The tier four jobs were primarily kill orders.

As Hannah had said, most were for multiple targets. A disproportionate number, though, were for stygian beasts. But that stood to reason given what Shael had told me about the city’s problem with rifts to the void frequently opening and the creatures spilling out.

Carefully, I read the description of the first such job.

Job number: 674. Job name: Cleanse the quarter (weekly). Tier: 4. Bounty: 100 gold. Payment is guaranteed by the guild, and the job is available to both guild members and non-members. Job description: assist the Triumvirate knights by maintaining order in the plague quarter by slaying 20 stygian beasts in 7 days. For permission to pursue this bounty and to claim your reward, visit knight-captain Orlon in the Triumvirate citadel.

This is a bounty I can complete, I thought. Tracing my fingers over the page’s text, I wondered how to accept the job. A Game message opened.

You have been granted authorization for bounty 674.

Your BHG ID has been updated. Active bounties: 1 of 5.

Note, as a guild member, you are automatically authorized when you accept a job and are not required to visit the bounty holder to obtain permission to pursue the bounty.

“Huh,” I murmured. “That's nice.” Pulling out my recently acquired BHG ID, I studied its contents. Sure enough, etched in small letters on the rear of the card was the mentioned authorization for the bounty.

Stowing away the ID, I continued to peruse the jobs and stopped as I came across one that was not a kill order.

Job number: 1,240. Job name: Capture a stygian beast. Tier: 4. Bounty: 150 gold. Payment is guaranteed by the guild, and the job is available to both guild members and non-members. Job description: Disable or imprison a rank ten or above stygian beast in the plague quarter and inform huntmistress Kartara at the stygian brotherhood chapterhouse when the deed is done.

Hmm… I rubbed at my chin. It was an interesting bounty and not one I was certain I could fulfill. Nevertheless, I accepted the job.

You have been granted authorization for bounty 1,240.

Your BHG ID has been updated. Active bounties: 2 of 5.

I continued scrolling through the list of tier four bounties. Many were for specific dungeon creatures, and others were for players. I was hesitant about accepting either just yet. Mostly because I wasn't certain which dungeons I intended to explore, and players, I suspected, would be more work than they were worth to hunt down.

I began flipping over the page faster, my eyes skimming the text each time I saw phrases such as: ‘can only be found in a dungeon…’ or ‘the mark is a player...’

I was mostly through the list of tier four jobs when almost unnoticed, my gaze passed over a most intriguing word: ‘werewolf.’

My eyes jerked to a stop, and I exhaled sharply.

Werewolf?

Bending my head over the page in question, I read the bounty notice.

Job number: 428. Job name: Hunt for a Criminal. Tier: 4. Bounty: 150 gold. Payment is guaranteed by the guild, and the job is available to both guild members and non-members. Job description: Knight-captain Orlon requires assistance in apprehending or killing a convicted thief named, Anriq. The thief escaped custody and is thought to be in the saltmarsh district. The mark is a player and known werewolf. Knight-captain Orlon can be found in the Triumvirate citadel.

The bounty notice contained disappointingly little information, yet I knew it was not one I could ignore. I have to find this Anriq if only to learn more about werewolves. Did werewolves carry the bloodline of Wolf? Possibly, if not probably. Running my hand over the page, I accepted the job.

You have been granted authorization for bounty 428.

Your BHG ID has been updated. Active bounties: 3 of 5.

After that, I closed the bounty ledger. The three bounties I'd selected would give me enough of a start, and if necessary, I could always come back to pick up other jobs.

Setting aside the book, I glanced at the inner door of the foyer. Further exploration of the guild’s interior could wait for later, too, I decided. After the mention of werewolves, I was eager to venture deeper into the quarter.

Resetting my disguise with lesser imitate, I swung around and exited the building.

~~~

Before descending the stairs, I took a moment to scan the streets. Everything looked normal. Satisfied, I ducked my head and hurried down the stairs.

At the base of the staircase, I glanced in both directions, wondering which way to go first. I still needed to find the information brokers’ offices before I headed further south into the quarter.

To my left, the eastern boundary wall of the quarter loomed large. East, I decided, seeing as there was not much more for me to explore in that direction. Stepping onto the street, I swung left.

You have failed a perception resistance check! An unknown hostile has pierced your disguise.

The Game message was unexpected, but my reactions were well-honed now, and I didn't hesitate. Picking a direction at random, I flung myself away.

You have evaded an unknown hostile’s attack.

A heartbeat later, a metal dart pinged against the cobblestone. My lips tightened.

Gintalush. It had to be.

Somehow, the mantis had tracked me down. Bouncing back onto my feet, I whipped around. A blur of green sped towards me. With almost no time to react, I did the only thing I could think of—I shadow blinked.

You have teleported behind Gintalush.

The assassin skidded to a halt and swung around, both blades flashing in the sunlight as they rushed towards me. But I was already moving.

Slapping my left hand to the concealed stud on my chameleon belt, I activated combat mode and retreated out of reach of the mantis’ swords.

You have evaded Gintalush’s twin attacks.

My foe danced forward, seeking to close the distance between us again. I didn’t let him. Backstepping, I summoned and threw an astral blade in a single motion.

Gintalush dodged the psi dagger easily, but the evasive maneuver cost him, knocking him off his stride and delaying his advance.

I unsheathed my own blades.

The mantis rushed in, simultaneously attacking from left and right. I swept aside the first blow with spider’s bite, dodged the second, and riposted with ebonheart.

Gintalush did not even bother parrying.

Sliding past my counterattack, he launched a new offensive. Desperately, I fended him off. From the opening exchange alone, I realized Gintalush was as skilled as Wengulax and armed with swords, not knives.

I knew I couldn’t let myself become entangled in another sword fight but struggled to disengage. The assassin pressed me too hard.

Dancing across the cobblestone road, we traded blows. Then the inevitable happened: the blade dancer pierced my guard.

Gintalush has struck you a grazing blow.

Gintalush has struck you a grazing blow.

“Damnation,” I growled as I felt the bite of my foe’s swords twice over. I’d managed to turn aside both blades enough that their wounds barely tickled, but if either attack had penetrated a little deeper… then the skirmish would already be over.

I took a step back. Then another, weaving a desperate defense all the while.

You have blocked Gintalush’s attack.

You have evaded Gintalush’s attack.

You have…

It was too much, and soon I knew my foe would penetrate my guard. Searching for inspiration, I retreated again. The back of my left foot hit stone. I’d reached the base of the staircase leading up to the guild, I realized.

If I can get to the door, maybe—

My foe vanished.

Huh?

My head swung right, tracking the assassin. Gintalush had thrown himself to the side and away from me. What did he do that for? I wondered, lowering my uselessly hanging blades.

I had no idea, but this was too good an opportunity to waste.

My gaze never leaving my foe—it could be some elaborate trick, though it was not like he needed one—I retreated a few steps up the staircase.

Gintalush sidestepped again, then ducked and rolled.

I frowned, perplexed by my foe’s mad dance. In other circumstances, it would’ve made for an amusing sight. But Gintalush’s deadly menace was all too real, as was the intense focus of his maneuvers.

It was almost as if the green-clad assassin was fighting an unseen foe...

Two gray orbs appeared, floating at eye level with Gintalush.

Bloody hell.

It was Eyes. The mantis was battling the guild’s doorkeeper.

A moment later, Eyes’ body materialized, and involuntarily I backed up another step. The guild’s doorkeeper was the strangest species I'd yet seen in the Game. There was nothing remotely humanoid about him.

Eyes had no legs, no hands, or even a body that I could discern. He consisted entirely of thick, writhing tentacles—and of course, the two gray orbs that served as his eyes, each attached on the end of their own appendage.

Wielding no weapons, Eyes struck at Gintalush with sucker-like tentacles. The assassin did his best to evade their grasp and even managed to slash off two—to no noticeable effect.

Eyes’ remaining limbs bore relentlessly down on the green-clad figure.

Finally, one of the thick tentacles landed on Gintalush’s right arm and stuck fast, sucking on the assassin like a leech. It slowed him only a touch.

But enough so that a second tentacle landed.

A third followed.

Then a dozen more, until eventually, both Gintalush’s limbs were covered in the writhing appendages and held fast. The assassin had been disabled. Eyes was far from done, though. Bringing more of his tentacles to bear, the doorkeeper enfolded Gintalush entirely, freezing him immobile.

My mouth dropped open in awe. The seemingly unstoppable assassin had been stopped.

Then the strange sight turned even stranger.

Before my stunned gaze, Gintalush began to shrink. No, not shrink, I realized. Shrivel.

I gulped. Eyes was sucking the life out of the mantis through his leech-like tentacles.

Gods. That's no way to go.

The mantis fought at first, but then little by little, he began to sag in the guild doorkeeper’s grasp until matters reached their inevitable conclusion.

Gintalush has died.

A second later, Eyes turned invisible again, or the most disturbing aspects of him did. His gray eyes remained, floating serenely in the air.

“Urgh,” Eyes spat. “That was foul.”

My gaze drifted from my benefactor to the pile of discarded possessions that was all that remained of the former assassin. “Uhm, you mean the mantis?”

Eyes snorted. “Of course, I meant the mantis. What else would I be talking about? I don't know when last I ate something that horrible.”

“Ate...?” I asked, edging backwards again.

The two gray orbs bobbed cheerfully in the air. “Ate,” he agreed. “Humans taste much better.”

I had no response to that.

A moment later, Eyes bellowed in laughter. “I'm only joking, of course.” He paused. “You humans taste nearly as bad.”

I glared at the doorkeeper, coming to the belated realization that he was teasing—or so I hoped. Unbending from the crouch I'd unconsciously fallen into, I strode back down the stairs with affected nonchalance and inclined my head to Eyes.

“Thank you,” I said gravely. Whatever the doorkeeper was, I wouldn't begrudge him a little fun at my expense.

He’d saved me after all.

“My pleasure,” Eyes remarked. “Anything to take down those green bastards a notch. Can I ask you a favor?”

I nodded. “Of course.”

“Will you carry my loot back into the foyer? It will be much easier than me trying to drag them with my tentacles.”

“You got it,” I said and did as he bade.

~~~

A minute later, I was done mopping up and stood at ease with the doorkeeper in front of the guild.

“You have eight hours now,” Eyes remarked, his tone markedly more serious than earlier.

I glanced at him. “What?”

“Eight hours,” he repeated. “Mantises don’t give up. Ever.” He bobbed his eyes towards the spot where Gintalush had died. “That one will be back on your trail as soon as he resurrects. You have at least eight hours to prepare before that happens. Use the time wisely.”

I nodded. Eyes was right. I would have to make sure I was ready for a repeat encounter—with both the assassins. “I’ll do that,” I said, then paused as something else occurred to me. “If I send Gintalush to his final death, what then?”

Eyes chuckled. “I like your confidence. You sure you can manage that?”

“I will,” I stated grimly. “What happens to the mantis contract on me then?”

Eyes was silent for a moment. “I'm not sure,” he admitted at last. “I’ve never heard of anyone surviving a mantis hunt. The assassins will keep hunting you until your final death. And even if you somehow manage to permanently put an end to one, I suspect more will be sent after you. The faction prides itself on always completing a contract.” He paused. “I’m afraid, human, that your chances are not great. Your best hope would be to find the one who placed the contract and convince them to retract it.”

I nodded slowly in understanding.

On behalf of Wolf, the Adjudicator has allocated you a new task: Preying Mantises! An unknown entity has taken out a contract for your death with the Mantis faction, marking you as prey. This displeases Wolf. Wolf is the hunter—never the hunted. Rectify matters and appease Wolf by teaching the assassins a lesson.

Objective: Stop the mantises from hunting you. Optional Objective: Discover the identity of the player or Power who marked you for death.

My lips tightened in a grim line at the Adjudicator’s message. As if I don’t have enough to deal with already.

Dismissing the Game alert, I glanced down the street before turning back to Eyes. “Mind pointing me in the direction of the information brokers?”

“Follow the street west. You will find the brokers only a little way beyond the south gate to the safe zone. Their officers are usually busy, even at night, and you should see a crowd gathered outside it.”

I nodded. “Thanks again,” I said in farewell before leaving the guild and its strange doorkeeper behind.