She finds someone in trouble.

Shairi stopped. She could hear angry voices coming from an alleyway. The natives of the Docks District were ignoring it and walking by, and Shairi wondered if she should too, but curiosity compelled her to glance round the corner.

There she saw an attractive, dark-haired woman with tanned skin, dressed in sailor’s clothes (which, Shairi noted, showed off her athletic figure quite well). She had a rapier in one hand and a long dirk in the other, and held both with skill.

But that wasn’t deterring the half dozen male sailors who had cornered her. They were all armed to, and their expressions weren’t friendly.

“We’re gonna teach you your place, bitch,” one said.

“Yeah,” another said. “Time for you to learn you’re a whore, not a sailor.”

“Come on, guys,” the woman said. “There’s no need for this. There are better ways to get women. I’m sure if you wash the stink off ya, and scrub the muck outa your hair, and work on your manners – well, ya still won’t find any woman who’ll bed ya willingly, but some of the more **** wenches might do it for money.”

“We’ll stop up that mouth of yours, slut!”

Despite her banter, Shairi could see drops of sweat running down the woman’s forehead. Rapes were common in the docklands, and while most predators would keep away from a woman with blades, these men clearly had a personal grudge against her. If they rushed her, she’d be in deep trouble.

Shairi was curious about this woman. Besides, if she was going to stand by and watch a bunch of men **** a woman she’d want them to be more attractive than this lot. On the other hand, this was really not her problem, and a mistake could just end up with a pair of them being ****.