If You Only Knew

  That day, Ross and Grisre went to that city’s version of a permit office to rent a merchant stand. Ross led the way while Grisre followed. Of course, he could not get a stall, but she could. That, and unlike him, she had a translatable skill where is Ross was just pest control on legs. All in all, it worked out. Their wallet would get full enough to hire a ship to take them to Grisre's homeland so that she could sever her imperfect bond with Danny. Beast care, as it turned out was not cheap, and healing magic was a rare thing. What's more, there were no beings in this city capable of beast magics. When Grisre opened the door to Coran's administration building, Ross could see her nerves disappear. He could understand how. Compared to the life she must have led, this building had to be overwhelming. How could it not be? As soon as you walked in, you were met with a grand hall filled with merchants and everyday citizens applying for citizenship, merchant stands, buying property, and petitioning for various thing. The floors were made of a polished marble with stone column pillars reaching to a painted ceiling which, if it was like some buildings in ancient earth’s history, told the history of this city state. Even the iron banded doors had what looked like white gold swirls worked into the dark red wood. What really caught their attention, other than a number of guards, were the lights. There were chunks of crystals hanging from the ceiling in black iron rings with glowing lines flowing down from the chain-work into engravings in the black iron rings. This place was made to make you feel small, and intimidated.

  It was not long until the people behind them started to complain. That was when a nearby guard helped Grisre with her decision. She was wordlessly shoved into the building with an apologetic look on the guard’s face which got things moving again. Others just gave Grisre angry looks. Pushed into the proverbial water, she gave Ross a pleading glance as if to say, what do I do? He returned the look with one of his own, silently communicating, I don't know, with that infamous lost look all beasts on Craylon had mastered. Working up the nerve, she found a guard for help. Instead of helping, he pointed her to a desk clerk with a long line. Grisre really did not want to be here. Rather, she wanted to be back at the inn, nurturing her charge. At least it was safe with that overzealous shadow. She got in line. It was never hostile to her, yet it was never tamable either. After her run in with Danny, she had her suspicions about the creature, but could not be sure until she was back home, and that was assuming her master was still there at her home village. She was now at the desk clerk, who identified himself as a help desk scribe. “My name is Barbus. How may I assist you today?” The beast kin said in a practiced, and professional voice. “I am looking t-to get a st-stall.” Grisre tried to say in nervous, broken words.

  Sensing her nervousness, Ross jumped into her arms, letting her pet him. She felt her emotional strength return and after a second of emotional reinforcement, repeated her statement to the confused beast kin. Barbus stared at her for a moment, then asked. “Are with the healers' association, or the Merchants' Guild?” Both Grisre and Ross had no idea who that was. “What or who is that?” they asked together. Barbus looked from the cat to Grisre. “Did that cat talk?” He asked in an incredulous, hushed voice. Diverting the conversation. “No, but what is the Merchants Guild, and who are the Healers Association?” Barbus looked behind her to see how big the line was, judging just how far he could push the issue, but saw the line was building. “The Merchants' Guild is an organization of traders and business owners who hold a monopoly on all mercantile trade on Craylon. Any trade conducted by non-guild members is taxed 25% by the guild, and will require you to have a permit. The Healers' Association, like the Merchants' Guild, they have a monopoly, but it is with healing magi, and knowledge of the healing arts. Unlike the guild, the association is always looking for new members, However, healing magic is rare, and as far as I know, they are the only ones who can teach the healing arts. So, which one?” Barbus asked hurriedly, glancing at the ever-growing line. “For people, or beasts?” She asked. “People.” Barbus said wearily. “Neither! I'M in the business of beast care.” Barbus looked helpless for a minute trying to process what Grisre had just told him. With a non-believing look, he pointed her over to general trade. There was no line, unlike all the others.

  She was greeted by a very skeptical human. “Welcome to general trade. So, you think you have a marketable skill that does not apply to the Merchants' Guild, or the Healers' Association. May I know what that is, so I may evaluate you for eligibility and stall rental?” The human man asked as if he did not believe she could. “Beast care!” Grisre simply said with more confidence. The human handed her a tile. “I just want a stall. That is it, nothing more and nothing less. Why is that so difficult.” She said with frustration starting to bleed through. Ross knew her pain all too well, and could sum it up in three letters (DMV). They had been there for what seemed like hours by this point. As Grisre said all this, the tile began to glow very brightly, and started to crack. The human leapt over with a metal box, and swatted the tile into it, snapping the box shut with panic written on his face, followed with relief. “What was that for?” Grisre complained more agitated. “Apparently you are more than capable.” He said relaxed after a pop could be heard from within the box. “Come with me.” He opened the door and lead her down an elaborate hallway to a room where he offered her and Ross a seat at a dusty table. With a wave of a simple looking wand, he cast a clean spell that expelled all the dirt and grime from the room. “Sorry about the mess. It has been a long time since this testing room has been used. Now, to answer your earlier question. We don't just let anybody rent a stall, because we need to know that it will make money. If you profit the city profits, and if I am going to have to argue against the guilds and associations, then I also need to be able to back myself up. My name is Rufus, by the way.” Rufus said that last part like it was her fault for not asking.

  Grisre's anger at having to go through all this subsided a bit after his explanation. It did make sense. A city ran on money. Rufus disappeared, and returned holding a book and flipped to a page, flipping it to show her a picture. “Will this due?” HE asked. She nodded, and Rufus returned with a rodent looking thing that was half the size of a car tire. With a single unexpected, brutal strike, he clubbed the poor beast in the side. Grisre gave a short scream of surprise at the sudden display of brutality. Appearing before her were tools to work with. She wasted no time. Placing a hand gently on the beast, she exuded a pink mist that put the beast to sleep. Then, still keeping her hand where it was, she muttered an incantation that she had not used in some time. It was for a spell called body sense. It allowed her to see within a creature with detail and precision. What she saw, were three broken ribs. She told her evaluator, and set to work. Some of the tools on the table were foreign to her, but that did not matter. All that did, was helping this poor injured beast. When she started training under Master Suezen, this was the first beast she was taught to work with. With the practiced hands of an Apprentice Beast Tamer, Grisre set the bones and pumped the beast with a minor beast cure wound. Which fused the ribs back into place. When she was done, she placed the creature into the man's arms and sat back down with a warning glare aimed at him.

  Rufus's mouth fell agape. In all his years listening to scammers try to dodge the heavy taxation from the guilds and lawsuits from the associations, he actually found a being with a talent that was not monopolized. He was sure to get a raise, maybe even get a higher position, because not only was she not under a monopoly, she had a skill not seen for half a century. A class thought to be dead. If he was right, this girl was a Beast Tamer. Only Beast tamers healed beasts with magic, and it was said that they could tame the very horrors themselves, making any nation a force to be reckoned with. Specifically, wyverns. It was also why he had to do what he did. Rufus pulled out a runic covered stone. “I'll be right back with the forms.” He lied. Once he was out of the room, he placed it in a socket on the door, causing a field of force to leap into existence. Pulling out a comm crystal, he opened a channel to the castle. “Rufus? Please tell me this is not another pretender.” The head floating in the crystal was that of a tired female beastkin. “No,” he said defensively. “and that is not my fault. I found a Beast Tamer.” That snapped her awake. “Understood. I'll deliver this personally to High Lord Gwenith.

  High Lord Gwenith had just ended a meeting with King Arista concerning High Lord Becket when a knock came from outside the door. She exhaled her stress. Lord Becket was becoming a problem. The greedy, Power-hungry bastard got it in his head that he was going to implement heavy taxes on major trade routes through his region, which would not have been an issue, but the worm controlled the only known source of Catnium Cobalt on the continent. Neither of them knew what they were going to do about it since the problem was new, but High Lord Soizen would have to be brought in on this one, even if they had a history.

  Lord Gwenith Ushered a servant to open the door, only to find her chief intelligence officer being escorted in by a guard who was on detail. “Please tell me you have some good news for me.” Gwenith said, emotionally drained. The beast kin smiled and bowed. “As a matter of fact, I do.” She waited for permission to continue. All she received instead was an expectant look. She rose and continued. “A young lady with a cat fitting the description of Lord Becket's... vandal entered the castle administration building and applied for a general merchant stand, claiming to have the beast care class. We have her sealed in the room to keep her away from prying eyes, in case you wish to meet her.” The beast kin waited for her lords' response. “Why would I waste my time with that when the only true beast care professions died out with the Beast Tamers, and we all know the Healers Association has a monopoly on all things healing anyway.” She said imperiously, not expecting the coming challenge to her proclamation. “You will on this one. The Healer’s Association does not have a monopoly on Beast Tamers, and they only deal with the sapient races. This Beast Tamer has been verified.” The beast kin said. Gwenith smiled at the good news. She dismissed her intelligence officer, and organized her detail.

  Ross realized something was wrong when he heard the words beast and tamer from the other side of the door, followed by an abrupt silence. Looking over at Grisre, he could tell she had not heard what he had. “I think we have been made.” Ross said urgently. A mixed look of realization, then horror, crossed the young woman's face. “I told you we should not have done this. You do realize Danny is in my room.” She both reminded and chided. She then reached for anything that could be used as a weapon. “Wait! Let's not be hasty here. His egg is being guarded, and we don't know what they want yet. Let's just leave.” Even saying it did not sound convincing. Ross just told her something was wrong. There was no going back. “What I mean is, is that we still don't know what they want, or who they are.” Ross amended. Grisre walked over to the door, and tried to open it, but was unable to touch the handle. It was almost like an invisible force was acting as some kind of barrier. Her expression relaxed a bit, but only a bit, because her major concern of the Zoo's involvement had been debunked. The Zoo never used Barriers of force like this, and in government buildings no less. “You don't think the Zoo found you out?” Ross asked. “No, but I am worried. We need to get to Danny's egg.” She fired a spell at the door only to have it ricochet off, and hit the wall, only it did not actually touch the wall. Poking and prodding the room only proved one thing, and that was that they were trapped. It was not supposed to go south like this. At least, not this quickly. What had gone wrong, and more to the point, what did they want? Whoever they were. In any case, they were about to find out.

  After an hour of waiting for their captors to show and make their intentions known, Grisre stopped looking for weaknesses in the room, and sat down while Ross passed the time by running several escape scenarios. “I do not want to be a slave again, and what will happen to Danny's egg if that happens.” Worry for Danny crept across her face. “That is not going to happen.” Ross said darkly. Out of all his scenarios, take the enemy by surprise was the most likely to succeed. He had his doubts, but they had to try. Finally, the door opened to revile a beautiful woman wearing robes woven with the finest materials. She was flanked on either side by her guards, taking Ross and Grisre by surprise instead. Ross seizing what little initiative remained by activating his Blood Rage, sinking his own resources into his claws which began to glow crimson like fresh blood. Both of the guards were veterans. With battle hardened instincts that could only be forged in blood and sacrifice. They formed up in front of their Lord to take on whatever thought itself the end of their lives. He too was a soldier, but unlike them, he was fighting for freedom as well as fighting for others, but conviction was useless unless you had the power to back it up.

  Ross lunged with crimson claws extended, landing with all fours on the barrier of force that kept them imprisoned. The guard on the right, went to thrust a glowing blade into Ross's heart, but the women yelled a command and stopped him which in his mind, almost proved to be a mistake, because Ross did not waist what little time gravity gave him. With a climbing motion of his claws, twenty blood-red scythes of deadly energy slammed into the barrier that separated him from their captors. At first, they fought the barrier, then began to sink in very slowly. As Ross fell to the floor, he saw the guard slam the door, causing the field that held them to reaffirm, and snuff out his attack. In frustration Ross began to tackle the field with all he had, and seeing the minor success he had, Grisre began launching magic missile after missile to help, but it was too late. With the door closed, there was just no getting through it. “Please, I just want to talk.” Came a feminine voice full of dignity and composure.

  Ross seized his attacks, and reading his body language, so did Grisre. Although, not until she popped off at least five more bolts of magic. “Damn, that woman was fierce.” He thought to himself. “Let us go.” Grisre hissed as her sudden need to get back to Danny's egg only increased. She still seemed to be in control of her senses, but he suspected, that based on what little he learned about Beast Tamers and eggs, that she might not be able to stay apart from the egg for an extended period of time, and with her imperfect bond in play, that probably shortened her allotted time. It was only after Grisre's next words that Ross understood why. “My friend will die If I don't reach him. His egg needs me.” She was pleading, on the verge of tears.

  Whoever was on the other side of the door must have known a thing or two about Beast Tamers, because no sooner had she finished, the same female voice began giving frantic orders “I do not care about the risks. Open the door now, or I will open it for you, and if I have to do it, then I will have your head for treason.” Like that, the door opened with two very upset guards, and a very concerned High Lord. “I'M on your side. I was told that if I were to find you, I was to say...” The High Lord gave a confused look as she quoted words that brought back memories of a certain Dragon. “There is a difference between being seen, and getting caught.” Ross understood immediately, with a small seed of annoyance at the dragon's words being spoken, given that they were put in a weird position thanks to him. Grisre recognized Karber's words as well, and relaxed ever so slightly. Ross's anger flared. “I'M going to kill that carrion eating Vulture.” Ross blurted out, not thinking. One of the High lords’ guards was a beastkin who looked at Ross with a surprised look. “Your highness. Did you hear that beast talk?” He said before receiving a warning glance from the high lord. “I will help you get you to your egg. My name is Gwenith Wetherbee, and I am High Lord of this city state. You are welcomed guests in my castle.” Lord Gwenith said. “Gray Fange! Tam! Escort them to the inn to get their things, and whatever else they need, and bring them to the castle for tonight's feast. “No! I must get the egg. I can feel it dying.” As she spoke those words, Lord Gwenith paled. Whether it was good acting or genuine, it did not matter. Against her two guards protest, the barrier came down. “Go with her and make sure they return to the castle. That is an order.” Her soldiers were well-trained. As soon as their orders were given, they did not hesitate to follow them when followed with, “That is an order.” Grisre bolted out of the room, followed by Ross, and the two guard. People stared as they ran by. No doubt thinking they were being chased for more nefarious reasons. “I guess rubber neckers exist no matter what world you are in.” Ross thought.

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  Both of the guards that were sent to escort, protect, and retrieve didn't even break a sweet. Ross was panting, but Grisre was heaving. When they arrived at the inn, what greeted them, was a scene from a slasher film on roids. Bodies were littered around the inn, cut and sliced. Some were even cut clean through while others were ripped in halves and quarters with their blood and entrails littering the ground in between. All Ross could think about was Danny. Had he left his friend and family with a murderer? Was this his fault? After all, it was Ross that convinced Grisre that leaving Danny under the protection of the shadow thing was safe. He looked over to see Grisre wearing a pissed off look all mothers had when you messed with their children. The guards did not seem worried until a red, veined scythe tore through the wall of the inn like it was paper, followed by a shadow spike bursting out the adjacent wall. Ross breathed a sigh of relief. The shadow was defending Danny, not killing him. Grisre rushed in, followed by Ross. “Gods dammit!” The guards cursed in unison, rushing in after Grisre.

  What greeted the four brave souls were more dead bodies. Much like the ones outside, these two had been cut and ripped apart with one addition to the scene. There was a red veined piece of flesh cocooning a body. “Demon Master!” The guard spat as he thrust his sword down, killing the poor soul trapped within. “It is a mercy.” was all Tam said before running off after his brother in arms. The inn was cold. So cold you could see your breath. A loud screeching pierced the sounds of battle followed by a slightly less loud raspy gurgle, followed by what sounded like something crashing through a wall. Ross could not understand the screeching, but he could understand the gurgle. It was the Shadow yelling its defiance. It said, “Not if I kill you first.” Their make shift party reached the room to find the Shadow fly through the door, slamming against the thick wooden wall, leaving it cracked and splintered. The shadow merged with a Guards shadow as both Tam and Grey Fang ran into the room with weapons drawn. Grisre sent an overcharged set of magic missiles at it while Ross activated his blood rage, and set loose his blades of blood which, to his dismay, did little more than scratch the thing the guard called a demon master. A random thought burst to the for-front of his thoughts, and that was Karber's warning about the very thing they were fighting. Ross cursed.

  Both Tam and Grey Fang sank their runic blades into the demon master's hide, causing the creature to focus its attention on the insects that caused it to feel pain for the second time that day. The Shadow Stelt that protected Danny took the opportunity given to it and extended a piece of its body out of the guard’s shadow, morphing it into a shadow spike like the one they saw from outside. It got larger as it impaled the Demon Master, nailing it to the wall. The wall behind it began to crack and splinter before it finally gave under pressure, and the creature was pushed out of the inn. It never fell. Instead, it took a gaseous form that resembled smoke that enveloped Tam's head. He began to cough. Suddenly he rose into the air. Grey Fang uttered a command, and his sward's blade vanished, leaving behind strong air currents. “You are weak beast kin. I will have what is mine.” Came a voice that spoke in unison with Tam's voice. Lowering the hilt of his blade, Grey Fang yelled a command at the Demon Master which was drowned out by the loud whistling of the wind blade, but it must have heard him, because the possessed Tam, with glowing orange eyes, gave a malevolent smile. Gale force winds sprung forth from the hilt at the smoke cloud that was invading Tam, dispersing it with little effort. Tam yelled in agony as he fell onto all fours, panting and coughing.

  Grisre ran over to the neon purple, blue swirled egg, and noticed that the swirls had specs of gray in them. It was as if it was trying to eat the very essence of the egg. She quickly picked up Danny's egg, pressing her forehead against it. For a moment, she did not say a word or move. All she did was exhale with relief. “What? What is it? Is he ok?” Ross asked, still worried. Gray Fang was too busy tending to Tam to comment. “Yes, he will be fine in a few days. He lost some strength, but it will come back in time.” She just looked at the egg, giving it another once over. “I do not know how I know, but he will definitely be ok.” She re-affirmed. Ross silently held onto his rage. With the other three accounted for, one was missing. It was the Shadow Stelt that fought to save Danny. Ross searched the room while everyone else gathered themselves. It took a hot minuet, but Ross was able to find the creature. It had collapsed into a shadow where it lay formless and bleeding a black vapor. While the guards were distracted doing their own thing, he grabbed Grisre's attention, “Its dying.” He said with regret. He had questioned the shadow's integrity, when it fought with all its might to save the egg. No matter the why, Ross felt obligated to do all he could for this creature. She did not let go of the egg. Carrying it over with her, she followed the cat to where Danny's savior lay dying.

  Grisre knelt down in front of the dying creature, placing the egg between her knees. With a hand placed on the Shadow Stelt, she cast body sense. It had suffered deep gashes all over its body. Many of its organs had suffered critical injuries. In her opinion, it was holding on by sheer will. She focused on the organs first. With her hand as the conduit, Grisre guided the healing magic into the creature, making sure the life energy found its way to its vital spots. At first, the creature’s body was rejecting the healing as if recoiling from further trauma and harm, but she quickly readjusted the flow to a gentle sprinkle. Its body became more receptive after that, drinking in the nourishing life energy. Casting another body sense, Grisre saw its organs repaired. From there, she moved onto more superficial wounds, giving the deep gashes, and lacerations a stimulating flow of life energy to enhance, and speed up the healing process. With the creature's life no longer in danger, she collected the recovering creature and placed it in one of her pockets. “We should go before that thing comes back.” Grey Fang said. “We need to report this to Lord Gwenith.” Tam wheezed in agreement. She thought back to Karber's warning. Maybe it was a good idea to go along with this for the time being, because, if that was what was after Danny, then the added protection was going to be needed. At some point, she was going to give them the slip, or try at the very least, but not before letting Ross in on the plan. Now, it just seemed like this was the better way to go. That was no low-level monster, but a predator of sufficient level. “You will be safe in here. You did your alpha proud.” She cooed gently, stroking the pocket it was in.

  Once Grey Fang was satisfied Tam was ok, he helped Grisre pack which was not much, then a call was made by Comm crystal to report what happened, and notify the palace of the presence of a Demon Master. Tam would go into periodic coughing fits, and was sent to the apothecary to be looked at by the Healers' Association. The city had been placed into a state of emergency, and a sweep of Coran had been started. Ross and Grisre, in the meantime, were at the palace settling in. It was not clear if the lord wanted them to stay as guests, or stay as permanent residence. The jury was still out on that, but one thing the two could agree on, was that, High Lord Gwenith had a real, quantifiable interest in Grisre. Both of them also agreed that she was not the enemy, because if she was, then she would not have known what Karber had told them before throwing the city into a state of turmoil.

  The room was lavish. It had a four-poster bed with a mattress that felt like you were laying on a cloud, The floor was made of a polished stone tile with a finely applied opal like mortar covered by a rug that was vibrant and plush. The room even seemed to have some kind of central heating and cooling, but there were no vents to be found. For a mid-evil society, they really were more advanced than the human race back in Sol, and they were a space fairing species. Taking the lights for example, they looked as if they could last forever without burning out. What's more, there were signs of electricity without the pollution, or industry on any advanced level. That was probably due in part to magic which indicated a type 4 civilization which meant they were capable of harnessing the power of the universe by using unknown or strange sources that could bend the laws of physics. Thanks to do nothing politicians back on earth, humanity was set back. Sure, they made it to space, but they almost went extinct doing it, and the only thing humanity has to show for it, is a home world so toxic that not even the most durable underground structures still stood.

  Lord Gwenith read the report given to her by Grey Fang. She was pinching the bridge of her nose with her index finger and thumb. Finally, she asked. “How is the Beast Tamer and her pet?” “She said it is healed. It just needs some time to recuperate its stamina, and your guest is doing fine.” She waited a bit longer, and when he did not say more, Gwenith nodded. She placed her hands on his shoulders, noticing the unspoken question, and looked him straight in the eyes. “I know you want to know more about the talking cat. That was not the common tongue you heard, but a language all beasts share called Beast Speak. It is understood by a minority Beast Kin as well.” Adopting a motherly tone, “Will you accompany your dear old human mother to go see our guests?” Gray Fang and his Lord left the room together in a less formal fashion, talking about all that happened to each other’s until they reached the door.

  A refined knock came from the door. Roark Silently got to his feet. Aga was not due back for another thirty minutes. On alert, he peeked out a window to see his companions stacked in front of the door, with one of them bent in ways no human should be. Aga's eyes were wide with fear; her bones were sticking out of her. It was almost as if they were trying to escape her very body. The older man had no skin on his. The reason Roark knew who he was, was because of who was laying atop him, bent and twisted. His foe was cunning as well as ruthless. She was not attempting mere intimidation, she was looking to demoralize him, take his confidence to increase his chances of making a mistake. What kind of fool did Rayna take him for? He was Roark fucking Banen, and there was no way that bitch was going to play him a second time. He backed off the window, careful not to set off his set traps. She was going to fight on his battlefield, not hers. He underestimated his target yet again. That was not going to happen a third time.

  Rayna needed to take shelter. It was starting to get dark, and she was willing to bet her base of operations was the adversaries chosen battleground. It was smart. She eliminated two of them, which stood to reason, based on the number of people sent to the outpost, was around half their numbers. That was good. That just meant less resistance, and a decreased chance of running into them. Looking around, she noticed a snapped twig that was pressed into the ground by a creature. It was likely one of them. It was then that an idea hit Rayna. Those ass hats had to of traveled to these gods forsaken woods, so they had to have mounts. She smiled, thinking about what she had learned when she had flayed the older man. Rayna did not enjoy it, but it was the only way she could loosen his tongue. His screams were ear-splitting, and gave her a headache. The woman in her broken and bent state sang like a canary, and begged for death. Rayna learned very little from them. All they knew were their orders, who was leading this doomed venture, and when asked where they took shelter before this, all they said was cave. She activated her tracking skill, and thanks to her class was able to find their tracks. It was getting dangerously dark when Rayna found their cave shelter.

  In Rayna's experience, you could tell a lot about a person by how they live, and this cave was very telling. There was a magic lamp with a single lump of crystallized mana sitting next to a fire pit with dried wood ready to be lit. There were four rolled up sleeping bags against the wall next to a supply reserve. She looked for a protective enchantment at the cave mouth, but found none. So, this was a group of mercenaries who were prepared for a long stay but never left their most needed supplies in case someone like her found their base of operations. That was smart. “Well, this is just going to have to do.” She said out loud as she started sifting through their supplies. One box had the Reapers hand emblem on it, and inside it was dried jerky and cheese. Rue wiggled her way out of Rayna's armor and dove into the crate, gulping down bits of jerky. She went through the other crates, taking what she could use. One item of note was a comm crystal, which she placed into her bag. No doubt it was a spare line to their employer.

  That night, Rayna got woken up several times. Thanks to the cave being easily defensible, she was able to fend off the monster that tried to eat her. Truth be told, the cave was great if you were in a group, but she was a group of one. So, Rayna did not sleep for the rest of the night, and decided to light a fire. As soon as it was lit, a green smoke billowed of the fire pit and out of the cave. Which gave her an idea to her problem. She could not stay and wait him out. After all, Rayna almost got eaten... again. Furthermore, she needed their beasts if she was going to leave these woods alive, and their leader probably kept a hold of them. So, if staying here was not going to work, then maybe she could smoke him out. The reapers hand was no joke. With them, it was kill or be killed. This was a fight she needed to fight on her terms not theirs

  Morning came for Roark. He had waited for Rayna to make the first move, hoping that she would foolishly storm the house. Instead, she killed two of his people, and left them on the doorstep, then vanished. Part of him did not really think she would fall for it, but he hoped she would. Her tactics did not affect him though, but the beastkin was. It took him all he had to keep him focused and grounded. “This is our battlefield. This is where we stand the best chance.” Roark had told him, reminding his partner and comrade that they still had the upper hand. It was then that they heard a Clunk, Clunk, Clunk. It was coming from the fireplace. Three logs were now filling it. This was followed with the faint sound of paper ripping, and a bolt of fire splashing into said logs. Green smoke began to billow out of the fireplace instead of going out. “Fuck!” Roark cursed. “Wh-What is happening?” The beast kin stammered. Roark looked around for something to put out the fire. “Well, do not dawdle. Help me put out this fire.” He urged. The Beast Kin scrambled over himself to find something to put it out, but all he could do was hand over his cloak. By now the room was half full of the green smoke. “Come on.” Roark grabbed him by the arm, and pulled him into the next room, closing the door behind him. “Gods dammit. She found our base of operations.” He thought, angry at himself for not taking extra precautions. That burning, smoking wood was no ordinary wood. It was alchemically treated with Boar root and Sniz. In short, it was made to smoke like that for better dispersal and quick release to help keep monsters and beasts away. All they managed to do was slow it down. Smoke began to seep through the top and side of the door. Neither one had unblocked the windows in case Rayna decided to snipe them. Now they were ripping furniture away to open the window. As soon as Roark's partner slipped his hands under the window, he pushed up. This was followed by the Beast Kin jerking his hand back in with a needle stuck in one of his fingertips. “Roof.” It was all he got out before he hit the the ground with wide eyes. Roark rushed over, closing the window enough, careful not to set off one of the traps and to leave a big enough crack for ventilation, but small enough to make entry difficult. He then checked the Beast Kin. He was not dead, just paralyzed. By now the room was almost full of smoke. “I do not know where she is on the roof, so I cannot go outside without placing myself at deaths mercy. This will have to be where I make my stand.” Roark reasoned. It was then that he heard a window open. SNAP, SQUISH

  Rayna had gotten cocky. She figured, sense she had paralyzed one, the rest, if any, would be unconscious by now. No sooner had she stepped foot through the window, she activated a trap that blasted Rayna with a capture gel. At least she was captured. That told Rayna that she was alive. Another thing in her favor was that the room was still smoked out, which meant that Rue was somewhere nearby. Unfortunately, there was no way for her to reach Rayna at the moment, because of the smoke. Optimistically, her quarry should be unconscious, but as a strange man who called himself Murphy once said. “What can go wrong will go wrong.” Sure enough, it was like that bastard was mocking her, because waiting on the other side of the room was a more than conscious Mercenary/Assassin. The last thing Rayna remembered, before everything went black, was the malice in his eyes.