An Assassin's Anthem

Riley slammed her axe into the tree. Fragments of pine bark spewed out into the air. She smiled while she worked. The dungeon had gone amazingly so far. All because I got greedy and lucked out. A crooked smile spread across her face. Does that mean I should always be greedy? Maybe that’s the lesson. She continued hacking at it, idly looking at her help.

Dwight panted. He leaned against the fallen tree and groaned.

Riley chopped furiously. The tree cracked and crashed down, breaking branches and sending leaves flying in a vibrant orange storm.

Walking up to it, Riley embraced her churning mana and pulled every bit of water she could from it. A small burst of fog filled the air. Leaves shriveled and dried, and Riley headed to the next tree.

Fire can be cleansing.

A fresh start for those within.

Ash and smoke. Just don’t choke.

We’ll burn, and then we’ll win.

Whistling to herself, she kicked up the loose pine needles, ensuring they would catch the flame. Then she headed to the next tree and started chopping. “Come on, Dwight!” she yelled. “Pile brush or chop!”

Dwight groaned and walked up. “Isn’t it time for supper?”

“Supper?” Riley chopped furiously. Red leaves rained around her, and the maple tree came crashing down.

“I have a picnic for us,” Dwight protested, gesturing to his bag.

“Fine. A brief break. Then we keep going until we’re about to pass out. I need a line on all sides. Then we light it up and box them in.”

“I can’t believe your plan is to burn down the forest,” Dwight muttered. “No one else will burn down the forest.”

“Why not?” Riley asked, walking over to him. “I thought the prince and princess would light the entire place on fire, the town included.”

Dwight paused. “Well, yes. She would do that. The undead will run from it.” He walked over to a stump and opened his bag.

“That’s why we need four sides, so they can’t run, and it burns them.” Riley grinned and walked over.

“How long do we have?” Dwight asked.

Riley shrugged. “There’s no one to command them. So, as long as we’re careful, days. Realistically, we need to be out by Sunday night.”

“I can’t believe I’m one of the wild people camping in a dungeon,” Dwight said, pulling out wrapped sandwiches. He handed one to Riley. Then he handed her an apple.

“Thanks.” Riley wiped the sweat off her brow and started eating.

Dwight looked up at her again. “You’re really going to try for the second level?”

“Of course,” Riley said. “Maybe the third. I don’t know how many undead are there, and we stopped the real threat.”

Dwight shook his head and handed her a sandwich. “I can’t believe you figured it out that fast. Do you know how bad it would have been if those two acted during a siege?”

Riley nodded and took it, carefully unwrapping the paper. “I think some of our fellow students will die.” Riley bit into the sandwich. “Have enough food and water?”

“Yes. The prince told me to prep in case it was true. I can see now that it is. He’ll join us on the next one.”

Riley nodded. “Okay, but I’m not slowing down. If he keeps up, he keeps up.” She shrugged.

Dwight laughed. “Oh, he’ll keep up.” He took a bite from his sandwich and studied her. “Lie about our progress if you can. Tell them we tried and failed. I don’t want the princess to know.”

Riley bit her lip. “Lie? I don’t know. There are seekers.” She masked her growing desire to laugh.

Dwight swallowed. “We’ll refuse.”

“I’m so bad at it, though,” Riley lied. “Let me practice.” She looked at him. “We didn’t make it far, just to the town,” she said with a massive grin.

Dwight laughed. “Nice try. Every noble knows how to lie.”

Riley studied him. The prince doesn’t seem so bad, neither does he. “You’re in line for a duchy, right?”

“Yes, first child,” Dwight said with a smile. “I do need to make progress during the academy, of course.”

“Think I could get a duchy?” Riley asked, musing on it. Do I want to be a duchess? Eh. I can always go explore after. She smiled. Best to prepare for it.

“I don’t know,” Dwight said, looking out into the forest.

Riley turned her focus back to the sandwich, enjoying the taste of ham and cheese on the soft bread. A quiet spread between them.

Dwight finished his sandwich. He looked at the forest and groaned. “How much longer?”

“A lot longer,” Riley replied with a grin.

“I’m going to get a lumberjack class,” Dwight groaned. “Do you know how useless that would be?”

“That’s an amazing class,” Riley chuckled.

“No. It’s terrible.” Dwight sighed and picked up the axe.

“We won’t get it.” Riley paused. “Will we?”

“We will. I know the requirement: cut down fifty trees. This was forty-five. I’m getting lumberjack,” Dwight said, swinging his axe and sinking it into a pine tree.

“How do you get classes in these?” Riley probed.

“You just do what’s required to get them. Though you can only get one per run.” Dwight ripped the axe free and slammed it in again.

Condemnation, Riley thought. I messed up my first run then. I should have cooked or something. She frowned. I’ll steal books when I get out.

“Lumberjack class,” Dwight muttered, shaking his head. “My brother would laugh himself sick.”

Riley laughed. “Dwight the lumberjack. It has a nice ring to it. You can use it to help your people chop wood.”

“I’m sacrificing it.” He pulled his axe free.

“Into what?” Riley asked, quirking her brow. I do not have a place for it.

“I’m debating that. I could use it on a strength class. Otherwise, I’ll use it on Duke.” Dwight chopped into the trunk.

“You can sacrifice it to a noble class?” Riley asked.

Dwight nodded, confusion visible on his face. “How do you not know?” Then he grimaced. “Whoops, sorry. I forgot about your uncle.”

“It’s okay. Can you tell me about the class?” Riley asked, gathering dead brush.

“It’s inherited. So, you need to be in line for a position to get it as a gift.” Dwight cut another notch from the tree. “Technically, anyone can get the base level noble class if they feed crystals into a place of power.”

Riley nodded. Is that why it’s useless?

“Of course,” Dwight continued. “That version is complete trash. You have to grow it. And that’s impossible.”

“Why is it impossible?” Riley asked.

“You have to sacrifice the common classes to it if you want it to be any good.” Dwight chopped into the tree and turned. “It gives you auras. The royals have some strong ones. You’ll see them.”

Riley nodded. Makes sense. “What do they do?”

“Boost allies or weaken foes, but it’s very weak without sacrificing classes to it.”

“Oh. So, I’d need to sacrifice a bunch to make it useful,” Riley said with a frown.

“Yes, and the aura doesn’t make you stronger. Then there is the other problem.” Dwight sighed and shook his head.

“What?” Riley asked.

“Its advancement is limited based on your position. I will never get the king class unless I become the king. It’s the only class I know that works like that.” Dwight huffed and took his frustration out on a tree.

Riley grimaced and hacked into a nearby tree. “I see. And that version is weaker?”

“Yes,” Dwight said, chopping once more. “Oh, and the noble class has another flaw. It only really benefits others.”

Riley nodded, and a crack rang through the air. Dwight’s tree came crashing down, hitting the ground with a loud thump.

“Are there ways around that?” Riley asked, embracing her mana and ripping the water from the tree.

“Yes. You upgrade it. Duke has weaker auras but gave me some great all-around attributes,” Dwight said, walking to the next tree.

“Are they all title-based then?”

“No, no. In theory, that depends on how you advance and use it. You know how that goes. If you advance it only using stolen crystals, you might be able to get the King of Thieves or something.” Dwight chuckled.

Riley laughed. That would be sort of cool. Queen of Thieves? She smiled and shook her head. She didn’t really want to start a thief cabal, even if that would be fun.

Dwight chopped into another tree. Riley picked up a stone, sharpened the axe, and headed to the weakest tree nearby. Wood chips and bark blew into the air.

Like a forest destruction squad, the two continued cutting down and drying trees, periodically gathering leaves and other debris to add to the line of flammable material.

The sun lit the horizon in red and orange. Riley glanced up and wiped the sweat from her brow. The first stars twinkled in the sky.

“Can we be done now?” Dwight asked, wiping sweat from his brow. “I can’t believe you got me to do this.”

“It’ll be worth it. Let’s get you back before it gets dark.” Riley turned and led him through the trees. Dodging around the brush, she slowly guided him back towards the village in a quiet silence. He’s exhausted. She smiled. I can’t believe he’s going along with this.

Breaking into the clearing, Riley tapped on his shoulder and gestured to the village. “I’m going to do a little work. I’ll be back in a few hours. Stay inside the picket,” she whispered.

“Isn’t that risky?” Dwight asked.

“I’ll pile things and do less chopping,” Riley said, patting him on the shoulder and heading back into the forest.

Embracing the surrounding shadows, she moved silently through the forest.

The stars twinkled. A calm quiet filled the area, and Riley navigated her way back to their project.

Looking at the gray and black, she approached the last tree they’d cut down. Wish there was a faster way to do this. Stretching, she brought her axe to bear, slamming it into the trunk.

Why can’t I just dry them out alive? She considered doing it. Maybe it was possible. Pausing, she embraced her mana and tried it, pulling on the water inside the tree. A small burst of fog appeared, and pain rippled through her mind.

Staggering, Riley rubbed her brow. Okay. Nope. She blinked and resumed chopping. The noise echoed out around her, and she frowned while she worked. Is this a bad idea?

The tree came crashing down, smashing on the forest floor. Riley grimaced. It’s fine. You’re far enough away. She frowned and listened to the deathly quiet that was left behind.

Walking over to another tree, she scrambled up the trunk and waited. Just in case.

After a few minutes, the forest came alive again. A bug chirped. A frog croaked, and a group of undead swarmed it, charging through the brush and devouring it in a spray of blood.

Riley peered into the gloom. Ew. The mangled cadavers were half-decayed. They were covered with blood, and one was missing an arm. Another had its insides leaking out. Gods, that’s foul.

Wrinkling her nose, she examined the group of four. I can do this and go back.

Riley hefted the axe, used Ambush, and slammed the axe into one’s skull, spewing a burst of yellow fluid onto the forest floor. The zombie dropped. Riley spun and decapitated another. Its head looped and splattered on the ground like a mushy apple.

The remaining undead turned, and she used Ambush, vanishing into the dark.

Peering out from behind a tree, Riley reached into her bag. Pulling out her sling, she whirred it overhead and shot the stone forward. It zipped through the air and sunk into a zombie’s head with a sickening crunch. It staggered and chased after the rock.

Riley picked up another and fired once more. The rock bounced off its skull, causing the zombie to lurch and race in her direction. The others followed, and Riley grabbed the axe.

Swinging with all her might, she slammed the axe into the front runner’s neck. Its head came off, looping through the air.

Spinning, Riley brought the axe down on the following zombie’s skull. The axe sunk into the rotten flesh, breaking through bone and brain. The zombie staggered and dropped.

Ripping it free, Riley pulled the axe back and felt teeth hit her arm bone. The zombie thrashed.

Riley screamed and used Ambush, appearing behind the zombie. She slammed the axe down, crushing its skull with a sickening thud. Green fluid erupted, hitting her wound like a living fire.

Burning her little remaining mana, she blasted her arm with a wave of hot water. Her punctured skin rippled. Pain flickered through her, and she bit back another scream.

Grabbing a bandage, she wrapped it around her arm and jerked it tight, sending a wave of pain shooting up her arm. Stupid, Riley. Don’t fight fair. Never fight fair. What the condemnation were you thinking? She grimaced and shook her head.

A stream of gold appeared, coalescing into a chest that appeared. She flipped it open and pulled out the two crystals. Gods, that wasn’t worth it. She grimaced, grabbed the axe, and dragged it with her.

Wiping away tears, she carefully navigated back through the dark woods, emerging in the clearing and walking up to the town.

A guard frowned. “Halt,” he ordered.

Riley groaned. “Just let me in,” she said with a sigh.

The guard studied her. “Oh, it’s you. Come inside. Your friend is in the inn.” He gestured and opened the gate.

Riley walked inside and headed to the nearby inn. It was empty except for Dwight, who was sleeping at the table.

Riley walked over and nudged him.

Dwight jerked up and blinked. “You’re back. We have rooms upstairs for free since I said we’d help defend.” He stood and looked at her arm. “What happened?”

“Undead.” Riley turned and headed for the room in the back. She walked into the dark room, set down her bag, and pulled out a nightgown. Quickly changing, she fell onto the bed, wrapping herself in the thin blanket.

A knock sounded moments later.

“What?” Riley moaned.

“May I enter?” Dwight called.

Riley groaned. “Fine.”

“Did you kill some?” Dwight asked. “I need to be able to trust you, Riley.”

Riley blinked groggily. “Do you want to be friends, Dwight? I look out for you, and you vow to look out for me?”

Dwight nodded. “Yes. That’s the deal.”

Riley nodded. “A few, but it only gave me attuned ones. The stolen ones won’t form until we get out, and they will be stolen.”

Dwight nodded. “We can sell them to the enchanting guild.” He looked over and smiled. “Sleep well, Riley. Just trust us. Trust us, and your family will be safe and happy.” He turned and walked from the room.

The door clinked shut. Riley gave in to her exhaustion, drifting off to sleep despite the growing fire in her arm.

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