Stomp! Stomp! The clamor of marching feet followed swiftly behind the declaration. Jack froze. While He didn’t know anything about...well anything in this world, he did know one thing. The road was too muddy for anyone to walk evenly, let alone march. That was probably a bad sign, he decided. Running was not an option, they would be overtaken before making it out of sight.

He cast about for anywhere to hide. Anything on the left side of the road was out of reach. Crossing over would make them nothing more than big targets pretty soon. There was a mud-brick wall in front of them so he kept looking back the way they had come. There it was! Just behind them was a broken section in the wall that could hide two lanky men with room to spare. He pointed the location out to Casper and was gratified when the blonde man instantly rotated in place and headed for the spot.

Jack felt a sudden breeze at his back, pushing him in the direction of the hole. It was just, barely, enough of a nudge that he was able to avoid getting mired in mud while he ran. They both hopped over the jagged opening in the wall seconds before several hard-bitten men, wearing crimson uniforms tucked under rusty Lorica, turned the corner.

Jack braved a brief peek over the wall as they passed. A dozen or so soldiers were marching down the road, if you could even call them that. They were all bursting out of their armor and their rusty gear was attached in a haphazard fashion. It was their eyes that told Jack that these men were not to be trifled with. Each of them was eyeing the environment dispassionately, looking for someone to take their frustration out on.

Two figures moved in the center of the procession. The first man resembled a Toucan. He wore a striped robe that drowned any passing viewer in a torrent of primary colors. His hair poofed out in the largest pompadour that Jack had ever seen. It also looked like a giant beak, completing the look. A red kitten rode on his shoulder, sleeping.

The other was a young soldier in his early twenties. His lorica was the kind of pristine shine that car salesmen try to get out of their rims. Softly glowing symbols seemed to float in suspension around identical engravings set into the edges of each individual plate. His attention was on the spot they were currently hiding in.

Jack retracted his head and looked to Casper. He was fresh out of ideas. All it would take was a curious soldier sticking his head in curiosity for their efforts to be in vain. Casper pointed to a pile of rubble that was big enough to hide behind and mimed crawling motions. He got the message and nodded in affirmation. They army crawled along the wall as quietly as they could manage and maneuvered behind the aforementioned pile, then settled in to wait. Minutes passed like hours as they listened to the sound of marching feet head off into the distance.

“I think they are gone. We should head out before they can circle back.” Casper reported in a hushed tone as he got up, wiping off the dust.

Jack got up and followed silently. He wasn’t so sure. That soldier in the fancy armor seemed to know they were on the other side of the wall.

On the far side of the building, Casper opened a derelict door that promptly fell apart into a pile of dust and wood shavings. Jack stared, flabbergasted at the sight of solid wood just...disintegrating like that, but Casper was looking beyond the pile of dust at his feet. The reason became obvious as he brought his gaze up from the pile to see that four people were waiting for them on the other side. Jack’s stomach sank as he realized that his gut hadn’t led him astray. The enemy had noticed them and had orchestrated a trap. The other soldiers that had passed were nothing more than bait to send them down this path. A soldier materialized out of thin air and blocked their avenues of escape to either side of them. The soldier in the fancy armor and the toucan man stood in the center of the road, watching in silent judgment.

“What did I tell you sir?” The soldier said to the toucan man with the tone of someone that has explained something many, many times, only to be ignored. “Maybe next time you will heed my words instead of ANOUNCING our presence at every street corner.”

The foppish man stared back at the soldier with disdain. He sniffed loudly, which only made his hairdo bob up and down. “How else am I supposed to remove the riffraff that dare to bar the passage of my glorious self? They choke the streets and behave as if they deserve to be in the presence of their betters. Just setting eyes on these dirty vagrants is distasteful. It was your job to locate the boy. Now that we have him, execute the traitor and bring the boy back to the Forum Senatorium.” He waved the guards on, lazily. “Do it!”

This woke up the kitten on his shoulder. It opened one eye and stared at Jack. In a very noncat-like fashion. Jack had the impression of a pristine brazier, a vessel for an ever-burning flame that burned on pure magic and cast no smoke.

The soldier in charge grimaced and bit his lip for a second before responding. “HALT!” He ordered his soldiers. They complied by halting mid step and unclenching their grips around the hilts of their swords. Only after they were all still did he turn back to the other man.

“Sir, do you not recognize the eldest son and heir of your Praetor? This is citizen Casper. He has yet to choose his surname yet but he possesses all of the rights and privileges of the citizenry. It is unlawful for the Imperial guard to place him under arrest without proof of his ill intentions. Not even one such as yourself can detain him thusly.”

The toucan man, or Lord Pomp he supposed, froze and examined Casper. Little hamsters were running in harried circles behind his eyes. “You...Parker, I will let you off this time. Begone!” He waved Casper away imperiously.

“I must decline, lord regent. I am here on behalf of the senate. You have no right to dictate to me in the fulfillment of my duty.”

“Nonesense. I am here As a representative of the House of Lords. Now, commoner, will you desist and stop interfering with my taking custody of the fugitive, or will I have to make an example out of you?” He sneered in a way that made his poofy hair bounce.

Jack and Casper made eye contact and Jack gestured back the way they had come. Casper glanced behind them but his immediate grimace gave away the presence of more soldiers behind them. They were boxed in.

Jack had been simmering ever since he came to this world, only to be left hanging. He had expected to appear in someone's magical room full of magic stuff and get some direction from there. Or an old man in a hermit’s but. No, not him. He got dumped in a dusty ruin, in the dark, and left to fend for himself. Now, these people were deciding life and death in front of him as if they had the right to kill without a trial or evidence. Finally, to add insult to injury, he was being ignored like a bird already in hand. His blood boiled and his heart pounded in his ears.

Golden light emanated from the bag at his waist. It was soft, so only he noticed. With a shift, Jack hid the bag out of sight. It just felt important not to let these people know about the Phoenix coat. Toucan man may try to take it out for a joyride.

Casper assessed the situation. “Where do you plan on taking the Adjudicator? We were on our way to present him to a member of the Imperial Senate. By interfering, you have obstructed his introduction to society. House of Lords or not, remove yourselves so that we may continue our journey.”

Silence filled the road after Casper threw down the gauntlet. The soldier seemed to realize a fight was inevitable. He was silently signalling to his soldiers and they were backing up step by step. Lord Pomp was visibly enraged by Casper's counter proposal and was cawing up a storm. “How dare you question your better’s boy. Do you know who I am? I own this entire area! I can do whatever I like! Guards, seize them!” This was too much for the arrogant noble as he was now bent over and struggling to take in air. He stooped to take deep breaths.

Something snapped inside of Jack. A deep rage he had been bottling up for a very long time burst and something dark bubbled out. In this place, there were no rules, no constraints and no Old Man to tell him what he could and couldn’t do anymore. This man had just admitted responsibility for this district. The homelessness, the lack of resources and so much more. They were this man’s fault.

Red light emanated from inside of his core. The light spread down and around his body in luminous arching lines. As the lines crossed, they formed wonderous symbols as they continued on their way down his lanky frame.

He felt a tug on his waist pouch before the strings holding it closed tore open, and revealed a small fiery bird. The bird jumped out and perched on his shoulder. It was a chicken, made of fire. Jack had heard of flaming chicken but this was not what he thought they meant.

“The Phoenix!” he heard one of the soldiers gasp under their breath. His gaunt complexion had lost what little color it had.

Jack charged and swung at lord Pomp with a wide uppercut to the face. His fist bounced off a shell made of golden light that shimmered into existence when he made contact, sending him stumbling back. The red kitten was screeching and scratching the nobleman it was crouched on with great vigor. One of Pomps hands landed on it’s head and a ray of light from his finger knocked it unconscious.

The downed lord jerked when his defensive measures had been triggered. Fury boiled in his eyes as he stood back up and squared off with Jack.

“How dare you strike at me, knave! I will make you wish that you had never been born, then I will go after your friends and family!” He raised his hand and a bright light shot out, blinding Jack. Then pain. Then darkness.