I allowed her to leave after informing her of a few more things.

I told that the driver was gone, but the carriage still awaited her. She seemed a bit unhappy about this. I suspect that the driver might have been a member of her order or someone affiliated with it. I also told her how to contact me in future and not to try any other manner. She reclaimed the symbols of her organisation from the altar before leaving.

The Hunters outside were informed not to interfere with her leaving. I instructed them to gather within the church while she was away from the building. Roberson was asked to ensure she left without making any marks or leaving anything behind. Trust needed to be earned, and she had not shown me anything to trust her.

I allowed Rigger to claim the body of the woman; in turn was required to bury the two men and was not allowed to claim any of the loot. He seemed happy with that trade-off. He quickly strips the bodies of any valuables, placing them on the altar. By the time the others had arrived, the bodies had been stripped, and the picnic basket had also been placed on the altar. I started to inspect what we have gained.

There was quite a good selection of tobacco acquired from both men and a bit more from the baskets. Harrington offered to trade all of his options on this for the wine that was discovered. The other Hunters agreed to forego their right to claim the wine in exchange for the tobacco. There were other examples of food within the basket, mostly savages and cheeses. Blackstone was not interested in any of it and sat on the pew watching the others argue over the spoils. Harrington was able to claim a significant portion of the cheese, and the other hunters ignored the rest of the food.

I, however, came up very well from this. I have gained access to several jewellery pieces and watches, as well as two silver flasks. The alcohol was given to the other Hunters—several hundred dollars in greenbacks, with several gold and silver dollars as well. There was some loose change, which I decided to keep.

I was also able to save a little bit back for Roberson. When he returned, he was given his share, for which he was grateful. He informed me that Eleanor had left the dungeon via the most direct route possible, without stopping or leaving anything behind. I think he was pleased with the body he acquired, so the rest was just an added bonus. The driver had been a man in his early 30s, well-built.

Rigger had removed the body of his new wife to his lair as soon as she had secured her. He returned and was dealing with the bodies of the two men. Looking at the stains on the floor, I knew I was going to have to be triggering [Hide the Crime!] A few times over the next several days.

With the loot split and the bodies being dealt with, I allowed the Hunters to be on their way. Rigger had brought a shovel back with him, but was still seeking a place to bury the dead. Usually, this would be an issue, but due to his unique condition, he was seeking a place that would not expose him to the sun's intense heat. I left him to this, taking the money and newly gained valuables downstairs.

I had some reading to do.

I was willing to take the risk of someone else arriving today, but felt it was a minor one. I placed my new items in their necessary storage locations and added the money to the chest. I had gained an additional $325, four gold twenty-dollar coins and six one-dollar silver coins.

The Liber Societatum Occultaeum had to be consulted to learn what I could about the Daughters of Medusa. Their entry was earlier in the book.

According to the author, the Daughters of Medusa had an interesting origin and history. According to the information the author claimed to have discovered, the daughters emerged in Greece about 200 BCE. They were a group of women who believed in their own empowerment through magic and taking control of their own lives.

The group was not a coordinated or focused organisation at the time of the Roman Empire. It was here that they began to become more active in politics through the influence of powerful men exerted through their wives. They still actively practised magic but became more focused on finding power for women. They were represented openly by a cult that worshipped the moon. At first, they attempted to seize power, but this proved disastrous, and they quickly adopted a more subtle approach. They are named after Medusa, as they saw her as one of the great injustices in classical literature.

If the author's information is to be believed, the fall of the Roman Empire caused a split inside their organisation. They still try to manipulate men from the shadows to maintain influence and power. The divide, however, was over what goal they sought with this power. Many of the women wanted to study the magical arts and use them for their own agendas. A minor but more radical faction sought to assume more power and become the ultimate force controlling society from the shadows.

This divide continued through the Dark Ages, but the Inquisition, which persecuted many women labelled as witches, persisted into the late 18th century, changing the group's outlook. Their numbers suffered greatly in these purges, as many were, in fact, what we would call "witches" in the non-evil/devil-worshipping stereotypical ones from literature. That did not mean that the numbers did not include those who did dabble in the dark arts. The rest of the Daughters frowned upon this and often ostracised those who took this path.

Information about the organisation became very hard to find in the 19th century as they became far more secretive and organised. The current goals were not known to the author, but their organisation had been linked to involvement in various political groups and the support of influential individuals. However, it was strongly hinted that their wicken beliefs and practices were still strong within the organisation.

Their history and clashes with the Way of Athamos were hinted at, along with several other supernatural societies. However, it seemed that the Way was the source of most conflicts, as the two often fought or clashed over items of power or mystical places.

"Interesting. I will need to make sure that I don't become such a point of conflict."

My research took me well into the night, and the next day, I resumed my usual post at the top of the spatial bubble, looking out across the world.

I had expected that things would go quiet for a time, but I was proven wrong yet again.

I had just shaken up the Hunters again by assigning them to different hunting grounds. It was the 15th of May, and I was watching the storm possibly heading my way in the distance. The wind had picked up in the trees around, and they were starting to sway more as they were feeling its effects. The wind was hinting that the storm was definitely heading in my direction. The horizon was a wall of deep grey clouds that sat low.

"Hopefully, that blowout before it reaches me."

I looked back down at the road, which I could see through the trees, and the path that led to the gates. At first, everything looked as it should be, just another quiet day at New Midian. But as the trees swayed in the growing wind, I began to notice signs that someone was moving up the path.

After a few minutes, the presence of someone approaching was confirmed with a single rider heading towards the gates. When they entered the clearing before them, I shifted down to see what was going on.

A single man approached the gates after dismounting his horse and tying it up. He was carrying a bag that had a shovel attached to it. In one hand, he held a shotgun. It looked like a treasure hunter to me.

[Alert! Intruder is not recognised as a Challenger.]

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He had walked straight through the courtyard, ignoring the pass to the north and south, and headed directly towards the church in a roughly western direction. He was cutting through the graves and tombs, doing his best to stay level with the church steeple in the distance.

I notified the Hunters of what was happening as they were moving from their liars.

He was in Rodriguez's hunting grounds. The outer hunting grounds had been expanded and were far larger than the ones deeper within the maze. This allowed Hunters to get to them before the intruder or Challenger vacated the area. Rodriguez lived quite deep into the labyrinth, and I knew he was moving up as fast as he could.

I directed him to where the intruder was roughly heading.

He was head of the intruder deeper in the maze and used the time available to him before he arrived to scramble up on top of a mausoleum. He barely got up there before the intruder began to approach the building. He peeked over the lip of the roof and spotted him. He was forced to reposition himself to the other side of the building and took great care not to disturb the tiles, alerting the intruder to his presence.

The intruder was walking around the building by the time he had done this, and he almost missed him. But he was able to jump from the roof down onto the intruder. The man never had a chance, as his back was turned to the direction from which Rodriguez had jumped, and he was unable to defend himself.

His Tomahawk made bloody work of the intruder.

[A Hunter has made a Kill.]

Rodriguez sat straddling the body of the intruder. He was covered in the blood from the savage attack, and he was licking his Tomahawk blade with his tongue. He had been starting to do this over the last few years, but now it was becoming far more engaged with the act.

I let him get on with it as he knew what was required after a kill.

I returned to the top of the spatial bubble and started cursing as I realised the storm was definitely heading my way. The flashes of lightning told me it was going to be a fun day.

The month of May passed with three more deaths in New Midian.

The first belonged to a rather unimpressive Challenger. Harrington manipulated shadows around him and ambushed the man from the side. This time, he didn't mess around and killed him quickly.

The final two were another pair of treasure hunters. Who came in late one day and took the southern pathway.

[Alert! Intruders are not recognised as Challengers.]

That was unsurprising as both men were heavily armed. Each carried a large backpack with a pickaxe and shovel strapped to both. I watched them as they headed down the pathway while Rodriguez was moving quickly to ambush them. I decided not to call them off and gather the Hunters to take them out, but decided to see if Rodriguez could handle two at once. I have seen my hunters in the past fight multiple opponents, but I had been wondering if I had been a bit too paranoid about engaging pairs. If there were three or four treasure hunters, I definitely would have called them the Hunters, but I think Rodriguez could handle it.

He seemed eager to try. He was close to the next level, and if you successfully kill both men, it would tip him over to it.

Several wrong paths turned them around, but they eventually reached the point where Rodriguez had decided to ambush them. Again, he was on top of a mausoleum, this time next to the pathway that takes them to the next ring. They had just decided to head down it and were more confident in their choice as they walked.

This conflict ended when the first of them had Rodriguez drop in on him. He started screaming as a Tomahawk was in his skull. The impact had killed him, but he was severely wounded. Rodriguez tore his weapon from the skull of the first man and attacked the second. He was carrying a rifle and was pointing it at Rodriguez, shaking in fear and panic. Rodriguez was able to turn the barrel as he fired, causing the shop to miss him.

Rodriguez got in close, and the day's bloody work continued with plenty more screaming.

[A Hunter has made a Kill.]

[A Hunter has made a Kill.]

[Hunter: Hector Rodriguez, Level up!]

And there it was.

He indulged in his new fetish of licking the blood from the blade of his Tomahawk, but he also started to go for the wounds of those he had killed. I decided to leave him to his work.

Tomorrow things will be different.

Rodriguez was levelling and did not appear the next day or the day after that.

This was a bit surprising as he was usually relatively quick.

I had gotten the Hunters into a habit of notifying me when they were ready to communicate after levelling. I granted them their privacy during this period by telling them that I would not interfere or enquire until they were prepared to speak with me. I got the impression that they were happy with this choice. So far, I have made sure to follow it, respecting them until they are ready.

I got a message from him that he was ready.

It came through our connection, and I instantly noted the change in his voice. It possessed a more growly aspect to it along with a deeper tone.

I found him waiting for me outside of his lair.

He was the second of my Hunters to make it to a new level, and I was eager to see what changes would come due to what happened with the last Challenger.

He was now hunched, his shoulder seemed broader, and I think his arms longer. I also noticed that his legs were bent slightly, which added to the hunch and made them appear smaller. The clothes he wore were straining under the changes, and I knew he would need a new wardrobe soon. His features had significantly changed as well. His hair, always black, was longer and thicker, along with the sideburns running down the side of his face.

His face was now hinting at more pronounced changes to come. I noticed that his face protruded like a stout was trying to form. His teeth were also sharp and jagged like a carnivore's. They were stained yellow but consistently strong-looking. His eyes were a solid yellow now in the iris, and what used to be white was blood red. His ears were also now heavily pointed and seemed to be twitching.

Before I spoke to him, I called up his character sheet. Time to see what I was dealing with.

Hunter Name

Hector Rodriguez

Level

5

Kills

0/27

Skills

 

Loyalty

Good

Stealth. IV

Horse Riding. III

Camouflage. I

Blades. IV

Handguns. IV

Rifles. III

Tracking. II

Dark Traits

Sadistic Rapist

Inner Beast Revealed!

I noticed the changes but decided to speak to him first before delving deeper.

"Congratulations on your new abilities."

"Thank you, Señor Keeper." There was definitely a growl to his words, and I noticed how speaking seemed to be becoming more difficult for him. His mouth had changed, and forming words seemed to be something it was becoming unaccustomed to.

"Well, I will leave you to get on with your day. I would be most interested to see how you interact with our next visitors."

He nodded and disappeared back into his lair, not speaking any more. I use this opportunity to look up his new dark trait.

Inner Beast Revealed!

Your Hunters are monsters. Monsters come in many shapes and forms, and this particular Hunter has revealed that they are a beast. As they develop along their path in your service, these changes will become more pronounced.

Your Hunter's senses have been dramatically improved. Hunting in the dark is now even easier for them. Their strength and reflexes have also been improved.

But be warned, such power comes with a price, as they become more animalistic and eventually lose the ability to speak, as what little humanity they have will be sacrificed.

"That oddly makes sense."

His changes since his arrival had been showing me that he was becoming more bestial every time he levelled up. This only confirmed it. I strongly suspect that he was ultimately turning into some form of werewolf-esque monster. I was willing to lay a bet on this one.

Heightened senses along with improved speed and strength. All good improvements for him. The change into an animalistic killer could eventually lead to a full-on transformation that I was unsure of.

He was the second of my hunters to reach level five, with Rigger being the first. As with him, Rodriguez had accepted a new dark trait. This, however, might not be the norm due to the changes now affecting New Midian.

June was on the horizon, and I waited to see what the rest of the year would bring. It had been quite an unusual year so far.

I returned to my usual spot at the top of the spatial bubble, looking out across the world.

I knew that the Way of Athamos would be back eventually, and now I had a daughter to medusa out there as well. What would they do? For now, I had no idea, but I have to be ready in case they decide to take a less civilised approach towards me.

I could see the storm building across in Europe. The Pacific was also looking to be a focal point of conflict. I got the impression that the powderkeg was almost finished, and it would only take one match to set it all alight. The explosion would forever change the world.

All I could do was wait and see what happened.

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