Breaking Point. (PmForEntrance/GarnetPromo)

[Garnet]

Garnet awoke, and found himself in a darkened room. Or that's what he thought at first. Soon enough, however, he realized that things were moving. He wasn't stationary.

The merc sat up and immediately noticed that his armor and weapons... And boots too, were gone. At least he was left with his clothes. He also noticed that he seemed to be riding in the back of a wagon.... in a sturdy wooden cage no less....

"Ahh... you're awake." It was the woman in the slinky outfit, from the alleyway. Her sultry voice carried over the turn of the wheels. He could see her face sauntering closer through the bars. "The profilers were right about you.... Chivalrous. Chivalrous enough to not suspect me in our trap."

Her face quickly turned to disgust, turning to a smile at the last moment.. "I hope it's not stupidity anyway.... I do so enjoy breaking the white knights...."

Garnet couldn't help but be a bit disgusted with himself. Somehow, this charlatan and her compatriot had managed to catch him off guard, and now where was he? He felt thirsty, but not enough to have been out for long. He'd still be in Sacae.

"You know, it was a stroke of luck that I even recognized you, Garnet, Dear. When you left Etruria, after making all of the crimelords, and the nobles as well, mad at you for your actions.... I didn't think I'd get the chance to show you my charms.... We were even more Fortunate that you came outside when you did. It made things far simpler...." Her smile looked like it had been twisted from pure evil, as far as Garnet was concerned.

She obviously wasn't very good though, or hadn't dealt with any sharp witted people before. Garnet new interrogation techniques. You never ever gave the prisoner hope. He'd already identified something that he could use to mess with her.

The redheaded merc cleared his throat a bit, grinning definantly back through the bars at the woman.

"So, what you're saying is that you caught me through nothing more than a stroke of luck. Just how long do you think your luck will hold, Sister? If I can kill Lord Carlyle and get away with it, then busting out of here and dealing with you won't be much trouble."

"As skeptical as I am about your abilities, we've thought of that. Your armor and arms are locked in a chest, and Myself and my... friend are the only ones who are armed here."

If they had specifically locked up his gear, with him locked in a prison on wheels, then they must take him more seriously than he'd thought. That or his captors used a no risk policy...."Where are you taking me?"

"Hahaha....Wouldn't you like to know. I think I'll just leave you to wait for now, though. Don't want to spoil the surprise."

And with that, she left the back of the wagon, dropping nimbly to the ground, and walking around towards where he assumed the front was. He was left with only his thoughts. Thoughts of Elias mostly. And Tirion as well.... His supplies were still in the inn room, and there they would likely stay.... Until someone else picked them up and headed off with them, at least. Mostly, he just tried to go to sleep. There would be plenty of time for thinking of his future later....

[Garnet]

Garnet received no more visits that evening, but the next day, he awoke with a different captor present. It was a man. A large one at that. He went around shirtless, but he hardly needed one. The muscles on his upper body rippled in the ink of tattoos of many sorts. They ranged from the names of his "one true loves", to mythological creatures, to skulls, and back through the whole gamut of styles again. This was probably the one that had clubbed him, the merc realized.

"What are you supposed to be, Freakshow? A painters easel?"

The large man only bared his teeth in an aggressive smile, and threw the cup of water he held all over Garnet. Then he left. That was all the water the red-headed swordsman received that day.

- - - - -

Over the next few days, the caravan continued. He saw other wagons being pulled, and heard snatches of conversation, and figured that they were slavers, heading for Etruria. By and large, slavery was still illegal in Etruria as far as he knew, but that didn't mean that no one would make use of slaves, given the situation in the world. Perhaps the more preferred term was forced laborers, or something a little less blatantly evil sounding.... It didn't make a difference. He gathered that he was considered "special cargo", however. They must have picked up on his bounty after all.

There were a few things he was thankful for. Not thankful to his captors for, mind but glad about none the less. He was given enough water each day, provided he didn't anger the person giving it to him. He was also let out for a few minutes each morning, and allowed to relieve himself. This was something that he'd not expected, but Slinky made some kind of flippant comment about it one time. "I'd really prefer to avoid having to wash you up, handsome."

Slinky. That was his pet name for the woman. She always seemed to insist on calling him handsome. Sometimes he wondered if she really found him handsome, or if she just said that as a matter of habbit. It didn't really matter. She was an enemy, and not a very nice one. He woke up one day to her prodding him with a stick she'd found. Where she'd gotten it on the plains, he'd never know, but eventually, he'd tired of her game, ripped it out of her hands, and snapped it in two. She'd only muttered a quiet "Interesting...." and left, leaving him feeling as if he'd played directly into her hands. She'd been studying him, and waiting for his reaction.

Freakshow.... He came by occasionally. He wasn't quite as talkative as Slinky was though. Actually, he never talked. He just would show up and leave, taking little time to do whatever he had come to do.

Pencil-Pusher was always there when Garnet was let out. The man always carried a book with him, which was how Garnet picked the name, however, it was no ordinary book. The man was a shaman, and ha demonstrated his power by using a pair of dark tendrils to rip apart the demonstration item they'd chosen. In this case, a wooden crate.

There were also a few other grunts. Garnet just called them all the same name: Grunty.... Much to their annoyance. He'd even gotten one of them to hit the cage in frustration. Garnet had laughed when he heard the man's knuckles break, and the cursings the man had let loose. Needless to say, he'd not been back since. Which amused Garnet to no end....

That was all he really had to do in his confines. Take pleasure in the small victories he was granted, try to remember what it felt like to stand up straight. He certainly intended to give them a chance to beat him up though. He wasn't going to get taken in without giving some kind of fight. He was content to wait for now, but he realized that he couldn't count on things staying the same. He had to act soon.

[Garnet]

The next morning wasn't spent as comfortably as the previous days. Instead, it was spent nursing several bruises and a burn mark on his side.

It happened like this.

Garnet made his move that morning, when he was let out by Pencil Pusher and Grunty. He behaved normally until he was about to be put back into the wagon, at which point he appeared to stumble forward. Stiff, yet effective muscles seized hold of Grunty, and lifted the man clean off the grassy carpet and into Pencil Pusher. The sounds they made as they crashed to the ground.... Mmm... Priceless. Especially to a man who'd been cooped up in a cage by them for around half a week or more.

Running over them, the red-headed merc kicked Pusher's book away from him and sprinted off aiming to escape into the... wide open fields. No place to run. No place to hide. Garnet stopped, seeing another one of the Grunties running after him. Pretty much all he could do was try and fight them all off, which seemed like suicide, or try and steal a horse. Unfortunately, he couldn't see any that were not hitched to a wagon, so it looked like suicide was his best option.... That was just an expression, right?

The Grunty reached him, and swung an ax at the mercenary. Garnet's reaction was to simply lean back and allow the deadly weapon to pass by in front of him. Once it was safely past, he drove straight in, aiming his open palm at the bandit. The red-headed swordsman reflected that the ax wielder had seemed like he'd been waiting for Garnet to strike.

Blood spewed forward, as the merc felt the cartilage crack under his hand. Very little actually got on the swordsman, considering how much came out of the man's shattered nose. A second punch thrown to the center of the man's shattered face permanently ruined his visage, and possibly killed the man.

"Yeowch!" The Etrurian sword wielder looked down at his fist, where he'd felt a sharp and piercing pain, and spotted what seemed to be a tooth. Or, a tooth fragment. Or, a few tooth fragments. Quickly, he brushed the white.... well, ok brown flakes down and out of his hand.

The first Grunty was up, and had pursued him with the third Grunty all the way out to where the Mercenary waited for them. The first to attack lifted his axe in an overhand swing, attempting o bring it down into the mercenary, but Garnet was already moving. It was a simple matter for him to simply reach up, and stop the movement of the axe, but a slightly more complex maneuver to place his leg directly in the bandit's path. He did both with style, sending the man sprawling. The next attacker was a little smarter, and approached without using his weapon in a wide, predictable swing. Instead, he jabbed it forward, trying to hit the mercenary with the blunt end of the axe head. Swinging his fist, Garnet succeeded in knocking the axe to the side just long enough for him to close with and take the man down to the ground.

Garnet's fists, bloodied and sore by now from so many impacts, unloaded on the bandit who was busy trying to protect his head. Pain lanced through the mercenary's side and the back of his head as Grunty 2... or was it 3?... 1? it didn't matter. One of the Grunts began taking kidney shots at the swordsman, until Garnet pulled the bandit over his shoulder, and smashed him down on the already prone brigand. A flash of light started in front of the battered mercenary, and Garnet realized that Pencil Pusher had joined them, and was sending a stream of fire at the group. It wasn't anywhere as Flashy as Elias' flames, but that didn't mean it wasn't dangerous.

Using what was at hand, the desperate merc pulled one of the brigands up and leaned flat back on the ground, using the man as a human shield. Both of the bandits and Garnet as well, howled in pain as the flames seared over them. The only thing Garnet was able to stay consciously aware of was the sizzling that he could hear coming from his side. His vest and shirt were burned away as the skin was scorched.

Eventually, the blaze stopped, and Garnet passed out. Hours later, he awoke, somewhat tended, thankfully, but far from whole....

[Garnet]

"Well.... You certainly put up a fight. I was almost disappointed that it took so long, but I see that the waiting paid off in the end."

The mercenary looked up from his uncomfortable position on the floor of his cage, and saw Slinky on the other side of the bars. She had one leg crossed over the other, her fingers laced around part of her knee, holding it in place. As always, the dress she was wearing flattered her form, but with this one, he couldn't help noticing her strong arms, bared as they were. The slit up the side of her dress revealed a pair of equally powerful legs. She was no mere prostitute or a simple slaver. This woman was used to more athletic actions than what the merc had originally expected. She was an assassin, or some kind of rogue, or something.

"You know, between you and your 'Pencil-Pusher', you managed to kill off all of the hired help. Your punches and his flames.... It's just the three of us now, which is why I'm here." She stood up, and smiled seductively at the mercenary. She was a beauty, and she knew it. She was almost good enough to cause Garnet to forget what she was.... Almost.

"I'm... prepared to make a deal with you, in exchange for one... small... service." Garnet was wary of her (he had no reason to even listen to her), but it wasn't like he had much room to protest. Besides.... This had the feel of something advantageous to him. The merc exhaled sharply at the pain from his scorched side, as he shifted to not be groveling in torment during the proceedings.

"I guess I could stand to wait around a few minutes for you, Gorgeous. Consider me a captive audience."

"I'm glad to see you're so amicable, after being subjected to our hospitality... My bargain is this. You have a price on your head. 1000 gold, however, I believe that you could be worth far more to me than mere coins. Especially after that combat demonstration yesterday."

"You want me to be your champion?"

"Champion.... I like the sound of that, and yet it feels so foreign." She scurried to the edge of the wagon and glanced around until, apparently satisfied that no one else was in the area, she returned. "I was thinking enforcer, but champion would do. Hear me through please"

Garnet was careful to keep his expression under control. She apparently had something in mind, and that something could be useful for him.

"Sten- You call him Freakshow." She smiled an amused grin as she said Garnet's name for the man. "He's the one holding us together. He's the boss man. The thing is, I think that I could do better without him, which is where you come in." She looked... eager to the swordsman, the way she rubbed her hands together. He waited, trying not let himself get impatient for the rest of the story.

"I could leave, or Pencil-Pusher could, but Sten would hunt us down and kill us for betraying him. I need... someone like you to deal with him."

"You think I could outfight that thing?"His voice was a bit incredulous. Garnet remembered the muscles covering the man's body. He seemed almost like a monster more than he did a man, to go by mannerisms.

The woman's voice turned ice cold, and insistent. "Listen to me! I've had it with being that man's plaything. His distraction. Nothing more than a tool...." There was a layer of disgust becoming evident in her voice, and greed. Hunger for power. Perhaps that was it. "I will bring you an elixir which should heal you, later tonight. The Druid will be guarding you, and I'll kill him. Then I'll set you free, and we'll kill Sten.... If you try to leave without making sure Sten is dead, I'll wake him up myself. You got that?"

Garnet didn't like that he'd lost his say in this matter, but it was likely that he'd be able to get himself free tonight. That was worth something. He breathed out a short breath, deciding to put his trust, however slight, in this woman's greed.

"Just make sure that the mage is dead."

[Garnet]

The hours passed slowly for the mercenary, now that he had a fixed point of time to wait for.... Actually, they'd gone slowly before as well. When all you had to do was sit and look out the back of a shack on wheels, time was altered into a slowly crawling, creeping mess, which eventually all blurred together. That wasn't going to be the case for long though. The merc tried to do something productive. Stretch. Sleep. Anything to better his chances tonight. That Freakshow wasn't one to go down easily.

They stopped for the night, both wagons grinding to a halt. He could just see some of the first stars (at least of the ones within view out the back of the wagon) beginning to twinkle in the night sky. There was a slight shifting noise, and Garnet saw Pencil-Pusher stick his head in the wagon, and look around before the man climbed up and into the structure.

"You know, I enjoyed burning you the other day, but I think there's some payback that I'll enjoy even more." The hooded man's voice had a very whispy quality to it, the mercenary noted. He sounded like he spent a good deal of time whispering. That didn't affect the level of hostility dripping from his speech, though.

"Have you ever heard of a Nosferatu Tome? I won't bore you with the details, but it's supposed to deliver an exquisite sort of pain. All the while, you can feel your life ebbing away... and being transferred to me."

As far as Garnet knew, this wasn't in the plan. He was starting to get apprehensive now. The Druid had already shown himself capable of scorching the swordsman within an inch of his life. Now he wanted to suck him dry of.... life? Garnet was unsure of what all of it was about, but he knew he didn't want to be a part of it.

His fears were unfounded, as it turned out. Just as the robed man drew out a rather large and sinister looking tome, he grunted, and went stiff. Garnet could see a crimson coated blade protruding from his throat, before he turned and faced the smaller shadow who was behind him. A moment later, a second crimson blade sprouted from the back of his hood, and garnet saw a flash of tanned skin as a booted leg gave a hard kick to the handle embedded in the druid's throat. The robed man didn't even fall over backwards, as the mercenary saw a pair of hands reach from the darkness and gently lower the body to the ground, creating little more noise than if he'd taken a seat.

"Slinky!" Despite his mistrust of the assassin woman, he was relieved she'd gotten there in time.

"Quiet down. Sten isn't onto us yet, and we don't need you alerting him." She quickly produced a set of keys, and went to work on Garnet's cage with them.

"And I much preferred "Gorgeous"." She sounded miffed by his use of the word. Of course, it had been meant as an insult, but it was also true. She opened the cage door, and shoved a bottle of something into his hands. "Drink this."

Garnet did as instructed. It tasted foul and made his eyes water, but he recognized the smell as a certain concoction that his fellow guards had made use of at one time. It was an elixer of some sort, magical by nature probably. He could already feel energy coursing through his body as he finished it. He also felt his side stop hurting quite so bad. That was a blessing.

"If you don't like the name, you shouldn't dress like that. Or give me a name to call you by," he answered as he stood up. She was probably still expecting him to come along with her after this. Now that he was out, he saw no need to just go along with those plans, but it couldn't hurt him to play the part.

She frowned at him with her eyes for a moment before rolling her eyes. "I thought Gorgeous fit just fine, but you may call me Wylia. That's one name I've gone by before...."

He took a moment to twist and stretch, before looking down at his combination rescuer/captor-ess. "Where's my gear. I have a giant to kill."

"Glad to see you're so ready, but there's some trouble. Sten took the key for the chest with your weapons away from this set. It's probably with him."

"Just don't get in my way, and everything will be fine."

The mercenary didn't care. He felt brimming with energy, and was sure he could handle this Sten. Then he thought of the possibility that it was the elixer talking, and decided to at least try to be a bit more cautious.

[Garnet]

A bellow unlike any the mercenary had heard before came from outside the wagon, and then there was a heavy impact. One side of the wagon lurched downward violently, throwing himself and Wylia to the floor in a tangle. It felt like the wagon wheels had been broken away from the structure. Garnet shoved the woman off of him, and tried to stand himself up on the uneven flooring, only to spot a large section of the wall being cut into by a large axe. The axe pulled back and there was another bang on the wall, only this time, the whole side wall of the wagon seemed to be toppling in towards the mercenary.

Apparently, Sten wasn't quite as oblivious as they would have liked.

The red headed swordsman spread his arms out, and planted them on the wall as it fell towards him, and gave it a firm shove back the other way. Splinters came off in his hands as the entire wall seemed to break away from the ceiling and fall outward.

Seeing the wall that he'd just collapsed falling out towards him wasn't something that the tattooed man had been expecting, and that was probably one of the only things that could get him to stop his hammering on the wagon with about the largest axe that Garnet had ever seen.

Seeing the man's axe grounded, and the hulk not moving, Garnet stepped in and gave a quick hard jab to the man's nose. Blood covered his fist, but the man didn't even flinch. Just reached up and grabbed Garnet's arm, and started to turn fast and hard.

Garnet felt himself ripped away from the broken wagon, and hurled into the grassy fields. He rolled for a few feet before stopping, and pushing himself up. He may have stopped spinning, but the world hadn't. The swordsman tried unsuccessfully to steady himself as the larger man came at him.

"Hahahah.... Scrawny little man. You'd be better off climbing back into that cage of yours. I'm gonna tear your legs off before I put you back in there though." The blood was still dripping from Freakshow's nose

Garnet was surprised when the man just let him step in and throw a shot at his ribs. Sten didn't even try to block. He just took the hits, before raising a hand and pounding Garnet across the face. Hard. The merc went down.

As he was eating dirt, Garnet felt himself being picked up and thrown by one of his legs. It felt like the man really was about to tear it off. That pain was quickly forgotten when he felt himself falling into a mess of wooden planks though. He'd been hurled all the way back into the wagon. He pushed himself up and tried to look for a weapon, grabbing a.... broom handle? Or something of the kind and rushing the bigger man with it as he climbed the rubble and got into the wagon. Once again, the merc was simply shoved backwards, and fell to the rubble.

"Just don't get in my way, and everything will be fine." The big man mocked. "You're pathetic. You can't even fight me!"

Suddenly, a hand with a dagger bearing the taint of dried blood exploded from the rubble and jabbed the point of its weapon down through the Sten's foot hard enough to pin it to the board he was standing on. The giant, merely looked down for his part, as though it was nothing more than an inconvenience. Garnet was dumbfounded. This man ought to be roaring in agony by now, yet he barely seemed to have noticed anything was even directed against him. The large man stepped off the board, jerking the dagger out of the wood, and effortlessly lifted the "floor" of the wreckage. Wylia could be seen underneath. It looked like the bulk of everything that had fallen had landed on her, yet she had still mustered the strength to stab the man. To hit him from the unknown position... Like an assassin.

"Ah.... Little Wylia. I should have known you'd betray me. You always did think too much of yourself. You should have figured out a long time ago. I'm immune to pain."

Sten grabbed Wylia by her hair, and mercilessly dragged her out of the rubble. And boy, she was not happy about it. Her shrieks were enough to have wakened the damned. Garnet was sure. Never the less, as he heard her pained cries, something was rekindled in him. The chivalry his Uncle had driven home was still a part of him, and despite how rediculous it was to feel such a thing for the slaver woman, or how antiquated many people considered it, he was still the knight in shining armor here. He would always be such at his core. It was a part of him. He also started to understand how he needed to approach this fight.

Slapping aside the man's grip on Wylia's hair with one hand, and grabbing the dagger out of the man's foot with the other arm, Garnet crashed his way into the berserker. Round two was beginning.

[Garnet]

The mercenary swordsman crashed into the berserker and took the man clean off of the rubble. As they stepped down, Garnet bore them both to the ground, dagger still in one hand.

"Immune to pain, are ya? You won't mind this then"

Quickly, the merc took Wylia's dagger and drove it up, through the bottom of the man's armpit, to the hilt. Only when the point showed through, glistening lightly in the light of the campfire, and the night sky was the mercenary satisfied. Unfortunately, the former guard had been subconsciously waiting for a roar of pain. One that would never come from this man. Instead the larger man gave Garnet a solid punch to the throat with his uninjured arm, and threw the mercenary off of him.

Garnet landed a few feet away, clutching at his throat. He felt like he'd never breathe again, but he continued forcing breath up and down through his wind pipe. He had to get up. Otherwise he'd die here. Sten was already up, and had removed the offending blade from his arm, tossing it on the ground and stomping on it. The blade shattered as it was pressed down by the giant's booted foot.

Garnet got up, and started backing up the rubble again, looking for anything that could be of use in his fight. The Freakshow followed him. Wylia's leg seemed crushed and she was unable to move, leaving her pinned against the single standing side of the wagon. This is where the fight would end.

Strike where unexpected. Use the environment as your weapon. Heroes like us do things that others can't or won't do. Words of the red-head's uncle came back to him as he stood, watching Sten begin his charge up the wagon rubble again. The mercenary hero remembered something: There'd been a rather large fold down shelf on the wall which was still standing. If the merc timed things right, then he could make use of that.

Just as the big man reached him, Garnet reached, grabbed the handle on the shelf, and dropped to the floor. Unable to stop, Sten crashed into it and doubled over the shelf, as Garnet rolled out from under the light wood. Under the berserker's weight, the wood broke and sent him crashing to the floor. Seeing his chance to put an end to this fight for good, Garnet decided to take it. Running up behind Sten, the swordsman simply stomped on the the Freakshow's neck until, on the third time, he felt a snap. It was a gruesome way to do the deed, but this man was nigh unstoppable. Garnet was just glad it was over.

[Garnet]

The mercenary stood for a moment. His throat felt hoarse from being hit, and his body throbbed with the abuse of earlier in the day, and now this evening. Much worse, and he'd need another dose of that Elixer.

A somewhat quiet, muffled sound started coming through to the swordsman's attention though, as he stood there. It sounded like there was someone calling his name....

"Wylia! Hang on!." He'd failed to consider the possibility of the shelf falling before he pulled it down, and now she'd been buried under more rubble from the wagon because of him. He actually, went ahead and laughed. He could afford to laugh now. Sten wasn't going to be causing either of them anymore trouble.

Shifting the berserker's body off the shelf, the red-headed swordsman quickly lifted the wood scraps away, revealing a very agitated Wylia. He grabbed the elixer and moved closer to her, ready to help, should she need it. In return, he got a swift slap to the face.

"You dolt! Think about what you're doing next time! That monster may have crushed me!"

Garnet rubbed his cheek, where the stinging marks of her fingers remained. Quickly, she grabbed the elixer from him and gulped it down. He could see the injuries she carried shrinking some.

"Is it too much to ask that you just be glad that he's dead, and not us?" He was only answered with a flat stare of annoyance from Wylia. "It is, eh? Fine. Next time, I'll just stay in the cage."

Within a moment, this cracked a smile from Wylia, and Garnet pulled her to her feet. She was a beautiful woman on the outside. everything about her appearance, from the grace of her movements to her exquisitely formed figure was gorgeous. Plus, she'd assisted the mercenary, albeit to her own benefit as well..... He remembered though. She was a slaver, and rotten to the core.

"C'mon. We should go ahead and move the rest of the functioning Caravan. We should get the rest of the keys off of him too." In the last phrase, she indicated the body of Sten. Garnet crouched down and checked the small pouch that was attached to the man's belt. Nothing.

"Check his boots." For a moment, the mercenary lifted an eyebrow at this, but it made sense. A moment later, Garnet was heading to the equipment chest around to the front of the broken wagon. where he recovered his things. His swords, his new shield and armor, and his coat. Quietly, he applied part of a vulnerary, and felt his injuries as less dangerous again.

There were other things in the chest as well. One such thing was the crest of an Etrurian elite soldier. It wasn't the same kind borne by the Prophet's army of today. No, this was older. The swordsman remembered a time when he'd seen seals like these in active service. They'd been given out by the Etrurian nobility, and royalty. The swordsman took it. (Hero Crest!) He couldn't imagine any use coming from it being here.

"Come on Garnet! We need to get moving." Now that he was armed and equipped again.... Now would be the time to inform her that he wouldn't be coming with her.

[Garnet]

"Wylia, I'm not coming." Garnet's throat had mostly recovered from the blow he'd taken, though he still felt like he'd been run through a meat tenderizer. The jostling coming from the secondary, still functional caravan stopped, and a moment later, Garnet spotted Slinky's head popping out from behind the the back of the wagon.

"What?! You're supposed to come with me. We were going to be a team. I'm the reason you're even free!" She looked.... livid. Like she'd been betrayed. Panicked. The truth was, that Garnet had used her. He'd do it again in the same situation too.

"And I appreciate that immensely Slink. You should as well. I see why you wanted me to deal with Freakshow now." That man was more stubborn than the strange wolf monsters he'd encountered in southern Etruria, near the ruins of Bern. "He probably would have killed you before he went down. Even if you'd stuck him somewhere fatal."

The slaver woman's expression softened into a sad, almost fearful expression, and she ran at him. Her arms were down at her sides, and she looked more like she wanted to be enfolded in the red-headed man's arms more than anything else. "Garnet! No! Why are you- ack!"

Her crying and her pathetic attempts at getting him to come with her were abrubtly cut off as the point of Garnet's sword landed at her throat. She didn't even try to back away. Garnet looked ready to end it for her.

"Drop the dagger, Wylia."

A steel blade, about a foot in length dropped from one of the hands hidden behind her back, as her expression hardened.

"What was it? Back into the cage if you couldn't have me following you? Step back."

As she moved backwards, Garnet stepped forward and reached down to pick up her dagger in his other hand. The sword in his right hand never strayed from the woman.

"We would have made a great team, Garnet. It's a shame you won't come with me. We would have been rich."

"Well, you look entirely unrepentant. I'll let you go this time, but I'd advise making a career change before we meet next, Slaver. "

Garnet tossed the steel dagger past her. No sense leaving her unarmed on the plains, or so Garnet thought. He didn't expect any more trouble from the deceptive woman as he walked off, heading west. They had to be close to the Etrurian border by now.