Devin could feel the tension in the air, the frustrations of two opposing factions getting ready to come to an ugly, bloody head. The groups were facing off from each other, weapons drawn and teeth bared. Snarls and scowls were on every face.

The electric air was broken by a piercing wail. “My consort!” Tintin cried, her voice a shrieking cry that sounded like a juvenile coyote practicing its killing yip. Her wailing dissolved into hysterical crying, her shoulders heaving with each body wracking sob.

The anger of the two groups faltered as everyone watched her cry. They seemed unsure what to do at this point. On one side, the leader of their little rebellion had perished, and on the other, their leader was making an open fool of herself.Devin glanced back at his group and found them just as startled and dumbfounded as he was.

“Should we do something?” Teryn whispered, her eyes wide and watching the sobbing queen.

“Maybe we should try to leave,” Shia had her bow out and an arrow half drawn, keeping it nocked and ready in case someone decided to charge them.

“I think we can take them, we have at least half of them on our side,” Murton said.

Shia scowled at him, “I don’t know that we can trust the half that was behind Tonkins. He kept them together and away from us. Can we really try to make the same false promises to all of these bandits?”

“Listen here, youngin’, I've been a part of this band from the beginning and say we should fight them. I think I know our abilities better than you.”

“I have to lean on Shia’s side with this one,” Teryn said. “Better to cut our losses and flee at this point. We have some incredible information we need to start investigating as soon as we can.”

Devin turned to Griff who grunted and held his shield and hammer a little higher. He sighed, closing his eyes. The group was tied and he would have to make the decision. He had always dreamed of being a leader in a group of adventurers, making decisions that would affect things around him. It's easy to think of the simple decisions, the ones that have good outcomes all around. No one ever tells you about the decisions you have to make that lead to people getting hurt or even killed.

He thought back to all the fifth members that had died in their little group in the previous adventures and contracts they filled. As his mind looked back at them all, some faces easy to recall and others a blur or vague feeling rather than a distinct memory, he felt tired and empty. He was tired of losing people. He was tired of always getting the shaft and losing the fight. Maybe becoming the leader of a rich contract band was not in his future. Maybe that was beyond his reach. He could still be a good man though and do the right thing.

He opened his eyes and felt a fire alight in his stomach, helping to drive back the heavy weariness. “We will stand and fight. These people are murderers and have information on someone setting up something big. We need to find out what is happening, and soon, so we can stop it.”

Murton let a small cheer out. Shia opened her mouth to argue but Teryn laid a hand on her arm. “It’s best not to argue the point. I agree with you, running from here would be the safest course of action. However, as Devin said, it is not the best course of action. What does it say of us if we let these monsters continue what they are doing? What happens if they do not fight and unite even stronger with a taste for the murders they committed?”

Shia stood, arrow still half pulled, and regarded the group of bandits in front of the group. It did not seem like the violence was dying down. Weapons were drawn on both fronts and shouts started to come through the wailing of the pitiful queen, who now had flopped onto the earth and was stroking the corpse of her former consort. Devin could not help but grimace for the man. Hopefully he was not looking on from whatever afterlife he had entered and seeing this spectacle.

She finally nodded, “Ok. So what do we do now?”

The group turned towards Devin as one. “I think I have a plan, or at least the beginnings of one, but I am definitely open to any suggestions or ideas.”

“What have ya got?” Murton asked.

“Well, we want them to fight. If we can get the two groups to fight, they can wear each other down. I was thinking we lay low for now, let them fight, then hop in and clean up the mess.”

Teryn nodded, “Yes, that seems the best plan to minimize harm to us since we are wading into this battle.”

“Hey guys,” Shia said.

“So how do we make sure they fight?” Murton asked.

“Guys.” Shia said again, a bit louder.

“That is the key. We can try to go in amongst the groups and fan the flames, but they will know it's us right away. Our best bet is to just stow their emotions directly. Appeal to those against Tintin and make them attack.” Devin said.

“Guys!” Shia shouted. They turned toward her to find her, eyes wide, and pointing back towards the clearing where the two men had fought moments ago. The group turned toward the bandit groups.

Tintin was being held hostage by one of the bandits. Now that he was paying attention to them again, Devin could pick out what the man was saying.

“Had enough of the shit from this woman! That man,” he brandished a sword toward the pile of two dead men, “Was my brother and deserved better than having to fuck this pile of dung!”

He held Tintin by the back of her head, pulling hard on her hair and exposing her neck. The sword he was brandishing would whip around as he talked, but kept coming to rest at the crick of her neck. Tintin had stopped wailing, but tears spilled down her pasty face, blotched with red from crying.

The groups of bandits were even more tense now. One stepped forward with her hands up, trying to calm the one holding the queen hostage.

“Come now Rasts, we don't need to end this way. Let her go, and we can talk this through. I’m sure Tintin will be happy to adjust some things of our group for us.”

“Bullshit!” Rasts yelled. “I’m done being ordered around by a sack of shit who can barely support her own self, let alone lead us in a fight! I know there are those among you who agree with me. Tonkins was right, and my brother died there with him, a broken man defending this crap.” He brought the sword back around to her throat. Devin saw a small line of red across her neck as the blade sliced into her neck.

“Rasts, no!” a woman called and stepped forward. Rasts pulled hard on his blade, cutting a much deeper score across Tintin’s neck next to the small cut he made moments earlier. Scarlet blood erupted from the wound and poured down her front. Tintin made sickening choking noises and her dirt covered hands scrabbled at her neck, glistening with blood and slapping on the skin.

“No! Gods damn it Rasts! That was our Queen, you shit! I’ll kill you!” The woman who stepped forward pulled her blade out and leapt at Rasts. The entire group of bandits descended into chaos, with everyone brandishing their weapons and leaping at the nearest person.

“Well, I suppose that solves that issue,” Shia muttered behind Devin.

“Damned woman, I’m supposed to make the cunning remarks!” Murton pouted. Devin grinned, still facing away from the two, and watched the melee unfold in front of him.

He was absolutely sure the bandits were not trained as he watched them fight. While the contest between Tonkins and Grevors had been a spectacle to watch, those two men were clearly trained to fight in a myriad of ways. The brawl in front of him now was just that, a brawl. In fact, he had seen drunken brawls with more finesse than what was happening here.

Men and women lashed out at the nearest person to them, regardless of what side they may be on. Swords hit armor and sliced through and cries filled the air. Several people had abandoned their weapons entirely and were rolling in the dirt, biting and scratching at anything they could get ahold of.

More screams and cries filled the air as people began to take more and more deadly hits. Devin could see blood starting to spill and get splashed around, several of the combatants were already drenched in it. One woman with a mohawk, was colored nearly entirely red as she swung two swords around her in a bizarre whirlwind of steel and gore.

Two bandits fighting managed to spill over near the group of adventurers that were just watching them. They rolled around on the ground for a minute before the woman pulled a knife and stuck it in the gut of the man. The men let out a sound like a balloon deflating and she pulled the knife out and slit his throat. Panting, she stood up and seemed to notice the Black Boar Band for the first time.

“Oi!” she yelled. “It's the fuckers that started all o’ this! Let's kill them too!”

Devin frowned as several of the fighting groups nearest to them seemed to hear this woman's call and looked over. A chorus of agreement started to come up around them and more groups started to turn their way. Soon, the entire camp, minus the ones who had already fallen to blades, had ceased fighting against one another and were now looking at Devin and his band of adventurers.

Devin could scarcely believe it. What level of stupidity and short sightedness could possibly be governing these people that they would be able to quit stabbing each other at a moment's notice and turn their rage toward another group?

“Are you fucking serious right now?” he shouted. The time for niceties and diplomacy was gone. These people were psychopaths. Every last one of them was as stupid as dirt and violent, one of the worst combinations to ever come into sentient life.

“You people are the dumbest sacks of shit I have ever seen in my whole gods damned life! And let me tell you, I’ve seen some pretty stupid shit!”

“Devin,” Teryn's hand came to rest on his arm. He shrugged it off and turned his head toward her, keeping his body facing the crowd of bloodied thugs.

“No, I’m done playing nice with this pile of waste. I’ve seen more redeemable people lying in a ditch filled with sewage, offering sexual favors to get coin for their Gryphon Dust addiction!”

“You shut your damn mouth, stringbean!” A shout came from the crowd. Devin flicked back toward them and tried to find who shouted.

“Who was that? Want to come and make me shut up? You all are the sorriest sack of elephant shit I’ve ever met. You followed the filthiest thing I’ve ever seen into ruin and for what? The one man who offered you change out is lying dead,” he pointed toward the two bodies still laying over one another.

“‘Taint our fault! It's the Silver Queens!” another voice piped up, but with less conviction than the original shout. Devin saw the person who shouted, a mousy haired wiry man.

“Oh, shut the fuck up,” he said, taking a step toward the crowd. A few stepped back, but most stood their ground, if hesitantly. He fought to keep his hands from shaking with anger and adrenaline. The familiar fires of anger and frustration were blazing in his gut now.

“I am so sick and tired of people like you taking the easy way out, picking on those who can't defend themselves, preying on the weaker. Then, when shit hits the fan, you blame anything but yourself! It's disgusting and cowardly!” Devin shouted.

“We ain't no cowards!”

“We gonna stand here and let this guy insult us? We outnumber him!”

“Shut your trap Eddie, wanna get us all killed?”

“Shut yours Mark, siding with that dirt covered woman you called a queen!”

Another chorus of arguments broke out as several of the thieves and brigands started arguing amongst themselves again. Weapons were raised threateningly at each other.

Devin watched in disbelief as they started to squabble again. The vitriolic fire began to rise, pushing into his chest and throat. He looked back at his group.

“If you don’t agree with what I am about to do I won't blame you if you don’t join me here. These people are the worst of the worst and do not deserve to escape from this encampment. They are stupid, dangerous, and armed, and deserve to be put down before they bring more carnage to the world.”

“But isn't that what the law is for? Shouldn’t we hand them over to the Silver Queen?” Shia asked, biting her lip and glancing toward the bandits as their arguments escalated. The sound of weapons hitting each other began to rise out.

“No, little one,” Murton’s voice was soft. “I heard who supplied him. They won't find anything but pardons in Mossglenn Depot. It’s best this was dealt with outside the realm of law.”

Shie continued to chew her lip, turning to each member in turn. Griff stood stoically and met her eyes. Teryn met her eyes and glanced away, nodding slightly.

“It’s the tough decisions like this that define who you are and what you will become. I don’t want to sound cynical, but life is full of hard shit like this when you live out here. If you don't want to be a part of it, none of us will blame you. We will help you get back to town once we are done and you can be on your way.” Devin said.

Shia met his gaze for a few moments and he saw the fire in her eyes. Mixed with it was hesitation and fear as well.

“I will help,” she said quietly. “I’ve just never, well, I’ve never killed anyone before.”

“You shot that one guy in the leg earlier,” Murton pointed out.

“That was just to stop him. Killing is different.”

“Just think about what they did to that town. Think about the men, women, and children who were cut down as some sort of sick sport for them. Picture what they did to those people before they killed them. Do you think it was quick, do you think it was painless? No, they had their sick sport and pleasure with them before killing them.” Devin said.

Shia took a deep breath and pulled an arrow back on her bow. “Ok,” she nodded, “I’m ready.”

“Thatta girl,” Murton said, pulling his axe back into combat position in front of him.

“Thank you all. Normal battle plan, Shia and Teryn keep an eye on us as we head in please, don’t let anyone stab us in the backs,” Devin said. “Ready?”

They all nodded, Murton looking eager while Shia had paled slightly.

Devin turned and gave his daggers, Thorn and Blossom a quick flick with his wrists. They spun around once, twirling deftly. As the leather handles settled back into his palms he dove into the second melee that had broken out. As he charged in with Murton and Griff his daggers flew out in a blur of attacks and the screams started.