Kardan's gaze was now fixated on the kugraw that had spoken up.
"You know somethin', one eye?" He asked with an accusatory tone. He marched up to the kugraw and practically shoved his face into him.
"Name's Salvo, and I'm gonna need you to respect my personal space before I give you anything," the kugraw spat.
Kardan's lips curled into a snarl. "You wanna play games, funny guy?"
Salvo shrugged nonchalantly. "Only game I was lookin' to play was a bit of poker. But I'm happy to help you with this little predicament if you let me and these guys go."
Kardan took a step back. His eyes had a look of uncertainty. He appeared to be considering the kugraw's proposition. That, and something told him that despite the mess they'd made, none of these four were the one he was after.
"Tell you what. You bunch of no good rats are gonna help me find out why this irva is being sent to the morgue and who did it. In return, I won't send your asses to jail. How about that?"
The nox chuckled at his proposition. "On what evidence? You've got nothing on us bud."
Kardan raised his brow.
"That's funny. I didn't realise your bounty contract said you could walk into a casino and start blasting holes in the roof. Sounds like property damage to me. It also doesn't state you have the right to cause mass panic at a public place bucko. So if I were you I'd check your lips before you find yourself using them to bargain with the judge."
The nox's eyes narrowed slightly. He was backed into a corner and he knew it.
Unlike their counterparts, the mowlin and the vett'iri remained dead quiet.
There was a deafening silence that hung in the air as the group considered Kardan's offer. It didn't seem like there were many other ways out of this. Or at least, any ways that didn't involve them being sent to prison.
The kugraw once again stepped up. "Deal."
The mowlin's eyes widened as she heard his acceptance. This was not what she had come here for. So much for a quick smash and grab.
Kardan's sneer turned into a malicious smile as he nodded his head in affirmation. He raised his hand and waved at the group. As he did, a few guards came up behind them and unlocked all their cuffs.
"Thaaaank you!" the little vett'iri chirped, happy to be free.
The mowlin rubbed her wrists gently and grumbled as she realised what she'd just gotten herself into.
A guard approached and handed each of them a strange looking red bracelet.
"Here's what's going to happen. You're all gonna put one of these bracelets on so we know exactly where you are at all times. And before you even think of running away or breaking them off, they'll screech like a banshee if you either leave the Sabre or take them off. So we'll know exactly where you are at all times," Kardan explained.
They each took a bracelet without much hesitation aside from the nox, who took a little more convincing.
"C'mon blondie. Be a good boy and do as you're told," Kardan jested. Eventually the nox did as instructed, though he definitely wasn't happy about it.
"Hehe, 'blondie,'" the vett'iri giggled as she put her bracelet on.
"Something funny, short stack?" He growled.
"Yea, big bad Blondie," she laughed.
The nox snarled at her.
With each of their bracelets securely locked on, the guards began handing their weapons back to them. The mowlin hastily retrieved her ballistic handgun, inspecting it for any scratches or signs of misuse before she holstered it.
Blondie retrieved his rapier and rifle, sliding the latter onto his back and reloading his empty revolver. The guards made sure to keep an eye on him as he did so.
As they checked themselves over and began preparing for what came next, Kardan turned to the albino dahmak who was still inspecting the irvagaleni corpse.
"Oi, Angel. Over here," he ordered. The doctor looked up at him slightly before packing her tools away in her small bag and hurrying over to where she was needed.
"Alright. You lot listen closely because I'm only going to say this once. You're to find out why this irva was killed and how it happened. The building is your playground but if you take a single step outside, we'll know about it. You'll find the bastard who did this and immediately report back to me or one of the guards once you do, understood?"
"Yessir," the vett'iri exclaimed with excitement.
The others confirmed their understanding with a few nods.
"Good. Angel here will accompany you and provide a link to-"
"W-wait, what?" The doctor cut in.
Kardan turned around slowly. "You need me to repeat myself? You're going with them."
"B-but why? I'm not a guard? I'm jus-"
"And I'm the one who signs your paychecks darling. Now shut up and do as you're told or else you won't have any no more." He declared.
The doctor's face was filled with both confusion as well as fear. Her eyes were wide and her hands were trembling slightly. Why in the name of the architects was she being sent with them? She wasn't a soldier or a bounty hunter. Had Kardan lost his mind?
The nox made a noise with his nose that could only be described as a half-assed chuckle.
After feeling better about himself by talking down to the doctor, Kardan turned back to the group of bandits.
"You all are one click away from being sent to jail. Remember that."
He gave them all one last menacing glare before waving them away.
"Now get going."
The guards all fell back to the corners of the large open casino floor as Karden retreated to the security office in the back. The group were left to their own devices. They all looked around the place, none of them quite sure what to do. The nox looked like he was judging what would be the best way out of here. But he quickly deduced that would likely end badly for him. Then again, the others might make for good shields. Particularly the doctor. Would the guards fire on one of their own?
Before he could test his theory, the voice of reason that so often annoyed him decided that probably wasn't the best idea. A dahmak shield was cold, even for him.
"Well then. I guess we're a team now," the kugraw stated. His demeanour was rather chipper and he seemed largely unphased by the situation they found themselves in.
"What do we do first?" The vett'iri asked.
"My guess would be to find the room she fell from. Any ideas?" Salvo replied.
The quiet doctor gazed up at the wall of balconies that flanked the room.
"M-my guess would be floor five. Room 563. Looks to be the right height and it's directly above the body."
"Well, you heard the lady. Onwards and upwards!" The Salvo exclaimed. Before he could finish, the nox had already begun making his way over to the stairs.
"Any of you get in my way, I'll gut you. Clear?"
The vett'iri hopped up beside him.
"You frown too much! Lighten up Blondie!"
Without warning the nox suddenly spun around and grasped the vett'iri's throat. They were out of the guards' vision and so he was free to do as he pleased for the time being. He bared his teeth and pulled her so close she could smell his breath.
"Listen here you worthless pile of degenerating mould. You are the reason I'm here right now, you're lucky I don't split you in half from head to toe right here. If you'd never stuck your ass into my business, I'd be heading home with a hefty paycheck and there'd be one less criminal rat on this hell hole. You watch your mouth before you say something you'll regret."
His sudden outburst caught everyone off guard, even the vett'iri. The mowlin and dahmak both took a few steps back, the mowlin making sure her hand was close to her holster.
The kugraw's eyes lit up as he sensed yet another fight about to break out between the two. But after an intense staring contest, he reluctantly threw the young vett'iri aside. She fell to the floor with a heavy thud and gasped slightly as she rubbed her throat. A few coughs escaped her as she dusted herself off and rose back to her feet.
"Well how was I supposed to know you were a bounty hunter huh?" She was seemingly undeterred by the nox's threats.
He halted and slowly turned his head towards her.
"You could've asked," he stated.
After he'd taken a few more stairs the dahmak rushed over to the vett'iri and gently placed a hand on her shoulder to get her attention.
"Hey, you alright?" She whispered softly.
"Yea, yea. I'm fine. Been through a lot worse than a few empty threats," she said as she rubbed her neck.
However the doctor noticed her wincing slightly as she began to walk. "Uh... r-right. Look miss..."
"Vex," the vett'iri chirped.
"Miss Vex, I'm a doctor. Are you hurt?"
Vex shrugged her shoulders. "I mean, he poked me in the shoulder a little earlier but it's not that bad."
The doctor had noticed the small gash in her shoulder when she'd first seen her. She had figured there were more important things to attend to then. However, now was a good time to check it out.
"Is it ok if I take a look? I won't press on it or anything," the dahmak asked. Her voice was soft and soothing. There was a calming aura to her, one the vett'iri wasn't sure she'd ever seen before.
"Sure," she said as she lifted her coat to reveal a nasty looking puncture wound just below her right shoulder.
The doctor's eyes narrowed and she began to inspect it.
"Oi, what are you lot doing?" Blondie yelled from atop the staircase. Neither Vex nor the doctor paid him any attention though; instead Salvo replied.
"They're fixing up the small one. The hole you put in her to be precise!"
An audible groan escaped the nox as he turned around in frustration.
"You ok with me putting a small plaster over it? These wounds can get infected rather easily," the doctor explained.
"I mean if it helps, then sure," Vex replied. Her cheery demeanour seemed as resilient as she was.
"Ok, just hold your shirt here for me," the doctor reached down and began fiddling around in the small messenger bag she had slung across her body and pulled out a tiny plaster and a small sponge.
"This will sting a little, ok?" She warned. With very careful movements she began wiping away some of the blood that had leaked from Vex's wound. Her right hand was gentle in its movements while her left comforted Vex by holding her shoulder gently. Once the blood was cleaned off, she dabbed a bit of transparent gel onto the plaster and stuck it down on the wound. Vex squirmed a little as a sharp pain shot through her but it didn't last long.
"There you go. Now, that probably will need a few stitches to properly fix up, but until then the plaster will hold," her smile was soft and warm, much like her speech. There was something about her that just radiated comfort.
"Sweet, thanks doc!" Vex beamed. The doctor replied with a quick nod and a warm smile.
"You lot done making out? Can we go now?" Salvo jested.
The doctor's nervous frown quickly returned to her face as he heard Salvo's words. Vex was the only one she didn't fear right now. And even then, she wasn't sure if the vett'iri was going to turn on her either. Still, she marched on with the rest of the group.
Atop the large staircase, Blondie awaited them anxiously.
"You lot are slower than politicians," he grumbled.
"Well yea, we were fixing up the holes you made!" Vex stated. Blondie simply sneered and continued walking, making sure he was in front of the crowd.
With a little more spring in her step now that the pain had died down, Vex turned her attention over to the mowlin who had been rather silent throughout their ordeal so far.
"So then, you got a name?"
The mowlin turned to her, a rather confused look on her face.
"Why do you care?"
"Oh well, you know I was just going to call you 'mowlin' this whole time but that felt kinda rude," she joked.
The mowlin let out a small chuckle.
"Fair point. Look... you can just call me Ava, ok?"
Vex gave her a warm smile.
"Ava it is!"