When he wasn’t working or in his room Rori spent most of his time on long walks exploring the city. It wasn’t as good as running for keeping himself in shape, but it also didn’t draw attention. As an added bonus he was rapidly becoming familiar with most of the city’s districts and their main roads.
Technically, he was still supposed to be watched by two guards at all times but having the guards with him or even trailing him would quickly give away that Karl wasn’t as plain as he seemed. Dade wasn’t happy with the idea, but neither could he forbid it. Nolan admitted that it probably wasn’t the safest plan, but given the various magics Rori was protected by, it seemed pretty safe. Rori promised them both that if anything even seemed like it might possibly be not right, he would race back to The Laughing Green as quickly as possible.
Initially Rori expected these walks to feel different somehow. The face of Karl given to him by the magic ring was completely non-descript. Since the ring only changed the face of the person who wore it, everyone still saw whatever clothes you were wearing. Just in case the assassin, or anyone else for that matter, knew what Rori’s usual clothes looked like, Nolan had provided him with several sets of what Nolan proclaimed as “typical Lycean” wear. They weren’t as nicely made as his usual clothes, but they did look like the clothes that everyone else was wearing.
Having grown up as a Cunāe, Rori was used to the quiet comments people made when a Cunāe came into a room, the slight change in behavior of strangers or in the way a merchant would treat a Cunāe differently than one of their other customers. There was an immediate sense of distrust. Which, given the history of the Cunāe, was not necessarily unearned.
Now that he was Karl, Rori would finally get to see what it felt like to just be an average citizen. To be treated not as an outsider but as just another normal person.
Rori was quite surprised to discover it wasn’t any different.
Merchants treated him essentially no differently. There was still often a thinly veiled feeling of distrust. Similarly, strangers were no more or less friendly to him on the street. And he still could hear whispered comments whenever he entered a room.
At first, he thought the disguise was not working or that people somehow still knew he was Cunāe. He came to realize that the problem was not the disguise or himself. The reality was that it was a variety of other factors. The first was that people generally did not trust strangers. And when he thought about it, it made sense. The world was huge and the people in it were varied and strange. There was no guarantee that a stranger would necessarily be friendly. And if you were out in the countryside or a dark side street there was no guarantee that a stranger wouldn’t simply attack you. Thieves and bandits were far too common.
Merchants were interested in making sales to make money, but they made their money off of strangers. The city had plenty of thieves and even those people who were legitimate customers and not thieves were still looking out for their own best interest. An interest that often was in opposition to that of the merchants. Customers wanted to spend as little as possible. The merchant wants you to spend everything you have.
And as for the whispered comments at the back of the room, the reality was that such comments occurred all of the time. Whether or not someone had just entered the room. Whether or not they were Cunāe. They usually had nothing to do with whoever had just walked in.
The truth was that the world was not necessarily a friendly place, and most people just accepted that as an unchangeable reality.
The realization saddened Rori. He vowed to not be a person like that. But since he was currently trying to blend in and remain hidden, any changes in personality would have to wait until after he was done being Karl.
To keep his face from becoming too familiar and to continue learning more about the city, Rori tried to change where he went on every walk. Today he had started out meandering almost aimlessly, but then eventually had made his way over to an area of the city that held a lot of warehouses and related businesses.
It was early in the afternoon, and the streets were relatively crowded. People rushing to and from their business meetings. Wagons delivering their loads. And countless other faces that he could only guess at. Which was fine with Rori as it made it that much easier for him to blend in.
In the beginning he had assumed that the area would not be that interesting. After all, the warehouses all seemed to have been constructed using one blueprint. There were a few exceptions but for the most part one warehouse looked pretty much like the next. But he quickly found that even though the buildings were constructed the same, the businesses and what went on in them were completely different. Warehouses tended to specialize in the things that they stored and transported and that meant each warehouse had its own unique routines and equipment. The yards in front of them were laid out differently as well. And since most warehouses did not put up signs explaining what they specialized in, it allowed Rori to make a game of trying to figure out what industry each warehouse was related to.
He’d just passed a building that looked like most of its business was related to ale and beer. Though that one hadn’t been too hard to figure out. If the various kegs, barrels and casks being moved around hadn’t been enough evidence, the hoists and trusses used to lift and carry them without breaking them would have been.
The warehouse next to it looked like it specialized in moving and storing live animals. There were pens and cages scattered around, some of which were occupied by various livestock. There were different types of feed piled in bins and there was the muck heap on one side of the building.
It looked like the warehouse that was coming up next on this side of the street might actually be a challenge.
Though the yard in front of the building was large enough to hold a substantial amount of inventory, currently there was only a small pile of four crates stacked in one corner of the yard. There was a standard looking wagon parked there as well. Leaning against one side of the building were what looked like two large rakes. But the most interesting thing was that there were five long ropes strung across the yard from one side to the other. If one of the lines had been in the yard of a house, he would have assumed they were for drying out laundry. But these ropes were much thicker than a clothesline would be, and the five lines were long enough that ten families or more could have all put out their newly washed clothes at once.
As he moved up the street, Rori peered down the space between the last warehouse and this one. Perhaps he would find something in the alley that would tell him what the lines were for. The alley was empty, but it was only because he had been looking that way that he happened to see the person jump from one roof to the next, across the gap between the two warehouses.
Though it had only been for an instant, Rori was sure it was the assassin.
Was she about to make another attack on him?
Rori realized he had stopped walking and was now just standing in the street. He forced himself to continue moving forward. He walked up the street trying to spot the assassin while maintaining the appearance that he wasn’t looking at all.
When he reached the corner of the next cross street, he’d begun to believe that he had lost her, but then he spotted her on the roofs moving down the side street heading away from him.
If he wasn’t her target, was she about to attack someone else?
Rori turned down the street and picked up his pace. He wasn’t running, but he was moving slightly quicker than the rest of the people in the road.
Though he could not continuously see her, she came into view often enough that he could tell he was catching up. When he got as close as he felt comfortable getting, he slowed down so that he was now just keeping pace with her.
It occurred to Rori that maybe this was another trap, and she was leading him to another ambush. He supposed it was possible, but it seemed unlikely. There was little reason to think that she knew he was Rori and not Karl. Also, she was moving slowly, almost as if she was trailing someone herself.
Rori sped up again. This meant that he was closing the distance between them, which actually made it harder to keep track of her. If he got too close, it was hard to see on top of the building she was on. Being a little bit behind her meant the edge of the building didn’t get in the way as much. He was hoping he might be able to keep track of her and spot who she was following.
Luck was with him again. By speeding up he was in the right spot to see her jump down into another alley. And to see her move behind a wagon that was parked at its mouth.
Rori slowed slightly and tried to see what she was looking at. As she was still in the alley it was unlikely she was looking at someone on this side of the street. So, her target must be on the opposite side.
Directly across the street was a warehouse that seemed to be pretty generic. There were crates and barrels in the yard. Workmen were unloading a wagon filled with sacks of what might have been flour. And two other men were standing over an open crate arguing about what looked like plates made of brass.
Rori didn’t know many of the people who lived in Lycea, and it was possible one of the people in that yard was someone important, but it didn’t seem likely. The assassin had been tracking her target as they moved down the street. Everyone at that warehouse looked like they had been there for some time.
He shifted his eyes up the street. There in front of the next building was Senator Hargraves. Standing beside him was the same man who had been with him before. It was Hargraves’ assistant. His name was something like Jackson or Jetson.
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Was the assassin attacking Hargraves?
Rori was instantly conflicted. If she was, should he do something to stop or thwart the attack?
If he did nothing there were definite benefits. At least some of Karyn’s problems would disappear if Hargraves died. And Rori would not be risking the chance of revealing something about his true identity.
On the other hand, the assassin had tried to kill Rori. Thwarting her plans seemed only fair. Not to mention that Hargraves was a Senator. He might be a bad Senator, but he was still a Senator. Rori worked regularly with people sworn to uphold the law. Technically, he had taken no oaths of that sort, but he was working for them, and they were his friends. Finally, there was Meredith. Rori couldn’t think of any way in which she would be happy with Rori for allowing a murder.
Rori looked back to the wagon but could no longer see the assassin. She could still be hiding behind the wagon, but she could also have already moved on. If she had, Rori had lost her.
He continued moving to the far side of the street. He dodged the people and wagons as he moved across their path. When he reached the far side, he turned back around and began scanning the roof and buildings on the opposite side looking for the assassin.
Looking up to the next warehouse Rori could see that Hargraves had been joined by another man. The second man must have come out of the warehouse. The two of them were arguing about something, but he could not hear what they were saying. The din of the street and the two men a couple steps away dickering over the brass plates covered all of Hargraves’ conversation.
Rori wished Hargraves would take his argument inside. But that seemed unlikely as Hargraves assistant had moved several feet away and was standing idly. Rori also spotted Hargraves’ two bodyguards standing at the edge of the street. If Hargraves was planning on moving inside, the bodyguards would still be beside him. Rori scanned the far buildings again but still saw no sign of the assassin.
Rori took two steps towards Hargraves but then stopped. He’d thought about telling Hargraves his life was in danger, but there was no guarantee Hargraves would believe him. Further, in the time it took to convince him, the assassin would strike. Then it might look like Rori had been a part of it, stalling Hargraves so that he stayed still out in the open.
Rori looked back to the far side of the street. Where was the assassin?!
Then he saw it. There was a man walking up the street. He was leaning on his cane as he slowly moved along. Only Rori realized it wasn’t a cane. It was a blowgun.
Somehow the assassin had changed her appearance to look like a man with a limp. The people around her moved past her without a second glance. When the time was right, she could make her shot and probably disappear into the crowd before anyone knew what had happened. Later, all of the potential witnesses would remember nothing about her. And if they did it would be of a crippled man, not a female assassin.
The assassin had begun drifting towards the center of the street. There was too much traffic in the street and the distance was too far to take a shot from the opposite side with any real chance of certainty. She needed to close the distance between her and Hargraves.
Rori guessed he had a matter of moments to do something before she attacked. In fact, as he was watching he saw her slip her hand into the pouch she was carrying and pull something out. Though he couldn’t be sure, he guessed it was one of her poisoned darts.
Rori had waited too long. Both Hargraves and the assassin were too far away for him to reach in time. Yelling would do nothing except let the assassin know he knew who she was. If Hargraves heard him, he would likely either ignore him or stand and stare. What could Rori do?
Looking to his side Rori saw the two men arguing and instantly began moving towards them. In his mind he wondered if what he was about to try would even work. But he had to try something.
“Look,” he mumbled under his breath, “I’m not using it as a weapon.”
Rori walked right up to the two men. They stopped talking as he approached, and both got that wary look Rori had now come to expect from merchants. Without saying a word Rori grabbed one of the plates from the open crate in front of him. He turned, pulled his arm back and threw the plate up the street with all of the strength he could muster.
If either of the two men standing by the crate of brass plates said anything, Rori never knew. He was already running up the street.
“I couldn’t care less what your men told you,” Hargraves said with as much venom in his words as he could. “You made a contract with me to deliver today! If you do not deliver today, then you have breached that contract.”
“You simply don’t understand . . .” but the other man abruptly stopped speaking as his eyes focused on something over Hargraves’ shoulder.
Hargraves turned in time to see a large circle of brass come flying towards his head. There was no time to move or to even brace for the impact. Except there was no impact. The object flew by his head, missing him by no more than a foot.
Strangely there was a “plang!” sound as it passed by, followed by an even louder clatter as the plate crashed into the street.
Hargraves looked and saw the two men standing by a crate of brass plates, but both men were staring at a third man who was running across the street.
“Stop that man!” Hargraves shouted while pointing at Rori.
Most of the people in the street completely ignored him. The two bodyguards standing at the edge of the street immediately jumped into action.
Rori watched as the plate passed by Hargraves. Astonishingly, the blowgun dart ricocheted off the plate as it sailed by. A look of amazement passed over the assassin’s face but was gone in an instant.
She immediately turned and looked directly at Rori. The look of amazement was replaced by confusion as she wondered who this person could be.
Rori sighed when he saw the two bodyguards heading towards him. The fact that he had just saved Hargraves’ life was a fact that they’d clearly missed.
The assassin was not waiting around to figure things out. Though her disguise was of a man who needed a cane to walk, there was no trace of her limp now. She turned and sprinted back towards the alley she had come out of. Rori altered his course and ran after her. Behind him he could hear Hargraves yelling for his bodyguards to get back here and protect him.
The assassin sprinted down the alley, turned left behind the next warehouse and disappeared from sight. Rori ran to the corner and turned without slowing. If he had any illusions that the assassin had been running full speed in their last chase, he gave them up now. She had already increased the distance between them considerably. If he had been any slower Rori would have missed her turning right between two warehouses that fronted on the next street over.
Rori ran as fast as he could to try and make up some of the distance between them.
He turned the corner fully expecting to see that there was no sign of the assassin. Instead, he nearly ran into her.
The assassin, no longer disguised by the illusion, stood holding one half of her recently destroyed blowgun in each hand. The person who had done the damage was standing about eight feet away. The weapon used to sunder the blowgun was the longest hammer Rori had ever seen.
The hammer was at least six feet long, but Rori wouldn’t be surprised if it was seven feet or more. It was hard to tell for sure as it rarely stopped moving. Most of this distance was made up of the shaft of the hammer. It was about two inches thick and was a bleached bone white. There were lots of black details and artwork carved into it but again the constant movement of the hammer made identifying any of it impossible. The head of the hammer was dark black. It looked small in comparison to the length of the shaft, but it was still larger than the head of any other hammer Rori had ever seen. Overall, the weapon looked like it was worth a lot of money and in the hands of someone who clearly knew how to use it, it looked deadly.
If the hammer was intriguing, the person wielding it was doubly so. Their head was covered with a scarf that was a deep emerald green. It had a geometric design around the edge in gold and the fabric was thin and sheer. It was wrapped around their head several times such that no hair was visible nor was any part of the face except for a pair of dark eyes outlined in darker eyeliner.
The scarf continued around their neck where it blended in with a shirt of the exact same color. There were gold designs on the shirt as well, individual dots in a pattern on the shoulders that ended in several rows of gold lines across the chest. Below that more golden patterns continued down. The shirt was tight fitting and there was no mistaking that the wearer was a female. The bottom of the shirt hung loosely almost to the knees below a belt made of interlocking gold circles. Pants of a darker emerald and small shoes that were almost slippers finished things off.
“You are an abomination to the law, and you will pay for that with your life,” said the woman with the hammer. She stopped its constant movement with the hammer’s head up above her to her right and the shaft of the hammer running down her arm and across her back. Her left hand was held in front of her, palm facing the assassin with the first two fingers up and her thumb pointing out perpendicular to them. If it was a symbol that was meant to mean something, it was lost on Rori.
Rori took a step back from the assassin unsure of what he should do now.
“If you are not associated with this woman you may leave,” said the woman with the hammer. Amazingly, though the head of the hammer was at least three feet above her in the air, neither it nor her arms moved as much as a hair’s breadth. “If you are with her, then you can be sentenced to the same fate as she.”
“Him with me?” said the assassin in a voice meant to convey that she was not in the least worried about the woman in front of her. “Sure, he’s my boyfriend. I like men with fuzzy faces. What you need to worry about is how much I’m going to kick your ass for destroying my blow gun.”
Rori took another step back as the two women began battling in earnest.
Rori wasn’t quite sure what he should do. The assassin was a criminal and should be stopped, but Rori didn’t think helping someone kill her was necessarily the appropriate solution. The woman with the hammer was a complete mystery. She wasn’t dressed like a member of the military, and she bore no insignias of any sort. It was possible she was one of the “good guys”, but she might also be evil as well.
Even if he did know which side to weigh in on, he wasn’t sure how he would do it. The woman with the hammer spun and twirled it constantly. If Rori joined the combat, he would be spending all of his time dodging it and not actually contributing in any meaningful way.
Further, he was supposed to be laying low. Anyone else would have joined in by drawing a weapon and starting to swing. Rori didn’t have anything to even pretend to swing. Perhaps he should start carrying one. But that was something to worry about later. Right now, there was a fight going on directly in front of him.
Initially the assassin dodged and spun trying to get in close enough to use her sword to stab the woman with the hammer. After the hammer caught her in the hand and sent the sword flying, the fight changed. The assassin drew a shorter sword in her left hand but continually used her right to throw a seemingly endless series of small knives.
The other lady either dodged the knives or knocked them out of the air with the hammer’s head or the shaft of the hammer. If initially Rori thought hitting the knives in the air with the shaft was luck, after the fourth or fifth time he was convinced otherwise.
Occasionally the hammer’s head did make contact, but it was never a solid blow. Also, it was clear that the woman wielding it expected it to have a much greater effect than it was.
“I don’t have time for this,” said the assassin.
“Your concern with time will end soon,” replied the other lady.
This time after the assassin’s knife missed, she drew something else from her belt. Rori was not surprised when the assassin threw several packets on the ground and red smoke began billowing everywhere.
With no one able to see anything, Rori quickly dove to the side and took cover against one of the buildings. He strained his ears trying to hear someone moving towards him and waited for the smoke to clear. When it did Rori was not surprised to find the assassin was gone. He was a bit surprised to find the woman with the hammer a few feet away poised to strike him.
“Explain yourself!” the woman commanded.
“I saw her try to kill someone. I was just trying to stop her,” Rori replied trying to sound more frightened than he actually was. In truth, he was more impressed than anything else.
The woman peered at Rori for another few moments and then turned and ran down the alley, around a corner and disappeared from sight.
