Wednesday Excerpt, "Revenge"

He wiped his hands and lit a lamp. With the room illuminated,

he saw what was left of the would-be assassin. Five’s body was

completely smashed. The blood-soaked clothes revealed nothing of

value. In the satchel Linvin found the rope and hook, a money

purse and a leather folder.

He opened the folder first. There were many written pages. He

sat down with his pipe and read. It was a journal. The writings

chronicled his movements since his arrival in Missandor.

Five had been careful not to make any note referring to his

employer in the journal. Indeed, it seemed to Linvin that the

purpose of the notes was to have them read by the employer after

the assassination. It was a briefing on how the plan was carried

out.

According to the entries, Five had come to Missandor the

previous day. He spied on Linvin and recorded his movements.

Five even wore a disguise and shopped the GTC while Linvin was

working. He did not strike there because of the number of

witnesses and what he called a low probability of success.

The assassin did not stay at an inn because he wanted to be sure

he did not leave a trace of his presence. He chose the beggar

disguise because it enabled him to survey Linvin’s tree from close

range and watch his every move.

Linvin sat the journal down and gnawed on his pipe. He puffed

a few times before returning the writings to the bag and retrieving

the money purse. It was full of gold. Upon examining the coins, he

was disappointed to see that they bore no markings of any kind.

Though coinage was minted in universal denominations

throughout the civilized world, each nation branded them with

their own emblem. Even if the markings were foreign, gold was

accepted worldwide as a form of payment.

The coins in that purse were specifically made without any

identification at all. Closer inspection showed that they had been

conditioned to look as though they were old so that no one would

inquire about their lack of marking.

Linvin knew such coins would be expensive to make and would

have to have been custom-crafted for Five. Great pains were taken

to ensure the person seeking Linvin’s head remained anonymous.

That person was obviously more concerned with Linvin’s death

than what it would cost.

Five was a professional assassin. He was not attempting murder

for the first time. It seemed to Linvin that he had killed before for

profit.

Linvin set the purse down and walked over to the body. At his

feet, he saw the crossbow. He retrieved it and examined it like a

merchant inspecting a possible purchase. Once again, he found no

revealing details.

So who wants me dead? he thought. Each of those killers was

connected. Their numbers were sequential, and they all carried

these. He tossed the bow into his closet. It came to rest in a pile of

similar crossbows. The great elf paced until he grew weary. There

was not enough information for him to reach a rational decision.

Who would want me dead this badly? he thought. A rival

company? No. They would not go to such extreme lengths. What

enemies do I have? The only people I know of who hate me that

badly would be the Mandreans. But I killed Lord Mandrean over

two years ago. What would a successor gain by killing me in this

way? Knowing the nature of the Mandreans I would think he

would be thankful that I made room on the throne for him. And

even if he sought to win support in the empire by hunting me down,

killing me quietly would not advance his goal.

It could be another nation trying to gain favor with the

Mandreans. That would open the door to just about everyone.

Or it might be someone I know nothing about. There is the

possibility that someone new has entered the mix. Perhaps they

seek the Red Sapphire for themselves? It would do them no good.

The stone only obeys me. For someone else to even touch the staff

would bring a swift demise. Still, no one would be aware of that. It

might seem that they could kill me and possess the gem. If that is

the case, I am dealing with fools. But this man did not play the

part of a fool and would have been too expensive to be hired by

one.