Chapter 21: Chapter 21: The Work Begins

A knock at the bedroom door caused Symon to stir. The young man writhed under the blanket, his mind still swirling from the many drinks he consumed last night. Shafts of sunlight filtered into his room. The brightness was enough for him to take the blanket and pull it over his head.

“Symon?” Nyana said on the other side of the door.

Maybe if I don’t answer, she’ll come back later.

Silence flowed and Symon thought his masterful plan had worked.

“Symon? Serafina said we all have to get up,” the kobold said with a timid edge.

There was a small moment of silence.

“I…also wanted to talk to you before we go downstairs.”

Symon flipped the blanket up and let out a silent huff. “Come in.”

The door opened and the kobold slipped in.

Symon rose up like one of the dead. He sat with his knees up, one elbow resting on it while he ran his hand through his own hair. The headache remained as his head throbbed with tormenting cackles of the hang over.

“I’m sorry to disturb you,” Nyana said with her head bowed.

“It’s okay. I should be getting up,” the raven said as he spun around and let his legs hang over the side of the bed. “What did you want to talk about?”

The kobold had her hands clasped before her and kept her head bowed. She looked to the side, as if too embarrassed to look him in the eyes.

“I wanted to thank you.”

“Thank me? Why?” Symon asked with confused eyes.

The kobold lifted her head and looked into Symon’s eyes. “You were the only person to help me and Qin when we first arrived.”

She then looked away again. “When the umbra beast attacked, you came to us to help us escape.”

“The elf, Tarron, tried to help you before I got there,” Symon said in a low tone.

Nyana nodded. “He did, but he’s not here. When I see him again, I will thank him again, but if you didn’t lead the monster away, we all would have perished. You saved all of our lives and I can never thank you enough.”

The kobold shifted on her scaled and clawed feet. “Losing my aunt, was hard. I’m still trying to come to grips with it. She was always a dreamer. She left our town to come here because it was always her dream to do so. She achieved it, even if she didn’t live in Old Town, she was part of Gray Gate.”

Nyana’s scaled hands tightened into fists at her sides. She lifted her small snout with new confidence.

“My family line is cursed with dreamers. Our people have always been weak in the eyes of the other races. We could only dream to become more. Qin and I will break that cycle. We want to become grand mages to show the world we are not frail and weak like so many others believe of us.

“Joining the guild was our first step, our next step is to be ready for our studies. That is why, I have something to ask of you.”

Symon watched as the small kobold nearly trembled with determination.

“Nyana, anything you need, I will help in any way I can. We are guild mates, and I would like to think, we ae becoming friends. Ask me your question.”

Nyana bowed slightly and looked down. “Qin and I need proper spell books before we enter the Grand Allotment. Will you show us the best shops in the Book District to buy them? We’ve been around Old Town, but you might have a better idea, since you’ve been here longer.”

Symon blinked a few times. He raised his fist, to cover his mouth so he didn’t fall into a fit of laughter. Nyana continued to look down, almost afraid to look him in the eyes.

“Nyana, of course I will go with you and Qin shopping. We can’t have our future mages without the proper items for their schooling, now, can we?”

Nyana looked up and met Symon’s gaze. Her trembling stopped and she physically relaxed.

“Thank you. It means a lot to me, I mean, us,” she said softly.

Symon stood up in his sleeping clothes, lifted his arms up into a stretch, and let out a long yawn. When he finished, he deflated as the headache continued to rake its claws over his mind.

“Is there food downstairs?” he asked.

Nyana nodded. “Serafina made a morning feast.”

“Well, let’s not keep everyone waiting,” Symon grinned.

***

Everyone sat in the main room with full bellies. Morning sunlight stabbed through mostly closed curtains as the group sat with their open ledgers in hands.

Symon looked over his ledger as he sat comfortably on the couch.

Symon

Raven Guild Rank: Proficient

 

Copper Rooks: 772

Silver Knights: 573

Gold Queens: 546

Platinum Kings: 0

 

Natural Abilities

Shapeshift: Minor (Fox)

Shapeshift: Vulpine Form

Imprint

 

Skills

Flee: Proficient 

Pickpocket: Proficient

Hide: Proficient

 

It would appear, despite our heist, my skills didn’t improve to master rank yet. It may still take some time to build them up.

“I can’t tell if this is mean to organize, or confuse me,” Cedric said as he scratched his head with one hand and held his ledger in the other.

Qin nodded. “The ledgers are based off the same principals the mages use. Once we are part of the academies, we will receive a small book, similar to our ledgers, to gauge our progress. It ensures there is no cheating, or paying your way through.

“All students must be graded and evaluated to earn their ranks and titles. At least, that’s what Nyana and I came across in our research.”

“And just like the mages, the guilds follow the same formula so charlatans don’t win over members with deceit and lies,” a voice said from a doorway.

Everyone lifted their heads and turned around to see Serafina come in with five scrolls in her hands. The lady in black swept into the room, around the couches and stood in the center, before the table. She put the scrolls on the table before standing up to her full height with a wicked gleam in her eyes.

“It’s good to see everyone well-rested and full, but our work is just beginning,” Serafina said before gesturing to the scrolls. “Each one of you, take one.”

Hands reached out and picked up scrolls. When everyone had one, fingers unfurled and looked over the written words on them.

Symon’s brow creased as he looked over and saw a list of words.

Steal

Silver Tongue

Backstab

Pick Locks

Acrobat

Silent Step

Affection Trap

Poison Brewer

Trap Sight

Intimidation

Ambush

Distraction

Forgery

Sleight of Hand

 

Serafina addressed the group before anyone could utter a question. “Before you are a simple list of the basic skills for your new rank. Because you all did so well, you all earned the Proficient Rank and I couldn’t be prouder.

“A rogue life can move very quickly. Some skills will be easier to learn than others. The list is far from complete, but it will help you understand your place, and what you can do to aid the guild. There will be skills that you master quickly, and other skills that may take a lifetime to learn. My job as guild leader is to help you find your best skills and nurture them.”

Serafina looked at everyone attentive eyes. “Pick a skill you think you know very well and then look at your ledger.”

Eyes turned to the scrolls in their hands. Ledgers were lifted up and eyes moved from the scroll to the ledger and back again.

Symon looked over his skill list and then back at his ledger. To his mild surprise, words bled into existence, accompanied with their rank.

Symon

Raven Guild Rank: Proficient

 

Copper Rooks: 772

Silver Knights: 573

Gold Queens: 546

Platinum Kings: 0

 

Natural Abilities

Shapeshift: Minor (Fox)

Shapeshift: Vulpine Form

Imprint

 

Skills

Flee: Proficient 

Pickpocket: Proficient

Hide: Proficient

Distraction: Proficient

Ambush: Proficient

   

Out of all these skills, I’m a natural with those two particular skills? I’m going to need a lot more training if I want to stay ahead.

Cedric chuckled. “I knew I would be a master at Forgery, but nothing else bled over to my ledger.”

“Proficient at Trap Sight?” Qin said simply.

“Affection Trap?” Nyana said with an edge of disbelief.

“Master at Stealing and Acrobat,” Olivia said as she looked it over.  

Everyone looked over to the raven and nodded.

“You’re adventures on the rooftops proved that,” Symon smiled.

Serafina continued, “Understand, these are the basic skills for your rank. There are many more, which you will discover on your journey with the guild, but for the next part of our plans, there is one skill I need everyone here to focus on.

“The Grand Allotment is only a few weeks away. To ensure we have the backing of the Necromancy Academy, we are tasked with gathering fifty students who wish to learn necromancy. This is a difficult task for almost all students will know the necromancy academy’s less than favorable reputation.

“For us to succeed, everyone here will be taught the basic art of the Silver Tongue. It is a skill that requires a little finesse and charisma to pull off effectivity. You can use it to help convince anyone to agree or follow your every word, as long as you do not make any demands, or have someone do something against their nature.

“Hopeful students have already begun arriving in anticipation of the Grand Allotment, hoping to become true mages and learn the mystic arts. We will spend the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon learning how to use a silver tongue.

“The grandmaster of the Necromancy Academy has already supplied me with application parchments. These are used to bind young students and ensure they arrive at the academy they wish to learn at. It is a perfectly acceptable and standard practice, employed by all the academies. All of the guilds use these as well, for their masters want to ensure big turn outs for their academies. Our goal is to ensure a minimum of fifty students arrive at the Necromancy Academy when the event begins.”

Serafina looked at the two kobolds, sitting side by side on the couch and smiled. “We already have two hopefuls within out midst, with forty-eight left to go.”

Nyana and Qin smiled.

The elder raven continued, “This errand will take time, so use it wisely. As you all know, we require our guild stone as well. The auction will happen a few days before the Grand Allotment, when the excitement is still fresh in the city. I am refining my plan, but there are other skills that require improving. I will be coming to each of you in private for your roles and necessary skills needed to get back our guild stone and become a full-fledged guild once again.”

Serafina’s eyes took on a serious gleam as she continued to address the ravens gathered before her.

“We are entering difficult times. Prepare for what must be done,” she said with a soothing, yet firm tone.

“We’re ready,” Symon said.

All heads nodded in agreement.

The elder raven nodded to them in return. “Let’s begin with some basic challenges with learning the Silver Tongue skill. After that, all of you can go into New and Old Town to practice.”

Everyone leaned forward as Serafina began her instruction.

***

Days spun on as Gray Gate began to fill its streets with hopeful young mages. The air took on an excited charge, newcomers taking in the magnificent city with wide eyes and astonished gasps. They often moved in small, to large groups, much to the dismay of the local residents.

Inns and hotels began to fill, each room taken by those hopeful to be admitted to the academies. Some newcomers shared rooms, while others stayed in posh buildings that catered to those with enough coin to live in style. Despite the many backgrounds and personal stories, they were all there for the same thing, to learn the mystic arts from the greatest mages across Norr.

In several taverns of Old Town, visited by many new and young hopefuls, a thin man bought drinks for small groups and regaled stories of grand adventures. He laughed and smiled, speaking of the recent attack by an umbra beast that was as tall as two mountains on top of each other. The hopefuls were so dazzled by the stories, they hung on his every word. When the drinks began to take effect, the strange man with the book in his hands, would speak of the Necromancy Academy. How it was learning new kinds of magic and it was re-inventing itself to get away from its former reputation. The hopefuls were distrustful at first, but the more the odd man spoke, the more he began to make sense. With drunken eyes and weaving bodies, they signed his forms to ensure they were on the ground floor of the new and improved Necromancy Academy. The man, who never gave his name, often told them that they were a new generation of mages that will make the world a safer place.

Once he had his signatures, he absconded himself after giving them one last round, on him. Mugs were raised up and the contents spilled down throats as the man slipped away to another tavern.

Another raven took a measured approach, spending time in New Town. She often visited markets, taverns, and inns in the poorer sections where some hopefuls didn’t have enough coin or influence to pay the high prices in Old Town.

One of her favorite places to visit was a dilapidated library on the east side of New Town. With a welcoming smile and a gentle silver tongue, she helped the newcomers choose a path of magic ripe for the picking. Her confidence and pleasant demeanor helped the hopefuls have a better understanding of necromancy. With signatures on the applications, the young raven would return to them days after to check on them and answer any questions they had, ensuring she was a trusted guide to securing their places within the academy.

Symon, Nyana, and Qin worked together, spending much of their time in the Book District. The trio had become team, Nyana often pretending to be an innocent hopeful. Symone and Qin often switched roles, one as look-out and the other approaching the seemingly innocent and lost kobold. Nyana would speak loud enough for small groups of hopeful mages to take notice. She spoke from her heart about the fascination of the necromancy academy, and either Symon, or Qin, would try to convince her not to join it, saying it was cursed.

Nyana used her feigned innocence to speak about how the academy had changed. How the undead magic would help better defend against umbra attacks. How the dead didn’t need sleep, eating, or rest. How Norr was entering a new age, necromancy a key to defending the lands on the grander scale.

Ears perked up as some hopefuls would comer over to listen. Symon, or Qin, would make a convincing show, trying to tell Nyana she was being foolish. Some hopefuls defended the kobold. When Qin or Symon would walk away in disgust, Nyana would speak freely with those who listened or defended her. The excitement only seemed to grow, some hopefuls signing applications without questioning the kobold asking for proof of their dedication to join her in a new dawn of old magic.

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When evening arrived, the ravens would converge back to their guild home. They sat around a table, discussing their days as Serafina looked at them with proud eyes. She served them a feast nightly. Between jobs of convincing hopefuls to join the necromancy academy, pickpocketing had increased, bringing in coin and adding it to the treasure room.

In the mornings, the group splintered to places in the city, new and old, to find more hopefuls to join the raven’s patron academy.

Symon, Nyana, and Qin walked the Book District. The sun was low in the afternoon sky, but spirits were high as most shops were filled with hopeful mages who wished to join an academy. The air was cold, but the mood electric as the trio made their way through the crowded cobblestone streets.

“After a week and a half, we are nearly thirty applicants strong,” Qin said quietly to his fellow ravens.

“In another week, we will be over our desired number,” Symon smiled at the kobold, glad the work was paying off.

Nyana glanced over to a shop, her serpentine eyes filled with new hope. “We still have to get our books and spell ink,” she mentioned to Qin.

Qin nodded.

Symon turned and looked down on the kobold. “You’re right. We can go into any of these shops here, now that you know the lay of the land.”

Nyana smiled. “Thanks to you.”

The kobold gaze shifted to a particular shop. “The prices are incredibly high, but Mort’s Divine Books still has some good prices.”

Qin shook his head as they walked at a leisurely pace, “The grandmasters were speaking the truth about higher taxes because of the umbra attack. Most prices in every establishment have gone up. They say it’s all for a stronger defense against the monsters, but I think they’re lining their pockets.”

“You think like an old kobold,” Nyana giggled. “You think everyone is lining their pockets and giving terrible excuses to do so.”

“It’s true. Look at what we’re doing,” Qin smirked.

“It’s different with us. We’re bring back balance to Gray Gate.”

“You still can’t believe that?” Qin shook his head again.

“I do believe it,” Nyana shot back. “We are bringing back the Necromancy Academy to balance the academies of magic. Once we rise up in the ranks, we will be the new heroes to save Norr from the monsters in the glacier.”

“Even at our darkest time, you still see the light,” Qin smiled.

“Someone has too,” Symon smiled.

Nyana grinned at her cousin and he laughed.

The trio slowed down as Nyana glanced to Mort’s again. “Let’s go in and get what we need. The Grand Allotment is in two weeks and I want to be ready!”

“Alright, but I think we can finder a cheaper place,” Qin said as he scratched the scales along his neck.

Symon was about to agree and go with them, when he glanced to the side. A figure stood in the shadows of an alley, looking directly at him. A hood covered their head, but their eyes were focused on the young man in black.

“Go to Mort’s. I’ll join you in a moment,” Symon said with a low tone.

Qin and Nyana followed Symon’s gaze to the man in the shadows.

“We should go with you,” Qin said under his breath.

The cobblestone street was crowded with many people walking past. Symon stared at the man and the man stared back. Hands rose up and took hold of the hood. He pulled it back and kept his steely gaze on Symon.

“No, I think I know him,” Symon said. “It might be better if I meet you both inside Mort’s. If I don’t come in for a time, get back to the guild house and alert everyone else.”

“We should stay together,” Qin reiterated.

Symon saw the man’s eyes sadden and look down.

“Go inside. I’ll be there shortly,” the young man said and moved through the crowd, toward the alley.

Qin eyed Symon as he walked away. Nyana took her cousin’s hand and pulled.

“Symon can take care of himself. We need to get out books,” the kobold said and pulled her cousin with her toward the shop.

Symon approached the alley. The man stepped back further and disappeared from sight. The raven approached the mouth of the alley and stepped further in. The noise from the street began to diffuse as he spotted the man standing a little further back, covered in shadows.

“Thank you, my lord,” the man said and bowed his head.

A memory whispered in Symon’s mind, before it became a roar. The scars, tattoos, and haunted expression came rushing back as he remembered the man from the New Town Bazaar, recruiting others to go north to harvest beasts trapped in the ice. He was thinner than last time he saw him, and the crazed look was replaced with a look of defeat.

“I remember you,” Symon said in a low tone.

“Aye, you do good lord, as I remember you. I know you’re a raven, and I needed to speak to someone. I have nothing left and the nightmares are getting worse.”

Symon watched in muted surprise as the man fell to his knees with his hands clasped together. He shook them before Symon as tears filled his eyes.

“I beseech you, please listen to my words. No one else dares listen for they hang on the mage’s every word. They do not see the truth as I have seen it. They do not know what I know. You’re a raven. What I have to say can be spoken to the other guilds. Maybe, they will take it seriously when no one else has!”

Symon bent down and put his hand on the man’s shoulder. “What? What is it you have to say? I don’t know who I can talk about this with, but I will listen if it eases your mind.”

The man began to sob. “Thank you, my lord. Thank you.”

The beast hunter wiped away a tear and continued, “My name is Kal, and I was a great beast hunter. I had many hunts to the north, most successful. I’ve kept many of my people alive, but this last time, I…I failed.”

Symon listened patiently as the beast hunter continued.

“We arrived at the edge of the glacier. We were setting up camp, ready to climb the glacier the next morning. All was well, until…a beast broke from the ice.”

Symon’s brow turned lop-sided. “It’s not unusual for an umbra beast to break from the ice.”

“Aye my lord, if there was a fog, or sunny weather. There was neither at the time. I have had many hunts, but despite their size and power, they don’t simply break out of thick ice. The cold puts them to sleep, that is how we kill and harvest from them. They don’t simply wake up in the ice and break out.”

Kal sobbed as he continued, “It killed everyone except for me. It moved like it had a purpose. It didn’t linger to find every morsel like they often do. It killed everyone and made its way south, along the coast. It didn’t behave like a monster. It behaved like it had a quest to complete.”

The thin man let out a low moan. “The nightmares are all the same, seeing men and women stepped on or bashed with chunks of ice hurled from the creature. It moved like it was being controlled. There is great evil. My family can sense the ways of magic, even if we cannot perform it. Something evil was guiding the monster and the monster listened.”

The beast hunter leaned forward and grasped at Symon’s cloak. Symon lifted a hand to strike the crazed man away with an open palm, but the look in Kal’s eyes spoke of a deeper truth.

“Evil stirs! The Mad Mage is returning!” Kal said with crazed eyes.

***

Nyana stepped into the shop first, with Qin close behind. The kobold gasped as the many shelves and rows of books in the shop. Qin was just behind her, when several people rushed past him and left the shop. One of them bumped him and the kobold glanced over to see them leave without saying a word or apology.

Nyana stepped in with her eyes gleaming in the lantern light.

Qin glanced around to see others in the shop. Everyone was wearing a robe of a hopeful mage, but nearly all of them had their hoods up. He raised a bony eye-ridge, drinking the subdued oddness.

“What kind of books should we look for?” Nyana asked as she stared at shelves.

“Do you not feel that?” Qin said as he looked around.

“Feel what?” Nyana asked as she kept looking at the shelves.

Qin turned his head, looking around at the people. A dark mood struck the kobold. Every robed person in the large shop was turned away from them. When he glanced to the shopkeeper behind the front desk, his eyes widened to see the keeper step through a door, close it behind him.

Qin turned around fully to see one robed figure closing the thick curtain to the shop window, while another closed the front door and locked it.

The kobold’s brow sharpened as he turned and grabbed his cousin. Kyana looked at him with surprised eyes as he pushed her along.

“What?” was all she could ask as Qin talked to her in a harsh whisper.

“This is an ambush. We have to get out of here, now!”

The pair moved quickly through the shop to the back. Two doors stood at the back of the shop. Qin let go of his cousin and grabbed the knob to one of the doors. It didn’t budge. He turned to the other door and pulled it open. He quickly looked inside to see it was only a closet with a mop, broom, and a bucket inside.

“You can’t run,” a sinister voice came from down the aisle.

Qin and Nyana turned to see a small squad of gray robed figures standing at the other end of the aisle. Each of them put on brass knuckles as they stared with deadly intent.

“Time to clip some raven wings,” another said as brass knuckles slid into place and they made a fist.

Qin grabbed Nyana and shoved her into the closet.

“Qin!” the kobold protested as she was shoved in, terror painting her eyes.

“I said I would always protect you,” he said harshly before looking to the side.

The people in gray robes started to slowly advance toward them.

“They are not wearing any colors or symbols. This was a trap,” Qin said and turned his gaze to his cousin. “Bar the door the best you can. I will hold them off until someone notices something is wrong.”

“You can’t win! Stay with me!” Nyana said and her voice cracked with fear.

“I know,” Qin said seriously. “I just need to buy time. I won’t let them hurt you, I promise. Stay inside and don’t come out, no matter what you hear. Promise me!”

“No! I can’t make that promise!” Nyana said in a high pitch.

“Nyana!” Qin growled.

“We lost Auntie! I won’t lose you too!”

Qin slammed the door shut and turned to the approaching figures.

“You won’t lose me,” Qin muttered under his breath before snarling into a rage.

The kobold bent his legs as the group of robed figures rushed him with raised fists.

Qin hissed into a roar and launched at the group charging. The two met, claws flashing and raking across a face. A rogue screamed as he clutched at his face, while a few others threw punches. Qin was knocked from the air, his back striking a bookcase. Clawed feet slammed down and he pushed off back into the fray. Brass knuckles hit his side. Ribs cracked as his small body was flung into another shelf.

Qin landed on his hands and knees as the group rushed him. The kobold darted on all fours and leapt at legs. He opened his maw and slammed down pointed teeth on a shin. Metal knuckles slammed into his back as he bit hard enough to draw blood, one off the enemy’s number screaming bloody murder.

Inside the closet, Nyana braced the mob and broom handles against the knob. She backed up to hear screaming and grunting. Fear blasted her nerves to glass as she trembled in the dark closet. The sounds grew rougher as her heart sank in her chest.

“Qin,” she said with tears in her eyes.

The violence outside grew and Nyana’s soul wept. Thoughts of her aunt splashed against her mind. Fear turned to anger, anger into fury, fury into action. The kobold sat down and began whispering words. The arcane words came naturally as she drew on the mana from her own blood. Weakness filled her as she slumped down, but power glowed as she rose up from her body.

Nyana’s spirit form floated above her body. She moved to the door, her head passing through. She watched in horror as Qin continued to fight as he was being pummeled. Blood splattered onto the floor as he clawed across a covered leg and the person attached to it fell with grunts of pain.

“Qin,” Nyana said helplessly as the unknown figures beat him down.

A pull of mana washed over the kobold spirit. Something familiar about it pulled her and she followed. She passed through walls and floated out to a side street. She followed the pull, floating over the busy street and to an alley. There, she saw Symon speaking with a stranger on his knees. She floated closer as the man sobbed uncontrollably. When she was beside her fellow raven, she spoke.

“Symon, they’re killing Qin,” she shouted, knowing not everyone can hear a spirit.

A sense of dread fell over the young man. He stood up from Kal and looked around. He couldn’t see anything, but he could smell it, a familiar scent on the air.

“Please, you must believe me,” Kal sobbed.

Symon said nothing as he turned away and darted out of the alley. He rushed into the crowded street and looked across to Mort’s shop. The curtain obscured the inside of the shop and the door was closed. Symon stared harder as Nyana floated beside him, invisible.

“Save Qin!” Nyana shouted.

Something ticked off in Symon’s soul. Knees bent, he charged like his entire being was on fire. He darted across the street and grabbed at the door. It didn’t budge. He listened, hearing violence and grunting. An evil laugh touched his sensitive ears.

Symon stepped back a few paces and glared at the glass window of the shop. He braced his spirit before charging toward it.

***

The robed figures stood, looking down. They huffed as they stared at the kobold at their feet.

Qin struggled to get back up, bloody wounds covering his entire body. He winced as his ribs moved in unnatural ways, spiking his pain as he forced himself to try and get back up.

“Stupid raven doesn’t know when he’s beat,” a robed figure chuckled.

“I know we were meant to send a message, but wouldn’t it be a better message to the others if we just kill him,” another said as blood dripped from the claw marks across his face.

“What about the code?” another asked.

The first one looked down with unfeeling eyes as the kobold struggled to get back up. “The code is only for true guild members. They still don’t have a guild stone, so they’re not a real guild.

“I’m okay with sending a message they will never forget,” the robed figure sneered.

A robed figure lifted a fist with metal knuckles gleaming in the light. Qin looked up without fear in his eyes.

Time stood still.

The fist came down and glass shattered from behind.

Hooded heads turned to see Symon staring at them with rage in his eyes and floating glass around him. Time sped up as boots touched the floor, followed by broken glass.

Symon let out a low growl as he charged at the group standing over his friend. Legs pumped as his heart hammered in his chest. There was no thought, only a primal urged to protect.

Bodies turned and lifted up fists, but not before Symon’s fist slammed into a nose and broke it on impact. The robed rogue was flung back as his compatriots swarmed the raven. Blood trailed in the air from the falling rogue before brass knuckled fists shot out.

Symon’s body twisted as his feet moved. His head ducked to the side as fist missed his face. His legs shifted, a knee slamming into the side of a rogue’s knee. Bone cracked and a grunt filled the air. Symon moved like a contained storm, elbows striking out and fists connecting with chins.

A brass knuckled fist slammed into his ribs, but Symon barely felt it as he turned to the rogue and slammed his palm into their chin, sending them up and falling back unconscious.

Several fists aimed for Symon and missed as he whipped away. The raven bent his knee and slammed his heel into an unguarded knee. The rogue on the receiving end screamed as he fell like a sack of stones.

Heat poured off Symon as he slammed the end of his fingers into a throat. The rogue let out a choking cry as he grabbed his own throat and stumbled away.

Qin barely lifted his head and watched with a weak, wicked smirk. He witnessed as Symon chopped, blocked, grabbed, and slammed down bodies like a deranged titan.

“Get…them,” he said weakly.

Symon’s growls continued as he slammed a head into a bookshelf. When a book fell, he grabbed it and slam the binding on the head of a dazed rogue.

A metal knuckled fist hit Symon in the back of the head. Flashes of light filled his gaze as he whipped his head around. The same fist slammed into his cheek and it was Symon’s turn to be slammed against a book shelf.

“Numbers always win,” the rogue with the bloody nose said before his eyes widened and he scream in pain.

Symon glanced down to see Qin biting the rogue’s ankle with animalistic eyes. The rogue screamed until Symon’s fist slammed into his jaw and sent the rogue sprawling to the floor.

Outside, a crowd had gathered and watched the brawl in the shop from a safe distance. Many gasped, but could not tear away from the violence.

“What’s all this?” an elf asked as he approached.

Tarron stepped to the crowd edge and looked into the shop. Shock filled his eyes as he saw broken glass, moaning bodies, and Symon heaving over them, his back to the outside.

The city guard charged into the shop. “Hey!” he shouted.

Symon turned with a bruised face and a streak of blood under his nose.

Tarron glanced to see Qin hurt on the floor. It all became clear as he approached Symon.

“We have to get you both out of here!” Tarron said with a hard whisper.

“Nyana…” Qin struggled to talk. “Nyana…is in…the closet.”

Symon burst forward like a demon, racing down the aisle.

Inside the closet, a spirit sank into the body. The moment she was back in her body, Nyana gasped before she passed out.

The door creaked once before it was wretched open, breaking the broom and mop handle. Symon glared down to see Nyana laying on the floor. His heart cracked as he reached down and scooped her up in his arms. He turned from the closet to see Tarron approaching with a bloody Qin in his arms.

“We’re leaving through the back,” the elf said and rushed past.

Tarron reached the door. Still holding the kobold, he tried to open the door, but it didn’t budge. The elf took a step back, raised his leg and slammed his heel into the edge. The door exploded open into an alley.  

Symon held Nyana to him as he followed the elf.

They ran down a maze of back alleys and away from the commotion.

On the other side of the shop, robed figures slunk away before shouts from the approaching city guards echoed off the Old Town buildings.

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