We made our way up the stairs and to the jail part of the basement. Above us was the ground floor which hosted a few more storage rooms and a big open area with access to the courtyard. It had probably been a stable at some point but everything except the stone had rotted away.
Drakonian activity was more pronounced on this level. The stairway closest to the stable entrance was frequently used by drakonians who went to and from the tents in the courtyard to the upper levels. On the upper levels, activity increased once more. Several rooms had been converted into makeshift barracks and even a dining hall.
I scanned for our quarry and finally found her on the third floor. She was dressed differently from the rest of the drakonians present who had only crude furs on. The priestess had an elaborate dress slash armor on, made of wool and treated leather. She was in the company of several other drakonians, all better dressed than most. The golden bracelet hung loose on her wrist.
> [Drakonian (Level 72, Rank 3; Cleric)]
> [Drakonian (Level 52, Rank 3; Warrior)]
> [Drakonian (Level 54, Rank 3; Warrior)]
> [Drakonian (Level 51, Rank 3; Warrior)]
> [Drakonian (Level 49, Rank 3; Scout)]
'I found the target,' I signed, 'on the third floor. With four guards.'
'Strategy?'
A direct assault was out of the question. The entire fort would be on us in seconds. I thought for a second about going for a distraction but dismissed it, splitting up added many more ways things could go wrong. The best approach was stealth. The dark would fall soon, Vel and I had spent quite a bit of time inside the secret room, with the reduced visibility it would be the perfect time to strike.
I snuck one of my magic eyes outside and positioned it with a view into the priestess' room. It had a big open balcony which made it very easy to see into the whole room at once. There was a small fire at the center of the room around which the warriors had congregated. The scout was observing the room from a corner. And the priestess herself was on a small throne made of wood and animal bones.
With my sphere, I kept an eye on any patrol that could stumble upon us.
'We wait for them to sleep,' I signed, 'then we take out the guards and the leader in silence.'
'What about the patrols?'
'We can eliminate them beforehand. They only work in groups of two inside.'
'The bodies?'
'I can remove them with void magic. Need a bit of time to create spell.'
'Perfect. Let's retreat below.'
I nodded. Vel led the way down while I kept an eye on everything.
----------------------------------------
> Skill Mental Mastery has reached rank 1, level 13 (+1 levels)
> Skill Mental Library has reached rank 1, level 11 (+1 levels)
> Skill Nature Magic has reached rank 2, level 14 (+3 levels)
It didn't take too long to create the Disintegrate spell. Void magic was well suited to the task and inside a major spell slot it would be particularly potent. The few unfortunate bricks I had tested it on had completely disappeared.
'That is scarily effective,' Vel signed.
'I put a safety in, it does not work on living targets.'
'Very good idea,' Vel nodded.
I guided us back up. In the hour or so it had taken me to build the spell, the inhabitants of the fort had transitioned to their night schedule. Most of the drakonians had retreated to the former barracks in the fort or the tents in the courtyard. Pairs were patrolling the hallways around the populated areas but didn't seem to venture too far into the part of the fort they didn't occupy.
We caught the first patrol at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the first floor. I created a hollow bubble of obscuring mist around the exit as soon as they left the last step. In the near-total darkness of the night, the mist would be invisible to any outsiders and the sound blocking properties would prevent anyone from hearing the scuffle.
It was over in a flash, Vel and I stepped from our hiding places on each side of the stairs. I used a small burst of lightning Arcane Strike to stun my target and plant my dagger through its eye. Vel had a thorny plant on the ground snake up to deliver a paralytic toxin through the gaps in her target's armor, her target hit the ground at the same time as mine. Ten seconds later, the corpses had vanished entirely.
> Your group has defeated [Drakonian (Level 48, Rank 3; Warrior)]
> Your group has defeated [Drakonian (Level 46, Rank 3; Warrior)]
> Experience gain reduced by 20% for fighting with a group
> Experience gain increased by 20% for fighting a group
> Experience gain increased by 50% for defeating an enemy above your rank
>
> Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
>
> Essence Absorption collected 6 ES
>
>
>
> Skill Stealth has reached rank 2, level 9 (+1 level)
>
> Reached Level 39 (Rank 2, +1 level)
> Gained: 3 ES
We took the stairs to the top level, avoiding the patrols on the second floor. There were only two groups patrolling and they were at opposite sides of the hallways with no line of sight between them, a very bad idea. We waited for one of the group to get to a three way intersection. Vel and I were hiding inside a veil of Obscuring Mist on one side, I used Melody of Earth to flick a pebble on the other side.
The two guards turned towards it, their weapons raised. A second later, they were inside a bubble of darkness with Vel and I behind them. My new dagger sliced through the guard's neck like a hot knife through butter. He clutched at it desperately but it was too late, my follow up strike took his life by severing the spine. Vel had pumped her own victim full of poison. I destroyed the corpses and cleaned the splashes of blood on the floor.
> Your group has defeated [Drakonian (Level 48, Rank 3; Warrior)]
> Your group has defeated [Drakonian (Level 47, Rank 3; Warrior)]
> Experience gain reduced by 20% for fighting with a group
> Experience gain increased by 20% for fighting a group
> Experience gain increased by 50% for defeating an enemy above your rank
> Essence Absorption collected 6 ES
>
> Skill Stealth has reached rank 2, level 10 (+1 level)
>
> Reached Level 40 (Rank 3, +1 level)
> Gained: 25 ES
This is fucked up, I thought. At the same time, the mission is the mission. And I know that if they see us, we're dead. I don't know if the scout following us can save us here, maybe if we manage to escape the building.
I shook the doubt away. We were closing in on our objective. The last patrol was ambushed in the same place as the first, with the same tactic.
> Your group has defeated [Drakonian (Level 43, Rank 3; Warrior)]
> Your group has defeated [Drakonian (Level 45, Rank 3; Warrior)]
> Experience gain reduced by 20% for fighting with a group
> Experience gain increased by 20% for fighting a group
> Essence Absorption collected 6 ES
>
> Skill Stealth has reached rank 2, level 11 (+1 level)
We left no traces behind and moved in on the priestess' chamber. She had gone to sleep on a cot at the back of the room, two guards and the same bored scout were keeping watch from the balcony. With the room lit by the fire at the center, striking from the shadows was much harder. My arsenal of spells was a bit too direct for this. Thankfully, Vel came to the rescue with her plant manipulation.
We each positioned ourselves at one entrance of the room, ready to take on one guard each. She snaked a vine around the room and behind the scout. It struck and pumped the drakonian full of paralyzing poison and deadly toxins. The sound of his body hitting the floor was our signal to strike, I whirled around the door and stabbed the guard in the neck. His hand went for his weapon but a second strike through the temple killed him. On the other side of the room, Vel had taken care of the other guard in a similar manner.
> Your group has defeated [Drakonian (Level 52, Rank 3; Warrior)]
> Your group has defeated [Drakonian (Level 51, Rank 3; Warrior)]
> Your group has defeated [Drakonian (Level 49, Rank 3; Scout)]
> Experience gain reduced by 20% for fighting with a group
> Experience gain increased by 20% for fighting a group
> Essence Absorption collected 9 ES
>
> Reached Level 41 (Rank 3, +1 level)
> Gained: 3 ES
There were guards on the roof but none were looking anywhere near the balcony. I dragged the scout's corpse in and vanished all three in silence. I quietly approached the sleeping priestess. She had divested herself of most of her garments and jewelry but not the golden bracelet. I couldn’t identify it, the passive mana field around any living creature made it impossible. I created a wall of mist between us and the outside, in case she woke up.
I tried to gently shift the bracelet from her wrist. I wasn't a master thief but she looked like she was sleeping like a rock. The bracelet was past her thumb when her hand closed around it. Her head swung around to me and our eyes met, I could tell she hadn't expected us. She opened her mouth to shout but I was faster and delivered a quick punch to her throat. She swung her fist at me and I blocked it with my arms but the force was enough to make me stumble from my crouching position.
Her other hand started to fill with red light. I prepared a barrier to intercept. An arrow from Vel struck her in the eye and broke her concentration. She growled in anger and tried to heal herself. I didn't let her and pressed the advantage, I charged forward with both daggers unsheathed and ready to deliver their electric payload. Mystic Enhancement gave me the speed advantage and I struck around her guard.
The flash of blue lighting paralyzed her. It was over, my second dagger severed her spine.
> Your group has defeated [Drakonian (Level 72, Rank 3; Cleric)]
> Experience gain reduced by 20% for fighting with a group
> Experience gain increased by 20% for fighting a dangerous enemy
> Essence Absorption collected 3 ES
>
> Reached Level 43 (Rank 3, +2 level)
> Gained: 6 ES
I picked up the golden bracelet from the ground and dropped it in one of my pouches. With a swirl of black energy, the priestess' body vanished into nothingness like the others. I nodded to Vel and we were off. We had been fast enough that there hadn't been a patrol change yet, the drakonians wouldn't discover anything was amiss until then.
The way out was even faster. We snuck out of a first floor window and vanished into the thick jungle.