It was a moonless night, the air was heavy and thunder could be heard rumbling in the distance. In a walled city that was filled with life and light despite nature's gloominess. A hooded woman walked down a particular dark alley with quick but measured steps.
Her face was barely visible under the dark hood and her leather padded boots made no sound as she passed through the city with a small woven basket held in her hand. She soon reached a small wooden house on the outskirts of the city.
She paused slightly at the entrance to take note of her surroundings before entering the house.
"Mama!" the voice of a young girl immediately entered her ears immediately she closed the door. The woman smiled warmly and took down her hood revealing a beautiful woman with short brown hair and warm brown eyes.
She hugged the small figure than ran towards her as her smile widened. "Were you bored my little flower?"
"Mhmm" the girl shook her head as she looked up at her mother. She had her mother's features and light brown eyes, the only difference was her golden blonde hair.
The girl was easily attracted by the small basket and she was quick to ask her mother. "You got them for me?"
The woman laughed as she handed her the basket. "Of course, my little flower"
The girl cheered as she took the basket and looked at the contents. It contained herbs of different types and colors. The little girl that was no older than 10 started mumbling to herself a she identified all the herbs in the basket. "This should be Heryi, Jret mushrooms, and there is some fruit of rook…."
The woman looked at her daughter's focused face for a moment and smiled before moving to the only room in the building. This room was locked so she brought out a key and opened it up, entered and locked it behind her.
The room was dark and she reached out her hand to a table nearby that had a candle. Thinking of her daughter again, she smiled. Her daughter was definitely a genius! She was just 9 and she had shown such talent for alchemy that would surely shock masters out there.
Her daughter had chosen such a wonderful path for herself at such an early age and was perfect at it, any parent would be proud! As for her on the other hand,
She had grabbed the candle and with the spark of a small tool in her hand lit up the flame. The wavering light was quick to illuminate the small room and the sight of numerous weapons lined up against the walls. There were swords, small daggers, crossbows, throwing knives and needles. There was a table covered with bottles filled with an assortment of powders, liquids and dangerous looking herbs.
Although she was also considered good at alchemy, hers was of a different kind. Although she was happy her daughter had taken the path of life, she on the other hand was one who had long traversed the path of death!
The woman left the room after a few minutes still wearing her black hood with nothing looking amiss except this time, she pulled along a heavy wooden box that was shut with a complicated lock.
She met her daughter outside in the midst of concocting. The mixture in her hand took on different shades of green before they finally started bubbling furiously and emitted steam. The girl had a concentrated look on her small face as beads of sweat started pouring out.
The woman took out a small white handkerchief from within her clothes before bending down beside her and gently wiped her face with a smile. After a while, the steam died down and a foggy bluish green pill landed in a plate in front of her.
The girl smiled happily as she took the pill and presented it to her mother. "Mama, I made you a pill. It will save you when you are injured"
The woman took the pill and looked at it closely. It was flawed and impure and would probably cause problems if ingested but it still made her happy. She brought out a small glass bottle from underneath her clothes and put the pill inside.
"Such a wonderful pill, mama will keep it close to her" she then kept the bottle in a small pocket near her chest.
The girl smiled before suddenly looking at the box beside her mother. "Are we travelling again mama?" she seemed excited.
"Yes my little flower, we will be going south to a place with lots of beautiful flowers just like you" the girl blushed at her answer.
"But mama has to go take care of something first, be a good girl while you wait for mama okay?" the woman left the box by the door as she walked out.
"Okay mama! I will make you another pill before you come back!" the woman smiled at her as she locked the door and left. But immediately she was outside, her demeanor took a drastic turn as the smile was instantly wiped from her face.
Her eyes narrowed as she looked about and she emanated a frightful chilly aura and searched for any sign of danger. Not finding anything, she quietly took a road that would lead her to the middle of the city.
As she entered a dark alley and put up her hood, she suddenly seemed to vanish as if all traces of her was instantly wiped out of existence.
In the middle of the city where only those of high class and nobility could set their eyes upon. An elaborate mansion made from a type of gray marble sat underneath the stormy sky. Light flashed out from the high glass windows of the building and figures of guards could be seen patrolling the elegant compound and gardens that surround the house.
In a rather large room that was located at the left wing of the mansion, three figures could be seen conversing in low tones. The room seemed to have been meant for meetings as there was a long wooden table carved elegantly with similar high back chairs that surround it.
The table was covered in expensive silk, the ground covered in a soft rug made from the fur of powerful magic beasts and the walls covered in beautiful paintings that really showed the wealth of the owner of the house.
A middle aged man with slick black hair and an elegant mustache sat at the head of the table. He was wearing loose silk robes that seemed as if he was preparing for bed before been brought here and his deep gray eyes looked calm as he sat quietly.
Beside him was a man with dark brown hair with some stubble growing on his chin. He was wearing some type of powerful looking leather armor and he had a sword sitting at his hip. His entire outfit was a dull green and his green eyes were relaxed but he had a vigilant stance as he watched the proceedings.
And pacing down the length of the table was a younger man who seemed to resemble the older man sitting down a lot. He had short black hair and signs of a mustache could be seen emerging atop his lips. He wore a pair of dark trousers and an open vest with short sleeves.
"She has already assassinated Duke Helmin but I convinced his family to cover it up. The others weren't that easy, with the way things are going the city lord would soon notice and our secrets would be forced into the light!" the young man seemed really scared as he talked.
The man who looked like a warrior answered him with a deep but silent voice. "Young lord, we have our best men patrolling the house and I would be here standing vigilantly throughout the night. By this time tomorrow you would be half way across the kingdom in you lands to the west, it shall be fine."
"No it shall not be fine!!! This woman is a murderer! An assassin! She could kill us in our sleep without us knowing how! We…we need to do better than this!" the man was now getting hysterical.
"So what do you suggest son? Since you now have no trust in my personal guard." The old man's voice echoed out as he stared his son in the eye. Although his voice was calm, you could trace the hint of disappointment in them.
At this statement, the son jumped up as he leaned closer to his father. "You see father, I heard about this man. They say he is very powerful and he masters the art of the dead"
"A necromancer!? You would sully his lordship's house with a man of filth!?" the warrior showed his disgust and disagreement.
"Shut your mouth when I am speaking to my father!" the son furiously turned on him.
"So you want to hire a necromancer? And what guarantee does he have that he would solve our problem?" the old man gave his warrior a side glance to tell him to stand down before turning back to his son.
His son's gaze was getting a bit insane now, it seemed that fear had eaten up the little confidence his son had in himself. The old man couldn't help but shake his head silently in disappointment.
"Well you see father, it is not a matter of wanting to but I have alr…..GHUCK!!!" his son, who was speaking rapidly and about to lay down his plans suddenly grabbed his neck with a small gurgle.
The warrior instantly drew his sword and pulled the old man down under the table as he looked around carefully.
"I could never tolerate idiots" a smooth silky voice came from above.
The warrior raised his head and there she was, a figure covered in a black hood hanging from the ceiling of the high room in defiance of gravity. The woman flicked her fingers and three transparent needles flew towards the men only to have them cut down by the warrior.
Without a sound, the woman dropped down and landed silently on the other end of the table. "Don't bother calling for your men, they are all dead"
"Gehehahaha!" the old man suddenly laughed out loud.
"I was disappointed in my son for fearing you so much and now here he is dead, and unable to gloat about how right he was" the old man crawled out from under the table despite the disapproval of the warrior as he spoke out.
"I heard the rumors, even since before we decided to contract you. The assassin that was as silent and deadly as the most venomous snake and as spry and nimble as the fastest doe. I won't lie, I truly regret the commission we put to you" the assassin stood silently without making a sound as she stared at the emerging figure of the old man
"You have killed my associates one by one regardless of whatever measures they took and now you have come for the last one." the old man slowly stood up but was quickly pushed behind by the warrior to protect him.
The assassin looked at the old man's face and saw there were now no signs of laughter present, he asked with a somber voice. "You wish to take my life, assassin?"