Sayed reveled in the feeling of his stiff blade against his back in its scabbard as he led the crew down the docks toward the ground. He had not been off the ship in days, and the wear of life on board had worn on him. Now, he had an opportunity to find new challenges, maybe even find a good fight to add to his stories.

He practically skipped down the steps as the others struggled to keep up.

The streets were full, or as full as such a small town would allow, when Sayed reached the bottom steps of the dock's tower. People went about their day, either in their shops along the dirt streets, or with their carts, or walking around, all wearing white porcelain masks.

Sayed froze, his hands on his hips, and his smile stuck on his face. A memory of tendrils, lashing across a man's face as he was cut in two, flashed in his mind. White masks that covered the truth beneath. It could not be the same, but as he looked out at the people, their faces all covered, he flinched.

"You're blocking the way out, Sayed," Alex said behind him, a hand reaching for Sayed's shoulder.

"Sorry, brother." Sayed let out a breath, stepping aside to allow them through.

If they faced a town of monsters, it was better to face them together. Sayed's hand reached for the hilt of his khopesh along his shoulder as the others came out of the tower and out into the light. Erin and Alex had the same immediate reaction as he did, freezing as they saw the masks.

"Such an odd practice," Jean whispered.

"There's no way," Alex said, narrowing his eyes as blue electricity sparked down his fingers.

"Not again," Erin whispered, drawing the red-cloaked Mari behind her.

"What's wrong?" Wen asked, her eyes scanning the crowds. "You guys are acting like we're surrounded."

"Aren't we?" Alex hissed, but he still hadn't attacked.

Sayed would wait for his orders. His hand held the hilt of his khopesh, but he kept his gate closed. The words he told Jean rested in the back of his mind. 'Do now worry. We are strong.' However, they had run from those masked monsters on Cragg Hollow. Even in the end, when the crab scientist had died, they had run away.

"They're not coming after us," Erin said.

"They didn't when we landed there either." Alex still hadn't moved.

"You three need to explain," Jean said, stepping forward and turning his back on the crowd. "What is going on here?"

"Before we met up, one of the islands we stopped on had a monster problem," Alex said, his shoulders tensed.

"The masks." Sayed's grip tightened on his sword. "The God-forsaken masks controlled people and turned them into monsters."

"That's where we met Klaus and Erick," Erin said.

None of the masked figures seemed to react to their standing still. Sayed watched as the group of sailors that had descended before them walked out into the crowd, completely oblivious to the danger they might be stepping into. He thought of warning them, but did not want to give anything away. So long as the masked people did not attack, it could wait.

"That is odd, but how do you know these people are the same?" Jean asked.

"We don't." Alex grimaced. "It's just setting us on edge."

"That is true, brother." Sayed released his blade, though his muscles remained tensed to draw his blade at any moment. "We must be ready, but we cannot simply attack because they wear white masks."

Slap. Clatter.

"Get out of my way!"

In the distance, the sailors from before had come across a cart. The cart had stopped in the middle of the road, though there was plenty of space to go around on either side. An elderly woman lay on the ground, her face covered in wrinkles and her mask laying on the ground. She wore the same dark robes as the other women in the street, though now it was soiled by the dirt.

"Stupid old woman!"

The other masked figures did not run to the woman's aid. They did not form up to attack, or take off their masks to reveal claws and tendrils hiding beneath. Sayed frowned. If they were the monsters from Cragg Hollow, he had no doubt that they would attack. Sayed watched as a different robed woman grabbed hold of a child, pulling him around the corner.

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"I do not think they are monsters." Sayed turned to Alex to see that he had already dismissed the electric sparks.

"I think you might be right," Alex said, eyeing the old woman.

"Don't you know who I am?"

Now that Sayed looked closer at the group of sailors, he saw them completely differently. As they towered over the woman, their swords and guns drawn, he knew they were no simple sailors. They stood around a central figure, his back the only part of him exposed as they circled the world woman.

They were outlaws.

"I'm—I'm sorry," the old woman stuttered as she reached for her mask. "Please let me move my cart. I will get out of the way."

"What you're saying is you have no idea who I am, or how important we are!"

The man threw up his arms, and his men roared around him. Sayed pursed his lips as Alex stepped up next to him. On Alex's face, he could see the struggle. If they interfered, they might give their presence away. They should not fight other outlaws in the heart of power for the Military Police. At the same time, the woman had done nothing wrong. Even as an outlaw, Alex had a sense of justice. They all did.

Sayed, for his part, was ready for a fight. It did not matter if the men were saints or the lowest of sinners. Though considering their demeanor with the old woman, God would bless his interference.

"We're the Rowdy Ruff-riders." His men raised their weapons together. "And I am 'Red-Hand' Ryan! We came to the Core to make a name for ourselves as we go to the Dark Meridian. This town will do fine as a base of operations after we take it over."

"That's horrible." Wen shook her head as her hand went to her revolver.

"Villains in name and action." Sayed frowned, his hand aching to take hold of his blade.

"No," Wen said. "Their crew name."

Sayed tilted his head, but he didn't understand. The name seemed fine enough. It even matched the R's.

"What do you say, brother?" Sayed asked, his hand grasping his blade with practiced ease because he already knew Alex's answer.

"Don't stick out too much." Alex sighed. "We're trying to keep a low profile."

Shing.

Sayed drew his khopesh and opened his gate. Roiling waves of heat burned through his limbs. His muscles expanded as the heat ballooned through his body. It raced down his arms and through his fingers into his blade as he finished drawing it and held it ready. The long, curved blade glowed bright orange as he brought it down in front of him.

His khopesh was closer to an axe than a sword. It curved away from him with a sharp edge and a point that almost pointed back toward him if he held it vertically. The back of the blade, including the small hook, was the only part not glowing bright orange.

"You call yourselves the Rowdy Ruff-riders!" Sayed marched forward, blade ready. "Then know you face 'Sword Saint' Sayed if you continue your rampage through this peaceful town. Face me now, or I will rend your flesh from your bones!"

"What?"

The central figure, Ryan, turned to face Sayed. He had a long face, with a thin line of a beard down his chin and around his mouth. His eyes were small and beady, befitting a coward that would threaten an old woman. His hand rested beside his sword, a cutlass that hung at his waist.

"I said, 'Prepare yourself,' Yellow-pants Ryan." Sayed pointed with his sword, the edge of the khopesh aligning with Ryan's chest. "I will skewer you with the power of my blessing."

Shing.

"This fool thinks he can stand up to me." Ryan drew his cutlass while his men spread out around them in a wide circle. "He doesn't know how far I've fought, what we've all been through, boy!"

"Yeah!"

"We beat a lieutenant together!"

"Yeah!"

"We took down that one boss wannabe warlord!"

"Yeah!"

"Our journey won't end here! We'll go together to the Core and fight our way into Magnus Hortus. No two-bit swordsman will stop us!"

"Yeah!"

"That is the kind of spirit I want to fight." Sayed smiled, his legs spreading wider as he leaned forward with his blade.

He had been worried that the man would run away. Now he knew he could go all out. The fires of his blessing burned brightly in his heart, and he debated immediately going into the second level of his curse. He held back from it, if only for there to be a surprise later in the fight.

He leaned forward with his blade, ready to cut the distance between himself and Ryan's heart. Giddy joy filled him as he tried to anticipate how Ryan might dodge or parry his attack.

"Li Wen!"

Hiss. Bang. Crack-tsh.

A bullet slammed into Ryan's chest, sending him reeling back as white ice cracked over his body. Wen stepped up beside Sayed, a revolver in her hand, with mist rising out of the barrel like a line of white smoke. Alex and Jean came from the other side.

"Sayed." Alex sighed. "I said, 'Keep a low profile."

"Yes, I was going to thrust my sword at him from down low." Sayed smiled as the ice cracked across Ryan.

"Sometimes." Alex sighed.

"Boss!"

One of the figures grabbed hold of the freezing Ryan, only to immediately take his fingers away because of the biting cold. He was a larger man, with large black tinted goggles that hid his eyes. Sayed pitied him. It would take hours for Ryan to melt, unless he could break out of the ice on his own.

The other members of the Rowdy Ruff-riders folded around their boss as he turned into an ice statue. Sayed watched them, blade in hand. The fight was over before it had even begun. Alex stepped in front of him, raising one hand.

"Look," Alex said, looking over the outlaws. "I appreciate the energy, but I'm going to need you guys to get on your ship and run away. If we'd let Sayed fight your boss, he'd be lying on the ground dying right now."

Sayed quirked his head, but then he had to remind himself of what he had said before. He had thought that Ryan would be strong enough to take at least one attack. However, judging by how the bullet had instantly taken him down, Ryan clearly was not strong enough to take even one of his strikes.

He was so used to fighting people who were strong on their journey to the Core. He never thought that someone would be so weak on their journey, at least not one so willing to fight. Sayed made a note to himself that he would need to watch out for his opponents. They might not be able to handle his greatness any longer.

"We won't forget this!"

One of the Ruff-riders gave a final parting word before they retreated into the tower and back to their ship. Sayed closed his gate and sheathed his sword after the heat dissipated from his blade. The fight was over, and all that was left were the masked people in the crowd around them and the elderly woman.

At least it had confirmed that no monsters hid behind the masks.

Hrrm.

The other ship cut away from the docks, flying off into the sky.

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