A Raven's Feather, Part Three

Nicolai had been sifting through the town all day for any information he could find on the young man who had gone missing. Rodric probably would have said he was “snooping” around, but Nicolai did not snoop; he was a professional, a master of his craft, not some common footpad. This was the sort of legwork that paid their expenses, after all.

Unfortunately, he hadn't had much luck thus far. From what he could tell, there had been little reason for whoever was behind these disappearances to target that particular youth. Some people might have said his skills had failed him, but anyone with half a brain knew that, sometimes, there just wasn't anything to find. So far as information on this victim was concerned, the well was just dry.

But there was another topic he was successful in learning about, though it was entirely accidental. While rubbing elbows in one of the local taverns, he overheard a whispered conversation about a big bounty head who had supposedly been seen in the area. Listening in, in the hopes that he might have been able to help these gents with their concerns – naturally – he had gotten some most unwelcome news. An ex-soldier from Falkovnia, an enemy of the state, was reportedly traveling east across Barovia – a man who had killed at least one Talon, and was considered extremely dangerous.

Now, Nicolai was no fool; he hadn't been one of those since losing three months of his allowance on a stupid bet against a childhood friend. No description of said dangerous Falkovnian was given, or of any possible traveling companions, but he didn't need any to piece together what was almost certainly going on. Listening in just long enough to make sure the speaker didn't confide any further information to his friend, Nicolai paid for his drink, and then ducked out of the tavern at his first chance, dashing into the shadows to high-tail it back to Rosa at once. He wasn't entirely sure – he couldn't be sure, not yet – but it was enough information that he knew he had to let her know. It was possible that they all were in very serious danger.



This was bad. It had been several months since someone had last tried to kill Kai, specifically; why did that streak have to break now, and here? As his assailant taunted him with that veiled declaration, Kai stood up slowly from his crouch. That first knife had come too dangerously close to Nicoletta; if this fight continued here, the kids were likely to get hurt. “I don't know who you are, but don't do this. Just leave this place!” Before he realized it, Rosa was moving in his peripheral vision, hand going for the sword at her hip. He shot her a warning glance, and she halted her advance, giving him a look that was at once questioning and angry.

“'Who I am' is unimportant. I've simply come for your head, Raven.” The capital in the final word was obvious. The wiry man reached to his belt again, and Kai caught the glint of several more knives hanging there. “Though I suppose the body as well would sweeten the deal even more. Oh, and before you try playing dumb, don't waste your time; I assure you that I've done my research. I know exactly who you are.”

Keeping his full attention on the man, Kai gestured behind himself to the kids. “Get out of here, all of you. It's not safe here.”

“W-what's going on, Kai?”

“Who is that scary man?”

“Is he gonna hurt you?”

The kids all seemed to speak at once, and Kai just turned his head to give them a pleading look as he shouted. “Go!”

“You should keep your eyes on me, bounty!” Another glint of light, and Kai barely managed to dodge another thrown dagger, taking off at top speed to the side and hoping the fool would follow. At the very least, he seemed disinterested in the kids thus far; that sort of single-minded opponent Kai was grateful for.

“Kai!” he heard Rosa call out as he made for one of the side streets. “I'm coming with you!”

“No! Just stay back and guard the kids!” he shouted back. And with that, he ducked around a corner, stopping momentarily to make sure he could hear the sound of pursuit. He had to lead the man away, and he had to do it now.



Cursing quietly again, Rosa drew her blade, and hustled over to stand in front of the kids, who seemed to be in a state of collective shock. “Alright, you scum, why don't you take my friend's advice and get lost?”

The fighter looked for a moment at Rosa, and around her at the children, then made an annoyed sound. “Please. You can save the act; I don't intend to try and use one of those children as a hostage. I'm only after one man, after all, and he's an outsider around here. It wouldn't do to go angering the locals any more than necessary.”

“And yet you throw knives when children are around.”

He laughed, a dark, unpleasant sound, and started walking in the direction Kai had gone. “I'm very good with my aim. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a walking bag of gold I need to track down.”

Rosa wanted to cut him off, but she wasn't certain she could guard this many innocents at once if the guy decided to try attacking them, especially considering he had ranged capability. And on top of that, she suddenly had a very good reason to not interfere, as much as she hated to admit it – and as much as that hatred surprised her. So she just watched as the man sped up, and then took off at a full run down the street Kai had taken.

Once he was gone, she looked over her shoulder at the kids, spoke a simple, “Stay put!” and then gave chase. Kai had had a bit of a head start, but she could tell he wasn't running away; he was leading this man somewhere. He also didn't seem to know his way very well around town yet, so following the sounds of their running, and their tracks, had Rosa weaving back and forth in a serpentine path. Kai seemed to be trying to lead him out of the village, and it appeared that the man knew it – and was content to play along. She passed several town residents while dashing along who looked like they had seen the two men, and shook her head as she kept following the trail. No matter how this ended, it was almost certainly going to be a pain.

She caught up with them several minutes later, some ways outside the last group of houses, in a clearing before the forest retook its hold on the surrounding environs. It looked as if the two of them had just arrived, as well; Kai stood with his back to the treeline, having procured one of his swords at some point – which explained at least part of his strange route – while his attacker studied him from twenty or so feet away, long knives in both of his hands now.

“Are the kids all safe?” Kai spoke up with the barest of glances her way.

“Yes, they are,” she replied as she reached a hand to her sword hilt at her belt again, stopping only once her fingers settled around the grip. “What's this about, Kai?”

“Just some old business, I'm afraid. Some old business that I can't seem to leave behind.” He watched her for a moment or two, eyes glancing down towards her sheathed sword. When he saw that she wasn't going to draw right away, he looked towards the other man once again. “It's just you and me, alright?”

“Of course,” the rasp spoke. “I have no quarrel with your friend, or with this town. This is strictly a transaction between us.” He turned to look at Rosa then, sizing her up silently. “You will refrain from interfering, I assume?”

Part of her wanted to tell him exactly where he could shove that attitude of his. She was no innocent, by any means, but people who were so flippant and businesslike about the taking of another's life seriously rubbed her the wrong way. Not to mention the fact that if Kai died here, it put them a member down, and their job would suddenly increase in difficulty. But at the same time, she had yet to see Kai involved in a real right; it would be a good chance to assess his skills in a real combat situation. And although she hated to admit it, there might be a very good reason why someone had put a price on Kai's head – there almost certainly was, if her suspicions were correct. The more she thought about it, the more she knew she should just keep her sword sheathed and wait for the outcome.

“Very well,” she finally replied, taking her hand from her blade. “This is your fight, Kai, not mine.”

“You have my thanks.” The truly grateful tone that she heard in Kai's voice was an enigma in and of itself, just another mystery tossed atop the pile. “Alright, then.” Stilling himself entirely, the tall man took a ready stance, closing his eyes for a brief moment, and when he opened them, the look they held was unnerving. Rosa had decided that many words described the man well – flighty, whimsical, lecherous, and laid-back among them. “Cold” would never have entered into the equation; but just then, the look in his eyes was nothing so much as detached, dispassionate ice. “Let's get this over with quickly.”

“Now you're speaking my language.” The other man charged at him a moment later, closing the distance between them rapidly, and his hands moved in a swift flourish, transferring both longer knives into the same hand and tossing several daggers at Kai on the way. The larger man managed to dodge or deflect them all, and once his attacker got into range, took a mighty swing, which missed, but only by a hair, as the lithe figure spun out of the way at the last second.

The fight was fast-paced and brutal as Rosa crossed her arms and just watched. The assassin had the edge in number of weapons, but Kai's range was impressive, even though he wasn't wielding that massive zweihander she had seen him pack onto his horse. He took several gashes along his limbs and torso, but they were apparently shallow, as he hardly seemed to slow down in the slightest.

“...think they're over here...” The sound of high-pitched voices made Rosa's head snap in that direction, coming from the edge of the buildings. The kids! They had followed after all?!

“What are you doing?!” she called out as she saw Lucian leading the way, rounding the last corner before coming into view of the fight. “I told you to stay put!”

It was too late, though. Before she could stop them from coming any closer, she heard a muffled slice, and a sickening cry, coming from behind her. Turning just in time to see the thin man collapsing over into the dirt, his entire midsection caved in and coated with red, her eyes immediately went to Kai. His back was turned to them all, and blood dripped from the edge of his blade. Giving it a shake, he slid it back into its sheath, and then slowly turned to look their way. The cold look was gone from his eyes, replaced by one that was sad more than anything. “Rosa...do me a favor and get them out of here.”

Drawing in a deep breath, and trying to ignore the shocked gasps she heard from the directions of the children, she just nodded, and turned towards them. “Come on, your parents won't be happy if they find out you've been here.” It was a lost cause, she knew; she could already hear the sounds of villagers coming this way, adults who were going to be none-too-pleased at there being a fight to the death right on the edge of their town, but she had to do something. The looks of horror on more than one of the kids' faces cemented that for her.





Kai had returned to the inn an hour or so later, and it was obvious that the mood of the townsfolk had changed considerably as he walked through. Where he had gotten a few friendly waves earlier in the day, now just about everyone glared at him with no small hint of menace, when they met his eyes at all. He couldn't exactly blame them, especially seeing as how he was still cut up from the fight.

Finding Rosa and the others had been easy; they had all congregated in Rodric's room, and the priest saw to his injuries as soon as he walked in without asking for an explanation. Likely Rosa had already filled them both in. Nicolai at least looked equal parts mortified, outraged, and uneasy, while Rosa just studied him carefully again.

She was the first to speak up after Rodric began checking his wounds. “Did you know that was going to happen when we came here?”

“I didn't.”

“But it happens occasionally, doesn't it?”

“It does.”

The stocky Barovian was clearly just dying to say something, but he stayed quiet as Rosa continued looking Kai's way. Kai couldn't make himself meet her eyes, suddenly, instead just looking down a bit.

“Alright, looks like you're good to go,” Rodric finally spoke up after a few more minutes, some quiet chants, and a bandage here and there. “Though I wouldn't advocate any more vigorous exercise today, but I'm sure you already know that.”

“Thanks, Rodric.” He knew he couldn't keep avoiding her eyes, so Kai turned to look at the red-haired woman finally. “I apologize for not telling you. It's only ever happened once while I was on a mission, and I just figured that bringing it up would complicate matters.”

“It does still complicate matters somewhat,” she replied in measured tones, “but Borus warned me that this sort of thing might happen. Mercenaries don't always make friends wherever they go, after all.”

Kai kept his eyes on hers for a long while before responding. “Even so, I'm sorry. I guess we'll probably not be welcome in this town, now.”

Some minutes later, the group was called into the common room of their inn, where they found the mayor waiting for them. “There's no way you can get a start on the roads before night falls,” the middle-aged man told them, “and I doubt we could actually force you to leave, anyway, so you're free to stay the night. However, it would probably be best for everyone if you left as early as possible tomorrow.” He gave Nicolai a stern, meaningful look – perhaps the man had worked in this area before – and then left shortly after.

Dinner was a sullen affair, with even the staff of the inn trying to spend as little time around them as possible. It was just as well; Kai didn't much feel like living it up. Another life thrown away, and in a place he was starting to like. Nicolai glared at him on and off even more intensely than he had before, but Kai barely took notice. Once he had eaten his fill, he excused himself from the table, and headed to his room. He didn't bother with the mental exercises that night.

The next morning, he awoke well before the sun, and got his things ready to go. Rosa came to his door slightly before he was ready to head down for breakfast, fully dressed in everything except for her riding gloves. She regarded him thoughtfully for a second before speaking up.

“Good, you're almost ready to go. Need to get an early start, and all that.”

“Yeah. Heading to breakfast?”

“Perhaps. You're coming as well, aren't you?”

“That was the plan.” As he closed the door, deciding to leave the remainder of his preparation for after food, he felt her hand on his shoulder, and turned around.

When he did, she looked up at him seriously, and prodded him in the same shoulder with one finger. “You're not going to mope, are you? I told you I was prepared for this kind of thing.”

He opened his mouth to protest, but then he caught a certain something in her expression and tone. Blinking once or twice, he paused for a long moment as he stared at her. “...How long have you known?”

“I figured it out sometime yesterday. A big, dark-haired Falkovnian deserter with a strangely kind temperament who goes around doing good deeds for peanuts? And yet calls himself a 'mercenary' the rest of the time? I didn't need that idiot with the armory full of knives to call you a raven by that point.”

Glancing up and down the hallway, though Rosa had spoken the last part quietly enough that he knew it would have been highly unlikely for someone even twenty feet away to hear, Kai looked to her in a bit of surprise. “And yet, you're strangely calm about it. Aren't you afraid I'll flip out and kill you all special forces-style?”

“Please. I've seen enough of you these past few days to know just how likely that is. Not to mention the face you made after killing that guy in completely justified self-defense.” She shook her head, and made a “tch” sound through her teeth. “You have the good sense to dislike killing people, even when you have to, and you seem to get genuine enjoyment from helping people out. That sounds like reason enough for there to be people in Falkovnia who want you dead.”

He was a bit stunned, and finally just laughed quietly under his breath. It was his turn to shake his head, now. “Very analytical of you. But what if I'm just, you know, crazy?”

“Then all I have to do, in that case, is get inside your reach.” Giving a slight smirk, she pointed to each of his shoulders in turn. “With those wide swings you make, if I strike precisely enough, I can neutralize you in seconds. That guy yesterday just didn't have what it took.”

“And you're saying you do?”

“I'm willing to bet on it. Let's just hope it never comes to that, hm?” She patted his shoulder again as she said that, and he just shook his head again.

“Sca-ry.”


The team wasn't much more talkative at breakfast, but Kai didn't feel the same crushing weight anymore. His conversation with Rosa had been surprisingly helpful; he was even able to ignore the fact that Nicolai continued to shoot him dirty looks. When everything was packed and ready, he hefted his equipment and headed to the stables.

He found a surprise waiting for him. Despite the fact that the sun had just been up a short time, there stood Lucian, Nicoletta, and two of their friends, blocking him from reaching the stall where Merc was looking on in a bored manner. The two in the back showed varying degrees of uncertainty, but Nicoletta and Lucian looked determined, if anything.

Giving a wistful grin, Kai stopped once he neared and set his bags down. “You all know you're not supposed to be here, right? Your parents would probably beat me to a pulp.”

“Of course meeting with the enemy isn't allowed,” the tall boy spoke up. “But Invincible Warrior Lucian doesn't let that stop him from showing respect to a worthy foe.”

“Ah, I see.” Walking forward, Kai crouched down and looked between the two of them. “Does that go for Fair Princess Nicoletta as well?”

“Yep, it does.” Taking her hands from behind her back, Nicoletta held out a raven's feather that had been woven onto a short cord. “This is a gift. It'll protect you from evil wherever you go, so...I hope you'll accept it?”

Laughing quietly, Kai reached forward to ruffle both of their hair. “Of course. The Lamordian bear-man can't be permanently defeated, but he can be bribed.” Taking the feather into his hand carefully, he set it on top of his backpack for a moment, and removed the plain silver stud from his earlobe. It took him a few seconds, but he managed to wind the cord around it slightly, and fastened it back into place. “It's not the hand of the Fair Princess, but it's a fine gift. I'll wear it proudly.”

Nicoletta giggled, and Lucian spoke back up. “That means you have to come back and play with us again, alright? It's much better when we have someone strong to fight.”

“I dunno, bears hibernate for a long time after a bruising defeat.” Kai stood up, and pretended to consider it for a moment, crossing his arms. “But I'll see what I can do. Make sure you and your team keep in practice either way, got that?”

“You bet!”

“Good. Now, run along, before you get in trouble.” The group of kids left, with Nicoletta turning back to look once more before she scurried off to join them, and Kai chuckled again, shaking his head. He would have to make a more suitable attachment for his new raven talisman, but it had a good feel to it.

“That's a good look for you.”

He was surprised by Rosa's voice, turning to see her at the other end of the stables. “How long were you there?”

“Long enough.” She walked over to her horse, and started adjusting saddlebags. “You ready to go now?”

“Yeah. I think I am.”