@All- sorry it's a long one and it's all about me.
I was enjoying the writing.
* * *
Rail pulled the hood down lower over his face to keep the drizzling rain off of his face as he walked past the guards and out of the Radiant Heart. The guards once again glanced suspiciously at the departing assassin and one stepped forward as if to intercept, but he was stopped short by gesture and a whisper from the other guard. "Not that one. Leave him be." The guard looked confused, but shrugged and resumed his post.
Too much rain for one day, Rail thought.
Especially for this time of year. He was disappointed with his meeting with Praelit Keldorn, but not from any confrontation with the man himself. He didn't mind the lectures he often received from Keldorn. He actually shared much in common with the grizzled inquisitor, though they used different and sometimes conflicting means to the same end, it was still a common goal. However, he'd hoped the Praelit would be more forthcoming in providing information about the wizard Lazal, but it seemed the Order knew as little of the mysterious wizard as Magus. Little was better than nothing, but it was odd that a wizard could rise to such prominence in this city without much of an investigation.
He worked his way through the sparse and rain-spattered evening crowds back to the slums, into one of the areas still tainted by the city's demonic occupancy a few years ago.
An odd residence for one of the Cowled minions, thought Rail,
though certainly appropriate. He spied the unadorned doorway marking the building in question. Oddly, he noticed there were still no rats, dogs, or animals of any kind that ever seemed inclined to venture near the structure.
Sometimes animals seem wiser than the rest of this city's inhabitants
Smoothly ducking into an alley across the street from the targeted building, he worked his way past the refuse to the back of the alley and expertly climbed up the rain gutter to the top floor, where he slithered through a broken window and into a deserted and dilapidated apartment, one only rats seemed able to stomach. Braving the stench and newly rotting timbers, Rail worked his way to the hallway and over to the front apartment.
It's amazing what a little gold will rent you in this part of town. 20 gold pieces and the resident was glad to journey to Trademeet to visit his uncle. It beat the unspoken alternative, after all.
Magus must be rubbing off on me. I'm getting soft.
Quickly picking the lock and disarming the simple but well hidden gas trap, Rail entered the tiny, unkempt apartment to the alarm of a shadowy man backing away from the window and raising a crossbow toward the doorway. Rail frowned. "Ichar, what's the status over there?"
The man cleared his throat and lowered the weapon, shaking his head with a sigh. "I thought you were someone else," he said with a raspy voice, motioning over the the opposite building where the mage occupied.
Rail smiled darkly. "I doubt
he would enter by the front door."
"No, you're probably right." Ichar seemed no more at ease, though he sat back on the stool by the tattered curtains and returned the looking glass to his eye, peering through a hole in the drapery. "Not much has changed over there. Very few have come or gone all day, though I've written everything down as usual." Ichar nodded toward a notebook and an ink quill on the floor below.
"I figured as much," Rail curtly stated, hoping the man would get the hint that he was being relieved. Turning around, Ichar hesitated before climbing to his feet. He began to remove a ring from his hand, but Rail waved him off. "Keep it! You've more than earned it. It served me well, and you may need that if we all get as deep into this as I think."
Ichar nodded respectfully toward the assassin. "I am honored. I know this served you well..."
"Think nothing of it. I have other means."
The man bowed slightly, a tradition bred from studying in Kara Tur, and wordlessly took his leave. Professional and to the point. The brooding assassin trusted Ichar as much as one could trust someone in his line of work. Rail thought of the small "guild" he had assembled here in the City of Coin. Small out of necessity, they consisted of a few thieves, a cunning fighter known for killing wizards, and a priest of Mask. The Shadow Thieves took seriously anyone in his line of work who refused to affiliate with them, or at least pay them off, and his "friend" Aran had repeatedly warned him not to cross the Thieves. Aran and Rail spoke occasionally, though their association was tenuous, at best, ever since Raistlin ravaged the city. It was the best thing that ever happened to the Shadow thieves, but Rail saw things differently.
Quietly, Rail gathered the notebook and quill, putting them in a waxed envelope and secreting it inside his cloak. He left the apartment, locking the door and resetting the traps, and donned a coarse wool cloak, covered in dirt. Grabbing an empty bottle from an incoherent drunk inside the doorway, Rail stumbled onto the street and convincingly weaved his way over toward the other building, leaving little doubt as to how the bottle had been drained. Undoubtedly, he would once again spend several hours hunched in the rain subtly taking notes under his cloak while mumbling drunkedly to himself. Unlike the other observers he'd used, however, he could see things they'd missed. He knew what to look for and how a mage thought. He'd been around mages all his life, and he studied them as acutely as they studied their tomes and spells. There were things their sharp minds overlooked. Gaping holes in their vaunted armor.
Patiently, Rail went back to work. He concentrated on the building before him, letting the magic in his new ring take hold. Slowly, the walls faded in color until they were as clear as glass. Rail could see through the magical darkness that covered the windows. While he couldn't see details, he could see shapes and distinct outlines. Furniture and books, candles and vials.
And, he could see the mage. Rail sat down, continuing his act, surrounded in shadow and the smell of dirt and alcohol, and he watched.
[ 07-23-2001: Message edited by: Rail ]