A group of men entered the inn, from the sight of it they weren't exactly the common travelers. Their clothes were rough leather and they weren't at all quiet. Their stance and weapons screamed fighters and the rest of their self was screaming trouble. Still with a lot of noise, they sat and ordered drinks. Somewhere in the far right side of the room a hooded figure lifted its sight from its dinner and after a good look, sighted and returned to its meal. The young lady, because it was a lady, was not pleased at all with the new company. She had chosen these premises in place of the tavern just outside the village and paid the difference of cost to be able to avoid that kind of situation. Unfortunately  even bandits seemed to have money, probably a good day of crime. She chose to enjoy her meal and not bother with the racket they were producing. In this kind of situation it was the best reaction. Her philosophy was "As long as you don't bother me too much, I don't care." and she was the only judge for the limit of "too much". This day, she felt like she could bear some noise. It would always be time to leave if it became worse. A few other people however left as soon as they understood that they were here to stay.

At the other side of the room, the owner of the place was watching anxiously the loud pack of men. These guys weren't exactly the best publicity his place could get. He took his courage in both hands and moved towards the unpleasant guests. "Sorry to bother, would you mind lowering your voices, these are high standing premises. I hope you could understand that most of our customers like the nice and quiet atmosphere."  The man who was placed at the head of the table turned to him grinning. "Well, right now, we are most of your customers..."  Most of his earlier customers had left the premises and the group constituted indeed most of his clientele. "... And we like our atmosphere just like it is now. Actually, a bit more beer would be more than welcome and I hope you could understand that we don't really like to be interrupted." If the man had started talking with a grin he had finished with a stern face and a dangerous glare. Quivering with fear, the owner retreated quickly and a few second later an employee was back with more beer. The lady in the corner let out a small chuckle. She had underestimated the guys, maybe it could be interesting to watch them be for a little while. After all, the way the man that was obviously their leader had turned the words of the innkeeper against him seemed to show a little bit more of intellect than his behavior around his crew let it assume. She reprimanded herself  lightly. By keeping judging people so easily she was going to end up in trouble all over again and she really didn't like to have to clean up the messes she left around when she let herself slip.

Her dinner finished, she pushed aside her place setting and picked a book out of her travel bag. It wasn't the light kind of book that you would generally take while traveling and read to distract yourself. No, it was a thick and probably really heavy volume with lots of tiny words cramped with each other. It was in fact a compendium of some of the worst medical afflictions in the world. She always had been fascinated by the creativity of nature when it came to reduce its population and infections and illnesses were especially interesting. She had found herself buried in this book more than once and that day wasn't an exception. It was extremely detailed with lengthy descriptions, sketches and the ways to cure it for the few that were actually curable. She was, this time, reading about the Lesch Nyhan Syndrome. That illness was touching young children, slowing their intellectual development and pushing them toward self harm with tendencies of lips and finger biting. It also disturbed renal functions. No Cure. She could only wonder how the parents must feel seeing their child wither and die without being able to do anything. Illnesses concerning children were actually those she enjoyed the less but her will to learn always took over her disgust. Continuing her reading towards the next affliction, she saw out of the corner of her eye someone approaching her table to flop on the seat right in front of her.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? What are you doing here all alone babe?"  The man was big and not just muscled big, he was fat even if you could see that he was strong too. She examined his features and admired his self confidence since he still had the courage to miserably flirt with a face like this. Taking her time to notice every single thing that displeased her about this man, she closed her book and turned her head a bit, still not answering, to see the comrades of the disturbance. They were all chatting and looking her way with laughs and knowing smirks. Their leader was looking too, sipping his beer with an indifferent look on his face. Seeing she was looking at him, he smirked and raised his drink as to jokingly toast her. Sending him a look meaning Are you serious?, she turned back to her interlocutor who seemed quite pissed off about being royally ignored. Finally deciding to answer, she smiled sarcastically pointing out her book. "Well, obviously, I was reading... Why?" Apparently, it wasn't the answer nor the reaction he was expecting, his face growing even more red with anger. She pushed her hood off and still smiling, tilted her head lightly on the right as if she was intently waiting for his answer. She could hear laughs coming again from her left but they weren't directed against her anymore. Suddenly standing up, he reached out to her book only to be stopped by her firm hand. Losing her smile, she snapped. "I'd like it very much if you could avoid touching that." Touching him was quite an unpleasant thing, his hands were sticky and she sincerely hoped it was only spilled beer. Not bothering with her words, he kept on and tried to take the object. "Why would I care?" "I think you care enough about your hand to care about my words..." She said lightly moving slightly her other hand which was now holding a eight inch (203mm) long dagger. The threat fulfilled its purpose as the man took a step back glancing at the girl in front of him.

Putting her knife back in its place, she placed her book in her bag and slung it over her shoulder. She couldn't just stay there anymore. She had blew all her chances to spend a calm evening there when she threatened him. Well, she tended to be a little edgy when it came to her belongings, she just couldn't help it, she had to overreact. Cursing under her breath, she walked fast towards the door and just as she reached for the handle, the angry man snarled. "Wait a minute! Where do you think you're going? We're not done here!" Ignoring him, she opened the door and stepped aside just in time as the man had lunged towards her and ended up lying in the dust. Without wasting anytime, she ran out of the inn and from a respectable distance, she tried to temporize. "Look, I really don't think it's worth a fight... I don't want it and I'm sure it would be best for the both of us not to get involved with each other. You tried to take something from me, I threatened you a little, let's say we're even..." The man got up, looked around and seeing the audience which had formed just outside the inn, turned back to his target. "I can't just let you go, you little ! Who do you think you are? I'm gonna get you and you're going to regret being born!" With that he ran to her not even giving her the time to comment on his so original speech. She sighted and placed her feet firmly on the ground waiting for her opponent. When the man got to her, she shifted her position slightly, grabbed the arm he had thrown at her and pulled it, making him loose his balance. Carried away by his own momentum, he, once again, bit the dust. Taking advantage of that, she kept her hold on his arm and following his movement immobilized him in an armlock. "I think it would be best for your shoulder if you just let me go." She tightened her hold making him stiffen. For a moment, she tough he was going to let go but unfortunately he suddenly grabbed a knife with his other hand and tried to get away. Immediately, she pushed on his elbow and promptly dislocated his shoulder. She let go of him as he roared with pain. He wasn't a threat anymore but his fellow brigands could still be trouble for her. Turning towards the people around them, she spotted the leader who was watching her with an annoyed look. "I warned him." She said with a shrug. "Not my fault if he can't process my words." The leader acquiesced and replied.  "I know but unfortunately for you I can't just let one of my men take a beating like that without avenging him." His men started rounding her and she prepared herself to fight and run. Just as the leader took his blade out, a carriage accompanied by three horseman stopped in front of the inn. One of them, got off his horse and asked. "What is happening here?"

A/N: this time its a little bit longer but still a bit boring... it should be better in the next chapter... Anyway, thank you very much for reading my story!! \(^v^)/