Warhammer: Return of the Dragon.

"You owe me a huge debt. Have you considered how to repay it, respected witch hunter, imperial soldier, pyromancer, ironbreaker and ranger?"

After taking a big gulp of brandy, Victor barely suppressed his aversion to elves. He didn't know why, but he just didn't like these elf women.

Especially since this elf woman actually dared to tease Sigmar. You must know that even the Dragon Prince grandfather in Altdorf had expressed respect for Sigmar verbally.

"I have urgent matters to attend to. I need to make a detailed list of the bills I need to pay. When the inner court guards are about to arrive next year..."

Lona's unfriendly look seemed to indicate that he didn't want to wait until next year.

"I thought the inner court guards were good people who abided by the law and would not allow mages to set fire in the city at will."

"Special cases require special treatment. A few houses are far less important than the threat of the ratmen."

“But these houses are the wealth they have accumulated throughout their lives. If they are all burned down, it would mean that the first half of their lives have been wasted.” Lona’s emphasis did not make the witch hunter feel the slightest bit of guilt. He had long been accustomed to the feeling of being blamed.

On the contrary, Sienna, the murderer who set the fire, shrank her head and muttered quietly: "I thought the academy would reimburse me... How about I go back to Altdorf and work as a battle mage for a few years to repay their losses?"

Lona ignored the enthusiastic wizard. Instead, he looked at the dwarves and elves who were drinking in silence.

"Bardin Gorickson, perhaps your clan can easily repay this debt, but you will certainly not explain the fact that the Troll Hammer missed its target."

"Well, I just didn't drink enough, so I accidentally shot at your Baron's stable. It's definitely not because of my poor skills." Bardin slapped the rocket launcher at his feet. This is a big treasure. No one knows why he would choose a special attack beast's cannon to duel with the elves.

Still assuming that Bardin would work, Lona targeted the most difficult elves. An experienced intelligence scout would not try to persuade an Asrai. The forest elves, known for their stubbornness and aloofness, were extremely well-known in the imperial intelligence circle, and it was almost impossible to communicate smoothly.

An unsigned white envelope arrived in Kerillian's hands as Lorna was introduced: "I have an offer you can't refuse."

"Really? I wonder why you humans are so confident."

Kerillian picked up the envelope with two fingers of disdain, as if she despised anything that had passed through human hands. Her left hand also tore the envelope open with disdain, pulling out the short paper inside.

The content of the paper was very small, but it did make Kerillian's eyes tremble like an earthquake.

In the year 2367 of the Imperial Calendar, the Tyrell elves left.

"You!" Kerillian thought the matter was concealed very well. She and a group of rangers who believed in Lilith disguised themselves as Asur and attacked many human villages and towns in Tyrell.

After the unification of the elves, this matter was suppressed by Alaros himself. To date, Kerillian still believes that no one knows the truth of the incident. If the royal court knew it... they would all die without exception.

The longbow was pulled out so fast that Victor had already pointed the musket at the elf's temple. The witch hunter narrowed his eyes and said with a warning tone: "Elf, put down your weapon, you are trying to attack an imperial citizen."

The arrow head shining with cold light and the fully drawn bowstring fully demonstrated Kerillian's vigilance at the moment. The distance of less than one meter was enough to embed Lona's head into the wine cabinet behind him.

Bardeen, who was watching the fun, fanned the flames and shouted, "That's it, Salzpyre. Put a bullet in her pointy head and let her know the power of gunpowder."

Only Marcus and Sienna remained confused, drinking and chatting, muttering about the weird atmosphere.

"Do you think they'll do it?" Sienna's flushed red hair sparked a sip of vodka, and Marcus moved his chair back a step. "Maybe, but Salzpyre paid, so I'll collect the elves' bodies."

The person involved, Lona, raised his hands and showed no hostility in front of Aslai's bow and arrow: "Calm down, Kerillian, I don't know what is written in this letter."

“But you’re the contact.”

"But I'm not the one who sent you here."

This extremely strange conversation made Kerillian slowly loosen the bowstring. She thought of many things at once. Was this a threat or an order?

If it was a threat, who was it from? If the Horned Viper knew about that, his first reaction would definitely be to rush into Athel Loren to ask for punishment, but what if it was from the King's Court?
After some thought, Kerillian stopped showing hostility and accepted Lona's identity as the contact person.

Leaving these five people here for the time being, Lona broke out in a non-existent cold sweat. This was more stressful than the wars he had fought in his youth. Managing five unrelated people who had gathered together...heroes?
"Since you owe me a debt, do a few things for me."

Victor raised a doubt. If Nalo knew the weaknesses of the elf girls next to him, he must have a deep background in the empire and it was impossible for him to lack understanding of the witch hunter's current position.

"I still have to take care of the rat infestation in Ubberek."

"Someone has taken over your duties, Salzpyre."

"who."

Lorna shrugged and spread his hands: "Who knows? I can't decide what the big shots in Aldorf think."

Victor seemed to be thinking about something, and seemed to have guessed Lona's identity. He chose to stop questioning and quietly enjoy the brandy that he hadn't tried for a long time.

The boss took out a map, a rough map of Montforge. "I need you to investigate the rat infestation on the territories of our southern neighbors. Also, mark whether they are capable of resisting an attack by the Skaven. If attacked, can they be immediately relocated to the nearest castle?"

"It's our duty to fight against the ratmen, right?" Lona and Victor looked at each other, suggesting that the witch hunter should not raise too many questions.

This investigation order was very strange. In name, it was to investigate the rat infestation in Montford, but in reality it was to investigate the distribution of settlements and the military strength of the neighbors to the south.

Lona didn't want to speculate on what Aldolf was preparing for. The worst case scenario might be a major conflict with his neighbors, and the best case scenario was routine reconnaissance intelligence, but he only had to deal with the five people in front of him.

Victor was very perceptive. After seeing the almost empty map and hearing what Lona said, he had already thought of some... not-so-good things.

"Is this a private commission, or is it..."

"This is a commission from the Red Moon Tavern. The reward is that you can get drunk here for free."

Marcus raised a more concerned question: "Bretonnians, can you let us scout the Skaven in their territory?

I mean, if an Imperial citizen passes by the castle with a bag of gold coins, he will only have a few pennies left when he leaves, and they are inferior stuff mixed with iron."

"You will disguise yourself as workers delivering goods to the Montforge Tavern. As long as you can accurately grasp the whereabouts of the ratmen, you can use some unconventional means." (End of this chapter)