Chapter 3

*Terrin*

He raced through the streets of the city, pumping his arms as he ran. He could hear them only a few yards behind, and a feeling of irritation settled in his gut. He’d be able to get away if he was caught, but he’d rather not go through that much trouble, especially if he had a chance of outrunning them right now. 

Terrin turned a corner into a wide alley way littered with crates and discarded bags, making his way around the obstacles as quickly as he could. The people chasing him followed him into the alley, but he grinned as he heard them curse in frustration as the items gave them trouble. 

“Don’t let him get away!” a gruff voice boomed. 

He stopped when he made it out the other side of the alley and looked back to see two out of the five still hot on his tail. He huffed in exasperation and started running again, his thighs starting to ache with effort. When was he going to lose these guys? 

*Zared*

“Finally!” Miria groaned, shuffling forward as the southern gate came in sight. Zared had to agree. After about a week of nothing but forest, he was immensely grateful that they’d finally made it to Azmar, the closest city to Dewhurst. Two guards stood on either side of the gate, and they faced their way as he and Miria walked closer. 

“Good afternoon,” the guard on the right said. He was incredibly tall, towering over the both of them even though Zared was a good six foot two. “Welcome to the city of Azmar.” 

“If you need any guidance around the city, you can usually find other guards stationed along the main road. We hope you enjoy your time here,” the other guard said, flashing them a polite smile as her gaze traveled along their bodies, no doubt trying to tell if they were suspicious or not. 

Zared returned her smile. “Thank you.” 

He and Miria headed past the gate and into the city, taking a turn onto the main road, as it seemed the best way to find information on where to buy necessities. 

“Woah,” Miria said.

“Yeah,” Zared replied. The main road extended straight as far as he could see, with tall stone buildings lining the sides. Crowds of people roamed around, not enough to smother them but enough to make the street look busy. He glanced around in wonder at the sheer amount of stuff as they made their way down the path. There was a shop selling food, another selling weapons, and another just for clothes. Back home they only had one store, and it only sold a few items, and certainly not anywhere near the variety that Azmar presented. 

“So,” Miria started, turning to him, “where should we start first?”

Zared led her away from the middle of the street and up against the wall where they could talk without being in anyone’s way. “Well, what do we need to get?” 

Miria counted off the items on her hand. “Food, medicine, and traveling supplies. We used up all the medicine I brought with me when we fought the Excidium Sect members, and our food rations are almost gone. I have a small pouch of bronze pieces, a handful of silver ones, and only a few gold.”

“We should save the gold for emergencies,” Zared suggested.

She nodded in agreement. “The traveling supplies can be left for last, since they’re not really a pressing issue at the moment. For the meantime let’s look for food and medicine.” 

“Let’s see if we can get someone to help us get to where we need to go.” Zared looked around, trying to spot one of the guards that were supposed to be here. He caught sight of a red uniform and started heading over there, Miria by his side. 

They reached the guard and Miria stepped forward. “Excuse me, we just arrived in Azmar and we’re looking for a store that sells medicinal products. Do you know where the closest one is?” 

The guard nodded. “Yeah. If you continue along the main road for a few minutes there’s a big, circular hub that has one of the best potions shop in the city. It has a big blue sign in the front. You can’t miss it.” 

Miria dipped her head slightly, a gesture of appreciation. “Thank you.” She turned to Zared. “Let’s go.” 

Zared nodded and they started walking down the main road again, waiting for when the road would shift into the hub the guard mentioned. He soon spotted it ahead, and they walked a little ways into the circle before stopping, looking around for the big blue sign. Almost immediately Zared saw it, off to the left. 

“There it is,” he said, Miria turning to look at where he was pointing. They walked over and headed inside the store, gaping at all of the healing items they saw around them. 

“Wow,” Miria breathed. “This is way better than back home.” 

Zared agreed. They split up and went to search on their own. While they hadn’t encountered any more Excidium Sect members since their first confrontation, they’d both been acutely aware of the high chance that their conversation had been listened to. In case anything else happened, it was good to be prepared. Zared ran a list through his head of what they needed: a roll of gauze, a jar of generic remedying paste, and a healing crystal. His hopes weren’t so high for the last item. Crystals alone were difficult to come by, and any that were sold in shops were often very expensive. But even just one crystal could mean life or death for them if it came down to it. 

Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that. 

*Terrin*

His thighs throbbed. His lungs burned. His feet were numb. He knew he wouldn’t be able to last much longer if he kept running from them. But he had no idea how he was going to get away from them. 

“Get him!” the leader roared behind him, a little too close for comfort. He swallowed painfully, his throat dry from running. He really didn’t have much time left to make a last ditch effort to lose these guys. 

Terrin turned a corner and realized he’d made it onto the main road. Just his luck. He’d probably get stopped by a guard and be hauled off to jail, which would definitely put a dent in his plans. He looked to his left and saw the main hub just a few yards away. Yes! An idea was starting to form in his mind. 

He gathered his remaining energy and forced himself to push on towards the circle. He ran counter-clockwise to reach the other side, and looked back to see how far away his followers were. They weren’t as close as they’d been earlier, but they still hadn’t lost sight of where he was going. He allowed himself a grin. He’d put his plan to work soon. 

WHAM!

All thoughts of his plan left his mind as he bounced backwards and landed on his rear, wincing when he realized it would bruise. He looked over at who he’d run into. 

A light skinned girl wearing a thick leather vest over a white linen shirt was rubbing her head where he’d smacked into her. Their gazes caught and her yellowish green eyes lit with anger. “Hey! What was that for, jerk?” 

A guy exited the shop next to them and stared down at the two of them, his gaze running over Terrin as he assessed the situation. His black hair pulled back into a bun allowed for an unobscured view of his face and his light brown, almost orange eyes, stood out against his dark brown skin. He raised an eyebrow at Terrin, a mildly amused look on his face. 

Terrin felt a flame burn low in his belly and was about to retort to the girl that he hadn’t been trying to bump into her when a brilliant idea popped into his head. He glanced back at the thugs chasing him. They’d almost caught up. 

Terrin frantically stood up and stepped behind the guy, slightly pissed that the man was taller than him. But he shoved it aside. “Please help me! Those men are after my life, and I have no way of defending myself!” 

The girl got up and dusted off her rear, still glaring at him. “Huh?” She turned towards the thugs that were coming up in front of them and her eyes widened. “Oh, man.”

The group of thugs came to a stop in front of the guy and the girl, their faces murderous. The guy in the middle stepped forward, his tattoos rippling on his thick biceps. “Step aside, you two. We have no quarrel with you, only with him.” He pointed a scimitar at Terrin and, ever the flair for acting, Terrin ducked behind the guy and whimpered, forcing his body to start quivering. 

The girl on his right stepped forward, her hand on a sword handle at her belt. Perfect. “Hey, listen. We don’t want to be in the middle of a fight but we can’t stand by while you guys beat up an innocent person. Especially since five against one isn’t exactly what I’d call ‘fair’.” 

Terrin stared at her. She was small, but her attitude commanded attention. He smirked. He was glad he’d bumped into these people. 

Bicep Man scoffed. “Little girl, that boy hiding behind your partner’s back is a thief. We caught him stealing some jewels from us and we’ll do whatever it takes to get them back.” The rest of the group grumbled their agreement.

The girl’s eye twitched. She looked over at Terrin with a syrupy sweet smile. “Is that so?” 

Uh oh. Terrin stepped away from the guy with the hair in a bun, rubbing his neck sheepishly. “Heh. Oops.” 

A punch in his side sent him stumbling to the floor, a groan of pain escaping him. He fought to breathe, and glared up at the girl who’d hit him. He coughed as he struggled to take a full breath. “What . . . the hell was that for?” 

The girl’s eyes narrowed. “Idiot. Did you really think we’d believe one person over the testimony of five people?” She sighed and turned back towards the thugs. “Either way it’s still unfair for five people to go against one, so I’ll be merciful and fight for you. What do you think, Zared?”

The guy next to her, Zared, shrugged. “Your call, Miria.” 

Miria grinned and assumed a ready stance, facing the thugs. Zared assumed a similar stance, his fists clenched and lifted to his sides.

Bicep’s Galore snarled and cracked his knuckles, his face red with fury. “Don’t underestimate us, kid. Let’s see what you’ve got!” 

*Miria*

She exchanged a glance with Zared, his barely noticeable nod not lost on her. They knew what they were doing. The thugs rushed at them. The leader of the gang of thugs lunged at her, his huge fist aimed at her head. She calmly stepped aside and drove her toe into his knee, a grunt of pain sounding from him. He whipped around and came at her with his arms outstretched, looking to trap her in a grip. At the last second she ducked out of his way, but he swept his leg underneath her and she fell hard on her shoulder. He turned and raised his foot to bring it down on her stomach and she rolled away, quickly jumping to her feet once she stopped. 

Another thug, this one with half of his head shaved, got behind her and wrapped his arm around her neck and squeezed, constricting her throat to the point where pain reddened her vision. The tattooed man raised his fist to pummel it into her. She grit her teeth against the pain and used the shaved-head-guy as a bar, grabbing his arm, lifting her legs from the ground, and kicking out at the leader, her boots slamming into his face. 

The force from her kick slackened the grip the shaved-head-guy had on her neck, and she drove her elbow into his gut, taking a deep breath as his arm left her throat. She spun around and delivered another blow to his ribs using a well placed kick, and he staggered to the side. She rushed at him and, slightly cupping her palms, slammed her hands over his ears, watching as he cried out and fell to the ground. 

She looked back at the guy with the tattoos, but her kick to his head had knocked him out cold. She glanced over at Zared to see that he’d had similar luck, the thugs around him either unconscious or groaning in pain.

She then realized that a crowd of people had gathered, all staring at them in a mixture of amazement and bewilderment. Her eyebrow twitched in irritation. “We’re done! There’s nothing more to see here.” 

The crowd, suddenly remembering themselves, starting dispersing and she headed over to the guy who’d been called a thief. Messy brown bangs cut across his forehead right above his eyes, the rest of his hair falling no longer than the middle of his ears. He was still on the ground, his dark green eyes gazing at her and Zared with wonder. He stood up and gave them a beaming smile, and Miria sighed.

“That was awesome! I mean, I’ll admit when you first said you were gonna’ fight them I thought you were dead meat because, let’s be honest, you don’t look very intimidating,” the guy said, his words coming a mile a minute. Annoyance prickled at her skin. What did he mean, she didn’t look very intimidating? “But then you just beat them up like it was nothing! I would totally pay to see that again.” 

Zared grabbed the guy by the back of his shirt and he let out a cry of protest. “What do you think, Miria? Think we should just leave him alone?” 

The guy’s expression turned to one of false horror. “Hey, you’re not going to beat me up, right? I’m the victim here!” 

Miria rolled her eyes. “You stole jewels, smart-mouth. And while I don’t think these thugs got those jewels using the most orthodox of methods, unfortunately two wrongs don’t make a right.” 

The guy gave her a skeptical look. “Pretty words you’re sitting on, huh? You just beat up five people who were the victims of a robbery. Where’s your humanity?” 

The annoyance prickling at her skin intensified and chagrin blushed across her face. “Don’t twist the situation around!” She huffed and folded her arms, feeling strangely vulnerable. “Anyway, to answer your question, Zared, I think we should turn him in to the guards. They’ll know what to do better than us.” She eyed him. “Especially when dealing with a thief.”

The guy’s face blanched. “What? No! Please, don’t give me to the guards! I can’t go to jail!” 

“You should have thought of that before stealing from people!” she snapped, her patience at a thin with this guy. 

Zared held the guy at a distance, leaning in to her to speak. By the look on his face, he was done with the thief’s nonsense as well. “Miria, let’s just forget about this guy. He’s not worth our time, and to be honest we don’t really have time to waste, especially with the Excidium Sect supposedly following us. We need to keep moving.” 

The guy shifted his body to turn towards them. “Did you just say ‘Excidium Sect’?” 

Miria groaned in frustration, striving for restraint. “Listen, we really need to get going, so we won’t meddle with you any further, okay? Consider it a favor out of the good of our hearts.” She was about to turn to leave when the guy stopped her.

“Wait! If you’re looking for the Excidium Sect, can I join your party?” he asked, his eyes suddenly burning with determination. “I have some rough knowledge of their whereabouts, so I could help get you there.” 

She exchanged a glance with Zared. His expression was blank, showing nothing. She turned to the guy. “Hold on.” 

She pulled Zared over to the wall, out of earshot of the thief. “What do you think, Zared? Do you think we should allow him to join? He is a thief, after all.”

Zared’s expression grew thoughtful. “I’m not getting a very good vibe from him. But I did think he was telling the truth when he said he had information on the Excidium Sect, and if that’s the case I really can’t pass that up. Plus, it’s better than what we have to go on right now.” 

Miria hesitated. The guy annoyed her like all hell. But she couldn’t deny the fact that he could be useful. And if Zared thought they could use him, then she would trust his judgement. They walked back over to the guy, who was looking at them with an expectant expression. 

“Congratulations,” Miria said. “You’re part of the team.” 

The guy’s eyes widened and a smile lit up his face. “Really? That’s great!” He extended his hand. “The name’s Terrin of Azmar. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” 

Miria looked down at his hand. Then back up at him. She gave him a sugary sweet smile and didn’t bother taking his hand. “Miria of Dewhurst. And don’t even think about stealing from me.”