The three men advanced, spreading out to block any chance of escape. The alley's brick wall pressed against my back, cold and unforgiving, its damp roughness scraping through the thin fabric of my tunic. The leader twirled his blade, a lazy, arrogant circle of steel that caught the dim light from the street.
"Lord Harren sends his regards," he said, his voice a low, contemptuous rasp. "He wants to know what a 'disgruntled merchant' is doing asking about his private shipments."
My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic, desperate drumbeat in the sudden, oppressive silence of the alley. Every instinct screamed at me to run, but there was nowhere to go. I forced a laugh, the sound scraping my throat, thin and reedy. "You think I'd give up my employer that easily?"
"Then we'll just have to convince you."
He nodded, a slight, almost bored motion. The hulking brute on his left lunged.
