“It was hard not to just cold cock the prick,” Alburet said. “Are they all going to be so arrogant?”
“Well, er... This one actually let you speak plainly, so many will be worse in all regards.”
“Fuck it, you’re going in my stead then, to all of them,” Alburet sighed. “I’d just end up getting into a fight with them.”
“I’ll need to know about this Forgotten Prison then, and exactly what I can and can’t say about it.”
“I’ll fill you in during the gnolls,” Alburet replied. “I really need to kill shit right now.”
Gerald knock on the roof, “Driver, take me to the Dead Man Inn.” When the driver acknowledged the order, Gerald turned to Alburet. “Easier if I get dropped off to grab my stuff first. Meet you out at the Gnoll Fort.”
Nodding in absent thought, Alburet considered whether any of the meetings were really worth the hassle or if he should ask Vladimir to use that favor to call the peacocks off. He grunted in reply to Gerald’s goodbye, still considering his options as the carriage took him home. When the carriage came to a stop in front of his door, he got out, “What do I owe you?”
“Kim has already paid me, sir, and it was easy enough duty today.” The driver tipped his hat and set the carriage moving off down the street.
Alburet turned towards the guild hall, all his instincts suddenly screaming at him. Alburet went with his instinct and dove sideways, causing the knife aimed at his back to miss. A man in grey and blacks appeared. Scrambling to his feet, Alburet stared at the Assassin. “Tiny, come to me,” Alburet spat as he pointed directly in front of him. A puff of smoke and Tiny was there, facing the Assassin.
“Well, bollocks,” the assassin said, stepping back. “I was just trying to finish the job easy this time. Last time you got me once, so I was trying to be respectful and kill you in single strikes instead of playing about with poison.”
Alburet’s blood went cold at the assassin’s admission of being the same one who’d killed him before. “How many this time?”
“Three again. A thousand gold a pop, a fair shiny penny even to a noble.” The assassin backed away as he spoke. “Sorry, but I do still need to kill you one more time. Now, do you want to dismiss your demon and let me do it nice and easy? Or do I have to make this painful again?”
Alburet saw that the man had backed out of his area of effect for Fire Burst. “I think we can do this now,” Alburet said. “Tiny, you can go.”
Tiny rumbled, “He will kill you if I do, master.”
“Possibly,” Alburet said. “I am telling you to go. We will be going gnoll hunting shortly.”
Grumbling, Tiny vanished and the assassin smiled, “Glad to see you taking this in stride and being sensible. Hah, and you don’t even have to worry about the final death. Do you want it from the front or behind?”
Alburet’s grin went vicious, “Oh, behind works well. Doesn’t it, Kitten?”
Stacia began to sing from behind the assassin. His eyes glazed and his hands drooped, the knife almost slipping from his grip. Alburet took a few quick steps forward as the assassin shook his head and brought the knife back up. Alburet was muttering as he moved, and his hands were in motion as well.
“Now I’m going to make you pay,” the assassin snarled, and vanished.
Alburet triggered his Fire Burst, causing a ring of fire to explode out from his position. The Assassin let out a stifled scream as he appeared on the edge of the circle, where he had been trying to get out of range. “My turn this time, asshole, Tiny, come to me.” He pointed behind the assassin.
The assassin snarled and turned to Stacia, “First, her.” As he moved his form shimmered and three copies of him appeared.
Alburet used Copy, which was an instant ability. With a small puff of smoke, there were suddenly two identical Stacias in her demon form. The two Stacias danced back and shifted back and forth, and as neither was washed out the assassin couldn’t tell which was the real Stacia.
“I summon Bob the Mighty,” Alburet said, holding his hand out to his side.
“Let’s fuck him up!” Bob shouted as a Fire Blast formed in his hands.
Three identical Assassins moved toward Stacia. Tiny roared and threw his shield at one, while his axe cut through another. The lone Assassin left plunged his blade into Stacia’s chest, making her scream. She had been trying to use her Ally ability, which failed on the level 80 Assassin.
Alburet rushed forward, wishing he had his weapon, which he’d left in the house. He jumped on the assassin’s back as the blade slammed into Stacia again, causing her to vanish with another scream. Alburet grappled the assassin, who seemed like an eel as he started slipping from Alburet’s grip.
Tiny roared as he dropped his axe and also grabbed the assassin, “No one hurts my friends!”
Bob couldn’t get a clear target for a Fire Blast, but he noticed the other Stacia moving in with her blades. Bob lurched forward as Alburet and Tiny attempted to keep the man from escaping. He jumped past Alburet and slammed his small red skull firmly into the assassin’s nose with a loud crunch. The Assassin’s blood splashed over the front of his shirt as Bob laughed. “Small but fierce!”
Stacia set her blade to the assassin’s neck even as everyone struggled in the pile. “Stop or die,” she said in an angry voice.
The assassin stopped struggling, “Bollocks, I missed the real one.” He sighed. “I surrender under the code of my guild.”
Alburet snatched a dagger from the man’s belt, “Payback time.”
“Master, stop!” Stacia called out in fear, dropping her blade to tackle him.
Alburet started to lash out, barely managing to stay his hand as Stacia was suddenly in front of him. “Kitten, get off me. I’m going to kill him.”
“You can’t,” she cried out. “He surrendered. Their laws are clear, if you kill him now every single Assassin will come after you for a month.”
Alburet was breathing hard as he looked up to see Bob and Tiny also standing off to the side. The assassin got to his feet, stretching as he looked down at Alburet with a smirk. “Way of the world. Sorry, mate. Now, if you would give me back my knife, please, we can talk about the terms of my surrender.”
Stacia felt Alburet shudder as he tried to calm down, “Give me the knife please, Asthore.”
Alburet gave her the knife before they got to their feet. She handed it to the assassin, then turned to Alburet, “Send all of us home. He will talk with you civilly, he has to under the rules of his guild.”
Alburet looked away from the assassin, “Tiny, Bob, Kitten, you are all free to go.” Three puffs of smoke and they were gone. “Now as for you, motherfucker…”
“Asthore, is everything okay out here?” Stacia asked as she came out of the archway from the house and guild hall.
The assassin did a double take and began to laugh. “You make your Succubus look like your wife? Wow, how does she feel about that?”
“Me husband is worth ya entire guild. I will not begrudge him wantin’ to view me figure when he is out huntin’.” Stacia replied coldly, going to stand at Alburet’s side.
“He surrendered to me, but I don’t know what that means,” Alburet said, trying to get his head on straight. He still wanted very badly to kill the man before him.
“It means he be owin’ ya somethin’ equal in value to the contract he gave up as well as his life,” Stacia said simply.
An evil smile crept over Alburet’s face, “Really?”
The assassin chuckled, “Let me guess? Sending me back after the guy who took out the contract? It’s an oldie, but a goodie.”
“That will be part of it, the one more time you owed me is for him,” Alburet replied. “What is your life worth, though?”
Shrugging, the assassin chuckled, “Depends on who you ask. Two coppers to some, two thousand gold to others. What do you think it’s worth?”