So this was what Vinsue has been doing in such a vile place. To free the imprisoned sounds like one of most noble goals, and Rugal could happily approve it. Having followed her towards the tavern, he suddenly found himself confronted by a particularly large man, easily towering over him and Vinsue. He went on to taunt her before mentioning a rumor, apparently stating that her powers were blocked. That sounded terrible, but even in face of potential danger the two found themselves in, Rugal knew he was perfectly competent to handle the situation. However, was fighting necessary? The man did not seem like a foe worthy of his efforts, and that alone made the apprentice willing to give the goon a chance to back down.
- "If you seek her harm, you have to go through me. Either that or back down, before I will have to use force."
Unsurprisingly, his words were only met with hideous laughter, as the large man motioned his cronies to come over. In total, there were seven goons, one uglier than the other, most of each equipped with an improvised weapon of sorts. A club here, a fishing gaff there… these looked unassumingly but were perfectly capable of making a nasty wound if they were to hit. While this made the situation much more dangerous, Rugal did not lose himself and remained firmly stood in place. Maintaining eye contact, he spoke with calm yet stern voice:
- "I am giving you a final warning. Back down and you will remain unharmed."
This time, it seemed to have an effect. The large man's smile dropped, which did not go amiss on the other goons, visibly confused. The thug, however, could not allow something like that to demoralize his men and hinder his task of capturing or harming Vinsue.
- "Well, kid, it was funny the first time, but now I grow tired of your nonsense. Will you get your sorry self out of there or do you want me to help you?"
Rugal felt he did not need to answer to this question, and so he did not. The hulking thug took this as an invitation to come over and strike the young man down. However, he was in for a surprise when Rugal grabbed hold of his arm and, having turned around, he dropped into a crouch, pulling the meaty arm downwards. The thug was flung over the apprentice's shoulder and with a loud crash, he fell onto his back. Rugal had little time to appreciate the results of his handiwork, for he had yet to face the remaining goons, who promptly rushed in to aid their supposed leader. Rugal boldly stepped into the imminent melee, deflecting a gaff being swung at him and planting his foot firmly in the attacker's ribs, nearly folding the unfortunate aggressor in two as he fell over. With exaggerated spin kicks, the young apprentice kept others at bay, while looking for a window to strike.
Finally seeing two attackers too far apart from each other, he jumped in between them. Having grabbed hold of a goon who sought to strike him with a club, Rugal turned him around and pushed him into his crony. As the two had bumped against a wall, the apprentice stepped forward and unleashed a flurry of punches upon them. In a matter of a single second, each of their two faces was met with three punches before slumping onto the ground as Rugal turned around to face the others, visibly hesitant to move on. Their leader, who had been watching the scene unfolding before him since he was thrown to the ground, went on to shout at them:
- "Curses! Ain't anybody going to act? Move it, before I move you!"
As he slowly stood up, the three of his remaining cronies, spurred on by his encouraging words, did indeed move on. However, demoralized as they were, they did so slowly and hesitantly, making them easy pickings for Rugal. Luckily for them, he was not the one to take every excuse and opportunity to cause harm. Seeing a goon trying to strike him with a gaff of his own, the apprentice had swiftly snatched the tool out of his hands before chucking it aside. The three were quick to flee, much to the large man's disgruntlement. Although he remained the only one standing against his target and the man who had just beat his little gang into submission, he turned out too stubborn just to let it go. He made a foolish mistake, picking a discarded gaff from the ground and attempting to rush down Vinsue, whom he believed to have lost her powers. Poor fool had no clue that he had left his fate in her hands.