The bamboo wall became flying shrapnel as bullets and magical blasts ripped through it, and I have to admit, weapons are really not my game. Sure, I have my knives, but I typically use them for intimidation rather than evisceration. I mean, what's the point of thievery if you're just going to go in guns blazing anyway?

And I had a moment, there on the floor, to think about how absolutely crazy it was that anyone in Northwatch would have guns. It was a dirt-poor town. Guns were a luxury weapon, something to carry around to flaunt your wealth or status. Sure, during the dark ages, they were seen as a great alternative to magical weaponry, but since the return of magic hundreds of years ago, there were simply easier, more efficient ways to kill people. The only consolation I had as the thunder and rain of splinters fell around me was that I was pretty sure this firepower wasn't directed at me. 

Alex tapped me on the shoulder and pointed back to the shrine. He started crawling, fast, and I followed right behind. Thankfully, once inside, it seemed we had found a safe place--though the booms and "rat-a-tat-tats" of gunfire continued, the incessant hail of splinters stopped.

"This room has metal walls behind the bamboo," Alex explained. "Relatively bulletproof."

Another magical blast blew a hole in the hall's walls. "What about magic proof?"

Alex shrugged. "There is only so much one can do." He reached under his coat and pulled out a pistol, checking it for bullets.

"Good grief," I said, "does everyone here pack a gun? What's with the swords, then?"

Suddenly there was a lull in the fighting. Either someone had stopped, or they had run away. My ears were still ringing, but Alex motioned for me to be silent as he scanned the hallway. 

The guards that had been watching the room were lying in the hallway bleeding from several places. Another body lay motionless not far from where we were when the fight started. It seemed like an entire wall was missing and that we were staring into a large dining hall which was only half furnished. At the far end, we could see a dark orc--taller and brawnier than Alex--who seemed to be holding the biggest gun I'd ever seen. It practically bristled with barrels, all of which seemed to be smoking. He was covered with blood, but his stance was strong. There was a decent chance that it wasn't his blood he was covered in. 

The hall itself was a mess. Broken glass from skylights and display cases littered the floor, making it a veritable minefield, and broken pieces of wood from the walls and ceiling and large dining table that was now best described as "an artist's rendition of a slice of particularly holey cheese" were scattered around the room as though a windstorm had blown everything about. 

Alex called out, “Alex here. What’s going on.”

A voice from the room responded, “Marius. We found an intruder and followed them here. They shot at us—we returned fire.”

Alex looked at the unmoving body. “This your guy?”

“Yeah.”

“Cover him. I’m coming from the shrine.” He started raising himself from the rubble.

“Ready.”

Alex got to his feet, hands raised, gun in hand, pointed at the unmoving body. I shifted to get a better view and he said, “I have a consultant with me. She’s unarmed.”

“Okay,” said Marius, matter-of-factly.

Alex motioned for me to get up, hands raised, which I did. The brute with the big gun didn’t move a muscle. Another man, an elf, motioned for me to move into the room through the broken wall. “Stay out of line of sight,” Alex whispered.

I sidestepped along the wall, hands still raised, while the room watched. Alex made his way to the body. It didn’t move, even as he poked it with his pistol. The others readied their weapons.

Alex kicked the body—hard. Still no movement. Satisfied, he bent down and felt for a pulse. “Dead.” He turned to face the elf. “I think you shot him.”

“Very funny.” The others put down their guns as Alex did. The one called Marius looked at me, hands still raised. “Put them down. Fight’s over.” He shouldered his pistol. “Sorry about the inconvenience. Safety first, as they say.”

“No, I appreciate it. Better to have a moment of suspicion than a very short life.”

Alex worked himself out of the rubble. “That’s Brthan’s man, Caruthers. What was he doing?”

Marius stepped up to Alex, who put his own pistol in his shoulder holster. The big orc set his large gun down on the floor and walked over to Caruthers’ body. He lifted it out of the rubble as the rest of us watched and carried it to the front door. A guard—I swear, they hadn’t been there a moment ago—opened the door to let him through.

Alex saw me watching. “We’re not animals, Hero. There will be questions, but first, we want to examine the body—especially if magic is at play.”

I nodded. I was outnumbered. Not a good time to posit an alternative philosophy.

“Why are you here, Alex?” Marius asked. “I thought you were following up on external leads.” He looked full-on at me, and I suddenly felt very exposed. I shifted my weight subconsciously.

Alex flipped the question. “What about you? I thought you were investigating Brthan’s involvement.”

Marius was unfazed. “I was. We saw Caruthers leaving Brthan’s compound and followed him here. He was…strangely exploring the house.”

Alex and I shared a look. “My leads led me to this security consultant,” Alex said. “We returned to the scene of the crime to try to identify clues we might have missed.”

Marius stepped toward me, extending his hand. “Marius, at your service.”

I shook the hand firmly. “Hero. The same.”

His deep blue eyes searched mine. “And what—if anything—did you find, Hero?”

I didn’t hesitate. “Well, your wall is missing.” It was a joke, but it fell flat with the two men. Alex even rolled his eyes. I shifted gears. “We were just about to go examine the blueprints for the house—I believe our thief is still here.”

“Oh?” Marius turned to Alex. “Is this so?”

Alex flashed me a look. I had overshared. “It’s a lead. I’ll leave you to your investigation and get on with mine now—assuming you’re done shooting up the house.”

Marius winked at me. “I think we’re done for now, but if you put yourself in my sights, you have no one to blame but yourself.” I couldn’t ignore the double entendre. Frankly, Marius wasn’t my type. Not that I don’t like elves, but the “shoot-first, ask questions later” type was always too jumpy for me. Of course, I thought, as I looked past the men, Alex had shot first and asked questions later, too—but at least he had the grace to miss.

“Gentlemen,” I interrupted. “I think I have discovered a clue.” They looked at me and then where I was pointing, past them. The wall was bleeding.

Alex yelled as Marius moved toward the growing red pool. “Guard! Get me a mage, fast!” One of the guards at the door left at a run.

Marius was examining the wall. “Couple of shots here.” Suddenly, he yelled at the wall, “Is there anyone there?” As one might expect, the wall didn’t answer. We all exchanged glances.

“What’s on the other side of the wall?” I finally asked. The two shared another look, then Alex told me, “The Master’s chambers.”

Well…shit.