Quintessential Tales: A Magic of Solendrea Anthology by Martin Hengst Page A

low stone wall he was crouched behind, showering him with shards of rock. High-pitched whines pierced his skull as ricochets bounced off the wall and went screaming off in other directions.
    "Ye sure know how ta show a lad a good time," Gunther grunted. He sidled up to the wall and raised his head just enough that he could peer over the top. There was a loud clank , and the dwarf dropped back below the edge of the wall with a new dent in the battered miner's helmet that was jammed down onto his head. Gunther reached up and stroked the much abused helmet with a grimace. "That one done near rung my bell."
    "I'd point out that we wouldn't even be here if it weren't for you." Faxon's nonchalant wave encompassed the small courtyard around them and the wall they were hiding behind as cover.
    "Aye, lad. But she never said she was married."
    "You didn't ask." Faxon snorted. He mumbled something, coaxing a ball of energy to form from the power of the Quintessential Sphere. He hefted it in the palm of his hand for a moment, then hurled it over the wall toward their attackers. "You can't slap a lady of the Upper Baronies on the ass and expect there not to be repercussions."
    "It was a mere tap, lad. Nothing to get one's bonnet in a bunch over."
    "Tell that to the Baron."
    Renewed thunder of hand-cannon fire echoed through the courtyard. Tiny pieces of stone bounced off the wall and landed in their hair and clothes.
    "I dunna think he wants to talk, lad."
    "Send out the dwarf and you can go, magician," a harsh voice called from beyond the wall.
    "Did you hear that?" Faxon asked, his eyebrows raised.
    "Aye, he called you a magician. Insulting that."
    "No, that I can turn you in and go about my merry way. I wonder if there's reward money for turning you in."
    Gunther clutched his chest, narrowing his eyes at the Quintessentialist sprawled beside him. "Ye cut me, lad. Ye cut me real deep."
    One of the Baron's guards rounded the wall on Gunther's side. The guard held his cannon with both hands and leveled it at the dwarf. Never missing a beat, Gunther lowered his head like a bull and rammed his helmet into the guard's groin. The Baron's man squealed like a pig, clutched his privates, and toppled over behind the wall.
    "Isn't this going to end badly for you?" Faxon asked. "You live here. I'm just a tourist."
    "Nah. Baron Ohlagly and I go back a long way. He'll make a good show of it, but he's not a bad sort. I'll send him a nice bottle to apologize, and he'll get over it in a couple of weeks."
    "Before then?"
    "Oh, he'll kill me if he can catch me. We need to get back to my warehouse. Bless Overwatch. My property is my sovereign domain. Not even the Baron can touch me there."
    "So the plan is to run for it?"
    "Seems so, lad. Seems so."
    "Oh good. This was getting boring. You better be able to keep up on those stumpy legs of yours."
    Faxon rolled to his feet in a single graceful, fluid motion. A motion that no mere mortal could have performed. A motion fueled by the power of the Quintessential Sphere. He opened his arms wide, as if he was intending to hug the Baron's guards, then clapped his hands together with a shout of command.
    The power he'd called from the Ethereal Realm rushed out from his hands in a massive wave, lifting the Baron and his men and throwing them into wall across the alleyway. While Ohlagly and his men were recovering from the surprise attack, Faxon hauled Gunther to his feet and gave him a shove in the general direction of the long staircase that wound its way down into the Lower City.
    "Run, little man. Run."
    "I'll kill ye for that, ye towering bastard," Gunther grunted. His short legs drove like pistons to keep up with the Quint's much longer strides. Shouting and more shots told them that the Baron and his men had recovered and were giving chase. Fortunately, the Upper City was mostly deserted at night. The respectable folk were tucked safely into their beds and away from any undesirables who might still be out