Passing of the Flame? [Atzar] [Open to 1 or 2 more]

[ArcanaFate]

The Homunculi's face remained stoic as the mage continued to yell and argue with them about how it was 'his' affair and how Ezra should have just 'minded their own damned business' and frankly, it was insulting at this point. They really shouldn't have stepped into this situation. They were a Homunculus in a land that despised magic, and if Ezra was caught... Well, all they could do was shudder in fear.

Killing Wheezy wasn't the right option, either. As much as they loathed to admit it, the Rebel was right. Rebel was their new friend's name, Ezra decided, since he decided to be a uncouth charlatan and not properly introduce himself. Since he insisted on rebelling against everyone and every path, Rebel it is. They took a deep breath in, reaching down to the knife on their leg and pulling it out with a swift motion. It felt heavy in their hand, at the very real possibility of what could be possibly happening next. They could either kill Rebel in a bluff, leave him for Wheezy as a gift and flee, slit Wheezy's throat so he couldn't alert the rest of the zealots which way the two ran, or just... end it here. The fate the Church would have for Ezra would truly be worse than death, and being treated like a lab rat wasn't in the cards.

Wheezy spat his rhetoric about the Sway and being 'devils' and generally being a terrible nuisance. He definitely wasn't helping his case on the whole 'getting killed to save their hide' option. Stepping up to the kneeling man, the Homunculus stopped next to the man with knife overhead. He looked up in surprise, then let out a laughing fit riddled with coughs.

"Go ahead and kill me, demon." The man wheezed, grinning like a madman. Which, to Ezra's assessment, could very well be likely the case. "The Church will gladly come for you, and I'll be remembered as a hero. A brave soldier of the Sway who gave his life fighting the demon scum who dare tread on Salvan snow!" Ezra placed the blade on his neck and all it would take is a single pull, a quick shift of the arm and this man wouldn't be able to harm any other spellcasters. Their hand shook as they stared down this kneeling man, purple eyes peering into brown and not an ounce of fear rest in his eyes. After a long moment, the Homunculi sighed and pulled their knife back into its' sheath. The man blinked, then continued his fit of laughter, tears pouring down his cheeks into his beard.

"You can't even kill your enemy!? What a pathetic little bitc-" He jeered, only to be interrupted by the butt of Ezra's warhammer connecting with his jaw. The man crashed down into the snow, spattering the fresh powder next to him in red (and possibly a tooth or two). The Homunculi let out a huff, looking at the now unconscious man who would definitely need to see a doctor about his case of broken mouth syndrome. They were content to leave the man down but as they turned to face the Rebel, a small glimmer caught their eye. There, on the man's belt, was a device of some kind. Ezra sheathed their hammer and quickly knelt down to the body, ignoring the Rebel's rants (if there were any).

Pulling the device from the man formerly known as Wheezy's belt, Ezra realized it was some kind of magic lantern. It was metallic, perhaps some form of iron? They didn't really have time to investigate it fully, but it was etched with runes and the rune for 'light' was blatantly carved into the top of it. With another huff, they quickly tied the lantern to their own belt and made their way to the rebellious mage and got almost face to chest with the young man (the curse of being short, unfortunately). They looked up and made sure that the mage could see their eyes and began talking in a stern tone. However, the panic and fear in their voice wasn't easily hidden and was almost obvious.

"Listen, Rebel. I know I definitely did not help our situation by busting his jaw, since that just makes it look worse. But if he is unconscious, he cannot point the way to us when the others return here. I guarantee that we will both be tortured and killed if we don't work together to get away. Once we leave this place and get far enough to where they lose track of us, we go our separate ways and never deal with anything like this again. Fair?"

Ezra made a glance between the unconscious Churchman and Atzer, almost ready to bolt like a rabbit depending on his answer. This was not in the cards when they made their way into the snow.