Only mere moments after having cast his larger spell within the streets, did a chorus of shrieks and pained groans wash over this area of the city from both the Ablated and the Alphas. The patrols who only had regular Ablated seemed to stick to their set routes, and it was only the groups with an Alpha in tow that went off the beaten track to check up on whatever caught the Alpha's attention the most. The Alpha groups, like the one confronting the Shaven Headed Man, had two additional regular Ablated. If something piqued the interest of the regulars but not the Alpha, then the patrol moved on their way. In Taru's case, all three of these creatures were groaning and moaning, though not at him. There were still echoes of the arcane within the air and the mage himself had not long vanished from view, having ducked into an alley only seconds before Taru had emerged from the Stiltwalker's Fall. The protection of the shadows in this alley were going to do absolutely nothing to mask his presence from the Alpha. He might be invisible to the Guards and Soldiers, but the Ablated would see him as if he were a lit candle set in the middle of a darkened room. Even if the green-eyed mage cast a spell of invisibility upon himself, his own arcane aura would still be detectable by the Ablated. They'd not be going crazy over nothing at all, so the Guards would grow suspicious and investigate. Any brisk movement when invisible could potentially shatter the spell. No, it was far too great a risk. The only option was to get as far away as quickly as possible, or, create more arcane echoes to hide himself in.

[color=006800][i]Stupid! How did I not feel them approaching?![/i][/color]
The mage's fists were clenched tight as he dashed the length of the alley but quickly came to a walk when reaching the exit, where he poked his head out and glanced either way down the new street. There were a few civilians dotted nearby, gathered in shock and fear as they looked in the direction of the smoke rising up from the previous street. There were murmurs about hoping no one was hurt and who could have done such a thing, but they were all preoccupied with the glow from the blaze lighting up the sky to notice the cloaked and hooded figure watching them in turn. The brown-haired youth looked over his shoulder when hearing the commotion coming from where he had ran from. Was that the Shaven Headed Man? There was definitely the shrieks of an Alpha back that way and it will only be a matter of seconds before the withered creature caught the mage's scent. What was he going to do? Well firstly he needed to get his hands back upon that Sun Stone... She of the Veils only knew what torture would be subjected onto the Moustached Stranger if the Emperor's Soldiers were to get their hands on him and find such a powerful relic. Well the mage's future wasn't looking too bright either. He had already defiled the Royal Decree by casting multiple spells within a governed realm. That was a typical flaw of the young spell weaver; always leaping before he looked.

[color=006800][i]Fine, no more spells. I've got to relax and calm myself... It's hard to keep my arcane powers under control when I'm stressing out. Heh, he was right... a lit beacon indeed.[/i][/color]
He thought to himself and smiled as he laughed within his mind. Taking another glance over his shoulder to see if the Alpha Patrol had ventured down the alley, the mage briskly walked out the alley and turned left, heading back towards the main entrance of Dalvastre. The green-eyed mage pulled his hood down and wiped a sleeve across his sweaty brow before he pulled his cloak up and tossed it over his shoulder to form a cape once more. It won't fool the Ablated, but if a patrol of Soldiers without any Ablated saw him, at least he'd look a little less suspicious. Continuing to walk down the street, he came to a large open square that housed a large water fountain. It was a little out of place in a city like this, but some of the folks who lived here had built it to try and make the city less of an eyesore. It's waters had run dry though and now it was more a dirty, worn monument. The statue adoring the centerpiece had been eroded away by both wind and weather, so whoever, or whatever it was, was unrecognizable. The mage frowned as he stared at the monument and for some reason, felt a subtle wave of guilt wash over him for leaving both Blondie and Taru the Unkillable behind. That feeling was soon brushed aside as he reminding himself he didn't know either of them and that they'd more then likely turn him into the Soldiers to save their own hides. But then he blinked as he pondered about the Shaven Headed Man. While he knew his name from the stories and rumours, he'd never seen him personally before. So... why [i]DID[/i] he look familiar?

A blood curdling screech echoed over the rooftops from a fair distance away, spooking the mage and breaking him free of his thoughts. That was another Alpha and by the sounds of it, this one was also female and she must have come across something with extraordinary power to cause her to scream like that. The mage's heart stopped for a second before he broke out into a sprint, moving as quickly as he could in the direction of the scream. Dashing across the large square and taking the street heading north, the mage ran down the cobblestone road, doing his best to keep his balance. The Alpha was getting closer now, her screams growing louder and louder. Then came the sounds of a scuffle, armoured men shifting their weight as if they were uploading goods from a wagon. Quickly coming to a stop, the green-eyed mage poked his head around the corner to notice an Alpha Patrol. Eight Soldiers, two Ablated and one Alpha. Two guards kept an Ablated each under control and two more held back the Alpha. The remaining four were gathered around something, all of them kicking it violently. The three Ablated were going crazy, all focusing on a small object near the group of four. The object was wrapped up in some type of linen cloth and it looked damp. That was the Sun Stone and the object the four Soldiers were gathered around must have been his Moustachioed friend. This was barbaric... Why? Why was everything that had a trace of arcane about it, considered a bad thing?
[color=006800][i]I can't watch this anymore...[/i][/color]

Moving out from the corner and into the street, the mage re-summoned his staff into his hands. Extending his left arm out before him, the mage held out his hand and gripped his fingers about an imaginary sphere. A snowflake appeared hovering over his palm that started to spin about, gaining momentum quickly as several other snowflakes spawned in, creating a miniature blizzard within his grasp. The Alpha was still focused on the wrapped up Sun Stone, that giving off a far greater arcane aura then the mage's spell. As the mage brought the tip of his staff to his palm and converted the spell into the catalyst, the Alpha lurched her head Yasuo's way and started to shriek at him. It was only when she lurched her body afterwards did she attract the Soldiers who were holding her shackles to his presence.
[color=red]"Oh shit!! It's a mage!! He's casting!!"[/color]
One of the guards yelled which caused the other seven to stop and look in the same direction. Swords were drawn and crossbows were aimed, but it was too late for them.
[color=006800]"I'm so sorry..."[/color]
The mage whispered as he extended his right arm and pointed the staff to the center of the patrol. There was a flash followed by a loud crack of solid ice as several sharp icicles erupted out of the center of the patrol, impaling and stabbing into everyone there, including the Moustached Stranger. It was pretty much an icicle grenade going off.

Bodies fell to the floor and a couple of them groaned in agony as some of the solid ice shards had missed vitals but rendered them immobile. As the mage approached, one of the guards spat curses at him, mumbling something about tearing his head off or something. The mage wasn't listening. Instead he stopped beside the corpse of the Moustached Stranger and shook his head from side to side at the state his body was in. He had been suffering for a while. Arms were broken, knees snapped, groin crushed, head bludgeoned. If it weren't for that bloodied moustache, he'd not have recognized him. A shard of ice has struck his chest, most likely ending his suffering instantly.
[color=006800]"I shouldn't have let you leave... I should have been more observant... Stupid... I'm so stupid..."[/color]
The mage knelt down and closed the Moustached Man's eyes with his palm, running it down over his face.
[color=006800]"You can rest now. She of the Veils will take care of you."[/color]
The brown-haired man got back to his feet and turned about, collecting the Sun Stone from the ground and returning it to his satchel.