Ryuji, with a swift and precise movement, thrusts his rapier straight through the throat of the bandit. The bandit's eyes widen in surprise and fear as he realizes the severity of his wound. Blood begins to gush out from the wound as he takes his last gurgling breath and falls to the ground lifeless.

The last standing Scar, realizing his situation tries to run, but a sudden smash in the face by a spearshaft halts his movement. He thumps to the gound unconscious. Looking on to the spear's owner, Morax notices the city guard he tried to give advice earlier. He's not alone though, two other guards accompany him.
"Silver Scars...again" - mentions the guard to his comrades then turns to the party - "I assume Count Courage got away...again" - seeing the confused faces he explains - "Sorry, I'm talking about their leader; my former comrade, Sel mockingly named him Count Courage as he always leaves his men behind when turd gets serious. Evasive little vermin. Excuse me for not coming earlier, according to the protocol I cannot leave my place as a fight like this can be only a distraction to infiltrate through the gates, I had to call the lads to help me..." - he looks around, counting the bodies in the sand - "...but I see you handled the situation very well. Silver Scars don't have any agenda or alignment to any parties, they are contract killers, only cares about the money, I suggest you to search through the bodies if you can find any clues who sent them. And of course you can take anything you want. Although if you don't mind we take this one in" - he points to the last bandit he hit with the shaft - "we want to get rid of their camp long ago, he might answer to some of our questions."

Suddenly, there is a loud whistling sound resonating through the air, followed by the sight of a billowing cloud of white, solid smoke from the direction of the train station.

"'awqaf alqitar hataa yatamakanuu min alsueud!" - he yells to one of his comrades who starts running towards the station. - "Your train is arriving, Faruq will keep it here until you are all aboard. If you happen to travel to Quadim sometime, seek out Seliane at the city guard and tell her Hassan says hello and misses her stupid jokes. As ambitious as she is, I am sure she is already a senior officer there. But, no more chitchat, don't want to keep you up! Have a great journey!" - then he and his other companion pick up the unconscious bandit from the ground and head back towards the city gate.

(OOG - you can look through the bodies and the leader's stuff he left there with Perception rolls. Also, everyone is awarded 35 XP for this fight)

Morax wipes the blood off his newly acquired and serviceable long sword, then sheathes it.  He begins to look through the leaders items as well as the other scars, trying to find any clues and anything that would be helpful.  “These ruffians got what was coming to them.  We need to hurry and make our train..”

Perception : 24 

Direen quickly locates the belongings of the Scars leader and grabs his dagger and the pouch. After this she tries to locate the dart she dropped on the start of the fight.

"Let that be a lesson not to mess with us" she smiles. Once she gets this, she looks around to check if everyone is accounted for and she walks towards the train.

Lan steps forward and kick the unconscious Scar’s body lightly, for the wound he caused her. “Maybe next time Count Courage should hire some better mercenaries," she says with a smirk. "But hey, thanks for the loot," she adds, gesturing towards the scattered weapons and bodies on the ground. "I'm sure we'll put it to good use, unlike you losers."

Perception: 21 

(Let's wait for Ryuji's roll before continue)

With the adrenaline slowly fading from his system, Ryuji begins feeling the effects of his wound and suddenly feels an annoyance at the bandits. Stooping over the corpse of the bandit he just killed, he wipes his blood-stained rapier on the dead Scar's face and then sheathes it proudly, feeling an immense sense of catharsis. Slightly maniacally smiling at the party, he inquires, "My dearest fellow bandit murderers, have any of you found some good dentures? It will be my pleasure to take those off your hands. Hehe." 

Perception: 11

(OOC: Oh boy, am I late... I apologize for any inconveniences...)

As you look through the bodies, you collect the following stash of goods:

- 80 gold pieces
- 1 potion of healing
- 10 crossbow bolts

Much to the company's delight, Ryuji finds no gold tooth to pull out.

In the pouch of the leader Direen also find 15 small amethysts worth 5 GP each with a scroll that reads the following:

I need that small box we talked about, doesn't really care if they are dead or alive, do it in your way! 
- E.

Looking at the dagger you can notice it's fine craftsmanship which received a precise and meticulously crafted decoration. 

(Doing a melee or ranged attach with this dagger, you receive a +1 bonus to both your attack and damage rolls)

Direen without hesitation gets the bag with the amethysts into her bag. She takes a look at the scroll and as walking down towards the train she reads it over and over...

"Looks like someone named 'E' really wants the box..." If anyone wants to take a look at the scroll, she hands it over.

"Anyone fancy a dagger? It's not my style actually..."

Ryuji picks up his previously thrown dagger and draws his other dagger out, slowly, in a ceremonial fashion. Grabbing the hair of the two scars he killed, he decapitates both of them with one swift strike. Using rope from his bag, Ryuji binds the heads, slinging them over his shoulder with a strange passion. With a gentle laugh, unbefitting of the gruesome way he collected the heads, he exclaims "The land of Zakhara is so... interesting!"

Ryuji smiles and turns his eyes towards the company, "Wouldn't you all agree? The way the blood flows, the way that life fades, it all has a foreign scent that tinges it in a new color! Isn't it so beautiful?"

"Are you going to take those with you?" Direen asks with dissgust. "These will start to smell in less than an hour in this heat, and YOU will run behind the train..." she points at Ryuji.

Quote from LiofDanzig >>

"Are you going to take those with you?" Direen asks with dissgust. "These will start to smell in less than an hour in this heat, and YOU will run behind the train..." she points at Ryuji.

 Ryuji smiles at her interest, "You act like us Kozakurans never participated in battle before. The warrior class always uses salt to preserve decapitated heads. Usually there would be an elaborate ritual during the warrior's presentation, but I prepare to just chuck these preserved noggins at the elders when I get back. Even better when they are dining. Trust me, they will love it. After all, these heads do not taste bad at all. You must try it sometime!"

Reaching for the dagger, he adds, "I'll take his weapon as well, as this equipment is also wonderfully suited for chucking at the elders. Truly an extravagant design though, definitely not as beautiful as his blood."

(OOC: I presume Ryuji has some salt with him, as that is standard for warriors? If he doesn't, I'll probably go back to the shop to buy some.)

Morax looks slightly revolted at Ryuji, his breathing is returning to normal, he sheathes his longsword and straightens his shield.  It is clear that he has seen and performed violence before, when necessary, but the manner of dealing with the bodies after the fact by Ryuji is unfamiliar to him.  “Hmm… I see.”  He turns, leaving he area, and starts to make his way to the platform, remembering that the train is arriving.

Lan casts a sideways glance at Ryuji, feeling a mixture of disgust and amusement. "Well, I can't say I share your enthusiasm for decapitated heads, Ryuji," She says with a stage shudder. "But to each their own, I suppose. Just don't expect me to join you for dinner with the elders anytime soon. And I think I'll pass on the tasting offer as well, thank you very much. I'll stick to my more conventional meals." 

"Not that anyone asked my opinion, but I'm pretty sure the public display of such violence and gore are not tolerated in a sophisticated city like this" - says Arpagic for everyone's much surprise - "Also, we don't want to drag any more attention to ourselves, right?"

After they divide up the items, (who is taking the potion of healing?), Morax starts to jog toward the train platform.  

Quote from LeinadetheAlchemist >>

"Not that anyone asked my opinion, but I'm pretty sure the public display of such violence and gore are not tolerated in a sophisticated city like this" - says Arpagic for everyone's much surprise - "Also, we don't want to drag any more attention to ourselves, right?"

 Rolling his eyes, Ryuji retorts: "Nobody understands my jesting. We won't eat the heads, obviously. We'll just display it like badges of honor; after all, similar to scars or medals, warriors must display their pride and fruit from their efforts."

Pausing for a moment, he adds with a smirk, "I mean, eating heads may be a form of honor too... I never thought of it that way... Anyway, most people will just think it's a fake mask. In my country, people wear these all the time."

With those words, Ryuji struts slightly awkwardly towards the platform while cleaning the severed heads, perhaps from his injury or the disapproval of the party.

"So... Let me get this straight..." Direen asks with hidden disgust "Those two thugs are your 'badge of honor'? Won't be the first question in your country 'You couldn't find a better one?' If you step on some bug, do you also wear it as a BADGE OF HONOR? There was NO HONOR in this fight... Neither for YOU, nor for THEM! They were NEVER a match for us on any level. If you do not understand this, you have a long way ahead of you..." She starts to raise her voice in anger. "Now, PUT those BACK, and EARN real BADGE." Last words are accented with a finger pointed in Ryuji's face, as her master used to do, when she did something stupid.

"Could you please just use the gold dagger as a badge of honor?" - shouts Arpagic after the limping Ryuji - "At least it looks nice and easy to handle" - he looks to Direen rolling his eyes - "We should also go now I think" - and starts walking towards the station.

Quote from LiofDanzig >>

"So... Let me get this straight..." Direen asks with hidden disgust "Those two thugs are your 'badge of honor'? Won't be the first question in your country 'You couldn't find a better one?' If you step on some bug, do you also wear it as a BADGE OF HONOR? There was NO HONOR in this fight... Neither for YOU, nor for THEM! They were NEVER a match for us on any level. If you do not understand this, you have a long way ahead of you..." She starts to raise her voice in anger. "Now, PUT those BACK, and EARN real BADGE." Last words are accented with a finger pointed in Ryuji's face, as her master used to do, when she did something stupid.

 Ryuji sticks out his tongue in disgust. "Ew, pardon my harsh language, but your reasoning capacities are far below what I initially believed. Do you still not understand the purpose of these heads when I've repeatedly told you? Are you not an elf yourself? The heads and 'honor huntings' are merely a formality, which allows me to bring these 'beauties' back to the Hikari clan's residence. With this ammunition, I plan to use them to disgrace the elders and their hoity-toity 'tradition."'

Looking straight into her eyes, he replies with a slight tinge of anger in his own voice, "Listen, I understand your judgement at other ideaologies, but, to me, your culture just displays a lack of respect for beauty and life. As a monk, I would expect you to understand the basics of The Way of Enlightenment: 'Honor that which has gone before you. For the past is eternal.'" Although I choose to ignore the "honor your elders" part.

"As for a bug, you might not be aware, but the traditional 'Eight Million Gods' do contain insect deities that are immensely powerful. What about the legendary Kodoku (a jar of insects that creates a mythical curse poison), rumored to be so powerful it could curse the world or devour the owner trying to use it? Everything, even bugs, have different values to different people, and you'll be a fool not to understand so. If you're so uptight about what counts as honor and what does not, go be a samurai. I would choose my own path, thank you very much."

Ryuji turns away and sighs.

"We clearly have a different idea of what 'honor' means... You can cherry pick whatever books you want but it will not change the fact THIS..." Direen points to the blood dripping heads "...is simply cruel and more of a 'ogre' behavior." and she ends the conversation covering her head with a new scarf. 

Master Zee would teach you all about honor with three swift moves... she thinks about her master when she sees the burning letters again... The walls, pillars... all covered with white burning letters.

"Go away..." she whispers, stops and closes her eyes as hard as possible while calming her breath. When she opens them again, the letters are gone... She quickens her steps to catch up with the others.