Disclaimer: The 'known' characters in this story are not my own. They are
property of R.A. Salvatore and I am not trying to make profit by using
them. The other characters I have simply made up.
The two soldiers were angry and wished to have nothing to do with this so- called assignment. Just an hour ago their leader, pasha Basadoni, had ordered them to kill a boy, one pathetic boy. It was hard for the soldiers to take this assignment seriously, but they were not so foolish that they would have objected pasha Basadoni. And so they walked towards the poorer sections of Calimport, as the night grew darker.
A while later they were in a dark alley where Basadoni had instructed them. There were no sign of any boy there.
"Stupid kid, probably hiding in those stinking sewers" said the younger soldier as he pointed to a grid, "There is no way I will go down there. This is a stupid mission."
"Basadoni has his reasons, which are not for you to question. Just let's get this thing over with." Said Martin, a skilled veteran of the guild, who had learned to obey his pasha without questioning, a lesson his companion should learn quick if he was to live long.
"We don't have to go down there, pasha said it would be likely that the boy would be here before midnight, we still have two hours to go. We will wait."
The boy in question was not in the sewers. He was on the roof. He was maybe fourteen years old and thin with long black messy hair that had not been washed too often, though one could clearly see that it was not filthy and the boy washed it at least sometimes. The clothes he had were cheap and dirty, typical for someone that lived in the streets of Calimport. No one would look him twice, for there was nothing that special about him. Except for his eyes. Those eyes that were black and sharp. It was almost as the boy would have created a strong black wall for his own protection, with the exception that this wall was not solely for defence.
The boy, Artemis, had listened to soldiers. He was not surprised that some strangers were in his current home street, it happened all the time. Usually the boy would steal their money and valuables as their weapons, but this time he knew this was not a random encounter. He now knew why they had come, and now he knew who they were. The Basadoni guild.
The very first lessons for the poor and homeless in Calimport was to learn the current guild situation and which were the strongest at the moment. The Basadoni was the strongest. Artemis was puzzled. Surely the mighty guild would not have any interest to him, for he was only a young thief and had no actual property. Artemis tried to think what he could have done. He had killed four men during his life, and two of them had been unknown to him. This had to have something to do with them, but Entreri could not see the connection. He had killed them because he had to. The other had tried to rob and kill him and had been about the same age as Artemis, that clumsy thief could not be the connection. Artemis had killed him without any weapon and then stolen the dead boys crude dagger.
The other was a man Artemis had tried to rob. The man had noticed the theft somehow and charged Artemis. Artemis had thrown his dagger and it had hit his chest. This had happened nearby and could be the connection. Maybe the man had worked for Basadoni. It would explain why the man had been skilled enough to notice Artemis, not an easy task because Artemis was very skilled in thievery. Whatever the case, Artemis would have to defend himself; it was impossible to hide in Calimport when you were targeted by a guild as strong as Basadoni. Artemis thought about leaving the city immediately, but he didn't want to run like a coward. The soldiers were sitting on top of a few old boxes unaware of Artemis with their swords drawn. They really thought that they could catch the boy even if he noticed their swords. The soldiers had chosen a relatively safe place where they couldn't be surprised easily, but they were not that alert. Artemis climbed nimbly down from the roof and disappeared in the shadows. With a skill that a boy of his age shouldn't have Artemis moved easily behind the soldiers and simply stood in a little darker place between two boxes. Then he paused for a while and drew his only dagger. He felt his adrenalin level increase as he prepared for the kill.
"This is stupid", the younger soldier said. He had never had that much patience.
The older soldier was calmly waiting with his hand close to his sword and ignored the comment. He looked at the young soldier and wondered if he had to kill two stupid boys tonight.
The night was quiet and hot and there was not a single sound to be heard. It was almost too quiet, as if the whole city was waiting for something. The veteran stood up, for the unnatural silence made him cautious, and at the same moment his companions face expression turned from bored to horrified. Artemis Entreri had struck only once and with that one accurate strike he had passed the young soldiers chain mail and caused a critical wound that would surely end the mans life soon.
When the young man collapsed to the ground Artemis had already disappeared behind one of the boxes. Martin had reacted quickly and jumped over a box and swinged his sword downwards to where he supposed Artemis to be. He was completely surprised that the boy had managed to surprise him that easily and kill his companion with a one well-placed strike. And his respect for the boy only increased as his sword hit only air. Martin quickly started to move away from the box pile because he understood that this stealthy boy would have advantage there. He would not underestimate him anymore.
Artemis held his newly obtained high quality short sword and was marvelled how light it actually was. He had used only dagger so far in his life and the sword felt little strange in his hand. It seemed good enough for him though and a simple dagger would not probably be that useful against a bigger and probably highly skilled opponent as well; especially in an open ground.
Artemis was only a boy from the street, but he was not a coward. And he really had nothing to lose. So he decided to step from the shadows and fight the soldier openly.
Martin saw Artemis stepping from the shadows and he could also see that despite of his age Artemis was not scared or even nervous. The stance told that he had good balance but also that it was mainly a defensive stance. The boy probably hadn't have any real training and it was interesting to notice that the boy was going to fight with two weapons at the same time. It was not common for any fighter in Calimport. Still Martin knew that this boy was a dangerous opponent. But Martin was an experienced fighter and the boy was a rookie.
Martin quickly charged and made a fake strike to right while he sidestepped to left leaving him totally vulnerable but also knowing that the strike would come. Artemis blocked the strike with his sword and plunged his dagger forward towards Martin's chest. If Artemis would have been a more experienced and faster fighter, the strike might have been successful. But now he hesitated for a moment and Martin was ready. He used his free hand and hit Artemis' wrist to deflect the strike and moved his left leg behind Artemis and tried to push Artemis backwards with his hand. Artemis had expected a trick of that kind, it actually had caused him to hesitate his strike, and when Martin pushed him, he ducked and kicked the older man to his groin. The kick was not really powerful, for Artemis couldn't push it because he wanted to stay in balance, but the kick was accurate. For a short moment Martin could not press his sword anymore and Artemis made a lightning fast sweep with his own and hit Martin's neck. After the man had fallen to the ground Artemis pierced his heart with a dagger, just to be sure that Martin would not survive from the massive wound.
Artemis searched the corpses but didn't find anything except for a few coins. He took them as well as the dead man's sword and boots and disappeared to the shadows. His heart was beating heavily from the excitement and he needed to find a safe place where he could think about his situation.
"Incredible", pasha Basadoni said after Artemis had killed his two men. Val Arnelan, a wizard, closed the scrying circle and waited for further instructions.
"Do you want the boy to be killed?" Val asked after a moment of silence.
"No, not this one...there is something about him, something different. Make sure he doesn't leave the city and prepare yourself and your apprentice. He might be useful. I want this boy in our guild."
"How many soldiers do we need?" Val said. He was mainly a battle mage and thought that he could handle the boy all by himself.
Basadoni was quiet for a while. He then turned to his wizard and smiled.
"How many do we have?"
The two soldiers were angry and wished to have nothing to do with this so- called assignment. Just an hour ago their leader, pasha Basadoni, had ordered them to kill a boy, one pathetic boy. It was hard for the soldiers to take this assignment seriously, but they were not so foolish that they would have objected pasha Basadoni. And so they walked towards the poorer sections of Calimport, as the night grew darker.
A while later they were in a dark alley where Basadoni had instructed them. There were no sign of any boy there.
"Stupid kid, probably hiding in those stinking sewers" said the younger soldier as he pointed to a grid, "There is no way I will go down there. This is a stupid mission."
"Basadoni has his reasons, which are not for you to question. Just let's get this thing over with." Said Martin, a skilled veteran of the guild, who had learned to obey his pasha without questioning, a lesson his companion should learn quick if he was to live long.
"We don't have to go down there, pasha said it would be likely that the boy would be here before midnight, we still have two hours to go. We will wait."
The boy in question was not in the sewers. He was on the roof. He was maybe fourteen years old and thin with long black messy hair that had not been washed too often, though one could clearly see that it was not filthy and the boy washed it at least sometimes. The clothes he had were cheap and dirty, typical for someone that lived in the streets of Calimport. No one would look him twice, for there was nothing that special about him. Except for his eyes. Those eyes that were black and sharp. It was almost as the boy would have created a strong black wall for his own protection, with the exception that this wall was not solely for defence.
The boy, Artemis, had listened to soldiers. He was not surprised that some strangers were in his current home street, it happened all the time. Usually the boy would steal their money and valuables as their weapons, but this time he knew this was not a random encounter. He now knew why they had come, and now he knew who they were. The Basadoni guild.
The very first lessons for the poor and homeless in Calimport was to learn the current guild situation and which were the strongest at the moment. The Basadoni was the strongest. Artemis was puzzled. Surely the mighty guild would not have any interest to him, for he was only a young thief and had no actual property. Artemis tried to think what he could have done. He had killed four men during his life, and two of them had been unknown to him. This had to have something to do with them, but Entreri could not see the connection. He had killed them because he had to. The other had tried to rob and kill him and had been about the same age as Artemis, that clumsy thief could not be the connection. Artemis had killed him without any weapon and then stolen the dead boys crude dagger.
The other was a man Artemis had tried to rob. The man had noticed the theft somehow and charged Artemis. Artemis had thrown his dagger and it had hit his chest. This had happened nearby and could be the connection. Maybe the man had worked for Basadoni. It would explain why the man had been skilled enough to notice Artemis, not an easy task because Artemis was very skilled in thievery. Whatever the case, Artemis would have to defend himself; it was impossible to hide in Calimport when you were targeted by a guild as strong as Basadoni. Artemis thought about leaving the city immediately, but he didn't want to run like a coward. The soldiers were sitting on top of a few old boxes unaware of Artemis with their swords drawn. They really thought that they could catch the boy even if he noticed their swords. The soldiers had chosen a relatively safe place where they couldn't be surprised easily, but they were not that alert. Artemis climbed nimbly down from the roof and disappeared in the shadows. With a skill that a boy of his age shouldn't have Artemis moved easily behind the soldiers and simply stood in a little darker place between two boxes. Then he paused for a while and drew his only dagger. He felt his adrenalin level increase as he prepared for the kill.
"This is stupid", the younger soldier said. He had never had that much patience.
The older soldier was calmly waiting with his hand close to his sword and ignored the comment. He looked at the young soldier and wondered if he had to kill two stupid boys tonight.
The night was quiet and hot and there was not a single sound to be heard. It was almost too quiet, as if the whole city was waiting for something. The veteran stood up, for the unnatural silence made him cautious, and at the same moment his companions face expression turned from bored to horrified. Artemis Entreri had struck only once and with that one accurate strike he had passed the young soldiers chain mail and caused a critical wound that would surely end the mans life soon.
When the young man collapsed to the ground Artemis had already disappeared behind one of the boxes. Martin had reacted quickly and jumped over a box and swinged his sword downwards to where he supposed Artemis to be. He was completely surprised that the boy had managed to surprise him that easily and kill his companion with a one well-placed strike. And his respect for the boy only increased as his sword hit only air. Martin quickly started to move away from the box pile because he understood that this stealthy boy would have advantage there. He would not underestimate him anymore.
Artemis held his newly obtained high quality short sword and was marvelled how light it actually was. He had used only dagger so far in his life and the sword felt little strange in his hand. It seemed good enough for him though and a simple dagger would not probably be that useful against a bigger and probably highly skilled opponent as well; especially in an open ground.
Artemis was only a boy from the street, but he was not a coward. And he really had nothing to lose. So he decided to step from the shadows and fight the soldier openly.
Martin saw Artemis stepping from the shadows and he could also see that despite of his age Artemis was not scared or even nervous. The stance told that he had good balance but also that it was mainly a defensive stance. The boy probably hadn't have any real training and it was interesting to notice that the boy was going to fight with two weapons at the same time. It was not common for any fighter in Calimport. Still Martin knew that this boy was a dangerous opponent. But Martin was an experienced fighter and the boy was a rookie.
Martin quickly charged and made a fake strike to right while he sidestepped to left leaving him totally vulnerable but also knowing that the strike would come. Artemis blocked the strike with his sword and plunged his dagger forward towards Martin's chest. If Artemis would have been a more experienced and faster fighter, the strike might have been successful. But now he hesitated for a moment and Martin was ready. He used his free hand and hit Artemis' wrist to deflect the strike and moved his left leg behind Artemis and tried to push Artemis backwards with his hand. Artemis had expected a trick of that kind, it actually had caused him to hesitate his strike, and when Martin pushed him, he ducked and kicked the older man to his groin. The kick was not really powerful, for Artemis couldn't push it because he wanted to stay in balance, but the kick was accurate. For a short moment Martin could not press his sword anymore and Artemis made a lightning fast sweep with his own and hit Martin's neck. After the man had fallen to the ground Artemis pierced his heart with a dagger, just to be sure that Martin would not survive from the massive wound.
Artemis searched the corpses but didn't find anything except for a few coins. He took them as well as the dead man's sword and boots and disappeared to the shadows. His heart was beating heavily from the excitement and he needed to find a safe place where he could think about his situation.
"Incredible", pasha Basadoni said after Artemis had killed his two men. Val Arnelan, a wizard, closed the scrying circle and waited for further instructions.
"Do you want the boy to be killed?" Val asked after a moment of silence.
"No, not this one...there is something about him, something different. Make sure he doesn't leave the city and prepare yourself and your apprentice. He might be useful. I want this boy in our guild."
"How many soldiers do we need?" Val said. He was mainly a battle mage and thought that he could handle the boy all by himself.
Basadoni was quiet for a while. He then turned to his wizard and smiled.
"How many do we have?"