Dungeon Titles

[Lost Star]

The Church of Fire was characterized by braziers, a lot of red, and cushions instead of pews in their central area. Typically their worship involved something akin to parties and were typically chaotic messes that required a fair bit of cleanup afterwards. It did function marvelously as a recruitment tool, but Samael found himself disliking it in general principle.

Fortunately they were able to procure a side room specifically designed for demon summoning for this particular even, so Samael didn't have to think much about it. The side room was bare aside from a circle in the center of it. The High Priest Bonnie had 'on call' had shown them in and basically left Samael and the two other brawlers to their devices after talking to Bonnie for a moment.

"Don't you need him to do the summoning?" Harry asked after the man had left.

"He did the prep work." Bonnie waved it off. "I've been talking with him and a few other people ever since Samael agreed to join. You coming here just accelerated a few plans." The woman stood near the edge of the circle and tapped the air right above it. "False Lilith, I summon you. Child of sin. Keeper of knowledge. Tirtha. Come forth."

The circle lit up in glowing red lines. The scent of blood filled the room for an instant, and then there was fire in the center of the circle. A moment later a red skinned woman with horns and hooves yawned as she stretched. Voluptuous and dressed in something extremely skimpy, it was rather obvious what she was.

"So, what's… Oh hi Bonnie!" The demoness perked up immediately as she spotted the other woman. "More questions about the history of that Archmage?" The woman glanced around the room and then zeroed in on Samael. She blinked her golden eyes and tilted her head in a disturbingly cat like motion. "What have we here…?"

"Tirtha." Bonnie snapped her fingers with annoyance.

The succubus waved her off and frowned as she looked at Samael. "Bonnie, darling, sweety, my other half of knowledge and joy, you can't just bring something like that in front of me and not expect me to want to eat it all up." She grinned with all her teeth.

Bonnie sighed and flicked the side of the circle. It rippled and the demon inside it staggered to the ground. "Control yourself."

"Erk." The succubus whined clutching the stomach. "Lousy Fire circles. I think I prefer the pain."

"You're over two centuries old woman. Act like it." Bonnie scolded as her bunny ears twitched energetically.

Tirtha sighed and got to her feet. Then brushed her hair back and straightened herself out. Her skimpy clothing shifted into a stern looking dress and a pair of glasses appeared on her nose. "All right fine. Tirtha, demoness of the Library, purveyor of mysteries, at your service. As an aligned demon associated with the Church of Fire, I understand all rights and privileges associated with being summoned by that church, and submit myself to your authority as my summoner."

"Good." Bonnie stated and made a gesture at the circle. It went dark and the demoness stepped out. "I need you to examine Samael there and tell me what you know about the markings."

"I will need you to strip sir." The Succubus stated with a business like demeanor. The change in attitude made Samael glance at Bonnie, but the girl didn't seem worried.

Sighing, the Monk did so. Stripping down to his underwear. Fortunately Tirtha didn't do much more than look up and down the man's body. Then stepped back with a nod.

"Done Ma'am." The horned woman stated.

"Evaluation?" Bonnie asked briskly.

Tirtha's mouth twitched. "Mind if I get unserious a moment?"

"If you have to." The Historian sighed and her ears drooped.

"Well for this, yes I do." The woman clapped her hands together and squealed loudly. "Oh my hells and cages. The One of War has made another style. Seriously, this just made my century at least!"

"The One of War?" Bonnie's ears straightened out. "You're serious?!"

"Um, who's that?" Samael asked curiously.

"Only like, the greatest and most deadly angel out there." Tirtha gasped and mimed fainting. "He fights against the sinners and beasts at the edges of space eternally. There is no other being I know of that fights better than him, and I know a lot."

"The last time he reportedly made a style was about a century ago, and brought about the Crusaders, who eventually changed their title to Paladins." Bonnie stated almost clinically. The way her ears were twitching gave away what she was really thinking.

"Yeah, the black crusade kinda poisoned the name there." The succubus agreed with a nod. "Humans are going to be humans though. Sorta how it goes. The One of War's work is legendary. Angelic and demonic styles don't translate at all to humans, so it requires an epic amount of work." Here she frowned and looked at Samael again.

The man was intensely glad he had gotten dressed in the time she had been speaking. That look made him feel naked.

"So, how'd you get it? You don't look like a saint to me. Someone as young as you couldn't have done something that impressive." Tirtha asked curiously.

"My parents and guardians died." Samael stated with more than a little anger.

"Oh." The succubus actually wilted at that. "They must have loved you very much. The One of War doesn't just give out gifts. They weren't heroes right?" She glanced at Bonnie and got a headshake. "So, um. The only way he would have given you that is because they did something spectacular in heaven for that."

"That simply makes it worth more." Sampson broke in with a rumble. "He has agreed to share this gift if he can. I do not care for heaven or hell. I wish to know if those markings can be shifted to other faiths so I can fight more." The hulking man loomed a bit as he spoke.

Tirtha didn't even seem to realize it as she started to think. "Well. It's possible. We've done it before. He even seems amused when we do it too. It's just that to do that you need to change everything about it. Hence why I think he gets amused. We give him a reflection of his work and he gets to pick apart the flaws."

"Reflection? Flaws?" Harry chimed in. "So like a bad copy?"

"I'd need to study it more to be sure. And have a lot more inform…" The succubus was cut off as Bonnie handed her a necklace. "Oh, ahead of me again! This is why you're like the total love of my life." The succubus closed her eyes and raised up a finger.

There was silence for a few minutes and a bit of shifting. Sampson seemed to be the only one unaffected by the sudden lack of sound. The man just stared down at the succubus with an intense focus.

"Ok, good news, you can adapt the ink skin idea to different faiths. It's based off the Iron Skin brawlers get. Bad news? The entire style's made to work together." Tirtha shivered. "Oh, I'd gladly sell my life for a chance to see The One fight. If he can do this with humans…" She started at Bonnie's cough. "Er! Moving on! Basically, the core style is winding in holy with all the effects. If we shift it to another element, the effects won't work. You could possibly get Purity and Grace to work, but the rest no. And that breaks the entire style."

"This does make sense." Sampson admitted with a frown. "Now that I think on it, I do see the way it melds. So, what would other elements do?"

The succubus shrugged and pulled on the necklace. "I can only say if we invert it into demonic power. That tends to want to destroy, taint, or devour. The armor cracking works because holy 'purifies' the area and basically removes all enhancements. You could possibly shift that into something destructive, but it wouldn't be something you want on your skin."

"Easy enough." Harry flashed his gauntlets to the woman. "This is pretty standard for a lot of brawlers. Could you adapt it to that?"

"Yes…" The woman frowned in thought. "I think we can work something with that. Give me a month to research and call me back. I'll at least get an inversion appropriate for use with gauntlets."

"That is acceptable." Bonnie stated formally. "I will take that as an offer and agreement."

Sagging the succubus sighed loudly. "All right, all right. We'll make it formal. You never give me an inch."

"Last time I did you anointed my favorite book with your own comments and observations." Bonnie stated flatly.

"Your own fault for reading that dreck. Really, who reads that man's work?! He's a hack and a liar!" Tirtha practically shouted back.

Bonnie rolled her eyes and her bunny ears flopped down flatly. "So says the jilted lover."

The succubus disappeared in a wash of fire before she could retort. There was a lingering sound that was suspiciously like a set of curses as she left though.

"So. Iron Skin." Sampson mused quietly.

"It makes sense if I think on it actually." Samael stated thoughtfully.

"Yes it does make sense. People have tried it before, but I don't think anyone did with Iron Skin." Bonnie chimed in.

"I must go." Sampson stated. "I will return in a month. There are favors that must be called to gather ideas. Druids do not do written prayers, but I believe there is a way forward there."

"Sounds like a plan." Harry clapped his hands together. "I'll keep people from getting antsy. We've got a lot of brawlers here, so we can see about getting some basics ironed out."

"What should I do then?" Samael asked curiously.

"Get stronger." Bonnie advised. "This is the easiest part."

That sounded grim, Samael thought.

 

[Lost Star]

"Who's next?!" Samael shouted out from the center of the circle. Another group might have had hesitation. The brawlers that had joined the training session practically leaped to be the next to fight him.

It turned out that for all the problems inherent with brawlers, having money or enthusiasm were not part of those problems. Brawlers became so because they threw themselves into fights. The most common were bar fights, but there were other methods as well. They also lacked serious expenses typically.

What this led to was they had basically bought out one of the more isolated training areas and repurposed it for training for Brawlers, and hopefully Monks. The goal was to develop a training method to create a full path for people who wanted the title.

It was a surprisingly complex task. Fortunately it was a task that had been done repeatedly. The path to the Swordmaster or Axemaster was relatively known and well documented. There were even training manuals if you wanted to spend the money and time. They just had to identify the barebones basics and repurpose the better training guides.

Hence the fighting. Samael was taking one challenger after another. Harry was watching the fights and was basically trying to distill the exact things a Monk would need. There was also an eye towards movement and what was and was not effective.

"Comin at you!" One of the women called out and charged at the Monk waiting.

Samael watched her charging forward and then set his feet. His fist lashed out, and slammed into the woman's stomach right before she hit. She dropped down as her breath was lost. For a moment he thought that was it and paused. The woman cursed to herself and then started to move again.

Kicking hard against the ground, the woman rose up again in a quick uppercut. Samael tilted himself to the side and used the momentum to lash out with his leg. She blocked and was knocked back with the strike. Grinning wildly she surprised him and lashed out with her own kicks.

It wasn't a movement he was familiar with. The first one glanced off his rib. Then he was forced to move to the side to avoid the next one. He could probably take them, but that wasn't the point of this. Instead he blocked one of the next strikes and lashed a strike into the woman's leg. She hissed and hopped back on one leg.

Samael had an idea of what was coming though, and circled quickly. Whatever she had figured out with the leg strikes was actually pretty scary. It wasn't very mobile though, and with his last hit she would be weak on that leg. He managed a few more strikes before she managed to get him lined up with another strike. She conceded when she didn't manage to hit him directly with it.

"Doing good! Break all!" Harry called out from the sidelines and there were a few groans of disappointment.

Samael chuckled and waved at them as he moved over to the man. "So, what do you think?"

"First lesson is definitely going to be how to punch." Harry laughed. "Still got a few people doing that sloppily." He handed the Monk a drink.

"Yeah I saw that." Samael winced at the thought and grabbed the bottle. "These guys are the vets right?" He questioned as he took a long drink from it.

"There were a lot of rumbles based on rumors. I rounded up the most trustworthy guys and grabbed those still coming. They're mostly people who are too stubborn to stop and have enough experience to be serious about it." Harry stated and shrugged. "Some of them are more used to gauntlets too. You use them differently than bare hands." He demonstrated the grips on his fists. One was tighter than the other.

"Still got a lot to work through. Discipline and control probably most of them. Everyone fights like they're handling mobs and that makes their swings wide and showy. Too much energy wasted in movements too usually." Samael stated and chuckled. "Except for that last one. I don't know what's up with her." The kicking thing was weird.

"Oh, she was a street fighter. I think she picked it up because it gives her the range she needs to fight men. Her Iron Skin's actually a lot stronger than you'd think too." Harry shifted into what she had been doing. "There's something there. Legs are stronger than arms. Might be good to teach." He lashed out with his foot quickly.

"So, how to punch, how to kick." Samael counted off. "Definitely how to take a hit. Iron Skin's core." The man passed the drink back.

"True. We'll have to set up a way to train that." Harry threw the drink into a nearby box. "You typically learn that by getting hit. If we're training completely new people that seems rather inefficient."

"What, we can't line people up and punch them?" Samael asked jokingly.

"Hah, if we really wanted to make more brawlers we'd stick them in a cage and have them fight each other." Harry waved it off and paused in thought.

"Well, Iron Skin's pretty important in everything really." Samael mused casually.

"Yeah, you need it for hitting shit too. I mean…" Harry grinned and slapped his hands together. "I got it!"

"Oh?" Samael asked curiously.

The brawler reached into the chest and dug around a bit in it. The chest was a training chest, basically a bag of holding modified for training areas. Inside were a lot of various tools. Harry pulled out one of the larger and more durable dummies. One that swung when you hit some parts of it.

"Hit it then block it." Harry stated and pointed to one of the arms that held a ball on a chain. "We can modify that for weaker or stronger people."

"Ouch." Samael muttered as he looked at the dummy. That didn't look pleasant.

"Better pain on the training field rather than in the dungeon." Harry muttered and set the dummy down.

"Think we should train danger sense too?" Samael asked.

Harry paused and thought. "Most other titles don't use it right?"

"Yeah. If you're fighting someone straight on it doesn't work. You gotta be hit from behind basically." Samael stated. He actually hadn't used it that much in his team fights. Only when he took point and the enemies surrounded him.

"Well, might as well. It could fit in. The training for that is blind fighting typically." Harry mused.

"Never done that before." Samael shrugged.

"Yeah, guards like to get it, so they've picked up a training technique. It's documented. I've actually heard about it once actually. Something about picking up subtle fluctuations in magic and sound to pick up attacks." Harry snorted as he finished. He didn't seem to have a high opinion on the study.

"Well, that feels like a good basic training course." Samael stated after a moment of silence.

Harry seemed to think a moment and then nodded. "Yeah. We run the guys here through that and they should be golden."

"Oh, one more thing!" Samael held up a finger as he recalled something.

"Oh?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"They need to know how to do brushwork." Samael indicated the inked parts of his body. "There's a trick to have this done quickly, but you do need to first practice your lettering."

"Oh that will go over well." Harry laughed, but nodded seriously. "Actually that will work really well though. It would emphasise that you need to have faith too. I'll have them practice prayers."

Samael nodded in return. "That would work."

"Now, one last thing." Harry stated and patted the dummy he had set up earlier. "You get first run on training techniques. Gotta get our leader all strong now."

The Monk laughed nervously as he looked at the dummy. The ball it had attached to it was one of the heavy ones used to practice with heavy shields. That was going to hurt.

 

[Lost Star]

Samael would love to have said that something interesting happened after they ironed out the training basics. Unfortunately that hadn't been the case. Instead had been training, more training, and dungeon runs. There was certainly something happening in the background. Bonnie was still practically running around doing something, but it wasn't actually something that Samael's input was being asked on.

It was likely something about politics. The brawlers in general didn't really have the inclination or even ability to safely navigate that maze of dangers. Harry was the only one even close to being politically savvy, and he mostly went, 'Can we fight? Then we're good.'

Things changed the day the demoness came back with the ink patterns for the a possible demonic style. Harry had taken them and isolated himself to look them over and possibly figure out something. Several days later, Sampson had returned as well, and Harry emerged. Both senior brawlers had evidently figured out something.

Samael forewent his weekly dungeon run at that point. HIs party members were graciously accepting of that. In fact, they had decided to attend the demonstration of the discoveries. They had good company, as what seemed like half the Adventurers in the town had decided to watch as well.

"That's a big crowd." Samael muttered to both men as they entered the field.

"Let them watch." Sampson stated with pride and certainty. "Let them see our new strength."

That got a laugh from Harry. Samael took the brief moment of silence to evaluate what the two men had done with the ink.

Harry's body was covered in red and almost evil looking prayers. In particular there were new marks around his gauntlets that almost glowed. What little Samael could make out indicated that they were prayers of retribution and punishment. That was rather expected to be honest.

Sampson's markings were different though. They didn't have words. Just a dark green pattern that wound up and down his skin. They resembled nothing so much as braided ropes, and in particular they seemed concentrated around his arms and legs.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Samael asked quietly as they stopped in the center of the field.

"So tell me Harry. You once fought in an elite raid. Do you still have that strength?" Sampson asked the other man.

"Hah! You're on!" Harry smacked his gauntlets against each other, and the sparked with red embers.

Seeing where this was going, Samael immediately skipped back. Both men ignored him. They had focused on the fight already. Circling one another, they took up far different stances than they might have even a week before.

Sampson was slightly hunched, hands open and fingers twitching. Harry had one hand in front of him between them, and the other was low and hugged to his body.

Both men continued to circle slowly. Then Harry led off, blurring forward and punching quickly with his off hand. Sampson took the blow and snapped his arm down to grab the strike. The massive man's arm wrapped around the metal gauntlet and then he reached out to grab at Harry's body.

Something flared red. Harry's body flared into something black and insubstantial. His arm slipped out of the grip and then he lashed out at Sampson with a series of quick strikes. They did no noticeable damage, but Sampson stepped back anyway.

"Poison." The large man muttered and rubbed at a few places he had been struck.

"Corruption actually." Harry laughed as his form shifted into his normal form. "Each strike from these babies leaves a bit of it behind that weakens." He clapped his gauntlets together again.

"And the shadow form?" Sampson asked curiously. "That I did not expect." He ignored how several spots on his body looked like they were darkening.

"Ah, Grace is exhaling and taking control of the space. This is inhaling and taking control of yourself. It's called Stillness." Harry looked quite proud of the skill.

"This is already interesting." Sampson clenched his hands and his body twitched. "Sadly I can't show my version yet. Instead." Several tattoos flared around his body and some sizzled. The dark bruising on his skin disappeared.

"Well shit." Harry muttered and laughed. "This is fantastic!" He howled out as he charged again.

He struck out again and again. Sampson took it patiently attempting grabs when he could. The larger man seemed to be waiting for an opportunity, and seemed to get it when Harry lunged a bit too far. His hand darted out lightning quick, but Harry shifted into his shadow form again.

Sampson grinned and roared then. Literally roared. It was a sound that caused everyone nearby to wince slightly, and the air around him to ripple. Harry was knocked back in his shadow form and came out of it stunned.

The larger man charged forward then. Harry had a brief moment to see himself be grabbed before Sampson's muscles bulged and he was flying through the air. Samael took a step back unconsciously as the man landed on the ground far farther away than expected from a simple throw.

"See, I do not have fancy effects. I simply get more strength, or more speed." Sampson laughed lowly. "Or perhaps a better scream."

Harry got to his feet woozily and then shook his head to clear it. He paused a moment. "No armor cracker?"

"Unfortunately no. It is why I focused on grabs and occasional palm strikes." Sampson made a striking gesture with his palm as the battle paused. "With enough strength it does not matter as much. It is a flaw."

"Seems fairly strange durability wise at least. I don't think I've even really hurt you." Harry muttered and wiped some of the blood from his cheek off onto his gauntlet. The patterns on it started to glow.

"The poisoning of your strikes is more irritating than anything." Sampson admitted. "Against another opponent I believe you would be more potent." Another inked pattern on his skin burned off.

"Let's change that then." Harry charged forward again.

Sampson moved to meet him. Harry's glowing gauntlets impacted into his skin again and then the smaller man let it linger just a moment. Just as the larger man moved to grab, the glow intensified.

"Punishment." Harry stated with glee.

Every place Sampson had been stricken began to bleed in gushing flowing drips. The man's eyes widened and he shifted his grip into a palm strike, hitting Harry with it dead on. Harry flew through the air and rolled on the ground a moment. Sampson's ink markings burned in an attempt to heal, but they stopped before he was completely fixed.

"Now that, that one is a killer." Sampson stated seriously.

"Feeling a bit left out though." Harry grunted as he got to his feet. "I mean, you got me to show all my tricks, and all I got was the roar and a bit of healing."

"Strength and speed might not be enough. The roar can disrupt magic, but yes. You are right. I have one more trick to show." Sampson spread his legs out and stomped hard.

Samael blinked as the ground rippled. He could see more than a few wide eyes. There was an earthquake spell, but that was a fairly high level one.

Sampson charged forward this time. Harry moved around to strike, and then the large man stomped again. Harry staggered as if struck, and Sampson slammed a palm into the man's ribs.

"Crap." Harry muttered.

"Samael had one skill he was still working on. A mastery skill. Did you plan for something?" Sampson asked loudly as he held out his palms forward.

"You did too I'm guessing. Didn't get it quite done." Harry stated, nursing his ribs.

"If it would not kill me, let me see it. I will show you mine." Sampson's muscles bulged. He blurred forward and stopped just in front of Harry. With one hand he lifted up the man by his throat and held him there without wavering for a moment.

Then Sampson staggered and dropped Harry. His muscles went back to normal and he hacked.

"Still in progress." The massive man stated weakly.

"Well, that would have won it you hadn't stopped." Harry stated with wide eyes. "You all right?"

"Winded. Feeling ill. Standard effects." Sampson muttered. "Yours?"

Harry shrugged and clenched his fists. The ink on his skin flowed down his body and to his gauntlets His bleeding evaporated, and his bruising started to disappear. His gauntlets glowed hotly and he slammed his fist into the ground.

Red markings flowed on the ground and started to glow in patterns and prayers. For a moment a massive circle of markings had appeared around the man. Then it disappeared.

"Should be creating a field that basically slowly kills everything in it." Harry muttered. "Work in progress."

Samael grumbled inaudibly. Sure, work in progress. They were already able to demonstrate things, and here he was still working on his own. The young man sighed to himself. They were basically Elite brawlers. They already had a lot of experience, it just hadn't been channeled properly. It was just mildly irritating.

 

[Lost Star]

It was almost a relief for Samael to get back into the dungeon. With all the training and teaching he'd been talked into, he had been feeling a tiny bit stressed. Fortunately this was supposed to be a quick run directly to a sixth floor boss, and then back. A cumulation of their training and teamwork.

Thanks to both Seonag and Camila it was practically a run too. Both girls had become very proficient in finding the best paths forward, and they could and did navigate around most of the more irritating fights. Due to this they reached the sixth floor before half the day had finished.

Continuing on the theme of open 'sky,' the sixth floor was a massive dome-like floor. In this case though the false sky was dark and cloudy, and there was a gentle snowfall. It was almost peaceful until you realized that the snowdrifts could hide traps and worse. Apparently when it got warm, the snow turned into rain and made the place miserable and muddy.

Samael had ample demonstration of this danger when he fell through a snow drift and landed into a pit filled with thorns strong enough to bite through his flesh. Fortunately his Iron Skin managed to negate most of the damage and Seonag's light spirit handled the rest. They became a lot more careful after that as they hunted for the boss.

From this floor on, the bosses were plantfolk. Each one mimed the seasons. The ones on this floor were called 'Knights.' Though they were probably better described as both knights and mages. People could and had mixed the two together in the form of Swordmages, but the bosses here mixed them to an extreme in the form of melded attacks that dominated the battlefield and caused a fair amount of damage.

They encountered the Spring Knight first. Its location was fairly obvious even from a distance due to the way the casual snow turned into a downpour that was visible even a fair bit away. In the center of that monsoon was the boss.

This was both a good and bad boss to fight. The obvious nature of its location let them prepare in advance. The 'area' that the boss was in would be warm and relatively easy to navigate if you didn't mind the mud. The bad part was where the edges of the storm were. The cold would frost over the wet downpour almost immediately and cause serious mobility issues. The strategy was therefore to move in and stay in.

Knuckles led the way once they had a clear path. Samael right beside him, and Camila nearby Seonag. They entered the downpour with quick and determined steps. The snow turned into slush under their feet and then into sticky mud.

The boss met them. A plantfolk clad in white armor with red roses delicately blossoming out of them. It was using an umbrella to keep off the rain as it met them almost casually.

Knuckles led off with his fear effect. The boss pointed with its free hand at him in return. A thunderbolt ripped down from the rain and hit his armor clad form with a crack. His body spasmed and then there was a flash of light as Seonag's light spirit hit him.

Camila moved away from Seonag and started to make her diagrams. The Shaman kept to the edge. Samael charged in before the boss could cast again.

The boss tilted its head at Samael as he attacked and rolled the umbrella in its hand so that it started to spin. Right before he reached it, it let go and the tool continued to roll through the air like a buzzing saw. Samael cursed as he dodged it, and then twisted desperately as the boss revealed a thin sword it had pulled out of the handle of its weapon.

Knuckles slammed his mace into the boss as it tried to skewer the Monk. His mace cracked the armor and forced the boss into a stagger. In reply, the thing swept it's sword in a wide arc. More lightning arched out and impacted both men. The effect made Samael's body seize up a moment before his Final Prayer burned the effect away. He continued to attack, and the boss was forced on the defensive.

Behind him, Camila and Seonag had their own issues. The umbrella top hadn't stopped spinning after being let go. Instead it had started to spin after the women. Seonag had been forced to get to the very edge of the storm. Camila had taken up trying to remove or deflect the strange and deadly weapon instead. Liberal use of her gravity spell had so far kept it away.

Samael in turn practically danced with the boss, dodging its quick swipes with the blade as he attempted to get hits in return. It was surprisingly frustrating as the boss seemed content to actually dodge in turn instead of take shots on its armor.

It was only when Knuckles got into the fray again that the creature was forced to take hits. One and two quick taps from his fists, but that was enough. Sparks started up again, and Samael readied himself for another lightning strike.

Camila's scream caused Samael to duck instead. "Down!"

Not a moment too soon either. The sparks turned into a beam of lightning as the umbrella served as a grounding point in the distance. A moving grounding point at that, as the tool continued to roll at the edge of the field, creating a moving line of death between it and the boss.

Samael felt the lightning make his hairs stand up as it barely missed him. Then the Astrologer used her gravity spell again, and the beam went up into the air. Taking the brief opening, Samael slammed his palm forward and the boss's beam flickered as his technique caused it's mana to flux. More importantly, the armor glowed as it was fractured and weakened by the purification technique.

Camila's stars chose that moment to impact the boss. Three of them hit the body, precisely in the weakened areas. The boss staggered, and Samael moved forward to use the blasted open areas to further damage the creature.

It dissolved soon after and the rainstorm stopped suddenly. The mud that was covering Samael started to frost over almost immediately, and the man broke it off with a grimace. He was quite thankful for Seonag's temperature protection in this moment. Otherwise things would have been bad.

"Oh, it dropped the umbrella." Camila commented as she approached the place the body had dissolved.

"Can anyone even use that?" Samael asked after getting cleaned up.

"I think I can get it modified to fit my style actually." The Astrologer picked up the item gently and pulled the sword out slightly to reveal a gleaming blade. "I mean I can't use swords, so only the top part would be useful really, but something sharp might help?"

"You're free to it then." The monk muttered and the rest of the party nodded. "That was fairly easy I think."

"Well. I'd officially consider us veterans then." Knuckles mused.

Samael grinned at that. "That means party time!"

"Yes, and a break." Seonag stated with a sigh. "I believe I have enough materials to start on preparing for another spirit. I require time for that." The woman pulled up her mask and rubbed at her face. "And a clear mind."

"We have been pushing hard." Camila mused.

"Once a week is hard?" Samael asked Knuckles lowly.

"For something like this, yeah." The Terror Knight replied and chuckled lowly. "Not everyone enjoys high stake fights as much as you. Keep in mind that we've been doing practically two full days of hard fighting each of those weeks. That can get stressful."

Samael shrugged at the other man and then clapped his hands together. "All right then. Party and vacation time!" He had enough saved to last for months now anyway.

He politely ignored the sighs of relief from the women. The way Knuckles seemed to chuckle at him made his eyebrow twitch though.

 

[Lost Star]

Inhaling, Samael kept his eyes closed clapped his hands together. Around him the balls set in the room were knocked back. They hit the walls and bounced back with far more force than he had hit them with. The Monk's hands and feet flashed out as he smacked them back. Despite the speed of his hands, a few got through and impacted into his flesh with a solid thunk. He ignored it as the ones he had hit continued to bounce back.

More were kicked up by his movements, and he sped up as best he could. He spun, he dodged, he twisted and kicked. Balls flew through the air like a miniature rainstorm, and Samael clapped his hands together again. Grace caused all of them to pick up even more momentum.

Through it all the man kept his eyes closed. His fists still struck the balls with unerring precision. The sheer amount of them made it impossible to keep up a perfect defense. Which was actually the point of this exercise.

Thirty minutes later Samael was a sweaty and bruised mess. He started to catch the balls flying through the room and set them down. He opened his eyes and glanced around the room to verify that everything still looked good. Then he moved to clean up and leave it.

Bonnie was waiting, casually writing something in a notebook. The woman looked up and grinned as he exited. "How is it?" Her bunny ears twitched.

"Solid. I'd recommend that newer people not do so many." Samael grunted in pain as he sat down across from the woman.

"I'll note that." Bonnie stated cheerfully.

"Still seems a bit expensive for something like that." The monk muttered.

"I told you it's fine." The Historian dismissed the concern.

"You didn't say why though." Samael muttered peevishly.

Bonnie laughed a bit and scratched her head. "Ah, I probably should there." Assuming a lecturing pose, the woman continued. "Ever since you joined up, the Starseekers have been arranging a few things. Mostly getting the knowledge spread, but also getting the proper people contacted, and setting the framework for a new guild."

Samael felt his eyebrows raise. "A new guild?"

"It's almost criminal how brawlers didn't have one already, but considering how you all just want to fight I can guess how that happened." Bonnie frowned at the Monk and her ears flattened. "I mean you're all battle junkies at the extreme end of the spectrum. It never really occurred to you that you should have one."

Samael shrugged casually. "Why should we have had one? Brawlers didn't really have any sort of worth aside from horde clearing."

"Guilds are center points for exchanges of knowledge." Bonnie stated flatly, and sighed at Samael's deadpan stare. "Yes, you didn't have any knowledge to share before. You still should have done something!" The Historian huffed.

"Seems like a lot of work for little gain." Samael pointed out reasonably, in his opinion of course.

"That's why you hire other people to do it. Seriously, all I had to do was get a few elite brawlers on it, and you've now got branches in nearly every dungeon." Bonnie huffed and straightened out her ears. "One good thing about your battle focus is that you lot had a lot of unspent money. Once we get authorization, brawlers can be trained in monks at will. You won't have to teach much more."

The Monk's eyebrows rose and he rocked back in his seat. "Really now?"

"Oh, senior member advice will always be welcome, but normal people can walk other people through basic training techniques. Once you get a critical momentum going, the titles will be self perpetuating. It helps a lot that the clans are very interested in an untapped pool of candidates." Bonnie grinned widely there.

"Oh yeah, I was wondering a bit about that. I expected some headhunting, but I haven't seen it yet." Samael chimed in with curiosity.

"Most are waiting on the training finishing and the new titles to settle. Brawlers have a bad reputation still, so people want to be certain you're not someone special. I know the Whitelights in particular have one person already scheduled to go on a run the second they can declare properly." Bonnie chuckled there. "You're one of ours, so they are mostly avoiding you."

"What about Harry or Sampson?" Samael asked after a moment of contemplation.

"Ah, Harry's likely going to go into teaching. We might be scouting him actually." Bonnie admitted with a small grin. "Once we got something solid here, he's going to move closer towards the capital and set up something official. That's where all the official guild headquarters are you know? The King gives them a free spot once they're approved." The woman looked up into the air as she spoke as if remembering the area. "The Guild Road is something you have to see to believe."

"Wow." Samael stated with wide eyes.

"Oh yes. Getting on there is a pretty big deal." Bonnie nodded enthusiastically. "And I get to write the history on it!" There were practically stars in the woman's eyes before she sobered. "As for Sampson, he's probably going to go back to what he was doing. Sampson's actually fairly famous in certain circles. He's a vanguard position in elite raids, and has been known to personally head into dungeons to assist when needed."

"I don't know what that means." Samael held up a finger to indicate he was thinking. "My guess would be something like they keep the entrance of the dungeon clear?"

"Yes. Elite dungeons try to kill you. That means you need a clear way out in case things go bad. Sampson…" Bonnie's ears went still and she paused for a moment staring out at nothing. Then shook her head. "Well, Sampson's one of the best at his role. With the new skills, he's likely just going to be more important."

"Doesn't seem like it's changing much for him then." Samael mused in return.

"He might be heading to different dungeons, but no. That's not a bad thing mind you. You need a proper vanguard in raids." Bonnie nodded decisively.

"Sounds like it's interesting." Samael stated casually.

In his head though, the Monk felt a kindle of ambition in his veins. He wanted to see what an Elite raid was like. If someone like Sampson was an example of what the best of the elite was, then he had a goal. That sort of casual strength and certainty was something he wanted.

 

[Lost Star]

What do adventurers do in their free time? A good, active group typically did one or two day runs a week in veteran dungeons. Elite groups did it once every other month if they were being 'active' so to speak.

A lot of the time was spent planning and training. Samael trained several hours each day. He knew for a fact that Knuckles was working on his mace work and doing general strength training. Camila regularly did stargazing and fiddling with her diagrams. Seonag did a lot of talking with her spirits. That didn't account for occasional team meetings to plan for more. Add that all together and typically about half to quarter a day was gone during downtime.

This mean that adventures had a lot of time free to do other things. That was what really caused a dungeon town to exist. Sure the resources gathered from the dungeon were incredibly useful, but those were just resources. What made the town was the adventurer's need for entertainment.

There were plays, food and drink, hobby shops, and rooms for other entertainment all around the town. Thornvine even had an exclusive bit of entertainment where people used ropes hung as high as they could go to race.

Samael's choice of entertainments were typically either doing something at the church, or playing some of the games they regularly held. In this case the game was Adventurer Ball. Probably the most popular event.

"Cheater!" The shout came as Samael kicked the ball across the field.

"Not bleeding, not cheating!" The Monk laughed loudly as he vaulted over a barrier of stone.

"My curses aren't working!" One of the witches protested he was playing against protested.

"Now now ladies." The goalkeeper on their team calmly blocked the speeding ball with a wooden shield. It bounced up into the air with a spin. "You know the rules." He grinned and slapped the ball into the air with a wooden sword.

"Newfangled cheating meathead." The leading witch muttered and pointed at the ball with her wand. A magic missile sped out and caused it to dart down.

"Got it!" Samael's male partner for the game called out as he raced towards the dropping ball. A winding glimmering band wound around his legs and caused him to trip.

"Dispel!" The sole girl on Samael's team called out, and the man kicked himself back to his feet.

"Ball's hitting the ground!" Samael called out and sprinted to it.

"Not… Yet." The man muttered and dove to block it with his shield. It bounced up into the air in a lazy bounce.

A fairy darted out of nowhere to catch the ball and then brought it back to the leading witch of the opposing team. She very deliberately didn't touch it, but instead gestured with her wand and several copies of her fairy holding the ball appeared.

"Ohohohoh!" She laughed gloatingly as the fairies flew towards Samael's goal.

"Wish familiars counted as touching." Samael cursed as he charged to try to find the right fairy.

The man staggered as he felt a feeling of lethargy hitting his body. Sticking his tongue out at the witch that had cursed him, the man exhaled and clapped his hands together. The curse washed away and the witch who cast it shook her staff at him in annoyance.

The delay had cost him though. The illusionary fairies had reached the goalkeeper. The girl frowned as they approached and then slammed her staff onto the ground.

"Barrier!" The brief moment of white light caused the fairy to stop mid air and lose control of the ball it was carrying. The illusions disappeared and the ball dropped down to the ground.

The second the ball hit the ground one of the enchantments on it immediately triggered and it dropped through the floor like it was sinking into water. The players immediately spread out on the field.

"There!" Samael pointed as the ground rippled like it had been dipped into water. The ball erupted into the air and rose up.

Both opposing witches immediately began casting. Samael watched their hands and gazes as they did it. Magic Missiles raced out and the ball was knocked along in the air for a time.

"It's going to drop nearby the goal again." Samael muttered to his partner.

"The fairies are nearby it again." The man replied back. "Think you can get it if I block em?"

"Easily." Samael nodded and clapped his gloved hands together.

The man nodded back and darted up, waving his shield wildly and causing the fairies to back off in fear of getting swatted. Samael jumped hard and slammed his gloved hand into the ball. It darted down and he kicked it forward.

Knowing what would happen next, the man slammed his hand forward at the casting witches and used Purity. The rippling magic caused their spells to go awry and he continued to kick the ball forward, being especially careful not to let it hit the ground again.

"He's cheating again!" The witch with the staff protested.

"Oh like familiars aren't cheating." Samael shot back.

"Discord." The leading witch stated loudly as she pointed her wand at the man.

The monk staggered as the curse hit him. This was one wasn't one of the easy ones. He couldn't tell which way was up, and almost stumbled. Closing his eyes he slammed the ball and hoped he got the right direction. Then tumbled to the ground and fought not to throw up.

While he was controlling himself there was shouting and then the sound of a goal. The curse washed away in a wave of light, and the man got to his feet to see his team had scored a goal.

"Well, point for your team." The enemy goalkeeper said gracefully. His teammates huffed.

"Breaking out the big curses there." Samael stated with mild annoyance as he approached everyone.

"Nothing little was working." The leading witch shot back and huffed again. "You won anyway."

"Discord can be powered through once you're familiar with it." Samael's teammate advised.

"I'm sorry I let it linger on you." The priestess that had been acting as his goalkeeper commented.

"Eh, no big." Samael waved it off.

"Big boy like you can handle it." The leading witch commented with a grin and brushed back her long hair. "Up for something else tonight? You're fun enough, and you didn't complain much about the curses."

"Sorry. No." Samael shook his head.

"Pity." The witch shrugged and grabbed the other woman on her team. "Let's get some food." She stated casually.

The only man on their team chuckled and shook his head. "Well, you're a great player. Look me up if you're up for another game."

"Will do!" Samael nodded cheerfully.

 

[Lost Star]

"I like the stars." The statement was honestly a bit silly, but Camila could be like that really.

With winter tightening its icy grip on the city, the perch they were seated on wasn't particularly pleasant if you didn't have magic. This high up the wind blew constantly and the place was covered in ice. One wrong move would cause someone to fall down and possibly be impaled by the ever present spikes. Fortunately the Astrologer did know a few ways to mitigate the cold and wind with magic, and Samael was as comfortable as one could be this high up.

"They are rather pretty." Samael muttered with a chuckle as he looked up.

"I used to stare up at them with my brother. He's the one that taught me how to be an Astrologer." Camila kicked her legs as they dangled precariously off the ledge.

That was new, and a bit interesting. "I was a bit curious about how you got it. Your powers are based off that right? The predictions?"

"Long ago people thought the stars predicted the future." Camila stated dreamily, and stretched her arm up. "They looked up and wondered. They made predictions and prophecies. Then observed and found this. Observation: Distortion."

Above them the stars suddenly flowed down as the magic wrapped around the two stargazers. They glimmered and grew until they became the size of Samael's fist. One resolved into a large looking sphere and then shifted more into a strange looking ball with different colors. Samael stared at it with fascination.

"This the true form of the Star of Mourning." Camila smiled at the ball.

Samael blinked. That was one of the more prominent and bright stars in the sky. Legend had it that when it was at a certain point a great tragedy would happen.

"The size is reduced of course. Calculations indicate that it's so large that our entire kingdom would get lost in that little spec." Camila poked at an area the size of her fingertip. Her finger went through the illusion. "Several stars are like that."

"How do they stay up there?" Samael asked with wonder.

Camila laughed gently. "It's complicated. Really complicated." She waved her hand and the illusionary stars spun around them. "It also nearly destroyed Astronomy. How would could our predictions mean anything if we based them off large balls in the sky?"

"You say nearly destroyed though." The Monk pointed out carefully.

Camila nodded and stopped the spinning stars with an upraised hand. "Someone realized that some of our prophecies had come true. Not all of them, but enough that it was suspicious. That person studied the successful ones, and then started to piece together something."

The stars around them shot into the sky and the illusion changed to something like a wash of colors in the sky. A beautiful rainbow color that drifted through the air like a rainbow river. Camila got to her feet and spread out her arms. The rainbow expanded further and further. The clear and icy sky became covered in color.

"An Astrologer looks at the sky and observes. They see the stars above, and the magic they have. They see the magic of the world." Camila laughed breathily and looked up. "We can trace the patterns of the sun and moon. Of the stars. We can find the patterns of the world through the reflections of magic." Smiling widely she reached up. "You can predict and interpret everything based off the patterns above."

"Everything?" The Monk asked curiously.

The Astronomer laughed and let her arms drop. "Possibly. We haven't proven it yet. And isn't that interesting?" She spun in a circle and the skies above her spun too. "The skies above tell us so much. All that we need to do is to observe and interpret the signs. With each new thing we understand another aspect of reality. And achieve miracles." Stretching out a hand Camila continued. "Observation." She stopped suddenly and narrowed her eyes.

Samael got to his feet and approached the woman. She was trembling in effort. Above her the patterns continued to shift wildly and started to fade away.

"Observation." The woman grit out and started to sweat.

She was casting a spell that was obvious. Something new most likely, and one that Samael wasn't sure she was capable of. His mind raced. There was a big chance of backlash, which could cause damage in a variety of ways. He didn't dare touch her though.

"Observation: Mass." Camila finally managed to cast.

The ground beneath her cracked suddenly, and Samael cursed as the platform they were on started to creak. A fall from this high up could kill even hardy adventurers. The way it was shifting did not inspire confidence.

Camila laughed. "Yes! Almost caught up!" She danced a moment and then realized how bad an idea that was as the ground started to tilt. "Observation: Mass, Gravity equals Orbit!" She squeaked out and leaped at Samael.

The man blinked as she flew through the air for a moment and then impacted him. For a moment he was weightless and then they were tumbling down the path they had come up. They went end over end and slid down the icy slopes in a tangled mass.

They hit the bottom with a pair of groans. Even with durability techniques, that had not been pleasant.

"Having fun?" One of the town guards asked with fake cheer.
"Oh I am quite a bit!" Camila stated woozily.

"Good. Then you'll be good to pay for the damages." The town guard stated flatly in reply and pointed at the crumbling point that the two had been on.

"Oh, well that's not nearly as fun." The woman pouted in reply.

"Well, if you want fun. I can bring you to the prison!" The man chirped almost happily. "I'm sure you'd find that loads of fun!"

"Oh no, I've done that one already. I would not recommend it at all." The Astronomer got to her feet. "It's always such a pain to clean up the blood and all the crying and screaming just makes things unpleasant." She reached into her bag to root around for coins.

'Crying and screaming?' Samael mouthed.

 

[Lost Star]

Vacations didn't last forever. Though adventurers set their own times, the lure of the dungeon typically meant that they kept a rather frequent schedule. Samael's group was no different. They entered the dungeon as a small snowstorm had started. The cold and wind not a problem for them.

This time the plan was mostly to hit floor five and then back, just as a general warm up run for a push deeper into the dungeon. It was actually a favored run for most veteran groups when they were feeling lazy as it could be done in a day consistently.

They reached the floor relatively easily, and then began to track down the best things to kill. In this case, they had found a fairly brutal looking mage group of plantfolk. Typically, groups like this were painful for other people. To the party it was a prime target.

Knuckles led first as always. Immediately, the plantfolk began to cast and spread out. Samael swung out to the side immediately and then started to run in an arc to hit the enemies from the side.

Vines erupted from the ground, and poisonous mists started to flow out from the plantfolk. Samael dove into the mists without fear and snapped one of the mages' head clean off. He sprinted to the next one.

The shriek made him pause immediately and look back. Seonag was on her knees and gagging as she attempted to breath. Behind her stood a man already pulling back a bloody dagger. He was completely dressed in black and impossible to identify.

"What are you doing?!" Samael shouted out and dove at the man as he attempted to flee.

Knuckles grunted as the Monk passed and continued to ward off the other mages. To his left Camila had paused at the attack but grit her teeth and continued her calculations. A moment later another plantfolk died as its head was exploded by one of her glimmering stars.

The Monk saw that only peripherally. He paused at Seonag's side. The woman gagged out and blood dripped out of her mask. She pointed behind her though, and seemed able to root around in her pack for something. Flashing light around her seemed to be keeping her from dying from what appeared to be a stab that had just barely missed her heart.

Nodding, Samael immediately charged after the fleeing man in black. The man was moving incredibly fast, and Samael could barely keep up. They raced through the icy grounds of the dungeon for a good few minutes. Samael couldn't quite catch up, but he was able to keep the other man in view.

Seeing that, the man in black palmed something and threw it out. A cloud of smoke enveloped his place and Samael ran through it immediately to find that there was no one around.

Breathing harshly the Monk's gaze darted across the ice strewn landscape. He looked for tracks and hiding spots. He found nothing.

"Assassin." Samael breathed out harshly. "Who under heaven would hire an assassin to kill Seonag?" He questioned to the air.

Assassins were not trivial hires. You didn't become one just because you killed with money. You became one when you were able to do so quietly, stealthily, and probably most importantly, could do it to someone who could fight back. As a whole it was a title both feared and rightfully valued.

Samael ducked down suddenly and slammed his hands into the snow covered ground before he could think. Danger sense blared loudly as the knife just barely missed him. Twitching his legs, the man spun and tried to sweep his opponent off his feat.

That got a curse from the Assassin as he was forced to leap the strike. The movement gave Samael the chance to get to his feet and attempt to strike his opponent. Fists lashed out and the Assassin dodged around them. In return his knife darted at the striking hands and drew long red scratches.

"Poison, then?" Samael asked with grit teeth as he continued his assault.

"Not this blade." The assassin spoke quietly and then something flew out from his hand towards Samael's face.

Samael closed his eyes just in time to avoid the substance getting into them. It didn't matter much really, the substance burned his skin horribly, and he didn't dare open them again.

"This blade though. Yes." The assassin stated flatly.

The monk laughed quietly and focused on his danger sense. The dagger was coming for his shoulder. He moved and kicked, and hit the other man hard. Something went flying through the air, and he guessed it to be the dagger.

Samael couldn't have done this in a larger fight. There were just too many possible threats. Against one person though? He could and would fight blind if he had to. He started to circle where he knew the threat was.

For a moment the monk thought he had the advantage. Then there was a sudden sharp silence. A lack of sound. The stealth technique again. Samael didn't have to see to know that he wouldn't be able to find the man. The technique was that good. He could still just barely sense that the assassin was still around him though.

Which gave him an idea. Slowly the monk grabbed an item in his pouch. The bottle that carried his ink.

"Heavens above, allow me to see my enemy clearly." Samael breathed out and crushed the bottle.

Ink flowed across his skin. Final Prayer burned off and wiped away the burning sensation over his eyes. Samael didn't need that though.

He wanted something more. He focused on his danger sense and the prayer need. He hoped and prayed. Something responded, and he opened his eyes.

All he saw was the white floor snow clad floor of the dungeon. There was bitter disappointment in that particularly sight.

Samael shook it off though, and breathed in and out. The heavens gave their gifts as they willed. If he couldn't see his enemy and they were still there, then he would simply find them through other means.

A glimmer, an inkling of sense made him dart suddenly and slam his fist into thin air. Shadows exploded as the Assassin was knocked out of his stealth. The man dropped to the ground from the impact of Samael's strike.

Samael grinned viciously and cracked his knuckles. The man's arms were the next thing to crack. The legs were left for later. He still needed to walk back to Samael's party after all. Samael wanted to know exactly who had hired someone to kill a friend.

 

[Lost Star]

With both his arms useless, the Assassin was far less of a threat to Samael. That didn't mean he wasn't a threat though, so the man stayed in front of the Monk as he was marched back to the party. Samael half expected an escape attempt, but none materialized. Then again, having fractured arms was pretty damned painful. Whatever stealth the man had likely required a fair bit of concentration to use correctly and pain had a way of making that hard.

Knuckles was the only one standing as the Monk returned. Seonag was on her knees with her mask pushed up. The woman was drinking from a flask and pausing every now and again to hack and spit out a bloody mouthful. Behind her Camila held a bloody cloth covered hand to the woman's back.

"You got him. Good." Knuckles stated menacingly and loomed as he moved to the Assassin.

"Shit." The man cursed and seemed ready to run finally. Samael prodded him in the back and he paused.

Knuckles pulled off the mask the man was wearing and then pulled off his own helmet. "Well well. Jayce. Moving up in the world."

"Not everyone likes to stay a Thug." The Assassin stated flatly.

"Heard you were going that way. I'd congratulate you, but well.." Knuckles casually thumped his mace into his other hand. It smacked loud enough to be heard through the ever present wind.

"Just business man. Not like you didn't do worse when you were with us." Jayce muttered as he looked away.

"We can keep it at just business. Who hired you?" Knuckles replied and stopped thumping the mace in his hands. Instead his fake one gripped at the wood tightly enough that it creaked slightly.

"You lose your head as well as your hand?" The Assassin asked flatly. "Giving up the client's name gets the others on you. You know that shit."

The Terror Knight laughed sharply at the statement. "Only when it's in the thieves guild's best interest. You should know that. Always for the guild. Or the bosses. Usually the bosses."

"Hah, no. Worst you can do is kill me now. The top man uses Screaming Venom to kill traitors. Ain't pretty." Jayce replied with a shudder.

Knuckles spat to the side. "New boss ain't nearly as classy as the old one." He stated with a sigh.

Jayce chuckled. "You always did like him more. I suppose that's why you left?" Reluctantly Knuckles glanced at the party and then nodded. The Assassin snorted. "Too loyal for your own good man. Boss woulda let you stay had you just bent the knee."

"Not my style." Knuckles grunted and started smacking the mace into his hand again. "Now, normally I'd just cave your head in and leave your body for the dungeon. You ain't gonna talk, and I ain't feeling particularly merciful. Since you were a guildy though, I can make a deal."

"I ain't telling you who hired me." The man replied flatly, but tilted his head and winced as he jostled his arms. "Will say that the contract I have is failed though. Will probably take a few weeks for another guy to come round, if any would."

"Client has pockets that big?" Knuckles mused, and Samael frowned. The Terror Knight saw the expression and explained. "Our guild takes the information on the target, an assassin gives a quote, and then they're paid half. Failed contracts happen for a lot of reasons, and you don't get a refund. The assassins aren't cheap either."

"Typically we do the job right." Jayce stated with a bit of pride and then winced as Samael smacked his arm.

"Yes, you do." Knuckles stated and frowned as he set the mace down. "So why isn't Seonag dead?"

"Would you believe that the stone armor messed me up?" The Assassin grinned disarmingly.

"She wasn't your target." Knuckles concluded as he realized something. "Assassins who don't kill in the first strike typically die outright. You would have poisoned her."

"I can neither confirm nor deny my target or who hired me." Jayce stated flatly and glanced back at Samael for an instant.

"The one who hired you has really deep pockets doesn't he? In fact, I'd say he practically owns the guild right?" Knuckles asked quietly.

"I can neither confirm nor deny." Jayce replied back.

Knuckles nodded and then slammed his mace into the Assassin's head. The man fell over into the snow without a sound. Samael stepped back in surprise.

"He'll live. When he gets up he'll be able to get out easily." Knuckles gritted out. "We need to leave now though."

"What did you realize?" Samael asked after a moment.

"You're the target, and the one who hired the Assassin was the Duke." The Terror Knight stated and pulled on his helmet. "He has the entire thieves guild in his pocket. He also has more than a few other people who owe him. We're going to get a lot of trouble real quick if we don't head some of it off."

"Damn." The Monk muttered.

"Yeah, damn." Knuckles agreed as he moved to the women. "How are you doing?"

"I have been better." Seonag stated and pulled down her mask. "I will function."

"That was not a good thing. Is the one who did it dead?" Camila glanced at the man in the snow with an indifferent expression.

"We've got bigger problems. Apparently the Duke's aiming at Samael for some reason." Knuckles grunted out.

"Well that's foolish." Camila commented softly.

"Really?" The Terror Knight muttered.

"Oh yes. Isn't that how the tales go? The royal one tries to kill an adventurer and they do all sorts of fun adventures?" The Astrologer asked brightly.

Samael winced. "I don't think it works like that."

"Oh, but it totally does!" Camila stated and clapped her hands together. "Do you think we'll fight a dragon?!"

"No dragon!" The Monk protested.

"A dragon heart would be a good gift for a spirit." Seonag mused.

"No dragon!" Samael protested again ineffectualy.

 

[Lost Star]

Running out of a dungeon was actually surprisingly easy if you knew where you were going. Dungeons would spawn creatures to fill themselves up, but they took time to do that. To get out, one had to simply retrace one's steps.

Samael's group made it out in record time. Part of the man was surprised when he found that no one was waiting for him and that everything was going on as normal. The rest of him was busy scanning for threats and finding nothing.

The man was obviously twitchy as the group rushed to the library, but no one commented. Only when they were inside the building did he relax. Seonag flopped to the ground and began to hack again once they did, and everyone looked at her. The hacking sound attracted Bonnie's attention as she came down from upstairs as well.

"What in the world is going on?" The Historian asked with a frown. The woman lacked her customary bunny ears at the moment.

"Assassin's after Samael." Knuckles stated flatly as he watched Seonag wave everyone off irritably. "Hired by the duke. He got Seonag good."

Bonnie's frown deepened. "You're sure? Do you have proof?"

"Aside from talk, no." The man replied back grimly.

"Couldn't we just get someone to look into it?" Samael asked at that point.

Bonnie shook her head. "Wouldn't do any good. The thieves guild typically covers who hires them very well. Without more proof all we have is the word of an Adventurer. That's not nearly enough."

"Everything would be covered. Especially when it's certain he failed." Knuckles chuckled bitterly. "Done a bit o' it myself back in the day. You'll never get 'proof'."

"I was wondering why the paperwork was taking so long." Bonnie mused quietly. "Typically making a guild is fairly quick. You just need to register with the capital. A duke opposing it would tie it up for months if he wanted to."

"Why?" Samael asked plaintively.

Bonnie gave the Monk a sad smile. "People don't like change."

"This still does not make much sense. You did send out the appropriate training notes correct? Samael's death would not change the formation of the guild." Camila asked quietly.

"No it wouldn't." Bonnie replied back thoughtfully.

"Don't think of him as stupid. The Duke is corrupt as the bowels of hell, but he's been the leader of this area for a long time. You don't stay like that if you're not capable of it." Knuckles warned seriously.

"You're talking to a historian. If there's one person that knows what a duke needs to stay in power, it's me." Bonnie replied back dryly and waved a hand. "I need to investigate. As is, if we know the target then we'll have to remove it from the field while I do that."

"How?" Samael asked curiously.

"Well, I suppose it's time to really have you do a guild duty." Bonnie mused and glanced at Camila. "Do you have a falling star prediction?"

The Astrologer pursed her lips and looked up at the ceiling in thought. "At the moment, only impressions. I would need to wait for the new moon for a proper foretelling."

"I suppose I can have you hide somewhere before that happens. It's what, a week away?" Bonnie asked curiously.

Camila sniffed disdainfully and crossed her arms over her chest. "Exactly five days away."

Bonnie rolled her eyes at the statement and sighed and sagged as something occurred to her. "Damnit I don't want to have you here for that long. It's the safest place I know though."

Seonag hacked again and the spoke lowly after everyone looked at her again. "We can hide in the dungeon."

"Five days in what amounts to enemy territory? Why? I mean safe zones can be nice, but I wouldn't want to live there!" Bonnie protested with waving arms

"There are friendly ice spirits in the safe zones on floor seven." Seonag stated quietly. "Your records state that. If I pact with one, then we will have a perfect place to be safe."

Bonnie's eyes widened. "You want one of those? You did read the warnings about them right!?"

Samael waved a hand. "Mind explaining this part?"

"Seonag's current pacts are with fairly agreeable spirits used to working with people. They're not very strong, but they make up for it by being able to change what they're doing with just a bit of talk. Stronger spirits will do only specific things. They also require tributes of various sorts." Bonnie explained in a lecturing tone.

"Ah, like the light spirit!" Samael grinned and then frowned. "That one was actually kind of nice from what I saw."

"Used to working with humans." Bonnie repeated seriously and looked at Seonag. "The ice spirits on floor seven hover around the safe zones and keep the cold from becoming deadly. They demand blood if you want their service." She squatted down to look the Shaman in the eye as she spoke.

"Blood of enemies. A tribute of time over five days." Seonag pointed out. "It will please the spirit, especially with the lunar cycle as you speak of."

"So we'd have to fight for five days on floor seven." Samael stated quietly.

"Yes." The Shaman nodded.

Bonnie sighed and stood up, then placed her hands on her hips. "You all ok with that?"

"Will it be a strong spirit?" Camila asked Seonag.

"With the tribute I plan, yes. They are spirits of warding. I find myself seeing a need for more defenses." Seonag rubbed at her chest.

"Well than I will do it." Camila nodded.

"Got no issues with it." Samael nodded.

Knuckles snorted. "We're getting a lot of provisions if we're doing that."

"I'd hope so." Bonnie stated dryly and sighed again. "All right, all right. It's as good a plan as any. Don't get yourselves killed though."

With that the party started to move out to prepare. Knuckles lingered just a bit as the rest left though. Bonnie gave him an inquisitive look.

"I'm ah…" The man hesitated uncharacteristically as he scratched at his helmet. "I don't suppose you know more powers for Terror Knight? I've not really found much aside from doing Terror Gaze."

Bonnie made a distressed face. "Ah, with your magical ability, you're not going to do much. I can show you what typical ones have, but Terror Knights are sort of a hybrid of armsmen and necromancers. That means that most of their skills need abilities that you don't have."

Knuckles' shoulders dropped and he heaved a sigh. "I get it."

"You've been holding your own haven't you?" Bonnie asked sympathetically.

"Yes, it's just." His hands clenched together in reply.

The historian winced. "Well. There's one good one that you might be able to do. It's just sorta…" She paused and twiddled her fingers. "Well it involves self mutilation as a training tool."

"What is it?" Knuckles asked with a low grumbling voice.

"You can animate more than just your hand. Terror Knights got their title not just because of their fear. They just never, ever stopped." Bonnie looked a bit sick as she explained. "There are legendary tales of them surviving with nothing but bone left. They needed a necromancer to help them recover, and the texts of that are honestly really gruesome." Indeed the woman looked ill as she remembered it.

"Let me know the training technique then." Knuckles replied back with finality.

"I'll get the book." Bonnie replied back as she sagged.