Dead or Alive.

Dead or Alive.

When I said that I was waited for a big break to take my career to the next level, it certainly wasn't shit like this. As Loaner gallops down the alleyway at breakneck speed, questions swirl about in my head. Why in the world am I a wanted man anyway? What in the world happened while I was out there in the Beyond? If this was a reasonable world, no one would begrudge me for wanting some answers before I surrender myself.

Unfortunately, I'm surrounded by unreasonable people. Armed and very dangerous unreasonable people who very clearly want me dead. Henrik trying to blast my head off with his magic was ample proof of that. Stuffing the wanted poster into my jacket, I bend my mind to the more immediate concern of not dying. Already I hear the galloping of horses closing in at the opposite end of the alleyway. Henrik and his flunkies might be temporarily inconvenienced by my stunt with the cigarette carton, but the gendarme was already hustling to cut off my escape. Sheathing my sword and shifting to a squat on top of the saddle, I pat Loaner on the head both for luck and as a farewell.

"Good luck out there, you passive aggressive asshole." I quip.

Mustering my magic, I empower my legs, leaping high off Loaner, grabbing the ledge of one of the buildings that box the alleyway in. Loaner makes a surprised grunt at the sudden disappearance of my weight from its back but continues to thunder forward, the horse already committed to its own escape attempt. I run across the rooftops with my enhanced speed heading in the opposite direction, confused curses from the gendarme breaking out behind me as they are confronted by a riderless horse galloping past them.

Ducking behind a chimney, I spy the gendarme filing into the alleyway, banging on doors and demanding the occupants open up. Good, they think I've hidden in one of the buildings. That gives me time to get some distance between me and the pursuit team. But if I'm a wanted man, no place in Deshawn City would be safe for me. It was only a matter of time before the net closes in once again.

I need to get clear of the city itself. But that's almost impossible to manage with gendarme and Henrik actively pursuing me. The guards at Deshawn City's gates would also be ready if I made a break for it. The only real option I have is to find a place to lay low and let the heat die down a bit. The gendarme can't maintain this level of alertness forever. And Henrik will need to return to Robeur Keep sooner or later. With the pressure off, I should be able to sneak out of the danger zone.

So that leaves me with only one place I can go to in Deshawn City. Temple. The gendarme aren't welcome there and since I'm probably dead as far as the Order of Impartial Justice is concerned, the Order Knights won't be on the lookout for me. Neither will they look kindly on Henrik trying to claim authority on their turf. Once my pursuers loose my scent, I'll be able to breakout of Deshawn City.

With the decision made, I begin cutting across the rooftops of Deshawn City, heading steadily in the direction of Temple. As I sprint across stone and wood, I weave a zig zag path through the chimneys and signboards that adorn the skyscape of the city. Its enough to obscure my presence to anyone who might be looking up and I soon leave the gendarme a good distance behind me.

Unfortunately my concern only increases as I sense the presence of magic knights doggedly drawing closer. Henrik must be tracking me and there's not much I can do about it. As long as I keep using my magic, Henrik will be able to sense my presence. But I need to enhance my speed and reflexes in order to sprint across the rooftops. There's no way for me to make some of the jumps from roof to roof otherwise. That means this hunt has turned into a race. I need to make it across the boundary to Temple before Henrik boxes me in with reinforcements.

Henrik and his flunkies are not making it easy for me though. I can sense him getting dangerously close. Its the advantage of carrying out a pursuit on horse racing along broad cobbled roads. Gritting my teeth, I throw caution to the wind, no longer trying to hide my presence. My feet blitz across the roofs and I sigh in relief as I catch sight of Temple barely two blocks away as the bird flies. Wasting no time, I harness my strength and dart toward a nearby ledge, getting ready to jump.

I throw myself off the ledge with all my strength, sailing high over the main thoroughfare of Deshawn City and straight toward the row of buildings on the opposite side of the road. A crowd has already gathered below and I note with some satisfaction that my antics draw a collective gasp of awe from them. I look down while flying overhead, gracing the crowd with a cheeky wave. And my eyes catch sight of something that causes my mood to immediately sour. Henrik and his flunkies thunder down the thoroughfare, not sparing their horses. Henrik raises his iron staff and once again I hear the dry thunderclap as a bolt of magical energy is fired at me.

"Try aiming next time!" I taunt as Henrik's attack misses by a mile. Its pretty tough trying to hit a flying target, huh?

I fold my body, dropping into a roll as I hit the rooftop opposite the street. As I get back to my feet, I hear Christina's delicate voice ring out, as clear as a bell.

"Call the waxing moon, companion of this blessed world." Christine intones, her magical energy surging in unison with the chant.

The halo of Christina's magic envelopes the pair of Sword Apprentices accompanying her, bolstering the power of their own casting. I note with some concern as the power level of each Apprentice rises, close to the level of a proper Sword Master. Christina's magical reserves much be truly titanic to manage such a feat. Henrik steadies Christina, that miserable turncoat, as she almost faints from fatigue, putting her out of the fight for now.

The pair of Sword Apprentices spur their mounts forward before taking flying leaps of their own, landing next to me on the rooftop with their weapons drawn. As I unsheathe my own sword, I notice the duo flexing and posing, no doubt trying to impress Christina. I mean, they could be trying to impress Henrik as well, the battle mage looks so homosexual that its almost certain he's gay. But Henrik is way older and less sexy than Christina. So my money is still on the Sword Apprentices trying to impress the girl.

"Get lost before you do something you regret." I warn the pair of Sword Apprentices.

"We could say the same thing." Apprentice One shoots back.

"We don't want to hurt you, Senior Brother." Apprentice Two says, "But we will if we have to."

I take another drag from my cigarette and comment, "You could just let me go? No one needs to get hurt that way."

Both Sword Apprentices merely laugh and enter the ready stance.

"Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you two." I grunt, bringing my own weapon up.

I rocket forward and lash out with my sword at Apprentice One. Augmented by Christina's power, Apprentice One manages to block my attack, but the impact sends him flying backward, completely off balance. I quickly weave around Apprentice Two's guard, keeping him between me and Henrik. Apprentice Two swings his weapon vigorously but I easily deflect the blows and push him backward.

"Experience matters, brat." I sneer, "You wouldn't last a day in the Beyond."

"Don't look down on us!" Apprentice Two yells, "We've got enough magic to resist your sword. You can't hurt us!"

"Hm. Good to know." I nod, "Christina's really buffing you guys up. But that just means you suck and she doesn't."

Apprentice Two shrieks in anger, running headlong at me with his weapon raised. Man, its bad form to take the bait so easily you know? Taking a deep breath, I inject some magic into the cigarette in my mouth, sending a blast of fire straight into Apprentice Two's face. The flame is not even remotely powerful enough to hurt him, but natural fear overwhelms Apprentice Two in the heat of the moment. He covers his face in panic, reinforcing the magical protections layered on that spot.

And as a consequence, draining the defensive enhancements over every other part of his body.

My sword swings downward in a deadly arc, hacking off one of Apprentice Two's legs. His cries of fear becomes a bellow of pure agony, blood spurting out from the stump of his leg. Apprentice Two totters and falls off the rooftop, the pain of the impromptu amputation shattering the concentration needed to maintain his defensive spellcraft. The magical defenses unravel as Apprentice Two plummets like a sack of rocks and he lands hard on the cobblestones, neck twisted at an ugly angle.

I turn to Apprentice One, who has a pale expression on his face.

"Still want to do this?" I ask mildly.

And of course Apprentice One rushes at me.

Pirouetting around his wild swing, my free hand clamps on to the rear of his head securely. Before Apprentice One can recover from the surprise, I slam his head down hard on to the roof, causing a spiderweb of cracks to blossom on the hard surface. Apprentice One does not miss a beat though, and begins to struggle to get back up, his magical defenses holding firm. Bringing the pommel of my sword up, I deliver a hammer blow on the small of Apprentice One's back. Once again, his defenses hold.

But the roof under him doesn't.

Apprentice One is swallowed up by the maw opening up on the roof and spirals downward, screaming all the way. There's a series of crashing noises as the impact of my final blow sends the poor lad plowing through several floors in a row. He'll survive, but my guess is that Apprentice One is going to be needing a bed pan for the next few weeks.

"As I said, experience matters." I comment drily.

A click my tongue in annoyance as I notice Henrik and Christina still on the thoroughfare, eyeballing me. I can't head directly into Temple with them hot on my heels, so I divert, running along a series of buildings along the perimeter of the district. With luck this should be enough to shake them off my tail.

But Christina has other plans. There's an immense pressure washing over the entire neighborhood and my worst fears come true.

"Call starlight, the judgment of heaven." Christina's feminine voice trembles with barely restrained power. I feel the power of materialism begin to fade as the oppressive strength of Christina's army destroying spell takes form. A hush falls over the crowd as they await the climax of the battle.

Then I hear Henrik bitch slapping the taste out of Christina's mouth.

And just like that, Christina's spell dissipates. Good on you Henrik. You may be obnoxious and supercilious, but full marks for teaching that traitor apprentice a lesson for me.

Well done.

......

Henrik and Christina watch in silence as Mac Nair loops around the roofs of the district, disappearing from sight.

"Why did you hit me?" Christina demands sullenly, nursing a swollen cheek.

"What were you going to do?" Henrik asks, his eyes focused on an invisible point in the distance.

"Start getting serious?" Christina says, "Mac is no match for either of us. We shouldn't have bothered with the farce of those two apprentices."

"Nair is weaker than us, true." Henrik nods, "But he's no fool. Didn't you notice Nair sticking to the rooftops of buildings that have people in them?"

"Well ..." Christina stutters.

"And can you defeat Nair without levelling the buildings around him?" Henrik quizzes patiently.

Christina falls quiet at this observation, looking downward with her lips pursed.

"I'm not keen on becoming the next most wanted after killing several civilians in a botched takedown." Henrik sighs, "And I think you would like to avoid that fate as well."

"Yes, Senior Brother Henrik." Christina responds obediently, "Thank you."

"Return to the keep and summon a healer." Henrik orders, "I'll stay here and retrieve the two apprentices. It might not be too late for them if you hurry."

"We're not pursuing Mac?" Christina asks hesitantly, fearful of disappointing her lover further.

"Nair has obliged us to fight him with gloves on." Henrik shrugs, "We'll need more support from the gendarme, maybe even full Sword Masters from the Keep."

"I understand." Christina murmurs and rides off.

Dismounting from his horse, Henrik settles in for a long night of work ahead of him.