"There's another horse there Trezlan." We were approaching the ruin (which was a couple columns and then a cave leading deeper in, so hardly a ruin more like a marked cave in the middle of a meadow) and Sara called out another horse happily eating grass.
"Thanks Sara I know I'm old, but I'm not blind," Never let the young make fun of your age, because once that starts forever will they do it.
"Thought you said looting is illegal in Ronerawth." That was Jara, they always rotated talking, it was kind of weird.
"It is illegal, though I don't see any guards posted here so its not like they can strictly enfore it or anything stay back." I dismounted and the twins stayed on their horses. I had my sword and one of my revolvers (because I'm old fashioned) at the ready, but hoped it was just a couple or something that were out to find a secluded place to have sex and not be interrupted.
The strangers horse kind of dispelled that notion, I noticed a bandoleer loaded with rifle bullets, seemingly marked for different uses (some gunmen carry different kinds of ammo to use for different situations included magically enchanted bullets), and some supplies showing that whoever they were they came from far away and packed only for necessity. The twins wanted to speak up but I held my hand up and made my way to the mouth of the cave, I could see tracks in the dirt. One pair, but it was hard to guage if that didn't just mean whoever was here had come single file (of course if I was a better tracker I'd have known that even walking single file more than one person has their feet closer together/on top of each other, where as these tracks were just spread apart for one person).
I drew my revolver and stepped inside, the cave was dark no torches lit up, so I had to go off ambient light from the day (it was around noon on a sunny day so I had that going for me). By the time my eyes adjusted I was under the distinct impression someone was behind me, I turned around to be staring down the barrel of an ornamented rifle, the not grinning lady behind it told me all I needed to know about how much shit I was in.
"Lootings illegal in Ronerawth." I held my revolver hand up, though I still had my magic, her rifle looked like the sort to be enhanced to have my fire not do as bad, she could pull the trigger before I could burn her, and at this range it wouldn't matter what she hit.
"Are you telling me that so I can bring you in for a reward?" Voice was light, more of a singers than someone hardened riflelady, but the rifle spoke differently.
"Look one of us can be here and the other can't, so if I were you I'd put the rifle down, my back up is just outside."
"Trezlan! There are some men coming get out of there!" Sara and Jara in unison.
"Back up? They sound like kids."
"Never underestimate the effectiveness of children."
"Whatever, those men are what I'm here for, and since you stumbled into this, you'll be helping me now, the name's Trix, and I hope you're better with that pistol than you are with your bluffing." She took her rifle off me and we went outside the cave, Sara and Jara had dismounted and met me taking a moment to look at Trix, who was dressed a little light for the murdering (she had on a corset like blouse and a short skirt, looked more like a prostitute than a rifle lady). The men the twins had called out looked like a pack of twenty, all hard charging on horses of their own and they had rifles and pistols brought to bear.
"Well shit." And the battle was joined.
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