I don't have to fly very high to find Liszka. The wolf-kin chase her over roofs and balconies, while she tries to get closer to the docks unharmed. August flies alongside me, entertained by the struggle below.
Seeing the speed at which they run, a new question pops into my mind: If we were able to catch a ship to escape as planned, would that be fast enough? Besides getting a faster boat, grappling hooks in combination with some C-rank skills would suffice to reach such departed vessels. And once you're on the waters with your enemies, escape becomes difficult.
We need to defeat them.
That said, I don't stand a chance as a rock partridge. I scan the streets below with their countless piazzas and food stalls in hope for a quick source of biomass.
No, the living stock won't do. I'd have to kill and cut it.
No, the big slabs of meat or bread don't work either. I'd have to cut them too. I need something ready to eat.
A stall with dried insects finally draws my attention. I can't tell if those are sold as snack or fishing bait, but there's plenty of the stuff which fits my beak. Thank the gods, I don't have to eat Rev or a wolf-kin!
"I'll be right back. Can you keep track of Liszka?", I ask August.
"Ooh, gearing up? Sure thing! I'll blast a few of the chasers while I'm at it!"
"Don't kill her in the process!"
Cackling, August soars towards the wolf-kin assassins, magic circles already forming. I quench my worries and dive towards the aforementioned market stall.
The stalls are presented in a way so that customers can oversee the wares with ease whilst the sellers can keep an eye on the goods. My target stall is handled by at least two people. One of them - an anthropomorphic bear - stands next to filled baskets and sacks, arms crossed and with watchful eyes, while the other - an elf in similar merchant clothing - restocks the wares.
I watch them for a few heartbeats from a nearby roof, but I cant' find anything I could distract them with. Could I ignite something to distract people with a small fire?
I don't have time for this.
Eventually, the elven merchant walks off and makes his way to a nearby building. Right, they have to store their goods somewhere. If not at the stall, maybe I can get my biomass from the storage instead.
Once out of sight for the bear-kin, I silently glide and land behind the elf. I see if he reacts, then follow him, hopping in sync to the unaware elf's steps.
Right in front of the door, the elven merchant suddenly turns on his heel. "Ah, the baskets!", he exclaims with a slap on his forehead.
My heart beats faster, my eyes dart around for a spot to hide, but I freeze up.
"Ack!"
The man almost stumbles over me. Despite the impact force, I don't feel the pain from his foot hitting my side.
"Who put this stone here?!", he hisses.
Stone? Wait... A quick glance at my skill list confirms my suspicion:
[ Rock Exterior Active ]
Less shocking than their mana vision, rock partridges of this world also know a few rock-related skills. One of them saved me right now. Rock Exterior triggers on panic. I am reminded of certain goats.
With the occasional groan, the elf returns to the stand. A rock that moves would be too odd, so I stand still until he passes me once more.
The merchant returns and enters the store house with haste. Two close calls with shutting doors later, I made it into a dark corner of the storage and wait for the elf to leave. The moment his steps fade into the distance I rush to the sacks.
It doesn't take long to find the right one. I blame my current form for giving me an appetite that makes me dive into a sack full of dry insects and almost forget why I'm here.
###
Boom!
Roof tiles fly into all directions. The low-ranking assassins are manageable, but their operation leader knows a few troublesome spells that Liszka now has to dodge on top of all the blades, arrows and bolts.
Boom!
A few more building parts fly off, one of the shards grazing the arctic fox-kin hip. It would stand out, if weren't for all the other cuts she has to endure already. At this point it's just a matter of time, before she bleeds out.
"Crap!"
Liszka just barely manages to stop, preventing a jump to her death, five or six street levels down. The path abruptly made a right turn behind the house that she's standing on and continues over a bridge to the other side of the fjord. No choices in sight, she jumps down from the building and makes her way over the bridge, nimbly dodging carts and horses.
"Crap-again!"
She slides to a halt, now hundreds of yards above the water, midway on the bridge. More assassins are already crossing the bridge from the other side.
She rushes to the side and peeks over it, hoping for a way to climb down the supporting pillars.
Klang!
Side-stepping quick enough, several daggers barely miss her and strike stone instead. The blades fall to the ground. The stone starts to sizzle in the spots where it got hit.
A quick glance behind her confirms the presence of at least five assassins. One more second and they'll have her neutralized with another throw if she stays.
Liszka jumps. It's not the first time, she has to operate in heights like these. As she accelerates downwards, she reaches for her grappling hook while searching for a good spot on the pillars to hook into.
But the operation leader is too skilled. The trajectory of a falling object is predictable to trained assassins. Magic circles appear on Liszka.
Boom!
The arctic fox-kin's veins pulsate and her lungs burn. She lets go of the grappling hook against her will. A few heartbeats later, none of her limbs obey anymore. Her fall to the water surface many yards below is inevitable.
Boom!
"Huh?" The last explosion wasn't cast on Liszka. It came from above. Did the operation leader misfire?
It doesn't matter anymore. The wolf-kin won. Liszka was robbed of her allies once again, destined to die alone.
A black bird catches up with her on the way down.
"A wronka, how fitting for the occasion." Liszka murmurs.
"A what now?", the bird asks, but quickly continues: "Nevermind. Let's hope the poison killed your senses by now. Otherwise, this might hurt a bit."
August summons ice in the shape of a smooth, curved ramp below Liszka, redirecting and hurling her limp body towards another row of houses that snakes around the fjord walls. The arctic fox-kin isn't sure, if this is any better than death by water surface tension.
YOU ARE READING
Shapeless Hero
FantasyIdentity crisis? What's that? ---- An earthling's soul was born into an incompatible, human body. Their muscles misbehaved, their skin and body felt like a rigid shell, and their weak constitution left little options for any activities outside of...
