About an hour later, Kahiri strolled into the hotel suite's common area with wet hair and rejuvenated skin. Her eyes soon landed on Qwarten and she noticed nobody else was in the room. 

Kahiri sat down on the couch beside Qwarten. "Where is everybody?" 

"They went off to the market to buy lunch. Swedo said fresh fish would be better for us than the provisions we packed. Some mumbo-jumbo about the moisture in the air or something." 

Kahiri giggled. "That sounds about right." A silence lingered between the two for a minute before Kahiri broke it. "Thanks for helping me out in the bar, by the way. I really appreciate it." 

Qwarten eyed her curiously. "Of course. As your captain, it's my duty to preserve your—" 

"I know all that, Qwarten. It's just that you acted with such a passion—" 

"Miss Oriann, if you're implying I acted with any ulterior motive, I assure you, you're as crazy as our doctor." 

Kahiri huffed. "I'm only giving you an elaborate 'thank you', Major. You could at least say, 'you're welcome'." 

Qwarten slowly nodded and looked down at his shoes. "You're welcome." 

Both Kahiri and Qwarten snapped their heads toward the door as it creaked open and the other Tereslars filed in. Doctor Swedo slapped three raw fish onto the coffee table in front of the couch. 

Qwarten furrowed his brow in disgust as the odor wafted into his nostrils. "Are you serious, doctor? That's disgusting!" 

Swedo tilted his head curiously. "I beg your pardon, Major?" 

Qwarten stood up while shaking his head. "Please cook those up and let me know when they're done. I'll be in my room." 

As Qwarten shut the door to his room, Swedo shrugged. "Alright then. Who would like to help me?" 

A silence followed and nobody spoke up. When Kahiri's eyes landed on Erok, he frowned. "Don't look at me! I'd burn water if that were possible." 

"And that's the truth." Meg affirmed with a humorous smirk on her face. 

After another moment passed and nobody volunteered, Kahiri stood up. "I'll help you, Swedo." 

Swedo smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Kahiri. I confess that I have very little skill in these things." 

Kahiri grinned. "Well, thankfully my mom was both willing and able to teach me a lot." 

With that, Kahiri and Swedo took the fish out to the courtyard to grill them.

********************

The next day in the Yugdab hideout, Hadigama sat cross-legged in the midst of a ring of candles. His eyes were tightly shut and his lips moved in prayer to Anjaflic. He jumped as he heard a sharp rapping on the door to his meditation chamber. 

Hadigama growled. "What is it?" 

"One of our spies has a report for you, master." Govlo replied from the other end of the door. 

Hadigama sighed and rose to his feet. "Let him in." 

The door creaked open and a thin man wearing a black robe strolled in. He bowed slightly before Hadigama. "My lord, I have—" 

Hadigama held up his hand and glared at the man. "Cut out the pleasantries, Jahn. I was in the middle of my prayers to Anjaflic, and we both know he doesn't like to be kept waiting any more than I do." 

Jahn nodded. "That's quite true, sir. Well, I was in a bar in Costera City just yesterday when our new enemies the Tereslars showed up and caused a great disturbance. Apparently, they're on their way here, and their fighting skills are no joke." 

The Yugdab swordsman nodded. "Very well, then. I will begin preparing for their arrival after I've finished my prayers." 

"Alright, sir. May I be excused?" 

"Of course." Hadigama turned away to face a bloodstained altar and knelt before it. "Lord Anjaflic," he began in a loud voice, "god of war and lover of destruction, I beg you to help us in our upcoming battle. Defend your honor and send forth your wrath against these haters of you through us your servants. Please empower us to subdue these fools and sacrifice their quivering bodies upon your altars. For your glory and Logolia's prosperity I ask this of you." 

With that, Hadigama spun on his heel and exited his meditation chamber. He hustled down the halls of the Yugdab hideout and barked out orders at his men as he passed them. 

********************

The next morning, the Tereslars sat at a large, circular table in the middle of Costera City's busy marketplace. Qwarten flipped an hourglass, sighed, and wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. 

"Alright, Bernard, it's your turn. If Chris shows up within this hour, you get all the money we've put down." 

Kahiri smirked mischievously and picked up the wad of cash in the middle of the table. She counted it and her smile grew. "That would be 237 credits as it is, and it's Erok's turn to put more money down." 

Erok grunted and chugged some brandy. "Those dice hate me so badly..." he muttered as he threw 50 credits onto the table. Then Erok craned his neck to see the road in the distance. "Of course, if he shows up after Bernard's turn, I get the money." 

Meg frowned. "Wait a minute, we're skipping Swedo?" 

"I am not playing!" Swedo crossed his arms defiantly. "I'm a doctor!" 

Qwarten's lips parted and his brow furrowed. "What's that have to do with anything?" 

"In his mind, everything. Don't question it." Erok smirked and took another swig of his drink. 

Bernard grinned. "If I do win the money, I shall split it into even portions and donate some to each of you. Everybody wins if I do." 

Kahiri smiled. "You're too kind." 

"Hey guys!" Chris called as he hopped down from his horse. "Whatcha got going here?" 

"We were gambling to pass the time before you got here." Erok replied in a matter-of-fact tone. 

Chris narrowed his eyes at his teammates. "Isn't gambling illegal?" 

Qwarten scratched his head for a second. "Everywhere but Haspodia, yes." 

Bernard stood up and passed a stack of bills to everyone but Chris. "That should be 47.83 credits each. Fair and square." 

Qwarten pocketed his share without counting it and stood up. "Alright team, it's time we get moving again. I'm sick of this place." 

"But ... I just got here. I was hoping to relax a bit!" Chris protested. 

Qwarten chuckled with his voice, but his lips remained downturned. "Sorry to disappoint. This isn't a nice family vacation we're on. It's an expedition of war." 

Chris sighed and mounted his horse. "Alright, then. Where are your horses?" 

Erok gulped the last bit of his brandy down and tossed the empty bottle into a bin. "They're at the stable around the corner. I'll lead the way." 

With a cheerful bounce to his step, Erok led the Tereslars through the crowded marketplace and onto the main road. Then he came to an abrupt stop as the bartender from the Hungry Shark appeared from behind a stone wall with a gang of roughnecks behind him. The Tereslars stared at the men, and they glared back. 

Qwarten stepped to the front and crossed his arms. "What could you idiots possibly want from us now?" 

Kahiri covered her mouth to conceal a laugh. Then she leaned near Meg's ear. "Qwarten certainly has the best customer service, doesn't he?" 

Meg nodded and smirked, but her eyes remained fixed on the scene unfolding before her. 

"Who're you callin' idiot, you punk?" the bartender screamed wildly, "You've hospitalized Frank!" 

Qwarten's hand crept into his sling pouch. "Excuse my asking, but who's Frank again?" 

Kahiri tapped Qwarten's shoulder. "He's the freak who was trying to get fresh with me the other day." 

"Oh, that guy." Qwarten turned to the bartender again. "Okay, so Frank suffered some injury as a consequence of hitting on a girl who might as well be his daughter. What's that to me?" 

"We can't make ya pay in money, but you'll pay, nonetheless." 

In the blink of an eye, the bartender flung his arm up and a throwing knife buried itself halfway into Qwarten's shoulder. His eyes widened and he crumpled to the ground a second later. 

******************** 

A/N: Well, this is awkward. How can I move on and write a pleasant author's note when Qwarten just got stabbed? The pain is real! 😢😯😓

Anyway, who saw that coming? (I'm assuming most of you didn't.)

And on another note, if anyone was curious how I came up with Kahiri's name, here's the wacky formula:

First, I took the name, "Erykah" as in Erykah Badu, and I switched the two halves, ending up with "Kahery". (You already see where this is going.)

After that, all I did was change the "e" and "y" both into I's and ended up with "Kahiri". Your mind blown?

Yeah, neither is mine. So, I haven't seen ya'll since Thanksgiving. How was yours? (Even if you didn't celebrate it, you at least had a day off work and/or school...right?)

And that's about it! I hope you're not too mad with me over this cliffhanger to toss me a vote and a few comments. I will now leave you hangin' until next Friday. Peace. 😁