Kings, Geezers and Bloody War (Chapter 10)

Hello my beautiful Stemmits and Happy Old Year. "Why OLD year?" I hear you say. Well why not celibate the old year passing, you survived through to the end did you not? Then celebrate your survival, your triumph!

And to that I look over my productive year, the many death threats from the American Literary Council, the bomb threats from the Boy Scouts of Havana and my favourite, the whales head on my pillow from Green Peace. Aren't they just so adorable and all because of my book, I love you, I love you all.

Speaking of books, on to ->

Chapter 10

Ruff and Motyl make their way along a quiet road, a day out from the Portswade heading to Mon Jeffta. Their task of assassinating Councillor Gregori's daughter Ulani was made easier when Tribune Jarg had her eviscerated and hung. As soon as he heard the news that Gregori was dead, no doubt Jarg no longer needed her. Without her fathers influence in the Republic's council, she was expendable.

Ruff is smiling quietly to himself, proud of his pupil. Ruff had had many people wanting to be assassins, to be his pupils. All had different reasons why, revenge, the wanderlust, the thrill of the kill. But none of it concerned Ruff, he just taught them. Most would either die in their training, die by his own hands or die doing their first contract. But Motyl he felt, was different.

It wasn't her inhuman strength or speed, though that, Ruff was sure, was a factor, but its was the fact that she was just like him. They both did not want to be an assassins, they both had to be an assassins to survive.

Ruff remembers his first meeting with the guild. He was only ten summers old, a stable boy for a Lord, working in a field gathering hay with his Papa. Four men passed them on the way to the King's city and one turned to ask his Papa information. The man was elegant in both speech and dress. Fine leather armour, decorative weapons, it made Ruff stop breathing with awe. Once he had information he paid Ruff's Papa with a smile and three gold pieces. Enough to feed the family for eight summers without working. Ruff remembers falling off the cart from the shock.

News of an assassination of one of King's soon spread throughout the land not long after, Ruff wondered as a child if it was the four men who did it. Life would have been good, and their secret safe, if his father did not go to town and boast about the gold. It was a full moon later when their Stable Lord and fifteen kings guards turned up. The Lord had been beaten to a pulp, questioned obviously, till he divulged what ever answer they wanted.

They beat down the door to their cottage and questioned his Papa and Mama at sword point. When they learned that his father was of Mitsrajim decent there was no need for further questioning, they were instantly guilty. Ruff and his father was made to watch, as his Mama and older sister were raped and tortured for ten full days. Both were eviscerated and then raped and tortured another five days before they were set alight.

His Papa had long since lost his mind with watching the rape but Ruff had become hardened with hate. Hate for the guards, hate for his King and the Stable Lord but mostly hate for his cowardly Papa. The moment they torched his sister and mother, he knew that their death was only seconds away. It would be quick, it would be savagely brutal.

As the guards reach for Ruff he lunched at the closest and rammed him backwards into the screaming effigies of his Mama and sister. He ran blindly for the cottage door, never looking forward, never back, just down at his running feet. He remembers the guards hands groping, grasping but all falling away as he powered through them. A blinding flash and pain as he crashed through the remains of their cottage door. Stumbling, bloody, through the wheat fields, into the wild dark.

The days after were a fog, till he stumbled across three of the four men, camped by a stream. To him, as he remembers, they were going to be his saviours, avengers, for the wrong done to his family. Running to them, hungry, thirsty, his hands still bound, he fell at their feet crying.

They were unmoved, haughty, cold. Even the elegant man, his tone, his words, cut like a thousand blunt blades. They left him tied and abused him for a day till the elegant man put a knife to his neck. He gave Ruff only two choices, the same he has given every student he trained. A slit throat or die training. Ruff remembers having lost all fear of death, hate fuelled him now and his words were easiest to leave his mouth, “Die training, then I will kill you!”

Two laughed but the elegant man looked deep into his eyes and whispered “One day boy, but not today.” and struck him out cold.

The years of training under them was brutal. El'Qurdo, the elegant man was a Hellenic swordsman and the leader, Helfa Nazz, a dark skinned Feudal archer and Hosh Faith a Dolaski sneak thief and cut throat. Their arts was as varied as each man, and Ruff strived to learn and master them all.

By 16 summers his own notoriety started to outstrip his masters and they soon become jealous of Ruff. Helfa was the first to try, lining up an arrow for his heart during a job but Ruff's own bow skills saw Halfa spawn an arrow from his left eye. At 17 Hosh tried to cut his heart out during his sleep, only to wear a dagger in his ear.

El'Qurdo though was patient and calculating and he bided his time to strike, waiting for Ruff to be at his most vulnerable. That day came on his bedding ceremony with Chantell, the woman who would one day give him two fine sons. Ruff had lost some of his edge as an assassin in his time around Chantell. El'Qurdo saw the opportunity and at the ceremony, after Ruff and Chantell had been given blessings from Chantell's father and entered the bedroom, El'Qurdo poisoned the food and wine, killing all of the guest.

He then waited till Ruff and Chantell were in the utmost point of climax, the point of no return, before bursting through the door. A sword in each hand, screaming like a banshee. Ruff smiles now at the inconsideration of El'qurdo's timing, he was coming and Chantell was in mid-orgasm. Ruff pulled out, semen shooting out and upon Chantell, he rolled left as he pushed Chantell right, just clear of El'Qurdo's blades. Chantell hits the floor, moaning more from her orgasm than from the fall, her eyes wide with fear, but her mind still lost to her ecstasy.

El'Qurdo screamed into the pillows of their bed, his frustration on missing the one and only opportunity to kill Ruff and his new wife, seeing as he did not pump into her his full load. Ruff stood perplexed, semen dribbling down his legs his mouth working to form words. El'Qurdo got up from the bed and brushed himself off, knowing well that there is no further need for urgency, he and Ruff would fight to the death, which it ended in his own.

To celebrate his victory and her loss of love ones, Ruff and Chantell made love in their bed, on top of a dying El'Qurdo, as his life slowly slipped from him. All moaning in unison through the remainder of the night, till the next dawn.

Ruff is woken from his memory when Motyl pokes him hard in the shoulder.

“Where did you go in your mind? You were like a twitching corps, eyes miles off, hands flapping and flailing like your were in some fight!”

“I was just thinking of a time past, that's all. Up ahead looks to be a clearing, we will rest soon then continue first light tomorrow.” she nods appreciatively and Ruff smiles a sad smile for his Chantell.

“Ruuuuffff, ruuufff” a mysterious voice comes from nowhere. Both halt and look around for the owner of the voice. “Ruuuuffff, Ruuuufff haaaaaaayyyy”. It is then that Ruff relaxes and looks up, then he turns to a spooked Motyl. “It’s ok, just a guild raven.” he points up to a branch and there sits a large black bird, on its leg is a very small scroll. “Oh?” puzzles Motyl.

Ruff hold up a forearm to the bird and it swoops down. Motyl stands away a bit, obvious to Ruff that she has a hate or fear of such birds. He takes the scroll from the bird’s leg, all the time the raven and Motyl eye each other up and down. “Stop it, your spooking her.”

“Sorry, I never did like ravens, bad omen.”

“Wasn’t talking to you stupid, I was speaking to the bird. He likes to spook my students, don’t ya Scrass!” The bird gives a proud squawk and flaps his wings. Ruff looks into the birds eyes and talks to it like a human child. “Her name is Motyl, Motyl. Now say it, Motyl!” Scrass flaps again and works his beak, concentration fills his eyes. He is like this for several moments, peering at Motyl with deep thought, but he stops as if it is too much effort and just looks back at Ruff. “Heh, you will get it in time Scrass, now of you go, back to master Yon.” The raven immediately takes flight and disappears into the trees.

Ruff, looks back around at an approaching Motyl. “Your not wrong thought on him being a bad omen. They only send ravens if a mission is called off or another is of utmost importance. Usually the latter.” Ruff examines the contents of the scroll. “fuck.” then hands it to her. She looks at it but it is all nonsensical gibberish.

“Um, Ruff, I can’t read, I never learnt.” she looks pitiful at her predicament.

“That’s okay, neither can I, but that is guild code and I will need to teach you it.” Ruff makes for the clearing.

“Well, what dose this say?”

“That we’re fucked!” he calls over his shoulder.

“What!”

“Lord Casell requests our immediate presence. As like, yesterday.”

“Oh, right, so we are fucked.” she scrunches the scroll into her bag and is about to follow. Something in the corner of her eye catches her attention. It is Scrass on a low limb, staring at her. She tries to stare down the bird. Scrass slowly opens his wings as if to fly and instead speaks in a low craggy tone, “Butterfly!”

Motyl is immediately shaken and hurries after Ruff, looking over her shoulder at a now empty branch.