Bloodied Maps and Rising Tides

The Bandit Captain hauls up the iron-weighted net and lets it fall with a splash. It opens over the water like a dark mouth.

Below the bridge, the river seethes. Bubbles burst around Goblan's hiding place as the current bulges upward, too fast, too heavy.

The Captain leans over the rail, grin sharp as a hook. He watches the shadows with patient cruelty, waiting for something to move.

The net sinks and drifts, its iron sinkers dragging low. The shadow Goblan hides in begins to shrink as the water climbs toward him.

On the bridge, the Captain taps the rail with two fingers, pleased with himself. Below, the river churns harder, hemming Goblan in from every side.

A voice from higher on the bank calls faintly through the rain, but the Captain does not look away from the bridge gap. He is hunting by sight now.

Goblan springs up out of the collapsing shadow and drives himself straight at the bridge rail. The Captain has just enough time to widen his eyes before Goblan slams into him and knocks him backward.

The punch lands hard. The Captain’s grin breaks, and his balance goes with it as he folds over the rail and drops out of sight behind the bridge edge.

Rain hisses on the stones. The iron net swings loose beside the gap, forgotten for the moment, while the river keeps surging under the span.

The Watchman thrusts one arm toward the bank, his crimson cord flashing at his throat as he backs away from the waterline.

Below the bridge, something splashes in the dark where the Captain falls. The current keeps rising, and the open street waits beyond the steps.