Chronicles of Viltarion I - A Song of Stone and Iron

Chapter 44 - The secret of an assassin

Yvelde thought about the puppet that had attacked her in Pirphen's square in complete silence, as the sky began to grow darker and darker... Agiun's attacks had been neither agile nor powerful, but what worried the Steel Paladin most were the multiple bruises that did not seem to have done her any harm.

"Captain." Agida's voice brought her out of her musings. "What did the assassin who attacked you look like? I know she wasn't wearing a mask, but what did she look like?" she asked.

The commander looked around and sighed. The death of Tirfen's emissary; the death of her assassin; and the battle between Termidas and Yvelde against this warrior had meant that there were fewer and fewer villagers in the small town... The rumour of impending war had struck fear into the hearts of those closest to the border.

"She had dark skin, black eyes and gold and silver hair..." Yvelde's tone was neutral.

"If she is still here, perhaps we could look for her instead of guarding the other side of the river..." Tizen, the only materialiser in the group, proposed. "If she decides to act again, she will do so during the night."

"I know, but that assassin nearly killed me as she absorbed my every blow as if her flesh could not feel my blade... I will not risk the lives of my men against an enemy I do not understand..." she replied sharply. "If you see her in the river, or meet her in the village, seek reinforcements. That is an order." She added.

"Yes." Both warriors answered confidently in unison. Since Termidas had left for Duner, Yvelde's mood had dropped as sharply as the arrows of the oldest member of the group... It was clear that her concern was growing by the second.

"It looks like we won't have to evacuate..." Yvelde muttered, only now realising that they were the only ones other than the innkeeper inside the tavern. "The villagers are making it their business to do so without our recommendation."

"Will we evacuate if there is no one left here?" Agida asked. "I wouldn't want to still be in Pirfen when Tirfen's forces arrive..."

"It will depend on the answer his majesty gives us. Until then, we will continue to guard this region from the sultan and his assassins."

Yvelde knew that neither Tizen nor Agida liked what awaited the next few days within Hilgar, all felt that they were bitterly awaiting the inevitable attack of the southern elementalists, unable to prevent it.

"Captain..." the materialiser murmured, he had seen since Yvelde was just a recruit how much she had grown. "Agiun is already here, and I fear that the main force of Binos will arrive overnight..." He spoke those words cautiously, despite the fact that there was no other soul inside the room. "I think it is a mistake not to have gone with Termidas."

"I know why you think that, Tizen, but I will not abandon this position as long as there are innocent citizens in the village."

"If we see his army, promise me we will leave. If we die we will serve no purpose to the kingdom, nor to Fobert..." said the materialiser. Even after all these years, she could not help but see her captain as just another companion. The Steel Paladin appreciated and loathed his dry bluntness in equal parts, but on this occasion she knew he was right.

"If it comes to that, we'll leave for Duner." She nodded.

Agida and Tizen rose and bowed slightly to the Hilgar commander, but before they ventured into the streets of the town towards the stream, the tavern keeper approached the Hilgar warriors timidly.

"My lady..." stuttered the man in the church mask, as bright as a silver pearl. "I am sorry to be impolite, but I fear I shall soon be leaving my home for safer lands..."

"Will you close your inn?" she asked the man.

"I have already done so, my lady." The answer surprised Hilgar's warrior. "There are fewer and fewer customers, and I fear the battle that will soon come to the town..."

"I understand..."

"I will leave the key with you... The last thing I want is to interfere in her majesty's affairs..." The man's accent seemed to change slightly as he rummaged through his shirt.

Yvelde looked carefully at his attire and after a second found blood on his sleeves, both Tizen and Agida rested their masks on their leader, aware of the ominous stain as well.

An uneasy feeling came over the paladin, who looked with less and less conviction at the tavern keeper who had served them for the past few weeks.

"Who are you?" she asked without thinking, the man's appearance was not what she remembered.

"Oh." The innkeeper's tone changed completely. When he heard the Steel Paladin's question, he reached for his mask and pulled it off abruptly. "I thought you would never notice." He smiled and marked his skin with a vile grimace. "Did you think I wouldn't follow you after that captain of yours separated us so rudely?"

The man's eyes were emerald green and his hair the colour of the tundra. But what puzzled the warrior most was the impassive countenance before the gaze of her platoon and the absent curse he should have suffered from being watched...

Yvelde's heart skipped a beat.

"Watch out!" she warned her warriors, as she drew her sword sharply in response to the sudden enemy. "It's her!"

For a moment, Tizen and Agida looked at their leader quizzically, but when they saw the paladin's slender blade pierce the innkeeper's flesh and his non-existent reaction to the cut, they all mimicked the warrior.

The innkeeper ignored the gash in his chest and brandished a kitchen knife at Hilgar's soldiers. They all looked at the hole Yvelde had made, there was no blood nor organs inside... This person looked just like the dark-skinned woman in the square.

The warriors attacked the strange being, but before they could reach him, the man smiled and began to melt in front of everyone, like a candle in a chimney...

"I advise you to run..." The voice left the disfigured body like a demon's sigh.

After a few seconds, the only trace of the assassin was the matter left on the tavern floor.

"By all the elementals..." Tizen muttered. "Did you and Termidas fight that thing...?" he asked with a thread of fear in his words.

"Yes..."Agida and the materialiser were the only ones who noticed the change of tone in Yvelde's voice. Beneath her silver mask, the warrior smiled from side to side. "It's clever, but I can see how Agiun manages to show her face without consequence." She added.

"Can we defeat her?" asked the other elementalist with her sword drawn, still horrified at what she had just witnessed.

"Yes," Yvelde's voice was confident. "We just need to find the original body of this assassin. What we've seen so far have been crude attempts to fabricate and manipulate people with elemental power..."