Duncan, Lord Tretheway and Lord Pinnick jumped up from their chairs. But Audery, Emrys and Terence followed them. Audery jumped with her short sword drawn on the table, from the corner of her eyes saw that the three assassins were circling around the brothers. The nobles, however, were circling her. Maybe they thought that she would be an easy target, she smiled a soft smile at Duncan. Well, she would remedy them from that idea pretty soon. Duncan drew his rapier, so did the other two men. She looked at it and simply shrugged.
"Come down from the table, this is not how a lady of your birth should behave." Duncan said. She rolled with her eyes.
"I prefer that than to attack someone during diner. Wasting all that delicious food, such a waste, and now that we talk about how someone should behave." She jumped at him, swung her sword, and made a deep cut. "Ladies first," Duncan cried out, in pain and surprise, he jumped on the table and tried to attack her. But she danced away from his and Lord Tretheway's rapier. She was not as lucky when it came to Lord Pinnick's. But that cut was not as deep, as the one she made on Duncan. She looked at it, and looked up, just in time to see that Duncan tried to attack her again. She did a step back, waited until he was in arm's reach, and knocked him on the head with the cling of her sword. He fell to the ground, unconscious. Lord Tretheway, looked at her confused and she flipped her hair over her shoulder. He pushed forward, and hit her. She hissed, it hurt, by Hiubin's name that hurt. But it wouldn't slow her down. Lord Pinnick tried to make the same move as Lord Tretheway, but she blocked him. She quickly pushed him back and Lord Tretheway came in contact with her sword. He started to curse at her, loudly. But she was not going to hold that against him, they were currently fighting and blood has being drawn. He stepped forward, placed his feet inside the mashed potato's and fall face first on the table. Lord Pinnick, chuckled slightly. But he still aimed his rapier towards Audery, she however ducked, grabbing the cup with sauce, threw it in his eyes. He screamed while tripping over his feet, falling with the rapier still in his hand. Piercing it into Lord Tretheway's heart.
*********
Emrys stood against his brother's back, while they both were facing the three assassins.
"I can not remember inviting them." Emrys joked, it was one in poor taste. But it relieved the tension, by a thin hair. Audery was currently teaching those stock up nobles a lesson, and he wanted to be not far behind her. So he swung his sword towards the first assassin, but that man just jumped out of the way. He felt his brother, move and when he looked he saw that Terence had blocked the attack from the second assassin. Emrys quickly looked back at his own fight and was just in time, blocking the attack from the third assassin with both his swords. Only that left an opening for the first assassin to attack him. He screamed it out from the pain, it might not be a deep cut, but still. Emrys kicked the third assassin away, and swung both his swords towards both assassins. The third assassin quickly recovered, or he seemed to recover quickly from the attack. The assassin swung with his short sword, but instead of hitting Emrys, he hit the first assassin, killing that one in the process. Emrys heard his brother's rapid breathing and hissing, he was hit by his attacker as well.
"Terence, are you alright?" he asked.
"Poison." Terence said, through gritted teeth. By Hiubin's name, that was a dirty trick. But they were fighting assassin's, so poison was not outside the realm of possibility.
"Hang in there." Emrys replied, he swung with both his swords towards the third assassin, only his attacked failed to hit the man. The assassin thought that he had found an opening, but this was not the case. Emrys blocked the attack, with only one sword, this time. Emrys saw that Audery jumped off the table and rushed towards him. He kicked the assassin back and jumped at him, with his twin swords. Audery hit the assassin in the back, and Emrys cut off the man's head. "Nice one, partner." he turned around and saw that Terence had killed the second, and last, assassin. He was only not standing secure on his feet. Emrys rushed towards him and let him lean on his shoulder. "Uhm, Audery, you said earlier that you know a spell or two. Is one of them by any chance helping hand?" She nodded and moved her hand towards Terence's shoulder. A soft green light moved from her hand into the wound, it didn't heal right away. But the magic will get rid of the poison.
"Thank you," Terence muttered under his breath. "Not only for healing me, but also for being here." Emrys needed to second that. He had asked her to bring her sword, but never in a hundred years would he have dreamed of her needed to use it. There came a moan from the table, and Lord Pinnick pushed himself up. His long red hair was in tangles, there was blood over his expensive silk clothing and his blue eyes were clouded with anger, fear a bit of both. He was the only one standing, while Audery, Terence and he were still on their feet. A bit battered and bleeding as well, but they were standing. Emrys was still holding his two long swords, and Audery still hold her short sword. Ready to attack the lonely man, if they needed to. A footman entered the hall, followed by every soldier that Spheros was allowed to have. "Take Lord Pinnick to his chambers, and check if the other lords are still alive and breathing. Hopefully, lord Pinnick will tell me from which guild the assassin's came, so that we can send their families some money." Audery ducked to the ground.
"There is no need for him to tell us anything, other than what went through their heads," she said, while holding up a neckless of some sorts. "The assassins were members of Hiubin's Angels, their headquarters are in Azumore, a small town just under the shadow of the capitol. Most of their members are orphanage, but that those not say that those here didn't have families. Either they were born into one, or they made one of their own." Emrys was not surprised at all that she knew this kind of information. She was an Adventure, after all, and as one, you are able to learn all kinds of information.
"My lord, one of the nobles is dead. The other is suffering from a head wound," One of the soldiers, Sir Arnold Harvey, said. Terence and Emrys nodded to him.
"Mister Kneller, can you also prepare a room for Lady Treloar. She got wounded during the fight, and I do not feel comfortable until someone other than herself has looked at it." Terence said, the footman bowed his head slightly. Terence then turned towards Audery. "Please," Emrys was surprised to hear him talk like this, he was pleading with Audery. And she didn't put up a fight.
"Alright, if it will put your mind at ease..." she replied. Which was a response Emrys was not expecting from her. "Ohh, and my lord Terence. I do not know if you are aware that your brother asked me to take him along with my next job. I am willing to that, but I am not going to babysit him for free." Emrys's mouth fall open, this came out of nowhere. Yes, she helped him out with the goblins, and just now with the third assassin. But he was not asking her to babysit him, he wanted to learn to be a man, one with his own name and his own accomplishments. One that was not standing inside his brother's shadow.
"What are you thinking of?" Terence replied, as if he was not being there.
"Fifteen gold pieces, each time I bring him home in one piece. Twenty if he is wounded." she said, Terence nodded.
"Agreed, now let somebody have a look at your wounds. Emrys, you too," oh now he was included in this conversation. But alright, he was going between those two flirting. Although they might not notice it themselves. He was clearly seeing it for what it was.
*******
Audery walked through the cold and long hallways, following the footman named mister Kneller. There was no art, no flowers, no carpet on the stone floor. This manor could use a female's hand, she caught herself thinking about how she would change things. How she would place a vase, with fresh flowers, under that window. How she would change the dark red curtains into a lighter colour. She would place a carpet into the same colour on the floor, and hung up some colourful art. No portraits, just scenery, and tapestries. She might also put potted plants inside these hallways, ones that can carry food and flowers. Mister Kneller stopped at a door, made out of dark wood, he opened it and motioned her to go into the room.
"Madam Ward will be with you shortly, lady Treloar. I will also lay out another dress, or some other clothing. If you wish that," minster Kneller.
"Something more movable, would be great. Mister Kneller, a pair of trousers are provable," she said. He nodded and he left her. She was used to large rooms, she had grown up inside a manor like this. But this room was something else, the large bed was dominating the room. The soft mint green pillows and covers were inviting. The large fireplace was already burning, although not that long because she was still able to smell the fresh wood. Which in her opinion was the best sent in the whole kingdom, it reminded her of the forest and the freedom that space brought her. Next to the bed there was a vanity, a large wardrobe. Nothing else but the nice large bed screamed rich, this seemed to like a normal bedroom. Maybe a master in a normal family's home, but she was not sure about that. But again there was not much colour inside this room, other than the soft mint green on the bed and the dark red curtains. Something she herself would change if she was put in charge of the decorations, but she knew that this was an out-of-the-blue stay on her part. But still... A knock landed on the still open door and Madam Ward entered.
"Well, well. You look pretty good in that dress, although it has being damaged slightly. But that is something that would be expected after that fight, such a waist of such fine cooking." Madam Ward said and Audery agreed with her there.
"That was what I said to Duncan after he told me how to behave," she said and Madam Ward looked confused. "Duncan Posner, I am never going to call him Lord. His father was the one I was betrothed too, so I have some beef of my own with that family." She and Madam Ward have talked about this in the past, although she hadn't given any names to the characters involved. Madam Ward's gaze turned to one with understanding.
"Poor Lord Posner, he is being defeated by the same woman who left his father." she said, clearly with a mocking tone in her voice. "Alright, time for me to adress that wound of yours."
"You are almost right about him being defeated by a woman with the same name an background. But I am not the same person, those past five years have changed me a lot. Even though I remember my past life, it is not something I can go back to. I will always be the Advernture, I will always be on the look out for the next job. A new story that has my name on it, the next creature that is going to be discovered. The endless posiblities that are waiting, it makes me happy to think that I am now free to choose." She said, while undressing her. It made her not think of the pain while moving. She wanted to hiss and curse, but she didn't. Madam Ward nodded.
"I know what you mean. I was an Adventure, back in my day. That was before I married my husband and got my children. They are my new adventure, my new endless horizon of posiblities. But I am glad that I am able to help those who didn't have tighted themselves down." She said, "those are not very deep wounds. They broke some skin, nothing more. It might bleed like Hiubin, but that is all it is. Just blood from an undeep wound." She put on some healing potion and some bandages on the wound. "I will wash and repair the dress, I know you might not wear it anytime soon. But it is a nice dress, and it would be a wast other wise." Audery was not going to debate her about that, it was indeed a nice dress and it would be a waste. "I will inform Lord Mildenhall about your wounds, or the lack of them. But get some sleep," Madam Ward nodded towards the bed. "Tomorrow, will be a whole other day and I know for a fact that you want to be here once they interigate thow pricks." Audery nodded, she didn't know about sleeping inside this manor. She was just being attacked inside the dinning room, and the rush of the fight was still buzzing through her veins. "Ahh, I know that look. I will bring you some warm milk with honey." Madam Ward left the room, leaving Audery behind. She did come back with the warm milk and honey, not that Audery needed it because she was already fast asleep by then.
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