Ahte-tan wasted no time scurrying to Blainaut’s side and offering him a shoulder to lean on as he made his way to the bed.

“It’s okay, Mr. Blainaut. I got you. You’re going to be okay. Mr. Ivor will help you.” He patted the shaky hand that rested on his shoulder.

Ahte-naah and Ahte-ukum pulled the sheets down on the bed, and hopped down to help their brother assist the gasping, lanky man into the bed.

Blainaut groaned as he rolled onto the bed. His guts were on fire from the fresh stab wound and the painful healing. “Oh gods. This is worse than the mouth.” He looked over at the worried expressions on the three children. “Thank you, boys. Thank you so much for helping me.” He mopped at the cold sweat dripping down his face.

“Why didn’t you use the sword I gave you, Mr. Blainaut? It might have helped.” Ahte-ukum’s worried face peered over his brother’s shoulder at the man.

Blainaut laughed despite the pain, then groaned. “Oh, he was too fast for me, I’m afraid. I’m getting old, little one. My arms are nowhere near as strong or as fast as they used to be.” He groaned and clenched his midsection as another wave of pain rolled over him.

At this point, I returned, dragging a helpless man into the room by his hair. I was thankful for the raucous noise downstairs. It would have been awkward attempting to explain the noise otherwise.

Once the man was safely inside the room, I stood him up against the wall and Locked the door. I then summoned a Hand and firmly held him in place. “Hand me my Bag please, Ahte-naah. I need something to eat.”

Ahte-naah hopped up and brought me my Bag. I pulled out a handful of smoked meat, and chewed it thoughtfully. The assailant’s eyes followed my every move as sweat beaded across his brow as he tried valiantly to resist my spell. I began to pace as energy began to surge through my body. What to do with this man? I began to pace, thoughts swirling through my head.

“Mr. Ivor, who is that man? Do you know him? Why did he hurt Mr. Blainaut? What’s going on?” Ahte-ukum’s voice shook as he began to cry softly.

Shaken from my musings, I went to him, and knelt, pulling him into a hug, rocking him gently. “Don’t worry, little one. I’m going to get answers from him. Everything will be okay. I promise.” I released the child and cupped his soft, cool, scaly cheek and smiled.

Standing, I turned to the assassin, the smile dropping from my face like a mask being pulled down. “And now, you. You’re going to tell me absolutely everything I want to know, and you’re going to do it whether you want to, or not. Do you understand?” The man stood there, mute. “Oh. That’s right. You can’t just yet. Let me make certain we won’t be interrupted.”

I walked to the door, and placed a palm against it. “Silence. Do not disturb.” Hopefully that would keep prying ears away. As I turned to the man, I saw his eyes get wide, and his breathing quickened. Bloody foam began to drip from his mouth. “Oh, really? You think death will save you? A poison tooth or pill, perhaps?” I laughed menacingly.

I strode to him, placed a hand on his chest, feeling his racing heart. “That’s right. A little closer.” His pulse quickened and became faint. “Purge toxin, knit flesh, make right.” As I spoke, he convulsed, a thin, amber colored liquid dripping from his mouth. I conjured four Hands, and held him spread-eagled against the wall. “Release.”

“I’ll kill you, you lizard-loving piece of shit! Once I break free, you and your little yippers will DIE.” Spittle flew from the man’s mouth as he raged.

I backhanded him, splitting his lip. Leaning in, I calmly spoke to him. “You’ll keep a civil tongue in your head, do you understand me? You’ve already seen and experienced the least of what I can do. Must you see more? I have plenty of food to keep me sustained, and I can and will gladly torture you in ways you have only seen in your worst nightmares. In fact, I could probably make them real for you. Would you like that?”

He spat a bloody gob of mucus on my face in reply. “You can do nothing. I’ve been trained in resisting torture, lizard-lover.”

I wiped the sputum from my face and cleaned my hand on his shirt. “I see. I had hoped to make this quick. Also, you call me a ‘lizard-lover’ like it’s a bad thing. You see, I genuinely care for these three boys. Where I’m from, children are children. And children are loved and cared for.” I drew my knife slowly, letting the gleam reflect the candlelight into his eye. “Boys, please cover your ears and turn away. This will be loud and messy.”

As the three children whimpered and turned towards Blainaut, hiding their eyes in his chest, Blainaut spoke up. “Ivor, wait.” He wrapped a protective arm around the three. “You don’t have to do this, Ivor.”

I turned to him, my face carefully neutral. “Yes, Blainaut. I do. He would have killed me and the boys. It was your bad luck that you opened the door. I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” My voice trembled slightly and a tear rolled down my cheek.

“Wait. You’re still wearing your ring, aren’t you? Remember when we first met?” His eyes were pleading with me, and the way he was holding the children stopped me.

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I sheathed my blade, and wiped my face. I turned to the man and smiled. “Today’s your lucky day, pal. You’ll live.” Reaching into my pocket, I pulled a ring out and looked at it thoughtfully. “Yes. You’ll tell me all.” I grabbed his hand and forced it open, slamming the ring onto a finger. “Lock.”

He struggled against the Hands like a man possessed. Looking at him, I laughed. “Calm down. Now.” He ceased struggling. I released the Hands. Pointing at the chair, I said “Sit in the chair.” Numbly, he walked to the chair and sat. I took a seat on the bed near Blainaut, and the kids climbed into my lap. “Now. You and I will have a nice, long chat.”

It turned out the man’s name was Vexus Torrington, otherwise known as The Gnat. He had heard through various patrons that Colben had accquired Dire Bear meat from an unknown hunter with questionable leanings towards slavery. Upon reporting back to the Guild, he was instructed to remove me and confiscate the children. Discrete inquiries amongst the staff had directed him to my room, and he made good on his instruction. Or he attempted to, at least.

Blainaut and I shared a look. It seemed the Guild moved quickly. We could certainly expect more attempts throughout the night. We both nodded at an unspoken question.

“Vexus,” I said. “If I were to send you back to the Guild right now, what would happen?”

“Oh, I’d be debriefed and then sent out on another mission, probably. A checker would come to inquire as to my success, and find that I failed. I would be killed, and another sent after you.” The man was awfully blunt.

“So, if I were to, say, ‘find’ my way into the Guild, what would happen to me?” I caressed Ahte-naah’s head, and his little eyes struggled to remain open.

“You would probably die. Arrows, most likely. If they fail, we have several sentries, and two mages. You couldn’t pass them. All have failed.” He nodded, sure of his words.

I digested this information, chewing on some bear meat. “No, I don’t think they’d be capable. I have more tricks up my sleeve. Blainaut? Any ideas?”

Blainaut sighed. “Not really. The Thieves Guild is powerful here. This is their town, and the flesh bazaar is exceedingly profitable. Not unless you want to risk being murdered in your sleep.”

I sighed. He was right. The only way out of this was to leave town, or vanish somehow. I really wanted that hot meal. “Okay. Here’s what we will do. I will send Vexus back to the Guild, and conceal us from them. We will have a hot meal, and in the morning, visit your tailor friend and leave. Does that sound okay?”

“How will we keep the guild away? They all know this place. In fact, there are probably a half-dozen watching it as we speak.” Blainaut was understandably concerned.

“This is true, sir. There are four. One at each door, and two downstairs. They won’t leave until I do, with the lizards.

“This is a problem, then. What would make them leave, otherwise?” I asked.

“Not much. A fire, perhaps.” Vexus replied.

“We are NOT setting fire to my friend’s inn, Ivor.” Blainaut’s voice had a severe edge to it.

“I would never. I could easily kill them, but I don’t want to waste my ammunition.” I thought for a moment. “Vexus, I want you to convince them to leave. Pay them if you must. I also want a message sent to your Guildmaster. Tell him that I will personally be coming for his head. If I’ve killed a Dire Bear, I can easily kill a Guildmaster. If he wishes to live, he will leave Blainaut, myself and my boys alone. If we suffer another attempt on our lives, I will find him and kill him. Whoever and wherever he may be. Do you understand my instructions?”

“Yes, master. I will need a tidy sum to convince them to go. I have almost nothing.” He looked apologetic.

“No problem.” I turned from his view, and Duplicated the purse of silver five times, and made a show of searching through my Bag. “Here we are. A total of one hundred silver. I trust that will be enough?”

His eyes widened. It was probably more than he’d seen his whole life. “Yes, master. This is more than enough. What do I do with the excess?”

“Keep it. Buy a whore. Whatever you want to do. When you leave this room, you will forget our interactions. You will not concern yourself with the ring on your finger, only that you picked it off someone. All you will know when you leave is that you completed your mission, with the complication of the children. They were lost when you attacked. Ran off into the wilderness. You will deliver my message to your Guildmaster in private. Is there a symbol for impending death? Something that would mark the victim?”

Vexus nodded. “There is. Would you like me to give it to him?”

“Draw it, first. I’m assuming if I gave you a token of the mark, it would have more meaning? And that a personal sigil can be added to signify who will claim it?” The man nodded again, taking a sheet of paper, ink and quill from inside the desk, and began sketching out the mark.

Once complete, he handed it to me. I studied it, then turned around, retrieving a stone from my Bag. I quickly crafted the mark, adding my own symbol to it. I handed the stone to Vexus, “Once again, you are to deliver my message in private, and hand him the mark. Matter of fact, I’d like for you to live through this. Can you leave the mark in his quarters or office?” Vexus nodded again. “Good. I’ll write it down, and you can leave the mark on the note. Will that keep you alive?”

Vexus shrugged “Probably, sir. I do not know for certain. I can easily get to his office, and leave this where he will find it, and I will not be suspected.”

“Good. One moment, and I will hand you the message.” I hurriedly wrote the message out in their language, adding my sigil at the bottom, and handed it to Vexus, who folded it over a couple of times, and tucked it into a hidden pouch, along with the stone.

I turned to Blainaut, “Blainaut, do you have any issues with this?”

“No, I think you have all your bases covered, here. With the exception of us leaving town, that is.” He looked at me, concern written across his face.

“I have a plan for that. Off with you now, Vexus. Be swift, and take all your men with you.” I Unlocked the door, and removed the silencing spell from it, and let the man out.

Dropping into the chair, I looked at Blainaut. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”