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Grimmel looked at the man and mouthed a curse for his killer. He did not think that the victim could be helped but he was not going to keep the old man from trying.

The bard whistled to call the little the litle Sionnain. Then he looked around to see if there were any witnesses.

Still leaning on the wall on the left side of the window, I switch the position of my head and, although the question is not addressed to me, I take the liberty of answering to the muscled woman.

- Well. The man seems to be breathing his last breath.- I say. He's definitely not gonna last for a long time unless he gets some medical assistance.-  In my humble opinion, the noise will depend on whether the assailant is gonna come back or the people down there- I say, pointing my chin to the window.- are planning on going after him...or her.

There's no more to add so far. I return to my watchful position with the dagger ready to be thrown quickly in case that is needed.

Sionnain looks out beside Elaria and he shrugs when Baster talks. - I hope so. - Asks shyly to the big woman. She intimidates slightly to the little boy.

Then he hears the whistle and recognises the Grimmel's style in it, he raises his shoulders. - ¡It's Grimmel! - Whispering to Elaria before starts to walk towards the stairs. - Down must be safely. Do you want come with me? I can protect you. - Offers, showing the little dagger to the nice woman with a little smile. In his eyes is easy see that the boy is nervous with the situation, even though he tries seeming calm. The scream, the man in the street... There are too much to a child, even to a child that is used to travel.

- I go out. - Says finally,walking and listening Ilesys's words. 

I dind't answer to the "hipermuscleswoman" since she already got an anwser from the half-elf. Instead, I kept on looking out for strange movements in the night or another possible dangers. At some point a whistle made Sionnain's expression change positevely. The little one looked at me then and told me it was a sign of the bard taht meant we were safe outside.

I had to admit that could be the perfect excuse if they would want to steal my things: fool the lady with the cute child. But well, at that point I was completely awake so a bit of wind on my face could help me. And anyway, Sionnian was so cute I could not help it. And he said he would protect me with that little daga. How could someone be so adorable?

- Then I cannot refuse, if a lad like you is protecting me.

I smiled at the child and followed him after I made sure all my important belonginds were with me, as well as some weapon.

Baster huffed in irritation. She could lay back again, forget about it and let herself sink into restful dreams. But the others would just keep coming and going and annoying her until she was ready to throw one of them out of the window.

I’m of a mind to go down there and put the poor soul to rest myself, she grumbled. And it would be a damn mercy. Yet she didn’t, for the moment.

She kept her sight affixed on a point between Ilesys and the door, so she could notice both what the woman was up to and if someone got in the room. Her grip on the handle of her weapon tense. Whoever had done that to the dying man, if it was not just an old drunkard having a seizure, was probably away by now. The guards of the night watch, though, assuming the town guard had a night shift, might just come to investigate the noise and apprehend everyone in the vecinity for interrogation.

Kholer went with Dalfgan near the body, but he was not a healer. So he looked the streets for the assailant.

His fingers moved with nervous movements waiting for some signal.

What happened?

He was asking the wounded man although who knows if he could answer?

The little boy leaves the room at once as soon as he hears the whistle from the bard. Jumping through the straw mattresses, he slides quickly to the stairs and the lower room of the inn followed closely by the red haired woman.

Meanwhile the half elf keep her watch by the window under the suspicious gaze from the strong barbarian who remains seated by her bed.

Down there, at the square bathed by the silver light of the moon, nothing particularly remarkable occurs. No sign of the perpetrators, nor of the night watch yet. Probably it will take some time until the word spreads far enough to reach the sleepy ears of the guards on patrol by the nearest walls and gates.

But it starts to be quite obvious even from this distance, that the man who was agonizing, and indeed still is, has however started to talk to the shadowy figures around him.

Out of those, you quickly identify the three men and the dwarf who were sleeping with you, who are then joined by the small figure of Sionnain after the bard's cloak.

While you are still trying to figure out who this poor soul is and what happened to him, a small figure sneaks through your legs and joins Grimmel by his side. The boy, Sionnain, has come quickly after the bard's whistle followed closely by the red haired woman who now positions herself at the other arm of the Bard.

Meanwhile, the old wise man called Dalfgan has bent over the stabbed body and is performing some procedures over both the wound and several vital parts of the wounded man. None of you truly understand the physician processes Dalfan is applying over the poor victim, they almost look like magic to untrained eyes. Not to Kholer's of course, for him this is clearly not magic and just observes Dalfgan procedure with curiosity while raising an eyebrow.

Whatever it is what the wise man is doing, it seems to work, and the victim suddenly opens his eyes taking a big deep breath just to cough and spit a bunch of blood moments later.

Then his eyes seem to finally catch a glance of whatever is happening around here and he starts looking quickly and nervously to all of you.

- W... Wh... - he coughs again - Who... who are you? - he asks.

Then he lowers his head and looks at the dagger's hilt coming from his flank.

- _{No... No...} No... - he starts whispering - I shouldn't end up like that... I don't want to die... I'm not ready... They are not ready for me to go... - he sobs

- I can't save your life, the wounds are too deep. But you can tell some words before the end. Maybe a message to your family, or an identification of your murder. As you wish, i'll transmit your words.

Tell us ... who attacked you?

Kholer heard the words. He felt something should be done. The man was dying, it was terrible to see somebody dying and being able to do nothing.

He was still looking the streets, looking for some clue about the attack who could link the man with the assailant.

Oh. A common man. And we could not do anything to save him. What a dissapointment. But who would want to attack a man like that? He didn't seem to have anything special, he didn't even seem to have money. Was it just some sort of game for someone? Maybe a proof to get into some criminal group?

I didn't know the ways of men in the cities. Didn't care either. Therefore I step slighty aside and left old man and the other guy (what was his name again?) do their thing, even if it seemed to me quite selfish to be asking about the attacker just to fill their curiosity when the man clearly had a family or something he wanted to protect and take care of. Or that's what I assumed by "they".  

- Hey kid. - I said softly to Sionnain - Are you sure you wanna see that so closely?

Screw it! Exclaimed Baster as she jumped down from the bed. Patience wasn’t among her many virtues. And, if she was to be honest with herself, many wasn’t the most adequate adjective there. She was strong as an ox, hard as nails and much faster than a woman her size had the right to be. But that was all.

Maybe that was the reason why she hadn’t had any luck on her “quest”.

She got her armor from the ground, put it around her torso and strapped the belts. Shield and longsword at her back and the red hooded cape above all. It was quick, as she had done the same thing hundreds of times before.

I’m joining the audience, she informed the woman at the window, when they're back, they´ll make more noise again, and I won’t be able to sleep anyway. And I may get furious enough to cut someone in two, and then it's again to be on the run to who knows where.

With her huge weapon resting on her shoulder, Baster went downstairs.

The image of the man who is near death paralyzes Sionnain for few seconds. He stays close by Grimmel and his eyes are very opened while he looks at the man. 

The words of Elaria seem to wake up the boy, and he blinks several times. Actually he isn't sure to want see the man dies. But in other way, he wants to know. And he can't recognise his weakness, and a lot less in front of many people.

Finally, he nods his head. - I'm fine, lad~ Elaria. - Corrects himself quickly. - You don't have to be worried about me. - The child glances to the man again. - I have seen many bodies in my life. - Says lowly, trying to look more serene than he's in fact. Certainly he has seen a few corpses, maybe five or six... But never has seen somebody dying so near to him. - Later I could to tell you more stories about it. - Says, looking at Grimmel and trying to be alike his mentor.

Despite being eavesdropping from the window, all I can get are fragments of the conversation being hold down there. Therefore, when I hear the musculous woman cursing and jumping out of bed, I sigh and, after exchanging my dagger for my two swords, I follow her downstairs. Now that I'm already awake, why not going down for some action? Although it didn't appear like there was that much acion going on, since the alley was still empty.

The options are not many and boredom is taking the best of you, so without any further thoughts, you decide to step forward and join the growing crowd that gathers around the laying body.

You have missed his first words, but hope you won't miss his lasts.

Quick steps and small jumps take you downstairs quickly. The entire inn, or at least all the people who was sleeping at the upper level, has waken up already if not leave to the streets to join the sudden congregation, so there is no need to be quite anymore which significantly fastens your pace.

Once downstairs and out the inn, you join the ranks of your fellow guests around the laying body of the dying man...

For a few minutes the man says no more. He just coughs and splits blood while reaching for air for his perforated lung. It won't last long. That is clear to all of you. But he does seem capable and, more importantly, willing to share some final thoughts with you all. You just hope they prove useful or valuable somehow... Not saying he is going to reveal the location of the Legendary Gold of the Secret Sacred Horned Winged Maiden of the Thousand Wonders, no, but some info or... well, at least something more than old dying man delusions.

While the poor soul agonizes in front of your undaunted and... insensitive eyes...

//

- Seriously Grandpa? They are eight heroes and just one cared enough to check a poor old man's wound? -

- Shut up and keep listening... Where was I? Oh, I see... -

//

While the poor soul agonizes in front of your undaunted and insensitive eyes, the two woman that were still at the inn join your ranks tiptoeing from behind to have a better glance of what's going on.

Finally, the old man starts talking.

- I... no... I didn't see who did this to me. - he is not looking to anyone in particular, his eyes just focused in an infinite point of the dark cloudless sky.

- I don't - he coughs - I don't know who could have done it... neither who could wanted me to die... too many... just too many... - he coughs again and runs a hand to the wound.

- You have to help me -

Now he turns his crying and pledging eyes to you, to each one of you, looking for a second with a gentle nice. He truly seems like a nice guy to you all.

 - Please... you have to help me - he insists. It would be difficult to negate something to those eyes, to this nice gentle agonizing old man but... will you?

- My name is Thileon. Thileon of Greenmedow. - Obviously that name means nothing to any of you, you are foreigners. But he raises his chin proudly while pronouncing it. It might as well indicate he could be a nobleborn.

- Please, find my sons... find them and help them... help them recover the Scriptures... they are very precious to me... to us... please... -

The kid had grown to fast. That's what I could get from his words. Death was not something strange for my people but I still thought that children didn't need to see it so close and so soon. That could made them insensitive and therefore dangerous. Everything had a time to be learned.

When the man finally talked I couldn't help myself and I pushed my way into the circle. I knelt next to the agonizing man and took his head tenderly to put it on my lap.

- It's all right Mister Thileon of Greenmedow. We will help you and your sons. - I whispered to the old man. It was not a pretty dead being stabbed in an alley and dying afraid and alone. - Are you sure you can't do anything else for him, old man? - I asked the man I whose name I couldn't remember*.

I took a quick glance to de agonizing man in my hands, thinking maybe my limited knowledge could do something for him. I was not very confident about it, specially because I didn't had much resources at that point.

When I join the crowd it doesn't take me long to realize the old man is about to expire his last breath. Thus, it kind of takes me by surprise hearing him talk, speaking to each and one of us. He seems to feel quite proud of his name. That probably means he's an important, or at least rich, man and that's something I'd like to hear more about. I listen to his quiet speech, absorbing everything he's saying about his sons and the Scriptures, and his begging eyes even manage to make me feel pity for him.

That's when I see the red-haired woman, who had been next to me at the window upstairs, kneeling next to the old man and holding his head. She asks for help, but it seems clear to me that the old man has already made an appointment with Death that he cannot escape.

- Oh. For fuck's sake!- I grumble.

I take a firm step forward and I address the woman, as I take my two swords out.

- Will you step aside, please?- I say, pushing her gently to the side. Then, I look at the old man.

- If there's anything else you need to say, do it now.- I say to him, before crossing my swords and placing one at each side of his neck, planning to cut his head off. - Otherwise, I'll stop your suffering.- That was my way of showing mercy, giving him a quick and painless death. Pity was not something pirates were very used to.

- Kid. You'd better close your eyes.- Although my eyes are still looking at the man on the floor, my words are clearly addressed to the bard's kid.

- What else? - I think. Now we'll help this old man to recover the Scriptures. What Scriptures refers to this old geezer?

I wait in silence. I'm waiting for the answers to the questions that all of them are doing. But no one do the correct question.

- Where are your sons? - I ask him. Why do they need help? What are those Scriptures? Where are the Scriptures?

- You need answer a lot of questions but you haven't enough time.