The entire saloon grew silent once the engines outside died. Then, slowly, crunching footsteps started advancing steadily closer to the building. It was joined by muffled chatter and laughter, before the doors to the smoky structure creaked open.

"Good afternoon, you furry wretches!" one of the Kothiri shouted, his voice echoing across the interior. "Hope we aren't interrupting your stupor!"

"Kalmer," Esk said, planting his paws on the bar. He watched the lanky figure closely, his gaze occasionally darting to the great knife sheathed to his hip.

"It's that time of month again, chum. Tax day. Hope you haven't forgotten." Kalmer leaned across the bar, grinning and flashing rows of yellowed teeth. "The benevolence of the great Speed King, mighty Lord Ozborne himself, is not free."

"Benevolence, is it?" Esk flatly asked.

Kalmer's two companions strode about the saloon, staring down any Elpeth they saw. Most glanced away as soon as there was even the vaguest risk of meeting the eyes of the Kothiri.

"The Irith Badlands are a harsh place, my friend. It's only Lord Ozborne's protection that keeps your wretched town from being overrun by folks far worse than us."

Esk gave him a blank stare, clearly not believing a word of it. "How lucky we are." He spoke in a level tone, devoid of emotion, yet the sarcasm still struck out like a knife.

"Wasn't expecting some kinda... post apocalyptic wasteland out here," Sydney whispered, darting her eyes to Tulpa.

"If you wish to be specific, this planet never experience an 'apocalypse' as you know it. But it has long been harsh and lawless, with few actual nations to bring stability to the various lands," Tulpa quietly replied.

"So," Kalmer replied, leaning forward and glaring at Esk with a burning intensity. "Pay up."

"I paid up only a few weeks ago. I don't have the kind of money you-"

In an instant, Kalmer had gripped the feline by the back of his head and pinned his cheek to the bar. "Oh dear oh dear. You hear this, lads? Such utter ungratefulness. We keep you people safe and sound, and you can't even compensate us?"

Esk grunted, anger flashing on his face. Yet he made no move to resist. His claws dug into the varnished wood of the bar, fighting every instinct that told him to fight back.

"Well, Esk, I... truly do hate to do this. But if we let people skip out on paying their dues, it sets a bad precedent." He grinned toward the other Elpeths, who were frozen with fear. "So if you don't have the cash."

Sydney's eyes widened as Kalmer drew his blade and planted the tip in the bar. "Suppose taking a finger will be an important lesson for you."

Sydney clenched her fists tight, until her knuckles turned white. The blade inched toward one of Esk's splayed fingers, looking sharp enough to glide clean through flesh and bone.

"That's enough."

Sydney emerged from the curtain glowering toward the Kothiri. Her presence made the trio freeze up in shock. Certainly, none of them had expected to stumble upon a human here of all places. Esk's fur bristled. "What are you doing?!" the feline hissed.

She shrugged without looking his way. "Saving your ass, I suppose."

"Damnation. A Qithari here, of all places," Kalmer said, turning and releasing his grip on the Elpeth. "Why don't you mind your own business, yeah? Ain't got nothing to do with you."

Another Kothiri, distinguished by his braided black beard, nervously reached for the weapon on his hip: A handheld circular saw with a long neck to support the blade. "H-hey, maybe we oughta... leave this one alone. Qithari are said to have all kinds of weird abilities."

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"Shut up Brae. I don't know what stupid stories you were told when you were a bairn, and I don't care. Whatever powers she has? Don't make a lick of difference if she tries to go against Lord Ozborne," Kalmer explained. He drew to his full height, and with his elongated neck he was able to loom a bit above Sydney.

Not that this daunted her. She'd knocked out bigger men in the past.

"Look, I might be new here but I know a shakedown when I see one. And if there's one thing I hate, it's pricks who think they can trample over everyone else."

Kalmer sneered at her. "We're doing these useless furballs a service. Without us, they'd be wiped out by something worse." He leaned close, pointing a sharp talon her way. "We're the Sons of Speed. And we rule and protect this stretch of the Badlands."

"You rule a stretch of barren rock. Congrats," Sydney sarcastically replied.

A furious bristle ran down the length of Kalmer's angular body. "You damn wretch," he hissed, moving to jab at her.

She grabbed his collar in the same instant, turned him, and shoved him toward the door. Sydney had tried to hold back, mindful of the might her Brand gave her. She had only planned to show Kalmer to the door before he could make a move and hurt anyone.

Instead she catapulted him clean off his feet, straight through the saloon doors with such force that they were nearly wrenched off their moorings. Kalmer let out a yowl the whole way through, ending in a

pained groan as hit hit the road outside with a thud.

"Oh, uh...." Sydney inspected her palm. "Sorry... didn't mean to hit you that hard." At least he sounded like he was still alive.

One of the other Kothiri rushed her from behind, raising a solid metal cudgel in his hands. He swung it at the back of her head with enough force to shatter a normal human skull like an eggshell, the impact releasing a weighty thwacking sound that echoed through the saloon.

Sydney took a stumbling step forward, a furious grimace on her face. She turned to glare at the Kothiri, who's jaw nearly dropped from his own mounting horror. And, an instant later, he was being flung through the door to join Kalmer in the street.

Her eyes swept toward Brae, who was frozen in place. He hesitated, his hand hovering over the circular saw-like implement on his belt. She watched him, warily. "You just saw me knock your two friends on their ass like they were nothing. You think you have a better shot at taking me?"

Brae froze, whimpering as Sydney lifted the fallen cudgel and inspected it. As nasty as the sneaky blow had been, there wasn't even a drop of blood on the steel.

"I-I'll er... j-just go and see that me lads are okay. Please Lady Qithari, d-don't eat my soul or scramble my brain!" He turned and fled through the door. Sydney followed after him, just in case the other two refused to learn their lesson.

Kalmer was scrambling to his feet in a rush, hastily drawing the great dagger from his belt. "You damn bitch!" he spat. She had to wonder what the Kothiri equivalent of 'bitch' was supposed to be.

"Look, I like fighting. But I prefer to fight people who can actually give me a challenge, so... you're kind of wasting both of our time here, man," Sydney replied.

Furious, Kalmer lunged toward her and slashed wildly with her long knife. But Sydney was quicker, weaving and sidestepping his blade with fleet footwork. And with each dodge Kalmer's expression gradually grew more bewildered.

"Back home," Sydney said, the blade passing just close enough to tussle her hair. "I was trained on how to be an out-boxer. Range, ringcraft, dodging? These are my bread and butter!"

Another dodge, and she snapped her left fist toward him in a swift jab. This time she was even more mindful of her strength, trying to apply only a modest amount of pressure. Her fist still slammed into Kalmer's cheek like a thrown brick, flinging him off his feet. He landed in a heap atop his bike, blood dribbling from his mouth.

"D-damn!" the third Kothiri exclaimed, his jaw hanging open.

"Got a better handle of it that time," Sydney noted. He was still in one piece, at least. "Final warning. Get outta' here, or I'll have to really hurt you."

Kalmer's two men helped him into the seat of his bike, and the engine roared to life with a spew of smoke from the tailpipes when he wrenched a lever beside the steering wheel. He grunted, resting his weight backward as blood continued to drip and stain his shirt. "You're dead, Qithari... You don't know who you're picking a fight with. Lord Ozborne is gonna hear about this!"

"Yeah, yeah. Just fuck off, would ya?"

She stood back to watch as the other two Kothiri took to their own bikes, and soon the trio were taking off down the road with trails of smoke following behind them. Sydney stood back to watch them go, retrieving Kalmer's fallen knife. She shrugged and decided to keep it with her as she made her way back inside.

She had expected some cheers and applause for her actions. Instead she was greeted by a sea of stunned, horrified faces. Esk glowered at her from where he stood. "Do you have any idea what you've just done?"

"Saved you from losing a finger?"

Esk's eyes narrowed. "We have done everything we can to placate the Sons of Speed. Lest they destroy the Oasis. Now... now you've given them an excuse to tear through here like a storm!"

"Guys like that hardly need an excuse, bud," Sydney replied. "But I'll tell you what..." She raised the cudgel in one hand and lazily aimed it toward Esk. "Tell me where these Speed Creeps call home, and I'll make sure they never bother or rob your people again."

On the one hand she didn't like bullies. On the other hand, stealing a bike and some supplies from those guys would be a major boon in her journey. And it wasn't immoral to steal things from raiders, as far as she was concerned.

Tulpa emerged from the side room, giving her a curious look. "You ah... are you sure about this?"

"Yeah, might get me something useful in the process," Sydney replied. A side quest to help her out on the main quest, she told herself.

"We're already facing a reckoning. If you go out there and antagonise them further-"

Sydney lifted her left eyebrow. "If I don't do anything, they'll come back and ravage your town. At least, that's what you make it sound like. But if I do get involved, there's at least some chance of me changing the outcome. Seems better to roll the dice, doesn't it?"

Esk regarded her quietly for several moments. In his mind he was weighing the situation. The people of the Oasis weren't fighters. Elpeth weren't, generally speaking. But getting help from a Qithari? Risky, assuming she was even being sincere. Still, perhaps her antics would distract the Sons of Speed until they forgot all about dealing with the people of the Oasis.

Well… what did he have to lose at this point?

Looking displeased, Esk glanced between Sydney and Tulpa, before returning his gaze to Sydney's eyes. "Fine. Since you wanna help out? I know the right direction to point you in. I'll even give you some supplies for the trip. But, I gotta warn you, even for a Qithari… Lord Ozborne is no pushover."