Chapter 18 - Cacophony of Silence

The silent chord, the whispered breath,

A song that binds the soul to death.

No crown, no coin, no gilded name,

Can shield the tyrant from her claim.

Elanor finished her set, and the innkeeper was the first to rush the stage.

“Congratulations! I’ve never seen a bard mesmerize an audience the way you do.”

The mayor was next.

“You were incredible, young lady,” he said. “I thought the Gravelthorn ballad was particularly inspired.”

Aranach arrived, and the three spoke for a few minutes.

Finally, the innkeeper took a step back.

“We’ve monopolized her enough,” she told the mayor. “Let’s allow her adoring fans some room.”

Elanor and Aranach spent the next two hours talking with the people of Gravelthorn. They were simple but kindhearted.

And, Elanor thought, they didn’t deserve to live under the thumb of that Baron.

After the people had more to drink, their tongues loosened and Elanor learned stories of the creative ways in which Baron Drelmont lorded his authority over them.

He always chose the worst possible times to collect his taxes, first. In the middle of a large family dinner. Then he’d required them to fix him a generous portion of meat to go, which he’d promptly throw into the forest to feed to the wolves.

This also had the added “benefit” of keeping the wolves constantly circling the town, as it had now become a regular source of food.

Disappearances were common. But that didn’t keep Drelmont from collecting his due.

Just had a baby? Don’t care. Pay up.

Just opened a new business? Congratulations! Your taxes went up. And they’re due right now, too.

After hours of stories, Elanor and Aranach heard not a single story to redeem the man.

The hour grew late. Elanor and Aranach retired to their room upstairs.

She changed into her assassin leathers, and carefully arranged her knives and vials of poison and health tonics. She strung her bow and quiver over her back and checked herself in the mirror as she applied dark makeup to further hide her features in shadow.

Finally, she pulled the hood over her head.

“You look like death personified,” Aranach said approvingly.

He rested his hand on her shoulder.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to follow behind?” he asked.

“No, I’ve got this. Order a carafe of wine after I leave, then one more if I’m not back in two hours. That’ll give us an alibi. I’ll see you soon.”

They hugged, and Aranach bade her good luck and sent her on her way.

Elanor slipped out the window.

It was a cloudy night, but rain didn’t appear to be coming any time soon.

The wind was just loud enough that her footfalls were masked further.

Not that she made any sound while she stalked through the shadows of the village.

But, Elanor was happy to take any advantage she would be given.

It took her a half hour to reach the outskirts of the town proper. Moving undetected was slower than normal travel.

Still hiding behind the guard house, she closed her eyes.

---

System Message

Elegy’s Mark active

Target: Baron Tharos Drelmont

Time to Mark Expiration: 6:04:57

---

“Still have six hours,” she muttered. “Plenty of time.”

Elanor waited for the guards to turn and slipped out the gate.

Entering the forest, she ran flat out for fifteen minutes, when she suddenly stopped.

She turned slowly, drawing her daggers.

A massive alpha and two wolves stood a hundred feet away.

Even from this distance, she could see drool dripping from the alpha’s mouth. His teeth shone white in the moonlight, but it was his eyes that had her attention.

She’d fought wolves before in training, but their eyes were usually silver or blue. This alpha had eyes that were pure red.

And as soon as he saw her make eye contact with him, he growled and lunged forward, running at full speed toward her.

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

Elanor got into a low crouch and stood still until the three beasts got within ten feet of her.

The wolves weren’t slowing down at all.

When they arrived in range, she executed Staccato Step, causing her to flash forward and behind them.

---

Skill:

Staccato Step:

* Flash forward in total silence.

* While obscured, you are undetectable by sight or hearing.

* Distance moved increases with level and Dexterity.

---

At level 18, Elanor had many more tricks up her sleeve, but for this fight, she wouldn’t need them.

The alpha’s jaws snapped shut on nothing but air. Then he felt two daggers stab deep into his abdomen and slash forward.

In an instant, his entrails fell to the ground, and he fell lifeless moments later.

The other two wolves turned and ran. Elanor didn’t bother with them.

Nor would she bother with the corpse. By morning, the other beasts who roamed this forest would find great sustenance in her gift to them.

She wiped her blades and sheathed them.

Time to finish off the Baron.

---

System Message

Elegy’s Mark active

Target: Baron Tharos Drelmont

Time to Mark Expiration: 5:36:04

---

Elanor stalked forward through the forest until she came upon a wooden fence.

The Baron’s estate was built against an indent in the hillside, protected on three sides. The wooden fence was over ten feet high, and the wrought iron gate was guarded by four men.

She climbed a tree to get a better view of the layout.

Lanterns were spaced in regular intervals around the perimeter, and the yard in front of the mansion was far too well lit for a normal approach.

“Time for the new skill the spirits taught me,” she muttered.

From high up in the tree, Elanor concentrated.

---

Skill:

Elyra’s Breath:

Call upon the forest guardian’s spirit, Elyra, and weave her winds into your song.

* Activation: A tune sung without sound, heard only by the spirits.

* Effect: Summon gale-force winds in an area of your choosing.

* Control: Focus the effect to sweep across a wide area, or contain it in a small space.

* Duration increases with Wisdom.

---

She hummed the tune in her heart, and in the yard below, a lantern blew out. It was followed by another, and two more, until a clear path from the foot of her tree to the front door was open.

She leapt from the high branch and landed silently in the grass.

None of the guards noticed anything.

The bright light shining from the lanterns around them helped to shield the dark ones. Bright lights went both ways, after all. They can illuminate. And they can blind.

Within moments, Elanor was at the mansion.

She slipped around the side, and far to the back of the sprawling estate she found a window open. It was a few feet off the ground, but nothing that would even challenge her.

She hopped up and pulled herself inside.

Immediately, the smell of stale booze and cheap perfume assaulted her.

She was glad she was wearing a mask that covered all but her eyes, but even with the face covering, the smell was disgusting.

Holding back the urge to retch, she inched forward into the darkened hallway.

She heard the Baron’s voice from far away. He was yelling at one of the girls. Elanor could hear two of them crying in separate rooms.

She drew her daggers.

It was time.

She walked forward through the hall to the junction.

He still yelled from a room at the end of the hallway to the right.

“Why do I even bother paying you whores? I could just take whatever I want, you know! And this is how you repay my generosity? Now get back down and finish the fucking job already!”

Elanor’s eyebrows narrowed.

Then, suddenly the door she was standing in front of opened, and one of the women from the tavern shrieked.

Elanor sheathed her daggers and covered the woman’s mouth, pushing her back into the room and following behind.

Once she was sure the woman wouldn’t yell out, Elanor removed her hand.

“Are… are you here to kill him?” she asked.

Elanor just nodded.

“I won’t get in your way,” the woman said. “I’ll even help if you need me…”

She looked Elanor up and down.

“But… you don’t look like you need any help,” she whispered.

Elanor whispered. “Stay here, and I’ll knock when it’s done. Then you can come out. But I suggest you all leave as usual and let the guards find him. I’ll make it look like an accident.”

The woman started crying.

“He’s been holding my father hostage in the basement. He does it to all of us. We’d never sleep with him otherwise,” she said. “Can you help free them?”

Elanor sighed.

Of course this wasn’t going to be simple.

“Fine,” she said, “but I can’t help you all escape. Can you figure that out on your own?”

The girl laughed.

“Once the guards find out the Baron is dead, they won’t raise a finger against any of us. One of them is Amelie’s cousin. Another is an uncle to one of the girls. Just finish the Baron and we’ll take care of the rest.”

Elanor nodded and headed back out into the hallway.

The Baron was still shouting.

Elanor wasted no more time. She rushed forward and burst through the door.

The Baron stood in the room, nude. His hands were at his waist and he was yelling at the girl, who was on her knees in front of him crying.

He looked up as the door opened, and Elanor used Staccato Step to land behind him.

She pulled his head back with one hand and held her dagger in place at his throat with the other.

The girl fell backward, her eyes wide open in shock. And appreciation?

The Baron saw it in her eyes in his last moment alive. After all he’d done for these girls, they dare to appreciate some bitch who’d come to assassinate him?

Don’t they have any respect for great men? Or for authority?

“Fucking worthless piece of sh—”

Elanor slide the knife across his throat, severing his windpipe and voice box at the same time.

Baron Tharos Drelmont’s words turned into a muffled gurgling sound as he clasped his throat with both hands and fell forward.

His head struck the corner of the fine wooden dresser as he fell, and he rolled to the side, landing on his back. His eyes were fixed on Elanor as the light left them.

After the sheer cacophony of his yelling, the silence was just as unsettling.

Elanor saw System messages coming in, but she ignored them for now. She leaned over and cut off the Baron’s index finger, along with his signet ring. She wrapped the bloody stump in a piece of heavy fabric and tucked it into her tunic.

“Where are his keys to the cells?” Elanor asked.

The girl was grasping at her dress, trying to cover herself up, but she couldn’t stop crying.

The girl from down the hall entered and saw the scene. She helped her friend stand and get dressed.

Elanor was searching the drawers, but couldn’t find the keys.

“He keeps them with him at all times,” the girl said, reaching into the Baron’s tunic and pulling out a keyring.

“Let’s go,” she said, and Elanor followed.

Along the hallway, the girl knocked and opened two more doors, told the others what had happened, and they all hugged.

They wanted to hug Elanor, but something about the look in her eyes gave them pause.

“You’re a hero, you know,” one of them said. “The entire town will thank you for what you’ve done.”

“Oh no,” Elanor said, “you four did this. I can have nothing to do with it. Please.”

“Your voice sounds famil—”

Elanor put her fingers to the girl’s lips.

“You’ve never seen me before. Understand?”

The girl smiled. “Of course. You saved our lives. We will never forget you. But if that’s what you want, we’ll never mention it.”

They proceeded to the cellar below the estate, and Elanor was shocked to see fifteen men in cages.

Fifteen.

Baron Drelmont was a monster. And Elanor was glad she’d been given this assignment.

As the girls were busy freeing the men from the cages and reuniting with their families, Elanor slipped back out of the mansion, climbed the tree and made her way back to her room in Gravelthorn.

For all their gratitude, she could not linger in it. Heroes were remembered. Shadows were not. And tonight, she was the shadow.