Dawn- An age of Darkness

There were four of them. One was big- probably the leader and the rest seemed kind of generic. Never thought I'd meet generic-looking people. No distinct features and they looked quite alike. Maybe they were triplets or something. The big one among them approached us. He looked like a giant, probably a dwarf.

"Really? That would be so wonderful!" Brenda said.

I could guess what she was thinking but this was not an ideal situation. I wasn't fully armed and the thugs in front of us didn't really look all that easy. They doubled us in terms of numbers and their equipment wasn't something to laugh at either.

And did Brenda forget that I was still recovering? Surely she hadn't… right? Right!?

"Looks like, the missy understands the situation. Come quietly and no one will be hurt. Ha ha ha." Before the big guy could stop laughing Brenda made a grin and approached them. She nonchalantly went towards the men. As if nothing had happened and she was just taking a walk.

"Hmm, what are you doing missy? Are you abandoning that slump? Well, I wouldn't blame you if you did. We will take much better care of you."

All of them burst into laughter. It was cliché but then again, nothing in this world made sense. So I rolled with it.

"Actually," she paused. Brenda had a smile on her face. A smile that didn't really make me feel the least bit comfortable. A smile that told me all I needed to know. Things were about to go bad and I had to deal with it whether I liked it or not.

This doesn't look good. I quickly put my hand my knife.

She kicked the man in the face in an instant. He fell on the ground the next second. The large man covered his face with his palm but Brenda kept on beating the shit outta him.

I was blown away at her aerodynamics. How could a person move like that? With a confident smirk, she brought out her knife and knocked the guy unconscious with its hilt. The other three couldn't decide whether to save their friend or attack her.

"Daarc!" Brenda shouted my name.

My mind snapped back to reality. I was daydreaming again. "Right!"

I rushed and punched one of them. He covered his face and fell on the ground. They were surprised for an instant. But as my luck went, I got punched back by the other two. I groaned but held my ground.

They were armed but instead of using my knife I evaded their attacks and knocked one of them out, slamming my leg in his guts. I didn't want to kill them. Still, that should have hurt.

Only one left. But the guy I'd punched before stood up. These guys were tougher than I'd thought.

Give me a break.

Two were on the ground and two were glaring at us with their knives. They really had a murderous aura now.

"You ain't getting out this alive bastards!" One of them screamed and that just pissed me off.

"Who the hell are you calling bastard, you bastard!" Brenda jumped back and went toward one of them while I went for the other.

With a kick that could break walls, I knocked out the thug. And this time made sure he stayed down. I kicked him again just to make sure. Or maybe that was just because my nose was stinging a little from earlier.

As for Brenda, she was helped by an angel. That angel's name was Biteria.

Biteria had jumped ahead and landed on the thug's face. As the thug couldn't see, Brenda punched his lights out. And so, the thugs were defeated.

With a villainous smirk, Brenda literally seemed like a real-life villain. Then again she was a pirate. Ex-pirate. "Alright then, hand it over! Everything! Even yer equipment! Do that and we'll spare yer lives!"

All four of them were tied, and I was busy admiring the little softball of fur in my hands while my nose leaked some red liquid.

Why do we sound like villains? But this little angel is so damn cute!

Something really didn't feel right about this, but at this point, I really couldn't complain.

The thugs obliged. I felt bad for the thugs; they had to make a living too you know. They were on the verge of tears. Poor guys. We untied them and they were reduced to underwear. We didn't turn them in as they vowed to never rob anyone ever again. I didn't believe them but if we went to the guards then we'd be in trouble too. So it was more a safety measure for us.

After robbing the thugs-I mean correcting their ways of life we went to the weapon's shop. It was almost noon and my sword should be done soon. On the way, I wrapped my nose with a band-aid (Yes there were such things). My nose was swollen from those two punches.

The thugs had only 17 silvers and 56 coppers. Brenda was kind enough to give me seven silvers. I didn't really care all that much about money, so I didn't complain. Besides, now I had enough money to buy as much meat as I wanted.

"If it isn't, Daarc! What happened to your nose?" Calor looked at me with questioning eyes. I did get similar glares from the rest of the customers but they went back to their business anyway.

The shop's clatter was one thing but I could clearly hear the smithy still running. Was Dileans still working on my sword?

My voice was kind of funny. The nose was really giving me more than enough trouble. "Don't ask. Do you think you can buy these from us?"

Brenda showed her the things and Calor evaluated them carefully. "I think I can net you about seven silvers for them."

We wanted to sell the equipment as fast as possible as they could have been stolen goods. Oh wait, they were….

Brenda didn't want to compromise. "What! We should at least be getting ten!"

"Anything above seven silvers and 50 coppers would be suicidal for my business," Calor said. She didn't question us about where we got these things from but the gaze in her eyes indicated that she knew.

"I'm willing to compromise to nine silvers and 70 coppers but no less." Brenda stayed firm.

The two of them continued to bargain and after a long, long while they settled for eight silvers and 70 coppers. Looked like Brenda won but in the end, both of them were smiling and shook hands. Didn't look like there was any bad blood here.

While Brenda was busy counting her newfound fortune, I started to satiate my curiosity. "How long do you think before my sword is done?"

Calor had a hand on her cheeks. She looked distant. "I think he'll need some more time. He's been at it since yesterday and yet he claims it's not ready yet. I don't think he's worked so much on a sword so much just for sharpening."

"I'll come back later then," I said. I tried to chuckle but failed miserably. I couldn't even fake a proper laugh?

Better, thank him later…

The guy must have really worked hard for me. It made me a little glad. The hammer clangs were reverberating even in the shop.. I really had to thank him when it was done.