Kellen's hand dropped to the Codex. "Not happening."
"Oh we got a tough guy." Mo stepped closer. "Guess we get find out how tough."
Kellen slammed his hand onto the Codex.
[QUICK SUMMON ACTIVATED]
VINE CREEPER (-15 MP)
The ground at Mo's feet erupted. Thorned vines shot upward, wrapping around his legs and the legs of the thug beside him. Mo cursed, slashing at the vines with his sword.
Kellen didn't wait. He charged forward and slammed his shoulder into Mo's chest.
Mo stumbled backward, his sword arm flailing as he tried to keep balance with vines wrapped around his legs. He hit the alley wall hard, breath knocked out of him.
Kellen followed up with a punch. His fist connected with Mo's jaw, solid impact, but it wasn't enough to drop the man.
Mo's head snapped to the side. He spat blood.
Then he looked back at Kellen and grinned, teeth red. "That it?"
Oh, shit.
The thug with the club charged from the side. Kellen tried to dodge, but the alley was too narrow. The club caught him in the ribs. Pain exploded through his side, and he stumbled.
Mo tore free of the vines and backhanded him across the face.
Kellen hit the ground hard. His vision swam. Someone kicked him in the stomach. Another blow landed on his back.
"Hold him down!"
Hands grabbed his arms, pinning him. Someone tried to pry the Codex from his belt.
Kellen's hand slapped against the Codex in desperation.
[QUICK SUMMON ACTIVATED]
STONE TOAD (-15 MP)
The toad materialized three feet above the thug with the club.
It fell.
Three hundred pounds of magical amphibian slammed into the thug's shoulder. He grunted, staggered sideways, nearly dropped the club.
But he didn't go down.
The toad bounced off, hit the cobblestones with a heavy thud, and disappeared in a puff of golden particles.
Mo crouched in front of him, sword resting on his shoulder. "Did you just throw a toad at us?"
The group of thugs broke out into laughter, "This will make a good story, kid... I mean for us... For you, it'll probably haunt you dreams, but hey, we all can't be winners."
He raised the sword, "That's enough prattling for me... Last chance, give us what ya got, or we'll take it off your corpse."
And then a shadow fell over the alley.
A massive shape dropped from the rooftop above, landing with a crunch that shook the cobblestones.
Seven feet of fur, muscle, and scarred fury. A Leonine warrior with a mane like wild fire and eyes that burned with something ancient and pissed off.
In one hand, a tower shield. In the other, a warhammer that looked like it had been forged to break mountains.
Torian Rakkis.
The thug with the dagger screamed and ran.
Mo turned, sword raised. "Back off! This doesn't concern..." then recognition dawned on his face. "You're..."
Torian's shield slammed into him like a battering ram. Mo flew backward, crashing into the alley wall hard enough to crack the timber.
The thug with the club swung. Torian caught the blow on his shield, stepped inside and drove the pommel of his warhammer into the man's ribs. The thug collapsed, gasping.
The third thug charged with the shortsword. Torian swept the warhammer in a wide horizontal arc. The blade barely grazed the man's arm, but the sheer force of the swing sent him stumbling back, clutching his shoulder.
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Knuckles-guy stood frozen, eyes wide, staring at the seven-foot Leonine warrior.
Torian turned to face him, shield raised.
The man didn't move. Couldn't move.
Torian's voice rumbled like distant thunder. "Leave."
The thug bolted.
Mo groaned, trying to push himself upright. Blood dripped from his nose. "You... you're a dead man, Rakkis. That five hundred gold is mine."
He pushed off the wall and charged, longsword flashing in a diagonal slash aimed at Torian's neck.
Torian caught the blow on his shield. The impact rang like a bell.
Mo didn't stop. He pivoted, bringing the sword around in a backhand cut that forced Torian to raise the warhammer to parry. Steel screamed against steel. Mo ducked under Torian's counter-swing and drove his shoulder into the Leonine's shield, trying to create space.
It barely moved Torian an inch.
But Mo was fast. He rolled away, came up in a fighting stance, sword ready.
He's good, Kellen thought, still lying on the ground, ribs screaming. Really good.
Mo feinted left, struck right. The longsword carved a line across Torian's pauldron, sparking off the ancient plate. Torian swept the warhammer in a wide arc. Mo ducked, came up inside Torian's guard, and slashed at the Leonine's exposed side.
The blade scraped across mail. Didn't penetrate.
Torian stepped forward and shield-bashed Mo into a stack of crates. Wood exploded. Pottery shattered. Mo rolled through the debris and came up bleeding from a dozen cuts, but still moving.
"Stay down," Torian rumbled.
"Not a chance." Mo lunged, sword aimed at Torian's knee joint.
Torian pivoted, brought the warhammer down. Mo barely twisted aside. The hammer hit the cobblestones with a crack that sent fragments flying. Mo used the opening to slash at Torian's weapon arm.
The blade skittered off vambrace.
Torian swung horizontally. Mo ducked under the swing, drove his sword at Torian's exposed flank.
The warhammer reversed mid-swing, coming back faster than something that size had any right to move. It caught Mo in the ribs with the flat of the hammer head.
Mo flew backward, crashed through a merchant's stall. Canvas ripped. More pottery exploded. Vegetables scattered across the alley.
He didn't stay down. He pushed upright, coughing blood, and raised his sword again.
"You're... not even... breathing hard," Mo wheezed.
Torian stood in the center of the wrecked alley, warhammer resting on his shoulder, shield unmarred. Not a single scratch on him.
And around him, barely visible but unmistakable to someone who knew what to look for, a faint golden aura pulsed in the dim light.
Kellen stared.
Paladin aura.
He'd read about it in History of Magic. The Light wasn't just power, it was a bond. A contract. Break your oath through murder, betrayal, corruption, and the connection snapped. Instantly. Permanently.
If Torian had killed Captain Vale in cold blood, that aura would be gone.
But it wasn't. It burned around him like a second skin, pure and unbroken.
He didn't do it, Kellen realized. He's innocent.
"CITY GUARD! Stand down!"
Boots thundered on cobblestones. Armored figures appeared at both ends of the alley, swords drawn, torches raised.
Mo looked at the guards. Looked at Torian. Made a calculation.
And dropped his sword.
"The Beast attacked me," Mo gasped, pointing at Torian. "Five hundred gold bounty. He's right there."
The guards hesitated, looking between Mo and the seven-foot Leonine warrior with the warhammer.
Torian's eyes swept the alley. Guards at both ends. Six, maybe seven total. Swords drawn. Torches raised. Blocking both exits.
He could fight his way through. Probably. But they were just doing their jobs. Following orders. Chasing a bounty they believed was legitimate.
He didn't want to hurt them... but if they forced his hand...
"Surrender, Rakkis!" one of the guards shouted. "Drop the weapon!"
Torian's grip tightened on the warhammer.
Kellen pushed himself upright, ribs screaming in protest. His vision swam, but he forced himself to focus. Think. There has to be a way out.
His eyes darted across the alley. Crates. Shattered pottery. Scattered vegetables. Stone walls. Cobblestones—
No. Not cobblestones.
There. Fifteen feet to Torian's left. A section of the alley floor where smooth cobblestones gave way to thick wooden planks. Rough, uneven, darker than the surrounding stone. A hasty repair job over something below.
An access point. Old maintenance shaft. Probably leads to the sewers.
"Cover your eyes!" Kellen shouted to Torian.
Torian's ears swiveled toward him, but he didn't turn. He trusted the boy and shut his eyes..
Kellen slammed his hand onto the Codex.
[QUICK SUMMON ACTIVATED]
GLIMMERLING (-20 MP)
The luminescent moth materialized above the center of the alley, wings already beginning to glow.
"What the hell is that?" one of the guards muttered.
Kellen focused. Pushed intent into the summon. Dazzle. Everything you have. Now.
The Glimmerling's wings flared.
And then it detonated.
Magnesium-white light exploded through the alley, so bright it turned shadows into burned afterimages. The guards screamed, stumbling backward, hands clawing at their eyes. Torches clattered to the ground.
Kellen squeezed his own eyes shut, but the light seared through his eyelids anyway.
[SUMMON DISMISSED]
Mana refunded: 2 MP
Current Mana: 101/120
The light vanished. Darkness rushed back in, broken only by the fallen torches.
Kellen didn't wait for his vision to clear. He slammed his hand down again.
[QUICK SUMMON ACTIVATED]
STONE TOAD (-15 MP)
The stone toad materialized ten feet above the wooden planks.
It fell, still sporting the same unimpressed look it wore when doing literally anything else.
It hit the planks with a splintering CRACK that echoed off the alley walls. Wood exploded. The toad punched through the rotted planks like they were paper, disappearing into the darkness below with a wet splash.
[SUMMON DISMISSED]
Mana refunded: 5 MP
Current Mana: 91/120
A hole gaped in the alley floor. Four feet wide. Dark. Stinking.
Sewer access.
"Hey you!" Kellen shouted, stumbling toward the Leonine. He grabbed Torian's arm, tried to pull him toward the hole.
Torian didn't budge. The armor alone probably weighed more than Kellen.
"The hole!" Kellen yelled. "Jump!"
The guards were recovering. Blinking. Raising their swords. "Stop them!"
Torian looked at the hole. Looked at Kellen. Made a decision.
He ran.
Kellen sprinted after him, ribs screaming with every step. Torian reached the edge of the hole and didn't hesitate, just jumped, shield first, disappearing into the darkness.
Kellen hit the edge a second later and leaped.
The world dropped out from under him.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
And then he hit water.