Sailus was cooking dinner. He was expecting Saiyi home soon, but he knew that she stayed late taking in the last of the direct sunlight she could. He sometimes felt that the life of a Shadow Dweller suited her poorly. He knew however that this was the safest she could be. Even atop the islands any enemies she might have had, would have sniffed her out in time. Why she needed to be hidden Sailus had never asked. His friend had given him a task and he had been attending to it happily ever since. He scarcely remembered his life on the islands. He was happy and content with his duties. Sailus peered out of the window. The sun had just about gone down and most of the town's lights were burning already. He looked up the road to see if he could spot Saiyi on her way yet. A moment later the world shook and the glass shattered showering him in shards. He stood again, cut in places but otherwise whole.
From outside he could hear cries and the roar of fires. Sailus was very much a man of two worlds. The Sailus that presided as Tabake and elder of the town, was a soft spoken peaceful man. The Sailus that now stood in the glow of the town fires was the Sailus that was raised and trained on the island of Thay. The old Tabake sprinted to his room. There a secret drawer held what he was looking for. Though many years had passed, the chain rifle was still in perfect condition. He threw the weapon strap over his shoulder and packed his pockets with ammo. He had to find Saiyi and he had to do so quickly.
Sailus exited his house with deliberate movements taking in his environment. To the west where the closest wall was he could see a section of it had collapsed. All three outer walls were breached. He could only imagine the destruction that had accompanied a blast that large. All along the length of the wall smoke and the glow of fire drifted up toward Thay, lighting the town in an orange glow like so many sunrises. He steadied himself and set off to the field where Saiyi had been working that day. It wasn't long before he spotted a group moving together. They had the appearance of town's people but he recognised the way they moved. They were clearly trained soldiers and he had no doubt that they were armed.
"That's far enough!" He raised his weapon targeting the group at random. Some of them kept going. A few broke off and raised assault rifles. Sailus had all the confirmation he needed and these intruders did not expect the townies to be armed. The Tabake opened fire. His training and experience while rusty, was more than enough to dispatch his aggressors. The chain rifle purred as it chewed through its ammunition. The intruders had no time to react. Shells flew from Sailus' breach and his targets were cut down like saplings. Then Sailus' volley was answered in kind. He was forced to take cover. Frustrated he cursed these interlopers. He knew he had precious little time and getting caught in a firefight was not an option. While he was in cover another attacker flanked him. With their weapon raised they demanded he surrender.
"I'm sure the captain will have questions for you mush-muncher. Big gun like that and all."
The older man stood slowly, eyes fixed on the younger man's weapon. Sailus grinned and the green soldier before him.
"Have you ever seen a chain rifle. Take a closer look…" The Tabake threw the weapon toward the armed soldier. Reflexively the young man tried to catch the weapon, but that would be his undoing. While the distraction was mid-air, Sailus stepped forward, placing his foot behind that of the younger man. Then with all his weight behind it, he punched the soldier square in the face. The rookie went down fast enough that Sailus could still catch the chain rifle, if a bit awkwardly. Now the town elder found himself armed with two automatic weapons and fuming.
"Go big and so on." He shouted before stepping out of cover and letting his weapons do the rest of the talking.