Leif stalked a trio of ghosts through the damp tunnels, trying his best to ignore the rank odour wafting around him with every step he took. His clothes were torn and scorched, little better than tatters, the ivory white of his body exposed in several key locations. Echoes of voices and footsteps echoed down from above as the people of Klos went about their day, a day likely inundated with chaos and uncertainty.

The guild office was destroyed, the man in charge was dead. An imperial captain who had been attending a meeting in the building had likewise perished, Leif could already sense the fear and uncertainty as it filtered down from above. Hopefully none of the factions scrambling to make sense of the situation would initiate a conflict, the result of which would likely be blood running in the streets.

Samil, Liv and Olav wouldn’t know where he was, though it was unlikely that would believe he had perished in the flames. Ram had told the story of him being blown apart by an exploding ice elemental enough times that his near imperviousness was a known fact among the fledgling community of Far-reach.

The ghosts, gilded outlines of the three who had been responsible for the attack turned to the left, disappearing around a corner. Leif jogged to catch up, having to reactivate his time perception he relocated the fleeing echoes. This was an interesting workout for the skill, Leif could rewind time to see the movements and actions of what had transpired recently, but he could also run his perception of the past forwards, seeing a delayed version of events outlined in golden dust.

A tiny spec of gold moved across the ground in front of him, a rat or some other kind of sewer dwelling creature most likely. Leif paid it no mind, his attention fixated on the trio of ethereal figures as they fled from the scene of their crime. With a hole in the floor of the guild building it wouldn’t take long for people to begin searching the tunnels for the culprits, just like he was doing.

I’m on a time limit. He thought darkly. If the worst comes to pass I’ll try to flee the town and hide out in the wilderness. Running away wasn’t something he was keen on doing, it felt like the worse of his several options. Fleeing to preserve his identity as no longer human felt like a failure, as though doing so would forever taint his attempts to integrate into the world in which he once belonged.

The tunnel widened, the age worn stone sloping steadily downwards. The sounds from above were quieter now, he was likely on the very outskirts of Klos. But the sewer system kept going, expanding outwards as if to accommodate for a part of the town that didn’t exist. Leif frowned beneath his newly made mask as he stepped into a large stone chamber with some sort of long defunct machine built into the far wall.

Pipes and wheels rusted where they hung inert and inoperable, what metallic surface they had that was still clean glimmered under the light of a large quartz gemstone that flickered fitfully where it was carved into the ceiling. Several connecting tunnels lay entirely in shadow, no light from the surface reaching their confines. The golden echoes stopped by the machine, only to continue on after a short pause. Leif followed them, careful to trace their steps as the cracked and uneven stone below his feet threatened to shift.

The next series of tunnels and rooms were like stepping back in time, the worn stone bricks of the sewer system giving way to structures of even older design and far more wear. Tunnels slanted at increasingly obtuse angles, entire rooms subsumed by earth and mud. The echoes he was following picked their way through the archaic chambers with swift familiarity, his own progress hampered by his heavy physique.

Finally the maze of tunnels met natural caverns, a ravine cutting through the ancient passageway and abruptly ending the expansive network of chambers and rooms. Running water fell from above in a constant roar of sound, the clear liquid plummeting down into a shadowed reservoir far below. Leif pressed up against the wall of the cavern as low voices came into his auditory range.

Tents and camping supplies littered the large shelf of stone that jutted out to give the cavern an almost crescent moon shape with jagged edges and a slanted roof. Glowing quartz speckled every surface that hadn’t been eroded by flowing water, evidence of several crystals having been ground to dust beneath boots littering the ground as chalky detritus.

Leif let his perception skill drop, letting out a deep breath as the increasing amount of internal strain lessened as its effects dissipated. He didn’t need them anymore, his targets were right before him. Roots emerged from the cracked stone above him, Leif reached out with a hand and grasped the nearest one, pulling vitality down through his arm. Anyone on the surface above would see a tree wither away, its leaves rapidly ageing and bark falling off in clumps.

“-Camp, up to the surface and get a few days away from the town.” Said a gruff voice. The source a tall man with greying hair and sunken eyes.

“As I said before, we should wait to see the results of our actions. It’ll take at least half a day for the first adventurer teams to reach this part of the underground, I can go back up topside and see if our job is done.” Said a feminine figure draped in dark cloth and leathers.

“We also need to strike the guard camp, they have some of the expendables in cages. They probably won't be able to talk but…” Said a bored sounding voice from the third person, they were slumped against the far wall of the cavern, orange flames dancing between their fingers.

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

“There’s no need.” Said the woman. “Any of them that knows anything swore an oath of silence, neither the guard or the guild will get anything out of them.” She took a small flask from her hip and took a sip. “Operational security should be the priority now.”

The grey haired man stiffened, then turned in Leif’s direction. “Quiet.” He snapped, drawing a curved blade in a single, smooth motion.

“Hmm?” The bored looking man grunted, letting out a sigh as he straightened up. “Dan, there’s nothing there, Verity-”

Leif stepped out from the wall he had been pressed up against, striding out to look down on the three humans. “Planning to kill more people are you?” He asked, tone flat, golden eyes glaring.

“I thought our tracks were hidden?” The fire-aspected man said, shooting a glance at his female companion.

“Our physical tracks were.” She hissed, shadows boiling up around her like writhing snakes.

“Who are you?” Asked the grey haired man. When Leif didn’t reply he continued. “Are you a guilder? Are you with the imperials or the guard?”

“None of those.”

“Then you have no reason to hinder us, you should not have tracked us down.”

Leif cocked his head to the side. “I was in the guild building when you blew it up. Is that not reason enough?”

“He’s alone.” The woman, Verity said under her breath, her voice carrying due to the cavern's acoustics. “We can take him.”

Leif stepped forward, hopping down the small ledge to land with a thud on the same level as the three humans.

“You’re an arrogant one, aren't you?” Said the sword wielder, his curved blade coming up in an aggressive motion.

“Arrogant?” Leif said, locking eyes with the man. “I’m confident, and perhaps more importantly, I’m very angry.”

“Friends with some of the guildies I cooked?” Asked the man with flames wreathing his hands, his expression was completely devoid of emotion. “That’s a shame.”

“Professional acquaintances.” Leif said, four golden arms sprouting from each of his sides as the humans moved to encircle him. “I’m angry because I didn’t want to get involved, but then you had to burn up my cloak.”

“Ah, sorry about that.”

“We could give you new clothes?” Asked the woman, but her tone made it clear she was joking. “But we wouldn’t let you leave afterwards.”

“Cut the banter. Unknown opponent, unknown skills, fight to kill, formation three.”

Leif lowered himself into a combat stance, arms fanning out around him. Three hostile aura’s pressed down onto him as his own flared out. Swordsman, fire elementalist and some sort of shadow magic. He thought, mentally assessing each of his opponents. Fire user first, then whoever's the biggest threat after that.

“A noble.” Said the swordsman, brow furrowing. “From where do you hail? Are you from the empire?”

“Does it matter?” Leif asked, moving to keep all three combatants in his field of view as they circled him.

“You should have stayed in your estate, lordling.” Mocked the woman as her form blurred into the shadows.

“It’s a lifetime too late for that.” He said, then he shot forward, three golden arms lashing out to fend off the swordsman while three more lanced out towards the fire elementalist. Silver crescents cut into his conjured limbs as a tide of darkness flowed behind him.

The elementalist backed away, creating balls of flame to hover in the air between himself and Leif. He kicked off, his attributes were through the roof due to proactively draining enough vitality prior to the fight to be capped off. The stone cracked as he surged forwards, driving away the swordsman as the man blurred forwards, blade flashing out in an attempt to cut his way through the repeatedly replenishing forest of golden arms.

Leif swatted aside one of the floating motes of flame, the hovering power detonating at his touch, the explosion of fire and force being absorbed by his shield, the kinetic power behind the skill mitigated by his solid footwork and dense body. Shadows snaked in from behind, cutting at him and trying to entangle him in a web of inky darkness. Leif couldn’t detect the source, the female assailant having veiled herself, her presence undetectable by his perception.

He forced his way through the restraints, strands of shadows snapping as he crushed a second fire mote in a golden fist. He heard a curse from the shadow user as he charged through the rapidly clearing haze of smoke that had engulfed him due to the explosions. Flames flickered around him, burning the already scorched fabric of his ruined outfit as he locked eyes with the elementalist. The man’s blank, emotionless expression subtly shifting into a look of shock.

The man lowered his arms, then pulled upwards as if trying to telekinetically lift the stone floor. A line of flames erupted from the ground, the elemental magic an opaque wall blocking his line of sight. Before Leif could charge through it, the remainder of his clothing be damned, the swordsman arrived in front of him in a blur of movement. Steel cut into his torso as the man executed a barrage of blisteringly quick attacks, fabric was shorn through and ivory bark was cut into.

The swordsman backed away as conjured arms lashed out to grab him, the man's footwork quick and precise as he danced away from Leif’s reach. Silhouetted against the wall of fire he raised his sword, then there were two more of him on either side, both copies likewise raising their blades. Power built, blossoming alone the edges of the three raised swords like invisible fire.

“May your bloodline end with you.” The man spat, a gleam in his eyes as he shifted his stance in preparation to attack.

“That’s the plan.” Leif said, then mentally grabbed the roots buried deep within the rock ceiling above them, and pulled the roof down on top of them.