I followed the two bandits, keeping a loose distance and relying on Karma's Gaze to track them through the endless sheets of fog. They moved at an efficient pace, minimizing the noise of their footfalls as they neared another archway. Finally, Karma's Gaze pinged the third bandit, who was crouched in the mist, waiting for her cohorts.

  Target: Celina

  Level: 6

  Karma: -310

  Additional Data: Vice captain of the Moonsewn Bandits, age 33, female. Born in Oarwin and orphaned due to a catastrophic dungeon overflow. Co-founded the Moonsewn Bandits with her brother Gideon. Specializes in stealth, thievery, and subterfuge.

  She brought a finger to her lips as Gustall and Brythan arrived. The three of them were clad head-to-toe in matching black cloaks, cowls, and face shrouds, crouched a good 50 feet away from the archway in the dimmest section between the mage lights. I stayed back, monitoring their bright glowing text through the fog. I considered swooping in, eliminating them and whoever else was underneath the next archway, but Gustall's positive karma rating made me hesitate. What the hell were they doing here?

  "There's four guards and the biggest one is leaning against the wall next to the lever," Celina whispered.

  "Let's retreat for now. We can tell everybody we tried," Brythan muttered.

  "I'll take the big guy. Brythan takes the one on the left and Celina can handle the last two," Gustall said. "We still have the advantage. Let's use it."

  And with that, Gustall and Celina shot toward the archway in tandem. Brythan lagged a few seconds behind, hesitation obvious in his steps. As they moved, I crept after them, watching as Karma's Gaze revealed the four Black Diamond guards, who were all level three besides Toktorn, a beefy level four who stood over six and a half feet tall.

  The three bandits dashed out of the mist and into the amber light with their swords and daggers ready. Celina made first contact, running the edge of her curved one-handed blade through two of the mercenaries' neck's before they could react. Toktorn reached for the lever, but Gustall's dagger arced through the air, forcing the brute to fallback at the last second.

  "Stupid bastards!" Toktorn yelled and spun on his feet, swinging his hefty two-handed mace in a 360 degree arc. "Hammer Whirl!"

  For being a 350 pound man and only level four, Toktorn's attack speed was impressive. Celina ducked, barely avoiding the blunt object from denting her cranium. Meanwhile, Brythan struggled with the level three mercenary, who had parried a series of his attacks.

  "Absolute Acceleration!" Toktorn barked as he spun around like a juiced up Dreidel.

  Suddenly, his weapon's rapid movement doubled with haste, producing a resonant whooshing noise. Celina slid underneath the weapon's arc, going for Toktorn's legs. But the brute shifted instinctively, leveling the mace at her head.

  "Agile Surge," Gustall yelped in desperation, increasing his own speed as he rushed in, trying to intercept the attack.

  Toktorn's hammer smashed into Gustall's armored chest piece, denting it, and sending him crashing to the ground. However, the sudden impact slowed the brute's momentum enough for Celina to plant her dagger into his chest.

  Blood trickled down her blade, but Toktorn refused to go down. He twisted to the side, nailing Celina across the side of her face with his mace's shaft. She landed next to Gustall, who was desperately trying to push himself to his feet.

  It looked like a mortal wound to me, but Toktorn grabbed the blade sticking out of his chest with his gauntlets, ripped it out, and tossed it aside like he'd only been stabbed with a toothpick. He swung his steel-toed greaves into the side of Gustall's stomach, stepped over him, and grabbed onto the lever.

  Dagger Step.

  I teleported underneath the archway, and effortlessly swung my sword through the air, severing his hand. Toktorn stumbled back and I stabbed him in the throat with the tip of my blade before he hit the ground.

  Brythan remained unaware of my sudden appearance. He was still wrapped up in his own life and death battle with the level three guard, who, despite the level gap, was keeping up with the level five.

  I unsheathed the dagger at my side and flung it over Brythan's shoulder, sniping the level three between his eyes.

  "Thanks for the assist," Brythan said before he turned around and the color left his face. "Who—who are you?"

  Celina rolled to the side and jumped to her feet with her fists raised, joining Brythan's side. Blood ran from the cut on her forehead, covering her right eye while Gustall crawled past my feet and grabbed onto a stone block jutting out from the archway, using it as a crutch to pull himself up.

  "Careful, he's strong," Gustall choked out as he retrieved a dagger from his side with a shaky hand.

  "What a mess..." I sighed. "Lower your weapons or I'll add you all to the body count."

  Brythan quickly lowered the blade to his side, much to Celina's disapproval. She kept her hand balled up, hovering under her chin, ready to launch an unarmed attack if it came down to it. Gustall wasn't buying it either. He kept searching for an opening that simply did not exist.

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  "I don't know why you're here. But it's an inconvenience. Leave now if you value your lives," I said.

  "Thank you, mister," Brythan nodded and sheathed his sword. "We'll depart immediately."

  He attempted to slip away only for Celina to stop him with her furious gaze.

  "We refuse. Mist Mantle."

  Celina vanished, although her status still hovered over her head in bright bold letters, making it simple to follow her movements. She came darting in toward me as Gustall lunged in from behind. I fell back into Gustall's attack, dodged to the side and grabbed him from behind.

  "Stop or he dies."

  The bold text over her invisible body froze in mid-air as she stopped moving forward. Ten seconds later she re-appeared and I shoved Gustall into her arms.

  "Get lost. I won't ask again."

  With my patience waning and the voice in my head begging me to kill them for the XP, I prepared for their slaughter. But Celina took a knee, pulled her hood back and bowed her head. Chestnut locks of hair draped over her swollen face, her eyes locked at my feet.

  +65 XP

  +30 Karma

  "My deepest apologies, but we cannot abide by your request. I am Celina, the co-leader of the Moonsewn Bandits and tonight Black Diamond captured my brother, our leader. I suspect he's in The Cellar, which makes it my duty to get him out," Celina said with a swell of confidence. "But we must keep haste, before the rest of their squads return."

  "What forces?" I asked.

  "Many of their squads are in pursuit of that novice adventurer," Celina said. "Once he's captured they'll bring him back here immediately."

  I shook my head. "Doubtful. They're all dead."

  "Impossible," Brythan said.

  I held the edge of my bloodstained cloak out under the light. "Does it look like I'm lying? By dawn there won't be a Black Diamond mercenary breathing south of Ingcaster."

  Silence hung in the air as the bandits stared at me perplexed. Not caring for their approval or understanding, I strolled past them, heading deeper into the fog.

  "Wait," Celina said as she jogged behind me with her comrades in tow. "You plan on raiding Black Diamond by yourself? It'll never work. Their security is too tenacious."

  "Yet, you three think you have a chance?" I asked, annoyed that they weren't already retreating with their tails tucked between their legs.

  "We're not here for a fight..." Celina's voice trailed off as she broke eye contact, likely deciding whether to reveal what I already knew from Karma's Gaze and stalking them for the better part of a mile. "There's a secret route to The Cellar. Most of Black Diamond's mercenaries are stationed in the tower's lobby and its upper floors."

  Was it much of a secret if they knew about it? True or not, I hadn't planned on a stealthy approach. I actually intended on smashing through the front door and gifting everyone in sight an efficient throat rip. After the killing and impending level up, I'd rescue Viessa from The Cellar. She'd be safer waiting in a cage until the fighting was finished, anyway.

  "I'm simply here to eliminate Black Diamond," I said. "When I'm finished you can take your brother."

  I could tell Celina was about to object, but the voice of reason, Brythan, latched onto her shoulder like a vine clinging to an ancient oak and whispered, "Lina, he's gone mad. Moonsewn can survive without Gideon... If we lose both of you—"

  Celina shoved him away, interrupting his plea. "You saw those levers. If even one of them is pulled, the entire tower will be alerted and The Cellar will be flooded. Every single prisoner will drown."

  I stopped dead in my tracks and stared ahead into the swirling mist.

  Can I catch a goddamned break?

  "Allow us to infiltrate The Cellar and escape with my brother before your assault," she said.

  "Tell me about this alternate route and I'll handle everything myself," I said, not wanting to risk exposing Viessa's identity.

  With a grim expression, Celina shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I can't leave my brother's life in your hands."

  I glanced down at the dewy stone walkway, noting the timer.

  Time Remaining: 21:19:21

  My palm instinctively lingered over my dagger's hilt as I contemplated simplifying the situation.

  "We'll guide you to The Cellar and then you can take them by surprise—After we get my brother," Celina pleaded.

  I spat over the side of the bridge, looking down into the blinding mix of colored light shining up from the lake's depths. There wasn't time to argue. I needed every last second to secure Viessa, double back to Ingcaster, and gather a group to conduct an immediate raid on the dungeon in Waystone's quarry. Logistically speaking, the plan was a complete mess and halfheartedly concocted during my race to Black Diamond's tower. Even if I saved Viessa and we made it back to Ingcaster, convincing the adventurer's guild to mobilize immediately without explanation wouldn't work. They weren't the fools being pressed by a clock.

  "Fine. But don't get in my way," I said and brushed past her, picking up the pace.

  "We won't, I promise."

  She jogged beside me with Gustall and Brythan reluctantly trailing behind us as we cut through the fog.

  "Wait, Lina! Think this through," Gustall said.

  "I already have."

  "We can't gamble Moonsewn's future on a stranger," Gustall whispered like I wasn't walking within earshot.

  But his objection didn't bother me, I was hoping he'd convince Celina to turn back. He was right to be suspicious. I didn't care if they lived, died, or succeeded in their mission. I was already thinking about using them as a distraction. And if we reached The Cellar and they found out about Viessa's race, they'd have to be disposed of.

  "I agree with Gus. We should retreat for now and reassess our approach," Brythan aid.

  Celina laughed under her breath, squeezing her dagger's hilt. "I'm sorry—How can you say that after everything Gideon's sacrificed for your sake's? Keep the comical suggestions to yourselves and fuck off if you're afraid of death. This isn't about saving Moonsewn. I'd disband our group in an instant if it meant saving my brother."

  Despite Celina's instructions, neither of them fucked off. Instead, they swallowed their reservations and continued in stride with their leader, much to my disappointment.

  "Uh, sir, you never told us your name," Gustall said.

  "The name's Cyprus."

  Gustall gulped. "You can't be serious—I thought Cyprus was a foreigner."

  "Yeah, I'm the foreigner that found the chaos shard. Take your shot, if you like. Apparently, there's also a massive bounty on my head," I said, staring past his eyes and into his soul.

  Gustall waved his hands wildly like he was trying to dispel a fart. "No—no, our only purpose is to save Gideon."

  "You speak Aclanian like a native," Byrthan mumbled. "Is it true you dealt with the other mercenaries?"

  "I won't take credit for the squad Soul Viper eliminated. But I am responsible for decimating Cleveland's squad and everyone else foolish enough to cross me."

  "Soul Viper..." Brythan whispered, eyes widening. "You're working with them?"

  "No."

  "Then how—" Brythan interjected, but Celina shut him down with a side-eyed glance that automatically made him bite his tongue.

  There was a subtle shift in their demeanor as we approached the next guarded archway. Clearly, their minds were racing for answers, none of which I planned on providing. I wouldn't be a willing participant in a game of 20 questions led by a small-time bandit group that likely wouldn't be surviving the night.

  Karma's Gaze unveiled the names of four guards standing beneath the archway even before we could see them through the fog. I raised my hand and the bandits stopped at my rear. "These four are mine," I said before I burst toward the light with my short-sword drawn.