In Loki's Honor

Two months went by without an incident.

Nobody came for Olive. We heard the dreary news that all the girls in the Magister's basement died. While I knew the assassin's guild was aware of Olive, it also told me they didn't share that information with official channels.

Our "observers" as I call them stopped their focused attention but there was always a low-leveled member in the twenties watching over us. I didn't want to scare him away or make them change their plans because it was easier for me to keep track of that one guy. I knew even his habits and quirks by now.

I did nothing. Not a single nightly escapade, nothing but be a good handicapped child. I played with Anjou and that was a marvelous experience.

Because Anjou was a "real" girl, this fleshy transmigrating Pinocchio here could learn a great deal from her. Unfortunately, I couldn't consider myself a girl. I was a guy with the body of one but the mindset wasn't there. I had too much baggage.

To that effect, the prejudice even helped. Any quirks or mannerisms were shelved under "she's retarded". It was still as cruel as it could be. Sometimes it got under my skin but I had decades over them. Maybe cruelty is a natural human instinct, one that is tempered by reason and learning. I don't know.

But after these two months, winter came and our observer started to watch us every other day only. I had no idea even if my stashes were uncompromised and that made me skittish. I wanted at least a few silver coins to help my family go through winter. Our family business of washing and repairing clothes wasn't bringing in much money and it would slow to a trickle during winter. We could very well starve.

Cerise picked [Governess] as her Class. It was uncommon but it was a crappy one. Better than common-grade [Maid], she scoffed when I pointed it out. She was working her levels looking after our landlady's house. While my only path to advancement was murder - and even better with qualified premeditated murder - she could gain a few points of Exp just by cleaning the house.

I needed to access my stash of money but I knew the moment our family displayed any extra wealth the assassins would flock next to us and we would be even worse than in the aftermath of the magistrate's death. To solve that, I would need to contact the assassins.

I couldn't use my were-jaguar form. Olive warned me that Lily's story survived in a distorted way. My black fur was too distinctive and would draw too much attention. Fortunately, I had another trump.

Isaac was bored. He was happy he had this opportunity to work for the guild but watching over these whores was too boring. Nothing happened in the last two months and he doubted something would. He was now pretending to be watching them from a tavern a few streets away from their house. Nothing happened anyway.

Water splashed his face. He looked around and smelled the water. Sometimes, people would empty their chamber pots through the window but he had no windows above him. It didn't have a foul smell and seemed like pure water. But there were no rainclouds.

When water splashed his nape from a completely different side, he knew something was either trying to catch his attention or show they could kill him. After all, if you could throw water at a person's head, you could throw a rock. Or an arrow.

Isaac looked around and heard a giggle. A very feminine and sharp giggle. Sounded like a mix of a child and wind chimes.

"Mr. Assassin, don't be scared," The voice said.

Isaac couldn't help but be scared. He looked all around but saw nothing.

"I mean no harm. I wish to parlay with your boss. I come in peace so long you don't harm my people."

"Reveal yourself!" Isaac's voice broke, raising an octave in the middle of the word. The giggles resumed. He looked around and got another splash of water on his left temple as a reward. They could've killed him three times already. Isaac promised to put more points in Mind and detection Skills. "Sorry! Talk. I'll convey your message."

"The women you are tasked with watching are under our protection. We're sorry we infringed on someone else's territory. We will pay tribute to repair our relationship. We won't work in your town without sanction but we won't join your organization at this time. We won't put contracts on your people either."

And a contract on him just popped and was withdrawn as soon as it happened. Isaac mixed his sweat with the water he was splashed with even though he was feeling cold. Very cold. A deathly mind-numbing chill took hold of him. A [Assassin] couldn't put a contract on anyone. They must believe that the target was worthy of assassination. And to remove a contract, the grudge that originated the contract must've been solved. Only an absurd level of skill or attributes or both would allow one to do that at will.

This independent Assassin must be in the sixties, by putting together everything he heard. Perfect execution, no clues left behind. Clean beheadings no blade could perform. Straight through bone, straight through skulls. The lowly cat burglar that died five years ago, the front and back halves of his skull could be put together flawlessly. And the voice used "we". A group then. That was bad news.

Isaac left his post to report.

Negotiations took a whole week. We couldn't meet face-to-face, after all. Nenandil's size and ephemeral existence allowed her to hide in the most unsuspecting places, making her perfect to talk to the assassins. I could even instruct her with what to say and she would relay what she heard back to me through our psychic link.

After the first contact, the brunt of the guild came to watch us. Every single of our moves was under scrutiny. They assigned people in their forties to tail every single one of us including me and Anjou. They even invaded our house on one or two occasions but Nenandil made sure they knew they were being observed while they rummaged through our belongings.

They had an uncanny knack to leave no trace of their passing, including objects and clothes they moved to check for hidden panels under the drawers. Our house was spotless. They left with both dismay and satisfaction in their faces, according to Nenandil. I think they wanted to find something incriminating to use as leverage. They didn't steal the few bronze and silver coins we had so their goal was to check on us. We came out clean.

I learned a lot about how organized [Assassins] worked. It was very similar to a tech repair shop that worked on site. Clients would seek them with their needs, the guild would evaluate the request and then an officer would place a contract on the marks if the request was accepted. It carried rewards in both Exp and money. The one that set the contract would get a message from the System when the deed was done. That's why only officers put the contract. It also used their Perk level for the Exp bonus, so the low rank-and-file would rake the benefits without wasting their own perks. What I did when I rushed the ranks of the contract Perk was unheard of.

But finally, the answer came. The one I expected, no the one I wanted. Their leader wanted a face-to-face meeting. That was a huge no-no. They would be able to leverage their numbers and force me into an undesirable agreement.

I had Nenandil say no. The guild then played their hand.

We were on the streets playing with the children with Olive watching us when they jumped. Eight figures clad in black descended from the rooftops and others appeared from the side alleys to block traffic. Two of them scooped Anjou and me while the other held Olive by the arm. The one that caught me was level forty-eight and the one with Anjou forty-five. They sent their elites. We struggled but they put some kind of narcotic-laced cloth to our faces. Anjou fainted immediately and I pretended to faint.

Through a half-opened eye, I saw them deliver a letter to Olive and then they jumped to the roofs with us and the rogues below vanished as well.

That's when I put a contract on every single [Assassin], [Rogue], [Thief], [Cutpurse], [Burglar], and others of this city. My burning hatred flared so strongly that it blanketed the whole city. I felt my body heavy like a stone.

I fainted.

I woke up to the sound of Anjou crying. We weren't restrained but we were inside one of those cages the slave traders used. I hugged her and checked to see if she was hurt. Fortunately, we had not even bruises. After soothing Anjou, I looked around. It was dark but my [Underground Hunter] perk allowed me to see a close distance perfectly. Two black figures sitting on chairs, levels in the twenties watched us from the shadows.

"Is there anyone there?" I asked in my cumbersome and lumbering voice.

The rogues didn't move. The two of them had contracts on them.

"Hello? I want some water," I said. "Please?" I added after drooling a bit. One of the watchers chuckled.

Nenandil did her job. She wrapped their heads in a bubble of water at the moment they exhaled the air in their lungs, making them inhale a lungful of water and start to drown immediately. They struggled for two minutes before the Exp messages floated up. I gained 298,000 Exp. Halfway to the next level. Nenandil returned. They did make a lot of noise and someone would come to check soon.

The door opened, illuminating the room. We were underground, some sort of catacombs. I could see some bones on shelves outside. They first checked on us, then the two corpses on the ground. The rogues dragged the corpses out and closed the door without saying a single word. Impressive.

After checking for surveillance, I sent Nenandil out to find our contact and tell them the fate of the two guards would fall upon the whole guild if the babies shed a single drop of blood. We wanted peace but our wrath would drown the city in blood if anyone in the family was hurt. Our offer remained. We would pay tribute, never again work in the city, and stay out of their business.

But the message I wanted to pass was only one. Our mysterious benefactor could've rescued us but opted to make a show of force. They would spend some time trying to find out how they entered and left their complex. If things went well, they would move us to another place, believing that hideout to be compromised.

Three days passed. I could only imagine how much my mother and sisters were suffering without us. They brought us food and water, three meals a day. We weren't mistreated but one day a guy level sixty-nine came and spent a few minutes examining us. He had one of my contracts on his head. He left without speaking a word, a scowl contorting his face.

Then we were knocked out with the sedative and brought to another place. I didn't faint because I was immune and used my other senses to figure out where we were being taken to. Out of the city. The cold of winter and the smell of soot.

We were in a charcoal plant. The edge of the forest. Anjou and I were put in a room with lots of blankets. The two of us huddled together to keep warm. A week went by without any new event. The level sixty-nine boss entered the room and sat on a chair he brought, the backrest facing forward.

"Do you know why I am here?" He asked with a poker face.

"To let us go home?" I asked and tilted my face. Anjou was too intimidated to talk.

"No. I'm going to kill you. If your benefactor wants war, he will have it," He said with a cold and menacing voice. It sent shivers up my spine.

Anjou whimpered and peed.

He could do that. End our lives. Force my mother and sisters to go back to slavery and prostitution. He was powerful. I was weak. I could have a wide array of skills and perks but most of them were just trinkets. Baubles. This guy advanced his Class twice. This guy had Attribute values and Skills I could only hope for in a wet dream.

"You're making Anjou suffer," I mumbled to him. "Stop it!" After a pause, I smiled. "Please."

He drew a bronze dagger. Raising it up, he brought it down. I closed my eyes and hugged Anjou, waiting for the final message to come. I knew it wouldn't. I hoped. No. The dagger stabbed the pillow, passing less than a finger's width from me. The assassin boss looked up and around. Then he laughed.

"Show me your power! Come! I'll murder your wards, bastard!" He spoke to the walls. "You either work for me or you die along with these whores."

I touched his arm. "Don't be sad, uncle. Here, let me kiss you. It will make you happy," I smiled.

Apricot's mind was a piece of work. I had the uncanny ability to compartmentalize my feelings. Without training or knowledge, that would be dangerous but I had my baggage. Right now, I was boxing all my anger, hatred, and bloodlust in a box far away from my conscious mind.

He picked me up. "Do you even know what fear is, you retarded waif?" He asked me.

"I like waffles," I said and let a drop of drool seep out. "I like hugs and kisses too. Want some?" I gave him a dumb smile.

He drew his dagger and held it almost touching my eye. A single twitch and I was gone. He watched my reaction.

"Shiny!" I said.

"I can kill you," He said. "Aren't you afraid?"

"You can kill me," I parroted. "I'm afraid."

"You could become an [Assassin] if you weren't so dumb," He remarked.

"Kiss?" I reached out with my hands.

"Why not?" He offered his cheek.

I kissed him. "Friends?"

I could've bitten him. Maybe he would die. But killing the boss would mean I had to kill every one. I still wanted the peaceful resolution. Maybe it was still a possibility. And there was little I could do with Anjou here. So I kept my act.

"I have no friends," He said.

"That's sad," I whimpered. His poker face returned, erasing all emotion from his expression. I'd hit a nerve.

He put me on the bed with Anjou still sitting on her own urine. He walked out. "Change the girl's bedding and give them winter clothes," He barked from out of my sight.