Solo Back Alley Justice

[Alex Cromwell]

Season of Summer, Day 19, 513AV

It had been months since he had been in Sunberth, but Alex loved coming back to this anarchistic city. The city smelled of fear, blood, booze and meat. Alex, being the wolf that he was, loved everything about it. However, the one thing that he would not stand for was the crime. He hated criminals and made sure to stop any criminal act whenever he could. However, Alex sometimes had to choose which crime to stop. He couldn't save everyone. Alex made his way through the city, going to his favorite watering hole, THe Pig's Foot tavern. The ale was good, and it was a nice place to go before delivering some well earned back-alley justice to a couple of two-bit crooks.

Alex pushed open the door to the Pig's Foot tavern, his nose assaulted with the smells of blood, sweat and especially booze. He loved this place, but he made sure to keep his ears open while he was drinking, just so that he could catch any possible criminals planning to make this already unsafe city that much more dangerous. As he quietly sipped his ale, he overheard a conversation from two tables away. He turned his head so that he could hear better. The two men were talking about a girl that had just left the bar. "She looked good. I wouldn't mind getting her and selling her to the highest bidder." One of them said. Alex spat on the floor. He hated slavers. Thought that they were the lowest of the low. He knew that he couldn't let that girl live a life of servitude. He knew what he had to do. He downed his ale, left a few mizas on the table for the bartender, and walked out of the tavern.

As he left, he ducked into a side alley behind some barrels. He would wait there until the two slavers came out, and then he would follow them to see where they would go. He knew that they would be looking for the girl, but they knew this city better than him, so tailing them was his best bet right now. He stopped thinking just in time to see the two men leave the bar, and head towards the slums. Alex moved from alley to alley, making sure that he wasn't spotted by the slavers. He wanted to get the drop on them and then be gone before they knew what had happened.

[Alex Cromwell]

As the men continued walking, Alex decided that he wanted to get a better vantage point. He ducked into a back alley behind a butcher shop, and began climbing the chimney. However, as he was climbing, the heat from the chimney began burning his hands. Just as he was about to reach the top, the pain became too great, and he let go, falling several feet to the dirt. Alex groaned as he peeled himself up off the ground. Then, he saw something that made him feel really stupid. There was a ladder right next to the chimney. Alex cursed multiple times under his breath as he grabbed the ladder and began climbing. He reached the top and scanned the area for the two men. He almost missed them going into a small house. Alex darted across the rooftops, reaching the house in a matter of seconds.

As he settled on the roof of the house, he could hear the sounds of a struggle. Then, he heard a woman scream. Alex swung down from the roof, pushing against the door with his legs, breaking the lock. As he landed, he could see the two men grabbing the girl. One was trying to lift her up, the other was tearing at her clothes. Clearly they wanted more than just to sell her. Alex roared. The two men stopped and looked at him. Alex unsheathed his sword and charged. The man tearing at the girl pulled out a dagger and parried Alex's sword. He came down with the dagger, burying it in Alex's shoulder. Alex howled in pain, but thrust his sword up and into the man's gut. The thug dropped his dagger and toppled to the floor. Alex reached up with his good hand, still clutching his sword, and yanked the dagger out of his shoulder. The wound began to spurt blood. Alex didn't have much time. By this time, the otehr thug had dropped the girl and was now running at Alex. Alex came up, turned the dagger on it's blade, and threw it at the charging thug. The dagger whipped past the man's face, but the man hesitated just enough to allow Alex to slice open the man's neck. As the second thug fell to the floor, the girl grabbed the dagger on the floor and pointed it at Alex. Alex sheathed his sword and knelt down next to the girl.

"Easy, easy. I'm here to help." But the girl wasn't listening. She was slashing at Alex with the dagger, screaming at him to get away. Alex grabbed the girl's wrist to stop her from hurting him even more. She dropped the dagger. "Stop," said Alex firmly. "Who were those men?" The girl shook her head. She had no idea. Then, Alex looked at her more closely. She was Kelvic! A wolf to boot as well. Alex summoned up his language skills, and spoke to her in Wolf's tongue. "Who are you, and who do you serve?" He asked. She looked startled. She responded in kind. "I am Avaline, and I serve no one. How do you know the language of my people?" Alex chuckled. "Because I am your people. Look at me." She examined his features. Then her eyes brightened. "You are Alex, slayer of Ra'Thun, and heir of the Cromwell bloodline. I have heard stories about you. Thank you. For everything." Alex nodded at her, smiling. He then stood up and searched the thugs for valuables. He found little more than a few mizas and silver bracelet. He turned back to Avaline. " I must go. Live your life, and be safe." He turned and walked out the door, leaving Avaline to clean up the mess that he made. As he walked back to the bar, Alex knew that he had saved a life, but at the cost of two others. He couldn't save everyone, but some people deserved to die. This was a case where she did not deserve to die, but neither did they.

[Orion Michaels]

Grade on hold. Hey Alex, before I can grade this thread for you, I need you to adjust your living expenses. You've had threads in Fall and Winter of 512AV, as well as in Spring and Summer of 513AV, but you've only got one living expenses removed from your ledger, and it doesn't say which season it belongs to. If you could please mark your expenses for the said seasons and shoot me a PM when that's completed, I'll happily get your a grade.