Her attention was drawn to a disturbance to her right. As two bulky men in grey uniforms hurried towards them, the players at one of the tables closest to the wide staircase were now all standing and shouting incomprehensible phrases. That was security, then.
The guards were a good deal wider than her but not much taller than her. Tessa examined their equipment, which consisted of a large rectangular shield fastened to their backs and two daggers on either side of their belts. In comparison to her sword, their shields were too heavy and frail to be of any use, although they would likely be effective against the pickaxes that several of the patrons appeared to be carrying.
"Arr Dis Ick!" The larger of the two guards hissed and grabbed the figure crouched under the table. The other diners at the table shook their fists in apparent approval of the guards' behaviour. Tessa was shocked to see how small and frail the youngster was when the guard eventually managed to take the figure out into the open. He attempted to get away from his attacker as the brown sleeves of his shirt slid back, exposing his delicate white skin. Michael? While she waited, trying to catch a glimpse of his face, the other guard grabbed his second arm and carried him towards the stairs as the table's patrons took their seats once more.
The young child screamed and yanked at his captors before Tessa could determine what to do, successfully throwing the shorter one off balance. The security guy fell down five flights of stairs before he was able to grab hold of the frail railings. The child was sent flying back against the other railing by the taller guard's angry backhand. For Tessa, that action sealed the deal.
She had the smaller guard by the cuff in four steps and was hurling him down the remaining stairs. Her appearance caused the larger guard to gape, his eyes darting from her sword to her face. She could have defeated him without a weapon. He drew his knife, yelling, "RUD!" As he swung the razor-sharp blade downward, Tessa took two steps, grabbed his wrist, pushed up on his elbow, and twisted the object from his hands. He received two quick jabs at the surprised look on his face before rolling down the stairs to meet his pal.
The name is "Ler Te Shek." The boy at the railing was the source of the gentle voice. His grey eyes were appreciative, yet his soft features were curled up in misery. Tessa noticed the light brown hair poking out from under the unsightly brown hat perched on his head as she surveyed the mud-smeared face. Even though he was small, neither his height nor his colouring were appropriate for a 9-year-old.
"RUD!" The noise was coming from above. Tessa looked up to see an additional ten armed guards coming down from the top floor. Terrible Diya. She took hold of the boy's hand, dragged him down the steps, and pushed him under the nearest table. The players hastily went to the walls since, by this time, all eyes in the venue were focused on the action. Her hand was itching to reach for her bow and arrow to finish this quickly as she turned back to face the staircase, but she refrained from doing so. She also refrained from drawing her sword. If she wanted the owner of the business to assist her in finding Michael, she had to resolve this situation with the least amount of harm to these men as possible.
"AAHHH!" At once, two guards came up to her and shouted while slicing her with their swords. Tessa effortlessly manoeuvred out of the way of one of them before rolling behind him and snatching his weapon. She disarmed the second man while he was spinning with a kick back and up, and then removed his shield from his back. Tessa raised the shield to fend off the second wave of attackers while the two guys gaped in confusion. Tessa shoved the rectangle sideways and rammed it firmly into the attackers' soft stomachs before the attackers could draw the three blades out of the thin metal. They fell down like timber after doubling over and taking her sidekick to the face.
We still have five left to go. Tessa took a position, centering herself, and assessed the final guards who were wearyly encircling her.
"RET YE!" After the command, there was perfect silence until a short man with a black eyepatch came on the fourth floor's top step. This had to be the institution boss, based on the silver cuffs on his wrists and the elaborate needlework on his crimson tunic. The colour of the eye that was staring at her from across the casino was impossible to determine, but it was evident from his hand motion what he was trying to convey. Come on in.
Tessa observed the guys she had knocked to the ground get to their feet and join their fellow countrymen on either side of the stairway. The stunned looks of the customers swept from the boss to her and back while they were still standing still.
Alright. The man on the top floor must know something about a foreign child who had arrived on this plateau two weeks before. Moving quickly, she stopped next to the table where the young kid was hiding and curled her fingers in order for him to come out. He climbed up and grabbed hold of her shirt's back. Two guards scowled at the sight of him, but Tessa's palm on her sword's hilt stopped them. She began to climb the stairs, her tiny charge trailing behind her like a shadow. Customers slowly retreated to their tables, and the games started up again.
The atmosphere was different on the third floor. The one-eyed boss had taken a seat in the centre of the room, where there were just two tables on either side and a throne-like chair. Guards stood along the walls, and men with pot bellies had females in revealing red gowns draped over their laps. When she approached, the music stopped.
"Ra-ak!" The supervisor yelled.
Rushing out of a nearby door with his head hung low and apparent welt marks, the teen approached his master. The young man behind her shivered. Did these folks take pleasure in abusing children? As he continued to yell commands, the boss spat. Before stopping and casting a surprised blue glance in her direction, the adolescent nodded once, twice, then three times.
He looked at her in disbelief. He had jet-black hair, high cheekbones, and eyes that revealed knowledge far beyond his years. Michael? But it was impossible. He didn't resemble the nine-year-old he was supposed to be; he appeared to be at least thirteen! Nevertheless, the resemblance to the portrait...
"Michael?" The boss's furious look and another barrage of incomprehensible noises were drawn to the query.
"You come from the Kingdom of the Warriors?" In the diJothant of the Land of Light, the young man responded. So, Michael, it was. Tessa experienced a significant weight loss in her chest. He was located by her. There was a true crossing. All she needed to do at this point to put an end to this nightmare was to return him to the gateway.
"I was sent by your parents to bring you home."
The boy's eyes started to flood up with tears, but he quickly disguised them as the boss shoved him while clearly irate. Michael said, his voice trembling with worry, "You have to be careful. The man sitting next to me is more vicious than you can imagine. If he hadn't been interested in your fighting prowess, he would have killed you by now.
"Don't worry; I can handle every one of them. Nobody will ever hurt you again. She took stock of her surroundings by calculating the number of guards on this floor and those behind her. 30 men carry long knives. They weren't quite as terrifying as the No-Lander ambushers she had to deal with just a few days before.
The boss kicked Michael to the side and signalled for his soldiers to strike because he was sick of waiting for his lackey to translate. In fright, the boy behind Tessa grabbed her coat.
Saying, "Licha! Licha!" Michael pleaded, but neither Tessa nor the boss listened. They needed to go immediately. She seized the young man standing behind her and swung him to Michael's side before drawing her blade. She disarmed the first man and kicked him towards the gamblers to the left as steel clashed with steel. As the table flew across the room, the customers and girls ran in all directions, thwarting the guards' attempts to rush Tessa. She ran two feet before grabbing hold of a post and swinging herself up onto the bannister. Customers on the fourth floor who had heard the noise gasped as they observed her balancing on the tiny piece of wood. She took her bow out, aimed, and fired three arrows simultaneously. Three guards were killed. The others slowed down as they approached, unsure of how to give Tessa the room she required. She took the arrows in her hand and fired them once, twice, and three more times to create a space between herself and the boys.
"Let's go!"
Tessa gave the order, and Michael obeyed, dragging the younger lad up the stairs with him. By throwing two of the guards off balance and using their bodies to knock the ones below off their feet, she quickly dispatched the ones obstructing the route down. "Move. Move. Move!" the boys yelled as they drew nearer to her. Before they reached the ground floor and fled through the door, she killed another four guards.
The mud-hut settlement outside did not say anything to them. Then, Tessa put another arrow on her bow after shoving the males in front of her and ordering them to "RUN!" The boss had finally developed intelligence, and the guards were not far behind them. Tessa wasn't sure what he had promised them, but now a gang of pick-axe-wielding gamblers was pursuing them.
"Move, by Tevvuk's beard!" The boys weren't moving quickly enough! After turning, she knelt to shoot their nearest pursuers. Five men were killed, and the buttes between them echoed with their piercing shouts. The guards pursued the gamblers as they sought safety in the mud homes. Tessa continued to fire arrows quickly, only pausing as the soldiers began to seek cover as well. She only had one more arrow, so it wasn't too soon.
She turned around and followed the boys, who were now well in front of her. She caught up to them and led them to the left behind the mud huts by contracting her biceps for extra speed. By the time the lads arrived at the first of the large, stacked rocks that marked the end of the plateau, they were exhausted. Tessa could hear the guards coming up behind them, but she chose not to turn around.
"Climb!" She ordered.
Michael ascended swiftly despite having frail limbs. But the younger lad was making them all go more slowly. By the time they had almost reached the top, a guard was standing just beneath the youngster, reaching out to grab his ankle.
Say, "Leave him alone!" When a rock struck the guard's forehead, Michael could be heard as he fell backwards upon his fellow soldiers. When they reached the top of the boulder stack, Tessa leaned behind and pulled the youngster up by the collar. On their heels were a few gamblers and several guards. "We're nearly there!" As she leaped off the opposite side, Tessa yelled. Here, the land was much higher, and the distance to the bottom was only a few feet. The boys accompanied her as she led them around the red rocks to the boulder that had the shape of a bird in her thoughts. "Pick up my hand!" When she returned to Michael, she extended her left hand and took his with the other. The pursuer was getting close to them. They would have little time to deliberate and would have to leap into the pitch-black puddle immediately.
Their assailants yelled. A pickaxe whizzed through the air and landed close to their heels. As they rounded the bend and dashed into the clearing before coming to a standstill, Tessa paid it no mind.
A portal had vanished.