Snippet #4063

Aylward arrived at Zarwood after a day's journey. It had taken a huge toll on the mare he had hired, travelling endlessly for the entire distance. He stroked it affectionately and whispered, "Well done." And handed it over to a stablehand. Aylward fastened his cloak and stepped forth towards the woods, a small wooden flute in his hand. It was an elfin whistle, the sound of the flute was discernible only to elves and only they understood what each note meant. This allowed them to send messages through the woods without any other races intercepting the message.

I am Aylward Kelindal, the Master of the Wind. Here to seek the counsel of the Guardians.

After he had played his message on the flute, he merely sat down on a rock and waited. The Guardians would come to find him soon enough. Aylward absentmindedly swatted his hands as a tiny sting pricked his arm. He had forgotten how annoying the insects were around Zarwood. Aylward felt exhaustion wash over him, and his thoughts began to slow, as he looked at his arm he realised it had been no insect. Sleeping potion... Huh, guess even elves don't trust me now. Aylward thought as darkness washed over him.

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"Are you sure?" Lucas asked the short man whom he hired.

"Absolutely. The answer lies in the crypt of the ancient assassins. I believe they were called.. the Black Hawk clan or something. They were named after a bird, and it is said that their emblem's spirit granted power to a chosen one among them." The short man whispered quietly.

Lucas furrowed his brow. So his doubts had been cleared. There was a good chance his plan would go off without a hitch. "Thank you." He smiled, as he swung his blade and stabbed the man in the abdomen. Surprise washed over the man's face as he looked at the blade his employer had just stabbed him with. "I'm afraid I cannot let you carry word of this to anyone, especially Genox. And the name of that clan was the Black Phoenix."

As the man took his dying breath Lucas left him in the alley. The guards would no doubt see it as another poor victim who had been murdered by the thugs in the area, especially with the increase in celebratory muggings and killings in honor of the king's death. Lucas walked away calmly, stowing his blade beneath his cloak as he left for the stables to hire a horse. He would need to revisit the resting place of his clan, and see if what the man said was true. Hope for finally freeing the people rested on this.