Renowned

Chapter 5 - Assassination attempt

As silver walked toward Zac's room, he second-guessed himself. Why did he decide to involve himself in the matter of a complete stranger? Wasn't the plan to stay lowkey? He paused his steps for a moment, but when he recalled how the youth had helped him and his good impressions of him, he laughed at himself for overthinking and continued towards Zac's room.

Silver was glad to hear movement from inside the room as he gave the door a few knocks. Once the door was opened, what greeted Silvers' eyes, was the same Zac he had seen earlier, not looking the least bit worse for wear.

Bees Blossom fitted in the "silent killers" category of poisons as its effects would not become apparent until the very last moments when it would be too late to do anything about the matter.

"Ah, it's you! What a nice surprise! How did you find the book?" asked Zac with a broad smile

"It was very informative, thanks. May I come in?" replied Silver looking around cautiously for any stalking gazes.

"of course, of course. Please do. How rude of me" Zac opened the door more widely and gestured for him to enter. The room adopted a similar lavish style to the one Silver had been staying in. However, it was grander as it had a joining living area with a small bookcase and a long table with chairs surrounding it.

"Please sit," said Zac as he pointed toward one of the chairs in the seating area.

"Could I get you anything to eat or drink" he added.

"Yes, actually, do you happen to have any cheese?" asked Silver.

"Eh?... Cheese?" inquired Zac, the curiosity evident on his face. It wasn't odd for someone to eat cheese, but because Silver hadn't even taken a seat yet and asked specifically for cheese, he was sure that something was amiss, so he instinctively raised his guard. That didn't stop him from grabbing some cheese, though.

"Is everything okay?" he asked Silver while putting a block of cheese on the table.

"Actually, no. Someone is trying to kill you". Silver decided to get straight to the point.

"What? are you kidding me?" Zac was bemused, but he didn't like the serious face Silver was showing, and a hint of anxiety started building in him.

"Nop, in fact, they've already half succeeded. You've been poisoned," Silver continued with a stoic expression.

"Poisoned?" Zac was a little hesitant to believe his new friend. What poison? He was feeling completely normal. And even if he was poisoned, how could Silver know? Was he involved?

"Unfortunately, you've contacted Bees Blossom, a relatively slow-acting poison that is spread through contact. When you came in earlier did you happen to smell honey?" he added.

[ I do recall the smell of honey when I came up earlier.... but how does he know that? ] wondered Zac could it be that he's the one that poisoned me?

[ Wait, how can I even be sure if what he's saying is true? ]

Zac took a step back, confusion and disbelief evident in his eyes. However, this reaction was within Silver's expectations, so he didn't blame him for his suspicion. Had a stranger he met only a couple of hours ago come into his room, telling him that he was poisoned while feeling perfectly fine, he would've reacted the same way.

"So, you're saying I've been poisoned? And instead of asking me to seek a doctor or something, you're asking me for cheese?" Zac said while wrinkling his brows.

"Hahaha, I get why you're skeptical, believe me. Which is exactly why the cheese is necessary," replied Silver while taking out the metal cage from under his cloak.