You act quickly to protect yourself.

Your fears and premonitions of threat have come true...

A fleeting thought slips into your mind: “Sometimes it is extremely useful to assume the worst-case scenario! That way, whatever crap happens won’t catch me by surprise!”

Thanks to the fact that you began to turn around a couple of moments faster than the merchant could shout out an order for the mercenary guards, you managed to turn to the half-elf guard who was behind you, at the moment when he just began to pull his iron one-handed sword from scabbard

A powerful blow from a wooden staff!

Bam!

The half-elf's skull clearly experienced extremely unpleasant sensations from contact with hard wood...

The half-elf's **** body falls to the wooden floor of the store. One of your opponents is out of action...

The noise is coming from the interior of the store. The stamping of feet. Someone is running.

A second later, two muscular human guys run out from the interior of the store. One of them (an average height man with a mustache and scars on his face) is holding a wooden club with iron spikes. Another guy (a tall man with a bald head and a small reddish beard) holds a small one-handed sword in his right hand. In his left hand is a small ax. Obviously, these are mercenary bodyguards who protect this store and its owner.

These two mercenary bodyguards rush towards you, intending to capture you. At the same time, you notice that the store owner takes out a small crossbow from under the counter and begins to load this crossbow with a bolt.

In an instant, you realize that a serious threat is looming over you.

You urgently need to take decisive action to save yourself.

Your reaction is rapid. You kick over one small shelf with alchemical products. This prevents the two mercenary bodyguards from getting close to you.

Bottles of potions break, emitting fumes. The fumes are quite thick and these fumes make visibility difficult. The mercenary bodyguards cough.

However, despite poor visibility, a small ax flies out of the smoke towards you.

The ax blade cuts your wooden traveling staff in half. You barely have time to stagger to the side to avoid injury.

Your hand frantically fumbles for your steel dagger, which is sheathed on your belt. You quickly draw that steel dagger.

The next second you feel something flying at a palm's distance from your ear. This is a crossbow bolt. You were lucky that the store owner missed because of the smoke. But you see him begin to load his small crossbow again.

At the same time, one of the mercenary bodyguards begins to make his way through the smoke. He carefully steps over broken bottles and a fallen wooden shelf. He curses and brandishes his small one-handed sword.

Every second of delay can be fatal for you.

You could face imprisonment or even ****.

You need to act urgently.

You throw your small steel dagger at the face of a mercenary bodyguard who approaches you and brandishes a one-handed sword. The tip of your dagger pierces the throat of this guy, who does not have time to dodge due to the thick and **** smoke. The mercenary bodyguard falls to the floor among the broken vials. Blood begins to flow profusely from his throat.

The dying man tries to say something, but all that comes out of his throat is wheezing and gurgling. A couple of moments and he chokes on his own blood...

You notice that the second mercenary bodyguard (a guy with a wooden one-handed club with iron spikes) is trying to get around a fallen shelving and a cloud of thick fumes. This guy moves between other shelves with alchemical goods. He doesn't get close to you fast enough. But if he has a few more seconds, he will have the opportunity to hit you with his baton.

You also see that the shop owner has almost loaded a small crossbow. Another moment and he will shoot at you again. If it hits, your chances of survival will be reduced. These chances are likely to be extremely low.

Therefore you make an extremely fast movement.

You grab the stump of your wooden staff. You throw this object at the store owner, aiming it right in his face. A wooden stick quickly flies towards him and hits him in the eye. Obviously he will have a big bruise. Melton Kvarbur groans from sharp pain and drops his small crossbow from his hands. The next moment Melton falls to the floor, groaning and swearing.

The sound of the mercenary bodyguard's footsteps with a baton is getting closer...