User blog:Ishimura Elite/Orlesian Murder Mystery

(A blood stained note found in the hands of a corpse)

At the request of my unbelievably kind superiors who just might decapitate me if this story doesn't convince them, I am reporting on why the Orlesian noble I was supposed to kill is still alive and well. I am not much for pretty stories, but this is a short one, so I guess I've nothing to worry about.

They didn't give me much information about the man, but they knew they didn't need to. I had way of sniffing about and getting information about any target. Where they were going to be, what time, what occasion . . . It didn't matter to me why they had to die. It wasn't my place to ask questions. Even though I was a more skilled assassin than anyone in the guild. But again, not my place.

I started my search in Darktown, where else? Perfect place to start searching for someone. I asked around and was eventually led to a man named Daketh. Arrogant fellow he was. He refused to give me any information about the noble and threatened to kill me if I investigated. But, being the stubborn assassin I was, I killed all his goons and put a blade to his throat. Then he started talking. He told me about a woman, an expert thief and assassin, who regularly visited the Hanged Man. Ilitha was her name. I killed the man and headed up for Lowtown.

I arrived at the Hanged Man to see a young, and quite beautiful lady sitting at a table across the room. She looked me in the eye when I walked through the door, and I met her gaze. She threw a knife at me. I caught it mid-air, of course, but really, is that any way to greet someone? I suppose that amounts to the only greeting I get anymore really. She decided not to put up a fight. I knew she knew everything I needed to know, but she also knew I didn't like short jobs. So she simply told me that the noble was going to be in in Kirkwall tomorrow, then she led me to another person. A merchant in the Gallows.

When I confronted the merchant he was reluctant to tell me anything. Said he didn't want to get mixed up with the wrong kind. He offered me a couple of his goods which I respectfully declined. He then told me if I paid him some gold he would tell me something. I took out 5 sovereigns but he ran at me and snatched my coin purse. He ran for it. I let him get a bit away from me before throwing a knife in the back of his head. I got my money back, and I also got a letter off of him, displaying the location of a meeting the noble was attending, as well as the perfect time to strike. He was meeting the Viscount at the Keep. At noon tomorrow.

So there I went. The meeting was already taking place when I arrived at the Keep. Guards were stationed outside the fortress. I climbed up a building and ran to the Keep, where I slid through a window. The meeting was apparently taking place in the Viscount’s office, which was bolted shut, with guards bordering the outside and crawling in the atrium. I hit the ceiling. I hung off the statues lining the walls and jumped between the pillars around the main hall. I jumped down to the ground and hid behind a corner. I waited for two guards patrolling the hall to the Viscount’s office to turn away, in that split second I took opportunity, and dashed through the doorway.

I was at the door to the meeting room. Where I promptly decided stealth was no longer necessary. I kicked open the door and flicked a knife into my hand, ready to throw it at my target. It would have been that simple, had the Orlesian noble had actually been just that. The second I prepared my knife, he drew out his own. We threw the knives at once and they clashed into each other, and clanged on the floor. Turns out, the man I was supposed to kill was actually Hilard Ormon. One of our own. One of our own that you decided to kill off just because he left. He seemed to be doing well for himself since then. We had a brief conversation before some guards scrambled into the room, at which point I promptly threw myself out the nearest window. I was gone by the time they looked down. Now that I think about it. I should visit him sometime. See how he's been.

So that’s it. It doesn't matter now but I‘ll tell you why I failed my mission. I may be an assassin, but I won’t rob someone of their freedom, if they deserve it. If you are willing to do that, them maybe I’m hanging out with the wrong crowd. But again, it matters not. By the time you read this note, I’ll have already killed our leader, and took my rightful place as the leader of the Coterie. By the way. Look behind you.

With sincere thanks, for everything you‘ve done to ensure your own downfall -

Kairen Terrek