The beginning

Aelius smiled up at the tall, abandoned building and forced a strong breath through his mask. Time to make this punks pay up, he thought and chuckled.
A pack of Misers followed him to the street and stood snarling a few feet away. He looked at them and sighed, then scaled the building to where the three unwanted visitors hid and kicked through the window. "'Scuse me, but this is private property," he chuckled and dusted off his coat.

Bion reached for Cala but was distracted. He turned to see the new face, snorting impatiently. "I'll follow, Rose. Go somewhere safe." Bion drew a dagger from his sleeve and gripped it in his fist.

"I just want payment. You used one of my buildings and didn't pay rent. There are a pack of Misers behind. A big pack. So, pay up and you can go. A conjuring spell should do. Got one?" Aelius ignored the women and pulled a rusty revolver from his waist band. "It's that or you feed those Misers and keep them off my back. You know what that means."

Rose backed out the door, smiling. "Don't take long," she said as she slowly disappeared. "There isn't a lot of time."

"Get out of here," Bion ordered. "I don't have time for useless thugs." He threw the dagger threw the air and began casting a spell of blindness.

Cala backed towards the window the man jumped through, as Rose disappeared, she threw herself backwards over the sill, flipping her feet under her before hitting the ground. The Misers were closer than she expected, snapping at her throat when she hit the ground. She backed against the building, then dived for an opening and into an alley.

Aelius caught the blade and examined it. "Nice cut," he said, tossing it back. "So that girl, she must be important and you just let her slide by. Too bad." He flicked his wrist and shot the revolver, aiming for the wall behind his attacker's head. Just get the Misers up here and go after the valuable one.

Bion effortlessly grabbed the blade and slid it into his sleeve while finishing his spell. He cast it, spotting the Misers climbing the wall and through the shattered windows.

"You're strong, but slow." Aelius laughed and spun the gun around his finger. The spell hit him and evaporated, leaving a green mist in the air. Aelius protection spell dissipated with the blinding spell, sparking gold. He whistled loudly, backing out of the pack of Misers sight. "Have fun," he sang and jumped out the window behind Cala, laughing carelessly.

Cala ran as quickly as possible, avoiding open streets and narrow alleys. Most of the windows were broken or handing loose enough the be knocked free with little effort. She fled threw the abandon buildings sliding through the small holes in the walls made by years of crumbling. Eventually she reached the edge of the city where the river had run dry. The bridge was jutting out of the ground, sticking completely vertically into the air. She slid under it, sliding between broken chunks of steel. I'm on the wrong side of the city. I have to cross all the way back to find Soren.

The Misers ignored Aelius, crawling up the walls and into the room with Bion. From the street, Aelius could see Cala dodging through the hoard and smiled. This is my city. You can't hide.
He followed at a distance, smiling the entire time. She stopped and hid behind the bridge, an obvious hiding place for strangers. Silently, he slid down the ruble and close to Cala's face. "Come here often?"

Cala jumped away from the voice and aimed her knife at the man's throat. "S-stop following me," she ordered breathlessly. "I don't have spells or money."

Aelius pulled his mask down around his neck and smiled. "But you're good for a ransom. You don't have a choice. If you go alone, you'll die, love." Aelius reached out and stroked Cala's cheek. "Go on, swallow your pride and agree."

"I can defend myself, mister." Cala turned away and jumped over the heap of metal on her left, unsure of her own claim.

"Sure, I meant no disrespect. I can see you're a trained fighter, but..." Aelius let his words trail off.

"But?" Cala repeated, annoyed.

"A entire city of Misers and bandits is a big feat for someone that can't use even a little magic. And if someone sees those eyes..." Aelius stopped on top of a pile of broken pavement next to Cala. "Well... let's hope they don't."

Cala stopped and looked at the man. "You want to use me for your own gain. I'm no safer with you than on my own."

"Aelius Elek," Aelius answered while holding his hand out. "My real name. You can Google it," he joked with a smirk. "I'm not an evil dark lord or starving Miser. I won't hand you over to the bad guys for any amount of gold."

"That's because gold is worthless," Cala said evenly while eyeing his hand. "Cala... Thorn." She hesitated as she shook his hand.

Aelius grabbed her wrist tightly and pulled her next to him. A ring of orange light emerged from his hand and engulfed their grasped wrists. "It's dangerous to give your real name," Aelius warned, a small smile on his lips. "People can seal you to them and you won't be able to escape without being released."

Cala scowled and tried to pull her hand out of his grip. "What have you done?" she demanded.

Aelius released her and grabbed her around the waist, heaving her onto his shoulder. "I'll explain it like this. Your name is unique to you and my name is unique to me. Other people will share it, but they won't speak it the same way we ourselves do." He jumped down into the street and checked the sun's direction. "When two people introduce themselves, the gods record their voices, not their names. That is how we tell each other apart. Every time you tell someone your name, you tell the gods your location and company. There are thousands of spells that can seal that moment. Some spells seal you to that place in time and others seal you to the emotions at that time. Mine seals you to the name spoken and entwines the names together. You can't leave me and you can't live without me until I release you. So don't try to hurt me. It'll hurt you just as bad."

"And if I'm hurt?" Cala asked, resigning.

"I can endure your death," Aelius assured her. "There's nothing to worry about anyway. I'm protecting you in your master's absence. He can pay me when he returns."