[Closed to Ayaka, Lilthis, and Yvonne.]

“Stop there, traitor!” the young dark elves called, chasing after Phyr Sa’resh.

Not likely, Phyr thought as he puffed up the cobblestone hill. You’ll have to catch me, and hold me, before this old elf will slow down. His experienced azure eyes darted along the roadway, searching for anything he might turn to his advantage. He ducked into a narrow alley between two intricate Akashiman redwood buildings, stealing a glance back at the four elves.

They were all fit and formidable, specimens chosen for their military’s espionage division. They underwent some of the most frightening training in all of Althanas, and came out as well disciplined ghosts. Sa’resh knew enough to fear them.

I mustn’t let them get the sunderbuss plans, he thought, tearing the folded sheaf of parchment out of a hidden inner cloak pocket. If they do, they’ll not only have a significant military advancement, but they’ll have no immediate reason to keep me alive. He tossed the plans on the ground and pinned them beneath a boot, scrabbling in his pocket for a book of matches with his lone left arm.

“He went this way!” A voice hollered around the corner. Phyr had to stay himself from grabbing the flintlock cutlass strapped to his belt. His agile old fingers cupped the matchbook against his body and struck a flame on the first try. He allowed the fire to catch on several other matches, and then tossed the ball of flame down atop the plans. The dried old parchment erupted in seconds, and burned down to nothing as the youthful Aleraran spies swept around the corner.

“I have to wonder,” said the leader of the foursome, an elf of fifty at best. He approached the one-armed drow. “Out of all the places in Corone, why would you come to a little village like Kugoshima to hide from us?”

“It seemed like the last place you would expect,” Phyr said, and then swept his hand forward. His splayed palm pointed at each of them in turn, firing balls of shadow with the speed and precision of arrows. Three of the four balls struck their targets, and the shadows adhered to the elves, climbing up their lightweight cloaks to stick around their eyes, effectively blindfolding them.

“What have you done to them?” The leader had been the quickest. He pulled a caplock pistol from a hidden hip holster and leveled the barrel at Phyr’s head. “What magic is this?”

“Dark magic,” Phyr bluffed, “and if you kill me, it will last forever.”

“Get it off me!” One of the spies growled, tearing at his forehead.

The younger elf hesitated, and Phyr seized the moment with all his might. He pulled the shadows filling the alley into an opaque wall between them, turned, and ran. The blinders across the other elves’ eyes would only last about thirty seconds longer, and he had no intention of sticking around to fight those odds. The leader’s voice chased him down the alley, but no footsteps followed. Phyr ran down darkened laneways and around twisting corners until he felt he had gained a decent distance, and then slowed his pace. His chest heaved and his hand shook, but he powered onward determinedly.

He had not expected to get away so easily, but a little magic went a long way when fighting those set against understanding it. He knew he would not get so lucky a second time. Eventually they would realize that there was little bite to his shadow magic, and then they would bring their heavy firearms to bear in vengeance.

Phyr wound his way through the side-streets of Kugoshima with the sun's rays striking him at odd intervals. Sweat soaked his collar from the heat and the adrenaline more than exertion. He rounded a corner and froze. Shadows slithered up to obscure his form as he pressed his body flat against the wall of a tavern.

Across the street, two of the spies stood together. They had split up to search for him. They were peering in the front window of some sort of alchemy shop, judging by Phyr’s loose translation of the sign. The gunsmith crept into the bar backwards, ensuring they didn’t catch a glimpse of him.

I’ll hide in here until they search that alchemist’s shop, and then sneak over there to hide until they’re gone. And then I’ll find a way off this bloody island and go somewhere they’ll never find me.