James shrugged, "I got a dog. Her name is Onyx."

Veronika frowned, "I don't do well around dogs."

James smiled, "She's special. You should be fine. How is your hand?"

Veronika didn't look convinced but let the matter drop for now. "Fine. Regeneration is a wonderful thing." Suddenly, a smile spread across her face, "You would not believe what happened to me yesterday!"

"You got kidnapped?" James joked.

Veronika continued to smile but sighed, "No, silly, that was today. Yesterday, I helped deliver a baby."

James ignored the fact that she dismissed the kidnapping, "I heard you were visiting a friend. Are mother and baby doing well?"

"What in the Seven Hells!" Rocko shouted, has reappeared. "This assassin's guild is dangerous!"

"Yes, actually. Not everyone can afford a healer, and I heard she, the mother, was having a difficult time. So father agreed to send me along with a healer to see if we could help."

James was confused, "You had to get permission from your father?"

"No, I mean, yes." Veronika corrected herself, "To use the Guild healer, I did."

"Was that the same healer that healed me?" James inquired

Veronika nodded, "Yes, the same. She is excellent. I don't think you would have survived if not for her ministrations."

"And yours, of course," James said with a smile.

Veronika blushed, "Such a sweet talker."

Rocko walked to the edge of the desk and looked at the corpses scattered around the room, "Bodies, lots and lots of bodies."

James pointed his chin at the woman who lay dead in front of the fireplace, "History?"

Veronika shrugged dismissively, "Not really. She just commented about me being past my prime. I think that she was just being petty."

James didn't comment that Veronika's reaction was a little petty, "Feeling up to telling me about him?" James asked, pointing at Alejandro's head.

"I suppose we owe you that much." Taking James' arm, she led him from the room, "It all started about twelve years ago."

"WHAT THE FUCK!" Rocko shouted as they left.

----------------------------------------

Veronika and James walked out of Ferdinand's office and into the hallway. There was a large humanoid standing guard at the top of the stairs. He eyed them and nodded to Veronika, who smiled back. The guard was easily eight feet tall and was very muscular. He also wielded a sledgehammer in one hand. A large sledgehammer. With blood on its head.

"Father has a house not far from here that we go to sometimes in the summer. It has a private lake and many of my relatives visit and stay for a month or more. It was a tradition for years. On one side of the lake are some large rocks which jut out over the water. We have been told many times not to swim there, but all the boys see it as a challenge of courage to jump off the rocks and into the water below. They saw it as a Rite of Passage. Everyone did it; even I did it. There had been a few near misses in the past. Some of the boys would make a game of seeing how close to the rocks they could get without hitting them. Stupid games that got many of them hurt. We had healers at the estate to look after the stupidity of youth."

She paused as two figures dressed in black approached her, "James, I would like you to meet Colin and Grace. Before you ask, yes, they are twins."

James nodded at the two individuals dressed in entirely black garb, including a face covering. The only part he would see on them were their eyes. James could only tell that one was male and the other female as their clothing was very form-fitting. Using Inspect gave him a little more information.

Name: Colin Race: Human - Avakian Level: 14 Damage Range: ? Damage Type: ? Armour Rating: ? Special: ?

Name: Grace Race: Human - Avakian Level: 14 Damage Range: ? Damage Type: ? Armour Rating: ? Special: ?

James nodded politely to them in return. They had only paused to ensure that Veronika was okay and to express their condolences on the death of her cousin. Veronika thanked them for their kind words.

Once they had moved on, Veronika continued with her story, "When Alejandro was twelve, he was playing the game and had the bad luck of getting too close. He fell at a wrong angle and struck his head on a rock. There were precious minutes lost getting him to the healer. Anyone who had any healing talent helped to keep him alive. He was losing Health quickly, and several said they should see his brain leaking through the cracks in his head.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"You weren't there?" James casually asked.

"No. It was right after my wedding, and I was on my honeymoon with my new husband," Veronika explained.

"When was this?"

"About eleven years ago now. " Veronika thought about it and nodded, "Ever since the accident, Alejandro has been a little off. He was paranoid, angry and a little simple. His father was a good influence on him, but sadly, he passed away about ten years ago. Since then, Alejandro has blamed my father for everything. He was harder to control and quicker to bouts of anger. His mother tried to control him but didn't have the energy to handle him.

"Why did he blame your father."

"My Uncle was supposed to be the guild master. My father was very successful as a merchant, but since the accident, my uncle spent most of his time with Alejandro. My father agreed to take the mantle for five years. This would allow my uncle to get his house in order and become guild master at the end of the term. My uncle was well-loved; he had a way with people that was a wonder to see. He could charm the birds from the trees. It shattered Alejandro when his father died."

They arrived at James' parlour, and Veronika paused the story to make a drink. Onyx jumped on the sofa across from them, and James asked one of the guards to see if any food was available. The guard scowled, but when James explained that Veronika hadn't eaten that day and was cranky, the guard's eyes softened, and he agreed.

When they were seated on the opposite sofa to Onyx, drink in hand, Veronika continued, "He accused my father of having planned everything. From arranging for him to be injured to killing his father, to stealing the Guild master position from him."

James blinked a few times, "He was supposed to be Guild master?"

Veronika sighed, "Only in his mind. The position is not hereditary. It is passed on from one person to another by choice. Sometimes a coop will occur, but it requires a majority of the guild to succeed. They are rare, but they do happen. Most members unhappy with how a guild is being run will just leave and go elsewhere. Membership is a good indication of the Health and wellbeing of a guild."

"How is the health of your guild now?" James asked.

"Before tonight, we were okay. Not great, but acceptable. After tonight, however. We are in bad shape. I fear we may have lost half our numbers. That will take us years to recover from, and father won't be able to step down from the position until the numbers are back up." Veronika answered sadly.

They paused when there was a knock at the door. Veronika answered it and squealed in delight. A cart with food was wheeled into the room, and the guard smiled at Veronika, saying he thought she might be hungry. Veronika heartily agreed, and the guard gave James a wink as he left.

James made himself a sandwich and poured himself a glass of juice. It wasn't a great supper, but it would do under the circumstances, "Why does your father have to wait to step down?"

Veronika looked at James with pity, "It looks very poorly on a guild master who steps down when their guild is at its worst. It says that they put them there and could not recover."

James nodded in understanding. It made sense, "Your cousin said that he had killed and bought off most of the guild. He would not have had much of a guild if he had succeeded."

Veronika shrugged, "He probably thought that once he was guild master, everyone would fall in line, and everything would be okay."

"So, why did this happen tonight? What changed?"

Veronika frowned before taking a sip of her drink. She had decided to stick with her drink instead of the juice, "You."

"Me? What did I do?"

"Alejandro found out that a man was living in the house. He thought that father would give you my hand and the guild."

James frowned and asked, "Why would he do that?"

Veronika shrugged, "According to Alejandro, it was to spite him. He believed that he should become the next Guild master. Since his father was going to pass it on to him and was killed to prevent it, he was destined to become the guild master."

"That sounds more delusional than simple."

Veronika smiled, "Father should have done something about it years ago, but it was his brother's son. Father warned him about six years ago that if he continued to cause trouble, he would be removed from the guild. Since then, he has been pretty restrained. Anyway, the man you found in your room was one of Alejandro's spies who was sent to find out who you were and get blackmail material on you. Or, if the opportunity allowed, to kill you. When we captured him, Alejandro decided it was time to act and hired mercenaries to attack our house. Many good assassins died tonight because of his greed and father's compassion."

"What of Jones and his wife? Are they okay?" James asked.

Veronika shrugged, "I don't know. I believe them to be safe, but they have a small cottage behind the main house—a wedding gift from my father. Jones has been with my father for more than two decades. He treats him like a second son."

James blinked, almost choking on this juice, "Wait, the second son? Who is his first son?"

Veronika grinned, pausing to take a sip from her drink. James thought the delay was intentional, "My brother isn't aware of the family business and grew up with ideals and hopes to change the world. He joined the military and is off fighting meaningless wars and defending other people's ideals. He comes home a few times a year, and father makes sure that all he sees is a successful merchant business."

James smiled, "I think I would like to meet him."

"You will now." Veronika agreed.

"Oh?"

Veronika looked up sadly, "At the funeral for my cousin."

----------------------------------------

The house was in turmoil for the rest of the evening. Ferdinand was correct in assuming the mercenaries would surrender. It was not an uncommon practice for them to surrender and buy their freedom if things went badly for them. It was for that reason that they never killed a person who surrendered. They handed their prisoners to the guild members who were allied with Alejandro, and they made the killing. As much as Ferdinand hated what the mercenaries did, he couldn't retaliate without suffering from the political fallout of killing s mercenary who surrendered. Unfortunately for the mercenaries, it took them a while to realize that their members were being picked off one by one before they had the chance to surrender.

Those who were guild members who joined Alejandro's doomed venture were not afforded the same courtesy. They were dragged off to a special place to be handled for longer than they would have liked.

James didn't feel pity for them since they were traitors to their own people. People they had spent years training with, working with and building bonds of friendship. Or at least what bonds assassins can make with other assassins. But James understood the betrayal Ferdinand and his people must have felt and stood out of the way.

Jones and his wife were safe. They were not aware of the attack on the house as their cottage was far enough away not to hear anything. Jones was upset that he wasn't there to protect Ferdinand and Veronika but was satisfied with dealing with the mercenaries.

It was almost midnight when Onyx started barking at him. It alerted the guards and everyone else, but James couldn't figure out the problem until he remembered the timer on the Figurine. Not wanting Onyx to be unsummoned, he activated the Figurine and restarted the time. When that was done, Onyx returned to the sofa and lay down.

James found out a few hours later that the mercenaries had arranged for their freedom. It cost them greatly, about four times what they were paid. Ferdinand wanted to make a point that the guild was not to be fucked with. Mercenary or not. Ferdinand made a point of stopping by James' room and giving him a sack of coins that were considered his share from the dead and the ransoms. He was told to show up at the warehouse in the afternoon for the shipment for Glezda.

The dead were carted away, and Veronika was already making plans for the repairs to the house. James shook his head in disbelief. The entire evening was surreal, and he was unsure how to respond. He completely forgot about Ashrel and his dungeon dive. Deciding that it was time to get some rest, James ventured to the Cave to rest. There were too many people in the house, and guards and assassins were skulking around every corner. Sasha even stopped by to thank James for his help.