I feel a hand clap onto my shoulder. Ah, not now...

"Didn't think we'd notice you, huh, breaker?" The last word is spat like a curse. "Think you were gonna skulk away like the vermin you are?"

I really don't need this. I slowly swivel my head so I can get a good look at the people behind me. Eh, great. Guards. Four of them, carrying an assortment of stuff that would do bad things to my body. Oh, and all of them are bigger than me, too. Just perfect. "Guys, guys," I say soothingly, not that it'll do much. I'm stalling while I focus my entropic power. "I've got a nice pouch full of gold and silver and stuff. What say you take it and forget you saw me?"

"The king pays better gold for a breaker's head. Besides, we can just kill you and take it, and no one's the wiser." One of the Guards snarls and lunges forward, jabbing a knife towards my stomach.

I'm a breaker. I break things. That's the nature of the magic I wield. I could deconstruct this little sad chunk of change to itty-bitty pieces if I put my mind to it, but... no, I'm not a killer. The second I start lashing back at the world for this horrible, horrible life is the moment I prove to the people who hate me that I'm exactly what they fear. I'm not a killer, I'm a breaker.

So, big sharp, pointy knife coming towards my stomach. Not good. The rules of probability say that sharp little piece of ironmongery is going to split me open, and the chances against it happening are practically nil. Practically.

It's like a game. No, scratch that, it's like the rules of a game. Brick falls off ledge, it falls to the ground (or onto a cow's head). Fire plus oil equals bigger fire. When a knife heads towards my stomach, parts that shouldn't see the light of day are going to be enjoying a nice breeze. Just like the rules of a game.

Guess what? I don't like the rules anymore. I'm adding myself to the equation. Toss in some chaos. Bit of entropy. Take the rulebook and rip it to shreds.

The Guard who's been stabbed howls, and I feel his grip loosen. Opportunity. Take it.

I rotate my body and drive an elbow into the stomach of the thug next to me. The fourth one is fast on his feet and swings a club towards my face. Luckily--or unluckily, depending on who you ask--Knife-Boy's face takes the hit for me, and I kick out, knocking Clubber's feet to the side. To his bad luck, his temple smacks into a jutting wooden blank, and he's out like a light.

That leaves two of them still blocking my way out of this alleyway. Eh. The one who'd been stabbed lunges for me and grips the sleeve of my tunic. His hands are slick with blood, so I manage to break his hold before the guy I'd elbowed clobbers me in the face. The blow that was intended for my head sails past and cracks right into a handily placed metal pipe. I hear the cracking of bones. More screaming.

Eh, not important. What's important is that he's through playing games and he's trying to slash me open. I've used too much entropic power already; if I use any more, I'm going to have more Guard forces on my head. The guy's good with that weapon, a lot better than I am, that's for sure. I can't think of a way out of this that'll have me keeping all my limbs where I want them.

You know what? To hell with the Guards. I'll burn that bridge when I come to it. After all, I can't, you know, worry about the future if I get killed now. Right.

It's taking all my concentration just to dodge this trooper's steel, and I'm losing ground. Any second now I'm going to have a nice new opening in my abdomen, and I'd prefer that that didn't happen. It would ruin my plans for tomorrow, and everything. Just another lunge whiffs, I use the moment to send out a burst of entropic power.

Nothing. Huh. Guess that was a dud... and what a perfect time, too. I'm backed in a corner, nowhere to slip to, and the soldier is going to ram a sword into my... brick?

Anyway, blending. I stroll down the streets, checking out the produce, looking at some of the meat on sale--I remember the other brick-smacked, poor, poor cow--and generally doing citizen-y things. Hmm, some of the those bananas actually look good, and I might spend... hello.

Set up next to those delicious-looking bananas is a small table with a seedy-looking guy holding a pair of dice. I watch a young girl--pretty nice body on that one, ahem--take the dice and toss them. They miss her numbers. I stand back a bit a watch, and the girl takes another seven throws. Zip. Huh, something's not kosher here. What's... Oh, hold on, I see it. Loaded dice, it looks like. It's depressing how quickly it took me to see it. Like I said, my life isn't fun.

Anyway, I know I shouldn't be doing this, but cheaters annoy me... and the girl is actually pretty good looking.

Something's not right. Definitely not right. I just feel tingly, like the hairs on the back of my neck have... stood... up... I jerk my head around and see--Dear God--a troop of Guards closing in on me. One of the Guard mages points at me, screams something, and suddenly I've got a fireball coming for my face. Lucky for me--you know how it is--his aim is horrible, and I don't even have to duck as it sails past and vaporizes a cart. The Guards and their spears aren't so badly aimed, and I'm staring at a dozen pointy metal things coming straight at my body.

I can make the sharp metal pointy things fall somewhere else... but I'm surrounded by people. Every time I shred the probability that a spear misses me, I increase the chance it hits someone else... like that girl. I can then break THAT probability... but then I'm going to kill myself from the strain.

And, like I said, dying's not in my plans. Let's try something proactive. Let's... break something.

With a grunt, I send out entropic energy in a wave, slashing it across the weapons as they come towards my face. Entropy disrupts them, the very substance of their being, and they shatter to splinters, and the splinters fall to dust. The dust billows, giving me a second of concealment. A second to...