The tension in the restaurant was thick enough to choke on. Baelgor's aura still simmered in the air like smoke from a dying fire, and the shop owner was red in the face, his finger still jabbing at the towering giant. Patrons held their breath, waiting for the situation to explode again.
Then, from the back of the crowd, a calm voice drifted forward.
"Now, now what's all this noise about? Quarreling in a fine establishment like this… how uncivilized."
The words slid into the silence like oil on water, smooth and deliberate. Heads turned. From between the tables, a man stepped into view. He wasn't tall, nor broad, nor imposing. His figure was slender, his clothes neat, his hair immaculately combed. A disarming smile rested on his lips, the kind that made strangers lower their guard without knowing why.
Cisco.
