Our small tour of the adventurer settlement was interrupted while we were on the way back to the guild hall. Vel suggested we take a shortcut. On the map, it looked innocuous enough but at some point I noticed the change in atmosphere. It was fairly obvious we had made our way to the bad part of town. Where the shady deals took place and the risk of mugging was higher. The people here didn't look all that different from everywhere else, neither did the buildings, but my instincts still told me to be on my guard.
The path took us through a side path between two tall buildings.
I couldn't find an ambush through my sphere but I had never tested it against higher level rogues and their stealth skills. When Katherine jumped through her shadows, I hadn't been able to track her. It stood to reason that she wasn't the only one with such abilities.
Not that Vel and I didn't have any tricks of our own.
"This place feels … different," Vel said.
"It looks like we found that part of town," I mused.
"Which part?" Vel asked, confused.
"The one where the underworld peeks at the surface."
For an instant, I felt something ripple through my sphere. A faint presence inside one of the building entrances on the sides of the alley. With a snap decision, I sent a small blade of obsidian flying in that direction. It sank into the wooden frame, droplets of blood falling from the edge. The unexpected action created ripples like a rock thrown into a pond. Now that I had noticed the slight flaw in that skill's camouflage, I noticed other slight inconsistencies.
Skill Tracking has reached rank 5, level 3 (+2 levels)
"Maybe it would be best to show yourself," I raised my voice.
Vel had jumped into action right after I had. Vines were growing on her arms and I could feel her magic reaching out to the surroundings, ready to strike at a moment's notice.
A man with a well kept beard stepped out from somewhere, his stealth skill dropping as he moved into view. Around us, several others did as well. There were six of them in total.
[Human (Level 163, Rank 5; Rogue⋆)]
[Human (Level 141, Rank 5; Rogue⋆)]
[Catfolk (Level 156, Rank 5; Rogue-Tracker)]
[Wolfkin (Level 158, Rank 5; Rogue-Tracker)]
[Wood Elf (Level 137, Rank 5; Rogue-Mage)]
[Gnome (Level 152, Rank 5; Rogue-Mage)]
"My, my, I didn't expect Sal to get spotted like that …" The leader said. The wood elf I had nicked with my obsidian blade grumbled. "Though, it looks like the spider walked into our web."
I rolled my eyes. Was he a thief or a stand-up comedian?
"What do you want?" Vel asked. Her posture was tense. We were used to fighting monsters, not other people. The difference in numbers mattered a whole lot more here.
"What every man wants, fame, fortune," the leader smirked.
"Aren't you a bit bold? Right in guild territory?" I said with a raised eyebrow.
"As long as we do not go overboard … a little bit of hazing never hurt anyone." The leader said confidently. "It's important to remind our fellow adventurers to be vigilant after all." At least it looked like they weren't intent on killing us. It was good to know.
"Such a noble intent," I said, obvious sarcasm in my tone. I flexed my hand and the threads I had strung around the alley tightened around the gnome's feet and dangled him into the air. "Though you should work on your distractions."
"Boss!" The dangling gnome shouted.
"I guess it's a no for the easy way," the leader pulled out a dagger from behind him.
I snapped my fingers and the crackle of thunder answered. Black storm cloud billowed from our position, shrouding the entire alley in darkness. I assumed most of them had skills or perks that would allow them to see through the improvised veil but I hoped it would slow them down enough to give us an edge. The electricity coursing through the clouds would also hinder their movements. Unfortunately, the alley was too cramped for my phantasms to provide support.
Vel threw her vine whips towards the second human, he deflected the first with his dagger but she snaked the second past his guard. They wrapped around his arm and sprouted angry looking thorns. My defensive buffs flared to life just in time to deflect a dagger thrown my way. It grazed my carapace but didn't leave a scratch. I send a volley of arcane missiles towards the source.
Another rogue closed the distance, the wolfkin, his twin daggers raised to strike. I answered with two of my legs. They struck fast and he barely intercepted them in time. The force behind them sent him tumbling back right into some sticky webs. I threw a sticky net at him for good measure.
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
The catfolk rogue was advancing on Vel who was in a close range duel with the leader and his companion. He tried to attack her from behind but she artfully weaved around his strike and delivered a blow to his face that made him stumble back. His moment of disorientation was enough for her to slap a cluster of vines on his chest which burst into motion and restrained him in an instant.
At the same time, the wood elf cast several spells my way. I intercepted the globs of shadow with my arcane barrier before they could reach my torso. The substance flowed along the surface of the shield and splashed down on my abdomen. It immediately tried to spread and restrain me. I dispelled them before they could.
That magic is troublesome…
The gnome tried to cast a spell as well from within my webs but I immediately cast a mana burn. He yelped and his concentration wavered while I cast the Calm spell on him. He slumped in his bindings. Meanwhile, the wood elf tried to cast another volley but I was faster. I cast Shadow Concerto and assailed him directly behind his cover. Dozens of tendrils of shadows encircled his limbs and slowed his movements. He managed to slice through a few with a dagger but each cut produced two more tentacles. In the end, he was fully cocooned by the darkness.
The second human had fallen to Vel's magic, his hands bound to the ground by strong roots. The only one remaining was the thief's leader. They were engrossed in a duel, daggers against sword. Vel used her magic to her advantage, crumbling the ground beneath his feet or attacking with vines from multiple directions, but it seemed her opponent could hold his own. Though Vel had a trick up her sleeves. On the next attack, she let one of the knives through her guard long enough to trap the leader's arm with her own. More vines surged from behind her and crept up the trapped limb. He attacked with his other dagger but she blocked it with a shield made of wood.
A few seconds later, he was all wrapped up. I let the clouds dissipate and we observed the scene before us. The thieves were all bound in one manner or another.
"Looks like we lost boys," the leader sighed. "For a pair of healers, you two sure pack a punch."
"You went easy on us," I declared.
"Eh, just some friendly hazing," he tried to shrug. "You win some, you lose some. Don't want no bad blood."
"Since we won, does that mean we get to take your stuff?" Vel wondered.
"Hey missy! Don't joke like that!" The other human said. "We wouldn't have robbed ya!"
"Jack!" A new voice interrupted us. It was a human woman at the end of the alley. She wore a leather armor similar to the other rogues.
"Ah … Maria," the leader, Jack, tried to look away.
"I think we'll take our leave," I said. Vel gave me a questioning look but I just winked at her and wriggled my ring finger. She gave me a stealthy smile.
----------------------------------------
We made our way back to the guild hall. There were still a few hours left in the day and Vel suggested we try our hand at a few of the local missions if there were any left. The ones that fit our skills the best would be the requests for healing.
There were three left on the board when we arrived. One was at the guild hall itself and two were in town. I picked them up and we went to the counter. The lines were far enough apart that I didn't have any problems. Though I took up enough space, around seven adventurers in length, that it made the queue appear more full than it was.
"Welcome," the attendant, Lydia according to her name tag, greeted them. "How may I help you?"
"We'd like to undertake these missions," Vel put the three papers on the desk.
"Your badges please," Lydia said.
Vel and I both handed her our medals. She placed them on a rune stone in front of her. A small hologram appeared below the counter with our information. She quickly looked and handed us the medals back.
"Everything is in order. Here are the details," she put three sheets of paper on the counter, "have the client sign them as proof of completion."
"Thank you," I said.
Our first mission was in the guild hall. A returning team had suffered some serious wounds that required the attention of a healer. Potions were fine for most tissue damage but things like broken bones needed to be set beforehand or risked healing wrong. The same went for poisons, antidotes worked against the most common types and more exotic substances needed specific counter-agents or spells. Curses needed a healer no matter what as far as I knew.
After navigating the cramped hallway of the guild, we reached the room.
"Excuse us," Vel knocked on the door. "We are the healers."
A catfolk answered the door. He looked at Vel then at me and his eyes went wide. His tail stood straight up as well. He stood frozen for a few seconds before he managed to regain his composure.
"Come in," he said. "Sorry, I wasn't expecting …"
"I know," I waved him off. The door was a little tight but I managed to squeeze through behind Vel. There were six adventurers, a mix of different ancestries like the Wanderers. I found our patient right away, on the bed closest to the entrance. She was a sun elf with a mangled arm which radiated a malicious aura, a curse.
"Ves," the catfolk walked to her bed. "The healers are here." She looked at us but her eyes were glassy.
"What is the source of the curse?" I asked. Vel moved to the foot of the bed and started to cast her healing spells but something seemed to slow and even prevent the mangled flesh from knitting back together.
"It was some kind of six legged lizard," one of the adventurers, a human, said. "Could almost mistake it for a Jagras from afar but it was much stronger. We managed to drive it away but …"
I cast my own spells. The picture I got was ugly, her arm was crushed and the tendrils of the curse had been spreading for quite a while. The curse hadn't reached her heart yet but the right lung had already started to decay. From what I could see it targeted regeneration and vitality.
"Pretty nasty," I said. "Do you know the name?"
"Bi- Bite of Decay," the elf answered with a rasp.
"You kept the wounds clean?" I asked.
"As much as we could," the catfolk answered.
"It targets vitality and prevents regeneration," I said to Vel who grimaced. "Heal her while I dismantle the curse. Sorry but it's probably going to hurt." I summoned several catalysts over the woman and cast my own array of stabilizing spells.
Then I cast Remove Curse.
The malignant spell lurched inside of the elf, eliciting a moan of pain, but resisted the assault. I shifted the runes slightly and I saw the tendrils creeping towards her heart stop then recess slowly. "I've managed to slow it down."
It wasn't over but I was on the right track. I cast a second instance of the spell with runes focused on vitality. This time, Vel had to tackle the elf against the bed to prevent her from moving too much. Vel cast a pain numbing spell. "The curse was also removing the pain."
I cast the spell a third time, amplified to its maximum, and with another set of runes that targeted the ichor magic behind the curse. This time, I felt the difference and the curse started to wither rapidly. "I've got it!" I continued to pump mana through my spells and watched as the wound of the elf's arm rapidly closed themselves thanks to Vel's help.
After a minute, it looked as good as new.
The sun elf was panting on the bed.
"Holy shit that hurt," she swore. "And I owe you both a round," she said to Vel and I.
"Thank you," the human bowed.
"At your service," I bowed slightly in return. After everything, it felt good to heal people again.