Renato's gaze lingered only briefly on Ferreira, who had openly threatened him, before he looked away.
He turned, stepped over an overturned wooden chair at his feet, and lowered Silent Lady in his right hand. Its tip settled precisely against the side of Myles's neck. With a slight turn of his wrist, the blade slid into the skin.
The blade, carrying a magical field, met almost no resistance as it severed bone and spinal cord, cleanly ending the severely crippled warrior's life.
Boatswain Myles's body twitched faintly in its final moment, then went completely slack. He lay motionless on his back in a pool of blood.
"Don't! Sir Renato..."
Pye's voice came from behind the bar as he tried to stop the swordsman.
But Renato had already straightened. He flicked the black sword through an arc, scattering the blood on its blade across the floor, and calmly cut in:
"Pye, Myles is dead. As agreed, the job is done."
Carrying his pitch-black greatsword, the tall swordsman walked casually up to the bar, paying no attention to the two pirates standing nearby or the gaunt man spouting nonsense.
He reached out and brushed aside a cluster of wanted posters on the wall above the bar, then began scanning the overlapping layers of paper.
Fresh blood had spattered many of the sheets. Brown flecks covered the old ink, making the already barely legible writing even harder to decipher.
The gang boss covered half his face, pressing a palm to his forehead, his eyes full of disbelief. At last, even this normally composed gang leader could not help shouting:
"What are you doing?! That was the prey personally chosen by Aldrick, the Flaying Grand Duke!"
"It's over. We're all finished. Bhaal's Chosen will kill us all, skin us, strip the flesh from our