Eliza
October 18, 1786, Realm Timeline, Brno, The Bohemian Protectorate
Since the end of the war, Eliza has dedicated herself to making the Realm, and specifically the Protectorates, a better place. The Council knew well the extent of their possibilities and didn't waste resources on micromanaging. The Protectorates enjoyed considerable autonomy in decision-making. Most problems were solved locally, and when they were dangerous, bounties were placed.
The concept was Sam's, albeit he had kept a low profile, leaving the spotlight to Penelope. The Bounty Hunters' Guild had two thousand members, locals and Outworlders combined.
Eliza was in the top ten, and if she wanted to brag, she mentioned she had been in first place for a year, only to drop to seventh after switching from quantity to quality, going only for high-profile targets.
To level up, she needed quantity again. The day after the Council meeting, she went to Brno and took two big bounties. One was for a pickpocket, the other for a pimp who kidnapped poor women, forcing them to work in his brothel. The latter was an anonymous request; no one advertised their intention to go against a mobster. They had a bad habit of buying the police and coming after you if you failed.
It didn't take long before she spotted the target. The pickpocket was a handsome young fellow who had an almost foolproof scheme. He employed a few street urchins who bumped into people and stole their wallets. Then the pickpocket master pretended to catch them, returned the wallets to their owners after taking out some of the money, and blamed it on the urchins. He was often rewarded by the owners as well.
After Eliza walked around with her good purse, pretending she was careless, one of the kids stole it and gave it to the ring leader a minute later. When the latter inserted his fingers inside, a small but strong badger trap crushed his fingers, and the man was arrested while still screaming. Eliza had brought along a constable she often worked with.
Since the first bounty went easily, she had plenty of time to also take the second the same evening. On an average day, Eliza would have infiltrated the brothel the normal way: pretending to be a rich client with special needs, and poisoning the pimp discreetly. Those times were in the past, and a faster approach was preferable. She went on a walk through the bad neighborhoods, late at night.
Likewise, the bait had been taken, and in no time, she found herself tied in a basement. However, that didn't mean much. Her skill—Shimmerwalk—allowed Eliza to transform into motes of light and move unimpeded between two points in space. The motes were the visible effect from the other people's perspective. In reality, a tunnel appeared, and she stepped through it, while less time passed outside.
Having all the proof she needed, Eliza decided to act. After she activated the tunnel, the rope on her wrist fell; the skill's side effect eliminated any restraints. The outside world appeared as if seen through a darkened glass. Projecting the exit upward, Eliza passed through all obstacles. She appeared in the boss's office, behind the man, keeping her tunnel beyond his field of vision. Stepping out from the spell, Eliza stabbed the pimp in the throat with a long dagger, a Misericorde with no guard, which she always kept hidden in her boot.
It took the man ten seconds to die, during which she covered his mouth and nose with her gloved left hand to muffle the sounds. Finally, his body stilled, and after cleaning her blade on the man's shirt and sheathing it, she proceeded to search his pockets and desk for anything valuable.
On the man, Eliza found a wide enchanted handkerchief with a sleeping enchantment. Press it on a weak victim's face, and they would faint in two seconds. The thugs who kidnapped her used the same type of artifact. She was immune, though, and had to pretend. In the drawer, she found a purse with fifty ducats and a few change notes, aside from a ledger written in code.
She packed all the findings into the handkerchief and went to the window, opening it an inch to peek outside. Her retreats were normally scouted days before; on this one, Eliza was obliged to improvise. Shimmerwalk had a daily cooldown, so that was out. There were two possible ways: up, by grabbing the eaves and climbing onto the roof, or down, using the drainpipe. Alas, metal bars blocked the way.
"And I thought magic would simplify things..." Eliza mumbled, pinching her nose, a nervous habit showing up when she was under pressure.
The only way out was to leave the room and search for a normal window, a balcony, or an unsupervised staircase. The door was unlocked, and she walked into the corridor, tiptoeing. The interloper's den was in a house adjacent to the brothel, wall to wall. She could hear the music and voices; it was evening, and the clients were there. On the other hand, the den was almost empty. Her passive Vampire senses could also feel two hearts beating on the first floor, and that was all.
The bandits who kidnapped me... The heartbeats matched what she had detected during her abduction. She remembered them to be strong, real thugs. Better to avoid them and let the police handle it. The Pimp had a network of connections in high places. With him gone, the constables were free to act.
All rooms on the upper floor had bars at the windows, even the privy, and the access to the attic was a hatch with a lock. Maybe the thugs are sleeping, she hoped, sneaking down the stairs. They weren't asleep, though; they were talking in the kitchen, and she proceeded in the opposite direction. The main door had a strong padlock, and she had no picklocking skills. That meant only one thing: the pimp had fortified his house to leave only one way in and out, making it easier to defend.
Jynx manifestly was a real thing. The thugs noticed her. She heard a gasp and the sound of a chair being pushed back onto the floor as the man rose.
"Prisoner's escaping," one yelled.
Eliza ran toward him, activating Lightstep, and the two met as he was about to enter the corridor. She kicked him in the chin, making the man take a step back and bump into his partner. Keeping them confined in a tight space, unable to fight together, was a must.
Before the man could recover, she unsheathed her dagger and launched a thrust at his neck. The difference in height and his wobbling made her miss, and she hit his shoulder instead.
"Bitch!" the thug screamed.
The second interloper pulled his comrade back, getting in front, a kitchen knife in hand. Eliza threw a kick at the man's groin, but he blocked and kicked her in the stomach, in one motion.
First Order Magic User, powerful and well-trained... she thought as she was flying back. At the last moment, she turned so she didn't hit the stairs headfirst and break her neck, but she did hit with her left shoulder, hard enough to dislocate it.
Fuuuuck....
There was no time for hesitation, and she pushed her three free attribute points into Constitution. The pain became muted; her arm still numb, but usable. She threw the parcel into the thug's face as he ran forward. It broke; he coughed—an effect of the sleeping spell on the hankie—and that hesitation was all Eliza needed. She got on her feet, thrust the blade up, through the soft flesh under the man's chin, then pushed him with her boot, taking support on the stair's railing. Flailing his arms, the thug fell back, twitching, letting go of his knife.
The other thug came at her with a stool. There was no point in taking risks. Eliza kicked the thug in the chin, again. He almost fell, catching himself on the railing at the last moment. She profited and gave him a cut above the eyes. Forehead skin bled profusely; she knew it, and it was a good way to make people panic. She backpedaled on the stairs to take a breath.
The adrenaline in the thug was probably sky-high. He threw the stool at her as he charged. She ducked, but that gave him enough time to reach her, and Eliza found herself on her back, with the interloper's hands around her neck. Her blade was now deep into his guts, but he didn't seem to care. Desperate, Eliza bit his forearm.
Turn!
Do you want to turn Unknown Thug into a Thrall? Warning: You'll use one of the only two turning charges left.
YES! Her mind yelled.
Turning impossible. Target rejects your offer.
Nevertheless, the man screamed, panicked by whatever message he was seeing, letting her go, and trying to roll away. The railing gave way, and he landed on the floor, heaving. Kneeling on the stairs, Eliza picked up the nearby stool and smashed it on the thug's head from above. It took three hits until the man collapsed, his head caved in.
I need more Strength...
Pressing her shoulder against the wall, Eliza pushed it back into its socket. The pain felt joyful. It meant she was alive. She went to the thug and tried to turn him to get her dagger back. It proved impossible.
Forget the blade; I can get another one. I need to get out before more thugs come.
The other man was still breathing. Eliza stomped on his neck repeatedly until he was no more.
Definitely, I need more Strength...
The coins were all over the place, and she took only those she could pick up fast and the ledger. On her way out, she grabbed a small knife from the kitchen, just to have some weapon, hiding it in her sleeve. Leaving through the back door, Eliza took the key and locked it behind her. The music coming from the brothel made an eerie contrast with the carnage left behind.
I used to work more cleanly. I'm rusty...
She limped toward the local Guild Hall and silenced the officer on guard with a frown. Once in her room, the bleeping notification of her stats appeared, and she expanded it while undressing. She was level twelve, and that was good progress for a night. As she scrolled, she ignored the bla bla, focusing on the numbers. Some had grown up by themselves.
Physical
Strength: 12
Dexterity: 35
Constitution: 12 (-12)*
Agility: 35
Endurance: 10 (-10)*
Speed: 18
* Unidentified Debuff present.
Mental
Intelligence: 23
Wisdom: 18
Perception: 15
Knowledge: 18
Focus: 22
Willpower: 30*
*Reaching 30 in Willpower disables the Universal Translator's Profanity Filter. Swear responsibly.
"Fuck! This is great!"
Magical
Arcane Power: 15
Blood Potency: 15
Mana Affinity: 15
Mana Capacity: 15
Soul Resonance: 15
Humanity: 27
From all the stats, those that mattered were Constitution and Endurance. Eliza had invested three points in the former, while the latter had grown from the fight. Her debuff, before that, showed minus nine. Now it was at minus twelve, respectively ten. It had grown with her stats, meaning it was half its value at all times.
Is this an Exploit? If I invest more in Constitution and Endurance, I'll earn an extra point each time, for when I get rid of the curse… IF I get rid of it… Starting tomorrow, I'll do push-ups. But now, it's time to wash the gore off me.