Phalan made his way into the market space trailing behind his men at slower pace. The crowds parted to make way for him as he searched for the old man, his sharp gaze carefully taking note of the faces of those crowding the square. Many of them watched he and his men in quiet curiosity until they passed their inspections and broke into whispers, wondering at the men’s presence in the market.

Ignoring the hushed conversations that followed him, Phalan strode on past stalls selling cloth, wares and spices that lent a faint perfume to the air, a glint of sunlight that peeked through the canopy, briefly blinded him near the stall selling brass platters and servers. Relief, from the brilliant light, came as the dark and gentle wingspan of a night raven flew overhead it’s sharp cry piercing through the normal din of the market as it landed on the upper reaches of a distant stall. Phalan, entranced by the appearance of the scavenger in the market made his way towards the bird as it danced and prattled to him from its perch. He stood there wondering for a moment at the odd bird above him as it continued to shift from one talon’d foot to another the bird’s head swaying side to side with it’s constant movement. As if it realized that its audience attention had been fully secured, the bird stopped and Phalan found himself under the piercing glare of the raven’s dark eye, a single moment could have been all that passed between or an age but there they stood a Prince with eyes turned upwards above the crowded market and a raven frozen in profile as the bustle of those around them continued on. The synchronized rhythm of their breaths tied both man and beast, both watchful- waiting.

With it’s sharp cry the raven, the moment was broken and with the raven’s flight from off its perch Phalan turned his attention to the far corner of the market where a large group was gathered, their attention drawn to the far wall of the market away from him missing the flight of the raven above their heads.

“My Lord” Phalan’s Captain addressed him as he came to a stop.

“Did you find the old man?”

“He is just before this crowd my Lord, what would you have us do? We were told to take him quietly.”

“There is no need to remind me of our task, Fankil.” Phalan barked back to the Captain.

“Forgive me, my Lord.” He stumbled to quickly reply, hoping to escape the flame of his temper.

“Enough with that.” Phalan irately replied with a flick of his hand, turning his attention again to the gathered group, “We can not lose him Fankil.”

“We have prepared my Lord the old man will not escape us.”

“You would do best to not mistake him for just an old man Frankil. You and your men go into the crowd and make sure he does not make his escape through the crowd.”

“Yes my Lord.” Fankil replied with a brief nod of his head he turned back to his men that had gathered behind him awaiting their orders. His words to the men were obscured by the din of market masses, the need for secrecy unnecessary even in bright light of the day. They turned as a group and individually became lost in the crowd before them. Taking one last scan of the market area Phalan walked into the crowd.

With another shove at his back, Kalo boldly through the tapestry and instead of ramming head first into a solid brick wall an empty narrow alleyway open before him. Kalo only had moment to take in his new surroundings before the press of Kit and the old man’s bodies forced him away from the raised voices and ramblings, still audible behind the large tapestry.

“Where are we going?” Kalo asked in frustration, turning to the old man sharply.

“Now is not the time to ponder on questions young master.” Mordan replied hurriedly in an attempt to get the party moving again but Kalo stubbornly refused. A loud crash sounded from just beyond the mouth of the alley behind them.

“Answers are forth coming, but first we must depart from this place.” Mordan continued the urgency of the situation moving him to resume his place at Kalo’s muscular back in order to move them onwards.

 It had not been his plan; this pressing need to flee the market but the arrival of the guards had necessitated a more speedy exit and one had to be amendable to changes.

What they needed now was time and as adaptable as Mordan was going to have to be to safely get them out of the reach of the guards drawing closer to their temporary hideaway some things just could not be rushed and by the increased volume of shouts pressing closer to them, he wished things were different.

The ear-splitting caw of a bird drew the party’s attention to the window ledge filled with potted plants above their heads where a raven sat, it’s sleek beak glistening in the sunlight. Mordan cursed softly under his breath as he looked at the bird.

“Why would there be a raven out during the day?” Kit asked worriedly.

“That, my boy, is no ordinary raven.” Mordan replied his eyes never leaving the ledge.

“Kit, it is just a crazed bird.” Kalo answered as though The Hermit hadn’t spoken.

“You would be a fool to believe that, we are being watched.” The Hermit whispered.

“Watched? By whom?”

“What should we do?” Kit asked. The sound of Kalo’s scoff- spying birds eloquently enough for all to understand his true thoughts about the situation.

  “It would be best, now, to start running.” The Hermit replied, grasping the young boy’s thin arm and Kalo’s great coat as he quickly made his was down the alleyway, dragging them stumbling behind him.

Kalo struggled to dislodge the old man’s hold on his coat but his grip proved to strong for even Kalo to remove. Kalo was so confounded by it that he didn’t notice the pile of refuse that littered the ground along the wall that he was being currently being dragged along. A soft squelch underneath his military grade boot and the release of its pungent aroma into the air where the only indicators he received of its existence before another caw of the watchful raven preceded the new arrivals to the alley.

Phalan drew in another deep breath as he shoved an elderly woman from his path. The group had broken into chaos after as the old hermit had made his exit from the foreground. All apart of the man’s plan he was sure. Phalan gritted his teeth in frustration as he looked around the crowd spying his men dealing with their own cases of confusion and melee.

Anger and frustration began to swell within him as looked over the scene before him. I will not lose him, Phalan thought to himself continuing to breathe deeply in order to steam the tide rising within him. With each breath the he drew slowly time and space around him began to slow, the once bright colors of the tapestries and the market wares grew dim and the sounds of the people scurrying about him quieted. Confused as to the phenomenon occurring before his very eyes- a muted world, Phalan turned about quickly to see if there were any others experiencing it as well. The crowd parted revealing a darkly cloaked figure stood amongst the shadows. Phalan watched as it separated itself from the cloying darkness moving slowly but purposefully towards him.

“What is this, sorcery?” He shouted across to the figure.

“A mere parlour trick, Prince Phalan, nothing to fear.” The figure responded sounding not altogether human as it spoke in a voice of three that echoed and faded around him.

“Who are you?”

“A friend.” It replied simply.

“You are no friend to me.”

“For now.”

“What is it that you want?”

“I want for nothing.”

“Then stop this madness and release me from this enchantment.” Phalan yelled back keeping his gaze focused on the mysterious stranger.

  Instead of responding as he had hoped, the figure merely lifted an arm to shoulder level a single extended dark finger peeked out from beneath its robe towards the tapestry-covered wall behind the crowd. The soft flutter of wings overhead broke the moment as the raven winged to a stop and perch gracefully onto Phalan’s shoulder. After only a brief moment the bird launched of into the air shrieking loudly flying over the top of the tapestry and beyond.

After watching the path the bird took, Phalan turned back to look at the figure its finger still extended towards the wall. Phalan open his mouth to further question the figure when the world, in between a single blink of his hazel eyes, returned to full speed, the mysterious figure no where to be seen.     

“My Lord.” Fankil called out to Phalan as he rushed to stand before Phalan who eyes were still turned towards where the stranger had stood.

Quickly shoving the mystical moment to back of his mind for further consideration later, Phalan turned to see Fankil and his men standing before him, their looks of concern and frustration were apparent on their faces.

“Have you found him?” Phalan stonily asked his men.

“We lost him in the fray, my Lord. There is no way that he could have escaped us otherwise.”

“Did you check the walls for hidden exits?”

“There is no where to go beyond these walls, my Lord.” Another solider bravely spoke up as Phalan shouldered past them towards the far wall and the tapestry that hung on it. Phalan inspected the fabric carefully when he noticed the slightest sway along the embroidered hem that dragged along the dusty ground. Lifting the fabric up, Phalan turned back to his men, “It would appear that there are other ways to leave the market.”

Fankil quickly took up lifting the tapestry revealing a narrow alleyway beyond. Stepping into the revealed space he made eye contact with the fleeing old man who had thrown a quick glance over his shoulder as his companions struggled to keep up.

“Stop there.” Fankil shouted down the alley. It took but a moment for him to signal his men over his shoulder before he sprinted off down the alley in pursuit.

Kit heard the man’s call for them to stop instead the old man’s sped up even more. He understood the signs and bundled the sleeping feline closer to his chest and hastened his footsteps as well.

Reaching the end of the alley the small party quickly darted to left hoping to lose the pursuing party in the crowd they could see forming ahead. The heavy steps of the men grew louder and followed closely behind them, tireless and determined.

 The chase was on.