7 Intruder

Pretend, just for a moment, that you have infiltrated into someone's house with two objectives in mind. And that someone is a person who, to common people, is very powerful and wealthy.

Your first objective is to steal that person's family heirloom, a thing the said person values more than his own life. Basically, it's that person's reverse scale. Stealing it would definitely mean giving rise to an enmity enough to last for two lifetimes.

Now imagine, for example, that you have the power to easily get away with his family heirloom without getting caught, but your second objective does not allow you the use of your power.

Because the second objective is to anger that very person; humiliate him until he thirsts for revenge; humiliate him until he wishes to bath in your blood and eat your entrails.

'I would be just courting death' is the only thoughts that comes to your mind, right?

But worry not, let me be the one to do the honours and steal a baron's heirloom.

Maneuvering himself into position, Malazan dangled from the windowsill and, without hesitation, let himself fall into the room below. It was a twenty meters fall, but he knew he could easily take it.

"FA-THUD!"

'Whew. Well, that was a piece of cake,' Malazan thought to himself after landing on the concrete ground.

Taking the stock of room, he saw that it was completely dark, except for a silver of brightness shining in the centre. The light seemed like an oasis in a desert, like the moon during the night.

On a closer inspection, the light was coming from a sword. He remembered what it was called.

It was Calibur, shining in the dark as if it were fashioned from the brilliant sun rays themselves. The broad silvery metal was warmed, as was the stand it rested upon.

In the whole room, it was the thing that drew the eye, a symbol of the kind of bloodlust and bravery that enables others to find their own fear and courage, to be less and more than they thought themselves able to be at the same time.

Yet, as the moon, it was a reflection of the sunlight, of death reaper's own energy and the duty of protection. It was a sword with two personalities.

Lost in entrance, Malazan forgot all about his goal. He vividly remembered how his brother wielded this very sword to end the lives of his enemies and protect his loved ones.

No matter how much blood was splattered, the sword did neither lose its edge nor got rusty.

A memory that seemed so close, yet very distant came back into his mind.

"Whoa! Eldest brother, what is this?"

"It's my very close friend, Malazan."

"Eh? But it looks like a sword, though?"

"It matters not what it looks like. For me, this sword is my companion. A companion who protects those I care about."

"Whoa! Can I have one as well?"

"Hahaha, of course you can. In fact, you can have this sword of mine when I grow old and am no longer able to fight."

"Really?! You are not joking, right?!"

"Hahaha, really. I promise."

"Yay!"

☯☯☯☯☯

'Get yourself together, you dithering heap of idiot!' Coming out of his reverie, Malazan slapped himself on his left cheek.

He trotted forwards and weighed the sword in his right hand, slashing it delicately at the air with apprehension.

'Who knew brother would hand over this sword to me so early,' he smiled bitterly to himself.

Knowing the guards would come any second now, you'd think he would move quickly and flee as soon as possible, since he was running out of time.

But sadly doing that was not on his agenda, as he chose to stand where he was and wait.

The door creaked open and two guards entered, conversing with each other.

"Why do we have to come here after every ten minutes just to see whether that decorative piece is in it's place or not?" complained the knight on the right.

"Well, it's the Lord's order, so we have to follow it," said his fellow guard.

"Yeah, but it's not like anyone is able to go past our scrutiny," replied the guard while feeling indignant.

"Cough, pardon me for the interruption but it's not good manners to ignore someone standing right in front of you, two Sirs," interrupted Malazan with a sorrowful look on his face.

"EEEK!" shouted the two guards in a startled manner.

"Who is there?!!"

"Oh my, you don't know me?"

"Ah, so it's Madam!" After looking more closely, relief washed over them when they found out that it was the baron's mother.

"But what are you do-"

Before they could even ask him, Malazan started to take off his disguise in front of them.

Overwhelmed with shock, it took them a moment to process the sight in front of them, before one of them lunged towards Malazan with a dagger in his right hand whilst the other ran outside to warn others of the theft.

"Hmm, it looks like your friend left you," provoked Malazan as he exaggeratedly stepped sidewards.

"Well, I alone am enough to deal with the likes of you!" The guards moved once again, but this time he did so with even more agility.

"Is that so? Although I would play with you for a bit longer, but right now I can't be bothered" Malazan said as he lifted his right arm up in the air.

Like a magician about to perform a trick, he slowly moved his hand down and gently whispered:

"Die."

—One word.

The guard stopped midway in his tracks with eyes wide open as if he could not believe what he was seeing.

He delivered his last words in a dreadful voice: "Y-You...are...a...spellcaster...?"

—And the knight died just like that.

"Not exactly, but your guess was quite close," said Malazan as he looked towards where the other guard had ran.

"Run. Shout. Let others know of my presence. Let him be angered," the sentence resounded in the room and Malazan was nowhere to be seen.

☯☯☯☯☯

'WHAT THE HELL DID HE DO THIS TIME?!' Martin asked himself.

While sleeping, he was forcefully roused and kidnapped from his room and asked to wait near the carriage by Malazan. Before he could even question him, Malazan disappeared to who knows where.

He had thought to himself that if standing here was all he was required to do, then it would pose no problem for him, but it seems like Malazan liked proving him wrong.

Just awhile ago, he had heard someone shout a warning at the top of his lungs:

"INTRUDER! THERE IS AN INTRUDER, EVERYONE!"

And as if it was not all, the shout triggered a series of bad consequences. Alarms were rung and knights started to run around in search of the said intruder, which he assumed was Malazan.

So to avoid any more trouble, he had gotten onto the carriage and nudged the horse to run towards the palace's gate. He hoped for the security guards, who were usually stationed near the gate, to be alarmed by the warning and focus their attention on the intruder.

—But as they say, the man proposes and the heaven disposes.

"Stop right there! Where are you going?" A knight came in front of the carriage to stop Martin from going further.

"I-I a-am going to look for milady's chicken, honourable knigh!" Replied Martin with whatever answer came to his mind.

Flattered by the title, yet confused by his meaning, the knight asked in a gentler tone, "What chicken?"

"It is my Milady's beloved chicken, honourable knight! It follows wherever millady goes! In the times of glum, it is he who cheers up my lady by saying 'Puk Puk Pukaaak'! Tell me, is that not wonderful?!!" Martin literally spat out at the knight's face while speaking in a righteous tone.

"???" Totally dumbfounded by what Martin was saying, the knight was at a loss for words.

Martin, with his amateur acting skills, faked an embarrassed expression and followed up by saying: "A-And you must also be aware of the weird fetishes the nobles have...if you know what I mean."

"O-Oh, okay. You can go now," the knight coughed.

'I better not get involved in this!' was what the knight was thinking.

"Thank you, honourable knight! Your favor shall forever be remembered by milady and her chicken!" Martin saluted and nudged the horse to safely cross the gate.

☯☯☯☯☯

'Whew, that was close,' just as Martin was feeling relieved, a person descended upon the seat next to his. The way he landed like a feather in defiance of gravity made him think of the magic he heard of in stories and legends.

"You have poor acting skills," Malazan said in a calm voice.

"Where the hell were you?!!! More importantly, how did you get here?!!" Martin shouted, annoyance welling up inside him.

"Nothing much. Just went to retrieve what was mine," Malazan said nonchalantly as he looked at the passing trees.

"And what was it that you went to retrieve?" asked Martin.

—And his question was met with silence.