Shadow of Death

Never mind for the child disguise. On that point, I am really feeling dumb. First of all, yes I am a cloaked silhouette, but if someone looks closely, they can see my hands leaving the sleeves and my feet are definitely not human. The good thing is, I notice that right before really entering the city. But what am I supposed to do now? Cast [Nightfall] indefinitely on me, to prevent anyone to notice my condition as a ratman? And ask all my three skeletons to protect me? That's possible. Oslo, lead number one, number two and number three to me.

(Are you sure they will kill more people when they are near you? Because that was the main point of doing this. The ratmen are rising once again, and because of you. Even if they have probably suffered a lot of casualties during the war, they should still be one of the strongest force on this world. And since we are currently weakening our shield, we should do it quickly.)

Ok, my idea of making my skeleton duel some bandits or the greedy thieves was not that great either. But a shadow roaming inside the slums will make the different gangs make a move. Or we can just begin to slaughter everyone, I am certain that my three skeletons are capable of that. Until the moment the enemy forces are three times the number of my undead servants, we will win.

(I will do as you say, but you will make the guards notice you. Even if the slums are not under their control, a broad massacre during the day will make them react. And this time, the real knights of the Church are close. You will have no chance against them.)

The moment I gain my next evolution; I will have a chance. But I am far too slow right now. So I have to take some risks, and just warning the guards is not a big threat. I just have to be careful and absolutely never attack the guards. For them, the death of the criminals can even be a blessing, less work to do. So let's prove our might.

Shortly after, I can see two more masked swordsmen leave the slums. They are number one and number two. The lack of blood on their clothes prove the fact that everyone is worried about the strength of others. Provoke someone to fight is not an easy feat, especially when you are looking tough like they are. But now, it will change.

There are still five more hours before I can create another skeleton. That's five hours to lose. I put number one and two slightly in front of me and number three behind me, to protect against any sneak attack. The cost of [Nightfall] is so small that it doesn't even make my MP pool move by a digit. And it lasts for a pretty long time. So I won't have to worry about losing its effects. Am I surrounded by enough shadows Oslo?

(Yes, covered from head to toes. Except for the part where you stand out a lot because of that, no one can know what you really are. They will just see a moving shadow surrounded by three armed men.)

Great. Now it is finally time to make my entrance. As I approach the slums, I can see some people that are checking the outside gasped when seeing me. I guess my [Cause Fear] is still working. Most are retreating and getting out of my sight, except one or two that are immovable. They should be the sentries put in place by the different gangs. But in the end, even them begin to move, probably to report my presence to their leader.

Now that I finally enter Atria by the front door, I can see that the ground is filled with garbage. It is really unhealthy here, someone could catch a disease easily. The crowd that was dense is now scattered in front of us. No one when to touch us. I travel for a few minutes like that, everyone avoiding either my sight or the body of my skeletons warriors. Until that weird incident.

Someone was visibly drunk and just bump on us, precisely on number one. Of course, my servant was lightly pushed by the drunk man. What I didn't expect was the next move, a dagger was then planted on the chest of number one. The drunk man was smiling and quickly trying to escape. He never expected the two hands of number one to grab him by the neck and begin to crush it. His previous smile was now gone, replaced by the horror of his lack of oxygen. A few seconds later, a huge sound could be heard, his neck was broken. I asked telepathically number one to remove the dagger since no man should be able to stay stoic with such wound. He obeyed my order and right after that, a dagger could be seen falling at his feet. We resumed our travel, leaving behind a dead body and a dagger without traces of blood on it.

After that, no one dares to stand in our way. But that was not good enough, I need more victims. I order number one and two to unsheathe their swords. Everyone that is in range of it and is still standing in front of them will be killed without a hesitation. In a few hours, more than thirty people died during our travel to the North of Atria. One was a lady from a brothel, she was expecting that since we were visibly armed with weapons of good quality, we should be rich. Unfortunately, we didn't have gold or didn't need her service.

I can now hear the rumor about the shadow of death roaming the slums. Three guards that haven't say a single thing and only know to kill. A dark master with a sadistic hobby, torturing the orphans and now targeting the scums of the humanity. They heard that he sacrificed thirty virgins to an unknown god and that the Church is looking for him. That's a bad rumor. The moment I hear that I know that the imagination of a human is one of his greatest weapons. Just killing my way to a location, and I am already labeled as a heretic, an enemy of the Church. The only good thing is the fact that this rumor will have a hard time leaving the slums.

(You should probably walk back; you will be able to create another skeleton.)

Yes, I know. But first, where is the local market?

(What do you want to do? Targeting such asset is a war declaration to the entire slums, I am sure that the very existence of this place was a deal made between everyone, the populace, the guards, the gang. Even some nobles can probably be linked to this place, for their dirty jobs. That's the horned nest Sleek, later you will be able to kick it, but now is not the time.)

I know all of that, I just want to see it and get near. That way, it will look like I respect the organization made here, by not destroying something so vital to the slums. Now get me there.

(Ok, fine.)

When I arrive near the black market, I can see that the security is huge. And not organized as a single entity. I can see at least three different clothes that the sentries are wearing. So I guess three gangs are ruling this and everyone wants to protect their assets inside. I come close to the nearest criminal, someone wearing a darker leather armor than the other. He seems baffled by my presence and clearly is ready to run away at the first sign of a movement from my side. I task number one to speak in my stead, my stuttering being too obvious.

-Joe, Dareen, Shadow?

-Wh-What are you talking about? What do you want? This-This is protected by the four heads of the slums; you better get away.

-Joe, Dareen, Shadow?

I ask number one to repeat the question since the outlaw is visibly fearing us. Finally, after a moment of wait, he answers.

-Dareen.

After that I leave toward the East of Atria, to return to my armory. I ask Oslo to report me the conversation that the brigand will have with his fellows.

-What were they asking? Are you okay?

-Yes, yes I am fine. I just didn't expect the shadow of death to come here, he just asked about three names, Joe and Dareen and Shadow?

-And what did you answer? Not Shadow I hope, otherwise, he will get your head for that.

-No, I answer Dareen, if the shadow of death can hunt him, we will be fine. The thing is, why he didn't ask about Oktar?

-You still didn't learn the news? Oktar and his gang were wiped out last night. And since he didn't ask about them, that means…

-We have to warn Shadow about that!

Can I still have you track them?

(Yes, you can ask me that.)