"Beyond the line of sanity and instinct. The mask you wear, distorts the meaning of their actions."
Horse-shoes and blocks of gold. The sound of the impact of these two things was repeated in disamenity at the entrance to the southern gate of the great wall of Dendalion's capital city. A row of gold-carrying wagons waited patiently their turn to enter the great golden city.
Von and Sophie waited their turn to enter. Patiently they drove the wagon a few meters ahead as the other transporters entered. However, this infiltration was not going to be so easy.
Cermina's two assassins were already expecting the unexpected, even though the problem ahead of them was quite predictable.
The three guards at the gate were asking for the IDs of each carrier. For Von, this would not have been a problem, since his face was unknown to most of the Verulian government, but Sophie had her picture stamped on every corner of the gold country.
A professional assassin with emerald green eyes and red hair that sometimes resembled blood, she would be easily recognized anywhere she appeared. This was the big problem.
The moment the guards asked them to raise their helmet visors, at best, the two assassins would be prisoners of war.
-It looks like we have a problem here, Sophie.- Von laughed as he said the sentence. He appeared to be quite calm about the situation.
-It was so obvious that this was going to happen. How come we didn't think of it?- On the other hand, Sophie couldn't hide the dissatisfaction in her voice.
-It's fine. There are still four wagons before us. - Extremely concentrated on something that was only occurring in his mind, Von tried to reassure the redhead.
-Your calmness is stressing me out, Von. -
While they were talking, two more wagons came in.
-I have no reason to lose my temper, Sophie. As I said, everything is fine.
- Give me concrete reasons not to worry, and I promise to stop talking. - Although the helmet hid Sophie's face, Von knew that the redhead's gaze was irritated.
Another wagon came in.
-The Deep Spear ship, although one of the biggest in all of Verulian, is also one of the fastest. However, when we sailed with it, we did not use 20% of its full sailing potential to avoid drawing attention to ourselves in the seas of Gran Tlaboc.
-And what does the Deep Spear ship have to do with our current situation? - Sophie's fervent snorting could be heard from beneath her helmet.
-Considering the time it takes to travel from Gran Tlaboc to Innsmouth, increasing the Deep Spear's navigational potential by five times, and comparing it to the distance from Innsmouth to the port of Dendalion, I believe war will break out at any moment. -
Sophie threatened to answer, but shut up the moment she noticed the wagon moving. They would be next.
A Dendaliao soldier approached.
-Show your IDs.- the soldier ordered.
-Sure, just wait a moment so I can get it.- Von pretended to look for something in the brown bag that lay between him and Sophie.
It had only been fifteen seconds of interaction with the soldier. For Sophie, those fifteen seconds seemed like hours. The redhead's anxiety increased to the point that she was considering drawing a blade at that moment and killing all the soldiers she saw in front of her.
-Just one more second, sir.- Von tried to delay the soldier as he continued to pretend to look for identification.
Many might say that the assassins were saved by the gong, but that would be saying that what happened had not been planned. And it was.
The sound of the city's trumpets and sirens began to echo and rock every structure in the city. Dendalion was officially under attack.
The horses in the wagons were annoyed by the noise, to the point where they moved restlessly.
-THE PORT IS UNDER ATTACK! SOLDIERS MOVE TO THE NORTH-NORTHEAST GATE.-Another Dendalian officer ordered the other soldiers to move.
-The Dendalian guards ordered the carriers to quickly enter the gates and go straight to the sheds where the horses and carts were kept.
Quickly, Von, Sophie and the other carriers began to drive their carts disorderly through the gates of Dendalion.
The Cerminas assassins followed the other wagons into the sheds, still maintaining their disguises.
-It's not possible that you planned all this, Von.- Sophie lifted her visor to breathe better. Her face didn't hide the relief she felt.
- I have to confess that I counted a little on luck too.- The BloodHound kept his focus on leading the horses. They were already approaching the sheds.
Minutes passed and Von and Sophie were already inside the sheds. Several transporters were leaving their carts and running towards the north gate. All government employees of Dendalion were required to have military training, and in the face of confrontation, they were obliged to give their lives for their country. This explained why they gave armor and helmets to the carriers.
Properly disguised, and now within the walls of the city-state of Dendalion. Von and Sophie were going the opposite way from the other soldiers. They would go directly to the golden palace.
The scene in that city was chaotic. The destruction of the war was still approaching the walls, but the desperation of the Dendalian citizens was evident. Children lost from their mothers running around disoriented, soldiers and citizens trying to get by. Shopkeepers closing their establishments while knocking their products to the ground, not caring about the damage. In the end, everyone involved in this chaos was human.
Despite the Dendalians' generalized visual pollution of worry and self-pity, Von and Sophie walked street by street, corner by corner, until they reached the back gate of the Asten Palace.
Before the two guards at the gates could bar the two assassins from entering, with one swift and assertive movement, Sophie pulled out of her brown pouch four sharp needles and threw them into the hollows of the two guards' helmets, blinding them.
As the two guards screamed in pain and despair at having their eyes pierced by needles, Von and Sophie entered the back doors of the palace and headed for the kitchen.
-Let's split up and hunt them down individually, Von. - The pleasure and adrenaline of the hunt was all over Sophie's beautiful face.
-Isn't it more probable that the king and queen are together? -Von did not understand Sophie's line of reasoning.
-No. It is common for noble families to separate their relatives when they are under attack. This increases the chances of perpetuating the legacy. If one is found, the other has a better chance of surviving. - The confident way the redhead spoke, and the way her green eyes sparkled with the pleasure of hunting, made Sophie the most beautiful woman in the world from Von's perspective.
"When one sadist meets another, the reason hell exists becomes questionable."
Von nodded, agreeing with Sophie's idea. However, as he watched her retreat from that place without looking back or saying goodbye, he understood everything. Sophie didn't need Von, in fact, she never had. Although he had saved her life a few times, she had also saved his. They were different. They had a different way of conducting their lives. In different times. In different ways. Being killers made them alike, but their behaviors highlighted the fate of the both of them. It would never work out.
Again Von was lost in thought. Always about Sophie. The world was not just about her and he knew this, but knowing this fact did not change his emotions. And for Von, his emotions had always been his worst enemies.
A loud explosion roused him from his thoughts. He didn't know how or where, but he was sure that the Cermina army had done something.
Back to full consciousness, Von realized that he had been standing in that white and golden kitchen for several minutes.
The assassin sighed deeply and brought his right hand to his neck, taking the necklace General Norgard had given him and analyzing it.
Von still wouldn't know why he had received that "dog collar", but wearing it felt extremely familiar and comfortable. As if it was a part of him. Like it had always been a part of him.
The Bloodhound took a deep breath and let go of the necklace. He had waited long enough. Now it was time to hunt.