“Why did you decide to settle down? I couldn't think of anything worse than staying in the one spot,” Kiya said in obvious bafflement, her expression one of confusion. Ah, that's right, Samantha thought as a ghost of a smile played across her lips, Wolves don't like staying in one place. At least, she didn't think they did. That was yet another subject added onto the wizard's ever-expanding list of things to research. She really ought to start writing them down; often, she'd forget about them as more immediate concerns took their place. "I meant 'settle down' in a light sense," Samantha explained, "I'll be staying in Zeltiva for a while longer than I've spent in most of the other places I've been in my travels. I'll still leave eventually." Though she would one day like to just choose a city and spend her days there, the wizard could sympathize with Kiya. She couldn't see the appeal in staying in any of the cities she'd been to, especially Zeltiva, for long. There was too much to learn and see in other parts of the world for her to be content wasting her days away like most people in the world were happy to. Before she could speak further, Samantha was struck by a startling realization; they were in East Street. She had been so involved with studying Kiya and speaking with her that she hadn't been paying attention to their surroundings. Now, surround by dilapidated buildings and shadowy alleys, the wizard felt a deep uneasiness building within her. She hadn't been to East Street since her childhood. Samantha had learned better than to wander around in a neighborhood such as this, and felt no need to rehash the lesson. "We should hurry," The woman cautioned her companion and picked up her pace. The sooner they were out of the rundown section of town, the better. Unfortunately, the wizard's worry came a bit too late to be of any use. Mere ticks after the words left Samantha's mouth it became obvious that they were being followed. The street was empty, now. Dark had fallen fully and most of the lower-class citizens were either resting in their homes after a long day of work or out prowling the streets for some ill-gotten goods. To Samantha's dismay, it seemed that the footsteps echoing behind her belonged to those of the latter category. The heavy footfalls echoed in the emptiness unchallenged, for even the whores and the cutpurses had gone to more hospitable territory. The wizard picked up her pace, hoping Kiya would catch up, but it was no use. Before she could break into a dash--something she was actually terrible at doing, thanks to her sedentary lifestyle--a meaty hand wrapped around her upper arm and jerked her in the other direction, stopping her in her tracks. "Well, lookie here," A deep, rough voice said. The wizard could barely make out the unshaven, scarred faces of the two hulking men that were confronting them. "We's found a couple'a nice liddle lassies, eh Teff?" Gruff laughter came from both men as Samantha tried unsuccessfully to rip herself free of the brute that had her by the arm. He just laughed harder and tightened his grip, making the woman squirm in discomfort. As the first man was busy attending to Samantha, the second one reached for Kiya, trying to get a grip on her arm. "Yeh," The man whom Samantha assumed was Teff replied as he was still trying to get a grip on Kiya, "Real nice ladies, Jem. Maybe gots some coin t'spare poor men like us," Again the coarse laughter echoed heavily in the empty street. Samantha would have called for help, but she knew that most people wouldn't trouble themselves with a pair of foolish women who had gotten themselves in trouble. Unless a passing Wave Guard found them, they would need to take care of this mess themselves. The wizard's eyes had shifted to a deep red, an almost black color that betrayed both her fear and her anger towards the thugs. Not for the first time, she wished that she'd learned a bit more about Reimancy. A fireball would be immeasurably useful right about now. Samantha tried to keep Kiya within her line of sight as she was being pawed by Jem as he sought out her coinpurse, assuming that Teff would be doing the same to the Kelvic. The wizard struggled, but the fight was halfhearted. She knew that it would be very unlikely that she'd escape unharmed by only running, but she couldn't think of any proper method of escape; she couldn't fight with them obviously, and Samantha had no experience negotiating with someone who was in a position of complete power. Not that they would have listened to her anyway. Hopefully Kiya had better luck with her captor. |