Chapter 1
It was a rather windy October evening, when Sinn went to his favorite pub in Sprohm, the Black Widow. It was a quieter pub, filled with many strange and diverse patrons, a lot of them operating outside the law. It suited Sinn perfectly. The forty year old bangaa was a very irritable and didn't like to be disturbed. He was of medium build, and always had a bit of a mysterious air hanging about him. He had a long scar that crept up from his ear and ran right across his forehead. He wasn't unusually muscular, but in his opinion it wasn't muscles that won a battle. It was wits and speed, as long as the bangaa had both in his favor, he could never lose. As he settled into his favorite corner he could tell that something strange was in the air tonight.
He looked about at the odd groups gathered in the pub, catching pieces of their conversations. He caught the word "judge" and "law" a few times muttered from the groups. As he ordered his drink from the bar maid, he noticed a few of the palace guards enter into the bar. This doesn't look good, he thought, keeping his eyes locked on the group patrolling just north of his table. Expertly, he slipped out from the table, keeping his head low and marching indirectly towards the door. He was nearly out, but things had not been going well for the bangaa that week, and today was no exception. As he was exiting, the bar maid called to him "Sir, you forgot your drink!" Damn, he thought, (not for the first time either) my age is catching up to me.
He ran out the door, knocking the bar maid out of the way. He knew it wouldn't be long before his palace friends would be after him. Maybe he should have stayed away from that last job, oh well, too late for complaints now. Besides, the pay was too good to pass up, especially with the number of new clans forming and fewer jobs available.
"Halt!" A commanding voice came from behind him. Halting wasn't the first thought that came to Sinn's mind. The first was, bolt for the alley behind the pub, run down 49th street and take the left alley till you get to the junction of Stardust and Tupper. From there, weave back and forth for the next five blocks, and check in safely to The Scarlet. (Another of Sinn's favorite pubs, sure not to be trespassed upon by the palace. Hell, if they even showed their faces in there, the scum of the city would hunt them down in a drunken rage.) But then, perhaps because of his age, though really because he was sick of running, he stopped.
He turned around, keeping his head hidden in his dark blue cloak. "Are you the one they call, Marché?" The leader of the guards called. Sinn smiled, the guards were hunting someone other then him today. Perhaps they did not yet know about the weapons that he pilfered from the castle armory. "No," he replied. "Just a humble traveler, seeking refuge for the night." "Well a humble traveler wouldn't mind showing his face to prove the truth." Uh oh, Sinn thought. Ah well, boring conversation anyway. He lowered his hood and all but the leader gasped in shock. Sinn had a bit of a reputation. Actually, a bit would be a major understatement.
"Bangaa!" (Sinn chuckled later on, when he realized that he had avoided using his name.) "You are about to pay for all of your crimes which have been long past due!"
Sinn glanced at the judge appearing out of the corner of his eye. That was the moment he'd been waiting for. As soon as he saw the judge he dashed towards the leader. There were seven guards in all. The leader looked skilled but not extremely intelligent. If he was just a bit more intellectual, he would've backed down the moment he knew who he was faced with. Sinn was unarmed, and appeared to be of no threat at all. Looks can be deceiving. Sinn was right in front of the leader even before he knew they had started. He grabbed the unprotected throat of his opponent, crushing it, twisted his sword arm in a direction it was never meant to go, and impaled him upon his own weapon. He threw the body, sword and all at the six other guards who were all bunched together, toppling them all like bowling pins. That was too much for the rest of them. This bangaa had single handedly defeated their leader before he even had a chance to react! The guards ran for all they were worth. Sinn smiled. Fear did wonders to turn a fight in your favor, he thought.