Lord Blud turned to the sound of his suite’s door opening. He left a key for Sam at the front desk. It seems she had just arrived at the hotel, and he was most pleased. The Ginger and he had not been able to acquire much on the events of the metal men, or their Nazi leader, and there was no time to spare. With Sam and her henchmen here to help out with some background research, and a little investigatory work, they could uncover the mystery in no time.

The heartbeats of the two newcomers were strong. Lord Blud smiled, he loved a strong heartbeat. Something about it pleased him. The Ginger moved up to his backside, fresh tea in his hands. The suite was a two story hotel room, complete with a kitchen, and large enough to house several rooms, one of which, the Ginger and Lord Blud had been using for their own needs, while the others were for Sam and her male employee. He guessed they would want separate rooms. There were two other rooms still unused, but just in case he uncovered a multitude of information, he wanted a place to store it.

Sam barged in first, her uncanny ability to cause a ruckus wherever she went was always welcome to Lord Blud. She was a fighter after all. Following her was her man-servant, hoisting most of the luggage on his own person. At least the lady was classy.

“Ah, I’m glad to see you again. I hope your trip was uneventful.” Lord Blud looked on the two travelers from his seat at an office area on the bottom floor of the suite.

“Aha.” Sam pushed the hair from her face and plopped her axe on the floor. “It was as well as I can

expect these days.” She turned and helped Tentin with the luggage.

“I see.” Lord Blud stood from his desk, “Would you like some tea?” The Ginger stepped forwards eagerly to serve Sam.

“How about some beer?” Tentin chimed in as he shut the door behind him, “This is Germany after all. They should have some nice brewskys here.” He piled the luggage down by the door. “I’m sure we could still make some of the bars before they shut down.”

“I was speaking to Sam, not her subordinate.” Lord Blud kept his sight on Sam.

Tentin put his hands on his hips, pushing back his brown suit jacket revealing a pistol holstered near his armpit. “Subordinate? I’m her head of security. I overlook over a hundred men at several different locals. I’m more to her than some first class British assho…”

Sam swung down and grabbed her axe from the floor. She swung it up over her shoulder and onto her back. “Sounds good to me.” She interrupted Tentin before he could start any problems. “I could use a drink after Italy.” She grabbed his arm and opened the door, “You coming?” She looked back at the Ginger and Lord Blud.

Lord Blud took a deep breath in, “I was hoping to get right to work. There is much to do and even more to investigate about our man, Hans Kammler. If we don’t get a jump on this, who knows what he will do next. He could murder even more people than he has, he could be building up an army of robotic soldiers who are loyal to none but himself. This could be a crisis to all of Europe, even the world. This could ignite another world war, and in this age, it would be a catastrophic event ending the lives of hundreds of millions, if not billions of people on this planet.” He turned back to his desk. “We must get started this instant.”

Sam looked at Tentin, then back at Lord Blud, “So that’s a no then?”

Lord Blud was stunned for a second. What was this woman getting at? She had to be joking in the least, but her heart was calm. “Did you not hear what I said? The world could be at stake…”

“Yeah the world, blah blah blah.” Sam stepped closer to Lord Blud, “Let me tell you something about the world. It is always going to be in danger. There will never be a time where someone somewhere won’t be trying to do something that will bring hellfire raining down on the rest of us.” She crossed her arms, “But what there is time for, is a beer with a FRIEND, not a subordinate, especially after a group of teenage vamps tried to jump me, and then I get sucked into only God knows where, literally, and then I get spat out into a freezing, ass cold river.”

“And had to walk several miles in basically nothing.” Tentin chimed in from behind her.

“Yes, and that. So I would really like to take a minute to relax and have a beer. If you don’t, that’s fine, but don’t tell me how to save the world. I’ve already done it once.”

Lord Blud was taken aback by such a fierce riposte of words. She really had the fire in her. That was excellent. She would need it to face what she had to in the future. It was something Lord Blud could use to his advantage. He would let her go out this time, he could stop her of course, but that would alienate her as an ally.

“I’m sorry.” Lord Blud said with all sincerity he could muster, “I was out of place. I just have an emotional attachment to this case, and it is easy for me to get a little flustered.” He bowed his head slightly, “Go ahead and take a breather. We need to be in top mental state for what is to come next.”

Sam smiled. Lord Blud was a pleasure to work with. No one else would trade words with her like that, and she always loved to have a battle of words just as much as a battle with her axe. “Thanks.” She smiled, “Alright Tentin, I hope they have some good IPAs here.”

Tentin looked at Lord Blud, “Sorry for the whole asshole thing. I get a little heated sometimes.”

Lord Blud raised his hand, “It is my fault, but it is water under the bridge now.”

Tentin nodded and left with Sam.

The Blind British magnate turned to his oversized servant. “Make note of me to ask Sam about her time in Italy. It seems like an adventure I’d hate to miss out on.”

One step after the other, Sam stretched out her long legs as she walked down the sidewalk, Tentin at her side like a father looking after his daughter. He lagged behind a few steps just to make sure everything was safe for her to roam free. He shouldn’t have let her go out on her own in Italy. She could have been killed by those vampires that ambushed her. There was no way to tell that the vampire lord Ra had control over a town’s teenagers.

So now he had to step up his game once again. Who could tell this town wasn’t controlled by Ra as well? He had to keep his head up, and do his job protecting his boss, or as she had put it, friend.

Tentin looked up at the night sky. I guess he had become a friend to Sam. He had spent a lot of time with her the last year, went on plenty of trips for her search for Mr. Bartlett. His old boss was more of a mystery to Tentin, he kept his affairs private and only confided in Mr. Scott with any details as to what was going on. It was nice to be Sam’s bodyguard.

“Any good bars around here? Or are they called pubs, or what?” Sam turned to look at Tentin. “What about that place there?” Sam pointed down an alley to a small neon sign.

Tentin ducked into the alley and checked out the small neon sign hanging above a doorway. A small flame lit up the alley with a dim red light. “Heh, why not.” He shrugged, “I’m always down for the local bars. Usually better than the tourist swill.” He led the way down the alley first, scanning behind bins and outcrops of brick buildings with his eyes. He wanted no surprises.

Sam walked past him and pushed on the door. It opened up. “Finally. I need this drink.” She walked into the bar, more of a hole in the wall, everything inside was made of dark wood, carved with symbols and pictures unknown to Sam. The wood was polished to sheen as candles placed all around on any ledge large enough lit up the bar with a faint light. The tables were packed with German speaking residents, all of them with white hair. They stopped to look at the newcomers entering their domain. Whispers shot out for a second before everyone went back to their own conversations.

“Seems a bit strange. Want to head somewhere else?” Tentin looked at all the white haired occupants with uneasy thoughts. There was no way this was just a meet-up for albino haired Germans.

“No.” Sam sat at the bar, “It’s fine. Better than the bar in Haiti, but damn is it just as hot.” Sam checked her phone. No messages from Eddie. She had called him and left several messages and she was starting to get worried that he was in trouble. He could even be dead for all she knew. Sam decided she would get someone to check on him for her. She found Scott in her phone and sent him a message to check on the young techy for her. If anyone would come up with some information, it would be Mr. Scott.

“No way. Hey, check it out.” Tentin bumped Sam in the arm, “That guy over there.” Tentin pointed to a dark corner at the far end of the bar.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

A man sat there with a drink in his hand and a bottle in the other. He wore a black suit with visible stains. His face was unkempt and his hair a little wildly. It took Sam a few moments to realize why Tentin had pointed out the man. It was someone she knew well.

“Brockly?” Sam walked over to the drunkard that sat before her. Even now she could tell he was a shell of his former self. He smelt like body odor and vomit. He was a long way from the Brockly she’d last seen a year ago.

The man turned his head at the sound of the girl approaching him. His eyes widened and he stood, until he wobbled a bit and leaned against the bar for support. He held up his hand with the bottle clenched tight, “Sam? Oh, it is you Sam.” He moved over and hugged her for a second, leaning into her for support. He looked up from his hug, “And Tentin, you son of a…” He burped and held his mouth shut for a second before swallowing. “I haven’t seen you for, since, a long time ago.” He smiled and held his arm around Tentin.

Sam held her breath as she faked a smile. She pushed him back into his seat, “What are you doing here? More importantly, when’s the last time you took a shower? You look horrible.”

Brockly scratched the scruff on his face with the bottle in his hand. He took a quick drink. “I don’t know when I took a shower last, but for why I’m here.” He set down his glass and patted the chair next to him. “Take a seat and get a glass.” He waved at the platinum haired bartender, “Two glasses. Danke”

The bartender brought two glasses and set them down in front of Brockly. He let out a small sigh. Sam thought she could see a small flame jut from the bartender’s mouth.

“It all started, well actually,” Brockly pointed to Sam, “After we saved you from getting chopped up by that ghost guy.”

Sam pursed her lips slightly. It was still all too vivid to her, her fire crew getting massacred by the spirit, while she was the only one who survived.

“Well, back then I was actually engaged to a woman, if you could call her a woman.” Brockly poured his bottle into the glasses in front of him, “Woops, forgot to fill your drinks, hold on.” He bent his head down and concentrated on pouring the liquor. He lifted his head once he was done, “There we go.” He pushed one to each of his compatriots.

“Now where was I? Oh yes, It was after we found Sam. Anyway, I was seeing this woman. She was beautiful and kind, she was just more than anything and everything. She had shinning eyes that sparkled with life. Everything she touched was instantly better, including me.” Brockly took a swig of his drink, “Her blonde hair stretched down to her knees. She would braid it in the most interesting ways. Ah, her pointed ears were exotic enough to keep me enthralled. I never knew I would be into something like that, but I was. It’s crazy what you think you’re into.” He took another drink.

Sam looked at Tentin with confusion. He shrugged. “Pointed ears?” She tried to get Brockly’s drunken attention focused on her. “She had pointed ears? What is that about?”

“You don’t know about elves? I don’t blame you. They are pretty much wiped out.” Brockly poured more liquor into his glass.

Tentin glanced around the bar. Several of the nearby inhabitants were now looking at them with interest. Some of them were conversing in a heated conversation. Tentin held his hand near his coat pocket. He would have to get his gun out as quickly as possible if things went south. He had to get Sam out safe. Brockly was second hand, especially right now. The man needed some serious help in his current state, but right now there were more important matters happening. Tentin kept his eyes scanning the bar.

“It was a long ass time ago, before man was really doing anything but living in caves and wearing furs for clothes. There were other races on this planet. Some of them are still alive today, like vampires and trolls, just most of them have been hunted to a few in numbers. Clech.” Brockly ran his hand under this throat, “Dead. But anyway, back then, elves roamed the land, living in trees and grand natural cities, at peace with nature. Only after a while, some of the elves were getting tired of living such a long time in peace, they craved power and war, something to do instead of hugging trees and prancing around in a forest.” Brockly was speaking loudly now, his drunken voice carrying out across the small bar.

Tentin was starting to get nervous now. He slightly gestured to Sam, tilting his head towards the inhabitants in the bar.

She looked at her security head and then back into the bar. The white-haired patrons were now fixed on the trio sitting at the bar. One of the younger patrons was snapping his fingers, flames lighting up the air each time he did so. She pulled her axe into her lap as she sat down. She took her drink for the first time and knocked it back in one gulp. It was going to get messy in here. She didn’t know what was going on, but she had been in enough scraps to know when people were going to get violent.

“So a bunch of,” Brockly stopped to cough, “A bunch of these elves went to a mountain top to pray to a forbidden god for power. So she granted them this power, but at a price. Their skin was turned black, and their hair white as snow, but now they had the power of fire and destruction. They were Drow now. They could finally wage war and take land for themselves. They had achieved what only the other races could do, but at the cost of their connection to the world.” Brockly poured the last of his liquor bottle into his glass, “They were pissed off though. They couldn’t feel nature like their elf brethren could, there was an empty hole in their hearts. So they decided if they couldn’t be connected, then their elven counterparts shouldn’t be either. So they waged war on the elves, killing them all with fire and sword.”

Brockly finished his drink. Sam looked around the bar. Now, almost all of the inhabitants had moved closer to the trio. Some of them held weapons in their hands, while others were starting to sprout flames from their hands.

“Once the elves were killed, they finally began to rest. They settled down into society, using magic to change the color of their skin. They began to live with the humans, their hair still silver and their magic still fiery and strong. But, not all the elves were dead. My love was there in my hands.” Brockly turned to Sam, “Breaburn wanted me to kill her. If I killed her, then the Drow wouldn’t act up again and try to wipe out civilization everywhere. But I couldn’t do it. She finally left so she could keep me safe from the Drow. Bartlett helped smuggle her away.”

Sam brought her axe up slowly. She looked around the bar, trying to keep a low profile, but she was sure it was too late now.

Brockly turned to Sam, his face full of sorrow and guilt. Heavy lines covered his face, revealing his exhaustion to the world. “I decided if I kill all the Drow, she could come back to me. There would be no reason for her not to.” Tears started to form in Brockly’s eyes, “I killed kids, Sam. I murdered them all. Their blood is on my hands.”

Sam placed her hand on his shoulder. She wasn’t much different than him. She did what she had to so she could find Mr. Bartlett. She hunted down her answers no matter the cost. She watched the group of Ra’s vampires burn alive because of the Raven. She didn’t even protest him. “I will help you find her. But first, we need to clean you up.” She pulled him to his feet. “You look like crap, man. Where’s the charmer I once knew, huh?”

Brockly nodded, “First. I have to kill all these Drow.”

A silver-haired man charged at the group with a knife. Brockly kicked backwards, hitting the man in the chest. Brockly turned and pulled one of his twin guns and tried to fire on his attacker. The Drow shot flames from his mouth at Brockly’s face. The drunken man reeled backwards, covering his face with his arm. His suit caught fire as he shot under his arm at the attacker.

Tentin dove over the counter of the bar and shot the bartender in the chest three times. The bartender fell backwards, a fireball in his hand burst against the shelf of alcohol. Bottles of booze busted on impact, some catching fire as they splashed about the bar. Tentin grabbed the drunk known as Brockly and dragged him over the bar, his shirt sleeves on fire. Tentin grabbed a nozzle with a hose attached and sprayed the man down with water.

Sam swung her axe at one of the bar’s inhabitants while he was off-guard. The axe hit hard in his shoulder. The man fell to the ground in pain, attracting another silver-haired Drow to Sam.

The Drow shot a bolt of fire at Sam. She hacked down at it, not knowing if it was going to work, but the axe seemed to have more powers than she thought. The axe cut through the fire and dispersed the fames into thin air. Sam looked up at man blasting her with fire and smiled. The Drow was caught by surprise and began to shoot even more fireballs at Sam as she charged the man down. One after another, she hacked the fireballs down until she reached the man, greeting him with a slice from her axe and sending him to his untimely demise.

Tentin patted down the ember on Brockly’s jacket. Brockly turned his head and threw up his stomach’s contents across the floor next to him. Tentin turned his head in disgust. Brockly spat out the bile still in his mouth and turned to Tentin, bringing up his gun to fire. Brockly pushed Tentin aside, the bodyguard landed in the fresh vomit along with several curses coming from his mouth. Brockly fired at several Drow rushing over the bar counter. He fired his bullets until his gun ran dry, adding to the death toll he was trying to escape. The only thought in his inebriated mind was to save his self so he could fight later.

He stood over the counter and started to fire around wildly. Bullets whizzed past Sam as she fought off another Drow. She dove to cover as the bullets continued flying about.

Tentin wiped the vomit off his shirt and looked up to Brockly firing randomly. He lunged forward and punched the man in the side of the face, knocking him to the ground. The two men started to wrestle about the ground, fighting for the gun. “Sam is out there, you drunk bastard.” Tentin shouted at Brockly’s face. Brockly dropped the gun and turned white, again he vomited across the bar floor. Tentin stood with disgust. He scanned the bar for Sam. The rest of the Drow were escaping or had already fled the conflict.

“That’s not good.” The other Drow had seen them, now they could contact the authorities or their own faction of Drow. It would be a nightmare on top of all the other people they pissed off over the years. “Sam!” He couldn’t see the girl he was supposed to protect.

“I’m okay.” Sam stood from the ground and looked around. This wasn’t like fighting vampires. This was messy. Blood and fire started to spread about the place. She had forgotten what these types of situations turn into. She looked back at Tentin. “We need to leave here now. The police could be here any minute.”

Tentin grabbed the drunk off the floor. He was passed out and felt like he weighed a thousand pounds. “Already ahead of you. Lead the way.”

Sam nodded and took off out the door with caution. The alley was empty but taking the streets would be a bad move. “Let’s head to the back of our hotel. We need to stay out of sight.”

Tentin nodded and they took off down the back streets and alleys to their hotel.

Sam had missed the dark figure watching them as they left the bar. A black bird had flown down from the rooftops onto the figure’s shoulder. The dark figure took a step forward with his cane and noted where they had gone to. He pulled his top hat off his head and scratched around in his brain. It would be a big night for Sam. He had led the Brittan and his henchmen into some information about a Nazi collaborator still alive today, which would inevitably bring Sam snooping about. The plan had been carried out perfectly.

The man placed his top hat back on his head and twirled his cane. This would be a big night indeed.