Chapter 8

Three things happened in a pair of seconds.

Firstly, the leader of the posse approaching Kaze tried to grab her shoulder. That was all the excuse I needed to take aim and shoot him through the pelvis. And, no sooner had the bullet cleared the barrel than Rugar and I dove beneath the table as the air erupted with flying steel.

In close, confined quarters, no one beats a knife witch. Dozens of fifteen centimeter long blades, each flying at a considerable fraction of a bullet’s velocity and spinning through the air like an autoscythe, burst free of Kaze’s harness and went to work. Each one was aimed at a target: weapon hands, exposed knees and elbows, eyes, scalps, whatever she could target to take a potential enemy out of the fight without killing them outright.

The smart ones, older adventurers who knew an impending fracas when they saw one, ducked under their own tables when Rugar dove for cover. The dumb ones, the slow ones, or the ones who trusted their gear a little too much, didn’t.

A spray of atomized blood filled the air before the first person had the chance to scream. And then, it was over. The knives shook themselves clean and slid back into their new homes beneath Kaze’s cloak.

She never even lifted a finger.

“Gods,” Rugar breathed.

“Bet you’re glad you didn’t take that bounty,” I said. We were still under the table.

“Did she-”

“No one dead,” I said. “So long as they stay put and wait for healers.”

“I’ll have to sort the wheat from the chaff myself, then.”

He drew a handaxe from his belt and started to rise. I motioned him to stay still.

“We’re coming out,” I called. “Rugar is neutral.”

“Understood,” Kaze replied.

I nodded to him and clambered to my knees.

Say what you will about adventurers, but they’re a hardy bunch. There were very few actual screamers in the crowd. Lots of muttered curses or healing incantations, but few screamers.

“All of you, stay down,” Rugar ordered. “That was legitimate self defense. If you were caught in the crossfire, the Guild will compensate you. Anyone who rises, I’ll assume, is out to break Guild neutrality.”

For most of them, this wouldn’t be their first time laying on the floor of a Guild inn, bleeding and cursing their luck. Fights between adventurers tend to be brutal, short, and chock full of collateral damage. Bystanders get caught out all the time.

It’s often wondered why the Guild doesn’t simply ban fights on their premises. The short, simple answer is, they can’t stop folk from defending themselves. What they can do is make being the aggressor a death sentence. Anyone too dumb to take things outside or, if their opposite number refuses, go back to the bar for another drink to cool their temper, gets to deal with enforcers like Rugar.

Most of the patrons were, I assumed, waiting to see how things played out. Ten thousand coins was a hell of a lot of gold. If we struck first and they helped take us down, they were entitled to a share of the prize. They just needed a sucker to pick a fight.

That sucker was on the ground with a shattered pelvis. His friends lay next to him, or in a couple of cases, slumped across him. None of them were in great shape. Kaze had to go through them to disable the rest of the crowd.

Rugar leaned down and slashed the man’s throat with casual ease as we approached Kaze.

“We need to go,” she said.

“Agreed. Rugar?”

“I’ll tell the Guild what happened. You’ll keep your standing,” he promised.

“Even if the hero pushes?”

“He can push all he wants. He’s not a member,” he said.

“Works. I owe you one, old friend.”

“Nah. Even. You pulled me out of that mess with the arachne.”

“Heh. You always did have a thing for long legs, old man.”

I held out my hand. He clasped it, and pulled me in for a hug.

“Watch yourself. There’ll be more where that came from.”

“Usually is,” I said, and turned to my companion. “Shall we?”

“A moment.”

Kaze collected her knife sharpening implements and packed them away neatly. She already had my cartridge box loaded, and the accompanying tools loaded in my pack. I helped her get her load on her shoulders, got mine up, and gave my gear a final check. We had a few seconds, so I reloaded the fired pistol and tucked it into my belt.

It was a good thing she stopped me from rushing off. I might need that shot.

“There an alternate exit?” I asked.

“Roof,” Rugar said. “Short hop to the closest building, then an alley beyond. Head to the river. You’ll never make it out on foot.”

“We’ll need a boat,” Kaze said.

“Ask for Lugar. My cousin. Not cheap, but fast and he stays bought. Good luck.”

Kaze gave the old dwarf a friendly pat on the shoulder, and we made for the stairs.

Roof access was hidden in a cleaning closet on the second floor. I popped the hatch open with my musket. She leapt through gracefully. I had to haul my lanky form up the hard way.

It didn’t take long to find the building Rugar spoke of. The inn’s closest neighbor was a bakery, closed for the evening, and likely unoccupied. She simply stepped up on the sill and hopped across. I needed a running start. We both made it, but one of us was more dignified in the attempt.

On the backside of the bakery was an iron ladder, leading down into a darkened alley. I grabbed on to either side of the metal uprights and clambered down. She didn’t bother, landing soundlessly next to me.

“Showoff,” I murmured.

“Always.”

We took a second to collect our bearings. The river was to the north, about a half kilometer, as the crow flew. The problem was, neither of us knew the town well enough to navigate through the alleys to get there. We’d have to take the streets, and that could be risky.

“The good news is, they’re only looking for me,” I said. “The bad news is, I stand out. Ideas?”

“We need a distraction.”

That we did, but what?

The alley was littered with the usual refuse from a town. Among the clutter, Kaze found a long iron pipe.

“Can you time a fuze?”

“Yes. What do you- oh. Oh, you’re good.”

“I’m wildly aware,” she said. “Load.”

I did. I grabbed a cartridge for my box, slipped a detonator in the end, and fed it a measure of mana. The reagents within were sensitive to magic. The more mana I added, the slower the reaction. I gave it about enough for three minutes and then pinched the tube.

Kaze examined it and, after a moment’s thought, crimped the end closed with her bare fingers. She propped it up against a wall, the makeshift muzzle to the sky.

“Neat trick.”

“I’m stronger than I look.”

“Clearly. We’ve got three minutes,” I said.

“Good. Walk fast, but don’t run. They should hear the shot and assume we’re here.”

She might not’ve known much about adventuring, but she knew people.

“Lead the way,” I said. “With any luck, we’ll make the river by nightfall.”