The building with the red flag was only two stories tall, and there was a walkway that connected the roof of the building to the roofs of its two adjacent buildings. From what he could see, there were walkways that connected the next buildings on either side as well. The roofs were flat, had no cover, and were all at the same elevation, so approaching that way would not be possible without being spotted early. Each bridge was guarded by two defenders; there was a man at each of the other two walls, and the last man stood near the flag. This will be a tough nut to crack.
Less light from the street spilled onto the sides with the walkways, offering better cover. If he climbed just below a bridge, he could probably make it to the top undetected. However, he’d face immediate confrontation with the two guards stationed there, followed by the rest shortly thereafter. The prospect of getting caught halfway up the building didn’t sit well with him, but he saw no alternative. Looks like I’ll have to get my hands dirty this time.
There was a tree on the north side that provided ample cover for Ewtain to approach the wall unnoticed. Beginning his climb under the bridge between the buildings, he made steady progress. Just over a third of the way up, he received notification that he had acquired the climb skill. That was great news, and his ascent went noticeably faster afterwards.
Reaching the top directly beneath the walkway, he started to move towards one side when he heard a whisper that he couldn’t make out. He froze. After a tense minute, he heard light footsteps retreating from his position. Seizing the opportunity, he swiftly maneuvered to the corner of the bridge and the wall, pulling himself onto the roof.
Ewtain startled the remaining guard on the bridge, and the man wasted no time sounding the alarm. The man who had walked away was already halfway to the flag, and he swiftly turned and drew two daggers. The rest of the defenders also armed themselves and advanced towards Ewtain, prepared for a fight.
Drawing from his training, Ewtain approached the situation like the tests he took to become a novice: dodge any thrown weapons and reach the objective. Sprinting towards the center of the roof, he barely dodged a dagger hurled by the guard charging back to his post. Ewtain tried to angle left, but his path was blocked by the rogue who had closed the distance. Ewtain charged straight at the flag.
When he got within a few feet of the man between him and the flag, Ewtain dove under a dagger strike and performed a somersault. His momentum brought him back to his feet, facing the flag. He dodged two more thrown daggers, then drew one of his own. The man stuck guarding the flag had taken up a position between it and Ewtain, daggers in hand, but he looked to be in no hurry to throw them. When Ewtain arrived, the man thrust his daggers, but Ewtain easily avoided the attacks and grabbed the flagpole out of its stand as he ran by. He continued towards the bridge on the opposite side of the roof, cutting the center ring away from the flag as he ran. There were two men between him and the bridge, and Ewtain hurled the flagpole at one man, who dexterously dropped a dagger and caught it before it hit the roof.
As Ewtain charged, the man clutching the flag veered away, while another defender assumed a defensive stance, clearly wary of Ewtain’s skill. Ewtain engaged the new opponent, but the defender deftly maneuvered, positioning himself with his back against the bridge Ewtain was heading to.
Seeing the other defenders converge on him, Ewtain fled. As he ran, he could hear the men giving chase, their shouts echoing behind him. However, they stopped chasing him when one of them, likely an initiate, shouted, “Stop! We have the flag, so stay on this roof!” Though the chase ended, two daggers still came hurtling his way. Ewtain dropped prone and the daggers flew over him. He was now in the clear.
Now only the Green Squad remained, and Ewtain had to make a stop before he went after them.
Ewtain knocked on the door to Vanya’s room, and after a second round of knocking, the Elf opened the door a crack. “What? Why are you here?” she asked.
“I need Vult,” he said simply.
Vanya’s eyes shifted from side to side, and without opening the door any farther, she asked, “Why are you looking here?”
“He isn’t in his room, and you two are thick as thieves,” Ewtain replied, smiling. “You didn’t think that your idea to have all of us get our own rooms due to our windfall of silver fooled anyone, did you?” He cocked his head and smiled broader.
She opened the door and asked, “Who else knows?”
“Anyone with eyes and a brain, I would think,” he said. “Don’t worry, I’m not aware of anyone else who knows for sure, but really, you should save the silver and just share a room. What’s with the secrecy?”
Vultressant saved her from having to answer by getting out of bed and saying, “What do you need?”
“I need a favor from you... I might actually need both of you,” Ewtain said. “Could you get dressed and meet me downstairs?” Vultressant exchanged a shrug with Vanya, who nodded in response. I guess that’s a yes. Ewtain made his way downstairs to wait.
When they joined him, he briefed them on his plan, and together they set off down the street towards the green flag.
Ewtain climbed the building to the east of his target since it was closer to the building than the western one, and he wanted the jump across to be as safe as possible. When he reached the top, he earned another level in the climb skill. He wasted no time and sprinted at full speed, a dagger in each hand.
Spotting the defender across the wall, Ewtain noted the man’s bewildered expression as he charged. The cry of alarm coincided with Ewtain’s leap, and the sentry managed to draw his weapon, but Ewtain crashed directly into him, daggers first. The two men tumbled together, coming to a halt mere feet apart.
Quickly regaining his footing, Ewtain seized the man’s feet and dragged him to the edge of the wall, where he promptly threw him off. He had thought that the man was already dead, but he soon heard a scream that abruptly stopped. Well, dead now.
Ewtain gripped his short sword tightly, swiftly assessing the situation. The two men positioned on the sides adjacent to the wall he stood by were closing in fast, while the one from across the way was nearing the flag. With the man to his left the closest threat, Ewtain made the decision to confront him first, not wanting to face two adversaries simultaneously.
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Ewtain swung his short sword in an overhead chop. The man instinctively crossed his daggers to intercept the blow. With his other hand, Ewtain delivered a powerful punch to the man’s side, causing him to buckle from the pain. As his knees buckled, Ewtain followed up with a kick to the side of the knee, sending the man crashing hard onto the rooftop.
Ewtain drove his blade into the fallen foe’s back twice before pivoting towards the approaching threat from his right.
The rogue hesitated as Ewtain bore down on him, perhaps unaccustomed to such a direct assault or unnerved by the sight of his fallen comrade lying in a pool of blood by Ewtain’s hand. If he wanted to run, Ewtain gave him no time to flee; he launched two rapid strikes with his short sword. While the first blow was deflected, the second found its mark, biting deep into the rogue’s shoulder.
Ewtain activated his special move, eviscerate, causing his sword to faintly glow as he drove it deep into the man’s stomach. The rogue doubled over, writhing in agony. He appeared to be incapacitated. Despite this, Ewtain kicked away the man’s daggers before sheathing his own sword and dragging the wounded rogue to the edge of the roof.
Peering down, Ewtain watched grimly as the man plummeted three stories to the ground below. There was no scream this time, but he landed with the same thud as his predecessor had.
The remaining rogue stayed by the flag and made no move to help his comrade. He stood there in a defensive stance and watched as Ewtain walked over to the rogue that he had dispatched earlier. He picked him up and hurled him off the roof. The vast pool of blood on the roof was evidence that the man had been dead prior to the fall.
Ewtain advanced towards the center of the roof, his sword held loosely by his side. “You’re free to leave,” he declared, gesturing towards the edge of the roof with his weapon. “If you survive the fall, I won’t come after you.” The rogue briefly glanced in the indicated direction, as if weighing his options, before raising his daggers in defense.
Ewtain shrugged. “Well, you can’t say I didn’t offer,” he remarked casually.
With this being the final defender, Ewtain wanted to prolong the confrontation. Initially, he focused on delivering precise strikes that inflicted damage without causing serious harm to his opponent. Both combatants understood the inevitable outcome of their clash, and the rogue cast more than one apprehensive glance towards the edge of the roof during the skirmish.
When it looked like he might actually run, Ewtain stabbed him in the center of his thigh. The force of the blow dropped the rogue to his knees, a dagger slipping from his grasp as he clutched his wounded leg in horror, blood gushing forth. When their eyes met, Ewtain swiftly ended the man’s suffering with a decisive stab to the neck.
Ewtain seized the flagpole and waved it over his head. He made sure that he rotated in every direction, ensuring that he could be seen from all angles, particularly by Mr. Green. The fallen man at his feet was one of the two lackeys who had plotted against him this very night. While his initial plan had been to dispatch them first, he reasoned that saving this one for last was just as good.
Ewtain then grasped the lifeless body and began to drag it slowly towards the edge of the roof. Casting a glance downward, he verified that the coast was clear before tossing the corpse over the wall.
Ewtain slipped into the Shady Tree well before daybreak. The bartender nodded at him and gestured towards the private room at the back. Carrying the green flag and the rings collected from the other three flags, Ewtain made his way to the back room.
He found the assembled group, excluding the four members from the green team who were notably absent. It appeared they had sent word to the respective groups after Ewtain’s successful retrieval of the necessary rings. Ewtain walked straight up to Hailor and laid the items on the table he was seated at.
“You have impressed me greatly, novice, or should I say initiate,” the leader began. “You displayed many talents in this test, and your cunning is as great as all but a rare few that I can think of. Against the blue team, you were able to use a diversion and incapacitate a key defender. This allowed you to quickly leave with your prize. Against the yellow team, you were able to hide and sneak around unnoticed by the entire team. Against the red team, you were forced to engage some, but you single-mindedly made your way to and attained the target. And finally, against the green team...” He paused and looked pointedly at Mr. Green, who was seething but said nothing. “Against the green team, you displayed your ability to kill. All of these things are needed to be a great assassin.”
Hailor’s gaze swept across the room, his words carrying a weighty solemnity. “None of the members present here are worthy of having you as an initiate,” he declared. Mr. Red and Mr. Yellow took the news well. Mr. Blue’s surprise was evident, though he managed to conceal his disappointment well. Mr. Green looked like he wanted to murder Ewtain on the spot… well, let him try.
“Therefore, our new initiate will report directly to me. The novices must leave now,” Hailor commanded. As the novices filed out of the meeting room, Hailor retrieved a small sheathed knife with a crisscrossing silver hilt. “Hold out your finger,” he instructed.
Ewtain complied, extending his finger as Hailor drew the knife and pricked it with a deft motion. Sheathing the knife, Hailor passed it to Ewtain. “This is a knife of egress. You can bind yourself to a location, and it will allow you to teleport there, provided it is within 5,000 feet of your current position,” Hailor explained. “Simply hold the hilt and say the word, egress, to activate the effect. Once used, the knife cannot be used again until a day has passed, and you cannot teleport another person with you. Congratulations, initiate.”
A ripple of applause echoed through the room as Hailor’s clapping initiated a modest response.
Ewtain wanted to leave immediately, but he was ‘required’ to have a victory drink with the group. After the drink, he made his quick goodbyes, telling them that he had an early trip planned, which, while true, was not the real reason that he wanted to be gone.
There had been an initiate among the green men that he had killed, and another one of these daggers would be extremely useful. He had noticed the initiates wearing the knives, and he had thought it odd given that a knife that small could do very little damage, but it made much more sense now. The members had a similar knife, only the hilt was gold instead of silver. Maybe a better version of his knife? He would inquire later, as he wanted to avoid raising suspicion.
He had almost made it to the door of the tavern when Mr. Green stepped in his way. “Someday you and I will end up fighting,” he said venomously.
Ewtain spread his hands and asked, “How about right now? I have time currently.” While not true, he would like to deal with this idiot earlier rather than later. He actually hoped that Mr. Green was dumb enough to want to do it right here and now, because Ewtain had had just about enough of his tone. Mr. Green gave the Night Stalker a hard look, but he suddenly wilted, lowered his eyes, and stepped out of his way. Ewtain’s last thought before leaving was: These assassins were supposed to be made of better stuff than that guy.
Ewtain made his way back to the building where the green flag had been located, but he found no bodies at all. There was blood in the spots where the bodies had landed, but nothing else remained. Maybe the novices or other members took the bodies? He sprinted back to the inn.
For the second time that night, Ewtain found himself outside Vanya’s door, knocking loudly. This time, Vultressant answered the door with Vanya next to him. “Worked like a charm,” the Gnome said.
Ewtain cut off anything else that he was about to say. “Did you loot the bodies?” he asked in a near panic.
The two of them looked at each other and then back at Ewtain with concern. “We just took the essences, like you said,” Vanya said, spreading her hands apart. “Sorry?”
Ewtain sat down and threw the hood of his cloak back. He felt exhausted after being so tense for the entire night. “One of them had a knife like this,” he said, holding out the knife. “It teleports the user to a predetermined spot as long as you’re within 5000 feet of it.”
Vultressant whistled. “Wow! Shit, I’m sorry.” He looked to Vanya, who shrugged. “Well, we did get an emerald and three ruby essences, and you’re clearly in the guild, so why don’t we bank the wins and not worry about the loss?”
Ewtain quickly read his notifications. “Well, I also made level eight, so that’s something else for the W column.”