Chapter 1

Delvane gets pummeled, taking 14 bludgeoning damage!

Dezd strikes Brutus, who bellows in outrage.

Wormwick rushes over to Delvane's unconscious form. She was one of so few people who ever regarded Wormwick with kindness.

With a heavy sigh, Wormwick removes his hand wraps and tries to bandage Delvane's wounds.

Brutus seems happy to be fighting a foe like Dezd. With a malicious grin, Brutus leaps toward Dezd with outstretched hands.

Brutus has taken some serious punishment from Dezd, but he hasn't thrown in the towel yet. He swings a fist the size of a buckler at Dezd.

Brutus' resolve is waning, but he's determined to at least land one blow against this swift swordsman.

Wormwick watches Brutus flailing around. He takes careful aim, then send a slingstone straight at Brutus' noggin.

The stone nails Brutus right in the eye!

With Dezd's low strike, Brutus' legs come out from underneath him. He hits the ground hard, completely knocked unconscious.

Wormwick scowls at Dezd, but he does help move Brutus out of the street.

The collective efforts of Dezd, Delvane, Wormwick, and the Unseen Servant are enough to move Brutus into an alleyway. He's a heavy fellow, though. It feels as though he weighs almost 300 pounds, and there's not an ounce of fat on him.

Meanwhile, on a nearby street, Mariel is with her old friend, Dedge the Exile. The two of them are gazing at a horse-drawn carriage that they sold to someone last night. It's now completely destroyed. Apparently, last night someone stole the carriage from the buyer, and took the carriage out for a drunken joyride. It was then crashed into a melon stand near the market square.

Dedge and Mariel watch as some unlucky guardsmen collect what's left of the wagon, removing bits of melon from the wreckage.

"Unbelievable," says Dedge to Mariel, his arms crossed in front of him. "We sell that guy a wagon, and it's wrecked in the street, not even a day later."