Assassin's Fall

The woodland folk

Dale followed the tunnel to a small clearing in a forest. A steep edge rose up to a bridge on his left. Not far ahead, veiled by a thin curtain of spindly trees, a stream flowed down to his right. There was no one in sight. Maybe Tamaia had left, or something was wrong.

“Up here,” a voice called from the bridge.

Dale scaled the incline with ease. Tamaia awaited him on the bridge, alone.

“Where are they?” Dale asked.

“Safe,” Tamaia answered. “For now, at least.”

Dale closed the distance between them. Tamaia lifted a needle against him.

“Don’t even think about it,” she warned. “See, I had a carriage waiting here the whole time. A servant of mine drove them to my hideout. I won’t be so accommodating if you try to play tricks.”

“You knew the targets were my family!” Dale fumed, losing his composure. He took a deep breath, trying to soothe his breaking nerve. “Did Zay task you to find them?”

“Yes. The last time you visited, a group of watchers were assigned to follow you. I was among them. Arxes took over the mission once we found your parents.”

“So you were behind all this…” Dale accused.

“Don’t threaten me. I’m sick of your intimidation. Kill me and you will never see your family again. You owe me. I saved your life, and your family. I just became a fugitive of the guild where I could have collected a huge payment for this mission. The least you can do is be thankful.”

The watcher was right. Dale was just so angry at his miscalculations that he did not know who else to blame. Tamaia had tried to warn him prior, but he had turned a deaf ear. Dale had never needed anyone’s help before. Being saved by a watcher was humbling. That aside, he owed her more than his life.

“You said you wanted to ask for a favor?” Dale said.

“Yes. Did anyone follow you?”

“A lot of ghosts, maybe?” Dale replied.

“Liandra?” Tamaia inquired.

“She was still asleep.”

“You should have killed her. You know she’ll not rest until she finds you and finishes what she started.”

“I know,” Dale said submissively. “Are we going to linger all night, then?”

Tamaia looked down at the passage exit as if she suspected someone to come out of it. She sheathed her needles.

“Follow me.”

Dale followed Tamaia down the road. Their way led them far from the town of Greengrove and towards a range of mountains. The more they progressed, the less the place became inhabited. They passed a lot of fields and vineyards at first, then the clearing gave way to dense forest. Only when they had entered the brush did Tamaia speak.

“I want you to accompany me and my charge to the country of Tauria. You will be our guard, and your responsibility will be to protect us at all times. Deliver us safely to Tauria and I will consider your debt settled.”

“That’s it?”

“You will get more information as we go. But for now, that’s all you need to know.”

They followed a narrow path up the side of the mountain. The vegetation was so thick that the path was barely discernible, but Tamaia knew it well. The darkness was thick under the canopy, making it practically impossible to see anything. Fortunately for Dale, his senses were more refined in such places. The path came up between two jagged rocks and flattened towards a narrow entrance into a cave.

Dale followed Tamaia into the cave. It was dark, but at the other end there was another entrance from which amber light beamed into the cave. Tamaia walked confidently towards the light, and the sight of what Dale saw beyond made his jaw drop.

Before them was a large hall that stretched away for as far as the eye could see. It had a high ceiling from which large, bulbous crystals emitted bright amber light. On either side of the hall were multiple entrances and exits that led to and from the hall, and from these many people came.

The hall itself looked like a marketplace, with small stalls and tables on which various food items and utensils were laid. But it was no ordinary market. There were a lot of unusual things about the place. The first anomaly were the people themselves. They were thin and tall, with long braided hair that ran freely to their elbows and waists. Their skin was bright and pale, and the tops of their ears slanted away from their heads, tapering to an almost pointed end. The people wore light silk garments of various colors. Dale had heard of the woodland folk, and this appearance matched their description.

Dale observed Tamaia closely for the first time. She indeed used some strange makeup to make her skin look rougher, and she kept her ears covered by the hair that she tied back in a low ponytail. Despite all that, her features still deviated from the human norm. Her thin eyebrows, the glow of her emerald eyes, and the natural elegance with which she moved.

“We don’t normally bring in strangers from the outside,” Tamaia said. “Hopefully, I won’t come to regret it.”

Tamaia led Dale through the hall, and the woodland folk spared them some occasional glances and bowed their heads slightly as they passed. The place smelled of flower petals and nectar. Dale saw mesmerizing colors he never knew existed, and instruments whose use he could not even fathom. Some of the people worked on some machines that sparked with lightning, others sold pears that were bigger than Dale’s head. Tamaia turned right and through one of the doors. It led them down a straight passageway which was also lit by the strange crystals. The walls were smoothly plastered with red mortar, and several inscriptions were written along the passageway in a language Dale could not read.

The passage branched into three ways after about twenty yards. Tamaia took the right one. Both walls became lined with arched doorways, and as they progressed further, Dale noticed that the rooms within were residents. Some chose to veil their doors with linen cloth, but most just left the doors uncovered. Children played and ran about, and a small girl ran from one of the rooms and flew into Tamaia’s arms.

“Tammy! What did you bring me?” the girl asked, giggling.

The watcher lifted the girl up and tousled her curly auburn hair before setting her back down. She took a few copper coins from her pocket and handed them over to the girl.

“Go get yourself some honey cake,” Tamaia said, forcing a smile.

The girl sped down the passageway, excited about her new shopping adventure. Tamaia noticed the surprise on Dale’s face. Her cheeks flushed.

“We are not all cold-blooded killers like you,” she said.

Dale chuckled. “Your aversion to bloodshed is well known in the guild.”

Tamaia walked away, visibly offended. She unveiled a blue cloth on one of the rooms and walked through. Within that room was another room at the end, and there she led Dale. The place was moderately furnished, and nothing fancy was displayed on the walls. A squat wooden table was placed in the middle of the room. Danette, Crestien and Duci sat around it on furry mats. There was also a boy, possibly younger than Duci. He had curly blonde hair that fell to his shoulders, but his slanted ears protruded through.

“I trust that Mariele brought you here safely?” Tamaia asked.

“She did,” Danette answered, looking up gladly. “She must have felt uncomfortable in our company. She left the moment we arrived. Timmy has been excellent company though.”

The boy blushed at the compliment.

“Forgive her. We are a shy people, not used to the company of strangers. Please, make yourself at home.”

Tamaia gestured at the table and went through yet another veiled doorway within the room. Dale went to sit with his family. Duci snuggled close and rested her head on his arm.

“You are not well,” she said sadly.

“I’ll be fine,” Dale said.

“I…see you,” the boy spoke. He looked in Dale’s direction. His eyes were similar to Tamaia’s, but where Tamaia’s were a dark emerald, Timmy’s were a pale green.

“I am blind,” the boy explained. “I don’t usually see. But… I see you.”

Dale did not know what that meant. Before he could ask more about it, Tamaia returned, wearing a long, sleeveless dress of fine magenta. She had untied her hair, and it cascaded down to her elbows in chestnut ripples. She placed a basket of fruit on the table and sat beside Timmy.

“Dig in,” she said.

Throughout the meal, Tamaia spoke about her people, offering a convenient distraction to take their minds off the recent encounter with assassins. As the time grew late, Tamaia assigned sleeping quarters to each of them except Dale. Instead, she took two towels and led him out of her home.

“You are stained with blood,” Tamaia explained. “You need to cleanse first before you sleep.”

The watcher led him through several passageways until they came to a series of bathing rooms. A few of them were unoccupied and Tamaia beckoned him into one. Within was a bathing vessel filled with steaming water. Dale saw there was a mechanism that could bring both hot and cold water into the vessel, and though these contraptions had been installed at the guild, the woodland folk had a more refined version.

Blocks of soap and scrubbing sponges were arranged on the edge of the vessel. Dale could not afford to relax at this time, but the bath was so tempting.

“Remove your clothes,” Tamaia instructed.

“Get out first,” Dale answered.

Tamaia scoffed. “Don’t tell me you are shy.”

“A man’s dignity lies in his nakedness,” Dale said defensively, to which Tamaia laughed.

She shed her dress and stepped into the vessel. Dale looked away until he was certain she had settled inside the vessel.

“It is just a bath. Do not worry. There is nothing that I find attractive about you. If anything, I find your method of killing and impassive character slightly repulsive.”

“That’s…cold,” Dale muttered.

“You’re the one to talk. Come, the sooner we rest, the sooner we can leave tomorrow morning.”

Dale unbuckled his sword and removed his garb. Tamaia did not even try to pretend that she was not looking. Dale stepped into the vessel and sat at the opposite end, finding relief in the warmth and concealment that the water offered.

“Timmy was born blind,” Tamaia said. “He was there the night our parents were killed three years ago. Some sort of demon was sent by the guild to execute them. While he was hidden in a closet, he saw it. It’s the only thing he claims he’s ever seen, until today.”

“You think I killed your parents?” Dale asked.

“No. But someone like you did. Maybe someone worse than you. The power you have consumes. It’s slowly transforming you into something…ugly.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

“Come closer. I want you to help me bathe.”