Soran struggled against his captors when two of the other thugs grabbed Alex. He was rewarded for his efforts with another punch to his stomach that knocked the wind out of him. As he gasped for breath the thugs threatened to kill Alex if he didn't tell them where to find the brooch. Rather than admit to passing the item to Rowan earlier, he told them he tossed it into a bush just outside Swine's Tavern.
"If we don't find it there, we'll send your friend here to his grave then start on you by pluckin' out one of your eyeballs."
"It's there," Soran assured them. His lie gained them a little time, but now he knew he had to figure out a way to break loose of these bastards before that time ran out. The ache in his ribs, coupled with the intense throbbing at the back of his skull, made it rather difficult to think clearly at the moment. Two knives flew from the shadows, killing Alex's captors instantly, saving him the trouble of trying to formulate a plan of escape.
Surprise made the thugs holding Soran loosen their grips just enough for him to pull away from them. Once free, he whipped out a dagger. Before he could thrust it at the two thugs reaching out to grab him again, Rowan appeared, his swords plunging into their spines. Soran met his lover's eyes briefly then spun to defend himself against another attacker while Rowan fought off two more that rushed towards him.
Although his vision continued to go and out of focus, Soran managed to hold off his assailant until Xue ended his life. At least he thought it was Xue but it could have been Huck striking the deathblow; he couldn't be sure of anything at the moment. Soran made a valiant attempt to ignore the pain he felt while staggering to the wall of a dilapidated building and bracing his back against it to keep from falling on his face.
The thugs that tried to approach him were cut down by one of his companions before they could get too close. A few minutes later, Soran slid to the ground, unable to remain upright any longer. He fought off unconsciousness while tightening the grip on his dagger, ready to defend himself if the need arose.
Once Rowan came to kneel beside him, Soran relaxed a little. "I'm a bit dizzy and sore, but otherwise okay," he told the elf. "At least I'm not gushing blood from any severe wounds. Wish I could same the same about Alex." Relief replaced their initial tenseness when the two figures that suddenly came running towards them turned out to be Cas and Eremis.
Immediately, the healer rushed to examine Alex. He held his hands over the wounds at his sides and focused on using his own inner healing energy to slow down the youth's blood flow like Val had taught him to do. Although he succeeded in stopping the bleeding, he knew it was only a temporary fix. "The sooner we get him to a place where I can work on him, the better his chances of surviving," he called out.
Soran couldn't help but grin when he noticed Huck's renewed eagerness to help them once Rowan offered him a handful of gold. With money like that, the boy could live like a king for a couple of months or more if he was thrifty enough. Soran leaned against Rowan after he helped him to his feet then watched in amazement as Kato used some sort of spell to levitate Alex off the ground slightly. The injured youth's body glided along beside the mage as they proceeded to follow Huck.
"We better hurry," the boy said when they heard the unmistakable sound of a number of booted feet running towards their location.
Huck's hideaway turned out to be a small run down, single story home recently plagued by fire. He led them around the back, slid aside a plank of wood barely hanging by one rusty nail and bid them to enter. The place was dark and damp with the smell of smoke still lingering in the air. Huck hurried to light a couple of lanterns, sending a few rats scurrying once the room filled with light.
Eremis was relieved to find a bedroom in tact and running water coming from a hand pump in a copper sink in the kitchen. He lit a number of candles he found in the bedroom then removed the filthy sheets from the bed before they placed Alex on the mattress. After asking Kato and Xue to bring him water and any clean cloths they could find he pulled out the medical kit from his backpack and turned his full attention to taking care of Alex's injuries.
"I need to sit down, Ro," Soran said, pointing to a couch near a cobweb-covered fireplace. The elf sneezed a number of times in rapid succession when a plume of dust flew up after he lowered his student onto the couch. Soran pulled off his cap, surprised by all the blood coating the back of it.
"No wonder I got a fucking headache!" Rowan's frown made him apologize for his language. How many times had the elf told him he'd have to stop talking like a gutter rat if he ever intended to get close enough to nobility in order to steal from them? He leaned back and instantly dozed off until hands probing his stomach awakened him.
"A couple of bruised ribs," Eremis said, "but nothing's broken." He gave Soran a half smile. "You're lucky you have such a hard head. I don't see any major skull damage but you'll experience some blurred vision and a dull headache until that swelling goes down. The cut from the pipe wasn't deep enough to require stitches."
"How's Alex?" Soran asked.
Eremis shrugged. "I've done my best to patch him up, now the rest is up to him. If he's a fighter, he'll pull through. He lost a lot of blood, and I had to repair damage to his kidney. I don't think it's wise to move him just yet so I suggest we all stay here tonight. Someone should go and get us some food and java, and stop off to tell Jeremy what's going on before he worries himself sick about us." The healer cocked his head. "What IS going on exactly, Soran? Why is everyone after you, and who's the young boy that brought us here who's now dozing near the door?"
Soran glanced at Rowan then told the story of what happened at the fountain. "Those guards presume I'm guilty just because they saw me holding the fuc..the stupid brooch in my hand! They're not going to listen to a damn...darn, thing I have to say so we have to find the real thief-murderer. That's the only way I can think of to prove my innocence beyond a doubt. If anyone else has a better suggestion of how I can get myself out of this mess, I'm all ears."
Eremis handed Soran a cup of water and two capsules. "Those will help ease your headache." He turned away from the blonde, letting his eyes pan over the faces of his other companions. "I have to stay close to Alex and keep an eye on his condition. Why don't one of you go get us some food and pick up Jeremy? Then we can toss around some ideas about Soran's problem later while we eat." Without waiting for a reply, he returned to the bedroom and sat down beside his patient. He tucked in the corners of the moth eaten blanket he placed over Alex earlier after shaking all the soot and cobwebs off then set a cool, damp cloth across his forehead.
Soran placed a hand on Rowan's knee then rested his head on his shoulder. It felt good to be able to relax for a while. The muscles in his legs were sore from all the running he'd had to do the past hour or so. A moment later he dozed off in his lover's arms.
