Glancing at one another, they get to their feet just as the door opens. Swinging wide, several girls in their late teens come in and stop with a gasp when they see them standing there.
Jiron is about ready to say they’re not going to hurt them when one gives out with a scream at the sight of the Parvati and his extensive tattooed skin.
Fifer starts awake and comes quickly to his feet.
The girls turn and flee out the door and down the hallway all the while screaming for help.
“That tears it!” says Jiron as he moves for the door. “Let’s go.”
He reaches the corridor on the other side just as a group of six thugs comes at them wielding clubs and swords. “Back in the room!” he hollers. Once they’ve returned to the room, he shuts the door and puts his shoulder against it.
Qyrll and Fifer lend their strength in holding the door closed as the thugs begin hammering on it from the other side. One of the thugs on the other side shouts for them to open the door but they pay him little attention.
“There’s no other way out!” Fifer exclaims.
To Jiron, Qyrll says, “Let them in. We have to face them some time, they block our only way out. We should do it now before more come, or the city guard is summoned.”
The incessant hammering on the door by the thugs has begun to produce cracks in the old door. Jiron realizes the truth in what Qyrll’s saying. “You guys ready?” he asks.
Standing back, Qyrll draws both swords and nods.
“Alright,” he says as he too stands back, knives appearing in both hands, “let’s do it.”
Fifer draws his sword and they wait.
They don’t have to wait long as the next strike upon the door by the thugs outside splits it down the middle. When they again strike the door, it completely comes apart and one of the thugs stumbles through only to be met by Qyrll and his swords. Off balanced, the man has no chance and falls to the floor as Qyrll removes his shortsword from the dead man’s chest.
As the thugs pour through the door, Jiron lashes out with his knives and another falls to the floor. The others press on through the shattered door and engage them.
Fifer faces off with one while Jiron and Qyrll each have two. Qyrll’s swords dance as they block the attacks from one and strike out at the other.
The thugs are hopelessly outclassed. One strikes out at Jiron with his club while the other strikes out with his sword. Easily parrying the club, Jiron twists to avoid the sword. At the same time, he strikes out with his elbow to the clubber and connects with his chest, sending him stumbling backward. The man with the sword strikes down hard with both hands in an attempt to cleave Jiron in two. Dancing to the side, the sword misses him by scant inches as he strikes out with one of his knives, thrusting it deep into his side.
The man cries out as he stumbles to the side, blood beginning to well from his mouth as his lung fills with blood from where the knife punctured it. Crashing to the floor, he coughs up blood in a vain attempt to clear his lungs and soon passes out.
Qyrll has already killed one of the thugs and is now facing off with another of the clubbers. His shortsword knocks the club to the side and he follows through with his longsword, connecting with the man’s neck and sending his head flying.
The torso stumbles around as blood fountains out of the severed neck. Crashing into the crate which had Qyrll’s candle resting upon it, it sends the candle flying into a heap of garbage which begins to smolder.
Fifer is having trouble with the man he’s facing and Qyrll comes up behind him and strikes him down. Glancing around, they find all the thugs dead. Smoke begins filling the room as the candle ignites the garbage and the flames start to spread rapidly.
“Move!” cries Jiron as he races for the door. A scream greets him as he enters the hallway. People congregating in the hallway to see what’s going on begin running away when they see him there with his knife dripping blood. Smoke from the fire behind him begins filling the hallway as well.
Moving in the direction they originally entered from the night before, he breaks into a run, the other two right behind. Those still in the hallway in the direction he’s running flee in a panicked run when they see him and his blood red knife coming at them.
Racing out into the alley, Jiron pauses only a moment to grab an old shirt off the ground to clean the blood from his knives before returning them to their scabbards. The smoke is beginning to billow through the doorway as the fire within consumes more of the old building.
Qyrll, hooded cloak once again hiding his features, is already moving down the alley away from the fire. Turning back to where Jiron and Fifer have paused to clean their weapons, he hollers, “Come on!”
Racing for the end of the alley, they collide with a squad of the city guard who were on their way to investigate the commotion. Screaming ‘fire’, Jiron points back the way they came to the guard captain as he and the others turn and race away down the street. Glancing behind them, he sees the guards moving into the alley to see about the fire. Soon, horns begin blowing as others come to help combat the spreading blaze.
Using the confusion the fire has created, they make their way to the nearest gate leading into the city and slip through at the same time that a fire team was coming out. Once inside, Jiron says to Qyrll, “Keep your hood close to your face. One look and anyone will know a Parvati is in the city.”
Nodding, he reaches up and holds the bottom of the hood secure under his chin. Now, only a very close examination will reveal what lies beneath.
Jiron leads them through the city to the gates leading past the inner wall. On the other side is the Silver Bells and hopefully where they’ll find James and the others.
As they near the gates, Jiron notices that the number of guards has been doubled. Probably due to the events of last night when the adjutant was killed. They move to a nearby alley and watch the gates for several minutes.
The guards are stopping everyone going in and out, asking them a few questions and then allowing them to continue along their way. Even the carts rolling through are given a cursory examination before they, too are allowed to pass.
“We’ll never get through there undetected,” he finally concludes.
“What are we to do?” Fifer asks.
“I’m not sure,” he says. “There’re not many places around here in which to adequately hide like there were outside the walls.”
As they stand there in the alley deliberating their next course of action, Jiron takes notice of a young boy staring at them. The boy couldn’t be more than fourteen and looks as if he’s one of the street kids they’ve seen roaming the streets. He’s sitting on a box further into the alley, eating some bread.
Hopping down off the box, the boy hesitantly makes his way over to them. By this time, both Fifer and Qyrll have noticed his approach and have turned their attention to him. “You guys in trouble?” he asks.
“Our business is none of yours,” Jiron tells the boy. “Run along.”
The boy just stands there staring at them as he takes another bite of the bread. “You’re the fighters they’re looking for aren’t you?” he asks. “The ones who killed that man last night.”
“No,” denies Fifer. “I’m sure you’ve gotten us mixed up with someone else.”
“Don’t think so,” the lad replies, sounding very sure of himself. “Was there. I saw how you took them out. Pretty good fight.”
Fifer glances to Jiron and sees him resting a hand on one of his knives. Giving him a shake of his head, Fifer turns back to the boy and asks, “What do you want?”
“Got someone who wants to meet you,” he says. “Was asked to keep an eye out in case I ran across you.”
“Who?” asks Jiron.
“A friend of mine,” he replies as he shoves the rest of the chunk of bread into his mouth.
“And why does he wish to meet us?” Fifer asks.
“Said he was a friend of yours,” answers the lad.
“This friend of ours have a name?” Jiron asks.
“Miko,” the boy says.
Fifer breathes an audible sigh of relief as Jiron asks, “Where is he?”
