Temple of the Divine Dwarf, part 2

[Graybeard]

The two security men looked at each other as Eve's form changed, then muttered something in Tsuirakuan. Then they nodded, and magic flowed from their fingertips ...

The phrase "BINDING!!" didn't really need translation, as Eve was enveloped in a ropy cocoon of magic.

[Jack Rothwell]

It was at that moment that a trio of well-armed mercenaries, headed by a red-haired woman carrying a peculiar looking rifle, rounded the stairs and came into view of the magic-using gentlemen. The sounds of hammers being thumbed back was eclipsed by a low humming sound as Jade pressed a switch on the mana-gun. It glowed faintly in the semi-darkness, as softly as the voice of the blacksmith used to call to the men binding their friend.

"Magic, eh?" She said, almost cheerfully, leveling the sight at the nearest of the two gentlemen. "This is pretty magic too. It's a new design of mine, great for getting through those pesky barriers that mages are so fond of wrapping themselves in." In truth, Jade wasn't a hundred percent sure that the mana-rifle could punch through a magic barrier, but Rufus' previous use of the gun to destroy that supernatural beast which had nearly caught Eve a few days ago was a definite indication that it could.

"We should just kill them." Bert hissed, anger written all over his face.

[Graybeard]

The two uniformed men stopped short, and their glowing outlines intensified. A muttered conversation in Tsuirakuan followed, in which the word "Kitaura" could be heard.

One man stepped forward. "You go," he said in heavily accented Veracian. "Take friend with you."

Somewhere in the distance, an alarm sounded.

[Jack Rothwell]

Jade kept the gun pointed at the target, nearly pulling the trigger by accident at the shock of the alarm going off. Leo and Bert made their way to Eve and retrieved her, pausing in momentary surprise at the sight of her being back to normal.

"We have to hurry." He said. "That sounded like it came from where we were waiting."

They passed Jade on the stairs, who hadn't moved an inch since she'd drawn the mana-rifle. She waited for the rest of the group to get to the front door before making her move. She sped to the exit with a call of 'We'd better not meet again' to the Tsuirakuans before she left. Once they were outside, the group broke in the fastest run they could manage. Which unfortunately wasn't too quick, hampered as they were by their unconscious fourth member. Bert voiced his concerns.

"What do we do now?"

"Take Eve back to the wagon and try to wake her up." Leo replied. "Jade and I'll check the alarm out. Let's hope Layla and the rest haven't got themselves in trouble.

"Never a dull moment." Jade muttered.

[Graybeard]

Leo poked his head around the corner just in time to see what Layla and Joe were seeing from a block or two away: a small band of uniformed Tsuirakuans moving at a trot, heading for the apartment building where a magical conflagration had recently been averted.

"Uh, oh," Layla said, starting to gather up. "That doesn't look good."

[Jack Rothwell]

Leo and Jade caught up with the Gewehr's just as Bert dipped out of sight with Eve. The blacksmith led, wiping a sheen of sweat from her forehead that was about fifty percent nerves and fifty percent exertion.

"What news?" She asked Layla.

[Graybeard]

"Tsuirakuan Homeland Security unit," Layla answered, worry in her voice. "We'd better get out of here." She left a considerable amount of money at the bar and the group hurried out to the wagon.

A few minutes later, they had collected Bert and Eve and were on the way out to the vineyard for the night. Joe let out a sigh of relief sufficient to fill that experimental sail at the college. "I think we're clear," he said from the driver's seat. "We got away before they could see us ... what is it?"

Layla was looking back at the corner they'd just come around, her eyes wide. "Look at that."

"I don't see anything out of the ordinary," Joe insisted. "What?"

Of course he can't see it: it's magical, Layla thought. Her own newly-developed sensitivity to magic, however, left no doubt that there was a pale green, magical glow in the air behind the carriage that extended back around the corner and out of sight. She uttered a mighty curse and turned toward Eve ... and then uttered a mightier one when she saw the glow extending to Eve's body and stopping there.

"They've got a magical make on you," she said. "I don't know how in Luminosita's name they did it, but they can track you by following your magical spoor, just as clear as day."

[Jack Rothwell]

Eve grumbled, tugging at the clothes which threatened to slide off her body every time the cart banked to sharply taking a corner while Bert and Leo stared meaningfully off into the distance and Jade kept a watch on the road behind them, the mana-rifle dipped out of immediate sight but ready to swing up at a moment's notice. The young mercenary reacted to Layla's news with predictable frustration.

"Of course they do!" She cried. "Why would those weaselly cowards track us the old-fashioned way? That takes physical effort!" She busied herself by retrieving her knife and wheedling a hole in the belt set ten inches too wide for her. She tugged the thing closed.

"What do we do?" Jade asked. "Can you cut the connection? Or should we use our little Princess as a honey pot and snipe them into Luminosita's waiting arms?"

"Just try it, bitch." Eve snapped.

[Graybeard]

Layla glared at the two Silver Hands women. "This is nothing to joke about," she said, as she motioned Joe to take a left turn; he looked at her in surprise, but complied. "Whatever you did back in that apartment building, now we've got the Tsuirakuan Homeland Security cops tailing us. They have one hell of a lot more assets to call on than we do. A fight isn't going to end well. And the other thing is that this risks screwing up a relationship we've built with them that we don't want broken. The only thing we can do is try to throw them off our trail before they figure out who all is in this cab." She turned to Eve. "If we can't do that, we're going to have to drop you at the side of the road to fend for yourself." She left it open whether it was the girl, or her body, that would be left on the curb, but it couldn't help but be noticed that she'd produced a pistol from somewhere and was fingering it.

Now Joe understood. "Right at the next corner?" His face said he'd figured out what Layla was thinking, and he didn't like it.

"Correct," Layla said. "Only place in town where they won't follow us ... and it has its own dangers, to put it mildly." She turned to Jade, a wolf-like smile on her face. "You may get to use that damn thing after all."

They headed into the dockyards, in the Seeadler zone of control.

[OOC: Anybody up for a bar-room brawl, a few episodes from now?...]

[Jack Rothwell]

OOC Sounds good to me /OOC

Jade grinned back at Layla, but there was an element of grimness under the look. She hoped against hope that Eve's temper wouldn't get the better of her; that she'd find herself intervening in a confrontation between allies instead of focusing of getting out of danger.

"I was tailing that brat from the apartment building." Eve suddenly stated, defensiveness all over her tone. "She'd come out the flat you were investigating. I was going to shake her down for information, and it's not my fault a couple of cops just happened to be there!"

"ENOUGH!" Leo yelled from his perch on the side of the wagon. "We can kick each others shins bloody at a later date. For now, I vote we go into the roughest part of town we can find and make these 'officers' someone else's problem."