Like a thieving crow, Riley approached her next target; the mayor’s home was new and polished. The sun glinted off the stone decorations and glass windows.

  Riley stepped into a debris-filled alley and triggered Assume Disguise. “Thank you for the trial.

  I’m gonna have some fun.

  Now I need a new disguise.

  A servant’s never done.”

  She looked down at the maid’s dress and brushed out any wrinkles. That’ll work. Bustling forward, she headed for her target.

  A guard nodded to her. “Be careful in there.”

  Riley froze, spun, and looked at the guard. “Pardon, sir?”

  “Be careful. I’m not sure why they go through so many servants, but they do.” The guard sighed. “It’s a shame.”

  “Are there servants around that I could speak with?” Riley asked, edging back toward the guard. That’s ominous.

  The guard shook his head. “They move on to the next city without explaining. I lost a good friend that way. She left without even a goodbye.” He looked sorrowfully at the city.

  “Thank you, sir.” Riley palmed her knife and walked up the steps. The hair on her neck stood on end. There’s no way that’s a coincidence. Something’s wrong in there.

  “Stop scaring the help,” another guard chastised. “We have enough problems with the incoming horde.”

  “Horde?” Riley asked, turning back once more.

  “Aye. An undead horde has been sighted to the north. If you know any fighters, we’ll pay.”

  Riley turned back to the door. So, that’s the scenario. Help hunt. Help defend. She paused and smiled. We’ll do both after I finish my visit.

  Opening the door, she walked into the fancy home. A polished hallway greeted her. A heavy silence hung in the air.

  Walking down the hall, Riley frowned at the lack of rugs or paintings. It was just empty. Peeking into a room, she saw something similar: an empty room with a single dusty table. She shivered. Why does the mayor’s house feel like this? It shouldn’t feel so cold and off. She opened a door and found a room that wasn’t empty.

  A desk sat near the wall. Several benches and bookshelves lined the room.

  Riley walked inside and checked the desk, finding one locked drawer. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out her lock picks and gently inserted them into the keyhole, feeling for the pins.

  With a few gentle nudges, she popped the pins into place, heard a click, and slid the drawer open, revealing a large bag of crystals.

  She grabbed and stashed the crystals before closing and locking the door shut.

  Finished with the first bit of looting, she turned for her second. Books lined the shelves. She walked over and started going through them, book by book.

  Seconds turned to minutes. Pages fluttered in her hands. She relentlessly opened and skimmed each book, checking for anything beyond blank pages.

  Lifting one, a rancid smell hit her nostrils. Her stomach churned, and she clamped her nose shut. What the condemnation is that? She spun and looked around the room.

  Seeing and sensing nothing, she continued down the list, trying to find one that had something interesting.

  Lifting a tax ledger, Riley felt the shelf clunked. She looked and saw a small indentation under the book. A greedy smile spread across her face. Someone has been hoarding the good stuff! She pulled on the bookshelves, and they swung open, revealing a spiral staircase.

  Eagerly, Riley tiptoed down the steps, peering into the gloom. The smell grew stronger, and she dropped off the stairs onto a hard stone floor. The smell of blood and decay hung in the air. Her smile faded, and she grabbed her knives.

  Creeping down the steps, she carefully peered around the corner until she found a small cellar. Two people were huddled over a table. The wooden floorboards above and below were covered in blood. The man reached over and carved into a corpse on the table.

  [Necromancer - Level 300]

  Not bothering with explanations or discussions, Riley used Ambush and slammed her knife through one’s throat. Blood sprayed out on the table. The other jerked back, and Riley slashed upward.

  Her blade caught bone. The necromancer’s eyes blazed green, and Riley burned a hundred mana, flooding Psychic Strike with it. The necromancer’s head burst, spraying blood and gore everywhere.

  Riley studied the horrific room and shivered. The mess streamed away, forming ribbons of light that coalesced into a chest.

  Walking forward, Riley opened it and pulled out two perfect D-tier crystals. She grabbed them and sighed. Of course, one is still attuned to him. This was the floor boss. She stashed both, debating if she should steal his crystal. The complication was the truthseeker outside.

  Turning around the area, she searched for anything else of note, finding a spell book.

  [Necromancers’s spellbook. This item persists outside the dungeon.]

  Riley looked at it and flipped it open, rapidly skimming and confirming the one thing she wanted to know. It required a living sacrifice to power the creation. The intelligence of the sacrifice played a part in it, so sentient life was required for anything that wasn’t mindless.

  With a shiver, she stashed it and looked around the room. The only thing left was the horrible monstrosity they were creating. Riley cut it apart, ensuring that no part of it remained intact.

  Turning, she left the basement and walked up the steps with a shiver. Well, that explains the undead. I can probably turn in the book, too.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Walking for the door, she triggered Assume Disguise. “Heavy cowled hunter. Makeup and mask to hide the blue hair and look.” Her appearance shifted. Pulling up the green cowl, she walked out of the home.

  “Find anything?” a guard asked. He glowered at Riley. “Who are you?”

  “Investigator. Your mayor and his wife were necromancers.” Riley pulled out the book and tossed it to him.

  “Oh, gods!” the guard exclaimed, running for the barracks with the book.

  The other looked at Riley. “Did you kill them?”

  “Yes.” Riley nodded at him.

  “I need to take you to the captain.” The guard gestured.

  Riley walked down the street with him. She turned and entered the barracks, marching down the worn hall and then waving. “Hi, Dwight.”

  Dwight jerked up and looked over. Then he realized. “There you are. It’s been busy. We’re running a manhunt for this thief.”

  “We’ll catch her,” the captain said, taking the book from the guard. “And this was in the mayor’s house?”

  “Yes,” Riley said. “He’s dead along with some monstrosity. You can check.”

  The captain nodded and gestured. The guards walked off.

  Dwight turned to her. “Wait. Is that what happened to the missing people? They said it was the thief.”

  “Yes,” Riley said. “Now, we need to get ready for the horde. They’ll stumble onto the town soon enough.”

  The captain frowned. “We need to burn this book.”

  “And the horde. Speaking of which, isn’t there a reward for killing necromancers and turning in their books?” Riley asked.

  The grizzled captain nodded and pulled out two crystals. He set them on the table. “That is all we can afford.”

  “Quite alright,” Riley said cheerily, grabbing both perfect crystals. She spun and headed for the door. “Good luck with the thief.”

  Dwight spun and followed, walking out of the barracks and back onto the city streets. He grabbed Riley by the hand and pulled her over to an inn. “What happened?” he whispered.

  Riley grinned. “You first.”

  “Nothing happened. We searched and found nothing. How’d you do that?” Dwight asked.

  Riley handed him his attuned crystals. “I snuck out, got a disguise from a nearby cottage, and investigated. Then I learned that people were missing, and the mayor seemed connected. So, I went searching and stumbled onto their lair. Then I killed him and his wife. I think that ended the first level of the dungeon. The second is obviously this horde, or we run away.”

  Dwight looked at the crystals she’d given and nodded. “Sounds right. We can try to fight it, but we’ll need to run if it gets bad. So, we need to find a safe spot and prepare fortifications.”

  “Wrong,” Riley said with a wink. “Come on. We need axes.” She grabbed his arm and headed back towards the gate.

  Dwight followed. “You are not doing this slow.”

  “Nope. We have to move quickly for this one. Come on.” Riley walked out the gate and over to the pile of lumber, where she liberated a free axe.

  Dwight followed and grabbed an axe. He turned and followed Riley toward the forest. “What are we doing, Riley?”

  “We’re setting a trap.” Riley skipped off ahead.

  Assassin (C)

  Level: 104 + 12

  Ranger (C)

  Level: 104

  Spell Thief (C)

  Level: 104

  Inactive.

  Noble (F)

  Level: 18

  Inactive.