A Bounty on Her

When Macha opened the door to the restroom, she thought she heard whispering. She held the door open for a second and looked around. Nothing seemed unusual, so she took it as her imagination. The morning had been stressful and her mind probably was playing tricks on her.

Macha used the toilet and went to wash her hands, but she could not shake the notion that she was being watched. Sensing something was amiss, she did not bother to wipe her hands but moved to run out the door. Suddenly, something hit her on the side of her head and she felt her consciousness slipping.

Conor and Nes had been arguing about how to enter the main restaurant when the door opened. Conor took the chance to slip past the small woman and enter without being detected. Their invisibility potions only had about twenty more minutes left and he needed to steal the chest before it wore off.

Nes studied the woman and tried to recall where she saw her before. While the woman washed her hands, Nes remembered that there was a bounty out for a woman named Macha. The bounty was not a large sum, but they always appreciated free money. As Macha ran towards the door, Nes used the pommel of her knife to knock Macha unconscious. She then forced their last invisibility potion down the woman's throat.

Conor roamed around the restaurant. He looked at the chest he needed to steal, but Rana and Tyr were too much for him to handle. The invisibility potion was useful, but it made finding things on him difficult. He searched through his satchel until he found the smoke orbs he needed.

At that moment, Tyr left the table and strode to the restrooms. Annoyance and anger were clearly on his face. He stood by a plant and leaned against the wall.

Conor placed the orbs in the potted plants throughout the restaurant and crept up to the chest he needed to steal. He sent a small pulse of magic and the orbs activated. A thick grey smoke filled the room.

As soon as he activated the orbs, he grabbed the chest and ran to the restrooms. He smiled because luck seemed to be on his side. When the smoke erupted in the restaurant, Tyr opened the door to the restrooms. Conor easily slipped in behind the man and waited.

The smoke caused Tyr to worry about Macha. If they were being attacked, he needed to defend her. He opened the door, not caring if he entered the women's restroom or not. "Macha," he called desperately, but no one answered. He ran through the room and saw a broken window, "Shit."

Turning around, Tyr ran out of the restaurant, not caring if Rana was all right. He needed to get back to the hotel and then grab the Stone of Tracking from his ship. As he ran through the streets, he tried to remember if Macha brushed her hair this morning or not. She always cleaned her brush after each use, so if she did not brush her hair, then he would have nothing to use.

When Tyr left the restroom Conor whispered, "Nes, aye go' it. Meet up aht the ship." Queen Alala specifically requested that they take on this job, so he had to do it. This was not the sort of item he usually stole, but the Queen offered them a full pardon if he succeeded.

At the hotel, Tyr frantically tore the room apart. His frenzy pronounced the vein in his forehead and he swore under his breath, "Damnit, Macha, where did you put your freaking hairbrush?" He had never been so scared in his life and he was having trouble thinking clearly.

Tyr stopped and stared at the room. He got his breathing under control and studied the room. Beneath a pillow, he noticed a small jeweled handle that stuck out. He ran to the bed and pulled it out. His hand shook as he inspected the bristles. The panic and dread he felt left his body when he saw her black hairs laced between the bristles.

The Stone of Tracking was back on his airship, so he quickly donned his armor and ran to the docks. He had brought it along so he could find the chest if he ever lost. Back in Marseille, Freyr gave him a piece of the leather that covered the chest. Freyr had the chest commissioned so the leather that covered it came from one animal. This way tracking it would be easy.

The city blurred past him as he sped through the streets. Every second that went by was precious time wasted. He did not know why someone took Macha, but whoever it was would have to answer to him.

****

Macha woke up to someone kicking her in the back. Her eyes shot open, and she tried to move. Her struggles made her realize they had tied her up with ropes.

In front of her rested a man, who squatted down to study her. A deep scar ran across his nose that gave him a rough appearance. His facial hair was grown out because he did not shave for a few days. While his facial hair appeared to be a mess, the long sandy-colored hair on his head had been pulled back into a neatly formed braid.

His voice sounded skeptical when he asked, "So, ya're sayin' this chit 'as a boun'y on 'er?" Conor failed to see how Macha could be worth anything. He grimaced, "She ain't even 'at pre'y. Wot wou'd anyone wont wif 'er?"

Nes shrugged her shoulders. "All I knows is this woman made some people pissed. I figure we gots the chance to make some easy money." She crouched down and patted Macha's cheek a few times, "So what ya do hon? Sleep with the wrong man? Pinch a bit o' money?"

The people in front of Macha were difficult to understand. She was not familiar with their way of speaking. "I don't understand everything you're saying. I didn't steal money and I've only slept with Tyr." The words they used sounded broken and they accented their words in different places than she was used to hearing. They also used different tense endings than she was familiar with.

Conor and Nes looked at each other, both hooted with laughter. The way the woman talked sounded so proper, almost like a noble. Nes patted the woman on the head, "Ain't ya adorable. Ya sound so refined." She resented the little woman. Nes thought how Macha probably had an easy life with no worries. Those were the types of women she hated most because they lived the opposite of her life.

Conor got up and opened the small chest he stole to check the contents. Seeing that it contained seven orbs instead of six made him happier. He would take one and sell it on the black market. With a nod of his head, he closed the chest, "Every'in's 'ere. Le's go."

The two left Macha and made their way up a wooden staircase.

Once she was alone, Macha tried to unbind her hands, but the ropes were tied tightly and dug into her skin. Her head still throbbed from being hit earlier and her stomach turned. The stuffy air did not help her feel any better.

Looking around, she found that many crates of merchandise surrounded her. The crates had Marseille's symbols on them. Macha rolled over and began sawing the ropes against the corner of the box. While she believed Tyr would get her eventually, she wanted to escape if she could.