Lux in Tenebris

‘Excuse me… Ah, oops, sorry! Don’t mind me just, excuse me! Excuuuuse me! Gah, sorry, 'scuse me!’ The man hurried through the throngs of people on Main Street, bumping into many and throwing apologies left and right as he went. He was on a mission, with a crumpled note clutched in his hand. His brow was furrowed in determination as his boots thumped rhythmically against the flagstones. The amount of people in Northpointe deeply worried him; refugees were still flooding in, mostly from the north , and the man wondered just how much more the city could hold. They couldn’t just turn people away though; that would be practically sending them to their deaths. Northpointe was one of the few safe havens left in the world.

The man nearly stumbled as he bumped violently into someone with his shoulder, so deep in thought was he, and he was about to hurriedly apologize (once again) as he caught himself when an angry outburst was spat at him from the rather angry resident. The man’s head snapped around as he meant to throw back a strongly worded retort, but he was still moving forwards. 'Why, I oughta- oof!’

His comeback was cut short as he ran straight into what felt like a brick wall. It didn’t sound like one though; replying with an 'oof’ of its own.

Caught very much off guard, the man stumbled (… again) and this time fell, flat on his back.

'Ugh…’ He groaned, rubbing the back of his head that had ungracefully cracked against the stone street.

'Seems like someone was in a hurry.’ The voice above him chided, and a shining armored hand came into his wavering vision. The man clasped it and was then easily helped, though more like lifted, up by the other.

'Sorry, Guardian Magnus… hard to pay attention in these crowds.’ The man rubbed his head again, checking and double checking for any possible blood. He seemed fine enough, but it would leave a hell of a bump come next morning. He looked up at the other. Magnus Steel was a tall but lightly built man, with dark skin, swept back auburn hair and a glorious goatee (The assisted man would kill to be able to grow facial hair like that). Magnus was dressed in dulling pewter armor; chainmail and thick clothing was layered underneath for protection both from enemies and the biting chill of Northpointe.

'It’s fine, RivenTree, just as long as you are alright. Took a nasty tumble, you did. I understand the crowds; more refugees come flooding in every day from the north.’ The Guardian of Northpointe shook his head with a sigh, clearly exasperated. He released the others hand and shifted slightly; his hand instinctively moved to the hilt of his sword.

Flash RivenTree rubbed the remaining stars from his eyes and pulled a face. 'I’d say! Think we could repave the roads with something softer, like pillows?’

'Not at all.’

'Well, still an excellent idea in my opinion.’ He shrugged, the note still tightly held in his hand. He ran his other gloved hand through his light brown hair, meticulously styled as it was every morning. It took a lot of effort to purposefully make hair look just the right amount of messy.

Bright purple eyes looked down at Flash and then to the paper expectantly. 'Is that the reason for your hurry?’ The Guardian asked, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow, pointedly staring at the man’s hand.

Flash stared back blankly.

There was a few moments of awkward silence as Flash continued staring. You could almost hear the gears turning in his head before he suddenly had a metaphorical light bulb pop up above his head. ‘Oh! This old thing?’ He held up the crumpled note with a sheepish grin.

He was a haberdasher, not a rocket scientist… or any other occupation that required a large amount of intelligence.

‘It’s just a note. Well, not just a note. A very important note from a very important person, for a very important woman! Speaking of, have you see our famed hero around anywhere? This is first class, has-to-be-delivered-right-now mail.’ Flash gave Magnus A Look and waved his hand as if to emphasize his point.

‘No, I don't believe I have, so she must still be at home...’ Magnus replied, ‘But, if I may ask-‘

‘Nope, you may not! As I said, VERY important mail!’ Flash had cut him off and was gone sprinting down the western street in a flash before Magnus could even process what in the Avatars’ names had just happened.

The Guardian watched him go, a sigh of exasperation once again on his lips. Oh, RivenTree. How do you even manage?