Rob X Punzel ~ Thirty-Two!

Leg outstretched, Goldie landed a picture-perfect axe kick onto the knife-wielding leader’s shoulder, taking him painfully to the ground, even as dense curls cushioned her landing. The thief turned her momentum into a backward roll, getting to her feet as her hair swirled up and over her head, sending thin streamers of light rippling across the alley walls. Each of the men had taken a cautious step away as they saw their leader go down, but their surprised expressions quickly shifted to sneers and jeers.

“Who dares interfere in the business of the-” to Goldie's dismay, the man she had just walloped got to his feet almost as quickly as she did, turning around with a thunderous expression while practically oozing bloodlust. “You… I know your face.”

Wanting to end the fight as quickly as possible, as she’d already calculated her odds of winning a fair fight as extremely low, Goldie focused her intent and lifted her battle scissors. “Elemental Infusion: Grappling.”

Golden strands shining in the darkness of the alley shot outward, wrapping around the limbs and torsos of the surprised gang members. Immediately, the nearest thug was pulled off balance, but instead of bringing him to the ground and smacking him around as she expected… he only stumbled slightly before regaining his balance. Another managed to deflect the strands with his weapon, whacking them away as they lashed out at him again and again. Several were stunned as they were pulled off their feet, but none of those who hit the ground stayed there.

Letting out a tsk of annoyance as reality hit her, Goldie realized that, with her hair damaged and much shorter than it had been the last time she used this modifier, the strength of the attack itself must also have lessened commensurately. “Long hair means big hits; I'll remember that going forward.”

“Lady, you won't have to worry about remembering anything after tonight.” The malicious gleam in the gang leader’s eyes was suddenly matched by his blade as it lit with a light blue energy. His arm whipped forward, and Goldie flinched backward.

Both of them stared at the other in confusion when his knife struck her hair and stopped dead.

“Slashing or sharpening magic?” The thief chuckled as his scowl deepened as he tried again, only to fail once more. She certainly wasn't about to explain that her hair had become Perfectly immune to both of those damage types and also wasn't going to stand around while he figured out another way to attack. Pressing her scissors together, she quickly shifted into the longer, shear form. As she reared back to swing at him with a two-handed strike, she hesitated ever so slightly—not wanting to deal a killing blow against someone she had no quarrel with.

Dropping her index finger to the various damage imbuement options, she held her finger against pressure and swung. A vicious crack rang out as the sharpened blades slammed into his chest, multiple ribs fracturing as the gang leader went flying. Goldie's mouth dropped in shock as she looked at the indent in his side—as though she had hit him with a crowbar backed by the strength of ten men.

The others, seeing their leader go down, rushed in to distract her from trying to finish him off. Knives and fists came at her, though they couldn't get through the curtain of hair protecting her. Then, one of the men had the brilliant idea of trying to stab her instead of cutting her. His blade sank into her left bicep, forcing out a scream of pain from the young woman.

“Gut her, boys!” the vicious man shouted as he triumphantly held up his blood-coated blade. Each of the others shifted the grips on their weapons and charged her all at once, forcing Goldie back against the stone wall. Through the haze of pain, she pushed herself to dodge each of the attacks, but her movements were already beginning to slow. Muscles were aching from the multiple days of running, weapons were flying from all directions, and her arm was gushing blood all over her torso.

Trying to hold her wound against her body, Goldie switched to a one-handed grip and flung her shears back and forth. Whoever they impacted dropped like a sack of potatoes, bones crunching beneath the combination of enhanced force and magical pressure being applied. For a moment, it seemed as though she were going to be able to push them back, but their slight retreat had been a ruse. Instead of fleeing, they regrouped and rushed at her, each one of them leading with their weapon to end the fight.

Before Goldie could begin to react, Bob managed to get to his feet—having been ignored for the few seconds the fight had been ongoing. Even though he was covered in bruises along with his own blood, and his finely cut clothes were shredded and muddy from the beating he’d just taken, Goldie's eyes were drawn to him as he lifted his hands. For some reason, her mind was screaming a warning at her that he had suddenly become the largest threat in the battle.

He clenched his hands into fists, and the thief felt the air shift as a wave of energy radiated out from his body, spreading like ripples on a pond. Voice thick with pain and rough with anger, Bob called out, “Broken boundary!”

His fist shot forward, and Goldie realized he must have been terribly concussed… as there was no one in front of him. Then she blinked in surprise as each of the men who’d been about to skewer her were knocked back and away, several of them dropping directly into unconsciousness as Bob punched the air once more. Strike after strike lashed out, as though her passing acquaintance was shadow boxing with himself. Yet, the pained reactions of the gang members showed he wasn't simply playing pretend.

Bob didn't stop pounding the air until even the most hearty of the enforcers lay unconscious in the alley. Then he carefully looked around at them to ensure they weren't simply acting to make the beating stop. Finally certain of his victory, he spat out a mouthful of blood, taking a staggering step toward Goldie as he let out a mournful groan of pain. “Uhhgh… you… gonna make it?”

The thief stepped away, unsure how she should react to the immense amount of power the man had just displayed. A trickle of fluid against her fingers caught her attention, as the motion slightly widened the laceration on her arm. Stepping close to one of the unconscious gang members, she used her shears to slice his shirt into a makeshift bandage then tightly wrapped the cloth around the laceration. Only then did she look back at Bob, who was swaying on his feet as he awaited an answer.

“I'll be fine. You?” Her voice was sharp and halting, her legs tensed to flee at the slightest provocation. She stared at him, eyes traveling over his wounds and bruises, realizing that some of them were grayish-green, which meant not all of them were fresh. Eyes narrowing, she relaxed slightly and stepped closer to him, reaching out as though she were going to touch him, only to pull back at the last moment. “You're covered in bruises… were they telling the truth? You were messing with the betting odds?”

“Only way to make sure I got enough coin to cover what I had been sneaking away from my estate for donations. There’s only one night a month I can get out; I need to make it count.” Bob gasped out as he lifted his hand and wiped the blood from his face. “Thanks for the save. Look, I've got to go. There's someone I'm searching for.”

Those words made Goldie tense back up. “Are you trying to secure the bounty as well?”

“Bounty?” Bob's eyes blinked owlishly, ironic, as the bruises made him appear closer to a raccoon. “No, I don't know what that's all about. I had a meeting with a representative of the alchemist guild, and he dodged it without offering any kind of explanation. I asked around, and it turns out he's been running around the city like a hopped-up squirrel missing his stash of acorns. I need his, uh… actually, no harm in just letting you know, I suppose.”

He took a deep breath in through his nose, choking halfway and reversing the flow of air to expel a foul combination of blood and mucus. “Hurk. Sorry about that. Look, my father is sick. It's bad enough that no regular healer in the city can fix him up, as the source of his illness is… let’s say exotic. Anyway, the only sure-fire cure is in the hands of the Alchemist Emissary, and I’m happy to either pay him what he wants or beat it out of him. Whichever one gets my father well again.”

“Gotcha.” Goldie's eyes flicked to the downed men around her, and she nodded incrementally, certain he wasn't just making grand pronouncements without the ability to back them up. “Look, you seem strong… I'm going to give you a whole bunch of trust here.”

She held up her hands and began pulling dozens of magical items out of her hair. “Do you have the ability to hold on to these, at least long enough to pawn them off? I don't want to get into the reasons, but I… I need to leave the city. I don't think I can ever come back, but I can't leave my little brothers and sisters at the orphanage on their own without knowing they'll be taken care of… somehow.”

Bob hesitated, already starting to shake his head in dismissal of the request, but Goldie interrupted him before he could speak. “If you can do that for me, swear that you'll at least try your best, then I can help your father.”

Instantly, the man's eyes sharpened, a smoldering anger building on his face. “Are you a Healer on top of someone who can teleport around the city? Even if you are, we've already tried everything available. I can’t-”

The stone container appeared in Goldie's hands, and she lifted the top of it ever so slightly, allowing the radiant golden light to flood out and fill the alleyway as though sunrise had come early. “I have what you are looking for. Liquid Sunshine, a panacea which should be able to cure any illness.”

“Give it-” Bob's demand cut off as her hair swirled over her hands, and the light abruptly cut off as the bottle vanished. His eyes went wide, his expression softening to mild panic. “Yes! I'll swear it! Please, you don't know how much it means to me to keep him alive and safe.”

“Cross your heart and hope to die,” Goldie demanded, not missing the shudder and wince her order elicited. “Only that you’ll try your best to fulfill our agreement. I understand this city is absolutely filled with scum and violence, and it’ll be extremely difficult. But I need someone to do it. If you want this potion, make the oath.”

Bob took several deep, rapid breaths, but he finally spat out the words as if they burned his tongue to speak them. “If you give me that potion for my father, and do nothing to try and take it away from me afterward, I swear I will do my best to sell the other items you give me for a proper price. I will donate every coin to the orphanage on your behalf. Cross my heart… and hope to die.”

He sketched out a sharp ‘X’ over his chest, and once more, golden light filled the alley, though this time, it carried the weight of the system itself as it witnessed his binding oath. The thief watched in awe as golden light appeared where he had crossed his heart, looking deeply into the energy and seeing fantastical images: castles, winged horses and travelers. Then the ‘X’ sank into his chest, where she knew it would wrap around his heart, holding him to his promise on pain of death.

“I'm sorry I had to make you do that, but it's the only way I know for sure they’ll be-”

“Don't apologize,” Bob gently chastised her as he reached for the magical items in her hands, though his eyes remained sharp until the stone container was added to the mix. “You're doing this for your family; I'm doing this for mine. I understand. Also, I must say… thank you. Even with this oath, the value of the potion you are giving me far exceeds the rest combined. I'll do what I can to pull even more funds over to the headmistress, and when my father is healthy, I'm sure he will help me to make it right.”

“It came from over here!” A distant voice rang out frantically, and Goldie flinched as she stared in the direction the frantic shout had originated from.

By the time she looked back at Bob, the magical items and potion had vanished. She raised an eyebrow in surprise, but he didn't offer any explanation other than a slow, pained smile which showed a cracked tooth. “I take it that's your cue? Goodbye forever, and all that?”

“Indeed it is. Goodbye forever, Bob.” Goldie turned and scuttled up the wall of the house, moving as quickly as she could while ensuring she wouldn't fall and lose ground against the pursuing mercenaries.

“I'll never forget your kindness,” Bob’s raspy voice called after her, reaching Goldie's ears and settling into the space in her heart a heavy weight had been lifted from after knowing her family would get help.

Satisfied that the people she’d been supporting would be taken care of, Goldie allowed herself to fully focus on her next move. “I need to get out of the city… right the abyss now.”