Dillard was confused.

  She wasn’t sure what she was doing here. Oh, she had understood the Attendant perfectly well, even if she had wanted to flay the skin off the arrogant little bitch the entire time she had been speaking. This was Wraath. It was real. She was here as a real person acting as a player in a real game world that was full of real people she could do anything she wanted to. Just like a real girl.

  The part that confused her was why. Why had she been let through. If this was a game, then that meant that there was a goal for everyone involved. A contest, so to speak. And if there was a contest and it was all a game and no one was keeping Dillard in check, then Dillard was now the best player in the game. Everyone else was simply playing for second.

  So here she was, standing on a hilltop overlooking the valley below and wondering just what her first move was going to be. She already had goals. Both long term and short term. She was hoping to execute her first murder. Maybe burn a village or two. Manipulate someone bigger and stronger into helping her so she didn’t have to work that hard. Maybe form a syndicate. Maybe not if it proved to be too much work.

  But what was first?

  She still had her gear. The provisions she had stolen from Severin’s kitchen. Her robes. The assassin’s blade. She was quite proud of that. It still burned her that she hadn’t taken the time to plunder the treasure room further, but the trolls Smith and Smithey had shown up just in time to stop her. The very thought of them made her feet hot with anger and bitterness.

  But that didn’t matter now. She was standing on a hill that overlooked a scenic valley where the sun was setting in the west and she could see dark clouds pouring rain over the riverlands to the north. She still didn’t know what to do. Perhaps I’ll just wander down this hill and see what I find.

  It was pleasant walking. The wind whispered through the trees as song birds let out their last attempts at mating for the day. The forest floor was so clear of underbrush or thorns or rocks that it was almost like something out of a story book, which was good since she was still barefoot and naked but for the tattered robe she had escaped with. As she neared the bottom of the hill, a breeze rattled through the leaves just as an owl hooted in the distance and for a moment, Dillard almost felt like a Disney princess.

  Almost.

  She heard the road before she saw it. She could hear the breeze as it blew the sand and gravel and she could hear the voices of the men as they talked of their day. Stopping, she held herself behind a tree as she listened to their conversation. They were merchants and they were nervous. Goblins and bandits were plentiful on this road and they were discussing whether or not to go any further. Dillard listened and counted the voices. There were three of them. Dillard decided that whatever they decided, they had gone far enough.

  She ran around the tree and to the road in a hurried panic as she pointed up the hill. “Hurry, hurry, hurry! I just now got away and you have to move quickly or they’ll get to you too!”

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  The three men looked to her with alarm. One of them was a tall, burly man with bulging muscles and a dark stubbled beard. He was also the only one properly armed with a sword at his waist. The second was a fat, jolly looking man who Dillard took as the oldest and likely the one in charge. The third man looked to be the first man’s son as he was flabby, younger with a dumb look on his face. As she predicted, the oldest man stepped forward first.

  “Who? Who is coming?”

  “The … the bandits! They’re desperate. They’re looking for anyone they can rob. They just attacked our cottage and killed my parents and so I ran here to the road to get away from them and look for help. Please. Quickly. We need to get away right now!” Behind the men was a cart filled with goods like rugs, pottery, and bottles that Dillard assumed was filled with something valuable. She made like she was going to try to climb atop it. However, just as the tall bearded man made to help her up, the shorter, younger man held out his hand to stop him.

  “Wait. This is my cart and my goods and I saw I think we’ll all move faster if we all stay on foot,” the young, flabby man said.

  The big man shrugged, “Whatever you say, but I think that settles the debate, right? I mean, if there’s bandits burning houses this close to the road, then I don’t think we need to be pushing on to Harva now, do we?”

  “Yeah, I suppose you’re right after all.” The younger, flabby man made a then gesture with his hands. “But I pay the bills and so let’s like, get a move on, you know? Maybe if we turn around fast enough we can make it back to Shreeve and unload a few more good there before evening settles.”

  The older man nodded as he pulled a cudgel from the cart and gave a pat to the horse’s flank as the animal let out a whinnie and took off at a plodding walk. Dillard kept a frightened and panicked look on her face as if she was shocked they were moving so slowly, but inside she was smiling from ear to ear. All of the had their backs turned to her and so all she really had to do was pick her moment. It was a moment that came right away.

  All Dillard had needed was for the big, bearded man to turn his back to her. She then vaulted off the spoke of the nearest wheel and wrapped her legs around his waist as she slit his throat. As he gurgled his last breaths, she rode his body to the ground where it landed with a thud. The older man looked down on her with his mouth agape and a look of shocked terror in his eyes. Before he could get out a word of warning, she had leaped up and stabbed him in the throat. And then the chest. And then the gut. And then again in the throat.

  As her second victim writhed on the ground next to her first, drew a finger across her cheek to get a good look at the blood. She could feel it splattered across her face. The younger, smaller man was the only one left and he was unarmed and had fallen with his back against the ground where he was trying to back crawl away from her. She took a moment to enjoy his terror. It was sweet having a victim again. How long it had been for her to wait. How long she had been trapped in that deep, dark dungeon. How long had she yearned for moments like these again where she could take power over people like this in this game where she knew she was the best player in the world. Slowly, she drew her knife up and smeared the blood from the blade against her neck. The little merchant let out a squeak of horror as she smiled.

  Then a blur of movement. Something had just launched itself from the cart. She looked up to see a halfling in mid-air, dagger in each hand as he descended upon her. On instinct, she ducked and rolled beneath the cart just in time for to avoid the halfling’s blades. As she crawled out on the other side, she heard the cart owner take off and run into the woods.

  Dillard ignored the merchant as she hopped to her feet and rounded the back side of the cart. A grin on her face, she found herself face to face with the tiny warrior who squared his little body to her with his daggers upraised in a fighting stance. How fun. I haven’t had a good dance in a while.

  Standing straight and smiling just enough to look insolent, she held her body sideways as she held her assassin’s blade in one hand straight behind her. Calmly, they circled one another as Dillard waited for the halfling to make the first move. She had read him, knew he would run out of patience, knew how he was going to attack, and knew just how she was going to counter. Finally, it came.

  He started with a jab step. Then another. Probing. Then he took two quick steps and stabbed at her face. She countered by simply stepping back as she gave ground. Then another jab step. Then a second. And a third. He was cautious, this one, but she knew. She could see it coming. He circled left, then changed directions to his right before coming at her at a sprint. His first stab, she dodged right. His second stab, she didn’t dodge, but stepped right between his arms as she sank her dagger right between his ribs. He let out a gasp as she twisted her knife. Then she drew the blade out and stabbed him once more right in the center of his chest. Right through the heart. He was dying and dead as she tossed him to the ground.