"Bang!"
Murphy slammed into the awning of a house by the street in a headlong fall, then bounced off it and spun down to the ground. He should have been grateful that he hadn't been flying very high and that he'd spent so much time training his wings. Once his blood-red wings folded around him, they formed a sturdy enough shield. Otherwise, the damage from the fall alone would have been a serious problem.
But the sudden unfolding of ancient memories before his eyes sent his mind reeling between two scenes, making it difficult to control his body.
He struggled to his feet, only to hear the sharp clack of the walking machine stopping beside him after running at full speed. Then Captain Paula's panicked voice rang in his ears:
"What happened? What's going on? I saw you fall from the sky! Did the gnoll's black magic hit you? Do you need me to find a doctor?"
"Hide! Get down!"
Murphy fought desperately against the waves of memories resonating in his mind. He grabbed Paula's mechanical hand and said:
"Quick! He's coming!"
"Who's 'he'?"
Paula asked, but seeing Murphy in such a "dazed" state, she knew the situation was serious.
She looked around. There were plenty of houses nearby, but none of them would offer any real shelter from a powerful enemy. So the quick-witted halfling looked down instead. A few steps away was a sewer entrance.
She helped Murphy crawl over on all fours. Before climbing inside, she didn't forget to use her calculating orb to send her walking machine back to its parking spot, so it wouldn't draw suspicion.
A few minutes after the sewer cover was put back in place, Grand Duke Edward of Wolfsbane appeared at the end of the street in a gust of swift-moving