Edrah crept silently through the streets, the unnatural emptiness creeping him out. His breath was calm, but his heart was racing. The others were already in position, and they were waiting for him to get there. He crept into the shadows, his black armor mostly hiding him from view. Only the gleam of his eyes could alert anyone of his presence. As silent as a predator, he quickly equipped his bow and removed an arrow from his quiver- the familiar smell of the black goose feather calming him down. He gently pulled back the arrow, exhaling as the bowstring smoothly slid back. He took careful aim, ready to do damage control if need.

Edrah immediately sensed that something was wrong. His ears detected that it was abnormally silent. After Hefring had gone in for the filch, there was no more movement that he could sense. The fact that there was no contact from him alerted Edrah. Immediately, he felt the tattoo on his forearm inch with increasing intensity. It failed! , he thought as he felt it. Without a moment’s hesitation, he turned and left. His arm was still on the arrow, but he stood in such a way that his armed position would be hidden. He moved quickly still tensed. He could hear the footsteps-the clank of metal tipped boots against the stone stop as they arrived on his street. Edrah continued to walk without turning back, trying his best not to panic. And as if shattering his hopes, a mental yell resounded in his mind, ‘Run Edrah! We’ve been compromised!’- He recognized it as Emi-which cut off as soon as it had arrived.

Without waiting for them to realize, Edrah broke off into a run. He slung his bow onto his back, and hooked the arrow onto his belt. Yells broke out behind him, followed by the chaotic tapping of boots as the soldiers hastened to follow him. Edrah ran through the narrow streets of Nagap, the towering buildings seeming to leer down at him.

Edrah took off in a jump and stretched his arm to catch onto the protruding pole of a shop’s sign. Using the momentum of his jump, he swung on the pole and vaulted through the air, waiting till he reached the apex to grab onto a windowsill. Thankful for the numerous windows, he quickly clambered up the side of the building like a monkey and rolled onto a roof with surprising dexterity. Yells resounded from beneath him as the guard yelled out in desperation. Within moments, the swooshing of winds could be heard as magicians began chasing him.

He, however, didn’t wait for them to arrive. Edrah sprinted, vaulting over raised barriers as he moved through the rooftops. He did not head towards the hideout-it might even be compromised. Edrah quickly equipped his bow and drew one of his swingrows-and without further ado, shot them at the tallest building in sight.

The satisfying chink of metal grabbing on bricks was all that Edrah needed to unhesitatingly jump off the roof. Swinging through the streets, Edrah once more let go of the rope at the top and crouched down. Using the building’s windows, he quickly managed to climb onto another roof. But he didn’t stop there. He immediately drew another pulrow and accurately shot it down the streets- through the window of an unsuspecting person’s home which pulled him along with it. Edrah curled up into a ball as he struck the angled pieces of glass before crashing into a wooden table. The family stared at him in shock, but Edrah quickly jumped up and drew his lips back into a feral snarl- paralyzing the poor family. He didn’t wait however, the tracing magic would zone on him unless he lost the trace, and for that, he needed time and distance.

He rushed through the door, breaking it in half as he arrived at a corridor. He bounded through it, ignoring the people who were emerging out of the rooms to find out what was occurring, occasionally pushing people in the way. He ran down the staircases and sighed in relief as he saw a haycart down on the road. The streets were busy now, filled with people and carts rolling by. Edrah unhesitatingly smashed the window with his elbow and clambered out- hanging seven feet off the ground on the side of the building. “Letta!” He shouted, and a force like a hammer hit him, sending him spiraling over the streets. He ended the flow of mana at a suitable distance, using the momentum to roll straight into the pile of hay.

Luckily, the old cart driver barely seemed to notice. Edrah immediately twisted around, hiding in the hay. Only a small space above his eye allowed him to see. Within moments, however, his cart careened to a stop. The gruff voice of guards questioning the cart driver alerted Edrah- They’ve already caught up! Almost as if it were answering his doubts, swooshing of winds sounded as even more magicians showed up.

Edrah tensed, nervous. After the questioning, the guards rounded the cart and one of them said, “Poke it with a pike. ‘E migh’ be in there.”

Edrah heard the man raising his pike, and the blowing of wind as the pike landed right next to his torso, barely missing him. They’re gonna skewer me at this rate! Not wanting to take the chance, Edrah used his most powerful weapon- the element of surprise.

With a savage yell and a violent twist, Edrah stood up, spraying hay all around him, confusing the guards. Edrah didn’t stop there, however, as he yelled “Ahtim!” A wind whipped up, creating a minor tornado of hay, blinding everyone. At the eye of the storm, Edrah was mostly undisturbed. Catching sight of an open window, he whipped out a pulrow and shot it just above the window. He pulled himself in through the window, ripping off the arrow embedded in the wood as he did so. Rolling to a stop, he found himself facing a bewildered man in his thirties, a bottle of booze in his hand.

“Here, use this to treat yourself,” Edrah said, throwing his money bag at him. Before the man could make sense of what happened, Edrah swung his bow at his head, knocking him out. He quickly grabbed his purse and stopped the hay storm as he ended the mana flow. Muttering an inaudible apology, Edrah turned and shot one of his precious few enchanted explosion arrows at the group before they could regain their bearings. Before the guards could even make sense of what happened as the fire burst out in the middle of the street, Edrah was already hidden deep inside the sewers, the distance cutting off the trace.