Jack Wood sat across from the masked man in black. The table between the two men was made of ironwood, a practical choice for a tavern’s private room due to its sturdiness. Both of Jack’s arms were on the table in front of him, but his left hand was nailed to the table with an ornate dagger. The only audible sounds in the room was Jack’s labored breathing and the constant dripping of Jack’s blood onto the wooden floor. After several more minutes of silence, the man dressed in black opened his mouth.

“Will you stop lying to me now?” The man in black tapped his fingers on the table rhythmically as he spoke. He was dressed from head to toe in dark leather armor, the likes of which Jack had never before seen. It looked simple, but on closer inspection defied expectations. The armor was almost pitch black, made with a material that seemed to absorb light. Various pockets could be seen, their contents hidden. The only part of the man’s features visible were his eyes peering out from behind a featureless grey mask.

Jack clenched his teeth in pain, but did not dare to remove the dagger from his left hand. He shuddered involuntarily in pain, which disturbed his wounded hand and caused him to suffer a bit more. Sweat beaded Jack’s forehead, and the back of his expensive tunic was soaked through.

“Y-yes. Please take no offense to m-my earlier remarks. It was only a bit of a...jest. I am fully willing to tell you the reason for the contract now.” Jack’s face contorted as he tried to put on a servile smile, but failed miserably. Having been raised as a noble his whole life, Jack was poorly equipped mentally to have to pretend to be okay after having a dagger driven through his hand.

“Mm. Speak.”

“Of course.” Jack hissed in pain before drawing a deep breath. “I want you to remove Josh Hunt from this town because once he’s gone I’ll be the next in line to inherit the Barony.”

“Your surnames are different.” The masked man tilted his head. “Why would you be the next in line to inherit if you are not part of the same noble family?”

“Ah, I must explain. You are not native to these lands, yes?” Jack’s face betrayed his astonishment. Foreigners were not an uncommon sight in the Empire, but the masked man’s accent was perfect. It was the accent of Empire Common that Jack grew up listening to and speaking. Unless this masked man spent his entire life hidden in a hole underground, there was no way he would not know the inheritance guidelines of the Empire. That scenario was impossible as well since the masked man was a fixer. His job was literally to know everything about his targets and act accordingly.

“No, I am not. Where I come from, noble titles are handed down through families until either that rank is stripped from them or the country is destroyed.” The masked man’s accent was impeccable.  Tilting his head straight, the masked man stared at Jack.

“Ah, well in that case, let me explain.” Jack shifted his body in order to get into a more comfortable seating position. “You know that each noble is imbued with divine power, yes?”

The masked man nodded, but said nothing.

“Excellent. How that power is transmitted from generation to generation is through a Writ of Divinity. That’s a….sort of magical seal that facilitates the transfer of Divine Power from one person to another. Only the Divine Emperor knows how to create these Writs.” Jack leaned forward as he spoke, as if what he was saying was a secret.

“Get to the point.” The masked man’s eyes narrowed as Jack stopped to take a breath. Jack choked on what he was going to say next, then decided to not annoy the person who stabbed him.

“The old Baron, Lord Thomas Sexton, is set to retire tomorrow. His chosen successor, through a series of rigorous physical, academic, and mental trials is Joshua Hunt. Both Joshua and I were apprenticed to the Baron. In fact, I was the elder apprentice. But I have been toiling under the Baron for eighteen years now. That upstart Joshua has only been apprenticed for just under a decade. How can I stomach my hard earned position being snatched away like that?” Jack’s voice started as a whisper, but spittle was flying out of his mouth at the end.

“But you didn’t earn it. Joshua did. From what you say, he bested you in the trials to become the successor.” The masked man leaned back into the ironwood chair that he was sitting in.

“Dog’s breath he did! The little bastard is just the illegitimate child of the Baron!” Jack swore under his breath some more before he managed to calm himself down enough to speak again. “I have had my men scour the town and the subsidiary villages for any information about Joshua Hunt when he was first apprenticed. For nine years, I found nothing. I thought little of it until recently. The man’s aptitude for the Divine Arts was no better than mine. If anything, I was even a bit more gifted in the Divine Arts. But then one of the old midwives gave it away.”

“I don’t care. I can guess what you’re going to say next.” The masked man sighed. “Joshua was never as learned or proficient magically as you are. Yet he still was chosen to be the successor because he’s the Baron’s secret bastard. The results of the Trials are only known to the Baron himself, perhaps even the Marquess above him. Regardless, unless the results differ drastically, the Baron has the final say. Since both of your results should be about the same, even with you having a slight edge, the Baron chose his kin.”

Jack was silent for several minutes. Then he sighed. “It is as you say. It was not merit that decided my fate, but nepotism. Do you know what most newly ascended nobles do to their former competitors?”

“I can guess.” The masked man’s green eyes never left Jack’s own.

“Exile at best.” Panting, Jack’s eyes were bloodshot as he grew ever more agitated. “Put to death is the most popular. Executed silently with no witnesses. Sometimes, the new noble personally delivers the deathblow themselves. It’s a cruel irony that some potential successors are put to death with the very Divine powers that they sought so much.”

“Mm. So it would seem. We need to discuss payment before I take the contract.” The masked man’s curiosity was sated.

“You’ll be paid after you remove Joshua–”

“No. I will be paid upfront for the attempt.” The masked man shook his head. “Do you even realize how difficult it will be to assassinate a practitioner of the Divine Arts? Even if Joshua has not formally been transferred the Baron’s Divine Power, any apprentice’s Divine Arts isn’t something to brush off.”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Jack’s face paled, but he swallowed the curses that he was about to say.

“But a veteran fixer such as yourself should have no problems with this situation.”

“That’s not for you to decide. The Baron himself is sure to be on guard until the Writ of Divinity is delivered and enacted.” Folding his arms across his chest, the masked man’s eyes revealed his displeasure. “You haven’t even given me much time with which to prepare. The ceremony will be tomorrow at noon, in a public location. Even a layman such as you should understand that the Baron will have Joshua under heavy guard to avoid the very mishap that you are hiring me to perform.”

Jack looked down at his untouched glass of whiskey on the table. He then looked over at the back of his hand where the blood was congealing. With a heavy sigh, Jack reached for his coinpurse. With some difficulty, Jack managed to open the coinpurse with only his right hand. Taking out a thick stack of golden notes, the apprentice slid the money across the table.

“One thousand and two hundred gold imperials. Twenty percent more than previously agreed, as a show of good faith. This represents almost all of my personal savings. The golden notes are redeemable at any branch of the Imperial Bank. Is...is this satisfactory?” Jack’s face was pale, and the man seemed drained of all energy.

Reaching over, the masked man picked up the money and put it within one of his armor’s many pockets. Then without any warning, he reached over and pulled his dagger from Jack’s hand. Jack’s face turned a dark shade of purple as he struggled to not scream from the pain.  

“Deal. You should see the result by noon tomorrow.” The masked man stood up and started to walk towards the door.

“You’re not going to count the money?” Jack was astonished by the fixer’s apparent trust.

“If you shortchanged me, I can always find you later.” The fixer opened the door. Pausing, he turned his head towards Jack. “But once I find you, you will wish that I hadn’t. I take my debts seriously, whether they be owed or I owe them.”

Without another word, the fixer closed the door and left. Breathing a huge sigh of relief, Jack nervously looked at the guards that came with him. Both of them were lying in a pool of their own blood. The first guard’s throat was slit from side to side, while the second guard had a hole the size of an apple in the back of his skull. Although the time that Jack spent meeting with the fixer wasn’t too long, Jack felt as if he stepped into the room half a day past.

It’s really best to never anger a fixer. I can’t believe he killed my guards and stabbed me within seconds of being offended earlier. I couldn’t even follow his movements. Nevertheless, I really hope that he succeeds in the assassination. My life is forfeit if Joshua does become the new Baron.

Jack grabbed his untouched drink from the middle of the table. Downing the hard alcohol in a single gulp, the burning sensation soothed his frayed nerves. Looking at his wounded hand, Jack muttered an incantation under his breath. His right hand raised in front of him, streams of soft yellow light congealed into the shape of an lumpy ball. Guiding the ball of light into his left hand, Jack’s wound started to heal at an noticeable rate. Jack’s left hand was restored to its unwounded state, with only a thin white scar as a reminder.

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The masked man was known professionally as the Onyx Ghost, one of the best fixers in the Empire. He was also known as Levi Dusk, to himself. The moment Levi stepped out of the room, his figure grew hazy. By the time he walked down the hallway and reached the stairs leading to the bottom floor of the tavern, he had disappeared into thin air.

The easiest way to assassinate Joshua would be to catch him on his way to the town square tomorrow morning. However, the Baron’s guards and informants would have considered this contingency. The heir apparent should also be under heavy guard tonight. Doing the deed during the ceremony is going to even harder, and I can forget about trying to assassinate Joshua after the transfer is completed.

Levi timed his exit from the tavern with a drunken patron’s exit, never even touching the door himself. The fixer walked into the dark night, the cool breeze lifting his mood.

I’m going to need a disguise of some sort and do it close. I’ve never seen a transfer ceremony before, but I believe Scarlet Leopard talked about a previous assassination that she during a transfer ceremony. From what I remember, there’s a narrow timing during the actual ceremony itself when the Baron’s divinity is not in either his nor the heir’s bodies. In addition, they should both be distracted and have their guards down.  

Levi decided on a course of action as he walked towards the Baron’s mansion.

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“Joshua, how are you feeling?” Stepping out onto a balcony, a lavishly dressed man spoke. At the edge of the balcony, a young man dressed in dark green velvet clothes turned his head.

“Mm, Duncan. I feel…..excited.” Joshua Hunt smiled. “I still can’t believe that this is happening. I always felt that Jack would inherit the Barony.”

“Haha, I almost couldn’t believe it myself. Jack flew into such a rage that I thought he would attack somebody right there and then when the result of the trials were announced.” Chuckling, Duncan strode up next to Joshua and patted the younger man on the shoulder. “You deserve it. In all of the years since you’ve joined the Baron as his second apprentice, I’ve only seen and heard good things about you.”

“Ah, don’t flatter me. I still have a lot to learn.” Joshua sighed. “Still, I wish that Jack hadn’t stormed off in rage before I had a chance to talk to him. All of the envoys from the neighboring Baronies swarmed me when Master Sexton announced the result.”

“Jack was always one to blow his top. That man has a severe temper, even if his talent for the Divine Arts is the best in the Barony.” Duncan sighed. “The trials that both of you went through is but a portion that factors into the final decision. Each apprentice’s personality is carefully analyzed, among other factors.”

“Oh, that can’t be the only thing. Jack is also an apt administrator and negotiator.” Joshua smiled as he thought of his brother apprentice. “For the last two years, Jack has been running most of the Barony by himself. Only the tasks that officially required the Baron to act were not delegated to Jack.”

Duncan nodded in agreement, but cursed silently. That’s only because the old man is too foolish and dotes on you, his illegitimate son. As the Baron’s steward, how can I not notice Jack’s thirst for the Barony? That mad dog finally flew off the handle earlier today. I’ll need to figure out a way to convince the Baron to exile or remove Jack at a later date.

“Joshua, you’ve had a long day. Why don’t you retire to your quarters and rest up? I’d wager that by this time tomorrow you’ll be even more exhausted.” Duncan put his arm around Joshua’s shoulders and turned the younger man around. “Go and turn in for the night. You’ll thank me tomorrow.”

“Ah, okay. I really should turn in for the night. I’ve had a little too much to drink anyways during the banquet.” Joshua walked off into the brightly lit mansion with a laugh. “See you in the morning Duncan!”

Joshua closed the balcony door as he walked through it back into the banquet hall. Seeing the heir apparent walk into the mansion, Duncan breathed a sigh of relief. Turning around to look at the town below, the steward muttered in a low voice.

“I’m glad that nothing bad happened tonight. I can’t rid myself of this feeling that Jack might try something drastic. At least Joshua will be safe in the mansion itself, there are many various protective glyphs in place should an assassination attempt occur.”

Duncan grew quiet, thinking to himself. Unnoticed by the steward, a fog formed between him and the mansion. Behind Duncan, a hazy silhouette appeared. A hand clad in dark leather covered Duncan’s mouth as the other slit the steward’s throat with a dagger. The same dagger that hours earlier had been driven through Jack’s hand. Duncan’s eyes seemed to pop out of their sockets as the light left his eyes.

Levi’s body slipped into reality the moment Duncan’s life left him. Letting the steward’s warm body drop onto the stone floor, Levi’s hand glowed as it traced an glyph in the air. The glyph was an intricate series of circles inlaid on top of each other, and glowed a dull blood red. Duncan’s body started to twitch as blood both spilled and still in his body moved. The steward’s blood gathered in a pool above the body, where it was absorbed by the glyph. As the blood sank into the glyph, the glyph started to spin. In a matter of minutes, the rest of Duncan’s body dissolved into nothing as the glyph finished absorbing the man’s blood.

Levi’s eyes betrayed no emotion as he watched the glyph spin. The fixer reached out towards the glyph. The moment his hands touched the glyph, it flashed once and flew into Levi’s body. A sickening series of crunches broke the silence of the night as Levi’s body underwent a transformation. After the body-morphing was complete, Levi reached for his mask and took it off. Pulling his hood back, Duncan’s face could be seen. Levi’s new face broke into a wide grin. Closing his eyes, the fixer was able to see Duncan’s memories that were formed within the last day.

So it seems that the steward is the one that is supposed to present the Writ of Divinity to the Baron during the ceremony. The Writ was even delivered just hours ago, and is kept in the steward’s room. This is….almost too easy…

With a chuckle, the false Duncan disappeared into thin air as he made his way to the steward’s quarters. The guests were still celebrating with wild abandon within the mansion, oblivious to the events that happened a mere dozen meters away.

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