The Wizard Assassin

by Whiskey Flowers

  “Things will move very fast for you now” the guide said as he stopped in front of one of the buildings. Dax was a little unnerved the man never gave him his name but instead only wanted to go by guide.

  “Which training is this?” Dax asked. Dax assumed it would be for assassinations since he was not going to be some great businessman or a passable spy.

  “You will be taught how to fight” the guide replied, his bald head shining in the sun. “There are twenty here, not all of you will be chosen.”

  “Not all of us will be chosen?” Dax said confused. “I thought we were already chosen which is the reason for the training.”

  “No” the guide replied. “Someone thought you would be a good addition and vouched for you. The Silent Sword is only interested in the best for this type of work.”

  “Then you leave yourself open?” Dax said confused. “Any vengeful person upset that they couldn’t get in could tell the secret of this place.”

  “Our testing process is such that we do not have to worry about any secrets spilling” the guide replied. “Some tests are either pass or die, we just take who is left. Be cautious while you are here, I am guessing you are a great fighter but so is everyone here. Do not take off your mask for any reason, it is in our best interests that none of you know who the other is. This will stay the same if you make it through the testing, only certain individuals should be privied to your identity. In the long run you will find out anonymity will help you lead a somewhat normal life.”

  Dax nodded and felt his mask, it was a simple mask that was made of thin blackened steel and formed to his face. It did not hinder his sight too much, wearing nothing at all would give him the best vision but this was a decent second. Dax was also given a very realistic wig to wear, it gave him black hair instead of his pale blond which he had shaved down to nothing. Dax topped his look off with a dark blue form fitting outfit and a simple thin sword. It had a decent length but was not as hefty as the weapons he had gotten used to. This weapon looked like it was for delivering fatal blows only, Dax doubted it could stand up to good plate armor. Dax followed his guide inside of one of the buildings and could see other people were already seated, almost all of them had masks except for a rough looking man in the center. Whoever the man was, he definitely was not worried about his identity getting out, neither was Dax’s guide which made Dax wonder how strong the men really were. Dax took a seat and could see there were three mages in the class, their staves stood out even against the assortment of weapons Dax was now looking at. There were a few swordsmen like himself, Dax counted at least two men who must prefer daggers and throwing knives, one archer and one huge man who had a great double headed war axe sitting on his lap.

  “I have brought you another” the guide said as he looked at the other unmasked man.

  Dax took in the other man, he was bald just like the guide and had a face that had seen more than its share of punches and sharp objects. Like the guide he wasn’t very big, Dax was sure he was stronger than both of them but the men were far from weak. Dax thought they reminded him of the great plains cat, they were thin but had plenty of explosive muscle and were faster than most of their prey thought possible.

  “The limit is reached already for this phase of training” the other man replied. “Already we are at twenty.”

  “He was recommended by one of the triumvirate” the guide replied. “He will be the last.”

  “Already he has missed one test” the man complained. “Everyone here has passed it.”

  “He already has” the guide replied. “It has been proven that he has taken a life before so you can pass him.”

  “That is no fair” said one of the men with a sword. Dax felt self-conscious as he looked at the man’s mask along with the others present. Dax’s mask was simple while the others were represented by different animals or demon faces. The speaker had a mask shaped like a fox and Dax could tell the man was altering his voice. “Some of us had to prove ourselves fighting off mages protecting Duke Bartlett. He should not get a pass.”

  “I could fight you” Dax replied as he stood up. Dax thought the Duke would want to know about who his attackers were. Someone in the Silent Sword had it out for him and Duke Bartlett should find out who.

  “Is that a challenge” the other masked man as he got to his feet.

  “Yes” Dax replied as he looked over at the fox. “You can take that as a challenge if you choose to.”

  “There will be no challenges” the man up front said. “I will accept him, I will let the others know about his presence. Have you updated him on life here?”

  “Yes” the guide said as Dax watched him back out of the building. Dax took a seat in the rear and listened to the man speak.

  “You are 21” the man said looking over at Dax. “You will answer to 21 and nothing else unless you are ranked higher.”

  “21 is a ranking?” Dax asked.

  “For now it is” the man replied. “As people leave us your ranking will go up, your ranking will also go up based on your performance. You may call me Teacher, right now we are discussing the first big training event, the survival.”

  “Survival?” Dax asked.

  “Sometimes an assassin must flee to a dangerous area and thrive there until the authorities are no longer looking for you” Teacher replied. “The first test is simple, survive for two weeks in the wilderness and return, that is what half of you will be doing.”

  “And the other half?” Dax asked.

  “You will wait for a day and pursue another student” Teacher replied. “If you can find and kill that student I will give you immunity during the next big training event. Fail to do so and you must go first on the next big training event. Right now we were deciding who would do what, after which we can begin teaching other skills related to the crucible.”

  “I want to take my chances with the wilderness” Dax replied.

  “If you choose this path I will have to have an instructor going after you” Teacher replied. “You are an odd number so I have to up your stakes a little. Survive and I will give you immunity as well. If anyone wishes to trade him you can do so now.”

  Dax saw everyone turn away from him and wondered what he was into now. After everyone was categorized, Teacher started showing everyone how to start a fire with a flint. The two mages ignored the lesson and Dax looked around to see who else would as well. Dax split his awareness and looked as if he was paying undivided attention but it was show, he was a wizard and could create fire, right now he wanted to see if he was the only one in the class. After teacher showed the secrets of fire he made everyone come up and try it in front of him, it took Dax a long while but he finally made fire without the use of magic. Dax wanted to keep that secret for as long as he could. The next class Teacher taught was kind of weird.

  “Number 21 for your sake I hope you pay more attention in the weapon making class than you did in fire making” Teacher said as he produced a couple of plants and a few sticks. “If not then whoever brought you here will be sorely disappointed.”

  “We are not allowed to keep our weapon of choice?” Dax asked.

  “No” Teacher replied. “Remember rule 3.”

  “Rule 3?” Dax said confused.

  “You have missed out on much” Teacher replied. “There are rules here, rules that you should learn. These rules will keep you safe and ensure you complete your mission. Rule #1, never under estimate anyone. Rule #2, Ensure your safety before anyone else’s. Rule #3, when you don’t have a weapon, make one. Rule #4, if you have nothing to make a weapon with, become the weapon. Rule #5, never assume victory until your mission is over and you are somewhere safe. Rule #6, there is no such thing as fighting fair, the only thing that matters is completing the mission. Rule #7, survive. Those are the first seven rules, you will learn more after the first big training event. That is if you make it the entire two weeks.”

  Dax watched as Teacher went over how to make a bow complete with bowstrings and arro
ws. After he was finished he went over how to make a staff or a spear out of random branches. To cut the material he had a rock which he chipped at until it became sharp enough to cut with. He went over how to make arrow heads and how to set traps. The first day Dax thought was exhausting, this was the first time he truly felt out of his element. In weaponmaster school he was behind on things but he at least had the basics of swordplay down. Here he had no idea what was going down while most of those also in training knew exactly what they were doing except for the mages who were not worried at all. They could not keep their staves but could keep their amulets, in a pinch any old long piece of wood would work for them to project their spells so they didn’t pay too much attention at all.

  The next three days were completely different from what Dax expected. They did not learn how to fight or anything to do with weapons, they learned how to use the simple stone cutting tool to make even better tools and how to make a home from scratch. Dax had never really thought about how difficult making a shelter was, Teacher went into detail about building everything from the frame of a small building to the roof and the walls. He had several half-made buildings in various phases of construction. It gave Dax a decent idea on how to make his own shelter if he was going to survive for two weeks, he would just need to figure out which was the quickest to create, then if it could be improved upon. The fifth and sixth day touched on a subject Dax was already familiar with, which was hunting.

  Teacher taught him things he did not know though, like how to use bones for better tools or how to use all of the animal to make a variety of things like a water bladder, better bowstring, clothing and other weapons. At midnight the chase would begin, the only rules were that the participants could not go too far east or west and try to ride out their time in one of the small towns until after they survived for at least a week in the wilderness. Anyone could go north for as long as they wanted, the only thing there was the Vell Mountains, it was supposedly tough terrain with little vegetation. The pursuers would have to wait until noon before they could begin their pursuit, they each had a target picked out they needed to kill for a win and they could also team up as a group to make the hunt easier. During that last day Dax prepared his plan and just watched the others as they were getting ready, no one had spoken to each other during this time due to the stress of the first big training mission. Some of them would not make it back in two weeks and it could be due to one of the others undergoing training. Dax knew he had a small target on his back, during the week he was there he was now called number 19 instead of 21 thanks to the dedication he put in when it came to learning how to make a shelter and learning how to use all of an animal.

  “It is almost time” Teacher said as he looked at Dax along with 10 others who would be trying to survive. “You cannot bring your weapons so leave them in a pile. I only have one word of advice, remember the rules and you may survive this.”

  Dax placed his sword into the growing pile of weapons and was then checked by Teacher to ensure he had no others. Dax could hear some of the others talk about teaming up but decided against it, Rule #2 said for him to ensure his safety first. If Dax teamed up with anyone he doubted any of them would have his back when things got hard. Dax took off at a jog, he was happy the moon was in the sky so he could see where he was going as he entered the forest and kept going north. His pursuer probably did not want to go up the mountain but he would have to, Dax didn’t plan on making anything easy for him. Dax was amazed he was able to keep the slow jog up for a couple of hours, Dax didn’t want to completely drain himself just in case he had to contend with any wild animals. By the time the sun was coming up Dax figured he had covered some good miles and started running again, he had at least six hours before anyone would come for him, assuming they would be smart enough to just head straight for the mountain. Dax thought it most likely the hunters would band together in groups and try to do something from there, Dax wouldn’t make anything easy for them. That was the plan Dax had until he came across two deer mating, the buck stopped instantly and went after him. As Dax prepared a lightning bolt he wondered how the others would have handled the situation. Dax zapped the buck and was surprised when all the Buck did was stumble for a bit before continuing its charge. Dax gave it a stronger zap followed quickly by three more, the buck was down on the ground and unmoving as Dax checked to make sure it was dead. Then came the hard part, dressing the animal out.

  Dax did not have any tools to handle the job but knew he could rely on his magic, he was not going to try to do everything the hard way like he did with most of his trainings. Dax found a suitable rock and used his magic to slowly change the shape of the stone to something resembling a knife and then started sharpening it. Even with his magic Dax figured it took him almost four hours to gut the animal, skin it, quarter it, and make use of its organs and horns. Dax thought it would have taken the rest of the hunted at least a day to come away with the tools and things he had. The pelt he used along with two branches to make a crude litter in which he tied everything down with. The remains he couldn’t use he buried before going on his way. Dax figured anyone with common sense should be able to follow the big tracks he was leaving, but getting the food and supplies to where he wanted to go was more important. Dax remembered looking up to what he thought was noon sun and gave a grim smile as he continued moving, the mountain still looked over a day away at his current pace. One of the things that kept him going was that his pursuer would also be weighed down by a pack with food and other items, if they were not then they would eventually have to find their own food and they were not likely to come up on a mating couple. Dax’s legs were tired as night fell, he hadn’t taken any breaks and was just happy he was able to eat on the move. Dax would float a small piece of meat towards him and roast it with magic fire before eating it, it needed some salt but Dax could go without. Dax figured it was about midnight before he stopped moving, there was more than enough moonlight to see by but he was cold from the sweat, tired and thirsty. The water Dax could handle, he was a wizard and could conjure small amounts. Strong mages could send a small river at someone but Dax didn’t need that power. He only needed to fill his waterskin which was made from the buck’s bladder. The water still tasted faintly of urine but Dax got over it, he was thirsty and needed to rest. Dax could hear the sound of wolves faintly in the night and was surprised he had not seen any with the load he was carrying around. Dax found a suitable tree and climbed, once he found a branch he thought was strong enough to support him he reached down with his magic and tugged. The weight drained his magical reserves quickly and Dax thought he would have to bring each item up one at a time but ended up having just enough to bring up his litter up and balance it between two branches. Dax thought he only slept for a few hours, when he woke the sun was just coming up and he knew he had to move. Getting the litter down was far easier than bringing it up and Dax was soon on the move. It worried him a little that he could make out animal tracks around the tree he had stayed in but quickly dismissed it as he continued to move. It was when the sun was coming out of the sky that Dax exited the forest, beyond him lay a rocky wasteland for at least five miles leading to mountains. Dax took a step forward and wanted to curse, despite being rocky there was fine dust everywhere, he would leave tracks heading straight for wherever he was going.

  Dax made it to the base of the mountain and decided climbing in the dark would be stupid. He made camp where he was at and had to endure another chilly night but made a promise to himself he would only need one more cold night before he got to where he wanted. When Dax awoke he found climbing the mountain was tough, with a litter it was almost impossible. Even with his magic he was moving far slower than he thought he should have and twice he wondered if he was not a wizard how he would have gotten past a certain area. Dax was taxing his magic more than he ever had, he had almost ran himself dry twice lifting the litter up and when he found a somewhat flat surface he decided to take a break. Dax ate a decent meal and just as he was about
to get up and leave he spotted two figures leaving the forest. They were still far away but looked like they were making straight for him. Dax cursed to himself and started to move again, unless they were experienced Dax doubted either of them could make it to where he was before noon tomorrow and wanted to get moving before he would be spotted. Dax climbed harder than he did previously and almost slipped off while making a stupid mistake in taxing his magic but thought the payoff was worth it. In the face of a cliff there was a small hole, Dax supposed it could be called a cave but the hole was only ten feet deep at the most but it was exactly what he was looking for.

  Its location made it hard for anyone without the proper materials to access, even if they did Dax could sabotage them. Dax went about improving the items he had made, Dax ditched the stone knife he made and was happier with the bone one. The bone dagger he had was sharper and far easier to work the animal hide with, Dax figured he would save what little magic he had left until he really needed it. When night came Dax had already made himself a small blanket with the hide and decided against using fire to heat up the stone around him even the faintest glow could be detected in the night sky. He needed to know where his pursuers were and held out hope that they would light a campfire but they did not. Dax had an uneasy sleep that night and kept dreaming about masked men running into his small hideout and murdering him in his sleep. The next day came and Dax was cooking some meat when he finally heard two people talking. To his surprise one of them was a female, Dax did not remember having any females in his class but then again he didn’t look too hard for one. Dax knew where they were stuck at, about two hundred meters below there was a steep cliff with few handholds and one small landing about twenty meters above them. Dax had almost lost his entire litter when he reached that spot and decided floating things over one at a time was easier. Dax even had to float himself over after he rested awhile and thought he would have to do the same thing when he found this place but everything worked out. Dax grabbed at the crude rope he made and tied it around a strong looking rock spike he found in the cave and descended until he reached the small landing he had used to get to his cave. His pursuers were maybe twenty meters below him at the most but it was more than enough to hold them up.