I was extremely remiss to follow along with a plan cooked up by Adelbern again. I didn't trust him, but the circumstances of my infiltration of the city had forced my hand. Everyone with a sharp blade and working legs was looking for me now. The only way I was going to get into a military camp was with his disguise. On the flip side he was eager to have my assistance in eliminating Lord Forester. It'd shore up his position as the 'pet project' of the Absolver and weaken the militarist faction in one fell swoop. We struck a compromise, I'd be the one calling the shots while we were in the camp.
Though in reality, all I wanted was for him to hang back and shut up. He was just my ticket in.
The compound we were heading into was the main HQ of the operation into the Federation. It was much larger than any of the others, and several smaller temporary lodgings connected to it to form an even larger structure. The primary purpose of the base was logistics and planning. Forester was confident that the Federation couldn't muster a force large enough for a counter-attack, especially this deep into their territory. Blackwake hadn't changed hands in hundreds of years.
As it was a logistics hub much of the space outside the city had turned into a temporary warehouse for thousands of wooden crates and barrels of all shapes and sizes. They contained everything that an army would need to launch a successful assault from weapons to food to armour and more. One of the piles was so high and precarious that it could be seen poking over the top of the pikes that surrounded it.
The ground beneath was muddy thanks to the movement of feet and wheels, these makeshift pathways were uneven and difficult to walk on. These forcefully made routes sat between row upon row of tents of various shapes and sizes. Many of them flew the yellow banner of Sull, while a few were designated as Inquisition lodgings and had their coat of arms instead.
I bristled underneath the Inquisitor armour that Adelbern had given me. It was adequate, but less useful than the Stormsteel armour that had been so lovingly crafted for me by a total stranger. The worst part was it hadn't been sized up for me. These were the mass-produced pieces that a squire would expect to be given. A tin pot helmet with a connected mask that covered the face, a red-iron chest piece and matching gauntlets, and a beige tabard that drooped down over my crotch.
The guards at the entrance didn't even stop us. My face was hidden completely, and Adel had even gone to the effort of finding me some clean clothes and a sheath that covered Stigma's unusual shape from view. They weren't going to stop an Inquisitor when he was decked out in his full furry collar, cape, and furious expression.
"What kind of rank do you have anyway?" I asked under my breath as we waited for a horse drawn cart to pass through in front of us.
"Officially I'm only a Captain. But rumours spread fast – they know I'm in the Absolver's pocket."
"So you can throw your weight around a little?"
He tilted his head to the side, "With people who care about the Absolver's opinion, yes. That won't work on Lord Forester or Petty King John. We will be able to roam the camp as we please given a reasonable explanation for our movements. It is doubtful any will dare question us."
This was what life was like on the other side. A sense of security just from wearing red armour and holding your head high like a peacock. The first step in my second attempt to kill Forester was finding his tent. I was still kicking myself for falling for such a basic trick with the houses in the city. I wasn't going to let him make a fool of me again.
During the trip into the centre camp, I paid close attention to the surrounding area for potential escape routes should the worst happen. Adelbern could still easily be playing a long con on me, though that possibility had lost some steam with his retrieval of my unconscious body. He could have finished me off then and there – or just left me to bleed out in the streets. I was still useful to him and the Absolver, so they kept me around. When Forester was dead that could change.
The crates were dropped off by cart and corralled into large open yards surrounded by rope fences. They formed artificial mazes, with tents of the periphery wherever space could be spared. As we rounded the corner of one of them, we finally met eyes with our target. Adelbern had done some cursory research and discovered that this was the command and control area. A large structure consisting of three suspended tents and some more permanent foundations had been set down there.
"That must be the place," he assumed.
"Should be easy to cut a hole in that cloth and make our own entrance."
The big challenge was slipping past the security detail. Forester may have talked a big game, but the paranoia was real. They were posted on every corner and side. Some of the normal guardsmen had been replaced by Inquisitors too – who were wearing armour similar to mine. John was around and he wasn't going to let his man on the inside bite it quite so soon. There was no approach that wasn't being watched by a pair of eyes.
But as the sun was already starting to set, the lights were already lit. Out of consideration for the flammable materials inside of the camp all of the lights were made from glass and metal. The problem was that they were much more expensive than your normal garden variety torches or braziers. They were placed sparingly along the tracks. The people inside of the tents would have to make do with the light coming down from the moon above, or their own personal methods of providing illumination.
It was perfect for me. I was an expert thief and even a patchy darkness like this could allow me to get away with murder, both literally and figuratively. I could slip into the shadows using my skills and get past the guards, hop up onto the foundation and roll under the wall. Then I needed to find Forester, stab him a few times, maybe eat his soul, and get out of there.
My planning was interrupted by the arrival of an unwanted person, "Inquisitor!" Damn it. It was the officer who busted into the bar back then again. He waved Adel over, and when he didn't budge he started calling out to him. "Inquisitor, please come here for a moment!" I hovered back behind Adelbern as he marched over to meet him. I didn't want the guy recognising me through the slit in my visor.
"What is it?"
"I'm Captain Herald. I was just making myself known to the Inquisitors guarding the Lord's tent."
Adelbern tried to wriggle out of it, "I'm not guarding the tent. I was just passing by."
Herald paused and studied his appearance, "Oh. I don't recognise you. I suppose you're correct. Who are you attached to?"
"Nobody. I work independently on behalf of the Absolver."
"I… did not realise that the Absolver did such a thing."
"It is nothing to concern yourself with. I am just one member of a force designed to track and retrieve corrupting objects. We can move quickly and with a low profile when we are alone."
Herald peered around Adelbern's shoulder to me, "And this squire?"
"Of course – I do have the authority to ask for companionship when I require it."
"Teaching them humility I see! Good – too many of these men are idle fools, pampered by low expectations. The value of hard work is lost on them unless you show them the right way."
Hilarious. I was sure that this guy was pulling his weight and not just barking orders at demoralised conscripts. Adel nodded along with his bluster to try and push him away, "Yes, quite right. We have some business to attend to. If you'll excuse us."
He smiled in an attempt to butter him up, "Of course, don't mind me." He turned and headed back through into the middle tent, leaving us alone again. He was trying to curry some favour with the inquisitors. I don't know why. They didn't usually recruit people from outside of the organisation, and he wasn't presenting himself as a skilled commander of men at that.
"We know where he's staying now. Some of these men have loose lips, don't they?" Adel chuckled wearily. I was about to shit myself. The guy didn't pose any real threat to me personally, but if he started screeching about a wanted criminal wandering around in a squire's armour, the entire camp would turn on me like a hive of angry bees. Rampage or no, I didn't stand a chance versus hundreds of soldiers.
"I thought that guy would be a lot more paranoid about it. He doesn't seem to be the best and brightest."
Adel observed the tent for a while longer; "They'll have guards on the inside too, I assume. Though Forester will demand that they do not remain within his sleeping quarters. He's a man who likes his privacy."
"So what we need to do is break straight through into his bedroom. We just need to learn what side it's on."
"We can't go walking in without permission, even if I am here on the Absolver's behalf."
"Why not?"
"It's an uneasy alliance at best. The two sides rely on each other for influence and force, but they do not want to give up their command and authority to get it. As intertwined as the two sides are they still operate separately. Plus – it would be very suspicious."
Right on all counts. We needed to minimise how many people we spoke to. We circled the area a few times to get a proper count on the guards outside. Before the light went completely the previous shift was rotated for another. Those poor sods would be on night watch. The Inquisitors remained in place as well, though they were on a different pattern to Forester's men.
"There really is no approach where someone isn't watching."
"What do you want to do?"
I waved it off, "This back side only has his guards. They'll be less sharp than the Inquisitors."
We picked our spot outside of the tent and waited. The movement of the carts and the horses pulling them had ended. That comparative silence made it easier to hear what was going on inside through the cloth walls. These places were terrible for privacy. Adel kept his ear to the ground for me and reached a conclusion in due course as the HQ went quiet.
"I think he's on the left side from here."
"Alright. Leave this one to me."
I cast [Shadow Walk] and started counting down the seconds in my head. This was going to get messy. I stuck to the long strands of darkness that were created by the spotty lighting coverage and approached the side of the tent, slipping between the two guards who were standing watch. I held my breath and stepped up onto the ledge. Nobody seemed to notice the sound of my armour or weapon rubbing against each other.
The hooks for the wall were clamped onto planks that had been run around a wooden foundation. They were unsecured, so it was simple to remove one of them and peer under the edge. I pushed my cheek into the ground and tried to assess the situation. There were no visible feet in the room. Four table legs stood in the centre. There was a chest too. On the left side there was a bed. Jackpot.
I shimmied under and scanned the room as quickly as I could. There was a lump under the covers of the cot. Whoever it was – they were fast asleep. I still had plenty of time on my Shadow Walk to kill him and get out again. As I closed in and drew Stigma, I celebrated to myself. It was Lord Forester alright. Was this too easy? Maybe. But things like this happened from time to time. A dash of overconfidence could lead people to make silly decisions. There was always the chance that the person on the other end would screw up.
I couldn't believe we had located him so easily. There he was. Lord Forester. Sleeping soundly and completely unaware of what was about to happen to him. I could only see his head and neck under the dense covers draped over his body. The chill of the night was a cruel mistress. In this case – frostbite wasn't what he needed to worry about. Just like so many other lives, his would end quickly and seemingly pointlessly. He'd never get to fulfil his grand aspirations for conquest, or see the consequences of his actions.
I held Stigma between my palms and positioned myself over his body from the side. I needed to kill him quickly and quietly. There was no time to delay or consider things further. I pushed the blade down into his neck using both hands and sliced through his windpipe. There was a vanishingly brief moment of struggle from the man before his nerves were disconnected. Stigma had cut clean through his neck.
Blood seeped through the clean wound and into the linen below. I stepped back and captured the image in my mind. It was a kinder way to go than the type of thing he'd inflicted on the people in the Bend, that was for sure. Bastards like this never got to experience the pain they doled out to others. Still – another small piece of revenge for some of my co-workers who had died under his zealous watch.
And that was it. He was dead.
He didn't even know it had happened. This wasn't a movie. This was how military assasinations really went. I'd abused a connection to get inside of his private quarters and cut his neck. Taking a chance, I stabbed him once more for good measure and consumed what I could. With that morbid task done, I headed back out the way I came – not even bothering to re-hook the side of the tent. My heart was racing as the last few seconds of Shadow Walk ticked down.
Five seconds left.
As I finally got back to Adelbern's side, the skill finally wore off. I reappeared next to him. He nearly jumped out of his damn armour in shock. He clutched his chest with his hand and exhaled, "Scheiße! Where did you come from?"
"Trade secret."
His eyes drifted down to my blood splattered gauntlets, "Alright. It's done. Let's go."
We turned and were away from the crime scene shortly thereafter. The entire thing had happened within minutes, and nobody was none the wiser about it. Sometimes the simplest plans worked best. They were in for a terrible surprise when they investigated his quarters the next morning. What I would pay to see the look on their faces when they found his decapitated head lying in bed.