had seen thrown, but both now felt. As one, their eyes darted to Tobias, and then to Kidd, and then a frantic search of their surroundings. Eyes alighted on Tian, wide with shock.

The bastard was still leaning against the wall, nonchalantly trimming his nails with a throwing knife, peels of nail and the dirt beneath falling away in the faint breeze. He glanced up from what he was doing, and the bottom half of a mocking grin was all they got. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I interrupt your discussion? I never did like it when my opponents got too ... pointed ... with their arguments. I figured I'd just cut to the chase so we can all save a little energy." The assassin made a wide gesture with the knife-wielding hand. "Do carry on, don't mind me."

C'mon, Tobias. Shake the fucker down. These guys might take the hint, but they don't look none too bright. Doing service to Darwin was all well and good, but Tian just didn't feel up to it at the moment. He needed to save that energy, just so he could save it up for the real deal.

 

[Aeyliea]

She eyed him warily, and he looked right back at her, unblinking, as the seconds drew out. The girl in the choke-hold continued to struggle feebly for a moment longer, face growing more red and tending towards a stark purple, until those feeble struggles ceased as well. She hung in his arm limp, like a rag doll.

Outside, the sound of the Guard approaching became a racket, and their booted feet were all too easily heard. Edward scowled, a look of purest anger crossing his features. A quick shake of the unconscious girl in his arm, just to make sure it was a rag doll and not even aware in the slightest. Content that the girl was either dead or out cold, he gave the captain a feral grin.

"Don't even begin to think that this is over, Captain. We'll be back." And then, in a single motion, he tossed the limp girl at Aeyliea. There was really no question about what to do here; Aeyliea lunged forward to catch the girl, aware even as she did it that the son of a bitch might make good on this opportunity to stick a knife in her. The girl landed awkwardly in her arms and, the Norei warrior staggered, and then fell to her knees under the scant weight. In the half second it took for this to happen, the crime lord had vanished, leaving only a wounded thug and one dead man in the office.

The pain that she had been mentally pushing aside came back in a single rush, and she groaned, sagging where she sat. Blood slicked her side, her arm, and now smirched the dress of the little girl. She wasn't dead, at least; the steady rise and fall of her chest had resumed as soon as that which was choking her had vanished.

Outside, she could hear the sounds of Guardsmen yelling at someone to stop. Apparently someone didn't listen, and she could hear the sounds of whistling and running feet, chasing after the remaining two thugs who thought it best to just hightail it out of there.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, deliberately breathing in, and out.

 

[Tobias Tookins]

Tobias looked around as the surrounding men weighed their options, a good nine of them not including the two boys whose cheeks got cut by Tian's display of cutlery. His mad eye swiveled back to Kidd.

"My guy here's a magician, Kidd. He'll procure blades from the shadows that strike down anyone," he looked around, "And I mean anyone who makes a move on me!" He pointed to the scratch marks on the two young friends of the captain. "That's a friendly warning! Take it from me, the bastard fucked me face up for life! Its the truth, lost a bet and he plucked me eye out, lucky enough to have it attached by its fleshy thread." The dimwitted mercenaries looked between each other as Tobias continued with his frothy lie, the waves from the sea splashing up into the Crest, spraying those closest to the cliff edge. "Now Kidd, you're gonna pay up what you owe me, right?" The weasel nodded his head passionately. "You still have the title to the Wavebreaker, aye?"

"Its Stormchaser now, renamed her when we-"

"It's Wavebreaker, and I'll be commandeering the paperwork from ya when the Rei Company shows up for their passage to the Falwoods, which you'll expressly provide. Aye, Kiddie?"

"A-aye Maddy, you're the-"

"I'm the captain now, Kidd."

"Lets go with First-"

Mad Eye stomped on Kidd's back, the whiskered halfling wheezing in apprehension of the hostile takeover. Mad Eye drew a dirk and lowered himself down to place the knee on Kidd's back. He put the halfling in a choke-hold and proceeded to shave the whiskers off his face, and then took the leather tricone and placed it atop his own head. Rising back to his feet, he looked around at the surrounding people.

"I'm the fuckin' captain now, Kidd skimps on all his payrolls and you all know it to be fact, only reason ya didn't pounce on me the first moment I kicked down yer smoke stacks. I recognize some of yer faces, y'know my name, Mad Eye Toby." A few nodded, ribbing nearby friends and whispering of him. "This trip'll be out of Kiddie's pocket, to pay me back fer things long overdue, but afterwords you'll be on my slip. Solid work provided reaps solid rewards under me watch, an' I ain't no cheat!" The two younger gentlemen began to move forward towards Tobias, yet were stopped by some of the other guardsmen, the crew mutinying on Kidd. One in particular, pock marked fellow with sandy blond hair stepped forward to address their concerns.

"An' what'll we be doin' afterwords? I'm tired of watchin' bastards whore around while needin' my protection." Some of the other black leather donning men nodded. Tobias waved away the notion.

"I'm the only man watchin' my pecker," gesturing towards the kinder's bare ass, Tobias continued with, "And you'll only see the two moons in the sky under my command. I ain't here to fuck around, I ain't here to play show off with the wenches. I mean business, gentlemen, and plan on upgrading from the schooner as soon as we've the gold acquired. What'ya say men, chance it with a simple freighter?" He winked with his good eye, the others then nodding in solemn agreement. A voice piped up, saying,

"What about Kidd?"

Tobias looked down at the half naked kinder and shrugged.

"My friend and I gotta get back to our business, procure the supplies necessary for the trip to the Falwoods, which we'll probably need enough for a week or two of sitting on the coastline while the Rei company heads inland, so plan for a months worth so we got wiggle room. As long as those supplies are bought, I'll leave the rest of Kidd's savings to you lot, if ya can squeeze it out of him!" The group of men surrounded Kidd as Tobias got off him and began walking towards the docks, waving for Tian to follow. "Throw the Kidd and his kids off the Crest if they don't comply, I ain't shittin' around no more!" The crewmen began torturing the little man who howled for Tobias to save him, the wild eyed man shrugging complacently, feeling good at his turn of fortune. "Hopefully we're this lucky the whole way through the job!" He said to Tian as he began to walk back to the compound, his captain's hat tipped to the side in typical sailor fashion.

 

[Manama Saar Ba'Dul]

Manama was held at sword point before she could make her way through the gate, the street now flooded with guardsmen who were all scrambling to end any conflicts still occurring within the perimeter, voices shouting here and there, chain-mail rumbling beneath the throngs of heavy boot steps stomping through. She was grabbed from behind and disarmed, her bow and swords detained by an officer while another began to question her.

"You! What is the meaning of this?! We have reports from multiple citizens of armed conflict within the city walls, strictly forbidden beneath Allirian law!" The speaker looked about before spotting the corpses of many, an old woman sporting an arrow fletched similarly as Manama's own. He noticed the detail as he scanned the scene, moving towards the decrepit husk and breaking off the arrow shaft, carrying it back to the desert girl, reading the shame apparent on her face.

"These men," Manama waved a hand at the mercenary corpses, "Took over our company's compound for reasons unknown, holding hostage our commander. I did what I had to do in order to set about her freedom, although in hindsight a foolish path I set upon." The inquisitor nodded in agreement.

"Yes, foolish indeed, citizens felled over the doings of foreigners! A crime punishable by death, I assume you're to blame for her," he pointed at the old woman, "Am I mistaken, dark skin? Speak!" He spat a bit as he yelled in the dismal girl's face, who looked away in disappointment as she nodded.

"Yes, I am to blame." The inquisitor waved an arm for chains to be brought forth.

"Lock this one up, she goes to the gallows. You! You!" He pointed at two of the other guardsmen, waving them towards the compound entrance. "Check what all this rubbish is about! The rest of you, I still hear bolt shots, find out where those are coming from! No more bloodshed than necessary, we've already enough of a mess to clean up!"

Manama's wrists were locked in handcuffs, forced to sit leaning against the fence as a guardsman watched over her silently as the rest of the battalion began sorting out the scuffle. She heard her original inquisitor complaining of the paperwork he'd have for the evening, her eyes rolling at the bureaucratic notion.

"City dwellers, always worried about what they deem proper," she said to herself aloud.

"Shut up you!" yelled her watcher, who she glared at even though the anger was consumed by her sadness shortly after.

 

[Scythe and Nyght]

The door to the shop opened. But with the noisy clamor outside the windows of the guard force arriving on the scene, Scythe and Nyght weren't worried. Probably not one of the thugs smashing in for a death-charge. Probably. But if so, if they lived, they'd have to get in touch with that guy's employer. How big did a stack of coin have to be to buy suicidal loyalty? Who knows, maybe big enough to hire a stuffy old mage to develop a crossbow bolt-proof enchantment for their coats. That'd be nice.

But a guard came in. Younger woman, actually. Blond hair coming down out the back of her helm in a ponytail. Stern, no-nonsense face. Either a lousy fuck, or literally the best one ever. No middle ground.

She looked to the cowering shopkeep and his wife first. They both pointed toward Scythe and Nyght's bodies by the window corner off to her left. And Nyght sheathed her razor sword and they both raised their hands (only one of Scythe's) once the guardswoman looked their way.

"So there I was, just trying to buy some barrels," said Scythe.
"I told him it was an awful idea," said Nyght.
"And I told her it was brilliant one."
"Where the hell are we going to put these damn barrels, I said."
"You just never know when you might need some barrels, I told her."

The guardswoman looked at them both dispassionately. Maybe even a little disappointed. She had her sword out. Even had a nice painted heater shield. Useful. Shields. Would've been real fuckin' handy blocking some of that incoming fire. But shields were such a pain-in-the-ass to travel with. Screw the stuffy old mage, what they really needed was to hire a dwarf that could invent some sort of trick shield. Looked like an ordinary bracer or gauntlet. Press a button. Bam. Shield fans out. Best of both worlds.

The guardswoman interrupted their thoughts. "Identify yourselves, and state your business here. Your true business."

Scythe winced. "Just joking about the barrels."
Nyght held her wince in. "Yeah. Truth be told, we're sellswords. Hired by Rei Company."
"Samuel Blair."
"Samantha Blair."
"And those fuckers out there started it. Honest."
"They shot at us first. Hey, what's your name?"

"Guardsman Paula." Then she shouted back over her shoulder. "Got two more in here!"

"Not Guardswoman?" said Nyght.

Paula shrugged. "Father was in the guard. Wanted a son. Never got one. I joined up anyway. Don't see much value in the distinction."

Scythe nodded. "Alright. Guardsman it is."

Paula glanced at Scythe, the copious red staining his hood and the impromptu bandage. "Could've used a shield there."

"Fuckin' tell me about it," said Scythe.
"You wouldn't happen to know any brilliant dwarven inventors, would you?" said Nyght.

Paula shook her head.

"Well, shit," said Nyght.

Then two more guardsmen, men this time, came in. Followed the line of Paula's gaze down to the two of them. And they stood up slowly, keeping their hands raised and in sight.

"Easy, fellas," said Scythe.
"We know the drill," said Nyght.

"Get in trouble often?" Paula asked.

And they each shrugged. Said in unison despite themselves, "Comes with the territory."

The two guardsmen looked at each other. At Paula. And she looked back at the guardsmen. All three of their faces quizzical.

And Paula said to Scythe and Nyght, "Must be often enough."

* * * * *​

Paula led them out of the shop, and the two guardsmen flanked them. Scythe and Nyght went willingly. Points for good behavior. Maybe they could avoid those damn tight little rope handcuffs the Allirian guard used--

Nope. Soon as they were standing next to Sash Girl by the compound fence, the two guardsmen behind them instructed them to cross their wrists behind their backs. They complied, and those familiar harsh fibers came right back around their wrists, like an old pair of throwaway boots that had somehow found their way back to you jumped back on your feet and the damn things still had that one little fucking rock in them that always poked the hell out of the bottom of your foot and toes.

"Nice day to get arrested, at least," said Nyght.
"Yeah, there's a bright side to everything, isn't there, Paula?" said Scythe.

"Sure," Paula said. "Now sit down. We still need to sort this whole mess out."

And they each plopped down next to Sash Girl. One on either side of her. Paula stood by with the other guard watcher as the other two guardsmen went about clearing and securing the area.

Only a second of silence went by before they had to ask.

"Hey, Sash Girl, you didn't happen to kill anybody with just your thighs, did you?" said Nyght.
"We may or may not have made a bet concerning such a thing," said Scythe.
"No particular reason why."
"Just seemed like something in your bag of tricks."

 

[Tian]

Bloody goddamned smugglers.

He had to admit that Tobias had handled that rather well. A touch rough, a little violent here and there, but well enough. For a long moment, everything there could have gone differently, turned into a whirlwind of blades, blood, and horror. It might have been the day, even, but he somehow doubted it. One day, he would find his end, but it wouldn't be to a bunch of filthy smugglers and dock rats.

Probably.

"Lucks' a fickly bitch, Tobias. A right fickle cunt, and she has absolutely no qualms about putting half a dozen knives in your back when you least expect," he observed as they walked along the streets. Afternoon was growing long, shadows cutting across the street such that there was no sunlit patch anymore, except on the cross streets, and on the dancing, blackwaters of the Shallows themselves. The gulls overheard were their usual raucous selves, and he entertained the idea of spitting a few of them with knives, just for show. Thought better of it, though.

The first hint that there was something wrong was the emptiness of the streets as they approached the compound. Usually, even lat in the day, they would be thronged with people, but now there were only a few brave souls here and there, all in a hurry to be somewhere else. It made his hackles rise, made his senses become more alert. There was no sorcery at play here; he would feel that, and know it for what it was from a fair distance away.

No, this had a completely different stink to it.

Rounding the corner, the crowd came into sight. Onlookers watched on as the crowd murmured in its way, and beyond it, barely seen over the heads, were the helms of the Allirian Guard. Tian's blood turned to ice, for a moment, at the prospect of what he might find. This job has lasted too long anyway. He wouldn't be surprised to find the Captain dead, the entire crew slaughtered, left gutted in the street.

And, perhaps, that was why it was all such a shock.

Pushing through the crowd rather rudely, Tian broke into the open space in front of the company compound. There were several guards present, and - yes, there - the desert woman and the unnatural twins. He eyed them suspiciously, wondering how he could ever have missed the telltale presence of some kind of magic there. Didn't matter right now, though.

"Just what do you think you are doing here, Tian?"

Tian turned in time to see the blond haired Paula approaching. Her face was stern in the same way he had learned to be wary of in women, that look that brooked no nonsense and demanded obedience. He opened his mouth to reply, when she belted him in the gut. Hard.

Tian staggered back a couple of steps, but was otherwise unaffected. Paula, despite having a gloved hand, shook it as if she had struck something a bit harder than she anticipated. "What the fuck are you doing here?" she asked him in a heated voice, as she shook her hand.

Tian shrugged. "Could ask the same of you, Princess." He made a mock bow, stepping back reflexively as her hand moved. She didn't strike him again, though. "Its been a while. Thought maybe you'd grow up a bit and let a grudge go, woman."

She sniffed at him, hands on hips. "I'll ask again, what are you doing here?"

Tian sighed, gestured towards the building. A couple of guards were making their way inside now, swords ready as they opened the door. "Work here. Thought you already knew that. What the hell happened, anyway?" He looked across the street, and saw the bloodstains on the half-cobbled way. There were a few of them, he noted. Also noted six or seven shapes under white sheets, lined up against the side of the street. The flies were already gathering to mount their opening assault on the corpses, he noted. "Looks like a fight."

"Two-Faced Eddie," she snapped. Gesturing toward the mercenaries currently sitting on the street, bound, she spit. "Picked a fight with them. Killed some bystanders, a bunch of his hired cronies, one or two of your company."

He stood silent for a moment, looking across the street, and then at his companions. "Any idea what that fucking prick wanted?" He could guess. To think he had gone off looking for him to ask some hard questions, and while he had been doing that, the rotten bastard had come and paid the company a visit. "I'm sure I can guess."

"Don't know. A higher up is in talking with your boss. Hear she got hurt pretty good, but not nearly as bad as the bastards that went in there."

"Eddie in there?"

"Escaped," she replied, looking a touch angry. "Shame. Someone has to pay for this."

"Any idea who all was killed?" he queried, curious but generally unconcerned. There hadn't been many here in the compound, and the few that had been were mostly staff, not mercenaries. Some cleaning staff, a healer or two. Cold. So cold. But pragmatism was one of his sterling qualities.

"No, I don't. We're identifying them right now. Maybe you could go look, see if you recognize any of them. If you will excuse me, I have to go deal with your companions, now." Suiting her words, she walked away from him stiffly, leaving him to watch after her. Trouble with women, he noted in the privacy of his own head, was that it didn't take much for them to not like you and, once they had made up their mind, you would have an easier time moving a mountain than changing their mind.

Shrugging, he walked to the line of bodies, pulling back the sheets to look at each face, one by ones. Didn't know them, nor that one, that one was one of Eddies thugs, sure as shit. The handless fellow reminded him of someone from somewhere, but was nevertheless nameless.

And then there was Cynthia.

he stared down at her pale, waxen face for a long moment, not able to say anything, and with no one to say it too anyway. After a longer moment, he reached down and closed her eyes with his thumbs and then carefully, almost reverently, placed the cloth back over her still form.

And then walked away, heading through the door the guads had just entered through, past Aeyliea and those same guards, and into the training yard, hands tightly clenched fists at his side. In the center of the ring, he stood in silence, struggling with ancient memories that were almost too feeble to recall.

 

[Aeyliea]

She winced as the healer drove a needle into the flesh of her side, and again as the thread came up taut against her skin, pulling the angry looking edges of split flesh along her ribs together again. Blood wept from the wound, and anywhere Alise touched seemed to bleed even more as the woman abused it some more.

"His head, I want it," she rasped at the guards that stood in front of her with their stern faces, hands still on the hilts of their weapons, as if she would attack them any time. Fools, they were. "Alliria, has it no law? Thugs such as these, they run rampant. Killing my people, and others, they do."

"We've been hunting him for years, Miss Belgar," one of them replied, calling her by her mothers' name rather than her own. Her face twisted in a sneer at that, and their own admission to being unable to apprehend the criminal that had brazenly walked right into her place of business.

"The city, perhaps it should pay to have professionals....deal with him?" she asked. That made them scowl harder, for they could hear the insult in her words. "Taxes, I pay them, yes? Your jobs, you should do them."

"Which is why we are here. You are in a lot of trouble, ma'am," the other said. "Fighting in broad daylight, in the city streets. Seven homicides, doesn't look good."

She gave them a feral grin, teeth showing but absolutely no mirth to be seen. Even as she winced at another tug from Alise. "A citizen, they are attacked and to jail they go? Why, because you are incapable of doing a job?" Her voice was growing heated. It was so unusual for her to let emotion show so plainly, but these fools were...well, fools. "All the taxes my company pays, and when you cannot do your job, to jail we go?"

"Law is the law, ma'am."

"Your law is only the law if someone doesn't pay you enough money, jackal," she said in her native tongue, and spit to one side. She continued in the common tongue, heavily accented as always. "Release my people, you must. The Magistrate, he can come here and discuss things with me. Details, there are, that must be discussed. My people, you may release them to the compound and keep them under guard here." She paused, shook her head, then yelped a little. "Woman, that is flesh, not cloth!"

She noted her second passing through the room, a palpable emotion pouring off him. Such that even the guards, looking up, did nothing about his arrival.

"Well?" she snapped at them. "Go. Under arrest I am not, since I am but a victim here."

 

[Tobias Tookins]

Tobias muttered "fickle bitch indeed," as he strode through the crowd, mirroring Tian up until they got through the edges of whisperers and onlookers, his bulbous retina scanning the area. He saw where the three sat tied up, and he watched as the guardsman, make that woman on closer inspection, went through her ordeal with the shadowy assassin, only to find him lift back the cover to Cynthia's corpse, the woman he'd recognized from out front when he first walked in the Rei Company compound. Judging by Tian's reaction, they had some sort of history, this was certain in Tobias' mind, and when he approached the guard holding the three others captive he slid the man a coin to allow him to speak to the prisoners. Manama was currently arguing logistics of her thighs with the twins when he bent down on one knee to level with them. He took his new hat off his head and rested it on his joint.

"What happened here?" he asked them, Manama looking down and away as if embarrassed by the notion.

"Some mercenaries overran the compound... We set out to take it back," she said. Tobias rubbed a hand over his face.

"And took half the town with'em? Shit mate, this here's a right problem... I dunno how fixable it is." Manama shrugged, her sullen demeanor out of character for her usual composure.

"Gallows are but another step in life," she said. Tobias smacked the girl.

"First time killin' an innocent and yer outlook on life gets stained." He rolled his eyes before looking over at the two. "Can you believe this girl? I swear she's a right fuckin' kitten, meowing as a lion. This shit happens in battle, lass. While ya want to avoid it as much as possible, these things happen!" Manama gave him a blurry, teary eyed snarl as she tried to hit him back, yet her bonds avoided it.

"I have seen battle since I was but a babe resting on my mother's hip! I know of the perils it entails! I simply..." She trailed off as the stretcher laiden with the older woman was carried by, her eyes glancing at it. Tobias turned his head and saw, nodding as he looked back at her, understanding streaming through.

"Aye lass, something to avoid, if possible... But it happens, such is the way of life." He shrugged before moving to stand, looking to the guard as another came from the gates of the compound. Replacing the hat on his head, Tobias looked at the approaching figure. When the guard came closer, he motioned for the twins to be moved inside of the compound. Tobias gave him a queer look as Manama was left out front.

"Oi, what about her?!"

"Bystanders report this one shot the first arrow, her third arrow successfully killing the baker's wife, she's got no choice but the noose." Tobias rushed after him as the man tried assessing other areas of the conflicted street.

"Mate, ya heard how it was already, tough situation, not a lot of options! I ain't sayin' what she did was right, but we gotta remember the grandma didn't have long to live anyways, an' no guard helped them when they came up from what I was hearin'!"

"Okay, what's she worth to ya?" the guardsman asked. The blond woman who seemed to take her job seriously was nowhere in sight, and Tobias groaned as his drinking money was about to be spent.

'I'm startin' ta think this was Not Worth the Price(TM) we originally agreed on,' the newly inducted captain thought to himself. He pulled out a small pouch of gold from his jerkin's inner pockets, throwing it towards the man.

"Fifty pieces in there, well enough fer ya? Take my whole week's labor, why don't ya?!" Tobias yelled, his mad eye popping out of the socket as his face reddened in anger. Faces from the crowd surrounding them gesticulated in horror, reactions apparent from the onlookers. The guardsman, while unsettled, gave a shit eating grin as he nodded.

"I'll be nice fer today, she can stay in the compound since we've been ordered to hold the others here, but if the Magistrate says she goes to the noose, ain't no gold saving her." Tobias flicked him off and walked back to the girl and her captor, motioning for her to be led inside the gates. When the watchman of Manama didn't move Tobias stepped on his boot, pushing him towards the direction of his senior officer while Toby took the chains he held and walked inside with Manama in tow. Some laughter was heard from the paid off guardsman, who told the cursing one to shut his mouth.

 

[Scythe and Nyght]

Disappointed. That was the right word. First, that Tian just walked onto the scene and didn't drop down from gods-know-where when they were least expecting it. There might have been a vague hope somewhere that the man was half-bird or some such. Something sufficiently weird to make their mind-merging seem not all that strange in comparison. Second, imagine if he'd been here and competed with Sash Girl for kills. Solid entertainment right there, and Scythe and Nyght wouldn't've had to work so hard and probably wouldn't've ended up with that nasty wound across Scythe's head.

Hey, good-girl Paula knew roof-lurker Tian. Maybe he had an in to smooth this whole--

No. That gut punch definitely said no.

Two-Faced Eddie? They hear that right? Hell, screw Tian's possible birdman status, if that guy literally had two-faces who the hell would care if Scythe and Nyght had a little spooky magic going on between them? They could only hope. There had to be stranger stuff out there than that, right?

The big man, Mad Eye Toby, showed. Terrible timing. Sash Girl had a whole spiel about the effectiveness of her thighs as impromptu weapons going. If Tian had been here, and she had killed one those thugs with just her thighs, she would have won the competition on style points alone. Unless Tian had a beak hidden somewhere that no-one expected and used that. But none of that happened, so it was neither here nor there.

"Damn, Toby," said Scythe.
"You've got a solid slap there, eh?" said Nyght.
"Believe her? Hell, you should've seen what she did with her thighs."
"Had to be here. Seeing is everything."
"Woulda traumatized me for life. Honest."

You know, some stories didn't need to be based in actual fact. What-could-have-been was far more fun. Let ol' Mad Eye chew on all the possible mental images of that for a while. Sash Girl could try to deny it all she wanted, but the denials would be worth jack next to Toby's priceless imaginings. And he had a big mouth. He'd spread that tall-tale around for damn sure. What a fuckin' belly laugh they'd have if that rumor circulated all the way back around to them one day.

Eh. The bystander. Cynthia. Two cases of wrong place, wrong time. Ol' Mad Eye had a point. Shit happened. Could've been you if the dice rolled out differently. Just be glad it wasn't. This time.

Well. Time to go, it seemed. Guard came out and pointed right at the two of them with an unmistakable knife-hand motion. A nice, strong way to point. The knife-hand. All business, that.

One of the guards watching them made a motion to stand them up, but they stood on their own. And they each staggered a bit, a light-headed feeling overcoming them. A touch dizzy from the blood loss. And it wasn't like that wound had stopped hurting because they had been trying their damnedest to ignore it. Rei Company's resident healer, the one who'd run up to Cynthia back at the market, she was inside wasn't she? At least there was that. Hopefully.

A few hazardous steps, and they got their balance back. The watching guard right behind them, they were shepherded into the main white-washed room of the compound. Yeah. There was the healer. Mangling Cap with a thread and needle. Knitting a damn tunic out of her skin. Oh boy, when would it be their turn? Surely it couldn't hurt any worse than it did now.

Surely.

"Mornin', Cap," said Scythe.
"Mornin', Cap, said Nyght.
"Wait. Is it afternoon yet?"
"I don't know. Afternoon, Cap."
"Afternoon, Cap."

Fuckin' guard left them standing there with their wrists still tied behind their backs, lookin' like a couple of buffoons. What an asshole. They loved it. It'd be the kind of joke they'd play on their old raider buddies, given the chance.

 

[Manama Saar Ba'Dul]

Manama was brought in behind the twins a few moments after, her head hung low and her wrists still bound. One of the guards gave her a contemptuous shove causing her to stumble in her step as she came through the door, her defeated eyes cast back to look at the person before waving it off and continuing. Tobias yelled for the man that was behind her to leave, shaking his head of mangy hair in disappointment. Manama's head was wracked with guilt, dealing with her mishap that was supposed to be a wonderful display of heroism, now turned into sore, aching loss. She'd cost people their lives before the job even begun, innocents who had nothing to do with the events taking place. She looked around the room as the dim glow made her retinas relax in the darker atmosphere than when beneath the cloudy, overcast sky. The tip tap of rain droplets were heard by her as the release from the clouds slowly came about, luckily they were all indoors for now.

"Oi, where's the key?!" Tobias yelled at the guardsmen, one responding that the person he bade leave had it. "Well go fuckin' find it!" He yelled, clearly annoyed. His white cheeks were a rosy hue, he stepped past the twins towards Aeyliea as her wounds were being dressed. "So ma'am, seems to me that the pay grade just rose, aye? Got any information out of these buggers 'bout why they'd openly attack ya? I'm assumin' it has to do with our contract?"

Manama found herself a seat by the doorway and huddled up, hugging her knees to her chest as she wrapped herself up as a babe in the womb, rocking back and forth slightly in thought about the events. The vision of Cynthia and the old woman kept flashing in her mind, the whispers of doubt and guilt taking hold in her heart. It wasn't that she'd never seen killing before, just that she never experienced being the cause of an unwitting death. Memories recollected from her childhood came back as she relived days in her father's shadow, protecting the farmers and traders who walked among the desert dunes, a harsh environment where thieves and lowlifes made a common example of the decent folk. She'd always considered herself as if a separate caste to those squirming retches she helped her father take to the Pit of the Earth, now feeling herself apart of such a group. The lines between black and white blurred for Manama, nothing was certain for her anymore.

 

[Aeyliea]

Alise was muttering under her breath as she worked on her employer, who only grunted and winced every once in a while as she worked. "You know, boss, it would be a lot simpler if I just heale-" she began, but was cut off by the hard eyed mercenary captain.

"Magic, it is not for me. Reliance upon such things, therein lies danger. Too easy. Complacency this may breed," she said, voice acerbic. The last stitch went in, and she gingerly tested her arm. The pain in her bicep was intense, but nothing compared to the wound across her ribs. If the bastard had gone just a few inches higher, there, she would likely not be sitting here right now. "Go assist the twins."

She nodded, rose and made her way towards them. "You can have the needle and the thread, or you can have healing by my art," she told Scythe. The needle would be slower, of course, but there were certain side effects to magical healing. Magical healing would knit together those wounds by accelerating the natural process of healing, but the cost could be unpleasant. They would be hungry, but more importantly, the ghost of that wound would remain for days, a phantom pain where there was no longer any injury. In many ways, it was worse than just letting the wound heal naturally. "Your choice, but be quick about it."

Aeyliea turned her gaze back to the others being led in from outside, and those returning of their own volition. She wanted to call for her secretary but, alas, the woman was now dead. It was a loss, one she didn't like very much, and one that would require remedy sooner rather than later. It would only increase the work load for her, and she would need to shutter the shop while she was gone as a result.

Still, she offered a silent prayer to her ancestors that the woman would be allowed to join their company. It was the least she could do for the woman.

She looked to the door, expecting a magistrate or someone far higher in the chain of command, and was instead confronted by Tobias. "Its afternoon," she snapped at the twins, before fixing her attention on the unkempt smuggler. "My people, you will unbind them," she said, talking around the smuggler and at the guard standing inside the doro with the twins in front of him. "I guarantee their behavior. Where is your Captain or the Magistrate?"

The guard shrugged. "Don't know, ma'am. I'll release these under your recognizance. They leave, its your ass."

"They leave, it's their ass," she noted. The guard shrugged.

"The fracas, it is no part of the job. A different contract there will be, later, for this." The woman stood from the cluttered desk, wincing a bit. Fresh blood trickled from the wound in her side. "No idea have I about the cause. Maybe." She was preparing to dismiss the big man when the door outside opened.

So it would be the magistrate and a Captain of the Guard that she dealt with. The one man was a tall, lean faced and framed man wearing elegant, loose fitting robes, embroidered on the hems. White haired, he was quite old, face wrinkled. His eyes were sharp though.

The other was a man wearing steel breastplate and greaves, blade at his hip. His hair was close cropped, and he wore two swords, one on each hip. All of his relics and rainments were of solid workmanship, crafted to be used. Not for sure. That was good.

"Citizen Terroassa?" the Guard asked as he closed the door behind the magistrate. His pale eyes were hard. "I understand you wished to speak to me - to us - regarding this?" The man gestured around the room.

"Yes," she replied, taking a seat at her desk with a faint gasp of pain. "Some misapprehension about the fault, there seems to be. You are condemning my people?" she asked, politley. The accent was still thick enough to cut with a knife.

The Guard was about to speak, but it was the magistrate that cut him off. "Disorderly conduct, assault with lethal weapons, five cases of murder....why would we not?" The old man's voice was reedy, but strong. "Such displays are against the law."

"Condemn my people for the self defense?" she asked, voice bland. "No sense this makes. Two-Faced Eddie, you are familiar with him?"

"Yes," the Guard growled. It was clear he was, and clear he wasn't happy about it. "Son of a bitch is as slippery as an eel. City has had a bounty on his head for three or four years, now."

"A bounty, you say?" she asked, suddenly interested.

"Yes. Alliria is willing to pay a thousand crowns gold for the fuckers' head on a pike." The magistrate glanced at his companion, but said nothing.

"And yet, knowing that is who is here, holding my people responsible is your plan?" Her face was mostly impassive, except for those hard eyes. Those looked like storms brewing on the horizon. "Edward the Two-Faced, I plan to settle the debt between us. These people, they are with me. They will assist in catching this...criminal, after the current problem we have dealt with."

"I am afraid that will not be possible, ma'am. They will be held in the gaol and tried for their cri-" the magistrate began, passionlessly. Aeyliea cut him off.

"To reconsider, what would it require?" Her question was blunt. Neither the Guard Captain nor the magister seemed taken aback by this. In fact, if anything, they acted as though the expected it. Corruption, everywhere in the city. Aeyliea did not like these places where people resided, building with wood and stone. The fact that these two would take a bribe was only one reason she so disliked the cities. That she would utilize this way out, she was not entirely sure what that said about herself.

"You do realize it is a crime to bribe officers of the law, yes?" the Guard asked impassively.

"The shit, you can cut it. Know both of us that this is how this works. What is the price?"

The pair looked at one another, and then shrugged. "Clean up the mess. Toss us some coin to make the paperwork disappear," he said simply.

She leaned back in her chair, wincing, and rubbed at her temples with her good hand. "The women and the man who were killed, to their family reparations I will pay. For the thieves, I will bury their bodies in a dung pile. And to you, coin will be sent. Is this fair?"

The Guard looked at the magistrate, who nodded. "Very well. We'll expect payment sooner rather than later." They looked about the room, shook their heads, and left without another word.

Aeyliea watched the door after they had left, taking their remaining guards with them. So commonplace that they didn't even care if there was witnesses, although, to be fair, the majority of those witnesses were the ones destined for jail or worse. Still, it would be costly on her part. Her face darkened a touch with anger.

"I want to know who started this, and I want to know now!" she snapped, casting her gaze about the room liberally.

 

[Manama Saar Ba'Dul]

Manama stood abruptly when the commander asked whose fault it was, arm outstretched in the air as she pronounced,

"The first arrow was mine."

She raised her arm back to her side as she stepped forward to allow the attention to focus on her, although her eyes turned to the floor once more in light of her shame. She regretted ever firing, the look on her face apparent of such notion as she struggled to find her words.

"It was... Three of them opposite, opposite end of the street than myself, in front of the gate. I fired upon them when I realized the woman Cynthia and the others were in the area, without scouting out the position for more signs of enemy contact. My foolhardy approach cost us these losses, this is my fault, commander." She knelt to the floor both knees hitting the stone as she bowed her head to the white haired woman, her flowing braids curtaining her face. "I accept any punishment you give me, my life is yours to trade for the ones lost. I don't know how else to make up for the tragedy..." She asked to repay, yet not for forgiveness, she couldn't ask for something she couldn't give herself, the desert girl used to the ways of the far west, Amol-Kalit dishing out harsher punishments than death for those who rush into conflict such as she. She was ever replaying the moments of the day in her mind, a singular theme recurring throughout as she analyzed her brash, foolhardy approach to things. While she had the fire of the sand dunes in her heart, running through her blood, it clouded her mind as the dust storms do a cloudless day, always approaching when peace seemed most attainable. "I am sorry for my actions, however much the notion counts."

Tobias watched with apprehension as the proceedings took place, his bulging eye taking cautionary note of the magistrate and captain who dealt with the Rei Company commander, brushing his mangy hair in his face and looking about whenever one of them looked in his direction, as if he didn't want to be noticed. After they were gone and Manama put on her little display, he sighed as he pulled out a smoke pouch from his belted tunic, retrieving from it a sack of herb and a short stubby pipe, packing it and looking around for a light, as he had none. Noticing only oil lamps in the vicinity, he sauntered over to the direction of the twins and Alise, bumping the arm of Scythe, or was it Nyght? He peered between the two, his eyes moving down to their chest areas before noting it was Nyght he was bumping.

"Gotta flame, lass?" He asked her, offering the pipe over to light, motioning that the two could hit it if they wished as he moved around, assessing the situation. The room was a mess, bolts sticking in the wall here and there, papers fluttering about in the wind from the desk area, the little girl who'd served them earlier out cold on the floor nearby, the old stooge dropping to a knee himself to look her over, the dark outlining of hands on her throat. He grimaced at the sight, as children held a special place in his heart, rage embroiling within at the thought of who would do the sort of thing. "Fuckin' lowlife," he muttered to himself as he stood back up, walking towards the door to the sparring grounds, looking out to see a somber Tian standing stock still. The air about him was unlike the usual facade of easygoing nature he had throughout their short time together, Toby's thoughts of him and the desk girl having a thing confirmed. 'He loved the girl, he did. A fuckin' shame it is...' Tobias thought to himself as he moved back to the twins, waiting for his herbal remedy to be passed.

 

[Scythe and Nyght]

"Magic, it is for me," said Scythe.
"Yeah, I woulda picked the same thing," said Nyght.
"Say, how handy are you with that needle and thread though?"
"Don't listen to him, sweetheart. He's an imbecile."
"What? Why not let her practice a bit on my poor hood? Makes perfect, after all."

Both Scythe and Nyght flinched a bit when Cap told them the time. Caught them off guard. Some people were really punctual. Sundials, those fancy dwarven clocks, paying a kid to count to ten, whatever floated their boat.

At least the guard undid their bindings before Prick and Dick came in. Scythe and Nyght never did like lawmen. They had it easy. Got to do their shakedowns in broad daylight and act all pompous and self-righteous about it at the same time. Not a whole lot of difference between lawmen and raiders, you get right down to it. One of those two was just more honest and upfront about it. Rougher, sure, but no bullshit.

Well, Prick and Dick were Cap's problems, and she had some clout, what with being an established and tax-paying (fuckin' lawmen, had it so easy) merc company.

So Scythe's body undid his impromptu ascot bandage and slowly peeled away the hood, the cloth damn near stuck to his head. He exaggerated his wincing, so that it might draw attention away from Nyght's attempt to hide her own. He lowered his hood. The whole left side of his head and neck was red with rivers and lakes of his blood. But hey, silver lining, at least it was a slow ooze now instead of gushing disaster. Who needed first aid when you could just bleed until you had no more blood left to bleed? Problem solved. Yeah, that's how that worked.

As Cap dealt with Prick and Dick, they spoke in a low conversational tone with the healer:

Scythe: "You wouldn't happen to see that missing piece of my ear stuck somewhere in my hood, would you?"
Nyght: "Think you can wiggle your fingers and grow it back, worse comes to worst?"

Well, seemed Cap reached an agreement with the damn lawmen. Coin, labor, and more coin. Sounded about right. See, these lawmen didn't even have to draw their swords and act tough and deal with caravan guards and none of that--

Scythe and Nyght flinched again when Cap yelled about wanting to know who started it. Gods, okay, so they were a bit twitchy. Didn't react well to sudden loud noises and sudden people jumping down off of rooftops. But that twitchiness helped them survive in the woods and when they were on the run, so...they were just gonna have to look like jumpy idiots every now and again.

Hey, look, that was mighty big of Sash Girl to step up and take the heat for them. They were probably gonna blame her anyway, but good on her for doing that before they even got the chance. Sure, that sounded like an asshole move, but the real asshole move would have been to blame it on Cynthia, what with her too busy being dead to defend herself. There, not so bad, when you compared the two options.

Scythe winced. And Nyght winced a few seconds after.

And she whirled around a bit too fast when the big man bumped her arm. Her face looking like momma caught her eating a freshly baked pie she wasn't supposed to eat before dinner, and some of that surprise leaked through on Scythe's body. Shit. Did Mad Eye notice? The wincing? Fuck. Excuses. Quick.

Gotta flame, lass?

Nyght: "Gotta stomach cramp. Lady problems. Sash Girl knows what I'm talking about, am I right, Sash Girl? Hahahaha...ha..."

Oh. He just wanted a light. For his pipe. What a fuckin' overreaction.

Nyght: "Oh. Suppose I got that too. One...moment..."

And Nyght's body reached into a pouch on her belt. A little firestarter kit. Pulled out a piece of flint and the striking metal and a strip of charcloth. And while Scythe's body kept his eyes elsewhere and let the healer work, Nyght struck the metal against the flint and caught a spark in the charcloth and lit the pipe and shook the flame from the cloth once finished.

And she covered up another wince with a goofy grin at Toby.

 

[Aeyliea]

"Your pay, it is docked," the fiery-eyed captain pronounced almost immediately. The recovered wages from this one mercenary would not come close to the losses incurred by this one afternoon's trouble, but it would help a little. She looked the girl up and down in an almost insulting manner, eyes chips of eyes. "What foolish beliefs do your people hold? A life, it cannot be traded for a life. There is no balance between. Wrong you have done, but live with it you shall. Yours, the burden to bear, not mine. I relinquish the pledge of your life." The last sentence was in her own language, spoken as formal and solemnly as anything could be.

Almost as if, by saying that her life was the Captains, the Captain had taken her literally, and had rejected it out of hand.

"Go speak with my second-in-command. Quarters there are, for on the morrow we sail," she said in clear dismissal. She glanced in the direction of the others.

Alise looked at Scythe and Nyght, a frown creasing her head. The wound was a minor, a nuisance at worst, but probably a painful one. Any reminder such as that had to hurt the pride, at least a little.

"I can 'magic' your ear back, but at a price." She held up a hand to forestall any question of complaint. "Not a price in coin. This is force-healing, and it is hard on your body. And on your mind." It would be unpleasant, like dipping their whole body into a bath of icy water. And even once the wound had been healed, it would hurt. Maybe not for as long as it would have unaided, but more insistent for the fact that the mind would be utterly convinced it was still there, no matter how much they tried to convince it otherwise.

Alise offered a hand, the question in her eyes.

The Captain looked at the girl on the floor, shook her head, and looked to everyone else. "Go and see the second. Lodging will be provided, but be ready to rise early."

A look to the west, through the wall, and a grim, sickly grin on her face. "A new job I may have, once this one is over." Oh, the piles of coin to be had for that...

...but it was the grim satisfaction of laying someone who had wronger her out by their heels that delighted the former warchief the most.

 

[Manama Saar Ba'Dul]

Manama narrowed her own eyes in reciprocation of the insult given to her by the commander, yet silenced her insolence as she had done enough damage. The pay dock was an obvious enactment, something she foretold herself, however when the woman denied her people's very heritage she seethed with the rage that burned even the most calloused of feet. Her people's 'foolish beliefs' were what kept them the dominating force of the region, what helped them to cling to the sparseness enacted upon them by the wilderness they inhabited, something she envisioned the woman unable to understand. Although her harshness was deemed fair in her mind, the rejection of her culture sweltered in her veins as she wanted to lash out for the way she was spoken to. She picked herself up slowly and moved out to the training yard where Tian was, to be pointed towards the quarters for this night. Tomorrow she'd be on a ship to the forests she'd traveled through to get to Alliria, maybe she'd have the opportunity to redeem herself, at least in the eyes of the group. The redemption of her missteps within her soul would be something she'd long bare. Quickly she walked out of the main hall, her steps heavy and her shoulder bumping Tobias' roughly as she passed.

The oaf kept his cool towards her menial nature as he moved to receive the pipe from the twins, puffing on it and blowing the smoke out into the air, his eyes dulling with every hit, his senses indulged to rest as he considered the trouble of today over. He looked about a bit longer as the proceedings concluded, before walking towards the front door of the compound.

"I got me own quarters, I'll meet the rest of ya on the northern end of the docks tomorrow morning, when the sun rises. Try not ta get in anymore trouble while I'm gone, I'd like my sack of coin we originally agreed upon in full." With that closing remark he stepped out into the cool dusk air, closing the door behind him softly so as not to heighten the fiery attitudes any further. Puffing on his stubbed pipe, he shook his head as he began down the street, onlookers dispersing slowly as the guard cleaned the remnants of the day's battle.

'Fuckin' women, always gotta out do one another,' the ugly sea dog thought to himself as he began his stroll home.