When Rune saw the man slap Kathryn across her face, his body moved before his mind caught up.
Shadow Step.
Rune appeared behind the robed man and seized his shoulder, fingers locking down hard enough to stop him from pulling away.
With a sharp tug, he turned him around.
"Who are you?" the man snapped. "Get your hands off me!" He tried to back away, but Rune held him in place.
Rune didn't answer.
He simply raised his hand and slapped the man across the face.
The sound rang out.
The five other men immediately drew their swords, steel flashing.
"How dare…"
Rune didn't let him finish.
He slapped him again.
"My sister always told me," Rune said, voice low, "that what you put out into the world comes back onto you twofold."
The armored men moved in and forced Rune's hand off the robed man, pulling him back.
Rune didn't resist. He just let his grip go, eyes still locked on the one in robes.
"I think she meant that if you put good into the world, it comes back even better," Rune continued, cold and steady. "But it looks like it works the other way too, doesn't it?"
"You just put your hands on a bishop of the Ascended Path," one of the armored men snapped.
"That is a grievous act. Do you really want to make enemies of us?"
"You laid hands on my friend," Rune replied, stepping closer. His voice was quiet, but it carried. "You made an enemy of me first."
One of the men couldn't hold back.
"You insolent brat!"
He lunged, blade cutting toward Rune's neck.
Rune shifted his weight and let the strike pass by his shoulder like it was nothing. His hand shot out and caught the attacker's wrist.
Rune's other hand was already moving. An axe swung in a single smooth motion, and before the man could even gasp, it came down.
His arm separated at the forearm. Rune tossed it aside, it hit the stone with a heavy thud.
For a moment, the street went dead silent.
The other men froze, staring at the severed limb, waiting for orders on what to do next.
The wounded man staggered, face going pale from the loss of blood.
The bishop raised a hand. Yellow light poured from his palm and wrapped around the wound, sealing it shut in seconds and forcing the bleeding to stop.
"What are all of you waiting for? Get him!"
They did not even get to start moving.
Rune vanished in a blur of shadow, reappearing behind one of the men. Metal flashed once. The body folded forward a fraction of a second later, head already gone.
Before the others could react, he was no longer there.
A ripple of darkness marked his next step. Rune appeared behind another man, axes striking in a practiced order. Triple Judgement struck, the force lifting the man off his feet and hurling him into the wall with a dull, final impact.
Both bodies broke apart, dissolving into drifting blue motes that rose slowly into the air. Rune watched them scatter, eyes steady.
'Too slow.'
The last two standing armored men called on their element. Fire crawled up the lengths of their swords, heat distorting the air around the blades.
They split apart, moving to either side of Rune to limit his movement, one pressing forward, the other circling behind. They tried to close the space together.
Steel swept in. Rune slipped between the arcs, feet shifting just enough to keep the strikes from landing.
'They are nervous.'
He could see it in their footing, in how wide they committed to each swing. These were men who had never had a real fight, never faced anything more dangerous than training bouts and minor patrols. Guard duty had been their only real assignment since recruitment.
Rune adjusted his position, just slightly, letting his body block their views of each other.
Both men committed at once, pouring everything into a heavy strike meant to finish it.
At the last possible moment, Rune Shadow Stepped.
Their swords came in fast, each blade driving cleanly through the other man. Fire sputtered out as they stopped, eyes wide, bodies trembling.
Rune reappeared in a stretch of shadow cast across the marble by one of the towering buildings lining the street.
Behind him, the two men finished dissolving, their blue motes drifting upward and thinning into the air.
He stepped forward, boots clicking softly against the stone, eyes already on the robed man ahead.
The bishop had been watching everything, unable to do anything as his men were dying so quickly.
Rune had taken only a few steps when the robed man suddenly stiffened.
A sharp grunt escaped him. Blood spilled from his mouth, splashing onto the marble below.
He looked down slowly, disbelief spreading across his face as he saw a dagger blade coming out of his stomach.
Before Rune even got to him, the bishop's body began to unravel, breaking apart into motes of light that scattered and rose.
Behind the man, was Kathryn.
She held the dagger firmly in her hand as the body vanished around it.
"Couldn't let you do all of the work. I just didn't think I could take all of them at close range."
Rune grinned. "And here they told me you were shy."
"Shy doesn't mean timid like a little mouse."
They both turned toward the last man, kneeling on the marble and clutching his severed arm, terror frozen across his face.
Rune glanced at Kathryn, a brief look of apology before he spoke.
"Hey, guard. Go tell your faction this woman is a friend of the Immortal Goblin. To mess with her is to mess with me. I will bring chaos and destruction to everything they hold dear."
The guard did not hesitate. He scrambled to his feet and ran, disappearing down the street.
[Physical Power increasing… +3]
'Man, they were weak.'
Kathryn watched him go, then looked back at Rune.
"You sure that is ok, Mister Goblin?"
"Rune. Just call me Rune. And I figure it is more of a punishment not to kill him. Let him live with one arm until he dies and wakes up at a temple."
Kathryn frowned. "No, I meant making an enemy of the Ascended Path like that. They are quite large. Powerful."
Rune scratched the back of his head, eyes drifting briefly down the street. "Ah well. Who knows. If I am being honest, I am kind of winging it."
Disbelief crossed Kathryn's face. He had just provoked a faction that commanded a legion, and he did it for someone he did not even know.
She exhaled slowly, then shook her head.
"I see why they call you crazy."
"Come on then. There is an inn right over there where you can stay," Rune said, smiling.