Forward and onward!

"Forward!" Teysa cried. She didn't fancy the idea of navigating that narrow tunnel again while it filled with smoke. Instead she ran towards the desk against the far wall and the iron door next to it. That must lead outside, she figured. They'd slip out the back while the club owners were distracted with the fire.

Just as she reached the door it flew open with a bang. Three guards spilled into the room, two human males and an orc female with olive skin and a long grey braid. All three of them carried spears. Teysa gawped at them for a moment, but Aliara was quicker on her feet. "Fire, sirs!" she cried in a terrified voice. "A dreadful fire! Please, help us put it out!"

The man nearest Teysa cursed loudly and ran towards the blaze, but the orc narrowed her eyes. Teysa followed her gaze to see the recumbent guards and their elderly chaperone lying insensate on the floor. "Wait, Kiim!" the orc barked. She turned to Teysa and leveled her spear. "What happened to these three?"

_So much for that plan, _Teysa thought. By way of answer she reached out and grabbed the nearest human's spear beneath the head. Aliara dove for the other one, Kiim, and kicked him hard in the kneecap. He buckled and she lifted the spear out of his suddenly limp fingers. The butt spun in her hands and clocked him under the chin and he went down like a sack of grain.

The guard nearer to Teysa was more stubborn. He wouldn't release the spear. Teysa grabbed it two-handed and yanked, but he managed to keep a hold of it and delivered a vicious jab to Teysa's side. Her armor would have easily absorbed the blow, and all he'd get for his troubles was a broken knuckle. The tiny dress she was wearing had significantly less protective power and all the breath left her lungs in a sharp hiss. Her eyes widened and she stumbled back a few steps. The spear slipped from her fingers.

The guard grinned wickedly and leveled it at her. Firelight glinted off the jagged edge of the blade. He advanced a step towards her, two... and froze. His lips parted slightly but nothing came out. Then his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed. Behind him, Aliara wrenched her stolen spear back, but not before Teysa caught a glimpse of blood drying on the blade. "Come on, Tey!" the half-elf shouted. The roar of the fire was quite loud now. "We have to go, before--"

There was a meaty impact and Aliara left the ground. The spear clattered to the ground. The orc was holding her in both hands with an expression of rage twisting her features. She roared and threw Aliara to the floor, then planted a kick in her ribs as she tried to scramble to her feet. Teysa charged forward and met the orc's fist on the way up. The blow snapped her head back, but before she could fall, thick olive fingers grabbed at the neckline of her dress. The last thing Teysa saw was a row of scarred knuckles approaching her with the ponderous unstoppability of a meteor.

The world went black.