"I can't believe I'm going back."

"You know the deal. Find the mages, kill the mages, get paid."

"I know, but you're aware that every single person on your list, to the best of my knowledge, is currently employed by the necromancer?"

"Why do you think we are putting bounties on their heads? Assasinating mage generals is just as effective as defeating their armies in the short term. It gives us breathing space. It gives us time to call up the willing to fight, or to convince the Dark Elves and Dwarves that unless he is stopped, their land will be overrun, or cut off and starved."

"Alright. If I survive, you will be paying me every penny of that twenty thousand gold, per head."

"You have my word. You know how to reach me."

The shadowy elf evaporated into the clear night air, leaving behind no trace but the fading mist of his breath in the cool mountain air.

"A damn mage his own self, but if his gold's good, I'll not say no. If it's not, I'll derive some satisfaction from killing him later." The man speaking to himself was frankly massive. Dressed in black plate mail, he stood 5'9", though he seemed much smaller, being nearly as massive as he was tall, and most of that mass being muscle. The helmet went on, and he hefted the massive hammer at his side, stepping off as quietly as he could into the darkness, which was to say he didn't actively attempt to stomp his feet, which was the extent to which he could limit the noise of his armor.

He was already nearly back into Raiaera, the only problem would be getting past the undead that roamed the entire nation. He could kill a prodigous number, probably, but he couldn't kill them faster than they could swarm him, and when they started swarming, he would be in trouble. Can't collect your bounty if you don't even reach the target.

The man clanked his way down the mountain passes, almost reaching the bottom. He hadn't seen any sign of undead yet, but that didn't mean anything other than exactly what it said. Yet. With that thought in mind, he took the final step out of the mountains, into Raiera, and a land plagued by the dead.