We enter the tavern. It's just like last time, filled with smoke, low lights, music, and chatter.
"♪ ACHOO! ACHOO! The dragon made the ground tremble ♪."
I can barely pay attention to it, we didn't have enough time to relax and prepare our minds. Even Hana is showing some anxiety.
"♪ ACHOO! ACHOO! The hunters laughed and hightailed ♪."
A proto-waitress appears before us.
"♪ ACHOO! ACHOO! The dragon made the ground tremble♪."
"Good evening grand patrons. Would you like to go to our
exclusive
room? We can give you more
personalized
service worthy of someone of your position," she says, her smile is perfect but stiff.
The same words as last time.
"♪ Due to this crazy gam-ble, everybody left a-live! ♪"
We nod and we are taken to the same corridors and stairs. We go downstairs and reach the same familiar room.
It's empty.
"Uh..."
"Maybe the others haven't come yet due to the suddenness," Ciel says.
"Maybe," I mutter.
There are tables and chairs neatly arranged. Parts of the map of the town are strewn about. There are multiple drawings and markings on these maps, clearly part of some strategy meeting. The same golden, silver, red, and a new blue carving are all neatly organized at the side of the table.
We spend a nervous minute waiting when we hear footsteps and casual chatter. I relax until the door opens and the group of people enters.
A female silver elven archer. Her longbow is slung across her tall and muscular body which does not detract from her beauty. Her hair reaches her shoulders and curl inwards. Her sharp eyes and oval face give her a serious and sensual look.
Soul Info
Name: Ercuria Ulher | Race: Silver Elf | Level:44
A young krampus male mage. His goat hooves clack on the ground, visible above his black robe. He has a wizard hat similar to Roxanne's, his curly brown hair and ram horns can be seen below his hat. His round face makes him look like an innocent child.
Soul Info
Name: Ervin Krampus | Race: Krampus-type Demon | Level: 35
A runic dwarf. The first that I have seen that look like traditional Tolkien dwarves with a wide body, thick muscles, and a long black beard. His scarred face and arms have multiple tattoos of words and a mix of tribal and geometric patterns.
Soul Info
Name: Gilgor Momgrog | Race: Dwarf | Level: 47
And finally, a huge lion-folk, taller than Hana. His entire body seems to be furry. He walks on his digitigrade feet and he does not uses boots. He bellows a low rumbling laugh, showing an impressive set of pointy teeth and also a few molars at the back. His huge golden fur and brown mane is familiar, too familiar.
Soul Info
Name: Grosnok Sokol | Race: Lion Beastfolk | Level: 51
Darean's fellowship.
I instinctively draw my sword. The girls spend a second in surprise but recover and draw their weapons too.
Great Destiny freezes and look at us with worry. Grosnok slowly lifts his huge hands in surrender.
"Uh... Hello?" He asks, not hiding his surprise. It's hard for his low growl of a voice to not look threatening but he succeeded.
"Why are you here?" I ask.
"We..." He looks at the other members, Gilgor shrugs. "Were summoned by Dame Vanea Anara. We are supposed to meet her here."
What.
"You are Great Destiny, Darean's fellowship, correct?" I ask.
The girls twitch nervously.
"Yes, well no. We kicked Darean out of the fellowship," he answers.
What.
"Why?" Alissa asks.
"He was getting too unstable. He could barely keep focus during our fights, he was bound to die sooner or later. Then Dame Vanea came to us and told us of his...," He cringes, "other job. We decided to help her so we wouldn't be implicated in espionage against a Lord."
Gify pops into my shoulder.
"Gih, ga, gih."
Huh.
"You are either a good liar or you are telling the truth," I say.
He lifts his hands higher and smiles wryly but it only makes him look more fearsome as his white fangs become more visible.
"We ask that you remain as you are until someone comes to clear your story," Ciel says," Sorry for not believing you outright."
Gilgor sighs and lowers his head. We lower our weapons but keep them on our hands.
"You haven't told us why you are hostile to us," Ercuria says, her sharp eyes narrow as she scans us.
"We killed Darean's brother and he has targeted us in revenge," Alissa says.
"Oh shit, so you guys are the ones..." A mutter escapes Grosnok's mouth.
I simply nod. We stay like this for another minute or so when heavy and armored boots stomp their way downstairs towards us. A head full of well-groomed black hair pops out from behind Great Destiny.
"Excuse me," Haaran appears out of the door and shimmies his way towards us.
His black eyes look at our drawn swords and he raises an eyebrow. His eyes spend a moment longer on Gify.
"So. What are you doing?" He asks in a very casual manner.
"This is Great Destiny, Darean's fellowship. Why are they here?" I ask.
"Vanea didn't tell you?"
"No."
Haaran sighs and massages his forehead.
"Did you make her mad somehow? I mean, did you annoy her in some way or another?" He asks.
Uh... There is one thing.
"I think so. We hid something from her and she got kind of mad..." I say.
There's the time we hid the Gate Scrubber from her.
Haaran rolls his eyes and moves towards the table. More knights appear behind him.
"Sheathe your swords. They are with us, they changed sides. Vanea can be petty sometimes so consider this payback for whatever you did to her."
I groan and sheathe my sword. Really now?
Haaran cringes and sits on a chair.
"Now, everyone, please come and sit. We don't have much time, I have to tell you of the plan."
We sit at one side of the long table and Great Destiny sits at the other. They also don't seem too happy to be part of Vanea's petty revenge.
One of the last to enter the room is Silvane, she sits near the end of the table and waves to us. She's wearing a mage's silver robe, she also has a metal staff with a free spinning hourglass on top, there's multi-colored sand inside.
The last one to enter is Smegma. What the fuck. She's wearing a simple linen white shirt and brown pants, she looks just like any other commoner. Her brown side braids are well made, her freckled face is full of color and with hints of makeup and eye liner. Her eyes glaze over every face with no emotion. Her gaze stops at us for a few seconds and then moves, no reaction visible on her face.
Haaran cleans his throat, his piercing gaze kills any murmuring.
"For some time we have known about a warehouse that Darean, the spy, has been using to store smuggled goods. We infiltrated a spy and acquired the information that the goods will be moved tonight to a safer location so they will be ready for dispatch. The way that the goods are moved is by using [
Invisibility
] on them and simply passing through the front gates, which means that a powerful illusion mage will be present there."
Oh, I see. With [
Invisibility
] they can smuggle anything they want right under the noses of the guards.
The dwarf is sneaking glances at Lina. Uuuugh, focus.
"Unfortunately we have caught a whiff of necromancy, a husk master," Great Destiny and a few knights look around nervously, "Our trackers can't discern the number of husks present so the true number of enemies is unknown. This is why a massive assault will be mounted as soon as we can confirm the presence of the illusion mage. My sister is coordinating the guards while keeping the information minimal so no early warning is sent to Darean."
"We haven't confirmed Darean's backer so we do not know the extent of his power. What we know is that he has deep coffers. Expect well-trained and well-equipped enemy soldiers. We have been backing Darean in a corner so necromancy might be his trump card, which means he will throw everything at us."
He flips through the maps on the table and picks one in specific. There's a large rectangular building at the center and many sewer tunnels passing around it.
"It seems Darean is smarter than he shows. The warehouse is located on a spot where no sewer line runs through. Thus our tracking squad was limited to the rooftops of the nearby buildings," he puts a soldier carving with a silver dot on the head on a building a few blocks from the warehouse, "Wolf Ryder will be sent to rendezvous with silver squad, they have already infiltrated halfway towards the target. He will summon a Dream Eater to spread sleeping poison on the air to reduce the alertness and combat effectiveness of the enemy."
The amount of rugged faces staring at me and measuring my worth makes me feel very meek. Great Destiny turns to look at me with surprise, the elven woman is particularly expressive. Silvane pouts with a hint of annoyance on her eyes. Perhaps it's because I didn't tell anything to Nononya about my true skills.
"Reminder that his monster summoning is to be kept a secret. Disclosure of this secret will result in death," he adds, his sharp eyes scan the knights and spends a moment longer on Great Destiny. The knights are unfazed but Great Destiny tenses up.
"I will follow Wolf with silver squad," Alissa says.
A small albino incubus man cleans his throat. It's silver squad second-in-command, Sir Tarano.
"Why do you wish to come?" He asks.
"To keep him safe," she answers immediately.
They stare at each other for a few seconds.
"I use a bow and I'm more silent than he is," she adds.
Tarano sighs.
"Fine by me," he says.
"Continuing," Haaran says, bringing the focus back to him. He positions multiple soldier carvings around the warehouse, "The rest will simply wait for the signal of silver squad. My squad, Great Destiny and the remainders of Helios will assault the warehouse and kill anyone in sight. We are fighting against an illusion mage, any enemy who casts a spell either loses both hands or gets immediately killed. No exceptions, no mercy, no hesitation."
The knights salute.
"Yes sir!" They exclaim in unison.
"Great Destiny has an artifact, it is called Reaping Wind. It's a scythe that throws large [
Wind Blades
], be careful not to stand in front of them.
The lion Grosnok gives a toothy smile and waves his paw/hand.
"Once the illusion mage is confirmed to be present we will send, uh, Farana as a bait," he smirks and I see Farana cower slightly, "She has a special magic tool that will further
disable
anyone inside the warehouse. We will be tracking her so any hint of betrayal and her life is
forfeit
."
When everyone turns to look at her she straightens her posture and smiles. Her smile is strained and ruining her pretty face. Great Destiny frowns at this display and Grosnok even turns his head away, his previous smile turned sour.
"Everyone should have a necklace blessed by the Goddess of the Will. This is our main defense against offensive [Illusion Magic]. For the defense against [
Invisibility
] we will be using Dust of Appearance."
Lina's Trivia
: Dust of Appearance is a white powder that sticks to mana and transforms it into light. It was made specifically to counter [
Invisibility
] and it's rather expensive. It's much more efficient than the Manaflies they used last time.
"Any questions," he scans our faces one last time.
"No sir!" The knights answer.
"Good. Now move!"
Orderly the knights start to leave.
"Ryder, you are with me," Sir Tarano says.
I nod and turn to give the armor on my "Items" to the girls.
"Be careful," Ciel says, anxiety painted on her face.
Lina nods in agreement, also copying her expression.
"Don't blow up the whole place without us," Hana says with a grin.
"Hey, that's my job," Roxanne says.
"Well..." Hana chuckles, "You get the idea."
"Now, we, fight!" Aoi says.
I smile and pat her head. She closes her eyes in happiness. Aoi grew so much she is more agile than Roxanne, she will be a proper fighting force this time.
Ciel steps forward and grabs the hem of my leather jacket.
"I love you..." Ciel mutters shyly.
"I love you too. It's just a small departure," I smile at her and grab her hand, "Ciel, you are in charge."
"Y-yes!" She straightens up and hardens her expression.
I release her hand and move on.
Tarano was staring at us with mocking grin. Farana is standing still with her eyes lowered.
So we follow him.
This is the results of the training of the girls.
Alissa increased her "Mana Points" by 110 (now 345) and her "Magic Power" by 50 (now 115).
Roxanne increased her "Strength" by 1 (now 9), her "Mana Points" by 65 (now 1270) and her "Magic Power" by 10 (now 390). Roxanne is slacking on her mana training so she had smaller growth than before.
Hana increased her "Intelligence" by 1 (now 10), her "Mana Points" by 105 (now 325) and her "Magic Power" by 45 (now 105). She and Alissa kept improving their mana with spell training while I was away with Kyros.
Ciel increased her "Mana Points" by 130 (now 1115) and her "Magic Power" by 20 (now 300). A byproduct of her training with [
Judgment
] was her increase in mana, her power didn't increase much since she was focusing on casting more spells instead of focusing on increasing the power of a single spell.
Lina learned [Axe Use] with 1 point, increased her [Earth Magic] by 1 (now 2+3), her "Mana Points" by 180 (now 440) and her "Magic Power" by 25 (now 175). Her enchanting training is helping her increase her "Mana Points".
The tables for the girls:
Info
Name: Alissa | Age: 16 | Race: Fox-Type Wereanimal
HP: 100 | MP: 345 | Magic Power: 115
Level: 29 | Experience: 7597/8000
Stats
Strength: 12 | Endurance: 18 | Dexterity: 22
Speed: 20 | Intelligence: 11 | Wisdom: 12
Willpower: 16 | Charisma: 10 | Piety: 15
Perception: 17 | Sanity: 15
Other
Status Effects: NONE | Titles: Blessing from the Goddess of Love, Blinding Arrows
Affiliations: Wolf Ryder (fiance), Blood Slave (Owner: Wolf Ryder), Helios (Fellowship)
Companions: Wolf Ryder, Roxanne Succubus, Hanafuria, Ciel, Lina
Crimes: NONE
-
Alissa Skill Report
Physical
Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level
Sword Use: 9 | Bow Use: 26 | Parry: 4
Dodge: 2 | Sense Presence: 6 | Hide Presence: 4
Enhanced Olfact: 5 | Enhanced Hearing: 3 | Hawk Eyes: 3
Muscle Explosion: 2 | Quiet Steps: 4 | Quiet Action: 2
Enhanced Stamina: 1 | Tracking: 2
Magical
Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level
Sense Mana: 1 | Mana Control: 3 | Fire magic: 1
Light Magic: 1 | Space Magic: 1 | Conjuring Magic: 1
Illusion Magic: 2 | Fox Transformation (innate): 5
Miscellaneous
Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level
Housework: 3 | Cooking: 4 | Cleaning: 2
Washing: 5 | Riding: 2 | Oral Technique: 4
Pain Resistance: 2 | Hand Technique: 2
Name: Roxanne Succubs | Age: 21 | Race: Succubus-Type Demon
HP: 100 | MP: 1270 | Magic Power: 390
Level: 33 | Experience: 4659/10000
Stats
Strength: 9 | Endurance: 9 | Dexterity: 11
Speed: 8 | Intelligence: 18 | Wisdom: 17
Willpower: 14 | Charisma: 15 | Piety: 10
Perception: 10 | Sanity: 12
Other
Status Effects: NONE | Titles: NONE
Affiliations: Helios (Fellowship), Wolf Ryder (Fiance)
Companions: Wolf Ryder, Alissa, Hanafuria, Ciel, Lina
Crimes: NONE
-
Roxanne Succubus Skill Report
Physical
Skill Name: Level
Dagger Use: 2
Magical
Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level
Sense Mana: 3 | Mana Control: 25 | Reduced Mana Cost: 3
Mana Efficiency: 9 | Fire magic: 22 | Water Magic: 23
Light Magic: 1 | Space Magic: 8 | Conjuring Magic: 5
Alchemy: 3 | Potion Brewing: 11 | Poison Brewing: 2
Redirect Mana: 1
Miscellaneous
Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level
Housework: 1 | Cooking: 1 | Cleaning: 1
Washing: 1 | Riding: 1
Info
Name: Hanafuria | Age: 23 | Race: Fire-Type Dragonkin
HP: 150 | MP: 325 | Magic Power: 105
Level: 37 | Experience: 1100/14000
Stats
Strength: 19 | Endurance: 24 | Dexterity: 10
Speed: 13 | Intelligence: 10 | Wisdom: 10
Willpower: 19 | Charisma: 16 | Piety: 11
Perception: 9 | Sanity: 17
Other
Status Effects: NONE | Titles: NONE
Affiliations: Wolf Ryder (fiance), Blood Slave (Owner: Wolf Ryder), Helios (Fellowship)
Companions: Wolf Ryder, Alissa, Roxanne Succubus, Ciel, Lina
Crimes: NONE
-
Hanafuria Skill Report
Physical
Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level
Sword Use: 20 | Spear Use: 14 | Bow Use: 9
Two-Handed Sword Use: 9 | Pole Arm Use: 6 | Dagger Use: 4
Shield Bash: 6 | Block: 8 | Parry: 6
Dodge: 4 | Tatesomu Style: 4 | Muscle Explosion: 4
Battlefield Perception: 2 | Taunt: 3 | Intimidate: 2
Enhanced Reflexes: 2 | Enhanced Stamina: 4 | Enhanced Strength: 2
Enhanced Endurance: 4
Magical
Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level
Sense Mana: 1 | Mana Control: 1 | Fire magic: 1
Earth Magic: 1 | Light Magic: 1 | Space Magic: 1
Conjuring Magic: 1
Miscellaneous
Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level
Housework: 2 | Cooking: 1 | Cleaning: 1
Washing: 1 | Riding: 3 | Massage: 1
Dismantling: 4 | Oral Technique: 1 | Pain Conversion: 1
Fire Breath (innate): 5 | Summon Wings (innate): 2
Info
Name: Ciel | Age: 21 | Race: Human
HP: 100 | MP: 1115 | Magic Power: 290
Level: 31 | Experience: 7672/9000
Stats
Strength: 14 | Endurance: 13 | Dexterity: 17
Speed: 18 | Intelligence: 15 | Wisdom: 18
Willpower: 13 | Charisma: 17 | Piety: 21
Perception: 12 | Sanity: 19
Other
Status Effects: NONE | Titles: NONE
Affiliations: Wolf Ryder (fiance), Helios (Fellowship), Templar Knights (Honorary Member), Temple Priestess (Former Member)
Companions: Wolf Ryder, Alissa, Hanafuria, Roxanne Succubus, Lina
Crimes: NONE
-
Ciel Skill Report
Physical
Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level
Glaive Use: 15 | Sword Use: 5 | Parry: 8
Dodge: 6 | Block: 4 | Imperial Hasterrum Style: 2
Muscle Explosion: 2 | Battlefield Perception: 1
Magical
Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level
Sense Mana: 2 | Mana Control: 6 | Reduced Mana Cost: 1
Mana Efficiency: 4 | Wind Magic: 15 | Fire magic: 1
Light Magic: 24 | Space Magic: 3 | Conjuring Magic: 1
Diagnosis: 7 | Redirect Mana: 1
Miscellaneous
Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level
First-Aid: 3 | Housework: 3 | Cooking: 2
Cleaning: 1 | Washing: 1 | Riding: 1
Info
Name: Lina | Age: 15 | Race: Dwarf
HP: 100 | MP: 440 | Magic Power: 165
Level: 22 | Experience: 4501/7000
Stats
Strength: 8 | Endurance: 8 | Dexterity: 12
Speed: 11 | Intelligence: 16 | Wisdom: 11
Willpower: 17 | Charisma: 10 | Piety: 10
Perception: 14 | Sanity: 11
Other
Status Effects: NONE | Titles: NONE
Affiliations: Wolf Ryder (master), Helios (Fellowship)
Companions: Wolf Ryder, Alissa, Hanafuria, Roxanne Succubus, Ciel
Crimes: NONE
-
Lina Skill Report
Physical
Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level
Hammer Use: 4+10 | Axe Use: 3+1 | Parry: 0+5
Dodge: 0+4 | Block: 0+6 | Muscle Explosion: 1+1
Shield Bash: 0:1 | Battlefield Perception: 1+1 | Dwarven Pride Style: 1+1
Enhanced Speed: 2+0
Magical
Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level
Sense Mana: 1 | Mana Control: 4 | Mana Efficiency: 1
Fire magic: 1 | Earth Magic: 2+3 | Light Magic: 1
Space Magic: 1 | Conjuring Magic: 1 | General Enchanting: 8
Magic Tool Carving: 1
Miscellaneous
Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level
General Blacksmith: 4 | Sewing: 4 | Housework: 1
Cleaning: 2 | Washing: 1 | Math: 4
Riding: 1 | Stonebody (innate): 3
We are brought to the same room as last time. Lines of space mages are ready for us. One of them opens a [
Gate
] and we follow after Tarano.
We appear on a lowly lit room. I can see shadowy figures slowly stir. One casts a very faint [
Spirit Light
]. Multiple small men and women in black clothes and masks surround us.
A woman with an undulating cat tail removes her mask and comes towards us.
"Greetings, Mr. Ryder," Dame Larana speaks, her whiskers flicker as she smells the air.
Her grey skin and sharp eyes makes her look quite ghastly in the low light. She turns to Tarano and continues.
"You brought an extra," her tone turns cold.
"Talk to Ryder, she volunteered," Tarano says with a shrug.
Larana's eyes narrow in annoyance and her whiskers flicker again.
"I am sorry for deviating from the plan but I am a capable archer and I can sneak better than Wolf. I would be much more comfortable accompanying him," Alissa says and bows lightly.
"It's not all about your skills, the number of people is also a concern," Larana answers immediately.
Alissa cringes but does not talk back. I grab her shoulder and she returns to normal. In truth I prefer her by my side too.
Larana shakes her head.
"No matter," she says, "We have to move forward, show us the Dream Eater."
I immediately summon one and everyone jumps in surprise. After recollecting herself Larana smiles and her stiff tail starts undulating again, she seems to have relaxed.
"How many can you summon?" She asks.
"Five, but it leaves me without mana and reduces too much my maximum MP. I need MP to survive or to fight, I'm a magic swordsman."
"Monster summoner
and
magic swordsman, actually. Quite envious," Tarano says with a crooked smile.
"We only need two," Larana says, ignoring Tarano.
I summon another. I will call them Dimy 1 and Dimy 2.
"Good," she says and shows her white fangs with a smile, "Now put this cloak over your clothes, I assume you still use scale armor?"
She hands me and Alissa a black cloak.
"Yes."
"You will not use armor until the attack begins, it's too noisy. Also remove your [
Wind Armor
] and [
Rainbow Shield
], it can attract attention. Your [
Rainbow Crystal
] can stay as long as you keep your hand gloved."
I dismiss the spells with pain in my heart. I won't be able to recast them during battle, they cost too much mana.
Alissa pulls out her smaller composite bow and ties her quiver to her waist.
"This spirit, do you control it?" Larana points to Gify.
"Gih!"
"I see. You are not useful, leave."
Gify glares at her and I feel a nearly scalding torrent of water passing through my shoulder. Larana's tail stops undulating and her vertical cat pupils narrow.
"Giih."
And he pops out of existence. He's not mad he's not useful, he's mad about her bluntness. Gify is quite prideful.
Larana gives a black cloak to Farana too.
"Now, let's move," Larana orders.
Besides Tarano, Larana commands 7 other lithe men and women.
I sneakily removed a point from [Mana Recovery] and added it to [Silent Steps]. I also removed 2 points from [Mana Efficiency] and added it to [Hide Presence].
Larana, Tarano, and another man suddenly stop and turn their heads towards me.
"You know [Hide Presence]?" She asks.
That was quick.
"Uh, yes."
"That makes things easier. We should be able to hide from any patrol now."
We quietly move upstairs and leave this empty and dreary basement. Upstairs is a carpentry. Multiple logs and planks are strewn about. Small boxes hold half-built furniture waiting for their craftsmen to come back. The smell of sawdust fills the air.
Suddenly I'm attacked by the uncomfortable feeling of having my [
Gate
] blocked. Quite the defense perimeter Darean has, but how did he get another Scrubber?
"Ryder," Larana stops and looks at me, "Get your summons to scan the next building and put anyone to sleep. We will make a path towards the building closest to the target."
I nod and obey. I tell the Dimy brothers to take a look outside and clear the target building. If someone is about to spot them they will hide and return.
The shrieking woman tries to make an appearance but I force myself to focus on the now.
I watch their vision as we wait close to the wall. Dimy 1 releases a faint mist towards a suspicious man standing near an alley.
After a minute the man yawns and sits down. Another minute he's sleeping.
Dimi 2 sneaks while moving along the wall. Once below a specific window he simply releases his mist, slowly putting his target to sleep. The suspicious man that was looking out of the window props his head on the window frame and goes to sleep.
"Building is clear. One man on the window is sleeping," I say.
"Have the monster eat him. Innocent workers won't be standing guard," Larana says, no emotion on her voice.
We move outside. One of Larana's men quickly sneaks towards the man on the alley and slits his throat. The creepy mask of a sleeping face comes back to me for more orders.
"Eat that man you put to sleep," I whisper to it.
Without a sound it moves back whence it came and I see it cover the sleeping man in smoke.
We scurry to the wall of the next building. Tarano looks inside and signals to Larana.
"Ryder, get the monster to put the two workers to sleep. Tarano, take the guard out," Larana orders.
Tarano draws a dagger and moves inside. Dimy 1 moves behind him.
It's a soap workshop. Two men are mixing a barrel of hot soap while a bored-looking armed man sitting on a chair sips something from a bottle.
Dimy 1 releases a more intense mist. It mixes with the smoke of the fire and no one notices anything different. When both the workers start to stumble the guard starts to get agitated.
Tarano jumps out of the shadows. He silently pounces on the guard and slits his throat with ease. The workers finally fall down on the ground, sleeping, though they could have been knocked out due to hitting their heads on the ground too hard.
Larana's men enter the building and explore upstairs. A few seconds later I hear something heavy fall down on the ground.
Dimy 2 finishes his meal. The man it "ate" now looks like he is brain dead, he drools and doesn't even breathe.
"Same thing," Larana says to me.
Dimy 2 puts another window sentry to sleep while Dimy 1 returns after meeting a wandering patrol of 3 men.
"Security is tight, they are certainly waiting for movement tonight," Larana says, "Have your monster release mist on them from above."
She picks 2 soldiers and the 3 of them go outside.
The enemy patrol suddenly stops moving. They slap their faces to wake up and joke to each other. One of them stretches and yawns, only to receive an arrow that enters the roof of his mouth and exits through the back of his head. One receives an arrow to the throat and the last receives an arrow through the eye.
The surviving man coughs blood and receives 3 arrows on his face, finally dying. Their bodies are quickly pulled over to the building we are on.
The next building has 1 guard and 3 workers mixing another large barrel of soon-to-be soap. I use both Dimy's to fill the first floor with sleeping mist.
The bumbling guard is peppered with arrows when he notices something is wrong. I smile with pride when Alissa's arrow hits him in the eye. I quickly stop my smile and mutter my prayer.
Another guard comes down to investigate the noise and gets filled with arrows just like his companion.
The next building is empty so we avoid it. After that there's 4 sentries standing on a very wide crossroads.
"I will climb the building and order the monster to release the mist when the area is clear," Larana says while looking at her pocket watch, "When I give the signal kill them and recover the bodies."
Those words are spoken with such a lack of emotion it's obvious she has said them many times before.
Tarano nods and Larana jumps towards the wall. I feel a hint of mana coming from her. Her gloves fuse with the wood and she climbs the building like a gecko.
With grace she vaults over the roof and turns into a Maine Coon, disappearing into the shingled roof.
Through five minutes the area in front of us slowly gets fuzzier as more mist pours in. When one of the sentries tumbles I see Tarano's ring glow green. He and 3 other soldiers jump into the open and charge the sentries.
The only sound the sentries make is a gurgle as their throats are slashed. Their bodies are dragged into our building and another soldier casts [
Clean
] on the ground, removing all the blood.
We quickly cross the wide road and enter the next building. Larana picked the lock for us. We stop for a few long minutes as a casual patrol of 3 men slowly strolls towards us.
"On my signal, pepper them," Larana orders.
The patrol enters our sight as they cross the windows in front of our building. Silently Larana's hand chops the air and multiple arrows find their marks. The men fall on the ground and 3 soldiers drag their bodies inside.
"You, stay here and report if any other patrol notices something suspicious," Larana says to one of her men.
On the next building both Dimy's sneak behind the inattentive sentries who discuss the taste of elven prostitutes. Their smoke materializes into a Shadow Satyr and their swords separate the heads of the guards before they could say "there's a fucking creepy mask behind you, mate".
Larana frowns at the sight when we enter the building.
"We are spilling too much blood. I don't want to alert a sniffer. Let's avoid the patrols," she says.
The next building has 7 guards inside. They aren't drinking but they are smoking something and playing cards. They are loud.
"If we silence them it will be a problem," Larana says.
"Leave a gift and move on. We have to sneak past them," Tarano says.
"You stay behind," Larana points to one of her soldiers, "Fill that room with paralysis bombs when the signal comes and slaughter them all. Drink an antidote beforehand."
The soldier nods.
"Ryder, follow me closely," Tarano says.
Larana turns into a cat and another woman turns into grey owl. They fly in front.
We wait for a minute, then Tarano lift his hand to catch my attention.
"Go," he whispers and silently rushes forward.
I follow closely behind him. My steps sound like stomps in comparison to his delicate tip taps.
We hide on a dark alley a few buildings over. A patrol passes less than a minute later.
More men enter the same alley as us after they pass.
I see the wereowl woman perched on top of the building in the corner of the alley.
Alissa comes with the last batch of soldiers.
We wait another patrol to pass and leave the alley. We cross a wide street and enter another alley. After everyone is together again Larana and the wereowl join us, returning to their normal forms.
The wereowl woman makes a sign. She shows 3 fingers and points towards the second floor of the next building. Larana points to me and then points to the building. I whisper to the 2 creepy masks floating besides me and they fill the upper floor with mist.
A few minutes after we see the white mist overflow from the windows. It's followed by 3 thumps as bodies fall on the ground. The mist disappears and 3 men go inside the building to finish the job.
The next building is closed so Tarano has to pick the lock. There's multiple patrols passing near us. Across the road is our target.
The soldiers take positions besides the windows. This is a simple tea shop, multiple chairs and tables are neatly organized on both floors.
"Your [Hide Presence] isn't that good. Focus on remaining still and calming your heart," Tarano whispers and smiles. His thin chin makes his smile look slightly creepy.
I sit down near a wall and Alissa sits besides me. Once I feel the warmth of her hand I notice the pain on my shoulders, I was incredibly tense. No wonder, we didn't have that much time to prepare mentally for this operation.
Gify syncs my feelings with Alissa's and slowly my fear subsides. I focus on the warmth of Alissa's hand and slowly my anxious heart calms down. In the middle of the wolf's den I find happiness as I use my memories with Alissa to keep my emotions in check. The shrieking woman is completely silenced for a while.