[coronatiger]

The doctor opened his mouth to scream, but I put a blade against his neck and hissed, “If you want to live, lie down and put your hands behind your head!” A small yelp had escaped him, and chairs were being pushed back downstairs. I opened one of the window hatches and climbed out. In my hurry to get away, I slipped and landed heavily on the ground. Fortunately, the soldiers guarding the door around the corner went inside to see what the uproar was about, instead of looking for someone trying to escape.

The soldiers made a real commotion, which woke the other guests at the inn. They started screaming when they realized that someone had been assassinated uncomfortably close to where they themselves were sleeping. The entire village woke up, but nobody dared look outside, lest they see something that would get them involved. I retrieved the horse and made my getaway. I don’t think anyone saw me.

I took the road to the east, certain that the clopping hooves had been heard. When I had put the village behind me, I took off to the south, towards my friends. I took a slight detour to see if I could spot the horse I had chased originally but didn’t waste much time looking for it when I didn’t find it immediately.

Yana waved at me when I approached the farm. The glaring light that had hung over the farm was gone, and I had no lantern, so I wondered for a second how Yana recognized me in the dark. “The others are fighting over who gets to kill the slave,” she informed me. I forgot all about Yana’s mysterious eyesight and focused on what was important.

Xipil, Wolfram and Grogg were standing outside the main house. I dismounted over the fence and ran up to them. You told me the slave had to die in his sleep, and I didn’t trust the others not to wake him first. Grogg raced me to the door and smacked me right in the stomach. I shook off the surprise and followed him inside. Xipil and Wolfram swore at Grogg for hitting me, but Grogg didn’t pay them any attention. “For Ogra!” he declared and kicked the sleeping captive in the head, an impressive feat considering that he was lying in Hylda’s lap. The force of the kick sent the man flying and left him hanging out the window. I sensed he was dead, killed in his sleep as You requested.

I fell to my knees and put my hands on the floor, sending prayers of gratitude down to You. Leaving, Grogg said over his shoulder that I could just give up; the slave’s soul was now with Ogra. I smiled inwardly at his ignorance.

Wolfram came inside and asked if I needed first aid. My cloth armor had softened the blow, and I thought I should be able to walk off the pain, so I said nothing and focused on my prayer. Wolfram put down a first aid kit next to me and walked out.

I heard light footsteps approaching. It had to be Yana, for a nice tingling sensation suffused me, then coalesced between my legs. I quelled the feeling; I was praying and couldn’t allow my body to distract me. Yana informed me the others had left.

I wrapped up the prayer and stood, perhaps a little sooner than I had intended. “How are you feeling?” I asked, taking Yana’s hands. “Fine,” she replied. “Hylda and I found some money on the Tivito cart. You can have my half.” I told her we should share, and she opened her pouch and handed over ten gold pieces. “Did you find my knives?” I asked, putting the coins away. “Yes. I considered giving them to Wolfram for safekeeping until you came back …” My eyes narrowed, and Yana continued hurriedly, “but of course I didn’t give your holy weapons to an infidel! Here they are.” I got the impression that this wasn’t the real reason Yana hadn’t given my fangs to Wolfram, but I let it slide. She watched me bite the knives before putting them away, and I could tell she had skipped this ritual when she picked them up. “I pray that Ashtar will forgive your transgression,” I said solemnly. “But I blame myself, too. I failed to give you instructions. It may be for the best that you didn’t take any chances. I wouldn’t want you to poison yourself. But in the future, know that I only put venom on the tips of the blades. It’s safe to bite closer to the hilt.”

Yana was eager to leave, but I didn’t see the urgency, having dealt with the fleeing cultist. I tried to keep the conversation going, asking if Yana could make my new dress fit better. She thought this one was an improvement over the old, grey one, but wasn’t best pleased that I had stolen it. “Can we go now?” she asked impatiently, picking up the first aid kit and giving it to me. I opened the kit and rummaged around. “What’s the rush? The guy who escaped won’t tell anyone but Ashtar about us, and She won’t betray me.” This kit was of fine quality, and I decided to scavenge it to upgrade my own. “The others believe that the owls will alert Tivito that this mission failed,” Yana explained.

I put my arm around Yana’s waist and sighed. “It’s probably best if we got moving then.” I realized nobody was guarding the other captive. “So, who killed the other prisoner?” I asked. “Um… They let him go,” Yana replied. “They what!?”