An elbow to the ribs startles Reud from his thoughts. Bo sits motionless as always, a large hooded cloak hiding him completely. Lilia, on the other hand, seems fixated on something the other side of the tavern. Again she elbows him.

“Reud, over there.” She gestures with her chin.

Reud turns to look in the direction she is so focused on. The other side of the tavern sits a band of thugs, surrounding a blonde-haired girl. Beside the girl sits a muscled man, his hair and beard greying, his mouth twisted into a perpetual snarl. The man’s purple eyes are fixed on Lilia, a small flame flickering into existence then winking out above his palm.

“Band of thugs led by a mage, unlikely to be a local, or we would have encountered him yesterday. With the company he keeps, I’d say provincial tax collector.” Reud murmurs.

“Well, what are you going to do about it.” Lilia says, not breaking her gaze.

“Well we aren’t residents, so we don’t owe tax. Just keep out of his way I guess. He’ll leave once he has his money.” Reud goes to turn back to the table before taking another elbow in the ribs.

“I mean the girl, what are we going to do about her?” Lilia frowns at Reud. "The way that man is pawing at her, her face, she's obviously too scared to get away. Come on, Reud, we have to do something."

“This is how things work here now. Sadly people like him have all the power.” Reud says, shrugging. “He’s probably officially appointed, fifth son of a noble house or something similar.”

Lilia stares at him, her eyes hard, before giving him a sharp kick in the shin.

“Ow! What was that for?” Reud yelps.

“You’ve changed, Reud. The man I married wouldn’t have let his people be treated like this.”

“My people?” Reud asks, eyebrows raising in surprise. “Where did that come from?”

“Yes, your people! You were being trained to inherit weren’t you? Even if your older brothers were ahead of you in the succession, you’re still an Ashmark, these are still your people aren’t they?” Lilia punctuates each sentence with a poke to Reud’s arm. “I know it’s been a long time, but that fact doesn’t change. You’re supposed to protect them.”

“Yes, but-” Reud begins, before stopping. It’s not like she was wrong. Back before Rudase had lost the war with Lightire, the Ashmarks had been the ruling family, first among the noble houses. Reud and his brothers had all been trained in statecraft, though as Reud had been so far down the succession he was allowed to focus on indulging his passion in magic instead. A fact he’d forgotten in the long centuries since the war. He’d been so disconnected from these people for so long, he’d forgotten that sense of duty.

“All memory of the Ashmarks is lost. Not a single member of my family remains, except me, and no one even remembers we existed.”

Old pain blossoms in his heart at the memory of his lost family. Forgetting it all, turning his back on these people, it would be easier. That route served him well in the long centuries of solitude. Looking to Lilia, seeing her expectant expression, Reud knew that was no longer an option. As easy as it would be to just forget his past, she would not forgive him, and losing her was something he would never again be able to bear.

Lilia’s frown deepens, and she opens her mouth to say something but is stopped by Reud raising a hand.

“But I admit, just because no one remembers me doesn’t mean I don’t still have a duty to these people.” With a sigh Reud pushes his chair back and stands up. “Come on Bo, you just follow and stand behind me.”

Lilia smiles widely and stands up too. “Good, now there’s the man I married.”

Together, they pick their way across the tavern, Lilia unblinkingly staring at the man they are heading towards. She wraps her hand around the pommel of her sword, her knuckles going white as her grip tightens. Eventually they come to stop, the six thugs and the tax collector craning their necks to look up at him. The tax collector sneers as he looks Lilia up and down.

“Your girl has been staring for a while. She getting jealous that Rachel here,” he slaps the woman’s thigh hard, “has a real man to satisfy her? Not some pale, white-haired freak.”

Turning his head, he spits on the ground. Looking at Lilia, he continues. “I’m Telac. Why don’t you come sit on my knee, girl.”

The thugs laugh and make lewd gestures towards Lilia as their boss talks. Lilia’s face darkens with each word, her jaw going tight as she clenches her teeth.

Then with a flash her eyes blaze with indigo light. A white glow traces her muscles, shining through her clothing.

Telac’s smile vanishes. “A mage. You’re nobles? What the hell are you doing in my province?”

Lilia glares at him. “That’s none of your business.” She steps forward, pushing between the thugs, and leans on the table to stare at Telac. “I hate people like you, scum who feed on the weak. If you ask me there is only one thing someone like you deserves.” Reaching out, she grabs one of the tankards on the table.

Telac sneers. “Oh yeah, and what would that be, little girl?”

“A shallow grave.” She snarls out. Her hands shine with white light as she squeezes the tankard. Unable to withstand the force the tankard explodes, sending wooden shards and ale spraying over Telac.

With a shout of fury Telac springs up, shielding his face, pushing Rachel to one side. “Get them! Kill them all!” He shouts.

The thug to Reud’s left stands, grabbing at a club on his belt, only to be knocked flying as Lilia smashes her glowing fist into his head. Another thug grabs Reud’s arm with one meaty hand, struggling to draw a short blade from his side. Letting the man pull him in, Reud stiffens his fingers into a claw and slams them into the man's eyes. With an agonized wail the man falls back, releasing his grip.

Lilia lays into the thugs crowded around her, their clumsy attempt to hit her with their clubs ineffectual as she dodges side to side, her body blurring slightly as her magic supercharges her reflexes. Seeing an opening she kicks out, catching a thug in the chest with the wet crack of breaking ribs. The man is flung into the air to slam into the wall with an almighty crash. Not slowing, Lilia spins and delivers a sweeping kick to another man’s knee, bending it the wrong way and sending him tumbling into one of his companions with a scream.

A flash of flame sears the air as Telac tries to join the fray. The press of bodies around Lilia make it hard for him to get a clear shot on the glowing woman. “Move, you idiots!” He shouts. “You want to get burned with her?”

Stepping back, Reud calls on his magic to send a thought to Bo. The hooded skeleton, perfectly motionless until this point, springs into action. Knocking over a chair, he leaps onto the table, crouching to regain his balance.

Telac spins and raises a hand to the approaching figure. His eyes glow with purple light, and a gout of flame engulfs Bo. Telac laughs as the flames surge, an acrid stench filling the room, the blazing figure filling the room with sweltering heat.

Telac’s laughter dies as the gout of flame ceases, revealing the figure beneath. Bo stands unharmed, the remains of his robe falling away in burning chunks, exposing his skeletal body beneath.

“What in Vistol’s name is that!?” Telac gasps as he stumbles backwards, his eyes wide with fear.

Bo springs forward before the man can react, smashing a boney fist into the side of his head. The pair tumble to the floor, Bo staying on top of the large man. Bo wraps his hands around the mage’s head, before slamming it into the ground. The dull thud of flesh on wood sounds through the chaos as Bo raises the man’s head and slams it down again and again. The man flails at the skeleton, but his grip nothing but air, completely unable to dislodge the powerful skeleton pounding him into the floor. Telac’s screams fade with each sickening impact, turning into a wet gurgle and then with a last crunch, nothing.