Chapter Six
It was midday, and the light from the surface was barely making its way to the underground. The underground was still the same as it always was; a shiny cluster of light hiding the filth and decay. Beggars were on every corner, the only thing the men would do was play cards and drink, and it seemed that everyone had a knife or pistol,or both. The rare thing found on these streets though, were animals. These were the stray dogs and cats that found their way down one way or another. One of these animals, a dog with a lackluster grey coat, roamed the streets. It was sniffing from place to place, from spot to spot, trying to find something edible. The dog was like most of the animals and some of the humans down there, mostly skin and bone. But while they had very little meat on them, the important thing to the dwellers was that there was meat in the first place. The dog continued his sniffing, until he spotted a piece of bread on the street. It was only a quarter of a loaf and covered in dirt, but still edible, at least to a dog. The animal slowly approached the food, but before it could eat, a rustling gave something away. Out behind the corner ran a group of kids, all wearing ragged clothes full of holes and dirt, and all carrying weapons. Most of them were sticks, but a few had some rusty knives and one even had a net. They all ran screaming at their prey, and promptly, the dog ran. The children chased the animal through the streets trying to lead him into one of the alleyways. It was a constant cycle of the kids leading the dog to where they wanted him to go, but the animal making a sharp turn and the chase continuing. However, the children's tenacity paid off, when they finally cornered it in an open square. They all surrounded it yelling at each other to make sure they were all on their guard. The child with the net took his chance and cast his tool out. The net itself was just a bunch of mismatched rope tied together, leaving some squares that were oddly out of proportion to each other. However, that cast was ill-throne, and before the net could ensnare its target, the dog quickly ran between the child's legs while his bundle of rope hit the ground. With that the chase was on again, but the kid's luck had run out, as the dog ran under a broken down fence that was too high for the children to climb and too shallow for them to get under. Cursing their fate, they all sulked off. All of this was watched, however, by a pair of piercing blue eyes hidden in the shadows.
The dog kept running and running until finally it stopped, checking its surroundings to make sure they were clear. When it made sure the area was safe, the animal continued along its way, heavily panting after all that running. The dog continued to walk and walk until it came across a puddle of water that sprang from a leaky drain. Hardly drinkable for a person, but for a dog, it would do. The animal went over and began to lap up its fill, but while it was busy quenching its thirst, a shadow leapt from a nearby rooftop, and the sound of a yelp could be heard in the empty alleyways. As the shadow slowly stood up, it revealed itself to be a boy. He had blue eyes, jet black hair, fair skin, wore dirty black clothes full of holes, and held a bloody knife in his hand. He first looked down at the dog, who had a bloody wound on its neck, and then he proceeded to look up dubiously at the stone ceiling that enclosed him, with a single crack of light coming through.
Lorenz slowly opened up his eyes, looking at the ceiling that was above him. He slowly rolled himself up into a sitting position and stared out his window. The sky was a dark blue that was starting to be lit up by the orange of the rising sun. The man put his head in his hands, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes.
"Ugh, hate it when my memories won't let me get some decent sleep."
After his eyes were wide awake and alert, he stared out of his window one more time, let out a sigh, and got out of bed. Standing up, he did a few rudimentary stretches, the standard touching of the toes and a few arm pulls. After his body was nice and warmed up, he got into his normal wear of black shoes, black trousers, and white button up shirt that had a black vest on top. The man got the keys and knife off the top of his dresser and exited out of his door, making sure it was locked behind him. Sheathing the weapon into the left side of his vest, he then went to the room opposite him to peek in on the child. Nicholas was sound asleep in his bed, with a little bit of drool coming out of the side of his mouth. Lorenz smiled at seeing the boy sleep so peacefully and quietly shut the door. He then went downstairs and made a beeline straight for the pantry. Opening the door he bent down to retrieve a kettle, a tin box of tea leaves, a colander, and a wooden cup. After filling the kettle with water, Lorenz then lit a fire in the stove and put the pot on. He then waited and waited, until finally he heard the telltale screaming of boiling water. Putting the tea leaves in the pot, he poured the mixture through the colander into the cup. With that, Lorenz took his place at the table, and just spent his time drinking his tea while just letting his mind wander. He did this until the light of the morning fully broke through the sky. Noticing this, the man finished the rest of his drink and put the kettle on the back burner. He then got a pan and oil from the pantry to make a standard breakfast of eggs and sausage. He then began setting the table with plate and silverware, and as he was doing so, Nicholas came down dressed in a green shirt and brown pants.
"Oh, hey Lorenz. You're up earlier than usual," the boy said while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
"Well, what can I say? Had a bit of trouble sleeping."
After the food was done cooking, both of them served themselves and got their respective drinks, Nicholas juice and Lorenz milk. While they ate, they also talked.
"So Lorenz, what do you need me to do today?"
"Mmm...nothing major. All you need to get today are some more tea leaves and firewood."
"Huh, that all?"
"Nope, I also want you to do some work out of your language AND math book."
"Aww come on, both?"
"Now,now, I'm not asking you to do a lot today, so it shouldn't be that much trouble."
"But…"
"Then again, if you wanted, I could ask for a bit more manual labor than you just staying inside and studying."
"Alright, alright, I'll do it."
"Hmph, good."
Lorenz quickly scarfed down the rest of his breakfast and got up from the table after wiping his mouth.
"Alright kid, since I made breakfast you can do the dishes," the man said as he headed toward the door, "if you want seconds, feel free to make them."
He unlocked the door and opened it, but before stepping outside, he gave a reminder.
"Remember kid, tea leaves, firewood, AND chapter six in both books by the end of the day."
"Yeah, yeah I got it," Nicholas said in a distant fashion.
" And don't think you can half-ass it either, I WILL check."
"Yeah, don't worry about it," Nicholas said in a more focused manner.
Lorenz then left through the door with a simple, "alright."
Shutting and locking it behind him, the man continues on his way all the while thinking, "geez, I didn't think kids would be this hard to deal with."
He continued on his way, walking and weaving through the crowds, until he finally reached his destination of an alleyway with a figure inside of it.
"Hey there Kuno," Lorenz said in a mild manner.
"Hey," he replied back more apathetically.
"So anything interesting for me today?"
"Just this," Kuno stated as he held up a card that was red and had a black spiral of water on it.. Lorenz just looked at it with a blank expression.
"Aaaaand, how is this interesting?"
"It's your invitation to Manuel's bathhouse."
"Huh, didn't think I'd ever get a job from that guy," he said, taking the card.
"Yeah, it's a bit of surprise to me too."
"Well then, better get a move on."
Just a he was leaving, Kuno called to him, "make sure he pays you with money, and not some kind of discount at the bathhouse."
Lorenz just responded with a half-hearted hand wave and a, "sure thing."
With that, the assassin made his way from that meeting place all the way to the bathhouse. The bathhouse itself was two large warehouse-like structures next to each other, but instead of being made out of wood, they were made out of polished limestone. They always had steam coming through the grated holes that were on the sides, and the sides of the buildings had tiled pictures of water on them. The doors were average with plain wood carvings on them, but above the doors were large statues that denominated the gender of each building. Both figures were of a man or a women clothed in robes and pouring a vessel of water. Lorenz entered through the door under the man and made his way through the lobby. The foyer itself was the same limestone as the outside, with some very exquisite carpets that lined it, and a few benches with red velvet seats that lined the halls with a plant in between them. On the walls were paintings of various serene backgrounds that ranged from forests to open plains. The man approached the front desk that had a man with blonde hair in a uniform consisting of black shoes, red pants, and a red shirt. Behind him was a large board that had dozens of keys hanging from hooks. He greeted Lorenz with the friendliest of voices and the brightest of smiles.
"Hello sir, how can I help you?"
"Uhh, yeah. I'm here to see your boss," Lorenz said as he laid down the card. The man in uniform recognized its significance immediately, and took it.
"I see, please follow me sir."
He took a key from the board behind him and led the assassin to a door that was beside the desk, into the changing room. It was lined with cupboards that were locked and had numbers engraved on them. At the end of the room was a door made out of metal that led to the bathing area, and this is where the man and Lorenz stopped.
The attendant, still with a smile on his face, said calmly, "please undress."
Lorenz looked back with a face of consternation, "come again?"
"Undress, if you please," the man said as he held the key to him.
"Uhhh...why?"
"Because it is what my boss requires of you before entering."
Lorenz just looked at the man who just asked him to strip and still had the pleasantest of smiles on his face. The assassin just shrugged after a few seconds and took the key with a hint of suspicion. He went to his designated locker and got dressed into nothing but a towel with a pocket. He locked his possessions behind the cupboard and put the key into his pocket. Returning to the metal door, the man in red just continued to smile and opened up the door behind him leading to the baths. The baths were just a large, open building that had stone columns with intricate carvings at the top and bottom supporting the roof. In the middle of the building was a large, steaming pool that was shallow enough for a man to sit in and have the water come up to his shoulders. If you weren't tall enough for that, there was a shelf that jutted out from the side for someone to sit on. Off from the main pool were smaller ones, three on each side. Lorenz followed the man till they reached the end of the room. Before them, stood a gold, gilded door that was guarded by two burly, barefoot men wearing white bathrobes. The man showed them the card, and the one on the right made a gesture for them to enter. Sequentially, the attendant then bowed his head and made a gesture with his left hand for the assassin to enter. Lorenz went through the door to meet the boss. Behind the door was a room that was shaped like a dome, and in the middle was a round bath with a man inside facing his guest. The man was of pale complexion with a balding head of dirty red hair and had a bit of a belly. His arms were outstretched at his sides, resting on the lip of the bath while his towel was next to him.
"Awwww, the man I sent for. Come! Take a dip," he said, gesturing towards the bath.
"Ummm...sure thing."
Lorenz cautiously approached the man, laid the towel down at the edge of the bath, and got in. For a moment there was silence between the two, and it was the caterer who broke it. He took one of his arms away from the edge and outstretched it towards Lorenz.
"Hey there! The name's Manuel."
"Uhh, yeah. Nice to meet you. I'm Messer," Lorenz said stretching his hand out to shake. After the greetings, Manuel continued the conversation.
"Well Messer, I guess you're wondering why I called you here?"
"Hmph, if I had to guess, it's because you want someone taken care of."
"Mmmm, yes and no?"
"...meaning?"
"I DO want someone taken care of, but I also want some people found."
Huh, you don't say," Lorenz stated, while resting his arm on the lip of the bath, "gimme the details."
"You see Messer, there's a certain… 'complication' that came up recently."
After saying these word, Manuel gestured for Lorenz to come closer with a finger. The assassin moved so that he was next the man, with both of their hands resting in the water. The host continued his talk, but with a much more quiet tone.
"You see, a while ago one of my employees was cleaning the pools, as usual. However, he slipped and on of his coins fell into the bath. He came to me asking for permission to retrieve it, to which I acquiesced. But what was abnormal was, after retrieving it, he showed it to me," as he said the words, he reached for the towel behind and retrieved something from it's pocket, "and this is what it looked liked."
He held a copper coin up to Lorenz, a copper coin that had a light blue shine to it.
"What the heck happened to it?"
"That's what I wanted to find out, and I did. I took it to one of those professors out there and after some time, they told me that they had never seen a liquid that could have done this in such a short amount of time."
Lorenz then looked from the penny to the water he was in with a look of apprehension. Picking up on that, Manuel said, "don't worry, I gave a sample of the water to the professor, and they said that it takes a while for it to poison, but it will eventually happen."
"Huh, but still, what do you want me for? I'm an assassin, not a doctor."
"Well you see, I did a bit of digging, and it seems that some suspicious activity has been happening in a village, a village that is close to the underground river that fuels this bathhouse. I sent some of my more... 'personal employees' to investigate."
"And…"
"I recently got their heads mailed to me."
Lorenz gave a look of foreboding.
"I see."
After a moment of silence, Manuel spoke once again.
"This is why I need you. Go to where my men were investigating, find the person who's poisoning my baths, and take care of him. The receptionist you met at the front will show you where they last went."
"Understood. Oh and by the way…"Lorenz suddenly dunked his head fully under the water and reemerged, "thanks for the free bath."
"Don't mention it."
The assassin got out from the tub and put his towel back on and headed for the door. As he was leaving, Manuel called out to him, "by the way, once the job is done, how do I pay you?"
"Don't worry, a man will come and give you the details, just have the money ready."
"Well in that case, good hunting Messer."
Lorenz was left through the door of the bathhouse with map in hand. He walked the streets until he came across an open carriage and approached the driver.
"Hey there."
"Good day, sir."
"Mind driving me here?"
He unrolled the map, designating the location.
"Of course."
The man entered the carriage and was on soon on his way. He was taken through the streets to the west, past wall Sina and Yarckel district until they finally started going north towards his destination. They finally stopped in a village that was located in an open area. The size of it was average, and the houses were nothing spectacular, but very decent. Just an average village that people would stop in for a rest. Lorenz exited the carriage and gave the driver what was due.
"Mind staying here for a while?"
"Of course, sir."
Messer continued on his business while the driver got out a newspaper and began to read. the man wandered about the town, from place to place, looking for anything suspicious. Finding nothing so far, he stopped inside the local tavern. It was a place that was nicer than the average stop-in bar, with much more friendly-looking patrons than Lorenz was used to. He took a seat at the counter and the bartender, who had an excellent handle-bar moustache, did his job.
"Hello there, what can I get you?"
"Ehhh, just a beer."
The tender reached under the counter and got out a wooden mug and a large brown bottle, uncorking it, he poured until it was overflowing with foam.
"There you are."
"Many thanks."
Lorenz took sips from his drink while he and the bartender talked on."
"So what brings you out here stranger?"
"Oh just business."
"Hmm, of what kind if you don't mind my asking?"
"Actually I'm here on behalf of a bathhouse and a bathhouse manager."
"Oh, so...an inspector?"
"Yeah, I'm just up here making sure that the water is good and clean. You know how it goes."
With that, two of the more unsavory patrons of the establishment took notice of these words, and promptly left...but not without Lorenz noticing.
"Ahhh, I thought there might be some rats hiding out here, and it seems they took the bait."
He then focused back on his original conversation.
"Tell me friend, are there any inns around here?"
"Only one, it's about down the street to your right. Not a bad place at all."
"Many thanks."
With that, Lorenz raised his mug with a smile to the bartender, and proceeded to guzzle the entire thing down with one gulp.
"Well, better get back to work."
"Hrmm, good luck out there."
The man put what was owed for the drink on the counter, took his leave and started heading straight for the inn. But before reaching his destination, he took a sudden turn down an alleyway between two buildings. Before he could reach the end, however, a figure proceeded to block his exit, and his entrance. The people who were at either side of Messer were dressed in brown pants with black shoes, had the same dark purple shirts on, and both had knife holsters at their sides.
"Hey there gents, mind letting a man through?"
"Hmph, don't act cute with use, we know why you're here, and who sent you."
"Yeah, guessing your boss didn't tell you what happened to the last guys that came here."
"Oh, he did. I just know for a fact that the same isn't going to happen to me."
"Well, we'll see about that."
As the word were uttered, both assailants drew their knives, and for a moment, everything was still. That was broken when both of them rushed at the same time. The man to Messer's left lunged at him with his knife. The assassin caught his arm and quickly ran along the wall to spin him around while still holding on. He then pushed him into his accomplice, stunning them for a second. Lorenz then gestured for both of them to try a bit harder. The man in front attacked first, swinging widely, which Messer easily dodged. He then went in for a stab, the assassin caught his hand, then grabbed his shirt and slammed him against the wall. The second attacker saw his chance, going in for an attack. However, Messer countered with a hard kick to his stomach, which sent him to the ground. He then turned his attention back onto the man against the wall, and repeatedly slammed the hand with the knife against the surface until he finally dropped it. Now disarmed, Messer then grabbed onto both of the man's shoulders, swiftly delivering a knee into his stomach. He then followed it up by placing the man's head in between his hands and kneeing him in the head. The first assailant was now unconscious. The second attacker got up, and after a tense moment of silence between the two, he struck once more. He went at the assassin with a barrage of stabs and swipes, all of which he dodged with ease. He then went for a wide slash with his knife, but Messer just dodged it, went behind him, put one of his arms under the one holding the knife, and got the man in a choke hold. The person struggled desperately to get out, but since his arm with the knife was held in place, he could do nothing. Messer then just simply had to wait until the man passed out. When he was good and unconscious, he let the second assailant just flop to the ground. He had won. After letting out a sigh of victory, he got back to the task at hand.
"Alright then, now let's see if you guys got anything on you that can help me."
He went about rummaging through the pockets of his attackers. All he found on the one he choked out was a coin purse, which he kept. He went over to the next one and started to scavenge off him. This time, however, he found a coin purse and a key.
"Awww, must be to their room at the hotel."
Lorenz then proceeded to put the two back to back, and put an empty barrel he found over them.
"Have a nice nap, boys," he said while lightly knocking the wood. He then exited out of the alley way and back to his original destination of the inn. The inn itself was an average one made of wood and had about three levels to it with windows for each room. Luckily, the receptionist was busy with another customer. Lorenz took the opportunity and quietly kept to the shadows in order to avoid attention. He then took the step until he reached the top floor, and made his way to his attacker's room that was at the end of the hall. When he arrived at the door, he knocked to see if there was a response. There wasn't. The man then unlocked the door and slowly opened it, making sure the corners were clear. He then entered the room fully and shut the door behind him. The room was simple with a bunk bed in the corner and bathroom to the right with a generic painting on the wall next to it. But it was also a mess, dirty clothes scattered about, unmade beds, and even some half eaten food just laid out.
"Shit, even Nicholas keeps his room cleaner than this."
Lorenz set about searching the place. He checked under the beds, the clothes, and inside the suitcases. Then he started to search the beds themselves, and it was under the mattress of the one on the bottom that had what he desired. It was a small, black leather notebook with a red string bookmark attached. The man opened it, and started to read. He saw random dates with reports next to them until he finally found something interesting. It was an entry that read; "We finally arrived at the base, I can't understand why the boss follows that freak but, hey, money is money. We're camped out at some small mountain. There's a village about southeast of here. That's where the boss says we'll be stationed."
A satisfied look crossed the assassin's face. He shut the book, tossed to the side and exited the room with haste. He shut the door behind him and left the key in front of it. Once again he sneaked his way out of the inn's front door and back onto the street. He then climbed up the nearest building till he reached the roof and scouted out the area. Lorenz looked and looked until he found what he was looking for. About northwest of the village was a small mountain. It was nothing spectacular, but was big enough to at least be called a bump. From there, Lorenz hopped down from the roof and made a beeline for the site. He made his way out of the village and straight into the forest. He just kept going and going until he picked up on the sound of voices. Lorenz quickly ducked behind some bushes, trying to ascertain the location of the voices. He waited and listened, until he pinpointed them on his left side, as they were coming up. The assassin made slow, deliberate, movements until he finally spotted the source of the conversation. It was a pair of guards that were dressed in the same outfits as the attackers, however, they were armed with muskets, as well as knives. Lorenz found a hiding spot behind a boulder,and just waited and listened.
"So, how long before we can get out of here?"
"Eh, not long. From what the boss tells us, that guy should be done with his whole 'project' pretty soon."
"Man, I really don't like him. Feel like I'm going to wake up one day and find myself strapped to a table."
"Likewise."
The assassin continued to follow and listen to them, until they finally came to the face of rock wall. It was covered in vines, weeds, and other greenery, but the guards moved to a certain spot that had a very odd looking bush. One of the men pushed the fake plant out of the way, revealing a crawl space that was big enough for a full grown man. The two entered and made sure to put the fake bush back into its place. Lorenz reached into the right side of his vest and retrieved two black leather gloves. After securing them on his hands, the assassin Messer made his move. He approached the entrance with caution, making sure that no one was around. The man removed the cover, and started to crawl through the dark entrance. As he made his way through, he heard the shouts of orders and the roar of fire come closer and closer. Messer finally made it through to the other side, and what he saw was surprising. A giant cave over a large pool of rushing water, and near that pool, a massive wooden tub over an enormous fire pit. People were running about in the same uniform as the guards, carrying various buckets of liquids and solids. They would pour the contents of the buckets over a ledge into the the tub below, while torches and lamps were scattered everywhere providing as much light as they can. Someone shouted, "IT'S READY!"
All the workers dropped whatever was in their hands at the time, and rushed over to a rope that was connected to a side of the tub. They simultaneously began to heave and the side of the tub began to lift like a floodgate until all the contents drained into the rushing pool. They lowered the side of the tub until it was in place and began to brew whatever the connection was once more. The assassin, after taking in the sight, got back to work. Seeing as there were no available hiding spots on his level, he looked elsewhere. Gazing upward, he saw that the rock wall near him was very climbable. He found a foothold and began to climb. Messer climbed and climbed until he found a ledge that was thick enough for him to stand on. He then shimmied his way across, avoiding the workers below, until he saw one worker that was a bit bigger than the rest. It was not only his size that distinguished him, but the fact that he carried around a sword with a gold hilt in a black and silver sheath.
"He must be the boss."
The man with the sword was moving with purpose to a certain location, a location that Messer was going to follow him to. He carefully made his way along the ledge, making sure not to lose track of the man with the sword. The leader finally stopped at a cave that was at the top of a large slope. The cave itself emanated a bright orange light from within. The assassin continued to shimmy until he was right atop of the cave, climbed down until his feet were right above the entrance, and eavesdropped on the conversation below.
"Say boss, how much longer until this plan of yours is done?"
"How many time must I tell you that it will be done when it's done! Besides, I thought you and your gang didn't care as long as you got your money on time."
"Ahhh, I had it wrong. The guy with the sword isn't the boss. He's merely the helper."
"I don't, but the men are starting to get restless. They aren't the type who like work like this. It's why they joined my gang."
"Hmph, well too bad. They're going to put up with it as long as I'm paying them."
"Ugh...alright then, but if they kill me you better be sure that they'll come after you next."
With that, the gang's leader exited the cave, and that was Messer's cue to drop down. The assassin landed on the ground as softly as he could, and drew his knife. With each step, he crept closer and closer to his target. The man who he was approaching had on a green trench coat, and had short spiky hair. He was working over a table, and had various charts and diagrams nailed across the wall. The source of the light coming from the cave were the many lanterns that hung from the ceiling. Messer got closer and closer, ready to pounce, until the target saw him from a mirror that he had attached to the top left corner of the cave. As the assassin went in for the kill, that target spun around and blew a concoction into his face. It made the man cry out in surprise and pain as his eyes watered, and the target took this as a chance for him to escape. He ran as if the devil himself were behind him, all the while crying out, "KILL HIM, KILL THAT MAN WITH THE VEST!"
Every worker and their boss heard him as he went flying straight from the cave to the hidden entrance. Messer quickly followed him, although he was extremely handicapped by the fact that he needed to keep rubbing his eyes. However, as his eye became clearer, the obstacle between him and his target become more-so. About half-a-dozen people in purple shirts armed with axes, swords, and daggers were in the way. Seeing this, the assassin sheathed his knife back into his vest, and leapt toward the crowd. The first man was armed with a sword. He swung down at him, but he just dodged and pushed him further behind. The next one was armed with a musket and bayonet. He stabbed at him, but he just grabbed the weapon and spun him into the wall. It was a constant flow of dodges, duck, and back-rolls, from the assassin. He was nearly to the hidden entrance, but the boss of the gang was in the way, with sword unsheathed. It was a massive beast of a sword, and he swung it with all his might as Messer ran towards him. The assassin would have been chopped in half, had he not slid on his knees. The sword did come a few centimeters of chopping his nose off though. In the clear, he ducked into the crawl space, while hearing the boss yell, "AFTER HIM!"
Finally outside, Messer looked around for his target. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the rustling of leaves, and heard the distant breaking of branches. Following his eyes and ears, he spotted his mark running away from him, frantically. The chase was on. The assassin closed in on his target like a bloodhound on a fox. Needless to say, physicality was not the trench-coat wearing man's forte. Not noticing his footing, the man on the run lost it and stumbled down a steep hill until he landed face down. He tried to continue, but he was obviously hurt. Seeing his chance, Messer drew his knife once again and slid down the hill. But before reaching the bottom, he used his sliding momentum to leap right off the hill, landing on top of his target. He tried to get away, but the assassin had a firm grasp.
"PLEASE! NO!"
But it was too late, as Messer quickly slit the man's throat before he could say another word. The contract, was complete. Lorenz slowly got up from his kill, and looked to the sky while taking a deep breath. He then heard the sound of many footsteps coming after him. The boss and his gang quickly appeared at the top of the hill.
"Awww shit. Looks like we came too late."
Lorenz and the boss made eye contact with each other. A conversation soon followed.
"So, it seems like you're the one who killed our employer."
"Yeah, looks that way."
One of the boss's men soon interjected.
"Come on guys, let's get him."
"YEAH!"
But before any of them could take a single step, the boss raised his hand in disagreement.
"No, there's no need for that."
"Bu-but why?"
"Because, seeing how easily he dodged all out attacks, I think we would have a hard time bringing him down," he then looked to Lorenz, "besides, killing him won't earn us a coin."
Lorenz just smiled back and replied, "that we can both agree on."
"But boss, what will we do now?"
"Why, we find our next employer of course! Until then, there's a hidden place behind us that's filled with some expensive stuff. So what do you say boys...WHO'S UP FOR SOME PLUNDERING!"
The group yelled with glee and ran back to where they came from. But before they all left, Lorenz called out.
"Hey, the boss."
The man looked back at him with a look of irritation.
"Satisfy my curiosity, why was your employer doing all of this in the first place?"
"Ehhh, from what I could piece together from his rambling, he was the employee of some big-shot manager within wall Sina. He was in charge of making luxury products or some such, but apparently his boss snubbed him out of the credit and took all of it along with the money for himself."
He then looked down at the dead man with a mixture of sadness and surprise.
"Huh, who knew inventors were so vindictive?"
With that, the boss took his leave. Messer gave one last look to his target and bent down to remove the glasses on his face so that he could close his eyes. After putting the glasses back, he set back for the village.
The sun was setting in the sky, casting shades of twilight upon the town when Lorenz finally arrived. He got out of the carriage and paid the driver what was due. They bid each other farewell and the man continued on his way back to the bathhouse. He walked and walked until he finally got to the main entrance. In front of it, stood the blonde-haired man who greeted him inside.
"Hey there, I thought you were supposed to be in charge of the front desk."
"Oh, I am. However, the baths are closed at this time, and the manager wanted me to wait out here until your return."
"Riiiiight...so uh, if you would be so kind, could you tell your boss that the job he wanted me to do is done."
As he said the words, Lorenz handed the map back to the receptionist, which he took back with a smile and a bow, all the while saying, "of course."
With that, they parted ways, and the assassin headed back for home, he traveled the street until he arrived at his front door. Unlocking and opening it, he went inside.
"Hey kid, I'm home."
But no one answered. He called out once again, but still no response.
"Hmm, the door to the basement isn't open, so he can't be down there."
The man headed for the kitchen, and it was then that he noticed the pieces of paper on the table. Picking the note that was on top, he read; "Dear Lorenz, if you are reading this, then I've not arrived back home yet. I did all the tasks that you required of me, including the book work. I'm just out for a walk, I'll be back."
Lorenz put down the piece of paper, and picked up the other two pieces of paper in each hand.
"Alright then kid, let's see if you actually tried."
He scanned both papers, looking for the tiniest of mistakes.
"Hmm, let's see...that's good...that's good too...correct...correct...a mistake there...good. Huh, a couple of mistakes, but overall, a pretty good job."
Setting the papers back onto the table, he then looked around the house.
"Seemed that he also cleaned the house too."
Lorenz then smiled in the most mellow way, took a seat at the table, put his feet up, his hands behind his head, and simply rested his eyes