Agent

Agent

                It was two weeks before Tadyel was given a new task. During that time, she spent almost every waking hour learning the basics of a 'general clothier'. During hours she'd have preferred to spend asleep she learnt the basics of combat - the very, very basics. Tadyel was shocked to by exactly how much there was to learn (and how hard it was to master seemingly simple actions).

                Despite each day being packed to (and beyond) the brim, she still managed to spend some time further familiarising herself with the town. The layout of the whole town was becoming vaguely familiar to her. Vanna had said it was important, and Tadyel was quite grateful for the opportunity to check out all the shops. She'd had bread, and rarely other pastries, but a bakery? Most of what she'd eaten over the past two weeks she'd never had the opportunity to eat before.

                It was fantastic - and it was all underscored by the refugees who wandered into town almost every day. Unlike Tadyel's group, who had crossed most of the desert unscathed, most others had lost many as they crossed. They were starving, dehydrated and exhausted. Kind souls gave them food in exchange for what little they carried to trade, or even for nothing at all. Most stayed a handful of days, then continued on to the north or east. On average a dozen refugees arrived each day - an incredible number, given that Green Creek was one of the most out of the way destinations.

                When the task finally came, Tadyel was surprised. Two weeks and she had to kill again? Without their leader, Ormgus's followers had done little - they talked to any new arrivals, but there had been no speeches since Ormgus's death. Yet they were the target. A small group of them were training in combat each night a short distance from town. Vanna suggested that it had been kept secret to prevent the townspeople from becoming worried.

                The trainer of group was the target, although the order given was to eliminate as many of the group as possible. Vanna's information said that there were only five trainees, so in addition to Tadyel and (surprisingly) Vanna, three other 'agents' would be assisting.

                "They're untrained refugees. They received the same offer you did," Vanna had said. "And don't speak during the mission; things might go south if they can identify us."

                "Got it," Tadyel had responded.

                Two days later, Tadyel and Vanna made their way out of town, changed, and headed to the meeting point Vanna had chosen. They wore 'anonymity gear' - a full covering of dark cloth, concealing their faces and other clothing. The rest of the 'agents' had been given their own and instructions to wear them. They gear would prevent them being identified by their enemies, and combined with instructions to keep silent would ensure they could not identify one another, either.

                Vanna and Tadyel arrived in the chosen point to find one of the other agents already there. He was a huge man; with the kind of build that yells 'unstoppable'. He had a sword sheathed around his waist, identical to the blades the two women were carrying. He waved as they approached, but did nothing else.

                Only a short time was spent waiting in silence before a fourth agent joined them, and shortly after a fifth. The fourth was a rather diminutive in stature man, the fifth a fairly average woman - almost a mid-point between Vanna's litheness and Tadyel's stockiness. In addition to their swords, the fourth and fifth agents carried crossbows.

                As soon as the fifth agent joined them they began moving towards the training location. The orders Vanna had given them (and related to Tadyel) were quite explicit - wait until there are five of you, then head to the training site. Distract them with the crossbows then move in to eliminate their leader. Kill them all if possible. Deal with any wounds, then split up.

                It wasn't far to the clearing the training was taking place in. The group stopped short of the clearing, peering in from the tree line. In daylight they would have had difficulty hiding, but at night - and with bright torches interfering with the night-sight of the trainees - they were almost impossible to spot.

                The trainer was walking his trainees through a basic unarmed combat drill. Tadyel vaguely recognised the style - it was similar to what Vanna had been teaching her for the past two weeks. Only two of the trainees seemed to have the hang of it; the other three seemed clueless. They can't have been training long, Tadyel thought. The trainees each had spears, although the trainer bore a mace at his belt.

                Vanna tapped each of the agents on the shoulder and outlined a plan in the dirt. The crossbows would prepare a shot at the trainees while the other three agents swung around behind. Once everyone was in place, the crossbow shots would distract the trainees (assuming they hit) and give the other agents the opportunity to strike from behind.

                The other four agents nodded their understanding. The pair with crossbows began taking aim and the other three made their way around the clearing, reaching the opposite side without incident. Inside the clearing, the trainer had moved on to another drill. It was one Tadyel didn't recognise at all. She briefly wondered whether it was a different fighting style, then noticed that the trainees had picked up their spears (Vanna had only trained Tadyel in sword-fighting and some unarmed combat, so far).

                During the brief pause in movement, as they waited for the crossbows to fire, Tadyel realised that her heart was pounding. She knew why. She'd avoided thinking about it up until then. She was about to be in a fight that probably wouldn't end until one side or the other were dead. It was unlikely that her side would lose, but... She might die tonight. It reminded her of the times she'd nearly been caught hiding food, but death scared her a lot more than the whip.

                I never got caught. I won't die tonight, she thought. She took a deep breath -

                One of the trainees screamed in pain. Tadyel realised that she'd just barely caught the twangs of the crossbows releasing above the sounds their targets were making. As the trainee screamed, one of the others fell to the ground lifeless. One of the trainees shouted, "Attack!" Another, "Ambush!"

                "Rush them!" shouted their trainer, rushing towards the source of the bolts. Two of the trainees followed, and the other two moved to help their comrades.

                With the distraction in play, Vanna, Tadyel and the other agent ran forwards from their hiding place in silence. Vanna and Tadyel had their blades drawn (Tadyel realised now why 'running with swords' was the first thing she had been taught), and Vanna sunk hers into an unaware target's back as he held his dead comrade.

                The other two trainees turned to fight Tadyel and her nameless fellow. Two men, one standing unsteady on his feet with a bolt embedded in his thigh. "Take the injured one," said Tadyel's fellow agent, machismo strong in his voice. Tadyel sighed internally, but nodded.

                With her blade held forwards, Tadyel circled around the injured trainee. He grimaced as he was forced to turn. The spear he held looked like a Thrath spear - probably brought with the refugees. Tadyel's group had possessed several, amongst other weapons. In truth, it was just an ordinary spear, though painted (or in some cases seared) black.

                Tadyel closed in, eliciting a half-hearted warding motion from the man's spear. She took another step and swung her sword. It slammed into the man's spear, knocking it off its deadly course. Despite his injury, the man brought his spear back up very fast - and right into Tadyel's free hand. She pulled.

                The man, unable to keep his footwork with one leg injured, gasped in pain and fell forwards. He didn't let go of the spear, which gave Tadyel the opportunity to stick her sword into the base of his throat.

                She did so. A few half-hearted gurgles later the man went limp. Tadyel pulled her blade free, and looked over the rest of the battle. Her compatriot was doing alright, although he had traded light scratches with his opponent. Vanna was at the far end of the clearing, fighting the trainer and one of the trainees. One of the crossbow agents was missing - the shorter guy - but the other was facing down the final trainee.

                While Tadyel was checking out the situation, she saw the trainer cut deeply into Vanna's free arm. Vanna let loose an exceptionally loud, pained curse after the hit. Oh shit, thought Tadyel. Her dying was bad, but Vanna dying? That might easily be just as bad for her... And would probably be worse for her people.

                Leaving her comrade to fend for himself, Tadyel rushed through the clearing to Vanna's aid. Seeing Tadyel coming, Vanna positioned herself at the clearing's edge.

                "Distract them while I flee!" yelled the trainer, to nods from his trainees.

                The one helping him fight Vanna barely spotted Tadyel before a sword slid up her the inside of her rib cage. The woman gurgled futilely as she collapsed, dragging Tadyel's sword down with her.

                "Damn it!" yelled the trainer, glancing around. Seeing an opening, he started to run. Vanna pointed at Tadyel, then at the final trainee. Tadyel nodded immediately, and Vanna took off after the trainer.

                Tadyel joined the fight against one of the last trainees just as the female crossbow agent cut the man's hand open. He dropped his spear with a yelp of pain then turned to run - only for the agent to slice deeply into his calf. Tadyel stood back as her fellow agent finished the man off. A glance behind her showed that the last trainee had been dispatched as well.

                From the direction Vanna and the trainer had run off in their came a yelp of pain. After a shared glance, the three agents ran towards it. As they left the clearing Tadyel noticed that the other crossbow agent was dead - his skull caved by the trainer's mace.

                Out in the woods they made a far less grisly discovery. Vanna stood victorious over the trainer's corpse, cleaning her blade on his clothes. Tadyel thought of doing the same, but then set her blade down so she could tend to Vanna's wound instead. Vanna sat down and nodded her acquiescence once she figured out what Tadyel was up to.

                The other two agents cleaned their weapons as Tadyel dealt with Vanna's wound. Just as she finished, the man spoke again. "Hey, you - injured woman. You're the boss, aren't you," he said.

                Vanna sat up, and Tadyel cleaned her blade slowly. "Listen," the man continued, "Either you speak and you aren't, or you keep silent and you are. Or you speak and you are, I guess, hah!"

                "What are you thinking?" asked the crossbow woman.

                The man looked over at her, then back to Vanna. "Well, I'm guessing that it was known boss-lady here might not make it back. So they have to have some kind of other way to contact us, in case she died today. I reckon we tie her up somewhere and pretend she died, then turn her in to Ormgus's group once our people are released," the man said. "That'll really stick it to the bastards."

                The crossbow woman seemed to be mulling over the decision. Tadyel wasn't tempted - she was already in too deep. "I don't think that kind of betrayal is a good idea," Tadyel said. Vanna glanced towards her - Tadyel got the feeling she was irritated.

                "Really?" asked the man, sarcastically. "I feel SO BAD about betraying the guys that KIDNAPPED US and made us KILL PEOPLE!"

                "I've got to agree with him there," said the crossbow woman. "Sticking to those bastards sounds too good to pass up."

                Tadyel rose to her feet. "No," she said.

                The man tore off the piece of cloth covering his face and glared at Tadyel. "You arrived with her, didn't you? You're another one of their proper agents," he said, his voice now dripping aggression.

                "I doubt it," said the crossbow woman as she removed her mask as well. "She has a peninsula accent."

                With both their faces revealed, Tadyel realised that she recognised them - they had both been among the refugees who had arrived in Green Creek over the past two weeks. Tadyel removed her mask as well, stuffing it in her pocket, then drew her sword. "Last warning," she said.

                "Warning? Prepare to die, turncoat!" yelled the man, drawing his blade and starting to lunge forwards.

                Tadyel drew her sword as well, but it was Vanna's blade that stopped the man's attack mid-swing. "Take the other one!" Vanna spat out.

                Following Vanna's order Tadyel stepped back and turned towards the crossbow agent. The woman had tossed her crossbow aside and stood with her blade drawn. Tadyel advanced cautiously with her own blade held at the ready. "I recognise you," said her opponent, "You're the clothier's assistant. I guess that makes her the clothier."

                Tadyel kept her eyes on her opponent. "Your boss is injured, idiot, this isn't going to-" the woman began, interrupted by Tadyel darting forwards and striking. She managed to block the attack, but only barely.

                She really is stalling, thought Tadyel. The woman had seemed rather hesitant to attack; almost as if she was stalling to avoid the fight. Idiot.

                Clangs rang out as she struck twice more, her opponent instinctively defending as best she could. Unfortunately for the woman, instincts were not enough to defend against someone with training - even one with as little as Tadyel had. A particularly tricky move (in truth, a basic technique Vanna had taught Tadyel) forced the woman off balance; giving Tadyel the opportunity to push her over with a rough shove.

                "Shit!" yelled the woman as she toppled. Tadyel was on her immediately, blade pressed against her gut.

                "Drop the sword," said Tadyel, quite aggressively. The woman complied immediately.

                Behind her, Tadyel heard the man grunt in pain. It was followed by a thump, and sounds of someone light on their feet moving up behind her.

                "Kill her," came Vanna's voice.

                Before the crossbow woman even had a chance to speak Tadyel had buried her sword up to the hilt. "Sorry," Tadyel whispered. She was unable to rip her eyes away as the woman twitched lightly, then became still.

                The deed done, Tadyel pulled her blade free, then wiped the blood off on the clothes of her fallen opponent. Sighing deeply she turned around to face Vanna. Her superior hadn't been injured further fighting against the other rebellious agent, although her wounded arm was hanging limply.

                As Tadyel sheathed her sword, Vanna said, "That's why we were keeping silent. Come on. We'll change back on the way."

                Vanna headed off into the woods, Tadyel following close behind. That went... far worse than I thought it would, Tadyel thought. Apart from that she wasn't sure what to think. No, there was one tiny thought. Three.