Chapter 25, Early Morning Brawl

(Trisha)

Trisha took a step back as Kirt slammed his wooden mace towards her face. The heavy wooden stick cracked into the cobblestone. Her cloths rustled from the attack as she balanced on her heels and swiped her curved dagger at Kirt's bicep. Trisha felt resistant as her knife dug into the left arm of the man. Kirt yelped, shuffling back, waving his mace wildly with his right hand. Trisha stumbled forwards off balance. Kirt used her uncontrolled advanced and swiped his mace, hitting Trisha's thigh.

Trisha yelped, her leg exploding in pain. She stumbled backwards against the messenger, crashing into the woman. Trisha felt tugging on her blouse as something grasped her from behind. Trisha leaned back into the women's arms as she pushed back to her feet.

" Shit! Hurry the hell up, you bastards!" shouted Kirt down the street.

Trisha glanced over her shoulder, backing against the wooden door frame, keeping the entire street in view. Two figures were fighting, one using a staff, while the other attacked with a thin wooden mace..

While the cloaked figure of Greg rushed after the second. The second, a thin figure, rushed down the street towards Trisha. The athletic figure ran towards Trisha and swung a dagger at the messenger's back. Trisha pushed the woman to the side, the attacker's knife passing along Trisha's bicep.

She bit her tongue as she felt her muscle part under the knifes edge. Trisha grimaced, but slashed her dagger across her attacker's outstretched arm. Guter spit. Where were Greg and Eliya? Trisha grit her teeth and swung, smashing the pommel of her dagger into the cloaked attacker's head.

" Get away from me!" shouted the messenger, shoving the attacker. The thin attacker stagger back, grasping her head.

Grasping her throbbing arm, Trisha tried to go on the offensive. The figure's cloak fell back, revealing pain-filled eyes and long brown hair. The attacker glanced over Trishas shoulder. Trisha's hair raised on her neck, she lept from her good leg to the side. She crashed into the cobblestone and rolled. Her shoulder lanced with pain once again as she rolled to her feet. She turned to see Kirt slamming his mace into the wooden doorframe where she had been.

Boots clatter on stone, and there was the rustle of fabric as something crashed into the side of the female attacker, sending the woman crashing to the stone. On the moonlit street, Greg clambered to his feet, drawing his sword and standing in between Trisha and her two attackers. Crack! Crack! Trisha glanced back down the street. She couldn't make out much, only that two figures were still beating the spit out of each other and another figure lay in an expanding pool.

" It's about time. Where is Eliya?" asked Trisha, swaying on her feet.

" She is fighting that dammed mace wielder. We need to hurry, that guy is holding his own too well." said Greg, his eyes flitting wildly back and forth.

" They are better than I thought." said Trisha scowling at Kirt. Kirt's arm dripped blood as he held his arm against his chest, the blood sticking out against the cobbled street. Trisha stares into Kirt's eyes, glaring as the man's eyes roved the street. She must have cut the man deep for his arm to be bleeding so much. In the moonlight, the man was panting and his face was pale.

" Lets go Lia. We will get them back for this." said Kirt, spitting towards Trisha while swaying on his feet.

" That damned swordsmen killed Peter. We can't just let them get away with that." hissed Lia, she too bleeding profusely grasping her forearm. Trisha knew how dangerous a knife wound could be, if they weren't tended to quickly.

" If you want to get revenge, just come over her and test out that dagger." taunted Greg, flourishing his sword.

Kirt and Lia Backed away from Trisha and Greg down the street. Then turned and jogged away, disappearing around the corner.

" Dont go after them, they might swing back and try to finish us off without you here." Said Trisha wincing as her leg throbbed. Greg nodded his head, walking cautiously towards Trisha.

" Lets go! We don't want to be here when their friends come for revenge." said Greg, carefully wrapping Trishas good arm around his shoulders. Her vision was blurry and her thigh was screaming in pain. Those damned hit hard, thought Trisha, wincing.

Trisha limped towards Eliya as the young woman fought with her staff against a young man who wielded a wooden stick like a Greg wielded his sword. Trisha half leaned on the messenger woman as she approached the two fighters.

The figure attacking Eliya took a glancing blow to his head, stumbling and looking around in a daze. The man's wooden weapon clatter to the stone and he grasped his head. Swaying on her feet and blood trickling down her face, Eliya moved to finish the Man off.

" Wait Eliya, don't hurt him. We need to ask him some questions." shouted Trisha. The man stagger back against the wooden siding of the building behind him. His eyes roved over them as Trisha, Greg, and Eliya fanned out, covering his escape. Well, Trisha leaned on the messenger while Eliya and Greg fanned out. She tried to look threatening, but knew she was failing. What was so scary about someone who couldn't even chase you?

" What you want? The guild master of the pit vipers is not known for his kindness. He will flay you alive for killing our members." threaten the man shaking out his hands.

" Your guild master? Where can we find him? We need to talk to him." replied Trisha, liking what she had heard.

" If you kill me, the guild will hunt you even to the edges of the kingdom." said the man, his eyes wide in fear as his eyes flicker to the two bodies in the street.

" Well, that won't matter to you, will it? Once you 're dead it won't matter." said Greg flicking the flat of his sword for a satisfying clank of steel.

" What do you want?" asked the man, his knees shaky.

" We just want to know if your guild master has been acting unusually cruel lately." asked Trisha, hoping the odd question might throw the terrified man off his game.

" What? well I suppose so. He killed two of our skulkers this week for tracking in mud off the street. I should know, I was there. He cut off their arms legs and skinned them." said the man, staring each of them in the eye. Trisha shudder, at the image creeping into her mind. The man caught her expression and grinned.

" Everyone thinks it was a monster, one of the fabled demons that killed the two skulkers. But I know better. It was the master. I was minding my own business and just happened to see them in the alley when the master passed judgment. So if you want to live for a little longer, you should run! The master is going to hunt you like rats in his pantry and squish you like the bugs you are." said the man grinning a bloody toothed smile.

" And where can we find the guild master?" asked Trisha, ignoring the nagging pain in her leg.

"Think about it. If you tell us where he is we go and your guild master kills us. We get what we want and you get what you want." said Trisha, looking as unthreatening as possible. She didn't need to feign too much. Her injured state undoubtedly made her appear weak and unthreatening.

" You want to find him? You are crazy or suicidal! You may need to wait a few days. The guild master usually visits Megs' comfort house. He usually visits once a week. When I was there three days ago i saw him. If you really want to die, go there in three days and ask for Berg. They will know what you mean." said the young Pit Viper, chuckling and shaking his head.

" So megs comfort house in three days, got it." replied Trisha nodding her head.

" If they see the guards anywhere in the area, you won't get your meeting. We have eyes everywhere, its why we can be out here at night. By now the guild master already knows what you have done." said the man, grinning.

" Thanks for all of your help." said Greg.

" Help? I am sending you to your deaths." scoffed the mans spitting blood at their feet.

The man crept along the wall, edging towards Greg and out of their semicircle.

" Is the guild master's name Berg? Or is that someone else?" asked Trisha.

" No! Berg is the name of the guild master's consort!" scoffed the man.

" Her name is Berg? Really?" drawled Greg.

" Boys are not my preference. But the guild master makes the rules, he can be with whoever he wants. He has a male consort named Berg." shrugged the man, his eyes wide noticing Greg's stern expression. Trisha nodded her head to Greg. The Man lunged forwards, his sword entering the man's gut and up under his ribs. The man shrieked and gasped as he collapsed to the stone, blood pooling around the rent in his chest.

Trisha gagged at the foul smell filling the alley. She covered her nose and walked from the alley, exited that they now had a lead. Three days and maybe she could find this Guild master and the demon.