The lock broke with one last mighty kick, and the cell door swung open. Tilos turned around and pointed at the opened door. “Come on, what are you waiting for? Your freedom awaits you!” The gladiators were stunned into silence, none of them daring to move.

Raven got up from the bench she was sitting on, and Hiro let go of Ralken. Both of them joined Tilos. The three jumped throw the door while the carriage was still in motion and landed on the stone road. A crowd of whispering citizens had gathered nearby, staring and pointing at the escaping gladiators.

“We’re free!” One of the gladiators shouted. He jumped out of the cell and ran, past Tilos, Raven, and Hiro, disappearing down the street. Other gladiators followed after him. They poured out onto the dark streets of Nifflan. Each scattered into an alleyway littering the great city.

The carriage stopped and the driver, an elderly man, hopped out onto the street. His head locked onto Tilos, his face was stern, orange eyes like flames in the dark. Two armored guards joined him, each covered in chainmail and leather.

“I’ll disable your restraints after I take care of them,” Tilos whispered to Hiro and Raven.

Boots clicked along the stone roads, the driver and guards approaching the trio. The driver stopped a few feet from them, “Get back into the cell, now.” He said in an even tone, his voice demanding.

Hiro scoffed, “I’d be more worried about the other gladiators that escaped. There were a lot more than just three of us. If you don’t hurry, Master Felwen will lose most of his prized slaves. Meaning no more money for his gladiator school means you will be fired or worse.”

The driver turned to the two guards next to him, “You two go inform the city guard about the escaped gladiators. I can handle these three by myself.” The two guards took off down the street. Their armor jingled as they went.

With his Weave restraint armbands disabled, Tilos let the wave of information from the Weave in and honed in on the elder Aseir. The man was an Awaken. He could sense the tight ball of Essence he kept in his core. Without another thought, Tilos sprinted towards the driver, his body enhanced by Essence.

Tilos slammed his fist into the man’s stomach. His fist hit metal, stopping before it could reach flesh.

A smile grew on the elder’s face. He grabbed Tilos’ arm, picked him up, and flung TIlos to the ground.

Stone cracked as Tilos hit the ground flat on his stomach, a pained-filled grunt escaping. Tilos channeled Essence into his arm and condensed a Force Bolt. The bolt shot out, hitting the older man in the chest.

The driver let go of Tilos. The blast of force sent him flying back into a building, crashing throw its wooden wall. Tilos stood up and dusted off his clothes. A blur shot out of the man-shaped hole in the building, flying straight towards Tilos. The driver wielded a long thin sword in his hand. Tilos condensed two more Force Bolts and sent them towards the air-born driver.

Blue bolts zipped throw the air, trailing a blaze of light. The elder Aesir‘s eyes widened, and he dodged the first bolt, but Tilos detonated the bolt behind the driver. The man launched off course, slamming down into the stone street. The second bolt hit him and exploded, the blast ripping a gaping wound in his back. The driver screamed as he twisted on the stone road in pain.

Tilos was on him in seconds, palm flat and with a blue blade of force condensed around his hand. He swung his hand, slicing through the driver’s neck, separating his head from his body.

The force blade disappeared from around Tilos’ hand. Blood that once coated the force construct dripped onto the street. Tilos jogged over to Hiro and Raven. He grabbed onto the restraints around Raven’s arms, sending a blast of force into the magic devices and destroying the Sygaldry covering the items. He then repeated the process with Hiro.

“We should find someplace to lie low for a while,” Raven glanced at their surroundings, “Someplace far from here and in the opposite direction Felwen’s guards were going.”

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Tilos nodded, “Let's get going then.”

“I think it's already too late. They brought reinforcements,” Hiro pointed towards the tiny moving dots growing closer. Faint sounds clinking metallic armor echoed down the street.

Hiro ran, Raven and Tilos followed after him. They veered off the street, entering an alleyway. Shadows enveloped them as they ran, cast by the buildings the alley cut through.

Essence pumped throw Tilos’ body, enhancing his speed and reflexes. Raven and Hiro did the same, keeping pace with Tilos.

The Weave warned Tilos of danger, and he dodged. A raging ball of fire sailed past him, blowing up on a nearby wall. He covered his eyes with his arm, flaming wooden debris hitting his body and splattering across the alley floor.

A chastizing voice yelled at the guard who cast the fireball, then told the others not to use destructive magic.

A fork in the alley came up ahead. Hiro turned, leading Tilos and Raven down the left pathway.

“I have an idea,” Raven said. “We go up.”

“We’d be more exposed,” Hiro said.

“True, but not if we climb up fast enough. Then they will have to follow us up, exposing them to an ambush by us. Tilos with his force magic and you with your mind magic. I counted only about nine guards chasing us. I think you two are more than enough to handle them.”

“Let's try it,” Tilos said, shooting out a blast of force from his feet. He shot into the air and landed on the roof. Hiro and Raven arrive after him, choosing to climb the building with their enhanced strength.

“They went to the rooftop, after them,” a guard yelled from below.

Tilos glanced below. Six city guards were scaling the side of the building he was on. The other three were on the ground, each pointing a red glowing glob of energy in his direction. They unleashed their spells. Tilos pulled back, the spells flying harmlessly into the night sky.

“They’re climbing the side of the building like you said,” Tilos turned to Raven and Hiro. “But only six are climbing, the other three on the ground firing spells. Hiro could put them to sleep?.”

“I’ve barely had enough time to generate new Essence since taking those armbands off. Putting so many people to sleep would drain the little I have stored. Then I wouldn’t have enough to keep up with enhancing my body. ”

Raven bit the tip of her index finger. Her eyes rapidly moved back and forth before stopping and focusing on Hiro, “Do you have enough to disrupt their sense of balance? Just the ones on the ground. Tilos can take care of the ones climbing.”

Hiro nodded. Three Threads of the Weave materialized in front of him. He grabbed them and wove a Spell Matrix. Finally, he channeled his Essence, a blue glow traveling along the veins of his arms and out his hands. The Essence merged into the Spell Matrix, transforming into a purplish-black energy blob.

The aura of the spell leaked throw the Weave. Tilos felt nauseous from just standing near Hiro. He pulled his senses from the Weave and stepped back from Hiro.

When the purple-black blob of energy reached the size of a head, Hiro launched the spell. The blob split into three pieces before disappearing over the building’s edge. Guards below yelled at each other, warning about the spell.

“Did you hit them?” Tilos asked. He split his mind into four parts and bound the Threads of Force and Wave with two. He then wove the Threads into a Force Wave spell and channeled Essence into it.

Hiro nodded.

Peeking over the building’s edge, Tilos pointed his spell down. The six guards climbing the building side had almost reached the top. The one closest, a young man with black hair and bright green eyes, looked up at Tilos with first surprise and then fear as he saw the spell. The young guard started to pick up his paces, determined to reach the top before Tilos unleashed his spell.

Red bolts of energy, fired from the ground, missing Tilos by a wide margin. The three spell casting guards had collapsed, unable to stand on their feet thanks to Hiro’s spell. Their coordination was off, and their spells missed Tilos. One spell hit a guard climbing the building. The guard froze and fell, his bones shattered upon impacting the alley.

Tilos released his spell, and a wave of force expanded from his hand, smashing throw windows when it passed. The guards held on to the side of the building, bracing for the spell. But the wave of force ripped them from the building side, sending them to their doom.

Tilos stepped over the building's edge and fell to the ground. He coated his hand in a force-bladed and shoved it into the side of the building, slowing his fall and landing on the alley safely.

Guards littered the ground, some still alive, yelling in pain. Their bones were broken and piercing through their flesh.

He ignored them. Instead, Tilos looked for the three spell casters. He found them feeling down the alley, barely able to keep from falling as they ran. The force blade along Tilos’ hand elongated. He channeled Essence into his body and dashed towards the fleeing guards, the ground cracking under footsteps. With three swift swings, he sliced throw the guards, ending their lives.

Tilos returned to where he left Raven and Hiro. The once moaning guards were now dead. Raven and Hiro finished them off, each wielding blade they took from the guards. “Let go before more guards come to investigate,” Tilos picked up one of the guard's swords and ran down the maze of alleys, Raven and Hiro followed his lead.