Assassination was one of my primary functions before I ended up on Awsriyah Island. No matter how primitive or advanced a society is, no matter if it was run by humans or other minds created by them, something or someone always wanted something or someone else dead. In my previous role, I would kill commanders or other useful individuals in the most efficient ways possible, using long-range sniping tactics, poison, or simply by sneaking up on them and killing them with a bladed weapon. All of those methods were so practiced in my mind that they were reflexive, and now that I was able to sleep I could understand the full meaning of the expression I could do that in my sleep. Though I was sure I couldn't literally assassinate someone while sleeping, it barely required more brainpower than breathing given the proper tools and mission intelligence.
“So you want them dead?” I asked. Taaljheyz sighed, clearly annoyed that I wasn't understanding what she was trying to say.
“It's not enough that they're dead,” she explained, “they need to suffer before they die. That's the whole point. Are you suddenly squeamish or something?”
“If it's to cause a deterrent effect, wouldn't simply mutilating them after they're dead fit your objectives?” I asked. I had done missions with that objective in the past. Warbreed didn't shake easily, but there had been several long-running disinformation campaigns that I participated in wherein I would kill targets and then mutilate their bodies postmortem to replicate the supposed effects of a secret weapon. It's amazing that they believed it now that I reflect on it, I thought, mono-atomic fragmenting airfoil rounds would never have the kind of range or power to inflict the wounds I gave them, even if they were possible to make.
“I said they need to suffer,” Taaljheyz sighed.
“But if there are no witnesses to see it, there is no difference,” I countered. Taaljheyz rolled her eyes because she clearly knew that she didn't have a suitable counter-argument.
“The crew is the one paying, so we decide how they die,” she said. “You don't need any reason other than that. Damn, if I knew you were this much of a pedant I would have just kicked you out.”
“I understand, but that method of killing does run a higher risk of attracting the attention of the guard,” I replied with a nod. It’s just another stupid cultural practice, I guessed. Koyl tapped me on the shoulder, then leaned in to whisper to me. I bent over slightly to make up for the difference in our heights.
“We should just go,” he hissed. His stomach growled loudly, then mine did as well, as though it was responding to him. Taaljheyz laughed and slapped her own belly.
“Alright Yuwniht, you take these,” she said, sliding three rolls of paper towards me, “go get something to eat. I'm sure you worked up quite an appetite.”
“Thank you,” Koyl said, taking the rolls of paper and pocketing them.
“Don't speak to me, oylzahtm,” Taaljheyz snapped. She and I exchanged nods, then I turned around and left with Koyl since the only food items in the guild hall were various psychoactive drinks.
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Koyl and I, back at the inn, sat in relative silence as we ate the food that Yehpweyl had prepared for us. During the entire walk back Koyl had remained mostly silent, aside from reading me the target descriptions on the rolls of paper when I requested it. Two of the three targets were merchants who lived in the west end of the city, and they were said to be found in their shops during most business hours. The third target was, of all people, Dawpvaol. Apparently, she was one of the five sub-leaders of the Steelheart Company, a fact which came as much more of a shock to me than Koyl, who mentioned that he had suspected it for some time and “knew she was older than she looked.”
“Have you done that before?” Koyl finally asked. Since both of us were starved we had taken double servings of vegetables and meat, so our mouths were full as we spoke.
“What?” I asked.
“Back at the... guild hall,” Koyl replied with some hesitation, “what you did to that guy, have you done that before?” I noticed that he wasn't looking at me at all while he spoke.
“The beating part or the killing part?” I asked. Koyl winced twice, which was my answer. “Yes,” I continued, “I've done both before.” Koyl stayed silent for another minute before asking anything further, which let me consume around an eighth of the food on my plate in peace.
“Even the brain part?” Koyl asked.
“How else are you supposed to kill someone who can heal in seconds with your bare hands?” I asked in reply. Because I was reasonably sure that Koyl had never lived in a place without the anomalous healing effect present on the island, his understanding of my question would vary from mine.
“Were you going to do that to me?” he asked, “the night we met, I mean.” Koyl finally made eye contact and his face displayed a complex mixture of anxious and fearful emotions, along with fatigue.
“No,” I said. Relief washed over Koyl's face for a moment, but then I continued speaking. “I was going to either stab you in the heart or brain, or cut your head off. I believe I told you as much,” I explained. “Heating up the inside of someone's skull like that is excessive, not to mention slow, so it shouldn't be used when a superior option is available.” Koyl's relief vanished, but he didn't look as afraid anymore.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“I didn't even know you could do that,” he muttered.
“You've seen me light lanterns before,” I replied. Koyl looked at me with a funny expression.
“No,” he said, “I mean I didn't know it was possible to... use magic like that. I'm not very good at it, but I've never heard of someone using it that way.” Could it be that these humans also have difficulty manifesting effects inside of materials? I wondered. “Look, I'm going to probably piss you off right now, so please don't beat me to death, alright?” he sighed.
“You are a generally abrasive person, judging by other people's reactions to you,” I replied, “I highly doubt that what you're about to say will be any worse than usual.” Koyl laughed bitterly, then steeled himself with a pained grin.
“I'm not going to help you kill any of those people,” he said, “the ones on the contracts I mean. After what I saw in that guild hall today, I don't want anything to do with the Hatchet Crew's kind of jobs or work.” He let the statement hang in the air. I had suspected that Koyl might not want to work for the Hatchet Crew but only because of his reactions, not his character. “I'm not a good person,” Koyl continued, “that much is pretty obvious, but there's a difference between me and them, and the kind of things I'm willing to do versus what they are.”
“So you don't want to kill,” I said.
“I don't want to kill people who don't deserve it, and I don't want to torture them to death,” Koyl retorted. “I'm fine with beating someone up, I'm fine with robbing them, I'm fine with conning them out of money or blackmailing them, but if I'm going to put someone in the ground they're going to need to have done something to warrant it. Or at least I’m going to do it quickly and honorably if they haven’t.” Great, he finally decides to get some kind of morals and act like the other humans on the island, and it's about this, I grumbled to myself, Maybe I can talk him out of it.
“You were more than willing to kill me when we met,” I recalled. Koyl sighed and took another bite of food.
“I know you're an idiot, but have you never heard of a bluff?” he griped. “Of course I said I would kill you, you always say that if you want to rob someone. If they don't think you're serious they're more likely to fight back or run away. It doesn't mean I would have actually done it on purpose.” I knew what bluffing was, obviously, but I found Koyl's logic to be flawed.
“To me, saying you're willing to kill someone seems like it would cause them to fight harder, not surrender,” I thought aloud. “If I were attempting to avoid violence and a robber told me they were willing to kill me, I would have no guarantee that they wouldn't do it after they had what they wanted.”
“And you'd pay them if they said they weren't?” Koyl scoffed.
“No,” I replied, “but I would never pay them regardless.” The next few minutes were quiet again as we both ate and drank. I finished my food and leaned back in my chair, stretching out my torso to aid in digestion. I found that sometimes I would feel pain in my chest if I had food in my esophagus while hunched over, a clear indication that doing so was suboptimal for digestion. Koyl finished his drink and ordered another, but showed very little of the giddiness that normally resulted from the substance.
“So what are we doing next then?” Koyl asked. We? I thought with a hint of amusement, Interesting that he still wants to work together, but refuses to work on the tasks we found today.
“I need money, and I need it quickly,” I said. The fact was obvious, but I wanted to restate it in case Koyl was having some idea that I wasn't having.
“So you plan to kill Dawp and those other two?” he asked.
“You said the total gain from all three jobs was around ninety ngoywngeyt, correct?” I asked in reply. I hadn't been paying much attention when Koyl read out the reward amounts because he was mumbling and the streets were noisy.
“Yes,” Koyl replied, “ninety-two and a half exactly. I don't know the normal prices for that kind of work but it seems low to me.” It still wouldn't be enough to get me to the one hundred and fifty goal, I thought, close, but not quite there. “I can't let you kill Dawp though,” Koyl added.
“You really think you could stop me?” I asked. Koyl and I stared each other down for a few seconds before he relented. He did his best to avoid showing any reaction to intimidation, but I knew he wasn't going to try to attack me.
“Not in a straight-up fight,” he admitted, “I could probably get some blue leaf though. Doesn't matter how strong you are then, you saw what it did to Thaajh.” The mention of the poison caused my ears to perk up. It had the potential to be both a major thorn in my side as well as a powerful tool.
“And if I wanted to find some, where would I do that?” I asked. “Having a tranquilizing poison would be very useful.”
“You think I'm going to tell you now?” Koyl scoffed. Not really, I thought, but on the off chance that you did it would save me some time. “Wait, how do you even know what blue leaf is?” Koyl asked. “You're a total ignoramus about almost everything else, but you've heard of a plant that only grows in the northeast of Awsriyah?”
“The villagers in Suwlahtk told me,” I replied. Koyl eyed me suspiciously, then laughed.
“They shot you with those stupid blowguns of theirs, didn't they?” he chuckled. I said nothing, but Koyl kept laughing. “Oh gods, what did you even do?” he continued. “Did you try to rob them? Did you beat someone up? Did-” I decided to stop him before he started to put pieces together, and cursed myself for bringing up Suwlahtk unnecessarily. If what I did to that man today shocked him, it would be best if he never found out about Suwlahtk, I thought.
“They thought I was an animal because I woke up naked and blundered into their village,” I said. “Regardless, you said it grows in the northeast, which is around here. Thank you.” Koyl grimaced, then let a puff of air out through his teeth and chuckled. There was another moment of silence as he sipped his mug.
“There's another option in all of this,” he said, “one that might get both of us more money, and one that means you don't have to kill a bunch of innocent people.” While the innocent people part made no difference to me, the money part had my attention. “Tomorrow we bring these contracts to Dawpvaol, and we see what she says about them.”
“They're not just going to pay us well for bringing them in,” I countered immediately. Even with my paltry work experience, I knew that the most I would get for something like that would be a day's wage, maybe two if I was lucky.
“No,” Koyl agreed, “but they might do something else. We're in a unique position here, you're an in at the Hatchet Crew. We could turn this whole scheme of yours around and instead spy on them for the Steelheart Company.” The majority of this “scheme” was in no way my idea, I wanted to say.
“That doesn't sound like it pays overly well,” I retorted.
“That's why we go for the real prize while we're doing it,” Koyl grinned, “we kill Yaavtey and bring Steelheart his head.”