FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE

by S. K. Ng

  Flutter was angry! The first mission should have been hers, instead of Dawn’s! How was she ever going to win Hay’s heart if she was relegated to only minor roles in minor missions? She needed to dazzle, to be seen, to be noticed! She needed to be the first in her batch to achieve a kill! But instead, that prestige went to Dawn! Why!? Why!? Why!?

  The caravan was back at The Lair two weeks later, and after a short break of three days, the trainees were back at their assassins’ training.

  Several years had passed, and Dawn had reached the age of 15. This was the critical year for her and her batchmates. This was the year where they either graduated or failed, and it usually meant that if they survived, they graduated; and if they died, they failed.

  Dawn, Stack and Grain were summoned to one of the briefing chambers. The trainees were joined by two ‘Chosen of the Clan’ clansmen. This was the term used to identify fully trained and graduated clansmen who were active assassins. Those assassins who had served honourably to the age of retirement, which was the age of 60, were termed as the ‘Honoured of the Clan’. The two ‘Chosen’ clansmen were named Claw and Spike.

  The trainees sat down quietly. Dawn felt a little bit anxious. This was to be their first proper assassination mission. This was also to be their final test. This was to be the end of their many years of training, and suffering. This would either make their parents and loved ones proud, or curse them with a great deal of grief. Stack, meanwhile, felt a little bit of dread. He still loathed the idea of killing another human being, and this mission signified a critical juncture for him. This mission would force him to compromise, nay; it would force him to abandon his principles completely. Or should he abandon the clan instead? Grain, meanwhile, felt very nervous. He was still weak. He had always been weak. He knew this fact very well. The years of training had toughened him up, but had it toughened him up enough to accomplish and survive the mission? Would he, could he pass this test? Or would he end up as a lifeless body stripped of clothing and identity, just like the many failures who came before him?

  Venom stepped into the briefing chamber a few moments later. He began the briefing. The first item was the mission objective. The clan had been hired to assassinate a wealthy businessman in Fallsene City. The reason why they were hired to assassinate him was, of course, insignificant. Somebody paid good money, 1,500 gold coins in all, to end his life. So his life must be ended! The name of this unfortunate businessman was Abacus Watt. For this mission, Spike was designated as mission commander. Claw was designated second in command. Then the order was Dawn, Stack and lastly, Grain. They were given the mission designation of Kill Team One. This information registered a fact in Dawn that did not register in Stack and Grain, that there was a Kill Team Two.

  Venom then got into the second part of the briefing, which was profile and background information. He told them that Abacus Watt was a son of a wealthy businessman who sold furniture. After his father’s death, Abacus took over the family business and expanded it. As a result, he owned not only a furniture factory and several furniture stores, but a great number of grocery shops, hair salons and clothing boutiques. He had a wife and three young children. The Watts called Number 7, Street 4, Fairweather Zone, Fallsene City their home. His wife was a housewife. His three children attended Fallsene Goldenprosper Educational. Abacus was a heavy smoker. But he neither womanised nor gambled. And he was not a heavy drinker. He was an industrious man by nature, always working until very late at night in his office. He was also slightly paranoid. He employed a number of bodyguards to protect him and his family. There were no less than 15 bodyguards on duty at any one time, divided between protecting, him, his wife and his three children.

  Next, Venom briefed them on the assassination plan. The client wanted the assassination to be done brutally so as to send a message. As to what the message was or to whom it was addressed was insignificant. As such, a very complex plan was devised. A direct attack at the target’s home was required. This meant that they had to get through the bodyguards protecting him. The plan was divided into three complex phases.

  Phase One was intelligence gathering and infiltration. Stack and Grain were to take up the guise of farmers transporting grain on a horse-drawn cart. They were then to ram their cart into one of Abacus’ maid, kill her and make it look like an accident. This would create a job vacancy at the target’s home. Dawn was to then apply to fill up that vacancy. Once inside, Dawn was to function as a maid until the time of the assassination. Meanwhile, she would have to learn the layout of the house and identify potential entrances, exits and death-traps. She was also to learn the duty patterns of the bodyguards and identify any weaknesses in their procedures.

  Phase Two was execution. At the time to be designated by Spike, Dawn was to poison the bodyguards to weaken or kill them. The rest of the team would then sneak in and brutally kill the target in front of his wife and children. Then they were to exit the house as fast as possible.

  Phase Three was evasion. After the assassination, the team was to hide out at Soft Pillows Inn for two months. As this would be a high profile assassination, it was expected that the Fallsian Military would conduct a massive manhunt for them. Numerous roadblocks and house to house searches were expected. Travellers into and out of Fallsene City would be subject to thorough searches. The whole city could go into a lockdown. But the lockdown would not last for more than two weeks. The city’s economy would be ruined if the lockdown lasted any longer than that. And when the situation cooled down, the team could then return to The Lair.

  Venom then opened the floor to questions. Spike and Claw had a number of technical questions for Venom, but the three trainees just sat there silently. They did not even know what to ask. All they knew was that this was a complicated mission with multiple phases and there were many things which could go wrong with it. And if the mission went wrong, they would be dead!

  After the mission briefing ended, Kill Team One was given two hours to prepare, say goodbye to their loved ones, and depart. Rake helped Dawn pack, and gave her all sorts of advice. She gave him a tight hug and they said teary goodbyes to each other. Dawn was not sure if she could survive the mission and come back. Rake, although as worried as he was, was absolutely confident that Dawn would return.

  Kill Team One departed The Lair in the guise of farmers transporting sacks of grain. Spike drove the first cart with Dawn seated beside him while Claw drove the second cart with Stack and Grain on it. The journey was uneventful, which was how they wanted it to be. In a weeks’ time, Kill Team One arrived at Soft Pillows Inn. They took half a day to rest and recover, and then they launched their mission proper.

  Claw, Stack and Grain took on the guise of beggars and watched Abacus’ house for several days, noting the layout of the house, family members, visiting relatives, friends, bodyguards and their movements, servants, chores being done and such. They tried to understand everything that went on in that house. Spike, meanwhile, tailed Abacus whenever he left home, noting travelling patterns, working hours, friends and associates and such. After a week of intelligence gathering, Kill Team One was ready to move. Claw had selected the maid to be targeted. She was approximately of Dawn’s age and lived in a poor neighbourhood. She often worked late and went home by herself, making her the perfect target. The next night, Stack and Grain prepared their cart and waited. The maid appeared on time, following the exact same route home as per every other night. Stack drove their cart and rammed into her straight on. She gave a scream of shock and died instantly. Stack and Grain sped away as fast as they could. Passersby, attracted by the commotion, gathered at the scene. But it was too late. The maid was dead and Stack and Grain were long gone.

  Stack felt a strange sensation. He was averted to killing. But he carried out his mission as plainly as drinking a glass of water. He did not feel any fear, dread or remorse. It was as if the years of training had taken over and he was just a passenger in his own body, going along for the ride. The moral dilemma which he thou
ght would haunt him never occurred. He was shocked at how cold blooded he could be. Grain, meanwhile, was just glad that that part of the mission was done. Then he set his mind to the next part, where he felt he could potentially die.

  There was great sorrow in the Watt household. Employers and employees alike mourned the death of the maid. Abacus even went to the extent of financing the funeral and gave a hefty donation to the maid’s family. And a week later, as expected, there were posters placed at the house, at the district hall and the city hall advertising a vacancy for a maid at Abacus’ home.

  Now it was Dawn’s turn to act. She dressed up very conservatively. She knew that he was not a womaniser, so dressing sexily would not help her get the job. As a matter of fact, dressing sexily might make Abacus’ wife feel threatened and kill Dawn’s chance of getting the job. Dawn spoke in a calm, slightly submissive manner and tried to give the impression that she was obedient and a hard worker. Claw, Stack and Grain helped Dawn by dressing up as beggars and harassing many of the other candidates, dirtying these women’s clothes with dirt and grime from their hands, or downright scaring them away from the house. They made sure that only the sickly or the very elderly made it through the house’s front gate. Spike was monitoring the whole thing, making sure everything was going to according to plan.

  Three days later, Dawn returned to Abacus’ home to check on whether she was hired or not, and unsurprisingly, she was hired. She started work immediately. She was briefed by his butler on her duties and began scrubbing, washing and cleaning almost immediately. And after years of assassin’s training, maid’s work was peanuts for her. But all the while, she was observing her surroundings and making mental notes about anything and everything that could either help or jeopardise the mission. She was also observing the bodyguards very closely. She noted who they were, their procedures, their shifts and their eating habits.

  A week later, Spike decided it was time to strike. He gave a final briefing and set the plan to motion. Dawn went to work in the afternoon shift, and brought with her some Airblades and a vial of slow-acting poison, all properly hidden on her body, of course. As usual, she began washing and cleaning and scrubbing. Meanwhile, Spike rented a small room at an inn near Abacus’ house and together with the rest of Kill Team One, rested themselves to prepare for the night’s task. Evening came, and the Watt household had their dinner. Dawn volunteered to serve the drinks for dinner and made sure all the bodyguards had plenty to eat and drink, especially the fruit juice which she had secretly laced with poison.

  The sun had just set, and Kill Team One woke up. They got dressed and did their warm-up exercises in secret. Then they opened their room’s window and climbed onto the roof, all dressed in black with swords, Airblades, ropes and backpacks. They jumped from roof to roof, softly and gracefully like a cat, and made their way to Abacus’ house. They stopped just a few paces short of the house’s back gate, in the dark back alleyway. The stage was set...

  Spike cups his hand and blows, making a hooting sound much like that of an owl. This is the signal Dawn is waiting for. She heads to the back gate, reaches into her pockets and casually pulls out two Airblades and hides her hand and Airblades behind her back. She approaches the two guards who are guarding the back gate, gives them a friendly smile, throws her Airblades at them and kills them both. Then she searches the guards for the key to the gate, unlocks it and lets her team members in. Stack gives Dawn her sword and a backpack containing her assassin’s uniform. And while Dawn gets dressed, the rest of Kill Team One charges into the house.

  A loud commotion is heard, and there is a lot of screaming and crying. After getting fully dressed, Dawn draws out her sword and heads back into the house. When she reaches the house, she sees Grain finishing off the last bodyguard with a strained effort. She also sees Spike grabbing hold of Abacus by the back of his shirt collar. Stack gathers Abacus’ family and surviving servants; and forces them to kneel down in a straight line in the living room. Grain takes over holding Abacus from Spike. Spike signals Claw and Dawn to patrol the rest of the house to search for any surviving bodyguards. As she leaves the living room, she can hear Abacus’ plea for mercy. Then she hears his scream of fear and pain. His torture is a requirement of the mission, Dawn recalls.

  A quarter of an hour later, Phase Two was over. Abacus was dead, killed in the most horrible way imaginable. His family was left alive, and highly traumatised. Kill Team One left through the back gate and disappeared into the shadows. An hour later, when they were confident that they were not being tracked, Kill Team One climbed back into their room, showered, changed back into normal clothes and then checked out. In front of the inn, a carriage was prepared by Weed to transport them to Soft Pillows Inn. And throughout the entire event, there was no sign that the Fallsian Military were even aware of what had just taken place. Clearly, the Royal Guards were not what they were cracked up to be, thought Dawn.

  Two months of laying low at Soft Pillows Inn felt like a prison term for Kill Team One, more so for Stack. He was having a conscience attack. The first face to haunt him was that of the maid whom he had run down with the cart. Then came the faces of the bodyguards whom he had killed. One by one, he had to relive their killings in his nightmares every night, and they all asked the same question. Why must you kill me? Why must you kill me? Why!?

  The only person who was glad to be there was Grain. He was glad that he had survived. At this point onward there was a strong chance that he would pass the test. Dawn was eager to leave the inn. She wanted to get back and tell Rake about the mission. She wanted to make him proud. Spike and Claw thought differently. They knew that the danger was not over. And although they felt frustrated, they remained cautious.

  Three days before it was time for Kill Team One to leave the inn, Stack disappeared. No one could find him. Spike and Claw were furious, and gave Dawn and Grain the tongue-lashing of their lives. The two trainees kept silent, and never confessed that they knew he was going to run away one day. To Dawn’s defence, she never knew that he really meant what he had said. She thought that he was just venting out the pressures of training. Unfortunately for her and Grain, he was not. And so they were made to suffer for his mistake. Then the two Chosens made arrangements with Weed for him to escort Dawn and Grain and the mission payment back to The Lair. They stayed back to search... and kill Stack. Weed, Dawn and Grain took on the guise of an elderly businessman and his two teenage children travelling to a remote town to make a business investment. This would be the last they ever heard of Stack, or Spike and Claw, for that matter.

  A week later, Dawn, Grain and Weed reached The Lair. Venom was surprised to see Weed, and knew something had gone wrong. However, his reaction was different from Spike’s and Claw’s. He congratulated Dawn and Grain and gave them each a metal pendant cast to the symbol of The Shadow Deathmerchant Clan; and he declared them as Chosen of the Clan. Rake was so happy and proud of his niece. They hugged each other and celebrated all night long. Two weeks later, Dart, Joy and Flutter came back to The Lair from their test mission and were declared Chosens as well. The trainees had all survived their training, and their tests; all except for Stack. Stack’s parents were taken to the main chamber and executed in public. His grandmother had died a few months earlier, thus denying Venom the satisfaction of killing her.

  Grain Sillox was killed on his third mission as a Chosen. Flutter Pitten was killed on her fifth. Hay Collart was killed a few years later. Dawn, meanwhile, had steadily survived and accomplished mission after mission until she was finally promoted to Lead Assassin of The Shadow Deathmerchant Clan, a title that signified that she had the highest number of kills, and that she was mission commander designate for every major mission that the clan would undertake. When Rake heard the news, he was so proud that he broke down in tears of joy.

  But as Dawn Breven wipes off the dried blood from her sword after a successful mission in Fallsene City a few years later, her mind drifts back to Stack and Grain and Flutter and Hay, and
to her training and to her test mission of assassinating Abacus Watt. She has come far, and she has risen to glory in the clan, and yet she wonders, could Stack have been right all this while?

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  THE TRIAL

  The cold air adds further gloom to the ambience of the Fallsian dungeon Minvian Thorn Sayvion is in, on this dark 12th Night of Fourth Month of Dry Season in the Year 1200 of the Known Era. But he feels comfortable and relaxed. By comparison to the Serpentian metal ore mine, this dungeon at Palace Liberty looks reasonably cosy to him.

  A prison guard appeared, escorting a very familiar face. She smiled when she saw Thorn. Tears rolled down her cheeks. He smiled at her. The guard opened the cell door and allowed her in. Then he locked it and went away.

  “Doing _ of this, how are you, Minvian Sayvion?” she asked.

  “I am fine, what… what is this? What has happened? Why do you speak the olden tongue, Convian Genox? Or should I say, Minvian Genox?” was Thorn’s stunned reply.

  “Elementhar _ I have become one of her. Elementhar _ Rod Sayson has become one of him, too; and he would be here as well, if not for the fact that he has been injured in a mission. Promoted _ we were both given of this after the battle at Fort Eastguard and he is now a convian,” explained Minvian Serene Genox, who was dressed in her Sollenthar uniform.

  “Congratulations! But Elementhar!? How? Why? Elementhars do not serve in the military, how is it that you are still in uniform?” asked Thorn, still in shock.