Chapter 28

The speed with which Hans’ face went from cruel rage to sheer terror was impressive. And yet, the speed of the change was dwarfed by what happened next. Even before the mysterious cloaked figure leapt from the tree, while her words still echoed in the air, A trio of daggers seemed to magically sprout from Hans. One in the back of his neck, and one in each of his shoulders. The daggers were made of an all-black material, similar to Ryker’s own armor, and sunk all the way into his flesh and bone, leaving only the backs of the weapons. They were throwing knives, that much was certain, but I’d not been able to tell when they were thrown, or what they looked like, before they found their marks.

Hans dropped to his knees, both his arms slumping to his sides. His mouth opened and closed, yet no words came out. Then, and only then, did the figure drop from the tree, landing lightly in front of me, her cloak billowing as she did. I caught the sight of dark armor, some sort of scaled leather black as night, clinging to her slim yet muscled frame. I was pretty sure I also saw about eight different daggers strapped to her waist.

“Enjoy your nap.” She said cheerily as she kicked Hans in the chest. He slid backwards a few feet and dropped, unmoving, to the ground. Then, she removed her hood and turned towards me, offering me a gloved hand. Only the top part of her face was visible, as her nose, mouth, and neck were all covered in a tight black material.

I looked at her offered hand, and hesitantly took it. She lifted me up, and then turned to look at the rest of us. Lyn was still taking shelter behind a tree a good thirty feet away. Nyle, his rapier still stuck in Hans, was eying the mysterious newcomer, his hand outstretched, ready to summon flames at any moment.

“If I wanted to kill you all,” the mystery woman said cheerily, “you’d already be dead.” She pulled her face cover down and smiled. She was young, probably close to our age.

“Are you with Ryker’s Clan?” I asked as realization sank in. He’d mentioned his other clan members would be spending time on the first floor.

“Got it in one,” she said with a dazzling smile. “Ryker always did talk highly of you. Glad to see he wasn’t just pointlessly bragging.” She dug her foot lightly under my bloody parrying dagger on the ground and flipped it up, catching it by the very tip and handing it to me in the same motion. “And I saw you picked up his habit of underhanded tricks too.”

I took the dagger and wiped the blood off on my pants, before sheathing it.

“I didn’t have any other choice,” I said with a shrug. “There’s no point in fighting fair in a fight that’s already unfair anyways.” I added.

“True true,” she nodded. “I had planned to intervene sooner, but honestly,” she paused as she knelt to grab the first fallen axe, and it disappeared in a flash, likely into her inventory. She did the same with the other and looked back at us. “I was enjoying the show.”

I felt my fist clench, and my anger boiled. I took a heavy breath and tried to calm myself.

“You let us suffer,” Nyle, on the other hand, didn’t bite his tongue. “For your amusement?” He stepped towards her, but then hesitated, glancing back at Hans, whom she’d just incapacitated in the span of a second. “You let Ash suffer, for what?”

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“If pain like that broke Ash,” she said cooly, “he wouldn’t have what it takes to be a Climber. It wasn’t ideal, sure, but it was a learning moment for all of you. In the Tower, as Climbers, you’ll face foes like Hans. Insurmountable odds, enemies that you cannot even dream of being able to fight. Desperation.” Her tone was serious. “The sooner you learn to keep pushing, to never give up, and to endure and push past the pain to cling to any chance of victory, the better. Sure, I could have saved you right away, but then, you would have missed out on a valuable life lesson, and important experience.”

She chuckled and looked back at Hans. “Plus, like I said, that final attack you three pulled together, made it all worth it. He’s never going to live that down. I’ll make sure of it.”

“How was he so strong?” Nyle asked, moving past his anger. “My flames did nothing.”

“He’s got a ring of fire resistance.” The woman said simply. “Tenth floor boss is a Fire Salamander. Doesn’t completely negate fire, mind you, but a fireball from a level 1 Climber, yeah, not gonna bother him much. Plus, he dumped his stats into strength and Constitution, so he’s about as tough as he is ugly.” She laughed again. “Ryker is going to lose his shit over this.”

“Did Ryker ask you to watch over us?” I asked, taking the opportunity to interject. “Did he know Hans would be waiting for us?”

“Yes, and no.” She answered mysteriously. “Technically if he’d known for certain, I don’t think he would have let you out of his sight. He’s a softy when it comes to you. Bet he was hoping the other Coals would be the bait.”

“Bait?” Nyle interjected.

“Er, targets?” The woman said, “if that works better? Whatever makes you feel better.” She ran a hand through her hair. “Our clan’s working a job for Alex. Hans and his little group of buddies have been stirring up trouble the last few years, but no one has been able to catch em in the act. This year, when Ryker was asking about you, Alex offered our clan a quest at the same time. A little personal, Climber’s Rest quest. Get direct evidence of anyone hazing the new Climbers and capture the perpetrators.” She pointed towards the unmoving Hans. “Reward for this little job is more than worth using my gorilla tranquiller on my daggers.”

“Now then,” she pulled her mask back up, and slipped her hood over her head. “You three should probably get to monster slaying. You’ve seen firsthand that levels are important, so start grinding. As for me,” she walked over towards the paralyzed Hans, rope appearing in her hands, “I’ve got a big ol pile of shit to drag out of here.”

She paused as she reached him, and looked back towards us once more. “You should probably collect your weapons first though,” she flipped Hans on his side and ripped Nyle’s rapier out. She tossed it back towards him without even looking, as she grabbed my scimitar, which was still caught in his elbow. A second later it was spiraling through the air, to land imbedded in the ground right between my feet.

Then, a quiver appeared in her hands, and she tossed it towards Lyn. “I’m sure Alex will give you a discount for the arrows you spent on this guy,” she said, before she let him drop back on his back, and began tying the rope around his legs. “Now then, when you do see Ryker, let him know I send my regards.”

And without another word, she started out of the woods, dragging Hans lazily behind her like it was a normal day. She started whistling a moment later, the tune lingering in the silence around us, as we all shared uncertain, confused looks.

“So,” I started, my weapons back at my side, “I guess we should do what she said?”

Lyn nodded, and Nyle grunted in approval, though his eyes told me he was deep in thought. It was hard to feel excited or eager about anything, after what we’d just been through. What we’d just witnessed. I had a chilling thought, as we slowly started heading once again in the direction of the stream. Compared to those two, compared to Ryker, just how weak were we? We were supposed to be climbers, and yet, compared to even Hans, we’d been nothing but playthings. Less of a threat to him, than the goblins on the first floor were to us.

I swallowed hard and pushed the thought down, as once more, an increasingly familiar question, almost a mantra at this point, brushed unbidden against mind. What type of Climber do you wish to be?