Lowlife, Scoundrel, Bandit Queen

The look on Tekla's face alone is worth it. And the way she glares up at me leaves her open for an attack for the briefest of moments. I don't hesitate to take advantage and headbutt her with all the force I can muster. It's not my preferred mode of attack, not even in close quarters like this, but I have to take what I can get. I simply don't have another choice right now.

At least my opponent realized her mistake too late. Thus while her eyes still widen in shock, she has no more time to lower her head again, which would have made this a very painful experience for me instead.

[*Ding!* Hit! Tekla's Health reduced by 32!]

Oh yes, that's the first really solid hit I got in on her. My [Brawling] skill improves another bit. If this keeps up it won't be long until the next level up. I'd appreciate it, but at the same time I hope that I'll be able to finish that fight before then.

What matters right now though is, that her iron grip on me finally slips and I come free as she stumbles backwards, dazed. Blood is dripping from her nose now. Oh yes, she really is bloodied now. Considering how much it took out of me to get her there, this reaffirms that she is a really tough one too. She really ain't no pushover.

I'm not dazed like her, I suffered no damage either, but I still take a moment to get my breathing back under control. I take the opportunity to circle to her side, so she ends up right in between me and the railing at the edge of the gallery. It's the perfect position considering what I just got to glimpse down there in the ring, at the bottom floor.

"Well, Tekla. I have a lot of respect for your tats. Seriously, I do. I might have had some respect for your operation here too, but you seriously ruined it, when you decided to work with the guard instead of us. And you really, really should have never gotten involved with that dreamstone dust business."

I shake my head, as she sneers at me in return. As she doesn't actually speak up though I continue.

"That's the final straw. We might have been able to talk about everything else, but really, there is no coming back from that. It's one of the things words just can't fix."

The way she tries to glance over her shoulder I can tell that she is considering making an exit like that henchwoman a little earlier. She certainly would be both athletic and acrobatic enough to pull it off, despite her state. It might not even be the worst outcome for me either. I'm certain that she still has a vicious kick or punch in her. If I push my luck too much, I could end up looking as beaten up as her or worse.

But, no I can't let her make the decision. Even if she gets away, it has to be clear that this is not by her choice or design. I need to make a statement, a strong one too and not just with words either.

Finally she straightens up a little, not as much as before though. She obviously still is in pain.

"Oh, you probably think you are so clever now, don't you? After tricking us like that. Building your clever little plan to …"

I interrupt her with a snort.

"Oh, stuff it. It's all just your own misconceptions. You and your goons, you played yourselves for fools. Masked sister? Ha! Well, why would I clear it up though? And you are wrong in another important detail too. I didn't do any planning. This isn't my operation. I'm just along as additional muscle."

I snort again and continue loud enough to be easily heard on the ground floor too.

"It's a good thing too. Your kicks? Your punches? They aren't half bad. No, not bad at all. So in the end I have just one last question for you. How good is your flying skill?"

"Huh?"

I don't give her a chance to actually realize what I might mean with that. Well, I don't give her a chance to realize it with enough time remaining to do something about it. By the time the exclamation leaves her mouth I'm already moving again. I don't just barrel into her mindlessly. Instead I grab onto one of the rafters not too far above and bring both of my feet forward for a well placed kick with all the momentum my short charge was able to build, to plant them firmly into her chest.

Unable to brace in time she is launched backward, right through the railing which doesn't slow her down much at all. It's simply not sturdy enough. She sails well clear of the edge and disappears. A moment later she hits the ground, or possibly Gebhard, not that it really matters anyway. What matters is the rather rewarding notification that follows.

[*Ding!* Hit! Tekla's Health reduced by 27!]

My [Brawling] skill improves some more, but that's it. There is no follow up notification about having defeated Tekla. And I kind of don't mind that. I'll leave that to Sylwia or Matylda if it's necessary. This is the latter's show after all. She should make the final call.

For now I just slink over to the broken railing, look down and smirk. She has indeed landed in the ring, where the somewhat softer sand might have saved her from further injury. She groans and stays down for now anyway. I'm impressed by the fact that she isn't actually out cold already. Her health has to be downright crazy.

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I look over to Sylwia, who leans against one of the beams supporting the gallery with a smug grin of her own. As she notices me looking she shrugs and nods in the direction of Matylda who is busy where the bookies were before. One of those lies still on the ground. I'm not quite sure if that one will get up again. The other isn't to be seen anywhere.

Matylda for her part is busy swiping coins into bags. Probably the very same bags the raccoons intended to use to make off with their winnings after the fight. Finally she looks up at us.

"What are you waiting for? Never mind those lumps of bruises still twitching. Help me here. I want to be gone by the time other people who think that some of those coins ought to be theirs come back around, now that the fighting is over."

For a moment I just stare, but to be honest, those bags actually look heavy. Hopefully that means I can expect a decent compensation too, for tonight's troubles. I can at least hope, right? In the end I don't bother with the stairs. We aren't that high up and I trust in my skills. I look down once more to make sure I won't land on anything, then I jump, breaking my fall easily on the soft sand in the ring.

Together with Sylwia, who is barely paying any attention to the two downed ring leaders either, I head over to our other companion.

Matylda is still busy sweeping loose coins into another leather bag.

Up close I can tell that the bookie indeed won't be getting back up. The same might be true for Gebhard, although I don't look too closely in his case. Together with the one I killed that makes three as far as I can tell. Add a few others with bloodied noses or bad concussions. Overall they got off lightly if it stays that way.

My attention shifts to the bags Matylda already has filled and tied off. There are three of them and they look heavy. I shake my head.

"Don't be greedy Matylda. Making off with those three bags will already be enough trouble. Leave the rest for the scavengers. As long as they can find some more shiny coin here they won't come looking for us right away."

The dwarven woman looks at me like I have just grown another head at first, but as Sylwia nods in support of my suggestion, she finally relents. With a sigh she stops what she is doing, scatters some of the remaining coin on the ground and actually throws the half filled fourth bag into the ring, where it lands at Tekla's feet.

"Take it and get lost. And if you ever want to start trouble on someone elses turf again, think better of it. Or at least do some proper reconnaissance first, so you know who's hands you really need to grease."

I grab one of the heavy, jingling bags, while Matylda and Sylwia grab the other two. On the way out I stop at Tekla's side once more. I squat down and look her straight in the eyes.

"Not everyone gets a second chance, you know? You better not waste it or I'll be so damn mad."

With these parting words I follow the other two outside. I'm not sure if this is good enough to keep her off my back, but I hope that it'll at least be a while before I have to deal with her or her ilk again. I'm pretty sure that a few of them are still among the crowd outside, but none of them reveal themselves as we make our getaway. For now that will have to do.

At first Matylda leads the way, but she is soon overtaken by Sylwia, who leads us deeper into the labyrinth of the city's outer district, away from the edge of town where the barn is situated. It's not just for fun and giggles either. We are carrying a small fortune each after all. If there is some pursuit, we need to shake it.

I don't bother to turn and actually look for any pursuers. If they are there they are there. If they aren't? Just as well. Either way, I focus on twisting and weaving through the dark back alley and side streets, while Sylwia picks the way.

She is rather thorough regarding that too. She doubles back several times in different places and using a wide variety of routes. It goes a long way to show how well she knows the town.

The slightly shorter and less physical Matylda struggles a little to keep up, especially whenever our other companion leads up to the rooftops for a brief stretch, but she doesn't complain either.

Overall the whole ordeal earns me another bit of progress for my [Stealth] skill, allowing it to almost catch back up with my [Perception] skill, by the time we slip into a familiar warehouse near the upstream waterfront through a rooftop window. Inside we quietly slink back down to the ground floor in almost complete darkness.

It's the place the guild used to store their share of the strong spirits from the farm outside of town. And although it's dark and closed down for the night we aren't alone there.

Wiktor slinks out of the darkness in between two rows of crates, bales and barrels, lighting a sturdy little candle lamp as he does so.

"Finally. I was getting a little worried."

He pats a almost hip high stack of bales of rough cloth, probably for riverboat sails.

"Let's see what you managed to nab from the den of the lion."

Matylda is the first to drop the heavy leather pouch full of coin she has been hanging on to so far onto the bale. She does so with a relieved sigh. Sylwia follows suit, minus the sigh though. She doesn't seem all that bothered by the weight.

I go last and drop my bag next to the two others. As I do I look a round a little. The place doesn't have any open windows. The stacked goods all around us block most of the remaining light too.

"Want a little more light? I could help out with that. You probably could extinguish the lamp too."

Matylda perks up immediately.

"Oh! The spell you used on the announcer during your fight? Right in her face! Ha! That got her good!"

Sylwia and Wiktor both snort in amusement and I chuckle too. Finally it's the most senior member of our group who speaks up again, after looking around briefly too.

"Fine. If it saves us some lamp oil, I won't say no."

I focus to enter the proper state of mind for spellcasting. A moment later some of my Mana drains away and the desired sphere of light springs into existence just above head height over the bales of cloth. A notification swiftly follows as well.

[*Ding!* Your skill Light has leveled up to level 3!]

Wiktor nods approvingly and extinguishes his lamp.

"Nice. How long will it last?"

I shrug as I think about it.

"Should be good for about three hours."

He seems satisfied by the answer and opens the first of the three pouches of coin we brought.

"Good. That should be plenty long enough. Lets not waste any time though."