Azael heard a wooden board creak so he immediately opened his eyes.
He didn't move, he was laying on the bed in the room Daemon rented for themselves; the girls had a room of their own. Daemon had told the group to go to sleep and expect trouble; something that unsettled the female members, especially Lydia. It had been several minutes past midnight and just now, there was sign of said trouble.
He then slowly turned to his left to see Daemon lying on the bed across the room, giving him a serious glance. The red-haired warrior slowly lifted his finger up to his lips, giving the monk a silent gesture.
One thing is for sure; there was someone outside their room. The room rented for the girls was down the hallway, making Azael and Daemon's room the first room that one would run across when walking down said hallway.
Azael then noticed that Daemon was gesturing at him again; he was closing his eyelids with his fingers. Azael knew what this meant; act asleep. How did Azael understand this? It is not known.
Azael then closed his eyes, leaving one of them slightly open, barely able to see in front of him. As he did this, he heard the door slightly open, the creak of the hinges barely heard. It was hard for the monk to stay calm during a situation like this, but his training at the Temple allowed him to keep his wits about.
He noticed a small and dark figure walk through the slight opening of the room's door, slowly making its way towards the inside as another figure walked inside and closed the door.
He didn't want to move a muscle as moving would alert the intruders, he noticed that one of them had unsheathed a dagger, the blade reflecting the moonlight that shone through the window right next to Azael's bed.
He saw as the figures slowly and carefully made their way to the beds, standing over the two adventurers.
Azael's heart began to beat rapidly, due to the anxiety and nervousness he was feeling. He was never in a situation like this; assassins over his sleeping body with a dagger raised in the air. Every fiber in his being wanted to lash out in self-defense but he was waiting on Daemon's signal to fight back.
"Tsk tsk..." the hooded assassin whispered, "Sleeping giant, eh?"
The assassin then brought the knife down only for Azael to deflect it with his fist covered in a white light.
"Daemon!" Azael shouted as the hooded assassin stumbled backward
Daemon immediately shot his arms up at the assassin over his bed, grabbing his arms and pulling him down towards him in a grapple.
Azael then raised his left fist as he sat up from his bed as the assassin straightened up, "You dare attack us while we sleep?!" He said
"You ain't even sleeping!" the assassin said as he lunged at him
Azael jumped out of the bed and parried the knife with his left fist, which was coated in a bright white light, he then punched the assassin with his right fist, hitting him in the solar plexus and immediately buckling him.
Without wasting much time, Azael spun around, hitting the assassin with a heel kick to the temple. The force of the kick was enough to send him flying out the window, glass and wood shattering as the assassin crashed straight through.
Azael then looked over to Daemon who was sitting on the edge of the bed as the other assassin was crying in pain.
"Let me goo!!" he shouted as Daemon pulled his hood down
It was a blonde and scrawny human man who had several rashes on his face. Daemon was holding the assassin's twisted and mangled arm in his hand as he gave him a serious glare.
"You think you can kill me, fucker?" Daemon growled, "I'll make sure you spill the entirety of your story."
Azael walked up to him, "You broke his arm?" He said
Daemon nodded as he tossed the man to the side, "Yea." He said standing up, "Wake the girls up, we gotta go."
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
"Daemon! Azael!" Zaphira's voice was heard, "We have a problem!"
"Yea, we know." Daemon responded
The door opened and Zaphira walked in, followed by Lydia and Invidia. They were all wearing their sleepwear as Invidia held her bow with an arrow nocked.
"Assassins...." Invidia said, "You were right, trouble was dawning on us."
Daemon nodded, "I'm telling you." He said, "Some fucker didn't want anyone to mess with that guy who was accused of murder."
"Child Murder." Azael corrected
"Oh, yea, right...." Daemon said, "Like that makes a difference."
"It does..." Azael said
"Okay fine." Daemon rolled his eyes, "Get your stuff, we're leaving. We're taking this asshole though."
"S-So....we leave the body on the room?" Lydia asked
She had a shocked expression on her face, like she was shaken up by something.
"Yes." Daemon said, "How many came after you?"
"One." Invidia said, "Not enough. Easy kill."
"Yea." Zaphira smirked, "This one immediately slit his throat."
Daemon nodded at Azael, "He kicked him out the window. I don't know if he's alive, anyways, let's go."
"We gotta move fast."
***************************************
"Alright, fucker....my buddy here healed your arm a bit." Zaphira said as she stepped on the assassin's knee, "Tell me who sent you and why?"
They were in an abandoned building in the city, they had tied the assassin to a chair as Invidia was keeping watch outside.
Daemon was on a table, grinding some herbs on a mortar pestle. He had a serious look on his face as he focused on what he was doing.
Lydia and Azael were sitting down as the young fighter was hugging her knees, a bit shaken up.
"Are you well?" Azael asked
"N-No..." She said softly, "I cannot believe an assassin tried to kill me....if it wasn't for Invidia, I might've died...."
"It's okay, you didn't." Azael assured her, "We have each other's back."
"Speak, fucker!!" Zaphira smacked the assassin on the cheek, "Now!"
"Quiet down, Mage!" Invidia snapped, "Any louder and we'll be found out!"
"Tch!" Zaphira said as she punched the assassin in the stomach
"Ugh!!" He grunted, "N-Never..."
"This fucking guy..." Zaphira said with a scowl, "I'll-"
"Enough." Daemon said as he poured water on the mortar pestle, "Hold him still and open his mouth. Now."
Zaphira did as Daemon said without hesitation, the redhead turning around and walking towards the assassin with the mortar pestle in hand.
"A bit of a makeshift tonic...." Daemon said, "My grandfather will be disgusted by this truth potion, but oh well."
As Zaphira held the assassin's mouth open, Daemon poured a purple colored liquid inside and down his throat.
"Close it." Daemon said
Zaphira closed the man's mouth and covered it, forcing him to swallow it.
"Truth potion?" Zaphira said, "I didn't see all the ingredients....and they're rare too...."
"That's why I said it was sorta makeshift." Daemon said, "Won't last for much longer, 10 seconds at most. I'll ask the question."
The assassin's eye momentarily glowed purple, which told Daemon that the potion took effect.
"Uncover his mouth." Daemon said
Zaphira did so as the Assassin let out a gasp, "Ah!" He said, "Disgusting!"
"Who sent you to kill us and what's their deal?" Daemon asked
A simple and quick question; he intended to investigate further by questioning the one behind hiring the assassins.
The man looked at him, "It was Reginald...." He said, "Lord Reginald of House Sairthas.."
"Reginald Sairthas?" Daemon said, "Shit...."
Zaphira looked at him, "What? You know that guy?" She asked
Daemon nodded as he looked at the others, "This is bad." He said, "We have two choices. We either skip town and make our way toward the Hightowers, avoiding further conflict with this guy.....or we stay and resolve this. I don't know about you, but an attempt on our lives is quite the spit in the face."
Invidia looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "Who is this Reginald?" She asked
"He's a High Noble." He said, "Reginald Sairthas...."
"The Baron's Brother-in-Law."