With the bath now over Maxine was led away by one of the women followed by the other two. She didn't really like leaving her clothes, weapons and armour behind but for the next part this was something that she would have to do. She needed to duck to get through a couple of doorways and the path that they took allowed them to travel without her naked body being seen.

Their short trip eventually took them to a room where there was already a large bed and wine prepared. It wasn't anywhere near long enough for someone like Maxine but it was much wider than a normal bed. It was even wider than a double bed and looked to be able to fit at least three people in.

The room itself was relatively small and the ceiling was still too low for her to stand up straight in. Only candles lit the room as there were no windows and only one door that led in and out of the room. The scent that could be smelt at the front entrance was still there and it made her feel more relaxed.

Maxine sat down on the bed and she could hear it groaning underneath her weight. She positioned herself so that she could see all of the women standing before her. She watched as they slipped off their dresses to reveal that they were now naked as well. She gave a small smile before she was truly ready.

"So," said Maxine with a stern tone to her. "Who's going first?"

Meanwhile Charles was completely oblivious to what was happening Charles was walking in the streets of Grey Town. He had made sure that the inn room was locked and that the gold was sufficiently hidden. He kept his own gold with him and he was seeing whether he could find anything that he thought would be useful for himself or Maxine. The rest he wanted to deposit in a bank when he found the branch in the town.

One particular store he went into was selling items that were useful to blacksmiths and others in metal work. On one of the shelves he could see a bottle with a liquid inside which was poisonous to anyone who wanted to drink it. However, for what he wanted it was perfect as he picked it up. As he examined the bottle he opened it for a moment and began to sniff at it. It had an odd odour to it that tickled his mind in the wrong way. This was his last indication that it was the thing that he was after.

After paying for the bottle he placed it in his bag strapped onto his back and walked outside. The bottle contained a powerful polish that he was sure would make Maxine's armour and sword shin as if they were brand new. He thought that she would be very appreciative of this and make her a little less stern with him.

However, his movements had not gone unnoticed. A young man had been inside of the store as well and had seen Charles going by his business. What drew the young man to Charles was the fact that he seemed to have plenty of gold on his person. This caused an idea to pop into his head and discreetly he began to follow the squire.

From what he could see of Charles he could tell that he was trying to find where he was going. Charles would stop every now and again to try and spot something, it didn't seem to be a person he was trying to spot but instead a place. This seemed to exactly what the man was hoping for.

Rather than keeping himself hidden the young man began to approach Charles. He wasn't trying to make his presence hidden any longer and even had a small smile on his face. He hoped that things would go his way this time as he was sure that he would be successful in the near future.

"Greetings friend," said the Young Man. He put on a pleasant voice so that he was as least threatening as possible. "You seem to be lost, maybe I can help."

"Well actually I'm looking for the local bank," replied Charles who didn't think anything negative. "But I don't seem to see it anywhere near here."

"As it just happens to be I'm on my way to the bank as well. You can follow me if you want to."

"Thanks, that would be very helpful."

The young man began to walk away and Charles followed closely behind him. He felt lucky that he had found someone who was willing to help him. He thought that he would be taking all of his gold to the bank and depositing it safely. Then he thought that it couldn't be stolen and he could withdraw it whenever he wanted.

For the first few minutes he felt very confident but as they continued to walk he found himself puzzled. The walk was taking longer than he expected and it was taking him away from the main streets. Whenever he asked his newfound friend if they were going the right way he just responded with that he knew a short cut.

This continued on for several more minutes as he was going through the backstreets of Grey Town. It was a dirty place and Charles could see rats scurrying around as they tried to find whatever food they could. He could hear them squeaking and this sent a chill down his spine. He wasn't very fond of the creatures and he preferred to be away from them.

Their walk came to a sudden halt when they went down an alleyway that led to a dead end. When Charles saw this his heart began to beat faster with fear. He realised what was happening and began to step away as the young man turned to him with an evil smile on his face.

He went to turn around and run but he found four individuals blocking his way. He felt very foolish for allowing himself to fall for such a trap but he could do nothing about it for the time being. Instead he just felt afraid for his life as he saw the four men behind him approaching him.

"You know how this works," said the young man. "Give us your gold and your valuables and we'll let you go on your merry way."

"S-Sure," replied Charles who was terrified. Quickly he took his pouch of gold out from his pocket and gave it to the young man. He knew better than to resist and just wanted to get out of there with his life intact. "That's all I have, I swear."

"I want to believe you but then I think that you're holding out on us." He nodded to the men behind Charles and they quickly began to punch and kick him repeatedly. Charles wanted to defend himself but he couldn't do such a thing, he was outnumbered and outmuscled. There was no scenario that would end well for him.

After beating him down for a couple of minutes the beating suddenly stopped. By now Charles was battered and bruised, his eye was beginning to swell and his nose was bleeding. He thought that one of his teeth had been dislodged but right now this was the least of his worries. He was wheezing as he was struggling to breathe, never had he received a beating like this before.

Charles could do nothing as they took the bag off from him and began to look through it. Inside all they found was a book, a couple of pencils, some food and the polish that he had bought minutes earlier. None of these were of any particular value and instead they took the gold that he had earned.

For the next several minutes he remained where he was as he was afraid that the group was still around. When he was sure that they were gone he slowly began to rise back to his feet but this caused him a lot of pain. Each movement he made was like agony to him but he was able to pick up his bag.

The book that was still there was more valuable to him then the gold but this didn't matter too much for him right now. Instead he just staggered back toward the inn as best as he could, he felt light-headed after such a beating. This only caused him to walk more abnormally as he tried his best to go from point A to point B.

Several minutes later Maxine was lying on the bed inside of the private building. Lying beside her were the three women who had bathed her a short time earlier. All three of them were extremely tired after what had just happened between them. They were professionals in their trade and yet they had struggled to keep up with the needs of this nine-foot woman.

All three of them had gone again and again and again. Now they were in no position to do anything but rest as much as they could. They were all out of breath after their herculean efforts and none of them barely had the energy to even stay awake. All three of them could only just keep their eyes open.

Maxine sat up from the bed and although she was slightly tired still had enough energy to want to go for another round. However, the women were in no position to do this so she simply got up to her feet and began to put clothing and armour back on that had been placed nearby. She had sweated a little during their activities but it wasn't enough for her to consider bathing again.

Over the course of the next couple of minutes Maxine continued to put her armour on. When she had completed her task, she put a few extra gold coins on a table close by. The women didn't thank her as they were still too tired and she simply ducked under the doorframe and stepped out of room.

A minute later she found herself standing by the front desk again where she saw the foreign man standing. He had been dealing with a few different things before she had arrived but he seemed happy to see her again. He looked up with a smile as he remembered to be polite to all customers.

"Greetings ma'am," said the Man. "I hope that you enjoyed your experience with us today." His smile didn't fade. "Was everything to your liking."

"I would have liked to have gone on longer but your workers couldn't keep up unfortunately," replied Maxine. There was a small amount of satisfaction in her voice. "I don't think they'll be working again today."

"That is a shame. I apologise that you we're fully satisfied with your experience. I'll be sure that it will improve next time."

"Yes, and please don't punish them. It is not their fault that they couldn't keep up."

She spoke to him for another few seconds before stepping out of the building. The world around her was darker than she had expected. She had been occupied for hours and now it was close to evening. She didn't waste any time in heading back to the inn where she was stopping for the night.

Maxine planned to start out again the next morning to join up with her friend Gregory. She even considered going back to Morgan for a brief time to see her family but for now she saw no need as she simply needed to keep working in order to make money and make a name for herself.

Eventually Maxine did reach the inn and when she stepped inside she could see that there were a lot of people already there. Most were eating and drinking to their heart's desire while one man even had a fiddle. He was playing music for the patrons and they would give him some money if they liked what he was playing. His music was quite cheerful and it seemed to be going down well with the men who were still drinking. It was likely that they would drink themselves into a state.

Rather than stopping for a drink Maxine made her way up the stairs with some difficulty. She opened the door to the room that she was sharing with Charles and she expected to see him there. Not too surprising to her she did see him but her eyes widened when she actually saw him.

Charles was lying on the bed and Maxine could clearly see the cuts and bruises that he had received during his beatdown. It had caused him great discomfort trying to get back there, when he had completed the journey all that he could do was climb onto the bed and try and nurse his wounds.

Quickly she knelt down by the bed and looked at Charles as she was trying to see any serious injuries. For now, she could see none but she knew that there was a chance that there was internal bleeding. She watched as he weakly turned his head toward her and she could see that he was in pain.

"I'm sorry ma'am," said Charles with pain in his voice. He was hurting in places that most people didn't even know the name of. "But I seem to have gotten myself hurt." He coughed for a moment and this only added to his pain.

"What happened to you?" asked Maxine. There was a slight hint of concern in her voice as she continued to look at him.

"I-I was on my way to depositing my gold at a bank. Got tricked into an alleyway and robbed, they decided to beat me down as well. A-All my gold that I earned is gone and now I'm no help to you."

Maxine was silent for a moment as she didn't know exactly how to respond. She wasn't annoyed with Charles for allowing himself to be hurt. She thought that she should have done something to prevent this from happening. It was a knight's duty to make sure that their squire wasn't harmed. An injury to a squire reflected badly on a knight unless it was said knight responsible. Even then it was only if the squire had done something to deserve it, this was not the case.

With her mind made up Maxine stood back up to her full height but had to duck her head as she was still too tall to stand up straight in the room. She looked at Charles who looked up at her with a small amount of fear. He was sure that she was going to scold him for what had happened.

"Stay where you are," said Maxine. "I'll find you a healer, they'll patch you up quickly. I'm sorry this happened to you, I should have been watching out for you."

"I-It is alright ma'am," replied Charles who was astonished. This was the first time that she had apologised to him. He didn't know how to properly react to what had just happened. It was a bigger shock than being beaten up.

"Don't worry about a thing, you'll be fine shortly."

Maxine then stepped out of the room but not before ordering an ale from the innkeeper. This was not for herself but she wanted to have it sent up to her room. She wanted Charles to have it so that it would dull the pain that he was feeling to a certain degree. She then stepped outside of the inn and started to make her way to the Healer's abode.

She had been to Grey Town enough to know where to find a healer. She had visited a couple of times in the past, once was to help treat her growing pains but now was the first time that she was going for someone else besides herself.

Maxine didn't waste any time in her journey as she quickly walked from the inn to the Healer's abode without much incident. It was a relatively small building with a red cross painted on a sign. She knew what it meant and quickly knocked on the door of the building. She had to stand there and wait for a few moments before it opened. There she saw a relatively old man standing there. He was wearing all white and he looked up to at her, unlike most people he wasn't too shocked by what he was seeing.

"Maxine is it?" asked the Healer. It took him a moment to remember her name. It was not the first time that they had met and she was certainly someone that he wasn't going to forget any time soon.

"Yes, it is and I need your help," replied Maxine. "My squire has been injured by a gang of thieves. Would you please help him?"

"I wish I could but I can't I'm afraid. There are pressing things here that need my attention but don't worry." He then turned his head away from the door. "Daphne come here please." They had to wait until a young woman approached the door as well. She was young, couldn't be more than sixteen with short black hair and green eyes. She wore the same outfit that he did and she was shocked to see Maxine. Unlike others she didn't hide it as well as they could and she was gobsmacked by what she was seeing. "This is my apprentice Maria. She is more than skilled enough to treat your squire."

"Very well, we must hurry though as I don't know the extent of his injuries."

Another few words were exchanged between the two before Maxine moved away with Maria following close behind. She was intimidated by the much larger woman and she kept quiet. She just couldn't get over how large Maxine was, she didn't think it was possible for a woman to grow that tall and still be so mobile.

Just as they were walking by an alleyway Maxine began to hear something. It was feint at first but when she stopped and listened more carefully she could hear it clearer. As she focused on her hearing she began to get annoyed. Maria noticed what was happening and she stopped as well. She was almost too afraid to speak but eventually she felt that she had to in order to discover the problem.

"I-Is there a problem ma'am?" asked Maria who spoke in a quiet and reserved voice. She looked up at the towering woman who was looking down the alleyway.

"Continue on to the White Horse Inn," replied Maxine. Her focus didn't shift away from the alleyway. "My squire is in room three, I will join you shortly."

"But what about you?"

"I have business to attend to."

Maria could do nothing but walk away as Maxine began to walk down the alleyway. She could hear the joyous voices of a few men and she could hear them boasting about what they had achieved that day. They were drinking as well and enjoying the gold that they had recently acquired.

They were too into their conversation and joy to notice the nine-foot armoured woman approaching them. It wasn't until she was closer that they noticed her. They quickly got up to their feet and she could see that there were five of them. One thing that she noticed was that one of them was carrying a pouch of gold. The pouch had a red C written on it and she recognised it as the one that Charles owned. This made her even more annoyed as she knew for certainty that these were the ones responsible for harming him.

"Who the fuck are you?" asked the Young Man. He was the same man that had led Charles down the alleyway and set up the trap.

"My name is Maxine Martel, eldest daughter of Sir Tucker Martel," replied Maxine. She was annoyed by these men and she could see a few of them going for knives that were on their person. "You harmed and stole from my squire earlier, a slight against my squire is a slight against me." She then drew out her sword and this made the group of thieves step back a little and let out a small gasp. "I am here for retribution."

"You really think that you stand a chance? There are five of us and one of you, even if you are a giant freak you don't stand a chance."

"Funny, I was about to say the same to you."

"Kill her!"

The men darted forward and Maxine slashed her sword. This kept them at a distance for a moment but she darted forward herself and brought her sword down toward one of the thieves. There was a cry of pain and a dash of red from the attack, the victim of this was still alive but he found himself missing his right hand. He looked at the opening that was left behind and he screamed in agony. As he looked down he could see his hand on the ground and still clutching the knife.

This only added to the fear that the other men could feel and they were unsure how to continue on. They did consider running but ironically for them this particular alleyway was also a dead end. They couldn't escape from behind and the only way out was to face the angry iron-clad giantess.

Two of them ran toward her in hopes that they could take her down with a double team attack. Maxine barely flinched at this and allowed them to try and stab her. With all of their strength they tried to stab through her armour. Unfortunately, their blades were not large or strong enough to complete such a task.

Instead the knives simply rebounded off when they had tried to stab her. She didn't give them any time to recover as one felt her armoured fist come into contact square with their face. The blow was with such power that it sent him flying across the alley and he impacted the wall behind them. Several teeth were knocked out and it was likely that he had also fractured his skull during the impact.

The second man wasn't as fortunate as like his colleague he felt a sharp pain in his wrist. When he looked he could see that Maxine had removed his hand with a quick slash of her blade. He screamed and dropped to the ground as he tried to stop the bleeding as best as he could.

There were still two thieves left and they were both absolutely terrified. They could see that fighting her was a foolish thought and they wanted to escape. The wall behind them made this practically impossible and they looked on in fear as she walked closer and closer toward them.

The sound of her armour-clad feet impacting the ground was a terrifying sound that they would never forget for the rest of their days. They could see the sapphire eyes of Maxine burning with pure rage as she walked closer and closer toward them. One of them even began to wet himself out of pure fear.

"P-Please have mercy?" asked the young Man.

If anything, his pleas only angered her even more. He could see her clenching her sword even tighter as her frustration continued to grow. It was only a matter of time before it all came out.