The first one died fast.
I ducked under his blade, his swing clumsy in his rush to strike. One clean slash across the throat, and he was gone. His mask fell with him, hitting the dirt with a hollow clatter.
The others hesitated for only a breath before attacking all at once.
Good.
They were not weak, but they weren't expecting me to fight back this hard. They had come thinking they were dealing with a desperate girl clinging to a stolen book. They didn't know I was raised for this.
One of them, shorter than the rest, lifted his hand. A silver key-shaped pendant dangled from his wrist, glowing faintly. Magic. Teleportation.
No.
I lunged, burying my dagger in his ribs before he could even whisper the incantation. He gasped, the glow fading, and collapsed.
Three left.
The next two fought in sync, like they had trained together for years. One swung a short staff engraved with runes, the other a jagged blade that vibrated with power.
The staff-wielder moved first, smashing the ground. A shockwave rippled toward me, the dirt beneath my feet cracking apart. I leapt to the side, barely avoiding the blast, but the sword-wielder was already moving in.
I twisted away from his first strike, but his second came faster. A shallow cut burned across my arm.
Annoying.
My free hand shot out, fingers curling as I muttered an incantation.
Ice.
Their feet froze to the ground, the cold crawling up their legs. The moment of hesitation was all I needed.
Two quick slashes. One across the throat. The other straight through the heart.
Silence.
The last one tried to run.
I let him.
For a few seconds, at least. Then I extended my hand and whispered a curse. A bolt of dark energy shot forward, striking him in the back. He seized mid-step and collapsed, twitching, his body going limp a moment later.
I exhaled, shaking the blood off my blade.
Now, time for the real reward.
The artifacts.
The first thing I took was the silver key pendant. It had pulsed with teleportation magic before, which meant it was enchanted for short-distance travel. Could be useful if I figured out how to activate it.
The short staff was another prize. Runes glowed faintly along the wood, still humming with energy. I recognized some of them—earth magic, impact force. A relic meant for breaking through defenses, maybe even barriers.
Then, the jagged sword. This one was more complex. The blade vibrated ever so slightly, like it was shifting between worlds. I pressed a finger against the edge. It cut deeper than it should have.
A phaseblade.
It could slice through armor, even magical barriers, like butter. Expensive. Deadly. And now, mine.
I rummaged through their belongings, but aside from a few spare gold coins, a handful of throwing knives, and some basic spell components, there was nothing else worth taking.
Still, the artifacts alone made this a good haul.
I wiped the blood from my blade and took one last look at the bodies.
They wanted my book. Instead, they lost their lives.
With that, I turned and began my journey again.
By nightfall, the lights of Merricvale glowed in the distance.
A new town. A new hunt.