The Assassin's Gambit

CANSTVER 3RD YEAR 552 ASMERIAN CALENDAR.

Night came as it did every night, the moons lit the ground enough for Carter to see where he was going, Jackson had disappeared into the night and whistled every now and then to aid Carter in finding his way through the bush. They came to the manor, no one was out, it was completely silent. The only light was that of the guards on duty. Vigilantly standing post and locking down their respective areas. Carter watched as the two guards at the back door fell to the ground and Jackson appeared and waved him over. His peiron sword dripping in blood. "Drag them into those bushes over there, Carter."

"Very well, but the pool of blood will still be here should anyone come along. What should we do about that?"

"We'll be long gone before then." Jackson smiled.

Ruby made her way out of the servant's quarters without waking anyone and made her way to the master's office. The door was locked, but she remembered how Jackson had broken the lock of their cell back at the castle. She took her short sword and wedged it into the door jamb where the latch was and forced the door open with a loud crack and snap of the wood. It swung open with ease. She looked through all of the drawers on the desk and found the ledger amongst other things such as a peiron ring. A few silver coins, and a Dairy. She packed everything away into her satchel and exited the room. She made her way back downstairs passing two guards and into the servant's tunnel. She eventually made it to the back garden where Jackson was waiting. No one was out there, not even the guards who were supposed to be on duty. "Kill them all Jack, since it's the only thing you care about."

"We'll talk after no go get somewhere safe girl." He nearly snapped.

"What the hell happened? I don't need to be babysitting children who argue all the time now," said Carter.

"Don't worry about it, I take care of it later." Jackson was pleased with how Carter hid the bodies and grinned as he did when he devised the plan to murder Lord Daniels. "Good, now let's go, we're going to climb to the second floor."

"How you figure?"

"Simple, magic." The black mist enveloped them, and Carter felt himself become weightless though he could not see. He heard a window creak open and felt solid ground beneath him. The black mist dissipated. They were now inside the study. Books overflowed from the massive selves that were designed to hold them. Jackson picked one up and read the title. "Arla's Crime" The irony was laughable. "You ready?"

"Yes, there's nothing I'm not ready for, besides, I've got the most powerful mage and swordsman next to me."

"I wouldn't say that there's one more powerful than I. And she's far more experienced than I am in these things."

"Who is she?" Carter asked with surprise at his modesty.

"I don't know, she's the one who gave me my abilities and magic. I owe her more than anyone else."

"I see, wait, you hear that?" Footsteps and the sound of chainmail armor rustling together started to fill the air. Jackson vanished while Carter had to find somewhere to hide, there were a few chairs in the corner. Next to a nightstand.

"Did you hear that?" A guard said, the door creaked open, and they peered inside.

"What did you hear?" The other guard asked.

"I thought I heard voices but no one's here."

"Are you sure? Let's go, might as well make sure." The door swung completely open, and the two guards stepped into the study. Carter hid behind the chairs and slowed his breathing. They stood in the center of the room. "I swore I heard someone." The guard said.

"You did," Jackson said as he swung his sword and took the heads of both of the guards in a single strike. "Come on out, we've got to move now." Carter looked at the two limp corpses on the ground, their expressions were disturbing as their blood spilled across the floor.

They advanced down the hall, it was wide enough for the both of them to comfortably walk side by side. It was incredibly dark; Carter could only make out vague objects and figures as they advanced further down the hallway. Jackson, however, wasn't fazed at all. The tell-tale black mist was emitting from his eyes giving him near-perfect vision in the darkness. He noticed that a door they were approaching had a strange red force around it. "Here, I'd wager this is his quarters," Jackson said as he stopped shy of the door.

"Ready when you are master," Carter said as he silently drew his sword. It was at that moment he could hear the panic of servants, possibly from the bloody pool behind the house. "Well shit, that doesn't sound too good."

"Heh, that was a little sooner than expected… well, here goes nothing," Jackson said as he used his magic to try and unlock the door but to no avail. "Come on, work damnit." He muttered again he tried but only to achieve the same result. He grabbed the doorknob out of frustration and a massive flash of blinding light flooded their vision.

"Damnit, what the-" Carter spat as he regained his vision. Jackson was laying on the floor, motionless. "Master!" He cried, he picked him up, and with a blurt of curse words he kicked the door down. No more need for stealth at this point. Inside was Lord Asmeria and his wife. He heard guards rushing towards the room. He looked at the two with pure hatred and discontent.

"You, the scum who rob us of our wealth, freedom, and joy. You will pay for everything you have done to the people of Asmeria. I who had once served you will now take your life." They were unarmed and had nowhere to flee to Carter charged forwards at Lord Asmeria. He was shocked to see him pull his wife in front of his blade, using her as a body shield. She let out a blood-curdling scream as the sword cut through her torso. Lord Asmeria pushed her aside while his sword was still lodged in her chest. He tried running for the door but had his legs swept out from underneath him.

"Damn assassin, fucking let me go!" He screamed hysterically.

"You coward, using a woman as a shield, no matter, you'll die anyway!" Carter slammed Asmeria's head into the wall, breaking his nose and knocking a tooth free. He then kneed him in the gut making him lose his last meal.

"Please, I beg of you, let me live!" He said after he finished throwing up. He pathetically curled up into a ball on the floor and groveled at Carter's feet.

"That was never a possibility." Carter's sword did a fine job slicing through Asmeria's skull, making a clean lesion that gave a clear sight of his brain Blood spewed out of the cavity. The sounds of sergeants and officers barking orders echoed throughout the manor. He put away his sword and started constructing a barricade out of the wardrobe, chairs, the bed, and even the corpse of Lord Asmeria. The guards arrived just as he finished the barricade.

"Open the door and I swear your death will be quick!" The Major shouted through the noise.

Jackson woke up, his hand in a warm pool of liquid, he held it up so he could see. It was dripping in blood, but it wasn't his to his relief. He looked to his right and saw her, Lady Denise Asmeria, lifeless and cold. Her eyes turned a deep purple and skin a pale white. The look on her face shook him to his very core. It was a sight he wouldn't wish on his worst enemy. His hearing was filled with ringing until he sat up and it slowly came back to him. He heard the guards barked orders and the flames of torches filled his eyes as the manor started to burn. He got to his feet and drew his sword. The peiron was shining in a beautiful dark red that mimicked that of blood. "What happened?" He asked.

"Jackson! You're alive!" Carter cried, braced against the barricade. The axes were chopping away at the barricade now and it wouldn't hold for much longer. "You've got to get out of here!"

"What happened?" He muttered, just loud enough.

"I don't know master, but I thought you were gone."

"Well, I'm here now." He glanced around the room. It was surprisingly similar to the room he grew up in. He snapped back to the present. There was a balcony that led to the front lawn. It was a twelve-foot drop to the cobblestone paving that led to the road. Jackson opened the door to the balcony and gestured to Carter to follow. But the guards were almost through the barricade. A spear found its way through the wooden barricade and lodged itself in his side. He let out a cry of pain and stepped away from the door.

"Master go! I'll follow." He shouted. Jackson jumped down and broke his fall by rolling away. He looked back to see him standing at the railing. "Run Master Scottkey, I'm sorry for everything and I'm sorry that this is the only way I'll ever repay my debt to your family."

Jackson looked on in horror as another spear pierced his shoulder. "Jump you damned fool!"

"I'm sorry for betraying your uncle, go and free him in my stead!" Then he turned back into the room and readied himself. Jackson watched on in horror as the barricade fell and some twenty men stormed the room. Jackson knew the outcome of that fight before it even started and made his way to the courtyard.

Ruby was shocked by the amount of sudden activity, the guardhouse was empty, everyone was in a frenzy. Miss Vermillion saw Ruby stand in the corridor; she made her way to her. "Come child, follow me."

"What's happening?"

"There's assassins in the manor. The magical lock I out on milord's chambers was broken and I can no longer sense his presence. I fear he may already be dead. Now come child, we're making our way to the carriage."

"Will we be safe there?"

"But of course, I'm a skilled mage and there'll be several guards there waiting for us."

Jackson felt ill, his stomach ached, and his legs felt as if they'd lost all their strength. He maneuvered around the manor frantically searching for Ruby. He wouldn't lose another, never again. He stumbled into a patrol of guards in the front yard. They hadn't yet seen him in the shadows of the trees.

He readied his bow and carefully took aim at his target. His body was too fatigued to steady his aim. He focused on the torso of the guard. It was his luck they wore only a thick coat and leather gauntlets for their armor. It was clear that they were no veterans in the king's guard. He loosed the first arrow. It impaled the guard in the rear of their formation. He fell limp clutching his chest. Jackson fired off two more arrows and two more guards fell. The remaining two then noticed Jackson and charged forwards with their swords drawn.

Jackson shot the guard closest to him through the gut and drew his sword. The last guard swung but completely missed his mark and Jackson simply had to sidestep to gut the guard. There was a look of terror on the man's face, but Jackson paid it no mind. Only the guard he had shot in the gut was still alive. He was crawling back to the manor groaning in pain. His blood-streaked in a pool behind him as he dragged himself away. Jackson stumbled forwards, his legs still without strength and his head throbbing in pain. For a moment he started to hallucinate and see figures, but he quickly shook his head and they vanished. "You're not going to make it friend," Jackson said as he now stood over the guard. It was now clear that the man was paralyzed as the arrow had struck his spine.

"Fuck," The man grunted as he pulled himself forwards. "you."

"Now, now, that's no way to speak to the man who's going to kill you."

"Murderer! Assassin! Scum!"

"Well, at least you're not stupid. So, how are we going to do this?" Jackson knelt in front of the man. "Shall I just lop your head off and call it a night or should I drag you off to the woods and let the monsters there take good care of you?"

"I swear, you'll pay for this!"

"Oh, I plan to; I know there's no way I get away with this. Not after killing two noble families. The king won't be happy, that much I can tell you." Jackson put his sword away. "There's no point in any of this, talking to you I mean, but I figured I might as well spark your last words. Make them count because I'll engrave them into the dirt next to you." Jackson didn't know why he was doing this, it just felt wrong but so damn good at the same time.

"The king will end you all!"

"Good choice, farewell friend, may the afterlife treat you fairer." Jackson stabbed him in the skull with an arrow from his quiver. He continued to search for Ruby. He decided to search the gardens at the rear of the manor but that meant cutting through the courtyard first. The night was turning into a nightmare. Carter was gone and now Ruby was among the guards in the manor. He rushed through the courtyard where several guards were waiting next to a carriage.