He did not feel the urge to sleep. As he lay down on the cold hard ground, his troubled mind was sharp and he mulled over the details regarding Nijon, Lyra had given him in their conversation. He had probed as much as he could all the while appearing curious as a tourist might, concealing his true intentions.  Teaching her how to use a dagger was, however, awkward. Altair thought, at then, that he had gotten himself into a predicament he did not want to be in, but Lyra learnt fast, more so than normal, as if she had prior knowledge of dagger wielding. Interesting, but nothing worth questioning about, not now at least.

Other matters were more pressing to him at this moment.

The Yakuza she spoke about, if they were the underground unit in Nijon, was his way in and to acquire information. Talia Raven would have ties with them, which much he was sure of. If Nijon was indeed the place she resided in, her name, or a moniker would at least be known and a high chance she was the only non-looking oriental, if not, one of a few in the country. Finding her should not be too difficult.

Talia, I am coming for you soon. Can you forgive me? After all these years…

A loud rustling in the forestry nearby followed by the loud sound accompanying the fall of someone’s body hitting the ground hard broke Altair out of his reverie. Springing to his feet, he heard Myrnal shout, her voice impatient and clear as the early morning dew.

Demetri’s resting place was further from him and he hoped silently that the half-elf knew to follow. He bounded towards the sound of weapons clashing, his own sword gripped tightly in his right hand.

“Stay here!” He shouted at Lyra whom had moved to answer Myrnal’s call almost instinctively.

He rushed past her in a blur and broke through the clearing before disappearing into the forest. His eyes took moments to adjust and he could make out the figures of men falling out of the darkness swarming around Myrnal. He bent down and retrieved his stiletto from the boot and inched closer to them.

Myrnal seemed to be holding her own but he was not sure if she could keep this up.

Let’s not find out shall we?

With expert aim, the stiletto sliced through the air with a whistling silence and found itself impeded in the forehead of an attacking assailant. As the man let out a gurgled scream before falling to the ground, dead before touching it, the others stopped and turned in his direction.

Altair moved into his fighting stance, sword gripped in two hands held to his right, his eyes locked with Myrnal, giving her an assuring nod.

His lips turned into a scowl and a loud guttural roar escaped his throat.

Altair charged.

Myrnal blinked at his words, and he renewed his assault with enthusiasm. It wasn't until she put two and two together that she realized what was going on.

Impossible! How in the hell could he possibly be out here? Was he hired to kill Minshara? she wondered. Unfortunately she didn't have time for more detailed pondering as she was driven back on her heels by her enemy. Her position was complicated by the fact that every time she had to dodge a strike from Aishigara she was moving into the range of another assailant. The only mitigating factor was that they had some trouble telling one ninja from another in the darkness. Every now and again they took a swing for Kikuchi and he was forced to dodge as well.

Myrnal moved to swing for the man behind her, but she would have left an opening for Aishigara and they both knew it. He struck forward in anticipation, and she had to choose between a fist and a blade. She chose to dodge Aishigara and couldn't avoid the retaliatory blow from the man behind her. The force of it drove her back several paces and knocked the wind from her lungs.

She gasped and shook her head violently to clear it as the man who'd struck her fell with a dagger in his face. She ducked to the ground during the moment of distraction and took another moment to catch her breath. She took a quick shot at the moving legs of other combatants, and was not surprised to find herself missing. No big deal. With luck someone else was qualified to fight besides Altair and her.

She straightened her right leg, leaning over her bent left knee. Straightening her left leg, she pushed herself off the ground and used her outstretched right leg to pull herself forward another pace. She swung in front of her with one blade, slashing across at Aishigara's chest level. He was forced to step back to preserve the integrity of his chest cavity.

Once she had her current enemy moving in the opposite direction, Myrnal took a few hasty steps over to Min. An orc turned away from the group to follow her. She stopped between him and Min and told him in Goblin, a tongue closely related to his own, "She isn't theirs, she's mine, you impotent f#$%, and you'll have to get through me."

He lunged forward and she ducked under his arm as he reached for Minshara. Then Myrnal disappeared.


Aishigara lifted himself to a vantage point in a tree adjacent to his enemy. Maybe his teachers had been right and it would be wise to take his time. He watched his rival step between the girl he'd been eyeing and a hired arm they had brought with them. He couldn't help but smile as the orc stood up and waited for the meaning of this situation to soak through his thick skull into his brain.

The stupid beast actually assumed she had fled. Aishigara snorted in disgust.

"Heh. Well that was quick," the orc muttered to himself. He advanced on Minshara and reached out a hand only to see a streak of black dart between the two of them. Blood sprayed across Myrnal's body as her blade ground against bone and the orc's hand fell to the leafy earth.

Aishigara grinned. Once again... in another life we could have been really something. But ah well. Two potential delights eliminated in one night. These things happen, he thought to himself.


"Now you understand," Myrnal continued in Goblin. She knew what he was thinking. Claim the females to dishonor the males. It would be obvious to them that she and Minshara belonged to Altair and Demetri, and as far as Myrnal was concerned they could not be farther from the truth. "Touch her and I will skin you alive and wear you while you watch me kill your comrades."

Not to be deterred by threats or the pain they promised, he lurched forward and Myrnal ducked down on her heels and held her ground until he was towering over her. She leaned back and heaved her dagger up through the air. He jerked back instinctively, so the blade that should have gone deep into his neck at the base of his chin just clipped his jaw and carved up through his nose.

He took a reflexive step backward, and Myrnal used the room to stand and take a pace forward, and in one smooth motion caught the dagger she'd thrown and whipped her body around to give her next strike the full momentum of a spin behind it. It left her open for a moment, but there was no such thing as a defensive fight against orcs. At least not a survivable one.

As her backhanded thrust drove down into the orc's chest-- it being about as high as Myrnal could reach on this fellow-- she felt the bite of a blade across her back.

Kikuchi, she realized dimly.

She felt its sting, and then the warmth of blood. She recoiled from the pain and inadvertently threw her whole weight behind the force of her stabbing motion, and found herself sprayed with blood again from the ragged end of his wrist as he tried to keep his balance.

She held tight to the handle of her dagger to brace herself and pulled it downward, angling the blade up and using his ribcage for leverage as she viciously tore into him with her expanding katar. She thrust it up under his ribs and when she clenched her hand the blades snapped open, tearing through his flesh and ripping open what was likely his diaphragm.

He may have needed that, she thought with no small note of satisfaction. As the orc fell, Myrnal yanked his body to the side to form improvised cover between her and the direction of her presumed assailant. Sure enough, as soon as the two hit the ground, a dagger embedded itself in the dying orc's back.

"Heh. It seems that old invert did teach you a thing or two, Minaru-chan," Aishigara said as he dropped from a tree.

Myrnal sat up on her heels and with both arms yanked her blades out of her previous opponent and stood. "Watch your f#$%ing mouth, Kikuchi-kun." He sneered as she mimicked his informal address. "Or I'll have to pin that tongue to the roof of your mouth until you can use it civilly."

"Oh, that's right," He said, the grin under his mask stretching his words until Myrnal could hear it where she stood. "A little sensitive are we?"

Myrnal stayed on her side of the orc and threw her returning dagger straight for Kikuchi. He bent back and to one side to allow it to crack harmlessly into the tree behind him. His amusement faded when he turned back to face Myrnal and found that she'd vaulted the body between them and had closed the distance while he was distracted.

She was starting to lose control again and she knew it. She could feel it. She slammed her forearm across his neck and he stumbled back, choking. She drove him up against the tree and by the time he recovered she had reared back and brought her katar crushing through his ribs, cracking them with the force of her strike. She leaned close to the side of his head so only he could hear her. "Next to that old invert, you're nothing." He coughed, the harsh sound rattling in his lungs. and she threw him down to the ground.

She pulled her arm back to finish him when one of his allies cracked her over the back of the head with...with something. She couldn't tell. She staggered forward, her vision momentarily darkening, and turned to face him. She was denied her kill for now, but hopefully not for long.


Aishigara could feel his lungs bringing in blood from his injury every time he inhaled. He'd seen this kind of sucking chest wound on other men, and they seldom lasted long. Their lungs filled with blood and eventually collapsed. His allies had no reason to retrieve him. He'd be left here, just as he'd left so many of his own comrades behind.

He brought a hand weakly to his chest and rolled over onto his injured side, hoping to block the wound with his weight if nothing else. It would only buy him time, though. There was no one to heal him and if his old rival never finished him off, he would live his last minutes in the dirt.

His last foggy conscious moments were spent watching Myrnal turn to tear into her next opponent. She had totally abandoned all efforts at defense. He could read in the savagery of her strikes that blood was all she saw. Now she had his, too. In that sense it was fitting. Finally that woman truly had taken everything from him. He was left with nothing.

These thoughts melted into darkness as Aishigara could no longer cough up enough blood to keep it out of his lung. A pair of hands grabbed the unconscious man's shoulders and pulled him away from the fight and after that he knew nothing more.

They were easy pickings once their subterfuge was compromised. Having been forced out into the open, their assailants belie their profession’s code and instead, chose to assault the small party with strength in numbers. Cutting off their flanks, the stronger ones came in straight and most seemed to have Myrnal in sight. Slightly startled at this, Altair, however, did little to show any interest as he sprung to her aid.

He had wished, however, that he had the time to ensure that Lyra was at least, decently protected and as he engaged with one of the attackers, from the corner of his eye, he saw Lyra in battle with a masked man. Cursing, he hoped that he would not let down on his promise to Myrnal to keep the young herbalist safe.

As his stiletto found its way into the man’s skull, Altair’s momentary distraction had allowed both him and Myrnal to force the fight out into the open.

His blade clashed violently with the blade of one of the attackers, sparks flying from where their weapons kissed. He railed on the man, swinging expertly despite the ninja’s obvious talent for sword fighting, managed to overpower him easily. Knocking the sword out of his hands, Altair thrust his blade through the chest of the man.

A slight sounds behind him and immediately, he pulled the blade free and whirled around, the black metal swinging over his head and cutting into flesh before his eyes registered.

But his senses had reassured him.

The head of another ninja fell to the ground with a loud thud, the blood squirting from the gaping wound and the body fell alongside.

The chaos wrapped around them like a malevolent storm but none fell prey to its onslaught. He saw Demetri leaping to the aid of Lyra before bounding off towards him. Myrnal had slaughtered what looked like the leader of this rabble and before him lay the bodies of two fallen ninjas one of whose head stared at him with screaming eyes.

Looking up to survey the carnage, Altair took the time to physically account for the other three, a habitual piece of motion he picked up from his days in the military.

He saw Lyra standing forlorn furthest from them with a visibly shaken Lurkin nearby. Demetri inspected the bodies, making sure they were dead while Myrnal stood at the foot of her fallen prey. She turned briefly and he nodded towards her.

This battle was a test, in most areas to see how well they worked as a unit under harsh conditions and Altair was genuinely surprised at how easily they dispatched their attackers. Still, this was no time to be complacent.

“Gather your things, we need to move, now,” Altair barked, his voice loud and the order was clear. It came naturally to him, the moment to take charge of the situation before it sunk into all of them where it could only swell.

“Our location has been compromised, they know where we are headed. Others will surely come. Our best chance of survival would be to venture deeper into the forest, staying on course still,” Altair said, "Lurkin, you will have to guide us through this. My apologies, I wished I did not have to put you in the face of further harm,"

Lurkin nodded silently. Altair guessed the man was making peace with himself. He was sure he had seen a few fights in his day but still, some people were just not born for battle.

He had hoped that this fight had done little to dampen their spirits, particularly that of Lyra. He had only moments before the fight, taught her how to wield a dagger and despite her incredible proficiency at using it without previous expertise, he had hoped she’d have more time to practice before being put cruelly to test.

But such things would have to wait. They were alive for now and that was all that mattered. He moved quickly to gather his equipment and sheathing his blood soaked weapons in their respective places, proceeded to help them quicken their pace.

"...wh...are y....what a...d...ng...."

The words reached Aishigara as if being spoken out of synch by thirty men a hundred paces away... underwater.

What?

He tried to inhale and the sharp motion caught in his wound and sucked blood into his lung. If he stayed upright he'd drown in his own blood. He tipped himself to the right and let himself fall tot he dirt where he could clear his lungs. The crackling bubbly sound of his coughs garbled his attempts at speaking, and when he had recovered sufficiently from his attempt at breathing, he stared down into the dust and slowly took in small sips of air to keep himself awake.

"Ai..." He closed his eyes. This wasn't going to work. He shouldn't be speaking. "...shiga.....ra--" The last syllable was nearly lost under another wracking, desperate series of coughs and he lost consciousness again.


When the last of them fell and the sound of the struggle died away, Myrnal was jolted back to her senses by the sound of Altair's voice ordering them to keep moving. She nodded dumbly and flicked an indifferent glance at Minshara before wiping the blood off of her knives onto her sleeves. Better that her clothes be stained than that her knives be dirty. If nothing else, Myrnal was still a collector.

Myrnal reached up and pulled the mask and hood from her head, letting her dark hair fall back around her face. She shoved the mask into her pack, certain that it had served its purpose but for now that peripheral vision would be a good trade.

She looked over her shoulder to see if Kikuchi Aishigara had died on his own while she was busy. She turned and saw blood... but no body. She cursed loudly and violently to find him gone. He had to be alive. She had gotten distracted and now he was still alive.

At least, if nothing else, he wouldn't be fighting anyone for a good long time, if ever. Not with what she'd done to his respiratory system. It wouldn't be functioning properly for a good while, and that was the way Myrnal liked it. If nothing else she had bought them time.

Myrnal slung her pack on by one strap, a position that was guaranteed to leave her with aching shoulders by the time the day was through, but the skin of her back was injured, and it was better to have aching muscles than an aggravated wound. Luckily, Minshara was physically unharmed, and Altair seemed all right as well. Demetri looked like hell, and no amount of stoicism was really going to hide that.

"Y'know, Lyra," Myrnal mentioned, "I'd really recommend-- I mean, if you've got the time, that you have a look at Demetri. He's bleeding down his leg and in my highly-uneducated opinion this is what we in the business call--" Myrnal made quotation marks with her fingers. "--not good."

"We can stop for a few minutes for that, I think." It wasn't a suggested change of itinerary, and her tone made that clear. They were stopping no matter what anyone thought, and the worst-wounded of them would be seen to if Myrnal had to do it herself. She may have personally disliked the smartmouthed little punk, but he was an ally and she'd gone further for allies she hated far more. No reason to change that now.

Larkin also deserved an answer. "Sorry about all this, man. The long and short of it is that my acquaintance here wants to go home. There are... apparently people who want to stop her, and I take issue with them. As a result, things become violent very quickly as a result of flaring tempers and general violent tendencies on both sides. You know how it goes. I don't need you to die for anything. This is just a job for you; it doesn't mean anything for you. If we can, we'll try and keep this from hitting you too hard. Just... be prepared for us to fail, is all."

Myrnal glanced over to Larkin to give him a shrug. "Don't know what else to tell you." She dropped her backpack on the ground and waited for Minshara with one hand shoved deep into her pocket. Now that she had a moment to think clearly, this all felt like it was going horribly wrong. She hadn't even thought about Aishigara in months. Nearly...

Damn. It's been over two years since I started doing this s#$^, hasn't it?

There wasn't much time for reminiscing, though. Myrnal was nearly twenty two, or so she guessed. She'd started all of this when she was nineteen or twenty. On the one hand, it wasn't surprising she'd gotten sucked into all this, but on the other... it was a miracle she was still alive.

She'd lived long enough to make a few enemies, though. At least, it would seem that she had. It wasn't something she considered often. It seemed like such a strange and high-profile item to collect: enemies. Much better to be ignored until it was too late by people who would never live to cause problems.

Not going to be possible here, though. She could sense that much. There was a serious chance that her enemies would become Minshara's enemies, and Myrnal couldn't in good conscience add to the dangers facing her travelling partner. She sighed. Certain things had to be said, and Myrnal was not looking forward to it.

"Hey. Lyra," Myrnal called. "When you're done with the others, I need to borrow you for a second."

"I'll be with you in a minute," Min replied, her voice uncharacteristically hoarse, hurting from the grip the bastard gave her. The fingermarks were clearly visible on her neck, five deep red impressions branded upon the fair skin, clenching viciously at her windpipe. Other than that and the expected bruises, she had escaped this incident unscathed.

She checked the guide first. Larkin seemed fine, except for a few bruises and scratches. "Nothing a little muscle balm won't fix," she told the wincing man, as her fingers skillfully kneaded the bruised flesh to prevent blood clots and further swelling. "Let me know if it acts up,"

Altair gave her the signal that he was unharmed and needed no medical attention, leaving her to deal with Mr. Ferrinex.

"Myrnal says you're bleeding from the leg," her injured voice barely managed a whisper, "You should let me take a look at it... I'm sure its nothing but just in case, especially when it's my fault all of this has happened."

Min gestured for Demetri to lean against something, so that she might get a closer look. Myrnal was right - the cut was more of a slash, running five inches wide and a few inches in depth. Any deeper, she shuddered as she imagined the tip of the knife grating against his bone. Speaking of the knife, she cast a forlorn look at the empty sheath still attached to her own hip. The group would not walk back just to help her find it. She had not considered how much it meant to her and found it frustrating that tears were welling up in her eyes, despite her best efforts to not be upset about the whole incident. Face it, Minshara... It's lost for good now. Who knows where the guy kicked it to. Angrily, she took a deep breath, wiped them away and composed herself before going back to Demetri.

"You're going to need stitches. Otherwise, it won't close with all this moving around." she cautioned. "Wait here and please, don't move."

She spent a few minutes going through her backpack and retrieved some clean bandages, needle and thread and a small case of antiseptic ointment and a capsule containing a clear liquid. As the half-elf leaned, she wiped the wound clean and opened the capsule, releasing a slightly foul smell. "Its to help numb the pain," she explained as the liquid stung the flesh, numbing it moderately with a sudden cold sensation. "Now it won't hurt as much," her voice whispered once more. Sterilising the needle, she proceeded to close the wound, keeping her stitches as tightly and as neatly as she could, firmly holding on to the hip to keep a steady hand.

When it was finally done, she wrapped it with neat bandages - and almost smiled, seeing how familiar the situation was, only it was with Myrnal. "There," she patted her handiwork gently, and carefully pulled the waist of his pants back up to a more comfortable level.

Now that Demetri was taken care of, she stood up and walked over to Myrnal, wondering what it was her merc friend had to say.


One injured, the guide shaken and the Lady was obviously distressed. The opportune moment grows near, the scout decided. Taro would glad to hear of it.

Voice be damned, she decided.

Minshara's voice crackled and popped as she forced the words out. "You don't have to go all the way into Nijon with me. Just at the borders will be all right. There are ships that will bring you to wherever you wish to go. And if you're going to Tarsis, I need someone to pass the word to my folks that I'm still breathing."

She didn't know why she was snapping at Myrnal. It was the guilt, her head told her. The all-too familiar taste of it, swelling from within her, making her impulsive and downright stupid.

Lithe fingers rubbed her neck as she cleared her throat. "What I really mean to say is... you don't have to come if you don't want to. I'm glad you are. Always good to have someone watch over me, you know. If anything, I think I'm more of a liability than you are, at this point. So no worries on that note. I really apreciate you doing this for my parents and all... but I think you should reconsider walking into that country with me. I blend in, for once... and you can't go around walking with that ridiculous get up all day, every day... mask included, you know."

Min shrugged, something of Myrnal's gestured had rubbed off on her. "You know I can't stop you. You're stubborn as hell and mad to boot. So, thanks... if you're coming with me. Honest."

"Well, it is a jungle," Min countered. "He could have been dragged off by some scavenger or something... I mean, a hole in the chest. Who could survive that, right? Its a million to one chance, especially with all that blood. Its bound to attract something."

So says the woman who almost drowned... she replied herself.

Min nodded and sighed appropriately at the rest of Myrnal's words. It hurt to talk, she taste the blood when she swallowed. "It's all coming back slowly... I think," she pointed to her head. "Anyway," Min's voice was now raspy and unable to control its own volume. "I'm going to rest my voice. So, I'll be a little quiet till we reach Nijon."

The sheath at her hip looked at her forlornly as she sat down at the edge of the shadows. She had to find the dagger. It was more important to her now more than ever. Myrnal was going to think her insane and the rest would probably kill her for endangering them all... but it was something she just had to find. The sheer weight of its loss drowned her in a black void that she couldn't hope to fill unless she retrieved it. The end to all things lay in that weapon, she was sure of it now... dizzy with a sudden manic clarity.

She would wait, she decided. Till they were somewhat unaware of her and then slip away, hopefully unnoticed.