"Uvaah, the chapter ended with the fight in a draw," the female assassin huffed in annoyance. After the battle, we returned to the tavern, but now they looked at us not with disdain but with a hint of respect. Three assassins joined us at the table.
"I never intended to fight until the complete destruction of the opponent, but I still wanted to test how strong he was. I admit, you caught me off guard; someone must have advised him on how to fight assassins," the assassin gave a sly glance at Seleria.
"But I still don't acknowledge the results of this battle. He never stood a chance against the chapter from the beginning. Only your nobility allowed him not to lose face," the fanatical devotion of the assassin astonished those present.
"Enough, sister. Considering the comrades he had, I would wager on who would win if we started a serious battle with the entire guild," the young assassin made a slight bow to our teacher, "Mistress Rumy, I didn't know you were making public appearances now."
His words carried respect but also a touch of mockery.
"Heh, what can I do? Someone won me as a prize. Although I resisted him, his efforts still deserve respect."
"Hm? Rumy," the assassin leaned toward her brother, "Isn't he that ancient golem-hermit who buried himself somewhere in the desert?"
"Oh, I see someone holds a high opinion of me here..."
"Oh, come on, are you trying to say that's not true?"
"By the way, I've been working as an instructor at the Academy for the past half year!"
"And that's just after a couple of millennia of being a recluse; it was to be expected. The great man you are... By the way, did you at least learn how to cook more edible dishes from scorpions?"
"That's it, you rascal! I knew I should have thrown you out right away."
I cautiously leaned towards the leader of the assassins.
"Do they know each other well?" I asked.
"Well, if I tell you that one novice assassin couldn't improve his skills enough to compete with his colleagues, and, to add insult to injury, with his younger sister. I advised him to go to the desert and seek out a renowned warrior who leads a hermitic life. He returned after six months, significantly improving his skills, but he kept complaining for a long time that he could only sleep on the stone floor in her tomb, and she could cook nothing but fried scorpions. And if she hadn't turned out to be an attractive young lady but a giant man, he would have fled from there in the first week."
"Oooh, that's what happened," I said.
"That's enough gossip about me," Rumy grumbled, "Since you wanted to share information with us anyway, stop dragging it out!"
"Alright, but we need one more person for this," the master assassin said.
"I've been here for a while," a person in a dark gray cloak stood up from behind the bar counter and quietly took a seat in the available spot. He had been sitting there before we returned, but it seemed like he was just sleeping. He was a man of average height in his early thirties, with chestnut hair and a slender build.
"Tain, as always, you love to spy on everyone," the master assassin pushed the newcomer thief in the side.
"That's still my profession. To be unnoticed, you don't have to hide in the shadows and act like the most suspicious person," the thief smirked shamelessly, "But I was pleased to see how someone got their comeuppance."
"I could have won, actually."
"But you got quite a beating too, heheh," the thief patted me on the shoulder, "You did well; not many could achieve what you did."
"I think we should introduce ourselves first," the master assassin pointed to his sly companion, "This is Tain, the leader of the Thieves' Guild. He also helped in finding the crime's client. My name is Serzen, the leader of the Assassins' Guild, and these are my best subordinates, Mercer and Frida, but you probably won't remember us anyway."
"What do you mean?"
"The faces of assassins fade from the memory of those who see them over time, and even if you can remember their name, it would be a miracle."
"Krito," Rizel turned to me, "These are their mantles; they are infused with shadow magic, which is why they resemble me in some way."
"If you want, I can tell you later where they come from, but now we have more important matters," the assassin placed a sheet of paper and a small purse with coins on the table, "This appeared on the notice board in this tavern two weeks ago."
It was a standard contract, just like the ones left for free guilds at the Academy. Apparently, the assassins decided to adopt this tradition as well.
Target: Clan Degarun, Eileran Family, Del'Serano Family. Payment: 3,000,000 gold coins, advance payment upon agreement.
"Hmm, quite a sum," I peered into the purse. Inside were gold coins, precious gems, and also Imperial gold: "It all seems too obvious. Who could have left this?"
"I don't know," Serzen shook his head, "whoever it was, they managed to leave this notice unnoticed and disappear. They are very skilled."
"I'm afraid no one from my guild or the assassins' guild could do this without some powerful magical enchantments," Tain clicked his tongue in frustration, "but the reward is good."
"Yes, not everyone can amass such an amount. We immediately removed the notice when we noticed it, and there was certainly no one who could have accepted it. But sometimes such a move is made before significant assassinations, to set up the opponent."
"So, have you found where the trail leads?"
"No, we could only eliminate those directly connected to our guild," Serzen unfolded a miniature map of the continent on the table, "we checked all the guilds in Leran, none of them were preparing for such a large operation in the near future, so they are ruled out. But unfortunately, our connections with other guilds in Verania and Nordrune are currently quite limited."
"But your guild has always been respected even abroad," even Seleria was surprised.
"Yes, but six months ago, everything changed. With the looming war, many nobles became concerned about their safety. Some even hired entire guilds of assassins for personal protection and demanded to sever ties with other killers. Dealing with the Nordic clans is even more complicated; they never particularly liked us, although there are also those among them who won't shy away from killing for money. We can't freely operate in other countries without arousing suspicion, so we have no choice but to trust you."
"It's strange that such masters of disguise can't penetrate other countries unofficially."
"That's a different matter. To get a lead on something, we would need to examine the bodies of the captured killers."
"But they all perished."
"But some of them chose to take their own lives rather than surrender to the enemy. From the type of poison they used, we might be able to find out where they got it, but for that, we need connections with the royal guards in Verania and Nordrune. The killers prudently disposed of all the bodies that remained in Leran."
"I think we can pull this off," I took out a small crystal from my pocket, "if Hilda contacts us, we'll be able to examine the bodies."
The sun had already disappeared behind the icy peaks of Nordrune when five companions arrived in the capital with three children. Security had been reinforced, but only within the palace precincts; the jarl wanted to avoid unrest among the townspeople, so no one was informed about the assassination attempt.
The guests were escorted to the palace, where ten guards were stationed in the throne room this time.
"Hilda? Something tells me you didn't come to inquire about my health," Siegfried coughed heavily and settled back more comfortably.
"Father, they told me you were wounded in an assassination attempt."
"Don't worry about that," the jarl patted his right side, "the wound is not deep; it will heal soon."
Though the jarl tried to appear strong, the color of his face indicated that his health was much worse than he let on.
"You're lying to me again..."
"Hilda," Freya cast a stern gaze at her daughter, "show some respect; your father is already going through a lot."
"Alright," Hilda exchanged glances with her companions and addressed the ruler calmly, "our comrade is suspected in the assassinations, so we have taken up the investigation. I hope for your cooperation."
"I'm afraid there's little I can do to help you," Siegfried sighed heavily, "they looked like ordinary bandits to me. I thought I could handle them easily, but they turned out to be much better. I was lucky that Freya arrived just in time."
"Soon after Sig went hunting, they attacked me at the city's border. Although they clearly underestimated my abilities, I still realized I was their main target. They were prepared to fight the jarl, but not both of us. They got what they deserved, but they managed to escape."
"Sorry, if I hadn't been wounded, you would have caught them all."
"Enough. In the future, try to take care of your safety a little. We managed to catch two of them, but when I tried to interrogate them, they died. Silencing all possible witnesses is an old but effective method."
"Weren't they pursued?"
"They headed southwest, but I had to take care of the wounded, and the Valkyries arrived too late."
"I'm sorry," with each reproach from the queen, Siegfried sank into despair.
"I told you, now is not the time to be reckless and roam the country without protection. Our resources are capable of seizing any country."
"Cough, I'm already getting tired of this, but Lord Siegfried, why does death follow you?" Reines interrupted the queen, addressing the great jarl directly.
"Cough, I shouldn't have tried to hide it," exchanging glances with his wife, Siegfried lifted the edge of his armor, revealing another bleeding wound, "unfortunately, the blade was poisoned, but the healers are already doing everything possible to close the wound."
"Hmm," Reines looked skeptically at the wound, "if you allow, I would like to take a look myself."
The necromancer helped the jarl to his feet and asked him to bare his torso.
"Hilda, can we trust her?" Freya watched the act with doubt.
"Well, hardly anyone knows more about poisons than necromancers."
"Really, I've never encountered this poison before, very intriguing."
"The healer said it was a poison from the set of poisonous plants in Leran; the symptoms have almost subsided, leaving only a dull burning sensation inside."
"Hmph, the symptoms may match, but with proper treatment, they should have already disappeared. There's something else here," the dragoness lengthened her gray claws and scooped blood from the open wound.
"Ah," Siegfried involuntarily bent over. Even such a weak touch caused intense pain.
The necromancer tasted the blood of the patient, causing mild disgust among the onlookers.
"I don't want to speak ill of your healers, but they didn't heal you at all. They only removed the visible symptoms, but there's something foreign left in the wound, poisoning your body."
"Can you help my father?" Hilda was genuinely frightened by the necromancer's words.
"Yes, although it will be a very painful process. But a strong person like him can handle it."
"I'll endure," Siegfried leaned on the sorceress's shoulders with both hands.
"It will be very painful; I'll have to remove part of the small intestine and the left spleen, which are already affected by the disease. Bear with it for a little while."
Reines began to change her hand. Her claws lengthened, her skin covered in scales, and violet flames flickered at her fingertips. The dragoness slowly inserted her claws into the patient's side. Siegfried flinched; the pain made his legs buckle. Gradually squeezing her claws around the infected area, the necromancer finally withdrew her hand, taking with her a portion of the diseased flesh. There was now a hole about five centimeters wide in the warrior's side, but the fire of decay had already dried its edges, and death from blood loss was not threatening.
"That's it," the necromancer held a piece of blackened flesh in her hands, "hm, what could have changed the flesh like this? I've never seen such a disease before."
The part of the muscles affected by the poison had solidified and blackened. The disease was slowly spreading to nearby organs, but the risky treatment with dark magic saved the jarl's life.