The Terrifying Skeleton Lord (1)

On the road from Faerun City to Rhine City, a black carriage bearing the Dietrich Family crest raced along at breakneck speed.

Inside, Dinio sat in his usual tailcoat, gazing expressionlessly out the window. His hair was impeccably groomed, and though he was alone, he sat with his back ramrod straight.

As a senior steward of the Dietrich Family, Dinio possessed more than formidable strength and loyalty to the family. He also harbored an ambition buried deep in his heart. He was gifted, disciplined, and resolute, but because of his humble origins, even now that he was an Advanced Formal Rank Transcendent, he could only serve as an obedient hound of the Dietrich Family.

Lady Shirley Will was his chance. Though she had married into the Dietrich Family, her strength and skill had won her considerable influence within it. If he earned her favor and she posted him elsewhere, the family's power could help him become a councilor in an ordinary city or the head of a powerful department. Either would be better than staying at the family estate, bowing and scraping as he waited on others.

Just then, a scroll beside Dinio suddenly lit up.

He picked it up and unrolled it. A line of writing appeared, making him frown. "They still haven't found Cristiano?" he murmured.

This trip to Rhine City concerned Lady Shirley Will's private affairs. He could draw on some of the family's resources, but he could not make a public spectacle of it.

After a moment's thought, Dinio took out a fountain pen and quickly wrote on the scroll: "Find Hillsova Lenin, a High Priest of the Nature Church. He has close ties with Cristiano. Start your investigation there." Before leaving, he had learned from the family's intelligence network that Cristiano had recently been in