Snippet #1987173

Dúlin listened quietly as the group discussed what path to take to get to Kryn. His mind began to drift he was tired he’d been up for most of two days. The path they would take didn’t matter to him he was going along for the trip to complete one task but he had one thing on his mind, it was the look that the young nobleman Lord Vincent had given him. If he was a normal doctor he wouldn’t have thought anything of it but he was he wasn’t a normal doctor he made his task to stay alive and safe. The smile Lord Vincent had given him would have been interpreted by most as a happy smile but the smile was cold and Vincent’s eyes had been full of anger.

His mind began to look at the enemies he had made over the years, he tried to connect Vincent with any of them but most of his kills had left everyone involved wondering who had killed the target. He had never taken a job with any obvious links to this city or its lords. If it wasn’t an assassination that had gotten Vincent angry at him it must have been something he had done as a doctor, Dúlin reasoned in his mind. He his mind blurred and the images of Lord Vincent and his most recent patients began to blur superimposing themselves on one another. Suddenly it fell into place causing him to sit up straight the realization like an electric shock awakening him out of his half-awake state. The Lady he had ignored to treat the other man during the storm was related to Lord Vincent, judging from the facial features they were siblings.

Looking around no one had noticed his sudden movement. He swore to himself he had made an enemy of a Lord one with a lot of money. He stood up slowly clearing his throat to speak “If we are going to Kryn tomorrow, I have things I must take care of to prepare I beg to be excused” without waiting for a response he turned and headed to the door his face limp and hunched back had returned he needed to keep up his disguise for now it was how anyone knew him.

He slipped out a servant entrance not wanting to go out the front door and attract attention. Once he was out of sight of the manor he stopped. For anyone watching it would look like he was catching his breath but he was observing his surroundings looking for anything unusual. He noticed as man who had been near the servant’s entrance when he had been leaving the manor. The man was out of place in this neighborhood he was poor, too poor to be a servant and poor enough to be desperate; desperate enough to kill a man for the shirt off his back especially after an Elder Storm.
Dúlin continued on his way pretending to ignore the man as he walked down the main road towards his home. He made a turn into an alley and waited for the man to round the corner were Dúlin was waiting. Before the man knew what hit him Dúlin had an arm around the man’s neck the crook of Dúlin’s elbow on the man’s trachea cutting off his breathing. The man struggled against the hold but Dúlin waited till the man stopped struggling before he released the now lifeless body. He bent over and found a small fortune in coins on the man’s belt as well as a dagger of high quality worth more than the man made in a year.

He swore in Elvish, this man was hired to kill him. He turned and ran down the alley to get away from the body and to get home. He traversed the maze between buildings using his actual considerable speed to cover the distance quickly. Dúlin feared Vincent will have found his abode and placed men outside incase Dúlin had managed to return to it. He slowed down as he got close to the hole in the wall of an inn he was staying at. He pulled his new cloak about himself there was still day light but there were tall shadows he hoped he could hide in. He looked around the corner trying to get a view of the back of the inn where is cart would be stored. Dúlin swore when he saw four men armed with clubs and daggers around the back of the inn waiting.

Dúlin felt a pair of hands on his back as he was pushed into the open towards the four armed men. He stumbled looking behind himself he saw a fifth man armed like the other, smiling wickedly. “Let’s have some fun with this old coot.” Laughing the others turned towards him hoisting their clubs. The men circled him three hanging back and two of them right in front of him. One man raised his club laughing at that moment Dúlin acted. The man stumbled back his club falling from the man’s hand as he fell down looking at the dagger in his stomach. Dúlin didn’t stop there his second dagger was already in the second man, Dúlin launched himself towards the third man drawing his last knife and new Elven sword. The man had raised his club but the Elvish blade sliced through the club and into the man’s skull. The last two men had finally reacted both had their clubs and daggers out. They charged Dúlin one on either side of him. As the men brought their clubs down Dúlin brought his foot across in a sweeping kick to the men’s feet dropping both men to the ground. He slammed his blade and dagger into the backs of the men silencing them swearing he looted the bodies he would have to get out of here and find a place to lay low till he could meet up with the party traveling to Kryn in the morning.

It wouldn’t be a good night for Dúlin and it wasn’t even dark yet.