The street resembled a kicked hive of hornets as every single human decided to run in a different direction at once. Worse, at least three-quarters of them began screaming or shouting something creating a cacophony of noise that drowned out most useful audible information. Because of the echoing of the constable's voice, I couldn't tell exactly where the guards were when she spoke, and it wasn't until I began hearing screams of pain to my left that I noticed their approach. I spotted the constable up front, wrestling handcuffs onto an adolescent, then met her eyes accidentally. She began to shout, not loud enough for me to hear her words over the noise, and I broke into a sprint away from her.
Koyl's unconscious body flopped around on my back, only held in place by my hands on his arms. Without being able to use my arms to counterbalance my legs’ motion it was hard to keep fully upright while running, but thankfully Koyl and the backpack's combined masses increased my overall inertia so it wasn't as bad as expected. Still, I wasn't able to run as fast as I would have liked. This way is going back towards Yaavtey's house, I realized, I really hope there aren't any- my hopes were dashed as I saw two of Yaavtey's guards walk out into the street. One of the humans who had started running before me was still in front of me, and I watched the guard slash him down with a brutal sword chop.
“That's him!” another guard yelled from somewhere I couldn't see, “He's the one our scout told us about!” The two guards in the street moved to intercept me, and I gritted my teeth. Checking my heads-up display I was down to somewhere between fifteen and twenty percent of my magic power reserves across the long-term storage bars. Not enough to fight extensively, I grumbled, but I need to use it while I have it or risk being captured. Using the same technique I had used when jumping over the bear, I planted my foot mid-step and forced myself upwards with as much power as I could manage. A ripple of pain shot through me, and the guards passed a meter under my feet as I sailed over them.
I broke three toes on landing, but I didn't stop running. Lucky I didn't break my legs, I thought sarcastically. That one magic stunt had taken another three percent of my total power. Is that why it hurt? I wondered in the back of my mind as I kept running, quickly analyzing the direction of the streets to navigate out of the slums. The alleys were too narrow for me to fit with Koyl, so I had to brave the foot traffic and risk being caught by the guards. On the upside, using the main roads would be faster than the alleys, due to higher terrain quality.
I need to get somewhere safe, I thought, but with the number of patrols that will be out on the streets, I can't risk staying outside. I didn't want to go back to the inn, I had only planned to pass by to strip my room clean when Yehpweyl was busy and leave for the final time, but I didn't know anywhere else I could go and remain indoors. Maybe that place where I was fed my first night here? I supposed, but then nixed the idea quickly. I couldn't trust that they wouldn't call the guards. Yehpweyl, on the other hand, had inexplicably not attempted to report me even though she could have found an opportunity to do so and set up an ambush. I have money in the backpack, I thought, I can pay her off temporarily, then kill her like Tkaol, since I won't need the inn after tonight.
Ten minutes later I still hadn't been caught, but I was drawing a large amount of attention. I supposed that someone sprinting through the streets with a naked, dismembered man on their back wasn't an event that happened regularly and thus made for a novel sight. Koyl had passed out completely at some point, probably during the landing, and the lack of tension in his body made holding him in place more difficult. If I keep going at this rate I can be back at the inn in another few minutes, I thought, I just need to keep the guards off of me. There was a strange feeling in the back of my mind, like I was forgetting something, but I didn't have time to think about it.
“Guard!” someone yelled from behind me. “Someone is kidnapping an injured man!” I'd cut that bastard's head off if I wasn't trying to get away right now, I seethed. Stealing a quick glance I could see a single guard in chain mail chasing after me. Force magic pumped into my legs and I sped up, increasing the distance between us. Right here, then left, and then straight to get to the inn, I thought, I just need to get there and I can force Yehpweyl to let us hide out in the rooms. “Guard!” another person called out, and an armored figure moved in front of me to intercept.
“Fuck,” I swore aloud, moving to evade.
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I ended up having to take a zigzagging pattern through the roads to get to my destination. Guards chased me, but none managed to catch up, and eventually the population of available guards thinned out to the point that nobody had any to call out to. They're probably all at the guild hall, I realized once I was nearing the inn, they'll spread out once that situation is under control. I need to get inside before that happens. My legs were screaming in pain, both from overuse and from magical healing trying to fix the overuse. When I finally reached the inn doors I was hesitant to stop moving them for a moment in case they seized up entirely.
After moving my torso so Koyl wouldn't slide off, I tried to open the door to the inn. Locked? I thought as the door held in place, creaking slightly from the force, I don't have the damned time for this. I punched through the front panel of the door, cutting my hand up in the process, and raised the metal locking bar so I could enter. One shove opened the door, displaying a scene going on in the dining area, one that I didn't like at all. Five humans, one who was tied to a chair and absolutely filthy, all turned their eyes on me. Oh right, that's what I was forgetting, I thought.
“Who is this now?” A blonde man in plate armor asked, his green eyes glinting as he turned to me. “And what is that thing he's carrying?” Why would you bother wearing plate armor but not a helmet? I wondered briefly, noting that it was the only piece of the suit he was missing.
“That's the guy!” A woman cried out, pointing at me. “He's the one I saw this morning!”
“He's the one who has your spear?” the man asked. The two other humans, both women but with short-cut hair, turned from their victim and took up combat positions in front of their apparent commanders. The victim raised her head, but I already knew who she was. Yehpweyl was covered in her own blood, as well as what looked to be the spit of her attackers.
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“It's on his back right there, you can see it over his shoulder!” the green-eyed woman said. The man fully turned towards me, his face stern and stone-like. I already knew where the situation was going, so I bent down and carefully placed Koyl on the floor, followed by the backpack I had strapped across my front, then stood up and stepped forward.
“Surrender the weapon and nobody gets hurt,” the man said authoritatively. “We paid for it, and we will have it.” The two short-haired women in front, who I noticed had red eyes, stepped towards me. I checked my heads-up display and saw that I had perhaps seven or eight percent of my magic power remaining, with the amount in the short-term storage being higher than that in the long-term storage. I didn't need the bar to know I was near collapse in terms of stamina, or so thirsty that my throat was cracking.
“His armor and sword too, I bought the whole set,” the green-eyed woman insisted. “Bah, it's damaged. We should get a refund.”
“So you must be the Flowing Wings,” I croaked. With a cough, I cleared my throat, and some residual blood from my lungs lubricated my vocal cords. “I have to inform you that the goods you bought were stolen by the woman you have tied up there,” I added, gesturing to Yehpweyl with my chin.
“Obviously,” the man scoffed, “it doesn't change the fact that they belong to us now.” My left eye twitched at how dismissive the reply was, and I was also fairly sure that Uwrish property law didn't work that way.
“I see, well as you might have noticed I'm completely exhausted,” I replied politely with a sigh, coming up with a plan as I spoke. “I don't think I can even move my arms enough to remove my gear, but if you could come over and take it off of me you can have it.” The man scoffed again, then laughed.
“Do you really think we're that stupid?” he asked. “Sword, spear, and knives. On the ground. Now.” I hissed through my teeth, but I didn't need my weapons for my plan. What about the axe? I wondered, but as I reached down to remove the utility knife holster I found that it had fallen off at some point. I disarmed myself, placing my weapons on the ground beside me obediently. After a moment of hesitation, the two red-eyed women approached with their swords drawn. Once they were in range, I groaned in pain, stumbling forward and catching myself using their shoulders. I half expected the two women to attack me, but both recognized the motion as non-hostile.
“Sorry, it’s been quite a night,” I mumbled, “I can barely stand.” The women hesitated for a moment, glancing at each other, then my grip snapped from their shoulders to their faces. With extreme effort I double-cast heat magic into their brains, feeling the power drain from my body and a head-splitting pain shoot through my forehead as I did so. The woman on the left screamed and dropped her sword, clawing at my hand on her face. The one on the right tried to slash at me, unable to make her blade connect due to how close she was. After about five seconds, their movements abruptly ceased, and their limp bodies fell out of my grasp. I stumbled forward again, this time unintentionally, and shot my harshest glare at the two remaining humans.
“What did you-” the green-eyed woman started to ask, mouth agape. Her male partner asked no questions, instead drawing his sword and charging me. Slow, I thought as I saw him approach. He was so much slower than Yaavtey that it was almost comical, as though he was moving through water. I grabbed his sword arm mid-swing and snapped his elbow backwards, bending a few of the armor plates, then released the limb and grabbed his sword in an underhand grip as his hand released it. With a rotation to the left, then the right, I used my core muscles to help me drive the man's weapon through his own neck laterally. Then I pulled the grip towards me, rotating the blade through his flesh and severing his spinal cord, releasing the weapon afterwards to allow him to fall to the floor.
Panting, I struggled to keep my eyes focused on the room, which seemed to be shifting and moving around me. One more, I thought weakly, not daring to check how much magic I had left. I took a plodding step towards the green-eyed woman and she stepped back, doing something I couldn't see through my rapidly-narrowing field of vision with her hands. “You should know I'm-” she started to say shakily, but I didn't care what she was about to tell me. Summoning up the remainder of my strength, I charged and tackled her to the ground. I was so tired that I barely noticed the pain in my abdomen when I did so.
My right fist struck her face, then my left, stunning her. With an animal-like growl, I gripped her head with my left hand, thumbing her eye. Burn, I raged, summoning up my magic, but nothing happened. Fine, I growled, the hard way. Using my right hand, I shoved two fingers behind the eye I had been thumbing, then ripped it out. Something struck my face but I didn't see what it was. An image of flesh moving and healing in an empty socket reached my consciousness, then I shoved my fingers into it again, shattering the thin layer of bone behind the eye and reaching the brain. My fingers curled, and the motion underneath me stopped. I ripped out soft tissue with my fingers, feeling the wetness under my nails.
After two more scoops, the woman died, or at least her eye socket stopped trying to heal. It was only then that I felt an ice-like sensation in my gut, then looked down to see a sword sticking out of me. It took a moment for me to understand what I was looking at, and a moment longer for me to pull it out, groaning in pain as I did so. Then I was on my feet, staggering over to Yehpweyl with weapon in hand. I cut her bindings, then noticed warmth dripping down my legs, and saw that blood was still pouring out of my abdomen. That's not good, I managed to think, teetering back and forth before being steadied by unexpected hands.
“You're not healing,” Yehpweyl gasped distantly. “Oh Gods, is that Koyl?”
“Help me get him upstairs,” I mumbled. Yehpweyl made no objection and helped me lift Koyl onto my back. “Guards looking for us... Need to hide,” I croaked, “Money in backpack... Enemy weapons too... Payment, if needed.” Somewhere in the darkness of my vision, I saw Yehpweyl nod. The walk across the inn felt like a marathon, and the trip up the stairs might as well have been torture. Blood dripped and spurted out of my wound the entire way, making the stairs and floor slick beneath me. I should have left the blade in, I thought wearily, humans aren't supposed to remove blades from stab wounds. Not until medics arrive.
I tried to enter my own room first, but it was locked, a fact that it took me four attempts to realize. I couldn't remember where I had put the key, so I went across the hall to Koyl's room, which was unlocked because it had been empty. Because Koyl's been gone for a while, I thought as I dropped him onto the bed, then fell to my knees. My heads-up display told me I had lost fifteen percent of my total blood volume, and I knew that if I lost much more in my exhausted state I would be unconscious in moments. Should have lost more, I realized, still healing, just not enough.
How much magic power do I have? I asked nobody in particular. I popped open my heads-up display, which I could see perfectly, and noted that the long-term reserves had under one percent each, with short-term fluctuating between empty and two-percent rapidly. I felt like I was spinning, and my ears had a ringing in them that was both loud and quiet at the same time. Keep the blood in, I told myself, humans need blood, magic can take care of the rest. Reaching back with my left hand and forward with my right, I plugged both ends of the sword wound in my abdomen. Then I pictured a line under each hand, tracing the edges of the cuts. Burn, I commanded, and nothing happened. I said BURN, I raged, and one final wave of pain flowed through my body.
I felt my skin melt, but I didn't stay conscious long enough to process much of anything else.