Lorena seemed to move with such speed and fluidity. Though Wilhelm had managed to wrestle an ornate dagger from the lining in his coat, watching Lorena made him feel like he'd be closer to an obstacle than anything else in that skirmish. He never even thought the lanky woman could swing a weapon let alone parry and counter all in one move. Clearly she wore those weapons on her person not just as a statement to dissuade attacks.

Wilhelm's eyes flitted toward the pirate attempting to collect himself at Lorena's feet, and then noticed that she wasn't moving in to incapacitate him. She wasn't even moving to defend herself, or even moving away. What the hell was she doing? Then, he saw the pirate lift his head and watched his face blanch.

"What are you waiting for?" Even though Lorena had her back to Wilhelm, he could tell that she was no longer acting as the frightened mother. Her voice was icy and laced with a frightening rapture. "Take anything you want. I insist."

The pirate scrambled to his feet as fast as they would let him, taking a noticeable step backward. "You crazy wench! What the hell is wrong with you?!" He held his scimitar forward again, except it trembled in his hands.

Another pirate appeared at the doorway, this one just as tall as the first, but with more muscle underneath his clothes. "Shin, what..." His eyes traveled over toward Lorena and a rifle appeared into view of the doorway. The appearance of the weapon made Wilhelm tense. The pirate with the gun lowered the sack bulging with items toward the ground, hovering near the shortsword at his side. He turned an experienced eye toward Lorena.

The first pirate referred to as Shin darted his eyes to where his companion had arrived and his face froze in an expression of urgency and forced bravery. He spoke loudly to Lorena, as if he never noticed the other pirate entering. "Y-You try that again an' I'll be havin' to fight seriously!"

The other pirate remained by the doorway, but turned toward the interior of the room, looking clearly prepared to strike should anyone make any sudden movements. "What the hell you doing, Shin? They're just passengers!" he spat. The pirate shouldered his rifle with one hand, finger resting on the trigger. "Woman, don't think about doing anything stupid now an we won't hurt you."

"Y-Yeah, nothing stupid, hear?! Julius here's an expert fighter! M-most feared over all the seas!"

Wilhelm's eyes flashed over toward Lorena, wondering if the woman could take on two at once. The first seemed like easy prey for her, but the second didn't look like he sported the rifle and sword for kicks either. And what if more pirates came down to help? Even if Wilhelm lended a hand, he doubted they could hold off a group of pirates who seemed to have seized the ship in under five minutes. Where the hell was Mirrah?!

Wilhelm's thoughts were interrupted with a muffled shout from outside, one that caught the attention of both pirates. The bigger one, shot Shin a sharp look. "We take off. Now!" He broke off into a dash, disappearing beyond the doorway.

The first pirate threw one glance over his shoulder where his companion went, eyes wide enough to make them appear not so dark. He gave Lorena one look. "You got lucky this time!" he squeaked and sprinted after the first pirate.

Wilhelm moved forward to Lorena, reaching out to grab her cloak with one hand before she could take one step. "Wait a second. We better now follow too close behind them unless we'd catch the attention of their friends." He didn't even wait to hear a response from the woman, just moved over toward his desk. He wrapped the Watcher's Horn in the cloth it laid on, then shoved it into his pocket and made his way over toward the bed with almost a frantic aura in his movements. "The hell is Mirrah doing. She's supposed to be guarding me and here I am being robbed by a goddamn pirate of all things." He spun full circle, panic and anger gleaming in his eyes. "He took my goddamn suitcase! Goddammit!"

The boy moved toward the door, pausing only for a second to give Lorena an impatient look. "I know you're my client, so I apologize for having to put you through this. If you want, you can stay here where it's safe or look for my guard Mirrah who might be somewhere in this hellhole. There might be a slight detour from my original plans. In any case, I need to get my things back." Without another word, he sprinted out the door and toward the staircase.

~~~

As the pirate Shin returned to deck, there was a great bellowing foghorn that blew into the evening. He nearly leapt at the sound, pausing to stare at the sky. "What the hell was that?!"

Julius turned about. "Don't stand there, Shin! Go, go, go!"

The two broke into a hard dash across the deck as the foghorn blew a second time. Their slimmer and smaller pirate ship had already begun to unfurl her sails and the Captain stood on the rim of the ship, shouting out at them.

"Let's go! Pick up the pace!"

"Who sounded the horn?!" Shin panted as he crossed the plank.

"The captain of this ship is smarter than we thought." The Captain bit his lip, throwing his eyes toward the bridge where he could just make out the face of a very disgruntled man staring back at him. He turned about, hopping down to the deck. "Set sail!" he shouted.

Julius stood behind the captain, eyes alert to the other deck. "We already got the girl?"

"She's down with Dusk right now," the captain retorted. He moved past the man with alarming speed. "We need to get moving, now."

Julius stared after him, a frown on his face. "But I was sure that girl below deck..."