"You must be talking about Aramiss," the waitress said, picking up the coins. "I heard he lives in a cabin a couple of miles north of town. Look for an orange brick house with a green roof."
"Thank you," Tara said as the barmaid scurried to another table.
"That wasn't too hard," Clover said, picking up one of the glasses of ale and coating her upper lip with its frothy foam.
"That was the easy part," Tara said, taking a swig of her beer and passing the sandwich plate in Clover's direction. "The hard part will be getting the warlock to divine the location of your mysterious waterfall."
"You're not hungry?" Clover said, picking up the sandwich and taking a big bite. "This is actually pretty good."
"I just want to get the hell out of this place as soon as we can. We're sitting here like sitting ducks."
Before Clover could finish her sandwich, two drunken ratcatchers wandered over to their table, plopping themselves down in the two empty chairs.
"What do we have here, Elias?" one of the men said, leering at Tara's plump cleavage. "A pretty little pixie and some fresh ginger?"
"Aye, Ollie," the other man said, licking his lips. "I'd like to sink my pole into her tight little quim. Though I'm not sure it would fit all the way in, as tiny as she is and all."
"No doubt," the first man said. "Although this tall one looks plenty robust enough to satisfy both of us."
"We don't want any trouble," Tara said, drifting her hand down to her side.
"Trouble?" the first man said. "We're not looking for trouble, are we Elias? We're just looking for a bit of fun. How long's it been since you girls had a real man stuff your gusset?"
"Not long enough," Tara said, wincing at their foul stench. "Not that either of you reprobates look man enough to satisfy any woman."
"Now look here, you little tramp," the first man growled, sliding his hand across the table toward Tara.
Suddenly she pulled her knife out from her side and slammed it down hard on the wooden table between the man's fingers. He paused, looking up at her surprised, then the other man lurched across the table toward her. Tara pulled an arrow out of her quiver with her other hand and thrust the pointy end against the man's neck, pressing it hard against his windpipe.
"Do you perverts still think you've got the wherewithal to give us anything we need?" she sneered as the second man gagged on the arrowhead.
The ringleader hesitated for a moment, peering over at Clover, who was doing her best trying to look as threatening and resolute as Tara.
"Come on, Elias," he said, withdrawing his hand. "These bitches wouldn't be any fun in the sack anyhow. They're probably queer. Wearing those outfits, they wouldn't know what to do with a man's cock."
"Suits me just fine," the sidekick said, trembling in fear as she continued holding the sharp tip of her arrow against his carotid artery.
Tara pulled the spear back then quickly placed it in her bow, pointing it toward the two men.
"You better watch your step around these parts," the first man said, backing away from the table. "It's not safe for two girls alone in this town. There's a lot more where we come from."
"I hope you come better prepared next time," Tara rasped. "I've stopped far worse than your kind in my day. The woods are full of fearsome creatures like me. You're not the only one who should mind his manners around here."
Tara stepped away from the table, motioning for Clover to follow.
"Come on, Clover," she said. "Let's blow this pop stand. We've got more important business to attend to."
Clover pulled the heavy hunting knife out of the table and waved it in front of her as the two girls tiptoed past the tables of surprised onlookers until they exited out the front door.
"Damn, Tara," Clover said, when they stepped outside. "That was bad ass! Apparently it's not just wolves you know how to scare off!"
"We got a bit lucky in there," she said, shaking her head. "Those low-lifes were too drunk to be any serious danger. But if they had any more pals with them, we mightn't have gotten out of there so easily. I think you're right about getting you better equipped. Do you have a preference for a weapon?"
"How about a shotgun?" Clover said, still trembling from the frightening experience.
"What's that?"
"You don't have guns here in Abbynthia? It's a metal barrel that fires pellets that can kill a man from hundreds of feet away."