93. Street Fighting: Ruku

What in all the tentacles of the Octopod have I got myself into? Sione had these two pegged as Warren and Tabitha Carter, but Sten’s real name is Wiremu. Is he not her brother? What happened to the brother? Is Skygge not Tabitha? Does Sione have everything wrong? I don’t know what the fuck’s going on, and we have way too much to do to sort it out now. We have to get a bunch of non-combatants to a safe house through the enemy-patrolled territory.

Why the hell do they have safe houses, and how many do they have? It sounds like they are fully-fledged undercover operatives with government-level backing. Better than government-level backing if that knife was what I thought it was. A Blacksteel war knife? Then there is the operative I have never even heard of, let alone met. Who the hell is Nyx? Skygge offered to leave her with Skavt, indicating she was present, but there was nothing on my Sonar.

We joined the others, and Skavt was issuing orders, “Ruku, your job is to stay with the Comedic Rhythm and keep them safe. Everybody, safe house two is our first choice. It is a stone single-level cottage on the southern corner of Fifth Avenue and Cobbler lane. If we are cut off from that, head to safe house one, an apartment above Stone and Steel Blacksmiths on Firepot Lane. Ruku knows where they are?” she posed a question to me.

“Yes, Ma’am” My Marine training was strong, making me slip to referring to her as Ma’am.

“Ruku, your teammate is Modrica, and the two of you will take care of anything that gets past the Canine Queens.”

I nodded to Modrica, and she gave me a grin that pulled at the scar on her face.

“We are going out the front entrance, so let's go. Kryddor, Ört’s bond, is our scout, so Ört may call out directions. Apart from him and me, no one else is to talk unless it's an emergency. If I get separated, Ruku is in charge.”

The front entrance is opposite the backstage exit we would normally use, so we hoped it was the least expected exit. I was equipped with my shield and short sword again as I felt it was better for close fighting. I was missing my spear, though. Modrica had on some fighting gloves, which had some Spiritually enhanced spikes on the knuckles. She also had a knife and a wicked one-handed mace with multiple sharp ridges around it.

Ört had his ridiculous, huge, two-handed axe on his back. I was pleased to see he also had a knife and a pair of one-handed war axes. Najprej and Drugič had their standard sword and shields, and Skavt had a shortened Spear and a load of Javelins on her back. I assume she is our ranged fighter for this fight because that is what we are missing without Sten, Wiremu or whoever he is.

Skavt was the first out the door, throwing a javelin as soon as the doors were open. The yell from the watcher was cut off, but it still happened, and she turned right to the nearest street. Najprej and Drugič were right behind her, then Ört and the five from the Comedic Rhythm. Modrica and I brought up the rear, making sure everybody stayed together.

We must be starting on the path Sten and Skygge took because we started seeing bodies. Then there was a group of bodies together, but we turned into an alley before passing them. I kept an eye on the entertainers, who were not used to this level of violence. The Elves, Canwr and Bwr especially. Bwr was almost constantly trying to comfort Canwr and shield her, but I didn’t miss that his hands were shaking. They were entertainers, not fighters.

We moved out onto the next street over, and a loud whistle went out from a watcher that had been missed. We picked up the pace and turned into the next street just to change direction. Around the next corner was a group of thugs. Possible ten to twelve of them. They all had a blue bandana tied somewhere on their bodies. I assumed it was a gang symbol, but I didn’t know which one.

Skavt said, “Canine Queens have this. Formation one. Ruku is in charge.” The Canine Queens moved toward the group.

I moved to the front and directed everybody else into the nearest alley to get us away from the fight. As we moved down the alley, I heard the two groups clash behind us. Then my Sonar pinged, and I Enhanced my Physical Agility and moved back to the Comedic Rhythm as fast as possible with my shield up. I caught the rogue coming off the roof with a glancing blow, and he lost his footing, bowling into Canwr and then sliding on the ground. Before he could get up, Modrica smashed her mace down and splattered his brains on the pavement.

Bwr helped Canwr up, and she was bleeding from a cut on her arm. When she saw the remains of the rogue, she lost it, turned to the wall, and threw up. Most people don’t see this level of violence. The Army and the Watch’s job is to help make for a peaceful society. A peaceful society is a productive and profitable society. The Watch has been failing badly here in Obalno. If the job of this gang is to threaten and intimidate the Comedic Rhythm, then I think they have just succeeded. All of them were pale and obviously afraid. Canwr and Bwr were the worst.

We moved to the end of the alley, away from the corpse, and I bound the wound on Canwr’s arm and tried to settle everyone down. I set Refreshing Mist running, which helped a bit. I don’t think I was very successful overall. We need to get them indoors and off the street. Kryddor then came around the corner and indicated we should go left. He is one huge dog, especially when he appears in the dark at night. I figured we were shifting to Safehouse one, and we headed off again. Kryddor stuck close to us this time.

Two streets later, we were nearing the safe house when we turned into the street, and five blue bandana-wearing thugs saw us and came running. There was no way the non-combatants would be able to outrun these, so I parked them in a doorway and stepped out to fight, Modrica on one side and Kryddor on the other. One of them seemed to be better equipped than the other four, so I Interrogated his status, and he was definitely higher levelled and specialised. He would be a challenge for me in a fair fight. Of course, nothing about this fight was fair, with five on three.

Kryddor had the hair on his neck standing on end and his teeth exposed as he emitted a low growl. Modrica had her mace in one hand, and a fist made with the other. She towered over everybody, and her scars show her to be a veteran. I hefted my shield and raised my sword, setting Whirlpool Shield, going lightly and preparing a Water Surge. I decided to enhance my Spiritual Strength this time to add power to my water affinity Skills.

The five coming at us slowed as they neared. They had a mixture of knives and machetes with mismatched armour pieces. The better-equipped one was obviously in charge and had better-quality armour and a sword. There were no shields among them. The one in charge was about to say something when I let loose at him with my Water Surge.

The thing with Water Surge is the volume of water I could Surge grew with the level, but so did the control. If I put the volume of water through a smaller controlled area, the pressure went up. I could use it for a short period to gouge out the stone, but this would run me out of energy very quickly. This time I made it about a metre in diameter and aimed it at his chest. He was not expecting that, and it blasted him back across the street, and he crashed into the building there. I was aiming to take him out of the fight while we dealt with his subordinates, and if I broke some bones as well, that was a bonus.

As soon as I let loose, Modrica and Kryddor charged them while they were distracted, Modrica’s mace took down one straight away, and Kryddor hitting the chest of another, took her off her feet. I then moved forward in an unskilled shield charge at the other two. My shield bashed into one of them, but the other danced away from my sword. Unfortunately for him, he danced into Modrica’s fist and wasn’t getting up again. I stabbed the one I bashed and stomped on him when he went down.

I looked around, and Kryddor had ripped out the throat of the one she had taken down, and I looked for the leader. He picked himself up and saw all his companions were down and decided to run. That was the smart choice, as we wouldn’t be chasing him. He wasn’t having any luck, though, as the first alley he passed, a group of six figures charged out at him and tackled him from the side, and they didn’t let him get back up. They left his body in the street and formed up, and approached us. They were joined by a couple more from the other side of the road, and my Sonar picked up another four behind us down the street. We backed up to near the Comedic Rhythm to defend them, leaving our kills in the street as well.

Kryddor was not happy. If anything, he was more on edge than with the first attackers. More hair was standing up on his back than before, and he was constantly growling. He could sense something about this group that we could not, and he was like a coiled spring.

One of the first group stepped forward, and I noticed she had a new sword, “Good evening,” she said as if she was out for an evening stroll, ignoring the fact she had just killed a person and that four bodies were lying in the street between us. “We would appreciate it if you could keep the dog under control, as we don’t mean you any harm. Is she your bond?”

“She is a bond but not ours,” I replied.

She spoke directly to Kryddor, “Don't attack our bonds, or this will go very badly.”

“May I know who you are?” I asked.

“We are the Pack Rats. You can call me Rotte, and I am the Pack Leader. We came out to see why the Seadogs are out in force and,” she nodded behind her to the body in the street, “take the opportunity to get in a little payback. Why are the Seadogs interested in you?”

“It is quite complicated, but I believe my boss has stirred up some trouble with the Watch, and the Seadogs are the response,” I replied.

“I heard that.” She turned to Modrica, “We heard you laid out a dozen of the watch by yourself. We can respect that. If you find yourself in need of work, come and see me. We can find you a bond.” She reached into her jacket and pulled out a huge rat. Kryddor growled but didn’t move. “All our members bond with a rat. The rats aren’t picky, and they bring us a lot of benefits.”

She bent down and let the rat loose on the ground, keeping an eye on Kryddor the whole time. “We will just mark these bodies as our kills. We want to bring the Seadogs down a few notches.” Her rat and several others ran to the bodies and started gnawing the flesh from their faces. I heard someone behind me throwing up. Rotte grinned when she heard that.

“Now, tell me about your boss,” Rotte continued. “I want a meeting with the Black Shadow.”

“I don’t know who that is.” I said. What the hell now? I assume she is referring to Skygge, but how the hell does Skygge have a reputation in the gangs? I think even Sione might be out of his depth this time.

“No, you don’t,” she said and turned and pointed to Modrica, “but you do. The word is that you run with the Black Shadow. No one but the Black Shadow could pull off robbing the Enchanters' place, and you are a very distinctive companion. We have had word from Jern and towns in between. We want a meet, and it seems like taking out the Seadogs might be a shared goal.”

Everybody was looking at Modrica. Modrica growled one of those low growls only Orcs could do, but she nodded at Rotte.

“Good. Midnight two nights from now. I assume you know where to come?” Modrica nodded again. Rotte continued, “Great, let's keep hunting.”

Several of the rats returned to their person, and several darted off into the nearest alley. The crowd soon disappeared, and we were left in the street with the disfigured bodies.

I addressed the others, “The safe house is only two streets over. Let's get there while the streets are clear.” and I led the way.