Breaking Step, Draft 1, CH 109 (Patreon)

The dogs’ growling as they turned to face Jackal made the fighter curse and step back.

Serba let out a series of whistles that had the dogs’ ears straighten and a few stop growling.

“I said settle down!” she snapped.

All but three dogs sat and were quiet. The others whined as they looked at her and Tibs let out a bark of laughter at the disbelieving expression on their face, which mirrored the one on Jackal’s.

“Serba?” the fighter asked cautiously. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said dismissively. “It’s too tight, and too hot, and too…” she shook her head. “How do you deal with all this?”

“Sto?” Tibs asked.

“Of course,” she replied. “Who else would I be?”

“Serba, what happened to you?” Jackal asked, motioning to the cut and bloody armor.

She looked down at herself and touched the healed injury tentatively, almost fearfully. “The hurt me,” she said, her voice going distant. “I tried to fight them, but I couldn’t bring anything to protect me. It hurt.” She looked at Tibs. “It hurt so much, more than what Bardik did. It hurt me…” she search for words, then tapped her chest. “Here. I didn’t know if you’d heard me. They broke me and I was losing…”

Jackal opened his mouth, then closed it as she continued.

“Then we were here, running, fighting.” Her expression darkened. “You told me to stay out of the fight. I thought you were going to let them kill you. But it was you being clever, as usual. I’d never have thought to lure them where there was no essence. But I ran after you because I never let my leader go to his death. The walls came up, they noticed me and they…” she touched the healed injury, thoughtfully this time. “You helped, then you were gone. Then you were holding me and I knew I’d be okay. There was pain, then I was arguing against using my dogs to help me. I was already dying. This was my chance to do something good. I didn’t care if I wasn’t me anymore. Only I still am. How am I still me?”

“But you’re Sto,” Tibs said. 

“Of course.” She grinned. “Stone Mountain Crevice, that’s me.”

“So, you aren’t Serba?” Jackal asked, eying the dogs.

“Don’t be an idiot, Jackie. Of course I’m you sister.” She paused. “Okay, that’s odd.”

“Both Sto and Serba are in you?” Tibs tried.

“Which one’s in control?” Jackal asked, hope and fear in his voice.

“That’s not how this works,” Serba said. Rolling her eyes. “Okay, why did I do that? How come I don’t have to think about everything I do. It just happens. Ganny, how does this work?”

“I have no idea,” she replied with a laugh.

Serba looked up, then around. “Where are you?”

“I’m right here,” Ganny replied, sounding worried. “Can’t you see me?”

Serba rubbed her face and Tibs sense the elements move within her. They continued moving as she stared at her hand in surprise, turning it over. When she looked away, she looked to her left. “There you are. This is going to take some getting used to.”

“Okay, what’s going on?” Jackal asked.

“I told you,” Serba said, “I was—”

“Tibs,” jackal stated. “Tibs, you tell me what’s going on with my… sister. And keep it short, you don’t have much time. They were gathering when I got to the dungeon.”

“The Them attacked Sto because he helped us against Sebastian, and against the sickness the Them was causing. Dungeons aren’t supposed to help, there’s some people who—”

“Simple, Tibs. No time.”

Tibs nodded. “He called out for help and I came. Because of the dogs on this floor, I grabbed Serba and convinced her to help my by implying she was more important than you are. Sorry.”

Serba and Jackal rolled their eyes in almost the exact manner. Only she then seemed surprised by the action, again.

“We got in, fought guards. She took control of the dogs because Sto made them—right, no time. You’ll have to explain why. We made it to the city hall, but the Them was waiting. I tricked them into to trap that takes away essence and then used the guards there to help me fight them, since they go after anyone who isn’t dungeon made. But before I won, they realized Serba was there and attacked her to hurt me. I killed them, tried to heal her, but Sto was dying, so she told me to go help him. I did the best I could, but I have too much essence. So I thought one of the dogs could do it.”

Serba snorted.

“Only she wouldn’t let me. She told me a lot of bull about not being important and that was the only chance she had to be good. I wasn’t going to let her do—”

“I grab me and shoved me in to me… does that sound as odd to any of you too?”

“Yes,” Jackal and Ganny said.

“And where we are,” she continued with a grin. “Whatever I am.” She looked at Ganny.

“You’re alive,” Tibs said. “That’s the important thing. What about your core?”

She closed her eyes. “It’s still broken, but nothing’s escaping past…” she motioned to herself.

“Your body,” Tibs said.

She nodded. “And you really don’t have to do anything to make the sounds come out? I had all the parts in the golems there, but I could never get them to do anything. How do you not have to control any of this?”

“Sto,” Ganny asked. “How about the rest of you? Are you… is it still.”

Something rumbled in the distance, and when it stopped, Serba was panting. “It’s hard to feel the rest, but it’s there.”

“Maybe when you have rested?” Ganny offered.

“Okay, this is weird and all,” Jackal said, “But Tibs needs to find a place to hide. The entire guild is on its way to wring his neck.”

“What?” Serba said, pushing herself to her feet, then looked at her stance in surprise. Tibs saw the effort it took her not to comment on it. “Why?”

“They claim he tried to kill some important guy, the one checking if the guild leader was doing her job, or something like that.”

“Tried to kill him?” Tibs asked.

“I know, I have no idea where they got that idea, but then this old cleric said you’d gone into the dungeon, so I took off as the guard leader was putting his people together. They were a lot more than the guards with him when I shove my way past the guard and in here. Hopefully, they don’t know you like I do and they’ll go through the other floors and you can—”

“They’re on this floor,” Serba said, alarmed. “I don’t know if I can stop them. It’s all so hard to feel right now.”

“No,” Tibs said, standing. He’d failed. He’d only hurt the guild leader, and there hadn’t been enough corruption to finish the job. “You and Jackal, hide. I did this. I’ll deal with them.”

“You did this?” Jackal stared at him. “Abyss, that’s what you were working on? Why didn’t you tell me? Let me help?”

“I didn’t tell you because you’d want to help. And this wasn’t something kicking the door in would do any good against. I thought…” he let out a breath. “You aren’t paying for me failing. Sto, you can hide him, right?”

“I can take him to my room,” she said. “Then seal it from the rest. No one will find him there.”

“Okay, you two go and I’ll—”

“No,” Jackal stated. “I am not letting you face them alone. We’re a team Tibs. We work—”

“You have Kroseph.”

“You think he isn’t going to be hurt by you getting killed?”

“I’m not his man. You made him a promise.”

“And you’re my—”

Serba’s shrill whistle silenced him. Then the dogs surrounded Jackal, growling.

“Tibs gave an order, Jackie.”

“Don’t call me that,” Jackal said. “You know I hate it.” Serba grinned. Jackal crossed his armed and turned to stone. “You really think you can force me to abandon Tibs?”

A series of whistles. Then she took a step back. The dogs moved, those further away approaching the Earth fighter.

“I’m made of stone,” he told her. “You think your dogs can do anything to me?”

Another step back, and Jackal glanced over his shoulder.

“You’re wasting your time. They’re going to break their teeth.”

Another step, and then Jackal looked back. It was with a worried expression. “Tibs, tell my… sister to stop this.”

“You go do what you have to,” Serba said. “I’ll keep Jackal safe for you.”

“Tibs,” Jackal snapped. “Don’t you even think of leaving me here with them.” He motioned to the dogs.

Serba whistled, and a dog snapped at Jackal’s heel, who jumped forward, then glared at her as she took another step back.

Tibs took off, then ignored Jackal’s angry calls for him to return. He was doing this to protect him and Sto; or would it be Serba now? This was going to be confusing for a while, but they’d figure it out; once he handled Irdian and those he had with him.

Tibs almost ran at the group of adventurers, confusing them for Sto’s city guards until he was close enough to sense the essence coursing through them. By the time he turned for the alley, the archer had let loose an arrow that exploded just behind Tibs, and the weave of essence that extended from it snag his leg and brought him down.

A net, he realized as he used Corruption to break its hold and was running again. He jumped from wall to wall until he was on the roofs, his world, and headed directly for the stairs. They’d be focused on the street and wouldn’t realize he had—

People leaped over the roofs, then ran after him. One stayed in the air, catching up to him.

Tibs ground his teeth. That was his trick.

He nearly suffuse himself with Air to show them what he could do with it, but realized the world of trouble he’d get himself into doing that. He had no plans on getting caught; he was escaping so he could finish the job. But if he was caught, he couldn’t have the guild realize he had multiple elements. 

He was going to have to escape all this adventurers while only openly using water. This should be interesting.

He grinned. Time to see what they’d forgotten about being a Runner.

He jumped chimneys, leaped over gaps between building, seeing people also running down there. A ball of fire erupted before him, and he coated himself in ice as he leaped through it. It was hot enough he had to suffuse himself with Purity once he landed on the other roof. They had strength, that was for sure. His best tactic was to avoid letting them land—

The roof exploded, sending him flying. He fought the urge to channel air, instead sending water ahead as soon as he saw where he was falling, forming a channel and icing it. He directed it to a room and—

It shattered, sending him down. It had been so abrupt the theft of his control registered after he was falling. He sent water ahead again, and immediately he was fighting for control as the adventurer pushed Arcanus in, and Tibs pushed it back.

He fell into the water, then was falling out on the other side. The street was approaching too fast for anything fancy. A snow bank cushioned his landing, and was running again, head still spinning until Purity dealt with that.

The world turned dark, and he staggered as exhaustion filled him. He channeled light and pushed back against the dark, but it couldn’t cut it apart. He tried to add Arcanus, Ike would help, Rys might too, but pushing them in place took more strength than he had.

Voices approached, their volume taken away by the darkness, so they’d be much closed than they sounded. Tibs dropped to his knees. Trying to think of something to do, other than give into the exhaustion and sleep.

“I have him subdued,” a woman said, her voice clear as the darkness vanished.

Purity.

He suffused himself with it, then switched to water and he planted the ice sword into the person before him before running again.

“Catch him!” someone yelled, then something fell on Tibs’s back.

He reached behind him to throw it off, but his hand came away with something black like Darkness, but thick and sticky like when he added Bor and Kha to a water etching. He should his hand, but it remained there. He didn’t know what essence that was, but as it oozed down his back and onto his leg, it made moving more difficult.

He made a lair of Corruption between it and him, but the essence flared and started melting his armor instead. What was this? Using metal caused it to expand almost beyond his control, slicing his armor and his back.

He was walking now, almost dragging himself forward.

Air, to push it away, got lost within the goo as it turned into a torrent and sent some all around him. Cries of surprise and anger erupted in surprise. But as his smile formed, his foot caught on something and he fell.

The impact didn’t hurt. The street was earth, after all, but what was on his back spread over his shoulder, and where it touched the ground, it seemed to attach itself to it, making it hard to get to his knees.

“Got to admire his determination,” a man said.

“I admire nothing from a would be assassin who uses what we taught him to hurt us,” a woman replied.

He saw the kick as it was about to hit and suffused himself with Earth, then let it go as she cursed. Has his skin changed color? And anyone noticed?

Other laughed.

Earth.

That was what was under him. He could escape through it.

 He sank in, then it hardened.

“Oh, I don’t think so,” a man said. “I have no idea how you’re doing this, but Earth’s mine, not yours. But now we’re sure you aren’t going anywhere.”

Tibs’s face was partially in the earth, and all he could do was watch feet move. As he tried to think of something to get him out of this.

“You going to take that off him?” an older sounding man said.

“After he stood and stabbed Kirian? He’s staying like this until Irdian’s here to take him.”

“I say we save everyone the trouble and kill him.”

“That’s not how we do things,” a woman said.

“He fucking tried to kill Marger!”

“Hey, I thought about doing it a time or two myself. He’s too full of himself. Just last decade, he was nothing more than an Epsilon fresh out of a dungeon. Now he goes around telling all the guild how to do things.”

“He earned the position.”

“I’m not saying he didn’t put in the work, but would it kill him to remember where he came from?”

“I’d say it almost did,” Irdian said. “And you are allowed to think of doing whatever you want to whomever you want, Seros. It’s once you act on it that you become my responsibility.”

Metal boots stopped before him, and the man crouched. “I knew you were trouble, Tibs. You and your machination of running this city, your rackets. You think you’re the first one we took from the cells, gave a chance to help the kingdoms, only to have them try to take advantage of us?”

Too much of Tibs’s mouth was within the street to reply.

“I don’t think anyone’s been brazen enough to try to kill a supervisor before, so you will be known for that. You can take comfort in that, I suppose, while you rot within Despair.” Metal essence wrapped around Tibs. “Release him. I have him.”

As soon as the Earth loosened, Tibs tried to move. The metal was a shell over him, holding him in place. Then it lifted him and the guard leader and him were eye to eye.

“Anything to say?” Irdian asked dispassionately. “To justify what you did?”

“I did what you forced me to do,” Tibs said through gritting teeth.

“It’s going to be interesting listening to you try to convince a magistrate of that. If you’re even given the chance.”

Tibs stayed silent. All he needed was one moment of inattention from the guard leader, and he’d slip away.

“What about that Runner the door guards mentioned, any sign of him?” Irdian asked.

“He must have gotten lost among the building. If his plan was to help his friend, it failed.”

Tibs cursed. Of course, the guards would have recognized Jackal, and everyone knew they were on the same team.

“Zuk, you and Ambry stay at the top of the stairs until the dungeon’s about to close its door. If he’s still alive, he’s going to try to leave before that. Arrest him. I have cell next to his and they can wallow in their defeat together.”

“And if he doesn’t show up?” a woman asked.

“Then the dungeon’s going to take care of his punishment for us,” Irdian replied.