Ithral Ortis had a splitting headache - and not just a physical one. His soldiers had been combing the area for almost three days now and had not turned up a single thing.
"Where did ye go, midgets?"
A massive fist crashed down onto the map he had spread out in front of him. It was out of date.
His right hand man, Astor, was dead, killed by what he could only assume was an agent of the Lucid. If the moon elven's secretive virtue guard was after his marks, he did not have much time left to collect. At the moment he believed that the only reason he was still alive was the careful distance he had kept between his party and the bastion to the east - and a lot of luck.
"Bloody sneak thieves." he growled as the entrance to his tent was shoved open.
"Ithral."
It was his wife, Kel. Her studded armor dripped from the warm rain outside, giving her stern face a soft sheen.
"Whatsit?", he barked, "You find 'em or what?"
She shook herself like a dog, sprinkling him with water from her flying chainmail and silky brown hair.
"They're not 'ere anymore. Given us the slip."
With swift steps she came over to place a soothing hand on his treelike arm, "We need to be lookin' fer other marks, love. Can't be expectin' everyone eatin' dirt fer long."
He beheld her lovely broad face and piercing blue eyes. "Wha about poor Astor…", tears filled his eyes again, "He was my brother, Kel. My brother - and them bruise-skins took 'im from me! He was my fist like ye are me heart!"
She kissed his unshaven cheek.
"Ya, but them midgets dinnah do him in, Ith."
"Matters not to me. They've got a drag'n with 'em, tidy coin on them heads and the gerl's a bruiser. Need no more reason to wanna get em in front of me dagger again. But," he turned his bald head, leaning down towards his wife.
"I've got more reasons here," he tapped the shining bump on his head,
"an' here", he ran the finger around his neck where blue and purple rope burns were dug into his rough skin.
A fire blazed in his brown eyes.
"O ho ho, lil' wench got me good, Kel.", with every word he stabbed at the ground, "I say she did print, stamp, sign and post her own warrant, doesn't matter gold or none, drag'n or none! The little wind chucker, too! Ain't nobody given me lastin' marks without a fair fight!"
He sat back, a broad, excited smile parting his chin from the rest of his face.
"It's sport now!"
"Ith, think of them boys and gerls we're draggin' about", she pleaded.
"Always do", he sighed, worry creeping into his bluster, "Wouldn't've stepped out in no fire light with the Lucid about if I hadn't had them with me. Better the sneak-thieves get at me than them."
His expression changed to amusement.
"I thought they could take the midget bruiser - Kel she tied'em to a tree, she did! They all had faces on 'em like well-hung bacon!", he snorted hoarsely.
She shook her head, smiling.
"Maybe so, but she's had ye hogtied in yer little hole, too. What if Selma hadn't shown to get yer butt outta that un?"
He waved his hand. "The crew - let'em go home, Kel. Find simpler marks."
He placed his massive hand on her cheek, stroking it lovingly. "Ye go, too. Don't wanna see you picked up by the Lucid."
She kissed his scarred fingers.
"Ith, yer a blitherin' tool if ye think I'm walkin'. Where you go, I go. Only 'un's pickin' me up is you", she turned to leave, picking up and sheathing her Zweihänder from the stand near the entrance.
He got up to follow her.
"Othello!", she yelled.
Her lieutenant met them in front of their tent. "Called?"
"Y'all wet dogs! Break camp 'n get your arses home through the breach. We've been dallyin'. Ith'n I are gonna strangle ourselves a pair of midgets."
This got the attention of everyone in the camp.
"Ye find em? Wha' about our cut?", asked Othello.
"Yer cut?", Ithral boomed, laughing, "If you hang about, yer gon' get your head `cut` clean off by sneak-thieves I wager. Don't soil your wrappers, y'all will get paid what yer due down to the nickel, as per usual. Now scram, we got business."
Kel cheered and hollered.
"Let's get them gold plated midgets, Ith!"
With that, the camp got busy.
And so did Kel and Ithral.