I Am Death

Chapter 6: He Is Free

I sit atop the roof of a house, hidden in the shadows, across the street from this village's Guard Quarters. Keith entered the building about thirty minutes ago. I scan the area for guards. It's a building with 4 floors. The top one evidently belongs all to the Captain, considering that it excels in revelry, at least from the outside. On the roof there are two archers who are clearly not paying attention for they are yet to see me. I also see two guards patrolling each floor except the top one and two guarding the front door. They wear cheap chainmail and helmets that barely protect their heads. Nobody wants to spend too much equipping simple lackeys. Since they are the night shift, they are the better soldiers of the whole Guard evident from their age and the way they hold their weapons. Most smart enemies only attack at dawn or dusk or at midnight. Only fools invade during the day. So Keith isn't a complete fool if he's taken that into consideration.

There will be more guards sleeping inside. My best course of action will be to sneak in, interrogate Keith and get out stealthily. The easiest way would be to use my throwing knives on the archers and then entering from the roof. But I can't do that, the archers are walking along the edges and the force of my knife might throw them off the roof, alerting the guards below. They might even shout when the blade pierces their suits. The moonlight might illuminate my knives as I throw them. No, the risk is too much and I would like to avoid killing as much as I can. I must find another way. Wait, the two archers are diagonally across from each other, I know how to get rid of them.

I jump off the roof onto the ledge just over a window on the top floor. As I hang from there I wait for them to change positions, I must time it right. I can tell their movements from their footsteps. As soon as the footsteps stop, I pull myself up. There is one guard standing on the corner in front of me and one behind me. I take light steps towards the one in front of me and grab him from behind with one hand over his mouth. He makes a muffled noise in shock that is not loud enough for the guards below to hear but loud enough to alert the other archer. I quickly turn around with the guard still in my grip to see the other archer turning around slowly, in surprise. "What the-" he can't finish his exclamation as I lash out. I throw the guard in my grip towards the other one like a rag doll and leap towards him. The guard is knocked down by the body of his friend as I bash his head in to make him lose consciousness. I pull up the other guard's head, who is clearly still dizzy from being thrown like a rag doll, and smash his skull against the ground in a way that doesn't kill him but will leave him knocked out for enough time for me to get out. With those two taken care of, I find and open a hatch that reveals stairs leading down. I enter the quarters of the Captain of Guard.

********

As I drop down into the chamber, I notice that it is dark, the whole room is only illuminated by the moonlight seeping in through the curtains. I see a bed with a lady sleeping on it. She wears a ring on her finger. So he's married! And yet he grope and rapes young women! Hatred for this man fills my mind. He is a vile creature with only greed and lust in his heart. He is known as one of the cruellest people in this village. He rapes any woman he takes a fancy to, plunders farmers and loots coin from the peasants. Since he is associated with Duncan, the lord of these lands, he has a free hand and the peasants do not have anyone to go to for help. I have never cared for his actions before, this man may be evil but the peasants here were also the ones who treated me as an outsider, I have no duty to them. But seeing this man's vile actions in his vulgar nature, the extravagant way he lives - thanks to the stolen coin of the peasant - that makes him look like a noble. Seeing all of this firsthand disgusts me. This man is a piece of filth in this land. I should kill him...

No! That's my father's words, the Wolf's words! I'm losing myself! I don't have to kill, I shouldn't kill! But isn't it just a crime to let him go knowing what this man has done and that he will continue to do so? No! I want to scream! Get out of my head! I don't want to kill I don't!

I stand there in the dark, I'm afraid of these changing thoughts. The darkness grows. I try my best to compose myself.

I take deep breaths and then make my way through the door on my left.

Keith is sitting there, in the dark, the whole room illuminated only by the moonlight that enters through the windows with expensive curtains on either side. He has a glass of wine in his hands. He sluggishly stands up on seeing me. Before he can draw his sword, I pounce at him, slamming him against the wall, with one hand over his mouth. He is visibly shocked. I get a good look at this man. He is barely 40 and has a graying lock of hair, his beard is unkempt and his eyes show me that he fears me. He fears me... That is not good enough, though, fear pushes you more, it helps you work harder and makes you desperate. I don't want him to be desperate, I want him to be terrified... And I know just the way to do that.

I push back the hood of my robe with my free hand so that he can see the Wolf's mask that used to inspire terror across this kingdom. I pull out a knife and I place it near his neck. He is terrified. I ask him with venom in my voice, "Where is Duncan keeping Evelyn?" "I-I don't know! Please, don't kill me! I'll give you anything you want! Money, women, anything!" he stammers in a voice that I'd just heard yell profanities to a poor girl. Being this close to a man that has filled me with hatred moments ago... I feel myself slipping away. I'm losing control. This is too much...
Keith still has the audacity to ask for mercy, "Please, let me live! I don't know anything!"
Damian is gone.
I am the only one here.
I am the Wolf.
And I will kill.
I ask Keith, "Tell me, do you let go the peasants that tell you they have nothing? Do you let go their wives and daughters?"
Slowly, it dawns onto Keith what is going to befell him.
Damian is no longer here to stop me.
I do not hesitate for a second as I slit his throat.
I am the Wolf.

I leave his body as it slumps to the ground, blood gushing out from the wound. My knife is covered in his blood. I can't stand this man, let alone his blood on my weapon. I wipe the blade with the curtains and place it back in its scabbard.
I ascend the stairs to the roof. I see my friend, a real wolf, atop the roof that I had perched on less than an hour ago. He knows that I have killed. The archers are gaining consciousness. I leap off the roof onto the top of a nearby home and navigate the top of the buildings back to the square where I left my belongings.

As I leap from roof to roof, I think.
Hatred for this man that was instigated in me just an hour ago made me slit his throat.

What will it do to the man who took you?

Artwork: -ashwrites