[Fletcher & Zade]

"I didn't hear any screaming..." said Fletcher as he and Zade left the brewery.

"I took it easy on him. No need to get rough on him this early."

"Oh. And since when have you been an expert?"

Zade shot Fletcher a nasty look.

"I trust you won't be so gentle tonight when you return?"

"Probably won't have a choice. He's expecting me, thanks to you. If he's smart, he'll have people waiting."

"Take some men with you. Smash up the place, but don't put him out of business. We still want him to be able to pay."

Zade nodded. She'd done this so many times that she almost WAS an expert.

"Who's next?"

"Jeweler just down the street. 'December's Jewels' or something. He's new in town and

we're about to give him a warm welcome."

"Jeweler..." Zade smiled. She liked jewels.

The duo navigated a short, twisting path through the dirty streets of Montfort. Despite the rampant increase in crime that had occurred in the past years, they traveled unmolested. Those who knew them went several blocks out of their way just to avoid them. Others were turned away by Zade's powerful frame and sour demeanor. The dark-skinned mercenary kept one hand on her whip at all times.

Eventually they came to December's Jewels. The two-story building was huge; more like a palatial residence than a place of business. Each wall had large windows... all of which were closed with the curtains drawn. The heavy drapes concealed the interior of the shop. As they watched, the front door swung open and several men walked out. Fletcher didn't recognize them, but judging from the clothing, one of the men was quite rich, and the others must be bodyguards of some kind. Obviously December catered to the extremely prosperous citizens of Montfort.

Zade noticed that, as the men exited the store, she could see their breath billowing around them in thick white clouds. It must be quite cold inside that shop. Then Zade caught a glimpse of something else...

"What's that?" Zade pointed to the far corner of the building. Fletcher looked, but could see nothing.

"What? I don't see anything."

"It's gone now, but I saw something. Something was there watching us."

"SomeTHING?"

"What I saw couldn't possibly have been human."

"What'd it look li-"

"Ethcyuuuse mee!" A fetid smell wafed over the Fletcher and Zade. Both turned and saw a bum... obviously very drunk, staggering towards them.

"parrdon mee. would you haf inny spare gold..."

"No!" spat Fletcher as the man drew close. "Go away!"

"wat avout you misss?" the man turned to Zade. "my, thas a nice ouffit you're wearing... do you hav inny spare coins for a helples-"

"Go away, you're stinking up the street." Zade made a gesture towards her whip. The drunken bum didn't get the point.

"wot avout yuu ssir? do you haf-"

"You asked me already... now BEGONE!"

"i'mm terribly sorrrry to disturrb...oh......oh my.....OOOOOFFF!" The bum suddenly learched forward and vomited... all over Fletcher. The man's immaculate silk shirt was soaked in a foul yellow liquid that reeked of bile and sour ale. Before Fletcher could react, the bum hobbled away, mumbling unintelligible apologies as he went.

"AAARRGH!" Fletcher screamed. "I'm covered in...in....AARRRGH!!"

"Oh, calm down and let's go see this December person."

"Are You Out Of Your MIND!!! I can't be seen like THIS!!! I'll have to go change shirts... and BATHE!!"

Fletcher stormed off, leaving Zade standing alone in the street. After a while, the faintest hint of a smile could be seen on her face. Then, the smile widened into a grin. Finally, several long moments after Fletcher had left, Zade threw back her head and howled in laughter.

[Eric Hood]

Eric walked confidently down the street towards the marketplace.

Lovvorn plodded along a few steps behind him. Despite the fact that it was just past midday, the loudly dressed mage was more than a little drunk. Drunkenness never affected Lovvorn's skill at magic. In fact, the act of casting a few spell seemed to sober the man up considerably, which is probably why he had refused Eric's request to teleport to their destination... no need to waste a good buzz.

"Hurry up," said Eric. "If you're not going to zap us there, then the least you can do is keep up."

"Oh, shut up. I don't know why I have to come along anyway."

"It was your idea. Remember?"

"Oh. Yes. So when are we going to that brewery?"

"Not today."

"Damn. Well in that case I might as well... what's this?"

Eric turned and saw Lovvorn pick up something from the ground.

"What is that?"

With a huge smile on his face, Lovvorn held up a shiny gold coin.

"Now, I think I'll be visiting the brewery ahead of you! Hee-hee!" Lovvorn pushed up his sleeves, revealing two pudgy, tattooed arms. He was about to cast a spell when Eric interrupted him.

"There's another one."

"Huh?"

A golden gleam revealed another coin on the ground some distance away, near the entrance to a wide alley between two large buildings. Eric walked over to it but did not pick it up. Instead, he scanned the area. The street was deserted... odd for this time of day.

"Well, c'mon... pick it up." said Lovvorn as he walked up.

"It's a trap."

"No... It's a gold coin. Now pick it up or move out of my way..."

At that moment a scream erupted. Both men looked up at the same time.

A small girl came barreling down the alley. She was barefoot and dressed in tattered rags that had nearly fallen off of her. The panic-stricken child screamed continuously as she hurtled down the alley directly toward Eric. A second later, a group of five men rounded the far corner and gave chase.

When she saw Eric and Lovvorn, the girl stopped and stared at the with wide terror-filled eyes. She was trapped. The men behind her stopped also, and one of them drew a small rusty sword.

"What's this?" said Lovvorn to Eric. "Why are we all standing here like idiots?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. Looks like they want the girl, but they're waiting to see what we're going to do."

"Oh well. Not our problem." Lovvorn turned and started to walk away. Eric reached out, grabbed his robe and pulled the mage back.

"I know her." said Eric. The tattered clothes. Blonde hair. "Her name's Katerina."

"That's nice." Lovvorn jerked out of Eric's grip. "But I have a tankard of spiced ale waiting on me somewhere." Again he turned and started to leave.

"The boss knows her, too."

There was an uncomfortable pause.

"Damn." mumbled Lovvorn. The mage returned and stood next to Eric.

"The gold is OURS!!!" The sword-wielding thug shouted from the other end of the alley. Katerina looked from him to Eric, and then burst into tears.

"It's mine!" she cried. "The nice man gave it to ME!"

"Leave the girl alone!" said Eric. He couldn't believe he was doing this.

"This is none of your business!" shouted another thug.

"Yours either." said Eric.

The lead thug spat on the ground, and then thought for a moment. Five men against two unarmed men and a girl... Finally, he brandished his sword and rushed into the alley after Katerina.

"Get the girl." said Eric, then he entered the alley as well.

Lovvorn sighed, made a motion with his hands... and disappeared.

[Lovvorn]

He reappeared in the center of the alley, right next to the girl. She jumped and let out a surprisingly loud yelp. Lovvorn snatched the young girl up in his arms and backed out of the way just as Eric Hood ran past him.

[Eric]

As he ran, Eric reached into his pocket and pulled out a dagger. It was small... smaller than most knives of its type. The blade was long and narrow, but very sharp. Eric looked at the sword wielded by his rapidly approaching opponent and smiled.

[Lovvorn]

With his back against the stone wall, Lovvorn struggled to keep control of the squirming child. From his robes, he produced a knife of his own. The child saw the runed blade and, thinking that her throat was about to be slit, redoubled her efforts to escape Lovvorn's grasp.

"Keep still, dammit!" shouted Lovvorn. Katerina kicked the mage in the ribs and started scratching at his face.

"Ouch!" Lovvorn managed to touch the runes on the back of his hands. His skin instantly turned as hard stone. "HA!" he laughed at the girl. Her continued efforts to scratch him only resulted in bleeding fingers and painfully broken fingernails.

With one hand firmly clamped around the girl's neck, Lovvorn lowered the child and then knelt down. He began to mumble, and then took the blade and drew a wide circle around himself and the girl. When the circle was completed he hastily scratched a large design just outside the circle, and another, smaller one on the inside.

With the spell complete, Lovvorn picked the girl up.

"Now," he said, "Let's watch uncle Eric work... I could have teleported us out of here, but we'd miss all the fun."

[Eric]

As Lovvorn made his circle of protection, three of the thugs engaged Eric. The sword-bearer was first. With a sudden motion, Eric ducked under the thug's clumsy attack and then stepped in close to the man. There was a glint as the sunlight caught Eric's blade, but it soon vanished as the dagger disappeared into the thug's side. Eric moved behind the man and then back around to the front before he jumped away.

Despite the two other men rapidly approaching him, Eric took a moment to admire his own handiwork.

A single, deep cut ran upwards from the man's kidney and diagonally across his back before turning sharply vertical at the jugular, continuing down the chest and finally ending with a deep puncture at the stomach. The thug stood frozen, like a fountain of blood... almost unaware of the fact that he was dead. Eric smiled, then suddenly remembered he had two more men to deal with.

[Lovvorn]

Two men broke away from the group and approached them at a fast run. When the first man hit the protective circle, there was a brilliant flash of light as fire erupted all around him and instantly reduced him to ashes. The second man drew to a halt just short of the circle, but he was running so fast that his momentum threw him off balance and carried him into the deadly trap. In a flash, he too was gone. Lovvorn giggled, and then broke out into wild laughter.

[Eric]

The second thug had a small dagger of his own. A quick motion by Eric nearly severed the man's hand at the wrist. A second motion opened his throat, and a hard shove sent the dying man careening into his comrade. Both men went down just as the first flash erupted for Lovvorn's circle. Eric turned just in time

to see the second man die. Distracted, he barely saw the last thug rush him. Eric smacked the knife out of the man's hand and sunk his own blade deep into the thug's ear. The man collapsed instantly.

[Lovvorn]

"See," said Lovvorn, "Wasn't that fun?"

Lovvorn ran his foot across the interior rune of the protective circle, breaking the spell. The tremendous energy buzzed around the man and girl for several seconds before it dissipated back into the ether from which it had been drawn. Lovvorn then dropped the girl, but still kept a firm grasp on her shoulder.

[Eric]

"Amateurs," mumbled Eric as he paced amongst the bodies.

"What do we do with the girl?"

"Damned if I know."

"You mean we're just going to let her go?" asked Lovvorn.

Eric sighed.

"I guess so. Girl... where is your father?"

Katerina shrugged.

"He run off with the gold, is that it?"

The girl shook her head, and then reached into the folds of her tattered clothing and brought out the pouch that December had given her the day before. It was considerably less full, but there was still some gold left. As the girl held the cloth pouch, a few gold coins slipped out of it and fell to the ground.

"You been looking in that thing?" asked Eric. Katerina nodded.

"Well stop. You're dropping gold all over the place. Pick it up and get outta here. Come on, Lovvorn."

The two men turned and walked out of the alley. Katerina quietly followed behind them for several yards before Eric heard her.

"You followin' us?"

Katerina nodded, and then smiled slightly.

"Stop it. Go away. And keep that gold hidden or you'll have half the town chasing after you."

Katerina shook her head, walked up to Eric, and gave him a sorrowful look.

"Awwww...she likes you." said Lovvorn sarcastically.

"Shut up and get us out of here."

"Fine..." Lovvorn made a wide flourish with his arms and both he and Eric vanished, leaving Katerina alone in the street.

[Sinterbourne]

Damion stood in the dark hallway before the thick, wooden door. He knocked loudly, and then produced a small metal key. Without waiting for a response to his knock, Damion unlocked the door and entered.

There was a strong chemical smell in the air that caused Damion to wrinkle his nose. The room was a jumble of long, flat tables which were covered with vials, beakers and other curiously twisted pieces of glassware. Potions and liquids of a thousand different colors were boiling, bubbling and sizzling, a cacophony of sounds that was almost like music.

"Who's there!" said a timid voice from beneath one of the tables.

"It's me. Who else would it be?"

"Could be one of THEM!"

"Don't be ridiculous. Stand up."

Damion shook his head. His alchemist grew more paranoid with every passing day... must be all the fumes in the room. The ventilation was quite poor....

A yellow-haired man dressed in rough brown alchemists robes stood slowly and began shooting nervous glances at the still-open door.

Damion kicked the door closed. It slammed shut, and the lock engaged automatically. The man relaxed... slightly.

"W-was there anyone asking about m-me? Have they come f-for me?"

"No one cares about you," said Damion.

"Yes, yes they do! They'll come... you have to protect ME!"

"You're safe here with me, alchemist. As long as you keep producing the potion, I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

"Potion. Potion...."

"You HAVE finished the new batch, haven't you?"

"Oh Yes! Right here!"

The alchemist pointed to a smaller table in the corner. There were five beakers sitting on it, and each beaker contained an oily liquid that was bright blue with red streaks running through it.

"Good. I'd hate to think you would disappoint me. I'd have to let you go..."

"NO!! PLEASE let me stay! I'll make as much as you want, just DON'T LET ME GO!"

Damion nodded with a sinister smile.

"...only..."

"Only what?" Damion's smile faded.

"Only I can't make any more... I need more Foosh. I can't make the potion without Foosh!"

"We've got enough potion for tonight. You'll have more materials soon." Damion sighed. "I don't suppose you could use less Foosh... the expense is cutting into my profits."

"Oh NO! The proper proportions are ESSENTIAL! The healing herbs... the Foosh... the hemp and poppy dust... everything absolutely MUST be added in the proper amounts."

"But you could try, couldn't you?"

"no...no...no..."

Damion stared at the small man and frowned.

"yes...yes...yes..."

"Good." Damion turned to leave

"Wait!"

"Yes?"

"You haven't seen him, have you?"

"Who?"

"The assassin! They'll send assassins after me! I know... I KNOW!!"

"Assassins? Now why would the alchemists guild send assassins after you? What did you do?"

"NO! Not me! I didn't do it! But I KNOW! I KNOW WHO DID! They're going to kill me! You have to HIDE me! Find Rennan! Find him and tell him I'm SORRY!"

"Rennan?"

"They think HE knows, but it's ME! I know! They're going to kill me! They'll send assassins!"

"Again with the assassins... You haven't been dipping into the Foosh, have you?"

"Nonono! I don't touch the Foosh! Just some poppy and hemp... helps me work."

"It's making you paranoid."

"No! They're going to find me and kill me! It's TRUE! They'll send... oh...OH GODS HELP ME! THEY'LL SEND HIM!!"

"Him? Him who?"

The panic-stricken alchemist resumed his position beneath the table.

"Him who?" repeated Damion

"He doesn't have a name... Nothing can keep him away! He'll find me!"

"No, he won't. What does this man look like?"

"You won't see him! All you'll see... all you'll see is... is..."

"All I will see is what?"

"Blue!"

"Blue?"

"BLUE!"

Damion nodded and left the room, but not after making a mental note to reduce the crazed alchemist's access to his supply of drugs. The man was obviously losing his grip on reality...

"Blue assassins... Indeed..."


[To Be Continued]