It had only been a few minutes since Trouble had scaled the wall like a hunting insect when Architallis spotted a shape dive off the roof in a nose-dive. Architallis recognized the shape of Trouble and cocked his head as he asked, “I don’t suppose your brother is immune to fall damage?”
“What?” Vex asked back. “No. He can fall from pretty high up and land on his soles with little trouble, thanks to his Feline Footing technique. But from that height… Yeah, he’d splat like a bug.”
Sin looked to the Hexxen Bane with a quizzical expression. “If that is the instance, should you not be practically panicking?”
Architallis saw Vex wearing a knowing grin without looking away from her brother. “Just wait for it.”
As if on cue, Trouble kicked off solid air to plant both feet and a hand on the building’s exterior wall. The Adroit slid down the steep surface, his claws shattering windows and carving through the stone as he slowed his fall. The guided descent came to a steady stop just above the ground floor. Trouble kicked off from the wall to easily land back beside the rest of the lance. Tro held up the Last Light Lantern with one hand as his other pulled down his collar to flash the team a proud, shark-toothed grin.
The lance gathered around the device to inspect it. The strange device looked like a classic bullseye lantern from ages past, only it was made of a silver-white metal with a faint green sheen. Everyone closed in around the device to get a closer look. Vex poked the lantern, tipping it up to peer at the underside. “Damn it, Belladonna,” she muttered under her breath. “How did you do it? This thing is insane.”
“What madness are you speaking of?” Sin asked as he tried to peek around Alex’s hulking frame.
Vex shook her head in wordless denial as an answer.
Trouble’s ears twitched before swivelling to face behind him and angling up. “Incoming,” he said in a wary tone.
“What?” Alex asked. “Won’t they need to ride the elevator back down? We have at least a few minutes to stride before they find us.”
Without looking or speaking, Trouble pointed straight up. Everyone but Trouble and Alex turned their gaze back to the roof of the office behind them. Alex tried to follow suit but couldn’t angle his head high enough.
Two large black spots flung themselves from the roof, plummeting straight down. Trouble jogged past Alex by a few paces before turning to face the office building. Architallis took several steps backward as he watched the shadows grow larger. Vex followed her brother.
Architallis knew exactly where the two shadows would land: directly atop the only two teammates that didn’t move. Alex looked around at his lance-mates. “What? What is it? Do I have something on my shell?”
“You certainly are about to,” Architallis said, but thought it best not to ask the Knyght to move. As the large metal shapes shot closer, the Alchemyst thought it best to test the durability of Alex’s shell. He shouldn’t die from the impact.
As the shadow over Sin grew and darkened, he sidestepped to the left, just outside the shadow, but the dark spot followed him. He took two steps back and another to the right. The shadow followed yet again. With a weighty sigh and a muttered “Oh dear,” it was clear the Immortal gave up on escape.
A thunder, like tandem meteors impacting, sounded as two hefty Knyght Shells landed. One struck Alex directly from above, driving him face-first into the pavement a foot-and-a-half deep. The second landed on Sin, crushing him into a chunky jelly with a squelch and the sound of shattering bones.
Architallis carefully inspected their attackers. Both Knyght Shells were smaller than Alex’s Tomb Shell. Each was only about six-and-a-half feet tall compared to the hulking eight feet Alex stood at. Both were nearly identical, with angular armor plating and helmets shaped like classic knight helmets with glowing blue scanners for eyes. The only exception was the one that landed on Alex; it was silver with blue trim, while the one that crushed Sin was black with yellow trim, like construction warning tape.
The pair of Knyghts looked up as one, looking at each other before scanning their surroundings. The black Knyght glanced at Sin beneath them before spotting Trouble with the lantern. That Knyght sprinted for Trouble. While the first was moving, the silver Knyght extended a pair of massive punch-daggers from its fists. They drove a single dagger between the armor plates of Alex’s shoulder, scrapping servos and severing wires. Without skipping a beat, the silver Knyght stepped from Alex’s back and hurried to follow the first Knyght, who was chasing Trouble.
Trouble, for his part, was sprinting down a nearby back alley, with the lantern still in hand. However, Architallis recognized that alley as one he had wired with a trap. “Wait!” he shouted through cupped hands, “I would not recommend that path!”
Trouble looked over his shoulder at the Alchemyst, but didn’t understand in time. His foot triggered the trap sensor halfway down the alley, and the confined space was filled with pepper spray. Trouble tripped over his own feet, rolling over himself to come to a stop, writhing on the ground, clutching his eyes and nose. Trouble only barely muffled the screams of agony.
Vex, who was halfway between the chasing Knyghts and her brother, sprinted down the alley. Trouble had collapsed halfway down the alley and was clutching his face as he rolled back and forth, screaming in pain. The moment Vex passed through the mouth of the alley, she yanked off her hat and plunged her hand inside. When she withdrew it, Vex was clutching two gas masks.
Architallis couldn’t help but wonder just how many assorted things Vex had stowed away in that pocket realm of hers. The Alchemyst shook himself back to his senses as Vex, wearing one mask, was helping her brother into the other. However, the opposing Knyghts were closing the distance rapidly.
Architallis knew he had to help. Those Knyght shells were strong enough to crack an orc skull like a melon under a sledgehammer. The Alchemyst quickly reviewed his mental archive of what ready-made compounds he had on hand that could help. His mind flashed back to the Trapp Tar incident with Alex and the ghouls. He flung open his coat like a cape in the wind before quickly snatching a large bottle of the same substance from his belt. The Vhenari had taken a note from Vex and Trouble’s book regarding quick-access tools on one’s person.
With panicked motions, Architallis snatched the bottle from his hip, yanking it off the belt, heedless of the snap-latch, before pulling back his arm and lobbing the glass container far overhead. The bottle crashed to the ground just ahead of the first chasing Knyght and exploded in a spray of thick goo.
Unfortunately, the Trapp Tar didn’t even slow down either Knyght as they entered the alley. Vex helped Trouble down the alley, toward the opposite opening. Trouble was still coughing and attempting to rub his eyes through the mask. Vex held the lantern in her free hand as they hobbled closer to the exit of the alley.
Architallis turned back to trade panicked looks between Alex and Sin. Alex was pulling himself out of his personal crater, his left arm hanging limply at his side even as his right helped him brace. Sin, for his part, was regenerating from being pulped like an overripe fruit.
That was when something slammed against the entry doors to the Evea-Life office. Architallis spun around to find what could only have been the rest of the Shadow Saber lance. A tall, dark-haired man wearing a gun-blade on his back peeled the broken doors open with an enraged expression on his face. The doors ground open, the sound of the gears stripping under supernatural strength. Just behind the furious man was a shorter red-haired man who could only be Drake, with a panicked expression, alongside a caster of some kind who simply looked irritated.
Architallis had to think fast. Alex was in a weakened state, and Sin was useless in a brawl. That only left the Alchemyst, who had almost no combat experience. So Architallis did the only thing that came to mind. He traded a panicked look between the Knyghts chasing Vex and her brother, and the rest of the Shadow Saber lance. “What in the hells is going on!?” he shouted, gripping his head with both hands. “Some freak dropped from the roof, then those two Knyghts!”
The rest of Shadow Saber hurried out to stand in the clearing, looking around with seeking eyes. “Where did they go?” The lance leader demanded. In wordless answer, Architallis pointed toward the back of the second Knyght, just rounding the rear edge of the alley. Shadow Saber sprinted to follow their Knyghts.
“Sorry, Miss Vex,” Architallis muttered under his breath before moving to check on Alex. The Soulforged was staggering to his feet, swaying back and forth as he tried to recenter his balance. The Alchemyst moved to help Alex stand upright, whose remaining hand was braced against his knee. Architallis quickly realized that despite his hulking mass, there was no way his mere flesh and blood body could support the monolith of a metal body.
“We need to hurry,” Architallis whispered into Alex’s ear microphone. “They are closing on our companions rather quickly. I shudder to think what will happen if Vexxenna and Trouble are captured.”
“Yeah. Yeah,” Alex huffed as if out of breath as he leaned over himself, like he was catching that breath. “Give me a sec. That bastard rang my gong pretty good.”
“We don’t have time for your gong.” Architallis sneered that last word with distaste. “We need to catch up with them before capture occurs.” Architallis rapped a single claw on Alex’s forehead. “We have only a finite window to move.”
“Fine, fine,” Alex grumbled as he stood up straight. He tested his damaged arm. The hand and elbow joint both worked fine enough, but the sound of jammed and grinding gears came from the Knyght’s shoulder. “Dreck.” He cursed. “Arm’s no good.”
“That will need to matter later,” Architallis said as he turned to watch the last of Shadow Saber, the Mage, round the corner to follow Vex. “First, we must find our fleeing lance-mates and extract them from this precarious situation.”
“Kay,” Alex said with a sigh. “Where are they?”
Architallis pointed in the general direction he had last seen their lance-mates fleeing. Alex gave the Alchemyst an irritated expression. “How about you check the ping tracking from Tro’s therra? We should still have plenty of time left on his timer.”
Architallis gave the Knyght an impressed look before following his instructions. Sure enough, Trouble’s tracking was still active, and the map showed the pair moving west, toward their housing. “The fools!” Architallis spat. He turned back to the Knyght. “They are moving to our operating base. We need to intercept them before they lead their pursuers there.”
“Then we need to get rolling,” Alex said before scooping the Alchemyst up like a sack of flour again. “You guide, I run,” Alex commanded in a tone that brooked no room for debate. “Keep it quick and clean.”
Without another word, Alex pushed off into a loping sprint that shattered the pavement with every step. Each step was jarring enough to rattle Architallis’s teeth and flip his stomach. But the Alchemyst needed to focus on the task at hand. This was little more than reading out directions to a driver… while riding on a roller coaster with no shock absorption.
Alex ran down the street parallel to where Architallis said Vex and Tro were running. As the metal and furry pair passed an alley, they caught sight of Vex and Trouble hurrying with the two opposing Knyghts almost within arms reach. Alex picked up his speed into a higher gear. Just before the pair crossed by the next alley, Alex dumped Architallis like a bag of trash and turned into the intersecting alleyway. Architallis heard the Soulforged break into a charge and saw him drop his damaged shoulder.
Vex and Trouble passed the alley, and just as the first of the two Knyghts came into sight, Alex drove his shoulder into the smaller shell with enough force to drive them through the wall opposite the entering alley. Without skipping a beat, Alex grabbed the second Knight’s face plate and slammed it into the ground hard enough to embed the helm into the stone.
Architallis scrambled to his feet before hurrying down the alley. He stopped just out of sight of the alley’s occupants as the sound of the opposing lance came skidding to a halt. Alex menaced his foes, one fist raised in a challenging threat, while he kept his damaged arm just out of sight. The Alchemyst peered down the alley, past Alex, to find Vex and her brother rounding another corner and out into the main thoroughfare.
Architallis plucked several vials from his lab coat before catching Alex’s attention with a harsh “Psst!” Alex cocked his head over as Architallis pulled a strand of twine from his pocket and wrapped all eight vials together. His hands shook even as he wrapped the fibrous thread around the tightly held glass containers. Architallis flung the container around the corner blindly. As the containers shattered on the pavement, a thick cloud of pepper spray and smoke plumed in a bellowing cloud, and a wide slick of Zero-Oil spread out.
“We need to go!” Architallis hissed to Alex as he grabbed the Soulforged’s good hand and dragged him into the thoroughfare Vex had entered. While Shadow Saber choked on caustic smoke and slipped on magical zero-traction oil, Architallis and Alex hurried from their line of sight. The moment the two were several paces from the alley, Architallis stopped to turn to Alex. “Minimize your form, now.” The Vhenari hissed. Alex quickly did as he was told while Architallis called Vex on his therra-node. “I see you. We have distracted the pursuers for a moment at least. Take the next street left. Alex and I will go right. Don’t look back.”
“Roger,” came Vex’s reply. As Architallis watched Vex and Trouble, the two stripped their gas masks off, and Vex slipped her Witch hat under one arm as Trouble righted himself to walk normally, only slightly rubbing his eyes with one finger as they headed to the left.
Alex stepped from his Tomb Shell with jerky motions as the device reverted to its coffin shape; only the upper-left quadrant didn’t close completely. The Soulforged tested his left arm to find it functional and let out a relieved sigh. Architallis stepped up beside Alex and whispered, “We need to move down the road like nothing happened and head right at the intersection. They will stop you since your Shell and body are easily identifiable.”
Alex shouldered his Shell by the chain, and the two walked down the street at a casual stroll. “Should I start a brawl?” Alex whispered back.
“No,” Architallis answered. “Act confused. They are after the lantern, not you, and they didn’t see me. We might make a pair, but the worst they will do is set someone to tail us. So be sure to stay aware without looking guilty. We’ll look for somewhere to look busy until our tail admits defeat.”
Alex adjusted the weight of his shell nervously as they reached the corner. Architallis glanced over his shoulder just in time to spot the Jaeger, Deviant, Mage, and both Knyghts burst from the alley, covered in black oil that was even then dissolving into the air as the magical compound broke down. The five spotted Alex’s bobbing Tomb Shell and hurried to catch up.
The black-haired Jaeger reached the nonchalant pair first, gripping Alex’s shoulder in a powerful hand and spinning him around. “Whoa,” Alex said in feigned shock. “Yo. Can I help ya, buddy?”
“Where are they?” the Human demanded between clenched teeth.
“I’m sorry, sir,” Architallis started in a casual but concerned tone, “but if you need directions, I am afraid we won’t be of much use. But if you have been the victim of a pickpocket, I know there is a black market dealer about three streets south of here.”
“Damn it!” the Jaeger cursed before signalling for his four comrades to follow him back a few steps. Architallis and Alex turned away and kept walking, but the Vhenari kept his canine ears trained on Shadow Saber.
“They’re playing dumb.” The Jaeger whispered in an angry voice. “Did either of you see them?”
The other four shook their heads as Architallis glanced over his shoulder. “Damn it.” The lance leader cursed again. “Kaymoor, head south. See if you can find them that way. Twins, head west, keep outta sight. Nick, follow those two,” the Jaeger growled, with a thumb stabbed back towards Architallis and Alex. “They must know something. Stay outta sight.”
“What about you?” Drake asked.
“I’ll head north.” Without another word, the gathering broke. The pair of Knyghts, twins apparently, went in the direction Vex and Trouble had gone. Architallis could hear their steps. When Architallis flicked another glance back, he found Drake. The opposing Deviant stood in place with his hands in his pockets as he glared at Architallis and Alex.
Architallis snapped his head back to facing forward and found himself wearing a malicious grin. The Alchemyst pulled Trouble’s tracker back up and sent Vex a text message reading, ‘You have a tail. The Knyght twins. Don’t head back to the housing. Move to your next blind alley and take a circuitous route. Wait at a bar for a time if needed. Just keep your hat hidden, and Trouble’s ears out of sight.’
Vex’s reply was a simple ‘Roger.’
Architallis found a plot brewing deep within his mind, and he thought it could give Ill Omen an edge in the coming days. So he changed the GPS’s targeting to center back on himself. He found the nearest shady bar and entered.
The bar was named Buddy's Pub. The structure’s interior and exterior matched in decay and disrepair. The interior was black, with walls of cracked, chipping plaster revealing the brick beneath. The entire space stank of cigarette smoke. Running along the rear wall was a floor-to-ceiling mirror, while the dinged and scratched metal bar ran the length of the left wall. The space was only lit by neon signs mounted along the perimeter. A rainbow of flickering, dancing colors played across the patrons as they nursed cheap drinks and munched bar snacks absentmindedly.
Architallis examined the patrons of the space as he and Alex approached the bar. The large majority of drinkers looked rough and rugged. There were far fewer vhenari in the establishment than in the other bars Architallis had entered while looking for data on Drake and Shadow Saber. The space was mostly full of scruffy human men and dangerous-looking orc men. Sprinkled throughout the humans and orcs was a smattering of wolf vhenari and burly dezzar dracose. Architallis and Alex would stand out. Good.
Architallis tapped two claws on the bar to get the dwarf bartender’s attention. She looked just as rugged as the rest of the patrons, with fraying black dreadlocks running along her scalp, covered with an assortment of metal beads. “Dwarven whiskey.” Architallis casually ordered, even as he felt the glares from the rest of the room burrowing into the back of his head.
Alex stepped up to the bar beside Architallis, resting his forearm on the metal surface with a dull sound of metal scuffing metal. “Make that two.”
Architallis and the bartender gave Alex a long, quiet look before the bartender shrugged and started pouring a pair of whiskey glasses. “That’ll be one silver and six copper apiece. Pay up front. We don’t run tabs here.” The Dwarven Bartender said in a voice that clearly told that she was a chain smoker. Architallis pulled up his therra display and flicked the woman thirty-two credits before picking up his glass.
As if to verify the assumption, she pulled out a crumpled cigarette from a back pocket and lit it. She took a deep inhale, flaring the glowing cherry, before ashing the cancer stick into Alex’s whiskey.
Alex wordlessly glared at the woman. Her only response was to shrug and say, “Not like you were gonna really have it. Now git.” She waved her hands in a shooing motion.
Architallis and Alex walked to the nearest vacant table and took their seats. Architallis sat with his back to the mirror, while Alex sat facing it. As the Soulforged set down his Tomb Shell, it let out a hollow thud. Architallis’s own pack made almost no sound as he gently set it on the floor.
“I’ll need you to use the mirror to find and track our tail,” Architallis whispered to his companion. “Don’t stare, just glance for a fraction of a second. Keep track of him. Your face is the least readable of the two of us, so be sure to keep a neutral expression.”
Alex did as he was told, scanning the room via the rear-room mirror. “Got him,” Alex said calmly. “Opposite side to us. He has a cloak on with the hood up. Looks to be nursing a beer.”
Alex looked down at his ruined drink with a sour expression in his eyes. Architallis sighed and pushed his own drink over to Alex with two fingers. Alex looked up at the Alchemyst in surprise. “Aren’t you going to drink it?”
“Certainly not,” Architallis said as he propped his chin in one hand. “I don’t drink anymore, at my wife’s wishes.”
“Wait. You’re married!?” Alex exclaimed in an excited whisper. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“Because it is none of your concern. Nor anyone else’s, for that matter.” Architallis said in a tired and heavy tone. “Now stay on task. I’m going to hand you a wrapped sack, about the size of the lantern. It’s actually a towel wrapped around a knockout compound.” Architallis reached into his bag beside him and prepared the materials out of sight. While he worked, he continued to give instructions. “After I hand this off, in noticeable sight via the mirror, head out the alleyway exit side door. Head around the rear corner of the establishment and wait.”
“Okay?” Alex asked, just as much as agreed. “What’ll you be doing?”
Architallis finished wrapping the bundle. “I will wait a few moments and exit through the same door. However, I will move toward the face of the structure and act distracted.” Architallis paused to see if Alex understood. When the Soulforged nodded, he continued. “Our target will likely attempt to capture me to interrogate me for information about your whereabouts. You will ambush him with the towel saturated in the compound I’m giving you. We’ll take him back with us for our own interrogation.”
Alex gave a firm nod and a grunt of agreement. Architallis passed the bundle to Alex beneath the table in a manner that appeared subtle if it weren’t for the mirror, which openly showed the act. With the bundle in hand, Alex scanned the room through the mirror again. “He spotted it.”
“Good. Now get going. I’ll be out in two minutes.” Architallis said as he pulled up his therra display again. He pretended to look busy while watching the clock, but was quickly interrupted thirty seconds in. A call came in from Vex. Architallis answered, expecting the Witch to say something about shaking their tail. Instead, upon opening the communications, he was greeted by an explosion coming through the call, loud enough to make him flinch.
“Get your asses down here, NOW!” Vex demanded, shouting through the call. Her command was quickly followed by the sound of gunfire.
Architallis shot to his feet and hurried out the side door, his finger pressed against his ear, opposite the therra, as if it would make the call resonating in his head sound clearer. The Alchemyst burst through the side door and moved toward the street with hurried steps. “What happened?!” he shouted into the call. “Did the Knyghts catch up with you?!”
“WHAT!?” Vex screamed back. “No! I had to leave Sin behind. Now the Rose is here to collect again!”
“By Pandemonium’s gate.” Architallis cursed under his breath, dimly aware of the sound of the bar’s side door opening again. “We don’t have the Immortal with us!”
“You have to be joking!” Vex cursed. “Where is the twit?!”
“Unknown,” Architallis answered as he peered down both ways of the street, checking for any signs of the battle he could hear over the call. “He was still regenerating when we left to aid you. If he were intelligent, he would have returned to our housing.”
Another explosion came through the call, followed by several more gunshots. “Him, intelligent?!” Vex let out a harsh laugh. “Don’t make me laugh. For all we know, he’s wandered back onto the Path Carver Caravan and is about to leave the settlement.”
“Valid point,” Architallis said as he turned around. The Alchemyst locked eyes with Drake, who held a knockout garrote in both hands. The man froze, staring up at Architallis, who looked back down on him, unfazed. Alex was two steps behind the gold-toothed Deviant, with towel in hand. The Knyght’s final step made an audible sound, and Drake spun to respond.
Alex was faster, wrapping his free arm around the man, locking his arms in place, as his other hand pressed the towel to cover Drake’s mouth and nose. “Hey, buddy, does this rag smell like chloroform to you?”
Drake thrashed and struggled in vain, as his motions grew slower and weaker. “Shhhh. Sleep now.” Alex whispered in Drake’s ear. “Go to sleep. Go to sleep. Go to sleep, Mister Scum Bag.” The Soulforged sang the demented lullaby like he was cooing over a baby, until he hissed the term ‘Mister Scum Bag’ in a caustic tone.
As Drake went limp, Alex threw his rag doll body over one shoulder. “What the hells was that? I thought you said two minutes. I hadn’t even rounded the corner when you came bursting out. You had me scrambling to get the rag soaked before you got jumped.”
“Don’t worry yourself. I knew he was coming and could have handled myself.” Architallis said in a level voice.
“Who the hells was on that call anyway?” Alex asked. “Is it your wife?” he teased.
“If only,” Architallis said with a note of longing. “It was our intrepid leader. She has been ambushed by her pursuers yet again.”
“Dreck.” Alex cursed. “We need to get to them asap.”
“You will do little good in such a battle with the present state of your shell. You should take him,” Architallis nodded toward the unconscious Drake, “back to your room and keep watch. Be sure to restrain him.”
“But what about-” Alex started, but the Alchemyst cut him off.
“Hold to your task. I will support the others.” Architallis snapped before turning and sprinting down the street.
He had to hurry. If the battle went on for too long, it would surely draw Shadow Saber down on the pair.
