Join Irina in Combat

You grab your {if@ Cleric = true}mace{endif} and take combat stance: you're not letting them after that woman. As the two men approach, they definitively notice the paladin standing imposingly, sword drawn; especially as any civilian within 20 feet of you is no longer within 20 feet of you (noted, you'll need to avoid most area spells). "Hells, boss isn't going to like this," one of them says, drawing his sword.{if Wisdom > 0} You raise your eyebrow, might be worth noting for later.{endif} They end up charging at the two of you, and Irina takes one slash to her shoulder{if Dexterity < 8}{if Paladin = false} and you end up taking one as well, glancing across your arm as you wince in pain{endif}{endif}. {if@ Cleric = true}You swing with your mace at the thug, getting a solid hit in.{endif} Irina gets her own attack in, strike causing a flash of light to ring out at the site of impact, her attacker crying out in pain.

This, of course, causes both thugs to shift focus to her, with only the first one managing to get a singular hit in, in spite of their flurry of attacks. You shift around your thug, attacking the one which Irina seems to have taken most of the steam out of, {if@ Cleric = true}managing to knock him out with your mace{endif}. Irina follows up with two strikes to the other thug, taking him clean out. As the two of you take your 50 feet of rope out of your respective bags and start tying the two thugs up, you hear the clamoring of multiple people running in armor — seems the town guard's arrived.

"What seems to be going on here."

"Oh great, I suppose you'll be wanting to take us in for questioning about this. Long story short, they were chasing a woman who looked like she had been beaten and we stopped them from going after her."

{if Wisdom > 0}You recall how they had mentioned having a boss, and relay this information to the guards. Hearing this information, the guard narrows his eyes, "thank you for that information; we'll be sure to look into the matter." The guard turns back to Irina,{else}The guard clears his throat,{endif} "oh well, I mean we were, but seems you've answered all the questions we needed to ask. Anyhow, here's ten gold each for your service; thank you for making the city safer for all of us." The other guard gets his coin pouch out, and counts out twenty gold, giving half to each of you.

The guards carry the two (currently bound) thugs off, leaving the two of you to go about your day in peace. The two of you continue about your date, hands linked, simply taking in the sights and smells of the market together.

In due time, the day draws to an end, prompting the two of you to return to the mansion for the night.{if Icarus love > 70} As the two of you climb the short flight of stairs, Irina draws her face close to your own and joins her mouth to your own, letting the embrace between lips linger for a second before pulling away.{endif} "I suppose I'll see you {if@ marbles cast < 7}tomorrow{else}later{endif} then. I enjoyed today."