Nine Swords

"Come on...We've got to get out of here."

The first words Elania heard before her eyes shot open, she had been out for a mere few seconds, though in that time, it seemed the situation had gone from bad, to grave. She saw Jen, kneeling over her. Kleopas still near. She saw Alex, and Tom, and the very very angry stranger, and Silas running toward them. Then she saw the blue light.

Without much time to think, she acted without saying a word, reaching into her purse on the ground, she pulled out the grenade. she pulled the pin and tossed it behind Tom and the stranger. Immediately, huge billowing clouds of smoke obfuscate the loading docks where she assumed an entire swarm of blues would be coming from.

She spoke quickly, and to no one in particular "That will bring fire trucks, and a shitload of cops, if they were not on the way already. the smoke will give us time, get your asses to the bridge, tourists there, crowds, you separate and blend in until this cools off."

"Tom! Finish him off we are moving! Alex, come on!"

With that she stood up, grabbed her hat, put her sunglasses over her eyes, one of which she could not see out of, due to blood from her head wound that Jen had just healed, she grabbed her purse, and nudged those in her vicinity to get moving.

*

As if on que everything around Kleopas and the team went to hell. Kleopas swore loudly as he watched Tom, Arcadius and the newcomer pummel the hostile repeatedly with seemingly no effect, he was about to send a few pistol rounds their way to support them when Jennet skidded next to himself and Elania.

From what he could gather Jennet began to send more healing blood magic to revive their injured comrade, being so close to the magic while it was cast made Kleopas shudder involuntarily. Kleopas had barely any time to register that a blue siren like light had begun blinking above them signalling more trouble for their group.

However it seemed like whatever Jennet had done worked, within moments Elania had bolted upright and jumped back into action.
Somehow a grenade had be set off, concealing the area in a dense smoke that obscured Kleopas's vision and most likely everyone elses as well. Someone, from the sound of it Jennet, was shouting at everyone to withdraw.

"Damn, Miranda watch out for trouble we're getting outta here"

"But... but the fun's just getting started..."

"We haven't time for this, have fun with anyone who tries to get in our way"

"Yayyyy!!!!!" cried Miranda mischievously as she ran off through the smoke.

Trying not to breathe in the smoke too much, Kleopas offered his arm to Elania. "Come on, time to go"

[Round 7]

The smoke makes it hard to see what, if anything, is coming from the area near the loading docks. What is certain, is that the sounds of muffled voices in the distance are coming from that direction.

Its unclear as to which of the team's attacks did the job on the aggressor, but as Tom's fist came down for another hit on the still struggling grey-shirted man, he falls still. Dead. Then the next moment the body disappears in a mist of gold and blue energy leaving Tom holding nothing but air. There is a distinct sound of buzzing for a moment, than then nothing but the shouts in the distance.

[Freeplay]

[[Freeplay means that strict, round by round tracking of actions is over, and that you and the other team members are fee to post organically... making as many posts and actions has it seems reasonable to you.]]

[[To give you a frame of reference for 'time', 10 rounds would be 1 minute.]]

Silas pauses a brief moment as several things at once happen very quickly.
- A smoke grenade goes off almost right next to him.
- Someone yells for everyone to scatter
- The source of the Malice and Hatred he was feeling disappears in a mist of Blue and Gold
- Shouting comes from the smoke

With no time to think or even gather his thoughts, Silas closes his eyes and focuses on the command to head to the Bridge. A flash of light pulses where he stood and then vanishes and so does Silas.[Flicker] He reappears behind a dumpster about 10 yards away from the where he was standing.

Taking a quick look around, Silas checks to see if it is safe for him to move without being seen then he spots a small crowd of onlookers that were gathering to check out the scene. He quietly makes his way to the back of the crowd and tries to blend in as if he was just part of the group trying to see what was happening. This should give him a chance to get away and meet the others as well as an opportunity to gather some intel to give the team a better idea of what happened.

*

Tom snarled in victory as the man in his grasp exploded into a golden mist. His head turned, eyes snapping towards the noises coming from farther into the loading dock. That was a lot of noise, lots of people. "Yeah," he grumbled, "Let's go." The second set of words was louder than the first, carrying to the rest of the group as he turned and hustled away from the loading dock.

He headed back to the people crowded around Elania, trailing smoke as he went. It was hard to make them out, but he could feel Jenn off in that vague direction, and that was enough to get him to where he could see the group. He stopped next to them. "You okay?" He was looking to Jenn, never mind that Elania had just been bleeding and unconscious. His eyes rolled across the rest of the group, "Everyone alright? Sounds like a lot more coming from back in the loading dock, we should get a move on."

**

It seemed as if his plan had worked. No one in the crowd suspected his involvement. It was just a small crowd at the moment, but large enough to stay with in order to gather intel and give the team a means to be better prepared. As expected, the police and rescue teams could be heard making their way to the scene.

Not knowing what they were up against was something Silas did not like. He had been in situations before where he had nothing to work with and they usually ended messily. Thinking about this brought him to a mental halt. He quickly shut down his thought and began to focus on being merely curious about what was happening. He did not want to give his position away to anyone, especially if the group of assailants had a psychic with them.

Years of being on the run and moving from place to place had resulted in Silas having to be creative to keep people from finding him. He had learned the hard way that even a simple thought could be used to betray you and now it was vital to keep himself hidden. A single thought crossed his mind quickly then faded. He was just another face in the crowd. A person coming out to see what was going on, drawn by the smoke and the sound of sirens.

Elania shuffled through the foot traffic in the streets, holding onto Kleopas' arm as they both wandered toward the bridge. The blood that had ran down into her eye was causing her to tear up, and little streaks of a very pale red could be seen running down her cheek, just barely under her large sunglasses. She was, for the most part no worse for wear, only stumbling a little bit, slightly disoriented and tripping up on the uneven New York sidewalk, here and there. As she approached the crowd, she took out her phone, and spoke into it, which sent a message to everyone's communication link:

"At the bridge now, looks like we are clear. Next time, plane."

She looked up to Kleopas as the immersed themselves within the crowd of tourists, street vendors and performers, the overwhelming aroma of everything around her made her stomach rumble slightly.

"You are ok? You look shaken. This will happen much much more, you know."