The ex-soldier dropped his pike and clutched his bleeding shoulder. Shade sprung back to his feet. He cut at the man again. The Doljinn grabbed a tower shield and raised it up to protect himself. Shade’s dagger made a horrible screeching sound as it scratched the shield. The man ducked behind the shield. Shade turned just at the Elementalist unleashed another barrage of flames. He barely managed to dive under a table as the fire scorched the air. The table erupted into flames, but Shade escaped unscathed. He scrambled back to his feet.
The Doljinn rushed him with the shield. The assassin brought his arms up to blo ck, but was pushed backward out of the tavern. He spun around the shield and stabbed the Doljinn in the back. The man moaned. He kicked the man into the nearest sewer canal. The Doljinn disappeared into the sewer waters with a great splash.
The Grull had roused and remerged from the tavern. He charged Shade and raised his sword. The assassin laughed. He merely sidestepped the Grull. The Grull rushed right past him and also fell straight into the canal. He screamed and thrashed unable to swim. The currents swept him downstream.
Shade sprawled to the ground. His instincts had proven right as a pillar of flames blazed overhead. He rolled over and scrambled back to his feet. The Elementalist stood on his feet grimacing through the pain. He threw fireballs that ripped through the air. Shade charged. He dodged left and right. He felt the edge of the flames lap at his skin as the projectiles shrieked past him. The heat of every near hit only drove him onward. Soon, he danced around every cast with a choreographed sense of timing that bordered on unnatural.
The man’s jaw dropped.
The crowd looked on.
Time slowed down to a crawl. The Elementalist face washed over with an ash white fear. He clenched his teeth. The sweat poured down his hard-creased brow as he threw everything he had at the nimble assassin, but it was too late.
Shade reached him. He drove his blade into the Elementalist’s shoulder. The man cried out as the knife slid out his back and pinned him against the wall. Shade pinned the man’s other shoulder to the wall with his offhand dagger. He withdrew four more blades and pinned the caster completely against the wall. The Elementalist trembled against the wall as his blood soaked his robes.
Shade went over to a copy of his Wanted Sign on the wall. He snatched the sign off the wall and held it out to the crowd. He paced back and forth holding out the sign. He shouted, “This is what happens to all fools who attempt to collect on my bounty!” He slapped his Wanted Sign up against the Elementalist’s chest. He drove his dagger through the sign and into the man’s heart. The man at last shuddered and died. The assassin turned back to the crowd.
Not a breath was taken in all the Black Markets. The place was so silent one could hear a pin drop. Then a man stepped forward. He grabbed another Wanted Sign and held it up for Shade to see. He crumbled it up and tossed it into the nearest canal. A smile crept onto the assassin’s lips. He watched as the entire Black Markets followed the man’s lead. Every sign was ripped down off the walls and cast into the sewer waters. Shade was just glad they got the message. The hushed crowd turned quietly back to their own business.
Shade headed back inside. Bwedrig had remerged and took a dismayed survey of his trashed tavern. The barkeeper bit his lip. Shade sat back down at the bar. He pulled out a pouch of bloodstone and tossed it on the bar. It would be more than enough to pay for the damages. Bwedrig nodded. He got down another bottle of wine off the shelf. He popped the cork and refilled Shade’s glass.
Shade brought the glass to his lips. He heard the sudden crunching of glass. He glanced back behind him to see Kishrub and Zulbash trying to sneak in and get the jump on him. They froze when they locked eyes with him. They smiled dumbly at him. Their beady black eyes swept over the sea of bodies that hadn’t softened the assassin up as planned. They backed out of the tavern then turned and fled back to their master. ‘Lewd,’ Shade thought, ‘no one is going to save you now.’
Chapter Fifteen:
Game of Assassins
Bwedrig poured Shade a mug of Elvish Sun Tea from a steaming carafe he had just finished heating. The Dark Elf stirred the sparkling gold liquid and stared into the glass. He had decided to lay off the wine. He still felt no ill effects from the poison, but he would not permit alcohol to cloud his judgment. He should have suspected that Lewd would put a price on his head. He had been lucky the mob had shied away. It was late midday and Lewd would throw all that he had at Shade to ensure the assassin could not make well on his deadly vow.
The Green Barrel looked like a tidy wreck. Shade had felt sorry for Bwedrig. He had even helped drag the bodies and dump them into the sewer waters. He had hired a dozen workers to scrub Bwedrig’s floors. Not all the blood had come off. The fat barkeeper had gone over every detail with a fine gloss, though the walls were still in need of repair. The tables and barrels that could be salvaged had been crudely hammered back together, but the tavern still needed much work. Worst of all, Shade had left the Elementalist’s body outside as a grim warning. It should ward off any additional unwanted visitors, but it also scared off customers.
“By golly,” came a small cheery voice, “what happened here?”
Shade turned around. He saw a small Faun standing in the giant hole in the wall dwarfed by the opening. He stood no more than four feet in height. He wore a ridiculous long-sleeved green doublet with traditional Faunish ruffled cuffs and collar. Fauns had furry goat legs, hooves and tails, which meant they had little use for pants. The Faun had bright blue shimmering eyes and two small horns that poked out of his short brown hair. He carried a ludicrous number of pouches that were tied to his bulging backpack by many leather strings.
“I was going to challenge Bwedrig to the Green Barrel,” the Faun said, “but this won’t do at all. Where is everyone? And what’s with that dead guy standing outside? Doesn’t he know you don’t need to stand when you’re dead?”
The Faun shuffled into The Green Barrel. He showed Shade no fear, but the assassin was not surprised. Fauns, though not completely immune to fear, had grown quite out of touch with the feeling. Their people carried no weapons, but their instruments could charm other races. A Faun who fell under attack simply sent his attacker off dancing. In many ways they had forgotten how to be afraid. In fact, they lived deep in Karus Forest in the Enchanted Wood.
The Faun looked at the blood on the floor still trying to understand the barbaric nature of the taller races. Nothing, however, could dampen a Faun’s spirits for very long. He broke out into a whistle and walked up to the bar. He threw his cluster of packs up on the bar with a large clatter. Shade shook his head. What did he keep in all those packs? The Faun climbed up on a barrel. He lit up a pipe of the foulest stinking weed the assassin had ever smelled.
Shade coughed. “Bwedrig, would you make him put that out?”
The Faun turned to Shade before the barkeeper had the chance. “Oh wow!” he said in gleeful excitement. “A Dark Elf! I’ve never met a Dark Elf before.” He slid off the barrel and ran over to Shade. He puffed on his pipe and extended his hand. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Dark Elf! Festan La Faun at your service! Minstrel at large and Merrymaker Extraordinaire!”
Shade scowled. He found Fauns nearly as annoying as Dragols. He didn’t say a word. He simply snatched the Faun’s pipe out of his mouth and put it out in his tea. He pushed his mug aside and Bwedrig poured him a new glass.