Apprentice of Darkness

5. The Guest

I spent a few hours lying there, in a light, dreamless sleep. I was thankful for the extra hours of rest, because after my dream - or maybe I should say nightmare, but that does not seem fitting, somehow - it felt as if I hadn't gotten any sleep at all. I had still been exhausted, perhaps even more so after Nix left.

Nonetheless, I awoke from my light sleep when someone entered the sleeping quarters. I sat up in time to see my family member, Alysia, return to her bed. She offered a short wave in greeting as I stood up, and I returned it as she yawned, lying down. She must be returning from a late-night mission, I thought to myself as I reached for the bonus Nix had given me last night, the enchanted clothes.

I did not wish to light a lantern and disturb Alysia, or wake the others sleeping in their respective beds nearby. Some of us shared sleeping quarters, but once we reach a certain rank, we get our own chambers. I believe it's when we get our own apprentice, like Nix or Hunter.

Grabbing the enchanted clothes and quietly closing the lid to my chest, I walked to the double doors that lead to the main hall. Just as I reached my hand out to push them open, the right door opened on its own accord.

I stood there for a moment, eyes narrowed, before I saw that Fallen had opened it from the other side. He grinned as he spotted me standing there, hand outstretched and the questioning look on my face. I rolled my eyes, replacing my hand by my side.

"Ah, CD, wait a moment," he called as I began to walk past him. Pausing once more, I turned to him with an eyebrow raised. "I was just looking for you. Nix wants to see you in her chambers."

"I see. Thanks, Fallen." I waved farewell as he turned back to the sleeping quarters, and I changed direction to head towards Nix's chambers.

"Oh, and congradulations on the title, Wolf!" I heard him call. I raised a hand, waving slightly to acknowledge his congradulations, but continued on my way without turning around.

As I arrived, I knocked lightly on the wooden door that lead into Nix's room. I heard her call from inside that I was to enter, and I pushed the door open, closing it quietly behind me as I stepped inside. "Fallen said you wanted to see me?"

Noting that I already had the clothes tucked under my arm, she nodded, and handed me a scroll. "Your next contract. This will provide all the information you need." As I unrolled the parchment and began reading, she continued, giving me a brief summary of what I was to accomplish. "You are to pose as a dinner guest to Talon Manor. It is supposedly haunted, but several nobles got "mysterious" invitations some days ago. Yours is attached to the scroll."

Just as she said so, I noticed the small envelope pinned to the bottom of the scroll. It had a woman's name that was not my own hand-printed in fancy letters that read "Sherry Winters." I rolled up the scroll and looked to Nix as she continued, "The invitations promise that whoever is able to spend a full night at the manor and remains alive by morning will get a handsome amount of gold - this was simply to ensure that they all attended, of course. They were sent by the woman who has contacted the Dark Assassins in hopes that you will be able to kill two people who will be attending dinner at the manor. Both have wronged her at some point, and you have descriptions of them both in the scroll. Kill them both in secret, and let no one else in the manor know that you were the killer."

I put two and two together and continued for her, "That will cause unrest among them and force them to fight with each other, yes?"

Nix nodded, "Indeed. They are not superstitious people and do not truly believe the manor is haunted, so they will blame one another for the deaths. With any luck, they will all kill themselves for you. That is your bonus, by the way. Make sure you are the only living soul come morning."

--- ~ ---

Not long after, I was ready. The enchanted clothes were perfect - fancy enough so that I appeared as any other noble, and not a dress. I never liked dresses, aside from the one I owned. I had purchased it for another mission similar to this, though it's enchantment was to increase my charm and defense. It was simple enough that I didn't entirely mind it.

I had gotten changed in privacy before heading back to the sleeping chambers to place my normal Dark Assassin cowl and tunic there, as well as grab a little added hint that would compliment my disguise. I carried a dagger, concealed in my left boot, as well as the hidden blade on my arm. I couldn't take any obvious weapons to a dinner party intended for greedy nobles, now could I?

"CD?" I looked up as a drowsy voice called my name. Fallen sat up with a yawn, stretching his arms above his head. As he did so, I realized he wasn't wearing a shirt, and shook my head as I turned back to looking through the items in my chest.

There it is! I smirked as I reached for the masquerade mask, half covered by the dress I mentioned before.

"Whoa. What are you all dressed up for?" Fallen asked, taking in my new clothes when I stood up. As I turned around and placed the mask over my eyes, he added, "Nice touch."

"I thought so. Anyway, it's for a contract. I'm to pose as a woman called Sherry Winters, a dinner guest at Talon Manor in Crossverge. Wish me luck."

"You won't need it, looking like that." He called. I laughed slightly, shaking my head.

"Whatever. I'll be back tomorrow morning. See you." I called before closing the door behind me and heading for Crossverge.

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(Note: First of all, that exchange between Fallen and CD serves a higher purpose. It'll all make sense in the next chapter. Also, to the side we have Nix's bonus, aka the enchanted clothes CD is wearing. I even added her wearing the mask, which is cropped from "The Courtesan" by ~Jodee on DeviantArt.)