The Blade Witch: Songs of Eldrin, Book 0.5

Chapter Eight - Beggar's Row

Before Lency could question her, Estra strode out onto the stage peering down into the confused faces of the audience. The actors on the stage froze and murmurs of bewilderment began to rise as the onlookers watched the appearance of the surprise cast member.

"Halt the play!" Estra called out, holding up her pendant for everyone to see. "By authority of the Faith of the Twelve Enlightened, I hereby place the man known as Brennan under arrest for..." she paused for a moment, desperately groping around for whatever superficial charges she could bring to mind. "For the portrayal of heretical imagery."

Angry hoots of annoyance rose from the crowd immediately. Men and women threw up their fists and yelled, a few of them making their way towards the complementary crates of rotten foodstuffs to throw. Estra could sense the beginnings of a riot coming on, which tuned out to be exactly what she needed. There were far too many civilians in the vicinity for her to duel with the heretics now. The disturbance in the displeased throng was making it difficult for the Defiler's gang to press forward, hopefully providing her enough time to get somewhere more suited for her needs.

Estra shoved a cast member out of the way, grabbing the thin bard by the scruff of his collar. "Listen close and listen well," she whispered, leaning close to his ear. "Helena's men are in the crowd as we speak. If you want half a chance at living through the night, don't struggle and come with me quickly."

The bard looked down at her hesitantly, something close to recognition registering on his face before he caught the path of her eyes. The Broken Pillars were blatantly throwing people to the ground at this point, almost as if they were thrown into a blind rage at seeing Estra appear on stage.

"I understand," Brennan said, a strange smirk playing across his thin lips. He was still using his sing-song stage voice, but there was strange calmness in his tone that was more than a little unsettling. "Please, let's go."

Estra wheeled him around and ushered him back through the curtains with haste. As soon as they crossed the threshold, a loud crack rang out, dropping the bard to the floor. Lency hovered over him, her face the pristine visage of anger, palm raised to strike again as the bard clutched his bruised jaw.

"What the fuck were you thinking Brennan?" Lency said, pushing him back to the floor as he tried to rise. "You're wanted by one of the most infamous people in Eldrin and you decide to run out on stage and flaunt yourself around like a damned peacock. Tell me, what kind of good sense does that make?"

"Well shit, nice to see you too Lency," Brennan said, his ever-present smile never faltering.

"We don't have time for this right now," Estra urged, dragging the bard upright.

Lency shot a threatening glare at Brennan once more before the three of them took off at a mad scamper through the back stages. Troupers had already begun to pop out of their dressing rooms in the wake of the onstage disturbance. Estra decided to forgo showing her pendant to every one of them, instead choosing to barge a path through anyone that stepped in their way.

It didn't take much time at all for the trio to reach the back door, but even then, Estra could hear the shouting and hard footfalls of the heretics running at full speed behind them. She fought to control her growing apprehension as they burst into the open night.

Lency took the lead, angling a path towards the nearest alleyway, but skidded to a stop as Brennan pointed towards another route.

"We head this way," the bard commanded, "I know a good place to hide."

"Well whatever we do, we'd better do it now," Estra said, allowing a hard ball of energy to build up in her hand. It flew with perfect timing, striking the top of the door frame with a loud bang that caused a sizable portion of the roof to cave in on the first two heretics unfortunate enough to pass through. The noise of bones crunching beneath the heavy timber gave Estra the promise of some temporary respite and a welcome sense of glee at her accomplishment.