A Werewolf In Under-Town

Levy tapped her feet to the music blasting from the car's radio as she leaned back in her chair. Next to her, Rita was swerving their stolen vehicle through the narrow streets. Shadows stretched across the dark streets and empty buildings. Making the entire block look like something out of a horror film. Levy thought it was appropriate, given her chosen magical affinity. But she could sense the others in the car were more apprehensive.

"Are we sure that pale woman was telling the truth?" asked Delores Kaincaid. Earth mage 3rd class.

Levy winced as she anticipated Rita's angry growl. The woman was surprisingly defensive about her fellow pack mates.

"Her name is Ephemara, and she is trustworthy enough for the boss and the Mistress." Rita said angrily.

"I know that. But an abandoned bank so close to Downtown Austin? It just feels like we're being set up," Delores argued.

Levy rubbed her temples as she heard the car steering wheel creak under Rita's hands. The werewolf was getting more pissed off. She thought it best to intercede.

"All of the pack confirmed it, Delores. So did my husband. Even though he was a little concerned about how close the bank was to Austin."

"Shaggy didn't say anything." Rita snorted.

"Yeah, but that says plenty." Levy laughed. "You just need to learn to read between his lines. He'd clearly forgotten about this place and he didn't think Ephemera would share it with me."

"Yeah, but why did she share it with you? Isn't this the woman that's constantly hitting on your husband?"

Levy rolled her eyes at the magical NPC. Maybe it was stupid to choose her team based on loyalty ratings. They were all her friends, ostensibly. But they were all weirdly protective of her. She could see agreement in the other two mages she had recruited as well. Rita was audibly growling now and the steering wheel was visibly bent.

"That is between Shaggy, Ephe, and myself. Let's just prepare for what's coming, okay? The bank is deserted and in a defunct part of the city. It's a ghost town. Now, Ephemara mentioned the vault was protected by several types of protection. Which is why you're here, Wynn."

The black-haired woman with bright red eyes finally looked up at Levy, and their eyes met. The shy Protections specialist blushed slightly before looking back down again. Next to her, William Elum, a Summoner, looked confused. So Levy pointed out his job.

"You and Rita are on protection. Delores is here in case there are any physical traps buried around the vault itself." Levy smiled at all the passengers in the car before turning ahead.

Everyone in the vehicle contemplated their role for a bit until Will spoke up with a question. "Mistress, if I may ask, what will you and Ephemara be doing?"

"Oh!" Levy laughed, legitimately forgetting that part. "Well, Ephe is already there, scoping things out and I will be secondary support. If Wynn needs helps with the wards and such on the vault, or you and Rita need a hand. I can summon a decent number of skeletal servants now."

Levy grinned as she mentally reviewed her spell book. She had more than the average skeletons in her roster now. But a good Sorceress always kept a few things hidden. It made the reveal that much better. While also giving them a few trump cards. Delores coughed awkwardly, signaling that another stupid statement was coming.

"So why don't we just use them as lookouts and the werewolves can wait outside?"

Levy sighed as she saw Rita tense like a spring ready to blow. With a snap of her fingers, she summoned two binding spells. One around Rita's waist and another around Delores' mouth. Purple bands of magic sprang to life on her attended targets and Levy breathed a sigh of relief as Rita's band held. The super strong Were lurched against the belt and tried to spin around to swipe at Delores. Wynn quickly summoned a shield spell in front of the Earth Mage's face. But it was unnecessary.

Rita's fingers barely grazed the glowing yellow shield spell as Delores' eyes went wide in shock. The frizzy-haired werewolf turned in her seat and glared at Levy. But she merely smiled at her husband's NPC and pointed a finger down the road.

"I think we are getting close."

Rita huffed before she returned her attention to driving. Levy let a few more seconds pass before she released the two binding spells. Delores gasped for air as Wynn dropped her spell as well. Once the car settled down again, Levy answered the Earth mage's poorly worded question.

"We don't want skeletons as our lookouts because they draw too much attention. We might not be IN Austin. But we are a little too close. So everything we do must be done quickly and silently. If everything pans out, Rita and Will won't have to do a thing."

"Hmph! Do we even know what's in this supposed vault?" Delores asked, her bravery recovering quickly.

"No. but that's most of the fun, right? I mean, why would an abandoned bank in a ruined part of town still have a vault in place? Not just a vault, but one with protections still in place. Anything could be in there."

"Or the previous owners could've moved the stuff out of the vault and just left the enchantments up." Rita added, smirking.

Levy rubbed her hands together excitedly. "I know, right?! Hell, there might be some super secret artifact in there or something."

She saw Rita rolling her eyes. But Levy was truly amped by the mystery. She didn't really care about the competition or the bragging rights. She was already awesome and she would brag about it constantly, anyway. But when Ephemara and Rita had mentioned the bank vault, Levy felt her Gamer senses tingling. It was just what she was looking for tonight.

The others had already gone out and returned from their own heists. All except Vlad. And most of them had gone off with little problems. Well, Dave might have led a dinosaur down to Under-Town, but that was being looked into. Most of the other heists had brought in huge bags of credits, making the Viper's Den shake with the cheers. Levy was also happy, but money was money. They could get that anywhere. What she was hoping for now was something worth a lot more. Although the chances were low.

But as their car slowed and Rita pulled them into a large alley, Levy felt something in the air. It was like the hum of electricity was buzzing in her ears. It was accompanied by a charged sensation flowing over her skin. She shivered and noticed the three other magic users in the car do the same.

Levy practically cackled. "Ooooooh, something wicked this way is."

"That didn't feel wicked, Mistress."

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Levy rolled her eyes. "I'm aware, Delores. But there is something magical in the air."

Rita watched their conversation for a short while before shrugging and getting out of the car. Levy smiled and opened her own door and stepping out into the warm night air. She summoned her staff to her side and felt it resonate with the power in the air. Magic was different in every game. But Levy felt she had a pretty good handle on magic in Modern Age. Powerful magic sung through the air like a song only a few people could hear. Whenever it met another bit of magic in the air, the two forces either combined or canceled each other out. Levy's staff was steeped in Necrotic Magic and it was humming like a tuning fork.

"My magic…" Wynn whispered as she traced her fingers in the air.

Levy turned to see the three other mages now out of the car. Will had drawn his wand and was glancing around like a professional soldier. Wynn was looking around gobsmacked and Delores was on the ground, her palms flat on the alley floor. Levy opened her magical sight and glanced around. She stifled a gasp as all around bits of magic floated in the air and danced around. What's more, it was echoing off the other magic users just as well as it was her staff.

"Artifact." Delores whispered as she ran her hands over the ground.

"We don't know that yet." Levy tried to manage expectations.

"Mistress, something is leaving trace amounts of magic in the air and resonating with all four of our magical disciplines! What else could do that?"

"A powerful magic user." Will said, still on his toes.

"A-a-a broken, um, artifact w-would also leave traces like this," Wynn added nervously. "Something that was shattered and then left behind. Echoes of its magic would reach through the world and touch all forms of magic."

Levy nodded as Delores stared daggers at Wynn and Will. She looked ready to argue the point when Ephemara popped into existence next to Levy. Wynn and Delores yelped in surprise, but Will sent a magical bolt straight for the black-haired woman's face. Ephemara snorted as she dodged the magical missile and glared pointedly at Will.

"You might not want to do that too many times, mister." Ephemara's face switched to a grin as she turned to Levy. "So, how long have you been here?"

"Like you don't already know?" Levy asked, looking over at Rita.

The matronly warrior woman was leaning against the car and watching them all like a hawk. She snorted at Levy, but nodded in acceptance. Shaggy's pack mates had a sort of telepathy that allowed them all to communicate with each other. Levy was a little jealous of the connection. But having dipped into the mental quagmire, she was also a little happy not to be stuck with other people's thoughts in her head.

"So what's an artifact?" Ephe smiled.

Levy returned the smile as she started walking. Her husband's Number One Lackey followed at her side as she explained.

"Artifacts are powerful magical totems that contain the power of whatever deity, being, concept, etc. has blessed it."

"Or cursed." Wynn said softly as they all exited the alley.

Will and Rita brought up the rear of the group as Levy lead them out onto the sidewalk. The bank was only a few feet away and already Levy could feel the resonance within her staff growing. Ephe and Rita seemed blissfully unaware of the magic in the air.

"Wouldn't a powerful magical item be one of the first things the bank moved? Why is such a thing here at all?"

Levy shrugged. "I can't say. Maybe whoever owned it died, and the bank went under before their relatives pulled their stuff out of the vault. Maybe this neighborhood went to shit because of the artifact? And they left it behind until it ran out of power."

"Is that why you couldn't sense it until we were almost on top of it?" Rita asked as they ascended the stairs together.

The huge double doors of the bank were broken open and the pillars outside along with the bank wall were full of holes. Recent looking holes. Levy raised an eyebrow at Rita and Ephe, but both women waved her off. Urging her to continue her explanation. She made a mental note to get the full story from Shaggy when she saw him later. But she continued as they moved inside.

"Possibly." Levy admitted. "It's also possible that the artifact is so weak that it's losing its juice."

"So why even bother?"

"Because an artifact without its power is still an incredibly useful thing. We are talking about an item designed to hold the strength and presence of a deity. Even empty, the thing can still resonate with the magic in the air."

"And you're sure that's what in the vault."

Levy stuck her staff in the air and followed the traces of magic in the air. "No. But it's exciting to think that's what we could find."

Ephemara cracked a grin of her own and shook her head. "You and Shaggy deserve each other."

"We deserve a lot," Levy said.

Rita and Will stayed in the bank's lobby as Levy led the rest of the group down into the bank and toward the vault. The magic in the air was fading, even as it echoed all around them. If it was an artifact in the vault, it was losing power fast. The closer they got, the more the magic in the air fluctuated. Like it could feel them getting closer.

"Artifact. It's definitely an Artifact." Delores practically cheered as they found the vault room and walked in.

Immediately, a wave of magic rushed forth from the vault. To Ephemara, it must have looked like a heavy wind rushed through the room. But to Levy, Wynn, and Delores, it was like a multi-colored wave of magic shot forth from the vault door. Wynn immediately erected a large golden shield spell, breaking the wave of magic against it. Meanwhile, Delores was lost in her delusions of power and rushed past the shield spell and toward the vault door. She crashed into it like a woman possessed and began running her hands along its steel frame.

Levy could sense the woman's magic resonating wildly with the magic in the room. She was afraid the Earth Mage was going mana drunk, but she seemed to catch herself. She spun away from the large door and hurried back over to Wynn excitedly. As she did, Levy caught Delores cutting her eyes at her. A look of hunger flashed across Delores' face, and Levy checked the loyalty rating menu again.

Delores' rating was now at a 75. Not an enormous drop from the 90 it had been, but was cause for concern. Levy closed the window and shot Ephemara a look. The pale werewolf picked up on her suspicions and promptly left the room. Trusting in her husband's people, Levy approached the two mages.

"Wynn?" she asked carefully.

The short Protections specialist jumped at her name being called, but quickly nodded and cast several spells with her hands. Levy tried to catch the spellwork as it flashed in the air like golden fireworks, but it was too quick. The young witch was clearly trying to cast identifying spells on the vault door, but Levy didn't see them all. After a few more castings, Wynn blew out a breath and smiled.

"I've got it, Mistress. There are several wards and protections spells on the vault door. I just need to crack them one at a time in order."

"Good. Can you get started now? Or should you rest your magic a bit?"

"We can't wait!" Delores practically shouted. "The Artifact is dying! We need to get to it fast."

"Not at the expense of Wynn." Levy said calmly.

The dark-haired witch looked scared before she steeled herself.

"I can do it, mistress. If-if you grant me a portion of your power. I just need the extra mana to get through it all in one-shot." Wynn said.

Levy nodded as she saw the greedy look cross Delores' face again. She could practically see the Loyalty Rating dropping again. The Earth Mage was going to be a problem. But one she was more than ready for.

She spun Wynn back toward the vault door and placed her hands on the young woman's shoulder blades. Levy had mana to spare anyway, so what were a few hundred to open a vault door? Meanwhile, she ordered Delores to search the dirt around the vault for hidden devices. The Mage hid her greed well, but Levy could already see the plan forming in Delores' mind. She readied a few defensive spells as she transferred mana to Wynn.

It was truly a sad thing. Delores had been one of the mages closest to ranking up to Henchman. Such a waste. But that's what happens when your recruit from the Mad Witch's Academy.