Tirian drew kinetic energy out of his Core and caused it to pull on the first man's foot as he took a step. The foot flew much further and higher than the man intended and flipped, landing hard on his back, and hitting his head. He didn’t get up.

The other two approached. A little more apprehensive than when they first showed up.

Tirian smiled, "You can still leave.”

One of the men charged and swung his knife. Tirian stepped back, grabbed the man's forearm, and drew heat energy from the man's hand and knife. Tirian pulled it into his Core.

The man dropped his knife and held onto his freezing arm. Tirian let go. The man's hand was stiff, as if he had just been through a blizzard, his fingertips made slight cracking sounds as he moved them.

"Run or I'll freeze your brain."

The man looked at his hand in fear and pain, then at Tirian.

With another shout the third man charged. He carried two long knives. Tirian redirected heat energy from his Core to enter the knives. They grew red-hot, the man screamed as they burned his fingers, and he dropped them. They melted flat on the cold stone. The man held his hands and ran screaming into the night.

The man with the frozen hand still stared at Tirian, his eyes wide open.

"What's… what's a thermist doing all the way out here?"

"None of your business," he said, snapping. "Now go!"

The man got up and run away, following the trail of his burned-fingers companion.

Tirian turned to Kal, who was still fighting several men. One of them was a foot and a half taller than Kal, and twice as thick. But Kal was a corpist, fast and strong. Two men of his attackers lay sprawled on the floor, unconscious or dead.

A realization dawned on Tirian. He could run. This was his chance. Kal was not only occupied, but he was winning. He turned to go, until he heard a the sound of something breaking and grunt of pain. He looked back, seeing Kal fall to his knees. He held on to his face.

Shit, Tirian thought, his energy must be running low.

Tirian looked from the street, back to Kal. A dilemma forming in his head.

Tirian didn’t look forward to the fallout from leaving Kal behind.

Kal held his face, a look of shock and confusion on his face. He spoke with a muffle, maybe his cheek had broken? “Y-you’re a corpist! How dare you strike a fellow priest!”

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The man prepared another blow, raising his fist. “I got a better offer. Mispuri sends her regards.”

Tirian ran as fast as he could but didn’t make it in time. The blow fell like a hammer on an anvil, dropping Kal to the ground. He didn’t get up. The man pulled Kal’s jade pendant off his chest, tearing the ribbon which had held it in place.

Tirian reached into his Core. He felt the vast store of electricity stored within him. He stretched out a hand towards the man. Whose smug expression turned amused at Tirian.

“Now what are you going to do with-”

Tirian refused to let him finish the sentence. Lightning erupted from his fingertips and slammed into the thug with a blinding flash and a deafening roar. The air itself smelled burnt.

The man flew fifty feet back down the road, energy arcing through his body. He hit the wall of a nearby building with a sick-sounding crunch, falling to the ground. He’d dropped the pendant as soon as the lightning had hit, leaving it next to Kal’s unconscious form.

Tirian ignored the corpse and dropped to Kal’s side. “Come on, you stupid priest, don’t you dare die on me.”

Tirian checked his pulse, finding a faint one. It was faint, but present. Tirian gently touched Kal’s cheek, looking for broken bones. Kal winced sharply, his body tensing.

Tirian let out a sigh of relief. “Let’s get you healed up.”

He grabbed the pendant and stuck it in the pocket of his vest, then grabbed Kal under the shoulder, supporting most of the man’s weight. What I wouldn’t give for a bit of corpist energy right about now.

✦✦✦

After weaving through a few side streets, they finally arrived at the ramp. Though the gate was far ahead, a handful of desks sat at the foot of the ramp, occupied by soldiers sorting through the waiting crowd. Tirian pushed through them, receiving a few cries of protest, most of which faded away on noticing the injured man hanging on Tirian’s shoulders.

It was hard to support the weight of an entire man who wasn’t even holding on. But Tirian had been running and fighting for too long to be weak enough to give up. He held on to the priest with all his strength.

With a final angry grunt, Tirian passed the person speaking with a soldier at the nearest desk. At first, they looked offended, but on seeing Kal’s condition a hand went to their mouths.

"Name," the soldier said without looking up. Tirian almost wanted to drop Kal and punch the man.

“Look at me, you idiot!” Tirian shouted. Nearly throwing the pendant at the man, causing him to jump back in surprise. The soldier finally began to absorb what was in front of him.

“I’ve got Kalent- Kal-” Tirian struggled to remember Kal’s full name, “Forget it.” He grunted as he shifted to support Kal’s weight. “I’ve got sent-priest Monrediu here. Get us in that city and to some healers, now.”

"Gar, Tenklif,” the soldier at the desk shouted to a few other soldiers behind him, “Get Sent-priest Monrediu, onto the last wagon for the night! And get this man with him.”

Tirian handed Kal off to a pair of soldiers. They started carrying him away, but others blocked Tirian’s path, stopping him at the desk.

“And you,” the soldier at the desk said, looking Tirian up and down. “What's your name, stranger?"

Tirian almost lied, but he had to make sure Kal made it back alive, and for that, he’d need to convince these men to let him go with them.

“Tirian Tyrus, Bollusag is expecting me.”

The man scowled.

Tirian let out a long sigh. “Do you really think I’d bring him here if I had hurt him?”

The man seemed to think for a moment, then turned to the other soldiers. “Take him with you, and if Kal vouches for him. Fine. If not.” The man looked at Tirian. “Break his legs.”

Tirian forced a smile as they let him pass. This night just couldn’t get any better.