Alin looked at the town below her. People were wandering through the
streets, and there didn't seem to be much that she could do. The town
seemed so plain, as if nothing was wrong with it. Then she noticed the
men clad in armor at the gate. Faintly she remembered a rumor she had
heard about someone taking over the town, but she ignored it. Gathering
up her pack, she looked at the blue glove she always wore on her left
hand. It was the same color as her hair and her eyes, and really her
outfit. The glove seemed to be pulsing with a dim blue light, but again
she ignored what went through her head and set about finding a way into
the city without being noticed.

She wasn't exactly a mercenary; she actually wandered around finding
adventure. The many inns she had been to were filled with many people who
told of news in other countries. She had always sat half-listening to the
tales of whole towns destroyed by a single airship. That was the way her
life had been for as long as she could remember. Sometimes she sat and
pondered a reason for her existence, and once or twice she remembered
trying to give up, but the hatred inside her kept her going. She had
forgotten most of the reason for the hatred, tried to push it out of her
mind, but memories kept fighting their way through her mental block. She
sat inside the Jidoor inn lost in one of these memories.

**********************************************************************

Strange, distorted creatures trying to pull her down, all trying to swarm
in the now cold house. Where was her father? Why wasn't he there to save
her? She glanced at him, lying pale on the floor. The knife in his chest
meant nothing to her. Why had he killed himself? Why had he left her
alone? And why had her mother been killed in the same way, except by
someone else and not herself? Alin remembered screaming, remembered the
blurry man who had grabbed her left hand, gone over the blue glove with
his fingers, then cut her arm sharply with a knife...

**********************************************************************

   "Hey girl, you gonna sit there all day?" The words of the tavernkeeper
brought her back to reality with a jerk. She glared at him, and he looked
at the countertop. Something about her always seemed to do that to
people. She secretly observed everyone around her, yet the blurry man of
her nightmarish memories was not there. Why did she feel as if she was
being watched by someone?
   The deep voice behind her made her jump. "What would bring a
blue-haired mercenary to this town? On a mission to kill someone?" He
laughed, a cruel, quiet laugh, then looked at her left arm. Instinct
caused her to hide the glove. She was just in time, for as she stuck her
hand in the pocket of her blue tunic she noticed a look of suprise on his
face, as if he had been expecting something. "You seem to be...
different. Why don't you tell me your story?"
   She clenched her teeth. "My name is Alin, and that's all you'll ever
need to know." Looking back at the innkeeper, she spoke. "Can you tell me
where the Opera House is, or if anyone unusual has come through looking
for a companion?"
   The man seemed to think for a moment. Passing her a map, he said,
"This should take you to where you're going. Now about that second
question, there was a man passing through here just a few days ago, but I
think he left to go find some kid as a companion. Mark my words, you'll
not make it far alone."
   "I wouldn't be so sure. I've survived alone for nine years, I can make
it for another few. I just like having someone around. It's not so
lonely. So, can anyone suggest a place where I might come across some
other wanderers?" She glanced around; everyone else was either talking to
someone or too deeply involved with their drink to pay attention. Except
that one man who had talked to her earlier.
   "You won't need a companion when I'm through with you. I have my
orders," he whispered, pulling her out of the inn, "and they are to not
let you live." He pulled a knife out of his boot. It was the knife
itself, and not the fact that her was about to use it on her, that made
her gasp in shock. She recognized it.....
   There was no time to wonder where. She pulled the whip she always had
handy out of her sack. In the blink of an eye, she had caught the other
and had him tied up. He merely laughed again, and - vanished. Turning
around, Alin ran as far as she could. She did not know why, but she felt
that he would return soon with others.