[i]"I do not have any money to pay for the damage I have done."[/i] The poor man admitted in what seemed to Phoenix like defeat. He got onto his knees and surrendered. Phoenix knew there was something gone on here that he had missed and he couldn't stand and watch this man, although guilty, go to jail for something so small. There had to be something the mage could do to help the man. He thought and thought hard, whilst the officers were getting ready to put the man in shackles and drag him away. At last an idea came to Phoenix and he was ashamed he hadn't thought of it before. "Excuse me, officers and blacksmith, I believe I have a solution." With a smirk the mage swiped the pieces of shield from the ground and carefully removed the other half of the shield from the arms of the blacksmith. "Don't worry sir, I'll get this right back to you." 

There had once been a time where Phoenix studied alchemy constantly. He had learned from some of the best but never quite got the hang of it and decided to stick to his card magic and sword fighting. But this seemed like the perfect solution to the problem they were having. He had no doubts in his mind that he could fix the shield it was just a matter of drawing a perfect circle, which was about the hardest part. 

Phoenix pulled a piece of chalk from his pocket and began drawing a circle on the ground just big enough for the shield to fit in. He drew lines in the circle  to form a neatly drawn up [url=http://img07.deviantart.net/de34/i/2009/163/e/a/basic_transmutation_circle_by_scholarlybelgarath.jpg]transmutation circle[/url]. "Now just place the pieces here." Gently he laid down the pieces of the shield in the circle. "This is gonna be great!!" It had been some time since he had done alchemy, even basic alchemy, but he knew he could do it. Unlike real alchemists, the mage used his cards instead of his hands. Dramatically, he removed a card from one of his pouches after replacing his chalk. He held the card up in the air for a moment before shouting, "[i]exsercio![/i]" The word echoed in all of the by standers ears as he threw down the card on top of the shield. There was a flash of light in the center of the circle and suddenly the shield was repaired like new. "There, all better." 

He picked up the shield and returned it to whom he knew to be the rightful owner, the blacksmith. "Now, officers, if you don't mind, I think this man should be let free since all has been mended. What do you say gentlemen?" His face was smiley, he held an air of confidence that no one else around him seemed to have, the young man obviously didn't belong there but he was glad he showed up there when he did. 

[hr]

His breathing was heavy, his heart raced in his ears. It didn't bother him much, he had made it. Moments ago, the aged thief had made his way into the museum and stolen the [url=http://img00.deviantart.net/98ed/i/2010/233/8/f/zelian_rune_stones_in_blue_by_chimeradragonfang.jpg]Heart Stones[/url]. The main source of magic in the all the realms. The man was getting a large sum of money for this job and wasn't going to screw it up now. At last, he was nearing the edge of the forest in Irakix and wanted nothing more than to get rid of the stones so that he could get his money. He ran and continued to run even as the bell sounded behind him in the city, there was no stopping him now. [i]So you've brought me what I've asked for then?[/i] There was a voice inside of the thief's head that wasn't his own. It was the mage, the powerful man who had hired him. But he was no where in sight. 

"H-hello?" The man skidded to a halt and looked around, his breathing labored for he had been running for a long distance. "Where are you, sir?" He asked the empty sky. A man floated down from the sky out of no where to hover before the thief. 

"You must have the stones or else the would not be sounding. Where are they?" The [url=http://media-hearth.cursecdn.com/avatars/93/380/635458504866157538.jpeg]mage[/url] demanded, his voice only slightly muffled from the material that covered the lower half of his face. "Yes, yes of course! It was far too easy, sir, now about the money..." Holding out the the black velvet bag full of all the Heart Stones, the thief held out his other hand to receive his payment. "Ah yes. you're payment." The mage stuck out his hand palm toward the thief and then closed it into a fist. The velvet bag disappeared and the man's glowing eyes seemed to show satisfaction. His fist glowed and when he opened his palm again a ball of green energy flew toward the thief. 

"What... no!!" He ran for his life but when the ball hit him square in the back he turned to dust. 

His power was great, he had nothing to fear; his power would only grow now that he had the Heart Stones. From a short distance away he heard someone talking, it was the voice of a young girl. He snapped his head in the direction the girl was coming from, had she seen the whole thing? With the girl was an undead rabbit, she must have been a necromancer. "There must be no witnesses." He shouted toward her in what seemed like rage. Once again, he threw his arm out and then too the side in a horizontal motion. A great wave of energy flew toward her and if she didn't dodge would possibly kill her. The mage didn't wait to see if it finished her off, he disappeared in a puff of black smoke and all was silent again save for the sound of the emergency bell in the distance.