#bergah

burger the princess

A loud thud caused Josie to stir from her deep focus, straightening her back for the first time in what must have been hours. She discarded the chisel on her workbench and turned towards the stairs. Soon enough a cloaked man came stumbling down it much faster than his feet were really willing to carry him, he fell onto a nearby chair and looked to Josie. She couldn't help but smile at the reckless joy in his eyes.

"Well? Did you get it?" she asked after a few seconds of the man catching his breath.

Summary: A powerful man finds himself surrounded and must escape through his city

Louke landed on the roof with only a faint thud, far too light for his speed, and fell into a crouch. He adjusted his grip on the cane in his left hand, made of dark wood with a silver raven's-head at its handle. He peered over the edge and down to the street below, as he did he willed the ring on his finger to recharge and the second eye in the tiny bird skull lit up in a faint blue like the first.

His pursuers hadn't seemed to follow him over the building, nor were they running along the street below to catch him on the other side. A pebble fell from the chimney next to him, looking up he saw a cloaked figure about to drop down onto him with a dagger in hand. Instinctively he raised his right hand and pointed across the street towards an open window. Looking down it, past the silver bird skull on his index finger, to check his aim he let out a single harsh syllable.

"Kuh" he said, and he was flung towards the window, his grey coat and cloak whipping in the wind behind him. Flying at a speed double that of sprinting he cleared the street in a moment, tucked his feet and passed the windowsill, and willed the shutters to close behind him. As they swung closed he rolled to the floor inside the room and skidded to a stop.

Quickly back on his feet he searched the walls for the door. Since he hadn't seen that particular window closed he only knew that it had been closed previously in theory and as such willing it back into that state had been more difficult. Due to this he now didn't have enough of his magical resource, Knowing, to relight the second eye of his ring and would have to do with the one charge for the moment.

He found the door and rushed through it to find himself in a corridor, at the end of it he saw a window and began sprinting towards it. There was a loud knocking on the door of the floor below, the people chasing him were quick. Approaching the window and feeling that not enough Knowing had regrown in him to will it open he resigned himself to having to burst through it with force alone.

He jumped towards the shutters and curled into a ball, hitting them with his shoulder and hip. They were knocked open and he found himself flying out of the second story into the air over another street. He looked around quickly as he began to fall and saw a man on the street below drawing back a longbow aimed at him. How someone would have gotten a longbow past the inner wall was baffling.

Again he pointed with his right hand, this time diagonally upwards over the building on the other side of the street from the one he'd just thrown himself out of. "Kuh" he spoke again, spending the last charge of his ring and sending him flying clear over the building in front of him. An arrow whistled past him, missing by no more than a meter, as he turned his head towards the direction he was flying.

Seeing that he would indeed clear the building he swung his cane and with the sound of wings flapping he rolled into a ball and summersaulted in the air to be facing forward. As if spun by invisible hands his rotation was started and stopped in a way that seemed impossible.

He hit the wall of the next building over from the one he had cleared with his feet first. He absorbed the landing as if it had been at a tenth of the speed before dropping a story and a half and landing leisurely on the street below.

word count: 100

A man called Kaleth lives in Emberdun, the spiked city. By title he is a servant though he spends little of his time with meager tasks. In fact he studies the art of world-throwing under a man called Layple. Layple who is himself more than his title of chamberlain to the court buildings.

This day Kaleth went to Layple, as was usual, to begin the day with lessons in courtly manners. A type of lesson that Layple's superiors saw fit for him to teach a servant. Though these lessons in actuality taught Kaleth things far more versatile. As he entered Layple's room he found his teacher sitting in the padded chairs by the window. Without introduction Kaleth took the seat opposite and picked up the belt-buckle from the small table between the chairs.

"What of this then Layple? What marvelous lesson will you teach me with this buckle?" He asked, sarcasm at the edge of his voice.

"Get close everyone!" shouted the knight as the last undead within reach fell at her feet "Anyone not within eight feet get into cover or you'll regret it, I can't wait on you!" she continued while unslinging the necklace from her armor. It was the symbol of Domiiignis, the god of the home, I noted as I ran to the small group forming around her.

I turned outward with my rake in hand like a pole-arm, the baily just inside the front gate was filled with civilians and the grey shapes of the undead. I saw the horrified face of my sister among them.

"For the sake of the keep!" the knight belted, her voice cracking and from the sky above a bolt of deep red lightning sprung, striking the necklace the knight was holding to the sky.

Misty shards exploded out from the necklace and the thunder of lightning echoed from the stone walls. As the shards reached outside the group they turned that same deep red and pierced through the horde. All were shoved away and some took a few steps before keeling over dead on the ground. Not one stood on the baily beside our group.

The knight slumped together briefly before shouting again, "Get the gate closed garrison!!". She elbowed her way out of the little crowd and ran towards the gatehouse, leaving the rest of us looking in horror at the dead left on the cobblestones.

He rounded the corner, but not before peeking past it to ensure "the ghoul" didn't await him on the other side. Not that he even knew what the imagined Boogeyman would look like.

Seemingly at ease he stepped into the alley, and as his foot landed on the ground there was a slight click. Barely audible where I stood crouched but he had clearly heard it, his swift jump to the wall betraying the fear he'd until then hid.

It was clear he expected some kind of explosion or snare but nothing of the kind came. Half a second later the false walls had swung out and dropped down to close off both sides of the alley. My time had come.

I dropped from the roof I'd been perched upon, landing briefly on the roof of a window to slow my fall slightly. Then I fell onto his shoulders with my dagger drawn. Before the blade met his neck he dove to the side and I had to brace against the wall to avoid hitting the cobblestones harshly.

The man was almost back to his feet by the time I'd landed and lunged towards him again, this time my blade bit flesh. He fell further along the alley in response, trying to get away and my blade split his shoulder open wider as he got loose.

He impacted hard into the ground and quickly rolled around to face me laying on his back. He raised his left arm towards me in a feeble defense, his right not being capable of doing the same.

I planted my heel harshly on one of his exposed shins and as he whimpered I dove atop him with my blade aimed solidly at his throat. He had put up more resistance than most but it had not been enough.

The blade bit flesh again and I could almost hear it's delight as it penetrated to the hilt and blood ran forth. With his last remaining strength the man grabbed my right arm and squeezed it surprising tight as a faint smirk played across hos face. Then he lie still.

I ripped my blade free sideways, out through the side of his neck leaving him with the large wound that had earned me the name of ghoul. I then noticed how there was still a squeezing around my bicep. Looking to the spot i found a ring of pale metal locked around my arm.