Quest Purify me.

[Markus Andres]

Markus truly hated overly self-confident bandits like their leader. The ease with which they could perform unimaginable cruelty for their own petty gain. He did speak the truth, if he moved to kill him, she'd probably die first. Another moment he lamented he didn't go for killing their leader first. But done was done and nothing more he could do about that now. Only try and find the optimal path through his mess of a situation. They snickered, though few of them as confidently as their leader. But they did not turn on him as Markus had hoped. Seemed they only betrayed honest men and stayed loyal to cruel bastards. The threat aimed at Markus ricocheted off of the armour. He was a knight, he was used to death. Though he never sought death out, he had long ago accepted that he would die some day, somewhere stupid. But he would die doing what he believed was right. These six thugs, well five technically, would be a fair trade off in his mind. Besides, it wasn't as if he could trust a single word coming from the man's mouth. Odds were he was only bluffing, trying to persuade Markus to give in to whatever demands he had in mind. His grip on the Peacekeeper tightened a little. His breath and heart rate still accelerated from their brief skirmish. Adrenaline still pumped through his veins. Urged him to initiate combat again. Felt the lust to slice open these men and end their foul lives. But he had to wait. For an offer that might save both him and the girl from this petching situation.

”Perhaps I would be dead before morning. But that'd hardly matter. At least I would have torn out your throat first.” He replied with a barely constrained rage. He wasn't lying. Killing that man would bring him some satisfaction. Especially seeing the condition he put the poor girl in his arm into with his petching actions. The way he so casually spoke of cruelty reminded Markus of the men him and Kreig had punished in Syliras. Finally the leader came to the meat of the discussion. The life of the girl in trade for Markus. Problem was, Markus could not trust a single petching word the man said. He promised, if Tyveth was present, he would probably have laughed at the man before cutting out his lying tongue. The snigger that followed his words only told Markus he was enjoying his position of power. He would enjoy cutting him down from there. The bandit leader was too far away for Markus to reach him. Even with the power of the flux, he would be hard pressed to get there before her lifeless corpse would even drop to the ground. But he had sworn to Yahal. A promise he intended to keep.

If I die now, no one will save my family. If I surrender, these men will not be brought to justice. Markus' eyes focused on Vita. The man would probably soon count, try and force Markus' hand. Edge him on. Markus sighed. There was too much at stake. Sadness replaced the anger that he felt. Markus would not surrender. Not be in the mercy of such scum again. Two times had been enough. ”I'm sorry, Vita.” Profound sadness came from his voice as he spoke. Truer words had he rarely spoken. The knight hated everything about this situation. But he had to sacrifice Vita – no, the girl. Less personal. Didn't dig as deep into his soul. Sacrifice her for a measure of justice. He felt the magic respond to his call once more. Felt it move as he willed it to, although in turmoil, he could still direct a small measure of it to his legs. Speed. He needed speed and lots of it if he was to save the girl.

”Please forgive me.” He whispered under his breath as his right leg pushed against the surface of the alley. Propelled him at the nearest bandit on his right. Peacekeeper swung at him furiously. Aimed low. Aimed to lop the leg off if possible. If not, then to force the scum to the ground. He held nothing back. Shield would raise to block the other man wielding a sickle. Blow right past him in his goal to reach the leader. A simple plan. A simple tactic. But he knew, that it would have disastrous consequences if he did not make it in time. Which he, feared, would be the truth no matter what. Should the knight blast past the two man succesfully, his right arm would swing at the man. Swing high to carve the top of his head off with the Peacekeeper. Attempt to save the girl.

[Radiant]

"W-what?! Are you stupid?!" The bandit leader spoke with astonishment, losing his mocking tone and arrogance for few precious ticks, he truly did not expect this goody-two-shoes of a swordsman to forsake the life of a child... well when he thought about it, it was a poor plan, he knew nothing about the man, and his little blurb about Vita working together with the gang might ended up in him dying, the man didn't feel obliged to protect someone who had betrayed him, even if it was a sick small chld, how ironic. The frustration angered the honcho as he snarled in rage, "FINE! Then SHE will DIE with me!" He pressed his dagger with all his might, aiming to puncture the girl's throat and let her be claimed by Dira.

However.

"Ugah!" The gang leader soon found his consciousness slipping as a head blow struck him - hard - from behind, before he could murder the girl, he fell unceremoniously to the ground, Vita merely stood there, still in shock, frozen in utter fear. Who did it? There was a figure standing just behind the knocked out leader, a figure that looked eerily similar to the person who tried to persuade Markus into selling Vita into slavery. He made no further move however, simply watching the Knight facing against four... no, two bandits, as one had his leg cleanly lopped off by the Izentor-marked blade, and another one with his lungs and ribs crushed by the shield charge, those two would die soon enough, the former from blood loss and shock, the latter from asphyxiation.

Those remaining two, went wide-eyed when they saw the leader curling up on the ground, petch this, the man had back-up, they weren't paid enough for this shyke, abandoning their weapons, the last two cowardly ran away with their - figurative - tail between their legs.

If Markus didn't chase them, the hooded figure would raise a right hand to stop the Knight from advancing to Vita, "Stop. Tell me, who are you?" He demanded, his voice, while still gruff, was less... 'devious' and 'shady' compared to earlier, was he really the same slaver who tried to buy Vita from the Knight?

[Markus Andres]

The knight did not register the sounds of the leader. They were like a background noise, the sound of a waterfall during a conversation. A buzz one did not notice. Markus felt the resistance and the brief pull in his right arm. The momentum , as his right arm forced the blade all the way through the man's leg. There was a howl of pain that never reached Markus' ears. The shield connected with something that budged from his violent charge and the knight was in the clear. The vicious swing of the Peacekeeper at the leader was paused. No longer did he stand there. He was slumped against the ground. Vita was safe. Markus fury vanished as fast as it had appeared, the sudden dramatic changes and realization that Vita would be safe, took the brunt of the rage out of him.

Eyes went south at the leader. The remaining standing members of the gang wisely decided to retreat. Retreat was perhaps the wrong word, flee in terror was more fitting. Their weapons dropped to the ground. Once he had made sure Vita was safe from whoever had now appeared, he could gather those and dump them somewhere safe so no one else would arm themselves with the daggers. Markus wanted to give chase to the men, the desire crawled over his skin. But he suppressed it and focused on the man. Familiar. He was the one who had offered to buy Vita earlier.

First death, now slavery... Does this city never stop shyking on the poor.

The raised hand made Markus raise a brow. If the man intended to claim Vita as his property now, Markus would cut him down where he stood. The question raised his brow even further. Why did this man care who he were? It was Markus who ought to ask that question. But Markus was felt the gratitude to the man. He had saved Vita from bleeding out on the ground. As a bonus, he had not killed the leader, only knocked him out. Which meant Markus could get the pleasure of keeping his word. He had saved Markus from many sleepless nights seeing the face of the poor girl before him. He owed this man his name and there was more he could add to the name. Something that might get the man to back off and forget about his earlier attempt to buy the girl.

”I am Markus Kvist. Syliran Sergeant knight. You have my eternal gratitude for saving Vita's life. But if you think I will let you take her into slavery, you are terribly mistaken.”

The voice shifted, honesty and gratitude, to suddenly earn a sharp edge that indicated Markus did not intend to compromise on this issue. Not once again. The men he had fatally wounded around him moan and groaned and Markus tried his best to ignore them. But he knew he ought to put them out of their misery. May be spineless cowards deserving of death. But he didn't feel any man deserved to live the remaining moments in utter agony. But he couldn't take his eyes away from this man. Lest he might grab Vita and make a run for it.

”And who are you?” – His eyes narrowed on the man. Shifted between him and Vita, trying to jointly figure out if she was okay and who the stranger was.

[Radiant]

The hooded man lowered his hand when the Knight introduced himself, but he didn't make any move... yet, he simply hung his head lower, "A Syliran Knight... here?" He asked, half-bewildered, half-exasperated, "What is the Order doing here? You have no business here, Knight." Both of his hands suddenly reached out to grab the child as he carried her over his shoulder, so one of his hand would be free, "Your Order have no authority, go back to your Fortress, Knight, this is not your fight."

Before Markus could reply, the man swiftly turned around, then he spoke over his shoulder, "My name is not important, just know that the girl will be safe. I promise you that, whether you want to believe it or not, your choice, Knight. I suggest you leave first thing int he morning, unless you want a dagger shanked in your throat." Then he dashed off into the alley, his movements were quite fast, it was clear the man had talents free-runner or acrobat. Vita gave Markus a look of panic, she reached out as if to grab the Knight, though no words whimpered from her lips, it was clear the small girl was begging for the Knight's help, she didn't want to be handed from one scum to another.

With the two dying gang members groaning and one unconscious gang honcho, Markus would be left in the alley should he did nothing. If he gave chase however... he better be prepared to traverse tight alleyways filled with obstacles in the form of abandoned objects. In the darkness of night, it would be difficult to locate the fleeing hooded figure. Granted, the unknown man said the girl will be safe, but this was Sunberth, could anyone trust what anyone say?

[Markus Andres]

Markus looked at the man, face still covered in the darkness of his hood. Couldn't distinguish any features which annoyed him endlessly. Though the voice did make it clear he wasn't fond of Markus being a knight. Which almost always meant they were on the other side of the law... Not that there was any law to speak of in Sunberth. Only immoral scumbags who did whatever they pleased. Perhaps he should not have revealed his affiliation - it did not carry the same weight as he had hoped. Didn't change the fact that Markus felt uneasy about the man, he was still much closer to Vita than he was himself and his words discouraged Markus' hopes for finding a peaceful resolution to this secondary problem. Another man interested in the little girl, although the first had wanted to kill her, this one... Markus would rather not want to think about why this man wanted a twelve year old girl.

”Can't do that.” Markus responded lowly to the man's 'advice'. He still had a job to complete in the city before he could leave this nightmare far behind him. The man turned about. Vita over his shoulder. Markus eyes went to the girl. The man still spoke. Kept Markus at bay, promised the girl's safety. The man spoke a threat and then ran off. Vita stretched her small arms out at Markus A threat Markus would not heed as he sprinted after the man. Peacekeeper swung across as he ran, not yet sheathed the blade. Was a man he had no intention of leaving alive. One did not threaten to kill a child in front of Markus and be left with the luxury of breathing.

The peacekeeper stabbed deep into the neck of the downed piece of shyke leader of the gang. It was not as satisfying as he had imagined. It never was – only another life in the service of darkness ended – but still a life. He sprinted after the man. Peacekeeper was masterfully sheathed in the scabbard as he followed the man. Surprisingly quick for someone carrying a girl on his shoulder.

”Get back here you piece of shyke!” Markus yelled angry. Diplomacy never petching worked in Sunberth, it was high time he learnt this. If the man thought his reassurance that the girl would be safe was any comfort to the sergeant, he was badly mistaken. If he thought it would have the sergeant stop and let him enslave a girl, he was delusional. Markus sprinted around a corner, heater shield in the left arm. Chased through alleys, occasionally catching a glimpse of the man. Feeling the desperation claw at him, he couldn't let the man get away. Needed to catch him. Show him one did not threaten a knight and one did not kidnap a little girl. Saw him turn a corner.

”VITA! SAY SOMETHING!” Markus yelled desperately.

Markus could already see that corner would be too narrow for him to turn at his current speed. But he couldn't afford to slow down, lest he would lose the man. Markus sucked in some air and braced for impact. The heater shield connected with the wall. Pressed all 250 pounds of knight and armour against the wall. He grunted and spat out a mouthful of saliva. Markus pushed away with the shield. Propelled him forward again. Managed to maintain most of his momentum through the corner. This chase reminded him of a similar chase in Syliras. Though the stakes were so much higher. Then it had been the law he was to uphold, only gold if he had failed in his task. Today the freedom and safety of a girl hung in the balance. He grunted as he tried to will up the flux once more. Feed it to his pumping thighs, give them the endurance and energy to keep up the chase. He leapt over a half smashed crate some hoodlum had left behind. Avoided a pile of unknown substance. Leapt over, but not quite clearing it, a puddle of substance Markus was certain was not entirely water. In the darkness, he couldn't know what it was really made of. Corners were always taken in the same fashion, Markus ploughed into the building shield and left arm first when possible.

”Please, good gods of the world, please guide my path. Please show your faithful believer the path in this dark night, help me save the life of a little girl, if you-ugh~” The knight let out a mouthful of air from a particularly harsh collision with some heavy object. Threw him off balance and he collided with the other side of the narrow alley. With a grunt of frustration he pushed away from the wall and resumed the chase. His train of thoughts left unspoken from the collision. But he had faith in his gods that they would not forsake him.