It sprang, a blur of claws and grey hide cutting straight for him.
Something hit it from the flank. Not an Enforcer, not a weapon, a wall of force that looked like sunlight bent into chains, lashing out from Renn's outstretched hand. They wrapped tight around the Stalker's torso mid-leap, snapping it sideways with a wet crack of impact.
Tier Three Spark —Focus. Kaelen had seen the chain-smoke most Enforcers carried, quick-bind stuff good for drunks or small beasts. This wasn't that. Renn's bindings burned with the slow, molten glow of containment-grade runes, each loop digging deeper as if it wanted to carve the thing apart just by holding it still.
For a heartbeat, it worked. The Stalker hit the ground on its side, snarling, the bindings tightening with every thrash. Renn moved like he'd done this a hundred times, one hand anchoring the tether, the other directing the flow, pulling, twisting, dragging the beast into a controlled circle.
"Circle left! Keep it boxed!" Renn's voice cracked across the yard.
The Enforcers moved as one. Chain-smoke poured from gauntlets in overlapping arcs, some hooking the beast's hind legs, others flaring into quick ward-sigils that locked the ground under its claws. One stepped in with a hook-staff sparking at the tip, jabbing at the joints when it tried to kick free.
Kaelen kept moving along the line, eyes darting from the Stalker to the sparks flashing around it. Offensive bursts, a spear-tip shrouded in crackling heat; utility arcs of runes flaring against the ground; a ripple of translucent force blocking one of its lunges. The whole fight moved like a net tightening.
The Stalker twisted hard, trying to slide past the gap between two Enforcers. Renn's bindings yanked it back, but the momentum was shifting, it wasn't just pulling now, it was thinking, looking for the next break.
"Hold positions," Renn snapped. "We're closing it,"
The rest of his words drowned in a sudden, high-pitched screech. The Stalker's claws gouged into the cobbles, its whole body coiling in on itself before bursting out again, not straight, but jagged, snapping between points like a shadow skipping frames.
It slipped two tethers before anyone could adjust, flashing past a defensive ward to rake claws across an Enforcer's side. Another went down hard as the beast's tail whipped into their legs, chain-smoke scattering like torn fabric.
The formation buckled, the clean circle collapsing into frantic shouts and countermoves.
Just like that, one savage calculated lash took two Enforcers out of the fight, one crashing into the fence hard enough to dent the slats, the other rolling limply across the cobbles.
But Renn reined it in fast, bindings snapping taut again, dragging the Stalker just shy of another break. "Anchor two! Push its right flank!"
Varric was already moving, tearing a hooked haft from his back. The weapon flared in his grip, not with smoke, but with a shuddering wave of concussive force.
He closed the gap in three strides, slammed the haft into the ground, and the wave rolled forward like a hammer blow. His Spark hit hard enough to warp the air ahead of him, a visible distortion like heat over stone. It caught the Stalker in mid-turn, crushing it sideways into the reinforced dragline with a yelp that was almost human.
"Rebound! Left pivot!" Renn barked. Two Enforcers shifted instantly, one looping a chain-smoke around its forelimbs, the other planting a barrier stave into the cobbles to block the retreat angle.
Kaelen tracked every motion. They weren't just attacking, they were herding it, cutting off escapes before the beast's body even finished turning. Sparks flared in quick succession: a burst of frost under its claws to lock the joints, a whip of crackling energy across its back to break a lunge, Varric's hammer-waves forcing it toward the dead end.
For a moment, the plan was working. The circle drew tight again, the Stalker's breathing ragged, its motions more frantic.
Then it feinted low and sprang high, tail whipping hard enough to knock a chain-handler off their feet. The opening was barely wider than a doorway, but it took it, claws lashing at anyone within reach.
"Close! Close now!" Renn's voice boomed across the yard, his bindings burning brighter as he yanked them hard enough to scorch the beast's hide.
The Stalker writhed against the pull, jaws snapping, eyes locking on the one figure not pressing forward, Kaelen, standing just beyond the tightening ring.
Renn didn't look back. "Courier! On me, now!"
Kaelen's gut clenched. He wasn't part of the fight, but he understood the order. Mobility variants were drawn to Sparks like their own; if it got hold of him, it could twist that power into its own and come out faster, stronger. Renn was going to use that.
Great. Even in the middle of a monster hunt, I was still bait.
Kaelen didn't argue. He broke from cover, angling toward Renn's position, boots hammering against stone.
"Midnight snack coming through!" Varric called over the din, laughing like the whole mess was a joke.
The Stalker's head snapped toward Kaelen, pale eyes locking in that predatory way Renn had warned about, variant drawing to variant. It shrieked and lunged, claws striking sparks from the cobbles.
"Now!" Varric barked. He channelled his Soulfire into the rune-etched disc again, and it flared, the air buckling as two broad, translucent barriers slammed down in a steep arc behind the creature, sealing off its flanks. The walls curved toward each other, funnelling it into a narrow lane that pointed straight at Renn.
Chains whipped out from both sides. Some missed as the Stalker juked and twisted, but others bit, the runes flaring as they dragged against its momentum. Its speed faltered, not stopped but slowed just enough.
"Hold it steady!" Renn's voice cut again, sharp and certain.
Kaelen risked a glance toward him, and almost stumbled.
The air around Renn had changed. A low vibration pressed into Kaelen's chest, subtle at first, then deepening until it was the only thing he could hear over the screeching and clash of chains. The ward-light bent toward him, as though the very air leaned into the gravity of what he was doing.
Mercury spilled into existence. Not fast, heavy, like it had weight in a world it didn't belong to. It poured from the seams of Renn's gauntlets and welled up through the cracks in the stone, gathering in the air before him. The flow swirled, folding in on itself until it became a large sphere, almost perfect, but never still, the surface rippling with restless motion.
Renn's eyes never left the Stalker. His hands shifted minutely, and the sphere responded, elongating, flattening in places, testing its own shape like a predator flexing claws.
Kaelen's skin prickled, breath short. The force of it lingered in his ribs, a pressure that refused to fade. Whatever that Spark was, it wasn't just stronger, it was sharper, heavier than anything he'd felt at the lower tiers, a weight his body recognised before his mind caught up.
"Hold your lines!" Renn's voice cut sharp through the yard.
Varric planted his boots and braced, with both translucent barriers still locked in place, sealing the flanks tight. The edges shimmered as the Stalker slammed into the chains in front of them, snarling and twisting, but the Enforcers held.
Renn's hands shifted again, and the sphere responded. One subtle tilt of his head and a ribbon of silver peeled away, lashing out to block the Stalker's left. Another flick and a second ribbon curled low, skimming the ground to catch its right.
The creature feinted, but the flow was already there, cutting off every gap.
Renn rolled his shoulders forward. The sphere collapsed into a broad sheet, sweeping in from behind, driving the Stalker toward the narrowing lane. Chains bit into its legs. Varric's jaw was set, his arms straining as he reinforced the barriers against the growing pressure in the air.
Then Renn clenched his hand.
The silver funnel snapped shut, collapsing inward. The air cracked with a thunderclap, force slamming out in a shockwave that rattled chains and made Kaelen's teeth ache. Varric's barriers flared, holding the blast in check so it didn't tear through the Enforcers' line.
When the glare faded, the Flow slid back toward Renn, slow and deliberate, leaving the Stalker staggering in the impact ring. Its chest heaved, limbs twitching, speed gone.
Renn exhaled once, eyes still on the barely breathing Stalker. "Mobility types," he said, voice calm but edged with satisfaction. "Soon as you lock 'em down, the rest is easy. Until then, they make you run around and pull out the real muscle."
Renn gave a short nod toward the scattered Enforcers. "Secure it. Get the injured to recovery, now." His voice carried the weight of someone who expected no delays. The team moved at once, chains tightened and the limp form of the Stalker dragged toward a reinforced pen, while two others helped their wounded off the field.
Kaelen let out a slow breath, realising only now that his shoulders were tight and his jaw ached from clenching. His ears still rang faintly from the shockwave. This… this was a Tier Four Spark —Aegis, he thought distantly, not like the containment field's barrier, but a far more dangerous cousin in a league of its own.
Ember and Flare, the Sparks they threw at couriers like him and Initiates, felt like kindling by comparison. Even Focus, the third tier most Enforcers carried, wasn't in the same conversation.
Varric dropped the fading barriers with a sigh, rolling his shoulders before making his way over. He gave Kaelen a once-over and a crooked grin. "Not bad, courier. You kept it on the rails, the last one folded in the first ten seconds."
Kaelen managed a faint smirk, still catching his breath.
Varric's grin shifted, more curious now. "That Spark of yours… doesn't move like the usual courier mobility. Feels sharper. Faster. What are you running?"
"Tier Two," Kaelen said. "SkyStep."
Varric let out a low whistle. "Tier Two, huh? Not bad. Guess you've got more in you than you look."
He clapped Kaelen once on the shoulder and glanced toward the pen. "Might have to keep an eye on you."
Kaelen snorted, shaking his head. "Good to know. Now… who do I talk to about overtime?"