"Hey, mage, don't try anything funny. We'll pay you half at most up front. Once we're out of the city, you'll get the rest..."
The half-drow warrior leading the group cursed as she unfastened a bulging coin pouch from her belt, hefted it in her hand, and held it out to the Spider Mage.
A crisp metallic jingle came from the pouch, suggesting it held a good number of silver coins.
Yet the masked Spider Mage did not reach for the pouch. Instead, he extended a pale, skeletal hand and clamped it tightly around her wrist.
"Hey, what are you doing... Aah!"
As the half-drow warrior cried out in pain, an eerie green light flared in her eyes. The mage's lips moved rapidly, reciting an obscure incantation as negative energy manifested.
As the necromantic spell took effect, the half-drow warrior's skin began to crack and age before their eyes.
Dense negative energy traveled along the mage's arm and into the warrior's flesh. The cold energy surged through her veins and sinews like an icy current, rapidly draining the life from everything it touched.
The half-drow warrior instinctively grabbed the hand brimming with negative energy, locking her fingers around the mage's wrist as she tried to pry his hand loose.
But the instant her fingernails touched the negative energy, they too became brittle. Her strength drained away so quickly that she could barely stand, much less interrupt his spell.
The mage's chanting grew louder and faster. The half-drow warrior opened her mouth wide to scream, only to find she could no longer make a sound. Her vocal cords rapidly died under the corrosive negative energy, leaving only an indistinct wheeze in her throat.
At last, her struggles abruptly ceased.
The Necromancy Mage released her with disgust, and the half-drow warrior's corpse