Lady Leslie Malton was walking briskly from the dungeons- her personal bodyguard Sir Thomas in-toe.

She should've asked Charles exactly what a 'Changeling' was... It was likely some sort of code. But for what? Perhaps he is more clever than Leslie had given him credit for, avoiding the questioning in such a way.

But she would get to the bottom of it eventually, especially now that the maid has been returned. Likely by this 'Samantha' Charles had mentioned.

It's a shame, but such things aren't unheard of. Charles wasn't as dotted on as the rest of them were, a black sheep of the family who slept around with the staff and got drunk in town with the guard.

Playing his silly songs, speaking his silly poetry. Leslie hated him. It was good to see him finally meet some sort of consequence... The fool reached beyond his means at last. To raid their own family treasury? Their father will be furious.

Perhaps he will praise her for rooting out this corruption? Leslie could only hope.

---

Samantha couldn't believe how stupid Theo had been... He came after her into this hellhole. Luckily, he seemed to get a good spawn. Not everyone could say as much. Not the least of which- herself.

Still, she would be glad to see him. She had met many others and together, were giving this world hell. He'd flip his lid when he hears about it.

She chose to play as a human [Witch] because well, the class seemed strong. And doubled as a decent money-making profession as well. As it had many overlaps with alchemy. As this game was an amalgamation of countless different game genres and fantasy tropes- there was no limit to how one could break it.

Theo, according to the maid, was a Changeling. Which was an odd choice, Theo wasn't the creative type. Smart kid, but intelligence wasn't much of a commodity in their world. Could you be a thespian for the camera? Could you code machine learning algorithms? That's what mattered in their world. And even those professions faded to increasingly fewer.

But here, she could see Theo thriving. She felt this 'fake' world had a lot to teach their 'real' world. Still, it was a foolish mistake. This world is a death trap. Outside, she was sure her body was wasting away. Being kept alive by modern machinery. Who knows how long she would last.

So her group had taken the fight to the gods themselves. Literally, or at least the artificial intelligences that posed as such.

Estate Malton. The noble family that lived here supported the regions king. Her land was neighboring it, conveniently enough. 'Adun' was made up of mostly marshland though, which fit her classes aesthetic.

This 'Soma' place... Was so snazzy. And comfortable. The lands around hardly had any predators, they had been culled. The kingdom of Soma had many settlements and a powerful standing army, funded by many noble houses that served under the king.

Each house controlled a vassal state and ensured they were peaceful and profitable. For their campaign against the demons and the alien.

Which pretty much included everyone but themselves.

Samantha, that is- 'The Baba-Yaga, supreme witch of Adun', strolled along the gardens. The gardeners and staff that patrolled had fled from her and Sinatra.

Gradually they made their way to the head of the estate. It seems having one of their more powerful fighters prisoner has frightened them. 'Oh well, let this be an example to them to step their game up.', she leaned down and smelled a rose.

"Your grandson lives here?", her companion Sinatra asked.

She chuckled. "Yeah, go figure. The noob gets the choice spawn. And yet we still have to bail him out. Imagine if he spawned with the other changelings."

Sinatra shivered at that. "Yeah, I'm not looking forward to going back to those caves again."

Baba nodded at that.

"Yo' babs, heads up." Sinatra tapped her arm and she looked up to see a precession of armored guards approaching them.

They began surrounding the trio. "I hope you have something more in that bag than hard candy." Violet said.

A tiny noblewoman stepped out in-between them, carrying herself like a person ten years her senior. A massive armored man near her. It reminded her of herself, it was good to make friends with some muscle when you're a mage type.

Which the young girl clearly was. An [Elementalist Mage]. She was young, but judging by her aura she would grow up into a monster. That is, if she didn't do something stupid in a moment and get herself killed.

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"You there- unhand my uncle. Or else."

Seems like she is choosing the 'stupid' route.

"Aren't you just the cutest little thing? Look at her little booties Sinatra~ doesn't it just make your heart melt?" she swooned towards Sinatra who smirked.

"My uncle! Old woman!" she stomped a foot and a tornado of fire erupted into the sky several feet before dissipating. The guards around her recoiled from the heat for a moment before steeling themselves.

The old woman hardened at that. "My, aren't you a contemptible brat?", "Babs...", "No, Sinatra. She thinks she's something special, because she can wave fire around."

She started stepping forward but Sinatra blocked her way. "She's just a child..."

Baba slapped his arm playfully. "You think I'm a monster? I'm not one of those 'NPCs aren't human' people you know... I'll be gentle. Besides, you should focus on the big one."

She referenced to the seven foot tall suit of armor.

"Little girl, I will give you the Knight Commander wanna-be. But, first, I need Charles Malton. Out here. Now. Or else." she parroted the phrase back at her coyly.

"Sir Thomas?", "Right away Lady Malton-" Sir Thomas launched forward, reaching out for the old woman- he was a blur, the other guards didn't even have time to react-

But Sinatra did.

He flashed in front of his path, he planted his feet down until the stone cracked beneath them, and he grabbed the large mans arms and flung him up into the air past them-

He spun and landed on his feet with a loud crash a few dozen yards away-

"I'll take care of the rest so long as you get him Sinatra.", "Or you could just get him too?"

"Tssk- and not get the opportunity to have two men fight over me?" she smiled as she started walking towards the remaining guards and the girl.

"Stand back guardsmen, I'll fry this old crone." the two dozen or so guards took a step back.

"Oh? Brave. I wonder, what will you do? Another fire tornado? I do hope you have more than mere parlor tricks-"

'Crash!', a flaming maul appeared from thin air and smacked the old women sending her flying-

"Babs!", Sinatra shouted as he dodged Thomas- he had drawn a massive claymore from his back and was swinging it around like a rapier. This guy was like a Knight commander.

He caught the blade between two palms stopping it mid-air, and snapped it off leaving the massive blade half of it's original length. Sir Thomas examined the remaining blade for a second. Then tossed it aside. He raised his gauntlet fists into a battle stance.

"That's more like it... Let's go!", he rushed forward and the two began grappling and trading blows. Some other guards began to slowly encircle and close on Sinatra as well, but each time one would get close enough to strike they'd get thrown away.

"Retrieve my uncle." Leslie ordered a couple guards and they ran over to the slumped over Brandon- "Perhaps you would make a better bargaining chip then." Baba said as she walked out of the dust cloud she created when she collided with the garden wall.

"That's a fancy trick, fire hammer. Fast in any case, but low in attack power despite appearances... If I took environmental damage that would've been bad." she brushed off some dust from her outfit, arranged the tiara on her head and gave her staff a few swings.

"Impossible. How would an frail old women survive that?" Leslies' face was beginning to show some sort of annoyed expression as the Baba-Yaga approached her.

"Looks can be deceiving girl, let this be a lesson to you." she pointed her staff directly at her.

Then she lowered her head, looking up from beneath her brow at the group of guards and the lady. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, her fingers in her free hand twitched and jerked into odd clawed positions.

An impossibly deep and distorted voice emerged from the old womens lips- "YOSHRA.. LAMONOS.. YOSHRA!"

The lady flinched- waiting for an attack. After a moment or two, she looked between herself, the guards, and the distant dueling Thomas. Then laughed, "What a senile ol- BLECH." she looked down into her hands. She had just spit up blood- a fair amount of it- into them.

"What manor of magic is this?" she began a coughing fit, and fell to her knees, growing paler by the second. "Lady Malton!" Thomas roared and turned towards her and jumped- but Sinatra grabbed his ankle and flung him into a lantern streetlight.

"You have bigger things to worry about, don't worry. My friend won't kill her!", Thomas didn't seem to believe him as he stood up and wrenched the metal pole out of the ground and swung it around smacking Sinatra into the dirt trudging it up in explosive chunks-

"Blech... It hurts..." she held her stomach as red flowed from her mouth.

"One spell. One curse. That's all it took, you are a child- you had no defenses. I almost feel bad..." the guards charged the old woman. A maid rushed forward with a healing potion and started feeding it to Leslie.

She cackled. "That's it! Now you know! Bring the whole family on!" she twirled her staff in her hands and crows appeared- flying forward from the twirling stick- like bullets. They dove forward crashing into the guards. They exploded into red mist as they collided-

Wherever the mist touched- their flesh blackened and bubbled. They clutched themselves and collapsed to the ground- those more covered in armor kept charging at her.

"Just give us Theo! We'll let you live!" Sinatra was boxing Thomas- both were giving about as they were getting. 'CRACK!', Thomas laid a nasty right-hook into his snout- a bit of blood dripped from it.

He snorted and wiped it away- "Okay then- 'STUNNING STRIKE'!", he waved his palms around each other intricately as if he was guiding the wind- then pushed forward blasting Sir Thomas with blue energy- he lifted off the ground from the blow and then shook violently for a moment- before flying onto his back.

Immediately Sinatra stood over him and started laying into him- punching his helmet embedding it deeper and deeper into the soft lawn of the garden- "Gotosleep,gotosleep,gotosleep!"

A gauntleted fist reached up and gripped him by the face. "Oh shit-"

The Baba-yaga was still cackling, as the guards reached her she began levitating- lifted but a swirling black cloud. Arms of black emerged from within and began swatting them away.

'WOOSH!' a flaming sphere rocketed past her- Leslie was sitting up with her arm reached out- still coughing up blood she was chanting spells at her!

"Tssk- tough brat. Should've used a force bubble.", she descended from the black cloud of many arms. Most of the cannon fodder guards had been dealt with.

Another fireball crashed into a shimmering red barrier around her. Then another. One grazed it and deflected into the garden sending clumps of dirt raining down.

Then a flying Sinatra landed against her force bubble. "Oh, Sinatra, did you beat him yet?", he groaned. "I'm working on it.", "Here have a lift-", "Wait! ohshitshit!" Baba swept her staff and a black cloud flung him back at Thomas.

Leslie got to her feet finally, clutching her stomach. She had to constantly drink healing potions to do so.

Fireballs were autonomously forming and launching from behind her shoulders, but each were deflected off the Baba-yaga and an impermeable forcefield.

The old woman sighed, and leaned on her staff.

"Just give up kid. Let me collect my grandson." she said sympathetically.

"Grandson? How is my brother your grandson!?", her eyes practically glowed fire.

Baba shook her head. "You still don't get it do you? Charles Malton is an imposter, my grandson. He was going to raid your treasury, wasn't he? Stupid kid."

"Then, my brother-?", "Dead.", "...Dead?" the Baba nodded solemnly. "Not that it was us that-"

"DEAD!?" with that, the girls eyes flared and flames erupted from them.

"Uh- we didn't-", this time it was the girl who began to rise in a torrent of fire. A vortex spun about her wildly and whips of fire began to strike the ground leaving smoldering etches in the stone and dirt.

"Shit- she's going to overload! Sinatra are you done yet!?" Baba shouted and began muttering incantations rapidly.

'Smack', the girl fell limp into Sinatras' arms. "It's done." he said. The Baba looked towards where he and Thomas had been fighting and sure enough his body laid half submerged in the ground face down.

She let out a breath. "Damn, these NPCs aren't bad, luckily the rest of the family weren't here. YOU THERE!" Baba pointed towards a Violet who was standing inbetween a few smoldering fireball craters.

She flinched. "W-what?", "My grandson, where?", "Oh! Yes mam, right this way-"

---

"Sir Stelios?", Theo asked.

"Greetings Lord Malton. It is most unfortunate that you were captured."

Theo looked up from his chains. "Well, thankfully you're here to rescue me."

Sir Stelios gave him an apologetic look.

"You came here to rescue me right?"