Meet the Emily

Zweer: Alchemist Vince: Rogue Sandra: Fighter Stabbymaid: ??



The alarm going off was a shure sign of trouble. The magical blaring spell penetrated the entire hideout, and every guard was instantly alerted. Magical Mouths blared. “Vault Breached! Vault breached!” Zweer grabbed his sword and jumped out of his chair, heading down to the source of the trouble, barreling through the rest of the gangsters.



As the alarm got louder, as he ran towards the vault, his charge was blocked by a locked door, with a fellow ner-do-well attempting to open it. “Door’s locked!” shouted Vince, as he attempted to pull the door open. Zweer moved up to the door, and, upon a single twist of the hande, gestured towards Vince. With a nod, Vince took up position besides Zweer, as the two of them slammed into the door. Still it did not budge. They rammed into the door again, this time causing the wood to bend, but not break. “Out of the way!” shouted a third voice behind them. Turning around, Zweer saw Sandra, the Cobra’s big, brute of a woman, charging down the hallway. Sandra ploughed directly into Zweer, Vince, and finally the doorway, clearing it.

The three of them barreled directly into barrier, Vince first, followed by Zweer, and finally Sandra, behind them, destroying the door that connected the alarm spell that blared through the hideout. The three of them tumbled directly into the pre-vault room where, after dusting themselves off, looked with shocked disappointment as the vault was, in fact, not breached in the slightest, and remained entirely sealed up. The three of them stared in silenced confusion, however Vince was the first to speak. “Hey, it’s still closed.”

Zweer responded not with words, but with a look of “Really”, while Sandra spoke up. “Alarm has gone off. This mean someone attempt to open vault.” Before Zweer should respond, two more figures filed through the broken door, one dressed in full armor, with a large axe at the ready, through surprisingly stiff, and a much smaller, but no less dangerous woman, dressed in high-class clothing,only known to them by a pseudonym, Stabbymaid.

“I see the vault is safe.” were her first words. Zweer and the others nodded. Truth be told, none of them really knew who Stabbymaid was. She had been taken on by the Cobra’s less than a year prior, through the brutal murder of their previous “Manager” over what was assumed to be a magical item sale gone bad. And in the underground world beneath Shandon, when one kills a powerful criminal lord, you often find yourself with a new hire,as few are willing to challenge them.

“Tell me...” she spoke. “Did any of you happen to catch the infiltrator in the act? Sandra, Zweer, and Vince shook their heads. “ Did any of you capture him, and run him down, and skin him alive for the glory of the Cobras?” Again , shrugs and shakes.. “Then we still have a problem.”

Stabbymaid walked over to the massive man with an axe, who appears to have not moved from his original position. With a display of strength, she pulled the greataxe out of the man’s hands, causing him to appear to...decompose. The skin began to melt off of his bones, and his bones appears to crack and break, causing the rest of his body to follow suit. Altogether, it only took a few moments, the man appeared expressionless the entire time, as he appeared to almost...dematerialise, as what remained of him pooled on the floor.

“Poison.” explained Stabbymaid, as Zweer and the others gasped in fear. “Focused through his skin like a by a syringe. Freeze up, and the smallest change causes an almost instant reaction. Her words resonated through the group, like ice on cold meat. Vincent was the first to respond. “Ok....so, we got a what, poisoner lose in the base? Like an alchemist? Or cleric? Stabbymaid noded.

Vince began to beam, and walked over to Stabbymaid, and the puddle of goo on the floor. “Ah, that’s no problem. I’ve killed plenty of alchemists. They're deadly with a syringe, but they are a dime and dozen low-timer, never preferring a fair fight....like Zweer!” Zweer shot him a glance. “Uhhh...No offence.”

“What Vince is trying to say.” Zweer spoke. “If you manage to kill this....this....rank amature, I asure you they are nothing like me. My positions are undetectable! Entirely discreet. A death in the sleep, if you will. Nothing so overt, like this...pile. “

“Indeed.” spoke Vince. “And now we have Man inside of the base capable of MELTING PEOPLE.” Stabbymaid and Zweer said nothing, both turned towards Vince. “You saw what he did to....to, that guy.” Zweer nodded, and stared at Vince, eyes narrowing. “This man is a master alchemist, clearly able to slip by, he’s got invisibility potions, he’s got jumping powers, heck, he could be sitting here, watching our conversation right now, silently injecting people as we talk!”

“Heck, we have no idea where this guy is! Man, I’m not one for magic, but this is some BULLSHIT man! This is crazy! Fighting someone you can’t see, you can’t stab, who can turn you into goo at any moment!” Zweer looked at Vince, and Vince looked back. “Heck, Zweer, I’ve scene you make those Disguise Self potions. He could be you! He could be me! Heck, he could even be...”

The stab of Zweers sword into Vince’s face cut the rogue’s accusations short. “And I think that's all the evidence we need...alchemist.” Vince’s eyes stared at Zweer in shock surprise, before his eyes rolled backwards, along with the rest of his body. Stabbymaid drew a sword as well, as Sandra headed a massive greataxe. “What!?” Zweer shouted “It was obvious! He’s the infiltrator! He was right here when I came to investigate!” Sandra didn’t budge. “You were both here when I come to check on things.” she responded.

Zweer pulled his blade from the now-lifeless corpse of Vince, and looked towards Sandra, confused innocence in his eyes. “What? No!. I....I came from the rec room, I had barely enough time to grab my sword, and came without armor!”

Sandra smirked. “You should have brought armor. Alchemist kill friend. Alchemist trying to get into vault. Alchemist stab Vince as he rattle off names. Alchemist threat to Cobras. “What!” protested Zweer. Zweer held up his sword in a parrying motion, but the sheer weight and muscle behind Sandra's blade came down upon the alchemist, snapping his sword, and then his body, clean in half.



Epilogue:

As the body of the alchemist lay in tatters upon the floor, Sandra whipped the sweat off her brow. “Killer dead, boss.” she spoke towards Stabbymaid, who smiled at Sandra. “Indeed, Sandra. Indeed.” Sandra stood up and smiled. Boss was complimenting her. This was a good thing. “Zeer is dead. Vince is dead. Both terrible tragedies.” Sandra walked over to the window, and stared out of it, as her boss inspected both bodies. “However, I have my suspicions that our killer may still be active.” Sandra didn’t dare move. “What do you mean?” She responded. “Oh, nothing...spoke Stabbymaid, as she pulled out a syringe, and injected it right into Sandra's neck, causing the massive, build woman to scream. Sandra turned around, and looked at Stabbymaid, her entire mind awash with terrible pain, as her flesh began to decay, deteriorate, and ultimately, become away with pain as her very muscle and tissue worked against her, devouring her from within.





Stabbymaid stared at the three dead bodies, before entering the, this time correct, code to enter into the vault. That mistake had caused her precious time. She pulled out a scroll of Sending. “Shandon guard? This is Sergeant Emily Moon speaking. Cobra gang terminated.”