“Well, that was a lovely meal, but I really must be going now,” Captain Claremont said.

“Where you heading off to?” Anna asked.

“Meeting up with some of my men to discuss the business I told you about,” he replied.

Oh, he must mean the stuff that got stolen from him.

“Want me to help?” Anna asked.

“Oh, no. I couldn’t possibly take up any more of your time,” he replied.

“It’s fine. I don’t have anything else going on today,” Anna said.

“It might be dangerous,” he replied.

“I’m sure I’ll be fine,” she said.

He smiled and nodded at her.

“That’s true. Well, come along then. I’m sure they’re wondering where I’ve gotten off to anyway,” he replied.

My friends are probably still hung over.

They left the café and headed towards the main road where they walked about halfway to the gate before turning down one of the side streets. They followed this street for a while before turning down another and then another and before long, she found herself in a part of the city that could only be described as seedy.

Her companion didn’t seem the least bit bothered by their surroundings and continued to swagger around as if there weren’t dead bodies rotting in the gutters every few blocks. He walked down an alley and then stopped in front of a formidable-looking door where he rapped on it in an odd rhythm.

“That you, boss?” a man asked after pulling a slide open.

“Yes, now open the door, Bruno,” he replied.

She heard a clunk as the bar was lifted from the door, and then it swung open. Captain Claremont gestured for her to enter as he had at the café, though it didn’t feel like he was being a gentleman having her walk into a place like this.

When she entered the building, she spotted an enormous man standing next to the door wearing sailor's clothing.

Yeah, he’s a Bruno.

She glanced around the room for a moment, noticing a few more scummy-looking men wearing sailor's clothing lounging around inside.

“Who’s the slit?” one of the men asked.

“Anna and watch your mouth. She’s my guest,” Captain Claremont replied.

“Sure thing, boss,” the man said.

“What did you find out?” Captain Claremont asked.

“They’re holed up in an old warehouse, and they still got it with them,” the rude man replied.

“Good. How many men does she have?” Captain Claremont asked.

“Three or four. One of them is Simmons, though,” the rude man replied.

“Leave him to me,” Captain Claremont replied.

“We best get going, boss. Don’t want them to slip out while we gab,” the rude man added.

Captain Claremont nodded, and the men stood up and picked up their weapons. They had a motley assortment of long knives, short swords, clubs, and crossbows, with Bruno carrying a massive hammer that looked like it should be driving fence posts into the ground instead of bashing men’s skulls in. He grinned at her, a gap-toothed grin, when he noticed she was looking. They filed out of the building and into the street, leaving one man behind to close and bar the door.

They crept though the alleys, not exactly sneaking, but they also weren’t making a commotion. She followed them through the winding alleys and watched them break into a run when crossing streets, clearly not wanting to get spotted by the guards.

They reached the warehouse less than an hour later. The men lined up against the wall, and Bruno walked to the other side of the door, clearly intending on bashing it in with his hammer. She stood next to Captain Claremont who clearly intended on being the first man in the room.

The captain drew his sword and nodded at Bruno, and the big man swung his hammer, hitting the door near the handle, causing it to explode inward. The captain surged forward, following the door as it opened, and Anna was right behind with the rest of the men pouring into the room after.

Captain Claremont stopped dead when he found himself face to face with several crossbows. Anna shoved him down when she heard the twang of the crossbows being fired and ended up being hit with several bolts. Men behind her screamed as they were stuck by the bolts that had flown past her.

Four my ass! There has to be twenty of these pricks!

She exploded into action, moving across the room in a blur and viciously kicking one of the crossbowmen in the side, sending him screaming into the next man, and knocking them both to the floor. She snatched up his fallen crossbow and used it like a club, smashing the skull of another. Captain Claremont and his men recovered from the shock of the bolt, and a furious battle ensued.

Captain Claremont’s men fought valiantly but stood little chance of defeating the larger better-armed force. At least, they wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for the fact Anna was rampaging around the room, tossing men around like a rabid bear, all while screaming profanities like a dwarf that just stubbed his toe.

“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!!!” a woman screamed.

Anna tossed a man aside and looked to see that two more people had arrived. One was a tall red-haired woman wearing a loose-fitting white shirt and a black leather bodice along with a tight pair of pants and tall boots. She was holding a long thin sword in one hand and was scanning the room with a look of disdain on her face.

The other newcomer was a man who had the look of a hardened killer. She’d seen his type before and tried to avoid them. They were usually mean, and she didn’t like mean people.

The woman stabbed one of Captain Claremont's men through the heart, killing him instantly before yanking her bloodied blade out and lunging toward the next man. Anna rushed her before she could kill him and tackled her to the floor. She started to strangle the woman, hoping to choke her out without killing her. The woman struggled and slammed the hilt of her sword against the side of Anna’s head trying to break her grip.

JUST GO TO SLEEP YOU BITCH!

The killer drew his sword and swung it down at Anna’s neck in an attempt to decapitate her. She sensed it coming and stiffened her body so when the blade struck her neck, it rebounded as if the man had hit a stone wall.

She’d expected this. What she hadn’t expected was the spell within the blade to go off just above her. The force pulse that was intended to blast through armor and magical defenses blasted through the air, knocking over most of the people in the room, including the sword’s wielder.

Anna squeezed the woman’s throat harder, cutting off both her airway and the blood flow. The woman went limp quickly. Anna let go, not wanting to kill her. She looked down at the woman’s face and noticed she had a strange sparkling pendant around her neck.

Pretty!

Anna ripped the necklace off and stuffed it down the front of her dress before snatching the woman’s sword and hopping up. The blast had stopped the fight with men of both sides strewn around the room limply. She rushed over to Captain Claremont who was lying on the ground.

Oh, good. He’s alive.

She slapped his face a few times to help him come around before pulling him to his feet.

“What in the name of the gods happened?” he asked, looking around.

“He used a magic sword, and the spell went out of control,” Anna replied.

“Simmons, you bastard!” he said.

“If Simmons was the one that had the magic sword, he’s dead,” Anna replied, pointing at the mangled corpse.

Captain Claremont stared at the body for a moment and then shook his head as if trying to focus.

“We need to see who’s alive and then get what we came for and go before someone else shows up,” he said.

“Can you stand on your own?” she asked.

“I think so,” he replied.

He wabbled a few times but managed to stay upright. They searched the room, and out of the eight men that Captain Claremont had brought, only three remained. Bruno was one of them, and out of the twenty crossbowmen, only two had survived. The red-haired woman lived as well. She dragged the enemy survivors into a corner and tied them up, making sure to gag them as well. She also took the red-haired woman’s sword belt and wrapped it around her waist, deciding to keep the long thin sword.

It’s much nicer looking than my black sword.

Bruno and the captain searched the room that the red-haired woman and Simmons had come out of and returned with a small chest.

“That it?” Anna asked.

“Yes, let’s get out of here,” Captain Claremont replied.

The surviving members of Captain Claremont’s party picked up their dead and exited the warehouse, rushing back through the alleys, and making their way back to their hideout.

Once they arrived, the captain knocked on the door again in the same rhythmic fashion as he had done earlier that day. The man slid open the peep and then immediately unbarred the door and pulled it open.

“What happened, sir?” he asked.

“It was a trap,” Captain Claremont replied.

“Dammit all to the abyss!” the man replied.

“I’d like to know how she found out,” one of the surviving men asked.

“Doesn’t matter now. We just need to lay low for a few days, then get to the Dawn Star,” Captain Claremont replied.

“I need to go,” Anna replied.

“What? No! People are going to be looking for us for days!” Captain Claremont said.

“I’ve got a ship to catch in the morning, and I doubt Red’s gonna be doing much of anything tonight,” Anna replied.

Captain Claremont gave her a hard look and then nodded.

“Keep that sword out of sight. It’s well known, and people will ask questions if they see you with it,” he said.

She nodded, then took the sword belt off and wrapped it around the hilt, making sure to cover it as best she could. Captain Claremont walked her to the door and then held out his hand.

“We’d all be dead if you hadn’t come along. Thank you,” he said.

She smiled and shook his hand.

“I’m glad I could help,” she replied.

“You made yourself a friend today,” he said.

“So did you,” Anna replied.

She left the hideout and headed back towards the main street, zipping down the alleys faster than she’d been led there, wanting to get back to the inn before the sun went down. Unfortunately, the streets were packed with people, and by the time she got back to the inn, the sun was down, and the street lamps had been lit.

When she walked through the front door, she noticed her friends sitting at a table looking rather haggard. She walked over and sat down. The others just stared at her.

“What the fuck happened to you?” Voekeer asked.

“I got in a fight,” Anna replied.

“What do you mean a fight?” he asked.

“Well, when I first went out, some men offered to show me a good place to eat, but they ended up leading me into an alley, and one of them pushed me against a wall and held a knife to my face while he grabbed my boob and licked my face,” Anna replied.

“What have I told you about following strange men around, child?!” Barika said.

“Not to,” Anna replied.

“So, why’d you do it?” Barika asked.

“Well, they were dockworkers, and the dockworkers were always nice to me in Fishport, so I thought it’d be okay,” Anna replied.

Barika just sighed and shook her head.

“You didn’t kill them, did you?” Lyreen asked.

“No, I just bit off his tongue and then broke some bones, that’s all,” Anna replied.

“You know you’re not supposed to bite people!” Barika said.

“Don’t be so hard on her. I’d have bit the prick's tongue off if he licked my face,” Elaine replied.

“Yeah, that was just nasty,” Lyreen added.

Barika looked around the table and then sighed.

“Alright, this one time, biting was alright, but don’t make it a habit!” she said.

“I won’t,” Anna replied.

“So, where’d you get the sword?” Voekeer asked.

“I bought it from a merchant. He had a whole blanket of swords and things,” Anna replied.

She handed him the sword, and he pulled it from the sheath and whistled.

“Damn, how much did this cost you?” he asked.

“Twenty silver,” Anna replied.

Voekeer looked at the blade again.

“You stole it for that price,” he said.

“I know, right?!” Anna replied excitedly.

She smiled at her friends as they passed the sword around the table and talked about how they wished they hadn’t been too sick to go out with her that day.

I wish I could tell you all the truth, but I don’t think that’s a good idea right now.