May 16, 2018 Late Evening: Shyler Benton's ship pulled up to the docks of Cirius. This was the realm of the Gnolls; it is true there were other species that dwelled within it (trolls, yeti and even a small contingent of mountain dwarves) but the Gnolls were the primary species of consequence.
Shyler was not a short person standing nearly six feet tall but comparing him to the Gnolls located here, he felt quite short. He noticed this all too keenly as he was quietly ushered down a back undisclosed tunnel to meet with Prime Minister Vorpal and Head Mage Sytax.
It was three months ago almost to the day, that Shyler had supplied the Gnolls with the Ancient Text written by Merlin.
Of course, the Emperor of the Dylonian's did not know this yet as he thought they were not yet stolen.
There were four sects of Gnolls all of which lived peacefully with each other despite not always agreeing with one another. The prime minister was from the mountain sect called the Jadai. These were by far the most political of the sects. It was in their sect that government and political ideas reigned supreme. It was therefore no surprise that nine out of the last ten Prime Ministers came from the Jadai Sect.
It was also no secret to anyone within the Minlavian Council that the Jadai sometimes disagreed with the council's ways of doing things. They believed in a much more rigid form of government then the laissez faire type of government that the council often employed.
This was not a total disagreement however, as the prime minister was one of the principal members of the council.
Shyler smiled as he extended his hand to shake that of the Vorpal and Sytax. The head mage was from the lowland regions of the Nadai Sect. This was a very intellectual sect that valued exploration and magic as a way of life. It's no surprise that some of the realms top mages and wizards came from this sect, including the famed Theolus Aponchia himself.
"Well, I will get right to the point, the Council Leader has asked I visit to find out how the training of the new magical recruits is going, she wants me to provide a full report," the assassin said in a serious tone.
The Gnolls ran the largest magical training facility in all the realms and the council has requested that the race take it upon themselves to train all of the magical recruits, much the way the Magus was training young Kyjus. The assassin was very curious to their response.
Sytax hiked up his pants as he rounded the table, I will not lie to you Assassin Benton, Theolus was a brilliant Magical Leader, his loss was greatly felt by the Magical academy. Even by our standards, his interpretations of the magical realm were brilliant beyond belief. Only his instructor Merlin grasped its concepts more directly than he. However, having said that I can tell you we are making excellent progress with our new recruits and should be ready within the deadline set by Leader Czelak. The information you need to convey to her resides within this magical crystal. It will explain everything to the Council Leader," Sytax said as he handed a small smooth green gem to him.
Sytax then turned and walked toward the Prime Minister. He winked to the prime minister which Shyler felt was odd, but he said nothing as he felt he was most likely not meant to have seen it in the first place.
"One other thing" the Prime Minister said as the assassin had turned to leave. "The gem is protected if it is tampered with it will disintegrate and the and the information Czelak wants will be lost within it. I regret we have to take such precautionary measures, but the Council Leader has said trust no one in these encounters and I am afraid you are included in that," the Prime Minister responded.
The assassin nodded that he understood. The prime minister and Sytax could not know that he was privy to all of the information being gathered, nor could they know he was responsible for generating the resistance to the council. He smiled at the ironies of it all.
"Would you like an escort back to your ship," the Prime Minister asked.
"Sorry but no I have other business to attend to before I take my leave. My thanks for the offer," he said as he tipped his hat in their direction.
"Perhaps an escort to your other business, the streets of Pudadesco (capital city on Cirius) can be quite tricky," the prime minister said even knowing the answer even before he asked that the question.
"Thanks, I can manage," the assassin said somewhat irritated by the turn of events in the conversation.
"Shall I have him tailed," a Gnoll that just entered the room said to the prime minister after Benton was out of ear shot. However, Council Leader Czelak made it no mystery that Shyler was to have his total cooperation. She also made it very clear that this was one of the most skilled assassins she had ever seen. She let the conversation end on that note, but he had gotten the message.
"No, my friend, I know you have supreme confidence in the assassins that report to you, but I fear this man is beyond our capabilities. He will undoubtedly know that we are following him and will alert the council leader of this. I do not want to be in Czelak's disfavor in the upcoming months as I feel partially responsible for the events that are too unfold. Everything must go off without a hitch and the plans must be executed perfectly if I am to be the new Council Leader," the Prime Minister said with a smile.
The other two nodded their agreement and returned the smile.
* * * *
Shyler turned down a section of road that very few ventured and for good reason. This was the dock part of town where merchant ships entered port. This meant some of the lowest of the low pirates and other varieties of scum were always found wandering about. This would be certain trouble for someone who was naïve to this world and all that was in it. To parade around the dock streets alone was seldom a wise move.
Luckily for Assassin Benton he was well versed with the ways of this world. And even more luckily for those on the docks most knew this particular assassin and were smart enough to leave well enough alone, well at least most were anyway.
Out of one of the alleyways off to his left Shyler caught signs of movement and went on the alert. Minutes later five humanoid creatures of various races moved from an adjacent alley out into the street.
"It is not wise for a creature so small and unprotected to be wandering the streets without an escort. For a fee we can be that escort," the tall Gnoll said with a grin.
Shyler looked the group over, it was obvious from the looks of them they had been in many an encounter before. Their leader was a Gnoll from the Gadai sect of Gnolls (where most of the mercenaries, warriors and soldiers came from). He had scars about his face and arms. There were two Dwarves, a Human and a Hybonian within the group all scarred and most likely at least somewhat skilled with the weapons they brandished.
"I would hardly consider myself small and I am most certainly not unprotected," the assassin said with a bit of an evil smile.
A few of the pirates not understanding the meaning of the last statement looked around to see if there was any help to be forthcoming and when they could see nothing in the shadows, they directed their attention back to the matter at hand.
"I have heard of you Assassin Benton," the Gnoll said with a snarl.
The human and one of the dwarves looked at each other with concern.
"Then you should know I am not one to be trifled with then, Gnobluk", Assassin Benton responded for he too knew the nature of the Gnoll that stood before him.
"Ahh, you know of me then," the Gnoll rasped teasingly as he withdrew his sword and dagger.
The others followed their leader's direction as they too withdrew their weapons.
"It's a pity, I had hoped you were the smart one in the family Gnobluk. Your brother had the same look on his face when I rammed my sword, this sword," he said as he pulled his sword out and nodded in its direction, "through his chest."
"He too was overconfident in he and his thugs abilities. I had rather hoped better from you," Assassin Benton said as he slowly backed out of the middle parts of the street so that he was closer to one of the buildings.
He was not about to get surrounded by these goons, having something near his back preventing this gave him great comfort.
With a snarl of outrage, the gnoll shouted at his men, "get him you band of merciless scum."
The Hybonian made his move first thinking that he would just overwhelm the much smaller human. That was often an error of those that are larger in stature especially if they believe themselves to be gifted in battle, of which all Rock-Hybs seemed to be a part of that group.
The large bull like creature brought his double-bladed axe to bear as he swung in a downward arc towards Assassin Benton. The beast snarled as the axe whisked by its intended target.
Assassin Benton sidestepped the initial assault and was glad for it when he saw the axe smash the street tearing a chunk of it up upon impact.
The two dwarves then dove into the mix preventing Shyler from taking any direct action against the Hybonian. The human and the Gnoll leader could not hope to enter the fray as the area near the assassin was already too congested with weapon-play.
The Gnolls smile began and continued to dissipate the longer that Shyler lived. He parried each attack with sword or dagger and dodged any attacks he did not have the strength to parry.
One of the Dwarves hand axes got very close to the assassin as it clipped his shoulder. The assassin shrugged off the blow as it was part of his greater plan. Seeing blood did nothing to the two disciplined dwarves as they knew that the last draw of blood was far more important than the first.
Their Hybonian friend was not as disciplined or as smart as they, however. When he saw the assassin drop to one knee and stagger, just the bait the assassin had hoped to portray, the behemoth of a creature quickly raised his axe for the killing blow.
The assassin waited as long as he could before he withdrew off to the left. The axe once again clanged harmlessly to the ground. The assassin was up in an instant, directly across from one of the dwarves. This was the shield and battle axe wielder, so Benton rolled this way was by design.
If he had rolled to the other side, he would have to have tried to block a hand axe and dagger and attack the large Hybonian with a small dagger. By going to his left, he could deflect the upcoming battle axe with his dagger and penetrate his sword through the meager defenses against the off balanced bull creature.
With a clank of metal, the dagger caught the shaft of the battle axe. The blow buckled the assassins shoulder; he merely shook his head as he was never surprised by the strength of a dwarf. Still crouching the assassin stepped forward and extended his sword arm.
He felt the sword bite flesh as it dug deep into the side of the stomach of the Hybonian who now roared in pain. Such was the pain that the stupid creature let go of a sidelong swipe with the broad side of his double-sided axe.
The assassin ducked as he somewhat anticipated the swing. He rolled to his right, feeling the wisp of air as the axe flew close by overhead.
The axe continued its motion as the Hybonian was unable to stop its advancements. The dwarf standing there saw what was happening at the last moment but did not have the time needed to get out of the axes way.
It was reflex that helped him avoid the full sweeping impact of the axe as he was able to get his shield up as and leaned away from its swing.
With a loud clang the Hybonian's axe met with Dwarven shield and sent the dwarf sprawling across the street.
The other dwarf was none too thrilled his mate being smacked from the likes of this pirate, so he turned to confront the bull creature.
With both the dwarf and the assassin against him the Hybonian had little chance and was downed in a matter of seconds. The assassin then turned to face the dwarf, the human and the Gnoll but as luck would have it the dwarf was no longer interested in fighting as he was in trying to find out whether or not his kin was alright.
It was down to the Gnoll and the human, odds that very much favored the assassin. Shyler started with a thrust here, a parry there. It was no time before he realized that neither were a match for him. It was hard to discern if either were playing him, especially the human so bad was his swordplay. It was almost as if he had never made a sword dance before.
Still the assassin had lived a long time within this harsh world, and he had done so by being cautious when the situation dictated such actions. A glimpse to the side and the assassin could see that the stunned dwarf was coming too, and he could ill afford to let the odds get out of his favor. He had to step up the momentum of the dance. It was time to see if these two were trying to bait him.
A sidestep to the right and the sword of the Gnoll went whipping past, it was a thrust that was meant to skewer him of that he was certain. Ever a step ahead the assassin reversed his grip on his dagger and smashed the hilt into the eye and forehead of the Gnoll as the stupid creature had brought his face within his reach.
Why he did not run the blade end into the Gnoll was anyone's guess, this must have been part of his plan as he did little without one. Staggering back for a few seconds to gather his wits it was now just the human and the assassin.
This was more than the human could handle so he turned to flee running down the street into the depths of the city.
"I don't need them to finish off the likes of you," the Gnoll growled. "I will have revenge for my brother," he said as he advanced towards Assassin Benton.
Minutes had passed since the human had flown from the fight. The Gnoll was cut and badly beaten over many parts of his body. In a last attempt at victory the Gnoll started a wide sweeping arc, in the last second, he pulled up his swing and stepped toward the assassin who had rolled under the axe that flew overhead.
With a step towards Benton the Gnoll brought the axe down in a chopping direction. Unfortunately for the Gnoll, Shyler had noticed the overemphasis of the previous swing and never fully came out of his stance once he rolled under the swinging axe.
Seeing the reversal of the swing and the downward shift in momentum from the Gnoll was not a surprise to the well-trained assassin. He simply side stepped the downward slash as he twisted off to his right.
The Gnoll was fully committed to the act and could not hope to get out of the assassins way fast enough. His left side was fully exposed. He tried to brace himself the best he could as he saw the glint of steel out of the corner of his left eye.
The dagger dug deep into the thigh of the Gnoll who screeched in pain. He was however hopeful as he dropped his axe. He did not know why the assassin had now on two accounts spared his life as he was certain now that had the assassin elected to do so he could have ended his life when the hilt of the dagger smashed his eye and just now when the assassin turned and elected to drive the dagger into his leg instead his chest.
"You win then," the Gnoll said as he tossed his axe to the ground where it landed with a clang.
"I tried to warn you, but you wouldn't listen. It was your brother that started that fight some ten years ago and it was similar odds he fought with, and it was similar results that he obtained," he said as he raised his sword to run the Gnoll through.
"But who will tell of your great work and inspire fear of your name on the docks of Pudadescan," the Gnoll said frantically trying to save his life.
"I think I already have that covered," as he nodded to the Dwarves standing some distance off to the Gnolls left. The tall gangly figure then bowed his head saying nothing. The skilled assassin then plunged his sword through the chest of his adversary.
"Stubborn like your brother then," he whispered to the wind.
Shyler then turned toward the dwarves, they both stood stoically as they faced him. He knew not how long they stood there but he rather thought it would have been long enough that either of them could have tried run him through from the back side had they chose too. He rather guessed at what was motivating these too, it was most certainly the money.
"Your leader is dead so I do not think you will be able to exact payment for my head," the assassin said without a hint of fear in his voice.
"Granted, iffin that be he was the leader," one of them grunted as they nodded toward the Gnoll.
"There is another in charge then," Shyler asked.
"Perhaps," the other dwarf said teasingly.
Shyler Benton was in a hurry and really did not want to fight both of the Dwarves and he sensed that they too did not really want this encounter. Looking down at the Gnoll he had just killed he noticed a sack tied to the creatures waist. Cutting the strings of the purse he brought it to his face. It was full of rubies, sapphires, and emeralds.
A pretty price to pay to have someone killed assuming this was the payment for his assassination he thought to himself.
"A new deal then," he said as he tightened the purse strings and tossed the bag to the dwarfs.
The dwarves opened the purse to make sure it contained the assassination payment. It all appeared to be there.
"What's your deal then," one of the dwarves said in a somewhat kinder tone.
"That bag of gems to leave these docks and pretend you never found me," he said with a smile.
The dwarves knew that the contents of that sack was more than most pirates would make in five years. These dwarves could leave port and the realm should they chose and have enough to live on for quite some time. Or they could come back in several months under different names and carry on their craft, either way they could walk away heads held high with a good bit o coin in their pockets.
"You strike a hard bargain stranger," one of the dwarves said as he wryly smiled toward Assassin Benton.
"Aye ye do indeed," said the other.
"Welcome to Pudadescan Port then," they both said as they moved off the street and out of the way of this accomplished human.
Never one to back from away from a fight as dwarves were typically made of toughest of stuff but in this case with the bounty in hand and only one other to split it with, they both smiled glad to rid of that stranger without a fight.
The assassin turned down a side street heading towards the all too familiar warehouse of Arch Magi Tildagar. He could not help but wonder, as he walked down the hardened streets toward the warehouse near the docks, who would want him dead so bad.
Perhaps he thought to himself that it was the Gnoll that wanted him dead, the payment was for the other four should they succeed. He smiled as yet another question arose for him, a question that Tildagar could answer perhaps.
He walked up to a large building on one of the distant out of the way docks. Heading to a door on the back left side of the building; he entered the gem in the slot on the right side of the door. It glimmered briefly and the door latch clicked, and the door opened.
Entering the building he noticed it opened up into a large, opened facility where they apparently cleaned, fixed, and repaired ships. Obviously, a cover for what was really going on, Shyler smiled as he thought to himself.
It was very late at night so there was no one in this part of the facility as he made his way along the right side of the inside of the building, staying out of the way of everything that was going on within the buildings perimeter.
It was best to keep any evidence of his being here at a minimum he thought to himself. He continued to move along the buildings perimeter until he came to a door, it was marked Authorized Persons Only.
He entered a different crystal into the side of this door but with the same results as the previous. He then opened the door and walked down a long passageway. There were doors on the left side of the hall. The last room on the left was marked supply room.
There was no lock or way to open the door that the assassin could see. It must be activated by some other means. He smiled as he knocked three times than two times than three times.
"Yes" came a voice on the other side of the door.
"I am here to see Kognoosh," Shyler responded.
The door latch clicked as the door opened a few inches. There was in fact no Kognoosh but rather that was the password phrase that allowed him to enter the hidden facility.
The assassin entered the room. The front of which contained supplies but, in the back, there was another door that perfectly blended into the wall. There were no buttons or controls to open the doors but there was a small lever located behind some brooms and mops.
Shyler pulled the lever, and the door became ajar. He entered the door, following a series of dark and dank steps downward.
It was eight stories all told. Several minutes later the assassin exited the stairwell and entered into an almost pleasant lobby looking type room. He was met there by two armed guards. He showed them the ID that was provided him, and they walked down another long corridor, the right side was made of glass so that one could see the large room that dwelled upon the right.
In this room one could tell some of the most auspicious looking animals and creations dwelled within. This underground facility was the home of the Melnak.
They were a sect of Gnolls that were not recognized by the other races that comprised the Gnoll realm. They were rebels that were comprised of all four of the other sects. To complicate matters they at times openly rebelled against the Minlavian Council and the other sects within their own race.
He was escorted to a secure room within the facility. The guard passed a sonic wave crystal over the right portal on the side of the door. The crystal emitted a wave of sound and a small portal opened. The guard gestured toward the portal and in it the assassin noticed were 2 small grooves that would house the two crystals. The assassin placed the crystals in the portal. They both glowed blue first then red and with a loud boom the crystals disintegrated, and the door unlatched and opened.
The guard instructed Shyler to enter. The guard then shut the door behind Shyler, electing to stay out in the hall.
There was a table and chairs in the room. Two of the four walls were made of glass. Each of the sides with the glass wall had a door that led to a large room, about the size of the Minlavian Council meeting room.
The room on the left wall only had the security lighting on but the room on the wall straight ahead had all of the lights on. There were four Gnolls in the room working on something quite large some sort of piece of machinery maybe, the assassin could not be sure as his technical knowledge was so limited. You can bet whatever they were up to was not approved by the council, but he merely smiled as if what he was seeing was of little consequence.
When one of the Gnolls saw that he had entered the room he exited to meet him.
"Good Evening Assassin Benton, it's a pleasure to see you again. All is well I hope," the tall figure said.
"All is fine Arch Magi Tildagar, I hope you have good news for me," Assassin Benton replied.
Arch Magi Tildagar was one of the most decorated mages of this time as well as being quite a skilled linguist. He was brilliant beyond most human's comprehension. He, at one time, was the linguist of the council.
A position of honor and power, however nearly twenty years ago at the direction of the Minlavian Council the Arch Magi was removed for delving into magical theories that were not sanctioned or approved by the council.
It was then that he joined the Melnak, pledging to do whatever was within his power to make life truly miserable for the Minlavian Council and the races that comprised it.
He had never dreamed that he would be interpreting the Ancient Texts and helping the Dylonian's destroy the council and all of the worlds within it. He smiled at the thought.
"I have most excellent news for you Assassin Benton, I have started my interpretation of the Ancient Texts. It is a very slow process, but all is going well by my estimation" he said with a smile.
"Most excellent, I sense some hesitation in your voice though," the assassin phrased this in the form of a question.
"Well, I could not help but notice that you had a meeting with the Prime Minister before you met with me. Why would you need to meet with him," Arch Magi Tildagar asked in a concerned tone?
"First off you must understand that I am an assassin for the Minlavian Council, I must therefore at least in appearance keep within the guidelines and directives issued by the council. A message needed to be delivered to the Prime Minister and seeing how I needed an excuse to come to Cirius to meet with you I volunteered," Shyler responded.
"And the message to be delivered," Tildagar asked more than a little curious.
"The council has heard rumors of war upon them. The Dylonian's have of course been implicated," Assassin Benton could tell as soon as he said it the Arch Magi went into worry mode.
"If that is true this could ruin the entire course of events we have set in motion," the tall gangly Gnoll responded frantically.
"Easy my friend, the council has just asked the good Gnolls of Cirius to have a few more ships on patrol in the waters that separate the lizard folk from our realms. If I were you however, I would let your spies know so they can look for different assignments? I get the feeling some of those ships will not be safe. I mean for the immediate future they should be safe but in a year from now who knows," Assassin Benton said trying to remain indifferent to the situation.
"Noted", was all that the Gnoll managed in response.
"So, I am curious how are you going to get this to Chardonacic and train the Dylonian's," Shyler asked the Arch Magi.
"Well once I get my payment from you, I have it all worked out. There is no cause for concern, unless of course my specifications on lodging are not ready or my payment is not available," Tildagar responded with mild concern.
"Relax I have your payment right here," the assassin said as he handed a small burlap sack "
The Arch Magi gave him a look as the eight thousand gold coins could not possibly be in such a small bag.
The assassin caught the look. "Relax it is a bag of holding. All the coins are in there and the bag is my extra special gift too you. Use it well," Shyler said to the Gnoll with a sly smile.
Assassin Benton thought himself quite clever, as he exacted ten thousand gold from Emperor Ravacik claiming that his Ancient Text acquiring help and Gnolls needed that amount of gold. When in fact the eight thousand five hundred gold went to pay off the Gnolls for that part in Shyler's plan and one thousand gold, his Magical Administration help, and the remaining 500 gold was going to be his.
He might as well get something out of the deal after all he was going to be dead so he couldn't be an assassin anymore and even though the Council Leader Czelak promised to take care of him you never can have too much gold he thought to himself.
"Benton, are you alright," the Arch Magi asked?
"Oh yes sorry, was lost in thought there for a second. Did you say something?"
"Yes, I asked is the facility on Chardonacic ready and if so when did you want me and my fellow mages to leave," the Taldagar asked in a confused tone as the assassin rarely ever seemed out of sorts.
"As soon as possible, would be my guess. I know this cannot be done fast enough for the Emperor," Benton responded.
"Done then, we will leave by the week's end," the Arch Magi responded.
"Ok but trust no one with any information and do not begin any training until I say. This is most important, am I understood," the assassin said in a very serious tone.
"Absolutely, it will most likely take us nearly two weeks to get our ship there so hopefully by that time all will be ready so that we may begin immediately," was the response.
Benton nodded his agreement.
"One more thing if you have a second, Master Tildagar," the assassin asked.
"Of course."
"Would you happen to have heard anything on the streets about someone having a hit on me, a rather large bounty if my eyes were seeing right," Shyler asked.
"No, I have heard of no such bounty, did you have trouble," Taldagar asked.
"Yes, five guys jumped me on the docks. They did not want my money they wanted to kill me. They appeared to get paid a small fortune in gems for the job," Shyler responded.
"You handled the situation," the Gnoll said with a smile knowing full well the reputation of the man that stood in front of him.
"Yes. I am hoping that is the last of my surprises," he said in a snickering voice.
"Well, if we are done here, I think I will be on my way," Benton said.
"Have a great day and I presume I will see you sometime soon in Chardonacic," Tildagar questioned.
The assassin nodded as he opened the door and excited the room. He now needed to make his way to Desmonia.
* * * *
The day was May 25, 2018: Shyler Benton knocked on the door of Council Leader Czelak. "Enter", said a voice from within.
The figure opened the door and entered the chamber room.
"You have been to Cirius then," the Council Leader asked.
"Yes mam", Shyler responded.
"You visited both the Prime Minister and Arch Magi Tildagar," she asked?
Again, the response was in the affirmative.
"Your report then," the council leader asked of the assassin.
"Prime Minister Vorpal and Arch Magi Sytax said they will meet your deadline. The full details are enclosed within this crystal," he said as he handed the Council Leader the drive that the head mage handed him.
The council leader took the device and entered it into her magical renewal gem device. This was a non-registered component designed by Merlin and therefore could not be traced.
She instructed her assassin to have a seat. "This will not take long she said to him."
The assassin did as instructed.
In a matter of seconds, the voice of Prime Minister Vorpar echoed from the crystal. After the end of the spell the crystal disintegrated, and the Council leader looked toward Shyler. "This is good news," she said as she turned to face Assassin Benton.
"It appears they will outfit their six fastest and biggest ships with their most adept casters and soldiers. These vessels will patrol the open seas between the Dylonian Empire and the rest of the civilized worlds of Minlas. This is all in accordance with our request," the Council Leader said with a smile.
"Excellent work Shyler, my thanks for retrieving the information," she continued.
The assassin nodded.
"And your next visitor, how did that go," she asked.
"Mage Tildagar is nearly done with the interpretation of the Ancient Text. I believe they have just departed toward Chardonacic to begin necessary training," he responded.
"Interesting indeed! Have you had any luck in the research of the rumors of the Orcs and Yeti and the existence of this Muskavalcic," the council leader questioned?
"Well as luck would have it the Emperor has had a lot of recent emissary activity over the past months, so he elected to divulge some of the war plans to his personal guard as they were going to be involved in the coming and goings of many of the Emperor's guest," Assassin Benton responded with some enthusiasm.
"What may I ask did you find out," she asked excited by the prospect of learning new data.
"Thanks to the device you gave me I was able to ascertain that the Emperor has visited the Orcs of Dracus on several occasions bearing gifts of weapons and armor etc. He has also visited the ice regions of the Mylokar and did the same for the yeti although I have heard the gifts presented there were more extravagant and not always pertaining to war type items," Assassin Benton responded.
"Interesting, just like we suspected the emperor will probably use the yeti to on the initial assault of the Desmonian gateway. It is our belief they will try and get to the gateway and proceed through it in an attempt to overtake Desmonia and squash the council. From here they will be able to send their armies anywhere at any time and stopping there advancement would be quite a bit more difficult," her tone was definitely telling as to the outcome should the lizard men be able to overrun Desmonia.
She paused for a moment as if in thought. "Have you found out anything about Muskavalcic."
"Nothing whatsoever I am afraid, even the guards knew nothing of him, I do apologize," the assassin responded.
"As I suspected but I may have news for you on the matter. When you mentioned the name to me last, I thought it sounded familiar, so I did some digging around in the councils private archives. Muskavalcic is an Ancient Red Dragon. Nearly three hundred years ago the council banned a group of dragons, including one large and ancient red, from Scorched Earth and all the surrounding areas. The decay and destruction they were causing was harmful to the races housed upon our planet." she paused for a second before she continued.
"Of course, the Dragons being who they are did not listen. The council was forced to enact a decree upon them. They were to be destroyed if they were found to be in violation of the decree. Many men and dragons lost their lives in the battles that welled over the following ten or so years. In the end the few dragons that remained were scattered to the ends of the Minlas and beyond," she said sat down in the chair opposite of where Shyler was standing.
"It would seem at least one left not without a grudge against the Minlavian Council," Shyler replied.
"So, it would seem. It would also seem that they found someone or a group of someone's rather that was empathetic to their cause," this will be a most interesting war," Council Leader Czelak mused.
"And what do I tell Chocc," Assassin Benton asked.
"That is Councilman Choe to you Mr. Benton. Don't let my feelings for Chocc mislead you into thinking I will allow the skirting of protocol," she responded with just a hint of force in her tone.
"My apologies Council Leader, I did not mean to offend," the assassin responded.
"No offense taken. Now as too what we need to reveal to the councilman since we really do need to reveal something, my thoughts are to omit the involvement of the yeti and most definitely do not bring up anything about the Red Dragon. I think we can safely give up the confirmation of the Orcs though. What are your thoughts about that," the council leader asked?
"Sounds good to me."
"Ok then now if I am not mistaken is it not about time for you to die," she said with a musing smile.
Assassin Benton nodded and exited the chambers.
Since time was of the essence and more importantly since he did not want to meet with Chocc (he couldn't say it but that did not mean he couldn't think it) he sent him a luminary writing describing the orcs and what he was currently doing as far as his spy work.
He made sure to write the location of his upcoming missions, making sure that it was very close to his soon staged death.