The next morning I awoke to find that all of my senses had gone back to normal, and I had slept totally soundly through the night. Was everyone quiet, or was that another effect of the drink I had? I wondered. I went downstairs and out behind the inn and washed myself off with a bucket of water, relishing the coolness of it. Once I was back inside I sat down in the dining room and had Yehpweyl bring me some food, which she did without much ado. I noticed that she acted very differently when Koyl wasn't around me, not speaking much and avoiding my gaze.

“Hey lightweight,” Koyl called out as he made his way across the room to sit down at the table. Lightweight? I thought, letting my feelings on the statement reach my face. “You had one drink and you looked like you were out of it,” Koyl laughed, “I never would have thought that someone so rough and tough looking would be weak to ihv. Must be that baby face of yours.” So I'm unusually sensitive to the substance in the drink, I thought, I should stay away from it.

Later on, after we ate, Koyl and I left the inn to go to the Steelheart Company office nearby and pick up our pay. Much to Koyl's delight Dawpvaol had already gotten it together to give to us, with a small bonus for saving Thaajh. However, all the jobs for the day were already taken and the office was very busy so we both left without anything to do. As we stood outside a few buildings away Koyl flipped around one of Thaajh's daggers in his hand absentmindedly.

“I'm going to go sell this,” Koyl said, holding the knife up, “you coming?” Didn’t I just tell you not to let me see those? I wanted to ask.

“No,” I replied simply. Oddly, Koyl frowned and didn't leave immediately.

“So what are you going to do?” he asked. His face looked concerned for some reason. “You're not going to get into trouble with the guards are you?” he added. I would be more concerned that you would do something like that, I thought.

“I might already be in trouble with them,” I said. “The arsonist saw my face, he could easily file a false report and try to blame me for his actions.” Koyl laughed.

“You think the city guard are going to care about that?” he joked. “They'd be more likely to arrest him for trying to report you. Don't worry about it.” As Koyl was about to walk off, a familiar voice called out to us from a few doors away. Koyl quickly stashed the knife he was holding and we both turned to see Dawpvaol walking towards us.

“You two,” she said, “go back to the east office and make sure there's no trouble with the cleanup team.” Koyl and I both glanced at each other before one of us replied.

“Don't you have an office full of workers?” Koyl asked. Dawpvaol sighed, twice.

“Just do it,” she said, “I don't know if I trust them, but you two idiots are almost certainly not with the Hatchet Crew. There is money in it for you, enough that you won't be disappointed.” Once again Koyl and I looked at each other.

“Sure thing Dawp,” Koyl smiled.

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When we got to the site of the ruined office there were already people scrounging through the burnt rubble looking for valuables. I moved to stop them, but after a brief exchange of words Koyl and I learned that they were the Steelheart Company team that was assigned to recover anything of value that survived the fire, as well as any evidence. Apparently, they were given specific orders to find Thaajh's knives if possible, a fact which amused Koyl to no end. Much like before Koyl and I both stood in front of the building, rather the remnants of it, and watched the passing people for any signs of hostile behavior. Koyl didn't have a weapon, so I lent him my spear.

The atmosphere was tense, much moreso than it was when we were simply guarding the building. People were getting close, much too close, and prying eyes were all over us. More than once I drew my sword and had to forcefully tell humans to walk away to a safe distance or I would attack them. By the time it was noon the largest pieces of the rubble had been removed, allowing passage through the remains of the office to the backyard. The search team took their lunch breaks, eating dense bread stored in their pockets, and Koyl watched on enviously.

“Don't look now,” I whispered, “but there's a man near the broken barrier in the back alley.” On a whim, I had looked behind me and seen a cloaked individual crouching down in the shadow between the buildings. Koyl looked at me, then very casually turned around and pretended to be kicking through the rubble with his foot. I mirrored him, pretending to be looking for something in the rubble as well.

“I see him,” Koyl whispered, “is that the same guy?” I squatted down and brushed at some burnt wood, then picked up a scrap of metal and held it up to the light. While miming as though I was examining it I instead got a better look at the man in the alley.

“Can't be sure,” I murmured, “it looks like him.”

“We should get out of here,” Koyl hissed, “for all we know he could be coming back to finish the job.” Just from my knowledge of my surroundings I considered the possibility unlikely. There weren't sufficient non-residential vantage points for a rapid crossbow attack, and the members of the search team were armed with short swords, so any attacking force would naturally want to match them in numbers for melee. The possibility that ten or more Hatchet Crew were around, but not attacking, simply seemed wrong. Unless they have the support or co-operations of the residents, I considered, but they did just burn down multiple homes so that seems unlikely.

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“We could always join them,” I said, attempting humor to help Koyl relax. If he's jumpy it's just going to make this job more annoying, I thought.

“Actually, it's not the worst idea,” Koyl whispered back. “Shit, the search guys are coming back, let's get back in position.”

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“I'm going to starve to death,” Koyl moaned once the last of the search crew left. It was an hour or so before sunset, meaning our work finished early, but neither of us had eaten or drank anything since morning. “Thank the gods those scavengers are gone,” he continued, “now let's talk about your plan.”

“My plan?” I asked.

“Of course,” Koyl smiled, “joining up with the enemy. Might be a good idea you know. They'd probably pay very well for someone who had all kinds of information on the Steelheart Company's operations in the city.”

“Neither of us-” I began before sighing as I figured out what Koyl meant. “That is a stupid idea. Not only would it anger the Steelheart Company, but once the Hatchet Crew found out about it they would want us dead.”

“Look, why don't we just walk on over and see what these guys are all about?” Koyl suggested. “Worst case scenario we just leave.” In the worst case scenario, you die and my body is damaged beyond repair, I thought, still, I think I can manage to avoid it. If we can acquire any sort of valuable information it could accelerate my plan to leave. If there is a fight, I can claim the possessions of the victims afterwards and have Koyl show me where to sell them. Possibly against my better judgment, I reluctantly nodded to Koyl in agreement.

We walked through the rubble and out the broken barrier into the alley behind the office, which was now empty as the arsonist had left before the search crews did. Koyl followed me through the alley, and we both emerged into the street that I had initially traced the arsonist to. Just like before many of the people walking it were wearing cloaks and hiding weapons, but unlike before neither of us seemed to draw much attention. Instead, the flow of foot traffic bent around us for the most part.

“Hey!” a man croaked out after he passed by me. “You lost?” Traffic parted around the two of us, making a circle about two meters in diameter as people stopped to watch the commotion. Koyl conveniently blended into the side, trying to keep a low profile. Good decision, I thought.

“Do you know where I can find the office of the Hatchet Crew?” I asked, figuring that I couldn't possibly make the situation much worse by doing so. In response, the man pulled out a utility knife and flashed it in my face. He was bald, with no beard, had pale skin and red eyes, and wore dark stitched rags across his body. Tall, I thought, not as tall as Thaajh though.

“You’re wearing a lot of money there boy,” he hissed, “I think you had better ask me properly and respectfully. I’m sure you’ve got more in your pockets.” Checking myself briefly to make sure I was still armed, I looked back at the man with an incredulous expression before remembering what other humans' initial assessments of my fighting ability were. Do I really look so incapable? I wondered, Still, I suppose I can try to reason with him. I looked around quickly with my eyes for guards, saw none, and proceeded.

“Put the knife away and tell me what I want to know,” I enunciated clearly, “then, we can talk about payment.” The man laughed, looked around to the crowd for support, then tried to slash me across the eyes with his knife. I almost laughed as well when I saw his pathetic posture and how obvious his movements were. I caught his wrist mid-swing, then grabbed his forearm near the elbow with my left hand and bent his radius and ulna at a ninety-degree angle upwards, snapping both of them with ease. It took half a second before the man registered pain, and in that time I had already taken his knife with my right hand and put it to his throat.

“You kiyvssey-” he started to swear as he gripped his arm, which was slowly cracking and popping itself back into position. I didn't let him finish, and instead grabbed his shoulder with my left hand and jabbed the knife into his stomach with my right. One twist later and the man cried out, causing the crowd to back up another step. Koyl was right, I thought, There really are no guards here at all. Not even a single person in the crowd moved to try to help the man who was now doubled over in pain.

“Where is it?” I asked in a calm and level voice. The man's teary eyes looked up at me and I twisted the knife again slowly, watching his blood pressure increase as his face reddened. A rush of hot blood washed over my right hand and I quickly moved the knife away from whatever it had just cut into so I wouldn't kill him. Probably the liver, I reasoned from the area.

“Just... at the end of the street there,” the man choked, pointing me in the opposite direction I had been heading in with his good arm. “You stupid ngaazmayjh,” he continued, “they'll kill you when I-” The man didn't get a chance to finish because I retracted the knife to half depth and drew it upwards to his sternum, splitting his chest cavity open. Then, in a stroke of momentary genius, I pushed the entire thing inside his chest cavity before his skin had a chance to heal, making his own healing seal it inside. The man collapsed the instant I released my grip on his shoulder and curled into the fetal position on the ground.

“If you walk away very carefully, you might be able to get that knife out of you before it does some actual damage,” I said. The man, still wincing and now afraid to move around too much, nodded and awkwardly crawled across the ground to the nearest wall. I turned in the direction he indicated and started walking, and the people in the street gave me a wide berth with only one exception. Koyl jogged up and walked beside me in silence, the only person who dared get close.

“That was...” he finally muttered once we were around a hundred meters away from where the confrontation took place. “Did you have to make a spectacle of it like that?” he asked.

“All I did was make sure we wouldn’t be stabbed in the back before reaching our destination,” I replied. Koyl exhaled, and when I glanced over at him I saw that he was thinking. Though his face looked stressed, his grip on my spear was loose and relaxed.

“What if he works for them?” Koyl asked. “You heard what he tried to say back there.” I thought it over for a moment before replying.

“I can apologize to them,” I shrugged. I wasn't above such obvious deception if it worked.

“And if they don't accept the apology?” Koyl asked.

“Worst case scenario we just leave,” I replied. Koyl scoffed, then broke into nervous laughter.