Standoff in the Side Passage

In the narrow side passage, Vane halts as if struck by a cold wind. His hand hovers near his blade, and the market’s clamor fades to a dull hush behind the stone.

Thava Tymont closes in on the turn, Garrick’s stolen outfit dark against the stained walls. The mercenary leader turns slowly, cloak shifting just enough to show that hard, measuring stare.

A brass-capped woman with a bolt of gray cloth over one arm steps out of a recessed alcove, blinking between them. She has a seller’s guarded calm, the look of someone who hates trouble but knows how to count coins.

Vane’s eyes flick to Mira, then back to Thava. For a heartbeat, his confidence thins into calculation, weighing escape, leverage, and the woman’s sudden interruption.

The passage is too narrow for an easy rush.

Thava snaps a handful of coins from his belt and flicks them low. They glitter through the air and strike the stones by Mira’s boots.

Mira jerks down on instinct, cloth and shoulders folding as the coins skitter past her knees. Her annoyed mask breaks into sharp alarm.

The brief opening is all Thava needs. He slips forward in one clean surge, keeping Vane between himself and the passage mouth.

Vane shifts back a step, and the move costs him the lane. Thava is through the choke point before he can square up again.

As Thava clears the tight bend, a cracked seam in the stone gives off a dry, grinding tick. Dust sifts from above, and the hidden passage beyond opens into darker space.