Maya’s sickle flew through the air, slicing through a man’s shirt and leaving a thin furrow on his chest. She blew him a kiss as another man dove at her. She jumped towards him, nimbly stepping off his shoulder and launching herself into the air.

She threw her sickle upwards, catching a support beam going across the ceiling and swinging across the tavern. The pirate let out a holler and yanked her sickle free of the ceiling. She flew feet first into a large man, driving the breath from his lungs and sending him stumbling backwards. Maya slammed the weighted end of the chain into his chin, knocking the man out.

Behind her, Cyll was enjoying himself. Cries of pain and shock echoed around him as the pirate waded through the crowd, their attacks just passing through him harmlessly. He never bothered drawing his axe. He was content to fight with his fists and, occasionally, his bag of steamed buns.

A sword wielding man let out a yell and charged Maya. She cocked an eyebrow and threw her sickle out. It rushed past the man, just barely missing him. Before he could even grin, Maya yanked it back. The sickle caught his sword and wrapped around the weapon.

With a quick tug, Maya drew her sickle, and the man’s sword with it, back to her hand. She picked the sword up and pointed it at the man, who had frozen in place.

“Weren’t you coming for me?” She asked, grinning.

“I – ah, have to go pay my tab. You can hold onto that,” he quickly said, spinning and running away from the woman.

“Who’s next?” Maya called, tossing the sword onto the ground in front of her. “I can whip you all day, or you can shut up so I can explain why we’re here!”

A man sailed through the air and crashed into a table beside Maya. Cyll gave her a wave as a sword passed through his throat. The man frowned, spinning and backhanding the offending man violently.

“Or don’t! I’m rather enjoying myself!” Cyll called with a laugh.

Maya shrugged when nobody else responded. Her sickle spinning, she dove back into the fight. She ducked and weaved past her opponents. Not a single one of them managed to land a strike on her as she slipped through their ranks like a ghost, scoring each one of them with a lightning-fast slash of her weapon.

The pirate captain made her way towards the bartender, who was watching the fight unfold with a baffled stare. The large man noticed her coming when the yelling grew closer to him.

Maya burst from the crowd with a savage grin on her face. The bartender matched her with his own smile and beckoned for the woman to come at him.

“You looking for a fight, girl? Come and get–”

His words were cut off as Maya’s foot slammed into his stomach. She wasn’t a big person by any means, but she was fast and had a lot of momentum. The bartender recovered quickly and lunged to grab her.

Maya ducked under him, slashing him lightly in the side with her sickle as his arms swung over her. She popped up behind him and kicked him in the back. The kick pushed the large man a step forward, where he tripped over someone that Cyll had tossed.

Before the bartender could stand, Maya was above him, her foot on his shoulder and her sickle at his neck.

“It was fun, but the fight’s over,” Maya said, with a cocky grin.

The bartender swallowed, very aware of the blade that rested at his neck. He gave Maya a very slight nod and she removed the weapon. They stared at eachother for a moment. The young woman then offered him her hand.

After a moment, the bartender grinned and took it, nearly yanking Maya from her feet as he rose. His chest bulged as he drew in a deep breath.

“ENOUGH!” He roared. The words tore through the tavern like a fierce gale, ending the fight as quickly as it had started.

Cyll bonked one more man over the head with his sack of steamed buns before he’d realized everyone had stopped attacking him.

“Oh, bummer. Are we done already? I was having fun,” Cyll asked, a small frown crossing his face.

“What he said!” Another man called. “Do we really have to stop?”

“How many of you have a thin cut somewhere on your body?” The bartender asked. “If you do, this girl probably could have injured or killed you. Anyone who isn’t cut is welcome to continue, although I highly doubt you’ll have much luck.”

Silence fell over the tavern. There were a few awkward moments of silence. The first man Maya had cut cleared his throat and sheathed his weapon.

“Damn, girl. I thought that was your daddy’s hat, but I’m getting the feeling you really are a captain. Apologies,” he said, giving her a very imbalanced bow.

“Apology accepted,” Maya said smoothly. “Cyll, put the sack down. The fight is over.”

Cyll slowly lowered his bag of steamed buns and the man who he’d been about to smack with it sent Maya an appreciative glance as he scrambled away. The bartender righted a table that had been knocked over in the fight and slapped his hand on top of it with a loud bang.

“Alright, fun’s over! Go back to being useless,” he yelled.

The tavern burst into motion as everyone set the tables back up and collected what remained of their drinks. Within moments, nobody was paying attention to Maya or Cyll. The bartender gestured for them to sit and walked behind his counter.

“You’ve proved you belong here all right,” he said, rubbing his neck. “Name’s Diggs. What brings you two to this shithole?”

“We’re looking for a boat. A small one,” Maya said. “We heard this might be the right place to buy one.”

“Normally you’d be right, but the Ashwind family doesn’t take kindly when people don’t follow their orders. It would take a whole lot of gold to–”

Maya placed a gold coin on the table in front of Diggs. His eyebrows raised slightly as she jingled her pockets and Cyll did the same.

“There’s a lot more where that came from,” Maya said. “More than enough to pay for any troubles someone might have if the Ashwind family comes looking.”

“I think we can make something happen. I’ve always wanted to stick it to that pompous group of morons. Stay the night, I’ll have someone willing to work with you by the morning. Nobody will bother you; I give you my word,” Diggs said.

“You can keep that coin as a finders fee, then. And to pay for some repairs,” Maya said, smirking.

A grin spread across Diggs’ face and he pocketed the coin. He reached out and shook hands with Maya, nodding his head just enough that it might have been a bow.

“A pleasure, Captain…”

“Maya.”

“Captain Maya. Welcome to Hook bay.”