Rain starts to drizzle, stirring the dust of the street and leaving the world draped in a slightly sweet smell.

  From the Rooftop, Shadow notes that the guards have done a shift change. It's time.

  "Shadow - take out the guards with a view of the skylight. HH and I are going to Blink over."

  "On it."

  From our vantage, Shadow slips into the skylight and disappears in the gloom. Silently, I count to thirty, then I exhale.

  Grabbing HH at the waist, I focus on the rooftop across the street.

  My staff glows for a brief moment as sigils are drawn in my mind.

  With a blink of our eyes, the world shifts as if we stepped on a treadmill moving at incredible speed. We're on the roof.

  Opening the hatch, I help HH drop into the building, then she catches me as I drop inside.

  Shadow pings the map to target the other groups of individuals. He's taken two out already.

  Seven remain.

  The warehouse itself smells of dust and something acrid. The gloom is oppressive, likely to increase the unease of their prisoners.

  Below us, the captives sit in iron cages, half hidden in the shadows near the walls.

  Like a well tuned machine, we move with mechanical precision. HH takes over directing so I can focus on spellcraft.

  "Left," I say to the chat.

  "Right," responds Shadow.

  With a casting of Sleep, a grunt falls to the ground.

  Shadow materializes behind the other and puts them into a chokehold.

  The grunts go down without a sound.

  A second grouping goes down with similar ease.

  Six grunts down, three remain.

  A shout.

  We've been noticed.

  They're pointing to HH and I.

  One of then has a horn and raises it to blow on it.

  "Silence," HH mutters a spell as her symbol glows.

  A heavy blanket settles over the entire warehouse as all sound is evacuated. The grunt blows into the horn, and is confused for a moment why there is no sound.

  I can't speak to cast spells anymore.

  Another grunt charges us, cudgel in hand, he swings down towards me. Planting my staff in the ground, I deflect the attack off to the side.

  In the same moment, HH smacks a warhammer into the side of the grunts head.

  He falls to the ground in a heap. For a sickening moment, he doesn't move. Then his chest rises and falls in the silence.

  Movement catches my attention as the one without a horn has grabbed one of the prisoners.

  A gnome.

  He holds a knife to the person's throat, yelling a threat that doesn't escape his mouth.

  The one with the horn makes a break for the door.

  Shadow materializes from the gloom and plants a dagger into the back of one threatening the Gnome. Then his other hand comes up and slashes the grunts throat. Life fades from his body instantly.

  With a nod to HH, she drops the Silence.

  My staff flips end over end as a glowing Orb of acid grows. With a command word in the elemental tongues, the half formed orb leaps from my staff.

  The Orb bursts against his back - a wet hiss, stone screaming as the acid splashes wide.

  He goes down hard.

  A shout erupts from the tavern, loud and sudden, and my attention tears away instantly. We don’t have time.

  Moving to secure the living guards, HH rushes to the gnome and begins healing him.

  Restraining them, I find the keys to the cells. Shadow nods and departs towards the tavern to find evidence.

  Unlocking the first cell, there is a human man inside. He seems unaware of the events that have just transpired.

  The second cell has a female Orc. As soon as the door is unlocked, she flies into a rage and charges me.

  "Stop! Friendly, friendly! We're players too!"

  She falters, and stumbles. Colliding with me, I barely catch her weight.

  "We're here to help. Let's get you all healed and out of here."

  A murmured thanks is all she can manage as I bring her to HH and then collect the man.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  As I bring him over, the gnome seems to have regained consciousness.

  "There's one more!" There's panic in his voice. "Someone stronger. They were taken away by this Gristle into the main tavern. I think he wants to show off."

  "I'll get them," I reassure the gnome.

  Moving to the door, I press my ear to it and try to hear what's going on. A gruff voice cuts through.

  "... Grimvault will pay... this one's strong."

  My heart hammers so loudly I half-expect it to give me away through the door.

  "I got proof," Shadow's message startles me momentarily. "Hidden panel in the desk. Classic bad guy move."

  "They've got one more guy. They're showing them off like a prized pig!"

  "I'll get in position. Rafters. Make an entrance and I'll make sure it hits."

  A pause. Then: Go.

  My staff has been growing with arcane ice this entire time. My anger solidified. The door cracks with strain as I kick.

  The door itself doesn't explode outward. The lock shatters instead, wood cracking as a cold wind tears into the tavern. Conversations die mid word. Every eye turns to me and my staff.

  Sub-zero air bleeds outward as I utter a single phrase.

  "If you don't want to die... Run."

  Ice pools around my feet as there is a pause for a single heartbeat.

  Chaos.

  People scramble. Overturning tables, climbing over one another to reach the door. The room empties in seconds, fear doing more work than violence ever could.

  A bugbear straightens near the bar, towering over the space. Seven feet of muscle and greed. He cracks his neck and looks down at me with a predatory grin.

  "You'll fetch a higher price than the dwarf. Grimvault wouldn't mind if I rough up the merchandise."

  "Hit the deck," I message Shadow.

  He drops from the rafters, knocking the dwarven prisoner from the hands of a brute. They fall to the floor as Shadow shields the dwarf with his own body.

  That's all I needed.

  A Cone of pure cold erupts from my staff. The gathered ice detonates outward, flash-freezing the room. The three brutes standing next to Gristle turn to sculptures in an instant.

  Gristle reacts fast, deploying a ward that catches most of the freezing blast, leaving a small circle of damp wood around him as the rest of the tavern is coated in rime.

  he charges, bringing a wand out and motioning towards me as a series of arcane glyphs bloom in the air.

  With a thought, I smother them. Counterspell.

  The wand clatters to the floor. He draws a heavy cutlass, swinging with brutal force.

  "I'll kill you for what you've done to my bar. Nevermind Grimvault. You die here!"

  He swings once, the blow knocks my staff to the side.

  The second slash carves across my chest.

  Pain flares white-hot.

  "That stung,” I mutter. “Tell me how this feels."

  My hand comes up and grips the metal of his gauntlet. Necrotic energy seeps into the metal. The gauntlet blackens. The flesh collapses inward, rotting faster than it should be possible.

  Gristle screams.

  The sounds die short as Shadow steps in and smashes the pommel of his dagger into the side of his skull. Gristle drops like a felled tree.

  I move to the Dwarf and offer him a hand. He accepts it and pulls himself upright. He’s unsteady, but standing.

  "Thank you,” he says hoarsely. “Name’s Thorin.”

  I'm about to respond when alarm bells ring outside. Distant at first, then multiplying.

  “Move,” I say. “Grab him. We need answers before the guards arrive."

  Shadow and I haul Gristle’s unconscious body back through the warehouse. HH has just finished healing the man when we burst in.

  They all stare, at the blood on my chest, at Gristle’s ruined arm.

  "Guards are coming," I snap them all to attention. "Get back to the Rusted Nail. We need to question this one before we're caught."

  No one argues.

  We quickly drag Gristle through the empty rain drenched street, through the stables, and into the Rusted Nail's backdoor. Dragging him upstairs to the room, we tie him to a chair.

  Shadow starts flipping through the ledgers and records. Copying down what important information he can find.

  "HH,” I say. “Get him awake."

  She casts a simple spell. Color creeps back into Gristle’s face as he gasps awake, thrashing for a moment before looking around and his face changes.

  "Pl-please don't kill me... I-I'll tell you everything!" He stammers. "I was supposed to grab the big ones, the strong ones. Those with powers they couldn't explain. Those who looked lost. We paid people for them, then sold them upriver to another individual. He pays in gems and scrolls. No coin."

  "I haven't even said anything yet." I kneel down to him. "How do you know to target us? What gives us away?"

  He swallows hard. "Your magic is one thing. You cast spells faster than anyone else. You react to things that aren't there. When you know what to look for, you’re easy to spot."

  Shadow interjects "Ledgers mention a 'harbor master' named Magnus. This is probably the 'upriver contact.'"

  "Yes, yes, that's him!" Gristle nods frantically. “He’s the one who pays."

  "One last question," I say. "What happens to the 'Awakened' inside this Grimvault?"

  "I don't know. I am paid to deliver, not to ask."

  Shouts echo outside. Boots on stone.

  "Shadow, HH, get the others out of here. South to the woods cut across open hills, I'll catch up."

  There's a moment where they look like they're about to object, but the sounds of approaching guards cuts them off.

  "Go,” I repeat. “Before the chaos makes it impossible to get out."

  They rush off. HH lingers by the doorway, glancing at me before she too slips away.

  When they're gone, I move and pick up the ledger Shadow left behind. Realization dawns on Gristle's face.

  "You're not going to let me go... if you turn me in, they'll kill me. You're a monster!"

  "If destroying people like you makes me a monster, then I'll become a demon."

  Gristle pales, the blood draining from his face as I grab the back of his chair. Dragging him kicking and screaming down the stairs of the Rusted Nail, nobody seems to care.

  Bursting through the saloon doors, I toss Gristle unceremoniously onto the cobblestones in front of the approaching guards.

  "Halt,” the lead guard shouts. “What's going on here?!"

  "This man is a slaver,” I say, tossing the ledger at his feet. “He buys and sells people, drugging them into obedience, and shipping them off to a fate worse than death."

  I pause a moment as they look at the ledger.

  "Some of your guards work for him. See to it that this city cleans up or I will be back."

  I cast Fly on myself and leap into the sky, rising into the heavily falling rain as the guards below read the ledger and then take Gristle away.

  Only then do I look internally.

  HP: 119 / 132

  MP: 37 / 80

  I lean away from the scene and speed off towards the forest I indicated. I see the group progressing swiftly over the terrain. HH and Shadow guiding the horses as the other four ride.

  I fly ahead and scout a decent area that is covered from the rain and away from prying eyes.

  "Here's a good spot. I'll be waiting."

  I send them a ping and set about clearing a space for a rest. Before long, they all show up. We are all soaked, tired, and successful. For the first time since coming here, we have saved people.

  Now it's time to breathe and figure out what's actually going on.