The guardsmare and her escort continued their journey through the crowded streets of Le’Ratte. They made their way out of the back alley bazaar and onto one of the main thoroughfares. From here, one would have a view of the amazingly well-kept streets, the clean rushing water of the canals, and the heavily elaborate details the stonemasons put into their structures. All of this and more was barely noticed by the young mare as she slipped deeper and deeper into an uncomfortable silence despite the city’s noise. Instead, all she did was stare down at the black smears that still dotted her armor.
“He was the first man you’d ever killed, wasn’t he?” Alistair asked in hopes of stopping her descent.
“In the Guard, they spend what feels like years showing you and drilling you in so many ways to kill somepony if it comes down to it,” Amber said, her voice choked as she fought to meet his gaze. “This was the first time I’d ever had to use those skills in a real fight.”
“I’d say all that training certainly paid off,” Alistair mused, the edge of his mouth began to crack into a smile. “Not many handle themselves as well as you did, especially when going up against an angry orc.”
Amber Shine ventured a glance down at the blood spatter that still clung to her armor and couldn’t help but feel he was right. The guard had taught her how to fight, how to survive and even how to kill - she was a Night Guard after all. While a ball of ice still rolled about inside her gut, she reminded herself that it wasn’t anything she wasn’t trained to handle.
“So, why aren’t we going back to your little friend’s tower?” she asked in hopes of shifting the subject.
“Noticed that, did you?” Alistair asked with a friendly smile. “Well, for starters, a tower full of wizards, all of whom are looking for the latest discovery, is no place for a lady displaced and far removed from her element. It would only be a matter of time before some overly curious mage decides they want to see what makes you tick, or worse.”
“You can’t be serious,” Amber snorted.
“Never underestimate the lengths a curious mage will go to,” Alistair cautioned. “But don’t worry, I’m taking you someplace very safe. You’ll be able to rest for a bit and get your bearings while we try to figure out how... or even if we can send you back to wherever it is you came from.”
“And where would this be?”
“Our guild hall, of course - one of the safest places in the city,” Alistair told her with a wide, prideful grin.
Amber’s brow rose at this. “Guild... you mean like merchants or something?”
“Not exactly,” Alistair said with a wry grin. “Myself, Elwick, and a few others are a part of an Adventurer’s Guild called the Dependable Blades. We handle tasks, jobs and various assignments that normal citizens that don’t have a personal army of their own can’t handle.”
“And do you normally bring strange mares from strange dimensions back home with you?” Amber asked with a sultry tone.
“Only the pretty ones,” he told her with a wink.
It wasn’t long before they stopped in front of a rather modest-looking, three-story building. The large fading sign over the entrance was written in a language that Amber couldn’t begin to understand, with a pair of cartoonishly large swords crossed in the background. The entire building looked to be in a state of low-grade repair and sun-faded stone exterior certainly helped it stand out from the clean, polished structures around it.
“Lady Shine, it is my honor to welcome you to the home of the Dependable Blades,” he announced to her with his chest puffed out in pride.
Almost on cue, one of the upper level windows erupted with a small explosion. From the slight conflagration a tiny green form hurtling through the air and landing in a lump at Amber’s hooves. Plumes of smoke began to billow out of the broken window while angry shouts and commotion could be heard inside.
“And this is your idea of a safe place?” she chuckled with a quirked brow.
The little green lump began to shift and move, filling the air with the cracking and snapping of bones. Amber watched on in disgust as a pair of thin limbs dug into the dirt and started to push the little green creature up and out of the dirt. Much like the gnome she had met earlier, this being was small, but covered in a green leathery skin. Through the soot and ash on its face, she could make out a pair of beady red eyes and long pointed ears that rose a shifted about like an animal’s. The little monster was clad in dark and dirty clothes that boasted quite a few pockets and pouches. Its head though, was what truly drew her attention: It looked to be twice the size of what a tiny body like that should have and shaped like a football. Amber soon found out why when its eyes went wide at the sight of her. A massive maw that stretched from one side of the head to the other opened wide revealing rows of tiny ill-kept pointy teeth as the little monster let out a high-pitched screech.
“Horse monster!” it shouted at the top of its tiny lungs while scrambling away from her. “Will step on heads an’ stompy gobs!”
Amber stood frozen and wide eyed as she watched the little green beast scramble about in panic and shouting curses in her direction. “Um, hi there, I… guess.” She said with no shortage of discomfort.
“Don’t mind, Winky,” Alistair told her. “Goblins have a kind of fear of horses.”
“I’m not a horse,” Amber was quick to correct. “I’m a-"
“Where is that fetid little goblin!?” The angry female voice caused the little goblin to freeze in his tracks and forget his fear.
Winky’s ears drooped low as true, unbridled fear filled his tiny eyes. The little goblin scurried past Amber, quickly huddling behind Alistair. Shivering in terror, he tried to use the fabric of the knight’s pants to hide himself as his pursuer came storming out of the front door.
Standing at least a head taller than Alistair, a female – or so Amber assumed from the curves and shapely form of the body – approached. She had pale pink skin that only served to make the solid blue pools of her almond-shaped eyes stand out all the more. Atop her head was a mane of bright red hair that had been pulled back into a ponytail. From either side of her forehead sprouted a pair of horns that curved up her head and curved back around like a pair of ram’s horns to frame her face. Swishing behind her back in anger was a long tail of the same pinkish hue as her skin while at the end of her long legs were a pair of cloven hooves. Her slender form was clad in brightly-colored yet utilitarian clothing that showed off her form surprisingly well.
“Alistair, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll hand that little eating machine over, right now!” she snarled as she stomped her way towards them. Her anger subsided, however when she laid eyes on Amber. “Is that a tiny horse?”
“I am not a horse!” Amber snapped at her.
“And she talks too,” the horned woman sighed. “By the gods, what did Elwick do to this poor creature?”
“Perhaps we should not argue in the streets,” a strained and raspy voice, thick with a strange accent said from the doorway. “The neighbors complain about us enough as it is.”
Standing there was another one like Alistair… or at least she thought he was. His body was covered from head to toe with a deep hood hanging over his head and a strip of cloth wrapped about the lower half of his face. Amber’s keen eyes could pick out the bright blue eyes that stared at her from the shade, as well as the hints of a large number of scars that peeked their way past his mask. His body was tall and lean and tired glare in his eyes made him appear sickly and broken. The longer she stared at him, the more it made her fur stand on end.
“Why did Elwick fuse a pony and a bat?” the sickly man asked.
“At least he didn’t call me a horse….” Amber muttered in annoyance. “So these are the people you work with?” She asked Alistair with a bemused grin.
“One big happy family,” he said with a big smile. “Go ahead and introduce yourself.”
Amber took a few steps forward and bowed her head to them. “Hello everypony, my name is Amber Shine,” she boldly addressed them. “And before you start asking, I’m not a horse and I’m not some magical pet. Up until some recent magical hoopla, I was a member of the Equestrian Night Guard. Now I guess I’m stuck here for the time being.”
“Since it may or may not have been Elwick’s fault, I’ve offered her a room here until we can fix this.” Alistair added.
“Don’t think I’ll be here as a freeloader either!” Amber quickly interjected with no shortage of pride. “I’m a fully trained member of the Guard and I intend to pull my own weight.”
“Thank the gods, there’s finally another woman in the house!” The horned woman happily stated. “I’m Larisa Vajra Saldaris, team’s healer and potion expert.”
The tall sickly fellow bowed his head to her. “I am Volf Rathgar, hunter.”
“Am Winky,” the little goblin chirped from behind Alistair’s leg. “I find shinies an’ like cookies.” He narrowed his eyes tightly on Amber and traced every inch of her. “You is strange horse monster, have gobby parts, why dat?”
“Gobby parts,” Amber asked.
Winky quickly nodded his head as he took a few brave steps out from his hiding spot to approach her. “Yeah, you gots ears like gobs,” he tugged on his own to give emphasis. “An’ you has teeths like gobs!” his wide, gaping mouth opened to its full disturbing width to show her a mouth full of pointy little teeth. “Horse monsters no have gobby parts. Why you has, you take’em?” his beady little eyes became suspicions pin pricks as they focused on her.
Amber fought very hard to hold back the urge to snicker at the goblin’s outlandish and impossible accusations. “No, this is just how I was born.” She unfurled her wings for her sides to their full span. “I’m what you’d call a bat pony.”
The little goblin circled around her a few times as he continued his examination of her. “Hmmmmm, suppose you ain’t like horse monsters. But Winky still gonna keep eyes on you.”
Her new room in the guild hall was rather sparsely furnished. The walls bore the same drab look as the outside of the building with a hardwood floor. A sizable bed sat in the far corner of the room with simple white sheets and a pillow while a stand up dresser and writing desk occupied the other corners of her lodging. With a tired sigh she began to remove her armor while sloppily trotting to the rather inviting bed.
Thought the mattress was long since past its prime it still felt like soft puffy cloud to the somewhat exhausted guardsmare. With her face buried into the soft embrace of the pillow, she began to break down her current situation. This “Le’Ratte” was clearly a city that played host to a vast number of strange and alien races, most of which were far removed from anything Amber had ever seen. A tired smirk began to move over her snout as she tried to imagine just what other wonders this place had in store for her.
Her mind happily buzzed with all the grand and amazing stories she would have to tell everypony if she got back. For now though, her mind and body demanded sleep. The iron weights that had become her eyelids slammed shut and closed off the world around her for a time. For the first time ever, she didn’t dream of living out the excitement of stories she’d read as a filly. Instead her dreams wrote her own story, in a land far removed from Equestria.
Her rest did not last long, a sweet and alluring scent drifted through the crack under her door and filled her nostrils. Drawing in the smells caused her stomach to growl and ache in protest of her current choice to sleep. Grunting in frustration, she forced herself to sit up on the bed and force feeling back into her limbs. Food sounded far better than sleep now anyways.
Following her nose, Amber Shine sluggishly trotted through the building until she found the dining hall. It had clearly been built with the same intentions as the rest of this building, meant for far more people than were currently present. Three long, heavy wooden tables and benches took up a great deal of floor space and could probably seat a full platoon. A row of stained windows along the wall allowed traces of the dying sunlight to enter the room. In the far wall sat a sizable fireplace that roared with life and flooded the room with its glow.
Sitting on the center table sat a large steaming pot. Now closer to it, Amber was treated to the wonderful smell of simmering vegetables and the thick smattering of spices that had boiled with them. She could feel her stomach gnawing at her insides all the more as she stared at the pot of stew. Beside that and adding to her mounting hunger was a tray of piping hot biscuits that glistened with their fragrant honey glaze. The sharp scent of fermented fruit tickled her all too keen senses as it wafted up from a large ceramic jug.
“I was hoping the smell of food would lure you out,” the ragged voice of Volf chimed.
“How long was I out?” She asked from her sleepy haze.
“A few hours,”
Amber looked over the modest spread once again. “Did you make all this?”
“One of my other jobs, I cook.” He told her plainly before taking a seat. “Sit, the others will come shortly.”
The pair sat in a somewhat comfortable silence, though it brought a touch of unease to the back of Amber’s mind. “Soooooo, you don’t talk much do you?”
“No.”
“Can I ask about the hood and mask?”
“It is not much of a story. I was mauled by a bear.” His tone on the subject was oddly even and calm about the subject. “Most find my scars disturbing, so I keep myself covered.”
Amber bit down on her lower lip in an attempt to stifle the urge to flinch at this news. “Ah, was wondering about the mask is all….”
She had nearly resigned herself to another bout of quiet contemplation when sounds of footsteps and idle conversation came from down the hall. Inwardly, Amber gave a sigh of relief when the other members of the Dependable Blades came marching in for their supper.
“Smells wonderful as always, Volf,” Elwick happily praised him. “What’s on the menu tonight?”
“Vegetable soup and honeyed biscuits,” he replied. “I assumed our new guest’s diet was similar to any other equine, as such, meat would be most disagreeable for her.”
“No meats,” Winky loudly complained. The angry little goblin shot Amber a rueful stare before begrudgingly pulling himself onto one of the benches.
“Stop pouting, Winky.” Larissa chastised him. “With the lack of work lately, we might all have to get used to a lack of meat in our diets.”
“What ‘bout cookies,” he asked with eyes wide in terror.
“Cookies too, I’m afraid.”
With a pained groan the goblin plopped his face roughly into the table and quietly sobbed to himself. “Winky can eats dirt food, but how’s he gonna live with no cookies?”
“I wouldn’t resign myself to certain demise just yet,” Elwick informed his green comrade. “I paid a visit to the bounty board today.”
A collection of groans rose up from the table at this news. “I don’t understand, the bounty board is a bad thing?” Amber asked.
“It is mostly frequented by either the unguilded or the inexperienced.” Alistair replied. “And we are neither of these, Elwick. The other guilds already look down on us as it is, taking jobs from the bounty board makes us look all the more weak.”
“Yes, but at least we’ll be fed.” The gnome counterpointed. “I couldn’t give a damn what the other guilds think of us for it. We’re broke as it is.”
The entire room became filled with an uneasy quiet until Amber spoke up. “So, what’s the job?”
“That would be guild business.” Elwick quickly answered her. “You’re a guest here, but you’re not a member of this guild.”
“And what do you expect me to do, just sit around here and take up knitting?” Amber growled in annoyance.
“Besides, I think we could use someone like her.” Alistair brought up. “She’s resourceful and good in a fight; I can vouch for her skills.”
“We’ve only known her a day,” Elwick scoffed. “We know next to nothing about her. For all we know all that talk about royal guards and such is nothing but a ruse. She could have been some kind of war criminal headed for the block and then we accidently brought her here.”
“I dunno, Alistair does have a point.” Larissa added. “Besides, ever since Frank quit we’ve been lacking some muscle on the team.”
“I don’t believe this,” Elwick grumbled. “She could kill all of us in our sleep and you want to make her a member of this team?”
“Winky with the gnome: never trust horse monsters.” The goblin stated with a sagely nod.
“Alistair told me about her fight with the orc,” Volf added. “I say we give her a shot.”
“Is this really happening, the only one in the room seeing reason is the damned goblin?” Elwick grumbled as he looked around the room with an annoyed glare before pouring himself a large tankard of ale and quickly downing it. “Trail period,” he announced. “And if she turns out to be some bloodthirsty baby-eater, I’m going to expect an eloquent, handwritten apology from each of you.”
“Since we’re all Dependable Blades here, what’s this job you found us?” Larissa pressed.
“A very simple job and probably a good test of our new member’s skills,” he said while pouring another tall glass. “We’re going on a bandit hunt.”