Number Seven Oak Street

Number Seven Oak Street was a somewhat dilapidated house, its courtyard carpeted with dead branches and fallen leaves.

A musty smell of damp earth and rotting wood hit Renato, making him instinctively cover his mouth and nose.

It was a strange sensation. The neglected courtyard certainly smelled unpleasant, but not enough to make him feel so sick.

A balding, middle-aged man stood a few paces from the iron gate, occasionally wiping his temples with a gray handkerchief.

His wool coat was clean but faded. He must have been wearing it for years.

"Good day, esteemed Mage." The man bowed to Perly first.

"Gentlemen, I am Evan Hopewell, the legal heir to this property."

So it wasn't my fault I mistook Perly's gender when we first met, Renato thought.

"As you can see, the courtyard is... well, somewhat neglected. Ever since my respected aunt Gnessa-may the gods watch over her, wherever she may be-disappeared one day seven years ago, no one has been inside."

"Of course, these animated suits of armor that have been injuring people were never my aunt's intention. She was a spellcaster of... noble blood, devoted to her research. I believe the animated armor was merely some private experiment of hers."

Evan rubbed his hands and rambled on until Perly interrupted impatiently:

"Was your aunt a Mage of the school of conjuration?"

"No, no, she was a Sorcerer of noble blood, descended from..."

"A Sorcerer devoted to research?" Perly interrupted scornfully. "Where did her spellcasting abilities come from? Her bloodline? Or some other source?"

Evan began sweating even more, constantly mopping his forehead with his handkerchief.

"Madam Mage, I really don't know much about that. However, my aunt did spend a great deal of time investigating the source of her spellcasting abilities. I assume it had nothing to do with her bloodline, since no one else in the family can cast spells..."

"If you don't know what you're talking about, keep quiet. Whether you can cast spells has no bearing on whether your aunt possessed a magical bloodline."

Evan tried to force a casual smile, but it looked painfully stiff.

"Are you certain this property belongs to you? Under the guild's rules, I need to examine the relevant documents."

Renato's question eased the awkwardness. Evan straightened his back and answered:

"All the legal documents are in order, I assure you." He hurriedly added this assurance while patting the parchment scroll he had brought.

"Once the 'obstacles' inside have been cleared away, I can legally inherit the property. You may then take anything my aunt left behind. She once jointly owned a shop selling magical sundries. Believe me, Madam Mage, there are bound to be plenty of things inside that will interest you..."

After inspecting the documents concerning the division of the estate, Renato ended the brief conversation and entered the courtyard with Perly.

The courtyard was a regular square, with a flagstone path almost swallowed by withered weeds leading straight to the main house's porch.

There were dried bloodstains beneath the covered walkways on the east and west sides, and the main house's wooden front door had been smashed to pieces. Renato guessed the blood had been left by the injured Adventurers.

According to Evan, the house had two stories. The first floor mainly consisted of a hall, a study, and a kitchen. The study occupied the west wing, while the kitchen was at the back, with a rear door leading into the abandoned backyard. At least three suits of animated armor roamed the main house.

The second floor could only be reached by the main staircase in the hall. It contained three bedrooms and a small sitting room, with the owner's bedroom at the end of the corridor.

The mission was to clear out the animated armor, so Renato decided to start with the main hall.

He pushed open the ruined door. The hall was even more chaotic than the courtyard.

Renato saw no animated armor, only assorted objects strewn across the floor beneath a thin layer of dust.

Several relatively fresh footprints were faintly visible on the floor. Their varying sizes suggested they had not been left by animated armor. They probably belonged to the Adventurers as well.

A long dining table stood in the center of the hall, its tablecloth moldy. Renato stepped forward, hefted a candlestick, then shook his head and set it down.

Silver-plated. Worthless.

Most of the wineglasses on the table had been shattered during the fighting. In one that remained intact, Renato spotted a ring of long-dried, dark red residue.

This suggested the owner had not planned to leave, or had left in such a hurry that she had not even had time to finish her wine.

But he was no detective, and he had no interest in deducing the truth.

Then several marks on the wall, seemingly carved with a knife, abruptly caught Renato's eye.

They were simple scratches, like a child's scribbles. But having spent months being hunted, he knew these were no idle doodles. They were marks of death!

It's a Harpers code. Those lunatics... they've followed me here!

The thought was more piercing than a winter wind. In an instant, it froze the sense of security Renato had painstakingly built over the past six months.

Exhaustion, humiliation, fear, and anger surged through him one after another. He began involuntarily recalling every moment over the past few months when he might have exposed himself.

The turmoil lasted a moment before Renato's reason finally prevailed.

No. This sign roughly means "danger," not the "assemble" signal I kept seeing while they were hunting me.

These Harpers Spies might not be after me. Could it be...

Perly's worried gaze made Renato forcibly cut off his pointless speculation.

He was still in the middle of a dangerous mission. The damned Harpers could go to hell for now.

Renato heard an extremely faint scraping of metal from the room on the left. That should have been the study.

"Perly, Magic Weapon."

He drew the Silent Lady from his back, and Perly lightly touched the blade with both hands, murmuring an incantation.

The air around the sword blurred and twisted. Dust swirled, then instantly vaporized without a trace.

The hilt still felt cold, but waves of heat washed over the back of his hand.

This was the fiery infusion granted by Magic Weapon. At Renato's request, Perly had deliberately kept it from producing open flames.

Standing before the closed study, Renato kicked the door open without hesitation!

A suit of animated armor stood behind it. Its body consisted of rusted Chainmail and leather armor panels, covered by large, worn copper plates. Its helmet was a fully enclosed bronze helm, with only a dozen or so holes through which to see.

Facing the intruder who had burst through the door, the animated armor calmly raised its long axe and brought it down at his head.

The heavy bronze axe met his sword. After a brief deadlock, Renato forced it down.

Heavy footsteps thundered overhead, while Perly's incantation sounded behind him.

He had to hurry.

Renato stepped forward and drove his elbow into its faceplate. Sticky pus splattered from the eyeholes, leaving a filthy streak on the wall.

That was wrong. How could a construct have blood? But Renato had no time to dwell on it. An elbow strike powerful enough to knock a normal person's teeth out had not affected the animated armor in the slightest. It swung a fist at the Adventurer pressed close against it.

The heavy punch struck Renato's left ribs. Despite the cushioning of both his Chain Shirt and Gambeson, the pain still made him frown.

Taking advantage of its punch, Renato twisted his sword's crossguard, disarming the animated armor as it held its axe in one hand and forcing it to its knees.

He gave it no chance to retrieve its weapon. His searing sword tip pierced its neck, protected only by leather armor.

The blade cut through the leather, meeting the resistance of flesh. At the same time, it hissed violently like a red-hot branding iron, releasing a foul-smelling vapor.

The armor immediately stiffened. Its outer plates bulged slightly under pressure from within, then all movement abruptly ceased.

As though its support had suddenly vanished, the entire suit of armor collapsed across the floor. A revolting, shapeless lump of flesh oozed through the gaps, flowing like sludge.

"Renato, they're almost down here!"

At the little Mage's shout, Renato rushed out of the room. Three suits of animated armor identical to the first were descending the hall's staircase with bizarre steps.

Four Magic Missiles shot toward the foremost enemy. The glowing darts burrowed into the seams of its rusted Chainmail, briefly halting its advance.

"Renato! There's something wrong with this animated armor! It's not like the descriptions in the books..."

"Focus on casting!"

Renato kicked a chair into the air, knocking down the animated armor that had just reached the foot of the stairs.

Two suits of animated armor came around opposite sides of the long table. An axe blade scraped Renato's Pauldrons, leaving a distinct gouge.

Renato leaped straight onto the table, evading an axe thrust from the other direction. As the enemy withdrew its axe, he swung his blade and sliced off half of its axe-wielding hand.

The decayed Ring Mail gauntlet was severed cleanly, and bloody pus poured from the stump.

The animated armor gripped its long axe in one hand and tried to continue attacking the intruder. But it could not control the heavy bronze weapon with a single hand. Its movements were riddled with openings, and Renato drove his Longsword through its chest, finishing off the second enemy.

Three glowing Magic Missiles flew toward the animated armor trying to rise beside the stairs. Putrid blood seeped from the fastenings of its Chainmail, forming a pool on the floor.

Across the long table, another suit of animated armor jabbed repeatedly with its axe tip. The point slipped and deflected off Renato's plate vambrace.

Instead of pulling his Longsword from the corpse, Renato seized the axe haft and hauled it toward him with both hands. After a brief struggle, the axe came free, and the animated armor toppled onto the table with its own momentum.

He raised the heavy bronze axe and, driven by the fury in his heart, hacked savagely at its head. The blade chipped apart, and dents covered the helmet. The animated armor's limbs twitched before it finally collapsed into a heap of flesh.

The animated armor Renato had knocked down with the bench never managed to stand. Perly's Magic Missiles had riddled it with holes, leaving it like a deflated ball, able only to writhe on the floor.

Renato stepped forward and plunged his sword down with both hands, finishing off the last enemy.