I looked down at the large lord with as kind a smile as I could muster, given that I’d just intimidated an assassin and the rest of the town square into a stupor. “Hey there. Sorry to drop in so suddenly, but I’d heard you were looking for me, and since I’ve got rather concerning news to share, I thought I’d save you some trouble and come to you.”
He brushed back a sweat slick lock of his mop of brown hair and gazed intently at me with his beady brown eyes before stammering. “I–I see. Then you must also be aware of what we want from you?”
I scratched my cheek. I mean, yeah. You want an artifact. But I didn’t find one here. Just a slightly useful coin.
“Sorry, but I don’t have anything to give you aside from some information, which I’d prefer to discuss inside.”
He narrowed his eyes at me, consternation written all over his furrowed brow. “Inside you say? If you want to go inside you’ll need to hand over the artifact. As for this story you’ve brought, why can’t you tell it now? Everyone here is loyal to me, and–”
“And you put up a barrier, probably to block sound from escaping. I see it, I know. And let’s be real here, who the heck trades an artifact for a trip inside?” I sneered at the ridiculous notion, though given that he stepped back, I think he took it personally. “But.” I glanced around at the guards and servants gathered in the courtyard, then leaned in. “At least one person here, other than me, isn’t loyal to you.”
His jaw started to drop, but to my surprise and his merit, he immediately clamped it tight again. He refrained from glancing around, though his eyes betrayed his ever mounting anxiety, and he pulled Calden and Ysdra close. He whispered. “You mean someone out here is–?”
“Yup! Now let’s head on in so I can tell you all about it!” I grinned and somewhat forcefully guided the trio toward the tower by placing my hand on the Lord’s shoulder and half-dragging him along.
The guards were too hesitant to try to stop me, given my ever so recent display of aggression and currently massive frame, but they followed along none-the-less and were even kind enough to open the doors to the tower for us.
Once inside, I got several furtive glances from the Lord, but once Ysdra shot him an equally curious look he stopped. It took some doing, but eventually we made it to the meeting room on the fourth floor. Once in the partly lit chamber, I thought Spark. and suppressed a giddy giggle when the newly wrought spell ignited the candles on the chandelier to assist the sun in fully illuminating the area.
The best part is I didn’t even have to do anything! All these spells go off and I don’t even lift a finger! How cool is that?! The dumbfounded looks on the Lord and Kids are proof too!
After that I plunked down at the end of the table opposite from where I saw the Lord sitting during my first scry, and gestured for them to sit too. Calden took up the seat to my immediate right, while Ysdra sat next to him. The Lord, though dismayed at the children’s proximity to me, swallowed hard and took the seat to my left.
I used my extended senses to make sure the other assassin was, in fact, just outside the room subtly listening in on us, and nodded to the Lord. So far so good.
His jowls jiggled as he huffed at my nonchalance and apparent awareness of his tower’s layout. “So, Anon, was it? What was so important that you had to get us all the way up here? And without any guards?”
I ignored the edge to his last remark and smiled warmly. “Well that should be obvious, right? You saw what I did before the gates closed. Someone’s after Calden’s life, four of them to be exact. Oh! And they’ll probably try to release that Sorren guy too.”
Calden and Ysdra lowered their heads to hide their pained expressions, as if this whole scenario was somehow all their fault. Then the Lord nodded slowly, his fear and trepidation now hidden behind a stony facade. I returned my senses beyond the door to the fake guard, and found that beneath his helmet, the assassin looked more than a little pale.
Ya’know being able to just look past physical barriers without magic is really handy. I mean, this sorta thing would’ve made driving in the old Earth perfectly safe, among many other useful things! And it’s mine to use as I please! I did an internal chef’s kiss. Magnifique!
The Lord steepled his fingers and asked. “And do you know their identities? Where they’re located? Or perhaps basing their operations?”
I listened closely for the faker to gulp, but true to his master of disguise training or whatever equivalent he had, he didn’t make a peep, or do anything suspicious at all. That’s a little disappointing, but there's still plenty of time to make him squirm.
“Sadly, no. But I do know that they’re very good at what they do. One’s capable of walking totally unseen, one is so good at being nonchalant that he can walk past people unnoticed, one is able to step through shadows to reach restricted places, and the last… .” I trailed off and looked over at the door that the person in question was just beyond.
Calden gripped the arms of his chair so tight that his knuckles turned white.
Ysdra tried to bore a hole into me with just her baby blues.
And the Lord let a shadow fall over his eyes as he rasped. “Yes? What of the last?”
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I smirked when the ‘last’ of the rogues finally gulped, albeit very quietly. “The last is a master of mimicry. He’ll take someone out, then create a convincing mask of them and then wear it around as if he was that person. He even goes so far as to change his voice and scent so as to sound and smell just the same!”
Ysdra muttered. “T–that’s awful. Who would do something so dishonorable?”
Calden closed his eyes, and mouthed the words. “I must have faith.”
And the Lord slumped back in his chair with a loud creak. “This. This is a disaster. If we’re up against Marquis Palaeshek as Carmella reported, then that must mean we’re dealing with some of his rumored Scarlet Hand.”
I arched an eyebrow. Scarlet Hand? Good golly gosh! I know the name of a clandestine fantasy organization when I hear one! However…
I glanced over at Calden and tried to project my thoughts to him. ~Hey, Calden, Can you hear me?~
He jerked up in his seat, which in turn caused both Ysdra and the Lord to do much the same.
“Calden!?”
“Dear boy, what’s wrong?!”
He stammered. “I–I’m alright.”
Then I heard him in my head. ~M–master Anon? You can use telepathy?~
The startled pair began fussing over the young lord, but I ignored them and continued. ~No, this is something different, think of it as part of your blessing, but that’s besides the point. What I wanted to tell you is that I’m going to leave now, but don’t panic. I’ll reveal my plan to you later like this, once we no longer have any evesdroppers. I just wanted you to be aware.~
He shut his eyes tight and squeezed the cloth of his trousers. ~I–I see.~ Then he let out a slow breath, and smiled at the still frantic pair, though I got the feeling it was intended for me. ~I’m glad. I was worried that I wasn’t worthy when we first parted, but you are still watching out for me. Even if you aren’t nearby the Lord God still connects us, so I have nothing to fear.~
Lord God? Kid what kinda wacked up crazy pills are you takin’? But if I set him straight now he’ll probably overreact and I don’t need that headache at the moment.
I sighed. “Well, that’s all I really came here for, so since Calden isn’t at his best I’ll see myself out.
The Lord fumbled for something to say, but I was up and out the door before he could get anything coherent out. The real and fake guards stationed on either side of the door followed me down the many steps and to the front gate, where I left them behind with a solid smile. That assassin is barely containing his nerves. He knows they’re on guard now, and probably thinks I pointed out his location when I went silent, so he’s likely looking for a way to escape so that he can tell his cohorts they’ve been compromised.
The portcullis rattled shut behind me, and the bustling crowd parted to let me pass as if I’d had the plague, not that I minded the freedom that allowed. Now. All I have to do is wait for him to make a break for it, and follow him back to where the rest are hiding.
#
In a house a little more than a stone’s throw away from the west side of Ariadholme’s outer wall three assassins waited for the last of their group to return. One paced, another drummed his fingers, and the third, the one who’d called the other two back and who’d experienced Anon’s intimidation, sat huddled in the corner under an unoccupied desk in the fetal position.
The one who paced frowned beneath his mask and struggled to suppress the nerves that rendered his nonchalant stealth useless. To think our target would discover us first and then ruin the other group’s infiltration. How was Whisper even discovered? We weren’t even on their trail, so was it instinct? Paranoia? Coincidence? If Thread doesn’t return soon we’ll have to move on our own, and if that being is there with an unidentified artifact in hand, then we’ll likely have an uphill battle ahead. No guarantee of success, or survival.
Just then the door calmly opened and then shut as a distinguished looking gentleman with gray hair and a curly mustache strode in. He then pulled off the mask he’d made of the former owner of the house, and scanned the room with wide desperate eyes.
The finger drummer stopped, and said in a raspy voice. “Thread? By the look on your face, I take it our quarry is still alive?”
Thread nodded. “Yes, and Sorren is still a captive. I barely had time to get accustomed to the place before everything fell apart. How are you Whisper? You took the brunt of that blast.”
The crumpled ball of Whisper whimpered. “I–I’ll manage. I think. D–did you learn anything? A weakness? T–their plan? I–I’d like to avoid confrontation as much as possible if we know what they’re up to.”
Thread sighed, and rubbed his face with both hands. “I don’t blame you, that Anon creature knew each of us and what we specialize in. It claimed not to know where we’re based or about our movements, but I doubt that greatly. Not only did it warn the Baronette of our aims, but it even alluded to knowing of my presence too.”
The one pacing stopped. “Is there any good news? Are we really to return in failure? You know what happens to failures!”
The former drummer rasped. “Yes Veil, we know. If we lack any other avenue, once night falls I can either report back, or attempt a strike on my own. Thread? What say you?”
“I don’t think it’s hopeless yet. I don’t know why, but the being named Anon left the tower after delivering the warning. I know it’s speculated to be a terrestrial deity, so is it watching us in amusement? Acting just to toy with interesting mortals? Stirring the pot to make our conflict more entertaining? I can’t say, but if it’s out of the way, we can still do this.”
The cowering Whisper looked up for the first time since his arrival. “Really?! That’s great! Shade, you hear that? You won’t have to go alone! And the sooner we get this done and get out of here the sooner I never have to see that… that… thing again!”
As the four rallied themselves, all failed to notice the formerly hulking figure of the ever amorphous Anon lurking in a nearby alley watching them with a broad grin.
#
I chuckled. I figure it’s best if I use this opportunity to help Calden establish a reputation so he’s harder to target in the future, so how do I want to make that happen? Do I drive all the bad guys into a coordinated trap all at once? Have him pick them off one at a time? How about in pairs? What would make the kid look best? One massive effort? Several simultaneous takedowns? Or a couple more moderate maneuvers? Regardless, this’ll be fun and sweet justice will be served!