Will

Lugging a body halfway across town wasn't exactly his idea of a summer evening well spent, but there he was anyway. It was times like these that he wished a certain brawn-for-brains idiot was there to do the heavy lifting for him. But she wasn't, and he had a job to do, so he got to doing it without fuss.

Serene followed him to the home of Sheerhome's only firefighter. Though his real name was Henri Saint Capitaine, most just called him Captain, or alternatively the Captain, though he hadn't held any sort of military command in a good long while. The Level 17 Builder lived in a two-story townhouse by the eastern side of the River Sterling—a quaint little place, given his big-shot folk hero status.

Once they got to the side street that the house faced, Will set the wrapped-up corpse against a wall and straightened, trying to roll some of the stiffness out of his shoulder.

"You stay here," he said to Serene, and unbuckled his sword belt to place Anathema down beside the cargo. "I'll call you over once I know he's ready to talk."

"Are you expecting him to make trouble?" Serene asked.

"I don't know—never met the guy—but I seem to have bad luck when it comes to diplomacy."

"I wonder why, with a kind face like that."

Will gave a wry smirk. "Ouch."

He left her at the end of the street, jogged over to Henri's green-painted door, which looked more of a muddled brown in the unlit night, no street lamps along these smaller streets.

After confirming that the man was inside with a pulse of Detect [Henri Saint Capitaine]—he appeared to be abed and asleep on the second floor—Will gave the door a few good hard thumps. The figure upstairs stirred. He knocked some more until the figure came creeping downstairs, his illuminated outline visible through the wall.

"Captain!" Will called. "This is William Greene! I know it's late, but I need to have a word with you! It's important!"

The man approached the other side of the door, and Will took a step back, arms raised. Here's hoping he doesn't—

The door flew open, and something shot out of the shadows beyond like a striking serpent. It caught Will right in the gut, took him clean off his feet and into the wall of the house opposite, then held him there, suspended off the ground.

It was a long wooden pole that had come through the door, terminating somewhere inside past the shadowed figure in the doorway—presumably against another wall, so he was pinned fast with no way to wiggle free.

Will might have been confused by this, except he had done his research. Once the initial pain and shock of the attack wore off, he had a good idea of what he was dealing with. Captain was well-known for favoring the Scaffolding skill, both for combat and traversal.

The pole was tough—too tough for Will to break without a good deal of momentum, certainly—and Dashing would only result in impaling himself on it. His sword would likely have done the trick, but he'd left that with Serene. Luckily, he knew that the pole was not made of wood at all.

Will closed a hand around the pole, teeth gritted with the pain of it digging into his gut, and said: "Cancel."

The pole shattered and broke away, flaking into nothing, and Will fell forward onto the cobbles, landing on one knee.

"I'm not here to fight you," Will said.

But Captain came for him anyway, a new Scaffolding quarterstaff already materializing in one hand. "I know who you are!" he growled, and swung his weapon.

Will ducked under the staff, pushed himself up into a flying Dash to avoid the followup, and soared for a moment, weightless, while the Builder glared up at him.

Why can't anyone just be reasonable?

As he reached the apex of his leap, Captain aimed his staff at him almost like a rifle, and the length of simulated mass extended for him quick. Will pushed strongly off the wall in front with Repel, landed flat against the one behind, and aimed another Dash just as it came off skill lag, catching the fifteen-foot quarterstaff by its hoisted end and using his cannonball momentum to leverage it like a fulcrum, snapping the bottom end out of its owner's hands.

Will let go of the weapon as he slid onto Captain's roof, upsetting ceramic tiles underfoot that went tumbling streetside. "I really don't want to fight you!" Will called down. "And we really don't have time for this! Please, Captain! Let's just talk"

The Builder came shooting up into the air at the end of a third pole, and hopped onto the roof opposite. Once he was up there, the staff shortened back to regular quarterstaff length. He cut an imposing figure in the weak moonlight, unnaturally burly with all the Strength and Toughness of a high-level Builder, aglow with a spectral aura from Will's still-active Detect.

"Assassins don't do peace," Captain said. "It's just not in the job description. Especially not ones that choose to work for Brimstone."

"I announced myself," Will said, and held up his hands to show that they were empty. "I left my weapon down there, with my associate. If I were really trying to kill you, I would have gotten you in your sleep."

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

The man across was silent in thought. "Why are you here, then?" he asked at last.

"Because Brimstone wants you dead, and I don't," Will replied. "But please, let's speak in private, and quickly. There's not much time."

"If this is some sort of trick…"

"You'll crack my skull like an egg? Yeah, I got it. I'm sure I'd make a fine omelet."

Captain made a show of tossing his weapon aside, and the two of them leapt down to street level. Somewhat sheepishly, the Builder motioned toward his open front door. "Well, assassin—let's talk then."

Will went and picked up his saber—though he left the body where it was for the time being—and went inside with Serene.

Captain invited them into his kitchen on the first floor, and dug out a box of matches to light a candle, then lit some more off the burning wick of the first. He was a tall and broad-shouldered man, dark-skinned, with close-cropped hair and a full beard.

"I'm sorry about the commotion, miss," Captain said, moving awkwardly around the young woman as though worried he might bump her if he didn't take exceeding care. "I thought this was something else, that's all."

"It's all right, Master Capitaine," Serene said with a polite smile, and sat when prompted at the round dinner table. There were only two chairs—apparently, he didn't get many visitors. Will was the odd man out, left standing by the table with his arms crossed.

"Please, Henri is fine," the Builder said.

"Henri it is, then. It's a pretty name."

"And yours, miss?"

"Serene."

"Ah—a name much lovelier than mine. It suits you well."

"Thank you."

"Uh… anything to drink? I don't have much, but I'm sure I could—"

"For god's sake, you can save your flirting for later," Will hissed, impatiently tapping a finger against his bicep.

"I wasn't—" Captain croaked, lips moving silently when he seemingly ran out of words mid-sentence.

Serene just laughed.

"It doesn't matter," Will said. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to explain why I'm here knocking on your door in the middle of the night. Like I said before, Brimstone wants you dead. He sent me to do it. Only I don't really work for him—that's all a front. Really, I'm part of an effort to take him down."

"I… see," Captain said, rubbing at his curly beard. "I'm not surprised that Brimstone would send someone after me. That's why I was, uh, wary when you showed up. I must admit, I am quite surprised that you would work against him. You've got a bit of a reputation, you must admit. The things I've heard…"

Will sighed. "Yes, yes. I'm a monster, a heartless killing machine, et cetera. Maybe I am those things, I don't know—but if I'm a monster, at least I'm one that's chosen to back the good guys. So there you have it."

"I see. And these 'good guys', as you put it—who is that, exactly?"

"Just me and a few close associates. The only one you might know of is Big Deal Buck. He's the one we've got in mind for the high chair once Brimstone is out of the picture."

He didn't mention the fact that Captain himself had been the backup candidate, and might have made a fairly good one if not for his famously apolitical bent.

"Big Deal Buck," Captain said with a snort. "You mean to replace one devil with another, then. I should have guessed as much."

"I hear he's a good man," Serene cut in, studying her nails. Her mask was back to being immaculate, and at present there was no outward sign that she had been rambling and delirious a few hours earlier.

"With all due respect, miss, we will have to disagree on that," Captain replied.

"Right, well, that doesn't matter right now," Will said. "What matters is that you understand the immediate plan. I'm supposed to kill three people tonight—three high-level targets that Brimstone believes might pose a threat to him."

He explained the body-switching plan, giving only the broad strokes. Captain listened until the end, only giving the occasional nod.

"Well, I don't see how I have much choice," the Builder said once the plan was laid out. "If I don't disappear, he'll just keep sending killers after me, and innocents are liable to get caught up in it." He nodded once more, an air of finality to it. "Okay, assassin. I'll go along with your plan."

"Good."

Captain held up two thick fingers. "But know this—I won't fight in your rebellion. I refuse. All I've learned from living in this place is when a tyrant gets dethroned, one as bad or worse is liable to take his place. Only difference is the innocents dead along the way. I won't be party to that kind of farce. Made that mistake once, and I will never repeat it."

"Yes, I suspected you would say something like that," Will said, sighing, "and I accept it. For now, let's just focus on getting you safe. There won't be much time before the corpse collectors get here."

So it was settled. Will brought the dummy body inside—it was a bit smaller than the man himself, but he hoped it wouldn't be so noticeable with the tarp. Serene crafted an Illusory mask over the face, then Will sent her off to get Captain to the Academy. As he had seen her employ once before—when she was trying to bullet in him, incidentally—she could use her Illusions to produce a sort of invisibility—not perfect, but more than good enough as long as they stuck to unlit streets.

Will stayed outside the house and smoked a cigarette while he waited for the commandos to come and take the body away.

It was a few minutes before he sensed them coming. Except there were six of them now, not five, and they didn't have the wagon with them.

Will met the group where the side street met the main thoroughfare, and the stone of unease in his gut doubled in weight.

"Good evening, Master One-Eye," Handsome said as he approached at the head of the armed soldiers. His arms were folded primly behind his back, and he wore the same bland, unnerving little smile that he always had on. "I'm sorry to say this, but it appears you have not been doing your job as requested."

Will kept his hands at his sides, well away from his blades, but ready to draw steel at a moment's notice. "You never bought it, did you?" he asked with a glance at Captain Wynn, who was at Handsome's shoulder.

Wynn gave a small gesture of apology. "Sorry, bossman. Orders are orders, and I was told to keep a close eye on you."

"Figures." He felt like an idiot for thinking the plan would work. It should have worked. If only Handsome hadn't decided to meddle in things that were none of his business.

"Well?" he prompted, and turned his attention back to the Level 16 Trader. "What's this about, Handsome? What's your angle?"

Handsome's smile got a hair wider. "Not to worry, Master One-Eye—all shall be revealed presently. I had planned to speak with you about this in the morning, but it appears we will need to have our little talk now instead."

"Does this conversation end with me face-down in a pool of my own blood?" Will asked.

"That depends entirely on you."

"How so?"

"Because I would like to make you an offer, Master One-Eye."

"An offer. The kind people don't turn down, I'm guessing?"

"Just so."

Will forced out a chuckle. "Well, I'm all ears. Dazzle me."

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