Cearbhail:

Sorry it's been a while, gents. I was really really passionate about getting done with the Chronicles of Lydia and starting the story about Maleek and Ruby. And then my computer was attacked by viruses and I had to get it fixed. Even so, I was working on this chapter for almost two weeks before I got it here. I just didn't seem to have it this time. But...the arc is starting to fill in now. Now that the characters have established their places, there will be more chapters of random humor like in the Chronicles of Lydia, notable character development and interactions. I already know how I'm presenting Red and the others.

[Malik Ishtar]

Dear journal,

We're out of the cold now. It's been a month since the port accident and the snow has started coating the ground, but at least we're no longer living outdoors. While surveying the town, I noticed a portion of town that is ignored by the patrolling knights. I'm not sure if it's because they are supervising the reconstruction of the port town or if it's because they don't like revisiting a scar on their town. I suspect the knights will eventually try to fix the town so that new people can move in. Well, right now it's used as more of a refugee sector for people who've lost their homes and families in the war. There are people coming in and out of this sector all the time but no one seems to actually live here so…we blend in nicely. I have taken this opportunity to move my new family into the old pub and an old smithy. We've been living here for a couple weeks now and we've settled in. We have a nice set up between the two buildings and are working on creating a giant room under the two buildings that we can use for training and eventually our base of operations.

Apart from that, I've stopped the training for now. Instead of clashing swords and making our three initiates run around in white robes, I've instead have just tried to get us into a routine with the city. Red's got a job at a bakery under the name Isabella. It suits her with her new look. Locksley, I have scouting and hunting game to sell to the townsfolk, or rather give to those who are starving. And Zorro, I have a special task for him. I need someone who can give us intelligence on the knights. So, since he is the only one of us who hasn't been pegged for a target, I have issued him a challenge of becoming a knight, preferably one that see the king. He's going to see about getting that started today. We shall see. Meanwhile, I will patrol the rooftops and see what I can learn about the city's condition.

Malik Ishtar, Master of the Nottingham Den

…

I closed my journal and looked around the pub. Locksley's men were so lazy these days. They sat around the pub and drank all the wine and beer they could find. It was amazing we hadn't run out of it yet. Heck, I was amazed there was any here when we moved in. I thought the knights would have taken all these bottles the night they burnt this sector of town. Speaking of which, the walls of the tavern were weak and frail because of the fire that ravaged the outside of this building. Most of the walls were wooden in this building, excluding the main floor. It was a good thing there was a basement underneath where the original owner stored his wine. There was plenty of room where all the guys had lied out their own mats to sleep in. When we selected the two buildings to move into, we made a deal. I would watch over the tavern that housed all the men. My sister would look over the smithy that housed all the women. It seemed like a good idea at the time, and it still does.

I started to stand up from my seat and made my way out the tavern's door. I braced myself for the impact of coldness that slammed me across the face. All the air in my lungs was pulled from me and I was left breathless as the harsh winter air slammed into me. The air sure was thick today. It felt like small razors were pricking me in the face but I muscled through it. I wasn't used to temperatures this cold…and I hear it was only going to get worse. I slipped on my gloves and started climbing up the building across the road. Might as well get up out of sight while I'm in the burnt sector. The only problem was that some of the rooftops were unstable and caving in. I really had to watch out so that I didn't fall into a refugee's house or something.

Once I got on top of a roof, I shoved my hands into my pockets after pulling my scarf over my nose. I could feel the warmth already. That was another thing I could thank our Mother Goose for. She kept giving us stuff that helped keep us warm. She knew that we'd be out fighting and scouting so she made it as easy for us as possible. This scarf was one of the things she'd give us. The gloves were another. I just didn't trust the gloves as much.

Speaking of our current Coven Mother…looking down from the rooftop, I could see the little witch. She was hiding behind a corner of a building on the road beneath me, poking her head out as she watched someone from down the alley. I was curious, so I looked down the alley. Right there in the middle of the dirt road was Brian. He wasn't moving or anything. He was just standing there. That really got my attention so I started jumping across the roof to get a better view…and to hear what was going on.

So, I snuck across the rooftops until I was basically on top of Brian. I don't think even Goose noticed me as I glided across the roofs. Once I found a nice spot, I sat down and watched. Brian was standing there, his chin lifted high and his face etched in seriousness. Of course, his wounds were finally healed and he was probably enjoying the brisk air. But…why was he just standing here?

That's when I heard chatter from further down the alley. It sounded like boys laughing about something. So, when I looked at the other end of the alleyway, I could see those boys that beat up Brian last time he was here. I looked back at Brian, seeing his eyes narrow. Ah…I see what this was. He was redeeming his honor. I pulled out an apple and sat back. I wanted to see how he would handle this.

"Oy, I thought it was you!" The big bully from last time cried out, sticking out a hand that clutched on a crumpled piece of paper. He waved it around in the air, saying, "You left me this note? 'I have the money I owe your father so meet me in the alley.'" He looked up at Brian, rubbing his running nose. "You made me come all the way out here in the cold? You stupid piece of trash! Why aren't you dead like the other witches?"

"I'm not a witch!" Brian called out. "And neither was my mom!" He held out a bag of coins and jingled them around. "And like I promised, I have the coins I owed your father for the bread I took. I even put in extra for taking so long with it." He held it out for the bully, who was still walking up to him.

When the bully got close enough to take the bag, he knocked it out of Brian's hands. "You think I'd just take money from you? You probably just stole that too." He brought up his fist and slammed it against Brian's face. Brian toppled for a second, but regained his balance before he collapsed. He handled that punch pretty well. A normal boy his size (half the bully's) would have been sent to the gravel after such a hit, but Brian barely lost his balance. "I'm going to put you in your place, thief!"

"I'm not a thief!" Brian cried out. He turned to look at the bully. "And I don't want to fight you, either. I'm the son of a knight…and I'll show you what I can do if you attack me again." He brought up his hands. "If you throw another punch, I will make you kiss the road."

The bully turned to laugh at his friends before he suddenly turned back and slammed Brian in the face. Brian raised his arms to block the hit, taking the hit with his arms. The punch was enough to force Brian to jump back a bit before striking out as well. The bully evaded the strike at the last second, grabbing onto Brian's arm. He twisted the arm and I heard it snap from up where I was sitting. Brian cried out in pain and fell to his knees, only to be slammed in his nose with the bully's knee. Brian crumpled to the floor, unconscious. The bully laughed and turned to face his friends. "Can you believe this loser? You think he'd learn the first time." He looked down at Brian, nodding. "I should kill him. At this point it would be a mercy."

"Don't you dare touch him!" Mother Goose screamed as she came out of her hiding spot in the street. She quickly walked up to them. I could see her eyes glowing with energy. Now…this should be entertaining. I never got to see her fight. I imagine it would be something amazing. Better be since she's one of the best witches we have. I need to know what we have in terms of offense and defense.

The six boys all turned to face her. The bully looking at her with interest. "What's he to you?" He pointed down at Brian. "Your boyfriend?" He laughed and looked up at her. "Are you a witch too?"

Mother Goose stopped and crossed her arms. "What if I am a witch? What are you going to do about it?"

The boys started laughing at her. "What are you going to do about it?" The bully mocked as he picked up a brick. He tossed it in his hands, eyeing it with excitement. "How about this?" He turned to face Mother Goose, throwing the brick as fast as he could. I scoffed at the bully, shaking my head. He did this same trick to Brian to win. It was already six against one…and he was using a brick against an unarmed opponent? I hoped Goose could handle this; otherwise, I'd have to step in.

Mother Goose stuck out her hand. As the brick came near, the brick exploded into dust, flying past her as nothing more than a cloud. She lowered her hand, smirking at him while crossing her arms. "I'll give you the same offer my friend gave you…Jonathan."

"She knows your name!" One of the other boys screamed to the leader. "She's really a witch!"

Jonathan turned to look back at him. "Oh really? I just assumed the brick exploded because it was happy!" He replied sarcastically to his friend. He looked back at Goose, his eyes betraying his fear. "So what, you can blow up bricks? What will you do when I ram my fist in your face?"

She stepped forward. "You broke my friend's arm. I in turn will shatter every bone in your body if you come fight me." Her eyes started glowing as she walked up to John.

He only scowled as he stepped forward. "You think I'm scared of you? I'll take you on!" He charged up to Goose, screaming as he ran up to her.

I looked over at Goose, curious. Ok, let's see what you will do now. Will you kill him, maim him, or distract him? I watched as she stood there, tapping her foot impatiently against the ground while she waited for Jonathan to reach her.

She waited until he came up to her. When he was in striking range, he threw a quick punch at her face. Goose waved her hand to the side like she was swatting a fly, and John was suddenly pulled off his feet. He slid across the ground, slamming into the wall underneath me. She turned to face him casually, her eyes still glowing with white fire. "I'll warn you again, do not pursue this combat. I will turn you into a frog if you try this again!" She snapped her fingers and the bag of coins Brian had been holding flew into her open hand. She extended her hand, tossing the bag to Jonathan. "Just accept this payment, void your problems with Brian…and get lost."

Jonathan stood up, wiping blood off his mouth. He pointed his finger at her while taking the bag of coins. "I'll get you both for this. The King will hear about you."

She groaned, rolled her eyes, and snapped her fingers. "You just said the wrong thing." Jonathan suddenly became frozen in his spot. Not just frozen like he was scared or in pain, but frozen as in…he could have been a statue if I didn't know better. She walked up to him, smiling. "I'll just make you forget you ever saw me. But…I think I'll let you remember Brian and how he kicked your butt." She chuckled as she ran her fingers across his head. "Or perhaps a memory of you peeing your pants when Brian glared at you. You'd be so terrified that you'd never touch him ever again." She turned to face the other boys. "I guess I'll need to wipe your memories too. Perhaps add that memory of your buddy peeing his pants." She nodded at her idea, smiling at Brian. She snapped her fingers and the boys started falling to the ground. Once that was done, she turned to face Jonathan. She touched him on his forehead and closed her eyes. Then she walked up to Brian, tending to his broken arm. She grabbed his arm, and pulled it out. I heard the arm snap back in. Then she reached into her pocket, pulling out some of her healing salve. She rubbed it on his arms for a few seconds before picking him up by his legs and dragging him back to the tavern. She paused to look up at me for a second, smiling a welcome to me. "Thanks for not interfering, Assassin." I think it was sarcasm, but it's hard to tell with her.

I nodded back to her, and she went back to dragging the unconscious Brian away. Ok, I got to see what she was capable of doing. She was the real deal after all. She tossed that boy aside with little effort, froze him in his spot, and wiped his memory away. I wonder if I could use little mind wiping trick against the King of England to make him forget about the witch raid. It was my job to use all the resources I had to make life easier here for everyone. No doubt she'd help out if I asked her. It would benefit her coven if I did so. I had some amazing allies now.

Well, either way, I had more people to check up on. I turned my attention back up to the rooftops. I had to see what Zorro was doing. He was trying to find a way to become involved in the knights. I should see if I could find him and check up on his progress. Now…if I was Zorro, where would I begin my search?

…

[Zorro]

This town reminded me little of my town. The people were not as friendly as I would have liked, but they were kind enough. I can tell they don't like Spaniards though. Well, the men don't like the Spaniards much, but the women on the other hand. Heh. That was a different story.

"Wow, you're from Spain?" The lovely Jeanette asked as she pressed up against me. She grabbed my arm, rubbing her hands on my biceps. "Wow…your arms are so big."

Another serving girl, Veronica, sitting on my left glared at Jeanette. She looked up at me, cooing. "Your eyes are so dreamy! I love your hair! Can I feel your chest?"

I nodded as I took a sip of my wine. The lovely Jeanette and Veronica were but two of several serving wenches pressing up against me. They were all impressed with my exotic look and accent. I knew a real tavern would be a great place to start my search. Of course, I wasn't just here for the many women looking for a real man; I was here because this was where the knights came to relax and bitch about their duties. I could already see two off-duty knights getting drunk near the corner of the tavern. They were talking just loudly enough that my developing Sight-induced hearing could pick up their conversation.

"Did you hear that Duke Wolfe is looking for new mercenaries for his trading operations?" One of the knights was saying to his already drunken buddy.

The knight nodded. "Yeah, I heard. The King has given him permission to throw a tournament to find worthy warriors. Heck, I heard that if the warriors did a good enough job at the tournament that the King might knight the victor and accept them into the Royal Guard."

"The Royal Guard?" The first knight asked. "You know how many times I've requested that post? But no…my family's not good enough to serve in the King's court. Instead, I get stuck patrolling the wall and the streets for petty thieves and robbers. What's the King thinking, accepting random strangers good with a sword to be part of his royal guard? Just because they're good with a sword doesn't mean they'd be loyal or even guard-worthy."

"I know, right? I would find it laughable if it weren't our Lord's protection on the line." The knight replied. I heard his armor rubbing against the chair as he stood up. "Well, I gotta take a leak now and this armor isn't easy to get off when I'm drunk so…I'll see you in about an hour." He trudged off, leaving his friend alone.

I turned my attention back to my new favorite women. I flashed them a smile before I started to stand up. "I'm sorry, ladies, but I have to see a man about a horse." They whined a little as I started walking towards the door. I paused as I looked back at the other knight, waving to him. He noticed me a little, even waving back. I took that as a welcome to talk to him, so I walked up and sat down in his friend's seat. "Excuse me. I'm a traveler seeking adventure and a good challenge. You see…I'm a bit of a swordsman and I as I was passing by this town, I noticed how…torn up it is. I wish to help in any way I can. Do you know of a way I can help?"

The knight nodded. "Sure. It's good to hear you want to help our town. In the tower in the west of the royal courtyard, you'll find a barracks for the guards. A tall man with blond hair by the name William Brewer. He's the sheriff for the town and directs our town guards. If you speak to him, he'll see about putting you to good use. If you're really a good swordsman, I'm sure he'll find a place for you."

I nodded to the knight. "Thank you for the help, knight. I'll head over there right now."

I walked out of the tavern, looking around. It was nice to see that the town was doing better. When I first arrived, the entire place was a mess. And most of it was also my doing. I had no idea that helping Red would end up with killing several families that lived on the port. Of course, neither did she. What happened was a freak accident spawned by a clumsy Assassin, nothing more, nothing less. In fact…all the accidents that happened to the town: the destroyed port, the blown up tower, were both caused by clumsy Assassins. All the more reason to not let them do all the work. They'll only destroy more of the town. Good thing Robin and Red are training to take the role. They seem reasonable. Red can be a bit scary at times, and a little too serious, but she cares for everyone. She's pretty too.

As I entered the streets, I felt eyes looking down at me from the ceiling. I had grown very familiar with the feeling of these eyes watching me. We all knew the feeling of our Master looking down at us from his perching spots. We knew where he was when he was looking down at us. He just has that presence once you understand how to feel someone's gaze upon you. I waved up to Marik, turning to look up at him for a second. I glanced around to make sure no one else was watching, but let's be honest…it's impossible for women to take their eyes off me. It's just my charisma. So, knowing that I couldn't just jump up a building without being watched by fan girls, I waved to Marik to come join me.

He stepped away for a second, leaving me to stand in my spot. A few seconds later, I heard a hawk cry and a second later a crash in a cart full of hay. Hay? What was that doing in a cart in the middle of town right next to a roof? Ah heck, I'm better off not knowing. I watched the hay for a few seconds before Marik stepped out of the hay, walking up to me. He was dressed in a newer outfit that wasn't completely outlandish. His robes had been modified to look more like a farmer's tunic with coat tails of a royal. It was still mostly white but with more brown than anything else. He looked more like a normal citizen now. These were the new Assassin robes for us. I was dressed in all black, in fact, my very same outfit I came to town in. I am Zorro after all. I am a legend in my own right.

I nodded to Marik as he walked up to a wall and leaned against it. He didn't look directly at my way and started biting into an apple like he was only interested in eating. He nodded back to me. "How goes your quest?"

I smirked. "Well, Jeanette would make a lovely bride but Victoria has a better shot because she has a wonderful sense of humor…and breasts."

Marik choked on his apple for a second, trying to contain a laugh. He turned to face me, his eyes scanning me in question. "Are you serious?"

I nodded. "Sure am, but that's not what you want to talk about, I'm guessing." I leaned up to the wall of the tavern. "I hear that the Sheriff has been setting up for a tournament to find a new sellsword. If I do well, I might even be inducted in the Royal Guard. That would give us a man on the inside. Now…I do have a bit of a reputation, even here in Nottingham it appears. Defend a couple towns from bandits and you get recognized everywhere. I have royal standing in Spain but I ran away from there to escape all that. If I earn the King's trust here, I might even get knighted. And then I can see about finding us some better lodgings than what we currently have."

Marik nodded. "Your consideration is admirable. I'm curious about this tournament. Go ahead and join it. I will be unable and my sister will as well. We might get recognized from our fight. I'm more curious about the exploding fire bolts the knights had. I'm unfamiliar with this technology. I already have Red and Goose analyzing the bolt I gave them. They say it's a byproduct of alchemy. But…how did the knights acquire alchemy for their bolts? If you can find out, please do."

I sighed as I pushed off the wall. "Will do, sir. Well, I best be off. I have a tournament to enter."

Cearbhail:

Ok, so I don't forget what I have been contemplating. Red will basically be a lot like my Lydia character in her attitude. Malik will be like Maleek...yeah, I hope you guys got that. Laila is a lot like Ruby in expressionism. Vicky is a classical tsundere with a Cecilie complex. Locksley is like the Hood from the Arrow and Zorro is a chick magnet/ dutiful hero. Then there are the other witches mentioned. They will be making more of a background appearance but eventually will become more ingrained into the story too. Lucy is an excitable and loudmouth girl with a fiery attitude. Mary is the quiet bookworm who enjoys reading outside next to her family's apple tree. Jack is very adventurous but accident prone. And Brian (although he seems accident prone) has finally outgrown his accidents. He will develop into a very strong character in time. Jill, Jack's twin sister, is very caring and tries to watch out for her more mischievous brother. She often gets pulled into his shenanigans by more of the fact of protecting him than on her own accord. Muffet is very blond in the fact that well...she's an airhead.