Chapter Eleven: You try keeping twenty women happy for three months.

SHORT BOW SKILL INCREASED

Short Bow: Level 2

+1 DEXTERITY

You have used this weapon enough to increase your proficiency. All short bow attacks now increase the chance of connecting and causing damage. All arrows shot by a short bow now inflict 1.5x damage to critical areas on successful attacks.

By the time the level-up came, I had almost exhausted my iron arrow supply as we passed through the fields. I had probably killed thirty or so bog rats. I put the bow away and slipped back into the seat next to Kev, my fingers and hands burning with fatigue. We were now passing out of the low-lying fields and entering the highlands at the foot of the mountains.

“You level up?” Kev asked with a chuckle. “Or just run out of arrows.”

“I’m not completely out.”

“A ranged attack will be good.” He added the next part a bit hesitantly. “Especially as an assassin.”

“I’m not an assassin,” I said quickly, glaring at him.

“You’re not going to train any other Rogue jobs out here. So, you might as well focus on getting it up as high as possible until we get to the city.”

“The assassin skill only rises when I kill people.”

“Yeah,” Kev pulled back on the reins and brought us to a stop. “Not a lot of fun.”

He hopped down and gestured for me to follow. “We’re getting close to the keep. We need the frost elf up here so they don’t attack us.” I joined him on the ground, and he slid open the door.

“Switch, " he said into the compartment. Jinx emerged with Leoleth after a second. She was laughing, trying to catch her breath.

“Your priestess is hilarious,” she managed between gasps, still struggling to get the words out. “And here I thought all the Amania types were dull.”

“You should see her drunk,” I replied. “She’s like Girls Gone Wild.”

Jinx gave me the same look our old babysitter used to give my parents when Megan and I were six—right before she pocketed an extra five bucks for the trouble.

He led the giggling frost elf up to the carriage box. Kev and I entered the compartment to a snickering Gem and an annoyed-looking Heather.

“No,” Heather said before I could even open my mouth. She waved her finger, turned away from us, and faced the corner.

Gem snorted. “I like her.”

We sat silently as the carriage rumbled along the highway, the crunch of gravel beneath the wheels filling the air. Eventually, the sound shifted to the hollow clatter of wood as we crossed a bridge spanning the very dwarvenly named Narrow River. That was the end of Longhorn’s territory.

I took a breath, bracing myself for the ugly business ahead. My stomach twisted at the thought of what I would be doing. It was still a broad-stroke plan, but I’m sure the party needed more from me than a plucky personality. I didn’t think this would be any better than the camp. It was more like a different shade of terrible. At least, thank the Gods, we’d be spreading the burden a little more evenly.

I blinked at the phrase, a flicker of surprise breaking through my grim mood. Thank the Gods? That was new. Come to think of it, I’d been saying Hells, too. Going native, I guess.

“They’re worse than slavers,” Heather said. My face might as well have been a billboard on I25. There was no question about what I was thinking. “Do you know how a summoning works?”

“You know I don’t know anything.”

“You need a living vessel to summon a creature from another realm.”

“Like some dude, you pick up at an inn?”

“Yeah,” Gem said. “It yanks their soul out of their body. Then the body is infused with magic while shoving someone else’s soul in.”

“The magic infusion then molds the body to fit the new soul.” Heather finished.

“What happens to the old soul?”

“Nothing good.” Heather looked ill. “It’s consumed by the entity that takes over the empty vessel, giving it the boost it needs to come to life in this world.”

“That’s some sinister shit right there.” I wanted to thank the world of magic for bringing me to Murder World and all this fun, happy stuff.

“They are sacrificed to be used in a summoning,” Gem said. “Or they are used as a spiritual power source.”

“Power source?”

“First, they are killed, and then life energy is siphoned into a crystal that can be used to power rituals.”

“Do they lose their souls that way?”

“No,” Heather said. “It filters the soul energy out and retains the life energy. Souls aren’t good to anybody in this world, so no one has a good reason to capture one.”

“What if they’re just assholes?”

“They haven’t invented anything that can hold a soul, other than a body, of course.”

“Yay, us,” I said, my hands up. “Haven’t started harvesting souls yet.” Then the weird girl gears started turning. “Is there a way to transfer a soul from one body to another?”

Gem looked at me like I was crazy. “You would need a living body without a soul. They’re a bit hard to come by.”

“Off-topic by about a thousand miles,” Kev grumbled as he shuffled around. “We haven’t talked tactics beyond the basics.”

“Okay,” I said coldly. “What do you have in mind.”

We went over options, keeping up with Jinx on chat while we planned an approach to the problem. Most of them would involve me raising my Assassin job by about a thousand levels.

“You don’t want me in there,” Heather said. “They won’t let me anyway, so I might as well sit it out.”

“We made need you,” I said, giving her a pouty look.

“Yeah,” Kev said. “But she’ll put the cultists on edge the second she crosses their threshold. We need them to feel like they are in control.”

“I’m sure they are anticipating an ambush.”

“Not with only three of us.”

“Four,” I corrected.

“No,” Kev said. “You sneak in after. You’re going to make sure our flank is clear.”

“Stabby Stabby, Joy Joy.” I sang sarcastically.

“I told you,” Kev said. “You’ll be training up that assassin job while you’re out here.”

Group Chat:

Jinx: Arrived.

It had been about two more hours of planning and plotting, and I couldn’t figure out a strategy that seemed to work that involved everyone walking into a den of homicidal cultists hell-bent on delivering frozen death across the countryside. I arranged my inventory in my head accordingly and climbed out onto the carriage's roof. It’s time to get into character.

“There it is, Pridehelm Keep,” Jinx said.

The word pride didn’t exactly resonate with the place. What once was a castle, a proper castle, was a ruin now. There used to be an outer wall, but it was almost completely gone except for one side on the east.

The keep itself was a single round tower that seemed reasonably intact. For some reason, a makeshift rope bridge was strung behind the east wall and the tower’s roof. As the sun set, I could see a single figure standing on top, watching us approach. Three more came out of the keep, hands raised, with crackles of magic visible between their stretched-out fingers. They were all clad in the same robes as Leoleth.

“I can see why you were anxious to get back here,” I said up to Leoleth. “The place smells like body odor and Hot Pockets.”

“Being as short as you are.” Leoleth snarled. “I’m surprised you can smell anything other than your own asshole.”

“I thought we were friends now.” I pouted at her. “And then you come at me with the short jokes.”

I waved to the trio on the ground with a toothy grin. “Why aren’t there any dudes in your cult anyway?”

“There are.” Leoleth snorted. “But we are an all-female order; we don’t want the distraction of men in our midst.”

“All female order?” I mused out loud. “Must be catty as fuck.”

“Is she coming in with us?” Leoleth asked Jinx with a pleading look.

“No,” Jinx said, throwing a nasty look back at me. “She ain't gonna get off the fuckin' coach.”

“Come on!” I barked back a Jinx. “You’re not serious, are you?”

“I ain't gonna let you go down there with us and muck up everythin' with your bleedin' mouth. Stay with the coach and the priestess.”

I plopped down on the top of the carriage and sat cross-legged, pouting at Jinx. “Criss Crisscross applesauce,” I muttered bitterly, loud enough for everyone to hear. “I wanted to see the sacrificial altar.”

“Why do you keep her?” Leoleth asked Jinx.

The carriage pulled in beyond the broken wall. The three cultist women still held defensive positions by the door. There was a small lean-to built against the east wall. I could see a bed roll and a small chest inside it. I doubted these elves had much in the way of wealth, but I marked it in my mind to check later.

The frost elves standing guard looked so much like Leoleth that I thought they could be related. Either that or, in the waning light of day, I couldn’t catch the subtle differences in appearance.

“Welcome back, sister.” The middle one said.

“Thank you, sisters.” Leoleth sat up in her seat, beaming with pride.

“Mother was getting worried,” the one on the left chimed in. “She thought there would be no bargain with the duke.”

“Are you, like, all really sisters and stuff?” I called out to them. “I have a twin sister, but she really doesn’t look like me.”

Leoleth turned and glared at me. “Lucky her.” she hissed.

She turned back to her fellow cultists. “We have our bargain. These mercenaries were hired to deliver the ransom and retrieve the duke’s cousin.”

“The duke’s wife’s cousin.” I corrected.

Jinx snarled back at me. “Shut it.”

“I just wanna make sure we get the right guy.”

“Regan!”

“Sorry.”

Leoleth cleared her throat.

“Why didn’t the duke send his own men?” The middle cultist asked.

“'Cause, sweet'eart, this land belongs to Sardrod Hillrock, and he won't take kindly to Duke Longhorn marchin' his men over that back there.” Jinx pointed over his shoulder at the Narrow River.

“So, bring him on out!” I bellowed. “We need to get this done; I got a date back at Longhorn!”

“You'll 'ave a date with my boot up your arse if you don't shut up!” Jinx was standing in the box, glaring down at me. I looked up at him sheepishly.

“Seriously though, ladies,” he said, turning back. “Bring ‘em out so we can get on our way.”

“We won’t bring anyone out until we have verified funds.”

“And we don’t show you funds until we have the duke’s cousin,” Jinx said.

“Wife’s cousin.” I corrected.

“Wife’s cousin,” Jinx said, flipping his riding whip back over his head with a little snap. I easily dodged it but made a play of rolling onto my side.

“If we deliver him to you, what stops you from leaving.” The middle one said.

“Integrity, Love.”

“From a band of mercenaries.” The one on the right snorted.

“I guess we ain’t the trusting types then, are we?” I barked, puffing up my chest.

“No.” the middle one replied, throwing a nasty look at me.

“You knew we was coming,” Jinx said. “What was the plan?”

“We were going to bring you down to the jail and let you collect him there.”

“Inside your dungeon? You ain’t serious?”

“We weren’t sure you would be coming in the first place.”

“Here’s the thing, love,” Jinx said. “Longhorn got his pride hurt by you lot.” He gestured to the keep. “You may be dug in pretty good, but if this goes south in any way, he will come across that river, consequences be damned.”

The three looked into space for a moment, and a party chat ensued.

“Do I look like that when I chat?” I asked.

“Shh!” Jinx said.

“Mother will meet you inside. Bring the payment.”

“Payment will be held in inventory between me and my people,” Jinx said. He pointed his thumb over his shoulder at me as I shot up excitedly.

“Not you.” I sat back down and pouted again.

“The priestess will not be coming,” Leoleth said to him. “Or little jester girl.”

“Hey!” I yelled.

“Never entered my mind,” Jinx said.

And on cue, Gem and Kev emerged from the sliding door and stood by the carriage. Jinx climbed down, followed by Leoleth. He crossed over to the side of the carriage and joined a loose three-way circle with Kev and Gem, where they supposedly exchanged inventory items. Jinx passed them each a sack of gold that they stored away.

I slipped down the carriage and landed next to the group. Jinx pointed at the running board, and I sat on it, looking as sad as possible.

The group cautiously entered the door to the keep dungeon. Leoleth was with the middle cultist in the lead, with Jinx, Gem, and Kev in the middle, and the other two cultists. All passed single file through the doorway. The door swung wide and ground noisily to a close. I checked the roof first to see if the sentry was looking down and dashed for the door before it closed, activating Stealth as soon as I passed the threshold.

The stairs leading down were wet and slippery, and it was no small effort to keep from sliding down the steps as soon as I hopped past the closing door. The others were ahead, Jinx and Gem loudly talking and making a racket. I equipped my black armor, cloak, Sick Stick, and a second dagger in my belt just in case. I sighed and started following the line.

I wasn’t sure if these cultists were necessarily combat-trained or not. Jinx thought most of them were ritual magic specialists since they were busy trying to summon the impossible into this world. I’d have less of a problem gutting them if that were the case.

The passage leading down was narrow, forcing the group to go single-file. I could see them clearly enough a few yards away and crept up quickly to the last one. I counted down from ten as I did; it steadied my hand and nerves. On one, I messaged Jinx.

Regan: NOW!

Jinx erupted in violent, hacking coughs and staggered forward in the narrow downward passage.

“Hey!” Gem yelped. “You okay?” She could hear her slapping Jinx hard on the back as he coughed and wretched.

From behind, I slammed Sick Stick into the temple of the last cultist in line.

SNEAK ATTACK ON GELRUTH CULTIST.

16 POINTS DAMAGE WITH SICK STICK DAGGER

X3 SNEAK ATTACK DAMAGE

X4.5 CRITICAL WEAKNESS DAMAGE

216VP DAMAGE

TARGET SUFFERS STUN

TIME REMAINING: 3 SECONDS

TARGET SUFFERS FROM TILT-A-HURL DEBUFF

TIME REMAINING: 5 SECONDS

TARGET HAS SUFFERED CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE TO A VITAL AREA.

-300VP/SECOND

I clamped my hand over her mouth and lowered her onto the steps. The message popped up before she finished laying down:

YOU HAVE DEFEATED GELRUTH CULTIST.

+500xp

CORPSE:

GELRUTH CULTIST.

LOOTABLE ITEMS:

Cultist robe of enhanced ritualism

SICK STICK ENCHANTED DAGGER OF SUPERIOR QUALITY

DAGGER, MEDIUM QUALITY

POWER Chrystal, 40EP charges

Bag of ritual ingredients

3SP

15CP

DO YOU WANT TO LOOT?

ASSASSIN JOB ADVANCED TO LEVEL 2

+1 DEXTERITY

+1 CHARISMA

+1 INTELLIGENCE

DAGGAR ADVANCED TO LEVEL 4

+1 DEXTERITY

+1 CHARISMA

I quickly looted the corpse and skipped to the next one while Jinx kept his fit.

She was marching down, focused on Jinx’s coughing fit. I was three steps behind her, so I was right about at her height. I twirled Sick Stick, gave a little leap, and landed on her back, the blade digging into her neck.

The One and Done skill activated as soon as the dagger broke the skin. The body practically folded in half, and I had to catch it with one arm, bracing myself against the wall with my legs and free arm. I lowered her down the steps and looted everything before continuing in Stealth after the group. I topped off my AP with a potion.

“So, this is a big room, only one of ya in ‘ere!” Jinx said as they emerged from the narrow stairs, took a right-hand turn, and presumably headed down another passageway. He was feeding me as much information as he could. We could use chat, but this was faster, and I only had seconds to react. I made my way, trying to keep pace and maintain stealth.

Another cultist stood, watching the passageway the group had passed, shaking her head. I didn’t even count before slamming my dagger into her temple. Like the first one, she died in just a couple of seconds from critical damage. I quickly yanked the body to the side, out of sight of the passageway, and continued, not bothering to loot it.

“Hey there, love!” Jinx barked at the next junction. “Jus’ you down ‘ere?”

This cultist didn’t turn to look at the group but was staring up the dark corridor I was bouncing down. I skipped to increase my pace. She was carrying what looked like a large grain sack over her shoulder. I dropped stealth and slipped my dagger behind my back.

“Slow down,” I whined, just quiet enough for her to hear. I entered the room briskly, shaking my head with a smile, my hair bouncing around comically. “I’m the one with the short legs.” The cultist gave me a slight smile.

I walked up and slammed Sick Stick up under her ribs. She lurched, dropping the heavy bag on top of me. I let go of my dagger as I struggled to hold up the heavy sack.

I took a few steps back, holding the fifty-pound bag still over my head.

She stumbled. She looked down at the handle sticking out of her with genuine surprise. I got a notice of the Tilt-a-Hurl debuff.

“Shit,” I whisper-shouted.

Her hands went to the hilt but paused. Her eyes grew wide. I knew that look. I was about to drown in whatever it was that frost elves ate for dinner.

I threw the sack at her face as hard as I could, knocking her off balance. She fell onto her back, banging her head. The sack landed on top of her chest.

She was still alive, suffering from the Tilt-a-Hurl debuff and a minor concussion. I must have missed her heart. I heaved the sack over her face and sat on it. She kicked and floundered. I checked her hands and wrists for storage devices, but there weren’t any. It was a slow countdown death, unfortunately. When she expired, I just left her on the icy stone floor. I hopped up and yanked my magic dagger out of her torso.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!

ASSASSIN JOB ADVANCED TO LEVEL 3

+1 DEXTERITY

+1 CHARISMA

+1 INTELLIGENCE

The skill advanced way faster than I thought it would. Then I remembered what Jinx and The Whisperer said about advancement as a Rifter. I groaned as I moved down the hall.

“Oy!” Jinx bellowed from down the corridor. “This is where ‘e’s ‘eld up then?”

Regan: The route behind us is clear.

Jinx: Okay, Love, there’s no one guarding the duke’s cousin, so we need to take these two out.

Regan: Duke’s wife’s cousin.

There was a pause. I think Jinx was looking for a way to kick me out of the chat.

Regan: Then what?

Jinx: We move through the dungeon, eliminating the rest.

Regan: That’s all we have for a plan?

Jinx: Just get down here.

Regan: I’m right behind you. Hang on.

I slinked into the room while the others still had their backs turned. It was long, like a wide hallway, with three cages built into the wall to the left of the passageway. Each cage had straw bedding and the obligatory bucket because that’s the height of dungeon hygiene. The floor? Good old hard stone slabs. It’s a dungeon, like, what else would they use?

A single mage lamp hung overhead, casting a small pool of light in the center and leaving the edges draped in shadow. I made myself a stealthy little hiding spot in a dusty, dank corner. On the far side of the room, another passage led out, probably to more bad things. Leoleth and the cultist were so laser-focused on Jinx and the others that they hadn’t noticed their friends hadn’t made it.

“As you can see,” the cultist said with a flourish, “He is here and healthy.”

“Healthy enough,” said a young man’s voice from the middle cage. He was the only prisoner in the room. “You try keeping twenty women happy for three months. Especially on a diet of sheep brains and hard tack.”

“You can’t keep one woman happy,” the cultist said dryly, her tone as sharp as the glare she shot him.

“You, of all people, should know that’s not true...”

Eric the Idiot was not what I was expecting.

He leaned lazily against the cage’s crossbeam, his hands draped out like he didn’t have a care in the world. He wore a well cut dress shirt that had clearly seen better (and cleaner) days. He had tights and a codpiece that made a bold statement about confidence. He had red hair tied back with a blue and yellow ribbon. Maybe he was trying to mimic the duke’s style, though the effect was more “dashing scoundrel.” His beard, no longer neatly trimmed, was flirting with full-on Robinson Crusoe.

Despite his scruffy appearance, his youth showed in his face, though the weariness behind his eyes suggested the charm was doing all the heavy lifting. He didn’t have the lanky frame typical of his family. Instead, he was solidly built, just shy of six feet tall, with muscular legs that the tights weren’t shy about emphasizing. Handsome? Absolutely. Subtle? Not a chance.

I had to be honest with myself—I was starting to love me some cockiness. Gem had it, Nemdor had it, and this dude? He practically oozed it out of his pores.

“I’ve got to say it now,” Eric chuckled, lounging against the bars. “I’m genuinely shocked my cousin’s husband actually lifted a finger to get me back.”

“Just be grateful that he has,” the cultist replied. She seemed more than just angry at him. It was as if his attitude was causing her physical pain.

Eric grinned, clearly enjoying himself. “You talk a big game, Tiriana, but be honest. You couldn’t survive down here without me.”

“We managed well enough before,” Tiriana shot back, her expression icy.

“Before? Sure,” Eric said, his smirk growing wider. “But after? There’s no going back from what we had. Admit it, you’ll miss me.”

“You’re deluding yourself, human.”

Eric laughed and leaned closer to the bars. “Oh, come on. How many nights did I thaw those chilly loins of yours?” He glanced at my group, raising his eyebrows theatrically. “People say elves don’t have a sex drive, but I swear to the Gods, these frosties—”

“Enough!” Tiriana bellowed, her hands snapping up as icy magic crackled to life between her fingers. Frost danced and fell to the floor in front of her. She glared at Eric with the kind of look that could freeze fire. Still, there was a flicker of shame behind her fury, as if he’d struck a nerve.

“No need to get all worked up, love,” Jinx said with a wicked grin. “We’ll be takin’ off your ‘ands soon enough.”

I used the distraction to work around the room, trying to get a vantage point from which to launch an attack. I knew we were about to hit DEFCON 1 any second.

“Mother has the keys; she will be here shortly,” Tiriana said.

She stood with her back to the cage and looked down at Jinx. “This is the part where you present your ransom to us.”

“That it is, Love.” Jinx stepped back and opened his palm, a bag appearing in his hand.

“Now,” Jinx said. Looking at Tiriana.

“Now what?” She asked.

I hit her in the right temple with a steel arrow. One and Done activated, and she collapsed in a heap.

“Holy shit!” Eric bellowed, his face a mix of terror and twisted amusement as he gawked at the scene before him. Once the surprise wore off, he burst out laughing.

“Well, that’s a shame,” he said after catching his breath. “These frost elves…” He shook his head, almost wistfully. “Too bad all these beauties are wrong in the head. I’ve really developed a taste for those blue lips.”

Before anyone could respond, a wall of ice exploded, shoving everyone not in a cage back through the doorway and into the shadowy corner I’d been hiding in earlier. We landed in a tangled heap, mostly unharmed but awkwardly piled on each other.

I wriggled out from under Kev, who was muttering something that was probably an apology. Leoleth sprinted past us, vaulting over me like a frosty blue gazelle, and darted back up the corridor. I got a clear view under her robes. Now I knew what Eric meant about blue lips.

“Did she just run the wrong way?” Gem asked, brushing herself off as she climbed to her feet.

We shuffled back into the jail. Eric looked me up and down with an appraising look.

“Whoa. Where’d the pretty elf come from?”

I blushed under his gaze. “Do I let him out?” I asked Jinx cheekily.

“Why wouldn’t you?” Eric replied. His smirk quickly faded as realization dawned. He let out a laugh. “I knew it! He wouldn’t give a copper to piss on me, let alone pay a ransom.”

“Yeah,” Jinx said dryly. “He just wants us to burn the place down.”

Eric chuckled nervously. “I wouldn’t mind being on the other side of this door before you start if that’s okay with you.”

“I got this,” I sighed and rolled my eyes. I knelt before the lock. I didn’t let myself get distracted by Eric’s…shapely man area. I mean, it was right there at eye level. The codpiece was covering it, but that strap looked like it was barely holding it on. I could fall off if I accidentally…maybe …Not distracted.

“Make it fast, love,” Jinx said impatiently.

The lock clicked, the door swung open, and I felt like a better person for two whole seconds.

Jinx started issuing orders. “Gem, check the corridor an’ shoot anyone who gets close. Kev, keep left of the door, be ready to ambush. Regan, to the shadows wiv ya.”

“What about me?” Eric asked.

“You want to fight? Fight,” Kev said, shrugging. “You want to run? Run.”

“My possessions are further down in the dungeon,” Eric said, stretching as he stepped out of the cage. “Any chance you’ve got a rapier?”

“Here.” I pulled a moderately decent rapier we looted from the slaver camp and handed it over.

Eric took it, testing its weight with a few swings. “Not exactly top shelf, but it’ll do.” He rolled his shoulders and shook his arms like a prize fighter warming up. “Got a dagger, too, maybe?”

“Fine,” I grumbled, pulling the spare from my belt and handing it over. “Anything else?”

“A kiss for luck if you happen to have any?”

“Luck or kisses.”

“I’d settle for either at the moment.”

“I…Uh…”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Gem laughed from the doorway. “Stop acting like a little schoolgirl and Kiss him, you little brat.”

I stood on my tiptoes, grabbed Eric by the collar, and pulled him down for a kiss. I clung to him, letting the rush of the moment wash over me, silently wishing us both luck. His arms wrapped firmly around my waist. And he pulled me against him. His body was hard, and his grip was firm. After a moment, we let go, leaving me blushing and buzzing with excitement.

“Well done,” Eric said with a smile. “Now, let’s not die.” He turned to face the doorway. “I can’t wait to see where we can go from there.”

My heart was all a flutter. Love me a cocky boy.

I let myself savor the thrill for a few seconds, but reality crashed back hard and fast. The weight of everything we’d been through to get here hit me, along with the fact that I’d advanced my Assassin job by two levels in less than two minutes. Gods, damn it. I pushed it back, turning my thoughts to what was coming up.

I shifted back to the far wall from the entrance. I realized the cage did not reach the ceiling of the room. I climbed the bars and squatted in the shadows, my short bow ready.

“Gem,” Jinx said. “If they don’t drop on the first shot, you back to the other door, you got it.”

“Understood.”

“Eric,” Eric whispered. He had moved over to the next to me, looking up at me.

“What?”

“My name is Eric.”

“I’m Regan,” I whispered back with a flirtatious giggle. I smiled at him before activating Stealth and nocking a steel arrow.

“You’re as bad as Gem.” Kev groaned, throwing me a nasty look.

We could hear footsteps coming up the stairs towards the room a moment later. With my elf vision, I could see a white-tipped frost elf head peeking around the corner. I drew my bowstring back, but an arrow was flying before I pulled it halfway.

There was a cry of pain, followed by a thump on the ground. Gem was kneeling in front of the entry of the corridor, another arrow nocked and ready. Eric and Kev had assumed positions on the left and right of the entry, prepared to strike.

“Why are we not fleeing?” Eric whispered to the group.

“We’re contracted to burn the place down,” Kev whispered. “We can’t do that with a bunch of witches with built-in fire-suppressing magic now, can we?”

Gem let another arrow fly and then immediately started backing up quickly. A spike of ice came flying out of the passageway at an upward angle and smashed into the room's ceiling. Chips of stone and ice came raining down.

“Really!” Eric shouted. “More icicles?” He moved to a position in the doorway. “Who is it down there?” He turned sideways, his rapier up in defense, and the dagger held over his head dramatically.

“Nuala?” He inched forward toward the entry. “No, wait,” he said. “Selphie? You’ll have to forgive me; I have trouble telling you apart!”

Another spike came flying through, and he parried it with the rapier in a quick, simple wrist movement. It exploded on the blade. He laughed as two more shot out, each easily blocked.

“Zilyana!” He clanked his blades together. “You should come up!” He took two steps back. “You certainly didn’t mind getting poked by me two nights ago!”

“You filth!” Zilyana came running into the room, her hands up with magic energy swirling between her fingers. Kev swung his hammer low, catching her ankle. The bones crunched as she cried out and fell to the floor. Eric brought his dagger down between her shoulder blades, ending her quickly. He grabbed her by the scruff of her robe and yanked her body back towards the back of the room.

“Not sure what the count is at this point.”

“Seven,” I muttered.

Eric turned slowly and looked up at me. I was in stealth mode, so he probably couldn’t exactly see me.

“These three, plus four?”

“Yes. That makes seven...Math.”

“You got four already, plus Tiriana?”

“Yes, she’s cute and deadly,” Kev grumbled. “Can we focus, please?”

Another series of icy spikes started flying into the room, and Eric spun around, back on defense. I could barely make out the shapes in the passageway. There were two standing shoulder to shoulder. One shot the ice spikes while the other stood with her hands up.

I let my arrow fly. It ricocheted off an invisible barrier with a tiny blue spark a few inches from the one I aimed at.

“They have shields!”

“Use the obsidian,” Gem said, switching her arrow out.

I did the same; Eric was busy intercepting the spikes, and Kev kept his position at the side of the passage. Gem and Jinx were side by side. The latter had his hands up, charging up his lightning attack. Gem didn’t have a target since she was too far back, and the passageway was at two sharp of an angle.

I shot an obsidian arrow; it bounced off the shield, but the shield sputtered. I moved as fast as possible, summoning a steel arrow, nocking it, drawing, and releasing it. I was grateful for all that practice on the Imperial Highway earlier. It flew straight into the left chest of the righthand figure. She spun and dropped as the shield reappeared with a whop! A few seconds later, I got the notification and five hundred XP for the fallen cultist.

“Eight.”

“I can stop most of these spikes,” Eric said. “But if we get one with another ice wall attack, they’re just going to bowl us over.”

“Press it!” Jinx barked. “Gem and Regan, take out the shield caster.” Gem stood and moved cautiously to the entryway.

“Regan, you shoot first,” she said. “Then me.” Her eyes focused on the corridor. Gem had the more powerful bow, so it made sense.

I released another obsidian arrow that bounced off the shield with the same effect. This time, Gem let her own arrow go right after, and she hit the frost elf in the center of the forehead. There wasn’t even a cry as the cultist folded over.

“Nine?” Eric asked.

I winked at him. “Your math’s getting better.”

“Move!” Jinx bellowed. Kev led the way, followed by Eric and Jinx, with Gem and me stalking behind, bows drawn and ready.

The room at the end of the corridor was large and round, with about ten cells lining one wall. Unlike the cage they’d stuffed Eric into, these cells had been adapted into small living spaces. Curtains hung from twine inside the bars, offering a semblance of privacy. The center of the room served as the common area, complete with a table, a few mismatched chairs, and a small makeshift kitchen on the opposite side. A stove, pots, and pans completed the home-sweet dungeon aesthetic.

“Nice thing is,” Eric said, taking position near the door at the far side of the room, “as far as I can tell, there are only two ways in or out of each chamber. So, no chance of them flanking us.”

“Yeah,” Jinx muttered, glancing around. “An’ we ain’t got no place to hide either.”

“Most of them aren’t that tough,” Eric added, his tone confident but measured. “Mother and her number one, though…they’re the ones to watch out for. And those ladies are pretty mean, too.”

“Regan,” Jinx said. “Scout it.”

“Sure thing,” I turned to Eric as I stowed my bow and pulled out Sick Stick. “You make it down that far?”

“I didn’t go past this room,” Eric said. “Which reminds me...” He walked off toward one of the cells.

I activated Stealth and moved down without a sound. A dark, quiet staircase led downward, hugging the room's walls. I moved cautiously, each step deliberate.

The stairs were unlit, but about ten steps down, a faint blue flicker of light caught my eye from below. The air was heavy with silence, making every tiny sound feel deafening. I crept downward, keeping close to the right-hand wall for cover.

When I reached two steps above the landing, I crouched low. My right hand gripped the wall for balance as I lowered myself further, steadying my left hand against the landing. Peeking around the corner, I caught sight of a shimmering blue light. It was another force shield.

Before I could send a chat back to Jinx, a barrage of spikes shot towards me, fast as arrows, my instincts kicked in, and I dove back as quickly as I could, my heart racing as the projectiles clattered against the walls.

I didn’t make a clean retreat, however.

Shearing pain shot from my left arm as an ice spike wedged itself in my wrist. I fell backward, losing my footing as another tore into my left ankle. Blood spurted everywhere as I cried out.

20 POINTS PIERCING DAMAGE TO THE LEFT WRIST.

40 POINTS FROSTBITE DAMAGE TO THE LEFT WRIST.

25 POINTS PIERCING DAMAGE TO THE RIGHT ANCLE.

40 POINTS FROSTBITE DAMAGE TO THE RIGHT ANCLE.

YOU ARE SUFFERING FROSTBITE DEBUF.

ALL AFFECTED LIMBS SUFFER 90% IMMOBILITY.

TIME REMAINING: 60 SECONDS

“FUCK!” I yelled, pushing myself up the steps while pain and frost paralyzed my limbs. The spikes pierced completely through my wrist and ankle, and I could barely move. I heard soft leather slapping against the stone steps as one cultist ran up.

I could either heal or attack. I pulled myself up with my right hand and readied Sick Stick. Pain and adrenaline raced through my body as I leaped blindly at the sound of footfalls around the corner.

I landed on one of the frost elves, slamming Sick Stick down as hard as possible. It landed in the middle of her bare thigh. There was a shriek from her, and I let go of the dagger. We both fell backward, away from each other.

I landed hard on the stone steps, the impact jarring every bone in my body. I gritted my teeth and pushed myself upright, but the elf I stabbed was already gone, having tumbled around the corner. Sick Stick was still lodged in her leg. Notifications flickered in my vision as I fumbled for a healing potion from my inventory. The sweet, herbal liquid filled my mouth, and I swallowed quickly, feeling its magic start to work as I inched backward up the stairs.

A pair of hands grabbed me under the arms and yanked, dragging me up toward the room where the others waited.

“Get her before she heals,” I croaked. It was Eric. He nodded without a word, hopped over me, and bounded down the stairs, a newer, shinier rapier gleaming in the faint light.

He vanished around the corner, and the sound of ice spikes smashing against metal filled the stairwell. Shards of ice flew up, bouncing off the walls and ceiling in glittering chaos. Moments later, a death notification popped up in my vision, along with the reward of two hundred and fifty XP.

The potion did its thing. The icy spikes in my wrist and ankle shattered and fell away as the frostbite debuff faded. Unlike Heather’s holy blessing, this stuff took its sweet ass time.

I was still aching as I pulled myself up into a sitting position, wincing with every movement.

Jinx and Kev rushed into the stairwell and the room, the sharp tang of ozone trailing.

Gem followed closely behind, her sharp eyes darting to me. She paused at the corner as magical energy erupted in the room before her.

“Damn.” She sighed. “Break time.”

She turned and returned up the stairs, reaching down to help.

“You okay?” she asked, her voice tense.

I grabbed her hand, using it to steady myself. “I’ll live,” I grunted, though every muscle in my body screamed otherwise.

“It’s clear.” Eric barked up at us.

“How many?” I asked, getting up and testing my weight on the newly healed ankle. It hurt, but it was functional.

“Three more, counting the one you stabbed.”

“Twelve then.”

“Yeah,” Gem frowned. “I suppose.”

“There’s two behind us,” I said as she descended the stairs. “The one on the roof and Leoleth.”

“Leoleth ran. Let’s hope she doesn’t come back and stab us from behind.”

“The duke’s intelligence might not be accurate. We don’t know how many there are.”

The room was almost an exact copy of the upper one, complete with living space and kitchen. The three cultists were sprawled out on the floor, dead. I pulled Sick Stick out of the thigh of the nearest one and wiped it off on her robe. The other two were still smoldering from Jinx’s attack.

“They’re on high alert and know we are coming,” Kev said. “So, it’s going to be a slog.”

“How’s your lightning attack?”

“Against this lot,” Jinx smiled at the two he took down. “Pretty devastatin'. They ain't got too much in the way of defense, you an' Gem 'it those shields, the rest of us can 'it 'em 'ead on.”

“I only have ten obsidian arrows left.”

“Be smart with ‘em.” Jinx said with a wink.

The next set of stairs opened to a long hallway with no opposition. It was lined with empty cupboards and cabinets and almost completely dark. I could see clearly but still proceeded cautiously, phantom pain in my wrist and ankle throbbing at the thought of another ice attack.

Eric formed up at my elbow, sword at the ready. The dagger was gone and was replaced by a shiny buckler about the size of a hubcap.

We reached the end of the hall, and the stairs went down to the right. I looked at him and he smiled and nodded at the doorway. The stairway was narrower than before. Eric moved in front and Gem directly behind. Jinx followed, with me and Kev in the rear. I was too far back to see the front, so I kept half an eye behind us.

A blast of arctic air knocked me back a step, followed by the plinking of ice spikes flying up the stairs. I could see Eric using his shield and rapier to shatter them and knock them off course. Gem was on her back, stunned.

I slipped past Jinx with my bow ready. Eric leaped from the steps down to the landing below and dashed out of sight.

“Eric!” I shouted at him. That cocky bastard!

“A little help!” he shouted up after a second. I hopped over Gem, who was recovering.

The landing was attached to a well-lit room lined with bookshelves and a large table in the middle covered with books, scrolls, and papers.

Three of the Cultists were there; two had ice swords and shields and were trying to double-team Eric on the left side of the room. The third was shooting ice spikes at him from the right-hand side of the area.

There was no way I could hit any of these targets with all the moving and jostling around. I dropped the bow and summoned Sick Stick.

I pulled up on the spell-slinging cultist and tried slashing my blade across her throat, but she twisted away, completely dodging my attack. She followed up with an ice wall attack that blew me head over heels into one of the bookcases. I took a hit and dropped my favorite dagger somewhere along the way.

I summoned a short sword for some stupid reason. I gripped it in my right hand and pulled a dagger into my left. She summoned an ice sword, a shield, and an evil smile. We faced off for a moment. I planted my feet, knees bent, and was ready for the fight. I hated fighting fairly.

“Turn sideways!” Eric was looking at me.

“What?”

“Like me!”

I glanced over. He wasn’t perpendicular to his opponent like I was. He was sideways, with his rapier between him and his cultists.

I copied his stance, and the dagger suddenly seemed less important, but now I presented a much harder target to hit.

“Keep your right foot in front!” he barked. “Point it forward and to the left! Never cross your feet and turn with your back foot. Shuffle! Don’t step. You don’t want to lose your balance.”

The cultist attacked; I moved the way he suggested. I was only at level one with this stupid thing, but even I could feel the benefits of better footwork. I shuffled back as she advanced, and I managed to block her first couple of attacks. I wasn’t sure what her levels were, but I didn’t see her fighting with nearly the same level as Eric.

I glanced at him to see where he was, and she took the opportunity. She charged me with her shield, her left shoulder against it in an all-out bashing attack. I had no defense against it, so I threw my short sword at her feet while she ran at me. She tripped up.

“Gods,” I muttered. I straddled her, shoving her face down onto the floor. I slammed my dagger down into her left shoulder, right below the neck. It hit something it shouldn’t have because it barely penetrated.

I let go of the blade and gripped her by the hair with both hands. She bucked against me, trying to toss me off. I yanked back as hard as I could. She gasped at the pain as I pulled her head off the floor.

I slammed it down face first with everything I had into that hard dungeon floor. That had her rattled. But she wasn’t done yet. She kicked and pushed, trying to get her arms under her.

Rinse and Repeat.

I slammed her down again and again and again. Bones cracked, and teeth scattered. I didn’t stop until the remains of her face were flat, and grey stuff oozed out of her forehead. By the time I got the final notification, there was nothing left. I was pretty much holding a busted sack of skin and goop.

“Fuck!” I gasped. It was new, but it’s not like I had much choice. It was a results-oriented kind of day.

“I am never going to raise my skill in that damn weapon.” I lamented, dropping her on the floor. Her busted head splashed in the blood with a squishy splat. I picked up my discarded sword.

Lightning flooded in from the stairwell, engulfing the two remaining frost elves. They fell to the ground, screaming and twitching as Jinx carefully and slowly walked into the room, his eyes focused on the two of them. Several agonizing seconds later, they stopped moving, their bodies smoldering.

“Nice sparks,” Eric said breathlessly. “I appreciate you not frying me, too.”

“You’re good people.”

Eric looked over at me and the mess on the floor. His eyes grew wide. “Okay…”

“Tha’s me girl,” Jinx said to him, patting him on the shoulder with a chuckle. “Best not piss her off.”

He crossed to the table and started sifting through the scrolls and papers. He started pulling various ones into his inventory with a raised eyebrow. “Icy bitches.” He mumbled to himself.

“Thanks for the advice,” I said to Eric.

He nodded back at me. “You look like you could be a natural.”

I looked down at the pile of goo on top of the cultist’s shoulders. “Natural what?”

“The blade,” he said quickly. “You just need to practice.”

“You’re just being nice because you think I’m cute.”

“Fifteen,” Gem said, rubbing her side and surveying the carnage. “Ten are yours.”

“One more, and I get a set of steak knives.” I shrugged. “Good times.”

I walked around the room. I wanted to shake the dark thoughts out somehow, and some looting certainly wasn’t a bad way to start. The bookcases held some books, plus various other things. I saw a kettle on one shelf and a sack on another. A small flat basket on one shelf was stacked with about a dozen tiny scrolls, all sealed with globs of blue wax.

I picked one up to examine it.

NEW ITEM:

SCROLL OF ARCTIC BLAST

Concentrated wall of arctic air that will blast just about anything over. It’s fully charged and ready to start the party. Break the seal and go at it.

“Spell scrolls?” I asked out loud to the group.

“Hells yeah,” Jinx said, looking up. “Just break the seal; it'll charge you up, and you can fire one off in any direction. Grab 'em!”

“Most of the books are crap. By the way,” he said as I added the scrolls to my space. “There's some interestin' stuff 'ere though. No time to go over it right now.”

A distant scream came from the next stairwell, followed by the sounds of flying ice spikes. I could hear fighting and yelling but couldn’t determine what was being said.

“Gotta see what’s going on down there,” Eric chirped. “It’d be nice if they were doing some of the heavy lifting for us.” He moved to the stairs.

Energy rippled up the stairs, and waves and waves of light poured like a river from the chamber below. Eric took a cautious step back.

“Regan,” Jinx said. He straightened up from the table. “Scout it out.”

“Fine.” I moaned. “Okay.” My last scouting mission went so well.

I activated Stealth and crept down the stairs. Light erupted from the room below, splashing the stairwell in a dizzying array of colors that ricocheted off the stone walls like the worst Icelandic rave ever. The air was choked with ozone, thick and heavy. More screams, this time muffled, started up again, jagged and frantic. The cries were cutting through the crackling hum of energy.

I made it to the bottom of the steps, and I slipped around the corner. There was a small carved archway leading into the chamber. I crouched down in full recon mode. I don’t know if sunglasses existed here, but I wished I had some.

No one was watching the entrance. I may have been playing the tuba and doing River Dance, and those freaks wouldn’t have noticed.

The chamber beyond was the largest I’d seen yet, a natural cavern with the floor roughly leveled out. I could feel my hair standing up from the crackling energy that filled the space, the noise echoing off the walls like a cross between an electrical storm and a raging river.

At the center of the room lay a circle of symbols. Painted or chalked? It was hard to tell. They pulsed with a sickly glow, like a heartbeat against the cold stone floor.

At its heart, a young frost elf thrashed, stripped naked, bound, and gagged. Her muffled screams tore through the air, raw and desperate.

Directly across from me stood a woman clutching a massive leather-bound book, her lips moving as she chanted. The rising noise of the room swallowed her words, but the cadence felt heavy, deliberate. Three other cultists flanked the circle, their faces pale and hollow, illuminated by shafts of light spilling from crystals perched atop their staffs. They stared down at the girl with a kind of sadness.

The beams of light converged on the frost elf. Her pale skin shimmered beneath the shifting, ghastly rainbow, a perverse beauty in the glow. She writhed harder, her body arching against the bonds. Her screams cut deeper now, soaked in terror—terror that thickened the very air as though the room itself felt it.

It was the sound of someone who knew their soul was about to be ripped away.

“Oh…” Get there, Regan! “…Oh shit.”

Party chat:

Regan: Uh, guys, this looks like a summoning.