In a dark dirty alleyway, cool wind in her hair, the warm smell of a tavern rises up through the air.

Sarna Wickcutter finally locates the stage where she would like to play a game with their pursuers. The cobbled streets are roughly laid here where less wagons and carriages care to go. Just a couple of streets over on a passage designed for pedestrians, they would find Master Pinshot's shop. But, for now, Sarna and River found something else a bit more engaging.

Even though the streets here were set in haste, without trying to keep the stones fully level throughout, they're wide enough for four carriages to drive down side by side. This makes it harder for the magical lamps on each side of the street light all the way to the center where the two stand.

After being called out moments prior, the five figures stand in a staggered line opposite them. This tells Sarna more about them than they probably realize.

One, they were not meant to spy, but to eventually engage them. Two, they were meant to incapacitate, rather than to kill since they missed multiple chances she gave them to do so. Three, the order in their line meant at least one of them is, or was, a soldier. And four, they were stupid enough to be convinced by Sarna to come out and face them in the open.

"Gentlemen, ladies, to what do I owe the pleasure of such an escort?" Sarna asks, allowing River to move forward in a more front line position without obstructing her view.

The group is dressed in a mix of dark grey leathers and chainmail. A familiar symbol is branded into their armor. The man on the far left has on loose fitting clothes and baggy trousers of the same dark grey. The clothes look like they would help him be more comfortable in a desert environment.

Sarna taught River about these clothes during one of her impromptu lessons. Battle robes, she called them, and they're for Casters who aren't afraid to mix it up on the front lines. She wondered why he didn't wear them instead of the formal attire he seems to prefer.

The man draws a curved dagger from his belt and others do the same, revealing a swordsman, a dual wielding dagger wielder, a mace swinger, and an archer with a short bow.

The swordsman in the middle calls out, "We've seen you around before, buyin up cards and stuff from the posh side of town. We were thinking you might just have a few bits to spare for a donation?"

Sarna's voice is low enough for just River to hear, "Ugh, the donation angle. Never heard that a hundred times. Watch, he's going to ask if I'm praying."

As if on cue, he laughs, "Prayings not gonna help you darlin. First, I wanna see what's under that mask of yours, not that I wouldn't mind leaving on while I'm having my way with you. Then, we're gonna see what you got in them pockets and pouches."

The others around him chuckle maliciously. By now, everyone else on the street finds their way indoors. All the curtains and blinds peel back just enough for people to enjoy the show.

Sarna responds in a volume for them to hear, "How generous of you. Maybe if you make it past my servant I might consider it."

"Really, my lady, I finally managed to get my hair just right again." River's rumbling voice sends an involuntary shudder through her, it being a while since she's heard it this way.

Even the lady Archer and Rogue's eyes flutter with interest.

"Him? This boy? Analyze him, Owl Eyes."

The robed man stretches out his hand and chants, " Let me know you, enemy of mine, that I may defeat you better."

His eyes flash with silver light and they grow distant, focusing on something only he can see.

River straightens his tie and adjusts his vest and coat.

"Well?" the swordsman asks impatiently.

"He's only level twenty seven, and his highest stat is Vitality at fifty two!" Everyone around him bursts into raucous laughter. "Wait wait-- he's only a black star!"

The group has to hold back tears as they struggle to stay on their feet. Through their laughter they barely hear him chant his own spells.

"Nature's life force flows through my veins. Swift wings carry us to safety."

Followed closely by--

"Holy warrior, do not fear the dark path ahead. Receive the blessing of might."

Bless II may only increase his main stats by five, but Animal Aspect, Eagle boosts his movement speed by twenty percent in addition to Terrain Knowledge's passive addition of the same amount since this is an urban environment.

Unlike the other Caster, River does not chant idly. In the midst of their laughter, he sprints toward the center. They're caught off balance and scramble to a ready position.

It's too late.

The swordsman's guard is up and ready to defend against him, but River's glowing cleaver is aimed off to the right while the other hand throws something out to the left.

"Triburst flash ignite!"

Then, like a ghost, he seemingly vanished from his view. Small explosions and screams of anguish erupt from his Archer and wet spluttering gurgles from Owl Eyes.

"What the f--"

A flash of metal triggers battle hardened instincts and he blocks River's slashes with his blade. Just as suddenly, he's gone again.

"Cross!" The swordsman calls out, "Everyone get in here!"

Four of his companions join him in an X shaped formation where they're all back to back. The Archer is banged up from the triple spikes of magical energy, but her bow is drawn and ready for payback.

"Owl!" The dual dagger user shouts, focusing everyone's attention on the Caster.

Its too late to rush to his aid, River is already there carving him up like a butcher and ripping metal spikes out of his face and neck.

The Archer screams with fury, "Fuck the contract!" Her arrow flies fast, splitting in mid air into seven copies. They pierce through flesh as easily as the thin protection covering it.

She swears again in anguish as the arrow riddled body of the Caster dies before hitting the ground.

River is already fighting the dual wielding Rogue after drawing out his chef's knife. Four small blades clash in a maelstrom of metal. Graceful and deadly, no one else dares to get within reach of the razor sharp attacks. River's cleaver begins to glow.

"Let loose a storm of icy shards to tear the world to shreds. No wood or iron impedes the path of glacial fury."

"Move!" The swordsman shouts and everyone except for River and the Rogue dash back to avoid getting caught in the spell, splitting the trio with the Archer on one side and the men on the other.

The pair slip seemlessly between blades of metal and ice, but River is more adept at this type of scenario and he holsters his knives.

Unarmed, his fists lash out even faster and his movement becomes smoother, effects from Neophyte's Guardian still slotted in Brawler.

He catches one of her wrists and slams a fist into the Rogue's forearm, shattering the bones within and sending both knives to the ground. Disarmed and in tremendous pain, the Rogue loses focus of the battle for a brief moment, only feeling River tug her lifeless arm and shift their position.

Dozens of icy shards bury themselves all across her back and her world goes black. The spell ends with her.

Sensing an opportunity, the Archer fires arrows into the dying whirlwind, while the mace wielder and swordsman sprint after Sarna. She continues to just stand on the same spot, one arm crossed under her chest and the other with a hand holding up her chin in contemplation.

"I'm a little disappointed, youngin." She says to him from across the battle. "You let two of them slip by."

They close in on her, weapons already swinging, but she dodges and side steps them with effortless economy of movement. The mace wielder lets out a primal yell, blasting out a red aura that washes over her, but she merely shrugs it off like a warm summer breeze.

"Very nice taunt ability. Almost got me there, sweetie." A few arrows are sent her way, but she still does little more than avoid them by an inch or so.

"Triburst flash ignite!"

River times his spell with the Archer's volley of arrows to Sarna and catches her with all three magic spikes. They explode on impact as he moves in to finish her.

"Leave her alive, would you, youngin?"

Sarna asks, a dagger in one hand deflecting a fast paced combination attack from the swordsman. The mace wielder comes out from the side screaming and swinging his mace down to crush her.

The metal shatters a few cobblestone and nothing else. Sarna shoves an open palm into his chest, sending him flying backwards.

River is dashing back to her, the Archer knocked out cold on the ground. Her face is already swelling from where she was struck.

He hurls two daggers and a few metal spikes at the swordsman who uses the flat of his blade and a conjured shield of white energy to block them. This shocks River since it looked like a spell cast without an incanto, but it doesn't slow him down.

Back on his feet, the mace wielder uses two hands and a mighty, horizontal swing to intercept him, but River dodges with a roll. Finishing on his knees, he spins a back fist into the mace wielder's own knee, violently sending it in a direction it was never meant to go.

The man crumples to the ground. River puts all his weight into punching straight down and caves in the man's face.

"Good job," Sarna calls from behind the swordsman who immediately tries to slash her in half with a similar spinning move.

The sword cuts through so cleanly that he's left confused for a heartbeat before he realizes the woman standing there is a vanishing after image. His real target is already beside his Archer, tying her up.

"Damn it," he growls through gritted teeth. He winds up his sword and slices it through the air in a downward motion, sending a blade of energy tearing across the street.

River rolls to block it with his two knives, but the energy blade passes through him like a phantom. The damage he sustains isn't visible, but it is excruciating like the blade sliced his soul instead of his body. He stumbles back and the swordsman watches to see what he'll do next.

The cleaver glows, signaling the beginning of an incanto and the swordsman readies his blade and the open hand that conjured the shield earlier.

"Regain a fragment of life."

"What the fuck!" This comes out more as a statement than a question.

The healing spell is the last thing he expected to happen, but he had already summoned the shield. Feeling better, River launches himself at the swordsman whose shield blinks out after two seconds.

"Who the fuck are you people?"

Whatever experience he had had, couldn't compare to the bewildering sight of a boy showing signs of more than three classes and wrecking a team of five. If the woman had joined him, they would've died within moments. This drawn out battle with her servant, of all people, fills him with dread and despair.

He can hardly focus on his fight, too many cuts and slashes are getting past his guard. This "butler" is slicing through what leather armor is exposed while avoiding the chainmail.

How could their contractor set them up like this? How could a black star boy take on all five of them, the lowest being a yellow? Did Owl Eyes' ability get it wrong?

The cleaver glows again and he panics. Dashing backwards, he trips on the uneven cobblestone and sprawls onto his back. He never loses his grip on the sword, keeping it aimed at River.

"Loose a pair of icy shards."

Even on the ground, he's able to block the two speeding icicles, but they were just the distraction. Punching right through the iron chainmail, is the much stronger, high steel chef's knife and it has buried itself all the way through his heart. With a swift yank, River takes back his blade and he wipes it clean with a rag he throws onto the swordsman.

The man on the ground coughs up blood that's starting to fill his lungs, "The Ravenous Rats will come for you... "

Sarna puts her hands on her hips and cocks her head, "Aw, that's exactly what I wanted to ask the two of you. Guess I won't be needing you or her, but you're already dying so you're not a bother."

"Shall I heal him, my lady? We can always come up with more questions," River asks with a sort of cultured indifference.

The swordsman's eyes shoot wide open at such a prospect and coughs up more blood.

"No. As a reward, make his death quick. The Archer and I are going to have a little 'girl talk.'"