There were a number of ways that the night could end, but none was more exciting than meeting a snake-faced woman carrying Pyre's Fortune. If it was the real thing, then here was a potential prey that could potentially be her last. Imagine how much the Emperor would pay to have the little stone returned. But first, she had to talk to people with the right connections to authenticate the woman's claims. Finding the dragon could wait another night.

The cloak she wore billowed about her ankles as she made her way to the exit. The light tapping of her boots were lost in the usual sounds of loud voices and laughter. It could have been just another night in the tavern, except that she heard the snake-faced woman's voice call after her. Did the mage think she could get away from the mysterious woman that easy? No, she didn't, but she did wish it was.

Catarina sensed magic before silence enveloped the establishment. The little hair at the back of his neck rose and she felt her boots glued to the wooden planks. She dared not to turn around when the silence was broken by one strangled cry, followed by a dull thud. Several dull thuds.  

When the last man fell, and she saw red from the corner of her eyes, the mage slowly turned around. The face that met yer hazel eyes was calm and seemingly pleased. All around them were dead and dying men. The bartender, Catarina noticed, was slumped on the bar with the edge of a knife barely visible behind his head. This was the work of Pyre's Fortune, no doubt. No mind mage could have done such damage at such a short period of time. But how did it end up in the woman's possession? Nevertheless, she needed to get her hands on that thing before the Dragon finds it. 

Catarina drew the two short swords strapped at her waisĺ. Rune gleemed as the swords were freed from their confinement. She pointed one at the stranger as Catarina smiled back. "I was going to let you walk away," she said then paused. A movement on one of the windows caught her attention. 

The snake woman missed it. There was something pressed on the window, something that the stranger might have been looking for. And the one holding it, if she was not mistaken, was none other than the Dragon himself. 

The smile on the mage's face faltered. She glanced quickly at the window then back at the snake woman, and made a hasty decision. A spell circle appeared at her opponent's feet, then the floor boards cracked and broke as the earth beneath them crept up her boots to restrain her movements. Just then, Catarina made her move aiming for the hand that held Pyre's Fortune.