Together They Fall

As the Captain of Investigation for the Queen, running after people who broke the law was second nature to the elf known as Ayleen Ebella. While she wished that the man would stop, she also enjoyed the thrill of the hunt as the wind was blowing through her long sun-coloured hair. The elf she had been chasing was known as The Mad Bear, or just Bear to the guards. He had a history of violent attacks on merchants, but nothing like this recent encounter. Usually, Bear would attack if he and the merchant didn't agree on a price. The only reason he was not in jail is because he had wealthy friends who keep bailing him out. However, this time Bear was yelling about some long-forgotten darkness that had come back to seek revenge. Then he stabbed one of the merchants, and quickly ran off. While she knew the streets of the capital city like the back of her hand, Ayleen had trouble navigating a small city like this. Thaldor was not like any town on the continent, as it was a hub for criminal activity. For years, she and the Queen tried to clean up the place with no success. Every time Ayleen or her team made any progress with this town, the criminal underworld would undo any improvements in a matter of weeks. Bear was nothing more than your typical thug. His job in the underworld was to rough up merchants who didn't want to obey the crime lords of the city. Bear wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, so if it wasn't for Bear's friends bailing him out, he would have a permanent residence in the castle's dungeon. Bear always started arguments due to his short temper and slow wit. The merchants of Thaldor were used to paying the criminal organizations that secretly ruled the city. This was a sore spot with Ayleen, who felt that she had failed in protecting this city. All her life she had been devoted to upholding the law, but this city was the one problem for which she had never found a solution. The guilt she felt for not protecting the civilians of this city weighed heavily on her. With bow in hand, Ayleen, while running after Bear, noticed blood was starting to pour out of the sleeve of his shirt. She had not shot him yet. It was curious as to why the man was bleeding, but also why he ran as if he did not have an injury. For the amount of blood that he was losing, he should have been slowing down... a lot. If Bear had a final location he was trying to reach, the amount of blood he was losing would ensure that he would never reach his destination. Ayleen was glad that the man chose a path away from the eyes of the civilian population. As they both entered an alleyway, she was hot on his heels. After reaching the alley’s midpoint, she decided now was the time to tackle him to the ground. While in pursuit, she prepared herself to grab the man's knees to drop him to the ground where she could easily make an arrest. As she sprang forward, confident she could make the take-down, the man somehow slid out of her grasp. Hitting the ground with a thump, she quickly jumped to her feet, swearing and continued to chase Bear who had a slight lead now. Knowing that there was a chance that she could fail another tackle, she attempted to reason with the man. Obviously, he had to be suffering some kind of pain and wanted this to end as badly as Ayleen did. Suddenly Bear turned and tackled Ayleen, trying to force her to the ground. However surprised she was, she had training to deal with this kind of situation. She dodged the man’s attack and leaped onto his back forcing him to the ground. Before she had a chance to tie his hands behind him, Bear threw her off and bolted. Her pursuit of Bear was rejoined but lasted just a minute before he stopped in a blind alley and turned to face her. Blocking his escape, she once again tried reasoning with him. “Listen, I know you’re not acting the way you usually do,” Ayleen panted. “Please, Bear, I don’t want to hurt you! I want to know what’s going on and get you medical aid. You’re bleeding badly!” Bear gaped at Ayleen wordlessly. He grabbed a knife out of his pocket. She drew the string on her bow back, notching an arrow; she aimed at the man’s chest. “I swear to Terra, if you charge at me with that knife, I’m going shoot you.” “You can’t stop him, Ayleen,” gasped Bear, “He is too powerful for any of us to oppose him,” Bear said as he raised the knife to his throat. Ayleen cried out as she tried to stop Bear from slitting his own throat, but unfortunately, she was too late. She couldn’t believe Bear would kill himself! This was yet another failure in the town of Thaldor that would lie heavily on Ayleen’s conscience. Ayleen was shocked that the man would do this. She thought he was trying to get away. As she started her investigation of Bear's body, she noticed strange symbols carved deeply in his chest. Could this be why he was bleeding before? These strange symbols she had seen before but only on dead bodies. In the past year, Ayleen and her investigative team had encountered twelve dead bodies with the same symbols that she found on Bear. This was obviously the work of a serial killer. But had Bear escaped only to kill himself? The fact that there were now thirteen victims in a year made Ayleen believe that the thirteen victims were some sort of sacrifice. If there was a fourteenth victim, this theory would be wrong. Thirteen is a magic number.