“No!” Rayne screamed out.
The blade thrust forward but, before it hit Libby, another body stepped in front. The sword plunged into the chest of a surprised Greta. Her eyes watered as the confused guard pulled the sword out, and she fell to the ground and didn’t move again.
You have dealt 200 damage to Bandit Guard (1) (Level 10) with Dual Strike (Critical Hit) (Mortal Blow).
Rayne took a step toward the man when a severe pain hit him. It caused him to double over as the pain took hold and a notification popped up.
You have been inflicted with Soul Weakness. Your health and mana regen rates have been decreased by 40% for the next hour.
Shit! Rayne thought to himself. He forced himself to stand back up and continue toward the man who had killed Greta. His rage was hot at seeing the gentle woman killed, and this anger fueled his strength. He was a few steps away from the man when he slashed the sword at Libby. The prone form of Gerrard reached out and grabbed the man by the ankle.
Gerrard violently jerked, and the guard lost his balance and interrupted his swing. Rayne was a few steps away when the guard regained his footing and turned to face Gerrard while plunging his sword into the man. His body jerked and then permanently stilled.
Libby screamed and Rayne’s heart broke at the sound of his sweet sister’s anguish. He took the last two steps and swung with all his might at the man. His swordbreaker connected with the man’s neck and tore out his throat. The man fell to the ground clutching his neck as blood spurted from the wound.
You have dealt 150 damage to Bandit Guard (1) (Level 10) with Iron Swordbreaker (Critical Hit) (Fatal Blow).
Rayne made his way to Libby and grabbed a hold of her. He held her tight as she cried into his arms. A fire in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Near the entrance to the kitchen, someone knocked over an oil lamp during the fighting, and it was spreading. In a panic, he turned to his sister.
“We have to get out of here before it is too late.” Rayne told her.
She sniffled at him but nodded. Rayne took her hand and led her out of the inn. With no idea where to go next, he headed for the alchemy shop. They would be safe there, and he needed to make sure Christina was okay.
The trip to the shop was uneventful, and much of the fighting noise had died down around the town. When Rayne reached the door, he knocked on it. There was no response. He tried to get in the door, but it was still bolted shut. He knocked again.
“Christina, it is me, Rayne, let me in!” He yelled at the door.
He waited a few minutes but still had heard nothing from the other side of the door. His nerves were getting to him, and he was incredibly worried about this string of events. He pulled out his tools and set to work on the lock. He had improved the locks to prevent common thieves from getting in, but he also knew exactly how they worked. With this knowledge, he was eventually able to get the bolt to slide back.
Rayne cautiously peered inside but saw nothing wrong. Maybe Christina had tried to go home instead? He thought to himself. He made his way to the desk and spotted a foot sticking out from behind it. He frantically raced for the desk, and as he came to the other side, he found a sight he had never wished to see. Christina was lying on the ground behind the desk and had a vial lying in her hand. A quick sniff of the vial revealed what he feared. She had ingested hemlock, and it had killed her.
His thoughts strayed back to her last words to him, and he walked back to the entrance of the building. He locked the building again and walked over to the nearest wall. Libby joined him, and they both collapsed into each other’s arms, crying. Their beautiful new life had been taken from them in a matter of hours. Why did everyone they ever got close to die? Rayne thought to himself as they both eventually succumbed to sleep, tears in both of their eyes.
Chapter 12
A Final Chance
The weeks had not been kind to Rayne and Libby following the night of the riots. Rayne had woken up in the shop and scavenged as many of the useful potions as he could. The inn had burned to the ground, and there was nothing left but ashes. The city had confiscated the alchemy shop since there were no heirs named by Gerrard and Greta.
Rayne and Libby had been forced to bounce from one place to another, and Rayne had moved many of the potions in the seedy underworld of the city. His old skills that he had hoped were behind him were the only things keeping them alive now.
Rayne had scrounged enough money to secure a little apartment that his sister could live in while he spent his time on the streets. It wasn’t much, but he wanted her protected. After the ordeal at the inn, his sister had become almost mute. She rarely ever spoke, and Rayne usually had to force her to eat something. Her cheer had fled, and Rayne feared it might have done so for good.
Connections with criminal groups in the city had been quickly made, and he had already made a name for himself on a few of the more important jobs. Rayne had agreed to take on all the dangerous assassination jobs that no one else would touch and he had completed all of them perfectly. He never turned down a chance to kill those responsible for the loss of his family, both inherited and by blood.
One day, when returning to his sister’s apartment, he found a small note lying on the floor inside the door. Picking it up, he examined it closely.
Rayne,
I have a business proposition for you I think you would like. Will you meet me at midnight tonight by the burned down inn?
An Admiring Patron.
No one should even know of this place. Rayne thought. He tried to keep his sister as distant from him as possible. Nevertheless, he was intrigued by this and figured it couldn’t hurt to hear the person out.
Rayne made sure his sister was settled in and had eaten before he went back into the town. The curfew was still in effect that had been announced during the riots, but the city was so low on guards from the night of blood that no one could really enforce it. His trip took him to the ruins of the inn that had been his home for almost a year. There was a figure huddled in the corner of the building, and Rayne slowly approached.
When he was a few feet away, the person turned, and it was an older woman. This woman was rather hideous to look at, and Rayne had to fight from letting his feelings show. You always needed to be polite to a patron in this line of business, no matter how revolting you thought they were.
The woman cackled for a moment before she spoke.
“It’s fine. I know how I look. I am here to discuss a business venture with you. How would you feel about robbing the man responsible for most of your sorrow?” She asked him in excited tones.
His ears perked up at that news. “Lord Preston has far too many guards around his place, and it is almost impossible to get plans for his layout. It sounds like you are trying to send me on a suicide mission.”
The old hag cackled again. “I only wish for you to succeed. I have lost much, just as you have, and most of it is because of Lord Preston and his fellow cronies. I only want to get a bit of revenge for his actions. This heist should be enough money for you to comfortably retire and not have to worry about skulking the streets all the time.”
Rayne thought the idea had merit but he couldn’t see how this little old lady could help him.
“What is in it for you?” Rayne asked skeptically.
“I wish to see the man brought low for his actions. I have little time in this world left and now have nothing left to lose. If you agree to this job, I will provide you with detailed documents that show guard rotations and floor plans to get you into the treasury in the manor.” The old lady explained.
Rayne thought it sounded fishy, but if what this woman said was true, how could he pass up the chance? Rayne looked her over for a minute and couldn’t see anything that told him she was lying. On a whim he went along with it.
“I agree to this. I will be more than happy to rob the man of his wealth. I owe him at least that much, if not much more.” Rayne told her.
She smiled at him and her face be
came difficult to look at. She handed over a bundle of papers and looked to him.
“Good luck, Rayne.” She told him and started to walk away.
Rayne reflected on the encounter as the woman was walking away and decided she must be a little crazy. A quick glance through the papers showed him it was exactly what she had said though, and his eyes grew wide. When he looked up again she had disappeared, and he was standing alone. I guess it is time to plan a heist. Rayne thought to himself.
The old lady had rounded a corner and was standing in a bare alley. She could easily tell there was no one near her. Her body started to shift as she grew in height and her hair straightened and changed to a perfect strawberry blonde color. The bottom part of her hair was lightly curled and her eyes shone a bright gold. Her smooth skin was the color of milk and she stretched her arms above her head.
“You won’t win this time, sister,” Lianna said softly as her body slowly melted into golden dust and floated away on the wind.
Bonus Chapter – Soul Bond (Book 2 of The Dimensional Wars)
A Happy Accident
Rayne crept through the hallway as quietly as he could manage. The gaudy decorations in the place further solidified his resolve in his mission. They had been suffering, and he was done taking the abuse of Lord Preston Wayne.
Lord Preston’s family had been the overlords of Seora since King Wailyn overthrew the Firebrand family. The city was now a horrible mess of starvation and crime. Rayne had been spending his time using his stealth and thievery to stay alive. There were many close calls with the local bandits masquerading as city enforcers. Still, he was alive and managing to survive.
The last few months had been getting worse if that was even possible, and Rayne had been convinced to go all-in and infiltrate the Lord’s manor. Lord Preston should be a much easier target than trying to go to the regional capital and infiltrating Lord Golgara’s home.
Rayne shuffled up to the corner of the hallway and carefully peered around. The area looked clear of anything dangerous, so he quickly ducked around the corner and kept up his pace of skulking through the hallway. Paintings adorned the halls as he went. Many of the pieces looked to have been made by a six-year-old with a paintbrush and a bad temper. He wasn’t an art man himself, but they must be valuable to someone.
Rayne had been given the plans for this place as part of a vague job by an old woman. The situation had been odd but he was desperate enough to give it a shot. The treasury was his target. It was a small room and was located in the basement level of the building, furthest from the stairs. The main floor had been a breeze to get through, and the guards here were laughable at best. They were all poor excuses for human beings, and their appearances testified to that fact.
Each of them wore cast-off finery that looked like it hadn’t been adequately cleaned in weeks. Most of them didn’t even wear the pieces of clothing correctly, testifying to their lack of sophistication. With his stealth skill as high as it was, he could quickly sneak past them and continue to the basement.
Rayne was taking a slower approach in the basement. He couldn’t rely on the hope that all the bandits and guards would be worthless here. Getting complacent was the best way to end up dead in this city. Most of the time, you couldn’t even sleep without trouble finding you.
At the next hallway intersection, he quickly peeked around the corner. As fast as he looked around, he quickly whipped his head back. He had seen a man in serviceable mail armor standing in the hallway adjacent to the next corridor he needed to get through. If his information was correct, he was only a few halls away from the treasury. A lone guard here did not bode well. He would bet money there were at least two more guards by the room if there was a solo guard this far away.
Rayne sucked in a deep breath and steeled his nerves. He didn’t care much for the art of assassination, but he was past the breaking point now. He typically tried to steal or resort to spy missions, but he had enough skill to fight if needed. The armor on this man would be a problem. Luckily, Rayne was familiar with weak points in chain armor, and he had a narrow blade that was explicitly designed to get through the chain.
Rayne took a deep breath and slowly counted down in his mind. This would be a quick attack from stealth and would require two of his abilities to activate to work. When he reached zero, he quickly rounded the corner and threw out his hand. A small stone flew down the hall and to the other side of his target.
Your Distract on Bandit Guard (Level 14) was successful.
Rayne breathed a small sigh of relief as he used a burst of raw Air Magic to push him faster. His footsteps were silent as the space melted away. He took his dagger and plunged it directly into the man’s kidney while reaching his left hand around the man’s face and covering his mouth. He clamped down hard to prevent the man’s stifled cry from escaping and quickly ripped the blade out of his side.
You have dealt 200 damage to Bandit Guard (Level 14) with Iron Stiletto Dagger (Stealth Attack) (Critical Hit) (Mortal Blow).
Before the man could react, Rayne reversed the blade and drove it into the side of the man’s throat.
You have dealt 150 damage to Bandit Guard (Level 14) with Gag Order.
Bandit Guard (Level 14) has died.
Rayne caught the man’s weight as he started to fall to the floor, dead. He lowered him quietly to the floor and checked the man’s pockets. A few coppers were all he received for his efforts, but he had bagged a little experience in his skills. Rayne rarely bothered to examine his skills or level anymore. It was rare to gain experience in anything but his thievery skills lately.
The Gag Order ability was one of his favorites to use in a pinch. The skill had a five-minute cooldown, but it would sever the vocal cords in the throat. It was a recent acquisition from his talents. If it didn’t kill the target with its damage, it would silence them permanently without specialized healing. In this case, it quickly finished the man off after his massive initial HP loss.
The garbage mail the Bandit had been wearing was marked with rust spots and had no chance of stopping his stiletto dagger. The thing was specifically designed to punch through armor. He cleaned his blade off on the man’s ragged clothing and put it back in its sheath. He couldn’t afford the gleam of metal on the knife to give him away.
Rayne found a door a short way down the hall that was relatively empty and looked to be a storage room. He dumped the body in the closet to keep it out of easy sight.
With the body secured, he started his trip again. He quickly shuffled into the hallway that his source had described and regained his focus. He crept down this hallway, checked the next, and continued his trek down it. These winding hallways were an absolute pain in the ass to deal with.
Rayne reached the end of the final hallway and peered around the corner. The treasury room was at the end of this last hallway. It had a heavy wooden door banded in iron. As he feared, there was a guard on each side of the door, and these appeared to be of better quality than the other bandits. A quick scan of them showed they were classified as City Guards and sitting at Level 15.
Rayne had no idea what their skill set would be, but he was past the point of no return now. His only chance was to finish this and get out of town before retaliation could come. The scenario would be challenging, though. He didn’t want to have to use his hidden ability, but if it were necessary, he would. Keeping it in reserve for his escape would be his best option, but these two guys were far better armed than anyone he had seen so far.
Distract probably wouldn’t work on them, at least not without somewhere behind them to target. This would require him to use more misdirection abilities. He went through his breathing again and steadied his nerves. This would be another quick dash followed by an encounter.
The end of his countdown approached quicker than he expected, but he dashed around the corner and tossed a small cloth bag at the guards. His skill activated, and the powder swirled into the air.
You have activated Smoke Bomb. Enemy
visibility reduced by 35%. Enemy accuracy reduced by 35%.
Rayne pulled both of his blades for this fight. His style used two blades, but one was a rare sight. It was commonly known as a swordbreaker. The backside of the knife was covered in narrow grooves that were designed to catch sword blades in them. Once you had a blade trapped, you could quickly twist the dagger, and it could rip the weapon out of the wielder’s hand. If they had a good grip, it was even common to snap a blade from the extreme force exerted by the twist. Most weapons only had so much flex in them before they would break. Iron blades would commonly bend to unnatural angles since they were not as hard as steel.
Rayne dashed in and punched into the first man’s side with his stiletto dagger and quickly followed it with a slash to the man’s helmet with the swordbreaker. He didn’t expect to do much damage with the second hit, but he wanted to knock the man off balance.
You have dealt 100 damage to City Guard (1) (Level 15) with Iron Stiletto Dagger (Critical Hit).
You have dealt 25 damage to City Guard (1) (Level 15) with Iron Swordbreaker (Blunted Strike).
You have caused Disorient to City Guard (1) (Level 15).
The man stumbled backward, but before Rayne could pursue the stunned man, the other guard raced in and took a wild swing. Rayne quickly danced out of the way and ran back in to close the distance to the new target. Before the man could stop his swing and recover, Rayne punched his dagger into the man’s left side. The man fell back before Rayne could get a follow-up swing in.
You have dealt 100 damage to City Guard (2) (Level 15) with Iron Stiletto Dagger (Critical Hit).
Rayne was feeling more secure in this fight when he felt a sense of dread fall over him. His street senses were screaming danger to him. He heard footsteps closing in, and before he could react, two new faces came at him through the smoke. These two were the Bandit Guard style of fighters.
Rayne Page 16