70 CH69: The Light in the Darkest Night
***
CH69: The Light in the Darkest Night
Stepping out of the train at IronWell, I involuntarily released a very visible breath of cold air. I realised the town was much colder than Bloodrose.
I quickly noticed white sparkles floating in the air.
The first snow of the season had arrived.
I pulled up the hood of my long coat to obscure my features and protect my head from the falling snow before walking away from the train station.
Looking through the town, I noticed IronWell wasn't any much different from Bloodrose. It also had that militaristic or martial vibe to it.
However, unlike Bloodrose which was originally a military fort, IronWell was actually originally a Supply depot.
The town reflected this history by progressing to become a major artisan town for Hunters.
Weapons, Potions, Concoctions... you name it. The town seemed to do its best to cater to every Hunter's needs.
Interestingly, the town's major products were herbs. IronWell was a major Herb gathering point in the country.
In a way, I guess you could say IronWell was to Bloodrose what Pryford and Pyremonte combined were to Landrose.
I couldn't help smiling.
I liked places like this. They always had everything I need for my mission thus I didn't need to prepare anything beforehand.
This limits the chances of exposure as it meant no one would bat an eyelid with those required tools in my possession.
Ding Dong..
I was about to head out to the accommodation Nabila prepared for me in the town when I head a familiar chime. I looked up to see a clock tower in the distance.
Unknowingly my feet took me to the clock tower.
The tower was built into the town's public library. Unfortunately, it was closed at the moment.
But that wasn't going to stop me.
Taking a moment to bypass the night guards, who to be honest cared more about guarding the library than the adjoining clock tower, I made my way up the tower to the bell floor.
I saw a sophisticated gear and pulley system which had the tower's bell ringing at every hour. It was reminiscent to the vintage clock towers of my previous life.
Anyway, I didn't come here for the tower itself. I wondered here to see the sights.
Back in my previous life, I came to enjoy the view from high places. Especially those which allowed me to view the bustling human cities and towns below them.
The top of this clock tower stood as the highest man-made platform in the town. I wouldn't get a better place to scope out the town than from here actually.
In this moment, I felt a whim takeover me.
I released Grif from my shadow in its Eagle form an it flew into the air, circling over the clock tower.
Placing a leg over the ledge, I struck a pose looking down at the city.
Hood... check!
Wristblades... check!!
Looking down from an elevated position... check!!!
Eagle above... check!!!!
The scene was a perfect recreation of an Assassin from the fictional Brotherhood of Assassins which was one of my favourites from my previous life.
All that remained was to take a leap of faith down to the haystack below the high position.
Yeah... no. I'm not doing that.
Let's not mention that there were no stacks of hay below, even if there were, I wasn't so screw loose that I would actually jump from more than fifteen metres high to land on my back.
Instead, I quietly sat at the ledge and enjoyed the view.
To be fair, I also released Gandr and Fen to enjoy the view with me. Gandr slithered around doing its thing while I took a miniature Fen into my arms to pat its soft fur as I took in the view.
I reminisced about my previous life.
During my time in Taskforce 47, mostly after a shitty mission, I would find the highest man-made structure around and climb it to look down on the city under the night sky.
The view of man-made lights lighting up the otherwise dark earth and night sky seemed to always speak to me.
In a way, the darkness represented the cruelty, wickedness and evil which is rampant in the world.
Nightfall was like a revelation of the true face of the world to me... A world of betrayal, cruelty deceit, evil, fraud and wickedness.
(P.S: I am a cynic, I know.)
However, in that world of darkness, the light of civilisation which forcibly tries to light up the city/ town in the veil of darkness act as constant reminders to me that the world wasn't all dark.
There were still hope to be found even in the perpetual darkness. Some things... some people were worth fighting for.
I knew damn well that I wasn't a 'good' person. I committed more acts of evil in my life than most people would see in their lives!
In many ways, I was no different from the agents of the very darkness that veils the world.
However, I choose to see the things I did as the... necessary evils to ensure those few lights of civilisation which I cherished kept lit!
I accepted that I was a bad person. But a bad person who protects the good.
Was I right? Did I really protect good people... innocents... the beacons of good and hope of our civilisation? Or did I merely enrich and a empower a few and further their selfish agenda?
I didn't know. Maybe... maybe not.
But at least, this allowed me to sleep at night through the horrors I saw and inflicted in my time as a member and leader of Taskforce 47.
Perhaps, this also contributed to why I gave up on Annabelle.
-
Since coming to the World of Arun, I mostly avoided elevated places. I knew I would fall into these thoughts. I knew I wouldn't be able to justify my actions.
After all, no matter how you look at it, an Assassin is a 'bad' person, no?
So, why did I come here at this time you might wonder?
I'm not sure actually. It might be due to the torture from practicing the Tyrant's Tempering Manual or the clarity of the Valhalla Will Training manual, whatever the reason, I realised I couldn't continue running from my new reality.
Yes, I am an Assassin. Yes, I am a bad person. But if that's what it takes to survive in the world of Arun then that's what I will have to do!
I was given a chance at a new life. If being an Assassin is the only way I can grow stronger to survive in this damned dog-eat-dog... man-eat-man world, then I will have to accept that reality.
In the first place, as evidenced by the scene before me, the World of Arun was a much, much darker place than my previous life.
Strength was paramount.
Only those with power can become beacons of light... of hope.
The weak? They are nothing than cannon fodder. No, fertilizer to grow the strong!
Be it protecting myself and my loved ones against the beasts who aim to rid Arun of humans, or other humans blinded by greed or a cause, this world was one where I couldn't allow myself to be weak.
Arun wasn't so forgiving!
Since it has prevented me from growing strong any other way, than I have no choice but to walk the dark path paved in the blood and corpse of its denizens.
I accepted this reality and reaffirmed my convictions.
'I am an Assassin.'
'I am a bad person.'
These statements are true.
But what is equally true is, 'I will survive and stand at the Apex of the World of Arun!'
*
I spent an hour seated on the ledge patting Fen. Gandr and Grif joined by my side at some point watching the world below.
It was unfortunate, but people of this town below would be the first to experience the weight of my conviction.
-
I came down the tower after getting my full dose of the view. I of course easily evaded the guards at the library and headed to the accommodation Navia prepared for me.
It was a secluded three-room bungalow building on the outskirts of town.
I liked it because it was well out of sight. I could come and go without drawing attention. The layout of the place allowed me to see anyone approach the building all-around while also having obstructions and elevations which just about prevented most from spying on me from a distance.
As expected of Navia. Her attention to detail was impeccable.
I quickly reread the Intel briefing on all my targets before making a plan on how I should go about the missions.
I planned to spend the next few days investigating the targets and confirming the Intel provided to me.
*
I woke up early the next day. There was somewhere I needed to stake out.
I decided the previous day to complete the High priority contract from the House of Death first before tackling the side contracts.
Last thing I wanted was for the targets to find out an assassin from the House of Death was working in IronWell and get spooked into hiding.
Well then again, they were already in hiding and I still had to find them, but would still be easier to do now than if they went into hiding again.
-
The Intel document the House's Intel network acquired for me was quite detailed in many things but it lacked the current location of the target. The House's opponents were likely familiar with its operations and knew how to hide Lady Duemin from its eyes.
It wasn't anything too surprising. I experienced and did such things as well in my previous life.
So, the question now, how was I going to find Lady Duemin and Lars Charmin when the House of Death's expansive Intel network couldn't?
Interestingly, the answer was quite simpler than you might think.
Pastries... that's how.
-
Lars Charmin considered himself as many things. A pastries gourmet was chief amongst them.
Amongst the comprehensive Intel the House provided on the target, I noticed that Lars like his pastries. He seemingly couldn't go a day without his pastries. In particular there was a special type of pastries called Shank loaf which the man loved so much.
This was the key to finding him.
Shank loaf was somewhat rare due to the high-grade ingredients used to make it, mostly only found in cities. Fortunately for Lars -or me, depending on how you look at it- there is however, one high-end pastry store which makes a limited amount of it daily in IronWell.
I believed I would find Lars or at least a clue that would lead him here so I decided to arrived in the early hours of morning and find a place closely to stakeout the place.
I staked out the shop for the next two hours, taking note of those who bought the Shank Loaf.
It was easy to figure out who bought the loaf. It was a high-end product so it was specially packaged. I couldn't miss the packaging even if I wanted to.
As expected, someone matching Lars' description arrived at the shop and bought the loaf.
To the man's credit, he did disguise himself a little. He dressed up as a servant picking up the loaf for his patron. Unfortunately, his well kept hair and nails, which very few servants had, gave him.
There was also the fact that he couldn't help himself from consuming one of the loafs. No servant would spend their hard-earned money on such a luxury. And even if they were gifted the loaf by their patrons, they would surely deliver it to them first before consuming it.
Of course, these weren't the main reason why I confirmed this servant was Lars. It was in fact the burn scar at his nape which confirmed my suspicions.
Lar Charmin hadn't escaped the assassination attempts on Lady Duemin's life unshaved. The scar was a little gift granted him by one of the House's outer member assassins who lost their lives trying to complete the contract before me.
Anyway, I followed Lars for about thirty minutes on foot before I saw him enter into a mansion in an out-of-the-way area of town.
Watching the mansion for some time, I eventually saw Lady Duemin through a window.
With that, I had found Lady Duemin and Lars Charmin's location. Now, it was just a matter of how I was going to assassinate them.
(To be continued...)
