The Flood

You fidgeted in your meager bedding, with your half-closed eyes on Benjamin. It had taken some convincing, but you had been able to convince him to sleep without taking watch. It was another argument, one held by Jiaghan in your stead, to get him to rest without his armor on. He knew the dangers of the Matchsticks as well as any city native, and you hadn't even made the attempt to downplay them. Rather, you simply argued that since it was your home, you should be responsible for his safety, not the other way around.

Inwardly, you pondered how far this would escalate. On one hand, even in an environment as rich in corruption and desperation as this, there reaches a point where it stops being worthwhile going after a person or their money. On the other hand, it can't be seen that someone defied the gangs and got away with it. You've made a very visible display of that already, and Jiaghan and Benjamin are now accessories and accomplices. One could hope that heavily injured men Benjamin spared earlier would be effective messengers that this wasn't a fight worth having. Swiftly, you realized that Benjamin's behavior had already gotten a hold of you, and you forgot the important rule: Hope is a fool's bet in the Matchsticks.

You heard a slow, methodical creaking approaching your apartment. Realizing it was far too late for anyone to reasonably be coming home at this hour, you feared the worst, and prepared for it. Knowing and avoiding the loud points of your own floorboards, you grabbed your daggers and hid at the side of the empty door jam. You take slow, controlled breaths to avoid notice. Your species time below the surface of the earth has allowed you to see in dark like this as easy as others see in the day, allowing you to automatically spot the tattoo on the exposed arm of the man who entered the room, showing he was an accepted member of the Dragon Scales. You took a short look to ensure he was entering alone before you struck. You put his arm in a lock and drew your dagger blade across his neck. With a short, swift cut, it tore through flesh and muscle, leaving a dark line of blood. His **** and sudden falling awoke both of your friends. Benjamin reached immediately for his sword, even as the enemy clearly lied dying.

"Liz, what happened?" Jiaghan asked, clearly startled

"Are you okay?" Benjamin asked as well, showing more calm and awareness.

"I"m fine," you nodded, raising your arms to show a lack of any bruises or injuries "Lucky us I have good hearing."

"I can think of a few times I could have used that" Ben smiled, showing a strange degree of indifference as he bent down and looked at the body, still warm. "You clearly do good work, Liz."

"I'm surprised you're not upset" You responded, kneeling down with him to search for any clues of valuables "you were pretty keen on giving those others a fair chance, and I couldn't do it."

"Don't worry about me. I'm not part of the Eternal Flame. The Watch would have insisted he be taken in and faced justice before some form of authority. My Brothers and I don't hold worship structure and rules. I would have done the same thing in your shoes. Someone willing to come into a home in the middle of the night and **** someone they don't even know for petty coin is a lost cause, at least in my opinion. If we can't rehabilitate them, than eliminate them."

"Wow" Jiaghan said as she watched you two and looked over the dead body. You couldn't be sure, but it might be the first time she had seen a violent corpse so up close and intimate. "That's pretty intense."

"Don't get me wrong, I don't like killing, but I'm not afraid of it either. If someone has to die to make the world a better place, I won't lose any sleep over it." You remained quiet, but were inwardly surprised as your opinion of him started to change. He makes the Watch and their zealots seem reasonable by comparison. Your brow furrowed as Benjamin opened the assassins shirt, before rummaging through his belongings.

"What are you doing?" You asked

"This criminal scum wants to send a message." He responded, not looking up "Consider this the response". Using a leather string, Benjamin tied the man's coinpurse to his neck, just below where you had cut him. Having grabbed a rope from his pack as well, he tied it tightly just under the corpse's chin.

"Benjamin" Jiaghan started "I don't understand. What's going on?"

"A drop in the storm." He answered as he rose up "the first of a flood of freedom that will wash away the wicked and corrupt." He picked up the body by the shoulders and heaved it outside, moving up the stairs. You and Jiaghan were left alone, both confused and a little surprised. The assassin wasn't the conversation topic anymore.

"Well, I guess he's not so harmless after all." Jiaghan said "Ben's actually kinda scary, don't you think?"

"He's intense, to be sure" You agreed with a small head nod "Not the same man we met yesterday. Don't worry though Jiaghan. We're not the people we need that need to be scare of him."

"Do you still think he's only involved to because he wants you?"

You took a small pause. "No." You realized that "I don't know what his interest in us is, but it's not what I thought. He could help anyone, why us?"

"Maybe he thinks you deserve it." Jiaghan replied "Seriously, you over think a lot."

"It helps you survive, kid. Now get some sleep."