Morghan Flynne

[Madnobody]

Alleybasher-

The girl lurked in a pool of shadows in the alley; set off a decently traveled street with several pubs she knew it wouldn't be long before someone with more coins than sobriety stumbled through, though those weren't the words her mind used to form the thought. She was 14 years old but big for her age; nearly six feet tall with the kind of musculature that comes from a hard life and the size to make sure she got enough meals to grow. She held a simple wooden club ( A chair leg, with a handle bound in old leather, simple but brutally effective) and waited; like any born ambush predator she was naturally patient.

The Dwarf was old, his long hair and beard white and unkempt. He wore simple traveling leathers and swayed when he walked. The girl noted that even from where she stood she could smell the liquor fumes wafting off him- she figured this must be what a brewery on fire would smell like. A full purse jingled merrily, tied to his belt. She waited until he passed her and smooth and silent as death itself she stepped in behind him, bringing the club down at his head as she palmed the knife she'd use to cut the purse from his belt absently, escape routes already playing through her mind. She was more than a little nonplussed when she found the forward momentum of her swing arrested suddenly. The Dwarf, without looking had reached up and back and grabbed her hand. She didn't have much time to ponder this new development because all of a sudden she was flying through the air, and that observation was cut short by the ground.

Sitting in an ungainly sprawl, blinking back stars she saw to her growing horror that the Dwarf was standing easy, all traces of drunkenness gone like a magic trick. He was cracking knuckles that bulged like walnuts and grinning an easy gap toothed smile. Now that she had more time to study his face she saw the broken nose and cauliflower ears of the veteran tavern brawler. She grinned herself, in embarrassment and then kicked up with all her strength to the fork of his legs. His grin stopped as he hunched, face going dark and clutching at himself in apparent agony and she was off like a shot, pausing only a millisecond to snatch the purse off his belt; she knew if she could just make it out of the alley she could disappear into the city like she'd done a hundred times before. She dropped the club before she made three paces; it would only draw attention and she could always make another.

Looking back to her horror she saw the old dwarf trying to follow her and redoubled her pace, losing him in the evening crowds. she spent the next few hours taking a circuitous route back to the abandoned building she and a few friends had been using as a squat; she couldn't say why she kept doubling back and changing her route save that the incident with the dwarf had left her shaken and she didn't feel like taking chances. When she finally got back to the pallet and rags she used as a bed she threw herself down and fell asleep promptly. The sound of a match being struck woke her. As she sat upright she took in the sight of the old Dwarf leaning against a nearby wall, lighting a cigar. She clutched under her pillow for the dagger she kept there for several seconds before she noticed the Dwarf was using a very familiar looking knife to clean his fingernails as she searched. He smiled.

"Well, lass, you've got spirit, it's true, but your game's sloppy. "

Trying for indignance she scowled. " Ow did'ye foind me? What're ye doin en me bedchambers ye pervert?!"

He chuckled, shaking his head. " Sorry, longshanks, you're not my type and you need about ten damn baths and probably a shaving to get rid of the lice before you'd be fit for company. Didn't you check the purse? I had a mage put a spell on a copper piece years ago in case of pickpockets. "

"So what d'ye want? Yeh've gloated...get on weth et...but eh warn ye ef ye put a hand on me yehr gettin yehr fruits kecked up through her mouth half-stack.." Sneering, her voice held little of the bravado she felt but she rose to her feet, feeling the familiar rush of fear.

The old dwarf just laughed and shook his head. "Knock it off,lass, before I have to sit you down again. I'm here to offer you an opportunity. I was out looking for promising young thugs tonight and congratulations, you passed the audition. Now get your things."

" Wha'? Why? "

" Can't have my apprentice squatting in a pit like this."

Apprentice-

Two grueling years of work and training later she regarded herself in the simple steel mirror. Regular meals and hard exercise had caused her to fill out with muscle, and she topped six feet. Life under Harm Steelcutter was simple. Incredibly hard, but simple. Every morning she was up before dawn exercising; calisthenics, tumbling and then an hour or two of hauling,lifting and shoving large uneven chunks of stone and iron. Then she trained with weapons or her hands. Then breakfast when she was about ready to pass out. After breakfast she did chores around the living space they shared. Outwardly it looked like the girl and Dwarf lived in a small one story house; In reality it went on for quite some ways underground. Harm, having a stereotypical Dwarven affinity for mining and engineering extended the basement two levels. It was in this space that they actually lived and that he'd turned into his own personal training funhouse. After chores she studied anatomy, practiced with locks and traps, studied chemicals and poisons, math and basic sciences and more esoteric skills; sometimes he'd have her practice stillness- he'd have her choose a hiding spot and wait as near to motionless as she could, sometimes for hours. It was a damn strange life but also a lot more to her liking than living on the streets had been.

Harm went out often after the first few months, and sometimes he'd be off for days, often coming back with money and sometimes a new scar or two. After two years he'd finally let her in on what he did for a living and why he'd been training her. Harm Steelcutter was a bounty hunter, quite a good one, and he'd amassed a fortune over the centuries he'd been plying his trade; the one thing he'd wanted,though he'd never managed and that was an heir. He told the incredulous girl that he was getting old, and knew he didn't have a lot of years left and since he'd never had any children he'd decided to take on an apprentice to pass his skills onto. He'd decided on a human because he knew they learned amazingly fast, and he knew even at his age he could afford a paltry couple of years to test an apprentices mettle. He said he was happy to tell her she'd passed the test and was ready to start joining him on jobs.

"Eh'm nae yehr first, am eh?"

" No,lass, you're the fourth."

" What appened tae t'others?"

" You see anyone else helping out around here?"

She let it drop after that. She was 16 and had known for many a year that you don't keep asking questions you don't want the answers to.