As the thief tried to rush away from the closed gate their legs failed and they fell face first to the floor. Laying on the cold mud and with the rush of adrenaline fading they began to realise how sluggish their body seemed to move and how sweaty they were despite the low temperatures. Barely standing up again they continued walking away from the city, thinking that maybe they could hide in a barn somewhere, or if they were to fall unconscious maybe the crops on the fields on either side of the road would hide them until the morning. As they continued pushing forward, the sound of the bell got dimmer and dimmer.
Tomorrow the first thing they needed to do was to start their journey to get out of The Shimurian Empire, thinking about their options as they continued to walk with trembling steps. All the roads to Silvermountain, to the south, were most likely full of soldiers and loyalist. North? as far as they knew, there was nothing but an icy wasteland, mountains and a frozen sea. East seemed like the only possible way but it would mean travelling for at least three months. They would have to avoid any major cities now that some guards had seen their face and knew they were a mage. The exhausted fugitive continued thinking about all the possible paths to freedom until, through their blurry vision and the darkness of the night, they saw a small stable not too far away from the road. They made their way through a dusty trail and looked for any empty pen to sleep in. Before laying down they turned around once again to look at the city. It was not too far, maybe two kilometres at most, but the mage had no strength left to put any more distance between themselves and the hornets nest. The bells had stopped. Maybe the guards had given up? Unlikely.
“Who are you and what are you doing here?” Spoke a voice behind them.
The thief turned around to face a middle-aged man, holding a short-sword and makeshift wooden shield. They took a deep breath before speaking. “I am sorry to disturb you, sir. I am just a traveller looking for a place to stay the night. I wonder if I could stay in that empty pen over there.” They pointed towards where they had planned to sleep with a shaky finger. Pulling a couple of the stolen silver coins from their pouch they continued talking. “I will pay you two seals for the trouble, and another two more when I wake up.”
The man hesitantly took the coins and looked closely at them with suspicion, but after a few seconds he closed his fist around them and put them in his pocket. “Sure no problem mister, but I must report this tomorrow first thing in the morning, I could get into trouble if I don’t. You know how these things are. Have a good night”
The ease with which the man was convinced made the mage feel uneasy, but they didn’t have the energy or mental capabilities now to discern whether he was just very trusting or had some other motives. In any case, they had exhausted their body and mind and if something was to happen now they were in no shape to do anything anyways. Walking into the empty pen, they laid over a small pile of hay and curled around their bag in a foetal position. They were barely able to cover themselves with their cape before falling asleep.
The fugitive woke up when the first rays of sunlight hit their eyes. A chicken was pecking their fingers. Jumping up, they looked around frantically for any potential threat or disturbance but everything seemed to be in order. The animals weren’t bothering them, now that the chicken had run away, and there was no one around. It probably wouldn't take long for the farmer and his family to start working for the day. They sat down again and took a deep breath trying to relax for a moment and order their thoughts along with the contents of their bag. They had a feeling of unease creeping in and grasping at their heart. There were some bruised apples still in one of the pockets of their backpack which in this situation tasted better than the most expensive of banquets. Before leaving they walked around for a moment, trying to look for the owner of the farm to give him the two imperial seals promised the night before. He was nowhere to be seen, so they decided to leave the coins in a windowsill next to the front door. Peeking inside, they saw a small cramped house with two rooms. A young boy prepared a meal in one of them while at least five other children were still asleep in the other. The mage decided to leave six more seals, one for each child, before turning around and heading towards the main road but as they were leaving the farm they heard the distinctive sound of metal steps, again. Panicking, the mage vaulted over the door of the nearest stable stall. This one had some ping inside that didn’t seem to mind the intruder’s presence and kept on munching on some grain without making much noise. They petted each animal on the head as a gesture of gratitude, but they remained completely unfazed. The thief leaned against the wooden walls of the stable, trying not to put too much pressure on the creaking wood, and peeked through the cracks to see the people approaching the farm.
Walking along the path there were four figures: The two guards that the night prior had discovered them and who, by the way they stepped heavily as they walked and how they were leaning on their spears for support seemed to have not had any sleep; the farmer who was babbling loudly to the guards; and a fourth figure wearing a golden filigree mask that covered their face from the nose up, hiding their eyes. This fourth figure was wearing a very tight scale armour protecting their whole body with the exception of their head, with heavier and thicker plate armour pieces distributed over his shoulders, gauntlets, and chest. This mysterious individual walked decisively and without making any sound at all despite wearing armour. What worried Lu the most was the shiny gem situated in the centre of their chest. It was a Faith crystal, similar to the ones they had charged the night prior but rather than being a small cube of glass it looked more like a dodecahedral quartz crystal. Those were much rarer and powerful enough to match their scarcity and price tag. The crystal had a bright glow to it and the place where it was inserted in the middle of the chestplate was surrounded by an intricate pattern that almost looked like it was moving. Bad news. The man was most definitely wearing some kind of magical armour, and a person important enough to afford or be given such a thing for sure also possessed some variant of enchanted weapon or other arcane devices. They had only seen a similar armour once before, belonging to a high ranking paladin.
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“Oh, it seems like the boy left.” Said the owner of the farm, who had just reached the pen where Lu spent the night. “Are you going to hunt him down or track him or something?”
“We are not hunting dogs...” One of the guards responded angrily.
“We can.” Interrupted the man wearing the enchanted armour.
The guard corrected himself immediately. “The inquisitor can, but you should have come to us earlier. It would have saved him the trouble.”
Frowning, the farmer continued “How could I? The damned gates were closed! I got into the city as soon as I could.”
“You will have your reward once the fugitive is caught.” The inquisitor sated firmly, while walking around and inspecting the general area.
“No need for a reward.” Said the farmer, lowering his head. “Just doing what you are supposed to do.”
“You will still get a reward, to set an example.” Responded the inquisitor, getting dangerously close to where the mage was hiding. ”I need you two to comb the area for any clues that might lead us where the fugitive is. Get moving.”
“Yes sir.” The two guards said in unison.
The mage carefully took off his cloak and tied it over one of the larger pigs, trying to make sure that no part of the animal was visible. It started squealing. “Sorry” The mage mouthed before poking the pigs with the tip of their blade, causing them to run away into the fields, squealing even louder and causing the other animals in the pens nearby to also make noise and run in some shared hysteric panic. The guards and the farmer shouted as well and began running, following the cloaked pig into the wheat fields tripping over themselves and over the crazed chickens. The mage remained still, listening for the steps of their pursuers until they were far away enough that it seemed safe to leave their hiding spot. They tentatively walked out of the stable, wary of the creaking and whining of their leather boots and once they were out, hastily walked away in the opposite direction. The plan was to walk towards the city and around it at a safe distance until they got to another of the main roads and then leave for good. Then, once they got far away they would travel east.
“Creative idea, lacklustre execution.” The mage’s heart stopped as they heard the voice of the inquisitor behind them. “Such a basic trick might fool the barren minds of the people you have met so far, but not that of anyone with training in the paths.”
Without even turning around, they ran. The inquisitor followed with silent steps. They looked back just enough to see him approach with impossible speed and in a moment of uncharacteristic vulnerability they felt a lump in their throat. There was no time to concentrate. No time for magic, there was only one way they could escape. The inquisitor was just about to catch up to them when, with one swift motion the mage turned around unsheathing their sword and slashing towards where the man’s head was. They remembered the neck being exposed, and even if they didn’t kill him the hit was certainly strong enough to slow him down. Instead, the gem on his chest flashed for a split second and with a burst of light the blade bounced as if it had hit an invisible barrier just an inch over the skin. The inquisitor fell backwards, pushed by the force of the blow, which gave the mage a small opening to pull his hood down and shove him to the floor before running away on a different direction into the fields.
They ran for twenty seconds before they heard a whistle from behind. A bolt of green energy past dangerously close to their head and got lost in the distance. “Running away and attacking an official is only making things worse for yourself.” Shouted the inquisitor as more bolts of green light flew past the mage. “Please don't make me kill you, it won't look good on my record.”
One of the bolts hit them on the shoulder, making them fall. It was painful, but they had had worse. Standing up again, the thief kept running. A few seconds later another bolt of energy flew past them, but this time it was bright yellow and was setting the wheat around it on fire which quickly spread around.
“Stop yourself at once so you can be detained.” The inquisitor was much closer this time. “I don’t want to have to report too much collateral.”
More fire bolts continued to incinerate the plants around them and before they knew it they were running through a blazing field with barely enough speed to not get their own clothes set on fire.
“?aja” They heard him said just behind them before a stream of water pushed their legs making them fall. Behind them, the inquisitor was using a wand to project water towards them with tremendous force, pinning them to the floor. The water spread around them for a few metres, putting out the fire before disappearing. Once he was close enough he stopped with the water and grabbed from his belt a metal collar with some runes engraved on it. “Do not resist any longer, child. You will only make it worse.” He said before kneeling on top of them, trying to wrap the metal ring around their neck.
The mage thrashed and pushed. “You are not putting that thing on me! I have not hurt anyone! Let me be!” In one last display of strength they managed to push themselves up again throwing the man off their back. They then took the opportunity to jump on top of the inquisitor to try and wrestle the metal collar away.
They grabbed the metal piece and pulled, while stepping on the chest of the man laying on the floor, managing to overpower the grab of their opponent and get the collar. The inquisitor in one quick motion rolled on the wet ashy floor to hit them in the back of the knee, making them lose balance. They didn’t fall, but this gave him enough time to summersault back on his feet just in time to dodge the downwards strike of the mage’s blade. Back on his feet, he lunged forwards to grab the hand holding the sword and shifted behind the mage in a swift motion, locking the hand with the blade behind their back. In return they jumped back, pushing them both and trying to knock the inquisitor prone. It failed but the inquisitor had to release the hold and pivot left standing on his right leg. With one flowing movement he continued his rotation and delivered a powerful kick to the mage’s ribcage which took their breath away. Before even catching breath the mage grabbed his leg and pulled him forward. They delivered a punch aimed at his face, but another flash of light stopped it just before the skin. They screamed and jumped back, their fist aching as if it had just been shocked by lightning. The Inquisitor, panting, recovered his balance and pulled from one of his pouches a small golden amulet and looked at the mage, which was still holding to the metal collar. He shook his head and whispered a single word to the amulet.
“Kill.”
The amulet glowed, and for a fraction of a second the mage wasn’t sure what he meant. They then looked towards the collar, still firmly held in their hand. A look of shock and horror formed in their face when they understood. They tried to open their hand and drop the collar, but that moment of confusion was just long enough and before their muscles could obey their thoughts they felt immense pain coming from their hand, rushing through their arm and to their chest, spreading to every inch of their body. Burning, shaking uncontrollably, they fell to the floor, and everything turned black.
