Dark Whispers, Chapter 1

The ogre assassin, a female, ran on top of the walls of Qeynos, her strong legs allowing her to keep a pace only the fastest of horses could hope to match. Though she was wearing black, form-fitting leather armor, her footsteps barely made a whisper against the cobblestone walkway of the battlements.

The sun was setting in the west, casting the sky in a deep red and orange hue. It also cast long shadows, and the ogre used those shadows to hide in as best she could.

She ran from an elven ranger along the base of the wall, Kaliaya. The elf's arrows were deadly accurate, so the ogre ducked and ran low.

Another of the elf's arrows flashed by her head, and Kali cursed the angle and the distance. She knew she would run out of wall and be forced to scale a tower to continue the chase. By then, the ogre would be on the wall by the moat, dive in, and be gone. The ogre might have been a better fighter than her, but Kail was a better archer.

She reached back and took another arrow from her quiver, a special arrow, from the pack behind her. She set it to string, drew back, aimed, and let fly.

The ogre heard the arrow coming for her, and dodging proved fruitless. The arrow caught her in the back of the left shoulder, knocking her off balance, but did not pierce deeply. She continued running.

Kali darted up the tower, running around the spiral stairs, pushing guards out of the way as she ascended.

She grabbed the first quiver she passed by and reached the top.

She ran to the outer wall and looked down. There was nothing to see except a group of guards far down the wall in a commotion. No other guards were stationed on the wall or in the towers in the immediate area. They were distracted by a group of orc sappers under the south bridge. And the moat was empty.

The ogre assassin was gone.

She passed guards standing around in confusion. A few looked over the side of the wall down to the moat, but they were far from where she had shot the assassin. She walked down the wall, knocked an arrow, and started firing arrow after arrow into the group of orc sappers under the bridge, killing them one at a time.

As she killed one of them, the Orc screamed and dropped to the ground, the arrow piercing through its armor and into its heart. The sappers wore heavy armor, but it did little to protect them from Kali's arrows. The Orcs tried to run away, but Kali was too fast for them. She took out two more orcs quickly, and the rest of the group began to panic. She shot one Orc through his eye, another in his throat, a third in his stomach, and the final Orc in the back.

She looked at the guards on the wall, and they nodded to her in appreciation.

She would report them all to the City Watch later for dereliction of their posts.

Sebrina lay dead under Asuka, an arrow stuck in her eye and blood all over her armor. She shielded her from any further attacks, but she knew the girl was dying. The assassin has run away from a position on top of the wall.

Angelaya ran to Asuka and tried to save the girl's life with healing magic. The arrow was enchanted with death magic, and it was slowly draining her life as she gurgled and died. Angel couldn't save her, and she fell to her knees, weeping.

Asuka tried to console Angel, and she knew the cleric felt the death was her fault. Asuka stood, watching the mage Opal scan the walls and alleys for other attackers, and she knew Lady Alustrae had slipped into the shadows and taken to hunting the killer.

There was nothing more to be done.

Sebrina died in Angel's arms. They had failed.

The death magic consumed the body, first in a cloud of black smoke and then nothing. When the smoke cleared, nothing was left.

Guards began to arrive, and Opal pointed at the highly magical and evil coffin on the Spider's doorstep. "Do not touch this until the temple priests and mages arrive!" She commanded. "It is filled with dark magic and death. It will destroy you!"

Asuka stood, blood covering her gold armor, and watched Alustrae command the dozens of guardsmen and knights arriving in the square. "I want this gate closed and to know where in the Hell those guards on the wall were. And I want this street blocked off."

The guardsmen began to organize, closing the gate and setting up blockades on the street. They looked around in confusion at what had happened and why the Royal Guard was here.

Lady Alustrae and her daughter, Opallynna, were high-ranking city officials, and most of the ordinary soldiers did not even know they were on an assignment or which assignment they were on. They were the top investigators in the city regarding slavers and crimes against women, and Asuka and the elf sisters, Angel and Kali, were their constant companions and bodyguards.

But the guardsmen were confused. They had no idea why they were there. And they had no idea that Sebrina, a young woman who had just come into the city, had just died. Nothing was left of her body except blood.

They only saw the Royal Guard and an open and unused coffin.

Asuka turned to walk back inside the Spider, the tavern they had all just left, to inform the patrons of the death. They had just left the place after a confrontation with a fire mage who had gotten a little angry with them. Asuka was worried the patrons might be a little upset with her, so she went inside to ensure they were informed and looked for any strange faces.

To Hell with feelings, I have a damn job to do.

Alustrae waited for the mages and priests to remove the coffin and shook her head as she waited. Angel sat on the steps near her, still sad that she had lost the life of an innocent person.

"You did your best," Alustrae said with a heavy sigh.

"I could not save her. I tried, but the magic was too strong. It was a death curse that was too strong, and the arrow was enchanted and cursed with powerful magic."

"You could not have saved her. The curse was too much. She was already dead, but you gave her comfort, which is more than I could have done."

Angel nodded, sighed, and stood. "Where is Asuka?"

"Inside the Spider. I asked her to keep them informed," Alustrae said, looking at the door to the Spider.

Kali walked up, eyes flat and her face twisted in disappointment. She looked at Angel and shook her head. "I did not get the ogre."

Alustrae nodded. "You did your best, given the position and the angle of attack. Any word on why those walls were not handled?"

Kali's face turned serious. "A distraction was engineered."

Alustrae bit her lip. Avoiding duty, getting distracted, and wandering from your post can get people killed and change the history of the world in a single heartbeat. There is a reason we have obligations and rules to follow. They keep the entirety of us safe.

"The assassin got to Sebrina before we could stop her. She died in my arms," Angel said.

"She used dark magic," Alustrae said. "And she's gone. We have no idea who she was. The commotion in the bar earlier did not help me question one of the only leads we had in this case. The bar wanted to take matters into their own hands, and then we had the incident with the mage."

"Sorry," Opal said. "I messed up, but tried to make things right. She must have been jealous I messed up her boyfriend's drink, but I paid for a new one!" Opal's voice cracked as she spoke, and she looked at the blood-stained ground where Sebrina had died. She stared in disbelief, her eyes wide and her hands shaking.

"It's not your fault," Alustrae said. "You did not know it would turn into an incident. You were trying to be funny and make friends. You had no idea what would happen next. Her setting Asuka on fire and injuring her was uncalled for, but I managed to diffuse the situation."

Opalynna was young, but her enthusiasm and inexperience opened many doors for her. One day, she would have Alustrae's job and thank her mother for all the lessons she learned on the job.

Asuka returned. Her eyes were flat, and her arms crossed as she stood in the doorway to the bar.

"Everyone is calm now, and the bar is closed for the night. They will be on the lookout and let us know if anything else happens, and we are to be called on to investigate anything out of the ordinary. I suggest that the City Watch monitor the place. If they come back, they may come back here first."

"Good work," Alustrae said, knowing the history of this neighborhood and all the high-profile deaths that had happened here, including one of Jethal Silverwing himself in an alley behind the Spider, where he was decapitated. Among the City Watch, this area became known as Assassination Square, a blood-soaked killing box with too many deaths and little justice for those who took their last breaths here.

In a way, it felt like the entire city was dying. Guilds of adventurers far past their prime were holding on by a thread. Heroes wandered off into retirement, too tired and spent to chase the next mystery the world unlocked, and what was left held onto a dying dream. Was the world forgetting its magic? Would a new age step in, and the old ways fade into the past? Would everyone forget these days?

The magi and priests arrived and began to study the coffin, while Alustrae and her group waited for the Magistrate to arrive. Her team's actions and investigation would be outlined in front of her peers and possibly the Queen. For many, there would be Hell to pay for the events of this night.

She would not be excluded.