16.4

The mercenaries were arguing in two distinct camps. Eve would have been happy enough watching the show with popcorn. Sadly, the remaining mages were on a sharp lookout for any mana fluctuations. Creating a barrier to conceal sound would have the same effect as an anglerfish’s lightbulb in the ocean's depths. The side that wanted to retreat was arguing its case quite successfully.

She’d managed to get a few names assigned to faces from lurking nearby, but most of the mercenaries were still unknown. At least their emblem of a robed blue-colored magician with a pointy hat was clear to see, though. Charlotte would be able to use the information reliably at a later time.

“I’m telling you we need to get the fuck out of here, boss Blue.”

“Where exactly do you think we should go, Raven?” said the leader of the mercenaries. He looked like a high schooler fresh out of boot camp, minus the haircut. He was a mage, although the mana around him didn’t explain exactly what type. Eve had decided to flee if discovered, not out of fear but caution. Only a truly weird type would wear blue robes and a pointy hat in the middle of a forest.

“Anywhere but here, boss. This isn’t some wet behind the ear’s assassin. We’ve lost everyone but the core group. The target’s way out of our safe zone if they have someone like this on the payroll.” Raven said, shifting his spear from one hand to another.

“When they started, they used poison to kill quietly. Finally, whoever it is either ran out of poison or just stopped giving a flying fuck, boss.”

“Are we dealing with more than one, Brooks?” The leader said, turning to the new voice.

Eve was impressed at how calm the leader of the mercenaries was acting. It felt like he didn’t put the loss of ninety percent of his forces in his eyes.

“Dagger behind the ear and then some janky skill that shredded the brains. I can’t even get anything off the corpses, boss. It couldn’t have been more than one, though. The way they were all killed is the same. Highly likely it was the same person, boss.”

“Good work, Bones. Any chance we can raise one for answers?” Blue asked.

“Negative. With the brain turned to mush, I don’t have enough skill to raise them as anything other than basic minions.” Brooks replied, shaking his head.

“Whoever gave us the intel for killing the target needs their head examined. If they weren’t outright fucking with us, they are in for a nasty piece of wet work. We won’t let this stand, right, boss?”

“Indeed, Guthry,” Blue said, his sapphire eyes chilling as he replied to the last sub-commander. “I will be sure to extract additional payment for the losses.”

From what Eve could see, Raven was a true-blue Dragoon combining spear and armor for a smooth killing machine. Brooks was an alchemist bent on being a detective like the famous clue kings of old. Bones was a creepy piece of work that screamed necromancer. Last and oldest, Guthry was a pure swordsman with minimal armor. However, out of all of the remaining enemies, Blue was the one Eve paid the most attention to. The mercenary leader’s movement was smooth, graceful, and inhuman.

All four men focused on the younger man with expectant looks.

The mercenary leader had been cursing to himself in English after all. That tiny clue meant Eve had no interest in tangling with him. Unless he was completely hell-bent on revenge, there wasn’t any point in proceeding further in the attack.

The amount of losses Eve had dealt was astronomical in the extreme. To continue forward was to invite retaliation that could wipe the entire mercenary band. For a reason, things like revenge for fallen comrades and completing the job at all costs were legends. Mercenary commanders had to weigh the cost and benefit of their actions on a delicate scale of profit and loss.

If they proceed forward, I’ll focus on removing the magic users before retreating. Eve thought as she watched the argument among them for retreat gradually gain the upper hand. Nota, does that leader’s uniform look familiar?

Eve’s eyes twitched as Nota brought up a visual page in her right eye.

Blue Mage

Specialty: Able to copy spells experienced by their body.

Perk: Transformational mimicry of defeated enemy foes.

Considered too powerful to allow full reign, these masters of magic are some of the most sickening cheaters.

Oh, I remember now. Eve thought. These were the class in that one old game that Matt always remarked about. I bet the guy’s System pulled that out of the hat for him.

A blue mage would be more trouble than it was worth fighting as Eve would only be limited to physical attacks. Unless this walking cheat had zero experience spellcasting, it wasn’t worth fighting him. Eve was only here to thin the numbers and push the mercenaries into retreat. She didn’t have time to be tied down in a life-or-death battle.

Just retreat, you bunch of paid puppies. Eve thought.

“I think whoever did this wants us to retreat,” Blue said, looking at his four sub-commanders. “Should we not charge forward then?”

“No, boss,” Guthry said, shaking his head. “This was a warning. A brutal one, to be sure, but a warning all the same. The enemy could have just as easily planted explosives, poisoned the supplies, or removed one or more of the sleeping officers.”

“They didn’t because they aren’t sure they can take us,” Brooks said in agreement with Guthry.

“If we push forward, though, we declare this warning isn’t enough to stop us.” Bones said in a guttural tone.

“So, they have to take the next step,” Raven added.

“Which means they will strike full force with all the stops pulled out.” Blue finished as he nodded in agreement with his sub-commanders reasoning.

There was a quick number of glances among the sub-commanders before Guthry said, “You know we’ll follow you anywhere, boss. If you want to charge, we’ll do it.

Blue waved the words aside, “No need to lick my boots. Let’s retr-”

Eve’s senses snapped to the left as the entire mercenary group shifted into combat readiness from their leader’s broken sentence.

It looks like a guest has come to the banquet. Eve thought, glancing at all the corpses. Time to flee. I don’t want to be here when more guests decide to arrive.

The current guest was a massive snake with a bucket-wide girth. Teeth the size of small daggers filled a mouth attached to a crested face much like a lizard. Even worse, the mammoth creature had immense speed and intelligence gleaming behind bright yellow lantern eyes.

“Humanssss.” The snake hissed in glee. “Deliciousss morssselsss!"

"Boss, it looks like Raven’s grandmother came to visit.” Bones said with a smirk as he readied a bone wand from within his robes.

“Don’t try to pawn your sick little puppy-eating girlfriend off as my honored grandmother,” Raven said, brandishing his spear.

“Indeed. I doubt you’ll get any cookies the next time we stop by.” Guthry said, drawing his sword. The razor edge of the sword glimmered in a molten shade of red as the swordsman’s mana flowed into it.

“I’m not worried about the snake or Raven’s grandmother,” Brooks said, pulling several potion vials out from his pouches. “I’m worried about the scraping noise coming from the same direction.

Even as the four sub-commanders and their units prepared to fight against the tide of prey-hunting beasts flowing from the deeper forest’s edge, their leader was still looking towards the town.

Eve watched coldly until Blue finally gave a curse and turned towards the oncoming attackers. She slipped away as soon as the blue mage’s back was turned. There wasn’t any reason to take a risk attacking the core of the mercenary group without the element of surprise.

As she moved through the forest, Eve’s ghillie suit slowly dropped off her body like a snake shedding skin. Witch’s Dust removed all traces of the plants cleaning her body and clothes to pristine cleanliness levels. Reaching the town’s wall, Eve scaled to the top with judicious use of her telekinesis. Once she was on the wall’s pathway, it was easy to look over the town. Two spots of contention were visible from the flashes of power being exchanged by both sides.

Eve pondered for a moment before she contacted Charlotte. I have an opportunity to assist the town’s defense. One side is the Adventuring Guild, and the other is the Guard. Any recommendations?

Charlotte’s response was prompt and detailed. Adventurer’s Guild. They are multi-national and have a deeper well of prestige. The Guard is connected to the duke of this territory. If he isn’t blatantly assisting Luvec, he at least turned a blind eye. No reason to aid him any further than required.

Understood. Eve replied, leaping from the wall to a nearby roof before using the thief’s highway to head toward the besieged Adventurer’s Guild quickly. She approached from above to maximize the element of surprise.

Locating the Guild member that appeared to be in charge was easy from above. Eve lay flat and leaned over the roof edge closest to the Adventuring Guild’s command point. Once she caught the eye of one of the men below, Eve said, “Lady Charlotte has requested I assist. Orders?”

There was a flicker of caution in the man’s eyes before the Guild leader said, “We need the mages taken out. Once our own are free to cast more than defensive magics, this will be over.”

Eve gave a two-finger salute and said, “Three minutes or less. See you later!” As she left, she heard whispers about a noble’s pet assassin following her away. It made Eve smirk, knowing that Charlotte would have to defuse or promote such rumors based on her actions.

While the normal chaos of battle made finding targets hard for trained individuals, Eve had no such issues. Her eyes read the mana inherent in the attackers, quickly tracking those who had significant amounts over their compatriots.

As she mapped out the targets fighting in their separate pockets of battle, the Jian shifted into the same small punch dagger with a long needle-thin point. While these mages were not sleeping, it wasn’t like Eve planned on fighting fair, either. She spent precious seconds creating pouches filled with Witch’s Dust.

Looking at the Guild allies below her starting to crumble under the pressure of enemy magic Eve finished her preparations. Taking a deep breath, she flipped off the roof, throwing a loaded pouch of dust directly into the middle of the enemy group.

Both sides froze as a whirlwind of sparkling glitter flashed into existence. Eve took advantage of the distraction that also served to blunt magical senses. She grabbed the attacking mage’s jaw and smoothly slammed her punch dagger behind his ear. A second later, the mage’s brain was nothing but blended mush. Eve ducked under the single melee that managed to target her in the dust cloud before teleporting to the nearby roof with her boots.

With one success under her belt, Eve slowly perfected the ambush. By the fourth ambush, word had already spread among the Guild members. When her dust bomb exploded, they had already dropped their defensive magic and launched a renewed assault.

After the tenth group of attackers fell, the enemy realized they were being hunted. By that point, the Guild was no longer defending. The counterattack was swift and brutal as every fallen enemy group enhanced the Adventurer’s Guild. Like a dam that had grown from a single crack to many, the flood of victory could no longer be stopped.

The end was inevitable. Eve nodded as she watched the Guild take control of their sector of the city. Moving swiftly across the roofs, she dropped in on the Guild leader.

“Mages have been taken out. Returning to the Lady’s side now.” Eve said with a lazy salute. The leader of the Adventurer’s guild waved her off and said, “Yes. Fine. We owe Lady Charlotte for her kind and generous donation of a pet assassin.”

Eve smirked and said, “Your words have been heard and noted. I’m sure the future head of the Zienfer household will appreciate the support of the Guild.” She enjoyed the vein of irritation along with the eye twitch the guild leader developed.

Playing a bit of drama, Eve let a whirlwind of Witch’s Dust swirl around her before she vanished. Teleporting to the roof once more, Eve noted how her previously empty highway was growing slightly crowded. Figures moved among the rooftops in swift movements. The town’s unsavory individuals were taking the attack as an opportunity to redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor.

Eve weighed the cost to benefit and shook her head. There was no need to do the Guard’s job for them. Charlotte had made her position clear. A smooth flow of teleportation moved Eve across the town's roofs until she was once more within the Rasmuchein’s lobby.

Eve approached the lobby counter with a bright smile. She noted how the woman working the counter looked at her clothing before relaxing. It was clear the employee was looking for signs of battle.

“I’m afraid I got caught up in some nastiness outside,” Eve said in a disarming tone. “Lucky for me, the Adventurer’s Guild responded quickly to the incident, and I was able to make it back safely.”

The employee relaxed further as Eve presented herself as a victim, not a combatant.

“How terrible. The Rasmuchein prides itself on maintaining a secure environment for our guests. You won’t have to worry about anything like that here.” The younger woman said brightly. “Could I get your room number?”

“303,” Eve said.

The younger woman moved her hands in the air interacting with a series of glyphs linked to a single-sided screen. It appeared that in times of combat, the Rasmuchein disregarded even attempting to appear like a normal inn.

On the other hand, perhaps only I can see the mana for these glyphs. Eve thought. Best not to mention them.

After consulting her invisible screen, the younger woman asked, “Would you happen to have the key card?”

Eve presented her key card allowing it to be scanned.

With the final hurdle checked, the younger woman said, “Excellent. There has been a minor issue with the third floor. We are currently looking at how to solve the problem. It appears something has hidden the floor from observation.”

“Oh? I happen to be a bit of a specialist in ward breaking. Would you like me to take a look?” Eve asked politely.

The younger woman hesitated before saying, “I can ask my manager. Would you mind waiting a moment?”

Eve nodded in agreement and moved to sit on the lobby sofas. As soon as she sank into the mass of magic-imbued leather and fluff, her stress started melting away.

Whoever discovered the issue with the concealed floor is either an employee or a customer. Eve thought as she kept her attention on the surroundings. They are most likely assassins. However, now that we are in the inn, I wonder if they will be able to strike so easily.

The Rasmuchein took the law of hospitality seriously from the guards patrolling around in full visibility. Eve didn’t think any assassins would have as easy a time of it as they might before the inn was on full alert.

It would be nice if she didn’t even need to lift a finger.

Eve managed to lift herself off the sofa to greet the manager, that promptly arrived a few minutes later. After exchanging pleasantries, the manager asked, “Would there be a charge for this service?”

“Of course not. I have no intention of charging the inn for something I would do anyways to reach my room.” Eve said with a smile.

The manager’s visible relief was enough to raise her eyebrow but not comment. Eve didn’t want to make the man uncomfortable or suspicious. She discussed the particulars with the manager as they moved to the stairwell and climbed to the third floor.

Once they reached the third-floor landing, Eve was unsurprised to see three security guards and two guests.

“Mr. Braggins and Mr. Chimmel were the two guests who first discovered the strangeness.” The manager said, pointing to each guest in turn.

“Manager Hans, who is this lovely lady?” Braggins said with a smarmy grin. Eve managed to restrain her impulse to paint his brains all over the wall.

Giving a bright thousand-watt smile, Eve said, “I’m a specialist in ward breaking along with a few other things. I had a room on this level and offered to help when the manager informed me of the problem.”

Eve kept a façade of kindness up even as she grew annoyed with the lascivious looks from both men. If they were assassins, she would take great pleasure in defenestrating them. On the other hand, there was always itching powder if they weren't.

As she approached the door, Eve noted how neither of the other guests wanted to move away. “Excuse me, gentlemen, I need space to work. Would you mind moving back?”

Mr. Braggins and Mr. Chimmel moved back with obvious reluctance leaving Eve space. She pretended to study the wall for several moments before saying, “Ah! Found it.”

The manager’s eyes lit up as Eve said, “Every ward has to have a point where it interacts with reality.” She moved forward, placing a finger on one of the runes invisible to others. "From that point, we can easily crack the rest.”

Glowing silver runes started to reveal themselves in an outline around the door. Eve focused her eyes on the runes while her Witch’s Dust gave her the others nearby.

Two guards did not react, but both guests and the third guard’s eyes lit up as the runes appeared. It was clear there were traitors within the Rasmuchein. Eve nodded at how those who planned this attack had gained entry.

It wouldn’t be hard for a guard to forge credentials for guests. Eve grinned internally as the runes slowly burned out in a concentric pattern. She was almost to her bed, just a few pests to clean up first.

Once the runes burned out, the entrance to the third floor was revealed. Eve stepped back and said, “I can only assume there might be a key required.”

Manager Hans quickly moved to the door before inserting a key in the lock and turning it. The sound of a locking bolt moving back made everyone slightly relax. Eve looked pleased, while Manager Han's expression was ecstatic. She well understood his feelings. It was clear from the runes and the locked door that those insides had gone above and beyond to defend themselves. The Rasmuchein had probably been worried this was enemy action. When they found out otherwise, it was a massive relief.

Eve saw the traitorous guard step forward and say, “I’ll escort the guests inside, Manager Hans. It’s clear they are most likely safe.”

“Indeed. I’ll leave it to you, Jovan.” Manager Hans said, gesturing for the other guards to follow him back down the stairwell.

Eve probably wouldn’t have given a second thought to his offer if she weren't already suspicious of the guard. Now, however, she was almost certain the three men were in cahoots to murder Charlotte.

Eve let the guard and guests enter ahead of her by pretending slight tiredness. After everyone had entered the third floor ahead of her, she entered the door last. It was only the work of a moment to re-lock the door before melting it shut.

No reason to let anyone escape. Eve thought as her eyes grew cold.