[center][h1][b][color=035096]Cassim[/color] and [color=red]Iago[/color][/b][/h1][/center]

As Iago flew selfishly away, Cassim was left to defend himself and the others with naught but wit and blade. It two short slices two of the shadow creatures fell, dissipated by his swordsmanship. He silently thanked Allah they were so weak, much of a surprise that was, due to the sheer number of them that threatened to become an overwhelming tide. In a shorter skirmish the King of Thieves knew he had nothing to worry about, but this wasn't looking to be a short fight and he was no spring chicken. Cassim knew he might need to trust the rest of these intrepid adventurers more than he was used to trusting.

Unfortunately one of those intrepid adventurers happened to be the boorish hunter from inside the tavern, more concerned with something in the distance than the immediate threat that surrounded them all. He ignored the man as his blade dispatched another shadow on the back swing, leading to Cassim kicking off the alley wall of the tavern and into the open streets where he plunged the blade into another monster, vaporizing it immediately. 

The creature Gaston was concerned with made its presence known, attacking the creatures with incredible strength, but this was no beast as the hunter claimed. A stout man with a hunched back, his face disfigured but Cassim saw in this one a powerful heart. Esmerelda and her soldier man recognized this disfigured boy which gave Cassim all the evidence he needed to leave the hunchback alone. He spun his scimitar above his head, slicing the hand off a shadow attempting to get the drop on him, then turned to illuminate the monster with his lantern. With a pained cry, it too departed this world.

Cassim took a deep breath and reoriented himself amidst the chaos. In such a short time more had joined the fray, including a man with skin as tanned as his own but remarkably goofy and uncoordinated, as well as a powerful stead without a master. In addition, the Pumpkin King made known why he held such title, somehow having become wreathed in flame and with a jack-o-lantern upon his bony head. Cassim grinned with excitement, for such legends to be witnessed by his own eye were truly fantastic!

The skinny tanned man was getting overwhelmed, so Cassim reacted with the speed of a whip. He directed his lantern toward the group, and tilted the broad end of his scimitar to focus and reflect the light into a sharp point which cut through a number of the shadows and giving Kuzco an opening with which to escape. [color=035096]"Hurry boy!"[/color] he called out. [color=035096]"Group with a partner, don't let yourself get surround-Guk!"[/color]

Had he headed his own advice, perhaps Cassim would not have found himself with black wisps encircling his throat, crushing his trachea. That one of these creatures could sneak up on the King of Thieves, well it was unthinkable. And that is exactly why it happened.

[color=red]"I AM NOT A CHICKEN!"[/color] Iago flew overhead, dropping a large brick from his talons. The building block plummeted on a crash course for the shadow constricting Cassim, slamming through its vaporous body, dissipating it and saving his friend. However Iago did not descend to join the rest of them in the battle. [color=red]"I just don't have a death wish like the rest of these bozos, you talking salamander!"[/color]