Adventure of Artania Nero Thornson 2

The runners lead Artania, Brunna, and Al through bright avenues toward the eastern quarter. Silver light flickers above the rooftops, while guild bells guide workers through the gathering crowd.

Displaced residents fill the street with bundles and frightened whispers. Guild workers establish lanes for healers, ward-bearers, and families being moved away from the old foundations.

At the eastern access route, fallen masonry blocks a stairway descending into the old streets. Ward-bearers hold a cautious perimeter as dust sifts from the cracked arch.

Several workers strain against the largest blocks, but the rubble barely moves. Brunna surveys the supports, while Al lowers his head and listens beneath the paving.

Beyond the barricade, a deep pulse travels through the buried stair. The runners wait for Artania’s direction, while no one requires him to enter the sealed way.

The workers retreat beyond the ward line. Artania raises the Magic Pouch, drawing the loose silver radiance from the air until the trembling dust hangs motionless.

Blue-white tendrils uncoil from Artania’s focus and seize the fallen masonry. Stone groans upward, fragments sweeping aside in controlled arcs rather than crashing into the street.

With one mighty effort, Artania clears the entire eastern access route. The cracked stair stands open, and a second narrow passage appears behind the displaced blocks, leading toward the evacuation lanes.

Artania heads through the cleared access route toward the Eastern Ward, with Brunna and Al close behind. Healers and displaced residents gather beneath the guild’s blue pennants.

His voice carries across the ward. Several residents raise their hands, while guild workers guide the most shaken toward a sheltered courtyard beside the old foundations.

The youngest runner points toward the courtyard, where two guild healers, adult women in sturdy blue-gray healing smocks, with tied-back hair and leather satchels kneel beside the three patients, an elderly man with a stocky build and gray hair, a young woman with a slim build and dark hair, and a small child in a dusty yellow coat. The Eastern Ward now has a clear route, organized hands, and immediate aid moving where it is needed.

Artania runs across the courtyard, weaving between guild workers and anxious residents. He reaches the two healers as they assess the elderly man, young woman, a young adult with warm brown skin, a loose cream blouse beneath a dusty green shawl, and a small crescent birthmark near her left temple, and unconscious child.

The first healer supports the young woman’s shoulders while the second checks the child’s breathing and examines the elderly man’s crushed foot. The courtyard settles into focused motion.

Al holds the nearby lane clear as Brunna guides curious residents back. The young woman’s strained breaths rasp beneath the distant bells, while the healers make room for Artania beside her.

Artania gathers the ambient magic through the Magic Pouch, shaping it into a delicate current that enters the young woman’s breath without touching her lungs.

The current separates dust from living tissue and draws the grit upward in a fine gray stream. Her constricted breaths gradually deepen as the irritation leaves her.

Artania turns the gathered dust away from the courtyard, then releases a soft gust across the ward. It carries the remaining haze beyond the blue cord and into the open street.

The young woman coughs once, then draws a full breath. Color returns to her face as the first healer eases her back against a folded blanket.