It was getting dark when they returned to the Sick Sergeant's inn. They were hungry, so they headed to the bar for a bite to eat. The place didn't have the best of reputations and the menu didn't have much variety, but when they were served, their big, juicy plates were steaming with exquisite smell.

As they devoured their food, Liliana looked at Arturo, swallowing the first of two plates.

—Just two?— she wondered— Are you sick?

—I haven't used much magic today— he explained between bites— I have almost no appetite. I had missed this feeling.

Even so, he ate the two whole plates.

In that moment, two large nonis sat next to them at the bar and ordered milk with cookies. While Liliana and Arturo were engaged in a friendly discussion about politics, Erica could not avoid hearing the nonis talking next to her, a little because she did not know how to participate in the conversation of her friends when both were throwing complex arguments left and right, and a little because the nonis spoke loudly and without an ounce of embarrassment that the others could hear them.

—Hey, uncle, did you hear that there is a very strong huma in Oxeoden?

—Yes, a brika— said the other noni— and she's been causing all kinds of trouble. She's a very dangerous criminal.

—So she is a brika— pointed the first one.

—Shit, I'm busted!— thought Erica, covering her face so she wouldn't be seen.

—How nice! I'd love to fight her!— said the young noni.

—Don't even think about it!— ordered the other.

—But uncle, I'm already invested!

—You can't anyway, young man! That brika is too dangerous for someone like you. She has killed hundreds of people, she has challenged the First himself to his face, and she has enormous strength. You are absolutely forbidden to go near that woman. If you see her, run. That's an order.

—And how would I know her? All humans are the same.

—They're not the same, young man. You just have to look closely at the details of her face. There are posters of her all over town, when I see one I'll show it to you and we'll take a picture of it so you won't forget.

—There are posters with my face all over the city?!— Erica wondered, but she didn't remember well. She didn't usually pay attention to those details around her.

Suddenly she noticed that the nonis next to her were silent. Curious, she glanced at them, only to notice that they were looking at her like trying to recognize someone. Stupefied, she screamed inwardly and froze outwardly. The eyes of the nonis were fixed on her and she didn't know what to do.

—They already recognized me!— she said to herself— They're going to scream at any moment and we'll have to run away!

She thought seriously about turning to her friends to grab them and run away at full speed before the nonis could try anything.

—Hey, girl— the young noni called out to her— Aren't you Jina?

—Ah... ah... ah?

But the mature noni looked at her with more effort, if that was possible, and shook his head.

—No, silly. It's not Jina.

—Jina?— Erica repeated.

—I'm sorry, huma— apologized the young noni— it's just that I have a classmate at school who is a huma and she's very similar to you, but I was mistaken.

—Ah, it's okay— she answered mechanically.

The nonis went back to their conversation, while Erica deflated with relief. She had just been mistaken for an acquaintance, that was all.

—What's wrong, Erica?— called Liliana on the other side.

—Nothing, it's nothing.

Suddenly, startling everyone, the door of the inn opened with a bang. Those present turned around in surprise. A woman entered, followed by a slender figure and several other people, all sturdy. Then a noni at a table screamed in fear. Instantly a man stood up and shouted for all to hear.

—It's Carabak, the pirate brika!

Panic quickly set in. People jumped out of their chairs and screamed like crazy as they ran for the side exits. The children tried to see the woman they were all afraid of, but there were so many people running around that they couldn't find her. Some young nonis tried to go fight her, but half were grabbed by other nonis and forced to run away like the rest, and the other half fell to the floor, unconscious, as soon as they approached the pirate. Erica and her friends could not see very well what happened to those last nonis, since there were other people standing in the way. After a minute, the room was empty except for the innkeeper, the pirates and the children.

Only then could they see her; Carabak, the first of the group, advanced to the table nearest the center, sat down and put her feet up. She was a large, muscular human woman. Her skin was brown, her hair dirty and silver, almost white. She wore a triangular hat, similar to a pirate's, a pistol on her belt and a tattoo of a skull on her neck. The men following her sat at the tables around, all ugly, dirty, smelly and dangerous looking. Next to the woman sat a volir girl with a light blue mohawk, thin, big ears that fell to the side and bluish skin.

Those present kept silent for a while. Finally, the muscular woman lifted one leg and tapped the table with her heel.

—Where is the waiter?— she growled.

Immediately the owner of the inn approached her, nervous, but ready to defend himself.

—If you come here to loot this place, I assure you that you won't find....

—Yeah, yeah, I know, I don't care, just give us food— said the woman— Don't worry, we'll pay you, we're not savages.

This seemed to disconcert the owner.

—So you won't hurt us?

—That depends on the service— answered the woman.

The noni needed a few seconds to accept his situation, then took out a note and a piece of paper to write it down, but the woman interrupted him.

—It doesn't matter, man! Just bring us everything on the menu, we'll divide it up as we see fit.

—I... I see. I'll be back in a moment.

—In the meantime, bring us something to drink!

The noni said nothing, but hurried to the kitchen to get what he needed. In the meantime, the woman noticed the three teens looking at her curiously from the bar. With a wave of her hand she invited them to join her.

—Do you want us to go?— Erica guessed.

—We should go somewhere else, this will only end in trouble— said Liliana.

—These people look dangerous, but I wouldn't like to leave the owner alone— said Arturo.

—They don't look that bad. I'll go and talk to her— warned Erica.

She got down from her seat and approached the middle table. Liliana and Arturo followed her at some distance, tense. The small army of men around them watched them carefully, although Liliana did not perceive any bad intentions from any of them, at least not for the moment.

—Hello— Erica greeted.

The woman looked at her and nodded her head in greeting. Then she noticed the other two peeking out from behind her.

—What are your names, children?— she asked.

They introduced themselves. The woman looked at them curiously.

—Do you know who I am?

Erica shook her head.

—Carrabak, the brika pirate— answered Liliana and Arturo at the same time.

Then Erica turned to them, surprised.

—You two knew about her?

—Everyone's talking about her in this city— said Liliana.

—Her wanted posters are all over the streets— Arturo remarked.

Erica felt a little silly. Even so, the woman introduced herself.

—As your friends say, I'm Carabak, a pirate.

Erica turned to her again, more surprised.

—Is it true you're a brika?— she asked excitedly.

—Of course.

The girl looked at her friends as if she had met her favorite rock star.

—Me too!— she revealed.

Carabak let out a chuckle, her crew did the same. Suddenly everyone was laughing and Erica felt a little intimidated, but as quickly as it started, the laughter vanished with a wave of the captain's hand.

—I know, Erica Sanz. Your reward precedes you.

The children prepared to defend themselves, but instead of attacking them, Carabak offered them a seat with a gesture.

—Calm down. Even if I captured you, I couldn't turn you in. I'm a wanted criminal too, did you forget?

—Oh, right.

The children sat at the table, next to Carabak and the volir. Then the owner of the inn appeared with a handful of beer mugs and handed them out to everyone.

—My treat— said Carabak, before grabbing her mug and gulping it down— Ah, fuck, this shit is good!— she took her feet off the table to put down her mug and sit down better— So, what brings you here?

Liliana and Arturo shared a nervous look, wondering how much they could reveal to that criminal, but Erica didn't mind.

—We're looking for my dad— she said.

—Your dad?

—Yes, he disappeared suddenly. I guess you don't know anything about Lucifer Sanz.

But Carabak shook her head. She was about to ask for more details, but Erica continued.

—What about you? Are you a pirate and a brika? Do you know other brikas?

—Pfff! Of course! Have you never been to Perka?

—Perka?— repeated Erica, with no idea what she meant.

—Perka! The original world of the brikas.

When she heard this, she almost fell over.

—The world of brikas!— she put her hands to her head— So that's what it's called!

Carabak laughed at her reaction.

—And what's it like over there?— the girl asked— What's it like living with other brikas?

Carabak shrugged her shoulders.

—Nothing fun. The competition is very wearing and the monsters are overwhelming. That's why so many leave, like me.

—And how did you decide to become a pirate?— Arturo asked, interested.

—Ah, well... it's not that I decided, it just happened. One day I left Perka, the next day I was robbing banks and malls with my men.

Carabak patted the volir on the back.

—Noto was the first to accompany me. I don't know where I'd be without him.

—Surely dead— he commented, his voice more or less deep, but still feminine.

Arturo noticed that Noto carried several daggers and pouches on his belt, it reminded him of the sirivi they had fought to get out of the Chainer's prison. He wondered if he would fight in a similar fashion; focused more on quick attacks than strength. Liliana noticed that Noto had the figure and voice of a woman, but Carabak treated him like a man. She guessed he was trans.

Soon the food began to arrive. Carabak and her men gulped like animals. The children were full, so they only accompanied the pirates with their drinks in hand. Liliana drank her beer with no problem, Arturo drank it slowly and Erica couldn't drink more than half of it, as she didn't usually drink. They continued talking animatedly. Carabak was somewhat coarse, but it was clear that she was relatively cultured and had ventured many worlds. The pirates suddenly began to sing, all around.

—And how does Perka work, politically?— asked Arturo, since Erica hadn't.

—Once upon a time I think there were different kingdoms, but everything changed at the beginning of the empire. The brika tribes united into one country and conquered the rest of the world overnight— explained Carabak— The empress had daughters and granddaughters, who took over as they became stronger than their mothers. And so we come to the present day, with the eighth empress and her reign of terror.

—Reign of terror?— Liliana wondered.

—That's what we are called Perka's fugitives, because it is forbidden to flee from there. Every brika must serve the empress, whether they want to or not. Only a few are allowed to leave. Among those are the huntresses — after saying this she paused, remembering bitter moments — These huntresses are very strong brikas with the empress's trust. They come out of Perka to hunt us, the fugitives. They are truly hateful.

—And have you faced any of them?— asked Erica.

—I have someone on my tail, but I think I lost him. You be careful too, I'm sure they're already looking for you.

Erica swallowed hard. If a normal brika was already something to worry about, she couldn't imagine what someone who went and hunted them for work would be like.

—And how did you escape from Perka?— Liliana asked.

—It wasn't easy, I tell you— explained Carabak— several years ago, I was a normal soldier like any other. I didn't mind doing my job, but my immediate superior was a bitch. She overworked us, blamed us for her own failures and used us as punching bags when she was doing badly, which was almost every day, because she was incompetent and got reprimanded all the time. One day, in a normal mission where nothing went well, we were wounded, sick and surrounded by hundreds of monsters, all too strong to try to fight, but still that stupid bitch gave the order to stand our ground. So we got fed up and ran away, and left her behind. Unfortunately, her family had influence. When they found out what happened, they tried to catch us and execute us. Some of my companions died, but I managed to escape across a bridge to Nudo. Since that day I have been traveling.

—Wow!— exclaimed the children.

—What an incredible story!— commented Arturo.

—It must have been sad to leave the world you grew up in— Liliana guessed— I imagine you had many friends and family.

—A couple of friends, a husband and a son— recalled Carabak.

—What?!— shouted the children.

—Oh, no! Thar's so sad!— commented Liliana.

—It must have been difficult— imagined Arturo.

In that moment they remembered that it was a sensitive topic for Erica. They immediately turned to see her reaction. However, Erica did not seem sad, yet not calm either; her eyes were wide open, her brow tightened, her shoulders tense.

—It was painful, wasn't it?— she asked anxiously— If you could have, you would have taken your family with you, wouldn't you?

Liliana and Arturo looked at each other, dismayed. Carabak thought about his question for a moment.

—No, I had enough time— she clarified— in fact I went to tell my husband I had to leave. I think he asked me to stay, but that's the way men are, isn't it...— she said it as a joke, but then she remembered that there were several men present— Well, I mean Perka's men. They are... well, you know, kind of... sentimental and all that.

Erica stood up, slapping her palms on the table. She looked urgent.

—What about your son? Did you leave him there?

Carabak looked confused, but had no problem answering.

—Yes... I was never very good with children. He's much better off with his dad. Besides, it's a pain in the ass to have to take care of him, you know?

At that moment, her friends turned to look at her. Anxiousness turned to deep anger. Erica was livid.

—Erica...

In an instant she grabbed the table and threw it hard at Carabak. The force expelled the pirate backwards and sent her crashing into the wall. The table shattered and food spilled onto the floor.