Chapter 32 An Assassin.
Taking the life away from someone is a robbery.
Long years a person has before the soul shall meet death.
Years filled with love, joy, sadness, fury, and dreams.
Stealing all those years in the act of self-preservation can be forgiven.
Stealing all those years away for greed is evil!
Stealing all those years for hatred is true evil!
Brigit, the Keeper of Life.
{27} Brigit (August) the 22nd
“You shall not be working here today, chicky, I need you elsewhere,” the hag declares after breakfast.
Normally we would speak Sinteo. It’s been done at my request, to get me used to the language. But now she changed her language back to Toml’a because she wants to make sure I understand every word in this conversation.
“This is your target.” The hag puts a drawing of a middle-aged man on the table between us. “His name is Adoro, and you have a week to get rid of him.”
It’s been three months. I’ve been working for the hag every day and hoped she had forgotten that I’m supposed to do assassinations too. “Once you kill him, you shall be paid. Two hundred gems are enough, yes?”
I nod quietly. She said she wouldn’t pay me and I didn’t expect to get paid for the assassination jobs. I won’t complain if she wants to double my current money for this. Finally, I can afford to buy some new cantrips for the water element, I can’t wait to try some water magic. I feel like I’ve formed this mana-pool for nothing, I don't know any spells for it…
Maybe I could even buy a lesson from her, I wonder how she’ll teach me and what...
“If he still lives after a week, you shall owe me two hundred gems. If you kill anyone else besides the target, you shall owe me fifty gems for every death. If you get caught by the city guard, a release shall cost you an additional two hundred gems. Make sure you don’t get caught, yes?”
So it’s like a reward game for her… similar to the tower… is it a trap to make me hand her all of my money? “Do I get a say in the matter? What if I simply assassinated him without payment?”
“Oh? You don’t like to gamble, chicky? How will you buy all of these new cantrips you want? How will you get stronger? No risk, no reward, yes?”
She’s got a point… “Fine, I’ll gamble with you, but if this game is rigged…”
“No rigging, no funny business. I want the man dead.”
I nod again, observing the drawing of the unfortunate man. He seems to be in his forties and had lost most of his hair by now. His beard is short. And the look in his eyes is filled with determination even in this lifeless colorless drawing.
“Why does he need to die, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“I do mind you asking, chicky. Questions get people killed, yes? All you need to know is that I want him dead and I want you to do it. He lives in the eastern part of the city, Greenfield District. You have a week. Don’t come back until he’s dead, yes?”
I get up from my seat. This is a part of the deal and I can’t complain about it. This is the price I paid for my hand.
“One more thing, chicky.” I stop before I leave the kitchen. “Take this container” She unwraps a small crystalline bottle from an odd sheet of scaly leather that looks similar to velvet. The bottle itself has a diamond for a stopper, and it seems to be made from a material similar to diamond, only clearer and easier to see through without distortions.
“This is glass. Keep the bottle wrapped in its leather, or it’ll hinder your magic. Keep in mind that possession of glass is illegal. After you’ve killed your target, put this diamond near his mouth and channel your mana into it for the duration of one minute. Once it’s done, wrap the bottle again and bring it here. Don’t open the bottle no matter what. Do this task successfully and I’ll reward you with additional hundred gems. Skies smile upon your first hunt, chicky!”
I take the wrapped bottle and leave her shop. First, I head to the Kondra snake inn to take Loyal from his stables.
I take my giddy horse out, saddle him, sit sideways on his back, and aim his head toward the eastern part of the city. The city is massive, and even riding on Loyal, it’ll take a couple of hours to get to the Greenfield District.
I observe my blue silk dress out of my self-monitoring habit. I hope I won’t stand out too much out there… I should probably get myself a better outfit… something less eye-catching?
Like what? I won't stand out if it's a rich district. I have a week… plenty of time to get another outfit, let’s check out the district first… learn what I need to wear in order to blend...
After an hour of riding and asking for directions in my broken Sinteo, I reach the desired destination.
*
Greenfield District is anything but green. The dry earthy streets here are covered in animal feces. Half-naked starving children run around playing or preying on one another. Harlots in revealing clothes stand at the corners of the streets, offering their services for mere coppers. And tough-looking thugs with bronze weapons at their hips huddle together for a game of chance, occasionally breaking into a brawl.
My blue silk dress stands out here like a redcap on a snowy field. I could pretend to be a prostitute who’s starting her way if I dirtied myself and took off a couple of my clothes. Then possibly collect some information about my target.
No! No way! I’m not going back to that old life! I’m done with that! For good! Besides… with the lightning scars on my back I’m doubt I’m that attractive… Fuck this! I’m a mage! I’ll just ask around, walk into the man’s home, and blow off his head! No… I have to be smart about this… If I’m not pretending to be a prostitute, let’s pretend to be something else… Like what? I don’t see a lot of women around here who aren’t half-naked… I don’t blame them, it’s damn hot out here…
I slide off Loyal’s back and take his reigns, leading him behind me. I approach a pair of children who play pretend swords and fight each other with wooden sticks.
I take a deep breath, repeat the Sinteo sentence in my head, then speak. “Excuse me, have you seen this mister?” I point at the drawing in my hand.
“You talk funny!” Exclaims the youngest boy who doesn’t even wear pants. He mimics my accent while repeating my question, and I feel the heat wash over my face.
“I tonda seen this mister!” his shirtless friend or brother exclaims. “But I don’t remember kolsa! Something to lokmi my memory?” he gestures at me with an open hand.
I offer him a couple of silver coins.
The older boy accepts my silver and bites it a few times, while his younger friend pulls my skirt and smells it. I wince when he wipes his nose on my silk skirt.
“Yeah… I know Master Adoro. He runs a somatika from a durabon, just go down the falik and enter the kasili pulish durabon, he’s usually behind the bon.” The older boy grins at me with his hand still open in a gesture. The silver I gave him had already disappeared somehow.
“Thank you.”
“You wanna thank me sister, then gimme more satta!”
I take out another silver coin “Is this satta?”
The child nods.
I hand him the coin so satta mean silver, or money or scales, silver coins are called scales… I’ll check my dictionary once I get back to the shop… I think money is simply the word ‘sat’… so satta must be silver… Maybe it’s slang for silver? I never heard that word… “Please tell me what a durabon means? I’ll give you another silver.”
“You don’t even know what durabon is! You’re funny!” exclaims the younger child who keeps wiping his running nose on my blue silk skirt. Nothing that won’t wash off in the laundry… relax…
“I can take you there for two silvers!” the other child offers, smelling the opportunity. “But you have to be salus! Master Adoro is salesipar.”
It takes a couple of more silver coins to learn a few new words and find out that the man called Adoro is running a gang from a drinking tavern
Once I nearly got all the information I want, I notice the thugs had stopped playing dice and are now circling us. The pair of children look around worriedly, the older boy raises his wooden sword and the younger one hugs my thigh.
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“Got more silver girl? Hand it over!” Demands a thin man with messy dark hair.
“Hand all of it over! Your kashita too! Let me paka your nice kussa hehehe” The other doesn’t bother hiding his perverse gaze.
I could pretend to be weak and beg…
No! I got power for exactly this! I will not let them do as they please!
“There you go” I throw a pouch of silver at the thin one. “If you touch me, I won’t be friend,” I threaten the other with my limited Sinteo.
The astonished look I get from them fits my expectations. They didn’t expect my arrogant noble-like demeanor. But I know I could either kill them all or disperse them like a group of terrified chickens.
They burst into loud laughter. They think it’s funny. That I don’t understand the situation I am in. The pervert steps forward and approaches me in a threatening manner.
He’s way taller than I am, but I don’t even bother to look up into his eyes, nor do I back off. “Fotyr…”
The perverted man jumps back in alarm and falls back on his ass, eyeing the flame in my hand as if it’s a snake coming to life. His friends back away repeating the word “kunatfa”.
I bend down near the thug with the flame still dancing in my palm. “Are you man of Adoro?” I move my flame near his face.
“Yes, kunatfa! Please don’t hurt me! I didn’t know! Please!”
“Take me to him!” I order the rest of the men who eye my money pouch as it floats to my belt with a silent ‘Minor Telekinesis’ I love showing off…
That gets their attention. Their thin leader gesture with a frown on his scarred face, and one of them runs away down the street. “What a kunatfa like you want with the dozo?”
“That's my business. Just take me to him.”
They have no qualms with that, and soon they lead me to the pub. I tie Loyal to a nearby pole, and follow them upstairs to a room that looks good in comparison to the slums outside, or even the shabby pub on the first floor.
This large room feels like it belongs to a minor noble rather than a pub owner. There are a bunch of landscape paintings here, and a bright yellow carpet. The place looks a little like a makeshift throne room.
Lastly, a mask catches my eye. A golden intricate mask featuring a lion’s head amidst a roar. The lion’s eyes are surrounded by yellowish gems. Its mane is made from numerous thin golden threads, its nostrils hold a pair of sapphires, and its fangs are delicate green emeralds. Of course… now I understand why she wants to kill this man…
I also understand why I have a week… there’s a week left until the end of the month… until the next council of masks is held…
This man… the goons are his private army… and this city… this city is ruled by crime lords, not merchants… it’s a lawless city…
What kind of idiot displays a mask like this out in the open?!
The idiot from the drawing sits on a throne-like wooden chair right below the mask, surrounded by a group of thugs. He’s listening to the report of his man. I recognize the man who ran off earlier when I threatened the gang with my ‘Flame’ cantrip.
The man from the drawing pushes his underling aside and leans his head on his hand in a royal-like manner. “So what do you want with me?” There is a tinge of amusement in his deep voice. He won’t be intimidated by my magic… I have to think of something… fast…
“I was sent by the old woman wearing the…” I get stuck, no clue how to say a bull in Sinteo. “Male cow mask…” I blurt out the truth.
His amusement turns to a frown. “No one knows anything about her, how did you…”
“I have ways. I have a useful offer for you, but only alone.” The language is hard for me to use, and I can tell that my accent is quite heavy. But as long as he understands what I want to say, it doesn’t matter.
“What you say to me you can say to my men!” He declares opening his arms while his thugs nod in satisfaction.
“Not this thing, or you fear to be alone with a girl like me?”
He laughs, “You must think I’m stupid! Do you think I’ll let a kunatfa stay alone with me?! I wasn’t born yesterday!”
Kunatfa can’t mean mage... mage is lofalit... one of the first words I’ve learned... maybe it’s a slang word for mages? A witch? I thought it was a curse word… maybe it’s both…
I can actually kill him from here. A wind blade to his throat will eliminate him, and from this distance, it’s easy to aim it… but his men won’t let me go and I’ll be forced to kill them… or flee.
I wish I knew spells for escaping… not to mention I won’t get a chance to put this weird bottle near his mouth…
No bluff like the truth, let’s hope this works… I raise my hand and aim a wind blade at the throne right above his shoulder. “Felul felik!”
The wind blade slices a part of his shirt, along with the padding on the throne behind him. “If I want you dead you, die,” I say coldly. “Can hit your neck if I want.” It’s hard threatening someone when my fluency in the language is so bad, but he gets the message and gestures for his wide-eyed men to leave.
He watches in silence as the goons leave, then leans forward in his chair with interest in his eyes. “Now, what is the gulkar mask offering me?” He asks after the last of his men close the door.
So gulkar must mean a bull...
I look at the man who stares at me with anticipation. My heart rapidly beating in my chest, and my skin is covered in goosebumps. I am about to kill him.
Yes, I’ve taken lives before. But never before have I come with the plan and intent to kill someone like I am doing right now. I feel so detached from reality. I can’t believe how easy it feels… it has to be harder than that! I practically walked into his lair and now I can kill him with a thought, two words, and a snap of my fingers.
There’s no need to drag it out more than I have to… “Felul felik.”
I keep standing there, frozen in place. I look at the middle-aged man. His mouth open wide, struggling to breathe as he chokes on his own blood. I’m both fascinated and horrified by the power I wield.
He collapses to the ground holding onto his throat, his lips move, but no sound comes out. I know the life leaves him when his body relaxes.
I crouch and press the crystalline bottle against his lifeless mouth, channeling my mana into the diamond stopper.
The bloodied diamond attracts white energy from the dead man’s mouth. The energy flows into the bottle itself, turning into a silver syrupy liquid. After a short while, it stops attracting the weird energy, leaving the bottle half full. I wrap it again in the scaly velvet-like leather and insert it into my belt pouch, it’s time to leave.
I give the mask one last look. It’s valuable… I should bring it back to the hag…
No! It’ll make me a target, and she’d order me to do that if she was interested in the mask. Best to leave it be.
Now, I only have to avoid his men outside the door somehow. There is a balcony here, looking down, it’s about four meters high.
“Myrsha kalfit.”
The door opens and the goons barge in, shouting in alarm. I give the golden lion mask one last look, tuck my skirt, and jump over the railing.
My weight is down to a third of my original weight. Yet I do not float down as I had hoped, I fall much faster than I should. “Latsa.”
I land at the tavern’s entrance, right in front of a pair of wide-eyed guards. Yeah… this was poorly planned… I give them a sheepish smile as I let go of my lightweight spell. I turn to leave like I hadn’t done anything wrong.
“Wait!” One of these thugs realizes something is wrong.
“Hod myrsha! Hod myrsha!”
The thugs eye me fearfully as I hurry to Loyal who’s still tied to his pole.
I ride out of there as fast as Loyal can carry me. My heart beating loudly in my ears and the adrenaline pumping in my veins. To my relieved surprise, no one follows me. I keep on riding in the streets under the canopy of leaves.
I made it… I heave a relieved sigh when I see the roadblock ahead. The guards keep checking each carriage and passenger before ordering it to keep moving.
My relief is short-lived, replaced by anxiety. Maybe these guards are here looking for me?
No… calm down. I can’t turn around now, it’ll look suspicious! There is no way they can know what I just did, not this fast! They must be looking for someone else, act natural…
The queue of people and carriages snakes slowly across the street, and so does the time. Finally, it’s my turn.
“Get off your horse!” The guard orders me, and I obey. One of them holds a wooden board, he looks at the board, then at me, and back at his board. He nods to the other guard who slides iron cuffs on my wrists before I can even react. “Come with us!” he catches my arm and drags me toward a closed carriage.
So much for my “power”, iron cuffs in a moment of carelessness and it’s all gone...
“There is a mistake…” I attempt.
“There’s no mistake! Search her!” The officer holding the wooden board orders, and his friend moves his hands on me, groping my breasts.
“I have a belt, you bull!” I say due to the lack of offensive words.
“Women like to hide things in their Salkaf” He says and turns to search my belt. “I’ll search there again if I don’t find anything.” A moment later he digs out the crystalline glass bottle from my belt pouch and holds it up.
“See? Illegal glass. There’s no mistake! Now come with us!” Says the officer.
*~*~*
Alino’s light body
Names: Alino’s light body, light body, weight reduction.
Element: gravity
Sub element: weight
Level: 0
Words: Myrsha kalfit
Translation: gravity light-weight
Quicken: X
Patterns: 2
Gestures: X
Offering: X
Range: touch
Target: object, creature, bodypart, object part
Duration: 5 seconds from the moment the channeling had ended.
Effect: The caster can slowly change the weight of the target up to a third of its original weight. The change is gradual and the mana required is in accordance with the target’s size, original weight and affinity of the caster. Even something that weighs a ton or more can be influenced by this spell, however, it’ll take a lot of time, mana, and stationary channeling to do so.
Cost: 1 gem per second of channeling weight reduction into a target.
Bound cost: X
Altered cost: 1 gem per second for each added pattern.
*~*~*
Power level: 2nd stage apprentice.
Mana pools status:
Crown-knot: Affinity 10: formed: 1 gem replenished per five minutes.
Neck-Bridge: Affinity 6: formed: max amount of gems drained per day: 66
Abdomen-storage: Affinity 5:
Air: Affinity 4: formed: 18 gems
Fire: Affinity 2: formed: 9 gems
Light: Affinity 3:
Water: Affinity 6: formed: 27 gems
Earth: Affinity 1:
Wood: Affinity 2:
Gravity: Affinity 9: formed: 41 gems
Cantrip known:
Air: Shavi’s breeze, Shavi’s sword.
Fire: Nuriss’ flame.
Water:
Gravity: Lumina’s Kinetic Burst. Tukado’s Repulse. Tukado’s Lesser Shield. Imari’s Minor Telekinesis. Leo’s Pull. Leo’s Grounding. Alino’s Light body. Alino’s Heavy body.
Focus capability: 9 patterns
Social status: A clerk at the maven of mysteries.
Wealth: 211 gems. 1877 gold coins, 6 silvers, 42 coppers.
Items:
Two simple healing potions.
Two potions with unknown effects.
An enchanted belt with eight pouches, the enchantment keep the pouches’ content fresh.
Various spell materials.
Companions:
Injuries and scars: Back, lightning scar.