They didn’t get far before the possessors of the eyes upon them showed themselves. She had hoped, not with any great faith, that they would see her sword, her confident walk and think that there might be some easier prey out there. But then, the streets were quiet, there were no other prey offering themselves up as kindly as Katherine and her employer and ultimately, she was a woman. That last bit rankled a little, but it was an old rankle and one she’d grown used to the taste of. 

The ink-stained man, her employer was visibly nervous and she had almost not warned him in an effort to spare him the worry, but she had decided that better a little fear than dealing with an unknown reaction from the scholarly man. If he freaked out and flailed about while she was handling things, it could get messy. Better to know sooner, rather than later. She supposed a city was a better spot than out in the wilds to see how he handled danger. Though they were in a rough spot and guards were sparse, they weren’t absent. The fight, if it happened, would have to be quick and quiet on the part of the footpads. 

The shadows ahead of them to their left shifted and an impressive, if reeking man stepped out of the darkness between two buildings and stood with what she supposed was his version of palpable menace. She’d seen better and let her expression say as much as she slowed her pace to a stop. 

“Evening.” She said, as if she were passing a neighbor. 

He said nothing and she heard the whisper of cloth behind them and casually glanced over her shoulder to see two more men stepping out of the shadows. They were all wearing leather that had seen better days, not necessarily from use so much as neglect. A man who neglected his equipment probably didn’t often have his life depending on it often. She noted that their blades, which they pulled out in clearly practiced unison were of poor quality but freshly sharpened. They wouldn’t hold an edge long but they didn’t need to. 

“Look,” she said brightly, smiling in a sunny manner that belied the slowly growing fear in her belly. Incompetents could kill, especially if they outnumbered her. She was painfully aware of how out of practice she was as she drew her own blade. It was a sword of the best quality she could afford and well cared for. It caught the light of the few distant street lights nicely, but that also meant that the trembling in it was visible to all who watched. 

Dammit. She watched the grin of the lead man grow.

“Oh how lovely, the lass knows how to whip it out. Pretty lass, put that thing away and let the men talk.” 

There was a coarse guffaw from one of the mend behind her but she did not rise to the bait. So often some of the fiery female mercs were caught by such tactics, playing into the hand of an opponent with just a little wit and a sense of taunt. She knew her worth, or she had. What it was remained to be seen. 

“Move on and no one dies.” She said simply, calmly seemingly unruffled though her damn hand still shook.

“Oh for sure Lass, we intend to, as soon as the bookworm there turns it over.”

Well that made things interesting, Katherine thought as she risked a glance at the man behind her. That potentially turned this whole job into something else entirely. Just what remained to be seen.

“Piss off.” She said, her smile still sunny.
 
The lead man stopped paying attention to her, writing her and her shaking sword off and taking her inaction for a disinclination for violence. 

“What’ll it be Scribe,” the lead man said, “give it up or watch while we toy with your whore and then hurt you until you give it up.”