The guard felt great pain in his hand as Maxine slightly twisted the knife. Charles was still covering his mouth so that he couldn't scream. As he looked into the face of the short woman, he could see the look of determination on it, it was scary even though normally he wouldn't find her intimidating at all. However, at that moment in time she was the scariest person on the planet.

"Tell me what I want to know and you'll be fine," said Maxine. "Tell me where my size has gone!"

"Help!" shouted the Guard. He screamed as loud as he could once Charles had moved his hand off of his mouth. "Somebod..." Before he could finish what, he was saying, his mouth was covered again. He looked up at Maxine and he could see that she looked even angrier than she did before.

"Wrong answer!" With that she twisted the knife more and the guard screamed in agony. His screams were muffled and Charles couldn't help but feel some guilt about what was happening. He knew that Maxine needed to get her size back but he was beginning to feel uncomfortable with how they were doing things. "Now tell me what I want to know before I start slicing your fingers off and don't think I won't."

"I-I don't even know what you're talking about!" By now he knew that screaming for help wouldn't do him any good. He thought that Maxine would stab him to death before anyone could find him.

"The Weasel had something in the form of a sphere, it gave off an uncanny light. Before you say anything, you better not lie again or else I might cut off more than just your fingers." It was obvious to the Guard what she was referring to and he couldn't help but be worried about what she might do.

"It's in there!" He gestured as best as he could towards the door that he had been guarding. "But you can't get inside."

"Why not?" She felt that she was close to her goal and this guard was the only one standing in her way.

"It's locked, you're going to need the key." There was some panic in his voice as he didn't know what she was going to do next.

"Then give me the damn key!"

"I-I don't have it. Only the boss has it, please you have to believe me."

Maxine looked at the Guard and she could see the panic in his face. She had seen it before and she knew that he was broken and thus would tell her anything that she wanted to know. The fact that he was telling her something that he knew would annoy her only led her to believe that he was indeed telling the truth.

Without saying a word Maxine took the metal object from Charles and then struck the Guard. He was knocked out and with that she quickly got up to her feet, although she was annoyed by what had happened at least now she knew for certain where her size was located. She could see Charles ripping some fabric off the shirt of the guard and using it to treat his hand.

"What are you doing?" asked Maxine. She didn't seem to be too impressed with what she was seeing.

"Treating him ma'am," replied Charles. He wasn't too fond of seeing the blood and he even tried to look away. "We can't let him bleed to death."

"Fine, whatever." She would normally have told him not to bother but she still remembered the promise that she made to her mother. Although it was wasting time in her mind, she allowed it to happen.

Not just that but they also dragged him away so that they could hide him away and not be located straight away. Once again this took both of them to do and they took care not to harm the guard any further. Their hiding space for him wasn't ideal but it would keep him hidden away for long enough, at least they hoped.

Rather than moving along straight away they had to stop so that they could plan for a moment. Maxine did step towards the door with the large padlock, she knocked it for a moment and she knew that there was no chance that she could break it. Even if she had her real size and strength it would be an impossible, instead she would have likely broken the door itself. Right now, that wasn't an option for her either and thus, the only solution to the problem was to steal the key.

"So, what do we do now?" asked Charles. He was still formulating a plan in his mind but he wanted to hear what she had to say first.

"Simple," replied Maxine as she turned towards him. "We find the Weasel and then make him give us the key." Her tone made it sound like it was going to be a simple task, even though it was going to be anything but.

"I don't think he'll give it up that easily."

"Then we take it by force, or die trying." You can still walk away from this if you want to, I can see that you're not entirely comfortable around here. I can continue on from here by myself and we can meet up later.

"I appreciate the offer ma'am but I respectfully decline, I've come this far with you. I have to see it to the end." Not just that but he wanted to try and ensure her safety. She might have still been confident but said confidence could only get her so far.

"Thank you. Now we go and steal the key, unless you have a secret lockpicking skill that you have forgotten to mention." She watched as Charles shook his head. "I thought so." She gave a small sigh before carrying on. "Now we'll stick together, it'll be safer for the both of us."

The idea of splitting up and covering more ground had come to mind but she also thought that it was more dangerous. As they had seen, by working together they could overcome one, maybe two guards if the circumstances were on their side. If not then they would likely be easily overpowered and defeated.

One thing that Maxine did regret was not asking the guard where the Weasel was before she had knocked him out. However, as she thought about it, she didn't think that he would know for certainty. For now, all they could do was hope that he was still in the building. If he had gone elsewhere then it was unlikely that they would find him again.

At that moment in time the Weasel was in a somewhat large room eating some food with some of the men that were working for him. These were not just hired muscle but also some who helped obtain and distribute their ill-gotten products. Normally the large deals that were suspected to be worth a lot of money was sold by the Weasel himself, such as the sphere that contained Maxine's size. Other less pricey items were sold by subordinates, the entire value of the items wouldn't go directly to him. Of course, he would get the biggest slice but the others would all get their share. It was easily enough to live off and quite a few of them were living comfortably.

There were around six of them and they all sat at a large table that contained a lot of food. It wasn't necessarily the best quality but it would be enough to feed them for a while. There was chicken along with vegetables and another couple of game animals. Ironically for them there was also some fish although the Weasel wasn't really eating it. He was sick of the smell of fish and the only reason that he had bought this place was that it was going for quite cheap and could house all his needs.

"I heard a commotion earlier," said One of the Men who was sitting at the table. He had been working for the Weasel for around five years and earned some respect from his employer.

"That is nothing to be concerned about," replied the Weasel. He chuckled for a moment before taking another bite from the chicken that he had been eating. "Just another customer who thought that they could pull a fast one."

"I see, I'm guessing that you sent them for a swim?"

"In a manner of speaking yes. Those who try to pull a fast one over me normally end up dead." With that he took a drink from his cup before continuing to speak. "Now, we need to talk some business. We're doing quite well right now but there are murmurs of a new mayor that could cause us problems. From what I've been told, if this one wins the election, they won't accept bribes."

"So, do you want us and some of the boys to teach them a lesson?"

"Not straight away, it is only a rumour for the time being anyway. If this new mayor comes to power, we'll let them make the first move. If it is something that we don't like, then we can deal with them accordingly. But there's something else that we need to discuss, one of you isn't bringing in the money that they should." This caused everyone at the table to quickly stop what they were doing and really take notice. "Now the only question is, which of you is it?"

The men at the table all fell silent as none of them knew what was going to happen next. Most of them didn't even know what the Weasel was talking about. One in particular felt nervous as he tried to remain calm.

"What are you talking about boss?" asked One of the Men. This one was a relatively new member of the team. He had only been working for the Weasel for around a year and so far, had done exactly what he was told.

"I'm saying that one of you is keeping a bigger cut than what was agreed on. I'm giving you one chance to admit to it before anything else happens." He fell quiet as he waited to see the person who had been cheating him stood up. This lasted for several seconds but no one got up from their chairs. "So, you don't have the balls to admit it? Very well."

The Weasel then nodded his head and suddenly out of the shadows a larger man did step out. He was close to being seven feet tall with large muscles and without much effort he was able to grab one of the men at the table and pick him up out of his chair. There was a small commotion and the man that he had grabbed was much smaller and weaker than him. He struggled as best as he could but he had no chance of breaking free from the larger man's iron like grip.

"W-What are you doing?" asked the Trapped Man. None of the others attempted to help him whatsoever. Instead they simply stayed where they were as they didn't want the same thing to happen to them.

"Thank you, Bernardo," replied the Weasel as he looked to the muscular man. He then looked at the man that Bernardo had in a choke hold. "Now before I decide to do what needs to be done, I just want to ask you. Why? Why would you try and cheat me when I've given you so much?"

"I-I have a wife and children, I needed to support them. My cut was too low, it wasn't enough to support them. I'm sorry boss, please don't kill me!"

"Oh, my poor Richard, I told you from the moment that I hired you that if you ever tried to cheat me that I would show you no mercy. If I am anything, I am a man of my word." He nodded his head again and Bernardo increased the pressure around Richard's neck. He choked and spluttered as he tried to catch his breath.

The rest looked on with an unnerved gaze as they still didn't lift a finger to help their colleague. Instead they could see the life being choked out of him and his gasps for air would remain with them for the rest of their lives. They watched as Richard's body went limp as his eyes closed. Even though he looked to be dead Bernardo kept the hold for another several seconds just to make sure that the deed was done.

Now that the former employee had his life taken from him, his lifeless body was taken away. The others said nothing and a couple of them had lost their appetite. The Weasel too didn't really say anything as he knew that the others had gotten the message. None of them would ever consider trying to cheat him now. Little did he know the trouble that was coming his way.

Meanwhile Maxine and Charles were still looking for the Weasel. Sticking together was their best option and one thing that they noticed was that there didn't seem to be anyone around. The Weasel wasn't the only thing that they were looking out for, Maxine in particular was looking for any object that she thought would break the lock.

If she could get her hands on the sphere without confronting the Weasel then she would take it. If she was back to her full size then she was confident that almost nothing would stand in her way, even though she wouldn't have her sword or armour. But the safety of Charles was on her mind as well. There was a chance that there would be a decision between getting her size and saving his life. At that moment in time she wasn't sure exactly which one she would actually choose.

The pair did find themselves in the large area where they had originally met the Weasel to make a deal. They had hoped that he would be there but they weren't surprised when it turned out that there was nothing there. Maxine couldn't help but feel a little disappointed about this and gave a small sigh as she took a quick look around. She was still annoyed at herself for failing to regain her size in the first place.

Under her breath she had cursed her current lack of height. If she had been just a little taller, she could have succeeded, instead her short arms had just been unable to reach the sphere when she had the chance. This angered her more than anything as she felt like a failure to herself and her goals.

But as the pair were about to leave, they began to hear something. Neither of them made a single sound but this time it wasn't footsteps they were hearing. Instead it seemed to be voices that they could hear through the walls. There were a couple of voices but there was one in particular that they picked up. It was quite clear that it belonged to the Weasel and for a moment Maxine felt a huge wave of anger overcome her as she clenched her fist in pure rage.

Charles could see this and he placed a hand on her shoulder. He shook his head at her and she gave a small sigh to try and vent her anger. It did do her some good and she gave him a quick nod and slowly they made their way towards where the voices were coming from. A full-frontal assault would be unwise as they could clearly hear more than one voice. They knew better as they thought that going up against so many people would end poorly for them. If Maxine had been her normal size then they would stand a chance, but with their current status it was suicide.

Instead they slowly moved towards where the voices were coming from. This eventually led to a door and Charles placed his ear onto it. He could clearly hear the small dinner party that was taking place inside. There were around four different voices that he could hear so this told him that there were at least four people inside. At no point did he assume that was all that were there as he knew that some were simply not speaking.

It was difficult to decide straight away what their plan of action was. Maxine was getting impatient but even she knew the risk of going forward without thinking things through. Instead they decided that they would have to wait for a short while until the people left the room.

If the Weasel left separately, they could ambush him and take the key. It was a risky idea but one that they thought might work. A distraction technique was also possible but that did come with its own perils. For the time being it was best to play it safe as one false move could lead to disaster.

The pair remained where they were for several minutes when they heard a voice say that they were going to the toilet. For a moment they weren't sure whether it was the Weasel who had said this or rather one of his underlings. This did cause them to move away from the door and find a hiding spot where they could view who stepped out. They also made sure that it was difficult for them to be spotted.

This included hiding just around a corner and just as they got into position the door to the room opened. Just as Maxine was going to make her move, she quickly noticed that the man she was looking at wasn't the Weasel. This disappointed her and she wanted to make some kind of grunt but dared do nothing as she didn't want to make any kind of noise.

Rather than moving back to where they were before, the pair simply remained where they were as they saw the man return to the room and close the door. It seemed that luck was not going to be on their side until the door opened once again.

Both waited with some impatience as they saw someone step out. With how things had gone for them they thought that it was just another person just leaving the room. But as Maxine took a better luck her heart almost skipped a beat when she realised who she was looking at. A small wave of excitement overtook her as she also saw that he was alone but she still made sure that she was silent.

Charles too realised who he was looking and waited patiently for a few moments as he wanted to see what the Weasel would do next or if anyone was going to accompany him. It was potentially a tense moment as there were many factors that could go against them in this scenario.

Just then they noticed that the Weasel was beginning to walk away from them. This was not entirely ideal for them but it wasn't the worst thing that could happen. Especially when they noticed that he was alone. This caused them to come out of their hiding spot and quietly make their way towards him.

Unfortunately, they couldn't move as fast as they wanted to as they still needed to be quiet. They did watch as he made his way to the spot where he could relieve himself, this consisted of a bucket that he could urinate in and then discard later. He suspected nothing as he began to relieve himself.

The next thing he knew he could feel an arm grab him around the neck and something pointing into his back. He recognised it as a knife and for a moment he considered it to be one of his underlings. Rather than acting scared, he seemed to remain calm, even though he was in a difficult situation.

"You thought that you could get away from me that easily?" asked Maxine. Her voice was quiet enough so that he could hear her but anyone who happened to be nearby couldn't. Despite the rage that she was experiencing, she remained unusually calm.

"Hmm, I thought it would have been a little too easy to discard you the way that I did," replied the Weasel. "I could see the determination in your face, you'd stop at nothing to get what you wanted."

"Then you know that if you don't give me back what I want then you're as good as dead." Her tone showed him that she wasn't joking around in the slightest.

"Of course, I wouldn't expect anything less from a woman of your calibre. Now shall I lead the way?"

"If you would be so kind."

"Well this is a little embarrassing, my dick still seems to be sticking out. Am I alright to just put it away before we go anywhere?"

"Fine, but no funny business. The moment I suspect that you're up to something, I'm going to plunge this knife into your back."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

At no point was the Weasel allowed to turn his head and look at Maxine or Charles. He was surprised that they were able to survive his guards but he didn't mention anything about it at all. Instead he simply walked towards the room where all the valuable items were kept. However just as they were passing the room where the subordinates had been eating, he was able to subtly knock the wall.

This action had gone unnoticed by Maxine and Charles as he was still forced to walk. Charles in particular still didn't like the situation at hand. He couldn't help but feel that what they were doing was wrong somehow. It also added to his own worries as he could still remember the inn and how he had barely survived that.

This was a thought that was not shared with Maxine as she was more determined than ever. Although she had promised her mother that she wouldn't kill anyone, it didn't mean that she couldn't maim them if she thought that they deserved it. Not just that but the Weasel had stolen something very dear to her and she was going to make sure that he paid for the insult towards her.

The walk towards the room was longer than both of them remembered and they kept their eyes out for anything. Charles in particular was a little jumpy but if anything, this made him more cautious. They simply continued to walk until they saw the door that led into the room with the valuables.

One thing that the Weasel did notice was that his guard was lying unconscious on the ground. He was impressed that they had been able to take his hired goon down but he knew that he was going to have to make a movement. Not just that but he was also becoming slightly worried at that moment in time.

"Ok so this is the place," said the Weasel. He was stalling a little as he hoped that it would be enough time. "Now I need to move my arms so that I can grab my keys. Just don't go stabbing me for that."

"Whatever," replied Maxine. She still kept the knife close to his back. If she even suspected anything was off, she wouldn't hesitate in plunging it into his body. She did watch as he went to his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. With some care he placed the right key into the padlock and tried to turn, however it seemed like he was struggling much to the annoyance of his captor. "What's the hold up?"

"The lock is a little stiff, it normally takes me a few seconds for me to do it properly." Even by this point in time the Weasel was becoming a little worried. He did unlock the padlock and once it was done, he opened the door.

The moment that it was opened he was pushed inside and this was the first time that Maxine and Charles were able to see what was inside. They could see the treasures that lay inside and Charles marvelled over what he could see. In his mind he was thinking about how much the items were worth, there was enough objects made out of precious metals for a lord to be jealous over.

Although the room was small it was filled with more treasure than anything a common person could ever hope to see. Near one wall there was even a painting of a dog running through a field of grass. If they had time the pair could have even admired it.

None of these concerned Maxine as her prize lay just ahead of her. Sitting on the table she could see the container that held the glowing sphere. It was more beautiful than she remembered and it was also enough for her to let go of the Weasel but she wouldn't allow herself to just yet.

"Charles, go and get it," said Maxine. Her squire did he was told without question as he walked over and picked up the container. He too was fascinated by its glow, but there was something else that he noticed. The sphere itself was beginning to move, from what he could tell it seemed to be trying to make its way to Maxine. If it wasn't for the container that it was in, there would be nothing that could stop it.

"You have your prize," replied the Weasel. "Now will you let me go and we can forget that this all happened?"

"I'll be the judge of that. Charles, open it if you would be so kind."

Charles nodded and attempted to open the container he wasn't sure exactly what was going on but before he could succeed, he suddenly felt something. It was a strong hand being placed on his shoulder. Before he could process what was happening, he felt himself get pulled back, the force was enough for him to drop the container. He went flying towards a nearby wall and the impact sounded painful.

Maxine called out his name as she looked over to him but she too felt herself get grabbed and lifted off her feet. The Weasel brushed some of the dust off his body and turned around as he liked what he could see. Just in front of him he could see the large man who had previously killed Richard. He had a strong grip around the small woman who seemed to be struggling.

"You cut it a little close there," said the Weasel as he looked at the large man. "I was beginning to think that you hadn't gotten the message." He then looked at Maxine who was close to tears as she realised that her latest plan had failed. "Now what to do with you? Of course, you're going to be killed, there's no doubt about that. In fact, take her away and make sure that she's dead." The large man nodded and went to walk away. "Actually, I have a better idea, kill her right here. I want to see it."

Maxine's eyes widened as she felt the grip on her neck suddenly tighten. During the confusion she had dropped her knife and she tried to kick her way out of her situation. But at that moment in time nothing was working, her options had run out.