[Mkguild] "One Black Day"

[a_lil_dudeinpr2 at hotmail.com]

Well, here's number 2, to celebrate my conquest of Matt's "Wagging Tongues =
Will."  No, actually, I just happened to finish it now...

A few things to look out for and please reply to:

1) Would the smoke bomb fit with the time period?  Some alchemical concocti=
on or something...
2) Would this story be able to have a basis in something that occurred in t=
he Midlands?  Minus the names, I would like this story to be pretty much 'h=
istorically' accurate.

Okay, here we go!

-LurkingWolf

__________________________________________________________
One Black Day
From
The Journal of Vincent Lois
by LurkingWolf
    =

February the 20th, in the year 708 Cristos Reckoning

    Alas, why do plans of men so often go awry?  Today was the day of our e=
xpected arrival at our destination, Metamor Keep, yet we woke up to conditi=
ons that absolutely dashed any idea of further travel.  =


    The weather is such that one could scarcely see his hand in front of hi=
s face for the quantity of clouds which blot out the sun.  The rain comes d=
own in sheets, with no distinction between the separate drops, if, in fact,=
 there were separate drops.  I am quite surprised at how well the supply wa=
gons have managed to keep the rain out.  My employers have made it quite cl=
ear that they had the canvas treated for just such an occasion.  I can hard=
ly bring myself to believe that such a treatment could be natural.

    Although the weather is quite threatening, the caravan master insists t=
hat we keep guard, lest some group of miscreants take us completely by surp=
rise in the cover of the storm.  I think it not highly likely that such an =
attack should be possible, as I am sure that the darkness is as impenetrabl=
e to them as it is to us.  I have, luckily, nearly half the day to wait unt=
il my guard.  I hope that it has cleared before then.  I do not relish the =
thought of venturing out in such weather.  =


    I can scarce believe that any fire could be lit at a time like this, bu=
t the wagon=92s canvas once more proves a saving grace, as it allows me to =
write this by the light of a lantern, which had been kept in the wagon for =
use during the night.  At the present moment, it is the only light in the w=
agon, save the flashes of lightning that illuminate the sky periodically.  =


    As I have little with which to entertain myself at the present moment, =
I believe that I shall undertake a venture that has been previously suggest=
ed to me.  This pastime involves an attempt to chronicle some of the events=
 which have made my life in some small way notable.  Of course, as I have m=
entioned before in the pages of this journal, some of these events would se=
rve to cause strife in the Midlands, and to release them to outsiders could=
 mean war.  As I would also seek to derive some profit from their use, I ha=
ve come up with a rather simple solution.  By creating my own names for the=
 locations involved, as well as the people, and using one of my many aliase=
s to create a main character, I should be able to form an interesting =91fi=
ctional=92 account of happenings that to me were all too real.  It is, you =
may say, an odd idea, but I have little to lose in such a venture, save tim=
e that otherwise would go completely to waste.  So I will begin to recount =
one of my adventures in my own words.

        *            *        *              *        =


Author=92s Note: The following was written over the space of six days, from=
 February 20-25, 708 CR

    A solitary figure trudged through the mud, taking several inches of it =
with him on his boots.  His cloak=92s hood was drawn up over his head in a =
vain attempt to keep the rain off.  As it was, he was already soaked, and c=
ould hardly get wetter if he jumped into a river, or at least that=92s what=
 he thought.

    Looking up suddenly, he finally distinguished the sound of the rushing =
river from the sound of the deluge that fell down around him.  He snorted. =
 Why did everything always go from bad to worse?  This job was more trouble=
 than it was worth.  =


    He walked up to the near bank of the rushing torrent.  He was sure that=
 this hadn=92t even been much of a respectable trickle a few hours ago, but=
 the rain had flooded it.  It was now a good distance between the two sides=
, at least eight feet.  Removing his hands from his cloak, he removed a len=
gth of the rope from somewhere on his person.  From another location he wit=
hdrew a grappling hook.  He tied the two together quickly, and checked to s=
ee that they were secure.  Happy with what he saw, he took aim for a thick =
tree branch on the other side of the river.  After a few tries, he hooked i=
t.  Pulling as hard as he could, he made sure the hook had lodged and the b=
ranch would hold.  Tying the other end of the rope around a tree on his own=
 side, he let himself fall, supporting himself only on the cord.  Satisfied=
 that it didn=92t sag too much, he looked forward to the task ahead.  =


    He took a step forward into the rushing water, keeping the rope in the =
way of the current=92s progress.  Sliding his hands one at a time across th=
e rope, he continued to cross.  Soon, the ground fell away, leaving his fee=
t dangling in the muddy water, his arms the only thing supporting him.  He =
continued, and was able to get across the river before any more crises coul=
d happen.  Standing on the other side, he cut the rope with his dagger, and=
 then worked the hook loose from the tree.  He could buy a rope, but the ho=
ok had been specially made.

    He would need to hurry now if he was to catch up with his target.

        *            *        *            *        =

    =

    Almost three hours later, the figure trudged to the very edge of the wo=
odland, stepping very quietly and trying to stay quiet and out of sight.  T=
here, just off of the beaten path was his target.  As had been expected by =
his employer, the site was well guarded, leaving little to no way to get pa=
st them.  Even in the driving rain, the men were still on duty, watching ou=
t for anyone who would attack their leader.  Surely this was quite a determ=
ined lot.  So many times he had underestimated them, and each time they had=
 made them pay.  Luckily, there had been no true contact between the two gr=
oups, so they were still in the dark as to hid plans, but they were still p=
repared for him.

    Silently giving a heavy sigh, the man resigned himself to his fate.  He=
 would now have to wait until they had reached their next destination.  He =
had hoped to finish the dirty work while they were still on the road, but t=
here would be much more distraction for the guards in a town.  Then it woul=
d be easier to dispatch with the target.  Luckily, it was no secret where t=
he man was headed.  Turning back into the woods, he trudged off towards the=
 city, intent on getting there before his man did.

        *            *        *            *        =


    The mysterious person was finally able to relax.  After trailing his ta=
rget for several days, he now fully recognized that he would have to let hi=
s target come to him.  Sitting in a small private room in the town=92s tave=
rn, he leafed once more through the information that he had been given with=
 little interest.  He had seen it so many times.  The man was a rebel, a th=
reat to the kingdom he claimed to serve.  He was now the target of a govern=
ment who was ready to stoop so far as to even hire an assassin on him.  The=
 man smiled.  This time he had been the lucky one, and was now in line to r=
eceive a reward for the death of this man, this so called threat to society=
.   =


    The assassin found no joy in his job, only profit.  He was fully in it =
for the money.  He cared very little where it came from.  The only thing th=
at truly could come to a person=92s salvation when he was hired to kill the=
m was if he saw them completely innocent of any crime for which one could b=
e killed.  This time he had no trouble.  Treason would be an easy excuse fo=
r him to take, and he had taken it several times before.

    Those who knew him called him Louis Shade, but others called him Shadow=
 Master.  No one knew his real name, no living person at least.  All relati=
ons of his had since perished, and all others who had known him soon came t=
o their demise, either through him directly, or through the numerous bounty=
 hunters which sought him out.  The strange name by which he went in his wo=
rk was brought on by his unique approach.  Instead of restricting himself t=
o the dark in his job, he often worked at day.  For, as he said, =93My main=
 defense is shadow.  Anywhere that a shadow can be found, I can work.  As a=
 fact of nature, you need light to have shadow.  Thus, I can work basically=
 anywhere where you can find light.=94

    Few could be found with his great bravado.  He was alone in his class o=
f assassin, not because of skill so much as because of what his companions =
and acquaintances called a generous helping of luck.  It seemed that, no ma=
tter what the situation, he somehow managed to come out on top in the end.

    Though it was not his skill that separated him from the others of his e=
mployment, he did have a good bit of skill, and quite a lot of skill in put=
ting what abilities he had to use to accomplish whatever task was laid befo=
re him.  Besides his skills with his favorite weapons, a pair of daggers he=
 always carried on his person, he also was good if not great at using his s=
urroundings to his advantage.  Often he would hide in plain sight, using on=
ly what was around him to camouflage himself.  Other times, often just for =
amusement, he would run around hidden with a party of men who were looking =
for him, using his inborn abilities to mask his voice and supplementing it =
with whatever he could find to hide his face.  =

    =

    As soon as he had finished rereading the information he had been given,=
 the man pulled from his person a small black package.  It was on the outsi=
de just a rectangle of cloth about four by three inches, and about an inch =
thick.  Skillfully unwrapping the cloth, he withdrew from within it a packa=
ge, made of paper and bound with string.  Cutting the string with one of hi=
s weapons, he opened the package, withdrawing from it several small darts. =
 There were sixty-four in all, two rows of thirty-two darts, with each dart=
 only about an inch and a half long and pencil thin.  Each row of thirty-tw=
o was placed in a metal holder, so the assassin carefully lifted one of the=
 rows of darts and set it in front of him on the small table that had been =
provided in his room.

    =93Six should do just fine,=94 the man said quietly.  He very cautiousl=
y withdrew six of the darts and laid them individually before him on the ta=
ble.  He picked them up one at a time then, and slid them into a bandolier =
that he had with him, securing them carefully to make sure one wouldn=92t s=
lip away and fall where he could not find it.  He knew that to be hit with =
one of these darts was instant death.  That was the purpose of them.  They =
made many struggles so much easier.

    The bandolier was over his shoulder in a moment, and the Shadow Master =
quickly fastened it so it wouldn=92t slip at an inopportune moment.  Then h=
e took a leather vest from where he had lain it moments before and hid the =
bandolier from view.  It would take the eye of an eagle to notice the speci=
ally placed slots that allowed the wearer to withdraw his darts without rem=
oving the vest.  Another intentional nuance in the wardrobe of this man was=
 the drab brown cloak that hung loosely from his shoulders.  Hidden in the =
fur trim that lined the edged were pockets, each containing some object an =
assassin might find a need for in a tight spot, from a special dye that wou=
ld change the color of his brown hair to blonde at a moment=92s notice, to =
a smoke bomb that was designed to hide his presence if he needed to escape =
detection for just a few seconds.

    The man checked over his wardrobe, pulling the cloak tighter to his bod=
y, making sure it hid the decorative hilts on his daggers.  Fastening it wi=
th a sash at the middle, he checked to see if he could still withdraw the d=
arts.  No problem.  Next he took the small wooden tube he used to fire the =
darts and slipped it into an easily-accessible pocket on the side of his cl=
oak.  Moving to where a grimy mirror sat up against a wall, he made sure th=
at there were no noticeable bulges in his wardrobe.  Once more, everything =
was as it should be.  He looked just like all of the others would look in t=
his city.  Just like he had planned it.

        *            *        *            *    =


    With caution born from experience, the assassin moved quietly towards h=
is target.  He couldn=92t help but admire the sheer courage of this man.  H=
ere he was trying to raise others to his cause of overthrowing the existing=
 government, but instead of doing so under cover in secret meetings, he had=
 open, public meetings so that he could approach many people at one time.

    Unfortunately for him, this very tactic would make it much easier for h=
is hunter to complete his work.  Of course, the man had a good number of lo=
yal guards wandering through the assembled people, looking for weapons, but=
 they would see none on him.  Shade had taken special measures to make sure=
 of this fact.  With all of his weapons hidden securely out of sight, he wo=
uld be safe until he was close enough to make his move.

    His job was complicated slightly by the open-air style of the meeting t=
his man was holding.  There would be a good number of people around him who=
 would notice if he did anything suspicious, particularly if someone killed=
 the man they had been listening to for the past half hour.  Now he was alm=
ost close enough to make his move, but he=92d need a distraction.  With a s=
light feeling of regret, he withdrew the one small smoke bomb that he carri=
ed on his person.  Nonchalantly lowering his hand at his side, he waited fo=
r a moment, then gave it a quick squeeze before throwing it with his wrist =
into the crowd.

    The squeeze had done its job, breaking the barrier between the special =
solutions that the capsule contained and resulting in a rather thick, white=
 smoke that covered everything within five feet of where the bomb had lande=
d.  There was a great hubbub running through the crowd, most of which looke=
d towards the smoke.  Quietly and carefully, the Shadow Master drew the blo=
wgun from where it was hidden with his right hand.  With his left, he used =
a similar method to remove a dart from its hiding place, being careful to h=
old the point away from himself.  He inserted the dart into the tube, holdi=
ng it so it the dart wouldn=92t fall out.  =


    Now people were really starting to react.  Some moved towards the smoke=
 to investigate, while others moved away.  The cloud was getting larger.  S=
hade walked towards the smoke, joining the others who moved towards it.  Th=
e crowd was thinner here, so he would have a little more room for error.

    He now looked back at the man on the podium, who had stopped his talk o=
f the corruption of the government and looked on as people tried to find ou=
t what was happening.  Louis wasn=92t worried.  The smoke would be too thic=
k for a few minutes now to see enough to find what had caused the interrupt=
ion.  By then, he should be well away from this place, and on his way out o=
f the city.

    It was almost time.  Shadow Master looked at the figure on the platform=
.  Like the majority of his crowd, he was too distracted to see what one so=
litary member of the crowd was doing.  Shade quickly looked to make sure th=
at no one was looking, then, in a motion so quick it was nearly undetectabl=
e, the assassin drew in a breath and raised the blowgun to his lips, giving=
 a great, forceful blow into one end.  The dart flew straight and true, imb=
edding itself in the arm of the target.  It easily passed through the thing=
 cloth that covered the man=92s arm and struck the seemingly insignificant =
wound that would end the man=92s life.

    The tube was gone as quickly as it had come to the Shadow Master=92s li=
ps.  Acting like he was joining the other searchers, he thrust himself thro=
ugh the gathering crowd into the smoke.  As soon as he had gotten far enoug=
h in, Shade stopped.  He needed only to wait now=85

    Inside the cloud everything seemed muffled even the speech of people th=
at Louis knew to be right beside him.  Then he heard it.  The cry that anno=
unced to everyone that he had been successful in his mission.  =


    =93What=92s going on?=94 he asked, the act coming flawlessly.

    From somewhere beside him he heard many comment that they didn=92t know=
, but, as so often happens when an alarm had been raised, the crowd began t=
o push each other in an effort to get away.  Shade battled the tide, making=
 his way slowly back the way he had come in.  It was a few moments before t=
he cloud around him faded as he left.  He managed to break from the crowd e=
ventually, at which point the ran into a man who appeared quite disturbed. =
 The Shadow Master remembered that he was one of the men who had been guard=
ing this man.

    =93What just happened?  What=92s going on?=94

    =93My master has just been murdered,=94 the man responded.

    Shade almost visibly flinched at this description of his actions.  =93Y=
our master?  You don=92t mean=85=94  Louis looked towards the seemingly emp=
ty podium.

    =93Yes, that is exactly what I mean,=94 the man confirmed.  =93If I eve=
r find the man who killed him=85  He will beg for mercy before the end!=94

    =93Who was he?  What did he look like?=94  =


    =93No one knows.=94  The man was obviously quite upset by this fact.  =
=93My master just fell over while the people were panicking from the smoke.=
  It must have been a decoy=85=94

    =93This man must have been quite an ingenious fiend!=94 Louis spat out.=
  =93How could he do something like this?=94

    =93I truly cannot say.  His heart must be as dark as death!=94

    =93Is there anything I can do?=94  Louis had fallen into his stride.  T=
o get away with this assassination would be just too easy.

    =93Not much can be done.  He was dead before any of us could reach him.=
  How I wish it could have been myself and not him who had fallen!  What we=
 will do?=94

    Shade had just the line for the moment, and struggled to keep from chuc=
kling at the sheer genius behind it.  =93What will you do?  Yes, your leade=
r had fallen, but he did it while doing what he loved, and what you love as=
 well!  Do not faint at this critical juncture!  Go on, fight for the cause=
 that you both lived for, and for which your leader fell!  Complete his vis=
ion in his memory!  Throw off the shackles of this corrupt government!  Fea=
r naught!=94  Louis was glad that his distraught friend had tears in his ey=
es, for he could not help but smile at what he had just done.  The last few=
 lines had been stolen directly from the shameless propaganda of the man wh=
o now lay dead on the small makeshift platform.

    =93Do you think we could do it?  He was the man from whom we took our i=
nspiration.=94  The man looked at Shade with emotion-filled eyes.

    =93Yes!  There is nothing to stop you!  Continue his work, and you will=
 succeed in the end.  It is as he would want it.=94

    The man=92s face had changed.  He now stared with something that could =
be construed as awe in his eyes.  =93Yes.  Yes!  I will not stop!  We canno=
t let the enemy win the war without facing them in true battle!  We must fi=
ght!=94

    =93Yes, and you will win, if you are true to the vision in which your l=
eader believed!=94  Louis could see the words work their strange charm on t=
he man.  He had this unfortunate individual in the grip of his works.  Thou=
gh he wouldn=92t have admitted it to anyone save himself, he felt that he c=
ould convince the man that this was his idea should he will it.

    =93Thank you for your encouragement.  You are a man who I would gladly =
call friend.  Are you on our side as well?=94

    =93In a way.  I have an ailment that prevents me from actually particip=
ating in battle, but I have the same dream that you do.  I do not want you =
to lose the vision!  Keep on fighting, always keep fighting for that which =
you believe in.=94  Shade smiled encouragingly.  He wondered absently what =
the man would say if he found out that he was talking to the very man he ha=
d sworn to kill moments before.

    =93Thank you.  I will not forget this.=94  The man gave Louis a pat on =
the back as he turned to leave.

    =93Sir?  One more thing,=94 Shade asked quietly.

    =93Yes?=94

    =93What=92s your name?  I should like to know you when I receive news o=
f your upcoming victory.=94

    The man smiled warmly.  =93Edward.  Edward Harlaus, at your service sir=
.  Though I would that we had met under better circumstances, I do so thank=
 you for your kind words.=94

    =93Anything for one who fights for such a noble cause as this,=94 the m=
an responded.  =93Should we meet again, I am called Louis Shade.  I hope th=
at such may be our good fortune.=94

    =93As do I,=94 the other said.  =93I must leave you now.  Though I woul=
d not let this cause die, I will take cover now lest the same that befell m=
y master should occur to me.  Good-bye, until we meet again!=94

    With this the man left, being careful, but still with quite an air of c=
onfidence that was new to him.  Shade smiled at this.  If only he knew=85

    As it so happened, the city was basically locked down after the murder.=
  The assassin was never found, however, as he left under the cover of a me=
rchant caravan.  By the time the merchants searched his hiding place, he ha=
d long since left, with no trace of his presence.


        *            *        *            *        =


    It was almost a year later when Louis Shade found out what happened to =
the man he had met in the streets after the assassination.  By this time, S=
hade had retired, now having well more than enough money to support himself=
.  When the news came, he could not say he didn=92t anticipate the results.=
  Edward Harlaus had led a group of rebels to victory over the government t=
hat Shade had formerly been employed by.  Now, Harlaus had declined all off=
ers to take over the interim government, instead insisting that he would on=
ly accept if he could find and destroy the man who had killed his leader.

    Shade almost could have laughed out loud.  He had felt this coming.  He=
 knew the determination that one could find in a man who was fighting for t=
he memory of a martyr.  He had seen it before, and in someone he was very c=
lose to.  He could have warned his employers back at that time, but that wo=
uldn=92t have done anything for him.  They had to be encouraged to pay him =
as it was=85


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