The Grey Path

[Emperor of shadows]

The Grey Path

The times have been hard, and enough is enough. You cannot bear witness to anymore pain and death that the wasteland of Shattrius-Oniah has to offer, and it’s time to leave. You take the only path that you know of. The Grey Path. It was once a place filled with magic, the magic has turned into something of a different nature. But adversary is close, and to use any magic at all could spell your fortune, your demise, or something else entirely. You know that salvation is in the huge abandoned ships at the harbor, yet in order to start these huge vessels, you need to create a contraption of magical and practical purposes. You have the plans, but the hard part is finding the key parts. Never has one attempted such a feat, but your time is running out, as the Black Radiation bleeds into you.
A large and old sign pledges its support as you gaze onto the Grey Path:
Good luck.  

[Emperor of shadows]

"Hey!"
The drunken man's voice was clear to her, even from as far away as she was. She ignored it, discarding it as of no importance.
"HEY! I'm--I'm talkin' to you!" Came the same voice. A hand grabbed her shoulder and spun her around, and she glared into the face of the one that had dared to touch her. He apparently didn't read the 'leave me the f-ck alone' rays and leered at her.
"Want--Want a li'l fun, pretty?" He slurred. Disgusted, she yanked her shoulder from his grip as her canine snarled at him. "Off, Kodac. He's not worth it." She said coldly.
"'EY! Wha'ya mean, I'm not worth it? I'm--I'm a -fine- piece of man! HEY! Come back here, b!tch!"
The man grabbed her arm this time, yanking her back with the strength only drunken men and those who trained their strength have.
"I wash talkin to--" He found himself staring down the barrel of one of her pistols. She had drawn it so fast, all there was, was a blurred motion.
"I have no tolerance for drunken sots. Release me." She said coldly.
"Put the toy away, wench, or I'll break yer arm." The man with no sense of self-preservation threatened.
Without a second thought, she pulled back the hammer of her pistol and shot him, but altered the aim at the last second so she was aiming at his knee.
It was almost elegant how he fell, releasing her arm to clutch his knee; blood pooled below him and he screamed in agony as she holstered her gun.
Seconds later, alarm bells began clanging.
She turned and walked away.

*~*~*~*

Evading the guards was quite easy but it would also take awhile for them to give up the search.
"Kodac, don't eat that." Shadow said flatly as she ducked behind a stall. The canine whined and trotted back to her from the rather disgusting rotted rat he had been investigating, tail wagging slowly.
She rubbed her forehead as she waited for the guards to pass; crouching behind the stall in the dust was not her favourite pastime by any stretch of the imagination, and it hindered her search.
She slipped from behind the stall when she didn't hear any bells and continued to walk, eyes narrowed and guard up. It would be just her luck for the guards to come running back this way--
She heard guard's boots once again and swore. She didn't want to shoot the bastards-She only had so much ammo-and she didn't have enough coins to pay the fine.
She dashed forwards and ducked down an alley to the right of the Blacksmith's, swearing under her breath again.
"At this rate I'll never find that son of a b!tch..." She snarled under her breath. "Kodac, keep an eye out."
The dog growled softly in acknowledgement before trotting to the end of the alleyway and plopping down in the dust, tail thumping slowly against the ground.