Literature To Die For

Job Title: 10 Year Free-form
Rank: 10 Year
Job Location: Anywhere
Solo Word Count: 10,000 words
Group Word Count: 20,000 words
Additional Requirements: N/A
Job Description: Whatever the player chooses
Enemies: Whatever the player chooses
Reward: 250,000 jewels

Job Sign-Up Page 34, Post Number 838

-Outside Sombras Manor, midnight-

Wearing her navy blue traveling outfit of navy blue long-sleeved shirt and navy blue cargo pants with black boots and carrying her special guild ring in her right side pocket so that it would not easily fall out, Diana had finally reached Sombras Manor around midnight. She paused outside the steps leading into the formidable old three-story mansion and looked up at the first window above the front door. Standing inside of the room was the silhouette of a female figure in a formal dress looking down at her... or so the mage thought. The figure soon disappeared and Diana was left facing the large wooden double doors of the entrance to the manor. Diana was undaunted by the sight because she had been warned that Sombras Manor was infamous for ghost activity of all kinds ranging from poltergeists flinging small objects around rooms and rattling doorknobs to actual ghosts of the former residents manifesting in the real world.

Diana felt the night wind blow through her hair as she stood outside the slightly imposing manor and remembered what she was here for. In her left hand she clutched the handle to a special lined case for transporting the book to the client once it was obtained. in her left pocket was a pair of white cotton gloves that were to be used to handle the book when it was found.

Diana had been hired by a wealthy collector of literature to retrieve an old tome rumored to be secreted in the library on the property. The tome in question was an old treatise on magic whose contents were woefully outdated and had no scientific value but had immense monetary value because the author was a man from centuries ago named Statrisole. Statrisole was a scholar and scientist who made the very first attempt to explain the nature of magic in Earthland and posited the theory that an individual's magic was shaped by their birthplace and temperament. For example, he theorized that people born in Iceberg had a natural affinity for ice-based magic because of their melancholy temperaments. While the theory was eventually proven false by later generations of scientists, it was still the very first written attempt to explain the nature of magic in Earthland and that alone made the work a priceless treasure.

Diana's job was to collect the tomes of Statrisole and bring them to the collector in Capital Crocus. The collector claimed that the valuable work could be found in the libraries on the second and third stories of the manor but also warned that the resident ghosts would not stand by and let Diana take them unopposed. The mage was also warned that there were unsubstantiated rumors of denizens worse than ghosts roaming the manor. There were rumors that vampires and zombies stalked the halls in search of new victims.

Undaunted by what might lie in wait for her, Diana steadied her grip on the case and walked up to the manor doors, which opened as soon as she got within arm's reach of them. Diana paused for a moment before walking inside the expansive dwelling. The double doors quietly closed behind her and she was now inside Sombras Manor until her mission was complete.

[Word Count: 550]
[Total Word Count: 550/11,000]

-Inside Sombras Manor, the first floor-

The doors to the outside had just shut behind Diana when she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

She was being watched by invisible eyes.

Brushing off the feeling, Diana noticed that she was standing in a dusty old foyer that faced a hallway that went straight ahead. To the left was a long hallway dotted with old wooden chairs and small four-legged tables with white porcelain vases that had wilted flowers sitting in them. The hallway in front of her was lined with old and dusty oil paintings of people in formal clothing that was a century or two out of date but was the fashion at the time the paintings were made. There were also old suits of armor holding equally ancient melee weapons dotted throughout the hallway; some held swords at the ready and others held halberds in the ready position. Beneath her feet was red carpet with a gold border that was in dire need of cleaning because just shifting her feet while standing in place kicked up small clouds of dust.

Diana now had a choice to make. She could either go straight ahead or she could go left. Either path would take her deeper into Sombras Manor, but only one would take her to the staircase she needed to reach the second story. After weighing her options Diana opted to go straight ahead and down the hallway lined with armor and oil paintings. She had barely taken six steps forward when a transparent blue form dressed in black-and-white maid attire materialized just two steps in front of her.

"You are not welcome here, burglar! Leave this place!" The maid warned her. Diana simply drew back her fist, focused her special lineage magic, and punched through the woman's chest. The apparition screamed and tried to put herself out as the hole Diana had punched through her ignited in blue flame and burned the spectral woman away. That swift and violent gesture was an unequivocal statement of hostile intent towards the spirits that called the manor home. It may have been an unplanned gesture, but there was no turning back now.

The other spirits must have been watching the proceedings because Diana heard eerie moaning and multiple statements of reproach from unseen people as she walked further down the hallway and past the first suit of armor, which had its sword raised and ready to deliver a two-handed downward chop.

"Do you tire of life?" An unseen male spirit asked ominously.

"Why do you come here, young one? Is it treasure you seek... or do you seek something else?" A female voice asked with mock concern.

"The living do not belong here!" A raspy male voice declared with a voice that was loud enough to rattle the second suit of armor as she passed by it. Diana felt that invisible eyes were judging her as she walked.

"This one... this one is different." A smooth and calm male voice said to the others. The statements of reproach and thinly veiled threats stopped immediately. Diana was buffeted by the sudden silence as she walked past the third suit of armor that held a halberd that looked ready to drop at any moment.

"This one smells of death. Death surrounds her. She is a child of death." A female commented in a voice that echoed.

"Yes. She has taken many lives. Many." A male declared with a tone that faintly resembled paternal pride.

"Perhaps the mistress will have some use for one like her." Another female suggested to her fellows. The voices all spoke at different times to produce discord, but it was clear that they agreed with the suggestion. Diana was not sure who the "mistress" was or what the spirits meant by having a "use" for a child of death. Perhaps it was to do with her lineage.

"Be that as it may, we simply cannot allow the young one to go where she will. She must be... tested." The same female who had asked if Diana was looking for treasure suggested. The jumbled mass of voices sounded again, this time loud enough to hurt Diana's ears. They all agreed that Diana needed to be "tested" before she was permitted to proceed further into the manor.

"Then we are in agreement?" The raspy male asked his fellows.

"YES." Came the answer. Though the voices were previously unfocused and answered as individuals, this time they sounded in unison. They all agreed that Diana should undergo a test. A ghostly white barrier reminiscent of shimmering water appeared in front of the mage and blocked access to the room that the hallway opened into. Another barrier appeared behind her and blocked her path to the front doors or the other hallway.

"Then let it be done." The raspy male solemnly declared. Diana heard metallic clanking and turned her head to see the suits of armor stepping off the stands to stride into battle for the first time in centuries. The outnumbered mage quickly retreated to the barrier near the foyer, putting her back to it so that all of her enemies were in front of her. That was no guarantee of safety considering that there were multiple ghosts observing her, but Diana was making the best of a bad situation.

[Word Count: 900]
[Total Word Count: 1,450/11,000]

Diana had her back to the shimmering white barrier barring her escape from Sombras Manor. In front of her were eight animated suits of armor armed with weaponry that was old but still more than capable of cutting through unarmored flesh. Diana had no way out, but she had a plan to turn this unfavorable situation around. She set down the case for the book near the barrier and started to observe the opposition striding towards her.

The suits of armor had light and barely visible scratches from battle damage that had been repaired, suggesting that they were not simple display pieces but armor actually used in battle centuries ago. That detail meant that she could not just punch through it with her fist to harm the spirits within because battle armor was made to a much higher standard than "armor" used at a renaissance fair. Despite the difference in quality Diana still had a means of defeating it... her handgun. Full Metal Jacket rounds, while designed to defeat modern body armor, were more than up to the task of punching through old-fashioned metal armor.

Once the armor had enough of a hole in it she would use one of her new spells that could harm spirits to deal the final blow to her armored adversaries. However, two complications prevented it from being the ideal plan. First, she was trapped in a hallway with barriers blocking further movement. Second, the animated armor moved at half the walking speed of a human. While that sounded like a small problem, the barriers made it a bit more challenging than it would be otherwise.

Diana brought her Suppressed Handgun into her right hand and took aim at the first suit, which was armed with a two-handed greatsword held above its head. She aimed at it and fired three Full Metal Jacket shots that hit in a rough triangular grouping that exposed the blue-white torso of the spirit animating the armor, but that small opening was not nearly large enough to use one of her spells. She needed something that put lead downrange in a short period of time, so she dispelled the handgun and brought out the Suppressed Submachine Gun. She had barely grabbed the weapon when she had to dodge both the downward chop of a greatsword and the thrust of a halberd aimed at her abdomen.

"Your mortal arms are of no use, child of death!" The raspy male commented mockingly as the mage dodged for her life.

Diana sidestepped the attacks just in time and had to scramble to avoid the press of more enemies trying to corner her. She twisted her body to the side in mid-sprint and squeezed past two halberd-carrying enemies, then ran to the other end of the hallway to give herself as much room as possible to carry out her plan. Diana could not wipe them all out in one go, so she would have to whittle them down one-by-one. She started by shooting the first enemy she faced until there was a ragged hole in its armor roughly the size of a tennis ball.

Diana then raised her left hand, put her index and middle fingers together, then concentrated until the tips glowed blue. She then aimed for the hole and fired her new Spirit Beam spell at the opening. The spell hit and caused the suit of armor to spasm and fall to the ground as the spirit started to burn from the effects of the spell. It vanished with a loud scream and the armor stopped moving, leaving seven enemies still active.

"Impressive." The raspy male voice commented on Diana's small victory. The mage picked one of the halberd-wielding enemies and targeted it, firing on full auto until another hole was made in the metal shell. She raised her left hand again and fired a Spirit Beam spell that hit the target. Again the spirit within was brought to its knees and convulsed before passing from this world with a scream, leaving the armor behind to litter the floor.

Diana did not have time to target a third enemy before having to dodge yet again, sprinting past a halberd thrust at her chest and ducking to avoid a horizontal decapitating swing from a one-handed sword. Next came a halberd aimed at her left shoulder brought down in a chopping motion. Diana rolled to her right and avoided the attack but nearly hit her head on the wall during the recovery, which served as a reminder of how little space she had to work with. She got to her feet and slipped by a greatsword coming down to split her head, then shoved it with her right shoulder and sent it stumbling into one of the spirits with a halberd, knocking both of them to the carpeted floor with deafening CLANKs.

With four suits of armor still on the march and two trying to get to their feet, Diana had started to turn around the unfavorable situation but still had to work for a victory. Diana could live with that. If she succeeded in completing this mission she would collect the generous sum of Jewels promised to her by the client for bring back Statriole's tome intact. The big payday was exactly the kind of recompense the blonde wanted for agreeing to take on this challenging task. Success tonight would lead to further high-paying work, which would bring more Jewels and even more work in a lucrative loop that she would be foolish to not tap into.

[Word Count: 936]
[Total Word Count: 2,386/11,000]

Diana knew that she had to end this fight quickly. She had already wasted too much time and magic power trying to fight the animated armor, but at least she had learned that her hastily conceived plan actually worked. Now to put her next plan into motion.

Diana abandoned all thought of putting on a marksmanship show and settled for punching as many holes in the armored adversaries as she could. Her next spell would be just as magic-intensive as Spirit Beam, but Spirit Dome would allow her to hit multiple adversaries at once instead of having to attack them one at a time. She had rattled off enough rounds to punch ragged groupings in three of the remaining armors before she had to dodge for her life, but holes in their armor was all that she needed. Diana ducked under a downward halberd swing and dove under a stab aimed at her forehead, then crawled under a downward diagonal sword swing until she was kicked in the backside by a suit.

The sheer force behind the kick sent Diana sprawling forward; she landed on her stomach, barely keeping her grip on her weapon. She rolled left to avoid being chopped in the back with a halberd. Once she evaded that attack the mage scrambled to her feet, sprinted to "safety" and placed her back against the other shimmering white barrier. She then fired on full-auto until she had perforated all six remaining suits of armor with ragged groupings that opened plenty of holes in their steel cuirasses, then dispelled her weapon and deliberately hurried into the middle of the group.

Once she was sure all of them were facing her Diana channeled the magic of her lineage into her hands, then slammed them palms-down onto the carpeted floor. She ignored the cloud of dust that rose from the carpet as a dome of pale blue magic emanated from her position. As she predicted the dome of magic entered through the holes and brought down all the hostile spirits, winning her the fight as they writhed on the ground before screaming and fading from existence.

The floor was now littered with old armor and old weapons. Diana's backside hurt from the swift and painful kick that was augmented by the force of a steel boot, but she was still alive. The spirits that had tested her now commented on her success.

"Well done, Child of Death. You have passed our test. You may proceed to the second floor." The raspy male who was the leader of the voices informed her. The shimmering white barriers dissipated, allowing Diana free access to the corridor which led to the staircase she needed to ascend. The mage blinked and she saw that the same suits of armor she had fought only a short time ago were now standing back on their platforms holding their weapons. Their armor was also repaired like it had never been damaged... Diana found that detail odd, but she was working in an area renowned for supernatural activity and she was dealing with ghosts, so anything was possible in the Cursed Lands.

Diana cautiously moved down the newly opened corridor and looked around her. There were more oil paintings in dust-coated frames and more suits of armor holding the same weapons as the ones near the entrance. In addition to swords and halberds, there were also more exotic weapons placed on wooden display racks positioned against the walls and hanging on racks on the walls; she saw maces, warhammers, spears, morning stars, scimitars and even a cavalry saber. She wondered if the placement of those weapons was trying to tell her to get ready for another fight. Diana was wary as she approached the stairs and heard soft moaning floating from upstairs.

Diana paused in place and listened to the sounds from upstairs. She heard the soft thumping of feet and more soft moaning plus the occasional sound of... screaming? She was not sure if the source was still alive or if it was a "recording" of someone who had died long ago, but she would check it out anyway.

The mage had a feeling of what the opposition upstairs would be composed of either zombies or more ghosts. Zombies were simple to deal with... Diana's weapons could handle them with ease. On the other hand, ghosts required her high-end spells to defeat because her weapons were worthless against them. Her magic reserves were a bit strained from the fight with the armor, but she felt that she had enough magic to go the distance if she had to. She would have to be ready for a fight if she wanted to make it out of here alive and with the tome.

Taking a deep breath, Diana placed a foot on the creaky wooden stairs and began to climb upwards into the unknown. She would have to be ready to fight once she got up the stairs. The creaking advertised her presence to anything with ears, so she brought out her Suppressed Handgun to prepare for company on the second floor.

[Word Count: 862]
[Total Word Count: 3,248/11,000]

-On the second floor-

Diana made her way up the creaking stairs and stopped on the top of the last step before the floor to listen out for any opposition shambling or floating her way. She heard the soft moaning again and considered that she would be facing off against walking corpses, but sound was not a surefire method of target identification because ghosts could moan as well. Diana listened for the thumping of feet on the wooden floor and heard it clearly.

Thump. Thump. ThumpThump.

The footsteps sounded in an irregular pattern like someone with a limp or suffering from serious coordination issues. Again Diana suspected that she was going up against zombies, but she did not have concrete proof, not until she made contact, anyway. That contact was not long in coming... a humanoid form in tattered clothing shuffled by her, oblivious to the mage standing in the stairwell. It smelled of death and decay... there was no telling how long the corpse had been here, but there was no mistaking its stench and awkward gait.

Diana slowly and quietly brought up her pistol and carefully aimed for the left temple as it shambled by, blissfully unaware that its "life" was about to be terminated. She waited until it stopped moving, then fired a single Full Metal Jacket round at its temple. The shot punched through and the zombie fell to the floor as dead as it could be. Diana carefully listened for reinforcements before leaving the stairwell and setting foot on the second floor.

Once standing outside the stairwell she saw old wooden furniture all around her. To her left and right were small wooden tables stationed by the windows with white curtains in dire need of cleaning. In front of her were wooden dressers with three levels of drawers placed between doorways. One of them had a nondescript blue vase full of wilted flowers, possibly wilted sunflowers. Of greater interest were the doors down the hallway.

They were normal wooden doors carved in a style that was fashionable at least two centuries ago, but the mage was more concerned about what lurked behind them. There might be more zombies or there might be more ghosts. There might even be vampires. She would not have any idea of what to expect until the doors opened and the occupants of the rooms came out to play. However, she noticed dried bloodstains pooled under the doors... that was not a good sign.

Carefully stepping around the recently dispatched zombie, Diana slowly moved down the hallway with Suppressed Handgun at the ready. So far none of the doors were opening and she did not hear any disembodied voices whispering to her, but she switched the Suppressed Handgun for her Suppressed Submachine Gun for a little more range, a better rate of fire with the ability to choose firing modes on the fly, and a little more punch. Now she was ready to fight off large crowds of enemies.

Diana passed by the first doors without incident, then the second set. The third set remained closed and the mage passed by them as well. It was when the mage passed by the fourth set that the trouble began. First she remembered that she left the special case for the book on the first floor, but then all the doors creaking open gave her a more immediate problem to deal with.

Diana was next to the fourth set of doors when they opened, so she quickly sprinted by as the stench of death wafted from the room and threatened to overtake the entire floor as all the doors opened simultaneously, disgorging the occupants of the rooms. Diana heard moaning and knew that the undead were on the hunt. The mage took a glance back and saw that the path to the first floor was blocked by far too many zombies to fight, but she needed that case to carry and protect the tome she had been sent to collect. She was not going to get it with all of the zombies blocking the path, so Diana hurried towards the third floor staircase and made good her escape.

-On the third floor-

Diana hustled up the stairs with weapon at the ready and paused just outside the staircase. The third floor had the same floorplan and features as the second floor save for one crucial difference: the third floor was dimly lit because all the curtains were closed, thus denying moonlight to the floor. She heard the soft sound of a door opening at the far end of the hallway and saw a figure in what looked to be flowing robes and with glowing blue eyes strode towards Diana. The figure was halfway to Diana when the curtains suddenly opened and moonlight poured into the area.

"What business have you here?" A feminine voice asked the blonde.

[Word Count: 816]
[Total Word Count: 4,064/11,000]

Diana looked towards the voice and saw a young woman with lavender hair so long that it nearly touched the wooden floor. She also wore a purple-and-white striped outfit reminiscent of pajamas and a purple mob cap with a golden crescent moon emblem pinned to it. The young woman glared at Diana with clear blue eyes and a frown that let the blonde mage know that she was not welcome here. The woman herself boasted a magic signature that was as strong as Diana's own, indicating that despite her curious appearance she was a mage of considerable power.

"What business have you here?" The purple-clad woman asked harshly.

"I am here to search for a tome written by Statriole, a scientist who wrote about magic-" Diana began to explain before the woman raised her hand to cut the blonde off.

"So you are yet another thief who seeks to pillage Sombras Manor. As the librarian charged with protecting and bringing order to the library of the Sombras family, I cannot let you steal the tome of Statriole. You will die where you stand before you gain entry to the library." The self-proclaimed librarian asserted before putting her hands out in front of her to focus magic for a spell. Her hands began to glow in the seven colors of the rainbow and she began to murmur words in a language Diana had never heard before. The threatening undertone in the librarian's words and posture were all too clear, but Diana was here for a payday and she would not be deterred by harsh words and a fancy light show. She would fight if she had to.

"I am no common thief. I was hired by a collector to retrieve the tome for their collection." Diana asserted. The librarian's face maintained a serious facial expression as she inquired further.

"So you fancy yourself a high-class thief?" The lavender-haired mage asked. Diana frowned and a thought crossed her mind. Maybe it would be easier to just shoot the hostile librarian until she died, then go and collect the tome at her leisure. However, Diana did not kill someone because they inconvenienced her. She was a professional who killed only the target she was assigned to kill.

"No. I am a hired mage working on behalf of a client." Diana firmly insisted. The librarian then asked another question of the blonde.

"Who is your client?" Came the question. Clear blue eyes stared at Diana while impatiently awaiting an answer.

"I am sorry, but I cannot tell you that. That is confidential information." Diana answered politely but firmly. The young woman maintained eye contact and kept the spell she was weaving ready as she momentarily halted its progress to speak to the blonde intruder.

"Interesting." Came the terse comment. Diana kept her weapon ready as the two women faced each other down. Diana waited for the spell to be launched and the librarian waited for the blonde to open fire. After a tense two minutes the lavender-haired mage lowered her hands and dispelled the magic that had accumulated in her hands. Diana then dispelled her Suppressed Submachine Gun to de-escalate the situation.

"You say that you are here for the tome of Statriole. Perhaps I can be convinced to part with it... should you perform a service for me." The librarian said to Diana in a businesslike tone. Diana was intrigued by this development and wanted to know more about the bargain that might be made. What kind of "service" did the librarian want in exchange for Statriole's magnum opus?

"I am listening." Diana replied calmly.

"Very well then. Here is what you must do. Roughly fifteen years ago an intruder stole a book with a brown cover from me, a book of immense personal value. I know that it is somewhere within the manor, but as the librarian I cannot leave to find it." The librarian began to lay out the terms of the bargain.

"Should you find it and bring it to me, I will let you have what you seek with no strings attached. However, I must warn you of the danger that lies ahead. The spirits and other denizens of the manor will not be as accommodating as I am. They cannot be turned from their duty to protect this place and will do their best to kill you." The young woman warned Diana. The blonde was not daunted by the warning because she had been through worse situations than this. It did not take long for the mage to make her decision.

"Very well. I will find your book." Diana agreed to the bargain. The librarian cracked what could almost be considered a smile before speaking to her again.

"The spirits of the manor tell me that you are a Child of Death. Your kind can be quite dangerous under the right circumstances. Perhaps you will have a chance to survive the trials that lie ahead. Perhaps the spirits were mistaken and you are just another run-of-the-mill thief for hire. I will find out soon enough." The lavender-haired mage said to Diana before the latter turned around and brought out her Suppressed Submachine Gun, then began walking down the staircase while listening out for the rotting welcome wagon waiting for her on the second floor.

[Word Count: 920]
[Total Word Count: 4,984/11,000]

The Librarian:

-Sombras Manor, the second floor-

Keeping her weapon out in front of her, Diana made her way down the stairs as quietly as she could, but the effort was in vain because she was walking down wooden stairs that creaked with each footstep. She listened out for the shuffling and moaning of the zombies she had left behind a few minutes ago, but she did not hear, smell, or see any of them. All the doors that had opened were now shut and she could not smell the stench of death anywhere on the second floor; even the first zombie she had killed was missing. How could so many zombies disappear without a trace?

Diana did not know how such a feat was possible, only that it had happened. She moved slowly down the center of the second floor hallway while watching for threats from any of the denizens of Sombras Manor. There was no sound at all aside from the faint sound of her breathing, her quiet footsteps, and what sounded like muffled female screams coming from the rooms she had already passed by. Diana kept moving until she was facing the staircase that led to the first floor, then turned around and looked behind her for any unwanted followers. When she was satisfied that none were behind her, she moved onto the creaking staircase and slowly made her way down to the first floor.

-Sombras Manor, the first floor-

Diana stepped down the last three steps with weapon at the ready because she was fairly certain that a hostile reception awaited her on the first floor. Instead she found nothing but an empty hallway lined with armor displays and weapons on display racks. Everything was just like she had left it minutes ago... she even saw the protective case that she had left behind sitting exactly where she had left it when the fight with the spirits controlling suits of armor had started. Diana slowly walked down the hallway towards the case, ready to act in case the armored suits strode off the stands ready for a second round with Diana. She reached the protective case without any trouble and decided to check it for any unsavory surprises that might have been left in it by mischievous spirits.

Diana took a knee and set her submachine gun beside her, then used both hands to undo each latch on the top of the case. The case quietly fell open to reveal absolutely nothing. Diana checked over the case with her vision modes before closing it again and picking up her weapon with her right hand, then taking the case's carrying handle into her left hand. Seeing the book-sized indentation in the padded carrying case reminded the blonde of the bargain that she had struck with the librarian. If she were to find the young woman's personal book and bring it back to her, the tome of Statriole would be hers.

Diana walked back to the entrance and faced down the left hallway to look for anywhere the book might be hidden. The only clue Diana had received before beginning the search was that the book could be found somewhere within the manor. It could be in a wall safe behind a painting, under the pedestal of a movable armor display, or anywhere in the manor. The mage would have to search everywhere until she found it. There was a lot of ground to cover, so she started to go down the left hallway and check everywhere that a book could conceivably be hidden.

Diana had barely taken three steps when the ghost of a maid materialized in front of her.

"You have no business here, young one! Leave while you can!" The ghost commanded. Diana simply shook her head.

"No. Not until I have what I came for." Diana replied. The ghost did not appear to be pleased but it took no offensive action against the mage.

"Then so be it, child. Once you go past this point you take your life into your own hands. Be prepared for the dangers that lie ahead." The maid cautioned Diana before dematerializing into a blue mist that soon faded completely. Diana remained calm and took a breath, then put her right foot forward and began walking down the hallway. She began to look for anything out of the ordinary like a picture hanging at an awkward angle, a chest of drawers that was not quite in the right place, anything that could give away where the librarian's book was hidden. She carefully proceeded down the hall and looked everywhere but could find no hidden book. Her attention focused on a chest of drawers that was at the end of the hallway, which branched off to the left and to the right.

Diana heard the sound of screaming and stopped in place. It sounded like it was coming from nearby. She pointed her Suppressed Submachine Gun towards the end of the hallway and waited for the screaming to stop or for the source to come running towards her.

[Word Count: 850]
[Total Word Count: 5,834/11,000]

Diana held her weapon in her right hand and the protective case in her left. The screaming rang out again, but this time it was closer, like it was coming from the right end of the hallway. Diana heard the sound of rapid thumping that was suggestive of someone in a hurry. It could even be someone running for their lives, but Diana did not know who. The librarian spoke of another "intruder" who stole her book, but considering the number of ghosts and zombies in the manor they had likely met their end long ago. It did not matter because Diana would find the librarian's personal book and exchange it for the tome she had come for.

Diana heard the thumping get closer. It sounded like someone running, but where was the person? Was it just a "replay" of someone who had died here a long time ago? Diana soon had her answer when the ghost of a young female in an adventuring outfit of leather armor with black shirt and black pants with leather boots came running by while occasionally glancing behind her, oblivious to the living person standing to their right. Diana surmised that she had just seen the spirit of one of the manor's previous intruders. Was she the one responsible for taking the lavender-haired mage's book?

Diana waited a bit longer before moving on; after a five-minute wait to wait out potential threats she hefted the protective case in her left hand and walked down the hallway lined with oil paintings of the manor's women. She checked each and every one for a safe hidden behind it but could not find one, so she kept going until she reached a branching path at the end of the hallway.

To the left was a staircase that went down into what she presumed to be a basement. To the right the hallway continued with still more oil paintings and the occasional suit of armor standing on a pedestal. Wary of fighting the suits of armor again, Diana opted to descend into the unknown. The mage took the left path and began walking down the wooden stairs that led into a dark place.

-In the stairwell-

Using her night vision mode to see through the darkness, Diana carefully descended the creaking wooden steps that were badly maintained. Aside from the creaking giving her away to anything within earshot, there were numerous holes in them, presumably from where previous visitors had placed a foot without looking and had nearly broken through. Diana did not want to suffer a broken ankle in hostile territory like this place, so she carefully placed her feet on the strongest places on the termite-ridden stairs. This process made for a slow and tedious descent, but it minimized the chances of her suffering an injury in ghost-infested territory.

Diana had made it almost completely down the stairs when she stepped on the third-to-last step and it gave way beneath her heel. After a brief and unsuccessful struggle to remain upright the blonde fell forward while releasing her submachine gun and the case, which scattered across the hard concrete floor of the basement. Diana landed on her stomach and chest with a barely audible THUD. After a minute of lying on the cold floor she got up and checked herself for serious injuries.

Diana's face, chest, and stomach were all hurting from the fall, but thankfully she had not sustained any serious injuries from the fall like a broken arm, broken leg, or broken ankle. Diana picked up her submachine gun and the protective case, then surveyed the area she was standing in. In front of her was a corridor wide enough for six people to walk through side-by-side. On each side of the corridor were sturdy metal doors with sliding metal plates positioned over window slots. Diana saw a single open door on the right side of the corridor and carefully walked over to inspect what she believed to be a cell in the manor's prison.

The contents of the room confirmed what the mage had suspected.

Diana peered through the gloom and saw a floor and the back wall stained with the unmistakable dark brown of dried blood. In the upper left corner was a bucket that was used either as a makeshift toilet by the prisoner or as a container that was once filled with a cleaning agent in a vain attempt by staff to clean the cell. Diana felt an overwhelming sense of dread emanating from the cell, so she left it alone and continued her walk past the other (thankfully closed) cell doors while trying not to imagine what was inside of them.

Diana heard something that sounded like female screaming as she approached the end of the cell block. Was she hearing yet another ghost or was someone still alive down here?

[Post Word Count: 826]
[Total Word Count: 6,660/11,000]

Diana stood a short distance from the doorway and aimed her weapon towards it expecting the worst. Moments later it was flung open and a blond-haired older man hurried out of the room and almost knocked the mage down until he veered left and narrowly missed hitting her. Diana saw what he was running from... five zombies in attire so rotten that it was impossible to tell what it was were shambling behind him and were looking for a bite to eat. They turned their attention from him and focused their glazed-over eyes on her.

Diana stood her ground and set the case down, aiming her submachine gun at the head of each zombie as they shambled towards her. She flipped the selector switch to single-shot mode and fired one shot at the head of each one. One by one the zombies turned and fell to the floor, going down with a soft moan that almost sounded like they were thanking Diana for putting them out of their misery. Diana picked up the case with her left hand and watched the twitching corpses in case they rose again, but they did not rise for a second time... they were dead beyond doubt.

"Nice shooting, lady. You some kind of mercenary or something?" The man asked her. She heard his footsteps approaching from behind and kept facing forward. She did not know if he was a Shadow Collective agent sent to kill her or another freelance mage on a job, but she could tell that he was still amped up on adrenaline from his flight from the zombies. It would be best not to turn around and point a weapon in his direction while he was still ready to fight or flee.

"I am a Guildless mage." Diana replied calmly. The man came around to where she could see him more clearly and she dispelled the weapon to prevent an unnecessary fight. The man visibly relaxed. She got a better look at him and saw that he was a fairly muscular man in a black shirt with dark pants and black boots plus all manner of gear attached to his belt. He was no run-of-the-mill Guildless mage.

"Yeah? Me too. By the way, I'm Stan." Stan introduced himself to her with an outstretched hand. Diana took it and the pair shook hands.

"I am Diana." Diana introduced herself.

"I came here looking for a friend but found a lot more than I bargained for. There's zombies and ghosts everywhere. I mean, you can't throw a rock in this place without hitting one!" Stan told her. Diana was well aware of the danger that lurked here, but she kept quiet and let him talk. He was starting to come down from the adrenaline rush but was still somewhat tense, so she let him keep talking so that the chances of him doing something rash were lowered.

"I have encountered both of those enemies earlier." Diana calmly informed Stan. Stan ran the fingers of his right hand through his hair and sighed.

"You have? I mean, of course you have. You wouldn't have gotten this far if you hadn't run into some of them!" Stan replied.

"If I may ask, what does your missing friend look like?" Diana asked him.

"She's a blonde chick, kinda like you. Only her hair's a lot shorter and her eyes are blue. Oh, and she's a bit shorter than you." Stan described his missing friend to her. Diana had not seen any living people here other than Stan or the librarian, so she could safely say that she had not seen Stan's friend. Speaking of the librarian, maybe she had offered Stan a bargain similar to the one that Diana had accepted.

"Tell me something, Stan. Have you encountered a lavender-haired young woman on the third floor?" Diana asked him. His eyes lit up in recognition.

"Yeah. I met some weird lavender-haired chick who wore pajamas and had a big magic signature, kinda like yours. She offered to let me leave the property alive if I found a book of hers. It's not like I had a choice... I had to take it because I can't hurt those ghosts with my weapons." Stan answered. He then felt around his right hip and hissed when his hand came up empty. He was missing something.

"Damn. I need to go back into that room and get my dad's pistol. Be right back!" He said to her before jogging away and going back to the same room he had burst out of just minutes earlier. Diana patiently waited for her newfound acquaintance and kept a watch out for trouble. The other cell doors were still closed and she did not know what was waiting behind them.

Stan:

[Post Word Count: 834]
[Total Word Count: 7,494/11,000]

Diana waited in the hallway, occasionally taking glances behind her to check for zombies or ghosts trying to get the drop on her. She heard sounds coming from the room that Stan had went into, sounds like objects being knocked over and the occasional obscenity hissed aloud. A simple pistol should not take that long to find unless it had been dropped and landed under something.

"Hang on! I've almost got it!" Stan called out just before something metallic fell off of something and landed on him.

"DAMN IT! QUIT FALLING ON ME!" Stan yelled before the offending object was hurled forcefully into a concrete wall and came skittering out of the room. Diana looked down to see a nondescript stainless steel plate that had faint bloodstains on it. She surmised that it was used to hold tools of some kind, possibly tools for torture. She turned away from it and towards the mage, who emerged from the room holding a semiautomatic pistol with a laser sight attached just below the barrel.

"Found it! I dropped it when I saw those zombies and it went under a metal cabinet full of bloodstained tools. I really don't wanna know what they were used for. Probably something bad like cutting up a body for disposal." Stan exclaimed triumphantly before explaining a bit more about how the weapon came to be lost. Diana watched him walk out of the room and gingerly step over the zombies she had shot earlier before returning to her. Diana picked up the case in her left hand and faced him. There was one question that needed answering.

"I heard screaming just before you burst out of that room. It sounded like a woman screaming. Was... that you?" Diana asked hesitantly. Stan looked down and away from her with a beet-red face.

"Yeah. That was me. Please don't tell anyone about this." Stan confessed before pleading with her not to expose his secret to anyone.

"I will say nothing to no one." Diana assured him. Stan looked up with visible relief on his face.

"Thanks. Now let's get outta this basement. I really don't like it down here." Stan suggested to her. Diana did not have any problem with that. She highly doubted that the book was down here anyway... she suspected that the librarian was lying to them both about missing a book and trying to get them killed for her own amusement. The pair had taken ten steps back towards the distant staircase when the cell doors around them began to creak. The metal bolts holding them closed were being opened, presumably by invisible hands.

"Oh, damn it! Why can't something go right for a change?" Stan complained while drawing his pistol and activating the flashlight attached to his belt. Diana set down the case and summoned her Suppressed Submachine Gun. Metallic creaking sounded all around them, signaling that it was time to fight for their lives. The cell doors behind them had opened, disgorging their undead occupants who were hungry for warm human flesh.

Diana aimed at the head of a partially decomposed female zombie with clumps of ragged gray hair strewn about her head and fired a single shot. A bullet punched through its forehead and it pitched forward to the ground. Stan's belt-mounted flashlight showed that their trouble was far from over. Behind it were three dozen more shambling corpses who wanted to take a bite out of Diana and Stan.

Diana watched the red dot of Stan's laser sight settle on the forehead of a male zombie and heard the CRACK of a pistol shot. A plume of red mist spurted from its forehead and the zombie fell backwards while its cohorts mindlessly shuffled into the kill zone of the two mages. Stan and Diana kept shooting and whittling down the first wave of zombies until there were about a dozen left. They soon heard moaning coming from behind them. Stan spun around and deftly reloaded his weapon in mid-spin, completing a 180-degree turn about the same time the empty magazine hit the floor.

"Great. More of them behind us! I count about another three dozen!" Stan warned his partner as she dealt with the last of the first batch of zombies. Diana turned around and saw them in the white cone produced by Stan's flashlight. Seventy-two milky white eyes glared back at the mages as their owners shuffled forward in a barely coordinated mob.

Diana took aim at the first one she could find and shot it in the head, then another, then another until three zombies had been dispatched in six seconds with single shots to the head. Stan began to pick off zombies, firing twelve shots and getting twelve kills before they were forced to fall back because the sheer size of the mob meant that there were enough enemies getting past the kill zone to pose a threat. Diana hurriedly picked up the case and followed Stan to a position in front of the room she had found him in. Stan reloaded his pistol and faced down the incoming horde with Diana at his side.

"Got any good ideas on how to get out of this mess, Diana?" Stan asked her. Diana had one idea, but it would be more than a little risky. She could get into the middle of the undead mob and use a Spirit Dome to wipe out multiple shamblers at once, but there was a chance she might be grabbed and mauled before she could cast the spell.

[Post Word Count: 963]
[Total Word Count: 8,457/11,000]

Diana faced the incoming horde and watched Stan continue to fire away at them, but his aim was degrading because he was getting stressed out. She could also see the red dot of his pistol's laser sight wobbling to and fro even though he was using a proper two-handed grip. He was hitting the torsos and throats of the zombies, which did about as much harm to them as throwing rocks at those same body parts. Diana was trying to save her magic reserves in case the librarian decided to kill her once she brought the book back, but she and Stan were in imminent danger of being overrun. She would need to use Spirit Dome to survive this fight... she dispelled her Suppressed Submachine Gun and made her move.

"Get back!" Diana shouted a terse warning to Stan, who saw her sprint towards the zombies and reached out in a vain attempt to grab her hand. She was already in front of the zombies when she knelt down and focused pale blue magic, then slammed her hands palms-down onto the floor. The dome emanated from her position and caught all of the two dozen-plus zombies in the sphere, frying them with the destructive energy of her lineage. The affected zombies had their rotten flesh burned away and they collapsed to the floor, never to move again.

"Holy shit." Stan commented once he saw what his partner was capable of doing. He reloaded his pistol and put it away as Diana casually walked towards him like casting Spirit Dome and wiping out an entire group of over two dozen zombies was nothing to her. Feats like that were nothing to Diana. She had spent over half her life killing things and Spirit Dome was just the latest addition to her death-dealing arsenal of weapons and spells that could be used to kill things in different ways.

"I was shooting at those shamblers and couldn't kill them fast enough. You just run up to them and wipe them out like they were nothing with just one spell. Remind me to never piss you off." Stan dryly added when Diana finally reached him. She calmly picked up the case and faced him. Even though she had just met him, she appreciated Stan's ability to handle himself in a fight and his candor. He could be a friend like the cowboy Ben... if he survived the trip through Sombras Manor.

"It took a lot of work to get to the point I could use that spell." Diana modestly claimed. There was a large measure of truth to her remark. It took her a lot of work and a lot of effort to learn the array of spells that could harm both supernatural beings and humans. Until that point the blonde's weapons worked exclusively against human adversaries.

"Yeah, I can tell. Anyway, let's search the cells for that book of Pajama Girl's. It's probably in one of them, though with all the blood I wouldn't be surprised if it was too far gone to be read." Stan suggested.

"I agree." Diana said to him. The pair then began to search each cell one by one for the librarian's book. Each cell reeked of death and decay, but they would all have to be searched before Stan and Diana could move on.

Stan summoned a pump-action shotgun out of thin air and led the way to the first open cell, which was just left of their present position. His flashlight lit the way and Diana peered into the small cell, which was liberally caked with dried blood coating the top right corner. What the Hell had happened in here? Whatever had happened, she could feel suffering and despair pouring out of the tiny windowless room.

They then moved on to the cell to their right and found that it contained a skeleton lying on the floor with its legs missing below the knee and a pool of long-dried blood beneath it. It looked like its legs had been hacked away below the knee, which led to an unpleasant thought: the hapless prisoner had bled to death after their legs were removed. Maybe the room she had found Stan in was where prisoners were tortured. Stan's comment about finding bloody tools only lent credence to that theory, but the mages would never know for certain because the only people who could tell them the ghastly truth were long dead.

Stan and Diana wordlessly moved on and continued to search each cell, only find more signs of human suffering in each one. They had worked their way down the hallway until they reached the stairs and decided to check the last cell on the right. Inside was more dried blood and a body, but this body was no skeleton. It was the body of the ghostly young woman Diana had seen running in the hallway on the first floor!

"I saw her on the first floor." Stan commented while his flashlight illuminated the body. It was a lot fresher than the corpses the pair had dealt with, so it had not been here nearly as long as the rotting inmates. Diana brought out her Suppressed Handgun and walked closer to the corpse.

"Careful, Diana!" Stan warned her.

[Post Word Count: 910]
[Total Word Count: 9,367/11,000]

Diana gave a glance at the female body and noticed that it wore the same leather armor as the ghostly young woman who ran by her earlier. Of greater interest was a rectangular object tucked away in the right corner of the cell. Diana carefully walked by the body and used her natural night vision to dispel the gloom and get a closer look at the object.

"See anything?" Stan asked her.

"I see something that looks like... a book." Diana replied, kneeling down to reach out for it with her free hand. The fingers of her left hand scrabbled over the hard object until she managed to get a grip on the edge and pull it in. Diana took it into her left hand and saw that the object was a book.

"Well? Is it a book?" Stan asked her.

"It is a book." Diana announced succinctly.

"Great. Now let's get outta here and get back to the first floor. We've probably overstayed our welcome as it is." Stan suggested, nudging the barrel of his shotgun towards the stairs a short distance behind them.

Holding the book in her left hand, Diana stood up, turned around, and carefully retraced her steps out of the cell until she was just in front of Stan. Stan did not look happy to see her. On the contrary, he raised his shotgun and pointed it at her. The hair on the back of Diana's neck stood up.

"BEHIND YOU!" Stan warned her. Diana spun around and saw that the body had gotten to its feet. She saw the jet-black pupils, elongated canines, and the corpse-like pallor of the young woman and had a feeling that she knew precisely what they were dealing with. They were dealing with a vampire!

The vampire raised its hands and grabbed Diana's shoulders, forcing the mage to drop her pistol while trying to pull her in for a bite to the neck. Still clutching the book in her left hand, Diana planted the back of her left hand on the vampire's chest and used it to push the bloodsucker away, then reached forward with her open right hand burning with pale blue flame. The vampire continued to tug at Diana right until the blonde's grasping hand made contact with its face. It screamed as its head was consumed by pale blue fire and struggled in vain to extinguish the flames with its hands until its flesh burned away, exposing a skull that soon turned to ash and disintegrated.

The headless body toppled to the floor and turned to ash, leaving only the leather armor behind as a memento of Diana's first clash with a vampire.

"Damn. You just dusted that vampire with" Stan said almost reverently while lowering his shotgun and stepping aside to let the blonde pass. Diana dispelled her Suppressed Handgun and walked past the young man, who was looking into the cell with amazement. His colleague had just dusted a vampire with her bare hands... well, her bare hands and a special magic that one could only get by being born with it. Diana stood at the foot of the stairs and briefly reflected on the misery that her "gift" had brought her before Stan walked up with the protective case in hand.

"Hey, you left this." Stan said to her before returning the case she had left behind earlier. Diana took the handle of the case into her right hand.

"Thanks." Diana thanked him. Stan soon joined her near the stairs and looked up the treacherous steps.

"Well, it's time to go back upstairs and get back to Pajama Girl. Maybe we have the right book. We'll take a moment to find out when we get back to the first floor. I don't wanna stay down here any longer than we have to. This place seriously creeps me out." Stan said to Diana. Diana simply nodded and together the two carefully made their way up the badly maintained wooden stairs, going slowly to reduce the chances of putting their feet through the steps. Getting up the staircase might take awhile... it was a good thing that there were no enemies pursuing them.

[Post Word Count: 740]
[Total Word Count: 10,047/11,000]

-On the first floor-

After at least five minutes of careful climbing, Stan and Diana had finally reached the top of the staircase that led to the basement. They stepped away from the creaking staircase and were surprised that they were not immediately greeted by a small army of ghosts or by a gathering of rotting admirers. The two would not complain... they just hoped that they would not have to return to the basement because between loud creaks the stairs groaned like they were about to give way at any moment. Whether they really were about to give way or if the groaning was just a sound effect produced by mischievous spirits was unknown and they did not want to find out.

"I'm glad to be off of those stairs. Those things are a safety hazard!" Stan expressed relief that they were on solid ground. Diana agreed with him. In addition to numerous other problems with them, the stairs looked like they had been a termite snack for the past decade. It was a wonder that there was still a staircase. Stan looked towards the book in Diana's left hand and then looked at her.

"Hey, you think that book belongs to Pajama Girl?" He asked her.

"Perhaps." Diana answered laconically.

"Well, she didn't tell me that I couldn't take a look at it. I just hope we didn't get the wrong book 'cause I don't think those stairs can handle us going up and down them again." He said, reaching for the book. Diana let him have it. He dispelled his shotgun and carefully took the book into both hands, then gently opened it to the very first page.

"Hey, here's a note. It's written by someone named T. Sombras... whoever that is. I'm pretty sure that they're linked to this place somehow." He said aloud. His eyes darted back and forth along the page.

"To my faithful librarian... hmmm, there's no name here." Stan started reading.

"You have served my family faithfully for over two centuries as our librarian, diligently tending to our innumerable tomes without a single complaint. Here is a small token of appreciation for your loyalty." Stan read aloud to Diana. He flipped over to the next page and beheld shimmering silver letters in a language that he could not read. He gently closed the book and handed it back to Diana, who took it with her left hand.

"I'd better stop reading here. One, I can't read the text even if I wanted to. Two, I don't want her to get pissed off and go back on our deal. I'm gonna do the smart thing and quit while I'm ahead." Stan told Diana. Diana silently agreed that stopping now was a good idea. Her magic reserves were slightly under half of what they were when she entered the manor and she was not sure if she could win against an angry librarian who could wield magic. Diana also wanted to avoid any unnecessary conflict with the librarian because the lavender-haired mage just might be a future client.

"Let us return this to the librarian." Diana suggested. Stan nodded and together the mages made the lengthy walk from the basement back to the manor entrance. They then went straight down the hallway from the entrance and passed by the armor displays to reach the hallway lined with weapons racks and passed through there to reach the stairs leading to the second floor. Hopefully the zombies on the second floor would not come out to play.

[Post Word Count: 632]
[Total Word Count: 10,679/11,000]

-Sombras Manor, Second Floor-

Stan took the lead going up the stairs and arrived on the second floor with his pistol drawn in case there was a hostile reception waiting for them. Diana walked in right behind him with the book in tow. The pair remained in place and listened for trouble before proceeding any further on the seemingly deserted second floor.

"So far, so good. Let's keep going and give the book back to Pajama Girl so that we can get outta here." Stan said before beginning to walk down the hall with pistol at the ready. Diana followed closely behind him with book and protective case in hand while keeping an eye on the doors that were around them on both sides. So far the doors remained closed and their rotting occupants nowhere to be seen or heard. Diana was cautiously optimistic that the mission would end without having to fight, but she would not claim victory until she had Statriole's magnum opus in the protective case and she and Stan were safely out of Sombras Manor.

They had reached the halfway point and nothing had emerged from the rooms to attack them. So far, so good. Stan continued to lead the way and Diana continued to follow the brave mage until they reached the staircase. Stan let Diana take the lead while he stayed behind to guard against any last-second attackers. Once the blonde was up the staircase he followed behind her... the pair had made it through the second floor without incident.

-Sombras Manor, Third Floor-

Diana reached the top of the staircase first and was greeted by the sight of the librarian waiting for her. Stan reached the top just moments after Diana and stood beside the blonde. Once he had made it the librarian greeted them.

"Hello there, thief. I take it you found what I had sent you to find?" The young woman greeted Diana in a manner that could almost pass as friendly. Stan appeared momentarily irked that he had been left out of the greeting. Diana let the "thief" comment slide.

"Yes. I believe that we have found your property." Diana answered confidently. She walked over to the librarian and handed her the book with shimmering silver letters on the pages. The lavender-haired young woman gently opened it and skimmed through the pages. Stan and Diana waited for verbal confirmation that they had given her the right item. They got a small smile as the mage looked up at them.

"Indeed you have. You have found that which I had sent you two to find." She answered while holding the book in her left hand. Stan sighed with relief. Diana remained emotionless as the next step of the negotiation started. If the librarian honored the bargain, soon she would have Statriole's work in her possession.

"Since you two have completed the task which I had set for you, I will uphold my end of the bargain." The lavender-haired librarian announced. She held her right hand out in front of her and muttered an incantation that brought a book with a well-worn gray cover into being. It floated in mid-air just above the mage's palm.

"Here is Statriole's greatest work, as we agreed. Take it with my blessing, Child of Death." The mage said to Diana. Diana set down the case, put on the white cotton gloves which had been given to her by the client, and took Statriole's work into her hands. The librarian nodded with approval as Stan put away his pistol and opened the protective case for Diana to place the book into. Once the book was safely inside Stan closed it and snapped the clasps before handing it to Diana. The librarian then turned to Stan and spoke to him.

"You may leave unharmed, as we agreed. I hope that one day you will find your friend." She said to him.

"Yeah, me too." Stan said wearily. Diana did not know the circumstances behind the disappearance of his friend, but judging from his tone they were not good. If they met again she might find out what happened to his female friend.

"Since you dealt with the thief who stole what was mine, I will give you a helping hand on your way home. I will now teleport you outside of Sombras Manor. I may have more work for both of you in the future, so please stay alive in the meantime." The librarian said before raising a hand above her head and murmuring an incantation. A rainbow-colored circle appeared around Stan and Diana and the pair were encased in a rainbow-colored beam of light. Moments later they were standing outside Sombras Manor.

-Outside Sombras Manor-

"Well, we made it. Thanks for the helping hand." Stan thanked Diana for her assistance. The pair were standing on the path leading away from Sombras Manor and towards the woods that lined the path.

"Likewise." Diana thanked him for his help in the basement battle.

"Let's get outta here. I've had enough action for one night." Stan said to her. Diana nodded and the pair began walking down the path and away from Sombras Manor. Diana had completed yet another mission on behalf of her guild and would soon receive a handsome reward from the client for her work.

[Post Word Count: 938]
[Total Word Count: 11,617/11,000]