Still, the mocking smile stayed constant on his face.
“Listen, kid,” one of the men said, “I’ll do you a kindness and overlook the attitude. If you know our name, then you know the way we solve disputes, don’t you? Come with us. We’ll treat you nice—promise.”
As the crowd closed in on Rashid, attempting to seize him, Shawza stepped between them and swept their arms away. The men frowned at first, but their expressions soon turned to amusement as they studied the one-armed beastfolk.
“Who are you, tough guy? The kid’s sitter?”
Another member of the group sneered at Rashid. “Guess your big attitude’s paid dividends. You’ve got a one-armed, one-eyed beastfolk slave as your bodyguard!”
One of the men pushed Shawza by the shoulder—an attempt at intimidation, I assumed—and got a taste of his own medicine in return. He stumbled back and fell squarely on his rear.
“Cur!” the toppled onlooker spat. “What do you think you’re doing?!”
“Oh my. That won’t do, Shawza,” Rashid interjected. “No matter who you’re dealing with, the law can’t protect you if you’re the first to raise your hand. And with so many witnesses, I can’t imagine the court would take your side.”
“What if there weren’t any witnesses, sir?”
“Oh?”
“It might be the simplest way to resolve this matter without issue.”
Rashid smiled as he watched Shawza examine the men one by one. “No witnesses means no crime to sue over. It’s a fine idea—somewhat irrational, but fine nonetheless. If that’s how you’d like to proceed, then by all means.”
“Understood, sir.”
Rashid turned away, and Shawza vanished. A moment later, the clothes of everyone who had accosted us burst apart. The men dropped to the ground in surprise, now half naked.
“Wh-What?!”
“Huh? A-Ack! My clothes!”
“What just happened?!”
“S-Stop laughing! All of you, stop laughing!”
A stir, then stifled chuckles rippled through the rest of the crowd at the unexpected sight. The exposed men twisted and turned, desperately trying to cover themselves with their hands.
“M-Mongrel scum! How dare you shame us!”
“How unfortunate,” Shawza remarked. “You really should be wearing clothes if you intend to be out and about.”
“D-Don’t mess with us! You’re the one to blame!”
“Am I, now? What proof do you have that I was involved?”
“Huh?! The hell are you on about?! Everybody here saw it! Do you really expect to get away with this?!”
Shawza looked at each of the men berating him, his gaze impassive. “A question, if I may: Was it just your clothing that was cut, or have you noticed anything unusual about your necks?”
“Our necks?”
There was a pause as the men all reached for their throats...then shrieked. It wasn’t much, but there was blood on their hands. As their panic escalated, Shawza nonchalantly drew a knife from the folds of his clothes and showed it to the crowd.
“Let us go over what happened,” he began. “This, in my hand, is a knife. You gentlemen claim that I used it to tear apart your clothing and wound you. Is that correct?”
“Wh-What of it?”
“Did you witness the moment this knife touched your necks? If so, I would be amenable to taking this to a courtroom. I should warn you, however, that legal evidence demands great precision—the who, where, when, how, and why of what you wish to present. You must know every detail, down to the order in which you were cut. Incidentally, that gold coin was fifth.”
“Come again...?”
The slave owner stared down at his hand—at the gold coin, now sliced in two. As his expression froze, the two halves fell to the ground, striking the stone with high-pitched clinks.
“Or did you not witness anything?” Shawza asked. “I could always demonstrate again—slower, of course, so that you and everyone present can see. This time, instead of merely breaking the skin, I’ll neatly bury my blade in your innards. May it be etched into your minds so deeply that you remember every excruciating detail for your eventual court testimony.”
“Wh-What are you saying...?”
“So, who wants to be first? If you’d care to introduce yourselves, I’d be glad to go in that order.”
The crowd uttered not a sound in response.
“Or would you prefer to retract your claim and admit you saw nothing?” Shawza continued to question them, his tone cold and detached. “I don’t mind either way.”
The men had turned pale long ago, their bodies drenched in cold sweat. Gone was their bravado, and any words they sought to speak were quickly swallowed as their survival instincts kicked in.
Shawza met the group’s wavering eyes before leaning in close to one man, speaking in his ear. “Did you perhaps not understand me? I gave you two options. Will you keep your silence about what happened here, or will you keep it eternally? Choose.” He punctuated the threat with one last intimidating stare, which proved enough to send the half-naked men running.
“Eek! I... I didn’t see anything! Nothing at all!”
“Me neither!”
“M-Monster! S-Someone, help!”
“W-Waaaaaahhh!”
Even the man who had drawn his whip scattered with his companions. Rashid watched him go, smiling in amusement as he picked up the halves of the cleaved gold coin and tossed them after him.
“You forgot your money!”
The pieces soared through the dry desert air and struck the man cleanly in the back of the head. He shrieked in pain, stooped to retrieve them, and then disappeared into the crowded streets, rubbing the fresh scratches left behind.
“Thanks for that, Rashid,” I said. “You too, Shawza.”
“I didn’t do it for you,” the latter retorted. “It just happened to be the best way to resolve the situation without a fuss.”
Rashid chuckled. “I hadn’t intended to get involved, but they were so much fun that I just couldn’t resist. I considered slapping them with a reparations fee so enormous that even their grandchildren would inherit it. Shawza’s initiative took me by surprise, though.”
“It was an emergency measure. Interacting with such lowlifes only creates more problems down the line. That’s why I suggested we take a detour.”
“Yet you did a remarkable job of dealing with them.” Rashid turned his attention to the girl cowering on the ground. “Still, Shawza, don’t you think you’re a bit too callous? Advising a detour, of all things, when the daughter of one of your former brethren is suffering right before you.”
Shawza cast his eye down, away from her, and said nothing in response.
“Well, don’t take it as an attack. It’s your business, after all. I just wonder if you weren’t being callous—if you were simply too scared to face the consequences of your actions.”
“I...”
“We’ve been together long enough that I can tell what you’re thinking: ‘What would saving the odd person on a whim even achieve?’” Rashid continued with a smile. “But that’s how you always justify running away. Will you ever achieve your revenge like that?”
Shawza’s expression darkened into a frown.
Now that the show was over, what remained of the gathered crowd started to disperse, melting away into the bustle of the city. I spotted Lynne and the others approaching us through the gaps.