It was dead quiet along Downy Lane, a few footfalls from the Otherworld Bakery, when a dark band of fellows converged in an alley.

"If they won't talk," muttered the leader, "we've got no choice."

"It's the only sensible thing, really," said another, nervously.

"They're probably dangerous. In deep. They orchestrated her disappearance."

"Got to send a message," said a third man, gruffly.

In unison, they raised their hands and began chanting.

A fat stream of fire streaked down from the heavens and ignited the roof of the bakery in a single instant. The place went up in flames faster than might be expected after the drizzle; perhaps it had been doused in some sort of oil.

After another moment, a thin scream issued from the top floor, followed by a panicked yell.

"You're certain the doors were barricaded," whispered the first man to his friend.

"Positive."

The men disbanded quickly, some disappearing into the alley and some scampering off in the opposite direction. One man, the first, made his way quickly past the burning house, headed for a dark corner to watch the blaze.

Fion had been walking home early from work, tonight had been dead for some reason, when she saw the flames in the distance. She picked up her skirts and ran toward it, knowing it was in the shop district and surrounded by houses. When a fire started you needed to help out or the entire city could go up in flames.

When Fion realised it was the bakery she picked up her pace. Other people were peaking out of windows by this stage, running for buckets.

The doors were blocked.

"HELP! Help me!" Fion screamed as she tried to pull the large pieces of wood away. "Hania! Are you in there?"

She didn't see the golly watching and she was too far away to sense his field.

For once in her life, Jaqueline Hyde looked like herself. No. Jaqueline Hyde looked like herself in a skirt.

It was late, the streets were quiet--the perfect time to scavenge for new bits of costume and props. And maybe a little dinner.

Jaq had just dove headfirst into a very large trashcan outside an ethnic eatery (mmm, curried chicken!) when she heard a yell. Popping her head up just enough to look around, she noticed smoke coming from behind the building across the street. Dark shaddows ran around the corner in her direction and she ducked back down as not to be seen. Once she heard the footsteps fade away, she clambered out of the dumpster and hastened to the source of the smoke and yelling.

When she was a kid, back on Dutaim, Jaq's neighbor's barn burned down in the middle of the night. The whole village went out to help, but nothing could be done. Their neighbor lost two cows, a horse and some chickens that night because the building went up too fast. Two weeks later, everybody turned out to help raise a new barn, but he never quite recovered from losing the old one. Cows were expensive, and the milk sold well. Eventually, they packed up and moved inland to find work in the factories and mills. Nobody'd heard from them again. Fire, she thought, can be a very dangerous thing.

Rounding the corner, she saw the source of the smoke. A bakery was on fire. Maybe they left the oven on by accident...

A woman out front was calling for help. Jaq ran over.

"What happened? Is there anybody inside?"

Fion turned to the girl behind her, panic starting to rise.

"I heard a scream upstairs! Somebody set fire to the bakery and barricaded them in." Fion looked at the roof. "It's burning too fast already."

Fion grabbed at a piece of wood across the door.

"Help me get this out of the way."

Jaq pulled a head scarf from a pocket somewhere and tied it around her face. The smoke was getting heavy. Nodding at the other woman, she applied all her strength to the wood across the door. Her thin frame was decieving; she looked a lot weaker than she really was. Soon, they had enough space made Jaq was able to slip an arm through and open the door. Smoke poured out into the night air from the bakery door. The fire had spread quickly.

Jaq pulled hard at a piece of wood nailed across the door and it flew away from the frame, taking her with it and creating a small gap in the barricade. Quickly surveying the hole, she squeezed inside. The smoke was thick at the top of the room, but along the floor the air was clear. Hot, but clear. She called back to the woman still tugging at the wood across the door, "Keep working the boards. I'mma find whoever's upstairs!"

Crawling along the floor on her hands and knees, Jaqueline Hyde did something she'd never done before: went looking for somebody without naming a price first.

"Be careful!" Fion screamed before coughing loudly from the smoke.

Fion twirled, looking around for strong bodies to help, buckets enough to form a chain.

"You!" She shouted at a particularly large looking man. "Get over here and start pulling this wood away! Anyone with a bucket form a chain from the pump on the corner to the bakery! Nobody go inside, someone's already in there looking for people. Come on! March!"

Fion glared through eyes red from smoke, daring anyone to ignore her.

The smoke was thick above Jaqueline's head. She stayed low to the ground, trying to find the stairs the other woman had talked about. Eventually she found an opening that led upwards. She craned her neck to see how far along the flames were; dark shadows were cast upon the walls from the bright light of the flames.

Jaq crawled up the stairs, the heat in the air intensifying with each move she made. It's as hot as an oven in here, she thought, a smirk creeping onto her lips. Rough time for humor, but still...

Reaching the upstairs landing, Jaq sat on her heels and looked through the heat and haze. If anyone was still alive up here, they were very quiet about it. "Anybody here? Where are you?" she called into the flames.

She hoped to the gods they said something quick. The flames were licking the walls and there was no telling how long the roof was going to stay up.

The bakery was run by a bunch of wicks. Everyone in town knew that.

The human that Fion shouted to eyed her warily, and the quickly advancing flames; in cowardice, he turned his head to the ground and began walking again, trying to ignore her. They were only wicks, after all.

"Help! HELP!" screamed a female voice from a back room. The door burst open and a flood of magical energy filled the hallway - Level 2, if Jacqueline knew much about it. Apparently the witch had opened the door by magic, as the knob was far too hot to touch.

She was dragging a slumped form: a man, tall and lanky, was passed out on the floor. Desperation melted away to dim hope as Hania spotted Jacqueline on the landing.

"Over here!" she cried, coughing violently, her eyes streaming.

Fion was on the man before he had a chance to take two strides, striking at the tendons on the back of his leg with her foot.

Her mother had called it "the crippler".

"Listen here you piece of chrove crap." Fion hissed at him, "I recognise you, I know where you drink and I know where you live and I know that you used to pinch my arse before you'd had a few, so let me make this clear."

Fion grabbed at his collar.

"I will let every wick that ever tended bar know if you walk away from this. I will make sure that you never get a job again without having to worry about an on-the-job accident." Fion made the human solidarity symbol against her brow, lowering her voice so only he could hear, "If push comes to shove I'll just ask someone to come after you, little man, because I'm a fucking old-timer and you're one bad choice away from walking tall, savvy?"

Fion let go of him.

"The fire will spread to other buildings if we don't get on top of it now! Come on!" Fion shouted, singed around the edges and about ready to kill someone.

"I don't bloody live here!" bellowed the man, shoving Fion away from him. "Save your own bloody squatters. I ain't riskin' my neck for a bunch of poxy wicks!" The last word was punctuated by a contemptuous spit.

A small crowd of other humans had begun to gather, watching the blaze. All seemed a little unsure of what to do, and were hanging back, their mouths hanging slightly open.

One of them called out to Fion. "Get away from there! You could get hurt!"

Fion smiled at him, then she made a slit-throat sign with her thumb against her throat.

"You're right. You don't live here." She said grinning, "But I have friends in the Stacks too, unless you moved bigboy. You should think of Mugroba."

She'd grabbed for something out of his pocket when he shoved her. She hoped it was his wallet, it would make him easier to track down. Fion wasn't one for idle threats.



Fion made a rude sign with her hand.

"Make me, you cowards!" Fion shouted, "I hope you feel a little braver when your own houses start burning!"

Fion ran back to the door, trying to make the gap bigger.

A door burst open, as if by magic, and Jaqueline heard a voice. Moving quickly towards the sounds, Jaq found an old wick woman dragging a man. Jaq grabbed his feet and began helping the witch carry him towards the stairs. They ducked a bit, trying to keep low and out of the smoke. The two women made it to the stairs and carefully began their descent.

Suddenly, a loud crack came from above. Jaq looked up to see a heavy beam snap and begin to fall. Oh, dear gods, she thought. We can't both get out from that.

As quickly and carefully as she could, Jaq gave the man's feet a shove, hoping it would send the woman and her passenger backwards enough to miss the beam, then jumped back herself. I hope this works...

Jott was heavy, but the kick did the trick; the beam missed them both by inches. The house was becoming warmer by the minute, and the stifling smoke made it difficult to see. Hania began to head for the stairs, crawling and pushing her unconscious brother as she went.

"Get down," she coughed to Jacqueline. "The smoke will make you sick..."

---

Outside, the crowd began watching the struggle between Fion and the fat man with more interest than the burning building. She was unable to snatch anything besides a handful of coins; the man believed she was trying to rob him, and kicked at her, missing.

"Sock him in the pouch!" cried one old lady, wagging her cane voraciously.

No one seemed to be making any move to help put out the fire. It was a very controlled burn; the lamp oil had done its work, keeping the fire to the bakery with only a few small sparks falling to the cobbles. But there were concerned faces in the crowd, too.

"Why aren't the Seventen coming?" whined a child, probably 7 or 8 years old. "They should come to put out the fire!" His sentiments were echoed in the gathering group.

Just then, a few brave souls began appearing on the roof beside the bakery, hauling buckets of water and hurling them at the burning thatch, but it did little good; the fire was so hot that most of the water merely evaporated. They would need something far stronger to control the flames.

Khymarah could smell the smoke before she could see the fire. She'd had to move her study day with Jasper to the 9th, for reasons unknown to her, and in a bold move, she had decided to visit the grimore shop, but it was shut.

The redhead looked around, and then she saw the smoke, the people, the light. It was the bakery. She gasped and ran over, red hair streaming behind her. Fion was in the front, fighting it seemed with a man. People on the roof of the other shops were trying to douse it with water, but it was too hot. Her head spun, thinking.

"Fion! Fion!" She yelled, jogging to the woman and pushing her and the man backwards. She looked up at the water throwers.

"Get back, now! And bring me as much water as you can carry!" She yelled, her voice loud and firm. But it was too late to wait for them, she could hear screaming inside. Raising both hands to the bakery, she spoke the monite for Airlessness in a firm voice, eye's hard.

Fion threw the coins to the ground, with a disgusted grimace, taking a moment to memorise the look of the man.

"I will end you!" She shouted, already planning to head to the B&B after this and get someone to glue, feather and tie him to a post in the square as a warning. He wasn't getting out of town tonight but by morning he wouldn't be able to stay anymore either.



Fion looked fearfully between the bakery and Khymarah.

"Be careful," Fion didn't know what the magic was but it felt harder to breathe standing near Khymarah's hands.

Fion went back to the front door, trying yet again to widen the gap so people could get out.

Fion's lungs suddenly felt tight as she went closer to the bakery. The spell Khymarah was channeling was quickly sucking the air from around the burning building, and, faster than if there had been a cold rain, the flames began to die. With no oxygen, they flickered and dimmed.

Unfortunately, before the airlessness spell had finished its work, the air inside the building began to drain. Jackie, Hania and Jott suddenly found themselves unable to breathe.

The crowd gasped and choked, trying to distance themselves from the powerful spell (and the galdori).

Jaqueline's kerchief had fallen in all the distraction, and she pulled it back over her mouth, stiffling a cough. "Keep going, stay low!" she called to Hania, as she shifted up to a crowch. She took in a shallow breath and coughed as the hot air seared her lungs. I feel like I'm being cooked from the inside out...



As Jaq and Hania reached the bottom floor, pushing and pulling at the limp man all the while, she noticed something. The air, while it was still hot, was much harder to breathe in. Each breath felt smaller than the last. My gods, we won't make it! Jaq gasped, barely choking out the words, "Push...harder! We gotta...get...*gasp*...out!"

The closer they got to the door, the more it felt like there was no air. Jaq was strong, but even the mighty fall to dying brain cells. She strained to see the door. I don't...remember...there being...two of them, she thought, her eyes begining to dim.

Hania felt the air leave her. With one great push, she kicked open the front door, praying that it would revive her and the two others.

But no air came through the charred threshold. Though the building was no longer ablaze, she felt herself choking, and put her hands to her throat.

Hania felt the air leave her. With one great push, she kicked open the front door, praying that it would revive her and the two others.

But no air came through the charred threshold. Though the building was no longer ablaze, she felt herself choking, and put her hands to her throat.
In the back of Jaq's mind, she knew what 'hands on throat' meant, but right then she was tired. Soooo veeeeery tiiiiired. And lookie, the door's open now. Yay for that.

Jaq sat down on the floor and leaned over, laying down. Her chest hurt so very badly, so very very badly. A nap will make things better. Yes.

She closed her eyes, and felt herself begin to drift.

It was getting harder and harder to breath but Fion kept moving forward because she could see Hania through the door. A lifetime spent carrying and hefting had made Fion as strong as any human. She grabbed Hania and threw her over her shoulder, adrenaline coursing as her oxygen rapidly ran out. She dragged her a few metres, far enough to feel the air coming back, then she took a deep breath and went back for the others.

"Khymarah! Stop it, we can't breath," She choked out as she went past her.

She didn't look to see if anyone was helping. There were two more bodies in that building and she was going to kill someone if she looked around and found herself on her own again.

The ruby haired galdor grit her teeth. The spell wouldn't last much longer, but they were dying from the lack of oxygen. She had to reverse it, to stop it. Her head throbbed, and the taste in her mouth was awful.

Making a desicion, she began a counterspell, requesting the mona to return things to the way they were. Her body was beginning to shake.

<I'm back! However I can't promise how active I will be.>

From a few blocks away Scarlet had seen the fire and started to rush to it, as she saw at least two friends, Fion and Khymarah, working around the blaze. This was not the first act of terrorism that had kept her from her plans of leaving, so at this point she figured she'd leave Annie alone to her business out of town.

Tilley chose to run and climb up a drain pipe to a nearby building's gutter, rather then fallow its master to the flames. Before going in, Scarlet picked up the barrel of muddied water that had been catching rain water for what must have been months, due to the moldy sent, and splashed it on the flames.

Scarlet then tied her scarf around her face in order to shield her lungs from the toxic smoke. "Fi!" she shouted to Fion, who was pulling someone out. Shouting at her wasn't going to help however, especially since Khymarah had only recently reversed the air spell and was getting weak.

The barrel had done enough to make it safer to walk through, but now the charred wood seemed to keep falling inside as she looked in the door. She then ran up to Fion to help her and whoever she was holding, "Is anyone else in here?!"

There was a colossal cracking sound as the cool night air rushed back into the house. Timber, heated to where the dried sap was boiling at one moment and chilled to freezing in the next, began to weaken and crack; the charred rafters fell through to the floor. A beam from the ceiling fell near Jacqueline; while it missed the master of disguise, it fell down heavily on Jott's foot, pinning him to the floor.

The fire was almost dead, with only a few small patches of thatch still burning, soon to be doused by volunteers on the nearby roof. But the damage to the bakery was irreversible.

Khymarah was done. She hadn't cast a spell like that before, not for something like this, and she certainly hadn't immediately cast a reversal. Dropping her hands, she staggered slightly, physically exhausted. Her head swam and her mouth tasted like soot.

"Fion? Where are you?" She called out, worried about her friend. Was she in the bakery? Had she just killed her? Panic rushed through her as she heard the sound of cracking wood.

"Fion!" She yelled, taking a step towards the bakery, but finding herself nearly on her knees. It was just too much. Turning her head towards the gawkers, she growled at them.

"Stop standing there you fools, help them!"

"NO!" Fion screamed as the bakery started to creak, she jolted back as the beam fell on Jott.

Fion grabbed Jacqueline, finding her surprisingly light and passed her to Scarlet.

"Here you go." She said quickly, "Put her next to Hania, there's only one more left."

Fion ran over to Jott, seeing the beam heavy across his foot. She wasn't sure she had a hope of getting it off him. It was hot to the touch, burning her fingers and far too heavy to pull him out from under. They needed people with strength and hers was already waning from the combined effects of the smoke, stress and oxygen deprivation.

"Khymarah!" She cried out when she heard the galdor over the din, "I'm over here!"

Fion bent over to check Jott was breathing.