Everyone stared at Adom.

"Oh," said Cisco. "A mage."

A panting man stumbled through the broken door, clutching the doorframe for support. His face looked like someone had used it to test several varieties of hammers. One eye was swollen completely shut, the other barely a slit, and his nose pointed in at least two different directions.

"Boss!" he wheezed between broken teeth. "We need to- you have to- that crazy barbaria-"

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU CALL ME?!" Thormund roared from his frozen position, veins bulging impressively against his immobile neck.

"Oh shit- I mean- I'll get- REINFORCEMENTS!" The man spun around, wobbling. "FROM THE MAIN BASE! DON'T DIE BOSS! I'LL BE RIGHT-"

There was a solid, meaty thunk, followed by the drawn-out screech of a body sliding down something.

"Third time this month someone's run into that statue," Marco noted, adjusting his glasses. "Perhaps we should move it."

"RELEASE ME, MAGE!" Thormund's muscles bulged against invisible restraints. His fluid began pouring out like steam from a kettle, making Adom's temples throb with the effort of maintaining [Control].

Just as the pressure was becoming unbearable, a thin beam of light shot from the tiny ring on Cisco's even tinier paw. Thormund's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed like a felled tree.

"He'll need a few hours of sleep and some... proper education later," Cisco said, adjusting his miniature spectacles. He turned to Adom. "Now then. Mage. You might have mentioned that during our negotiations."

"You didn't ask," Adom replied mildly, massaging his temples. "Besides, your prices are quite steep enough without adding a mage surcharge."

A muscle in Marcus' jaw twitched, but Cisco's whiskers quivered in what might have been amusement.

"Fair enough," the tiny broker conceded. He glanced at Thormund's unconscious form. "I didn't expect you to step up and try to save my life - though I assure you, it wasn't necessary. Still..." He straightened his tiny cravat. "Let's consider this particular detail forgotten. No surcharge for being a mage."