Alex felt like shit. He lay on the street for a minute before Brutus and the Archer got to him. The Archer had just laughed and given him a potion to help mend Alex’s broken bones. They briefly went over when to meet the next day before sending Alex home. He quietly returned to his rented room and rested for the night.

Alex lay on his bed as he considered the events of the day. He felt sore from the injuries and tired.

“Today was a mess. I didn’t even see his attack coming. I was just so focused on chasing him down. My only worry was getting to the next roof, keeping my feet under me, and keeping Adrian in view. There is a lot of stuff to do tomorrow, and I hope that we can get it done. We could have caught him off guard, but he seemed to know and realize that we were coming for him. He didn’t try and fight and just ran. Our element of surprise is gone, and it may be harder to find him now. From how he moved and how fast I think that we can rule out fighter as his path. Very likely ranged as well because of that attack. I didn’t see it coming and it hit me with blunt force. It seemed like it was aimed to stop me but not kill me. Maybe it is because he didn’t want to reveal all of his powers. It is just strange. I wonder if Archer has any ideas. I’m sure he will come up with a great plan. But for now, I need rest.”

Alex continued to turn in bed as he started the process of falling asleep. The night went by quickly and in the morning he left to leave. Alex stepped down to the first floor when the innkeeper stopped him.

“There was a message for you. It is best you see it now before the guards start the process of cleaning up.” Alex’s mind went on high alert.

“Take me to it,” Alex responded. The innkeeper nodded.

The innkeeper led Alex through the inn, their footsteps echoing on the wooden floorboards. The air was thick with the scent of stale ale and the lingering aroma of last night's dinner. They exited through a side door, stepping into the cool morning air. The inn was nestled in the heart of the city, surrounded by cobblestone streets and towering buildings that cast long shadows in the early morning light.

As they rounded the corner of the inn, Alex's heart pounded in his chest. The sight that greeted him was a chilling tableau of horror. On the side of the inn, scrawled in a dark red substance that could only be blood, was a message. The letters were jagged and harsh as if the writer had been in a hurry, or perhaps it was a deliberate attempt to instill fear. The message read: "Your pursuit ends here."

Next to the message, a gruesome sight met Alex's eyes. Suspended from a rope tied to an overhead beam was the lifeless body of a man. His skin was pale, almost translucent, and his eyes were wide open, staring blankly into the distance. His body was a mere husk, drained of life and blood, hanging limply in the morning breeze. His clothes were tattered, and his face bore a look of sheer terror, a silent scream forever etched on his face.

Alex felt a cold shiver run down his spine. The sight was a stark reminder of the danger he was in. The threat was clear - Adrian wanted Alex to stop his pursuit. It was a warning, a new victim of Adrian.

The innkeeper stood silently beside Alex. His face was grim. "The guards will be here soon to take down the body and clean up the message," he said, his voice low. "I thought you should see it first."

Alex nodded, his mind racing. The element of surprise was indeed gone, and the stakes had just been raised. He needed to find Adrian, and fast. He needed to report it to the Archer. He turned to the innkeeper. Determination set in his eyes. "Thank you for showing me this," he said. "I need to get to work."

As he walked away, the chilling sight of the drained man and the bloody message burned into his memory, a grim reminder of the path he was on. The day had just begun, and there was much to do.

“What is with the serious face?” asked the Archer as Alex approached.

“Another man is dead. He was left outside my inn window. With the message of ‘Your pursuit ends here.’”

“We need to head back over to your inn then,” said Brutus.

“He is right. It is the freshest trail we know of,” said the Archer, “It has likely only been 5 or 6 hours at the most since he killed that person. We need to identify the murdered and then resume tracking.”

“We also need to discuss a new plan of attack and how we are going to take him down,” said Alex. They changed directions and started following Alex back toward his place of rest.

“Well, we need to stick together and not run ahead,” said the Archer with a pause. “Brutus and I briefly discussed Adrian and his powers yesterday. He is either a rogue or a mage.”

“That is also what I was considering.”

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“Just like you,” said the Archer. “I wasn’t able to see what he hit you with and I didn’t see a weapon afterward. As for his movements. He was very well-footed and likely either had a ranger power for movement or was using something in a mage path for quick movements.”

“When we confront him next time we will do things differently,” said Brutus. “Alex, you will be the front-line attack while we stay back. That doesn’t mean that you run way out ahead of us. We need to box him in and prevent him from pulling any more tricks out of his sleeves. This needs to go smoothly without any more issues.”

“I’ve got it. I know I shouldn’t have done what I did. I regret it,” said Alex.

“I have tracking capabilities. Even if he was out of sight we would have followed him. Instead, we had to make sure that you were ok.”

Alex felt the guilt gnaw at him, a hollow echo resonating within his chest. It was a painful reminder of his own impulsiveness, a characteristic that had now become a liability. He swallowed, nodding in acknowledgment.

"Understood," he murmured, eyes lowered, his voice just above a whisper.

"Good," said Brutus, his face showing a mixture of concern and relief. His bulky figure loomed over Alex, who stood at his average height. The latter's lean frame, while not as physically imposing, housed an agility that made him as formidable an opponent. "Remember, this is a team effort."

The Archer chimed in, his voice cool and steady. "Agreed. We have our own roles to play, and we need to trust each other."

A silence fell over them as they trudged onwards. The inn was now in sight, an old, sturdy building perched on a hill, it's wooden structure glowing softly in the dimming evening light. It was a place of solace and comfort for many, yet today it stood as a grim reminder of the tragedy that had occurred just hours ago.

As they approached, Alex could see the drawn curtains of his room on the second floor. At the corner of the inn stood the investigator they had met the day before. The body had been taken down and the blood was being washed from the wall now.

"Sadly, we have to meet again under such sad circumstances and so soon," said the investigator. "The man died about four hours ago and was strung up to finish dying."

"Do we know who he is?" asked the Archer.

“He is a climber that goes out beyond the wall regularly with his team or at least he was. The level of Adrian’s targets has grown as well. This man was level 21. Just broke through the threshold yesterday according to his former teammates.”

Brutus gritted his teeth, his fingers twitching in frustration. His gaze shifted to Alex, contemplating. "Adrian's upped the stakes, using higher-level climbers as bait. He knows we're on to him and he's getting desperate. Now he is making threats. We need to stop him."

"We've got to stop him. No more deaths," the Archer declared, his usually stoic demeanor now filled with a determined resolve. "Brutus, once you've got his scent let's get going. There isn't much left here for us."

As they walked through the street ruckus caught their attention. It was coming from a group of people carrying signs with scribbles that read "Join our guild to find the nearest city". Their leader, a tall man with a smile on his face, raised his voice above the others', appealing to the crowd. "Beyond Thornhold lies our hope. We need to gather as many able bodies as we can to break through the undead ranks!"

"Weeks have passed and no team has been able to survive more than a night beyond the city walls," said another member. "We need to work together to get past this floor. We have stalled and will continue to do so if we don't work together."

"Even if you don't apply and join our guild we would love to work with any one of you willing to join us in this expedition," said their leader. "We need the climbers of the city to accomplish this goal. Together we can locate the nearest city and claim it to enter the next floor. To grow stronger and to continue our rise. We have all heard the messages from the Tower. We must continue to grow as a species and as individuals. If we don't then we will be subsumed by the powers behind the Tower."

“You know it to be true,” said another. “Consider how far have you traveled beyond the city. Have you made it beyond a mile, three, five?”

“The Tower has continued to challenge us. We must work together to overcome this challenge now. It is clear that if we don’t work together then we won’t make it to the next floor in who knows how long.”

Alex, Brutus, and the Archer started to walk further away from the group causing the voices to fade into the background.

“The guild’s idea isn’t bad. Do you think they will succeed?” asked Alex.

“Their group is the IronClad Defenders. They may be able to do it if they can get a few strong and near-max-level climbers to join them. The guild has a lot of backing so they may succeed if they can convince another guild to join in partnership with them. I’m not sure what their current odds of success are.”

“They must privately have something they think will get them to their goal,” said Brutus. “Their current plan is underbaked. They must have something up their sleeves or they think they do. Something that will help them survive overnight perhaps. The undead are drawn to those who stay out at night after all. If they had something to help them get through the few hours of darkness a day with only a little fighting then maybe they can make it to a city.”

“How close is Adrian now?” asked Alex. “We are getting close to the city center.”

“We have gotten closer,” answered Brutus.

“Shit. He has gone into the teleporters hasn’t he,” said the Archer wearily. They slowed their pace.

“We have to go after him,” said Alex.

“He could be leading us into a trap. Probably is,” said the Archer.

“Then we will just have to be on guard,” said Alex.

“And exit where exactly. He could be at the south exit on this floor, or he could be anywhere he has visited on the first floor,” said Brutus.

“He will be somewhere he knows well if he is preparing a trap. There is no point in escaping to a random town. He knows we will chase after him despite the risks,” said the Archer. “He has made his threats and intends to follow through with them.”

“He is in Elize,” said Alex affirmatively. “It is where he started and presumably where he has spent most of his time before moving on to other places. It is also a smaller place than Gavros and it is also somewhere he knows that we know he has been. He is there and waiting for us.”

“Set your destination to Elize and let’s go,” said the Archer with a nod. They had a killer to hunt.