16th Day of Goodmonth, 565 CY

Suderham, The Pomarj

The impact of Elrohir's fist washed away all thought of his earlier warning.

Even as the son of Duke Etenwulf staggered back clutching his nose in agony, Argo stepped up to one of the other nobles, a short, thin young man with pox-marked skin.

"My lord," the big ranger smiled as he swung a lightning-fast fist into the young man's midsection. As the man doubled over, Bigfellow's arm rose up and the ranger's elbow smashed into the aristocrat's forehead.

Tojo glanced over at Nesco and raised one eyebrow.

"This must be time to go wired."

Lady Cynewine didn't even time to register whether the samurai was joking or not before Tojo had slipped past her and moved up to the noble who was standing next to Argos' unfortunate victim. This man- whose auburn eyes glared out at Tojo from underneath one large brow- at least saw his attacker coming, but it did him little good. Nesco was about to scream out to Tojo not to draw his sword, but it turned out to be unnecessary. The samurai's fist flashed through his opponent's blocking attempt and crashed into his jaw, slamming the youth's head back against the door of The Alley Cat.

Elrohir was roaring wordlessly in rage. His fist connected again and again, forcing Farris to hunch over and shield his face with his arms. The party leader didn't seem to care- any portion of Etenwulf's body he could reach seemed to be fair target for his anger.

"Oh, what the hell," Zantac heard from beside him.

There was a brown blur, and then Cygnus was standing in front of the next young noble, who was stuck between Tojo's victim and Davis. Cygnus hesitated just enough for the rake to realize that he was facing a magic-user apparently intent on using nothing but his bare fists. The aristocrat actually began a cruel smile and was moving to use his shorter stature to effect by kneeing Cygnus in the groin when the wizard brought both fists down on top of the noble's head. The man buckled, crying out in pain, his own attack forgotten.

Zantac surveyed the situation. Argo, Tojo and Cygnus had their opponents back up against the building wall; Elrohir was wailing away on Farris Etenwulf, and one paladin and two women still seemed astonished that this brawl was happening at all.

That left Davis, and Zantac literally ran to stand next to Cygnus, so he could face Davis and complete the quartet.

"Don't insult my friends," the red-robed wizard said simply before jabbing his stubby fingers into the young noble's eyes.

Davis screamed and clawed at his eyes with his own fingers. Like most wizards, Zantac was not fond of melees, but he still grinned in satisfaction. He had nothing to worry about here. These nobles were all bark and no bite. In just a few seconds they'd all be-

"Enough!" screamed Farris.

One of the younger Etenwulf's hands came back into view, now holding a black leather sap, which connected solidly with Elrohir's chin, stopping the ranger's attack from sheer surprise as much as the pain of the impact. Farris seized the moment to take a step back and regain his bearings. Talass took a swing at him on sheer instinct but wasn't even close.

Farris' yell seemed to energize his companions, and they all likewise drew saps from under their jerkins or within the pockets of their cloaks. Argo, Cygnus, Zantac and even Tojo were taken unawares and suffered for it. None of the blows were debilitating, but they sure hurt.

Nesco snarled. No way was she going to sit this one out.

Although Argo's opponent was far closer to her, Davis was her emotional target of choice. The ranger moved behind the battling quartet of her group towards Zantac, intending to team up with him versus Davis.

Moving behind Zantac however, put her closer to Farris and the aristocrat lashed out suddenly with his sap again as Cynewine moved past. The leaden sack smashed into her right arm. Nesco gasped in pain, but Farris had already stepped back out of easy reach.

Davis leered out at her with newly-bloodshot eyes beneath the shield of his hands.

"Not as good as yeh thought yeh were, angel eyes?"

Nesco's reply was to kick Davis as hard as she possibly could in his right shin. The young noble's piteous cry of pain was almost enough to convince Cynewine to halt her attack.

But she didn't. Some part of Nesco's brain was trying to tell her that now this was started, it had to be finished.

Talass had moved forward as soon as she saw Farris strike Nesco. Etenwulf almost dodged her fist, but the cleric caught him on the shoulder at the last moment. The rake glared at her with hatred as intense as that which he had just evidenced towards her husband.

"Are you all insane?" Alomovar cried out.

"Very probably, but that's old news!" Argo responded. "Come on, Fat Boy- join the party!"

Aslan hesitated. These noblemen might be suspicious of an overweight, inoffensive merchant dropping them.

But even as he found himself shoulder-to shoulder with Toar, the paladin knew it wasn't really a decision. These men were tougher than they had originally supposed.

Perhaps only slightly, but losing wasn't even thinkable, because that was going to lead to slavery. Alomovar's chubby fist found its mark.

How do we get ourselves into these things? was Aslan's last regret before he concentrated solely on the fight.

Elrohir came up next to his wife, his fist already in motion. He penetrated Farris' defenses once, but his follow-up swing was blocked. Argo, Tojo and Cygnus faired similarly versus their opponents, but Zantac's blow failed to make any kind of an impact.

Davis hardly noticed. All his attention was on Nesco now. The youth swung his sap with practiced ease, feinting and weaving. He struck Nesco on her cheek and then immediately afterward on her left arm. The first impact particularly brought shooting pains through the ranger's skull, as if her own headache and Davis were in league with each other.

For the first time she began to wonder if she could actually beat Davis without resorting to a weapon.

Argo's opponent began to slide to his left alongside the wall, apparently not liking his tactical position. In that split-second, Bigfellow's foot lashed out, but the youth twisted and turned with remarkable skill and the big ranger's kick hit only the brothel's wooden door behind him.

As the noble came alongside Alomovar, his sap lashed out and struck the merchant full in the chest. Aslan blinked in surprise. His fist came around too late in reflex and the rake now backpedaled off a good twenty-five feet, keeping a distance of about five feet between him and the building. His breaths came in great gasps as he attempted to catch his wind.

Tojo's opponent did likewise. That Cygnus missed him as he moved off was no surprise, but even Tojo's strike hit only empty air, which was worth another raised eyebrow from the samurai. The young nobleman grinned at his own combat prowess even as Argo's foot lashed out again-

- but not directly at him. Rather, the big ranger's foot stuck out to the aristocrat's left, preventing him from any further movement. As soon as the youth realized what was happening, the big ranger's left hand came sailing into his right cheek. It was only with a tremendous effort that the rake did not fall down. His sap still came around though, and Argo's leg took a nasty hit before he could withdraw it. The young man then actually managed a sideways leap- Aslan swung at he went passed and managed a glancing hit- and then sidled alongside the wall, until he was near his pox-scarred peer.

Cygnus' opponent didn't bother with any fancy footwork. He simply swung again and again with the sap, striking the wizard once on the neck. Cygnus roared with rage and tried to fight back his left hand's increasing urge to dip into his spell component pouch.

Talass sidestepped between Farris and Nesco and then continued on so that she and her husband were now flanking the rakes' leader. She saw Etenwulf's eyes dart back and forth between his two foes, and then swung the moment they were off her.

Farris groaned and clutched his left side in fresh agony.

A few more like that and this boy's out like a light, thought the priestess. Hopefully, his friends will cut and run then.

Davis did his best to dodge Nesco's incoming fist and managed to turn a potentially staggering blow into a minor one. His face was still fixed in a mask of rage, though.

"Yeh will pay fer that, yeh bitch," he hissed.

Aslan had to fight hard to suppress the urge to psionic blast the two rakes who had moved off. They were in perfect position for it, but that might lead to even more complications later. He sighed and lumbered off after them.

The youth with the scarred face seemed the worse off of the two so Alomovar concentrated his attacks on him, scoring a minor blow on the aristocrat's chest even as new and terrible thoughts ran through the paladin's mind.

I wonder how long we have before a guard patrol shows up?

And what if it's Blackthorn's patrol?

Unaware of these concerns, Elrohir continued his assault on Farris, taking full advantage of his wife's distractions. He missed once, but then scored with a right hook that actually rocked the nobleman back on his heels.

Toar followed Alomovar, staying clear of the one-browed rake while pounding on the other. It was with some relief that Bigfellow noticed the nobleman was starting to weaken.

Tojo moved up to engage Unibrow, ignoring the other aristocrat's feeble swing at him. The samurai feinted with his fist, then spun around and launched a spinning back-kick into the rake's chin. Only the youth's pulling back at the last moment prevented a knockout blow.

Cygnus again landed a solid punch on his foe. Zantac, standing alongside him, was about to attack Davis when Nesco yelled, "I've got this slime! Help Cecil!"

"Lord knows he needs it," Zelhile agreed as his fist landed on his new target, although the older mage had to admit he wasn't nearly the melee fighter Cygnus was. He began to wonder if maybe a spell or two was in order here.

Considering his weakened condition, Talass couldn't help but admire Farris' skill as the young nobleman dodged her latest blow and ran directly away from the building wall, striking at Elrohir as he went by and connecting on his left temple. The ranger bellowed with anger and swung again but missed. Etenwulf ended up about fifteen feet away.

The pox-scarred youth swung multiple times at Argo, but only connected solidly once before springing backwards, out of Bigfellow's immediate grasp.

"They jump like rabbits," Toar grimaced to Alomovar.

Tojo's opponent, showing remarkable courage, went toe-to-toe with the samurai again, and landed the better of their simultaneous blows before backing off a few feet.

Tsugo was unconcerned. He was still in much better shape than his attacker. He had no doubt over who would ultimately prevail. Part of him was even impressed that such an obviously inferior adversary was willing to stand fight like this.

Nesco and Davis both looked for their moments, but the nobleman found his first. The ranger cried out as the sap struck her again and again. Her headache and fatigue from lack of sleep was slowing her down, and her opponent was taking full advantage of it. She knew she was in trouble; one or two more good blows would finish her.

Talass had been about to set off after Farris when she saw Bretagne get struck. Instantly, she placed herself between the wall and Nesco. Now Davis was boxed in; his fellow rake blocking his only escape route. Talass' punch was not a daunting one, but his new tactical situation was not lost on Davis. The noble's expression grew more calculating.

Nesco landed another blow, but her opponent seemed maddeningly agile, as well as being able to take a lot more punishment than she had originally guessed.

Alomovar moved forward again, keeping the youth on the defensive. The paladin's fist found its mark again.

"We've got to finish this!" he yelled, ostensibly to Argo but also to let everyone knew that they were running out of time.

There were other people on the street; watching, gasping, pointing and yelling to each other. No one was making a move to interfere, but Aslan was sure a guard patrol was on their way.

Samuel came charging up and he didn't miss. Farris was literally staggering now.

"Hold that pose," Elrohir snarled.

Toar came up alongside Alomovar again and scored a solid hit. The pox-scarred aristocrat was now also staggering.

"Don't think this hasn't been a little slice of Heaven," Argo grinned while panting, "because it hasn't."

He prepared his knockout punch.

Tojo moved up his opponent but did not strike immediately. The samurai decided that one good strike would be worth many mediocre ones.

Both wizards struck home. The young aristocrat was starting to look scared now.

"Damn yeh!" Farris screamed, launching his final attack. So intent was Elrohir on finishing Etenwulf off that he didn't even notice the sap strikes to his forehead had drawn blood. The ranger didn't even flinch.

"Move!" Davis abruptly shouted at the rake next to him. The other youth blinked in confusion for a moment before managing to dodge under Cecil's latest punch and step to the wizard's side. His sap crashed into the tall mage's thigh, eliciting a yelp of pain.

Davis caught Nesco one more time with his sap. The ranger's surroundings spun ominously, but Davis was on the move away from her, easily dodging Cecil and Zelhile's attacks. The rake skirted behind his peer and began to move away from the fight.

Tojo's one-browed attacker eyed him steadily, perhaps trying to determine why the samurai was holding back. The rake's auburn eyes, searching, fell upon Tojo's scabbards.

"Those look interesting," he sneered at the samurai. "After you've been sold into slavery, I think I'll add them to my collection. In fact... why wait?"

And he suddenly darted forward and yanked Tojo's wakazashi out of its scabbard.

"Tojo- NO!"

The shout came from many lips. All equally ineffectual.

With his blood-curdling battle cry, Yanigasawa Tojo drew his katana and stabbed the aristocrat through the chest. The youth had been preparing to leap backwards with his pize, so the blade did not impale him, but the wound was deep enough to matter. Blood spurted outfrom the hole in his jerkin, spraying the samurai as the rake collapsed.

"By the Dragon- someone call the watch!" a bystander screamed.

"Here they come!" someone shouted back.

And now it was Samuel's turn to yell. The ranger took one last, longing look at the doors of The Rose only thirty feet or so further on down the block; so close but now forever out of reach.

"All of you," Elrohir bellowed. "RUN!"