Steel, Fire, Honor and Ruin

Chapter 6
how to make friends

/ooooooo\

Location: Nuln, city-state of the Empire
Day 13

Maria Shepard's eyes snapped open and she immediately grabbed for her pistol which was tucked under the pillow. A very loud thunk, followed by poorly muffled cursing, coming from outside her window, had jolted her from sleep.

It was well before dawn, only the very faintest sign of the sun on the horizon, and Maria quickly got out of bed and moved carefully to the window facing the docks just alongside the inn.

Pistol still in her grip, she peered outside and found the source of the noise.

A group of nine men were out on the docks and they were working to unload one of the smaller trading vessels that Maria could have sworn wasn't there when she had turned in for the night. Eight of the men were working together in pairs to unload large and hefty looking wooden crates. One of which had slipped from two of the men's grasp on the street just below her window.

The crate hadn't broken but based on the way one of the men was cradling his foot, it was a fair bet he had been the one cursing. Another man walked up to the two, and Maria recognized him as the owner of the inn. Antonio Valentino.

Now realizing what was going on Maria relaxed and leaned up against the windows edge, folding her arms and crossing her legs, as she watched Antonio quietly berate the two men and get them moving again. She offered a cringe in sympathy for them man who had hurt his foot as he lifted the crate with his partner and limped into the building just across the street to the Laughing Bear Inn.

She had known Antonio was a criminal from the first moment the two of them had sized each other up after she had checked into his inn, and over the last three days staying under his roof she hadn't tried to poke her nose into his business. But over the last three days, little things hadn't escaped her notice.

Finely dressed men would wonder into the inn, only when Antonio was working the front desk, and the two would talk before exchanging handshakes filled with coin purses. Rougher, burlier, men would show up in groups of two or three and order drinks at the bar, again only when Antonio was working there, and the group would talk for a few minutes as the men drank, before they would then leave after agreeing to whatever Antonio had whispered to them.

From what she had gathered, it appeared that Antonio Valentino was running a successful little criminal organization from inside his inn. She still didn't know the exact crimes he was committing but with this show on the docks, she guessed smuggling was on the list.

As Maria watched them continue to unload the ship, she couldn't help the small smile from forming on her lips or drawing the comparisons to her past when she found herself on the wrong side of the law. As far as smuggling something into the city went, Antonio had at least picked a good time to do it. Earlier in the morning than even the city was used to waking up to, but Maria shook her head and continued to smile as she looked around the street and the neighboring building.

"Antonio, this is just sloppy," she commented form her vantage point.

Of the nine men, only the inn keeper was checking the streets to watch for any passerby's. And his thinking was far too two-dimensional. If Maria was running the op, she would have put a person farther down each street for earlier warning, not to mention at least a pair more up on the roofs of both the inn and the warehouse the crates were being carried into.

Antonio walked back toward his inn and stopped just under her second story window, hands on his hips, as he tried to quietly motivate his men to move faster.

Maria tapped a foot on the floor boards and her smile grew; sorely tempted to just rap on the window and give him a wave just to see the look on his face.

But instead, fully assured there was no danger, Maria walked back to her bed and slid under the covers, the pistol deposited back under the pillow. There was still time to grab a couple more hours of sleep and if there was one thing she found acceptable to being stuck alone on this world it was, for once in her life, she could sleep in.

/ooooooo\

It had been thirteen days since Maria had found herself on this strange, and frankly, messed up world; four days since her arrival inside the walls of Nuln, and three days since she had last spoken to Professor Nikolaus Ebner and gotten his help learning the basics of the Empire's written and spoken language.

Well, the written part she was still working on. The words looked more like hieroglyphics than anything recognizable, but her omni-tool could translate most of that for her right now. The spoken part of Reikspiel was another matter.

Maria could now consistently say simple phrases which included the basics of please and thank you. Asking how much coin something cost was another quickly learned phrase. Maria had put all three of those things to use the very moment she felt confident enough to do so, and now was the supremely proud owner of her very own hairbrush.

A handspan in length with a polished wooden handle and bristles that were not too hard and not too soft, it was a thing of beauty.

She had spent an absurdly long period of time in the shop brushing out her hair immediately after purchasing it, much to the confusion of the woman who had sold it to her, but the feeling was glorious.

Asking for a drink at the inn's bar proved entertaining. Antonio and his wife Raine had seemed to accept her mute ways so for Maria to suddenly walk up to the two of them and ask for a beer caused them both to stare at her for a few moments before any glasses were filled.

Aside from venturing out to buy her hairbrush Maria hadn't spent much time outside the inn, choosing instead to bury her nose into the history book she had borrowed from the library.

It was a good read. The Time of the Three Emperors technically began as the time of two Emperors and an Empress, and it was a glimpse into the complicated political system that laid just underneath the twelve Elector Counts who held power over their individual provinces, and how easy it really was for things to spiral out of control.

Nikolaus hadn't been kidding when he said it was a dark time for the Empire. Over seven hundred and fifty years filled almost entirely by bloody battle after bloody battle.

Three of the strongest provinces waged civil war against one another, the others joining and betraying everyone depending on how the battles went.

An Orc warboss led an army through the Empire during this time, and it was thanks to it that the province of Solland was destroyed.

But more importantly, Maria learned that it was during this time period that the witch hunters rose in power and prominence. Men of their type had always existed, finding evil and snuffing it out more often than not just as violently as the enemies they hunted; but witch hunters as a recognized entity emerged with more power than ever after an enigmatic enemy revealed itself to the Empire in the most dramatic way.

With a plot centuries in the making, a powerful and charismatic Vampire appointed himself Count of Sylvania and for the first time in the Empire's history declared open war.

The dead fought the living. With the Empire weakened by civil war this Vampire made it to the walls Altdorf itself and was only defeated by the narrowest of margins and the bravest of heroes.

Maria had read through those chapters in a single night, burning through the candles in her room and continuing by the light of her omni-tool. The stories and firsthand accounts of those who had fought in the battles were… griping, to say the least.

But back to Maria's current dilemma, the witch hunters. Judge, jury, and executioner all rolled into one highly strung, highly paranoid, and highly capable individual.

Since Commander Schaeffer's arrival to Nuln three days ago, the city's witch hunter presence had exploded. Every street, every major thoroughfare, had gangs of black coated men stalking through the streets. Maria had no idea where they had all come from. If the Iron Tower was their headquarters within the city than Schaeffer had emptied it to find the reason why Nuln's artillery was being sabotaged.

With so many witch hunters patrolling the city it also made Maria's job of avoiding them that much harder. More than once she had been forced to duck down an alley way or risk walking into a group of them coming the opposite direction.

Maria's outfit had helped her avoid scrutiny and got her what she needed but now it was becoming a liability. Whenever she walked the streets, people not only sidestepped her but actively tracked her whereabouts to ensure she wasn't coming for them.

The effect it was having on the whole population was instantly visible. People were frightened, scared of anything out of the ordinary, and terrified that the witch hunters would stop at their door.

/ooooooo\

Day 14

As much as she enjoyed it, reading about the Empire's history wasn't going to get her any closer to finding a way off world and back home. Maria was learning a lot, too much in some instances, the things she was reading were blowing her mind.

Getting home was the priority though. Everything else was secondary. This world's problems could be contended with only after Maria had first saved the galaxy from the Reaper invasion.

To that end, she had put her focus on how she had first arrived here.

According to the grail knight Vincent and the Duke, she had literally fallen through a portal in thin air conjured up by a skaven sorcerer, one of their so-called grey seers. This world's magic had saved her from the collector station, so magic was going to send her back.

But magic was a problem in and of itself. According to the Vampire, she had magic herself, but ever since that day nothing had happened, she hadn't felt anything at all. Her biotics hadn't acted any differently.

She had absolutely, positively no idea how that Vampire had done what he did with their hands.

So… if she didn't know, didn't understand, she would go straight to the source. If you had questions about biotics, you went to the experts, you went to the Asari. On this world, if you had questions about magic, you went to the experts.

You went to the High Elves.

One little problem with that though, actually lots of problems but she wouldn't dwell on them.

First off, the elves lived on Ulthuan. An island continent hundreds of miles off the coast. To get there she would need a ship. But the Empire had regular trade routes with the high elves so booking passage on one of the merchant vessels shouldn't be too hard.

Tagged alongside that, she doubted anyone would simply let her hitch a ride. Buying a ticket to another continent would probably cost a bit, more than she was comfortable spending considering her financial situation.

There would be a bit of a language barrier, but from what she had gathered, the elves indulged themselves in learning Reikspiel. When you lived lives as long as the Asari, you tended to find ways to fill the time.

The main issue, as far as Maria saw it, was telling them her story and getting them to help her. Best to stack the deck in her favor on that matter, so Maria had made her way back to the university's library and exchanged out some of her books on the Empire, for books on the High Elves.

/ooooooo\

It was late in the evening as Maria walked back to the Laughing Bear Inn, having just stuffed her bag with several books relating to the High Elves and their relations with the Empire. She was looking forward to getting back as soon as possible since her stomach was rumbling and a delicious smelling pot roast was being served for supper.

But before she had ventured more than a few blocks from the university grounds, a commotion from behind pulled her attention back.

As people quickly moved to the sides of the street to get out of the way, Maria looked back to see a group of men coming directly toward her. The setting sun cast long shadows ahead of them while the torches being carried by a number of the group illuminated their dark and billowing cloaks and reflected off their armor.

Recognizing the witch hunters, Maria got off the street as well and ducked into the nearest alley. Pulling off her hat, Maria peeked back, counting fifteen dark coats with wide hats and they were accompanied by another ten of Nuln's own soldiers.

She was content to let them pass by, but luck wasn't on her side. Instead of marching on the whole group stopped in front of butcher's shop Maria had passed by a few times on her walks to the university, and which also happened to be directly in front of her alley.

"This can't be good," Maria said as she watched the witch hunters spread out in front of the shop while the regular soldiers ringed out to keep the curious and morbidly fascinated at bay.

One of the witch hunters stepped forward.

"Emerson Lange!" the witch hunter shouted. "We know you're in there! The building is surrounded! In Sigmar's holy name I demand you surrender yourself into our custody at once!"

Maria blinked as she recognized the man shouting. It had to be Commander Schaeffer, the high-ranking witch hunter that had arrived in the city days earlier.

Her suspicions were confirmed when he pulled off his wide hat and looked back at his men with a hard and grim expression. One of the other witch hunters must have said something to him as Maria watched Schaeffer scowl and shake his head.

Putting his hat back on, Schaeffer called out again.

"Emerson Lange! You are wanted for crimes against Nuln and the Empire, and you will submit to questioning! This is your final warning!"

The gathering crowd chattered in hushed whispers and waited to see what happened next.

Commander Schaeffer on the other hand refused to wait. With a growl Maria could hear from the alley, he pulled a short sword out from his belt with his left hand, while in his right he drew a pistol. Eight of the witch hunters behind him also drew swords and pistols, and the group of men followed Schaeffer as he kicked the front door in and stormed the shop.

At first there was nothing but silence, from within and without the butcher's shop, as the crowed waited with bated breath.

And then all at once things got loud. The crowd shrieked and scrambled back as one gunshot quickly rippled into several more, with shouts from inside mingling with the clash of steel and what sounded like the crashing of furniture.

The remaining witch hunters all drew their own weapons with two more running inside the building, and all the soldiers drew swords and shields and turned on guard away from the crowd. Not that they needed to hold anyone back any more. Most had run away at the first shots and only the bravest remained, well back from the line of soldiers.

Maria still stood in her alley, but at the sound of the gunshots her reaction was to reach into her coat and grip her pistol. Regardless of her own circumstances the soldiers and witch hunters were the moral authority inside Nuln and they were doing their jobs. Good guys fought bad guys only feet from her position, and she didn't like waiting on the sidelines, unable to help.

She nearly did draw her pistol as the remaining citizens screamed and shouted when a bare-chested man ran out the front door waving a bloody butchers knife in each hand. He was bleeding from a number of wounds covering his body and his eyes were wild, but upon seeing the witch hunters and soldiers in front of him, he charged forward with an animalistic shout.

Before anyone outside reacted, another gunshot rang out across the street and the crazed butcher shrieked in pain as he dropped his knives, falling to his knees, before pitching face first into the street, dead from a gunshot square in the back.

Commander Schaeffer stood in the butcher's shop doorway holding a smoking pistol in his hand. He stepped out onto the street with only three of the ten men that had originally went in with him coming out again. Every one of them looked haggard with blood on their swords. As Schaeffer replaced the spent pistol into a bandolier across his chest, Maria could see he had lost his own hat and the side of his face was covered in blood.

She also recognized the biggest of the surviving witch hunters that had went into the house with Schaeffer.

Jakob limped forward to join his commander. "Sir, he chopped through us with ease like the lambs he slaughters… no mortal man could have done that."

Maria's jaw dropped when she overheard. Was he insinuating that this one guy fought through all eleven heavily armed witch hunters, killing seven of them in the process? She looked down at the body and then back toward the shop. What the hell happened in there?

Schaeffer was looking down at the dead butcher with one of the most hate filled and disgusted expressions Maria had ever seen. He hooked a boot under the man and flipped him over, before looking up to the last four witch hunters, all of whom were holding torches.

"The bloody taint of Khorne has infested this man and his home," Schaeffer declared loudly, as much to his men as he was speaking to the crowd inching their way back now that the danger had passed.

"Burn the shop the ground! Leave nothing but ash!"

The four witch hunters with the torches all stepped toward the butcher's shop, each of them replacing their swords back on their hips, and instead each carefully removed a glass vial from within their coats. Maria watched the men throw the vials against the walls and floor of the shop, and then light the spilled liquid within the vials with their torches.

Maria guessed they must have been filled with some sort of oil based on the speed the liquid ignited and the speed at which they helped spread the flames.

One of the city's soldiers quickly stepped forward, panic on his face and in his voice.

"You can't just burn down the shop! What about the neighboring stores!? You risk the entire block going up in flames!"

Schaeffer faced the man, his voice as cold as his glare. "Then alert the watch and fetch the water carts. Call for a bright wizard if you must. But this thing's home and belongings will burn in Sigmar's holy fire regardless."

Turning away from the guard's sputtering, with the growing fire rapidly consuming the shop, Schaeffer pointed down at the dead man.

"Drag the body back to the Iron Tower. I want it examined… piece by piece if required."

Maria frowned. Burn down the building? Without searching it for evidence first? Commander Schaeffer's zeal was getting in the way of actual detective work as far as she could discern.

And another thought, how was this connected to the apparent sabotage of Nuln's artillery? Or was this something else entirely?

A group of Nuln's own soldiers ran down the street, no doubt hurrying to fetch the water carts and contain the growing inferno. The rest continued to keep the populace back and away from the fire, while a pair of witch hunters bent down, each grabbing a foot of the dead butcher, and started dragging the man back to the Iron Tower. A third picked up the two bloody knives he had wielded and followed behind.

Watching the building burn all Maria could do was sigh, shaking her head. Putting her own wide brimmed hat back on, she looked over the crowd, gave one last glance to the house, and then did the stupidest thing she could have possibly done, the stupidest thing she had done since arriving on this world.

She stepped out of her alley.

On its own, not that bad, but she added on the bright idea of looking over her shoulder to make sure none of the remaining witch hunters saw her leave.

She stepped out of the alley, looked over her shoulder, and just so happened to be looking straight at Commander Schaeffer… while he was looking right back at her.

Doing something so incredibly stupid for the second time and at an active crime scene of all places, Maria may have panicked a little, just a little, and quickly snapped her head back down the street.

Standing like an idiot in the middle of the street she first took a breath to calm her slightly elevated heart rate and then made a conscious effort to calmly begin walking back to the Laughing Bear Inn.

Making her way through the gathered crowd and down the street, call it soldier's intuition, a gut feeling developed over years of living back alley to back alley, but Maria knew she had screwed up royally. Before making it past the next block she followed her nose to the side of the street and found a vendor and his cart directly outside a bakery.

Flipping the man a coin, she purchased a light and fluffy muffin, and then tore it in half and covered both pieces in some of the flavored jams available. Tasted like blueberries but was far more bitter than she expected.

Still, it wasn't bad, and stopping at the vendor gave Maria a perfect excuse to stand in front of the bakery while enjoying her muffin. While eating she looked through the window into the shop and pretended to browse.

Pretended, because she was actually trying to use the poorly cleaned window as a mirror. A small step to the side and she was just able to make out the people milling about on the street behind her. And there was no way in hell she was going to miss the tall, dark and brooding figure with the wide brimmed hat watching her from the opposite side of the street.

She had picked up a tail. Commander Schaeffer had sent one of his men to follow her. This actually made Maria breath a sigh of relief. A tail was a lot better than a squad sent to capture or kill her, and a tail could be lost, if done the right way.

With the sun well below the buildings of Nuln the streets were getting darker. This also meant less foot traffic and carts for Maria to duck around. Still, she knew what she was doing. There was no way that witch hunter was going to keep pace with her.

Finishing the last of her muffin, Maria strode down the street again. But this time at the first intersection she broke off the main street and began walking toward an area of the city she knew would do the trick.

Nuln was just like any other city really. And like all cities, it had its rich and poor quarters. The streets Maria headed for now made poor seem like an improvement. Nuln's poorest district ran just off the northern most docks of the city and while Maria had never ventured down those narrow and winding streets yet, she had a good idea what she was getting into.

And, sadly, she wasn't disappointed. The buildings rapidly became more and more rundown and there was an abundance of garbage, and worse disgustingly, littering the streets. None of the street lamps had been lite in this part of the city and the dark rapidly began swallowing up the alleyways and buildings. The only people wandering the road now were poorly dressed or heavily cloaked and moving in small groups or rapidly on their own. As Maria continued walking down the street her outfit drew backward glances from everyone and she could hear shutters being closed over the windows of the buildings on either side as she, and her tail, passed by.

Only a few minutes later the sun had well and truly set so Maria decided to make her move. With a quick glance over her shoulder she could see that witch hunter was keeping pace several steps behind her; but seeing her look back his hand dropped down to a pistol at his hip.

Maria turned forward again with a smirk and tightening her grip on the leather bag still over her shoulder filled with books, she jumped into the alley beside her. Jogging down the narrow passage she eventually came to another street and followed it until the next alleyway and dove into that one as well.

Two more streets and two more alleys, making lefts and rights at random to double back and continue forward, Maria slowed her pace and quieted her foot steps on the stone street. After her quick zig-zag maneuvers she now found herself in a small courtyard with a dry, broken and moss-covered fountain occupying the center, crumbling buildings hunched under their own weight, surrounding the square.

Walking up to the fountain, Maria looked around as she circled it with her hands on her hips and smiled.

"Sorry pal," she said to herself, still smiling, "but better men than you have tried and failed."

Coming to her original position at the fountain, she stopped in her tracks as her smile vanished and her jaw dropped, when the witch hunter stepped out of the shadows from the nearest alley, with his pistol drawn and pointed at her head.

"But – what?" she sputtered. Maria's hands fell from her hips as the witch hunter advanced on her.

He stopped just a few feet from her. "Hands away from your belt," he ordered with a growl, "drop the bag and take off your hat. Show me your face."

Maria didn't move right away as she weighed her options, but with a sigh, she relented and did as he asked. The man was the first officer to ever catch her in a chase, and he did it on foot without an omni-tool or technology of any kind, she had to respect him for that.

No doubt he cheated some way she didn't know of yet.

Pulling off her hat, she ran a hand over her head and gave it a tussle to work out her blonde hair. Dropping the hat to the ground Maria pulled off the bag filled with the books and then kept her hands shoulder height; but ended up re-gaining her smile when she noted the look of surprise on the witch hunters face.

Taking the initiative, she quickly remembered the first phrase she had learned and spoke in Reikspiel.

"Hello. My name is Maria Shepard."

Losing some of the surprise on his face, the witch hunter gave her a hard look.

"Who are you?" he asked.

Maria frowned. Hadn't she already said? Or did she mess up the words? "Maria Shepard," she repeated slowly, a little confused.

The witch hunter scowled. "I know that," he snapped. "Who are you? What's your business in Nuln? And why are you wearing the garb of a witch hunter?"

Maria perked up a little despite the situation. At least her earlier attempt at Reikspiel was understood. Problem was, unless he was willing to serve her a couple of drinks or show her where the bathroom was, that was pretty much the extent of her language skills so far.

Biting her lip, Maria figured the best thing to do was show him the books in her bag. He would hopefully conclude from the gathered books that she meant no harm and was merely a simple messenger delivering the written works to someone within the city. He would apologize for inconveniencing her, she would give him an understanding smile and wave goodbye, and then they would both be on their separate ways.

Maria nearly rolled her eyes and fought down a snort at the thought. Yeah, that was exactly what was going to happen.

She opened her mouth right when a whistle snapped past her ear, so close it blew her hair. The witch hunter jerked back and fired his pistol in reflex with the bullet just missing Maria and striking the fountain behind her.

As soon as the pistol went off Maria had ducked, but when she straightened back up she stared in shock to see the witch hunter drop to his knees as both his hands went to his throat to grip the back of an arrow sticking out of his neck. Blood flowed between his fingers and he fell to the ground choking on it as it filled his lungs and throat.

"Well… what do we 'ave here boys?"

Out of the darkness Maria counted six men enter the small courtyard from the connecting streets and alleys. Despite being in the poorest part of the city, surrounded by filth and crumbling homes and shops, all six men were wearing 'relatively' clean looking outfits. Each of them was also sporting a dark blue strip of cloth tied around their upper arms.

Two of the men closest to the witch hunter walked up to the dying man just as he finally stilled. The other four spread out to surround Maria.

"He dead?" asked a man directly behind her. Maria glanced back to see he was holding a crossbow that was significantly smaller than the ones the city's soldiers carried.

The man wearing a dirty brown vest over his shirt gave the witch hunter's body a kick, then spit on him when he didn't react. "Aye, the bastard's dead." He was holding a small wooden club in his hand that had an iron band wrapped around the thick part.

"Then let's see to the pretty one still standin', eh?" said the man on Maria's left. He was the cleanest looking of the lot and had a head of short dirty blond hair. He was armed with a pointy looking dagger.

"Drop yer weapons an' purse girly," another one said on Maria's right. She looked at him and he smiled back at her with a mouth missing quite a lot of teeth. "No need for things to get messy just yet," he finished with a leer.

Maria frowned and tried to hold back her disgust. This was just perfect. All she had been trying to lose a tail and instead she ends up leading the witch hunter to his death. She looked down at his body and couldn't help but feel guilty. Of all people, she should have accounted for something like this happening.

"You heard him," growled the second man next to the dead witch hunter. She could see he had a line of scars covering the right side of his face as he took a few steps toward her and pulled a short sword from his belt. "Coin, on the street, or I'll be taking it from you."

"I think we'll be takin' a little more than coin here," the man with the dirty blond hair. Maria looked at him and he gave her a crooked smile. "Sansovino's been lookin' for some new girls. I think he'll be happy with her, don't you?"

The mood in the courtyard shifted as the men all agreed. Missing teeth guy chuckled, "Best idea I've heard yet. Think I outta see for myself first tho'."

Maria ground her teeth together as her fists clenched. Thieves, murders and worse, this was now far too familiar. And there was no way in hell these 'men' were getting what they wanted.

Missing teeth guy pulled a small knife from his belt and started for her the same time the scarred man approached as well. Missing teeth reached her first though and put a hand on her shoulder.

Maria in turn grabbed his wrist and with a hard pull yanked him off balance and right into her elbow. With a crunch and a shout of pain his nose was broken, and Maria followed it up by kicking him in the groin. As he doubled over she pulled the knife from his hand and slide it easily into his neck, giving it a twist as she did.

The rest of the men all stood in shock at the initial display of violence, and it was only when Maria kicked missing teeth guy away that one of them shouted angrily and they all charged in at once.

Scarred man came at her next, swinging his sword in a wide arc. Compared to the Vampire she had dueled his swing was so sloppy all Maria had to do was take a step back and he missed her by miles. Off balance from the force of the swing the scarred man stumbled forward letting Maria punch him hard in the throat. Choking, the scarred man dropped his sword bringing his hands to his neck, Maria then pulled his face down into her knee and followed that up with a swift kick to the side of his head.

He dropped just as Maria caught the dagger of the dirty blond as he stabbed for her stomach, then before the brown vest could hit her over the head with his iron ringed club she kicked him in the chest so hard he fell on his back.

A twang and a snap filled the courtyard and Maria put the noise to the weapon just as something bite painfully into her side. The surprise of it allowed dirty blond to pull his dagger back and he sucker punched her across the cheek just as the other two thugs barreled into her together and tackled her to the ground.

Before she knew it Maria had a knife to her throat, a crossbow pointed at her head, from the feeling the iron ringed club sticking into her stomach, and the dirty blond was standing above waving his dagger between his fingers.

"Nice try darlin' but now yer goin' wish you hadn't done that," he scowled looking down at her.

Maria strained to keep the dagger from cutting her throat. This had escalated quick. And if she wasn't a highly trained marine commando gifted with biotic power she would have been panicking.

Instead her adrenaline was pumping pretty good now and she was done taking it easy. With a burst of biotic power the two thugs on her were thrown off and several feet into the air while the man with the crossbow and the dagger both staggered back with fear in their eyes.

When she got back to her feet the man with the crossbow took another shot and the bolt shattered in front of her chest when it struck her barrier.

Dirty blond pointed at her with his dagger as the other two got back to their feet, albeit shakily.

"She's a witch! Kill her, quick!" he shouted.

A witch? Seriously? They would be so lucky if she was. Instead they had picked a fight with an N7 and a woman who had fought off their kind multiple times in her past.

The man with the crossbow died when a cryo-blast hit his chest and snap froze through to his heart. The one with the iron ringed club broke his neck after charging her and she tossed a biotic field at his head. As he dropped, his partner turned to run but Maria picked him up in another biotic field, and tossed him into the crumbling fountain so hard his body shattered the rest of it.

When she turned around to face the last thug she found him to be the dirty blond with the dagger. He was looking at her with such a terrified expression it actually made Maria smile a little. Men like him had kept her up at night. It was always good to know things weren't like that anymore.

Dirty blond pulled back and clumsily threw his dagger at her, then turned to run. Maria caught the dagger, flipped it in her hand, and threw it back twice as hard. It buried deep into the man's back and he fell to the ground with a cry of pain.

Maria walked up to him as he tried to crawl away. When she stood alongside him she reached down and pulled the dagger out of his back. He cried out again and rolled over.

He had tears in his eyes. "Please – mercy –"

She gave it to him by bringing her boot down hard on his neck and giving it a twist.

She stood above him for a moment, staring down at the body, before looking back into the courtyard to see the carnage she had wrought. Her eyes fell on the now completely broken fountain and the broken, twisted body of the thug she had thrown. Maria cocked her head. She didn't think she had thrown him so hard.

Taking a breath, she kneeled down and wiped the blood off the dagger on the man's cloths, and then ran her hands over his shirt and around his waist. She found a small leather purse filled with a number of bronze, silver and even a few gold coins, and deposited into her own coat's pocket. Then she tugged off the small buckle that would have held the silver dagger to the man's belt.

Standing up she attached the dagger to her own belt and then walked back into the courtyard and procced to search the other bodies. Only two others had any coins on them but Maria had basically just tripled her savings account since arriving on this world.

By the time she rose from the last thug's body, Maria tensed when she realized there was an audience beginning to gather at the edges of the courtyard. The beggars, scavengers, and the destitute had been drawn in by the noise and were waiting for their turn to loot the dead. Two hunched figures were already pulling the boots off the dirty blond further down the street.

Another one, braver then the rest, moved in on the body of the witch hunter.

"Hey!" Maria tossed a weak biotic field at him and threw him onto his butt. "Back off!" At the display of power he scrambled back, as did a few others. Maria walked over and kneeled next to the witch hunter.

With a lot more care than she had shown the thugs, Maria began searching over his coat. The first thing she found was the same creepy grim reaper silver badge that marked him as a member of the order of the silver hammer. She packed that away into her pocket as well as the witch hunters own purse containing only gold coins. Looked like she had just quadrupled her wealth.

Other than those two things the only items he had on him were weapons. Maria didn't like the idea of leaving them for the scavengers so she unbuckled the witch hunter's sword and pulled the unspent pistol off his bandolier. Standing back up she picked up the second off the ground and put them both in her pockets, and then belted the sword on her hip next to the dagger.

Throwing the book bag over her shoulder once again, Maria picked up her hat and gave it a dusting. She looked down at the dead witch hunter and felt the guilt well back up inside her.

She hadn't wanted him dead. She wanted him gone and off her tail but not dead. Say nothing for the problems this was going to cause for her going into the future. The head witch hunter had sent him after her and now that man was dead. This was bad in so many ways.

But it was worse for him. Killed in the line off duty and he deserved better than being picked over by the vultures. And it was her fault.

With a sigh Maria ran a hand through her hair and put on her hat. Then she squared her shoulders and began the trek back to the Laughing Bear Inn.

/ooooooo\

Along the way she ran into a group of three soldiers patrolling the night streets. Stepping into their path, Maria proceeded to confuse the hell out of them as she pulled the two pistols out of her pockets and handed them over, as well as the sword she had put on her belt. Then she slowly reached back into her pocket and pulled out the silver badge of the witch hunter's order.

Taking the badge and holding it up for them to all see, Maria took the hand of one of the soldiers and placed the badge in his palm, closing his fingers over it. Giving them all a leveled look she patted the soldier's hand and then left them in the street.

/ooooooo\

Maria shuffled into the Laughing Bear Inn, her shoulders not as square as when she had started her journey back. She didn't even realize there was someone at the front desk until they spoke up.

"Welcome back witch hunter," Antonio Valentino spoke up. He reached for her key and placed in on the desk but stopped suddenly and gave her a look up and down.

"Rough day?" he stated far more than asked.

Maria shrugged but gave him a nod as she picked up her room key. Antonio grimaced a little as she did and Maria looked at him questioningly. He raised a hand to his chin and gave his neck a scratch, then pointed back at her.

Maria reached a gloved hand up to give her own neck a scratch and pulled it back with a wince of pain. She looked at her glove and saw the finger tips red and sticky from her own drying blood. She reached up again and carefully felt up a cut under her chin that was healing shut thanks to her cybernetics but that had still been bleeding all this time. When she had blasted that thug off her his knife must have still nicked her good. Surprisingly, she hadn't even felt it.

Antonio pulled a handkerchief from his breast pocket and offered it to her and Maria took it with a small smile.

"Thank you," she replied switching to Reikspiel as she gently dabbed her neck.

Antonio gave her a look for a moment and then stepped out from behind the desk. "You look like you could use a drink," he said waving a hand for her to follow him over to the bar.

Maria let out a long breath. "Yes."

She followed him over to the bar and after taking a seat on one of the stools she pulled the bag of books off her shoulder, only to knock her hat off in the process. It fell to the ground and Maria closed her eyes for a second and let out another long breath as she set her bag down next to the hat.

"I'm thinking a double would be best," Antonio added as he set down two glasses and began to pour an amber colored liquid into both.

Maria nodded. "Yes."

She took the glass he offered and downed it in a single swig. It had a delicious feeling burn all the way down her throat and instantly warmed her stomach. Putting the glass back down Maria held up a finger and pointed to the empty glass.

Antonio had only taken a sip of his own and his eyebrows rose at her display. At her urging he poured her another glass.

"I don't know if this is the right time to tell you…" Antonio started slowly, "but aside from that cut on your neck, you've got an arrow sticking out of your side."

Maria paused with her drink to her lips and looked down at her coat. Sure enough, sticking out of her jacket was the tail end of a short crossbow bolt.

Oh… forgot about that.

She reached down and with a sharp pull yanked it out again. Her collector armor had stopped it easy and compared to that rat-man's bullet it had hardly been a thing at all.

Holding it up for both of them to see, she twirled it once between her fingers and then put it down on the bar.

With a shrug, she downed her drink, and motioned for him to fill it up again.

Antonio filled the glass up, his eyes never leaving her. "Very rough night, if I'm to guess."

Maria finished the third drink off and closed her eyes as she savored the feeling. It disappeared all too quickly.

"Yes," she responded, sliding from the stool and picking up her hat and bag. With her free hand she rummaged for her coin purse and pulled out two gold coins. It was a lot more than what the three drinks were worth, and Antonio started to say so, but Maria stopped him with a raised hand.

"Thank you."

/ooooooo\

Day 16

After what happened with the witch hunter and the thugs, Maria's desire to leave the inn was nonexistent. The next day she had done nothing but stay in her room reading her books and practicing her Reikspiel, only going down to the dining hall to eat.

She reasoned it was best to stay out of sight for a while after that witch hunters' death, most likely his fellows, especially that Commander Schaeffer, now knew of her presence. But honestly that was just an excuse and she knew it. Truth was she was feeling depressed and the losses she'd suffered only exasperated those feelings.

Fifteen days since she had been marooned on this world…

Her books did help pass the time. Maria approached learning about Ulthuan and the High Elves with the same determination she approached everything else.

They weren't governed that much differently from the Empire really, despite how much they'd probably deny it. The ringed, island continent of Ulthuan was divided into ten provinces, each province ruled over by a Prince or Princess and noble families, with the ultimate ruler named the Phoenix King being chosen to serve by vote.

Being surrounded by the ocean naturally meant the Elves had the largest navy out of all the other races, and their armies were also considered the most disciplined and skilled in the world.

But most importantly, they had the firmest grasp and understanding of magic when compared to all the other races on the planet.

Not that Maria was completely sold on the idea of magic as a whole. The more she read, the more she could barely comprehend. She wasn't doubting that there was some sort of mysterious force at play on this world, but seriously, magic? Every time the subject arose the first thought that played through her mind was someone reaching into a hat and pulling out a rabbit.

Though she always had liked that trick. Cute little rabbits and all that.

Biotics came from exposure to element zero and until the Systems Alliance figured this out, the first few biotics on Earth were looked at as supernatural. Whatever this magic force was it had to be the by product of some scientific reason these people had yet to understand.

Not that she was dead set on figuring it out for them. Screw the reason why, she just needed the people who used the power to harness it and help send her back. And that of course meant reaching out to the High Elves and getting them to help her.

/ooooooo\

Spending the previous day in her room reading, Maria finally shook off her dark mood and decided to at least take a walk through the city and get some air. She managed to get fully dressed, combed out her hair then put on the wide brimmed hat, and made it all the way down the stairs to the front desk when a loud rumble shook the inn, a bright flash outside illuminated through the windows, and rain started coming down in thick sheets.

Maria walked over to the nearest window and peered outside to see people scrambling for cover. Those lucky enough to be traveling in coaches closed small windows while their drivers pulled up collars and drew their shoulders under their hats.

The sky was entirely overcast, and she stepped back as another roll of thunder shook the inn.

"Of course," Maria muttered, but she smiled and ended up shaking her head with a light chuckle. Considering her luck so far, she should have seen this coming.

Well there wasn't much point in walking around the city today. Not unless she wanted to get soaked to the bone. Looks like she was going to be spending another day reading through her books. But as Maria started back to her room, her gaze was pulled to the bar.

No reason she couldn't read in there, right?

A quick jog back up to her room and Maria returned to the lounge to see Raine already stoking a small fire in the stone fireplace. The woman turned and smiled up at Maria.

"There's a chill in the rain," she said before adding another two logs to the growing fire. Standing up, she made her way over to the bar. "I told Antonio the days were getting cooler. Looks like an early autumn is coming."

Maria filed that bit of interesting intel away. She had arrived at the tail end of summer for the Empire. Hopefully she'd be gone before winter.

"Would you care for something while you read?" Raine asked, already reaching for a glass.

"Yes, please," Maria replied, setting her book down on the bar. "Beer."

Raine filled up the glass from the cask behind her and set it down on the bar as Maria pulled out the coins to pay her and glanced over at the book. "A bestiary of the animals found on Ulthuan? There's some reading for you. For an island out in the middle of the ocean the elves sure have a choice of the best.

"Not that the Empire doesn't have its own pick of course," she continued, politely keeping conversation. "Back in Tilea, before Antonio and I moved to Nuln, a lance formation of pegasi from Bretonnia flew over for a state visit to Miragliano. They were some of the most majestic creatures I have ever seen."

"Yes," Maria nodded in agreement, remembering the few she had during her own stay in Parravon. She paid Raine and then carefully picked up the full pint of beer and her book, intent on picking out a chair and table near the fire.

"Of course…" Raine added with a growing smile, "even a pegasus couldn't hold a candle to the unicorn we saw."

Maria paused mid sip and stared at the woman across her with wide eyes.

"Sorry?"

Raine nodded. "Yes, a unicorn, believe it or not. Beautiful and regal, words aren't enough."

Maria put the pint of beer back down on the bar and blinked a few times as her brain started moving again.

"Sorry?"

"Unicorns," Raine said again now giving Maria a look. "You know, a large, white horse. Big horn poking out from its head. There happened to be an elf maiden from the forest of Athel Loren in Bordeleaux when our ship docked to take on fresh supplies. No idea why she was there, but goodness, was that the highlight of the trip. As I said, beautiful beasts."

"Please." Maria held out the bestiary over the bar for Raine to take.

Raine seemed taken aback. "Oh, okay…" She took the book and after a quick check of the contents began flipping through the pages as Maria bounced lightly on her side of the bar.

"Aha! There we go." Raine found the page and laid the book down on the bar for Maria to see.

Maria, in turn, quickly covered her mouth with her hand and managed to get her scream down to a muffled squeak when she saw the picture sketched out on the page.

There it was. A unicorn. In ink. On the page. In the book. A unicorn. Real, and living here on this world. A unicorn.

"There it is," Raine said, getting Maria to look up from the page. She had a knowing smile. "That's the same look I had on my face when I saw it for the first time. Seems we can never get rid of that little girl deep down inside, hmm?"

Maria let out an embarrassed laugh and couldn't help smiling back. She flipped the book closed, picked up her beer and headed over to the fireplace.

/ooooooo\

A few hours doing nothing but sitting next to the fireplace, drinking a beer and burying her nose and mind into the wildlife of Ulthuan did a lot to improve Maria's mood. The real trick was angling the book in her lap just enough, so she could hide her omni-tool behind the pages and allow it to translate without anyone seeing. Fortunately, the glow of an omni-tool was adjustable and after turning it down to the lowest setting, Maria could easily blame any leftover hue on the fire burning beside her.

The rain hadn't let up. If anything as the day went on it only came down harder. A few of the inn's patrons would come in to the lounge, joke or growl about the weather to either Raine or Antonio depending on who happened to be manning the bar, and only offer Maria the shortest of over the shoulder glances. But no one stayed long and very soon Maria would find herself alone again.

All of that easy-going atmosphere ended very abruptly when a… the best word Maria could use to describe him would be plump… man came jogging into the lounge and up to the bar just when Antonio happened to be working.

He was dripping wet. His dark brown coat looked soaked through with his hair and short beard plastered against his face. His boots were also tracking a fair amount of mud with every step.

"Ralph, we have a rug right by the door," Antonio sighed shaking his head at the mess being made. "Raine is going to bite my head off if she sees this."

Ralph stopped in front of the bar and looked down at his boots. "Sorry, Mr Valantina but – but this is, this is bad news – very bad." he gasped out. Maria guessed he must have been running for a few blocks.

"We know what happened," Ralph continued taking in big gulps of air. "In the shantytown, with Sansovino's men, the bodies, we know what happened."

Antonio held up a hand. "Slow down Ralph, take another breath and then tell me what you found out."

Ralph shook his head but still took a moment. "Sorry, no time. Sansovino has had his people storming through the shacks. Looking for anyone who knows anything about who killed his men.

"Of course, at first Sansovino thought it was Huyderman and his gang making a move on his turf. But after loosening a few throats, its wasn't them. Oh, and umm, a few of those throats belonged to the city guard, so that's a mess we have to deal with too."

Antonio frowned. "They killed a city guard?" he asked leaning over the bar and lowering his voice.

Ralph nodded quickly. "No one special. Just two who hand their hands deep into Huyderman's coin purse. But you know what dead guards leads to. Anyway, that's not important. Well it is, but not to us – to you, sorry.

"Sansovino eventually found a lurker in shantytown. Saw the whole thing. Then he found a few more, and they all had the same story. I followed one and a few pieces of copper later, I now know too.

"Two witch hunters walked into the courtyard. One drew a pistol on the other but before anything else happened, Sansovino's men got involved. They killed the man holding the pistol, but, now here is where this gets interesting, the other one was a woman."

Oh crap… Maria would have traded her omni-tool to be able to sink through the floor boards at that moment. On second thought, not her omni-tool, she still needed that. Her legs would be a better choice.

"They tried to take her," Ralph continued hurriedly. "She took down two before they got her to the ground. But – but here is where things get scary. That woman used a blue magic and took them all out in a blink of an eye. She killed them Mr Valantina. With magic. A woman dressed as a witch hunter killed Sansovino's men. With magic!

"Word is Sansovino is steaming from the ears! He thinks the witch hunter orders are breathing down his neck! His people are leaving him in droves! And I'm worried he's going to do something stupid before the rest go. Sansovino has already started bringing in mercenaries to fill the gaps. The city guard doesn't mess with us if we don't mess with them but mercs inside Nuln – there has to be a point when the Countess gets told and we all pay the price!"

Ralph finally finished, panting a little as he did, and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.

Antonio took a moment to digest everything he had been told, before placing both his hands on the bar and leveling the man across from him with a serious look.

"Ralph, you know I trust you," he began carefully. "But the lurker you paid. He telling the truth or just pulling your leg?"

Ralph shook his head. "He wasn't lyin' Mr Valantina. Sansovino's men weren't gentle in their questioning. Practically cried his thanks when I shared some coin. A grateful man speaks only truth, especially a poor and desperate one."

Antonio nodded. "He give you a description of the woman witch hunter?"

"Well it was night," Ralph admitted quickly. "Wasn't the best time to get specifics. But – but he saw enough to start on. Blonde hair, shoulder length. One quick glimpse but he said she was pretty."

"That's enough, thank you Ralph." But he was no longer looking at his man.

Okay, now Maria was seriously contemplating using a biotic warp to blow a hole in the wall and sprint for her horse. Ralph seemed confused as to what was going on until he followed Antonio's gaze and met Maria's. The look on his face when he saw her.

Being polite, Maria gave him a smile and a light wave.

"Uhhh, boss," Ralph pointed at Maria as Antonio walked out from behind the bar.

"That will be all Ralph," Antonio stated as he put his hands on the man's shoulders and steered him out of the lounge. "Keep an ear out on the city guard, and if they get nervous, about anything, you let me know."

Ralph nodded vigorously as the two of them exited the lounge together, leaving Maria alone again.

And honestly, she was feeling a little dumbfounded. That was it? Antonio just left the room without a word. No outrage? No threats? Did she really just get off the hook? Technically she had killed members of a rival criminal gang against Antonio's so maybe that really was it. If she continued to stay out of his business, he would ignore hers.

Feeling a little, dare she say happy, Maria set her book down on the table and raised the last of her pint of beer up to the empty room in gratitude that the fates had finally blessed her, downing what remained in one big gulp.

When she lowered the glass back down to the table, her happy feeling was picked up by a Krogan, bashed against the wall a few times, and then sat on by that very same Krogan.

Antonio had returned to the lounge, but this time he was followed by eight fairly well-built men; all of whom were either wearing a sword on their belts or holding pistols in their hands. Maria recognized two of them as the few who had helped Antonio unload his boat the previous morning.

After they had all walked into the lounge, one of the men stayed by the doorway and pulled shut two rolling doors, effectively sealing the room off from the rest of the inn.

That was a surprise. Maria hadn't even known that there were doors to close off the lounge.

Antonio walked over to Maria's table, pulling a chair out and sitting down opposite her. Two of his men walked around the table to stand directly behind Maria while the rest spread out across the room, effectively corralling her.

"I think its about time the two of us actually talked, don't you?" Antonio said, his smile doing little to hide the threat behind his words.

Maria forced a smile in return as she looked around the room and it new occupants. Her Reikspiel was about to be put to the test.

She leaned forward, offering her hand. "Maria Shepard," she started in a new greeting.

He returned the handshake but not before making her wait a few heartbeats.

"Antonio Valantina," he said sitting back into his chair. "I'm the owner of the inn. I also run the second largest crime family within Nuln. Smuggling, racketeering, money laundering, other more nefarious things better not said out in the open just yet.

"And you, Miss Maria Shepard, are no witch hunter."