What am I going to do now? Time to put up or shut up. Be aware, be prepared, like the Sarge always said, ‘Up and go!’

Why am I still lying here in rubbish? Those guys will ambush Stillwater, Gunnar, and WayWocket. Well, I do not really care if Gunnar is a little beat up, but still. Okay, quietly move before those guys advance too far. Get up! Check that there is no one else around. No point having another two or three follow you and then you are also screwed! Sneaking like a cat stalking prey. Nothing is jingling, all blacked up; it will be hard to see my silhouette in this darkness.

At the entrance now. All the guards are breathing. I thought they had been killed. Just looks like they have been knocked out. Well, that is a smart thing to do—fewer questions. Even sprinkling some ale or wine over them would make people less likely to believe them.

There they are. I can see the hooded lantern of the Rejects and the men who are following them, but where are the first three? Wait, calm yourself. Think, where would they be? Look on top of the roof—there! They knew more would follow. These people are smart. Watching and waiting to attack. I do not know if these black coats will let us live or not. At least one on the roof, two behind the Rejects, and the other two are somewhere else. What am I going to do?

First, remove the one on the roof; that vantage is too good! Best way up is that drainpipe. Stupid, move your sword sheath, it will bump against the pipe! Climbing as slowly as I can, less noise. I hate this; I do not like killing unsuspecting people. Defending myself before they have the opportunity to kill me first, true, but I still consider it murder. Greater good, save people, and all that.

There does not seem to be anyone else up here. Looks like he has some sort of blowgun. No gravel on the roof. Nothing between him and me except that aeration fan. Unclip my sword, lowering it gently to the ground. Ten more steps, knife out. Five, breathing under control, light steps, hands sweating a little, calm. Two, I can hear him breathing. He has not noticed me. Strike into the neck, hold his mouth closed. Bloody bastard bit me! Keep quiet! Now, draw it across. The Sarge would be proud of this stealth kill. There are a few more darts. Could I use them?

Pick up my sword, shimmy down to the ground, sneak up, and blow! Damn, I missed. Duck away, idiot! Phew, they did not notice me. I am going to give myself a heart attack if I keep this up. Using the blowgun is maybe not the best idea. Use what you know—knives, swords—that will keep you out of trouble. Keep them anyway, might use them later.

In a few seconds, Stillwater will call out for them to surrender and come peacefully. With how these guys work, I doubt surrender is in their vocabulary. Good, they are pulling back. The Rejects must be near the first lot.

I can hear her now. “In the Name of Count Darel Isenhart, cease and desist! You are all under arrest for trespass of Lake Merrin's grain stores. Come quietly, and you shall not be harmed. Resist and force will be employed!”

Silence. Then laughter springs from the lips of someone ahead. “You are here to stop us. There are only three of you. Did you think there were only three of us?”

Keep talking. I am nearly on the other two. Couple more steps. “We offer you, Watchwoman, that you put down your weapons and leave. If you do, you will be rewarded with ten thousand slips each and your lives. You choose.”

That growl—so Stillwater. “Force it is. Last chance.”

I have one last chance too. If I fail, I will be a dead man and the Rejects will follow. Now strike! Damn, I only hit one and grazed the other. Jump back, that swing just missed. I can see the other is drowning in his own blood. Die, filth!

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What? The one on the ground just became goo, just like that other guy I heard about! What is going on?

Keep your eye on the others. Stillwater and the team have started fighting too. Explosion! Good old WayWocket with his tricks. Keep my watch up.

Pointing my sword towards the noise. “Hear that? That is something dangerous. Give up, and I promise you will not be hurt.” Damn it, he takes a step towards me, his sword weaving side to side. “Don't do it, man! Your life is not worth this.”

He seems to be competent with his weapon. Did he just look behind me? Duck, fool! A blade just missed my head. I roll away. Now there are two on me. Missed one. I keep my back to the wall; they will not get the better of me again. These guys are not like the thugs from before, they fight well together. Remember, one will feint, and the other will attack. Standard multiple attack patterns.

There—left, go, feint, and block the strike on the left. Riposte to Lefty. Great, they are not wearing armour. A cut just under his—oh no, I mean her chest. That was a breast I saw! Do not get distracted. Not like this is the only woman who ever wanted to kill me.

Best thing to do is pull a duelling dagger; will help with parrying attacks from these two opponents. Now both are moving before me. The one I struck is a little slower. Remember, you have armour. Wish I had my shield too; this would be a lot easier with that bit of extra cover. Hoping is not going to help the situation now.

Time to be bold—attack! Draw line of attack, then parry and thrust. And be countered? Bleeding wasn't part of the plan. I was hoping to cut down one with that offense. Calm yourself. Defend, plan, then attack. Now they have seen you bleed, it will become more dangerous. Feint right, thrust left, parry left, spin left, miss attack from the right.

Slice up Lefty's back. Damn it, she jumped away; another small cut. Damn, here comes Righty; he will feint again. I just barely blocked that chop. They are changing up attacks. There are two of them—give yourself room. Breathe, dagger, and sword up. Bleeding from my arm, and now a slight cut on my ear. The fight is still going on up front.

Breathe, defend. Keep an eye out for an opening. Next feint, move into it so the other attacker will be tangled up. Let’s see if this works. Righty now feints. Step diagonally, block. And congratulations, they stumble into each other. Slice and stab—good cut!

Righty twists into my sword and stabs me in the shoulder! “By Mela’s grace, that hurt!” Lean in and dig in. Lost all feeling in my left arm. Damn it! Did not go in too deep, I think. Thanks, Righty, you can keep Miss Lefty away from me ...

Green goop! He just turned to goop. I think I am going to chuck! It is so slimy, and it smells bad. I look away for a second, and have been stabbed in the gut! My protection took most of it, but I can feel it in my body. Step back, hold middle, watch.

Can only fight one-handed; still, have that dagger in my arm. Calm down, just one left. You have taken out three already, one more is not going to matter.

She is bleeding. I am bleeding more. Need to finish this quickly, but I cannot make any rash moves, or I am a dead man. I can see she is tired too. She will go for my weak side. Slide back, keep balance. Draw her in with an opening. Will she take it, or will she wait for me to bleed a bit more? Damn it! It is over for me. That is it. I cannot win. Hope this shows on my face, I need her to take a chance.

Give her a chance to give up. “Do you hear that? Yeah, nothing—no explosions, no metal on metal. You have lost. Nothing you can do but surrender. You could kill me, maybe, but my team is coming over, and they will avenge me! Why continue?”

She looks at me and lowers her sword. I can see her glancing back, wondering if I am bluffing or not. For Jara’s sake, as if I know where the Rejects are, but she does not know I am clueless. She will give up, I know it. There it is, she is about to give up.

Lowering my guard, I look down at the injured woman. Pleading with her, “If you surrender, I will make sure that you are not harmed.”

Just need to manacle her, and that is it. Looking around; what can I tie her up with? I am done for the night.

Hang on, where did she go? My leg seems numb. Looking down, she has stabbed me in the thigh. I can see in her eyes that she is pleased with this outcome. I thrust down, and as I hit her, she turns into goop.

Not good, dagger in the thigh and sword in the shoulder. Why did I come again?