by Brian Keller
The Baron’s guest spoke in a clear voice, “We are alone?” The Baron nodded but said, “I have some of my elite guards posted right outside the door. So, as long as we speak in conversational tones, they should not be able to overhear… even if they are listening.” His guest nodded, “I wished to let you know that all is progressing as I predicted. We have effectively settled the matter of who controls petty larceny, pickpockets and beggars in the Trade Quarter and have set Houses in competition with one another. This may seem a small thing but by controlling these activities we can effectively blind one eye, so to speak. It became necessary to remove a few of the House Fathers so that when the dust settles, we should be in control of those that remain and can decide their disposition at that time.” Slim was thinking, “House Fathers!? Pickpocketing and petty larceny? That’s Guild business! Someone is killing off House Fathers? Apparently the poisoning was not a random event but part of a larger plan. This sounds like some kind of hostile takeover of the coastal districts. That could either paralyze or control most of the commerce in the city!” The Baron was nodding, “You mean to say that all is progressing as we predicted. Very good. I have prevailed upon His Highness’ spymaster and have learned that no one at the Palace seems to be aware of any activity along the coastal districts. As long as commerce is not disrupted and there is no ‘spillage’ into other districts of the city, we should be able to accomplish our plan.” It was the guest’s turn to nod, and then he added, “I have met with the Captain of the Watch, and he assures me that his men are more than capable of containing matters and has increased guard presence in the pivotal areas we discussed earlier.” As the Baron was rubbing his hands together, the guest turned to face the older man. Slim’s breath caught in his throat. It was Jarell, the Master of Coin.
At this moment, Slim had to wonder how this could be happening. Was Jarell acting on Guild’s orders? He couldn’t be. The Guild wouldn’t be dealing with the Baron while sending him to kill the man. And the Guild had never attempted to actually control commerce, simply influence it. This seemed like something else, but if Jarell wasn’t acting in the Guild’s interests, then whose?
The Baron seemed to have to calm himself enough to keep his voice low, “Yes, soon we will have accomplished something that has never been done before. We will have rid our city of the filth that has been the source of graft and corruption for several lifetimes.” The Master of Coin interjected, “Which is to say that we shall be the ones reaping the rewards of that commerce. However, patience is still paramount. We are still months away from the actual Purge. We cannot become overconfident with a few small successes.” The Baron settled back into his chair, “You are correct, of course. Speaking of small successes, have you gathered the funds that the spymaster required?” Jarell nodded and the Baron continued, “Splendid! How ironic that the Guild’s coin shall be used to finance their own destruction!”
Slim had heard enough. He cut the cord binding him to the hook and gathered the edge of the curtain to control his descent. The Master of Coin spotted him immediately and he drew his blade. Slim couldn’t keep the smile from his face, Jarell was an accountant, a Guild thief most assuredly, but a fool if he thought he stood a chance against a Guild Adept Assassin. The Baron reacted to seeing Jarell’s unsheathed sword and called out, “Guards! Guards!” The guards were well trained and by the time Slim had reached the floor and taken three steps the doors had been pushed open and the guards were assessing what was going on. At the first sound of the doors being pushed open, Jarell had sheathed his weapon and was sidestepping towards the door the guards had entered. He was now pointing at Slim, calling out, “Assassin! Assassin!” The Baron only just now realized that the threat wasn’t coming from Jarell and started turning to face Slim. The look of surprise was frozen on his face as Slim swept his dagger in an upward arc, piercing the soft flesh behind the Baron’s chin. The force of his strike easily pushed the point through the back of the Baron’s mouth and through the base of his skull. The Baron was likely dead before he even had a chance to feel the strike that killed him.
Slim felt a sharp pain in his ribs on his left side just after he heard a ‘click’ and a ‘twang’. He spun his body to get behind the Baron’s high backed chair. He knew what he was going to see when he looked down. His Earth affinity protected him from scrapes and some bruises, but it couldn’t stop a bolt from a crossbow. His armor was tanned leather with boiled leather plates and straps providing additional protection in areas that needed it, except for areas where such plates would limit his movement. The bolt struck him just under his left armpit and from this close range had penetrated deeply enough that he could only see the back half of the fletching. It must have passed without even touching a rib. He felt his left knee buckle and he forced himself to stand. He was thinking that he should’ve just held his position at the top of the curtains and slipped away later. The information he had overheard was more valuable than his contract. He’d thought he could kill both the Baron and the Master of Coin and then escape. Whether he’d been careless or simply overconfident was unimportant now. Now he just had to work past the dread and increasing weakness. He pulled from his Talent and crossed the room to reach Jarell. The Master of Coin had seen his movement and displayed his own Manifested speed as he shifted to a position closer to the guards. Two of the three guards had blades drawn while the third was actively reloading his crossbow. As Slim raced towards the cluster of men, Jarell drew his blade again. The two guards with swords advanced. They were trained to work together, that much was obvious. Slim feinted toward one and darted under the sword of the other as he had raised it to strike where he thought Slim was going to be. Slim dispatched that guard so quickly that he was able to face the other sword wielding guard before the man could strike. He was not fast enough to avoid the slash he felt across the back of his knees from a different attacker. As Slim fell to the floor, crippled, he realized that he’d lost track of Jarell’s position. The man moved faster than he’d expected and the Master of Coin had managed to slash his hamstring tendons. He should’ve assumed that Jarell would be more than a simple accountant. He felt exhausted now just by the effort of drawing breath. Jarell approached to stand over him, but not close enough that he could be struck by him. Jarell said, “Yes, I’ve studied Anatomy too. I might’ve even been good enough to become an Assassin, but the life expectancy of the job has never appealed to me.”. He turned to the two remaining guards and said, “This man just killed the Baron right in front of you. How does that make you feel?”. The crossbowman looked at Slim over the top of his freshly loaded bow, “My employer was killed on my watch. I might never find work again.”. As Slim was struggling for breath the last sounds he ever heard were, “Click, twang”.
Chapter 7
The following morning Master Darius showed him the mathematical formulae he needed in order to work out the problems he hadn’t been able to solve the day before. Once he saw how the solutions were arranged, and Master Darius explained why they worked, he was able to make better sense of it. However, even with the additional assistance it still took almost two full hours to muddle through the calculations. At the end of class he took his pages to Master Darius for evaluation. The teacher had worked out these problems days ago, while he was consulting with Master Loril to decide on the materials that would be needed. Despite this, his instructor insisted that Cooper work out the solutions for himself; part of his ‘Course Requirements’, he was told. Master Darius accepted his sheets with a nod and said, “I’ll look these over during lunch and give them back to you tomorrow in class.”.
In Etiquette class he spoke with Mister Ysel about putting together his sellsword persona. He was asking for advice and for opportunities to develop the personality. The teacher told him that whenever the scenarios could accommodate either a sellsword or a fighter from Kalistos, that role would fall to him, even if he drew the cross or dagger. He added, “And I’ll speak to Miss Eiler about this. That way she can help with it as well
. We’ve both spent some time in Kalistos, but she worked in different circles than I did.”. During the course of the class that day, there was one role for a soldier from Caldori that Miss Eiler adjusted to allow him to start on his Kalistos persona. The scenario didn’t require him to have a name, so, thankfully, that task could remain undone for now. It would take a few days to work out enough of the details to make the role start to feel comfortable.
After lunch, in Apothecary class, Miss Camilla seemed distracted. She gave assistance when needed to help students get through their assignments but it seemed like she was simply going through the motions. Cooper felt he knew her as well as any of his classmates, but still not well enough to intrude on her thoughts. Class was about halfway complete when the door to the room opened and Master Loril entered. Miss Camilla looked up from the student she was assisting and her expression showed confusion for several seconds before it was replaced with a look of comprehension. Master Loril remained near the door, arms crossed with a faint grin on his face. Miss Camilla broke the silence, “Ah, Master Loril. How kind of you to come. For a moment I forgot about asking for your assistance.” She paused briefly then redirected her attention, “Aden, raise your hand so Master Loril can identify you. He’s here to lend a hand with your glowing mixture. I’ll be right over to explain.” Cooper sensed the energy in the room shift abruptly as she returned to her work table at the front of the room to retrieve a bundle of papers and joined them at Aden’s table. She started describing the qualities of the mixture but stopped in midsentence and took a breath. When she started again, “Sir, simply put, the mixture requires heat to make it glow. From what I understand there are few in the Guild that have a Fire affinity as strong as yours. Can you add heat using your Talent? I would ask Garoth, but his Fire affinity is weak… and I haven’t seen or spoken with him for a couple days…” With the last sentence her voice trailed off. Master Loril nodded but said nothing until he turned to Aden, “So, young man, where is this concoction of yours?” Aden handed a vial to him. The big man held it out in front of him and stared at it as if willing it to catch fire. After fifteen seconds it started to glow and Aden let out a brief gasp, “That’s as fast as I can get it to glow if I put it directly over a flame! A look of shock and then embarrassment flashed across his face as he rushed to add, ”Sir!”. Master Loril chuckled at that, which caused his concentration to slip and the glow abruptly faded. The swordsmith then explained, “I knew why Miss Camilla asked me here. I had been building heat from the moment I entered the room so when I grasped your vial, I already had a head start; so you shouldn’t be unduly impressed. Your flame works faster than I do.” Most of the students in the room had spent at least one class period trying to help with the glowing mixture, so everyone was at least a little bit interested. Since his outburst Aden had become speechless, but Miss Camilla placing her hand on his shoulder seemed to snap him out of it. He turned to her and asked, “How many Guild members might be able to do this?” She thought for a moment and replied, “Maybe Master Loril is the only one. It’s a very rare thing to have the ability to affect objects with a Talent. It’s rare enough to have an affinity that strong, but to be able to project it…? Almost unheard of. Maybe there are a few of the mages in the University, but that doesn’t really help us, does it?” Aden looked a little exasperated, “Well, I’ll just continue trying to sort out our sequencing problem. We might or might not have anyone else in the Guild that can use the mixture in its current form, but at least we know that it’s possible.”
An hour later, in Advanced Combat class, Mister Skran paired him again with Kolrem but this time with specific instructions. Both boys were to move as fast as they could but Kolrem was to focus primarily on defense. Mister Skran further explained, “This should give you both quite a workout but shouldn’t result in injuries.” Three hours later the boys had to agree that Mister Skran was correct on both counts. Cooper found some relief in the knowledge that he had a few hours to go before he was expected in Movement class. The break would allow him time to get blood back in his shoulders. Kolrem’s class with Master Brais started in an hour.
After dinner, Cooper returned to the sleeping bay to talk more with Trea about his sellsword persona. The only thing he knew about Kalistos was that it was just to the north of Rhychevel and that their customs were almost identical. He had started forming the character in his mind but for this he wanted Trea’s help before he could feel good about it. Trea walked in about ten minutes later and grinned when she saw him. He told her, “I was thinking ‘brash and bluster’ at first, but when I thought about it later that seemed better suited for a soldier that had never seen battle. A sellsword who’d faced almost certain death three or more times would more likely come out ‘humble and just glad to be alive’. By the time I need to use the disguise, I’ll be amazing with a sword so that should make it even more convincing, right?” Trea replied, “You’ve given this some thought, haven’t you? How long before you start training with a sword?” He shrugged, “I have no idea. Once I got a dagger in each hand, I stopped asking Mister Skran about his lesson plan.” Trea was nodding, “I think the Humble Warrior makes sense. Let me think up a few scenarios, and we can try it out in a few days. Have you looked through any of those shipping manifests?” He nodded, “I have, but not enough to memorize details yet. You’ll probably be ready before I am.” She grinned, “That’s what you get for having classes that go from breakfast to midnight. Let’s look at a couple of those manifests for an hour or so.” Time always passed quickly when working with Trea, but they managed to collect and assemble a good bit of background information based from two of the manifests. Trea added, “The fact that these two are a year apart and the shipments are owned by two different merchants makes it more plausible. More details, yet if you were genuine it would make you less recognizable by anyone from Kalistos.” That was when Cooper realized he had only ten minutes to meet Evan and Rukle on the rooftop. In a hurried rush of jumbled words he excused himself and bolted from the room.
Not for the first time, Cooper was glad to have been drilled over and over on rope climbing technique. Tonight he felt even Master Brais would applaud his deftness and speed in making it to the rooftop. Evan’s only comment was, “You’re a little late, but not overly much. Should I wonder why?” Cooper shook his head, “Just developing another persona, with Trea’s help.” Evan raised an eyebrow, “Very well. I’ll pry no further… I expect that your tardiness is an isolated incident…?” Cooper nodded, “I will make every effort.”
Evan turned and led him to where Rukle was waiting in the shadows. “Tonight we will work on Trade Quarter rooftops again and see if we find anyone worth following. Pay attention to your surroundings, and do not be spotted by anyone. Master Brais was not pleased that I had been spotted earlier. He’ll be even less tolerant if any of us cause him further embarrassment.”
As the trio set out, keeping to the shadows, they began looking for someone interesting. During a pause, Rukle pointed out a group of five young men as they came up from the south, the Dregs. Cooper held his breath for a moment as he examined the group. Egil was among them. Cooper turned to Evan, “Along with you guys, or without you, I am following them tonight.” Evan put a hand on his shoulder, “We should split up and follow them from all sides. If anyone is spotted, drop back, hide and return here. Either way, we all meet back here in three hours.” The boys split up, Cooper moved to a position to follow Egil and his cronies. The group was moving from business to business and house to house. They would beat on a door until someone would answer and then demand money for the services that the Guild provides. Some of the residents paid them some money without dispute. Others would voice some complaint but ended up paying some money once they’d gotten suitably shaken up. Still others would refuse to pay and were either dragged from their house and beaten or Egil would begin destroying doors and fixtures. On several occasions Cooper had to quell the urge to make himself known and force a fight. He felt confident th
at he had enough training that he could defend himself at least until Evan and Rukle joined him. He felt sure that the three of them could manage the five boys. He had been instructed specifically that he was to ‘observe only, and never interact’, but that wasn’t what finally made him decide to remain in the shadows. He had decided that if they were forcing people to pay, and beating them if they didn’t, then this was something the Guild would want to know. Especially since these young men were proclaiming to be Guild representatives.
After the first forty minutes of collecting, another boy came running up, spoke a few rushed words and all the boys scattered. Less than two minutes later, a city watch patrol walked through. No sooner were they out of sight and earshot, the boys came back out of the shadows to resume their efforts. Cooper didn’t know if he could tolerate watching this for two more hours. Fortunately he didn’t need to, after another twenty minutes he caught a glimpse of Evan and Rukle as they were looking for him. Cooper emerged from his hiding spot long enough for them to see him and he concealed himself again. As they approached he could hear Evan speak quietly, “You picked a good spot. We need to return and report what we’ve seen. Once we get back to the Guild Rooftop, consider class dismissed.”
Chapter 8
Earlier that same day, after dinner, Miss Camilla had some questions that she wanted answered and some concerns she needed to voice. In all her time in the Guild, any time she had concerns, she’d go find Garoth. This time, those concerns were about Garoth, and there was no better person in the Guild to bring questions to than Master Worthan. ‘No one knows just how old he is, but he seems to know just about everything’, she thought as she walked through the hall leading to the Copyist’s Room, which was actually Master Worthan’s classroom. As usual, the aged teacher was seated at his table, poring over a few old tomes and scribbling notes as he found something of particular interest. His candle was guttering as it fought to keep the flame alive. She broke the silence, “It looks like it’s time to replace your candle, sir.” He looked up from his studies, “Ah! Camilla! I didn’t hear you. Yes, I’d say you’re correct about the candle, I just didn’t want to stop what I was doing. But for you I’ll gladly set all this aside for as long as you need. How can this old man assist you?” She sat down near his table and tried not to look as worried as she felt. She said, “For the last few years, ever since he gained Adept status, Garoth would always come see me before leaving on a contract, and again right after fulfilling it.” Master Worthan had taken on an expression that approached disapproval. She saw it and paused, “Sir, we’re just very close friends. We came into the Guild at the same time and we both needed a friend. I helped him with some of the more technical class material, and he made me feel safe and protected. The only classmate more dangerous than Garoth was… Felis.” Master Worthan was nodding now, “Yes, I remember well. I didn’t pay much attention to it at the time, but now that you mention it I do remember that I always saw Garoth and you together.” He paused, shaking his head, “I don’t know what has happened to Garoth. I know he completed his contract. The man he was sent to kill is dead. The alarming thing is that three of his victim’s guards are dead as well and he hasn’t returned. He also wasn’t reported among the bodies. Slim almost never needs to kill anyone except the person he is sent after, this fact is part of why he was selected for this contract. It needed to be clean.” The color was draining from Camilla’s face and she was feeling a little light headed. She glanced down at the floor for a moment and when she looked back up Master Worthan was standing in front of her. She couldn’t help wondering how someone so old could move so fast and so silently. He was leaning over her with a concerned look on his face. She made a gesture indicating she was alright, and added, “Is it possible that the job went wrong and he’s simply in hiding until it’s safe for him to return?” Master Worthan was nodding, “That’s exactly what I hope has happened. At least that way I can hold onto the hope that he’s still alive. As odd as all the circumstances are, there is something else still more unusual… the client who hired us for Garoth’s contract is dead as well. He was killed that same night. I’m still waiting for some reports so couldn’t say with any certainty, but I suspect that he was given some kind of poison. I seem to recall that you were working on a little mystery surrounding a poison recently. If it begins to appear that there may be some connection then I’ll be looking to involve you with it, otherwise stay hopeful and try to find productive ways to distract yourself.” She swallowed hard and nodded. Master Worthan tried to sound helpful when he asked, “How’s Cooper doing with your book?” The question came so unexpectedly that she almost snorted in response to it. She regained her composure and replied, “His work is good, but his schedule keeps him from making much progress. From what I’m hearing, he’s everything the Guild could hope for. He’s the next Assassin of his generation, isn’t he?” Master Worthan chuckled, “Perhaps. We are starting to think so, but ultimately it’s really all up to him.” She was not so easily distracted, “So, for now, we just wait and hope for the best?” Master Worthan didn’t hesitate with his answer, and he knew she wasn’t talking about Cooper anymore, “Yes. If we learn anything new, I’ll make sure the information gets to you.” Camilla stood up to leave, but before she left the room she turned and spoke again, “If there’s poison involved, you know there’s no one better than me to help you figure out how it works.” Master Worthan was nodding, “I know it, Miss. And the Guild has had to rely so completely on your knowledge. Your mentor was taken from us much, much too soon. Have you found anyone to help you?” She shrugged, “Maybe. I have a young student, Aden, who seems to have the head for it. His numbers are always right, he has a good memory and his lab work is precise. He’s still quite young. We will see where his Talent may take him in a couple years.” Master Worthan had a thoughtful expression, “Yes. I think Aden might be a good choice. A little more book-ish than you maybe, but that could be a good thing in your field. Still, he has a determined nature. You’ll need to cultivate him carefully. I suspect there is a much deeper current running through him than what appears at first. Make sure you teach him the importance of your work, and especially the responsibilities that go with it. Tutor him separately if need be. Someone in your position must be absolutely reliable, which is another reason we are so fortunate to have you here, my dear.” He slowly turned to look back at his table, “Now leave a tired, old man to get back to his studies. Off with you.” He chuckled quietly as he shuffled back to his seat.