"Sako." Evelyne called him into the room. He was always nearby, as it was his position since the start of the game. A servant of the dungeon, meant to raise dead and fight adventurers. And serve the dungeons master.

  The ladder part became increasingly difficult as the days went on.

  "Yes Honorable Lady Evelyne d’Argent, Daughter of the Marquess of Silvermere, Angel of Tartarus." he announced as he entered the column lined room.

  The largest building in the village was a cathedral, which she had made her throne room. Its windows had the added benefit of being stained glass which made the sunlight tolerable for vampires. According to the Evelyne.

  "Please explain to this peasant that I am now his ruler.", Evelyne was currently flipping through a tome idly completely disregarding the man standing near her. "That much is not in question madame, it's just that this place is a holy sanctum dedicated to Minerva! T-to desecrate it with the presence of undead is untenable!"

  Immediately Sako saw the problem. He was trying to reason with her. Honestly, he was surprised this man wasn't dead yet- but Evelyne had surprised him often the past few days.

  For one, she had taken over a city in an hour. Evelyne only needed to show her power, and no town guard was willing to confront her after that. Though many looked like they'd run to the nearest kingdom the first chance they got. But rest assured, she had convinced them wasn't an option either.

  The option left was to obey whatever she said. And this priest of Minerva was still getting with the program.

  "Father, please." Sako said consolingly. "I'm not your father! Minerva stringently opposes the undead! If she requires a place to dub her throne I suggest she claim it in the damned graveyard!"

  Sako winced. His luck had just warn out. Evelyne had a snobby disposition regardless. But there were few things that set Evelyne off into a murderous rage.

  1. Insult her sense of fashion.

  2. Not respecting her status.

  3. And not respecting necromancy.

  Evelyne looked up at him in annoyance.

  Then a form shifted in a darkened corner of the room. It flinched and stumbled clumsily towards the priest.

  "I-I met no offense! I only mean to defend the honor of her grace, as it is by her holy light we serve- how could you ever deface a holy place such as this, have you no honor?"

  She chuckled, covering her mouth as if she was about to say something uncouth; "

  "Your gods virtue must shine so brightly to you, it blinds you to the true ways of the world. You thought these walls of stone would protect you? That your 'goddess' would protect you?"

  The armored undead lumbered forward- a warrior from the towns graveyard. The priest shuddered and bumped into one of the many pews that lined the room. "Pl-please! Have mercy-" he fell onto his back as the undead shot forward.

  "But no longer. This place is mine, in the name of Typhus, God of oblivion."

  Sako was turning white in the face in the sight of the visceral violence. She could've easily just killed him with her aura, but she wanted him to suffer.

  'They're just 1's and 0's'

  he reminded himself. A splash of blood hit the ground as the undead pulled the skin off the priests hand like a latex glove. Yep. That was about enough of that.

  He cast [Darkness] and a perfect sphere of black covered the ghastly sight.

  "Really? You'll hardly stomach war if something as tame as this disturbs you." she scoffed and went back to reading her book.

  "Will there be anything else your majesty?", he asked robotically. Just as two corpses walked out of the sphere of darkness.

  "One more thing Sako, please have the servants raise undead from the graveyard and use them for target practice."

  "I'll see that it's done.", he said- though it would be quite the thing to explain to the other players.

  He left, sensing she had nothing else to say. As soon as he stepped outside two people were waiting for him. Tiffany and the towns main law enforcement. A dark skinned farmer named Khev. The lean man was bald with a familiar mustache reminiscent of a certain dictator.

  "Thanks for waiting." he said.

  "What did her majesty desire?" Khev asked.

  Sako crossed his arms; "She wants us to raise some dead and use them for target practice.", at that- Khevs' jaw went slack. "It's a joke." Sako said plainly. But Tiffany smiled; "That's actually a really good idea! I wonder if it'll count as xp. I've only leveled up from killing NPCs so far."

  The thought irked Sako. Tiffany was too confident that these NPCs were just that, NPCs. Just tools for her amusement. Sako wasn't so sure. Were they living? Likely not. And he enjoyed playing 'Grand Theft Auto' as much as the next guy. But there was no reason to be cruel to these NPCs.

  "What's an NPC?" Khev asked, raising an eyebrow.

  Tiffany only made a sympathetic face and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'll tell you if I know you longer than a day."

  "Ignore her." Sako interjected. "How's the guard adapting to the changes?" he asked the farmer turned village leader.

  Who ran a hand over their smooth head.

  "Uh, I don't quiet know sir. This is all rather sudden. Any village would be on edge with 'friendly' undead about. And this village? It's a Minerva village. We live under her light and the undead are heretical here. It's not easy for people to see them toil the fields, or wear armor and keep the peace."

  Sako was glad to find someone who was so competent among the villagers. They weren't like actual historical medieval villagers. But who could say for sure how they lived? In any case, Sako didn't believe actual medieval villagers had magic. And classes.

  So they did have a slightly higher level of intelligence, but with magic and skills accomplishing even the most complex tasks it was better to just rely on the system to get things done. Who needs massive modern factories when a blacksmith can use [Form Strike]? They can hit any piece of metal it'll take a more similar shape to what they imagined it should be.

  It completely sidestepped the finesse and the years of learning technic that an actual blacksmith would need. And that was a factor regarding all professions. Modern day results, with medieval level technology, with fantasy rules.

  Khev was a farmer so he had skills like [Seeding] and [Consecrate Land], which helped him toss a handful of seeds and each land where he intended. Consecrate land was a skill unique to farmers who followed Minerva. A variation of their [Fertilize Land] skill. Which had the added benefit of weakening undead and other betrayer god-aligned creatures. If a body is buried in consecrated soil, it can not be raised from that soil.

  Which made the process of resurrecting them more difficult. Sako was learning all about the villagers as quickly as he could.

  "I'll try to speak to Evelyne about making the dead's appearance more tolerable, perhaps we could cover them in armor, or cloth? You're right, this is sudden. But people are built to adapt. We can find a comforting system where an undead supported society can thrive... I think we just need to buy some good grace with the townspeople. What do the towns people think of her majesties living servants?"

  Khev gave Tiffany a side-eye which answered his question already. But then he spoke; "...They're far more tenable than the undead sir. But if I'm to be frank, they behave as if they're above us. Like nobles."

  Tiffany laughed.

  Sako glared at her until she stopped.

  "They likely do not know your people well enough. And I know just the solution. Well, it might help smooth things over for awhile."

  "What did you have in mind?" Khev asked.

  "Let's have a party. Tonight. On me." Sako realized once he saw some of the money people in the village threw around. In comparison he was rich.

  "A party? Do you mean like feast? Or a round of drinks at the tavern?", Khev tilted his head sideways in confusion.

  Tiffany gave an exasperated sigh. "Both, you idiot. At the same time. A party is where a large group of people hangout.", "Hangout?" Tiffany raised a fist threateningly- and Khev flinched. Which was strange to see, a petite teenager punk a middle aged farmer / village head.

  Sako furled his brow in irritation. "Grow up Tiffany- for being so immature, YOU can raise the zombies for target practice.", she gasped like she was dealt a terrible wound. "Just make sure they're not from the graveyard." 'wink'

  "B-but digging!", "The quicker you raise undead the less digging you have to do. I'd hurry, Evelyne doesn't forget the orders she gives us." he teased. She pouted. "Fine, have fun talking to the bot." Tiffany said bitterly and stomped off.

  Sako looked to Khev again, who seem satisfied with Tiffanys' punishment.

  "Just spread the word Khev; we're hosting a celebration out of appreciation of the people of Roriks Hearths' hospitality."

  He contemplated this. "Very well. And where will this celebration be held?", Sako looked around. "Here seems nice. The town square, just outside the cathedral."

  Khev nodded. "Sounds like a fine place, out in the open. Away from any dark corners."

  'Were the villagers really that scared?' he almost felt a tinge of empathy for the machine person.

  ---

  After several hours the sun began to set. And the celebration began. Tables of all sorts were arranged around the town square. The villagers emerged and sat about. The fancifully dressed servants of Evelyne were mostly isolated in their own section of tables.

  Sako was standing near the bonfire at the center, waiting for people to arrive. He looked around, and when he was satisfied with the attendance he stepped forward.

  "I'm glad you all decided to attend our celebration. Tonight we give thanks to the people of this fine village for their generosity and tolerance. I understand that this may seem unfair. But I'm hoping this event helps clear the air."

  Crickets. He just saw many faces turned his way in expectation and skepticism. They seemed to not know what he meant by 'clear the air', as they looked around at the air. Searching for smoke or fog.

  He coughed. "-Anyway, your village leader Khev has agreed to say some words."

  At that- the villagers perked up. Khev walked in front of the bonfire.

  "Friends. Family. We all know each other so well now. Many of our parents were there during the villages founding- when they had first built it as a place to rest before heading into the dungeon. Since then it's become more than a campsite, but a home. We have no formal mayor, king, or ruler of any kind. We've always settled our disputes ourselves. And believed in Minerva to defend us."

  Sako shifted on his feet uneasily. He wasn't opposed to this kind of thing, he'd given presentations and powerpoints before. But he'd wish Khev would get to the point where he was grateful to them as they discussed. It was awkward standing up there.

  "But change comes for us all. These undead makers that arose from the dungeons- they are not the monsters they create. They could have slaughtered us all so easily. But instead, they've offered us aid, in exchange for loyalty and a place to rest. Is this not the same thing the village was founded on?"

  There were some murmurs in the crowd. "Aye, but what about Minerva!", someone called out. Another person stood up; "Yes! And what about the kingdom? Do you think they will take this lying down? This is invasion!", a few jeers of agreement rang out.

  As he expected, hecklers began challenging Khevs' words. Understandable, as Khev said this was all so sudden... The city was under new leadership. And they could do exactly nothing to change that. The purpose of this celebration was coming out now. To give them a chance to vent and air their grievances. Establish a dialogue between the rulers and the ruled.

  Evelyne should be the one out here, doing this. But she's power incarnate and wants to play princess. It was Sakos job to represent that interest and try to make it work in reality. And so he had considered how the villagers would react to the sudden change in leadership.

  He observed the other apprentice servants looking on, listening. They were not angry nor enthused by the villagers heated remarks.

  Khev shook his head; "What invasion? They bring wealth, they bring opportunity. And Minerva? Minervas' true tenets are to the impoverished. To the needy. We are not paladins, our abilities heal, and ward. As clerics of Minerva, it's not our responsibility to fight monsters. The kingdom however, may respond and Sako and I have spoken at length about it. We agree that the Honorable Lady Evelyne d'Argent is more than a match for his armies. Considering the position we're in, I think we can all agree it'd be best to go on living as we do and tolerate their presence. For now."

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  They all exchanged glances. They were also considering the unspoken fact. That if they truly wanted to expel their force- they'd be powerless to do so. And now they were creating coping mechanisms to deal with that. Which again, Sako expected a degree of. In time they would realize this was a good thing.

  Evelyne was powerful. But she cared little for diplomacy. She essentially marched into town and said; "I'm the empress now." while leaving Sako to deal with the fallout. Telling him to 'organize things', what an impossibly vague task to assign a person. As well as catering to her flippant needs.

  The discussion continued from there-

  Over the course of fifteen minutes or so a few other villagers brought forth different issues and Khev and Sako both would offer solutions or compromises. In the end, the villagers were far less tense than when they had first sat down. This was tenable.

  And the servant apprentices saw the villagers in a different light. Slightly. They still saw them as machines mimicking them, but they were impressed. Negotiating for humane conditions as they did.

  "Good. I think that's about enough discussion for now. I think it's about time we celebrate. Servers, if you'd please-" a line of cooks emerged carrying out plates and bowls.

  "Minstrels can start their performance as well."

  Sako was surprised to find that the centipedes from the dungeon were a delicacy in this village. It's legs broke off like a lobsters when boiled.

  The meat looked very appetizing, sliced into little white chunks served with cheese. Why cheese? He'd only assume the flavor was fitting. Or perhaps it's what they had here.

  There was also the typical pheasant type meats, as well as steamed vegetables. Pastries and various desert type dishes were being offered as well. And it hardly cost anything. The villagers changed completely from being quiet and contemplative to being ravenous and talkative.

  The minstrels began to disperse among the large gathering and do their separate performances. Separating just enough as to not over shadow one another.

  One was telling stories animatedly, another was playing music while another juggled.

  The crowd laughed and cheered but found the quiet apprentices off putting. They weren't as entertained by the minstrels nor impressed by the food. They mostly just spoke among themselves. One or two drank a bit of ale, but after tasting it decided better.

  This he hadn't expected. Sako thought they would have a blast after being cooped up in a dungeon for over two weeks.

  He was considering how to convince them to mingle with the villagers when a panicked Tiffany ran up to Sako. She looked exhausted. She had to speak over the loud merry crowd of villagers as she spoke to him;

  "There's furry fucks in the graveyard messing everything up!"

  "Furry- what?", "I don't know! They're short but thicc." she made a wide gesture with her hands. "Fuzzy, their legs are less thick than their top half is. They look freaky. And they wear pants!"

  Khev had over heard and approached. He nodded knowingly; "Sounds like the Firbolgs are back at it again. Robbing graves. They usually remember the ones they've already robbed, and show up every so often. Bastards. Wait- why were you in the graveyard?"

  Tiffany pouted and ignored him; "They're ruining my undead! They killed three of them! Do you have any idea how exhausting it is to raise three undead!?" she pointed a finger at his face.

  "Well, no. No I do not." Khev said after a pause. "But I assure you the villagers would not appreciate the desecration of their families graves."

  Sako sighed. That was a good point. But then he had another idea. They didn't need the corpses from the villages graveyard. They could go out and collect them, starting with these Firbolg people.

  "Tiffany, go get Mary and Julius.", she made a shocked expression; "What? Am I your Sako? Where's my Sako? Where the person I can just tell to go do stuff?" she crossed her arms.

  "I don't know, go find one. There's a village full of people who need jobs if you're that lazy. Just find them and meet me at the graveyard."

  She left, walking slowly at first. "Move it!" he shouted after her and she hopped up into a skip.

  Khev was standing there expectantly.

  "...Don't worry. We won't use your villages dead. Anymore.", Khev paused, considering the statement. Then opened his mouth to speak but was rudely interrupted; "-I want you to gather up some of the villagers. The ones still sober, fit for fighting. And meet us outside the graveyard. We're going to solve your Firbolg problem."

  ---

  A mile outside of the village there was a graveyard. Spanning a few dozen acres. Some of the tombstones were laboriously carved while others settled for an regular boulder as the grave marker. It was overgrown, the grass far up to a persons knees. There was a dirt path, but it was narrow.

  The uneven terrain seemed impossible to run across without breaking your ankles.

  Sako would have to draw the out to even ground. The road to the village? That wasn't so far, but the land around the graveyard wasn't any better. They were all about level 5 at the minimum, with combat orientated classes. Each of them typically multiclassed. But each were [Necromancers] with subclass variations, as well as other classes like [Rogue] or [Cleric].

  After a time, Tiffany, Mary, and Julius walked over.

  "We lightning this candle?" Julius asked. His outfit navy blue with a black checkered pattern on one half, and plain blue on the other. His pants poofed outwards around the thighs then were clenched tight again below his knees. He wore samurai sandals and socks. His skin was very dark, and his eyes were green. With african features.

  Mary spoke next; "Tiffany filled us in. Some furry NPCs need to be removed?" she wore a more traditional necromancers outfit. Jet black silk robes without any other color or pattern was draped around her. The hood often pulled up. The light of the rising moon reflected off it creating lines of silver whenever it caught. She had created her character as a beastkin for the [Darkvision] racial trait but opted for a very human look. The only sign that she was a beastkin was the flecks of black scales on her alabaster skin. Around her elbows or shoulders. She drew the slider back as far as she could and this was the most human she could appear with the racial trait still effective.

  Sako nodded. "Yeah, we're going to need to take care of them. And I formulated a plan..." he drew a circle in the dirt with his finger. "Each of us will take a few villagers and approach from each side." He drew arrows pointing at the circle from north, south, west and east.

  "Seems like a pretty... Straightforward plan." Mary said. "I like the part where we kill monsters. Sounds fun.", Julius drew his katana a bit and checked the silver blade. "Did you drink a mana potion Tiffany?" Sako asked. She made her traditional pouting face; "I'm not a kid you know..."

  Khev and the other villagers arrived soon after and they filled them in on the plan.

  "Remember, let's not take any risks. Villagers- let us do the work. You just make sure none escape. Also, we need to capture ONE alive, the rest, you could do with as you please."

  At that- Tiffany and Julius exchanged a high-five.

  The plan went into motion, and they all fanned out. According to Khev, they would likely be here for a couple hours longer. So they had plenty of time to arrange themselves.

  Sako produced a small keychain sized totem pole, eloquently carved with different sigils. A persons face for a human action, a hawk for speed, an ouroboros symbol to link the totems, and a series of squiggly lines that reminded Sako of heat waves emitting off pavement which specified sound.

  That's how the person who made them described the meaning of the symbols anyway. It was his secondary class, [Shaman]. Which was like [Witch] in many ways, but far more support-role orientated.

  He clutched it and willed his magic into it, and it began to thrum with power.

  "Is everyone in position?" he said into it. After a moment a voice returned, a ghostly version of Tiffanys. "Yep!", "Yes.", "Affirmative, over." the last voice said mockingly.

  Sako looked back to the villagers who went with him. Some seemed a bit tipsy, but it was enough. He only told them they were here to help, but really, they were just here to watch.

  "Fan out behind me, at least twelve feet apart. Any that get past me you can put down. Trust me."

  They exchanged looks nervously, but nodded.

  He looked over the waist high cobblestone barrier that surrounded the graveyard. He heard the distant hyena like sounds and digging. They raked their claws through the dirt. Searching for rare metals or artifacts no doubt.

  Monsters craved wealth, but mostly as a means to attract adventurers. In which they then eat.

  Firbolgs likely traded with it or used it for some magic ritual. It mattered little to Sako. He did see about 8 of them, close to Khevs estimation.

  "Alright, let's go." he said into the totem.

  He leapt over the barrier and began striding up to them. And the others began appearing across the graveyard in different directions.

  The hyena like people quickly noticed, glancing up at Sako- then whipping their head around, searching for an escape root. Which it found none, it drew the short sword at its' side and howled.

  They leapt out of the graves they were digging and formed a defensive circle back to back. Drawing weapons and slashing the air in front of them threateningly.

  But they were quickly recognizing how outnumbered they were- but they had no idea.

  "Die, fiend." Sako said dramatically as he gracefully lifted a hand.

  Red glowing runes appeared rotating around his wrist and palm, displaying some ancient language while black tendrils squirmed out of the letters.

  [Eldritch blast]

  A red line of energy shot from his hand an impacted a firbolg in the shoulder. Sako was still working on his aim.

  The hide pauldron this particular firbolg was wearing was blasted off leaving behind smoldering fur and sizzling flesh.

  Three of the firbolgs went towards him. He smiled, just as planned. They thought he was the biggest threat here. They were wrong.

  'BANG!', behind them an lightning bolt had struck a firbolg from the sky. It fell over limply, steaming and charred. The firbolg next to the one she smote was standing flabbergasted. Then he searched for her- she was easy to find. Her nocturnal eyes had a reflective sheen to them as she stepped towards him. He flinched instinctively, and raised his hide buckler to defend himself.

  She pointed a wand at him- but to his surprise no lightning emerged. Instead, a shadow lazily spilled out from the tip. It steamed like boiling water, but black and ephemeral. It pooled on the ground below her then it began crawling, like a skeletal figure submerged in oil.

  [Shadow Wraith], a weaker summon that required no corpses.

  It took notice of the firbolg then bounced off the ground and flew threw the air before htiting the firbolg like a splash of water. Encapsulating it. Claws apparated from the black fluid and raked it's flesh all over. The firbolg fought back- often slicing it's own flesh as it tried to claw the intangible being unharmable by iron weapons.

  Another firbolg who had witnessed this and turned to run- but was faced with a smiling girl. [Hex Weakness], a green crown appeared above the firbolgs head- he reached for it but his hands passed through.

  [Hex Silence] black wire emerged from the skin around the firbolgs lips like maggots and began to intertwined sewing them shut. [Hex Plague], red boils began to form on their skin, filling and bursting with pus smattering their fur. She laughed maniacally. [Hex Hysterical Laughter], now the hyena laughed maniacally too. It collapsed in pain clutching it's stomach as it spit up blood mid-laugh.

  Julius looked at Tiffany and raised his eyebrows. Then smirked. "Don't worry buddy." he said to the remaining firbolg who had seen all this and decided to head towards the remaining unknown member of the troop. "I'll make it quick."

  [Shadow Step], he appeared behind the firbolg just as it approached a few feet of Julius. [Perfect Cut] he lifted his katana from the scabbard only halfway before returning it.

  The firbolgs head fall from its neck.

  "Yep. Just like the movies. Oh wait! Cool catch phrase... 'Don't lose your head', shit! That's no good... Hmm.." he started testing out different phrases to say after he beheads people.

  Meanwhile, Sako was dealing with the remaining 3. The first to reach him was the one he had hit with [Eldritch Blast].

  He ducked the sword slash and pushed the firbolg on the back of the shoulder. Green tendrils emitted from his touch.

  [Necrotic Touch], the firbolg groaned in pain and stumbled towards the villagers behind Sako. At this point, it was just trying to flea. But the villagers didn't let it. Pitchforks and swords stabbed it from all sides.

  He finished handled the other two in a similar fashion. They wanted to surrender, so he had Tiffany cast [Hex Frenzy] on one then had it fight the villagers. Who took pleasure in taking him down, feeling as if they were actually helping.

  The remaining firbolg was on it's knees, shaking.

  The interrogation would be swift, but for now they'd take it back to the village. They needed to find out where the rest of the firbolgs were, but they wouldn't be doing it tonight.

  The villagers were happy, patting each other on the back. Literally. Khev was pacing out of breath, after having stabbed one of the weakened firbolgs Sako had sent his way.

  "Man, you guys are powerful. We got 'em huh?" Khev asked.

  Sako smiled and gripped his shoulder. "You lot aren't so bad yourselves. That'll teach 'em for desecrating your graves, huh?" he asked.

  "Ya!" They jeered and hollered.

  He told the other apprentice servants at the grave site to deal with the bodies, and led the villagers back to the village with Khev. Where they partied more sincerely. Later when Tiffany and the others arrived, they swarmed them with questions and congragulations. Which they each accepted in their own ways. Mary was a standoffish person, so she was just answering politely.

  Julius was a practical person so he was showing them his sword swings and other abilities. They'd laugh when he stumbled because he was drunk because the moves were otherwise perfect.

  Tiffany was an attention hound, just lapping it up. Until some of them compared her to their daughters then she got angry, which caused them to start teasing her about it.

  Eventually the other apprentice servants were roped in too and before the night was over the two groups were socializing. Talking about the food they ate, the world(country) they came from, and about what their empress wanted.

  Sako deflated into a seat exhausted and appreciated his handiwork.

  And a voice sounded in his head, causing him to sit up straight- "Splendid work Sako."

  It was Evelyne! He looked around and didn't see her. Perhaps that's how no matter where he was in the dungeon he seemed to hear her voice when she called.

  Had she been watching this entire time? No- could she hear the things the other apprentice servants said?

  He shuddered at the thought. But relaxed. If she had an issue with any of it they would know by now. But was she really as foolish as he had thought? Or was she just playing the mastermind behind the scenes and he had not even noticed?

  A being as powerful as her you could never know for sure. Perhaps she knew just how capable Sako was and had expected everything he's done so far and that's why he was in the position he was in.

  He grabbed a flagon of ale and started chugging it. One of the other apprentices saw and started shouting. "Oh shit! Chug! Chug! Chug!"

  The crowd of villagers and apprentices began to chant.

  "Chug!Chug!Chug!"

  He slammed the empty flagon onto the table, and everyone cheered. Then he was roped into a drinking game with Khev. He allowed himself to finally take a break from all the tireless work he's been doing the past couple of weeks and let himself unwind with the others.

  ---

  Unknown to Sako, Evelyne was smiling over an orb of scrying that had displayed the entire celebration. She had thought it was a brilliant plan to lull the village into a false sense of complacency while they went about their plans.

  His methods of fooling the villagers were unique, and fascinating to her. Perhaps they could create a nation where the undead and living coexisted- for the benefit of the undead. Yes, it was quite the idea. She was right to choose Sako as her representative.

  ---

  ---

  Samantha rode in a wagon. She had hired a fancy stagecoach to take her to the coast and the journey was pleasant. The same couldn't be said for Theos journey. He had run into a particularly nasty person.

  The familiar she had planted on Theo showed her. The violence. The malice. The way they fought- it reeked of her world. That was a player.

  In any case- she had to hurry. Theo had eaten the familiar which stored a special emergency measure she had created. A potion of temporary ascension. It would send the user into a barbaric rage using skills far beyond their current level. It was the perfect weapon for Theo, who had [Assimilation] to keep them sane.

  Granted, the affect would be less each time he used it like any potion. But it was an option. It was the specialty of her class, buffs and debuffs. Hexes and spells.

  But she didn't have the ability to track Theo any longer. That was not a spell she had. Her crows saw him heading towards the coast and at the speed he went- he was likely already there. She'd hurry- but she still had not to draw attention to herself. Especially now, with monsters like that player running about murdering indiscriminately.

  There were also enemies of her guild just waiting for an opportunity to strike.

  "Is something the matter?" a posh voice said, regal and commanding. "Nope, just eager to see my grandson." she propped her chin on the window of the stage coach.

  A man roughly her age sat across from her. They had met while she was out on the town. Her [Witch]ly senses detected a powerful gaze and she saw him in the tavern that night. After a few knowing glances, they hit it off and had since been enjoying each others company.

  He wore fine clothes, an average sized man perhaps shrunken but muscular in his older age. He carried himself like a military commander but with a friendly cadence. It was a part of the charm that had attracted Samantha. His silver hair was partly receded and he had a clean shaved face.

  "Worry not, I am positive he is alright, if he is of the same stock as yourself.", he leaned forward placing two handed on a walking stick. "Now, let us speak of something exciting again." he smiled. Samantha smiled back, "Like what?" she teased.

  "I do not know, I'm not much of a storyteller. But I do adore the topics you come of with...", she cackled madly and put a hand on his, "Ever the flatterer, fine then." she patted his hand and leaned back. She contemplated for a moment.

  "Did I tell you about about dungeons and dragons?", "No, my lovely rose."

  "Well, it's this game where you and few friends sit around a table and improvise a story. Like, one player is a dm- a dungeon master that is, and the others are just players. I'm the dm. Always. And I set the scene, tell the actors what is possible or not, and they bounce ideas off each other. Usually they kill goblins."

  He raised an eyebrow. "So this 'game' is theater?", she waved at him at if batting away the idea. "Nope. Just a few friends around the table. For fun. And the memories."

  "Fascinating. Would you like to play? With me?" he asked. She blushed, "What, like right now? Just the two of us?"

  He frowned; "Is there a limit for how many players there should be?",

  "No, it's possible. I... Guess we could play. Alright. What can we use as dice? Maybe we can flip a coin a few times, and change that based on your stats.", "My stats?"

  That question spurred other questions, which led to much explanation regarding the rules of DnD.

  "So warlocks are in service to patrons in exchange for power?", Samantha shook her head; "Don't worry about that. Let's just start playing. So, you're a adventurer in a two-bit village. And guess what? They have a goblin problem."

  She described the situation to him, how this imaginary village had a problem with goblins stealing their crops.

  "Just poison the crops. It'd waste the season, but it'd prevent the goblins from stealing them in the future."

  Samantha pouted. "You can't do that." she said annoyedly. "Why not? Is there not an adequate supply of poison in the village?", she brightened- "Yeah! And your character has an intelligence of 9 so keep that in mind."

  He adopted a thoughtful expression. "Hrm, I suppose an adventurer my not be of the mind for such pragmatic choices. Very well, I will inquire as to the location of this goblin band."

  And for the hours of their journey, they played DnD.

  Samantha was sure Theo was fine, like Blake said- he was a Lemont.

  After many hours of travel their carriage finally arrived at the port city of Boers.

  "To summarize you wipe out the goblins using bribery and subturfuge. Why am I not surprised?" she laughed. He chuckled to.

  "I'll admit I quite enjoyed the game. It's a shame our meeting shall end her, perhaps you would be interested in meeting in the future?" he bowed before her outside the coach.

  She smiled coyly; "Are you asking me out?", was that how a twenty year old would say it? She was sure. "Would you be opposed?" he grinned knowingly. "I would not! Do you have a mailing address?"

  He considered what a mailing address was for a moment. Then nodded; "You can leave any correspondence at the merchants guild in any city. Only reference my name and yours, and I will send a response. Until then, I bid you ado my wild daffodil."

  He liked his flower nicknames. Samantha just enjoyed the affection. It's been a long time since she dated anyone, let alone a rich noble or merchant. Or whatever he was, she never got the opportunity to ask. Not that she really cared.

  They departed ways then, at the port city of Boers. And Samantha began asking people if they'd seen her grandson. Many of them gave her a pitiable look, as if she was some lost senile crone. Until she smacked them on the head with her staff. The nerve of some people, she wasn't lost! He was!

  She'd have to request some help from the guild. She hated to do it- she knew Claire would annoy her about it- but Samantha needed some fairy power for this. Scrying is one thing, tracking is another.

  After renting a room at an inn Samantha summoned a familiar. It flew to her window and she tied a message to the leg.

  "Careful Sejourn. It's a long way." she patted its head and it cooed before fluttering off.

  Claire was the only one who could travel quickly enough AND have the skills necessary. She'd reach Boers soon.

  In the meantime, she'd think about what to write Blake. Perhaps they could go to a ball or something. That is what nobles and wealthy merchants do right? Or maybe they could play board games.

  Suddenly she felt second hand embarrassment for herself. Look at her, fantasizing about boys like she was a teenager. But could anyone blame her? That man was a catch.

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