Chương 88: Chapter 226: The Conscientious Assassin

As Centurion Sergius described the town, where the merchant's villa was located, and what the children and mother looked like, I just nodded. When he finally finished, he said sanctimoniously, "Make sure it is done by the time we leave in the morning." He kicked his horse and headed into the small city. I remained where I was, pretending to examine the city while my insides churned and my mind raced. I paused upon seeing something uncommon in the Empire outside the gates: a graveyard.

Most bodies were burned for fear of the dead rising because, in this crazy world, that was a real fear. At least the undead didn't carry a zombie virus—at least not that I had been made aware of—yet. A plan slowly started forming in my head. I paused at the gates, and when one of Sergius' guards turned back to look at me, I explained, "I am going to scout the perimeter of the town. It was part of my training." The Hound grunted and waved me away, uninterested.

"We will be at the Silver Inngot. If you miss dinner, it will be on your coin to feed yourself." Thankfully, he rode inside the gates, leaving me to my plotting. I didn't head for the cemetery but instead went the other way around the city, leading Comet while I walked. I practiced with my earth speak, pulsing it every fifty feet. The ground was frozen, and no citizens were in sight this late in the cold evening. I was using the spell form as a distraction but found more than I bargained for.

Deep under the earth, about thirty feet down, was a network of tunnels. A few lesser green goblins roamed the network, preparing for a foray tonight. I only noticed three of the goblin scavengers in the network of tunnels. I rarely focused so deeply and traced one of the ascending tunnels to a dense patch of thorns about two hundred feet from the city's wall. The soil was extremely rocky in the area, which is probably why the bushes hadn't been cleared.

It also made it difficult to find any goblin tracks as I searched. I finally found a single half-print on the frozen earth, probably a week old or more. These goblins were smarter than most of their ilk. I guessed they made an effort to conceal their tracks, or I would have found more. There were certainly many farms around the city that they could steal from. I continued my circle of the city and came upon a large refuse pit—well, I smelled it first. Comet didn't want to approach, so I tied off his reins.

I searched around the refuse pit, hoping I might find something useful for my plans. Instead, all I found were more goblin tracks. So, the goblins were scavenging trash, not stealing from the farmers, and they were definitely smarter than your average goblins. I continued my scouting and paused a short while later, astonished at what I found by chance with earth speak. I walked to a stony field and stood atop a decent-sized flat stone, maybe three feet across and weighing a few hundred pounds.

I pretended to survey the area under the scrutiny of a guard on the wall. Under the stone, buried a few inches deep, were bags of coins. It took me a few pulses to refine earth speak to differentiate the different metals in the coins. It appeared they were mostly copper and silver with a few gold mixed in. They had been there for ages, indicated by the deterioration of the leather sacks. I sat on a nearby rock, pretending to rest while the guard on the wall continued to watch me from a distance.

I carefully bounced back and forth from earth speak to align my dimensional space. Then, I shifted the mass of the coin, dirt and all. The stone covering prevented the earth from collapsing on itself. I estimated a few thousand copper and a few hundred silver with just a few dozen small gold coins mixed in. As I walked away, I turned over one of the silver coins in my hand, cleaning the dirt off of it. It was not a Telhian coin.

One side featured a crown, and the other side displayed unfamiliar writing and some bird, probably a falcon. The coin was a curiosity, to say the least. I continued walking and refined my earth speak to focus on highlighting silver or gold. I was frankly surprised at how many coins were buried over time in the earth around the city, most just under the surface. I didn't retrieve any, even though I was tempted when I discovered two large gold coins buried a foot deep near the western gate.

There were also extensive foundations buried with time from a forgotten city. It was not lost on me how valuable earth speak could be in excavating the Atlantium ruins. The last thing I wanted was to be sent there at the center of the inevitable battle to control them. I reached the graveyard by the south gate, and Comet was antsy as I walked down the central path. I would need fresh bodies. I had been told the boy was thirteen and had some combat training, and the girl was ten.

As I got to fresher graves, I sent out my earth speak pulse. These bodies had large silver coins with runic writing over their eyes. It took me a moment to recall that these coins would prevent the dead from rising. It was also symbolic of paying for passage for the ferryman on the River Styx. Only the wealthy could afford to bury their dead, and by the amount of freshly churned earth marking recent burials, it had not been a good winter for them.

Drawing some attention in the fading light, I pretended to look at a stone grave marker as I pulled the first body out of a stone coffin below the earth. It matched a teenage boy, and his corpse wasn't that old. Finding a young girl was much harder, but eventually, I found one that fit well enough. I paused, considering my plan. What if there were servants or the mother of the children rushed in to save her children? To be safe, I found a woman who had recently been buried.

I guess I could add Grave Robber to my resume. I walked into the city under the scrutiny of the guards from the walls. I think they thought I was scouting out the graves to rob them in the night—unbeknownst to them, I had already done so. It would be all the better if they added patrols outside the city to guard the cemetery tonight. I entered a shop and was greeted by an agitated owner, "If it can wait till tomorrow, Hound, my dinner is ready."

"I will be quick and give you a large copper extra for your time." He gave me a curt nod, which I took as permission. I walked the racks of common goods, took a large bundle of wax leaves and twenty feet of fine cord rope, and pretended to decide if I wanted a new stew pot. While I was examining the pot, I shifted lamp oil from a large cask into my dimensional space. The first cask had already been cracked, so I covered the sloshing liquid by scuffling my feet.

For the next two, I had to break the seal with my dimensional space before taking samples. Even then, they still hissed and sloshed, and I had to make a racket with the pots to cover it. In all, I had three gallons of lamp oil, and the shop owner had three casks one-fifth lighter. The owner was beyond agitated by my slowness, but I brought the wax leaves, rope, and pot to the counter. He looked over everything.

"Three silver for the cordage and fifteen copper for the hundred leaves. You took my best pot, too. Two silver for it." He looked up, expecting me to barter.

"It is a nice camp pot." I placed four silver and four large coppers on the counter.

"Thank you for your time." He was surprised and swept the coin before I could change my mind. I gathered my items and found the Silver Inngot in no time. I spent an hour rubbing down Comet and feeding him while the brave stableboy asked me incessant questions about orcs and elves. I did my best to humor him and not contribute to any nightmares. Entering the inn, empty plates were scattered across the table where the Centurion and his Hounds sat.

Chicken bones picked clean and empty pitchers of ale showed they had saved nothing for me.

"Well? Four hours, you must have something to report." Sergius asked, amused. The group looked modestly intoxicated, but all focused on me. I felt Sergius using his discern truth ability on me again. He obviously didn't trust me.

"Goblin tracks to the west. They appear to be keeping to the refuse pit at night. It looks like there has been a rash of deaths over the winter by the cemetery. And I found this," I tossed the silver coin to Sergius. He caught it with a flash of his hand. He may look unfit, but there were hints of athleticism. He turned the dirty coin over in his hand, "A Gallos coin. They ruled the northern part of the continent before the First Legion brought order." He placed the coin on the table, not returning it.

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"What about the goblins?" I asked. Sergius smiled, "Tell the city guard if you want. You have other things to do with your time tonight." We had been trained to always exterminate the creatures, but it looked like these Hounds were not leaving the comfort of their beds tonight. I pretended to be irritated by the silver coin being kept, eyeing it for a moment before walking away.

"Room six," one of the Hounds yelled behind me as they laughed among themselves. My room smelled like urine, and the chamber pot was full. I guessed they had filled up my pot as a joke for the new guy. I secured my door as there was no lock, sent my purchases to my dimensional space, and changed into dark clothes. I left my Hound armor on the bed and squeezed out the window, lowering myself into the alley and landing softly. A surprised rat scuttled away, and the overpowering stench of urine surrounded me.

I guessed dumping the bedpans out the window was common practice. My earth speak revealed this city had no sewers. A few of the oil street lamps were lit, but I walked through the shadows as I moved to the northern part of the city. The citadel was in the west, but the merchant's villa was in the north. My breath created clouds in the dry, cold air of the night as I walked to do foul deeds. I made seven turns as I walked to ensure I wasn't being followed. I believe I left much earlier than Sergius had expected.

His Hounds knew my final destination if they planned to observe me tonight, so I figured I should complete my dirty deeds before they were sent to spy on me. It was not a large villa but did have two stories. Thankfully, the second story was wooden. A low wall surrounded the front, and a higher wall encased the back gardens. The merchant was well-off by the number of glass windows on the residence. Only a single room was lit while I walked slowly by the villa's front entrance seeing no guards.

I circled through three streets, checking on being followed again, before using my air shield to scale the high wall in the back. Neptune's Tear was not in the sky tonight, but the starry expanse gave me enough low light to see. The rear of the villa had a series of balconies on the second floor with only the single room lit. I did not detect any guards as I moved along the wall, pulsing earth speak. The structure was mostly wood, muting my spell form from giving me a clear picture.

There were two individuals on the first floor in tiny rooms. I assumed these were the maids or cooks. Using air shields, I climbed quietly to the dark balcony, the furthest I could from the lit one. There was definitely someone in the dark room where I ascended. Once again, I couldn't believe I was doing this. The door was secured with a heavy latch, so I sent the entire lock into my dimensional space. I listened closely as I slowly pulled the door open and slipped inside.

Floral scents overwhelmed me, the coals in the fireplace warmed the elegant room, and soft breathing came from the bed. The cold air I brought with me swept through the room, and the child stirred. The small shape told me this was the daughter. When I was close enough, I sent her to my dimensional space before she roused. I let out a slow exhale. The sheet and mattress were sliced sharply from pulling her into my space, but so far, my plan was working.

My aether channeling had improved over the last months, and soon, I deposited the small corpse I had stolen and made the bed around her. I had to remove the coins over the eyes, a necklace, and a ring. Next, I soaked the bed in the lamp oil, careful not to pool it to avoid it dripping through the wooden floor. My final task in this room was barring the door. When the fire started, I didn't want anyone to come in and save the corpse. Finished with my grisly task, I returned outside to the balcony.

I moved to the next room and paused. It was the boy's room, and he was awake. He was grunting as his shadow moved inside. He was swinging a wooden sword through basic forms. In the dim light of his fireplace, I could tell he was inexperienced but putting in a fair amount of effort in the training. I still needed some time before my aether recharged, so I waited and observed from the shadows.

As I was getting ready to make my entry, the boy did me a favor, opening the doors heavily and walking onto the balcony to cool off. A second later, he joined his sister. This was going to be easier than I imagined. I think I had just cursed myself. The doorway that still had light coming from it opened, and the irate mother stormed onto the balcony.

"Marius! Get to bed now! You can practice with your sword tomorrow!" She walked angrily toward me, not realizing the shadow she was approaching was not her son. I didn't have enough aether to store her as well, and when she got close, I rushed her. Thankfully, she was coming from a lit room, and her night vision was terrible. I stepped into her, wrapped her, and covered her mouth. She bit down hard on my spider silk gloves and tried to scream. It was very muffled, and I hoped no one heard it.

I hissed into her ear, "Quiet, or your children will die tonight. I am only here for you." She struggled for a moment but soon realized my superior size and strength couldn't be overcome. Squeezing the woman tightly, I was at a loss on how to proceed. It was going to take me twenty minutes to recover enough aether to store her. What should I do? Tell her some semblance of the truth? Maybe my plan was ridiculously stupid. When was I going to get a chance to release the family?

I could imagine Raelia watching me and just laughing at my dilemma while Maveith looked on in disappointment. What the fuck was I supposed to do? Kill the children? In my best soothing voice, "Good. Is there anyone in your room?" She shook her head since my hand was still stuffed in her mouth. At least she had stopped trying to bite off my fingers. Relieved, I said, "Good, let's go there." She immediately tensed again, probably thinking I would take advantage of her.

I walked her to the room, and a single bright glowstone gave the room its light. I pushed her inside and moved to the glowstone, which happened to be near the bed. I made the stone vanish into my space so she could not see me. A small dying fire gave the room minimal light. She had other thoughts about my motivations for moving us closer to the bed, but I tried to calm her fears.

"Your children live. Your husband has angered the Emperor with his new foreign olive plantations and sent me." Okay, maybe I didn't calm her. Her body tensed again, and she shook in fear. I tried again, "I am not going to rape you or kill you unless you scream when I remove my hand." I slowly worked my hand out of her mouth, her jaw still holding my fingers. Why was she reluctant to let go of it?

"Show me that Marius and Clara still live, and I will do whatever you ask of me," she said pleadingly. Everything about this curdled my morals. I had a growing hatred for Centurion Sergius for making me do this.

"Pack your most valuable jewelry. You are coming with me," I stated. I moved with her across the room as the terrified woman slowly went through her possessions and stuffed them in a bag.

"So, you are a thief too," she accused as she regained some composure.

"Speak that loudly again, and you will regret it," I warned. She slowly continued packing, stalling for time, which is exactly what I wanted. In a soft voice, she asked, "Am I to be sold on a foreign slave market? Held for ransom?"

"The latter," I said, grateful for her plausible explanation.

"The Emperor wants the orchards your husband is cultivating abroad." Defiance flickered on her face as the small fire illuminated her rich blonde hair and features. This merchant had certainly done well for himself; she was a divine beauty.

"That is everything of value. My husband secures his coin elsewhere," she said testily.

"I am sorry, but I am going to have to tie you up for the next part," her eyes narrowed as I held up the cordage I had purchased that day. A few minutes later, the woman was bound and gagged and sitting on her bed.

"Do you know what an oblivion pill is?" I asked, holding up two of the red pills.

"They help you sleep. When you wake up, you are going to be far away from here with your children." Panic appeared in her eyes as I was changing the narrative.

"Everything you packed tonight will be your only possessions. You see, I was ordered to kill your children tonight, but I couldn't do it. It is a personality flaw, I guess. Instead, I am going to smuggle you and your children out of the Telhian Empire. I can see you look doubtful. But for the sake of argument, trust me. You can never return to the Empire, or your lives and mine will be forfeit. Please nod if you understand." She slowly nodded but doubtfully.

"Good. That makes this easier." I pulled the gag away to slide the oblivion pills into her mouth. She only resisted briefly before appearing to swallow the pills.

"If what you say is true. Sorry for biting you." Her eyes quickly got heavy, and she fell into a deep sleep. I checked her mouth and made sure she had not faked consuming the pills before returning the gag. I quickly packed some clothes for her and added the adult corpse to the bed, soaking it in lamp oil. I returned to the boy's room, repeated the sequence, and packed some of his clothes. I grabbed some clothes for the daughter and then lit all three rooms on fire and jumped off the balcony.

I watched from the far side of the gardens while the fire grew and spread, soon licking the outside of the doors. There was going to be nothing left. I just had to hope Sergius or the Merchant didn't use a necromancer to talk with the dead. For my first assassination, this was extremely messy. © Copyrighted 2024, 2025 by AlwaysRollsAOne No permission is granted to translate, copy, repost, or convert this original work of fiction into audio format. If you are viewing this on a site other than my Patreon, RoyalRoad.

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