Freth entered the main room of the mansion, his arms laden with clothing. “I’m happy to say that the coachman’s uniform is in fine condition. Follow me, Dylan, and I’ll show you to your room.”
It hadn’t occurred to me that the mansion would serve as the Surgeons’ living quarters, but it made sense. I walked up the stairs and followed the servant into a long corridor.
“Your room is the last on the left,” Freth said.
I took the coachman’s uniform and entered my room, which was far more luxurious than anything I’d seen at the Prince’s Arms. A mahogany chest of drawers stood between a wardrobe and a long silver mirror. In the rear corner, the four-poster bed had a magnificent canopy made of ermine.
I peeled off my snakeskin armor and put on the dark gray shirt, which had a shiny fur collar and gold buttons. The pants were dark gray with black stripes running down the sides. I looked like a common coachman, but the clothes were made of a thin metal only slightly heavier than cotton. I stretched my arms and legs, and was pleasantly surprised to see that the armor gave me full freedom of movement.
I looked at my character sheet and laughed. My suit of +3 Surgeon’s Armor was unbreakable and impenetrable, granting me immunity to stabbing damage.
Next, I put on the gloves and shoes. According to the character sheet, the Surgeon’s gloves gave me a new ability called Spider Climb. The Surgeon’s Shoes granted me Silent Movement, which removed all noise caused by footfalls. That explained how Wystane was able to walk through the city without making a sound.
Excited, I leapt onto the east wall of the bedroom. There were no cracks or breaks in the wood, but my hands and feet took hold as though I was climbing a rocky surface. I climbed along the wall faster than I’d ever climbed before. If Gorlis could see this, he’d die of envy.
“What do you think?” Freth asked with a note of impatience.
I jumped off the wall and landed on my feet. Then I opened the door and grinned.
“Everything fits. This is the finest armor I’ve ever worn.”
“It’s also the most expensive armor in the kingdom,” Freth said. “Sewn from the hide of a chromium dragon. If you’re satisfied, I’ll show you the weapons.”
“Oh yes.” My mouth filled with saliva. “Please show me the weapons.”
Freth handed me a dark leather belt with a dagger in its sheath. When I strapped it on, the dagger became translucent. According to the character sheet, this was a Vanishing Belt, and it hid items attached to it. The dagger was a +3 Silver Dagger of Returning. After throwing the weapon, I could call it back to my hand with a thought.
Next, Freth handed me a crossbow made of a white substance that shimmered like alabaster. Its drawstring was connected to the frame through a complex mechanism of wheels, pulleys, and gears.
“Looks complicated,” I said. “How do I pull back the string?”
“You don’t,” Freth said. “The bow automatically draws back when you load.”
My mouth fell open. “Then I can fire as quickly as I can aim and load?”
“Precisely.”
“That’s… wonderful,” I said. “But my old crossbow had a jeweled sight that helped me aim. Can I get a sight for this?”
Freth laughed. “You’ll find it much easier to aim now. Give it a try.”
I raised the crossbow to eye level and aimed at one of the portraits on the wall. To my shock, a glowing green dot appeared on the subject’s forehead. It was like the laser sighting on a rifle.
“Incredible,” I whispered. “Do you see the dot?”
“No. The mark is only visible to the weapon’s wielder.”
I ran back to my room and strapped on my bandoliers. I desperately wanted to test the crossbow, but when I went to leave, Wystane and Freth stood outside my door, both with grave expressions.
“The armor fits well,” Wystane said. “What do you think?”
“Amazing!” I felt like a boy on Christmas morning. “I feel sorry for whoever we go up against.”
Wystane nodded. “There’s one more item.”
She handed me a medallion with a large violet gem set in gold. I put it on, but I didn’t feel any different. According to my character sheet, it was simply a Surgeon’s Medallion. I was about to ask a question, but Wystane’s voice sounded in my head.
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“The medallion grants limited telepathy. You can hear me when I project my thoughts, and I can hear you when you project yours.”
My jaw dropped. A medallion of telepathy. I wasn’t sure what it meant to “project” one’s thoughts, but I closed my eyes and focused my attention. “Can you hear what I’m thinking?”
“Perfectly.” Wystane’s tone became colder. “Your medallion was last worn by a Surgeon named Greyme, who died defending Encelas from a tarasque. Before Greyme, it was worn by Cadylla, who died fighting a horde of zombies. So you see, you have a reputation to uphold.”
“I’ll do my best to live up to their examples.”
“Then you’ll devote yourself to the defense of Encelas? You’ll obey my orders and those of the High Chamberlain?”
“Yes. I’ll devote myself to the defense of Encelas and obey your orders.”
“Then welcome to the Surgeons. Your first mission is to accompany us through the city and slay every werewolf we encounter.”
⚔
At noon, the five of us walked through Encelas, with Wystane, Bolan, Dannik, and Hubril flanking me at a distance. We were all dressed as servants, but our uniforms had little in common, and even the most perceptive onlooker wouldn’t have guessed that we were working together.
Our first destination was the Red Flagon, one of the more popular alehouses. Inside, patrons sat conversing and drinking at long tables arranged in rows. As I entered, I approached the bartender and looked over the different options.
“Everyone’s in position,” Wystane thought. “Show your mark.”
I brushed aside my hair and slowly turned in a circle, displaying Venabel’s mark for all to see. There was no reaction at first, so I started meandering through the rows of tables.
Suddenly one of the barmaids turned toward me with an expression of fury. She shouted in a low, guttural voice, “YOU HAVE INCURRED THE WRATH OF THE LADY OF MURDER!”
Everyone fell silent and watched the barmaid, whose bones extended until she stood about seven feet tall. Her mouth extended into a canine shape, and muscles swelled as auburn hair covered her body.
“Incredible,” Bolan thought.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Hubril thought.
“She’s closest to me, so I’ll take the first stab,” Wystane thought. “Watch for others.”
The barmaid’s face contorted and reformed itself until she had the fangs and feral eyes of a wolf. “DIE, BLASPHEMER!”
I unstrapped my new crossbow and loaded a silver bolt—and I couldn’t help but marvel as the wheels and gears drew the bow back. I aimed the green mark at the werewolf and held my finger on the trigger.
As the barmaid leaped toward me, Wystane approached from the side. In one quick motion, she drew her dagger and hurled it at the barmaid, who abruptly fell to the floor.
“She’s down,” Wystane thought. “Dylan, slay the beast.”
At one of the long tables, an aristocratic man in a velour shirt leapt to his feet and threw back his head. “KNOW THAT YOU HAVE OFFENDED VENABEL! YOUR PUNISHMENT IS DEATH!”
“Yours, Hubril,” Wystane thought.
I didn’t watch the aristocrat transform into a werewolf. Instead, I waited for Wystane to call back her dagger from the barmaid’s side. Then I fired my bolt into the barmaid’s chest and watched the body blaze into ash. +1,050 XP!
I reloaded my crossbow and faced the second werewolf, who lay face down on the floor, Hubril’s dagger in his side.
“Dylan, finish him.”
I waited for Hubril to call back his dagger, and then fired a silver bolt into the gray werewolf. The body burst into blue flame. +1,050 XP!
Everyone in the alehouse gaped at me. The volume of conversation began to rise, but there were no more shouts of fury.
“We’re done here,” Wystane thought.
“Sorry for the distraction, everybody,” I said, raising my voice. “I’ll be leaving now, so you shouldn’t have any more problems.”
I strapped my crossbow to my back, and no one blocked me as I left the saloon. After I’d taken about ten steps, I heard Wystane’s voice in my head.
“We’ll visit the Common Market next. Head down the road and keep left.”
⚔
The Surgeons and I spent the remainder of the afternoon walking through Encelas, visiting shops, smithies, alehouses, tanneries, and temples. I showed Venabel’s mark to tradesmen, laborers, nobles, and guards. As werewolves revealed themselves, we followed Wystane’s plan—one Surgeon stabbed with a silver dagger and I killed it with a silver bolt.
As the day wore on, we became so accustomed to slaying werewolves that Wystane didn’t need to give orders. We killed two in the barracks and another in the Ulwood Gardens, raising our total to nineteen. I gained 19,950 experience points, bringing me to Level 6 and allowing me to recover my Improved Acrobatics ability.
“Our work is finished,” Wystane projected. “Head back to the mansion, and I’ll talk to our informants.”
I joined Bolan, Dannik, and Hubril on the way back to Sir Amberley’s mansion. I was exhausted, and the other Surgeons appeared to be as well.
“Is Palomir really one of those… things?” Hubril asked.
“Yes,” I replied. “He serves Venabel now.”
“And you think he hired an assassin to kill you?” Bolan asked.
“He and Venabel are the only ones who wish me harm.”
Conversation waned as we made our way back to the mansion. Inside, five plates of steaming mutton sat on the central table. Freth joined us at the table, and we ate in silence.
A few minutes into the meal, Wystane stormed inside and slammed the front door. For the first time since I’d met her, a crack had appeared in her iron demeanor.
“What’s wrong?” I projected.
“The chamberlain asked his informants to find out as much as they could about Akasur. These were tough, careful men who understood the dangers of Encelas’s underworld. But they’ve all vanished without a trace. Even their friends have disappeared.”
“What are we going to do?” Dannik asked.
“We’re going to set a trap,” Wystane projected. “Dylan, when you’re done eating, put your old armor back on. We need to get to the Prince’s Arms before nightfall.”