Chapter 11

Outside, Liriel and Elara sat in near darkness, their keen eyes fixed on Garven and his three friends through the open basement window. The small, rectangular opening was just tall enough for them to squeeze through, but for now, they patiently waited and observed. A handful of dim lamps provided the only illumination in the subterranean space. The band of slavers was huddled over a table tucked away amidst crates, casks, and pub supplies, their papers scattered around them.

"Hey," Liriel murmured, "what do you think they're gonna do? 'Where's my hat?' or 'I thought this was the pisser'?" Elara chewed her lip and waggled her head back and forth in the darkness.

"Hmm...Kael's got a shy bladder and he knows we're watching. It's either gonna be 'Where's my hat?' or 'Catch that duck'." She murmured back, hedging her bet.

"Gotta pick one..." Liriel chided her. She watched Elara observe the dimly lit room again through their limited view.

"Hat." She finally decided. "Is this taking a while? I feel like it's taking a while." She shifted her weight from one foot to the other to stay ready. "You think Eya got into position?"

"Little miss Knockout Drops?" Liriel shook her head. "I'm not counting on anything right now, except that they're gonna go with pisser." When she didn't get a reaction out of the ranger, she finally turned to look at her friend. Elara was concentrating heavily on the little sliver of door she could see at the top of the stairway into the basement. "They're fine, 'lara. If she steps in it, they'll bail her out. They know what they're doing." Elara looked over and nodded.

"Yeah. I'm not worried; half-assed and ill conceived. Typical Grissen night for us, right?" Liriel lightly punched her shoulder and grinned.

"You know you love it." Another minute of silence passed for them, while inside Garven was apparently getting heated with his coworkers. Aside from their target, there were two humans and a half-orc clustered around the table. He appeared to be handing out assignments to them, or at least trying to. His authority with them did not seem to match what he thought it was. As the argument came to a head, the door at the top of the stairs opened. Their discussion came to an immediate halt and they all turned to look.

Theron made his wobbly way down the stairs, followed by an equally unsteady Kael. Neither Elara nor Liriel could make out the specifics, but they were sloppily singing some sort of drinking song. When the wizard reached the bottom step he leapt off of it, clapped twice when he landed, and finished the song while looking down at his own crotch.

"...lad, I don' know where ya been but I see ya won first prize!" He and Kael ignored the irritated looks emanating from the thugs and turned at the bottom of the stairs to face the wall behind them.

"Hey! Dead men! The fuck d'you think you're doing?" Garven shouted at them. Theron leaned back and turned his head.

"Occupied!" He shouted back. Liriel put her hand out and Elara grudgingly deposited a silver coin in it.

"Kael was downing that tea pretty hard this afternoon." The half-elf smirked to herself.

"Cheating bitch." Elara grumbled, but smirked as well. She saw Garven's group begin moving to surround her teammates, unslung her bow, and settled down with her back on the ground. "We're up, get ready." Liriel nodded, and planted her foot for a running start. She turned to her partner with a knowing smirk.

"Hey...think Kael will piss on his shoe?" Elara chuckled and nocked an arrow.

"I'm not taking that bet." She half-drew the arrow and held it. Liriel scoffed under her breath.

"Wuss." Her friend shook off her provocation and peered into the basement. In her sights, one of the younger thugs walked up behind Kael and clapped him on the left shoulder. When he yanked back on the aasimar, she drew the bow fully. Kael leaned into the pull, spun around, and laid him out with a surprisingly graceful roundhouse punch to the jaw. The sound permeated the space and reached out into the alley with a wet, weighty slap like flattening chicken breast with a meat mallet. Elara signaled her partner.

"Ope, go time!" Liriel sprang like a trap, bolting across the alley and collapsing into a slide that ushered her through the narrow window. With barely a whisper as she slipped through, the rogue hit the floor and rolled into a summersault. She popped up behind their planning table and immediately threw her dagger at the half-orc's back, embedding it in his shoulder blade.

Elara's arrow whistled past a moment later, burying itself in the last slaver's back. His heart skewered, he collapsed in a heap while Liriel's burlier target grunted in pain. He began attempting to grasp at the knife and spun around.

"Show off." Liriel rolled her eyes and growled in frustration at being shown up by the ranger. She then rolled over the table and dashed up to bring the fight to her target.

Garven saw the numbers rapidly turn against him. His deep-set eyes twitched across the new arrivals and he saw the writing on the wall. He shoved Theron to the ground and bolted for the stairs. He took them two at a time; his lean, sinewy frame a blur fueled by his hard-earned survival instincts.

When the slaver's hand touched the door handle though, he froze. His eternally-paranoid features contorted in confusion and fright. Unable to turn his head, he could only listen and guess at what had happened. At the bottom of the stairs, Theron stood up from the ground. With a twinkle in his eye and a dirty iron bar in his hand, he wagged one finger at Garven.

"Don' be rude, lad. We've come all this way to talk to ya." While he chuckled over his own cleverness though, he missed the shadow that rose behind him. The young man that Kael had cold-cocked was regaining his senses, and he was very unhappy.

Theron felt a sharp kick to his back and flew forward onto the ground again. His own instincts kicked in and he gripped the iron bar fiercely. His brow knitted. He clenched his teeth. He recited the arcane words in his head that kept their quarry frozen. Relieved to see that Garven was still stuck, he looked over just in time to see the young bandit raise a hatchet over him and swing down. He closed his eyes tightly.

The sound of a sharp clang inches from his face told him it was safe to open them again. The blade indeed sat a mere six inches from his nose, caught in Elara's billhook. She held her machete at the would-be killer's throat and shoved them both back and away from the wizard.

"Stickers!" He cried. "You drink for free tonight!" The ranger ignored him and carried her thrust through into a spin that snatched the thugs weapon from his hand. Now disarmed, he could only gape when her boot landed on his chest and sent him flying. By the time he skidded to a stop, she was straddling him like a vengeful, green revenant. She held her machete at his throat and pondered his youthful face. She squinted her penetrating eyes at him, trying to quickly decide how much he needed to die. Behind her, Kael and Liriel doubled up on the half-orc.

Kael had diverted his attention from Liriel's charge with a vicious kidney punch. He'd then yanked out the dagger and tossed it over their heads at her. When the hulking enforcer spun again to face him, Liriel leapt onto his back and tried to choke him out.

The lithe rogue struggled with his thick neck. Her situation was complicated when Kael rained body blows up and down his torso, threatening to knock her loose. Liriel gritted her teeth and flexed her right arm again, simultaneously pressing down on his head with her left. She cursed under her breath when she still couldn't seat his neck properly. The half-orc stumbled and she abandoned the effort to roll away before she was crushed.

"Hey! Quit with the foreplay!" Her venomous growl surprised her aasimar partner. Their target growled as well and inhaled deeply as he sat up. Sensing that he was about to make a lot more noise, she rolled over again, raised herself on her right knee and swung out the opposite leg. The kick caught him right in the throat, snuffing his shout. "Quiet you." She spat.

Exasperated, Kael knelt in front of the choking man and began punching him in the face. The aasimar's powerful shoulders directed his devastating blows with both precision and power, bouncing the half-orc's head around with each blow.

"Just...lay...down!" He grunted between punches. Kael finally resorted to a head butt, leveraging his entire back into it. He managed to partially stun himself, but his victim had a thick skull and maintained a semblance of his wits. Reaching up to stop the onslaught he tried grappling with his assailant. Liriel finally lost her patience and walked over. She shoved Kael off of the half-orc and opened his throat with her dagger.

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While he bled out, the aasimar warrior just sighed disappointedly. "Was that really necessary?"

"Yes." Liriel coldly answered and wiped her blade on man's shirt. She looked up at his dissatisfied face and rolled her head around to work out a kink. "Look, he saw us. They all saw us. Personally, I don't care. We can take whoever they send but if they get word back that we're working with a local healer? What do you think happens to the Poison Princess up there? Or that temple where she hangs out?"

Kael looked her dead in the eyes from his prone position, propped up on one elbow. "They already saw us in the sewers." He reminded her.

"In the dark while getting their asses beaten. Did any of them get a good look? Maybe. You want to risk it if they didn't?" She retorted and stood up. She walked toward the stairs and pulled Eya's 'potion of sleepiness' out of her pocket. "Figure it out." She tossed her dismissal back over her shoulder as she ascended the stairs. Kael slumped and he slowly stood up, trying to find the fault in her logic and failing.

Liriel hopped up behind Garven, who was still frozen with his hand on the door. She pried his mouth open, dumped the vial's contents in, and closed his mouth again. She then put one arm around his neck, pressed up on his jaw with her elbow, and pinched his nose shut. The rogue got close to his ear and hissed at him with lethal intent behind her words.

"Swallow and you might live long enough to try and get away again." She turned her head to Theron while holding the slaver. "Go ahead."

The moment the magical hold dropped, Garven choked and thrashed but Liriel held firm. She felt him swallow and finally released his nose.

"We're gonna fucking skin you alive, cu-" Liriel just made a face behind his head and flexed her arm. A proper blood choke was much easier on a modestly-built human than a burly half-orc. In less than six seconds he was out.

"Nighty-night fuckbox." She mumbled. Kael arrived behind her and helped bring him down the stairs. When they reached the bottom he snapped awake with a gasp. Disoriented and still a bit loopy from the choke, he was unable to effectively resist when Kael put him face down on the floor and planted one heavy knee in his back.

"Don't move." He spat at the slaver. "Try to scream and I'll let her have you again." Liriel cast a downright evil grin at Garven and cleaned under her nails with her dagger. Kael looked up and saw Elara emerge from the darkness and scattered crates with the young man held at machete-point. Liriel rolled her eyes and pointed her dagger again.

"Fuck's sake, is it adopt-a-skel day at the shelter?" She advanced on the scared youth with murder in her eyes and he backed into Elara's machete. The ranger pulled him out of the way and stared her down.

"No." She locked eyes with the rogue. Liriel stopped, sheathed her dagger and threw her hands up.

"Fine, you two explain to Sister Whoever why her services are suddenly full of sociopaths." The hostage began panicking.

"I won't say anything! Please, I've only been running with them f-" Elara cuffed him on the back of the head.

"Stop talking. Theron? Think you can do something about his memory?" The wizard turned to look at them and sized up the young man.

"Oh aye, should be no trouble." He walked over to them and looked up into the youth's scared face. "Keep yer mouth shut, don't cause a ruckus, and I'll make it a nice memory. Ya ken?" The boy nodded eagerly.

Elara looked over toward Kael, who was still kneeling on Garven. The aasimar caught her eye and nodded. She nodded back, their nonverbal communication relaying his gratitude and her acceptance faster than words. When their target's head thumped to the ground and he began drooling, Kael leaned down and examined his glassy stare. He looked back up at Liriel.

"How much did you give him?" He narrowed his eyes at her. She shrugged and pulled the vial from her pocket again. Holding it up, it was obviously empty. "Gods damn it Liriel, she said half."

"Quit pouting, it'll give you crow's feet." She scoffed. "It's just a 'potion of sleepiness' right?" Kael shook his head and stood up. He then motioned to their young hostage, who was hesitant to leave Elara's side.

"Come here, uh..." He gestured openly.

"B- Byron." The young man offered. Kael nodded and gestured again.

"Sure, Byron. Here's how it's going to go down. You're going to help me walk him out the front door, since you've been seen with him before. We're going to play it cool like we're just getting a drunk home. Once we're outside, my friend here will give you a much nicer memory of this evening and you get to go on breathing." He laid one hand on the youth's shoulder. "Now, if you try to screw us over when we get up there you- and I cannot stress this enough- will be the first to die. Clear?" Byron swallowed nervously and nodded eagerly.

"Hang on." Theron spoke up while digging around in his component pouches. He pulled out a short copper wire and curled it around his finger. "Need to secure our exit." He then spoke into his cupped palm. "Hey lass, we're about wrapped up here. Ready for that distraction whenever ya can swing it." They all waited and watched him. His ears pricked up and he nodded to a voice only he could hear.

"She says give her two minutes. We'll know it when we hear it." Liriel sidled over to Elara and nudged her.

"Shitshow time?" She grinned. Elara narrowed her eyes and thought for a moment.

"No...I think she's got this. I don't know why, but I do." Liriel scoffed.

"Optimists are easy silver." Just then they heard muffled shouting from above their heads. It sounded like a woman's voice, but it was difficult to tell what she was saying.

Soon after, the woman's shouting was drowned out by a roaring chorus of deeper voices and rapidly moving furniture. The cacophony quickly rose in intensity until it threatened to shake the ceiling above their heads.

"Shit...show." Liriel murmured in a sing-song tone.

"We'll...see." Elara mimicked her lilting timbre.

"Time to go." Kael spoke up and hoisted Garven, catching him under the shoulder and coordinating with Byron. Elara gathered up the papers that the slavers had been arguing over and headed back to the basement window. She turned back to Liriel.

"You coming?" The rogue shook her head with a smirk.

"Hells no, I told you I want good seats to the shitshow." Elara shrugged and looked up at the window.

"This seemed a lot lower when I was falling through it..." She mumbled to herself. Sighing in resignation, she hopped against the wall, kicking off the adjacent stonework of the corner in two steps before leaping up toward the window. She was able to reach the ledge and pulled herself silently out into the alley.

Making their way up the stairs, the rest of them arrived in position at the two minute mark. Theron swung the door open just as the roaring noise was punctuated by the start of a rhythmic thumping and shouting. This new noise also grew in intensity until the floor was shaking.

Theron, Kael, Garven, and Byron emerged into the dark hallway again with Liriel pulling up the rear. Kael looked over to Byron and nodded.

"Remember, just relax and act natural." The young man nodded in return and resettled Garven's shoulder on his back. They all moved forward toward the thumping ruckus.

Upon reentering the room, Kael nearly dropped Garven on his face. Atop a wobbly table close to the bar and wearing the red ship's ensign like a cape, stood Eya. She had an enormous ceramic tankard raised to her lips and was smoothly draining it, all while stomping her foot in time with the enthusiastic encouragement of the crowd that had gathered around her.

In the end it was Byron, scared out of his wits, who encouraged them onward. Theron led them toward the door, adding in the occasional swaying stagger in case anyone turned to look. Liriel lagged behind and watched them exit. She turned and waited by the door, rapt with the hint of a grin pulling at her cheeks. Eya finished draining the tankard to wild applause. She held up her arms in celebration and caught Liriel's eye. The rogue signaled her to wrap it up, but Eya's eyes went wide as saucers.

Liriel saw why and her blood flash boiled. One of the onlookers had reached up and planted his meaty hand on the cleric's backside. Guess I'm taking a motherfucker's hand tonight. Liriel thought to herself as she reached for her dagger and stepped forward. She stopped in her tracks when Eya moved.

The cleric spun around and shattered her mug over the lecherous offender's head, dropping him instantly. The bar went silent as the grave in the space of a heartbeat. She removed her makeshift cloak and tossed it at the bar.

"HANDS...OFF!" She shouted at the unconscious man and flung the broken handle at his crumpled form. Surrounded by staring drunks, she brushed off her robes and took a step toward the edge. "Someone's always gotta ruin the fun." She muttered as she hopped lightly to the floor. No sooner had she landed than her left arm was suddenly grabbed by 'The Marauder'.

Okay, different motherfucker, still taking a hand. Liriel thought to herself, moving again.

She was stopped short once more though. As her mind raced to catch up to what she was seeing, a hushed gasp rippled through the bar patrons. Faster than Liriel thought possible, Eya had drawn a concealed dagger and held it to Captain Aleghast's throat. It was not a kitchen knife and not just any dagger she realized, it was a stiletto. The weapon's thin, black tip pressed dangerously far into the right side of his neck.

"Eight seconds!" Eya shouted at him, then dropped her voice to a register as cold, dark, and sharp as her weapon. "I cut you here and you're unconscious in eight seconds. Two minutes later you're dead and five seconds after that?" She leaned in close with fire behind her eyes and pure malice in her voice. "I forget you ever existed. Now, I'm the only healer within six blocks of this dump so please... test me." The room remained dead quiet and even Liriel realized that she had forgotten to breathe. Aleghast released Eya's arm. She held out her left hand while keeping the dagger to him. She snapped her fingers once, never dropping her eyes from her target. Her quarterstaff was then deposited into her waiting grasp.

The cleric backed slowly toward Liriel with her dagger pointed directly at the crowd. When she was within two paces of the exit, she tucked her hand behind her back. Liriel finally caught the secret; a pleat in her robe that was actually an opening and allowed her to access the hidden sheath. With the weapon stowed, she straightened her back, tossed her hair, and smiled sweetly once again.

"Gentlemen." She gave the room a quick curtsey and ducked out. Liriel's snark abandoned her and, lacking a quippy farewell, she just nodded to the room as she exited. On her way out, she heard the voice of Captain Aleghast.

"Lads...you just had the honor of meeting my future ex-wife."