"Hey, is it just me, or do you hear singing?" asked a balding sentry as he stomped down a well-worn dirt path, his daggers clinking.
"It's not just you, I hear it too. I think it's coming from the clearing by the cliff. Y'know, the one that's by the lake?" said another sentry that was walking beside the bald one.
The two sentries crept stealthily towards the clearing where the sound had originated from. There was no wind. The trees and bushes were unusually still. They could hear nothing but the sound of their own quiet footsteps and hushed breathing. One of the sentries pushed aside a plant before the cliff that was overlooking the blue lake. The second slowly pulled out the two daggers at his side, the moonlight flashing off of the sharp blades.
The two sentries cautiously walked towards the edge of the cliff and looked over.
"I'm sure the singing came from here," the balding one protested.
"It did." A whisper came from behind them.
As they turned around, a flash of silver ended their lives. As they fell to the ground, they looked at the pools of their own crimson blood, wondering how they died.
<><><><><><><>
"Why are there more? I just killed one!" Saiph said as she cleaned her shining silver saber.
"My guess is that they are trying to investigate more," Siwang sighed.
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"Many of the sentries sent on patrol have died, the medium says that they did not see the killer and that they were lured in by a mysterious voice. They were killed instantly. The killer has been dubbed the name 'The Phantom in the Forest'," said the middle-aged master of the Bloody Coin Society while looking at his least favorite yet most talented assassin who had just turned 15 last month. She sat cross-legged on the floor, dressed in a midnight blue hood made of satin while fiddling with sharp daggers. Her lilac and azure hair shone in the candlelight and a spooky aura hung around her.
"You're on sentry duty tonight, so you're eliminating it. If you kill it, bring back its head as a trophy, and if you die, that's too bad. No one will miss you."
"Got it, got it," she drawled, her voice clear and melodious.
"Go on the stakeout for a night, and kill a phantom in the woods." She stood up and made a small mocking bow.
"I'll go begin preparing."
She left the room and slammed the door shut. The Master of the Society watched her walk away and scowled at her back, "I hope you die."
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"So, what are you going to do about the mission?" said a pale young man. He was wearing black old-fashioned samurai armor and was floating in the air.
"I'll have to pack my things and run away. After that, I'll just go where the wind takes me. I might not be able to feed you all the time Siwang. You're a reaper, I'm sure you'll survive."
He pouted and sighed, "Sure I guess. But I will have to leave you sometimes to go and do my deathly duties. I might visit if I'm on my lunch break or during my vacation. Maybe if you kill someone, you'll see me reaping their souls."
"Got it. I was thinking that I could feed you tonight as a goodbye when we go out to hunt the 'Phantom', "Saiph said as she walked out of the Bloody Coin Headquarters.
"Right, right." He smiled, revealing pointed white teeth. "Tonight I want to eat an evil soul. They have such a beautiful texture, too. Hard on the outside, and crunchy on the inside!"
"I don't want to hear about your weird hobby right now. I'm thinking."
"About what?"
"About what to take. Knives, katars, poison, money..." she continued talking for a while.
Honestly, Siwang was really hungry. He loved it when Saiph just decided to go and have fun some nights. Lots of fun, but lots cleaning up to do afterward. The best part was disposing of the bodies. It was pretty fun making it seem like they died of funny reasons, like choking on vomit after a party or mixing up the medicine to make them have more stamina in bed with rat poison.
As they kept walking towards Saiph's room, Saiph finished her list on what to pack. "Ok, so that's what I'll take." She opened the door, grabbed a bag, and began shoving stuff in.
After some time, she had filled a dimensional bag that could hold a large chest's worth of stuff and a dimensional bracelet.
The bag held some sets of clothing for different occasions, like a ball gown, a skin-tight suit of flexible metal, a cloak, and some common dresses so she could blend in. There was even a set of men's clothes for when she had to disguise herself. She also had some books on alchemy and storybooks. She also packed an alchemy set.
The bracelet held all of her wealth that she had hidden around her room. Jewelry from her kills and lotus tokens. They were the global currency. They were created from the energy on Earth so they could be used for practicing or currency.
Saiph looked up at Siwang, who was lazing about in the air above her head, "Alright. Dinnertime?"
Siwang licked his lips and smiled. "Dinner time."
<><><><><><>
After they left the keep for a supposed week-long stakeout in the forest, they immediately slaughtered the sentries. Siwang cast a spell. Noise wouldn't come out of their mouths as Saiph slit their necks one by one.
She commanded Siwang. "We can't stay here long, or they'll realize that we're missing and come after us with those annoying mages. They have acceleration and flying spells, remember?"
"Of course I remember. I've spied on them for months" Siwang said sullenly. "This all started because of the damn peeping tom. Why did he have to trip and impale himself on that Magrin plant?" Magrin plants are magical plants that have lots of sweet fruit that are great for cultivation and improving the use of fire magic, however, they are carnivorous plants.
They have spikes all over, and some of them are over a foot long. An animal would be attracted to the glowing fruit in the middle of the bush, trip on that plants roots and impale its self. The plant would then feed on the blood and the corpse would dry and be burned and turned to ashes.
The Bloody Coin Society's master hated Saiph. He was on the High Moon level and Saiph was on the mere Earth Peak realm. He couldn't do much to her because of the rule set in place in the Society. No unnecessary killing without trial or reason. However, he could use this death to his advantage and kill her.
The master had been investigating and was close to the truth, so Saiph killed the sentries to keep him from the truth. However, this time the master had sent her, so if she came back alive, she would be found out. So she decided to run away.
A train whistle sounded in the distance from the lake. An old train rose out of the moonlit lake and stopped. Saiph quickly leaped off the cliff and dived into the frigid water below. She swam towards the train with Siwang floating above her head. The train door opened and a skeleton dressed in pirate clothes stepped out. He pulled Saiph up and onto the train. As soon a Saiph passed through the door, her clothes dried, water magic. She pulled a gold coin out of her bracelet. The skeleton shook its head and pointed to Siwang, who was floating behind her. "Pay for the reaper too," he croaked.
Saiph was surprised that he could see Siwang. He must have a high realm. Maybe he had a seeing treasure. Saiph grudgingly pulled out another coin and handed it to the skeleton. He nodded and guided her to her seat. As soon as she sat down, the train lurched and teleported to another body of water. The train could teleport to any large body of water but was not well known. Saiph sighed and tried to make herself comfortable. This was going to be a long journey.