November 11, 2024
Atari ran as though hellfire were chasing him through the back alleys of Torga.
Which they were, if metaphorical.
If Craggy Tom caught up with him, he would be thrown into a figurative burning pit, left screaming for days, weeks, until his voice came out or Samael Crighton came to pass judgement and deliver his sentence.
And all this over a few stolen spells. Sure, they were expensive, dangerous, unique spells that Samael had paid to have created, but would he really need the two Atari had stolen? He needed them. Desperately. And now that he had them, he only had a small window to get them back to his family.
December 13, 2024
Magic swirled behind him as Craggy Tom lashed out with a spell, and Atari darted down a side alley to escape the hit. Crates lined the edge of the wall, and it was the work of a moment to climb them and leap to grab the eave hanging down from the roof. The metal creaked under Atari’s weight, but it held as he pulled himself up onto the rounded clay tiles.
A moment’s reprieve, but not enough. Craggy Tom was just as capable of getting up here. He had to move, keep the shadows.
Sure enough, he’d only just ducked behind a chimney when a gust of wind told him Tom had used a spell to get him up here without the effort of the climb.
January 14, 2025
Atari ran as swiftly and as quietly as he could, keeping to the shadows, ducking behind chimneys. He leapt over the first rooftop and cursed when his foot slipped and nearly sent him tumbling two storeys to the ground below. Sure way to land himself a broken neck along with letting Craggy Tom make quick work of his remains.
He didn’t want to think how Tom would put those remains to work.
Atari tightened his grip on the scrolls. All he had to do was make it home. Then he could use the spells he’d stolen, and there would be nothing for Crighton to reclaim.
Every stress was worth it if it meant saving his family.
February 21, 2025
Atari pulled himself back to his feet and spotted a fire escape heading back down to the ground. He was close to the river, which meant close to the sewers. Not the ideal solution, but he’d take what he could get.
After a quick scan to make sure Tom wasn’t too close, he tore for the ladder, gripping one side and sliding down to increase his speed. The scent of rot and human waste hit his nose, and he apologized to his senses before running for the sewer.
But before he could make it, a small figure barrelled into him, knocking him back into the shadows. He braced for a fight, but a child looked up at him, a finger to her lips. “You want to get caught? Then shut up.”
March 31, 2025
Atari pressed his lips together as the child looked over her shoulder, then kicked her head down the sewer.
Not sure why he felt compelled to follow, Atari obeyed her direction and stayed close on her heels, all the while keeping his attention back the way they’d come in case Craggy Tom had caught on to his escape.
They walked for a long while, the silence broken only by the sound of their boots cutting through the liquid muck, until finally a hint of light came from above.
“There,” she said. “We should be safe now.” She stopped and pinned Atari with a sharp glare that didn’t match her small stature. “Now you can hand over that scroll.”
May 2, 2025
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. The scroll. Gimme.” The child held out her hand, showing no concern had demanding anything from a man twice her size.
Atari crossed his arms. “You think I ran all this way just to give it to someone else? Look, kid, I appreciate the help, but these scrolls are mine.”
He made her shove past her, but a gust of air made him stumble back.
“Nuh-uh. Look, I appreciate that you probably need them for some big family emergency or something, right? You have a little one who needs healing or an enemy who needs to be put in the ground? I get it. It’s serious. And I’m not against you using them. Or stealing them for what matter. But your problems? They’re nothing compared to what’s happening here.”
Anger raged through Atari, and he snarled at the girl. “Yeah? You want to tell me what’s more important than my family?”
“How about the entire world?”
