Dee and Noyala had an easy time finding the mansion’s owner, or at the very least his room. The harder part was actually killing him. The man was a powerful mage after all, and all remotely competent mages were aware that they were at their weakest when asleep. Same applied to other people of course, but mages usually had more fragile bodies and required sleep more often than a warrior of similar rank. What the skilled mages usually did to compensate was to surround themselves with protective spells, and this mage was no exception.

Of course, the whole mansion itself was a combination of traps and defensive measures, but the man’s sleeping chambers were especially so. He also wasn’t stupid. If someone was able to infiltrate this deep into the building, then illusions were not doing the trick. The sleeping chambers were surrounded by magical shields that prevented entry and could survive enough punishment to wake up the man inside. The shield was also strengthened over time, so it wasn’t comparable to a shield normally used by a mage of that level. It also had several supportive spells to ward against tampering of the style Dee had used to get through the fortress shield earlier.

Dee had enough power to shatter the shield with sheer power, the only problem was that such a show of force would by necessity be very flashy. They had other targets this night, and the duo didn’t want to alarm them just yet. She could figure out a way to get through the shield with some time and tampering, especially if she had proper tools, but that turned out to be unnecessary.

While the illusion defenses of the manor were very much unique to this particular noble mage, the shield was not. Similar shields were often used by nobles of the court. Noyala wouldn’t be of much use as a shadow of the court if she didn’t have any methods of getting through such shields. There was always a delicate balance between the shadows and the nobles. If too many shadows knew the methods of getting through such shields, then the shields would become useless and the nobles would change to other defenses. As such, only the best shadows had the means and knowledge to get through such things, and Noyala was among the best.

With a victorious grin, she pulled out a scroll covered in magical symbols and patterns, as well as a handful of silvery powder. She felt glad she could finally one up Dee. Infiltrations were one of her specialties as well and Dee had so far managed to outdo her, mostly thanks to Dee’s natural talents. She spread the powder on the shield and tapped the affected area with the scroll in a rhythmic pattern. A hole suddenly started forming in the shield. “You might want to hurry a bit. I can’t keep this up forever and the same trick won’t work coming out of the shield.” Normally on a mission, she would have another method of escaping after going through the shield, as well as a better plan in general. Neither was available here, but Dee on the other hand was.

With a small shrug, Dee went through the hole in the shield and entered the room silently. The man was snoring on the bed, apparently a deep sleeper. On the other hand, he was rather careful as there was another spell protecting his body. Not nearly as strong as the first one, but still. This is where Dee’s templar training and magical sight came in handy. With a quick glance, she used the anti-magic spells of the templar to shatter the protective spell and sent one of the small pearls towards the bed with an underhanded toss.

The mage naturally had felt the shield shatter and was woken up but not in time to react properly. He did manage to shove some mana into his body in preparation to defend himself but that didn’t do much once the pearl hit. When it left Dee’s hand it had been almost weightless, but by the time it landed on the man’s forehead it weighed almost as much as the mansion they were in. Even though the speed was not very fast, the pearl had enough mass to punch straight through his head. The resulting hole was much bigger than the pearl had been.

Dee recalled the pearl and quietly walked out. The whole thing had taken maybe five seconds and the only voice had been the gasp as the man woke and the crunch when the man’s head broke like a melon. Incidentally, the bed broke as well due to the added weight from the pearl, but that was quietly set down by Dee’s telekinesis. As she stepped outside the shield, Noyala stopped tapping at the protective spell. Although she did that, the spell itself was starting to slowly unravel with the caster’s death. The illusions might or might not follow, depending on how they had been made, but the two did not stay to find out. This was one of the reasons why the shadows could mostly hide their ability to get through such shields, as they tended to unravel anyway once their creators died.

Dee made another portal for the two to quickly leave, and they ended up on the outskirts on the other side of the large city. “Ok, so what’s the plan?” Dee asked, knowing they had other targets.

“I’ll take two, and you’ll take two.” Noyala said simply and pointed at the two names on the list she had picked for Dee.

“I assume you’re sure you can handle the other two?” Dee asked, not really all that worried.

“Oh please. I’ve got more experience than you at killing Sidhe. You might be stronger than me currently, emphasis on might, but that doesn’t make me weak.” Noyala replied firmly. “Also I got the two weaker targets. Not because they are weaker, but because your two targets were at the party this evening. You’ll be able to recognize them and know who to kill.”

“Quietly?” Dee asked in confirmation.

“Preferably, though it doesn’t really matter with the latter target. You’ll have to go around the city unlike me, so we’ll both be done by then. At that point, it doesn’t really matter if the city goes to a state of alert, though I would prefer if you did make it quiet as well. On the other hand, it would be better if you got into their offices as well and brought me all the documents they have. You’ll probably be unable to read their codes, so I’ll have to go through them.” Noyala replied.

“Fine by me. We can even make a race of it.” Dee proposed, fully intending to cheat. She could fly and make portals. Even if she did have to move around a bit, she should be faster in theory.

----------

“Really? You already got your two?” Dee asked incredulously as she came to the meeting place and found Noyala waiting for her. She had made quick work of her two targets thanks to the fact that they were actually lovers and had both been at the first person’s location. The two had other spouses actually and Dee had caught them in flagrante delicto, so to speak. There was no way Noyala had beat her to two targets, even if Dee had been forced to fight the two naked Sidhe thanks to being noticed. She had actually spent a bit too much time observing and taking notes on the two in action, hoping to pick up new tricks, and the lovebirds had caught her. She’d still gone to steal the other person’s documents, but that was much faster with the protective spells already unraveling. The second person had also been a mage in charge of creating personal defenses. Not as skilled as the first mage they had killed that night, but still.

Noyala had a wan smile. “I’m afraid the bet is invalid. I only had to kill one target. How did you manage to do it this fast?” She suddenly asked with a frown.

“I’m just that good.” Dee said evasively. “What do you mean you only had to kill one?”

“The other one had actually died two weeks ago. Apparently, it is common knowledge and the burial was three days ago. The gossip-mongers in the party didn’t want to speak ill of the recently parted, hence why I had to learn that little bit of information by overhearing the guards talking about it. It seems his death was not very pleasant.” Noyala explained with a shrug.

“What happened?” Dee asked, somewhat curious professionally.

“Drago-bears. He went hunting and ran into two drago-bears by accident. Torn to shreds the guards said.” Noyala replied with a grunt.

“There’s drago-bears in the forest?” Dee asked genuinely surprised. The elven ranger Taeral had brought Dee to train in the forest. Had he really brought young Dee into a forest with drago-bears? He had warned her that there were dangerous creatures in the forest, but wasn’t this a bit excessive?

Noyala laughed. “Not in the forest luckily. He was hunting elsewhere. It’s not a very nice way to go. Just what he deserved I say.”

“That’s an interesting coincidence.” Dee mumbled, noting that both of them had actually saved some time due to extraneous circumstances.

“Why? What do you mean?” Noyala asked suddenly suspicious.

“Nothing, nothing.” Dee said and quickly shoved the small bundle of documents towards Noyala. “You wanted these, right?”

Noyala took the documents, still eyeing Dee with suspicion. There might have been more questions but Croestia suddenly interrupted Dee’s thoughts silently. ‘The Orb of Secrets you gave me is pulsing.’ Croestia was the one storing the orb, so she would notice the change first of course.

Dee pulled the orb out and saw that it was pulsing both with light and power. Not dangerous amounts, but just enough to draw attention. “The holder of the other orb is trying to reach you.” Noyala explained, seeing Dee eyeing at the orb with suspicion.

“Watch over me please.” Dee asked Noyala. She was suspicious of the whole thing, but sensed it might be important.

Dee soon found herself in the same luxurious room with silk curtains hanging from the ceiling and several pillows dotting the ground as possible seating. All in all the place reminded Dee a little of the décor in the Threads of Fate headquarters. “Good thing you came quick.” A calm and deep voice sounded from the center of the room.

Although the appearance of the man had changed into an elderly beastman this time, the voice was still the same and belonged to the leader of Zabaniya. “Why am I here? You called for me I assume?” Dee asked without preamble.

The old beastman smiled. “Straight to the point, I see. This time it might be better though. I’ve got an interesting bit of news for you”

“Why would I care, and what would this cost me?” Dee asked firmly, not playing games.

“Actually you’ll find this very interesting as it concerns one of the few friends you have. And believe it or not, this one is completely free. I simply want to show you that we don’t have to be enemies. Well, I won’t lie, sharing this information also serves my purposes, but that doesn’t change the gesture of goodwill I’m willing to provide.” The man replied, easily admitting that he had his own horse in the race.

“So what is it?” Dee demanded.

“The Summer King is nearing the end of the rope. His underlings have done what they can to extend his life, but he has at best weeks left and this means the Winter Queen will soon follow. This has prompted the freelancer’s guild into action. As the Order of the Radiant Sun has recruited heavily from the elves, it should come as no surprise that plenty of them were at home on leave when the freelancer’s marched in. The mercenaries haven’t done anything about those people or their families so far, to avoid sparking some sort of retaliation. So far that is. That is about to change. Now you might ask what that has to do with you, since you are no longer officially tied with the order. Well, you might not be, but a particular friend of yours still is.” The old beastman explained quickly, knowing that time was of the essence.

Dee’s face darkened. “I’m not sure I like where this is going. You’re talking about Faylen aren’t you?”

“Faylen Sarfina, before that Faylen Arazana. Normally the freelancer’s would not go for a daughter of such a high profile house considering they’re supposed to be there to help the Summer and Spring courts, but the little sister of the grandmaster of the order would make for a great hostage, don’t you think? Due to the nature of offending a high ranking house, they are sending some of their best to bring her in. I doubt they would hurt her, but my guess is that it depends on who gets there first. The freelancers aren’t exactly a homogenous bunch and many mercenary groups realized the value of that particular hostage at the same time when the order came to round up any templars and paladins. So it’s become a race of sorts and some of the participants are rowdier than the others.” The man pulled out a map of sorts. “This is the precise location of the House Arazana. You’re welcome.”

Dee didn’t stick around as she was gone before hearing the words ‘you’re welcome’.

------

A small group of warriors moved quickly through the forest. Brynhildr eyed her supposed ‘allies’ with a judging glance. The Valkyries owed the freelancer’s guild a couple of favors and had agreed to support with this operation in the elven empire to repay some of that. That in itself was fine. Battles were what the Valkyries were born for. So far they had done nothing but stand around and wait for politics to clear the way. That again was nothing new. Not pleasant, but not new either. Warriors were often beholden to the whims of politicians, which is why the Valkyries usually tried to avoid allying with other parties. Too much politics. No, the problem was that they were given ‘allies’ they couldn’t trust on some missions.

As one of the most powerful units sent into the forest by the guild, the Valkyries had jumped at the chance to send Brynhildr and Reginleif to secure the sister of the grandmaster of the paladins. They had not jumped at the chance at action, nor because they thought the idea was a good one. In fact, they thought taking hostages was despicable, but sometimes a necessary reality of war. No, they had jumped at the chance because they were worried that some other mercenaries might not handle the hostages well. At least if the Valkyries took care of the hostages, then they would be treated well and the freelancers would be forced to negotiate in good faith.

Hence they had split up their squad to scoop up as many of the hostages as possible. The female hostages in particular. Most of the freelancers were not bandits prone to rape or other such despicable things as that would give them a bad name, but there were exceptions. Others might be more prone to cruelty instead. Apparently, the guild had also considered the importance of this particular hostage as they had sent a group of their elites to ask the Valkyries’ help, although the Valkyries would have acted anyway. Now it felt like these new ‘allies’ were here less to help and more to watch over the two Valkyries. In battle these ‘allies’ would only get in the way.

They suddenly got another thing to worry about, as the estates they were targeting were already under attack by another group of mercenaries. It seemed that House Arazana had chosen to resist. Brynhildr wasn’t entirely sure if the mercenaries even tried to negotiate once she noted the banner of this particular band of misfits.

“Red Dwarves.” Brynhildr spat out the name. As the name implied, the mercenary band was made up entirely of dwarves of a particularly bloodthirsty variety. They were often easy to identify thanks to their distinctive hairstyles and -colors. To Brynhildr the color looked more orange than red actually, but maybe Orange Dwarves wasn’t menacing enough as a name?

“Easy there. We’re not here to fight with the dwarves.” Reginleif said while putting her hand on Brynhildr’s shoulder. “Not yet anyway.”

Brynhildr glanced at her sister. She still found it a little disconcerting how the Authorities they had made the two look almost identical. Not that they wouldn’t have been similar anyway, being sisters and all, but now it was like looking into a mirror. Except not quite. It was a little disconcerting truth be told. She turned back towards the fight.

The elves were putting up a stiff resistance, but it was clear that it would only be a matter of time. One of the leaders of the dwarves approached them and spoke in a grumbly voice. “Well lookie here. Seems the cat dragged in some eye-candy while we kill some knife-ears. It’s a good day indeed. Though if I were allowed to make requests, couldn’t the cat have brought us some dwarven girls instead?”

“We’re here to secure the hostage.” Brynhildr replied simply. She had dealt with plenty of thugs like the dwarf. They were bullies who lucked into some actual strength. Not much, but enough to throw their weight around. She already knew this would not end peacefully. Not that the fighting between the elves and dwarves was much of a sign of peacefulness in the first place.

“No can do girlie. That elf woman is worth a lot. We’re not going to just hand her over after fighting the guards here.” The dwarf replied, fooled by his own strength into believing they had the edge. Their victory over the elves only strengthened this misconception.

“I have direct orders from the guild, and I’d take her even if I didn’t, just to spite you. Now we can do this the easy way, or we can go with the equally easy way of going through you. Your choice.” Brynhildr argued back, not bothering to hide her hostility.

“I don’t think you’ll have as good of a time of it as you think. We might not be as famous as your bunch, but we’re plenty strong as well. We are also aware of the little trick with your Authorities. If your whole squad was present you might be able to order others around, but with just the two of you? Well…” The dwarf grinned and let his words fade.

The dwarf was not completely mistaken in his info. Brynhildr was part of a special squad of Valkyries that had gathered a rare set of Authorities that worked as a group. The more of them were present the stronger they all became. With a full squad they were able to fight with lone immortals. Not beat them necessarily, but at least fight them. However, the dwarf was wrong about few things as well.

Brynhildr pulled out her two-handed sword made of the same strange white metal as her armor that consisted of a breastplate, gauntlets and additional armor over her legs above the wide skirt she was wearing. Light enough to move in quickly, but covering the vulnerable places. “I think you’re making a couple of really big errors here. First of all, just because there are only two of us, it doesn’t mean the Authorities aren’t strong enough to handle a bunch of stunties like you. Secondly, there might be only two of us, but you didn’t consider at all which two. Our powers are very different, and the two of us can kill the whole bunch of you easily. Thirdly, and most importantly, we’re Valkyries. We’re born to battle. We don’t rely just on things like Authorities. Even without them we could kill you. The Authorities just make it trivial.”

She punctuated her words by attacking the dwarf that was obviously not going to go along. The dwarf was completely unable to react as the white blade cleaved him in two, straight from the top of his head to his groin. This, of course, drew the ire of the other dwarves, who were now redirecting their hostility at the two Valkyries that were calmly observing the incoming hostiles. Suddenly Reginleif’s eyes sharpened as she looked towards the sky. ”Incoming, danger, pull back.” In four short words she relayed enough information for Brynhildr to react.

She jumped back under the protective dome of white energy that came up just as hundreds of blades of psionic energy started falling from the sky, killing the dwarves as if their defenses were made of paper. The white shield was suddenly impacted by a pair of extremely heavy objects, and the shield bent and rippled but didn’t break. That was part of Reginleif’s Authority. She wasn’t really a full on combatant, but worked as a supporter for her sisters instead, enhancing their strength. One of the supportive things she provided was a safe haven. That protective safe haven had not fallen even under the attacks of immortals and didn’t do so now either. The fact that it showed such a heavy reaction was a shock to the two.

They looked up to see someone slowly drifting lower over the treetops. Without the two halos behind her head, the two Valkyries would’ve thought the newcomer was a Dark Avariel. Now though, she looked like an avenging angel and one that was very angry at that. “Well then. This mission just became a lot more interesting.” Brynhildr said quietly, getting an agreeing murmur from Reginleif as a reply.