The group moved the short distance remaining between the shack and the front of the Governor's estate. Tamma took once glance at the fallen members of the Farrowport Guard before stepping into the cold interior of the stone building. Once inside, the halls echoed with the sounds of battle. Metal clashed. People screamed. Miwah trembled once she heard the voices resonate throughout the halls.

"Do you know which way the Governor would be?" Gertrude asked the hunter.

"We take a right. Go straight and then another right. There should be a staircase. If Alson was correct about their emergency procedure, she should be guarded fairly well."

"So we just follow the sound of fighting and we should find her?" Narrita said.

"I think so." Tamma looked at the ghost floating above. "You want to go ahead and see what you can find?"

"I'm on it!" Yalch hurriedly flew through the nearest stone wall. Once he disappeared, the group traveled in a straight line through the hallway.

"He's an interesting... thing..." Narrita said.

"Yalch is a Mentor," Gertrude replied. "It's his job to make sure that Purifiers learn everything necessary to do their job properly."

"Must be new at this," Narrita said as she held her dagger.

"He's been doing this for thousands of years," Tamma said.

"So he says," Miwah replied.

"Could have fooled me," Narrita said as she placed one hand on the stone wall of the corridor. Together, they stepped over fallen people. Bodies of guards and innocent people littered the ground the closer they got to the end of the hall.

"Stead your nerves, girl," Gertrude said in a voice barely above whisper. "I know it’s a gruesome sight, but you can't let it affect your mindset."

Tamma continued to take lead, closing her eyes just enough to avoid having to look at the carnage but still open to see what was up ahead. Just before the turn, two more Ghenkans blocked the hallway. They looked at the group with anger as they readied their weapons for attack.

"Get down, Tamma!" Gertrude shouted as she lifted both hands. The hunter dropped down to her stomach, giving the witch a clear shot at the Ghenkans at the end of the corridor. Like every time before, lightning leapt from her fingers and stung the closest Ghenkan. Smoke left his body as he convulsed from the surge of electricity that pumped through his muscles. Some of the energy arced from his body and onto the other shoulder of the other Ghenkan.

He let out a yelp of pain as he dropped his sword. "They've got a witch!" he shouted as he staggered away from the frying corpse of his partner and towards the staircase. "Everyone! Stop trying to break into the shelter and help me out!" His shouting echoed through the hall as he disappeared behind the turn. Gertrude stopped casting her lighting to look at the rest of the group.

"Looks like you got their attention," Narrita said as she extended her body forward to try to get a view of what was up ahead.

"Good. Let them come all at once!" the witch said, exhausted. "That way I can save my energy and blast them all at once." She hunched forward, almost toppling over until Miwah and Narrita stopped her falling over completely.

"We will provide back up," the seamstress added. "You can barely stand."

"True, but the same can be said about the Ghenkans once I'm done with them," Gertrude said with the remaining air in her lungs.

"The three of us will take care of whoever is left," Miwah said. "We do not want you hurting yourself."

"Just... focus... on yourselves," Gertrude groaned. Miwah and Narrita continued to keep her standing upright as the sound of marching men grew louder. "Tamma! Get behind me!"

The hunter retreated and took cover behind the other three. She pulled another arrow back. "I still have my spell," she said. "So, I can take care of whoever is left standing."

A group of Cutthroats emerged from around the corner. Those in the front held bows and throwing knives. Together, they filled up the length of the hall from wall to wall with their arms pressed against each other. Narrita froze as she held onto the witch.

"Take them out!" the Ghenkan shouted. Despite the words of the barbarian, the Cutthroats hesitated to launch their projectiles at the women. "What are you waiting for?"

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"It's Narrita!" the Cutthroat in the front said, the very same man that accompanied Narrita through the swamp. He lowered his bow as his eyes locked with the witch. "Doesn't Eijnar want her alive?"

"I don't care who is over there!" The Ghenkan revealed himself by walking past the corner and pointed to the group a few feet away in the middle of the hall. "If you don't take them out, I'll get the rest of our men up here to deal with you the same way we’ve dealt with the Farrowport Guard!"

Gertrude lifted her hands, letting her magic spark from her hands. "Their indecision will be their undoing," she whispered underneath her breath. Narrita noticed the surge of dark energy and pulled down one of the witch's arms.

"Narrita!" Miwah cried as she held onto the bandit's shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"You can't just wipe them all out," she pleaded with Gertrude. "There's got to be another way!"

"I know they're your crewmates. Or... should I say former... but they've made their decision. We have a job to do and they're in the way."

"But they're not attacking!" Narrita held onto the witch's arm with one hand and pointed to her former gang with the other. They all stared back with open eyes and shaky fingers, their attention jumping from her to the Ghenkans residing down the hall. "Maybe we can work something out!"

"Let go, Narrita!" Gertrude said as she tried to wrestle her arm free. "I'll do my best to spare as many as I can, but it's not like we have much of a choice."

"Listen to her, Narrita!" Miwah reached over and started to pull on the bandit's arm. "No point in trying to rejoin the Cutthroats now!"

Down the hall, the Ghenkan in charge took his axe and slashed at the Cutthroat nearest him. He fell over limp, his blood staining the metal of the Ghenkan’s axe. "I said kill them!" he barked with gore still dripping from his axe. The other men all staggered away from the body, letting out an audible gasp of horror.

One of the nervous Cutthroats released his arrow. All eyes stared at the projectile as it travelled along its trajectory. Both Miwah and Narrita moved the witch to the side, but the arrow's movement was too fast. The tip tore through her dress and plunged into the side of her leg. The old woman wailed, her cry echoing throughout the hall as the Cutthroats on the other side started to cower. Those with bows raised them, ready to fire another shot.

As she winced, Gertrude lifted her arm up with what little strength she had left and opened her hand wide. With a painful grunt, she unleashed a long bolt of lightning. The spell struck the Cutthroat upfront first, setting him ablaze with purple fire as the lightning jumped from his body to the surrounding men. The sound of crackling and cries of pain filled the halls for the next few moments until Gertrude moved her hand from in front of her to clutch onto the fresh wound.

All the Cutthroats at the end of hall fell over in a motionless, sizzling heap. Narrita got to her knees, one hand trembling forward as her other hand covered her mouth. "W-Why..." she said to herself as she looked at the bodies of her former comrades.

"Look at what you have done, Narrita!" Miwah shouted as she held Gertrude's side, keeping her propped up. "Gertrude could have been killed!"

"Don't waste your energy, Miwah," the watch said with a groan. She looked down at her leg and touched the end of the arrow stuck in her leg. "Right now, it's going to be up to you three to stop whoever is left."

"We need to get you out of here, ma'am," Tamma said as she lowered herself next to the old woman. "You're hurt. Bad. And this place is probably full of Ghenkans and Cutthroats."

The witch turned her head around and looked at one of the open doors down the hall behind them. "Just... drop me off in one of those rooms. I can defend myself if anyone comes snooping around."

"But your leg!" Miwah said as she pulled back the torn bits of her dress. The arrow was stuck deep within the side of her thigh as the puncture point leaked a steady stream of blood. Miwah reached over and with a careful cut from Liberator, sliced off a piece of Gertrude's dress and wrapped it as carefully as she could around the wound. Tamma then snapped off the shaft of the arrow, leaving only a small bit sticking out of the witch's pale leg.

"You grab her legs. I'll carry her from the back," Tamma said as she placed her hands underneath Gertrude's arms. Together, the Purifiers hoisted Gertrude up and started to carry her down the hall. Narrita stayed behind, slowly inching towards the smoking mass that was once her gang.

"What should we do with Narrita?" Miwah asked quietly as she continued to carry Gertrude towards the nearest room.

The witch winced and groaned, opening one eye to look at her leg. "Just... tell her to transform. Take out whatever enemy you three can."

"But you saw how she interfered with your spell!" Tamma protested as she eased the group through the nearest door. "If it weren't for her, you'd still be able to stand."

"I know why she protested. I didn't want to take them out like that, but the Cutthroats left me no choice. I personally think she's better off without them, but only time will tell. Besides, without her gang, she now has no one to be loyal to. She's better off working with you girls than crying over the very same people that abandoned her."

The room inside was trashed. What was once an elegant lounge had been turned into a ravaged arena with weapons and debris scattered across the ground. The pair carefully maneuvered the injured woman through the remains of the once lush room and placed her on what remained of a wooden seat.

"Just... give me something to rest my leg on," Gertrude said with her eyes closed. Tamma turned a stool upright and slid it underneath the witch's injured leg. "Thank you. I think... I should suffice. I have enough energy in me to keep this would from hurting too much. And if someone should get too curious, I should be able to defend myself."

"But Gertrude," Miwah said.

"No more talk!" the witch said confidently. She pointed to the room's exit. "Make sure to close the door behind you! And tell Narrita to transform the moment she lays eyes on a Ghenkan! You two don't have much time left in your Purifier forms, so it's essential that at least of you is able to defend the others!"

Miwah sighed as she brushed away the loose strands of hair that covered the front of her face. She bowed towards the witch. "Yes, Gertrude."

"We'll come back for you. Promise," Tamma said as she moved towards the front door.

"I hope so too, Tamma," the witch said as she looked at the bit of wood that remained in her leg. "For your sake, I hope so too."