[b]7.[/b]

He falls backwards onto the floor. His face is covered in blood. He groans, voicing his pain, and spits out a tooth. He can barely move his jaw.

The rest are already unconscious. They’d been dealt with moments earlier.

The man slowly eases himself onto the flats of his arms and turns himself over, spitting out some more blood and another tooth. He coughs, and then calls out, “AHHHHHHHHHHH!” A pair of gloves studded with dark green stones reach down and pick the man up, turning him over. His face shoots upward and stops face-to-face with a face of jade.

The man laughs. “What happens now?” He asks, snickering.

“You know damn well what happens now.” A hushed voice replies, hidden behind the green elven visage. “Tell me where the ship is.” The man shakes his head, still chuckling. “You are really something, huh? The right guy?” He says, “Oh, man… when they get a load of you…” A swift jab at the man’s cheek, and he falls back down to the floor. A hunk of jade would put a bruise on anyone fairly easily. The green figure places his boot on the man’s chest, pinning him down. But he’s still laughing.

“The ship. Where is it?”

The man spits on the figure’s boot, a mixture of blood and saliva adorning it. “Eighth… eighth pier, south of Hunlow’s Fishery… ship leaves in an hour… be ready for a trip…” He says, revealing all his secrets, and ceasing his laughing. The figure nods, replying, “That’s a good man.” He kneels down and delivers a swift punch to the man’s face, sealing the deal by rendering him unconscious, same as the rest of the group. No one died, but everyone failed. Except for the green figure. He had only yet to succeed. He stood upright, leaving the five men to finish their nap in peace. In a small, unassuming cellar buried in the town of humans.

They would be fine. At least, he assumed they would. It wasn’t his concern however, all he needed to worry about was Hunlow’s Fishery, and how to reach it as soon as possible without attracting any attention.

When you work freely outside of public appeal, you have to take these forms of precautions. But at the same time, you have to move fast. Or else the job just gets longer, and more difficult to accomplish. He didn’t have any time to waste or room for error. He had to move.

But in truth, it’s amazing how quickly you can move when all you see is the destination. And the path isn’t even there.