[MKGuild] "An Unlikely Story" Part 2

[a_lil_dudeinpr2 at hotmail.com]

Here's part 2:

__________________________________________________________________

An Unlikely Story
Part 2
By Lurking Wolf

March the 5th, in the year 695, Cristos Reckoning

    Lois watched as the sun sank low in the western sky.  He had been waiti=
ng for darkness to fall for several hours now, and now, as the last visible=
 part of the sun sank below the roofs of the nearby buildings, Lois knew it=
 was time to make his preparations.

    When he had been at the first merchant=92s establishment, he had alread=
y planned to attempt a target switch for his greater profit.  He had watche=
d the movements of the guards carefully on his way in, as well as on the wa=
y out.  Today he had even furthered his knowledge of his target=92s securit=
y, spending a good amount of time hiding in the shadows as he watched the m=
en change shifts.  He could tell that they were being paid good coin by the=
ir employer by their alertness, but he had already noticed several problems=
 inherent with their set patrols, which he planned to exploit to his full a=
dvantage tonight.

    After closing the one window in the room, as well as checking the door,=
 Lois moved to where a large chest sat up against the wall.  It was in this=
 chest that he kept almost all of his earthly possessions.  From his money =
to his clothes, everything he owned had been stowed in this chest.  Most of=
 it was kept in the main section of the chest, but for some things, especia=
lly anything that would give him away as an assassin, there was a secret co=
mpartment in the bottom of the chest.  It was incredibly difficult to tell =
that this compartment even existed if you were looking at the bottom of the=
 chest.  The compartment was small enough not to be too noticeable when vie=
wed from above.

    Vincent carefully lifted the chest, turning it on its back so that he w=
as staring directly at the bottom of the chest.  He then reached around to =
the side.  There were a series of decorative designs that adorned the chest=
, some of which had more than one use.  Lois=92s fingers found the secret t=
riggers on both sides of the case, tripping both of them at the same time. =
 A soft click was heard, then silence.  Lois then looked at the front of th=
e chest, actually the top from his perspective.  He set one of his fingers =
in a spot where some of the decorations seemed to have fallen off.  He slid=
 it carefully to the side, revealing the catch to the secret lock.  He trip=
ped this, and cushioned the bottom of the chest as it opened outward, revea=
ling the hidden area.

    Lois removed what lay inside, moving it to the bed.  He then closed the=
 bottom of the chest, waiting for the slight click that signaled that the l=
ock had sealed.  As he set the chest back against the wall, it could be see=
n that the area where the decorations had been missing was once more adorne=
d by the simple carvings that adorned the rest of the chest.  Lois set it b=
ack where it had been, then turned to the equipment that lay on the bed.

    He set about dressing himself in the loose black suit that would serve =
as a sort of camouflage as he moved through the shadows.  It also hung in l=
oose folds in certain places, making it hard to determine the exact size of=
 the person wearing it.  It covered him completely excepting only his hands=
 and his head.  He then took the pair of gloves from the bed, pulling them =
on as well.  They covered only his palms, providing some protection while n=
ot impeding the flexibility of his fingers at all.  He then took a coif fro=
m the bed, slipping it over his face, leaving only his eyes visible.  He tu=
cked the loose material from the coif into the main part of the outfit, eli=
minating the most noticeable seam in the outfit.  =


    Now Lois took one of four strips of cloth from the bed, and began wrapp=
ing it about his left forearm.  He wrapped it tightly enough so that the ex=
cess material of the sleeves would be held down, while still allowing air t=
o cool his arms.  To sweat on a mission like this could mean detection.  Th=
e cloth band made sure that unwanted snags could be avoided, as well as mak=
ing sure that the sleeves would roll up accidentally during combat.  Finish=
ing with his left arm, he clipped the cloth down and repeated the process w=
ith his right arm, then with both of his legs, tying down the cloth between=
 his knees and his ankles.  =


    Lois=92s weapons of choice were already prepared.  He strapped his dagg=
ers around his waist, the black of the sheaths almost invisible against his=
 clothing.  They were also strapped loosely in their sheaths, allowing the =
wearer to even hang upside-down without being preoccupied with making sure =
his daggers didn=92t fall out.  Aside from this, he kept with him six darts=
, each tipped with a generous amount of a compound made with snake=92s veno=
m.  Used properly, each dart could easily be reused twice.

    Aside from this, Lois traveled light.  He carried absolutely nothing th=
at he didn=92t need.  All things that he brought with him meant one more th=
ing that he had to be careful with while moving into enemy territory.  The =
last thing he wanted was to have to be overly careful.  The more care he ha=
d to take, the greater the chance of making a mistake.

    Thus prepared, Lois made sure that the room was in order as if he had j=
ust left for a stroll, then made his exit through the window, traveling thr=
ough shadows and across rooftops towards his destination.

        *            *        *            *    =


    Lois lay stretched out on a roof, overlooking the building where the me=
rchant did his business.  As an added bonus, it just happened to be where h=
e slept at night.  Lois didn=92t have to look for the man=92s residence.  H=
aving a target that was both very greedy and very paranoid helped him a lot=
 in this situation.

    Vincent was watching the guards who had been hired by the merchant to a=
ssure his safety.  He had before seen a very obvious pattern in the patrols=
, and he was now verifying it before he made his move.  Where he now waited=
 was looking at the back of the building, where the merchant=92s shipments =
of goods would be sent.  A set of large doors was the only visible entrance=
 from this position, but Lois wasn=92t interested in them.  They would be s=
ecurely locked at this time of night, and would doubtless make a lot of noi=
se when opened.  The only thing he cared about was that there was about a t=
en second delay between patrols on this wall, while as he would have had on=
ly a little more than five seconds on the wall where he sought to enter.

    Finally, Lois was convinced that the guards were still moving in the sa=
me flawed patterns as one of the guards rounded the corner, Lois dropped si=
lently into the alley that separated the merchant=92s business and his hidi=
ng place.  He quickly ran to the wall, then slipped silently behind a stack=
 of empty barrels that lay, waiting to be taken and refilled with whatever =
exotic drink the merchant kept in them.

    Quietly, Lois waited for the patrolman to round the corner.  He then cl=
imbed on top of one of the barrels and jumped , catching the edge of the ro=
of in his hands.  He then slid himself under the roof=92s overhang, laying =
across the wooden supports that were set at regular intervals around the ro=
of.

    Without waiting for the patrols to move, Lois countered their rotation,=
 walking across the supports quietly.  He doubted that anyone who looked up=
 at him would be able to tell him apart from the shadows which accompanied =
him during his short trek.  It was dark enough that his black clothing blen=
ded in perfectly.  Vincent stopped as he arrived directly over his planned =
entrance point, a window.  It was likely one of the very few windows to act=
ually sport the luxury of glass in this small town.  This man was definitel=
y a big fish in a small pond, and was out to try to get an even bigger shar=
e of what profits this town afforded.  This was one of the greater reasons =
that Vincent had chosen to play one against the other.  He didn=92t like gr=
eedy people.

    Lois positioned himself so he could see the entire wall from his positi=
on.  He only had a five second span where no one would be patrolling this w=
all, and that was only after one particular guard.  Due to this fact, Lois =
planned to do something he didn=92t usually risk.  He would drop down while=
 the man was still patrolling the wall, hopefully giving himself plenty of =
time to get in.  This carried with it the risk of being seen, but hopefully=
 the man would be looking the other direction anyway.  At least that=92s wh=
at Lois hoped=85

    As the man neared the building=92s corner, he assassin dropped silently=
 beside the window.  He had very little time, so little that he didn=92t ev=
en glance over at the guard to see if he had noticed.  His dagger was alrea=
dy in his hand, and he slid it under the window quickly.  It caught the lat=
ch and opened it, just as the guard rounded the corner and started down the=
 other wall.  Knowing he had only about five seconds to act, Lois moved qui=
ckly and as quietly as he physically could.  He had opened the window, jump=
ed in and closed it within three seconds.  As the next guard rounded the co=
rner, Lois latched the window.

    Vincent slid himself up against the wall, out of the way of the thin ba=
nd of light that could be seen on the floor.  He would wait until the guard=
 passed the window.  That would give him the maximum time to move.  As he w=
aited, Lois looked at the window.  He had been lucky enough to see the desi=
gn earlier during his meeting with this merchant.  Had he not, he might not=
 have been able to open the window quickly enough.  That type of latch was =
rare.

    The guard=92s shadow passed through the light.  As it disappeared, Lois=
 struck off down the hall.  Counting doors, he came to the one he wanted.  =
He could see a slight light coming from underneath the door, and so moved q=
uietly.  He gripped the door=92s knob, and pushed it silently forward.  He =
thanked the merchant for putting out the money to have the hinges oiled.  A=
pparently he hated creaking doors about as much as Lois did.  It was, of co=
urse, for very different reasons.

    Lois found himself looking into the man=92s office.  As he verified tha=
t it was empty, he slid silently into it, closing the door behind him.  The=
 light he had noticed before was caused by a lone candle, left lit by the c=
areless owner of this place.  Didn=92t he realize that with all of these ex=
pensive things lying around, a fire would really mess up his profit margin?

    The office was smaller than that of the other merchant, but had quite a=
 few valuable items none the less.  Most interestingly was the bookshelf th=
at sat against the wall.  It was filled with books.  There must have been s=
everal hundred.  Few could afford such an extensive personal collection, an=
d this guy was out to get someone else because he felt that they made too m=
uch money.  Yet another reason that Lois disliked him.

    Vincent moved to the door at the back of the room.  He tested it quietl=
y.  The door slid open without a noise, letting Vincent into the back store=
room of the building.  He made sure that there were no guards, then left th=
e door open.  He might need it.

    Silently, Vincent planted a little bit of insurance in the office, then=
 tried the door to the merchant=92s personal chambers.  It was locked.  Loi=
s pondered this quietly.  He needed something to bring the merchant out of =
that room.  A distraction.  As he scanned the room, Vincent began to smile.=
  Perfect.

    Lois took a book from the shelf and opened it.  Inside was some boring =
work on the most popular rarities in the Midlands.  Ignoring the contents, =
Lois ripped a page out and replaced the book on the shelf.  He rolled the p=
age into a tube and lit it on the candle.  Moving quickly to keep from bein=
g burned as the fire moved towards his hand.  He shoved the paper between a=
 book and the top of a shelf.  As Lois had hoped, the paper in the book cau=
ght on fire quickly.  He then moved into the storeroom and closed the door.=
  He slid himself under a shelf that was covered by some of the merchant=92=
s wares and settled down to wait.

    He could here the books lighting one by one as the flames increased in =
intensity.  Suddenly, he heard the sound of a door opening, but even withou=
t seeing it, one thing was clear to him.  It had been the wrong door.

    Sure, he had expected some guards to join in, but he knew that they wou=
ld eventually be sent back to their posts, giving him time to move.  What h=
e heard, though, made this seem quite unlikely.

    =93You three, put out that fire!  The rest of you, search this building=
!  We have an intruder, and I want him found, dead or alive!=94  It was unm=
istakably the merchant, and he knew that someone was here.  Neither of thes=
e facts meant anything good for Lois.

    N a few moments, a group of guards broke through the door into the stor=
eroom.  Their leader assigned two guards to stand by the door, then split t=
he rest of the men into three groups, each of which were sent to search a d=
ifferent section of the room.  There were at least ten of them!  The mercha=
nt had been informed ahead of time, Lois was sure of it.  No one had seen h=
im!

    It took him five seconds to convince himself to get out, and ten more t=
o wait for the guards to spread out.  When they were sufficiently far away,=
 Lois moved.  In his right hand was one of his daggers, ready for use at an=
y moment.  In his left was held one of his poison darts, the tip of it prot=
ruding between his index and middle fingers.  Without any sound, he rushed =
the two men at the door.  The first died without a sound, and the second wa=
s dead halfway through his cry of alarm.  Lois had to get out, and fast.

    Unfortunately, Lois made a rash decision in his haste.  He went back th=
rough the merchant=92s office.  He stabbed one of them with the dart as he =
ran past, resulting in a quick death, and tried to run past the others.  He=
 made it to the door, but was met by two guards, these two both with longsw=
ords drawn, ready for battle.  Lois skidded to a halt.  This hesitation was=
 what ended his chances.  The two who remained of the three sent to put out=
 the fire cut off his retreat.  Finally, Lois admitted defeat.

    =93Stop!  I surrender!=94 he yelled, dropping his dagger and his dart o=
n the floor.  He then proceeded to drop his other dagger, the rest of his d=
arts, as well as a knife that he had kept on his wrist just in case.

    =93A wise decision, Mr. Shade,=94 came the voice of the merchant.  =93I=
 thought one as foolish as you would have fought until the end, but I suppo=
se I underestimated you.  You aren=92t a complete fool.=94  The man stood b=
ehind the two who=92s longswords had made Lois=92s decision for him.  His s=
mile stung for Lois.  He=92d been had.

    =93How did you know what I was planning to do?=94 Lois asked, as the gu=
ards took him into custody.

    =93A little bird told me,=94 the merchant said.  =93And you assassins r=
eally should learn better.  I know all of your tricks.=94


    Lois snorted angrily.  =93You underestimate me.  I know you don=92t hav=
e the brains the figure it out.  When I find out who told you, I=92ll have =
you both killed!=94

    =93Idle threats=85  Unfortunately, my dear boy, you=92ll be dead before=
 you can carry out your threat.  Take him away!=94

    Lois=92s last glimpse of the man was of him laughing as the guards took=
 him away.  He would have his revenge=85


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