(Scars do not appear to be cause of death –shock ... - Bad Request

esort to. A smaller, more cautious part, though, was glad if the whores
could help work off some extra energy from those footpads. The more
sweat drenched in the sheets was less spilled gearing up to fight me.
And then I bumped into the gang I had been looking for.
It was led by one heavy-set thing swathed in rags, dyed in red and black. He
looked like he was made almost purely of muscle, with broad shoulders and
a thick, bullish neck. His scalp was speckled and dark by the beating rays of
daylight so that his head looked like a large, brown egg. Flanked by two
similarly-dressed members of his gang, he glowered as I approached.
I looked him up and down, a little worried. Dying again wasn't the worst
part, but it would've made things quite inconvenient. "Greetings."
"An' how ken I help you then, guvner?" The man's face broke into a sneer,
"Looks t'me ye needs a healer."
My fingers twitched, instinctively itching for my dagger, "You one of the men
who robbed a monk in the Hive? Took his prayer bead necklace?"
His lips twisted and his nose wrinkled in a sneer, "Some sod wit lines
scrawled all over 'is face? Claimed he coulda put us all in the dead book, yet
let us bob 'im blind?" His thick lips loosened, and spread into a slow,
toothless smile, "Never even heard of such a sod, I haven't."
The thug's companions snickered and stroked the knives at their belts.
He casually hefted the huge axe at his side. My mind raced, and quick as a
flash I began to lie my way out of this with all the milk-toothed smoothness I
had, "That is interesting. The rest of his order is looking for you, the brothers
of Errit-Agge seem to know you quite well."
"Eh?" the man's sneer faded, "What're ye on about? Wot brothers? The sod
was alone, he was."
I shook my head mournfully, "He's a member of a religious order, you fool.
That 'necklace' you stole is their most holy relic. If it isn't returned, the rest
of his order'll come looking for you... and they don't have any reservations
about killing thieves."
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