An Ignonimous Withdrawal

A brothel? Kalena thought in surprise. Oruvand had failed to mention that little detail to her. So that was why she'd recalled this place as having a shady reputation of some kind or other. Did this Madam provide special 'services' to the local town authorities in exchange for protection? It would explain the Madam's lack of incentive to cooperate and utter fearlessness at the consequences of her actions. But Kelana was at a loss as to the rest of it. The Madam accused her of threatening to burn her brothel down. That was something she honestly intended to spare happening to the place. And a written warrant being required? Rights? What rights? She was not aware Dalen had much in the way of a legal system beyond the royal fiats and decrees of Thalia.

Gritting her teeth from the painful strain on her arm, she finally stopped grinding her heel into the big thug's foot and instead placed her own foot behind his at the same time she dropped her center of gravity, grabbed hold of his wrist with her free hand, and pitched him forward so that his skull rebounded off the edge of the countertop. Upon impact, his grip slackened and she managed to break loose, but the formerly trapped arm, whilst now free, was left numb and of little use.

As the musclebound Newt tried to seize her again, seemingly unfazed by the terrific blow to the head and moving more faster and lightly than a man his size had any right to, she sprang out of reach and whipped out her sword. Dodging another lunge of those huge meaty hands, she lashed out in a blur, striking the man in the temple with the flat of her blade, knocking him back a few steps.

Well, Kalena thought, things had sure gone to hell fast! She inwardly shook her head and almost laughed at her own recklessness. It served her right the way she had treated this all so differently than she would have a carefully devised assassination operation. She was ordinarily a studious planner, trained to research the security and floorplans of her targets' homes before ever making a move. What you didn't know could not only hurt you, it could get you killed. An axiom drilled into her for years. But this bounty hunting thing had been just a lark really, paid with as much seriousness and caution as a jaunty lion hunt with friends. She never considered the Inn Keeper would dare harbour a wanted mass murderer that had the whole kingdom in an uproar, much less have a thug readily on hand either.

Kalena's sabre slashed across Newt's arm, scoring a bloody gash, but to her dismay the thug ignored the wound and just kept coming. She quickly backpedalled to the door. “Very well, Madam, I will be going then, but you will rue the choice you made here. I shall make a point of letting everyone know that it was you who harboured this murderer, and how you are culpable for every killing that may follow!”

And with that she burst out the door, her cloak flaring behind her as she darted away on light feet. Once outside, she slammed her sword back in its scabbard and stalked back toward Oruvand, huffing and seething. He could see that things had plainly not gone as planned and that she was now favouring her left arm.

“The Inn Keeper is willingly sheltering the man, and it's not just an Inn but a prostitution den,” Kalena informed the bounty hunter through clenched teeth. “I'm sure as hell not camping out here for days on end waiting for him to emerge. I'd sooner shoot fire arrows through every window and burn him out, along with that stupid cow...”

Growling, she grabbed her bow, but her injured arm protested at anything more than the slightest movement, and would need time to recover, and she angrily set the bow back down and turned and leaned back against her horse, taking slow, calming breaths.

“This is still your operation. What do you want to do now?”