Chapter 15 ~ The Urgent Gang

Three big coins smacked the table.

Pling!

The coins bounced and dribbled , colliding and bursting apart. They rolled over the grooves of the table like a train chugging around a tight corner, with the stakes piled atop them , they too carried a roar that demanded attention.

Until they fell.

“Yes!”

“Ah shit. “

“Yhahahahah! You see that boys ! “ The man that yelled had a purple swab of hair , a scar that ran from the top of his head and a tattoo just above his left ear. He grinnned from ear to ear.

“I’ve won again!” His tawny accent rung out into the twilight dusk. “I guess I’m just better.”

His small crew of four gathered around him and said nothing as thier eyes lingered upon the streets.

Every once in a while one of their eyes would linger upon a passer by of the busy street for just a while longer than normal. with a quick hand signal that remained un noticed a person would be pointed out and word would be passed down the road.

Just like that someone was marked for robbery.

This band of five were bandits. Bandits of the notorious Urgent Gang.

“Hey Urge , is that the girls? “ a shadowy man asked from beneath a cloak.

Urge picked up his newfound coin and looked around , his grin was still high , his teeth sharp and expecting like a wolf on the prowl.

All at once it fell away . The leader of the Urgent Gang lost any good in his day as he layed sights on his woman , his Lina, in the arms of another.

“Hey I think that’s Emile too.” Another cloaked member of the band pointed out. “I’d know that hair anywhere.”

The urgent gang fell deeper into the shadows , waiting for the four lovebirds to pass.

Then they followed.

())(())(((((((((()))

The monster that burst through the abyss does so with great fervor , it’s teeth heckle at the ankles of the stars and it’s eyes twinkle with the light that can’t be extinguished. The light of Madeness.

-Ancient Tome of the Sorcerer Supreme

The one True Magi

()(((())))((())))))))))

The night air fell upon me with the grace of a falling cloud, almost imperceptible. My eyes had had thier full of good sights to last a while and I walked with a light pace in my step.

Why you ask ?

Because I walked with maiden in hand. Bwahaha , I know you bastards are jealous, but too bad. This one’s mine.

“You’re so cool One! You’re a actual messenger , like the actual one. “

“Yea ,” I began pulling closer to the girl who had just a while earlier leaned into me.

I had been baffled.

But! I was a man. Or so I had told myself as I awkwardly wrapped my arm around her shoulder.

Of course that was an hour ago as we sang our hearts out. Now we had passed the Western side of town entirely. To take the girls back home we walked diagonal of the center of town where seventh avenue was located, we were well on our way off the avenue now , going into the dusty old streets of the south district where they lived.

I liked the southern end of grace. It was a strange but busy area. The merchants that visited did so from the Grecian duck tribe a beast man creature that carried spiced in a large clay pot on thier back.

Their feet slapped and plopped on the wet dirt as they haggled and peddled in somewhat broken Tun tounge the language of common folk.

We walked past the haggling ducks , feet swiftly eating through the busy shop area and as they did so My eyes traveled the street. I knew a few interesting characters here from my early years in school.

These thoughts bubbled on a a back stage of my mind as Emile pulled me in close. I reached the highest of highs then , I dear say my good boy. My chest reached flamingo like proportions as I walked down the street with the highest of confidence in the world.

Such was the energy I projected into the night. Excuse me for this , it is not often such times come to me and I admit I must’ve gotten a little out of hand with my bravado.

That’s what I reasoned to myself at least , for a brief second, on as to why I was being surrounded by a group of five. Then Emile leaned closer into me , on the crook of my shoulder .

Her tattoo of a small thunder strike above her left ear matching the one on the face of the strange scarred man in front of me.

It clicked.

They were here for them.

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“Shit.”

Four men cantered out of the shadows slowly. Cloaked and slightly stoic , a fight following behind them. A feeling cold as frigid winter and as sharp as a vampires blade crept upon me as I felt it. Soon the violence would swallow me whole.

Then they stopped , settling unto metal spears they withdrew from their cloaks that lengthened with a buttons press , clanging into the ground and stopping with a audible click.

One of them simply pulled a machete out of their cloak.

Well I’d done it this time. My chase of maidens would finally be the death of me, with so many blades pointed at me my energy dipped and the certainty of an untimely death settled in,I shook my head to clear it out, In for a penny , in for a pound.

I looked over.

“Hey Brovy , you ready. “

“Yea One , let’s do it.”

I reached into my pocket and my hand clinched a beetle.

‘No one ! You’ll be too late.‘ Willow barked into my head urgently. ‘This man is strong , you may only get one chance.’

The words fell upon me with weight. I stopped in the moment at the realness of the situation.

He was right. I thought , these guys are serious.

So I reached within my jacket, my hand sliding into a small pocket that was stitched inside. With a flick of my wrist I pulled out a small black ball , then aiming internally at a cloak in the shadows ,threw it on the floor.

The ball bounced once , it bounced twice landing just short of the man.

The scarred man turned quickly

“Hey ! He’s got a ! - “

It burst . Spikes of Ice shooting fourth and piercing the unfortunate hoodlum through the arm .

The man, with a face of heavy bewilderment looked at the icicle, looked back at me then fell in pain.

I pulled out another ball.

It was then they struck .

It was four on two.

————————————————

Emile held Lina tight. Her arms wrapping around her but her palms holding small thin daggers , waiting for whatever came.

She retracted her head a little in a empathetic flinch as the spear of ice pierced Johnny. Johnny wasn’t too bad a guy, she thought. He had bought her lunch.

Well . He’d get over it.

Emile sighed , her eyes watching the battle unfold through a small protective film. It’s luminescent glare barely visible yet fraying any gravel flying coming their way out of existence. She looked down at Lina who held up the field of light with determination.

Urge had used Lina like a object then stood by to let the most perfect person she knew be carried away in chains. She had remembered how Lina had looked at the time, like a bird in a cage. Urge had left smiling as he had walked away free .

She looked on at the man who fell back and let his subordinate take on the brunt of a fireball, shot from the messenger boys metal beetle.

Urge smiled at the danger he avaoided as his subordinate fell to the ground . It was a smile of a twisted man.

Emile mentally wished the worse upon the man. Her head turned to the boy One , who seemed to be holding his own. She inwardly nodded , cheering for him.

‘Yup ‘ she thought. ‘It was a good thing she lured them through Urge’s territory so this crazy excecutioner guy and his messenger friend could take him out for her.

If they won she would even be giving the guy some of her time, Feigning the persona of a innocent maiden struck with emotion she would thank him with a kiss.

She nodded .

It was a ‘win win.’

Emile watched the situation with a strategic gaze her daggers never leaving her hand .

Then her eyes widened . Did that guy just pull out a scythe?

————————————

One back peddled fast when the cloaked man descended upon him with his machete, the wind wooshed past his face as he tried to gain some space from the flickering blade .

His finger fumbled in his pocket and for a second his mind went blank as a machete fell upon him.

Then Brovy stepped in , the shadow of a half moon following him .

‘Ching! ‘

The machete met the moon and bounced off with a loud cling. The heavy cry of metal shearing the peace of the night.

Brovy steeped in with a wide follow up swing and the man backed away.

Scling!

Drip. Drip.

Blood clattered to the floor, glistening on the slightly damp cobble stone.

Just behind it lay the open wound , a slight gouge in the man’s chest left by Brovy’s Scythe.

I seized the moment , pulling out my beetle and aiming it point blank into the goons face.

WuvWuvWuvWuvWeeeeeeeeeee!

With a burst of fire the man was sent tumbling through the air.

It was now three on two.

I looked at Brovy incredulously and we both smiled with glee. We could do this I thought turning back to the fight at hand. We could do this!

‘Thud.’

As a tower struck twelve in the distance. , it’s clock face yelling of the change in day, Brovy , one of my oldest friends fell to a knee , a blade deep into his arm.

“Good throw Urge.” I heard a cloaked figure say to the purple haired man.

So this was Urge , I thought. Then I was right these girls were part of the Urgent gang.

Absolute calm filled me as I thought of what to do. The three men spread into a semi circle swaying closer and closer as Brovy tried but failed to clench his scythe , blood flowing freely from his arm.

I had two ice gems left and maybe two beetle shots.

I’d have to be accurate. That’s what I thought at least as I stood up into my feet , my heart beating calmly as I stood to face my foes.

Only for one of them to be gone.

“Ya gotta pay more attention in a fight laddy.

I’ll be honest I didn’t see the first hand that hit me, nor the second , nor the third , nor the fourth. I’d say around the fifth I gained awareness of the fact I was being pummeled , it was also when I realized I had been backed up significantly.

“Stop!” I heard from a voice just behind me, My senses a mess from aching blows, I glanced to see the girls and …..I blinked , what the hell was that.

Woooom!!!!

With a strange sound , the next fist coming my way was stopped on a transparent film and bounced off.

“Yoww ! “ Urge recoiled, pulling back his fist and shaking it.

His eyes widened at the pain. “You dare. “ The man spoke , eyes on the girls behind me. “You dare protect theses scum over me. After all we’ve been through Lina. “ The bandits eyes went wet as his face fell to shock.

“I thought you loved me. “

I wanted to look behind me and see what Lina was doing, but I didn’t , the lesson of looking away fresh in my mind.

Wait. Actually, that was it. I reached into my pocket and grabbed a bead as I faked turning around . “Lina , what’s he talking abou…”

“One no!”

I smiled. The bandit had rushed in , just as I suspected, his spear rushing to my head as he stepped around the barrier.

He was faster than I thought mush faster , his blade ripping past my face and clipping my ear.

The man smiled at that , and it dawned on me that when he pulled back on the spear he would take my throat.

Then his smile fell. For at the same time his blade passed by my face , my marble shaped icicle explosion landed square in his shoulder.

“Bye Urge. “

With a boom and a sudden surge of cold , the world went dark.