Modessa stepped into the shadows instinctively the instant that they materialized in an alleyway in Maltesur. Rizal seemed a competent mage, and she supposed the fact that he was a fellow exalted minion should make her trust him more. He had a legendary class now, so his power couldn’t be doubted. She’d finally come around to trusting Nico. That was about as many new people she could trust for a while, if her dragon master could even be considered a person.

“Thanks,” she whispered and then Shadow Stepped. The storm mage wasn’t part of her mission once he dropped her off, so there was no reason to wait around. She watched as he shifted into the wind and then was flying away. It must be nice, not that she could complain about her new powers. She was stronger than ever before.

It had taken her a fairly crooked path to get here, and it was all too easy to fall into self-recrimination, but that never helped. She’d been accepted, if not completely forgiven. She’d found a love she didn’t deserve and had never truly expected, and she’d obtained the power she had always dreamed of. The hardest part about it all was that she owed it all to Nico. It was a bitter pill, but she was starting to embrace it.

This mission was one which made her happy. It wasn’t that she enjoyed killing people, but she reveled in the idea of being Nico’s shadow, able to do things that he couldn’t do publicly. She’d seen the light now. What the rules of Maltesur were doing was nothing less than slavery. That left a foul taste in her mouth. As she understood it, the collars drained both soul and life force from the dragons to power some dead emperor who had been overthrown long before her great grandparents' time.

Oh, well, that was for Nico to worry about. Her part was smaller, and it was one that she was uniquely equipped for. She’d been in every city in the empire, but some more than others. Adventurers weren’t as in demand in Maltesur. They were far from the City of the Dawn and most of their threats were pirates from the sea rather than dungeons or rampaging beasts.

Now was a time for action though and so she pushed her musings away and began running across the rooftops. Dragon Sensory Reception was running at full bore as she was able to see, hear, and smell better than ever. The world took on a new context for her. She’d done some training, but even after that, she was still adjusting to just how much more clearly she could perceive the world around her. Modessa couldn’t help but think of some previous missions where these sensory skills would have come in handy.

Draconic Shadow kept her moving at unprecedented speeds. She knew she was safe from any but the most powerful of divination magics. Her already high stealth capabilities were increased by 100% and that was on top of the double speed she already got from her passive, Draconic Wings.

While she was in the shadows, she felt so strong it was silly. It was hard to believe that this was only 20% of Nico’s Strength stat, because she had gained nearly 350 Strength. That meant each push of her foot drove her forward further. She imagined she could probably leap from the ground to the top of a four story building without any difficulty at all.

Once she reached the center of the city, Modessa activated her favorite new ability. It might not be the most powerful, but she still grinned just thinking about it.

Spawn Shadow.

She used it the full five times, which means that each shadow was only 37.5% as powerful as she was, but they had all of her abilities. As powerful as she had become, she was certain they would be able to carry out their tasks.

Modessa sat down cross-legged and waited for each shadow to return. Nico had given her some general instructions about the mission, but largely left it up to her to figure out how to carry that out. She already knew who the five best targets for her shadows would be. A couple of merchants who dealt with procuring dragons for the city as well as three barons who were largely left in charge of running the dragon flights.

Once she removed those players, the city’s ability to control the dragons it had refused to release to Vox would be crippled. Then all that she’d need to do would be to cut off the head of the snake, as it were. For that thought, she’d need her full power, so she sat and waited.

Not that she had long to wait. Less than an hour later, her heightened senses heard alarms and screaming coming from a certain baron’s mansion. Moments later, that shadow returned to her, and she immediately knew what it had experienced. The mission had gone off without a hitch. Half a dozen dead guards and a disemboweled baron would definitely leave a message. Those in power might connect it to Nico, but there was nothing they could do to prove it.

Modessa felt her power swell as she absorbed the shadow. That, in turn, made each of her other shadows just a little bit stronger. Each time one of them finished their mission, there were alarms or smoke to indicate that the strike had gone off. They were all successful and she could only imagine how much panic had set in at the palace.

That was good. It was according to plan. Nico insisted that the king be the last target and that he know he was being targeted. This was not meant to be poison in a cup or a dagger in the night. This was an execution, and Modessa was happy to perform her part.

She took a few deep breaths and centered herself after each of the shadows had been re-absorbed. It was disconcerting to gain memories which she hadn’t personally experienced but she’d trained for this and was ready to after just a few moments. She was up and moving the Dragon’s Shadow, ready to avenge the wrong done her master’s people.

When she reached a building from which she could view the palace, she waited. Her eyes darted around to see the mages and guards who were in place. There was no force-field in place, because such things could only be activated for limited amounts of time, but she was certain that every ward they had available was armed and ready to detect her. It would be interesting to see if her new ability really would allow her to pass through all of them undetected.

She counted the paces of each guard. Memorized their routes. She didn’t mind killing some of them if she had to, but they were just following orders and no matter how awful the treatment of the dragons was, they likely didn’t understand the problem. She certainly hadn’t until she learned more. So if she didn’t have to kill men for the simple reason of ignorance she’d be happy.

Once she had a full mental map of the layout of the palace ground and the placement of the guards, she cast Shadow Step.

Her new class doubled the range and cut the cool-down in half, so she’d be able to get real use out of it. Her first leap cleared not only the open area that separated the palace from any surrounding buildings, but also over the wall.

Modessa felt a tingle like goose-bumps on her skin as she passed through a series of magical wards. Yet, no alarms went off. She could use Sense Ward and Sense Trap still and they told her that not only had she passed through the wards but that they were still intact. So far, so good.

She crept down a hallway, stopping as needed to allow a guard to move past her, but in the shadows, she was practically invisible. She had Greater Invisibility as a spell, but felt like testing the limits of her new abilities. Finally, when she neared the royal bedchambers, she noticed a distinct rise in the level of the guards.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

None of these were below level 10 and many were above level 15. The wizard, who probably thought he was safely hidden in a corner near the doors to the bedchamber was level 20. That would have meant something to her before, but now with an effective level of 24 and legendary skills, not so much.

She pulled out a small pouch of caltrops. Each was enchanted with a light and sound effect which would explode and disorientate the guards. It would be better if one of them opened the doors first though, because then she could daze them and streak right in.

So Modessa waited… and she waited.

No one ever talked about this part of being a rogue. Whether it was the assassin side or the thief side, there was a whole lot of crouching in uncomfortable positions for hours on end.

Then a servant walked down the hallway, passing her hiding spot without ever noticing her. She was carrying a tray with a pitcher and what looked like some cookies. For a moment, Modessa worried that there might be children in the bedchambers. That shouldn’t be the case. The king of Maltesur was a widower who had yet to remarry and his only child was his heir, but a grown man in his own right.

Modessa had been planning on those two being the only ones in the bedchamber, but the cookies threw her off. Then she remembered a report that she’d read once, about how the king loved his sweets but only got to rarely indulge because his now deceased wife kept him on a strict diet. Modessa almost snickered. Love did strange things to people, even kings. Rather, she would have snickered before she had felt the sting of love herself.

The guards checked the servant’s person for any weapons. The wizard cast a spell of some sort, but didn’t step out from behind his screen of invisibility. Then the doors began to open, and she moved into action.

Modessa flicked her hand with practiced ease and the caltrops rolled down the twenty feet that separated her from the doorway. They exploded just as they reached the guards. The concussive force was limited, but that was never what this was about to begin with. Meanwhile, Modessa leapt forward. She covered her eyes and plugged her ears. It helped, but she was still a bit slower than she would have liked as the thunderous sound threw off her balance.

Still, it was enough. She activated a series of abilities.

Exalted Minion Boost pushed her effective level to 28.

Draconic Shock imbued her enchanted blade with a staggeringly powerful electrical attack.

Slip Between Seconds allowed her to move outside the normal constraints of time.

It wasn’t that it made her faster, but rather that she moved while the others were caught in a single second. Her speed and grace showed off here as she first targeted the most powerful of foes. The royal archmage needed to be put down and put down hard. He wasn’t the kind of foe she could leave standing behind her.

He wasn’t able to respond as she drove her charged dagger into his gut. The veil of invisibility did nothing to protect him. All of his normal magical defenses meant nothing, as she literally existed outside of time for this single set of actions. Her blade passed through all of them and was back as he fell to the ground. Not content, she cast one of her most powerful spells, Assassinate. It was a death spell to any target who was below half HP.

Then she felt the pull of time and her ability ended. Still, it had accomplished what she wanted. The guards were still stunned, and she whirled between them, stabling, breaking legs, and moving with deadly grace. Her enhanced strength was so great that even these warriors with tank like builds were still cracked wide open. Then she activated Draconic Whisper.

Waves of dragon fear leapt off of her and paralyzed the wounded warriors. Hopefully, they’d be down long enough for her to finish.

Shadow Step

She was standing right behind the serving girl who was still startled by the explosions outside the room. The blunt end of her dagger knocked the girl unconscious, then she was moving forward again.

The king and his son both had epic classes. They might not have reached level 20, but she wouldn’t underestimate them. The king had a magical build and his son more of a spellsword build. She leapt again faster than they could react and put her hand upon the prince.

Curse of Ileria

Instantly, the prince groaned. His wrist ached from where he was trying to draw the sword. The two levels lost were a wound to his soul and while losing 10% of his Strength wasn’t going to cripple him, he’d still feel it. But the real power of this curse was the status condition it applied. Modessa had never heard of it before she gained the curse ability, but it was simply devastating to anyone, whether fighting or simply living normal life.

Brittle - The target of this status condition will take +100% damage from any attack to their physical body, whether magical or mundane in nature. Any damage resistances they possess are nullified. Immunities are not affected. Critical hits will deliver +300% damage. Further all their bones are subject to the broken status condition far more easily. Natural healing is limited to 1 HP per day and the effectiveness of magical healing is reduced by 90%. Sensitivity to pain is doubled.

Modessa drove her elbow into the prince’s sword arm and felt it snap in multiple locations. He was sent sprawling and may have broken further bones as he hit the ground.

The king managed to get off a spell as she took out the prince, but Modessa laughed. A lightning bolt arced from his fingers to hit her. She just stood there.

“I’m immune to electricity. A blessing from my master.”

The king stumbled back. It wasn’t every day that he saw someone laugh when he cast an empowered spell. His mind was racing through other options, but he recognized the woman in front of him. If she was this close to him, then she was likely a dead man.

“What master? I don’t recall you serving anyone but the empire. Are you saying that the emperor not only ordered you to kill me but also imbued you with electrical resistance?”

“No, my master, is the dragon monarch, Nicosandumas. He is the King of Scale Nation and the rightful ruler of all Ileria.”

The king sputtered and started to cast again, but Modessa streaked forward. Her dagger removed three fingers from his right hand and her elbow went up so hard under his chin that he bit the tip of his own tongue off.

Blood ran everywhere, and he fell to his knees, begging.

“You should have complied when you were told to release your slaves. Dragons belong to no man.”

Nico had ordered her to deliver those words, but that was it. He wasn’t sadistic, he just wanted the king removed. And so she pulled her shorts sword free and removed his head from his shoulders. Her new strength made such a gruesome task far too easy.

Then she turned to face the prince. “The king is dead, long live the king. That is, if the new king has any sense. An emissary from my master will return to you in seven days. If you have not freed every dragon and gathered them at the northern coastline, then your line will end now. So says Nicosandumas.” Then she winked and added, “But I’m sure you’ll be wise enough to keep that to yourself. There’s a new king after all.”

____________________________________

After dropping Modessa off, Rizal quickly flew across the continent in his vaporous form. He could easily travel at hundreds of miles per hour, but he slowed down to give himself more time to think. This was all a big change. The new class he has was incredibly powerful and the trust that Nico placed in him was daunting.

The first question he had to ask himself though was could he trust Nico? He’d jumped in at the offer of power but, what did Nico intend for the world? It wasn’t like Rizal was a fan of the way things were going. Organization was needed and peace because in peace, he’d be left too study magic, which was all he really wanted.

Rizal allowed those thoughts to tumble around inside his head for a while. The longer he thought about it, the more confident he became about his decision. There were still other angles he would have to view the issue from. But that would be for later. For now, he had to deliver a message to the emperor. He chuckled or would have if he had a physical body. This message was sure to shake things up a bit. New world order might not be an overstatement.

_____________________________

Liam sat on a rock silently a few paces away from Galbrecht and Lisella. Listening to the two of them bicker was almost more annoying than anything else he could imagine. There was no doubt that Nico had grown powerful of late. Was he a match for a god? Somehow Liam doubted that but then again, he never would have expected his father to become a minion for Nico either.

He'd reserve judgment till he learned more information. The important thing was that Nico had power and he was willing to use it. Now what he was using it for was the real question.

Then Liam’s peace was shattered one more as Lisella’s voice rose two whole octaves, “How could you? I told myself, I wouldn’t ask. Miseria teaches that each man has to walk his own path, but you weren’t just any man. You were the chosen of Miseria. You felt her touch.”

“And how had that turned out for me?”

Lisella shook her head. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Exactly what I asked. Do you think that Miseria knew of my love for Modessa?”

Lisella shrugged. “Of course.”

“And her love for me?”

“I presume so. She is a goddess after all.”

“We’ll come back to that point in a moment. What I want to know is why wouldn’t Miseria say anything to me about it? If I was really her chosen, one who was treasured by her, then why didn’t she do anything to show me that I could be happy with Modessa?”

Lisella didn’t answer and after a minute, Galbrecht continued, “I’ll tell you why. She was using me. I wasn’t valued by her, at least not as anything other than a tool.”

“And you think Nico isn’t using you?”

“Oh, I know he is, but he speaks plainly. He demands a minions oath and then he pays for it with power. He and I may not see eye to eye on everything, but I believe that Nico wants order and will use his power to create that peace. I want to be part of that. I’m tired of being the Shield of Miseria only to cause more harm than good. At least with Nico, he’s straight forward.”

“And what, I should just forsake my vows too? Chase after Nico and beg him to give me a legendary class and vast new powers?”

Galbrecht shrugged. “That’s just it. It isn’t my job to know what your path is. Everyone has to walk their own path. Nico doesn’t demand our service. He certainly doesn’t ask for worship. He just expects that if we do serve we do it loyally and then he rewards us. I’ve gotten more from serving Nico in two weeks than I have in forty years of serving Miseria and do you know why I think that is?”

Lisella shrugged as though it didn’t matter but Galbrecht answered his own question. “It’s because Nico knows what it is to be a physical being, to hunger, to thirst, to want. He isn’t bashful about what he desires. Miseria is too disconnected from us. I need a god or goddess who can understand what it is to live as a mortal. If Miseria ever understood that she’s long since forgotten. At least that’s the way I see it.”

Lisella didn’t answer and Liam thought that was telling. He also thought Galbrecht made a great deal of sense.