Chapter Two

The Wrong or Righteous Road


Dunwall Tower

The City of Dunwall, Isle of Gristol

Nineteenth Day, Month of Earth, 1837

_O_O_O_

No one wanted to speak, for fear of saying the wrong thing. No one had slept. No one had been particularly tired. We all sat round for most of the night, vapor masks on, and more or less twiddled our thumbs. This was one of the tensest moments any of us had experienced in a long, long time. The discordancy of the machinery's hum kept us all on edge.

The moment would be upon us soon.

I stood near the door, tapping my fingers against the hilt of my blade. It was still surreal that we were finally here. It had only taken innumerable scouting runs; bribes; arranging the "accidental" deaths of servants, only to replace them with reliable informants; and more, just to get this far. So much work, for what would only be a single shot.

Will all of this have been worth it?

Our Master included, we were a team of five. Billie Lurk, Carlo Kastor, Fergus Kastor, and I each held a task that was suited to our particular talents. Billie and I were operating in tandem. She would scout out troublesome targets and relay their locations to me. I would then proceed to hunt them down and eliminate them, clearing a path for Master Daud, Carlo, and Fergus.

The twins were paramount to the success of our contract. Though, in truth, we were gambling with their lives. Would they be captured? Would they be interrogated and held for execution? Would they be killed on sight? All we had were questions. No answers. Yet, if the worst came to pass, we were already prepared to break them out of Coldridge Prison…or cast them out to sea, in eternal rest.

Breaking into Dunwall Tower's water lock had proven to be nearly impossible, despite all the bribes and preparations made. We were beginning to crack under the tremendous weight on our shoulders, Master Daud's intimidating gaze only made matters worse for our focus. He was waiting. Waiting for one of us to slip up, to make a Novice's mistake. We were four of his elite; therefore he expected nothing less than meticulous precision from us. If we somehow failed our contract…

I could only pray that Master Daud would be content with murdering us in cold blood. I have seen the things he can do to a person. Torture does not begin to describe those techniques. Fascinating to watch him use them…but I would prefer to die by my own hand at that point.

Fortunately, everything had gone according to plan so far. That meant very little in our line of work, though. One of the first lessons you learn as an assassin is to always expect the unexpected.

"Nervous, Arissa?" Master Daud said, his gaze focused on my fingers. "Scared, perhaps?"

"No, Master," I replied, ceasing to tap my fingers. "Of course not."

Master Daud's steely-blue eyes met my own, and I had to do everything in my power not to flinch. "I'd be nervous, too. Not knowing whether or not your Master plans to kill you…Not knowing what will happen once we step out of the confines of this room…You do realize, since I plan to leave Lurk here to prepare the bindings for the girl, that if your brothers fail, the fate of the contract lies in your hands?"

"Yes, Master. I am aware of that."

"I would hope so. It'd be a shame if I had to waste your talents."

I remained silent.

"Arissa, you're on point," Master Daud commanded. "Let's move!"

I opened the door to the control room, taking point. Master Daud, Carlo, and Fergus would be behind me. Dependent on me. I would not fail them.

As I crept up the stone staircase, I wrapped my fingers around the hilt of my blade, silently sliding it out from my belt. Turning the corner, I saw a lone City Watchman staring out at the vast expanse of the Wrenhaven River. I held out my left hand, spreading my fingers in a specific mannerism to indicate that I was dispatching a troublesome target.

Crouching low, I snuck up behind the Watchman. My footsteps made no sound, and I could not help but smile underneath my mask. I lived for moments like this now. My heart would pound in excitement, and I would get this…unique sensation in my head – my need. It did not hurt me, but it made me crave. A craving that can only be sated by…what else?

Blood.

I placed my hand over the Watchman's mouth, muffling his screams. He tried to fight against me. Tried to break free of my grasp. Yet, I am a master in my art. His struggles were in vain, as I angled my blade and stabbed into his side. The sharp metal was aimed at his heart.

One…Two…Three…

His body shuddered, his breathing ragged. Death was taking him. Death always took them.

Four…Five…Six…

The sound of three transversals in rapid succession broke my trance. Master Daud and my brothers have gone up to the rooftop above the water lock.

"Are you dead yet?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

The lack of a reply gave me my answer, and I guided the dead man's body to the ground. I withdrew my blade, and I dragged the corpse behind some conveniently located crates. I wiped the blood on my hands and blade away on his coat.

I sheathed my blade, and stood up to my full height. "You probably did not deserve to die, but I am not sorry. You were simply in the way. In the wrong place, at the wrong time. May you rest in peace all the same. The Outsider knows I will not."

Now it was my turn to transverse, to follow in my Master's path. And I did. I drew in a small amount of mana, focused on where I wished to be standing. I felt the smoky darkness envelop me, my body ripping itself apart and rematerializing all in the same instant. Then I found myself on the rooftop above the water lock.

That was when I heard a gunshot.

I ran to Master Daud's side, where he was staying out of sight by crouching behind the rooftop's crenellations. He was tapping his fingers against them. He was displeased. Why? Were Carlo and Fergus caught already? There is no way.

I crouched near my Master, casting my eyes towards the extravagant pavilion in the slight distance. No. Impossible. He should not even be here! I swore under my breath in Serkonan.

That rat! The rat deceived us! Assured us that the Royal Protector would not be an issue. So how is he even here?! He should not be, not for another two days at least!

I had never seen the Royal Protector in person before. Until now, that is. Perhaps it is my imagination, but Corvo Attano seems taller than Master Daud. His dark, jaw-length hair matched his – what I assumed were – dark eyes, and he had the typical dusky skin of a Serkonan. He had placed himself in front of Empress Jessamine and her daughter, Lady Emily, with sword and smoking pistol in hand.

There was something about his expression that actually managed to unnerve me. His expression was a mask – a mask of pure and cold murderous rage. If the whispers are to be believed, I should not be surprised. A parent's love for their child is said to do things to a person. And it has been said that Corvo Attano is the father of Emily Kaldwin, born out of wedlock and outside of the Fugue Feast.

It is a very strange matter by Dunwall's societal standards. It is stranger still that no one can prove nor deny this incriminating rumor. Yet, I am of the firm belief that Emily Kaldwin is really Emily Attano. And if that is true, well…Carlo and Fergus are not going to live through this encounter. They will not even stand a chance against the Serkonan Whirlwind himself.

Given the situation, perhaps I should not have been so…awestruck, as I watched Corvo dance. He is about to murder my brothers, after all. Still, he was striking fast, and striking true. And the sheer skill of it! It greatly surpasses that of my brothers – that of my own, even. He won the Blade Verbena, did he not? No wonder he is the Royal Protector. Jessamine picked him for more than just his looks after all, it seems.

Carlo and Fergus were combating Corvo together, one trying to make an opening for the other to strike. Against any other opponent, that would have worked. Not so with Corvo. Carlo had approached him from the right flank. Yet, he saw this coming and spun, swiftly blocking Carlo's strike. Steel rung loudly against steel, and Carlo was knocked off balance, desperately trying to recover from his mistake.

He never did.

In an eye's blink, the Royal Protector aimed his pistol and fired.

Carlo now lies twitching on the ground, taking his final breaths.

Fergus tried to use the opening he was given, yet he was shaken. He was known as one of the best swordsmen in the Whalers, agile and cunning. Well…agile and cunning did not cut it here. Corvo exploited the opening, parrying Fergus's strike away and knocking him off balance as well. Fergus fell, quickly transversing himself back onto his feet, behind Corvo.

Oh…Fascinating…

The Royal Protector had wanted that all along. He stabbed behind him, catching Fergus on his blade. It was a fatal blow, from the looks of it.

When Fergus slumped to the ground, I knew he had lost his grasp on life. Both Carlo and him dead…in several blinks of the eyes. Their bodies vanished in a puff of dark smoke.

I thought for certain that Master Daud would pop a vein in his head. He is rather angry right now, and I do not blame him. Two of his elite, dead…killed as quickly as one could snap their fingers. So…that leaves a bit of a problem.

Because now I have to deal with Corvo.

Great…Just great.

I watched as Lady Emily ran up to the Royal Protector, wrapping her arms around him. I could hear her sobbing, even from here. How typical of a child to be crying. The Empress came to stand next to Corvo, as well, placing her hand upon his shoulder.

Combating Corvo one-on-one will be a terrible idea, as I have no desire to die. That leaves me with only one solution to my problem, and it will be risky. Yet, I will have no choice but to take that risk. Master Daud would not have it any other way.

And, quite honestly, neither would I.

"Master," I said. "What is your will?"

"Deal with Corvo," Master Daud replied, his tone as cold as the Void. "If you fail me and survive, I want you to consider what happened to Carlo and Fergus as mercy."

I nodded. "By your command, Master."

I lunged forward, transversing myself onto the pavilion. The Royal Protector's back was to me. Pure luck, that. I raised my right hand into the air, ensnaring Corvo within a tethering, suspending him high off the ground and completely immobilizing him.

Master Daud materialized next to me. Lady Emily let out a shrill cry as he seized her small wrist. She was frozen in place, paralyzed by fear I could safely assume.

"No! Get away from her!" Empress Jessamine bellowed, forcing herself between the two of them. She managed to push my Master away, with strength summoned from I knew not where.

Master Daud backhanded her, and she stumbled. He wrapped his hand tightly around her neck, and forced her up against one of the pavilion's pillars. He raised his blade high in the air.

"Corvo!" she cried out.

In that moment, Time seemed to grow very, very still.

My Master impaled Empress Jessamine on his blade – I saw it come out her back. Lady Emily stared at her mother, whose life ebbed away before her eyes. Corvo struggled to free himself of my tethering, cursing me in Serkonan.

"Mommy!" Lady Emily shrieked.

Master Daud withdrew his blade from the Empress, pushing her to the ground. Her blood began to pool quite quickly. The child tried to crawl to her dying mother.

"Emily, no!" Corvo growled at her. His accent…is that a trace of Karnaca I hear? "Run! Get away from here!"

That will not be happening.

Lady Emily got up and tried to make a run for it. Holding the tethering strong in my hand, I stepped forward and wrapped my free arm around her, lifting her up into my embrace.

She struggled against me, screaming, "Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!"

I looked at Master Daud, awaiting my next order. He simply nodded. I released my tethering, and transversed back to our outpost.


_O_O_O_


I hate doing transversals with people. Doing a long-distance one takes enough out of me as it is. Doing a long distance transversal with a "passenger"…Ugh. Do not even get me started on that topic.

Lady Emily was not helping matters any. Were it not for the fact that she needed to be in one piece, unharmed, I would have hurt her. I had to restrain her with both my arms, due to her violent thrashing. And biting. She really enjoyed the biting part.

"Are you done with your tantrum, girl?" I said. "You are becoming an annoyance."

"Good! Let me go!" she replied, trying to sound brave. "I'm a princess. And if you hurt me, then my mother will hurt you!"

"A shame, then, that your mother is dead."

Those eight words took every remaining ounce of fight out of Lady Emily. It was as though she had been hit by a carriage. "N-n-no! You're…you're lying! My mother will…Mother will…" Tears spilled down her cheeks in droves. "No…"

Billie Lurk finally bothered to come up the staircase. She glanced at me, then at Lady Emily. "This is the daughter of the Empress, hmm? Well, aren't you a pretty little thing."

"W-w-why…Why are you…doing this!?" Lady Emily asked through sobs.

"Because we were paid to," Billie answered, taking the girl from my arms. "Now hold still, you little brat."

First came the blindfold, then the gag, and finally, Lurk bound Lady Emily's hands together. Then, she passed the child back into my arms. Moments later, Master Daud transversed into the room, wiping fresh blood away on his sleeve.

"It took you long enough, sir," Lurk said to him. "When are we breaking the others out of Coldridge?"

"We're not," he replied. "They're dead."

Lurk scoffed. "With all due respect, I told you that they were going to be worthless, sir. We should have let Arissa kill Jessamine, and made her take the fall for it."

"Enough, Lurk. I'll fill you in on the details later. For now, return home and make sure their bodies are there. Otherwise, I'm going to have you searching the whole damn city for them."

"Whatever you say, sir," she replied, transversing away.

Master Daud turned to face me. "You're coming with me. The Empress's daughter still needs to be delivered to the Pendletons."

"Yes, Master," I replied without question.