Xaviers!

Tereza settled in at one of the garden tables behind the Camel & Artichoke. The name of the pub amused her and it was as nice a place for a pit stop as any in Lambeth. Garden was perhaps being a bit generous, she thought as she leaned her sword against the table. Most of the locals didn't give her a second look. A woman in leather with a sword was not exactly an uncommon thing and there was nothing about Tereza that made her stand out to the common folk. She had worked hard to make it that way and she tried her best to keep it that way, but things always seemed to keep cropping up.

((Open))

The other patrons, however, did stare at the man who next entered. Wandering bards carrying an instrument and a sword are no longer uncommon, but green ones with leafy hair were. He ignored them and scanned the room as is if looking for someone he didn't like.

A young woman with multi-colored wings, the only obvious mutant working in the place, hustled over. "Can I help you?"

For her part, Tereza eyed the newcomer briefly, but went back to her newly-arrived drink as she put her feet up in the chair next to her.

"I'm looking for the bloody bastard who goes by Lancer. The lousy cheating git owes me money."

The young woman's feathers ruffled and she looked confused. "I don't think we have anyone here by that name, sir. If you'd like, I can show you to a table and I can ask some of the other servers if they've heard of anyone like that."

"Alright. Just tell em to look for the guy with the loaded dice and the mustache that looks like a rat shit on his face."

My, how... colorful.

"I... sure," the young woman said, looking about for a table.

Tereza spoke up, "You should know better. This place is too nice for Lancer. Miranda, get him a drink and you, have a seat." She motioned to one of the empty chairs at her table.

"Alright. I'll bite," he said as he joined her, smirking "But only because you're buying."

"Only the first round. After that, you're on your own."

"Fair enough."

"So... how does a woman like you know a tosser like Lancer?"

"I float in certain circles. I'm run into him a time or two. That's two times too many if you ask me."

"I can agree with that sentiment. The tosser goes from means to an end to pain in the end in what must be record time."

"Far too many of those types around these days for my tastes, but what are you gonna do about it?" Miranda brought back a beer for Shane before scuttling off again to wait on another table. Tereza looked at Shane more closely, "You look familiar somehow."

"I wasn't always a bloody vegetable, if that helps."

"Did you go to the university in Maldon before it 'shifted focus'?"

"Briefly, yeah," he said before snapping his fingers, "Aha! You were on one of those superhero teams weren't you?"

"For a while," she said, a cold fog briefly rolling off her fingers before she waved it away. "Decided I liked the lone wolf life a little better."

"I get that. Hence the traveling bard thing. Being a musician isn't very lucrative for anyone anymore without a recording industry, but a calling's a calling."

"At least you can do more than beat people up," she said. There was the sound of some consternation from the pub proper. "Sounds like someone's upset," Tereza says.

A tall elf pushed into the garden, looking around in much the same way that Shane had earlier. Behind him were another pair of elves and from the continued consternation in the pub, there might be more behind that. "Frostbringer!" The big elf boomed, "I'm here to reclaim what belongs to my Mistress!"

Tereza put her feet on the ground and moved her sword closer to her as the elf continued to scan the room.

"Friends of yours?" he asked, stealthily reaching for his own hilt.

"If by friend, you mean constant thorn in my side," she said quietly.

The elf's eyes finally rested on her, "There you are. Hand over the sword or this lovely specimen will come to harm." One of the other elves pushed forward with a knife blade to Miranda's throat.

Tereza stood, cinching her sword belt on. "So who told the bitch queen I was here?"

He frowned, "Speak with respect. You're lucky she hasn't snuffed out your life for your insolence."

"She hasn't, because she can't." Tereza glanced at Shane to see if she was going to get help from him.

"I bloody hate elves," he sighed as he stood, hand on his hilt. He mentally reached out to a potted plant behind the elves and extended a vine from it, attempting to snap the thorny thing around the hostage taker's neck.

The vine wrapped around his throat and yanked him back, pulling him away from Miranda. Two long ice knives immediately appeared in Tereza's hands and she lunged at the leader, parrying his swiftly drawn sword with one of her knives. Behind the hostage taker, another couple of elves tried to crowd in to get at her and Shane.

Shane drew his rapier and grew a bark shield on his opposite forearm as he edged forward.

"Get behind me luv, I'll take care of these fuckwits," he told Miranda.

Miranda scrambled to get behind him, before trying to shoo patrons out a side door. Shane didn't have time to pay attention to that though as the two elves came after him with swords drawn.

"Two on one? Well that hardly seems fair," he smirked as he fended off the first strike.

"You stand against the Mistress if you stand with her and our duty is clear," said the second as he swung low while the first came back around high.

Tereza seemed to be holding her own, but the garden was beginning to get a bit chilly.

"I stand against anyone employing you pointy eared pricks," he said as he blocked the high strike with his weapon and bent his legs clear in a humanly impossible manner. Then he shoved against the upper blade while rapidly extending a sharp vine at the other opponent from his midsection.

The vine caught the elf by surprise, forcing him backwards, blocking the other elves from coming out of the pub for a bit. The elf still fighting him muttered something in his strange language and a burst of energy forced Shane back a few steps.

"We need to get out of here," Tereza called, slowly backing her way towards the side exit.

"I'm not afraid of bloody elven parlor tricks," he growled stubbornly, though he did back away a little.

"Running, girl?" The leader said, as he and Tereza crossed blades again.

"I don't want to kill you just yet, and I definitely don't ruin one of my favorite pubs doing it," Tereza said. As she backed up to Shane, she muttered, "We need to get across the river. When I say run, head for the closest bridge."

He returned a subtle nod.

Their fighting retreat carried them out the door and Tereza yelled, "Now!" Immediately, a wall of ice filled the doorway and Tereza took off down the street at a full run.

Shane wasted no time in running after her.

"It's times like this I really miss cars!"

"Horses aren't so bad. Shame I had to leave mine at the pub," she said as somewhere behind them, they heard the thud of magic being applied to the ice barrier. "That should at least give us a bit of a head start."

"Fight these tossers often then?"

"Every so often. It's taking them less and less time to find me now though," she says, "Doesn't matter what I do to hide myself." They ran through some streets and hit the bridge, "Shit, this is Westminster."

"Well it's not all impossible castle over there, so I say we keep going."

There were shouts in the street behind them. "Shit, yeah. Out of options," she said as she tore across the bridge.

He shook his hand like he was shaking some dice and threw some seeds onto the bridge behind them, which rapidly grew into a patch of thorny vines clinging to the bridge.

"It won't last long without soil to fuel it, but it'll buy us a little more time."