SJ didn’t recognise the tune as the sound of humming filtered up the stairs. Easing forward, she peeked around the doorframe. The wooden stairs that led into the cellar, she knew, creaked, so she couldn’t chance walking down them. Slowly lifting from the ground, she hovered, being grateful her wings were almost silent. Carefully, she edged forward.
As she entered the top of the stairwell, she recognised a smell drifting upwards, the coppery and distinct smell of blood.
‘Carlito mentioned necromancy,’ SJ thought.
“At least she isn’t a Lich,” Dave said.
‘I thought Carlito said she was a low-level mage. How can she be a necromancer as well?’
“She can’t be, but it doesn’t stop some trying abominable acts.”
The stairs weren’t enclosed, so as soon as she moved further down, she would be visible if anyone was looking in the direction of the stairs.
‘Can you see anything yet?’
“Not quite sorry.”
SJ slowly lowered herself, staying as close to the ceiling of the cellar as she could, inching her way nearer to being able to see into the cellar. The light from below was bright enough that there were few shadows she could see from where she was. Tilting forward, SJ managed to get in a position where she could just peek into the cellar area.
“Got it,” Dave said.
SJ pulled back up slightly.
“She is leaning over that bundle that was delivered on a table. Holding a blade and looking to be cutting something.”
‘Great! Facing or away? I didn’t see.’
“Away. You should be able to get down.”
SJ’s pulse raced as she again lowered herself. Looking into the cellar clearly, there were two rooms. The main one and a smaller one were off behind where the elf stood with her back to her. Carefully lowering, SJ crept lower towards the cellar floor, directly behind where the elf stood. She didn’t dare move any faster in case she alerted the elf of her presence. As she lowered, she equipped her claws. The stench of blood now filled her nostrils, and she watched as the elf wiped a blood-covered hand on her dress.
“There, that should do it,” the elf said.
SJ had images flooding her mind of what she may be doing, which she didn’t need at this present moment in time. Landing, she adjusted herself before beginning to grow. As soon as she reached her full height, she struck. Using the skills she had learned from Brother Wilbert, with her claws, she attacked without hesitation, driving the blades of her clawed fist directly into the base of the neck of the elf as though performing an elimination strike with her bare hand. While her second fist punctured its lower back, aligned to its spine.
There was no scream, only a twitching motion as the elf’s life left it. Pulling her claws free, the lifeless body fell to the floor.
SJ stood frozen as her display triggered.
Congratulations! You have killed a level 13 elf, 150xp awarded.
The images SJ had in her mind about what the elf had been doing couldn’t have been further from what she saw on the table. She looked at the remains of a hogling.
‘I thought she was butchering a corpse,’ SJ thought.
“So did I. Thankfully, only a hogling. Anyway, congratulations on completing your first assassination. I was exceedingly impressed with how efficient you were then,” Dave said with pride in his voice.
SJ had been justifying her actions on the belief that the mage was doing necromancy, and now that she could see the hogling, she felt physically sick.
‘I thought it was necromancy?’
SJ shook from the adrenaline spike that had flooded her body as she had attacked. The pent-up tension was now released. Her stomach churned, and she only managed to stop herself from throwing up.
“Check the body, and let’s go. You just need the chain, after all, as evidence.”
SJ knelt next to the body, her hand shaking violently as she reached to move the elf’s long hair from the back of its neck where her blade had struck. Seeing a silver chain, she unclipped it and pulled it free. Not wanting to turn the elf over and look at its face, she forced herself to stand again.
“Loot the corpse. If you don’t, it would be suspicious.”
‘What do you mean, suspicious?’
“A thief isn’t likely to leave valuables behind, are they? And you want to make it look like a robbery.”
Placing her hand back on the body, she looted it.
48 x copper, 21 x silver, ring of intelligence +2, bracelet of agility +4, wand of magic bolts (19 charges)
Adding everything to her inventory, SJ stood again. Trying not to look at the elf’s body. She still held the chain, and she lifted it, turning it in the light. It was an intricately crafted piece of jewellery showing a moon and sickle. It had no magical properties, but SJ thought it would have a decent value to it. Casting her eyes around the room, SJ couldn’t see anything of value. There was a small barrel in one corner, and SJ discovered it contained salt. The hogling meat which she had been butchering was also currently placed on a bed of salt on a wooden tray. It must have been used to preserve the meat.
Turning, SJ moved to the other door in the cellar and opened it. The room had no light, so she picked up a candle from the table and carried it to the room. The room felt chilly, like a freezer, and casting light into the room, the walls were covered in a layer of ice. Hanging from hooks on the ceiling were the carcasses of hoglings. SJ was about to leave when she glimpsed something glinting in the candlelight. Moving the hoglings to one side, she only just held back a scream. Hanging in the freezer were the remains of a being, the light reflecting off a belt buckle. She couldn’t tell what it was, but it wasn’t a hogling.
Backing out of the room quickly, SJ closed the door, shuddering and shaking even more than she had been.
“Maybe she was into necromancy after all,” Dave said happily.
Even though the site of the remains had unsettled SJ, the thought that she had been performing necromancy or something similar eased her mind. Not wholeheartedly justifying her actions, but enough to ease the sickness she had been feeling, even if only slightly.
“Come on. Don’t dillydally. Back upstairs, look around and then get over to meet Carlito.”
SJ was thankful Dave was with her, as her mind was currently like spaghetti, flicking around continually. She knew her thoughts had been running wild and was glad Dave wasn’t commenting.
Picking up one of the burning candles, SJ returned upstairs, leaving the lifeless form of Mya on the cellar floor.
“Remember to ransack the place,” Dave said.
It didn’t feel right to SJ, but she followed Dave’s guidance. Opening all the cupboards and drawers in the back area and discarding several objects onto the floor before moving to the front of the shop. SJ hadn’t a clue what the shop sold, only being informed that Mya had been skimming from the mage’s guild. Entering the front area, SJ was surprised to see that it sold charms. Picking several of them up, none of them appeared to hold any real value of note. Combined, they may make a few silver, but she would not bother collecting them. Instead, Dave instructed her to knock them over and make it again look ransacked. The front of the shop had an open window, but having entered initially via the horrible thin alleyway, SJ wasn’t concerned about seeing anyone.
Once she finished making the place look like the mage had fallen foul of a burglary gone wrong, she headed back upstairs and into the bedroom after quickly rechecking the other two rooms and again opening and rifling through any drawers. Doing the same in the bedroom, she then shrunk and moved back to the window.
Sliding through the gap, she stood on the sill before flying and heading straight back to the roof again. Flying over a few streets, she suddenly felt sick and flew down to land on another roof. Leaning against the stone chimney that stood proud of the roof, she bent over and vomited.
Once she finished, she stood back up and took some deep breaths.
“Are you okay?” Dave asked.
‘I think adrenaline got the better of me,’ SJ said, wiping her mouth. ‘I thought I had managed to control it.’
“Understandable. Humanoid biology does strange things. Emotions are the strangest. You should be proud of yourself and what you have achieved tonight.”
‘I am not sure I would say I am proud.’
“You ended the life of someone evil. Is that not what you had always wished to do?”
SJ couldn’t argue with Dave’s statement. It was obvious that Mya had been up to no good, having the remains of a being in her freezer. Thinking about it made SJ shudder as though someone had walked over her grave.
‘Let’s find Carlito. Then I can get back to the tower and try to locate Zigferd.’
Checking her display, it wasn’t even 20:00. It had taken under an hour to do everything after locating the building. Taking off again, SJ headed straight towards the Black Griffin. Locating the park, she had spoken to Carlito in, she landed and checked her surroundings before growing. She removed her cloak and placed it into her inventory and adjusted her dress to a different style and colour. Leaving the park, she headed to the inn.
The streets were more crowded by far than her last late-night visit, and as she approached the entrance where the two trolls stood, a fight broke out in the street.
“Oooo, Legionnaires fighting,” Dave said.
Looking over, SJ saw two individuals dressed as fighters, clashing swords as they attacked and parried each other’s blows. Their movements were fast, but the orc on the left was obviously more skilled. A crowd had formed at a distance around the two men, and SJ moved closer so she could still see.
‘What level are they?’
“29 and 32. The 29 is on the left.”
That surprised SJ since he appeared to have the upper hand. That was until the other’s sword suddenly glowed and his blade struck with a swift strike that defied normal speed, penetrating the plate pauldrons the orc wore. Deafeningly, the orc bellowed and staggered back, hurling abuse at the human fighter. Now with an arm limp at his side, the orc charged at the other man. The man dodged his blow and brought his glowing blade in an arc, cutting through the plate armour on the orc’s leg. Again, the orc screamed as he fell to his knees.
Valiantly trying to fight still, the orc swung his sword out in front as the other approached. With a quick kick, the man disarmed the orc before stepping in. SJ couldn’t hear what the man said over the noise from the crowd as he stepped in, driving his sword through the orc’s chest. The orc’s head fell forward. A horn blew, and shouting and footsteps of armed guards came down the street towards the scene. The man who killed the orc sheathed his sword and stood there.
Many in the crowd backed away as the guard approached, leaving the Legionnaire to whatever fate beheld him. The guard surrounded the man, pointing halberds at him, and a guard wearing a blue and gold cloak stepped forward and spoke to him. The man then stood with his hands behind his back and allowed the guard to place manacles on him before he was led away.
Now that the incident was over, two beings from one of the guild buildings further along the street walked towards the orc’s body before lifting it and carrying it back down the street.
“Well, that was interesting,” Dave said.
Turning, SJ headed to the inn again. Approaching the troll’s she nodded as she walked past them and entered the inn. Inside, it was just as lively as the previous evening. The area where she had sat with the other promoters was empty. She noticed Ruffle stood in his usual spot by the corridor leading to the cages and walked over.
“Hello again. Back so soon?” Ruffle said, recognising SJ.
“I wondered what fights were on this evening?”
“Oh. Nothing special, just minor league. I doubt you would find anyone worth scouting.”
The automatic assumption that SJ was looking to scout fighters amused her.
“I won’t bother going to watch then.” Moving over to the bar, SJ ordered a drink of honey wine and moved to a slightly quieter area. She didn’t want to assume she could use the promoter’s area when not fighting, so she sat at a small table nursing her drink. Sipping the wine, realising what she had just done still played on her mind. Dave again allowed her to her thoughts without interruption.
Having sat there for a while, her glass was nearly empty when a dwarf approached her from another table.
“Fancy a drink, love?” the dwarf asked.
The line she had heard many times over the years made her smile and broke her from her recurring thoughts of what-ifs.
“Only if you’re buying,” she instinctively replied.
“Indeed, I am. Another wine?”
“Honey, please.”
Turning, the dwarf bellowed towards a server who scuttled off to the bar to get the drinks. The dwarf pulled up a chair from the table he had been sitting at. The server appeared momentarily and placed a fresh glass of honey wine and a tankard of ale in front of the dwarf. Paying the server, the dwarf turned and smiled at SJ.
“Not seen you in here before. Are you new to the city?”
“I am only here for a few days.”
“And you picked the Black Griffin to drink in.”
“I did. Shouldn’t I?”
“No. It’s not that. It’s just not the best inn in Asterfal. It has a select clientele.”
“I am guessing you are one of those clientele?”
“Me no. I am here with a friend,” the dwarf pointed to a fellow dwarf still sitting at his original table.
“Do you live in Asterfal?”
“I do. I have lived here a long time now.”
“What do you do?”
The dwarf laughed heartily, and it was contagious, making SJ smile. “What most dwarves do, I am a smith.”
“I don’t suppose you know a smithy named Daek, do you?”
Frowning, the dwarf looked at her, “Aye. I do. Where do you know him from?”
“I was told to speak to him while in Asterfal by a good friend.”
“Who may your friend be?”
“Zej, from Killic.”
“Zej,” the dwarf now looked surprised.
“Yes, Zej.”
“Well, I be. You be that fae he wrote about. I am Daek.”
Not believing her luck, SJ had randomly been hit on by a dwarf in the Black Griffin, a distant relative of Zej.
“This is lucky, then. I was planning to come and see you in a couple of days. I am after some new claws and darts, and he said you were the best in the business.”
Daek puffed his chest out with pride. “I am, even if I say so myself.”
They talked for a while, and Daxe told SJ where she could find him at his forge. SJ had refused another refill of wine but bought Daej another ale in return. Daek’s friend looked worse for wear as he suddenly slumped forward on the table he was sitting at.
“Dwarven brandy. Wex has never been good at handling his brandy.” Daek smiled. “I better get him home, or his good lady will have my guts for a bowstring.”
“It was good to meet you. I will call in in a day or so.”
“The pleasure was mine,” Daek said as he stood, then grabbed Wex under his arm and dragged him to his feet.
As SJ watched Daek manoeuvre through the bar, a familiar voice spoke from behind.
“Do you have something for me?”
