Chapter 7: Chapter 7 – A series of schemes

As the guards approached him, Silver got a closer look and realised that the one in front was obviously a captain of sorts. The complexity of the design on his left shoulder happened to outshine the ones on his companions and his overall aura was more domineering 

"Speak! What happened here?" asked the suspected captain whilst stopping right in front of Silver.

 
"Oh, a terrible matter indeed, master Zac has been murdered" the innkeeper rushed to the guards making sure he would get his opportunity to spin the tale. The guard was beginning to sweat as he realized what the maid had told him was in fact true. This was a matter beyond him and surely the king would send his imperial guards to further investigate this issue. He only hoped that he would not be implicated in the matter and made a conscious decision to try and find the culprit before they arrived. 

"How did this happen? None of you can leave until you have given a report" the guard then began giving his men some instructions but was interrupted by the innkeeper. 

"Honourable guard, if I may. This matter is already Solved, it was him that murdered master Zac" said, Hugo, as he pointed at Silver. There would be no one to speak up for this commoner and on top of that, he would be giving the guards a culprit meaning they would have no need to further investigate. The captain was not so easily convinced but having a prime suspect was always a good thing. 

"You there, is what this man says true?" it was unlikely that a murderer would stick around waiting for the officials to show, but perhaps this was not premeditated and so the captain decided to ask the accused himself. 
  
"If I say no, would you believe me?" Silver smiled, knowing that he had found himself in a situation he had no control over. A commoner like himself would not be given the benefit of the doubt and at the very least he would be arrested. Now that Zac, who was obviously a noble heir, had been "murdered", his words had no meaning and these guards would jump at the opportunity of having been presented with a suspect. 

The guard was furious, why was this youth smiling at him almost mockingly as though he knew a secret he didn't. He felt like executing him right there and then, but his better judgment told him to reconsider. It could be that his fear had caused his brain to get all muddled up. 

"Does anyone else have something to say about this man's claims?" the guard then addressed the rest of the people in the room. His aim was to see if anyone else would speak up for the youth who couldn't speak for himself.

As time passed all the faces that met the captain's gaze looked away as though they didn't wish to be involved in the matter, except for one. There was an interesting young lady wearing a veil whose gaze was sharp and unbearable, making him look away instead. Had he been able to see under her veil, he would have noticed the slight curve on the side of her lip as though she was enjoying a good show. 

The captain then told his men to question everyone in the room and began investigating the 'body' meticulously. By the time the investigation was over more guards had started pouring into the Bear and Geese and Silver had already been arrested under suspicion of murder. He was then carried away in a horse-drawn Carriage along with Zac's body for further questioning. 

Hugo was ecstatic and amazed at how well everything turned out. He couldn't help but praise himself for his vast intellect and cunning display. He even started wondering if he should buy himself some land and a title. If he used a similar approach then even court politics, would be child's play.  

He wanted to drink too but unfortunately, his fun would have to wait until tomorrow. If he got too drunk, he wouldn't be able to wake up in time for the appointed meeting with the stranger. They had agreed that he would only receive half the money before the completion of the task and the other half after. 

Having killed Zac, stealing the ring which he kept in his room was the only matter left to deal with. It took Hugo a while to find the seemingly ordinary gold ring and he wondered why this would have any significance to the stranger, but his curiosity was only brief. Having completed all the tasks required of him, he slept well for the first time in weeks. 

Meanwhile, an esteemed captain of the guards almost died from a heart attack. This was because the "corpse" he was trying to deliver to the morgue had suddenly started moving and laughing inside the horse-drawn carriage. The other guards shared the same look of horror on their faces and were unable to recover for a long time.

It was only when the young noble was able to convince them that he used a potion of some sort and wasn't actually dead, that their hearts had finally settled down. 

Although the captain was vexed over the whole situation, especially at how much time he had wasted, there was not much he could do to the son of such a highly regarded noble. So, he swallowed his anger and instructed his men to let the 'culprit' go. 

"Impressive, everything worked out as you planned," said Zac whilst watching the guards ride off into the distance. 

"Haha, it was only possible with your excellent acting skills" Silver replied 

"Oh please, yours were even better, it was as though your mother had died" Zac was meaning to continue with a joke , but then realized a sudden sadness appear on Silver's face. Even though it was only brief, it did not go unnoticed. 

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"Hey man, I'm sorry if I..." 

"No, you don't have to apologize for anything its fine" Silver interrupted him before he could finish and gave him a reassuring smile. Zac didn't want to ask about matters that were personal this early in their friendship, so he quickly changed the subject as they made their way back to the Bear and Geese. 

Just before dawn, two shadows trailed Hugo Thorn as he made his way to the outskirts of Blue city completely unaware. He was moving at an incredibly fast pace for an old man, only stopping occasionally to consult a map he had in his pocket. After an hour or so he stopped at a large rock near the small forest west of Blue city. After making a few signals, a hooded figure wearing dark clothing emerged from behind the trees. 

"Have you completed your task?" asked the figure as he approached Hugo. 
"Of course I did. Who do you take me for?" 

"Then why is that, when the Son of Eustas Reid himself is dead, the whole city is not in an uproar?" the hooded figure came closer to Hugo aiming to find out if this old man was foolish enough to try and dupe him. 

"I d-don't know, he looked pretty dead when he left my inn" Hugo start to sweat slightly 
"Pfft, incompetent fool. Did you at least get the ring?" The hooded man was angry at how incapable this innkeeper was. What would he tell his master, now that he missed such a golden opportunity to take out their target? 

"H-h-here" Hugo took out the ring from under his cloak, using the opportunity to slide a hidden dagger onto his other free hand. His plan was simple, as soon as this cocky assassin who dared to insult him gets comfortable, he would bury his dagger deep into the bastard's cold heart. A fair price to pay for trying to trick him and get away with the other half of the payment. 

[ How dare he try to tell me what I saw. If that brat Zac isn't dead, then I'm a chicken with seven heads ]. In Hugo’s eyes the assassin was only making excuses in order to renege on their promise. 
He saw his chance arrive when the assassin reached in for the ring.

However, something bizarre happened in the next moment. He was now looking at his own body as though it wasn't his own, the only difference being that it no longer had a head. Dead in a matter of seconds, his eyes wide with shock and horror. 

"To think that you could best me? How foolish, even in death" the assassin began to walk off not even giving the headless corpse of Hugo a second glance. But before he could even take a step, he noticed a figure emerge from the distance. At first, he started to panic but then a sense of joy began to fill him when he realized that the emerging figure was the very target he was after. 

[ It seems that the heavens have not yet forsaken me. ] He wanted to quickly rush out and assassinate Zac, but his instincts told him to be wary and assess the situation some more. 

"Hello there, who might you be?" Zac wasn't expecting a reply but decided to see what the assassin would have to say. 

"Peter Marlow. Don't be afraid, this gentleman and I were having a duel to the death and that is how things turned out like this" replied the assassin as he took off his hood and pointed towards Hugo's corpse. There wasn't a chance that the young noble would recognize him, and although the assassin had a huge suspicion that Zac had followed the innkeeper, he knew the youth had no reason to be suspicious of him. 

That was unless he heard their conversation of course. Nevertheless, the assassin was willing to take the risk in order to potentially lower the youth's guard. Besides, it didn't matter whether he saw his face or overheard them as he would soon be dead. 

"What brings you out here," said Peter noticing the youth silently walking towards him. 
[ That's it, just a little closer, I promise to make it swift ] he started to get excited as his target was about to enter the ideal attack range, voluntarily. 

"Oh, just hunting some assassin's" Zac stopped just two steps before the desired range. 
"Incandescent Flames" he roared as flames erupted from underneath the assassin, moving like the wind threatening to swallow him whole. 

"Oh? Won't even humour me, eh?" the assassin dodged skilfully and jumped on to one of the nearby trees. The information on this target had been that he was an intermediate mage and so, although it would be slightly difficult, he would be able to handle him without much trouble. 

Just as he was thinking these thoughts, a blade entered his back and sunk all the way into his heart. As he fell from the tree, he noticed the figure of another youth with scarlet hair blocking out the sun as though he were an angel of death. Whether it was due to the level of silence in which the youth carried out the attack, that rivalled even his masters' or the swiftness in which he did it, the assassin couldn't help but be angry at the injustice of the world. 

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