It's a sunny typical day for the Imperial citizens here in the Marketplace of Danusta. The area is bustling with activity where merchants, craftsmen, and artisans of every trade are all gathered at their respective stalls or establishments to conduct business.
Although, the normality of this everyday scenery shattered the moment when the people witnessed something quite bizarre that is definitely outside of the norm.
"Move, move!!!"
The citizens heard a desperate scream as they all saw a man running away from the guards chasing him. And if that was not enough to incite the ire of the guards, the man was also witnessed to be pushing people away from him and wrecking some of the merchant stalls along the way as a means to distract his wrathful pursuers. As a result, the merchants whose stall was destroyed scowled in pure displeasure and some of them eventually joined the hunt against the culprit.
At this point, the lying merchant could only thank the Creator that the majority of the people here are not blessed with the gift of magic to stop him in his escape. Most citizens are merely normal people and they don't have the capability to cast even the simplest of spells. Because of this, Mages or any magic-users for that matter are either revered or feared throughout the land for their numerous potentials of unnatural feats.
Anyways, the criminal's thoughts are getting diverted and he still has guards and other enraged merchants to escape from. If he was being honest with himself, Magic is something that he definitely needed in this troublesome situation that he found himself in and he mentally cursed the Creator for not granting him the gift during his birth.
Lucon, a nobleman born from the Augustus family, naturally was gifted with Magic on the other hand. The Augustus family has potent magical bloodline within their ranks and thus, most of them have the arcane abilities to perform any doings of mystical nature. But alas, the current situation deemed unsuitable for him to cast a spell. With the crowd at his every proximity, using magic may endanger the innocents who are around. The culprit also knew of this predicament and specifically exploited crowded areas to take advantage of his hopeful escape, much to Lucon's utter displeasure. In the end, the criminal was able to slip within the local crowd and all hopes of catching him seemed to have ended here.
"Damn it!!" Lucon cursed out loud, displeased by how slippery and cunning the conniving bastard is at his retreat. But despite Lucon's vexation about the matter, it did not shirk him one bit at his duty of apprehending the criminal. He immediately ordered the guards to send a word so the other guards at different areas can block potential escape routes, gates, and other exits of the Town. In the meantime, Lucon decided that he should return to Siegtyr. Even if it was in line with his duty to apprehend individuals disrupting the law and order of Danusta, it was still rude of him to leave Siegtyr like that in the open and abandoning his primary task of escorting the young Northman to the Augustus estate. That, and he has to admit, at this current scenario, Lucon can't do much anything, resenting himself for his failure.
"That won't be necessary."
As Lucon was about to return, he heard a familiar coming from none other than Siegtyr himself no less. To make things even more surprising, Siegtyr was witnessed with the criminal at his mercy, a dagger dangerously near the latter's throat.
"Lord Siegtyr!!" Lucon was beyond astonished at the sight in front of him. "Not that I'm ungrateful for catching him at our stead, but how did you manage such feat when you were considerably way behind us earlier?"
"Oh, it was easy." Siegtyr chuckled at the nobleman's confusion. "If the area is filled with the unknown, then simply turn to the wide-open path, even if it means soaring to the heavens."
Unknown to all of them but Siegtyr, A raven was perching at a nearby rooftop and witnessing the whole proceedings. Its red eyes glistened in pure mischief and amusement in service of its human friend and partner.
Scaling himself up at the very rooftop of the building, Siegytr then masterfully navigated in his every step, utilizing the art of free-run so he can maneuver from building to building. With every careful detail to attention, he flawlessly balanced himself and maintained good footing at all times. The people down below were completely baffled at seeing a strange figure that was a Northman jumping gracefully from one house to the other like a gymnast in an athletic event.
Fortunately for Siegtyr, most of the establishments are close to one another, allowing easier maneuverability in his free-running style. Every flips, jumps, and climb are calculated and met with exceptional poise only matched by a very few.
Additionally, he also knew that he was on the right track thanks to a certain animal companion of his that is assisting him in the clear sky.
'Heh, it appears that Thyra has finally found him.' Siegtyr smiled with success at seeing the criminal with great detail among the crowd. Although it was not his eyes that were used in finding the culprit but instead, the sight of his raven friend, Thyra.
As per Siegtyr's title of "Raven-blessed", many of his fellow Northmen speculated that he was constantly watched by the Gods, seeing as a raven always accompany him whenever he went. After all, the All-father is mostly represented in the form of the animal raven. What they don't know however is that Thyra the raven also served as Siegtyr's second set of eyes and ears. Meaning what Thyra saw and heard, Siegtyr does as well. Ultimately, Thyra served well as an excellent scout and lookout, allowing Siegtyr to spot potential enemies in advance. This particular situation also applied, with Thyra spotting the escaping criminal, thus allowing Siegtyr to determine his exact location at all times. This mysterious magic of theirs is a bond formed between a human and an animal when the child Siegtyr saved Thyra from a fatal leg injury and tended her for days.
Siegtyr eventually found the culprit blending in with the crowd, no doubt have thought that the man finally escaped from the guards. When the opportunity presented itself in the form of the culprit slightly separated from the crowd, Siegtyr wasted no time and descended from above, pinning him like a Valkyrie who delivered punishment from the gates of Valhalla.
The crowd around all marveled with sheer awe and disbelief at seeing a Northman of all people appearing in such an unexpected manner. His actions are similar to a hungry eagle who swooped down its delectable prey and went in for the kill. Although the comparison ended with the killing part when Siegtyr's intention is to merely apprehend the culprit for lying about his northern brethren's trading goods.
'A perfect job as always, Thyra.' Siegtyr activated his mental link with his raven friend, allowing both of them to communicate conveniently and discreetly. Although with Thyra being a raven and naturally incapable of human speech, the female raven just spoke with an appreciative caw in response.
The merchant was unquestionably stupefied beyond measure at how he was captured. His eyes blinked in absolute disbelief at this revelation. He definitely thought that he would get away with this crime seeing as he somehow managed to successfully evade the guards, but it appeared that he was mistaken. And to add to his growing astonishment, the one who caught him was none other than the Northman who was on to him suspiciously earlier.
"I hope you don't mind me dropping by." Siegtyr smirked in a cocky manner, feeling triumphant at successfully seizing the escaping man.
"H-how?" The merchant questioned Siegtyr with a shaky voice.
"As the one who was captured, it's not your place to ask." Siegtyr did not even spare the merchant's interest and pulled him from the ground that he stumbled. Siegtyr then took out a dagger from his back and immediately put it near the merchant's throat as a sign that he was not kidding around. The young Northman won't hesitate to slit the merchant's throat should he chose to mess around. The people around decided that it would be best not to interfere with the current affair and leave it to the guards to handle the situation. They don't know the whole story yet and with the merchant's life at the Northman's hands, they managed summed up the situation more or less, each with different opinions. Although at the end of the day, they would soon find out naturally about the whole story of the matter.
Siegtyr, with the help of Thyra who spotted Lucon and the other guards nearby, ordered his captive to move with him or else a sharp painful slice to the neck is all that he shall get. After a few moments of walking and judgmental eyes coming from the people in his proximity, Siegtyr found the people he was looking for. When he heard about Lucon's self-antagonism of failing to capture the culprit, Siegtyr opted to intervene so the situation can finally be resolved.
"That won't be necessary."