A Gunslinger’s System in a World of Magic
Chapter 97: More Than A Tether

From the moment she heard Maude Aleric's voice, Triss' eyes became bugged out as her body trembled ever so slightly.

'Of all the rotten luck,' she thought in despair while only slightly trying to resist the chains the City Guards had used to bind her. It wouldn't budge.

Then again, even if she had broken the bounds (A highly unlikely concept), could she have gotten away? And what about Stefan? After all, it was her wanting to save him that had gotten her captured in the first place.

Things had gone so well at first. Henry and Angus were keeping the Manor's strongest forces busy while the rest of them followed the 'map' Angus drew and took a near-secret path that led into a barracks of sorts used by the Black Manor's Vykers.

It was empty just as the Vyker Angus questioned said it would be and with only the City Guards stationed and patrolling the inside of the Manor to worry about, they were able to skulk about to all the caches marked on the map.

It was a risky job where things could and would go wrong the moment Henry and Angus were unable to keep the Manor's main forces busy.

With every bang they heard and every crackle of magic that managed to reach their ears, Triss' stomach clenched and unclenched in worry.

They avoided firing their guns but Devon took care of all the Guards they met along the way by using his shotgun as a club to either knock them out or bludgeon them to death. Depending on how much strength he used.

The caches were many and the gold they got away with was a lot. And just as they planned, they retreated through where they came from, planting their explosives on all its supportive structures and lighting it all up as they made a run for it.

The detonation of the explosives was meant to serve two purposes;

One: To collapse the most direct path the enemy could take to catch up with them and,

Two: To alert Henry and Angus that it was time to go.

The Gold and valuables they managed to get away with were so much that they all had at least one large pouch to carry along with them. But of course, leaving the City of Saint Claret without clashing with the City Guards was virtually impossible.

A shootout was unavoidable but speed was meant to be a prime factor. They were to ride fast, ride hard, shoot, and trample any Guard who stood in their way and try not to die.

They almost made it out when Triss heard Stefan yell and she looked behind her to see him arch his back as a bullet pierced it. Two more struck him in his shoulders and he fell off his horse.

The City Guards were quickly there. Encircling his bleeding and weakening body. Triss didn't think, she just acted. She turned her horse around and started shooting at them.

The idea that she could win against that many Guards, all armed with rifles and their ability to shoot not impaired by agitation, was already ludicrous but things only got more bleak when her Gun cocked on empty.

A bullet to her shoulder hit her so hard that she fell off her horse too. Speaking of which, her horse wasn't spared. Neither was Stefan's. The City Guards could hear the jingling of coins from the pouches strapped to the horses' saddles and knew not to let them get away.

Triss assumed they must have taken some of the Gold for themselves but she could hardly be bothered to care. Kneeling here with her brother's breathing growing weaker by the second, that gold was no longer her concern.

Maude Aleric's eyes went from the gold to the faces of the redheaded thieves,

"A distraction while the rest of his cronies went about my Manor, robbing me? And here I was thinking he was just a ballsy moron who came here to take me on and cause chaos.

Look up."

The order hit Triss' ears sharply and caused her to wince. It wasn't backed by the kind of magic Angus had used to Spellbind her on occasion. That said, the order was backed with a powerful aura that urged her to obey.

Slowly, she tore her eyes away from Stefan's pale body as he bled out and looked up at Maude who observed her with his cold grey eyes.

His eyes held her gaze and she quickly found that she couldn't turn her face away.

"This is who made up the 'Dionisio Gang'?" Maude asked and then looked at the City Guards,

"Were they the only two?" He asked.

"No, Lord Aleric," said the Captain, "The others got away but we have a squad after them as we speak."

Maude's eyes returned to Triss and Stefan and he scrutinized them again,

"Not one lick of magic in any of you two. I could— No, I should have you executed on the spot for your thievery…"

The City Guard Captain grabbed his gun and cocked its hammer but Maude raised a hand to stop him before he went too far while still holding Triss' gaze and her attention so she knew his words were for her and her wheezing, dying brother,

"Killing you would be such a waste. I'll gain nothing from it. And there might be use for you yet," he said and looked to the side at his Butler,

"Have them locked up, and (waves at dying Stefan) feed that one a Potion. I'll decide what to do with them when I have my item back."

The City Guards stepped forward and picked Triss and Stefan up, and with the Butler leading the way with the two pouches of stolen gold in his hands, they entered the Manor.

Maude took a minute to clench and unclench his hand as he felt the glow of Mana return to normal in his body and the last dregs of the Vinculum's energy were starting to seep out.

He turned his right palm over, and a large circle appeared above it. Indented on the circle was a crude representation of the landscape of Saint Claret and the environs beyond. There was a blue dot beeping at the part of the circle that represented Saint Claret and away from it was a red dot beeping but steadily moving away.

When the red dot reached the end of the circle, the map focused on it, causing the blue dot to vanish from the indented Landscape.

With an impassive expression, Maude raised his left hand and made a pinching motion with his thumb and index finger. The map zoomed out, providing a clear view of both the red and the blue dots. The red dot was still moving away and nearing the end of the circle.

The blue dot represented Maude Aleric and the red dot represented Angus who he had marked during their battle. The chain that Maude wrapped around Angus' wrist, which Angus broke off with a crackling spear was more than just a tether.

Even now, Arcane symbols were glowing faintly around Angus Dionisio's wrist as he and Henry rode away from Saint Claret.

It takes an especially attentive mind to notice the tracking spell because it's not intrusive and gives no indication that it's there besides a very subtle glow that is easy to ignore and might not even catch the eye. You have to suspect you are being tracked to ever actually pay attention.

Armed with that floating Map-indented Circle above his palm, it didn't matter how fast Angus rode or where he went to get holed up, Maude Aleric was confident he would replace him and with him, replace his item.