The trio heads for the door, waving goodbye to the waitress. Bridget walks outside and then jerks back, screaming, "Watch out!"
Three poison darts fly towards Bridget, and she turns around so the scales on her cloak act as an impenetrable shield. The trio runs toward the inn. Bridget spins back around to see a figure in black with a dagger ready to pounce.
"That's the man I saw earlier dressed in black back at the bar!" Slash says. "I knew there was something off about him."
"You know of the black market?" Bridget huffs. "I am sure this is one of their local enforcers. I heard rumors they sent one to the town to scope out potential scams they could execute."
The trio shields themselves from more darts as they back away.
"You messed with the wrong woman today, pal!" Bridget yells.
The evening summer breeze blows briskly across the stone road.
"You know when there is one, there is usually more!" Slash draws his sword and jumps in front of his wife to protect her.
Sodina puts out her hand and chants, "In the name of Goddess Astra, channel fire to burn this evil to a crisp!" A small flame blooms and grows bigger in Sodina's hand, ready to throw.
Bridget draws her axe from her hip. "Get ready!"
She runs toward the masked figure, swinging furiously at his head.
The masked figure jumps into the air and kicks Bridget in the face.
"Nice one, you creep." Bridget wipes away the blood from her lip. "It's going to take more than that to kill me. And I'm not alone this time!"
"Oh, I know," answers the masked figure. He clutches his dagger and lunges toward Bridget. Bridget spins around the blade; it hits the scales on the cloak. The blade snaps in half, and the masked figure jumps back.
"So, it is as they say," he spits. "That cloak is your powerful defense but besides that, you're nothing but a slow, beautiful fighter. You will never hit me with that giant axe of yours. Tell your friend back there to stop chanting. I will be gone before she can cast her spell."
Sodina calls a flame storm, and a massive fireball flies toward the masked figure.
Before it can hit its mark, the masked assassin jumps onto the rooftop of a nearby shop and disappears into the night.
"That bastard got away," Bridget growls, wiping more blood trickling from her mouth. "That makes me so mad. I usually get attacked at least once a month, but that assassin was something different. We're going to have to watch our backs from now on. I'm sure that isn't the last time we'll run into characters like that."
Bridget puts her axe back on her hip, looking around for anothe attack. "I think we are in the clear. You know what, Slash, you didn't even react! What were you doing?!"
"I was trying to protect Sodina as she was chanting to cast her spell."
"Oh, I see. Sorry to doubt you." Bridget chuckles softly. "I guess judged too quickly. I forget you're married."
She walks toward the inn and puts her hands behind her head. "You know, this town used to be much safer. Thugs and other groups have come in and supplied those with less money to join their cause. Eventually, there could be an uprising on the government's hands."
Sodina looks off into the distance and sees the inn coming into view see," she says as she takes Slash's hand in hers.
The spell took a lot out of her, and Slash is frustrated that it was for nothing.
"This two-story inn is one of the nicer ones in town," Bridget says.
She leads them through the doors of the inn.
Bridget walks to the counter and speaks with the manager. "The normal, please, Carol."
"Of course," Carol says, and Bridget smiles at her.
"You're pretty popular with everyone," Sodina notes.
"Well, I saved her son from bandits last year, so she insists on giving me a discount on the rooms." Bridget takes the keys from Carol and proceeds up the stairs. "You guys are in 201, and I am in 202, okay?"
"Thank you so much for everything, Bridget." Slash bows his head in gratitude.
"Before you go to bed, though, I want to tell you some of my stories."
Slash and Sodina follow Bridget into room 201, and they sit down at a wooden table built for four.
Bridget yawns, stretching wildly and gazing at couple. "Now that we have officially had our first fight together, you should know the lady behind the axe."
Month of Dragons
Day 12
The inns of Jerut are filled with the aromatic smell of wine, permeating the neat and mundane rooms of the old building. Bridget leans back in her chair and looks at Slash and Sodina with playful eyes.
"How much do you know about The Boarding School for Troubled Girls?" Bridget asks.
"Not much," Slash replies as Sodina stares at Bridget, puzzled by the question.
"The Boarding School for Troubled Girls is an academy for young women between the ages of fifteen and twenty, many of whom have been outcast by society. The Academy was founded by a rich duke who had a daughter who was possessed by a demon. The young woman was eventually exorcised by a priest of Astra.
"The duke later founded the Academy to help his daughter recover from the possession. He brought in the best scholars, priests, and rural workers, and put the university in the center of the four kingdoms so the travel time would be at an equal distance for everyone traveling," Bridget explains staring out the window. "It was twelve years ago. I can still remember every detail of it. Like a bitter taste in my mouth that won't go away no matter how much I drink. The pain, the smiles, the eyes of those who preyed upon my body. It was a part of my life that still claws against the back of my head."