The Ballad of Romance

The Tenth Song

Crispino was playing along with the other musicians. The stage had the best view of both doors of the Tavern. He was starting to worry. Tess and Tyler hadn't been back for nearly an hour and it was dark out. He finished the song and rubbed a tired hand over his eyes.

"You doin' okay, Signor Crispino?" asked the lutist.

Crispino shook his head. "Not really. The kids I'm watching over haven't returned yet. They left to get her jewellery and haven't been back since."

"Did you want to send some people out to look for them?" The man on the slide trumpet asked.

Crispino shook his head again. "I'll do one more song. If they're not back by then then I'll look for them myself."

Crispino brought his bow across the strings again. The sound of the Violoncello floating through the Tavern again. He made it halfway through the song when the door burst open. Tess stood in the doorway, panting,

"Signor. Could you come help us out? There's been an incident." Tess stumbled back out leaning against the wall by the door.

Crispino felt his heart drop. He could tell something bad had happened. He threw his Violoncello over his shoulder, keeping the bow in hand, and jumped over the crowd, landing at a run. Tess waited for him, before taking off in the direction of the canal.

Crispino's heart was thumping hard. Was Tyler okay? Tess didn't seem that upset but she also didn't like showing too much emotion when it wasn't needed. Tess jumped over a cart and slid slightly on landing but she continued forward.

"Tess, slow down! What is going on?" Crispino asked, putting a hand on her shoulder as they ran.

Tess slowed to a stop. "We. we got attacked by, who we think are, assassins. Tyler's watching over them now and I want to get back quickly."

Crispino nodded. "I'll get details when we meet up with Ty. Lead the way."

Tess smiled at him and took off at a sprint, jumping a set of barrels in the way. Crispino easily kept pace with her, sprinting along the length of the canal. Tess turned suddenly, leaping onto the canal wall and over the water. Crispino could see Tyler standing over the other side of the canal. Tess tripped on landing but Tyler reached for her hand and pulled her up.

Crispino landed softly on the cobbled road. Just behind Tyler, Crispino could see two grown men, tied by a sturdy rope. He walked over, stepping over the assassins' gun and blades. He leaned down, peering intensely into the eyes of each assassin. They turned their heads, trying to avoid the hard gaze of Crispino.

"You two, better have a bloody good reason for attacking my apprentices or, God help me, I don't turn both of you into pig fodder." Crispino's gaze darkened.

The assassin that attacked Tess cleared his throat. "We're uh. We are forbidden by code to tell you anything."

Crispino grabbed him by the collar, pulling him into his face. "You better bloody forget that code then. Don't you. The last couple of years have been pretty quiet. I wouldn't mind a bit of change."

He threw the assassin onto the ground. Crispino turned to the other assassin. He held Crispino's stone cold gaze, recognising something in them.

"Well? You've been quiet. Spill it." Crispino pulled out a dagger from the weapon pile and started spinning it slowly.

Tyler's assassin smiled. "You used to be one of us. Didn't you? I can recognise the gaze of a killer anywhere. Wait. Don't tell me. You're the infamous Il Crotalo! The underground thought you'd been caught."

"Il Crotalo? Is he an assassin?" asked Tyler.

Crispino nodded. "Si. He was a ruthless killer. Nobody knew what he looked like or where he came from. He only targeted the unjust but his methods are unmatched, even to this day. He vanished one day, seemingly disappearing from the lands. Nobody has seen him since."