“Your little spells will not work on me,” I announced with grim satisfaction. “Now give me back what is mine,” I demanded, lifting her up from off the floor as I continued to choke the life out of her. The heat had left me, instead I felt powerful and liberated.

Feebly she reached out, offering me back the two vials that she had stolen from me. With my free hand, I placed them back into my bag and was about to let the woman go when I felt the unmistakable pressure of yet another blade at my throat.

“Now, you got your little potions back. Now, let Kaila go,” rasped a voice from behind me.

“Will you all please, stop this nonsense!” shouted Naira, her command doing nothing but adding to the confusion of an already very messy situation.

In the media of my old world, the act of choking a life out was often portrayed as a swift, almost effortless deed. The reality was far more brutal. Kaila features were a twisted tapestry of pathetic struggle as she fought back with everything she had, ineffectually kicking at me and clawing at the hand that gripped her throat. She really should have put a few more points into Strength.

I did not release Kaila, and in response the blade dug against my skin, meeting subtle resistance until I could finally feel it drawing blood. Then, I felt it. An almost too subtle displacement of air. Kaila’s eyes widened further, almost like teacups, as I felt the kiss of the blade leave, and heard the knife clanging to the floor.

“Can’t leave you for a moment, can I? This how you deal with all of your disagreements?” came a familiar voice from behind.

I chuckled for a moment at the absurdity of the situation. The tables had indeed been turned. The body of my latest assailant lay on the ground behind me.

“My thanks Elwin, good to know that you are at my back, as always. I can, however, assure you that I am very much the aggrieved party here,” I replied with a little mirth, a small grin stealing its way across my face. The man who had taken me unaware had been sneaky, but the Rogue had been sneakier still.

“Ah, of course. Only that in my experience it’s usually about two men fighting over a woman when they have been drinking a bit too much. First time I seen it where one of the men ended up choking out the girl. This how you impress the girls from wherever it is you are from? A courting ritual? Nothing to get the old juices going like a quick bit of strangulation?” he commented sarcastically, kicking at what I presumed to be the unconscious form of the man who had had a knife to my throat.

I glanced from the still struggling woman in my grip, to Sevas, the remaining threat. The Spellsword seemed to be tiring, his movements growing slower as he wound down, his exertions taking their toll. Almost a mirror to Kaila’s own struggles.

“I am thinking about a more permanent solution for this lot,” I put forth bluntly.

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“I would rather you did not, samasa,” stated Naira politely, if not a little too sharply. “Having deaths under one’s roof can be bad for my reputation and business. We have quite a few from the Adventurer’s Guild that come here, and I would look at it as a personal favor to me if you would show mercy,” she requested, bowing formally at the hip, her palms pressed to the back of her head.

“Yeah, killing women. It leaves a bad taste in the mouth,” advised Elwin, muttering something else as he stood next to Kaila. “Would be a waste…”

“Please Master Gilgamesh,” pleaded Naira again. Almost as if in response to this, Laman sidled up from behind the bar to stand with his employer. Or rather, stood behind. A coward through and through, I thought to myself.

For all that she had done, I did not feel like killing Kaila. It didn’t feel right. So just like that, I relaxed my grip and let her go.

She fell unceremoniously to the floor, gasping for air with the desperation of a fish out of water. It was a pitiful sight.

“But is it not written in the surahs? There can be no mercy without justice,” came Cordelia’s lilting voice, cold as the first winds of winter. Great, I thought to myself, another complication. People with their damn timing, I needed her a few minutes ago, not now adding her own little piece.

Cordelia had Larynda in tow, both of them wearing local ‘civilian’ clothing. Yet, despite this, the warrior woman seemed to exude a sense of danger, her words and manner strengthened by the power of her faith. Larynda, on the other hand, seemed to draw into herself, looking furtive and small.

“I believe compensation is due, as is custom in this city, to the aggrieved. Without which we would be forced to take this matter to the courts. Brazen theft, in broad daylight no less, with a whole inn full of witnesses. I believe the ultimate price, should we take these to the courts, would be a hand… and as a servant of the Goddess herself, my testimony would be given great weight,” the red-haired woman stated matter-of-factly, her posture ramrod straight and unyielding.

“And assault and attempted murder,” I added coldly in a flat voice.

“Fine… fine… just leave us alone,” whined the woman on the floor between breaths. It wasn’t quite the voice of someone who had completely lost.

I noticed that the screams from outside had subsided, instead turning into pathetic sobs. As if these were the sounds that heralded the final stages of total surrender, Kaila dejectedly reached for her waist, and threw a jangling coin purse at Naira’s feet.

“For your troubles… Mistress… Naira… the take from our last job. Aranthian coin, gold, and not your worthless paper money…” wheezed Kaila, still not fully recovered.

“The mark of Al-Lazar, in certain places, is trusted more than gold, foreigner. And I care not for the money. Just get out of my inn, now! And rest assured I will be making a formal complaint to the Guild.”

With Elwin giving it a few encouraging kicks, the body at my feet began to stir. Kaila half-crawled to him, bringing a vial to his lips. After a minute he got to his feet, a little wide-eyed, but nonetheless mobile. A quick look around confirmed for him how the encounter had gone. Kaila gently whispered a few words in Sevas’ ear, stilling his flailing motions. She shot me a look, a glance, that was surprisingly without venom or hurt. In silence, Kaila and her unnamed companion dragged a now unresisting Sevas from the inn.

“Free drinks for everyone!” shouted Naira to the silent crowd, a weak whoop of joy following the declaration, only to be swallowed by the silence.

Now there was the matter of my compensation. Surely, I was due something for my troubles?