Prince Javindar stared at the woman with the dark dress and the long light blue hair before him. Something wasn't right. His holy sight detected a great source of evil nearby, but Chit seemed oblivious to it. An emperor mongoose was a prized possession amongst the nobility for its ability to detect and warn against supernatural evil, and here it was in this strangely alluring woman's arms nuzzling her.

Javindar had witnessed Chit flee before the Harpy attack before even his own senses noticed it and had no reason to doubt its abilities. Could the small creature been previously charmed, a glamor placed on it? Or perhaps it was replaced by some demonic ferret doppelganger in an elaborate scheme to lower his guard.

As Prince pondered this, the woman, Baroness Stille was it ?, frowned at him. "So…are you going to let me in or not? "

"Let you in? As I need to invite you into my abode before you can enter?" asked Javindar in a careful voice. Javindar recalled a baroness was a title given to a noble in the west, and despite her odd choice of hair coloring, she certainly looked the part of a high born woman. He was hesitant to strike first despite what his vision was telling him, so he offered the woman a simple challenge.

The woman sighed, before she shuffled into the room, spun around, almost tip toeing around the Prince, shuffled back out, and then spun once again ending in a cute flourish, all before Javindar could react. "Look, I'm not a vampire if that's what you are worried about, not that your 'test' would have worked. I came here because I received word from a 'Nahbob' that he sought an audience with me. I guess he came to the university and left a message, saying his party had urgent business with me. I'm a sage, specializing in magical theory and artifacts. I received word from Samm…Lady Sampada a while ago, informing me of her arrival so I made haste to the address this Nahbob had provided me. Wait….you are Nahbob right? The name sounds Vinrajian, and you certainly look the part, but this is a busy city with many travellers. I may have made a mistake."

Javindar wasn't sure if he should be angry that he was mistaken for his lowly servant, or confused in that his holy vision was flawed. He could still sense a great evil nearby, but he doubt it was from this woman. While he knew evil came in many forms, the evil he was detecting was of a monstrous variety. The type that only crawled out of the pits of Abaddon and didn't need a guise to walk around mortals. While the woman had a brief chance to strike him down as she entered and left the room, perhaps she saw he still had his guard up and could have survived what onslaught she delivered. Maybe she was waiting for a better chance, or perhaps…

As Javindar pondered this, Chit hopped out of the mysterious woman's arms and hissed towards the wall, moments after a great black shadow blotted out the window.

Javindar did not hesitate. He reached forward, grabbed Baroness Stille's arms and yanked the surprised woman inside. Before Stille could question what he was doing, he stuck his head out in the hallway and scanned both ways. He wasn't sure what he was expecting to see but he noted someone ducking behind a corner.

"What are you doing? " demanded Stille as she recovered her balance.

"It's not safe here," said Javindar as he stepped back into the room, shutting the door and lowering the decorative bronze bar into place. While he was prepared to make his stand here, he wouldn't risk putting this young woman in danger. He'll not put another woman at risk. Not after what happened to Whelp.

"Safe from what? " asked the baroness as Javindar threw on a mail tunic and grabbed his bow and quiver. "Are there thieves about? We can just call the guard."

"I'm a holy warrior of Puranas," explained Javindar as he tightened his armor's belt. "I have holy vision that can sense evil. And I've just detected a powerful presence nearby."

Stille's shoulders slumped as she lowered her head. "No, there's a misunderstanding. I'm afraid that all you've detected is…."

Before the woman could finish the walls of the room was ripped away. A monstrous runed covered bat the size of a water buffalo screeched at the pair, before lunging forward with its jaws toward Stille.

The creature was fast, but Javindar was faster as his scimitar flashed down and struck the monster solidly in the face, slicing its flaring nose in half. The bat hissed in pain as it scrambled back towards the open wall. It screeched once again, but Javindar simply stepped up towards its and slammed his wicker shield square into its head, knocking the beast off its perch.

Javindar glanced outside. He was hoping the big bat would smash into the ground but the nimble creature recovered in time and had soared high into the air. Crowds of people dispersed below even as he heard a commotion from outside the door to his room. They were trying to force their way in. From the voices and the heaviness of their step he guessed there were three or possibly four of them. Foot soldiers in that bulky metal armor so popular in the west, trying to break through.

"I'll get you out of here before I dispatch these ruffians," said Javindar as he grabbed the baroness around the waist. Though she was much heavier than he expected, he managed to heft her slightly off her feet as he leaped through the window into the now abandoned courtyard below. They were a good fifteen feet up, but the Prince landed as best he could. He fell awkwardly on his side, but he managed to absorb most of the impact as Stille landed atop of him.

Javindar brushed her aside, as he rolled onto his back, kicked up and jumped onto his feet. He surprised himself as he managed to stick the landing. It was a maneuver he practiced greatly, but it was not the easiest to do when wearing armor after jumping out of a window.

"The way is clear. Flee this area while I settle accounts," ordered Javindar as he readied his scimitar and began layering minor protective wards on himself.

It didn't take long before four warriors poked their heads through the breach in the wall above him. They were dressed in that ridiculous and impractical shiny cooking pot armor the western barbarians liked so much. Combined with their poorly drawn fighting roosters and other barnyard animals on their tabards, Javindar found it hard not to laugh out loud at them.

Two of the armored warriors retrieved heavy crossbows from their backs and clumsily fired them at Javindar. One of them shot pathetically wide, missing by a good ten feet. The other was aimed directly at the holy warrior, but instead of blocking it with his wicker shield, the Prince easily batted aside the bolt with his blade.

One of the lighter armored warriors, a tall blond woman sporting some silly dead bird helmet, simply took a step off the ledge and leisurely walked down towards him as if there was an invisble stair case. Her body glowed with blue motes as she concentrated her arcane power. Javindar considered rushing towards her and chopping at her feet for her nonchalance, but one of the bigger warriors leapt from the ledge and almost crashed directly atop of him.

Javindar hopped back, even as the big warrior swept a big iron spiked gauntlet at him. The man missed, but not by much, as he flashed a mouth full of sharpen teeth towards his prey.

"I do not know who you are, but you've picked a poor day to hunt the Prince of Ghata," warned Javindar as his mood grew dark. He was still hurting from the loss of Whelp, and felt the need to inflict violence to ease his pain.

"Baroness, call off your lap dog and we'll let him live," shouted a clear voice up above. It wasn't dark yet, but it took a while before Javindar could see a tall armored man next to the rune covered bat on one of the higher nearby rooftops.

Though Javindar's mastery over the 'common' tongue was serviceable at best, the Prince was incensed. Did that man just call him a lap dog? Though he liked dogs, he was pretty sure it was intended as an insult.

"Ulfgar? I though you were exiled to the ice," said a clear feminine voice behind Javindar. The Prince was confused at first, he glanced back to confirm that the baroness was indeed standing behind him with arms defiantly crossed. He was sure she would take the opportunity to flee, but perhaps she was still in shock from the jump out of his room.

"The ice was a bitter reward for a patriot such as myself, but I bore it with dignity. However things have changed, and not just my circumstances. Soon everything will change," said the man next to the bat.

The baroness shook her head in disappointment. "If the Arbiters won't come after you then the Champions of the North will, and we both know that none can match their power. Surrender now and I'll plead the case on your behalf. "

Ulfgar laughed. "The time for talk is over. The time for everything will soon be over. I had only wanted to follow you, but you will come with me now, willing or not. I was hoping to catch you at a more opportune time, but this fool's very public display has forced my hand now."

"Fool?" interrupted Javindar. "I will not be mocked by a common outlaw. Do you know whose presence you are in?"

Ulfgar studied the Prince briefly. After a few seconds he gave him a blank look and shrugged.

"I am Bey Javindar, Prince of Ghata, and the scourge of all Asura. I am the champion of Vinraj and this woman shall now be under my protection," shouted Javindar in a voice that shook the streets.

"Vin what? Ghat who? Nevermind, Padraig, Freyna handle this idiot while I retrieve the barone…."

"Bravery! Valor! Glory!"

Ulfgar stopped midsentence as Javindar struck first. He fired an arrow from Red Flight that was aimed at the mysterious man's throat. It would have struck too except the big bat at his side threw itself in its path and took the shot directly in its side. The great beast shrieked in pain, as it spun around and buffeted its wings wildly, knocking Ulfgar back on the roof and out of sight.

Before Javindar could fire another shot, the muscular bald man with the sharpened teeth lunged at him with both spiked gauntlets, attempting to grab him in an ape hug. While the man's actions were powerful and fast, Javindar saw through his attack and simply stepped under his arms and elbowed him in the ribs sharply before slipping to the side. Though the big man didn't seem hurt by the attack, it did unbalance him, and all it took was half a turn and a kick by Javindar to send him crashing into the ground.

With his foe prone, Javindar smoothly drew his scimitar as he effortlessly hung Red Flight from a hook on his back. He was prepared to finish off the sprawling big man but a sheet of flame erupted from the blond woman's hands and streaked towards him. It was too fast to dodge, so Javindar braced himself behind his wicker shield. Instead of being engulfed fire, the crimson wall stopped before a cloud of white motes.

Javindar blinked in confusion at this sight which seemed to infuriate the blond dead bird helmed woman. It took him a sec but then he traced a wisp of white motes flowing from the baroness' hands towards the stalled wall. He also glanced up and saw the crossbow men above him were also seemingly sealed away by a barrier of white motes as well.

Though Javindar was spared the fire, his hesitation gave the big bald man time to recover. The warrior moved more akin to a beast than a man as he shot up from his precarious position and seemingly twisted in midair, crashing heavily into Javindar and sending the Prince hurtling against a stone wall. Javindar's pride was hurt more than his back and he quickly fell into a combat stance to face his foe. While the bald warrior with the sharpened teeth was a fearsome sight before, there was a savage quality about him that appeared to warp his face and build.

"Spawn of Varuna!" shouted Javindar as he realized what he was facing. Though they were rare in Ghata, legends abound of these cursed creatures that could shift form between man and shark and something in between.

Javindar met the creature head on, even as Stille and the blond woman blasted each other with bolts of magic. While he was faster than this creature during their last exchange, this shark man's bestial form seemed to increase both its strength and speed. Javindar was shocked to find his normally fierce flurries pushed back, forcing him into a defensive stance. Even when his blade slipped past the shark man's iron claws and snapping teeth, and struck a seemingly fatal blow to its stomach, it's unnatural hide easily turned his killing blow into a mere flesh wound.

The shark man laughed at Javindar's blow and slammed his fist straight into the Prince's chest. Javindar barely managed to block with his wicker shield, even as the monster's iron claws punched straight through it.

Luckily for Javindar, he let slip the shield's hand holds and left the broken blocker stuck onto the shark man's arms. While many people laughed at the Ghatian tradition of using wicker shields, they were prized for their ability to trap weapons more than their inability to stop them. The shark man found out to his dismay of the shield's nuance as he struggled to yank his arm out of the tangle of wicker.

Javindar saw his opportunity. While the scimitar wasn't meant to be struck two handed like his favored Khanda, the Prince made best use of it as he slipped past the tangled shark man and stabbed and slashed him multiple times in the back. Though the creature's unnatural skin protected him again, it wasn't an impregnable defence, blood and ichor spilled from multiple wounds on the shark man's back as it turned and roared in frustration.

Javindar could sense the tide of battle was turning his way. He first smirked at his own little joke before pressing forward against his wounded foe. The pair exchanged a few blows before Javindar spotted another opening in his opponent's defense. The shark man often overextended himself and lead with the right foot. He took a back step to lure his opponent in and then a side step to keep him off balance before chopping wildly at the shark's right foot. Before his swing connected though, he could feel all the hairs on his body standing up, before a great sheath of electricity swept through the streets.

Time seemed to stand still as a bolt of lightning descended down and coursed through his body, before leaping into the Baroness' and then into what appeared to be several members of the city guard, all the while missing or more likely avoiding the shark man and the blonde woman.

Javindar was stunned and thrown back by the blast. Before he struck the ground however, a great force seemed to snatch him and held him aloft. Javindar struggled to move, but saw he was suspended in the air along with the baroness.

"I didn't want to do this, but it seems I have to subdue you first," said UIfgar from up above.

Though Javindar was powerless to react, the Baroness' hands once again filled with white motes. Instead of dispelling whatever infernal force held the pair of them aloft, the motes seemed to disperse as quickly as they formed.

"I wasn't idle up in the ice. My skills are as sharp as ever, " smirked Ulfgar. The man then waved his hand sending Javindar and the baroness crashing into each other, knocking the wind out of both of them before they fell crumpled to the ground. "Unlike yours it seems."

Javindar instinctively held on to his blade, but he was powerless to use it. Before he could stand, the big shark man was on them. He kicked the Prince full force in the stomach as he stomped downwards into the Baroness's back. Javindar's vision faded in and out as his ribs cracked and he struggled to breath.

"Praidaig! Stop! " ordered Ulfgar. "We need her to bargain with James."

The shark man snarled in frustration but did as he was told.

"Oh you can kill the mouthy fool, just leave the sweet Baroness to me."

Broken ribs or not, Javindar slammed his scimitar into the cobbled street and desperately pulled himself up with it. He was outnumbered and beaten, but he would not die like this. He channeled his holy energy through his blade and stumbled forwards towards the shark man with a last ditch charge.

Before he could reach his foe though, the blond woman blocked his path and smashed her mace into his shoulder, sending him falling to the ground once again.

"Praidaig, finish your meal or do you want me to tenderize him first," she said in a haughty voice.

Javindar prepared for the worse as the shark man and the blond woman closed in. He had failed holy Sampada, failed Whelp, and now he had failed this Baroness Stille. He prayed the Puranas would accept a failure like him into the heavens.

Instead of a messy and bloody death though, a cloud of darkness descended on Javindar.

"One second sir," said the reassuring voice of Nahbob, the darkness faded as fast as it arrived, as he felt his body yanked and pulled through the aether.

"What?" asked Javindar as he struggled to sit up. Though his body ached, the act of speaking hurt more than moving. Nahbob was at his side as well as the Baroness, but there was not sign of Ulfgar, the giant bat, the shark man or the blond woman. In fact, the battlefield outside the inn was replaced by a bustling street full of bustling people. They seemed startled at first by their sudden appearance, but quickly recovered and went on with their business.

"My pardons sir. I was running some errands, setting appointments and retrieving some of your more valued possessions when I saw the smoke and fire on the hill. Knowing your penchant for finding trouble, I quickly returned and saw the melee that you were involved in," explained Nahbob with an uncomfortably executed wink.

Javindar nodded. Normally he would smack his servant for his too familiar of a gesture, but he felt Nahbob's timely actions earned him a reprieve. Instead, he turned his attentions to the Baroness and saw that she was badly bruised but breathing steadily.

"Retrieving my posessions? Here? In this city of outlaws?"

"Yes sir. The Golden Eagle, it made port slightly after we did."

"I see..."

"By the way sir, an excellent choice. Pretty, but her light blue hair and gothic dress makes her definitely exotic. If you are in a foreign port, it seems reasonable to go for someone exotic. She looks very clean as well. I would have chosen her for you myself, but I did not think you desired the company. I only spoke in jest when we discussed this last."

"Eh? What are you talking about?" asked Javindar as he struggled to talk with his broken ribs.

Nahbob looked confused. He looked at the Baroness and then at Javindar and then the Baroness again. "Errr…if she's not a courtesan, than who is she?"

"Baroness Stille at your service, though my friends call me Sharliss. Since your dramatic rescue, I consider the both of you in that category now. I am the sage that Sampada had contacted," said the pretty woman with the light blue hair as she sat up from her prone position. "Since you are obviously her companions, where is Sammy? I long to see her again."