“I just want my prize!” Anna said.

The enforcer holding her arm twisted it.

“Shut your mou…” he said.

Her fist slammed into his chest, sending him sailing off into the crowd. The enforcers turned to stare at their fallen comrade who lay limply on the ground before roughly shoving the gamemaster away and readying their spears. Rage began to boil in her chest as the enforcers surrounded her, preparing their attack.

So, you want to take his side, eh? Fine, then I’ll show you what happens when you try to steal from me!

The creak of leather just behind her gave away the first attack. She casually avoided the strike, grabbing ahold of the spear shaft and pulling it out of the enforcer’s grasp. She dropped all pretense of humanity as she swung the spear like a glaive at the throat of the lead enforcer.

The world seemed to stand still as the blade passed through his flesh nearly severing his head. Droplets of blood floated in the air like soap bubbles blown from a wash basin on a windy day. She ignored the odd sight and moved on to the next enforcer, stabbing him in the throat.

She killed them one by one, moving at the same speed she had when her father had taken control of her body in the goblin burrow all those years ago.

After she’d cut the last enforcer’s throat, she paused and blinked twice. The world around her started to move again, and the bodies fell to the ground, blood gushing from their wounds.

There was a pregnant pause as the onlookers tried to comprehend what they had just witnessed before the first scream pierced the air. It was pandemonium after that as the crowd scrambled to get away from her as fast as they possibly could.

She turned her attention to the gamemaster who stood there frozen in fear. She adjusted her grip on the spear and rushed him, thrusting the spear at his face. He didn’t have time to flinch as the blade slid through his eye and deep into his skull. His body began to shake violently and continued to do so when she pulled the spear out of his head. She stepped over his twitching corpse, heading for the grand prize.

The gamemaster’s bodyguard started to slither away in a panic. She threw the spear at his back, hitting him between his lower arms and passing straight through him. The force knocked him over where he screamed and flailed around, clawing at the weapon. She reached the chest of gems and looked at the glittering stones for a moment before reaching down to close the lid. She paused when she saw her blood-soaked hand.

Did I, did I just kill people for shiny rocks?

“Hurry up! We have to go!” Qrixit said.

She flinched at the sound of his voice and turned to see him standing next to her.

“Come on! More enforcers will be here any second!” he added.

“Oh, right!” she replied.

She slammed the lid of the chest closed and picked it up, rushing away. She followed Qrixit down a long alley that spilled out onto a small street.

“Hey, Qrixit?” she asked.

“Keep quiet and follow me. We’ll talk later,” he replied.

“Okay,” she said.

She followed along behind him, quietly looking down at the chest as she walked.

Why did I do it? I’m not supposed to kill people unless I have a good reason to, and I didn’t this time, but I did it anyway, so does that mean I’m bad now? I don’t feel bad. I feel kind of sad, but not bad. I wish Barika was here. She’d know if I was bad. Would she hate me if I was bad? I hope not. I don’t want her to hate me.

“Just let me do the talking, alright?” Qrixit said.

She looked up and saw they were in an alley standing next to the door of a clay brick building.

“Okay,” she replied.

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He rapped on the door and a slide opened at eye level, for Qrixit anyway, a few moments later. Insect eyes peered through the slot before it closed. The door swung open and a person that looked like a massive praying mantis waved them inside.

The interior of the building was dimly lit and smokey. Animal carcasses hung from the ceiling in orderly rows, many still dripping blood onto the ground. Qrixit walked past the carcasses and headed for the back of the room where a huge toad-like person sat next to a stone block and was holding a stone blade that bore a strong resemblance to a cleaver in one of its meaty hands.

“Qrixit, friend, how are you doing?” the toad asked in a booming voice.

“I’m doing well, Vich. How about yourself?” Qrixit replied.

“I can’t complain. So, what brings you in today?” Vich asked.

“Need you to move some stuff for me, and I need it moved quickly,” Qrixit replied.

“How quickly?” Vich asked.

“Dead enforcers quickly,” Qrixit replied.

Vich looked at them for a long moment.

“I can do this for you,” it said.

“Thank you,” Qrixit replied.

Vich made a series of croaking sounds and several smaller toad people joined them. The toad people croaked at each other for a few moments before two of them came over to her and Qrixit, holding out their hands. Qrixit passed the white hide and the honey to one of them, and she handed the chest of gems over to the other. The one that took the chest flared its nostrils and then croaked.

“What?” she asked.

“You smell of tukla blood,” it replied.

She looked at Qrixit, who looked at Vich, who looked at her.

“Go with them. They will show you where you can get cleaned up,” Vich said.

The toad people walked off, and she scurried along behind them. They walked out of the carcass-filled room and into a long hallway.

“Go three doors down, and you’ll find the cleaning room on the right,” the toad person carrying the hide and honey said.

“Thanks,” she replied.

She headed off in the opposite direction of them as she made her way to the cleaning room. The room had no door, so she walked inside and found a large basin filled with sand sitting in the center.

She walked over to the basin and pushed her hands into the sand, letting the abrasive substance absorb the last of the moisture from the mostly dried blood. She used it to scrub her hands clean.

After she finished, she scrubbed the blood spatters from the rest of her body and hair. She shook the dust from her hair and walked out of the room, heading back down the hallway and into the room where she’d left Vich and Qrixit. The two of them were still standing next to the stone block talking. She walked over and stood next to Qrixit.

“We’ll be going now, Vich. Thanks for everything,” Qrixit said.

“Anytime, Qrixit,” Vich replied.

They walked away from Vich and headed for the door.

“We’re going to spend the night somewhere else tonight. We’ll talk when we get there,” Qrixit said.

She nodded and followed him out of the building and back into the alley. Qrixit led her down the narrow refuse-filled paths before finally stopping at another clay brick building. He pushed the door open and went inside with her following close behind.

The building was dimly lit and smelled dank. Odd grunts and calls could be heard coming from the hallway behind the counter that lay directly ahead of them. A sickly-looking creature with huge eyes and thin spindly limbs sat behind a counter near the back of the room. Qrixit walked up to the counter and tossed a few yellow gems in front of its hand.

“A room with a door for the night,” he said.

The creature snatched up the gems and gestured towards the hallway.

“Seven,” it said.

Qrixit walked away without saying another word, and she followed close behind into the hallway. The sound of grunting, squeaking, and hissing intensified, as did the smell. It gained a slight briny odor.

The hallway was lined with small rooms. The entrances to most of them were covered with curtains. Room number seven was near the end of the hallway on the left, and Qrixit opened the door the moment he was in front of it. She rushed inside, and he followed behind, closing the door as he entered.

The room was tiny with a bed sitting off in the corner. A small oil lamp was bolted to the wall opposite the bed, and its anemic orange flame was the only source of light. Qrixit sat on the bed and then patted the spot next to him.

“Let’s talk,” he said.

She walked over to the bed, looked down at the filthy hides that covered it, and hesitated for a moment before sitting down.

“What is this place?” she asked.

“A mating inn,” he replied.

“Why would you bring me here?” she squeaked.

“Because they don’t ask questions, and they don’t tell stories,” he replied.

“Okay, but why does that matter?” she asked.

“The enforcers and that gamemaster’s family and friends will be looking for you,” he replied.

“Should I leave the city?” she asked.

“There’s no need for all that. We just lay low until the rains start, and this will all blow over,” he replied.

“What difference will that make?” she asked.

“Because the only reason the trade cartel is after you now is to make an example of you so they can save face. So if it takes too long to find you, people will just accuse them of grabbing some random person off the street to save face, and that would just hurt their reputation,” he replied.

“But what about the friends and families of the people I killed? Won’t they keep looking?” she asked.

“I doubt it, but even if they do, they would have to prove it was you, and Vich is getting rid of everything that tied us to the square,” he replied.

“What about witnesses?” she asked.

“No one cares about witnesses here,” he replied.

“Why not?” she asked.

“Too many people are willing to lie for a few gems,” he replied.

“Oh,” she said.

He patted her on the shoulder.

“Like I told you, this will all blow over. You have nothing to worry about,” he replied.

She nodded.

“Now, let’s get some sleep before the evening crowd gets here,” he said.

He laid back on the disgusting hides and closed his eyes. She looked at the spot next to him and sighed before lying down.