I could feel my nerves getting to me. I did not need Danton making a scene outside of the building I was scoping out. If the guards got suspicious about us having an argument, they would command us to move on and perhaps they would even remember my face. Sakura had gone missing, but there was just one issue with him asking me about it.

“I don’t see how that’s my problem, Danton.”

He rolled his eyes and marched up to me with intent, “If it weren’t for you putting all of those silly little ideas in her head, she’d still be here!”

I pushed him back, “Cool it, arsehole. You know how I met her? She was out in the fucking woods killing bandits. This has been brewing for a lot longer than I’ve been around.”

That was clearly news to Danton, who backed away with shock written onto his features. Danton was someone who didn’t consider others feelings or motivations very much. He simply assumed his position of authority over Sakura would be enough for her to follow his orders down to the letter. Kids liked to rebel, and Sakura had a lot of growing up to do. I could understand why her family was worried though. You don’t want a kid her age getting into trouble and interacting with shady characters. I’d even classify myself as one of them.

“Bandits? In the woods? And she killed them?”

“Yes, yes and yes. Now how about you start from the beginning and tell me what’s going on here, what happened when I left Blackwake?”

Danton was getting flustered, “That’s precisely the problem! Nothing! We continued to do as we normally did, and then one day she packed her things and left! Her parents are worried sick, as am I. I never once thought that she could do something like this to those two. What a troublesome daughter.”

It seemed obvious enough to me. Sakura’s thirst for adventure wasn’t being sated and Danton had inflamed that desire by repeatedly rejecting her requests to go out on her own. One thing that immature people hated was being told no. She thought she was making a point. I shrugged, “I don’t think you need to be worried about her safety considering how powerful that sword of her was. Did you just come here to ask me if I’d seen her?”

He slicked back his fringe and grunted, “Yes. That was all I wanted to know.”

“I only came into town earlier this morning. I haven’t seen anything.”

There was a brief pause.

“…Why are you here? The city is in total lockdown right now.”

I turned to leave, “That is none of your business. I thought you wanted nothing to do with me.”

“I don’t, you’ll be the death of me I’m sure. But I need to find her and I’m getting desperate.”

What a prick. I couldn’t abide standing near this guy for much longer. He was liable to agree. He didn’t even say thank you or goodbye before storming past me and departing through the main street in the direction of his home.

“He was agitated,” Tahar mused.

“Yeah, pay him no mind. He’s just superstitious.”

I hoped that it was the last time I’d meet him – but people had a habit of running into me when I least expected it. I returned to my hiding spot and sighed. This was always the dullest part of my work, and Cali wasn’t one for making conversation. Tahar spoke after a few minutes, but it was the type of discussion that made me feel awkward.

“So, you intend to kill this man?”

“…Sure. That’s what she paid for.”

Tahar was disquieted by the idea, “Could you not challenge him to a duel?”

That would make things easier – I had to admit. There was obviously a problem with that though. “We don’t do that here,” I explained, “The only people who humour that kind of thing are folks too old to fight properly. If I walk up to him and ask him for a duel, he’s going to arrest me or something.”

Tahar didn’t know if that was better or worse than she was expecting. Rejecting a contest of strength was, in her eyes, rather disrespectful and a sign of personal weakness. Lord Forester wasn’t going to entertain a duel with me right before leading a major military campaign into enemy territory. He needed to keep himself safe and healthy to do so.

“How odd. I have much to learn of your customs still…”

That she did. Tahar often said things that even left me scratching my head in confusion. Combine that with her tall, muscular body, feather covered forearms and talon-like hands and you had a recipe for a big attention magnet. I didn’t dislike her company despite all that. The trouble never escalated to a point where it interfered with my work. At worst I’d have to explain that she was a stranger to Sull. That was enough to shut down most conversations.

“I suppose you don’t know much about war,” I concluded.

Tahar patted her chest, “No, we have fought and died before; but the tribes are small, and unified in blood and spirit. I have not seen a fight such as this. Where do they find all of these warriors?”

I chuckled, “When there’s a lot of people living here, you need an equally huge army to match. There’s no shortage of people willing to put their lives on the line to earn some money. This is warfare on an industrial scale. Fought for resources, pride and ideology.”

“Industrial?” She’d never heard that word before. I had no intent of delving deep into what it really meant.

“What I mean is that civilization here on Sull is more ‘advanced’ than in Versia. In some respects that only means that there is more barbarism. A simple life isn’t something to be ashamed of. When things get too complicated you get people like me…”

“So in ‘industrial war,’ killing the enemy commander is normal?”

“If they can – they do. It makes organising such a huge number of troops more difficult. It can turn the tide of a war in your favour.”

Her face twisted, “I see. But it does feel wrong to do such an… underhanded strategy.”

Well, I wasn’t going to argue on that point. She was right. It was extremely underhanded, but that was war. The gloves were off and when lives were on the line people were willing to do anything to get the advantage.

“Your speaking skills are improving rapidly,” Cali commented after that display of linguistic proficiency. I would have hoped so given how much time Tahar dedicated to learning our language. Every night she and Cali would go through a rote routine of practice, exploration and discussion on any and all subjects they could think of. The next meeting would be about war and society.

I kept my eyes glued to the door and stayed put.

I counted the hours as they went. The sun had started to disappear beyond the horizon, bathing the entire city in a deep orange glow. My patience was rewarded, eventually. The street had died down in traffic – which meant that the precession of guardsmen who approached the building that evening couldn’t be missed.

In the centre of it all was the object of my enmity, Lord Forester himself.

He didn’t speak a word or spare a glance to anything or anyone around him. He marched up to the front door, knocked thrice, and was allowed entry into the building. Four guards accompanied him inside, while the other four marched onwards, presumably to return to their assigned lodgings now that the busy part of the day was done with.

That was going to be problematic. Four guards in such an enclosed space would make sneaking through almost impossible. The formation that marched around him when he arrived also indicated that they were being extremely careful with his movements. He didn’t go anywhere he didn’t need to, and he was always covered on all sides by armed escorts. Picking him off wasn’t a realistic possibility.

Grasping for straws, the only thing I could conclude was that I needed to break in and hope that everyone inside was caught napping. If only one or two of the guards were up, I could sneak past them or knock them out, kill Forester, and escape without anyone being any the wiser. After taking Cali and Tahar for a drink and something to eat, I handed Cali my helmet and bag over the table.

“Alright. I’m doing this while I have the chance. Hold onto these for me,” I didn’t want them making a racket while I was inside. Before I gave away my rucksack, I retrieved a black mask that I kept for incognito jobs. It was a basic woollen sack with a long, rounded eye-slit cut into it with a pair of scissors. It did what it was meant to, but it wasn’t comfortable to wear.

I also considered giving her Stigma, but I waned on that idea after a moment of thought. If things went to hell I didn’t want to be caught without my best and most effective trump card. Her length and heft would make sneaking a little more difficult but the leather sheath around my back kept her quiet for the most part.

For the killing blow, I only had her, the precursor items I stole, or my utility dagger. Draining Forester for his life energy would be satisfying and he’d also come with a repertoire of useful skills, but it would make it very obvious who and what did the killing. I wanted to avoid things that could connect me to the crime scene. Or did I? I was already a dead man walking. If they found me with a cursed weapon in my possession my life would be forfeit regardless.

I grunted. I could make that decision later. The bar was closing up. I crossed my fingers in the hopes of finding a house filled with sleeping soldiers.

“What do you want us to do, Ren?” Cali asked as she reached over to take my belongings, “We could prepare a distraction for you.”

“No, if we make a lot of noise more guards will come to check it out. To be honest, the only thing I can ask you to do is stay out of the way for this one.”

If Cali was offended by the suggestion, she didn’t show it. I assumed her practical mindset meant that she didn’t find the plan objectionable. She had a set of specific skills and those skills weren’t of use to me at that present moment. Tahar wasn’t on board with killing Forester from the start, so she kept her peace too.

“Before I forget, take this too.” I gave over my money pouch. Didn’t want to drop any of that if I had to make a run for it. I offered one last word of warning, “You better not steal that.”

“Why would I ever do such a thing?” Cali said almost mockingly.

With everything in order and my mind mentally prepared for the task, I stood from the table and stretched my legs. This was going to be a tough one, but I’d gotten out of some real jams recently and done things I’d have never thought possible too. It was time to shift the tides of this war in the Federation’s favour. Forester was a dead man, he just didn’t know it yet.