“Come on lass,” Piers said as he somersaulted backward, the stick he held never once lost from his grasp, “isn’t this a little silly?”
The group that had surrounded Hali had moved quick at her words to attack the tumbler. They tried to punch him, to kick him, and to even grab ahold but not a single one could ever touch Piers.
As one literally jumped in an attempt to tackle him he was met by the end of Piers stick, a blunt collision that knocked the man to the ground and left Piers laughing. Even as he continued his evasive antics throughout the bare warehouse he rarely stopped laughing.
To the side Mark watched it all, very confused about why everyone had started chasing after Piers. Though he’d heard what the lady had said he didn’t want to believe it was for real, after all where he came from people often joked about beating each other up.
“Your sister didn’t have any problems with it,” Piers said in the middle of a backflip.
It was a comment that caused Hali’s eyes to narrow, and she pointed her finger at him. “Whoever kills him gets an extra hundred drachmas.”
The men who had been chasing after Piers all paused at those words, and then they grinned and began the chase with renewed vigor. A few of them even started to pull out small knives and slash them at Piers, though much like with their hands none of the weapons succeeded in hitting.
Throughout the entire chase Hagen remained still at the door of the warehouse, his large muscular arms crossed in front. Though some would expect Hagen to be interested in Piers it was Mark who felt the weight of the gaze, an ever present reminder that he hadn’t been forgotten.
Yet as the chase continued on and Piers started to grow slower and slower Mark began to worry for the man. He had been the only help he’d gained since arriving, not to mention what would these thugs do to him after they finished with the tumbler?
“This is all fun and everything,” Piers managed to say between gasps for air, “but that boy’s an oracle and needs our help.”
They were words that caused some of the chasers to fall to the ground as they tried hard to stop as sudden as possible. A gasp of surprise came from a few of them, while others who had barely been moving turned to stare at Mark with wide eyes.
“If you think jokes can stop me from skinning you you’re a bigger fool than I thought,” Hali hissed at him.
Piers bent over with his hands on his knees, gasping for air, though he managed to squeeze out a few more words, “Mark, card.”
“What? Oh yeah,” Mark snapped out of his befuddled state and pulled the card from out of his pocket. He held it up so that Hali and the others could see it.
Hali glanced at the card at first, and then did a double take and stared at it. Her eyes widened ever so slowly before she finally knelt down on the ground. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were an oracle. Please forgive me and mine.”
“It’s alright, please don’t bow,” Mark said as he tucked the card back into his pocket, “uh, Piers said you could probably help me find someone?”
Hali slowly stood up after Mark told her she didn’t have to bow, but the confused look on her face spoke volumes for how weird she probably felt. “I tend to know what’s happening to everyone in Cyme, yes. Who are you trying to find?”
“My sister, uh, she looks kind of like me a little? But she’s smaller, and she wouldn’t be from around here at all.”
Hali’s gaze slid from Mark over to Piers. “And what are you getting out of this?”
“What? Me? Obviously I’m getting the good feeling of helping someone,” Piers said with a wide grin, “what else would I be getting out of it?”
“Since he’s from the Castle obviously influence, or are you trying to trap me into something here?”
“I’m not from the Castle,” Mark interjected.
Piers groaned at that, while Hali looked sharply at the man. She waved one hand at Hagen and motioned toward Mark, before she turned and started to walk across the warehouse to the back.
Mark felt the large hands of Hagen on his back before he heard the man, and he was roughly shoved to where Hali had started to walk. Mark caught on fast enough and started to follow her while Hagen shadowed his every step, the large frame an imposing wall that he didn’t even think of trying to escape.
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Somewhere behind Mark he could barely hear the sound of Piers as he said his goodbyes to all of the others gathered, and then Piers jogged up beside him and matched his pace.
“Hey now, you just need to remember that Hali won’t do anything to hurt you,” Piers told him, “she’s really a nice lass once you get to know her.”
“She was trying to kill you.”
“Naw naw, she wouldn’t really do that,” Piers reassured Mark, “if they’d gotten too close to it she’d have stopped them. She’s just a little sore because of something I did with her sis.”
Before Mark could ask her what he’d done they’d reached the other side of the warehouse, and Hagen shoved the two of them through a doorway that Mark hadn’t even noticed. The room on the other side of the door was small, dark, and smelled distinctly of iron.
The first thing that happened after the door to the warehouse was closed was that Hali punched Piers in the face. He fell down to the ground, whereupon Hali kicked him a few times in the stomach while he curled up into a ball and groaned in pain. This continued on for a while until she seemed to grow tired of it, and then she glared at Mark.
“Who in the name of Kit are you and how are you holding one of those cards?”
“I’m Mark Hadley, I’m from Pittsburgh, and I found this card in the attic,” Mark said as he opted for honesty, “and my sister went missing and I’m trying to find her.”
“Hadley? That sounds familiar,” Hali murmured before she snapped her fingers, “that weird girl! Hagen when was it? Five days ago?”
“About that,” Hagen said, his attention more on the beaten up Piers than anything else, “Niles dealt with her.”
“He was sent to the Castle,” Piers groaned out from the ground.
Hali responded with another kick to Piers stomach. “I already know that you idiot, did you forget who I am?” Hali brushed her hair back over her ear before she glared at Mark. “If you’re looking for the weird girl she was taken by the guards. You won’t find her in Cyme.”
“Well how ca-” Mark started to ask when a loud explosion shook the entire warehouse.
“What the blazes was that?” Hali sputtered out as she stumbled, almost tripping over Piers in the process.
Hagen cracked the door open that led back to the warehouse, an action that allowed a cacophony to fill the small hidden room. The sound of metal on metal, the noise of screams, and the smell of fire and sulfur assailed Mark’s senses.
Hali pushed past Mark and walked over to the wall opposite of the main warehouse. She slid one hand along the wall before her fingers sunk into a hidden hole, and then with a slight press the wall popped open to reveal a back alley.
“You, fake oracle.” Hali pointed at the collapsed Piers. “Leave me the card and I will let you use this to escape with him.”
“What if I ju-” Mark started to argue before Hagen stepped up close behind him. He could feel the breath of the large man on the top of his head. “Yeah, you can have the card.”
Hali took the card and then slid it into her robes. She walked over to Piers and leaned down, her hair falling down to touch against him. “You brought me something nice, so you can go with him Piers,” she told him, “but if you touch Iris again I will cut it off, and I will keep it in a box. Now get out of my sight.”
Piers groaned from the ground, and then pushed himself up slowly. When he stood up he swayed and staggered for a few seconds. He scooped up his stick from the ground and hobbled to the exit, pausing for a moment to look back at Mark.
“Come on lad, best we move in a hurry,” Piers said as he gave a weak smile.
Mark hesitated to follow Piers as he glanced at Hali, afraid that this might be some type of trap. His fears were alleviated when Hali brushed past him on her way back to the warehouse door. Once she was gone the imposing Hagen followed after her, leaving Mark alone in the small room.
Mark hurried out of that place, his skin crawling at the odd smell, and when he emerged into the alleyway he breathed in the fresh air eagerly. Piers stood off to the side near him, oddly silent, and waited patiently.
“How can I get to that Castle?” Mark finally asked.
“Addled as addled can get,” Piers muttered before he spoke up, “you can’t get into the Castle unless they want you in there. Forgot that they have the magic? People are done before they can even touch the walls.”
A shout came from the end of the alleyway, and as Mark turned he saw a man who reminded him of a roman warrior. He’d seen a few pictures of them in school, but that still didn’t prepare him to see something so familiar from his world in this alien place.
“Move!” Piers yelled at him, already well on his way to the other end of the alley.
Mark turned and ran away from the soldier. He could feel his heart thumping in his chest as the adrenaline kicked in, and by the time he reached the street he was already overly energized. He looked to the left and to the right, making note of the soldiers who lingered barely in his sight, and then looked to Piers for direction.
“Keep moving,” Piers told him as he pushed on across the street for the next alleyway.
Halfway across the cobblestone street Piers swayed a little too far to the right. He tumbled over, his stick lost, while he let out a cry of pain. His fall drew the attention of the distant soldiers who started to move toward the pair.
Mark stopped to try and help Piers up, ignoring the stick entirely. Piers barely managed to stand, as he grimaced once he tried to stand on his right foot. The two began to slowly move across the street even as the soldiers continued to approach them.
“Lad, we’re not going to make it,” Piers finally admitted, “best move on and leave me.”
It was like a silly scene from some generic movie, and it was enough to anger Mark. He glared at Piers, but then he directed his anger to the real trouble. “I’m not leaving you behind,” he boldly claimed.
“Look now, there’s no way you’ll get gone with me all banged up,” Piers pointed out, “besides they’re after you anyways.”
“You dragged me to this town, took me to that crazy lady,” Mark nearly pulled the lagging Piers in the direction of the next alley, “and now you’re finally saying you give up?”
“A wise man knows when to stop struggling, you and I both know you can’t fight a manipule.”
Mark threw his suitcase in the direction of the nearest soldier. It failed to connect as the trained man knocked it aside with his short sword. Before he could do anything else Mark pulled out his pistol and aimed it at the man.
There was a visible shake to the hand that held the pistol, as Mark aimed a gun for the first time in his life at another person. He started to squeeze the trigger, cursed, and fired the gun at the ground near the soldier.
The gunshot caused everyone in the vicinity to stop, as the soldier who he’d shot at backed away from the sudden spray kicked up by the bullet against the cobblestone. “Magic!” the soldier called out, his eyes wide and face pale.
“Yes! It is magic!” Mark brandished his gun to show it to everyone even as he guided Piers toward the nearest house. “I have great power and I will use it if you don’t leave us alone!”
There was that moment of hesitation amongst the soldiers, more than enough time for Piers and Mark to reach the other side of the street. However instead of ducking into the alleyway Mark pushed Piers up to the house next to it, and once Piers had the wall to lean against Mark detached himself.
“This might be the worst escape I’ve ever seen,” Piers said with a chuckle, one that was followed by a groan, “I really need to buy that lass something to calm her down.”
“I think it’ll take more than a gift to make her happy,” Mark responded as he dug into his pocket, “I’m going to try something here and if it works we’re both going to be safe.”
“What, you got some other magic trick on you?”
Mark pulled his hand out of his pocket and held up a silver key. “I just might.”