“I didn’t do this for any reward,” Isa said. “I wanted to help. And if you didn’t send that quest to me, who did?”

“I’m not the most religious lass you ever met, so I doubt it was Lady Light. But maybe my mum sent up a prayer. She seems to know when I’ve got myself in a barrel of eels.”

“This Lady is like a goddess?”

“Yeah.” Mery scrunched her eyebrows. “Don’t you have those where you’re from? Never heard of a plane without gods.”

“Religion…. is complicated where I’m from,” Isa said after a moment’s thought. “Yeah, complicated, but I don’t think I’ve heard of Lady Light. But if she told me to come find you, she’s good in my book. Or is that She with a capital?”

“I’d add the capital, just to be safe. The Lady is generous, but She has Her dark side. Now, to the loot. You get first pick, and then we’ll find Lund to look at the rest, yeah?”

Isa looked around the room, seeing it for the first time, really. Besides the piano, there were other hints of wealth and vestiges that spoke of more wealth stolen. A bright, detailed tapestry hung beside the fireplace. The curtains, now torn and bloody, looked thick and soft, but other walls held shadows where there should be paintings.

“I don’t….” Isa shook her head, overwhelmed by the idea of looting a stranger’s house, even one who’d tried to kill her.

“I know,” Mery said softly. “Adventuring’s not for everyone. But this is nature at work. Not always pretty, not always fair. But Isa, they started this, and no reason - now that we’ve won - not to benefit from the struggle.”

“They are bad people,” Isa said slowly.

“And taking their stuff, it hurts them. I know.”

Isa turned to Mery. “It’s true, then. Anne said this Thorn is hopping mad at someone or someones who are stealing, raiding, and generally mucking up their operations.”

With a grin Mery raised one hand. “Guilty. Every step brings me closer to Thorn. He - or she for all I know - has their fingers spread through Hanchen and environs. Before it goes farther, they need to be stopped.”

She walked over to the tapestry. “And taking nice things from them, that helps.” With a yank, the large hanging fell to the floor at Mery’s feet. She turned and said, “I’m not a mercenary. We’ll sell it off and give it to charity.” She grinned. “Most of it.”

Isa moved to the middle of the room and turned around.

“How about,” Mery knelt beside Hamma, the dead captain, “this pretty little sword?” Mery held up the dark metal scimitar. She slid it across the floor toward Isa and then pushed the man over, grunting with the effort. “And a pretty scabbard to go with it.” She held up a belt and a dark wood and silver scabbard.

“I have a sword.”

“But this one is nicer. Looks masterwrought. We can get it appraised tomorrow.” She held out the scabbard. “Take it. If you don’t want it, sell it. Likely get 100 gold for it. Maybe more. Hell, the scabbard might be worth a hundred alone.”

Isa picked up the blade. It did have a nice feel to it. The blade was narrow and mostly straight, with a slight curve at the tip. It looked sharp enough to cut air. She fitted the blade into the scabbard. “This sword almost killed me.”

“Almost.” Mery held up a finger. “That’s the key word. Almost.”

“There’s ale down here!” Lund’s voice came from downstairs.

Mery’s eye twinkled as she took a small pouch from Hamma’s pocket. “Pity about this lovely coat of his. Rather ruined now, but we didn’t have a choice, eh? Let’s check the rest of this floor and join Lund. We could use a drink, all of us.”

In a bedroom across the hall they found a small wooden chest that held hundreds of silver coins. Between them they moved it to the head of the stairs. Mery bent next to the bald man and searched his pockets. She held up a yellowish liquid in a small round bottle. “Potion? I wonder what it is.” She stuck it in her pocket.

“Are you sure it’s a potion?” Isa could not keep the horrified look off her face. “It looks like a urine sample.”

Mery laughed. “Poison maybe, but piss? Unlikely. For a few copper a potions master can say for sure.”

They joined Lund downstairs. He’d moved the spellcaster and the bandit to the corner away from the fireplace and stoked the fire. “Food and ale in the kitchen, some spices, too. And more ale below. 7 barrels in all. Plus 27 gold, a few gems. Oh, and someone here was studying maps. There’s a compass, brass sighter, and those pointy things you use to measure.” He sat down by the fire with a plate and a mug.

Isa and Mery joined him a few minutes later. Isa purposefully sat with her back to the dead men. She didn’t want to ask her friends to move from this warm spot, but she was unsettled to be so close to the bodies. She glanced over her shoulder several times as they ate.

“They can’t hurt you,” Mery said softly.

“Unless a necromancer shows up,” Lund said between bites of bread.

“Speaking of that,” said Isa, “didn’t you say that Mister Blue up there was waiting on a message?”

“I said I thought he was waiting. He was anxious the moment he brought me here. Seemed uncertain what to do.”

“So someone might be here soon, with orders.” Lund looked from Mery to Isa. “I’d like to see those orders.”

“Lund! You big sweetheart,” Mery’s face broke into a huge grin. “Head of the class, you are!” She slapped her head. “I should have thought of it. We wait for the messenger, kill him and--”

“We could just tie him up, take his message,” Isa said. “We don’t have to kill everyone all the time, right?”

Spoiler: Isa's Character Sheet

Name: Isa Chamberlin

Race: Human

Height & Weight: 5ft 6inches / 120 lbs

Class: Fighter Level: 3

Alignment: Good

Background: Stranger in a Strange Land

Hit Points: 20 AC: 13

Current Hit Points: 20

Combat: +4 to Hit

Weapons: Rapier (left hand) 1d8 +2 (piercing) / Quarterstaff (right hand) 1d6 +2 (bludgeoning)

Coin: 21gp, 10sp, 22cp

STR

11

0

DEX

14

+2

CON

11

0

INT

13

+1

WIS

13

+1

CHA

12

+1

Saving Throws: Str and Con +2

4

Acrobatics* (Dex)

1

Medicine (Wis)

1

Animal Handling (Wis)

1

Nature (Int)

1

Arcana (Int)

3

Perception* (Wis)

0

Athletics (Str)

1

Performance (Cha)

1

Deception (Cha)

1

Persuasion (Cha)

3

History* (Int)

1

Religion (Int)

3

Insight* (Wis)

2

Sleight of Hand (Dex)

1

Intimidation (Cha)

2

Stealth (Dex)

1

Investigation (Int)

1

Survival (Wis)

Special Attack: Two weapon fighting. When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.

Class Features:

USED Second Wind - On your turn, you can use a Bonus Action to regain hit points equal to 5 + your fighter level. Short or Long Rest before you can use it again.

USED Action Surge - On your turn, you can take one additional action on top of your regular action and a possible Bonus Action. You must finish a short or Long Rest before using it again.

Martial Archetype: Surgical Fighter

3rd level - Clinical Eye: Spend 1 combat turn studying your enemy and learn one of the following: if the enemy is equal to or stronger than you in strength, dexterity, or constitution. Can spend up to 3 turns to discern all 3. Can be used outside of combat as a free action - spend 1 minute to learn all three.