//------------------------------//
// Time Runs Out 
// Story: Freeport Venture: Tears in the Rain 
// by Ponibius 
//------------------------------//

“So, this one believes this job is simple enough?” this one asked as it pushed a file across the desk. This one was using one of the Free Companions’ offices for a series of meetings with those it wanted to hunt down Blackwing, as well as with a few others as it re-established control of its organization. This one would have prefered to use its own office, but that  could now only be referred to in the past tense. Considering this one’s life was still very much in danger, Platinum had insisted on this one conducting its meetings from the safety of the Companions’ HQ.

Kunai Doo picked up the file and looked it over. “Yeah, pretty straightforward. Find Blackwing and make a corpse of him.”

This one nodded. “This one doesn't need any theatrics—just a corpse, and the sooner the better.”

“This one can do that.” Kunai put down the folder and tapped the contract in front of her. “One provision beyond the usual compensation: this one wants to hear what happened up North.” Her eyes narrowed. “Kukri's a mess, and hard not to think it's on account of what you and Shimmer put her through.”

This one sighed and leaned back in its seat. This one didn’t need this right now. The trip to Northmarch had already caused more than enough complications without messing with a contract like this, but this one sensed that Kunai was going to walk unless it gave her the information she desired. That was a problem when this one wanted her services: she was one of the best at this business and had the type of skills necessary to hunt Blackwing down, even if this one suspected ... well, you didn’t become an assassin by being a nice person. But there were degrees to that, even for a paid killer.

For one, Kunai had killed a Striker who had been bodyguarding her target at the time. From what this one had heard, the Striker in question had been a hothead who refused to surrender when Kunai had her beat, and Kunai removed the obstacle in an extremely permanent fashion. Though this one suspected Kunai had killed the Striker more out of expedience than necessity, matters were further complicated when the Striker’s brother hired a monster to attack Kukri in retaliation. The monster was slain in the end, and unsurprisingly, Kunai took exception to her sister being hurt. Kunai captured the brother and proceeded to physically and psychologically torture him to death. 

And that had been but one violent incident during her career.

This one suspected that she might have some sort of personality disorder that led to her violent behavior, and it made this one somewhat cautious about hiring her for this job. This one didn’t need an excessive body count when it was trying to ratchet down the street war and assure the Council everything was under control, but it did need someone capable of both tracking and killing Blackwing. 

The list of people who possessed both those skills was distressingly small, though, so if telling Kunai what happened was the price... “This one wouldn't say ‘what we put her through’,” it countered. “The circumstances went way beyond what we ever expected to happen, trust this one on that. If this one suspected that Blackfyre was suddenly going to become active again it wouldn't have gone to Northmarch to start with, much less brought Kukri along.”

Kunai held up a hoof, and her voice was firm. “This one wasn't asking for excuses.”

This one would really prefer if there weren’t lasting hard feelings between it and Kukri’s family, so it decided to take a different approach with explaining what happened. “You're a soldier, right? You out of all of us should  understand that sometimes things go bad despite preparations. This one believes the term is 'Shit happens'?”

Kunai’s ear twitched. “This one gets that, but things change when it happens to Kukri.”

“And this one can understand that. She went through a lot.” This one braced its elbows on the desk as it went into the details. “To briefly cover it, we got attacked by a Blightspawn while in the wilderness. Later on when we returned to Cold Harbor, she witnessed the Shimmer-mare get ambushed by the Glimmer-mare, and the Shimmer-mare got the worst of it in a lot of ways. She was in Cold Harbor when Blackfyre burned the city down.”

This one grimaced as several unpleasant memories of that night returned. “The Shimmer-mare got hurt during the fighting with Blackfyre. After that, Kukri came with us in the convoy of refugees fleeing south, and it got attacked by the Glimmer-mare and several Blightspawn. And finally, she was there when Blackfyre was slain. She saw a lot of things that could mess up a fully functional adult, much less a child her age.”

“Right.” Kunai frowned but still nodded her head. “Thanks for telling this one.”

“You’re welcome,” this one said. “Though this one suggests getting Kukri some help. She's probably going to need it to ... contextualize what happened.” This one hadn’t been kidding about this being some heavy stuff for even an adult to handle. It was no stranger to death, but even it was still dealing with those memories. 

“Yeah, Mom and Dad had some plans.” Kunai took a pen and started reading over the fine print of the contract.

This one sat back and let her read. “That's good to hear. This one really does want what's best for her.” 

Though this one couldn’t help but reflect on the fact that none of this would have happened if it hadn’t convinced the Shimmer-mare to go visit Argentium. Not that one could just turn down an invitation from Argentium, but guilt wasn’t always a rational emotion. This one hoped that Kukri would turn out alright, for what it was worth.

“Yeah, this one gets it,” Kunai said without looking up. “Just don't expect to get invited over for dinner anytime soon.” She signed the contract.” Anyway, job looks simple enough, and this one’s in the mood to kill something.” 

This one grinned. “Good thing this one is offering you the opportunity for fun and profit, then.” And this one could work on fixing things with Kukri’s family once things settled down. This one did have a street war to win first.

Kunai bared her fangs as she returned the grin. “That helps a lot with making this one like you more.” Her eyes flickered over the contract before she slid it back to this one. “Looks pretty straightforward. The tricky thing is gonna be actually doing the deed.”

Relieved to be getting back to more comfortable ground than trying to help a traumatized child, this one said, “Right, Blackwing’s going to be difficult to find. This one doubts he will go anywhere near his old haunts since he’s smart enough to know that anyone trying to find him will look in those places first. And don't underestimate him in a fight, he's good.”

Kunai tapped the hilt of one of the blades at her side. “So is this one.”

This one bowed its head in acknowledgement. “That’s one of the reasons this one hired you. It didn't want to send people after Blackwing who were just going to get themselves killed.” This one had hired a few detectives to try and find Blackwing, but it had given them very specific instructions not to engage with him. Unless they were very good fighters or had a whole team to take down Blackwing, this one didn’t want them to throw their lives away. This one wanted to slowly tighten a noose around Blackwing’s neck, not bury him under bodies. 

“Don't worry, this one can handle him.” Kunai made her declaration with airy self-confidence. 

“Just try and play nice with the investigators this one is sending after him as well,” this one cautioned. “This one doesn't want to hear that you're all spending more time and effort fighting one another than actually trying to get Blackwing. This one's been on both sides of the hunting game, it knows how things can get.”

Kunai rolled her eyes. “Yeah yeah, teamwork and all that. Don't worry so much.”

This one would be more assured if it didn’t know there were very good reasons for it to worry. But hopefully this one’s warning to everyone it was sending after Blackwing would be enough to keep the competitiveness between them within reason. “If there's nothing else, this one believes you have a quarry to hunt.”

Kunai nodded and stood up, but stopped herself before going to the door. “By the way, want any trophies or mementos?”

“No, that's just a good way to surround yourself with evidence of your misdeeds.” This one was a touch weirded out by the idea of Kunai offering this one a trophy from off the dead body of one of its lieutenants, but then that was probably a common thing her clients asked for. People did like proof that the deed had been done, though this one didn’t feel the need for it, at least in this case. If Kunai said Blackwing was dead, then he should be dead. If she lied about killing a target and this one found out, it would badly damage both her reputation and that of her clan. Considering that would result in a severe curtailment in her income, it was unlikely she would risk lying.

This one thought about it for another moment. “But collect anything of value from him if you can. Magic items, talismans, paperwork—this one trusts your judgement to know what to pick out. Store it away in the dead drop we set up so that this one can review them later. This one would hate to waste perfectly good magical items. Not to mention any potentially useful documents ... for which this one would be willing to offer an appropriate bonus for the procurement of.”

Kunai shifted to make sure her weapons were firmly in place. “Sounds good. If there's nothing else...”

“No. Good hunting, Kunai.”

Kunai nodded and headed out. This one sighed with relief and leaned its head back as it closed its eyes. With any luck, one of the people it had hired would nail Blackwing. Considering the dangers, this one didn’t particularly want to try for itself. This one could offer itself up as bait to draw him out, but as Platinum had pointed out, being too clever by half was a good way to get itself killed. Besides, this one had several other things it needed to concentrate on as it consolidated its control over its organization.

One of those things knocked on the frame of the door and entered the office. The Alya-mare glanced back out the door before speaking. “I think that's all of them for now.”

This one took a deep breath as it recollected itself from what had already been a long morning and then flashed the Alya-mare a smile. “That's good. Thank you for setting those meetings up, that was a big help.”

The Alya-mare smiled back. “It's what I do.”

“Come on and sit down, we should have a few minutes to talk.”

“And plenty of things to cover.” She sat across from this one.

“So we do.” Indeed, this one had been planning for this conversation since the previous night’s talk with the Gustav-gryph. This one wanted to know exactly what the Alya-mare was thinking and where she stood in the grand scheme of things.

This one pulled out a bottle of good rum and a pair of glasses it had asked the Companions to procure for it as it started up the conversation it had planned in its head. A good drink usually relaxed people during a conversation, and this one wanted the Alya-mare to open up. “First, this one wanted to apologize for a couple of things.”

The Alya-mare quirked an eyebrow. “That so?”

This one nodded as it poured rum into the glasses. “This one realizes that it has acted more than a little bit suspicious towards you recently, and this one wanted to apologize for that. Things were tense when this one got back. This one didn’t know what it was walking into and it was nearly assassinated no more than a few minutes after getting back to Freeport. And a few hours later, this one was attacked by Blackwing. Being betrayed isn't a very pleasant experience, and this one’s experiences upon getting back to Freeport set it on edge.”

There were reasons why this one opened with an apology. First, this one did feel guilty about casting suspicions on its friend. Second, and of more practical importance, by starting with an apology, this one was more likely to get the Alya-mare to become more relaxed. Showing a little bit of vulnerability during a private conversation can do wonders for getting people to be truthful in turn.

The Alya-mare took a couple seconds to reply. “I can understand that.”

Next this one switched to showing some sympathy for the Alya-mare. We were always more comfortable with those that expressed empathy for our actions, and that went double when we had to make difficult choices. This one slid one of the glasses to the other side of the desk. “Furthermore, this one can also understand why you did what you did to the Penny-mare. She was working against you when you were fighting for your life. It only made sense to take out his money flow, especially when she was destroying or selling off this one’s assets. All that considered, this one hopes we can move past that unpleasant business where she’s concerned. You were fighting a street war and merely doing what it took to win.”

The Alya-made picked up the glass and swirled its contents. The bags under her eyes were still heavy, and her shoulders sagged just enough that it would have been easy to miss by someone that didn’t know her. “Yeah, the whole fight with Gustav really has me on edge.”

“Thankfully that will soon be over, and we can concentrate on other matters.” This one sipped its drink.

The Alya-mare let out a long sigh and drank some of her rum. “Be nice to have all this settled. This has all seemed like a never-ending nightmare.”

“This one doesn’t doubt it, considering you’ve been at this for months.” This one let silence hang for several seconds as it looked into its drink so lend weight to its next words. “Of course, that does bring up the question on what we're going to be doing to rebuild the organization. Such as where leadership is concerned.”

The Alya-mare’s ears perked. “That sounds interesting.”

“Admittedly, the organization is getting a bit too big for this one to manage under the current management structure.” This one flashed her a toothy grin. “This one could use a partner. What would you say to a promotion? It’d be nice to have someone to help with handling most of the day-to-day business of the organization.”

And there it was: exactly what the Alya-made claimed she wanted laid out before her. What she did and said now should tell this one much. 

The corners of the Alya-mare’s lips curved into a smile and her eyes glittered as this one seized her attention. “I think that would be a good call, and I am your most loyal and competent employee. I’m the natural choice to become your partner.”

“Undoubtedly.” This one made a show of mulling over its drink. “And it wouldn't hurt to have someone help with this one's legitimate businesses as well. They've rather exploded on this one and are becoming difficult to handle on top of everything else it has to deal with.” This one gave her a smirk. “But then, you have a mind for business, now don’t you?”

She smiled wryly. “I have a bit of experience with that. So I can definitely help with that.”

So far nothing too bad. As expected, she jumped at the opportunity to become this one’s partner. Now whether that was merely her wanting to be a good partner within the organization or something else was the question. Now it was time to see how she would react to the next part.

This one took a sip before continuing. “And if you can handle all of that, that lets this one concentrate on other projects.”

The Alya-mare’s head cocked to the side. “What other projects?”

This one spread out its forelegs as though to motion to the entire world. “To make Freeport a better place. We've hit a bump in the road, but this one hasn't given up on that goal.”

The Alya-mare’s smile slipped a bit. “And how exactly would that work? Are you getting into philanthropy?”

This one was already involved in a bit of philanthropy, but it had other things in mind. The question of the hour what the Alya-mare thought of its true goals. “Philanthropy helps, but Freeport has bigger problems than what throwing a little bit of money around will solve.”

The Alya-mare played with her glass as she figured out what this one was getting at. “So what, you're getting into politics?”

This one nodded. “It’s a bit more complicated than that, but yes.”

“You always said politics was a terrible idea.”

“This one said politics was dangerous,” this one corrected. “This one wants to make Freeport a better place. That comes with an element of risk, but it’s a worthy cause.”

“Sure, but getting mixed up in politics won't do us any favors.” The Alya-mare covered her mouth as she stifled a yawn. “It’s just a good way to borrow problems. I'm just not sure this is a good call. You wouldn't do politics in a way that would bring in the money.” 

This one hid a frown behind its glass. “So you would be against this one going into politics while you worked on making us money?”

“Yes, I would be against it.” The Alya-mare shifted in her seat. “Politics isn't good for any of the things I want, or for what I thought you wanted.”

“And what do you think this one wants?”

“Power and control, whether it's money or information. You like nudging things along so they go the way you want them to. Are we talking about politics as in you playing the power broker and behind the scenes guy, selling info to the highest bidder and all that? Because while I could get behind that, I always thought our policy was that politics leads to extra trouble.” She took another sip. “You know, people want you to do things for ‘the cause’ instead of because it’s in our own best interests and all that.”

There was some truth in what she said about people wanting to drag you into their causes, but this one wanted to do more than collect power and wealth for their own sakes. If that’s all this one wanted to do then it would have conducted its behavior differently. No, this one was doing what it was doing for a purpose. So the Alya-mare’s answers were not the response this one wanted to hear. 

This one leaned forward to prop its elbows on the desk as it shifted the topic of the discussion instead of directly answering her. “And what do you want in life, Alya-mare?”

The Alya-mare smiled. “Nothing too huge. Just a happy, comfortable, wealthy, and secure life.”

That answer confirmed a huge red flag. At the core of the problem was that the two of us had irreconcilable differences in how we wished to take the organization forward: the Alya-mare wanted to build her wealth and live a comfortable life where this one had grander goals in mind for the future that would burn through money and come with a significant risk of danger. That was a big problem when the Alya-mare wanted to be this one’s co-equal partner.

If this one did that, it was just asking for trouble down the line since the Alya-mare could undermine this one in any number of ways, or even depose it. The alternative was to make an unequal equal relationship, with this one still being in de facto control of everything while the Alya-mare acted as this one’s second. But the issue with a plan like that was that it was bound to build resentment within the Alya-mare as she found herself always playing second fiddle. That was made even worse when she would still be in a position to cause this one trouble. 

What was this one to do about its friend? She wasn’t going to be satisfied remaining as this one’s lieutenant, and to make her this one’s partner was asking for trouble. If this one couldn't keep her where she was at, it couldn’t promote her, and the remaining options weren’t anymore pleasant. This one needed time to choose the best course of action. 

Thankfully, this one knew a range of delaying tactics to give it the time it needed to think. It hid its disquiet behind a smile. “Those things do sound nice. How about this: you write up your proposals for what we can change to improve the organization and where you would like to take us forward. We can review your thoughts once your presentation is ready. By then our biggest problems should have been dealt with, and we’ll be in a position to seriously start rethinking things.”

With any luck, that busywork would keep her occupied and working in a productive direction in the meantime. This one didn’t like leading her around like this, but it couldn’t afford to make a hasty decision when there might be a more satisfactory answer it hadn’t thought of yet. 

“I can do that,” she said. “Do you need that by any particular time?”

This one shook its head. “No, we’ve got time as this one sorts out a few things and gets itself re-established.” This one wanted to move the conversation away from danger. There were still unanswered questions this one had about what had happened when it had been away from Freeport. “Though given your bigger role in the organization, this one is going to need to train you up on specific skills.”

The Alya-mare stiffened. “What sort of training?”

“Instruction, exercises, and some real-world experience,” this one said with a wave of its hoof. “We don't want to have the organization break down again like what happened while this one was away.”

The Alya-mare slowly nodded. “Agreed. I never want to have to go through that again.”

This one nursed its glass as it watched its opposite’s reactions. “Which means we need to work on some of your skills. For instance, your negotiation skills could use a bit of work. You’re fine when it comes to business reactions, but they didn’t work with the Gustav-gryph. A different approach with him might have kept him from rebelling.”

The Alya-mare scoffed and her eyes narrowed. “Once he started rebelling and arguing with me how things were to be done while you were gone, I had no choice. I needed to crack the whip or he was going to walk all over me.”

This one had to wonder what really caused the conflict between the Alya-mare and the Gustav-gryph. Did one of them go into things wanting a fight, or did miscommunication and ambitions merely cause a breakdown in relations between them? This one doubted it would ever find out the truth by just talking with those two.

“Hardball tactics aren't always the best approach,” this one cautioned. “They might work in the business world, but backing someone into a corner when they have a small merc company behind them can result in nasty repercussions.”

“You can't show weakness.” She pointed a hoof at this one. “That’s what you’re always saying, right? Never show weakness?”

This one spread its hooves to acknowledge the point. “That's true, but there are benefits to showing why you being in charge benefits those around you. It makes people less likely to fight you if they're worried about losing what they already have.”

“Yeah, like with us.” The Alya-mare shifted her glasses so to rub her eyes. “But that's not the solution for everyone. Some of the people we work with ... if you give them a centimeter, they'll take a kilometer.”

This one turned to look out the office window. Rain pattered against the window and drenched the streets outside. “That is the risk with some people, but that’s why you want the right tool for the right job. Some people need to be given a bit so that they feel they can give back while others need to be remorselessly crushed.”

The Alya-mare nodded. “Exactly. The tricky part is sorting out which is which.”

“Which is one of the things this one can teach you,” this one said. “This one hasn't survived as long as it has without knowing how to deal with different challenges.”

One of the problems was that the Alya-mare had taken half-measures to secure her power within the organization. If she really thought the Gustav-gryph was a threat, she should have put an end to that threat in a quick and decisive manner. By merely issuing threats against the Gustav-gryph, she had put him on notice that he was on the chopping block, and he had launched a preemptive strike as a result. The Alya-mare had been lucky to get out of that net, though the fact that her fortunes immediately took a foul turn with her bank accounts being frozen couldn't have been a coincidence. 

In any event, the Alya-mare should have used her money when she had access to it to hire the mercs she needed to make the Gustav-gryph a non-factor. If she had done so immediately then this street war likely would have been over as soon as it started. Instead she had badly miscalculated, and her threats had caused the very problem she had been hoping to prevent.

“Alright then.” She frowned as she played with her glasses. “But you're wrong about Gustav, at least for him and me. He was a troublemaker who wouldn’t follow orders.”

That was concerning language when this one had intended for its lieutenants to work together. Perhaps it was true that the Alya-mare had tried to exert her influence over her fellow lieutenants. “Well it’s not going to matter here before too long. He and the Penny-mare are going to be sailing away from Freeport soon enough, and they won’t be returning ever again.” 

The Alya-mare scowled as her grip tightened on her glass. “Yeah, while walking away with big sacks of our money for rebelling against us.”

“It’ll cost us less to pay them to go away now than to fight them later,” this one told her. “Not to mention it would drag out the fight when the Council wants this one to shut this street war down.”

“It still makes you look bad when you have to pay your enemies off instead of crushing them outright.” The Alya-mare finished off her glass with a swig. “And that’s assuming it isn’t their plan to stab you in the back tonight. You’re taking a big risk exposing yourself, and putting Merry in a place where Gustav can take her back by force.”

This one couldn’t help but sigh. “This one is aware of the risks. We've discussed them to some extent. And this one has taken measures to rig the board in the event the Gustav-gryph tries something.” That was why this one had arranged for Platinum to have some of her people serve as extra guards for the Goldtalon-gryph’s club. It never hurt to have some hidden backup around.

The Alya-mare’s cheeks puffed out as she leaned back in her seat. “Right. Well, you do what you think is best.” She swirled her drink for a moment before saying, “Just be careful, okay? If we're in this together, I have as much to lose as you do.”

“So this one is aware.” This one gave her a grin. “This one says to always rig the table, doesn’t it?”

A vindictive smirk spread across her face. “I wouldn’t mind seeing him pay for backstabbing us.”

This one shrugged. “What will happen will happen.” This one saw the clock and frowned at the time. “And while this one would love to continue this conversation, this one has a meeting with the Gustav-gryph to prepare for.”

It was annoying how time just kept marching onwards when this one had so much to do. There were so many issues to work out with the Alya-mare, but there just wasn’t time to address all of them yet.

The Alya-mare sighed as she stood as well. “Yeah, and I got a few things to sort out too.”







A couple hours later, this one was sitting in a rented carriage driving towards the Golden Ducat. The Penny-mare sat opposite of this one. This one had gotten her cleaned up for the occasion and provided a black dress for her to wear. Little surprise, being locked up for months hadn’t done great things for her hygiene, and it had taken a few hours of work to make her presentable to the cream of Freeport society. Though while her exterior was now clean, this one had to wonder how she was doing on the inside. Her experiences had been harrowing, and this one hadn’t exactly been the rescuer she had probably been hoping for. 

The Penny-mare stared out the window of the carriage to the rain-drenched streets outside. She had been doing so for some time, and it almost surprised this one when she finally spoke. “Not how I thought it would end.”

This one looked out its own window as it contemplated the past few days. “If this one thought this is how things would end, it would have done several things very differently.”

She turned from the window to look at this one. “I'm going to miss you.”

This one internally grimaced. Even after all this time, this one could sense that she was still loyal. Pity for the circumstances. “And this one will miss you too. But ... the situation isn't safe for you here anymore.” It was a pity, she really was a good secretary. But deep down this one knew it couldn’t have both the Alya-mare and the Penny-mare in its employ together. They hated one another, and keeping them both would just create poison within this one’s organization.

Besides, the Penny-mare would want to be with the Gustav-gryph, and he wasn’t going to remain in Freeport. Sending her with the Gustav-gryph was the best decision for everyone here. Even if it made this one feel more alone than ever. 

The Penny-mare’s shoulders hunched and she rubbed her leg. “Yeah, being locked up for a month put that into perspective.”

This one grunted. “This one is sorry that happened to you.” This one’s jaw clenched. “Even if it's still mad about what happened to its property.”

The Penny-mare bowed her head and sighed. “Desperate times...”

This one shook its head to itself. Was this really how one of this one’s final conversations with the Penny-mare was going to go? “That’s why this one is willing to forgive you, to a point. This one ... knows what it's capable of when it's backed into a corner. You and the Gustav-gryph acted due to the circumstances.”

This one wondered how true that was. Once again, this one couldn’t help but reflect that it didn’t know where the line was with who had started what. 

“At least that.” The Penny-mare’s ears flattened. “Is it too late to say I'm sorry?”

That was certainly a good question. This one mulled that over for a few seconds, then settled on an answer. “Probably not.”

“I am.” She scooted a bit closer to this one. “For how all of this worked out. I just ... I was just trying to make sure you still had an organization to come back to.”

This one’s ear flicked. “That's what everyone besides Blackwing seems to be claiming these days.”

The Penny-mare placed a hoof on this one’s knee. “Puzzle, if you’re going to believe anything right now, this is true. We were trying to keep your organization together and keep it your organization. I can’t say we went about it perfectly, but the whole situation caught us by surprise, and Gustav ... he did what he thought was best.”

This one frowned as something boiled up within its chest. “Including lie to this one that you two were sleeping together?”

The Penny-mare grimaced as her ears flattened. “That was a mistake in hindsight. We were just waiting for the right time and place to let you know, and ... I guess we kept putting it off so long that it felt like we couldn’t tell you without it feeling like admitting we’d lied. We should have just been honest with you from the start.”

“Yes, you should have.” This one nostrils flared. “And then there’s the mess that was made while this one was gone. It might have been best if you waited until this one returned to straighten things out instead of trying to fight it out with the Alya-mare. If you had done so then, we might not have found ourselves in a street war.”

The Penny-mare winced. “Yeah. I guess good intentions only go so far.”

This one let out a huff and returned its gaze to the rain pattering at the window. “At the end of the day, we’re judged by the results of our actions.”

The Penny-mare sighed and slumped down in her seat. “At least it's over now.”

“So it seems.” This one shook its head as it tried to rein in its temper. This wasn’t the time to lash out. “Things are going to change after this. Though it looks like this one waited too long to make several changes considering how everything went to Tartarus the moment it wasn’t around to run herd on everything.”

The Penny-mare wrung her hooves. “I'd offer to help, but I have a feeling you don't want that.”

Indeed, that struck this one as a bad idea for several reasons. There was the problem of trust and how that had been undermined between us, and the aforementioned issues with the Alya-mare. This one wasn’t sure it could even trust the Alya-mare.

Instead of asking the Penny-mare to stay and help, it shook its head. “Concentrate on rebuilding your life. Your and the Gustav-gryph’s severance packages should be sufficient for you to get a fresh start wherever you decide to settle down.”

“Thanks. Still, it feels wrong to leave when you need help.” The Penny-mare covered her face with her hooves as she sighed. “I just wish everything could go back to the way it was, before all this madness happened. All of this has felt like a nightmare I just can’t wake up from.”

“This one can understand that sentiment all too well right now.” This one rubbed the side of its head as it felt a headache coming on. There was so much this one wished it could have done differently, but it was far, far too late to change the past. It gave the Penny-mare a friendly smile. “This one will be fine. This one always manages to get back up when it gets knocked down.”

“I know. It’s just...” She struggled to find the right words. “I suppose all I can say is ... good luck.”

“Thank you. And for what it's worth, you were a good secretary.”

A ghost of a smile spread over the Penny-mare’s lips. “You were a great boss.”

This one looked out to the stormy clouds gathering in the sky. “That’s nice of you to say, but this one has to wonder how true that is given the circumstances.” The Penny-mare had ended up being locked in a smuggling hole for weeks on end, after all, and that was in no small part due to how things had turned out because of this one’s decisions.

The Penny-mare squirmed in place. “You were always good to me.” Hesitating a moment, she shifted places to sit next to this one. “I know not everyone sees it, but you’re a good changeling at heart. You try and make things better for everyone, even when it’s not easy to do the right thing. When it comes to someone needing to make a tough decision, I know who I want to be around to make it.”

This one didn’t immediately know what to say to that. It was almost difficult for this one to believe that the Penny-mare held any kind of loyalty or good opinion of it after everything that had happened. “Try and take care of yourself, Penny-mare. Live a happy life, if nothing else.”

We pulled up next to the Golden Ducat, and this one’s escorts went about the process of making sure that it would be safe for us to exit. 

Back to business.

This one looked to the Penny-mare and spoke with a firm and commanding voice. “Nice and steady, Penny-mare. Do as this one says and this will all be over in a couple of hours. Stay near this one, don’t speak unless this one gives permission, and behave. We don’t need any dramatics ruining the meeting.” 

The Penny-mare’s ears wilted, but she nodded. “I understand.”

Once the guards had cleared everything, they pulled out a pair of umbrellas for us to make sure we didn’t get drenched in the downpour and escorted us inside. The Goldtalon-gryph briefly met with us and directed us to the same booth this one had met the Gustav-gryph at the previous night. We slowly and steadily made our way to the booth, and this one kept a cautious eye on the patrons of the club.

The Gustav-gryph was sitting in the booth, and he immediately perked up when he saw us approach. He stood up but then visibly restrained himself from moving forward. His fellow mercs took station behind him. Nothing too aggressive, but definitely in a place to protect their captain if need be. The Penny-mare smiled widely at the sight of her lover, and she took a pair of steps towards him before stopping herself. She knew it wouldn't be good if she tried to get away from this one before the deal had been finalized.

This one stepped up to its former lieutenant, keeping its face passive as it spoke with him. “Gustav-gryph, this one trusts you're willing to fulfill your part of the bargain?”

He nodded, his eyes flicking to the Penny-mare. “I am.”

“As you can see, this one has brought the Penny-mare as promised.” This one motioned to one of its Companion escorts, and the mercenary placed a suitcase onto the booth table. “As well as the paperwork to sign off to our agreement. Once you sign these and leave Freeport, you and your mercs will receive your severance packages.”

The Gustav-gryph’s lips quirked into a smile. “I never doubted you were good for your word.”

“Because this one always is,” this one said. “And you booked a passage on a ship?”

The Gustav-gryph pulled out a couple slips of paper from his jacket pocket. “Got the tickets right here. As soon as we’re done here, Merry and I will be boarding the next ship out of Freeport. And if I’m a lucky gryphon, I’ll never have to lay eyes on this godsforsaken port ever again.”

“That’s more than acceptable to this one.”

The Gustav-gryph stepped up to the contract and picked it up. “I trust you won’t mind if I read everything over? Not that I don’t trust you, but...”

This one shook its head. “By all means, we’ve got the time.” This one could hardly blame him for wanting to read a contract before signing it. Not doing so was a good way to find yourself getting stuck with a clause that could make life unpleasant.

Once the Gustav-gryph was done, he signed it. We had already outlined the basics of the contract the previous night, so it had simply been a matter of getting a lawyer to write up the legalese to make things official. “Shame about how it all worked out, but I suppose all's well that ends well.”

This one shrugged. “For what it’s worth, this one wishes a great many things had gone differently.”

“No changing the past, unfortunately.” The Gustav-gryph glanced at the Penny-mare before frowning at this one, his wings bristling. “So if everything is in order…?”

Everything seemed to be going smoothly. The Gustav-gryph hadn’t pulled anything yet, and he was doing what he was supposed to. Time to see what he did when then this one gave him what he wanted most. This one inclined its head to the Penny-mare. “You may go to him now.”

The Penny-mare smiled brightly and ran to the Gustav-gryph, embracing him in a hug that he returned. Tears started to run down the Penny-mare’s cheeks as she held onto the Gustav-gryph like a life preserver.

The Gustav-gryph gently shushed her as he stroked her mane. “It’s okay, Merry. Everything is going to be okay. It’s all over, and I’m never going to let—” He suddenly jerked and pitched forward. 

His great hulk nearly barreled over the petite Penny-mare. The Penny-mare barely managed to keep from falling over and she grunted as her legs quivered. “Gustav? What's...” Her eyes bulged when they saw the crossbow bolt sticking out his back. Her blood-curdling scream resounded throughout the entire interior of the club, and everything came to a dead stop. Soon there were more screams and cries of surprise as people realized a murder had been committed in their midsts. 

Instincts kicked in, and this one drew a dagger from within its jacket as it followed the trajectory the bolt must have come from. This one wanted to know who had done this and why. Sticking to the ceiling upside down was ... this one? 

This one’s duplicate’s lips were curled into a grin as he pulled his crossbow down. This one recognized that grin and knew who exactly it belonged to: Blackwing. He must have snuck in while sticking to the roof and using invisibility potions. 

Blackwing called out with a triumphant shout that drew the attention of everyone in the club. “So perish all who dare to defy Puzzle Piece, the greatest crime lord in all of Freeport!” He then smashed a bottle again the ceiling before anyone could stop him, and grey smoke burst from the bottle as its alchemical mixture met open air, obscuring this one’s traitorous lieutenant. 

This one didn’t sound like that. Did it? Damnit, now wasn't the time to get distracted. This one needed to—

A flash of something gold in this one’s peripheral vision yanked it from its thoughts. This one pulled up its dagger to defend itself, but then it jerked to a halt as it saw one of Goldtalon’s gold-armored guards charging it. The moment of hesitation was all the guard needed to plow into this one and tackle it to the ground. Two more guards followed the first to dogpile this one.

This one looked to its escort of Free Companions to aid it, but a pair of Goldtalon’s guards cried, “Torch, torch!” The Arrow-stallion hesitated before he dropped his halbert to the floor and called back, “Bearer!” All the rest of this one’s escorts copied the sergeant and let their weapons drop to the floor as the guards surrounded them.

A passphrase, that had to be what that was. Platinum must have made arrangements to make sure her Companions didn’t fight one another, and that passphrase had been to tell this one’s escorts to surrender. And that knowledge was no comfort as more guards piled onto this one and slapped it in chains. This one tried to protest them arresting it, but none of them listened. This one could do nothing but watch as the Penny-mare wailed over the corpse of the Gustav-gryph, and Blackwing got away with his murder.