"Hey kiddo, get up! The Master wants to see you!" She woke to the voice of one of the goons and his stinking boot prodding her hair. She up righted herself and despite her best instinct, rubbed the sleep from her eyes. The goon handed her a bucket-full from the rainwater barrel, and she dunked her head into it. She remained underwater for a little bit, and when she emerged, the water was already brown with filth. She quickly washed her hands and tried to straighten her clothes without dirtying herself too much.

The door to the Master's study was open, and she entered without announcing herself.

"Good morning child... Another set of contracts arrived just earlier. Your brothers and sisters have already accepted their tasks, so the last one's for you." He stood up and came over to her and handed her a small roll of paper, taking her hands into his own. She closed her eyes and mumbled a short prayer of success, to which the old man provided his blessing, then she opened the piece of paper.

The note bore signs of having been hastily scribbled, the letters were sharp and angry-looking, likely belonging to some annoyed noble that wished to embarrass  one of his fellows, or settle a score.

"What does it say?" She looked up from the note.

"See right here? It says: 'I desire my rival's sister's death, they have shamed my house with their philistine ways'... That mean simple or awful... Anyway, it says further: 'Settle this score, and you will be rewarded with sixty copper coins... Take heed that my rival's sister is under the constant watch of her two retainers. She can be recognized by her philistine face and other features, like her clothes." The old man made a short pause.

"Which means, you will do whatever brings you the most coin... But please do be careful, I would hate to learn something had happened to you."

"Yes Master, I will return soon with the money."

"See to it... I shall pray for you."

She was just about to leave, but suddenly remembered.

"Where do I go?"

"Ah, let me see the note again then." Her Master quickly skimmed the note and returned it to her.

"You need to leave through the western sewer exit. Once outside, you continue along the road until you arrive at the western wheat fields. The target should be somewhere inside the mansion there."

Chapter: 6 The Ruins

The sewers were a large system of tunnels and cisterns running the entire length and width of the city. By taking a certain path a person wanting to avoid attention by the law could follow a length of tunnel and emerge unseen in the slums, or even in the quarters of the rich and powerful. The city guard usually kept the many sewer grates leading outside the walls under surveillance, but only at night, when contraband would be brought it, and payment smuggled out.

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She climbed the last few steps of the ladder emerging onto the level above. At every ladder or area, the different underground groups would hang up some indication as to who held claim over a particular tunnel or hall. The group living above her own were mostly isolationists, preferring to keep their area free for passage, but their doors closed in return. A ruined old boot signaled where their territory began, and she soon reached the marker. Part of her path ran through an old ruin, long since buried as the Imperial capital city grew and expanded on the back of conquered peoples and an influx of raw materials from said peoples. As she approached the ruin, she could hear voices whispering in hushed tones. She snuck closer and climbed a small wall whose bricks protruded out of the wall in a shabby sign of craftsmanship. From her vantage point, she could see the people up ahead were smugglers based on the crates and other wares being lined up along the walls of the ruin. Large carpets, crate upon crate with bottles and big stacks of small white packages. Likely the powdered concentrate of Dullweed, a drug that could cause a variety of reactions; a perfect escapist drug, and valued execution drug for wealthy people destined for hanging or disembowelment.

She returned to the ruin floor, creeping closer, using the shadows and broken walls as cover. One of the smugglers passed by carrying a torch. From his nervous disposition, she could tell he was on alert, and would pick up any sound out of the ordinary. She remained completely still, listening to his nervous breathing.

Suddenly, one of the other smugglers appeared next to him. They shared some whispers, and soon the other one trailed off in the direction of the stacks of Dullweed. A pause followed, but suddenly, a bare rear end poked out over the broken ruin wall, and the man began making groaning noises. Before he could continue, she had rolled away, got to her feet, and quickly shoved her rusty, chipped cutting blade into his throat, hurriedly shoving a grasped lump of her cloak into his mouth. The man began quietly gurgling. Using all her strength, she began very slowly digging her blade back out; the rusty blade, sharpened for decorative rope and not flesh and bone, had a hard time in his throat. After a full minute of twisting, turning and sawing, the blade emerged across his throat. She pulled the body back down behind the wall, the head barely connected by strands of flesh and skin. Mere moments after having tucked the body as close to the wall as possible, a flow of red-brown lumpy feces began pouring out of the dead man’s rear end. She quickly retrieved her cloak, wiped her blade on his leather jacket and began a hurried retreat, flanking around the ruin towards the stacks of wares.

She soon spotted the first guard lying on the ground, his eyes red and bulging, a steady stream of froth bubbling out of his mouth, which was formed into a disgusting grin. In one hand, one of the small packs laid exploded, the white powder having mostly scattered, but a solid pile still rested in the palm of his hand. She snuck over, the salty smell of his soiled pants overtaking her nose, and quickly took a pinch of powder, dropping it into a makeshift pouch she cut from the man’s clothes. As she stood back up to leave, she felt his cold, clammy hand grab onto the ankle of her leg. With extreme force, he began to squeeze it, to the point she felt pain. Suddenly, the ruin erupted in shouting. The other smugglers had discovered the corpse of the other guard, or at least the smell of his liquid feces. She realized she was out of time. She quickly took the hand holding the pack, and moved it, pouring the white powder into the man’s nose and mouth. Immediately, the body convulsed, and a second later, blood began streaming out of the man’s nose. She quickly searched the body for a weapon, and happened upon a small lockbox, and a very sharp dagger. In a motion, she had sheathed the dagger and began making her way to the exit opposite, the voices behind her growing ever louder as the remaining smugglers began to spread out to cover more ground.

She climbed in behind a nearby crate just in time to avoid an oncoming smuggler from the outside, the uproar from the ruins soon drew in the rest of the smuggling operation, a total of five people passed before she judged it safe to continue.