You and Irene stand up, slap some coins on the counter, and begin to push your way through the players. The man reaches the door and as he barely passed through the threshold, breaks into a run. "He's running!" You shout and the two of you break into a sprint. Irene draws her starglobe just as she slides over a table and the cards she had on you and were left on the counter immediately rocket towards it. They come to a halt and slowly begin to orbit the device as soon as they reach it seemingly ignoring the movement and physics of everything besides the globe they belonged to. She rips one free from it's orbit, holding it between two fingers and glances at it. "Damn it! The Chains!" She shouts over the howling wind just as you throw the door open. You see the man leap over the banister onto the city streets that the stairs led to. You and Irene follow suit, jumping over the rails in sync and taking some light fall damage.


Party:
Regal_20 (John Doe)
HP: 97%
MP: Full

Irene d'Ange (Gloria)
HP: 95%
MP: Full

The man casts a quick glance as he runs. The look on his face shows that he wasn't expecting the two of you to follow his example and certainly didn't expect the blast of starlight coming at him. With surprising speed, he rounds a corner and the spell barely misses him, striking the wall behind him. The wall flares with light and the brick glows brightly with heat that begins to fade quickly in the cold. "Careful! If the guards see us firing wildly they're gonna try and arrest us!" You shout as the two of you scramble down the alley.

"If I can blind him, we'll have a better chance of catching him!" Irene argues and turning her head enough that she doesn't notice the glint of metal in the moonlight.

Skill: Guard activated. 5 seconds remaining.

You thrust your arm out in front of Irene and feel the knife sink deep into your arm. There's a tingle and an unnatural burn before your body seems to fend off the pain. "I think he's got poisoned weapons!" You announce as you tear the knife out of your arm.