Since that guy had absconded with all the water, Shai quickly checked the small pouch of coins she wore on her belt. Good, at least that was still there. That kid wasn't absolute garbage. Either that, or he had been too chicken to attempt the theft. He was probably scared she would wake up and chop his head off. Well, he should.
Shai got up and shook the hay off her back glumly, feeling depressed. This was what you got for doing good deeds. Crazy people ran away with your water.
So. No job, no water, no money (not enough, anyhow), and no gratitude. She couldn't help but wonder again if she had offended the gods in some way.
After leaving the stables, she forked over another half-penny at the inn for a breakfast of hearty brown bread covered in a thick blackberry jam, a mug of greenleaf tea, and another water skin, which would keep her in water for the next two days, at least.
What should she do now? On a whim, she asked the innkeep, "Do you have any plans to hire for the summer? I could work for you. I do all sorts of jobs." The offer sounded weak, even to her own ears.
He dashed her hopes to the ground immediately. "No. Not many travellers in the summer. Plenty of hands around to do work." He ignored her sparkly, hopeful eyes and went to sweep the floor. Shai crossed her arms and pouted. He could have at least given her some face and considered it!
The lady innkeep, who seemed to be much more talkative than her husband, smiled kindly at Shai, her eyes crinkling up at the corners. "I saw a group of tamers yesterday, and I hear they're leaving town soon. You could see if they need any hands."
"Thank you," Shai said gratefully. Tamers and their dangerous wild animals had always made her nervous, but a bad—or scary—job was still better than no job at all. Hopeful, she asked, "Could you tell me where I can find their camp?"
Unfortunately, the lady innkeep wasn't sure. "In this city, tamers are only allowed within the inner walls to do shows, see, because their animals are dangerous. I don't know where they're camped at."
Shai thanked her profusely anyway and set off to search for the elusive tamers. She wasted her whole morning on this task, but she turned up empty. No one could tell her where they came from, only that they were going to perform again that afternoon in the far rose gardens, and that they had a funny monkey.
Soon, the street urchins of the city started to wake. They roamed around with their quick knives and nimble fingers. Shai kept an extra good eye on her purse, but none of them approached her. Did she look too poor? Haaa? She looked too poor to even pickpocket?
Morose, she found a dark corner to squat in as a loner. Not even worth robbing.
In the distance, she heard a faint scream. Probably someone else getting robbed or discovering that their prized possessions were gone. She continued to mope over her shabby style.
But a moment later, the scream came again. Louder. Insistent.
Full of terror.
Shai leapt to her feet in concern. What was it? Was something happening? The crowd in the market was starting to shift uneasily, too. Suddenly, there was a resounding crash in the distance, and a series of screams. There! Only a few streets down!
Shai immediately shoved through the market crowd. They were going the opposite direction from the screams, moving like a herd of sheep that just encountered a dog. The guards got stuck in the crowd, being shoved away as the shoppers shied away from the potential danger. Shai wasn't so polite. She simply elbowed people and pushed them out of her way. She dashed in the direction of the screaming, beating out the dozy guards.
The buildings closed in. She found herself running down a narrow alleyway with a beaten dirt path. There were lazy cobbles scattered here and there, but it wasn't even a large enough area to be considered a street. As she ran, the dust rose in huge, red clouds. She waved them away, but continued running.
There was another crash and a guttural roar. Shai's heart beat a staccato rhythm against her ribs. She was almost there. There! She rounded the corner and skidded to a stop.
Immediately, she saw the two children, a boy and a girl. They were bawling while trapped under a small, overturned cart. Towering over them, batting at the cart with a giant paw, was a huge lion. Seriously!? A vein throbbed in Shai's forehead. Could that thing even be considered a lion? It was at least one and a half times the size of a horse. It was easily larger than the cart, and looked far too big for the tiny alley. It's huge mane of fur made it look even bigger. When it opened its mouth to roar, Shai could see that it had rows of shiny, razor-sharp teeth. She started sweating. Did someone take care of the lion's teeth? Otherwise, why would they be so white and shiny?
It glanced at her. Shai froze. Then, it flicked an ear dismissively and returned its attention to the cart. Fffs!
"I'm not even good enough to be lion bait now?" Shai yelled.
She unsheathed her sword and waved it wildly at the lion in challenge. In reality, she could practically feel the tears streaming down her cheeks. Her kodaichi was a little longer than her forearm, making it longer than a dagger, but the lion's claws easily matched it in length. Probably in sharpness, too. And the lion had more of them.
The huge beast batted at the cart again. It slid away, but soon it would run out of space to move, and surely the lion would smash it to bits then. The children let out frightened whimpers, too afraid to even scream. That made up her mind. She couldn't rely on the city guard to arrive. These children deserved all the help they could get.
The lion was still ignoring her, so Shai snuck up right next to it. She took a deep breath. Be steady, nerves, she told herself. It was now or never.
Gripping her sword two-handed, she raised her arms up. With all her strength, she drove them down. Drove the sword down. Straight through the lion's tail. Damn it, why did she choose to play the hero?