Chain the Wild Pawn 8

The blue uniformed soldier who patrolled one of the upper floor hallways of the rather impressive hotel that Elliot shared with Chain and Melody stifled a yawn. The next moment a pair of daggers came down upon their neck from behind. A surprised yell escaped from the guard as the would-be assassin failed to kill their mark quietly, actually failing to kill their mark at all.

“Surprised?”

A smile spread across Chain’s face as she faded into view having blocked the assassin’s strike. The assassin did not answer her question with words though, instead choosing to leap back and toss a series of small metal throwing knives at her and the soldier. The soldier was for sure that they were done for this time as they spun around in time to perceive the next attack against them. Chain was a prodigious swordsmaid however and deflected the incoming attack as she playfully twirled her sword before her.

“I can deal with this idiot no problem but I think you should probably let Elliot and the others know.”

“R-right!”

Bolting away from where Chain defended them from a number of additional projectile attempts on their life the soldier made for a door in the hallway. Banging vigorously against the portal they shouted at the top of their lungs.

“We’ve an assassin! Prepare yourselves!”

“What?!”

Elliot rose from the grandfather chair he rested in and reached for his sword that leaned against his seat. Before his hand could reach his sword he spied a shadowy garbed figure heading right for the window of his rather luxurious hotel room from the corner of his eyes. Narrowing his eyes Elliot prepared himself to face his assailant but the figure’s approach was suddenly ended and a flash of a large white feathered wing passed the window for barely an instant before disappearing with the figure.

“Chain’s partner!”

Snatching up his sword as he exclaimed his surprise at the appearance of Melody, Elliot made for the window and threw it open so that he might peer out and spy sight of the harpy yet again. His sharp senses alerted him to the presence of another assassin and he was forced to duck back into the room for cover instead of scanning for the harpy maid. Careless as the Hero was in opening the window he was not so careless as to endanger the soldiers under his command and snatched the throwing knife meant for him out of the air. Carefully scanning for signs of the assassin he addressed the soldiers who shared the hotel room with him as he drew his sword.

“It would seem we’re the targets of a rather large scale attempt to end our mission. Be prepared for anything.”

(Though it would seem the assassins were unprepared for Chain’s presence.)

Elliot’s thoughts turned to Chain as he contemplated the nature of the assassins. Chain meanwhile was finding human curiosity to be troublesome as a number of the hotel’s patrons opened their doors to see what the commotion was all about.

“Why would you idiots open your doors when someone is yelling assassin?”

Not chancing the assassin making use of the witless patrons Chain charged into their space exposing herself to their attacks. Even within the space her opponent controlled however Chain was an experienced warrior and exploited her impressive speed and elbow to put the assassin off guard. To the assassin’s credit they maintained their composure as they were knocked backwards into the air by Chain’s attack but Chain had no intention of allowing them to react.

“Sorry. Normally I’d keep you alive long enough to get what I can out of you but I won’t risk anyone else’s life tonight.”

Stepping deeper into the assassin Chain released the grip of her sword and in the same motion grabbed one of the arms of the quillons with her right hand and punched the pommel deep into her opponent’s gut. The even more focused blow maintained the assassin’s elevation from the prior attack and successfully stole their breath away. Using the recoil of her punch to reposition her sword Chain grabbed the pommel end of the hilt with her left hand and released her right. In the following motion Chain stepped back with her left foot and turned her body after it unleashing a powerful strike that rendered the assassin in two from the left shoulder to the right side of their waist. Naturally screams erupted from the curious patrons of the hotel at the graphic display but Chain disregarded it as she knelt down to investigate her kill. After a moment of investigating the corpse a frown crossed Chain’s face.

“Weird, they don’t have a Tuner.”

“So these assassins are equipped with Automina technology.”

“At least one is.”

Standing up from her work Chain turned around to face Elliot who from the sight of his still drawn sword had come to assist Chain.

“One?”

“Yeah. Melody and I heard the Tuner activate earlier so I thought maybe there was only one assassin based on its effect, but then we spotted multiple assassins and had to split up. I thought maybe they all had a Tuner on them and activated them simultaneously to hide how many of them there were. It even made more sense to me when I saw this idiot make a move on your guard. I mean they activated it close enough to the hotel for Melody and me to hear it so if you had a sorcerer with you they probably would have noticed and then make the same mistake I did and think it was only one assassin after you.”

“And then a second would have attempted to catch me unaware once the first was disposed of.”

“Yep, and this poor idiot was the bait.”

“And the one your partner dealt with would have been my killer.”

“Probably.”

“Except there was also a third who attacked me after I spied your partner dealing with the second.”

“And considering this idiot doesn’t have a Tuner on him there may be even more.”

Chain sheathed her sword and took her right elbow in hand as she pinched her chin in thought. Taking only a moment to think Chain made an inquiry of Elliot.

“I noticed you had a couple of Rattama with you and considering the words of the Rattama Hero who joined the grinning idiot when he attacked the Brass Line I’m starting to get an idea as to what you’re up to and what cargo it is that you’re transporting. I won’t push the matter but since it’s starting to look like they’re the ones who are being targeted do you think they can be talked into helping me track down the Tuner?”

“I’m certain my Rattama companions can be persuaded to assist you.”

“Good, then let’s go.”

“And your partner?”

“Melody can handle herself as long as no one else has a Tuner or any Automina weaponry.”

“Yet your observancy has already failed you once tonight.”

“Maybe, but Melody’s senses are way sharper than mine.”

Though Chain complimented Melody’s abilities in response to the unintended insult of her abilities by Elliot she was observant enough to recognize that he meant more than the abilities of the assassins. It was not something he obviously intended to give away but as he led Chain back to his hotel room to speak he glanced in the direction of the guard whose life Chain had already saved. She was a pretty maid for a soldier but was otherwise plain enough except for her violet colored eyes. Chain said nothing aloud but a hint of a smile formed at the corners of her lips.

(So you’re not just playing diplomat, but you’re also an escort for at least two different parties. Interesting… Now I’m really curious who the actual target of these assassins is, and just how many factions don’t want you accomplishing your diplomatic journey and everything involved with it.)

Copyright © 2018 Joshua D Tarwater