[center][h1][color=00a99d]Garret Zarubin[/color][/h1][/center]

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Eventually, the skirmish winded down until every single criminal either laid incapacitated on the cobblestone pavement or was restrained; notably, the only supposed conscious thug still squirming within Meisha's tyrant grasps. Garrett and his squad looked over the group that tried to jump them, checking if any one of them had any will of defiance to oppose them further. Though it was evidently clear they were out cold and practically rendered harmless.

[color=00a99d]"Secure the area!"[/color] Garrett ordered aloud to his squad and motioned Tess and Shirly forward deeper into the alleyway to scope the place out for any other lurking dangers. Both women acknowledged the request and brushed past him, their weapons still drawn. 

After watching the two venture further for a few seconds, he turned around and set his sights on the criminal Meisha had captured and moved towards the man. Upon reaching him, Garrett lowered his machete towards the thug who had been forcefully restrained and put to his knees. Though before Garrett could even open his mouth, the man shot a painful and tearful look at him. Desperation and dismay were painted all over his face. 

"P-please! I-I'll tell you anything! Anything I say! Just tell her to release me, I beg you!" the thug pleaded.

[color=00a99d]"And you won't give us any reason to see you as a threat?"[/color] Garrett asked coldly.

"No, no! I surrender! Honest! Please, I can't bare this no longer!"

Garrett pondered on this notion for a moment, though if anything, he was putting on a facade, just to illustrate the situation in a way that would not only intimidate the hooligan further but ensure his compliance with the rest of the group. In a suggestive nod to Meisha, who was still bearing her signature smile, she released the man and the thug collapsed into the pavement gripping his tortured wrist with his only working hand. Garrett leaned forward and looked over the man, now seemingly shriveled and adopting a fetal position. Admittedly, he did feel genuinely sorry for him to a degree but he wasn't about to show it.

[color=00a99d]"Now talk,"[/color] Garrett demanded, [color=00a99d]"is there more of you? Were any of you following us prior to us getting here, or were you simply just lying in wait in this dumpster of a street?"[/color]

"N-no. We only mug any fool who-

The machete in Garrett's grip glowed and radiated an intense heat that the man would no doubt feel by being in such close proximity to its edge, [color=00a99d]"I'd change my vocabulary if I were you, bub. You want my colleague to give your other arm the same treatment as before?"[/color]

"Thousand apologies! Please, not that!" the thug profusely groveled before continuing with a changed tune, "w-we only ambush, anyone, who walks through here... there isn't anyone else, you had bested our entire gang. Please, don't subject me to any more punishment!"

For a moment, Garrett remained motionless and eyed the crumpled man as if regarding his words. A second later, Tess and Shirly came back from the corridors of the alleyway. They said something but Garrett's attention was drawn away by a duo of armored guards who arrived on the scene and didn't pay much attention to their words. He probably figured that what they reported was they found no one else and motioned them back into the group. While the policing knights assessed everything, he regarded the defeated bandit once more before walking away.

[color=00a99d]"I'm not the one you should be worried about now,"[/color] growled Garrett, [color=00a99d]"you're no longer my problem anyway."[/color]

Garrett noted that additional members of the town's guard had arrived and began their arrest of the gang. Meisha followed alongside him for a few passing seconds before looking up to him, asking, "you weren't going to really have me hurt him, were you?"

Looking down at Meisha, his cold menacing expression quickly evaporating, [color=00a99d]"oh God, no. I wouldn't wish, that, upon anyone!"[/color]

Meisha puffed her cheeks, "what's, 'that', supposed to mean?"

[color=00a99d]"Oh, nothing at all."[/color]

After having his squad reassemble, Garrett overheard one of the knights speaking directly to Srikandi. Apparently, the mayor of the city of all people had requested their presence and another yet group of knights made themselves known as escorts to lead them to City Hall. With the added layer of protection surrounding them, Garrett didn't bother to order his squad into a formation which he nearly gave the order for, naturally out of a reflexive notion that they were fighting for their lives just minutes ago. Not that their lives were genuinely in any danger anyhow. As they bort closer to City Hall, Garrett noted how many of the houses and other facilities appeared to be more pristine, regal even, in comparison to the previous architecture that seemed to pale in comparison. It was pretty evident they were entering a neighborhood more fitting of a noble or any other individual of wealth or importance.

The City Hall finally was revealed after ascending a series of wide public steps. The structure itself was very much impressive and resembled much of the paintings depicting the great buildings and architecture of ancient Earth, incorporating carved columns and statues engraved into its walls, although displaying its own unique cultural flair to boot. Garrett could imagine everyone wanting to marvel at the alien-yet-familiar establishment but it seemed that the guards were rushing to get the group into the mayor's office denying them the external and internal eye candy that was the City Hall. Upon entering the office, Garrett observed the individual who seemed to be the mayor that had summoned them. The man didn't appear note-worthy to him, save for their uniquely groomed mustache and their colorful and decorative suit, very much resembling Southeast Asian aesthetics. Much of the talking was primarily between the unnamed mayor and Srikandi, and Garrett made sure to keep his mouth shut so they could speak about the present business. His squad got the obvious memo as well and stood motionless, relaxed yet at attention. 

The conversation had then reached a new and unusual point when Srikandi was presented with a letter with a black seal pressed into the envelope. Though to much of the [i]Thucydides[/i] crew, the letter didn't appear out of the ordinary and Garrett initially disregarded it until observing Srikandi snatching it out of the mayor's hands and carefully opened it up.  Garrett watched her review its contents and her wary behavior was enough to warrant the attention of everyone else unfamiliar with the developing circumstances. The Captain noticed the dilemma and asked Srikandi about the situation. Apparently, an individual simply called the 'Dark Lord', a name that Garrett nearly snickered at, since it painfully played into all the fantastical fiction he had read as a kid of which humanity had dreamed and written up for the past couple of centuries. And here it was; an edgy and goofy title bestows upon an individual that had the Friestanians unquestionably spooked. Garrett kept his composure intact but he was now humoring the existential thought that asked if he was in a fictional story himself. That, and also questioning who in their right mind would refer to themselves as the 'Dark Lord'.         

It was at that moment when Garrett heard his name called out by Srikandi, which certainly caught him off guard. As it turned it, she was requesting him, and by association, his team, to come along with her towards some place called the Adventurer's Qurters. Garrett simply blinked and awkwardly turned to Almira's direction like an unsure child seeking a parent's approval, though his concern was justified since their operational doctrine was clearly being stretched and twisted by Srikandi's request. So much so, that he could even sense the rest of his squad bearing the same natural response and looked to their Captain for the same guidance. 

After Almira gave what seemed to be a shrug and a wave, indicating a seemingly reluctant agreement with Garrett's query, he looked to his still puzzled team and motioned them forward, [color=00a99d]"you 'heard' her."[/color]

As the group divided and separated, with Garrett and his squad, and Sumiye in tow, Garrett pushed forward just a bit till he was at Sumiye's side in stride, [color=00a99d]"I've got to ask, ma'am, this, 'Dark Lord' you and the mayor were on about. Are they really that big of a deal?"[/color]