FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE (115 page)

     Dawn crept into the main chamber slowly, always making sure that she was in the shadows. The environment was to her advantage here, as the cave was dimly lit due to the scarceness of fresh air owing to poor ventilation. She carefully took out ‘Panic-solver Number Two’ and placed it inside a large crack in the chamber walls near the entrance.

     Dawn’s eyes swept across the huge chamber. There they were, her clansmen; some singing, some dancing, and quite a few were drunk. But there were also the mourners. The wives and the husbands and the children who had lost their loved ones during the execution of their missions. Dawn could see a significant number of them, all wearing a white band on their arms. These people were sober and sad-faced. A few were crying. Some just sat staring at the chamber walls, their eyes so swollen one would have thought that they were stung by bees. A part of her felt like reaching out to comfort them. But that would endanger her mission. No, she was too well trained to let her emotions get in the way. She was there for one purpose only; which was to get her uncle out.

     Dawn made her way through the maze of tunnels, chambers and smaller caves, sometimes walking amongst them with her face casually covered as though she was coughing, or crawling through natural forming cracks in the walls. Finally, she arrived at a large chamber that had a river flowing though it. This chamber was dark and the river water was raging. There was only one torch that lit this chamber and she knew to whom it belonged. There was a man sitting by the river bank, fishing.

     “Uncle Rake, it’s me, Dawn,” she whispered.

     The man got up, grabbed his torch and turned around. He squinted his eyes as he looked into the darkness, searching for a figure that he could not make out. Dawn slowly walked into the illumination of the torch.

     “Dawn, it
is
you
!
” said the man as he limped forward and hugged his niece.

     “But I thought that you were in prison. They told me the mission at Fallsgreen had failed completely and that you were killed. Then they told me that you weren’t killed but were caught instead. What happened
?
How did you escape
?
” asked Rake Breven.

     “I wasn’t caught at Fallsgreen. I escaped but got caught when I tried to assassinate the prince at Castle Greenbloom. The client had an agent who, together with the help of some bandits, helped me escape,” explained Dawn.

     “That’s my girl
!
” Rake said as he hugged Dawn again.

     Rake saw Dawn’s serious expression and knew something was wrong. His niece did not seem happy to be back at The Lair.

     “Uncle, we must leave at once
!
You were right about Clanmaster Collart
!
The Fire Elementhars mission 15 years ago
was
a failure, just like you said. He lied to us, and now that I know the truth, he’d kill me to protect his secret. Besides, I’ve failed to kill the prince, and that failure warrants the death penalty anyway. I’m leaving this continent. I want you to come with me
!
” said Dawn urgently.

     “That’s the wrong thing to do, don’t you see
?
Go public
!
Stand at the main chamber and announce to the clan what you’ve found out. Expose that fraudster for who he is. Remove him from power and let another, who’s more worthy, take his place. Our war with the government isn’t over yet. They still haven’t paid for what they did to us
!
” argued Rake.

     “Uncle, it’s over. We’ve lost too many men
!
We can’t possibly hope to win
!
” Dawn pointed out.

     “But there are recruits…,” protested Rake.

     “Who are nothing but mercenaries and common criminals
!
They fight for money, not for principles
!
They care not about what happened to our villages all those years ago
!
” disputed Dawn.

     Rake Breven shook his head and stepped away from Dawn. Dawn took a few steps towards her uncle to close the gap.

     “So what you’re saying is just pack up and leave
?
And forget about what the government had done to us
!?
I can’t, Dawn
!
That wound’s too deep
!
You leave. You go. You’re still young. There’s still a bright future for you. I
have
to stay. I’m too tied down by the past,” said Rake.

     “Uncle, the clan’s doomed
!
Follow me and let us leave for a better future
!
” pleaded Dawn.

     “No, I can’t. If the clan’s doomed, then I’m doomed as well. That’s my final decision. Now go, before Collart catches you
!
” said Rake.

     Dawn shook her head in disappointment. She knew that her uncle was stubborn, but she had never expected him to be
this
stubborn.

     “What do you plan to do when I’m gone
?
” she questioned him out of curiosity.

     “The same thing I’ve done for years, which is to look for clansmen who are willing to testify against Collart and have Collart sacked as our clanmaster,” Rake responded.

     “No one will testify
!
They’re afraid they’ll be killed
!
” she pointed out.

     “Nonsense
!
Collart wouldn’t dare
!
Assassinating a clansman is against clan law. He would have an open rebellion on his hands. He wouldn’t risk it
!
” rejected Rake.

     “Not if he assassinated them while they were away on a mission
!
When they were away from The Lair
!
No one would know
!
Therefore no one would rebel
!
” Dawn pointed out.

     Rake Breven nodded his head. Dawn had a point, and he conceded it.

     “Yes
!
I agree
!
Collart can have them assassinated away from The Lair, away from the presence of the rest of the clan; and he had done so on many occasions in the past. So don’t you see why it’s important that I stay back and stop him
!?
” persisted Rake.

     “Uncle, how long before Collart comes after you personally
!?
” questioned Dawn.

     “It’s not so easy with me, or have you forgotten that I’m one of the Ten Founders. If he kills me, it would raise a lot of awkward questions for him,” reminded Rake.

     “What if he got you away from The Lair, assassinated you and made it look like an accident, or made them think that the government has captured you
?
He’ll be able to kill you and get away with it
!
” Dawn pointed out.

     “That’s why, my dear niece, I never leave The Lair
!
I’m not giving that fraudster the opportunity to eliminate me and turn the clan into his personal army
!
I
have
to stay
!
I
have
to fight him
!
I can’t let him hijack the clan. It’s the only thing that we
have
left
!
The clan’s our family
!
The clan
is
us
!
” insisted Rake.

     “Not anymore, uncle
!
With these new recruits, it’s not our family anymore
!
It’s not
us
anymore
!
It’s Venom Collart Incorporated
!
” disputed Dawn.

     “I can’t accept that
!
I’m not willing to give up
!
” said Rake.

     Dawn stared at her uncle in disappointment. He turned and looked away in stubbornness. She had no choice but to accept the fact that he would not be leaving with her. So she said her final goodbye, bowed, turned around and left. Rake did not turn to face her. There were tears streaming down the old man’s eyes which he was too proud to show his niece.

     Dawn kept to the shadows as she tried to creep her way out. A large part of her that was reluctant to leave. This was where she grew up. This place held her history. But being a highly trained assassin, she was also pragmatic. She knew the clan was doomed. Staying on would have only meant death, but worse still, a meaningless and senseless death. To die for a principle was noble but to die so that Venom Collart could get richer was just plain stupid
!

     She had just made it to the main chamber when she felt a sting on her thigh. She tried to run, but it was too late. The poison from the dart had set in. Her legs became numb and paralysed. She stumbled onto the ground and lost consciousness. The last thing she heard was a cry of ‘Intruder
!
Intruder
!
’ The last things she saw were unfamiliar faces, a dozen unfamiliar faces surrounding her in what used to be her own home
!
Truly, the clan was dead
!

     Daybreak did not bring welcomed news to Serene. She had gathered with her subordinates as planned, hoping that one of them had returned with some answers but all they got were blanks. No one had managed to find out where Dawn had disappeared to. Frustrated and desperate, Serene ordered her subordinates to storm The Spot and arrest its owner. There was hardly any tussle as Pebble Dart Spells penetrated the shoulders and knees of the two well-built guards and sent them collapsing onto the ground like puppets with their strings suddenly cut off. And a simple Heat Burst Spell smashed the lock on the wooden door to Gust’s office and flung it wide open. Gust just sat calmly. He knew it was pointless to resist. He was sent to the local garrison, along with all the weaponry that he had stock-piled in his office.

     In the interrogation room at Garrison Eastsands, Gust sat with his feet and wrists tied to the heavy chair he was sitting on. Serene sat herself down facing him.

     “Name _ what is yours of this
?
” asked Serene.

     “What
?
Name _ what is mine of this
?
Hah
!
Hah
!
Hah
!
No one speaks like that anymore
!
Where have you been the past few hundred years
?
” giggled Gust.

     Serene’s Back-fist Slap came so fast and hard that it knocked Gust to the ground along with chair he was tied to.

     “Name _ what is yours of this
?
” she asked again after her subordinates had set Gust back upright.

     “G… Gust Smullon,” came Gust’s fearful response.

     “Occupation _ what is yours of this
?
” she asked.

     “Tavern owner… and weapons dealer,” answered Gust, who had then decided coming forth truthfully was a better option than receiving another slap from her.

     “Dawn Breven _ do you know of her
?
” Serene asked, getting straight to the point.

     “Only vaguely. Lead Assassin of the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan. Bought a sword, clothing, rations, medical kit and three small sacks of explosives. That’s all I know
!
” answered a very frightened Gust.

     “Destination _ where was hers of this
?
” asked Serene.

     “I don’t know,” answered Gust.

     Another Back-fist Slap landed on Gust’s cheeks, this time from the other direction. As he was set upright again, he spat out two teeth that Serene had knocked off.

     “I swear, I don’t know
!
She doesn’t tell me these things. And I don’t ask. That’s how I survived all these years. I just sell weapons. I’m just a minor detail, not even part of her plan. I don’t know anything
!
” pleaded a scared-looking Gust.

     “The Lair _ where is it of it
?
” asked Serene.

     “No idea
!
I swear
!
I don’t know
!
Rumour has it that it’s located somewhere in the forest nearby, but I’ve lived here for sixty years and have never seen the place, not even once
!
The Shadow Deathmerchant Clan seek me out when they want weapons, not me going to their doorsteps selling to them
!
That’s just not how it’s done
!
” pleaded Gust.