Chapter 7

Ranek cursed Sinn. It wasn't the first time either. In fact he cursed Sinn, the palace guards (his colleagues), the judges and everything else that seemed to come along. In fact these past few days Ranek had cursed more than the rest of his entire life, and it was all because of that blasted bangaa.

Ranek used to be one of the top captains in his sector, in fact probably the top captain. He had been rising quickly through the ranks and soon found himself the leader of a bunch off dim witted new recruits with a shiny new badge to boot! All the bosses noticed his aptitude for the sword and natural ability for leadership. They applauded his skills and (with a bit of ass kissing) he became well known throughout the guards.

This all changed when Ranek met Sinn. Unaware of the bangaa's reputation as one of the best killers the city of Sprohm had to offer, Ranek had rushed in head on. Believing that seven blades (including his own) would be more then a match for the lone bangaa, Ranek had not put much thought into anything of a strategy.

As a result he had been destroyed, not only in battle, but also in reputation. No one really paid much attention to Ranek after that fateful battle. The soldiers and captains had their laughs at him behind his back, but most of the higher ranking bosses considered him a lost cause. Ranek couldn't believe that after one loss he was being treated so unfairly. Ranek's positive attitude was lost soon afterwards and he became more isolated. Even his good friends began to desert Ranek.

Ranek became obsessed with capturing Sinn. He spent every waking moment examining the many cases against him, searching for some sort of a pattern to Sinn's attacks. The incidents were spread out through all of Sprohm and as much as Ranek tried he could not find any kind of link to the incidents. Perhaps the bangaa selected his victims at random, or perhaps he simply shoves around anyone when it's convenient. Ranek thought as he scrutinized the map of Sprohm on his wall.

Ranek's new behavior soon started annoying the heads of his department. They told him that one bangaa wasn't worth this much trouble. He argued with them constantly and one day Ranek lost his temper. He lost his job and found himself out on the streets; in the very same place as the criminal he despised so.

Unusual for Ranek he looked at it in a positive way. Sitting in his office studying Sinn's patterns he could never understand him, the way he attacked, the jobs he picked, the places he went. By literally putting himself in the shoes of his enemy, he could now examine him from an entirely new perspective. Know thy enemy; know thy self he thought as he stood dripping wet in the pouring rain outside the building that used to be his workplace.

Shaking his head he gathered his few remaining possessions. These included: his blade, his old captain's hat, (which his boss had been "kind" enough to let him keep) and finally, many papers on Sinn which he had to smuggle out. Marching out towards the nearby hotel, he caught his foot on the curb and landed face first into a puddle. With a groan he pulled himself back up. It was only then that he noticed the pub nearby. Even though Ranek had never had a drink once in his life he found himself drawn towards The Steel Scimitar. Looking back at the hotel, Ranek thought to himself Ahhh whatever! Screw it! There's a first time for everything!

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He approached the bodies, trying to make heads or tails of what was going on around him. He saw a women and her child, clinging to each other. They as well, like the man a short distance away, were surrounded by a small pool of blood. Their expressions had that of shock and fear. Fear, he saw that expression often. Did he do this? Was it his fault? He heard a short whimper as he approached the bodies. He spun around to see a long hallway. It was coming from down there, one of the rooms on the right. He took one step towards the hallway, but the entire scene before him spun and he fell back into consciousness…

Sinn awoke from his dream staring at the ceiling in annoyance. Another day another dream, he thought as he wondered what it could mean. Who cares, it doesn't matter. Ignorance is bliss. He thought finally as he rolled over and went back to sleep.

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Orill and Nabkov walked into Sprohm that very same night. It was peaceful, and there was almost no one left outside to here the endless banter of the two. "So I here you're a mage, is it fun?" Nabkov inquired. "Ummm, you're a mage too aren't you?" "Indeed I am!" Nabkov looked very surprised and excited at this new development. "Oh brother…" Orill muttered as Nabkov began casting small bolts of fire.

"You're out awfully late aren't you, little rosssse…" A menacing voice came out from in front of her, hidden in the shadows. "Who's your friend? He looks like he has some good loot on him…" Another voice said, this time female. "I'm Nabkov, and I'm delighted to meet your acquaintance! Who might you be?"

"Oh why hello Nabkov, I'm Sandra and I'm here to steal all your cash and valuables." A viera appeared from the darkness. She was very beautiful, clothed entirely in black, and did not even bothering to conceal the blade at her waist. "This here is my partner in crime Dozer." A bangaa came forward from the other side of the short roadway they were on. Orill thought he looked very menacing with spiked plated armor covering all of his body. A huge club with what looked like nails coming out from the wood was slung behind his shoulders.

"Ummm well, it was great meeting you all and…" Orill's eyes kept darting to the huge makeshift weapon of Dozer's. That bangaa could probably kill her in one blow with that thing. "We really have to be going now, come on Nabkov." Orill tugged at his sleeve but Nabkov was not in any mood to go anywhere after meeting some new potential friends. "No no, we can't just leave them here out in the cold all alone. They can come with us can't they?"

Orill stared at Nabkov in shock. Does he have any sense in that brain of his? Does he even have a brain? Sure it was only two people, but she wasn't sure she could hold her own against these two. She wasn't even sure Nabkov could fight.

Sandra laughed while Dozer just stood there. She thought he looked annoyed but wasn't sure, as that armor covered every inch of his face except for eye slits and some breathing slits near the nose and mouth. "Can't we jussst call a judge and kill them already. The brown furry one isss annoying me." Dozer whispered to the giggling viera. Sandra laughed harder and whispered to her quick tempered friend, "Patience Dozer, I'm really enjoying this." She winked at him and said to Nabkov. "Well, where exactly were you planning to take-"

"I've got a better idea." Dozer interrupted. "You have sssome thingsss we might want to take from you!" Dozer drew his club and began slowly walking towards Nabkov, calling a judge forth before he began.

Something changed in Nabkov's eyes and his face took on a sharpened look. "Well, I think someone has their ax stuck in the tree of stupidity. If it's a fight you're looking for I encourage you to leave, nothing good can come of this."

The bangaa laughed and without warning charged forward to begin the battle. Nabkov nimbly dodged then threw a small blast of fire towards him. Dozer took the small hit without so much as flinching and brought the club up behind his head again, readying himself for another swing.

Orill had started to cast a bit of a stronger spell on the bangaa (a Firaga actually, the most powerful fire spell) but had to cancel it and roll out of the way as Sandra lunged in her direction. The viera twirled her blade around and struck again and again at the moogle, not really intending to score a hit but buying her companion time and slowly using up the moogle's room to move. Orill realized that it was only a matter of time before she was pushed into a corner.

Nearby, Nabkov dodged yet another powerful swing from the bangaa. Dozer hissed in frustration. Just stay still you pesky fly, one good hit and I'll… At that moment Dozer saw his chance.

The furry brown nu mou attempted to escape his next blow to the left, but Dozer didn't plan on even making the blow. He slammed the club into the wall, inches in front of Nabkov's nose. Then, before Nabkov had the chance to escape, he grabbed the nu mou by the throat and slammed him against the wall. He pressed himself against Nabkov, impaling him on the spikes from his armor. Nabkov was so close to Dozer that he could see his bloodthirsty red eyes and even smell the foul stink of his breath.

"Nowheresss to runsss now, little nu mou." "If I were you, I'd let me go, right now!" Nabkov said, gasping for breath. Dozer frowned, "And if I wasss you, I'd DIE!" As Dozer pulled back his fist for a quick blow to Nabkov's head he was pushed back and flew into the opposing wall across the street.

Dozer picked himself up and looked around for Nabkov, wondering where the sudden burst of strength had come from. Then he saw it, what used to be Nabkov, was now a yellow drake of considerable size and force. "SSShit, a morpher!" Dozer muttered and prepared himself as the creature landed.

Dozer was in big trouble, and they both knew it. He needed his club, but Nabkov now stood in between him and his goal, and Dozer wasn't sure how long his armor would hold against the jaws of the drake. He wasn't sure if he could make it in time, but went for it anyway. Nabkov, with his new powerful muscles, beat him to the club and tackled the bangaa to the ground. Ignoring the pain from the spikes, he held the bangaa down and breathed a long stream of lightning at the bangaa in his metal armor. It was only when the bangaa moved no more that Nabkov moved to find his next and final target.

Orill wasn't doing so well. She was trapped in a corner, and her weakest spells didn't even prove enough of a distraction to the viera to buy her time. Orill cried out as the blade dug into her skin, she had finally run out of room. "Nothing personal darling, just looking for some cash to keep us afloat." Sandra grinned as Orill winced in pain. Orill looked up and managed to pull off a string of vulgarities despite her pain. Sandra's glee was short lived, however, when her head was crushed by the claw of the yellow drake that had snuck up on her while she was occupied.

Orill sighed in relief and Nabkov looked quite grateful as well as the judge healed their wounds. "Well, that went well!" Nabkov announced and a giant smile crossed his face. "Ugh, are you always happy? We just got ambushed by a couple of muggers!" "Yes, they were a rather charming bunch! I rather enjoyed the time we spent with them." Nabkov winked and Orill couldn't help but laugh. She decided that she loved the furry nu mou's positive outlook on everything. "Alright big guy, what do you say we call it a night, I know this great hotel which this guy ditched me in." Nabkov laughed. "Lead the way my smaller then average friend."