Dual Wielding

Wyn took another sip of coffee, the stuff was actually pretty good, even if he didn’t get the buzz of energy Kei had described. But even with a steady burning of spirit fire to keep exhaustion at bay, he was beginning to get a little tired. He let out a yawn and glanced over to the box where Kei was sleeping soundly atop a pile of blankets. He couldn’t see her—they’d almost fully closed the lid so it didn’t look out of place—but she’d come out whenever she woke up. It only made sense she would rest: it had been two days with very little sleep, and she didn’t have spirit fire to keep her going. It had taken serious convincing on his part to get her to rest, as she’d been determined to stay awake until the thief arrived.

They’d yet to hear about the thief’s next target, and if it took much longer they may have to call it off, Wyn wouldn’t be much good for catching the thief if he was dead on his feet.

A lavender light entered his vision, flying down from the roof before coalescing into the form of a young woman.

“Welcome back Eia,” Wyn smiled, holding out his hand. He hadn’t seen her since the first day when she’d gotten bored and left. “Where have you been?”

She alighted on his palm, kicking her legs off the side. “Just out and about, I’ve never seen a city like this either you know, and here you are cooped up in a dingy building like this.”

Wyn winced. “Sorry, I didn’t really plan for this to happen.”

“It’s alright, what’s that drink you’ve got? It looks funny.”

“Wanna try some?” Wyn held the cup out to her, and Eia leaned in to get a better look.

“It smells so good!” She stood up, and her form seemed to grow a bit more solid as she lifted the mug up to her lips—she needed his help as it was too heavy—and took a tiny sip. A moment later she bent over the side of his palm and spit it out, “So bitter! How do you drink that?”

Wyn took another sip for himself. “I don’t know, it tastes fine to me. I drink my tea without any sugar too.”

Eia made a face and started to say something, but she abruptly stopped, her eyes narrowing. “Wyn, someone is here.”

A moment later, Wyn heard a series of very light impacts throughout the building, each falling a few seconds apart from the last. He stoked the spirit fire. His languor evaporated, and his vision sharpened as he turned his head to look around the building with fresh eyes.

From all over, a faint blue mist began creeping along the floor of the building, it was low to the ground, but slowly rising. Several guards cried out in alarm, but Wyn still couldn’t see any sign of the intruder. He was about to jump to the walkway above before having a thought.

The mist is blue?

He looked around, checking the rest of the guards. While some had cried out alarms when the mist dropped, now their movements looked slow and lethargic. As he watched, one of the guards near him slowly sunk to the ground, eyes closing as he slumped against one of the boxes. He was still breathing, but he was definitely unconscious. Wyn didn’t notice any ill effects from the mist even as it spread around his feet, but the man’s body showed no signs of having been attacked.

A poison… some sort of airborne sedative? If it is a poison, I should be fine.

Wyn looked over to where Kei was sleeping, then back to the guard on the ground. If a fight with the thief broke out, he didn’t wanna have to worry about anybody getting hurt. Thankfully, despite covering a large area, the mist was very thin, and didn’t obscure his vision very much.

He rushed over to Kei and knocked the top of the box open, grabbing her and throwing her over his shoulder in the same motion. She didn’t wake up when he did, so there was no doubt about it: the mist was an issue. She was surprisingly light, so he had no trouble doing the same to the unconscious guard and running them out of the warehouse. He set them down once they were outside and ran back in.

I don’t have time to do this for everyone…

“Evacuate the building!” He yelled, projecting his voice to the whole warehouse. He could still hear and see some people moving in around on the other side of the mist. It didn’t seem like too many were asleep, so either some were more resistant than others, or it simply hadn’t reached them yet. “Hold your breath and don’t breathe in the blue mist! Carry the unconscious out!”

It was the best he could do on short notice, and he’d just have to hope that the others would listen. After surveying the room, he noticed mist on one of the walkways above—it was much higher than the rest of the cloud. There must be a source there. He moved quickly, scaling the stacks of boxes with a series of leaps until he made it to the walkway. From there, he had a view of the whole storehouse. It had fallen mostly silent save for the creak of metal beneath his feet, and he listened intently for the sound of any footsteps down in the jumbled mess of smoke and crates below.

When he heard nothing, he walked towards the haze ahead. Its source would be inside the area where it was thickest. As he got closer he saw it: resting on the walkway was a small brown cloth bag with the gas seeping out of it. He grabbed it off the walkway to inspect it further.

The pouch was light in his hand, and very slightly moist. As he looked inside he could see some sort of mushed up substance—it looked organic—wet with a dark blue liquid which stained the inside of the bag. Wyn had no idea what it was, but he figured he could find out later.

Eia tugged on their bond, and Wyn turned around to see a figure approaching him on the walkway—their footsteps hadn’t made any sound he could hear. They were wearing a dark blue hooded cloak which went all the way down to their feet, and the bottom half of their face was covered with a simple cloth mask, the only visible facial feature was their dark green eyes. It was quite the intimidating figure, but when Wyn’s hand went to his sword, they took a step back.

“How are you still awake? Are you bonded too?” The figure asked, the voice was male, but muffled by the mask. If Wyn had to guess, he was in his late twenties. It was hard to judge his build through the cloak, but he didn’t seem like a very large person.

“Who knows?” Wyn responded cryptically.

So this guy is bonded? Does he have a spirit like Eia too? Can he use spirit fire? That would explain why he hasn’t fallen asleep either.

Something seemed wrong about that, and Wyn didn’t see the purple glow behind his eyes that Corrin said showed up when he used the flame. There must be some other way he was staying awake. Mana? Or something else?

The man spoke again. “Listen, I’d rather avoid fighting if possible, so is there any chance you’ll just look the other way? You can pretend you were affected like the rest of them and I’ll be gone before you know it.” He seemed sincere enough, which confused Wyn. Hadn’t he been attacking these places?

“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Wyn said, “But if you want to avoid a fight I’m happy to talk this out. I can’t let you steal from here though.”

The man was silent for a while, neither of them making a move. Finally he let out a sigh, his shoulders slouching. “It seems we’re at an impasse. I’m sorry young man, but I don’t have a choice.”

It happened so fast, that without spirit fire, Wyn might not have seen it: the way the man’s hand drifted towards his hip, the tensing of his legs, almost entirely obscured by the long cloak, only these faint hints gave Wyn enough time to react. He pulled his sword out right as the thief rushed forwards towards him. Wyn’s eyes widened as the man moved faster than he could believe, hardly giving him time to defend. He'd only ever seen Corrin move so quickly—no, this man was even a little faster. There was a flash of steel as the man pulled a long dagger and thrust it towards Wyn’s arm, attempting to disarm him.

Something became immediately clear to Wyn, the thief was no warrior. Fast though the attack was, it was sloppy, and its line was easy to read.

Wyn turned his wrist, a metallic screech sounding as he caught the dagger on the guard of his sword. As the weapons clashed, he realized something else—however fast this man was, he wasn’t very strong. Wyn was able to hold the blade back easily, and a breath later he knocked it aside and struck back, thrusting down towards the thief’s legs—aiming to disable him. The man hadn’t been trying to kill him, and Wyn wasn't about to kill him for theft.

The thief jumped back with supernatural speed, landing in a crouch outside of Wyn’s range. There was a moment's pause as they stared at each other. Then, the thief turned and ran. Wyn took off after him, metal clanking beneath him as they ran. Wyn cursed, the man was faster than he was, in a moment he’d be gone. He drew his sword back and flung it forwards towards the man’s legs.

At the last moment, the thief leapt into the air, flipping over the sword which grazed past him before clattering down into the mist. It was an impossible maneuver, a feat of agility Wyn couldn’t even imagine Corrin pulling off.

“How the—” Wyn started, but a dagger was already flying towards him, thrown while the man flipped.

What is he? Wyn thought. This agility is insane!

He knocked it aside and continued his pursuit, but thanks to the thief’s quick thinking he hadn’t gained much ground. He needed some way to chase him down.

Wyn! The gemstone! Eia’s voice sounded in his head, urgent.

He spun around.

What the hell am I looking at?

Back on the ground, visible over the top of the mist was a huge bird, larger than a human, covered in an ornate green and orange plumage. It was moving deftly in the direction of the magic stone, darting through the clumped pathways towards the open center with shocking grace.

It only took him a moment to decide. He’d sworn to Kei he’d keep that gemstone safe. Wyn abandoned the chase of the man and vaulted the side of the walkway, dropping down into the haze. He landed in a roll and rushed towards the stone. Wyn was closer, but the bird was faster, and they reached the gemstone at the same time. Wyn had one more advantage though, he drew his wooden sword, giving him just a bit of extra reach. He swung wide with the flat of the blade, forcing the bird to duck. In the same motion, he grabbed the stone and tucked it into his pocket.

The bird immediately tried to flee, and Wyn felt a tinge of annoyance. He wanted a fight, not a chase.

Not this time.

He sprang forward and dropped his sword, grabbing onto the beast with both arms. He’d wrestle the damn thing to the ground if he had to.

The bird was bigger than him size-wise, but it was still a bird, and seemingly one capable of flight. It was much lighter than he was. Despite this, it was still just strong enough to hold him aloft, and it thrashed ferociously with him on its back.

Wyn’s fist clenched on it, hanging tighter as it slammed him into one of the crates. If his weight wasn’t enough, he’d have to put in a bit more effort. He swung his foot at the beast’s thin legs, knocking it off rhythm and causing it to stumble as it let out a panicked screech. That dropped him low enough to get his own feet on the ground.

“Got ya.” He grinned, shifting his grip as he began dragging it to the ground.

Watch out! Eia cried.

Before he could even process her words, a force rammed into him from the side, knocking his arms loose from the bird and sending him tumbling across the floor.

Spirit fire pushed the pain away, and he recovered out of the tumble, rolling to his feet.

“Just stay out of this!” The thief was back, standing next to the giant bird as it shakily got back up. He glanced at the beast. “We got what we came for Kori, let’s get out of here.”

“You have got to be kidding me,” Wyn groaned. “Your partner is a godsdamned bird?”

“I can’t let you stop me,” the thief said.

“I can’t let you leave.” Wyn wiped blood from his busted lip. “Ready for round two?”