Chapter 13

“This way,” Minnow told her in a low voice.

Tira followed her contact through the shadowed alleys of Elenel. She shivered as another gust of wind found its way through the narrow passage between the buildings, sending loose refuse swirling along the perpetually damp roads. Stepping around a puddle that was probably not all water, she sighed behind her mask. Was there some unspoken rule that demanded Assassins end up in places like this?

“So nothing worked?” Tira asked.

“Doesn’t seem like it,” Minnow answered. “At first, we thought it’d be easy. She’s been going from tavern to tavern, eatin’ from every one of ‘em while she does her thing. But our agents’ve used enough poison to kill half the city.”

“What have they tried so far?”

Tira nodded as the agent listed off two dozen types of poison and the doses used. They were all lethal in different ways; derived from a variety of plant, animal and mineral sources. Their agents had been thorough in their attempts at killing off their target through her food, so they would have to take a different approach.

“They didn’t notice anything at all?”

“Nothing,” Minnow shook her head. “All may as well’ve been seasoning.”

Bards weren’t exactly known for having strong constitutions. That being said, the Adventurers in every city that their target passed through all agreed that she was in the Realm of Heroes. She may have been strong enough to just shrug everything off. If she wore poison resistance items, it would almost certainly be a futile effort.

“The Imperial Army actually went and pulled off their stunt with that Dragon Lord,” Tira said. “Where was she during all this?”

“Guy coming in from Norford said that she’s been doin’ two or three Adventurer jobs a night so where she’s been is hard to track. That Beastman Merchant she’s been travelling with sent Green Dragon bodies to be taken apart in Norford while all that was going on, though.”

So she had at least participated in the Empire’s operation in some way. The extent was unknown, but people who fought Green Dragons always prepared poison resistance items and antidotes. They should have foreseen that their poisoning attempts wouldn’t work, but it was still probably worth trying on the off chance she switched out of her equipment. It wasn’t unreasonable for a target that could single-handedly wipe out armies.

“Have them give up on that,” Tira said. “We’ll figure out something else. Find any weaknesses we can use?”

“No direct weaknesses. She’s a tough nut to crack – we don’t even know when she sleeps. No one can sense how strong she is, but she comes back with all sorts of work done. Been doin’ it all solo, too.”

“The hell?” Tira leaned back, “A solo Bard? Are you sure she doesn’t have her party hidden away somewhere? If she’s been travelling with Beastman Merchants, then maybe she also has a Demihuman Adventurer team that she thinks is better off out of sight around here.”

“There’s no sign ‘o that,” Minnow replied. “We’ve had a tail on her since Oestestadt. There’s the Beastman Merchant and his workers plus some army officer. She came in with ‘em from Engelfurt and nothin’s changed about ‘em. By the looks of it, the officer’s there for the Merchant.”

They made their way down through the city before stopping three levels above the city’s harbour. Bawdy music drifted through the air and the odours of cheap food, liquor and the rancid concoction that collected on seedy tavern floors wafted up at them. Minnow hopped down and Tira waited as her agent went to confirm their target.

Did all of the gathered information add up? A Human Bard from the Sorcerous Kingdom escorting a Demihuman Merchant from the same nation. The Empire officially allowed Demihumans passage for travel and trade, but many difficulties awaited those that came to work and do business. It made sense that there would be an officer attached to ensure that nothing happened to citizens of their suzerain.

Everything seemed perfectly plausible aside from the Bard being so powerful. Merchant escorts in the Empire were generally Platinum-rank and the Imperial Army dealt with weaker threats. Major Demihuman raids and powerful monsters attacking highway traffic were nearly unheard of.

Their target’s activity in The Blister suggested that she had been purposely positioned in an innocuous manner. At least as innocuous as one could make an Adamantite-rank Adventurer. Yet the Dragon Lord was gone and the Bard remained. What other purpose was she serving? If they could figure that part out, they might be able to find a better way to expose her to a hit.

Minnow reappeared, nodding in confirmation as she walked back up the street towards Tira.

“She’s still there,” the agent said. “A lot of eyes on her, though.”

“Eyes…say, do you know her preferences?”

“Hmm…she’s as flirty as you might expect a Bard to be, but it doesn’t seem like she’s taken a fancy to anyone.”

“So no one’s tried that approach?” Tira asked, “What about her accommodations? Who does she share a room with?”

The agent fell silent for several moments, brow furrowing in thought.

“She stays with the Merchant.”

“The Merchant...as in the Beastman?”

“Yeah,” Minnow mirrored Tira’s expression. “Pretty sure he calls her ‘wife’, as well.”

What…

“…just to be certain,” Tira crossed her arms, “this Bard is a Human, right?”

“Uh-huh.”

“She’s not super hairy or anything like that?”

“Nope. She’s pretty much a walking fantasy. For Humans.”

Tira rubbed her chin with a finger. There were plenty of weird fetishes out there, so it might be true. Many Demihumans valued strength above all else, so she could see it being a thing on the Beastman’s end. Humans, however, usually stuck to Humans or at least something close in appearance, like Elves. Humans doing nasty things with Demihumans was the stuff of tales like the Goblin King and the Human Princess.

“Okay, so she shares a room with this Beastman.”

“All of ‘em, actually.”

“Wha?”

“She’s with the Beastman and all of his apprentices. Crazy stuff.”

“Nonononono,” Tira held out a hand. “That can’t be right. I don’t want it to be right! Who else is in there with them?”

“The army officer and the three women working at the Merchant’s stand. It’s a five on five.”

What twisted pit of degeneracy was this? The Sorcerous Kingdom was supposedly a place where many races coexisted, but it never crossed her mind that they coexisted like that.

“So there aren’t any Human men in that mess?”

“Nope. The caravan staff stay in their own rooms.”

With the target’s unknown strength, Tira thought that seduction might have worked best. No matter how powerful they were, Humans depended on equipment to some extent. Even Monks and magic casters were far weaker without their stuff.

As a Bard, their target did have Spellsongs, but those took time to perform and were easily interrupted. Against an Assassin with a carefully prepared weapon, they would be at a deadly disadvantage.

“You gonna try joining ‘em?”

Tira’s eyelid twitched.

“Let’s, uh, see what else we can do first. They never trained us for Demihuman orgies. What sort of questions has she been asking?”

“Basic ones,” Minnow replied. “If you sound like you might be familiar with it, she’ll ask for details…”

The agent’s voice trailed off.

“What?” Tira asked.

“She’s a damn powerful Bard so it’s hard to fish anything out of her,” Minnow said. “Her abilities are too strong for our agents to resist. She asks, they answer. Pretty sure she could convince people that the sea is red and the clouds are green if she wanted.”

Tira nodded. That was a common issue when it came to dealing with vocations that had high persuasive ability. When such individuals grew in strength, Charisma became supernatural in quality, producing all sorts of strange effects.

However, it was not something commonly encountered: at most, it manifested as natural charm, diplomatic skill, mundane leadership, bargaining ability or the talent to entertain others. Anything more aggressive was usually viewed in the same light as magical compulsion, which was a taboo nearly everywhere.

Unlike imperial citizens, their target was not bound by the laws of the Empire and thus would have no qualms wielding her powers against them. In fact, Mind Control spells were employed by the authorities in the Sorcerous Kingdom. Openly displaying antagonism was not an option for the weaker agents in Ijaniya’s support network and the other Assassins were probably no match if she was truly a one-person Adamantite team.

“Let’s take a look, I guess…”

She really didn't want to get involved in some crazy Demihuman orgy. In theory, Assassins didn’t care what methods were used to dispatch their targets as long as they fell within the bounds that their contract and organisational rules laid out for them, but everyone had methods that they would rather not resort to if possible.

They dropped down to the tavern’s level and entered the building. The bowels of Elenel were such that no one would think much of anyone skulking around. Everyone kept to their own business: there were no would-be heroes or upstanding citizens here.

Tira wrinkled her nose at the haze of pipe smoke that greeted them inside. It took all of one second to locate their target. They took a table at the opposite corner of the room and she concealed her presence before giving the woman a good look.

While the aged man sitting across from the Bard openly displayed his lustful appreciation for her, several alarming things commanded Tira’s attention. Foremost was the fact that their target was using some item or skill to prevent attempts at directly gathering information. Tira could sense no strength from her at all. Since the Bard was just sitting there chatting, there was no way to figure out her strength through other indicators like movements, casual actions or Skill use.

Their target wore two rings, a necklace, a set of bracers and a flamboyant outfit that hugged her body in a way that enticed the eyes of those around her. A silvery chain adorned her waist but there were no visible weapons. Normally, Adventurer Bards wore chainmail armour, wielded at least a rapier and a dirk, and carried an instrument of some sort. There was little chance that what Tira noted weren’t all magic items.

Since Bards, like many vocations with ‘thief’ aspects, could bypass magic item restrictions with their skills, many were armed with all manner of them to supplement their skillsets. Tira did not see any scroll cases, holstered wands, bandoliers of alchemical vials or anything else. There were a number of pouches at her waist, however, so it was unlikely that she had no tricks to use.

Tira’s hand made a series of movements as she leaned forward against their table.

–What kind of Bard is she? There’s no gear to tell.

–Claims to be a Dancer.

A Human Dancer as an Adventurer? That made zero sense. Demihuman races with natural weapons and armour could manage combat as Dancers, but Human ones wouldn’t survive. Most were civilian performers. Had she started out training as a Monk and then become a Dancer? Being able to kill her while she was naked was less likely if so.

–This is going to be tough. We’re gonna have to isolate the target somehow and gang up on her.

–You don’t think you can take this Bard out on your own?

–She might look the way she does, but she’s clearly guarded. Her items are mostly out of sight and we can’t plan for every possible contingency. We have to hit her hard and fast so she can’t use any magic items. The Sorcerous Kingdom is supposed to be magically advanced – if she has a teleportation item or some other thing that allows her to escape, that’s a fail for us.

–Right, I’ll get the others then. Where do we meet?

–Outside the eastern naval station.

–That far? That’ll make things more convenient for us, but how will you get her there?

–I’ll figure that part out. Get going.

Minnow rose from her seat, giving Tira one last look before leaving the tavern. It would take about a week for word to reach Ijaniya’s mountain base. Since the target was travelling with a Merchant caravan, they would likely have ample time to prepare.

Tira remained at the table to surreptitiously observe the target. As night fell and the tavern slowly emptied, the old dock worker walked away with a smile. She waited until it looked like the Bard was about to leave before approaching her.

“This seat taken?” Tira asked as she walked up to her table.

“No, I was on my way out.”

Tira blinked. Her intent should have been clear enough, especially with so many empty tables around them.

“What I meant to say was that I’d like to speak with you.”

“It certainly didn’t sound that way,” the Bard frowned prettily. “What is it that you wish to speak about?”

Either this Bard was unbelievably naïve or an airhead. Or it could all be an act. Tira couldn’t tell – there were plenty of powerful idiots in the world so it would be a mistake to assume competence despite apparent ability.

Tira smiled as she took the seat opposite her.

“You were talking with the old man for a long time,” Tira said. “The only thing that old men have are old stories, so you must be doing some research…maybe for a performance? I’m Tia, by the way.”

Tira extended her hand with a warm smile. The Bard stared at it for a moment before looking her in the eye.

“Tia…” she asked, “are you a spy?”

“I used to do that kind of work all the time,” Tira answered. “I’m pretty expensive these days, so not so much anymore.”

Woah!

Tira silently activated a Ninja technique, purging herself of the Bard’s influence. She used another to fortify her mind.

“A-are you one as well?”

Lame. She had been caught off guard and something lame came out. This Bard was ridiculous: she could probably succeed even when she failed.

“I seem to perform many tasks that others might consider spy-like,” the Bard admitted, “so I do wonder about that sometimes. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Tia. I’m Shiver.”

Shiver took Tira’s hand in hers, giving it a gentle shake.

“So, Miss Tia, what was it that you wanted to speak to me about?”

Eh? We’re just going with that?

Tira glanced at their surroundings. No, it was perfectly normal. Whether one was a thief, a murderer, a spy or some other shady vocation, no one cared here.

“Ah, I thought I might have a lead for you. I’m not sure about it, though. I wouldn’t want to waste your time…”

She rested her wrist on the tabletop, tapping her fingers upon it lightly. Shiver stayed still until she seemed to recall something. A stack of silver trade coins appeared between them, then she held up a gold coin between them.

“Are you familiar with this?” The Bard asked.

Tira reached out to take the coin, but Shiver wouldn’t let go of it. It took several good tugs to get it out of her fingers. How strong was this damn Bard? Why was she so reluctant to let her see the thing that she was trying to show her?

She examined the coin, slowly turning it this way and that. It was indeed one of the artefacts that they kept an eye out for. Tira’s frown deepened the longer she looked at it. Finally, she set it down with a shudder, leaning forward with a hushed voice.

“You sure you should be holding on to this?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I think…I think it’s cursed,” Tira said. “I’ve seen people flashing these things around before. They disappear after that.”

Though it might seem that she was trying to deter the Bard, Adventurers tended to expect challenges to stand in the way of their rewards. Presenting the possibility of some intangible danger would take advantage of that behaviour, making it seem like there was indeed something worth their time and effort.

Shiver picked up the coin, eyeing it closely. Then she sniffed it.

“It doesn’t seem cursed.”

Is that something people can smell?

“Then…if you’re not worried about that, you should head east to Far Sound.”

“What will I find there?” Shiver asked.

“It’s a lonely port that hasn’t changed much from the old days,” Tira answered. “I think you’ll have better luck there than anywhere else.”

“Is that so?” The Bard visibly brightened, “Then I suppose I’ll look into it. Thank you for sharing this information with me, Miss Tia.”