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The female adventurer who stood up for the oppressed kitchen staff could be described as a girl, barely a woman, with her young features and the zestful aura brimming off of her.

The large man of a thug looked down on and at the girl who was pointing a sword at him. He blinked twice, and then thrice. He gave a confused gaze. It took him a few seconds before he eventually came to his senses. He pushed the young adventurer’s blade away from him, gently.

But that only fueled the girl’s indignation and she stepped forward with a thrust but she stopped before the pointy end touched the thug’s neck. “I said, leave the poor old man alone.”

“Child, back off,” the thug warned with a gaze as stern and firm as his voice. “This does not concern you. I don’t want to hurt a child.”

“It will be your mistake if you take me for a child,” the young adventurer retorted. “I won’t ask again, leave the old man be.”

“The old man owes me a great deal of money and he is way past his dues.”

“Even so, this is no way for you to treat a helpless old man.”

“Helpless?” the thug scoffed. “You know nothing, child. Now, stay away if you don’t wish to get hurt.” The thug said and turned his attention back to the old man, ignoring the blade pointing at him.

The girl turned red with humiliation. It was utterly embarrassing to be ignored when the one she threatened saw little in her threat attempt. Moreover, she was an adventurer. This should not stand. Gripping her sword tight, she rushed at the towering man.

The thug sighed and spun around with his sword drawn.

The two blades clashed and sparks scattered as the two edges grazed against one another. The two pushed each other back in the clash and they rushed back in for another round of exchange. This time, the young adventurer tilted her blade and deflected the thug’s blow that relied mostly on his physical strength.

The thug’s blow went off its direction and the girl committed with a plunge, though she shouldn’t have. She failed to take one dire factor into account. She was wielding her sword with two hands while the thug was only using one hand, leaving his other hand free and unencumbered.

Given the two’s disparity in the sizes of their body figures, the thug reached out and easily grabbed the girl’s arm before her blade could touch him. With a strong pull, he lifted the girl off the ground and threw her across the floor, sending her crashing through the tables and chairs, stopping only once she hit a pillar.

Instead of returning to his business with the old man, the thug strode towards the young adventurer who struggled to pick herself back up.

“This is what you get for meddling with things that you are far too green for, child,” the thug sneered as he drew close to the young adventurer, dragging his sword across the floor with the tip scratching the surface.

The adventurer eventually gathered her bearings and strength. She rose to her feet, albeit unsteadily, and brandished her stance. A faint blue sheen began to envelop her blade.

The thug guffawed and did the same but the sheen on his blade was more of a glow and the blue was vivid.

The girl instantly recognised the difference in their prowess and a strong doubt grasped her heart. However, she refused to back down now. Even if she surrendered now, there was no guarantee that the thug would accept her surrender. With no other choice, she charged at the thug, howling.

The thug also began to charge but a figure, taller than him, suddenly stood in his path, in between him and the adventurer.

The girl stopped her charge immediately and stared at the female Augru who intervened.

“That’s enough, you two,” Amyra said with a sigh. “This is a place for respite. Take your fight somewhere else.”

The thug narrowed his eyes. The Augru was stronger than him, way stronger, his battle-honed instincts told him. He rid himself of the hostility he initially had towards the Augru. It was a fight he wouldn’t be able to win if it ever came down to it.

“Whatever or how much the old man owes you, I implore you to wait until we have our drinks and food.” Then, Amyra turned towards the young adventurer. “And you, mind your damn business. Your desire to impose your virtue has inadvertently caused the inconvenience of others.”

The girl was affronted by Amyra’s words but she dared not to retort. Unlike the thug, she knew she stood absolutely no chance against the Augru.

“Who are you?” asked the thug, sheathing his sword.

“Just a thirsty patron of this tavern who has been waiting for her drinks for a long time now.”

“Augru, do you know who I work for?”

“I don’t,” Amyra answered.

“Then, it will be in your best interest to—”

Amyra chuckled and smiled. “Little one, I can crush you with one arm strapped to my back before you can run back and tattle to your boss. Besides, have you seen my company?”

The thug frowned and glanced towards the table the Augru was from. His frown deepened when he spotted two Fae looking his way, an Elf and a Dryad. However, the one that truly intimidated him the most was the woman with shoulder-length black hair. He could tell the woman was more than meets the eye. He could tell the woman was the leader of the group and she was stronger than the Augru.

“Well, what’s your answer, little guy?”

The thug stared at Amyra. He clicked his tongue after a brief silence. “Fine,” he said. “You can have your drinks and food but know that I’m coming back after you and your friends have left and I’ll be back with friends.”

“Fine by me.”

The thug quickly made his departure with large strides in his step.

After making sure the thug was truly gone, Amyra returned to her table but she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

“Wait,” said the young adventurer.

“Can I help you?” Amyra asked with an annoyed expression.

“You’re just going to let that man go?”

“Is there a reason that I shouldn’t?”

“You heard what he said. He’s going to come back with friends.”

“And? What’s it to me?”

“What’s it to you? Do you not feel sympathy for the poor old man?”

Amyra lazily gazed over to the old man, who was still on the ground and looking out of it. “He had no one to blame but himself. He’s not a child. He knew better than to borrow from someone like that man.”

“How can you say something ignorant and cruel?”

Amyra laughed with a wheeze, staring at the girl in disbelief.

“I beg your pardon. Did I say something funny?”

Amyra shook her head in exasperation and turned her gaze to the old man.

The old man stared back.

Amyra smiled. “Get to work. We ordered drinks and some food. Get to it,” Amyra said.

The old man returned to his senses and quickly scrambled back into the kitchen.

Amyra herself returned to her table after watching the old man disappear into the kitchen.

“Wait!” the girl shouted. “I am not done with—”

Amyra shot a glare from over her shoulder and the young adventurer fell into deep silence. She tried to speak but her tongue refused to budge and no sound came out from her throat, as if all her vocal organs had lost all of their functions.

The young adventurer fell to her knees following her silence, wide-eyed.

Amyra ignored the girl and promptly sat back down in her seat. “That was annoying,” she sighed. As she was getting herself comfortable, she noticed the stares from her companions. “What?” she asked.

“That was very unexpected of you,” said Lyra.

“Truly so,” Siv agreed with a nod. “I never took you for someone who hides her big heart under a hostile guise.”

Amyra furrowed her brows. “I beg your absolute pardon?”

“You intervened because you wanted to save the girl, no?” Lilian questioned with a titter.

“No,” Amyra answered sharply. “You couldn’t be more mistaken.”

“Am I?” Lilian snickered and turned to Nivia. “What do you think?”

“Please leave me out of this.”

“Don’t you have an opinion?”

“I do but I don’t believe I have to give it.” Nivia’s tone was cold.

Giggling, Lilian turned to the next person, Aera. “What do you think, Aera?”

“M-me?”

“Yes.”

“Um… I—”

“You do not need to answer,” Amyra asserted.

Before Lilian could go any further with her teasing, the drinks and food finally came. Amyra sighed in her heart, thanking the waitress for her timely intervention. However, Lilian was not the type to give up so easily.

As soon as everyone had taken the first sip of their respective drinks, Lilian continued her mischief. “My dear, Aedan, do you have an opinion?” she asked with an anticipating smile.

Amyra stared daggers at the Dryad with great intent.

“You’re being awfully vexing,” Aedan answered. “More so than usual. What gives?”

“This is usual for me. You’re simply seeing this side of me for the first time. So, back to my question, what do you think of—”

“Lilian, that’s enough,” Erin said as she placed her mug down firmly on the table.

Lilian froze and cocked her gaze to Erin like a rusty cogwheel.

“If you meant to lighten the mood, then I’m afraid that you are only doing the opposite.”

Lilian smiled apologetically. “Forgive me. I have overstepped.”

Amyra huffed. “Next time, do stop before milady has to—”

“Enough.”

Amyra relented. “Fine.”

An awkward and gloomy silence ensued but thankfully, it didn’t last long.

“Siv, what can you tell us about the boatman you have in mind?” Erin asked.

“The first and most important thing to bear in mind is he prefers to be called Captain or Sir, though he’s neither an officiated naval officer nor a knight. So, mind your words especially when we’re on his ship.”

“Ship?”

Siv nodded. “It’s large enough to be considered as a ship but it pales in comparison with a naval vessel.”

“Is he completely trustworthy?”

“He’s the best in this port. He deals exclusively with rich clients.”

“And he’ll accept our request?”

“If he’s still the same man as the last time we spoke, then he’ll take us onto his ship without a fee.”

“If he’s a changed man?”

“Then, we will need to be convincing but I won’t recommend going down that path.”

“I agree,” Lyra chimed in. “If we coerce him, we won’t be able to have a good night's sleep while on his ship. If he turns us away, we will need to look for another boat.”

“I do have another person in mind,” said Siv.

“Oh, jolly. Who is it?”

“He’s… not entirely reliable when it comes to manning a boat but he’s a good kid. He won’t refuse our request. In fact, I think he will even try to accommodate any additional requests we may have.”

“This one sounds so much better,” Nivia remarked. “Why aren’t we already going with this one?”

“As I said, he’s not entirely reliable. There’s no telling how he’ll fare once we are under attack.”

“I say we go for the boy. Their skills be damned. There’s no point in competence if we need to constantly look behind our shoulders. Moreover, with Aedan and Erin around, I’m sure we won’t need to worry so much about anything attacking us.”

“I admire your optimistic sentiment, Nivia,” Siv said. “But speaking from experience, one can never truly anticipate the threats that lie in the depth.”

“I’m merely giving my piece in this discussion. The final say, of course, will be from Erin.”

Everyone turned their gaze to Erin.

“We’ll go with the original plan,” said Erin. “If the first option is not in favour, we’ll go with the second.”

“But what if the second also doesn’t pan out the way we hoped?” Aedan questioned.

“I was hoping you would have the answer for that,” Erin responded with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.