"I have a feeling... she's over by the Chaston's place!" Yalch said as he tried to keep his antennas from shaking with his hands. Tamma froze, staring in the direction of the research building.

"Lug!" she exclaimed to herself. "And Alson! Chaston!" the hunter shouted with a trembling voice. The hunter jumped down the remaining steps and darted of the doorway.

"Tamma! Hold on!" Miwah eased Gertrude down the last of the stairs. Once outside, the seamstress looked to her right and saw Tamma rushing in the direction of the Alson's research building.

"Go and follow her before she gets us all killed," Gertrude said weakly. "You've seen that I can defend myself. I'll catch up."

"But Gertrude..." Miwah said with hesitation.

The witch pointed straight ahead. "Go! Yalch will lead me the rest of the way."

Miwah bowed her head and left the older woman on her own. With her sword held at her side, she sprinted towards the hunter. Tamma took a sharp turn away from an oncoming band of Ghenkans, narrowly avoiding their view. Miwah took a longer route behind the buildings, avoiding detection completely. She squeezed herself between the narrow gap between the rows of buildings before emerging on the rear side of the building.

"Tamma?" Miwah whispered as she placed her back against the wall and jutted her head just past the corner. Tamma stood by the front entrance with an arrow drawn. "Tamma!" Miwah said louder before looking around to see if she drew the attention of any bandits.

"Miwah!" The hunter walked away from the post that she secured Lug too and came running with a torn rope in her hand.

"What is the matter?" Miwah whispered as she looked at the rope dangling in the hunter's hand.

"It's... Lug! I don't know where he went!" She lifted the rope between both of them. "He might be..."

Miwah examined the end of the rope closely. "Look at the end. Seems like it was chewed through."

"I know, I know," Tamma replied, on the verge of tears. "But I don't know where he is! The Ghenkans... or Narrita..."

The seamstress rested her sword against the wall and took hold of both of Tamma's arms. She pulled her down to reach her eye level and stared straight into her dark brown pupils. "Listen, Tamma. I know you are upset and scared. But we need to make sure that Chaston and the others are safe as well. When you ran off like you just did... could have gotten one us killed!"

Tamma dropped the rope to the ground. She took in a deep breath and rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands. "I know, lass. I'm sorry. I... just got scared."

"Now is not the time for that," Miwah said quietly. She looked past the wall again, and upon seeing the coast was clear continued her conversation. "We can search for Lug later. But it is Chaston and the others we should focus on."

"You're right, lass. You're right." Tamma readied her arrow again. "Let's... just focus on our task." She then looked behind her. "Gertrude! Is she all right?"

"She was fine the last time I checked. She told me to follow you and make sure you were all right."

"And now she's walking through the streets by herself? What if she gets ambushed by a bunch of Ghenkans?"

"Then I will almost feel bad for the Ghenkans," Miwah whispered back. "Yalch is leading her to our location. I say we go inside without her. Clear out who we can. And use our Beacons if we have to."

Tamma nodded. "Right. Make sure everyone else is fine. I'll go in first."

"I will have your back."

After scanning the area, Tamma darted along the edge of the building, staying low to avoid detection from any roaming bandits. Miwah did the same, and in a matter of moments, both were at the entrance of Chaston's research building. A pair of Farrowport Guards lay motionless in the entryway while the door was wide open. Tamma's muscles trembled at the scene, but a quick look at Miwah gave her the confidence to venture forward.

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Every step was deliberate yet swift. The duo moved in silence through the empty hallways, heading straight towards Chaston's room. The further down the hall they went, the more apparent voices became. The speech was muffled, but the tone in the deep voice was evident.

"I assume you do not recognize who is talking," Miwah whispered once they reached the second-to-last door.

"No," Tamma mouthed. The door to Chaston's room was closed. With a trembling hand, Tamma turned the nob and gave it a nudge to open it just a crack.

"That's all that's in here," a deep voice said.

"Leave the man alone," a female voice said. "He's done nothing to us!"

"You're not in charge, lady," the same voice said boastfully. "Just because Eijnar's got eyes for you doesn't mean that you can just tell us what to do."

"Especially since he's not here right now!" a second man said before chuckling. "We'll do whatever we please!"

"You think your boss will appreciate you ignoring your soon-to-be captain?" the woman snapped. "He's already hurt. You don't have to—"

Before the woman finished her sentence, Tamma kicked the door open wide. Tamma stood in the doorway with her arrow drawn, pointing the tip of the projectile all around the room.

"Tamma!" Miwah muttered as she stood behind the hunter. Five people were in the room. Narrita was in the very back with her arms crossed, staring back at her with a face a blend of fear, awe and confusion. Two Ghenkans stood in the center, having just turned around to look at the intrusion. Both wielded long, double sided axes that they held tight with both hands.

And to their right, in front of the desk, was a third Ghenkan. He held Chaston by the neck with one hand. His clothes were torn, and cuts and blood covered the parts of skin that were exposed. The researcher's head tilted back limply, but he mustered enough energy to look at Tamma as she aimed her bow at his captor.

"Release him!" Tamma shouted as she pulled her arrow back as far as the string could back.

"You shoot me and all three of you are going to die," the Ghenkan holding Chaston said with confidence. "I'll tell you right now, unless that arrow is laced with poison, you're not going to kill me." He smacked the long scar his bare chest with his hand and then pointed to the thick metal plate on his shoulder. "I've taken my fair share of arrows, woman. It'll take more than one to bring me down. And I'm more than fast enough to cover my head with armor here."

Tamma slowly shifted targets. All eyes focused on the metal tip as she moved her aim past the other two Ghenkans before focusing on Narrita. "I heard your conversation." the hunter said bitterly. "If you don't let him go, then I'll take out Narrita. You'll have to go back to your leader and tell him—"

The three Ghenkans burst out into laughter. "You really think we care what happens to her?" the one holding Chaston said. "Whether or not she makes it back to the ship doesn't concern us. Eijnar always has his eyes on a different woman whenever we attack a new land. He'll get over his loss like he has countless times before!"

Narrita took her eyes off Tamma's arrow to give a scornful glare to the Ghenkan. "So you never planned on bringing me back alive?"

One of the axe wielders shrugged his shoulders. "If you make it, you make it. If not... not like this world isn't full of women for Eijnar to ogle over."

"I can't believe it!" she said with a stomp of her foot.

"This is your own fault, Narrita," Miwah said. "Your greed is going to be your downfall!"

"I was forced into this!" the bandit shot back. She stepped forward, keeping one hand close to her hip. Narrita took position right next to one of the Ghenkans assigned to her. "They caught my gang and threatened our lives!"

"All of this could've been avoided if you chose to make an honest living, you snake!" Tamma shouted. Despite her tone, she maintained a steady hand.

"It's not like that's the first time I've heard that," Narrita replied. "But it's too late to dwell on the past now." A slight smile grew on her face as she pressed one finger on her cheek while her other hand remained on her hip. "All I can say is that I'm going to survive this whole onslaught. And that’s good enough for me."

"Was it worth it, Narrita?" Miwah said, looking at the woman on the other end of the room with disgust. "Your survival at the cost of all the innocent people in this part of the island?"

Narrita giggled to herself. "What kind of question is that? I live. I get more treasure than I could possibly spend. And best of all..." Her smile vanished as she cut her eyes towards Miwah. "I get to see my sweet Pierce avenged firsthand!"

All three Cutthroats looked at Miwah with shock. "Wait," the man still holding onto Chaston said. "Those girls..." he said as he pointed to the pair standing in the doorway.

"You talking about the one that killed your crewmate a few days ago? Left his body to float in the sea to get turned to fish food?"

"That's them, eh?" the middle Ghenkan said while stepping forward. "Never would have taken one of our to get killed by a such small woman."

"She's special. Both of them are." Narrita said, still smiling. "They're a lot tougher than they look." The bandit then flicked her hand towards Miwah and Tamma. "All three of you should take them out, no problem. You talked a mean game a few minutes ago. Just... take them out before they get a chance to kill you three as well."

"We've wasted too much time here already. Nothing but books in here, anyway." The Ghenkan tossed Chaston on the ground. He lay in a crumpled mess, coughing and spewing blood.

"Narrita!" Tamma shouted. She took a step back as the three guards slowly marched forward. The bandit was soon obscured by one of the men assigned to her protect her. "You'll pay for this!" she said as she shifted the angle her arrow between the approaching men. "Just you wait!"