Jonathan and Edgar hobbled down the alleyway and back towards the main road, looking out for any of the guards. Upon seeing none of them, they picked up the pace, and ran along the main road, keeping to the shadows. The massive mansions bathed the street in enough darkness for them to hide in easily, and as they heard the first platoon of guards come stomping down the road, they stuck closer to the shadows than before.
It was still night out, and the guards marched right past the two men, ensconced as they were inside a small patch of shadow. However the main problem was Granath himself, who they could hear slithering across the ground. The worm-like monstrosity passed by a few moments later, and was looking from side to side, as if he could detect their presence. As the worm passed by them, he turned to face their hiding spot, and without warning, a bolt of blue light shot out of the worm's mouth and towards where they were standing.
Jonathan and Edgar leaped apart, and the energy bolt struck the ground, drilling deep into it. They scattered, and heard Granath laugh loudly. The worm had now revealed his true size, and the beast was almost three hundred feet long from head to tail, and stretched along a good chunk of the road from where he was now.
As Jonathan and Edgar emerged into the light, the worm slapped his tail, creating a shockwave that tossed Edgar, who was closer to the worm’s tail end, off his feet. It seemed like the worm was playing with them now.
Jonathan darted out underneath Granath’s ponderous bulk, and started running, trying to get past the worm before he could catch up. However Granath had other plans, and the street around Jonathan dented, causing him to collapse as gravity suddenly increased in the area where he was standing. Granath loomed over him, and the worm grinned, revealing a mouth full of blue light. Bending down, Granath opened that same mouth wide, and began to tug at Jonathan’s soul with his magic.
Jonathan shouted as he felt his sense of being begin to drift out of his body, and he tried to keep ahold of it with his willpower. It felt like his mind was being ripped out of his body by force, and his awareness was split between his body and his soul, which was a disturbing experience indeed. There was no pain, only a profound sense of wrongness that was almost worse than any pain he could have suffered. Upon finding that it didn't work, he empowered himself with his Divinity instead. Suddenly, his soul stopped moving towards Granath, and remained locked in place in front of Jonathan, resisting Granath's desires. The worm frowned, and clenched his fist, causing Jonathan to groan in agony as pain lanced through his body. However he still did not let go of his soul.
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Behind Granath, Jonathan saw Edgar give him a woeful glance, before racing off into the alleyways. Jonathan did not blame the man for his actions.There was nothing that he could have done. His Divinity was ticking down at a rapid rate, and he could feel that he would soon be out of energy. He closed his eyes, waiting for the end, but a sudden burning heat rose up in his chest,and he looked down to see that the amulet he had received from the book in the ruined city was glowing brightly. A moment later, a beam of energy shot out of it, and slammed into Granath’s head, knocking the worm backwards. There was a flash of light on his chest, and the amulet on his neck exploded, burning his skin. However, the grip over Jonathan’s soul vanished, and he collapsed as his soul shot back into him.
He got up a moment later, and started running. Gritting his teeth to prevent himself from collapsing again, Jonathan ran down the road, trying to get as far away from Granath as possible. He was shaky from his use of Divinity, even though he hadn't been using his actual Smite skill.
The guards tried to stop him, but he dodged them easily enough and made his way towards the gate. Behind him, he heard a titanic roar of rage, and he redoubled his efforts, with every step feeling like someone was driving a nail through his feet. However, he ignored his damaged body, and reached the gate a few minutes later, finding, to his joy, that a group of soldiers was passing in, likely to deal with him. As they marched through the gate, he barreled through them, exiting a moment later. Someone tried to shut the gate, but they stopped as they saw that Jonathan was already through and out into the city. With a single shout of defiance, he was gone, melding into the darkness of the streets.
However, he was not free and clear of this city yet. He had left his ally behind him, and he would not leave until he had found Edgar.
Jonathan streaked off into the night, and quickly found somewhere to wait until dawn. There was a small tavern underneath a building in the nearby human district, and for some reason, it was almost completely hidden from the outside world. It was underneath a small trap door that was barely visible from the street, concealed as it was by a small bush. However, he knew that there was something down there. Jonathan suspected that it was a hideout for criminals, but did not voice such suppositions as he walked in through the nondescript trapdoor. The only reason he had been able to detect it was because of his enhanced senses smelling a faint odor of alcohol coming out of the trapdoor.
The trapdoor led to a small flight of stairs, which opened into a well lit room, filled with miscreants of all shapes and sizes. As Jonathan entered, a few of them looked up, but most of them did not seem to care, either too deep in their cups, or simply dismissive of him. Off in one corner, a pair of burly men were duking it out to the delight of a small crowd of onlookers, all of whom seemed to have some sort of stake in the game. Jonathan surveyed the entire tavern, and quickly found a place to sit. The people in the bar were rough around the edges, but none of them bothered him, perhaps sensing from his armor that he wasn't a man to be trifled with.