A Letter

Jaina was sweating all over. Getting close to Janice now was obviously a bad idea. Taelan was reliable enough, but there was still a Gnoll Overseer over there wielding a Crescent Staff. If she went over, she'd just be delivering herself to the gnolls. One swing of that staff, and Taelan Fordring would be attending her funeral tomorrow.

At last, the fat rogue showed himself. The idea that villains talked too much was nonsense; real villains only talked to corpses, to satisfy their own vanity. He went straight for a Garrote. In this world, Garrote wasn't like the skill in World of Warcraft that only dealt damage and silenced its target. It was a finishing move, with a chance to kill a humanoid outright.

Jaina was clearly a rookie mage. This was probably her first time facing something like this—and it might well be her last. There was nothing she could do. She didn't have Ice Barrier, much less Ice Block. All she could do was look at Taelan Fordring with her beautiful, wide eyes, filled with reluctance.

Goodbye.

Taelan Fordring: You're saying that too soon.

The fat rogue didn't even bother looking at Jaina as his Garrote struck. No one could save you from an attack this lethal—not even Power Word: Shield. What a pretty little girl. If only... What a shame. No one would waste a life-saving ability on you.

But the scream and spray of blood that should have followed never came. Jaina was completely enclosed in a milky-white shield, and the poison on the dagger had no effect either. A Paladin's life-saving skill—Blessing of Protection.

This skill should've been called Physical Immunity. And the color of this bastard's Blessing of Protection was clearly wrong. The Holy Light energy inside it was practically overflowing; it wouldn't fade for several minutes. The Garrote had failed, but it had still used up energy without a second thought.

Jaina had escaped death. The fat rogue realized he wouldn't be able to deal with this troublesome little mage who used Frostbolt anytime soon. He had no choice but to run, hoping she'd turn and flee.

Jaina had no intention of running. She truly was a hero in the making; she quickly steadied herself and cast Frostbolt again. If he got out of combat and went back into Stealth, they'd all die.

The fat rogue was slowed, but he still managed to get away. Jaina didn't dare pursue him. Taelan Fordring, however, didn't use a skill to remove the snare or cast Blessing of Freedom. Rogues had plenty of skills for controlling their enemies. He turned around and began trading blows with Gogri at an unhurried pace.

Twenty seconds passed. The good news was that the Blessing of Protection on Jaina still hadn't faded; it looked like it would last a little longer. The bad news was that the rogue had disappeared again. Gogri attacked while speaking another sentence in Thalassian: "Let me go, and I'll give you all of it!"

It was desperate too. It could almost see Bwonsamdi now. But it thought the human child in front of it really was illiterate, just a muscle-brained fool. That little girl was terrible at school too—she was a mage, for crying out loud.

Jaina had managed to understand it, at least. The gnoll was begging for its life. It wanted to trade a treasure for its life. Taelan Fordring really wanted to tell it that not every mage was fluent in Thalassian, and that no one could understand its terrible ancient accent.

But Jaina knew Taelan Fordring's Ancient Thalassian was much better than hers. His teacher, the Grand Astromancer, was a true High Elf—and a high-ranking one at that. Ancient Thalassian was a must. But he wouldn't accept a surrender. This creature had no credibility, so she said nothing either.

Then Taelan Fordring felt a chill run down his back. He immediately abandoned Gogri and turned around. The fat rogue's furious voice came from the air: "Brat, you really do know rogues. That little girl means a lot to you, doesn't she? If you'd used Blessing of Protection on yourself, you'd be almost out of sight by now, wouldn't you? Just wait until the Enhanced Blessing of Protection on her disappears. Let's see what you do then."

Taelan Fordring suddenly retreated a few steps. Gogri seized its chance and tried to kill him, pursuing him relentlessly.

After watching it take two steps, Taelan gauged the situation, then took a deep breath and silently activated Blessing of Tirion Fordring and the Eye of Violet Amulet. A pattern resembling a mage's Arcane Intellect appeared over him. Then the Holy Light on his hands and sword seemed to catch fire, and the sword in his grip split into five afterimages.

"Ah!" "Ah!" Gogri and the invisible fat rogue both screamed. A wound deep enough to expose bone appeared on Gogri, spraying blood everywhere. That hadn't been one strike, but three full strikes, dealing damage four times—and every hit had landed in the same spot. The bonus true damage killed it instantly. It screamed and fell to the ground.

Taelan Fordring knew that a rogue could only use Garrote from behind, and unlike in a game, people in the real world had collision. He'd stepped back to let Gogri move into position, using it to make Zeal, a small-area attack, hit the invisible rogue as well.

Then Taelan Fordring heard the long-awaited system notification:

Ding! Congratulations, you killed the High-Ranking Overseer Gogri.

You gained 20  Points. You reached level 13 and gained 1 skill point.

Jaina Proudmoore's affection for you has increased.

Jandice Barov's affection for you has increased.

Quest received: Dark Deal!

Find out what these two rogues are doing here. Learn what shady deal brought them to the Eastern Weald.

Reward: 60  Points. Incriminating Evidence!

The fat rogue also came out of Stealth, because he'd been hit twice. People bled when they were cut by a sword in real life, and Rend was an especially powerful skill. It caused wounds that were hard to heal and made people bleed heavily.

Taelan Fordring immediately used Charge. He knew he couldn't let the rogue get away. Given his character, an ambush was inevitable. They'd only be safe once they reached the Bridgehead Outpost in Caer Darrow. There was a whole squad of guards there, led by a colonel over level 50. A little rogue like this wouldn't be able to hide anywhere near him.

Taelan Fordring saw that the rogue wasn't fighting back but had instead activated Sprint. An idea occurred to him. "Go on, run. I only need to interrogate your companion. I'll be able to find out everything."

What happened next sent chills down Jaina's back.

The fat rogue, still in Sprint, suddenly doubled back. The skinny rogue, who was already unconscious, let out a scream as a sword pierced his chest. He died on the spot.

Taelan Fordring charged again, then followed up with a Mortal Strike. The fat rogue realized he needed a hostage, so he ran toward Jaina. At last, the damn Blessing of Protection on the little girl had faded.

Laozi had already had a cup of tea. Your shield took this long to wear off.

Jaina was startled when her Blessing of Protection faded. She ignored the damage to her magical circuits and drew on all the mana in her body! A wave of cold suddenly spread out from her. With a sharp crack, the fat rogue was frozen in place by Frost Nova! At the very last moment, she'd finally used her new spell.

At the same time, Taelan Fordring protected Jaina with Power Word: Shield again, then charged the fat rogue without hesitation.

The fat rogue knew these few seconds would decide life or death, so he quickly activated his life-saving skill, Evasion. After Taelan Fordring collided with him, he immediately used Mortal Strike, then ignored the pain in his arm muscles and used Zeal again. The fat rogue calmly prepared to use Disarm after Evasion. His energy should recover just in time. That would let him endure these few seconds of being immobilized.

Only then did Janice, who'd been hit with Sap, recover. She immediately began chanting, preparing to cast Fireball.

But not a single Evasion came. Five consecutive sword strikes drew six sprays of blood! The effect of Blessing of Tirion Fordring also activated! The fat rogue could hold on no longer and crumpled to the ground.

Taelan Fordring suddenly asked in a low voice, "What did Duke Falrestrasz send you here to do?"

The fat rogue froze. How did he know about the duke? Just then, a Fireball struck him.

Thank you all for your support. I was in a rush today, so I could only post it first and revise it later.