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June 22, 1748 EQ, Just West of the Village of Selma |
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The
shadow knight kept under the forest’s dark canopy.
It took little effort for him to sneak across the border into the
Andril Kingdom and hide in the mountain forest.
The little resistance he did encounter came not from the boarder
guards, who were not vigilant, or from the Long Wall that separated the
two peoples, which he discovered had a breach.
No, the resistance came from the mountain terrain itself. His shaggy desert pony was used to the temperature extremes
of the high Erdi Desert; she was not used to steep slopes.
She, like the rest of her breed, could not see her hind hooves
and get a proper footing. It
made for a slow and dangerous journey but if he got the information he
was hoping for, it would be all worthwhile. Now
he had to wait. He did not
like to wait; he craved action. His
arm itched. He pulled up
his sleeve and scratched the skin around a new bio-implant.
The doctor had told him it was healing well but it didn’t seem
so to the shadow knight. He
didn’t trust his own tribal shaman let alone some foreign doctor that
Araknik dug up. Then
he heard someone coming up the wooded path and threw himself back
against the tree. *
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The
iron guild master from the Capital of Cannor smiled to himself as he
walked up the wooded path. A
fresh pine scent filled the air, but he didn’t notice it.
The birds, which were singing earlier, had stopped, but he
ignored them. Fresh pony
tracks lead to a cluster of trees to his right, but he paid them no
attention, even if he did know what to look for.
No, his mind centered on how well things had been going for him:
how he had accumulated a small fortune and how he had kept this fortune
hidden from his master. It was only a mater of prudence, he told himself, to take
advantage of his position and set aside a little for his own.
His master had given him an assignment and he had fulfilled it --
something his predecessor had failed to do and it cost him his life --
and now he began thinking how he might discretely spend all that wealth.
He mentally brooded over his stash, counting every coin as he
prioritized his buying list. That
is why he was almost upon the shadow knight before he realized he was
there. The sight of the
dark robed warrior standing in his path with arms folded startled the
guild master and he froze in his tracks.
They locked eyes for a moment until the shadow knight finally
spoke. “You’re careless
and walk like a pregnant goat.” “So
shoot me.” The
shadow knight only chuckled. “You’ve
lived among these people far too long.” The
guild master smiled and then took on a more somber expression.
“I have found the traitor.” “Really?
The master will be pleased,” the knight nodded. “Assassinate?” “No,
observe. The master
wishes to savor this one.” |
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