Objective: Ensure Mila Stark survives until sunrise.

Danger Level: Mortal 9

Rewards: 100 Schema Credit, 1 Schema Token

Nil materialized in the center of a glowing magic circle. A man in regal clothing lay on the ground before him. A gold chain connected his black, fur-lined cloak across his collarbone, and an eyeball-sized red stone hung from it. He appeared pallid and shriveled. It seemed all life and vitality had left him. The man smiled at Nil and mouthed unintelligible words. Then, his eyes lost focus, and the final hints of light left them.

“Father!” A young woman—more likely a teenager—screamed as he went limp. She ripped free of the man holding her back and rushed to the fallen’s side. It was then Nil noticed the small crowd watching him. They all stood crammed into the room’s far wall. Their eyes betrayed fear, concern, and the desire to move further away from him. His Haunting Visage didn't stand among them. The now-sobbing woman looked up at Nil. She wore fineries nearly of the same quality as her father’s. “You better be worth it.”

When Nil stepped forward, a brave, matronly woman in a maid uniform broke free of the huddle and rushed to the sobbing teenager. The pair held each other. “Come now, Lady Stark. Now isn’t the time for mourning.” A bright-eyed little girl peeked at Nil from behind the maid’s wide frock. She appeared more confused than terrified. “We need to keep it together and get through the night.”

“It’s Baroness Stark now,” an older man said. Unlike the maid, he remained with the group. Several obvious servants, children, and women in elegant outfits or night clothes lingered behind him. “You. Summoned. Solve this mess, won’t you?”

“I can if someone will explain what’s going on,” Nil replied, straightening his clothes. They had changed during the summoning. Instead of a t-shirt, jeans, and a waterproof jacket, he now wore a leather vest and grey short-sleeved tunic with rough black trousers. They looked and felt alien but were still comfortable.

The magic circle ceased glowing, and Nil stepped out of its limits. He closed the baron’s eyes, removed his cape, and draped it over his head and torso. Layla had explained that summonings and contacting the Nexus had significant costs. The Schema didn’t extend to all dimensions, after all, and didn’t see all. Parties that needed help and assistance from other realms often paid using powerful arcane relics or vast quantities of life essence. Nil hoped he had sufficient ability to do the baron’s sacrifice justice.

The older man—the estate’s head butler—and the newly named Baroness Stark told Nil a disjointed tale, leaving him to piece the story together.

A handful of hours had passed since the quest started. Mila’s father, Baron Stark, consumed all of his life force and a powerful arcane artifact to issue the quest. The Schema briefed Nil during the teleportation process. The family had recently received the estate following a successful military expedition for their king. While restoring the derelict fortress, they uncovered several ancient relics and awakened something during excavations underneath the property.

The creature had successfully slaughtered a handful of servants and guards three nights ago. When it didn’t reappear the following two evenings, the fort’s residents and soldiers relaxed, but then it returned on the third day just after sunset, more powerful and faster than before. All of the baron’s defensive force had already died. As far as Baroness Stark and the head butler could tell, there were no survivors except the individuals before him.

The fort’s library had heavy doors, and they barricaded it with whatever furniture they could gather. Several holes had opened in the wood. Giant splinters stuck out of it where something enormous had tried to break through.

“So?” The baroness asked, drying her eyes. Dark makeup smeared her “What’s your plan?”

“Plan?” Nil looked around, confused. “I don’t know where we are or what I’m up against. The only plan right now is to get you out of the fort or somewhere safe until sunrise.”

“Runaway?!” The head butler demanded. “What kind of Summoned are you?”

“The best your former master had the strength and means to summon. My quest doesn’t involve finding and killing this beast. Given the meager information you’ve provided, I wouldn’t know where to begin.” Nil looked at the baroness. “My job is to ensure your survival.”

The conversation or the magic from the summoning appeared to have attracted the monster lingering in the hall outside. A deep growl sent vibrations through the floor and walls. Then something struck the door. It and the rough barricade trembled. Wood cracked, and dust rained from the ceiling.

“Is there another exit?”

“No,” the maid said. “We took cover in the library because there is only one way in and out.” She flinched when the beast rammed the door, and the hinges groaned. “The door was supposed to hold.”

“It was a stupid decision, wasn’t it?” The butler snapped.

“That’s not necessary,” Nil caught the man’s arm as he raised it to swing at the maid. “Infighting and violence won’t help now. We need to think of how to get out of here or distract the beast.”

“It’s not true,” the little girl clinging to the maid’s skirt said.

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The baroness and the remaining adults ignored her, fueling the growing argument and the fearful cries of the remaining children. However, Nil heard the little voice and kneeled next to the girl. “What's not true, little lady?”

“There’s another door.”

The baroness fell silent, looking at the girl with confusion in her eyes. Meanwhile, the rest continued their cries and heated exchange as the monster continued to bash at the door.

“Can you show me?” Nil asked.

The girl nodded. She hesitated at first but eventually released the maid’s skirt and led Nil to the bookshelves on the far wall opposite the one where the crowd huddled. Baroness Stark followed close behind him, carrying a luminous candlestick with no flame. The light appeared to come from the tip of the seemingly ordinary candle. It wasn’t an electronic light and carried the characteristic blue luminosity of modern aether-tech.

The child struggled to climb the shelves, so Nil picked her up and helped her get to the book she wanted. When the girl pulled it, something clicked in the wall, and the bookcases parted, revealing a doorway and corridor just wide enough for one person to pass through at a time.

“Excuse me!” Nil called. “We have an exit!”

His words fell on deaf ears. The crying and arguments continued. Despite the monster trying to break through the door, the latter had intensified. The butler, maids, other noblewomen, and children only fell silent when Baroness Stark whistled.

“Do you want to die quarreling and crying or fight to survive?” She shouted. “We have a way out! Come on.”

The monster outside appeared to understand her words. It roared, and the banging stopped. Everyone fell silent for a moment, looking between the giant wooden doors and the narrow exit. The head butler broke away from the group and limped toward the hidden corridor. One by one, more followed, moving faster than him. Several children broke free of their handmaids and guardians, running toward Nil and the Baroness.

Unfortunately, the first of them only made it halfway across the room before the doors burst inwards. Nil grabbed the Baroness and little girl’s hands and ran through the hidden doorway. He didn’t wait to see the monster or ensure more made it to the exit. The screams that followed left his chest tight and throat dry. However, he did not intend to die to the beast or fail his first quest. The consequences of the latter were apparently dire. Nil’s priorities involved ensuring Baroness Stark lived until sunrise, and he hoped to make that happen no matter what.

I might not have the strength to save everyone yet. But, at least I can start with two.

“What are you doing?!” Baroness Stark demanded, attempting to wrench her hand free. She lacked the strength to overpower him. “We can’t just abandon everyone.”

Nil ignored her. They slowed to a brisk walk when the monster’s sounds didn’t get any closer. He kept his ears pricked for any footsteps in the secret passage behind them. Unfortunately, he heard none.

“My father didn’t sacrifice his life so you can let everyone die!”

“I don’t have the time to argue with you right now.” They slowed on approaching a dead end.

The little girl pointed at the dull metal hinges reflecting the candle's blue glow. She stroked them, using Nil to reach the ones out of her reach, then pushed on a panel. The wall swung inwards, and a tapestry hung over the opening.

Nil peeked outside first. Scratched walls, a couple of decapitated bodies, and broken furniture lay in the corridor outside. He saw no threats and could still hear the monster accompanied by cries of pain and terror in the distance behind him.

“How did you find out about this?” The baroness asked.

Something stirred just around the corridor before Nil could shush her. Both women stiffened. He tried to usher them back into the secret passageway, but the door swung shut as soon as they were outside. The little girl’s panicked eyes suggested she didn’t know how to open the door from the outside.

A humanoid creature with leathery charcoal skin turned the corner. Its face had no eyes, but the two giant nostrils on its face twitched. Then its bat-like ears did the same. It grinned at them. Something deep within its throat glowed red, and the silhouette of several rows of jagged teeth sent shivers down Nil’s spine.

“Stay behind me,” he whispered when the creature charged.

Nil adopted a guard stance and activated the Schema’s gifts. The monster pounced and swung a giant clawed hand in a wide arc. Instead of trying to redirect the blow, he caught it on his forward arm. Nil felt no pain, and the creature’s arm stopped in its tracks as soon as they made contact. A strange presence swelled within. It felt like a balloon inflating.

Even though it had no eyes, the monster appeared as surprised as Nil felt. The feeling of invulnerability left him grinning and his heart racing. He ceased channeling the Schema given power’s first ability, and activated the second. The balloon’s contents flowed through his body, and Nil felt more powerful than ever. He drove his right fist into the creature’s upper abdomen, using his hips and shoulder to muster all the power he could afford. The monster’s torso caved as it flew several feet backward. A stomach-churning splat and several crunches followed when it struck the wall. His internal balloon deflated, losing all of its contents.

“Mr Summoned!” The little girl screamed.

When Nil turned, he found an identical creature standing behind Baroness Stark. It had shoved its giant clawed hand through her chest. He had neither heard it approach or attack her. When he charged, the beast dropped the woman and fled.

“No. No. No.” Nil fell to his knees, cradling the baroness’s body. She was already limp, and life remained in her eyes. He had failed the quest. The Schema wouldn’t take him home, and he would probably suffer a miserable fate in the distant world. His parents’ financial plight worried Nil more than whatever fate awaited him. “I’m sorry,” he whispered to the dead woman.

“Silly saved me,” the little girl whispered. “I thought she hated me, but she saved me.”

“I’m sorry, little girl,” Nil said. He had done it again. He had let someone he could’ve saved die in front of him. It took all of his willpower not to let his voice tremble. “I should’ve done better. We’ll get out of here, though. You just wait.”

“You can call me Mila.” She leaned over the dead baroness and kissed her forehead. “It’s not your fault, Mr Summoned. You’re doing your best.”

Nil’s brows furrowed as he picked up the child. “I’m Nil, Mila. What’s your full name?”

The girl studied his face, looking confused. “Mila Stark,” she answered. “I suppose it's Baroness Mila Stark, now.”

Guilt and sorrow still weighed on Nil, but the tightness in his chest somewhat faded. He hadn’t failed his quest yet. “Alright, Baroness Mila Stark. Let's get you to safety.”