The black-robed figure stood at the top of a lonely hill and chuckled humorously at the dark skies above. The scene was certainly appropriate for the clandestine meeting. The full moon hung low in the sky, a silent watching eye, and a slight mist wreathed the surrounding trees reflecting the celestial glow.
“Having a good night Agent?” The black-robed figure flinched, but then years of training took over and a blade appeared in her hand. Recognizing the identically dressed figure in the gloom she sighed and sheathed her knife.
“Must we do this? We’ve known each other for decades, and there’s never been a reported infiltration ever on this continent.”
She couldn’t see his face but she could feel the scowl in his words. “Protocols are protocols for a reason. Now, are you having a good night?”
She ground her teeth at that but relented. “The night is cold and dark. There I said it, can we please move on? I think all of these passwords and such are just overcomplicating things. We could just use truth stones to check every time we meet.”
The other figure nodded and even with the dark concealing clothes managed to make the motion seem condescending. “Yeah if we immediately wanted to give away where we’re from. The nobles here seem practically allergic to anything resembling truthfulness. Besides what have you heard of recent events, it's been happening in your area right?”
“Well, it’s a minor incident, to be honest. One of the old noble houses tried and failed to take over a new dungeon from the Storms. It went quite poorly for them, but only one of the perpetrators was caught. The rest have disappeared, most likely our little friends from across the pond. I think I almost caught one of their emissaries in Corinth but I wasn’t able to finish my pursuit without revealing my presence.” She shifted in place, hating feeling like she was back at the academy waiting for her teacher to give her back her test grade.
“You did fine, maintaining our secrecy is important. It’s troubling that one of the emissaries was moving so openly that you almost caught them. No offense but they are well trained. Not as well trained as us, but good enough to go undetected in big cities. They’re either getting sloppy or they’re confident. Anything else you’d like to add Agent?”
She growled, they both knew each other and there was no one around for miles, he could at least use her name. “Not really, but it seemed a little out of character for our friends to take an entire noble house, even a small one. It's not going to go unnoticed, and that goes against their normal operating procedures. Unless something is going on outside of my area that I’m not aware of?”
Her associate looked down at his feet considering. “It could be several things but there have been several unusual rumors going around. The kind of thing that spreads unnaturally fast. The story goes that the Storms killed the rest of the Bancrofts besides the one they captured.”
“Not likely, the only Storms anywhere near Corinth was Vance Storm, one of the youngest. I highly doubt that a tier-two knight could destroy an entire house on his own. Besides, the Agent in Olympus should be keeping tabs on all of the Storms right?”
Her superior nodded his head before continuing. “That’s correct, all of the Storms were accounted for at the time of the Bancrofts' disappearance. Even their Sophia Storm was there for a few weeks before the disappearance so we can rule out her. The rest of them aren’t going anywhere without us noticing, so we can more or less rule out the Storms as playing a role in the disappearance, even without the emissary you found, or almost found. Unless they’ve been compromised which is rather unlikely or are going out of their way to use proxies I think it’s unlikely they were involved.”
“So should I start snooping around for where the Bancrofts have gone? Even if they were taken away by an emissary there should still be a trail for me to follow.” It would be quite fun to put her skills to the test.
“Patience, there’s no real reason for us to pursue this matter further. Even with the emissaries involved, there are too many eyes and variables running on this one. We’d for sure get exposed by one of the involved parties.”
She groused slightly unwilling to abandon the topic so easily. “But aren’t there several houses that have to know we’re snooping around? I mean even the Storms probably know they’re being watched right?”
“Yes but they probably just assume that we’re from a rival faction or group. Which is an assumption we try to encourage whenever possible. There’s a reason why we only ever kill emissaries we come across, and even then only if we are confident we can manage a clean kill. There’s too much of a risk that our friends will put two and two together and figure out what’s going on. They could hobble out operations quite and bit if they knew we were about. Our best protection right now is secrecy, until it's time to move in force there will be no unnecessary risks, that is an order Agent.”
“Yes sir.” It did make sense when he put it that way. She still wished things could be a little more exciting though. “Any changes that I should be aware of?”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“You should continue to keep an eye on the new dungeon. You may even want to shift your base of operations there as it's just going to keep getting more important as time goes on. If it becomes a problem we can send another Agent to take your place in Corinth. Also as of about a week ago Sophia Storm left Olympus. We’ve determined she’s probably not in the Storm dungeon, she might be in your area so keep your eyes open and keep your distance. Also, Angela and Mathias Storm are going to visit their son. They should be arriving soon if you can try and keep an eye on them during their visit.”
“I can do that.”
“What is it, Agent? You shouldn’t be worried about spying on Mathias and Angela, they’re both mages. Just don’t try and get too close or get into the mage guild, those places are almost always inscribed to keep out intruders, best not to take chances.”
“No, it's not that, it's just well shouldn’t we be doing something to combat these rumors? If we suspect the emissaries are spreading them wouldn’t it make sense to try and squash them?” Plus she kind of liked the Storms, they seemed like decent enough people.
“No, definitely not. You need to keep in mind that both parties are our enemies. The emissaries and their masters are definitely more dangerous and more despicable than the kingdoms, but that doesn’t make the kingdoms our allies. It seems like in this case the emissaries are looking to sow chaos, and that suits us just fine.”
“Alright, it just feels a bit wrong, but you’re right. The last thing we need is for both parties to unite against us.”
“Exactly Agent, that is precisely why we are so secretive. In any case, if there’s nothing else then I’ll see you for our next meeting. Good luck out there.” She gave a short wave as the black-cloaked man vanished into the night gloom. She sighed and set off herself, her steps falling soundlessly on the undisturbed grass and earth and she made her way back to Corinth.
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Celia stared across the table at Sophia and eyed the young man sitting next to her. They looked like they could be mother and son, or even distant brother and sister, but she knew for a fact that Sophia was the man’s grandmother. What was his name again? “Vance this is the one I thought you could bring along the next time you go dungeon delving. You don’t have an assassin in your little group yet, do you? She’s my new apprentice so I thought it would work out nicely.”
Vance looked at her appraisingly, paying close attention to the collection of knives on her person. He even spotted a few of the hidden ones she kept as well. “Well she looks capable enough, and if you vouch for her it should be fine grandma, but I’d still like to spar a little with you. If you’re going to be a more permanent part of my party we should probably try and get to know each other better.” She glared at him, and he blushed slightly. “Get to know you just as far as combat ability, I didn’t mean to imply anything else.”
Internally she scolded herself, what was she thinking glaring at a noble like that? Shaking her head she steeled her nerves while taking a quick glance at Silas and Kira sitting on either side of her. “Well, I’m not sure if I want to be your apprentice, to be honest. Your offer was rather abrupt after you almost killed me.” Vance looked over at his grandmother with a startled expression, and Celia braced herself there she had said it. She stared resolutely at the ground, biting her tongue as she waited to see what would happen next.
“Well if that’s what you decide. I’d be rather disappointed, but at least you have the guts to say it to my face instead of running off in the night. Anyway Vance I still say you should bring her along even if she doesn’t become my apprentice.” Celia snapped her head up, that was a surprisingly reasonable response. Despite what the guild master had said she was still expecting Sophia to absolutely explode when she questioned her offer.
“That’s it then you’re not going to threaten me into becoming your apprentice or at least tell me why you think I should?” She hadn’t really expected such a quick turnaround in attitude.
Sophia shrugged. “It's been my experience that once people make up their mind about something it's hard to talk them around unless they want to listen. That being said, are you considering being my apprentice at all? If you are, I can give you a pitch, or if not feel free to come find me if you change your mind. Like I said I’d like to have you as an apprentice, so no there’s no expiration date on my offer. I’ll be sticking around the area for a while anyway so it shouldn’t be that hard to find me.” Vance looked slightly alarmed at that, and Celia had to suppress a giggle.
“To be honest Lady Storm, I’d like to hear what you have to say. I’m aware that I’m unlikely to even come across another teacher, chakra is rather rare. I would like to establish some ground rules though, I don’t want to end up dying from your instruction.” Celia felt her shoulders tense and made an effort to relax. Sophia had behaved like a perfectly reasonable if slightly overbearing person so far, she needed to judge her by how she acted not how Celia was expecting her to act. Then again she had almost killed her a little while ago so maybe not the most reasonable person in the world.
“Just call me Sophia dear, if everyone called me Lady Storm all the time it’d go right to my head. Anyway, I’m sorry again about throwing the dagger too hard, it's easy to misjudge your strength around lower tiers and I should have known better. That mistake is one that I will not make again.” She looked Celia right in the eyes, her face unusually serious. “However you have to understand that I cannot guarantee your safety or even survival if you accept my tutelage. Life is dangerous and painful, especially for us assassins. I will never put you in a situation where death is certain, but at the same time to truly master chakra you will have to dance on a knife’s edge. It will be hard and certainly painful but I think you have what it takes. I wouldn’t have offered otherwise.” Sophia fell silent, finished saying her piece.
Celia stared down at the carpet, her thoughts whirling. “I need some time to decide,” she almost whispered, still lost in thought.
Sophia nodded and stood, her grandson standing with her. “That’s fine, be sure to let me know when you make up your mind. Take your time though, life’s a marathon, not a sprint.” Celia nodded, and Kira bobbed her head in agreement. “Well enough with the heavy stuff, let's all go to dinner. Silas, you always seem to have a good nose for food. Where should we go?” Celia trailed behind the group with Kira as they made their way out of the room, hoping she had made the right choices and that this wouldn’t come back to haunt her.