We’d run out of time.
“WHINY, GET YOUR STUFF, WE HAVE TO GO NOW!” I headed off the lead Elf, parried a sword, then dodged away from a whip. They were all powerless, which was a small blessing, but there were a dozen of them. The only reason why they hadn’t overwhelmed me was because the alley was only wide enough for four people. So far, I’d kept them back, but the moment the Manticore decided to help, I’d have the larger threat at my back and that would be a situation that I wouldn’t get out of even with my powers.
What I needed was something big. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small flask of Dwarven rum. The stuff was concentrated alcohol that most Elves couldn’t stomach a shot of. My father was going to give me an earful for using it like this, but it was what I had.
The building to my right had been charred a little by the Manticore’s fire breath, so I pulled out the stopper and threw the glass flask at the side of the building and began backpedaling as fast as I could.
The eruption of flames was enough to push the Elves back. There wasn’t much wood on the stone building, so it was mainly just noise, but I hoped it was enough.
I took a few more steps back and was in front of the lab that Starna was in, I looked inside and saw her measuring a fluid. “WHINY, I AM ABOUT TO HAVE THE WHOLE ARMY OUT HERE!”
The blue-eyed Elf paused and glared at me. “If you call me Whiny one more…”
“YOU CAN KILL ME AFTER THEY DO, SO STOP WHINING AND PACK IT UP!” I took a few steps forward to force the guards to back up as I reached into my pocket. I didn’t have another flask, but the guards didn’t know that and they didn’t want to get burnt in an inferno.
“Hurry up and arrest them!” The Manticore growled as he lifted off the ground. He turned his attention to me. “You’re in a dead end alley, just surrender already.”
I swallowed and gripped my sword with both hands as I prepared to be dive bombed.
Karse got blasted out of the alley.
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“You picked a fight with a Manticore?” Hyer dropped behind me.
I glanced over my shoulder at the Griffon. “He picked a fight with me.” I nodded at the lab. “Whiny is in there trying to get the antidote finished…”
The Griffon released a blast of air that drove the guards back.
The Manticore roared and started running our way, apparently already learning that he didn’t want to be in an air battle with the Griffon.
I moved in between the two demihumans and parried the Manticore’s blade, then sidestepped a tail attack. Hyer blasted the air through the spot I’d been standing to knock our winged opponent back a few feet.
The guards were trying to get out of the alley while a group in the back were stringing bows. They must have decided that simply arresting us wasn’t an option anymore.
The Manticore must have noticed their change in tactics because he took a deep breath and released a gout of flames. Hyer countered it with a stream of air, but that only made the flames grow higher where the two elements collided and did nothing to shield me from the heat.
“I’m good..!” Starna walked out of the lab. Her hands started moving and a stream of ice joined the air, cooling the heat and pushing the flames back. The Manticore jumped out of the way as he ran out of breath, letting the storm of frozen air blast over the guards behind him.
Hyer grabbed us both by our collars and took off over the building. He kept low to make it harder for the archers to shoot at us. The guards weren’t reckless enough to fire blindly, because if they missed, there was a chance they would hit a civilian.
Once we were at a place where he could put us down he set us on the ground and the three of us ran the rest of the way to the ship. The Manticore was behind us, smart enough to chase us on the ground, which gave us enough time to get to the ship before he made it to the dock.
“WE’VE GOT TO GO!” I untied the one rope that Storbek had left holding us to the dock, then ran up the gangway behind the other two. The Minotaur had been around enough to know the signal for bad trouble and had gotten ready to leave.
“Hang on!” Hyer pointed at the sails that Wizz dropped and the ship started moving.
I could hear Karse screaming something and had a feeling he was trying to get the turrets to shoot at us, but it would take a few moments for the guards to verify that he had the authority to give that serious of an order.
I looked over at Starna. “Did you get it?”
She nodded and patted her bag as she held on to the mast with her other hand. “I can finish on the way back.”
Our mission was a partial success, though I had a feeling the navy wouldn’t be far behind us. We needed to get the princess healed and back into the ocean as soon as possible.