"So," I said as we walked through the swamp. "Where are we going exactly?"

  Vasil hopped ahead of me, navigating the muddy ground with ease. "There's an area about an hour from here. I think it used to be farmland before the Church diverted the river. Now it's just more swamp, but the land is flatter. Less trees. Creatures tend to gather there."

  "What kind of creatures?"

  "Depends on the time of day. Right now? Probably nothing too dangerous, so it should be manageable with your level. The worst ones usually only come out at night. But we'll see what we find."

  I ducked under a low-hanging vine, nearly slipping in the mud. "Shit!"

  Every five minutes, this swamp found a new way to remind me why I hated it. Though this wasn’t exactly a new way. Actually, it tried to remind me in the same way many, many times.

  The sun was high and brutal. Somehow it still managed to find spots to poke through the thick canopy. Sweat dripped down my back, and my tunic clung to my skin. I thought about asking Pyrion to tone it down a bit, but he probably wasn’t paying attention. If he was even in Silesia at all. Probably not, since Stvora was everything here.

  I wiped sweat from my forehead. "Does it always get this hot?"

  "In summer, yes. The swamp traps the heat."

  Not just the heat. It had a thing for trapping my sandals as well.

  "So this [Headhunter] skill," I said. "Think it works on monsters?"

  He glanced back. "Only one way to find out."

  Right. Stupid question.

  We walked in silence for a while. The swamp was filled with the sound of birds and insects, but that was it. I hadn’t been threatened or attacked by anything since we left the cathedral, which was a small miracle in itself. Unless you count the mud, then I’d been attacked plenty.

  "I've been thinking," I said. "About the upgrade system. If I want specific bonuses, I need specific offerings, right? So if I want something related to speed, I should probably take the legs off something fast. If I want better damage, maybe claws or teeth from something dangerous."

  "That's the general idea," Vasil said. "Though it's not always that straightforward. Sometimes the System accepts things you wouldn't expect. Sometimes it rejects things that seem obvious. You could offer rare metals. Rare flowers. There is no rule that the offering has to be part of an animal… or person."

  "But it would increase the odds of a better upgrade."

  "I suppose it would in most cases. Rare items might give you equal or better upgrades though."

  "I’ll keep that in mind," I said as I kicked a rock into a puddle. "So what's out here that's fast? Or strong? Or has anything worth taking?"

  "A lot of things. But you'll need to be careful. Some of these creatures are smarter than they look."

  I stopped. "You don’t have to tell me that, I’m always careful."

  “I didn’t mean anything by it, I just wanted you to be aware.”

  We kept walking. The terrain shifted from thick vegetation to shallow water dotted with reeds. Looked like we had arrived where Vasil was taking me. I scanned the area to see if there were any animals around, but all I saw was a woman standing in the center of the clearing.

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  She was beautiful. Long golden hair with cornflowers in it, pale skin, wearing a white dress that somehow looked pristine despite the mud and filth around her. She held a scythe in one hand, the blade glinting in the sunlight.

  "Don't move," Vasil whispered. "That's a Powudnitsa."

  "Bless you," I said.

  He gave me a look. “Powudnitsa, a noon spirit. They appear during the hottest part of the day. Usually in fields, not swamps. She'll try to make you dance with her, or ask you riddles. If you dance with her, or if you answer her questions wrong, she'll kill you."

  I stared at the woman. She hadn't moved yet, but I could feel her eyes on me.

  "Why is she here?" I asked. "You said fields, not swamps."

  "I don't know. This is unusual."

  "Well," I said, "it is hot. Maybe she got heatstroke from terrorizing people in the fields all day?"

  Vasil didn’t respond, his eyes locked on the woman.

  She smiled, gave a small wave, and then started walking toward us.

  "Hecate," Vasil said. "Listen carefully. Do not agree to dance with her. If she asks you a question, you need to answer it correctly. These spirits don't joke around."

  The Powudnitsa stopped a few feet away. Up close, she was even more beautiful, unsettlingly so.

  "Hello, traveler," she said. Her voice was soft and musical. "It's such a hot day, isn't it?"

  "Yeah," I said. "It's pretty hot."

  "Would you like to dance with me?"

  I paused. Vasil had just told me not to dance with her. But then again, I was a pretty good dancer. Maybe if I was good enough, she'd be so impressed she'd just... stop being evil? Or at least reconsider her life choices. Death by dancing seemed like a stupid way to go, but if I had to pick a way to die, at least I'd look good doing it.

  "A dance,” she said. “Just one. It will cool you down." She extended a hand. "Come. Dance with me."

  I squinted up at the sky, then back at the woman. "A dance. To cool me down? Dancing would make me even hotter."

  "Are you sure? Dancing is quite refreshing."

  I gestured at my tunic, which was completely soaked through with sweat. "Look at this. There's nothing refreshing about this weather, and dancing certainly won't make it any better."

  She tilted her head, still smiling. "Just one dance. It won't take long."

  This spirit—or woman, or whatever she was—was really pushy. I was already hot and covered in mud. The last thing I wanted was some beautiful swamp lady pressuring me into getting even hotter. Was she trying to make me pass out from the heat? You know what… she probably was. Bitch.

  "No," I said.

  "But I insist."

  "And I insist on not dancing."

  Her smile didn't falter, but something shifted in her eyes. "You would refuse me?"

  "Look, lady," I said, "I'm not going to dance with you. I think you're being very pushy, and honestly, it's kind of rude."

  The Powudnitsa's expression hardened. "Very well. If you will not dance, then answer me this: What walks on four legs in the morning, two le—"

  I drew my pistol, activated [Clean Entry], and shot her in the face. The spirit’s head exploded in a spray of light and shadow. Her body collapsed, the scythe falling to the ground beside her.

  I holstered my pistol. "The answer is 'a river,' by the way."

  Vasil stared at me. "What? The answer is 'man'. Four legs as a baby, two legs as an adult, three legs when you're old with a cane. It's the Sphinx riddle."

  I chuckled. "Yeah, I knew that. Classic riddle."

  He cocked his head and gave me a confused look. "You just said the answer was a river."

  I stopped and looked at him. "No way. I clearly said 'man.'"

  He opened his mouth to argue, but I leaned in and poked his head. "Must be something wrong with your froggy ears." I paused, looking him over. “Wait. You don’t even have ears. Can you hear me?” I raised my voice. “CAN YOU HEAR THIS?”

  "Frogs have ears," he said flatly.

  I looked him over again. "Where? Where are you hiding them?"

  He sighed. "Frogs do have ears. They're called tympanum. They're the circular membranes behind my eyes—those flat, disc-like patches on either side of my head. That’s how I hear."

  I leaned closer, squinting at the spots he was talking about. Sure enough, there were these smooth, round patches I'd never really noticed before. "Huh. I did not know that." I straightened up. "See? I always admit when I don't know something."

  Vasil shook his head. "Sure, Hecate."

  I walked over to the body. “So, how does this [Headhunter] thing work?"

  "I’d imagine they need to have a head."

  "Right."

  "Well, I guess this is a wash." I paused, looking at what was left of the body. "Actually, maybe not. Maybe I can cut off a hand and see if they'll take it. See what upgrade it would give me."

  I glanced at the scythe lying in the mud beside her. "What about that? Does that qualify as a rare item?"

  Vasil hopped closer to examine it. "It might. You can identify it and see."

  I picked up the scythe and gave it a look over. Time to find out if I’d just won the lottery.

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