Snippet #2212139

"Oil and matches," Nicole repeated to herself, "I can do this, Blake." Nicole looked around the hotel; many onlookers gazed upon the group, some taunting them. They've never seen Nightcrawlers up close. They didn't know the traumatic events the group had just undergone. The people of Lismoore sat happily in their little safe haven, far away from the dangers of the real world. Ignorant pricks. The words rang out in Nicole's head like an old church bell. Nicole ignored the sneers coming from the counter man and turned to the group. "I'll be back shortly," she stated, before making he way out of the hotel. She stopped in the doorway and looked back at Eve.

Nicole wondered where the girl's husband was if he taught her how to operate that bow. Nicole imagined the worse; he must have been an early or recent casualty. She would never ask Eve though as the girl was most likely not as accustomed to death as a raider would be. Eve took Mike's death very hard, as did Blake. Nicole pitied them, but Even in particular. She seemed so fragile and delicate, but Nicole knew she had a strong will to be able to survive so long even while stricken with grief. Grief. Nicole pondered the word. She had forgotten the feeling of grief; she had forgotten many emotions: grief, guilt, sadness... love. Nicole tried to remove herself of all emotions, but being a human being, raider or not, it was hard to separate herself from the emotions that were bottled up inside. Nicole kept her gaze on Eve, surprising herself with the realization she was actually worried about someone.

"Be careful," she called out before walking off into Lismoore. Nicole wasn't certain if that was directed to the entire group or to a particular individual; regardless, they would all need to be on their guard while venturing into the 'Market Town'. Nicole was already feeling the cold stares of each vendor as she walked by; some were frightened at her raider appearance, others seemed upset, and a few of them were eyeing her like a dog would eye a piece of fresh meat. Nicole stopped by a man who had an entire table of assorted goods: metals, food, blades, clothing. Behind him was a large tent, most likely filled with other goods. The man was larger, looked to be in his late forties, was balding, and was missing many of his teeth. Nicole suspected that most of his goods were stolen and that he spend most of his earnings on narcotics or alcohol.

"Can I help ye?" he snickered, obviously not bothered by her appearance. He was disgusting in almost every aspect; Nicole felt physically uncomfortable around him but from what she learned whilst eavesdropping that he had literally anything you could imagine.
"I need oil and matches," she boldly stated, not playing any games with the man. "Right this way," he answers, opening one of the flaps of the tent and urging her to come inside. Nicole reluctantly enters the large tent; she was shocked to see what the man had kept hidden from the public. He had a wide assortment of weapons and armors, poisons, exotics, anything one could desire. What disturbed Nicole were the slaves he had chained in the back: young girls, at least 16 years old, bound and forced to partake in horrible acts. One could literally get anything they want from him. The man approached Nicole with a large can of oil and many matches.

"So, how ya gonna pay for this?" he asked with a sickening smile. Nicole set her bow and her bag of coins on the table closest to her. "This is all I have," she explained, "but this bow is worth more than half the things here." The vendor took the bow and the coins and eyed them carefully. "Not good enough!" he laughed.
"That's all I have," Nicole repeated. The man walked over to Nicole and took her by the shoulders. "Tell ya what, sweet thing, how about we call it even it you suck my-" his words were interrupted with a stern kick to the area he most likely wanted Nicole to place her mouth. Nicole utilized all her force to deliver the strongest kick possible to his unprotected area. The man screamed in agony and fell to the ground, dropping Nicole in the process. Nicole stood back to her feet and kicked the man in the ribs. He tried to scream in pain, but was cut off by the shortness of breath. What came out next was a series of coughs, followed by blood.

"You're lucky I have somewhere to be or I'd kill... and enjoy it." Nicole delivered another kick, this time to the man's face, breaking his nose in the process. She walked over to the girls chained at the back of the tent and proceeded to release them from their captivity. "Go," she ordered, "no one should have to live like this." Instantly, the women gathered what clothing they could and scurried away. Nicole grabbed her money, some small knives, the oil, and the matches and marched out of the vendor's tent. Nicole was growing tired of this place despite only being there a half hour.