Part 1 Chapter 8

 

CHAPTER 8 

 

 

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he other prisoners all make groaning noises of pain or hunger but try their best to pay attention to Olraym and the assassin. They seem to be interested in the assassin more than Olraym even though he has never been in the dungeons before his near death experience.

  “Why did you try to kill me?” Olraym asks again after waiting for a reply that didn’t come.

  “Job requirement,” she finally answers. Olraym can’t tell if she is joking or not since he still can’t see her face. She stands up and moves closer to her cell bars, she stops just a few inches from them. “Someone pays me to kill, I kill.”

  “So who asked you to kill me?”

  “I care for payment, not where it comes from.”

  “Do you know anything of use?”

  “Depends what you consider useful,” Olraym sighs and rolls his eyes; this is getting him nowhere fast. She gives a little chuckle and turns around and leans back on the cell bars, “figured it out yet?” she asks, he looks confused.

  “Figured what out?” she turns her head to the side and looks at him from the corner of her eye.

  “Somebody wants you dead, someone who knows how to get things done.”

  “It doesn’t matter, you failed, there’s nothing he can do whoever he is,” she chuckles again, this time louder and lasting a second or two longer.

  “But you know the old saying, ‘if at first you don’t succeed try, try again.’” Olraym becomes stone-faced as he realises she is right. Whoever wants him dead will try for a second time.

  “You’re a member aren’t you,” says Olraym suddenly, as more of a statement than a question and it definitely has an impact on the assassin. A small impact but an impact none the less.

  “Member?” she asks in an innocent voice but Olraym doesn’t buy her attempt.

  “Of the Starlight Cult,” he replies in a firm voice. The Starlight Cult is a society that believes that starlight is in fact the life essence of those who died before and that after a year that life essence will die out and the star will disappear. They believe that another death can replace that star so the only way to make sure that another death occurs is to kill someone themselves. No one knows why they only kill those that others have asked for or why they don’t kill any else even if that person could stop them from fulfilling the contract.

  Many kings of Tov’ra including Gremborlin in his younger years as king have tried to find and eliminate the Cult but to little or no avail. There are many different beliefs as to where the Cult resides and who exactly is a member, but mostly when one says this man or woman is a member it is because of anger or jealousy towards them.

  Considering the beliefs of the Cult one is very important to them, which is that if a Cultist is captured at any time then he or she is immediately banned from the Cult and his or her membership is revoked for eternity.

  “Never heard of them,” says the assassin, this is basically their default answer to the Cultist question.

  “Well I should say you were a member,” says Olraym as if he had not heard her reply. She clenches her fist; she is becoming angry at this but knows there is nothing she can do about it.

  He stands suddenly and walks out under the watchful eyes of both guards and prisoners alike. The assassin watches him as well but not for as long as everyone else.

 

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With the assassin failing to kill Olraym and imprisoned, Thorne and Dunarn do all they can to separate themselves from any proof that they had something to do with it, this includes neither of them being around each other unless absolutely needed, which isn’t often. He takes extra care to watch for anyone following him or any gossip about him in relation to the assassin and looks around for anyone giving him strange looks. When he spots someone walking his way he quickly changes direction and waits for that person to walk on, waiting for him to follow, and when they don’t he scolds himself for being paranoid.

  The times he sees or is seen by either Olraym or Sertia he convincingly acts shocked at the attempt on Olraym’s life and grateful at the failure of this attempt. Whenever they ask who would want Olraym dead he always replies with ‘I have no idea’ or ‘perhaps someone from the Tervunmal Islands with a score to settle’, that one usually works with Sertia but not so much with Olraym.

  At the same time when Olraym decides to visit his would-be assassin, Thorne decides to have Dunarn visit him in his chamber. In reality it doesn’t take long for Dunarn to show up after Thorne first gets a message to him, but to Thorne it still feels too long. He keeps thinking of all the things that can go wrong; someone could stop him and ask too many questions, he could accidently get in the middle of a dispute and all including Dunarn could be sent into the dungeons, Thorne knows Dunarn would crack under pressure quickly. But Thorne tells himself it is just his paranoia talking and does his best to forget about it.

  The sound of four knocks on his door in quick succession brings him out of his paranoid thoughts, he tells whoever knocked to enter and Dunarn walks in looking tired but clean. The bruises he had on their last meeting are healing nicely but still are visible.

  “What news of the assassin,” asks Thorne, the fear he feels easily hidden.

  “So far no one has said anything,” says Dunarn with confidence, “ but that could mean either  the assassin has not said anything or-”

“Or she has given them everything they want and they are keeping it under wraps, for now,” Dunarn’s confidence visibly drains as he nods. They both are silent, each waiting for the other to speak, to suggest what to do next. After finding no other suggestion, Thorne finally says “we need to silence her as soon as possible.” Dunarn nods but doesn’t move then he notices Thorne staring at him and leaves. Thorne watches him go then after several long minutes he leaves as well desiring something to occupy his time.

 

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After leaving Thorne’s chambers Dunarn quickly goes about the task of finding someone who can enter the dungeons, kill someone, and exit undetected. The problem he found quickly is that he knew no one who could do those things. He spends long hours considering everyone he knows to do this, but when he comes to asking them they either don’t want the job or Dunarn discovers they are not anywhere close enough in brains or muscle to do it. So after some consideration Dunarn come to the conclusion the he should do it himself.

  He knows he has had experience in killing and a small amount in doing it unseen, but he has never gone into the dungeons for any reason, he is unsure if he can. He goes to his house, although it is more like a small hut than an actual house; it is a dirty brown one storey building with only a few windows and most of them are broken and boarded up. Inside the house is Spartan with only a single table and chair in the dining room, walls are bare and grey but they are peeling. The living room next to it has a fireplace which appears to be the only clean well maintained set in the middle of the south wall. There is a comfy seat set in front of the fire which is slightly burnt and torn but still usable.

  Dunarn goes to the back of his home to the bedroom; a small room with a wooden bed that is low to the ground, a single pillow and blanket. The window in the bedroom is one that isn’t broken so the room is highlighted for the tender care given to it. Lying on the bed is a blond haired, somewhat attractive, woman facing away from him whom Dunarn cannot remember but he doesn’t stop to find out, he just reaches under it and takes out a long blade and leaves, careful not to make too much noise. When he gets back on the street after closing the front door he suddenly remembers who the woman is; she is Silvoon, a street worker Dunarn uses regularly. He wonders if he may ever see her again but pushes those thoughts away.  He delays going to the dungeons by just walking aimlessly around and around until finally he builds up his courage and walks to the dungeons.