Castien’s apartment was about what Amelia expected. The man looked like a librarian who had won the lottery, like that sneering kind of art critic who criticized painters no one had ever heard of on his late evening radio program, like a man purchased sculptures to display and rotate seasonally.

A lot to glean from two short meetings, but she had him pinpointed perfectly it seemed, because his house indeed had several sculptures made of marble, depicting chiseled, naked men in glorious poses. Had abstract paintings up on the wall. Had sleek, white countertops and shining pillars that propped up the second-floor loft. All the chairs and tables sat unused for weeks, devoid of color and designed in shapes that were uncomfortable just to look at, let alone interact with.

Korath took it all in with intense confidence.

“Can’t wait to get this over with.”

“Same.”

No sign of Castien himself. The vortex amulet’s tracking aura had dissipated, with its one-hour time limit expiring before they made it up to the penthouse. If this was yet another trap, they had fallen right into it, but nothing so far gave any sense that that was the case.

They continued to advance slowly through the wide-open living room.

For all the artistic endeavors that Castien’s penthouse offered, however, there was one completely out-of-place element that clashed with the aesthetic of everything else. Right in the center of the main room, in front of the two pillars and the second-floor loft, there was a large tube-like structure flowing with mana energy, surrounded by protective barriers, with one shriveled figure of soul floating inside.

Castien’s very own data server golem.

It looked just like the one Amelia had destroyed in the Manadhmeth Dungeon. Peaceful, as if deep in a dream for a hundred years with no sign of ever waking up. Probably operating calculations and directives at a hundred times the speed of any waking golem.

She was tempted to start the battle with Castien rifles blazing and absorb the entire data server golem, but she made the very wise decision to leave it be until the time was right. Whatever information that golem held, it was not worth the danger of incorporating it now, the risk of incapacitating herself for far too long.

Still, right in the middle of the penthouse? Extremely tacky. Even a country girl like Amelia could tell that.

Korath saw her disdainful gaze at the data server golem and snorted. “I see you have good taste in interior design. Dear, I can’t wait for all this to be over so we can get to the finer parts of life.”

“You’re into this sort of thing?”

“No, but I’d like to try out some new hobbies.”

“What do you like to do now?”

“Necromancy.” His eyes glazed over, as if remembering something important that he could not speak aloud. “Suits, too. Tattoos.” Another pause, and a smile that went shaky. “As you can see, I’d like to expand my horizons. You?”

“Same. Maybe before I kill you I can get some fashion recommendations.”

Korath declined to respond, instead more interested in a closed door off to the side.

He crept up to it. Turned his head to the side and perked up his pointed ear. The shaky smile suddenly became a lot less shaky.

“He’s here,” he said. “Perfect.”

Amelia listened intently and realized what had gotten Korath so pleased with himself: Castien was in that room, taking a shower. He was cleaning up after a long night’s work trying to kill them. Totally, blissfully unaware that his penthouse had been compromised.

All they had to do was ambush him. Kick the door down and gut him.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Although, she would highly prefer to have him alive.

“Are you ready?” Korath asked. His tone much lower than before, almost a whisper.

“Wait,” Amelia said. “That room’s probably too small for a good fight. Too chaotic.”

“You suggest we wait?”

“Yeah. I’ve got a plan.”

Amelia tip-toed up the stairs to the loft and ducked behind a sofa. She looked down at Korath and made a gesture with her hands. The signal for her to strike. He nodded, copied it, and then averted his attention away from her completely.

The real ambush would be much cleaner than a bathroom invasion.

Korath stood by the server golem, admiring the magic creation and letting time pass as Castien’s unsurprisingly long shower passed by.

She knew, this time, Korath would not sell her out. The circumstances no longer called for it. He’d benefit more from killing Castien than from working with him, and therefore the wretched elf already had his death set out for him. Her only concern was in letting the man live long enough to interrogate him. Hopefully Korath didn’t simply gut him the moment he saw him.

Eerie silence.

The server golem rotated slightly, as if turning in its sleep.

And then, finally, the bathroom door opened.

Steam poured out. An elven man’s jovial humming. A naked, yellow-hue body covered only by a small towel wrapped around the waist.

Castien was a lot more muscular than Amelia gave him credit for. He had the posture and presence of a meek office worker, but he was definitely something beyond that.

Korath straightened his stance and adopted the slyest expression imaginable. He had to make a powerful impression to sell this ambush.

And when Castien saw him, he just about jumped out of his skin.

“Fancy meeting you here,” Korath said. “I thought I’d invite you out for tea, but it looks like you’re already in for the night.”

Castien’s aloof, humorous attitude had not yet fully activated. The surprise and genuine anger betrayed themselves in the man’s glasses-free eyes. “I’m not... Used to house calls for situations like this.”

“You took my vortex amulet. I was simply hoping you’d return it.”

“Ah, that. It’s on the drawer upstairs in the loft area. I was actually planning on taking it apart tomorrow. Having my people examine it and see how it ticks. A really fascinating piece of technology, isn’t it?”

“I’d prefer it stay with me, since our deal seems to be off.”

Castien seemed to let his guard down a little, stepped a few paces closer to Korath. Finally, his normal slick demeanor matched the coy words he spoke with.

“Oh, no, no. The deal can be on. If you tracked me all this way, it’s the least I can do. In fact, surviving Dimples and those Rev-8s alone is already... Remarkable, to say the least.”

Korath let out a “hmph” to scoff at him. “You didn’t expect enough of me. But perhaps you expected too much out of the girl.”

“Oh, I see. So Amelia is finally gone.”

“Gave her life to save me from those golems we were up against,” Korath lied. “She died, and I lived.”

“That’s all she was. A hero. Pathetic, really. On some crazy revenge mission and trying to cure the city or whatever. Those kind of nutjobs don’t deserve our pity. They just get in the way.”

“I don’t understand her. But it gave me the time I needed to kill that giant beast of a man.”

“Aw, you killed him? He was one of my favorites...” Castien took yet one more step closer to Korath. “I guess that makes you one of my favorites instead.”

“Keep talking.”

“Well, you want the vortex amulet. And you want the soul cache, too, I assume. I can give you both. No trouble, really, especially after you’ve proven your worth. You’re far more capable than I took you for, and I sincerely apologize. I wasn’t familiar with the game you play.”

“Are you trying to recruit me, Mister Brielwa?”

“I’d do more than just recruit you if the opportunity arose,” Castien said. And, after looking down, he added, “I already know something’s risen here.”

Korath gave him one long, deep blink. “And you’d help me with me necromancy research?”

“Ah, sure. I have enormous discretion with the Research & Development division. They won’t even notice the funds are missing. And the Mage Enforcers won’t be able to hunt you if they think you’re all the way in Thorntree.” Castien grabbed one of Korath’s arms and gestured with his head to follow him. “But that’s business talk. I think we’re in a different mood right now, aren’t we?”

“Is that what this is?”

“I bet you’ve never bed the most powerful man in the city before, have you?” Castien asked. “Don’t you want to know what it feels like?”

Korath leaned in close, and spoke quietly into Castien’s ear. “On any other night, I really might take you up on it. However.”

With that, Korath yanked his arm away from him. Shoved him in the chest as hard as he could. Then made the gesture to signal to Amelia.

With the force of a mudbeast, Amelia leapt from the loft, screaming as she fell down right towards Castien.

Her arm supercharged with [Shock Pummel] and her fist collided right with Castien’s face.

The man stayed standing, but only barely. He stumbled around, lost his balance, and had to reach out with his arms to catch himself on a wall. The towel around his waist fell off onto a clump on the floor.

By the time he had come to, Amelia and Korath had already met up, side-by-side, ready to pummel the living shit out him.

Castien panted. Smiled the way only truly tired men can. And he laughed. Laughed hard.

His mana was almost spent, but he was refreshed just enough to make this far from a curb-stomp. He was still ready for a fight.

Problem was, so were Korath and Amelia. And they weren’t going to fail this time.