Several days later Kel crossed the northern part of the border between Tortall and Tusaine. Two days after she crossed the border Kel was in Collensburg, passing through alleys, looking for the tavern mentioned in the missive. She finally found it in hidden deep in a back alley. Water dripped from the roof, splashing into a large puddle of strange colored liquid. After tying Sakuyo far enough away from the puddle to keep the horse from tempting fate, Kel entered the tavern, pushing back the dirty cloth, which hung from the doorframe as a makeshift door. She came into a dark, smoky room. Following the missive's directions she sat at the table farthest from the door. She sat there silently watching the bartender polish the ale mugs with a rather overused rag. He was a short and stout fellow with a scraggly beard that needed to be trimmed and combed. His apron was covered in filth, causing it to take on an odd yellow-brown color. He casually raised his eyes to look at her. When Kel continued to look at him, he raised an eyebrow in question and she slightly nodded her head, turning to look at the fireplace. The large fireplace held a small blazing fire, which provided most off the light in the room. As Kel sat there waiting for the bartender to send a barmaid her way, she flicked the many crumbs on the table with her short fingernails.

"Can I help ya?" asked a tall woman with a thick accent. She had the pale skin tone that most Tusainians had. She let her unruly red hair tumble over her shoulders. Her green eyes twinkled. She wore a very gaudy blouse that allowed a fair amount of her bosoms to show.

"I'd like ye house special with an extra splatterin' of mashed patatas and a tall mug of ye frothiest ale," Kel replied in the common language used by all of the countries.

"I'll be right back with it love," the barmaid said with a wink.

Kel watched as she disappeared into a back room to inform the Tusaine assassins that The Star had arrived.


"What is it Brandi?" demanded a man with hateful eyes and a long face.

"I just came to tell ye The Star's 'ere, but I can leave if ya want," she responded sarcastically.

"No. No. Brandi. I'm sorry it's just been a very long day. Did he give you the phrase?"

"Just like ye said, right down to the extra splatterin' of mashed patatas."

"Good job Brandi. What did he look like?"

"Tall. Olive complexion. Black hair. Typical Yamani."

"Thank you Brandi. Now would you mind going and getting him?"

With a roll of her eyes she left the room to retrieve her master's new toy.

"Finally. Thank Mithros, he's finally here," the man finished to himself.


Kel scanned herself making sure that her Yamani disguise was in place. She knew they were expecting a male Yamani and not a female Tortallan, so she had resorted back to the disguise she had first worn when she returned to Tortall. The barmaid soon came back and led her into a back room where a man who looked like a horse greeted Kel. He had a long face. His eyes were large and buggy and he had a very large nose with extremely large nostrils. When he opened his mouth it seemed as if he could finish he dinner in one bite. He had let his hair grow out and kept it pulled back in a ponytail. Scanran, thought Kel, definitely Scanran.

"I'm glad that you were finally able to join us…." He said waiting for a name.

"Earo," she replied adding a slight glare when his face showed he wished for more.

"If you don't mind, Earo, I would like to keep the whole thing on a first name basis. I am Tezcacoatl, but you can call me Tez. My call name is The Viper," he said with such overconfidence and pride that Kel was barely able to keep herself from rolling her eyes, "I'm sure that you wish to get down to business. Here's the deal. You come and work for us. Teach at the school, maybe a few hits, but the ones you take are up to you. We'll pay you much better than the pitiful amount that you receive from The Yamani Islands. 5,000 crowns a year. Plus whatever the head price is for whatever hits you do. You also will receive money for the hits your students do. So train them well and you'll have more money than you'll know what to do with. You will also be given very comfortable living arrangements at the school."

"And all you expect of me is to train your students."

"Exactly. We've learned that better assassins are produced when someone who's made a name trains them. Seeing that you made yourself quite a name when you removed the Tortallan boy several years ago, we've been trying to get you to ever since. So is it a deal?" he asked offering a hand.

"It's a deal," Kel said taking his hand and shaking it.

"Well then, we better get going."


Tez led Kel out a back door and into a stable. There Kel found Sakuyo. When she mounted her horse she found evidence that her saddlebags had been searched through. The perpetrator had forgotten to remember to push in the two metal rivets that popped out whenever the bags were opened. Knowing that this would have probably happened, Kel had removed anything of value and hidden them on her person as well as concealed several items in Sakuyo's saddle. The Emperor had designed saddles for all of his knights. In each saddle were several compartments in which they could hide things. It was a very useful tool and Kel was glad for it. Before mounting his steed, Tez glanced out of the stable door. Finding the route clear, he swung up on his horse and silently led Kel down the back alley. They soon came to a dead end. Tez dismounted and handed Kel his horse's reins. Going over to the wall he quietly knocked out a tune. Several knocks came from the other side of the wall. Tez replied one last time before remounting. The wall soon opened to reveal a passage that led underground. The tunnel was lit by several torches, which hung on the wall. As soon as Kel crossed over the threshold a young boy of about ten closed the door.

With a nod of thanks to the boy Tez began his way down the tunnel with Kel close behind. They soon came to a fork and Tez chose the path leading to the right. They traveled through the tunnel for several hours before they entered a large room. The room contained several beds and a stable. There was also a jail cell. Tez removed his horse's saddle and put the animal into one of the stalls after a quick brush down. Following his example, Kel did the same and placed her saddlebags on one of the beds. After giving Sakuyo fresh water from a well, fresh hay, and a carefully measured portion of oats, she returned to the main part of the room. She found Tez starting a fire in a large stove, whose pipe left through a hole in the ceiling. The smell of cooking meat soon began to waft through the room, causing Kel's mouth to water. Tez sat a plate in front of Kel. While he left the room to retrieve a pitcher of water Kel used a charm to check the meal for poison. Finding none she began to eat. As soon as they finished eating, Kel washed the dishes before going to a bed, where she lay down and fell asleep with one eye open for danger and her knives within easy reach.


So what did you all think? Review and let me know. Hope you all enjoy the new chapter lengths. I'm going to try and shoot for about a thousand words per chapter. This one's 1,320 without this note! One more thing I will give each person who reviews a sneek peek at the next chapter! I got the idea from Kate of Carlay, hope you don't mind!