Betrayal

Swift, clean and perfect. That’s how Tavian slit the throat of the guard outside the duke’s quarters. It had been a quiet night - moonless sky, only one guard and an almost conspicuous silence in the house – too quiet for Tavian’s liking. He reached for his pocket and produced a small case. He opened it and found his trusted lock picking tools. Quickly, he slid them into the lock on the door to the duke’s bedroom and started prodding.

“C’mon…c’mon…” he mumbled repeatedly, trying to find the right position inside the lock. Click. Tavian’s eyes lit up at the almost melodious sound. I still got it, he thought. He stored the tools back to the case, the case back to his pocket, and scanned around the hallway once more. Silent. Still. Carefully, Tavian slowly opened the door. The inside was even darker than the hallway. A problem for humans, but thanks to Tavian’s infra-vision – a common feature among the halflings – he could clearly make out the duke’s chambers. How the duke was picky. Nothing in the room was left by mistake. Every piece of furniture was carefully placed around the bedroom. In the centre, lied the big canopy bed, with the duke lying on it. He picked his way to the duke’s side, careful not to make a sound.

Easy peasy, the rogue thought. The duke was fast asleep, fully covered by his blankets. Tavian pulled them carefully. He didn’t want to disturb the duke’s sleep. At first look, the duke’s eyes resembled pretty much Tavian’s own eyes, but a more close look revealed them as a reflection on something shiny, something sharp. Tavian knew this katana all to well, the runes on the flat side of the ornate weapon revelling it has a weapon of the Nartak family.

“Razel!” Tavian said, frozen in place. Slowly, the elf climbed out of the bed, gaze locked on Tavian’s eyes, katana rested on Tavian’s neck. From a door to the side of the room, the duke and two guards stormed into the chambers.

“My God, Razel!” the duke screamed “You were right! Someone wanted to murder me!” he turned to the guards “Arrest the halfling!” he screamed again.

Stunned, Tavian could only watch as the guards dragged him from the room. How could he fight back? Razel had whispered a stun incantation as he rose from the bed. He smiled right back at Tavian, still congratulating his genius once more.

The meeting

Midnight, as agreed. Razel just arrived at the meeting spot when the moon was in its highest spot in the sky. Patiently, the elf reclined against the alley wall, with his hood pulled down on his face, as he lit his pipe.

Always late, Razel thought, scanning both sides of the alley for the small thief. He didn’t like to make business with this halfling, but the situation required it. “And you know that there’s no one better than I for this job.”

The sentence caught Razel off guard, as it completed in perfection his line of thought. He scanned the alley once again to find a humanoid form at the entrance of the alley. The form was small, not even 4 feet tall, and was completely covered by a cloak as dark as the shadows.

“You surely know how to make an entrance, honorable rogue” Razel offered “but you should try to make it on time.”

“I hope you have the payment, Razel” the halfling said, letting a greedy smile trough his cloak’s hood. This was the main reason why Razel didn’t like to make business with the diminutive rogue: the price. How could someone so small cost so much gold?

“One thousand gold pieces” he said, handling a bag full of gold to the halfling.

“One thousand gold pieces?” the rogue repeated, weighting the bag “Do you plan to mock me in my own environment, elf? This is less!” he growled, bringing his hand to his knife sheath.

“Calm yourself Tavian. You’ll get the rest after you bring me the duke’s head on a plate” grinned Razel.

“The duke, hey? You aim high, elf, I expect you don’t fall from that height” Tavian mocked.

“Only your wrong doing could prove my misfortune, halfling. Am I trusting the wrong rogue?” replied Razel, with a laugh. Not knowing how he came to that position, Razel could only feel his back against the ground and a knife at his throat. Tavian was already on top of him, face to face with the elf.

“Doubt me for a moment, elf,” Tavian spat “and it’ll be your head in a plate at the duke’s door. By the next full moon, at the same time and place.” He vanished in the shadows as quickly and swiftly as he appeared. Razel, still lying on the floor, could only congratulate himself for his genius.