Molly's heart was pounding in his head and he was cursing himself in every way possible for interfering. He had gotten himself into a shit load of trouble He didn't know if he could fight. Shit, what had the letter said, something about cutting himself? That seemed like that last thing he wanted to do in this circumstance.

The tattooed human lunged first, taking a large swing that when arcing through the sky, cutting down for Molly. The lavender tiefling's arms moved on their own accord and flung his simitars up, blocking the downward arc, he braced his legs for the impacts and when the metal clashed, Molly stood firm and deflected the blow before pushing the blade away and taking a swing with his scimitar. It ripped under the tattooed man's raised arm, slicing into his side and drawing forth a cascade of scarlet blood. The tattooed man stumbled away, holding his bleeding side while his female companion ran up and took another slash for Molly, one that the tiefling only barely avoided. He leaped away, light on his feet, and landed a few feet away, his scimitars glinting in the warm firelight of the street lamps.

The large man raised a hand and closed his eyes. The arcana around him fluctuated in magic before a blast of fire blasted from his hand and flew straight for Molly who had no time to dodge. The tiefling prepared himself for intense pain but instead found himself only slightly singed. When the smoke cleared and he was still standing, the group before him looked at him, fear in their eyes.

"Well would you look at that," Molly remarked with a dangerous glint in his red eyes. He was resistant to fire... good to know. Suddenly feeling confident, he took one of his blades and sliced it into his forearm, only a small slice to draw blood but a cut none the less and suddenly, ice materialized on his sword. 

His foes took a step backward at the sight of that and Molly snickered before twirling the iced blade a few times and raising an eyebrow.

"Well, this just got interesting," he commented with a smirk, running his other sword down his other arm. The familiar sensation in his body let him know what to do and that sword too crystallized with ice.

The trio, over their initial shock, surged forward. The woman swung for him but her blade was easily deflected by Molly's own scimitar. The tattooed man did the same but Molly wasn't able to move fast enough to deflect that one so he grimaced as the blade sliced into his shoulder.

He looked up, right the large man in the back was preparing another attack, and Molly let out a snarl. Something familiar stirred in his heart, and with a flicker of energy, he glared at the mage who's eyes suddenly went dark as blood trickled out of the corner so his eyes. The mage blindly fired off another fire attack, one that Molly as able to jump out of the way of. The tiefling emerged unscathed from the smoke and landed an attack on the woman, slashing her across her stomach with both his swords before backing away a few feet.

The boys he had saved were stumbling away, trying to put as much distance as they could between themselves and the fight. On the way, they stumbled and tripped over one another, pulling the large mage's attention to the horse thieves, the blood in his eyes receding. Molly wasn't about to let those boys get caught up in this so he pointed at the mage and allowed his anger to burst from his mouth.

"This is where you'll die, you disgusting hog," Molly's tongue formed words that he wasn't aware he knew in a language he understood but didn't know he knew. The mage looked to him and froze in a small bit of terror, stumbling back in fear from the tiefling who had just blinded him with no issue and now spoke in a language that sounded straight from the pits of hell.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

As the two boys made their escape, they nearly crashed into a bartender who was taking the trash out to the street. He saw the boys run by and looked beyond them to see the fight ensuring. His eyes widened as he saw a familiar purple figure dancing in the fight, his two scimitars gleaming as firelight from spells flickered around him.

"You," the bartender recognized in wonder before racing towards the conflict.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The tattooed man lunged for Molly, his sword set to piece the tiefling's side. With as much strength as he could muster, Molly swung his scimitars and deflected the blow off to the side before backing away from his attacker.

"Filthy demon spawn," the tattooed human spat, raising his sword.

"Maybe, but at least my tattoos look good on me, which is more than you can say," Molly chuckled, lifting his face a bit so the man could see his peacock feathers that colored his neck and face. The man was shaking in rage. His female friend was lying on the ground, holding her stomach and slowly losing consciousness. The large mage in the back was starting to back away in fear, starting to realize that he may have chosen the wrong tiefling to mess with.

The tattooed man noticed none of this and merely lunged again, something Molly had anticipated and when he came in range, the tiefling struck, avoiding the blow of the enemy's sword and swinging his scimitars so that they cut in an "X" direction down the human's chest, leaving him gurgling in blood as he fell to his knees, his sword clattering to the ground.

Molly took a long breath and looked over to where the mage was shaking, no longer wanting to fight.

"If you can help your friends I highly recommend it. Also, don't come after me, or I'll be sure to make sure none of you get up after that," Molly instructed in a threatening way.

The large mage nodded eagerly and Molly turned to walk away. As he turned he came around to face a young man who was looking at him in wonder.

"It is you," the man recognized.

Molly's eyes narrowed as he studied the man and he slowly sheathed his swords.

"Do I... know you?" Molly asked, severely worried.

"Well, uh... it's no surprise you don't remember but... I owe you a few favors," the young man chuckled.

"Do you now?" Molly asked, slightly amused. He put a hand to his bleeding shoulder and grimaced when he pulled back his hand and saw it covered in his blood.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of approaching crownsguard and they looked to each other uncertainly.

"How much do you owe me?" Molly asked quickly.

"My life and livelihood for one," the man explained just as fast.

"That'll do, just follow my lead," Molly explained before he threw himself on the side of the young man, acting severely injured and crying out in dramatized pain as the crownsguard emerged in the street.

"What's happening here!?" one demanded.

"That man, sir!" Molly cried in feinted weakness, pointing at the large mage who was in the middle of trying to run without even bothering to heal his friends. "He attacked us randomly! He's a magic user and is dangerous!!"

"HEY! You, stop!" one crownsguard cried after the mage who only ran as fast as his fat legs could carry him.

"YOU! Stop in the name of the crown!!" another cried and with that, the large group of crownsguards took off after the mage. One stayed behind to look to Molly.

"You, we need you for questioning!" the guard ordered, pointing at the tiefling.

Molly let out a fake cry of pain that was rather convincing.

"He's bleeding out, sir, I'm taking him to the hospital!" the young man supporting Molly lied quickly. Molly clutched his wounded should and let out a pained yell.

"IT HURTS! OH DEAR GOD SOMEONE MAKE IT STOP! Mother!? Is that you? I see the light... it's at the end of the tunnel," the tiefling cried as if he was reenacting some grand stage play.

The crownsguard gave them both a reluctant look but finally relented. 

"Alright fine, take him, quickly," the guard ordered as he went to follow the rest of his comrades, avoiding the wounded bodies of the tattooed human and the woman.

With that, the young man and Molly made their escape. As soon as the guards weren't looking, they booked it to the back of an inn where the young man pulled Molly inside and set about to find supplies to treat the tiefling's wounds as quickly as he could.

"Thanks for that," Molly snickered as he looked around the back of the inn. The back was full of barrels of ale, crates of supplies, and a collection of other things. The young man was rustling about, collecting bandages and gauze.

"My pleasure," the young man chuckled before tossing Molly a roll of bandages. Molly fumbled for a few minutes as he tried to catch the bandages. He then took off his cloak and sat upon a crate before setting about to wrapping his slashed shoulder.

"So..." Molly murmured after a few moments of awkward silence. "How do you know me?"

"Oh... well... we've only met twice and... both times, I was trying to rob you," the young man explained nervously, rubbing the back of his head embarrassed. Molly gave him an uncertain look and shrugged.

"Not the craziest thing I've discovered about my life," Molly supposed.

"So... where's the rest of your group?" the young man asked. "Did you... split up or something?"

"You're speaking of the Mighty Nein?" Molly asked.

"Yeah, that's the one!" the man nodded.

"No. We... we hit some problems on the road I think," Molly explained, trying to hide the strain in his voice. "I... I was separated from them and... and I lost a few memories." Memory's of digging himself out of his own grave resurfaced and Molly had to swallow them back down.

"What, like amnesia?" the young man asked curiously. "You get hit too hard in the head?"

"Yeah," Molly nodded. "Something like that." The memory of the dream with the large man plunging his sword into his chest made a shudder go down his spine for a moment before he collected himself.

"Oh... that's rough," the man grimaced.

"So... forgive me for being rather oblivious to this whole thing but how did we get from robbing each other to saving one another's lives?" Molly asked with a smile as he finished wrapping his wound. He threw his cloak back on and leaned back before crossing his legs. "Seem's like some serious progress relationship-wise."

"Oh well... um... it's kind of a long story but, but you're the reason I got out of thievery," the man explained. "Suppose you would forget about it, since you got amnesia and all, but we jumped you the first time and your wizard friend incinerated our boss, Trevor. You then made me the new leader and gave us some coin before heading on your way... you also took our horses... and made us strip down but, it could've been worse, much worse. The second time, you spared our lives again and gave me this leather armor from your cart. I... um... well I followed the advice you gave me so your crazy friend wouldn't turn me into a grease stain and made my way as far as I could and sold that armor you gave me for a fair bit of coin before I got myself an honest and steady job. Now, I work here, at the inn and... I'm not jumping people in the middle of the night anymore."

Molly listened intently and smiled a bit, his tail flicking around as he heard the story.

"Sounds like something I'd do," he supposed.

"Yeah... but, it was kinda weird to see you here, fighting the local bastards," the man chuckled.

"They're regulars?" Molly asked.

"Those three clowns? They visit and stay at this inn time to time, trying to find work usually," the man answered. "Though, seems like you've pulled them into a fair bit of trouble so I don't expect them to be around here too soon. They're already in hot water with the crownsguard for some bullshit they pulled a few days ago after one too many drinks."

That made Molly laugh. His laugh was infectious and soon the young man was smiling as well. After that moment of mirth, they drifted into a silence full of thought. Molly was trying to consider his next move; the crownsguard would be looking for him after they interrogated those three and while he was sure he could find a way to lie his way out of it, he wasn't too tempted to get wrapped up in the law yet... he had people to find. He just had to lay low for the night and then book it out of town first chance he got.

"So, this inn of yours... I don't suppose those favors you owe me extend to a free room here?" Molly offered.

The man grimaced. "It's not actually my inn, I'm just the bartender."

"Ah, no matter, here you go," He handed the boy three gold with no care about the actual cost. " Get me a room and then you and I are going to sit down with a drink," Molly explained in a quirky manner before standing up, brushing himself off and giving the man a smirk.

"I-I can do that," the man stuttered.

"Great... the first round's on me!" Molly laughed, heading for the door that likely led to the rest of the tavern.

"Uh, you may want to lay low with the crowsguard and all," the ex-thief offered with a cringe.

Molly looked down at himself and shrugged elaborately, "Well, I suppose I am rather unforgettable." He spied a black cloak hanging on a wall and plucked it off of its hook before wrapping it around him, trying his best to cover his horns with his hair. He turned to his new ally and showed him the results of his work.

"Well? It probably wouldn't hold up to a real interrogation but it hides the horns at least," Molly grinned.

"Yeah... maybe hide the tail," the man winced.

Molly looked back to see his purple tail peeking out from the edge of the cloak.

"Ah, good point," Molly nodded, lifting his tail a bit so that it stayed hidden. "Now, a room and a drink!"

A few minutes later, Molly had a quaint room in the upstairs of the inn and was trying very hard to tell himself that he shouldn't get drunk. The inn was a rather sad place with only three other customers who seemed to be wallowing in misery or were passed out on the table, snoring the alcohol off. The walls of the place were a bit old and there were places where the wood was wearing away. The lights were dim and the air was stuffy but the booze had alcohol and that as about all Molly cared about right now.

"So... what are you doing around here?" the bartender asked, sitting down with no drink. He had no customers to serve at the moment so he could dedicated all of his time to the wounded tiefling who was massaging his head.

"I'm trying to get to Zadash," Molly answered with a sigh.

"Zadash? That's a ways away," the man answered with a grimace.

"I know..." Molly sighed, lifting his drink and taking another swig of it.

"Why Zadash?" the man asked.

Molly let out another sigh and looked to the man. "I'll tell you the truth. My... my memory loss, it's some serious shit. I hardly remembered my name. My friends... I can't remember shit about them."

The man shifted in curiosity and looked to Molly.

"All I have is a tarot that's cryptic as shit and a few directions telling me to go to Zadash," Molly continued, his tongue loosening with the alcohol.

"So, you're trying to find your group," the bartender translated as Molly took another chug of his mead.

"Yeah," Molly nodded, slamming the nearly empty cup on the table. 

"That's gotta be rough for you... You guys seemed pretty tight-knit," the man supposed.

"Were we?" Molly asked, interested.

"Oh, yeah," the man nodded.

Molly fidgeted nervously, tapping his foot on the floor and massaging his face as his tail twitched next to him in his seat.

"Could you... could you do me one more favor?" Molly asked.

"What?" the man asked, slightly fearful.

"Tell me about them," Molly urged. "Anything you can remember about any of my group. Tell me everything, and anything."

"Just... about them?" the man asked. 

"Yeah," Molly breathed, he was shifting uncertainly and watching the man with almost a pleading look in his eyes.

"Shit, you really don't remember fuck, do you?" the man asked.

"Not a clue," Molly answered, shaking his head. "But I feel like they were important and I can't shake the feeling that I need to find them."

"Well... I can try, at least," the man grimaced, uncertain of his own ability to recall the Mighty Nein. He took a large breath and began. "See, the last time we ambushed you, I think you guys were on a job somewhere... It's honestly hard to remember where you all were going, it was a while ago but... your small friend, she was trying to sneak towards our ambush when we shot her."

"Shot her?" Molly asked.

"Like I said, it's a miracle you didn't kill us," the man answered.

Molly chuckled a bit and gestured for the man to continue while he tried to get the last drops of his alcohol.

"Your small friend is a weird one from what I remember. Wrapped up in all sorts of white bandages or something with a hood and a nasty crossbow. She... um... She gave me this," the man explained, lifting up his shirt so Molly could see a small cross-bolt scar in his side.

Molly searched his memory for any recollection of a small thing like that but nothing came to mind. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter, giving it a quick skim as he held it under the table.

Small? Short? the only one that matched that in the letter was possibly the goblin.

"Nott," Molly breathed to himself.

"What was that?" the man asked.

"Nothing, please continue," Molly asked with a smile.

"Well... um... your friend that incinerated Trevor he um... Well, he incinerated Trevor, for one thing," the man tried to explain.

"With magic?" Molly asked.

"Yeah," the man nodded.

"He was human?" Molly asked.

"He was, yeah," the man agreed. "Kinda scruffy-looking though. Real messy hair that was kinda reddish, stubble, he wasn't impressive until he blew Trevor to high heavens. He also threatened to turn us into grease stains if we ran into you all a third time and did some sort of spell that can track us and all sorts of freaky shit. He's terrifying, that one."

Molly nodded and tried to form that visual in his head but it didn't seem to make anything click. If it was a human and male, then it was probably Caleb... he had written that he seemed scruffly-looking.

"The blue one kept trying to get us to strip down," the man continued.

"Jester," Molly murmured.

"Was that her name?" the man asked.

"I don't know," Molly answered incredulously.

"Well... I mean... she seemed happy at least. And... lively," the man seemed to be reliving memories that appeared to terrify him.

"Anyone else?" Molly pressured.

"There was a woman who caught one of our cross bolts and threw it back at Kyle. Don't know her name either but she was pretty badass. Think she jumped Hebert too," the man grimaced.

Molly hummed and tried to sear all of this into memory no matter how little it was.

"There was a big green one too... but I don't remember too much of him except he was pretty terrifying," the man admitted.

"Was he a half-orc?" Molly asked.

"...Probably," the man answered uncertainly.

"Fjord," Molly recalled, still holding the letter under the table. "What about an aasimar... you remember anything about her?"

The thief seemed to be trying to remember. "I think she was with you the second time but I honestly can't remember too much... I was too busy trying to not be incinerated."

"Yes, I can see how that would be slightly distracting," Molly chuckled.

They sat in silence for a few more minutes, Molly mulling over what he had heard and the man trying to rack his brain for any more information.

"Sorry, that's all I have," the man murmured.

"No, no... you've done more than enough. Thank you," Molly said genuinely, sliding another gold piece across the table to the bartender. "For the problems that I've caused."

The man took in uncertainly, "You don't owe me anything."

"No? Ah, give it a moment," Molly laughed standing up and striding for the stairs. He stopped and turned around. "By the way... I never caught your name."

"Oh, uh, Jeremy," the man answered. "And... yours?"

"Just call me Molly," Molly smiled. "Thanks for the help, Jeremy."

With that, Molly made his way to his room, collapsed on his bed, and slept for a good ten hours.