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  And then a sound of pure power, from the depth of power itself, erupted from overhead. At first, I thought a great chasm must be tearing apart the city, or a hidden volcano had decided to unleash its lava from within, but then I looked up. To a man, we all halted any thought of action, even the focused eyes of Kinarin were drawn to the sky seeking to answer a simple question – what could have made that awful and awesome sound. What we saw was beyond any comprehension for descending out of all myths and legends was the largest beast I had ever seen. Burning in radiance from an unknown source, I thought the sun had decided to take physical form and crash against the earth. It was a Dragon! And it was impossible to understand. As it landed beyond the keep walls, the ground shook and we all momentarily lost our balance.

  The only one who seemed unaffected by either the physical and mental effects of such a sight was Vennesulte. He quickly regained his balance, if he ever actually lost it, and was on the move engaging the nearest of the guards. Kinarin and myself were not long to follow. Before the guards' attention was pulled back to us, we had dispatched five more. Seconds into our attack, there was another huge blast of sound distracting our foes and providing a much-needed interruption to their efforts. Ten more fatal wounds opened, none of them on us.

  The whole scene seemed entirely surreal. My limbs and blades, though entirely consciously my own, seemed to move intuitively without conscious direction from my mind. There was a profound detachment in my mental processing allowing the rhythm of battle to match the physical execution of my combative intent. When the fighting was complete, we stood over the dead men of The Stone Keep whose numbers exceeded our necessity to count.

  Kinarin kept us moving, however, as he knew we would face more than what we could overcome if we continued to remain in the open. By now our descriptions, even Vennesulte's, had been disseminated throughout Lord Myosk's army. Unless we could hide, we would be found. And if we were found, we would not be able to fight our way through the entirety of the Keep, let alone the army outside.

  Kinarin walked over to the nearest of the guards and began stripping him of his clothing. "Each of you find one of similar size and put their clothing and armor on. We cannot hide in stores or home cellars forever, and with the activity the invading army has caused, we should be able to blend in as three guards reporting to their posts."

  Vennesulte and I had no difficulty finding suitably sized disguises. I had been used to wearing the light and agile clothing necessary for our training and did not expect the added weight of the guard's uniform to be as heavy as it was. However, after the first few steps, my body had adjusted to its feel without much effort. It was not until we were on our way that I noticed the pain in my shoulder. Kinarin must have heard me wince because he stopped, turned around and asked, “Are you fit to continue?”

  “Yes. I think it is just a scratch,” I answered.

  “Remind me to thank you if our escape is successful. If we get caught, I may have preferred to have died by that arrow,” he said with a wink.

  As we continued, Kinarin insisted we walk down the center of the road with a brisk and purposeful gait. As city guards and members of Lord Myosk’s army, we would raise suspicions if our actions did not mimic the purpose and authority of those we were impersonating. With more success than I thought, we traveled down the city road with little to no interference, until we came to the second intersection. When we reached the center, we were halted by a guard dressed in full plate armor. I recognized him as one of Lord Myosk's personal guards because of the yellow cape he wore. Trailing the personal guard was none other than my failed mark along with two more of his military generals. Behind them followed the rest of Lord Myosk’s personal guard. As his entourage strode by, one of the Generals looked to us and said, "You there. Yes, you three. Come with us."

  As members of the city guard and army, we would be afforded no opportunity to refuse, or even hesitate, upon receiving a direct order from any of our superiors. So, we had little choice and fell in stride behind them. In no time at all, we found ourselves walking directly into the very halls and walls we were seeking to escape from.

  When we entered the throne room, I instinctively looked up to see the wooden perch. There it hung, like a beacon of my failure, silently taunting me. There were at least ten arrows stuck in the underside of it with at least ten more protruding from the railing. I looked to the empty throne and the spot just off to the side where the now deceased man had been standing when my arrow flew to bury itself deeply in his chest.

  As Lord Myosk took his place on the stone-built seat raised by a stone-built dais, I wondered if I could close the distance quickly enough and complete my assignment by planting my dagger where my arrow was supposed to be. Building from within, somewhere beyond my logic because no matter how much I understood that killing him now would actually be a violation of the contract I had been assigned, I still had the urge, no, conviction to see it done. Quite possibly because he had been through this very same moment before, Kinarin placed his hand atop my shoulder. His firm contact ended any further impulse for blood allowing my conviction to quickly dissipate.

  Just then, the doors to the throne room were opened and all eyes fixed themselves upon the man and woman who strode through its opening. Their clothing portrayed a visually impossible contrast. The woman was dressed in some of the most intricately designed and impressively decorated leather armor. The black, hardened leather material was laced with finely polished red patterns that reflected the light to create a visage of horror and beauty. From her shoulders spilled the most brilliant long blonde hair I had ever seen. Equally breathtaking for their own beauty were the twin blades of black and red hanging at her hips. She walked with purpose, confidence, and allure all at once.

  The man, however, appeared to be a common beggar being brought to court for prosecution of crimes. In fact, that was my original thought except that he was not bounded by the traditional hand and foot shackles all criminals donned as an ever-present part of their attire. So dusty and dirty were his clothes that they could barely be called clothes at all. Where she was a striking ensemble of color, he was void of all color and all distinction. Her lines were made more distinct by her battle armor, but it almost appeared as if he had none of the normal mortal lines at all because the rags he wore blended into a formless mass of mud browns with blotches of darker dirt and lighter dust. Yet, he walked with as much purpose and confidence as did she. And then my eyes found his. White orbs of an impossible purity focused on mine and I felt like he was looking directly into my soul, if such a thing existed. So piercing was his gaze that had it not been pulled away by the welcoming embrace of Lord Myosk, I might have actually begun to believe in the soul.

  Their initial pleasantries were short. I was unable to hear what was said except for two words - "Dragon" and "Eriboth". As they were led away, presumably to discuss new battle plans now that Eriboth had arrived on the back of a Dragon, the same general who bid us to follow them into the throne room indicated that we should follow them once again. We were led, at the trail end of the Lord's entourage, to a door through which all thirteen members entered. When Kinarin, Vennesulte and I sought entry as well in an attempt to maintain our cover as guards, we were stopped by a firm hand placed on my chest.

  "Have you forgotten that in times of war, only the members of Lord Myosk's war council are permitted entranced into the War Room?" asked the general.

  Fearing I had just compromised our disguises, I remained silent for longer than what was apparently acceptable because the general asked his question again, this time with more force. "Are you refusing to answer my question, guard? Or has the threat of war scared you so much that you have entirely forgotten your place?"

  "I apologize for his mistake, General," I heard Kinarin say from behind me. "He is yet young in his training. When we have successfully defeated the army, I will make sure he is flogged for his insubordination."

  "See that you do, Captain, or it will be you who is
flogged," said the general. "And if anyone enters this room, you will find a flogging much more preferable to your punishment."

  "Yes, General. As you wish," Kinarin answered as the general disappeared behind the heavy door.

  "Great, we are finally alone. We should leave while we have the chance to do so unnoticed," I said as I looked down the hallway.

  "Vennesulte is not convinced now is the time to run," said the previously silent monk.

  "What do you mean? We are finally outside of any eyes that can identify us with no one between us and our escape."

  "Sometimes the most revealing information is what the eyes do not see," said Kinarin in his all too familiar cryptic verbiage. When I remained silent, he continued, "Think about it. We have been given instructions by one of Lord Myosk's generals to remain at our post. What would we be telling them, all of them, if we were not seen where we should have been? But more than that, think about what we will be telling them if we remain here when given the chance to leave."

  It seemed that Kinarin was devoted to my instruction even under the most stressful situations. He was consciously relentless with his charge of increasing my observational skills and always phrased statements as questions. "So, if we leave now, we will have told them we are not the guards we have pretended to be. However, if we remain here until we receive further instructions, we will have verified our disguises to the most influential men in the keep."

  "Correct. Everyone in that room has seen our faces and believes we are their guards. If we leave now, our identities will be linked as either the assassins or deserters, neither of which will have a favorable outcome," continued the elder assassin.

  "Vennesulte agrees. We need to remain here until it is time to not be here," said the monk as he lazily leaned against the wall.

  "I think I like him," Kinarin said through an infrequent grin.

  When the door opened, we expected to see all thirteen of them exit, but when we saw only the man in rags and woman walk through the door unfollowed, we suspected something inside the war room did not meet with the approval of Lord Myosk. And when the general abruptly directed us to escort them out of the keep, any questions were had were answered.

  As they walked away down the hallway, we three fell dutifully in step behind them. They attuned none of their faculties to our presence as they strode away, but their demeanor held no resemblance to defeat.

  "Be ready," I heard Kinarin whisper under his voice.

  When we came to an intersection, Kinarin darted to his right down the empty hallway. Vennesulte and I followed without hesitation. Just before my last glance toward the man and woman was interrupted by the passageway’s corner, I thought I saw the man briefly and slightly turn his head in our direction as if he knew we had deviated from our orders. If he had noticed, there was no other sign, not that I would have seen it now walking quickly the other way. After passing a few doors, we turned down another hallway and then darted through an open door. As evidenced by the many wood burning stoves and racks and racks of multiple cooking materials, we had entered the castle kitchens.

  "This is good," said Kinarin.

  "How do you mean?" I asked, "We are still no closer to our exit."

  "That is not so. Castles of this size often times have separate entrances for their servants. The Lords within like to think that those beneath them must be as unseen as possible. And the kitchen is always the central hub for the help. In fact, the head chef is quite commonly given charge for the entire logistical operations of the servants. And if this is like many of the other castles, it will have an exit from the kitchen leading to a back alley where everyone is expected to enter." In a matter of a few seconds after he stopped his lesson, we did indeed find a door leading out of the kitchen. "We should leave our current disguises and dress like the kitchen help. It would do no good if we are discovered on our way out. Plus, we certainly do not want to be assigned to a post on the wall. Direct conflict with invading armies is not normally beneficial for escape."

  We did as Kinarin instructed and left our former disguises in one of the wood ovens and began to dress ourselves in the aprons and clothes we found hanging in a small linen room.

  "Hey, you there!" said a very concerned voice from the doorway.

  "Oh!" said Kinarin, unusually startled. "I did not hear you approach. Can you do me a favor and instruct my young apprentices here on the necessity of punctuality? I think they feel it only applies to those enlisted in the Lord's guard and garrison. And while you are at it, can you also tell them the punishment for being late to a posting?"

  "What?" said the man in return, taken off guard by Kinarin's authoritative demeanor. Having drawn all three of our attentions, the man steadied himself for a moment and began to speak again only to be interrupted by Kinarin.

  "I told you to put the white towels in that pile and the off-white towels over there!" he shouted at us.

  Both Vennesulte and I nodded sheepishly. "Yes, Master Chef," I added.

  Turning back to the guard, Kinarin adopted a more relaxed posture and addressed the stunned man again, "I will tell you what, it is so difficult to find the youth of today with the work ethic we had while we were still young whelps, do you not agree?"

  Still apprehensive, but more becoming more relaxed, the guard slowly answered the question, "Yes, it is."

  "You are what, a lieutenant now?" said the disguised master chef.

  "No, not yet, but The Captain has said that if I continue on my path and keep my feet straight and do not fail Lord Myosk, then I should be up for a promotion soon. And I could really use it too, my wife is expecting our third child," he said smiling at the thought of being a father again.

  "Excellent! A man of your stature should bring forth many sons into the Lord's service. I am sure he will be even stronger than you are," he said as he stepped closed enough to grasp the guard on the shoulder in a gesture of friendship and trust. "I myself have four children, though I have not been blessed with a son yet. But my wife and I have had many fun nights in the attempt." Turning toward the two of us, still feigning the task of organizing the towels, he shouted again, "Are you both blind and dumb? Can you not see you have mixed the white and off-white towels in both piles again? We are going to be here the rest of the day if you keep this up! Why I agreed to take both of you as understudies I will never know. My sister had better consider my debt to her pain in full!" Tuning back to the guard he continued, "I really apologize for this. It was not even my intent to be here today, but when my sister said that her son and his friend needed something to occupy their idle hands lest they become involved with the Thieves Guild, who was I to refuse. Though now, after meeting these two worthless whelps, I am beginning to regret accepting her offer."

  "Oh, no apology needed. I understand completely. But you should know that all non-combative personnel have been ordered to their homes for safety," he said as Kinarin faked a look of concern.

  "Do you think we are in any real danger?" he said as he leaned even closer and spoke just above a whisper.

  The guard responded by leaning in as well and spoke equally soft, "Yes, I do, but not from the would-be assassins. One of them was even shot in the heal when they tried to escape. It will be only a matter of time before we find them. The army, however, is not entirely natural. But no army has even," he said and then stopped with a slight look of strain on his face.

  I saw the guard's eyes shift focus to look directly at Kinarin's. In that fleeting moment of realization, he understood that the warm feeling beginning to drain down his chest was not being generated from a source outside of himself. He knew with certainty that it was his blood leaving his heart through a precise wound made by a dagger as it was slid between his fourth and fifth rib. As his attention solidified to Kinarin, his strain shifted slightly from a physical cause to a mental one in an attempt to understand why.

  "I am sorry, brother. Fortune was not with you this day," said the master assassin. "May you rest peacefully in the mists. May th
ose you leave behind flourish and prosper. I am sorry."

  As the dead guard slumped to the ground under Kinarin's supportive embrace, I saw my mentor pause briefly and close his eyes. "We must move now," he said still kneeling. "Let not this man's life be taken without purpose. We now carry the burden of his death."

  We all finished dressing in our new disguises. Vennesulte and I picked up a sizeable bundle of towels while Kinarin donned a chef's hat, presumably reserved only for the master chef due to its size and ornate threading. Before exiting the kitchen to our freedom, or at least closer to it, Kinarin hefted the dead guard's body over his shoulder and deposited it inside one of the larger ovens.

  When we walked outside, first making sure there was no one to observe our exit, we were met with the signs of battle, but not yet the clashing of swords. That is not to say there were no shouts of injury and despair because the breeze seemed to carry with it not only the refreshing promise of escape, but the screams and moans of a battle that had blossomed all of its petals. Below the shrieks of pain, instead of the clanging of metal on metal, was a low buzzing that I thought was familiar, but could not entirely identify its origin within my memory. A few moments later, we heard and then felt the gently breeze of freedom increase its force. Another passing moment and the buzzing stopped. However, the eerie moans and shrieks, now set against a completely silent background, created a whole new threatening environment.