4
After they left the Wander World they "borrowed" horses from a nearby stable. Evalyn and Alyss watched the horses while Will, Horace and Halt all investigated the assassination area. It was clear that the assassin had incredible skill and had tools that made the job easier. The looked at scratches and found his point of entry. He climbed the wall. Will climbed the wall and found muddy footprints from entering on the wet side. The footprints led on top of the wall and into the front doors. Then after completing his task he turned around and walked through the front gate. Horace ran back to get the horses. When he came they already were impatiently sipping cups of coffee.
"What took you so long? Its been so long the coals have already cooled!" Will exclaimed.
They rode for several hours following the tracks the assassin had left. The tracks seemed several days old but still were fairly clear. The assassin was on the path for the first 10 miles but then left onto a different trail. The trail was treacherous, so they just left the horses. They walked slowly through the cramped path. Halt held up a sign to stop, then he began to listen. There was a quiet mumbling about 30 meters away. A camp of some sort. Halt began to advance forward but stopped behind a tree, he motioned for everyone to get down to avoid being seen. He began listening intently.
"Well I say 20 pounds isn't enough, that assassin has more money than the dead Oberjarl! He can spare 50 pounds." The man rumbled and began drinking again.
"Well I think 20 pounds is enough." Another said.
"He could kill us in a minute, not to mention that all he wants is a short ride to his island fortress. 20 is enough."
The men continued to argue for the cost of the assassins journey, Halt climbed a tree and looked for an escape root, Horace, Alyss and Evalyn weren't skilled enough to move away without being heard. Halt drew back an arrow and shot it through a bottle of wine sitting next to the campfire. An enormous explosion blasted the smugglers backwards. Halt jumped down from the tree and ran the others not far behind with the smugglers not far behind. The first one drew his sword but was killed by horace in two short strokes. Evalyn picked up a pebble and winged it at a smuggler. He fell down and the other one landed on top of him. When they got back up there were already two arrows speeding towards them. The group continued to run knowing if there were more thugs nearby they would be in trouble. Big trouble. After they got they got through most of the forest they saw the beach, and a ship waiting to be be boarded, Will looked around and saw slight movement too his left. Then the assassin stepped out of the forest sword at hand.