FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE (99 page)

     Venom gave the order for the trainees to clean up and go to sleep. Then later that night, Stack, Dart, and Grain awoke to find themselves shivering. Their blankets were missing, courtesy of Dawn and Joy. They finally went back to sleep a quarter of an hour later, after finding their blankets hidden behind some bushes. They wanted revenge, but decided that they were too sleepy and tired to get it.

     Five days later, the caravan arrived at Fallsene City. The endless rows of buildings, shops and houses made a fascinating sight for the trainees. They never knew that so many people could live so closely to each other in such grand buildings and lead such hectic lifestyles. As instructed by Venom earlier, they immediately began observing the clothes and mannerisms of the city folk. They noted almost immediately the contrast in clothing. City folks wore clean clothing, unlike the mud-stained coverings of their village kinsmen. Some of their clothes were bland in design, but most of them were colourful and ‘decorative’. City folks also walked faster than village folks. They seemed to talk faster too. And they seemed to care less for one another. They would accidentally collide into one another, and not be bothered to apologise to each other or check to see if the other was injured or not. They would just pretend that nothing had happened and they would just continue on their way.

     There was one more difference that the trainees had noted. There were soldiers everywhere. There were soldiers on duty. There were soldiers off duty. Some had their swords with them, and some were without. A few were on horseback. Most were on foot. The first question that entered the trainees’ minds was ‘how were they ever going to pull off an assassination in Fallsene City and get away with it
?
’

     Venom led the caravan to a different part of the city. To the trainees’ surprise, this part of the city was a significant contrast to what they had seen earlier. Here the people were still busy and jam-packed. But their clothes were dirty and they looked sickly and untidy. And the smell of the place was an offence to their noses. The houses and buildings here were small, narrow, worn out and seemed to be made of poorer materials. There seemed to be no proper drainage, and people were just throwing dirty water and human waste into hastily dug out holes just right in front and to the side of their own doorsteps. Not to mention the piles of garbage lying by the side of the road and the swarm of flies that they attracted.

     “Clanmaster, what is this place
?
” asked Dawn.

     “The government calls it ‘the slums’. The middle and high class city folks call it ‘The Stink’. The poor folks of Fallsene call it ‘home’. But we of The Shadow Deathmerchant Clan call it ‘The Market’. Why so
?
Because it is here that we sell our services and buy the services of others. Here we shall find shelter, protection, transportation, supplies and most often, customers
!
” answered Venom.

     Dawn pinched her nose. Joy did the same. They looked at their fellow trainees. Most were pinching their noses as well. A few, such as Grain and Dart, were so shocked by the contrast of this place that their jaws dropped.

     There was also one other significant difference at The Market. There were no soldiers here. Not even one.

     “Clanmaster, why are there no soldiers here
?
” asked Dawn.

     “The government deemed that this place wasn’t important enough to be guarded. The people here were deemed not important enough to be guarded. Over time, many criminals had taken over control of different parts of The Market. So now, any soldier foolish enough to venture here alone or in small numbers will end up getting killed,” answered Venom.

     A question occurred in Dawn’s mind. If this place was controlled by various criminals and soldiers who dared to venture here were killed, then how come they were not stopped or attacked yet
?

     “I know what you’re thinking, Dawn. You’re wondering why we haven’t been stopped or attacked yet
!
” said Venom.

     “Yes, clanmaster,” said Dawn.

     “Criminals make strange bedfellows, Dawn. Criminals recognise one another almost immediately, and although they would not hesitate to betray one another for coins and profit, they do feel a type of kinship with their fellow criminals. They recognised that different criminals have different skill sets and that there was a need for different criminals to work together for common profit. For example, a robber may need a smuggler to buy the goods that he has stolen. The smuggler then smuggles the goods far away and sells them to unsuspecting victims. With the profit from the sale of stolen goods, the smuggler could then buy weapons and smuggle them into the city. And the robber and the other criminals would buy these weapons so that they could continue to commit their brand of crimes and make more profit. So they had realised a long time ago that they needed one another. And as such, all criminals, our clan included, are always welcomed at The Market,” explained Venom.

     “Just like how we need Smugglin’ Sam,” concluded Joy.

     “That’s right
!
And occasionally he needs us to assassinate someone for him, for example, a competitor or a government official who could not be bribed. So he scratches our backs and we scratch his back. This is how it works,” explained Venom.

     A short while later the caravan pulled up at what looked like a very small inn.  The sign in front of it said ‘Soft Pillows Inn’. The inn building was worn down and dirty, just like every other building in The Market. The innkeeper came out to greet them. Venom, Hay and Eclipse returned his greeting with greetings of their own.

     Venom got down from the cart and followed the innkeeper into the inn. Several of the innkeeper’s workers came out and guided the carts into the stables. They then helped the trainees unload the cart and brought them all into the inn.

     “Trainees, this is Weed Venn. He is of our clan, and he acts as our representative in Fallsene City. Our potential customers get in contact with us through him, at his inn, right here. He will then send a runner to The Lair to deliver their message. Then another runner will be sent back here with our reply. If we agree to do the mission, a team would then be assigned to carry out the mission. Weed would collect the first half of the payment. Upon completion of the mission, a team member would be sent here to inform Weed on whether it was a success or failure. Weed would then collect the remaining half or refund the first half back to our customers, accordingly. He would then take his cut, in percentage, of the payment and send the rest back to us at The Lair through the use of a runner or via the returning team member. This is how we run our operations,” explained Venom.

     Weed and the trainees exchange greetings. He then showed the trainees to their rooms.

     Dawn, Joy and two more of their female batchmates were assigned to the same room. To their pleasant surprise, their room was clean and tidy. Their first order of business was to get into their beds and take a nap. Their bodies were aching from a week of travelling and sleeping on the cold, hard ground. The soft, warm mattresses were a great welcome to them. They closed their eyes and dreamed away.

     The next morning, Venom, Hay and Eclipse brought the trainees on a walkabout around Fallsene City. They walked and walked and walked, all the while observing the dressings and mannerisms of the city folks. Venom briefed them on which were the rich neighbourhoods, and which were the middle class and poor neighbourhoods. They finally got back to The Market at about midnight. But Venom did not bring them straight back to the inn.

     Venom brought the trainees deeper into The Market, going through a labyrinth of foul stench, piles of discarded materials, groups of homeless people, and disorganised, shabby buildings. Finally, they reached a doorway that was so small and so obscure that no one would hardly notice that it was there. Venom opened the door and brought the trainees in. They followed a set of stairs that went underground into a cold, dimly lit tunnel. After a few heartbeats of walking, the tunnel opened up into a large, dimly-lit cave. The tunnel then continued on for a short distance into another similar large, dimly-lit cave, and then it continued on again into another.

     Most of the trainees did not understand the intention of the layout of the tunnel. But Dawn did. She noticed that the cave walls had many fist-sized holes in them. She recognised them for what they were almost immediately. They were shooting-ports for bows and arrows. The caves were actually kill-zones. Any intruding force would enter the tunnel and burst out at the caves, expecting to attack its occupants. They would then be surprised to find them empty. They would then spread out to investigate the caves. Then the occupants of this place would fire arrows at the intruding force from behind the cave walls, using the shooting-ports. The intruders, out of panic, would bottleneck at the cave openings and be shot dead.

     Finally, after walking past the three large caves and a long stretch of tunnel, Venom, Hay, Eclipse and the trainees arrived at a huge cave. They were met at the entrance by two hugely-built guards. The guards led them to an elderly man seated behind a very large desk.

     “Clanmaster Venom Collart, welcome
!
Taking your trainees for an outing, I see,” said the elderly man.

     “Yes, Sam. I brought them all the way here to meet you, as a matter of fact. You’re one of our most important business partners, and these boys and girls, being the future of the clan, need to know our important business partners,” said Venom.

     “You start them young, don’t you, Venom
?
” said Sam.

     “No younger than you do yours, Sam,” retorted Venom.

     And both men laughed in a casual manner.

     The trainees took a hard look at the elderly man. This was Smugglin’ Sam, the famous smuggler, supplier, slaver and killer. Venom spoke to him as though they were good friends, but the trainees knew it was nothing personal. The two men were just being polite to each other. The trainees knew that either one would not hesitate to kill the other if there was even the slightest hint that the other had betrayed him.

     Smugglin’ Sam got off his seat and led Venom and the trainees to another cave. This cave appeared to be a storeroom of sorts. There were all kinds of weapons stored there. And there were a number of barrels containing wine, beer and other alcoholic drinks. There were also crates containing vials of poison. And further in were cages. They were cages full of....
children.

     Smugglin’ Sam saw the look of shock on the trainees’ faces, and then he started to laugh.

     “Don’t worry, little assassins
!
  I wouldn’t dream of doing this to you. Besides, you’re too skilful to be slaves. You’d kill your masters in a heartbeat, and then you’ll come after me
!
That’s not what I want. I’m just a simple businessman out to make a profit,” said Sam, humouring the trainees.

     Both Venom and Sam laughed. So did some of the trainees. But not Dawn. And not Stack either.

     After the laughter had died down, Stack raised his hand to ask a question. Smugglin’ Sam nodded and gave him permission to proceed. He asked Sam how much he was going to sell the children for. Sam answered that the children would be sold at a price between 400 to 600 gold coins each. Stack kept silent. So that was what a child’s life was worth, 400 to 600 gold coins
!
How much was his own life worth
?
Was it more than 400 to 600 gold coins, or was it less
?
The clan had done business with the devil
!
Now more than ever, he knew he had to get out
!

     Smugglin’ Sam gently tapped Venom on the shoulder. Venom looked at him puzzlingly.

     “I have three propositions for you. These young trainees of yours are suitable for what I have in mind. Are you interested, Venom
?
” asked Sam.

     “Go on, I’m listening,” said Venom.

     Then Smugglin’ Sam made his propositions...

     It was a bright and cheerful morning the next day. In a room at an inn somewhere in the centre of Fallsene, Dawn was putting the final touches on her appearance. She was dressed in a cream-coloured dress with lace trimmings. Her hair was combed and twisted into two neat ponytails, tied by blue ribbons. She looked like a cute, innocent flower-girl at a wedding ceremony. She had to. This was what was required of her mission. And her mission was the first of the three propositions by Smugglin’ Sam.

     Dawn looked at herself in the mirror and snorted. Eclipse Menox slapped her firmly on the wrist.

     “Ladies don’t snort
!
You must look and act like the character whom you’re pretending to be, or else it wouldn’t work
!
” said Eclipse as she adjusted Dawn’s dress.