Looking on in horror Ozzy watched as the elf’s fingers danced along the trigger, pulling it back ever so slightly. Only for a click to echo out around the room as the trigger pressed against the safety pin not going any further back before resetting.

  “You should see your faces!” The elf cackled, practically giddy with amusement as he danced backwards. “Apparently it won’t work for me. I already tried using it on you when I first saw it.” The elf said. “But that was well before I had any context.” He admitted.

  “Context? What context?” Emil said, still shaking and trying to catch his breath from having just watched his life flash before his eyes.

  “Oh well you’re not one of that terrorists’ goons for one. Plus your friend here has some cool toys. We got most of the story from the rest Eclastiedes group. “He looked at Ozzy.” You were in the middle of their fight shielding a mother and her child, decided it was you or my grossly out of bounds lieutenant and patrol, and killed yourself a first lieutenant.Then you came along, just another innocent civilian caught in the midst of all this madness,” The elf gestured at Emil,” you realized all hell would break loose and fall upon your sorry excuses for friends and family in that lousy little district, what was it called again? Oh that’s right you never mentioned, I had a little bird whisper it my ear though, Firelight district? Right?” The elf gloated, the cruel smile splayed across his face letting Ozzy know that he already knew exactly where Emil’s home was.

  Emil’s jaw went limp, and he went from sitting back on his knees to full prostration. He pressed his head against the cold tiled floor, his body shaking as he began to beg. “I don’t know what you want, I don’t know what I can do for you, but I will do anything. Please leave my district alone, they’re my family.”

  “I know I know, all you middling hunters love to make these little family districts. They’re really quite annoying.” The elf huffed, rolling his eyes. “Rest assured I’m not going to bother them. As far as they’re concerned it’ll be like this little fiasco never happened.”

  “You’re going to let us go then?” Ozzy asked, a single ray of hope forming in his mind.

  “What? How does anything I said amount to me letting you go? I just said I wouldn’t go executing zeroes in Emil’s little sunshine and rainbow district and you got, hey we’re going free now,” he mocked, “from that?”

  Emil shook his head a ghost of a smile touching his face despite their predicament, “Did he tell you he’s new?”

  “Yes, I heard we had a tourist. Do they not have warlords where you’re from?” The elf asked incredulously. “What I’m doing here is like, final favors before I kill you.” He said helpfully. “You’re killing the mood.”

  “Oh… no we don’t have them were I’m from.” Ozzy said.

  “Really? I might have to visit sometime, it must be just lovely! What’s it called?”

  “Alaska, I don’t know if you’d be able to make it there though.” Ozzy said. “It’s more than a little ways away.”

  Out of the corner of his eye Ozzy saw Emil shift, as if trying to communicate something to him, but it was too vague, and he didn’t quite catch it. Unable as he was to look away from the incredibly talkative elf, he couldn’t look at Emil either.

  “How far? Wait no, which continent?” The elf asked, the topic piquing his interest.

  Ozzy realized too late what would come out if he kept talking about his home, and two sentences too late tried backtracking his way out of the conversation. “Well, it’s on this one, just way far up north.” Ozzy said, lying through his teeth.

  “Couldn’t be too far then, we’re nearly halfway up.” The elf said, looking like he was trying very hard to picture a mental map of this mystical land of Alaska. “I guess I wouldn’t know too much about it.” He shrugged, “I’ve only ever been a few days out into the bayous. I’m not much for travel.”

  “What I really want to know is how you got over the fluid plains. I haven’t heard of anyone making the trip in years. Let alone someone of your caliber.”

  A flicker of confusion passed across Ozzy’s face, and the elf caught it.

  “You have no idea what I’m talking about do you?” The elf said, cutting Ozzy off before he could protest. “You found a different way? No, even if that were the case you would know about the plains.” He began to pace back and forth, muttering to himself as he caught onto the tail end of their lie. “You’re not a tourist at all, just a newcomer. Tourists don’t traipse around with locals. You had to have come in a different way, hmmmm, magical accident? Fell through a rift somewhere and popped out of a wayepath? No… too unlikely, you had to have popped up nearby though. Unusual abilities, strange apparel, major gaps in common local knowledge.” The elf recited the traits like he was having to convince himself of his theory. “It must be.” A snake’s grin spread across the elf’s face. “You’re a cosmic stranger.”

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  “A what?” Ozzy asked, actually doing a decent job of playing the fool.

  “Oh don’t tell me that you’re not. We have ways of telling you know, tests we can run.” The elf ranted.

  Ozzy still wasn’t sure why Emil had kept his new nature as a stranger a secret. He had assumed it was due to some stigma or past wrong committed by one of his kind. Watching the elf stare at him now, genuine greed etched across his face in a room full of treasure he realized why Emil had kept it a secret. He was worth something, probably a lot of somethings.

  “You are, aren’t you?” The elf shouted at Ozzy, before turning a wicked glare on Emil. “You must’ve been the one to find him, you’re protecting him then?”

  Emil said nothing, looking forward at the elf with the same look of mock confusion Ozzy had.

  “Remir,” the elf shouted,” fetch me a raiding party, one big enough for the firelight district. Platform three, 100 should do.”

  “Wait!!!” Emil shouted so loud his voice echoed throughout the room.

  The elf held up a hand, stopping the messenger from leaving.

  “I’m sorry Ozzy.” Emil’s voice came out small and tired. A sadness soaking his words through. “He’s a stranger. He found my swamp wagon when I was assigned to a fishing expedition.” Emil confessed.

  “And there it is, it’s as they say you know. The truth shall set you free!” The elf pumped a fist into the air before throwing his hands wide. “Free from all of your worldly cares. Come on, stand up. I want to get a good look at the man who rescued a cosmic stranger before I kill him.”

  The elf cast the rifle to the side and it clattered noisily along the tile, skidding to rest against the far wall. In its place he summoned the world’s most luxe rapier.

  It was a kingly weapon with a basket hilt wrought entirely from what looked like pure gold. each bit of its basket was studded with bright brilliant green emeralds and deep passionate rubies. Every inch of the weapon screamed museum or show piece, but the poised striking position from which the elf held it told Ozzy it had probably seen more combat and slaughter than any of the other weapons or thugs in here.

  “Wait let’s talk about this!” Ozzy shouted standing as well, his hands outstretched toward Emil and the elf in calming gestures.

  “What’s there to talk about?” The elf asked, dropping the point of the sword and moving his hands to his hips in a pose that screamed annoyed teenager.

  “Well let’s talk details, there has to be a way we can all leave here happy and in one piece.” Ozzy said.

  “I’m leaving here in one piece no matter what.” The elf quipped swishing his sword through the air for effect before tossing it over his shoulder where it dissolved into a shower of mana. “Let’s talk though.” The elf said, his eyes twinkling like a cat’s who’d just found a mouse.

  “What do you need to let us walk out of here?” Ozzy asked trepidatiously.

  “Off the table.” The elf said with finality, shaking his head. “You’re negotiating for your buddy’s life. Not yours, I’m taking and selling you to the college of science regardless of what you can do for me.”

  “Alright, well what do you need to let Emil walk out of here?” Ozzy asked again, feeling much the worse for figuring out that these people would probably want to experiment on him.

  Beginning to pace the elf scratched his chin thoughtfully. Looking between Ozzy and Emil with a furrowed brow.

  “Well to be honest with you, his life isn’t worth all that much to me. The edge slinger image is what’s demands all the blood, and I’m having a hard time deciding what could be worth more to me than our image as bloodthirsty murderers.” He tapped his chin, pausing his pacing as he searched his thoughts.

  “We have a core on auction right now?” Emil said questioningly.

  The elf just gestured at a pedestal off to his right which held a number of shards, but more importantly three different colored and oddly shaped objects. One was a perfect sphere with roiling fire within its center. Another was a sword shaped like a scimitar but only about eight inches in length and looking like it was made out of pure gemstones. The final one was another orb, it had a deep dark color, a mix of purple, black, and green. Each color swirling and writhing to try and assert dominance.

  “That’s a no then.” Emil said sadly.

  “Unless you have a core like Ozzy has then I’m not interested.” The elf said, shaking his head before correcting himself. “Actually not true, if it’s one worth getting I might consider partial payment.” He mused.

  “A tentacle core?” Emil asked.

  “Tsk tsk tsk.” The elf said sadly. “Can’t say I’ve got much more than that. Besides, I’m needing to make that appointment with the college of science. Sooner I get around to selling you the better.” The elf quipped, gesturing flippantly at Ozzy. “This has been fun though. Emil, please tell Eclastiedes the satisfaction I got from killing him was well worth the core users he took from me.”

  Ozzy felt hands latch onto his shoulders and forearms holding him in place and preventing any interference from him. He was forced to watch as the elf re-summoned his gilded rapier and walked towards a now equally restrained Emil.

  Thinking fast Ozzy used the only ability he felt comfortable deploying in this situation. Talk had failed, and negotiating had failed, the time for Frank had come.

  The old, grizzled rat appeared on the thug holding his right sides arms like a summoned demon. Reacting instantly the thug let out a yelp, stepping back in surprise as a rat enshrouded in roiling green energies the size of a cat leapt at him.

  With his right side released Ozzy turned whipping around like lightning only to eat an explosive punch in the face. It was like getting hit by a freight train and stars cascaded across Ozzy’s vision as he hit the floor. Moments later he heard a pained squeaking and subsequent meaty thwack of something small hitting the ground hard.

  “Well, that was less than impressive. You might have actually accomplished something too had you not been so pitifully bad at planning surprise attacks. You’re supposed to summon and attack at the same time, not summon and then attack” Ozzy could hear the sneer in the elf’s voice, even if he could hardly raise his still spinning head.

  “Anywho it’s been swell Emil.” The elf said, and Ozzy was sure he was poised to strike.

  Right as Ozzy was sure it was about to happen an explosion erupted outside of the building,

  “GAAH!” The elf shouted, “What now?!?! I’m always getting interrupted right as I get into it. Remir, watch them while figure out what bastards are trying to gatecrash. Cut the ugly ones legs off if they try anything.” He said angrily, and Ozzy listened to the clacking echoes of boots on tile as the elf stomped off.