The second floor seemed quiet, and their progress was swift. Despite being an adult, and normally akin to a grumpy old merchant, Farsilden moved with terrifying speed and though she was close to him, she felt certain that if she lost sight of him for but a moment, he would have disappeared entirely. Not a single normal sign of presence was emanating from Farsilden. No excitement, no breath or hesitation. It was not a feeling, but the certain knowledge that murderous intent was about to choke her out.

“Stop.” His order froze her in her tracks.

“Tell me how many are up ahead.”

“Nobody?” She listened in again, and heard nothing out of the ordinary.

“Wrong.”

“How can you tell?”

“Good question. Your eagerness is commendable. Behind those doors is a child, and two adults. Children are very noisy creatures. The adults, are likely man and woman. They are watching their child play with toys. Listen close. Suppress your excitement, your concern and thoughts and just listen. Listen close. Many sounds are drowned out by merely the beating of your own heart.”

Putting her best efforts in, she listened close, and could after a little while make out a single wooden clacking sound.

“There’s one…”

“Yes, the child dropped a wooden block on the floor.”

“So, will we kill them?”

“A less desirable option. This is where you differ from a professional. Killing children, is abominable. Do not misunderstand. At times it will be necessary. At times, a child will in desperation take up arms against you, and you must slay without pause. But for the sake of killing, never.”

“So how will we get past them?”

“Your decision. Our objective is behind this room, one way or the other, we’ll pass.”

She nodded and readied herself. Four shots prepared. No other options. A deep breath. She confirmed the door was unlocked and opening inwards. She prepared her run and threw herself at the door.

With a loud crash, the door flew open. The two adults barely reacted. Only the child flinched. She took aim and fired a bolt at the child. It almost struck home, but was deflected at the last second.

Hidden from view by curtains, and shadows appeared seven armed guards whom all pointed a sword or a spear at her.

She jumped to her feet and drew her daggers.

“Well done… You murdered my servants… Guards. Kill her!” The woman shouted. The doors behind her suddenly slammed shut and the guards closed in on her. She seized the initiative and attacked the closest guard. Despite his skill at hiding, he was an average fighter at best and she elegantly parried his heavy sweeping attacks, before adding the sharp end of her dagger to his neck. The guard groaned, but no matter how hard she tried, she failed to pull her weapon free.

She pulled her head back just in time as a razor-sharp spear tip was thrust at her face, the sharp metal leaving a deep cut in her cheek and severing the cloth holding her mask in place. Clutching her cheek, she jumped back, blood seeping freely from the deep gash.

“… Evelyn?” A voice filled with shock. She looked up to meet the man’s stare, her face revealed.

It felt like time froze. Something within her stirred, but nothing surfaced, any other thought drowned out by sheer adrenaline.

“Evelyn… Damn you three times over husband! Didn’t you get rid of her!?” The illusion shattered, as the woman began to verbally attack the man. “You told me she was dead!”

“I… I thought she was!”

“It doesn’t matter, kill her! Kill her, kill her now!” The woman shouted hysterically while waving her free arm at her. The child on her other arm.

The guards threw themselves into a furious assault. Barely recovering from the surprise, she jumped clear of the two spears thrust at her, parrying a sword as she landed back on the floor. She raised her arm, and let loose the final bolt in chamber of her arm weapon, piercing her attacker right between the eyes. Before the guard could fall she jumped in behind him, the dying body receiving two jabs by spears in short succession. With the swords out of action, she used the opportunity to close the range. As the spearmen tried to pry their weapons loose she rushed the nearest one, thinking he was unarmed. It was just a glance, but she could not keep herself from it, looking at the man that had uttered the strange name. Her hesitation came due almost immediately.

A heavy metal glove struck the side of her head. The blow dazzled, her, but having been made in a panic had not the power behind it to knock her out. She staggered back as the nearest guard drew his sword and slashed, missing but followed up with a downwards strike with professional skill. Just in time she raised her arm, taking the blow on her mechanical vambrace, the edge breaking the precise machinery inside and only stopping at the metal backing. The guard kept pressing, while the other guard, whom had managed to pull his from his dead compatriot, thrust his spear at her. She deflected the sword pinning her, but failed to dodge the spear.

A moment later she felt the sharp spear tip bore into her thigh. She screamed, and fell to the floor as her leg gave way. Now firmly held in place, the sword-wielding guard raised his weapon for the finishing blow.

In the blink of an eye, the spearman above her had fell over on his side, but not before a spurt of gore had spattered all over her.

She opened her eyes to see Farsilden standing above her, wiping clean a big, bloodied hatchet.

“Alive huh? You’ve done enough here.” She watched him take a hold of the spear, and in one fluid, and painless motion, expertly cut the spear in two. “I’ll leave it in… No time for anything else but first aid…” He sealed up the speartip under a layer of bandages and used his own belt to put pressure above the wound. Though she was in pain, a thought occupied her mind: Who was Evelyn? Was it her own name? Why did those two know it? The question circled around in her mind. The dead bodies around her were all leaking blood on the floor. The two last spearmen laid slain close by. One had a hatchet embedded in the back of his head. The helmet split, and the blade poking out halfway into his skull through the top. The other one had the other guard’s sword thrust through his neck. Farsilden reappeared and came over to her. She then felt his hand firmly slap her cheek, which brought back some of the ambience.

“The objective is secure. We’re returning home… I am willing to admit Ferran, I am surprised and relieved you are alive… Sit still, I’ll give you something to counter your hands.” He reached into his belt and retrieved a container, with a cover securing a needle. A slight sting was followed by a strange sensation of the growing pain dissipating like clouds under the sun. “Okay, I’ll get you out of here.”

---

“How’s she doing?” Elistin entered the room pale as a ghost and barely composed. He nodded reassuringly and gestured towards the girl sleeping on the bench.

“She will be fine My Lady. Her Thigh has been pierced, but I will attempt to treat it.”

“Chance of success?”

“Seventy percent. Ten percent says she’ll lose her leg. I have prepared the documents we retrieved for your appraisal. They are all in that box over there… But if I may?”

“Yes?”

“This was a setup. Whoever gave you these contracts were planning to have some of us killed.”

She bit down hard on her lip, skin tearing and blood leaking down from the corner of her mouth. Without hesitation she opened the box and retrieved the documents inside. As she leafed through them, her expression only grew bleaker.

“As you can see… We encountered a problem. The documents tell the entire story. Her mother, a servant, was not even physically ready to carry her. It has some records of medical expenses up until the moment her father attempted to drown her in a cistern. After that, she’s out of sight… And who knows what happened to her in the sewers…”

“That chapter, is best left buried.” his mistress’s face seemed saddened.

“Yes, my lady, I agree.”

“What about the others?”

“No word yet. Have faith, I trained them myself.”

“Someone will pay for this… We need to get the others back, but before that… double the serum dosage.”

“My lady. That may cause actual loss of memory instead of suppression.”

“Yes. It will. Better to be safe…”

“As you wish.”