Steel, Fire, Honor and Ruin
Chapter 7
the familiar, and the new
/ooooooo\
Location: Nuln, city-state of the Empire
Day 16
Maria just gave him a shrug, and after checking the reactions of everyone in the room reached into her breast pocket and pulled out the silver badge of the order of the silver hammer and placed it down on the table.
He frowned at it before looking back up at her. "A badge does not make a witch hunter, nor a member of that order."
Maria smiled lightly, shaking her head. "No."
"So, who are you?"
"Spectre," Maria replied simply.
That sentence was met by a dead silence in the room as everyone stared at her with a varying degree of emotions. They may not understand its meaning, but the word mattered to her, and so it was one of the first she had learned.
Maria waited patiently until she felt a hand poke hard into her shoulder. She looked back at the man who had poked her, amused at his approach to solving what they were all thinking. He just shrugged at Antonio, unable to reason it out further.
"Type of soldier," she tried to explain.
"You're a soldier?" Antonio looked at her skeptically.
"Yes." Maria answered.
He frowned. "Not one of Nuln's then?"
"No."
"Came in with Bretonnian coins," Antonio started to think out. "I'd wager you aren't a soldier of the Empire."
Maria shook her head. "No."
"Bretonnia then?" he asked.
"No." Maria replied.
Antonio frowned again. "Well then, who do you fight for?"
"You not know," Maria tried out. These silly, broken word, responses were really starting to get on her nerves and she was sure Antonio's as well. She could reliably speak eight separate languages across Citadel space, but now she could barely communicate.
If Antonio had just given her two more days, but no, he had to approach her now…
"I don't, huh?" Antonio said with a huff. "Alright then, you're a soldier. A Spectre, you called it. Fine. But you're no friend of the witch hunters, and you've managed to piss off one of my competitors."
He picked her book up off the table. "First maps of the stars and now I find you reading up on Ulthuan's wildlife." Letting it drop back onto the table, he brought a hand up to massage the bridge of his nose. "Second largest city of the Empire and you have to take up residence at my inn. Thank you for that."
Maria gave him her best apologetic look. "Sorry."
It seemed to work. Antonio shrugged with a sigh. "Never believed in the god of luck myself, I suppose this is just Ranald's way of getting back at me." He looked around the room, "Alright boys, I'll take it from here. Just make sure Raine knows I still need some privacy."
That caught Maria by surprise as she watched the armed men leave the lounge. The last to go closed the sliding doors behind himself.
"Alright," Antonio started as he rested his arm on the table while leaning forward. "I don't know why you're here, and frankly, I don't want to know. Not my business. Especially now that you got the witch hunters on your trail. Less I know, the better."
His expression suddenly hardened. "Sansovino is a bastard through and through. I'm not shy about my business, but I'm smart enough to know where to draw the line. That said, we have worked together in the past, and if I can get him to back down before things get out of control, business as usual. Which is what everyone naturally wants in a criminal underground.
"You're going to help me do that."
And there it was. She had been waiting for the other shoe to drop.
"Me?" Maria asked, now on guard.
"Yes - you," Antonio replied, drawing out the word for emphasis. "Make no mistake, Miss Shepard, you can continue to take advantage of my hospitality, but someone as recognizable as you, constantly coming and going from my inn? Sooner or later the witch hunters are going to follow you back here. Or, someone paying attention could simply tip them off."
Well that wasn't very subtle, now was it? Maria had to hold back the sudden urge to roll her eyes.
But instead, as she began to consider her options, she decided helping Antonio out would probably be for the best. She wasn't ready to head off to Ulthuan and contact the High Elves just yet, her Reikspiel was poor at best, and her odds of survival inside Nuln would be a lot better if she had to only watch her back for witch hunters, rather than another pissed off gang leader added on.
Plus, the more she learned about Antonio's gang, the more leverage she would have against him, if the occasion was needed. Quid pro quo, if you will.
Maria took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, as though in defeat. "What you need?" she asked with a shrug.
She was happy to see a small smirk on his face as Antonio leaned back into his chair, content with his apparent victory over her.
"Well to start with," Antonio said as he stood, waving a finger over the table, "I don't know what you were thinking, but a blonde woman dressed as a witch hunter isn't the subtlest of disguises. We need to get you in touch with Mancini."
/ooooooo\
Immediately after their talk in the lounge, Antonio had a pair of his men bring around an enclosed carriage drawn by a pair of horses to the front of the inn. She and Antonio had jumped inside after he gave the drivers their destination.
Mancini, actually Tiberio Mancini was the man's full name, was a 'business associate' of Antonio's. After a few minutes riding in the carriage they arrived at his shop located inside one of the wealthier districts of the city she noticed.
Still raining hard, Maria quickly followed Antonio out of the carriage and into the building. Wiping the drops of water out of her face, Maria couldn't stop her eyebrows raising in surprise at what she was seeing.
Mancini was a tailor, and his shop was filled with wooden manikins dressed for every and all occasions. With the ones on the left for the women and those on the right for the men.
Antonio gave a quick look around the shop. "I know it must be a slow day but is it so hard to have someone up front to greet customers?" he grumbled seeing the place was empty. "Wait here," he said, hardly looking her way, as he started walking to the back. "Must be in back, fussing over some stitching. He makes one dress for the niece of one of the ladies of the Countess' court and suddenly his head grows bigger than a horse's…"
Maria smirked as his voice faded away and she was left alone in the store.
She slowly strode through the shop, her eyes wandering across both sides of the store. Compared to the standards back home, a lot of the stuff here was naturally dated. On the women's side, hoop skirts were a popular choice, with tops designed to impress upon a women's bust. Lace adorned nearly everything. On the men's side, shirts and pants seemed unnaturally tight. The only word she could think of to describe the rest of the outfit would be… frilly?
But as she walked deeper into the shop the outfits slowly changed. There were designs for everyday life, what she had seen Antonio and Raine wearing most of the time, as well as most of the city's residents. There was a large selection of leather worked gear, clearly hardier, and designed to be worn outdoors for longer lengths of time. Mostly for men, but here and there a design for women.
And as she reached the back of the shop where Antonio had disappeared, Maria's jaw dropped open in surprise. On the right side of the store were perfect examples of nearly modern looking formal tuxedos; while on the left side were some of the most beautiful dresses she had ever seen.
The most decorative thing Maria had ever owned was a tight, sleeveless, thigh length black dress given to her by one of the Normandy's crew, Kasumi Goto, during their mission to infiltrate a crime lords fancy dress party. It barely held a candle to watch she was seeing now.
She walked over to the nearest, a hot red number that perfectly hugged the manikin's figure and pooled elegantly at its feet. She reached out and the fabric slide easily through her gloved hand, and Maria wished she hadn't been wearing her armor so she could see what it felt like.
"That's not exactly the disguise I had in mind, Miss Shepard."
Maria quickly pulled her hand back and saw Antonio had returned to the front of the shop, with an older, balding man at his side.
"Your acquaintance has good taste though," Tiberio Mancini said with a smile. He was finely dressed, with a thinly trimmed greying mustache and beard. A multitude of different colored fabrics were hanging out of his shirt and pants pockets.
Antonio's face wrinkled with distaste. "That thing? It borders on the vulgar, Tiberio. What self-respecting noblewoman would wear such a… lewd outfit?"
"I'll have you know that this is the epitome of style in Estalia," Mancini replied with a sniff and raise of his nose. "They may be a bunch of swine-herders, but they know fashion. Give it three years and everyone in Tilea will be wearing the same, another two and the Empire will follow suit."
"Five years ahead of the times having this in your shop then," Antonio replied, skeptically raising an eyebrow.
Mancini smiled again. "Precisely. Pays to be forward thinking in my business." He took a step back and with an arm outstretched looked at Maria. "If you would follow me my dear. Antonio tells me you'll be needing an outfit to fit in better with his band of cutthroats, while still trying to mask the criminal airs with a style of formal elegance. A specialty of mine, if I do say so myself."
Some of her surprise must have shown through, as Antonio explained, "If there was any confusion up to this point my friend here provides another honest business to help fund our activities." He then shot Mancini a glare. "Appreciate the subtlety."
"Half of Nuln already knows you run one of the five major criminal families in the city, Antonio," the tailor replied with a sigh. "What's the point of subtlety when everyone present knows what you do? Now then my dear, let's get started," he finished turning away and heading into the back of the store.
Mancini led Maria back through another room, his workshop as it turned out, where the clothes were made. A number of women of various ages were scattered around performing their duties, paying the pair of them no mind as Mancini guided Maria to the side and opened another door.
This smaller room he had led her to was apparently used for fittings. Inside was a cushioned couch and a pair of chairs. A small dresser and a tall, wide wardrobe occupied one wall while the other had three standing mirrors close together with a circular rug at their base.
Maria stood stiffly off to the side as Mancini pulled the doors to the wardrobe wide open revealing a number of outfits, and then started to rummage through the dresser drawers.
"Apologies, but I don't remember your name," he asked as he prepared.
"Maria Shepard."
Mancini paused and looked over his shoulder with a slight cringe. "Maria? Not Estalian, are you?"
Maria shook her head. "No."
"Oh, good," Mancini said looking relieved. "Didn't mean any insult about the swine-herders' comment, just so you know." He continued going through the drawers, but added under his breath, just loud enough Maria overheard, "Even if it is true…"
He finished preparing and turned to face her. "Well then, let's get started. Per Antonio's instructions, nothing too fancy, more practical than flamboyant, but I'll just need to get some measurements so we know what we're dealing with."
Maria's heart skipped. Oh no…
"If you wouldn't mind placing your coat on the chair there," Mancini requested. "Your outer shirt if it's too loose as well. Once we get to it, I'll need to measure you for a new pair of boots, so you can remove those to if you wish."
How did you not see this coming, she thought to herself. Screamed more like, in a panic, as she stood there dumbly staring back at Mancini as he waited patiently for her to undress. She had managed to prepare the Normandy for a suicide mission but missed something as obvious as taking off her coat. Getting through this without too much difficulty would take some serious smooth talking and quick thinking.
Unfortunately for her, she could barely speak the language, and as the moment stretched on Maria's mind was sorely blank. She could see the confusion on Mancini's face as it had been several seconds since his completely reasonable request and she hadn't moved a muscle, simply staring back at him.
"No?" she finally offered hesitantly.
"No?" Mancini repeated, entirely lost.
"Yes." Maria winced in embarrassment. "Sorry. No," she tried again, with what she hoped sounded apologetic but firm.
Mancini just stared at her a moment, but much to Maria's relief, finally shrugged. "Very well. If you truly feel that uncomfortable I'll get one of the ladies to take your measurements."
"Thank you." Maria stepped to the side as Mancini walked past her. As soon as he left she quickly shut the door behind him, and practically jumped the distance to the wardrobe. Hastily she searched through all the clothes stored within and found a simple white, long-sleeved button up shirt and a set of brown pants close to her size.
Maria threw off her heavy trench coat and managed to strip out of her armor just as a knock came from the door.
"Miss Shepard?" a woman inquired.
"One moment, please," Maria responded, as she piled her armor, gloves, weapons, and omni-tool together on the couch and then pulled the trench coat over the lot, hiding them from view. Tossing the shirt over her shoulders she did a few buttons to cover her tank top, and then in a feat she would remember back on as being fairly impressive, pulled the brown pants up both her legs at the same time, over her tight shorts, in one smooth movement. There was a thin cord threaded through the waist band of the pants, to use as a belt of sorts, allowing Maria to tie a knot just below her navel and anchor them on her hip.
Walking over to the door she gripped the handle, double checked her gear was hidden, ran a hand through her hair, took a breath, and then pulled open the door.
The women on the opposite side pulled back startled and had her hand raised as though she had been ready to knock again.
"Sorry," Maria apologized with her friendliest smile, giving the woman room to enter. "Ready now."
/ooooooo\
This was silly. Yeah, she wasn't wearing her collector armor out in public. And she wasn't forced to hide it under the equally eye-catching witch hunters black trench coat. And it was true that this was the best she had blended in since her arrival back on that battlefield in Bretonnia…
But seriously?
Maria was wearing a lace-trimmed white shirt with a tight fitting deep green vest over it. She had black pants, also tight fitting, and a pair of knee-high black leather boots that had a pair of silver buckles at the top of each. Completing the outfit, she was given a thick, hooded cloak that was black on the outside, but green on the inside, complimenting her vest.
Honestly when compared to what she had seen the female manikins wearing in the shop, Maria decided she had got off lucky. Mancini had said he was going for practical, and he nailed it.
But he also seemed keenly set on making everything hug her figure just as well as her collector armor had.
At least it hadn't cost her anything. Antonio had paid for all of it, and now he and Maria were back riding in the carriage as it took them to Sansovino's place of business/hideout. At their feet sitting on the floor of the carriage was a large canvas duffle bag Maria had asked for before they left the tailor. She had managed to stuff her armor, trench coat, and weapons inside.
The weapons part really irritated her, and since getting in the enclosed carriage she had still rested one of her boots on top of it; irrationally afraid that with every bump on the road the bag would somehow fall up and out the window.
It couldn't be helped. There was no way she was going to manage stuffing her pistol and submachine gun down her pants without anyone noticing.
That hadn't stopped her from thinking over a way to try it though.
On the up side her omni-tool was easily out of sight just under her left shirt sleeve. Not to mention the dagger she had taken off the street thugs. Its sheath was tied off on the thin leather belt that encircled her waist. Add on her biotics and Maria was still confident enough she could take on a platoon of these primitive soldiers.
The weather had let up, just a little. Instead of a downpour the city only had to deal with a steady rain. Still enough that most of the city streets were either empty or no more than a random horse-drawn coach or carriage trot by. But even they slowly disappeared from the road as Maria noticed she was now along the docks and headed back into the poorer districts of Nuln.
"When we get there don't say anything," Antonio spoke up as he made a quick glance out his window. "Anybody asks and you're the daughter of a friend back in Tilea, who's staying at my inn as a favor while you study at the university. Other than that, keep quiet. Got it?"
Maria nodded. "Yes. Daughter, friend, Tilea." Hey, three words she knew. Of course, putting those words together into a coherent sentence may be a bit more difficult but no need to worry him about that now.
"Good. We're coming up on his place now."
The carriage was brought to a stop just as he finished, and Antonio put on his own hat while motioning for her to get out. With a pained look down at the canvas bag, Maria pulled the hood of her cloak up and stepped out into the rain. She walked around the back of the carriage and was surprised to see a pair of men who had rode up on their own horses already waiting. Antonio was conversing with them as they dismounted. They both looked like they had been out in the rain for a while and, Maria quickly noted, they were both had a sword on their hip.
One of the carriage drivers hopped down and took the reins from the pair of them. Both the men gave her a quick appraising look as she walked over to stand just behind Antonio, but nothing more than that. One had a short ponytail of brown hair, while the other had black hair matted down by the rain.
They also held themselves a lot more rigidly than a pair of simple hired hands would.
Antonio rubbed his hands together. "Alright. Seems we're set. Maria this is Paul and Lukas," he introduced, pointing to the men in turn. "They've worked for me the past… what, eight years now? They'll be with us the rest of the way to Sansovino's. It's not far, just a few buildings down.
"Hopefully I can get things settled before the guard gets involved," he said pulling on his coat collar a little more to block the rain. "Let's go." With that he turned and started making his way down the street, Paul and Lukas falling into step behind him.
Maria shoulders dropped as she sighed and followed just behind the group. She would have been ready to stand at Antonio's side and just look pretty. A job she was perfectly happy preforming as he would be negotiating with the rival gang leader.
Except that had as much chance of happening as an Elcor cast performing a full rendition of Romeo and Juliet.
Well, to be fair, they had already done Hamlet. And as far as she remembered the play was making a pretty good profit… But that wasn't the point.
What Antonio had no way of knowing was that she had literally, literally, been a part of the exact same scheme he was trying to pull now multiple times already.
This was just how the Tenth Street Reds back on Earth had done things after Maria had proved herself to be a gifted biotic. The gang leader would go talk to their biggest competitors, or whichever one had pissed him off at the time, and always take a few others, plus Maria, with him. A pretty and disarming face hiding enormous destructive power.
Maria was willing to bet every single coin she had in her possession that whatever Antonio was up to, the man had absolutely, positively no intention of letting this meeting end peacefully.
/ooooooo\
Sansovino's choice of honest business to hide his crimes behind wasn't what Maria was expecting. Well then again, maybe she had, knowing who and what he was.
Compared to the Laughing Bear Inn though the building was shabby and run down. The interior was worn, and the odor from the nearby docks didn't overpower the mold smell or aging musk.
Despite appearances the building was full of people. A rough and frankly dangerous crowd, the type of people Maria had grown up around. These were the people that wanted a place to relax and disappear for a few hours without the worry of honest authority watching their backs. Chora's Den back on the Citadel came to mind, if that place decided not to uphold the strict hygiene requirements expected from the times.
Maria and her group had been escorted through the building by men who knew what was actually going on. The way they kept sending glares at Antonio and his men, while sending lecherous looks towards her, pretty much spelled it out. They had led them all the way to the back and took a flight of stairs up to the second and then third floor of the building.
Antonio was invited into a room with only one of his men accompanying him, so now Maria found herself stuck waiting in the hallway with the black-haired man named Paul, and their two angry escorts who stood directly in front of the door Antonio had passed through.
Maria leaned back against the wall and folded her arms across her chest as she settled in for the negotiations, while her companion Paul seemed content just glaring back at the two men who had led them here.
From the floors below, she could hear the laughter and songs coming from those enjoying themselves down at the bar. But as Maria listened closer, she could just barely make out something else. She felt the blood rush to her face once she realized what the muffled moans and grunts were. Pushing off from the wall, Maria walked down to the window located at the end of the hallway.
Looking out she saw nothing special. Just a dirty alley separating the building next door. Nothing of note at all really, until she noticed that the two buildings were connected together by a haphazard looking enclosed archway.
Staring at the ramshackle bridge a thought emerged in Maria's mind and she glanced back to the door Antonio had passed through. The distance didn't look to far off.
And the more she mulled over the idea the more it made sense. She could hear people two floors down, as well as those intimately enjoying each other's company, but she hadn't heard a single thing coming from the room Antonio had entered.
Still this wasn't her operation. Best not to screw things over just because she was starting to get a bad feeling.
"Paul!" Maria called her partner's name and waved him over to the window. He looked surprised that Maria had even addressed him, but she waved again and pointed out the window.
He walked over. "What do you want?" Apparently irritated she had interrupted his glaring contest.
Maria rolled her eyes and grabbed his shoulder, physically steering him so he could see the small bridge connecting the two buildings. Just as she did, a door opened into the alley from the other building and six rough looking and armed men hurried out.
She couldn't make out if they were saying anything but one of the men happened to look up and notice Maria and Paul looking down at their group.
"Oh hells…" Paul groaned as Maria watched the six men quickly hurry out of the alley. Based on the look that one man had on his face seeing them both staring down at him, she guessed he and his men weren't just coming up to say hello.
Paul gave one last look at the bridge and must have come to the same conclusion Maria had, as he stood straight and gripped the hilt of his sword.
"I don't know why Antonio thought to bring you along, miss," he muttered under his breath as he faced her. "I'll take these two fools quick but then you should run for the stairs and get out of here. Don't be afraid to use that dagger of yours. Comes down to it, better them than you."
Well, Antonio must not have had time to fill this guy in on the situation. It was more accurate to say he was backing up her, not the other way around.
Maria shook her head in amusement and gave him a wink as she moved past him, patting his chest with her hand.
"Hey assholes!"
The two guards turned as she shouted but neither had any clue what was coming.
Her omni-tool lit up as she electrocuted the first one with an overload, and as he fell to the floor in spasms Maria tossed the other one on his ass with a biotic push. She hurried forward and pulled the short two-foot long sword from the first man's belt, kicking him hard in the head and knocking him out before the electricity had fully left his body. The second man had gotten back to his feet, and quite admirably, charged her with an angry shout. So, Maria waited until he was almost on her and then shocked him the same way she had done with the first. The man tumbled over himself landing right at her feet, allowing Maria to knock him out as well.
She turned back and smiled to seeing the look of pure astonishment on Paul's face as he stood gaping.
He swallowed. "See Antonio failed to mention something. You're a witch then?"
Maria's smile fell with her shoulders. Seriously? This witch business again? Did she look like some old hag who flies around on a broomstick?
Paul caught the change in her mood. "O-okay, not a witch, sorry miss," quickly correcting himself as he walked over to her. "You prefer sorceress then?"
Ooh, that sounded cool. Maria perked back up as she mulled the word over. Sorceress certainly had a neat mystic like quality about it. And it beat explaining what a biotic was to these people. Spectre Sorceress Maria Shepard. Yeah that'll do, she'd have to learn that word once they were done here.
"Yes," Maria answered with a nod. She tried the handle to the door and found it locked. They'd have to hurry. Maria was certain she could hear boots pounding up the stairs after them.
"My name is Maria Shepard," she added taking a step back and kicking in the door, shattering the poor metal lock barring her entry. The room appeared to be a finely furnished study, but just as she suspected it was empty, with a second door along the wall just where the bridge adjoined the two buildings.
Paul quickly moved to the next door. "It's unlocked. Valantina and Lukas must be in the other building with Sansovino… and the rest of his men."
In the meantime, Maria had shut the door behind them and then used her biotics to levitate a couch in front of it to bar further entry. It wouldn't hold forever, but it would buy them time. She turned back to see Paul watching her.
"Where did Valantina pick you up?"
Maria just shrugged and pointed to the bridge with her sword, motioning for him to get moving.
"Alright, fine," he grumbled. And as he started over the bridge Maria fell in step behind him. At the very least, she had to admit this wasn't how she expected this meeting to go. Well, she did expect violence, but she honestly assumed Antonio was going to be the one to start shooting first.
Of course, it was at that very moment when the two of them reached the opposite building that Maria and Paul heard a chorus of pistols fire off in quick succession. Paul yanked the next door open and rushed into an empty hallway.
"Antonio!" he shouted.
The only door in the hall opened and Antonio basically fell out, a pair of small pistols falling out of his hands. He dropped to the floor soon after as Paul quickly ran up beside him.
"Boss, you hurt? Where's Lukas?"
He helped Antonio back to his feet and Maria immediately saw the left side of Antonio's coat was red.
"Lukas is dead," Antonio informed them both, putting a hand to his head and giving it a shake. "Sansovino too. We didn't see eye to eye. Lukas took the bullets for me, must have hit my head when he pushed me aside."
"Boss you're bleeding."
Antonio waved him back. "Just a scratch, ignore it. We need to leave." He stumbled toward her and the door leading back to the bridge, when Maria heard a crash coming from the room behind her. The six men from earlier had finally battered down the door and they all rushed to the opposite side of the bridge across from her.
"Sorry boys, bridge is out." Maria was enveloped by the glow from her biotics as she pumped a warp into the floor boards. The bridge was so poorly built to begin with that the bottom half of the archway just evaporated, followed quickly by the upper portions falling in a heap of broken wood.
She gave them a wave and quickly shut the door on her side. "That's going to piss them off. Climbed all those stairs for nothing."
Maria turned around and started for the other end of the hall and the flight of stairs leading down. "That way is closed, we're going to have to go take the stairs down. What's this building? How many hostiles are on this side?"
She passed both Antonio and Paul as she talked but neither of them replied. And after a few more steps she realized that both were still standing together in the hall.
"Guys?"
Paul was looking at her with utter confusion on his face. Antonio wasn't doing much better.
"Did you understand that, boss?" Paul asked.
Antonio shook his head. "Not a word."
"Where in the old world did you pick her up?"
Antonio managed a pained smirk. "I'm beginning to wonder that myself."
Maria ran a hand through her hair and sighed. She got caught up in the moment and forget she wasn't running the operation. Not to mention the language barrier. This was proving trickier than she first thought.
"Never mind that now." Antonio held a hand to his side and started down the hall to the stairs. "With that bridge out our only way out of this is down those stairs. Sansovino is bound to have a few mercenaries in this building. I think we're in one of his store houses."
Paul pulled a pistol out from under his jacket and handed it to Antonio, then headed for the stairs, his sword held out. He just passed by Maria when a trio of men came running up the stairs to meet them.
Unfortunately, these weren't the same street thugs Maria had seen so far. The three men blocking their path were all wearing metal chest plates, gauntlets, and helmets. Each was holding a short sword in their hands, but they also had more daggers and cudgels on their belts. These were clearly the hired mercs.
The man in their center looked over the hallway. "We heard gunshots. Where's Sansovino?"
"He's dead." With a pained grimace Antonio stood straighter and stepped forward. "I shot him in the heart. And I don't think any of us are going to be too broken up about it, are we?"
The man stared hard at Antonio. "No, not particularly." But then he smirked. "His brother was paying us double behind his back. Sansovino wasn't going to last the week anyhow. No offense Valantina but if we take care of you now it means a hefty bonus. Sorry but it –"
A crack of gunpowder filled the hall the same time the man's head jerked back in a bloody mist and his body fell to the ground.
"I'm sorry you wore an open-faced helm," Antonio said mildly as he held the smoking pistol.
Maria cringed when she heard more shouts from the floors below. Great, that was all they needed now.
The two remaining mercs attacked as soon as their leader fell, and suddenly Maria had a sword headed for her gut. She blocked the man's thrust but he carried himself forward and rammed his shoulder into her chest.
Caught by surprise Maria staggered back. The man took another swipe with his sword at her left and Maria hesitated before blocking the strike with her own weapon. As silly as it was, when the man hit her, it was at that moment she fully grasped that she wasn't wearing her armor. Consequently, these swords looked a lot more dangerous than they had seconds earlier.
She swung her own in a wide arc, which he blocked. Then she made a thrust at his chest, which he parried. And she followed that up by quickly swinging for his legs. The man not only stopped her sword with his own, but then grabbed her blade in his gauntlet and yanked it out of her surprised grip.
She took a step back as he tossed the sword behind himself with a feral grin. "Time to stop playin' around woman."
"Oh, get over yourself," Maria growled, more embarrassed than anything.
She raised a glowing hand and lifted him off his feet, throwing him first into the ceiling and then back to the floor so hard he bounced off the splintered floor boards. He didn't get back up.
"It was only my second sword ever." She bent down taking his sword out of his limp fingers. "And here's my third, thanks."
She glanced over to see Paul kill his own opponent, slicing through the man's throat. He hadn't had an easy time of it though. A gash across his arm was bleeding through his shirt.
"I think there's more coming!" he exclaimed pointing for the stairs.
Yeah, she could hear people coming up as well. Problem was those stairs were the only way down. Scratch that, the only currently available way down.
Turning away from the stairs, Maria fired a cryo-blast from her omni-tool into the floor boards just in front of Antonio. He stepped back in surprise and then looked even more so as Maria stepped up and handed him her sword.
"One moment, please," she asked, this time in Reikspiel, as she removed her cloak. If she activated her tech armor while wearing it the cloth would ignite against the shield.
Another group of eight mercs came up the final steps, just as armed as the last three. Maria threw the cloak into their faces the same time she launched a warp into the frozen floor boards.
"Jump!" And technically she didn't know the word for jump yet, but to help speed things along she pulled Antonio down the hole with her as she did. Paul caught on quick and landed just alongside them.
"Gah!" Antonio dropped to his knees and grabbed his side. Paul hauled him back to his feet.
"Sounds like more than a scratch, boss."
Antonio huffed. "Worry about it later."
The third level of the building must have been the office, for the warehouse Maria now found herself in. The entire second floor was one open room with crates and chests stacked together across the floor and in every corner.
Another gunshot and the side of the wooden crate next to them broke apart. Maria ducked along with Paul and Antonio.
"I miss having a Krogan for backup," she grumbled, running a hand through her hair.
With a chuckle at that sight, Maria activated her tech armor and stepped out from the crates. Another gunshot rang out as well as a pair of crossbow bolts. All three projectiles broke apart against her chest plate. Not bad aim on their part.
Using her biotics, she lifted a pair of the larger crates off the floor and tossed them at the stairs just as the eight men came running back down. None of them made it out of that. She turned to face the remaining three, each of them staring in shock at her and what she had just done.
She flared out her biotics around her body, pointing to the stairwell that led back down to the first floor…
…and they dropped their weapons and ran.
She smirked. Every merc had their breaking point. Eventually the trouble isn't worth the money, you just have to cause enough damage to reach it.
Okay, for all intents and purposes this building was secure. She and Paul were still one-hundred percent, but Antonio was wounded, which meant Paul was stuck covering him and Maria was stuck covering for them both.
Enemy reinforcements, the men she had ditched in the building next door, were moments away. Best to call it a day and get the hell out of here.
She shut off her tech armor and waved for Antonio and Paul to follow. If they were to make a break for it, the glowing orange holographic shield wouldn't do her any favors as they tried to blend into the city.
"Time to leave boys," she said, ditching the Reikspiel, as she walked to the staircase leading down.
Somewhat used to her by now, or scared shitless by what she had done so far, both of the men just followed behind without argument, regardless of their ability to understand her strange speech. Paul had Antonio's arm over his shoulder and they hobbled over together, following Maria down to the first floor.
Springing down the last two steps Maria quickly got her bearings.
"Wow, more crates. One more firefight through a warehouse to add to the list."
Several lanterns hung from the ceiling, brightening up the space far better than the second floor had been. A few feet away was the front door and their most obvious chance for escape.
Maria quickly turned away from it without a second glance. You never use the front door. Like, never ever. Especially front doors about to be breached by enemy combatants.
Giving another wave, Maria made sure Paul and Antonio were following as she made her way to the back of the room.
"Back door, back door, come one, lets see a back door."
Unfortunately, their small group reached only a very solid wall. And after a quick jog in both directions, she came up empty.
Maria ran a hand through her hair in frustration. "Who in their right mind leads a street gang from a hideout that doesn't have a freaking back door?!" Sometimes you just can't account for stupid. Worst part of it, the back of the storehouse was light in the number of stacked crates and chests. In short, they had no cover.
She, Antonio and Paul all glanced back as they heard the front door to the warehouse being violently smashed open, followed by a chorus of boots pounding on the floor.
Screw it. Option two, make the back door.
She fired a cryo-blast into the wall to weaken it just as she had done the floor above. The wood and stone were instantly frozen through.
"Maria!" Antonio shouted in alarm.
She spun around with her right arm already raised and saw six men running around the last of the crates protecting her small squad. With a biotic blast, the man brandishing a sword and nearest to Antonio and Paul was sent flying backwards into the man behind him.
It was then out of the corner of her eye Maria spied another man raise what looked like a two-by-four with something bolted to the end, and point it in her direction. She didn't even have a chance to act as one insane thought passed through her head.
Is that a cannon?
Paul shouted something different. "Blunderbuss!"
A cloud of smoke and a thunderous bang filled the warehouse as Maria felt something catch her in the stomach and chest. A something that picked her up off her feet and threw her against the back wall just as easily as Grunt had when she had first freed the newborn Krogan from his tank. Only this time she didn't have a steel bulkhead to stop her, so Maria hit the same portion of wall she had just frozen. The wood shattered into pieces as she passed through it and then landed in the muddy open street.
In shock over what had just happened and flat on her back, Maria fought to reclaim the breath that had been abruptly forced from her lungs. It was still raining, and her clothes were rapidly soaking up every drop. As were her gasps for air and she fell into a pitiful coughing fit when she pulled in more water then oxygen.
Rolling to her side to escape the rain she finally got a breath in. And once her lungs were working, Maria slid a hand over her chest and then raised it to her face with some trepidation.
The only thing she could see covering her hand was mud. Maria immediately patted herself down a second time, only to confirm her first assessment. With no small amount of relief, she rolled over onto her back again and let her head fall back against the street.
"That – was – too close," she gasped out.
Only the thinnest of a hastily constructed barrier had saved her life. Her delight over still being alive was cut short when the man who shot her stepped through the hole in the wall and stood above her in the street.
He was holding the blunderbuss in one hand, a hand-held cannon and apparently this world's version of the Claymore shotgun, while he pulled a sword from his belt with the other.
"Just die already, you devil-witch!" he growled in anger as he raised his sword above his head.
Frowning at his choice of words, Maria kicked the man's feet out from under him. As soon as he fell to the ground beside her, Maria rolled over and slammed her own dagger down to the hilt into his chest.
A knife to the heart was more than enough to end that particular duel.
Maria pushed herself up and back to her feet, pulling the dagger out of his chest as she did. Her clothes now completely soaked through and half covered in mud, she took a moment to steady herself in the street, and then walked back into the warehouse through the hole in the wall.
Screw subtlety. Her tech armor flared to life as she stepped over the threshold and found Antonio and Paul right where she had left them but surrounded by the three surviving gang members. All of them stared open-mouthed at her arrival and appearance, entirely forgetting the two men they had cornered.
Maria launched a series of weak biotic fields at the four nearest hanging lanterns. They shattered at the impacts, spilling their oily, flammable contents over everything beneath them. While the outside structure was heavy and wet from the day's rain, the inside of the storehouse's old and cracked wood was dry as kindling. Very quickly the small fires she had started began spreading across the floor and over the warehouse's contents.
"Okay boys, here's the deal," Maria started with a single step towards the group. "I'm wet, I'm cold, covered in mud, and I really don't want to keep fighting if I can help it; even though I'm perfectly capable of turning the lot of you into paste. How about we call it a day and leave before this building comes down around us."
None of them men moved since none of them understood a word she had just said.
Maria sighed and remembered the closest translatable words in Reikspiel.
"You. Away. Now."
Each of the men took a few careful steps back from her, sharing glances to one another in the process. None of them seemed willing to be the first to turn his back, but eventually they mustered their courage and ran back between the growing flames to the front of the building and presumably through the other exit… which would be the door and not her hole in the wall.
Maria waited until the gang members had disappeared from view before she deactivated her tech armor once again and replaced her dagger back on her hip. Taking a deep breath and blowing it out loudly she ran a hand through her hair and walked up to Paul and Antonio.
The warehouse was well and truly on fire now and it wouldn't be long before the city guard caught sight of it and came to investigate. Standing beside the two men, she threw a thumb over her shoulder, pointing to the hole in the wall behind her leaving the obvious question unspoken.
"I suppose that's it then," Antonio finally managed out, clearly out of his depth by the afternoon's wild turn of events. He nudged Paul weakly, his hand still pressed to the bloody side of his coat.
"Let's get back to the Laughing Bear Inn."
/ooooooo\
Maria hopped out of the carriage just in front of the inn's stables. Paul was already helping Antonio inside, holding the man up with an arm over his shoulder. A little confused she followed the two men inside as their ride pulled quickly away behind her. She thought they were going to get Antonio help inside the inn.
Most of the stalls were empty as they made their way to the back of the building. When Maria came to her own horse, she paused to give him a scratch on his nose.
"Hey Steven… doing good?"
Only two stalls down Paul and Antonio reached the back wall. While Antonio leaned heavily against the wood, Paul caught her attention by rapping out a rhythm on the wall with his knuckles.
"Oh, now this is more like it," Maria muttered under her breath, figuring out what the man was really up to.
A section of wall holding shovels and other tools slid forward to reveal a hidden room and a familiar face stepped out. It was the stable hand Maria had paid to take care of Steven her first day arriving at the inn.
"Eh, Paul?" The young man looked confused as he stood in the hidden doorway. "What are you doin' here – hey!?"
Paul pulled him out of the way and pushed him back the way they came.
"Just had a fight. Antonio's been shot. You need to tell Raine and have her call for the doctor." He hauled Antonio to his feet as he explained and helped him through the hidden doorway.
The kid's eyes were saucers at the news. "Oh! Right, then. I'll – I'll just go get Raine and have her call the doctor." Before running off he paused awkwardly, shooting a glance at Maria. "Um… just to be clear. We are talkin' about the doctor, right Paul?"
"Go, Walter!" Paul shouted over his shoulder.
"Yessir!" Walter scurried off, only slipping once on the dirty floor before leaving the stable.
Maria had to hold back a laugh as she watched him run off. His name is Walter? Seriously? He looks nothing like a Walter.
She then followed Antonio and Paul into the secret room, impressed that she hadn't even noticed that the outside of the stable was larger than the inside. Not that she had ever really paid that much attention when she had spent time in the stables, but still, it was a pretty neat trick to pull.
The back room would have been the width of two more stalls and still had a dirt floor, but was furnished for people to spend large amounts of time hidden inside. Shelves and cabinets lined one side wall while wooden chests and crates were stacked on the other; each filled with books, jars, bottles of wine, contraband and who only knows what. Stuck in between was a small table ringed with chairs and a worn, faded couch.
Paul eased Antonio carefully down onto the couch. The wounded crime boss was much paler now and sweat covered his forehead and face. Paul had grabbed a few rags together and peeled back Antonio's blood-soaked coat and shirt.
Maria peeked over his shoulder and winced upon seeing the wound. It was messy, and looked just as bad as if he had been shot with a shredder round. If she had some medi-gel…
But she didn't.
"I would've preferred some cleaner rags Paul," Antonio coughed out.
A knock sounded from the door and Maria stepped back to see a woman hurry into the room carrying a pan filled with water and some clean white cloths. She didn't know the woman's name but recognized her as one of the maids that worked the inn.
"I brought some bandages," the woman said as she kneeled down beside Antonio. "Mrs. Valantina went to get the doctor."
Paul stood up to give her room while Antonio managed a pained smile. "See, this is why Hannah gets a room at the inn. She brings the clean rags."
He snorted at that. "I'll watch the door. You just hold on until the doctor arrives." Passing Maria, he gave her a nod and then left the room, closing the secret door behind himself.
While the maid, Hannah, did her best to clean Antonio's wound, Maria slowly walked the room. From what she was seeing this must be where Antonio and his gang hid the best merchandise. There was a fair amount of shiny gold and silver things laying around. And even a few weapons.
One in particular caught her eye. A thin silver dagger with an engraved cross-shaped pommel and small red ruby embedded at the end. About the same size as the one she currently had on her hip…
A quick glance over her shoulder and Maria moved on, a fancy new dagger hanging off her belt. Payment for services rendered so to speak.
The next thing that caught her eye were the dozens of wine bottles arrayed in rows inside one of the cabinets. Maria popped the bolt latching the glass door shut and carefully extracted one of the bottles.
The wine was a deep red and the label on the bottle was faded but still legible. But even so, Maria couldn't read the words. A stylized picture depicting a pegasus and rider holding a trident above his head was Maria's only clue to the bottle's origin. A pegasus probably meant it was Bretonnian but none of the knights in Parravon had fought with tridents, as far as she had seen.
Still, limited as her knowledge was on the subject, old wine was usually considered the best wine, so when she closed the cabinet back up, the bottle remained in her hand.
"Excuse me."
Maria turned around to see Antonio looking her direction. "That is a bottle of 1608 red… from the Duke of Bordeleaux's own fields," he explained with heavy breaths. "It is hundreds… of years old and… worth just as much gold."
Maria put a hand on her waist as she cocked her hip and raised an eyebrow. Somethings didn't need translation.
"Just…" Antonio sighed and leaned his head back on the couch's arm rest. "…fine. Second drawer on the left… glasses are inside. Not letting you have it all to yourself."
/ooooooo\
Less than half an hour later and Maria was on her second glass of wine. In all honesty she didn't find the drink to be anything special, and after downing the last half of her wine in a single gulp she could see Antonio giving her a pained expression at her lack of respect for its vintage.
Or most likely he was just in pain in general. The maid had done her best to clean him up, but as for the jagged hole in his side…
Maria looked away guiltily. A bullet wound like that required some serious surgery, and Antonio wasn't going to get the help he needed in a place, or time period, like this. Whatever doctor was brought back was going to have his hands full just keeping the man alive a few more days.
A recognized series of knocks rapped on the hidden door and the maid went over, opening it a crack, and then pulled it fully open.
Raine quickly hurried inside followed closely by Paul and another man Maria didn't recognize. Most likely the doctor. He was finely dressed in black and a long overcoat. He was carrying a leather bag with him.
"Oh Antonio, what have you gotten yourself into this time?" Raine muttered as she kneeled beside the couch.
"You mean what did I manage to get myself out of," he replied, managing a smirk. He looked past her and to the doctor. "Took you long enough to get here… What's the point paying you to be on retainer… if I die before you get here, Oskar?"
"I'm a busy man Antonio," the doctor, Oskar, replied testily. He walked over to where the man laid and eyed the wound. "Job hasn't gotten any easier since the witch hunters got their coats in a twist. As you're fully aware. Bullet still inside?"
"Yeah," Antonio grunted.
Oskar nodded and set down his bag, digging out a long thin pliers. He took Antonio's glass of wine from the man's hands and gave his tool a dunk and swirl in the liquid, much to Antonio's sputtering's of anger, before swallowing down what remained.
"Nice vintage," he commented, setting aside the glass. And then he got to work.
Maria watched over his shoulder as the doctor applied his trade. She couldn't help cringing at the sight but admired the man's speed and precision. He had the bullet out in just a short time.
"Nasty little thing," Oskar commented as he put away his tools. "Now then… before we go any further, we need to talk."
"Are you joking?!" Raine nearly shouted as she sprang to her feet. She got right up in the doctor's face. "My husband is dying, and the gold we pay you should be more than enough. Now save his life damn you!"
Oskar took a step back, his hands up. "Easy there, Raine."
Paul took a step towards him as well, his hand on the hilt of his sword. "I'd listen to the lady if I were you."
Oskar huffed. "Oh, a sword? What a mundane thing to threaten someone with who faces eternal damnation and the witch hunter's wrath on a daily basis.
"Ever since that mishap on the training grounds the witch hunters have been out in force," Oskar explained, folding his arms across his chest. "And they've been looking for anything out of the ordinary. And just so you're following, I'm the thing out of the ordinary. My life has become a little more complicated as you can imagine.
"I'm not a sanctioned magister, and I wasn't trained by the colleges. Everything I've done has been self-taught. Nothing short of heresy to the wrong people. I'm risking my life every time I heal someone."
A hacking cough pulled everyone's attention back to Antonio.
"In Sigmar's holy name, Oskar, you want more silver and gold? Protection? I've already promised you both… so please, get – to – work."
Oskar frowned and pointed accusingly at Maria. "Well then who the hell is she?"
Maria blinked and looked around the room. Oh, its about me again is it? She was getting used to not being the focus of a room for once.
She opened her mouth, but Paul beat her to it.
"Her name is Maria Shepard and she's the only reason Antonio and I made it out of Sansovino's place alive. She is a soldier… and a sorceress."
Oskar's jaw dropped in surprise before he gathered himself and looked at Maria quizzically.
"Are you really?"
Maria smiled as she flared her biotics and lit the room up with power.
Oskar took a step back in surprise, as did Raine and the maid. It was their first time learning about Maria as well.
"Well then…" Oskar coughed uncomfortably. "As long as she can be trusted, Antonio. I'll get to work then. Watch the stable entrance Paul. I'll try to be subtle, but the witch hunters have a way of smelling these kinds of things out."
Paul nodded and left to guard the stable.
"Seems you failed to mention something, hmmm, Antonio?" Raine said accusingly, looking down at her husband.
"Only found out a little while ago myself," he grunted in pain. "Would have told you otherwise."
Maria watched with interest as Oskar stepped to stand beside Antonio, but her interest turned to confusion when she noticed he had removed his shoes, standing barefoot in the dirt and only raised both his hands above the man.
He's supposed to be a doctor, so what the hell was he doing? And now he had started to mutter words quietly under his breath. Maria tried to listen, but her translator wasn't picking up anything it was able to understand. The words were gibberish.
Suddenly the air in the room began to condense, and Maria could see it following in streams around Oskar's body and around his arms. The wind twirled around his fingers before falling like a waterfall straight down onto Antonio and seeped into his wound.
Everything the doctor was saying before now made sense. He wasn't just a doctor, he was a wizard as well, and was using his magic to heal people's injuries.
This was incredible. Maria took a few tentative steps forward to better see what was happening. Oskar's face was scrunched up and sweat beaded on his forehead as he quietly chanted the strange words to himself.
She glanced down at Antonio and watched the impossible. His skin was stitching itself back together right before her eyes. Even her body, with all its enhancements and cybernetic upgrades, couldn't accomplish the speed his body was healing now. In a few minutes you wouldn't even be able to tell the man had been shot at all.
This was the power of magic? That Vampire had opened her eyes to it, the skaven had tried to kill her with it, and now this doctor was using it to save Antonio's life.
She turned away from the small miracle taking place and walked slowly around the room, taking in the sight of the visible wind as it weaved around the small space to answer Oskar's call. She stopped in front of one of the streams, fascinated.
Maria licked her lips as she watched the wind and raised her hand to hover just next to it. She hesitated just a moment before sliding her fingers into the stream.
At contact the wind flowed smoothly around her fingers, but it no longer remained clear. Coming from her hand, directly off the skin, black smoke was pulled along the stream.
The effect of her action was immediate.
"GahhhOW!"
Maria spun around to see Oskar dropped his arms and cradled them to his chest as he hunched over in pain.
"Son of a whore, what was that?!" he ground out loudly, clearly in some amount of pain. He stood straight once more and gave both his arms a shake, working his fingers as he did. "Never had the winds react like that before. Sigmar's hairy balls, that stung something fierce!"
"Are you alright?" Raine asked in concern.
Oskar took a step back from the couch as he rubbed his hands together. "I believe I'm fine."
"I was talking to my husband, Oskar."
"Oh, well… doesn't change the fact…"
Raine helped Antonio sit up straight. Where he once had a bullet hole in his chest bleeding freely, now the skin was only pink surrounding a small spot of dark red. The wound had been healed closed.
Antonio gave the spot a poke with his finger and winced with a hiss of pain.
"Still hurts like nothing but at least I'm alive." He stood up carefully and Maria could see he was still favoring his wounded side. But like he had said, better alive than the alternative.
Oskar had worked his shoes back on again and when he stood Antonio held his hand out to the doctor.
"Thank you, Oskar. You've preformed a miracle once again."
Oskar returned the handshake but still looked pensive. "Hardly a miracle, but you're welcome. I still don't know what happened with the winds, so the healing wasn't complete. Just be careful and don't strain yourself to hard for the next few days."
Antonio shook his head. "Its bloody fine work regardless. Come inside the inn. I'll pour you a drink and get your pay together." He looked over to the maid. "Hannah, if you wouldn't mind cleaning this up, and be sure the door closes behind you."
"Of course, sir," the maid replied as she began gathering the blood-stained rags together.
Oskar picked up his bag and followed Antonio and Raine out of the back room. Maria held back only a moment when she noticed something strange on the ground beside the couch.
Right where Oskar had stood in his bare feet on the dirt were the small, bright green slivers of newly grown grass leaves poking less than half an inch out of the ground.
/ooooooo\
Maria made it back up to her room shortly after everything that had transpired inside the stable. She simply stood in the center of her room staring at the floor as the fight with the rival gang played back in her mind. She felt… drained wasn't the right word. When compared to most of the scraps she had gotten herself into that fight hardly counted at all. But all things considered, she felt tired, weary maybe?
Or just plain uncomfortable, that seemed more appropriate, and it had nothing to do with her mud caked clothes.
A knock on her door got her attention and she opened it to see Raine standing with some items in her hand.
She had a smile on her face. "Miss Shepard, so glad to catch you up here," she began stepping into Maria's room. "I just wanted to come up and thank you personally for everything you did to protect Paul and my husband. Antonio told me everything that happened, and it's quite the shocker learning about who you really are, but still, you saved his life.
"I brought you one of my robes," she said placing the item on her bed, "and some slippers. I'm sorry to say you look dreadful, and those clothes of yours have taken a beating. So, I'll take those filthy rags off your hands and get them clean while you come down to my private room and relax in the hot bath I'm having prepared for you. I'll send a girl back to Mancini and see if we can get you a replacement for the cape you lost too. That man will undoubtedly through some kind of hissy fit over loosing something so soon, but well, such is life, yes?"
"Thank you," Maria replied giving the woman a smile.
"Not at all, my dear," Raine said waving a hand in the air. "Once we've got you all cleaned up be sure to stop down for a meal. I'm getting the cooks to whip up a fine roast. Should be something special. And don't you worry about paying. From here on out your meals are on the house. Least I can do for you in return for taking care of my husband.
"Just try to limit yourself to no more than two helpings alright," Raine added with a knowing smile. "I've seen you eat, and I'd like to have enough to feed the rest of the guests when you're done."
Maria was quite taken aback by the women's generosity. "I – thank you."
"No, no. Thank you Miss Shepard," Raine continued seriously as she reached forward and took Maria's hands in her own. "It was no small amount of fortune that a sorceress decided to take up residence at our inn, and I know what your kind risks using your magics behind the Empire's back. That's just the nature of it though isn't it? Half the people say we can't live with magic, the other half says we can't live without it. Me? I'm just glad you were here when you were, and I promise that as long as you're under the Valantina roof, you're a valued guest."
Raine gave Maria's hands a squeeze before leaving. "Come on down now. I'm sure your bath has been drawn and I can start getting your things clean again."
Closing the door behind herself, Maria was left alone with the privacy to change.
But as she stripped out of her clothes, Maria couldn't help thinking back on everything she had seen so far in her short time on this world.
A skaven, a rat, had the power to shoot lighting from its paw and vanish into thin air. And she had just seen a doctor heal what should have been a fatal gunshot wound. Not to mention the freaking living dead that was a Vampire and its skeletal servants.
When she had touched the wind flowing through that back room, it had felt as if she had just put her hand in a stream of flowing water. The wind was substantial, physical, it had a weight behind it and she had felt something… connect… inside her when she had made contact. It pulled the black smoke out of her own hand.
Maria lifted the robe off the bed and put it on, sliding on the slippers as she did. Tying the belt off around her waist, Maria pulled the robe tight around her and buried her nose in the ridiculously soft material, enjoying the feel of it against her skin and across her entire body. She needed one of these when she got back onboard the Normandy.
And that was priority one. Find out where in the galaxy she was and get home.
But magic… is was becoming increasingly hard to deny that whatever 'magic' really was on this planet, it was worth harnessing and bringing back with her if she could.