"Can't be any worse than fighting a deranged griffinhawk with an army of undead rabbits," Narrita said with a smile. "Whatever you need, Gertrude, we've got you covered."

"Don't be so confident, Narrita. You shouldn't take deals when you don't fully understand the terms."

Horace hovered over Narrita's shoulder. "I knew there was something fishy goin' on! I told you that can't just go in and ask a witch for a favor. Now she's going to—"

A quick elbow to the bulky man's gut made him silent. "Shut it for now, Horace! We haven't even heard the old lady's offer! Stop complaining and just let her say what she was going to say."

"Thank you. Now. Back to the terms." Gertrude walked to the edge of the other side of the shack and glanced towards the washroom. "Looks like Edith is still busy." Gertrude pushed away a loose bit of her gray hair back into place before facing Narrita again. "I am old. Very old. I don't have much time left now. And I need someone to take care of Edith when I finally pass."

Narrita's face turned red. Startled, she staggered back while looking at the old witch. "You’re saying you want us to take care of Edith?"

Gertrude nodded. "I know it is a lot to ask."

"It really is, lady. It's the kind of thing that you should bring up as soon as possible."

"Well, I didn't want to send my only child off to be with some deranged lunatics."

Narrita and Horace looked at each, both staring into the other's eyes with pure confusion. "You don't have some family or something that would be able to take her in? Or maybe a friend? Farrowport even has more than few orphanages, you know."

"If these options were viable then I wouldn't have asked you. Edith is the last in the family line. We have no relatives to take her in. And as you can clearly see, we have no neighbors for miles."

"Still got the orphanages."

"What do you think they'll do to a girl that doesn't age?" Gertrude put her hands on her hips. "They'd execute her in a few years when they realized that she doesn't get older! The first thing they'd blame would be necromancy and would hang or drown her!"

"But.. they'd be correct."

"That still doesn't make it right! Commoners always blame the darker magics for what they do not understand! And even then, I know the orphanages here in Farrowport don't put the children first. The owners are always exploiting naïve visitors to the island by asking for donations and pocketing the little they manage to get."

"A roaming band of thieves is your best option, huh?" Narrita asked.

"I hate to admit it. But I have no other choice. Edith seems to take a liking to you. I'd rather her live with thieves than have her fend off against the elements alone."

With a sigh, Narrita turned to the other Cutthroats. "We'll have to discuss this a bit. You mind giving us a minute?"

"Of course." 

Narrita whistled and pointed to the front door. "All right boys, let's head out. We've got an emergency meeting!" She led the procession, while the third Cutthroat closed the door to the shack once they were all outside. With the wave of her arms, she ordered the men to gather next to her in a huddle. 

"What's on your mind Narrita?" Horace asked with a whisper. 

"I'm... torn. I really am," she replied with a huff. "Edith's a great kid. She really is. But she's also a handful."

"Is that rabbit gonna tag along?" 

"Yeah. I can't see her ditching Mister Cuddles. Ever. That's her only friend."

"I don't want him reekin' up the place." Horace plugged his nose. 

"You act like the hideout doesn't already smell like dirt and alcohol."

"We don't need it smelling any worse."

"We'll plant some flowers or something!" Narrita raised her voice, having grown frustrated with the topic. "We've got a serious decision to consider and I need your genuine input."

Horace took a finger and scratched where his hair came in contact with his bandana. "That's a couple more mouths to feed. You know how hard times can get during the winter months."

"But we always make do!" Narrita shot back. "We've got resilience. Not like that kid and her rabbit need that much food anyway."

"Well, do you really want to raise that kid to be a thief? That's the kind of habit she's going to pick up she's hanging around Cutthroats all day."

The leader put her hand to her forehead. She took in a deep breath as she looked to the ground. "We might have to rethink what it means to be a Cutthroat."

Both Horace and the other bandit looked at Narrita with shock. "What?" they exclaimed simultaneously.

"Maybe... we should reconsider about our choice in profession."

Horace reached over and placed a hand on Narrita's forehead. He tilted it back, angling her head so her eyes locked with his. He then squinted as he focused on her pupils. "Did you eat something during your trip through the woods? You know better than to munch on wild mushrooms!"

Narrita pushed Horace's hand away and gave a scowl. "No, you dolt! I didn't eat any mushrooms! I'm being serious right now. What's our plan, huh? Steal until we die?"

"Yes!" Horace nodded his head while mouth hung open from shock. "That's in our code! Our mantra!"

"Maybe it's time we rethink it then."

"But you came up with it!"

"Times have changed!" Narrita pointed to the shack while staring back at Horace. Her eyes were a deep crimson, much like her cheeks. "Have you seen where our thieving has gotten us? We caused Gertrude years of heartache and it got Pierce killed!"

"Our thieving didn't get Pierce killed, Narrita," Horace replied relatively calmly. "That Xiwaoan girl and her friend are responsible!"

"They wouldn't have come after us if we didn't nab all of Tamma's stuff!"

"Tamma wouldn't have gotten her stuff stolen if she didn't run through our part of Farrowport!"

"That doesn't make what we did right, Horace!"

"You're really not acting like yourself, Narrita. You know, your head felt warmer than usual. You must have caught something to be yabberin' with all this crazy talk."

Narrita planted one hand on her hip. "What's crazy about what I said, Horace? Tell me. How is stealing all right?"

"How is anything right in this world? You think just because you're getting soft right now, the rest of the world is going to follow suit?" Horace said. Angered, Narrita turned her head to the side. Horace pointed a finger at her as she kept her body angled away. "Life's unfair, Narrita. After all we've been through, you should know this better than anyone else. Your parents didn't care about you. The Officials of our hometown didn't care about us. And don't forget about all those rival gangs that stole from us when we were vulnerable! Being nice gets you nowhere."

"There's a difference between being a pushover and showing a bit of compassion, Horace."

"Not much, Narrita. Not much."

"So then what do you suggest? We just leave the kid here? So she can find her mother dead in her bed one morning and be forced to fend for herself miles away from civilization?"

Horace patted his hands against his chest. "That's what we had to do, Narrita! Remember?"

"Yeah. But we actually grew. Got older. That doesn't happen to that poor girl!"

Horace threw his hands up in the air and turned around. "If you wanna be the mother of an eternal eight-year-old, who am I to stop you? You're the leader, after all. At the end of the day, what I've got to say doesn't make a difference. And the way you're talking makes it seem like you've already made up your mind."

"That obvious, huh?"

The third Cutthroat nervously nodded his head. "Yeah. It is."

"Well, I hope you don't mind us expanding our numbers. We're bringing Pierce back along a couple new members to our crew. Eventually. One day."

"Let's just hope that old witch has more than just a few more years of life in her," Horace said as he placed his hand on the door to the shack. "Is all right if we go back inside now? I wanna get back to our hideout and out of this swamp as soon as possible." 

"Yeah. I'll tell her myself." 

Horace held the door open, letting Narrita enter first. Gertrude stood still, watching the Cutthroat leader's eyes as she took a seat by the table. 

"Finished with your discussion?" Gertrude asked. 

"Yes," Narrita replied calmly. 

"And what decision did you come to?"

Narrita's demeanor remained calm despite the rapid beating of her heart. "I'll take her in once you pass."

"Oh, Narrita," Gertrude said with a big smile. She took hold of Narrita's hand with both of hers. "You don't know how much you're helping an old woman! I haven't been able to sleep because I just didn't know what to do with Edith."

"We'll take good care of her, Gertrude," Narrita replied, unable to stop a grin from forming. "She'll be safe with us."

"More like you'll be safe with her!" Gertrude laughed, eventually spreading to Narrita. "Especially after that encounter with the griffinhawk."

"Oh, don't remind me. If the rest of the gang hears about that, I'll never live it down."

"Fine, fine. Fair enough. In regards to our little pact... it will take effect the moment that I cast the spell on your Beacon. So once I commence the ritual, there will be no way to reverse your end of the deal. Is that something you're willing to accept?"

Narrita nodded her head. "Of course."

"Wonderful! Now with that taken care of, there's only one thing left to do."