Dianna casts Silence

An advanced spell that destroys sound waves by analyzing and producing waves of opposite amplitudes.

The woman skulked about the rafters of the cathedral. Her light blue skin betrayed her elven heritage, as well as he pointed ears. Her wavy black hair was cut short and held up in a bun, keeping as little of it flowing as possible. She was clad entirely in a tight and stuffy-looking black cloth body suit, a uniform traditional among some of the churches of the world of Hoenheim. The suit left as little skin to show as possible, as should be considered by a faithful practitioner. Her eyes were red and her face was soft, as though she had never seen battle.

The woman’s name was Dianna Dust. Dianna is a servant of the Church of Deruthmoryx, one of the sixteen gods of Hoenheim. Deruthmoryx is a just but unforgiving god, and Dianna’s role in the church is to hunt down those of the faith who have transgressed against his teachings.

Dianna is a level 1 Inquisitor. The Inquisitor class gives her the power of the divine within the domain of Deruthmoryx, allowing her to act out both justice upon sinners as well as perform minor miracles that all clerics are capable of. Dianna has the Haze of Darkness Talent, which makes her inaudible to anyone standing more than 50 feet from her. Her stats are:

STR

4

DEX

18

VIT

10

INT

14

WIT

14

PER

16

CHA

14

LCK

10

Dianna silently hopped from rafter to rafter, observing the mass being conducted below. A service to Deruthmoryx is normally a sacred practice, and Dianna planned to uphold that. But her target- Father Mori, leader of today’s congregation- was here, and she needed to keep a close eye on him. She had to remain in close pursuit, just barely out-of-sight, until he was isolated, at which point she could strike.

Dianna silently followed along with the service from above the rafters. Even if the preacher was corrupt, the word of Deruthmoryx still held true, and there was no harm in worshiping.

The service ended some two hours later. With some luck, Dianna’s fervent prayers had extended the Silence spell, keeping her movements quiet as she rose to a stand among the rafters once again. Below her, the congregation dispersed, mingling with each other outside, as Father Mori collected his things and slowly walked into his private study. Once the doors were closed and the hall was empty, Dianna jumped down from the rafters onto the ground below.

Dianna approached the door Father Mori had taken in to his private chambers. Unfortunately for her, the Silence spell did not extend past herself, so she’d have to open the door quietly the old-fashioned way. She turned the knob slowly, and pulled the door open quickly to avoid creaking. Father Mori sat at his study, poring over the teachings of Deruthmoryx. Dianna slowly walked up behind the man, put her hand over his mouth, and drove a thin knife into his temple. She pulled the chair back, allowing him to roll backwards so as not to bleed on the sacred texts. She wiped the blood from her hands, and took her leave.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Another excellent mission,” the Council of Deruthmoryx praised Dianna after her report. The Council was composed of the three most influential members of Deruthmoryx’s faith, said to be hand-chosen by the god himself to serve as his eyes and arms. The Council’s identities were kept secret, and they spoke to Dianna from behind a thick curtain.

“You honor me,” Dianna replied from her prostrate bow. “It is a privilege to act as the sword of Deruthmoryx, and to purge the world of those who would blaspheme against him.”

“Well spoken,” one voice from the council said.

“We were right to put our trust in you,” a second voice said. “Your every mission thus far has been a resounding success.”

“In light of your successes,” a third voice began, “we have prepared an additional mission for you. A member of the church has come in possession of a rather valuable piece of information. Information they should not possess. You will hunt this person down, retrieve this information… and silence them.”

“Understood,” Dianna replied.

“Fortunately,” the second voice spoke, “we know the location of this individual. You will be dispatched to them immediately.”

“Absolutely. Deruthmoryx’s will be done.”

“Deruthmoryx’s will be done,” the three voices said in unison.

Dexterity check: 16

Dianna passes.

Dianna followed behind the woman, far enough to go unnoticed but close enough to keep a close eye on her. The street bustled with activity, as citizens left their jobs to go home for the evening. Many of them were going to the tavern, and that was where this woman was going as well.

The woman’s name was Abigail Simmons, and she was a young elven woman of similar height and build to Dianna. So much so, Dianna wondered if they could have been sisters. The only difference between the two was Abigail’s long, straight white hair, which contrasted Dianna’s dark and wavy hair.

Dianna followed Abigail into the tavern. Abigail sat at the bar, and Dianna sat herself at a nearby booth. When a waiter came to ask for Dianna’s order, she made a simple order so as not to raise suspicion, and closely watched Abigail.

The hours passed by as Abigail drunk herself into a stupor. As impatient as Dianna felt, she took some solace in the fact that a drunk target was an easy target. At last, the woman sat up from the bar and began to leave, and as quickly as she could without raising alarm Dianna paid her bill and did the same.

In the dark of night, far fewer people roamed the streets, making it that much harder for Dianna to blend in as she pursued her target. She considered taking alternative routes, but since she didn’t know this city very well, she decided against it.

Dianna followed Abigail as she made her way towards the residential area of the city, where she presumed her target’s home was. The two slowly made their way deeper and deeper into the houses, before at last Abigail turned around to face Dianna.

“Stop following me,” she said defiantly.

Dianna felt a smirk crawl across her face. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. You and I both know why I’m here.”

“Can’t say I do, no. You in love with me or something?”

Dianna shook her head with a sigh, and began to approach, revealing a dagger from within one of her sleeves.

“Whoa, now, what’s the meaning of this?” Abigail staggered backwards. “I- what are you- HELP!”

Dianna casts Silence

The woman continued to cry out for help, but the spell prevented any sound from escaping. The woman turned around, and broke into a run, but Dianna dashed after her.

Within seconds, Dianna was upon the woman, and had knocked her to the ground. She glanced around slowly, to ensure that nobody would be coming out of the houses nearby in response to the woman’s cry for help earlier. Once she was satisfied, she snapped Abigail’s neck.

Dianna dragged the body into an alleyway between two of the houses, and proceeded to check the body for what she was looking for. She found two items that seemed to match the description- a thick paper package, bound in string, and a small envelope that seemed to come from great wealth, the very paper itself seeming to be golden. She grabbed the two items, and stowed them in her bag.

Dianna casts Invisibility

An advanced spell that causes light to pass through the body, causing the user to become visually undetectable.

Dianna disappeared into the night, taking Abigail’s things with her.

“I have returned,” Dianna said to the Council as she prostrated herself before them.

“Excellent news,” the second voice said, “and in such short time too. For even the most esteemed members of the church, such a task should have taken a week- however, you were able to complete it in merely four days.”

“We are impressed,” the first voice said.

“Now then, the information,” the third voice said.

A small table emerged from behind the curtain, and Dianna rose to place the package and the envelope onto it, and returned to her bow as the table was returned to behind the curtain. She heard the sound of string being pulled, of a wax seal breaking, and of paper being unfolded. There was a silent pause, followed by agitated murmurs she could not make out.

“This is… odd,” the first voice finally said after a long conference between the other two members. “This envelope… you are certain it was on the woman’s body?”

“Of course,” Dianna replied.

“Yes, quite, the envelope is addressed to the Abigail woman after all.”

“However,” the third voice spoke hesitantly, “the contents… they are addressed to you, Dianna.”

There was a silent pause among the four.

“May I…” Dianna stammered, her composure broken for the first time in a long time. “May I read it?”

“Of course,” the third voice replied, and passed the letter through the curtain to Dianna.