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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rolzup" data-source="post: 2998449" data-attributes="member: 10105">Edouard sighed as he finished his drink.  He added his glass to the tower that had formed upon the bar, and shook his head a little sadly."And that's that, friends.  That's how I met the Four Crazy Bastards, and actually lived to tell about it.  And if I'm very, very lucky? I'll never see any of them again."The Pig and Pterodon was silent, save for the faintly horrifying sound of Duchess slurping her drink."Damn," Gerard ventured at last.  "Gods damn, Edouard! That's...you...they...well, how the bloody hells are people like that allowed to walk the streets, eh?  We've got ourselves a civilized society, don't we?"The ratcatcher snorted.  "Civilized?  Depends on your definition, dunnit?  And why do 'they', whoever they hells 'they' are, let the bastards do as they do?  I'll answer that with a question of me own, friend."Who's gonna stop 'em?"He looked from face to face, each subject of his gaze glancing away in turn.  Gerard, mumbling something, lost himself in polishing a glass."Who's gonna stop 'em?" Edouard repeated softly.  "Not I.  I like me head attached, and me heart still beatin'.  "And do you think the Gondoliers will do it?  Not bloody likely, not so long as they keep killin' scum like Fancy. If not them, who else? You think the Knights Exemplar will come riding out of Eris to stop them? Not bloody likely. Even if they did, the Bloody Archer'd just stand there shooting, probably take a lance right in the mouth and start picking his teeth with it. And the Pretty Man'd just leap a full fifteen hands over the horse and knock the knight's head into the gutter. One by one they'd go down. "Who else? The Society of Friends? Only if the Four Crazy Bastards start running slaves. And they aren't the type. Quite the opposite, really. Maybe the CITY Watch? Ah, watch yerself Gerard. You snort in one person's tankard and pretty soon everyone be wantin' sometin' extra. How about the Priest-Kings of Hannikum, maybe they'll come and pray 'em to death. Or stab 'em with their glass knives. Either way, I'd still bet on the Bastards, though."Maybe the Lovesworn will find them all wives. Soothe the savage beasts, eh? But maybe they already got wives. Scary thought, eh? And some whelps, too. There's sometin' to keep a workin' man up at night. You can almost picture the schoolyard full of bullies with their heads cut off and bodies all apierced with little arrows."He paused, shaking his head blearily.  "And if a few innocents get caught in the crossfire, well?  Who's going to care if the likes of me, or Gerard, or Chattelsworth there, get ourselves killed, eh?"Nobody, that's bloody who.""But they didn't," offered the Rukh tentatively.  "Kill anybody they shouldn't, I mean.  Did they?  Sounded to me like everyone who died f-----g well deserved it, you ask me."Edouard shrugged.  "Maybe so, maybe so.  Maybe all those fellows the Pretty Man sliced up in the back room of the Dancehall deserved to die.  They struck the first blow, sure as sure.  And maybe they didn't.  Maybe they were just tryin' to defend a...a lady, of sorts, from a crazy bastard with a sword."Ain't my question to answer, I'll admit.  But I'll tell you this much...do I think that the Pretty Man would have hesitated to cut me down, if I'd tried to stop him?"He snapped his fingers, causing Duchess to look up sharply.  "No, sir, he wouldn't have.  Not for one second.  I've looked into his eyes, friends."It wasn't anything human that looked back.  It was death, plain as plain."Swaying slightly, Edouard pushed himself to his feet.  "Come along, Duchess," he said gently.  With a snort, the rat dropped to the floor and shook herself.  "I'm to bed," the ratcatcher murmured, not speaking to anyone in particular.  "Been a long damned night, so it has."With a tip of his hat, he turned on his heel.  Light spilled into the bar for a moment, before the door swung shut behind them."Gods damn," Gerard said again, quietly.</blockquote>

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