Sulika slid open the glass door to her team’s office and quickly stepped inside.

  Her hands were trembling as she turned the wooden knob to engage the lock, causing the privacy enchantment on the glass to activate. She felt a tingle in her fingertips as the enchantment consumed a bit of her mana to fuel its magic, causing a dark spot the size of a pinhead to instantly appear at the center of the crystal-clear door.

  While burning Sulika’s mana as fuel, the enchantment caused the dark spot to swell with shocking speed. In seconds, the clear crystal was filled with an odorless black fog that completely blocked the line of sight into the office and reduced sound leaving the office by around sixty percent.

  The best part, or at least Sulika’s favorite part, was the fog acting as a one-way mirror. The people inside the office could see the hallway just fine, but anyone hoping to peer inside would see only a reflection of themselves.

  Now that she was safely out of sight, Sulika was able to relax. She placed her back against the cool crystal and exhaled the breath she’d held since walking through the front door. “I’m too tired for this shit.” The relief on her face and in her voice drew her coworkers like a moth to a rainbow-colored flame.

  The first to approach was a brown-skinned elf in a baggy, white, and gold cleric’s robe. His thick dark dreads bouncing with every step, causing the countless colorful beads woven throughout his hair to clatter loudly against one another. “You okay, boss?” He asked, his voice oozing with concern his eyes couldn’t show.

  That wasn’t a slight against his personality or his abilities/commitment as a healer. However, like most elves, he had trouble expressing emotion through the pits of liquid gold that were his eyes.

  Unlike her half-elf roommate, who could pass for a human if she wore colored contact lenses and hid her ears beneath her hair. The cleric was a true Elf, blue blood and all. Which meant his eyes were a single, vibrant color that lacked any kind of discernable pupil or sclera.

  With such eyes, it was understandable why the race had certain… issues coming across as genuine in most conversations. Speaking of - their eyes were just one of the reasons most non-elves considered the entire race a ‘look but don’t touch’ type of beauty.

  “I’m fine,” Sulika replied, showing him a tired smile. “I was a few minutes late and got a bit of a chewing-out from the boss. You know how he’s been since the guild master left, has to make an issue about everything. But it’s fine, there’s nothing to worry about.” She explained in a single breath, hoping to assuage his concern before the others arrived. “How’s the recon going? Are we going to be ready to move by five?”

  “Aye, the recon is done, and all reports are on your desk.” The Heavy of her team replied as he stopped beside the cleric. “All gear should be checked, equipped, and ready to go by three. After that, we’ll be ready to leave anytime on your command.” The stout dwarf spoke slowly and carefully, enunciating each word as best he could to ensure everyone could understand him through his thick Dwarven accent.

  It was always easy to tell who grew up speaking Idarin - the common tongue - and those who had to learn it later in life. It was especially clear in Dwarves since Kharrak - The most widely spoken form of ‘Dwarvish’ - was full of hard consonants and guttural sounds that were difficult for non-native speakers to replicate.

  Sulika appreciated the heavy’s efforts. While she studied a couple of different languages in high school, the only thing she remembered of Kharrak was “Kha'nur kaln doran?” - Roughly translated as “Where’s the bathroom?”

  Sulika was about to shift her attention away from the dwarf but stopped when she noticed his choice of attire.

  He’d arrived wearing black leather pants, a white T-shirt, and a thick, red leather jacket no doubt made from some beast he’d killed during his last vacation. Metallic spikes lined the cuffs of his sleeves, and three large spikes could be seen on each shoulder.

  This, combined with his deep auburn hair and perfectly groomed beard and mustache, gave him a… Unique look. Almost like he’d just stepped out of a fashion magazine for teenage dwarves.

  The Heavy noticed Sulika’s glance and looked down at himself - his eyes widened, and a humorless laugh escaped his lips. “Ah…Grak ni vorak.” He cursed under his breath. “I was running behind and forgot to take it off. I’ll change soon.”

  “I’m not sure how anyone could’ve forgotten to take that abomination off.” The team’s Druid spoke up as she and their final team member - the barbarian - joined them all by the door.

  The druid and the barbarian were opposites in almost every way.

  She; a slender, graceful elf woman with short blonde hair, pools of liquid amethyst-colored eyes, and pale-gray skin that was covered in elven and druidic tattoos.

  While he was a nearly seven-foot-tall man with dark green skin. His bushy brows and light red eyes were almost always set in a scowl. While his medium-length brown hair was pulled into a half-hearted ponytail.

  Unlike his companions, the barbarian didn’t wear armor of any kind. Not even leather. No, he stood proudly in nothing but a pair of wooden sandals, dark blue trousers, and a black tank top that showed off the rippling muscles granted to him by his half-orcish heritage.

  An Elf Cleric, A Dwarven Warrior, an Elf Druid, a Half-Orc Barbarian, and her - A sorceress of some skill.

  This was her team.

  Each of them was an experienced fighter, and paragon of their class. They had all risen to levels most hunters would never reach in their lives… And, if the Oracle was to be believed, then they would soon need to draw on every last ounce of their experience or die trying.

  In a few hours, the five of them would face the most vicious and terrifying threat of their careers. And not even the Oracle could see what today would bring, as their vision ended before they could see the aftermath.

  They’d prepared as best they could. All of them had spent nearly every waking hour ensuring they got the best odds they possibly could… And now, Sulika could only pray to whatever God would listen, that there would be a happy ending waiting for them on the other side.

  After a few minutes of discussion with her team, Sulika showed them a slight smile before stepping around them and walking towards her desk.

  Their office wasn’t big enough for any real privacy. However, the small wooden desks had been placed strategically around the room to prevent anyone from feeling crowded.

  Sulika’s desk was at the front of the room, farthest from the door. She liked looking out the office's only window while reviewing documents and planning hunts.

  The warrior’s desk was to the right of the door, putting him the closest to the point of egress. He’d chosen to be closest to the door in case he needed to leave in a hurry.

  The Cleric’s desk was against the same wall as Sulika’s. She wasn’t sure why he’d decided on that spot, and he’d never offered to say. But she also didn’t mind that he had. He’d placed his desk in the corner of the room, far enough away from her desk to adhere to the rules, while still being able to enjoy the window as she did.

  Which left the last two walls for the druid and barbarian’s desks, right?

  Nope, the two of them had decided to place their desks side by side against the left-most wall.

  Meaning the last wall was turned into a collective storage zone for the team.

  Five lockers filled with armor or weapons. Five temperature-controlled trunks stuffed with potions, ready-to-eat rations, and other perishables. And a large table supporting anything that didn’t fit into the lockers or trunks.

  As she sat down at her desk and prepared to go over the documents the warrior mentioned. She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall – [7:48 A.M.] - the mission would begin in a little over nine hours.

  Sulika looked at her desk, or more specifically, at the absolute mountain of paperwork scattered haphazardly across her desk and sighed quietly.

  She also needed to fill out their quarterly expense reports. Requisition a new shipment of communication scrolls and “Sanctuary” tablets for use inside dungeons. And, at some point, she’d need to make an appointment with the guild’s smith to inspect their equipment again.

  Not because they couldn’t maintain their gear. They absolutely could and did more often than not. However, the guild required a twice-annual inspection of each hunter’s equipment to ensure everyone was adhering to the guild’s set standards.

  Sulika’s right eyebrow twitched just before she reached for the first sheet of paper. “Just nine hours. You can stick it out for a measly nine hours, right? If the mission goes as planned, then you’ll be too busy celebrating your new hero status to worry about paperwork. And if it doesn’t…” Her thoughts trailed off as she became aware of a minute shaking in her right hand.

  She placed her left hand over her right wrist to quell the tremors and took a calming breath. “Well, either way, it won’t be my problem after today.”

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  Sulika and her team were as prepared as they could be. But now that the warehouse was looming over them, their courage was starting to wane.

  They’d been planning this moment for the last three months, ever since Sulika received a tip from a highly credible source - an Oracle; someone bestowed with the divine gift of foresight had received a vision that a manic cult was planning to open a dungeon smack dab in the middle of the city’s industrial district.

  Now, normally, this situation wouldn’t even reach Sulika’s desk. It was only thanks to her relationship with this Oracle that she even knew about it.

  However, knowing the circumstances doesn’t mean she had the authority to do anything about it. Not even a team captain had the authority to move guild resources without higher approval… Which she never got.

  No, instead her boss berated her for wasting time - both her own and the guild’s. He was so irate, he even threatened to fire her if she didn’t immediately drop the investigation.

  As if she could do that.

  So, there they were, five off-duty hunters waiting inside the shadows of an alley, mere minutes before storming a privately owned distribution center.

  All Sulika could think about was the fact that they were probably screwed - No matter the outcome.

  If they failed to stop the dungeon break the city would take a lethal hit. Thousands would probably die, and countless more would be injured. If they succeeded... Well, the look on her boss’s face that morning said more than any ten-page dismissal order could hope to.

  Losing her job was the best possible outcome. And she had neither the time nor the inclination to think about the worst.

  Sulika took a deep breath to steady her nerves before quietly unsheathing her sword with her right hand and drawing her wand with her left.

  Hers was an unusual style, to be sure. Most hunters preferred to stick to either melee combat or casting spells, even the ones who, like her, were capable of both. But she preferred this way of fighting.

  As Sulika began moving towards the mouth of the alley, her team mimicked her movements and prepared to move on her signal.

  Derrik Cazzuhk of the Longhammer clan moved to the front of the group to act as the vanguard. If the robust dwarf felt any fear or doubt about their current situation, he was doing a remarkable job of hiding it.

  With practiced ease, he undid the clip holding Rosa - the name of his favorite weapon - from his back and moved it to rest atop his right shoulder. Taller than he by a foot, and weighing a hair over forty pounds: the greathammer was a marvel of dwarven craftsmanship… And looked more than a little unwieldy to Sulika.

  She watched as Derrik placed a chaste kiss on “Rosa’s” shaft and closed his eyes. “Rak-krazh voranakh kor, zul dorrak taurun'khar vornak'han khalarum. (May my hammer strike true and my will remain steadfast as the ancestor’s halls.)” The near-silent prayer was barely audible over the thumping of Sulika’s heart.

  “Oladi - dim the lights. Ralocan - prepare for vision correction.” Sulika whispered.

  “Alright,” Oladi muttered. The druid raised her six-foot-long staff to the sky with one hand and began chanting in a language Sulika had no hope of understanding:

  “Sylthen Laiara - Thaelorn vas Laithnor. (Eternal mother, Guardian of the Living World.)” Oladi brought her free hand to her chest - her index and middle fingers formed a cross, while her ring finger, pinky and thumb curled inwards until they touched her palm.

  “Dravien thi norvae, talar thyven thi tharyn. (Shield us in shadow, so we might hide from our enemies.)” Her mana swelled with each spoken word until her eyes shined with barely contained power.

  “Nael sylphen, Laiara, fael thi aelora; Norvaeth. (We beseech you, Mother, grant us your blessing; The Embracing Shadow: Darkness.)” The final word, the crux of the spell, hung in the air like a stormcloud - Without warning, Oladi thrust the butt of her staff into the stone beneath her feet to a thunderous *clang!*

  Oladi’s jewel-like eyes turned obsidian for a split second before her spell activated. A six-hundred-foot square mass of impenetrable darkness rapidly formed in the sky above the warehouse.

  Sulika's ears twitched as the sound of panic reached them. “Hurry, before they can sound the alarm.” She whispered.

  Oladi didn’t react to Sulika’s voice. But she did act - she flicked her fingers towards the ground, which caused an immediate reaction inside the mass. The darkness expanded by another half and dropped from the sky, plunging the warehouse and its grounds in inescapable darkness.

  Sulika could hear the frightened screams of the workers and did her best to ignore them. “Your turn.” She muttered while looking at Ralocan.

  “Understood,” Ralocan, the cleric, replied while gripping the amulet hanging from his neck tightly in his left hand.

  “O’ Noble Cyndarr, keeper of the flame most radiant, hear my despaired plea.” He prayed while bringing the amulet to his forehead - the instant it touched his skin, Ralocan’s mana burst forth to form a fiery aura around his entire body.

  “Bless our eyes with your golden radiance and banish the shadows that cloud our path.” His aura sank into the ground and formed a rotating ring of fire that quickly grew to surround the rest of his team.

  “As your devoted servant, I beseech you: Darkvision.” He finished his prayer and held the amulet in place for a single second, then he opened his hand and let the amulet fall.

  As the amulet traveled south, past his eyes, the ring of fire lifted off the ground and started moving north at the same rate. The spell ‘Darkvision’ took effect the moment the amulet reached the end of its cord and touched his chest.

  When the ring of fire passed their eyes, it left behind a transparent layer of divine mana over their pupils. With it, they could see through the mass of darkness as easily as they could through a window at high noon.

  Sulika blinked rapidly to let her eyes adjust to the sudden brightness.

  By now, the rest of her team could hear the warehouse workers in full panic mode. They listened as doors were opened and more workers ran out of the building in search of their attackers.

  They weren’t there to needlessly scrap with the workers. So, the less of them inside the building, the better.

  “Time?” Sulika asked.

  “Darkness has three minutes.” Oladi replied, her voice slightly strained from the effort of maintaining such a large area spell.

  “Darkvision has five.” Ralocan said in a much more relaxed tone than Oladi.

  “Perfect. Then let’s move out.” She waved her hand forward and started moving. She darted around the wall of the alley and sprinted for the twenty-foot-high perimeter wall surrounding the warehouse.

  “Zarud, Oladi.” Sulika muttered, jerking her head toward the wall.

  Zarud nodded and quickly pushed his back against the wall and formed a step with his hands. Oladi didn’t hesitate to place her safety in his hands - Like they’d done so many times before, Zarud launched Oladi skywards with a grunt of effort.

  Her lithe body twisted through the air with the confidence and grace of a ballroom dancer. She cleared the top of the wall with room to spare and landed on the other side in a forward roll to disperse her momentum.

  The druid rose to her feet and immediately spun to point her staff at a spot above the wall.

  “Sylthen Laiara - Thaelorn vas Laithnor.” Her mana swirled through the air and poured into her staff.

  “Theryn nael dravien thi tharin. (Give us wings to protect us from harm.)” An invisible sphere of mana appeared at the spot she was aiming.

  “Nael sylphen, Laiara, fael thi aelora; Theryn Ansha. (Wings of descent: Feather Fall.)” She said, casting her spell at the same time as Derrik came flying over the wall.

  The spell took hold immediately, slowing his descent to a fraction of what it was. This allowed him to land completely silently, and more importantly, ready to fight if need be.

  Sulika followed a second later, landing in a crouch while her eyes scanned the area for the double doors she knew to be nearby.

  The three or so dozen workers had gathered near the center of the yard, forming a ring of protection for themselves - as they’d been trained to do in the event of a monster attack.

  Sulika grimaced slightly before turning to see Ralocan helping Zarud over the wall. The workers were most likely innocent in this, just normal people trying to feed their families... But just to be on the safe side, it was best if they avoided interacting with them as much as possible.

  Once everyone was inside the walls, Sulika led them towards the warehouse while giving the ring of workers as much space as they possibly could.

  As they neared the large double doors leading inside the warehouse, which were thankfully still open from when the workers first poured out. Sulika brought her mana to the surface and prepared to cast a spell as soon as they were all inside.

  She passed through the opening first and stepped aside to grab the edge of one of the two doors. Derrik came through next and took position in front of the door in case the workers tried to rush back in.

  Oladi and Ralocan came through next, while Zarud brought up the rear and moved to the other door. Once they were all inside the building, Sulika and Zarud shoved against their respective doors and slammed them shut.

  The commotion instantly grabbed the attention of the workers, but it was too late for them.

  Sulika took two large steps back while Derrik took her spot against the door. She flicked the tip of her wand towards the bottom of the door and funneled her magic into it. “Abbas: Arcane Lock” She muttered.

  She whipped her arm towards the ceiling and an arc of mana leapt from the tip of her wand. It hit the door like a runaway wagon and made almost as much noise.

  They all heard the sound of rustling chains, followed by the *clack!* of a heavy lock sliding into place as the spell took hold.

  The workers slammed into the door with all the force they could muster - Once… Twice… Thrice, the doors shaking violently from each hit. But shake as they might, groan as they would, the doors refused to open.

  “There.” She nodded in relief. “Hopefully, that’ll keep them busy long enough for the guild to arrive and put an end to this. I’d hate to waste more mana on the workers.”

  While (Arcane Lock) was by no means a difficult spell to use, it required a deceptive amount of mana to make it truly usable.

  Magic was divided into three categories: divine, arcane, and pact. Sulika used arcane magic, while Oladi and Ralocan both used divine magic.

  Hence the differences in how the three of them cast spells.

  Sulika didn’t need to recite a long incantation before using a spell, because arcane users drew on the mana dwelling within their bodies. She just needed to declare what type of magic she wanted to invoke before saying the spell name and supply the mana to power it.

  Ralocan and Oladi’s powers came from an outside force - the god Cyndarr in Ralocan’s case and the Eternal Mother in Oladi’s. It cost nothing for them to cast their spells, however the drawback to that was the need to prepare the spells in advance. And once used, most spells couldn’t be used again for twenty-four hours.

  “Eyes up, Hunters. The real thing starts now.” Sulika motioned for her teammates to follow and headed for the warehouse’s main room.

  The sooner they stopped the cultists, the easier it would be to dismantle whatever they’d done to set up the dungeon… So long as it hadn’t been opened yet.

  Sulika could only hope they’d gotten there in time.

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