Return of the Runebound Professor

“Where is he?” Alexandra rasped, nearly doubling into a coughing fit. It sounded like she hadn’t spoken in months.

“Who?” Moxie watched Alexandra carefully. Even though she was young, Moxie had seen just how fast Alexandra could move – and that had been when she was being forced to fight by Gentil, not moving on her own volition. “Do you mean Gentil?”

“Yes. Where is Gentil?”

“Dead,” Moxie replied, nodding to the charred corpses lying between them amid a field of shattered, melted wax. “Right in front of you.”

Alexandra wiped some of the soot from her face with her free hand, making no move to extinguish the flames smoldering along her blade. She stumbled forward, but every step she took grew more stable until she stood above Gentil’s remains.

For several seconds, neither of them spoke. The only sound in the room was the smoldering flames that Noah’s explosion had left behind and the rustle in the back as Lee shuffled the room in search of magical items.

“Impossible,” Alexandra said. She wet her lips, then shook her head. “I don’t believe it.”

“The remains of his Shield aren’t that far from your feet. One half of it, at least. No clue where the rest of it went.” Moxie pointed to a warped scrap of metal on the ground, half buried in a pile of wax, where it had landed after the explosion.

Alexandra crouched, supporting herself with the sword as she reached down and pulled the broken band from the hot wax. She swallowed, then let her hand lower and lifted her eyes back to Moxie.

“Does it matter?” Moxie asked. “And I think a better question would be who you are.”

And what are you doing here in the first place? I think Noah assumed you were here against your will, but it’s equally as likely that you were a member of Gentil’s gang that just did something to piss him off. If that’s the case, young or not, you’re no better than the rest of the trash we’ve cleaned up today.

“Alexandra.”

“You know, I guessed that much,” Moxie said, trying to restrain her sarcasm and failing miserably. “Maybe answer that with a little extra context? How’d you get here, Alexandra? Why did Gentil have you mind controlled?”

“Not mind controlled, and not Gentil.” Alexandra shook her head and grimaced, rubbing at a spot just above her right ear. “It was a Body Imbuement that took over the signals my brain sent my body. I was aware of everything I did. My mind was there, but I couldn’t control anything.”

“That’s vile – but it doesn’t answer the rest of my question. I can imagine you’re exhausted, but I need to know. And what do you mean by it wasn’t Gentil?”

“Gentil wasn’t the one that put the Imbuement on me. It was Wizen,” Alexandra said, anger tightening her brow. “Wizen placed the Imbuement, then tied it to Gentil so he could control me. The Imbuement broken when Gentil died.”

“Wizen?” Moxie asked.

I think this might go a bit deeper than just a bunch of thugs. Is that the one that Gentil was working with that wanted to capture me for some reason?

“Gentil’s master, even though the old bastard would rip the throat out of anyone who said it out loud. Gentil just ran a section of the criminal underground in Dawnforge. Wizen was the one that coordinated everything else. He’s the one that Gentil mentioned wanted to see you.”

“Keep going,” Moxie said. “Who is he?”

“No idea,” Alexandra replied. The fire running along her blade finally flickered out, but she still made no move to sheathe it. “My memories of him are completely scrambled. I can’t remember a thing about him other than that he’s the one that Imbued me.”

That’s just fantastic. We’ve got some sort of mage that can mess with people’s minds, and they’re really good at it.

A loud crash shook the room as Lee pulled down a wax-covered bookshelf. It exploded into fragments when it hit the ground. Moxie and Alexandra spun toward Lee, who gave them a sheepish look.

“Sorry.”

Moxie shook her head and looked back to Alexandra. “Right. I’ll unravel the shit with Wizen later. I want to know about you before we go any farther. Why were you here?”

“Why’s that concern you?”

“Because we just saved your life.”

Alexandra’s eyes widened as Moxie practically saw a thought strike her in real time. Her gaze jerked down to the ground, where the body that had once been Noah laid beside Gentil. Alexandra’s back stiffened and she swallowed.

“Your partner. He died?”

“What? No.” Moxie rolled her eyes. “He’s fine. He’s got a technique that lets him sacrifice a fake body. It’s based off some new research on Skinwalkers. He did save your life, though.”

“I – what?”

“It’s time to stop changing the subject,” Moxie said, keeping her tone gentle but firm. “Answer the question. Why were you here?”

A second of silence passed. Alexandra looked down, biting her lower lip. “It was a job. A good one, with really good pay.”

Damned Plains. She’s just an assassin.

Moxie’s fingers twitched at her sides as she drew faintly on her Runes. Young or not, if Alexandra wasn’t any better than the rest of the people they’d just mowed through, she couldn’t justify sparing the girl – especially if Alexandra was just going to head out and join some new criminal organization.

“I never killed anyone!” Alexandra said hurriedly. “I mean, some monsters. I started just doing some normal missions, but Gentil was so kind at first – and he paid so much better than the normal jobs.”

“You’re an assassin that hasn’t killed anyone?” Moxie raised an eyebrow.

“Gentil tried to make me, but I didn’t do it. He sent me on a mission with one of his assistants, but didn’t tell me what it was for. When we got there, I found out the target was a human instead of a monster. I refused to kill them.”

“And that’s how you pissed Gentil off?”

Alexandra’s lips pressed thin. “Exactly. That was a month ago. I was starting to go insane. I swear I never killed anyone, though. Not even when Wizen had me controlled for Gentil.”

“Why spend so much effort on you?” Moxie asked. “It seems like they went through a whole lot of effort just to make your life miserable.”

“As an example. Gentil hates when people don’t do what he tells them to, and Wizen said that I would be useful in the future. That’s all I know. I’m pretty sure Gentil only pulled me out of the room he locked me in because he knew the two of you were coming. He probably guessed that you wouldn’t want to kill someone younger than you that was clearly mind controlled.”

Vile creatures. And damn it, this is out of my purview. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do here. Killer or not, she was part of a group of criminals and was actively aiding them, even if she’s pretending that she never hurt anyone. I could give her the benefit of the doubt and believe she’s never killed someone, but that doesn’t mean her actions haven’t led to death.

“Haven’t you ever heard that if something is too good to be true, then it probably is?” Moxie asked.

Alexandra’s gaze fell. “I – yeah. I know. But… the money was so good.”

And look where it got you.

Moxie’s fingers drummed against her leg. Behind them, Lee pushed down another bookshelf. At this point, Moxie was pretty sure that Lee was doing it on purpose. She glanced over at the demon.

Lee’s killed more than her fair share of things. Not exactly the same situation, though. Same with Noah. I’ve probably done some real damage to others with some of the things Evergreen has had me do, though.

Moxie heaved a sigh. “Do you have anywhere to go?”

Coughing, Alexandra nodded. “Yes. I have a room in the city. I don’t think Gentil would have done anything to get rid of it. Not like I’m going to stay here, though. I’m getting out of Dawnforge.”

“And what will you do?” Moxie raised an eyebrow. “Join another group of murderers because they pay better than the competition? Become an assassin in true?”

Alexandra’s cheeks reddened in shame. “No. I swear I won’t. I’m going to find a teacher so I can get stronger. I’ll apprentice under them. Then, when I’m strong enough, I’m going to find Wizen and kill him.”

Should I point out that Alexandra is technically saying she’s going to go kill people? I don’t think the joke would fly too well at the moment. She’s barely holding things together as it is, and I’m terrible at counseling people. I wish Noah was here.

“Just don’t screw it this time around.” Moxie rubbed the bridge of her nose. “And you might want to wait around a little longer. The remainder of Gentil’s gang is still up there somewhere, and it might not be safe. You can leave together with us.”

Moxie nodded to Lee, who was in the process of examining a curved black dagger. Alexandra followed Moxie’s gaze, then nodded. She leaned against the wall, clearly too exhausted to muster up much more than a weak, “thank you.”

Now that the adrenaline was starting to leave, Moxie couldn’t help but feel exhausted herself. Gentil’s assistant hadn’t used any overt magic, but he was one of the strongest people that Moxie had fought in years.

His incredible speed and strength had been augmented by a deadly battle sense. Even going all out and together with Lee, Moxie had barely managed to keep herself from getting cut in half.

Why was someone that talented just sitting around at Rank 3 and working for Gentil? It makes no sense. And why does Wizen care about me? Is he somehow related to the Torrins or Linwicks, or is this something entirely new? I –

Damn it. Noah, look what you did to me. I’m starting to think like you.

Moxie drew in a deep breath and let it out in a huff. “Lee, find anything useful?”

“Mostly this,” Lee called back, waving the dagger around. “There were also a bunch of gemstones in one of the cabinets that I think they were trying to hide. I bet there’s some more gold if we go rifle through the rest of this place.”

“That’s it? Odd. Do you know what that is?” Moxie asked Alexandra, but the girl was shaking her head before Moxie finished speaking.

“No. I’ve never seen it before. Gentil made a big payment for something pretty recently though. That’s probably why he didn’t have much gold. He owed Wizen a lot of money.”

“Unfortunate, but I’d imagine gemstones will still go for a good price when we sell them. Where’d you find the dagger, Lee?”

“It was in one of the books, covered by wax,” Lee said, holding out the book in question. “Smells funny. Everything else here was normal, though.”

Moxie shrugged. “Bring it along with us, then. Let’s get out of here before the guards crack down on us, though. I really don’t want to have to explain anything.”

Lee joined Moxie, and Alexandra sheathed her sword.

“How many people are left blocking our escape?” Alexandra asked. “Gentil’s gang was pretty big. If you didn’t take them all out on the way in…”

“I doubt they’ll all be willing to die for a boss that’s already dead,” Moxie said, then glanced at Alexandra. “Unless they’re mind controlled as well?”

“If they were, the control would have been broken.”

“Then there’s nothing to worry about,” Moxie said. “Just leave your sword in its sheath. I don’t need your help, and I’m going to assume that you’re trying to betray us if you draw it. Understood?”

Alexandra nodded.

“Good. Stick close, then. Let’s get out of here.”

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