Chapter One.
Odric was walking from the village to his master the Thane's field to plant seed when a rival slave stopped him, Othandric the Brawler. "Get out of my way." said Odric. The bully continued to stand in his way. "Move, this harvest won't come in by itself." said the slave to the other slave. The bully grabbed him by the throat. He reacted like lightening and split his enemy's jugular vein with a seed-drill. His enemy dropped to the ground, dead and he stepped over the corpse to work in the field. Soon, a kelti peddler who sold goods from village to village saw Odric's handiwork and gave the Thane the 50 guilder needed for manumission. "What is your price?" asked Odric. "You do me some jobs. You could say that the Yarls need my services." said the shadowy trader everyone called "Yemric the Black" who himself was an assassin. "There is a Venetian noble that needs killing. He lives in Ostia on the coast of the Empire, his villa is the biggest one near the town. Kill him quickly. He reclines near his pool, asleep. Perfect target. I will pay you 10,000 guilder for the hit. The employer, who wishes to remain unnamed, is giving me 1 million for the hit." said the shadowy assassin. "Some advice? Don't spend your money on whores and drink. Buy a pair of blades and get some runes that allow you to travel undetected. Buy a robe of invisibility from the Assassin's Guild. We usually don't hire this quickly but there is a shadow war on and we need troopers!" hissed the assassin. "Fine, just forward me the money." said the ex-slave. The assassin dropped a money-bag into the hands of Odric. "I'll be watching your first hit. If you do well, I'll give you another job. If you fail, I'll let you die in a Venetian torture-chamber." said the assassin. "Consider it done." said Odric. Odric ran to the Capitol city and went to the "black district" where assassins, thieves and spies lived and did business. He walked into a shop and knocked at the counter. "Fool! Are you new? You have to be with the Assassin's Guild in order to buy from me!" said the shadowy shopkeeper. "I am the trainee of Yemric the Black." he said. "Then you can buy from me, you should have said that before!" said the shadowy shopkeeper. "Here!" said the shopkeeper as he threw a black robe at the would-be assassin. "That is a cowl of hiding, you remain invisible whenever you wear it. It recharges at the light of the moon. Disregard all murmurings from dark gods when wearing it, after awhile their voices will drive you crazy." hissed the shopkeeper. "Buy this as well." said the shopkeeper. He passed over two short blades. "These will come in handy, I don't need to tell you how to use those. And by the way, if anyone asks you what you do for a living, tell them that you are a goods peddler. It is a code and a disguise at once. Keep some items on you to sell and learn how to haggle." said the shopkeeper. "Fine, thank you." said Odric. "Hells, just get out of my shop!" said the shopkeeper. Odric slinked out with his new gear and went to a tavern and bought a meal. Spies, cut-throats and thieves filled the Inn. Skalds played music of both Vyir and Kelti legends while the kelti serving girls flirted with the men. "Idiot! Didn't I tell you to stay away from the Inns!?" asked Yemric the Black. "Just here to eat and I start my journey to-marrow." said Odric. "You could have caught a river ship out of here tonight and slept on the deck of the ship." said Yemric. "Fine, when I finish this, I'm out of this place." said Odric. A Vyir Guard came in. "I am looking for a criminal by the name of Yossarin the Knife!" cried a Vyir guard in kelti. "See? The High Yarl has this district buttoned down tight, we usually do most of our business out on the open road, in katta camps. They sell things we need and most of them are certified to sell to our guild." said Yemric. Both men quickly drank their cheap ale and ate their meat and potatoes and hurriedly left the Inn after paying the serving lady.
Chapter Two.
Odric was outside of the villa of the Venetian noble, it was midnight. He looked for a vine or a ladder to cross into the courtyard. He found a fallen ladder left carelessly by a slave and he mounted it against the wall and climbed up into the courtyard, unseen. He flipped the ladder again and climbed down and saw the snoring patrician on his couch near the pool. He walked up to the fat noble and slit the throat of the victim and as quickly as he entered the courtyard, he left. He ran, invisible through the fields and finally came to a forest and rested in a glade. "Good work for a beginner! You didn't even set off the dogs sleeping in the house!" hissed the senior assassin. "Here is the other half of your share. 20,000 guilders." said Yemric. He tossed the bag into the junior assassin's hand. "I have another job for you. Another noble, but he lives in Venetia itself. Large palace. He changes rooms every night, very paranoid. Several of our number have tried to take him out but have failed." said Yemric. "Master, we need to lure the fox from his hole." said Odric. "You might be right. I'll send a letter to him that someone is trying to kill him in his own house and he should meet us at some site out of the city, and that we'll help him get the slave in his house that is trying to kill him. We'll lure him to Ossara's Fountain. That place is totally unguarded." said Yemric. Yemric pointed out the fountain on a map. "We'll wait there." he said. "Memorize it." he ordered.
The two traveled to the fountain and Odric got out of sight. The "client" walked up, wearing a robe. Odric saw the two talking and he saw Yemric dismiss himself to "use the toilet" and Odric made his move. He got the noble from behind and killed him swiftly. Yemric came back and looked at the body. "You're plan worked. Let's get back to our paymaster." said Yemric. They walked for a few miles to a dark cave and lit torches and went into a central chamber, which was filled with tables, chairs, chests of gold and silver, and chests of food as well as sleeping bundles. No-one seemed "home" until a voice whispered in the dark. "Whom do you serve?" asked the voice. "Ysgramir the Voiceless" said Yemric. A tall Yyir spy emerged. "I am he. You came to collect the bounty on the noble that was nearly impossible to kill? Good work. Here is 2 million guilder." said Ysgramir the Voiceless. He tossed over several bags to the two men. "Do you need a place to store your earnings? I rarely do this but the Bank of the Harbor in our fair city will store money from anyone, no questions asked." said the Guild Leader. "Do they pay taxes?" asked Yemric. "Yes, but that is a given unless you want to be shut down by the High Yarl." said the Guild Master. The men stayed the night in the cave and the Guild Master made sure that they got their bags back. "Farewell! Buy a farm or something and marry a woman. Farmers live longer than assassins." said the guild master. The men traveled concealed back to Vyirlund and deposited their guilders at the Bank of the Harbor in the Capitol city. Odric walked around the other districts and asked the merchants what they would want if they could get it. "Spice!" was always the answer. Odric invested his guilders into a sailing ship and hired a crew and a Captain. "Captain Toddric, there is an Island to the deep south of here that has spices galore. The natives trade it for gold ingots. Take us there." said Odric. The ship sailed and they reached Yosi Island after a week on the waves and they made the trade. He sailed back with 23 million guilders worth of spices and made a profit instantly with the wealthy middle-men. He paid the Captain and the crew and the profit back to him was 10 million guilders. He didn't feel very whole though. He went to his old valley and bought 150 thousand acres and built his own house and decked it out with Kelti decorations and hired a maid to cook him meals. He hired 150 kelti lumberjacks and began to log off his land to sell the timber. He also gave his old Thane a gift of 2 million guilders for Yuletide. He never married and in his will he gave his land to his old Thane's son. As he got older, he converted from being "so-so" about the gods and converted to the Way of the gods of the Light. He freed as many brethren as possible and got them set up on his lands. When he died, everyone from the Assassin's Guild, his old crew, and his tenants and his old Thane's family showed up to pay their respects.
The End.
Odric was walking from the village to his master the Thane's field to plant seed when a rival slave stopped him, Othandric the Brawler. "Get out of my way." said Odric. The bully continued to stand in his way. "Move, this harvest won't come in by itself." said the slave to the other slave. The bully grabbed him by the throat. He reacted like lightening and split his enemy's jugular vein with a seed-drill. His enemy dropped to the ground, dead and he stepped over the corpse to work in the field. Soon, a kelti peddler who sold goods from village to village saw Odric's handiwork and gave the Thane the 50 guilder needed for manumission. "What is your price?" asked Odric. "You do me some jobs. You could say that the Yarls need my services." said the shadowy trader everyone called "Yemric the Black" who himself was an assassin. "There is a Venetian noble that needs killing. He lives in Ostia on the coast of the Empire, his villa is the biggest one near the town. Kill him quickly. He reclines near his pool, asleep. Perfect target. I will pay you 10,000 guilder for the hit. The employer, who wishes to remain unnamed, is giving me 1 million for the hit." said the shadowy assassin. "Some advice? Don't spend your money on whores and drink. Buy a pair of blades and get some runes that allow you to travel undetected. Buy a robe of invisibility from the Assassin's Guild. We usually don't hire this quickly but there is a shadow war on and we need troopers!" hissed the assassin. "Fine, just forward me the money." said the ex-slave. The assassin dropped a money-bag into the hands of Odric. "I'll be watching your first hit. If you do well, I'll give you another job. If you fail, I'll let you die in a Venetian torture-chamber." said the assassin. "Consider it done." said Odric. Odric ran to the Capitol city and went to the "black district" where assassins, thieves and spies lived and did business. He walked into a shop and knocked at the counter. "Fool! Are you new? You have to be with the Assassin's Guild in order to buy from me!" said the shadowy shopkeeper. "I am the trainee of Yemric the Black." he said. "Then you can buy from me, you should have said that before!" said the shadowy shopkeeper. "Here!" said the shopkeeper as he threw a black robe at the would-be assassin. "That is a cowl of hiding, you remain invisible whenever you wear it. It recharges at the light of the moon. Disregard all murmurings from dark gods when wearing it, after awhile their voices will drive you crazy." hissed the shopkeeper. "Buy this as well." said the shopkeeper. He passed over two short blades. "These will come in handy, I don't need to tell you how to use those. And by the way, if anyone asks you what you do for a living, tell them that you are a goods peddler. It is a code and a disguise at once. Keep some items on you to sell and learn how to haggle." said the shopkeeper. "Fine, thank you." said Odric. "Hells, just get out of my shop!" said the shopkeeper. Odric slinked out with his new gear and went to a tavern and bought a meal. Spies, cut-throats and thieves filled the Inn. Skalds played music of both Vyir and Kelti legends while the kelti serving girls flirted with the men. "Idiot! Didn't I tell you to stay away from the Inns!?" asked Yemric the Black. "Just here to eat and I start my journey to-marrow." said Odric. "You could have caught a river ship out of here tonight and slept on the deck of the ship." said Yemric. "Fine, when I finish this, I'm out of this place." said Odric. A Vyir Guard came in. "I am looking for a criminal by the name of Yossarin the Knife!" cried a Vyir guard in kelti. "See? The High Yarl has this district buttoned down tight, we usually do most of our business out on the open road, in katta camps. They sell things we need and most of them are certified to sell to our guild." said Yemric. Both men quickly drank their cheap ale and ate their meat and potatoes and hurriedly left the Inn after paying the serving lady.
Chapter Two.
Odric was outside of the villa of the Venetian noble, it was midnight. He looked for a vine or a ladder to cross into the courtyard. He found a fallen ladder left carelessly by a slave and he mounted it against the wall and climbed up into the courtyard, unseen. He flipped the ladder again and climbed down and saw the snoring patrician on his couch near the pool. He walked up to the fat noble and slit the throat of the victim and as quickly as he entered the courtyard, he left. He ran, invisible through the fields and finally came to a forest and rested in a glade. "Good work for a beginner! You didn't even set off the dogs sleeping in the house!" hissed the senior assassin. "Here is the other half of your share. 20,000 guilders." said Yemric. He tossed the bag into the junior assassin's hand. "I have another job for you. Another noble, but he lives in Venetia itself. Large palace. He changes rooms every night, very paranoid. Several of our number have tried to take him out but have failed." said Yemric. "Master, we need to lure the fox from his hole." said Odric. "You might be right. I'll send a letter to him that someone is trying to kill him in his own house and he should meet us at some site out of the city, and that we'll help him get the slave in his house that is trying to kill him. We'll lure him to Ossara's Fountain. That place is totally unguarded." said Yemric. Yemric pointed out the fountain on a map. "We'll wait there." he said. "Memorize it." he ordered.
The two traveled to the fountain and Odric got out of sight. The "client" walked up, wearing a robe. Odric saw the two talking and he saw Yemric dismiss himself to "use the toilet" and Odric made his move. He got the noble from behind and killed him swiftly. Yemric came back and looked at the body. "You're plan worked. Let's get back to our paymaster." said Yemric. They walked for a few miles to a dark cave and lit torches and went into a central chamber, which was filled with tables, chairs, chests of gold and silver, and chests of food as well as sleeping bundles. No-one seemed "home" until a voice whispered in the dark. "Whom do you serve?" asked the voice. "Ysgramir the Voiceless" said Yemric. A tall Yyir spy emerged. "I am he. You came to collect the bounty on the noble that was nearly impossible to kill? Good work. Here is 2 million guilder." said Ysgramir the Voiceless. He tossed over several bags to the two men. "Do you need a place to store your earnings? I rarely do this but the Bank of the Harbor in our fair city will store money from anyone, no questions asked." said the Guild Leader. "Do they pay taxes?" asked Yemric. "Yes, but that is a given unless you want to be shut down by the High Yarl." said the Guild Master. The men stayed the night in the cave and the Guild Master made sure that they got their bags back. "Farewell! Buy a farm or something and marry a woman. Farmers live longer than assassins." said the guild master. The men traveled concealed back to Vyirlund and deposited their guilders at the Bank of the Harbor in the Capitol city. Odric walked around the other districts and asked the merchants what they would want if they could get it. "Spice!" was always the answer. Odric invested his guilders into a sailing ship and hired a crew and a Captain. "Captain Toddric, there is an Island to the deep south of here that has spices galore. The natives trade it for gold ingots. Take us there." said Odric. The ship sailed and they reached Yosi Island after a week on the waves and they made the trade. He sailed back with 23 million guilders worth of spices and made a profit instantly with the wealthy middle-men. He paid the Captain and the crew and the profit back to him was 10 million guilders. He didn't feel very whole though. He went to his old valley and bought 150 thousand acres and built his own house and decked it out with Kelti decorations and hired a maid to cook him meals. He hired 150 kelti lumberjacks and began to log off his land to sell the timber. He also gave his old Thane a gift of 2 million guilders for Yuletide. He never married and in his will he gave his land to his old Thane's son. As he got older, he converted from being "so-so" about the gods and converted to the Way of the gods of the Light. He freed as many brethren as possible and got them set up on his lands. When he died, everyone from the Assassin's Guild, his old crew, and his tenants and his old Thane's family showed up to pay their respects.
The End.
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