A short while ago...

Bartan ran through the forest as fast as he could, his black cloak fluttering in the wind behind him. He kept glancing over his shoulder to make sure the monster he'd just faced wasn't pursuing him. Fear was all he felt at the imminent death that the monster represented. He had no idea what that metal thing the monster had held was, but it had killed Regg in a single blow. Considering both of them were King class and quickly approaching Emperor class, that made the weapon and the man who wielded it truly monstrous.

The job was supposed to be a simple one, threaten the man, get the Orichalcum ingot from him, and return with it. No one was supposed to die, though hurting was expected. Together, Bartan and his now-dead partner Regg had done similar jobs dozens of times over the years. They'd worked together for nearly two decades and were close friends. Regg was even the godfather to Bartan's daughter. How was he going to explain his sudden death to her?

Bartan ran at his full speed and arrived within the vicinity of Briedset within a very short time. He ignored the guarded entrance and instead made his way around the walls of the city until he came to a specific area. He quickly checked the area to make sure he was alone before pressing several of the stones embedded in the wall in a specific order while pushing out some of his mana. As he touched the last stone a hidden door popped open and allowed him entry into the city unregulated.

Every major walled city had secret entrances built into them. Two major groups were usually responsible for their creation. The first were the nobles. They built the entrances as a means of escape in case the city was besieged and they needed a way to escape. The second were the criminal organizations. They built the entrances to avoid the detection orbs of the guards. This one was used by criminals but known to a few nobles with less than stellar reputations.

The moment Bartan stepped through the hidden door and closed it behind him, he let out a deep sigh of relief. Only now did he feel safe. The target hadn't seen his face, he was pretty certain of that, so once inside of the city, it would be nearly impossible to find him. He strips off the black cloak and his obvious weapons before using the cloak to wrap the weapons up and sling them over his shoulder. He transformed instantly from a cloaked assassin-like figure to a simple man carrying a bundle on his back.

He did so simply because his personal inventory wasn't very large. He couldn't afford the fees to expand it past a certain point. He kept his more unsavory items hidden within it. Carrying around a bundled up sword wouldn't draw very much attention. Unlike the items that would need to removed from his inventory to fit his gear inside of it. Bartan moved through the tunnel in the wall and surreptitiously made his exit into the city. In seconds he was just another man in the crowd walking to his destination.

As he moved he entered an area near his home and stopped every now and then to talk to people he was familiar with. Though he was in a rush, rushing directly to his boss could cause unnecessary complications. He meandered, chatting with people he knew and buying ingredients to use for dinner with his daughter. To all outside observers, he would look like nothing more than a simple man doing his shopping. That was exactly his goal.

By the time he reached his final destination, a large palatial mansion in the noble district, he'd been in the city for over two hours. As he entered through the main gate, he was indifferently greeted by the two men standing guard. Each guard wore pristine full plate armor and held a long spear in their hand while a longsword rested on their waist. Though their armor was pristine and decorated lavishly it wouldn't take a discerning eye to know that it was still fully functional armor worn by seasoned fighters. They were indifferent because to them, Bartan was nothing more than a gopher that their lord sent out to perform simple tasks such as fetching something or delivering messages.

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Bartan played his role and gave a deferential nod to the guards, both of whom he could slaughter with ease, and made his way through the sprawling garden to the main entrance of the mansion. He moved to a section that served as the servant's quarters and entered a room that was meant for himself and Regg, though it had now become a private room. After depositing his gear in a chest he changed from his simple street clothing into an outfit reminiscent of what a butler would wear, only slightly less formal. Once dressed, he walked through the mansion and made his way directly to his Lord's study. He gently knocked on the door and waited.

"Come."

With permission to enter granted, Bartan walked into the room and stood before his Lord with his head bowed. The room was silent but for the sound of a quill writing on a piece of parchment. Bartan kept his head down and patiently waited for his Lord to finish his work. Only when he was done and set the quill down did the Lord speak once more, "Rise."

Bartan lifted his head and looked at his Lord. If Thomas had been there he would have been surprised to note that the Lord Bartan served was not the sweaty fat noble he had thought. Instead, it was the other one who had bid on the Orichalcum, the much cleaner and nobler appearing older gentleman. The man steepled his fingers as he looked at Bartan with a calculating look before speaking, "I take it from the absence of Regg that things did not go according to plan?"

Bartan slowly shook his head, "I'm afraid not, my Lord. We followed the target and waited for an opportunity as instructed. He left this city and was only accompanied by the small white wolf that is always with him. When we caught up to him and confronted him, the wolf was nowhere in sight and he was accompanied by a young child instead. We chose that moment to act and retrieve the item. Unfortunately, he wielded a weapon we were unfamiliar with. A single attack from the weapon was all it took to kill Regg. He let me go to deliver a message, though he seemed to be under the impression that we were sent by Lord Blackvine. Aside from the rude comments about Lord Blackvine, the message could be boiled down to 'leave me alone'."

The Lord of the mansion leaned back in his chair and seemed to be pondering over what Bartan had said. Unlike his younger and more rash counterparts in the noble community, he did not lash out at his subordinates when they failed him. Doing so would accomplish nothing and only served to alienate them from their masters. Instead, he took a more diplomatic approach, something that ingratiated the commoners he hired to him and gave him a stellar reputation among them.

After thinking over the information provided, the Lord looked at Bartan once again, "This weapon of his, you said you've never seen anything like it before. Describe it."

"It was a rather long tube-looking device with a handle. When he aimed it at Regg the weapon let out a thunderous noise. The next moment there was a large hole in Regg and he was dead. I believe it fired some sort of projectile, though it was clearly not any kind of arrow. When he used it, it glowed with what I believe to be powerful enchantments. What they did, I was unable to ascertain."

The Lord nodded, he too had never heard of such a weapon. Though he had a nagging feeling there was something in his memories that he was forgetting. He put it to the side for now and focused on the other interesting aspect of Bartan's report, "You said he left the city with the wolf but when you confronted him there was a child with him?"

Bartan nodded. He did not consider the child a threat or important but he still made a note of her, "Yes, a young child that appeared to be no more than ten years old. She had long white hair, blue eyes, pale skin, and a regal appearance despite the simple clothing she wore."

The older gentleman seemed more interested in this bit of information. The weapon was interesting but he didn't know enough about it for it to get his full attention. The girl, however... He got out of his plush chair and walked over to a large bookshelf on the side of the room. He browsed through the titles for a minute before selecting a book with a brown leather covered titled "History of the Western Continent." He flipped through the pages for a while before coming to a stop at the section he wanted. As he read it over he smiled. Once he finished, he closed the book and returned to his chair. Bartan had remained standing silently while awaiting orders or further questions from his Lord.

Once comfortable in his chair, the gentleman looked at his servant and smiled, "Have squad four take over the duty of observing that young man. Until a replacement is found for Regg, you are off duty. Dismissed."

Bartan gave a bow before leaving the room. Once he was gone the gentleman looked back over at his bookshelf with a soft smile while muttering a single word, "Garou..."