Brown eyes scan around the room through the haze of regaining consciousness. The petite girl can taste a small amount of blood in her mouth—the result of being knocked out. Light filters in from a window, and she realizes that nearly five hours must have passed since she was last awake. She curses internally at the thought. She’s running out of time. The man who had hit her over the head with the blunt end of a blade now stands about five feet in front of her.
“What do you want?” the young woman asks. The ropes that bind her wrists and ankles to the chair hold no special properties; she could slip through them in a heartbeat. That is, if she wanted.
“I want you to tell me who you work for.” The war-weathered man gives her a once-over, taking in her scars and bruises from her last mission. “There’s no way a teenager would break into her majesty’s castle… without proper motivation.”
Cler’s face transforms into one of mild fear. It’s amazing how much her acting skills have progressed from similar scenarios. Her weapons lie on the floor, just out of reach, and she’s not about to waste her other abilities on a job that should be easily handled. She’ll lie through her teeth until she manages to achieve the actual mission: destroy the war-bringer who has wreaked destruction upon the past half-dozen worlds he’s visited. And his cronies. But she would rather cut off the serpent’s head.
“ Cat’s got your tongue, huh, girly?”
“I have no choice,” the assassin says, remembering the cover story she created for herself. She lets tears well up in her eyes, “I’ve no choice. They took my brother.”
A blatant lie to anyone who actually knows her, but the target takes the bait. He moves forward, now within a foot from her chair. “See, that wasn’t so hard, now was it?”
Cler shakes her head, the tears now running down her face in rivulets and streaking through the dirt on her face. “They’re going to kill him if I don’t steal it!” Lies again. Although this got his attention.
“Steal what?” he asks, moving in range for her to make her move. She’s not willing to let her holo-com send off an automated message to the other assassins. And since she doesn’t know how long it’s actually been, she has to hurry. “Tell me.”
The man places a hand on her shoulder consolingly, and she moves, passing intangibly through him. She snatches up her weapons, catching him off guard. Within a matter of seconds, the man is dead on the rock floor. Cler wipes the false tears from her face as she picks up her holo-com. The device flickers with a blue light that reads "Time remaining: 0:00:00". She didn't make it in time to postpone the automated message that would be sent to the head of the assassins.
A curse escapes her lips as the device flashes green and lines of writing pass through the air:
Mission retrieval:
Name: Clerxha XVI
Mission: Assassination of Sirain Dualcha, wanted on the grounds of multiple genocides, and his four assistants.
Dualcha has been located behind the court of Queen Cirsae, where he and his allies have begun to twist the minds of the rulers. Their next job would be to cause unrest among the citizen through murders of political figures.
Assassinate all of the members of this troupe before they exterminate another world.
The image of the now-dead man appears on screen, followed by four others: two men and two women. All have gray-hued skin, and serpentine-slitted eyes. Their hair is an ebony-black, unlike the standard pale yellows and light browns of the natives. They would be easy enough to find.
At the end of the message, there’s another list of numbers, indicative of the coordinates for the world portal. It should lead them to exactly where Cler’s holo-com was when it sent the message, meaning the cell-like torture chamber in which she is currently standing.
The assassin curses again, the words bitter on her lips as she causes the body to become invisible at her feet. That should last a solid half-hour, she thinks, mildly cursing her lack of impulsivity and how that's sent out a minor S.O.S. to Aixus, if he can figure it out.
Well, even though she doesn’t need the backup, it’ll certainly make the mission go faster. The brunette takes a deep breath, pulling her magical bag of chemicals over her shoulder. If she's calculated this correctly, someone will be here within a matter of minutes.
Might as well wait.
She taps her foot on the stone floor, the sound echoing slightly in the room.
Four more to go.
“What do you want?” the young woman asks. The ropes that bind her wrists and ankles to the chair hold no special properties; she could slip through them in a heartbeat. That is, if she wanted.
“I want you to tell me who you work for.” The war-weathered man gives her a once-over, taking in her scars and bruises from her last mission. “There’s no way a teenager would break into her majesty’s castle… without proper motivation.”
Cler’s face transforms into one of mild fear. It’s amazing how much her acting skills have progressed from similar scenarios. Her weapons lie on the floor, just out of reach, and she’s not about to waste her other abilities on a job that should be easily handled. She’ll lie through her teeth until she manages to achieve the actual mission: destroy the war-bringer who has wreaked destruction upon the past half-dozen worlds he’s visited. And his cronies. But she would rather cut off the serpent’s head.
“ Cat’s got your tongue, huh, girly?”
“I have no choice,” the assassin says, remembering the cover story she created for herself. She lets tears well up in her eyes, “I’ve no choice. They took my brother.”
A blatant lie to anyone who actually knows her, but the target takes the bait. He moves forward, now within a foot from her chair. “See, that wasn’t so hard, now was it?”
Cler shakes her head, the tears now running down her face in rivulets and streaking through the dirt on her face. “They’re going to kill him if I don’t steal it!” Lies again. Although this got his attention.
“Steal what?” he asks, moving in range for her to make her move. She’s not willing to let her holo-com send off an automated message to the other assassins. And since she doesn’t know how long it’s actually been, she has to hurry. “Tell me.”
The man places a hand on her shoulder consolingly, and she moves, passing intangibly through him. She snatches up her weapons, catching him off guard. Within a matter of seconds, the man is dead on the rock floor. Cler wipes the false tears from her face as she picks up her holo-com. The device flickers with a blue light that reads "Time remaining: 0:00:00". She didn't make it in time to postpone the automated message that would be sent to the head of the assassins.
A curse escapes her lips as the device flashes green and lines of writing pass through the air:
Mission retrieval:
Name: Clerxha XVI
Mission: Assassination of Sirain Dualcha, wanted on the grounds of multiple genocides, and his four assistants.
Dualcha has been located behind the court of Queen Cirsae, where he and his allies have begun to twist the minds of the rulers. Their next job would be to cause unrest among the citizen through murders of political figures.
Assassinate all of the members of this troupe before they exterminate another world.
The image of the now-dead man appears on screen, followed by four others: two men and two women. All have gray-hued skin, and serpentine-slitted eyes. Their hair is an ebony-black, unlike the standard pale yellows and light browns of the natives. They would be easy enough to find.
At the end of the message, there’s another list of numbers, indicative of the coordinates for the world portal. It should lead them to exactly where Cler’s holo-com was when it sent the message, meaning the cell-like torture chamber in which she is currently standing.
The assassin curses again, the words bitter on her lips as she causes the body to become invisible at her feet. That should last a solid half-hour, she thinks, mildly cursing her lack of impulsivity and how that's sent out a minor S.O.S. to Aixus, if he can figure it out.
Well, even though she doesn’t need the backup, it’ll certainly make the mission go faster. The brunette takes a deep breath, pulling her magical bag of chemicals over her shoulder. If she's calculated this correctly, someone will be here within a matter of minutes.
Might as well wait.
She taps her foot on the stone floor, the sound echoing slightly in the room.
Four more to go.
