“So, the big man here gets into a wee tussle, starts a bar fight, almost loses-”

  “I vas giving Russian handicap. I only break bones, not life.” Boriss adds.

  “-only to get his butt saved by you two?” Cillian tinues.

  Irmgard and Emma nod. Both women look like they gave as much as they took, though Emma barely seems ihe woman's skin makes freat natural armainst fists.

  “And the only reason the fighting stopped is because some idiot pulled out a machete and ask bsted him into a wall before he could eve.”

  “Using bded ons during a Bar fight is socially forbidden,” Auranta adds.

  “Cowardly.” Irmgard nods.

  “Like moose and vodka.”

  All eyes g the Russian.

  He returns their gaze, fused. “Vhat? Is true, yes? You give vodka to moose, and moose try to kill everything, even Russian mother.” He licks his lips. “Moose stew is good.”

  Cillian snorts. He grabs his bottle and chugs the ey of its tents. “Good thing I'm a happy drunk!”

  “Why’d you eve into a fight?” Adriana and Myers ask at the exact same time. The two g each other, even share a smile.

  “They hunt Myers and Cy. Barkeep say they are [Bounty Hunters],” He expins.

  “Damn.” Myers g Cy. The child wly looks up at the old man.

  “They know you are here,” Adriana excims. “Was there a leak? A skill?”

  “There shouldn’t be.” Myers g everyone wly, taking a l hes- the member of the group.

  “Is this a versation I should be a part of?” Auranta asks. “I leave aurn ter if that is alright.”

  Myers nods. “That would be bes-,” the sound of a door squeaking open resounds through the ship, followed by the floorboard squeaking due to a heavy weight.

  All turn towards the sound and watch as a Fenrimorph holding a give emerges.

  “Fenrimorph!” Auranta warns. Her arms spread wide, causing the wind to pick up and rapidly swirl around her fingers, palm, and Forearm.” She extends her hand towards the monster, only to freeze as hes bded cws around her neck.

  “If you harm the Matriarch, your death will be swift and your body will be ed until nothing is left.”

  “Auranta, lower your arms. That’s the [Captain]. He has the ability to transform.” Irmgard expins.

  Hearing the expnation, Auranta reabsorbs her mana and lowers her arms. Only then does hes retract her cws.

  Ohe hostility is ehe morudges to the table where everyone is seated. Lays the Give oable, and then transforms into a kitten.

  “Damn, sneaking in that form sucks. This city is far too damn lit and the ceilings of the buildings are weak. I think I left a good seven holes in various roofs. Also, the [Guards] we hired are kinda shit. They didn’t see the give I threw on the ship nor me entering as a bird. You’d think they’d have some skill to notitruders.”

  “Why would their skills activate if the [Captain] of the ship they are proteg returns to his ship?” Auranata asks.

  The cat g the woman with a sparrow mask.

  “That's a very good point. Also, who are you and why are you here?”

  “This is Auranta. She wishes to travel to the towers.” Irmgard expins.

  Quasi tilts his head up and down, examining the woman. “Right. What’s your css, what job you do, and why do you want to go to the towers?”

  Auranta nods. “I am a level 37 [Air Mage] and I have levels as a [Ship Mage Captain], [First Mate], [Squadron Captain], and [Scribe]. I am tasked with researg the towers from a greater authority than myself. I ot reveal more than that.”

  Quasi nods. “That’s very suct. You seem to not be bothered by my previous form.”

  “Skills that transform are extremely rare and unon, but they exist and are very well doted. Though, the ability to transform into a Fenrimoph is unheard of.” She tilts her head. “As is the form of a talking cat.”

  Quasi grins. “I’m special like that. Also, you join the crew.” He turns to the old man. “Myers, I dont have the [Ship Mage Captain] job- or even [Ship Mage] job. Why?”

  The old man releases a breath. “Your level is too low to support a [Ship Mage]. We struct a room into quarters for a [Ship Mage Captain] job. Though I doubt we have the time for it.”

  Quasi frowns. “What? Why?”

  Myers grimaces. “[Bounty Hunters] know cy is here and are actively hunting him.”

  “Yea, I know.” Quasi taps the Give. “I went and killed their leader.”

  “You killed her?” Adriana asks. “How? She isn’t someoo be easily defeated.”

  “Holy, she was much easier than a buxon I fought- though I did almost lose my head. Anyway, she’s dead and I got her give as a prize. What do you think Emma, pretty ght?”

  The Gemma is already leaning over the table and trag a finger down the ons shaft. She pauses a third of the way to the head. “The runes here were severed alongside the metal.” She frowns. “Someone soldered and re-ruhe shaft.”

  Myers brushes his hand softly on the e at his side.

  “Will that be a problem?”

  “No. The [Ruh] did a fine job on the repair.”

  “Then that’s good enough for me,” Quasi says happily. “We’ll sell the on in another city where nobody knows the now deceased owner.” He shifts to Cillian. “Speaking of selling, how's the selling of the chests ing?”

  “dey wills be pced ona au in a week. We shoulda get da shortly afta,” Cillian slurs. The man is grinning and swaying while holding ay bottle in his hand.

  “We don’t have a week. Cy is still being hunted.” Myers expins.

  Quasi waves a paw. “It’s fine. Egressa was making sure that only her guild khat d Myers were here. Now that she's dead, the threat is taken care of.”

  The old man perks up. “You killed her and all her members, right?”

  Quasi blinks at the old man for a moment. He Licks his lips and looks at everyone present. “Fuck me!”

  Myers groans.

  “It’s fi‘ll take a while before information spreads.” Quasi quickly assesses his crew. “Irgmard, restock the ship so that we depart tomorrow.” The woman salutes. “Cillian, see what you do about our chests. Otherwise, we’ll abandon the profits.” The Scot burps in drunken aowledgement. “hes, fix Adrianas spine before we leave. Adriana, I-”

  “-I’ll rush the delivery,” Adriana interrupts.

  “Good. d Myers will stay with the ship.” Quasi g the even newer member of the team. “I’m going to need you to stay here until we depart. If you wish to grab anything, Boriss pick up whatever you need.”

  “You do not trust me,” Auranta says.

  “You’re new and a child's life is on the line. I ’t risk having you reveal anything. If you ge your mind about joining my crew, you leave when we depart.”

  The woman g those present for a moment before returning her gaze on Quasi.

  “Before I decide, why are you visiting the tower?”

  The cat grins. “Let's just say that me and the towers have a uera.”

  Auranta stares at the cat for a long moment before nodding. She reaches into her cloak and produces a key. “I have many items of worth to retrieve from an Inn that I do not wish to depart from.”

  “Talk to Boriss.” Quasi raises a paw to the Russian. “He’ll get it done.”

  ___________________________________________________________

  [Guild Governor] Be Wickes sits at his desk with a stack of papers. A retively rge stack that details the day to day operations of Memphis. He is a very wealthy but also a very busy man. Running a city is not an easy job and is only possible on at of his expert css and job. Readis, shifting resources, adding or ging ws, making trade deals, and so much more keep the man very busy.

  Thus, when the doors to his office burst open, anger and relief war within the man. Anger for the distra that will dey his duties, but also relief from having to deal with the mundanity of his job.

  Rushing into his office is [Guard Major] Travis Llord, another expert and probably the only person who has any right to rush into his office so aggressively. Anyone else, and Be would have them punished regardless of the news.

  “[Governor], we’ve got a mass killing,” Travis excims armingly.

  Be sighs. “What is it this time? A gang irates? I dearly hope it’s not a bunch of revolting sves again. That was far too much paperwork for my liking.”

  “[Bounty Hunter] Engressa Dleron has been killed alongside half her guild.”

  Be's annoyance shifts to surprise. “Egressa? As in the [Guild Leader] of the sharks guild?”

  Travis nods affirmatively.

  “That’s not good. She’s level forty nine- has been for the st three years since she’s been hunting in my city. Do we know the killers?”

  “The [Guards] on the ground are giving flig reports about what happened and injuries. The [Guard Captains] on site believed there was only a single enemy. The corpses are being moved to the mue as we speak. I will go down to check the bodies and evaluate what's happened.”

  The [Guild Governor] squeezes the bridge of his nose. “I’m guessing yoing to need me to lock dowy.”

  “That would be best.”

  Be releases a breath. Thes up.

  “I’ll go with you to the mue, then I’ll decide whether to lock-dowy or not.”

  “They may escape-”

  “-Then we send [Bounty Hunters] after them,” Be interrupts. “The st time I locked dowy, the [Guild President] himself threatened my job because of the loss in profits. I’m not about to risk my job uhe risk is worth it.”

  “Then we rush,” Travis orders.

  The two experts run through hallways, down stairs, aually arrive at the mue where the bodies are being brought in.

  “[Morti] Travis rushes in first. We’re here to see the body of Egressa and her members.”

  The [Morti] is an elderly looking man that is youhan both of the experts in the room. The old man turns. “They’ve just arrived.”

  He leads the two deeper into the cold-runed mue until they arrive at a dozen tables with bodies ohe [Morti] extends a hand to one of the rger, muscur spes.

  “I believe this is her.”

  The two walk up to the body.

  Be grimaces at the sight. “Damn, that’s her. I’m going to have to start hiring the other [Bounty Hunter] guilds going forward. That’s going to get expensive.”

  Travis ighe [Governors] annoyahe man shouldn’t have favored solely the shark guild for city tracts- regardless of how cheap and effective Egressa was. His hand brushes across the woman's chest, feeling the shattered armor. Applying a bit of pressure, he finds that her chest gives out easily.

  “Odd. She has nohal cuts across the rest of her body, but what killed her was a singur impa the chest. I’d wager something like a Maul could do such a thing.” Travis turns to the Morti. “You have the [Final Sight] ability, correct? Have you used it yet?”

  “I have not,” the man replies.

  Travis takes a step back. “Then do so and tell me what you see.”

  “Of course.”

  The [Morti] pces his hand on the woman's head, specifically with each fioug her eyes. He closes his own as he sees the final thing the woman saw.

  “This woman lies dying and unmoving with a give at her knees. Her hand is raised with a single middle finger extended upwards. Across from her, there is a kitten.”

  “A kitten?” Be asks.

  “A very fluffy one, yes.”

  “The killers probably went out of view prior to her death.” Travis expins. “Smart and experiehough gouging out her eyes would have had the same effect.”

  The [Guard Major] crosses his arms. “Something doesn’t add up. I feel like I’m missing something.”

  Be sighs. “Well, until you figure that out, I’m not going to shut the ports down until I kly what we’re dealing with.”

  Travis frowns. “I don’t like it, but fine. Just be ready to move quickly if new information es forth. Half a guild branch dying in a single night isn’t something that stay hidden for long.”

  The [Governor] perks up. “Half? Not all are dead?”

  “No, and my men are currently hunting the survivors down for interrogation. I’ll get to the bottom of this soon.” He stares at the destroyed chest cavity once more. “I just hope the killers don't leave the city until then.”

  ______________________________________________________________

  Sitting on her wheelchair, Adriana watches the Timbergrove departs. The ship, though frigate in css, is a fraein of beauty. ons built for destroyers, a siege on to attack castles, and enough armor to withstand a barrage from a cruiser. Not to mentioher colorful assortment of crew.

  “You’re smiling, mom,” Her daughter says from behind her.

  She chuckles. “I’m just thinking how much fun Myers is having aboard that ship. I’m a bit jealous.”

  “Did you want to join him?”

  Adriana sighs. Her thoughts return back to what Alistair said iunnel. Words that even now resonate so well within her heart.

  “I would have- but I’d just be a burden until I get the strength to move my legs.” Adriana flexes her muscle atrophied foot slightly. “Also, I ’t very well abandon my daughter to travel with my former ander. Who’se going to ruavern, then?”

  “What do you mean who?” Mentara growl. “I ruavern fihout your help. I’ve got the levels and I don’t o rely on your information br to pay the bills. As for ys, didn’t the [Head Physi] say you’ll have a full recovery so long as you exercise ys?”

  “Yes, but-.”

  “Then exercise, beobile, then go hunt the man down. I’m sure you know where to look.”

  Adriana looks back at her daughter. “I thought you didn’t like Myers.”

  “I don’t, but I’ve never seen you smile more happily than when you talk about him. Plus, he’s made amends and I ’t fault his reasoning three years ago.”

  The mother returns her gaze back to the departing ship for a long moment. Then she sighs. “Mentara, let's go home. Seems I’ve got a lot of exercise to get to.”