These soldiers seem to have made up their mind about you and trying to explain things is probably just going to get you a beating. You figure if you’re going before a judge, you can always explain things to him and hope he takes mercy, though you aren’t optimistic about it.

Lacking any other plan, you just sit in silence as the soldiers take you to your appointed destination. It’s times like this, you wish your sister was here, she’d be able to help you.

In fact you’re starting to have a greater appreciation for your parents as well at this point. How many times did you avoid real trouble thanks to your father’s influence?

As you ponder your life choices you glance at the other man in the cart who doesn’t say anything to you. In fact he doesn’t even really look at you. Upon a few more glances at him, you notice he has a tattoo of a black claw on his shoulder. You wonder if this man is a member of the Ebony Claw Syndicate.

If that is the case you realize it’s probably a good thing that you didn’t say anything about Flynt. The last thing you need right now is a pissed off gang member wanting to kill you for being a rat. In fact, it makes you wonder if you should say anything to the judge at all. If this Ebony Claw Syndicate is as sinister as they sound, it might be dangerous to go ratting on their people. Of course that doesn’t leave you many options.

You mostly pass the rest of the time observing the scenery as you travel through Hegglesberg and farmlands.

Eventually though the sky darkens and the soldiers prepare to camp for the night.

“Alright we’ll stop here for tonight and set up camp. Anders and Levin, you two can watch Mr. Scars and the kid and make sure they can’t escape.” The sergeant says.

With a few gruff orders, you and Mr. Scars are both taken to a nearby tree and tied to it securely with a rope while the rest of the soldiers make camp.

As you’re watching the soldiers go about their jobs (And your guards doing more talking with each other than actually watching you) Mr. Scars finally says something to you.

“So, busted with twenty vials of Blue Dream eh?” he asks in a low tone.
“How did you know?” you ask.
“I heard the sergeant talking with one of his men about it earlier.”
“Oh. They think I’m some big dealer and part of the Ebony Claw Syndicate too, but I’m not either of those things.”
“Hm. Didn’t think you were Claw, but I thought maybe you might be a prospect….hmmm…let me guess did you run into a man going by the name Flynt?”

You aren’t sure if you should be talking, so you don’t say anything.

“Heh, I’ll take your silence as a yes. Though I suppose it’s a good sign that you’re not very forthcoming with that info. Talkers don’t last long in this business. Of course maybe you’re not telling me because you ripped him off…”
“I didn’t!” you exclaim which causes the guards to look over at you and then you get quiet again until they look away.

“I didn’t, he paid me to deliver a package to someone. I didn’t even know what was in it, until the guards confiscated it. Hell, I didn’t even know about the Ebony Claw Syndicate!”
“Yeah, sounds like Flynt. It’s an unconventional method of recruitment, but sometimes he likes to randomly test youngsters that he feels could be useful. Dunno why he does things that way, but when you’ve got drugs and coins to blow, I guess you can afford to take risks like that. I dunno, I’m just in it for the violence myself.”

You continue to stay silent.

“Anyway, you’re probably looking at twenty years kid. One for each vial. The kingdom has been really cracking down lately on it. Probably get sent to Dreadcage too. They send all the serious offenders there.”

Fear wells up inside you upon hearing that news. You try to keep it together, but you’re having a hard time and you start exhaling multiple times, closing your eyes and muttering, “oh fuck, oh shit.” several times.

“Wow, kid. You’re not going to last in prison if you take that approach. They see you come in like that and you’re gonna be sucking every dick in the joint and worse.”
“Isn’t there something I can do to stop this?” you ask.
“Well, you could try to escape I guess, but I’m betting you already figured the soldiers would easily run you down before you got very far. I suppose you could try to beg for mercy when you go before the judge, maybe even use your youth as an excuse. Depending on the judge, that MIGHT get you some time shaved off, but you’ll still be doing a lot of it…and I think I don’t have to warn you about the dangers of ratting out Flynt and whoever it was you were supposed to deliver to in the first place to try to save your ass.”

This is just a nightmare. You’re almost thinking maybe you should have just risked getting lynched back in Teckleville. At least there you would’ve had your parents to help you and maybe even Annah, assuming she lived. At worst, you would have at least died at home.

“Well…I ain’t no rat, so that wasn’t ever a possibility anyway.” You say in an attempt to at least make Mr. Scars less likely to be suspicious of you.
“Bullshit kid, in your situation and first time? You probably thought about it. Don’t worry though, everyone usually does at one time or another, just as long as you don’t actually do it…well either that or make damn sure the reward is high enough.” Mr. Scars chuckles.
“Yeah, well I might do better in prison than you think…” you say and then you whisper…”I’ve killed someone before.”

Mr. Scars looks at you as if to detect whether you’re lying or not.

“Hm, maybe you have, or maybe you haven’t, but that really doesn’t matter. You’re going to be locked away with a lot of killers. Most of them a lot tougher and bigger than the likes of you. So just because you killed your girlfriend or mom because she pissed you off doesn’t mean you’re some hard man.”
“I didn’t kill my…” you start to say before the one of the guards starts actually paying attention to you.

“HEY! The two of you stop fucking conspiring over there! In fact the pair of you need to shut the fuck up and just go to sleep because tomorrow you’ll both be going before the judge and sentenced for your crimes! Enjoy your last night of freedom criminal scum!”

And with that, you and Mr. Scars do no more talking for the rest of the night, though Mr. Scars was done talking and ready to sleep anyway. You on the other hand have a hard time getting to sleep, knowing what awaits you.

The next morning, you’re put back on the cart and continue your journey to Sivak. You reach your destination by midday. Sivak is larger than anything you’ve ever seen and some of its buildings are very impressive. It’s a very bustling place with people walking around everywhere. You just wish you were free to enjoy it.

At this point you wonder if you shouldn’t just try to escape now. The streets are very busy and it would be a lot harder for the soldiers to get around on their horses. If you’re quick enough you might even lose them in an alleyway or something. Of course that doesn’t stop the fact that you’re still shackled and ultimately surrounded by more soldiers than ever, but maybe you can figure that dilemma out later.
> You stay put
You don’t know this city very well and you’d most likely be caught within five minutes, you’d probably also be beaten for your troubles at best. You aren’t quite suicidal enough to try…or perhaps you’re just not brave enough. Whatever the case, you stay put and resign yourself to whatever fate the judge has for you.

You hang your head down and stare at the floor of the cart, not really wishing to see any more of a city you aren’t going to be able to take advantage of.

A bit of time passes before you hear Mr. Scars speak to you.

“Hey kid.” Mr. Scars says.
“What?” you ask slowly looking up.
“This doesn’t have to be the worst day of your life.”
“Well it certainly isn’t the best.”
“Heh, well okay, but this could be a lot worse. In fact maybe Yag has blessed you with a little luck given your situation.”
“Luck? I’m on my way to prison!”
“Yes, but you had the fortune of meeting me in an uncharacteristically generous mood.”

You start to listen carefully.

“Okay, here’s the deal. When you get sentenced to Dreadcage, find a human there by the name of Ponyride…and don’t you dare laugh at the name. As silly as it might sound you don’t want to know how he acquired it. Just ask any syndicate member where he is and they’ll take you to him if you mention my name. It’ll be real easy to find one of them since a lot of them are there and you just look for the tattoo.” Mr. Scars says and juts out his shoulder.
“What will Ponyride do?”
“Well, he’s gonna want proof you know me first, so tell him the phrase: The Duchess sure had a velvet throat. He’ll know what it means.”

As you take a moment to remember the phrase, Mr. Scars continues.

“If you’re still blessed by Yag at this point, he’ll honor the favor he owes me and give you a bit of protection for a while. Maybe a year at most. Should be more than enough time for you to get settled in and learn the routines without extra hassle. After that, you’re going to be on your own. Now I’m no recruiter, but I suggest that since you’ll already be getting the benefits of Ebony Claw protection, you might want to get in good with us on a permanent basis, as it will potentially make the rest of your stay slightly less dangerous. I’m sure Ponyride will have something for you to do, but that’s on you and your choice.”

Well this isn’t freedom, but at least it’s a glimmer of hope.

“I…I really don’t know what to say…I mean thank you of course, but why are you doing this? What’s in it for you?”
“Me? Nothing I guess, but I suppose I remember the first time I did some time in a prison. I was younger than you and it was a lesser offense, but it still wasn’t a pleasant experience and I know I would’ve been glad for any help I could have gotten.”

The cart and entourage of soldiers starts to slow down as you approach a large important looking white building with a lot of steps.

“The thing is with my record, I know I’m probably getting sentenced to be executed in a few months. There isn’t really anything anyone can do for me, so I might as well call in the last favor I have left for someone that it will help. Use it or lose it as they say.” Mr. Scars says.
“…but still…this is like a really big thing. I mean you barely know me and this is going to really help me out.” You say still in disbelief of your luck.
“Yeah, well make the most of it kid. Just out of curiosity though…who did you supposedly kill?”
“The guy who stabbed my girlfriend... I had to run away from home after that.”
“Well shit kid, that’s more along the lines of justice as far as I can tell. Not sure if that really makes you a cold blooded killer at all, but I guess it’s a good thing you know you can do it, if you have to right?”

At this point the cart stops completely and the pair of you are taken out and marched to the white building. When you enter the pair of you are still together for a little while, but eventually the sergeant tells some of his men to take you down a different corridor to Judge Randal. He and the rest take Mr. Scars down another and you part company.

When you get to Judge Randal, he sits behind his high desk and looks incredibly tired. You see him sentence various people before he finally gets to you.

He hears what you were charged with and just shakes his head.

“(Sigh) Do you have anything to say in your defense?” he asks.

You take a suggestion from what Mr. Scars said earlier and try to imply you’re just a poor dumb kid that did something really stupid. The judge doesn’t look impressed.

“Uh huh. Listen, I hear that excuse all the time and sometimes its even true, but you were found with twenty vials of Blue Dream my boy. You didn’t just stumble upon that, you’re obviously working for someone bigger. Probably someone in the Ebony Claw Syndicate. If you’re really sorry for what you’ve done, then you’re going to have to give me more than the baby in woods act.”

You’re silent.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Twenty years at Dreadcage. Next.” The judge remarks.

You are quickly taken away and soon marched back outside, but this time to a large enclosed wagon with several horses at the front. You’re shoved inside and shackled to a few other prisoners. All of them are sizing you up and you do your best not to show any fear as the wagon door is closed and you’re on your way to Dreadcage.

There is little light in the wagon, save for what’s coming through the very small windows at the very top of it. Still, you manage to examine a few of the other prisoners and fortune strikes again when you see one with a black claw tattoo sitting across from you.

“You Ebony Claw?” you ask the man.
“What the fuck’s it to you pretty boy?” he answers.
“Mr. Scars wants you to take me to see Ponyride when we get to Dreadgate.”

The man’s eyes widen a bit when you mention Mr. Scars, but nods.

“Very well.” He answers.

You don’t reach Dreadcage until nightfall, but when you finally reach it and exit the wagon, you can see that it definitely lives up to its name with the massive walls, towers and high fences.

You are then marched inside the prison where upon you and the rest are striped, hosed down, checked and given prison apparel. Your new “name” according to the prison is now 97P904.

After this experience, you are shown your new cell. You cellmate is surprisingly a Halfling! Though within the first five minutes of meeting him he’s quite firm about stating what is his and warns you that he’s not going to tolerate any shit from the likes of you.

You maintain a respectful attitude and listen to his lecture, until your Claw “liaison” comes to find you.

“Hey, Ponyride is ready to see you.” He says which causes a bit of confusion from your cellmate who probably didn’t expect you to have such connections. You get the impression his attitude towards you will be a lot different when you return.

You walk through the prison attempting to ignore the various threats and stares you’re getting. You remember that you have to show absolutely no weakness or fear.

Several ECS member congregate around Ponyride’s cell. Ponyride himself is a muscular average sized man with a shaved head. He has several tattoos that in some way signify his allegiance to his organization.

Ponyride gets off his bed and approaches you with the usual hard stare that you’re getting used to by everyone that has to prove how tough they are.

“So, I hear you know Mr. Scars and he told you to speak with me. If that’s true then you’ll have something important to tell me. If not…well you’re going to get the privilege of learning exactly why they call me Ponyride.”

This causes a few chuckles from Ponyride’s cohorts, but you maintain your composure and simply utter the phrase.

“The Duchess sure had a velvet throat.”

Ponyride smiles and nods.

“I came enough to fill a fucking moat. Hah! Glad to see Mr. Scars remembers the good times. Alright, I dunno how he knows you, but if he trusted you enough to give you that phrase, then it’s good enough for me. So I’m guessing you want protection right?”
“Mr. Scars said a year’s worth.”
“A fucking year huh? Mr. Scars overestimates this favor I owe him. Ah, all right, what the hell, things are pretty peaceful right now I guess I can spare some. The Ebony Claw will make sure you’re under our general protection, but remember, you ARE NOT one of us. That means if you severely fuck up or get in the way of our business, all bets are fucking off. Got me, pretty boy?”
“Understood.”
“Good, and remember when a year is up you’re on your fucking own. If you want anything from us after that, you gotta pay just like everyone else or join, but we can talk about that later if you so desire. Now leave me, I got important shit to do.”

You are dismissed and the Claw member who took you to see Ponyride escorts you away and then leaves you to your own devices.

Well you’ve bought yourself a little time, now you have to get started learning everything you can about this place and deciding on how to spend your time here.

Because you sure have a lot of it.


Six months later…

As you sit counting your ill-gotten loot from the latest traveling merchant in town, your girlfriend is watching you with an exasperated expression. Of course she tends to look like that a lot.

“Ugh. This part is soooo boring! I dunno why you didn’t steal the jewelry, I liked some of those necklaces.” Annah exclaims.
“Because you know I prefer hard coin in my possession rather than anything else.” You reply trying not to lose count.
“So? You’re not the only one involved in doing this you know! You couldn’t just think about ME for once and steal some pretty items?”
“Annah, if you wanted one of those necklaces so bad, you could have just stolen it yourself. You were closer to the merchant and easily had him distracted.”
“He was gross. Breathing heavy and touching my legs, it was all I could do not to vomit…y’know you could have defended my honor.”

It’s going to be one of those days…

“(Sigh) And how exactly was I going to do that while I was breaking into his lockbox in his tent? The whole point is for me not to attract any sort of attention and that’s getting more difficult to do what with a lot of the merchants hiring more guards nowadays.”

Annah rolls her eyes.

It’s no secret that Annah was certainly drawn to you because she’s a little on the wild side and doesn’t have the best of reputations herself. While she certainly lets you do things to her that are a lot of fun, she’s not the partner in crime that your sister was and she certainly complains a lot more. A LOT more.

Annah’s got the looks and flirting down, but that’s about it. Your sister actually had the talent to get the attention of people even if they weren’t some weak willed slob that went nuts over the latest sweet young thing that batted their eyes at them. She could lure them with a tale or a song and keep a whole entourage captivated if need be.

You suppose Annah’s lack of skill has had the benefit of increasing your own since you’ve definitely had to be quicker and sneakier.

Still, it isn’t just her lack of skill and bitching that’s the problem since that you can deal with. It’s the fact that she’s way more maintenance than you thought she’d be and she’s been getting worse in that aspect.

You know you’re probably going to have to give her a little bit more this time around just to keep her appeased. At this point you haven’t really been saving much at all and you were planning on moving out of your parents home by now because that situation hasn’t gotten any better since your sister left.

Lately you’ve been starting to wonder if you shouldn’t just do what your sister did and leave. It’s just getting to be too much hassle to steal in this town and it definitely isn’t as much fun as it used to be.

Where you would go though, you aren’t sure. You’re going to have to figure it out.

In the meantime, you hand over Annah’s share.

“Okay, here you go…so what do you want to do now?” you ask.
“Well since you were unwilling to steal me one of those nice necklaces, I guess I’ll have to buy a cheap ass one from that hag that runs Sparkling Treasures.” Annah replies.
“So, we’re going to Jasmine’s shop.”
“Yeah, and she’s going to be giving me the evil eye the entire time. Thinking I’m going to steal something.”
“Well to be fair, you can’t blame her. I’ll come with you, but as far as I know I’m still banned from the place ever since I stole a bracelet for my sister’s birthday. Of course that was before we decided that the town was completely off limits.”
“Whatever, I don’t really want to hear about how you spoiled your other girlfriend right now. It’s bad enough that continually criticize me and say I’m not as good as sister.”
“What the…first of all I’m sick of these rumors about me and her when it wasn’t even like that! Second of all, I just said ONCE that our capers might run smoother if you had a better array of talents rather than just relying on your looks.”
“There you go again putting me down! I don’t see you complaining about my talents when you’re having your five minutes of fun…”
“Now don’t even start with that! Look, I don’t want to fight! Let’s just go get your necklace.”
“I need more money!”
“What?!”
“What you gave me isn’t enough for the one I want!”
“Didn’t you just say Jasmine sells cheap quality shit?”
“Yeah, but that old bitch charges an arm and leg for it, so I need more money!”

You shake your head and reach into your pocket.

“(Sigh) Fine. Here, take it! Take it all!” you exclaim and hand over most of your coins to Annah, who takes them without blinking an eye.

At this point you’re wondering why if she thinks you’re such a bad bum to her that why is she with you at all.

“Thanks baby!” Annah beams and kisses you.

Well that answers your question.

As Annah grabs your arm while you walk to Jasmine’s shop, you continue to think about leaving here. The only thing is, are you going to do it like your sister did and just leave in the middle of the night, or are you going to actually say goodbye first?

You sort of think with as much grief as you give your parents, they might actually like to at least say goodbye to you seeing as they didn’t get that chance with your sister.

Of course that might be just wishful thinking on your part.

“Okay, since you said you’re not allowed in, just wait outside and I’ll be out soon.” Annah says as you get to Sparkling Treasures.
“I’ll be here.” You remark.

Annah hasn’t been gone long when you encounter more trouble.

“Well if it isn’t the notorious thief of Teckville. Shouldn’t you be skulking around in the shadows stealing from little old ladies?”

It’s Klint and ever since your sister left, he’s been even more of an asshole to you and you’re not really sure why.

“Klint, seriously what the hell is your problem? I don’t understand this continued antagonism towards me. I don’t go over to your family’s chicken farm and steal the cocks out of your hand.”

Klint as usual is slow on the uptake and doesn’t even get the double meaning insult you just said, but he’s mad at you anyway.

“Because it’s all your fucking fault! I could have gotten with your sister if YOU hadn’t been around!”
“Oh for fuck’s sake, if my sister had ANY attraction to you, she certainly would have showed it. She didn’t and now she’s GONE, okay? Get the hell over it already…”

Klint at this point starts getting closer to you and raising his voice and you begin to take a more defensive stance.

“FUCK YOU! It was ALL your fault! How could I have a chance with her when YOU corrupted her! Tell me…did she smell like flowers when you embraced her? Did she taste like honey when you kissed her? Did the very heavens move when you plunged into her?” he asks with a mixture of anger and resentment, but also with a glint of eagerness that you’ll tell him.

While you knew Klint was always a bit obsessed with your sister, you never quite knew how bad it was until just now. He’s totally lost it.

“Klint, contrary to what the rumors are, none of that happened you sick fuck. Look, just go home before something bad happens…” you say.
“Oh something bad is gonna happen alright sister fucker!” He says and then brandishes a knife partially covered in blood and with a few feathers stuck to it.

And of course nobody is around to see all this despite it being broad daylight. Or maybe they’re just watching from windows and don’t care. You’re not exactly popular after all.

“Klint, put that knife back and just walk away now.” You say stepping back.
“Everyone in this town hates you, y’know. Even that whore you hang around with now. She came on to me the other night saying how she wanted a proper fuck as opposed to your pathetic attempts. I didn’t fuck her though; I just let her suck my dick. Did she kiss you today? Ha ha ha ha!”

You ignore Klint’s ramblings and continue to focus on his knife, which is now aiming towards your face, even if you are trying to widen the gap between you two.

“Klint, last chance to get that knife out of my face.”
“Or you’ll what?”

Well it’s a good question, what are you going to do?
> You try to disarm Klint
While Klint is holding knife, you still doubt he’s serious about killing you with it. He’s a lot of talk and trying to scare you, time to call his bluff by kicking his ass.

You throw a punch at Klint’s face, which probably hurts your hand more than it hurts his face. Still, it’s enough to cause him to reel back a bit and drop his knife.

“Shit…you’re paying for that asshole!” he utters as you’re still shaking your hand from the pain of punching him.

Klint charges at you and you dodge out of the way, but your leg doesn’t completely clear the charge and you fall to the ground face first.

Fortunately you trip up Klint in the process, who instead of taking advantage, continues to stumble in the direction he was already running in. Unfortunately, he crashes right into Annah who was coming out of the store at the time.

“Hey what’s…SHIT!” Annah yelps as Klint’s body tackles into her.

You recover just in time to see Klint hovering near her body. She’s lying up against the door of Jasmine’s shop looking a little crumpled.

You take advantage by elbowing Klint in the back of the head. He staggers and falls to the ground again where you proceed to kick him.

“You crushed my girlfriend you fucker!” you shout.

You’re doing a pretty good job stomping on him, but he isn’t out of the fight yet and manages to grab your foot and cause you to fall to the ground as well. Now seizing his opportunity he rolls over and gets on top of your chest and proceeds to punch you in the face though you’re doing your best in trying to block the attacks.

“Don’t worry about your whore getting crushed because I’m gonna crush your fuckin’ skull…AGH!” Klint shouts.

You can’t quite tell at first from your prone position, but you see Annah standing behind Klint and a knife in her hand, which she’s using not just once on him, but several times.

“Fucking asshole, get off! Get off of him!” she shouts stabbing Klint in the back several times.

Eventually Klint falls over and off to the side of you and you slide out from underneath him. While you’re still recovering, Annah is about to stab Klint again.

“Hold on! Hold on! Stop! Stop!” you exclaim and take the knife away from Annah before she commits murder.
“What?! That asshole was kicking your ass!” Annah exclaims.
“First, I had it under control, second, you already stabbed him several times, the last thing you need is to outright kill…”
“You fuckin’ bitch…” Klint utters and somehow manages to sit up and grabs Annah’s arm.

Without thinking you stab Klint in the neck. Blood trickles from his mouth, his eyes glance over to you and then he falls back to the ground with the knife still in his neck.

“Oh shit…” you say.
“Look out behind you!” Annah shouts.
“YOU MURDERER!” a gruff voice shouts from behind.

Still at a heightened state of alert, you stab at whoever it is behind you, and just manage to nick their arm with your own dagger before twisting away.

You now see that your fight with Klint has drawn out a lot of the townsfolk. Bastards were probably watching the entire time. The man who tried to pull you away was the Wilfred the pub owner. It’s a good thing he’s not one of the appointed town watch, but it probably won’t be long.

“You little bastard! You see that? He tried to kill me too! Someone get the town watch! Someone go get Klint’s family too, they need to know what this murderer did to their boy!” Wilfred shouts as he clutches his bleeding arm.

Several other townsfolk go running off shouting about your deeds, and a few others look as if they’re going to take their chances apprehending you themselves and while Wilfred is a fat out of shape barkeep, you don’t know if you’d do as well against the blacksmith who is now approaching you with a hammer in hand.

With a lynch mob starting to form, you do the only thing you can and that’s run. Which you notice Annah has already done and left you to fend for yourself!

After a few moments of running and backtracking, you’ve managed to make it home and lose most of the ones that were half heartedly trying to nab you, but it won’t be long before what passes for real law enforcement around here is beating down your door. You only have a short time to gather what you can and get the hell out of here.

Of course as soon as you come in, your mother sees you with blood on your clothes and demands to know what is going on.

“By the gods! What have you done!? What have you DONE?!” your mother shouts.
“I didn’t do anything! Where’s dad?!” you ask.
“I’m right here….oh shit. Fuck! What the hell did you do now?!” your dad says walking into the room.
“I didn’t do anything! There was a fight and Klint attacked me and then Annah stabbed him and then I stabbed him and…”

“Oh what the fuck, did you kill him?” your father asks.
“Yeah, I mean I’m not sure, I suppose, but look I gotta get outta here!” you say and push both of your parents out of the way to go gather a few things from your room.

Surprisingly your father doesn’t say much more, he just gathers up his emergency physician’s bag and mutters to himself. You think you hear him saying how you’re a fuck up before he leaves, but that’s about it.

Your mom on the other hand as you’re hastily grabbing a few items, is tearfully going on about how you (And your sister) wasted your potential and she doesn’t know where she and your father went wrong.

You have little time and it isn’t much, but you try to reassure her that it isn’t either of their faults. You’d like to calm her down some more, but there are a bunch of people soon banging at the door.

“STOP HIDING BEHIND YER MAMA’S SKIRT AND GET OUT HERE MURDERER!” you hear a voice shout.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry for everything. I…I gotta go.” You say as you leave your mother crying and go to climb out your window.

You manage to just get out of your backyard when you hear someone else shout that they see you and you’re soon off and running from a mob again.

It takes a bit of stealth and hiding on your part (along with distancing yourself from Teckleville) but eventually as the sky goes dark, you’re fairly certain nobody from the town is still chasing you, or if they are, they might have made camp for the night.

As for you, you’re in the middle of a wood, still wearing your bloody clothes (fortunately you managed to grab some spare in your pack though) unsure of where you’re going to go exactly.

On top of it all you aren’t sure what happened to Annah though knowing her she probably blamed you for everything. You’re so tired. You can’t even process all of it anymore. You have to rest.

You find a tree that looks sturdy and high enough, so you climb it and prepare to sleep for the night. You just hope that anyone that might still be looking for you at this late hour doesn’t think to look up.

As you drift off to sleep, your thoughts go to your sister.

“Well sis, whether things are working out for you or not right now, at least your exit wasn’t like this.”
> Next Day
You wake up fairly early, but then you didn’t really sleep much to begin with. This was more of a brief rest anyway.

After a quick check to see if anyone is in the area, you get out of your bloody clothes and change into some new ones. You might not be properly clean, but it’s better than you were.

You then check your supplies, which aren’t much. You’ve got a few coins, but you aren’t excessively worried about that since food and water are more important out here in the wilderness. You’ve got a little food and water, but it isn’t going to last long. The only weapon you have currently is your dagger.

As you’re checking your supplies, you hear the sound of something approaching you. Dread grips your body, you hide behind the nearest tree and you draw your dagger.

You take a quick peek and see that it’s Annah stomping through the underbrush with the grace of a clumsy horse.

“Shit, fucking thorns. Ouch!” you hear her say and you come out of hiding.
“Annah!” you exclaim and walk over to her.
“There you are! Y’know, you could have warned me about leaving town, instead of making me trudge through the fucking woods looking for you!” Annah snaps.

Ornery as usual.

“Wha…how the hell did you even find me anyway?” you ask.
“Dunno, I figured you’d hide some place familiar. This is the area where we first did it so I took a chance.” Annah says.
“It is?”

Annah hits you.

“Yes! By the gods, I can’t believe you fucking forgot! In fact it was YOUR idea to go way the hell out here, I just wanted to do it over behind Derrick’s barn where I first gave you a blowjob.”
“Wait. We were behind Derrick’s barn during that?”

Annah hits you again

“Glad to see all of our intimacy together meant so much to you. Asshole. I dunno why I even came out here to find you! Sorry we can’t all be like your perfect sister. Bet you remember where you first fucked her!”

At this point you stop Annah from hitting you again and try to maintain some control over this situation.

“Alright! Alright! I get it, I’m an insensitive asshole, but you REALLY need to stop with these accusations of sister fucking especially when it isn’t even true! Shit, I’m not calling you a whore that sucked Klint’s dick!” you say.
“WHAT?! I did no such thing!” Annah exclaims.
“Well he claimed you did before he attacked me.”
“Pfft. He wished. Look, I get that the dumb asses in town thought I was a whore, but Klint was repulsive…besides he was always sniffing around your sister while she was still around. Never paid any attention to me.”
“Well I figured he was just talking shit anyway…(Sigh) anyway this is a mess. I’m glad to see you escaped town though.”
“Escaped? Nah, I just came out here to find you on my own. Don’t worry, I made sure nobody was following me.”
“Wait, you didn’t get in any trouble?”
“No. They all saw you kill Klint. I mean I did get asked questions, but I just said you and Klint got into a fight and you accidently killed him in the process. They didn’t seem convinced that you killed him by accident though, so yeah they’re still pissed at you.”

You’re almost speechless right now.

“Are…Are you fucking kidding me?! YOU were the one that stabbed him repeatedly in the back! I actually stopped YOU from killing Klint!” you exclaim.
“Yeah, and then you stabbed him in the throat and killed him. Why are you yelling at me?!” Annah remarks.

Now you can’t even speak. You just rub your hands over your face and pace rapidly. In a strange way, you not even that mad at Annah. Everyone pretty much hated you anyway and Annah’s actually just being herself.

And that’s so tragic that it causes you to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Annah asks.
“The absurdity of this horrible situation.” You answer.
“So what’s the plan?
“Good question. Can’t stay out here in the wilderness.”
“Ohhh! Let’s to Klyton!” Annah says excitedly.

Well that would be one option you were pondering.

It’s certainly the closest city and it’s the direction you ran from Teckleville anyway. The problem is if anyone from Teckleville is still searching for you, that’s going to be the first place they look.

Still, Klyton is the only place you really have any basic knowledge about thanks to your parents both being originally from there. Your father never really spoke too much about it, just saying that the only thing worthwhile that he got there was your mother and he was glad when they finally moved to Teckleville to be closer to your grandmother at the time.

Your mother on the other hand didn’t speak so ill of the place, which is surprising since she grew up in a lower class area than your father did. She even said that sometimes she missed the times when she worked at the inn where she met your father in the first place. Of course her knowledge about the city is bound to be a bit out of date.

Also, while Klyton has no jurisdiction over Teckleville, it has been known to apprehend wanted criminals from elsewhere trying to hide out there. Not to mention the place in general has a fairly good reputation (And they want to keep it that way) as far as its own security goes.

“Well we could also head to Holgard or the Delantium Kingdom, I think the closest city there is Sivak” you say.
“No! I want to go to Klyton! I’ve never been there!” Annah demands.
“But you’ve never been to the other places either!”
“Yeah well, they’re too far away, and we could run into bandits and you wouldn’t be much help if they tried to gang rape me. I don’t want to be out here any longer than I have to be.”
“Y’know, YOU don’t need to be out here at all considering you apparently threw me under the horse and cart and you’re not even in any trouble for any of this!”

You almost expect Annah to hit you again, but now she does something worse...she doesn’t do it often, but…

“Oh no…” you say when you see her eyes starting to water.
“I knew it! You blame me for everything! You always blame me for everything that goes wrong! All I fucking did was try to help you when Klint was kicking your ass too! (Sob!) You’re right, I DON’T have to be out here, but I’m out here because I fucking love you okay? (Sob!) I don’t even know why, because you’re a fucking ungrateful asshole!” Annah cries and then runs off to a nearby tree to continue sobbing.

“(Sigh) Damn it….” You say to yourself.

While you’re questioning the idea that this is even a good idea, the fact remains is that in Annah’s strange way she is here for you right now. In fact, she’s possibly the ONLY person on your side right now.

So for better or worse you’ll put up with her. (For now)

“Annah….look, I’m sorry about my tone okay? But you gotta understand I’m trying to deal with all this shit and I can hardly think right now. I mean I didn’t even think I was going to see you again. I’m also worried about my parents. I mean yeah I didn’t get along with them, but they certainly don’t deserve the shitstorm they’re probably going through with the rest of the town right now. I mean what about your mom? You don’t think she’s wondering where you are right now?” you say while rubbing her shoulders
“(Sniffle) Have you met my mom? She probably doesn’t even know I’m gone yet. Hell, she probably doesn’t even know everything that happened yesterday.” Annah says turning around and wiping her eyes.
“Yeah, I suppose so, she is drunk a lot of the time. But anyway, like I said, I’m trying to process the fact that I’m now wanted for murder. I don’t even know how I feel on THAT fact either. The actual murder. I mean I feel like maybe I should feel bad or something.”
“Bad? Why would you feel bad? Klint was an asshole, I’m certainly not upset over it.”
“Well…yeah I suppose I’m not either and it was mostly in self-defense and an accident despite what everyone in town says. Still though, makes me wonder if I’m capable of killing again.”
“I sure hope so, because it’s dangerous out here! Is that dagger the only weapon you got?”
“Hm? Yeah. Apologies, but I didn’t exactly have time to buy a sword on my way out of town.”
“Oh well, I guess it will have to do. Just hope we don’t run into anything bigger than a hungry rat.”
“It’s not the size of the weapon, it’s how you use it.”
“Yes dear, you keep telling yourself that…so are we going to Klyton now?”
“Yeah, we’re going to Klyton…”

Annah makes “Squeee!” sound and then kisses you saying how exciting it will be to finally go to the “Big City.”

Honestly, you think Annah’s enthusiasm to go to Klyton is a little misplaced even if she wasn’t travelling with a wanted murderer. At least she isn’t bitching anymore though.

However, that doesn’t last and she inevitably starts complaining when you insist on staying off the road and sticking to the woods to keep out of sight of any potential person from Teckleville that might be tracking you.

“Dunno why you think this makes you more hidden. I found you in the woods.” Annah remarks.
“Yeah, well not everyone has the magical ability to find me like you do, now come on and keep it down!” You answer.
“You know there are blood stalkers out here and bandits who…”
“Will try to rape you. Yes, I know. You’ve only mentioned that three or four times already. What is your preoccupation with getting raped?”
“You saying that wouldn’t happen?”
“No…I…agh! Look it’s getting dark enough that I can barely see shit in front of me and we probably should just stop for the rest of the night. I’ll see if there’s a suitable tree to sleep in…”
“A tree? I’m not sleeping in a tree! It sounds uncomfortable and I could fall out and break my neck!”
“It’s safer than you think, you just prop yourself up against the trunk and a large enough branch. It’ll actually be safer than sleeping on the ground. Up in a tree we can at least…”
“I’m not sleeping in a fucking tree! I’m hungry, and it’s getting cold! We should build a fire!”

You face palm at your situation. The tree thing you’re flexible on, but a fire? That’s potentially asking for trouble. Still, if you make a fire, you’ll hopefully shut Annah up.
> You make a fire
Honestly, if anything Annah’s loud bitching is going to attract more attention to your position than a fire at this point.

“Alright! Alright! Just stop! We’ll build a damn fire. I think I got a tinderbox, never used it though since I didn’t exactly spend nights out in the wilderness, so you’re going to have to bear with me.”

You gather up a bunch of broken branches, break out your tinderbox and begin fumbling around with the flint

“Do you even know what you’re doing?” Annah asks.
“Not really.”
“Sheesh, this isn’t sex. I figured this would be a simple enough task, even for you.”
“Fuck, Annah. I told you I wasn’t an expert at doing this but feel free to help me if you know how!” You answer throwing the flint down.
“So I guess it is sex. (sigh) Move!” Annah remarks and takes over.

And of course she does it nearly instantly and you soon have a fire going. You’re getting incredibly angry and starting to regret letting her tag along now. You’re under enough pressure as it is and you can’t deal with her attitude right now.

“Hey I said I was also hungry, didn’t you bring any food?” Annah remarks.
“You want food? You want fucking food? HERE! Take it! Take everything I fucking have!” you shout as you pull out apples from your bag and start throwing them at her.
“HEY! STOP! Stop you fucking asshole!” she replies dodging apples.
“I oughta do worse than throw fucking apples at you!”
“Oh like what? You gonna stab and kill me too?” Annah asks while picking up a nearby apple.
“Don’t tempt me.”
“Threats of violence. Nice. I can’t believe I recently cried over you.”
“I can’t believe you even meant it. Y’know before all this shit went down, I was actually thinking about breaking up with you in the first place. And guess what, I was right about…”

Your words are interrupted by a flying apple. You dodge it and Annah’s eyes go a bit wide when she sees you come at her.

She doesn’t get far when you tackle her to the ground. After a bit of struggling you manage to subdue her, by getting on top of her and holding her wrists down. You’re breathing heavy and have a nasty look in your eyes.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to do that! You know how I get! Please just don’t hurt me!” Annah begs and starts to tear up again.

Despite your rather aggressive dominance over Annah, you weren’t actually planning to do anything except scare her really bad, which you definitely succeeded in doing. Any ideas of battery, torture, murder or (as Annah usually believes), rape weren’t in the equation.

Unfortunately nobody else saw it that way. And between the fire AND your very loud arguing and fighting with Annah, someone came to investigate.

You suddenly feel a crushing blow to the back of your head and you crumple on top of Annah’s body. You have a little strength left to push yourself up a bit, but another blow succeeds in knocking you out.

When you wake up, you find yourself in a cell, which look very familiar. It should, because you’ve been in it before. You’re at the Teckleville jail.

“Well, looks like the Teckleville Terror is finally up and from here on your ass belongs to me until your execution.” A familiar voice remarks.

It’s Sheriff Walford. Just one of your many admirers. You sit up from the floor and rub your head.

“(Groan) I knew lighting that fire was a bad idea.” You say.
“You’re just full of them boy and you’ll be paying for them soon because your luck has finally run out.” Walford says from his desk
“Surprised you just didn’t tell your men to kill me on sight.”
“Oh trust me, when they caught you tryin’ to rape that girl, they wanted to, but I specifically told them to bring you in alive no matter what the circumstances. Because I personally want to see you hang.”
“How law abiding of you. (Sigh) I don’t suppose it would help if I said Annah’s lying about that.”
“Lyin that you WEREN’T tryin ta rape her? Pfft, already know that son.”
“Wait, you tellin’ me that Annah didn’t accuse me of rape?”
“No she didn’t for some strange reason. She claims you and her were just having an argument, but my boys said it sure as hell didn’t look like that to them. Dunno what spell you got that girl under, but it ain’t gonna save your ass because you’re STILL wanted for the murder of Klint! You were fortunate that his father didn’t catch you before my men did though I wouldn’t have minded if he had.”

Wow, that’s a bit surprising about Annah. She knows you better than you thought AND she’s still trying in her own way to defend you.

The sheriff goes on to say that she isn’t the only one either. Apparently your father has hired the best freelance advocate he could find in Klyton. While it’s a pretty grim conclusion that you’re going to be found guilty, your father made so much of a stink that he demanded that you at least get a trial of sorts.

It would appear you have more people on your side than you thought

A few days pass and Annah tries to see you, but they won’t let her in. Your parents won’t be denied however and of course your expensive advocate speaks to you as well to get all your information.

The day finally comes and you’re trotted out before practically the whole town, most of which are already booing and calling for your blood. The town mayor is overseeing this trial and going to make the final decision. While you’ve never directly done any wrong to him, he doesn’t particularly like you so in your mind you might as well be going to the noose already.

Still, you don’t give up. You don’t actually speak in your own trial, your advocate speaks for you and does a WAY better job than you ever could. Annah and your parents both testify on your behalf, and even a few people begrudgingly admit that they saw the entire fight with Klint and say you didn’t really mean to kill him. You really wish your sister was around because you imagine that she would be able to charm a few more folks to your side.

Of course the other side paints you out to be evil incarnate whenever they can. Klint’s parents in particular.

Eventually the mayor says he’s heard enough and that’s when you think here comes the execution sentence.

“(Sigh) As long as I’ve been mayor, this young man has been a blight on this town despite his father and mother being good people. I can’t fault them for defending him because above all else he is their son. But another son was killed and that’s the main reason we’re here today. The rape accusation…well quite frankly the young girl denies that it happened and if she’s deluded enough to defend her abusive criminal boyfriend…well I just shake my head in dismay and nothing else. Given her own shady reputation, I’m actually inclined they just enjoy a sick relationship.”

The mayor continues.

“But getting back to the murder. While tragic, I have to weigh all arguments. We all know that Klint himself was no angel. I’m sorry to say that in front of his parents, but it’s true. This was a case of the stupid antics of youth getting way out of hand. And as much as I dislike this budding criminal in front of me, I truly don’t believe he killed Klint out of malice.

At this point several people start booing again until the mayor calls for order.

“That’s enough! I’m mayor of this damn town and this is my decision which I haven’t even got to yet! My verdict is guilty BUT I’m not giving this young man death. It was an accident and despite everything I’ve said, I personally wouldn’t feel comfortable with myself executing a youth who made a very bad mistake. However, he can’t stay here. So my final decision is exile as of tomorrow. You come back and you WILL be executed, you understand?” the mayor says.
“I understand, sir and I thank you for your fair judgment.” You reply and nod.
“Take him back to his cell, release him in the morning.”

The crowd goes nuts at this decision and the Teckleville Watch barely manage to get you back to the jail unscathed. After throwing you back in your cell, Sheriff Walford flips his desk over as his men standby.

“Are you secretly a son of Yag or just permanently blessed by him? Because there is no way one person can be so fucking lucky!” he exclaims.
“It wasn’t luck sheriff, it was justice. Look on the bright side, I won’t be here to bother you anymore…which is what I was trying to do in the first place before you dragged me back here.” You say.

The sheriff is so flustered he can’t even be bothered to yell at you anymore. He just says you’re going to get yours and soon before leaving.

You secretly smirk at things going your way for a change and lay down thinking about what you’re going to do with your new exiled life tomorrow. Probably the same thing you were going to do before, except without Annah tagging along. Sure, she helped you out, but you can see that relationship is just doomed to cause more problems than you need. (Like this incident!)

Eventually you go to sleep figuring you’re going to need your energy for traveling tomorrow.

In the middle of the night you suddenly hear your cell door open and you groggily wake up.

“Wha…what’s going on…is it morning all…ULP!” you utter.
“For my son, you murdering bastard!” you hear a deep voice say as a large figure rushes in your cell on top of you and you feel a blade go into your throat.


You wake up fairly early, but then you didn’t really sleep much to begin with. This was more of a brief rest anyway.

After a quick check to see if anyone is in the area, you get out of your bloody clothes and change into some new ones. You might not be properly clean, but it’s better than you were.

You then check your supplies, which aren’t much. You’ve got a few coins, but you aren’t excessively worried about that since food and water are more important out here in the wilderness. You’ve got a little food and water, but it isn’t going to last long. The only weapon you have currently is your dagger.

As you’re checking your supplies, you hear the sound of something approaching you. Dread grips your body, you hide behind the nearest tree and you draw your dagger.

You take a quick peek and see that it’s Annah stomping through the underbrush with the grace of a clumsy horse.

“Shit, fucking thorns. Ouch!” you hear her say and you come out of hiding.
“Annah!” you exclaim and walk over to her.
“There you are! Y’know, you could have warned me about leaving town, instead of making me trudge through the fucking woods looking for you!” Annah snaps.

Ornery as usual.

“Wha…how the hell did you even find me anyway?” you ask.
“Dunno, I figured you’d hide some place familiar. This is the area where we first did it so I took a chance.” Annah says.
“It is?”

Annah hits you.

“Yes! By the gods, I can’t believe you fucking forgot! In fact it was YOUR idea to go way the hell out here, I just wanted to do it over behind Derrick’s barn where I first gave you a blowjob.”
“Wait. We were behind Derrick’s barn during that?”

Annah hits you again

“Glad to see all of our intimacy together meant so much to you. Asshole. I dunno why I even came out here to find you! Sorry we can’t all be like your perfect sister. Bet you remember where you first fucked her!”

At this point you stop Annah from hitting you again and try to maintain some control over this situation.

“Alright! Alright! I get it, I’m an insensitive asshole, but you REALLY need to stop with these accusations of sister fucking especially when it isn’t even true! Shit, I’m not calling you a whore that sucked Klint’s dick!” you say.
“WHAT?! I did no such thing!” Annah exclaims.
“Well he claimed you did before he attacked me.”
“Pfft. He wished. Look, I get that the dumb asses in town thought I was a whore, but Klint was repulsive…besides he was always sniffing around your sister while she was still around. Never paid any attention to me.”
“Well I figured he was just talking shit anyway…(Sigh) anyway this is a mess. I’m glad to see you escaped town though.”
“Escaped? Nah, I just came out here to find you on my own. Don’t worry, I made sure nobody was following me.”
“Wait, you didn’t get in any trouble?”
“No. They all saw you kill Klint. I mean I did get asked questions, but I just said you and Klint got into a fight and you accidently killed him in the process. They didn’t seem convinced that you killed him by accident though, so yeah they’re still pissed at you.”

You’re almost speechless right now.

“Are…Are you fucking kidding me?! YOU were the one that stabbed him repeatedly in the back! I actually stopped YOU from killing Klint!” you exclaim.
“Yeah, and then you stabbed him in the throat and killed him. Why are you yelling at me?!” Annah remarks.

Now you can’t even speak. You just rub your hands over your face and pace rapidly. In a strange way, you not even that mad at Annah. Everyone pretty much hated you anyway and Annah’s actually just being herself.

And that’s so tragic that it causes you to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Annah asks.
“The absurdity of this horrible situation.” You answer.
“So what’s the plan?
“Good question. Can’t stay out here in the wilderness.”
“Ohhh! Let’s to Klyton!” Annah says excitedly.

Well that would be one option you were pondering.

It’s certainly the closest city and it’s the direction you ran from Teckleville anyway. The problem is if anyone from Teckleville is still searching for you, that’s going to be the first place they look.

Still, Klyton is the only place you really have any basic knowledge about thanks to your parents both being originally from there. Your father never really spoke too much about it, just saying that the only thing worthwhile that he got there was your mother and he was glad when they finally moved to Teckleville to be closer to your grandmother at the time.

Your mother on the other hand didn’t speak so ill of the place, which is surprising since she grew up in a lower class area than your father did. She even said that sometimes she missed the times when she worked at the inn where she met your father in the first place. Of course her knowledge about the city is bound to be a bit out of date.

Also, while Klyton has no jurisdiction over Teckleville, it has been known to apprehend wanted criminals from elsewhere trying to hide out there. Not to mention the place in general has a fairly good reputation (And they want to keep it that way) as far as its own security goes.

“Well we could also head to Holgard or the Delantium Kingdom, I think the closest city there is Sivak” you say.
“No! I want to go to Klyton! I’ve never been there!” Annah demands.
“But you’ve never been to the other places either!”
“Yeah well, they’re too far away, and we could run into bandits and you wouldn’t be much help if they tried to gang rape me. I don’t want to be out here any longer than I have to be.”
“Y’know, YOU don’t need to be out here at all considering you apparently threw me under the horse and cart and you’re not even in any trouble for any of this!”

You almost expect Annah to hit you again, but now she does something worse...she doesn’t do it often, but…

“Oh no…” you say when you see her eyes starting to water.
“I knew it! You blame me for everything! You always blame me for everything that goes wrong! All I fucking did was try to help you when Klint was kicking your ass too! (Sob!) You’re right, I DON’T have to be out here, but I’m out here because I fucking love you okay? (Sob!) I don’t even know why, because you’re a fucking ungrateful asshole!” Annah cries and then runs off to a nearby tree to continue sobbing.

“(Sigh) Damn it….” You say to yourself.

While you’re questioning the idea that this is even a good idea, the fact remains is that in Annah’s strange way she is here for you right now. In fact, she’s possibly the ONLY person on your side right now.

So for better or worse you’ll put up with her. (For now)

“Annah….look, I’m sorry about my tone okay? But you gotta understand I’m trying to deal with all this shit and I can hardly think right now. I mean I didn’t even think I was going to see you again. I’m also worried about my parents. I mean yeah I didn’t get along with them, but they certainly don’t deserve the shitstorm they’re probably going through with the rest of the town right now. I mean what about your mom? You don’t think she’s wondering where you are right now?” you say while rubbing her shoulders
“(Sniffle) Have you met my mom? She probably doesn’t even know I’m gone yet. Hell, she probably doesn’t even know everything that happened yesterday.” Annah says turning around and wiping her eyes.
“Yeah, I suppose so, she is drunk a lot of the time. But anyway, like I said, I’m trying to process the fact that I’m now wanted for murder. I don’t even know how I feel on THAT fact either. The actual murder. I mean I feel like maybe I should feel bad or something.”
“Bad? Why would you feel bad? Klint was an asshole, I’m certainly not upset over it.”
“Well…yeah I suppose I’m not either and it was mostly in self-defense and an accident despite what everyone in town says. Still though, makes me wonder if I’m capable of killing again.”
“I sure hope so, because it’s dangerous out here! Is that dagger the only weapon you got?”
“Hm? Yeah. Apologies, but I didn’t exactly have time to buy a sword on my way out of town.”
“Oh well, I guess it will have to do. Just hope we don’t run into anything bigger than a hungry rat.”
“It’s not the size of the weapon, it’s how you use it.”
“Yes dear, you keep telling yourself that…so are we going to Klyton now?”
“Yeah, we’re going to Klyton…”

Annah makes “Squeee!” sound and then kisses you saying how exciting it will be to finally go to the “Big City.”

Honestly, you think Annah’s enthusiasm to go to Klyton is a little misplaced even if she wasn’t travelling with a wanted murderer. At least she isn’t bitching anymore though.

However, that doesn’t last and she inevitably starts complaining when you insist on staying off the road and sticking to the woods to keep out of sight of any potential person from Teckleville that might be tracking you.

“Dunno why you think this makes you more hidden. I found you in the woods.” Annah remarks.
“Yeah, well not everyone has the magical ability to find me like you do, now come on and keep it down!” You answer.
“You know there are blood stalkers out here and bandits who…”
“Will try to rape you. Yes, I know. You’ve only mentioned that three or four times already. What is your preoccupation with getting raped?”
“You saying that wouldn’t happen?”
“No…I…agh! Look it’s getting dark enough that I can barely see shit in front of me and we probably should just stop for the rest of the night. I’ll see if there’s a suitable tree to sleep in…”
“A tree? I’m not sleeping in a tree! It sounds uncomfortable and I could fall out and break my neck!”
“It’s safer than you think, you just prop yourself up against the trunk and a large enough branch. It’ll actually be safer than sleeping on the ground. Up in a tree we can at least…”
“I’m not sleeping in a fucking tree! I’m hungry, and it’s getting cold! We should build a fire!”

You face palm at your situation. The tree thing you’re flexible on, but a fire? That’s potentially asking for trouble. Still, if you make a fire, you’ll hopefully shut Annah up.
> No compromise
Enough is enough.

“Shut the fuck up already and stop being a bitch! Shit!” you yell.
“Bitch? You fucking shithead, why don’t you…” Annah starts to say before you interrupt
“NO! I’m not fucking finished! You’re gonna listen for a damn change, and don’t think your crying routine is going to work again, because I’m too pissed right now! Look, this is how it’s gonna be…”

Annah surprisingly (and reluctantly) shuts up.

“We’ll sleep on the ground, but we’re not starting a damn fire! Last thing we need to attract possible attention of Teckleville locals looking for me, or monsters or bandits…you know the ones that apparently just love to rape you in every scenario? If you’re cold, well you’ll just have to be satisfied with my body heat and cuddle up against me.” You say.
“You hate cuddling. You always say it feels like you’re being confined.” Annah replies.
“Yeah, well I hate a lot of things right now, but I’m willing to make that sacrifice. Now I didn’t address this before, but did you even pack anything useful with you, I notice you’re travelling kind of light.”
“I have some money.”
“Great. I suppose that will come in useful when we finally get to Klyton. (Sigh) Okay, I brought some food, mostly fruit, and water, so I guess you can have some of that. Don’t eat and drink all of it though…and before you even start, NO I’m not implying anything about your damn weight. I just don’t know how much further it is to Klyton.”
“What about you? What are you going to eat?”
“Well that’s just one more sacrifice I guess. Really I’ll be fine. Let’s just…let’s just try not to fight much more okay? I’m under a lot of stress right now and it’s not helping either of us. I know I sound at this moment, but deep down for some fucked up reason I’m actually glad you’re here. At least I know you care.”

Surprisingly you think you might have gotten through to Annah this time, as she quietly nods her head instead of her usual routine of talking back. She then goes to hug you, which you return.

The remainder of the night is pretty quiet in fact. You’re still half paranoid about someone sneaking up on you both, but you never even hear anything out of the ordinary.

Predictably Annah does indeed cuddle up next to you during the night. While she sleeps fairly sound, you remain in a half sleep state and waking up periodically.

You’ll be glad when you get to Klyton.

The next day is fairly mundane until you notice that the woods is beginning to thin out. If you continue walking the way you are going, you’re going to be in the open fields. and if you’re going to march across the open plains, you might as well just walk on the road since you’ll be just as exposed.

“Well, looks like no more hiding in the trees.” Annah says.
“Looks like. If I was by myself, I’d probably just rest up here at the edge of these woods and walk through the night so as to continue the low profile…but since I know you’re pretty eager to get the hell out of nature’s embrace, we’ll continue along.”
“We travelling through those fields?”
“Nah, if we’re going to march across the open fields, we might as well just walk on the road since we’ll be just as exposed either way. The road will be easier to traverse as well since that grass looks like it gets knee high.”

You and Annah make your way back towards the road and now you’re looking around more than ever. You continue to keep aware of your surroundings by keeping an ear out for various sounds. You still have this idea that you’re suddenly going to hear Teckleville watchmen on horses galloping on your position.

“Will you please stop acting so nervous? I doubt if anyone from home is even looking for you anymore and if they are, I hardly think they’re going to go all the way to Klyton. It wasn’t like you killed the blacksmith, it was just Klint.” Annah says.
“Yeah well you still aren’t the one that’s potentially going to hang.” You say.
“So you keep telling me. Look I think you know I’m just as nervous for other reasons being out here, but I’m trying to stay calm because…well you’re with me and I know you’ll protect me.”
“I thought you said I wouldn’t be much help with my little dagger.”
“I admit I spoke too harshly. I’m sorry. I know you’d probably kill enough of them giving me a chance to run before they cut you down.”

You start to laugh.

“Hey, what about helping me like you did with Klint?” you chuckle.
“Yeah, I guess I could try…we’ll see how it goes when the time comes. But until then, you acting all jittery and anxious is making me feel the same way, so I’d like it if you could take it down a bit…shit what are those?” Annah says pointing ahead.

You see what Annah is talking about. It’s a hanging cage along side the road.

You’ve heard of those before. Klyton apparently uses them when the jails are full and the criminal hasn’t done anything bad enough to deserve outright death. So they get put in these cages until they eventually die of starvation, exposure or someone grants the mercy of killing them. Either way they aren’t the city’s problem anymore. Seems like it would be kinder to kill them immediately.

“Well at least we know we’re getting pretty close to the city. Besides, if there is anyone inside, they’re going to be locked up in the cages. Just stay away from grabbing reach.” You say.

First couple cages you pass are empty. The next one has a decaying smell as you pass, but nobody is in it. You notice on the other side of the road a couple of the cages have bodies in them, but seeing as they aren’t moving, you can only guess you’re probably walking by corpses.

At least you think you are.

“Hey, you wouldn’t happen to have any extra water would you?” you suddenly hear one of the slumping figures in the cage say.

Before you can even answer, Annah speaks up.

“No, and even if we did, we wouldn’t waste it on a dead man.” Annah snaps.
“Okay, it was just a question. Sheesh…that’s some girl you got there son. Good luck to ya with that one.” The man says in a way that sounds sympathic.

You and Annah press on past the cages. Eventually Klyton is in sight and you both quicken your pace, anxious to get to your destination as night has now fallen.

When you get to the city gates, you find them to be heavily guarded and you’re stopped.

“Halt, you two don’t look like merchants or anyone else that has a real job. In fact you both look a bit suspicious sneaking about the city at this time of night.” One of the guards says.
“Sneaking around? But we’re going through the main gate!” you say.
“You giving me lip boy? I’m asking the questions here! We don’t need anymore scum like you in this city!” the guard says and pushes you.

You’re smart enough not to start a fight with an armored guard, but you’re starting to wonder if you’re going to even get in the city.

“Please sir, we just want to get within the safety of the city. It’s night and we don’t want to get accosted by monsters or bandits that plague the countryside.” Annah says in a pleading voice.
“Hmph! Shoulda thought about that before you left wherever it is you came from!” the guard says.
“Indeed we wouldn’t have risked leaving our small town sir, but…well you see we are in love and our parents didn’t approve. We had no choice but to flee and get married elsewhere. Klyton was the closest and safest place.”
“Disobedient to your parents huh? Now I know you’re not fit for this city!”

Annah at this point gets closer to the guard as she spins this tale.

“I know we just look like delinquent ragamuffins to you, but we’re just young and lacking options. We’re just simple folks in the scheme of things and we can’t help how we appear right now or how we feel about each other. Yes, we don’t have much money, but my beloved is skilled in the blacksmithing trade. He’s even willing to work as a dung sweeper if he can’t get an apprenticeship and I fully intend on trying to get work as a waitress.”

Annah goes back to your side and holds your hand .

“All we want to do is start a new life and family together here. Would you really deny us entry when the only thing we’re guilty of is being young and in love?” She says and then kisses you on the cheek.

At this point the guard Annah’s been speaking to, wipes his eye. He then puts a hand in his pocket.

“(sniffle) Here. Take this. Think of it as a wedding gift.” He says and hands you a few silvers which you take.

“Thank you sir.” You say.
“It’s nothing. Go inside. (Sniffle) I’m not sure which gods you two worship, but there is a church of Joachim the Pure that’s open all the time. You can probably get married there right now. It’s just two rights and a left from where you go past the city gates. You can also find a cheap inn in the same area. You should have enough.” The guard says still trying to keep it together.

As you pass the guard, Annah thanks him and says that you’ll both say a prayer in Joachim’s name for his kindness.

When you both get past the city gates and far enough away, you finally say something.

“Okay, THAT was some of your best work. Shit, even I was starting to get a little choked up.” You say smiling.
“Think so? Thanks! If everyone here is as much of a soft sell as that guard, we’re going to clean up.”
“Hopefully. Well we’re finally here. Definitely bigger than I thought, we probably can get better bearings of this place tomorrow during the day. So you want to go find that inn the guard mentioned?”
“You mean spend the night together? Why how improper! We aren’t even married!” Annah laughs.

You laugh too as the pair of you go seek a room for the night.

Well, you’re in a big city now. All you have to do now is figure out how to thrive here.

Your mind races with a list of things you have to do. Even with Annah by your side, it’s still going to be overwhelming at first, but you still have hope that you’ll be able to find the fortune and purpose here that you weren’t going to find in Teckleville.
> You time passes...
Chapter 2E: Partners In Crime

Year 17

“Annah, I know how to pick a fucking lock, will you stop bitching? This is for your benefit. Are you even paying attention?” you say.
“Yes, I’m fucking paying attention. I’m just getting bored and you’re taking too fucking long. If I wanted that experience I’d just suck your dick.” Annah replies.
“Ha fucking ha. There. Got it.”
“Finally. Hey you asshole! Why the hell did you slap my hand?” Annah says, hitting you back.
“Because if you were paying attention, you’d see there’s a blade trap almost well hidden in the roof of the safe. Had I not been here, you’d be giving me hand jobs with your left hand rather than your right in your foreseeable future.”
“You won’t be getting ANY sort of job if you continue to abuse me!”
“Continue to…nevermind. Let me just disarm this and we can get the fuck out of here. And pay attention to what I’m doing!”

So much for Annah changing when she got to Klyton. You sometimes think you’ve gotten to her and she’ll stop bitching so much, but it’s always just temporary. You really miss working with your sister.

While Annah has certainly improved some of her skills she’s ultimately just too damn impatient and lazy for all this and despite her bitching about being the “distraction” during some of your jobs, she relies on it a lot.

You figured showing her the more practical and direct aspects of the job, she’d be more appreciative, but this character flaw of bitching non-stop is making you rethink this too.

You get the strong impression that she’d rather not help you at all and just would rather reap the benefits. Which at this point might at least be easier on you since you’d be able to work in peace, though if that was the case, why the hell would you need to give her any of it? You’d be better off alone and keep everything.

After swiftly disarming the trap, you grab the valuables inside which consists mainly of gold coins and couple pieces of expensive looking jewelry. Not a bad haul. Annah picked a good home to break into even if you would have liked a little more time to case the place first.

Having gotten your loot, the pair of you leave as fast as possible. You both stop temporarily just before you get back to your neighborhood.

“Hold on, let’s be careful. Don’t really feel like stumbling into any Bloody Talons right now, especially with this stash.” You say.
“I thought they were the Crimson Talons.” Annah says.
“I dunno, I think that was their old name. Heard something about a change in leadership and apparently the new leader is some sort of psycho. Nearly got into it with a few of them two days ago saying that I better not be working on their turf. Which apparently is practically most of the city according to them.”
“Well if we moved to a better neighborhood, we wouldn’t have to sneak about like this and I don’t like living at the Welcome Mat, there are a bunch of whores, drunks, and dregs of the city that live there.”
“The Welcome Mat is a shitty place I agree, but we’re less likely to draw attention there. I mean we’re a young couple with no visible means of support. Granted the asshole who runs the place is always bitching about his rent, but given that he’s selling booze without a license in his basement and got whores living in his hotel he’s not likely to turn us in. I mean there is also the militia to worry about and it feels like they’ve been increasing their own patrols in response to the Bloody Talons.”
“Pfft, nobody is going to care what we might be doing as long as we’re paying the coin to live wherever we’re choosing to live at and dressing the part”
“Maybe, but I prefer that we also save a little of our coin because, who knows when we might need it for a bribe or to get the hell out of Klyton one day.”
“What’s the point of stealing shit, if we’re not going to have fun with it?! I’m tired of eating low class food and never getting to wear any of the shinies we take. If I wanted that life, I would have stayed in Teckleville.”
“Look, we’ll talk about this later when we’re not out in the open potentially…”
“Well what do we have here?” A voice exclaims.

You and Annah both turn around to see three men bigger than you. Not by much, but certain enough that three of them are more than you’d be able to handle with just a short sword. In fact you recognize them as the ones that you were just telling Annah about.

“Hey, I know you! You’re that shithead we spoke to earlier this week about not working on our turf. What the fuck are you doing here?” one of them says recognizing you as well.
“Not working on your turf obviously. I’m not doing anything except…going off with this whore.” You say
“WHAT?!” Annah exclaims completely fucking up your excuse.
“Hey paid your price, I’m not giving you another coin!” you remark trying to salvage the situation, but Annah is being uncooperative tonight.
“I’m not a fucking whore, I had enough of being called that in Teckleville! And I’m not going to pretend to be one, just because you’re scared of these three assholes.”

The two Bloody Talons are more amused than angry, but they haven’t lost interest.

“Nice try shithead. Now obviously since you tried to fucking lie to us, you HAVE been working on our turf. However, hand over what’s in your pack now and you and your stupid bitch MIGHT walk away unscathed.” The talkative one says.
“Stupid bitch? You’re the ones in a dumb ass gang probably giving half of your shit to your boss. I’d say you’re the stupid bitches here.” Annah replies.

Going to be one of those nights…

“Don’t think I won’t beat the shit out of you AFTER I’m done beating the shit out of your boyfriend here, you mouthy bitch.” the talkative Talon warns.
“Oh I can think of better things to do with her mouth.” Another says.
“Yeah…you might be right. Maybe we’ll be taking something else along with what’s in your pack.”
“You fuckers and your Halfling dicks aren’t going to do shit! Now get the fuck out of here, before my boyfriend pulls out his pistol!”

You have no firearm of any kind, but unlike Annah, you know when to take advantage of a cue. So you immediately reach into your clothing, which causes the Bloody Talons to immediately run from your position like idiots.

Which is when you take the opportunity to grab Annah’s hand and run the hell out of there as fast as you can.

“HEY HE DOESN’T HAVE A GUN!” you hear one of the geniuses shout, but you and Annah don’t look back or stop until you get to the safety of the Welcome Mat and even then you go straight to your room.

You lock the door immediately and then you finally speak.

“Annah, what the fuck is wrong with you?! We could have been killed!” you exclaim.
“I know, that’s why I got us out of that situation by bluffing that you had a gun. I’d think you’d be grateful that I’m so quick on my feet.”

You nearly have no words…

“Grateful?! I could have gotten us out of that situation a lot easier if you’d just gone along with the whore story!” you say.
“And I said I’m not a fucking whore and I’m not going to pretend to be one either! Besides, they weren’t buying that story anyway. My way worked!” Annah replies.
“Yeah, and what if they had been a little braver and called the bluff OR shit, one of them had a flintlock of their own?”
“Pfft, they’re cowardly gutter scum at heart that’s why they rove in packs and are part of a bullshit gang and did you see how they were dressed? Fucking rags, no way they could even afford a firearm.”

You might as well be talking to a brick wall.

While you’re trying not to get frothing mad and think of a calm way to explain that now thanks to Annah, you definitely will have the Bloody Talons on your asses, Annah has moved on to taking your pack and emptying the contents on the bed and going through them.

You notice she’s putting aside a lot of the contents next to herself.

“What’re you doing?” you ask.
“I’m taking my share. I figure since I saved our asses tonight, that entitles me to a lot more.”
“Saved our asses? I repeat, you nearly got us fucking killed! And on top of that, I had to prevent you from getting your hand chopped off because you were trying to grab shit before checking for traps!”
“Why don’t you want me to have nice things?”
“What?”
“You don’t want me to have nice things! You don’t want me to try to improve my self. You want to keep me dressed in rags, looking like shit and generally being miserable.”
“Annah, okay THAT is not even true. I don’t have any control over how you…”
“Are you afraid if I start feeling good about myself I’ll start looking for someone better?”
“Now you’re just being melodramatic and ridiculous.”
“And there you go dismissing my feelings again!”
“Annah, if you’re so unhappy and dissatisfied with me, then why are you still around? I mean I’m not twisting your arm and holding you here.”
“So I’m an inconvenience to you? I’m starting to wonder if you really love me at all.”

You think about your next words and the possible consequences, but then you do it anyway, because you’ve had it.

“I’m starting to wonder too, given all the shit you put me through on a daily basis!”

Annah’s eyes widen.

“Be very careful with your next words to me.” Annah warns.
“Fuck that, I’ve tried everything with you and nothing fucking works! You are content on just berating me day in day out! When you aren’t bitching about what I’m doing, you’re finding new stuff to nag me about! I thought maybe things would be different here between us, but I guess not. So since you can’t seem to let go, I’ll do all the work as usual…”

At this point you start grabbing all the loot on the bed and putting it into a nearby bag. Then you go to where you keep your “savings” and take some of that out and throw that into the bag as well. You then thrust the bag of valuables into Annah’s hand.

“Wha…what are you doing?” Annah asks.
“Giving you what you obviously need. Hope you find someone better.” You say and start pushing Annah towards the door who is resisting the whole time.
“Hey! Tha…That’s it? Just like that and you’re just fucking kicking me out?! What about the rest of my clothes and belongings?!”
“You got more than enough coin to buy all the nice things you ever wanted, and I know you have just enough skill to get by. It’s been fun and I’ll always remember the good times. Bye Annah.” You say and you shove Annah out the door.

You expect Annah to bang on the door or at least yell at you, maybe even cry, but that doesn’t happen. You just hear her footsteps walking off.

Things between the two of you were always volatile, probably for the best that this ended now. You always thought it would Annah that would eventually leave though; you guess maybe she just needed a little extra shove.

Without much else to do and this being a bit of an exhausting event, you go to sleep. When you wake up its midday and feeling refreshed.

“Annah, are you…oh right.” You say remembering she’s not here, which still seems odd. You sort of figured that maybe she’d sneak back in or something.

Going to be a little weird without her around you think, but life goes on. After all you didn’t expect her to come with you in the first place.

You move on to pondering what your plans are today. While you gave most of the stash to Annah, you can easily live on what you have left for a month before you even need to go out again.

You figure you’ll ponder your long-term goals after getting something to eat. You take some of your coin and exit your room.

As you’re trying to leave the inn, you bump into Randi, the red headed whore that lives in the building. Better than that drunk Joachim priest Virgil asking for a donation again you suppose.

“Hey handsome, what’s going on?” she asks a bit flirtatiously.
“Nothing, just going to get some food.” you reply.
“I see. Where’s your girlfriend?”
“Hell if I know, we’re not together any more.”
“Is that right? Well, you looking for some company then?”
“Eh, I wasn’t planning on it…”
“Oh come on, let me satisfy your other appetites. I’ll even give you a discount for your broken heart.” Randi says thrusting her chest out and moving in closer to you.

You look at Randi who, as far as whores go isn’t exactly top tier, though it looks like she’s put a little more effort into her job today.

Normally you probably wouldn’t give Randi a second look, but it’s not like you have anything better to do and she’s probably going to be cheaper than a girl at an established brothel.
> You go with Randi
What the hell, moving on is all part of the healing process.

“Okay Randi, let’s go.” You say.

You go off with Randi back to her room where you have…an interesting time.

Actually interesting is an understatement. While you really only have Annah to compare her to, you soon learn why Randi keeps in steady business despite not necessarily being the best looking of whores.

Afterwards you spend some of the day seeking out new burglary opportunities, though since you’re a lot lower on coin due to spending some of it on Randi earlier, you engage in a little more pick pocketing.

A couple days pass and you have a burning sensation the next time you piss.

“Shit.” You exclaim and realize that Randi has left you a reminder of your good time with her. You really should have known better you suppose, but you’re still angry. And you don’t feel any less angry when you bump into her in the hallway.

“Hey handsome, you interested in another date with me? I’ll even give you another discount, you look like you’re still in pain.” Randi says.
“Pain? Shit yeah I’m in pain. You fucking gave me crotch rot you dumb whore!”
“What? Oh I did not. You probably just got the burn. Just go to the apothecary and get yourself the antidote. That’s what other people do.”
“Maybe if you’d warned me ahead of time it wouldn’t be fucking necessary!”
“I find that when I tell people they change their mind. People are so judgmental about that sort of thing.”
“I fucking wonder why, get the hell out of my way disease bag!”
“Oh fuck you. I didn’t hear you complaining a few days ago!”

You walk past Randi and make a quick trip to the nearest apothecary.

Just your luck, you get there and there’s a long line. Probably all there to get cured from the shit they caught from Randi.

You wait for a few hours and the line never seems to move which makes sense since there’s only one healer and his assistant working. By the time you start to get closer, the assistant decides to tell everyone that they’re closing for the day.

While this seems to come to no surprise to some of the people, and others grumble a bit, but you’re one of the few that begins yelling loudly.

“What!? I’ve been waiting fucking hours!” you exclaim.
“Apologies sir, but my master is not taking any more business today, he needs to rest like everyone else.”
“Well wake him the fuck up! I got a case of dick fire over here and I need the fucking cure!”
“Sir. I understand your issues. Look, if you come here first thing in the morning, you can be one of the first to get served.”
“What the name of the medicine I need?”
“Excuse me sir?”
“The medicine! What do I need exactly to cure my fucking dick?”

The assistant is a little bewildered by your question, but he answers you and even tells you what it looks like when you ask. You then thank him and leave.

The shop closes and you go back to the Welcome Mat (and shoving Virgil aside when he predictably asks you for coin as usual).

You wait until the middle of the night and then make your way back to the apothecary, which you easily break into.

After a bit of searching you find the medicine you’re looking for and immediately down the stuff. It’s foul, but hopefully it works as intended. Just in case, you grab several more bottles of the stuff.

Feeling mildly more relieved of your situation; you exit the shop with the intent of heading back home.

And then you feel a fist to the side of your face.

This is then followed by a few kicks and then two people picking you up.

“So, not working our turf huh? What the hell you doing breaking into a place we’re protecting? Where’s yer gun at? Oh right, you don’t have one” a man says while searching you and taking away your weapons.
“Hell, where’s his mouthy bitch at? Still would like to shut her up.” One of the men holding you up says.

You can only see out one eye and its dark, but you know immediately that these are the same Bloody Talons you ran into the night you broke up with Annah.

The one who just took away your weapons holds your dagger up in a threatening manner.

“You’re dead.” He says.
“Wait, I can…ugh!” you get out before taking a blade to your body repeatedly.

Eventually your body hangs limp and the Bloody Talons drop you to the ground. Then with a final killing blow, one of them jams the dagger into the back of your neck and leave your bloody body to be gnawed on by the alley rats until morning.