Will crouched on the roof, obscured by a chimney shadow, as he surveyed a warehouse down the street. It was identical to those around it, with the same dirty plastered walls and squat architecture. If anything, the long cracks in the wall and chunks of missing tile on the roof suggested the warehouse was neglected and the merchant barely making a profit.

Except, a newly acquired informant had sworn it was all a façade. The owner was a prominent merchant with several warehouses scattered across the city. This merchant, according to the informant, used the rundown warehouse to store the more valuable items he traded in, particularly weapons and armor.

The faction had surveilled the building for several days. The two guards out front were dressed in old, worn tunics and carried thick cudgels. Anyone passing by would write them off as average street thugs, but the others in the faction had noted the guards carried themselves like trained mercenaries.

Now that it’d been pointed out to him, Will couldn’t believe he’d missed it before. Both guards appeared distracted and bored, one leaning against the door frame smoking a pipe and the other lounging on a barrel playing cards, but both men glanced up at the slightest noise and were poised to move quickly. Except, Will noted, there was no smoke coming out of the pipe and the man playing cards was placing the cards down randomly. No, those two were definitely not street thugs.

There were two other guards stationed on the roof at night. Unlike the men at the entrance, these were dressed for combat and moved with the graceful efficiency of professional killers. Each carried a sword and bow, and wore well-tended leather armor. It didn’t guarantee the informant was telling the truth, but it was certainly promising.

Will scanned the other rooftops, looking for his allies among the shadows. He could barely make them out among the shadows, even knowing where they were supposed to be based on the plan. Pooh, along with three others, was waiting in an alley across the street, while Voodoo and Doc were positioned on balconies next to the warehouse.

Will cupped a small mirror in his hand, using the other to keep it from reflecting any moonlight towards the guards, and flicked it a few times in Pooh’s direction. Pooh had given it to him earlier in the evening, explaining that they could use it as a signal. Will waited for the response, three flashes of light, and gripped his dagger.

A pair of blunt tipped arrows flew silently through the air, hitting both guards on the roof within a second of each other and knocking the wind out of them. Two faction members leapt to the roof and grabbed the guards in a headlock. The guards tried to struggle, but both slumped unconscious after a few seconds.

Will started to move when someone behind him spoke, “You know that’s a trap, right?” He spun, drawing the dagger, and pushing himself away from the chimney in case of an attack. The woman behind him didn’t attack him. She wasn’t even armed as far as Will could tell. She stood there, hands held out, with a smirk. “Nice reflexes, but you’re perception could use some work.”

“Who’re you? What’re you doing here?” Will demanded in a whisper. He recognized her. She was the woman from the fountain that had collected the pouch. That meant she was a member of the other faction.

She tilted her head slightly before answering, “You know the guards can’t hear us from here. We’re out of their AOD.”

Will knew it meant Area of Detection and that she was probably right, but he’d started thinking of the game like real life. He spoke in a normal tone. “Still doesn’t answer the question.”

“No, it doesn’t.” She agreed. “I’m Emily and I came here to talk.”

“About what?” Will said.

“That’s not very polite. I’ve given you my name, but I still don’t know yours.” Emily said. Will ignored the implied question. She sighed and said, “Fine. We’ll dispense with the pleasantries. I know you created a faction and I know that you were watching me the other day. I came here to offer you a truce.”

“Why?” Will blurted. He’d expected to meet a member of the other faction at some point but had expected a fight of some sort. The idea of a truce hadn’t even crossed his mind.

“Because of the orcs. Did you see the weird guy yelling out doomsday prophecies about the orcs taking over Torial? He’s gone, now, but he was doing it for almost a week.”

“You mean Shiro?” Will asked without thinking.

“You know his name?” she said in surprise.

Will shook himself slightly to collect his thoughts before answering, “Yeah, I do. He’s one of the programmers for this game.”

“Really?” She said, “Then you believe him about the orc invasion happening? But, why are you still in Torial then?”

“It’s a long story,” Will said, “And none of your business.”

She frowned, “Your rude, you know that?”

Will heard a noise and glanced over to see Pooh’s head pop up over the edge of the roof. “What’s the hold up, Will? You gave the signal.” Pooh hoisted himself the rest of the way up. Pooh spotted Emily and reached instinctively for his sword. He glanced sideways at Will, not letting her out of his peripheral vision as he asked, “Who’s the girl?”

“She’s with the other faction.” Will said, “Says the warehouse is a trap.”

Pooh grunted, “How do you know that?”

“We tried to rob it already,” She shrugged, “Didn’t work out too well. We got past the guards easily enough and took care of the six more inside without a problem.”

“Then what was the problem?” Pooh demanded.

“Getting out.” She said with a smirk, “There’s at least forty more guards next door.” She pointed at one of the warehouses. “The informant told his boss about us and we walked right into the trap.”

“You’re positive?” Will asked.

“Totally,” She said, “Screwed us over real bad. We had to spend the next three days in hiding because the city guards attacked us on sight.”

“Why’re you telling us this?” Pooh asked.

“Like I told your friend,” She gestured at Will, “I’m here to offer a truce between our factions.”

“She did,” Will explained, “She figured out Shiro was telling the truth and said she wanted a truce. That’s as far as we’d gotten before you got here.”

Pooh relaxed but kept his hand near his sword. “What’re you suggesting?”

“Are you still going to try and rob the warehouse?” She asked.

Will gave Pooh a questioning look. “What do you think? Can we do it?”

Pooh nodded in response. “I think so. Voodoo spotted a couple guards in the other building, so we prepared for them, but I didn’t know there would be that many. Just have to make a few adjustments to the plan, but it should work.”

“Chloe was right,” Emily stared at them wide-eyed, “You guys are military or something.” She barked a laugh, “This is perfect. Good luck robbing the place. I mean it. Afterwards, meet up with me here and we’ll discuss a truce.” She handed Will a small slip of paper. A custom waypoint appeared on his minimap. “Sound good?”

Will pocketed the note. “Fine. We’ll talk, but that’s all I’m agreeing to until I’ve heard the rest of it.”

“No problem.” She said, “Have fun.”

With that, Emily turned around and started running. She leapt across the gap to a rooftop patio, where two figures emerged from the shadows and joined her. Will needed to upgrade his perception if all three of them had been there without him noticing anything.

Will watched them drop off the roof before Pooh said, “Come on, we need to go.”

Pooh led the way, pausing above the alley he’d been in to signal the three below. Even though Will had been given a crash course in it earlier that day, he still only knew a few basic signals. He didn’t know what was exchanged, but the men below checked their swords and drew their bows before moving down the alley and slipping into a side street. Will look questioningly at Pooh, but only received a shake of the head in response.

They jumped across to the warehouse where six other soldiers waited. Pooh gave a series of hand signals to the others. This one was pretty simple to translate, since Will already knew what it was about. Six guards inside.

The others nodded as four of them pulled ropes from their inventory and tied them to the edge of the roof. They lined up around a hole in the roof, and on a signal from Pooh, dropped the ropes into the gap and slid down. Pooh silently started mouthing a count. One. Two. Three.

Will grabbed a rope and waited until a hundred. He slid down the rope quickly, feeling it burn his palm. He landed in a corner of the warehouse and drew his sword. They gathered together with their backs to each other and waited. A few seconds later, a soldier popped his head around a corner and gave the all clear signal.

They snuck through the warehouse quietly, passing two unconscious guards, with first four soldiers slipping out of the rows of boxes to lead the way. Near the center of the warehouse, Will spotted the final four unconscious guards surrounding a stack of chests. Might as well hang a sign saying, ‘Look Here’.

Will opened the nearest chest, revealing a layer of dried grass within. The lanterns in the warehouse flared, temporarily blinding him and leaving spots across his vision, before winking out completely. Will blinked several times, but it only caused more spots of light to dance across his vision. Wait, those are real.

The new lights whirled around the warehouse at dizzying speeds as they grew bigger and solidified into dozens of small imp-like creatures with wings. The creatures hissed as they zoomed by, raking their claws across his shoulders and back. Will snapped his jaws shut to stop from screaming, flooding his mouth with a coppery taste as he bit his tongue.

“That bitch! She didn’t mention magic!” Pooh growled.

“What do we do?” Voodoo said as he ducked under an imp.

“Get what we came for and get out.” Will said and followed his own instructions, frantically pulling the dried grass out of the chest until he found a sword wrapped in linen. He pulled it out and tossed the wrapping at passing imp. The linen burst into flames, but not before entangling the imp’s wings. It fell to the floor where Will stabbed it with his newly acquired sword. The creature popped with a hiss.

Pooh and Voodoo took up positions between the imps and the group, swinging their swords like a baseball bat to knock the imps away, as the others started shoving equipment into their inventory. After emptying the first chest, Will shoved it off the shelf and opened the next.

A door near the back swung open and banged shut a few seconds later, the sound echoing through the room. The imps nearest the door screeched at the noise and fell to the ground.

Will laughed maniacally as a stupid idea popped into his head. He drew his dagger, and started banging the hilt against the metal shelf. Will watched as a nearby imp grabbed its ears in agony. Will tried to step away from banging the shelf long enough to stab it, but the imp started recovering the moment he stopped. “Make noise!”

Voodoo glanced over his shoulder at Will, spotted the downed imp as Will resumed banging the hilt of his dagger against the shelf, and stabbed the creature. He nodded at Will with a huge smile across his face before turning to stab another imp that had moved to close to the noise.

“What about the guards?” Doc asked as he dumped another chest onto the ground.

“What about them?” Will yelled out. Doc pointed. Will saw figures in the shadows racing towards them. “Pooh? We’ve got company.”

“I know, I know.” Pooh growled. He sighted an imp flying near the guards and fired. The arrow struck the imp midair, causing it to explode. The fire lit up the area, revealing a dozen guards charging down the aisle, before the burning embers fell among them. The lead guard took the brunt of the damage, his face and chest covered by the falling debris. He screamed in pain as he fell to the ground.

“That’s the last one.” Doc said, “Time to go.”

“Where to?” Will yelled over the noise he was making.

“I’m working on it.” Pooh called back as he fired an arrow at the approaching guards.

“I thought you had a plan.” Will complained.

“I did, but something came up.” Pooh said.

“You think?” Will retorted. An arrow flew by his shoulder, startling him. He tried to find the shooter, but they were hiding in the recesses of the warehouse. A second arrow smacked into a crate on the shelf next to him. He ducked instinctively, causing a third arrow to miss him by scant inches just above his head. “Crap. I’m a sitting duck here.”

“Don’t stop.” Voodoo said as he stabbed another downed imp, “Or we’re screwed.”

Will muttered under his breath but didn’t stop. Pooh lowered his bow and looked around frantically to find an opening. “That way, it’s open. Voodoo, take point.”

Voodoo took off down an aisle as the other soldiers darted past Will. Will hit the shelf one last time before following, with Pooh and Doc bringing up the rear. Voodoo led them down an aisle currently void of any imps or guards. Will made a point of staying near the shelves and banging out a steady rhythm as he passed them. From the sound ahead, at least one other soldier was doing the same.

They passed several openings in the shelves where guards could target them, and the imps tried dive bombing them. The party ducked as they passed, weaving and dodging as best they could in the limit space to make themselves harder targets.

“Dead end.” Voodoo called back, “Turn around.”

Will glanced ahead, seeing that a shelf had fallen over, spilling its contents in their path. Pooh, who was walking backwards to cover their rear, glanced over his shoulder. He surveyed the scene quickly and swore.

An ember sparked on the ground a few feet from Pooh’s turned back. Will gaped as it grew into an imp the size of a man. Will lunged past Pooh, stabbing the creature before it fully formed. The creature screamed, steam hissing from the wound. Will stared in amazement as the wound continued to spread across its body, the fire hissing and spluttering, until the creature collapsed in a heap on the floor.

Pooh said in awe, “What the hell?”

Will stared at the sword in his hand, finally pulling up the stats on it.

Kratos the Demon Slayer

Quality: Exceptional

Rarity: Epic

Weapon Type: One-Handed Sword

Range: Melee

Damage: 30-32

Durability: 28/28

Charge: 24/25

Weight: 1.5 lbs

Attributes:

Drain

Fury

Swift

+20% Water Damage

+15% Ice Damage

“Holy crap,” Will started laughing maniacally as he took the lead. He led the way back down the aisle, slashing at any of the newly forming man-sized imps as he went. An arrow lodged itself in his shoulder, jerking him around. Pooh shot an arrow in the direction of the archer, but it was too dark to tell if it struck home.

Will noticed a faint light behind a several stacks of boxes. He led the way over and peered through a gap. He found a back door to the warehouse, the wood rotted in places allowing shafts of moonlight to filter through. He moved out of the way to allow Pooh a look.

“Way out.” Will said as he moved to the other side of the group. He stood guard as those closest to the boxes started shifting them out of the way.

The guards must’ve figured out their plan because a group of them appeared at the end of the aisle and charged. Will hefted his sword and started running at the guards as the soldiers opened fire behind him. The arrows raced past, striking the guards a few seconds before Will reached them. The first guard hadn’t recovered from the arrow in his chest, and Will slashed the man’s shoulder. A thick webbing of ice spread across the wound, freezing him in place. Will countered a second guard’s attack, but a small imp used the moment to dive bomb him in the face.

The creature slashed his face and cheeks. Will grabbed it, feeling his fingers blister, and squeezed. The imp wriggled and screamed before its back snapped. Will threw it to the ground just in time to see the guard’s blade impale him. Will gasped in pain as the guard withdrew it from his stomach. He touched the wound with his hand, feeling the blood stream down his leg.

Will’s vision started turning black, as the sounds around him faded. He thought he heard Voodoo calling his name, but it was coming from the end of a long tunnel. He hit something hard and cold, but with a spreading warmth against his skin. He shivered at the sudden cold.

Something grabbed his arm, pulling him. He tried to resist it, to shake off the attacker, but couldn’t find the strength. Someone pried open his mouth and poured something down his throat. He gagged and choked on it, but some trickled down the back of his throat. A new sensation, a thousand times worse than anything he’d felt, started at his stomach and spread through his body. It felt like a million needles jabbing him over and over again.

His vision and hearing returned suddenly. He was laying on the ground staring at a starry sky with the sound of fighting all around him. A face appeared above him. It took him a moment to remember the name, “Emily? What’re you doing here?”