Chapter 16: Profane Procession

While Dack's conscious mind objected to his progress, his body continued to move forward. He bounded from roof to roof, his hasty movements disrupting the crows roosting in the early morning sun. As he neared the sight of the disruption, the sounds increased in volume and quantity. Footsteps and hoofbeats multiplied, and a cacophony of smashes, clangs, and booms joined in. Only one word could describe the overbearing orchestra of noise he was approaching: chaos.

Dack audibly gulped, but still he pressed on towards the sounds. He silently cursed whatever damned morality was pushing him forward, but he couldn't make himself turn around even as the noise grew louder and more dissonant. He continued his path across the skyline that would eventually intersect with the traveling source of riotous upheaval.

It wasn't long before his feet touched down on the rooftop that overlooked the alleyway from which the sound emanated. It was a high spire, probably belonging to a church, but it made for an ideal lookout spot. He held onto the peak of the pointed rooftop and listened. The noise was now a bit behind Dack, but it was still mind-rattlingly loud and fast approaching. He could hardly hear himself think as what sounded more and more like a stampede approached his vantage.

What the hell could be making all that ruckus this deep in the city? Wanting to get a better look, Dack let go of the spire and carefully made his way down to the rooftop's edge. He wobbled slightly, not used to the steep decline, but his quick footing managed to hold. As he reached the furthest part of the roof, he activated his spell from the Amulet of Tarantual. Placing one hand on the building's side, he leaned forward without fear of falling and cast his free hand over his eyes to peer into the distance.

The sound hit him hard, but the source still lay hidden in the alley's shadows. Dack squinted to try and make out anything definite, but all he could see was a massive dark blob ebbing ever closer. There were humanoid shapes, animalistic shapes, and some shapes that Dack couldn't identify, but it all coalesced into a single entity destroying all in its path.

Shit, I can't let whatever those are get any deeper into the city! Luckily, I have just the thing to slow them down.

Using his free hand, Dack focused his psychometric energy until a small sphere of condensed lightning appeared. It buzzed with arcane electricity, but the sound was warped like it was being played in slow motion.

The Static Orb should do the trick. I'll wait for them to get close and chuck it into their ranks before they know what hit 'em. Then I can go back to focusing on getting off this goddamned pl-

Dack's idea stopped short, along with his other conscious processes, as he felt the tremendous impact of some unknown object against his forehead. Pain exploded forth instantaneously, washing away all other thoughts from his mind. He didn't call forth a spell of protection, he didn't scan the area for the source of the projectile, he didn't even scream out in agony. All these conscious acts were drowned in wave after wave of fresh pain. He couldn't do anything except watch as his body acted on its own sense of self-preservation. Before he could stop himself, Dack reached up with both hands to hold the spot that was causing him so much agony.

With both hands held to his forehead, trickles of blood seeping through his gloved fingers, Dack fell from his rooftop perch. As he felt the pull of gravity and saw the rapid approach of the cobblestone street below, Dack's mind finally caught up to his body. At this point, he could finally let out a scream. His fearful cry echoed across the long alleyway for a second or two, then he fell silent as his body hit the ground with a sizeable crack.

"FUCK!" he yelled as he lay on his stomach, pain enveloping his splayed figure. His hands had dropped from his forehead and now lay by his side. The slight trickle of blood now made its way down his forehead and began to drip on the stones before him. He tried to move, but every slight motion sent another shock of pain up and down his body.

Shit, I must've broken a few ribs. My arms and legs are ok, but I won't be able to stand for too long like this. I need to use the Chalice.

Dack shifted and squirmed as he brought his hands together before his face. He flinched with the fresh doses of pain it caused, but he gritted his teeth and did his best to push through it. He cupped his hands together and summoned his psychometric abilities once more. A faint glow appeared around his hands, and he watched intently as his cupped fingers started to fill with a clear liquid that gave off an otherworldly glow and wafts of silver vapor.

"Thank god for those damned Innistrad vampires," he muttered before hastily gulping down the summoned elixir. He felt the sweet draught splash across his tongue and down his throat. It tingled with a purifying magic, slowly spreading from his stomach out to his extremities and filling him with a comforting warmth. Then, he could feel his internal injuries begin to heal.

It'll be a few seconds before everything's back to normal, but the Chalice of Life should fix up whatever I broke. I just gotta get out of here before…

He paused, and Dack realized that the pain he had just experienced made him forget about what he was doing on the rooftop in the first place. As the pooling potion disappeared from his cupped hands, he slowly raised his eyes from the street. He looked up, and he saw the shadow cast by the band of creatures he had been tracking through the street. With his view obstructed by the intermittent sunlight, and his own eyes falling in and out of focus from the fall, he couldn't identify just what was before him. The ungodly din had died down slightly as the crowd stood before him, but between the sounds he had heard, the size of the figures in front of him, and the nauseating stench emanating from the mob, Dack still feared the absolute worst.

A figure stepped out from the crowd towards Dack's undefended form. The shadows still impeded his view, but it appeared to be a human wielding an oversized axe in their hands. The figure stopped just before Dack, and he watched as they raised the axe over their heads, the blade reaching into the sliver of sunlight above them to glint in Dack's eye. He wanted to move, but the Chalice hadn't healed his injuries enough. He could probably run, but it wouldn't be fast enough to escape.

Huh, I didn't really see it ending like this. He was trying to stay calm, keep his thoughts ever light and confident despite the absolute terror pounding in his chest. I always assumed I'd be done in by either a boobytrap or a close encounter gone wrong. Well, at least I can tell Mariel I didn't die with my pants down.

"'old it right there, mate!"

The axe paused in the air, and Dack felt his heart skip a beat. The voice came from somewhere behind the crowd, and the various sounds coming from the mass of bodies started to die down. All heads noticeably turned to the source of the voice. Dack heard a rattle of chains, followed by feet dropping onto the cobbled walkway. The crowd before him parted to let the voice's owner step forward, and as the axe's shadow left Dack's field of view, he finally saw the threat that he had been pursuing.

The Gruul? What the hell are these wild dogs doing here? His surprised, but finally focused, eyes scanned the crowd. A motley band of humans, goblins, giants, centaurs, and ogres towered before him. Most were half-naked, decked out in either filthy leather loin clothes or armor that was clearly scavenged from the more well-equipped guilds. Some stood, teeth bared and weapons menacingly drawn, while others rode on the backs of hairy, snorting beasts. Standing in the middle of them all was a boy with a horned staff in one hand, a fierce red mohawk, and eyes that reminded Dack of a crazed hyena.

The boy leveled his staff at Dack's face, the two curved prongs lining up with his eyes. This close to his face, Dack could see the splattering of fresh blood up and down the unfinished wood.

"This one looks a little off, eh? Don't look like your average citizen. Where'd ya find this one?"

"Saw him spyin' on us from up on the tower," answered a woman riding an enormous cat-like beast with curled tusks. She pointed to Dack's perch with one hand and held a sling in the other. "He was hangin' over the edge somehow, and I saw some kinda glowin' ball in his hands. Knocked him down from 200 yards out. Figured if he wanted to see us so bad, the street'd have the best view."

The boy nodded, his mohawk bobbing along. "That's why you're the best slinger we got, Karsa." He turned away from the woman and looked back at Dack, striking his staff against the ground with a dramatic flourish. "So, Mister Spymaster, wanna tell us what you're doin' 'ere?"

Dack met the boy's crazed stare, but he refused to answer. He felt the Chalice's elixir working its way through his body, and though he was sure he had healed enough to escape, he knew better than to try and run while surrounded by a pack of Gruul barbarians.

"Aw, c'mon," Domri mocked the prone figure, "ain't you gonna share wit' us? All I wanna know is what brought you to this part of the city, hmm? You don't look like you're from around these parts."

Again, he was met with a cold, silent gaze. Dack could see the frustration grow across the young man's face, and he internally smirked at his own ability to annoy someone without uttering a word. This smugness was swiftly cut short as the butt of the horned staff cracked against Dack's nose, shattering it.

He gasped as blood rushed to the pavement below, pain surging through his face. His face faltered, and as he showed the agony the blow was causing him, the boy smiled.

"I'm starting to think you don't know who I am," he called, voice rising with an unhinged intensity. "Well, allow me to introduce me and mine. The name's Domri Rade, and I'm the chieftain of the Gruul horde! We're 'ere to do two things: tear down this city brick by brick and kill anyone who gets in our way!"

Domri raised his hands above his head, and the crowd erupted into a guttural cheer that shook the surrounding buildings. It reminded Dack of a pack of gorillas preparing for a fight. Amidst the din, Domri's voice cut through to Dack's ears.

"Now, let's try this again, and this time I'll be a bit more direct. Are you from Ravnica?"

Dack spit a wad of blood and saliva in Domri's direction, falling just short of his leather boots. "No, I'm not."

A grin stretched across Domri's face. "Well, that wasn't so 'ard now, was it?"

"Go fuck yourself," Dack snarled.

This comment didn't go over well, and a rage swept over the Gruul faces. The axe-wielder from before, which Dack now recognized as a human clad in worn bark armor, stepped forward with his weapon readied. His bulging arm muscles tensed, and Dack shrunk back in reflexive fear. The man grinned evilly, but before he could take a second step forward, Domri swung his horned staff to his side and blocked his path.

"Nuh uh. Sorry Br'k, but this one stays alive."

Dack could hardly believe his ears. A Gruul showing mercy? I'm not complaining, but what the fuck kind of mirror universe did I get sucked into?

Apparently, Dack wasn't alone in this sentiment. Ripples of agitated grunts emerged from the horde like stink lines, once again filling the alley with an unruly noise.

"Why's that?" the hulking Br'k jaggedly asked. "We ain't stopped for no one, why's this guy diff'rent?"

Roars of agreement followed the berserker's questions, nearly drowning out Dack's thoughts. Another voice chimed in, the barely intelligible grumble of a cyclops brandishing a whip made of rusted chains. "What wrong Domri, you like this one? Want him for youself?"

"Shut the fuck up, all o' you!" Dack could practically hear Domri's teeth clatter as he snapped out the command with a sharp ferocity. The murmuring came to a sudden stop, and Domri's eyes crossed over the faces of his unwashed followers, then landed on the singular eye of the cyclops who spoke up earlier.

"No, Urgdar, he ain't for me. This one here's for the boss himself."

The cyclops raised a finger to his lip as he contemplated Domri's words. "Uh, aren't you boss?"

Domri heaved a sigh and shook his head. "I swear, Urgdar, you were probably born with two eyes and just lost track of the other one." He now brought his attention back to the rest of the horde. "For those of you who've forgotten, I am the leader of the Gruul clan, but for the moment, I, and by association all o' you, are following the orders of Nicol Bolas."

This brought another volley of clamoring from the Gruul, each angrily throwing insults at Domri of various degrees of intelligibility.

Hoo, they don't seem to like that, Dack thought. I'm guessing this Bolas guy is the one who made those new renovations to the Promenade I saw earlier. I'd hate to meet the guy giving the Gruul orders.

Suddenly, Domri rapped the butt of his staff against the cobblestones. "Oy, shut it!" This time, Domri's eyes lit up with a fiery energy, and his words sounded more like the barking of a rabid wolf. The horde quickly silenced itself, and Dack saw a twinge of fear in the Gruul's eyes.

"Now don't any o' you think for a minute that I've turned against the Gruul! Just because I'm workin' for Bolas don't mean we ain't still free. It's 'cause o' Bolas that we're 'ere right now. He's givin' us the free reign to finally tear down the damn city, to summon Ilharg, and to finally bring about the End-Raze. Ain't that what you all want?!"

An approving cry rose out from the crowd, their energy spurred by Domri's message. Dack barely understood what they were talking about, but he knew it couldn't be anything good.

"That's what I thought," Domri yelled over their cheer, "and that's why we're workin' with the big man. And once he's done with his business 'ere, he told me that we get the plane all to ourselves!"

"But what does this Bolas want from us?" Karsa called from atop her mount.

"That's the easiest part of all. Bolas only gave me one instruction: don't kill people like this f- OY!"

Domri had turned, gesturing with a grandiose show to his new captive, but the spot where Dack had lay was now vacant. While the Gruul had been caught up in their fervor, Dack saw the opportunity to escape. He had slowly shifted into a crouching position, his movements imperceptible to the slow-reacting brains of the barbarians, and he had begun to crawl backwards at a snail's pace. Unfortunately for Dack, their attention turned to him sooner than expected, and he had only managed to skulk a few feet away before Domri angrily leveled his staff in his direction.

There was a pause after Domri's initial outburst. Dack stared at the menacing horde, his eyes wide and figure still, like a gremlin caught in the brights.

Maybe they'll just let me go? Dack thought in the brief silence. I mean, if they're gonna bring down the city, what's letting me escape gonna matter?

Then, the pause ended, as Domri yelled across the gap: "'old it right fuckin' there, mate!" His eyes sparked, and his staff started to crackle with green and red magics.

Guess that would've been too much to ask.

Snapping to his senses, Dack quickly leapt to his right, his fingers extended to the brick façade of the adjacent building. His fingertips relit with the wispy light of the Amulet of Tarantual, and he stuck fast to the wall. Without any hesitation, Dack started to scale the wall as quickly as possible.

Shit, that was close! I just gotta get up and over this wall. Once I hit the rooftops, I should be free and clear from these crazy SOBs. That's what I get for trying to help a bunch of people I don't know. Gotta look out for number one, otherwise I-

Dack's stream of consciousness was suddenly shattered, as he felt something hit against his back. His pulse quickened, and his pupils dilated with fear. It didn't feel like the rock from before, an instant pain in a single area. Instead, it felt almost soft, like the Gruul barbarians had lobbed a pillow at him. This isn't what concerned him, what caused the cold sweat to break anew across his brow. It was the fact that, whatever had impacted him, felt like it was stuck to his jacket.

Shit shit shit! I gotta get this thing off me before-

Once again, he didn't have time to finish his thought. He wanted to slough off his jacket and continue scaling the wall. While the prospect of losing his favorite article of clothing didn't exactly thrill him, he knew it was better than whatever the Gruul had planned for him. Unfortunately, he wasn't given the time to make a choice. The projectile that had latched onto his back gave a tug, and Dack was instantly ripped from the building's side.

He crashed to the ground a moment later, landing ass-first and sending a shooting pain up his spine. He hadn't managed to climb very high, but even the minor drop was enough to reignite the injuries he had just healed. The brief thought of running away crossed his panicked mind through the rising tide of pain, but it swiftly dissipated as he realized the mass attached to his back wasn't done. Even after hitting the ground, he still felt the pull on his back, and now he felt his behind being dragged across the cobbled alleyway. He didn't have time to resist as he was reeled in like a dazed flounder. His back to the Gruul, he watched as the wall, and his escape, receded from his reach.

The line on his back gave a last, violent yank, and he fell to the ground. Laying on his back, he saw Domri leering over him, a crooked smile on his face and swirling red and green energy billowing from his eyes. Perched on his staff was a spider, about the size of a hawk, with a thick line of webbing extending from its backside spinneret to Dack's back.

"Now where d' ya think you're off to, huh?" Domri sneered. "I thought we were really 'ittin' it off."

Dack offered a sarcastic smile, his teeth stained with the blood from his broken nose. "What can I say, I just prefer the company of people who don't smell like a bog spirit's taint."

Domri's crooked grin lengthened. "Ah, you're finally talkin'. Good, we still got a few questions for ya."

He cocked his head to his arachnid companion. It grabbed onto the web with its hind legs and started reeling it in, raising Dack off his back and onto his feet. The spider then snapped the line attached to Dack's back and quickly shot out two more balls of webbing at Dack's feet. They stuck fast, and a quick tug confirmed that his feet were anchored to the ground.

"There," Domri smirked, "now you ain't goin' nowhere unless we say so." He waved his staff, and the spider vanished with a wisp of verdant magic.

Dack met Domri's eyes once more with a steeled gaze, and he silently considered his options.

Shit. I could escape any time, I guess. This Domri kid's tough, but he must not be too bright if he only tied down my shoes. I could just slip outta my boots and make a run for it. Unfortunately, their eyes are on me now. I'd probably get skewered before I could take two steps. Shit, guess I gotta play along for now.

Dack wiped his mouth with his sleeve, leaving a thin smear of blood on both. "So," he began, trying to adopt a tone that both hid his trepidation and his condescension, "what do the Gruul want with little old me? I assumed I'd be painting the sidewalk by now."

Domri snickered. "Well, that'd be pretty good, mate, but we got other plans fo' the likes o' you. My horde may not know what you are, but I do. You're a planeswalker, ain'tcha?"

"Good eye, kid. You must be the first Gruul I've met with an IQ in the double digits. And if you know that word, then I guess that means you're a planeswalker too, right? Specializing in some kinda animal summoning magic?"

Domri spread his arms wide in a boastful show. "Indeed I am, but that's nothing fo' you to worry about. How 'bout you, mate? What sort o' magic you got up those fancy sleeves?"

He paused, briefly considering lying about his true powers in case he needed them later. But he knew that if they smelled a lie, he'd never get a chance to escape. "Psychometry. I can absorb a magical item's spell and use it later."

"Ooh, very impressive," Domri chided, cackling like a hyena. "You may not be from around 'ere, but you fit in just fine. Another city dweller, dependent on the artificial. Too wrapped up in the trinkets of civilization to realize it ain't shit compared to nature. Luckily, that'll all change soon."

"Oh yeah," Dack snidely added, "I thought I heard something about tearing the city down?"

Domri flashed his teeth with a devilish grin. "You better believe it. By the time we're through, no one will even remember this city. And ya know what? I think we've wasted just about too much time blatherin' on with the likes of you."

"So, what, I'm free to go?"

"You wish, mate. Nah, you're comin' with us. The boss'll be real thrilled to see we got a planeswalker all wrapped up for 'im."

Suddenly, Dack remembered what Domri said earlier, before he made his escape attempt. Their boss wants planeswalkers, but he wants them alive. I don't know why, and I know it can't be good, but that means that these fucks won't touch me.

A slight smile crept over Dack's face, which Domri couldn't see as he turned back to his horde. He was getting ready to remount his riding beast when Dack spoke up, loud enough for all to hear.

"Oh right, how could I forget the boss? This Nicol Bolas guy you keep bringing up, the one who whipped all you savages into a pack of trained dogs!"

Suddenly, for the first time that day, the horde fell totally silent. Domri had a foot in the saddle of his boar when Dack uttered these words. He paused, then leapt back to the ground.

"What'd you just say?" His tone was even, but his mouth was practically frothing as he spoke. The butt of his staff struck the ground, the sound of the impact echoing over the alley and up to the rooftops.

Dack laughed, a low chuckle that disintegrated the tension Domri's show of intimidation was meant to create. "Hah, you heard me, little man. I've been to Ravnica a few times, and I'd heard plenty of tales about the fearsome Gruul clans of the outskirts. But now, all I see are a bunch of limp-dicks too scared of some guy in a black pyramid to do anything without his permission."

Domri swung his staff to face Dack, the sharp horns dangerously close to Dack's pupils. Anyone else would've recoiled in fear, but Dack's unflappable confidence kept his from even blinking at the display.

"You gotta lotta fuckin' nerve!" Domri barked. "The Gruul ain't afraid of nobody, not some stupid dragon 'alfway across the city, and certainly not some pretty-boy asshole who thinks he can tell us who we are!"

Dack grinned, staring past the staff and meeting Domri's furious stare with his own cool detachment. "Then what are you gonna do about it? Your boss wants planeswalkers alive and well. He built those huge fucking monuments, right? Are you really gonna risk pissing off the one guy who can raise a city faster than you can destroy it?"

Of course, Dack didn't know if anything he said was true. But, if he'd learned anything from his travels, it's that lying is 1% cleverness and 99% conviction. As he looked into Domri's eyes, he saw them falter slightly, and he couldn't help but smile.

And then, an instant later, Domri's lips curled into a devious grin, and Dack's smile faded.

"I can appreciate the balls on ya, outsider. You'da made a fine Gruul, though you'd need t' wear down those clean-cut edges o' yours. But you made a mistake, mate, and it's a big 'un."

Dack's heart skipped a beat. He swallowed hard but tried his best to mask the nervous mannerism under his cool façade. "Yeah, and what's that?" he shot back with an aggressiveness that reeked of overcompensation.

"The boss wants you alive, but he doesn't need you in one piece."

Shit!

The words rung in Dack's ears, and he felt his heart drop at the sudden declaration. Domri turned to Br'k and motioned his head to the captive Dack. The hulking man smiled and curled his fingers around his axe.

Fuck strategy, I gotta get out of here!

Throughout his conversation with Domri, Dack had been slowly wriggling his feet, loosening their position in his trapped shoes. He slid his socks as far as they would go. He had been careful, and it seemed that Domri hadn't noticed Dack was now standing on his tiptoes within his shoes. And now, with the Gruul's threat looming over him, he leapt out of his shoes and readied to flee.

Hopefully this teaches that Domri brat a lesson about being observant. Luckily, I'll be far enough away that I won't have to find out if he d-

Dack mind stopped mid-thought. He had planned out his escape route, imagined the artifacts he'd invoke to get away, and pictured in his mind the liberating sensation of the Ravnica breeze on his face as he scurried from rooftop to rooftop. These feelings of freedom would never come, for before Dack's shoeless feet could touch the ground, he was grabbed from behind by a powerful arm across his torso. With his mind blank, he could only turn and see what held him. It was Br'k, the monstrous human who had been standing in front of him just a moment before.

A gasp of air escaped Dack's lips as Br'k's viselike hold tightened on Dack's chest. It took him a moment to regain his breath, but he could only muster a few words.

"How… did you…" he managed to wheeze out before trailing off. His eyes fell back to Domri, who was only barely holding back a fit of laughter at Dack's perplexed face.

"Yeah, that Br'k is a fast 'un. You're not from here, so I'll let you in on a tip: there ain't nothing faster than a Gruul when there's a riot to get to." A roar came out from the rest of the barbarians, a cavalcade of banging and hooting in approval of Domri's praises. Br'k lifted his massive axe, which he still held in his offhand, over his head and howled to his compatriots. This served to whip them even further into a frenzy, a stormfront of noise that threatened to overtake Dack's senses.

Just as Dack thought he would puke from the sensory overload, Domri raised a hand in the air, and the noise subsided. "Alright Br'k, bring 'em over here."

Br'k tightened his hold on Dack's torso, squeezing the last bit of air out of his lungs and practically bulging his eyes out of his skull. Dack wriggled and writhed, but the barbarian's grip was ironclad. His mind was reeling, the lack of oxygen and circulation making it difficult to concentrate. Dack was sure there must be some artifact, some useful bauble in the back of his mind that could get him out of this, but he came up blank. All he could do was stare ahead and watch as Domri's smarmy grin grew ever closer. Domri's eyes, however, were not on his prisoner. Instead, he had turned to call to a member of the horde behind him.

"Oy, Dhuuz! 'ow long's it been since your kronch had a proper meal?" Domri's shrill voice splattered onto the white canvas of Dack's mind, finally pulling his conscious thoughts to the current situation.

A boy promptly answered the question. He not much older than Domri by the looks, and he sported a similar ensemble of colored mohawk and tattered furs. "It's been a couple hours, I'd say. She's due for a feedin' any time now." He rode atop a frothing beast that Dack had never seen before. It had the face of a boar and the body of an ox, with enormous horns jutting from behind its ears, but the most striking feature to Dack was the hungry look in its eyes as it stared back at him.

"Well we can't give 'er a full meal 'ere, but maybe just a snack. How does an arm sound?"

"Oh, she'd just love that!" the boy cackled.

Domri whipped his head back to Dack, hair bobbing with an excited energy. "Well, you heard 'im, pretty boy. Hope you've jacked off enough in your life, 'cause you won't be doin' it anymore!"

The horde around him started to hoot and howl in uproarious fashion as Domri obscenely gestured to emphasize his point. Once he finished, he stepped to the side, grinning wickedly as he cleared a path in the rabble between Dack and the waiting kronch. Dhuuz slapped the beast on its neck several times, whipping it into a veritable frenzy of snorting and grunting. Once it seemed ready to stampede, Domri swung his staff towards the creature in a grandiose display, and Br'k took his first step forward.

Though a hurricane of commotion raged around him, Dack couldn't hear any of it. Though every eye in the horde was on his slow walk forward, he couldn't see any of them. The only thing he saw was the kronch he slowly approached, and the only noise in his ears came from his own mind. After the initial shock of being caught, and the asphyxiation-induced mental fog, Dack's thoughts were finally becoming clear.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!

He wasn't finding them particularly helpful. He tried to calm his nerves, narrow the focus of his pinballing anxiety. His eyes locked with those of the kronch, but he quickly blinked away after seeing the insatiable hunger staring back at him. He chose to stare at the cobblestones below, desperately narrowing his mind.

Ok, ok. Ok, shit, I need to get out of this. I don't have time to invoke any psychometry. Hell, I don't even know what I could use to get out of this. The static orb takes too long to charge, the thunderstaff only works at far range, and the oblivion stone doesn't save me so much as delete me. Shit, what do I do?! I can't die like this, arm eaten off by a pig and then sold for scrap. What would Mariel say?

Thinking of his lost love, a sudden resolve began to harden in his chest. He could feel an electricity start to flow through his extremities, and a newfound strength was starting to form.

Mariel would say that giving up isn't what Dack Fayden does. He always finds a way out. And she's fucking right!

Adrenaline coursed through his veins anew. The hardened resolve solidified, then crystallized into a diamond of determination. He looked down to the arm pinning his chest. His hands were stuck to his side, but still in a good position to push out. Dack tensed his muscles. He grit his teeth. He channeled every bit of energy he had left into his arms, focusing every muscle, every tendon, every cell in his body.

Then, he pushed. His hands strained against the muscular arm of his captor. His arms began to burn. He could practically feel all the veins across his body popping up beneath his skin. But he did not stop putting everything he had into his arms, and he felt Br'k's arm slowly give way. A rush of relief started to flood his body at the slight progress.

Hell yeah, I knew I could do it!

"Hey, quit squirmin'."

Even among the frenzy of the horde, Br'k's voice rang through. And with those three words, Dack's world crumbled. Br'k moved his arm tighter around Dack's waist. His arms buckled, his hands bent uncomfortably, and his upper-body muscles constricted like a grape in the sun. Worse than all of this, Dack's ego utterly deflated.

Fuck. I guess that's it then. I knew I shouldn't have come over here, and look what's happened. So much for the greatest thief in the Multiverse…

He still couldn't hear the raucous laughter that filled the throughway and passed over the vacant rooftops high above. His mind was vacant, almost hollow, as he trudged toward the inevitable pain the kronch represented. The manic eyes of the Gruul were glued to him, absolutely captivated by their prisoner. All he could do was cast his eyes to the ground, defeated.

I'd rather not look that thing in the face when it bites my arm off, though I guess it doesn't matter either way.

It was then that Dack felt Br'k stop moving. He didn't look up, but Dack knew he was close to the kronch. Puffs of hot air shot forward from the beast's nostrils, tousling Dack's hair across his eyes. Slobber splattered his face as the boy sitting atop the kronch started whipping it into a further frenzy. It bucked and shook the foundation of the surrounding buildings, but even that wasn't enough to pull Dack's eyes from the ground. Neither was Br'k's voice, which cut through the din once again.

"You better not spray on me, outsider. I ain't havin' your blood cover up my tattoos."

With his free hand, Br'k grabbed ahold of Dack's wrist and pulled his arm out. Br'k didn't loosen his hold around Dack's torso, and the added strain on his arm sent new shocks of pain through his body. They barely registered, however, as Dack continued to stare listlessly at the ground.

His eyes fell beneath the kronch, where the slate-gray alley street was darkened by the bestial shadow. He silently lamented what brought him to this point.

Huh, I knew I should've listened to myself back there. This isn't my battle to fight, and these aren't my people to save. Try to do a good deed, and this is what happens. You wind up captured by barbarians, about to have your entire arm eaten off, with nothing to look at but the stones under the monster's feet and a red streak.

Dack paused. Wait, red streak? What the hell is that?

He blinked rapidly, making sure his vision wasn't blurry. He looked again, and what he had seen as a red streak now materialized in his field of view.

Is that… a devil?

He briefly considered if he was hallucinating, if Br'k cut off the circulation to his brain and caused it to create the mirage. He tried to blink a few more times, certain that he could stabilize his brain. But, when he opened them again, he was still greeted by the red horns, yellow eyes, and pearly-white smile of a small devil standing just under the kronch. It couldn't have been more than a foot tall, the tips of its horns only just reaching past the kronch's knees. Its clawed fingers curled deviously, and its pointed tail swished back and forth. The devil's eyes were skittering back and forth, as if it was cooking up some kind of plan, but as Dack kept his own eyes focused on it, the devil eventually met his gaze.

As they stared at one another, the devil's grin twisted up the side of its face, and it inched its way closer to the kronch's leg. It turned its back to the leg, stuck its rear out, and held up a finger for Dack to see. And then, for the first time in a long while, Dack found his voice.

"What the fu-"

The devil's tail snapped out, and its pointed barb pierced the kronch's leg. The beast suddenly lurched back on its hind legs, throwing Dhuuz from the saddle. Then, still reared back on two hooves, it let out an earsplitting roar that silenced the surrounding Gruul. Hands went to ears, desperate to block out the kronch's cry, and all started to scatter out of the monster's way. The only people who didn't move out from the kronch's shadow were Dack, still pinned in place, and his handler Br'k. Dack tried to wriggle his way out again, hoping the display in front of him would have provided enough of a distraction, but Br'k's arm was still locked in place.

"Hey!" Dack yelled to his captor, his voice straining over the kronch. "You need to move, or we'll both be crushed!"

Br'k didn't respond. Dack could hardly believe that the Gruul barbarian was this dedicated to dealing with him that he'd risk his own life. He craned his neck up, ready to either appeal to whatever sense he had or just call him an asshole. But when he looked up to Br'k, his breath caught in his throat.

A swirling mass of blackness engulfed Br'k head, like a malevolent cloud of gas that refused to dissipate. It seeped in and out of his eyes, ears, and mouth, rushing out of each orifice before circling back to another. Br'k showed no signs of response to the phenomenon, his face completely blank among the demonic fog. Dack stared in disbelief at his immobile captor, but he was soon shaken from his trance by the sound of the kronch readying to stomp down onto them.

I don't know what the fuck that is, but I don't have time to worry about that.

Dack took a deep breath, drawing whatever strength he had left into his legs. Then, with a quick twist on the balls of his feet, he spun himself and Br'k around. With his back to the kronch, Dack started to walk forward. His muscles strained to pull the dead weight of the massive barbarian. He heaved himself forward, taking a single laborious step. Dack nearly stopped there, but he knew he needed one more step to get away from the kronch. With his muscles aching and his knees about to buckle, Dack managed to take one more step forward. He stopped, letting out an enormous breath as Br'k's feet touched the ground once more.

The feet of the snarling beast came crashing down. Dack winced, unsure if he'd moved far enough away to avoid the beast's stomp but too drained to move any further.

Then, he heard the cracking off bones. The tearing of flesh. The splatter of blood.

Oh Gods!

He kept his eyes closed, not wanting to see what condition his body was in. His imagination ran wild with images of trampled legs and crushed ribs. His breathing became erratic, and a cold sweat of anticipation broke anew on his forehead. He waited for the pain to catch up to his brain, for blazing agony to take over his conscious mind.

But nothing came. In fact, he felt the opposite of what he expected. Instead of a crushing weight, he felt lighter, unrestricted in his movements. The only sound he could hear was the massive thumping of his own heartbeat as blood surged through his ears. Slowly, Dack opened his eyes to see what had happened.

The ground before him, his shoes, and the backs of his legs were coated with a fresh splattering of blood. Hair, teeth, and hunks of flesh mixed with the crimson spillage. Out of the corner of his eye, Dack could see the crumpled remains of the arm that carried him to the kronch's mouth. That was all that remained of Br'k that wasn't now stuck to the underside of the beast's massive foot. As he looked at the pool of what had been a human life just moments ago, one thought occupied Dack's mind.

I fucking made it!

Despite the gruesome circumstances, a wide grin spread across Dack's face. He balled his fists at his side and pumped them excitedly.

Fuck yes! The Greatest Thief in the Multiverse can get out of any squeeze. Not sure where the fuck that little devil thing came from, but I really don't give a shit. I'm free now, and I better book it the fuck out of here!

Dack stood where he was, still silently celebrating his close call. His thoughts completely insulated him from the turmoil that was raging all around him. He was so excited from surviving that he did not notice the Gruul barbarians screaming at the top of their lungs all around him. He didn't notice their war shrieks running off in every possible direction. He didn't notice the riding beasts bucking and snorting in angered confusion. He didn't notice the yells of pain as people died around him. And he certainly didn't notice the kronch that was behind him only a moment before was now to his side and rearing its head back.

The broad side of the beast's tusk collided with Dack's stomach, catching in his chest for a moment before following through with its wide swipe. The wind was completely knocked from his lungs, and he gasped out of surprise and necessity. An explosion of pain blasted across his body, like he had been hit by a Kaladeshian train. This was accompanied by a swift nausea that threatened to upturn whatever food was still in Dack's stomach. He barely had time to recognize the pain, however, as the impact sent him flying across the narrow alley with the speed of a cannonball.

Almost immediately after his senses registered the kronch's attack, his back slammed against the hard brick of the adjacent building. His head subsequently smacked into the wall, a sickening thud resonating in his ears. The ringing grew louder and louder, until it smothered his thoughts. He felt his senses start to falter. The pain started to ebb in and out with his consciousness as he fell to the ground in a splayed heap.

With his head only barely propped up, and his body beginning to shut down, Dack could finally take in the full scene around him. His vision was blurry, but he tried to force himself awake to see what was happening. The ranks of the Gruul looked torn. There were not as many as Dack remembered in the alley. Some lay dead on the ground, while others were simply missing. Red devils like he had seen before crawled over the remaining barbarians, biting and scratching at their unprotected flesh. Some of the Gruul had their heads encased in swirls of black smog like Dack had seen with Br'k, while others' heads seemed to be slowly disintegrating into black ash before blowing away. And then, standing in the center of it all, Domri Rade seemed to be locked in combat with a 10-foot tall winged shadow.

What the fuck is all this?

This was the last thought Dack had before he felt his consciousness slip. The battle raged on before him, the sound almost deafening to anyone nearby, but for Dack Fayden, everything went silent.