[b][center]Mars[/center][/b]
[center]Town Square[/center]

The Toad, the second largest Inn in Arian village, only behind the Raven Inn. An innkeeper was seated behind a bar with his forehead resting lazily on his propped up arm, the man yawned with boredom. A small, dying fire cackled in the hearth and the main room of the Inn was filled with empty chairs and barren tables save for a single table where three men were playing a game of Liar's Dice. 

"Three six's," Mars said.

The other two men lifted their cups gently and peered at their own die. They gave each other sly smiles as one called out Mar's bluff. One by one they each lifted their cups. The first cup left the table: No sixes. Then the second cup was lifted, and again not a single six. Finally, Mars lifted his own cup to reveal three die, all sixes. The faces of the other men quickly turned from smug looks of satisfaction to contorted faces of anger and disbelief.

"Bullshit!" a man yelled as he slammed his fist on the table. The die on the table jumped into the air and landed back on the table. Mar's own die landed with the sixes facing skyward. The men saw this and gave a skeptical look before turning their angry eyes on Mars with murderous intent. Mars looked at his die for a moment before meeting their eyes with a shrug.

"I win again." 

"You bloody-" one of the men yelled as he drew a dagger. Mars quickly jumped back from his seat, knocking his chair over as he raised his hands palms forward. "Now, now. We shouldn't jump to conclusions."

By the luck of the gods a woman entered the tavern, out of breath and panicked. Another group of people flowed in behind her, suddenly the barren hearth had a few more bodies. The innkeeper blinked wildly at the panicked guests flooding his inn.

"We're under attack!" the woman cried out in an odd hushed scream. People glanced at each other with bewildered eyes before someone inquired what the crazed woman was talking about. A bomb she exclaimed! A mad magician threatened to ruin the entire village in a fiery explosion. The other villagers who had followed the woman in now crowded at the windows, and their own panic and murmurs backed her story. The man who had drawn the dagger shook his head in disbelief as he murmured a curse and stepped outside the inn. 

Everyone was now looking out the window towards the fountain where a group of militia were confronting some armed foreigners. Mars quickly slapped his die off the table with a swift backhand, sending two of the dice into the hearth. One of the men glanced back for a moment, looking at Mar's with fearful eyes, before returning his attention to the window. Mars then quietly slid the gold coins on the table into a cloth pouch which he promptly tied off and tucked under his sash. 

Suddenly the women in the room squealed and the men gasped. Mars turned his own eyes to the window and saw two behemoth spiders standing by the fountain. The man with the dagger promptly yelped and ran back into the tavern, slamming the door behind him. Most of the people by the window turned and sought refuge in the inn to hide in. Mars himself stepped to the window to view the ordeal. At the sight of the giant spiders Mar's skin grew pale. 

"Aren't you going to do something? You're with the Queen's Blades aren't you?" one of the men Mar's had been gambling with inquired. 

"Never heard of them, and there is nothing to be done," Mars replied. Spirits began to pour from the village houses, "Everything looks normal." 

"You bloody coward!"

Mars let loose a heavy sigh and turned his attention back into the room. Most of the people had fled upstairs, with the handful who had remained cluttered around the windows, mostly men who would rather satiate their curiosity than seek refuge. Mar's walked to the bar and began to walk one of the larger kegs from under the shelf. The thing was only knee high, but was heavy as hell, and by the time he had it just outside the door the people in the town square were now engaged in a full on fight. Mars returned to the inn and grabbed an unlit torch from the wall, walked to the hearth and lit the torch before returning to the inn's entrance and drawing his rapier. He stood in the entrance and turned back towards the innkeeper, who had been quietly protesting Mar's seizure of the alcohol. 

"Queen Kouri will reimburse your loses. If she makes an inquiry..." what were the names of the other Blades? "Tell her I, Murderok, owe you this barrel," the named sounded familiar, "Shut the door behind me if you would be so kind." 

Of the two spider's, Mar's focused his attention on the one that looked more pissed. There appeared to be a safe distance between the beast and the contraption at the foot of the fountain which Mar's presumed to be the bomb. He imagined he'd feel guilty if his plan ignited the bomb instead... either feel guilty or feel dead. Mars then punctured the barrel thrice with his rapier before kicking it to its side. Quickly Mar's spun the barrel and sent it rolling along the downgrade with a swift boot. He watched the barrel roll towards the spider engaging the militiaman. Unfortunately the barrel veered left and would roll behind the spider, but with any luck the fiery explosion would at least be enough to disorient the spider to offer the man a chance for a fatal strike, maybe even scorch the ugly thing if he timed it just right. 

Mars lit the trail of alcohol the barrel left behind, and watched as a line of fire raced towards the rolling barrel. 

"Mind the fire!"