I
Amidst a fog swallowen night two magical criminals, Stan and Mitch, on the top of a watchtower, longest in town in fact, preparing their villanous plan on infiltrating Mana Bank.
They had just finished their preparations when they heard an ominous rumbling, followed by the sound of smashing glass and shattering stone. The sky was filled with dark clouds and thunder rolled through the valley with blinding flashes that lit up the foggy darkness.
"What was that?" said Stan, "I don't like it."
A loud crack rang out from below them. A huge chunk of rock fell off the tower, crashing onto the street and cracking another building along the way.
"And I'm not liking this situation at all!" said Mitch, looking over his shoulder.
Stan tried to look over the edge but couldn't see anything besides the thick fog. He leaned towards Mitch and looked more closely.
“Looks like we have ourselves a new enterance to the bank now Mitch.” said Stan.
Suddenly, a large rock hit the street right above their heads and sent them both flying across the tower. Stan crashed into the side of the tower and bounced back up to his feet while Mitch landed on one knee.
“Ouch!” they both yelled.
The huge rocks were falling faster now, so Mitch jumped up and ran towards the center of the city. Stan climbed to his feet and tried to run after him but suddenly a huge boulder came crashing down on him.
“Stan? Are you alright?”
Stan crawled out from beneath the rock and saw Mitch running for cover in a nearby alleyway.
“Mitch! What are you doing? We need to get inside!" he yelled as he was rushing towards the hole in the bank’s wall.
A massive boulder smashed through the roof of the bank as Stan was halfway through, sending chunks of wood and mortar flying everywhere. Stan dodged the debris and rushed into the alleyway. The ground shook again and Stan watched as a huge chunk of the watch tower, the only thing left standing in the whole street.
Now reunited, they were running towards their inn praying it’s still in one piece. As they ran, the rain started pouring down and the wind picked up. A strong gust blew Mitch's hat straight upwards and Stan grabbed hold of it before it could be blown away.
They stopped outside their inn and looked around. People were in panic, only comprehensible word they spoke was “Siege!”
They made their way inside just in time to see the city gate break and fall apart behind them.
“It's all my fault!" cried Mitch, "We should've never come here."
“It’s all your fault!” Stan agreed. “Now teleport us away!”
“To where?” asked Mitch.
"Anywhere! Just somewhere safe!" Stan replied.
“Well if you insist…” said Mitch as he waved his hands around him.
Suddenly, the inn was gone.
Now they were in Somewhere Safe, a pirate cove in middle of the ocean.
***
Somewhere Safe was a towering bulk of planks and nails, located on a crossroad made out of currents and winds. There were no place for ships to dock, hostile weather making it impossible and often causing whirlpools and hurricanes. Ships often shoot their ancors into sky, aiming for Somewhere Safe's magnetic rocks so the common view from streets were swinging ships like many pendulums.
Stan and Mitch were out of their shock and teleporting nausea, now drinking mead at the tavern.
"I didn't really thought you'd teleport us here Mitch." said Stan.
"It's Somewhere Safe." Mitch stoically nodded. "You will feel better after some time. Just don't drink too much or you'll end up in bed with one of those girls they have around town."
"It would be a good experience, I guess. I'm more afraid of those pirate gangs."
Mitch shrugged. "The pirates are just guys who want to make money, like us. They do not mean any harm, except maybe breaking your legs if you try to run away."
"Pirates can still kill someone because they're pirates!" Stan lowered his voice. "And I stole from them before."
Mitch raised his hand and waved it around dismissively. "We won't be staying for long anyways."
The tavern had different types of drinks, most of which were local recipes. A few barrels of exotic liquors were also present. The locals did not always find that very amusing since some of them were trying to get drunk and others were trying to stay sober.
"I hope the tavern owner is not going to complain about us." Stan said, looking for the owner. "He doesn't look friendly, but he might let us sleep there without paying for bed."
"Oh, this is him?" Mitch pointed at a man sitting near the bar. He was wearing a helmet over his head, wearing metal was a signifier for locals. Even though his face wasn't covered, he looked old enough to be Mitch's grandfather. His beard was grey, only hinting of the fact that he had been young once.
"Hey! You two! What are you doing here?" the man asked, noticing they're foreigners. "Didn't you know this is Somewhere Safe? This place isn't safe for anyone!"
"We want to spend some time here," Mitch replied. "We need to rest up."
"You should have stayed home then, son. We got nothing good for you!"
Stan sighed. "Well, we came here because we had no other choice, also heard it's full of beautiful women and we really needed a break. One night should do it."
The man snorted and laughed. "What kind of men come to Somewhere Safe to fuck?"
Stan blushed. "We didn't say we wanted to fuck, we just want to relax!"
"Relax?" The man chuckled again. "This is where people die every day, so don't think you'll be able to do it here."
"Okay, okay." Stan said, holding his hands up. "So what do you suggest?"
"You two leave!" the man demanded, gesturing towards the door. "There are plenty of safer places than this!"
He took a step back.
"Please, don't go." Stan begged. "We've had a rough day, please allow us to take a room for tonight."
Mitch started to explain how he had been responsible for all that happened to them, but the man cut him off.
"I'm sorry, son," the man said, shaking his head. "But I can not help you."
"Then we'll have to sleep outside." Stan mumbled, sighing heavily. "In the streets."
***