The Boot

The candlelights were dim and I slammed my hands on the table. He looked up from his drink. There was a tense moment of silence as I glared into his eyes. He, of course, would think that I was amusing. He didn't know me, and I was only sent here by word. He could not even be the man I was looking for.
The entire inn went silent and stared. Even the walls and the glasses and the plates stared. People wore such crazy looks, I would have laughed if the matter wasn't so serious.
"You're the mountain guide?" I said simply.
The man cocked an eyebrow and held up his drink. "Mountain guide? Whatever do you mean?" His face was scarred and scruffy and he looked like he's been to a lot places. He took a swig. There were a few scattered chuckles as the inn slowly lost interest and resumed its chatter. The man leaned back and put his boots on the table rudely. "Move your hands and get your own table. Go on now."
I scowled and pulled off one of his boots, startling him. "No. You are the mountain guide! They told me you had such a crude sense of humor. It must be you."
"I don't know what you're talking about," He lowered his legs and threatened to stand up. "You give me back my boot, or I'll kick you with the other one."
"With your socks?" I said with a scoff. "No thanks, they looks stinky. I'd rather we come to a deal instead. I'll give you your boot if you talk to me."
He narrowed his eyes. "So that's how it is, eh?" The man set down his mug and stood up. "Over here."
We stepped outside away from the lights and the music and rounded the wall to end up behind the inn. It was a particularly dark night, and there was a powerful breeze. I wasn't afraid of the man, however. Although maybe I should have been. Strands of hair blew into his face as he faced me. "Now, please, the boot." By that time my eyes had adjusted and I smirked. "No. Business first, then I'll give you that boot."
"You do realize I came here with one foot in socks, right? C'mon. Give me a break."
"Well, you seemed to be having a break all week, drinking away your earnings."
"It's how I go. Don't judge me. I'm sure we all have places to be and things to do right now."
"Fair enough." I concluded and scratched the tip of my nose. "So, you are the mountain guide, are you not?"
"That depends on your definition of the mountain guide." He said simply.
"I need to get up into the mountains. My sister was taken by bandits and I must find her. I hear there are ogres in the alps."
"Sure, sure. Many ogres in the alps. How much are you willing to pay?"
"As much as necessary. My sister is... priceless to me."
The man chuckled. "And here I am abandoning my own family years ago. I like you, kid. Very noble."
"So you'll help me?"
"Aye. They don't call me the thug of the mountains for nothing. I'll need a down payment though."
I reached into my cloak and pulled out a sack of gold. They were new, polished, and even gleamed in the darkness.
"Ah!" The man was clearly interested. "This much... yes, I could do with this much." He put out his hand.
"Not so fast," I said. "tomorrow we set out, I'll pay you then. I don't want you spending perfectly good money on your drinks."
"Ah. That's how it is then... Alright, fair enough kiddo. I'll be spending it on drinks later anyway, but just to please my new employer, alright."
"So we're settled?"
"We're settled." He starts to head back around the building, but I stopped him by tugging on his sleeve and smiling.
"Your boot."

Adam and Eve (excerpt test)

Ava slumped on her bed. The storm outside was raging, and the crew were working hard to keep the ship steady and on course. She was soaked and definitely a mess, but she was also tired from pulling on the ropes and shouting orders and helping her men and bailing water from the ship almost all at the same time. Yes, she was exhausted. Ava closed her eyes and let out a sigh, leaning as far back into her pillow as possible. Suddenly, she felt something shocking cold at her throat and her eyelids flew open. There was a man standing right over her, the tip of his knife focused on her throat and his expression angry. The prisoner! How did he escape the lower levels? At his sight Ava sat up. He kept the knife fixed and followed her movement, without a word. "Oh, it's you." she smiled, "I wonder why you came here."
"I'm getting revenge." he simply said, "You tried to drown me!"
"Do you blame me for feeling accomplished when I dip my prisoners into the sea for a few minutes?" Ava asked coolly, sinking her head back into the pillow again. "Sure, kill me. What good will it do to you? The crew will find you, and they don't care about me, for your information. It's every boy for himself."
At that the man grinded his teeth. She was getting on his nerves. He stung her throat harder. "As long as I take revenge on you, I don't care what happens to me. You made me feel the lowest I ever had, and you almost drowned me."
"Alright. That's nice. Nice story." Ava said with a bored tone. "I told you, if you kill me it won't help. Do it, but be quick. I've got an important meeting once we reach shore, and we're almost there."
Before the man could think about what to do next, Ava attacked his arm and kicked him hard in the stomach at the same time. This threw him off balance, and she was over him within seconds, pinning both his hands together. "You call yourself a Navy Captain?" she said with a scoff. "You're unbelievably weak!"
"Rrgh!" The man tried to struggle, but she had him in an iron grip. Ava shook her head mockingly, pressing the back of the prisoner's head into the floor, hard. "Son, let me tell you the story of Adam and Eve."
He didn't know how that story would relate to this situation, nor why she was mentioning it at all other than to mock him, but he knew he couldn't just sit there. If she wasn't too clever, he might have used brute strength. But she had all his vital points in check. Too bad for him. Ava smiled.
"It all began when God created the first man, Adam."
What followed was a heavy crash and Ava stood up afterwards, her favorite vase broken and her prisoner's head bleeding. He wasn't moving.
She scowled and whispered: "And then Adam died because he blamed Eve for what the devil did."